A boundary layer scaling technique for estimating near-surface wind energy using numerical weather prediction and wind map data

A boundary layer scaling (BLS) method for predicting long-term average near-surface wind speeds and power densities was developed in this work. The method was based on the scaling of reference climatological data either from long-term average wind maps or from hourly wind speeds obtained from high-resolution Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models, with case study applications from Great Britain. It incorporated a more detailed parameterisation of surface aerodynamics than previous studies and the predicted wind speeds and power densities were validated against observational wind speeds from 124 sites across Great Britain. The BLS model could offer long-term average wind speed predictions using wind map data derived from long-term observational data, with a mean percentage error of 1.5 % which provided an improvement on the commonly used NOABL (Numerical Objective Analysis of Boundary Layer) wind map. The boundary layer scaling of NWP data was not, however, able to improve upon the use of raw NWP data for near surface wind speed predictions. However, the use of NWP data scaled by the BLS model could offer improved power density predictions compared to the use of the reference data sets. Using a vertical scaling of the shape factor of a Weibull distribution fitted to the BLS NWP data, power density predictions with a 1 % mean percentage error were achieved. This provided a significant improvement on the use of a fixed shape factor which must be utilised when only long-term average wind speeds are available from reference wind maps. The work therefore highlights the advantages that use of a BLS model for wind speed and NWP data for power density predictions can offer for small to medium scale wind energy resource assessments, potentially facilitating more robust annual energy production and financial assessments of prospective small and medium scale wind turbine installations

Jography: Exploring meanings, experiences and spatialities of recreational road-running

Jogging is a relatively under-researched mobile practice with much existing literature focusing on ‘serious’ and competitive running. In this paper, we provide an account of some of the movements, meanings and experiences that together help produce the practice of jogging in the south-western English city of Plymouth. Drawing upon participant diaries and interviews, we uncover rich detail about how joggers ascribe not one but a number of meanings to their practice. Some of these are positive, some are negative; some complement each other and some compete with each other. We also consider how the experiences of joggers can be shaped by their ongoing need to develop tactics capable of enabling them to negotiate space with non-joggers. This is in some contrast to more competitive running that occurs in the separated space of an athletics track. Our sense is that better awareness of the meanings and experiences of jogging will be of value if the advertised health and sustainability benefits of the practice are to be more effectively encouraged and promoted

Global gene expression of histologically normal primary skin cells from BCNS subjects reveals "single-hit" effects that are influenced by rapamycin

Studies of dominantly heritable cancers enabled insights about tumor progression. BCNS is a dominantly inherited disorder that is characterized by developmental abnormalities and postnatal neoplasms, principally BCCs. We performed an exploratory gene expression profiling of primary cell cultures derived from clinically unaffected skin biopsies of BCNS gene-carriers (PTCH1 +/-) and normal individuals. PCA and HC of untreated keratinocytes or fibroblasts failed to clearly distinguish BCNS samples from controls. These results are presumably due to the common suppression of canonical HH signaling in vitro. We then used a relaxed threshold (p-value <0.05, no FDR cut-off; FC 1.3) that identified a total of 585 and 857 genes differentially expressed in BCNS keratinocytes and fibroblasts samples, respectively. A GSEA identified pancreatic β cell hallmark and mTOR signaling genes in BCNS keratinocytes, whereas analyses of BCNS fibroblasts identified gene signatures regulating pluripotency of stem cells, including WNT pathway. Significantly, rapamycin treatment (FDR<0.05), affected a total of 1411 and 4959 genes in BCNS keratinocytes and BCNS fibroblasts, respectively. In contrast, rapamycin treatment affected a total of 3214 and 4797 genes in normal keratinocytes and normal fibroblasts, respectively. The differential response of BCNS cells to rapamycin involved 599 and 1463 unique probe sets in keratinocytes and fibroblasts, respectively. An IPA of these genes in the presence of rapamycin pointed to hepatic fibrosis/stellate cell activation, and HIPPO signaling in BCNS keratinocytes, whereas mitochondrial dysfunction and AGRN expression were uniquely enriched in BCNS fibroblasts. The gene expression changes seen here are likely involved in the etiology of BCCs and they may represent biomarkers/targets for early intervention

PRAD1 (Cyclin D1): A Parathyroid Neoplasia Gene on 11q13

Hyperparathyroidism is a central component of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN 1), and both sporadic and familial forms of parathyroid disease may share certain pathogenetic features. We recently identified a gene that is clonally rearranged with the PTH locus in a subset of sporadic parathyroid adenomas. This candidate oncogene, PRAD1 (previously D11S287), appears to contribute to parathyroid tumorigenesis in a fashion analogous to activation of C-MYC or BCL-2 by rearrangement with tissue-specific enhancers of the immunoglobulin genes in B-lymphoid neoplasia. The PRAD1 gene maps to 11q13 and has been linked to the BCL-1 breakpoint locus, although not to the most tightly linked MEN 1 markers, by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. PRAD1 may, in fact, be the long-sought BCL-1 lymphoma oncogene. PRAD1 encodes a novel type of cyclin protein and thus may normally function in controlling the cell cycle, perhaps through direct interaction with cdc2 or a related kinase. PRAD1\u27s possible primary, or more likely secondary, involvement in the pathogenesis of MEN 1-related tumors is unknown and under investigation

A complexity approach to defining urban energy systems

Urban energy systems have been commonly considered to be socio-technical systems within the boundaries of an urban area. However, recent literature challenges this notion in that it urges researchers to look at the wider interactions and influences of urban energy systems wherein the socio-technical sphere is expanded to political, environmental and economic realms as well. In addition to the inter-sectoral linkages, the diverse agents and multilevel governance trends of energy sustainability in the dynamic environment of cities make the urban energy landscape a complex one. There is a strong case then for establishing a new conceptualisation of urban energy systems that builds upon these contemporary understandings of such systems. We argue that the complex systems approach can be suitable for this. In this paper, we propose a pilot framework for understanding urban energy systems using complex systems theory as an integrating plane. We review the multiple streams of urban energy literature to identify the contemporary discussions and construct this framework that can serve as a common ontological understanding for the different scholarships studying urban energy systems. We conclude the paper by highlighting the ways in which the framework can serve some of the relevant communities

Feminist phenomenology and the woman in the running body

Modern phenomenology, with its roots in Husserlian philosophy, has been taken up and utilised in a myriad of ways within different disciplines, but until recently has remained relatively under-used within sports studies. A corpus of sociological-phenomenological work is now beginning to develop in this domain, alongside a longer standing literature in feminist phenomenology. These specific social-phenomenological forms explore the situatedness of lived-body experience within a particular social structure. After providing a brief overview of key strands of phenomenology, this article considers some of the ways in which sociological, and particularly feminist phenomenology, might be used to analyse female sporting embodiment. For illustrative purposes, data from an autophenomenographic project on female distance running are also included, in order briefly to demonstrate the application of phenomenology within sociology, as both theoretical framework and methodological approach

Host phenotype characteristics and MC1R in relation to early-onset basal cell carcinoma.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) incidence is increasing, particularly among adults under the age of 40 years. Pigment-related characteristics are associated with BCC in older populations, but epidemiologic studies among younger individuals and analyses of phenotype-genotype interactions are limited. We examined self-reported phenotypes and melanocortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R) variants in relation to early-onset BCC. BCC cases (n=377) and controls with benign skin conditions (n=390) under the age of 40 years were identified through Yale's Dermatopathology database. Factors most strongly associated with early-onset BCC were skin reaction to first summer sun for 1 hour (severe sunburn vs. tan odds ratio (OR)=12.27, 95% confidence interval (CI)=4.08-36.94) and skin color (very fair vs. olive OR=11.06, 95% CI=5.90-20.74). Individuals with two or more MC1R non-synonymous variants were 3.59 times (95% CI=2.37-5.43) more likely to have BCC than those without non-synonymous variants. All host characteristics and MC1R were more strongly associated with multiple BCC case status (37% of cases) than a single BCC case status. MC1R, number of moles, skin reaction to first summer sun for 1 hour, and hair and skin color were independently associated with BCC. BCC risk conferred by MC1R tended to be stronger among those with darker pigment phenotypes, traditionally considered to be at low risk of skin cancer