51,420 research outputs found
Population genetics of the spotted seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) in Thai waters : implications for conservation
A population genetics approach was used to investigate the genetic diversity of the spotted seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) in Thai waters; specifically, the degree of genetic differentiation and species evolution was inferred from sequence analysis of 353 bp of the mitochondrial (mt)DNA control region. The data were then used to identify discrete populations in Thai waters for effective conservation and management. Spotted seahorses were collected from 4 regions on the east and west coasts of the Gulf of Thailand and a geographically separated region in the Andaman Sea. Of the 101 mtDNA sequences analyzed, 7 haplotypes were identified, 5 of which were shared among individuals from the east and west coasts of the Gulf of Thailand. The remaining haplotypes were restricted to individuals from the Andaman Sea. Nucleotide and haplotype diversities were similar within the Gulf of Thailand samples, whereas diversity was lower in the Andaman Sea sample. Genetic differentiation appeared between pairs of samples from the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea (FST, p < 0.0001). A large genetic variance appeared among the 2 population groups (94.46%, ΦCT = 0.94464, p < 0.01). A Neighbor-joining tree indicated that individuals from the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea formed 2 phylogenetically distinct groups, which were segregated into different population-based clades. While results reported here indicate that populations from the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea should be treated as separate conservation units, a larger sample size from the Andaman Sea is required to confirm this genetic partitioning and low level of diversity observed in the present study.<br /
Individual Differences in (Non-Visual) Processing Style Predict the Face Inversion Effect
Recent research suggests that individuals with relatively weak global precedence (i.e., a smaller propensity to view visual stimuli in a configural manner) show a reduced face inversion effect (FIE). Coupled with such findings, a number of recent studies have demonstrated links between an advantage for feature-based processing and the presentation of traits associated with autism among the general population. The present study sought to bridge these findings by investigating whether a relationship exists between the possession of autism-associated traits (i.e., as indicated by individualsautism quotient [(AQ) and the size of the FIE. Participants completed an on-line study in which the AQ was measured prior to a standard face recognition task where half of the faces were inverted at test. The results confirmed that higher AQ levels were predictive of smaller FIEs. Implications for a common underlying factor relating to processing orientation are discussed
Influencing interaction: Development of the design with intent method
Persuasive Technology has the potential to influence user behavior for social benefit, e.g. to reduce environmental impact, but designers are lacking guidance choosing among design techniques for influencing interaction. The Design with Intent Method, a ‘suggestion tool’ addressing this problem, is introduced in this paper, and applied to the briefs of reducing unnecessary household lighting use, and improving the efficiency of printing, primarily to evaluate the method’s usability and guide the direction of its development. The trial demonstrates that the DwI Method is quick to apply and leads to a range of relevant design concepts. With development, the DwI Method could be a useful tool for designers working on influencing user behavior
Semileptonic Decay Scalar Form Factor and from Lattice QCD
We present a new study of D semileptonic decays on the lattice which employs
the Highly Improved Staggered Quark (HISQ) action for both the charm and the
light valence quarks. We work with MILC unquenched lattices and
determine the scalar form factor for
semileptonic decays. The form factor is obtained from a scalar current matrix
element that does not require any operator matching. We develop a new approach
to carrying out chiral/continuum extrapolations of . The method uses
the kinematic "" variable instead of or the kaon energy and is
applicable over the entire physical range. We find in the chiral plus
continuum limit and hereby improve the theory error on this quantity by a
factor of 4 compared to previous lattice determinations. Combining the
new theory result with recent experimental measurements of the product from BaBar and CLEO-c leads to the most
precise direct determination of the CKM matrix element to date,
, where the first error comes from experiment and the
second is the lattice QCD theory error. We calculate the ratio and find GeV and show
that this agrees with experiment.Comment: 23 pages, 31 figures, 11 tables. Added a paragraph in sction VII, and
updated with PDG 2010 instead of PDG 200
Magnetoresistance and efficiency measurements of Alq(3)-based OLEDs
Copyright 2007 by the American Physical Society. Article is available at
Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid correlations and Fabry-Perot interference in conductance and finite-frequency shot noise in a single-walled carbon nanotube
We present a detailed theoretical investigation of transport through a
single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) in good contact to metal leads where weak
backscattering at the interfaces between SWNT and source and drain reservoirs
gives rise to electronic Fabry-Perot (FP) oscillations in conductance and shot
noise. We include the electron-electron interaction and the finite length of
the SWNT within the inhomogeneous Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) model and
treat the non-equilibrium effects due to an applied bias voltage within the
Keldysh approach. In low-frequency transport properties, the TLL effect is
apparent mainly via power-law characteristics as a function of bias voltage or
temperature at energy scales above the finite level spacing of the SWNT. The
FP-frequency is dominated by the non-interacting spin mode velocity due to two
degenerate subbands rather than the interacting charge velocity. At higher
frequencies, the excess noise is shown to be capable of resolving the
splintering of the transported electrons arising from the mismatch of the
TLL-parameter at the interface between metal reservoirs and SWNT. This dynamics
leads to a periodic shot noise suppression as a function of frequency and with
a period that is determined solely by the charge velocity. At large bias
voltages, these oscillations are dominant over the ordinary FP-oscillations
caused by two weak backscatterers. This makes shot noise an invaluable tool to
distinguish the two mode velocities in the SWNT.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure
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