Inertial oscillations in an Ekman layer containing a horizontal discontinuity surface

Solutions are obtained for systems of equations that determine the development of velocity profiles in an infinitely deep fluid system subjected to Coriolis accelerations and composed of two layers of viscous fluid differing in density, viscosity, and geostrophic velocity. The density, viscosity, and horizontal pressure gradient are assumed to remain constant in space and time within each layer and to differ discontinuously at the horizontal interface between the layers...

Handling qualities of a wide-body transport airplane utilizing Pitch Active Control Systems (PACS) for relaxed static stability application

Piloted simulation studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of two pitch active control systems (PACS) on the flying qualities of a wide-body transport airplane when operating at negative static margins. These two pitch active control systems consisted of a simple 'near-term' PACS and a more complex 'advanced' PACS. Eight different flight conditions, representing the entire flight envelope, were evaluated with emphasis on the cruise flight conditions. These studies were made utilizing the Langley Visual/Motion Simulator (VMS) which has six degrees of freedom. The simulation tests indicated that (1) the flying qualities of the baseline aircraft (PACS off) for the cruise and other high-speed flight conditions were unacceptable at center-of-gravity positions aft of the neutral static stability point; (2) within the linear static stability flight envelope, the near-term PACS provided acceptable flying qualities for static stabilty margins to -3 percent; and (3) with the advanced PACS operative, the flying qualities were demonstrated to be good (satisfactory to very acceptable) for static stabilty margins to -20 percent

Persistence of anticancer activity in berry extracts after simulated gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation

Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated at the population level with a protective effect against colorectal cancer. Phenolic compounds, especially abundant in berries, are of interest due to their putative anticancer activity. After consumption, however, phenolic compounds are subject to digestive conditions within the gastrointestinal tract that alter their structures and potentially their function. However, the majority of phenolic compounds are not efficiently absorbed in the small intestine and a substantial portion pass into the colon. We characterized berry extracts (raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants) produced by in vitro-simulated upper intestinal tract digestion and subsequent fecal fermentation. These extracts and selected individual colonic metabolites were then evaluated for their putative anticancer activities using in vitro models of colorectal cancer, representing the key stages of initiation, promotion and invasion. Over a physiologically-relevant dose range (0–50 µg/ml gallic acid equivalents), the digested and fermented extracts demonstrated significant anti-genotoxic, anti-mutagenic and anti-invasive activity on colonocytes. This work indicates that phenolic compounds from berries undergo considerable structural modifications during their passage through the gastrointestinal tract but their breakdown products and metabolites retain biological activity and can modulate cellular processes associated with colon cancer

Calmodulin-like proteins localized to the conoid regulate motility and cell invasion by Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii contains an expanded number of calmodulin (CaM)-like proteins whose functions are poorly understood. Using a combination of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing and a plant-like auxin-induced degron (AID) system, we examined the roles of three apically localized CaMs. CaM1 and CaM2 were individually dispensable, but loss of both resulted in a synthetic lethal phenotype. CaM3 was refractory to deletion, suggesting it is essential. Consistent with this prediction auxin-induced degradation of CaM3 blocked growth. Phenotypic analysis revealed that all three CaMs contribute to parasite motility, invasion, and egress from host cells, and that they act downstream of microneme and rhoptry secretion. Super-resolution microscopy localized all three CaMs to the conoid where they overlap with myosin H (MyoH), a motor protein that is required for invasion. Biotinylation using BirA fusions with the CaMs labeled a number of apical proteins including MyoH and its light chain MLC7, suggesting they may interact. Consistent with this hypothesis, disruption of MyoH led to degradation of CaM3, or redistribution of CaM1 and CaM2. Collectively, our findings suggest these CaMs may interact with MyoH to control motility and cell invasion

Communications Biophysics

Contains research objectives, summary of research and reports on four research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 P01 GM14940-05)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 TOl GM01555-05)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGL 22-009-304)B-D ElectrodyneBoston City Hospital Purchase Order 1065

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

A population study comparing screening performance of prototypes for depression and anxiety with standard scales

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Screening instruments for mental disorders need to be short, engaging, and valid. Current screening instruments are usually questionnaire-based and may be opaque to the user. A prototype approach where individuals identify with a description of an individual with typical symptoms of depression, anxiety, social phobia or panic may be a shorter, faster and more acceptable method for screening. The aim of the study was to evaluate the accuracy of four new prototype screeners for predicting depression and anxiety disorders and to compare their performance with existing scales.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Short and ultra-short prototypes were developed for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder (PD) and Social Phobia (SP). Prototypes were compared to typical short and ultra-short self-report screening scales, such as the Centre for Epidemiology Scale, CES-D and the GAD-7, and their short forms. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) version 6 <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr></abbrgrp> was used as the gold standard for obtaining clinical criteria through a telephone interview. From a population sample, 225 individuals who endorsed a prototype and 101 who did not were administered the MINI. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for the short and ultra short prototypes and for the short and ultra short screening scales.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study found that the rates of endorsement of the prototypes were commensurate with prevalence estimates. The short-form and ultra short scales outperformed the short and ultra short prototypes for every disorder except GAD, where the GAD prototype outperformed the GAD 7.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings suggest that people may be able to self-identify generalised anxiety more accurately than depression based on a description of a prototypical case. However, levels of identification were lower than expected. Considerable benefits from this method of screening may ensue if our prototypes can be improved for Major Depressive Disorder, Social Phobia and Panic Disorder.</p

Effects of a 105 hours psychological training program on attitudes, communication skills and occupational stress in oncology: a randomised study

There is today a wide consensus regarding the need to improve communication skills (CS) of health-care professionals (HCPs) dealing with cancer patients. Psychological training programs (PTPs) may be useful to acquire the needed CS. Testing the efficacy of PTP will allow to define their optimal content. The present study was designed to assess the impact of a PTP on HCP stress, attitudes and CS, and on HCP and patients' satisfaction with HCP communication skills in a randomised study. A total of 115 oncology nurses were randomly assigned to a 105-h PTP or to a waiting list. Stress was assessed with the Nursing Stress Scale, attitudes with a Semantic Differential Questionnaire, CS used during one simulated and one actual patient interview with the Cancer Research Campaign Workshop Evaluation Manual, and satisfaction with the nurses' CS with a questionnaire completed by the patients and the nurses. Trained (TG) and control (CG) groups were compared at baseline, after 3 months (just following training for TG) and after 6 months (3 months after the end of training for TG). Compared to controls, trained nurses reported positive changes on their stress levels (P</=0.05) and on their attitudes (P</=0.05). Positive training effects were found on CS used during the simulated interview: a significant increase in facilitative behaviours (open questions: P</=0.001; evaluative functions: P</=0.05) and a significant decrease in inhibitory behaviours (inappropriate information: P</=0.01; false reassurance: P</=0.05). Less positive training effects were found regarding interviews with a cancer patient: a significant increase in educated guesses (P</=0.001) was noticed. No training effect was observed on nurses' satisfaction levels, but a positive training effect was found on patients' satisfaction levels (P</=0.01). Although results outline PTP efficacy, they indicate the need to design PTP, amplifying the transfer of learned CS to clinical practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes