Diversity and community patterns of macro- and megafauna were compared on the Canadian Beaufort shelf and slope. Faunal sampling collected 247 taxa from 48 stations with box core and trawl gear over the summers of 2009-2011 between 50 and 1,000 m in depth. Of the 80 macrofaunal and 167 megafaunal taxa, 23% were uniques, present at only one station. Rare taxa were found to increase proportional ...

One model to explain the relationship between patterning and growth during development posits that growth is regulated by the slope of morphogen gradients. The Decapentaplegic (DPP) morphogen controls growth in the Drosophila wing, but the slope of the DPP activity gradient has not been shown to influence growth. By employing a method for spatial, temporal, and quantitative control over gene ex...

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the application of probabilistic neural networks (PNNs) as a classification tool in the slope stability estimation. PNNs are applied to estimate slope stability according to the slope geometric shapes and soil mechanical parameters. Unlike other neural network training paradigms, PNNs are characterized by high training speed and their ability to pro...

Compacted soil has lower water infiltration and hydraulic conductivity, which contributes to increased runoff and erosion on slopes. The aim of the present study was to assess runoff and sediment on three skidding trail longitudinal gradients (15%, 25%, and 35%) and different levels of machine traffic (low, medium, and high), over a two-year period following the impact in the Hyrcanian forest, ...

Field observations of instantaneous water surface slopes in the swash zone are presented. For free-surface flows with a hydrostatic pressure distribution the surface slope is equivalent to the horizontal pressure gradient. Observations were made using a novel technique which in its simplest form consists of a horizontal stringline extending seaward from the beach face. Visual observation, still...

We present a numerical method for calculating inhomogeneous refractive index fields in rectangular gradient-index (GRIN) elements from measured boundary positions and slopes of a collection of rays that transit the medium. The inverse problem is reduced to a set of linear algebraic equations after approximating ray trajectories from the measured boundary values and is solved using a pseudo-inve...

Community similarity is the proportion of species richness in a region that is shared on average among communities within that region. The slope of local richness (alpha diversity) regressed on regional richness (gamma diversity) can serve as an index of community similarity across regions with different regional richness. We examined community similarity in corals at three spatial scales (amon...

OBJECTIVE To quantify the activation of the paraspinalis muscles (multifidus and erector spinae) at different walking velocities and slope with surface electromyography. METHODS This study was a prospective experimental study involving ten healthy male participants. Surface electrodes were placed over the multifidus and erector spinae muscles at the L5 and L3 level. After the electrode was pl...

The shape of the relationship between biodiversity and agricultural intensity determines the range of intensities that should be targeted by conservation policies to obtain the greatest environmental benefits. Although preliminary evidence of this relationship exists, the influence of the spatial arrangement of intensity on biodiversity remains untested. We conducted a nationwide study linking ...