1,581 research outputs found
Predicting Climate-Driven Coastlines With a Simple and Efficient Multiscale Model
Ocean-basin-scale climate variability produces shifts in wave climates and water levels affecting the coastlines of the basin. Here we present a hybrid shoreline change?foredune erosion model (A COupled CrOss-shOre, loNg-shorE, and foreDune evolution model, COCOONED) intended to inform coastal planning and adaptation. COCOONED accounts for coupled longshore and cross-shore processes at different timescales, including sequencing and clustering of storm events, seasonal, interannual, and decadal oscillations by incorporating the effects of integrated varying wave action and water levels for coastal hazard assessment. COCOONED is able to adapt shoreline change rates in response to interactions between longshore transport, cross-shore transport, water level variations, and foredune erosion. COCOONED allows for the spatial and temporal extension of survey data using global data sets of waves and water levels for assessing the behavior of the shoreline at multiple time and spatial scales. As a case study, we train the model in the period 2004?2014 (11 years) with seasonal topographic beach profile surveys from the North Beach Sub-cell (NBSC) of the Columbia River Littoral Cell (Washington, USA).We explore the shoreline response and foredune erosion along 40 km of beach at several timescales during the period 1979?2014 (35 years), revealing an accretional trend producing reorientation of the beach, cross-shore accretional, and erosional periods through time (breathing) and alternating beach rotations that are correlated with climate indices.J. A. A.
Antolínez and F. J. Méndez
acknowledge the support of the
Spanish “Ministerio de Economia y
Competitividad” under Grant
BIA2014-59643-R
Molecular characterisation of viruses from Kiwifruit
In 2003 Apple stem grooving virus was discovered in Actinidia accessions from China, being held in quarantine in Auckland. Subsequent examination of kiwifruit germplasm from the same source has detected several additional viruses, including a ~300 nm rigid rod related to Ribgrass mosaic virus (Tobamovirus), a 700-750 nm flexuous virus related to Citrus leaf blotch virus (Flexiviridae) and a novel vitivirus. Currently these viruses have not been reported from commercial kiwifruit crops in New Zealand or elsewhere. The biological properties of the viruses from kiwifruit and their phylogenetic relationships with similar viruses from other plants will be described, and the possible implications for the international movement of Actinidia germplasm are discussed
Talin Rod Domain Containing Protein 1 (TLNRD1) is a novel actin-bundling protein which promotes filopodia formation
Talin is a mechanosensitive adapter protein which couples integrins to the cytoskeleton and regulates integrin-mediated adhesion. Talin rod domain-containing protein-1 (TLNRD1) shares 22% homology with the R7R8 domains of talin, and is highly conserved throughout vertebrate evolution, however little is known about its function. Here we show that TLNRD1 is an α-helical protein which shares the same atypical topology as talin R7R8, but forms a novel antiparallel dimer arrangement. Actin co-sedimentation assays and electron microscopy reveal TLNRD1 is an actin-bundling protein that forms tight actin bundles. In addition, TLNRD1 binds to the same LD-motif containing proteins, RIAM and KANK, as talin, and thus may act in competition with talin. Filopodia are cell protrusions supported by tightly bundled actin filaments and TLNRD1 localises to filopodia tips, increases filopodia number and promotes cell migration in 2D. Together our results suggest that TLNRD1 has similar functionality to talin R7R8, serving as a nexus between the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons independent of adhesion complexes
aCGHViewer: A Generic Visualization Tool For aCGH data
Array-Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH) is a powerful high throughput technology for detecting chromosomal copy number aberrations (CNAs) in cancer, aiming at identifying related critical genes from the affected genomic regions. However, advancing from a dataset with thousands of tabular lines to a few candidate genes can be an onerous and time-consuming process. To expedite the aCGH data analysis process, we have developed a user-friendly aCGH data viewer (aCGHViewer) as a conduit between the aCGH data tables and a genome browser. The data from a given aCGH analysis are displayed in a genomic view comprised of individual chromosome panels which can be rapidly scanned for interesting features. A chromosome panel containing a feature of interest can be selected to launch a detail window for that single chromosome. Selecting a data point of interest in the detail window launches a query to the UCSC or NCBI genome browser to allow the user to explore the gene content in the chromosomal region. Additionally, aCGHViewer can display aCGH and expression array data concurrently to visually correlate the two. aCGHViewer is a stand alone Java visualization application that should be used in conjunction with separate statistical programs. It operates on all major computer platforms and is freely available at http://falcon.roswellpark.org/aCGHview/
The place of strategic environmental assessment in the privatised electricity industry
The private sector has given relatively little attention to the emergence of strategic environmental assessment (SEA); even recently privatised utilities, where SEA might be deemed particularly appropriate, and whose activities are likely to fall within the scope of the European Union SEA Directive, have shown less interest than might be expected. However, the global trend towards the privatisation of state-owned enterprises makes the adaptation of SEA towards these industries all the more pressing. This paper addresses the place that SEA might take within the electricity sector, taking the privatised UK electricity industry as an example. Particular challenges are posed by the radical restructuring of the industry, designed to introduce competitive behaviour, making the development of comprehensive SEA processes problematic, and requiring SEA to be placed in the context of corporate environmental policy and objectives.</p
Bayesian Inference in Processing Experimental Data: Principles and Basic Applications
This report introduces general ideas and some basic methods of the Bayesian
probability theory applied to physics measurements. Our aim is to make the
reader familiar, through examples rather than rigorous formalism, with concepts
such as: model comparison (including the automatic Ockham's Razor filter
provided by the Bayesian approach); parametric inference; quantification of the
uncertainty about the value of physical quantities, also taking into account
systematic effects; role of marginalization; posterior characterization;
predictive distributions; hierarchical modelling and hyperparameters; Gaussian
approximation of the posterior and recovery of conventional methods, especially
maximum likelihood and chi-square fits under well defined conditions; conjugate
priors, transformation invariance and maximum entropy motivated priors; Monte
Carlo estimates of expectation, including a short introduction to Markov Chain
Monte Carlo methods.Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures, invited paper for Reports on Progress in Physic
Resonances in a spring-pendulum: algorithms for equivariant singularity theory
A spring-pendulum in resonance is a time-independent Hamiltonian model system for formal reduction to one degree of freedom, where some symmetry (reversibility) is maintained. The reduction is handled by equivariant singularity theory with a distinguished parameter, yielding an integrable approximation of the Poincaré map. This makes a concise description of certain bifurcations possible. The computation of reparametrizations from normal form to the actual system is performed by Gröbner basis techniques.
Quenching of Weak Interactions in Nucleon Matter
We have calculated the one-body Fermi and Gamow-Teller charge-current, and
vector and axial-vector neutral-current nuclear matrix elements in nucleon
matter at densities of 0.08, 0.16 and 0.24 fm and proton fractions
ranging from 0.2 to 0.5. The correlated states for nucleon matter are obtained
by operating on Fermi-gas states by a symmetrized product of pair correlation
operators determined from variational calculations with the Argonne v18 and
Urbana IX two- and three-nucleon interactions. The squares of the charge
current matrix elements are found to be quenched by 20 to 25 % by the
short-range correlations in nucleon matter. Most of the quenching is due to
spin-isospin correlations induced by the pion exchange interactions which
change the isospins and spins of the nucleons. A large part of it can be
related to the probability for a spin up proton quasi-particle to be a bare
spin up/down proton/neutron. We also calculate the matrix elements of the
nuclear Hamiltonian in the same correlated basis. These provide relatively mild
effective interactions which give the variational energies in the Hartree-Fock
approximation. The calculated two-nucleon effective interaction describes the
spin-isospin susceptibilities of nuclear and neutron matter fairly accurately.
However 3-body terms are necessary to reproduce the compressibility. All
presented results use the simple 2-body cluster approximation to calculate the
correlated basis matrix elements.Comment: submitted to PR
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