An analysis of the factors influencing the implementation of health and personal social service policies for elderly people in Northern Ireland.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D66285/86 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Aubrite and Impact Melt Enstatite Chondrite Meteorites as Potential Analogs to Mercury

The MESSENGER (MErcury Sur-face, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) orbiter measured the Mercurian surface abundances of key rock-forming elements to help us better understand the planet's surface and bulk geochemistry. A major discovery is that the Mercurian surface and interior are characterized by an extremely low oxygen fugacity (O2; Iron-Wstite (IW) -7.3 to IW-2.6. This is supported by low Fe and high S abundances on the surface. This low O2 causes a different elemental partioning from what is observed on Earth. Using surface composition, it was shown that the Mercurian surface mainly consists of normative plagioclase, pyroxene, olivine, and exotic sulfides, such as niningerite ((Mg,Mn, Fe)S) and oldhamite (CaS)

Selection strategies to introgress water deficit tolerance derived from Solanum galapagense accession LA1141 into cultivated tomato

Crop wild relatives have been used as a source of genetic diversity for over one hundred years. The wild tomato relative Solanum galapagense accession LA1141 demonstrates the ability to tolerate deficit irrigation, making it a potential resource for crop improvement. Accessing traits from LA1141 through introgression may improve the response of cultivated tomatoes grown in water-limited environments. Canopy temperature is a proxy for physiological traits which are challenging to measure efficiently and may be related to water deficit tolerance. We optimized phenotypic evaluation based on variance partitioning and further show that objective phenotyping methods coupled with genomic prediction lead to gain under selection for water deficit tolerance. The objectives of this work were to improve phenotyping workflows for measuring canopy temperature, mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) from LA1141 that contribute to water deficit tolerance and comparing selection strategies. The phenotypic variance attributed to genetic causes for canopy temperature was higher when estimated from thermal images relative to estimates based on an infrared thermometer. Composite interval mapping using BC2S3 families, genotyped with single nucleotide polymorphisms, suggested that accession LA1141 contributed alleles that lower canopy temperature and increase plant turgor under water deficit. QTLs for lower canopy temperature were mapped to chromosomes 1 and 6 and explained between 6.6 and 9.5% of the total phenotypic variance. QTLs for higher leaf turgor were detected on chromosomes 5 and 7 and explained between 6.8 and 9.1% of the variance. We advanced tolerant BC2S3 families to the BC2S5 generation using selection indices based on phenotypic values and genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs). Phenotypic, genomic, and combined selection strategies demonstrated gain under selection and improved performance compared to randomly advanced BC2S5 progenies. Leaf turgor, canopy temperature, stomatal conductance, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) were evaluated and compared in BC2S5 progenies grown under deficit irrigation. Progenies co-selected for phenotypic values and GEBVs wilted less, had significantly lower canopy temperature, higher stomatal conductance, and lower VPD than randomly advanced lines. The fruit size of water deficit tolerant selections was small compared to the recurrent parent. However, lines with acceptable yield, canopy width, and quality parameters were recovered. These results suggest that we can create selection indices to improve water deficit tolerance in a recurrent parent background, and additional crossing and evaluation are warranted

The Geochemistry of Aubrites: Investigating Reduced Parent Bodies

The aubrites (~30 known meteorites) are a unique group of differentiated meteorites that formed on asteroids with oxygen fugacities (O2) from ~2 to ~6 log units below the iron-wstite buffer [12]. At these highly reduced conditions, elements deviate from the geochemical behavior exhibited at terrestrial O2, forming FeO-poor silicates, Si-bearing metals, and exotic sulfides [3]. Here we examine the 3D mineralogy and the geochemistry of fourteen aubrites, including mineral major element compositions, bulk-rock compositions, and oxygen isotopic compositions to understand their formation and evolution at extreme O2 conditions. While previous studies have described the petrology and 2D modal abundances of aubrites, this work investigates the 3D modal mineralogies of silicate, metal, and sulfide phases in aubrite samples, which are then com-pared to the available 2D data. We utilize X-ray computed tomography (XCT) to non-destructively analyze the distribution and abundances of mineral phases in aubrites and locate composite clasts of sulfide grains for future analysis

Mineralogy of the Mercurian Surface

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft orbited Mercury for four years until April 2015, revealing its structure, chemical makeup, and compositional diversity. Data from the mission have confirmed that Mercury is a compositional end-member among the terrestrial planets. The X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) and Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on board MESSENGER provided the first detailed geochemical analyses of Mercury's surface. These instruments have been used in conjunction with the Neutron Spectrometer and the Mercury Dual Imaging System to classify numerous geological and geochemical features on the surface of Mercury that were previously unknown. Furthermore, the data have revealed several surprising characteristics about Mercury's surface, including elevated S abundances (up to 4 wt%) and low Fe abundances (less than 2.5 wt%). The S and Fe abundances were used to quantify Mercury's highly reduced state, i.e., between 2.6 and 7.3 log10 units below the Iron-Wustite (IW) buffer. This fO2 is lower than any of the other terrestrial planets in the inner Solar System and has important consequences for the thermal and magmatic evolution of Mercury, its surface mineralogy and geochemistry, and the petrogenesis of the planet's magmas. Although MESSENGER has revealed substantial geochemical diversity across the surface of Mercury, until now, there have been only limited efforts to understand the mineralogical and petrological diversity of the planet. Here we present a systematic and comprehensive study of the potential mineralogical and petrological diversity of Mercury

Postfire hydrologic response along the Central California (USA) coast: insights for the emergency assessment of postfire debris-flow hazards

The steep, tectonically active terrain along the Central California (USA) coast is well known to produce deadly and destructive debris flows. However, the extent to which fire affects debris-flow susceptibility in this region is an open question. We documented the occurrence of postfire debris floods and flows following the landfall of a storm that delivered intense rainfall across multiple burn areas. We used this inventory to evaluate the predictive performance of the US Geological Survey M1 likelihood model, a tool that presently underlies the emergency assessment of postfire debris-flow hazards in the western USA. To test model performance, we used the threat score skill statistic and found that the rainfall thresholds estimated by the M1 model for the Central California coast performed similarly to training (Southern California) and testing (Intermountain West) data associated with the original model calibration. Model performance decreased when differentiating between “minor” and “major” postfire hydrologic response types, which weigh effects on human life and infrastructure. Our results underscore that the problem of false positives is a major challenge for developing accurate rainfall thresholds for the occurrence of postfire debris flows. As wildfire activity increases throughout the western USA, so too will the demand for the assessment of postfire debris-flow hazards. We conclude that additional collection of field-verified inventories of postfire hydrologic response will be critical to prioritize which model variables may be suitable candidates for regional calibration or replacement

Francisella tularensis in the United States

Subpopulations A.I and A.II. of Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis are associated with unique biotic and abiotic factors that maintain disease foci

Experimental study of flow characteristics around floodplain single groyne

This study investigated the flow around river’s floodplain single groynes. Two different compound channels with one and two symmetrical floodplains having widths of 1- and 2-times of the main channel width, respectively, were used. Both impermeable and permeable groynes with three different relative lengths (relative to the floodplain width) and having three different permeability values of 40, 60, and 80% were investigated. The 3D flow velocities were measured in the horizontal plane at 0.25 and 0.5 of floodplain water depth (hf), and in the vertical plane at the main channel's centerline. Therefore, the flow velocities in the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions, and the flow water surfaces were measured and analyzed. The results showed that, as the groyne permeability increased up to 60%, a reduction of up to 30% to the maximum velocity and 22 % to the tip velocity were observed. The permeable groyne length had limited influence on the flow structure. Both the groyne permeability and the length ratio had significant effects on the floodplain water depth. The scouring and the deposition activities resulting from impermeable groynes can be avoided, should the groyne length be kept below half of the floodplain width