A numerical case study on the sensitivity of latent heat-flux and cloudiness to the distribution of land-use

The accomplished case studies focus on the influence of land-use on the distributions of latent heat-fluxes and cloud-water. The numerical case studies were performed with the threedimensional non-hydrostatic Mesoscale-Model GESIMA for different land-use distributions applying always the same initial conditions of a cloudy day in spring with a geostrophic wind of 8 m/s from the west. The cloud-water distributions at different times and at different levels, their temporal development, the daily sums of the domain-averaged latent heat-fluxes and cloud-water mixing ratios were investigated. Even simple initial conditions (no orography, stable atmosphere) and simple pattern in the land-use distributions emphasize that the influence of surface heterogeneity on meteorological processes cannot be neglected. As shown in this case study, land-use distribution influences the distribution and the amount of cloud-water as weil as the latent heat-flux. On the whole, all these processes are very complex and non-linear.Die durchgeführten Sensitivitätsstudien konzentrieren sich auf den Einfluß der Landnutzungsverteilung auf die Flüsse latenter Wärme und das Wolkenwasser. Die numerischen Untersuchungen wurden mit dem dreidimensionalen nicht-hydrostatischen Mesoskalen-Modell GESIMA für verschiedene Landnutzungsmuster unter immer den gleichen meteorologischen Anfangsbedingungen für einen bewölkten Frühlingstag mit einem geostrophischen Wind von 8 m/s durchgeführt. Die Wolkenwasserverteilung zu bestimmten Zeiten und in bestimmten Niveaus, die zeitliche Entwicklung der Wolkenwasserverteilung, die Tagessummen der Gebietsmittelwerte der Flüsse latenter Wärme und des Wolkenwassers werden untersucht. Auch einfache Randbedingungen (keine Orographie, stabile, atmosphärische Bedingungen) und einfache Landnutzungsverteilungsmuster machen deutlich, daß der Einfluß der Heterogenität der Unterlage auf meteorologische Prozesse nicht zu vernachlässigen ist. Sie kann entscheidend die Verteilungen der Flüsse latenter Wärme und des Wolkenwassers beeinflussen. Die damit verbundenen Prozesse sind äußerst komplex und nicht linear

Localization of NG2 immunoreactive neuroglia cells in the rat locus coeruleus and their plasticity in response to stress

The locus coeruleus (LC) nucleus modulates adaptive behavioural responses to stress and dysregulation of LC neuronal activity is implicated in stress-induced mental illnesses. The LC is composed primarily of noradrenergic neurons together with various glial populations. A neuroglia cell-type largely unexplored within the LC is the NG2 cell. NG2 cells serve primarily as oligodendrocyte precursor cells throughout the brain. However, some NG2 cells are in synaptic contact with neurons suggesting a role in information processing. The aim of this study was to neurochemically and anatomically characterise NG2 cells within the rat LC. Furthermore, since NG2 cells have been shown to proliferate in response to traumatic brain injury, we investigated whether such NG2 cells plasticity also occurs in response to emotive insults such as stress. Immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy revealed that NG2 cells were enriched within the pontine region occupied by the LC. Close inspection revealed that a sub-population of NG2 cells were located within unique indentations of LC noradrenergic somata and were immunoreactive for the neuronal marker NeuN whilst NG2 cell processes formed close appositions with clusters immunoreactive for the inhibitory synaptic marker proteins gephyrin and the GABA-A receptor alpha3-subunit, on noradrenergic dendrites. In addition, LC NG2 cell processes were decorated with vesicular glutamate transporter 2 immunoreactive puncta. Finally, ten days of repeated restraint stress significantly increased the density of NG2 cells within the LC. The study demonstrates that NG2 IR cells are integral components of the LC cellular network and they exhibit plasticity as a result of emotive challenges

Electroweak Baryogenesis with Vector-like Leptons and Scalar Singlets

We investigate the viability of electroweak baryogenesis in a model with a first order electroweak phase transition induced by the addition of two gauge singlet scalars. A vector-like lepton doublet is introduced in order to provide CP violating interactions with the singlets and Standard Model leptons, and the asymmetry generation dynamics are examined using the vacuum expectation value insertion approximation. We find that such a model is readily capable of generating sufficient baryon asymmetry while satisfying electron electric dipole moment and collider phenomenology constraints.Comment: 38 pages, 8 figures. Citations added. Benchmarks, figures and tables updated, error fixed in calculations. Matches version published in JHE

Hidden in the crowd: primordial germ cells and somatic stem cells in the mesodermal posterior growth zone of the polychaete Platynereis dumerillii are two distinct cell populations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the polychaete <it>Platynereis</it>, the primordial germ cells (PGCs) emerge from the <it>vasa</it>, <it>piwi</it>, and <it>PL10 </it>expressing mesodermal posterior growth zone (MPGZ) at the end of larval development, suggesting a post-embryonic formation from stem cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to verify this hypothesis, embryos and larvae were pulse labeled with the proliferation marker 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) at different stages of development. Subsequently, the PGCs were visualized in 7-day-old young worms using antibodies against the Vasa protein.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Surprisingly, the primordial germ cells of <it>Platynereis </it>incorporate EdU only shortly before gastrulation (6-8 hours post fertilization (hpf)), which coincides with the emergence of four small blastomeres from the mesoblast lineage. We conclude that these so-called 'secondary mesoblast cells' constitute the definitive PGCs in <it>Platynereis</it>. In contrast, the cells of the MPGZ incorporate EdU only from the pre-trochophore stage onward (14 hpf).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>While PGCs and the cells of the MPGZ in <it>Platynereis </it>are indistinguishable in morphology and both express the germline markers <it>vasa</it>, <it>nanos</it>, and <it>piwi</it>, a distinct cluster of PGCs is detectable anterior of the MPGZ following EdU pulse-labeling. Indeed the PGCs form independently from the stem cells of the MPGZ prior to gastrulation. Our data suggest an early PGC formation in the polychaete by preformation rather than by epigenesis.</p

MiST: a large-scale annotated resource and neural models for functions of modal verbs in English scientific text

Modal verbs (e.g., can, should or must) occur highly frequently in scientific articles. Decoding their function is not straightforward: they are often used for hedging, but they may also denote abilities and restrictions. Understanding their meaning is important for accurate information extraction from scientific text.To foster research on the usage of modals in this genre, we introduce the MIST (Modals In Scientific Text) dataset, which contains 3737 modal instances in five scientific domains annotated for their semantic, pragmatic, or rhetorical function. We systematically evaluate a set of competitive neural architectures on MIST. Transfer experiments reveal that leveraging non-scientific data is of limited benefit for modeling the distinctions in MIST. Our corpus analysis provides evidence that scientific communities differ in their usage of modal verbs, yet, classifiers trained on scientific data generalize to some extent to unseen scientific domains

Diferença cultural sub judice: minorias étnicas na jurisprudência dos tribunais superiores portugueses

Dissertação de mestrado em Direitos HumanosA presente dissertação de mestrado tem como objetivo verificar o modo como a cultura figura na aplicação da lei, relacionando a jurisprudência multicultural nos tribunais superiores portugueses, relativamente a duas comunidades étnicas (ou étnico-raciais): as pessoas negras/de origem africana e os ciganos. O ponto de partida é a abordagem dos principais conceitos-chave relativos à igualdade, à discriminação e à diferença cultural. Ao esclarecer o conteúdo destes conceitos, pretendemos possibilitar uma efetiva compreensão do quadro normativo aplicável e da jurisprudência multicultural que serão analisadas. Na sequência, tratamos do quadro normativo de Direito internacional dos direitos humanos aplicável à proteção das minorias – desde a teoria geral dos direitos humanos até os instrumentos das Nações Unidas e do Conselho da Europa (com destaque, aqui, para a atuação o TEDH). No contexto de Portugal, discutimos a ‘experiência multicultural’ de Portugal durante o período do Estado Novo, o mito da homogeneidade étnica portuguesa e a atual multiculturalidade portuguesa em razão dos recentes fluxos migratórios. Ainda, apresentamos o enquadramento normativo do Direito português aplicável na proteção à igualdade e à não-discriminação, nos âmbitos da Constituição, da Lei n.º 93/2017, de 23 de agosto, e do Código Penal. Por fim, passamos à efetiva análise da jurisprudência multicultural dos tribunais superiores portugueses desde a década de 1990 até 2020. Elencamos os critérios de pesquisa utilizados para a seleção das decisões judiciais objeto de análise e apresentamos a jurisprudência multicultural portuguesa selecionada. É trazida, ao fim, uma síntese comparativa do mapeamento jurisprudencial realizado.This master's dissertation aims to verify how culture figures in law enforcement, relating multicultural jurisprudence in Portuguese higher courts, regarding two ethnic (or ethnic-racial) communities: Black people/people of African descent and Roma people. The starting point is presenting the main key concepts related to equality, discrimination, and cultural difference. By clarifying the content of these concepts, we intend to provide an adequate understanding of the applicable normative framework and the multicultural jurisprudence that will be analyzed. Next, we look at the normative framework of international human rights law applicable to the protection of minorities – from the general theory of human rights to the instruments of the United Nations and the Council of Europe (emphasizing the work of the ECtHR). In the Portuguese context, we discuss Portugal's 'multicultural experience' during the Estado Novo period, the myth of Portuguese ethnic homogeneity, and the current Portuguese multiculturality due to recent migratory flows. Furthermore, we present the normative framework of Portuguese law applicable to the protection of equality and non-discrimination within the scope of the Constitution, the anti-discrimination legislation, and the Penal Code. Thus, we move on to the practical analysis of the multicultural jurisprudence of Portuguese higher courts from the 1990s to 2020. First, the research criteria used to select the judicial decisions are presented, then we proceed to analyze the selected Portuguese multicultural jurisprudence. In the end, a comparative synthesis of the jurisprudential mapping is presented

DNA-probes for the highly sensitive identification of single nucleotide polymorphism using single-molecule spectroscopy

AbstractThis article presents a new, highly sensitive method for the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in homogeneous solutions using fluorescently labeled hairpin-structured oligonucleotides (smart probes) and fluorescence single-molecule spectroscopy. While the hairpin probe is closed, fluorescence intensity is quenched due to close contact between the chromophore and several guanosine residues. Upon hybridization to the respective target SNP sequence, contact is lost and the fluorescence intensity increases significantly. High specificity is achieved by blocking sequences containing mismatch with unlabeled oligonucleotides. Time-resolved single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy enables the detection of individual smart probes passing a small detection volume. This method leads to a subnanomolar sensitivity for this single nucleotide specific DNA assay technique

Application of Principal Component Analysis of Sows' Behavioral Indicators of the Welfare Quality® Protocol to Determine Main Components of Behavior

Understanding behavior is important in terms of welfare assessments to be able to evaluate possible changes in behavior among different husbandry systems. The present study applied principal component analysis (PCA) to reveal relationships between behavioral indicators to identify the main components of sows' behavior promoting feasibility of welfare assessments by providing possibilities for variable reduction and aggregation. The indicators of the Welfare Quality® protocol's principle to assess behavior were repeatedly applied by two observers on 13 farms in Northern Germany. This included Qualitative Behavior Assessments (QBA) to evaluate animals' body language using 20 pre-defined adjectives, assessments of social and exploratory behavior, stereotypies, and human–animal relationship tests. Two separate PCA were performed with respect to the QBA: (1) adjectives were included as independent variables and (2) adjectives were pre-aggregated using the calculation rules of the Welfare Quality® protocol for fattening pigs since a calculation for sows does not yet exist. In both analyses, two components described sows' behavior. Most variance was explained by the solution with adjectives as independent variables (51.0%). Other behavioral elements not captured as indicators by the protocol may still be important for all-inclusive welfare assessments as the required variance of 70% was not achieved in the analyses

O direito à educação e a escolarização das crianças ciganas na prática dos tribunais portugueses

This article analyses the way in which the schooling of Roma children is addressed in the practice of Portuguese courts, based on a set of rulings from different courts issued in the past 15 years and in light of international (universal and regional/European) human rights standards on the right to education and protection against racial or ethnic discrimination. Education is arguably the area where Roma integration has progressed the most in Europe in recent years, as pointed out by the European Commission in the new EU Roma Strategic Framework on Equality, Inclusion and Participation for 2020-2030. However, early school leaving, particularly by Roma girls, remains a source of great concern, with courts often being called on to intervene to put an end to situations of child endangerment and to safeguard the best interest of the child. The analysis presented is the outcome of research conducted as part of the project InclusiveCourts (Equality and cultural difference in the practice of Portuguese courts: Challenges and opportunities for an inclusive society), which run between 2018 and 2022 with funding from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation.: Este artigo analisa o modo como a escolarização das crianças ciganas é tratada na prática judicial portuguesa, a partir de um conjunto de decisões proferidas nos últimos 15 anos por diferentes tribunais e tendo por referência os padrões internacionais de direitos humanos de âmbito mundial e regional europeu sobre o direito à educação e a proteção contra a discriminação fundada na origem étnica. Apesar de a educação ser o setor onde a integração das pessoas ciganas mais tem avançado nos últimos anos a nível europeu – como apontado pela Comissão Europeia no Quadro Estratégico da União Europeia para a Igualdade, Inclusão e Participação dos Ciganos 2020-2030 –, o abandono escolar, sobretudo por meninas ciganas, continua a ser motivo de grande preocupação, com os tribunais, não raro, a serem chamados a intervir para pôr termo a situações de perigo e salvaguardar o superior interesse da criança. A análise apresentada resulta de investigação desenvolvida no âmbito do projeto InclusiveCourts (Igualdade e Diferença Cultural na Prática dos Tribunais Portugueses: Desafios e Oportunidades na Edificação de uma Sociedade Inclusiva), que decorreu entre 2018 e 2022 com financiamento da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia