Planetary circulations in the presence of transient and self-induced heating

The research program focuses on large-scale circulations and their interaction with the global convective pattern. An 11-year record of global cloud imagery and contemporaneous fields of motion and temperature have been used to investigate organized convection and coherent variability of the tropical circulation operating on intraseasonal time scales. This study provides a detailed portrait of tropical variability associated with the so-called Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). It reveals the nature, geographical distribution, and seasonality of discrete convective signal, which is a measure of feedback between the circulation and the convective pattern. That discrete spectral behavior has been evaluated in light of natural variability of the ITCZ associated with climatological convection. A composite signature of the MJO, based on cross-covariance statistics of cloud cover, motion, and temperature, has been constructed to characterize the lifecycle of the disturbance in terms of these properties. The composite behavior has also been used to investigate the influence the MJO exerts on the zonal-mean circulation and the involvement of the MJO in transfers of momentum between the atmosphere and the solid Earth. The aforementioned observational studies have led to the production of two animations. One reveals the convective signal in band-pass filtered OLR and compares it to climatological convection. The other is a 3-dimensional visualization of the composite lifecycle of the MJO. With a clear picture of the MJO in hand, feedback between the circulation and the convective pattern can be diagnosed meaningfully in numerical simulations. This process is being explored in calculations with the linearized primitive equations on the sphere in the presence of realistic stability and shear. The numerical framework represents climatological convection as a space-time stochastic process and wave-induced convection in terms of the vertically-integrated moisture flux convergence. In these calculations, frictional convergence near the equator emerges as a key to feedback between the circulation and the convective pattern. At low latitudes, nearly geostrophic balance in the boundary layer gives way to frictional balance. This shifts the wave-induced convection into phase with the temperature anomaly and allows the attending heating to feed back positively onto the circulation. The calculations successfully reproduce the salient features of the MJO. They are being used to understand the growth and decay phases of the composite lifecycle and the conditions that favor amplification of the MJO

Stability derivatives of cones at supersonic speeds

The aerodynamic stability derivatives due to pitching velocity and vertical acceleration are derived for circular cones traveling at supersonic speeds. Both first-order and a combination of first and second order potential solutions are obtained, and in calculations for the forces, no approximations are made to the tangency condition or the isentropic pressure relation. In addition, expressions for the forces, moments, and stability derivatives of arbitrary bodies of revolution are derived from Newtonian impact theory

2484: Establishment of the Tennessee-sickle cell disease network as a mechanism for engaging a rare disease population in patient centered outcomes research

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Despite the high prevalence of individuals diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) in Tennessee, comprehensive care and education for patients with SCD is not as widely available as healthcare services for individuals managing other chronic illnesses. We aimed to engage SCD stakeholders in patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) as a mechanism for advancing care and translational research for this rare disease population. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Through a partnership with the Sickle Cell Foundation of Tennessee, we implemented Community Health Ambassadors to systematically engage patient partners with SCD and their caregivers, aged 18–50 from rural and urban communities throughout Tennessee, in PCOR to establish a sustainable infrastructure, focused on connecting the SCD community through a service providing community-based organization to offer (1) information on how to connect with other families; and be informed about SCD community activities, or educational offerings; (2) training in basic research principals; and (3) opportunities to contribute to PCOR, including feedback on effective and practical ways for providing input on research efforts through patient centered input, comparing urban and rural area preferences. Community ambassadors utilized health fairs, clinic days at various hospitals and community centers, and social media to spread awareness of the project, in addition to boosting the recruitment process. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: A statewide SCD network was developed to offer social support and increase access to education, medical care, and engagement in research activities. Findings include: recruitment of 150 patients and 35 executive committee members (local physicians, community leaders, adults with SCD and parents of children with SCD). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Most rural and urban families affected by SCD have no systematic way to engage in, or lend their expertise to, PCOR. A statewide network of patient partners, community stakeholders, researchers, and medical professionals will ultimately increase the standard of care for patients, and provide valuable insight for SCD research. The opportunity to create the underpinnings for coordinated patient-centered education for patients with SCD and their caregivers holds promise for developing a scalable PCOR process model for replication and implementation in other states and emulate this model with other rare disease populations

Stone-Wales Transformation Paths in Fullerene C60

The mechanisms of formation of a metastable defect isomer of fullerene C60 due to the Stone-Wales transformation are theoretically studied. It is demonstrated that the paths of the "dynamic" Stone-Wales transformation at a high sufficient for overcoming potential barriers) temperature can differ from the two "adiabatic" transformation paths discussed in the literature. This behavior is due to the presence of a great near-flat segment of the potential-energy surface in the neighborhood of metastable states. Besides, the sequence of rupture and formation of interatomic bonds is other than that in the case of the adiabatictransformation.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Instantaneous Normal Mode analysis of liquid HF

We present an Instantaneous Normal Modes analysis of liquid HF aimed to clarify the origin of peculiar dynamical properties which are supposed to stem from the arrangement of molecules in linear hydrogen-bonded network. The present study shows that this approach is an unique tool for the understanding of the spectral features revealed in the analysis of both single molecule and collective quantities. For the system under investigation we demonstrate the relevance of hydrogen-bonding ``stretching'' and fast librational motion in the interpretation of these features.Comment: REVTeX, 7 pages, 5 eps figures included. Minor changes in the text and in a figure. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Instantaneous Normal Mode Analysis of Supercooled Water

We use the instantaneous normal mode approach to provide a description of the local curvature of the potential energy surface of a model for water. We focus on the region of the phase diagram in which the dynamics may be described by the mode-coupling theory. We find, surprisingly, that the diffusion constant depends mainly on the fraction of directions in configuration space connecting different local minima, supporting the conjecture that the dynamics are controlled by the geometric properties of configuration space. Furthermore, we find an unexpected relation between the number of basins accessed in equilibrium and the connectivity between them.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Knockout of ERK5 causes multiple defects in placental and embryonic development

BACKGROUD: ERK5 is a member of the mitogen activated protein kinase family activated by certain mitogenic or stressful stimuli in cells, but whose physiological role is largely unclear. RESULTS: To help determine the function of ERK5 we have used gene targeting to inactivate this gene in mice. Here we report that ERK5 knockout mice die at approximately E10.5. In situ hybridisation for ERK5, and its upstream activator MKK5, showed strong expression in the head and trunk of the embryo at this stage of development. Between E9.5 and E10.5, multiple developmental problems are seen in the ERK5-/- embryos, including an increase in apoptosis in the cephalic mesenchyme tissue, abnormalities in the hind gut, as well as problems in vascular remodelling, cardiac development and placental defects. CONCLUSION: Erk5 is essential for early embryonic development, and is required for normal development of the vascular system and cell survival

Compiling a Comprehensive EVA Training Dataset for NASA Astronauts

Training for a spacewalk or extravehicular activity (EVA) is considered hazardous duty for NASA astronauts. This activity places astronauts at risk for decompression sickness as well as various musculoskeletal disorders from working in the spacesuit. As a result, the operational and research communities over the years have requested access to EVA training data to supplement their studies

Crosstalk between Ras and inositol phosphate signaling revealed by lithium action on inositol monophosphatase in Schizophyllum commune.

Mushroom forming basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune has been used as a tractable model organism to study fungal sexual development. Ras signaling activation via G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has been postulated to play a significant role in the mating and development of S. commune. In this study, a crosstalk between Ras signaling and inositol phosphate signaling by inositol monophosphatase (IMPase) is revealed. Constitutively active Ras1 leads to the repression of IMPase transcription and lithium action on IMPase activity is compensated by the induction of IMPase at transcriptome level. Astonishingly, in S. commune lithium induces a considerable shift to inositol phosphate metabolism leading to a massive increase in the level of higher phosphorylated inositol species up to the inositol pyrophosphates. The lithium induced metabolic changes are not observable in a constitutively active Ras1 mutant. In addition to that, proteome profile helps us to elucidate an overview of lithium action to the broad aspect of fungal metabolism and cellular signaling. Taken together, these findings imply a crosstalk between Ras and inositol phosphate signaling