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Spectral Parameters (spectral + parameter)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	28%
Chemistry	28%
Physics and Astronomy	23%
Life Sciences	9%

Selected Abstracts

Investigating the stimulus-dependent temporal dynamics of the BOLD signal using spectral methods

JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, Issue 3 2003
Karsten Müller PhD
Abstract Purpose To compare several spectral parameters using different durations of visual hemifield stimulation in order to explore the different temporal behavior of the blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) signal in various brain regions. Materials and Methods Spectral methods were applied to three different groups of subjects with visual stimulation lasting 6, 12, and 30 seconds. Furthermore, diffusion weighting was applied in an interleaved way. The core of the data processing was the computation of the spectral density matrix using the multidimensional weighted covariance estimate. Spectral parameters of coherence and phase shift were computed. Results The correlation between signal changes and phase shifts was dependent on the duration of the visual stimulation. The shorter the duration of visual stimulation, the stronger the correlation between percentage signal change and phase shift. Conclusion The experiments with short and long stimuli differed mainly in the distribution of the activated voxels in the plane of percentage signal change and phase shift. It was revealed that the height of the signal change depends on the phase shift, whereas the diffusion weighting has no influence. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2003;17:375,382. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Predicting the NMR spectra of nucleotides by DFT calculations: cyclic uridine monophosphate

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2008
Alessandro Bagno
Abstract We present an experimental and quantum chemical NMR study of the mononucleotide cyclic uridine monophosphate in water. Spectral parameters (1H and 13C chemical shifts and 1H1H, 13C1H, 31P13C and 31P1H spin-spin coupling constants) have been carefully obtained experimentally and calculated using DFT methods including the solvent effect and the conformational flexibility of the solute. This study confirms that the 1H and 13C spectra of polar, flexible molecules in aqueous solution can be predicted with a high level of accuracy, comparable to that obtained for less complex systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

1H MRS studies of signals from mobile lipids and from lipid metabolites: comparison of the behavior in cultured tumor cells and in spheroids

NMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 2 2004
Antonella Rosi
Abstract 1H magnetic resonance studies on MCF-7 and HeLa cells were undertaken to reveal differences in lipid and lipid metabolite signals during the growth in culture. High intensity mobile lipid (ML) signals were found during the first days in culture, while afterwards the same signals declined and started increasing again at confluence and at late confluence. At the same time, signals from the lipid metabolite phosphocholine decreased in intensity while signals from glycerophosphocholine in MCF-7 and from choline in HeLa increased as cells approached confluence. Spectral parameters from actively proliferating and non-proliferating cells were used to classify cells with respect to the proliferative conditions by means of a multivariate statistical analysis. Furthermore, it was shown that polyunsaturation of mobile lipid chains was lower in the confluent group with respect to the actively proliferating cells. The examination of spectra from suspensions of MCF-7 spheroids with diameter smaller than 500,,m suggests that cells in spheroids are in condition of lipid metabolism similar to that of confluent cultured cells. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The ice-fishing problem: the fundamental sloshing frequency versus geometry of holes

MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 3 2004
Vladimir Kozlov
Abstract We study an eignevalue problem with a spectral parameter in a boundary condition. This problem for the Laplace equation is relevant to sloshing frequencies that describe free oscillations of an inviscid, incompressible, heavy fluid in a half-space covered by a rigid dock with some apertures (an ice sheet with fishing holes). The dependence of the fundamental eigenvalue on holes' geometry is investigated. We give conditions on a plane region guaranteeing that the fundamental eigenvalue corresponding to this region is larger than the fundamental eigenvalue corresponding to a single circular hole. Examples of regions satisfying these conditions and having the same area as the unit disk are given. New results are also obtained for the problem with a single circular hole. On the other hand, we construct regions for which the fundamental eigenfrequency is larger than the similar frequency for the circular hole of the same area and even as large as one wishes. In the latter examples, the hole regions are either not connected or bounded by a rather complicated curves. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Asymptotic and spectral properties of operator-valued functions generated by aircraft wing model

MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 3 2004
A. V. Balakrishnan
Abstract The present paper is devoted to the asymptotic and spectral analysis of an aircraft wing model in a subsonic air flow. The model is governed by a system of two coupled integro-differential equations and a two parameter family of boundary conditions modelling the action of the self-straining actuators. The differential parts of the above equations form a coupled linear hyperbolic system; the integral parts are of the convolution type. The system of equations of motion is equivalent to a single operator evolution,convolution equation in the energy space. The Laplace transform of the solution of this equation can be represented in terms of the so-called generalized resolvent operator, which is an operator-valued function of the spectral parameter. More precisely, the generalized resolvent is a finite-meromorphic function on the complex plane having a branch-cut along the negative real semi-axis. Its poles are precisely the aeroelastic modes and the residues at these poles are the projectors on the generalized eigenspaces. The dynamics generator of the differential part of the system has been systematically studied in a series of works by the second author. This generator is a non-selfadjoint operator in the energy space with a purely discrete spectrum. In the aforementioned series of papers, it has been shown that the set of aeroelastic modes is asymptotically close to the spectrum of the dynamics generator, that this spectrum consists of two branches, and a precise spectral asymptotics with respect to the eigenvalue number has been derived. The asymptotical approximations for the mode shapes have also been obtained. It has also been proven that the set of the generalized eigenvectors of the dynamics generator forms a Riesz basis in the energy space. In the present paper, we consider the entire integro-differential system which governs the model. Namely, we investigate the properties of the integral convolution-type part of the original system. We show, in particular, that the set of poles of the adjoint generalized resolvent is asymptotically close to the discrete spectrum of the operator that is adjoint to the dynamics generator corresponding to the differential part. The results of this paper will be important for the reconstruction of the solution of the original initial boundary-value problem from its Laplace transform and for the analysis of the flutter phenomenon in the forthcoming work. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Spectroscopic properties of La3Ga5SiO14:Er3+ (1%) crystals

CRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 11 2006
Zeng M. Wang
Abstract Single crystals of Erbium (Er) doped La3Ga5SiO14 (LGS) have been grown along c-axis by using the Czochralski method. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of LGS: Er3+ single crystals have been measured and analyzed according to the Judd-Ofelt theory. When applied, the following spectral parameters have been obtained: intensity parameters ,t, ,2= 2.741674×10 -20cm2, ,4= 0.66934×10 -20 cm2 and ,6= 0.592591×10 -20 cm2, radiative transition probabilities AJ,J", PJ,J". The radiative lifetime of levels 4I13/2, 4H9/2, 4S3/2 are 11.333ms, 0.447ms and 0.704ms, respectively. The fluorescence branching ratios and the integrated emission cross sections are also calculated. The results suggest that LGS: Er crystals have potential applications as a laser material. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Effects of glucose ingestion on cardiac autonomic nervous system in healthy centenarians: differences with aged subjects

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, Issue 4 2000
Paolisso
Background Spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) investigates the cardiac autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. In particular, low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) is considered an index of cardiac sympatho-vagal balance and is stimulated by glucose ingestion in healthy subjects. No studies have evaluated the effect of glucose ingestion on cardiac ANS in centenarians. Materials and methods In 30 healthy centenarians (HC) and 25 aged subjects (AS) power spectral analysis of HRV was investigated during an oral glucose ingestion. Results Glucose ingestion rose LF/HF ratio in both groups studied. Such stimulatory effects were restrained to the first 60 min of the study. Independent of age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and fasting plasma norepinephrine and FT3 concentrations, HC had basal total power (1318 ± 546 vs. 1918 ± 818 msec2, P < 0.01), lower low frequency (LF) (33 ± 21 vs. 50 ± 11 n.u. , P < 0.03), and higher high frequency (HF) (74 ± 18 vs. 43 ± 15 n.u., P < 0.05) than AS. Consequently, LF/HF ratio (0.43 ± 0.07 vs. 0.91 ± 0.05, P < 0.02) was also lower in HC than in AS. In AS, but not in HC, the baseline LF/HF ratio correlated significantly with BMI (r = 0.48, P < 0.01), waist-hip-ratio (WHR) (r = 0.45, P < 0.02), fasting plasma insulin (r = 0.49, P < 0.01) and norepinephrine (r = 0.57, P < 0.02) concentration. Glucose ingestion was associated with a significant rise in LF/HF ratio in both groups studied but per cent changes in glucose mediated stimulation of LF/HF was lower in HC than in AS. In a control study, water administration did not affect power spectral parameters of HRV. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that basal- and glucose-stimulated LF/HF, an indirect index of cardiac sympatho-vagal balance, are lower in HC than in AS. [source]

FT-IR spectroscopy in diagnosis of diabetes in rat animal model

JOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS, Issue 8-9 2010
Feride Severcan
Abstract In recent years, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has had an increasingly important role in the field of pathology and diagnosis of disease states. In the current study, FT-IR spectroscopy together with cluster analysis were used as a diagnostic tool in the discrimination of diabetic samples from control ones in rat kidney plasma membrane apical sides (brush-border membranes), liver microsomal membranes and Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and Soleus (SOL) skeletal muscle tissues. A variety of alterations in the spectral parameters, such as frequency and signal intensity/area was observed in diabetic tissues and membranes compared to the control samples. Based on these spectral variations, using cluster analysis successful differentiation between diabetic and control groups was obtained in different spectral regions. The results of this current study further revealed the power and sensitivity of FT-IR spectroscopy in precise and automated diagnosis of diabetes. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Investigating the stimulus-dependent temporal dynamics of the BOLD signal using spectral methods

Prediction of the association state of insulin using spectral parameters

JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 4 2003
Vladimir N. Uversky
Abstract Human insulin exists in different association states, from monomer to hexamer, depending on the conditions. In the presence of zinc the "normal" state is a hexamer. The structural properties of 20 variants of human insulin were studied by near-UV circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The mutants showed different degrees of association (monomer, dimers, tetramers, and hexamers) at neutral pH. A correlation was shown between the accessibility of tyrosines to acrylamide quenching and the degree of association of the insulin mutants. The near-UV CD spectra of the insulins were affected by protein association and by mutation-induced structural perturbations. However, the shape and intensity of difference CD spectra, obtained by subtraction of the spectra measured in 20% acetic acid (where all insulin species were monomeric) from the corresponding spectra measured at neutral pH, correlate well with the degree of insulin association. In fact, the near-UV CD difference spectra for monomeric, dimeric, tetrameric, and hexameric insulin are very distinctive, both in terms of intensity and shape. The results show that the spectral properties of the insulins reflect their state of association, and can be used to predict their oligomeric state. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 92:847,858, 2003 [source]

Identification of New Zealand bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus and Mystacina tuberculata) in flight from analysis of echolocation calls by artificial neural networks

JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, Issue 4 2001
Stuart Parsons
Abstract Time-expanded and heterodyned echolocation calls of the New Zealand long-tailed Chalinolobus tuberculatus and lesser short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata were recorded and digitally analysed. Temporal and spectral parameters were measured from time-expanded calls and power spectra generated for both time-expanded and heterodyned calls. Artificial neural networks were trained to classify the calls of both species using temporal and spectral parameters and power spectra as input data. Networks were then tested using data not previously seen. Calls could be unambiguously identified using parameters and power spectra from time-expanded calls. A neural network, trained and tested using power spectra of calls from both species recorded using a heterodyne detector set to 40 kHz (the frequency with the most energy of the fundamental of C. tuberculatus call), could identify 99% and 84% of calls of C. tuberculatus and M. tuberculata, respectively. A second network, trained and tested using power spectra of calls from both species recorded using a heterodyne detector set to 27 kHz (the frequency with the most energy of the fundamental of M. tuberculata call), could identify 34% and 100% of calls of C. tuberculatus and M. tuberculata, respectively. This study represents the first use of neural networks for the identification of bats from their echolocation calls. It is also the first study to use power spectra of time-expanded and heterodyned calls for identification of chiropteran species. The ability of neural networks to identify bats from their echolocation calls is discussed, as is the ecology of both species in relation to the design of their echolocation calls. [source]

High-pressure NMR characterization of triacetyl-,-cyclodextrin in supercritical carbon dioxide

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2009
G. I. Ivanova
Abstract Cyclodextrins are used in many drug formulations since their cavities provide microenvironments where drug molecules can enter and form inclusion complexes for controlled drug delivery. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) is an alternative to organic solvents and a very attractive medium for the preparation of these inclusion complexes. The potential ability of triacetyl-,-cyclodextrin (TA-,-CD) to form inclusion complexes in addition to its high miscibility in liquid and scCO2 could offer a chance for an economical and environmental friendly chemical processing. In this work, high-pressure NMR studies were performed in order to obtain information on the molecular structure and dynamics of TA-,-CD in scCO2 at 313.15 K and 20 MPa and its ability to form inclusion complexes under these conditions was studied. The influence of scCO2 on a number of NMR spectral parameters, such as chemical shifts, spin-spin coupling constants, nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) and spin-lattice relaxation (T1) has been studied. We unequivocally show for the first time structural changes of TA-,-CD in scCO2, like acetyl chain orientation and overall shape distortions that can affect its inclusion capability in this medium. The possibility of cavity self-closure is discussed and the results of two inclusion studies that support cavity self-closure, with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, captopril, and the nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug, flufenamic acid, are presented. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Influence of the C,H· · ·N intramolecular interaction on the spatial structures and 1H and 13C NMR parameters of heteroaryl vinyl ethers and sulfides

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 8 2003
Andrei V. Afonin
Abstract A complete analysis of the 1H and 13C spectra of the representative series of heteroaryl vinyl ethers and sulfides and heteroaryl styryl sulfides was carried out. The electronic and spatial structures of these compounds are discussed. It was shown that the C,H· · ·N intramolecular interactions in the investigated molecules influence significantly the spectral parameters and the conformational equilibrium. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Nitroxide spin probe study of probe size, hydrogen bonding and polymer matrix rigidity effects on poly(acrylic acid)/poly(ethylene oxide) complexes

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2003
Li Tan
Abstract An electron spin resonance (ESR) spin probe study was performed on 1 : 1 by weight poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) complex over the 100,450 K temperature range with a series of tetramethylpiperidyloxy-based spin probes. Measurements of the parameters T5mT, Ta and Td demonstrated the effects of probe size and the strength of hydrogen bonding. The probes in the series Tempone, Tempo, Tempol and Tamine (respectively 4-oxo-, unsubstituted, 4-hydroxy- and 4-amino-2,2,6,6,-tetramethylpiperidine -1-oxyl) displayed noticeable increases in the hydrogen-bonding effect, as indicated by Ta and Td. These increases correlated with increasing hydrogen bond acceptor strength. On the other hand, as the probe size became larger, T5mT gradually increased due to the free volume decrease. These effects were analyzed using the established theoretical relationship of T5mT to probe volume expressed by f. Meanwhile, in order to investigate the effect of polymer matrix rigidity, a similar study was performed with a nitroxide spin probe, 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidine-1-oxyl (Tempo), on PAA/PEO complexes of different weight compositions. The quantitative fast motion fraction in the composite ESR spectrum was calculated. The influence of changes in the composition of PAA on the molecular mobility was characterized by changes of the spectral parameters and ,c. The molecular mobility was shown to diminish with increasing content of PAA in PAA/PEO blends duo to the restriction of the polymer matrix rigidity increase. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Reflectance spectra of iron meteorites: Implications for spectral identification of their parent bodies

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010
Edward A. CLOUTIS
Powder spectra are invariably red-sloped over this wavelength interval and have a narrow range of visible albedos (approximately 10,15% at 0.56 ,m). Metal (Fe:Ni) compositional variations have no systematic effect on the powder spectra, increasing grain size results in more red-sloped spectra, and changes in viewing geometry have variable effects on overall reflectance and spectral slope. Roughened metal slab spectra have a wider, and higher, range of visible albedos than powders (22,74% at 0.56 ,m), and are also red-sloped. Smoother slabs exhibit greater differences from iron meteorite powder spectra, exhibiting wider variations in overall reflectance, spectral slopes, and spectral shapes. No unique spectral parameters exist that allow for powder and slab spectra to be fully separated in all cases. Spectral differences between slabs and powders can be used to constrain possible surface properties, and causes of rotational spectral variations, of M-asteroids. The magnitude of spectral variations between M-asteroids and rotational and spectral variability does not necessarily imply a dramatic change in surface properties, as the differences in albedo and/or spectral slope can be accommodated by modest changes in grain size (for powders), small changes in surface roughness (for slabs), or variations in viewing geometry. Since metal powders exhibit much less spectral variability than slabs, M-asteroid spectral variability requires larger changes in either powder properties or viewing geometry than for slabs for a given degree of spectral variation. [source]

Evidence of a change in the long-term spin-down rate of the X-ray pulsar 4U 1907+09

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2006
A. Baykal
ABSTRACT We analysed RXTE archival observations of 4U 1907+09 between 1996 February 17 and 2002 March 6. The pulse timing analysis showed that the source stayed at almost constant period around 1998 August and then started to spin-down at a rate of (,1.887 , 0.042) × 10,14 Hz s,1 which is ,0.60 times lower than the long-term (,15 yr) spin-down rate. Our pulse-frequency measurements for the first time resolved significant spin-down rate variations since the discovery of the source. We also presented orbital phase resolved X-ray spectra during two stable spin-down episodes during 1996 November,1997 December and 2001 March,2002 March. The source has been known to have two orbitally locked flares. We found that X-ray flux and spectral parameters except hydrogen column density agreed with each other during the flares. We interpreted the similar values of X-ray fluxes as an indication of the fact that the source accretes not only via transient retrograde accretion disc but also via the stellar wind of the companion, so that the variation of the accretion rate from the disc does not cause significant variation in the observed X-ray flux. Lack of significant change in spectral parameters except hydrogen column density was interpreted as a sign of the fact that the change in the spin-down rate of the source was not accompanied by a significant variation in the accretion geometry. [source]

Autonomic Function during Closed Loop Stimulation and Fixed Rate Pacing: Heart Rate Variability Analysis from 24-Hour Holter Recordings

PACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
RAFFAELE QUAGLIONE M.D.
Aim: Aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the effect of closed-loop stimulation (CLS) and DDD pacing mode on autonomic balance, and to evaluate heart rate variability (HRV) during CLS stimulation. Methods and Materials: Autonomic balance was estimated by a 24-hour HRV analysis of paced and spontaneous beats in patients implanted with a dual-chamber pacemaker (Inos2+ CLS,Biotronik GmbH, Berlin, Germany) and randomly assigned to CLS or DDD pacing mode. Patients underwent two 24-hour electrocardiogram Holter recordings at the end of each 3-month pacing mode period. Each Holter recording was automatically scanned to extract sequences of consecutive beats of the same type [atrial paced (Ap)-sequence and atrial spontaneous (As)-sequence], lasting at least 130 beats. Results: Eight hundred and ten sequences were extracted from 15 patients, and the following spectral parameters were evaluated during both CLS and DDD mode: the total power (variance), the absolute and percentage (relative to the total power) powers of the low frequency (LF, 0.04,0.15 Hz) and high frequency (HF, 0.15,0.4 Hz) components, as well as the LF/HF power ratio. Discussion: The two main findings of this study were: in all the patients, CLS seems to mimic short-term physiological HRV, although the variability (total power) was lower than that relative to the spontaneous beats; the HRV of the spontaneous beats had an higher LF/HF when the pacemaker was programmed as DDD respect to CLS, consistent with a shift toward sympathetic predominance. PACE 2010; 33:337,342) [source]

Electronic spectra of [(CH3)2NH2]5Cd2CuCl11 crystals

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 11 2004
V. Kapustianik
Abstract The temperature evolution of Cu2+ ion environment in the solid solutions of ((CH3)2NH2)5Cd2CuCl11 is studied on the basis of absorption spectroscopy data. For the detailed analysis of experimental data the special program package Crys Tool 1.0 based on quantum-mechanical models, first of all on the model of normalized spherical harmonics (NSH), has been employed. It has been found that similarly to the crystal of ((CH3)2NH2)5Cd3Cl11 (DMACC) the investigated solid solution contains tetragonally distorted octahedral metal,halogen complexes of two types and the degree of their distortion is changed considerably at the temperatures of phase transitions (PTs). The parameters of crystal field, angular overlap model, as well as the copper,chlorine distances, show continuous changes at T1 = 176 K that should be related to the second-order transition, whereas the jump-like anomalies of the spectral parameters at T2 = 115 K (on cooling) are characteristic of the first-order PTs. Introduction of the copper ions into the structure of the host DMACC crystal induces the shifts of these PTs toward low temperatures by 3.5 and 5 K, respectively. The observed structural changes around T0 = 313 K are connected with a complex co-operative effect involving weakening of the hydrogen bonds and modification of the Jahn,Teller distortion with temperature. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Exciton,phonon interaction and Raman spectra of [(CH3)2NH2]5Cd2CuCl11 crystals

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 11 2004
V. Kapustianik
Abstract Temperature evolution of the exciton,phonon interaction (EPI) in ((CH3)2NH2)5Cd2CuCl11 solid solution was studied on the basis of absorption spectroscopy data. The obtained values of effective phonon energies were compared with the data of Raman spectroscopy. It is shown that the (T) and E, parameters of Urbach's rule show the continuous anomalous change characteristic of the second-order phase transition at T1 = 176 K. The anomalous behaviour of the EPI and other spectral parameters at T0 = 310,315 K was related to the complex co-operative effect involving weakening of the hydrogen bonds and variation of the Jahn,Teller distortion of metal,halogen polyhedra with temperature. This process takes place only within the copper,chlorine sublattice and due to this would be hardly related to the usual phase transition. At the same time, the considered temperature change of the tetragonal distortion of the metal,halogen octahedra is followed by nonfulfillment of Urbach's rule in the temperature range TT0. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Geographic variation in loud calls of sportive lemurs (Lepilemur ssp.) and their implications for conservation

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2008
Maria Méndez-Cárdenas
Abstract Bioacoustical studies in nonhuman primates have shown that loud calls can be reliably used as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for discriminating cryptic taxa, for their monitoring in the field as well as for the reconstruction of their phylogeny. To date, it is unknown, whether loud calls can be used for these purposes in sportive lemurs, for which current genetic studies suggest the existence of at least 24 cryptic species. The aim of this study was to compare the structure of loud calls of populations of sportive lemurs to characterize informative acoustic traits for taxa discrimination and to establish a phylogenetic tree based on acoustic structure. We have based our study on Inter-River-Systems (IRSs) as operational taxonomic units. Samples were collected from nine different localities of four IRSs along a transect from northwestern to northern Madagascar. Two call types, the ouah and the high-pitched call, were present in almost all IRSs. Six temporal and eight spectral parameters were measured in 196 calls of the best quality given by 21 different males. Variation within and between IRSs was assessed by multivariate statistics. Loud calls differed significantly among the different IRSs. The IRSs varied most in spectral parameters, whereas temporal parameters were less variable. Phylogenetic analysis using parsimony yielded 11 out of 17 acoustic characters as phylogenetically informative. The acoustic tree had an average branch support of 78%. Its topology coincided less with geographic distances than with genetic tree topology. Altogether our findings revealed that loud calls separated geographically isolated populations of sportive lemurs specifically. Based on these results, noninvasive tools for diagnosis and monitoring of cryptic species in nature can be developed for conservation management. Am. J. Primatol. 70:828,838, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

A Spectroscopic Study of the Reduction of Geometrically Restrained Viologens

CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 28 2007
Andrew
Abstract A small series of N,N,-dimethyl-4,4,-bipyridinium dication derivatives (commonly known as viologens) has been synthesized and fully characterized; a short dialkoxy tether attached at the 3,3,-positions is used to alter the central dihedral angle. These angles were determined by both single-crystal X-ray diffraction and by computational studies made for the dication, radical cation, and neutral species in a solvent reservoir. The dihedral angle derived for the dication controls the first reduction potential, whereas the geometry of the resultant ,-radical cation determines the magnitude of the second reduction potential. The optical absorption spectra recorded for the various species, and especially those of the radical cations, and the EPR spectral parameters of the ,-radical cations also depend on the molecular geometry. In particular, the central dihedral angle influences the spin density distribution around the aromatic nucleus and, by way of comparison to the parent viologen, it has been possible to resolve the angle dependence from the inherent inductive effect of the strap. These results are considered in terms of the degree of electronic communication between the two aromatic rings, as controlled by the length of the tether. [source]