Monitoring pumping test response in a fractured aquifer using ground-penetrating radar

This is the published version. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union. All rights reserved.Fractured aquifers present a number of problems when attempting to characterize flow on the well scale (less than 100 m). Standard hydraulic testing methods are expensive because of the need for installation of monitoring wells. Geophysical methods may suffer from a lack of resolution and nonunique solutions to data interpretation. We used ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveying during a pumping test in a well-characterized, fractured, carbonate aquifer to monitor the response of a permeable subhorizontal fracture plane. We observed radar signal amplitude and waveform variations along a fracture reflector and correlated the radar signal response to changes in the water saturation of the fracture. Combining hydraulic measurements with GPR data and electromagnetic modeling, we identified an asymmetric fracture drainage pattern, provided accurate spatial information about the saturation of the fracture, and detected the presence of hydraulic boundaries. This study demonstrates that GPR surveying can be used successfully for real-time monitoring of pumping tests in fractured carbonate aquifers

Architecture and Membrane Interactions of the EGF Receptor

SummaryDimerization-driven activation of the intracellular kinase domains of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) upon extracellular ligand binding is crucial to cellular pathways regulating proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Inactive EGFR can exist as both monomers and dimers, suggesting that the mechanism regulating EGFR activity may be subtle. The membrane itself may play a role but creates substantial difficulties for structural studies. Our molecular dynamics simulations of membrane-embedded EGFR suggest that, in ligand-bound dimers, the extracellular domains assume conformations favoring dimerization of the transmembrane helices near their N termini, dimerization of the juxtamembrane segments, and formation of asymmetric (active) kinase dimers. In ligand-free dimers, by holding apart the N termini of the transmembrane helices, the extracellular domains instead favor C-terminal dimerization of the transmembrane helices, juxtamembrane segment dissociation and membrane burial, and formation of symmetric (inactive) kinase dimers. Electrostatic interactions of EGFR’s intracellular module with the membrane are critical in maintaining this coupling

A 90-Day Oral Toxicological Evaluation of the Methylurate Purine Alkaloid Theacrine

A 90-day repeated-dose oral toxicological evaluation was conducted according to GLP and OECD guidelines on the methylurate purine alkaloid theacrine, which is found naturally in certain plants. Four groups of Hsd.Brl.Han Wistar rats (ten/sex/group) were administered theacrine by gavage doses of 0 (vehicle only), 180, 300, and 375 mg/kg bw/day. Two females and one male in the 300 and 375 mg/kg bw/day groups, respectively, died during the study. Histological examination revealed centrilobular hepatocellular necrosis as the probable cause of death. In 375 mg/kg bw/day males, slight reductions in body weight development, food consumption, and feed efficiency, decreased weight of the testes and epididymides and decreased intensity of spermatogenesis in the testes, lack or decreased amount of mature spermatozoa in the epididymides, and decreased amount of prostatic secretions were detected at the end of the three months. At 300 mg/kg bw/day, slight decreases in the weights of the testes and epididymides, along with decreased intensity of spermatogenesis in the testes, and lack or decreased amount of mature spermatozoa in the epididymides were detected in male animals. The NOAEL was considered to be 180 mg/kg bw/day, as at this dose there were no toxicologically relevant treatment-related findings in male or female animals

Evidence for a Complex Relationship Among Weight Retention, Cortisol and Breastfeeding in Postpartum Women

To assess the relationship between cortisol slope, a biologic marker of stress, and postpartum weight retention

Laser Cooling of Optically Trapped Molecules

Calcium monofluoride (CaF) molecules are loaded into an optical dipole trap (ODT) and subsequently laser cooled within the trap. Starting with magneto-optical trapping, we sub-Doppler cool CaF and then load $150(30)$ CaF molecules into an ODT. Enhanced loading by a factor of five is obtained when sub-Doppler cooling light and trapping light are on simultaneously. For trapped molecules, we directly observe efficient sub-Doppler cooling to a temperature of $60(5)$ $\mu\text{K}$. The trapped molecular density of $8(2)\times10^7$ cm$^{-3}$ is an order of magnitude greater than in the initial sub-Doppler cooled sample. The trap lifetime of 750(40) ms is dominated by background gas collisions.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Elder academy : curriculum design and operation model = 長者學苑 : 課程設計與運作模式

Ever since the launching of the Elder Academy in 2007, numerous schools have joined the fray bringing with them valuable innovations, presenting the elderly and students with a wide variety of educational activities. The experiences of the Elder Academy at Lingnan and other academies are summarized in this handbook, in order to provide a frame of reference and an operation guide for other schools and organizations, so that they may design their own comprehensive teaching and learning plans. In this handbook, the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations are explained, and there are guidelines and suggestions regarding assessment methods. Apart from the instructions on teaching and learning activities, examples of course syllabi and activities are also included to offer some insights into the operation of the schools and their courses, allowing institutions to better carry out similar projects in a more systematic manner.https://commons.ln.edu.hk/osl_book/1001/thumbnail.jp

Strongly Correlated Quantum Fluids: Ultracold Quantum Gases, Quantum Chromodynamic Plasmas, and Holographic Duality

Strongly correlated quantum fluids are phases of matter that are intrinsically quantum mechanical, and that do not have a simple description in terms of weakly interacting quasi-particles. Two systems that have recently attracted a great deal of interest are the quark-gluon plasma, a plasma of strongly interacting quarks and gluons produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions, and ultracold atomic Fermi gases, very dilute clouds of atomic gases confined in optical or magnetic traps. These systems differ by more than 20 orders of magnitude in temperature, but they were shown to exhibit very similar hydrodynamic flow. In particular, both fluids exhibit a robustly low shear viscosity to entropy density ratio which is characteristic of quantum fluids described by holographic duality, a mapping from strongly correlated quantum field theories to weakly curved higher dimensional classical gravity. This review explores the connection between these fields, and it also serves as an introduction to the Focus Issue of New Journal of Physics on Strongly Correlated Quantum Fluids: from Ultracold Quantum Gases to QCD Plasmas. The presentation is made accessible to the general physics reader and includes discussions of the latest research developments in all three areas.Comment: 138 pages, 25 figures, review associated with New Journal of Physics special issue "Focus on Strongly Correlated Quantum Fluids: from Ultracold Quantum Gases to QCD Plasmas" (http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/focus/Focus%20on%20Strongly%20Correlated%20Quantum%20Fluids%20-%20from%20Ultracold%20Quantum%20Gases%20to%20QCD%20Plasmas

A Critical Approach to Developing Culturally Relevant Leadership Curricula for Muslim Students

The secular and materialistic values imported to Muslim countries through globalisation and the uncritical application of Western models and theories are changing societies from being Muslim towards a materialistic and secular one where economic value is the most critical factor that drives people’s behaviour and decisions. The real challenge for Muslim countries, then, is to develop and implement higher education curricula that reflect Islamic and cultural values while incorporating global knowledge developed by Western and other scholars. This chapter aims to achieve this balance by proposing a theoretical model that can be used for developing culturally relevant and critically reflective leadership curricula. The model is derived from Habermas’ account of critical theory and offers a critical and holistic approach to leadership teaching. It adopts an intercultural and interdisciplinary approach to learning and aims to start a dialogue between Western and indigenous sources of knowledge. The model also proposes the content and teaching practices recommended by leadership scholars and leadership development literature internationally to provide students with a balanced and pluralistic learning experience that addresses both the spiritual and the intellectual aspects of knowledge

Follicular Dendritic Cell-Specific Prion Protein (PrPc) Expression Alone Is Sufficient to Sustain Prion Infection in the Spleen

Prion diseases are characterised by the accumulation of PrPSc, an abnormally folded isoform of the cellular prion protein (PrPC), in affected tissues. Following peripheral exposure high levels of prion-specific PrPSc accumulate first upon follicular dendritic cells (FDC) in lymphoid tissues before spreading to the CNS. Expression of PrPC is mandatory for cells to sustain prion infection and FDC appear to express high levels. However, whether FDC actively replicate prions or simply acquire them from other infected cells is uncertain. In the attempts to-date to establish the role of FDC in prion pathogenesis it was not possible to dissociate the Prnp expression of FDC from that of the nervous system and all other non-haematopoietic lineages. This is important as FDC may simply acquire prions after synthesis by other infected cells. To establish the role of FDC in prion pathogenesis transgenic mice were created in which PrPC expression was specifically “switched on” or “off” only on FDC. We show that PrPC-expression only on FDC is sufficient to sustain prion replication in the spleen. Furthermore, prion replication is blocked in the spleen when PrPC-expression is specifically ablated only on FDC. These data definitively demonstrate that FDC are the essential sites of prion replication in lymphoid tissues. The demonstration that Prnp-ablation only on FDC blocked splenic prion accumulation without apparent consequences for FDC status represents a novel opportunity to prevent neuroinvasion by modulation of PrPC expression on FDC