Analysis and use of VAS satellite data

A series of interrelated investigations has examined the analysis and use of VAS (VISSR Atmospheric Sounder) satellite data. A case study of VAS-derived mesoscale stability parameters suggested that they would have been a useful supplement to conventional data in the forecasting of thunderstorms on the day of interest. However, the meteorological significance of small or short lived stability features was uncertain. A second investigation examined the roles of first guess and VAS radiometric data in producing sounding retrievals. The radiance data often did not have a decisive influence on the final satellite soundings. Broad-scale patterns of the first guess, radiances, and retrievals frequently were similar, whereas small scale retrieval features, especially in the dew points, were often of uncertain origin

Analysis and use of VAS satellite data

Four interrelated investigations have examined the analysis and use of VAS satellite data. A case study of VAS-derived mesoscale stability parameters suggested that they would have been a useful supplement to conventional data in the forecasting of thunderstorms on the day of interest. A second investigation examined the roles of first guess and VAS radiometric data in producing sounding retrievals. Broad-scale patterns of the first guess, radiances, and retrievals frequently were similar, whereas small-scale retrieval features, especially in the dew points, were often of uncertain origin. Two research tasks considered 6.7 micron middle tropospheric water vapor imagery. The first utilized radiosonde data to examine causes for two areas of warm brightness temperature. Subsidence associated with a translating jet streak was important. The second task involving water vapor imagery investigated simulated imagery created from LAMPS output and a radiative transfer algorithm. Simulated image patterns were found to compare favorably with those actually observed by VAS. Furthermore, the mass/momentum fields from LAMPS were powerful tools for understanding causes for the image configurations

Functional interaction of chloroplast SRP/FtsY with the ALB3 translocase in thylakoids: substrate not required

Integration of thylakoid proteins by the chloroplast signal recognition particle (cpSRP) posttranslational transport pathway requires the cpSRP, an SRP receptor homologue (cpFtsY), and the membrane protein ALB3. Similarly, Escherichia coli uses an SRP and FtsY to cotranslationally target membrane proteins to the SecYEG translocase, which contains an ALB3 homologue, YidC. In neither system are the interactions between soluble and membrane components well understood. We show that complexes containing cpSRP, cpFtsY, and ALB3 can be precipitated using affinity tags on cpSRP or cpFtsY. Stabilization of this complex with GMP-PNP specifically blocks subsequent integration of substrate (light harvesting chl a/b-binding protein [LHCP]), indicating that the complex occupies functional ALB3 translocation sites. Surprisingly, neither substrate nor cpSRP43, a component of cpSRP, was necessary to form a complex with ALB3. Complexes also contained cpSecY, but its removal did not inhibit ALB3 function. Furthermore, antibody bound to ALB3 prevented ALB3 association with cpSRP and cpFtsY and inhibited LHCP integration suggesting that a complex containing cpSRP, cpFtsY, and ALB3 must form for proper LHCP integration

Incompressible Quantum Liquids and New Conservation Laws

In this letter we investigate a class of Hamiltonians which, in addition to the usual center-of-mass (CM) momentum conservation, also have center-of-mass position conservation. We find that regardless of the particle statistics, the energy spectrum is at least q-fold degenerate when the filling factor is $p/q$, where $p$ and $q$ are coprime integers. Interestingly the simplest Hamiltonian respecting this type of symmetry encapsulates two prominent examples of novel states of matter, namely the fractional quantum Hall liquid and the quantum dimer liquid. We discuss the relevance of this class of Hamiltonian to the search for featureless Mott insulators.Comment: updated version, to be published by PR

The Geographically Contiguous and Expanding Coastal Range of the Northern Curlytail Lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus armouri ) in Florida

We surveyed for the presence of the Northern Curlytail Lizard, Leiocephalus carinatus armouri, from Port Salerno, Martin County, FL, northward to the Indian River-Brevard county line to determine the extent to which this species occurs along the Florida East Coast. The geographic range of L. c. armouri appears to be uninterrupted along the coast from northern Broward County through Palm Beach County. The heavily modified coastal habitat provided this species with the open sunny conditions and cement analogues to the rocky substratum to which it is adapted. Its ubiquity, rate of geographic expansion, combined with its carnivorous habits and large body size, have long since set the stage for an extensive restructuring of the indigenous and exotic lizard fauna in a way that has not been seen since its initial establishment in Palm Beach County almost one-half century ago. Urban heat island effects notwithstanding, frost isotherms predict instability of populations north of Fort Pierce and just below Sarasota on the West Coast

Dark matter distribution in the Coma cluster from galaxy kinematics: breaking the mass-anisotropy degeneracy

We study velocity moments of elliptical galaxies in the Coma cluster using Jeans equations. The dark matter distribution in the cluster is modelled by a generalised formula based upon the results of cosmological N-body simulations. Its inner slope (cuspy or flat), concentration, and mass within the virial radius are kept as free parameters, as well as the velocity anisotropy, assumed independent of position. We show that the study of line-of-sight velocity dispersion alone does not allow to constrain the parameters. By a joint analysis of the observed profiles of velocity dispersion and kurtosis we are able to break the degeneracy between the mass distribution and velocity anisotropy. We determine the dark matter distribution at radial distances larger than 3% of the virial radius and we find that the galaxy orbits are close to isotropic. Due to limited resolution, different inner slopes are found to be consistent with the data and we observe a strong degeneracy between the inner slope $\alpha$ and concentration $c$: the best-fitting profiles have the two parameters related with $c=19 - 9.6 \alpha$. Our best-fitting NFW profile has concentration $c=9$, which is 50% higher than standard values found in cosmological simulations for objects of similar mass. The total mass within the virial radius of $2.9 h_{70}^{-1}$ Mpc is 1.4 \times 10^{15} h_{70}^{-1} M_{\sun} (with 30% accuracy), 85% of which is dark. At this distance from the cluster centre, the mass-to-light ratio in the blue band is $351 h_{70}$ solar units. The total mass within the virial radius leads to estimates of the density parameter of the Universe, assuming that clusters trace the mass-to-light ratio and baryonic fraction of the Universe, with $\Omega_0=0.29 \pm 0.1$.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, revised version accepted by MNRAS with discussion on substructure and equilibrium of elliptical galaxies adde

GREEN IGUANAS (\u3ci\u3eIGUANA IGUANA\u3c/i\u3e): THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN A SOUTH FLORIDA PARK

We examined the demographic response of the Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) to the removal of Raccoons in an urban maritime state park in southern Florida. The rapid growth of iguanas to sexual maturity in an underexploited, if not vacant, niche contributed to the rapid recruitment of a large and growing population during the four and one half years since removal of its limiting predator. We proffer here that at sites where Green Iguanas and high density Raccoons are syntopic, future Raccoon removal programs should be concurrent with an equally concerted effort to remove resident Green Iguanas. In this fashion, by replacing one limiting predator with another, a population explosion can be prevented and an advantage can be maintained in the local control of this exotic species