Scenario driven optimal sequencing under deep uncertainty

Abstract not availableEva H.Y. Beh, Holger R. Maier, Graeme C. Dand

Three-way ordinal non symmetrical correspondence analysis for the evaluation of the patient satisfaction

In some recent articles, emphasis has been given to the partition of the Goodman-Kruskal’s tau index using orthogonal polynomials for the study of the non symmetrical relations in three-way contingency tables. New graphical techniques that consider such a partition and allow for the analysis of asymmetric relationships have been proposed, including three-way ordinal non symmetrical correspondence analysis (Simonetti, 2003). Such a procedure takes into account the presence of an ordinal predictor and response variables. In this paper we demonstrate the applicability of such a technique for the patient satisfaction evaluation

Adaptive, multiobjective optimal sequencing approach for urban water supply augmentation under deep uncertainty

Optimal long-term sequencing and scheduling play an important role in many water resources problems. The optimal sequencing of urban water supply augmentation options is one example of this. In this paper, an adaptive, multiobjective optimal sequencing approach for urban water supply augmentation under deep uncertainty is introduced. As part of the approach, optimal long-term sequence plans are updated at regular intervals and trade-offs between the robustness and flexibility of the solutions that have to be fixed at the current time and objectives over the entire planning horizon are considered when selecting the most appropriate course of action. The approach is demonstrated for the sequencing of urban water supply augmentation options for the southern Adelaide water supply system for two assumed future realities. The results demonstrate the utility of the proposed approach, as it is able to identify optimal sequences that perform better than those obtained using static approaches.Eva H.Y. Beh, Holger R. Maier, and Graeme C. Dand

Assessment of Climate Change in Italy by Variants of Ordered Correspondence Analysis

This paper explores climate changes in Italy over the last 30 years. The data come from the European observation gridded dataset and are concerned with the temperature throughout the country. We focus our attention on two Italian regions (Lombardy in northern Italy and Campania in southern Italy) and on two particular years roughly thirty years apart (1986 and 2015). Our primary aim is to assess the most important changes in temperature in Italy using some variants of correspondence analysis for ordered categorical variables. Such variants are based on a decomposition method using orthogonal polynomials instead of singular vectors and allow one to easily classify the meteorological station observations. A simulation study, based on bootstrap sampling, is undertaken to demonstrate the reliability of the results

The Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS): mobile apps and collaboration for optimizing climate change investments

Massive investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation are projected during coming decades. Many of these investments will seek to modify how land is managed. The return on both types of investments can be increased through an understanding of land potential: the potential of the land to support primary production and ecosystem services, and its resilience. A Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS) is being developed and implemented to provide individual users with point-based estimates of land potential based on the integration of simple, geo-tagged user inputs with cloud-based information and knowledge. This system will rely on mobile phones for knowledge and information exchange, and use cloud computing to integrate, interpret, and access relevant knowledge and information, including local knowledge about land with similar potential. The system will initially provide management options based on long-term land potential, which depends on climate, topography, and relatively static soil properties, such as soil texture, depth, and mineralogy. Future modules will provide more specific management information based on the status of relatively dynamic soil properties such as organic matter and nutrient content, and of weather. The paper includes a discussion of how this system can be used to help distinguish between meteorological and edaphic drought

Delayed deglaciation or extreme Arctic conditions 21-16 cal. kyr at southeastern Laurentide Ice Sheet margin?

The conventionally accepted ages of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) retreat of the southeastern Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) are 26–21 cal. kyr (derived from bulk-sediment radiocarbon ages) and 28–23 cal. kyr (varve estimates). Utilizing accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating of earliest macrofossils in 13 lake/bog inorganic clays, we find that vegetation first appeared on the landscape at 16–15 cal. kyr, suggesting ice had not retreated until that time. The gap between previous age estimates and ours is significant and has large implications for our understanding of ocean-atmosphere linkages. Older ages imply extreme Arctic conditions for 9–5 cal kyr; a landscape with no ice, yet no deposition in lakes. Our new AMS chronology of LIS retreat is consistent with marine evidence of deglaciation from the N. Atlantic, showing significant freshwater input and sea level rise only after 19 cal kyr with a cold meltwater lid, perhaps delaying ice melt

Cancer immunotherapy trial registrations increase exponentially but chronic immunosuppressive glucocorticoid therapy may compromise outcomes

This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust Translational Medicine and Therapeutics Programme [RJAG/076 to TJ], Cancer Research UK and the Cambridge Translational Medicine and Therapeutics Academic Clinical Fellowship Programme (to CMC)

Application of a Colorimetric Assay to Identify Putative Ribofuranosylaminobenzene 5'-Phosphate Synthase Genes Expressed with Activity in Escherichia coli

Tetrahydromethanopterin (H(4)MPT) is a tetrahydrofolate analog originally discovered in methanogenic archaea, but later found in other archaea and bacteria. The extent to which H(4)MPT occurs among living organisms is unknown. The key enzyme which distinguishes the biosynthetic pathways of H(4)MPT and tetrahydrofolate is ribofuranosylaminobenzene 5'-phosphate synthase (RFAP synthase). Given the importance of RFAP synthase in H(4)MPT biosynthesis, the identification of putative RFAP synthase genes and measurement of RFAP synthase activity would provide an indication of the presence of H(4)MPT in untested microorganisms. Investigation of putative archaeal RFAP synthase genes has been hampered by the tendency of the resulting proteins to form inactive inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. The current work describes a colorimetric assay for measuring RFAP synthase activity, and two modified procedures for expressing recombinant RFAP synthase genes to produce soluble, active enzyme. By lowering the incubation temperature during expression, RFAP synthase from Archaeoglobus fulgidus was produced in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. The production of active RFAP synthase from Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus was achieved by coexpression of the gene MTH0830 with a molecular chaperone. This is the first direct biochemical identification of a methanogen gene that codes for an active RFAP synthase