3,680 research outputs found
Improvement of a Low-cost DIY Wave Gauge
The impacts of waves on shorelines and nearshore ecosystems has highlighted the need for extension and other environmental professionals to have access to accurate and affordable wave measurements. The development of a low-cost DIY wave gauge improved the accessibility of these measurements; however, the original design was limited in battery life. Here, an improved version of the low-cost DIY wave gauge, the DIY Feather Wave Gauge, is presented with the same performance, longer battery life, smaller design, and cheaper cost along with tutorials, parts lists, and other resources. This new gauge has been used to improve shoreline management recommendations
A low-density hot Jupiter in a near-aligned, 4.5-day orbit around a = 10.8, F5V star
We report the independent discovery and characterisation of a hot Jupiter in
a 4.5-d, transiting orbit around the star TYC 7282-1298-1 ( = 10.8, F5V).
The planet has been pursued by the NGTS team as NGTS-2b and by ourselves as
WASP-179b. We characterised the system using a combination of photometry from
WASP-South and TRAPPIST-South, and spectra from CORALIE (around the orbit) and
HARPS (through the transit). We find the planet's orbit to be nearly aligned
with its star's spin. From a detection of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, we
measure a projected stellar obliquity of . From
line-profile tomography of the same spectra, we measure . We find the planet to have a low density ( = 0.67
0.09 , = 1.54 0.06 ), which, along
with its moderately bright host star, makes it a good target for transmission
spectroscopy. We find a lower stellar mass ( = )
than reported by the NGTS team ( = ), though the
difference is only .Comment: Submitted to AJ. 9 pages, 6 figures, 5 table
WASP-189b: an ultra-hot Jupiter transiting the bright A star HR 5599 in a polar orbit
We report the discovery of WASP-189b: an ultra-hot Jupiter in a 2.72-d
transiting orbit around the A star WASP-189 (HR 5599). We detected
periodic dimmings in the star's lightcurve, first with the WASP-South survey
facility then with the TRAPPIST-South telescope. We confirmed that a planet is
the cause of those dimmings via line-profile tomography and radial-velocity
measurements using the HARPS and CORALIE spectrographs. Those reveal WASP-189b
to be an ultra-hot Jupiter ( = 2.13 0.28 ;
= 1.374 0.082 ) in a polar orbit (; ) around a rapidly rotating
A6IV-V star ( = 8000 100 K; 100
km\, s). We calculate a predicted equilibrium temperature of = 2641 34 K, assuming zero albedo and efficient redistribution,
which is the third hottest for the known exoplanets. WASP-189 is the brightest
known host of a transiting hot Jupiter and the third-brightest known host of
any transiting exoplanet. We note that of the eight hot-Jupiter systems with
7000 K, seven have strongly misaligned orbits, and two of the
three systems with 8000 K have polar orbits (the third is
aligned).Comment: Submitted to MNRAS. 10 pages, 9 figures, 3 table
Modularity map of the network of human cell differentiation
Cell differentiation in multicellular organisms is a complex process whose
mechanism can be understood by a reductionist approach, in which the individual
processes that control the generation of different cell types are identified.
Alternatively, a large scale approach in search of different organizational
features of the growth stages promises to reveal its modular global structure
with the goal of discovering previously unknown relations between cell types.
Here we sort and analyze a large set of scattered data to construct the network
of human cell differentiation (NHCD) based on cell types (nodes) and
differentiation steps (links) from the fertilized egg to a crying baby. We
discover a dynamical law of critical branching, which reveals a fractal
regularity in the modular organization of the network, and allows us to observe
the network at different scales. The emerging picture clearly identifies
clusters of cell types following a hierarchical organization, ranging from
sub-modules to super-modules of specialized tissues and organs on varying
scales. This discovery will allow one to treat the development of a particular
cell function in the context of the complex network of human development as a
whole. Our results point to an integrated large-scale view of the network of
cell types systematically revealing ties between previously unrelated domains
in organ functions.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figure
External perceptions of successful university brands
Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue, with some institutions committing substantial financial resources to branding activities. The particular characteristics of the sector present challenges for those seeking to build brands and it therefore seems to be timely and appropriate to investigate the common approaches of those institutions perceived as having successful brands.
This study is exploratory in nature, seeking to investigate how successfully UK universities brand themselves, whether they are distinct and if the sector overall communicates effectively. This is approached through examining the perspective of opinion formers external to universities but closely involved with the sector – a key stakeholder group in UK higher education
Overall, the research’s exploratory nature aims to further the debate on effective branding in UK higher education.
The findings and conclusions identify some issues surrounding university branding activity; most UK universities were considered to be distinct from one another, but few were seen to have real fully formed brands. Although a number of institutions that were seen as having more ‘successful’ brands were identified, it was argued that whilst many UK universities communicate their brand well enough to key stakeholders, they fail to consistently do this across all audiences. It was also suggested that UK universities may concentrate on areas of perceived immediate strategic importance (in terms of branding) to an extent where others are neglected
In Vivo Gene Essentiality and Metabolism in Bordetella pertussis
Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent of whooping cough, a serious respiratory illness affecting children and adults, associated with prolonged cough and potential mortality. Whooping cough has reemerged in recent years, emphasizing a need for increased knowledge of basic mechanisms of B. pertussis growth and pathogenicity. While previous studies have provided insight into in vitro gene essentiality of this organism, very little is known about in vivo gene essentiality, a critical gap in knowledge, since B. pertussis has no previously identified environmental reservoir and is isolated from human respiratory tract samples. We hypothesize that the metabolic capabilities of B. pertussis are especially tailored to the respiratory tract and that many of the genes involved in B. pertussis metabolism would be required to establish infection in vivo. In this study, we generated a diverse library of transposon mutants and then used it to probe gene essentiality in vivo in a murine model of infection. Using the CON-ARTIST pipeline, 117 genes were identified as conditionally essential at 1 day postinfection, and 169 genes were identified as conditionally essential at 3 days postinfection. Most of the identified genes were associated with metabolism, and we utilized two existing genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions to probe the effects of individual essential genes on biomass synthesis. This analysis suggested a critical role for glucose metabolism and lipooligosaccharide biosynthesis in vivo. This is the first genome-wide evaluation of in vivo gene essentiality in B. pertussis and provides tools for future exploration. IMPORTANCE Our study describes the first in vivo transposon sequencing (Tn-seq) analysis of B. pertussis and identifies genes predicted to be essential for in vivo growth in a murine model of intranasal infection, generating key resources for future investigations into B. pertussis pathogenesis and vaccine design
Exploring rationales for branding a university: Should we be seeking to measure branding in UK universities?
Although branding is now widespread among UK universities, the application of branding principles in the higher education sector is comparatively recent and may be controversial for internal audiences who question its suitability and efficiency.
This paper seeks to investigate how and whether the effectiveness of branding activity in the higher education sector should be evaluated and measured, through exploratory interviews with those who often drive it; UK University marketing professionals.
Conclusions suggest that university branding is inherently complex and therefore application of commercial approaches may be over simplistic. Whilst marketing professionals discuss challenges they do not necessarily have a consistent view of the objectives of branding activity although all were able to clearly articulate branding objectives for their university, including both qualitative and, to some extent, quantitative metrics. Some measures of the real value of branding activity are therefore suggested but a key debate is perhaps whether the objectives and role of branding in higher education needs to be clarified, and a more consistent view of appropriate metrics reached? Various challenges in implementing branding approaches are also highlighted
Walk well:a randomised controlled trial of a walking intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities: study protocol
Background - Walking interventions have been shown to have a positive impact on physical activity (PA) levels, health and wellbeing for adult and older adult populations. There has been very little work carried out to explore the effectiveness of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities. This paper will provide details of the Walk Well intervention, designed for adults with intellectual disabilities, and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test its effectiveness. Methods/design - This study will adopt a RCT design, with participants allocated to the walking intervention group or a waiting list control group. The intervention consists of three PA consultations (baseline, six weeks and 12 weeks) and an individualised 12 week walking programme. A range of measures will be completed by participants at baseline, post intervention (three months from baseline) and at follow up (three months post intervention and six months from baseline). All outcome measures will be collected by a researcher who will be blinded to the study groups. The primary outcome will be steps walked per day, measured using accelerometers. Secondary outcome measures will include time spent in PA per day (across various intensity levels), time spent in sedentary behaviour per day, quality of life, self-efficacy and anthropometric measures to monitor weight change. Discussion - Since there are currently no published RCTs of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities, this RCT will examine if a walking intervention can successfully increase PA, health and wellbeing of adults with intellectual disabilities
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