1,161 research outputs found
A morphometric model of the Aeolian Islands (Italy)
A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) is presented, with a 5 m horizontal resolution, derived from photograms at a relative medium scale of 1:35000, collected during an aerophotogrammetric flight in 1994-5. The seada tacome from ah ydrographic survey (1996-1997) of the seabed topography, carried out in accordance with present international
standards. The sounding density of the bathymetric survey varies: it is more accurate near the coasts and in areas of structural interest. Previous bathymetric surveys, when available, were limited to small areas. The present DEM is
enclosed in arecta ngle with limits of longitude 14◦16�'32"-15◦22'51"E and latitude 38◦20'55"-38◦53'50"N. The DEM of the islands and of the seabed, merged together, is presented here for the first time. The shadowed raster images of the DEM clearly outline the structural and volcanological features of the archipelago
How Data Set Characteristics Influence Ocean Carbon Export Models
Ocean biological processes mediate the transport of roughly 10 petagrams of carbon from the surface to the deep ocean each year and thus play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Even so, the globally integrated rate of carbon export out of the surface ocean remains highly uncertain. Quantifying the processes underlying this biological carbon export requires a synthesis between model predictions and available observations of particulate organic carbon (POC) flux; yet the scale dissimilarities between models and observations make this synthesis difficult. Here we compare carbon export predictions from a mechanistic model with observations of POC fluxes from several data sets compiled from the literature spanning different space, time, and depth scales as well as using different observational methodologies. We optimize model parameters to provide the best match between model‐predicted and observed POC fluxes, explicitly accounting for sources of error associated with each data set. Model‐predicted globally integrated values of POC flux at the base of the euphotic layer range from 3.8 to 5.5 Pg C/year, depending on the data set used to optimize the model. Modeled carbon export pathways also vary depending on the data set used to optimize the model, as well as the satellite net primary production data product used to drive the model. These findings highlight the importance of collecting field data that average over the substantial natural temporal and spatial variability in carbon export fluxes, and advancing satellite algorithms for ocean net primary production, in order to improve predictions of biological carbon export
Statistics of electromagnetic transitions as a signature of chaos in many-electron atoms
Using a configuration interaction approach we study statistics of the dipole
matrix elements (E1 amplitudes) between the 14 lower odd states with J=4 and
21st to 100th even states with J=4 in the Ce atom (1120 lines). We show that
the distribution of the matrix elements is close to Gaussian, although the
width of the Gaussian distribution, i.e. the root-mean-square matrix element,
changes with the excitation energy. The corresponding line strengths are
distributed according to the Porter-Thomas law which describes statistics of
transition strengths between chaotic states in compound nuclei. We also show
how to use a statistical theory to calculate mean squared values of the matrix
elements or transition amplitudes between chaotic many-body states. We draw
some support for our conclusions from the analysis of the 228 experimental line
strengths in Ce [J. Opt. Soc. Am. v. 8, p. 1545 (1991)], although direct
comparison with the calculations is impeded by incompleteness of the
experimental data. Nevertheless, the statistics observed evidence that highly
excited many-electron states in atoms are indeed chaotic.Comment: 16 pages, REVTEX, 4 PostScript figures (submitted to Phys Rev A
Non-linear susceptibilities of spherical models
The static and dynamic susceptibilities for a general class of mean field
random orthogonal spherical spin glass models are studied. We show how the
static and dynamical properties of the linear and nonlinear susceptibilities
depend on the behaviour of the density of states of the two body interaction
matrix in the neighbourhood of the largest eigenvalue. Our results are compared
with experimental results and also with those of the droplet theory of spin
glasses.Comment: 20 pages, 2 fig
Comparative analysis of homology models of the Ah receptor ligand binding domain: Verification of structure-function predictions by site-directed mutagenesis of a nonfunctional receptor
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that mediates the biological and toxic effects of a wide variety of structurally diverse chemicals, including the toxic environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). While significant interspecies differences in AHR ligand binding specificity, selectivity, and response have been observed, the structural determinants responsible for those differences have not been determined, and homology models of the AHR ligand-binding domain (LBD) are available for only a few species. Here we describe the development and comparative analysis of homology models of the LBD of 16 AHRs from 12 mammalian and nonmammalian species and identify the specific residues contained within their ligand binding cavities. The ligand-binding cavity of the fish AHR exhibits differences from those of mammalian and avian AHRs, suggesting a slightly different TCDD binding mode. Comparison of the internal cavity in the LBD model of zebrafish (zf) AHR2, which binds TCDD with high affinity, to that of zfAHR1a, which does not bind TCDD, revealed that the latter has a dramatically shortened binding cavity due to the side chains of three residues (Tyr296, Thr386, and His388) that reduce the amount of internal space available to TCDD. Mutagenesis of two of these residues in zfAHR1a to those present in zfAHR2 (Y296H and T386A) restored the ability of zfAHR1a to bind TCDD and to exhibit TCDD-dependent binding to DNA. These results demonstrate the importance of these two amino acids and highlight the predictive potential of comparative analysis of homology models from diverse species. The availability of these AHR LBD homology models will facilitate in-depth comparative studies of AHR ligand binding and ligand-dependent AHR activation and provide a novel avenue for examining species-specific differences in AHR responsiveness. © 2013 American Chemical Society
An interactive virtual Environment to comunicate Vesuvius eruptions numerical simulations and Pompeii history
in the filePublishedope
The International Trauma Questionnaire: development of a self-report measure of ICD-11 PTSD and complex PTSD
Objective: The purpose of this study was to finalize the development of the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ); a self-report diagnostic measure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD (CPTSD), as defined in the 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).Method: The optimal symptom indicators of PTSD and CPTSD were identified by applying item response theory (IRT) analysis to data from a trauma-exposed community sample (n =1051) and a trauma-exposed clinical sample (n = 247) from the United Kingdom. The validity of the optimized 12-item ITQ was assessed with confirmatory factor analyses. Diagnostic rates were estimated and compared to previous validation studies.Results: The latent structure of the 12-item, optimized ITQ was consistent with prior findings, and diagnostic rates of PTSD and CPTSD were in line with previous estimates.Conclusion: The ITQ is a brief, simply-worded measure of the core features of PTSD and CPTSD. It is consistent with the organizing principles of the ICD-11 to maximize clinical utility and international applicability through a focus on a limited but central set of symptoms. The measure is freely available and can be found in the body of this paper
Short and long term retention in antiretroviral care in health facilities in rural Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Despite the successful scale-up of ART services over the past years, long term retention in ART care remains a major challenge, especially in high HIV prevalence and resource-limited settings. This study analysed the short (<12 months) and long (>12 months) term retention on ART in two ART programmes in Malawi (Thyolo district) and Zimbabwe (Buhera district)
Treatment of Cryptococcal Meningitis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
BACKGROUND: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) remains a leading cause of death for HIV-infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Improved treatment strategies are needed if individuals are to benefit from the increasing availability of antiretroviral therapy. We investigated the factors associated with mortality in routine care in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A prospective year long, single-center, consecutive case series of individuals diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis 190 patients were diagnosed with culture positive cryptococcal meningitis, of whom 186 were included in the study. 52/186 (28.0%) patients died within 14 days of diagnosis and 60/186 (32.3%) had died by day 28. In multivariable cox regression analysis, focal neurology (aHR 11 95%C.I. 3.08-39.3, P<0.001), diastolic blood pressure<60 mmHg (aHR 2.37 95%C.I. 1.11-5.04, P=0.025), concurrent treatment for tuberculosis (aHR 2.11 95%C.I. 1.02-4.35, P=0.044) and use of fluconazole monotherapy (aHR 3.69 95% C.I. 1.74-7.85, P<0.001) were associated with increased mortality at 14 and 28 days. CONCLUSIONS: Even in a setting where amphotericin B is available, mortality from cryptococcal meningitis in this setting is high, particularly in the immediate period after diagnosis. This highlights the still unmet need not only for earlier diagnosis of HIV and timely access to treatment of opportunistic infections, but for better treatment strategies of cryptococcal meningitis
The Psycho-social Outcomes following emergency Laparotomy (POLO) study: A study protocol for a multi-centre mixed method, prospective cohort study, assessing the psycho-social outcomes following emergency laparotomy in adults
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