A buoyant tornado-probe concept incorporating an inverted lifting device

Addition of an inverted lifting device to a simple balloon probe is shown to make possible low-altitude entry to tornado cores with easier launch conditions than for the simple balloon probe. Balloon-lifter combinations are particularly suitable for penetration of tornadoes with average to strong circulation, but tornadoes of less than average circulation which are inaccessible to simple balloon probes become accessible. The increased launch radius which is needed for access to tornadoes over a wide range of circulation results in entry times of about 3 minutes. For a simple balloon probe the uninflated balloon must be first dropped on, or near, the track of the tornado from a safe distance. The increase in typical launch radius from about 0.75 kilometer to slightly over 1.0 kilometer with a balloon-lifter combination suggests that a direct air launch may be feasible

Proteomics reveals that a high-fat diet induces rapid changes in hypothalamic proteins related to neuronal damage and inflammation

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

'HeART of Stroke (HoS)', a community-based Arts for Health group intervention to support self-confidence and psychological well-being following a stroke: protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility study

Introduction Over 152 000 people in the UK have strokes annually and a third experience residual disability. Low mood also affects a third of stroke survivors; yet psychological support is poor. While Arts for Health interventions have been shown to improve well-being in people with mild-to-moderate depression post-stroke, their role in helping people regain sense of self, well-being and confidence has yet to be evaluated. The main aim of this study is to explore the feasibility of conducting a pragmatic multicentre randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an Arts for Health group intervention (‘HeART of Stroke’ (HoS)) for stroke survivors. HoS is a 10-session artist-facilitated group intervention held in the community over 14 weeks. It offers a non-judgemental, supportive environment for people to explore sense of self, potentially enhancing well-being and confidence. Methods and analysis Sixty-four people, up to 2 years post-stroke, recruited via secondary care research staff or community stroke/rehabilitation teams in two UK centres will be randomised to either HoS plus usual care or usual care only. Self-reported outcomes, measured at baseline and approximately 5 months postrandomisation, will include stroke-related, well-being, mood, self-esteem, quality of life and process measures. Analyses will focus on estimating key feasibility parameters (eg, rates of recruitment, retention, intervention attendance). We will develop outcome and resource use data collection methods to inform an effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis in the future trial. Interviews, with a sample of participants, will explore the acceptability of the intervention and study processes, as well as experiences of the HoS group. Ethics and dissemination National Health Service (NHS), Research and Development and University ethical approvals have been obtained. Two peer-reviewed journal publications are planned plus one service user led publication. Findings will be disseminated at key national conferences, local stakeholder events and via institutional websites.This paper presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme (Grant Reference Number PB-PG-0212-27054)

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement of valence-band offsets for Mg-based semiconductor compounds

We have used x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to measure the valence-band offsets for the lattice matched MgSe/Cd0.54Zn0.46Se and MgTe/Cd0.88Zn0.12Te heterojunctions grown by molecular beam epitaxy. By measuring core level to valence-band maxima and core level to core level binding energy separations, we obtain values of 0.56+/-0.07 eV and 0.43+/-0.11 eV for the valence-band offsets of MgSe/Cd0.54Zn0.46Se and MgTe/Cd0.88Zn0.12Te, respectively. Both of these values deviate from the common anion rule, as may be expected given the unoccupied cation d orbitals in Mg. Application of our results to the design of current II-VI wide band-gap light emitters is discussed

CONTRIBUTIONS OF NONALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES TO THE U.S. DIET

This report analyzes consumer demand and nutritional issues associated with nonalcoholic beverages purchased for at-home use by looking at demographic variables such as household size, household income, education level, and region. The beverages include milk, carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, fruit juices, fruit drinks, coffee, tea, and isotonics (sports drinks). The report's focus is on the impact of nutritional quality from beverage purchase choices that a household makes, looking at the household's availability of calories, calcium, vitamin C, and caffeine from these beverage choices. Using the Daily Values on the Nutrition Facts portion of the food label as a reference, we find that nonalcoholic beverages purchased for at-home consumption provided, on a per-person basis: 10 percent of daily value for calories; 20 percent of the daily value for calcium; 70 percent of daily value for vitamin C. Statistical analyses included the use of descriptive cross-tabulations and regression analyses, with profiles of households that were more or less likely to purchase the beverages, as well as key determinants associated with the probability of purchasing selected beverages.nonalcoholic beverages, nutrient intake, cross-tabulations, regression analyses, probit analyses, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Modulating the import of medium-chain alkanes in E. coli through tuned expression of FadL

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there have been intensive efforts to develop synthetic microbial platforms for the production, biosensing and bio-remediation of fossil fuel constituents such as alkanes. Building predictable engineered systems for these applications will require the ability to tightly control and modulate the rate of import of alkanes into the host cell. The native components responsible for the import of alkanes within these systems have yet to be elucidated. To shed further insights on this, we used the AlkBGT alkane monooxygenase complex from Pseudomonas putida GPo1 as a reporter system for assessing alkane import in Escherichia coli. Two native E. coli transporters, FadL and OmpW, were evaluated for octane import given their proven functionality in the uptake of fatty acids along with their structural similarity to the P. putida GPo1 alkane importer, AlkL. RESULTS: Octane import was removed with deletion of fadL, but was restored by complementation with a fadL-encoding plasmid. Furthermore, tuned overexpression of FadL increased the rate of alkane import by up to 4.5- fold. A FadL deletion strain displayed a small but significant degree of tolerance toward hexane and octane relative to the wild type, while the responsiveness of the well-known alkane biosensor, AlkS, toward octane and decane was strongly reduced by 2.7- and 2.9-fold, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We unequivocally show for the first time that FadL serves as the major route for medium-chain alkane import in E. coli. The experimental approaches used within this study, which include an enzyme-based reporter system and a fluorescent alkane biosensor for quantification and real-time monitoring of alkane import, could be employed as part of an engineering toolkit for optimizing biological systems that depend on the uptake of alkanes. Thus, the findings will be particularly useful for biological applications such as bioremediation and biomanufacturing

Construction of 3D wormhole supported by phantom energy

In this article, we have found a series solution of 3D Einstein equations describing a wormhole for an inhomogeneous distribution of phantom energy. Here, we assume equation of state is linear but highly anistropic.Comment: 9 papge, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Physica Script

Site specific spin dynamics in BaFe2As2: tuning the ground state by orbital differentiation

The role of orbital differentiation on the emergence of superconductivity in the Fe-based superconductors remains an open question to the scientific community. In this investigation, we employ a suitable microscopic spin probe technique, namely Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), to investigate this issue on selected chemically substituted BaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ single crystals. As the spin-density wave (SDW) phase is suppressed, we observe a clear increase of the Fe 3$d$ bands anisotropy along with their localization at the FeAs plane. Such an increase of the planar orbital content interestingly occurs independently on the chemical substitution responsible for suppressing the SDW phase. As a consequence, the magnetic fluctuations combined with the resultant particular symmetry of the Fe 3$d$ bands are propitious ingredients to the emergence of superconductivity in this class of materials.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Effect of the R1 Element on Expression of the US3 and US6 Immune Evasion Genes of Human Cytomegalovirus

AbstractHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has several gene products that are important for escape from immune surveillance. These viral gene products downregulate the expression of HLA molecules on the cell surface. The viral US3 and US6 gene products are expressed at immediate-early and early times after infection, respectively. There are two regulatory regions between the US3 and the US6 transcription units. The first region is an NF-κB responsive enhancer that promotes the immediate-early expression of the US3 gene and is designated the R2 enhancer. Upstream of the R2 enhancer is a region designated the R1 element that in transient transfection assays behaves as a silencer by repressing the effect of the enhancer on downstream gene expression (A. R. Thrower et al., J. Virol. 1996, 70, 91; Y.-J. Chan et al., J. Virol. 1996, 70, 5312). We constructed recombinant viruses with wild-type or mutated R1 elements. The expression of the US3 gene at 6 h after infection and the US6 gene at 24 h was higher when the R1 element was present. The R1 element in the context of the viral genome is not a silencer of US3 or US6 gene expression. The R1 element has multiple effects on the US3 and US6 RNAs. It enhances the level of US3 and US6 mRNA; it determines the 3′-end cleavage and polyadenylation of US6 RNA, and it stabilizes read-through viral RNAs. The potential mechanisms of R1 enhancement of US3 and US6 gene expression are discussed

Seismic Response to Injection Well Stimulation in a High-Temperature, High-Permeability Reservoir

Fluid injection into the Earth's crust can induce seismic events that cause damage to local infrastructure but also offer valuable insight into seismogenesis. The factors that influence the magnitude, location, and number of induced events remain poorly understood but include injection flow rate and pressure as well as reservoir temperature and permeability. The relationship between injection parameters and injection-induced seismicity in high-temperature, high-permeability reservoirs has not been extensively studied. Here we focus on the Ngatamariki geothermal field in the central Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, where three stimulation/injection tests have occurred since 2012. We present a catalog of seismicity from 2012 to 2015 created using a matched-filter detection technique. We analyze the stress state in the reservoir during the injection tests from first motion-derived focal mechanisms, yielding an average direction of maximum horizontal compressive stress (SHmax) consistent with the regional NE-SW trend. However, there is significant variation in the direction of maximum compressive stress (σ1), which may reflect geological differences between wells. We use the ratio of injection flow rate to overpressure, referred to as injectivity index, as a proxy for near-well permeability and compare changes in injectivity index to spatiotemporal characteristics of seismicity accompanying each test. Observed increases in injectivity index are generally poorly correlated with seismicity, suggesting that the locations of microearthquakes are not coincident with the zone of stimulation (i.e., increased permeability). Our findings augment a growing body of work suggesting that aseismic opening or slip, rather than seismic shear, is the active process driving well stimulation in many environments