711 research outputs found

    Technologies and Practices to Reduce Impacts of Artificial Light at Night on Nightime Scenery

    Get PDF
    Artificial light at night (ALAN) adversely impacts nighttime scenery values. Current standards for LED lighting have led to brighter nighttime lighting, using color temperatures that are more harmful to human and ecological health, and which create an exponentially larger landscape impact than historical ALAN technologies. Less-harmful LED lighting and other existing technologies can be used to control artificial light at night, creating safe and pleasing perceptual nighttime experiences while minimizing ecological impacts. Minimizing the impact of artificial light at night requires understanding new lighting technologies, and management practices that extend beyond current lighting standards. This is crucial in order to sustain and protect the visual and cultural qualities of the landscape, and the ecological functions that we enjoy and depend upon. This paper will outline how the human body perceives and is affected by light, a key component to the success of implementing light pollution mitigation; discuss existing and evolving fixture programming technologies, and present challenges faced and lessons learned in implementing new lighting standards that support visual resource stewardship

    Impacts of Climate Change on the Power Industry and How It is Adapting

    Get PDF
    The Electrical Power and Energy Industry (the Power Industry) is facing great challenges with the transition to renewable energy options and sustainability (the Green Revolution) and the growing incidence of intelligent grid technology developments to encourage Customer-side responses (Smart Grid). At the same time, there is the definite need to meet continued demand growth (albeit slower) on top of the need for refurbishment and replacement of ageing assets and human resources (the looming Skills Gap) while coping with Climate Change and maintaining reliable and price competitive energy services in a safe and healthy environment and economy

    Study of resonance light scattering for remote optical probing

    Get PDF
    Enhanced scattering and fluorescence processes in the visible and UV were investigated which will enable improved remote measurements of gas properties. The theoretical relationship between scattering and fluorescence from an isolated molecule in the approach to resonance is examined through analysis of the time dependence of re-emitted light following excitation of pulsed incident light. Quantitative estimates are developed for the relative and absolute intensities of fluorescence and resonance scattering. New results are obtained for depolarization of scattering excited by light at wavelengths within a dissociative continuum. The experimental work was performed in two separate facilities. One of these utilizes argon and krypton lasers, single moded by a tilted etalon, and a 3/4 meter double monochromator. This facility was used to determine properties of the re-emission from NO2, I2 and O3 excited by visible light. The second facility involves a narrow-line dye laser, and a 3/4 meter single monochromator. The dye laser produces pulsed light with 5 nsec pulse duration and 0.005 nm spectral width

    A Linear Epitope in the N-Terminal Domain of CCR5 and Its Interaction with Antibody.

    Get PDF
    The CCR5 receptor plays a role in several key physiological and pathological processes and is an important therapeutic target. Inhibition of the CCR5 axis by passive or active immunisation offers one very selective strategy for intervention. In this study we define a new linear epitope within the extracellular domain of CCR5 recognised by two independently produced monoclonal antibodies. A short peptide encoding the linear epitope can induce antibodies which recognise the intact receptor when administered colinear with a tetanus toxoid helper T cell epitope. The monoclonal antibody RoAb 13 is shown to bind to both cells and peptide with moderate to high affinity (6x10^8 and 1.2x107 M-1 respectively), and binding to the peptide is enhanced by sulfation of tyrosines at positions 10 and 14. RoAb13, which has previously been shown to block HIV infection, also blocks migration of monocytes in response to CCR5 binding chemokines and to inflammatory macrophage conditioned medium. A Fab fragment of RoAb13 has been crystallised and a structure of the antibody is reported to 2.1 angstrom resolution

    Summary of the First Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE1)

    Get PDF
    Challenges related to development, deployment, and maintenance of reusable software for science are becoming a growing concern. Many scientists’ research increasingly depends on the quality and availability of software upon which their works are built. To highlight some of these issues and share experiences, the First Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE1) was held in November 2013 in conjunction with the SC13 Conference. The workshop featured keynote presentations and a large number (54) of solicited extended abstracts that were grouped into three themes and presented via panels. A set of collaborative notes of the presentations and discussion was taken during the workshop. Unique perspectives were captured about issues such as comprehensive documentation, development and deployment practices, software licenses and career paths for developers. Attribution systems that account for evidence of software contribution and impact were also discussed. These include mechanisms such as Digital Object Identifiers, publication of “software papers”, and the use of online systems, for example source code repositories like GitHub. This paper summarizes the issues and shared experiences that were discussed, including cross-cutting issues and use cases. It joins a nascent literature seeking to understand what drives software work in science, and how it is impacted by the reward systems of science. These incentives can determine the extent to which developers are motivated to build software for the long-term, for the use of others, and whether to work collaboratively or separately. It also explores community building, leadership, and dynamics in relation to successful scientific software

    Preclinical assessment of the receptor-binding domain of Plasmodium vivax duffy-binding protein as a vaccine candidate in rhesus macaques

    Get PDF
    The receptor-binding domain of Plasmodium vivax Duffy-binding protein, region II (PvRII), is an attractive candidate for a vaccine against P. vivax malaria. Here, we have studied the safety and immunogenicity of recombinant PvRII in Macaca mulatta (rhesus monkeys). Recombinant PvRII with a C-terminal 6-histidine tag was expressed in E. coli, recovered from inclusion bodies, refolded into its functional conformation, purified to homogeneity and formulated with three adjuvants, namely, Alhydrogel, Montanide ISA 720 and the GSK proprietary Adjuvant System AS02A for use in immunogenicity studies. All the PvRII vaccine formulations tested were safe and highly immunogenic. The overall magnitude of the antibody response was significantly higher for both Montanide ISA 720 and AS02A formulations in comparison with Alhydrogel. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between antibody recognition titers by ELISA and binding inhibition titers in in vitro binding assays. The PvRII vaccine formulations also induced IFN-Îł recall responses that were identified using ex vivo ELISPOT assays. These results provide support for further clinical development of a vaccine for P. vivax malaria based on recombinant PvRII
    • …
    corecore