A concurrent precursor inflow method for Large Eddy Simulations and applications to finite length wind farms

In order to enable simulations of developing wind turbine array boundary layers with highly realistic inflow conditions a concurrent precursor method for Large Eddy Simulations is proposed. In this method we consider two domains simultaneously, i.e. in one domain a turbulent Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) without wind turbines is simulated in order to generate the turbulent inflow conditions for a second domain in which the wind turbines are placed. The benefit of this approach is that a) it avoids the need for large databases in which the turbulent inflow conditions are stored and the correspondingly slow I/O operations and b) we are sure that the simulations are not negatively affected by statically swept fixed inflow fields or synthetic fields lacking the proper ABL coherent structures. Sample applications are presented, in which, in agreement with field data a strong decrease of the power output of downstream wind-turbines with respect to the first row of wind-turbines is observed for perfectly aligned inflow.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Argument of Hon. Henry L. Stone in the Case of Thomas M. Green vs. Thomas F. Hargis

Argument of Hon. Henry L. Stone of Mt. Sterling, Ky., Delivered May 20th, 21st and 24th, 1880, before the jury in the Jefferson Court of Common Plies, at Louisville, in behalf of the defendant, on the trial of the celebrated libel suit of Thomas M. Green vs. Thomas F. Hargis. Published by George E. Lewis of Frankfort, Ky., 1881

Rapid Karst Development in an English Quartzitic Sandstone

 Na izdankih Fellskih peščenjakov v pokrajini Northumberland v Angliji, se pojavlja več kraških oblik, med njimi tudi jame. Kraške oblike so nastale v holocenu, saj je bilo območje v Devenzijski hladni dobi pokrito z ledenikom. Predvidevamo, da je nastanek teh oblik povezan z incepcijo tektonske dejavnosti in hitro arenizacijo (selektivnim preperevanjem vlažnih) kamnitih površin. V članku razpravljamo tudi o omejenosti splošno sprejetih definicij termina kras. Many karst features, including caves, have been found in the outcrop of the Fell Sandstone in Northumberland, England. These features are Holocene in age, since the area was glaciated during the Devensian cold stage. It is suggested that tectonic inception and selective arenisation of rock faces that remain damp are responsible for these karst features. The limitations of textbook definitions of the term karst are discussed

Kinetics of the neutralizing antibody response to respiratory syncytial virus infections in a birth cohort

The kinetics of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) neutralizing antibodies following birth, primary and secondary infections are poorly defined. The aims of the study were to measure and compare neutralizing antibody responses at different time points in a birth cohort followed-up over three RSV epidemics. Rural Kenyan children, recruited at birth between 2002 and 2003, were monitored for RSV infection over three epidemic seasons. Cord and 3-monthly sera, and acute and convalescent sera following RSV infection, were assayed in 28 children by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). Relative to the neutralizing antibody titers of pre-exposure control sera (1.8 log10 PRNT), antibody titers following primary infection were (i) no different in sera collected between 0 and 0.4 months post-infection (1.9 log10 PRNT, P = 0.146), (ii) higher in sera collected between 0.5 and 0.9 (2.8 log10 PRNT, P < 0.0001), 1.0–1.9 (2.5 log10 PRNT, P < 0.0001), and 2.0–2.9 (2.3 log10 PRNT, P < 0.001) months post-infection, and (iii) no different in sera collected at between 3.0 and 3.9 months post-infection (2.0 log10 PRNT, P = 0.052). The early serum neutralizing response to secondary infection (3.02 log10 PRNT) was significantly greater than the early primary response (1.9 log10 PRNT, P < 0.0001). Variation in population-level virus transmission corresponded with changes in the mean cohort-level neutralizing titers. It is concluded that following primary RSV infection the neutralizing antibody response declines to pre-infection levels rapidly (∼3 months) which may facilitate repeat infection. The kinetics of the aggregate levels of acquired antibody reflect seasonal RSV occurrence, age, and infection history

The level and duration of RSV-specific maternal IgG in infants in Kilifi Kenya

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants. The rate of decay of RSV-specific maternal antibodies (RSV-matAb), the factors affecting cord blood levels, and the relationship between these levels and protection from infection are poorly defined. Methods A birth cohort (n = 635) in rural Kenya, was studied intensively to monitor infections and describe age-related serological characteristics. RSV specific IgG antibody (Ab) in serum was measured by the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in cord blood, consecutive samples taken 3 monthly, and in paired acute and convalescent samples. A linear regression model was used to calculate the rate of RSV-matAb decline. The effect of risk factors on cord blood titres was investigated. Results The half-life of matAb in the Kenyan cohort was calculated to be 79 days (95% confidence limits (CL): 76–81 days). Ninety seven percent of infants were born with RSV-matAb. Infants who subsequently experienced an infection in early life had significantly lower cord titres of anti-RSV Ab in comparison to infants who did not have any incident infection in the first 6 months (P = 0.011). RSV infections were shown to have no effect on the rate of decay of RSV-matAb. Conclusion Maternal-specific RSV Ab decline rapidly following birth. However, we provide evidence of protection against severe disease by RSV-matAb during the first 6–7 months. This suggests that boosting maternal-specific Ab by RSV vaccination may be a useful strategy to consider

Hygiene and other early childhood influences on the subsequent function of the immune system

AbstractThe immune system influences brain development and function. Hygiene and other early childhood influences impact the subsequent function of the immune system during adulthood, with consequences for vulnerability to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Inflammatory events during pregnancy can act directly to cause developmental problems in the central nervous system (CNS) that have been implicated in schizophrenia and autism. The immune system also acts indirectly by “farming” the intestinal microbiota, which then influences brain development and function via the multiple pathways that constitute the gut–brain axis. The gut microbiota also regulates the immune system. Regulation of the immune system is crucial because inflammatory states in pregnancy need to be limited, and throughout life inflammation needs to be terminated completely when not required; for example, persistently raised levels of background inflammation during adulthood (in the presence or absence of a clinically apparent inflammatory stimulus) correlate with an increased risk of depression. A number of factors in the perinatal period, notably immigration from rural low-income to rich developed settings, caesarean delivery, breastfeeding and antibiotic abuse have profound effects on the microbiota and on immunoregulation during early life that persist into adulthood. Many aspects of the modern western environment deprive the infant of the immunoregulatory organisms with which humans co-evolved, while encouraging exposure to non-immunoregulatory organisms, associated with more recently evolved “crowd” infections. Finally, there are complex interactions between perinatal psychosocial stressors, the microbiota, and the immune system that have significant additional effects on both physical and psychiatric wellbeing in subsequent adulthood.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Neuroimmunology in Health And Disease

Volcanic glasses at the Izu arc volcanic front : new perspectives on fluid and sediment melt recycling in subduction zones

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 5 (2004): Q01007, doi:10.1029/2002GC000408.Volcanic glasses contained in distal fallout tephras from the Izu arc volcanic front (Izu VF) provide unique perspectives on general problems of arc volcanism. Unlike cogenetic lavas, these glasses are liquid compositions where element concentrations as well as ratios have significance. Isotopic evidence and previous work show that there is no sediment melt contribution to the sources of the Izu VF tephras, and hence their trace element characteristics permit determination of the trace element contents of slab fluids. The slab fluid is a composite of metasediment (∼5% of total fluid) and metabasalt (∼95%) component fluids, and carries large ion lithophile elements (LILE) with high LILE/Th and LILE/U, and low Th and U relative to source. Except for Sr and K, the metabasalt fluid is much less enriched than the metasediment fluid, but its large relative proportions make it an important carrier of many trace elements. The metabasalt fluid has the characteristics of the arc trace element signature, obviating the need for ubiquitous involvement of sediment in arc magma genesis. The fluid component in the tephras is remarkably constant in composition over fifteen million years, and hence appears to be a robust composition that may be applicable to other convergent margins. Assuming that the metabasalt fluid is a common component, and that distribution coefficients between sediment and fluid are similar from one arc to another, composite fluid compositions can be estimated for other arcs. Differences from this composition then would likely result from a sediment melt component. Comparison to arcs with sediment melt components in their source (Marianas, eastern Aleutians) shows that partial sediment melts may be so enriched, that they can completely mask the signature of the comingling slab fluids. Hence sediment melts can easily dominate the trace element and isotopic signature of many convergent margins. Since sediment melts inherit the LILE/LILE ratios of the trench sediment, Earth's surface processes must eventually influence the compositional diversity of arcs.This study was funded by the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” (grants Str 441/3 and 441/4). The Northeast National Ion Microprobe Facility at WHOI was supported by grants EAR-9628749 and EAR-990440 from the National Science Foundation