Polar plasmas as observed by Dynamics Explorers 1 and 2

Plasma measurements from the Dynamics Explorer 1 and 2 satellites were used to characterize the polar cap environment. Analysis of numerous polar-cap passes indicate that, in general, three major regimes of plasma exist: (1) polar rain--electrons with magnetosheath-like energy spectra but much lower densities, most intense near the cusp and weakening toward the central polar cap; (2) polar wind--low energy upward flowing ions with both field-aligned and conical distributions; and (3) acceleration events--sporadic events consistent with the acceleration of electrons and positive ions by parallel electric fields. (1) to (3) were observed at high altitudes by Dynamics Explorer 1, while (1) and (3) were also observed at low altitudes by Dynamics Explorer 2. The plasma parameters associated with these plasma regimes are presented and discussed in terms of source and acceleration mechanisms

Working Group 5: Measurements technology and active experiments

Technology issues identified by working groups 5 are listed. (1) New instruments are needed to upgrade the ability to measure plasma properties in space. (2) Facilities should be developed for conducting a broad range of plasma experiments in space. (3) The ability to predict plasma weather within magnetospheres should be improved and a capability to modify plasma weather developed. (4) Methods of control of plasma spacecraft and spacecraft plasma interference should be upgraded. (5) The space station laboratory facilities should be designed with attention to problems of flexibility to allow for future growth. These issues are discussed

Development of Prediction Relationships for Water Requirements with Irrigation Cooling

A model for predicting leaf temperatures during an off-on mist cycle is presented. The model uses a combination of energy budget and aerodynamic techniques. The model was tested for dry leaf temperature and evapotranspiration predictions using average hourly data from Arizona. The accuracy was good. It was also tested for dry leaf temperature predictions using two to three minute data with a widely varying net radiation. When reasonable values of stomatal resistance were used, the agreement was again good. The model was tested for prediction of wet leaf temperature prediction with a ten minute on, fifty minute off mist irrigation cycle. The agreement was fair when using reasonable input parameters. The poorest predictions were during the mist on cycle

From presence to consciousness through virtual reality

Immersive virtual environments can break the deep, everyday connection between where our senses tell us we are and where we are actually located and whom we are with. The concept of 'presence' refers to the phenomenon of behaving and feeling as if we are in the virtual world created by computer displays. In this article, we argue that presence is worthy of study by neuroscientists, and that it might aid the study of perception and consciousness

Volatile Decision Dynamics: Experiments, Stochastic Description, Intermittency Control, and Traffic Optimization

The coordinated and efficient distribution of limited resources by individual decisions is a fundamental, unsolved problem. When individuals compete for road capacities, time, space, money, goods, etc., they normally make decisions based on aggregate rather than complete information, such as TV news or stock market indices. In related experiments, we have observed a volatile decision dynamics and far-from-optimal payoff distributions. We have also identified ways of information presentation that can considerably improve the overall performance of the system. In order to determine optimal strategies of decision guidance by means of user-specific recommendations, a stochastic behavioural description is developed. These strategies manage to increase the adaptibility to changing conditions and to reduce the deviation from the time-dependent user equilibrium, thereby enhancing the average and individual payoffs. Hence, our guidance strategies can increase the performance of all users by reducing overreaction and stabilizing the decision dynamics. These results are highly significant for predicting decision behaviour, for reaching optimal behavioural distributions by decision support systems, and for information service providers. One of the promising fields of application is traffic optimization.Comment: For related work see http://www.helbing.or

Intruder bands and configuration mixing in the lead isotopes

A three-configuration mixing calculation is performed in the context of the interacting boson model with the aim to describe recently observed collective bands built on low-lying $0^+$ states in neutron-deficient lead isotopes. The configurations that are included correspond to the regular, spherical states as well as two-particle two-hole and four-particle four-hole excitations across the Z=82 shell gap.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, accepted by PRC, reference added for section 1 in this revised versio

Investigating locally relevant risk factors for Campylobacter infection in Australia: Protocol for a case-control study and genomic analysis

Introduction The CampySource project aims to identify risk factors for human Campylobacter infection in Australia. We will investigate locally relevant risk factors and those significant in international studies in a case-control study. Case isolates and contemporaneous isolates from food and animal sources will be sequenced to conduct source attribution modelling, and findings will be combined with the case-control study in a source-assigned analysis. Methods and analysis The case-control study will include 1200 participants (600 cases and 600 controls) across three regions in Australia. Cases will be recruited from campylobacteriosis notifications to health departments. Only those with a pure and viable Campylobacter isolate will be eligible for selection to allow for whole genome sequencing of isolates. Controls will be recruited from notified cases of influenza, frequency matched by sex, age group and geographical area of residence. All participants will be interviewed by trained telephone interviewers using a piloted questionnaire. We will collect Campylobacter isolates from retail meats and companion animals (specifically dogs), and all food, animal and human isolates will undergo whole genome sequencing. We will use sequence data to estimate the proportion of human infections that can be attributed to animal and food reservoirs (source attribution modelling), and to identify spatial clusters and temporal trends. Source-assigned analysis of the case-control study data will also be conducted where cases are grouped according to attributed sources. Ethics and dissemination Human and animal ethics have been approved. Genomic data will be published in online archives accompanied by basic metadata. We anticipate several publications to come from this study

Natural disasters in the history of the eastern Turk empire

This article analyzes the effect of climate extremes on the historical processes that took place (AD 536, 581, 601, 626 and 679) in the Eastern Turk Empire (AD 534–745) in Inner Asia. Climate extremes are sharp, strong and sometimes protracted periods of cooling and drought caused by volcanic eruptions that in this case resulted in a negative effect on the economy of a nomadic society and were often accompanied by famine and illness. In fact, many of these natural catastrophes coincided with the Black Death pandemics among the Eastern Turks and the Chinese living in the north of China. The Turk Empire can be split into several chronological periods during which significant events that led to changes in the course of history of the nomadic state took place: AD 534–545—the rise of the Turk Empire; AD 581–583—the division of the Turk Empire into theWestern and the Eastern Empires; AD 601–603—the rise of Qimin Qaghan; AD 627–630—the Eastern Turks are conquered by China; AD 679–687—the second rise of the Eastern Turk Empire. The research shows that there is clearly-discernable interplay between important historical events and climate extremes in the history of the Turk Empire. This interplay has led us to the conclusion that the climatic factor did have an impact on the historical processes that took place in the eastern part of Inner Asia, especially on the territories with a nomadic economy. © The Author(s) 2019

The Impact of Hydrogen Bonding on Amide 1H Chemical Shift Anisotropy Studied by Cross-Correlated Relaxation and Liquid Crystal NMR Spectroscopy

Site-specific (1)H chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors have been derived for the well-ordered backbone amide moieties in the B3 domain of protein G (GB3). Experimental input data include residual chemical shift anisotropy (RCSA), measured in six mutants that align differently relative to the static magnetic field when dissolved in a liquid crystalline Pf1 suspension, and cross-correlated relaxation rates between the (1)H(N) CSA tensor and either the (1)H-(15)N, the (1)H-(13)C', or the (1)H-(13)C(alpha) dipolar interactions. Analyses with the assumption that the (1)H(N) CSA tensor is symmetric with respect to the peptide plane (three-parameter fit) or without this premise (five-parameter fit) yield very similar results, confirming the robustness of the experimental input data, and that, to a good approximation, one of the principal components orients orthogonal to the peptide plane. (1)H(N) CSA tensors are found to deviate strongly from axial symmetry, with the most shielded tensor component roughly parallel to the N-H vector, and the least shielded component orthogonal to the peptide plane. DFT calculations on pairs of N-methyl acetamide and acetamide in H-bonded geometries taken from the GB3 X-ray structure correlate with experimental data and indicate that H-bonding effects dominate variations in the (1)H(N) CSA. Using experimentally derived (1)H(N) CSA tensors, the optimal relaxation interference effect needed for narrowest (1)H(N) TROSY line widths is found at similar to 1200 MHz

Association between germline variants and somatic mutations in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease with evidence of distinct tumor types that develop through different somatically altered pathways. To better understand the impact of the host genome on somatically mutated genes and pathways, we assessed associations of germline variations with somatic events via two complementary approaches. We first analyzed the association between individual germline genetic variants and the presence of non-silent somatic mutations in genes in 1375 CRC cases with genome-wide SNPs data and a tumor sequencing panel targeting 205 genes. In the second analysis, we tested if germline variants located within previously identified regions of somatic allelic imbalance were associated with overall CRC risk using summary statistics from a recent large scale GWAS (n similar or equal to 125 k CRC cases and controls). The first analysis revealed that a variant (rs78963230) located within a CNA region associated with TLR3 was also associated with a non-silent mutation within gene FBXW7. In the secondary analysis, the variant rs2302274 located in CDX1/PDGFRB frequently gained/lost in colorectal tumors was associated with overall CRC risk (OR = 0.96, p = 7.50e-7). In summary, we demonstrate that an integrative analysis of somatic and germline variation can lead to new insights about CRC