Constant sign and nodal solutions for nonhomogeneous Robin boundary value problems with asymmetric reactions

We study a nonlinear, nonhomogeneous elliptic equation with an asymmetric reaction term depending on a positive parameter, coupled with Robin boundary conditions. Under appropriate hypotheses on both the leading differential operator and the reaction, we prove that, if the parameter is small enough, the problem admits at least four nontrivial solutions: two of such solutions are positive, one is negative, and one is sign-changing. Our approach is variational, based on critical point theory, Morse theory, and truncation techniques.Comment: 22 page

The interplay between aerobic metabolism and antipredator performance: vigilance is related to recovery rate after exercise

When attacked by a predator, fish respond with a sudden fast-start motion away from the threat. Although this anaerobically-powered swimming necessitates a recovery phase which is fueled aerobically, little is known about links between escape performance and aerobic traits such as aerobic scope (AS) or recovery time after exhaustive exercise. Slower recovery ability or a reduced AS could make some individuals less likely to engage in a fast-start response or display reduced performance. Conversely, increased vigilance in some individuals could permit faster responses to an attack but also increase energy demand and prolong recovery after anaerobic exercise. We examined how AS and the ability to recover from anaerobic exercise relates to differences in fast-start escape performance in juvenile golden gray mullet at different acclimation temperatures. Individuals were acclimated to either 18, 22, or 26°C, then measured for standard and maximal metabolic rates and AS using intermittent flow respirometry. Anaerobic capacity and the time taken to recover after exercise were also assessed. Each fish was also filmed during a simulated attack to determine response latency, maximum speed and acceleration, and turning rate displayed during the escape response. Across temperatures, individuals with shorter response latencies during a simulated attack are those with the longest recovery time after exhaustive anaerobic exercise. Because a short response latency implies high preparedness to escape, these results highlight the trade-off between the increased vigilance and metabolic demand, which leads to longer recovery times in fast reactors. These results improve our understanding of the intrinsic physiological traits that generate inter-individual variability in escape ability, and emphasize that a full appreciation of trade-offs associated with predator avoidance and energy balance must include energetic costs associated with vigilance and recovery from anaerobic exercise

The role of physiological traits in assortment among and within fish shoals

Individuals of gregarious species often group with conspecifics to which they are phenotypically similar. This among-group assortment has been studied for body size, sex and relatedness. However, the role of physiological traits has been largely overlooked. Here, we discuss mechanisms by which physiological traits—particularly those related to metabolism and locomotor performance—may result in phenotypic assortment not only among but also within animal groups. At the among-group level, varying combinations of passive assortment, active assortment, phenotypic plasticity and selective mortality may generate phenotypic differences among groups. Even within groups, however, individual variation in energy requirements, aerobic and anaerobic capacity, neurological lateralization and tolerance to environmental stressors are likely to produce differences in the spatial location of individuals or associations between group-mates with specific physiological phenotypes. Owing to the greater availability of empirical research, we focus on groups of fishes (i.e. shoals and schools). Increased knowledge of physiological mechanisms influencing among- and within-group assortment will enhance our understanding of fundamental concepts regarding optimal group size, predator avoidance, group cohesion, information transfer, life-history strategies and the evolutionary effects of group membership. In a broader perspective, predicting animal responses to environmental change will be impossible without a comprehensive understanding of the physiological basis of the formation and functioning of animal social groups. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals’

Blow-up time estimates in nonlocal reaction-diffusion systems under various boundary conditions

This paper deals with the question of blow-up of solutions to nonlocal reaction-diffusion systems under various boundary conditions. Specifically, conditions on data are introduced to avoid the blow-up of the solution, and when the blow-up occurs, explicit lower and upper bounds of blow-up time are derived

A note on a class of 4th order hyperbolic problems with weak and strong damping and superlinear source term

In this paper we study a initial-boundary value problem for 4th order hyperbolic equations with weak and strong damping terms and superlinear source term. For blow-up solutions a lower bound of the blow-up time is derived. Then we extend the results to a class of equations where a positive power of gradient term is introduced

Fish swimming in schools save energy regardless of their spatial position

For animals, being a member of a group provides various advantages, such as reduced vulnerability to predators, increased foraging opportunities and reduced energetic costs of locomotion. In moving groups such as fish schools, there are benefits of group membership for trailing individuals, who can reduce the cost of movement by exploiting the flow patterns generated by the individuals swimming ahead of them. However, whether positions relative to the closest neighbours (e.g. ahead, sided by side or behind) modulate the individual energetic cost of swimming is still unknown. Here, we addressed these questions in grey mullet Liza aurata by measuring tail-beat frequency and amplitude of 15 focal fish, swimming in separate schools, while swimming in isolation and in various positions relative to their closest neighbours, at three speeds. Our results demonstrate that, in a fish school, individuals in any position have reduced costs of swimming, compared to when they swim at the same speed but alone. Although fish swimming behind their neighbours save the most energy, even fish swimming ahead of their nearest neighbour were able to gain a net energetic benefit over swimming in isolation, including those swimming at the front of a school. Interestingly, this energetic saving was greatest at the lowest swimming speed measured in our study. Because any member of a school gains an energetic benefit compared to swimming alone, we suggest that the benefits of membership in moving groups may be more strongly linked to reducing the costs of locomotion than previously appreciated

Active nonrigid ICP algorithm

© 2015 IEEE.The problem of fitting a 3D facial model to a 3D mesh has received a lot of attention the past 15-20 years. The majority of the techniques fit a general model consisting of a simple parameterisable surface or a mean 3D facial shape. The drawback of this approach is that is rather difficult to describe the non-rigid aspect of the face using just a single facial model. One way to capture the 3D facial deformations is by means of a statistical 3D model of the face or its parts. This is particularly evident when we want to capture the deformations of the mouth region. Even though statistical models of face are generally applied for modelling facial intensity, there are few approaches that fit a statistical model of 3D faces. In this paper, in order to capture and describe the non-rigid nature of facial surfaces we build a part-based statistical model of the 3D facial surface and we combine it with non-rigid iterative closest point algorithms. We show that the proposed algorithm largely outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms for 3D face fitting and alignment especially when it comes to the description of the mouth region

Decay in chemotaxis systems with a logistic term

This paper is concerned with a general fully parabolic Keller-Segel system, defined in a convex bounded and smooth domain Ω of RN , for N ∈ {2, 3}, with coefficients depending on the chemical concentration, perturbed by a logistic source and endowed with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. For each space dimension, once a suitable energy function in terms of the solution is defined, we impose proper assumptions on the data and an exponential decay of such energies is established

Detection and quantification of Lyme spirochetes using sensitive and specific molecular beacon probes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lyme disease, caused by <it>Borrelia burgdorferi</it>, affects a large number of people in both the USA and Europe. The mouse is a natural host for this spirochete and is widely used as a model system to study Lyme pathogenesis mechanisms. Since disease manifestations often depend upon the spirochete burden in a particular tissue, it is critical to accurately measure the bacterial number in infected tissues. The current methods either lack sensitivity and specificity (SYBR Green), or require independent analysis of samples in parallel to quantitate host and bacterial DNA (TaqMan). We have developed a novel molecular beacon-based convenient multiplex real-time quantitative PCR assay to identify and detect small numbers of <it>B. burgdorferi </it>in infected mouse tissues.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show here that molecular beacons are effective, sensitive and specific probes for detecting and estimating wide-ranging numbers of <it>B. burgdorferi </it>in the presence of mouse DNA. In our assays, the spirochete <it>recA </it>and the mouse <it>nidogen </it>gene amplicons were detected simultaneously using molecular beacons labeled with different fluorophores. We further validated the application of these probes by quantifying the wild-type strain and <it>bgp</it>-defective mutant of <it>B. burgdorferi</it>. The <it>bgp</it>-defective mutant shows a ten-fold reduction in the level of spirochetes present in various tissues.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The high sensitivity and specificity of molecular beacons makes them superior probes for the detection of small numbers of <it>B. burgdorferi</it>. Furthermore, the use of molecular beacons can be expanded for the simultaneous detection and quantification of multiple pathogens in the infected hosts, including humans, and in the arthropod vectors.</p

The Role of Physiological Traits in Assortment Among and Within Fish Shoals

Individuals of gregarious species often group with conspecifics to which they are phenotypically similar. This among-group assortment has been studied for body size, sex and relatedness. However, the role of physiological traits has been largely overlooked. Here, we discuss mechanisms by which physiological traits—particularly those related to metabolism and locomotor performance—may result in phenotypic assortment not only among but also within animal groups. At the among-group level, varying combinations of passive assortment, active assortment, phenotypic plasticity and selective mortality may generate phenotypic differences among groups. Even within groups, however, individual variation in energy requirements, aerobic and anaerobic capacity, neurological lateralization and tolerance to environmental stressors are likely to produce differences in the spatial location of individuals or associations between group-mates with specific physiological phenotypes. Owing to the greater availability of empirical research, we focus on groups of fishes (i.e. shoals and schools). Increased knowledge of physiological mechanisms influencing among- and within-group assortment will enhance our understanding of fundamental concepts regarding optimal group size, predator avoidance, group cohesion, information transfer, life-history strategies and the evolutionary effects of group membership. In a broader perspective, predicting animal responses to environmental change will be impossible without a comprehensive understanding of the physiological basis of the formation and functioning of animal social groups