2,306 research outputs found
Design principles of hardware-based phong shading and bump-mapping
The VISA+ hardware architecture is the first of a new generation of graphics accelerators designed primarily to render bump-, texture-, environment- and environment-bump-mapped polygons. This paper presents examples of the main graphical capabilities and discusses methods and simplifications used to create high quality images. One of the key concepts in the VISA+ design, the use of reflectance cubes, is predestined for environment mapping. In combination with bump- and texture-mapping it shows the strength of our new architecture. Furthermore it justifies some of the decisions made during simulation and development of the complex VISA+ architecture
Single aggressive interactions increase urinary glucocorticoid levels in wild male chimpanzees
Financial support was provided by British Academy [http://www.britac.ac.uk/] (CC), Leakey Foundation [http://www.leakeyfoundation.org/] (CC, RMW, TD), Leverhulm Trust [http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/] (KZ), Max Planck Society [http://www.eva.mpg.de/] (AW, CC, RMW, TD) and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland [http://www.rzss.org.uk/], in providing core funding for Budongo Conservation Field Station. This project has received additional funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program for research, technological development and demonstration [http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/index_en.cfm] under grant agreement no 283871.A basic premise in behavioural ecology is the cost-benefit arithmetic, which determines both behavioural decisions and evolutionary processes. Aggressive interactions can be costly on an energetic level, demanding increased energy or causing injuries, and on a psychological level, in the form of increased anxiety and damaged relationships between opponents. Here we used urinary glucocorticoid (uGC) levels to assess the costs of aggression in wild chimpanzees of Budongo Forest, Uganda. We collected 169 urine samples from nine adult male chimpanzees following 14 aggressive interactions (test condition) and 10 resting events (control condition). Subjects showed significantly higher uGC levels after single aggressive interactions compared to control conditions, likely for aggressors as well as victims. Higher ranking males had greater increases of uGC levels after aggression than lower ranking males. In contrast, uGC levels showed no significant change in relation to aggression length or intensity, indicating that psychological factors might have played a larger role than mere energetic expenditure. We concluded that aggressive behaviour is costly for both aggressors and victims and that costs seem poorly explained by energetic demands of the interaction. Our findings are relevant for studies of post-conflict interactions, since we provide evidence that both aggressors and victims experience a stress response to conflict.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Oenothera-Arten auf Industriebrachen im westfälischen Ruhrgebiet
During a botanical inventory of ten abandoned industrial sites in the Ruhr area, a total of seven Oenotheratribes were demonstrate
Infinite coupling duals of N=2 gauge theories and new rank 1 superconformal field theories
We show that a proposed duality [arXiv:0711.0054] between infinitely coupled
gauge theories and superconformal field theories (SCFTs) with weakly gauged
flavor groups predicts the existence of new rank 1 SCFTs. These superconformal
fixed point theories have the same Coulomb branch singularities as the rank 1
E_6, E_7, and E_8 SCFTs, but have smaller flavor symmetry algebras and
different central charges. Gauging various subalgebras of the flavor algebras
of these rank 1 SCFTs provides many examples of infinite-coupling dualities,
satisfying an intricate set of consistency checks. They also provide examples
of N=2 conformal theories with marginal couplings but no weak-coupling limits.Comment: 12 page
Quenching Effects in the Hadron Spectrum
Lattice QCD has generated a wealth of data in hadronic physics over the last
two decades. Until relatively recently, most of this information has been
within the "quenched approximation" where virtual quark--anti-quark pairs are
neglected. This review presents a descriptive discussion of the effects of
removing this approximation in the calculation of hadronic masses.Comment: To appear in "Lattice Hadron Physics", ed. A.C. Kalloniatis, D.B.
Leinweber and A.G. William
Benchmarking computer platforms for lattice QCD applications
We define a benchmark suite for lattice QCD and report on benchmark results
from several computer platforms. The platforms considered are apeNEXT, CRAY
T3E, Hitachi SR8000, IBM p690, PC-Clusters, and QCDOC.Comment: 3 pages, Lattice03, machines and algorithm
Small mirrors do the trick: A simple, but effective method to study mirror self-recognition in chimpanzees
Mirror self-recognition (MSR) is considered an indicator of self-awareness. Standardized mirror tests reveal compelling evidence for MSR in a few non-human species, including all great apes. However, substantial inter-individual variation of MSR within species resulted in an ongoing methodological controversy, questioning the appropriateness of standard MSR tests for cross-species comparisons. Lack of motivation, in particular, is discussed as one possible cause for false negative results. Here, we compare the spontaneous behavioral response of 47 zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to (i) standard body-sized, stationary mirrors and (ii) small, portable hand mirrors. We predicted that the monopolizability and maneuverability of small mirrors increase the chances of identifying MSR across a larger proportion of individuals. Chimpanzees both revealed a substantially higher frequency of general mirror-related behaviors and engaged in significantly more and longer behaviors specifically indicating MSR when provided with small mirrors compared to a large mirror. Handheld mirrors provide a more sensitive measure for MSR within and likely between primate species than the traditional large mirrors, and thereby are a potentially valuable tool for studying self-awareness across species
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