Solar microclimatology

It has become apparent in recent years that solar energy can be used for electric power production by several methods. Because of the diffuse nature of the solar insolation, the area involved in any central power plant design can encompass several square miles. A detailed design of these large area collection systems will require precise knowledge of the local solar insolation. Detailed information will also be needed concerning the temporal nature of the insolation and the local spatial distribution. Therefore, insolation data was collected and analyzed for a network of sensors distributed over an area of several square kilometers in Arizona. The analyses of this data yielded probability distributions of cloud size, velocity, and direction of motion which were compared with data obtained from the National Weather Service. Microclimatological analyses were also performed for suitable modeling parameters pertinent to large scale electric power plant design. Instrumentation used to collect the data is described

1998 EASTERN ONTARIO ICE STORM MAPLE PRODUCERS' SURVEY: SUMMARY AND RESULTS

In August, 1999, a telephone survey of maple producers in eastern Ontario was conducted in order to gather information on the changes in their operations since the 1998 ice storm. This paper presents the findings of the survey. The results will be used in a larger study to examine the economic impact of the ice storm on maple producers in this region.Crop Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

An Evolutionary Algorithm to Generate Real Urban Traffic Flows

In this article we present a strategy based on an evolutionary algorithm to calculate the real vehicle ows in cities according to data from sensors placed in the streets. We have worked with a map imported from OpenStreetMap into the SUMO traffic simulator so that the resulting scenarios can be used to perform different optimizations with the confidence of being able to work with a traffic distribution close to reality. We have compared the results of our algorithm to other competitors and achieved results that replicate the real traffic distribution with a precision higher than 90%.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. This research has been partially funded by project number 8.06/5.47.4142 in collaboration with the VSB-Technical University of Ostrava and Universidad de Málaga UMA/FEDER FC14-TIC36, programa de fortalecimiento de las capacidades de I+D+i en las universidades 2014-2015, de la Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, cofinanciado por el fondo europeo de desarrollo regional (FEDER). Also, partially funded by the Spanish MINECO project TIN2014-57341-R (http://moveon.lcc.uma.es). The authors would like to thank the FEDER of European Union for financial support via project Movilidad Inteligente: Wi-Fi, Rutas y Contaminación (maxCT) of the "Programa Operativo FEDER de Andalucía 2014-2020. We also thank all Agency of Public Works of Andalusia Regional Government staff and researchers for their dedication and professionalism. Daniel H. Stolfi is supported by a FPU grant (FPU13/00954) from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports

Biphasic alterations in coronary smooth muscle Ca2+ regulation in a repeat cross-sectional study of coronary artery disease severity in metabolic syndrome

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is progressive, classified by stages of severity. Alterations in Ca(2+) regulation within coronary smooth muscle (CSM) cells in metabolic syndrome (MetS) have been observed, but there is a lack of data in relatively early (mild) and late (severe) stages of CAD. The current study examined alterations in CSM Ca(2+) regulation at several time points during CAD progression. METHODS: MetS was induced by feeding an excess calorie atherogenic diet for 6, 9, or 12 months and compared to age-matched lean controls. CAD was measured with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Intracellular Ca(2+) was assessed with fura-2. RESULTS: IVUS revealed that the extent of atherosclerotic CAD correlated with the duration on atherogenic diet. Fura-2 imaging of intracellular Ca(2+) in CSM cells revealed heightened Ca(2+) signaling at 9 months on diet, compared to 6 and 12 months, and to age-matched lean controls. Isolated coronary artery rings from swine fed for 9 months followed the same pattern, developing greater tension to depolarization, compared to 6 and 12 months (6 months = 1.8 ± 0.6 g, 9 months = 5.0 ± 1.0 g, 12 months = 0.7 ± 0.1 g). CSM in severe atherosclerotic plaques showed dampened Ca(2+) regulation and decreased proliferation compared to CSM from the wall. CONCLUSIONS: These CSM Ca(2+) regulation data from several time points in CAD progression and severity help to resolve the controversy regarding up-vs. down-regulation of CSM Ca(2+) regulation in previous reports. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that alterations in sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) contribute to progression of atherosclerotic CAD in MetS

Microwave Dielectric Loss at Single Photon Energies and milliKelvin Temperatures

The microwave performance of amorphous dielectric materials at very low temperatures and very low excitation strengths displays significant excess loss. Here, we present the loss tangents of some common amorphous and crystalline dielectrics, measured at low temperatures (T < 100 mK) with near single-photon excitation energies, using both coplanar waveguide (CPW) and lumped LC resonators. The loss can be understood using a two-level state (TLS) defect model. A circuit analysis of the half-wavelength resonators we used is outlined, and the energy dissipation of such a resonator on a multilayered dielectric substrate is considered theoretically.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter

Influence of batch or fed-batch growth on Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm formation

Aims: To make a quantitative evaluation of the differences in biofilm formation by Staphylococcus epidermidis using batch and fed-batch growth systems and to correlate this with production of the major biofilm polysaccharide, poly-N-acetyl glucosamine (PNAG). Methods and Results: Dry weight measurements of biofilms formed in batch and fed-batch conditions were compared with haemagglutination titres, which measure the amount of PNAG produced. Strains grown in batch systems developed less biofilm than when grown in fed-batch systems. A good correlation was found between the amount of biofilm formed in fed-batch systems and the haemagglutination titres. Conclusions: Differences in biofilm formation and PNAG production by S. epidermidis are dependent on the availability of nutrients, with higher availability correlating with more biofilm and PNAG production. Significance of and Impact of the Study: Comparisons of the formation of biofilms by S. epidermidis are dependent on choosing an appropriate biofilm growth system. Comparability or disparity of conclusions among different investigations will be strongly influenced by which mode S. epidermidis biofilms are formed.NIH - grant AI 46706.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) – Programa Operacional “Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação” (POCTI) - POCTI/ESP/42688/2001, SFRH/BD/8676/2002

An identity crisis: the need for core competencies in undergraduate medical education

A medical student perspective on the role of core competencies in undergraduate medical education in light of medical education reform associated with recent Flexner II

Optical Demonstration of THz, Dual-Polarization Sensitive Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors

The next generation BLAST experiment (BLAST-TNG) is a suborbital balloon payload that seeks to map polarized dust emission in the 250 $\mu$m, 350 $\mu$m and 500 $\mu$m wavebands. The instrument utilizes a stepped half-wave plate to reduce systematics. The general requirement of the detectors is that they are photon-noise-limited and dual-polarization sensitive. To achieve this goal, we are developing three monolithic arrays of cryogenic sensors, one for each waveband. Each array is feedhorn-coupled and each spatial pixel consists of two orthogonally spaced polarization-sensitive microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) fabricated from a Ti/TiN multilayer film. In previous work, we demonstrated photon-noise-limited sensitivity in 250 $\mu$m waveband single polarization devices. In this work, we present the first results of dual-polarization sensitive MKIDs at 250 $\mu$m.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, published by JLT

Boolean analysis identifies CD38 as a biomarker of aggressive localized prostate cancer.

The introduction of serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing nearly 30 years ago has been associated with a significant shift towards localized disease and decreased deaths due to prostate cancer. Recognition that PSA testing has caused over diagnosis and over treatment of prostate cancer has generated considerable controversy over its value, and has spurred efforts to identify prognostic biomarkers to distinguish patients who need treatment from those that can be observed. Recent studies show that cancer is heterogeneous and forms a hierarchy of tumor cell populations. We developed a method of identifying prostate cancer differentiation states related to androgen signaling using Boolean logic. Using gene expression data, we identified two markers, CD38 and ARG2, that group prostate cancer into three differentiation states. Cancers with CD38-, ARG2- expression patterns, corresponding to an undifferentiated state, had significantly lower 10-year recurrence-free survival compared to the most differentiated group (CD38+ARG2+). We carried out immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for these two markers in a single institution (Stanford; n = 234) and multi-institution (Canary; n = 1326) cohorts. IHC staining for CD38 and ARG2 in the Stanford cohort demonstrated that combined expression of CD38 and ARG2 was prognostic. In the Canary cohort, low CD38 protein expression by IHC was significantly associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS), seminal vesicle invasion (SVI), extra-capsular extension (ECE) in univariable analysis. In multivariable analysis, ARG2 and CD38 IHC staining results were not independently associated with RFS, overall survival, or disease-specific survival after adjusting for other factors including SVI, ECE, Gleason score, pre-operative PSA, and surgical margins