Primary Cosmic Ray and Solar Protons II

During July and August 1961 the energy spectrum of primary cosmic ray protons was investigated in the energy range from 80 to 350 MeV. The observations were made in five high altitude balloon flights at geomagnetic latitudes lambda is greater than 73 degrees N. Solar flare and quiet day spectra were obtained. A comparison of the 1960 and 1961 results leads to the conclusions that, 1. A significant flux of low energy protons is continually present in the primary radiation in the years of high solar activity; 2. This flux decreases with the declining level of solar activity as the galactic cosmic ray flux increases, It is, therefore, suggested that it is of solar origin; 3. The time dependence of the observed proton flux suggests the following alternatives: a) The particles are produced or released more or less continuously by the sun and do not originate only in the large flare events; or b) The particles are produced in individual large solar flares and subsequently stored over long periods of time. This second alternative would require a new and as yet unknown storage mechanism with a characteristic time of about 30 or more days

Control of erythroid differentiation: asynchronous expression of the anion transporter and the peripheral components of the membrane skeleton in AEV- and S13-transformed cells

Chicken erythroblasts transformed with avian erythroblastosis virus or S13 virus provide suitable model systems with which to analyze the maturation of immature erythroblasts into erythrocytes. The transformed cells are blocked in differentiation at around the colony-forming unit- erythroid stage of development but can be induced to differentiate in vitro. Analysis of the expression and assembly of components of the membrane skeleton indicates that these cells simultaneously synthesize alpha-spectrin, beta-spectrin, ankyrin, and protein 4.1 at levels that are comparable to those of mature erythroblasts. However, they do not express any detectable amounts of anion transporter. The peripheral membrane skeleton components assemble transiently and are subsequently rapidly catabolized, resulting in 20-40-fold lower steady-state levels than are found in maturing erythrocytes. Upon spontaneous or chemically induced terminal differentiation of these cells expression of the anion transporter is initiated with a concommitant increase in the steady- state levels of the peripheral membrane-skeletal components. These results suggest that during erythropoiesis, expression of the peripheral components of the membrane skeleton is initiated earlier than that of the anion transporter. Furthermore, they point a key role for the anion transporter in conferring long-term stability to the assembled erythroid membrane skeleton during terminal differentiation

Biological control of the cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cerasi L. (Diptera, Tephriti-dae) by use of entomopathogenic nematodes: first experiences towards practi-cal implementation.

The use of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) is a promising approach to control the cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cerasi L.. We already demonstrated the high potential of EPN to infect larvae after leaving the cherry for pupation in the soil in laboratory and field experiments. For practice, an appli-cation technique is needed, that is both, grower- and EPN friendly. We tested a tractor mounted spray boom for treatment under the canopy area. The achieved rate of EPN in the soil met the ex-pectations. The activity of EPN in soil samples was high after application, but dropped to 60% of the initial activity within one week. Exact forecasting of larval drop from cherries is another major chal-lenge. To obtain basic data, we recorded the phenology of infestation and larval emergence on trees which were not harvested. Sequential infestation on the same cherry variety was observed and larvae dropped from individual trees for several weeks

Optimized imaging using non-rigid registration

The extraordinary improvements of modern imaging devices offer access to data with unprecedented information content. However, widely used image processing methodologies fall far short of exploiting the full breadth of information offered by numerous types of scanning probe, optical, and electron microscopies. In many applications, it is necessary to keep measurement intensities below a desired threshold. We propose a methodology for extracting an increased level of information by processing a series of data sets suffering, in particular, from high degree of spatial uncertainty caused by complex multiscale motion during the acquisition process. An important role is played by a nonrigid pixel-wise registration method that can cope with low signal-to-noise ratios. This is accompanied by formulating objective quality measures which replace human intervention and visual inspection in the processing chain. Scanning transmission electron microscopy of siliceous zeolite material exhibits the above-mentioned obstructions and therefore serves as orientation and a test of our procedures

"Liquidity, Uncertainty, and the Declining Predictive Power of the Paper-bill Spread"

This paper addresses two questions. First, what causes the paper-bill spread to vary over time in anticipation of income fluctuations’? Second, why has the predictive power of the spread declined in recent years? Consistent with previous empirical work, the paper provides evidence for the default-risk, monetary, and cash-flow hypotheses. Moreover, new evidence is provided for the liquidity hypothesis by showing that uncertainty has a strong impact on the paper-bill spread. This finding holds for two different approaches used to measure uncertainty - financial market volatility and forecaster discord - and for uncertainty about five different variables: the federal funds rate, the Treasury bill rate, the long-term corporate bond rate, stock returns, and industrial production. Using a Kalman filter to recursively estimate the reduced-form model for the paper-bill spread, the paper shows that the impact of monetary policy and uncertainty on the spread declined during the 1980s, while the impact of default risk increased. These findings are explained by two financial market developments occurring during the 1980s: 1) the rapid growth in the volume and liquidity of the commercial paper market, and 2) increased financial fragility of commercial paper issuers.

Understanding cities and citizens: Developing novel participatory development methods and public service concepts

The European Commission (EC) aims to facilitate bottom-up initiatives to speed up economic growth. For that it is necessary to empower citizens and businesses. Open data is key to this, as easy access to the right data opens the door for them to contribute as active and efficient actors in European cities. The EC-funded project Smarticipate , which is driven by the pilot cities of Hamburg, Rome and London, will foster citizen involvement on four levels: to join forces of committed key stakeholders, to gather local knowledge, to enable exploratory planning exercises and to create new public services. This will be realized by innovative tools, designed within Smarticipate, that provide immediate context-tailored feedback to each contribution made by citizens via online participation services. This paper outlines a novel methodology that is currently being developed within the project to co-design new public services. Our methodology enables close coordination via an iterative process with diverse urban stakeholders and end users. Citizens and businesses can create and plug their own apps for new public services into the Smarticipate platform we are developing. The overall principle is to interact in co-creation with the cities and citizens of Hamburg, Rome and London and adjust our planning and products directly to their needs. An iterative process is being carried out on three levels: participatory urban planning, user-centered design of applications and user interfaces & software engineering. The first results of this process are presented in this paper, along with an outline of the next steps

Prognostic significance of DNA cytometry in cutaneous malignant lymphomas.

The current classification of cutaneous malignant lymphomas (ML) into low-grade and high-grade lymphomas was found to be of limited reproducibility and permitted only a rough prediction about outcome. With this in mind, the relationship between nuclear DNA content and both prognosis and histologic grading according to the Kiel classification was evaluated on Feulgen-stained imprint specimens. In all, 49 cases of malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, primary of the skin or with an involvement of the skin as one of the first symptoms, were studied using a computerized high-resolution image analysis system. The 2c deviation index (2cDI), which reflects the variation of the nuclear DNA values around the normal diploid peak, was found to be the best prognostically relevant criterion. Using the 2cDI, a significant discrimination (P less than 0.001 in the U test) between low-grade and high-grade ML was achieved. The prognostic benefit of the 2cDI was well documented by a significant inverse correlation between the 2cDI and the period of time until the patients progressed at least into one higher stage or died of lymphoma (r equals -0.63, P less than 0.05). In addition, the 2cDI enabled prognosis of the course of disease. In the group with low 2cDI values (2cDI, less than 0.5), no progression of the disease was observed after 1 year. In the groups presenting with a 2cDI between 0.5 and 1.0 and higher than 1.0, a progression was found in 57% and 64% of the cases studied, respectively. In conclusion, these measurements indicate that the determination of DNA distribution patterns in imprint specimens allows a precise and objective prognostic evaluation of cutaneous ML

Evaluation of seismic reflector slopes with a Yoyo-CTD

In spring 2007 a dedicated seismic and oceanographic experiment was conducted in the Gulf of Cadiz. Employing two research vessels seismic and hydrographic observations were made contemporaneously and in close proximity. At a 12 hour long station inside a Meddy a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) probe was lowered and raised repeatedly while the seismic vessel conducted a repetitive survey on tracks nearby. Over the period 17 CTD profiles were collected covering the depth interval from 500 to 1700 m. The CTD data show the Meddy's elevated temperatures and salinities as well as varying intrusive features. When converted into reflection coefficients and convoluted with the seismic source signal the CTD data agrees well with nearby seismic data. The comparison of the temporal/spatial slopes of CTD-derived reflectors with those of isopycnals shows a good agreement when the slopes are determined over intervals shorter than 4 hours