Systematic Scatterometer Wind Errors Near Coastal Mountains.

Satellite scatterometers provide the only regular observations of surface wind vectors over vast swaths of the world oceans, including coastal regions, which are of great scientific and societal interest but still present challenges for remote sensing. Here we demonstrate systematic scatterometer wind errors near Hawaii's Big Island: Two counter-rotating lee vortices, which are clear in the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set ship-based wind climatology and in aircraft observations, are absent in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Remote Sensing Systems scatterometer wind climatologies. We demonstrate similar errors in the representation of transient Catalina Eddy events in the Southern California Bight. These errors likely arise from the nonuniqueness of scatterometer wind observations, that is, an "ambiguity removal" is required during processing to select from multiple wind solutions to the geophysical model function. We discuss strategies to improve the ambiguity selection near coastal mountains, where small-scale wind reversals are common

Mechanical properties of the large bowel in health and disease

The mechanical properties of the large bowel have been largely neglected to date. A method was established using the rat colon to mechanically test colonic tissue. The method involved 10 mm rings of colon being tested mechanically at right angles to the long axis of the colon. Tests chosen to measure "strength" were burst strength and tensile strength. "Stretch" was measured by percentage elongation and width of the colon at burst. The internal diameter of the colon at zero stress and the thickness of the colon wall, at rest were taken as reference dimensions. Viscoelastic properties were measured by stress relaxation and hysteresis in the rat and stress -relaxation in the human.Post-mortem material was the only practical source of non -diseased colonic tissue across the spectrum of age. The tests used were not affected significantly by death or time after death. Because colons required to be transported from Uganda to be tested in Edinburgh, a method of preserving mechanical properties during storage had to be devised. The method of choice was salt, mechanical properties as tested being well preserved for at least 35 days.Twenty -tw adult Edinburgh colons (age range 19 to 81) and 17 adult Kampala colons (age range 14 to 62) were studied. In addition, 10 Edinburgh children's colons (age range 28 weeks gestation to 4 years) and 3 Kampala children's colons (age range 36 to 40 weeks gestation) were tested. Segments from an ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid colons were tested in each case.The tensile strength of the human colon declined with age (P < 0,05). Once adult life was reached its capacity to stretch remained fairly constant, except in the sigmoid colon, where there was a fall in stretch capacity with age (P <0,001. ). The diameter of the colon fell with increasing age in adult life (P <0,05), this was most pronounced in the Edinburgh colon. Viscoelastic properties were unaffected by age. There were no consistent sex differences in mechanical properties.The Kampalan colon had a significantly greater tensile strength than its Edinburgh counterpart (P <0,05). The distal but not the proximal colon had a greater stretch capacity in the Kampala group (P <0,001). The viscoelastic property of stress relaxation was similar in both groups. Children's colons were similar in the two race groups.Comparing those colons with and without diverticular disease in the Edinburgh over 50 group, no differences were found in mechanical properties.The results are discussed in the light of the few mechanical or structural studies previously reported for the colon and also mechanical studies of other tissues. Their relevance to the high incidence of diverticular disease in Edinburgh compared with Kampala is discussed, together with theories for the aetiology of diverticular disease

Human L-Ficolin (Ficolin-2) and Its Clinical Significance

Human L-ficolin (P35, ficolin-2) is synthesised in the liver and secreted into the bloodstream where it is one of the major pattern recognition molecules of plasma/serum. Like other ficolins, it consists of a collagen-like tail region linked to a fibrinogen-related globular head; a basic triplet subunit arises via a collagen-like triple helix, and this then forms higher multimers (typically a 12-mer, Mr 400K). Unlike other ficolins, it has a complex set of binding sites arranged within an internal cleft enabling it to recognise a variety of molecular patterns including acetylated sugars and certain 1,3-β-glucans. It is one of the few molecules known to activate the lectin pathway of complement. Recently, some disease association studies (at either the DNA or protein level) have implicated L-ficolin in innate immunity, where it might cooperate with pentraxins and collectins. Emerging lines of evidence point to a role for L-ficolin in respiratory immunity, where its affinity for Pseudomonas aeruginosa could be significant

The impact of the grazing animal on phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and suspended solids loss from grazed pastures, Part A

Teagasc wishes to acknowledge the support of the Environmental Research Technological Development and Innovation (ERTDI) Programme under the Productive Sector Operational Programme which was financed by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000-2006.End of project reportIn Ireland 90% of the 4.2 million ha of farmland is grassland. Phosphorus deficiency limited grassland production in Ireland and this was corrected by chemical fertiliser use in the 1960s and 1970s. The increased inputs of fertilisers led to increased intensification of grassland with a doubling of grass yield and of grazing animal numbers, from about 3 million to over 6 million livestock units. There is little information on relative contribution of increased chemical fertiliser use compared to increased grazing animal numbers on phosphorus loss to water. The main objective of this study was to obtain information on nutrient loss, particularly phosphorus, in overland flow from cut and grazed grassland plots, with a range of soil test phosphorus levels over three years and implications.Environmental Protection Agenc

Nuclear factor I coordinates multiple phases of cerebellar granule cell development via regulation of cell adhesion molecules

A central question is how various stages of neuronal development are integrated as a differentiation program. Here we show that the nuclear factor I (NFI) family of transcriptional regulators is expressed and functions throughout the postmitotic development of cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs). Expression of an NFI dominant repressor in CGN cultures blocked axon outgrowth and dendrite formation and decreased CGN migration. Inhibition of NFI transactivation also disrupted extension and fasciculation of parallel fibers as well as CGN migration to the internal granule cell layer in cerebellar slices. In postnatal day 17 Nfia-deficient mice, parallel fibers were greatly diminished and disoriented, CGN dendrite formation was dramatically impaired, and migration from the external germinal layer (EGL) was retarded. Axonal marker expression also was disrupted within the EGL of embryonic day 18 Nfib-null mice. NFI regulation of axon extension was observed under conditions of homotypic cell contact, implicating cell surface proteins as downstream mediators of its actions in CGNs. Consistent with this, the cell adhesion molecules ephrin B1 and N-cadherin were identified as NFI gene targets in CGNs using inhibitor and Nfi mutant analysis as well as chromatin immunoprecipitation. Functional inhibition of ephrin B1 or N-cadherin interfered with CGN axon extension and guidance, migration, and dendritogenesis in cell culture as well as in situ. These studies define NFI as a key regulator of postmitotic CGN development, in particular of axon formation, dendritogenesis, and migratory behavior. Furthermore, they reveal how a single transcription factor family can control and integrate multiple aspects of neuronal differentiation through the regulation of cell adhesion molecules

Role of brain imaging in disorders of brain-gut interaction: a Rome Working Team Report.

Imaging of the living human brain is a powerful tool to probe the interactions between brain, gut and microbiome in health and in disorders of brain-gut interactions, in particular IBS. While altered signals from the viscera contribute to clinical symptoms, the brain integrates these interoceptive signals with emotional, cognitive and memory related inputs in a non-linear fashion to produce symptoms. Tremendous progress has occurred in the development of new imaging techniques that look at structural, functional and metabolic properties of brain regions and networks. Standardisation in image acquisition and advances in computational approaches has made it possible to study large data sets of imaging studies, identify network properties and integrate them with non-imaging data. These approaches are beginning to generate brain signatures in IBS that share some features with those obtained in other often overlapping chronic pain disorders such as urological pelvic pain syndromes and vulvodynia, suggesting shared mechanisms. Despite this progress, the identification of preclinical vulnerability factors and outcome predictors has been slow. To overcome current obstacles, the creation of consortia and the generation of standardised multisite repositories for brain imaging and metadata from multisite studies are required

Fluid-Mineral-CO2 Interactions During Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide

In order utilise geological carbon dioxide storage (GCS) at an industrial scale predictions of reservoir scale behaviour, both chemical and physical must be made. In order to ground-truth the geochemical data underlying such predictions, laboratory experiments at temperatures and CO2 pressures relevant to GCS are essential. Mineral dissolution rate, CO2 solubility and pH data has been collected from batch experiments carried out on quartz, K-feldspar, albite, calcite, dolomite and Sherwood Sandstone materials. These experiments were designed to assess the influence of a variety of factors on dissolution rates: changes in grain size from 125μm - 180μm to 500μm - 600μm; changes in fluid composition from deionised water to 1.36M NaCl solution; changes in CO2 pressure from 4 bar to 31 bar; changes in temperature from 22°C to 70°C. Experiments carried out on the Sherwood Sandstone material also included work on consolidated rock, rather than the powder used in other experiments. Calculated dissolution rates for silicates were found to agree well with values calculated from literature-sourced dissolution equations and the USGS-produced general rate equation (USGS 2004) was found to be suitable for predicting these rates. Calculated dissolution rates for the carbonate minerals was found to be strongly retarded due to transport effects, with literature-sourced equations significantly over-predicting dissolution rates. Dissolution of the sandstone material was found to be dominated by K-feldspar and dolomite dissolution, rates of which compare favourably with those obtained from the single mineral experiments. A significant increase in porosity was observed in the core flow-through experiment, associated with dolomite dissolution. Several experiments were carried out using a Hele-Shaw cell in order to visualise the formation and migration of density plumes which form as CO2 dissolved into unsaturated fluids. Introduction of NaCl and decreases in permeability were found to significantly retard migration of CO2 saturated fluid, while minor heterogeneities in the cells served to focus and accelerate plume movement. Modelling work suggests that predictive models currently underestimate the rapidity of formation and migration of these plumes

The theatre lobby experience : the audience's perspective

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on May 26, 2010).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. Suzanne Burgoyne & Dr. Cheryl Black.Vita.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.What meaning does the audience give to the lobby? Using the qualitative methodology grounded theory, analysis of directed interviews were collected for this study, and the following theory emerged: An audience member with enough time, space, and awareness encounters a person, an activity or some material goods that seizes his or her attention, resulting in a connection with the static, the public, the private or the performance. Consequently, the audience member experiences an individualized and memorable event experience. Three conditions are required for "attention" space, time and something or someone compelling to the individual audience member. Under the right conditions, an audience member gives attention to the building, its contents, people, or activities inside. The attention leads to an interaction with some of these various elements, which leads to a memorable lobby experience. Four categories of lobby experiences emerged: a private experience, a public experience, experiencing the static, and performance preparation. In addition to the resulting theory, this study revealed that the background and training of each respondent affected his or her understanding of the lobby experience. Theatre-insiders are individuals who have knowledge of the production process. Theatre-supporters are those individuals who attend performances but have no significant background or training in theatre. Both types of audience members are important to theatre. The theatre lobby provides humans the opportunity to connect with others, the past, the present and even the potential. It is possible that any of these connections will lead to a significant and memorable theatre-going experience.Includes bibliographical references

The writing performance of elementary students receiving Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction

Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI) has led to improved writing and language outcomes among deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) middle grades students. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of SIWI on the written expression of d/hh elementary students across recount/ personal narrative, information report, and persuasive genres. Five multiple-probe case studies demonstrate a relationship between implementation of SIWI and improvements in genre-related writing performance. The effect of instruction was most immediately demonstrated with information reports and persuasive writing, whereas several sessions of recount instruction were needed for students to satisfy performance criteria. Additionally, pre and post data from a larger group of students (N=31) were compared. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test statistics were statistically significant for each genre with medium to high effect sizes. Data suggest SIWI as a promising practice with elementary students, and comments regarding further development and research are provided