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Larger Distances (larger + distance)
Selected AbstractsImportance of Interhabitat Gaps and Stepping-Stones for Lesser Woodcreepers (Xiphorhynchus fuscus) in the Atlantic Forest, BrazilBIOTROPICA, Issue 3 2008Danilo Boscolo ABSTRACT Translocation experiments showed that a woodcreeper bird species is able to move between isolated forest fragments, but this ability is limited by increasing interpatch distances. Larger distances (> 100 m) were overcome by using small stepping-stones (isolated trees), which enhance connectivity and are useful for the species conservation in fragmented landscapes. RESUMO Experimentos de translocação demonstraram que uma espécie de arapaçu é capaz de mover-se entre fragmentos florestais, mas essa habilidade é limitada por seu isolamento. Distâncias maiores que 100 m foram vencidas com o uso de árvores isoladas, as quais aumentam a conectividade e são úteis para a conservação dessa espécie em paisagens fragmentadas. [source] Periodic TiO2 Nanorod Arrays with Hexagonal Nonclose-Packed Arrangements: Excellent Field Emitters by Parameter OptimizationADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 15 2009Yue Li Abstract Periodic TiO2 nanorod arrays with hexagonal nonclose-packed (hncp) arrangements are synthesized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using polystyrene colloidal monolayers as templates and with subsequent annealing in air. The hncp-array formation is governed by in situ volume shrinkage of amorphous TiO2 nanorods in the crystallizing process during annealing. The array periodicity can easily be tuned by different sphere sizes of the colloidal template, whereas the distance between neighboring nanorods can be controlled by altering the background gas pressure during the PLD process, at a given periodicity for the nanorod array. Parameter-controlled growth is helpful for investigating and optimizing the parameter-dependent field-emission properties. The hncp nanorod array exhibits an enhanced field-emission (FE) performance compared to both particle films and nanorod arrays with top aggregation. With an increase in periodicity of a hncp nanorod array, the field-enhancement factor decreases and the turn-on FE field increases. FE characteristics can be further enhanced by increasing the distance between adjacent nanorods while maintaining the same periodicity. The parameter-optimized results suggest that the arrays with a smaller periodicity and a larger distance display the best FE performance and could be highly valuable for designing field-emission devices based on these periodic nanorod arrays. [source] Transfer of hydrocarbons from natural seeps to the water column and atmosphereGEOFLUIDS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2002I. R. MacDonald Abstract Results from surface geochemical prospecting, seismic exploration and satellite remote sensing have documented oil and gas seeps in marine basins around the world. Seeps are a dynamic component of the carbon cycle and can be important indicators for economically significant hydrocarbon deposits. The northern Gulf of Mexico contains hundreds of active seeps that can be studied experimentally with the use of submarines and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV). Hydrocarbon flux through surface sediments profoundly alters benthic ecology and seafloor geology at seeps. In water depths of 500,2000 m, rapid gas flux results in shallow, metastable deposits of gas hydrate, which reduce sediment porosity and affect seepage rates. This paper details the processes that occur during the final, brief transition , as oil and gas escape from the seafloor, rise through the water and dissolve, are consumed by microbial processes, or disperse into the atmosphere. The geology of the upper sediment column determines whether discharge is rapid and episodic, as occurs in mud volcanoes, or more gradual and steady, as occurs where the seep orifice is plugged with gas hydrate. In both cases, seep oil and gas appear to rise through the water in close proximity instead of separating. Chemical alteration of the oil is relatively minor during transit through the water column, but once at the sea surface its more volatile components rapidly evaporate. Gas bubbles rapidly dissolve as they rise, although observations suggest that oil coatings on the bubbles inhibit dissolution. At the sea surface, the floating oil forms slicks, detectable by remote sensing, whose origins are laterally within ,1000 m of the seafloor vent. This contradicts the much larger distance predicted if oil drops rise through a 500 m water column at an expected rate of ,0.01 m s,1 while subjected to lateral currents of ,0.2 m s,1 or greater. It indicates that oil rises with the gas bubbles at speeds of ,0.15 m s,1 all the way to the surface. [source] Barotropic instability in the tropical cyclone outer regionTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 641 2009Jiayi Peng Abstract The growth of asymmetric perturbations and their interactions with the symmetric flow are investigated for wind profiles in a tropical cyclone with instability in its outer region. Three tangential wind profiles are examined: TC1, a strong barotropic instability profile in the outer region; TC2, a stable wind profile; and TC3, a weaker instability profile comparing to TC1 with a larger distance between the inner negative and the outer positive vorticity gradient centres. An eigenvalue analysis indicates that azimuthal wave-number two is the most unstable mode in both TC1 and TC3, with an e-folding time-scale of about 1 and 9 days, respectively. Numerical simulations using a linear barotropic model, with an initial asymmetry specified in the outer region, confirm the eigenvalue analysis. A mechanism is provided to explain the difference between simulations in TC1 and TC2. In both the stable and unstable case, an inner asymmetry is induced by the initial outer asymmetry acting on the symmetric vorticity gradient. Subsequently, the newly generated inner asymmetry feeds back positively to the outer asymmetry with the unstable profile. Because of this positive feedback, the inner and the outer asymmetries maintain an up-shear phase tilting, leading to a continuous energy transfer from the symmetric flow to the asymmetric perturbation. In the stable TC2, the inner asymmetry could not amplify the outer initial asymmetry as there is no basic-state radial vorticity gradient there. Also due to this feedback process, disturbances grow faster where the (absolute) basic-state vorticity gradients are large. Therefore, the position of an initial disturbance plays a minor role in determining the outcome of the system. Simulations with a nonlinear barotropic model and a primitive equation model further confirm the significant weakening of the maximum tangential wind due to the positive feedback process in TC1. Simulations for TC3 show a smaller change of the symmetric tangential wind, as expected. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Patterns of spatial autocorrelation of assemblages of birds, floristics, physiognomy, and primary productivity in the central Great Basin, USADIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 3 2006Erica Fleishman ABSTRACT We fitted spatial autocorrelation functions to distance-based data for assemblages of birds and for three attributes of birds' habitats at 140 locations, separated by up to 65 km, in the Great Basin (Nevada, USA). The three habitat characteristics were taxonomic composition of the vegetation, physical structure of the vegetation, and a measure of primary productivity, the normalized difference vegetation index, estimated from satellite imagery. We found that a spherical model was the best fit to data for avifaunal composition, vegetation composition, and primary productivity, but the distance at which spatial correlation effectively was zero differed substantially among data sets (c. 30 km for birds, 20 km for vegetation composition, and 60 km for primary productivity). A power-law function was the best fit to data for vegetation structure, indicating that the structure of vegetation differed by similar amounts irrespective of distance between locations (up to the maximum distance measured). Our results suggested that the spatial structure of bird assemblages is more similar to vegetation composition than to either vegetation structure or primary productivity, but is autocorrelated over larger distances. We believe that the greater mobility of birds compared with plants may be responsible for this difference. [source] Spatial correlation patterns in coastal environmental variables and survival rates of salmon in the north-east Pacific OceanFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2002Franz J. Mueter We examined spatial correlations for three coastal variables [upwelling index, sea surface temperature (SST), and sea surface salinity (SSS)] that might affect juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) during their early marine life. Observed correlation patterns in environmental variables were compared with those in survival rates of pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), and sockeye (O. nerka) salmon stocks to help identify appropriate variables to include in models of salmon productivity. Both the upwelling index and coastal SST were characterized by strong positive correlations at short distances, which declined slowly with distance in the winter months, but much more rapidly in the summer. The SSS had much weaker and more variable correlations at all distances throughout the year. The distance at which stations were no longer correlated (spatial decorrelation scale) was largest for the upwelling index (> 1000 km), intermediate for SST (400,800 km in summer), and shortest for SSS (< 400 km). Survival rate indices of salmon showed moderate positive correlations among adjacent stocks that decreased to zero at larger distances. Spatial decorrelation scales ranged from approximately 500 km for sockeye salmon to approximately 1000 km for chum salmon. We conclude that variability in the coastal marine environment during summer, as well as variability in salmon survival rates, are dominated by regional scale variability of several hundred to 1000 km. The correlation scale for SST in the summer most closely matched the observed correlation scales for survival rates of salmon, suggesting that regional-scale variations in coastal SST can help explain the observed regional-scale covariation in survival rates among salmon stocks. [source] Effects of climate on population fluctuations of ibexGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2008VIDAR GRØTAN Abstract Predicting the effects of the expected changes in climate on the dynamics of populations require that critical periods for climate-induced changes in population size are identified. Based on time series analyses of 26 Swiss ibex (Capra ibex) populations, we show that variation in winter climate affected the annual changes in population size of most of the populations after accounting for the effects of density dependence and demographic stochasticity. In addition, precipitation during early summer also influenced the population fluctuations. This suggests that the major influences of climate on ibex population dynamics operated either through loss of individuals during winter or early summer, or through an effect on fecundity. However, spatial covariation in these climate variables was not able to synchronize the population fluctuations of ibex over larger distances, probably due to large spatial heterogeneity in the effects of single climate variables on different populations. Such spatial variation in the influence of the same climate variable on the local population dynamics suggests that predictions of influences of climate change need to account for local differences in population dynamical responses to climatic conditions. [source] Computational Interpretation of Vibrational Optical Activity: The ROA Spectra of (4S)-4-Methylisochromane and the (4S)-Isomers of Galaxolide®HELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA, Issue 9 2004Gérard Zuber The reliable computation of Raman- optical-activity (ROA) spectra of molecules of the size of the title compounds has, until now, not been possible. We show that our rarefied basis sets yield results in good agreement with the experimental data for (4S)-4-methylisochromane (=(4S)-3,4-dihydro-4-methyl-1H -2-benzopyran; 1), provided the equilibrium between the pseudo -equatorial and the pseudo -axial conformers is taken into account. Comparison between the measured and the computed ROA back-scattering spectra allows the unequivocal assignment of the absolute configuration of the molecule. Comparison with more-approximate calculations for the larger (4S)-isomers of Galaxolide® (2), which contain the (4S)-4-methylisochromane moiety, shows large-scale group frequencies on the same chiral fragments of the two molecules. The data confirm that ROA can be generated by interactions extending over several bonds, i.e., over larger distances than can be probed by NMR spectroscopy. Thus, the absolute configuration at C(7) of Galaxolide® is assignable independently of that at C(4). The computation of ROA for forward-scattering, which will soon be measurable for Galaxolide®, suggests that this scattering geometry provides additional stereochemical information that will be valuable in situations where absolute configurations at several stereogenic centers have to be assigned. [source] Space use of the spotted sand lizard (Pedioplanis l. lineoocellata) under different degradation statesAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Bernd Wasiolka Abstract Although the effects of grazing-induced savannah degradation on animal diversity are well documented, knowledge of how they affect space use or responding behaviour remains poor. In this study, we analysed space use of the spotted sand lizard (Pedioplanis l. lineoocellata) in degraded versus nondegraded habitats of southern Kalahari savannah habitats. Lizards were radio tracked, daily movement distances recorded and home range sizes calculated. In degraded Kalahari savannah habitats where plant diversity and perennial grass cover are low but shrub cover high, P. lineoocellata moves larger distances (40.88 ± 6.42 m versus 27.43 ± 5.08 m) and occupies larger home ranges (646.64 ± 244.84 m2 versus 209.15 ± 109.84 m2) than in nondegraded habitats (high plant diversity, high perennial grass cover and low shrub cover). We assume that this increase in daily movement distances and home range sizes is a behavioural plasticity to limited food resources in degraded savannah habitats. Although P. lineoocellata is able to adjust to resource-poor savannah habitats, the increase in the lizard's movement activities is likely to result in a higher predation risk. This is supported by the lower availability of protective vegetation i.e. perennial grass cover. Hence, we conclude that despite behavioural plasticity of P. lineoocellata, overgrazing has a severe negative impact on the space use of P. lineoocellata. Résumé Bien que les effets de la dégradation de la savane due au pâturage sur la diversité animale soient bien documentés, on sait toujours peu de choses sur la façon dont ils affectent l'utilisation de l'espace ou les comportements de réponse. Dans cette étude, nous avons analysé l'utilisation de l'espace du lézard des sables tachetéPedioplanis l. lineoocellata, dans des habitats de savane dégradés ou non du sud du Kalahari. Des lézards furent suivis par radio, les distances parcourues par jour furent enregistrées, et l'on a calculé la taille des domaines vitaux. Dans les habitats de savane dégradés du Kalahari, où la diversité végétale et la couverture herbacée pérenne sont faibles mais la couverture arbustive élevée, Pedioplanis lineoocellata couvre de plus grandes distances (40.88 ± 6.42 m versus 27.43 ± 5.08 m) et occupe de plus vastes domaines vitaux (646.64 ± 244.84 m² versus 209.15 ± 109.84 m²) que dans les habitats non dégradés (grande diversité végétale, forte couverture herbacée pérenne et faible couverture arbustive). Nous supposons que cette augmentation de la distance parcourue chaque jour et de la taille des domaines vitaux est le résultat d'une plasticité comportementale face à des ressources alimentaires limitées dans les habitats dégradés de savane. Bien que P. lineoocellata soit capable de s'adapter à des habitats de savane pauvres en ressources, l'augmentation des déplacements du lézard est susceptible d'entraîner un plus grand risque de prédation. Cette hypothèse est confortée par la faible disponibilité de végétation protectrice, c.-à-d. d'une couverture herbacée pérenne. Dès lors, nous concluons que, malgré la plasticité comportementale de P. lineoocellata, le surpâturage a un effet négatif sévère sur son utilisation de l'espace. [source] MRI of the pelvic ring joints postpartum: Normal and pathological findingsJOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, Issue 3 2002Susanne Wurdinger MD Abstract Purpose To assess the joints of the pelvic ring postpartum and to discern normal postpartum findings and pathologic lesions using MRI. Materials and Methods MR images were obtained in six women with severe pelvic ring pain after delivery, in 13 women after uncomplicated vaginal delivery, and in 11 healthy, nulliparous non-pregnant volunteers. Distances of the pubic gap, signal intensities of the pubic cartilage, and signal changes of the pelvic ring bones were determined and evaluated. Results Both postpartum groups had significantly larger distances of the interpubic gap compared to the nulliparous group (P = 0.0002). The mean signal intensity of cartilage of the symphysis pubis was significantly different on the T1-weighted and T2-weighted MR images in postpartum women compared to nulliparous women (P = 0.001), indicating a higher water content of the pubic cartilage. 13 of all 19 postpartum women had bruises of parasymphyseal pubic bones. One pubic symphysis rupture and one sacral stress fracture were detected in two symptomatic women. Conclusion MR imaging is a useful adjunct to clinical examination to identify patients with lesions of the pelvic ring postpartum. MRI of the pelvic ring of asymptomatic postpartum women can demonstrate signal changes of the pubic cartilage and small bruises of the pubic bones. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2002;15:324,329. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Phantom measurements and computed estimates of breast dose with radiotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma: Dose reduction with the use of the involved field,JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 4 2008A Wirth Summary The risk of breast cancer following radiotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma appears to be dose related. In this study we compared breast dose in an anthropomorphic phantom for conventional ,mantle'; upper mediastinal/bilateral neck (minimantle) and unilateral neck fields, and evaluated the accuracy of computer planned dose estimates for out-of-field doses. For each field, computer-planned breast dose (CPD) estimates were compared with thermoluminescence dosimetry measurements in five locations within ,breast tissue'. CPD were also compared with ion chamber measurements in a slab phantom. Measured dose and CPD were within 20% of each other up to approximately 10 cm from the field edge. Beyond 10 cm, the CPD underestimated dose by a factor of 2 or more. The mini-mantle reduced the breast dose by a factor of approximately 10 compared with the mantle treatment. Treating the neck field lowered the breast dose by a further 50% or more. Modern involved-field radiotherapy for lymphoma substantially reduces breast dose compared with mantle fields. Computer dosimetery underestimated dose at larger distances from the field. This needs to be considered if computer dosimetery is used to estimate breast dose and, by extrapolation, breast cancer risk. [source] The stellar population content of the thick disc and halo of the Milky Way analogue NGC 891MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2009M. Rejkuba ABSTRACT We present deep VI images obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope, covering three fields in the north-east side of the edge-on disc galaxy NGC 891. The observed fields span a wide range of galactocentric distances along the eastern minor axis, extending from the plane of the disc to 12 kpc, and out to ,25 kpc along the major axis. The photometry of individual stars reaches ,2.5 mag below the tip of the red giant branch. We use the astrophotometric catalogue to probe the stellar content and metallicity distribution across the thick disc and spheroid of NGC 891. The colour,magnitude diagrams of thick disc and spheroid population are dominated by old red giant branch stars with a wide range of metallicities, from the sparsely populated metal-poor tail at [Fe/H],,2.4 dex, up to about half-solar metallicity. The peak of the metallicity distribution function of the thick disc is at ,0.9 dex. The inner parts of the thick disc, within ,14 kpc along the major axis show no vertical colour/metallicity gradient. In the outer parts, a mild vertical gradient of ,(V,I)0/,|Z| = 0.1 ± 0.05 kpc,1 or less than 0.1 dex kpc,1 is detected, with bluer colours or more metal-poor stars at larger distances from the plane. This gradient is, however, accounted for by the mixing with the metal-poor halo stars. No metallicity gradient along the major axis is present for thick-disc stars, but strong variations of about 0.35 dex around the mean of [Fe/H]=,1.13 dex are found. The properties of the asymmetric metallicity distribution functions of the thick-disc stars show no significant changes in both the radial and the vertical directions. The stellar populations situated within the solar-cylinder-like distances show strikingly different properties from those of the Galaxy populating similar distances. This suggests that the accretion histories of both galaxies have been different. The spheroid population, composed of the inner spheroid and the halo, shows remarkably uniform stellar population properties. The median metallicity of the halo stellar population shows a shallow gradient from about ,1.15 dex in the inner parts to ,1.27 dex at 24 kpc distance from the centre, corresponding to ,13reff. Similar to the thick-disc stars, large variations around the mean relation are present. [source] Spray Characteristics of Two-phase Feed NozzlesTHE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2003Siva Ariyapadi Abstract The present study focuses on understanding the spray characteristics of a turbulent gas-liquid jet (Reliq = 24,000). Air and water are used as the test fluids. The angles of injection of the two phases upstream of the nozzle are varied (, = 20°, 45° and 90°) and the effect of carrier gas on the droplet characteristics is are also investigated. The droplet size and velocity are non-intrusively measured using a Phase-Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA). In some respects, the characteristics of the present two-phase jet are similar to those noticed in previous studies, while revealing some important differences. The centreline mean droplet velocities (15 , 20 m/s) increase in the initial region of the jet, attain a maximum and then decrease at larger distances from the nozzle exit. Most of the entrainment occurs at the tip of the nozzle and the jet expansion rate decreases significantly at distances where the spray velocity profiles become self-similar. A Lorentz-type fit has been used to model the normalized radial velocity profiles. The results indicate that the test configuration with , = 45° may be beneficial for the scenario discussed. La présente étude vise à comprendre les caractéristiques d'une atomisation produite par un orifice d'alimentation biphasique. L'air et l'eau constituent les fluidesd'essai. Le mode d'injection des deux phases et l'effet du gaz porteur sur les caractéristiques de l'atomisation sont étudiés. La taille et la vitesse des gouttelettes sont mesurées de façon non intrusive à l'aide d'un analyseur de particules phases-doppler (PDPA). À certains égards, les caractéristiques du présent jet chargé en gouttelettes sont similaires à celles notées dans des études antérieures, tout en révélant quelques différences importantes. Les vitesses de gouttelettes moyennes le long de l'axe central augmentent dans la région initiale du jet, atteignent un maximum puis diminuent à des distances plus éloignées de la sortie de l'orifice. La majeure partie de l'entraînement survient à l'extrémité de l'orifice et la vitesse d'expansion du jet diminue de manière significative à des distances où les profils de vitesse de jet deviennent auto-semblables. On présente un modèle empirique simple pour représenter les profils de vitesse normalisés. [source] Toru, 6-cm polarimetry of the MilkyWayASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 5-6 2006S. Ry Abstract We present first results of a radio continuum and polarization survey of the Milky Way at 4.7 GHz carried out with the 32-m radio telescope in Toru,. The survey is much less affected by depolarization effects than previous measurements at lower frequencies. This enables the study of magnetic field structure and its interrelations with particular features in the interstellar medium to much larger distances from the Sun. Our preliminary total power map shows a good association of radio features with galactic star-forming regions while the polarization data reveal an increasing coherence of magnetic fields away from the Galaxy's mid-plane. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Spatial distribution of communal nests in a colonial breeding bird: benefits without costs?AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2008URS CHRISTIAN GIEßELMANN Abstract The spatial organization of individuals, or groups of individuals, within a population can provide valuable information about social organization and population dynamics. We analysed the spatial distribution of nests of the sociable weaver (Philetairus socius) on two farms in the Kalahari. Sociable weavers build large communal nests on big savannah trees, forming a pattern of trees with and without nests. We used two spatial statistics, Ripley's K and the pair correlation function, to describe characteristics of the point patterns over a range of distances. (i) At distances of 200 and 300 m, communal nests were clustered. (ii) At distances greater than 1000 m, communal nests were regularly distributed. These findings are independent of the spatial distribution of trees. Furthermore, we used Moran's I to analyse spatial autocorrelation of nest sizes. We expected negative autocorrelation because of competition between nests. But on both farms there was no significant autocorrelation of nest sizes for any distance class. The regular distribution observed at larger distances may indicate competition and/or territoriality among different nests, but the lack of spatial autocorrelation between nest sizes suggests that these interactions may happen between nest clusters rather than between single nests. This was confirmed by significant clustering of nests on small scales. We thus suggest, that colonies of P. socius consist of several nests on adjacent trees forming a cluster of subcolonies. The question why sociable weavers establish subcolonies instead of adding more chambers to the natal nest, could not simply be answered by limitation of nesting space. We suggest a strategy to avoid costs due to increasing colony size. 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