119 research outputs found
Closing the sea surface mixed layer temperature budget from in situ observations alone: Operation Advection during BoBBLE
Sea surface temperature (SST) is a fundamental driver of tropical weather systems such as monsoon rainfall and tropical cyclones. However, understanding of the factors that control SST variability is lacking, especially during the monsoons when in situ observations are sparse. Here we use a ground-breaking observational approach to determine the controls on the SST variability in the southern Bay of Bengal. We achieve this through the first full closure of the ocean mixed layer energy budget derived entirely from in situ observations during the Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment (BoBBLE). Locally measured horizontal advection and entrainment contribute more significantly than expected to SST evolution and thus oceanic variability during the observation period. These processes are poorly resolved by state-of-the-art climate models, which may contribute to poor representation of monsoon rainfall variability. The novel techniques presented here provide a blueprint for future observational experiments to quantify the mixed layer heat budget on longer time scales and to evaluate these processes in models
The Impact of Acceptance and Commitment Training and Multicultural Training on the stigmatizing attitudes and professional burnout of substance abuse counselors
Empirically validated methods for reducing stigma and prejudice toward recipients of behavioral healthcare services are badly needed. In the present study, two packages presented in one day workshops were compared to a biologically oriented Educational Control condition in the alleviation of stigmatizing attitudes in drug abuse counselors. One, Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), utilized acceptance, defusion, mindfulness, and values methods. The other, Multicultural Training, sensitized participants to group prejudices and biases. Measures of stigma and burnout were taken pre-training, post-training, and after a three month follow-up. Results showed that Multicultural Training had an impact on stigmatizing attitudes and burnout post-intervention but not at follow-up, but showed better gains in a sense of personal accomplishment as compared to the Educational Control at follow-up. ACT had a positive impact on stigma at follow-up and on burnout at post-treatment and follow-up and follow-up gains in burnout exceeded those of Multicultural Training. ACT also significantly changed the believability of stigmatizing attitudes. This process mediated the impact of ACT but not Multicultural Training on follow-up stigma and burnout. This preliminary study opens new avenues for reducing stigma and burnout in behavioral health counselors
Actuator Saturation in Individual Blade Control of Rotorcraft
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97053/1/AIAA2012-1477.pd
A Survey of Volunteered Open Geo-Knowledge Bases in the Semantic Web
Over the past decade, rapid advances in web technologies, coupled with
innovative models of spatial data collection and consumption, have generated a
robust growth in geo-referenced information, resulting in spatial information
overload. Increasing 'geographic intelligence' in traditional text-based
information retrieval has become a prominent approach to respond to this issue
and to fulfill users' spatial information needs. Numerous efforts in the
Semantic Geospatial Web, Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), and the
Linking Open Data initiative have converged in a constellation of open
knowledge bases, freely available online. In this article, we survey these open
knowledge bases, focusing on their geospatial dimension. Particular attention
is devoted to the crucial issue of the quality of geo-knowledge bases, as well
as of crowdsourced data. A new knowledge base, the OpenStreetMap Semantic
Network, is outlined as our contribution to this area. Research directions in
information integration and Geographic Information Retrieval (GIR) are then
reviewed, with a critical discussion of their current limitations and future
prospects
Dog Burials Associated with Human Burials in the West Indies during the Early Pre-Columbian Ceramic Age (500 BC-600 AD)
Across the Caribbean, the widespread presence of canine remains at archaeological sites from the Saladoid period raises questions about the role of âmanâs best friend.â Dog (Canis familiaris) remains have been found located in both refuse middens and burials adjacent to human graves in a number of sites in the French Antilles and Barbuda, West Indies. This paper will critically examine dog remains and discuss the varied duality of the dogâs role in the Saladoid world: from food source to lifelong companion. The importance of dogs within Amerindian sites from Saint Martin, the Guadeloupe archipelago, Martinique and Barbuda will be explored from a zooarchaeological perspective, concluding with a critical discussion of changes in cultural patterns, as seen through the decline in dog remains during the Troumassoid and Suazoid period at the sites in the French Antilles.
Résumé
SĂ©pultures de chiens associĂ©es Ă des sĂ©pultures humaines dans les Petites Antilles Ă lâĂge du NĂ©oindien ancien (500 av. â 600 ap. J.-C.). Dans les Antilles, la prĂ©sence gĂ©nĂ©ralisĂ©e de restes de chiens sur les sites de la pĂ©riode cĂ©ramique ancienne SaladoĂŻde soulĂšve des questions sur le rĂŽle de ce « meilleur ami de lâhomme ». En effet, des chiens (Canis familiaris) ont Ă©tĂ© trouvĂ©s aussi bien dans des zones de rejets, quâenterrĂ©s aux cĂŽtĂ©s de sĂ©pultures humaines dans un certain nombre de sites des Petites Antilles. Ce document examinera ces restes de chiens de façon critique et dĂ©crira les morphologies particuliĂšres des chiens des sites amĂ©rindiens de lâĂźle de Saint-Martin, l\u27archipel de la Guadeloupe, la Martinique et de lâĂźle de Barbuda, dans une perspective archĂ©ozoologique. Une discussion critique portera sur l\u27Ă©volution des changements des modĂšles culturels, comme celui de la chute drastique des chiens enterrĂ©s pendant les pĂ©riodes archĂ©ologiques plus tardives, TroumassoĂŻde et SuazoĂŻde, des sites des Antilles françaises. Enfin, la discussion portera sur la dualitĂ© du rĂŽle du chien dans le monde SaladoĂŻde, Ă la fois source de nourriture et compagnon de vie
Effectiveness, safety/tolerability of OBV/PTV/r ± DSV in patients with HCV genotype 1 or 4 with/without HIV-1 co-infection, chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage IIIb/V and dialysis in Spanish clinical practice â preliminary data Vie-KinD study
Poster presentatio
The impact of the Fungus-Host-Microbiota interplay upon Candida albicans infections: current knowledge and new perspectives
This is the final version. Available on open access from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordCandida albicans is a major fungal pathogen of humans. It exists as a commensal in the oral cavity, gut or genital tract of most individuals, constrained by the local microbiota, epithelial barriers and immune defences. Their perturbation can lead to fungal outgrowth and the development of mucosal infections such as oropharyngeal or vulvovaginal candidiasis, and patients with compromised immunity are susceptible to life-threatening systemic infections. The importance of the interplay between fungus, host and microbiota in driving the transition from C. albicans commensalism to pathogenicity is widely appreciated. However, the complexity of these interactions, and the significant impact of fungal, host and microbiota variability upon disease severity and outcome, are less well understood. Therefore, we summarise the features of the fungus that promote infection, and how genetic variation between clinical isolates influences pathogenicity. We discuss antifungal immunity, how this differs between mucosae, and how individual variation influences a person's susceptibility to infection. Also, we describe factors that influence the composition of gut, oral and vaginal microbiotas, and how these affect fungal colonisation and antifungal immunity. We argue that a detailed understanding of these variables, which underlie fungal-host-microbiota interactions, will present opportunities for directed antifungal therapies that benefit vulnerable patients
Deep-sequencing reveals broad subtype-specific HCV resistance mutations associated with treatment failure
A percentage of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients fail direct acting antiviral (DAA)-based treatment regimens, often because of drug resistance-associated substitutions (RAS). The aim of this study was to characterize the resistance profile of a large cohort of patients failing DAA-based treatments, and investigate the relationship between HCV subtype and failure, as an aid to optimizing management of these patients. A new, standardized HCV-RAS testing protocol based on deep sequencing was designed and applied to 220 previously subtyped samples from patients failing DAA treatment, collected in 39 Spanish hospitals. The majority had received DAA-based interferon (IFN) a-free regimens; 79% had failed sofosbuvir-containing therapy. Genomic regions encoding the nonstructural protein (NS) 3, NS5A, and NS5B (DAA target regions) were analyzed using subtype-specific primers. Viral subtype distribution was as follows: genotype (G) 1, 62.7%; G3a, 21.4%; G4d, 12.3%; G2, 1.8%; and mixed infections 1.8%. Overall, 88.6% of patients carried at least 1 RAS, and 19% carried RAS at frequencies below 20% in the mutant spectrum. There were no differences in RAS selection between treatments with and without ribavirin. Regardless of the treatment received, each HCV subtype showed specific types of RAS. Of note, no RAS were detected in the target proteins of 18.6% of patients failing treatment, and 30.4% of patients had RAS in proteins that were not targets of the inhibitors they received. HCV patients failing DAA therapy showed a high diversity of RAS. Ribavirin use did not influence the type or number of RAS at failure. The subtype-specific pattern of RAS emergence underscores the importance of accurate HCV subtyping. The frequency of âextra-targetâ RAS suggests the need for RAS screening in all three DAA target regions
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