Showing papers by "Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University published in 1998"

Sperm competition and sexual selection

Abstract: General Themes: G.A. Parker, Sperm Competition and the Evolution of Ejaculates: Towards a Theory Base. A.P. Moller, Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection. W.G. Eberhard, Female Roles in Sperm Competition. J. Wright, Paternity and Paternal Care. Taxonomic Treatments: L.F. Delph and K. Havens, Pollen Competition in Flowering Plants. D.R. Levitan, Sperm Limitation, Gamete Competition and Sexual Selection in External Fertilizers. N.K. Michiels, Mating Conflicts and Sperm Competition in Simultaneous Hermaphrodites. B. Baur, Sperm Competition in Molluscs. M.A. Elgar, Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection in Spiders and Other Arachnids. L.W. Simmons and M.T. Siva-Jothy, Sperm Competition in Insects: Mechanisms and the Potential for Selection. C.W. Petersen and R.R. Warner, Sperm Competition in Fishes. T.R. Halliday, Sperm Competition in Amphibians. M. Olsson and T. Madsen, Sexual Selection and Sperm Competition in Reptiles. T.R. Birkhead, Sperm Competition in Birds: Mechanisms and Function. D.A. Taggart, W.G. Breed, P.D. Temple-Smith, A. Purvis, and G. Shimmin, Reproduction, Mating Strategies and Sperm Competition in Marsupials and Monotremes. M. Gomendio, A.H. Harcourt, and E.R.S. Roldan, Sperm Competition in Mammals. T.R. Birkhead and A.P. Moller, Sperm Competition, Sexual Selection and Different Routes to Fitness. Index.

The hitran molecular spectroscopic database and hawks (hitran atmospheric workstation): 1996 edition

Abstract: Since its first publication in 1973, the HITRAN molecular spectroscopic database has been recognized as the international standard for providing the necessary fundamental spectroscopic parameters for diverse atmospheric and laboratory transmission and radiance calculations. There have been periodic editions of HITRAN over the past decades as the database has been expanded and improved with respect to the molecular species and spectral range covered, the number of parameters included, and the accuracy of this information. The 1996 edition not only includes the customary line-by-line transition parameters familiar to HITRAN users, but also cross-section data, aerosol indices of refraction, software to filter and manipulate the data, and documentation. This paper describes the data and features that have been added or replaced since the previous edition of HITRAN. We also cite instances of critical data that are forthcoming.

The Size of the Giant Component of a Random Graph with a Given Degree Sequence

Abstract: Given a sequence of nonnegative real numbers λ0, λ1, … that sum to 1, we consider a random graph having approximately λin vertices of degree i. In [12] the authors essentially show that if ∑i(i−2)λi>0 then the graph a.s. has a giant component, while if ∑i(i−2)λi<0 then a.s. all components in the graph are small. In this paper we analyse the size of the giant component in the former case, and the structure of the graph formed by deleting that component. We determine e, λ′0, λ′1 … such that a.s. the giant component, C, has en+o(n) vertices, and the structure of the graph remaining after deleting C is basically that of a random graph with n′=n−∣C∣ vertices, and with λ′in′ of them of degree i.

Vector potentials in three-dimensional non-smooth domains

Abstract: On presente dans cet article un certain nombre de resultats concernant le potentiel vecteur associe a une fonction a divergence nulle dans un ouvert borne de dimension trois. En particulier, plusieurs types de conditions aux limites sont proposes, pour lesquels on discute l'existence, l'unicite et la regularite du potentiel vecteur. On analyse la convergence d'une discretisation par elements finis de ces potentiels et on indique une application concernant l'approximation de fluides visqueux incompressibles.

Timing of loading and effect of micromotion on bone-dental implant interface: review of experimental literature

Abstract: A significant no-load healing period is the generally accepted prerequisite for osseointegration in dental implantology. The aim of this article was to examine whether this no-load healing period is validated by the experimental literature. In vivo histological data was scrutinized to identify the effect of early loading protocols on the bone-implant interface. Several loading modes were identified. They were categorized into groups according to implant design and the type of prosthetic reconstruction, and by their ability to introduce a distinct magnitude of motion at the interface. Specific histologic responses of early loaded implants (i.e., fibrous repair or osseointegration) were suggested to be directly related to the specific combinations of the above parameters. Early loading per se was not found to be detrimental to osseointegration. Specifically, only excessive micromotion was directly implicated in the formation of fibrous encapsulation. The literature suggests that there is a critical threshold of micromotion above which fibrous encapsulation prevails over osseointegration. This critical level, however, was not zero micromotion as generally interpreted. Instead, the tolerated micromotion threshold was found to lie somewhere between 50 and 150 microns. Suggestions are made for the earliest loading time that achieves osseointegration.

Profound neuronal plasticity in response to inactivation of the dopamine transporter

Abstract: The dopamine transporter (DAT) plays an important role in calibrating the duration and intensity of dopamine neurotransmission in the central nervous system. We have used a strain of mice in which the gene for the DAT has been genetically deleted to identify the DAT’s homeostatic role. We find that removal of the DAT dramatically prolongs the lifetime (300 times) of extracellular dopamine. Within the time frame of neurotransmission, no other processes besides diffusion can compensate for the lack of the DAT, and the absence of the DAT produces extensive adaptive changes to control dopamine neurotransmission. Despite the absence of a clearance mechanism, dopamine extracellular levels were only 5 times greater than control animals due to a 95% reduction in content and a 75% reduction in release. Paradoxically, dopamine synthesis rates are doubled despite a decrease of 90% in the levels of tyrosine hydroxylase and degradation is markedly enhanced. Thus, the DAT not only controls the duration of extracellular dopamine signals but also plays a critical role in regulating presynaptic dopamine homeostasis. It is interesting to consider that the switch to a dopamine-deficient, but functionally hyperactive, mode of neurotransmission observed in mice lacking the DAT may represent an extreme example of neuronal plasticity resulting from long-term psychostimulant abuse.

Conspecific reproductive success and breeding habitat selection: implications for the study of coloniality

Abstract: Habitat selection is a crucial process in the life cycle of animals because it can affect most components of fitness. It has been proposed that some animals cue on the reproductive success of conspecifics to select breeding habitats. We tested this hypothesis with demographic and behavioral data from a 17-yr study of the Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), a cliff-nesting seabird. As the hypothesis assumes, the Black-legged Kittiwake nesting environment was patchy, and the relative quality of the different patches (i.e., breeding cliffs) varied in time. The average reproductive success of the breeders of a given cliff was predictable from one year to the next, but this predictability faded after several years. The dynamic nature of cliff quality in the long term is partly explained by the autocorrelation of the prevalence of an ectoparasite that influences reproductive success. As predicted by the performance-based conspecific attraction hypothesis, the reproductive success of current breeders on a given cliff was predictive of the reproductive success of new recruits on the cliff in the following year. Breeders tended to recruit to the previous year’s most productive cliffs and to emigrate from the least productive ones. Consequently, the dynamics of breeder numbers on the cliffs were explained by local reproductive success on a year-to-year basis. Because, on average, young Black-legged Kittiwakes first breed when 4 yr old, such a relationship probably results from individual choices based on the assessment of previous-year local quality. When breeders changed breeding cliffs between years, they selected cliffs of per capita higher reproductive success. Furthermore, after accounting for the potential effects of age and sex as well as between-year variations, the effect of individual breeding performance on breeding dispersal was strongly influenced by the average reproductive success of other breeders on the same cliff. Individual breeding performance did not appear to influence the probability of dispersing for birds breeding on cliffs with high local reproductive success, whereas individual breeding performance did have a strong effect on dispersal for birds that bred on cliffs with lower local reproductive success. This suggests that the reproductive success of locally breeding conspecifics may be sufficient to override an individual’s own breeding experience when deciding whether to emigrate. These results, which are supported by behavioral observations of the role of prospecting in recruitment, suggest that both first breeders and adults rely on the reproductive success of conspecifics as “public information” to assess their own chances of breeding successfully in a given patch and to make settling decisions. A corollary prediction is that individuals should attempt to breed near successful conspecifics (a form of social attraction) in order to benefit from the same favorable local environmental conditions. Such a performance-based conspecific attraction mechanism can thus lead to an aggregative distribution of nests and may have played a role in the evolution of coloniality.

Crystallization and Melting Behavior of Polylactides

Abstract: Six polylactides, polymerized with Salen−Al−OCH3 initiator and having optical purities between 43% and 100%, were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and optical microscopy, following various crystallization conditions. It was found that each of those polylactides can crystallize, even those with low optical purities; their crystallization rate is, however, slower than those for high optical purity polyesters. Moreover, the low optical purity polymers tend to form stereocomplexes between the l and d sequences of the same polylactide, which behavior is ascribed to their multiblock microstructure. A correlation was found between the measured melting temperature of optically active polylactides and their average sequence length.

Bilateral symmetry and sexual selection: a meta-analysis.

Abstract: A considerable body of primary research has accumulated over the last 10 yr testing the relationship between developmental instability in the form of fluctuating asymmetry and performance of individuals in mating success itself or sexual attractiveness. This research comprises 146 samples from 65 studies of 42 species of four major taxa. We present the results of a meta-analysis of these studies, which demonstrates that there is indeed an overall significant, moderate negative relationship: for studies, the overall mean Pearson's r or effect size = -.42, P <.0005; for species, the overall mean r = -.34, .01 < P < .025. Based on calculated fail-safe numbers, the effect-size estimates are highly robust against any publication or reporting bias that may exist. There is considerable evidence that the magnitude of the negative correlation between fluctuating asymmetry and success related to sexual selection is greater for males than for females, when a secondary sexual trait rather than an ordinary trait is studied, with experimentation compared with observation, and for traits not involved with mobility compared with traits affecting mobility. There is also limited evidence that higher taxa may differ in effect size and that intensity of sexual selection negatively correlates with effect size.

Robustness of the Black and Scholes Formula

Abstract: Consider an option on a stock whose volatility is unknown and stochastic An agent assumes this volatility to be a specific function of time and the stock price, knowing that this assumption may result in a misspecification of the volatility However, if the misspecified volatility dominates the true volatility, then the misspecified price of the option dominates its true price Moreover, the option hedging strategy computed under the assumption of the misspecified volatility provides an almost sure one-sided hedge for the option under the true volatility Analogous results hold if the true volatility dominates the misspecified volatility These comparisons can fail, however, if the misspecified volatility is not assumed to be a function of time and the stock price The positive results, which apply to both European and American options, are used to obtain a bound and hedge for Asian options

Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase (ERK) Controls Immediate Early Gene Induction on Corticostriatal Stimulation

Abstract: Activity-dependent changes in neuronal structure and synaptic remodeling depend critically on gene regulation. In an attempt to understand how glutamate receptor stimulation at the membrane leads to gene regulation in the nucleus, we traced intracellular signaling pathways targeting DNA regulatory elements of immediate early genes (IEGs). For this purpose we used an in vivo electrical stimulation of the glutamatergic corticostriatal pathway. We show that a transient activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) proteins (detected by immunocytochemistry with an anti-active antibody) is spatially coincident with the onset of IEG induction [c-fos, zif 268, and map kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) detected by in situ hybridization] in the striatum, bilaterally. Both Elk-1 and CREB transcription factors (targeting SRE and CRE DNA regulatory elements, respectively) were hyperphosphorylated in register with ERK activation and IEG mRNA induction. However, their hyperphosphorylation occurred in different subcellular compartments: the cytoplasm and the nucleus for Elk-1 and the nucleus for CREB. The role of the ERK signaling cascade in gene regulation was confirmed after intrastriatal and unilateral injection of the specific ERK inhibitor PD 98059, which completely abolished c-fos, zif 268, and MKP-1 mRNA induction in the injected side. Of interest, both Elk-1 and CREB hyperphosphorylation also was impaired after PD 98059 injection. Thus two different ERK modules, one depending on the cytoplasmic activation of Elk-1 and the other one depending on the nuclear activation of CREB, control IEG transcriptional regulation in our model. Our findings provide significant insights into intracellular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity in the striatum.

Light scattering and chlorophyll concentration in case 1 waters: A reexamination

Abstract: An analysis is presented based on a large dataset (N = 2,787) made up of recent measurements of the beam attenuation coefficient at 660 nm and of the chlorophyll concentration by using the SeaTech transmissometer and the high-pressure liquid chromatography technique, respectively. This analysis, restricted to case 1 waters, aims at reassessing a previous nonlinear relationship established between the particle scattering coefficient, b,, (very close to the particle attenuation coefficient, c,,), and the chlorophyll concentration, [Chl]. As a first result, nonlinearity is fully confirmed over the whole range of oceanic chlorophyll concentration (about 3 orders of magnitude). Despite more accurate measurements, the scatter in this relationship remains large and is actually comparable to that observed within the old dataset. Rather than establishing a single relationship between c,, (or b,,) and [Chl] for the entire upper water column, the deep layer and the near-surface layer (important for remote-sensing application) have been studied separately. This separation has led to two distinct expressions. A more appropriate parameterization is thus proposed when dealing specifically with, and modeling, the near-surface layer. As a consequence, a modified criterion is also suggested with a view to identifying turbid case 2 waters. Understanding or predicting the propagation of radiant energy within a water body requires that the boundary conditions (at the interface and bottom) and the inherent optical properties (IOP) within the medium are both known or prescribed. Strictly speaking, these properties (IOP) within the medium are both known or prescribed. Strictly speaking, these properties comprise the absorption coefficient, a, and the volume scattering function p(0); the scattering coefficient, b, derives from p(0) by integrating over the whole space, and the attenuation coefficient, c, represents the sum of a and b. These last three coefficients are expressed as m--l. The IOP result from the presence in a water body of colored dissolved organic substances and of scattering as well as absorbing particulate matter. In the open ocean, far from notable terrigenous influence, these optically active materials are locally and permanently Acknowledgments OMEX data were made available with the originators’ permission from the EU-MAST OMEX 1 Programme by the British Oceanographic Data center (BODC). The HPLC chlorophyll measurements for this project were undertaken by R. Barlow and R. E C. Mantoura at the Plymouth Laboratory. They are gratefully acknowledged for having made their data available to us. The transmissometer data for the same cruise were calibrated and quality controlled by the BODC. We thank R. Lowry for his help in the control of, and access to, these data. The BOFS data, published on a CD-ROM, were also produced under the BODC, and are duly appreciated here. The HPLC data for the EUMELI and OLIPAC (French JGOFS) cruises and those (unpubl.) for the MlNOS campaign were performed by H. Claustre with the collaboration of J. C. Marty, C. Cailliau, and E Vidussi. We thank them for these data. We also thank H. Claustre for helpful suggestions and discussions on a first draft of this paper: Substantial help with fieldwork and maintenance-calibration of the transmissometers used during the French cruises were provided by D. Tailliez, who is gratefully thanked. We acknowledge and thank our colleagues who worked at the two U.S. JGOFS-WOCE timeseries and during the EqPac cruises or were involved in the related databanks-these colleagues rendered this study feasible through their continuous effort. This work is a contribution to the French JGOFS Programme “Prosope.”

Relationships between the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia in the rat: physiology of the cortico-nigral circuits.

Abstract: The prelimbic/medial orbital areas (PL/MO) of the rat prefrontal cortex are connected to substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) through three main circuits: a direct nucleus accumbens (NAcc)-SNR pathway, an indirect NAcc-SNR pathway involving the ventral pallidum (VP) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN), and a disynaptic cortico-STN-SNR pathway. The present study was undertaken to characterize the effect of PL/MO stimulation on SNR cells and to determine the contribution of these different pathways. The major pattern of responses observed in the SNR was an inhibition preceded by an early excitation and followed or not by a late excitation. The inhibition resulted from the activation of the direct NAcc-SNR pathway because it disappeared after acute blockade of the glutamatergic cortico-striatal transmission by CNQX application into the NAcc. The late excitation resulted from the activation of the indirect NAcc-VP-STN-SNR pathway via a disinhibition of the STN because it disappeared after either CNQX application into the NAcc or blockade of the GABAergic striato-pallidal transmission by bicuculline application into the VP. The early excitation, which was markedly decreased after blockade of the cortico-STN transmission by CNQX application into the STN, resulted from the activation of the disynaptic cortico-STN-SNR pathway. Finally, the blockade of the cortico-STN-VP circuit by CNQX application into STN or VP modified the influence of the trans-striatal circuits on SNR cells. This study suggests that, in the prefrontal cortex-basal ganglia circuits, the trans-subthalamic pathways, by their excitatory effects, participate in the shaping of the inhibitory influence of the direct striato-nigral pathway on SNR neurons.

Existence and stability of entropy solutions for the hyperbolic systems of isentropic gas dynamics in Eulerian and Lagrangian coordinates

Abstract: We prove the existence and compactness (stability) of entropy solutions for the hyperbolic systems of conservation laws corresponding to the isentropic gas dynamics, where the pressure and density are related by a γ-law, for any γ > 1. Our results considerably extend and simplify the program initiated by DiPerna and provide a complete existence proof. Our methods are based on the compensated compactness and the kinetic formulation of systems of conservation laws. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Okinawa trough backarc basin: Early tectonic and magmatic evolution

Abstract: The Okinawa Trough, lying between Japan and Taiwan, is a backarc basin formed by extension within the continental lithosphere behind the Ryukyu trench-arc system Stress directions associated with the two last extensional phases in the southwestern Okinawa Trough have been deduced from a comparison with analog modeling: the direction of extension is N 150 o for the Pleistocene phase of extension (2-01 Ma) and N 170 o for the late Pleistocene-Holocene phase of extension (01-0 Ma) The present-day Ryukyu volcanic arc, a narrow continuous feature extending from Japan to Taiwan, is located on the eastern side of the Okinawa Trough, 80-100 km above the Wadati-Benioff zone, the minimum depth for emplacement of arc magmatism Scarce present-day backarc volcanism appears in the middle and southern Okinawa Trough within linear en echelon bathymetric depressions A N045 o oriented seamount volcanic chain cuts across obliquely the southwestern Okinawa Trough and lies in the direct line of extension of the Gagua ridge, a N-S linear volcanic feature of the Philippine Sea plate Associated with this extension of the Gagua ridge, a large reentrant located at the base of the Ryukyu prism, the uplift of part of the Nanao forearc basin and the deformation of the sedimentary arc suggest that the voluminous cross-backarc volcanism could be tied to the subduction of the Gagua ridge located there at a depth of 80-100 km beneath the backarc basin A second area of anomalous volcanism has been identified in the middle Okinawa Trough in the ENE extension of the Daito ridge, a WNW-ESE 400-km-long volcanic feature of the Philippine Sea plate We suggest that the Gagua and Daito ridges initially induced stress at the base of the arc which is still brittle and cracks propagated through the overlying brittle lithosphere, allowing magmas with arc affinities to erupt at the seafloor This excessive magmatism reaches the seafloor through conduits which preferentially follow in their shallowest portion the crustal normal faults of the backarc rifts The Okinawa Trough is consequently still in an early stage of evolving from arc type to backarc activity

A comparison of seven geostatistically based inverse approaches to estimate transmissivities for modeling advective transport by groundwater flow

Abstract: This paper describes the first major attempt to compare seven different inverse approaches for identifying aquifer transmissivity. The ultimate objective was to determine which of several geostatistical inverse techniques is better suited for making probabilistic forecasts of the potential transport of solutes in an aquifer where spatial variability and uncertainty in hydrogeologic properties are significant. Seven geostatistical methods (fast Fourier transform (FF), fractal simulation (FS), linearized cokriging (LC), linearized semianalytical )LS), maximum likelihood (ML), pilot point (PP), and sequential self-calibration (SS)) were compared on four synthetic data sets. Each data set had specific features meeting (or not) classical assumptions about stationarity, amenability to a geostatistical description, etc. The comparison of the outcome of the methods is based on the prediction of travel times and travel paths taken by conservative solutes migrating in the aquifer for a distance of 5 km. Four of the methods, LS, ML, PP, and SS, were identified as being approximately equivalent for the specific problems considered. The magnitude of the variance of the transmissivity fields, which went as high as 10 times the generally accepted range for linearized approaches, was not a problem for the linearized methods when applied to stationary fields; that is, their inverse solutions and travel time predictions were as accurate as those of the nonlinear methods. Nonstationarity of the “true” transmissivity field, or the presence of “anomalies” such as high-permeability fracture zones was, however, more of a problem for the linearized methods. The importance of the proper selection of the semivariogram of the log10 (T) field (or the ability of the method to optimize this variogram iteratively) was found to have a significant impact on the accuracy and precision of the travel time predictions. Use of additional transient information from pumping tests did not result in major changes in the outcome. While the methods differ in their underlying theory, and the codes developed to implement the theories were limited to varying degrees, the most important factor for achieving a successful solution was the time and experience devoted by the user of the method.

Biome reconstruction from pollen and plant macrofossil data for Africa and the Arabian peninsula at 0 and 6000 years

Abstract: Biome reconstruction from pollen and plant macrofossil data provides an objective method to reconstruct past vegetation. Biomes for Africa and the Arabian peninsula have been mapped for 6000 years sp and provide a new standard for the evaluation of simulated palaeovegetation distributions. A test using modern pollen data shows the robustness of the biomization method, which is able to predict the major vegetation types with a high confidence level. The application of the procedure to the 6000 years data set (pollen and plant macrofossil analyses) shows systematic differences from the present that are consistent with the numerous previous regional and continental interpretations, while providing a more extensive and more objective basis for such interpretations. Madagascar, eastern, southern and central Africa show only minor changes in terms of biomes, compared to present. Major changes in biome distributions occur north of 15 degrees N, with steppe in many low-elevation sites that are now desert, and temperate xerophytic woods/scrub and warm mixed forest in the Saharan mountains. These shifts in biome distributions, imply significant changes in climate, especially precipitation, between 6000 years and present, reflecting a change in monsoon extent combined with a southward expansion of Mediterranean influence.

Branching processes in Lévy processes: the exploration process

Abstract: The main idea of the present work is to associate with a general continuous branching process an exploration process that contains the desirable information about the genealogical structure. The exploration process appears as a simple local time functional of a Levy process with no negative jumps, whose Laplace exponent coincides with the branching mechanism function. This new relation between spectrally positive Levy processes and continuous branching processes provides a unified perspective on both theories. In particular, we derive the adequate formulation of the classical Ray–Knight theorem for such Levy processes. As a consequence of this theorem, we show that the path continuity of the exploration process is equivalent to the almost sure extinction of the branching process.

An OGCM Study for the TOGA Decade. Part I: Role of Salinity in the Physics of the Western Pacific Fresh Pool

Abstract: A set of numerical simulations of the tropical Pacific Ocean during the 1985–94 decade is used to investigate the effects of haline stratification on the low-frequency equilibrium of the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment region. The simulated sea surface salinity structure is found to be quite sensitive to the freshwater forcing and to the other fluxes. Despite this sensitivity, several robust features are found in the model. Sensitivity experiments illustrate the important role of the haline stratification in the western Pacific. This stratification is the result of a balance between precipitations and entrainment of subsurface saltier water. It inhibits the downward penetration of turbulent kinetic energy. This results notably in a trapping of the westerly wind burst momentum in the surface layer, giving rise to strong fresh equatorial jets. The model is able to produce a barrier layer between 5°N and 10°S in the western Pacific and under the intertropical convergence zone (as in the...

A Computed Tomography Scan Assessment of Regional Lung Volume in Acute Lung Injury

Abstract: The lobar and cephalocaudal distribution of aerated and nonaerated lung and of PEEP-induced alveolar recruitment is unknown in acute lung injury (ALI). Dimensions of the lungs and volumes of aerated and nonaerated parts of each pulmonary lobe were measured using a computerized tomographic quantitative analysis and compared between 21 patients with ALI and 10 healthy volunteers. Distribution of PEEP-induced alveolar recruitment along the anteroposterior and cephalocaudal axis and influence of the resting volume of nonaerated lower lobes were also assessed. Anteroposterior and transverse dimensions of the lungs of the patients were similar to those of healthy volunteers, whereas cephalocaudal dimensions were reduced by more than 15%. Total lung volume (aerated plus nonaerated lung) was reduced by 27%. Volumes of upper and lower lobes were 99 and 48% of normal values. In addition to an anteroposterior gradient in the distribution of aerated and nonaerated areas, a cephalocaudal gradient was also observed. Nonaerated areas were predominantly found in juxtadiaphragmatic regions. PEEP-induced alveolar recruitment was more pronounced in nondependent than in dependent regions and in cephalad than in caudal regions. A significant correlation between resting volume of nonaerated lower lobes and regional PEEP-induced alveolar recruitment was observed. In ALI, loss of lung volume involves predominantly lower lobes. The thorax shortens along its cephalocaudal axis. PEEP-induced alveolar recruitment predominates in nondependent and cephalad lung regions and is inversely correlated with the resting volume of nonaerated lung.

Air–Sea Feedback in the North Atlantic and Surface Boundary Conditions for Ocean Models

Abstract: Extratropical sea surface temperature (SST) and surface turbulent heat flux monthly anomalies in the central and eastern part of the North Atlantic are considered for the period 1952‐92 on a 5 83 58 grid. In this region where the mean surface current is small, the SST anomalies are well simulated by a simple one-dimensional mixed layer model that is stochastically forced by the day-to-day changes in the local air‐sea fluxes. A statistical signature of the stochastic model is that the cross correlation between surface heat flux and SST anomalies changes sign between negative and positive lags when the heat flux feedback is negative. This is observed at each grid point of the domain for the turbulent heat flux, which thus contributes both to generating the midlatitude SST anomalies and to damping them, once they are generated. Using properties of the lag covariance between SST and heat flux anomalies, the turbulent heat flux feedback is estimated from the observations. It averages to about 20 W m22 K21 in the investigated domain, increasing toward the northwest and the northeast and decreasing southward. It also varies seasonally, being generally largest in the fall and smaller and more uniform in summer. There is no indication that it can become significantly positive. A negative turbulent heat flux feedback is also suggested by the lag relation between the dominant modes of SST and turbulent heat flux variability over the whole North Atlantic, and it is found that the spatial patterns of the associated SST and turbulent heat flux anomalies are remarkably similar whether the atmosphere leads or lags, with only a change of heat flux sign between lead and lag situations. This analysis provides some observational support for the use on short timescales of a restoring condition for SST in ocean-only simulations, but the coupling coefficient should be weaker than usually assumed and a function of latitude and season. The associated SST‐evaporation feedback has little effect on interannual surface salinity changes. It should be significant on longer timescales, but then the restoring temperature should be allowed to vary and nonlocal influences should be considered.

Synthesis and Characterization of Surface-Protected Nanocrystalline Titania Particles

Abstract: Monodisperse nonaggregated nanoparticles of titania are obtained through hydrolysis at 60 °C of titanium butoxide in the presence of acetylacetone and para-toluenesulfonic acid. After the particles are dried, the resulting xerosols can be dispersed without aggregation in water−alcoholic or alcoholic solutions at concentrations higher than 1 M. The characterizations of the nanoparticles were carried out in solution by using quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS); FTIR; 13C, 17O, and 1H NMR and in solid state by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), FTIR, thermogravimetry−dynamic thermal analysis (TG−DTA), 13C cross-polarization−magic angle spinning (CP−MAS) NMR. The mean size of the anatase oxide core can be adjusted in the 1−5 nm range by a careful tuning of the synthetic conditions. The protection of these particles toward aggregation is ensured through the complexation of the surface by acetylacetonato ligands and through an adsorbed hybrid organic−inorganic layer made with acetylace...

Sperm competition and sexual selection: a meta-analysis of paternity studies of birds

Abstract: Sperm competition (the competition among the sperm of different males for fertilization of the eggs of a female) has been suggested to be an important component of sexual selection, but no general assessment has been made of this proposition. We used a meta-analytic approach to assess the extensive literature on paternity (the proportion of offspring in a focal nest sired by an attending male) in birds based on allozyme and molecular techniques. The relative variance in male mating success was on average increased by a factor of 4.6 over the variance in apparent male success. Males with more extravagant secondary sexual characters had higher paternity in their own nests than less adorned males. There was a weak effect of male age being positively associated with paternity in own nests. Male body size measured as the length of wing and tarsus was weakly positively associated with paternity in own nests. Male survival prospect was positively associated with paternity in own nests. Polygynous males generally had decreased paternity of their broods compared to monogamous males. Paternity of the resident male decreased with increasing population density and breeding asynchrony. The intensity of paternity guards such as within-pair copulation rate and mate guarding were not significantly related to extra-pair paternity. Sperm competition was thus an important component of sexual selection by increasing the variance in male mating success, and by being associated with the expression of secondary sexual characters, in particular in dense and asynchronously breeding populations of birds.