258 research outputs found
Encapsulated generalized summation-by-parts formulations for curvilinear and non-conforming meshes
We extend the construction of so-called encapsulated global
summation-by-parts operators to the general case of a mesh which is not
boundary conforming. Owing to this development, energy stable discretizations
of nonlinear and variable coefficient initial boundary value problems can be
formulated in simple and straightforward ways using high-order accurate
operators of generalized summation-by-parts type. Encapsulated features on a
single computational block or element may include polynomial bases, tensor
products as well as curvilinear coordinate transformations. Moreover, through
the use of inner product preserving interpolation or projection, the global
summation-by-parts property in extended to arbitrary multi-block or
multi-element meshes with non-conforming nodal interfaces
A study of the variability in native forage grasses and its relationship to sources of collection
Call number: LD2668 .T4 1952 L8Master of Scienc
Workshop on Climate Effects of Wind Turbines
A workshop was held at Harvard University in June 2015 for the purposes of assessing the state of research on possible climate effects of wind turbines and identifying important outstanding issues and possible means by which they might be addressed
Quantifying macrodetritus fluxes from a small temperate estuary
Empirical measurements of estuary-to-coast material fluxes usually exclude the fraction of primary production that is exported as macrodetritus (marine plant litter), potentially leaving a gap in our understanding of the role of estuaries as outwelling systems. To address this gap, we sampled water and suspended material seasonally from the mouth of Pepe Inlet, Tairua Estuary, New Zealand. From samples collected hourly over 24 h, we calculated the lateral tidal fluxes (import, export, net flux) of macrodetritus, particulate and dissolved forms of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Annually, the inlet was a net exporter of N and P (5145 and 362 kg respectively). However, macrodetritus accounted for 87%). Nevertheless, seasonal pulses in the source and supply of macrodetritus may have consequences for the temporal scales over which this resource subsidy affects receiving ecosystems (e.g. intertidal sandflats). These mensurative investigations are useful to inform estuarine nutrient budgets that quantify the ecosystem services provided by temperate estuaries (e.g. contribution to fisheries food webs)
The Gravitational Wave Treasure Map: A Tool to Coordinate, Visualize, and Assess the Electromagnetic Follow-Up of Gravitational Wave Events
We present the Gravitational Wave Treasure Map, a tool to coordinate,
visualize, and assess the electromagnetic follow-up of gravitational wave (GW)
events. With typical GW localization regions of hundreds to thousands of square
degrees and dozens of active follow-up groups, the pursuit of electromagnetic
(EM) counterparts is a challenging endeavor, but the scientific payoff for
early discovery of any counterpart is clear. With this tool, we provide a
website and API interface that allows users to easily see where other groups
have searched and better inform their own follow-up search efforts. A strong
community of Treasure Map users will increase the overall efficiency of EM
counterpart searches and will play a fundamental role in the future of
multi-messenger astronomy.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, Accepted to Ap
The Challenge of Implementing the Marine Ecosystem Service Concept
The concept of ecosystem services has gained traction as a means of linking societal benefits to the underlying ecology and functioning of ecosystems, and is now frequently included in decision-making and legislation. Moving the ecosystem service concept from theory into practice is now crucial. However, advancements in this area of research differ by ecosystem type, and marine systems lag significantly behind terrestrial counterparts in terms of understanding, implementation, and number of studies. In this paper we explore several reasons why ecosystem service research has been limited in marine systems and we outline the challenges that hinder progress. Marine systems suffer from a scarcity of spatial data relative to terrestrial counterparts. In terrestrial systems the spatial patterns of land-use/land-cover (LULC) are relatively straightforward to access via satellite and have been used as proxy indicators of service provisions. In contrast, remote sensing tools used to study the surface of the Earth are much less effective at capturing images of the seabed, and by extension marine habitats. Marine waters and their constituents are also frequently driven great distances by winds, tides, and currents. This creates a challenge for management as the identification and protection of areas where ecosystem services are exploited is not necessarily sufficient to ensure sustained service delivery. Further complications arise from the three-dimensional uses of marine systems, incorporating activities that use the sea surface, the water column and the benthic habitats below. Progress is being made as technological advancements are resulting in the acquisition of spatial data at faster rates and higher resolutions than previously possible. There is a growing capacity to map, model and value an increasing number of services with initiatives such as InVEST or principle-based modeling. We suggest that awareness is needed around the limited progress in marine systems as this could affect the way we value the biosphere and the relative proportion between biomes
Eigen-transitions in cantilever cylindrical shells subjected to vertical edge loads
A thin cantilever cylindrical shell subjected to a transverse shear force at the free end can experience two distinct modes of buckling, depending on its relative thickness and length. If the former parameter is fixed then a short cylinder buckles in a diffuse manner, while the eigenmodal deformation of a moderately long shell is localised, both axially and circumferentially, near its fixed end. Donnelltype buckling equations for cylindrical shells are here coupled with a non-symmetric membrane basic state to produce a linear boundary-value problem that is shown to capture the transition between the aforementioned instability modes. The main interest lies in exploring the approximate asymptotic separation of the independent variables in the corresponding stability equations, when the eigen-deformation is doubly localised. Comparisons with direct numerical simulations of the full buckling problem provide further insight into the accuracy and limitations of our approximations
Complexity in Non-Pharmacological Caregiving Activities at the End of Life: An International Qualitative Study
In a qualitative study reported by Olav Lindqvist and colleagues, the range of nonpharmacological caregiving activities used in the last days of a patient's life are described
Assessment of Interobserver Reliability of Nephrologist Examination of Urine Sediment.
To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadImportance: Urine sediment microscopy is commonly performed during the evaluation of kidney disease. Interobserver reliability of nephrologists' urine sediment examination has not been well studied.
Objective: Assess interobserver reliability of the urine sediment examination.
Design, setting, and participants: In this diagnostic test study, urine samples were prospectively collected from a convenience sample of adult patients from an academic hospital in the United States undergoing kidney biopsy from July 11, 2018, to March 20, 2019. Digital images and videos of urine sediment findings were captured using a bright-field microscope. These images and videos along with urine dipstick results were incorporated in online surveys and sent to expert nephrologists at 15 US teaching hospitals. They were asked to identify individual sediment findings and the most likely underlying disease process.
Exposures: Urine dipstick results and urine sediment images from patients undergoing native kidney biopsy.
Main outcomes and measures: Interobserver reliability of urine sediment microscopy findings estimated by overall percent agreement and Fleiss κ coefficients. Secondary outcomes included concordance of diagnoses suspected by nephrologists with corresponding kidney biopsy results.
Results: In total, 10 surveys from 10 patients containing 76 study questions on individual features were sent to 21 nephrologists, 14 (67%) of whom completed them all. Their combined 1064 responses were analyzed. Overall percent agreement for casts was an estimated 59% (95% CI, 50%-69%), κ = 0.52 (95% CI, 0.42-0.62). For other sediment findings, overall percent agreement was an estimated 69% (95% CI, 61%-77%), κ = 0.65 (95% CI, 0.56-0.73). The κ estimates ranged from 0.13 (95% CI, 0.10-0.17) for mixed cellular casts to 0.90 (95% CI, 0.87-0.94) for squamous epithelial cells.
Conclusions and relevance: In this study, substantial variability occurred in the interpretation of urine sediment findings, even among expert nephrologists. Educational or technological innovations may help improve the urine sediment as a diagnostic tool
RACK-1 Acts with Rac GTPase Signaling and UNC-115/abLIM in Caenorhabditis elegans Axon Pathfinding and Cell Migration
Migrating cells and growth cones extend lamellipodial and filopodial protrusions that are required for outgrowth and guidance. The mechanisms of cytoskeletal regulation that underlie cell and growth cone migration are of much interest to developmental biologists. Previous studies have shown that the Arp2/3 complex and UNC-115/abLIM act redundantly to mediate growth cone lamellipodia and filopodia formation and axon pathfinding. While much is known about the regulation of Arp2/3, less is known about regulators of UNC-115/abLIM. Here we show that the Caenorhabditis elegans counterpart of the Receptor for Activated C Kinase (RACK-1) interacts physically with the actin-binding protein UNC-115/abLIM and that RACK-1 is required for axon pathfinding. Genetic interactions indicate that RACK-1 acts cell-autonomously in the UNC-115/abLIM pathway in axon pathfinding and lamellipodia and filopodia formation, downstream of the CED-10/Rac GTPase and in parallel to MIG-2/RhoG. Furthermore, we show that RACK-1 is involved in migration of the gonadal distal tip cells and that the signaling pathways involved in this process might be distinct from those involved in axon pathfinding. In sum, these studies pinpoint RACK-1 as a component of a novel signaling pathway involving Rac GTPases and UNC-115/abLIM and suggest that RACK-1 might be involved in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and lamellipodia and filopodia formation in migrating cells and growth cones
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