The analysis of temporal variations in regional models of the Sargasso Sea from GEOS-3 altimetry

The dense coverage of short pulse mode GEOS-3 altimeter data in the western North Atlantic provides a basis for studying time variations in the sea surface heights in the Sargasso Sea. Two techniques are utilized: the method of regional models, and the analysis of overlapping passes. An 88 percent correlation is obtained between the location of cyclonic eddies obtained from infrared imagery and sea surface height minima in the altimeter models. This figure drops to 59 percent in the case of correlations with maxima and minima of surface temperature fields. The analysis of overlapping passes provides a better picture of instantaneous sea state through wavelengths greater than 30 km. The variability of the Sargasso Sea through wavelengths between 150 km and 5000 km is estimated at + or - 28 cm. This value is in reasonable agreement with oceanographic estimates and is compatible with the eddy kinetic energy of a wind driven circulation

Determination of some dominant parameters of the global dynamic sea surface topography from GEOS-3 altimetry

The 1977 altimetry data bank is analyzed for the geometrical shape of the sea surface expressed as surface spherical harmonics after referral to the higher reference model defined by GEM 9. The resulting determination is expressed as quasi-stationary dynamic SST. Solutions are obtained from different sets of long arcs in the GEOS-3 altimeter data bank as well as from sub-sets related to the September 1975 and March 1976 equinoxes assembled with a view to minimizing seasonal effects. The results are compared with equivalent parameters obtained from the hydrostatic analysis of sporadic temperature, pressure and salinity measurements of the oceans and the known major steady state current systems with comparable wavelengths. The most clearly defined parameter (the zonal harmonic of degree 2) is obtained with an uncertainty of + or - 6 cm. The preferred numerical value is smaller than the oceanographic value due to the effect of the correction for the permanent earth tide. Similar precision is achieved for the zonal harmonic of degree 3. The precision obtained for the fourth degree zonal harmonic reflects more closely the accuracy expected from the level of noise in the orbital solutions

Molecular characterization of novel sulfotransferases from the tick, Ixodes scapularis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Ixodes scapularis</it>, commonly known as the blacklegged or deer tick, is the main vector of Lyme disease in the United States. Recent progress in transcriptome research has uncovered hundreds of different proteins expressed in the salivary glands of hard ticks, the majority of which have no known function, and include many novel protein families. We recently identified transcripts coding for two putative cytosolic sulfotransferases in these ticks which recognized phenolic monoamines as their substrates. In this current study, we characterize the genetic expression of these two cytosolic sulfotransferases throughout the tick life cycle as well as the enzymatic properties of the corresponding recombinant proteins. Interestingly, the resultant recombinant proteins showed sulfotransferase activity against both neurotransmitters dopamine and octopamine.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The two sulfotransferase genes were coded as <it>Ixosc </it>SULT 1 & 2 and corresponding proteins were referred as <it>Ixosc </it>Sult 1 and 2. Using gene-specific primers, the sulfotransferase transcripts were detected throughout the blacklegged tick life cycle, including eggs, larvae, nymphs, adult salivary glands and adult midgut. Notably, the mRNA and protein levels were altered upon feeding during both the larval and nymphal life stages. Quantitative PCR results confirm that <it>Ixosc </it>SULT1 was statistically increased upon blood feeding while <it>Ixosc </it>SULT 2 was decreased. This altered expression led us to further characterize the function of these proteins in the Ixodid tick. The sulfotransferase genes were cloned and expressed in a bacterial expression system, and purified recombinant proteins <it>Ixosc </it>Sult 1(R) and 2(R) showed sulfotransferase activity against neurotransmitters dopamine and octopamine as well as the common sulfotransferase substrate <it>p-</it>nitrophenol. Thus, dopamine- or octopamine-sulfonation may be involved in altering the biological signal for salivary secretion in <it>I. scapularis.</it></p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Collectively, these results suggest that a function of <it>Ixosc </it>Sult 1 and Sult 2 in <it>Ixodid </it>tick salivary glands may include inactivation of the salivation signal via sulfonation of dopamine or octopamine.</p

Reconstructing 3D x-ray CT images of polymer gel dosimeters using the zero-scan method

In this study x-ray CT has been used to produce a 3D image of an irradiated PAGAT gel sample, with noise-reduction achieved using the ‘zero-scan’ method. The gel was repeatedly CT scanned and a linear fit to the varying Hounsfield unit of each pixel in the 3D volume was evaluated across the repeated scans, allowing a zero-scan extrapolation of the image to be obtained. To minimise heating of the CT scanner’s x-ray tube, this study used a large slice thickness (1 cm), to provide image slices across the irradiated region of the gel, and a relatively small number of CT scans (63), to extrapolate the zero-scan image. The resulting set of transverse images shows reduced noise compared to images from the initial CT scan of the gel, without being degraded by the additional radiation dose delivered to the gel during the repeated scanning. The full, 3D image of the gel has a low spatial resolution in the longitudinal direction, due to the selected scan parameters. Nonetheless, important features of the dose distribution are apparent in the 3D x-ray CT scan of the gel. The results of this study demonstrate that the zero-scan extrapolation method can be applied to the reconstruction of multiple x-ray CT slices, to provide useful 2D and 3D images of irradiated dosimetry gels

Constraints on radiative decay of the 17-keV neutrino from COBE Measurements

It is shown that, for a nontrivial radiative decay channel of the 17-keV neutrino, the photons would distort the microwave background radiation through ionization of the universe. The constraint on the branching ratio of such decays from COBE measurements is found to be more stringent than that from other considerations. The limit on the branching ratio in terms of the Compton $y$ parameter is $B_\gamma < 1.5 \times 10^{-7} ({\tau_\nu \over 10^{11} sec})^{0.45} ({y \over 10^{-3}})^{1.11} h^{-1}$ for an $\Omega=1, \Omega_b=0.1$ universe.Comment: 7 pages. (figures will be sent on request) (To appear in Phys. Rev. D.

A comparison of satellite- and ground-based measurements of SO<inf>2</inf> emissions from tungurahua volcano, Ecuador

Satellite-measured SO2 mass loadings and ground-based measurements of SO2 emission rate are not directly comparable, with ∼40% differences between mean emissions reported by each technique from Tungurahua volcano, Ecuador, during late 2007. Numerical simulations of postemission processing and dispersal of Tungurahua’s SO2 emissions enable more effective comparison of ground- and satellite-based SO2 data sets, reducing the difference between them and constraining the impact of plume processing on satellite SO2 observations. Ground-based measurements of SO2 emission rate are used as the model input, and simulated SO2 mass loadings are compared to those measured by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The changing extent of SO2 processing has a significant impact on daily variation in SO2 mass loading for a fixed volcanic emission rate. However, variations in emission rate at Tungurahua are large, suggesting that overall volcanic source strength and not subsequent processing is more likely to be the dominant control on atmospheric mass loading. SO2 emission rate estimates are derived directly from the OMI observations using modeled SO2 lifetime. Good agreement is achieved between both observed and simulated mass loadings (∼21%) and satellite-derived and ground-measured SO2 emission rates (∼18%), with a factor of 2 improvement over the differences found by simple direct comparison. While the balance of emission source strength and postemission processing will differ between volcanoes and regions, under good observation conditions and where SO2 lifetime is ∼24 hours, satellite-based sensors like OMI may provide daily observations of SO2 mass loading which are a good proxy for volcanic source strength.B.T.M. acknowledges funding from the National Centre for Earth Observation, part of the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, and latterly the Deep Carbon Observatory and the Smithsonian Institution. B.T.M., M.E., and T.A.M. are supported by and contribute to the NERC NCEO Dynamic Earth and Geohazards group. S.A.C. acknowledges funding from NASA through grants NNX09AJ40G (Aura Validation), NNX10AG60G (Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program), and NNX11AF42G (Aura Science Team). J.Y. was funded by the Isaac Newton Trust at the University of Cambridge for the duration of this project. The authors thank Anja Schmidt and two anonymous reviewers for their thorough and constructive comments. We acknowledge the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center for making OMI SO2 data publicly available.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013JD019771/abstract

The Exact Ground State of the Frenkel-Kontorova Model with Repeated Parabolic Potential: I. Basic Results

The problem of finding the exact energies and configurations for the Frenkel-Kontorova model consisting of particles in one dimension connected to their nearest-neighbors by springs and placed in a periodic potential consisting of segments from parabolas of identical (positive) curvature but arbitrary height and spacing, is reduced to that of minimizing a certain convex function defined on a finite simplex.Comment: 12 RevTeX pages, using AMS-Fonts (amssym.tex,amssym.def), 6 Postscript figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.