26 research outputs found
Hydrometeorological Analysis and Support Function at the Southeast River Forecast Center
Proceedings of the 2001 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 26 and 27, 2001, Athens, Georgia.In the late 1980s, the National Weather Service (NWS) launched its ten year, 4.5 billion dollar Modernization and Restructuring (MAR) program to take advantage of rapidly advancing scientific and computer technologies. The implementation of MAR is complete and has succeeded in modernizing the hydrometeorological operations of the NWS. As a result of MAR, all 13 River Forecast Centers (RFC) across the U.S. restructured their operations and upgraded computer technology. The RFCs have extended their hours into the evening and nearly doubled their staffs, which included the hiring of three meteorologists at each RFC. These meteorologists have become part of a new function at RFCs, known as the Hydrometeorological Analysis and Support (HAS)function, to manage the greatly increased flow of hydrometeorological data for input into the hydrologic models. The HAS forecaster is primarily responsible for the production of the Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF), the verification activities associated with the QPF, the comparison and quality control of radar and rain gage data, and the production of hydrometeorological discussions.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397) or the other conference sponsors
Last Men Standing: Chlamydatus Portraits and Public Life in Late Antique Corinth
Notable among the marble sculptures excavated at Corinth are seven portraits of men wearing the long chlamys of Late Antique imperial office. This unusual costume, contemporary portrait heads, and inscribed statue bases all help confirm that new public statuary was created and erected at Corinth during the 4th and 5th centuries. These chlamydatus portraits, published together here for the first time, are likely to represent the Governor of Achaia in his capital city, in the company of local benefactors. Among the last works of the ancient sculptural tradition, they form a valuable source of information on public life in Late Antique Corinth
Human and Non-Human Primate Genomes Share Hotspots of Positive Selection
Among primates, genome-wide analysis of recent positive selection is currently
limited to the human species because it requires extensive sampling of genotypic
data from many individuals. The extent to which genes positively selected in
human also present adaptive changes in other primates therefore remains unknown.
This question is important because a gene that has been positively selected
independently in the human and in other primate lineages may be less likely to
be involved in human specific phenotypic changes such as dietary habits or
cognitive abilities. To answer this question, we analysed heterozygous Single
Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genomes of single human, chimpanzee,
orangutan, and macaque individuals using a new method aiming to identify
selective sweeps genome-wide. We found an unexpectedly high number of
orthologous genes exhibiting signatures of a selective sweep simultaneously in
several primate species, suggesting the presence of hotspots of positive
selection. A similar significant excess is evident when comparing genes
positively selected during recent human evolution with genes subjected to
positive selection in their coding sequence in other primate lineages and
identified using a different test. These findings are further supported by
comparing several published human genome scans for positive selection with our
findings in non-human primate genomes. We thus provide extensive evidence that
the co-occurrence of positive selection in humans and in other primates at the
same genetic loci can be measured with only four species, an indication that it
may be a widespread phenomenon. The identification of positive selection in
humans alongside other primates is a powerful tool to outline those genes that
were selected uniquely during recent human evolution
Persistent Place-Making in Prehistory: the Creation, Maintenance, and Transformation of an Epipalaeolithic Landscape
Most archaeological projects today integrate, at least to some degree, how past people engaged with their surroundings, including both how they strategized resource use, organized technological production, or scheduled movements within a physical environment, as well as how they constructed cosmologies around or created symbolic connections to places in the landscape. However, there are a multitude of ways in which archaeologists approach the creation, maintenance, and transformation of human-landscape interrelationships. This paper explores some of these approaches for reconstructing the Epipalaeolithic (ca. 23,000–11,500 years BP) landscape of Southwest Asia, using macro- and microscale geoarchaeological approaches to examine how everyday practices leave traces of human-landscape interactions in northern and eastern Jordan. The case studies presented here demonstrate that these Epipalaeolithic groups engaged in complex and far-reaching social landscapes. Examination of the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic (EP) highlights that the notion of “Neolithization” is somewhat misleading as many of the features we use to define this transition were already well-established patterns of behavior by the Neolithic. Instead, these features and practices were enacted within a hunter-gatherer world and worldview
Barriers and facilitators to self-care in chronic heart failure: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies
Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries
Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke — the second leading cause of death worldwide — were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry1,2. Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis3, and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach4, we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry5. Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries
Gene Variant of the Bradykinin B2 Receptor Influences Pulmonary Arterial Pressures in Heart Failure Patients
Background Pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) varies considerably in heart failure (HF) despite similar degrees of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Bradykinin alters vascular tone and common variations in the kinin B2 receptor (BDKRB2) gene exists. We hypothesized that genetic variation in this receptor would influence PAP in HF. Methods 131 HF patients (>1yr history systolic HF), without COPD, not currently smoking, BMI < 40, without atrial fibrillation completed the study which included a blood draw for genotyping and neurohormones (ACE, A-II, Bradykinin, ANP, BNP, and catecholamines), an echocardiogram for cardiac function and systolic PAP (PAPsys). Results Mean LVEF was 29% ∓ 12%, NYHA class 2 ∓ 1, age 56 ∓ 12 yr, BMI 28 ∓ 5 kg/m 2 . Forty-six patients (35%) were homozygous for the +9 allele, 58 (44%) were heterozygous (+9/-9) and 27 (21%) were homozygous for the -9 allele of the BDKRB2. PAPsys averaged 42 ∓ 13, 38 ∓ 12, and 35 ∓ 11 mmHg for +9/+9, +9/-9 and -9/-9, respectively (p = 0.03). There was a trend towards gene effect for plasma ACE with the highest values in +9/+9 and lowest in -9/-9 patients (9.5 ∓ 10.7, 7.1 ∓ 8.7, and 5.4 ∓ 6.4 U/L, respectively, p = 0.06). There were no differences in plasma bradykinin or A-II, LVEF, or NYHA across genotypes. Conclusion These data suggest the +9/+9 polymorphism of the BDKRB2 receptor influences pulmonary vascular tone in stable HF