126 research outputs found
Buried treasure—marine turtles do not ‘disguise’ or ‘camouflage’ their nests but avoid them and create a decoy trail
After laying their eggs and refilling the egg chamber, sea turtles scatter sand extensively around the nest site. This is presumed to camouflage the nest, or optimize local conditions for egg development, but a consensus on its function is lacking. We quantified activity and mapped the movements of hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles during sand-scattering. For leatherbacks, we also recorded activity at each sand-scattering position. For hawksbills, we recorded breathing rates during nesting as an indicator of metabolic investment and compared with published values for leatherbacks. Temporal and inferred metabolic investment in sand-scattering was substantial for both species. Neither species remained near the nest while sand-scattering, instead moving to several other positions to scatter sand, changing direction each time, progressively displacing themselves from the nest site. Movement patterns were highly diverse between individuals, but activity at each sand-scattering position changed little between completion of egg chamber refilling and return to the sea. Our findings are inconsistent with sand-scattering being to directly camouflage the nest, or primarily for modifying the nest-proximal environment. Instead, they are consistent with the construction of a series of dispersed decoy nests that may reduce the discovery of nests by predators
Measurements of Scintillation Efficiency and Pulse-Shape for Low Energy Recoils in Liquid Xenon
Results of observations of low energy nuclear and electron recoil events in
liquid xenon scintillator detectors are given. The relative scintillation
efficiency for nuclear recoils is 0.22 +/- 0.01 in the recoil energy range 40
keV - 70 keV. Under the assumption of a single dominant decay component to the
scintillation pulse-shape the log-normal mean parameter T0 of the maximum
likelihood estimator of the decay time constant for 6 keV < Eee < 30 keV
nuclear recoil events is equal to 21.0 ns +/- 0.5 ns. It is observed that for
electron recoils T0 rises slowly with energy, having a value ~ 30 ns at Eee ~
15 keV. Electron and nuclear recoil pulse-shapes are found to be well fitted by
single exponential functions although some evidence is found for a double
exponential form for the nuclear recoil pulse-shape.Comment: 11 pages, including 5 encapsulated postscript figure
The ZEPLIN II dark matter detector: data acquisition system and data reduction
ZEPLIN-II is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon dark matter detector searching
for WIMP-nucleon interactions. In this paper we describe the data acquisition
system used to record the data from ZEPLIN-II and the reduction procedures
which parameterise the data for subsequent analysis.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
The ZEPLIN II dark matter detector: data acquisition system and data reduction
ZEPLIN-II is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon dark matter detector searching
for WIMP-nucleon interactions. In this paper we describe the data acquisition
system used to record the data from ZEPLIN-II and the reduction procedures
which parameterise the data for subsequent analysis.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Limits on spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon cross-sections from the first ZEPLIN-II data
The first underground data run of the ZEPLIN-II experiment has set a limit on
the nuclear recoil rate in the two-phase xenon detector for direct dark matter
searches. In this paper the results from this run are converted into the limits
on spin-dependent WIMP-proton and WIMP-neutron cross-sections. The minimum of
the curve for WIMP-neutron cross-section corresponds to 0.07 pb at a WIMP mass
of around 65 GeV.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Physics Letters
The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC
The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current
status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for
making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of
RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program
available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix
The Glasgow Microenvironment Score associates with prognosis and adjuvant chemotherapy response in colorectal cancer
Background:
The Glasgow Microenvironment Score (GMS) combines peritumoural inflammation and tumour stroma percentage to assess interactions between tumour and microenvironment. This was previously demonstrated to associate with colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis, and now requires validation and assessment of interactions with adjuvant therapy.
Methods:
Two cohorts were utilised; 862 TNM I–III CRC validation cohort, and 2912 TNM II–III CRC adjuvant chemotherapy cohort (TransSCOT). Primary endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS) and relapse-free survival (RFS). Exploratory endpoint was adjuvant chemotherapy interaction.
Results:
GMS independently associated with DFS (p = 0.001) and RFS (p < 0.001). GMS significantly stratified RFS for both low risk (GMS 0 v GMS 2: HR 3.24 95% CI 1.85–5.68, p < 0.001) and high-risk disease (GMS 0 v GMS 2: HR 2.18 95% CI 1.39–3.41, p = 0.001). In TransSCOT, chemotherapy type (pinteraction = 0.013), but not duration (p = 0.64) was dependent on GMS. Furthermore, GMS 0 significantly associated with improved DFS in patients receiving FOLFOX compared with CAPOX (HR 2.23 95% CI 1.19–4.16, p = 0.012).
Conclusions:
This study validates the GMS as a prognostic tool for patients with stage I–III colorectal cancer, independent of TNM, with the ability to stratify both low- and high-risk disease. Furthermore, GMS 0 could be employed to identify a subset of patients that benefit from FOLFOX over CAPOX
Thrive: Success Strategies for the Modern-Day Faculty Member
The THRIVE collection is intended to help faculty thrive in their roles as educators, scholars, researchers, and clinicians. Each section contains a variety of thought-provoking topics that are designed to be easily digested, guide personal reflection, and put into action. Please use the THRIVE collection to help: Individuals study topics on their own, whenever and wherever they want Peer-mentoring or other learning communities study topics in small groups Leaders and planners strategically insert faculty development into existing meetings
Faculty identify campus experts for additional learning, grand rounds, etc. If you have questions or want additional information on a topic, simply contact the article author or email [email protected]://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/facdev_books/1000/thumbnail.jp
The ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector: performance study using an end-to-end simulation tool
We present results from a GEANT4-based Monte Carlo tool for end-to-end
simulations of the ZEPLIN-III dark matter experiment. ZEPLIN-III is a two-phase
detector which measures both the scintillation light and the ionisation charge
generated in liquid xenon by interacting particles and radiation. The software
models the instrument response to radioactive backgrounds and calibration
sources, including the generation, ray-tracing and detection of the primary and
secondary scintillations in liquid and gaseous xenon, and subsequent processing
by data acquisition electronics. A flexible user interface allows easy
modification of detector parameters at run time. Realistic datasets can be
produced to help with data analysis, an example of which is the position
reconstruction algorithm developed from simulated data. We present a range of
simulation results confirming the original design sensitivity of a few times
pb to the WIMP-nucleon cross-section.Comment: Submitted to Astroparticle Physic
University-industry relationships and open innovation: Towards a research agenda
Accepted versio
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