Evaluating the JULES land surface model energy fluxes using FLUXNET data

Surface energy flux measurements from a sample of ten FLUXNET sites selected to represent a range of climate conditions and biome types were used to assess the performance of the Hadley Centre land surface model (JULES). Because FLUXNET data are prone systematically to under-measure surface fluxes, the model was evaluated by its ability to partition incoming radiant energy into evaporation and how such partition varies with atmospheric evaporative demand at annual, seasonal, weekly, and diurnal timescales. The model parameters from the GCM configuration were used. The overall performance was good although weaknesses in model performance were identified that are associated with the specification of the leaf area index and plant rooting depth, and the representation of soil freezing

A new quantitative method for gunshot residue analysis by ion beam analysis

Imaging and analyzing gunshot residue (GSR) particles using the scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS) is a standard technique that can provide important forensic evidence, but the discrimination power of this technique is limited due to low sensitivity to trace elements and difficulties in obtaining quantitative results from small particles. A new, faster method using a scanning proton microbeam and Particle Induced X-ray Emission (μ-PIXE), together with Elastic Backscattering Spectrometry (EBS) is presented for the non-destructive, quantitative analysis of the elemental composition of single GSR particles. In this study, the GSR particles were all Pb, Ba, Sb. The precision of the method is assessed. The grouping behaviour of different makes of ammunition is determined using multivariate analysis. The protocol correctly groups the cartridges studied here, with a confidence >99%, irrespective of the firearm or population of particles selected

Can Words Breed or Kill Investment? Metaphors, Imagery, Affect and Investor Behaviour

In "building your portfolio", building is what linguists call a conceptual metaphor: the investor does not literally pile up his assets like they were bricks, but "building" is used as a metaphor for putting together elements. We could therefore also say "cooking", "sewing" or "weaving" your portfolio, as these are also activities that involve putting together elements to make your life comfortable. Conceptual metaphors make some aspects of the topic at hand salient, and hide others. Metaphors create imagery and induce affect. As the latter is shown to influence risk perception and return expectations, it is worthwhile to study metaphors in stock market reporting. In this paper we identify the metaphors in newspaper articles on the stock market both during a crash and in “normal” times. We find that both in the general and the financial press journalists use many metaphors, that these come from a limited number of source domains, and that the latter are predominantly masculine, thus “priming” readers with certain aspects of investing. We speculate that this may create positive affect among men, not women, and bias masculine investors toward excess trading. If so, stock market reporting in newspapers could contribute to the gender difference in stated risk tolerance, financial risk taking, stock market participation and (excess) trading. We suggest further research to verify this

Discovery of Novel PI3-Kinase δ Specific Inhibitors for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Taming CYP3A4 Time-Dependent Inhibition

PI3Kδ is a lipid kinase and a member of a larger family of enzymes, PI3K class IA­(α, β, δ) and IB (γ), which catalyze the phosphorylation of PIP2 to PIP3. PI3Kδ is mainly expressed in leukocytes, where it plays a critical, nonredundant role in B cell receptor mediated signaling and provides an attractive opportunity to treat diseases where B cell activity is essential, e.g., rheumatoid arthritis. We report the discovery of novel, potent, and selective PI3Kδ inhibitors and describe a structural hypothesis for isoform (α, β, γ) selectivity gained from interactions in the affinity pocket. The critical component of our initial pharmacophore for isoform selectivity was strongly associated with CYP3A4 time-dependent inhibition (TDI). We describe a variety of strategies and methods for monitoring and attenuating TDI. Ultimately, a structure-based design approach was employed to identify a suitable structural replacement for further optimization

Coronal Heating as Determined by the Solar Flare Frequency Distribution Obtained by Aggregating Case Studies

Flare frequency distributions represent a key approach to addressing one of the largest problems in solar and stellar physics: determining the mechanism that counter-intuitively heats coronae to temperatures that are orders of magnitude hotter than the corresponding photospheres. It is widely accepted that the magnetic field is responsible for the heating, but there are two competing mechanisms that could explain it: nanoflares or Alfv\'en waves. To date, neither can be directly observed. Nanoflares are, by definition, extremely small, but their aggregate energy release could represent a substantial heating mechanism, presuming they are sufficiently abundant. One way to test this presumption is via the flare frequency distribution, which describes how often flares of various energies occur. If the slope of the power law fitting the flare frequency distribution is above a critical threshold, $\alpha=2$ as established in prior literature, then there should be a sufficient abundance of nanoflares to explain coronal heating. We performed $>$600 case studies of solar flares, made possible by an unprecedented number of data analysts via three semesters of an undergraduate physics laboratory course. This allowed us to include two crucial, but nontrivial, analysis methods: pre-flare baseline subtraction and computation of the flare energy, which requires determining flare start and stop times. We aggregated the results of these analyses into a statistical study to determine that $\alpha = 1.63 \pm 0.03$. This is below the critical threshold, suggesting that Alfv\'en waves are an important driver of coronal heating.Comment: 1,002 authors, 14 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, published by The Astrophysical Journal on 2023-05-09, volume 948, page 7