1,486 research outputs found
An analysis of the impact of the Gaia Theory on Ecology and Evolutionary Theory
This paper investigates the impact of ideas published within the Gaia theory (as set out by James Lovelock in 1979), on the study of Ecology and Evolutionary Theory. Developments within both disciplines have been influenced, and shaped by the Gaia theory and the paper discusses these. The development of the Daisyworld model, which highlighted for ecologists the importance of interactions within an ecosystem between the biota and the abiotic world, contributed to the understanding of biodiversity. The Gaia theory also predicted the causal link between increased biodiversity and increasing stability of populations. The Gaian influence on the development of Evolutionary theory can be found in the idea that life on earth works with the abiotic environment as a self-regulatory system. This idea became the foundation of Earth System Science. These developments have had a wider significance to the study and understanding of science in general. The theory has demonstrated the need for a new way of looking at the development and sustainability of life on earth
The transmission of nosocomial pathogens in an intensive care unit: a space–time clustering and structural equation modelling approach
We investigated the incidence of cases of nosocomial pathogens and risk factors in an intensive treatment unit ward to determine if the number of cases is dependent on location of patients and the colonization/infection history of the ward. A clustering approach method was developed to investigate the patterns of spread of cases through time for five microorganisms [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Acinetobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., Candida spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa] using hospital microbiological monitoring data and ward records of patient-bed use. Cases of colonization/infection by MRSA, Candida and Pseudomonas were clustered in beds and through time while cases of Klebsiella and Acinetobacter were not. We used structural equation modelling to analyse interacting risk factors and the potential pathways of transmission in the ward. Prior nurse contact with colonized/infected patients, mediated by the number of patient-bed movements, were important predictors for all cases, except for those of Pseudomonas. General health and invasive surgery were significant predictors of cases of Candida and Klebsiella. We suggest that isolation and bed movement as a strategy to manage MRSA infections is likely to impact upon the incidence of cases of other opportunist pathogen
A Tale of Maize, Palm, and Pine: Changing Socio-Ecological Interactions from Pre-Classic Maya to the Present Day in Belize
The environmental impact of the ancient Maya, and subsequent ecological recovery following the Terminal Classic decline, have been the key foci of research into socio-ecological interactions in the Yucatán peninsula. These foci, however, belie the complex pattern of resource exploitation and agriculture associated with post-Classic Maya societies and European colonisation. We present a high-resolution, 1200-year record of pollen and charcoal data from a 52-cm short core extracted from New River Lagoon, near to the European settlement of Indian Church, northern Belize. This study complements and extends a previous 3500-year reconstruction of past environmental change, located 1-km north of the new record and adjacent to the ancient Maya site of Lamanai. This current study shows a mixed crop production and palm agroforestry management strategy of the ancient Maya, which corroborates previous evidence at Lamanai. Comparison of the two records suggests that core agricultural and agroforestry activities shifted southwards, away from the centre of Lamanai, beginning at the post-Classic period. The new record also demonstrates that significant changes in land-use were not associated with drought at the Terminal Classic (ca. CE 1000) or the European Encounter (ca. CE 1500), but instead resulted from social and cultural change in the post-Classic period (CE 1200) and new economies associated with the British timber trade (CE 1680). The changes in land-use documented in two adjacent records from the New River Lagoon underline the need to reconstruct human–environment interactions using multiple, spatially, and temporally diverse records
Evidence for deceleration in the radio jets of GRS1915+105?
There is currently a clear discrepancy in the proper motions measured on
different angular scales in the approaching radio jets of the black hole X-ray
binary GRS1915+105. Lower velocities were measured with the Very Large Array
(VLA) prior to 1996 than were subsequently found from higher-resolution
observations made with the Very Long Baseline Array and the Multi-Element Radio
Linked Interferometer Network. We initiated an observing campaign to use all
three arrays to attempt to track the motion of the jet knots from the 2006
February outburst of the source, giving us unprecedented simultaneous coverage
of all angular scales, from milliarcsecond scales out to arcsecond scales. The
derived proper motion, which was dominated by the VLA measurements, was found
to be 17.0 mas per day, demonstrating that there has been no significant
permanent change in the properties of the jets since 1994. We find no
conclusive evidence for deceleration of the jet knots, unless this occurs
within 70 mas of the core. We discuss possible causes for the varying proper
motions recorded in the literature.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 13 pages, 10 figure
Variation in the spatial distribution of erector spinae activity during a lumbar endurance task in people with low back pain
© 2019 Anatomical Society This study aimed to investigate the spatial distribution and redistribution of lumbar erector spinae (ES) activity during a lumbar extension endurance task in pain-free participants and how this is modified in people with low back pain (LBP). High density surface electromyography (HDEMG) was recorded using 13 × 5 electrode grids placed over the lumbar ES in 13 LBP and 13 control participants while completing an Ito test to task failure. The root mean square of the HDEMG signals was computed, a topographical map of the EMG amplitude generated and the centre of the activity (centroid) determined throughout the task. The centroid of the EMG amplitude map was systematically more cranial (F = 6.09, P = 0.022) for the LBP participants compared with the control subjects. Regression analysis showed that the extent of redistribution of ES activity was associated with longer endurance. These results show that LBP participants utilised a different motor strategy to perform the endurance task, characterised by greater activation of more cranial regions of the ES and less redistribution of ES activity throughout the task. This study provides new insight into the functional activation of the lumbar ES and how it is modified when people have pain
First e-VLBI observations of GRS 1915+105
We present results from the first successful open call e-VLBI science run,
observing the X-ray binary GRS 1915+105. e-VLBI science allows the rapid
production of VLBI radio maps, within hours of an observation rather than
weeks, facilitating a decision for follow-up observations. A total of 6
telescopes observing at 5 GHz across the European VLBI Network (EVN) were
correlated in real time at the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE).
Constant data rates of 128 Mbps were transferred from each telescope, giving 4
TB of raw sampled data over the 12 hours of the whole experiment. Throughout
this, GRS 1915+105 was observed for a total of 5.5 hours, producing 2.8 GB of
visibilities of correlated data. A weak flare occurred during our observations,
and we detected a slightly resolved component of 2.7 x 1.2 milliarcsecond with
a position angle of 140 (+/-2) degrees. The peak brightness was 10.2 mJy per
beam, with a total integrated radio flux of 11.1 mJy.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS 4 pages, 3 figure
Solid-phase C60 in the peculiar binary XX Oph?
We present infrared spectra of the binary XX Oph obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The data show some evidence for the presence of solid C60– the first detection of C60 in the solid phase – together with the well-known ‘unidentified infrared’ emission features. We suggest that, in the case of XX Oph, the C60 is located close to the hot component, and that in general it is preferentially excited by stars having effective temperatures in the range 15 000–30 000 K. C60 may be common in circumstellar environments, but unnoticed in the absence of a suitable exciting source
SKA studies of nearby galaxies : star-formation, accretion processes and molecular gas across all environments
Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike LicenceThe SKA will be a transformational instrument in the study of our local Universe. In particular, by virtue of its high sensitivity (both to point sources and diffuse low surface brightness emission), angular resolution and the frequency ranges covered, the SKA will undertake a very wide range of astrophysical research in the field of nearby galaxies. By surveying vast numbers of nearby galaxies of all types with Jy sensitivity and sub-arcsecond angular resolutions at radio wavelengths, the SKA will provide the cornerstone of our understanding of star-formation and accretion activity in the local Universe. In this chapter we outline the key continuum and molecular line science areas where the SKA, both during phase-1 and when it becomes the full SKA, will have a significant scientific impact.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Incoherent transient radio emission from stellar-mass compact objects in the SKA era
The universal link between the processes of accretion and ejection leads to
the formation of jets and outflows around accreting compact objects. Incoherent
synchrotron emission from these outflows can be observed from a wide range of
accreting binaries, including black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs.
Monitoring the evolution of the radio emission during their sporadic outbursts
provides important insights into the launching of jets, and, when coupled with
the behaviour of the source at shorter wavelengths, probes the underlying
connection with the accretion process. Radio observations can also probe the
impact of jets/outflows (including other explosive events such as magnetar
giant flares) on the ambient medium, quantifying their kinetic feedback.
The high sensitivity of the SKA will open up new parameter space, enabling
the monitoring of accreting stellar-mass compact objects from their bright,
Eddington-limited outburst states down to the lowest-luminosity quiescent
levels, whose intrinsic faintness has to date precluded detailed studies. A
census of quiescently accreting black holes will also constrain binary
evolution processes. By enabling us to extend our existing investigations of
black hole jets to the fainter jets from neutron star and white dwarf systems,
the SKA will permit comparative studies to determine the role of the compact
object in jet formation. The high sensitivity, wide field of view and
multi-beaming capability of the SKA will enable the detection and monitoring of
all bright flaring transients in the observable local Universe, including the
ULXs, ...
[Abridged]
This chapter reviews the science goals outlined above, demonstrating the
progress that will be made by the SKA. We also discuss the potential of the
astrometric and imaging observations that would be possible should a
significant VLBI component be included in the SKA.Comment: To be published in: "Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre
Array", Proceedings of Science, PoS(AASKA14
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