Influence of regional tectonics and pre-existing structures on the formation of elliptical calderas in the Kenyan Rift

Calderas are formed by the collapse of large magma reservoirs and are commonly elliptical in map view. The orientation of elliptical calderas is often used as an indicator of the local stress regime; but, in some rift settings, pre-existing structural trends may also influence the orientation. We investigated whether either of these two mechanisms controls the orientation of calderas in the Kenyan Rift. Satellite-based mapping was used to identify the rift border faults, intra-rift faults and orientation of the calderas to measure the stress orientations and pre-existing structural trends and to determine the extensional regime at each volcano. We found that extension in northern Kenya is orthogonal, whereas that in southern Kenya is oblique. Elliptical calderas in northern Kenya are orientated NW–SE, aligned with pre-existing structures and perpendicular to recent rift faults. In southern Kenya, the calderas are aligned NE–SW and lie oblique to recent rift faults, but are aligned with pre-existing structures. We conclude that, in oblique continental rifts, pre-existing structures control the development of elongated magma reservoirs. Our results highlight the structural control of magmatism at different crustal levels, where pre-existing structures control the storage and orientation of deeper magma reservoirs and the local stress regime controls intra-rift faulting and shallow magmatism. Supplementary material: Details of the Standard Deviation Ellipse function and statistical methods are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18849

Topological Andr\'e-Quillen homology for cellular commutative SS-algebras

Topological Andr\'e-Quillen homology for commutative $S$-algebras was introduced by Basterra following work of Kriz, and has been intensively studied by several authors. In this paper we discuss it as a homology theory on CW $S$-algebras and apply it to obtain results on minimal atomic $p$-local $S$-algebras which generalise those of Baker and May for $p$-local spectra and simply connected spaces. We exhibit some new examples of minimal atomic $S$-algebras.Comment: Final revision, a version will appear in Abhandlungen aus dem Mathematischen Seminar der Universitaet Hambur

Causes for Precipitation Increases in the Hills of Southern Illinois

Studies involving precipitation in Illinois have shown the presence of 10 to 15 percent more precipitation in the average annual precipitation pattern in the Shawnee Hills area of southern Illinois than in nearby ftatlands. Three methods differing in scale and time were used to delineate the hill anomaly and to determine the reasons for it. First, a series of climatic studies of precipitation distribution considering daily, monthly, and seasonal data for comparison of hill and fladand stations were performed during 1960-1963. Next, a 5-year project involving analysis of data from a special raingage network on the basis of individual rain periods, months, and seasons during 1965-1969 was planned to define the areal extent of the hill high. Finally, the results of these two studies were used to design a 1-month field study involving a weather radar, 3 cloud cameras, 5 weather (temperature-humidity) stations, 1 pilot balloon site, and aircraft sampling flights. Results of the three major studies show that the hill enhancement of precipitation is the addition of moisture due to greater evapotranspiration from the forested hills and the convergent wind field created over the western hills caused by the configuration of the hills and valleys.publishedpeer reviewedOpe

Hydrometeorological analysis of severe rainstorms in Illinois, 1956-1957, with summary of previous storms

Bibliography: p. 79.Enumeration continues through succeeding title

Cellular Automata Applications in Shortest Path Problem

Cellular Automata (CAs) are computational models that can capture the essential features of systems in which global behavior emerges from the collective effect of simple components, which interact locally. During the last decades, CAs have been extensively used for mimicking several natural processes and systems to find fine solutions in many complex hard to solve computer science and engineering problems. Among them, the shortest path problem is one of the most pronounced and highly studied problems that scientists have been trying to tackle by using a plethora of methodologies and even unconventional approaches. The proposed solutions are mainly justified by their ability to provide a correct solution in a better time complexity than the renowned Dijkstra's algorithm. Although there is a wide variety regarding the algorithmic complexity of the algorithms suggested, spanning from simplistic graph traversal algorithms to complex nature inspired and bio-mimicking algorithms, in this chapter we focus on the successful application of CAs to shortest path problem as found in various diverse disciplines like computer science, swarm robotics, computer networks, decision science and biomimicking of biological organisms' behaviour. In particular, an introduction on the first CA-based algorithm tackling the shortest path problem is provided in detail. After the short presentation of shortest path algorithms arriving from the relaxization of the CAs principles, the application of the CA-based shortest path definition on the coordinated motion of swarm robotics is also introduced. Moreover, the CA based application of shortest path finding in computer networks is presented in brief. Finally, a CA that models exactly the behavior of a biological organism, namely the Physarum's behavior, finding the minimum-length path between two points in a labyrinth is given.Comment: To appear in the book: Adamatzky, A (Ed.) Shortest path solvers. From software to wetware. Springer, 201

Twenty years of global surveillance of antituberculosis-drug resistance

Antimicrobial resistance represents a major threat to global health and security. In 2014, the World Health Assembly called on all nations and the international community to take every necessary measure to control it, including surveillance of its emergence and spread.1 The development of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis was first documented in the late 1940s, soon after antibiotic therapy was introduced for tuberculosis treatment.2 It quickly became obvious that combination chemotherapy could prevent the emergence of drug resistance3 and that patients infected with drug-resistant strains were less likely to be cured.4 Nevertheless, it was only in the early 1990s that drugresistant tuberculosis began to receive global attention as a public health threat. This coincided with the detection of outbreaks of multidrugresistant (MDR) tuberculosis (defined as resistance to at least rifampin and isoniazid) that were associated with high mortality among patients coinfected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).5-8 The urgent need for a global mechanism to monitor the emergence and spread of resistance to antituberculosis drugs became clear. In 1994, the Global Tuberculosis Program of the World Health Organization (WHO), with the support of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (the Union), established the Global Project on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Surveillance (hereafter referred to as \u201cthe project\u201d) to measure the magnitude of drug resistance and to monitor trends. This project remains the oldest and largest initiative on the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in the world.9 In this article, we describe the history of global surveillance of drug resistance in tuberculosis and discuss methods for surveillance, the quality of available data, the key achievements and findings to date, the main challenges that remain, and future directions

Extending empirical constraints on the SZ-mass scaling relation to higher redshifts via HST weak lensing measurements of nine clusters from the SPT-SZ survey at z >= 1

Galaxie

Genome-wide meta-analysis of variant-by-diuretic interactions as modulators of lipid traits in persons of European and African ancestry

Hypertension (HTN) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Metabolic abnormalities, including adverse cholesterol and triglycerides (TG) profiles, are frequent comorbid findings with HTN and contribute to cardiovascular disease. Diuretics, which are used to treat HTN and heart failure, have been associated with worsening of fasting lipid concentrations. Genome-wide meta-analyses with 39,710 European-ancestry (EA) individuals and 9925 African-ancestry (AA) individuals were performed to identify genetic variants that modify the effect of loop or thiazide diuretic use on blood lipid concentrations. Both longitudinal and cross sectional data were used to compute cohort-specific interaction results, which were then combined through meta-analysis in each ancestry. These ancestry-specific results were further combined through trans-ancestry meta-analysis. Analysis of EA data identified two genome-wide significant (p < 5 × 10−8) loci with single nucleotide variant (SNV)-loop diuretic interaction on TG concentrations (including COL11A1). Analysis of AA data identified one genome-wide significant locus adjacent to BMP2 with SNV-loop diuretic interaction on TG concentrations. Trans-ancestry analysis strengthened evidence of association for SNV-loop diuretic interaction at two loci (KIAA1217 and BAALC). There were few significant SNV-thiazide diuretic interaction associations on TG concentrations and for either diuretic on cholesterol concentrations. Several promising loci were identified that may implicate biologic pathways that contribute to adverse metabolic side effects from diuretic therapy

Solar parameters for modeling interplanetary background

The goal of the Fully Online Datacenter of Ultraviolet Emissions (FONDUE) Working Team of the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland, was to establish a common calibration of various UV and EUV heliospheric observations, both spectroscopic and photometric. Realization of this goal required an up-to-date model of spatial distribution of neutral interstellar hydrogen in the heliosphere, and to that end, a credible model of the radiation pressure and ionization processes was needed. This chapter describes the solar factors shaping the distribution of neutral interstellar H in the heliosphere. Presented are the solar Lyman-alpha flux and the solar Lyman-alpha resonant radiation pressure force acting on neutral H atoms in the heliosphere, solar EUV radiation and the photoionization of heliospheric hydrogen, and their evolution in time and the still hypothetical variation with heliolatitude. Further, solar wind and its evolution with solar activity is presented in the context of the charge exchange ionization of heliospheric hydrogen, and in the context of dynamic pressure variations. Also the electron ionization and its variation with time, heliolatitude, and solar distance is presented. After a review of all of those topics, we present an interim model of solar wind and the other solar factors based on up-to-date in situ and remote sensing observations of solar wind. Results of this effort will further be utilised to improve on the model of solar wind evolution, which will be an invaluable asset in all heliospheric measurements, including, among others, the observations of Energetic Neutral Atoms by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX).Comment: Chapter 2 in the planned "Cross-Calibration of Past and Present Far UV Spectra of Solar System Objects and the Heliosphere", ISSI Scientific Report No 12, ed. R.M. Bonnet, E. Quemerais, M. Snow, Springe