2,464 research outputs found
Bleaching in foraminifera with algal symbionts: implications for reef monitoring and risk assessment
Abstrac
Quark model predictions for photoproduction on the proton
The photoproduction of vector mesons is investigated in a quark model
with an effective Lagrangian. Including both baryon resonance excitations and
{\it t}-channel exchanges, observables for the reactions and are predicted, using the
SU(3)-flavor-blind assumption of non-perturbative QCD.Comment: Revtex, 3 eps figures, revised version accepted by PRC Rapid Comm
Theory of periodic swarming of bacteria: application to Proteus mirabilis
The periodic swarming of bacteria is one of the simplest examples for pattern
formation produced by the self-organized collective behavior of a large number
of organisms. In the spectacular colonies of Proteus mirabilis (the most common
species exhibiting this type of growth) a series of concentric rings are
developed as the bacteria multiply and swarm following a scenario periodically
repeating itself. We have developed a theoretical description for this process
in order to get a deeper insight into some of the typical processes governing
the phenomena in systems of many interacting living units. All of our
theoretical results are in excellent quantitative agreement with the complete
set of available observations.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
Young star clusters in M31
In our study of M31's globular cluster system with MMT/Hectospec, we have
obtained high-quality spectra of 85 clusters with ages less than 1 Gyr. With
the exception of Hubble V, the young cluster in NGC 205, we find that these
young clusters have kinematics and spatial distribution consistent with
membership in M31's young disk. Preliminary estimates of the cluster masses and
structural parameters, using spectroscopically derived ages and HST imaging,
confirms earlier suggestions that M31 has clusters similar to the LMC's young
populous clusters.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, contributed talk at "Galaxies in the Local Volume"
conference in Sydney, July 200
HadISDH: an updateable land surface specific humidity product for climate monitoring
HadISDH is a near-global land surface specific humidity monitoring product providing monthly means from 1973 onwards over large-scale grids. Presented herein to 2012, annual updates are anticipated. HadISDH is an update to the land component of HadCRUH, utilising the global high-resolution land surface station product HadISD as a basis. HadISD, in turn, uses an updated version of NOAA's Integrated Surface Database. Intensive automated quality control has been undertaken at the individual observation level, as part of HadISD processing. The data have been subsequently run through the pairwise homogenisation algorithm developed for NCDC's US Historical Climatology Network monthly temperature product. For the first time, uncertainty estimates are provided at the grid-box spatial scale and monthly timescale.
HadISDH is in good agreement with existing land surface humidity products in periods of overlap, and with both land air and sea surface temperature estimates. Widespread moistening is shown over the 1973–2012 period. The largest moistening signals are over the tropics with drying over the subtropics, supporting other evidence of an intensified hydrological cycle over recent years. Moistening is detectable with high (95%) confidence over large-scale averages for the globe, Northern Hemisphere and tropics, with trends of 0.089 (0.080 to 0.098) g kg−1 per decade, 0.086 (0.075 to 0.097) g kg−1 per decade and 0.133 (0.119 to 0.148) g kg−1 per decade, respectively. These changes are outside the uncertainty range for the large-scale average which is dominated by the spatial coverage component; station and grid-box sampling uncertainty is essentially negligible on large scales. A very small moistening (0.013 (−0.005 to 0.031) g kg−1 per decade) is found in the Southern Hemisphere, but it is not significantly different from zero and uncertainty is large. When globally averaged, 1998 is the moistest year since monitoring began in 1973, closely followed by 2010, two strong El Niño years. The period in between is relatively flat, concurring with previous findings of decreasing relative humidity over land
MOTIVATING EFFECTIVE ICT USERS’ SUPPORT THROUGH AUTOMATED MOBILE EDU-HELPDESK SYSTEM
An automated helpdesk system is meant to eradicate some of the barriers of reaching the Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) technical staff to carry out repairs of ICT products and services in an educational
institution. The problems faced with the existing ICT user support system include time wasting, difficulty in
communication, and slow response to fix ICT related faults. The objective of this study is to develop an Automated
Mobile Edu-Helpdesk System (AMES) for effective information dissemination, efficient management of operations and
to resolve ICT challenges in higher education. The research methods adopted include unified modelling diagrams for
design, Java and XML (Extended Mark-up Language) for Android application development as front end, while
Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) was used as the server side programming tool. MySQL database was used as backend.
Findings: The findings from the usability survey shows a good usability based on total rating of 4.09 out of 5 point
scale. The benefits of the system include creation of a medium for non teaching and teaching staff to pass their
complaints or messages to the technical department for speedy attention; and provision of better and faster operational
processes which will reduce time spent on documentation. The automated Edu-Helpdesk system is more reliable,
effective and convenient than the manual method in reporting cases of faulty ICT product and services within the
university community
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