Kelvin wave hydraulic control induced by interactions between vortices and topography

The interaction of a dipolar vortex with topography is examined using a combination of analytical solutions and idealized numerical models. It is shown that an anticyclonic vortex may generate along-topography flow with sufficient speeds to excite hydraulic control with respect to local Kelvin waves. A critical condition for Kelvin wave hydraulic control is found for the simplest case of a 1.5-layer shallow water model. It is proposed that in the continuously stratified case this mechanism may allow an interaction between low mode vortices and higher mode Kelvin waves, thereby generating rapidly converging isopycnals and hydraulic jumps. Thus, Kelvin wave hydraulic control may contribute to the flux of energy from mesoscale to smaller, unbalanced, scales of motion in the ocean

The early transcriptomic response to interleukin 1β and interleukin 33 in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes

In the heart, inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL) 1β are implicated in regulating adaptive and maladaptive changes, whereas IL33 negatively regulates cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and promotes cardioprotection. These agonists signal through a common co-receptor but, in cardiomyocytes, IL1β more potently activates mitogen-activated protein kinases and NFκB, pathways that regulate gene expression. We compared the effects of external application of IL1β and IL33 on the cardiomyocyte transcriptome. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were exposed to IL1β or IL33 (0.5, 1 or 2h). Transcriptomic profiles were determined using Affymetrix rat genome 230 2.0 microarrays and data were validated by quantitative PCR. IL1β induced significant changes in more RNAs than IL33 and, generally, to a greater degree. It also had a significantly greater effect in downregulating mRNAs and in regulating mRNAs associated with selected pathways. IL33 had a greater effect on a small, select group of specific transcripts. Thus, differences in intensity of intracellular signals can deliver qualitatively different responses. Quantitatively different responses in production of receptor agonists and transcription factors may contribute to qualitative differences at later times resulting in different phenotypic cellular responses

Short-wave infrared barriode detectors using InGaAsSb absorption material lattice matched to GaSb

Short-wave infrared barriode detectors were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. An absorption layer composition of In0.28Ga0.72As0.25Sb0.75 allowed for lattice matching to GaSb and cut-off wavelengths of 2.9 μm at 250 K and 3.0 μm at room temperature. Arrhenius plots of the dark current density showed diffusion limited dark currents approaching those expected for optimized HgCdTe-based detectors. Specific detectivity figures of around 7×1010 Jones and 1×1010 Jones were calculated, for 240 K and room temperature, respectively. Significantly, these devices could support focal plane arrays working at higher operating temperatures

IACHEC CROSS-CALIBRATION OF CHANDRA, NuSTAR, SWIFT, SUZAKU, XMM-NEWTON WITH 3C 273 ANDPKS 2155-304

On behalf of the International Astronomical Consortium for High Energy Calibration, we present results from the cross-calibration campaigns in 2012 on 3C 273 and in 2013 on PKS 2155-304 between the then active X-ray observatories Chandra, NuSTAR, Suzaku, Swift, and XMM-Newton. We compare measured fluxes between instrument pairs in two energy bands, 1–5 keV and 3–7 keV, and calculate an average cross-normalization constant for each energy range. We review known cross-calibration features and provide a series of tables and figures to be used for evaluating cross-normalization constants obtained from other observations with the above mentioned observatories.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Contract SV3-73016)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (Grant NNX09AE58G

Characterization of an electron conduit between bacteria and the extracellular environment

A number of species of Gram-negative bacteria can use insoluble minerals of Fe(III) and Mn(IV) as extracellular respiratory electron acceptors. In some species of Shewanella, deca-heme electron transfer proteins lie at the extracellular face of the outer membrane (OM), where they can interact with insoluble substrates. To reduce extracellular substrates, these redox proteins must be charged by the inner membrane/periplasmic electron transfer system. Here, we present a spectro-potentiometric characterization of a trans-OM icosa-heme complex, MtrCAB, and demonstrate its capacity to move electrons across a lipid bilayer after incorporation into proteoliposomes. We also show that a stable MtrAB subcomplex can assemble in the absence of MtrC; an MtrBC subcomplex is not assembled in the absence of MtrA; and MtrA is only associated to the membrane in cells when MtrB is present. We propose a model for the modular organization of the MtrCAB complex in which MtrC is an extracellular element that mediates electron transfer to extracellular substrates and MtrB is a trans-OM spanning ß-barrel protein that serves as a sheath, within which MtrA and MtrC exchange electrons. We have identified the MtrAB module in a range of bacterial phyla, suggesting that it is widely used in electron exchange with the extracellular environment

Registration of 3D Point Clouds and Meshes: A Survey From Rigid to Non-Rigid

Three-dimensional surface registration transforms multiple three-dimensional data sets into the same coordinate system so as to align overlapping components of these sets. Recent surveys have covered different aspects of either rigid or nonrigid registration, but seldom discuss them as a whole. Our study serves two purposes: 1) To give a comprehensive survey of both types of registration, focusing on three-dimensional point clouds and meshes and 2) to provide a better understanding of registration from the perspective of data fitting. Registration is closely related to data fitting in which it comprises three core interwoven components: model selection, correspondences and constraints, and optimization. Study of these components 1) provides a basis for comparison of the novelties of different techniques, 2) reveals the similarity of rigid and nonrigid registration in terms of problem representations, and 3) shows how overfitting arises in nonrigid registration and the reasons for increasing interest in intrinsic techniques. We further summarize some practical issues of registration which include initializations and evaluations, and discuss some of our own observations, insights and foreseeable research trends

Weddell Sea Export Pathways from Surface Drifters

The complex export pathways that connect the surface waters of the Weddell Sea with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current influence water mass modification, nutrient fluxes, and ecosystem dynamics. To study this exchange, 40 surface drifters, equipped with temperature sensors, were released into the northwestern Weddell Sea’s continental shelf and slope frontal system in late January 2012. Comparison of the drifter trajectories with a similar deployment in early February 2007 provides insight into the interannual variability of the surface circulation in this region. Observed differences in the 2007 and 2012 drifter trajectories are related to a variable surface circulation responding to changes in wind stress curl over the Weddell Gyre. Differences between northwestern Weddell Sea properties in 2007 and 2012 include 1) an enhanced cyclonic wind stress forcing over the Weddell Gyre in 2012; 2) an acceleration of the Antarctic Slope Current (ASC) and an offshore shift of the primary drifter export pathway in 2012; and 3) a strengthening of the Coastal Current (CC) over the continental shelf in 2007. The relationship between wind stress forcing and surface circulation is reproduced over a longer time period in virtual drifter deployments advected by a remotely sensed surface velocity product. The mean offshore position and speed of the drifter trajectories are correlated with the wind stress curl over the Weddell Gyre, although with different temporal lags. The drifter observations are consistent with recent modeling studies suggesting that Weddell Sea boundary current variability can significantly impact the rate and source of exported surface waters to the Scotia Sea, a process that determines regional chlorophyll distributions