Search

Birds living in urban areas use various human-made structures. Many artificial structures such as houses, electric poles, and electric wires are used as "perches". The height of urban birds (vertical space utilization) may be affected by the height of these structures are. We investigated how and which height birds utilize in the urban space in Hakodate City in Hokkaido, and whether they are related to the electric poles and wires. A decision tree was constructed to analyze how differences in species (Tree Sparrow, Rock Dove, Carrion Crow, Large-billed Crow, and Slaty-backed Gull.), seasons, and in the numbers of high-rise buildings explained the observed heights of birds in the following three categories; L-zone (0–4.8 m), E-zone (4.8–14.5 m), and H-zone (all ranges higher than 14.5 m). The combination of explanatory variables that were strongly related to height differed among species. Although Carrion Crows and Tree Sparrows most frequently used heights with electric poles and wires, their usage patterns were different. For both species, the E-zone was used not only as merely a perching place but also as an important place where behaviors related to reproduction were exhibited. Knowing the vertical space utilization of birds in urban areas may help avoid future accidents involving unmanned aerial vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel ruthenium complexes Ru(L)(bpy)(PF) and platinum organometallic complexes Pt(L)(−≡−CHCH) with bis-(pyridinyl)ethynyl-phenanthrolines (L = 3,8-bis[2-(3-pyridinyl)ethynyl]-1,10-phenanthroline or 3,8-bis[2-(4-pyridinyl)ethynyl]-1,10-phenanthroline) that function as metalloligands by extra pyridyl units have been prepared using respective synthetic methods. These complexes have broad absorption bands assignable to the MLCT band as the main contributing factor in the 400 to 550 nm wavelength region. Furthermore, these complexes show phosphorescence centered around 680 nm upon excitation at 425 nm. These emissions were assigned to a triplet MLCT-based luminescence for the ruthenium complexes, while a triplet MLCT as the main element, including the interligand charge transfer as the minor element, was assigned for the platinum organometallic complexes. The quantum yields of the emission of the present ruthenium complexes were relatively high, and these complexes are exactly phosphorescent dyes, although the emission intensities of the platinum complexes are poor. These two types of complexes are capable of selective photophysical detection of some metal ions and can serve as metalloligands in the construction of supramolecular metallocycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conformation of a photoresponsive polymer bearing azo units in the main chain, poly(propionaldehyde azine) (PrAz), in telrahydrofuran was investigated by viscosily measurements before and after trans to-cis photoisomerization and also by the rotational isomeric state (RIS) model. Before photoisomerizalion (i.e., in the case of trans-pPrAz), viscosity data indicated that pPrAz look a more extended conformation than did a diene polymer analog poly(butadiene). The RIS model analysis revealed that the extended conformation of pPrAz arose mainly from the difficulty of gauche conformation around the carbon-carbon bond in the main chain, After trans-to-cis photoisomerization (i.e., in the case of pPrAz consisting of trans and cis units), viscosity data indicated that the photoisomerization led to a slight extension of the pPrAz chain. The RIS model analysis explained that the photoisomerization formed preferentially the anti-cis isomer, resulting in a larger characteristic ratio to avoid severe steric hindrance between the ethyl groups on neighboring main-chain carbon atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strength of Earth's magnetic dipole field controls galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux, and GCR-induced cloud formation can affect climate. Here, we provide the first evidence of the GCR-induced cloud effect on the East-Asian monsoon during the last geomagnetic reversal transition. Bicentennial-resolution monsoon records from the Chinese Loess Plateau revealed that the summer monsoon (SM) was affected by millennial-scale climate events that occurred before and after the reversal, and that the winter monsoon (WM) intensified independently of SM variations; dust accumulation rates increased, coinciding with a cooling event in Osaka Bay. The WM intensification event lasted about 5000 years across an SM peak, during which the Earth's magnetic dipole field weakened to <25% of its present strength and the GCR flux increased by more than 50%. Thus, the WM intensification likely resulted from the increased land–ocean temperature gradient originating with the strong Siberian High that resulted from the umbrella effect of increased low-cloud cover through an increase in GCR flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]