Scaling and trends of hourly precipitation extremes in two different climate zones – Hong Kong and the Netherlands

Hourly precipitation extremes in very long time series from the Hong Kong Observatory and the Netherlands are investigated. Using the 2 m dew point temperature from 4 h before the rainfall event as a measure of near surface absolute humidity, hourly precipitation extremes closely follow a 14% per degree dependency – a scaling twice as large as following from the Clausius-Clapeyron relation. However, for dew point temperatures above 23 °C no significant dependency on humidity was found. Strikingly, in spite of the large difference in climate, results are almost identical in Hong Kong and the Netherlands for the dew point temperature range where both observational sets have sufficient data. Trends in hourly precipitation extremes show substantial increases over the last century for both De Bilt (the Netherlands) and Hong Kong. For De Bilt, not only the long term trend, but also variations in hourly precipitation extremes on an inter-decadal timescale of 30 yr and longer, can be linked very well to the above scaling; there is a very close resemblance between variations in dew point temperature and precipitation intensity with an inferred dependency of hourly precipitation extremes of 10 to 14% per degree. For Hong Kong there is no connection between variations in humidity and those in precipitation intensity in the wet season, May to September. This is consistent with the found zero-dependency of precipitation intensity on humidity for dew points above 23 °C. Yet, outside the wet season humidity changes do appear to explain the positive trend in hourly precipitation extremes, again following a dependency close to twice the Clausius-Clapeyron relation

Decreased expression of the Id3 gene at 1p36.1 in ovarian adenocarcinomas

The molecular events that drive the initiation and progression of ovarian adenocarcinoma are not well defined. We have investigated changes in gene expression in ovarian cancer cell lines compared to an immortalized human ovarian surface epithelial cell line (HOSE) using a cDNA array. We identified 17 genes that were under-expressed and 10 genes that were over-expressed in the cell lines compared to the HOSE cells. One of the genes under-expressed in the ovarian cancer cell lines, Id3, a transcriptional inactivator, was selected for further investigation. Id3 mRNA was expressed at reduced levels in 6 out of 9 ovarian cancer cell lines compared to the HOSE cells while at the protein level, all 7 ovarian cancer cell lines examined expressed the Id3 protein at greatly reduced levels. Expression of Id3 mRNA was also examined in primary ovarian tumours and was found in only 12/38 (32%) cases. A search was conducted for mutations of Id3 in primary ovarian cancers using single stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. Only one nucleotide substitution, present also in the corresponding constitutional DNA, was found in 94 ovarian tumours. Furthermore no association was found between LOH at 1p36 and lack of expression of Id3. These data suggest that Id3 is not the target of LOH at 1p36. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Angle-resolved photoemission study of the rare-earth intermetallic compounds: RNi2Ge2(R=Eu,Gd)

Experimental energy bands mapped from normal-emission photoelectron spectra of EuNi2Ge2 and GdNi2Ge2(001)surfaces show four photoemission features that disperse in both materials in good agreement with band calculations. Segments of the Fermi surfaces mapped by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in the ΓXPZ plane of the Brillouin zones for both EuNi2Ge2 and GdNi2Ge2 are in good agreement with band calculations. This Fermi surface segment changes when one electron is added to EuNi2Ge2, corresponding to GdNi2Ge2, based on the rigid-band approximation

Evaluation of expression and function of the H+/myo-inositol transporter HMIT;

BACKGROUND: The phosphoinositide (PIns) signalling pathway regulates a series of neuronal processes, such as neurotransmitter release, that are thought to be altered in mood disorders. Furthermore, mood-stabilising drugs have been shown to inhibit key enzymes that regulate PIns production and alter neuronal growth cone morphology in an inositol-reversible manner. Here, we describe analyses of expression and function of the recently identified H+/myo-inositol transporter (HMIT) investigated as a potential regulator of PIns signalling. RESULTS: We show that HMIT is primarily a neuronal transporter widely expressed in the rat and human brain, with particularly high levels in the hippocampus and cortex, as shown by immunohistochemistry. The transporter is localised at the Golgi apparatus in primary cultured neurones. No HMIT-mediated electrophysiological responses were detected in rat brain neurones or slices; in addition, inositol transport and homeostasis were unaffected in HMIT targeted null-mutant mice. CONCLUSION: Together, these data do not support a role for HMIT as a neuronal plasma membrane inositol transporter, as previously proposed. However, we observed that HMIT can transport inositol triphosphate, indicating unanticipated intracellular functions for this transporter that may be relevant to mood control

Differential hRad17 expression by histologic subtype of ovarian cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the search for unique ovarian cancer biomarkers, ovarian specific cDNA microarray analysis identified hRad17, a cell cycle checkpoint protein, as over-expressed in ovarian cancer. The aim of this study was to validate this expression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Immunohistochemistry was performed on 72 serous, 19 endometrioid, 10 clear cell, and 6 mucinous ovarian cancers, 9 benign ovarian tumors, and 6 normal ovarian tissue sections using an anti-hRad17 antibody. Western blot analysis and quantitative PCR were performed using cell lysates and total RNA prepared from 17 ovarian cancer cell lines and 6 normal ovarian epithelial cell cultures (HOSE).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Antibody staining confirmed upregulation of hRad17 in 49.5% of ovarian cancer cases. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that only 42% of serous and 47% of endometrioid subtypes showed overexpression compared to 80% of clear cell and 100% of mucinous cancers. Western blot confirmed overexpression of hRad17 in cancer cell lines compared to HOSE. Quantitative PCR demonstrated an upregulation of hRad17 RNA by 1.5-7 fold. hRad17 RNA expression differed by subtype.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>hRad17 is over-expressed in ovarian cancer. This over-expression varies by subtype suggesting a role in the pathogenesis of these types. Functional studies are needed to determine the potential role of this protein in ovarian cancer.</p

Do emotional difficulties and peer problems hew together from childhood to adolescence? The case of children with a history of developmental language disorder (DLD)

Children and adolescents with developmental language disorder (DLD) are, overall, vulnerable to difficulties in emotional adjustment and in peer relations. However, previous research has shown that different subgroups follow different trajectories in respect of quality of peer relations. Less is known of the trajectories of emotional development. We consider here the possibility that development in these two domains is interrelated: that is, the trajectories of emotional and peer problems will proceed in parallel. We conducted longitudinal joint trajectories analyses of emotional and peer relations in a sample of young people identified as having DLD at age 7 years and seen at intervals up to 16 years. Potential influences on joint trajectory group membership were examined. Findings revealed five distinct joint trajectories. Emotional and peer difficulties do hew together from childhood to adolescence for just over half of the sample, but not all. The variables most clearly associated with group membership were pragmatic language ability, prosociality and parental mental health. This is the first study to examine joint longitudinal trajectories of emotional and peer difficulties in individuals with DLD. We demonstrate that development in individuals with DLD is heterogeneous and identify three key variables associated with personal and social adjustment from childhood to adolescence. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed