Simulated climate variability in the region of Rapa Nui during the last millennium

Rapa Nui, an isolated island in the Southeast Pacific, was settled by the Polynesians most likely around 1200 AD and was discovered by the Europeans in 1722 AD. While the Polynesians presumably found a profuse palm woodland on Rapa Nui, the Europeans faced a landscape dominated by grassland. Scientists have examined potential anthropogenic, biological and climatic induced vegetation changes on Rapa Nui. Here, we analyse observational climate data for the last decades and climate model results for the period 800-1750 AD to explore the potential for a climatic-induced vegetation change. A direct influence of the ENSO phenomenon on the climatic parameters of Rapa Nui could not be found in the model simulations. Furthermore, strong climatic trends from a warm Medieval Period to a Little Ice Age or rapid climatic fluctuations due to large volcanic eruptions were not verifiable for the Rapa Nui region, although they are detectable in the simulations for many regions world wide. Hence, we tentatively conclude that large-scale climate changes in the oceanic region around Rapa Nui might be too small to explain strong vegetation changes on the island over the last millennium

Estimation of time delay by coherence analysis

Using coherence analysis (which is an extensively used method to study the correlations in frequency domain, between two simultaneously measured signals) we estimate the time delay between two signals. This method is suitable for time delay estimation of narrow band coherence signals for which the conventional methods cannot be reliably applied. We show by analysing coupled R\"ossler attractors with a known delay, that the method yields satisfactory results. Then, we apply this method to human pathologic tremor. The delay between simultaneously measured traces of Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Electromyogram (EMG) data of subjects with essential hand tremor is calculated. We find that there is a delay of 11-27 milli-seconds ($ms$) between the tremor correlated parts (cortex) of the brain (EEG) and the trembling hand (EMG) which is in agreement with the experimentally observed delay value of 15 $ms$ for the cortico-muscular conduction time. By surrogate analysis we calculate error-bars of the estimated delay.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, elstart.cls file included. Accepted for publication in Physica

Improved process control by surface temperature-controlled drying on the example of sweet potatoes

Convective drying of food has a big impact on the quality of the product in terms of sensory quality and energy consumption. The temperature of the product during the drying process is a major parameter since exceeding can cause damages to the product. The surface temperature of the product can be measured non-disruptive and contact-free with IR-sensors and this information is used as input parameter for the dryer control. A convective drying chamber was modified with modern sensors and a smart control system to control the surface temperature during the drying process and evaluate the influences on the product in terms of sensory quality parameters like shrinkage, deformation and colour alternation. The dehydration rate in the first drying period of the constant surface temperaturecontrolled methods is about 1.5 to 2.5 times faster than the conventional method where the air temperature is kept constant and the quality parameters are not significant affected

Astrometric Positions and Proper Motions of 19 Radio Stars

We have used the Very Large Array, linked with the Pie Town Very Long Baseline Array antenna, to determine astrometric positions of 19 radio stars in the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). The positions of these stars were directly linked to the positions of distant quasars through phase referencing observations. The positions of the ICRF quasars are known to 0.25 mas, thus providing an absolute reference at the angular resolution of our radio observations. Average values for the errors in our derived positions for all sources were 13 mas and 16 mas in R.A. and declination respectively, with accuracies approaching 1-2 mas for some of the stars observed. Differences between the ICRF positions of the 38 quasars, and those measured from our observations showed no systematic offsets, with mean values of -0.3 mas in R.A. and -1.0 mas in declination. Standard deviations of the quasar position differences of 17 mas and 11 mas in R.A. and declination respectively, are consistent with the mean position errors determined for the stars. Our measured positions were combined with previous Very Large Array measurements taken from 1978-1995 to determine the proper motions of 15 of the stars in our list. With mean errors of approximately 1.6 mas/yr, the accuracies of our proper motions approach those derived from Hipparcos, and for a few of the stars in our program, are better than the Hipparcos values. Comparing the positions of our radio stars with the Hipparcos catalog, we find that at the epoch of our observations, the two frames are aligned to within formal errors of approximately 3 mas. This result confirms that the Hipparcos frame is inertial at the expected level.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures Accepted by the Astronomical Journal, 2003 March 1

Palaeo plant diversity in subtropical Africa – ecological assessment of a conceptual model of climate–vegetation interaction

We here critically re-assess a conceptual model dealing with the potential effect of plant diversity on climate–vegetation feedback, and provide an improved version adjusted to plant types that prevailed during the African Humid Period (AHP). Our work contributes to the understanding of the timing and abruptness of vegetation decline at the end of the AHP, investigated by various working groups during the past two decades using a wide range of model and palaeoproxy reconstruction approaches. While some studies indicated an abrupt collapse of vegetation at the end of the AHP, others suggested a gradual decline. Claussen et al. (2013) introduced a new aspect in the discussion, proposing that plant diversity in terms of moisture requirements could affect the strength of climate–vegetation feedback. In a conceptual model study, the authors illustrated that high plant diversity could stabilize an ecosystem, whereas a reduction in plant diversity might allow for an abrupt regime shift under gradually changing environmental conditions. Based on recently published pollen data and the current state of ecological literature, we evaluate the representation of climate–vegetation feedback in this conceptual approach, and put the suggested conclusions into an ecological context. In principle, the original model reproduces the main features of different plant types interacting together with climate although vegetation determinants other than precipitation are neglected. However, the model cannot capture the diversity of AHP vegetation. Especially tropical gallery forest taxa, indirectly linked to local precipitation, are not appropriately represented. In order to fill the gaps in the description of plant types regarding AHP diversity, we modify the original model in four main aspects. First, the growth ranges in terms of moisture requirements are extended by upper limits to represent full environmental envelopes. Second, data-based AHP plant types replace the hypothetical plant types. Third, the tropical gallery forest type follows the gradual insolation forcing with a linear approximation because it relies more on large scale climate than on regional precipitation amounts. Fourth, we replace the dimensionless vegetation cover fractions with individual effective leaf areas to capture different contributions to climate–vegetation feedback. These adjustments allow for the consideration of a broader spectrum of plant types, plant-climate feedbacks, and implicitly for plant-plant interactions. With the consideration of full environmental envelopes and the prescribed retreat of the tropical gallery forest type we can simulate a diverse mosaic-like environment as it was reconstructed from pollen. Transient simulations of this diverse environment support the buffering effect of high functional diversity on ecosystem performance and precipitation, concluded by Claussen et al. (2013) from the simple approach. Sensitivity studies with different combinations of plant types highlight the importance of plant composition on system stability, and the stabilizing or destabilizing potential a single functional type may inherit. In a broader view, the adjusted model provides a useful tool to study the roles of real plant types in an ecosystem and their combined climate–vegetation feedback under changing precipitation regimes

Barriers for Individuals with Prediabetes from Enrolling in the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program

Introduction: This qualitative research study examined barriers to enrollment in YMCA of Greater Seattle’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and how to improve the enrollment and referral process. Methodology: This was a quality improvement project that used qualitative methods in the research design. Semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires were used to explore barriers in enrollment and to improve the referral and enrollment process from the perspective of participants with prediabetes referred to the DPP, YMCA staff who facilitate the DPP, and primary care providers who referred participant to the DPP. Results: A total of 10 interviews were conducted with the participants between the ages of 32-78 (P1-P10) who declined enrollment to the DPP. The cohort of participants were African heritage (n=6) , Asian (n=1) and White (n=3). There were a total of 8 women and two men. Five main themes resulted from the thematic analysis: 1) cost, 2) gap in communication, 3) time constraint, 4) adequate knowledge, and 5) program format. Three YMCA staff and one provider expressed similar barriers based on their perspectives. In addition, the referral process can be improved through a more thorough explanation of the DPP to eligible participants and reducing or covering the DPP cost. Conclusion: Better referral management, shared decision-making, and financial assistance seem to be the underpinning elements for the success of the participants’ enrollment into the DPP

The association between water kilomasers and compact radio sources in the starburst galaxy NGC2146

We report the detection of 22 GHz water vapor emission toward the starburst galaxy NGC2146, made using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope. Interferometric observations with the Very Large Array (VLA) show that a part of the emission originates from two prominent sites of star formation that are associated with compact radio continuum sources, likely ultra-compact HII regions. It is concluded that the emission arises from the most luminous and distant water `kilomasers' detected so far. Our data increase the number of water maser detections in northern galaxies (Dec > -30 deg) with 100 micron IRAS point source fluxes > 50 Jy to 18%.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Lette