1,435 research outputs found
Censusing manatees: a report on the feasibility of using aerial surveys and mark and recapture techniques to conduct a population survey of the West Indian Manatee
This report results from an invitation to review the needs and
prospects for capture-recapture and aerial census studies of the
manatee (Trichechus manatus) in Florida. Three aerial reconnaissance flights provided a
first hand view of manatee habitats, as follows: May 3, Suwannee
River to Kings Bay and Crystal River (Rathbun, Eberhardt), May 4,
Vero Beach to Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers by way of Whitewater Bay
(Rose, Percival, Eberhardt), and May 5, Cape Canaveral to Jacksonville,
St. Johns River and Blue Spring (Rose, Kinnaird, Eberhardt). (24 page document
Geometry-induced asymmetric diffusion
Past work has shown that ions can pass through a membrane more readily in one
direction than the other. We demonstrate here in a model and an experiment that
for a mixture of small and large particles such asymmetric diffusion can arise
solely from an asymmetry in the geometry of the pores of the membrane. Our
deterministic simulation considers a two-dimensional gas of elastic disks of
two sizes diffusing through a membrane, and our laboratory experiment examines
the diffusion of glass beads of two sizes through a metal membrane. In both
experiment and simulation, the membrane is permeable only to the smaller
particles, and the asymmetric pores lead to an asymmetry in the diffusion rates
of these particles. The presence of even a small percentage of large particles
can clog a membrane, preventing passage of the small particles in one direction
while permitting free flow of the small particles in the other direction. The
purely geometric kinetic constraints may play a role in common biological
contexts such as membrane ion channels.Comment: published with minuscule change
Light scattering in a turbulent cloud: Simulations to explore cloud-chamber experiments
Radiative transfer through clouds can be impacted by variations in particle number size distribution, but also in particle spatial distribution. Due to turbulent mixing and inertial effects, spatial correlations often exist, even on scales reaching the cloud droplet separation distance. The resulting clusters and voids within the droplet field can lead to deviations from exponential extinction. Prior work has numerically investigated these departures from exponential attenuation in absorptive and scattering media; this work takes a step towards determining the feasibility of detecting departures from exponential behavior due to spatial correlation in turbulent clouds generated in a laboratory setting. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is used to mimic turbulent mixing clouds generated in a laboratory convection cloud chamber. Light propagation through the resulting polydisperse and spatially correlated particle fields is explored via Monte Carlo ray tracing simulations. The key finding is that both mean radiative flux and standard deviation about the mean differ when correlations exist, suggesting that an experiment using a laboratory convection cloud chamber could be designed to investigate non-exponential behavior. Total forward flux is largely unchanged (due to scattering being highly forward-dominant for the size parameters considered), allowing it to be used for conditional sampling based on optical thickness. Direct and diffuse forward flux means are modified by approximately one standard deviation. Standard deviations of diffuse forward and backward fluxes are strongly enhanced, suggesting that fluctuations in the scattered light are a more sensitive metric to consider. The results also suggest the possibility that measurements of radiative transfer could be used to infer the strength and scales of correlations in a turbulent cloud, indicating entrainment and mixing effects
Normal Modes of a Vortex in a Trapped Bose-Einstein Condensate
A hydrodynamic description is used to study the normal modes of a vortex in a
zero-temperature Bose-Einstein condensate. In the Thomas-Fermi (TF) limit, the
circulating superfluid velocity far from the vortex core provides a small
perturbation that splits the originally degenerate normal modes of a
vortex-free condensate. The relative frequency shifts are small in all cases
considered (they vanish for the lowest dipole mode with |m|=1), suggesting that
the vortex is stable. The Bogoliubov equations serve to verify the existence of
helical waves, similar to those of a vortex line in an unbounded weakly
interacting Bose gas. In the large-condensate (small-core) limit, the
condensate wave function reduces to that of a straight vortex in an unbounded
condensate; the corresponding Bogoliubov equations have no bound-state
solutions that are uniform along the symmetry axis and decay exponentially far
from the vortex core.Comment: 15 pages, REVTEX, 2 Postscript figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. A. We
have altered the material in Secs. 3B and 4 in connection with the normal
modes that have |m|=1. Our present treatment satisfies the condition that the
fundamental dipole mode of a condensate with (or without) a vortex should
have the bare frequency $\omega_\perp
Asymptotically stable phase synchronization revealed by autoregressive circle maps
A new type of nonlinear time series analysis is introduced, based on phases,
which are defined as polar angles in spaces spanned by a finite number of
delayed coordinates. A canonical choice of the polar axis and a related
implicit estimation scheme for the potentially underlying auto-regressive
circle map (next phase map) guarantee the invertibility of reconstructed phase
space trajectories to the original coordinates. The resulting Fourier
approximated, Invertibility enforcing Phase Space map (FIPS map) is well suited
to detect conditional asymptotic stability of coupled phases. This rather
general synchronization criterion unites two existing generalisations of the
old concept and can successfully be applied e.g. to phases obtained from ECG
and airflow recordings characterizing cardio-respiratory interaction.Comment: PDF file, 232 KB, 24 pages, 3 figures; cheduled for Phys. Rev. E
(Nov) 200
Nucleation of vortex arrays in rotating anisotropic Bose-Einstein condensates
The nucleation of vortices and the resulting structures of vortex arrays in
dilute, trapped, zero-temperature Bose-Einstein condensates are investigated
numerically. Vortices are generated by rotating a three-dimensional,
anisotropic harmonic atom trap. The condensate ground state is obtained by
propagating the Gross-Pitaevskii equation in imaginary time. Vortices first
appear at a rotation frequency significantly larger than the critical frequency
for vortex stabilization. This is consistent with a critical velocity mechanism
for vortex nucleation. At higher frequencies, the structures of the vortex
arrays are strongly influenced by trap geometry.Comment: 5 pages, two embedded figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. A (RC
Dimension of interaction dynamics
A method allowing to distinguish interacting from non-interacting systems
based on available time series is proposed and investigated. Some facts
concerning generalized Renyi dimensions that form the basis of our method are
proved. We show that one can find the dimension of the part of the attractor of
the system connected with interaction between its parts. We use our method to
distinguish interacting from non-interacting systems on the examples of
logistic and H\'enon maps. A classification of all possible interaction schemes
is given.Comment: 15 pages, 14 (36) figures, submitted to PR
Will He Be There?: Mediating malaria, immobilizing science
This paper focuses on an unsettling example of experimental labour â the Human Landing Catch (HLC). The HLC is a cheap and reliable technique to produce data on mosquito densities in a defined area. It requires only a human volunteer to sit over night with his legs exposed, a headlamp to spot mosquitoes, and a rubber tube and plastic cup to catch them as they come to feed on him. The HLC formed the central methodological and operational strategy for a malaria control that took place in Dar es Salaam, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This paper analyses the epistemic and economic value of this experimental scenario by examining in detail the work it entails. In conceptualizing the different species of productivity associated with the HLC, of particular interest is the surprising fact that he is there. This paper argues that the interplay of mobility and immobility offers a way to rethink the value of research within interlocking circulations of capital, science, mosquitoes and men
Coherently Scattering Atoms from an Excited Bose-Einstein Condensate
We consider scattering atoms from a fully Bose-Einstein condensed gas. If we
take these atoms to be identical to those in the Bose-Einstein condensate, this
scattering process is to a large extent analogous to Andreev reflection from
the interface between a superconducting and a normal metal. We determine the
scattering wave function both in the absence and the presence of a vortex. Our
results show a qualitative difference between these two cases that can be
understood as due to an Aharonov-Bohm effect. It leads to the possibility to
experimentally detect and study vortices in this way.Comment: 5 pages of ReVTeX and 2 postscript figure
Investigation of human apoB48 metabolism using a new, integrated non-steady-state model of apoB48 and apoB100 kinetics
Background Triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and their remnants have emerged as major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. New experimental approaches are required that permit simultaneous investigation of the dynamics of chylomicrons (CM) and apoB48 metabolism and of apoB100 in very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). Methods Mass spectrometric techniques were used to determine the masses and tracer enrichments of apoB48 in the CM, VLDL1 and VLDL2 density intervals. An integrated non-steady-state multicompartmental model was constructed to describe the metabolism of apoB48- and apoB100-containing lipoproteins following a fat-rich meal, as well as during prolonged fasting. Results The kinetic model described the metabolism of apoB48 in CM, VLDL1 and VLDL2. It predicted a low level of basal apoB48 secretion and, during fat absorption, an increment in apoB48 release into not only CM but also directly into VLDL1 and VLDL2. ApoB48 particles with a long residence time were present in VLDL, and in subjects with high plasma triglycerides, these lipoproteins contributed to apoB48 measured during fasting conditions. Basal apoB48 secretion was about 50 mg day?1, and the increment during absorption was about 230 mg day?1. The fractional catabolic rates for apoB48 in VLDL1 and VLDL2 were substantially lower than for apoB48 in CM. Discussion This novel non-steady-state model integrates the metabolic properties of both apoB100 and apoB48 and the kinetics of triglyceride. The model is physiologically relevant and provides insight not only into apoB48 release in the basal and postabsorptive states but also into the contribution of the intestine to VLDL pool size and kinetics.Peer reviewe
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