657 research outputs found
Grass Referenced Based Vegetation Coefficients for Estimating Evapostranspiration for a Variery of Natural Vegetation
In arid and semi-arid regions, evapotranspiration from vegetation results in the significant utilization of available water. Accurate estimates of evapotranspiration are required for surface and subsurface hydrologic evaluations as well as irrigation district water balance studies. A significant amount of transferable information exists for irrigated agricultural crops through past and current research in the form of grass or alfalfa reference based crop coefficients (Kc) and basal crop coefficients (Kcb). However, transferable evapotranspiration information on natural vegetation is limited. Much of the work was conducted in the early to mid-1900’s and is presented as actual evapotranspiration from the vegetation at the research site either as annual or monthly values. In some cases, the data may have been referenced to evaporation pan measurements (typically Class A type pans) with unknown site conditions. An intensive literature review was conducted to extract monthly measured evapotranspiration information for natural vegetation types under various conditions. Monthly vegetation coefficients (Kv) for standardized grass reference based evapotranspiration (ETo) were computed using long-term average grass reference evapotranspiration information computed with data from nearby weather stations. Comparisons of the Kv values for similar vegetation indicate higher variability during the non-summer months but results from most of the studies examined are in good agreement. These Kv values provide some level of transferability so that it is possible to compute an accurate estimate of vegetative evapotranspiration with daily or monthly standardized grass reference evapotranspiration values in areas away from the original study
Pilot interministerial operation for remote sensing
Advantages and disadvantages of traditional methods of obtaining required information for land and resources management and the possibilities of remote sensing are discussed. The services available, organization and objectives of the pilot operation are presented. Emphasis is placed on multidisciplinary dialog among designers, builders, operators, interpreters and users in all phases. The principles, operation and practical applications of remote sensing systems and processing systems under the pilot operation are presented
New determination of abundances and stellar parameters for a set of weak G-band stars
Weak G-band (wGb) stars are very peculiar red giants almost devoided of
carbon and often mildly enriched in lithium. Despite their very puzzling
abundance patterns, very few detailed spectroscopic studies existed up to a few
years ago, preventing any clear understanding of the wGb phenomenon. We
recently proposed the first consistent analysis of published data for 28 wGb
stars and identified them as descendants of early A-type to late B-type stars,
without being able to conclude on their evolutionary status or the origin of
their peculiar abundance pattern.
We used newly obtained high-resolution and high SNR spectra for 19 wGb stars
in the southern and northern hemisphere to homogeneously derive their
fundamental parameters, metallicities, as well as the spectroscopic abundances
for Li, C, N, O, Na, Sr, and Ba. We also computed dedicated stellar evolution
models that we used to determine the masses and to investigate the evolutionary
status and chemical history of the stars in our sample. We confirm that the wGb
stars are stars in the mass range 3.2 to 4.2 M. We suggest that a large
fraction could be mildly evolved stars on the SGB currently undergoing the 1st
DUP, while a smaller number of stars are more probably in the core He burning
phase at the clump. After analysing their abundance pattern, we confirm their
strong N enrichment anti-correlated with large C depletion, characteristic of
material fully processed through the CNO cycle to an extent not known in other
evolved intermediate-mass stars. However, we demonstrate here that such a
pattern is very unlikely due to self-enrichment. In the light of the current
observational constraints, no solid self-consistent pollution scenario can be
presented either, leaving the wGb puzzle largely unsolved.Comment: 19 pages , 14 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
A GLOBAL MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF THE SMALL PUFFINUS SHEARWATERS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SYSTEMATICS OF THE LITTLE-AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER COMPLEX
Post-pulse addition of trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diol improves electrotransfer mediated gene expression in mammalian cells
AbstractElectric field mediated gene transfer is facing a problem in expression yield due to the poor transfer across the nuclear envelope. Trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diol (TCHD) was shown to significantly increase chemically mediated transfection by collapsing the permeability barrier of the nuclear pore complex. We indeed observed a significant increase in expression by electrotransfer when cells are treated post pulse by a low non toxic concentration of TCHD. This was obtained for different pulsing conditions, cell strains and plasmid constructs. An interesting improvement in cell viability can be obtained. This can significantly enhance the non-viral gene electrical delivery
Relationships between threshold-based PROP sensitivity and food preferences of Tunisians
International audienceThe extent to which taste responses - and notably the genetically determined sensitivity to 6-npropylthiouracil (PROP) - influences food preferences and food use is still a matter of debate. We addressed the issue on the basis of a behavioural and anthropological study performed in Tunis in 1999. The working sample consists of 123 adults of both sexes (38 men, 85 women), aged 19 to 59, in various social categories. Taste recognition thresholds for sucrose, fructose, sodium chloride, quinine hydrochloride, citric acid, tannic acid, oak tannin and PROP were determined by presenting, in a semi-randomised order (blind-test), series of graded aqueous solutions of each product. Subjects also tasted and rated the pleasantness/unpleasantness of 4 supra-threshold solutions of NaCl and sucrose. All subjects completed a checklist of 43 food items representative of Tunisian diet, rated in terms of flavour, cost, effect on health and prestige on a Labelled Affective Magnitude (LAM) scale. According to the underlying distribution of PROP thresholds, the subjects were separated into three categories: "non-tasters", "medium-threshold tasters", and "low-threshold tasters". Results bring out the specificity of low-threshold tasters, as exhibiting a greater taste sensitivity for most tested substances. Low-threshold taster status is also linked to higher mean food preferences ratings irrespective of sex, age and socio-cultural influences. Tasters as a group (medium-threshold tasters + low-threshold tasters) do not exhibit a higher percentage of food dislikes; however PROP sensitivity is negatively correlated with hedonic responses to NaCl solutions. These results together with the evidence of a limited set of food actually used by low-threshold tasters suggest that these subjects might have difficulties at overcoming an inherent neophobia
STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI) presenting as massive intra alveolar haemorrhage
CNN photometric redshifts in the SDSS at
We release photometric redshifts, reaching 0.7, for 14M galaxies
at in the 11,500 deg of the SDSS north and south galactic caps.
These estimates were inferred from a convolution neural network (CNN) trained
on stamp images of galaxies labelled with a spectroscopic redshift from
the SDSS, GAMA and BOSS surveys. Representative training sets of 370k
galaxies were constructed from the much larger combined spectroscopic data to
limit biases, particularly those arising from the over-representation of
Luminous Red Galaxies. The CNN outputs a redshift classification that offers
all the benefits of a well-behaved PDF, with a width efficiently signaling
unreliable estimates due to poor photometry or stellar sources. The dispersion,
mean bias and rate of catastrophic failures of the median point estimate are of
order , , on a representative test sample at ,
out-performing currently published estimates. The distributions in narrow
intervals of magnitudes of the redshifts inferred for the photometric sample
are in good agreement with the results of tomographic analyses. The inferred
redshifts also match the photometric redshifts of the redMaPPer galaxy clusters
for the probable cluster members. The CNN input and output are available at:
https://deepdip.iap.fr/treyer+2023.Comment: Submitted to MNRA
Topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin in stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma patients failing to achieve a complete metastatic response to rapid COJEC : a SIOPEN study
Purpose : Metastatic response to induction therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma is a prognostic factor. In the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma (SIOPEN) HR-NBL-1 protocol, only patients with metastatic complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) with <= three abnormal skeletal areas on iodine 123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ([I-123] mIBG) scintigraphy and no bone marrow disease proceed to high dose therapy (HDT). In this study, topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin (TVD) was evaluated in patients failing to achieve these criteria, with the aim of improving the metastatic response rate.
Materials and Methods : Patients with metastatic high-risk neuroblastoma who had not achieved the SIOPEN criteria for HDT after induction received two courses of topotecan 1.5 mg/m(2)/day for 5 days, followed by a 48-hour infusion of vincristine, 2 mg/m(2), and doxorubicin, 45 mg/m(2).
Results : Sixty-three patients were eligible and evaluable. Following two courses of TVD, four (6.4%) patients had an overall CR, while 28 (44.4%) had a PR with a combined response rate of 50.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 37.9 to 63.6). Of these, 23 patients achieved a metastatic CR or a PR with <= 3 mIBG skeletal areas and no bone marrow disease (36.5%; 95% CI, 24.7 to 49.6) and were eligible to receive HDT. Toxicity was mostly haematological, affecting 106 of the 126 courses (84.1%; 95% CI, 76.5 to 90.0), and dose reduction was necessary in six patients. Stomatitis was the second most common nonhematological toxicity, occurring in 20 patients (31.7%).
Conclusion : TVD was effective in improving the response rate of high-risk neuroblastoma patients after induction with COJEC enabling them to proceed to HDT. However, the long-term benefits of TVD needs to be determined in randomized clinical trials
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