Application of Linear Moments and Uncertainty Analysis to Extreme Rainfall Events in Sabah

Linear moments (LM) has been applied in extreme rainfall study for several countries, including China, United States of America, and Peninsular Malaysia. In this study, the LM procedures were applied to extreme rainfall data corresponding to locations provided in Malaysia Urban Stromwater Manual (MSMA) to derive new design rainfalls. Different record lengths were considered to assess the changes in design rainfall, and Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to compute confidence interval of the derived design rainfalls. Based on the Goodness-of-Fit (GoF) test results, the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) probability distribution was chosen to derive the design rainfalls. The updated design rainfalls at all four locations showed significant reduction at design rainfalls of 50-year ARI and above. The difference of the design rainfalls from shorter record lengths with respect to the full record length and the confidence intervals do not necessarily reduce with a longer record. In hypothetical cases where 100-yr ARI rainfall was added, the increase in design rainfalls did not exceed the upper bound of the confidence intervals. The derived confidence intervals hence allow for better risk assessment, and should be considered in the design of critical structures, i.e. dams

Facial emotion recognition and sleep in mentally disordered patients: A natural experiment in a high security hospital

We investigated the relationship between a change in sleep quality and facial emotion recognition accuracy in a group of mentally-disordered inpatients at a secure forensic psychiatric unit. Patients whose sleep improved over time also showed improved facial emotion recognition while patients who showed no sleep improvement showed no change in emotion recognition

The impact of strain on growth mode in chemical vapor deposited mono- and few-layer MoS2

The development of high-quality chemical vapor-deposited mono- and few-layer MoS2 is of high relevance for future applications in functional devices. Consequently, a detailed understanding of the growth mode and the parameters affecting it is important. Here, we show for the case of mono- and few-layer MoS2 grown on Muscovite mica, how strain and temperature impact the growth mode. We show how misleading the determination of the number of MoS2 layers is, solely based on Raman spectroscopy due to the occurrence of strain and changes in the growth mode. A combination of atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and ab initio calculations reveal that that the growth at 500 dgree C synthesis temperature exhibits a strained layer-by-layer growth of up to three mono-layers, whereas at 700 degree C, a strain release occurs and layer-by-layer growth is confined to the first mono-layer only. We relate the occurrence of strain to the formation of gas bubbles below the MoS2 film, escaping the mica sheets during high temperature synthesis. Our analysis shows that mica substrates can be used to study strain in 2D materials without the need to apply external stress and that a detailed knowledge of the MoS2 morphology is necessary to correctly interpret the Raman results

Inkjet-printed indium sulfide buffer layer for Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin film solar cells

We report an environmentally friendly inkjet-printed indium sulfide (In2S3) buffer layer using benign chemistry and processing conditions. A pre-synthesized indium-thiourea compound is dissolved in a mixture of water and ethanol, inkjet printed on a Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 absorber and annealed in air. The buffer layer shows a β-In2S3 structure with few organic impurities and band gap in the range of 2.3 eV. An ultraviolet ozone treatment applied to the surface of the absorber prior to inkjet printing of the precursor is used to improve the wettability of the ink and therefore the surface coverage of the buffer on the absorber layer. The device with a fully covering In2S3 layer shows better open circuit voltage and fill factor than the device with a partially covering In2S3 layer. The best In2S3 device showed a light to electric power conversion efficiency similar to the reference cadmium sulfide buffer layer device. Good wettability conditions are therefore essential for higher efficiency solar cells when the buffer layer is inkjet-printed

Enterocyte-specific A20 deficiency sensitizes to tumor necrosis factor–induced toxicity and experimental colitis

A20 is a nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) target gene that encodes a ubiquitin-editing enzyme that is essential for the termination of NF-κB activation after tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or microbial product stimulation and for the prevention of TNF-induced apoptosis. Mice lacking A20 succumb to inflammation in several organs, including the intestine, and A20 mutations have been associated with Crohn’s disease. However, ablation of NF-κB activity, specifically in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), promotes intestinal inflammation. As A20 deficiency sensitizes cells to TNF-induced apoptosis yet also promotes NF-κB activity, it is not clear if A20 deficiency in IECs would exacerbate or ameliorate intestinal inflammation. We generated mice lacking A20 specifically in IECs. These mice did not show spontaneous intestinal inflammation but exhibited increased susceptibility to experimental colitis, and their IECs were hypersensitive to TNF-induced apoptosis. The resulting TNF-driven breakdown of the intestinal barrier permitted commensal bacterial infiltration and led to systemic inflammation. These studies define A20 as a major antiapoptotic protein in the intestinal epithelium and further indicate that defects in A20 might contribute to inflammatory bowel disease in humans

Molecular excitation in the Interstellar Medium: recent advances in collisional, radiative and chemical processes

We review the different excitation processes in the interstellar mediumComment: Accepted in Chem. Re

A multi-targeted approach to suppress tumor-promoting inflammation

Cancers harbor significant genetic heterogeneity and patterns of relapse following many therapies are due to evolved resistance to treatment. While efforts have been made to combine targeted therapies, significant levels of toxicity have stymied efforts to effectively treat cancer with multi-drug combinations using currently approved therapeutics. We discuss the relationship between tumor-promoting inflammation and cancer as part of a larger effort to develop a broad-spectrum therapeutic approach aimed at a wide range of targets to address this heterogeneity. Specifically, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, cyclooxygenase-2, transcription factor nuclear factor-κB, tumor necrosis factor alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase, protein kinase B, and CXC chemokines are reviewed as important antiinflammatory targets while curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, lycopene, and anthocyanins are reviewed as low-cost, low toxicity means by which these targets might all be reached simultaneously. Future translational work will need to assess the resulting synergies of rationally designed antiinflammatory mixtures (employing low-toxicity constituents), and then combine this with similar approaches targeting the most important pathways across the range of cancer hallmark phenotypes

A Model-Based Analysis of Chemical and Temporal Patterns of Cuticular Hydrocarbons in Male Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila Cuticular Hydrocarbons (CH) influence courtship behaviour, mating, aggregation, oviposition, and resistance to desiccation. We measured levels of 24 different CH compounds of individual male D. melanogaster hourly under a variety of environmental (LD/DD) conditions. Using a model-based analysis of CH variation, we developed an improved normalization method for CH data, and show that CH compounds have reproducible cyclic within-day temporal patterns of expression which differ between LD and DD conditions. Multivariate clustering of expression patterns identified 5 clusters of co-expressed compounds with common chemical characteristics. Turnover rate estimates suggest CH production may be a significant metabolic cost. Male cuticular hydrocarbon expression is a dynamic trait influenced by light and time of day; since abundant hydrocarbons affect male sexual behavior, males may present different pheromonal profiles at different times and under different conditions