Spatiotemporal Stability Research Articles

Absolute/convective instability of planar viscoelastic jets

Spatiotemporal linear stability analysis is used to investigate the onset of local absolute instability in planar viscoelastic jets. The influence of viscoelasticity in dilute polymer solutions is modeled with the FENE-P constitutive equation which requires the specification of a non-dimensional polymer relaxation time (the Weissenberg number, We), the maximum polymer extensibility, L, and the ratio of solvent and solution viscosities, β. A two-parameter family of velocity profiles is used as the base state with the parameter, S, controlling the amount of co- or counter-flow while N−1 sets the thickness of the jet shear layer. We examine how the variation of these fluid and flow parameters affects the minimum value of S at which the flow becomes locally absolutely unstable. Initially setting the Reynolds number to Re = 500, we find that the first varicose jet-column mode dictates the presence of absolute instability, and increasing the Weissenberg number produces important changes in the nature of the instability. The region of absolute instability shifts towards thin shear layers, and the amount of back-flow needed for absolute instability decreases (i.e., the influence of viscoelasticity is destabilizing). Additionally, when We is sufficiently large and N−1 is sufficiently small, single-stream jets become absolutely unstable. Numerical experiments with approximate equations show that both the polymer and solvent contributions to the stress become destabilizing when the scaled shear rate, η=WedU¯1dx2L (dU¯1dx2 is the base-state velocity gradient), is sufficiently large. These qualitative trends are largely unchanged when the Reynolds number is reduced; however, the relative importance of the destabilizing stresses increases tangibly. Consequently, absolute instability is substantially enhanced, and single-stream jets become absolutely unstable over a sizable portion of the parameter space.

Mutual stabilization of rhythmic vocalization and whole-body movement.

The current study investigated the rhythmic coordination between vocalization and whole-body movement. Previous studies have reported that spatiotemporal stability in rhythmic movement increases when coordinated with a rhythmic auditory stimulus or other effector in a stable coordination pattern. Therefore, the present study conducted two experiments to investigate (1) whether there is a stable coordination pattern between vocalization and whole-body movement and (2) whether a stable coordination pattern reduces variability in whole-body movement and vocalization. In Experiment 1, two coordination patterns between vocalizations and whole-body movement (hip, knee, and ankle joint flexion-on-the-voice vs. joint extension-on-the-voice) in a standing posture were explored at movement frequencies of 80, 130, and 180 beats per minute. At higher movement frequencies, the phase angle in the extension-on-the-voice condition deviated from the intended phase angle. However, the angle of the flexion-on-the-voice was maintained even when movement frequency increased. These results suggest that there was a stable coordination pattern in the flexion-on-the-voice condition. In Experiment 2, variability in whole-body movement and voice-onset intervals was compared between two conditions: one related to tasks performed in the flexion-on-the-voice coordination (coordination condition) that was a stable coordination pattern, and the other related to tasks performed independently (control condition). The results showed that variability in whole-body movement and voice-onset intervals was smaller in the coordination condition than in the control condition. Overall, the present study revealed mutual stabilization between rhythmic vocalization and whole-body movement via coordination within a stable pattern, suggesting that coupled action systems can act as a single functional unit or coordinative structure.

Evaluating the spatio-temporal factors that structure network parameters of plant-herbivore interactions.

Despite the dynamic nature of ecological interactions, most studies on species networks offer static representations of their structure, constraining our understanding of the ecological mechanisms involved in their spatio-temporal stability. This is the first study to evaluate plant-herbivore interaction networks on a small spatio-temporal scale. Specifically, we simultaneously assessed the effect of host plant availability, habitat complexity and seasonality on the structure of plant-herbivore networks in a coastal tropical ecosystem. Our results revealed that changes in the host plant community resulting from seasonality and habitat structure are reflected not only in the herbivore community, but also in the emergent properties (network parameters) of the plant-herbivore interaction network such as connectance, selectiveness and modularity. Habitat conditions and periods that are most stressful favored the presence of less selective and susceptible herbivore species, resulting in increased connectance within networks. In contrast, the high degree of selectivennes (i.e. interaction specialization) and modularity of the networks under less stressful conditions was promoted by the diversification in resource use by herbivores. By analyzing networks at a small spatio-temporal scale we identified the ecological factors structuring this network such as habitat complexity and seasonality. Our research offers new evidence on the role of abiotic and biotic factors in the variation of the properties of species interaction networks.

Spatial and temporal variability of the complex fractionated atrial electrogram activity and dominant frequency in human atrial fibrillation

BackgroundThe presence of complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAEs) and high dominant frequencies (DFs) during atrial fibrillation (AF) have been demonstrated to be related to AF maintenance. Therefore, sequential mapping of CFAEs and DFs have been used for target sites of AF ablation. However, such mapping strategies are valid only if the CFAEs and DFs are spatiotemporally stable during the mapping procedure. We obtained spatially stable multi-electrode recordings to assess the spatiotemporal stability of CFAEs and DFs. MethodsWe recorded electrical activity during AF for 10min with a 64-electrode basket catheter (48 bipole electrode pairs) placed in the left atrium in 36 patients with AF (paroxysmal AF [PAF], n=16; persistent AF [PerAF], n=20). The spatial and temporal distribution of the CFAEs (fractionation interval <120ms) and high DFs (>8Hz) at 1-min intervals for 10min were compared for each of the 48 bipoles. ResultsThe baseline CFAEs were located at 68.5±14.0% (32.9±6.7) of the 48 bipoles; however, the high DF sites were fewer (9.6±8.6% [4.6±4.1 bipoles]). The CFAEs sites did not change significantly during the 10-min recording period (kappa statistic: 0.71±0.24); however, the high DF sites changed significantly (kappa statistic: 0.07±0.19). These spatiotemporal changes in the CFAEs and high DFs did not differ between patients with PAF and PerAF. ConclusionsRegardless of the AF type, CFAEs sites, but not high DF sites, showed a high degree of spatial and temporal stability.

Absolute/Convective Instability Transition in a Backward Facing Step Combustor: Fundamental Mechanism and Influence of Density Gradient

Hydrodynamic instabilities of the flow field in lean premixed gas turbine combustors can generate velocity perturbations that wrinkle and distort the flame sheet over length scales that are smaller than the flame length. The resultant heat release oscillations can then potentially result in combustion instability. Thus, it is essential to understand the hydrodynamic instability characteristics of the combustor flow field in order to understand its overall influence on combustion instability characteristics. To this end, this paper elucidates the role of fluctuating vorticity production from a linear hydrodynamic stability analysis as the key mechanism promoting absolute/convective instability transitions in shear layers occurring in the flow behind a backward facing step. These results are obtained within the framework of an inviscid, incompressible, local temporal and spatio-temporal stability analysis. Vorticity fluctuations in this limit result from interaction between two competing mechanisms—(1) production from interaction between velocity perturbations and the base flow vorticity gradient and (2) baroclinic torque in the presence of base flow density gradients. This interaction has a significant effect on hydrodynamic instability characteristics when the base flow density and velocity gradients are colocated. Regions in the space of parameters characterizing the base flow velocity profile, i.e., shear layer thickness and ratio of forward to reverse flow velocity, corresponding to convective and absolute instability are identified. The implications of the present results on understanding prior experimental studies of combustion instability in backward facing step combustors and hydrodynamic instability in other flows such as heated jets and bluff body stabilized flames is discussed.

Obstacle-induced spiral vortex breakdown

An experimental investigation on vortex breakdown dynamics is performed. An adverse pressure gradient is created along the axis of a wing-tip vortex by introducing a sphere downstream of an elliptical hydrofoil. The instrumentation involves high-speed visualizations with air bubbles used as tracers and 2D Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV). Two key parameters are identified and varied to control the onset of vortex breakdown: the swirl number, defined as the maximum azimuthal velocity divided by the free-stream velocity, and the adverse pressure gradient. They were controlled through the incidence angle of the elliptical hydrofoil, the free-stream velocity and the sphere diameter. A single helical breakdown of the vortex was systematically observed over a wide range of experimental parameters. The helical breakdown coiled around the sphere in the direction opposite to the vortex but rotated along the vortex direction. We have observed that the location of vortex breakdown moved upstream as the swirl number or the sphere diameter was increased. LDV measurements were corrected using a reconstruction procedure taking into account the so-called vortex wandering and the size of the LDV measurement volume. This allows us to investigate the spatio-temporal linear stability properties of the flow and demonstrate that the flow transition from columnar to single helical shape is due to a transition from convective to absolute instability.

The effect of rounding corners or cutting edges on the absolute/convective instability properties of mixing layers

We revisit the inviscid spatio-temporal stability properties of mixing layers. Earlier comparisons of the dispersion relations pertaining to the broken line model and the hyperbolic tangent profile have shown that the temporal stability properties are mainly governed by the velocity difference and the shear layer thickness, and that they are very robust to the details of the velocity profile. The situation however dramatically changes when one considers the spatio-temporal stability properties of these two limiting cases, which were shown to differ significantly. With the aim to better understand these strong differences, we introduce a family of velocity profiles that continuously spans from the broken line model to the tanh profile. We show that the momentum thickness appears as an important parameter that helps better predicting the absolute/convective properties of a given mixing layer.

Spatiotemporal Stability of Cu-ATSM and FLT Positron Emission Tomography Distributions During Radiation Therapy

In dose painting, in which functional imaging is used to define biological targets for radiation therapy dose escalation, changes in spatial distributions of biological properties during treatment can compromise the quality of therapy. The goal of this study was to assess the spatiotemporal stability of 2 potential dose painting targets--hypoxia and proliferation--in canine tumors during radiation therapy. Twenty-two canine patients with sinonasal tumors (14 carcinoma and 8 sarcoma) were imaged before hypofractionated radiation therapy with copper(II)-diacetyl-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (Cu-ATSM) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for hypoxia and 3'-deoxy-3'-(18)F-fluorothymidine (FLT) PET/CT for proliferation. The FLT scans were repeated after 2 fractions and the Cu-ATSM scans after 3 fractions. Midtreatment PET/CT images were deformably registered to pretreatment PET/CT images. Voxel-based Spearman correlation coefficients quantified the spatial stability of Cu-ATSM and FLT uptake distributions between pretreatment and midtreatment scans. Paired t tests determined significant differences between the patients' respective Cu-ATSM and FLT correlations coefficients. Standardized uptake value measures were also compared between pretreatment and midtreatment scans by use of paired t tests. Spatial distributions of Cu-ATSM and FLT uptake were stable through midtreatment for both sarcomas and carcinomas: the population mean ± standard deviation in Spearman correlation coefficient was 0.88 ± 0.07 for Cu-ATSM and 0.79 ± 0.13 for FLT. The patients' Cu-ATSM correlation coefficients were significantly higher than their respective FLT correlation coefficients (P=.001). Changes in Cu-ATSM SUV measures from pretreatment to midtreatment were histology dependent: carcinomas experienced significant decreases in Cu-ATSM uptake (P<.05), whereas sarcomas did not (P>.20). Both histologies experienced significant decreases in FLT uptake (P<.05). Spatial distributions of Cu-ATSM were very stable after a few fractions of radiation therapy. FLT spatial distributions were generally stable early in therapy, although they were significantly less stable than Cu-ATSM distributions. Canine tumors had significantly lower proliferative activity at midtreatment than at pretreatment, and they experienced histology-dependent changes in Cu-ATSM uptake.

Real‐time feedback for spatiotemporal field stabilization in MR systems

MR imaging and spectroscopy require a highly stable, uniform background field. The field stability is typically limited by hardware imperfections, external perturbations, or field fluctuations of physiological origin. The purpose of the present work is to address these issues by introducing spatiotemporal field stabilization based on real-time sensing and feedback control. An array of NMR field probes is used to sense the field evolution in a whole-body MR system concurrently with regular system operation. The field observations serve as inputs to a proportional-integral controller that governs correction currents in gradient and higher-order shim coils such as to keep the field stable in a volume of interest. The feedback system was successfully set up, currently reaching a minimum latency of 20 ms. Its utility is first demonstrated by countering thermal field drift during an EPI protocol. It is then used to address respiratory field fluctuations in a T2 *-weighted brain exam, resulting in substantially improved image quality. Feedback field control is an effective means of eliminating dynamic field distortions in MR systems. Third-order spatial control at an update time of 100 ms has proven sufficient to largely eliminate thermal and breathing effects in brain imaging at 7 Tesla.

Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in the haemoparasite community of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in NE Poland.

Long-term field studies on parasite communities are rare but provide a powerful insight into the ecological and evolutionary processes shaping host–parasite interactions. The aim of our study was to identify the principal factors regulating long-term trends in the haemoparasite communities of bank voles, and to this end, we sampled three semi-isolated populations of bank voles (n = 880) in 1999, 2002, 2006 and 2010 in the Mazury lake district region of NE Poland. Overall, 90.8 % of the bank voles harboured at least one of the species of haemoparasites studied. Whilst overall prevalence (all species combined) did not vary significantly between the surveys, different temporal changes were detected among voles in each of the three sites. In voles from Urwitałt, prevalence increased consistently with successive surveys, whereas in Tałty, the peak years were 2002 and 2006, and in Pilchy, prevalence oscillated without a clear pattern. Across the study, bank voles harboured a mean of 1.75 ± 0.034 haemoparasite species, and species richness remained stable with no significant between-year fluctuations or trends. However, each of the five constituent species/genera showed a different pattern of spatio-temporal changes. The overall prevalence of Babesia microti was 4.9 %, but this varied significantly between years peaking in 2006 and declining again by 2010. For Bartonella spp., overall prevalence was 38.7 %, and this varied with year of study, but the temporal pattern of changes differed among the three sites. The overall prevalence of Haemobartonella (Mycoplasma) was 68.3 % with an increase in prevalence with year of study in all three sites. Hepatozoon erhardovae had an overall prevalence of 46.8 % but showed a marked reduction with each successive year of the study, and this was consistent in all three sites. The overall prevalence of Trypanosoma evotomys was 15.4 % varying significantly between sites, but showing temporal stability. While overall prevalence of all haemoparasites combined and species richness remained stable over the period of study, among the five haemoparasites, the pattern of spatiotemporal changes in prevalence and abundance of infections differed depending on parasite species. For some genera, host age was shown to play an important role, but a significant effect of host sex was found only for Haemobartonella spp.

Modal Stability Theory

This article contains a review of modal stability theory. It covers local stability analysis of parallel flows including temporal stability, spatial stability, phase velocity, group velocity, spatio-temporal stability, the linearized Navier–Stokes equations, the Orr–Sommerfeld equation, the Rayleigh equation, the Briggs–Bers criterion, Poiseuille flow, free shear flows, and secondary modal instability. It also covers the parabolized stability equation (PSE), temporal and spatial biglobal theory, 2D eigenvalue problems, 3D eigenvalue problems, spectral collocation methods, and other numerical solution methods. Computer codes are provided for tutorials described in the article. These tutorials cover the main topics of the article and can be adapted to form the basis of research codes.

Retraction Note: Patterns of bee diversity in mosaic agricultural landscapes of central Uganda: implication of pollination services conservation for food security

Little is known about bee communities and pollination services conservation strategies in sub-Sahara Africa. A study was conducted at 26 different sites with varying local landscape characteristics in farmlands of central Uganda in 2006. Bees were sampled using coloured pantraps, handnet and line transect counts. Overall 80,883 bee individuals from 6 families and 652 species were encountered. The bee fauna was characterized by a lower diversity of Melittidae and Andrenidae and a high diversity of Apidae, Megachilidae and Halictidae. Megachile and Lasioglossum were the two most species-rich genera. The most abundant species was Apis mellifera adansonii Linnaeus (23 % of total individuals) followed by Hypotrigona gribodoi Magretti (19 %), Meliponula ferruginea Lepeletier (13 %), Lasioglossum ugandicum Cockerell (7 %), Apis mellifera scutellata Latreille (6 %), Allodapula acutigera Cockerell (6 %), Ceratina rufigastra Cockerell (5 %), Ceratina tanganyicensis Strand (5 %), Braunsapis angolensis Cockerell (5 %), Megachile rufipes Fabricius (5 %), Meliponula bocandei Spinola (5 %) and Seladonia jucundus Smith (5 %). The mean number of species recorded per study site per day ranged between 14 and 49, whereas the abundance ranged between 188 and 1,859 individuals. Study sites in areas with intense land-use had species-poor bee communities compared to sites with medium to low land-use intensities. Study sites with riparian forest fragments and wetlands, or with forest fallows in their vicinity had significantly (P < 0.05) higher species richness and diversity than sites dominated by small-scale monoculture/polyculture fields or sites dominated by either simple or complex traditional agroforestry systems. An ordination analysis also revealed that bee communities were significantly (P < 0.01) influenced by the presence of semi-natural habitats (woodlands, fallows) and forest fragments in the surrounding of fields. Thus, natural and semi-natural habitats are of great value for afrotropical farmland bee communities. There is a need to put in place strategies and policies for semi-natural and forest fragments preservation for spatio-temporal stability of pollination services in rural landscapes. Farmers are recommended to increase on-farm trees cover to safeguard and enhance pollination function and services in fields. Mimicking natural vegetation through promoting establishment of forest plantations and village community forestry in rural landscapes is also critical for conserving pollination services.

Spatio-temporal stability and abnormality of chlorophyll-a in the Northern South China Sea during 2002–2012 from MODIS images using wavelet analysis

Detecting a regular pattern of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) in the ocean can provide a preliminary scientific understanding of regional environmental changes. The objective of this research was to identify the potential of a wavelet transform to capture and describe both the stationary level and anomalous variability of Chl-a. An 11-year time series (from July 2002 to December 2012) of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) chlorophyll-a product in the Northern South China Sea (NSCS) was collected. The Data INterpolating Empirical Orthogonal Functions (DINEOF) was used to reconstruct the original MODIS data. The approximation and detailed components from the original series of the MODIS Chl-a data were considered to be a source of the stationary level and anomalous variability of Chl-a, respectively. The stationary level of the Chl-a concentration was characterized by the Chl-a concentration of the coastal areas that was higher than that of the open ocean area, as well as monthly, seasonal and annual averaged Chl-a concentrations concentrating on between 0.05 and 0.25mgm−3. The anomalous variability of Chl-a has a short-oscillating period of 0.5 years; specifically, the Chl-a negative amplitude occurred in spring and autumn, and the positive amplitude was recorded in winter and summer. Furthermore, a long-oscillating period of four years, that is, the inter-annual singularity of Chl-a, primarily appeared in May 2003, May 2007 and May 2011. The maxima of the Chl-a concentration were dominated by between 0.5 and 1mgm−3. The peak winter Chl-a concentration was mainly located in the open ocean area, and the peak summer Chl-a concentration was mostly limited to the coastal region. This study suggests that a wavelet transform is promising for detecting the anomalous and stationary variability of ocean parameters.

Absolute instability in viscoelastic mixing layers

The spatiotemporal linear stability of viscoelastic planar mixing layers is investigated. A one-parameter family of velocity profiles is used as the base state with the parameter, S, controlling the amount of shear and backflow. The influence of viscoelasticity in dilute polymer solutions is modeled with the Oldroyd-B and FENE-P constitutive equations. Both models require the specification of the ratio of the polymer-relaxation and convective time scales (the Weissenberg number, We) and the ratio of solvent and solution viscosities (β). The maximum polymer extensibility, L, must also be specified for the FENE-P model. We examine how the variation of these parameters along with the Reynolds number, Re, affects the minimum value of S at which the flow becomes locally absolutely unstable. With the Oldroyd-B model, the influence of viscoelasticity is shown to be almost fully captured by the elasticity, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$E^* \equiv \frac{(1-\beta ) We}{Re}$\end{document}E*≡(1−β)WeRe, and Scrit decreases as elasticity is increased, i.e., elasticity is destabilizing. A simple approximate dispersion relation obtained via long-wave asymptotic analysis is shown to accurately capture this destabilizing influence. Results obtained with the FENE-P model exhibit a rich variety of behavior. At large values of the extensibility, L, results are similar to those for the Oldroyd-B fluid as expected. However, when the extensibility is reduced to more realistic values (L ≈ 100), one must consider the scaled shear rate, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$\eta _c \equiv \frac{We S}{2L}$\end{document}ηc≡WeS2L, in addition to the elasticity. When ηc is large, the base-state polymer stress obtained by the FENE-P model is reduced, and there is a corresponding reduction in the overall influence of viscoelasticity on stability. Additionally, elasticity exhibits a stabilizing effect which is driven by the streamwise-normal perturbation polymer stress. As ηc is reduced, the base-state and perturbation normal polymer stresses predicted by the FENE-P model move towards the Oldroyd-B values, and the destabilizing influence of elasticity observed with the Oldroyd-B model is again present.

Distinctive patterns of dominant frequency trajectory behavior in drug-refractory persistent atrial fibrillation: preliminary characterization of spatiotemporal instability.

The role of substrates in the maintenance of persistent atrial fibrillation (persAF) remains poorly understood. The use of dominant frequency (DF) mapping to guide catheter ablation has been proposed as a potential strategy, but the characteristics of high DF sites have not been extensively studied. This study aimed to assess the DF spatiotemporal stability using high density noncontact mapping (NCM) in persAF. Eight persAF patients were studied using NCM during AF. Ventricular far-field cancellation was performed followed by the calculation of DF using Fast Fourier Transform. Analysis of DF stability and spatiotemporal behavior were investigated including characteristics of the highest DF areas (HDFAs). A total of 16,384 virtual electrograms (VEGMs) and 232 sequential high density 3-dimensional DF maps were analyzed. The percentage of DF stable points decreased rapidly over time. Repetition or reappearance of DF values were noted in some instances, occurring within 10 seconds in most cases. Tracking the HDFAs' center of gravity revealed 3 types of propagation behavior, namely (i) local, (ii) cyclical, and (iii) chaotic activity, with the former 2 patterns accounting for most of the observed events. DF of individual VEGMs was temporally unstable, although reappearance of DF values occurred at times. Hence, targeting sites of 'peak DF' from a single time frame is unlikely to be a reliable ablation strategy. There appears to be a predominance of local and cyclical activity of HDFAs hinting a potentially nonrandom temporally periodic behavior that provides further mechanistic insights into the maintenance of persAF.

Defining the Low End of Primate Social Complexity: The Social Organization of the Nocturnal White-Footed Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur leucopus).

Whereas other species of sportive lemurs (genus Lepilemur) have been described as living in dispersed pairs, which are characterized by spatial overlap but a lack of affinity or affiliation between one adult male and female, existing reports on the social organization of the white-footed sportive lemur (Lepilemur leucopus) are conflicting, describing them as either living in dispersed one-male multifemale systems or pairs. We conducted this study in the spiny forest of Berenty Reserve, southern Madagascar, to clarify the social organization and to characterize the level of social complexity of this species. We combined 1530 h of radio-telemetry and behavioral observations over a period of 1 yr to describe the spatiotemporal stability, size, and interindividual overlap of individual home ranges as well as interindividual cohesiveness. Results revealed low intra- and high intersexual home range overlap. Although most of the social units identified consisted of dispersed pairs (N = 5), males were associated with two adult females in two cases. Furthermore, members of a social unit were never observed to groom each other or to share a daytime sleeping site, and Hutchinson’s and Doncaster’s dynamic interaction tests indicated active avoidance between pair partners. Low cohesiveness together with extremely low rates of social interactions therefore arguably places Lepilemur leucopus at the low end of primate social complexity.

Instability regimes in the primary breakup region of planar coflowing sheets

AbstractThis article investigates the appearance of instabilities in two planar coflowing fluid sheets with different densities and viscosities via experiments, numerical simulation and linear stability analysis. At low dynamic pressure ratios a convective instability is shown to appear for which the frequency of the waves in the primary atomization region is influenced by both liquid and gas velocities. For large dynamic pressure ratios an asymptotic regime is obtained in which frequency is solely controlled by gas velocity and the instability becomes absolute. The transition from convective to absolute is shown to be influenced by the velocity defect induced by the presence of the separator plate. We show that in this regime the splitter plate thickness can also affect the nature of the instability if it is larger than the gas vorticity thickness. Computational and experimental results are in agreement with the predictions of a spatio-temporal stability analysis.

Pollinator biodiversity in Uganda and in Sub-Sahara Africa: Landscape and habitat management strategies for its conservation

Previous pollinator faunistic surveys conducted in 26 different sites indicated that farmlands of central Uganda supported more than 650 bee species, 330 butterfly species and 57 fly species. Most crop species grown in Uganda are pollinator-dependents. There is also a high dependency of rural communities on pollination services for their livelihoods and incomes. The annual economic value attributable to pollinating services delivered to crop production sector was estimated to be worth of US$0.49 billion for a total economic value of crop production of US$1.16 billion in Uganda. Despite the great contribution of pollinators to crop yields, there is still lack of knowledge of their conservation strategies in Uganda. Policies, actions, farming practices, critical landscape management techniques and conservation measures for spatio-temporal stability and maintenance of pollinator communities in farmlands of Uganda include (i) the protection and maintenance of high cover (>20%) of natural and semi-natural habitats, (ii) forming mosaic farm-landscapes mimicking natural systems to enhance mediated ecosystem services delivery and agroecosystems resilience to climate change, (iii) field plants and habitat manipulation for spatio-temporal provision of floral resources, (iv) promotingawareness campaigns and sensitization policy makers about the importance of conserving pollinators and (v) encouraging farmers to adopt pollinator-friendly farming practices. Key words: Conservation strategies, policy changes, awareness and sensitization campaigns, pollination services marketing, farmlands, Uganda.

Hypoxia imaging with [18F]HX4 PET in NSCLC patients: Defining optimal imaging parameters

Background and purpose[18F]HX4 is a promising hypoxia PET-tracer. Uptake, spatio-temporal stability and optimal acquisition parameters for [18F]HX4 PET imaging were evaluated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Materials and methods[18F]HX4 PET/CT images of 15 NSCLC patients were acquired 2h and 4h after injection (p.i.). Maximum standardized-uptake-value (SUVmax), tumor-to-blood-ratio (TBRmax), hypoxic fraction (HF) and contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR) were determined for all lesions. To evaluate spatio-temporal stability, DICE-similarity and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated. Optimal acquisition-duration was assessed by comparing 30, 20, 10 and 5min acquisitions. ResultsConsiderable uptake (TBR >1.4) was observed in 18/25 target lesions. TBRmax increased significantly from 2h (1.6±0.3) to 4h p.i. (2.0±0.6). Uptake patterns at 2h and 4h p.i. showed a strong correlation (R=0.77±0.10) with a DICE similarity coefficient of 0.69±0.08 for the 30% highest uptake volume. Reducing acquisition-time resulted in significant changes in SUVmax and CNR. TBRmax and HF were only affected for scan-times of 5min. ConclusionsThe majority of NSCLC lesions showed considerable [18F]HX4 uptake. The heterogeneous uptake pattern was stable between 2h and 4h p.i. [18F]HX4 PET imaging at 4h p.i. is superior to 2h p.i. to reach highest contrast. Acquisition time may be reduced to 10min without significant effects on TBRmax and HF.

An analytical connection between temporal and spatio-temporal growth rates in linear stability analysis

We derive an exact formula for the complex frequency in spatio-temporal stability analysis that is valid for arbitrary complex wavenumbers. The usefulness of the formula lies in the fact that it depends only on purely temporal quantities, which are easily calculated. We apply the formula in two model dispersion relations: the linearized complex Ginzburg–Landau equation, and a model of wake instability. In the first case, a quadratic truncation of the exact formula applies; in the second, the same quadratic truncation yields an estimate of the parameter values at which the transition to absolute instability occurs; the error in the estimate decreases upon increasing the order of the truncation. We outline ways in which the formula can be used to characterize stability results obtained from purely numerical calculations, and point to a further application in global stability analyses.