Using Adobe Flash Lite on mobile phones for psychological research: reaction time measurement reliability and inter-device variability

Mobile telephones have significant potential for use in psychological research, possessing unique characteristics—not least their ubiquity—that may make them useful tools for psychologists. We examined whether it is possible to measure reaction times (RTs) accurately using Adobe Flash Lite on mobile phones. We ran simple and choice RT experiments on two widely available mobile phones, a Nokia 6110 Navigator and a Sony Ericsson W810i, using a wireless application protocol (WAP) connection to access the Internet from the devices. RTs were compared within subjects with those obtained using a Linux-based millisecond-accurate measurement system. Results show that measured RTs were significantly longer on mobile devices, and that overall RTs and distribution of RTs varied across device

Systematic monitoring and evaluation of M7 scanner performance and data quality

An investigation was conducted to provide the information required to maintain data quality of the Michigan M7 Multispectral scanner by systematic checks on specific system performance characteristics. Data processing techniques which use calibration data gathered routinely every mission have been developed to assess current data quality. Significant changes from past data quality are thus identified and attempts made to discover their causes. Procedures for systematic monitoring of scanner data quality are discussed. In the solar reflective region, calculations of Noise Equivalent Change in Radiance on a permission basis are compared to theoretical tape-recorder limits to provide an estimate of overall scanner performance. M7 signal/noise characteristics are examined

Surface constraints on the depth of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation: Southern Ocean versus North Atlantic

Paleoclimate proxy evidence suggests that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) was about 1000 m shallower at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) compared to the present. Yet it remains unresolved what caused this glacial shoaling of the AMOC, and many climate models instead simulate a deeper AMOC under LGM forcing. While some studies suggest that Southern Ocean surface buoyancy forcing controls the AMOC depth, others have suggested alternatively that North Atlantic surface forcing or interior diabatic mixing plays the dominant role. To investigate the key processes that set the AMOC depth, here we carry out a number of MITgcm ocean-only simulations with surface forcing fields specified from the simulation results of three coupled climate models that span much of the range of glacial AMOC depth changes in phase 3 of the Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project (PMIP3). We find that the MITgcm simulations successfully reproduce the changes in AMOC depth between glacial and modern conditions simulated in these three PMIP3 models. By varying the restoring time scale in the surface forcing, we show that the AMOC depth is more strongly constrained by the surface density field than the surface buoyancy flux field. Based on these results, we propose a mechanism by which the surface density fields in the high latitudes of both hemispheres are connected to the AMOC depth. We illustrate the mechanism using MITgcm simulations with idealized surface forcing perturbations as well as an idealized conceptual geometric model. These results suggest that the AMOC depth is largely determined by the surface density fields in both the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean

Local and global instabilities of flow in a flexible-walled channel

We consider laminar high-Reynolds-number flow through a long finite-length planar channel, where a segment of one wall is replaced by a massless membrane held under longitudinal tension. The flow is driven by a fixed pressure difference across the channel and is described using an integral form of the unsteady boundary-layer equations. The basic flow state, for which the channel has uniform width, exhibits static and oscillatory global instabilities, having distinct modal forms. In contrast, the corresponding local problem (neglecting boundary conditions associated with the rigid parts of the system) is found to be convectively, but not absolutely, unstable to small-amplitude disturbances in the absence of wall damping. We show how amplification of the primary global oscillatory instability can arise entirely from wave reflections with the rigid parts of the system, involving interacting travelling wave flutter and static-divergence modes that are convectively stable; alteration of the mean flow by oscillations makes the onset of this primary instability subcritical. We also show how distinct mechanisms of energy transfer differentiate the primary global mode from other modes of oscillatory instability

Molecular studies on intraspecific diversity and phylogenetic position of Coniothyrium minitans

Simple sequence repeat (SSR)±PCR amplification using a microsatellite primer (GACA)% and ribosomal RNA gene sequencing were used to examine the intraspecific diversity in the mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans based on 48 strains, representing eight colony types, from 17 countries world-wide. Coniothyrium cerealis, C. fuckelii and C. sporulosum were used for interspecific comparison. The SSR±PCR technique revealed a relatively low level of polymorphism within C. minitans but did allow some differentiation between strains. While there was no relationship between SSR±PCR profiles and colony type, there was some limited correlation between these profiles and country of origin. Sequences of the ITS 1 and ITS 2 regions and the 5±8S gene of rRNA genes were identical in all twenty-four strains of C. minitans examined irrespective of colony type and origin. These results indicate that C. minitans is genetically not very variable despite phenotypic differences. ITS and 5±8S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed that C. minitans had similarities of 94% with C. fuckelii and C. sporulosum (which were identical to each other) and only 64% with C. cerealis. Database searches failed to show any similarity with the ITS 1 sequence for C. minitans although the 5±8S rRNA gene and ITS 2 sequences revealed an 87% similarity with Aporospora terricola. The ITS sequence including the 5±8S rRNA gene sequence of Coniothyrium cerealis showed 91% similarity to Phaeosphaeria microscopica. Phylogenetic analyses using database information suggest that C. minitans, C. sporulosum, C. fuckelii and A. terricola cluster in one clade, grouping with Helminthosporium species and 'Leptosphaeria' bicolor. Coniothyrium cerealis grouped with Ampelomyces quisqualis and formed a major cluster with members of the Phaeosphaeriacae and Phaeosphaeria microscopica

Three months journeying of a Hawaiian monk seal

Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and are the most endangered species of marine mammal that lives entirely within the jurisdiction of the United States. The species numbers around 1300 and has been declining owing, among other things, to poor juvenile survival which is evidently related to poor foraging success. Consequently, data have been collected recently on the foraging habitats, movements, and behaviors of monk seals throughout the Northwestern and main Hawaiian Islands. Our work here is directed to exploring a data set located in a relatively shallow offshore submerged bank (Penguin Bank) in our search of a model for a seal's journey. The work ends by fitting a stochastic differential equation (SDE) that mimics some aspects of the behavior of seals by working with location data collected for one seal. The SDE is found by developing a time varying potential function with two points of attraction. The times of location are irregularly spaced and not close together geographically, leading to some difficulties of interpretation. Synthetic plots generated using the model are employed to assess its reasonableness spatially and temporally. One aspect is that the animal stays mainly southwest of Molokai. The work led to the estimation of the lengths and locations of the seal's foraging trips.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/193940307000000473 the IMS Collections (http://www.imstat.org/publications/imscollections.htm) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Evolution of a localized thermal explosion in a reactive gas

Experimental observations of ignition in premixed gaseous reactants indicate that perfectly homogeneous initiation is practically unrealizable. Instead, combustion first sets in, as a rule, at small, discrete sites where inherent inhomogeneities cause chemical activity to proceed preferentially and lead to localized explosions. Combustion waves propagating away from these hot spots or reaction centers eventually envelop the remaining bulk. This study examines the spatial structure and temporal evolution of a hot spot for a model involving Arrhenius kinetics. The hot spot, characterized by peaks in pressure and temperature with little diminution in local density, is shown to have one of two possible self-similar structures. The analysis employs a combination of asymptotics and numerics, and terminates when pressure and temperature in the explosion have peaked

Repeating platinum/bevacizumab in recurrent or progressive cervical cancer yields marginal survival benefits

Our objective was to assess overall survival of cervical cancer patients following prior platinum/bevacizumab chemotherapy, comparing retreatment with platinum/bevacizumab with alternative therapies. A retrospective analysis was performed of women who received platinum/bevacizumab (PB) chemotherapy for cervical cancer at Washington University between July 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015. Wilcoxon rank-sum exact test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the treatment groups, and Kaplan Meier curves were generated. Cox regression analyses were performed, with treatment free interval and prior therapy response included as covariates. Of 84 patients who received PB chemotherapy, 59 (70%) received no second line chemotherapy, as they did not recur, progressed without further chemotherapy, were lost to follow up, or expired. Of the remaining 25 patients, 9 were retreated with the combination of platinum/bevacizumab (PB), 6 were retreated with a platinum regimen without bevacizumab (P), and 10 were retreated with neither (not-P). The only long-term survivor was in the not-P group and was treated with an immunotherapy agent. Median overall survival of all patients was 7.1 months. There was a marginal difference in survival between women in the PB and not-PB groups (11.8 versus 5.7 months; HR 3.02, 95% CI, 0.98–9.28). There was no difference in survival based on platinum interval (HR 0.81; 95% CI, 0.27–2.45). Outcomes are grim for women retreated after platinum/bevacizumab therapy and are only marginally improved by retreatment with a platinum/bevacizumab regimen. Rather than additional PB therapy, women with cervical cancer who recur after platinum/bevacizumab should consider supportive care or clinical trials

Dynamic removal of replication protein A by Dna2 facilitates primer cleavage during Okazaki fragment processing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Eukaryotic Okazaki fragments are initiated by an RNA/DNA primer, which is removed before the fragments are joined. Polymerase d displaces the primer into a flap for processing. Dna2 nuclease/helicase and flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) are proposed to cleave the flap. The single-stranded DNA binding protein, replication protein A (RPA), governs cleavage activity. Flap-bound RPA inhibits FEN1. This necessitates cleavage by Dna2, which is stimulated by RPA. FEN1 then cuts the remaining RPA-free flap to create a nick for ligation. Cleavage by Dna2 requires that it enter the 5'-end and track down the flap. Since Dna2 cleaves the RPA-bound flap, we investigated the mechanism by which Dna2 accesses the protein-coated flap for cleavage. Using a nuclease-defective Dna2 mutant, we showed that just binding of Dna2 dissociates the flap-bound RPA. Facile dissociation is specific to substrates with a genuine flap, and will not occur with an RPA-coated single strand. We also compared the cleavage patterns of Dna2 with and without RPA to better define RPA stimulation of Dna2. Stimulation derived from removal of DNA folding in the flap. Apparently, coordinated with its dissociation, RPA relinquishes the flap to Dna2 for tracking in a way that does not allow flap structure to reform. We also found that RPA strand melting activity promotes excessive flap elongation, but it is suppressed by Dna2-promoted RPA dissociation. Overall, results indicate that Dna2 and RPA coordinate their functions for efficient flap cleavage and preparation for FEN1