445 research outputs found

    Observational Analysis of the 27 May 1997 Central Texas Tornadic Event. Part II: Tornadoes

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    The 27 May 1997 central Texas tornadic event has been investigated in a two-part observational study. As demonstrated in Part I, the 1D environment associated with this event was unfavorable for significant (≥F2) tornadoes. Yet, the storm complex produced at least six significant tornadoes, including one rated F5 (the Jarrell, Texas, tornado). The purpose of this article is to examine the spatiotemporal interrelationships between tornadoes, preexisting boundaries, antecedent low-level mesocyclones, convective cells, and midlevel mesocyclones. It is shown that each of the six observed tornadoes that produced greater than F0 damage formed along the storm-generated gust front, not along preexisting boundaries. Half of these tornadoes formed on the distorted gust front, the portion of the storm-generated gust front whose orientation was deformed largely by the horizontal shear across the cold front. The remaining three tornadoes developed at the gust front cusp (the persistent gust front inflection located at the northeast end of the gust front distortion). Unlike the tornadoes south of the gust front cusp, these tornadoes are found to be associated with antecedent mesocyclones located in the low levels above the boundary layer. Furthermore, these mesocyclonic tornadoes are found to be larger and more destructive than the three nonmesocyclonic tornadoes. The formation of the Jarrell tornado is found to occur as a nearly stationary convective cell became collocated with a south-southwestward-moving low-level mesocyclone near the gust front cusp—a behavior that resembles the formation of nonsupercell tornadoes. It is argued that the back-building propagation/maintenance of the storm complex enabled this juxtaposition of convective cells with vorticity along the distorted gust front and may have therefore enabled tornado formation. Each of the convective cells without midlevel mesocyclones was found to remain farther from the boundaries than the mesocyclonic cells. Since the cells nearest to the boundaries were longer lived than the remaining cells, it is argued that cells near the boundaries were mesocyclonic because the boundaries yielded cells that were more likely to support temporally coherent midlevel rotation

    EVOLUTION OF A LONG-TRACK VIOLENT TORNADO WITHIN A SIMULATED SUPERCELL

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    Utilizing state-of-the-art visualization and analysis software, we explore the evolution of a violent tornado within a simulated supercell thunderstorm and describe associated computational challenges

    Farmers\u27 Trust in Sources of Production and Climate Information and Their Use of Technology

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    A regionally representative survey of 900 Inland Pacific Northwest farmers showed that farmers trust other farmers and agribusiness most for production management decisions but trust university Extension most for climate change information. Additionally, in responding to questions about use of the Internet and mobile applications for making farm management decisions, many farmers indicated that they use the Internet daily but mobile applications much less regularly to access farm-related information. These results suggest that university Extension personnel have an important role to play in informing farmers about climate change and can do so effectively by using certain digital tools alongside other more traditional avenues for information delivery

    PRL3-DDX21 transcriptional control of endolysosomal genes restricts melanocyte stem cell differentiation

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    Melanocytes, replenished throughout life by melanocyte stem cells (MSCs), play a critical role in pigmentation and melanoma. Here, we reveal a function for the metastasis-associated phosphatase of regenerating liver 3 (PRL3) in MSC regeneration. We show that PRL3 binds to the RNA helicase DDX21, thereby restricting productive transcription by RNAPII at master transcription factor (MITF)-regulated endolysosomal vesicle genes. In zebrafish, this mechanism controls premature melanoblast expansion and differentiation from MSCs. In melanoma patients, restricted transcription of this endolysosomal vesicle pathway is a hallmark of PRL3-high melanomas. Our work presents the conceptual advance that PRL3-mediated control of transcriptional elongation is a differentiation checkpoint mechanism for activated MSCs and has clinical relevance for the activity of PRL3 in regenerating tissue and cancer

    Behavioural syndrome in a solitary predator is independent of body size and growth rate.

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    Models explaining behavioural syndromes often focus on state-dependency, linking behavioural variation to individual differences in other phenotypic features. Empirical studies are, however, rare. Here, we tested for a size and growth-dependent stable behavioural syndrome in the juvenile-stages of a solitary apex predator (pike, Esox lucius), shown as repeatable foraging behaviour across risk. Pike swimming activity, latency to prey attack, number of successful and unsuccessful prey attacks was measured during the presence/absence of visual contact with a competitor or predator. Foraging behaviour across risks was considered an appropriate indicator of boldness in this solitary predator where a trade-off between foraging behaviour and threat avoidance has been reported. Support was found for a behavioural syndrome, where the rank order differences in the foraging behaviour between individuals were maintained across time and risk situation. However, individual behaviour was independent of body size and growth in conditions of high food availability, showing no evidence to support the state-dependent personality hypothesis. The importance of a combination of spatial and temporal environmental variation for generating growth differences is highlighted

    COVID-19 is associated with early emergence of preeclampsia: results from a large regional collaborative

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    Objective: To examine the relationship between COVID-19 and preeclampsia (PreE) in a large, diverse population. Study Design: The COVID-19 in Pregnancy and The Newborn: State of Michigan Collaborative established a database of pregnant patients admitted to 14 institutions in Southern Michigan. Patients with COVID-19 (cases) were matched to 2 or 3 non-COVID patients (controls) on the same unit within 30 days of each case. Relative Risks (RR) were calculated using robust Poisson regression models with adjustment for covariates. Chi-squared test for trend was used to assess the increase in risk with the severity of disease. Results: 369 cases and 1,090 controls were delivered between March - October 2020. An increased risk of PreE (RR=1.8), driven almost entirely by an increase in preterm PreE (pretermPreE) (RR=2.85) was observed in COVID pregnancies (Table 1), with a dose-response relationship with symptomatology and severity (Table 2). The associations between COVID-19 disease and PreE or pretermPreE were independent of other risk factors, as demonstrated by the minimal changes in RR after adjustment for confounders (Table 1). However, African American (AA) COVID patients experienced pretermPreE 1.9 times more than COVID patients of other races (10.1 vs 5.3), an increase not observed in control patients. The strength of the association for COVID with PreE was comparable to the association of PreE with chronic hypertension and nulliparity (data not shown). Increasing symptoms and severity of COVID-19 were associated with an increased risk for PreE with placental lesions, even after adjustment for relevant covariates (Tables 1 & 2). Non-PreE COVID patients had an increased trend of placental lesions compared to non-COVID patients, reaching significance for intravillous thrombin. Conclusion: COVID-19 is significantly associated with early emergence of PreE, independent of known risk factors other than AA race. Our study shows that among patients predisposed to PreE, COVID-19 impacts PreE severity in that it leads to pretermPreE. Further studies on COVID-19 and PreE, with a focus on racial disparities, is warranted
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