Laser application to measure vertical sea temperature and turbidity, design phase

An experiment to test a new method was designed, using backscattered radiation from a laser beam to measure oceanographic parameters in a fraction of a second. Tyndall, Rayleigh, Brillouin, and Raman scattering all are utilized to evaluate the parameters. A beam from a continuous argon ion laser is used together with an interferometer and interference filters to gather the information. The results are checked by direct measurements. Future shipboard and airborne experiments are described

Requirement Analysis and Implementation of Multicriteria Analysis in the NEEDS Project

This report specifies the requirements for and implementation of the multicriteria analysis of future energy technologies performed by a large number of stakeholders within the EU-funded integrated projct NEEDS. The report is composed of two main parts and the appendix. The first part starts with a summary of the objectives of the analysis followed by a detailed specifiation of the analyzed problem, in particular the analysis context, discussion of the sets of criteria and alternatives, and the participation of the stakeholders. Next, the planned problem analysis process is first outlined, and then discussed in more detail. Finally, the requirements for the multicritria analysis are specified. The second part deals with the implementation of the dedicated Web-site developed for this analysis, and later extended to support analysis of any multicriteria choice between discrete alternatives. It starts with an overview of the problem analysis process and the corresponding basic assumptions. Te architecture of the application and its features are then presented. Lessons learned from the development and use of this application conclude this part of the report. The appendix contains a review of the state-of-the-art of applying multicriteria analysis to energy problems, as well as characteristics of three applications that exploit the multicriteria analysis methods for energy problems considered relevant to the analysis reported in this paper

Improved Algorithms for Approximate String Matching (Extended Abstract)

The problem of approximate string matching is important in many different areas such as computational biology, text processing and pattern recognition. A great effort has been made to design efficient algorithms addressing several variants of the problem, including comparison of two strings, approximate pattern identification in a string or calculation of the longest common subsequence that two strings share. We designed an output sensitive algorithm solving the edit distance problem between two strings of lengths n and m respectively in time O((s-|n-m|)min(m,n,s)+m+n) and linear space, where s is the edit distance between the two strings. This worst-case time bound sets the quadratic factor of the algorithm independent of the longest string length and improves existing theoretical bounds for this problem. The implementation of our algorithm excels also in practice, especially in cases where the two strings compared differ significantly in length. Source code of our algorithm is available at http://www.cs.miami.edu/\~dimitris/edit_distanceComment: 10 page

Guanosine diphosphatase is required for protein and sphingolipid glycosylation in the Golgi lumen of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Current models for nucleotide sugar use in the Golgi apparatus predict a critical role for the lumenal nucleoside diphosphatase. After transfer of sugars to endogenous macromolecular acceptors, the enzyme converts nucleoside diphosphates to nucleoside monophosphates which in turn exit the Golgi lumen in a coupled antiporter reaction, allowing entry of additional nucleotide sugar from the cytosol. To test this model, we cloned the gene for the S. cerevisiae guanosine diphosphatase and constructed a null mutation. This mutation should reduce the concentrations of GDP-mannose and GMP and increase the concentration of GDP in the Golgi lumen. The alterations should in turn decrease mannosylation of proteins and lipids in this compartment. In fact, we found a partial block in O- and N-glycosylation of proteins such as chitinase and carboxypeptidase Y and underglycosylation of invertase. In addition, mannosylinositolphosphorylceramide levels were drastically reduced

Novel picornavirus in turkey poults with hepatitis, California, USA

To identify a candidate etiologic agent for turkey viral hepatitis, we analyzed samples from diseased turkey poults from 8 commercial flocks in California, USA, that were collected during 2008–2010. High-throughput pyrosequencing of RNA from livers of poults with turkey viral hepatitis (TVH) revealed picornavirus sequences. Subsequent cloning of the ≈9-kb genome showed an organization similar to that of picornaviruses with conservation of motifs within the P1, P2, and P3 genome regions, but also unique features, including a 1.2-kb sequence of unknown function at the junction of P1 and P2 regions. Real-time PCR confirmed viral RNA in liver, bile, intestine, serum, and cloacal swab specimens from diseased poults. Analysis of liver by in situ hybridization with viral probes and immunohistochemical testing of serum demonstrated viral nucleic acid and protein in livers of diseased poults. Molecular, anatomic, and immunologic evidence suggests that TVH is caused by a novel picornavirus, tentatively named turkey hepatitis virus

Evaluation of a method to calculate debris-flow volume based on observations of flow depth

The volume of a debris flow is a critical parameter in hazard analysis, yet accurate estimates of volume are often unavailable due to mixing with larger rivers at the downstream end of alluvial fans. We describe a method to calculate the volume of debris flows using flow depth data collected at a check dam, using a Manning friction relation to describe the velocity of the debris flow as a function of flow depth, and the geometry of the channel cross section. The method is evaluated using a published data set from the USGS debris-flow flume where event volume and stage information have been accurately measured, and results in volume estimates either somewhat smaller than or up to 50% larger than observed volumes. We further demonstrate the method to single-surge and a multiple-surge debris flows observed at Illgraben

Retrograde optogenetic characterization of the pontospinal module of the locus coeruleus with a canine adenoviral vector

AbstractNoradrenergic neurons of the brainstem extend projections throughout the neuraxis to modulate a wide range of processes including attention, arousal, autonomic control and sensory processing. A spinal projection from the locus coeruleus (LC) is thought to regulate nociceptive processing. To characterize and selectively manipulate the pontospinal noradrenergic neurons in rats, we implemented a retrograde targeting strategy using a canine adenoviral vector to express channelrhodopsin2 (CAV2-PRS-ChR2-mCherry). LC microinjection of CAV2-PRS-ChR2-mCherry produced selective, stable, transduction of noradrenergic neurons allowing reliable opto-activation in vitro. The ChR2-transduced LC neurons were opto-identifiable in vivo and functional control was demonstrated for >6 months by evoked sleep-wake transitions. Spinal injection of CAV2-PRS-ChR2-mCherry retrogradely transduced pontine noradrenergic neurons, predominantly in the LC but also in A5 and A7. A pontospinal LC (ps:LC) module was identifiable, with somata located more ventrally within the nucleus and with a discrete subset of projection targets. These ps:LC neurons had distinct electrophysiological properties with shorter action potentials and smaller afterhyperpolarizations compared to neurons located in the core of the LC. In vivo recordings of ps:LC neurons showed a lower spontaneous firing frequency than those in the core and they were all excited by noxious stimuli. Using this CAV2-based approach we have demonstrated the ability to retrogradely target, characterise and optogenetically manipulate a central noradrenergic circuit and show that the ps:LC module forms a discrete unit.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Noradrenergic System

The Physicist's Guide to the Orchestra

An experimental study of strings, woodwinds (organ pipe, flute, clarinet, saxophone and recorder), and the voice was undertaken to illustrate the basic principles of sound production in music instruments. The setup used is simple and consists of common laboratory equipment. Although the canonical examples (standing wave on a string, in an open and closed pipe) are easily reproduced, they fail to explain the majority of the measurements. The reasons for these deviations are outlined and discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures (jpg files). Submitted to European Journal of Physic