269 research outputs found
Effects of sea temperature and stratification changes on seabird breeding success
As apex predators in marine ecosystems, seabirds may primarily experience climate change impacts indirectly, via changes to their food webs. Observed seabird population declines have been linked to climate-driven oceanographic and food web changes. However, relationships have often been derived from relatively few colonies and consider only sea surface temperature (SST), so important drivers, and spatial variation in drivers, could remain undetected. Further, explicit climate change projections have rarely been made, so longer-term risks remain unclear. Here, we use tracking data to estimate foraging areas for eleven black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) colonies in the UK and Ireland, thus reducing reliance on single colonies and allowing calculation of colony-specific oceanographic conditions. We use mixed models to consider how SST, the potential energy anomaly (indicating density stratification strength) and the timing of seasonal stratification influence kittiwake productivity. Across all colonies, higher breeding success was associated with weaker stratification before breeding and lower SSTs during the breeding season. Eight colonies with sufficient data were modelled individually: higher productivity was associated with later stratification at three colonies, weaker stratification at two, and lower SSTs at one, whilst two colonies showed no significant relationships. Hence, key drivers of productivity varied among colonies. Climate change projections, made using fitted models, indicated that breeding success could decline by 21 – 43% between 1961-90 and 2070-99. Climate change therefore poses a longer-term threat to kittiwakes, but as this will be mediated via availability of key prey species, other marine apex predators could also face similar threats
Colliders and Cosmology
Dark matter in variations of constrained minimal supersymmetric standard
models will be discussed. Particular attention will be given to the comparison
between accelerator and direct detection constraints.Comment: Submitted for the SUSY07 proceedings, 15 pages, LaTex, 26 eps figure
Finite element simulation of three-dimensional free-surface flow problems
An adaptive finite element algorithm is described for the stable solution of three-dimensional free-surface-flow problems based primarily on the use of node movement. The algorithm also includes a discrete remeshing procedure which enhances its accuracy and robustness. The spatial discretisation allows an isoparametric piecewise-quadratic approximation of the domain geometry for accurate resolution of the curved free surface.
The technique is illustrated through an implementation for surface-tension-dominated viscous flows modelled in terms of the Stokes equations with suitable boundary conditions on the deforming free surface. Two three-dimensional test problems are used to demonstrate the performance of the method: a liquid bridge problem and the formation of a fluid droplet
Magnetic Field Effects on Neutron Diffraction in the Antiferromagnetic Phase of
We discuss possible magnetic structures in UPt based on our analysis of
elastic neutron-scattering experiments in high magnetic fields at temperatures
. The existing experimental data can be explained by a single-{\bf q}
antiferromagnetic structure with three independent domains. For modest in-plane
spin-orbit interactions, the Zeeman coupling between the antiferromagnetic
order parameter and the magnetic field induces a rotation of the magnetic
moments, but not an adjustment of the propagation vector of the magnetic order.
A triple-{\bf q} magnetic structure is also consistent with neutron
experiments, but in general leads to a non-uniform magnetization in the
crystal. New experiments could decide between these structures.Comment: 5 figures included in the tex
Seesaw mechanism in the sneutrino sector and its consequences
The seesaw-extended MSSM provides a framework in which the observed light
neutrino masses and mixing angles can be generated in the context of a natural
theory for the TeV-scale. Sneutrino-mixing phenomena provide valuable tools for
connecting the physics of neutrinos and supersymmetry. We examine the
theoretical structure of the seesaw-extended MSSM, retaining the full
complexity of three generations of neutrinos and sneutrinos. In this general
framework, new flavor-changing and CP-violating sneutrino processes are
allowed, and are parameterized in terms of two matrices that
respectively preserve and violate lepton number. The elements of these matrices
can be bounded by analyzing the rate for rare flavor-changing decays of charged
leptons and the one-loop contribution to neutrino masses. In the former case,
new contributions arise in the seesaw extended model which are not present in
the ordinary MSSM. In the latter case, sneutrino--antisneutrino mixing
generates the leading correction at one-loop to neutrino masses, and could
provide the origin of the observed texture of the light neutrino mass matrix.
Finally, we derive general formulae for sneutrino--antisneutrino oscillations
and sneutrino flavor-oscillations. Unfortunately, neither oscillation phenomena
is likely to be observable at future colliders.Comment: 69 pages, 5 figures, uses axodraw.sty. Version accepted for
publication in JHEP: some comments and one more Appendix with additional
discussion added, references update
Electric charge quantization and the muon anomalous magnetic moment
We investigate some proposals to solve the electric charge quantization
puzzle, which simultaneously explain the recent measured deviation on the muon
anomalous magnetic moment. For this we assess extensions of the Electro-Weak
Standard Model spanning modifications on the scalar sector only. It is
interesting to verify that one can have modest extensions which easily account
for the solution for both problems.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figures, needs macro axodraw.st
Muon anomalous magnetic moment in the standard model with two Higgs doublets
The muon anomalous magnetic moment is investigated in the standard model with
two Higgs doublets (S2HDM) motivated from spontaneous CP violation. Thus all
the effective Yukawa couplings become complex. As a consequence of the non-zero
phase in the couplings, the one loop contribution from the neutral scalar
bosons could be positive and negative relying on the CP phases. The
interference between one and two loop diagrams can be constructive in a large
parameter space of CP-phases. This will result in a significant contribution to
muon anomalous magnetic moment even in the flavor conserving process with a
heavy neutral scalar boson ( 200 GeV) once the effective muon Yukawa
coupling is large (). In general, the one loop contributions
from lepton flavor changing scalar interactions become more important. In
particular, when all contributions are positive in a reasonable parameter space
of CP phases, the recently reported 2.6 sigma experiment vs. theory deviation
can be easily explained even for a heavy scalar boson with a relative small
Yukawa coupling in the S2HDM.Comment: 8 pages, RevTex file, 5 figures, published version Phys. Rev. D 54
(2001) 11501
Formation of dense partonic matter in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC: Experimental evaluation by the PHENIX collaboration
Extensive experimental data from high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions were
recorded using the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
(RHIC). The comprehensive set of measurements from the first three years of
RHIC operation includes charged particle multiplicities, transverse energy,
yield ratios and spectra of identified hadrons in a wide range of transverse
momenta (p_T), elliptic flow, two-particle correlations, non-statistical
fluctuations, and suppression of particle production at high p_T. The results
are examined with an emphasis on implications for the formation of a new state
of dense matter. We find that the state of matter created at RHIC cannot be
described in terms of ordinary color neutral hadrons.Comment: 510 authors, 127 pages text, 56 figures, 1 tables, LaTeX. Submitted
to Nuclear Physics A as a regular article; v3 has minor changes in response
to referee comments. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures
for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available
at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
Interaction of inflammatory cytokines and erythropoeitin in iron metabolism and erythropoiesis in anaemia of chronic disease
In chronic inflammatory conditions increased endogenous release of specific cytokines (TNFα, IL-1, IL-6, IFNγ and others) is presumed. It has been shown that those of monocyte lineage play a key role in cytokine expression and synthesis. This may be associated with changes in iron metabolism and impaired erythropoiesis and may lead to development of anaemia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Firstly, increased synthesis of acute phase proteins, like ferritin, during chronic inflammation is proposed as the way by which the toxic effect of iron and thereby the synthesis of free oxy-radicals causing the damage on the affected joints, may be reduced. This is associated with a shift of iron towards the mononuclear phagocyte system which may participate in the development of anaemia of chronic disease. Secondly, an inhibitory action of inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-1), on proliferation and differentiation of erythroid progenitors as well as on synthesis of erythropoietin has been shown, thereby also contributing to anaemia. Finally, chronic inflammation causes multiple, complex disturbances in the delicate physiologic equilibrium of interaction between cytokines and cells (erythroid progenitors, cells of mononuclear phagocyte system and erythropoietin producing cells) leading to development of anaemia of chronic disease (Fig. 1)
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