The vertical cloud structure of the West African monsoon: a 4 year climatology using CloudSat and CALIPSO

The West African summer monsoon (WAM) is an important driver of the global climate and locally provides most of the annual rainfall. A solid climatological knowledge of the complex vertical cloud structure is invaluable to forecasters and modelers to improve the understanding of the WAM. In this paper, 4 years of data from the CloudSat profiling radar and CALIPSO are used to create a composite zonal mean vertical cloud and precipitation structure for the WAM. For the first time, the near-coincident vertical radar and lidar profiles allow for the identification of individual cloud types from optically thin cirrus and shallow cumulus to congestus and deep convection. A clear diurnal signal in zonal mean cloud structure is observed for the WAM, with deep convective activity enhanced at night producing extensive anvil and cirrus, while daytime observations show more shallow cloud and congestus. A layer of altocumulus is frequently observed over the Sahara at night and day, extending southward to the coastline, and the majority of this cloud is shown to contain supercooled liquid in the top. The occurrence of deep convective systems and congestus in relation to the position of the African easterly jet is studied, but only the daytime cumulonimbus distribution indicates some influence of the jet position

Refrigerated warehouses as intelligent hubs to integrate renewable energy in industrial food refrigeration and to enhance power grid sustainability

© 2016 Elsevier LtdBackground Independence from fossil fuels, energy diversification, decarbonisation and energy efficiency are key prerequisites to make a national, regional or continental economy competitive in the global marketplace. As Europe is about to generate 20% of its energy demand from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) by 2020, adequate RES integration and renewable energy storage throughout the entire food cold chain must properly be addressed. Scope and approach Refrigerated warehouses for chilled and frozen foods are large energy consumers and account for a significant portion of the global energy demand. Nevertheless, the opportunity for RES integration in the energy supply of large food storage facilities is often neglected. In situ power generation using RES permits capture of a large portion of virtually free energy, thereby reducing dramatically the running costs and carbon footprint, while enhancing the economic competitiveness. In that context, there exist promising engineering solutions to exploit various renewables in the food preservation sector, in combination with the emerging sustainability-enhancing technology of Cryogenic Energy Storage (CES). Key findings and conclusions Substantial research endeavours are driven by the noble objective to turn the Europe's Energy Union into the world's number one in renewable energies. Integrating RES, in synchrony with CES development and proper control, is capable of both strengthening the food refrigeration sector and improving dramatically the power grid balance and energy system sustainability. Hence, this article aims to familiarise stakeholders of the European and global food preservation industry with state-of-the-art knowledge, know-how, opportunities and professional achievements in the concerned field

Multi-minicore Disease

Multi-minicore Disease (MmD) is a recessively inherited neuromuscular disorder characterized by multiple cores on muscle biopsy and clinical features of a congenital myopathy. Prevalence is unknown. Marked clinical variability corresponds to genetic heterogeneity: the most instantly recognizable classic phenotype characterized by spinal rigidity, early scoliosis and respiratory impairment is due to recessive mutations in the selenoprotein N (SEPN1) gene, whereas recessive mutations in the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor (RYR1) gene have been associated with a wider range of clinical features comprising external ophthalmoplegia, distal weakness and wasting or predominant hip girdle involvement resembling central core disease (CCD). In the latter forms, there may also be a histopathologic continuum with CCD due to dominant RYR1 mutations, reflecting the common genetic background. Pathogenetic mechanisms of RYR1-related MmD are currently not well understood, but likely to involve altered excitability and/or changes in calcium homeoestasis; calcium-binding motifs within the selenoprotein N protein also suggest a possible role in calcium handling. The diagnosis of MmD is based on the presence of suggestive clinical features and multiple cores on muscle biopsy; muscle MRI may aid genetic testing as patterns of selective muscle involvement are distinct depending on the genetic background. Mutational analysis of the RYR1 or the SEPN1 gene may provide genetic confirmation of the diagnosis. Management is mainly supportive and has to address the risk of marked respiratory impairment in SEPN1-related MmD and the possibility of malignant hyperthermia susceptibility in RYR1-related forms. In the majority of patients, weakness is static or only slowly progressive, with the degree of respiratory impairment being the most important prognostic factor

Hip joint articular soft tissues of non-dinosaurian Dinosauromorpha and early Dinosauria: evolutionary and biomechanical implications for Saurischia

Dinosauromorphs evolved a wide diversity of hind limb skeletal morphologies, suggesting highly divergent articular soft tissue anatomies. However, poor preservation of articular soft tissues in fossils has hampered any follow-on functional inferences. We reconstruct the hip joint soft tissue anatomy of non-dinosaurian dinosauromorphs and early dinosaurs using osteological correlates derived from extant sauropsids and infer trends in character transitions along the theropod and sauropodomorph lineagues. Femora and pelves of 107 dinosauromorphs and outgroup taxa were digitized using 3D imaging techniques. Key transitions were estimated using maximum likelihood ancestral state reconstruction. The hips of dinosauromorphs possessed wide a disparity of soft tissue morphologies beyond the types and combinations exhibited by extant archosaurs. Early evolution of the dinosauriform hip joint was characterized by the retention of a prominent femoral hyaline cartilage cone in post-neonatal individuals, with the cartilage cone independently reduced within theropods and sauropodomorphs. The femur of Dinosauriformes possessed a fibrocartilage sleeve on the metaphysis, which surrounded a hyaline core. The acetabulum of Dinosauriformes possessed distinct labrum and antitrochanter structures. In sauropodomorphs, hip congruence was maintained by thick hyaline cartilage on the femoral head, whereas theropods relied on acetabular tissues such as ligaments and articular pads. In particular, the craniolaterally ossified hip capsule of non- Avetheropoda neotheropods permitted mostly parasagittal femoral movements. These data indicate that the dinosauromorph hip underwent mosaic evolution within the saurischian lineage and that sauropodomorphs and theropods underwent both convergence and divergence in articular soft tissues, correlated with transitions in body size, locomotor posture, and joint loading

A conceptual framework for implementation fidelity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Implementation fidelity refers to the degree to which an intervention or programme is delivered as intended. Only by understanding and measuring whether an intervention has been implemented with fidelity can researchers and practitioners gain a better understanding of how and why an intervention works, and the extent to which outcomes can be improved.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The authors undertook a critical review of existing conceptualisations of implementation fidelity and developed a new conceptual framework for understanding and measuring the process. The resulting theoretical framework requires testing by empirical research.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Implementation fidelity is an important source of variation affecting the credibility and utility of research. The conceptual framework presented here offers a means for measuring this variable and understanding its place in the process of intervention implementation.</p

A new specimen of the ornithischian dinosaur Hesperosaurus mjosi from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Montana, U.S.A., and implications for growth and size in Morrison stegosaurs

Stegosauria is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs characterized by a bizarre array of dermal armor that extends from the neck to the end of the tail. Two genera of stegosaur are currently recognised from North America: the well-known Stegosaurus stenops and the much rarer Hesperosaurus mjosi. A new specimen of Hesperosaurus mjosi was discovered in some of the most northerly outcrops of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation near Livingston, Montana. The new specimen includes cranial, vertebral, and appendicular material as well as a dermal plate, and the excellent state of preservation of the palate reveals new anatomical information about this region in stegosaurs. Histological examination of the tibia indicates that the individual was not skeletally mature at time of death. Comparison with previously studied Stegosaurus and Hesperosaurus individuals indicates that Hesperosaurus mjosi may have been a smaller species than Stegosaurus stenops. Physiological processes scale with body mass, M, according to the relationship M0.75 in extant megaherbivores; thus, larger animals are better able to cope with more arid environments where forage is less abundant. Under this scenario, it is possible that Stegosaurus stenops and Hesperosaurus mjosi were environmentally partitioned, with the larger S. stenops occupying more arid environments. Analyses of the temporal overlap and latitudinal range of Morrison stegosaurs would allow this hypothesis to be investigated.The attached document is the authors’ final accepted version of the journal article. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it

A Glial Variant of the Vesicular Monoamine Transporter Is Required To Store Histamine in the Drosophila Visual System

Unlike other monoamine neurotransmitters, the mechanism by which the brain's histamine content is regulated remains unclear. In mammals, vesicular monoamine transporters (VMATs) are expressed exclusively in neurons and mediate the storage of histamine and other monoamines. We have studied the visual system of Drosophila melanogaster in which histamine is the primary neurotransmitter released from photoreceptor cells. We report here that a novel mRNA splice variant of Drosophila VMAT (DVMAT-B) is expressed not in neurons but rather in a small subset of glia in the lamina of the fly's optic lobe. Histamine contents are reduced by mutation of dVMAT, but can be partially restored by specifically expressing DVMAT-B in glia. Our results suggest a novel role for a monoamine transporter in glia that may be relevant to histamine homeostasis in other systems

Joint Custody in the Italian Courts

This paper studies the impact of the introduction of joint custody in Italy (Law 54/2006) on judiciary outcomes. As to the formal (legal) assignment of joint custody, the reform envisaged very little judge discretion. With reference to the substance of the custody (the amount of time each parent spends with the child and the money involved in post-dissolution arrangements), the law established new principles while leaving plenty of implementation power to the judges. Our results - based on court data that covers the universe of separations from 2000 to 2010 - document that the law was only cosmetically applied by the judges. Compared to the pre-reform regime, the share of sole legal custody assignments to the mother drastically decreased. However, court implementation washed out the new principles: the provisions of the law related to the financial post-separation arrangements remained unapplied. This suggests that the main innovative aspect of the law - the possibility for a child to spend an adequate amount of time with both parents - was also left unchanged with respect to the previous regime of sole maternal custody. As joint effect of the introduction of the law and the little degree to which the new principles have been translated into actual verdicts, there was a surge in litigiousness among separating spouses and judicial inefficiency. Moreover, the incentives for a female partner to apply for a separation raised. The paper discusses a possible rationale for the findings and some related policy remedies. As for the former, the evidence we present can be explained by the adoption of gender-biased judiciary practices. As for the latter, our results suggest that a restatement of the law, to define a narrowed grid of prescriptions that constrain judge discretion, could be an effective corrective action