Subglacial lakes and hydrology across the Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands, West Antarctica

Subglacial water plays an important role in ice sheet dynamics and stability. Subglacial lakes are often located at the onset of ice streams and have been hypothesised to enhance ice flow downstream by lubricating the ice– bed interface. The most recent subglacial-lake inventory of Antarctica mapped nearly 400 lakes, of which ∼ 14 % are found in West Antarctica. Despite the potential importance of subglacial water for ice dynamics, there is a lack of detailed subglacial-water characterisation in West Antarctica. Using radio-echo sounding data, we analyse the ice–bed interface to detect subglacial lakes. We report 33 previously uncharted subglacial lakes and present a systematic analysis of their physical properties. This represents a ∼ 40 % increase in subglacial lakes in West Antarctica. Additionally, a new digital elevation model of basal topography of the Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands was built and used to create a hydropotential model to simulate the subglacial hydrological network. This allows us to characterise basal hydrology, determine subglacial water catchments and assess their connectivity. We show that the simulated subglacial hydrological catchments of the Rutford Ice Stream, Pine Island Glacier and Thwaites Glacier do not correspond to their ice surface catchments

Montaje y estandarizacion de Elisa IgG para el diagnostico de distomatosis humana.

68 p.Con el propósito de montar una técnica de diagnóstico precoz para Distomatosis humana, se realizo la técnica de ELISA Ig G. Se preparó anfígeno somático y secretor - excretor a partir de ejemplares vivos de D. hepático. Se caracterizaron ambos anfígenos electroforéticamente en geles de poliacrilamida, seleccionando el anfígeno mas apropiado para montar la técnica de ELISA. Se realizó el montaje de la técnica con el anfígeno seleccionado y se estandarizo la técnica de ELISA Ig G Distomatosis. Debido a que el periodo prepatente, periodo comprendido entre la ingesta del elemento infectante y la aparición de los huevos, de la Distomatosis es largo, 3 a 4 meses, el diagnostico precoz de la fase aguda se Iogra a través de técnicas de inmunodiagnostico, ya que en este caso no podría ser confirmada la infección tras la observación de los huevos. De este modo, se ensayo la técnica de ELISA Ig G Distomatosis, por presentar mayor sensibilidad y especificidad que otras técnicas inmunológicas. Con este test se obtuvo una sensibilidad de 87 % y una especificidad de 96 % al comparar los resultados de los 15 pacientes con Distomatosis vs sujetos presuntamente sanos ( n = 50 ). De igual forma se comparó el grupo de los pacientes con Distomatosis vs pacientes con otras parasitosis ( n = 50 ), obteniendo una sensibilidad de 87 % y una especificidad de 100 %. Con estos resultados, se concluye que para el diagnostico serologico de Distomatosis, la técnica de ELISA montada en el laboratorio, podría ser utilizada de rutina en el diagnostico serologico

Effects of frequent machine milking and suckling in early lactation on blood plasma ion homoeostasis in high-yielding dairy cows

SUMMARY Groups of nine or ten cows were assigned, after calving, to treatments in which they were (i) machine milked three times daily (M3), (ii) machine milked six times daily (M6) or (iii) suckled three times daily in addition to being machine milked three times daily (S). Treatments were administered during the first 6 weeks postpartum. On one day, at weeks 1 and 6 postpartum, blood samples were collected from all cows at 30-min intervals between 06.00 and 13.00 h and these were analysed for plasma osmolality and plasma concentrations of Na + , K + and Cl − . Milk yield was significantly higher in suckled cows than in cows milked six times daily, but significantly lower in cows milked three times daily. In cows milked six times daily, and to a greater extent in suckled cows, there was a reduction in plasma osmolality and monovalent ion concentrations (Na + , K + and Cl − ), which could increase the susceptibility of the cows to water intoxication. Moreover, suckling or milking the cows six times daily was associated with increased fluctuations in plasma osmolality and plasma Cl − concentrations. The decrease in plasma osmolality and ion concentration and the increased variation in plasma osmolality and Cl − were probably related to increased water intake and may be indicative of a severe challenge to homoeostasis regulation

She\u27s So Bubbly

We introduce the Automatic Learning for the Rapid Classification of Events (ALeRCE) broker, an astronomical alert broker designed to provide a rapid and self-consistent classification of large etendue telescope alert streams, such as that provided by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and, in the future, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). ALeRCE is a Chilean-led broker run by an interdisciplinary team of astronomers and engineers working to become intermediaries between survey and follow-up facilities. ALeRCE uses a pipeline that includes the real-time ingestion, aggregation, cross-matching, machine-learning (ML) classification, and visualization of the ZTF alert stream. We use two classifiers: a stamp-based classifier, designed for rapid classification, and a light curve–based classifier, which uses the multiband flux evolution to achieve a more refined classification. We describe in detail our pipeline, data products, tools, and services, which are made public for the community (see https://alerce.science). Since we began operating our real-time ML classification of the ZTF alert stream in early 2019, we have grown a large community of active users around the globe. We describe our results to date, including the real-time processing of 1.5 × 10⁸ alerts, the stamp classification of 3.4 × 10⁷ objects, the light-curve classification of 1.1 × 10⁶ objects, the report of 6162 supernova candidates, and different experiments using LSST-like alert streams. Finally, we discuss the challenges ahead in going from a single stream of alerts such as ZTF to a multistream ecosystem dominated by LSST

Metaheuristics for Transmission Network Expansion Planning

This chapter presents the characteristics of the metaheuristic algorithms used to solve the transmission network expansion planning (TNEP) problem. The algorithms used to handle single or multiple objectives are discussed on the basis of selected literature contributions. Besides the main objective given by the costs of the transmission system infrastructure, various other objectives are taken into account, representing generation, demand, reliability and environmental aspects. In the single-objective case, many metaheuristics have been proposed, in general without making strong comparisons with other solution methods and without providing superior results with respect to classical mathematical programming. In the multi-objective case, there is a better convenience of using metaheuristics able to handle conflicting objectives, in particular with a Pareto front-based approach. In all cases, improvements are still expected in the definition of benchmark functions, benchmark networks and robust comparison criteria

Participatory modelling for stakeholder involvement in the development of flood risk management intervention options

Advancing stakeholder participation beyond consultation offers a range of benefits for local flood risk management, particularly as responsibilities are increasingly devolved to local levels. This paper details the design and implementation of a participatory approach to identify intervention options for managing local flood risk. Within this approach, Bayesian networks were used to generate a conceptual model of the local flood risk system, with a particular focus on how different interventions might achieve each of nine participant objectives. The model was co-constructed by flood risk experts and local stakeholders. The study employs a novel evaluative framework, examining both the process and its outcomes (short-term substantive and longer-term social benefits). It concludes that participatory modelling techniques can facilitate the identification of intervention options by a wide range of stakeholders, and prioritise a subset for further investigation. They can help support a broader move towards active stakeholder participation in local flood risk management

Economic Globalization, Nutrition and Health: a review of quantitative evidence

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy dietary patterns have in recent decades contributed to an endemic-level burden from non-communicable disease (NCDs) in high-income countries. In low- and middle-income countries rapid changes in diets are also increasingly linked to malnutrition in all its forms as persistent undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies continue to coexist with a rising prevalence of obesity and associated NCDs. Economic globalization and trade liberalization have been identified as potentially important factors driving these trends, but the mechanisms, pathways and actual impact are subject to continued debate. METHODS: We use a ‘rigorous review’ to synthesize evidence from empirical quantitative studies analysing the links between economic globalization processes and nutritional outcomes, with a focus on impact as well as improving the understanding of the main underlying mechanisms and their interactions. FINDINGS: While the literature remains mixed regarding the impacts of overall globalization, trade liberalization or economic globalization on nutritional outcomes, it is possible to identify different patterns of association and impact across specific sub-components of globalization processes. Although results depend on the context and methods of analysis, foreign direct investment (FDI) appears to be more clearly associated with increases in overnutrition and NCD prevalence than to changes in undernutrition. Existing evidence does not clearly show associations between trade liberalization and NCD prevalence, but there is some evidence of a broad association with improved dietary quality and reductions in undernutrition. Socio-cultural aspects of globalization appear to play an important yet under-studied role, with potential associations with increased prevalence of overweight and obesity. The limited evidence available also suggests that the association between trade liberalization or globalization and nutritional outcomes might differ substantially across population sub-groups. Overall, our findings suggest that policymakers do not necessarily face a trade-off when considering the implications of trade or economic liberalization for malnutrition in all its forms. On the contrary, a combination of nutrition-sensitive trade policy and adequate regulation of FDI could help reduce all forms of malnutrition. In the context of trade negotiations and agreements it is fundamental, therefore, to protect the policy space for governments to adopt nutrition-sensitive interventions

Profiling and Tracing Stakeholder Needs

The first stage in transitioning from stakeholders’ needs to formal designs is the synthesis of user requirements from information elicited from the stakeholders. In this paper we show how shallow natural language techniques can be used to assist analysis of the elicited information and so inform the synthesis of the user requirements. We also show how related techniques can be used for the subsequent management of requirements and even help detect the absence of requirements’ motivation by identifying unprovenanced requirements

Ensemble Methods for Ontology Learning - An Empirical Experiment To Evaluate Combinations Of Concept Acquisition Techniques

Most approaches to ontology learning combine techniques from different areas (hybrid approaches) to increase the efficiency of the ontology learning process. However, the results from the ontology learning process do not fully satisfy the users at present. In this context, an important problem is that there is a lack of quantitative and comparative data about the efficiency of techniques and technique combinations applied to ontology learning. Combination methods are an effective way of improving system performance, but there is not enough information about how to use, configure and combine techniques from a diverse spectrum of fields, and what the contribution of a specific technique or technique combination is. In this paper we present a quantitative comparison of technique combinations for concept extraction and a software system (OntoLancs) to support the evaluation of techniques. By applying OntoLancs, users are able to assist the process of building ontologies by semi-automatically acquiring concepts from large-scale domain document collections and experiment with different combinations of knowledge acquisition techniques to refine and organize domain concepts into a taxonomy. Quantitative and comparative studies about the performance of several techniques and user experiences indicate the applicability and usefulness of our approach