659 research outputs found
Exploring the Iron‐Binding Potential of the Ocean Using a Combined pH and DOC Parameterization
The major part of dissolved iron (DFe) in seawater is bound to organic matter, which prevents iron from adsorptive removal by sinking particles and essentially regulates the residence time of DFe and its availability for marine biota. Characteristics of iron‐binding ligands highly depend on their biological origin and physico‐chemical properties of seawater which may intensely alter under ongoing climate change. To understand environmental controls on the iron binding, we applied a function of pH and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to describe changes in the binding strength of organic ligands in a global biogeochemical model (REcoM). This function was derived based on calculations using a thermodynamic chemical speciation model NICA. This parameterization considerably improved the modeled DFe distribution, particularly in the surface Pacific and the global mesopelagic and deep waters, compared to our previous model simulations with a constant ligand or one prognostic ligand. This indicates that the organic binding of iron is apparently controlled by seawater pH in addition to its link to organic matter. We tested further the response of this control to environmental changes in a simulation with future pH of a high emission scenario. The response of the binding potential shows a complex pattern in different regions and is regulated by factors that have opposite effects on the binding potential. The relative contributions of these factors can change over time by a continual change of environmental conditions. A dynamic feedback system therefore needs to be considered to predict the marine iron cycle under ongoing climate change
Evaluating the semantic web: a task-based approach
The increased availability of online knowledge has led to the design of several algorithms that solve a variety of tasks by harvesting the Semantic Web, i.e. by dynamically selecting and exploring a multitude of online ontologies. Our hypothesis is that the performance of such novel algorithms implicity provides an insight into the quality of the used ontologies and thus opens the way to a task-based evaluation of the Semantic Web. We have investigated this hypothesis by studying the lessons learnt about online ontologies when used to solve three tasks: ontology matching, folksonomy enrichment, and word sense disambiguation. Our analysis leads to a suit of conclusions about the status of the Semantic Web, which highlight a number of strengths and weaknesses of the semantic information available online and complement the findings of other analysis of the Semantic Web landscape
USTOPIA REQUIREMENTS THOUGHTS ON A USER-FRIENDLY SYSTEM FOR TRANSFORMATION OF PROGRAMS IN ABSTRACTO
Transformational programming is a program development method which is usually applied
using 'pen and paper'. Since this requires a lot of clerical work (copying expressions, con-
sistent substitution) which is tiresome and prone to error, some form of machine support is
desirable. In this paper a number of systems are described that have already been built to
this aim. Some of their shortcomings and limitations are identified. Based on experience
with program transformation and transformation systems, a long list of features is given
that would be useful in an 'utopian' transformation system. This list is presented using
an orthogonal division of the problem area. A number of problems with the realisation of
some aspects of our 'utopian' system are identified, and some areas for further research
are indicated
Report and preliminary results of R/V POSEIDON cruise POS500, LISA, Ligurian Slope AUV mapping, gravity coring and seismic reflection, Catania (Italy) – Malaga (Spain), 25.05.2016 – 09.06.2016
Cruise POS500 “LISA” with R/V Poseidon studied the western Ligurian Margin off
Southern France, an area in the northeastern part of the western Mediterranean Sea
characterized by its active tectonism and frequent mass wasting. The region near the Var
estuary close to the city of Nice is particularly suited for landslide research because it
represents a natural laboratority where it is possible to study a series of trigger processes of
geological and anthropogenic origin. The aim of this MARUM expedition was to:
i. Study fresh water seepage in the marine Nice airport landslide and adjacent stable
plateau in 15-50 m water depth using water sampling, CTD and geochemistry;
ii. Recover and deploy a number of observatories that monitor, pressure, temperature, tilt
and seismicity;
iii. Run an AUV micro-bathymetric survey with MARUM AUV SEAL5000 to
complement existing multibeam maps; and
iv. Acquire additional high-resolution seismic reflection profiles to unravel the complex
architecture of the Nice slope and Var delta.
In a period of approximately two weeks, we acquired valuable geophysical information that
helps to understand the evolution of this portion of the Ligurian Margin and further to
support an active Amphibious Drilling proposal submitted to ICDP and IODP. We could
also show that heavy spring rainfall plus melt water from the French Maritime Alps supplied
sufficient hydraulic forcing to push Var aquifer groundwaters to seep into the marine
deposits and water column. Freshening was strongest in the 1979 Nice landslide scar, but
was also found at the outer edge of the shelf. Recovery and redeployment of various
observatory prototypes worked well, both for the MARUM MeBo seafloor drillstring tolos
and independent piezometers.
Observatory data have yet to be evaluated. In addition, geochemical analyses of bottom
waters and pore waters was deferred to shore-based laboratorios except for salinity estimates
using a refractometer. Seismic processing was started onboard, but is largely taking place
post-cruise at University Bremen
Gas emissions and active tectonics within the submerged section of the North Anatolian Fault zone in the Sea of Marmara
The submerged section of the North Anatolian fault within the Marmara Sea was investigated using acoustic techniques and submersible dives. Most gas emissions in the water column were found near the surface expression of known active faults. Gas emissions are unevenly distributed. The linear fault segment crossing the Central High and forming a seismic gap – as it has not ruptured since 1766, based on historical seismicity, exhibits relatively less gas emissions than the adjacent segments. In the eastern Sea of Marmara, active gas emissions are also found above a buried transtensional fault zone, which displayed micro-seismic activity after the 1999 events. Remarkably, this zone of gas emission extends westward all along the southern edge of Cinarcik basin, well beyond the zone where 1999 aftershocks were observed. The long term monitoring of gas seeps could hence be highly valuable for the understanding of the evolution of the fluid-fault coupling processes during the earthquake cycle within the Marmara Sea
Dephasing in Disordered Conductors due to Fluctuating Electric Fields
We develop a novel eikonal expansion for the Cooperon to study the effect of
space- and time-dependent electric fields on the dephasing rate of disordered
conductors. For randomly fluctuating fields with arbitrary covariance we derive
a general expression for the dephasing rate which is free of infrared
divergencies in reduced dimensions. For time-dependent external fields with
finite wavelength and sufficiently small amplitude we show that the dephasing
rate is proportional to the square root of the electromagnetic power coupled
into the system, in agreement with data by Wang and Lindelof [Phys. Rev. Lett.
{\bf{59}}, 1156 (1987)].Comment: 17 Latex-pages, one figure; we now give more technical details and
discuss the screening problem more carefully; to appear in Phys. Rev.
Using Grammar-Based Genetic Programming for Mining Disjointness Axioms Involving Complex Class Expressions
International audienceIn the context of the Semantic Web, learning implicit knowledge in terms of axioms from Linked Open Data has been the object of much current research. In this paper, we propose a method based on grammar-based genetic programming to automatically discover disjoint-ness axioms between concepts from the Web of Data. A training-testing model is also implemented to overcome the lack of benchmarks and comparable research. The acquisition of axioms is performed on a small sample of DBpedia with the help of a Grammatical Evolution algorithm. The accuracy evaluation of mined axioms is carried out on the whole DBpe-dia. Experimental results show that the proposed method gives high accuracy in mining class disjointness axioms involving complex expressions
Proteomic and transcriptomic changes in hibernating grizzly bears reveal metabolic and signaling pathways that protect against muscle atrophy
Muscle atrophy is a physiological response to disuse and malnutrition, but hibernating bears are largely resistant to this phenomenon. Unlike other mammals, they efficiently reabsorb amino acids from urine, periodically activate muscle contraction, and their adipocytes differentially responds to insulin. The contribution of myocytes to the reduced atrophy remains largely unknown. Here we show how metabolism and atrophy signaling are regulated in skeletal muscle of hibernating grizzly bear. Metabolic modeling of proteomic changes suggests an autonomous increase of non-essential amino acids (NEAA) in muscle and treatment of differentiated myoblasts with NEAA is sufficient to induce hypertrophy. Our comparison of gene expression in hibernation versus muscle atrophy identified several genes differentially regulated during hibernation, including Pdk4 and Serpinf1. Their trophic effects extend to myoblasts from non-hibernating species (including C. elegans), as documented by a knockdown approach. Together, these changes reflect evolutionary favored adaptations that, once translated to the clinics, could help improve atrophy treatment
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