Spectroscopic signature of Alfv\'en waves damping in a polar coronal hole up to 0.4 solar radii

Between February 24-25, 2009, the EIS spectrometer onboard the Hinode spacecraft performed special "sit & stare" observations above the South polar coronal hole continuously over more than 22 hours. Spectra were acquired with the 1" slit placed off-limb covering altitudes up to 0.48 R$_\odot$ ($3.34\times 10^2$ Mm) above the Sun surface, in order to study with EIS the non-thermal spectral line broadenings. Spectral lines such as Fe {\sc xii} $\lambda$186.88, Fe {\sc xii} $\lambda$193.51, Fe {\sc xii} $\lambda$195.12 and Fe {\sc xiii} $\lambda$202.04 are observed with good statistics up to high altitudes and they have been analyzed in this study. Results show that the FWHM of Fe {\sc xii} $\lambda$195.12 line increases up to $\simeq 0.14$ R$_\odot$, then decreases higher up. EIS stray light has been estimated and removed. Derived electron density and non-thermal velocity profiles have been used to estimate the total energy flux transported by Alfv\'en waves off-limb in polar coronal hole up to $\simeq 0.4$ R$_\odot$. The computed Alfv\'en wave energy flux density $f_w$ progressively decays with altitude from $f_w \simeq 1.2 \cdot 10^6$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ at 0.03 R$_\odot$ down to $f_w \simeq 8.5 \cdot 10^3$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ at 0.4 R$_\odot$, with an average energy decay rate $\Delta f_w / \Delta h \simeq -4.5 \cdot 10^{-5}$ erg cm$^{-3}$ s$^{-1}$. Hence, this result suggests energy deposition by Alfv\'en waves in a polar coronal hole, thus providing a significant source for coronal heating.Comment: Physical units of the Alfv\'en wave Energy Decay Rate $\Delta f_w / \Delta h$ revised with respect to the published version. Scientific results and conclusions unchange

Mapping of RNA- temperature-sensitive mutants of Sindbis virus: assignment of complementation groups A, B, and G to nonstructural proteins

Four complementation groups of temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of Sindbis virus that fail to make RNA at the nonpermissive temperature are known, and we have previously shown that group F mutants have defects in nsP4. Here we map representatives of groups A, B, and G. Restriction fragments from a full-length clone of Sindbis virus, Toto1101, were replaced with the corresponding fragments from the various mutants. These hybrid plasmids were transcribed in vitro by SP6 RNA polymerase to produce infectious RNA transcripts, and the virus recovered was tested for temperature sensitivity. After each lesion was mapped to a specific region, cDNA clones of both mutants and revertants were sequenced in order to determine the precise nucleotide change responsible for each mutation. Synthesis of viral RNA and complementation by rescued mutants were also examined in order to study the phenotype of each mutation in a uniform genetic background. The single mutant of group B, ts11, had a defect in nsP1 (Ala-348 to Thr). All of the group A and group G mutants examined had lesions in nsP2 (Ala-517 to Thr in ts17, Cys-304 to Tyr in ts21, and Gly-736 to Ser in ts24 for three group A mutants, and Phe-509 to Leu in ts18 and Asp-522 to Asn in ts7 for two group G mutants). In addition, ts7 had a change in nsP3 (Phe-312 to Ser) which also rendered the virus temperature sensitive and RNA-. Thus, changes in any of the four nonstructural proteins can lead to failure to synthesize RNA at a nonpermissive temperature, indicating that all four are involved in RNA synthesis. From the results presented here and from previous results, several of the activities of the nonstructural proteins can be deduced. It appears that nsP1 may be involved in the initiation of minus-strand RNA synthesis. nsP2 appears to be involved in the initiation of 26S RNA synthesis, and in addition it appears to be a protease that cleaves the nonstructural polyprotein precursors. It may also be involved in shutoff of minus-strand RNA synthesis. nsP4 appears to function as the viral polymerase or elongation factor. The functions of nsP3 are as yet unresolved

A study on the strategic plan for the Port of Busan in prospect of its role as a commercial hub port in the Far East

The object of this dissertation is to analyse the potentiality of the port of Busan in accordance with its competitiveness in prospect of its role as a commercial mega hub port in the Far East. The port of Busan, despite its excellent merits as a first class natural harbour, has not been exposed to balanced development but has suffered from unbalanced growth caused by inadequate management policy and operation technique. The paper mainly puts emphasis on introduction of the key elements of modem concept port, i.e. the concept of the second or third generation ports and requirements for becoming a hub port. Fortunately as the Korean government’s policy line is focused on liberalisation in every sector of industries, the port of Busan has the main chance to seek innovation in regard of its infrastructure as well as suprastructure. It is well reflected by the fact that the government allocated total US $10,450 million for SOC investment in its 1996 annual budget while it did US$ 212,440,000 for construction of port and relating infrastructure. Taking into account possible co-operation with the adjacent port of Kwangyang and a new port under construction in adjacent Gadok Island, the port of Busan may be provided with enough capacity of infrastructure to be a hub port. However, for the viability of a modem port, suprasructure is important as well. Among the various problems the port of Busan is now facing, the prior question is how much the port related people as well as shipping people know about the complicated mechanism of modem port operation. Only a few are aware of importance of marketing strategy in the modem port management and the essence of marketing promotion. In chapter four, after summarising the essence of port marketing and guidelines for promotion activities, the paper makes a conclusion by recommending four suggestions: 1. Minimisation of the government’s intervention in port management 2. To set up a training body for the education of modem port concept 3. To organise a delegation for overseas promotion activities 4. To open the port of Busan representing offices world-wide as many as possible. These are least but first conditions the Port of Busan should pay heed to without which there would be no feasibility for the port to face 21st century’s shipping environments

Flow, life satisfaction, personal expressiveness and passion associated with fashion student designer\u27s design process

The purpose of this study was to find how fashion designers\u27 personal experience and psychological process influence their design process. Especially, this study is to seek how flow, life satisfaction, personal expressiveness, and passion influence student designers\u27 design process. We hypothesized that there will be significant differences in student designers\u27 perceptions and design processes depending on their level of flow, life satisfaction, personal expressiveness, and passion

The HCV Core Protein Acts as a Positive Regulator of Fas-Mediated Apoptosis in a Human Lymphoblastoid T Cell Line

AbstractHepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major human pathogen causing mild to severe liver disease worldwide and is remarkably efficient at establishing persistent infections. Previously, we have shown that the core protein has an immunomodulatory function including the suppression of T lymphocyte responses to viral infection. To investigate the underlying mechanism for the role of core protein in immune modulation, we examined the effect of core on the sensitivity of the human T cell line, Jurkat, to Fas-mediated apoptosis. The transient and stable expression of core protein in Jurkat cells increased the sensitivity of cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis when compared to control cells expressing vector DNA alone. In addition, we demonstrated that the core protein binds to the cytoplasmic domain of Fas which may enhance the downstream signaling event of Fas-mediated apoptosis. The expression of core protein did not alter the cell surface expression of Fas, indicating that the increased sensitivity of core-expressing cells to Fas ligand was not due to upregulation of Fas. Furthermore, we observed the augmentation of caspase-3 activity in core-expressing cells. These results suggest that the core protein may promote the apoptosis of immune cells during HCV infection via the Fas signaling pathway, thus facilitating HCV persistence

Development of Nanocomposite Powders for the SLS Process to Enhance Mechanical Properties

In an effort to fabricate prototypes with improved mechanical properties in the dual laser sintering process, functionalized graphite nanoplatelets were added to the PA-12 powder to produce a nanocomposite powder. The PA-12 powder was chosen as the matrix polymer because it has features conducive to laser sintering such as relatively low melting temperature and high mechanical properties. The GNPs were oxidized through a nitric acid treatment to improve the interfacial bonding. The resulting nanocomposite powder was layered and sintered by laser without any sign of agglomeration. Although the result is preliminary, it nevertheless shows the suitability of the nanocomposite powder for the laser sintering process.Mechanical Engineerin

Polyfrost

The purpose of this project was to create a contemporary upcycled garment driven by the concept of the golden ratio through the use of re-purposed and post-consumer material which in this case came from used knit socks. This design project shows the designers interest in the ways of in which object becomes entangled with the concept of deconstruction and reconstruction. The fabric for this dress was created by placing and sewing together different size triangle shapes of socks by following golden ratio and the surface of the jacket was embellished by various sized fiber berries from socks materials. The main foot part of the socks was cut into triangle shapes and seamed together to create a dress. The ribbed cuffs parts of the socks were sewn together to create a bolero jacket. The toe parts of the socks were used to create fiber berries to embellish the bolero jacket

Assessing the learning outcomes of Fashion Design students who studied away

As we recognize the importance of global competency to a fashion student\u27s education, we offer various opportunities for our students to be involved in international programs. Having several programs running simultaneously across the globe under one curriculum presented several challenges, such as discrepancies in learning outcomes, varied physical and emotional responses, and diverging acquired skillsets. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to assess learning outcomes for fashion design students, after studying away. Using online surveys, a total of 62 study away participants during academic year 2014-15 were invited, and 29 responses were collected (response rate = 46.7%), to find out where they studied away, and how prepared they felt regarding the list of knowledge/skills that are required as a senior design student. The findings from this study shed light on understanding our current students\u27 perception of their learning outcomes after studying away, as well as their preparedness for the senior-level design coursework

Perspectives of Design Professionals in the Fashion Industry with respect to the Creative Design Process

The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of design professionals in the fashion industry in terms of their creative processes, and the study was specifically focused on seeking the importance of knowledge and skills, product development, reflections-in-actions of the design process, the designer\u27s role in the system, and fashion as communication during a fashion designer\u27s creative process. The results of this study supports previous findings that fashion designers must meet the needs of customers and it is critical to understand design problems and solutions in order to design a successful product. The importance of designer perceptions with respect to how knowledge and skills, including product development and reflect in action design process, play a communication role in creative processes, as found in this study, will help entry level designers and future designers to understand the industry\u27s expectations