29 research outputs found
Initialization and Ensemble Generation for Decadal Climate Predictions: A Comparison of Different Methods
Five initialization and ensemble generation methods are investigated with respect to their impact on the prediction skill of the German decadal prediction system âMittelfristige Klimaprognoseâ (MiKlip). Among the tested methods, three tackle aspects of modelâconsistent initialization using the ensemble Kalman filter, the filtered anomaly initialization, and the initialization method by partially coupled spinâup (MODINI). The remaining two methods alter the ensemble generation: the ensemble dispersion filter corrects each ensemble member with the ensemble mean during model integration. And the bred vectors perturb the climate state using the fastest growing modes. The new methods are compared against the latest MiKlip system in the lowâresolution configuration (PreopâLR), which uses lagging the climate state by a few days for ensemble generation and nudging toward ocean and atmosphere reanalyses for initialization. Results show that the tested methods provide an added value for the prediction skill as compared to PreopâLR in that they improve prediction skill over the eastern and central Pacific and different regions in the North Atlantic Ocean. In this respect, the ensemble Kalman filter and filtered anomaly initialization show the most distinct improvements over PreopâLR for surface temperatures and upper ocean heat content, followed by the bred vectors, the ensemble dispersion filter, and MODINI. However, no single method exists that is superior to the others with respect to all metrics considered. In particular, all methods affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in different ways, both with respect to the basinâwide longâterm mean and variability and with respect to the temporal evolution at the 26° N latitude
Best Practices in Land Bank Operation
In preparation for the development of a strategic business plan for the City of Cleveland to create an industrial/commercial land bank, the GLFEC conducted a best practices scan that encompassed two phases of primary research. The first phase included a thorough review of more than 41 sources of academic and trade literature on the topics of vacant land utilization and management, land banking, land assembly, and vacant and abandoned property policy. The second phase was a survey of 34 land banks and land redevelopment authorities in the United States. This report summarizes the findings of the research and identifies those practices in land-bank operation in the United States that currently define the models of operation and point to the best policies and practices in use today
The Influence of IS1301 in the Capsule Biosynthesis Locus on Meningococcal Carriage and Disease
Previously we have shown that insertion of IS1301 in the sia/ctr intergenic region (IGR) of serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis (MenC) isolates from Spain confers increased resistance against complement-mediated killing. Here we investigate the significance of IS1301 in the same location in N. meningitidis isolates from the UK. PCR and sequencing was used to screen a collection of more than 1500 meningococcal carriage and disease isolates from the UK for the presence of IS1301 in the IGR. IS1301 was not identified in the IGR among vaccine failure strains but was frequently found in serogroup B isolates (MenB) from clonal complex 269 (cc269). Almost all IS1301 insertions in cc269 were associated with novel polymorphisms, and did not change capsule expression or resistance to human complement. After excluding sequence types (STs) distant from the central genotype within cc269, there was no significant difference for the presence of IS1301 in the IGR of carriage isolates compared to disease isolates. Isolates with insertion of IS1301 in the IGR are not responsible for MenC disease in UK vaccine failures. Novel polymorphisms associated with IS1301 in the IGR of UK MenB isolates do not lead to the resistance phenotype seen for IS1301 in the IGR of MenC isolates
The impact of language co-activation on L1 and L2 speech fluency
Fluent speech depends on the availability of well-established linguistic knowledge and routines for speech planning and articulation. A lack of speech fluency in late second-language (L2) learners may point to a deficiency of these representations, due to incomplete acquisition. Experiments on bilingual language processing have shown, however, that there are strong reasons to believe that multilingual speakers experience co-activation of the languages they speak. We have studied to what degree language co-activation affects fluency in the speech of bilinguals, comparing a monolingual German control group with two bilingual groups: 1) first-language (L1) attriters, who have fully acquired German before emigrating to an L2 English environment, and 2) immersed L2 learners of German (L1: English). We have analysed the temporal fluency and the incidence of disfluency markers (pauses, repetitions and self-corrections) in spontaneous film retellings. Our findings show that learners to speak more slowly than controls and attriters. Also, on each count, the speech of at least one of the bilingual groups contains more disfluency markers than the retellings of the control group. Generally speaking, both bilingual groups-learners and attriters-are equally (dis)fluent and significantly more disfluent than the monolingual speakers. Given that the L1 attriters are unaffected by incomplete acquisition, we interpret these findings as evidence for language competition during speech production
Initialization and ensemble generation for decadal climate predictions: A comparison of different methods
Five initialization and ensemble generation methods are investigated with respect to their impact on the prediction skill of the German decadal prediction system "Mittelfristige Klimaprognose" (MiKlip). Among the tested methods, three tackle aspects of modelâconsistent initialization using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), the filtered anomaly initialization (FAI) and the initialization method by partially coupled spinâup (MODINI). The remaining two methods alter the ensemble generation: the ensemble dispersion filter (EDF) corrects each ensemble member with the ensemble mean during model integration. And the bred vectors (BV) perturb the climate state using the fastest growing modes. The new methods are compared against the latest MiKlip system in the lowâresolution configuration (PreopâLR), which uses lagging the climate state by a few days for ensemble generation and nudging toward ocean and atmosphere reanalyses for initialization. Results show that the tested methods provide an added value for the prediction skill as compared to PreopâLR in that they improve prediction skill over the eastern and central Pacific and different regions in the North Atlantic Ocean. In this respect, the EnKF and FAI show the most distinct improvements over PreopâLR for surface temperatures and upper ocean heat content, followed by the BV, the EDF and MODINI. However, no single method exists that is superior to the others with respect to all metrics considered. In particular, all methods affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in different ways, both with respect to the basinâwide longâterm mean and variability, and with respect to the temporal evolution at the 26° N latitude
La Voz de AragĂłn: diario grĂĄfico independiente: Año X NĂșmero 2747 - 20 Septiembre 1934
Copia digital. Ministerio de EducaciĂłn, Cultura y Deporte. SubdirecciĂłn General de CoordinaciĂłn Bibliotecaria : Madrid, 201
Magnetohydrodynamic drag measurements in an expansion tunnel with argon test gas
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When having two names facilitates lexical selection: Similar results in the picture-word task from translation distractors in bilinguals and synonym distractors in monolinguals
We report five experiments using the picture-word task to examine lexical selection by comparing the effects of translation distractors in bilinguals and synonym distractors in monolinguals. Three groups of bilinguals named objects in their L1 or L2, and English monolinguals named objects using common names (e.g., DOG = âdogâ) or, in a novel manipulation, using synonymous alternative names (e.g., DOG = âhoundâ, GLASSES = âspectaclesâ). All studies produced strikingly similar results. When bilinguals named in L1, there was a small facilitation effect from translation distractors, but larger facilitation when they named in L2. When monolinguals produced common names, there was no reliable effect from synonym distractors, but facilitation when they produced alternative names. (There were also strong identity facilitation effects in all naming conditions.) We discuss the relevance of these results for the debate concerning the role of competition in lexical selection and propose that for speech production there are direct facilitatory connections between the lexical representations of translations in bilinguals (and between synonyms in monolinguals). The effects of synonyms in monolinguals appear to âsimulateâ the effects found for translations in bilinguals, which suggest that there are commonalities in monolingual and bilingual lexical selection
Measuring working memory capacity with the letter-number sequencing task: Advantages of visual administration
Working memory capacity (WMC) plays a major role in many applied contexts, and it is important to be able to accurately measure this construct. The current studies tested whether the modality of administration of the Letter-Number Sequencing task affects performance on the task. The Letter-Number Sequencing task is a WMC measure included as part of the WAIS-III and WAIS-IV test batteries. The task involves hearing a series of letters and digits, and then reporting back the stimuli with the letters in alphabetical order, and digits in ascending numerical order. The task is traditionally administered orally, but recent studies have administered versions of the tasks visually by displaying stimuli on a computer screen. Results suggest that performance differences on the Letter-Number Sequencing task may arise as a function of language background and task administration modality