Sensitivities of Lagrangian modeling of mid-latitude cirrus clouds to trajectory data quality

Simulations of cirrus are subject to uncertainties in model physics and meteorological input data. Here we model cirrus clouds along air mass trajectories, whose extinction has been measured with an elastic backscatter lidar at Jungfraujoch research station in the Swiss Alps, with a microphysical stacked box model. The sensitivities of these simulations to input data uncertainties (trajectory resolution, unresolved vertical velocities, ice nuclei number density and upstream specific humidity) are investigated. Variations in the temporal resolution of the wind field data (COSMO-Model at 2.2 km resolution) between 20 s and 1 h have only a marginal impact on the trajectory path, while the representation of the vertical velocity variability and therefore the cooling rate distribution are significantly affected. A temporal resolution better than 5 min must be chosen in order to resolve cooling rates required to explain the measured extinction. A further increase in the temporal resolution improves the simulation results slightly. The close match between the modelled and observed extinction profile for high-resolution trajectories suggests that the cooling rate spectra calculated by the COSMO-2 model suffice on the selected day. The modelled cooling rate spectra are, however, characterized by significantly lower vertical velocity amplitudes than those found previously in some aircraft campaigns (SUCCESS, MACPEX). A climatological analysis of the vertical velocity amplitude in the Alpine region based on COSMO-2 analyses and balloon sounding data suggests large day-to-day variability in small-scale temperature fluctuations. This demonstrates the necessity to apply numerical weather prediction models with high spatial and temporal resolutions in cirrus modelling, whereas using climatological means for the amplitude of the unresolved air motions does generally not suffice. The box model simulations further suggest that uncertainties in the upstream specific humidity (± 10 % of the model prediction) and in the ice nuclei number density (0–100 L−1) are more important for the modelled cirrus cloud than the unresolved temperature fluctuations if temporally highly resolved trajectories are used. For the presented case the simulations are incompatible with ice nuclei number densities larger than 20 L−1 and insensitive to variations below this value

The motivating operation and negatively reinforced problem behavior. A systematic review.

The concept of motivational operations exerts an increasing influence on the understanding and assessment of problem behavior in people with intellectual and developmental disability. In this systematic review of 59 methodologically robust studies of the influence of motivational operations in negative reinforcement paradigms in this population, we identify themes related to situational and biological variables that have implications for assessment, intervention, and further research. There is now good evidence that motivational operations of differing origins influence negatively reinforced problem behavior, and that these might be subject to manipulation to facilitate favorable outcomes. There is also good evidence that some biological variables warrant consideration in assessment procedures as they predispose the person's behavior to be influenced by specific motivational operations. The implications for assessment and intervention are made explicit with reference to variables that are open to manipulation or that require further research and conceptualization within causal models

Gutenberg Richter and Characteristic Earthquake Behavior in Simple Mean-Field Models of Heterogeneous Faults

The statistics of earthquakes in a heterogeneous fault zone is studied analytically and numerically in the mean field version of a model for a segmented fault system in a three-dimensional elastic solid. The studies focus on the interplay between the roles of disorder, dynamical effects, and driving mechanisms. A two-parameter phase diagram is found, spanned by the amplitude of dynamical weakening (or ``overshoot'') effects (epsilon) and the normal distance (L) of the driving forces from the fault. In general, small epsilon and small L are found to produce Gutenberg-Richter type power law statistics with an exponential cutoff, while large epsilon and large L lead to a distribution of small events combined with characteristic system-size events. In a certain parameter regime the behavior is bistable, with transitions back and forth from one phase to the other on time scales determined by the fault size and other model parameters. The implications for realistic earthquake statistics are discussed.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex, 6 figures (ps, eps

Static and Dynamic Properties of Inhomogeneous Elastic Media on Disordered Substrate

The pinning of an inhomogeneous elastic medium by a disordered substrate is studied analytically and numerically. The static and dynamic properties of a $D$-dimensional system are shown to be equivalent to those of the well known problem of a $D$-dimensional random manifold embedded in $(D+D)$-dimensions. The analogy is found to be very robust, applicable to a wide range of elastic media, including those which are amorphous or nearly-periodic, with local or nonlocal elasticity. Also demonstrated explicitly is the equivalence between the dynamic depinning transition obtained at a constant driving force, and the self-organized, near-critical behavior obtained by a (small) constant velocity drive.Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX. Related (p)reprints also available at http://matisse.ucsd.edu/~hwa/pub.htm

An Evaluation of Parent Preference for Prompting Procedures

Parent participation in intervention can enhance intervention efficacy and promote generalization of skills across settings. Thus, parents should be trained to implement behavioral interventions. The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate parent preference for and acceptability of 3 commonly used prompting procedures. We trained parents of children with disabilities to use 3 empirically validated prompting strategies (i.e., least‐to‐most, most‐to‐least, and a progressive‐prompt delay). Once the parent reached the mastery criteria with each prompting procedure, we evaluated his/her preference for each of the procedures using a concurrent‐chains arrangement. We also measured treatment acceptability of all procedures throughout the study. All participants met the mastery criteria for each of the prompting procedures and showed a preference for least‐to‐most prompting. Results suggest parents\u27 acceptability of procedures prior to training were different than posttraining/post‐child practice. In addition, acceptability rating scores obtained at the end of the investigation corresponded to preference of intervention during the concurrent‐chains arrangement. The results demonstrate the benefits of objective measures for studying preference for behavioral, skill‐acquisition procedures

Expression profiling of clonal lymphocyte cell cultures from Rett syndrome patients

BACKGROUND: More than 85% of Rett syndrome (RTT) patients have heterozygous mutations in the X-linked MECP2 gene which encodes methyl-CpG-binding protein 2, a transcriptional repressor that binds methylated CpG sites. Because MECP2 is subject to X chromosome inactivation (XCI), girls with RTT express either the wild type or mutant MECP2 in each of their cells. To test the hypothesis that MECP2 mutations result in genome-wide transcriptional deregulation and identify its target genes in a system that circumvents the functional mosaicism resulting from XCI, we performed gene expression profiling of pure populations of untransformed T-lymphocytes that express either a mutant or a wild-type allele. METHODS: Single T lymphocytes from a patient with a c.473C>T (p.T158M) mutation and one with a c.1308-1309delTC mutation were subcloned and subjected to short term culture. Gene expression profiles of wild-type and mutant clones were compared by oligonucleotide expression microarray analysis. RESULTS: Expression profiling yielded 44 upregulated genes and 77 downregulated genes. We compared this gene list with expression profiles of independent microarray experiments in cells and tissues of RTT patients and mouse models with Mecp2 mutations. These comparisons identified a candidate MeCP2 target gene, SPOCK1, downregulated in two independent microarray experiments, but its expression was not altered by quantitative RT-PCR analysis on brain tissues from a RTT mouse model. CONCLUSION: Initial expression profiling from T-cell clones of RTT patients identified a list of potential MeCP2 target genes. Further detailed analysis and comparison to independent microarray experiments did not confirm significantly altered expression of most candidate genes. These results are consistent with other reported data

Common Variants within MECP2 Confer Risk of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a predominantly female autoimmune disease that affects multiple organ systems. Herein, we report on an X-chromosome gene association with SLE. Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) is located on chromosome Xq28 and encodes for a protein that plays a critical role in epigenetic transcriptional regulation of methylation-sensitive genes. Utilizing a candidate gene association approach, we genotyped 21 SNPs within and around MECP2 in SLE patients and controls. We identify and replicate association between SLE and the genomic element containing MECP2 in two independent SLE cohorts from two ethnically divergent populations. These findings are potentially related to the overexpression of methylation-sensitive genes in SLE