The impact of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on winter and early spring U.S. tornado outbreaks

© 2017 American Meteorological Society. In recent years, the potential of seasonal outlooks for tornadoes has attracted the attention of researchers. Previous studies on this topic have focused mainly on the influence of global circulation patterns [e.g., El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation, or Pacific decadal oscillation] on spring tornadoes. However, these studies have yielded conflicting results of the roles of these climate drivers on tornado intensity and frequency. The present study seeks to establish linkages between ENSO and tornado outbreaks over the United States during winter and early spring. These linkages are established in two ways: 1) statistically, by relating raw counts of tornadoes in outbreaks (defined as six or more tornadoes in a 24-h period in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains), and their destructive potential, to sea surface temperature anomalies observed in the Niño-3.4 region, and 2) qualitatively, by relating ENSO to shifts in synoptic-scale atmospheric phenomena that contribute to tornado outbreaks. The latter approach is critical for interpreting the statistical relationships, thereby avoiding the deficiencies in a few of the previous studies that did not provide physical explanations relating ENSO to shifts in tornado activity. The results suggest that shifts in tornado occurrence are clearly related to ENSO. In particular, La Niña conditions consistently foster more frequent and intense tornado activity in comparison with El Niño, particularly at higher latitudes. Furthermore, it is found that tornado activity changes are tied not only to the location and intensity of the subtropical jet during individual outbreaks but also to the positions of surface cyclones, low-level jet streams, and instability axes

Scaling laws near the conformal window of many-flavor QCD

We derive universal scaling laws for physical observables such as the critical temperature, the chiral condensate, and the pion decay constant as a function of the flavor number near the conformal window of many-flavor QCD in the chiral limit. We argue on general grounds that the associated critical exponents are all interrelated and can be determined from the critical exponent of the running gauge coupling at the Caswell-Banks-Zaks infrared fixed point. We illustrate our findings with the aid of nonperturbative functional Renormalization Group (RG) calculations and low-energy QCD models.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, references added and discussion expanded (matches JHEP version

Variations in Pastors’ Perceptions of the Etiology of Depression By Race and Religious Affiliation

Depression is a major, preventable problem in the United States, yet relatively few individuals seek care in traditional mental health settings. Instead, many choose to confide in friends, family, or clergy. Thus, it is important to discover how clergy perceive the definition of and etiology of depression. The author conducted a survey with 204 Protestant pastors in California. Multinomial logistic regression revealed a statistically significant difference in how depression is perceived based on race. Caucasian American pastors more readily agreed with the statement that depression was a biological mood disorder, while African American pastors more readily agreed that depression was a moment of weakness when dealing with trials and tribulations. Also, mainline Protestants more frequently disagreed with statements about spiritual causes of depression than Pentecostals and non-denominational pastors. The findings suggest that racial and religious affiliational influences shape how pastors view, and ultimately intervene, in the area of depression

Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales using adolescent survey data from urban and rural Scotland

This work was supported by NHS Health Scotland and the University of St Andrews.Background:  Despite the well-established need for specific measurement instruments to examine the relationship between neighborhood conditions and adolescent well-being outcomes, few studies have developed scales to measure features of the neighborhoods in which adolescents reside. Moreover, measures of neighborhood features may be operationalised differently by adolescents living in different levels of urban/rurality. This has not been addressed in previous studies. The objectives of this study were to: 1) establish instruments to measure adolescent neighborhood features at both the individual and neighborhood level, 2) assess their psychometric and ecometric properties, 3) test for invariance by urban/rurality, and 4) generate neighborhood level scores for use in further analysis. Methods:  Data were from the Scottish 2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey, which included an over-sample of rural adolescents. The survey responses of interest came from questions designed to capture different facets of the local area in which each respondent resided. Intermediate data zones were used as proxies for neighborhoods. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha. Invariance was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Multilevel models were used to estimate ecometric properties and generate neighborhood scores. Results:  Two constructs labeled neighborhood social cohesion and neighborhood disorder were identified. Adjustment was made to the originally specified model to improve model fit and measures of invariance. At the individual level, reliability was .760 for social cohesion and .765 for disorder, and between .524 and .571 for both constructs at the neighborhood level. Individuals in rural areas experienced greater neighborhood social cohesion and lower levels of neighborhood disorder compared with those in urban areas. Conclusions:  The scales are appropriate for measuring neighborhood characteristics experienced by adolescents across urban and rural Scotland, and can be used in future studies of neighborhoods and health. However, trade-offs between neighborhood sample size and reliability must be considered.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The PathOlogist: an automated tool for pathway-centric analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The PathOlogist is a new tool designed to transform large sets of gene expression data into quantitative descriptors of pathway-level behavior. The tool aims to provide a robust alternative to the search for single-gene-to-phenotype associations by accounting for the complexity of molecular interactions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Molecular abundance data is used to calculate two metrics - 'activity' and 'consistency' - for each pathway in a set of more than 500 canonical molecular pathways (source: Pathway Interaction Database, <url>http://pid.nci.nih.gov</url>). The tool then allows a detailed exploration of these metrics through integrated visualization of pathway components and structure, hierarchical clustering of pathways and samples, and statistical analyses designed to detect associations between pathway behavior and clinical features.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The PathOlogist provides a straightforward means to identify the functional processes, rather than individual molecules, that are altered in disease. The statistical power and biologic significance of this approach are made easily accessible to laboratory researchers and informatics analysts alike. Here we show as an example, how the PathOlogist can be used to establish pathway signatures that robustly differentiate breast cancer cell lines based on response to treatment.</p

Dislocation Loop Formation and Growth under In Situ Laser and/or Electron Irradiation

Vacancies and interstitial atoms are primary lattice (point) defects that cause observable microstructural changes, such as the formation of dislocation loops and voids in crystalline solids. These defects' diffusion properties determine the phase stability and environmental resistibility of macroscopic materials under ambient conditions. Although in situ methods have been proposed for measuring the diffusion energy of point defects, direct measurement has been limited. In this study, we propose an alternative in situ method to measure the activation energy for vacancy migration under laser irradiation using a pulsed laser beam from a laser-equipped high-voltage electron microscope (laser-HVEM). We made in situ observations that revealed the formation and growth of vacancy dislocation loops in an austenitic stainless steel during laser irradiation. These loops continued to grow when thermal annealing was performed after laser irradiation at the same temperature. We anticipate that laser-HVEM will provide a new method for investigating lattice defects

Versatile control of metal-assisted chemical etching for vertical silicon microwire arrays and their photovoltaic applications

A systematic study was conducted into the use of metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) to fabricate vertical Si microwire arrays, with several models being studied for the efficient redox reaction of reactants with silicon through a metal catalyst by varying such parameters as the thickness and morphology of the metal film. By optimizing the MacEtch conditions, high-quality vertical Si microwires were successfully fabricated with lengths of up to 23.2 mu m, which, when applied in a solar cell, achieved a conversion efficiency of up to 13.0%. These solar cells also exhibited an open-circuit voltage of 547.7 mV, a short-circuit current density of 33.2 mA/cm(2), and a fill factor of 71.3% by virtue of the enhanced light absorption and effective carrier collection provided by the Si microwires. The use of MacEtch to fabricate high-quality Si microwires therefore presents a unique opportunity to develop cost-effective and highly efficient solar cells.open1

The effects of nationality differences and work stressors on work adjustment for foreign nurse aides

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The main purpose of this study was to discuss the nationality differences of foreign nurse aides and the effect of work stressors influencing work adjustment. And of helping them adapt to Taiwanese society, we summarized the difficulties that foreign nurse aides face in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects included 80 foreign nurse aides from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam who worked in long-term care facilities in Tao Yuan County. We recruited volunteers at the participating facilities to complete the anonymous questionnaires. The return rate of the questionnaire was 88.75%. The validated instruments of Hershenson's (1981) and Schaefer and Moos (1993) were adopted to measure work stressors and work adjustment, respectively. A forward-backward translation process was used in this study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Indonesian foreign nurse aides respect their work, and are better workers than Vietnamese and Filipino nurse aids in many respects, which shows how the nationality of the foreign nurse aides might affect work adjustment. The stress created from patient care tasks influenced the foreign nurse aides' personal relationships at work and also affected their attitude when they performed their tasks. In addition, pressure from their supervisors might have affected their work skills, work habits, personal relationships, self-concepts or work attitudes. Moreover, a heavy workload and improper scheduling might have affected the personal relationships and work attitudes of the foreign nurse aides. It was found that work stressors had a significant correlation with work adjustment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of the present study indicate that training programs are important factors for work adjustment among foreign nurse aides. Furthermore, celebration and leisure activities could be provided to release them from work stressors. More effort should be put into improving the working environment, namely providing a more supportive and enriching atmosphere. Based on these findings, we have a better understanding of how to assist foreign nurse aides in the future.</p

Dispersal Routes and Habitat Utilization of Juvenile Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus, Tracked with Mini PSAT and Archival Tags

Between 2005 and 2009, we deployed 58 miniature pop-up satellite archival tags (PSAT) and 132 implanted archival tags on juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna (age 2–5) in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Data returned from these efforts (n = 26 PSATs, 1 archival tag) revealed their dispersal routes, horizontal and vertical movements and habitat utilization. All of the tagged bluefin tuna remained in the northwest Atlantic for the duration observed, and in summer months exhibited core-use of coastal seas extending from Maryland to Cape Cod, MA, (USA) out to the shelf break. Their winter distributions were more spatially disaggregated, ranging south to the South Atlantic Bight, northern Bahamas and Gulf Stream. Vertical habitat patterns showed that juvenile bluefin tuna mainly occupied shallow depths (mean  = 5–12 m, sd  = 15–23.7 m) and relatively warm water masses in summer (mean  = 17.9–20.9°C, sd  = 4.2–2.6°C) and had deeper and more variable depth patterns in winter (mean  = 41–58 m, sd  = 48.9–62.2 m). Our tagging results reveal annual dispersal patterns, behavior and oceanographic associations of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna that were only surmised in earlier studies. Fishery independent profiling from electronic tagging also provide spatially and temporally explicit information for evaluating dispersals rates, population structure and fisheries catch patterns

Comprehensive comparative analysis of strand-specific RNA sequencing methods

Strand-specific, massively parallel cDNA sequencing (RNA-seq) is a powerful tool for transcript discovery, genome annotation and expression profiling. There are multiple published methods for strand-specific RNA-seq, but no consensus exists as to how to choose between them. Here we developed a comprehensive computational pipeline to compare library quality metrics from any RNA-seq method. Using the well-annotated Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptome as a benchmark, we compared seven library-construction protocols, including both published and our own methods. We found marked differences in strand specificity, library complexity, evenness and continuity of coverage, agreement with known annotations and accuracy for expression profiling. Weighing each method's performance and ease, we identified the dUTP second-strand marking and the Illumina RNA ligation methods as the leading protocols, with the former benefitting from the current availability of paired-end sequencing. Our analysis provides a comprehensive benchmark, and our computational pipeline is applicable for assessment of future protocols in other organisms.Howard Hughes Medical InstituteUnited States-Israel Binational Science Foundatio