ENSO Teleconnection Pattern Changes over the Southeastern United States under a Climate Change Scenario in CMIP5 Models

A strong teleconnection exists between the sea surface temperature (SST) over the tropical Pacific and the winter precipitation in the southeastern United States (SE US).This feature is adopted to validate the fidelity of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) in this study. In addition, the authors examine whether the teleconnection pattern persists in the future under a global warming scenario. Generally, most of the eight selected models show a positive correlation between November SST over Ni˜no 3 region and December–February (DJF) mean daily precipitation anomalies over the SE US, consistent with the observation. However, the models with poor realization of skewness of Ni˜no indices fail to simulate the realistic teleconnection pattern in the historical simulation. In the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 (RCP8.5) run, all of the models maintain positive and slightly increased correlation patterns. It is noteworthy that the region with strong teleconnection pattern shifts northward in the future. Increased variance of winter precipitation due to the SST teleconnection is shown over Alabama and Georgia rather than over Florida under the RCP8.5 scenario in most of themodels, differing fromthe historical run in which the precipitation in Florida is the most attributable to the eastern Pacific SST

ENSO Teleconnection Pattern Changes over the Southeastern United States under a Climate Change Scenario in CMIP5 Models

A strong teleconnection exists between the sea surface temperature (SST) over the tropical Pacific and the winter precipitation in the southeastern United States (SE US).This feature is adopted to validate the fidelity of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) in this study. In addition, the authors examine whether the teleconnection pattern persists in the future under a global warming scenario. Generally, most of the eight selected models show a positive correlation between November SST over Ni˜no 3 region and December–February (DJF) mean daily precipitation anomalies over the SE US, consistent with the observation. However, the models with poor realization of skewness of Ni˜no indices fail to simulate the realistic teleconnection pattern in the historical simulation. In the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 (RCP8.5) run, all of the models maintain positive and slightly increased correlation patterns. It is noteworthy that the region with strong teleconnection pattern shifts northward in the future. Increased variance of winter precipitation due to the SST teleconnection is shown over Alabama and Georgia rather than over Florida under the RCP8.5 scenario in most of themodels, differing fromthe historical run in which the precipitation in Florida is the most attributable to the eastern Pacific SST

The Asymptotic distribution of circles in the orbits of Kleinian groups

Let P be a locally finite circle packing in the plane invariant under a non-elementary Kleinian group Gamma and with finitely many Gamma-orbits. When Gamma is geometrically finite, we construct an explicit Borel measure on the plane which describes the asymptotic distribution of small circles in P, assuming that either the critical exponent of Gamma is strictly bigger than 1 or P does not contain an infinite bouquet of tangent circles glued at a parabolic fixed point of Gamma. Our construction also works for P invariant under a geometrically infinite group Gamma, provided Gamma admits a finite Bowen-Margulis-Sullivan measure and the Gamma-skinning size of P is finite. Some concrete circle packings to which our result applies include Apollonian circle packings, Sierpinski curves, Schottky dances, etc.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figures. Final version. To appear in Inventiones Mat

Effects of reducing dietary crude protein and metabolic energy in weaned piglets

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of a pure reduction in the dietary crude protein (CP) and metabolic energy (ME) contents on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profile, faecal microflora and odour gas emission in weaned pigs. A total of 80 weaned piglets ((Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc) with a mean initial bodyweight (BW) of 6.8 ± 0.5 kg were randomly allotted to four treatments with four replicate pens of five piglets per pen (based on average BW) for 45 days. The dietary treatments consisted of i) CON: basal diet; ii) LME: reduction of 10% of ME in basal diet; iii) LCP: reduction of 10% of CP in basal diet; iv) MECP: reduction of 10% of CP and 10% of ME in basal diet. During the experimental period, average daily feed intake (ADFI) improved in piglets fed the LME and LCP diets, compared with those fed the CON diets. Average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed (G : F) ratio decreased in piglets fed LCP, LME, and MECP diet, when compared with those fed the CON diet. However, during the total experimental period, ADG and G : F ratio were not affected by dietary treatment. With regard to nutrient digestibility, apparent total track digestibility (ATTD) of CP was not affected by experimental diets. The concentration of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in blood decreased more in piglets fed LME, LCP, and MECP than those fed the CON diet. The emissions of ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sufide (H2S), and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were lower in piglets fed LME, LCP, and MECP diet than those fed the CON diet. In conclusion, these results indicate that reduction in dietary CP and ME content did not decrease growth performance and nutrient digestibility, and they increased positive effects such as BUN and gas emission reduction.Keywords: Blood profile, digestibility, growth performance, odour emission, pi

Single-filament Composite MgB2/SUS Ribbons by Powder-In-Tube Process

We report the successful fabrication of single-filament composite MgB2/SUS ribbons, as an ultra-robust conductor type, employing the powder-in-tube (PIT) process, by swaging and cold rolling only. The remarkable transport critical current (Ic) of the non-sintered MgB2/SUS ribbon has observed, as an unexpected result. Transport critical currents Ic ~ 316 A at T = 4.2 K and Ic ~ 82 A at T = 20 K were observed at self-field, for the non-sintered composite MgB2/SUS ribbon. In addition, the persistent current density Jp values, that were estimated by Bean formula, were more than ~ 7  105 A/cm2 at T = 5 K, and ~ 1.2  105 A/cm2 at T = 30 K, for the sintered composite MgB2/SUS ribbon, at H = 0 G.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Compound formation and cydrogen activity at sulfided catalysts: A combined surface science and quantum chemical approach

This paper discusses the hydrogen activity of sulfided metal catalysts supported on modified carriers. Surface characterization and theoretical modeling are combined with published studies of planar models to deduce a conceptual model for hydrogen dissociation and mobility on industrial hydrogenation catalysts. The hydrogen activity of metalsulfides is compared with that of the corresponding transition metals. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Stochastic optimization methods for extracting cosmological parameters from CMBR power spectra

The reconstruction of the CMBR power spectrum from a map represents a major computational challenge to which much effort has been applied. However, once the power spectrum has been recovered there still remains the problem of extracting cosmological parameters from it. Doing this involves optimizing a complicated function in a many dimensional parameter space. Therefore efficient algorithms are necessary in order to make this feasible. We have tested several different types of algorithms and found that the technique known as simulated annealing is very effective for this purpose. It is shown that simulated annealing is able to extract the correct cosmological parameters from a set of simulated power spectra, but even with such fast optimization algorithms, a substantial computational effort is needed.Comment: 7 pages revtex, 3 figures, to appear in PR

Continuous cropping of endangered therapeutic plants via electron beam soil treatment and neutron tomography

Various medicinal plants are threatened with extinction owing to their over exploitation and the prevalence of soil borne pathogens. In this study, soils infected with root rot pathogens, which prevent continuous cropping, were treated with an electron beam. The level of soil borne fungus was reduced to amp; 8804;0.01 by soil electron beam treatment without appreciable effects on the levels of antagonistic microorganism or on the physicochemical properties of the soil. The survival rate of 4 year old plant was higher in electron beam treated soil 81.0 than in fumigated 62.5 , virgin 78 , or untreatedreplanting soil 0 . Additionally, under various soils conditions, neutron tomography permitted the monitoring of plant health and the detection of root pathological changes over a period of 4 6 years by quantitatively measuring root water content in situ. These methods allow continual cropping on the same soil without pesticide treatment. This is a major step toward the environmentally friendly production of endangered therapeutic herb

Identifying patient-important outcomes in polycystic kidney disease: An international nominal group technique study

AIM: Patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) are at increased risk of premature mortality, morbidities and complications, which severely impair quality of life. However, patient-centered outcomes are not consistently reported in trials in ADPKD, which can limit shared decision-making. We aimed to identify outcomes important to patients and caregivers and the reasons for their priorities. METHODS: Nominal group technique was adopted involving patients with ADPKD and caregivers who were purposively selected from eight centres across Australia, France and the Republic of Korea. Participants identified, ranked and discussed outcomes for trials in ADPKD. We calculated an importance score (0-1) for each outcome and conducted thematic analyses. RESULTS: Across 17 groups, 154 participants (121 patients, 33 caregivers) aged 19 to 78 (mean 54.5 years) identified 55 outcomes. The 10 highest ranked outcomes were: kidney function (importance score 0.36), end-stage kidney disease (0.32), survival (0.21), cyst size/growth (0.20), cyst pain/bleeding (0.18), blood pressure (0.17), ability to work (0.16), cerebral aneurysm/stroke (0.14), mobility/physical function (0.12), and fatigue (0.12). Three themes were identified: threatening semblance of normality, inability to control and making sense of diverse risks. CONCLUSION: For patients with ADPKD and their caregivers, kidney function, delayed progression to end-stage kidney disease and survival were the highest priorities, and were focused on achieving normality, and maintaining control over health and lifestyle. Implementing these patient-important outcomes may improve the meaning and relevance of trials to inform clinical care in ADPKD

Leveraging a natural murine meiotic drive to suppress invasive populations

Invasive rodents are a major cause of environmental damage and biodiversity loss, particularly on islands. Unlike insects, genetic biocontrol strategies including populationsuppressing gene drives with biased inheritance have not been developed in mice. Here, we demonstrate a gene drive strategy (tCRISPR) that leverages super-Mendelian transmission of the t haplotype to spread inactivating mutations in a haplosufficient female fertility gene (Prl). Using spatially explicit individual-based in silico modeling, we show that tCRISPR can eradicate island populations under a range of realistic field-based parameter values. We also engineer transgenic tCRISPR mice that, crucially, exhibit biased transmission of the modified t haplotype and Prl mutations at levels our modeling predicts would be sufficient for eradication. This is an example of a feasible gene drive system for invasive alien rodent population control.Luke Gierusa, Aysegul Birandc, Mark D. Buntinga, Gelshan I. Godahewa, Sandra G. Piltz Kevin P. Oh, Antoinette J. Piaggio, David W. Threadgill, John Godwin, Owain Edwards, Phillip Cassey, Joshua V. Ross, Thomas A. A. Prowse and Paul Q. Thoma