The role of the sea surface temperature in the atmospheric seasonal cycle of the equatorial Atlantic

We investigate the role of sea surface temperature (SST) and land surface temperature (LST) in driving the seasonal cycle of the atmosphere (surface winds and precipitation) in the tropical Atlantic. For this we compare three atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments for the historical period 1982–2013 forced by different SST: (1) observed daily-climatological SST, (2) globally annual-mean SST, and (3) annual-mean SST in the equatorial Atlantic and daily-climatological SST elsewhere. Seasonal variations in SST strongly influence the seasonal evolution of the West African Monsoon (WAM) and ITCZ over the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Forcing the model with annual mean SST (globally and in the equatorial Atlantic) considerably reduces the seasonal variance in the atmosphere, except for the zonal winds in the eastern equatorial Atlantic. Equatorial Atlantic SST contributes to the seasonal cycle in precipitation and meridional winds over the entire equatorial Atlantic, but only strongly influences zonal winds in the western equatorial Atlantic and has little influence on the northward penetration of the WAM. The leading modes of coupled SST–LST-atmosphere co-variability are identified by multivariate analysis. The analysis shows that both LST and SST drive seasonal variations in precipitation over equatorial Atlantic, with the LST being a larger contributor to the continental rainfall in West Africa. The coupling between ocean and atmosphere is stronger in the western than in the eastern equatorial Atlantic. The pressure adjustment mechanism is the main driver of the surface meridional wind convergence in the eastern tropical Atlantic.publishedVersio

ICTs quality and quantity and the margins of trade

Given the importance of the fixed costs of exporting, we investigate how information and communication technologies (ICTs) relate to the extensive and intensive margin of trade (the fraction of products that are exported and the market share, respectively). We use a novel dataset on the quantity and quality of ICTs, namely the number of subscriptions (per capita) and the average quality of subscriptions (bandwidth). To test this relationship, we use an augmented Gravity Model of Trade with ICTs using panel data and controlling for multilateral resistance. Regression results for 150 countries over 1995–2014 provide robust evidence that ICTs matter for the extensive margin of trade. The evidence is even stronger for developing countries in terms of quality. Although the number of subscriptions matters for the extensive margin, the quality matters even more. While having a device helps producers and consumers access world markets, how much information these devices can share and how stable connections are also matte

Efecto de ultrasonidos en la producción de cristales de proteína

A obra não tem página de rostoTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Química. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

N-terminal palmitoylation within the appropriate amino acid environment conveys on NOS2 the ability to progress along the intracellular sorting pathways.

We have analysed the mechanism by which palmitoylation permits the progression of nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) along the ER-Golgi-TGN pathway. Introduction of an additional myristoylation site at the N-terminus of NOS2 resulted in a chimera that displayed an enhanced association with the particulate fraction and with the plasma membrane but did not display increased enzymatic activity. In the absence of palmitoylation, introduction of a surrogate myristoylation site resulted in a mutant NOS2 with only 25% activity compared with the wild-type enzyme. Hence, the novel surrogate myristoyl moiety not only failed to increase NOS2 activity when introduced in a wild-type sequence environment, but was also unable to rescue the inactive phenotype of the Cys3Ser mutant. Introduction of an additional palmitoylatable Cys at position 2 of the wild-type sequence resulted in a chimera that associated to a larger degree with membranes and displayed decreased activity. Our data indicate that palmitoylation of inducible NOS at position 3 exquisitely determines its transit along the secretory pathway following a route that cannot be mimicked by a surrogate myristoylation or by a palmitate at position 2. In addition, the exit of NOS2 from the TGN and the accumulation in the cellular plasma membrane per se did not correlate with increased .NO synthesis.S

SPATIAL PREDICTION OF HEAVY METAL POLLUTION FOR SOILS IN COIMBATORE, INDIA BASED ON ANN AND KRIGING MODEL

The concentration of five soil heavy metals (Cr, Pb, and As) was measured in 121 sampling sites in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India regions known as centres of pollution due to the chemical and metallurgical activities. The soil samples were collected from locations where the ground is not sliding and the probability of alluvial deposits is small. The concentration of heavy metals was measured by using Atomic Absorption spectrometer. Kriging and ANN techniques were used to develop the model to predict the constituents of the heavy metal in the soils. In some locations, the concentration for the investigated heavy metals exceeds the concentration admitted by the guideline. The highest concentration of lead (8.9 ppm) was found in Ukkadam Lake. The highest concentration of chromium was found in Ganapathi (3.6 ppm). The highest concentration of Arsenic (5.4 ppm) was found in Sidco Industrial Estate. The maximum admitted concentrations in the sensitive areas revealed to be exceed from five to twenty times