3,018 research outputs found
Age-dependent female responses to a male ejaculate signal alter demographic opportunities for selection
A central tenet of evolutionary explanations for ageing is that the strength of selection wanes with age. However, data on age-specific expression and benefits of sexually selected traits are lacking—particularly for traits subject to sexual conflict. We addressed this by using as a model the responses of Drosophila melanogaster females of different ages to receipt of sex peptide (SP), a seminal fluid protein transferred with sperm during mating. SP can mediate sexual conflict, benefitting males while causing fitness costs in females. Virgin and mated females of all ages showed significantly reduced receptivity in response to SP. However, only young virgin females also showed increased egg laying; hence, there was a narrow demographic window of maximal responses to SP. Males gained significant ‘per mating’ fitness benefits only when mating with young females. The pattern completely reversed in matings with older females, where SP transfer was costly. The overall benefits of SP transfer (hence opportunity for selection) therefore reversed with female age. The data reveal a new example of demographic variation in the strength of selection, with convergence and conflicts of interest between males and ageing females occurring over different facets of responses to a sexually antagonistic trait
Results of magnetospheric barium ion cloud experiment of 1971
The barium ion cloud experiment involved the release of about 2 kg of barium at an altitude of 31 482 km, a latitude of 6.926 N., and a longitude of 74.395 W. Significant erosion of plasma from the main ion core occurred during the initial phase of the ion cloud expansion. From the motion of the outermost striational filaments, the electric field components were determined to be 0.19 mV/m in the westerly direction and 0.68 mV/m in the inward direction. The differences between these components and those measured from balloons flown in the proximity of the extremity of the field line through the release point implied the existence of potential gradients along the magnetic field lines. The deceleration of the main core was greater than theoretically predicted. This was attributed to the formation of a polarization wake, resulting in an increase of the area of interaction and resistive dissipation at ionospheric levels. The actual orientation of the magnetic field line through the release point differed by about 10.5 deg from that predicted by magnetic field models that did not include the effect of ring current
Single-dot spectroscopy via elastic single-electron tunneling through a pair of coupled quantum dots
We study the electronic structure of a single self-assembled InAs quantum dot
by probing elastic single-electron tunneling through a single pair of weakly
coupled dots. In the region below pinch-off voltage, the non-linear threshold
voltage behavior provides electronic addition energies exactly as the linear,
Coulomb blockade oscillation does. By analyzing it, we identify the s and p
shell addition spectrum for up to six electrons in the single InAs dot, i.e.
one of the coupled dots. The evolution of shell addition spectrum with magnetic
field provides Fock-Darwin spectra of s and p shell.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Cluster Variation Approach to the Random-Anisotropy Blume-Emery-Griffiths Model
The random--anisotropy Blume--Emery--Griffiths model, which has been proposed
to describe the critical behavior of He--He mixtures in a porous
medium, is studied in the pair approximation of the cluster variation method
extended to disordered systems. Several new features, with respect to mean
field theory, are found, including a rich ground state, a nonzero percolation
threshold, a reentrant coexistence curve and a miscibility gap on the high
He concentration side down to zero temperature. Furthermore, nearest
neighbor correlations are introduced in the random distribution of the
anisotropy, which are shown to be responsible for the raising of the critical
temperature with respect to the pure and uncorrelated random cases and
contribute to the detachment of the coexistence curve from the line.Comment: 14 pages (plain TeX) + 12 figures (PostScript, appended), Preprint
POLFIS-TH.02/9
Universal oscillations in counting statistics
Noise is a result of stochastic processes that originate from quantum or
classical sources. Higher-order cumulants of the probability distribution
underlying the stochastic events are believed to contain details that
characterize the correlations within a given noise source and its interaction
with the environment, but they are often difficult to measure. Here we report
measurements of the transient cumulants > of the number n of passed
charges to very high orders (up to m=15) for electron transport through a
quantum dot. For large m, the cumulants display striking oscillations as
functions of measurement time with magnitudes that grow factorially with m.
Using mathematical properties of high-order derivatives in the complex plane we
show that the oscillations of the cumulants in fact constitute a universal
phenomenon, appearing as functions of almost any parameter, including time in
the transient regime. These ubiquitous oscillations and the factorial growth
are system-independent and our theory provides a unified interpretation of
previous theoretical studies of high-order cumulants as well as our new
experimental data.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, final version as published in PNA
Advocacy to reduce the risk of myopia
Encouraging and supporting the changes needed to prevent or delay the onset of myopia is complex. Co-ordinated advocacy is key
Breaking down barriers to eye care for Indigenous people: A new scheme for delivery of eye care in Victoria
This report describes the implementation of and outcomes from a new spectacle subsidy scheme and de-centralised care options for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Victoria, Australia. The Victorian Aboriginal Spectacle Subsidy Scheme (VASSS) commenced in 2010, as an additional subsidy to the long-established Victorian Eyecare Service (VES). The Victorian Aboriginal Spectacle Subsidy Scheme aimed to improve access to and uptake of affordable spectacles and eye examinations by Indigenous Victorians. The scheme is overseen by a committee convened by the Victorian Government's Department of Health and Human Services and includes eye-health stakeholders from the Aboriginal community and government, not-for-profit, university and Aboriginal communities. Key features of the Victorian Aboriginal Spectacle Subsidy Scheme include reduced and certain patient co-payments of $10, expanded spectacle frame range, broadened eligibility and community participation in service design and implementation. We describe the services implemented by the Australian College of Optometry (ACO) in Victoria and their impact on access to eye-care services. In 2014, optometric services were available at 36 service sites across Victoria, including 21 Aboriginal Health Services (AHS) sites. Patient services have increased from 400 services per year in 2009, to 1,800 services provided in 2014. During the first three years of the Victorian Aboriginal Spectacle Subsidy Scheme program (2010 to 2013), 4,200 pairs of glasses (1,400 pairs per year) were provided. Further funding to 2016/17 will lift the number of glasses to be delivered to 6,600 pairs (1,650 per year). This compares to population projected needs of 2,400 pairs per year. Overcoming the barriers to using eye-care services by Indigenous people can be difficult and resource intensive; however the Victorian Aboriginal Spectacle Subsidy Scheme provides an example of positive outcomes achieved through carefully designed and targeted approaches that engender sector and stakeholder support. Sustained support for the Victorian Aboriginal Spectacle Subsidy Scheme at a level that meets population needs is an ongoing challenge
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