Complete genome sequence of Torque teno indri virus 1, a novel anellovirus in blood from a free-living lemur

ABSTRACT We identified Torque teno indri virus 1 (TTIV1), the first anellovirus in a free-living lemur ( Indri indri ). The complete circular 2,572-nucleotide (nt) TTIV1 genome is distantly related to torque teno sus virus. Phylogenetic and sequence analyses support TTIV1 as a putative member of a new genus within the Anelloviridae family. </jats:p

Solar thermoelectric generator for micropower applications”.

Solar thermoelectric generators (STG) using cheap parabolic concentrators with high-ZT modules can be a cost-effective alternative to solar photovoltaics for micropower generation. A thermodynamic analysis is presented for predicting the thermal-to-electrical conversion efficiency for the generator. With solar concentration of 669 suns, a system efficiency of 3% was measured for a commercial Bi 2 Te 3 module with output power of 1.8 W. Using novel thermoelectric materials such as n-type ErAs:(InGaAs) 1Àx (InAlAs) x and p-type (AgSbTe) x (PbSnTe) 1Àx , a conversion efficiency of 5.6% can be achieved for a STG at 1209 suns

Trend for Thermoelectric Materials and Their Earth Abundance

The low crustal abundance of materials such as tellurium (Te) (0.001 ppm by weight), antimony (Sb) (0.2 ppm), and germanium (Ge) (1.4 ppm) contributes to their price volatility as applications (competing with thermoelectrics) continue to grow, for example, cadmium telluride photovoltaics, antimony-lead alloy for batteries, and Ge for fiber optics and infrared optical technologies. Previous consideration of material scarcity has focused on Te-based thermoelectrics. Here, we broaden the analysis to include recent high-figure-of-merit (ZT) materials such as skutterudites, Zintl phase compounds, and clathrates that employ Sb, ytterbium (2.8 ppm), and Ge. The maximum demonstrated ZT for each particular alloy exhibits an empirical dependence on the crustal abundance, A, such that ZT = A Àb , where b is in the range from 0.05 to 0.10. This analysis shows that no material with crustal abundance of 30 ppm ($4 9 10 18 metric tons) has ZT greater than 0.8

Hydrologic Modeling of Urban Development Scenarios and Low-Impact Design Systems on an Undisturbed Coastal Forested Watershed under Extreme Rainfall-Runoff Events and Hydro-Meteorological Conditions in a Changing Climate

Watershed 80 (WS80), a reference watershed located in the USDA Forest Service Santee Experimental Forest, has been undisturbed since 1937, including from the silviculture that has historically characterized the region. Therefore, the results from this study are assumed to serve as a baseline of the developmental behavior for similar watersheds along the Southeastern Coastal Plain. The purpose of this study was first to analyze and compare the outputs of two rainfall-runoff models, the NRCS program WinTR-55 and the USGS Regional Regression Equations (RREs), with historical data gathered from WS80 to examine which model most accurately fits existing peak flow data. An accurate sense of peak flows is crucial in both the conservation and planning of sites, as proper stormwater management and infrastructure preserve the integrity of both natural resources and humanmade structures. Second, the study sought to analyze the impact of hypothetical development on design peak flow rate with up to 15% watershed imperviousness using each model. Additionally, two hypothetical scenarios of low-impact design (LID) practices such as vegetative rooftops and permeable pavements on development within the watershed were examined using the Purdue University software L-THIA. The USGS RREs overpredicted peak flows by 84% at a 5-yr return period to 12% at a 100-yr return period. WinTR-55 underpredicted peak flows by 31% at a 5-yr return period to 52% at a 100-yr return period. Increases in impervious surfaces led to subsequent increases in modeled design peak flows, with the greatest post-development change in design peak flow rate occurring within the USGS model. Although results showed that neither the USGS nor WinTR-55 models accurately predicted the design peak flow data from the watershed, USGS predictions were closer to the observed values for 50-yr or higher return periods than that from WinTR-55. Though LID practices were only applied up to a hypothetical 15% of the watershed, when fully implemented they were estimated to exert a 98% reduction in runoff which translated to a total reduction in volume by 20% and depth by 16% as compared to traditional design counterparts. This hypothesized evidence indicates the merit for using LID practices for runoff management even in situations of low imperviousness

Hydrologic and Water Quality Monitoring on Turkey Creek Watershed, Francis Marion National Forest, SC

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

IL-17 Signaling triggers degradation of the constitutive NF-κB inhibitor ABIN-1

IL-17 activates NF-κB and induces expression of proinflammatory genes. IL-17 drives disease in autoimmune conditions, and anti–IL-17 Abs have shown impressive success in the clinic. Although produced by lymphocytes, IL-17 predominantly signals in fibroblasts and epithelial cells. IL-17–driven inflammation is kept in check by negative feedback signaling molecules, including the ubiquitin editing enzyme A20, whose gene TNFAIP3 is linked to autoimmune disease susceptibility. The A20 binding inhibitor of NF-κB activation 1 (ABIN-1) is an A20-binding protein encoded by the TNIP1 gene, which is also linked to autoimmune disease susceptibility including psoriasis. Accordingly, we hypothesized that ABIN-1 might play a role in negatively regulating IL-17 signaling activity. Indeed, ABIN-1 enhanced both tonic and IL-17–dependent NF-κB signaling in IL-17–responsive fibroblast cells. Interestingly, the inhibitory activities of ABIN-1 on IL-17 signaling were independent of A20. ABIN-1 is a known NF-κB target gene, and we found that IL-17–induced activation of NF-κB led to enhanced ABIN-1 mRNA expression and promoter activity. Surprisingly, however, the ABIN-1 protein was inducibly degraded following IL-17 signaling in a proteasome-dependent manner. Thus, ABIN-1, acting independently of A20, restricts both baseline and IL-17–induced inflammatory gene expression. We conclude that IL-17–induced signals lead to degradation of ABIN-1, thereby releasing a constitutive cellular brake on NF-κB activation

Bridging Python to Silicon: The SODA Toolchain

Systems performing scientific computing, data analysis, and machine learning tasks have a growing demand for application-specific accelerators that can provide high computational performance while meeting strict size and power requirements. However, the algorithms and applications that need to be accelerated are evolving at a rate that is incompatible with manual design processes based on hardware description languages. Agile hardware design tools based on compiler techniques can help by quickly producing an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) accelerator starting from a high-level algorithmic description. We present the SODA Synthesizer, a modular and open-source hardware compiler that provides automated end-to-end synthesis from high-level software frameworks to ASIC implementation, relying on multi-level representations to progressively lower and optimize the input code. Our approach does not require the application developer to write register-transfer level code, and it is able to reach up to 364 GFLOPS/W efficiency (32-bit precision) on typical convolutional neural network operators

Thermo-mechanical Behaviour of Energy Piles

Energy piles are an effective and economic means of using geothermal energy resources for heating and cooling buildings, contributing to legislative requirements for renewable energy in new construction. While such piles have been used for around 25 years with no apparent detrimental effect, there is limited understanding of their thermo-mechanical behaviour. This paper synthesises the results from three published field studies and illustrates some of the engineering behaviour of such piles during heating and cooling. Simplified load transfer mechanisms for a single pile subjected to pure thermal loadings (i.e. without mechanical load) and combined thermomechanical loadings have been developed and are used to interpret the field data with regard to change in axial stress and shaft friction during heating and cooling. The effect of end restraint and ground conditions on the thermo-mechanical response of energy piles is discussed. Values of change in axial stress and mobilised shaft friction due to thermal effects that may be useful in the design of energy piles are presented