Influence of subtropical Rossby wave trains on planetary wave activity over Antarctica in September 2002

At the beginning of September 2002, strong convection processes over south-eastern Indonesia and over south-eastern Africa have been observed. Due to the strong upper tropospheric divergent outflow, two Rossby wave trains (RWTs) were generated. Their south-eastward propagation was controlled by the mean background flow. These two wave trains are visible in observations. It is hypothesised that these wave trains cause enhanced planetary wave activity fluxes which are a result of an amplified planetary wave 2 in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere over Antarctica. Such a change of the planetary wave structure was diagnosed in September 2002, prior to the first observed major sudden stratospheric warming event on the Southern Hemisphere. A simplified version of GCM ECHAM4 is used to evaluate the hypothesis. Sensitivity experiments were performed for a mean background flow similar to September 2002. Furthermore, the wave maker approach was used to generate Rossby waves in the subtropical upper troposphere at two distinct locations which are corresponding to the observed regions of divergent outflow. As a main result, after about 2 weeks of model integration with wave maker forcing, we find two RWTs with a south-eastward propagation inducing a polar amplification of planetary wave 2 in the upper troposphere and lower/middle stratosphere. The poleward wave activity flux is enhanced in comparison to the control run without any wave maker forcing. The convergence of the Eliassen–Palm flux causes a 25% deceleration of zonal mean zonal wind in the model stratosphere but no wind reversal. Sensitivity runs support the robustness of these results. The obtained model results highlight the mechanism and confirm the hypothesis that enhanced planetary wave activity in austral polar region in 2002 is caused by enhanced subtropical forcing of two RWTs

A comparative study of the surface glaze characteristics of concrete treated with CO2 and high power diode lasers. Part II: mechanical, chemical and physical properties

The hardened ordinary Portland cement (OPC) surface layer of concrete which was glazed using a CO2 and a high power diode laser (see Part I of this paper) has been tested in order to determine the mechanical, chemical and physical characteristics of the glazes. The work showed that the generation of the surface glazes resulted in improved mechanical, chemical and physical properties over the untreated OPC surface of concrete. However, differences in the performance of the CO2 and HPDL generated glazes were observed. These are believed to be due to the differences in the morphology and microstructure of the glazes generated as a result of the differing beam absorption characteristics of the two lasers. Life assessment testing revealed that the laser glazed OPC surfaces effected an increase in actual wear life of 1.3 to 17.7 times over the untreated OPC surface of concrete depending upon the corrosive environment

Surface glazing of concrete using a 2.5 kW high power diode laser and the effects of large beam geometry

Interaction of a 2.5 kW high power diode laser (HPDL) beam with the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) surface of concrete has been investigated, resulting in the generation of a tough, inexpensive amorphous glaze. Life assessment testing revealed that the OPC glaze had an increase in wear life of 1.3 to 14.8 times over an untreated OPC surface, depending upon the corrosive environment. Also, variations in the width of the HPDL beam were seen to have a considerable affect on the melt depth. Furthermore, the maximum coverage rate that it may be possible to achieve using the HPDL was calculated as being 1.94 m2/h. It is a distinct possibility that the economic and material benefits to be gained from the deployment of such an effective and efficient large area coating on OPC could be significant

Tropospheric forcing of the boreal polar vortex splitting in January 2003

e dynamical evolution of the relatively warm stratospheric winter season 2002–2003 in the Northern Hemisphere was studied and compared with the cold winter 2004–2005 based on NCEP-Reanalyses. Record low temperatures were observed in the lower and middle stratosphere over the Arctic region only at the beginning of the 2002–2003 winter. Six sudden stratospheric warming events, including the major warming event with a splitting of the polar vortex in mid-January 2003, have been identified. This led to a very high vacillation of the zonal mean circulation and a weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex over the whole winter season. An estimate of the mean chemical ozone destruction inside the polar vortex showed a total ozone loss of about 45 DU in winter 2002–2003; that is about 2.5 times smaller than in winter 2004–2005. Embedded in a winter with high wave activity, we found two subtropical Rossby wave trains in the troposphere before the major sudden stratospheric warming event in January 2003. These Rossby waves propagated north-eastwards and maintained two upper tropospheric anticyclones. At the same time, the amplification of an upward propagating planetary wave 2 in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere was observed, which could be caused primarily by those two wave trains. Furthermore, two extratropical Rossby wave trains over the North Pacific Ocean and North America were identified a couple of days later, which contribute mainly to the vertical planetary wave activity flux just before and during the major warming event. It is shown that these different tropospheric forcing processes caused the major warming event and contributed to the splitting of the polar vortex

Implementation of Health Care Monitoring System using low power MCU’s and ARM CORTEX A8

The present common goal in the medical information technology is the design and implementation of telemedicine solutions, which provides a reliable and quality of services to patients. With the advent of recent development in sensors, low-power integrated circuits (IC’s), and wireless communications have brought the design of miniature, low-cost, and intelligent body sensor modules. These modules are capable of measuring, processing, communicating one or more physiological parameters, and can be integrated into a wireless personal area network. In this paper, we proposed a wireless body sensor module, based on low power microcontrollers and RF devices that perform the measurements and transmit the different bio sensors data to a Local Sensor Network server. Local Sensor Network (LSN) server will run a signal monitor application which  receives the information from wireless sensor module and draw the signal graph on the display according to received data and further updated to central health care surveillance centre. The LSN server should be able to connect all the nearby sensor modules through wireless media and update its data periodically.  Any sudden urge found in the signal will alarm the corresponding doctor. In order to handle such more number of sensor module connections, the Local sensor network server should be implemented with high performance processor. In this paper, the ARM Cortex A8 processor is one of the best choices to meet all the requirements o

A portable high power diode laser-based single-stage ceramic tile grout sealing system

By means of a 60 W high power diode laser (HPDL) and a specially developed grout material the void between adjoining ceramic tiles has been successfully sealed. A single-stage process has been developed which uses a crushed ceramic tile mix to act as a tough, inexpensive bulk substrate and a glazed enamel surface to provide an impervious surface glaze. The single-stage ceramic tile grout sealing process yielded seals produced in normal atmospheric conditions that displayed no discernible cracks and porosities. The single-stage grout is simple to formulate and easy to apply. Tiles were successfully sealed with power densities as low as 200 kW/mm2 and at rates of up to 600 mm/min. Bonding of the enamel to the crushed ceramic tile mix was identified as being primarily due to van der Waals forces and, on a very small scale, some of the crushed ceramic tile mix material dissolving into the glaze. In terms of mechanical, physical and chemical characteristics, the single-stage ceramic tile grout was found to be far superior to the conventional epoxy tile grout and, in many instances, matched and occasionally surpassed that of the ceramic tiles themselves. What is more, the development of a hand-held HPDL beam delivery unit and the related procedures necessary to lead to the commercialisation of the single-stage ceramic tile grout sealing process are presented. Further, an appraisal of the potential hazards associated with the use of the HPDL in an industrial environment and the solutions implemented to ensure that the system complies with the relevant safety standards are given

Anti-West Nile virus activity of in vitro expanded human primary natural killer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Natural Killer (NK) cells are a crucial component of the host innate immune system with anti-viral and anti-cancer properties. However, the role of NK cells in West Nile virus (WNV) infection is controversial, with reported effects ranging from active suppression of virus to no effect at all. It was previously shown that K562-mb15-41BBL (K562D2) cells, which express IL-15 and 4-1BBL on the K562 cell surface, were able to expand and activate human primary NK cells of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The expanded NK cells were tested for their ability to inhibit WNV infection <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Co-culture of PBMC with irradiated K562D2 cells expanded the NK cell number by 2-3 logs in 2-3 weeks, with more than 90% purity; upregulated NK cell surface activation receptors; downregulated inhibitory receptors; and boosted interferon gamma (IFN-γ) production by ~33 fold. The expanded NK (D2NK) cell has strong natural killing activity against both K562 and Vero cells, and killed the WNV infected Vero cells through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). The D2NK cell culture supernatants inhibited both WNV replication and WNV induced cytopathic effect (CPE) in Vero cells when added before or after infection. Anti-IFN-γ neutralizing antibody blocked the NK supernatant-mediated anti-WNV effect, demonstrating a noncytolytic activity mediated through IFN-γ.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Co-culture of PBMC with K562D2 stimulatory cells is an efficient technique to prepare large quantities of pure and active NK cells, and these expanded NK cells inhibited WNV infection of Vero cells through both cytolytic and noncytolytic activities, which may imply a potential role of NK cells in combating WNV infection.</p

Structure of a lectin from Canavalia gladiata seeds: new structural insights for old molecules

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lectins are mainly described as simple carbohydrate-binding proteins. Previous studies have tried to identify other binding sites, which possible recognize plant hormones, secondary metabolites, and isolated amino acid residues. We report the crystal structure of a lectin isolated from <it>Canavalia gladiata </it>seeds (CGL), describing a new binding pocket, which may be related to pathogen resistance activity in ConA-like lectins; a site where a non-protein amino-acid, α-aminobutyric acid (Abu), is bound.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall structure of native CGL and complexed with α-methyl-mannoside and Abu have been refined at 2.3 Å and 2.31 Å resolution, respectively. Analysis of the electron density maps of the CGL structure shows clearly the presence of Abu, which was confirmed by mass spectrometry.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The presence of Abu in a plant lectin structure strongly indicates the ability of lectins on carrying secondary metabolites. Comparison of the amino acids composing the site with other legume lectins revealed that this site is conserved, providing an evidence of the biological relevance of this site. This new action of lectins strengthens their role in defense mechanisms in plants.</p