A Policy Analysis of Large Carnivore Responses to Habitat Fragmentation and Human – Carnivore Conflicts in the High Divide

The Northern Rockies contain upwards of 10 million acres of the most pristine land left in the Lower 48 states. A continuous landscape is necessary to preserve the function and beauty of the ecosystems found in this area. The High Divide is an essential wildlife corridor that enables the movement of organisms to and from three of these major ecosystems in the Northern Rockies. In recent years, residential development has increased fragmentation of the High Divide, impeding animal movement through the area. This restriction is especially significant for gray wolves (Canis lupus) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) as they are apex predators that have large movement patterns and major roles in ecosystem function and biodiversity. This project analyzes the issue by mapping predator ranges and residential development data using ArcGIS to visualize the extent of overlap. It then investigates the effectiveness of current and alternative management schemes through a policy analysis to determine what strategies are most effective in conserving wolves and grizzly bears with minimal landscape fragmentation while also protecting people and their property

HadISD: a quality-controlled global synoptic report database for selected variables at long-term stations from 1973--2011

[Abridged] This paper describes the creation of HadISD: an automatically quality-controlled synoptic resolution dataset of temperature, dewpoint temperature, sea-level pressure, wind speed, wind direction and cloud cover from global weather stations for 1973--2011. The full dataset consists of over 6000 stations, with 3427 long-term stations deemed to have sufficient sampling and quality for climate applications requiring sub-daily resolution. As with other surface datasets, coverage is heavily skewed towards Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes. The dataset is constructed from a large pre-existing ASCII flatfile data bank that represents over a decade of substantial effort at data retrieval, reformatting and provision. These raw data have had varying levels of quality control applied to them by individual data providers. The work proceeded in several steps: merging stations with multiple reporting identifiers; reformatting to netCDF; quality control; and then filtering to form a final dataset. Particular attention has been paid to maintaining true extreme values where possible within an automated, objective process. Detailed validation has been performed on a subset of global stations and also on UK data using known extreme events to help finalise the QC tests. Further validation was performed on a selection of extreme events world-wide (Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the cold snap in Alaska in 1989 and heat waves in SE Australia in 2009). Although the filtering has removed the poorest station records, no attempt has been made to homogenise the data thus far. Hence non-climatic, time-varying errors may still exist in many of the individual station records and care is needed in inferring long-term trends from these data. A version-control system has been constructed for this dataset to allow for the clear documentation of any updates and corrections in the future.Comment: Published in Climate of the Past, www.clim-past.net/8/1649/2012/. 31 pages, 23 figures, 9 pages. For data see http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadis

A near-infrared spectroscopic screening of the red giant populations in omega Centauri

Near-infrared spectra of 21 giants in omega Centauri, spanning the whole range of metallicities observed in this cluster, are presented. This work is part of a coordinated photometric and spectroscopic campaign in the optical and in the infrared, aimed at studying the complex stellar population of omega Centauri and understanding its formation and chemical evolution. By analyzing the several CO and OH molecular bands and atomic lines in the spectra of the selected giants, metal abundances and abundance ratios have been obtained. The existence of three major metallicity regimes at [Fe/H]=-1.6, -1.2 and [Fe/H]<-0.5 has been confirmed. The most metal-rich stars in our sample show a lower (if any) alpha-enhancement when compared to the more metal-poor components, suggesting that they should have formed in a medium significantly polluted by type Ia supernova ejecta. Isotopic carbon abundances have been also inferred, providing an average 13C/12C=4, which clearly indicates that extra-mixing processes occurred in the stellar interiors during the ascent on the Red Giant Branch.Comment: 22 pages, 7 .ps figures. aastex. Accepted for pubilcation in the Astrophysical Journa

Interaction-based quantum metrology showing scaling beyond the Heisenberg limit

Quantum metrology studies the use of entanglement and other quantum resources to improve precision measurement. An interferometer using N independent particles to measure a parameter X can achieve at best the "standard quantum limit" (SQL) of sensitivity {\delta}X \propto N^{-1/2}. The same interferometer using N entangled particles can achieve in principle the "Heisenberg limit" {\delta}X \propto N^{-1}, using exotic states. Recent theoretical work argues that interactions among particles may be a valuable resource for quantum metrology, allowing scaling beyond the Heisenberg limit. Specifically, a k-particle interaction will produce sensitivity {\delta}X \propto N^{-k} with appropriate entangled states and {\delta}X \propto N^{-(k-1/2)} even without entanglement. Here we demonstrate this "super-Heisenberg" scaling in a nonlinear, non-destructive measurement of the magnetisation of an atomic ensemble. We use fast optical nonlinearities to generate a pairwise photon-photon interaction (k = 2) while preserving quantum-noise-limited performance, to produce {\delta}X \propto N^{-3/2}. We observe super-Heisenberg scaling over two orders of magnitude in N, limited at large N by higher-order nonlinear effects, in good agreement with theory. For a measurement of limited duration, super-Heisenberg scaling allows the nonlinear measurement to overtake in sensitivity a comparable linear measurement with the same number of photons. In other scenarios, however, higher-order nonlinearities prevent this crossover from occurring, reflecting the subtle relationship of scaling to sensitivity in nonlinear systems. This work shows that inter-particle interactions can improve sensitivity in a quantum-limited measurement, and introduces a fundamentally new resource for quantum metrology

Remnant Fermi surface in the presence of an underlying instability in layered 1T-TaS_2

We report high resolution angle-scanned photoemission and Fermi surface (FS) mapping experiments on the layered transition-metal dichalcogenide 1T-TaS_2 in the quasi commensurate (QC) and the commensurate (C) charge-density-wave (CDW) phase. Instead of a nesting induced partially removed FS in the CDW phase we find a pseudogap over large portions of the FS. This remnant FS exhibits the symmetry of the one-particle normal state FS even when passing from the QC-phase to the C-phase. Possibly, this Mott localization induced transition represents the underlying instability responsible for the pseudogapped FS

Magnetic structures and reorientation transitions in noncentrosymmetric uniaxial antiferromagnets

A phenomenological theory of magnetic states in noncentrosymmetric tetragonal antiferromagnets is developed, which has to include homogeneous and inhomogeneous terms (Lifshitz-invariants) derived from Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya couplings. Magnetic properties of this class of antiferromagnets with low crystal symmetry are discussed in relation to its first known members, the recently detected compounds Ba2CuGe2O7 and K2V3O8. Crystallographic symmetry and magnetic ordering in these systems allow the simultaneous occurrence of chiral inhomogeneous magnetic structures and weak ferromagnetism. New types of incommensurate magnetic structures are possible, namely, chiral helices with rotation of staggered magnetization and oscillations of the total magnetization. Field-induced reorientation transitions into modulated states have been studied and corresponding phase diagrams are constructed. Structures of magnetic defects (domain-walls and vortices) are discussed. In particular, vortices, i.e. localized non-singular line defects, are stabilized by the inhomogeneous Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in uniaxial noncentrosymmetric antiferromagnets.Comment: 18 pages RevTeX4, 13 figure

Local structure study of In_xGa_(1-x)As semiconductor alloys using High Energy Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction

Nearest and higher neighbor distances as well as bond length distributions (static and thermal) of the In_xGa_(1-x)As (0<x<1) semiconductor alloys have been obtained from high real-space resolution atomic pair distribution functions (PDFs). Using this structural information, we modeled the local atomic displacements in In_xGa_(1-x)As alloys. From a supercell model based on the Kirkwood potential, we obtained 3-D As and (In,Ga) ensemble averaged probability distributions. This clearly shows that As atom displacements are highly directional and can be represented as a combination of and displacements. Examination of the Kirkwood model indicates that the standard deviation (sigma) of the static disorder on the (In,Ga) sublattice is around 60% of the value on the As sublattice and the (In,Ga) atomic displacements are much more isotropic than those on the As sublattice. The single crystal diffuse scattering calculated from the Kirkwood model shows that atomic displacements are most strongly correlated along directions.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure

10 simple rules to create a serious game, illustrated with examples from structural biology

Serious scientific games are games whose purpose is not only fun. In the field of science, the serious goals include crucial activities for scientists: outreach, teaching and research. The number of serious games is increasing rapidly, in particular citizen science games, games that allow people to produce and/or analyze scientific data. Interestingly, it is possible to build a set of rules providing a guideline to create or improve serious games. We present arguments gathered from our own experience ( Phylo , DocMolecules , HiRE-RNA contest and Pangu) as well as examples from the growing literature on scientific serious games

Longitudinal Analysis of Quality of Life, Clinical, Radiographic, Echocardiographic, and Laboratory Variables in Dogs with Preclinical Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease Receiving Pimobendan or Placebo: The EPIC Study

Background: Changes in clinical variables associated with the administration of pimobendan to dogs with preclinical myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and cardiomegaly have not been described. Objectives: To investigate the effect of pimobendan on clinical variables and the relationship between a change in heart size and the time to congestive heart failure (CHF) or cardiac-related death (CRD) in dogs with MMVD and cardiomegaly. To determine whether pimobendan-treated dogs differ from dogs receiving placebo at onset of CHF. Animals: Three hundred and fifty-four dogs with MMVD and cardiomegaly. Materials and Methods: Prospective, blinded study with dogs randomized (ratio 1:1) to pimobendan (0.4-0.6 mg/kg/d) or placebo. Clinical, laboratory, and heart-size variables in both groups were measured and compared at different time points (day 35 and onset of CHF) and over the study duration. Relationships between short-term changes in echocardiographic variables and time to CHF or CRD were explored. Results: At day 35, heart size had reduced in the pimobendan group:median change in (Delta) LVIDDN -0.06 (IQR:-0.15 to + 0.02), P < 0.0001, and LA:Ao -0.08 (IQR:-0.23 to + 0.03), P < 0.0001. Reduction in heart size was associated with increased time to CHF or CRD. Hazard ratio for a 0.1 increase in Delta LVIDDN was 1.26, P = 0.0003. Hazard ratio for a 0.1 increase in Delta LA:Ao was 1.14, P = 0.0002. At onset of CHF, groups were similar. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Pimobendan treatment reduces heart size. Reduced heart size is associated with improved outcome. At the onset of CHF, dogs treated with pimobendan were indistinguishable from those receiving placebo

Multiple populations in Omega Centauri: a cluster analysis of spectroscopic data

Omega Cen is composed of several stellar populations. Their history might allow us to reconstruct the evolution of this complex object. We performed a statistical cluster analysis on the large data set provided by Johnson and Pilachowski (2010). Stars in Omega Cen divide into three main groups. The metal-poor group includes about a third of the total. It shows a moderate O-Na anticorrelation, and similarly to other clusters, the O-poor second generation stars are more centrally concentrated than the O-rich first generation ones. This whole population is La-poor, with a pattern of abundances for n-capture elements which is very close to a scaled r-process one. The metal-intermediate group includes the majority of the cluster stars. This is a much more complex population, with an internal spread in the abundances of most elements. It shows an extreme O-Na anticorrelation, with a very numerous population of extremely O-poor and He-rich second generation stars. This second generation is very centrally concentrated. This whole population is La-rich, with a pattern of the abundances of n-capture elements that shows a strong contribution by the s-process. The spread in metallicity within this metal-intermediate population is not very large, and we might attribute it either to non uniformities of an originally very extended star forming region, or to some ability to retain a fraction of the ejecta of the core collapse SNe that exploded first, or both. As previously noticed, the metal-rich group has an Na-O correlation, rather than anticorrelation. There is evidence for the contribution of both massive stars ending their life as core-collapse SNe, and intermediate/low mass stars, producing the s-capture elements. Kinematics of this population suggests that it formed within the cluster rather than being accreted.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic