A comparative study of satellite and ground-based phenology

Long time series of ground-based plant phenology, as well as more than two decades of satellite-derived phenological metrics, are currently available to assess the impacts of climate variability and trends on terrestrial vegetation. Traditional plant phenology provides very accurate information on individual plant species, but with limited spatial coverage. Satellite phenology allows monitoring of terrestrial vegetation on a global scale and provides an integrative view at the landscape level. Linking the strengths of both methodologies has high potential value for climate impact studies. We compared a multispecies index from ground-observed spring phases with two types (maximum slope and threshold approach) of satellite-derived start-of-season (SOS) metrics. We focus on Switzerland from 1982 to 2001 and show that temporal and spatial variability of the multispecies index correspond well with the satellite-derived metrics. All phenological metrics correlate with temperature anomalies as expected. The slope approach proved to deviate strongly from the temporal development of the ground observations as well as from the threshold-defined SOS satellite measure. The slope spring indicator is considered to indicate a different stage in vegetation development and is therefore less suited as a SOS parameter for comparative studies in relation to ground-observed phenology. Satellite-derived metrics are, however, very susceptible to snow cover, and it is suggested that this snow cover should be better accounted for by the use of newer satellite sensor

Leveraging lean in the office: Lean office needs a novel and differentiated approach

Lean Six Sigma tools have been increasingly employed also in the service industry, however with different success as field studies have shown. The reason not only has to be attributed to a poor Change Management, but can also be attributed to the intrinsic characteristics of the Lean techniques, which have been tailored to sustain a stable customer-takted pull-manufacturing principle. An office workplace shows significant differences to a procedural shop floor environment, as it comprises both, procedural and relational processes. The office environment, therefore, cannot be described by a purely transactional shop floor model—it necessitates a separate model, with a differenciated approach, which covers the procedural as well as the relational aspects of office tasks. Also the different characteristics of the transaction object as well as the operation transformation and process governance do not allow an un-adapted application of Toyota’s comprehensive Lean toolset. The approach of Lean for the office environment needs a reinterpretation of the Lean logic and TPS Lean tools for the procedural part as well. Therefore, different and adapted approaches and tools are clearly necessary. The paper shows the objectives and principles of Lean and why Lean manufacturing is also interesting to be applied in the office environment. The differences between office and production jobs are detailed and introduce the problem of lean application in the office. The particular characteristics of the office environment are discussed and enable to enter into the Relational Office Model. Furthermore, we explain the paradigm shift which is necessary to take full benefit of the Lean approach in the office environment, however without presenting the reinterpreted office Lean toolset due to space reasons. This will be the topic of a next paper.ISSN:1940-9893ISSN:1940-990

Strong coupling theory for driven tunneling and vibrational relaxation

We investigate on a unified basis tunneling and vibrational relaxation in driven dissipative multistable systems described by their N lowest lying unperturbed levels. By use of the discrete variable representation we derive a set of coupled non-Markovian master equations. We present analytical treatments that describe the dynamics in the regime of strong system-bath coupling. Our findings are corroborated by ``ab-initio'' real-time path integral calculations.Comment: 4 LaTeX pages including 3 figure

Long-term prognosis of nerve palsy after total hip arthroplasty: results of two-year-follow-ups and long-term results after a mean time of 8years

Introduction: Nerve damage is a rare but serious complication after THA. There exist only little data about the outcome of these patients particularly regarding the long-term results later than 2years postoperatively. Aim of this study is to answer the following questions: Is the recovery to be expected for light nerve lesions different from the severe ones? Is there a possibility of nerve recovery more than 2years after THA? Is the potential of nerve recovery depending on the affected nerve? Materials and methods: This study investigates 2,255 primary THA as well as revision surgeries performed from 1988 to 2003 relating to iatrogenic nerve lesion. We classified the nerve lesion according to the core muscle strength in severe (M0-M2) and light (M3-M4) nerve damage and differentiated between femoral, sciatic and superior gluteal nerve, according to the electromyography. Results: We found 34 cases of iatrogenic nerve damage representing an incidence of 1.5%. 17 of 34 (50%) patients showed a complete recovery after 2years. Out of the remaining 17 patients, six out of seven patients with a final examination after a median time of 93months achieved further improvement. The different nerves showed no significant different potential of recovery. Conclusions: In contrast to the literature, an improvement beyond the limit of 2years is probable and independent of the nerve affected

Combining Monte Carlo generators with next-to-next-to-leading order calculations: event reweighting for Higgs boson production at the LHC

We study a phenomenological ansatz for merging next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) calculations with Monte Carlo event generators. We reweight them to match bin-integrated NNLO differential distributions. To test this procedure, we study the Higgs boson production cross-section at the LHC, for which a fully differential partonic NNLO calculation is available. We normalize PYTHIA and MC@NLO Monte Carlo events for Higgs production in the gluon fusion channel to reproduce the bin integrated NNLO double differential distribution in the transverse momentum and rapidity of the Higgs boson. These events are used to compute differential distributions for the photons in the pp \to H \to \gamma \gamma decay channel, and are compared to predictions from fixed-order perturbation theory at NNLO. We find agreement between the reweighted generators and the NNLO result in kinematic regions where we expect a good description using fixed-order perturbation theory. Kinematic boundaries where resummation is required are also modeled correctly using this procedure. We then use these events to compute distributions in the pp \to H \to W^+W^- \to l^+l^- \nu\bar{\nu} channel, for which an accurate description is needed for measurements at the LHC. We find that the final state lepton distributions obtained from PYTHIA are not significantly changed by the reweighting procedure.Comment: 18 pages, 14 fig

Mitochondrial oxidative stress causes insulin resistance without disrupting oxidative phosphorylation.

Mitochondrial oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, or both have been implicated in insulin resistance. However, disentangling the individual roles of these processes in insulin resistance has been difficult because they often occur in tandem, and tools that selectively increase oxidant production without impairing mitochondrial respiration have been lacking. Using the dimer/monomer status of peroxiredoxin isoforms as an indicator of compartmental hydrogen peroxide burden, we provide evidence that oxidative stress is localized to mitochondria in insulin-resistant 3T3-L1 adipocytes and adipose tissue from mice. To dissociate oxidative stress from impaired oxidative phosphorylation and study whether mitochondrial oxidative stress per se can cause insulin resistance, we used mitochondria-targeted paraquat (MitoPQ) to generate superoxide within mitochondria without directly disrupting the respiratory chain. At ≤10 μm, MitoPQ specifically increased mitochondrial superoxide and hydrogen peroxide without altering mitochondrial respiration in intact cells. Under these conditions, MitoPQ impaired insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) translocation to the plasma membrane in both adipocytes and myotubes. MitoPQ recapitulated many features of insulin resistance found in other experimental models, including increased oxidants in mitochondria but not cytosol; a more profound effect on glucose transport than on other insulin-regulated processes, such as protein synthesis and lipolysis; an absence of overt defects in insulin signaling; and defective insulin- but not AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-regulated GLUT4 translocation. We conclude that elevated mitochondrial oxidants rapidly impair insulin-regulated GLUT4 translocation and significantly contribute to insulin resistance and that MitoPQ is an ideal tool for studying the link between mitochondrial oxidative stress and regulated GLUT4 trafficking

Radiation hardness qualification of PbWO4 scintillation crystals for the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

This is the Pre-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 IOPEnsuring the radiation hardness of PbWO4 crystals was one of the main priorities during the construction of the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at CERN. The production on an industrial scale of radiation hard crystals and their certification over a period of several years represented a difficult challenge both for CMS and for the crystal suppliers. The present article reviews the related scientific and technological problems encountered

Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries

People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as applying makeup or using other cosmetics, hair grooming, clothing style, caring for body hygiene, and exercising or following a specific diet for the specific purpose of improving one physical attractiveness, are universal. Indeed, 99% of participants reported spending >10 min a day performing beauty-enhancing behaviors. The results largely support evolutionary hypotheses: more time was spent enhancing beauty by women (almost 4 h a day, on average) than by men (3.6 h a day), by the youngest participants (and contrary to predictions, also the oldest), by those with a relatively more severe history of infectious diseases, and by participants currently dating compared to those in established relationships. The strongest predictor of attractiveness-enhancing behaviors was social media usage. Other predictors, in order of effect size, included adhering to traditional gender roles, residing in countries with less gender equality, considering oneself as highly attractive or, conversely, highly unattractive, TV watching time, higher socioeconomic status, right-wing political beliefs, a lower level of education, and personal individualistic attitudes. This study provides novel insight into universal beauty-enhancing behaviors by unifying evolutionary theory with several other complementary perspectives.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Search for New Physics with Jets and Missing Transverse Momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for new physics is presented based on an event signature of at least three jets accompanied by large missing transverse momentum, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected in proton--proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events is observed above the expected standard model backgrounds, which are all estimated from the data. Exclusion limits are presented for the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Cross section limits are also presented using simplified models with new particles decaying to an undetected particle and one or two jets

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE