Investigation of the effects of topography on Colorado Front Range winter storms, An

Fall, 1991.Includes bibliographical references.Sponsored by ARO DAAL03-86-K-0175.Sponsored by NSF ATM-9017849

Spatial Grain Size Sorting in Eolian Ripples and Estimation of Wind Conditions on Planetary Surfaces: Application to Meridiani Planum, Mars

The landscape seen by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity at Meridiani Planum is dominated by eolian (wind-blown) ripples with concentrated surface lags of hematitic spherules and fragments. These ripples exhibit profound spatial grain size sorting, with well-sorted coarse-grained crests and poorly sorted, generally finer-grained troughs. These ripples were the most common bed form encountered by Opportunity in its traverse from Eagle Crater to Endurance Crater. Field measurements from White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, show that such coarse-grained ripples form by the different transport modes of coarse- and fine-grain fractions. On the basis of our field study, and simple theoretical and experimental considerations, we show how surface deposits of coarse-grained ripples can be used to place tight constraints on formative wind conditions on planetary surfaces. Activation of Meridiani Planum coarse-grained ripples requires a wind velocity of 70 m/s (at a reference elevation of 1 m above the bed). From images by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) of reversing dust streaks, we estimate that modern surface winds reach a velocity of at least 40 m/s and hence may occasionally activate these ripples. The presence of hematite at Meridiani Planum is ultimately related to formation of concretions during aqueous diagenesis in groundwater environments; however, the eolian concentration of these durable particles may have led to the recognition from orbit of this environmentally significant landing site

CAUSES OF SIMULTANEOUS LEE AND UPWIND RECORD SNOWFALL AND EXTRAORDINARY SNOWFALL VARIATION IN A ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLIZZARD

We describe our investigation of an extreme snowfall event in the Colorado Rocky Mountains during Mar 2003. This event was characterized by extraordinary micro-scale snowfall variability and record snowfall both upwind and in the lee of the 3000 m north-south oriented barrier. We utilize observational analysis and numerical sensitivity tests with the MM5 mesoscale model to test our hypotheses. Stunning micro-scale snowfall variability observed in-situ and visualized by satellite is found to be a consequence of local terrain-induced warming and reduced microphysical efficiency and the amplified influence of this effect due to the relatively warm temperatures accompanying this storm. Record snowfall (2 m) downwind of the barrier simultaneous with record snowfall (2.2 m) upwind is very rare climatologically, and is found to be caused, in effect, by the exceptional synoptic dimensions of this storm. A rare combination of, 1) moist, deep inflow, 2) a reversal of the mid-latitude westerlies to the tropopause overlying a well-developed barrier jet for an extended period and, 3) static stability favoring cross-barrier microphysical production and hydrometeor transport rather than drying, are implicated

Microfluidics for Hydrodynamics Investigations of Sand Dollar Larvae

The life cycle of most marine invertebrates includes a planktonic larval stage before metamorphosis to bottom-dwelling adulthood. During larval stage, ciliary-mediated activity enables feeding (capture unicellular algae) and transport of materials (oxygen) required for the larva's growth, development, and successful metamorphosis. Investigating the underlying hydrodynamics of these behaviors is valuable for addressing fundamental biological questions (e.g., phenotypic plasticity) and advancing engineering applications. In this work, we combined microfluidics and fluorescence microscopy as a miniaturized PIV (mPIV) to study ciliary-medicated hydrodynamics during suspension feeding in sand dollar larvae (Dendraster excentricus). First, we confirmed the approach's feasibility by examining the underlying hydrodynamics (vortex patterns) for low- and high-fed larvae. Next, ciliary hydrodynamics were tracked from 11 days post-fertilization (DPF) to 20 DPF for 21 low-fed larvae. Microfluidics enabled the examination of baseline activities (without external flow) and behaviors in the presence of environmental cues (external flow). A library of qualitative vortex patterns and quantitative hydrodynamics was generated and shared as a stand alone repository. Results from mPIV (velocities) were used to examine the role of ciliary activity in transporting materials (oxygen). Given the laminar flow and the viscosity-dominated environments surrounding the larvae, overcoming the diffusive boundary layer is critical for the organism's survival. Peclet number analysis for oxygen transport suggested that ciliary velocities help overcome the diffusion dominated transport (max Pe numbers between 30-60). Microfluidics serving as mPIV provided a scalable and accessible approach for investigating the ciliary hydrodynamics of marine organisms.Comment: 21 pages and 11 figures (videos not included

Vertical integration and firm boundaries : the evidence

Since Ronald H. Coase's (1937) seminal paper, a rich set of theories has been developed that deal with firm boundaries in vertical or input–output structures. In the last twenty-five years, empirical evidence that can shed light on those theories also has been accumulating. We review the findings of empirical studies that have addressed two main interrelated questions: First, what types of transactions are best brought within the firm and, second, what are the consequences of vertical integration decisions for economic outcomes such as prices, quantities, investment, and profits. Throughout, we highlight areas of potential cross-fertilization and promising areas for future work

Conducting clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and lessons learned from the Malawi Cryptosporidium study

Background An effective drug to treat cryptosporidial diarrhea in HIV-infected individuals is a global health priority. Promising drugs need to be evaluated in endemic areas which may be challenged by both lack of resources and experience to conduct International Committee of Harmonisation-Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP)-compliant clinical trials. Methods We present the challenges and lessons learned in implementing a phase 2A, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of clofazimine, in treatment of cryptosporidiosis among HIV-infected adults at a single site in Malawi. Results Primary challenges are grouped under study initiation, study population, study implementation, and cultural issues. The lessons learned primarily deal with regulatory system and operational barriers, and recommendations can be applied to other human experimental trials in low- and middle-income countries, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusion This study demonstrated that initiating and implementing human experimental trials in sub-Saharan Africa can be challenging. However, solutions exist and successful execution requires careful planning, ongoing evaluation, responsiveness to new developments, and oversight of all trial operations

Simple cosmological de Sitter solutions on dS4×Y6_4 \times Y_6 spaces

Explicit time-dependent solutions of the 10D vacuum Einstein equations are found for which spacetime is compactified on six-dimensional warped spaces. We explicitly work out an example where the internal manifold is a six-dimensional generalized space having positive, negative or zero scalar curvature, whose base can be a five-sphere $S^5$ or an Einstein space $T^{1,1}=(S^2\times S^2)\rtimes S^1$. In this paper, inflationary de Sitter solutions are found just by solving the 10D vacuum Einstein equations. Our results further show that the limitation with warped models studied to date has arisen partly from an oversimplification of the 10D metric ansatz. We also give some explicit examples of a non-singular warped compactification on de Sitter space dS$_4$.Comment: 15 pages, no figures; matches published versio

ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents

This document was written with the intent to be a complete reference at the time of publication on the topic of managing hypertension in the elderly. This document has been developed as an expert consensus document by the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American Heart Association (AHA), in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), the American Society of Hypertension (ASH), the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC), the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH). Expert consensus documents are intended to inform practitioners, payers, and other interested parties of the opinion of ACCF and document cosponsors concerning evolving areas of clinical practice and/or technologies that are widely available or new to the practice community