Pre-operational baseline studies of selected nearshore marine biota at the Diablo Canyon power plant site: 1979-1982

This is the final report of the California Department of Fish and Games intertidal and subtidal surveys of plants and animals in the vicinity of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. These studies cover the period from 1979 through 1982. Our previous report (Gotshall, et al. 1984) covered the period from 1973 through 1978. The report includes abundances and statistical analyses of comparisons of abundances between years and study areas for selected intertidal and subtidal plants and animals. A total of 556 random subtidal stations, 540 intertidal stations and 67 permanent abalone transects were completed during this report period. Trends in abundances of most species observed during our 1973 through 1978 studies continued, i.e. the population of giant red sea urchins remained at a very low level, bull kelp Nereocystis leutkeana densities continued to decline in Diablo Cove and North Control. These two trends are probably due to the effects of continued sea otter foraging in the study area. Our observations of the presence or absence of fishes at subtidal 30m stations indicate a continued decline in the abundances of lingcod, Ophiodon elongatus and a decline in the abundance of blue rockfish since the 1973 through 1978 study period. A new study was begun during this study period, the use of baited stations to obtain relative abundance indices for those species of fishes attracted to the bait. Black-and-yellow rockfish were the most frequently observed fishes at Diablo Cove stations, while blue rockfish were the most frequently observed fish at North control baited stations. (Document has 393 pages

Automated design analysis, assembly planning and motion study analysis using immersive virtual reality

Previous research work at Heriot-Watt University using immersive virtual reality (VR) for cable harness design showed that VR provided substantial productivity gains over traditional computer-aided design (CAD) systems. This follow-on work was aimed at understanding the degree to which aspects of this technology were contributed to these benefits and to determine if engineering design and planning processes could be analysed in detail by nonintrusively monitoring and logging engineering tasks. This involved using a CAD-equivalent VR system for cable harness routing design, harness assembly and installation planning that can be functionally evaluated using a set of creative design-tasks to measure the system and users' performance. A novel design task categorisation scheme was created and formalised which broke down the cable harness design process and associated activities. The system was also used to demonstrate the automatic generation of usable bulkhead connector, cable harness assembly and cable harness installation plans from non-intrusive user logging. Finally, the data generated from the user-logging allowed the automated activity categorisation of the user actions, automated generation of process flow diagrams and chronocyclegraphs

Novel, cross-restricted, conserved, and immunodominant Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte epitopes in slow progressors in HIV Type 1 infection

HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play an important role in the immune response to HIV infection. Long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs) or slow progressors (SPs) in HIV infection may make qualitatively different CTL responses compared to those generated by seropositive individuals who progress to disease at a faster rate. The class I molecule HLA-B*57 has been identified as one restriction element overrepresented in SP groups studied, and, together with the closely related molecule HLA-B*58, occurs commonly in ethnic groups where HTV is most prevalent. In this study, we have identified five new HLA-B*57-restricted CTL epitopes recognized by SP donors, one of which is also HLA-B*5801 restricted. These HLA-B*57-restricted responses represent the dominant HIV-specific CTL response in each of the SP donors tested. These and other such epitopes may be an important component in future vaccine design

Computing the first eigenpair of the p-Laplacian via inverse iteration of sublinear supersolutions

We introduce an iterative method for computing the first eigenpair $(\lambda_{p},e_{p})$ for the $p$-Laplacian operator with homogeneous Dirichlet data as the limit of $(\mu_{q,}u_{q})$ as $q\rightarrow p^{-}$, where $u_{q}$ is the positive solution of the sublinear Lane-Emden equation $-\Delta_{p}u_{q}=\mu_{q}u_{q}^{q-1}$ with same boundary data. The method is shown to work for any smooth, bounded domain. Solutions to the Lane-Emden problem are obtained through inverse iteration of a super-solution which is derived from the solution to the torsional creep problem. Convergence of $u_{q}$ to $e_{p}$ is in the $C^{1}$-norm and the rate of convergence of $\mu_{q}$ to $\lambda_{p}$ is at least $O(p-q)$. Numerical evidence is presented.Comment: Section 5 was rewritten. Jed Brown was added as autho

Uniformly Accelerated Charge in a Quantum Field: From Radiation Reaction to Unruh Effect

We present a stochastic theory for the nonequilibrium dynamics of charges moving in a quantum scalar field based on the worldline influence functional and the close-time-path (CTP or in-in) coarse-grained effective action method. We summarize (1) the steps leading to a derivation of a modified Abraham-Lorentz-Dirac equation whose solutions describe a causal semiclassical theory free of runaway solutions and without pre-acceleration patholigies, and (2) the transformation to a stochastic effective action which generates Abraham-Lorentz-Dirac-Langevin equations depicting the fluctuations of a particle's worldline around its semiclassical trajectory. We point out the misconceptions in trying to directly relate radiation reaction to vacuum fluctuations, and discuss how, in the framework that we have developed, an array of phenomena, from classical radiation and radiation reaction to the Unruh effect, are interrelated to each other as manifestations at the classical, stochastic and quantum levels. Using this method we give a derivation of the Unruh effect for the spacetime worldline coordinates of an accelerating charge. Our stochastic particle-field model, which was inspired by earlier work in cosmological backreaction, can be used as an analog to the black hole backreaction problem describing the stochastic dynamics of a black hole event horizon.Comment: Invited talk given by BLH at the International Assembly on Relativistic Dynamics (IARD), June 2004, Saas Fee, Switzerland. 19 pages, 1 figur

Coronary CT Angiography and 5-Year Risk of Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Although coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) improves diagnostic certainty in the assessment of patients with stable chest pain, its effect on 5-year clinical outcomes is unknown. METHODS: In an open-label, multicenter, parallel-group trial, we randomly assigned 4146 patients with stable chest pain who had been referred to a cardiology clinic for evaluation to standard care plus CTA (2073 patients) or to standard care alone (2073 patients). Investigations, treatments, and clinical outcomes were assessed over 3 to 7 years of follow-up. The primary end point was death from coronary heart disease or nonfatal myocardial infarction at 5 years. RESULTS: The median duration of follow-up was 4.8 years, which yielded 20,254 patient-years of follow-up. The 5-year rate of the primary end point was lower in the CTA group than in the standard-care group (2.3% [48 patients] vs. 3.9% [81 patients]; hazard ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41 to 0.84; P=0.004). Although the rates of invasive coronary angiography and coronary revascularization were higher in the CTA group than in the standard-care group in the first few months of follow-up, overall rates were similar at 5 years: invasive coronary angiography was performed in 491 patients in the CTA group and in 502 patients in the standard-care group (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.13), and coronary revascularization was performed in 279 patients in the CTA group and in 267 in the standard-care group (hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.27). However, more preventive therapies were initiated in patients in the CTA group (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.65), as were more antianginal therapies (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.54). There were no significant between-group differences in the rates of cardiovascular or noncardiovascular deaths or deaths from any cause. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial, the use of CTA in addition to standard care in patients with stable chest pain resulted in a significantly lower rate of death from coronary heart disease or nonfatal myocardial infarction at 5 years than standard care alone, without resulting in a significantly higher rate of coronary angiography or coronary revascularization. (Funded by the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office and others; SCOT-HEART ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01149590 .)

Towards a Realistic Neutron Star Binary Inspiral: Initial Data and Multiple Orbit Evolution in Full General Relativity

This paper reports on our effort in modeling realistic astrophysical neutron star binaries in general relativity. We analyze under what conditions the conformally flat quasiequilibrium (CFQE) approach can generate ``astrophysically relevant'' initial data, by developing an analysis that determines the violation of the CFQE approximation in the evolution of the binary described by the full Einstein theory. We show that the CFQE assumptions significantly violate the Einstein field equations for corotating neutron stars at orbital separations nearly double that of the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) separation, thus calling into question the astrophysical relevance of the ISCO determined in the CFQE approach. With the need to start numerical simulations at large orbital separation in mind, we push for stable and long term integrations of the full Einstein equations for the binary neutron star system. We demonstrate the stability of our numerical treatment and analyze the stringent requirements on resolution and size of the computational domain for an accurate simulation of the system.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev.

The need of data harmonization to derive robust empirical relationships between soil conditions and vegetation.

Question: Is it possible to improve the general applicability and significance of empirical relationships between abiotic conditions and vegetation by harmonization of temporal data? Location: The Netherlands. Methods: Three datasets of vegetation, recorded after periods with different meteorological conditions, were used to analyze relationships between soil moisture regime (expressed by the mean spring groundwater level - MSLt calculated for different periods) and vegetation (expressed by the mean indicator value for moisture regime Fm). For each releve, measured groundwater levels were interpolated and extrapolated to daily values for the period 1970-2000 by means of an impulse-response model. Sigmoid regression lines between MSLt and Fm were determined for each of the three datasets and for the combined dataset. Results: A measurement period of three years resulted in significantly different relationships between Fm and MSLt for the three datasets (F-test,/? <0.05>. The three regression lines only coincided for the mean spring groundwater level computed over the period 1970-2000 (AfSLclimate) and thus provided a general applicable relationship. Precipitation surplus prior to vegetation recordings strongly affected the relationships. Conclusions: Harmonization of time series data (1) eliminates biased measurements, (2) results in generally applicable relationships between abiotic and vegetation characteristics and (3) increases the goodness of fit of these relationships. The presented harmonization procedure can be used to optimize many relationships between soil and vegetation characteristics. © IAVS; Opulus Press Uppsala

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Expression stability of commonly used reference genes in canine articular connective tissues

Background: The quantification of gene expression in tissue samples requires the use of reference genes to normalise transcript numbers between different samples. Reference gene stability may vary between different tissues, and between the same tissue in different disease states. We evaluated the stability of 9 reference genes commonly used in human gene expression studies. Realtime reverse transcription PCR and a mathematical algorithm were used to establish which reference genes were most stably expressed in normal and diseased canine articular tissues and two canine cell lines stimulated with lipolysaccaride (LPS). Results: The optimal reference genes for comparing gene expression data between normal and diseased infrapatella fat pad were RPL13A and YWHAZ (M = 0.56). The ideal reference genes for comparing normal and osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage were RPL13A and SDHA (M = 0.57). The best reference genes for comparing normal and ruptured canine cranial cruciate ligament were B2M and TBP (M = 0.59). The best reference genes for normalising gene expression data from normal and LPS stimulated cell lines were SDHA and YWHAZ (K6) or SDHA and HMBS (DH82), which had expression stability (M) values of 0.05 (K6) and 0.07 (DH82) respectively. The number of reference genes required to reduce pairwise variation (V) to <0.20 was 4 for cell lines, 5 for cartilage, 7 for cranial cruciate ligament and 8 for fat tissue. Reference gene stability was not related to the level of gene expression. Conclusion: The reference genes demonstrating the most stable expression within each different canine articular tissue were identified, but no single reference gene was identified as having stable expression in all different tissue types. This study underlines the necessity to select reference genes on the basis of tissue and disease specific expression profile evaluation and highlights the requirement for the identification of new reference genes with greater expression stability for use in canine articular tissue gene expression studies