3,036 research outputs found
Measuring temporal patterns in ecology : The case of mast seeding
Properly assessing temporal patterns is a central issue in ecology in order to understand ecosystem processes and their mechanisms. Mast seeding has traditionally been described as a reproductive behavior consisting of highly variable and synchronized reproductive events. The most common metric used to measure temporal variability and thus infer masting behavior, the coefficient of variation (CV), however, has been repeatedly suggested to improperly estimate temporal variability. Biases of CV estimates are especially problematic for non-normally distributed data and/or data sets with a high number of zeros. Some recent studies have already adopted new metrics to measure temporal variability, but most continue to use CV. This controversy has started a strong debate about what metrics to use. We here summarize the problems of CV when assessing temporal variability, particularly across data sets containing a large number of zeros, and highlight the benefits of using other metrics of temporal variability, such as proportional variability (PV) and consecutive disparity (D). We also suggest a new way to look at reproductive behavior, by separating temporal variability from frequency of reproduction, to allow better comparison of data sets with different characteristics. We suggest future studies to properly describe the temporal patterns in fully scientific and measurable terms that do not lead to confusion, such as variability and frequency of reproduction, using robust and fully comparable metrics
On the void explanation of the Cold Spot
The integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) contribution induced on the cosmic microwave
background by the presence of a supervoid as the one detected by Szapudi et al.
(2015) is reviewed in this letter in order to check whether it could explain
the Cold Spot (CS) anomaly. Two different models, previously used for the same
purpose, are considered to describe the matter density profile of the void: a
top hat function and a compensated profile produced by a Gaussian potential.
The analysis shows that, even enabling ellipticity changes or different values
for the dark-energy equation of state parameter , the ISW contribution
due to the presence of the void does not reproduce the properties of the CS.
Finally, the probability of alignment between the void and the CS is also
questioned as an argument in favor of a physical connection between these two
phenomena
Exploring two-spin internal linear combinations for the recovery of the CMB polarization
We present a methodology to recover cosmic microwave background (CMB)
polarization in which the quantity is linearly combined at
different frequencies using complex coefficients. This is the most general
linear combination of the and Stokes parameters which preserves the
physical coherence of the residual contribution on the CMB estimation. The
approach is applied to the internal linear combination (ILC) and the internal
template fitting (ITF) methodologies. The variance of of the resulting map
is minimized to compute the coefficients of the linear combination. One of the
key aspects of this procedure is that it serves to account for a global
frequency-dependent shift of the polarization phase. Although in the standard
case, in which no global E-B transference depending on frequency is expected in
the foreground components, minimizing is
similar to minimizing and separately (as previous methodologies proceed), multiplying
and by different coefficients induces arbitrary changes in the
polarization angle and it does not preserve the coherence between the spinorial
components. The approach is tested on simulations, obtaining a similar residual
level with respect to the one obtained with other implementations of the ILC,
and perceiving the polarization rotation of a toy model with the frequency
dependence of the Faraday rotation.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
A hydrated ion model of [UO2]2+ in water: Structure, dynamics, and spectroscopy from classical molecular dynamics
A new ab initio interaction potential based on the hydrated ion concept has been developed to obtain
the structure, energetics, and dynamics of the hydration of uranyl in aqueous solution. It is the first
force field that explicitly parameterizes the interaction of the uranyl hydrate with bulk water molecules
to accurately define the second-shell behavior. The [UO2(H2O)5
]
2+
presents a first hydration shell
U–O average distance of 2.46 Å and a second hydration shell peak at 4.61 Å corresponding to 22
molecules using a coordination number definition based on a multisite solute cavity. The second
shell solvent molecules have longer mean residence times than those corresponding to the divalent
monatomic cations. The axial regions are relatively de-populated, lacking direct hydrogen bonding to
apical oxygens. Angle-solved radial distribution functions as well as the spatial distribution functions
show a strong anisotropy in the ion hydration. The [UO2(H2O)5
]
2+
solvent structure may be regarded
as a combination of a conventional second hydration shell in the equatorial and bridge regions, and
a clathrate-like low density region in the axial region. Translational diffusion coefficient, hydration
enthalpy, power spectra of the main vibrational modes, and the EXAFS spectrum simulated from
molecular dynamics trajectories agree fairly well with the experiment.Junta de AndalucÃa de España, Proyecto de Excelencia-P11-FQM 760
A general study of actinyl hydration by molecular dynamics simulations using ab initio force fields
A set of new ab initio force fields for aqueous [AnO2]
2+/+ (An = Np(VI,V), Pu(VI), Am(VI)) has been developed using the Hydrated Ion
(HI) model methodology previously used for [UO2]
2+. Except for the non-electrostatic contribution of the HI-bulk water interaction, the
interaction potentials are individually parameterized. Translational diffusion coefficients, hydration enthalpies, and vibrational normal mode
frequencies were calculated from the MD simulations. Physico-chemical properties satisfactorily agree with experiments validating the robustness of the force field strategy. The solvation dynamics and structure for all hexavalent actinoids are extremely similar and resemble our
previous analysis of the uranyl cation. This supports the idea of using the uranyl cation as a reference for the study of other minor actinyls. The
comparison between the NpO2+
2 and NpO+
2 hydration only provides significant differences in first and second shell distances and second-shell
mean residence times. We propose a single general view of the [AnO2]
2+/+ hydration structure: aqueous actinyls are amphiphilic anisotropic
solutes which are equatorially conventional spherically symmetric cations capped at the poles by clathrate-like water structures.Junta de AndalucÃa de España, Plan Andaluz de Investigación-FQM-28
Lift-off and blowoff of a diffusion flame between parallel streams of fuel and air
A numerical analysis is presented to describe the liftoff and blowoff of a diffusion flame in the mixing layer between two parallel streams of fuel (mainly methane diluted with nitrogen) and air emerging from porous walls. The analysis, which takes into account the effects of thermal expansion, assumes a one-step overall Arrhenius reaction, where the activation energy E is allowed to vary to reproduce the variations of the planar flame propagation velocity with the equivalence ratio. First, we describe the steady flame-front structure when stabilized close to the porous wall (attached flame regime). Then, we analyze the case where the flame front is located far away from the porous wall, at a distance xf′ such that, upstream of the flame front, the mixing layer has a self-similar structure (lifted flame regime). For steady lifted flames, the results, given here in the case when the fuel and air streams are injected with the same velocity, relate Uf′/SL, the front velocity (relative to the upstream flow) measured with the planar stoichiometric flame velocity, with the Damköhler number Dm=(δm/δL)2, based on the thickness, δm, of the nonreacting mixing layer at the flame-front position and the laminar flame thickness, δL. For large values of Dm, the results, presented here for a wide range of dilutions of the fuel stream, provide values of the front propagation velocity that are in good agreement with previous experimental results, yielding well-defined conditions for blowoff. The calculated flame-front velocity can also be used to describe the transient flame-front dynamics after ignition by an external energy source
Radial derivatives as a test of pre-Big-Bang events on the Planck data
Although the search for azimutal patterns in cosmological surveys is useful
to characterise some effects depending exclusively on an angular distance
within the standard model, they are considered as a key distinguishing feature
of some exotic scenarios, such as bubble collisions or conformal cyclic
cosmology (CCC). In particular, the CCC is a non-stardard framework which
predicts circular patterns on the CMB intensity fluctuations. Motivated by some
previous works which explore the presence of radial gradients, we apply a
methodology based on the radial derivatives to the latest release of
\textit{Planck} data. The new approach allows exhaustive studies to be
performed at all sky directions at a HEALPix resolution of . Specifically, two different analyses are performed focusing on weight
functions in both small (up to a -degree radius) and large scales. We
present a comparison between our results and those shown by An et al. (2017),
and An et al. (2018). In addition, a possible polarization counterpart of these
circular patterns is also analysed for the most promising case. Taking into
account the limitations to characterize the significance of the results,
including the possibility of suffering a look-elsewhere effect, no strong
evidence of the kind of circular patterns expected from CCC is found in the
\textit{Planck} data for either the small or the large scales.Comment: 8 figures, 4 table
Understanding electrosurgical unit perturbations in order to address hospital operating room electromagnetic compatibility
We analyze the radiated emissions from a low power electrosurgical unit (ESU). Measurements at a 3-meter distance are performed in order to find a suitable measurement setup intended to reproduce realistically the real working ESU behavior in a test lab. The broad-band and narrow-band characteristics of the perturbation are studied in order to address the other equipment immunity.Peer Reviewe
Case Study: Body Composition Changes Resulting from a Nutritional Intervention on a Professional Vegan Powerlifter
Powerlifting is a weight-class strength sport where achieving low fat mass (FM) and high fat-free mass (FFM) is desirable to improve performance. Recent studies have evaluated the nutritional considerations of different eating patterns, such as vegan diets (VD), in athlete populations. VD are a challenge for athletes who want to attain body composition changes. The aim of this case study is to report on the body composition changes and subjective feelings of a male professional vegan powerlifter following VD for six weeks. The body mass of the powerlifter decreased from 79.3 to 77.4 kg (2.39%). Along with this, FM decreased from 15.0 to 11.4 kg (24%). Conversely, FFM increased from 64.3 to 66.0 kg (2.64%). Moreover, the powerlifter communicated no subjective feelings of low energy availability during training sessions. The VD might compromise adherence in a nutritional intervention which aims to improve body composition due to the nutritional requirements for fat loss. Therefore, more appropriate health assessments, including blood and psychological tests, are required for professional athletes. This short-term VD intervention was satisfactory for improving body composition and no adverse outcomes were reported
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