Behavioural evolution in penguins does not reflect phylogeny

Over the past two decades, behavioural biologists and ecologists have made effective use of the comparative method, but have often stopped short of adopting an explicitly phylogenetic approach. We examined 68 behaviour and life history (BLH) traits of 15 penguin species to: (i) infer penguin phylogeny, (ii) assess homology of behavioural characters, and (iii) evaluate hypotheses about character evolution and ancestral states. Parsimony analysis of the BLH dataset found either two shortest trees (characters coded as unordered) or a single shortest tree (characters coded as a combination of unordered and Dollo). The BLH data had significant structure. Kishino-Hasegawa tests indicated that BLH trees were significantly different from most previous estimates of penguin phylogeny. The BLH phylogeny generated from Dollo characters appeared to be less accurate than the tree derived from the completely unordered dataset. Dividing BLH data into display and non-display traits resulted in no significant differences in level of homoplasy and no difference in the accuracy of phylogeny. Tests for homology of BLH traits were performed by mapping the characters onto a molecular tree. Assuming that independent gains are less likely than losses of character states, 65 of the 68 characters were likely to be homologous across taxa, and at least several characters appeared to have been stable since the origin of modern penguins around 30 Myr. Finally, the likely BLH traits of the most recent common ancestor of extant penguins were reconstructed from character states along the internal branch leading to the penguins. This analysis suggested that the "proto-penguin" probably had a similar life history to current temperate penguins but few ritualized behaviours. A southern, cool-temperate origin of penguins is suggested

Narrow Line Cooling: Finite Photon Recoil Dynamics

We present an extensive study of the unique thermal and mechanical dynamics for narrow-line cooling on the 1S0 - 3P1 88Sr transition. For negative detuning, trap dynamics reveal a transition from the semiclassical regime to the photon-recoil-dominated quantum regime, yielding an absolute minima in the equilibrium temperature below the single-photon recoil limit. For positive detuning, the cloud divides into discrete momentum packets whose alignment mimics lattice points on a face-centered-cubic crystal. This novel behavior arises from velocity selection and "positive feedback" acceleration due to a finite number of photon recoils. Cooling is achieved with blue-detuned light around a velocity where gravity balances the radiative force.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett., in pres

Emergency medicine in Paarl, South Africa: a cross-sectional descriptive study

Background: Emergency Medicine (EM) in South Africa is in its earliest stages of development. There is a paucity of data about emergency department (ED) patient demographics, epidemiology, consultation and admission criteria and other characteristics. Aims: This information is absolutely necessary to properly guide the development of EM and appropriate emergency care systems. In order to provide this information, we performed a study in a rural hospital in Paarl, 60 km outside Cape Town. Methods: All patients who were seen in the ED between 1 January 2008 and 31 May 2008 were eligible for our research. We designed a cross-sectional descriptive study and retrieved information from a randomized sample of all consecutive patient charts seen during this period using a 40-point questionnaire (see Appendix 1). Results: We investigated 2,446 charts, of which 2,134 were suitable for our research The majority (88.2%) of these patients were self-referred. In our sample, 24.1% were children under 12 years old. Almost 20% of patients had a serious pathological condition or were physiologically unstable; 36.0% of all presentations were trauma related. Besides trauma-related problems, gastrointestinal- (21.9%) and respiratory tract- (12.4%) related problems were most common in the ED; 16.5% of the patients were admitted to a ward. Conclusion: This descriptive epidemiological study provides necessary data that will be used for further needs assessments and for future EM development in Paarl, and can be used as a template in other EDs and hospitals to provide similar data necessary for initial EM development strategy

Spatial interference of coherent atomic waves by manipulation of the internal quantum state

A trapped 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensate is initially put into a superposition of two internal states. Under the effect of gravity and by means of a second transition, we prepare two vertically displaced condensates in the same internal state. These constitute two coherent sources of matter waves with adjustable spatial separation. Fringe patterns, observed after free expansion, are associated with the interplay between internal and external degrees of freedom and substantially agree with those for a double slit experiment

Synthesis of new chiral organosulfur donors with hydrogen bonding functionality and their first charge transfer salts

The syntheses of a range of enantiopure organosulfur donors with hydrogen bonding groups are described including TTF related materials with two, four, six and eight hydroxyl groups and multiple stereogenic centres and a pair of chiral N-substituted BEDT-TTF acetamides. Three charge transfer salts of enantiopure poly-hydroxy-substituted donors are reported, including a 4:1 salt with the meso stereoisomer of the dinuclear [Fe2(oxalate)5 ]4- anion in which both cation and anion have chiral components linked together by hydrogen bonding, and a semiconducting salt with triiodide

Pasts and pagan practices: moving beyond Stonehenge

Theorizing the past is not restricted to archaeology and interpretations of 'past' both influence and are themselves constituted within politicized understandings of self, community and in certain instances, spirituality. 'The past in the imagination of the present' is appropriated, variously, to give meaning to the present or to justify actions and interpret experiences. Summer solstice at Stonehenge, with an estimated 21,000 celebrants in 2005, is only the most publicized appropriation (by pagans and other adherents of alternative spirituality and partying) of a 'sacred site'; and conflicts and negotiations occurring throughout Britain are represented in popular and academic presentations of this 'icon of Britishness'. This paper presents work from the Sacred Sites, Contested Rites/Rights Project (http://www.sacredsites.org.uk) project, a collaboration of archaeology and anthropology informed by pagan and alternative approaches and standpoints investigating and theorizing discourse and practice of heritage management and pagan site users. Whether in negotiations around the Stonehenge solstice access or in dealing with numerous other sites, boundaries between groups or discourses are not clearly drawn - discursive communities merge and re-emerge. But clearly 'past' and 'site' are increasingly important within today's Britain, even as television archaeology increases its following, and pagan numbers continue to grow.</p