Upper extremity peripheral neuropathies: role and impact of MR imaging on patient management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreisek, Gustav; Burg, Doris; Studer, Ansgar; Weishaupt, Dominik

2008-01-01

To investigate the role of MR imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of peripheral nerve lesions of the upper extremities and to assess its impact on the patient management. Fifty-one patients with clinical evidence of radial, median, and/or ulnar nerve lesions and unclear or ambiguous clinical findings had MRI of the upper extremity at 1.5 T. MR images and clinical data were reviewed by two blinded radiologists and a group of three clinical experts, respectively, with regard to radial, median, and/or ulnar nerve, as well as muscle abnormalities. MRI and clinical findings were correlated using Spearman's (p) rank correlation test. The impact of MRI on patient management was assessed by the group of experts and ranked as ''major,'' ''moderate,'' or ''no'' impact. The correlation of MRI and clinical findings was moderate for the assessment of the median/radial nerve and muscles (p=0.51/0.51/0.63, respectively) and weak for the ulnar nerve (p=0.40). The impact of MRI on patient management was assessed as ''major'' in 24/51 (47%), ''moderate'' in 19/51 (37%), and ''no'' in 8/51 (16%) patients. MRI in patients with upper extremity peripheral neuropathies and unclear or ambiguous clinical findings substantially influences the patient management. (orig.)

Directional Considerations for Extreme Wind Climatic Events in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper takes a look at the importance and role of probability concepts structural design of transmission line. The reliability of transmission structure is clearly a function of the maximum loads that may be imposed over the useful life of the structure. These loads are, more often than not, caused by the extreme atmospheric ...

The role of land-climate interactions for the regional amplification of temperature extremes in climate projections

Science.gov (United States)

Seneviratne, S. I.; Vogel, M.; Zscheischler, J.; Schwingshackl, C.; Davin, E.; Gudmundsson, L.; Guillod, B.; Hauser, M.; Hirsch, A.; Hirschi, M.; Humphrey, V.; Thiery, W.

2017-12-01

Regional hot extremes are projected to increase more strongly than the global mean temperature, with substantially larger changes than 2°C even if global warming is limited to this level (Seneviratne et al. 2016). This presentation will highlight the processes underlying this behavior, which is strongly related to land-climate feedbacks (Vogel et al. 2017). The identified feedbacks are also affecting the occurrence probability of compound drought and heat events (Zscheischler and Seneviratne 2017), with high relevance for impacts on forest fire and agriculture production. Moreover, the responsible land processes strongly contribute to the inter-model spread in the projections, and can thus be used to derive observations-based constraints to reduce the uncertainty of projected changes in climate extremes. Finally, we will also discuss the role of soil moisture effects on carbon uptake and their relevance for projections, as well as the role of land use changes in affecting the identified feedbacks and projected changes in climate extremes. References: Seneviratne, S.I., M. Donat, A.J. Pitman, R. Knutti, and R.L. Wilby, 2016: Allowable CO2 emissions based on regional and impact-related climate targets. Nature, 529, 477-483, doi:10.1038/nature16542. Vogel, M.M., R. Orth, F. Cheruy, S. Hagemann, R. Lorenz, B.J.J.M. Hurk, and S.I. Seneviratne, 2017: Regional amplification of projected changes in extreme temperatures strongly controlled by soil moisture-temperature feedbacks. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(3), 1511-1519, doi:10.1002/2016GL071235. Zscheischler, J., and S.I. Seneviratne, 2017: Dependence of drivers affects risks associated with compound events. Science Advances, 3(6), doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1700263

Role modelling in medical education: the importance of teaching skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Burgess, Annette; Oates, Kim; Goulston, Kerry

2016-04-01

By observation of role models, and participation in activities, students develop their attitudes, values and professional competencies. Literature suggests that clinical skills and knowledge, personality, and teaching skills are three main areas that students consider central to the identification of positive role models. The aim of this study was to explore junior medical students' opinions of the ideal attributes of a good role model in clinical tutors. The study was conducted with one cohort (n = 301) of students who had completed year 1 of the medical programme in 2013. All students were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding the ideal attributes of a good role model in a clinical tutor. The questionnaire consisted of seven closed items and one open-ended question. The response rate to the questionnaire was 265/301 (88%). Although students found all three key areas important in a good role model, students emphasised the importance of excellence in teaching skills. Specifically, students see good role models as being able to provide a constructive learning environment, a good understanding of the curriculum and an ability to cater to the learning needs of all students. Students see good role models as being able to provide a constructive learning environment While acknowledging the importance of a patient-centred approach, as well as clinical knowledge and skills, our findings reinforce the importance of the actual teaching abilities of role models within medical education. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Role of Women in Strengthening Communities Against Radicalisation and Violent Extremism in Kenya: A Theoritical Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Owiso, Michael Omondi; Mbulwa, Faith

2018-01-01

This paper examines the roles women play in strengthening communities against radicalisation and violent extremism. Radicalisation and violent extremism are precursor to terrorism and focusing on them amounts to preventing terrorism at an earlier stage, before it is too late for non coercive...... measures. The realisation that traditional methods of combating terrorism are expensive and destruct development gravely affecting women, who in the first place it seeks to protect, has led to handling its root causes which is radicalism and violent extremism with non coercive measure. Further, the number...... radicalised and become violent extremist who can engage in terror, is a measure to both in targeting front-end prevention of radicalisation as well as developing infrastructures for de-radicalisation. This study was guided by three theories that is; Frustration Aggression Hypothesis and Relative Deprivation...

Climate extremes, land-climate feedbacks and land-use forcing at 1.5°C.

Science.gov (United States)

Seneviratne, Sonia I; Wartenburger, Richard; Guillod, Benoit P; Hirsch, Annette L; Vogel, Martha M; Brovkin, Victor; van Vuuren, Detlef P; Schaller, Nathalie; Boysen, Lena; Calvin, Katherine V; Doelman, Jonathan; Greve, Peter; Havlik, Petr; Humpenöder, Florian; Krisztin, Tamas; Mitchell, Daniel; Popp, Alexander; Riahi, Keywan; Rogelj, Joeri; Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich; Sillmann, Jana; Stehfest, Elke

2018-05-13

This article investigates projected changes in temperature and water cycle extremes at 1.5°C of global warming, and highlights the role of land processes and land-use changes (LUCs) for these projections. We provide new comparisons of changes in climate at 1.5°C versus 2°C based on empirical sampling analyses of transient simulations versus simulations from the 'Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts' (HAPPI) multi-model experiment. The two approaches yield similar overall results regarding changes in climate extremes on land, and reveal a substantial difference in the occurrence of regional extremes at 1.5°C versus 2°C. Land processes mediated through soil moisture feedbacks and land-use forcing play a major role for projected changes in extremes at 1.5°C in most mid-latitude regions, including densely populated areas in North America, Europe and Asia. This has important implications for low-emissions scenarios derived from integrated assessment models (IAMs), which include major LUCs in ambitious mitigation pathways (e.g. associated with increased bioenergy use), but are also shown to differ in the simulated LUC patterns. Biogeophysical effects from LUCs are not considered in the development of IAM scenarios, but play an important role for projected regional changes in climate extremes, and are thus of high relevance for sustainable development pathways.This article is part of the theme issue 'The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'. © 2018 The Authors.

Climate extremes, land–climate feedbacks and land-use forcing at 1.5°C

Science.gov (United States)

Wartenburger, Richard; Guillod, Benoit P.; Hirsch, Annette L.; Vogel, Martha M.; Brovkin, Victor; van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Schaller, Nathalie; Boysen, Lena; Calvin, Katherine V.; Doelman, Jonathan; Greve, Peter; Havlik, Petr; Humpenöder, Florian; Krisztin, Tamas; Mitchell, Daniel; Popp, Alexander; Riahi, Keywan; Rogelj, Joeri; Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich; Sillmann, Jana; Stehfest, Elke

2018-01-01

This article investigates projected changes in temperature and water cycle extremes at 1.5°C of global warming, and highlights the role of land processes and land-use changes (LUCs) for these projections. We provide new comparisons of changes in climate at 1.5°C versus 2°C based on empirical sampling analyses of transient simulations versus simulations from the ‘Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts’ (HAPPI) multi-model experiment. The two approaches yield similar overall results regarding changes in climate extremes on land, and reveal a substantial difference in the occurrence of regional extremes at 1.5°C versus 2°C. Land processes mediated through soil moisture feedbacks and land-use forcing play a major role for projected changes in extremes at 1.5°C in most mid-latitude regions, including densely populated areas in North America, Europe and Asia. This has important implications for low-emissions scenarios derived from integrated assessment models (IAMs), which include major LUCs in ambitious mitigation pathways (e.g. associated with increased bioenergy use), but are also shown to differ in the simulated LUC patterns. Biogeophysical effects from LUCs are not considered in the development of IAM scenarios, but play an important role for projected regional changes in climate extremes, and are thus of high relevance for sustainable development pathways. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'. PMID:29610382

Climate extremes, land-climate feedbacks and land-use forcing at 1.5°C

Science.gov (United States)

Seneviratne, Sonia I.; Wartenburger, Richard; Guillod, Benoit P.; Hirsch, Annette L.; Vogel, Martha M.; Brovkin, Victor; van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Schaller, Nathalie; Boysen, Lena; Calvin, Katherine V.; Doelman, Jonathan; Greve, Peter; Havlik, Petr; Humpenöder, Florian; Krisztin, Tamas; Mitchell, Daniel; Popp, Alexander; Riahi, Keywan; Rogelj, Joeri; Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich; Sillmann, Jana; Stehfest, Elke

2018-05-01

This article investigates projected changes in temperature and water cycle extremes at 1.5°C of global warming, and highlights the role of land processes and land-use changes (LUCs) for these projections. We provide new comparisons of changes in climate at 1.5°C versus 2°C based on empirical sampling analyses of transient simulations versus simulations from the `Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts' (HAPPI) multi-model experiment. The two approaches yield similar overall results regarding changes in climate extremes on land, and reveal a substantial difference in the occurrence of regional extremes at 1.5°C versus 2°C. Land processes mediated through soil moisture feedbacks and land-use forcing play a major role for projected changes in extremes at 1.5°C in most mid-latitude regions, including densely populated areas in North America, Europe and Asia. This has important implications for low-emissions scenarios derived from integrated assessment models (IAMs), which include major LUCs in ambitious mitigation pathways (e.g. associated with increased bioenergy use), but are also shown to differ in the simulated LUC patterns. Biogeophysical effects from LUCs are not considered in the development of IAM scenarios, but play an important role for projected regional changes in climate extremes, and are thus of high relevance for sustainable development pathways. This article is part of the theme issue `The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'.

Plant volatiles in extreme terrestrial and marine environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Rinnan, Riikka; Steinke, Michael; McGenity, Terry; Loreto, Francesco

2014-08-01

This review summarizes the current understanding on plant and algal volatile organic compound (VOC) production and emission in extreme environments, where temperature, water availability, salinity or other environmental factors pose stress on vegetation. Here, the extreme environments include terrestrial systems, such as arctic tundra, deserts, CO₂ springs and wetlands, and marine systems such as sea ice, tidal rock pools and hypersaline environments, with mangroves and salt marshes at the land-sea interface. The emission potentials at fixed temperature and light level or actual emission rates for phototrophs in extreme environments are frequently higher than for organisms from less stressful environments. For example, plants from the arctic tundra appear to have higher emission potentials for isoprenoids than temperate species, and hypersaline marine habitats contribute to global dimethyl sulphide (DMS) emissions in significant amounts. DMS emissions are more widespread than previously considered, for example, in salt marshes and some desert plants. The reason for widespread VOC, especially isoprenoid, emissions from different extreme environments deserves further attention, as these compounds may have important roles in stress resistance and adaptation to extremes. Climate warming is likely to significantly increase VOC emissions from extreme environments both by direct effects on VOC production and volatility, and indirectly by altering the composition of the vegetation. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The role of the subtropical North Atlantic water cycle in recent US extreme precipitation events

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Laifang; Schmitt, Raymond W.; Ummenhofer, Caroline C.

2018-02-01

The role of the oceanic water cycle in the record-breaking 2015 warm-season precipitation in the US is analyzed. The extreme precipitation started in the Southern US in the spring and propagated northward to the Midwest and the Great Lakes in the summer of 2015. This seasonal evolution of precipitation anomalies represents a typical mode of variability of US warm-season precipitation. Analysis of the atmospheric moisture flux suggests that such a rainfall mode is associated with moisture export from the subtropical North Atlantic. In the spring, excessive precipitation in the Southern US is attributable to increased moisture flux from the northwestern portion of the subtropical North Atlantic. The North Atlantic moisture flux interacts with local soil moisture which enables the US Midwest to draw more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico in the summer. Further analysis shows that the relationship between the rainfall mode and the North Atlantic water cycle has become more significant in recent decades, indicating an increased likelihood of extremes like the 2015 case. Indeed, two record-high warm-season precipitation events, the 1993 and 2008 cases, both occurred in the more recent decades of the 66 year analysis period. The export of water from the North Atlantic leaves a marked surface salinity signature. The salinity signature appeared in the spring preceding all three extreme precipitation events analyzed in this study, i.e. a saltier-than-normal subtropical North Atlantic in spring followed by extreme Midwest precipitation in summer. Compared to the various sea surface temperature anomaly patterns among the 1993, 2008, and 2015 cases, the spatial distribution of salinity anomalies was much more consistent during these extreme flood years. Thus, our study suggests that preseason salinity patterns can be used for improved seasonal prediction of extreme precipitation in the Midwest.

The role of the tropical West Pacific in the extreme northern hemisphere winter of 2013/14

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Peter; Weisheimer, Antje; Knight, Jeff; Palmer, Tim

2016-04-01

In the 2013/14 winter, the eastern USA was exceptionally cold, the Bering Strait region was exceptionally warm, California was in the midst of drought and the UK suffered severe flooding. It has been suggested that elevated SSTs in the tropical West Pacific (TWPAC) were partly to blame due to their producing a Rossby wavetrain that propagated into the extratropics. We find that seasonal forecasts with the tropical atmosphere relaxed towards a reanalysis give 2013/14 winter-mean anomalies with strong similarities to those observed in the Northern Hemisphere, indicating that low-latitude anomalies had a role in the development of the extremes. Relaxing just the TWPAC produces a strong wavetrain over the North Pacific and North America in January, but not in the winter-mean. This suggests that anomalies in this region alone had a large influence, but cannot explain the extremes through the whole winter. We also examine the response to applying the observed TWPAC SST anomalies in two atmospheric general circulation models. We find that this does produce winter-mean anomalies in the North Pacific and North America resembling those observed, but that the tropical forcing of Rossby waves due to the applied SST anomalies appears stronger than that in reanalysis, except in January. Therefore both experiments indicate that the TWPAC influence was important, but the true strength of the TWPAC influence is uncertain. None of the experiments indicate a strong systematic impact of the TWPAC anomalies on Europe.

Understanding the Role of Air-Sea Interaction on Extreme Rainfall in Aquaplanet and Earth-like CESM2

Science.gov (United States)

Benedict, J. J.; Clement, A. C.; Medeiros, B.

2017-12-01

Extreme precipitation events are associated with anomalous, latitudinally dependent dynamical and convective weather systems. For example, plumes of excessive poleward water vapor transport and topographical effects drive extreme precipitation events in the midlatitudes, while intense tropical precipitation is associated with organized convective systems. In both cases, air-sea fluxes have the potential to contribute significantly to the moisture budget of these storms, but the roles of surface fluxes and upper-ocean processes and their impact on precipitation extremes have yet to be explored in sufficient detail. To examine such mechanisms, we implement a climate model hierarchy that encompasses a spectrum of ocean models, from prescribed-SST to fully dynamic, as well as both aquaplanet and Earth-like lower boundary types within version 2 of the Community Earth System Model (CESM2). Using the CESM2 hierarchy and comparing to observations, we identify key moisture processes and related air-sea interactions that drive extreme precipitation events across different latitudes in Earth-like models and then generalize the analyses in aquaplanet configurations to highlight the most salient features. The analyses are applied to both present-day and global warming conditions to investigate how these fundamental mechanisms might change extreme precipitation events in the future climate.

Coaching Teachers: An Important Principal Role. Research into Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Ronald

2012-01-01

A principal's most important role is instructional leader. There is a growing recognition of the importance of working with teachers, serving as a mentor and coach. Coaching has emerged as one of the more effective professional development options for adult learners. It is an important tool because it is an investment in human capital and in the…

How extreme is extreme hourly precipitation?

Science.gov (United States)

Papalexiou, Simon Michael; Dialynas, Yannis G.; Pappas, Christoforos

2016-04-01

The importance of accurate representation of precipitation at fine time scales (e.g., hourly), directly associated with flash flood events, is crucial in hydrological design and prediction. The upper part of a probability distribution, known as the distribution tail, determines the behavior of extreme events. In general, and loosely speaking, tails can be categorized in two families: the subexponential and the hyperexponential family, with the first generating more intense and more frequent extremes compared to the latter. In past studies, the focus has been mainly on daily precipitation, with the Gamma distribution being the most popular model. Here, we investigate the behaviour of tails of hourly precipitation by comparing the upper part of empirical distributions of thousands of records with three general types of tails corresponding to the Pareto, Lognormal, and Weibull distributions. Specifically, we use thousands of hourly rainfall records from all over the USA. The analysis indicates that heavier-tailed distributions describe better the observed hourly rainfall extremes in comparison to lighter tails. Traditional representations of the marginal distribution of hourly rainfall may significantly deviate from observed behaviours of extremes, with direct implications on hydroclimatic variables modelling and engineering design.

Operational early warning platform for extreme meteorological events

Science.gov (United States)

Mühr, Bernhard; Kunz, Michael

2015-04-01

Operational early warning platform for extreme meteorological events Most natural disasters are related to extreme weather events (e.g. typhoons); weather conditions, however, are also highly relevant for humanitarian and disaster relief operations during and after other natural disaster like earthquakes. The internet service "Wettergefahren-Frühwarnung" (WF) provides various information on extreme weather events, especially when these events are associated with a high potential for large damage. The main focus of the platform is on Central Europe, but major events are also monitored worldwide on a daily routine. WF provides high-resolution forecast maps for many weather parameters which allow detailed and reliable predictions about weather conditions during the next days in the affected areas. The WF service became operational in February 2004 and is part of the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM) since 2007. At the end of 2011, CEDIM embarked a new type of interdisciplinary disaster research termed as forensic disaster analysis (FDA) in near real time. In case of an imminent extreme weather event WF plays an important role in CEDIM's FDA group. It provides early and precise information which are always available and updated several times during a day and gives advice and assists with articles and reports on extreme events.

Social roles and the evolution of networks in extreme and isolated environments

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Jeffrey C.; Boster, James S.; Palinkas, Lawrence A.

2003-01-01

This article reports on the evolution of network structure as it relates to formal and informal social roles in well-bounded, isolated groups. Research was conducted at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Data were collected on crewmembers' networks of social interaction over each of three winter-over periods, when the station is completely isolated. In addition, data were collected on the informal roles played by crewmembers (e.g., instrumental leadership, expressive leadership). The study found that globally coherent networks in winter-over groups were associated with group consensus on the presence of critically important informal social roles (e.g., expressive leadership) where global coherence is the extent to which a network forms a single group composed of a unitary core and periphery as opposed to being factionalized into two or more subgroups. Conversely, the evolution of multiple subgroups was associated with the absence of consensus on critical informal social roles, above all the critically important role of instrumental leader.

The importance of role sending in the sensemaking of change agent roles.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Danielle A; Hendy, Jane; Barlow, James

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate what happens when a lack of role-sending results in ambiguous change agent roles during a large scale organisational reconfiguration. The authors consider the role of sensemaking in resolving role ambiguity of middle manager change agents and the consequences of this for organisational restructuring. Data were collected from a case study analysis of significant organisational reconfiguration across a local National Health Service Trust in the UK. Data consists of 82 interviews, complemented by analysis of over 100 documents and field notes from 51 hours of observations collected over five phases covering a three year period before, during and after the reconfiguration. An inductive qualitative analysis revealed the sensemaking processes by which ambiguity in role definition was resolved. The data explains how change agents collectively make sense of a role in their own way, drawing on their own experiences and views as well as cues from other organisational members. The authors also identified the organisational outcomes which resulted from this freedom in sensemaking. This study demonstrates that by leaving too much flexibility in the definition of the role, agents developed their own sensemaking which was subsequently very difficult to manipulate. In creating new roles, management first needs to have a realistic vision of the task and roles that their agents will perform, and second, to communicate these expectations to both those responsible for recruiting these roles and to the agents themselves. Much of the focus in sensemaking research has been on the importance of change agents' sensemaking of the change but there has been little focus on how change agents sensemake their own role in the change.

Moving in extreme environments: what's extreme and who decides?

Science.gov (United States)

Cotter, James David; Tipton, Michael J

2014-01-01

Humans work, rest and play in immensely varied extreme environments. The term 'extreme' typically refers to insufficiency or excess of one or more stressors, such as thermal energy or gravity. Individuals' behavioural and physiological capacity to endure and enjoy such environments varies immensely. Adverse effects of acute exposure to these environments are readily identifiable (e.g. heat stroke or bone fracture), whereas adverse effects of chronic exposure (e.g. stress fractures or osteoporosis) may be as important but much less discernable. Modern societies have increasingly sought to protect people from such stressors and, in that way, minimise their adverse effects. Regulations are thus established, and advice is provided on what is 'acceptable' exposure. Examples include work/rest cycles in the heat, hydration regimes, rates of ascent to and duration of stay at altitude and diving depth. While usually valuable and well intentioned, it is important to realise the breadth and importance of limitations associated with such guidelines. Regulations and advisories leave less room for self-determination, learning and perhaps adaptation. Regulations based on stress (e.g. work/rest cycles relative to WBGT) are more practical but less direct than those based on strain (e.g. core temperature), but even the latter can be substantively limited (e.g. by lack of criterion validation and allowance for behavioural regulation in the research on which they are based). Extreme Physiology & Medicine is publishing a series of reviews aimed at critically examining the issues involved with self- versus regulation-controlled human movement acutely and chronically in extreme environments. These papers, arising from a research symposium in 2013, are about the impact of people engaging in such environments and the effect of rules and guidelines on their safety, enjoyment, autonomy and productivity. The reviews will cover occupational heat stress, sporting heat stress, hydration, diving

New options for vascularized bone reconstruction in the upper extremity.

Science.gov (United States)

Houdek, Matthew T; Wagner, Eric R; Wyles, Cody C; Nanos, George P; Moran, Steven L

2015-02-01

Originally described in the 1970s, vascularized bone grafting has become a critical component in the treatment of bony defects and non-unions. Although well established in the lower extremity, recent years have seen many novel techniques described to treat a variety of challenging upper extremity pathologies. Here the authors review the use of different techniques of vascularized bone grafts for the upper extremity bone pathologies. The vascularized fibula remains the gold standard for the treatment of large bone defects of the humerus and forearm, while also playing a role in carpal reconstruction; however, two other important options for larger defects include the vascularized scapula graft and the Capanna technique. Smaller upper extremity bone defects and non-unions can be treated with the medial femoral condyle (MFC) free flap or a vascularized rib transfer. In carpal non-unions, both pedicled distal radius flaps and free MFC flaps are viable options. Finally, in skeletally immature patients, vascularized fibular head epiphyseal transfer can provide growth potential in addition to skeletal reconstruction.

Determining the role of the Internet in violent extremism and terrorism: six suggestions for progressing research

OpenAIRE

Conway, Maura

2016-01-01

Some scholars and others are skeptical of a significant role for the Internet in processes of violent radicalization. There is increasing concern on the part of other scholars, and increasingly also policymakers and publics, that easy availability of violent extremist content online may have violent radicalizing effects. This article identifies a number of core questions regarding the interaction of violent extremism and terrorism and the Internet, particularly social media, that have yet to ...

Importância dos minerais na alimentação do pré-termo extremo Minerals in the nutrition of extremely low birth weight infants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cleide E. P. Trindade

2005-03-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Revisão crítica da literatura sobre os minerais cálcio, fósforo e microelementos na nutrição do pré-termo extremo, considerando a importância no crescimento, mineralização óssea e como componente de dietas. FONTES DOS DADOS: Utilizamos o banco de dados MEDLINE e o Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, de 1994 a 2004. Selecionamos artigos com enfoques originais, artigos de revisão e livros específicos. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: As dificuldades na nutrição de prematuros extremos aumentam a freqüência de prematuros com restrição de crescimento, cujas conseqüências futuras estão para serem determinadas. Todavia, há pouca literatura sobre minerais, especialmente sobre micronutrientes na nutrição do pré-termo extremo, considerando-se o deficiente armazenamento e a importância destes em nutrição. O principal enfoque desta revisão foi sobre o cálcio e o fósforo na mineralização óssea e na suplementação em nutrição parenteral e enteral, bem como a avaliação crítica da nutrição pós-alta sobre a mineralização óssea. São abordadas as necessidades de micronutrientes, principalmente selênio e zinco, e a função antioxidante do selênio na provável prevenção de doenças do prematuro com atuação de radicais livres. CONCLUSÃO: Considerando os baixos estoques de minerais em prematuros extremos, há necessidade de mais pesquisas sobre minerais na nutrição destes prematuros para definir suas reais necessidades, os aspectos metabólicos, bem como aplicar os conhecimentos na formulação de dietas que permitam prevenir quadros de deficiência e conseqüências a longo prazo. Ainda há controvérsias sobre a influência de fórmulas pós-alta sobre a evolução da doença óssea da prematuridade.OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on the role of calcium, phosphorus and trace elements in the nutrition of extremely low birth weight infants, considering their importance for metabolism, bone mineralization

The Importance of Communication in Quality Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca Cristina Stanciu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available From a managerial perspective, communication is regarded as a process of understandingamong people by means of information exchange. According to the principle “quality starts withthe manager”, his role becomes crucial, one of the main traits of the manager’s behaviour beingthe ability to communicate effectively.Important in any aspect of quality management,communication plays an essential role in developing business projects. As a component of publicrelations, although less spectacular than marketing communication, quality managementcommunication is an exciting activity, extremely useful in projects management.This paper aims todemonstrate the economic role and the benefits of using communication as a tool of qualitymanagement programs for improving the quality of organizational activity.

Perceived Role Legitimacy and Role Importance of Australian School Staff in Addressing Student Cannabis Use

Science.gov (United States)

Gates, Peter J.; Norberg, Melissa M.; Dillon, Paul; Manocha, Ramesh

2013-01-01

The high prevalence of cannabis use by Australian secondary school students makes schools an ideal setting for the delivery of substance use prevention programs. Although efficacious school-based cannabis prevention programs exist, there is scant research investigating the perceived role legitimacy and role importance of school staff. As such,…

Longevity and relationships with children: the importance of the parental role

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanchez Maria-Teresa

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Social networks predict longevity across societies but specific mechanisms are largely unknown. The aim of this work was to examine the role of children in the longevity of elderly men and women in a cohort of community dwelling elderly people in Spain. Methods The data were taken from the "Aging in Leganes" cohort study with 15 years of follow-up. The baseline population was an age- and sex-stratified random sample of community dwelling people over 65 living in Leganés (Madrid in 1993. Poor relationship with at least one child, emotional support and the perceived roles elders play in the lives of their children, extended family, spouse and friends were assessed at baseline. Cox proportional hazards models were fit to investigate the effects of social roles variables on longevity, adjusting for a wide range of socioeconomic, behavioural and health covariates. Results In the fully adjusted model, having a poor relationship with at least one child increased mortality by 30%. Elderly persons who felt their role in their children's lives was important (HR = 0.70; 95% CI 0.54; 0.91 had a lower mortality risk than those who felt they played a small role. Feeling loved and listened to by one's children did not have an effect on survival. Maintaining an important role in the extended family was also significantly associated with survival. Conclusion In this Mediterranean population, maintaining an important role in the lives of one's children is associated with survival. Functions of social networks related to meaning of life and different forms of social support may have important effects on mortality, and these functions may vary across cultures according to family norms and values.

Roles and Importance of Microbes in the Radioactive Waste Disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baik, Min Hoon; Lee, Seung Yeop; Roh, Yeol

2009-01-01

Recently the importance and interest for the microbes has been increased because several important results for the effects of microbes on the radioactive waste disposal have been published continuously. In this study, research status and major results on the various roles and effects of microbes in the radioactive waste disposal have been investigated. We investigated and summarized the roles and major results of microbes in a multi-barrier system consisting of an engineered barrier and a natural barrier which is considered in radioactive waste disposal systems. For the engineered barrier, we discussed about the effects of microbes on the corrosion of a waste container and investigated the survival possibility and roles of microbes in a compacted bentonite buffer. For the natural barrier, the roles of microbes present in groundwaters and rocks were discussed and summarized with major results from natural analogue studies. Furthermore, we investigated and summarized the roles and various interactions processes of microbes and their effects on the radionuclide migration and retardation including recent research status. Therefore, it is expected that the effects and roles of microbes on the radioactive waste disposal can be rigorously evaluated if further researches are carried out for a long-term behavior of the disposal system in the deep geological environments and for the effects of microbes on the radionuclide migration through geological media.

Role of short-term dispersal on the dynamics of Zika virus in an extreme idealized environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor M. Moreno

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In November 2015, El Salvador reported their first case of Zika virus (ZIKV infection, an event followed by an explosive outbreak that generated over 6000 suspected cases in a period of two months. National agencies began implementing control measures that included vector control and recommending an increased use of repellents. Further, in response to the alarming and growing number of microcephaly cases in Brazil, the importance of avoiding pregnancies for two years was stressed. In this paper, we explore the role of mobility within communities characterized by extreme poverty, crime and violence. Specifically, the role of short term mobility between two idealized interconnected highly distinct communities is explored in the context of ZIKV outbreaks. We make use of a Lagrangian modeling approach within a two-patch setting in order to highlight the possible effects that short-term mobility, within highly distinct environments, may have on the dynamics of ZIKV outbreak when the overall goal is to reduce the number of cases not just in the most affluent areas but everywhere. Outcomes depend on existing mobility patterns, levels of disease risk, and the ability of federal or state public health services to invest in resource limited areas, particularly in those where violence is systemic. The results of simulations in highly polarized and simplified scenarios are used to assess the role of mobility. It quickly became evident that matching observed patterns of ZIKV outbreaks could not be captured without incorporating increasing levels of heterogeneity. The number of distinct patches and variations on patch connectivity structure required to match ZIKV patterns could not be met within the highly aggregated model that is used in the simulations. Keywords: Vector-borne diseases, Zika virus, Residence times, Multi-patch model

Hydrological impacts of precipitation extremes in the Huaihe River Basin, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Mangen; Chen, Xing; Cheng, Chad Shouquan

2016-01-01

Precipitation extremes play a key role in flooding risks over the Huaihe River Basin, which is important to understand their hydrological impacts. Based on observed daily precipitation and streamflow data from 1958 to 2009, eight precipitation indices and three streamflow indices were calculated for the study of hydrological impacts of precipitation extremes. The results indicate that the wet condition intensified in the summer wet season and the drought condition was getting worse in the autumn dry season in the later years of the past 50 years. The river basin had experienced higher heavy rainfall-related flooding risks in summer and more severe drought in autumn in the later of the period. The extreme precipitation events or consecutive heavy rain day events led to the substantial increases in streamflow extremes, which are the main causes of frequent floods in the Huaihe River Basin. The large inter-annual variation of precipitation anomalies in the upper and central Huaihe River Basin are the major contributor for the regional frequent floods and droughts.

Interjoint coordination of the lower extremities in short-track speed skating.

Science.gov (United States)

Khuyagbaatar, Batbayar; Purevsuren, Tserenchimed; Park, Won Man; Kim, Kyungsoo; Kim, Yoon Hyuk

2017-10-01

In short-track speed skating, the three-dimensional kinematics of the lower extremities during the whole skating cycle have not been studied. Kinematic parameters of the lower extremities during skating are presented as joint angles versus time. However, the angle-time presentation is not sufficient to describe the relationship between multi-joint movement patterns. Thus, angle-angle presentations were developed and used to describe interjoint coordination in sport activities. In this study, 15 professional male skaters' full body motion data were recorded using a wearable motion capture system during short-track speed skating. We investigated the three-dimensional kinematics of the lower extremities and then established the interjoint coordination between hip-knee and knee-ankle for both legs during the whole skating cycle. The results demonstrate the relationship between multi-joint movements during different phases of short-track speed skating. This study provides fundamentals of the movement mechanism of the lower extremities that can be integrated with physiotherapy to improve skating posture and prevent injuries from repetitive stress since physiological characteristics play an important role in skating performance.

The recent extreme hydrological events in the Western Amazon Basin: The role of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Espinoza, J.; Ronchail, J.; Guyot, J.; Santini, W.; Lavado, W.; Ore-Hybam Observatory

2013-05-01

by negative SST anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific during austral summer, corresponding to a La Niña mode. As a consequence of atmospheric teleconnections related to La Niña, the monsoon flux is retained over the Amazon and a strong convergence of humidity occurs in the north-western Amazon basin, favouring high rainfall and discharge. These features were also observed during the 2012 austral summer, with a major advection of humidity from the Caribbean Sea. During this event, an anticipated rainfall season also played an important role on the onset of the flood. In conclusion, recent works reveal an influence of the tropical North Atlantic on extreme droughts in the western Amazon, during the austral winter and spring, and a role of SST variability in the central equatorial Pacific to modulate floods intensity during the austral summer season.

ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

OpenAIRE

Gurneet Kaur

2017-01-01

Search Engines are an indispensible platform for users all over the globe to search for relevant information online. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the exercise of improving the position of a website in search engine rankings, for a chosen set of keywords. SEO is divided into two parts: On-Page and Off-Page SEO. In order to be successful, both the areas require equal attention. This paper aims to explain the functioning of the search engines along with the role and importance of search e...

Interevent Time Distribution of Renewal Point Process, Case Study: Extreme Rainfall in South Sulawesi

Science.gov (United States)

Sunusi, Nurtiti

2018-03-01

The study of time distribution of occurrences of extreme rain phenomena plays a very important role in the analysis and weather forecast in an area. The timing of extreme rainfall is difficult to predict because its occurrence is random. This paper aims to determine the inter event time distribution of extreme rain events and minimum waiting time until the occurrence of next extreme event through a point process approach. The phenomenon of extreme rain events over a given period of time is following a renewal process in which the time for events is a random variable τ. The distribution of random variable τ is assumed to be a Pareto, Log Normal, and Gamma. To estimate model parameters, a moment method is used. Consider Rt as the time of the last extreme rain event at one location is the time difference since the last extreme rainfall event. if there are no extreme rain events up to t 0, there will be an opportunity for extreme rainfall events at (t 0, t 0 + δt 0). Furthermore from the three models reviewed, the minimum waiting time until the next extreme rainfall will be determined. The result shows that Log Nrmal model is better than Pareto and Gamma model for predicting the next extreme rainfall in South Sulawesi while the Pareto model can not be used.

Non-Gaussian statistics of extreme events in stimulated Raman scattering: The role of coherent memory and source noise

Science.gov (United States)

Monfared, Yashar E.; Ponomarenko, Sergey A.

2017-10-01

We explore theoretically and numerically extreme event excitation in stimulated Raman scattering in gases. We consider gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibers as a particular system realization. We show that moderate amplitude pump fluctuations obeying Gaussian statistics lead to the emergence of heavy-tailed non-Gaussian statistics as coherent seed Stokes pulses are amplified on propagation along the fiber. We reveal the crucial role that coherent memory effects play in causing non-Gaussian statistics of the system. We discover that extreme events can occur even at the initial stage of stimulated Raman scattering when one can neglect energy depletion of an intense, strongly fluctuating Gaussian pump source. Our analytical results in the undepleted pump approximation explicitly illustrate power-law probability density generation as the input pump noise is transferred to the output Stokes pulses.

Violent Extremism, Community-Based Violence Prevention, and Mental Health Professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Weine, Stevan M; Stone, Andrew; Saeed, Aliya; Shanfield, Stephen; Beahrs, John; Gutman, Alisa; Mihajlovic, Aida

2017-01-01

New community-based initiatives being developed to address violent extremism in the United States are utilizing mental health services and leadership. This article reviews current approaches to preventing violent extremism, the contribution that mental illness and psychosocial problems can make to violent extremism, and the rationale for integrating mental health strategies into preventing violent extremism. The authors describe a community-based targeted violence prevention model and the potential roles of mental health professionals. This model consists of a multidisciplinary team that assesses at-risk individuals with comprehensive threat and behavioral evaluations, arranges for ongoing support and treatment, conducts follow-up evaluations, and offers outreach, education, and resources for communities. This model would enable mental health professionals in local communities to play key roles in preventing violent extremism through their practice and leadership.

Synoptic and meteorological drivers of extreme ozone concentrations over Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Otero, Noelia Felipe; Sillmann, Jana; Schnell, Jordan L.; Rust, Henning W.; Butler, Tim

2016-04-01

The present work assesses the relationship between local and synoptic meteorological conditions and surface ozone concentration over Europe in spring and summer months, during the period 1998-2012 using a new interpolated data set of observed surface ozone concentrations over the European domain. Along with local meteorological conditions, the influence of large-scale atmospheric circulation on surface ozone is addressed through a set of airflow indices computed with a novel implementation of a grid-by-grid weather type classification across Europe. Drivers of surface ozone over the full distribution of maximum daily 8-hour average values are investigated, along with drivers of the extreme high percentiles and exceedances or air quality guideline thresholds. Three different regression techniques are applied: multiple linear regression to assess the drivers of maximum daily ozone, logistic regression to assess the probability of threshold exceedances and quantile regression to estimate the meteorological influence on extreme values, as represented by the 95th percentile. The relative importance of the input parameters (predictors) is assessed by a backward stepwise regression procedure that allows the identification of the most important predictors in each model. Spatial patterns of model performance exhibit distinct variations between regions. The inclusion of the ozone persistence is particularly relevant over Southern Europe. In general, the best model performance is found over Central Europe, where the maximum temperature plays an important role as a driver of maximum daily ozone as well as its extreme values, especially during warmer months.

Assessing the ability of operational snow models to predict snowmelt runoff extremes (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, A. W.; Restrepo, P. J.; Clark, M. P.

2013-12-01

In the western US, the snow accumulation and melt cycle of winter and spring plays a critical role in the region's water management strategies. Consequently, the ability to predict snowmelt runoff at time scales from days to seasons is a key input for decisions in reservoir management, whether for avoiding flood hazards or supporting environmental flows through the scheduling of releases in spring, or for allocating releases for multi-state water distribution in dry seasons of year (using reservoir systems to provide an invaluable buffer for many sectors against drought). Runoff forecasts thus have important benefits at both wet and dry extremes of the climatological spectrum. The importance of the prediction of the snow cycle motivates an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the US's central operational snow model, SNOW17, in contrast to process-modeling alternatives, as they relate to simulating observed snowmelt variability and extremes. To this end, we use a flexible modeling approach that enables an investigation of different choices in model structure, including model physics, parameterization and degree of spatiotemporal discretization. We draw from examples of recent extreme events in western US watersheds and an overall assessment of retrospective model performance to identify fruitful avenues for advancing the modeling basis for the operational prediction of snow-related runoff extremes.

Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Patterns Associated with Temperature Extremes as a Basis for Model Evaluation: Methodological Overview and Results

Science.gov (United States)

Loikith, P. C.; Broccoli, A. J.; Waliser, D. E.; Lintner, B. R.; Neelin, J. D.

2015-12-01

Anomalous large-scale circulation patterns often play a key role in the occurrence of temperature extremes. For example, large-scale circulation can drive horizontal temperature advection or influence local processes that lead to extreme temperatures, such as by inhibiting moderating sea breezes, promoting downslope adiabatic warming, and affecting the development of cloud cover. Additionally, large-scale circulation can influence the shape of temperature distribution tails, with important implications for the magnitude of future changes in extremes. As a result of the prominent role these patterns play in the occurrence and character of extremes, the way in which temperature extremes change in the future will be highly influenced by if and how these patterns change. It is therefore critical to identify and understand the key patterns associated with extremes at local to regional scales in the current climate and to use this foundation as a target for climate model validation. This presentation provides an overview of recent and ongoing work aimed at developing and applying novel approaches to identifying and describing the large-scale circulation patterns associated with temperature extremes in observations and using this foundation to evaluate state-of-the-art global and regional climate models. Emphasis is given to anomalies in sea level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential height over North America using several methods to identify circulation patterns, including self-organizing maps and composite analysis. Overall, evaluation results suggest that models are able to reproduce observed patterns associated with temperature extremes with reasonable fidelity in many cases. Model skill is often highest when and where synoptic-scale processes are the dominant mechanisms for extremes, and lower where sub-grid scale processes (such as those related to topography) are important. Where model skill in reproducing these patterns is high, it can be inferred that extremes are

Extreme Descemet's membrane rupture with hydrops in keratoconus: Clinical and histological manifestations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I-Ping Loh

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To study the clinical and histological manifestations of an extreme Descemet's membrane rupture as a result of keratoconus. Observations: Using Periodic acid-Schiff assay to study a keratoconic cornea with an extreme rupture showed that the ruptured Descemet's membrane had retracted and folded into scrolls and ridges. The dimensions of the rupture were estimated to be 3.7mm2, and the central cornea was extremely thinned with a thickness of only 260μm. Stromal scarring and loosely packed lamellae were present anterior to the scrolls and ridges. Antibodies targetting the major components of Descemet's membrane, Laminin and type IV collagen, displayed intense labelling adjacent to the scrolls where the stroma was denuded and differential expression patterns lined the ridges. Environmental scanning electron microscopy showed possible collagen deposition at the site of rupture. Conclusions and importance: The specific staining patterns of laminin and type IV collagen suggest these components have an important role in re-endothelisation of the cornea. This is the first known report of spatial resolution of the topography of the Descemet's membrane rupture established by environmental scanning electron microscopic image montage. Keywords: Keratoconus, Descemet's membrane, Descemet's tear, Hydrops, Corneae, Histology

The role of extreme orbits in the global organization of periodic regions in parameter space for one dimensional maps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Diogo Ricardo da, E-mail: diogo_cost@hotmail.com [Departamento de Física, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP (Brazil); Hansen, Matheus [Departamento de Física, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP (Brazil); Instituto de Física, Univ. São Paulo, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, 05314-970, São Paulo – SP (Brazil); Guarise, Gustavo [Departamento de Física, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP (Brazil); Medrano-T, Rene O. [Departamento de Ciências Exatas e da Terra, UNIFESP – Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua São Nicolau, 210, Centro, 09913-030, Diadema, SP (Brazil); Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Leonel, Edson D. [Departamento de Física, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP (Brazil); Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34151 Trieste (Italy)

2016-04-22

We show that extreme orbits, trajectories that connect local maximum and minimum values of one dimensional maps, play a major role in the parameter space of dissipative systems dictating the organization for the windows of periodicity, hence producing sets of shrimp-like structures. Here we solve three fundamental problems regarding the distribution of these sets and give: (i) their precise localization in the parameter space, even for sets of very high periods; (ii) their local and global distributions along cascades; and (iii) the association of these cascades to complicate sets of periodicity. The extreme orbits are proved to be a powerful indicator to investigate the organization of windows of periodicity in parameter planes. As applications of the theory, we obtain some results for the circle map and perturbed logistic map. The formalism presented here can be extended to many other different nonlinear and dissipative systems. - Highlights: • Extreme orbits and the organization of periodic regions in parameter space. • One-dimensional dissipative mappings. • The circle map and also a time perturbed logistic map were studied.

The role of extreme orbits in the global organization of periodic regions in parameter space for one dimensional maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Diogo Ricardo da; Hansen, Matheus; Guarise, Gustavo; Medrano-T, Rene O.; Leonel, Edson D.

2016-01-01

We show that extreme orbits, trajectories that connect local maximum and minimum values of one dimensional maps, play a major role in the parameter space of dissipative systems dictating the organization for the windows of periodicity, hence producing sets of shrimp-like structures. Here we solve three fundamental problems regarding the distribution of these sets and give: (i) their precise localization in the parameter space, even for sets of very high periods; (ii) their local and global distributions along cascades; and (iii) the association of these cascades to complicate sets of periodicity. The extreme orbits are proved to be a powerful indicator to investigate the organization of windows of periodicity in parameter planes. As applications of the theory, we obtain some results for the circle map and perturbed logistic map. The formalism presented here can be extended to many other different nonlinear and dissipative systems. - Highlights: • Extreme orbits and the organization of periodic regions in parameter space. • One-dimensional dissipative mappings. • The circle map and also a time perturbed logistic map were studied.

Legacies from extreme drought increase ecosystem sensitivity to future extremes

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, M. D.; Knapp, A.; Hoover, D. L.; Avolio, M. L.; Felton, A. J.; Wilcox, K. R.

2016-12-01

Climate extremes, such as drought, are increasing in frequency and intensity, and the ecological consequences of these extreme events can be substantial and widespread. Although there is still much to be learned about how ecosystems will respond to an intensification of drought, even less is known about the factors that determine post-drought recovery of ecosystem function. Such knowledge is particularly important because post-drought recovery periods can be protracted depending on the extent to which key plant populations, community structure and biogeochemical processes are affected. These drought legacies may alter ecosystem function for many years post-drought and may impact future sensitivity to climate extremes. We experimentally imposed two extreme growing season droughts in a central US grassland to assess the impacts of repeated droughts on ecosystem resistance (response) and resilience (recovery). We found that this grassland was not resistant to the first extreme drought due to reduced productivity and differential sensitivity of the co-dominant C4 grass (Andropogon gerardii) and C3 forb (Solidago canadensis) species. This differential sensitivity led to a reordering of species abundances within the plant community. Yet, despite this large shift in plant community composition, which persisted post-drought, the grassland was highly resilient post-drought, due to increased abundance of the dominant C4 grass. Because of this shift to increased C4 grass dominance, we expected that previously-droughted grassland would be more resistant to a second extreme drought. However, contrary to these expectations, previously droughted grassland was more sensitive to drought than grassland that had not experienced drought. Thus, our result suggest that legacies of drought (shift in community composition) may increase ecosystem sensitivity to future extreme events.

Impact of soil moisture on extreme maximum temperatures in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirien Whan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Land-atmosphere interactions play an important role for hot temperature extremes in Europe. Dry soils may amplify such extremes through feedbacks with evapotranspiration. While previous observational studies generally focused on the relationship between precipitation deficits and the number of hot days, we investigate here the influence of soil moisture (SM on summer monthly maximum temperatures (TXx using water balance model-based SM estimates (driven with observations and temperature observations. Generalized extreme value distributions are fitted to TXx using SM as a covariate. We identify a negative relationship between SM and TXx, whereby a 100 mm decrease in model-based SM is associated with a 1.6 °C increase in TXx in Southern-Central and Southeastern Europe. Dry SM conditions result in a 2–4 °C increase in the 20-year return value of TXx compared to wet conditions in these two regions. In contrast with SM impacts on the number of hot days (NHD, where low and high surface-moisture conditions lead to different variability, we find a mostly linear dependency of the 20-year return value on surface-moisture conditions. We attribute this difference to the non-linear relationship between TXx and NHD that stems from the threshold-based calculation of NHD. Furthermore the employed SM data and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI are only weakly correlated in the investigated regions, highlighting the importance of evapotranspiration and runoff for resulting SM. Finally, in a case study for the hot 2003 summer we illustrate that if 2003 spring conditions in Southern-Central Europe had been as dry as in the more recent 2011 event, temperature extremes in summer would have been higher by about 1 °C, further enhancing the already extreme conditions which prevailed in that year.

Interpreting the Climatic Effects on Xylem Functional Traits in Two Mediterranean Oak Species: The Role of Extreme Climatic Events.

Science.gov (United States)

Rita, Angelo; Borghetti, Marco; Todaro, Luigi; Saracino, Antonio

2016-01-01

In the Mediterranean region, the widely predicted rise in temperature, change in the precipitation pattern, and increase in the frequency of extreme climatic events are expected to alter the shape of ecological communities and to affect plant physiological processes that regulate ecosystem functioning. Although change in the mean values are important, there is increasing evidence that plant distribution, survival, and productivity respond to extremes rather than to the average climatic condition. The present study aims to assess the effects of both mean and extreme climatic conditions on radial growth and functional anatomical traits using long-term tree-ring time series of two co-existing Quercus spp. from a drought-prone site in Southern Italy. In particular, this is the first attempt to apply the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale, and Shape (GAMLSS) technique and Bayesian modeling procedures to xylem traits data set, with the aim of (i) detecting non-linear long-term responses to climate and (ii) exploring relationships between climate extreme and xylem traits variability in terms of probability of occurrence. This study demonstrates the usefulness of long-term xylem trait chronologies as records of environmental conditions at annual resolution. Statistical analyses revealed that most of the variability in tree-ring width and specific hydraulic conductivity might be explained by cambial age. Additionally, results highlighted appreciable relationships between xylem traits and climate variability more than tree-ring width, supporting also the evidence that the plant hydraulic traits are closely linked to local climate extremes rather than average climatic conditions. We reported that the probability of extreme departure in specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks) rises at extreme values of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Therefore, changing frequency or intensity of extreme events might overcome the adaptive limits of vascular transport, resulting

Interpreting the climatic effects on xylem functional traits in two Mediterranean oak species: the role of extreme climatic events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelo Rita

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In the Mediterranean region, the widely predicted rise in temperature, change in the precipitation pattern and increase in the frequency of extreme climatic events are expected to alter the shape of ecological communities and to affect plant physiological processes that regulate ecosystem functioning. Although change in the mean values are important, there is increasing evidence that plant distribution, survival and productivity respond to extremes rather than to the average climatic condition. The present study aims to assess the effects of both mean and extreme climatic conditions on radial growth and functional anatomical traits using long-term tree-ring time series of two co-existing Quercus spp. from a drought-prone site in Southern Italy. In particular, this is the first attempt to apply the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS technique and Bayesian modeling procedures to xylem traits data set, with the aim of i detecting non-linear long-term responses to climate and ii exploring relationships between climate extreme and xylem traits variability in terms of probability of occurrence. This study demonstrates the usefulness of long-term xylem trait chronologies as records of environmental conditions at annual resolution. Statistical analyses revealed that most of the variability in tree-ring width and specific hydraulic conductivity might be explained by cambial age. Additionally, results highlighted appreciable relationships between xylem traits and climate variability more than tree-ring width, supporting also the evidence that the plant hydraulic traits are closely linked to local climate extremes rather than average climatic conditions. We reported that the probability of extreme departure in specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks rises at extreme values of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI. Therefore, changing frequency or intensity of extreme events might overcome the adaptive limits of vascular transport

Scientist Role Models in the Classroom: How Important Is Gender Matching?

Science.gov (United States)

Conner, Laura D. Carsten; Danielson, Jennifer

2016-01-01

Gender-matched role models are often proposed as a mechanism to increase identification with science among girls, with the ultimate aim of broadening participation in science. While there is a great deal of evidence suggesting that role models can be effective, there is mixed support in the literature for the importance of gender matching. We used…

Role and Importance of Evaluation in Management Enterprise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela NICOARA

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In determining the enterprise value is assessed, are taken into account all areas that help to generate future profits in the întreprindrii evaluated, respectively. In this respect, a special role is managerial decision.This is the main tool to achieve business objectives, which should be based on past actual situation of the enterprise, the current existing ralitatile on forecasting ability, but also work with other specialisti.Rezultatele assessment is an important source of decision management.

Infection in the ischemic lower extremity.

Science.gov (United States)

Fry, D E; Marek, J M; Langsfeld, M

1998-06-01

Infections in the lower extremity of the patient with ischemia can cover a broad spectrum of different diseases. An understanding of the particular pathophysiologic circumstances in the ischemic extremity can be of great value in understanding the natural history of the disease and the potential complications that may occur. Optimizing blood flow to the extremity by using revascularization techniques is important for any patient with an ischemic lower extremity complicated by infection or ulceration. Infections in the ischemic lower extremity require local débridement and systemic antibiotics. For severe infections, such as necrotizing fasciitis or the fetid foot, more extensive local débridement and even amputation may be required. Fundamentals of managing prosthetic graft infection require removing the infected prosthesis, local wound débridement, and systemic antibiotics while attempting to preserve viability of the lower extremity using autogenous graft reconstruction.

Probabilistic analysis of extreme wind events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chaviaropoulos, P.K. [Center for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), Pikermi Attikis (Greece)

1997-12-31

A vital task in wind engineering and meterology is to understand, measure, analyse and forecast extreme wind conditions, due to their significant effects on human activities and installations like buildings, bridges or wind turbines. The latest version of the IEC standard (1996) pays particular attention to the extreme wind events that have to be taken into account when designing or certifying a wind generator. Actually, the extreme wind events within a 50 year period are those which determine the ``static`` design of most of the wind turbine components. The extremes which are important for the safety of wind generators are those associated with the so-called ``survival wind speed``, the extreme operating gusts and the extreme wind direction changes. A probabilistic approach for the analysis of these events is proposed in this paper. Emphasis is put on establishing the relation between extreme values and physically meaningful ``site calibration`` parameters, like probability distribution of the annual wind speed, turbulence intensity and power spectra properties. (Author)

Gender, life role importance, and work-family conflict in Indonesia: A non-western perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuntari, I.S.R.; Janssens, J.M.A.M.; Ginting, H.

2017-01-01

This study examined gender differences among profiles based on life role importance on work-family conflict. The sample consisted of 404 Indonesia working couples with children. We found four profiles based on their work and family role importance that is a Family, Work, Dual and a Low profile. More

Controlling extreme events on complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu-Zhong; Huang, Zi-Gang; Lai, Ying-Cheng

2014-08-01

Extreme events, a type of collective behavior in complex networked dynamical systems, often can have catastrophic consequences. To develop effective strategies to control extreme events is of fundamental importance and practical interest. Utilizing transportation dynamics on complex networks as a prototypical setting, we find that making the network ``mobile'' can effectively suppress extreme events. A striking, resonance-like phenomenon is uncovered, where an optimal degree of mobility exists for which the probability of extreme events is minimized. We derive an analytic theory to understand the mechanism of control at a detailed and quantitative level, and validate the theory numerically. Implications of our finding to current areas such as cybersecurity are discussed.

ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES IN RESTAURANT BUSINESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivica Batinić

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Modern restaurant business, as part of a catering business, offers a variety of meals and beverages in restaurants and various related facilities. Promotional activities play a very important role in managing a restaurant and related facilities, because any serious restaurant facility must take all the necessary and effective measures in order to maintain regular guests and approach potential new guests. In this paper, I will write about conceptualizing restaurant business and elementary business systems in restaurant business. In a separate part, I will write about conceptualizing promotions and promotional activities as important factors in achieving better and more efficient communication of restaurants with regular and potential guests.

Statistical Model of Extreme Shear

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Gunner Chr.; Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose

2004-01-01

In order to continue cost-optimisation of modern large wind turbines, it is important to continously increase the knowledge on wind field parameters relevant to design loads. This paper presents a general statistical model that offers site-specific prediction of the probability density function...... by a model that, on a statistically consistent basis, describe the most likely spatial shape of an extreme wind shear event. Predictions from the model have been compared with results from an extreme value data analysis, based on a large number of high-sampled full-scale time series measurements...... are consistent, given the inevitabel uncertainties associated with model as well as with the extreme value data analysis. Keywords: Statistical model, extreme wind conditions, statistical analysis, turbulence, wind loading, statistical analysis, turbulence, wind loading, wind shear, wind turbines....

The Mediterranean Moisture Contribution to Climatological and Extreme Monthly Continental Precipitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danica Ciric

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Moisture transport from its sources to surrounding continents is one of the most relevant topics in hydrology, and its role in extreme events is crucial for understanding several processes such as intense precipitation and flooding. In this study, we considered the Mediterranean Sea as the main water source and estimated its contribution to the monthly climatological and extreme precipitation events over the surrounding continental areas. To assess the effect of the Mediterranean Sea on precipitation, we used the Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP database to characterize precipitation. The Lagrangian dispersion model known as FLEXPART was used to estimate the moisture contribution of this source. This contribution was estimated by tracking particles that leave the Mediterranean basin monthly and then calculating water loss (E − P < 0 over the continental region, which was modelled by FLEXPART. The analysis was conducted using data from 1980 to 2015 with a spatial resolution of 0.25°. The results showed that, in general, the spatial pattern of the Mediterranean source’s contribution to precipitation, unlike climatology, is similar during extreme precipitation years in the regions under study. However, while the Mediterranean Sea is usually not an important source of climatological precipitation for some European regions, it is a significant source during extreme precipitation years.

Nutrition security under extreme events

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, A.

2017-12-01

Nutrition security under extreme events. Zero hunger being one of the Sustainable Development Goal from the United Nations, food security has become a trending research topic. However extreme events impact on global food security is not yet 100% understood and there is a lack of comprehension of the underlying mechanisms of global food trade and nutrition security to improve countries resilience to extreme events. In a globalized world, food is still a highly regulated commodity and a strategic resource. A drought happening in a net food-exporter will have little to no effect on its own population but the repercussion on net food-importers can be extreme. In this project, we propose a methodology to describe and quantify the impact of a local drought to human health at a global scale. For this purpose, nutrition supply and global trade data from FAOSTAT have been used with domestic food production from national agencies and FAOSTAT, global precipitation from the Climate Research Unit and health data from the World Health Organization. A modified Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) has been developed to measure the level of resilience of one country to a drought happening in another country. This index describes how a country is dependent of importation and how diverse are its importation. Losses of production and exportation due to extreme events have been calculated using yield data and a simple food balance at country scale. Results show that countries the most affected by global droughts are the one with the highest dependency to one exporting country. Changes induced by droughts also disturbed their domestic proteins, fat and calories supply resulting most of the time in a higher intake of calories or fat over proteins.

Important plasma problems in astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulsrud, R.M.

1995-01-01

In astrophysics, plasmas occur under very extreme conditions. For example, there are ultrastrong magnetic fields in neutron stars, relativistic plasmas around black holes and in jets, extremely energetic particles such as cosmic rays in the interstellar medium, extremely dense plasmas in accretion disks, and extremely large magnetic Reynolds numbers in the interstellar medium. These extreme limits for astrophysical plasmas make plasma phenomena much simpler to analyze in astrophysics than in the laboratory. An understanding of such phenomena often results in an interesting way, by simply taking the extreme limiting case of a known plasma theory. The author will describe one of the more exciting examples and will attempt to convey the excitement he felt when he was first exposed to it. However, not all plasma astrophysical phenomena are so simple. There are certain important plasma phenomena in astrophysics that have not been so easily resolved. In fact, a resolution of them is blocking significant progress in astrophysical research. They have not yet yielded to attacks by theoretical astrophysicists nor to extensive numerical simulation. The author will attempt to describe one of the more important of these plasma--astrophysical problems, and discuss why its resolution is so important to astrophysics. This significant example is fast, magnetic reconnection. Another significant example is the large-magnetic-Reynolds number magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) dynamos

Important role for Toll-like receptor 9 in host defense against meningococcal sepsis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sjölinder, Hong; Mogensen, Trine; Kilian, Mogens

2008-01-01

have been reported to be involved in the host response to N. meningitidis. While TLR4 has been suggested to play an important role in early containment of infection, the roles of TLR2 and TLR9 in meningococcal disease are not well described. Using a model for meningococcal sepsis, we report that TLR9...... and induction of cytokine gene expression were independent of TLR2 or TLR9 in macrophages and conventional dendritic cells. In contrast, plasmacytoid dendritic cells relied entirely on TLR9 to induce these activities. Thus, our data demonstrate an important role for TLR9 in host defense against N. meningitidis....

Extreme low temperature tolerance in woody plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Richard Strimbeck

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Woody plants in boreal to arctic environments and high mountains survive prolonged exposure to temperatures below -40˚C and minimum temperatures below -60˚C, and laboratory tests show that many of these species can also survive immersion in liquid nitrogen at -196˚C. Studies of biochemical changes that occur during acclimation, including recent proteomic and metabolomic studies, have identified changes in carbohydrate and compatible solute concentrations, membrane lipid composition, and proteins, notably dehydrins, that may have important roles in survival at extreme low temperature. Consideration of the biophysical mechanisms of membrane stress and strain lead to the following hypotheses for cellular and molecular mechanisms of survival at extreme low temperature: 1. Changes in lipid composition stabilize membranes at temperatures above the lipid phase transition temperature (-20 to 30˚C, preventing phase changes that result in irreversible injury. 2. High concentrations of oligosaccharides promote vitrification or high viscosity in the cytoplasm in freeze-dehydrated cells, which would prevent deleterious interactions between membranes. 3. Dehydrins bind membranes and further promote vitrification or act stearically to prevent membrane-membrane interactions.

Detection and attribution of extreme weather disasters

Science.gov (United States)

Huggel, Christian; Stone, Dáithí; Hansen, Gerrit

2014-05-01

Single disasters related to extreme weather events have caused loss and damage on the order of up to tens of billions US dollars over the past years. Recent disasters fueled the debate about whether and to what extent these events are related to climate change. In international climate negotiations disaster loss and damage is now high on the agenda, and related policy mechanisms have been discussed or are being implemented. In view of funding allocation and effective risk reduction strategies detection and attribution to climate change of extreme weather events and disasters is a key issue. Different avenues have so far been taken to address detection and attribution in this context. Physical climate sciences have developed approaches, among others, where variables that are reasonably sampled over climatically relevant time periods and related to the meteorological characteristics of the extreme event are examined. Trends in these variables (e.g. air or sea surface temperatures) are compared between observations and climate simulations with and without anthropogenic forcing. Generally, progress has been made in recent years in attribution of changes in the chance of some single extreme weather events to anthropogenic climate change but there remain important challenges. A different line of research is primarily concerned with losses related to the extreme weather events over time, using disaster databases. A growing consensus is that the increase in asset values and in exposure are main drivers of the strong increase of economic losses over the past several decades, and only a limited number of studies have found trends consistent with expectations from climate change. Here we propose a better integration of existing lines of research in detection and attribution of extreme weather events and disasters by applying a risk framework. Risk is thereby defined as a function of the probability of occurrence of an extreme weather event, and the associated consequences

The role of extreme orbits in the global organization of periodic regions in parameter space for one dimensional maps

Science.gov (United States)

da Costa, Diogo Ricardo; Hansen, Matheus; Guarise, Gustavo; Medrano-T, Rene O.; Leonel, Edson D.

2016-04-01

We show that extreme orbits, trajectories that connect local maximum and minimum values of one dimensional maps, play a major role in the parameter space of dissipative systems dictating the organization for the windows of periodicity, hence producing sets of shrimp-like structures. Here we solve three fundamental problems regarding the distribution of these sets and give: (i) their precise localization in the parameter space, even for sets of very high periods; (ii) their local and global distributions along cascades; and (iii) the association of these cascades to complicate sets of periodicity. The extreme orbits are proved to be a powerful indicator to investigate the organization of windows of periodicity in parameter planes. As applications of the theory, we obtain some results for the circle map and perturbed logistic map. The formalism presented here can be extended to many other different nonlinear and dissipative systems.

Communicating natural hazards. The case of marine extreme events and the importance of the forecast's errors.

Science.gov (United States)

Marone, Eduardo; Camargo, Ricardo

2013-04-01

possible to produce short and long term forecasts. While the statistic of extremes is useful for many stakeholders, short term forecasts could be of importance for the whole society. Whatever the case, the prediction errors have to be emphasizes even more than the forecasts. The most common forecast in terms of general public understanding is the weather prediction. Nowadays, general public knows it well enough to properly deal with the uncertainties, because after so many year of not perfect forecasts, society knows the limits. Other coastal hazards deserve to be presented more carefully, and some successful example of the use of the precautionary principle could be observed, for instance, on the Pacific Tsunami alert system. Nowadays, the preparedness of the coastal population is good enough (even in such big and diverse area) not to be bored to run up the hill, most of the times unnecessarily, because they know the uncertainty and accept it. The key issue we, scientists, have to work better at any level, is the need of properly estimate and communicate the uncertainties of our results, cause they are not obvious nor irrelevant.

Assessing the role of farm-level adaptation in limiting the local economic impacts of more frequent extreme weather events in Dutch arable farming systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diogo, V.; Reidsma, P.; Schaap, B.; Koomen, E.; Fodor, Nándor

2017-01-01

The expected increase in extreme events frequency is likely to considerably affect future crop productivity. Appropriate adaptation measures in agricultural systems should be identified according to the main climate risks expected in a region and taking into account the role of decisions made at the

The important role of stratum corneum lipids for the cutaneous barrier function.

Science.gov (United States)

van Smeden, J; Janssens, M; Gooris, G S; Bouwstra, J A

2014-03-01

The skin protects the body from unwanted influences from the environment as well as excessive water loss. The barrier function of the skin is located in the stratum corneum (SC). The SC consists of corneocytes embedded in a lipid matrix. This lipid matrix is crucial for the lipid skin barrier function. This paper provides an overview of the reported SC lipid composition and organization mainly focusing on healthy and diseased human skin. In addition, an overview is provided on the data describing the relation between lipid modulations and the impaired skin barrier function. Finally, the use of in vitro lipid models for a better understanding of the relation between the lipid composition, lipid organization and skin lipid barrier is discussed. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled The Important Role of Lipids in the Epidermis and their Role in the Formation and Maintenance of the Cutaneous Barrier. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled The Important Role of Lipids in the Epidermis and their Role in the Formation and Maintenance of the Cutaneous Barrier. Guest Editors: Kenneth R. Feingold and Peter Elias. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Current status and issues of external event PSA for extreme natural hazards after Fukushima accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, In-Kil; Hahm, Daegi; Kim, Min Kyu

2014-01-01

Extreme external events is emerged as significant risk contributor to the nuclear power plants after Fukushima Daiichi accident due to the catastrophic earthquake followed by great tsunami greater than a design basis. This accident shows that the extreme external events have the potential to simultaneously affect redundant and diverse safety systems and thereby induce common cause failure or common cause initiators. The probabilistic risk assessment methodology has been used for the risk assessment and safety improvement against the extreme natural hazards. The earthquake and tsunami hazard is an important issue for the nuclear industry in Korea. In this paper, the role and application of probabilistic safety assessment for the post Fukushima action will be introduced. For the evaluation of the extreme natural hazard, probabilistic seismic and tsunami hazard analysis is being performed for the safety enhancement. The research activity on the external event PSA and its interim results will be introduced with the issues to be solved in the future for the reliability enhancement of the risk analysis results. (authors)

The Role and Importance of Spa and Wellness Tourism in Hungary's Tourism Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Csapó János

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents and highlights the role and importance of spa and wellness tourism in Hungary. Ever since tourism has played an important role in the social-economic processes of the country the leading tourism product proved to be health tourism (spa and wellness thanks to the advantageous physical geographical and social-political background. After the presentation of the country-specific theoretical system of spa and wellness, the paper examines the supply and the demand side together with competitor analysis and recent trends in spa and wellness in Hungary.

Quantitative release planning in extreme programming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Valkenhoef, Gert; Tervonen, Tommi; de Brock, Bert; Postmus, Douwe

Context: Extreme Programming (XP) is one of the most popular agile software development methodologies. XP is defined as a consistent set of values and practices designed to work well together, but lacks practices for project management and especially for supporting the customer role. The customer

Quantitative release planning in extreme programming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Valkenhoef, Gert; Tervonen, Tommi; de Brock, Bert; Postmus, Douwe

2011-01-01

Context: Extreme Programming (XP) is one of the most popular agile software development methodologies. XP is defined as a consistent set of values and practices designed to work well together, but lacks practices for project management and especially for supporting the customer role. The customer

Prediction of extreme floods in the Central Andes by means of Complex Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Boers, Niklas; Bookhagen, Bodo; Barbosa, Henrique; Marwan, Norbert; Kurths, Jürgen; Marengo, Jose

2014-05-01

subtropical South America than has been assumed so far: These cold fronts cause abundant rainfall in southeastern South America, but they also dictate the direction of low-level flow from the Amazon to the subtropics. The low-level flow provides moisture for extreme rainfall which subsequently propagates from the La Plata Basin towards the eastern slopes of the Central Andes. These events become particularly interesting in view of the important role of tropical to extra-tropical couplings for assessing impacts of global warming to regional climate systems.

Radiologic diagnosis of malignant soft-tissue tumors of the extremities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peters, P.E.; Friedmann, G.

1983-01-01

In malignant soft-tissue tumors of the extremities the radiologist is asked to define size and extent of the lesion and it's relationship to adjacent structures. The assessment of the nature of the lesion is of utmost importance, however, the contribution of the different imaging modalities varies considerably. In a review article the current roles of conventional radiography, xeroradiography, real-time ultrasonography, computed tomography and arteriography in the diagnostic workup of malignant soft-tissue tumors of the extremities are discussed. The statements made are based upon own comparative studies as well as on a review of the literature. In the assessment of the nature of a soft-tissue mass the contribution of all radiologic imaging methods is rather limited, although arteriography may add valuable information if performed complementary to CT. Real-time ultrasonography is well suited to define size, location and extent of peripheral soft-tissue masses. It is therefore recommended as the first imaging method and for follow-up studies. Equivocal findings by real-time sonography and new cases for treatment planning must be confirmed by computed tomography which proved to be the most reliable and the best reproducible imaging method for soft-tissue tumors of the extremities. (orig.)

Book review: Extreme ocean waves

Science.gov (United States)

Geist, Eric L.

2011-01-01

‘‘Extreme Ocean Waves’’ is a collection of ten papers edited by Efim Pelinovsky and Christian Kharif that followed the April 2007 meeting of the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union. A note on terminology: extreme waves in this volume broadly encompass different types of waves, includ- ing deep-water and shallow-water rogue waves (alternatively termed freak waves), storm surges from cyclones, and internal waves. Other types of waves such as tsunamis or rissaga (meteotsunamis) are not discussed in this volume. It is generally implied that ‘‘extreme’’ has a statistical connotation relative to the average or significant wave height specific to each type of wave. Throughout the book, in fact, the reader will find a combination of theoretical and statistical/ empirical treatment necessary for the complete examination of this subject. In the introduction, the editors underscore the importance of studying extreme waves, documenting several dramatic instances of damaging extreme waves that occurred in 2007. 

Sensitivity of UK butterflies to local climatic extremes: which life stages are most at risk?

Science.gov (United States)

McDermott Long, Osgur; Warren, Rachel; Price, Jeff; Brereton, Tom M; Botham, Marc S; Franco, Aldina M A

2017-01-01

There is growing recognition as to the importance of extreme climatic events (ECEs) in determining changes in species populations. In fact, it is often the extent of climate variability that determines a population's ability to persist at a given site. This study examined the impact of ECEs on the resident UK butterfly species (n = 41) over a 37-year period. The study investigated the sensitivity of butterflies to four extremes (drought, extreme precipitation, extreme heat and extreme cold), identified at the site level, across each species' life stages. Variations in the vulnerability of butterflies at the site level were also compared based on three life-history traits (voltinism, habitat requirement and range). This is the first study to examine the effects of ECEs at the site level across all life stages of a butterfly, identifying sensitive life stages and unravelling the role life-history traits play in species sensitivity to ECEs. Butterfly population changes were found to be primarily driven by temperature extremes. Extreme heat was detrimental during overwintering periods and beneficial during adult periods and extreme cold had opposite impacts on both of these life stages. Previously undocumented detrimental effects were identified for extreme precipitation during the pupal life stage for univoltine species. Generalists were found to have significantly more negative associations with ECEs than specialists. With future projections of warmer, wetter winters and more severe weather events, UK butterflies could come under severe pressure given the findings of this study. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological Society.

The Contribution of Extreme Precipitation to the Total Precipitation in China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SUN Jian-Qi

2012-01-01

Using daily precipitation data from weather stations in China, the variations in the contribution of extreme precipitation to the total precipitation are analyzed. It is found that extreme precipitation accounts for approximately one third of the total precipitation based on the overall mean for China. Over the past half century, extreme precipitation has played a dominant role in the year-to-year variability of the total precipitation. On the decadal time scale, the extreme precipitation makes different contributions to the wetting and drying regions of China. The wetting trends of particular regions are mainly attributed to increases in extreme precipitation; in contrast, the drying trends of other regions are mainly due to decreases in non-extreme precipitation.

Extreme climate, not extreme weather: the summer of 1816 in Geneva, Switzerland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Auchmann

2012-02-01

Full Text Available We analyze weather and climate during the "Year without Summer" 1816 using sub-daily data from Geneva, Switzerland, representing one of the climatically most severely affected regions. The record includes twice daily measurements and observations of air temperature, pressure, cloud cover, wind speed, and wind direction as well as daily measurements of precipitation. Comparing 1816 to a contemporary reference period (1799–1821 reveals that the coldness of the summer of 1816 was most prominent in the afternoon, with a shift of the entire distribution function of temperature anomalies by 3–4 °C. Early morning temperature anomalies show a smaller change for the mean, a significant decrease in the variability, and no changes in negative extremes. Analyzing cloudy and cloud-free conditions separately suggests that an increase in the number of cloudy days was to a significant extent responsible for these features. A daily weather type classification based on pressure, pressure tendency, and wind direction shows extremely anomalous frequencies in summer 1816, with only one day (compared to 20 in an average summer classified as high-pressure situation but a tripling of low-pressure situations. The afternoon temperature anomalies expected from only a change in weather types was much stronger negative in summer 1816 than in any other year. For precipitation, our analysis shows that the 80% increase in summer precipitation compared to the reference period can be explained by 80% increase in the frequency of precipitation, while no change could be found neither in the average intensity of precipitation nor in the frequency distribution of extreme precipitation. In all, the analysis shows that the regional circulation and local cloud cover played a dominant role. It also shows that the summer of 1816 was an example of extreme climate, not extreme weather.

An Na+/H+ antiporter gene from wheat plays an important role

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

PRAKASH KUMAR

might play an important role in salt and osmotic stress tolerance in plant cells. [Yu J N, Huang J, ..... of TaNHX2 might be related to salt tolerance in wheat. TaNHX2 might also ... This work was supported by National Basic Research Project.

Spatial dependence of extreme rainfall

Science.gov (United States)

Radi, Noor Fadhilah Ahmad; Zakaria, Roslinazairimah; Satari, Siti Zanariah; Azman, Muhammad Az-zuhri

2017-05-01

This study aims to model the spatial extreme daily rainfall process using the max-stable model. The max-stable model is used to capture the dependence structure of spatial properties of extreme rainfall. Three models from max-stable are considered namely Smith, Schlather and Brown-Resnick models. The methods are applied on 12 selected rainfall stations in Kelantan, Malaysia. Most of the extreme rainfall data occur during wet season from October to December of 1971 to 2012. This period is chosen to assure the available data is enough to satisfy the assumption of stationarity. The dependence parameters including the range and smoothness, are estimated using composite likelihood approach. Then, the bootstrap approach is applied to generate synthetic extreme rainfall data for all models using the estimated dependence parameters. The goodness of fit between the observed extreme rainfall and the synthetic data is assessed using the composite likelihood information criterion (CLIC). Results show that Schlather model is the best followed by Brown-Resnick and Smith models based on the smallest CLIC's value. Thus, the max-stable model is suitable to be used to model extreme rainfall in Kelantan. The study on spatial dependence in extreme rainfall modelling is important to reduce the uncertainties of the point estimates for the tail index. If the spatial dependency is estimated individually, the uncertainties will be large. Furthermore, in the case of joint return level is of interest, taking into accounts the spatial dependence properties will improve the estimation process.

NHE8 plays important roles in gastric mucosal protection

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Hua; Li, Jing; Chen, Huacong; Wang, Chunhui

2013-01-01

Sodium/hydrogen exchanger (NHE) 8 is an apically expressed membrane protein in the intestinal epithelial cells. It plays important roles in sodium absorption and bicarbonate secretion in the intestine. Although NHE8 mRNA has been detected in the stomach, the precise location and physiological role of NHE8 in the gastric glands remain unclear. In the current study, we successfully detected the expression of NHE8 in the glandular region of the stomach by Western blotting and located NHE8 protein at the apical membrane in the surface mucous cells by a confocal microscopic method. We also identified the expression of downregulated-in-adenoma (DRA) in the surface mucous cells in the stomach. Using NHE8−/− mice, we found that NHE8 plays little or no role in basal gastric acid production, yet NHE8−/− mice have reduced gastric mucosal surface pH and higher incidence of developing gastric ulcer. DRA expression was reduced significantly in the stomach in NHE8−/− mice. The propensity for gastric ulcer, reduced mucosal surface pH, and low DRA expression suggest that NHE8 is indirectly involved in gastric bicarbonate secretion and gastric mucosal protection. PMID:23220221

Hypoxia tolerance, nitric oxide, and nitrite: Lessons from extreme animals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fago, Angela; B. Jensen, Frank

2015-01-01

survival resides in concerted physiological responses, including strong metabolic depression, protection against oxidative damage and – in air breathing animals - redistribution of blood flow. Each of these responses is known to be tightly regulated by nitric oxide (NO) and during hypoxia by its metabolite...... nitrite. The aim of this review is to highlight recent work illustrating the widespread roles of NO and nitrite in the tolerance to extreme oxygen deprivation, in particular in the red-eared slider turtle and crucian carp, but also in diving marine mammals. The emerging picture underscores the importance...... of NO and nitrite signaling in the adaptive response to hypoxia in vertebrate animals....

Socioeconomic Attainment of Extremely Low Birth Weight Survivors: The Role of Early Cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobson, Kathleen G; Ferro, Mark A; Boyle, Michael H; Schmidt, Louis A; Saigal, Saroj; Van Lieshout, Ryan J

2017-03-01

To determine: (1) if childhood cognitive and academic abilities mediate the association between being born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW) and socioeconomic attainment at age 29 to 36 years; (2) which cognitive abilities (IQ, verbal abilities, fluid intelligence, mathematical abilities, or academic achievement) most strongly mediate this association; and (3) if the mediating role of cognition is different in ELBW survivors with significant neurosensory impairment (NSI). A prospective, longitudinal cohort of 100 Canadian ELBW survivors born between 1977 and 1982 and 89 normal birth weight comparison participants were used to examine the mediating role of childhood cognition by using 5 cognitive mediators assessed at age 8 years (overall IQ, verbal IQ, performance IQ, quantitative ability, and academic achievement) on socioeconomic attainment at adulthood. Socioeconomic attainment was defined as personal annual earnings and full-time employment assessed via self-report at age 29 to 36 years. Mediation models revealed that childhood cognition mediated the association between ELBW status and income attainment, with mathematical abilities and overall IQ each accounting for 26% of the direct effect. Mediated effects were not statistically significant in full-time employment models. For both outcomes, the mediating effect of cognition was stronger for ELBW survivors with NSI. Childhood cognitive abilities partially mediate associations between ELBW status and adult income attainment. Early life cognition is a critical predictor of socioeconomic attainment in ELBW survivors, particularly in those born with NSI. Interventions aimed at enhancing early cognition in ELBW survivors may help optimize their later socioeconomic attainment. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCES ON ROMANIA'S LABOR MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IRINA-ELENA CHIRTOC

2010-01-01

Full Text Available An increasingly important role in economic activity has the human resources. These are represented of population, also planning and management of such resources are extremely important, almost as important as raw materials and energy resources. Without people, any activity of exploitation of deposits is not possible, as otherwise there can be not possible any economic action or otherwise. The labor market in Romania has undergonesignificant changes in the process of economic transition, manifested by reducing the active and occupied people, by maintaining relatively steady unemployment rate and increasing youth unemployment and the long term unemployment, being affected mainly by the limited capacity of creation new jobs. In parallel with the reduction in employment people, it occurred significant changes in employment structure by sectors, industries, regions, types of ownership, age and occupational status.

Detection of trends in precipitation extremes in Zhejiang, east China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tian, Ye; Xu, YuePing; Booij, Martijn J.; Lin, Shengji; Zhang, Qingqing; Lou, Zhanghua

2012-01-01

Extreme weather exerts a huge impact on human beings and it is of vital importance to study the regular pattern of meteorological and hydrological factors. In this paper, a selection of seven extreme indices is used to analyze the trend of precipitation extremes of 18 meteorological stations located

Statistical Model of Extreme Shear

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose; Larsen, Gunner Chr.

2005-01-01

In order to continue cost-optimisation of modern large wind turbines, it is important to continuously increase the knowledge of wind field parameters relevant to design loads. This paper presents a general statistical model that offers site-specific prediction of the probability density function...... by a model that, on a statistically consistent basis, describes the most likely spatial shape of an extreme wind shear event. Predictions from the model have been compared with results from an extreme value data analysis, based on a large number of full-scale measurements recorded with a high sampling rate...

Relationship between stress and pain in work-related upper extremity disorders: the hidden role of chronic multisymptom illnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Clauw, Daniel J; Williams, David A

2002-05-01

Pain and fatigue are commonly associated with work-related upper extremity disorders. Occasionally these symptoms persist beyond a reasonable healing period. One potential explanation for prolonged symptom expression is the concurrent development of a stress-mediated illness or CMI (Chronic Multi-Symptom Illness). In such a scenario, the chronic regional pain and other symptoms that the individual is experiencing would be attributable to the CMI rather than to tissue damage or a biomechanical dysfunction of the upper-extremity. This article critically reviews the case definitions of the new class of CMI disorders and evaluates the existing evidence supporting centrally mediated physiological changes (e.g., sensory hypervigilance, dysautonomia) that manifest as symptoms of pain and fatigue in some individuals experiencing chronic stressors. While explanations for prolonged pain and fatigue have historically focused on mechanisms involving peripheral pathology or psychiatric explanations, ample evidences support the role of altered Central Nervous System function in accounting for symptom manifestation in CMI. A model is presented that unites seemingly disparate findings across numerous investigations and provides a framework for understanding how genetics, triggering events, stressors, and early life events can affect CNS activity. Resultant symptom expression (e.g., pain and fatigue) from central dysregulation would be expected to occur in a subset of individuals in the population, including a subset of individuals with work-related upper extremity disorders. Thus when symptoms such as pain and fatigue persist beyond a reasonable period, consideration of CMI and associated assessment and interventions focused on central mechanisms may be worthwhile.

Imaging of upper extremity stress fractures in the athlete.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Mark W

2006-07-01

Although it is much less common than injuries in the lower extremities, an upper extremity stress injury can have a significant impact on an athlete. If an accurate and timely diagnosis is to be made, the clinician must have a high index of suspicion of a stress fracture in any athlete who is involved in a throwing, weightlifting, or upper extremity weight-bearing sport and presents with chronic pain in the upper extremity. Imaging should play an integral role in the work-up of these patients; if initial radiographs are unrevealing, further cross-sectional imaging should be strongly considered. Although a three-phase bone scan is highly sensitive in this regard, MRI has become the study of choice at most centers.

Case study: Rainfall partitioning across a natural-to-urban forest gradient during an extreme rain event

Science.gov (United States)

Akin, B. H.; Van Stan, J. T., II; Cote, J. F.; Jarvis, M. T.; Underwood, J.; Friesen, J.; Hildebrandt, A.; Maldonado, G.

2017-12-01

Trees' partitioning of rainfall is an important first process along the rainfall-to-runoff pathway that has economically significant influences on urban stormwater management. However, important knowledge gaps exist regarding (1) its role during extreme storms and (2) how this role changes as forest structure is altered by urbanization. Little research has been conducted on canopy rainfall partitioning during large, intense storms, likely because canopy water storage is rapidly overwhelmed (i.e., 1-3 mm) by short duration events exceeding, for example, 80 mm of rainfall. However, canopy structure controls more than just storage; it also affects the time for rain to drain to the surface (becoming throughfall) and the micrometeorological conditions that drive wet canopy evaporation. In fact, observations from an example extreme ( 100 mm with maximum 5-minute intensities exceeding 55 mm/h) storm across a urban-to-natural gradient in pine forests in southeast Georgia (USA), show that storm intensities were differentially dampened by 33% (tree row), 28% (forest fragment), and 17% (natural forests). In addition, maximum wet canopy evaporation rates were higher for the exposed tree row (0.18 mm/h) than for the partially-enclosed fragment canopy (0.14 mm/h) and the closed canopy natural forest site (0.11). This resulted in interception percentages decreasing from urban-to-natural stand structures (25% to 16%). A synoptic analysis of the extreme storm in this case study also shows that the mesoscale meteorological conditions that developed the heavy rainfall is expected to occur more often with projected climate changes.

A dependence modelling study of extreme rainfall in Madeira Island

Science.gov (United States)

Gouveia-Reis, Délia; Guerreiro Lopes, Luiz; Mendonça, Sandra

2016-08-01

The dependence between variables plays a central role in multivariate extremes. In this paper, spatial dependence of Madeira Island's rainfall data is addressed within an extreme value copula approach through an analysis of maximum annual data. The impact of altitude, slope orientation, distance between rain gauge stations and distance from the stations to the sea are investigated for two different periods of time. The results obtained highlight the influence of the island's complex topography on the spatial distribution of extreme rainfall in Madeira Island.

DREAM plays an important role in platelet activation and thrombogenesis

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyungho; Tseng, Alan; Barazia, Andrew; Italiano, Joseph E.

2017-01-01

Downstream regulatory element antagonist modulator (DREAM), a transcriptional repressor, is known to modulate pain responses. However, it is unknown whether DREAM is expressed in anucleate platelets and plays a role in thrombogenesis. By using intravital microscopy with DREAM-null mice and their bone marrow chimeras, we demonstrated that both hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cell DREAMs are required for platelet thrombus formation following laser-induced arteriolar injury. In a FeCl3-induced thrombosis model, we found that compared with wild-type (WT) control and nonhematopoietic DREAM knockout (KO) mice, DREAM KO control and hematopoietic DREAM KO mice showed a significant delay in time to occlusion. Tail bleeding time was prolonged in DREAM KO control mice, but not in WT or DREAM bone marrow chimeric mice. In vivo adoptive transfer experiments further indicated the importance of platelet DREAM in thrombogenesis. We found that DREAM deletion does not alter the ultrastructural features of platelets but significantly impairs platelet aggregation and adenosine triphosphate secretion induced by numerous agonists (collagen-related peptide, adenosine 5′-diphosphate, A23187, thrombin, or U46619). Biochemical studies revealed that platelet DREAM positively regulates phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activity during platelet activation. Using DREAM-null platelets and PI3K isoform-specific inhibitors, we observed that platelet DREAM is important for α-granule secretion, Ca2+ mobilization, and aggregation through PI3K class Iβ (PI3K-Iβ). Genetic and pharmacological studies in human megakaryoblastic MEG-01 cells showed that DREAM is important for A23187-induced Ca2+ mobilization and its regulatory function requires Ca2+ binding and PI3K-Iβ activation. These results suggest that platelet DREAM regulates PI3K-Iβ activity and plays an important role during thrombus formation. PMID:27903531

Role and importance of workshops in the development of heritage protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Živa Deu

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This contribution presents a detailed account of the role and importance of urbanist-architecture and architecture workshops. The analysis of the chosen sample of twenty-five workshops tied to the developmental protection of the heritage of built structures and the preservation of immobile cultural heritage as a whole illuminates the pedagogic importance and examines the transmission of workshop products into practice. It has been established that in addition to raising new architects the workshops posses a wider educational importance. Apart from the client the workshop process includes the local inhabitants who, through the process, familiarize themselves with less well known expert and practical knowledge. Without it any expectation of a quality settlement of vital building heritage would not be merited. An overview of the results stemming from the workshops demonstrates that practical applications do not achieve desired results. Many products remained locked in the clients’ desk drawers with less than half ever put into practice. All the workshops, including the ones not, or not yet realised in their intended form, produced material of lasting value, specifically in the work of the regional Institutes for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. The materials handed over to institutes playing an important role in the productive efforts of the high grade of protection and development of heritage include multi-layered analyses of valuable built structures and architectural recordings. From the point of view of developmental protection of Slovenian cultural heritage and due to the demonstrated use of important analytic material and especially due to their proven educational value the exercise of workshops in various settlements of Slovenian space is indispensable.

Extremes in nature

CERN Document Server

Salvadori, Gianfausto; Kottegoda, Nathabandu T

2007-01-01

This book is about the theoretical and practical aspects of the statistics of Extreme Events in Nature. Most importantly, this is the first text in which Copulas are introduced and used in Geophysics. Several topics are fully original, and show how standard models and calculations can be improved by exploiting the opportunities offered by Copulas. In addition, new quantities useful for design and risk assessment are introduced.

Early neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Elizabeth E; Hintz, Susan R

2016-12-01

Infants born at extreme preterm gestation are at risk for both death and disability. Although rates of survival have improved for this population, and some evidence suggests a trend toward decreased neuromotor impairment over the past decades, a significant improvement in overall early neurodevelopmental outcome has not yet been realized. This review will examine the rates and types of neurodevelopmental impairment seen after extremely preterm birth, including neurosensory, motor, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. We focus on early outcomes in the first 18-36 months of life, as the majority of large neonatal studies examining neurodevelopmental outcomes stop at this age. However, this early age is clearly just a first glimpse into lifetime outcomes; the neurodevelopmental effects of extreme prematurity may last through school age, adolescence, and beyond. Importantly, prematurity appears to be an independent risk factor for adverse development, but this population demonstrates considerable variability in the types and severity of impairments. Understanding both the nature and prevalence of neurodevelopmental impairment among extremely preterm infants is important because it can lead to targeted interventions that in turn may lead to improved outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF COMPANY CRISIS DIAGNOSIS IN ANTI-CRISIS MANAGEMENT

OpenAIRE

Klodane, Alona

2016-01-01

Nowadays, under a free market, crises at companies are a frequent phenomenon; however, anti-crisis management and related aspects are currently a little researched problem in Latvia. The research aim is to examine the nature of company crisis diagnosis and its role and importance in the anti-crisis management system. The research general tasks are: to describe the nature of company crisis diagnosis and review the scope, purpose and tasks of performing a diagnosis; to examine the role and impo...

Sensitivity of European wheat to extreme weather

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mäkinen, H; Kaseva, J; Trnka, M

2018-01-01

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather is increasing concomitant with changes in the global climate change. Although wheat is the most important food crop in Europe, there is currently no comprehensive empirical information available regarding the sensitivity of European wheat to extreme...... weather. In this study, we assessed the sensitivity of European wheat yields to extreme weather related to phenology (sowing, heading) in cultivar trials across Europe (latitudes 37.21° to 61.34° and longitudes −6.02° to 26.24°) during the period 1991–2014. All the observed agro-climatic extremes (≥31 °C...... wheat cultivars that responded positively (+10%) to drought after sowing, or frost during winter (−15 °C and −20 °C). Positive responses to extremes were often shown by cultivars associated with specific regions, such as good performance under high temperatures by southern-origin cultivars. Consequently...

Profiles of Attribution of Importance to Life Roles and Their Implications for the Work-Family Conflict

Science.gov (United States)

Cinamon, Rachel Gali; Rich, Yisrael

2002-01-01

Cluster analysis identified 3 groups of individuals who differed systematically on attributions of relative importance to work and to family roles. Participants were 213 married computer workers and lawyers, 126 men and 87 women. Questionnaires gathered data on attributions of importance to life roles, work-family conflict, spousal and managerial…

On the limit distribution of lower extreme generalized order statistics

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. In a wide subclass of generalized order statistics (gOs), which contains most of the known and important models of ordered random variables, weak conver- gence of lower extremes are developed. A recent result of extreme value theory of m−gOs (as well as the classical extreme value theory of ordinary order ...

MR manifestation of lower extremity rhabdomyolysis caused by crush injury in earthquake

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhengyan; Zou Ling; Song Bin; Liu Chang; Sun Jiayu; Zhang Weiwei; Zhang Cuiping

2008-01-01

Objective: Rhabdomyolysis (RM) is a common disorder resulting from a large variety of causes. Acute injury is one of the main reasons. The purpose is to describe the MRI manifestations of rhabdomyolysis caused by 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province and to discuss their importance in diagnosis and treatment of rhabdomyolysison in clinic practice. Methods: Three patients with rhabdomyolysis caused by earthquake were studied via 1.5 T MRI. In all the patients, T 1 and T 2 weighted sequences with and without fat suppression, and short time inversion recovery (STIR) of both lower extremities were obtained in axial, coronal and sagittal planes. All patients were given contrast material during imaging, and MRA (magnetic resonance angiography) of both lower extremity vessels were performed. The MRI characteristics of damaged extremities in 3 cases were studied. Results: MRI showed swelling of the affected muscles and subcutaneous fat tissue on both T 1 and T 2 weighted images. The margins of involved muscles were blurred. On T 1 weighted images, swollen muscles showed equal or slightly decreased intensity with small patterns of increased intensity in some local areas. On T 2 weighted and STIR sequences, the affected muscles showed inhomogeneous increased signal intensity with clearer margin. Slight fluid collection in spatium intermusculare was observed. Contrast-enhanced scanning showed nonhomologous intensification of damaged muscles, the enhancement inside the muscles was decreased when compared with normal muscles. The locations of all these abnormal intensity were correlated with the injury history and clinic physical examinations. MRA showed no lower extremity vessels were affected. Conclusion: MRI has very high sensitivity in detecting the injury of muscles. It's very useful in evaluating the extent and severity of muscles affected in rhabdomyolysis caused by trauma. Also it's very valuable to evaluate the condition of blood vessels in involved extremity

Doppler Sonographic Evaluation of Venogenic Extremity Swellings ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2017-09-14

Sep 14, 2017 ... potentially lead to many complications including life-threatening pulmonary arterial thrombosis. Screening and confirmation ... and exclusion of acute lower extremity DVT. Duplex ultrasound is considered as the ... this study evaluates the role of Doppler sonography in the clinical management of suspected.

Relevance of land forcings and feedbacks in the attribution of climate extremes

Science.gov (United States)

Seneviratne, S. I.; Davin, E.; Greve, P.; Gudmundsson, L.; Hauser, M.; Hirschi, M.; Mueller, B.; Orlowsky, B.; Orth, R.

2014-12-01

Land forcings and feedbacks play an important role in the climate system, in particular for the occurrence of climate extremes. Recent investigations have for instance highlighted the impacts of soil moisture-climate interactions for the development of droughts and heat waves (e.g. Seneviratne et al. 2012, Mueller and Seneviratne 2012, Seneviratne et al. 2013, Orlowsky and Seneviratne 2013). In addition, forcing from land use and land cover changes through modified albedo or turbulent fluxes can also affect the temperature variability in summer (Davin et al. 2014). These effects are important for better understanding the relationships between climate forcing and regional climate changes, and appear relevant for a recent discrepancy between trends in global mean temperature vs hot extremes over land (Seneviratne et al. 2014). This presentation will provide an overview on the underlying processes and on possible approaches for their consideration in attribution research. References:- Davin, E.L., S.I. Seneviratne, P. Ciais, A. Olioso, T. Wang, 2014: Preferential cooling of hot extremes from cropland albedo management. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., Published ahead of print June 23, 2014.- Mueller, B., and S.I. Seneviratne, 2012: Hot days induced by precipitation deficits at the global scale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109 (31), 12398-12403, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1204330109.- Orlowsky, B., and S.I. Seneviratne, 2013: Elusive drought: Uncertainty in observed trends and short- and long-term CMIP5 projections. Hydr. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1765-1781, doi:10.5194/hess-17-1765-2013- Seneviratne, S.I., N. Nicholls, et al., 2012: Changes in climate extremes and their impacts on the natural physical environment. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., et al. (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, pp. 109-230.- Seneviratne, S.I., et al

LEADERSHIP IMPORTANCE AND ROLE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR - FEATURES IN THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MAGDALENA IORDACHE-PLATIS

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Nowadays leadership is considered a managerial and organizational process that influences and guides the activities of the companies. As a management process, leadership can systematically influence the relationships that occur between managers and employees as a result of applying the management functions application. This study aims to highlight the main elements that designate the modern and revolutionary concept named”leadership”. The main objectives of the study are: 1. explaining the importance of leadership in the contemporary context; 2. analyzing the similarities and differences between two seemingly similar concepts - “leadership” and “management”; 3. description of the main management styles; 4. analyzing the correlation between leadership and emotional intelligence; 5. explaining leadership role in the public sector in Romania. In every company leadership has a very important role in achieving performance. The leader also plays an important role in a company, because a leader is the person who influences the behavior, actions, positive or negative attitude of others who are determined to act and take decisions voluntarily without fear of being punished if they do not follow the leader. Emotional self-awareness, trust, adaptability, initiative, optimism and team spirit are the ingredients of modern management style which determines the competitiveness of an organization.

On the Limit Distribution of Lower Extreme Generalized Order Statistics

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In a wide subclass of generalized order statistics ( g O s ) , which contains most of the known and important models of ordered random variables, weak convergence of lower extremes are developed. A recent result of extreme value theory of m − g O s (as well as the classical extreme value theory of ordinary order statistics) ...

Mathematical Analysis of Extremity Immersion Cooling for Brain Temperature Management

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Xu, Xiaojiang; Santee, William; Berglund, Larry; Gonzalez, Richard

2004-01-01

.... As blood flow rates and surface-to-volume ratios are generally high in the extremities, heat exchange between the body and the environment through the extremities is an important path for heat exchange...

Cell Competition: Roles and Importance as a Central Phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Manish; Antala, Bhavesh; Shrivastava, Neeta

2015-01-01

Cell competition is a type of short-range cell-cell interaction first observed in Drosophila melanogaster. In two heterogeneous cell populations, cells that have a higher fitness level would have a competitive advantage and grow at the cost of neighbor cells that have comparatively lower fitness. This interaction is due to differences in expression levels of a specific protein in the two cell populations, and it is known as cell competition. In this review, we have studied recent findings of cell competition in different biological processes in Drosophila as well as mammalian systems. The purpose of this review is to collate important studies of competitive cell interactions, and to understand its roles and importance as a central phenomenon. This review provides evidence of the relevance of cell competition in various physiological and pathological conditions, such as size control in organ development, stem cell maintenance, tissue repair, organ regeneration, aging, formation of memory, and cancer.

Insertion sequences enrichment in extreme Red sea brine pool vent

KAUST Repository

Elbehery, Ali H. A.

2016-12-03

Mobile genetic elements are major agents of genome diversification and evolution. Limited studies addressed their characteristics, including abundance, and role in extreme habitats. One of the rare natural habitats exposed to multiple-extreme conditions, including high temperature, salinity and concentration of heavy metals, are the Red Sea brine pools. We assessed the abundance and distribution of different mobile genetic elements in four Red Sea brine pools including the world’s largest known multiple-extreme deep-sea environment, the Red Sea Atlantis II Deep. We report a gradient in the abundance of mobile genetic elements, dramatically increasing in the harshest environment of the pool. Additionally, we identified a strong association between the abundance of insertion sequences and extreme conditions, being highest in the harshest and deepest layer of the Red Sea Atlantis II Deep. Our comparative analyses of mobile genetic elements in secluded, extreme and relatively non-extreme environments, suggest that insertion sequences predominantly contribute to polyextremophiles genome plasticity.

Role of strangeness to the neutron star mass and cooling

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chang-Hwan; Lim, Yeunhwan; Hyun, Chang Ho; Kwak, Kyujin

2018-01-01

Neutron star provides unique environments for the investigation of the physics of extreme dense matter beyond normal nuclear saturation density. In such high density environments, hadrons with strange quarks are expected to play very important role in stabilizing the system. Kaons and hyperons are the lowest mass states with strangeness among meson and bayron families, respectively. In this work, we investigate the role of kaons and hyperons to the neutron star mass, and discuss their role in the neutron star cooling.

Relationship between upper extremity kinesthetic sense and writing performance by students with low vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Aki, Esra; Atasavun, Songül; Kayihan, Holya

2008-06-01

Kinesthetic sense plays an important role in writing. Children with low vision lack sensory input from the environment given their loss of vision. This study assessed the effect of upper extremity kinesthetic sense on writing function in two groups, one of students with low vision (9 girls and 11 boys, 9.4 +/- 1.9 yr. of age) and one of sighted students (10 girls and 10 boys, 10.1 +/- 1.3 yr. of age). All participants were given the Kinesthesia Test and Jebsen Hand Function Test-Writing subtest. Students with low vision scored lower on kinesthetic perception and writing performance than sighted peers. The correlation between scores for writing performance and upper extremity kinesthetic sense in the two groups was significant (r = -.34). The probability of deficiencies in kinesthetic information in students with low vision must be remembered.

Changes and Attribution of Extreme Precipitation in Climate Models: Subdaily and Daily Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, W.; Villarini, G.; Scoccimarro, E.; Vecchi, G. A.

2017-12-01

Extreme precipitation events are responsible for numerous hazards, including flooding, soil erosion, and landslides. Because of their significant socio-economic impacts, the attribution and projection of these events is of crucial importance to improve our response, mitigation and adaptation strategies. Here we present results from our ongoing work.In terms of attribution, we use idealized experiments [pre-industrial control experiment (PI) and 1% per year increase (1%CO2) in atmospheric CO2] from ten general circulation models produced under the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and the fraction of attributable risk to examine the CO2 effects on extreme precipitation at the sub-daily and daily scales. We find that the increased CO2 concentration substantially increases the odds of the occurrence of sub-daily precipitation extremes compared to the daily scale in most areas of the world, with the exception of some regions in the sub-tropics, likely in relation to the subsidence of the Hadley Cell. These results point to the large role that atmospheric CO2 plays in extreme precipitation under an idealized framework. Furthermore, we investigate the changes in extreme precipitation events with the Community Earth System Model (CESM) climate experiments using the scenarios consistent with the 1.5°C and 2°C temperature targets. We find that the frequency of annual extreme precipitation at a global scale increases in both 1.5°C and 2°C scenarios until around 2070, after which the magnitudes of the trend become much weaker or even negative. Overall, the frequency of global annual extreme precipitation is similar between 1.5°C and 2°C for the period 2006-2035, and the changes in extreme precipitation in individual seasons are consistent with those for the entire year. The frequency of extreme precipitation in the 2°C experiments is higher than for the 1.5°C experiment after the late 2030s, particularly for the period 2071-2100.

Psychological and Physical Impacts of Extreme Events on Older Adults: Implications for Communications.

Science.gov (United States)

McClelland, Erin; Amlôt, Richard; Rogers, M Brooke; Rubin, G James; Tesh, John; Pearce, Julia M

2017-02-01

In recent years, a series of large-scale, high-profile natural disasters and terrorist attacks have demonstrated the need for thorough and effective disaster preparedness. While these extreme events affect communities and societies as a whole, they also carry specific risks for particular population groups. Crises such as Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan have illustrated the risk of significant and disproportionate morbidity and mortality among older adults during disasters. Age does not necessarily equate to vulnerability, but many physical and psychological consequences of the aging process can increase the risk of adverse outcomes. As the older population grows, so too does the need to ensure that adequate, practical, and appropriate measures exist to offset the specific risks from extreme events associated with this subpopulation. Effective risk and crisis communication plays a key role in mitigating the extent to which older adults are differentially affected during extreme events. By identifying the specific issues affecting older adults, this review highlights important areas for action for practitioners and policy-makers, particularly in the realm of crisis communication. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:127-134).

Changes in extreme regional sea level under global warming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brunnabend, S. E.; Dijkstra, H. A.; Kliphuis, Michael; Bal, Henri E.; Seinstra, Frank J.; van Werkhoven, Ben; Maassen, J.; van Meersbergen, Maarten

2017-01-01

An important contribution to future changes in regional sea level extremes is due to the changes in intrinsic ocean variability, in particular ocean eddies. Here, we study a scenario of future dynamic sea level (DSL) extremes using a high-resolution version of the Parallel Ocean Program and

Extreme weather events and infectious disease outbreaks.

Science.gov (United States)

McMichael, Anthony J

2015-01-01

Human-driven climatic changes will fundamentally influence patterns of human health, including infectious disease clusters and epidemics following extreme weather events. Extreme weather events are projected to increase further with the advance of human-driven climate change. Both recent and historical experiences indicate that infectious disease outbreaks very often follow extreme weather events, as microbes, vectors and reservoir animal hosts exploit the disrupted social and environmental conditions of extreme weather events. This review article examines infectious disease risks associated with extreme weather events; it draws on recent experiences including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 Pakistan mega-floods, and historical examples from previous centuries of epidemics and 'pestilence' associated with extreme weather disasters and climatic changes. A fuller understanding of climatic change, the precursors and triggers of extreme weather events and health consequences is needed in order to anticipate and respond to the infectious disease risks associated with human-driven climate change. Post-event risks to human health can be constrained, nonetheless, by reducing background rates of persistent infection, preparatory action such as coordinated disease surveillance and vaccination coverage, and strengthened disaster response. In the face of changing climate and weather conditions, it is critically important to think in ecological terms about the determinants of health, disease and death in human populations.

Investigating NARCCAP Precipitation Extremes via Bivariate Extreme Value Theory (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Weller, G. B.; Cooley, D. S.; Sain, S. R.; Bukovsky, M. S.; Mearns, L. O.

2013-12-01

We introduce methodology from statistical extreme value theory to examine the ability of reanalysis-drive regional climate models to simulate past daily precipitation extremes. Going beyond a comparison of summary statistics such as 20-year return values, we study whether the most extreme precipitation events produced by climate model simulations exhibit correspondence to the most extreme events seen in observational records. The extent of this correspondence is formulated via the statistical concept of tail dependence. We examine several case studies of extreme precipitation events simulated by the six models of the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) driven by NCEP reanalysis. It is found that the NARCCAP models generally reproduce daily winter precipitation extremes along the Pacific coast quite well; in contrast, simulation of past daily summer precipitation extremes in a central US region is poor. Some differences in the strength of extremal correspondence are seen in the central region between models which employ spectral nudging and those which do not. We demonstrate how these techniques may be used to draw a link between extreme precipitation events and large-scale atmospheric drivers, as well as to downscale extreme precipitation simulated by a future run of a regional climate model. Specifically, we examine potential future changes in the nature of extreme precipitation along the Pacific coast produced by the pineapple express (PE) phenomenon. A link between extreme precipitation events and a "PE Index" derived from North Pacific sea-surface pressure fields is found. This link is used to study PE-influenced extreme precipitation produced by a future-scenario climate model run.

Simulation of extreme rainfall event of November 2009 over Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: the explicit role of topography and surface heating

Science.gov (United States)

Almazroui, Mansour; Raju, P. V. S.; Yusef, A.; Hussein, M. A. A.; Omar, M.

2018-04-01

In this paper, a nonhydrostatic Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model has been used to simulate the extreme precipitation event of 25 November 2009, over Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The model is integrated in three nested (27, 9, and 3 km) domains with the initial and boundary forcing derived from the NCEP reanalysis datasets. As a control experiment, the model integrated for 48 h initiated at 0000 UTC on 24 November 2009. The simulated rainfall in the control experiment depicts in well agreement with Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission rainfall estimates in terms of intensity as well as spatio-temporal distribution. Results indicate that a strong low-level (850 hPa) wind over Jeddah and surrounding regions enhanced the moisture and temperature gradient and created a conditionally unstable atmosphere that favored the development of the mesoscale system. The influences of topography and heat exchange process in the atmosphere were investigated on the development of extreme precipitation event; two sensitivity experiments are carried out: one without topography and another without exchange of surface heating to the atmosphere. The results depict that both surface heating and topography played crucial role in determining the spatial distribution and intensity of the extreme rainfall over Jeddah. The topography favored enhanced uplift motion that further strengthened the low-level jet and hence the rainfall over Jeddah and adjacent areas. On the other hand, the absence of surface heating considerably reduced the simulated rainfall by 30% as compared to the observations.

Role of strangeness to the neutron star mass and cooling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Chang-Hwan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Neutron star provides unique environments for the investigation of the physics of extreme dense matter beyond normal nuclear saturation density. In such high density environments, hadrons with strange quarks are expected to play very important role in stabilizing the system. Kaons and hyperons are the lowest mass states with strangeness among meson and bayron families, respectively. In this work, we investigate the role of kaons and hyperons to the neutron star mass, and discuss their role in the neutron star cooling.

THE ROLE OF IRON IN Deinococcus radiodurans ENGINEERED FOR GROWTH ON TOLUENE AND THE ROLE OF MANGANESE IN THE EXTREME RADIATION RESISTANCE PHENOTYPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan Brim; Elena K. Gaidamakova; Vera Y. Matrosova; Min Zhai; Amudhan Venkateswaran; Marina Omelchenko; Kira S. Makarova; Lawrence P. Wackett; James K. Fredrickson; Michael J. Daly

2004-01-01

Toluene and other fuel hydrocarbons are commonly found in association with radionuclides at numerous Department of Energy (DOE) sites, frequently occurring together with Cr(VI) and other heavy metals. In this study, the extremely radiation resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans was engineered for complete toluene mineralization by cloned expression of tod and xyl genes of Pseudomonas putida. The recombinant Tod/Xyl strain showed significant incorporation of carbon from the toluene aromatic ring into cellular macromolecules and carbon dioxide, in the absence or presence of chronic radiation. We have shown that intracellular iron concentrations in wild-type D. radiodurans in minimal medium are exceptionally low and not sufficient to support growth on toluene using Fe-dependent oxygenases cloned from P. putida. Introducing the fur mutation into D. radiodurans increased intracellular Fe levels, and imparted on the engineered strain the ability to grow on meta-toluate as the sole carbon and energy source. The organism's native Cr(VI) reduction capabilities were facilitated by toluene when present as the sole carbon and energy source in natural sediment analogues of DOE contaminated environments. The engineered bacteria were able to oxidize toluene under both minimal and complex nutrient conditions, which is important since both conditions have environmental equivalents in the context of bioremediation processes. As such, the Tod/Xyl strain is providing a model for understanding the role of Fe and reduction of metals coupled to organic contaminant oxidation in aerobic radionuclide contaminated sediments. We have shown that D. radiodurans contains high intracellular manganese levels, and that Mn restriction sensitizes cells to irradiation. We propose that the unusually high Mn/Fe ratio of D. radiodurans facilitates survival by quenching oxidative stress during recovery.

THE ROLE OF IRON IN Deinococcus radiodurans ENGINEERED FOR GROWTH ON TOLUENE AND THE ROLE OF MANGANESE IN THE EXTREME RADIATION RESISTANCE PHENOTYPE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hassan Brim; Elena K. Gaidamakova; Vera Y. Matrosova; Min Zhai; Amudhan Venkateswaran; Marina Omelchenko; Kira S. Makarova; Lawrence P. Wackett; James K. Fredrickson; Michael J. Daly

2004-03-17

Toluene and other fuel hydrocarbons are commonly found in association with radionuclides at numerous Department of Energy (DOE) sites, frequently occurring together with Cr(VI) and other heavy metals. In this study, the extremely radiation resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans was engineered for complete toluene mineralization by cloned expression of tod and xyl genes of Pseudomonas putida. The recombinant Tod/Xyl strain showed significant incorporation of carbon from the toluene aromatic ring into cellular macromolecules and carbon dioxide, in the absence or presence of chronic radiation. We have shown that intracellular iron concentrations in wild-type D. radiodurans in minimal medium are exceptionally low and not sufficient to support growth on toluene using Fe-dependent oxygenases cloned from P. putida. Introducing the fur mutation into D. radiodurans increased intracellular Fe levels, and imparted on the engineered strain the ability to grow on meta-toluate as the sole carbon and energy source. The organism's native Cr(VI) reduction capabilities were facilitated by toluene when present as the sole carbon and energy source in natural sediment analogues of DOE contaminated environments. The engineered bacteria were able to oxidize toluene under both minimal and complex nutrient conditions, which is important since both conditions have environmental equivalents in the context of bioremediation processes. As such, the Tod/Xyl strain is providing a model for understanding the role of Fe and reduction of metals coupled to organic contaminant oxidation in aerobic radionuclide contaminated sediments. We have shown that D. radiodurans contains high intracellular manganese levels, and that Mn restriction sensitizes cells to irradiation. We propose that the unusually high Mn/Fe ratio of D. radiodurans facilitates survival by quenching oxidative stress during recovery.

The critical role of extreme heat for maize production in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Lobell, David B.; Hammer, Graeme L.; McLean, Greg; Messina, Carlos; Roberts, Michael J.; Schlenker, Wolfram

2013-05-01

Statistical studies of rainfed maize yields in the United States and elsewhere have indicated two clear features: a strong negative yield response to accumulation of temperatures above 30°C (or extreme degree days (EDD)), and a relatively weak response to seasonal rainfall. Here we show that the process-based Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) is able to reproduce both of these relationships in the Midwestern United States and provide insight into underlying mechanisms. The predominant effects of EDD in APSIM are associated with increased vapour pressure deficit, which contributes to water stress in two ways: by increasing demand for soil water to sustain a given rate of carbon assimilation, and by reducing future supply of soil water by raising transpiration rates. APSIM computes daily water stress as the ratio of water supply to demand, and during the critical month of July this ratio is three times more responsive to 2°C warming than to a 20% precipitation reduction. The results suggest a relatively minor role for direct heat stress on reproductive organs at present temperatures in this region. Effects of elevated CO2 on transpiration efficiency should reduce yield sensitivity to EDD in the coming decades, but at most by 25%.

The Extreme Right in Eastern Europe and Territorial Issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miroslav Mareš

2009-08-01

Full Text Available This article analyses and compares the different territorial conceptions of the extreme right in Eastern Europe and their political impact, with a view to explaining how important the historical legacy of the supposed territorial and border claims and injustices is for the identity of the extreme right (or their parts in contemporary Eastern Europe. It analyses the historical roots of the territorial claims of the extreme right in the area, the current situation regarding their territorial claims and disputes, and the impact of these territorial claims on domestic politics, on the politics of the extreme right at the European level and on regional security in this area.

Ultrasonography of the lower extremity veins: Anatomy and basic approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Dong Kyu; Ahn, Kyung Sik; Kang, Chang Ho; Cho, Sung Bum [Dept. of Radiology, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

Ultrasonography is an imaging modality widely used to evaluate venous diseases of the lower extremities. It is important to understand the normal venous anatomy of the lower extremities, which has deep, superficial, and perforating venous components, in order to determine the pathophysiology of venous disease. This review provides a basic description of the anatomy of the lower extremity veins and useful techniques for approaching each vein via ultrasonography.

Ultrasonography of the lower extremity veins: Anatomy and basic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dong Kyu; Ahn, Kyung Sik; Kang, Chang Ho; Cho, Sung Bum

2017-01-01

Ultrasonography is an imaging modality widely used to evaluate venous diseases of the lower extremities. It is important to understand the normal venous anatomy of the lower extremities, which has deep, superficial, and perforating venous components, in order to determine the pathophysiology of venous disease. This review provides a basic description of the anatomy of the lower extremity veins and useful techniques for approaching each vein via ultrasonography

Modeling, Forecasting and Mitigating Extreme Earthquakes

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail-Zadeh, A.; Le Mouel, J.; Soloviev, A.

2012-12-01

Recent earthquake disasters highlighted the importance of multi- and trans-disciplinary studies of earthquake risk. A major component of earthquake disaster risk analysis is hazards research, which should cover not only a traditional assessment of ground shaking, but also studies of geodetic, paleoseismic, geomagnetic, hydrological, deep drilling and other geophysical and geological observations together with comprehensive modeling of earthquakes and forecasting extreme events. Extreme earthquakes (large magnitude and rare events) are manifestations of complex behavior of the lithosphere structured as a hierarchical system of blocks of different sizes. Understanding of physics and dynamics of the extreme events comes from observations, measurements and modeling. A quantitative approach to simulate earthquakes in models of fault dynamics will be presented. The models reproduce basic features of the observed seismicity (e.g., the frequency-magnitude relationship, clustering of earthquakes, occurrence of extreme seismic events). They provide a link between geodynamic processes and seismicity, allow studying extreme events, influence of fault network properties on seismic patterns and seismic cycles, and assist, in a broader sense, in earthquake forecast modeling. Some aspects of predictability of large earthquakes (how well can large earthquakes be predicted today?) will be also discussed along with possibilities in mitigation of earthquake disasters (e.g., on 'inverse' forensic investigations of earthquake disasters).

Attribution of Extreme Rainfall from Landfalling Tropical Cyclones to Climate Change for the Eastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, M.; Yang, L.; Smith, J. A.; Vecchi, G. A.

2017-12-01

Extreme rainfall and flooding associated with landfalling tropical cyclones (TC) is responsible for vast socioeconomic losses and fatalities. Landfalling tropical cyclones are an important element of extreme rainfall and flood peak distributions in the eastern United States. Record floods for USGS stream gauging stations over the eastern US are closely tied to landfalling hurricanes. A small number of storms account for the largest record floods, most notably Hurricanes Diane (1955) and Agnes (1972). The question we address is: if the synoptic conditions accompanying those hurricanes were to be repeated in the future, how would the thermodynamic and dynamic storm properties and associated extreme rainfall differ in response to climate change? We examine three hurricanes: Diane (1955), Agnes (1972) and Irene (2011), due to the contrasts in structure/evolution properties and their important roles in dictating the upper tail properties of extreme rainfall and flood frequency over eastern US. Extreme rainfall from Diane is more localized as the storm maintains tropical characteristics, while synoptic-scale vertical motion associated with extratropical transition is a central feature for extreme rainfall induced by Agnes. Our analyses are based on ensemble simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, considering combinations of different physics options (i.e., microphysics, boundary layer schemes). The initial and boundary conditions of WRF simulations for the present-day climate are using the Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20thCR). A sub-selection of GCMs is used, as part of phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), to provide future climate projections. For future simulations, changes in model fields (i.e., temperature, humidity, geopotential height) between present-day and future climate are first derived and then added to the same 20thCR initial and boundary data used for the present-day simulations, and the ensemble is

Is there a Greater Role for Prime Numbers in our Schools?

Science.gov (United States)

Cairns, Grant

2005-01-01

Prime numbers play an extremely important role in modern mathematics. Apart from still being the object of intense research activity, their applications in banking and security underline a key phenomenon: in the modern world, useful applications of mathematics often come from very "pure" abstract theories. Curiously, despite their undeniable…

The role and importance of leadership in business development in Kosovo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamdi Hoti

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Leadership in Kosovo today is one of the questions of exceptional importance. This institution has not yet been analyzed properly based on: quality, efficiency and responsibility, legal-, material- and moral leadership. Kosovo is faced with many challenges consisting of the needed steps towards the business development of the enterprise in Kosovo and in the international arena. Leaders cannot be created only by giving orders to others but the main problem is to identify the principles of cooperation and co-financing that identify people who can and should be able to mobilize forces to create economic advantages to the society. In this sense the most important thing is the determination of the exact diagnosis of the current situation before promoting economic growth. Main purpose of this article is the analysis of the role and importance of leadership in the business development in Kosovo.

Climate change, climatic variation and extreme biological responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Georgina; Platts, Philip J; Brereton, Tom; Chapman, Jason W; Dytham, Calvin; Fox, Richard; Pearce-Higgins, James W; Roy, David B; Hill, Jane K; Thomas, Chris D

2017-06-19

Extreme climatic events could be major drivers of biodiversity change, but it is unclear whether extreme biological changes are (i) individualistic (species- or group-specific), (ii) commonly associated with unusual climatic events and/or (iii) important determinants of long-term population trends. Using population time series for 238 widespread species (207 Lepidoptera and 31 birds) in England since 1968, we found that population 'crashes' (outliers in terms of species' year-to-year population changes) were 46% more frequent than population 'explosions'. (i) Every year, at least three species experienced extreme changes in population size, and in 41 of the 44 years considered, some species experienced population crashes while others simultaneously experienced population explosions. This suggests that, even within the same broad taxonomic groups, species are exhibiting individualistic dynamics, most probably driven by their responses to different, short-term events associated with climatic variability. (ii) Six out of 44 years showed a significant excess of species experiencing extreme population changes (5 years for Lepidoptera, 1 for birds). These 'consensus years' were associated with climatically extreme years, consistent with a link between extreme population responses and climatic variability, although not all climatically extreme years generated excess numbers of extreme population responses. (iii) Links between extreme population changes and long-term population trends were absent in Lepidoptera and modest (but significant) in birds. We conclude that extreme biological responses are individualistic, in the sense that the extreme population changes of most species are taking place in different years, and that long-term trends of widespread species have not, to date, been dominated by these extreme changes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. © 2017 The Authors.

The Perceived Importance of Role-Specific Competencies for Health Care Leaders Establishes the Need to Expand Role Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Babinski, Paul J

2016-01-01

This cross-sectional quantitative study was undertaken to determine the extent to which individuals who have differing health care leadership roles perceived the importance of selected leadership competencies in their specific roles based on their experience. A total of 313 participants responded to the health care questionnaire. Principal component analysis identified factor structure and Cronbach α at .96 supported the reliability of the factor analysis. Multivariate analysis of variance tested the 4 health care leadership roles to determine if an effect was present among the competencies. A subsequent analysis of variance test was conducted on the competencies to confirm an effect was present, and a Games-Howell post hoc test followed. These tests indicated that there was a significant difference in rating the perceived importance of specific leadership competencies by the health care leaders in each competency domain. The participants included in this study consisted of the chief executive officer (CEO), director of nursing (DON), operating room director (ORD), and director of radiology (DOR). Based on the Games-Howell post hoc test, a commonality existed between the leaders. The CEOs and DONs often indicated no significant difference in competency perception to one another in relation to the dependent variables, yet indicated a significant difference in competency perception when compared with the ORDs and DORs. Similarly, the ORD and DOR variables often indicated no significant difference in competency perception to one another in relation to the dependent variables, yet indicated a significant difference in competency perception compared with the CEO and DON variables. This study positively indicated that health care leadership's perception of competencies does differ between the various leadership roles.

On the importance of observational data properties when assessing regional climate model performance of extreme precipitation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sunyer Pinya, Maria Antonia; Sørup, Hjalte Jomo Danielsen; Christensen, Ole Bøssing

2013-01-01

datasets, the RCMs are ranked according to their performance using two different metrics. These are based on the error in representing the indices and the spatial correlation. In comparison to the mean, extreme precipitation indices are highly dependent on the spatial resolution of the observations...

Graphene defect formation by extreme ultraviolet generated photoelectrons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gao, An; Lee, Christopher James; Bijkerk, Frederik

2014-01-01

We have studied the effect of photoelectrons on defect formation in graphene during extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiation. Assuming the major role of these low energy electrons, we have mimicked the process by using low energy primary electrons. Graphene is irradiated by an electron beam with energy

The important role of civil society groups in eco-innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Yan; Holgaard, Jette Egelund

2012-01-01

the role of civil society groups in eco-innovation by addressing the following research questions: Why is it necessary to stress that civil society groups are as important as university, industry and government in eco-innovation? What inspiration can “triple helix twins” and “quadruple helix” provide when...... groups are not only foundations for developing innovation – they can be actors themselves; the existence of semi-governmental organizations in the Chinese case company, which is categorized under the concept of NGOs, shows the limitations of the concept of civil society groups in exposing important......, as they are helpful not only to provide pressure and push industry onto a green track, but also as supporters and carriers of green business. Corporate social responsibility is proposed as a stepping-stone to engage civil society groups in broader eco-innovation activity. Originality/value – The paper starts...

Calmodulin-dependent nuclear import of HMG-box family nuclear factors: importance of the role of SRY in sex reversal.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Gurpreet; Delluc-Clavieres, Aurelie; Poon, Ivan K H; Forwood, Jade K; Glover, Dominic J; Jans, David A

2010-08-15

The HMG (high-mobility group)-box-containing chromatin-remodelling factor SRY (sex-determining region on the Y chromosome) plays a key role in sex determination. Its role in the nucleus is critically dependent on two NLSs (nuclear localization signals) that flank its HMG domain: the C-terminally located 'beta-NLS' that mediates nuclear transport through Impbeta1 (importin beta1) and the N-terminally located 'CaM-NLS' which is known to recognize the calcium-binding protein CaM (calmodulin). In the present study, we examined a number of missense mutations in the SRY CaM-NLS from human XY sex-reversed females for the first time, showing that they result in significantly reduced nuclear localization of GFP (green fluorescent protein)-SRY fusion proteins in transfected cells compared with wild-type. The CaM antagonist CDZ (calmidazolium chloride) was found to significantly reduce wild-type SRY nuclear accumulation, indicating dependence of SRY nuclear import on CaM. Intriguingly, the CaM-NLS mutants were all resistant to CDZ's effects, implying a loss of interaction with CaM, which was confirmed by direct binding experiments. CaM-binding/resultant nuclear accumulation was the only property of SRY found to be impaired by two of the CaM-NLS mutations, implying that inhibition of CaM-dependent nuclear import is the basis of sex reversal in these cases. Importantly, the CaM-NLS is conserved in other HMG-box-domain-containing proteins such as SOX-2, -9, -10 and HMGN1, all of which were found for the first time to rely on CaM for optimal nuclear localization. CaM-dependent nuclear translocation is thus a common mechanism for this family of important transcription factors.

Mandelbrot's Extremism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beirlant, J.; Schoutens, W.; Segers, J.J.J.

2004-01-01

In the sixties Mandelbrot already showed that extreme price swings are more likely than some of us think or incorporate in our models.A modern toolbox for analyzing such rare events can be found in the field of extreme value theory.At the core of extreme value theory lies the modelling of maxima

Insertion sequences enrichment in extreme Red sea brine pool vent

KAUST Repository

Elbehery, Ali H. A.; Aziz, Ramy K.; Siam, Rania

2016-01-01

Mobile genetic elements are major agents of genome diversification and evolution. Limited studies addressed their characteristics, including abundance, and role in extreme habitats. One of the rare natural habitats exposed to multiple

[Ammonia-oxidizing archaea and their important roles in nitrogen biogeochemical cycling: a review].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jing-Jing; Wu, Wei-Xiang; Ding, Ying; Shi, De-Zhi; Chen, Ying-Xu

2010-08-01

As the first step of nitrification, ammonia oxidation is the key process in global nitrogen biogeochemical cycling. So far, the autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the beta- and gamma-subgroups of proteobacteria have been considered as the most important contributors to ammonia oxidation, but the recent researches indicated that ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are widely distributed in various kinds of ecosystems and quantitatively predominant, playing important roles in the global nitrogen biogeochemical cycling. This paper reviewed the morphological, physiological, and ecological characteristics and the molecular phylogenies of AOA, and compared and analyzed the differences and similarities of the ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and its encoding genes between AOA and AOB. In addition, the potential significant roles of AOA in nitrogen biogeochemical cycling in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems were summarized, and the future research directions of AOA in applied ecology and environmental protection were put forward.

Climatic extremes improve predictions of spatial patterns of tree species

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, N.E.; Yoccoz, N.G.; Edwards, T.C.; Meier, E.S.; Thuiller, W.; Guisan, Antoine; Schmatz, D.R.; Pearman, P.B.

2009-01-01

Understanding niche evolution, dynamics, and the response of species to climate change requires knowledge of the determinants of the environmental niche and species range limits. Mean values of climatic variables are often used in such analyses. In contrast, the increasing frequency of climate extremes suggests the importance of understanding their additional influence on range limits. Here, we assess how measures representing climate extremes (i.e., interannual variability in climate parameters) explain and predict spatial patterns of 11 tree species in Switzerland. We find clear, although comparably small, improvement (+20% in adjusted D2, +8% and +3% in cross-validated True Skill Statistic and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve values) in models that use measures of extremes in addition to means. The primary effect of including information on climate extremes is a correction of local overprediction and underprediction. Our results demonstrate that measures of climate extremes are important for understanding the climatic limits of tree species and assessing species niche characteristics. The inclusion of climate variability likely will improve models of species range limits under future conditions, where changes in mean climate and increased variability are expected.

Cardiovascular consequences of extreme prematurity: the EPICure study.

Science.gov (United States)

McEniery, Carmel M; Bolton, Charlotte E; Fawke, Joseph; Hennessy, Enid; Stocks, Janet; Wilkinson, Ian B; Cockcroft, John R; Marlow, Neil

2011-07-01

The long-term consequences of extreme prematurity are becoming increasingly important, given recent improvements in neonatal intensive care. The aim of the current study was to examine the cardiovascular consequences of extreme prematurity in 11-year-olds born at or before 25 completed weeks of gestation. Age and sex-matched classmates were recruited as controls. Information concerning perinatal and maternal history was collected, and current anthropometric characteristics were measured in 219 children born extremely preterm and 153 classmates. A subset of the extremely preterm children (n = 68) and classmates (n = 90) then underwent detailed haemodynamic investigations, including measurement of supine blood pressure (BP), aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV, a measure of aortic stiffness) and augmentation index (AIx, a measure of arterial pressure wave reflections). Seated brachial systolic and diastolic BP were not different between extremely preterm children and classmates (P = 0.3 for both), although there was a small, significant elevation in supine mean and diastolic BP in the extremely preterm children (P prematurity is associated with altered arterial haemodynamics in children, not evident from the examination of brachial BP alone. Moreover, the smaller, preresistance and resistance vessels rather than large elastic arteries appear to be most affected. Children born extremely preterm may be at increased future cardiovascular risk.

The waviness of the extratropical jet and daily weather extremes

Science.gov (United States)

Röthlisberger, Matthias; Martius, Olivia; Pfahl, Stephan

2016-04-01

In recent years the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes have experienced a large number of weather extremes with substantial socio-economic impact, such as the European and Russian heat waves in 2003 and 2010, severe winter floods in the United Kingdom in 2013/2014 and devastating winter storms such as Lothar (1999) and Xynthia (2010) in Central Europe. These have triggered an engaged debate within the scientific community on the role of human induced climate change in the occurrence of such extremes. A key element of this debate is the hypothesis that the waviness of the extratropical jet is linked to the occurrence of weather extremes, with a wavier jet stream favouring more extremes. Previous work on this topic is expanded in this study by analyzing the linkage between a regional measure of jet waviness and daily temperature, precipitation and wind gust extremes. We show that indeed such a linkage exists in many regions of the world, however this waviness-extremes linkage varies spatially in strength and sign. Locally, it is strong only where the relevant weather systems, in which the extremes occur, are affected by the jet waviness. Its sign depends on how the frequency of occurrence of the relevant weather systems is correlated with the occurrence of high and low jet waviness. These results go beyond previous studies by noting that also a decrease in waviness could be associated with an enhanced number of some weather extremes, especially wind gust and precipitation extremes over western Europe.

Possible future changes in extreme events over Northern Eurasia

Science.gov (United States)

Monier, Erwan; Sokolov, Andrei; Scott, Jeffery

2013-04-01

In this study, we investigate possible future climate change over Northern Eurasia and its impact on extreme events. Northern Eurasia is a major player in the global carbon budget because of boreal forests and peatlands. Circumpolar boreal forests alone contain more than five times the amount of carbon of temperate forests and almost double the amount of carbon of the world's tropical forests. Furthermore, severe permafrost degradation associated with climate change could result in peatlands releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. Meanwhile, changes in the frequency and magnitude of extreme events, such as extreme precipitation, heat waves or frost days are likely to have substantial impacts on Northern Eurasia ecosystems. For this reason, it is very important to quantify the possible climate change over Northern Eurasia under different emissions scenarios, while accounting for the uncertainty in the climate response and changes in extreme events. For several decades, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change has been investigating uncertainty in climate change using the MIT Integrated Global System Model (IGSM) framework, an integrated assessment model that couples an earth system model of intermediate complexity (with a 2D zonal-mean atmosphere) to a human activity model. In this study, regional change is investigated using the MIT IGSM-CAM framework that links the IGSM to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Atmosphere Model (CAM). New modules were developed and implemented in CAM to allow climate parameters to be changed to match those of the IGSM. The simulations presented in this paper were carried out for two emission scenarios, a "business as usual" scenario and a 660 ppm of CO2-equivalent stabilization, which are similar to, respectively, the Representative Concentration Pathways RCP8.5 and RCP4.5 scenarios. Values of climate sensitivity and net aerosol

THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE INTERNET IN CONTEMPORARY TOURISM IN TRAVEL AGENCIES BUSINESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivica Batinic

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The increasing competitiveness in the global tourism market encourages tourism operators to investment more in promotion, resources, knowledge and quality in order to achieve satisfactory growth. Therefore, it is extremely important to be in touch with the latest technological trends and have the knowledge required to effectively respond to the challenges of global competition. Internet technology provides high-quality and efficient operations in all economic sectors, including the tourism industry. In this paper, the changes in tourism industry caused by the introduction of Internet technology and advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet in contemporary business travel agencies were analyzed. Through this work, the impact of the Internet technology on marketing activities of contemporary travel agencies was also analyzed. 

The analysis of dependence between extreme rainfall and storm surge in the coastal zone

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, F.; Westra, S.

2012-12-01

well as local scale bathymetry. Additionally, significant dependence can be observed over spatial distances of up to several hundred kilometers, implying that meso-scale meteorological forcings may play an important role in driving the dependence. This is also consistent with the result which shows that significant dependence often remaining for lags of up to one or two days between extremal rainfall and storm surge events. The influence of storm burst duration can also be observed, with rainfall extremes lasting more than several hours typically being more closely associated with storm surge compared with sub-hourly rainfall extremes. These results will have profound implications for how flood risk is evaluated along the coastal zone in Australia, with the strength of dependence varying depending on: (1) the dominant meteorological conditions; (2) the local estuary configuration, influencing the strength of the surge; and (3) the catchment attributes, influencing the duration of the storm burst that will deliver the peak flood events. Although a strong random component remains, we show that the probability of an extreme storm surge during an extreme rainfall event (or vice versa) can be up to ten times greater than under the situation under which there is no dependence, suggesting that failure to account for these interactions can result in a substantial underestimation of flood risk.

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in entrapment and compressive neuropathy - what, where, and how to see the peripheral nerves on the musculoskeletal magnetic resonance image: Part 2. Upper extremity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sungjun [Yonsei University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Hanyang University, Kuri Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Kuri City, Kyunggi-do (Korea); Choi, Jin-Young; Huh, Yong-Min; Song, Ho-Taek; Lee, Sung-Ah [Yonsei University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Kim, Seung Min [Yonsei University, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Suh, Jin-Suck [Yonsei University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Yonsei University, Research Institute of Radiological Science, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea)

2007-02-15

The diagnosis of nerve entrapment and compressive neuropathy has been traditionally based on the clinical and electrodiagnostic examinations. As a result of improvements in the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging modality, it plays not only a fundamental role in the detection of space-occupying lesions, but also a compensatory role in clinically and electrodiagnostically inconclusive cases. Although ultrasound has undergone further development in the past decades and shows high resolution capabilities, it has inherent limitations due to its operator dependency. We review the course of normal peripheral nerves, as well as various clinical demonstrations and pathological features of compressed and entrapped nerves in the upper extremities on MR imaging, according to the nerves involved. The common sites of nerve entrapment of the upper extremity are as follows: the brachial plexus of the thoracic outlet; axillary nerve of the quadrilateral space; radial nerve of the radial tunnel; ulnar nerve of the cubital tunnel and Guyon's canal; median nerve of the pronator syndrome, anterior interosseous nerve syndrome, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Although MR imaging can depict the peripheral nerves in the extremities effectively, radiologists should be familiar with nerve pathways, common sites of nerve compression, and common space-occupying lesions resulting in nerve compression in MR imaging. (orig.)

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in entrapment and compressive neuropathy - what, where, and how to see the peripheral nerves on the musculoskeletal magnetic resonance image: Part 2. Upper extremity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sungjun; Choi, Jin-Young; Huh, Yong-Min; Song, Ho-Taek; Lee, Sung-Ah; Kim, Seung Min; Suh, Jin-Suck

2007-01-01

The diagnosis of nerve entrapment and compressive neuropathy has been traditionally based on the clinical and electrodiagnostic examinations. As a result of improvements in the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging modality, it plays not only a fundamental role in the detection of space-occupying lesions, but also a compensatory role in clinically and electrodiagnostically inconclusive cases. Although ultrasound has undergone further development in the past decades and shows high resolution capabilities, it has inherent limitations due to its operator dependency. We review the course of normal peripheral nerves, as well as various clinical demonstrations and pathological features of compressed and entrapped nerves in the upper extremities on MR imaging, according to the nerves involved. The common sites of nerve entrapment of the upper extremity are as follows: the brachial plexus of the thoracic outlet; axillary nerve of the quadrilateral space; radial nerve of the radial tunnel; ulnar nerve of the cubital tunnel and Guyon's canal; median nerve of the pronator syndrome, anterior interosseous nerve syndrome, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Although MR imaging can depict the peripheral nerves in the extremities effectively, radiologists should be familiar with nerve pathways, common sites of nerve compression, and common space-occupying lesions resulting in nerve compression in MR imaging. (orig.)

Clinical application of lower extremity CTA and lower extremity perfusion CT as a method of diagnostic for lower extremity atherosclerotic obliterans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moon, Il Bong; Dong, Kyung Rae [Dept. Radiological Technology, Gwangju Health University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Goo, Eun Hoe [Dept. Radiological Science, Cheongju University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of)

2016-11-15

The purpose of this study was to assess clinical application of lower extremity CTA and lower extremity perfusion CT as a method of diagnostic for lower extremity atherosclerotic obliterans. From January to July 2016, 30 patients (mean age, 68) were studied with lower extremity CTA and lower extremity perfusion CT. 128 channel multi-detector row CT scans were acquired with a CT scanner (SOMATOM Definition Flash, Siemens medical solution, Germany) of lower extremity perfusion CT and lower extremity CTA. Acquired images were reconstructed with 3D workstation (Leonardo, Siemens, Germany). Site of lower extremity arterial occlusive and stenosis lesions were detected superficial femoral artery 36.6%, popliteal artery 23.4%, external iliac artery 16.7%, common femoral artery 13.3%, peroneal artery 10%. The mean total DLP comparison of lower extremity perfusion CT and lower extremity CTA, 650 mGy-cm and 675 mGy-cm, respectively. Lower extremity perfusion CT and lower extremity CTA were realized that were never be two examination that were exactly the same legions. Future through the development of lower extremity perfusion CT soft ware programs suggest possible clinical applications.

Thermodynamics of extremal rotating thin shells in an extremal BTZ spacetime and the extremal black hole entropy

Science.gov (United States)

Lemos, José P. S.; Minamitsuji, Masato; Zaslavskii, Oleg B.

2017-02-01

In a (2 +1 )-dimensional spacetime with a negative cosmological constant, the thermodynamics and the entropy of an extremal rotating thin shell, i.e., an extremal rotating ring, are investigated. The outer and inner regions with respect to the shell are taken to be the Bañados-Teitelbom-Zanelli (BTZ) spacetime and the vacuum ground state anti-de Sitter spacetime, respectively. By applying the first law of thermodynamics to the extremal thin shell, one shows that the entropy of the shell is an arbitrary well-behaved function of the gravitational area A+ alone, S =S (A+). When the thin shell approaches its own gravitational radius r+ and turns into an extremal rotating BTZ black hole, it is found that the entropy of the spacetime remains such a function of A+, both when the local temperature of the shell at the gravitational radius is zero and nonzero. It is thus vindicated by this analysis that extremal black holes, here extremal BTZ black holes, have different properties from the corresponding nonextremal black holes, which have a definite entropy, the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy S (A+)=A/+4G , where G is the gravitational constant. It is argued that for extremal black holes, in particular for extremal BTZ black holes, one should set 0 ≤S (A+)≤A/+4G;i.e., the extremal black hole entropy has values in between zero and the maximum Bekenstein-Hawking entropy A/+4 G . Thus, rather than having just two entropies for extremal black holes, as previous results have debated, namely, 0 and A/+4 G , it is shown here that extremal black holes, in particular extremal BTZ black holes, may have a continuous range of entropies, limited by precisely those two entropies. Surely, the entropy that a particular extremal black hole picks must depend on past processes, notably on how it was formed. A remarkable relation between the third law of thermodynamics and the impossibility for a massive body to reach the velocity of light is also found. In addition, in the procedure, it

The role of LP gas in eradicating energy poverty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelly, Michael; Behuria, Sarthak

2010-09-15

LP Gas is an ideal solution for dealing with energy poverty. Clean burning, low carbon, extremely efficient, requiring minimal infrastructure or R and D investment and with plentiful long term global supply, LP Gas can be quickly introduced to play an important role in eradicating energy poverty and steering both industrialised and developing countries onto more sustainable energy development paths.

Astrobiology: Life in Extreme Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Preeti

2011-01-01

Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe. It seeks to answer two important scientific questions: how did we get here and are we alone in the universe? Scientists begin by studying life on Earth and its limits. The discovery of extremophiles on Earth capable of surviving extremes encourages the…

Extreme value distributions

CERN Document Server

Ahsanullah, Mohammad

2016-01-01

The aim of the book is to give a through account of the basic theory of extreme value distributions. The book cover a wide range of materials available to date. The central ideas and results of extreme value distributions are presented. The book rwill be useful o applied statisticians as well statisticians interrested to work in the area of extreme value distributions.vmonograph presents the central ideas and results of extreme value distributions.The monograph gives self-contained of theory and applications of extreme value distributions.

A comparison of observed extreme water levels at the German Bight elaborated through an extreme value analysis (EVA) with extremes derived from a regionally coupled ocean-atmospheric climate model (MPI-OM)

Science.gov (United States)

Möller, Jens; Heinrich, Hartmut

2017-04-01

As a consequence of climate change atmospheric and oceanographic extremes and their potential impacts on coastal regions are of growing concern for governmental authorities responsible for the transportation infrastructure. Highest risks for shipping as well as for rail and road traffic originate from combined effects of extremes of storm surges and heavy rainfall which sometimes lead to insufficient dewatering of inland waterways. The German Ministry of Transport and digital Infrastructure therefore has tasked its Network of Experts to investigate the possible evolutions of extreme threats for low lands and especially for Kiel Canal, which is an important shortcut for shipping between the North and Baltic Seas. In this study we present results of a comparison of an Extreme Value Analysis (EVA) carried out on gauge observations and values derived from a coupled Regional Ocean-Atmosphere Climate Model (MPI-OM). High water levels at the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas are one of the most important hazards which increase the risk of flooding of the low-lying land and prevents such areas from an adequate dewatering. In this study changes in the intensity (magnitude of the extremes) and duration of extreme water levels (above a selected threshold) are investigated for several gauge stations with data partly reaching back to 1843. Different methods are used for the extreme value statistics, (1) a stationary general Pareto distribution (GPD) model as well as (2) an instationary statistical model for better reproduction of the impact of climate change. Most gauge stations show an increase of the mean water level of about 1-2 mm/year, with a stronger increase of the highest water levels and a decrease (or lower increase) of the lowest water levels. Also, the duration of possible dewatering time intervals for the Kiel-Canal was analysed. The results for the historical gauge station observations are compared to the statistics of modelled water levels from the coupled

The European Commission: nuclear power has an important role to play; Commission Europeenne: le nucleaire a un role important a jouer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon

2008-11-15

The European Commission (E.C.) thinks that nuclear power has an important role to play: first to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions and secondly to reinforce energy self-reliance of the member states. The decision to introduce nuclear power in their energy mix belongs to every state but the E.C. has also highlighted that if adequate investment are quickly made 2 thirds of the electricity produced in the European Union in 2010 could by from low-carbon-emitting sources. Today with 148 reactors operating in 15 member countries nuclear power contributes to 1 third of the electricity produced. Another issue that is looming is the security of electricity supplying. A study has shown that the security level is worsening (particularly in winter) because of the greater part of wind energy in the energy mix as wind energy is not necessarily available when energy demand is peaking. The E.C. has proposed a new directive drawing a common standard frame for nuclear safety requirements concerning design, site selection, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Each member state will have the choice to implement stiffer regulations. The European Union must reduce its dependency on Russian gas by increasing its storing capacities, by easing gas exchanges between member states and by importing more liquefied natural gas. European member states will have to invert 1000*10{sup 9} euros in gas and electrical power infrastructures in the next 25 years. (A.C.)

Daily extreme precipitation indices and their impacts on rice yield—A case study over the tropical island in China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Mao-Fen; Luo, Wei; Li, Hailiang; Liu, Enping; Li, Yuping

2018-04-01

Frequent occurrences of extreme precipitation events have significant impacts on agricultural production. Tropical agriculture has been playing an important role in national economy in China. A precise understanding of variability in extreme precipitation indices and their impacts on crop yields are of great value for farmers and policy makers at county level, particularly in tropical China where almost all agriculture is rainfed. This research has studied observed trends in extreme precipitation indices (a total of 10) during 1988-2013 over Hainan island, tropical China. Mann-Kendall nonparametric test was adopted for trend detection and the results showed that most of precipitation indices showed increasing trend. Since rice is the most important staple food in Hainan island, the impacts of extreme precipitation indices on rice yields were also analyzed through simple correlations. In general, the rainy days and rain intensity in late rice growing season showed increasing trend over Hainan island. The rice yield presented ninth-degree polynomial technological trend at all stations and increasing trend for early rice yield. Late rice yield showed a decreasing trend in some parts of Hainan island. Spearman rank correlation coefficient indicated that the correlation was more pronounced between extreme precipitation indices and yields at Haikou site for early rice, and Haikou, Sanya, and Qionghai stations for late rice, respectively. Further results also indicated that there were statistically significant positive trends of R10 and R20 (number of days with precipitation ≥10 mm and precipitation ≥20 mm, respectively) from July to November at Haikou (located in north of Hainan island), and this positive trend may be a disadvantage for late rice yield. The cut-off value of extreme precipitation indices and its correlation with rice yield anomaly indices for Hainan island provided a foundation for vulnerability assessment as well as a contribution to set up

Value-at-Risk and Extreme Returns

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Daníelsson (Jón); C.G. de Vries (Casper)

1997-01-01

textabstractAccurate prediction of the frequency of extreme events is of primary importance in many financial applications such as Value-at-Risk (VaR) analysis. We propose a semi-parametric method for VaR evaluation. The largest risks are modelled parametrically, while smaller risks are captured by

From One Extreme to the Other: Negative Evaluation Anxiety and Disordered Eating as Candidates for the Extreme Female Brain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer A. Bremser

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Simon Baron-Cohen pioneered the idea that different brain types evolved to process information in gender specific ways. Here we expand this approach to looking at eating disorders as a byproduct of the extreme female brain. The incidence of eating disorders is higher among females, and recent findings show that hormones may play a role in eating disorders. We present new evidence from four studies that both an empathizing bias and hyper-mentalizing (as measures of the extreme female brain; EFB are related to disordered eating and negative evaluation anxiety in women. We also advance the novel hypothesis that concerns about animal welfare (a unique expression of the EFB may account for the relationship between vegetarianism and eating disorders.

Bayesian analysis applied to statistical uncertainties of extreme response distributions of offshore wind turbines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cheng, P.W.; Kuik, van G.A.M.; Bussel, van G.J.W.; Vrouwenvelder, A.C.W.M.

2002-01-01

Extreme response is an important design variable for wind turbines. The statistical uncertainties concerning the extreme response distribution are simulated here with data concerning physical characteristics obtained from measurements. The extreme responses are the flap moment at the blade root and

Disaster Risks Reduction for Extreme Natural Hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Plag, H.; Jules-Plag, S.

2013-12-01

. Integration of these low-probability, high-impact events in DRR requires an approach focused on resilience and antifragility, as well as the ability to cope with, and recover from failure of infrastructure and social systems. Resilience does not primarily result from the robustness of infrastructure but mainly is a function of the social capital. While it is important to understand the hazards (the contribution of geosciences), it is equally important to understand the processes that let us cope with the hazards, or lead to failure (the contribution of social sciences and engineering). For the latter, we need a joint effort of social sciences and engineering and a revised science-policy relationship. Democratizing knowledge about extreme geohazards is very important in order to inform deliberations of DRR through increased resilience and reduced fragility. The current science-society dialog is not fully capable of supporting deliberative governance. Most scientific knowledge is created independent of those who could put it to use, and a transition to co-design and co-development of knowledge involving a broad stakeholder base is necessary for DRR, particularly for extreme events. This transition may have the consequence of more responsibility and even liability for science.

Wages’ Impact on Employment in the Extreme North of Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Andreyevna Giltman

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The article examines the wages’ impact on employment in the Extreme North of Russia. The paper highlights the unique features of the labor markets of the Extreme North, which could influence on the labor supply and demand. Using the aggregate regional data from 2005 to 2013 the author estimates fixed effects models with the independent variables such as the number of employed and unemployed and migration balance. The study shows that in the Extreme North of Russia wages significantly affect not only the number of employed, but also the number of unemployed and migrant workers. The paper also reveals that the labor supply exceeds its demand and migration plays a key role in balancing the labor markets of the mentioned territories

Anders Breivik: Extreme Beliefs Mistaken for Psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Tahir; Resnick, Phillip J; Harry, Bruce

2016-03-01

The case of Anders Breivik, who committed mass murder in Norway in 2011, stirred controversy among forensic mental health experts. His bizarrely composed compendium and references to himself as the "Knights Templar" raised concerns that he had a psychotic mental illness. Beliefs such as Mr. Breivik's that precede odd, unusual, or extremely violent behavior present a unique challenge to the forensic evaluator, who sometimes struggles to understand those beliefs. Psychotic disorder frequently is invoked to characterize odd, unusual, or extreme beliefs, with a classification that has evolved over time. However, the important concept of overvalued idea, largely ignored in American psychiatry, may better characterize these beliefs in some cases. We discuss the definitions of delusion and overvalued ideas in the context of Anders Breivik's rigidly held extreme beliefs. We also review the British definition of overvalued idea and discuss McHugh's construct, to introduce the term "extreme overvalued belief" as an aid in sharpening the forensic evaluator's conceptualization of these and similar beliefs. © 2016 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

"Extreme Programming" in a Bioinformatics Class

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, Scott; Alger, Christianna; Deutschman, Douglas

2009-01-01

The importance of Bioinformatics tools and methodology in modern biological research underscores the need for robust and effective courses at the college level. This paper describes such a course designed on the principles of cooperative learning based on a computer software industry production model called "Extreme Programming" (EP).…

Exploration of Extreme Terrain Using a Polyhedral Rover

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Exploring celestial bodies with extreme terrains in our solar system, like Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and asteroids, are of great importance to NASA because these...

THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF INTERNET MARKETING IN MODERN HOTEL INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivica Batinić

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Dynamic and rapid development of Internet technology and marketing opportunities provided by modern digital technology, enabled the radical change in traditional marketing activities and opened the space for the development of Internet marketing. Internet marketing has become an inevitable trend in the business, and its benefits are recognized by many businesses, regardless of their economic activity, with the aim of achieving better business results. Representatives of the hospitality and tourism demand (potential users of services and products are more frequently and increasingly getting their information on offers through the Internet, and the marketing presentation of the overall offer via the Internet is becoming an increasingly important success factor of each hotel as a business system. This paper analyzes the basic determinants of Internet marketing and the role and importance of Internet marketing in modern hotel business.

Extremely Preterm Birth

Science.gov (United States)

... Events Advocacy For Patients About ACOG Extremely Preterm Birth Home For Patients Search FAQs Extremely Preterm Birth ... Spanish FAQ173, June 2016 PDF Format Extremely Preterm Birth Pregnancy When is a baby considered “preterm” or “ ...

Alternative measures of risk of extreme events in decision trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frohwein, H.I.; Lambert, J.H.; Haimes, Y.Y.

1999-01-01

A need for a methodology to control the extreme events, defined as low-probability, high-consequence incidents, in sequential decisions is identified. A variety of alternative and complementary measures of the risk of extreme events are examined for their usability as objective functions in sequential decisions, represented as single- or multiple-objective decision trees. Earlier work had addressed difficulties, related to non-separability, with the minimization of some measures of the risk of extreme events in sequential decisions. In an extension of these results, it is shown how some non-separable measures of the risk of extreme events can be interpreted in terms of separable constituents of risk, thereby enabling a wider class of measures of the risk of extreme events to be handled in a straightforward manner in a decision tree. Also for extreme events, results are given to enable minimax- and Hurwicz-criterion analyses in decision trees. An example demonstrates the incorporation of different measures of the risk of extreme events in a multi-objective decision tree. Conceptual formulations for optimizing non-separable measures of the risk of extreme events are identified as an important area for future investigation

Perceptions of the News Media's Societal Roles: How the Views of U.K. Journalism Students Changed during Their Education

Science.gov (United States)

Hanna, Mark; Sanders, Karen

2012-01-01

A longitudinal study of U.K. journalism undergraduates records how their attitudes on societal roles of the news media changed during university education. Students became more likely to endorse an adversarial approach toward public officials and businesses as extremely important. Yet students did not support these roles as strongly as an older…

Is southwestern China experiencing more frequent precipitation extremes?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Meixian; Xu, Xianli; Wang, Kelin; Sun, Alexander Y; Liu, Wen; Zhang, Xiaoyan

2014-01-01

Climate extremes have and will continue to cause severe damages to buildings and natural environments around the world. A full knowledge of the probability of the climate extremes is important for the management and mitigation of natural hazards. Based on Mann–Kendall trend test and copulas, this study investigated the characteristics of precipitation extremes as well as their implications in southwestern China (Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou Province), through analyzing the changing trends and probabilistic characteristics of six indices, including the consecutive dry days, consecutive wet days, annual total wet day precipitation, heavy precipitation days (R25), max 5 day precipitation amount (Rx5) and the rainy days (RDs). Results showed that the study area had generally become drier (regional mean annual precipitation decreased by 11.4 mm per decade) and experienced enhanced precipitation extremes in the past 60 years. Relatively higher risk of drought in Yuanan and flood in Guangxi was observed, respectively. However, the changing trends of the precipitation extremes were not spatially uniform: increasing risk of extreme wet events for Guangxi and Guizhou, and increasing probability of concurrent extreme wet and dry events for Yunnan. Meanwhile, trend analyses of the 10 year return levels of the selected indices implied that the severity of droughts decreased in Yunnan but increased significantly in Guangxi and Guizhou, and the severity of floods increased in Yunnan and Guangxi in the past decades. Hence, the policy-makers need to be aware of the different characterizations and the spatial heterogeneity of the precipitation extremes. (letters)

Analyzing phenological extreme events over the past five decades in Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Schleip, Christoph; Menzel, Annette; Estrella, Nicole; Graeser, Philipp

2010-05-01

, 1990 and 2007 whereas exceptionally extreme late events are seen in the year 1970. Summer phases such as fruit ripening exhibit stronger shifts to early extremes than spring phases. Leaf colouring phases reveal increasing probability for late extremes. The with GEV estimated 100-year event of Picea, Pinus and Larix amount to extreme early events of about -27, -31.48 and -32.79 days, respectively. If we assume non-stationary minimum data we get a more extreme 100-year event of about -35.40 for Picea but associated with wider confidence intervals. The GEV is simply another probability distribution but for purposes of extreme analysis in phenology it should be considered as equally important as (if not more important than) the Gaussian PDF approach.

The role and importance of UAV within the current theaters of operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niculae MARIN

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Current theaters of operations are not limited to battlefields, but they are much morediversified, including the fight against the international terrorism phenomenon, the social conflicts (ofreligious, political, economic and separatist nature within several countries, thus supplying somepolitical-military conflicts within different states and areas of the world. The armed interference mustbe done based on some highly accurate information that must be gathered without endangering thehuman lives. This is the role currently played by the unmanned air vehicles (UAVs; they can performseveral functions: surveillance, information gathering, data storage and their transmission to theground stations, including the function of interference, when needed. This paper presents, within theabove context, the status of the current theaters of operations and of the UAVs performing differentmissions within these theaters, together with their role and importance in warfare operations.

Extreme environment electronics

CERN Document Server

Cressler, John D

2012-01-01

Unfriendly to conventional electronic devices, circuits, and systems, extreme environments represent a serious challenge to designers and mission architects. The first truly comprehensive guide to this specialized field, Extreme Environment Electronics explains the essential aspects of designing and using devices, circuits, and electronic systems intended to operate in extreme environments, including across wide temperature ranges and in radiation-intense scenarios such as space. The Definitive Guide to Extreme Environment Electronics Featuring contributions by some of the world's foremost exp

Importance of coordination skills essential psychophysical demonstrated competencies as a military specialists

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.O. Lisowski

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The aim - to identify the role and importance of coordination abilities in the manifestation of professionally important qualities of psychophysical military experts. It is established that the exercise of general, special and specific coordination abilities provides the most efficient and reliable psychophysical military readiness and suitability to the successful solution of the tasks of combat mission. It is noted that a professionally-applied physical training future military specialist should focus on the development of a certain amount of knowledge and skills. Also - on the formation of professionally important psychophysical qualities that ensure a high degree of readiness of the military to successfully complete the tasks in extreme conditions. Set of system- level structural relationships of mental and physical indicators of the motor and functional fitness, mental processes, and psychomotor ability to control motor actions in different conditions of military occupation.

Perdas extremas em mercados de risco Extreme losses in risk markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronaldo A Arraes

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Neste artigo, infere-se sobre a distribuição de valores extremos de uma variável aleatória representada pelas severas perdas diárias em investimentos financeiros. A Teoria dos Valores Extremos (TVE fundamenta a modelagem de eventos gravosos raros, com expressivas conseqüências econômicas associadas a probabilidades muito pequenas de ocorrerem. Uma das grandes preocupações, na análise de riscos, é desenvolver técnicas para prever essas ocorrências excepcionais. Assim, as caudas das distribuições desses eventos raros são importantes para o estudo do risco, tornando a TVE uma ferramenta de grande valia para a estimação mais acurada do risco dessas perdas elevadas. Investigou-se, neste trabalho, a estimação de perdas máximas esperadas para séries financeiras, empregando-se: i métodos tradicionais, que utilizaram todos os dados amostrais para analisar a variável aleatória em questão e ii a metodologia dos Valores Extremos, particularmente a da Distribuição Generalizada dos Valores Extremos (DGVE, que utilizou apenas um conjunto de máximos amostrais para a estimação das perdas máximas esperadas. Concluiu-se que os métodos tradicionais subestimaram as perdas esperadas, sobretudo nas proximidades dos limites das caudas das distribuições, e que a DGVE mostrou-se bem mais eficiente na previsão dessas perdas extremas nas séries analisadas: Ibovespa, Merval, Dow Jones.This paper aims to infer about the distribution of extremes values of a continuous random variable, represented as the severe daily losses in financial markets investments. The Extreme Value Theory (EVT plays a fundamental role in modeling rare events associated with great losses and very small probabilities of occurrence. One of the great concerns in risk management is to develop analytic techniques to foresee those exceptions. In that way, the tails of the rare losses' probability density function (pdf are of great importance in evaluating that kind of

Compound summer temperature and precipitation extremes over central Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Sedlmeier, Katrin; Feldmann, H.; Schädler, G.

2018-02-01

Reliable knowledge of the near-future climate change signal of extremes is important for adaptation and mitigation strategies. Especially compound extremes, like heat and drought occurring simultaneously, may have a greater impact on society than their univariate counterparts and have recently become an active field of study. In this paper, we use a 12-member ensemble of high-resolution (7 km) regional climate simulations with the regional climate model COSMO-CLM over central Europe to analyze the climate change signal and its uncertainty for compound heat and drought extremes in summer by two different measures: one describing absolute (i.e., number of exceedances of absolute thresholds like hot days), the other relative (i.e., number of exceedances of time series intrinsic thresholds) compound extreme events. Changes are assessed between a reference period (1971-2000) and a projection period (2021-2050). Our findings show an increase in the number of absolute compound events for the whole investigation area. The change signal of relative extremes is more region-dependent, but there is a strong signal change in the southern and eastern parts of Germany and the neighboring countries. Especially the Czech Republic shows strong change in absolute and relative extreme events.

The importance of meteorology in the environmental impacts assessment of nuclear power plants: scenarios studies using geographic information system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leao, I.L.B.; Biagio, R.M.S.; Costa, E.M.; Alves, R.N.

1999-01-01

The Brazilian Nuclear Power Plant (CNAAA) is located in a very complex region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The environmental impact caused by the normal operation of such installation can be better evaluated by using an integrated approach, in which a geographical information system plays a very important role. In this study, environmental scenarios are integrated with some extreme and representative meteorological situations. (author)

The role of regional information in estimation of extreme point rainfalls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosbjerg, Dan; Madsen, Henrik

1996-01-01

Previous analysis has shown that inclusion of regional information improves at-site estimation of point rainfalls and makes it possible to obtain estimates at non-monitored sites. The basis for this analysis was a partial duration series (PDS) modelling of individual rainfall observations and use...... point rainfall data into one sample from a common parent distribution and modelling with disregard of either the dependence between stations or the regional heterogeneity. The different models are analysed and compared with respect to the uncertainty of the predicted extreme events....

Statistical Modeling of Extreme Values and Evidence of Presence of Dragon King (DK) in Solar Wind

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, T.; Ramos, F.; Rempel, E. L.; Silva, S.; C-L Chian, A.

2017-12-01

The solar wind constitutes a nonlinear dynamical system, presenting intermittent turbulence, multifractality and chaotic dynamics. One characteristic shared by many such complex systems is the presence of extreme events, that play an important role in several Geophysical phenomena and their statistical characterization is a problem of great practical relevance. This work investigates the presence of extreme events in time series of the modulus of the interplanetary magnetic field measured by Cluster spacecraft on February 2, 2002. One of the main results is that the solar wind near the Earth's bow shock can be modeled by the Generalized Pareto (GP) and Generalized Extreme Values (GEV) distributions. Both models present a statistically significant positive shape parameter which implyies a heavy tail in the probability distribution functions and an unbounded growth in return values as return periods become too long. There is evidence that current sheets are the main responsible for positive values of the shape parameter. It is also shown that magnetic reconnection at the interface between two interplanetary magnetic flux ropes in the solar wind can be considered as Dragon Kings (DK), a class of extreme events whose formation mechanisms are fundamentally different from others. As long as magnetic reconnection can be classified as a Dragon King, there is the possibility of its identification and even its prediction. Dragon kings had previously been identified in time series of financial crashes, nuclear power generation accidents, stock market and so on. It is believed that they are associated with the occurrence of extreme events in dynamical systems at phase transition, bifurcation, crises or tipping points.

A painful reminder: the role of level and salience of attitude importance in cognitive dissonance.

Science.gov (United States)

Starzyk, Katherine B; Fabrigar, Leandre R; Soryal, Ashley S; Fanning, Jessie J

2009-01-01

In his seminal book, L. Festinger (1957) emphasized the role of attitude importance in cognitive dissonance. This study (N = 308) explored whether people's use of dissonance reduction strategies differs as a function of level of attitude importance and whether the personal importance of an attitude is salient. Results showed that level and salience of attitude importance interacted to affect high-choice (HC) participants' tendency to use attitude change and trivialization to reduce dissonance. When HC participants were not reminded of the personal importance of their attitude (i.e., it was not salient), they changed their attitudes equally irrespective of attitude importance, but engaged in greater trivialization with increasing levels of importance. In contrast, when attitude importance was salient, HC participants changed their attitudes less with increasing attitude importance and showed no evidence of trivializing under any level of importance.

The Importance of Role Modeling in Mentoring Women: Lessons from Pat Summitt Legacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Picariello Manuela

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The role of mentoring for women in sports industry has gathered attention among researchers in the past years (Bower, 2009; Bower, & Hums 2009, 2014; Weaver, & Chelladurai, 1999, 2002. Since few women are in leadership positions (Acosta, & Carpenter, 2014, cross-gender mentoring relationships are more likely to happen (Hopkins et al., 2008. However, according to Kram (1985, cross-gender mentoring relationships are more complex in terms of individual development and quality of the developmental relationship. In particular, role modeling function is limited (Kram, 1985. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the functions of the same gender mentoring relationships looking at coach Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in NCAA Division I basketball history and a woman in leadership position (Becker & Wrisberg, 2008. Due to the exploratory nature of the study and the huge impact of Pat Summitt on sport (Janssen, & Dale, 2002, De Marco, & Mccullick, 1997, a single case study design to analyze her relationships from the staff and players’ perspectives was utilized as the method for data collection. This study collected data published on American news sites located using Internet search engines Google News (http://www.google.com for 7 days. The dataset included content published through national and regional online news media, radio, television and entertainment websites and blogs. Texts were qualitatively reviewed with a content analysis and coded (Patton, 2002. This study identified career and psychosocial functions that were important in developing an effective mentoring relationships. In particular, the psychosocial functions of “role modeling” was identified as the most important for the relationship. In fact a female mentor as a role model can be perceived as a woman that has successfully overcome discriminatory barriers to career advancement.

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in entrapment and compressive neuropathy - what, where, and how to see the peripheral nerves on the musculoskeletal magnetic resonance image: part 1. Overview and lower extremity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sungjun [Yonsei University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Hanyang University, Kuri Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Kuri City, Kyunggi-do (Korea); Choi, Jin-Young; Huh, Yong-Min; Song, Ho-Taek; Lee, Sung-Ah [Yonsei University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Kim, Seung Min [Yonsei University, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Suh, Jin-Suck [Yonsei University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Yonsei University, Research Institute of Radiological Science, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea)

2007-01-15

The diagnosis of nerve entrapment and compressive neuropathy has been traditionally based on the clinical and electrodiagnostic examinations. As a result of improvements in the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging modality, it plays not only a fundamental role in the detection of space-occupying lesions but also a compensatory role in clinically and electrodiagnostically inconclusive cases. Although ultrasound has undergone further development in the past decades and shows high resolution capabilities, it has inherent limitations due to its operator dependency. We review the general concepts that should be known to evaluate the entrapment and compressive neuropathy in MR imaging. We also review the course of normal peripheral nerves, as well as various clinical demonstrations and pathological features of compressed and entrapped nerves in the lower extremities on MR imaging, according to the nerves involved. The common sites of nerve entrapment of the lower extremity are as follows: sciatic nerve around the piriformis muscle; tibial nerve at the popliteal fossa and tarsal tunnel, common peroneal nerve around the fibular neck, and digital nerve near the metatarsal head. Although MR imaging can depict the peripheral nerves in the extremities effectively, radiologists should be familiar with nerve pathways, common sites of nerve compression, and common space-occupying lesions resulting in nerve compression in MR imaging. (orig.)

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in entrapment and compressive neuropathy - what, where, and how to see the peripheral nerves on the musculoskeletal magnetic resonance image: part 1. Overview and lower extremity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sungjun; Choi, Jin-Young; Huh, Yong-Min; Song, Ho-Taek; Lee, Sung-Ah; Kim, Seung Min; Suh, Jin-Suck

2007-01-01

The diagnosis of nerve entrapment and compressive neuropathy has been traditionally based on the clinical and electrodiagnostic examinations. As a result of improvements in the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging modality, it plays not only a fundamental role in the detection of space-occupying lesions but also a compensatory role in clinically and electrodiagnostically inconclusive cases. Although ultrasound has undergone further development in the past decades and shows high resolution capabilities, it has inherent limitations due to its operator dependency. We review the general concepts that should be known to evaluate the entrapment and compressive neuropathy in MR imaging. We also review the course of normal peripheral nerves, as well as various clinical demonstrations and pathological features of compressed and entrapped nerves in the lower extremities on MR imaging, according to the nerves involved. The common sites of nerve entrapment of the lower extremity are as follows: sciatic nerve around the piriformis muscle; tibial nerve at the popliteal fossa and tarsal tunnel, common peroneal nerve around the fibular neck, and digital nerve near the metatarsal head. Although MR imaging can depict the peripheral nerves in the extremities effectively, radiologists should be familiar with nerve pathways, common sites of nerve compression, and common space-occupying lesions resulting in nerve compression in MR imaging. (orig.)

Temperature Extremes, Health, and Human Capital

Science.gov (United States)

Zivin, Joshua Graff; Shrader, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

The extreme temperatures expected under climate change may be especially harmful to children. Children are more vulnerable to heat partly because of their physiological features, but, perhaps more important, because they behave and respond differently than adults do. Children are less likely to manage their own heat risk and may have fewer ways to…

Why Are Omics Technologies Important to Understanding the Role of Nutrition in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynnette R. Ferguson

2016-10-01

Full Text Available For many years, there has been confusion about the role that nutrition plays in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD. It is apparent that good dietary advice for one individual may prove inappropriate for another. As with many diseases, genome-wide association studies across large collaborative groups have been important in revealing the role of genetics in IBD, with more than 200 genes associated with susceptibility to the disease. These associations provide clues to explain the differences in nutrient requirements among individuals. In addition to genes directly involved in the control of inflammation, a number of the associated genes play roles in modulating the gut microbiota. Cell line models enable the generation of hypotheses as to how various bioactive dietary components might be especially beneficial for certain genetic groups. Animal models are necessary to mimic aspects of the complex aetiology of IBD, and provide an important link between tissue culture studies and human trials. Once we are sufficiently confident of our hypotheses, we can then take modified diets to an IBD population that is stratified according to genotype. Studies in IBD patients fed a Mediterranean-style diet have been important in validating our hypotheses and as a proof-of-principle for the application of these sensitive omics technologies to aiding in the control of IBD symptoms.

Cognitive development in 7- to 24-month-old extremely/very-to-moderately/late preterm and full-term born infants: The mediating role of focused attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Reuner, Gitta; Weinschenk, Andrea; Pauen, Sabina; Pietz, Joachim

2015-01-01

The present study analyzed the links between prematurity, attention, and global cognitive performance in infancy and early childhood. At 7 months, focused attention (FA) was examined with an object examination task in 93 preterm infants (39 of them born extremely/very preterm, 54 born moderately/late preterm, and 38 infants born full-term). Global cognition was assessed at 7 and 24 months with the Bayley-II cognitive scale. Groups did not differ with respect to global cognitive performance but FA of infants born extremely/very preterm was significantly lower than in infants born moderately/late preterm. FA correlated significantly with both prematurity and cognitive performance at 7 months of age but not with global cognition in childhood. Findings point to a subtle adverse effect of prematurity on early attention and reveal evidence for the mediating role of FA on the effect of prematurity on cognition.

Spatiotemporal Variations of Extreme Precipitation under a Changing Climate in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingquan Lü

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Three Gorges Dam (TGD is one of the largest hydroelectric projects in the world. Monitoring the spatiotemporal distribution of extreme precipitation offers valuable information for adaptation and mitigation strategies and reservoir management schemes. This study examined variations in extreme precipitation over the Three Gorges Reservoir area (TGRA in China to investigate the potential role of climate warming and Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR. The trends in extreme precipitation over the TGRA were investigated using the iterative-based Mann–Kendall (MK test and Sen’s slope estimator, based on weather station daily data series and TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission data series. The mean and density distribution of extreme precipitation indices between pre-dam and post-dam, pre-1985 and post-1985, and near and distant reservoir area were assessed by the Mann–Whitney test and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. The ratio of extreme precipitation to non-extreme precipitation became larger. The precipitation was characterized by increases in heavy precipitation as well as decreases in light and moderate rain. Comparing extreme precipitation indices between pre-1985 (cooling and post-1985 (warming indicated extreme precipitation has changed to become heavier. Under climate warming, the precipitation amount corresponding to more than the 95th percentile increased at the rate of 6.48%/°C. Results from comparing extreme precipitation for the pre- and post-dam, near reservoir area (NRA and away from the reservoir area (ARA imply an insignificant role of the TGR on rainfall extremes over the TGRA. Moreover, the impoundment of TGR did not exert detectable impacts on the surface relative humidity (RH and water vapor pressure (WP.

LKR/SDH plays important roles throughout the tick life cycle including a long starvation period.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Banzragch Battur

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Lysine-ketoglutarate reductase/saccharopine dehydrogenase (LKR/SDH is a bifunctional enzyme catalyzing the first two steps of lysine catabolism in plants and mammals. However, to date, the properties of the lysine degradation pathway and biological functions of LKR/SDH have been very little described in arthropods such as ticks. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We isolated and characterized the gene encoding lysine-ketoglutarate reductase (LKR, EC 1.5.1.8 and saccharopine dehydrogenase (SDH, EC 1.5.1.9 from a tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, cDNA library that encodes a bifunctional polypeptide bearing domains similar to the plant and mammalian LKR/SDH enzymes. Expression of LKR/SDH was detected in all developmental stages, indicating an important role throughout the tick life cycle, including a long period of starvation after detachment from the host. The LKR/SDH mRNA transcripts were more abundant in unfed and starved ticks than in fed and engorged ticks, suggesting that tick LKR/SDH are important for the starved tick. Gene silencing of LKR/SDH by RNAi indicated that the tick LKR/SDH plays an integral role in the osmotic regulation of water balance and development of eggs in ovary of engorged females. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Transcription analysis and gene silencing of LKR/SDH indicated that tick LKR/SDH enzyme plays not only important roles in egg production, reproduction and development of the tick, but also in carbon, nitrogen and water balance, crucial physiological processes for the survival of ticks. This is the first report on the role of LKR/SDH in osmotic regulation in animals including vertebrate and arthropods.

Striving for Normalcy after Lower Extremity Reconstruction with Free Tissue: The Role of Secondary Esthetic Refinements.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Jonas A; Fischer, John P; Haddock, Nicholas T; Mackay, Duncan; Wink, Jason D; Newman, Andrew S; Levin, L Scott; Kovach, Stephen J

2016-02-01

Many patients with successful lower extremity salvage have postoperative functional and esthetic concerns. Such concerns range from contour irregularity preventing proper shoe-fitting to esthetic concerns involving color, contour, and texture match. The purpose of this study is to determine the overall incidence as well as factors associated with an increased likelihood of undergoing secondary, esthetic refinements of lower extremity free flaps and to review current revision techniques. All patients undergoing lower extremity soft tissue coverage for limb salvage procedures between January 2007 and June 2013 at a single institution were included in the analysis. Patients who underwent secondary refinements for lower extremity free flaps were compared with patients not undergoing secondary procedures. During the study period, 152 patients underwent reconstruction and were eligible for inclusion. Of these, 32 (21.1%) patients underwent secondary, esthetic revisions. Few differences in patient or case characteristics were noted, although revision patients trended toward being younger, having lower body mass index, with defects secondary to acute trauma located below the ankle. The most common revision was complex soft tissue rearrangement or surgical flap debulking/direct excision (87.5% of patients), followed by scar revision (12.5%), suction-assisted lipectomy (3.1%), laser scar revision (3.1%), and tissue expansion with local tissue rearrangement (3.1%). A significant portion of patients desire secondary revisions following the initial procedure. This is especially true of younger patients with below ankle reconstruction. In many patients, an esthetic consideration should not be of secondary concern, but should be part of the ultimate reconstructive algorithm for lower extremity limb salvage. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Arctic daily temperature and precipitation extremes: Observed and simulated physical behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Glisan, Justin Michael

Simulations using a six-member ensemble of Pan-Arctic WRF (PAW) were produced on two Arctic domains with 50-km resolution to analyze precipitation and temperature extremes for various periods. The first study used a domain developed for the Regional Arctic Climate Model (RACM). Initial simulations revealed deep atmospheric circulation biases over the northern Pacific Ocean, manifested in pressure, geopotential height, and temperature fields. Possible remedies to correct these large biases, such as modifying the physical domain or using different initial/boundary conditions, were unsuccessful. Spectral (interior) nudging was introduced as a way of constraining the model to be more consistent with observed behavior. However, such control over numerical model behavior raises concerns over how much nudging may affect unforced variability and extremes. Strong nudging may reduce or filter out extreme events, since the nudging pushes the model toward a relatively smooth, large-scale state. The question then becomes---what is the minimum spectral nudging needed to correct biases while not limiting the simulation of extreme events? To determine this, we use varying degrees of spectral nudging, using WRF's standard nudging as a reference point during January and July 2007. Results suggest that there is a marked lack of sensitivity to varying degrees of nudging. Moreover, given that nudging is an artificial forcing applied in the model, an important outcome of this work is that nudging strength apparently can be considerably smaller than WRF's standard strength and still produce reliable simulations. In the remaining studies, we used the same PAW setup to analyze daily precipitation extremes simulated over a 19-year period on the CORDEX Arctic domain for winter and summer. We defined these seasons as the three-month period leading up to and including the climatological sea ice maximum and minimum, respectively. Analysis focused on four North American regions defined using

Extremely confined gap surface-plasmon modes excited by electrons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raza, Søren; Stenger, Nicolas; Pors, Anders Lambertus

2014-01-01

High-spatial and energy resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) can be used for detailed characterization of localized and propagating surface-plasmon excitations in metal nanostructures, giving insight into fundamental physical phenomena and various plasmonic effects. Here, applying...... EELS to ultra-sharp convex grooves in gold, we directly probe extremely confined gap surface-plasmon (GSP) modes excited by swift electrons in nanometre-wide gaps. We reveal the resonance behaviour associated with the excitation of the antisymmetric GSP mode for extremely small gap widths, down to ~5...... mode exploited in plasmonic waveguides with extreme light confinement is a very important factor that should be taken into account in the design of nanoplasmonic circuits and devices....

Tales from the Paleoclimate Underground: Lessons Learned from Reconstructing Extreme Events

Science.gov (United States)

Frappier, A. E.

2017-12-01

Tracing patterns of paleoclimate extremes over the past two millennia is becoming ever more important in the effort to understand and predict costly weather hazards and their varied societal impacts. I present three paleoclimate vignettes from the past ten years of different paleotempestology projects I have worked on closely, illustrating our collective challenges and productive pathways in reconstructing rainfall extremes: temporal, spatial, and combining information from disparate proxies. Finally, I aim to share new results from modeling multiple extremes and hazards in Yucatan, a climate change hotspot.

Extreme Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes: Risk Factors and Feto Maternal Outcomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nihal Al Riyami

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM is defined as a rupture of the amniotic membranes occurring before 37 weeks of gestation and before the onset of labor. Extreme PPROM occurs prior to 26 weeks gestation and contributes to an increased risk of prematurity, leading to maternal and fetal complications. This study aims to estimate the risk factors associated with various maternal complications and to determine the worst outcomes in Omani females with extreme PPROM.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 44 women with extreme PPROM, who delivered at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH from January 2006 to December 2011. Women with incomplete information, multiple gestations, or a preterm delivery resulting from medical intervention, as well as women who delivered elsewhere were excluded from the study.Results: Forty-four women with extreme PPROM were included in our study. The results revealed the most important risk factor to be history of infection, which was noted in 24 study participants. The mean maternal age was 30 years. The mean gestational age at PPROM and at delivery were 20.7±3.2 (range: 16-26 weeks and 29.7±7.6 weeks (range: 17-40 weeks, respectively. The maternal complications observed in this study included; infection which was seen in 20 (45% patients, antepartum hemorrhage in 11 (25% patients, and cesarean section which was required in 12 (27% patients. There was no significant association between risk factors such as gestational age at delivery, parity, maternal age at PPROM, or maternal Body Mass Index (BMI and cesarean section rate. Infection played a major role, both as a risk factor and in causing extreme PPROM, which in turn increased in 12 patients (27%. In the multivariable model for predicting the need for cesarean section (gestational age at delivery, parity, maternal age at PPROM in years and maternal BMI, none of the factors were statistically significant.Conclusion: Overall

Extreme cosmos

CERN Document Server

Gaensler, Bryan

2011-01-01

The universe is all about extremes. Space has a temperature 270°C below freezing. Stars die in catastrophic supernova explosions a billion times brighter than the Sun. A black hole can generate 10 million trillion volts of electricity. And hypergiants are stars 2 billion kilometres across, larger than the orbit of Jupiter. Extreme Cosmos provides a stunning new view of the way the Universe works, seen through the lens of extremes: the fastest, hottest, heaviest, brightest, oldest, densest and even the loudest. This is an astronomy book that not only offers amazing facts and figures but also re

Peripherally inserted central catheters and upper extremity deep vein thrombosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ong, B.; Gibbs, H.; Catchpole, I.; Hetherington, R.; Harper, J.

2006-01-01

The purpose of the study was to determine the incidence and risk factors for venous thrombosis in patients with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). A retrospective study of all upper extremity venous duplex scans was carried out in the Vascular Medicine department from year 2000 to 2002 inclusive. A chart review of positive scans was undertaken to identify possible thrombotic risk factors. Of 317 upper extremity venous duplex scans carried out, 115, or 32%, were positive for upper extremity deep vein thrombosis. Three main risk factors were identified - presence of a central line, malignancy and administration of chemotherapy. PICC were the most common central line present. Symptomatic thrombosis occurred in 7% of PICC inserted for chemotherapy compared with 1% of PICC inserted for other reasons. Ten per cent of the patients receiving chemotherapy through a PICC developed a thrombosis. The post-thrombotic syndrome was infrequent following upper extremity deep vein thrombosis. Patients receiving chemotherapy through a PICC are at increased risk of thrombosis. There may be a role for prophylactic low-dose anticoagulation in these high-risk patients

On alternative q-Weibull and q-extreme value distributions: Properties and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Fode; Ng, Hon Keung Tony; Shi, Yimin

2018-01-01

Tsallis statistics and Tsallis distributions have been attracting a significant amount of research work in recent years. Importantly, the Tsallis statistics, q-distributions have been applied in different disciplines. Yet, a relationship between some existing q-Weibull distributions and q-extreme value distributions that is parallel to the well-established relationship between the conventional Weibull and extreme value distributions through a logarithmic transformation has not be established. In this paper, we proposed an alternative q-Weibull distribution that leads to a q-extreme value distribution via the q-logarithm transformation. Some important properties of the proposed q-Weibull and q-extreme value distributions are studied. Maximum likelihood and least squares estimation methods are used to estimate the parameters of q-Weibull distribution and their performances are investigated through a Monte Carlo simulation study. The methodologies and the usefulness of the proposed distributions are illustrated by fitting the 2014 traffic fatalities data from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The role of atmospheric diagnosis and Big Data science in improving hydroclimatic extreme prediction and the merits of climate informed prediction for future water resources management

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Mengqian; Lall, Upmanu

2017-04-01

The threats that hydroclimatic extremes pose to sustainable development, safety and operation of infrastructure are both severe and growing. Recent heavy precipitation triggered flood events in many regions and increasing frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation suggested by various climate projections highlight the importance of understanding the associated hydrometeorological patterns and space-time variability of such extreme events, and developing a new approach to improve predictability with a better estimation of uncertainty. This clear objective requires the optimal utility of Big Data analytics on multi-source datasets to extract informative predictors from the complex ocean-atmosphere coupled system and develop a statistical and physical based framework. The proposed presentation includes the essence of our selected works in the past two years, as part of our Global Floods Initiatives. Our approach for an improved extreme prediction begins with a better understanding of the associated atmospheric circulation patterns, under the influence and regulation of slowly changing oceanic boundary conditions [Lu et al., 2013, 2016a; Lu and Lall, 2016]. The study of the associated atmospheric circulation pattern and the regulation of teleconnected climate signals adopted data science techniques and statistical modeling recognizing the nonstationarity and nonlinearity of the system, as the underlying statistical assumptions of the classical extreme value frequency analysis are challenged in hydroclimatic studies. There are two main factors that are considered important for understanding how future flood risk will change. One is the consideration of moisture holding capacity as a function of temperature, as suggested by Clausius-Clapeyron equation. The other is the strength of the convergence or convection associated with extreme precipitation. As convergence or convection gets stronger, rain rates can be expected to increase if the moisture is available. For

Assessing the importance of spatio-temporal RCM resolution when estimating sub-daily extreme precipitation under current and future climate conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sunyer Pinya, Maria Antonia; Luchner, J.; Onof, C.

2017-01-01

extreme precipitation over Denmark generated by the regional climate model (RCM) HIRHAM-ECEARTH at different spatial resolutions (8, 12, 25 and 50km), three RCM from the RiskChange project at 8km resolution and three RCMs from ENSEMBLES at 25km resolution at temporal aggregations from 1 to 48h...... are more skewed than the observational dataset, which leads to an overestimation by the higher spatial resolution simulations. Nevertheless, in general, under current conditions RCM simulations at high spatial resolution represent extreme events and high-order moments better. The changes projected...

Typologies of extreme longevity myths.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Robert D; Desjardins, Bertrand; McLaughlin, Kirsten; Poulain, Michel; Perls, Thomas T

2010-01-01

Purpose. Political, national, religious, and other motivations have led the media and even scientists to errantly accept extreme longevity claims prima facie. We describe various causes of false claims of extraordinary longevity. Design and Methods. American Social Security Death Index files for the period 1980-2009 were queried for individuals with birth and death dates yielding ages 110+ years of age. Frequency was compared to a list of age-validated supercentenarians maintained by the Gerontology Research Group who died during the same time period. Age claims of 110+ years and the age validation experiences of the authors facilitated a list of typologies of false age claims. Results. Invalid age claim rates increase with age from 65% at age 110-111 to 98% by age 115 to 100% for 120+ years. Eleven typologies of false claims were: Religious Authority Myth, Village Elder Myth, Fountain of Youth Myth (substance), Shangri-La Myth (geographic), Nationalist Pride, Spiritual Practice, Familial Longevity, Individual and/or Family Notoriety, Military Service, Administrative Entry Error, and Pension-Social Entitlement Fraud. Conclusions. Understanding various causes of false extreme age claims is important for placing current, past, and future extreme longevity claims in context and for providing a necessary level of skepticism.

Typologies of Extreme Longevity Myths

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert D. Young

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Political, national, religious, and other motivations have led the media and even scientists to errantly accept extreme longevity claims prima facie. We describe various causes of false claims of extraordinary longevity. Design and Methods. American Social Security Death Index files for the period 1980–2009 were queried for individuals with birth and death dates yielding ages 110+ years of age. Frequency was compared to a list of age-validated supercentenarians maintained by the Gerontology Research Group who died during the same time period. Age claims of 110+ years and the age validation experiences of the authors facilitated a list of typologies of false age claims. Results. Invalid age claim rates increase with age from 65% at age 110-111 to 98% by age 115 to 100% for 120+ years. Eleven typologies of false claims were: Religious Authority Myth, Village Elder Myth, Fountain of Youth Myth (substance, Shangri-La Myth (geographic, Nationalist Pride, Spiritual Practice, Familial Longevity, Individual and/or Family Notoriety, Military Service, Administrative Entry Error, and Pension-Social Entitlement Fraud. Conclusions. Understanding various causes of false extreme age claims is important for placing current, past, and future extreme longevity claims in context and for providing a necessary level of skepticism.

Reply to Stone Et Al.: Human-Made Role in Local Temperature Extremes

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, James; Sato, Makiko; Ruedy, Reto A.

2013-01-01

Stone et al. find that their analysis is unable to show a causal relation of local temperature anomalies, such as in Texas in 2011, with global warming. It was because of limitations in such local analyses that we reframed the problem in our report, separating the task of attribution of the causes of global warming from the task of quantifying changes in the likelihood of extreme local temperature anomalies.

Changes in temperature and precipitation extremes in western central Africa, Guinea Conakry, and Zimbabwe, 1955-2006

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilar, E.; Aziz Barry, A.; Brunet, M.; Ekang, L.; Fernandes, A.; Massoukina, M.; Mbah, J.; Mhanda, A.; Do Nascimento, D. J.; Peterson, T. C.; Thamba Umba, O.; Tomou, M.; Zhang, X.

2009-01-01

Understanding how extremes are changing globally, regionally, and locally is an important first step for planning appropriate adaptation measures, as changes in extremes have major impacts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's synthesis of global extremes was not able to say anything about western central Africa, as no analysis of the region was available nor was there an adequate internationally exchanged long-term daily data set available to use for analysis of extremes. This paper presents the first analysis of extremes in this climatically important region along with analysis of Guinea Conakry and Zimbabwe. As per many other parts of the world, the analysis shows a decrease in cold extremes and an increase in warm extremes. However, while the majority of the analyzed world has shown an increase in heavy precipitation over the last half century, central Africa showed a decrease. Furthermore, the companion analysis of Guinea Conakry and Zimbabwe showed no significant increases.

Validity and interobserver agreement of lower extremity local tissue water measurements in healthy women using tissue dielectric constant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Mads R; Birkballe, Susanne; Nørregaard, Susan

2012-01-01

Tissue dielectric constant (TDC) measurement may become an important tool in the clinical evaluation of chronic lower extremity swelling in women; however, several factors are known to influence TDC measurements, and comparative data on healthy lower extremities are few.......Tissue dielectric constant (TDC) measurement may become an important tool in the clinical evaluation of chronic lower extremity swelling in women; however, several factors are known to influence TDC measurements, and comparative data on healthy lower extremities are few....

Setting a good example: Regenerative energies play an important role in Schleswig-Holstein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rave, K.

1995-01-01

In Schleswig-Holstein the use of regenerative energies is supported more than in any other Land of Germany. Due to the fact that large regions of the Land are situated in strong breeze zones, wind power plays the most important role. Almost 50% of the overall German wind current is gained in Schleswig-Holstein. Furthermore solar energy and water power are also used directly. (orig.) [de

Further outlooks: extremely uncomfortable; Die weiteren Aussichten: extrem ungemuetlich

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Resenhoeft, T.

2006-07-01

Climate is changing extremely in the last decades. Scientists dealing with extreme weather, should not only stare at computer simulations. They have also to turn towards psyche, seriously personal experiences, knowing statistics, relativise supposed sensational reports and last not least collecting more data. (GL)

Gravo-Aeroelastic Scaling for Extreme-Scale Wind Turbines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fingersh, Lee J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Loth, Eric [University of Virginia; Kaminski, Meghan [University of Virginia; Qin, Chao [University of Virginia; Griffith, D. Todd [Sandia National Laboratories

2017-06-09

A scaling methodology is described in the present paper for extreme-scale wind turbines (rated at 10 MW or more) that allow their sub-scale turbines to capture their key blade dynamics and aeroelastic deflections. For extreme-scale turbines, such deflections and dynamics can be substantial and are primarily driven by centrifugal, thrust and gravity forces as well as the net torque. Each of these are in turn a function of various wind conditions, including turbulence levels that cause shear, veer, and gust loads. The 13.2 MW rated SNL100-03 rotor design, having a blade length of 100-meters, is herein scaled to the CART3 wind turbine at NREL using 25% geometric scaling and blade mass and wind speed scaled by gravo-aeroelastic constraints. In order to mimic the ultralight structure on the advanced concept extreme-scale design the scaling results indicate that the gravo-aeroelastically scaled blades for the CART3 are be three times lighter and 25% longer than the current CART3 blades. A benefit of this scaling approach is that the scaled wind speeds needed for testing are reduced (in this case by a factor of two), allowing testing under extreme gust conditions to be much more easily achieved. Most importantly, this scaling approach can investigate extreme-scale concepts including dynamic behaviors and aeroelastic deflections (including flutter) at an extremely small fraction of the full-scale cost.

Considerations on the extreme flood produced in Ral Mare Basin (Retezat Mountains, Romania)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbuc, Mihai

2004-01-01

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the major impact of an extreme flood on the landscape, on the upper basin of Raul Mare, from Retezat Mountains, Romania, and what means 'hazardous phenomenon'. Romania is one of the European countries most severely affected by natural hazards, which have a big social and economic impact. Between them, floods are the very frequent and have one of the most important effects on settlements, agriculture and communications. Raul mare has three main sources: Lapusnicul Mare, Lapusnicul Mic and Raul Ses. Its springs from glacier lakes, at high altitude, over 2000 m, and have torrential and narrow valleys. In present, their conflence, at Gura Apelor, is covered by an anthropic lake, formed behind of a great dam, 173 m high. This dam had a major role to attenuate and to fail to control the extreme flood from July 1990 and, at the same time, to reduce significantly, the damages in Hateg depression, a low area with many settlements and economic objectives. Behind of the Gura Apelor kake, the Lapusnicul Mare and Mic valleys, the flush flood covered the whole channel, the effects on the landscape-devastating, and the flood probability, between 0,1 -0,1 %. The maps, graphics and pictures presented in this paper will emphasize the situation before and after the event. Furthermore, some standard forms used to be filled in by authorities for immediate and unitary recording of extreme phenomena are presented.(Author)

Technology improves upper extremity rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kowalczewski, Jan; Prochazka, Arthur

2011-01-01

Stroke survivors with hemiparesis and spinal cord injury (SCI) survivors with tetraplegia find it difficult or impossible to perform many activities of daily life. There is growing evidence that intensive exercise therapy, especially when supplemented with functional electrical stimulation (FES), can improve upper extremity function, but delivering the treatment can be costly, particularly after recipients leave rehabilitation facilities. Recently, there has been a growing level of interest among researchers and healthcare policymakers to deliver upper extremity treatments to people in their homes using in-home teletherapy (IHT). The few studies that have been carried out so far have encountered a variety of logistical and technical problems, not least the difficulty of conducting properly controlled and blinded protocols that satisfy the requirements of high-level evidence-based research. In most cases, the equipment and communications technology were not designed for individuals with upper extremity disability. It is clear that exercise therapy combined with interventions such as FES, supervised over the Internet, will soon be adopted worldwide in one form or another. Therefore it is timely that researchers, clinicians, and healthcare planners interested in assessing IHT be aware of the pros and cons of the new technology and the factors involved in designing appropriate studies of it. It is crucial to understand the technical barriers, the role of telesupervisors, the motor improvements that participants can reasonably expect and the process of optimizing IHT-exercise therapy protocols to maximize the benefits of the emerging technology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Role of “Extreme Case Formulations”as Facework at Procon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonia Bittencourt Silveira

2016-07-01

Full Text Available We focalize in this paper the kind of description entitled “extreme case formulations” used to justify, accuse or argue in order to make the other participants of a verbal interaction to arrive at a desired conclusion (POMERANTZ, 1984. At the Bureau of Consumer Protection (PROCON, during conciliation hearings, the parties (complainants and respondents use this discursive strategy to present their viewpoints as legitimate or defensible. The data utilized were generated during conciliation hearings at PROCON, in Juiz de Fora, MG, and they were transcribed according to Conversation Analysis conventions. This type of activity (cf. LEVINSON, 1979; SARANGI, 2000 is characterized as a conflict situation, caused by the different goals of the opponent parties: the consumer wants to blame the respondent for his/her damages and the respondent generally does not assume any responsibility for the consumer’s claims. These actions are produced discursively by means of rhetorical descriptions (EDWARDS & POTTER, 1992 to present different versions of the “facts” that originated the hearing. Adopting both an interactional perspective in Linguistics (cf. COUPER-KUHLEN & SELTING, 2001 and an impoliteness interactional perspective (cf. HOUGH, 2007, we examine the way participants make their points of view relevant and how they orient themselves, during the interaction, in relation to the dimensions of respect and disrespect, attending to face wants of the self and/or the other. (cf. PENMAN, 1990. Extreme case formulations can be seen as facework used to “save” face and/or to make the other “lose”. Thus the consumer-complainant try to offer a version that can be seen as relevant and lawful, according to the Consumer Defense Code, and present evidences that sustain his/her claims credibility. On the other hand, respondents main strategy is to account for their actions thought excuses, trying to attribute to external factors or, sometimes, to the

Statistical techniques for modeling extreme price dynamics in the energy market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mbugua, L N; Mwita, P N

2013-01-01

Extreme events have large impact throughout the span of engineering, science and economics. This is because extreme events often lead to failure and losses due to the nature unobservable of extra ordinary occurrences. In this context this paper focuses on appropriate statistical methods relating to a combination of quantile regression approach and extreme value theory to model the excesses. This plays a vital role in risk management. Locally, nonparametric quantile regression is used, a method that is flexible and best suited when one knows little about the functional forms of the object being estimated. The conditions are derived in order to estimate the extreme value distribution function. The threshold model of extreme values is used to circumvent the lack of adequate observation problem at the tail of the distribution function. The application of a selection of these techniques is demonstrated on the volatile fuel market. The results indicate that the method used can extract maximum possible reliable information from the data. The key attraction of this method is that it offers a set of ready made approaches to the most difficult problem of risk modeling.

Survival in extreme environments – on the current knowledge of adaptations in tardigrades

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møbjerg, Nadja; Halberg, Kenneth Agerlin; Jørgensen, Aslak

2011-01-01

of mechanisms explaining this phenomenon is lacking. Importantly, recent research has shown that tardigrades even in their active states may be extremely tolerant to environmental stress, handling extreme levels of ionizing radiation, large fluctuation in external salinity and avoiding freezing by supercooling...

To the limit of extreme malnutrition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frølich, Jacob; Buskbjerg, Camilla Viola; Støving, Rene K

2016-01-01

Extreme malnutrition with body mass index (BMI) as low as 10 kg/m(2) is not uncommon in anorexia nervosa, with survival enabled through complex metabolic adaptations. In contrast, outcomes from hunger strikes and famines are usually fatal after weight loss to about 40% below expected body weight...... malnutrition has not previously been reported. The present case emphasizes the importance of adherence...

The CAULDRON game: Helping decision makers understand extreme weather event attribution

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, P.; Otto, F. E. L.

2014-12-01

There is a recognition from academics and stakeholders that climate science has a fundamental role to play in the decision making process, but too frequently there is still uncertainty about what, when, how and why to use it. Stakeholders suggest that it is because the science is presented in an inaccessible manner, while academics suggest it is because the stakeholders do not have the scientific knowledge to understand and apply the science appropriately. What is apparent is that stakeholders need support, and that there is an onus on academia to provide it. This support is even more important with recent developments in climate science, such as extreme weather event attribution. We are already seeing the impacts of extreme weather events around the world causing lost of life and damage to property and infrastructure with current research suggesting that these events could become more frequent and more intense. If this is to be the case then a better understanding of the science will be vital in developing robust adaptation and business planning. The use of games, role playing and simulations to aid learning has long been understood in education but less so as a tool to support stakeholder understanding of climate science. Providing a 'safe' space where participants can actively engage with concepts, ideas and often emotions, can lead to deep understanding that is not possible through more passive mechanisms such as papers and web sites. This paper reports on a game that was developed through a collaboration led by the Red Cross/Red Crescent, University of Oxford and University of Reading to help stakeholders understand the role of weather event attribution in the decision making process. The game has already been played successfully at a number of high profile events including COP 19 and the African Climate Conference. It has also been used with students as part of a postgraduate environmental management course. As well as describing the design principles of the

Terminal Investment Strategies and Male Mate choice: Extreme Tests of Bateman.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, Maydianne C B; Kasumovic, Michael M

2005-11-01

Bateman's principle predicts the intensity of sexual selection depends on rates of increase of fecundity with mating success for each sex (Bateman slopes). The sex with the steeper increase (usually males) is under more intense sexual selection and is expected to compete for access to the sex under less intense sexual selection (usually females). Under Bateman and modern refinements of his ideas, differences in parental investment are key to defining Bateman slopes and thus sex roles. Other theories predict sex differences in mating investment, or any expenditures that reduce male potential reproductive rate, can also control sex roles. We focus on sexual behaviour in systems where males have low paternal investment but frequently mate only once in their lifetimes, after which they are often killed by the female. Mating effort (=terminal investment) is high for these males, and many forms of investment theory might predict sex role reversal. We find no qualitative evidence for sex role reversal in a sample of spiders that show this extreme male investment pattern. We also present new data for terminally-investing redback spiders (Latrodectus hasselti). Bateman slopes are relatively steep for male redbacks, and, as predicted by Bateman, there is little evidence for role reversal. Instead, males are competitive and show limited choosiness despite wide variation in female reproductive value. This study supports the proposal that high male mating investment coupled with low parental investment may predispose males to choosiness but will not lead to role reversal. We support the utility of using Bateman slopes to predict sex roles, even in systems with extreme male mating investment.

The NASA Energy and Water Cycle Extreme (NEWSE) Integration Project

Science.gov (United States)

House, P. R.; Lapenta, W.; Schiffer, R.

2008-01-01

Skillful predictions of water and energy cycle extremes (flood and drought) are elusive. To better understand the mechanisms responsible for water and energy extremes, and to make decisive progress in predicting these extremes, the collaborative NASA Energy and Water cycle Extremes (NEWSE) Integration Project, is studying these extremes in the U.S. Southern Great Plains (SGP) during 2006-2007, including their relationships with continental and global scale processes, and assessment of their predictability on multiple space and time scales. It is our hypothesis that an integrative analysis of observed extremes which reflects the current understanding of the role of SST and soil moisture variability influences on atmospheric heating and forcing of planetary waves, incorporating recently available global and regional hydro- meteorological datasets (i.e., precipitation, water vapor, clouds, etc.) in conjunction with advances in data assimilation, can lead to new insights into the factors that lead to persistent drought and flooding. We will show initial results of this project, whose goals are to provide an improved definition, attribution and prediction on sub-seasonal to interannual time scales, improved understanding of the mechanisms of decadal drought and its predictability, including the impacts of SST variability and deep soil moisture variability, and improved monitoring/attributions, with transition to applications; a bridging of the gap between hydrological forecasts and stakeholders (utilization of probabilistic forecasts, education, forecast interpretation for different sectors, assessment of uncertainties for different sectors, etc.).

Prospect for extreme field science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tajima, T. [Ludwig Maximilian Univ. and Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching (Germany); Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Kyoto and KEK, Tsukuba (Japan)

2009-11-15

The kind of laser extreme light infrastructure (ELI) provides will usher in a class of experiments we have only dreamed of for years. The characteristics that ELI brings in include: the highest intensity ever, large fluence, and relatively high repetition rate. A personal view of the author on the prospect of harnessing this unprecedented opportunity for advancing science of extreme fields is presented. The first characteristic of ELI, its intensity, will allow us to access, as many have stressed already, extreme fields that hover around the Schwinger field or at the very least the neighboring fields in which vacuum begins to behave as a nonlinear medium. In this sense, we are seriously probing the 'material' property of vacuum and thus the property that theory of relativity itself described and will entail. We will probe both special theory and general theory of relativity in regimes that have been never tested so far. We may see a glimpse into the reach of relativity or even its breakdown in some extreme regimes. We will learn Einstein and may even go beyond Einstein, if our journey is led. Laser-driven acceleration both by the laser field itself and by the wakefield that is triggered in a plasma is huge. Energies, if not luminosity, we can access, may be unprecedented going far beyond TeV. The nice thing about ELI is that it has relatively high repetition rate and average fluence as compared with other extreme lasers. This high fluence can be a key element that leads to applications to high energy physics, such as gamma-gamma collider driver experiment, and some gamma ray experiments that may be relevant in the frontier of photo-nuclear physics, and atomic energy applications. Needless to say, high fluence is one of most important features that industrial and medical applications may need. If we are lucky, we may see a door opens at the frontier of novel physics that may not be available by any other means. (authors)

Software challenges in extreme scale systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkar, Vivek; Harrod, William; Snavely, Allan E

2009-01-01

Computer systems anticipated in the 2015 - 2020 timeframe are referred to as Extreme Scale because they will be built using massive multi-core processors with 100's of cores per chip. The largest capability Extreme Scale system is expected to deliver Exascale performance of the order of 10 18 operations per second. These systems pose new critical challenges for software in the areas of concurrency, energy efficiency and resiliency. In this paper, we discuss the implications of the concurrency and energy efficiency challenges on future software for Extreme Scale Systems. From an application viewpoint, the concurrency and energy challenges boil down to the ability to express and manage parallelism and locality by exploring a range of strong scaling and new-era weak scaling techniques. For expressing parallelism and locality, the key challenges are the ability to expose all of the intrinsic parallelism and locality in a programming model, while ensuring that this expression of parallelism and locality is portable across a range of systems. For managing parallelism and locality, the OS-related challenges include parallel scalability, spatial partitioning of OS and application functionality, direct hardware access for inter-processor communication, and asynchronous rather than interrupt-driven events, which are accompanied by runtime system challenges for scheduling, synchronization, memory management, communication, performance monitoring, and power management. We conclude by discussing the importance of software-hardware co-design in addressing the fundamental challenges for application enablement on Extreme Scale systems.

Measuring systemic importance of financial institutions: An extreme value theory approach

OpenAIRE

Gravelle, Toni; Li, Fuchun

2011-01-01

In this paper, we define a financial institution's contribution to financial systemic risk as the increase in financial systemic risk conditional on the crash of the financial institution. The higher the contribution is, the more systemically important is the institution for the system. Based on relevant but different measurements of systemic risk, we propose a set of market-based measures on the systemic importance of financial institutions, each designed to capture certain aspects of system...

The role and importance of diversified farming enterprises in socio-economic development of rural areas

OpenAIRE

Askarov N.

2018-01-01

In this article considered the necessity of the organization and development of diversified farming enterprises, their role and importance in the practical solution of socio-economic problems of rural areas. The issues of the development of farms are important in increasing the employment and income of the rural population, as well as in addressing the social problems associated with them. For the period 2013-2016. 352,015 new jobs were created. Today one of the most effective factors...

Role of the import motor in insertion of transmembrane segments by the mitochondrial TIM23 complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Popov-Čeleketić, Dušan; Waegemann, Karin; Mapa, Koyeli; Neupert, Walter; Mokranjac, Dejana

2011-06-01

The TIM23 complex mediates translocation of proteins across, and their lateral insertion into, the mitochondrial inner membrane. Translocation of proteins requires both the membrane-embedded core of the complex and its ATP-dependent import motor. Insertion of some proteins, however, occurs in the absence of ATP, questioning the need for the import motor during lateral insertion. We show here that the import motor associates with laterally inserted proteins even when its ATPase activity is not required. Furthermore, our results suggest a role for the import motor in lateral insertion. Thus, the import motor is involved in ATP-dependent translocation and ATP-independent lateral insertion.

Examining personal values in extreme environment contexts: Revisiting the question of generalizability

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, N.; Sandal, G. M.; Leon, G. R.; Kjærgaard, A.

2017-08-01

Land-based extreme environments (e.g. polar expeditions, Antarctic research stations, confinement chambers) have often been used as analog settings for spaceflight. These settings share similarities with the conditions experienced during space missions, including confinement, isolation and limited possibilities for evacuation. To determine the utility of analog settings for understanding human spaceflight, researchers have examined the extent to which the individual characteristics (e.g., personality) of people operating in extreme environments can be generalized across contexts (Sandal, 2000) [1]. Building on previous work, and utilising new and pre-existing data, the present study examined the extent to which personal value motives could be generalized across extreme environments. Four populations were assessed; mountaineers (N =59), military personnel (N = 25), Antarctic over-winterers (N = 21) and Mars simulation participants (N = 12). All participants completed the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ; Schwartz; 2) capturing information on 10 personal values. Rank scores suggest that all groups identified Self-direction, Stimulation, Universalism and Benevolence as important values and acknowledged Power and Tradition as being low priorities. Results from difference testing suggest the extreme environment groups were most comparable on Self-direction, Stimulation, Benevolence, Tradition and Security. There were significant between-group differences on five of the ten values. Overall, findings pinpointed specific values that may be important for functioning in challenging environments. However, the differences that emerged on certain values highlight the importance of considering the specific population when comparing results across extreme settings. We recommend that further research examine the impact of personal value motives on indicators of adjustment, group working, and performance. Information from such studies could then be used to aid selection and

What Role for Law, Human Rights, and Bioethics in an Age of Big Data, Consortia Science, and Consortia Ethics? The Importance of Trustworthiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Dove, Edward S; Özdemir, Vural

2015-09-01

The global bioeconomy is generating new paradigm-shifting practices of knowledge co-production, such as collective innovation; large-scale, data-driven global consortia science (Big Science); and consortia ethics (Big Ethics). These bioeconomic and sociotechnical practices can be forces for progressive social change, but they can also raise predicaments at the interface of law, human rights, and bioethics. In this article, we examine one such double-edged practice: the growing, multivariate exploitation of Big Data in the health sector, particularly by the private sector. Commercial exploitation of health data for knowledge-based products is a key aspect of the bioeconomy and is also a topic of concern among publics around the world. It is exacerbated in the current age of globally interconnected consortia science and consortia ethics, which is characterized by accumulating epistemic proximity, diminished academic independence, "extreme centrism", and conflicted/competing interests among innovation actors. Extreme centrism is of particular importance as a new ideology emerging from consortia science and consortia ethics; this relates to invariably taking a middle-of-the-road populist stance, even in the event of human rights breaches, so as to sustain the populist support needed for consortia building and collective innovation. What role do law, human rights, and bioethics-separate and together-have to play in addressing these predicaments and opportunities in early 21st century science and society? One answer we propose is an intertwined ethico-legal normative construct, namely trustworthiness . By considering trustworthiness as a central pillar at the intersection of law, human rights, and bioethics, we enable others to trust us, which in turns allows different actors (both nonprofit and for-profit) to operate more justly in consortia science and ethics, as well as to access and responsibly use health data for public benefit.

What Role for Law, Human Rights, and Bioethics in an Age of Big Data, Consortia Science, and Consortia Ethics? The Importance of Trustworthiness

Science.gov (United States)

Dove, Edward S.; Özdemir, Vural

2015-01-01

The global bioeconomy is generating new paradigm-shifting practices of knowledge co-production, such as collective innovation; large-scale, data-driven global consortia science (Big Science); and consortia ethics (Big Ethics). These bioeconomic and sociotechnical practices can be forces for progressive social change, but they can also raise predicaments at the interface of law, human rights, and bioethics. In this article, we examine one such double-edged practice: the growing, multivariate exploitation of Big Data in the health sector, particularly by the private sector. Commercial exploitation of health data for knowledge-based products is a key aspect of the bioeconomy and is also a topic of concern among publics around the world. It is exacerbated in the current age of globally interconnected consortia science and consortia ethics, which is characterized by accumulating epistemic proximity, diminished academic independence, “extreme centrism”, and conflicted/competing interests among innovation actors. Extreme centrism is of particular importance as a new ideology emerging from consortia science and consortia ethics; this relates to invariably taking a middle-of-the-road populist stance, even in the event of human rights breaches, so as to sustain the populist support needed for consortia building and collective innovation. What role do law, human rights, and bioethics—separate and together—have to play in addressing these predicaments and opportunities in early 21st century science and society? One answer we propose is an intertwined ethico-legal normative construct, namely trustworthiness. By considering trustworthiness as a central pillar at the intersection of law, human rights, and bioethics, we enable others to trust us, which in turns allows different actors (both nonprofit and for-profit) to operate more justly in consortia science and ethics, as well as to access and responsibly use health data for public benefit. PMID:26345196

What Role for Law, Human Rights, and Bioethics in an Age of Big Data, Consortia Science, and Consortia Ethics? The Importance of Trustworthiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward S. Dove

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The global bioeconomy is generating new paradigm-shifting practices of knowledge co-production, such as collective innovation; large-scale, data-driven global consortia science (Big Science; and consortia ethics (Big Ethics. These bioeconomic and sociotechnical practices can be forces for progressive social change, but they can also raise predicaments at the interface of law, human rights, and bioethics. In this article, we examine one such double-edged practice: the growing, multivariate exploitation of Big Data in the health sector, particularly by the private sector. Commercial exploitation of health data for knowledge-based products is a key aspect of the bioeconomy and is also a topic of concern among publics around the world. It is exacerbated in the current age of globally interconnected consortia science and consortia ethics, which is characterized by accumulating epistemic proximity, diminished academic independence, “extreme centrism”, and conflicted/competing interests among innovation actors. Extreme centrism is of particular importance as a new ideology emerging from consortia science and consortia ethics; this relates to invariably taking a middle-of-the-road populist stance, even in the event of human rights breaches, so as to sustain the populist support needed for consortia building and collective innovation. What role do law, human rights, and bioethics—separate and together—have to play in addressing these predicaments and opportunities in early 21st century science and society? One answer we propose is an intertwined ethico-legal normative construct, namely trustworthiness. By considering trustworthiness as a central pillar at the intersection of law, human rights, and bioethics, we enable others to trust us, which in turns allows different actors (both nonprofit and for-profit to operate more justly in consortia science and ethics, as well as to access and responsibly use health data for public benefit.

The importance of interpersonal communication in poison centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Crouch, B I; Thomas, K C; Rothwell, E; Planalp, S; Ellington, L; Teemant, K

2013-11-01

Poison control center (PCC) personnel face many challenges in communicating with callers and with each other. The purpose of this study was to identify interpersonal communication issues that affect the work environment within PCCs. As part of a larger questionnaire study distributed electronically to members of the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) to assess communication training needs for PCCs, three questions were included to assess interpersonal communication within the work environment: (1) How important is interpersonal communication within your center to a positive work environment? (not at all to extremely important, 1-7); (2) How disruptive is interpersonal communication to your work? (not at all to extremely disruptive, 1-7); and (3) What communication issues do you find most disruptive to your work? (free-text response). Descriptive and qualitative content analyses were used to identify themes in responses. A total of 537 responses were received from SPIs, directors, medical directors, and other PCC staff. Interpersonal communication within the PCC was rated as extremely important to a positive work environment (median = 7 and IQR = 6-7; 62.3% rated as extremely important). Interpersonal communication was rated as less than moderately disruptive on average (median = 3 and IQR = 2-4). Free-text responses were received from 335 (62%) respondents. Free-text comments were broadly categorized as relating to PCC personnel and work environment and issues related to PCC callers. Categories that emerged from the PCC personnel and work environment category included the following: poor interpersonal communication (n = 104; 31%); background noise (n = 96; 29%); poor work procedures (n = 51; 15%); and poor management communication (n = 38; 11%). Interpersonal communication within PCCs was considered to be important for a positive work environment. Although not found to be strongly disruptive by most respondents, several specific interpersonal

Extreme events in the Mediterranean area: A mixed deterministic-statistical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Speranza, A.; Tartaglione, N.

2006-01-01

Statistical inference suffers for severe limitations when applied to extreme meteo-climatic events. A fundamental theorem proposes a constructive theory for a universal distribution law (the Generalized Extreme Value distribution) of extremes. Use of this theorem and of its derivations is nowadays quite common. However, when applying it, the selected events should be real extremes. In practical applications a major source of errors is the fact that there is no strict criterion for selecting extremes and, in order to fatten the statistical sample very mild selection criteria are often used. The theorem in question applies to stationary processes. When a trend is introduced, inference becomes even more problematic. Experience shows that any available a priori knowledge concerning the system can play a fundamental role in the analysis, in particular if it lowers the dimensionality of the parameter space to be explored. The inference procedures serve, then, the purpose of testing the reliability of inductive hypothesis, rather than proving them. Within the above general context, analysis of the hypothesis that the frequency and/or intensity of extreme weather events in the Mediterranean area may be changing is proposed. The analysis is based on a combined deterministic-statistical approach: dynamical analysis of intense perturbations is combined with statistical techniques in order to try to formulate the problem in such a way that meaningful conclusion may be achieved

Black breast cancer survivors experience greater upper extremity disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Lorraine T; DeMichele, Angela; LeBlanc, Mously; Stephens-Shields, Alisa; Li, Susan Q; Colameco, Chris; Coursey, Morgan; Mao, Jun J

2015-11-01

Over one-third of breast cancer survivors experience upper extremity disability. Black women present with factors associated with greater upper extremity disability, including: increased body mass index (BMI), more advanced disease stage at diagnosis, and varying treatment type compared with Whites. No prior research has evaluated the relationship between race and upper extremity disability using validated tools and controlling for these factors. Data were drawn from a survey study among 610 women with stage I-III hormone receptor positive breast cancer. The disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (QuickDASH) is an 11-item self-administered questionnaire that has been validated for breast cancer survivors to assess global upper extremity function over the past 7 days. Linear regression and mediation analysis estimated the relationships between race, BMI and QuickDASH score, adjusting for demographics and treatment types. Black women (n = 98) had 7.3 points higher average QuickDASH scores than White (n = 512) women (p disability by 40 %. Even several years post-treatment, Black breast cancer survivors had greater upper extremity disability, which was partially mediated by higher BMIs. Close monitoring of high BMI Black women may be an important step in reducing disparities in cancer survivorship. More research is needed on the relationship between race, BMI, and upper extremity disability.

The role and importance of social media in communicating brand value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đukić Suzana

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Communication between consumers is the most important way of communicating value and forming opinions on brands and enterprises. The expansion of communication technologies has made communication between people easier and provided the links with consumers on a radically new basis. Virtual space represents a dominant meeting place for people with similar interests. Thus, virtual consumer communities across the world preferring and committed to same brands have been created. Members are loyal to communities they belong to and participate actively and indirectly in modeling and developing them. By expressing their own opinions and exploring others, consumers influence and help each other in finding solutions for certain situations in buying and consumption. Considering the intensity of the exchange of information, opinions, experience and ideas, one can speak about the expansion of communication messages that are exchanged in the virtual space and social media as transfer channels. These are the media formed by consumers themselves, who control the information communicated through them. Because of the importance of massages exchanged through them and their impact on consumer behavior, social media have an important place in integrated marketing communications. Although enterprises cannot completely control the communication within social media, the efficiency of marketing communication can be realized by providing conditions for friendly, correct, continuous and transparent message exchange between consumers and enterprises as well as between consumers themselves. The paper examines the communication possibilities of social media determining their role and importance in communicating value in the market for the purpose of enhancing consumer loyalty and creating image and professional respectability of the enterprise.

Structure of personality and motivation of extreme sports athletes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Mahnič

2005-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of research was to define the eventual differences between personal and motivational structure among extreme sports athletes and non-athletes. Beside personal and motivational structure of both mentioned groups, we also examined state and trait anxiety as significant factors of success. We used a medium lengthy version of FPI inventory, Costell's questionnaire of achievement motivation and Spielberg's questionnaire STAI – X1 and STAI – X2. The pattern included 66 extreme sports athletes. We concluded that extreme sports athletes are significantly less suppressed and sincere, whereas they are more extrovert and masculine in comparison with the group of non-athletes. A trend that individuals, who reach for extreme sports, are more sociable, and less neurotic is pointed out, but it is not of significant importance. We found out that there is also a tendency that extreme sports athletes express more positive achievement motivation than non-athletes, who on the other hand express significantly higher negative achievement motivation. The analysis of anxiety differences on the other hand showed that extreme sports athletes have significantly lower state of anxiety and the anxiety itself as atrait is far less visible, but the difference did not appear as significant. The results however did not confirme previous studies' findings. Nevertheless they serve as a contribution to some earlier findings and suggest that extreme sports athletes are a special group, which differs from non-athlete population in both personal and motivational structure and relatively well suits to the profile of a top athlete. At the same time, the present research offers a possibility of shaping an extreme sports athlete's profile.

Towards constraining extreme temperature projections of the CMIP5 ensemble

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Martha-Marie; Orth, René; Isabelle Seneviratne, Sonia

2016-04-01

The frequency and intensity of heat waves is expected to change in future in response to global warming. Given the severe impacts of heat waves on ecosystems and society it is important to understand how and where they will intensify. Projections of extreme hot temperatures in the IPCC AR5 model ensemble show large uncertainties for projected changes of extreme temperatures in particular in Central Europe. In this region land-atmosphere coupling can contribute substantially to the development of heat waves. This coupling is also subject to change in future, while model projections display considerable spread. In this work we link projections of changes in extreme temperatures and of changes in land-atmosphere interactions with a particular focus on Central Europe. Uncertainties in projected extreme temperatures can be partly explained by different projected changes of the interplay between latent heat and temperature as well as soil moisture. Given the considerable uncertainty in land-atmosphere coupling representation already in the current climate, we furthermore employ observational data sets to constrain the model ensemble, and consequently the extreme temperature projections.

Regional tendencies of extreme wind characteristics in Hungary

Science.gov (United States)

Radics, Dr.; Bartholy, Dr.; Péliné

2009-09-01

Human activities have substantial effects on climate system. It has already accepted that change in the long-term climatic mean state will have significant consequences in the global economy and society, but the most important effects of climate change may come from changes in the intensity and frequency of climatic extremes. It is therefore of great interest to document the extremes of surface wind that could assist in estimating the regional effects of climate change. The research presented is based on 34-year-long (1975-2008) wind (speed, direction, and wind gust) data sets of 36 Hungarian synoptic meteorological stations. After processing (including digitalisation of old instrumental records, quality control and homogenisation of wind time series) the measured wind data sets, time series and complex wind climate analysis were carried out. Spatial and temporal distributions of mean and extreme wind climate characteristics were estimated, wind extremes and trends were interpolated and mapped over the country. Finally, measured and reanalysed (ERA40) wind data were compared over Hungary, in order to verify not only the validity of ERA40 reanalysed data sets, but the adaptability of climate simulation results in estimation of regional climate change effects.

E.X.T.R.E.M.E. project. Launch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eyrolle, F.; Charmasson, S.; Masson, O.

2005-01-01

Due to the drastic decrease in artificial radioactivity levels from primary sources such as atmospheric fallout or industrial releases, radioactive storages constituted in the past within several environmental compartments act today as non negligible secondary sources. These delayed sources are particularly active during extreme weather or climatic events such as rainfalls or atmospheric deposits, floods, storms, etc...that may remove important mass, generate activity levels higher than the predicted ones from modeling based on mean transfer process, and produce in a couple of hours or days fluxes similar to those accrued over several month or years. Extreme aims at assessing the consequences on man and its environment of natural events that generate extreme radioactive stocks and/or fluxes within several environmental compartments (atmosphere, soils, rivers, coastal marine environment and deep sea areas). (authors)

Flood protection diversification to reduce probabilities of extreme losses.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Qian; Lambert, James H; Karvetski, Christopher W; Keisler, Jeffrey M; Linkov, Igor

2012-11-01

Recent catastrophic losses because of floods require developing resilient approaches to flood risk protection. This article assesses how diversification of a system of coastal protections might decrease the probabilities of extreme flood losses. The study compares the performance of portfolios each consisting of four types of flood protection assets in a large region of dike rings. A parametric analysis suggests conditions in which diversifications of the types of included flood protection assets decrease extreme flood losses. Increased return periods of extreme losses are associated with portfolios where the asset types have low correlations of economic risk. The effort highlights the importance of understanding correlations across asset types in planning for large-scale flood protection. It allows explicit integration of climate change scenarios in developing flood mitigation strategy. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Gender-related Factors Associated with Upper Extremity Function in Workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoo Sang Kim

2010-12-01

Conclusion: This study addressed sociodemographic factors and work-related factors that affect each gender’s upper extremity function during daily living and working activities. Each factor had a different influence. Further studies are needed to identify the effect that role changes, not being influenced by risks at work, have on musculoskeletal disorders.

Imaging extrasolar planets with the European Extremely Large Telescope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolissaint L.

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT is the most ambitious of the ELTs being planned. With a diameter of 42 m and being fully adaptive from the start, the E-ELT will be more than one hundred times more sensitive than the present-day largest optical telescopes. Discovering and characterising planets around other stars will be one of the most important aspects of the E-ELT science programme. We model an extreme adaptive optics instrument on the E-ELT. The resulting contrast curves translate to the detectability of exoplanets.

Antibody-Mediated Extreme Insulin Resistance: A Report of Three Cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Han Na; Fesseha, Betiel; Anzaldi, Laura; Tsao, Allison; Galiatsatos, Panagis; Sidhaye, Aniket

2018-01-01

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by relative insulin deficiency and insulin resistance. Features suggesting severe insulin resistance include acanthosis nigricans, hyperandrogenism, weight loss, and recurrent hospital admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis. In rare circumstances, hyperglycemia persists despite administration of massive doses of insulin. In these cases, it is important to consider autoimmune etiologies for insulin resistance, such as type B insulin resistance and insulin antibody-mediated extreme insulin resistance, which carry high morbidity and mortality if untreated. Encouragingly, immunomodulatory regimens have recently been published that induce remission at high rates. We describe 3 cases of extreme insulin resistance mediated by anti-insulin receptor autoantibodies or insulin autoantibodies. All cases were effectively treated with an immunomodulatory regimen. Although cases of extreme insulin resistance are rare, it is important to be aware of autoimmune causes, recognize suggestive signs and symptoms, and pursue appropriate diagnostic evaluation. Prompt treatment with immunomodulators is key to restoring euglycemia in patients with autoimmune etiologies of insulin resistance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Global patterns of NDVI-indicated vegetation extremes and their sensitivity to climate extremes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Guo; Liu Hongyan; Yin Yi

2013-01-01

Extremes in climate have significant impacts on ecosystems and are expected to increase under future climate change. Extremes in vegetation could capture such impacts and indicate the vulnerability of ecosystems, but currently have not received a global long-term assessment. In this study, a robust method has been developed to detect significant extremes (low values) in biweekly time series of global normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 1982 to 2006 and thus to acquire a global pattern of vegetation extreme frequency. This pattern coincides with vegetation vulnerability patterns suggested by earlier studies using different methods over different time spans, indicating a consistent mechanism of regulation. Vegetation extremes were found to aggregate in Amazonia and in the semi-arid and semi-humid regions in low and middle latitudes, while they seldom occurred in high latitudes. Among the environmental variables studied, extreme low precipitation has the highest slope against extreme vegetation. For the eight biomes analyzed, these slopes are highest in temperate broadleaf forest and temperate grassland, suggesting a higher sensitivity in these environments. The results presented here contradict the hypothesis that vegetation in water-limited semi-arid and semi-humid regions might be adapted to drought and suggest that vegetation in these regions (especially temperate broadleaf forest and temperate grassland) is highly prone to vegetation extreme events under more severe precipitation extremes. It is also suggested here that more attention be paid to precipitation-induced vegetation changes than to temperature-induced events. (letter)

The Role of Comic Reading Materials in Enhancing the Ability to Read in EFL

Science.gov (United States)

Roozafzai, Zahra Sadat

2012-01-01

Reading is an extremely active, complex, mental and personal process that concerns both the reader and the text. It is now generally believed that a range of reader with text factors affect the reading process to a considerable extent. So, teachers of EFL need to be aware of the important role of teaching materials. Thus, this study investigated…

Engaging Civil Society in Countering Violent Extremism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bibi van Ginkel

2012-08-01

Full Text Available In this Research Paper Dr. Bibi van Ginkel takes an in depth look at how multi-lateral institutions, engage with civil society to counter violent extremism. Dr. van Ginkel argues that civil society can play a crucial role in preventing and countering violent extremism in numerous ways – by working on development programs, through their work in conflict transformation, in providing a platform to raise political grievances and to facilitate dialogue, or through their work in empowering victims and survivors of terrorism. The Paper finds that over the last decade there has been a more intensive coordination of activities between the UN and other multi-lateral organisations and civil society but the question remains whether the implementation as well as the drafting of these policies will live up to their potential effectiveness. This Paper gauges how effective these measures have been and what more there is to do. The final section concludes with a series of policy recommendations.

Extremely high concentration of folates in premature newborns.

Science.gov (United States)

Zikavska, T; Brucknerova, I

2014-01-01

Extremely high concentration of folates in premature newborns: case reports. Folates are a group of water soluble compounds, which are important for metabolic processes in human body. These are important during periods of rapid cell growth. The most accurate indicator of long-term folate level status in the body is the determination of red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations. The optimal level of RBC folate is not known in neonatal period. Authors discuss the reasons for extremely high level of RBC folate concentrations. In our work we present the cases of two premature newborns with extremely high level of RBC folate concentrations, which were analyzed immunochemically on the first day of life and after six weeks of life. In both cases we measured RBC folate concentrations on the 1st day of life. After 6 weeks we found extremely high RBC folate concentration level (5516.67 ng/ml) in the first case after RBC transfusions. In second case after two months of life the RBC folate concentration level was doubled (2335.1 ng/ml) until 24 hours after RBC transfusion compared to levels after birth. The normal range of RBC folate values vary in newborns. The upper limit of daily dose of folic acid in pregnancy and neonatal period is not known. On the other hand it is an easily excreted water-soluble vitamin but in premature newborn it can lead to the disruption of metabolic balance and slow its degradation. Some factors can have an impact on RBC folate concentration. Blood transfusion can be one of the main influences on RBC folate concentration. To clarify these mechanisms further studies are required (Ref. 29).

Early warnings of extreme winds using the ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index

OpenAIRE

Petroliagis, Thomas I.; Pinson, Pierre

2014-01-01

The European FP7 SafeWind Project aims at developing research towards a European vision of wind power forecasting, which requires advanced meteorological support concerning extreme wind events. This study is focused mainly on early warnings of extreme winds in the early medium-range. Three synoptic stations (airports) of North Germany (Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover) were considered for the construction of time series of daily maximum wind speeds. All daily wind extremes were found to be linked...

Biomechanics of fall arrest using the upper extremity: age differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyu-Jung; Ashton-Miller, James A

2003-05-01

This study tried to isolate critical biomechanical factors in fall arrests using the upper extremity during simulated forward falls. This study also attempted to find the differences in those factors between young and old age groups. The role of the upper extremity is not well defined despite its primary usage as a local shock absorber during fall impact. Comparative study in which two age groups underwent motion analysis.Methods. Ten healthy older males (mean age, 66.4 years) and 10 young males (mean age, 24.1 years) volunteered to perform self-initiated and cable-released falls at selected falling distances, while the joint motion and impact forces at the hand were recorded. Significant age differences were demonstrated in joint kinematics and impact force parameters at close distances. Excessive reflexive responses of the upper extremity in cable-released falls for the older adults resulted in 10-15 times higher peak impact forces and 2-3 times shorter body braking time than in self-initiated falls. Pre-impact activities of the upper extremity predispose the post-impact response during fall arrests. Suppressing excessive pre-impact reflexive activation of the arms could efficiently decrease the risk of fall-related injuries, which calls for securing sufficient arm movement time. Any fall prevention strategy that can increase arm movement time would be effective against injuries of the upper extremity during falling in the older adults. The findings will help to understand underlying mechanisms of fall arrest using the upper extremity for prevention of fall-related fractures.

Data-based perfect-deficit approach to understanding climate extremes and forest carbon assimilation capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Suhua; Yi, Chuixiang; Hendrey, George; Eaton, Timothy; Rustic, Gerald; Wang, Shaoqiang; Liu, Heping; Krakauer, Nir Y; Wang, Weiguo; Desai, Ankur R; Montagnani, Leonardo; Tha Paw U, Kyaw; Falk, Matthias; Black, Andrew; Bernhofer, Christian; Grünwald, Thomas; Laurila, Tuomas; Cescatti, Alessandro; Moors, Eddy

2014-01-01

Several lines of evidence suggest that the warming climate plays a vital role in driving certain types of extreme weather. The impact of warming and of extreme weather on forest carbon assimilation capacity is poorly known. Filling this knowledge gap is critical towards understanding the amount of carbon that forests can hold. Here, we used a perfect-deficit approach to identify forest canopy photosynthetic capacity (CPC) deficits and analyze how they correlate to climate extremes, based on observational data measured by the eddy covariance method at 27 forest sites over 146 site-years. We found that droughts severely affect the carbon assimilation capacities of evergreen broadleaf forest (EBF) and deciduous broadleaf forest. The carbon assimilation capacities of Mediterranean forests were highly sensitive to climate extremes, while marine forest climates tended to be insensitive to climate extremes. Our estimates suggest an average global reduction of forest CPC due to unfavorable climate extremes of 6.3 Pg C (∼5.2% of global gross primary production) per growing season over 2001–2010, with EBFs contributing 52% of the total reduction

Role and importance of the spatial planning plan in the Republic of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marinković Goran

2017-01-01

Full Text Available When it comes to spatial planning, it is impossible to circumvent the cadastre, which in essence is the basis for the preparation and realization of planning documents. Considering this fact in this paper, an analysis of the importance and role of the cadastre for spatial planning was carried out, whereby the obligations and procedures implemented by the cadastre in the spatial and urban planning situation in the Republic of Serbia are described in detail.

Multi-functional roles for the polypeptide transport associated domains of Toc75 in chloroplast protein import

Science.gov (United States)

Paila, Yamuna D; Richardson, Lynn GL; Inoue, Hitoshi; Parks, Elizabeth S; McMahon, James; Inoue, Kentaro; Schnell, Danny J

2016-01-01

Toc75 plays a central role in chloroplast biogenesis in plants as the membrane channel of the protein import translocon at the outer envelope of chloroplasts (TOC). Toc75 is a member of the Omp85 family of bacterial and organellar membrane insertases, characterized by N-terminal POTRA (polypeptide-transport associated) domains and C-terminal membrane-integrated β-barrels. We demonstrate that the Toc75 POTRA domains are essential for protein import and contribute to interactions with TOC receptors, thereby coupling preprotein recognition at the chloroplast surface with membrane translocation. The POTRA domains also interact with preproteins and mediate the recruitment of molecular chaperones in the intermembrane space to facilitate membrane transport. Our studies are consistent with the multi-functional roles of POTRA domains observed in other Omp85 family members and demonstrate that the domains of Toc75 have evolved unique properties specific to the acquisition of protein import during endosymbiotic evolution of the TOC system in plastids. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12631.001 PMID:26999824

Monte Carlo calculations on extremity and eye lens dosimetry for medical staff at interventional radiology procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carinou, E.; Ferrari, P.; Koukorava, C.; Krim, S.; Struelens, L.

2011-01-01

There are many factors that can influence the extremity and eye lens doses of the medical staff during interventional radiology and cardiology procedures. Numerical simulations can play an important role in evaluating extremity and eye lens doses in correlation with many different parameters. In the present study, the first results of the ORAMED (Optimisation of Radiation protection of Medical staff) simulation campaign are presented. The parameters investigated for their influence on eye lens, hand, wrist and leg doses are: tube voltage, filtration, beam projection, field size and irradiated part of the patient's body. The tube voltage ranged from 60 to 110 kVp, filtration from 3 to 6 mm Al and from 0 to 0.9 mm Cu. For all projections, the results showed that doses received by the operator decreased with increasing tube voltage and filtration. The magnitude of the influence of the tube voltage and the filtration on the doses depends on the beam projection and the irradiated part of the patient's body. Finally, the influence of the field size is significant in decreasing the doses. (authors)

Important roles of Fischer-Tropsch synfuels in the global energy future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeshita, Takayuki; Yamaji, Kenji

2008-01-01

This paper examines the potential roles of Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synfuels in the 21st century with a global energy model treating the entire fuel supply chain in detail. The major conclusions are the following. First, FT synfuels become a major alternative fuel regardless of CO 2 policy due to their low transportation costs and compatibility with existing petroleum infrastructure and vehicles. Secondly, the FT process brings stranded gas to world markets until around 2050. In a 550 ppm CO 2 stabilization case thereafter, producing FT synfuels from biomass, whose competitiveness is robust against its capital costs, and their interregional trade enable a worldwide diffusion of carbon-neutral fuels. This provides a significant source of income for developing regions, such as Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Thirdly, FT synfuels play a crucial role in meeting the growing transportation energy demand and assuring diversified supplies of transportation fuels. Increasing portions of FT liquids are refined to FT-kerosene to be provided for the rapidly growing aviation sector in the second half of the century. Furthermore, upgrading FT-naphtha into FT-gasoline proves to be critically important. FT synfuels' participation could help the development in Africa through technological contributions of the South African leading companies in the world synfuel industry

(When and where) Do extreme climate events trigger extreme ecosystem responses? - Development and initial results of a holistic analysis framework

Science.gov (United States)

Hauber, Eva K.; Donner, Reik V.

2015-04-01

In the context of ongoing climate change, extremes are likely to increase in magnitude and frequency. One of the most important consequences of these changes is that the associated ecological risks and impacts are potentially rising as well. In order to better anticipate and understand these impacts, it therefore becomes more and more crucial to understand the general connection between climate extremes and the response and functionality of ecosystems. Among other region of the world, Europe presents an excellent test case for studies concerning the interaction between climate and biosphere, since it lies in the transition region between cold polar and warm tropical air masses and thus covers a great variety of different climatic zones and associated terrestrial ecosystems. The large temperature differences across the continent make this region particularly interesting for investigating the effects of climate change on biosphere-climate interactions. However, previously used methods for defining an extreme event typically disregard the necessity of taking seasonality as well as seasonal variance appropriately into account. Furthermore, most studies have focused on the impacts of individual extreme events instead of considering a whole inventory of extremes with their respective spatio-temporal extents. In order to overcome the aforementioned research gaps, this work introduces a new approach to studying climate-biosphere interactions associated with extreme events, which comprises three consecutive steps: (1) Since Europe exhibits climatic conditions characterized by marked seasonality, a novel method is developed to define extreme events taking into account the seasonality in all quantiles of the probability distribution of the respective variable of interest. This is achieved by considering kernel density estimates individually for each observation date during the year, including the properly weighted information from adjacent dates. By this procedure, we obtain

Extreme meteorological conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altinger de Schwarzkopf, M.L.

1983-01-01

Different meteorological variables which may reach significant extreme values, such as the windspeed and, in particular, its occurrence through tornadoes and hurricanes that necesarily incide and wich must be taken into account at the time of nuclear power plants' installation, are analyzed. For this kind of study, it is necessary to determine the basic phenomenum of design. Two criteria are applied to define the basic values of design for extreme meteorological variables. The first one determines the expected extreme value: it is obtained from analyzing the recurence of the phenomenum in a convened period of time, wich may be generally of 50 years. The second one determines the extreme value of low probability, taking into account the nuclear power plant's operating life -f.ex. 25 years- and considering, during said lapse, the occurrence probabilities of extreme meteorological phenomena. The values may be determined either by the deterministic method, which is based on the acknowledgement of the fundamental physical characteristics of the phenomena or by the probabilistic method, that aims to the analysis of historical statistical data. Brief comments are made on the subject in relation to the Argentine Republic area. (R.J.S.) [es

Narcissism as a moderator of satisfaction with body image in young women with extreme underweight and obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipowska, Małgorzata; Lipowski, Mariusz

2015-01-01

Body weight and age constitute main determinants of body image in women. We analyzed the role of narcissism as a moderator of body image in young women representing various extremes of body weight. The study included 325 women between 18 and 35 years, qualified into three BMI categories: obese women (BMI > 30.0, n = 72), severely underweight women who did not satisfy the remaining criteria of anorexia (BMI 22.7, n = 168). Satisfaction with body image was determined with Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire and Body Esteem Scale, while narcissism was measured with Narcissistic Personality Inventory. We revealed that narcissism has significant impact on the body image of women who are extremely underweight or obese. Vanity and Leadership were narcissism dimensions which played significant role in slim women, as compared to Vanity and Self-Sufficiency in obese women. The role of narcissism as a modulator of self-satisfaction with one's body varies depending on BMI level: extremely underweight women and obese individuals constitute groups in which narcissism has the strongest impact on the self-satisfaction with body.

Significant mean and extreme climate sensitivity of Norway spruce and silver fir at mid-elevation mesic sites in the Alps.

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Marco Carrer

Full Text Available Climate forcing is the major abiotic driver for forest ecosystem functioning and thus significantly affects the role of forests within the global carbon cycle and related ecosystem services. Annual radial increments of trees are probably the most valuable source of information to link tree growth and climate at long-term time scales, and have been used in a wide variety of investigations worldwide. However, especially in mountainous areas, tree-ring studies have focused on extreme environments where the climate sensitivity is perhaps greatest but are necessarily a biased representation of the forests within a region. We used tree-ring analyses to study two of the most important tree species growing in the Alps: Norway spruce (Picea abies and silver fir (Abies alba. We developed tree-ring chronologies from 13 mesic mid-elevation sites (203 trees and then compared them to monthly temperature and precipitation data for the period 1846-1995. Correlation functions, principal component analysis and fuzzy C-means clustering were applied to 1 assess the climate/growth relationships and their stationarity and consistency over time, and 2 extract common modes of variability in the species responses to mean and extreme climate variability. Our results highlight a clear, time-stable, and species-specific response to mean climate conditions. However, during the previous-year's growing season, which shows the strongest correlations, the primary difference between species is in their response to extreme events, not mean conditions. Mesic sites at mid-altitude are commonly underrepresented in tree-ring research; we showed that strong climatic controls of growth may exist even in those areas. Extreme climatic events may play a key role in defining the species-specific responses on climatic sensitivity and, with a global change perspective, specific divergent responses are likely to occur even where current conditions are less limited.

The Importance of the Maternal/Self-Role Satisfaction for Reducing Anxiety: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Japanese Mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwasaki, Riho; Arimoto, Azusa; Naruse, Takashi; Nagata, Satoko; Murashima, Sachiyo

Women who rear children have two types of roles: the maternal role and the self-role. Previous studies have suggested that maternal role satisfaction is related to anxiety, but the importance of self-role satisfaction in promoting the health of mothers has received less attention. The changing roles of women in society, especially in urban areas, have altered mothers' views of child-rearing. Our primary focus was on the relationship between maternal/self-role satisfaction and anxiety in mothers. To examine this, we conducted a cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaires that were distributed in 2011 to 2,342 mothers attending the 18-month health checkup of their children, in 7 cities of the Tokyo metropolitan area. A total of 881 responded (effective response rate = 38.0%). Multiple regression analysis revealed that maternal role satisfaction and self-role satisfaction were both significantly and negatively associated with anxiety. Thus, self-role satisfaction should be considered alongside maternal role satisfaction in evaluating and reducing anxiety. Health care professionals in community settings should conduct comprehensive assessments of maternal role satisfaction and self-role satisfaction.

The role and importance of ECB's monetary policy in the global economic crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stakić Nikola

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the role and importance of the European Central Bank (ECB in the context of measures and effects that are being taken to repair the consequences of the current economic crisis. The ECB, together with the European single currency, the euro, symbolizes long-lasting monetary integration of the EU states. Such form of integration has created the possibility of a supranational action of ECB in the banking sector and financial markets in general. Along with the other most important central banks in the world, the ECB applies various unconventional instruments of monetary policy to stimulate economic growth and development. In this context, the paper explains the nature and mechanism of such measures in order to influence on the insufficient liquidity in the financial markets.

Extreme Value Predictions using Monte Carlo Simulations with Artificially Increased Load Spectrum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jørgen Juncher

2011-01-01

In the analysis of structures subjected to stationary stochastic load processes the mean out-crossing rate plays an important role as it can be used to determine the extreme value distribution of any response, usually assuming that the sequence of mean out-crossings can be modelled as a Poisson...... be scaled down to its actual value. In the present paper the usefulness of this approach is investigated, considering problems related to wave loads on marine structures. Here the load scale parameter is conveniently taken as the square of the significant wave height....... be found using the First Order Reliability Method (FORM). The FORM analysis also shows that the reliability index is strictly inversely proportional to the square root of the magnitude of the load spectrum, irrespectively of the non-linearity in the system. However, the FORM analysis only gives...

Large Scale Meteorological Pattern of Extreme Rainfall in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Kuswanto, Heri; Grotjahn, Richard; Rachmi, Arinda; Suhermi, Novri; Oktania, Erma; Wijaya, Yosep

2014-05-01

Extreme Weather Events (EWEs) cause negative impacts socially, economically, and environmentally. Considering these facts, forecasting EWEs is crucial work. Indonesia has been identified as being among the countries most vulnerable to the risk of natural disasters, such as floods, heat waves, and droughts. Current forecasting of extreme events in Indonesia is carried out by interpreting synoptic maps for several fields without taking into account the link between the observed events in the 'target' area with remote conditions. This situation may cause misidentification of the event leading to an inaccurate prediction. Grotjahn and Faure (2008) compute composite maps from extreme events (including heat waves and intense rainfall) to help forecasters identify such events in model output. The composite maps show large scale meteorological patterns (LSMP) that occurred during historical EWEs. Some vital information about the EWEs can be acquired from studying such maps, in addition to providing forecaster guidance. Such maps have robust mid-latitude meteorological patterns (for Sacramento and California Central Valley, USA EWEs). We study the performance of the composite approach for tropical weather condition such as Indonesia. Initially, the composite maps are developed to identify and forecast the extreme weather events in Indramayu district- West Java, the main producer of rice in Indonesia and contributes to about 60% of the national total rice production. Studying extreme weather events happening in Indramayu is important since EWEs there affect national agricultural and fisheries activities. During a recent EWE more than a thousand houses in Indramayu suffered from serious flooding with each home more than one meter underwater. The flood also destroyed a thousand hectares of rice plantings in 5 regencies. Identifying the dates of extreme events is one of the most important steps and has to be carried out carefully. An approach has been applied to identify the

Did large animals play an important role in global biogeochemical cycling in the past?

Science.gov (United States)

Doughty, C.

2014-12-01

In the late Pleistocene (~50-10,000 years ago), ninety-seven genera of large animals (>44kg) (megafauna) went extinct, concentrated in the Americas and Australia. The loss of megafauna had major effects on ecosystem structure, seed dispersal and land surface albedo. However, the impact of this dramatic extinction on ecosystem nutrient biogeochemistry, through the lateral transport of dung and bodies, has never been explored. Here we explore these nutrient impacts using a novel mathematical framework that analyses this lateral transport as a diffusion-like process and demonstrates that large animals play a disproportionately large role in the horizontal transfer of nutrients across landscapes. For example, we estimate that the extinction of the Amazonian megafauna led to a >98% reduction in the lateral transfer flux of the limiting nutrient phosphorus (P) with similar, though less extreme, decreases in all continents outside of Africa. This resulted in strong decreases in phosphorus availability in Eastern Amazonia away from fertile floodplains, a decline which may still be ongoing, and current P limitation in the Amazon basin may be partially a relic of an ecosystem without the functional connectedness it once had. More broadly, the Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions resulted in major and ongoing disruptions to terrestrial biogeochemical cycling at continental scales and increased nutrient heterogeneity globally.

Regional estimation of extreme suspended sediment concentrations using watershed characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Tramblay, Yves; Ouarda, Taha B. M. J.; St-Hilaire, André; Poulin, Jimmy

2010-01-01

SummaryThe number of stations monitoring daily suspended sediment concentration (SSC) has been decreasing since the 1980s in North America while suspended sediment is considered as a key variable for water quality. The objective of this study is to test the feasibility of regionalising extreme SSC, i.e. estimating SSC extremes values for ungauged basins. Annual maximum SSC for 72 rivers in Canada and USA were modelled with probability distributions in order to estimate quantiles corresponding to different return periods. Regionalisation techniques, originally developed for flood prediction in ungauged basins, were tested using the climatic, topographic, land cover and soils attributes of the watersheds. Two approaches were compared, using either physiographic characteristics or seasonality of extreme SSC to delineate the regions. Multiple regression models to estimate SSC quantiles as a function of watershed characteristics were built in each region, and compared to a global model including all sites. Regional estimates of SSC quantiles were compared with the local values. Results show that regional estimation of extreme SSC is more efficient than a global regression model including all sites. Groups/regions of stations have been identified, using either the watershed characteristics or the seasonality of occurrence for extreme SSC values providing a method to better describe the extreme events of SSC. The most important variables for predicting extreme SSC are the percentage of clay in the soils, precipitation intensity and forest cover.

Statistical analysis of extreme values from insurance, finance, hydrology and other fields

CERN Document Server

Reiss, Rolf-Dieter

1997-01-01

The statistical analysis of extreme data is important for various disciplines, including hydrology, insurance, finance, engineering and environmental sciences. This book provides a self-contained introduction to the parametric modeling, exploratory analysis and statistical interference for extreme values. The entire text of this third edition has been thoroughly updated and rearranged to meet the new requirements. Additional sections and chapters, elaborated on more than 100 pages, are particularly concerned with topics like dependencies, the conditional analysis and the multivariate modeling of extreme data. Parts I–III about the basic extreme value methodology remain unchanged to some larger extent, yet notable are, e.g., the new sections about "An Overview of Reduced-Bias Estimation" (co-authored by M.I. Gomes), "The Spectral Decomposition Methodology", and "About Tail Independence" (co-authored by M. Frick), and the new chapter about "Extreme Value Statistics of Dependent Random Variables" (co-authored ...

Early warnings of extreme winds using the ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petroliagis, Thomas I.; Pinson, Pierre

2014-01-01

The European FP7 SafeWind Project aims at developing research towards a European vision of wind power forecasting, which requires advanced meteorological support concerning extreme wind events. This study is focused mainly on early warnings of extreme winds in the early medium-range. Three synoptic...... regimes. Overall, it becomes clear that the first indications of an extreme wind event might come from the ECMWF deterministic and/or probabilistic components capturing very intense weather systems (possible windstorms) in the medium term. For early warnings, all available EPS Extreme Forecast Index (EFI......) formulations were used, by linking daily maximum wind speeds to EFI values for different forecast horizons. From all possible EFI schemes deployed for issuing early warnings, the highest skill was found for the Gust Factor formulation (EFI-10FGI). Using EFI-10FGI, the corresponding 99% threshold could provide...

Scientific Grand Challenges: Challenges in Climate Change Science and the Role of Computing at the Extreme Scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khaleel, Mohammad A.; Johnson, Gary M.; Washington, Warren M.

2009-07-02

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) in partnership with the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) held a workshop on the challenges in climate change science and the role of computing at the extreme scale, November 6-7, 2008, in Bethesda, Maryland. At the workshop, participants identified the scientific challenges facing the field of climate science and outlined the research directions of highest priority that should be pursued to meet these challenges. Representatives from the national and international climate change research community as well as representatives from the high-performance computing community attended the workshop. This group represented a broad mix of expertise. Of the 99 participants, 6 were from international institutions. Before the workshop, each of the four panels prepared a white paper, which provided the starting place for the workshop discussions. These four panels of workshop attendees devoted to their efforts the following themes: Model Development and Integrated Assessment; Algorithms and Computational Environment; Decadal Predictability and Prediction; Data, Visualization, and Computing Productivity. The recommendations of the panels are summarized in the body of this report.

Extreme climatic events in relation to global change and their impact on life histories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan MORENO, Anders Pape Møller

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Extreme weather conditions occur at an increasing rate as evidenced by higher frequency of hurricanes and more extreme precipitation and temperature anomalies. Such extreme environmental conditions will have important implications for all living organisms through greater frequency of reproductive failure and reduced adult survival. We review examples of reproductive failure and reduced survival related to extreme weather conditions. Phenotypic plasticity may not be sufficient to allow adaptation to extreme weather for many animals. Theory predicts reduced reproductive effort as a response to increased stochasticity. We predict that patterns of natural selection will change towards truncation selection as environmental conditions become more extreme. Such changes in patterns of selection may facilitate adaptation to extreme events. However, effects of selection on reproductive effort are difficult to detect. We present a number of predictions for the effects of extreme weather conditions in need of empirical tests. Finally, we suggest a number of empirical reviews that could improve our ability to judge the effects of extreme environmental conditions on life history [Current Zoology 57 (3: 375–389, 2011].

Review Article: Atmospheric conditions inducing extreme precipitation over the eastern and western Mediterranean

Science.gov (United States)

Dayan, U.; Nissen, K.; Ulbrich, U.

2015-11-01

This review discusses published studies of heavy rainfall events over the Mediterranean Basin, combining them in a more general picture of the dynamic and thermodynamic factors and processes that produce heavy rain storms. It distinguishes the western and eastern Mediterranean in order to point out specific regional peculiarities. The crucial moisture for developing intensive convection over these regions can be originated not only from the adjacent Mediterranean Sea but also from distant upwind sources. Transport from remote sources is usually in the mid-tropospheric layers and associated with specific features and patterns of the larger-scale circulations. The synoptic systems (tropical and extratropical) that account for most of the major extreme precipitation events and the coupling of circulation and extreme rainfall patterns are presented. Heavy rainfall over the Mediterranean Basin is caused at times in concert by several atmospheric processes working at different atmospheric scales, such as local convection, upper synoptic-scale-level troughs, and mesoscale convective systems. Under tropical air-mass intrusions, convection generated by static instability seems to play a more important role than synoptic-scale vertical motions. Locally, the occurrence of torrential rains and their intensity is dependent on factors such as temperature profiles and implied instability, atmospheric moisture, and lower-level convergence.

Lower extremity finite element model for crash simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schauer, D.A.; Perfect, S.A.

1996-03-01

A lower extremity model has been developed to study occupant injury mechanisms of the major bones and ligamentous soft tissues resulting from vehicle collisions. The model is based on anatomically correct digitized bone surfaces of the pelvis, femur, patella and the tibia. Many muscles, tendons and ligaments were incrementally added to the basic bone model. We have simulated two types of occupant loading that occur in a crash environment using a non-linear large deformation finite element code. The modeling approach assumed that the leg was passive during its response to the excitation, that is, no active muscular contraction and therefore no active change in limb stiffness. The approach recognized that the most important contributions of the muscles to the lower extremity response are their ability to define and modify the impedance of the limb. When nonlinear material behavior in a component of the leg model was deemed important to response, a nonlinear constitutive model was incorporated. The accuracy of these assumptions can be verified only through a review of analysis results and careful comparison with test data. As currently defined, the model meets the objective for which it was created. Much work remains to be done, both from modeling and analysis perspectives, before the model can be considered complete. The model implements a modeling philosophy that can accurately capture both kinematic and kinetic response of the lower limb. We have demonstrated that the lower extremity model is a valuable tool for understanding the injury processes and mechanisms. We are now in a position to extend the computer simulation to investigate the clinical fracture patterns observed in actual crashes. Additional experience with this model will enable us to make a statement on what measures are needed to significantly reduce lower extremity injuries in vehicle crashes. 6 refs.

Temperature extremes in a changing climate: Drivers and feedbacks (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Seneviratne, S. I.; Davin, E. L.; Hirschi, M.; Mueller, B.; Orlowsky, B.; Orth, R.; Wilhelm, M.

2013-12-01

Global warming increases the occurrence probability of hot extremes, and improving the predictability of such events is thus becoming of critical importance (e.g. Seneviratne et al. 2012). This presentation provides an overview of past and projected changes in hot extremes on the global and regional scale, and of the respective drivers and feedbacks responsible for their occurrence. In particular, soil moisture-temperature feedbacks have been identified as major drivers for hot extremes (e.g. Seneviratne et al. 2006, 2010; Hirschi et al. 2011). Recently, a global study (Mueller and Seneviratne 2012) has shown that wide areas of the world display a strong relationship between the number of hot days in the regions' hottest month and preceding precipitation deficits. These findings suggest that effects of soil moisture-temperature coupling are geographically more widespread than commonly assumed, with for instance large hot spots of soil moisture-temperature coupling in the Southern Hemisphere. Further results indicate that this relationship could be better used in the context of seasonal forecasting, allowing an early warning of impending hot summers (Mueller and Seneviratne 2012, Orth and Seneviratne 2013). In addition, the role of soil moisture-climate feedbacks for climate projections will also be discussed (e.g. Orlowsky and Seneviratne 2012; Seneviratne et al., 2013). Finally, we will address the relevance of the identified feedbacks in the context of urban climate, as well as potential relevant impacts of other land-climate interactions (e.g. from modifications in surface albedo). References: Hirschi, M., et al., 2011: Observational evidence for soil-moisture impact on hot extremes in southeastern Europe. Nature Geosci., 4, 17-21, doi:10.1038/ngeo1032. Mueller, B., and S.I. Seneviratne, 2012: Hot days induced by precipitation deficits at the global scale. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci., 109 (31), 12398-12403, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1204330109. Orth, R. and S.I. Seneviratne

Optimization with Extremal Dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boettcher, Stefan; Percus, Allon G.

2001-01-01

We explore a new general-purpose heuristic for finding high-quality solutions to hard discrete optimization problems. The method, called extremal optimization, is inspired by self-organized criticality, a concept introduced to describe emergent complexity in physical systems. Extremal optimization successively updates extremely undesirable variables of a single suboptimal solution, assigning them new, random values. Large fluctuations ensue, efficiently exploring many local optima. We use extremal optimization to elucidate the phase transition in the 3-coloring problem, and we provide independent confirmation of previously reported extrapolations for the ground-state energy of ±J spin glasses in d=3 and 4

Capturing spatial and temporal patterns of widespread, extreme flooding across Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Busby, Kathryn; Raven, Emma; Liu, Ye

2013-04-01

Statistical characterisation of physical hazards is an integral part of probabilistic catastrophe models used by the reinsurance industry to estimate losses from large scale events. Extreme flood events are not restricted by country boundaries which poses an issue for reinsurance companies as their exposures often extend beyond them. We discuss challenges and solutions that allow us to appropriately capture the spatial and temporal dependence of extreme hydrological events on a continental-scale, which in turn enables us to generate an industry-standard stochastic event set for estimating financial losses for widespread flooding. By presenting our event set methodology, we focus on explaining how extreme value theory (EVT) and dependence modelling are used to account for short, inconsistent hydrological data from different countries, and how to make appropriate statistical decisions that best characterise the nature of flooding across Europe. The consistency of input data is of vital importance when identifying historical flood patterns. Collating data from numerous sources inherently causes inconsistencies and we demonstrate our robust approach to assessing the data and refining it to compile a single consistent dataset. This dataset is then extrapolated using a parameterised EVT distribution to estimate extremes. Our method then captures the dependence of flood events across countries using an advanced multivariate extreme value model. Throughout, important statistical decisions are explored including: (1) distribution choice; (2) the threshold to apply for extracting extreme data points; (3) a regional analysis; (4) the definition of a flood event, which is often linked with reinsurance industry's hour's clause; and (5) handling of missing values. Finally, having modelled the historical patterns of flooding across Europe, we sample from this model to generate our stochastic event set comprising of thousands of events over thousands of years. We then briefly

Magnetic Reconnection in Extreme Astrophysical Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Uzdensky, Dmitri

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma physics process of breaking ideal-MHD's frozen-in constraints on magnetic field connectivity and of dramatic rearranging of the magnetic topol-ogy, which often leads to a violent release of the free magnetic energy. Reconnection has long been acknowledged to be of great importance in laboratory plasma physics (magnetic fusion) and in space and solar physics (responsible for solar flares and magnetospheric substorms). In addition, its importance in Astrophysics has been increasingly recognized in recent years. However, due to a great diversity of astrophysical environments, the fundamental physics of astrophysical magnetic reconnection can be quite different from that of the traditional recon-nection encountered in the solar system. In particular, environments like the solar corona and the magnetosphere are characterized by relatively low energy densities, where the plasma is ad-equately described as a mixture of electrons and ions whose numbers are conserved and where the dissipated magnetic energy basically stays with the plasma. In contrast, in many high-energy astrophysical phenomena the energy density is so large that photons play as important a role as electrons and ions and, in particular, radiation pressure and radiative cooling become dominant. In this talk I focus on the most extreme case of high-energy-density astrophysical reconnec-tion — reconnection of magnetar-strength (1014 - 1015 Gauss) magnetic fields, important for giant flares in soft-gamma repeaters (SGRs), and for rapid magnetic energy release in either the central engines or in the relativistic jets of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). I outline the key relevant physical processes and present a new theoretical picture of magnetic reconnection in these environments. The corresponding magnetic energy density is so enormous that, when suddenly released, it inevitably heats the plasma to relativistic temperatures, resulting in co-pious production of electron

Probabilistic forecasting for extreme NO2 pollution episodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aznarte, José L.

2017-01-01

In this study, we investigate the convenience of quantile regression to predict extreme concentrations of NO 2 . Contrarily to the usual point-forecasting, where a single value is forecast for each horizon, probabilistic forecasting through quantile regression allows for the prediction of the full probability distribution, which in turn allows to build models specifically fit for the tails of this distribution. Using data from the city of Madrid, including NO 2 concentrations as well as meteorological measures, we build models that predict extreme NO 2 concentrations, outperforming point-forecasting alternatives, and we prove that the predictions are accurate, reliable and sharp. Besides, we study the relative importance of the independent variables involved, and show how the important variables for the median quantile are different than those important for the upper quantiles. Furthermore, we present a method to compute the probability of exceedance of thresholds, which is a simple and comprehensible manner to present probabilistic forecasts maximizing their usefulness. - Highlights: • A new probabilistic forecasting system is presented to predict NO 2 concentrations. • While predicting the full distribution, it also outperforms other point-forecasting models. • Forecasts show good properties and peak concentrations are properly predicted. • It forecasts the probability of exceedance of thresholds, key to decision makers. • Relative forecasting importance of the variables is obtained as a by-product.

Multifractal Conceptualisation of Hydro-Meteorological Extremes

Science.gov (United States)

Tchiguirinskaia, I.; Schertzer, D.; Lovejoy, S.

2009-04-01

Hydrology and more generally sciences involved in water resources management, technological or operational developments face a fundamental difficulty: the extreme variability of hydro-meteorological fields. It clearly appears today that this variability is a function of the observation scale and yield hydro-meteorological hazards. Throughout the world, the development of multifractal theory offers new techniques for handling such non-classical variability over wide ranges of time and space scales. The resulting stochastic simulations with a very limited number of parameters well reproduce the long range dependencies and the clustering of rainfall extremes often yielding fat tailed (i.e., an algebraic type) probability distributions. The goal of this work was to investigate the ability of using very short or incomplete data records for reliable statistical predictions of the extremes. In particular we discuss how to evaluate the uncertainty in the empirical or semi-analytical multifractal outcomes. We consider three main aspects of the evaluation, such as the scaling adequacy, the multifractal parameter estimation error and the quantile estimation error. We first use the multiplicative cascade model to generate long series of multifractal data. The simulated samples had to cover the range of the universal multifractal parameters widely available in the scientific literature for the rainfall and river discharges. Using these long multifractal series and their sub-samples, we defined a metric for parameter estimation error. Then using the sets of estimated parameters, we obtained the quantile values for a range of excedance probabilities from 5% to 0.01%. Plotting the error bars on a quantile plot enable an approximation of confidence intervals that would be particularly important for the predictions of multifractal extremes. We finally illustrate the efficiency of such concept on its application to a large database (more than 16000 selected stations over USA and

Roles of Staphylococcus aureus Mnh1 and Mnh2 Antiporters in Salt Tolerance, Alkali Tolerance, and Pathogenesis

OpenAIRE

Vaish, Manisha; Price-Whelan, Alexa; Reyes-Robles, Tamara; Liu, Jun; Jereen, Amyeo; Christie, Stephanie; Alonzo, Francis; Benson, Meredith A.; Torres, Victor J.; Krulwich, Terry A.

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus has three types of cation/proton antiporters. The type 3 family includes two multisubunit Na+/H + (Mnh) antiporters, Mnh1 and Mnh2. These antiporters are clusters of seven hydrophobic membrane-bound protein subunits. Mnh antiporters play important roles in maintaining cytoplasmic pH in prokaryotes, enabling their survival under extreme environmental stress. In this study, we investigated the physiological roles and catalytic properties of Mnh1 and Mnh2 in S. aur...

Role of anxiety in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome: importance of the amygdala

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brent Myers

2009-06-01

Full Text Available A common characteristic of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS is that symptoms, including abdominal pain and abnormal bowel habits, are often triggered or exacerbated during periods of stress and anxiety. However, the impact of anxiety and affective disorders on the gastrointestinal (GI tract is poorly understood and may in part explain the lack of effective therapeutic approaches to treat IBS. The amygdala is an important structure for regulating anxiety with the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA facilitating the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis and the autonomic nervous system in response to stress. Moreover, chronic stress enhances function of the amygdala and promotes neural plasticity throughout the amygdaloid complex. This review outlines the latest findings obtained from human studies and animal models related to the role of the emotional brain in the regulation of enteric function, specifically how increasing the gain of the amygdala to induce anxiety-like behavior using corticosterone (CORT or chronic stress increases responsiveness to both visceral and somatic stimuli in rodents. A focus of the review is the relative importance of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR and glucocorticoid receptor (GR-mediated mechanisms within the amygdala in the regulation of anxiety and nociceptive behaviors that are characteristic features of IBS. This review also discusses several outstanding questions important for future research on the role of the amygdala in the generation of abnormal GI function that may lead to potential targets for new therapies to treat functional bowel disorders such as IBS.

Evolution of extreme rainfall in France with a changing climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soubeyroux, Jean-Michel; Veysseire, Jean-Michel; Gouget, Viviane; Neppel, Luc; Tramblay, Yves; Carreau, Julie

2015-01-01

This paper focuses a synthesis of the works led within the framework of the French project ANR/Extraflo on the evolution of the daily (and infra daily) extreme rainfall in France. An important dataset of more than 900 series was used. It was shown that a majority of series presented a not significant upward trend in particular in Mediterranean area, in relation with various recent exceptional extreme events. An interesting way to characterize this evolution consists in identifying climatic co-variables associated to heavy rainfall events (weather patterns, average temperatures, flow of humidity) and in taking into account them with a non stationary POT model. The application of this method with climatic projections under scenario A2 from IPCC could lead to a possible increase on extreme precipitation quantiles on the horizon 2070. (authors)

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS OF TOURISTS TOWARDS EXTREME SPORTS IN NEPAL : Case Study: Paragliding-Pokhara

OpenAIRE

Moktan , Dweej

2017-01-01

The motive of this thesis is to find the role of extreme sports in Nepal. It is mainly targeted to understand the current attitude and behavior of the participants towards the extreme sports and what further suggestions and recommendations could be viable for additional improvement and progress of attitude and behavior of the participants towards the sport. The case study of Pokhara city has been taken as the research project to analyze and interpret the significance of attitude and behavior ...

Biogeophysical Impacts of Land-Use Change on Climate Extremes in Low-Emission Scenarios: Results From HAPPI-Land

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, Annette L.; Guillod, Benoit P.; Seneviratne, Sonia I.; Beyerle, Urs; Boysen, Lena R.; Brovkin, Victor; Davin, Edouard L.; Doelman, Jonathan C.; Kim, Hyungjun; Mitchell, Daniel M.; Nitta, Tomoko; Shiogama, Hideo; Sparrow, Sarah; Stehfest, Elke; van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Wilson, Simon

2018-03-01

The impacts of land use have been shown to have considerable influence on regional climate. With the recent international commitment to limit global warming to well below 2°C, emission reductions need to be ambitious and could involve major land-use change (LUC). Land-based mitigation efforts to curb emissions growth include increasing terrestrial carbon sequestration through reforestation, or the adoption of bioenergy crops. These activities influence local climate through biogeophysical feedbacks, however, it is uncertain how important they are for a 1.5° climate target. This was the motivation for HAPPI-Land: the half a degree additional warming, prognosis, and projected impacts—land-use scenario experiment. Using four Earth system models, we present the first multimodel results from HAPPI-Land and demonstrate the critical role of land use for understanding the characteristics of regional climate extremes in low-emission scenarios. In particular, our results show that changes in temperature extremes due to LUC are comparable in magnitude to changes arising from half a degree of global warming. We also demonstrate that LUC contributes to more than 20% of the change in temperature extremes for large land areas concentrated over the Northern Hemisphere. However, we also identify sources of uncertainty that influence the multimodel consensus of our results including how LUC is implemented and the corresponding biogeophysical feedbacks that perturb climate. Therefore, our results highlight the urgent need to resolve the challenges in implementing LUC across models to quantify the impacts and consider how LUC contributes to regional changes in extremes associated with sustainable development pathways.

Readiness for future managerial leadership roles: nursing students' perceived importance of organizational values.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendel, Tova; Eshel, Nira; Traister, Lelit; Galon, Vered

2006-01-01

This study explored the values held by nursing students attending a baccalaureate program. Our aim was to determine whether nursing students' values change after being exposed to educators as well as mentors and ethics education and after experiencing today's challenging work environment, with an emphasis on the organizational domain of the students' values set. The conceptual framework that underpins the approach to values presented in this study argues that the total values set of a working person consists of three domains: personal, professional, and organizational values. Our sample consisted of first, third, and fourth year nursing students (N = 496) attending the Tel Aviv University in Israel. Participants were requested to answer a questionnaire and to rate their perceived importance of 30 values. The results revealed significant differences in the participants' perceived importance of the three values domains. The organizational values--the new business values--were perceived significantly to be least important. Sex was found to be significantly related to perception of values' importance. Year of study was not found to be significantly correlated to perception of values. The findings reflect that senior nursing students are only moderately prepared for their future managerial leadership roles and point out the need to provide students with more stimulating and supportive learning experiences.

An influence of extremal edges on boundary extension.

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, Ralph G; Brown, James M; McDunn, Benjamin A; Siddiqui, Aisha P

2015-08-01

Studies have shown that people consistently remember seeing more of a studied scene than was physically present (e.g., Intraub & Richardson Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 179-187, 1989). This scene memory error, known as boundary extension, has been suggested to occur due to an observer's failure to differentiate between the contributing sources of information, including the sensory input, amodal continuation beyond the view boundaries, and contextual associations with the main objects and depicted scene locations (Intraub, 2010). Here, "scenes" made of abstract shapes on random-dot backgrounds, previously shown to elicit boundary extension (McDunn, Siddiqui, & Brown Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 21, 370-375, 2014), were compared with versions made with extremal edges (Palmer & Ghose Psychological Science, 19, 77-84, 2008) added to their borders, in order to examine how boundary extension is influenced when amodal continuation at the borders' view boundaries is manipulated in this way. Extremal edges were expected to reduce boundary extension as compared to the same scenes without them, because extremal edge boundaries explicitly indicate an image's end (i.e., they do not continue past the view boundary). A large and a small difference (16 % and 40 %) between the close and wide-angle views shown during the experiment were tested to examine the effects of both boundary extension and normalization with and without extremal edges. Images without extremal edges elicited typical boundary extension for the 16 % size change condition, whereas the 40 % condition showed signs of normalization. With extremal edges, a reduced amount of boundary extension occurred for the 16 % condition, and only normalization was found for the 40 % condition. Our findings support and highlight the importance of amodal continuation at the view boundaries as a component of boundary extension.

Detailed Analysis of Solar Data Related to Historical Extreme Geomagnetic Storms: 1868 – 2010

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lefèvre, Laure; Vennerstrøm, Susanne; Dumbović, Mateja

2016-01-01

An analysis of historical Sun–Earth connection events in the context of the most extreme space weather events of the last ∼ 150 years is presented. To identify the key factors leading to these extreme events, a sample of the most important geomagnetic storms was selected based mainly on the well-...

Didactic Dissonance: Teacher Roles in Computer Gaming Situations in Kindergartens

Science.gov (United States)

Vangsnes, Vigdis; Økland, Nils Tore Gram

2015-01-01

In computer gaming situations in kindergartens, the pre-school teacher's function can be viewed in a continuum. At one extreme is the teacher who takes an intervening role and at the other extreme is the teacher who chooses to restrict herself/himself to an organising or distal role. This study shows that both the intervening position and the…

Ideologies and Discourses: Extreme Narratives in Extreme Metal Music

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bojana Radovanović

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Historically speaking, metal music has always been about provoking a strong reaction. Depending on the characteristics of different sub-genres, one can focus on the sound, technique, visual appearance, and furthermore, the ideologies and ideas that are the foundation for each of the sub-genres. Although the majority of the metal community rejects accusations of being racially intolerant, some ideologies of extreme sub-genres (such as black metal are in fact formed around the ideas of self-conscious elitism expressed through interest in pagan mythology, racism, Nazism and fascism. There has been much interest in the Nazi era within the extreme metal scene thus influencing other sub-genres and artists. The aim of this paper is to examine various appearances of extreme narratives such as Nazism and racism in  different sub-genres of metal, bearing in mind variations dependent on geographical, political, and other factors.

Extremal surface barriers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engelhardt, Netta; Wall, Aron C.

2014-01-01

We present a generic condition for Lorentzian manifolds to have a barrier that limits the reach of boundary-anchored extremal surfaces of arbitrary dimension. We show that any surface with nonpositive extrinsic curvature is a barrier, in the sense that extremal surfaces cannot be continuously deformed past it. Furthermore, the outermost barrier surface has nonnegative extrinsic curvature. Under certain conditions, we show that the existence of trapped surfaces implies a barrier, and conversely. In the context of AdS/CFT, these barriers imply that it is impossible to reconstruct the entire bulk using extremal surfaces. We comment on the implications for the firewall controversy

Stress fractures in the lower extremity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berger, Ferco H.; Jonge, Milko C. de; Maas, Mario

2007-01-01

Stress fractures are fatigue injuries of bone usually caused by changes in training regimen in the population of military recruits and both professional and recreational athletes. Raised levels of sporting activity in today's population and refined imaging technologies have caused a rise in reported incidence of stress fractures in the past decades, now making up more than 10% of cases in a typical sports medicine practice. Background information (including etiology, epidemiology, clinical presentation and treatment and prevention) as well as state of the art imaging of stress fractures will be discussed to increase awareness amongst radiologists, providing the tools to play an important role in diagnosis and prognosis of stress fractures. Specific fracture sites in the lower extremity will be addressed, covering the far majority of stress fracture incidence. Proper communication between treating physician, physical therapist and radiologist is needed to obtain a high index of suspicion for this easily overlooked entity. Radiographs are not reliable for detection of stress fractures and radiologist should not falsely be comforted by them, which could result in delayed diagnosis and possibly permanent consequences for the patient. Although radiographs are mandatory to rule out differentials, they should be followed through when negative, preferably by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as this technique has proven to be superior to bone scintigraphy. CT can be beneficial in a limited number of patients, but should not be used routinely

Extreme rainfall, vulnerability and risk: a continental-scale assessment for South America

Science.gov (United States)

Vorosmarty, Charles J.; de Guenni, Lelys Bravo; Wollheim, Wilfred M.; Pellerin, Brian A.; Bjerklie, David M.; Cardoso, Manoel; D'Almeida, Cassiano; Colon, Lilybeth

2013-01-01

Extreme weather continues to preoccupy society as a formidable public safety concern bearing huge economic costs. While attention has focused on global climate change and how it could intensify key elements of the water cycle such as precipitation and river discharge, it is the conjunction of geophysical and socioeconomic forces that shapes human sensitivity and risks to weather extremes. We demonstrate here the use of high-resolution geophysical and population datasets together with documentary reports of rainfall-induced damage across South America over a multi-decadal, retrospective time domain (1960–2000). We define and map extreme precipitation hazard, exposure, affectedpopulations, vulnerability and risk, and use these variables to analyse the impact of floods as a water security issue. Geospatial experiments uncover major sources of risk from natural climate variability and population growth, with change in climate extremes bearing a minor role. While rural populations display greatest relative sensitivity to extreme rainfall, urban settings show the highest rates of increasing risk. In the coming decades, rapid urbanization will make South American cities the focal point of future climate threats but also an opportunity for reducing vulnerability, protecting lives and sustaining economic development through both traditional and ecosystem-based disaster risk management systems.

Extreme rainfall, vulnerability and risk: a continental-scale assessment for South America.

Science.gov (United States)

Vörösmarty, Charles J; Bravo de Guenni, Lelys; Wollheim, Wilfred M; Pellerin, Brian; Bjerklie, David; Cardoso, Manoel; D'Almeida, Cassiano; Green, Pamela; Colon, Lilybeth

2013-11-13

Extreme weather continues to preoccupy society as a formidable public safety concern bearing huge economic costs. While attention has focused on global climate change and how it could intensify key elements of the water cycle such as precipitation and river discharge, it is the conjunction of geophysical and socioeconomic forces that shapes human sensitivity and risks to weather extremes. We demonstrate here the use of high-resolution geophysical and population datasets together with documentary reports of rainfall-induced damage across South America over a multi-decadal, retrospective time domain (1960-2000). We define and map extreme precipitation hazard, exposure, affectedpopulations, vulnerability and risk, and use these variables to analyse the impact of floods as a water security issue. Geospatial experiments uncover major sources of risk from natural climate variability and population growth, with change in climate extremes bearing a minor role. While rural populations display greatest relative sensitivity to extreme rainfall, urban settings show the highest rates of increasing risk. In the coming decades, rapid urbanization will make South American cities the focal point of future climate threats but also an opportunity for reducing vulnerability, protecting lives and sustaining economic development through both traditional and ecosystem-based disaster risk management systems.

Extreme morphologies of mantis shrimp larvae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolin Haug

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Larvae of stomatopods (mantis shrimps are generally categorized into four larval types: antizoea, pseudozoea (both representing early larval stages, alima and erichthus (the latter two representing later larval stages. These categories, however, do not reflect the existing morphological diversity of stomatopod larvae, which is largely unstudied. We describe here four previously unknown larval types with extreme morphologies. All specimens were found in the collections of the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen and were collected during the Danish Dana Expedition round the world 1928-30. These new larval types all represent erichthus-type larvae, especially differing in their shield morphologies. The shield morphology ranges from almost spherical to rather disc-like, with sometimes extremely elongated spines, but only a general systematic assignment of the larvae was possible. Further investigations of these larvae are crucial to understand their life habits and ecological impact, especially as stomatopod and other crustacean larvae might have a much more important position in the marine ecosystems than their corresponding adults.

Transformation of soil organics under extreme climate events: a project description

Science.gov (United States)

Blagodatskaya, Evgenia

2017-04-01

Recent climate scenarios predict not only continued global warming but also an increased frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events such as strong changes in temperature and precipitation with unusual regional dynamics. Weather anomalies at European territory of Russia are currently revealed as long-term drought and strong showers in summer and as an increased frequency of soil freezing-thawing cycles. Climate extremes totally change biogeochemical processes and elements cycling both at the ecosystem level and at the level of soil profile mainly affecting soil biota. Misbalance in these processes can cause a reduction of soil carbon stock and an increase of greenhouse gases emission. Our project aims to reveal the transformation mechanisms of soil organic matter caused by extreme weather events taking into consideration the role of biotic-abiotic interactions in regulation of formation, maintenance and turnover of soil carbon stock. Our research strategy is based on the novel concept considering extreme climatic events (showers after long-term droughts, soil flooding, freezing-thawing) as abiotic factors initiating a microbial succession. Study on stoichiometric flexibility of plants under climate extremes as well as on resulting response of soil heterotrophs on stoichiometric changes in substrate will be used for experimental prove and further development of the theory of ecological stoichiometry. The results enable us to reveal the mechanisms of biotic - abiotic interactions responsible for the balance between mobilization and stabilization of soil organic matter. Identified mechanisms will form the basis of an ecosystem model enabled to predict the effects of extreme climatic events on biogenic carbon cycle in the biosphere.

Copy number variation plays an important role in clinical epilepsy

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Heather; Shen, Yiping; Avallone, Jennifer; Sheidley, Beth R.; Pinsky, Rebecca; Bergin, Ann M.; Berry, Gerard T.; Duffy, Frank H.; Eksioglu, Yaman; Harris, David J.; Hisama, Fuki M.; Ho, Eugenia; Irons, Mira; Jacobsen, Christina M.; James, Philip; Kothare, Sanjeev; Khwaja, Omar; Lipton, Jonathan; Loddenkemper, Tobias; Markowitz, Jennifer; Maski, Kiran; Megerian, J. Thomas; Neilan, Edward; Raffalli, Peter C.; Robbins, Michael; Roberts, Amy; Roe, Eugene; Rollins, Caitlin; Sahin, Mustafa; Sarco, Dean; Schonwald, Alison; Smith, Sharon E.; Soul, Janet; Stoler, Joan M.; Takeoka, Masanori; Tan, Wen-Han; Torres, Alcy R.; Tsai, Peter; Urion, David K.; Weissman, Laura; Wolff, Robert; Wu, Bai-Lin; Miller, David T.; Poduri, Annapurna

2015-01-01

Objective To evaluate the role of copy number abnormalities detectable by chromosomal microarray (CMA) testing in patients with epilepsy at a tertiary care center. Methods We identified patients with ICD-9 codes for epilepsy or seizures and clinical CMA testing performed between October 2006 and February 2011 at Boston Children’s Hospital. We reviewed medical records and included patients meeting criteria for epilepsy. We phenotypically characterized patients with epilepsy-associated abnormalities on CMA. Results Of 973 patients who had CMA and ICD-9 codes for epilepsy or seizures, 805 patients satisfied criteria for epilepsy. We observed 437 copy number variants (CNVs) in 323 patients (1–4 per patient), including 185 (42%) deletions and 252 (58%) duplications. Forty (9%) were confirmed de novo, 186 (43%) were inherited, and parental data were unavailable for 211 (48%). Excluding full chromosome trisomies, CNV size ranged from 18 kb to 142 Mb, and 34% were over 500 kb. In at least 40 cases (5%), the epilepsy phenotype was explained by a CNV, including 29 patients with epilepsy-associated syndromes and 11 with likely disease-associated CNVs involving epilepsy genes or “hotspots.” We observed numerous recurrent CNVs including 10 involving loss or gain of Xp22.31, a region described in patients with and without epilepsy. Interpretation Copy number abnormalities play an important role in patients with epilepsy. Given that the diagnostic yield of CMA for epilepsy patients is similar to the yield in autism spectrum disorders and in prenatal diagnosis, for which published guidelines recommend testing with CMA, we recommend the implementation of CMA in the evaluation of unexplained epilepsy. PMID:24811917

Survey of upper extremity injuries among martial arts participants.

Science.gov (United States)

Diesselhorst, Matthew M; Rayan, Ghazi M; Pasque, Charles B; Peyton Holder, R

2013-01-01

To survey participants at various experience levels of different martial arts (MA) about upper extremity injuries sustained during training and fighting. A 21-s question survey was designed and utilised. The survey was divided into four groups (Demographics, Injury Description, Injury Mechanism, and Miscellaneous information) to gain knowledge about upper extremity injuries sustained during martial arts participation. Chi-square testing was utilised to assess for significant associations. Males comprised 81% of respondents. Involvement in multiple forms of MA was the most prevalent (38%). The hand/wrist was the most common area injured (53%), followed by the shoulder/upper arm (27%) and the forearm/elbow (19%). Joint sprains/muscle strains were the most frequent injuries reported overall (47%), followed by abrasions/bruises (26%). Dislocations of the upper extremity were reported by 47% of participants while fractures occurred in 39%. Surgeries were required for 30% of participants. Females were less likely to require surgery and more likely to have shoulder and elbow injuries. Males were more likely to have hand injuries. Participants of Karate and Tae Kwon Do were more likely to have injuries to their hands, while participants of multiple forms were more likely to sustain injuries to their shoulders/upper arms and more likely to develop chronic upper extremity symptoms. With advanced level of training the likelihood of developing chronic upper extremity symptoms increases, and multiple surgeries were required. Hand protection was associated with a lower risk of hand injuries. Martial arts can be associated with substantial upper extremity injuries that may require surgery and extended time away from participation. Injuries may result in chronic upper extremity symptoms. Hand protection is important for reducing injuries to the hand and wrist.

The Complementary Role of High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein in the Diagnosis and Severity Assessment of Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Khakzad, Mohammad Reza; Javanbakht, Maryam; Shayegan, Mohammad Reza; Kianoush, Sina; Omid, Fatemeh; Hojati, Maryam; Meshkat, Mojtaba

2012-01-01

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a beneficial diagnostic test for the evaluation of inflammatory response. Extremely low levels of CRP can be detected using high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) test. A considerable body of evidence has demonstrated that inflammatory response has an important role in the pathophysiology of autism. In this study, we evaluated…

A model for extremely powerful extragalactic water masers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Ying-Cheng; Alcock, C.

1988-08-01

The reasons for the differences between extremely powerful extragalatic water masers (EPEWMs) and strong Galactic H/sub 2/O masers are discussed. This model quite successfully explains many important characteristics of EPEWMs; the rapid time variations, the broad range and random velocity distribution, the extremely high luminosities, the various heights or widths of features in spectra, the strong infrared radiation from the galaxies, how an active nucleus contributes to an EPEWM, how some parts of EPEWMs producing strong features are pumped, why this pump mechanism can work, and why EPEWMs are different from strong Galactic H/sub 2/O masers. Recent observations of extragalactic water masers which have extremely high luminosities raise the possibility that the stimulated emission rate in the maser emission line in these regions is much higher than in Galactic masers. It is possible that the local stimulated emission rate exceeds the local bandwidth for the radiation. In this case the standard expression relating the photon emission rate to the profile averaged mean intensity does not apply. A new expression for the photon emission rate is derived.

A model for extremely powerful extragalactic water masers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Ying-Cheng; Alcock, C.

1988-08-01

The reasons for the differences between extremely powerful extragalatic water masers (EPEWMs) and strong Galactic H 2 O masers are discussed. This model quite successfully explains many important characteristics of EPEWMs; the rapid time variations, the broad range and random velocity distribution, the extremely high luminosities, the various heights or widths of features in spectra, the strong infrared radiation from the galaxies, how an active nucleus contributes to an EPEWM, how some parts of EPEWMs producing strong features are pumped, why this pump mechanism can work, and why EPEWMs are different from strong Galactic H 2 O masers. Recent observations of extragalactic water masers which have extremely high luminosities raise the possibility that the stimulated emission rate in the maser emission line in these regions is much higher than in Galactic masers. It is possible that the local stimulated emission rate exceeds the local bandwidth for the radiation. In this case the standard expression relating the photon emission rate to the profile averaged mean intensity does not apply. A new expression for the photon emission rate is derived

Quantifying the Influence of Global Warming on Unprecedented Extreme Climate Events

Science.gov (United States)

Diffenbaugh, Noah S.; Singh, Deepti; Mankin, Justin S.; Horton, Daniel E.; Swain, Daniel L.; Touma, Danielle; Charland, Allison; Liu, Yunjie; Haugen, Matz; Tsiang, Michael;

Quantifying the influence of global warming on unprecedented extreme climate events.

Science.gov (United States)

Diffenbaugh, Noah S; Singh, Deepti; Mankin, Justin S; Horton, Daniel E; Swain, Daniel L; Touma, Danielle; Charland, Allison; Liu, Yunjie; Haugen, Matz; Tsiang, Michael; Rajaratnam, Bala

2017-05-09

Efforts to understand the influence of historical global warming on individual extreme climate events have increased over the past decade. However, despite substantial progress, events that are unprecedented in the local observational record remain a persistent challenge. Leveraging observations and a large climate model ensemble, we quantify uncertainty in the influence of global warming on the severity and probability of the historically hottest month, hottest day, driest year, and wettest 5-d period for different areas of the globe. We find that historical warming has increased the severity and probability of the hottest month and hottest day of the year at >80% of the available observational area. Our framework also suggests that the historical climate forcing has increased the probability of the driest year and wettest 5-d period at 57% and 41% of the observed area, respectively, although we note important caveats. For the most protracted hot and dry events, the strongest and most widespread contributions of anthropogenic climate forcing occur in the tropics, including increases in probability of at least a factor of 4 for the hottest month and at least a factor of 2 for the driest year. We also demonstrate the ability of our framework to systematically evaluate the role of dynamic and thermodynamic factors such as atmospheric circulation patterns and atmospheric water vapor, and find extremely high statistical confidence that anthropogenic forcing increased the probability of record-low Arctic sea ice extent.

Preface: Impacts of extreme climate events and disturbances on carbon dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Jingfeng; Liu, Shuguang; Stoy, Paul C.

2016-01-01

The impacts of extreme climate events and disturbances (ECE&D) on the carbon cycle have received growing attention in recent years. This special issue showcases a collection of recent advances in understanding the impacts of ECE&D on carbon cycling. Notable advances include quantifying how harvesting activities impact forest structure, carbon pool dynamics, and recovery processes; observed drastic increases of the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and dissolved methane in thermokarst lakes in western Siberia during a summer warming event; disentangling the roles of herbivores and fire on forest carbon dioxide flux; direct and indirect impacts of fire on the global carbon balance; and improved atmospheric inversion of regional carbon sources and sinks by incorporating disturbances. Combined, studies herein indicate several major research needs. First, disturbances and extreme events can interact with one another, and it is important to understand their overall impacts and also disentangle their effects on the carbon cycle. Second, current ecosystem models are not skillful enough to correctly simulate the underlying processes and impacts of ECE&D (e.g., tree mortality and carbon consequences). Third, benchmark data characterizing the timing, location, type, and magnitude of disturbances must be systematically created to improve our ability to quantify carbon dynamics over large areas. Finally, improving the representation of ECE&D in regional climate/earth system models and accounting for the resulting feedbacks to climate are essential for understanding the interactions between climate and ecosystem dynamics.

Enabling Structured Exploration of Workflow Performance Variability in Extreme-Scale Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kleese van Dam, Kerstin; Stephan, Eric G.; Raju, Bibi; Altintas, Ilkay; Elsethagen, Todd O.; Krishnamoorthy, Sriram

2015-11-15

Workflows are taking an Workflows are taking an increasingly important role in orchestrating complex scientific processes in extreme scale and highly heterogeneous environments. However, to date we cannot reliably predict, understand, and optimize workflow performance. Sources of performance variability and in particular the interdependencies of workflow design, execution environment and system architecture are not well understood. While there is a rich portfolio of tools for performance analysis, modeling and prediction for single applications in homogenous computing environments, these are not applicable to workflows, due to the number and heterogeneity of the involved workflow and system components and their strong interdependencies. In this paper, we investigate workflow performance goals and identify factors that could have a relevant impact. Based on our analysis, we propose a new workflow performance provenance ontology, the Open Provenance Model-based WorkFlow Performance Provenance, or OPM-WFPP, that will enable the empirical study of workflow performance characteristics and variability including complex source attribution.

Atmospheric River Importance to Extratropical Climate and Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Nash, D.; Waliser, D. E.; Guan, B.; Ye, H.; Ralph, F. M.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) are narrow, long, water vapor rich corridors of the atmosphere that are responsible for over 90% of the poleward moisture transport across mid-latitudes and into high latitudes. This suggests a crucial role for ARs in helping establish the extra-tropical atmospheric water budget and hydroclimate variability. However, the contribution of ARs to the extra-tropical atmospheric water budget has yet to be quantified, including impacts on water vapor transport and storage, and precipitation. This study characterizes the roles of AR related atmospheric transport on combined and individual atmospheric water budget variables over extratropical regions of both hemispheres based on MERRA2 reanalysis products during 1997-2014. Results show that poleward water vapor transport related to ARs is strongly related to changes in water vapor storage and especially precipitation in higher latitudes in both hemispheres, with the relationship dependent on averaging period. For example, for the annual cycle climatology, both AR transport and local evaporation support the variation in precipitation. However, on monthly time scales, the water budget at higher latitudes tends to be dominated by the balance between AR transport and precipitation. On pentad and daily time scales, AR transport is related to both precipitation and water vapor storage changes. These results indicate the important role of the episodic, extreme moisture transports associated with ARs in helping establish the high latitude water and energy cycles, and associated hydroclimate.

The role of syntax in complex networks: Local and global importance of verbs in a syntactic dependency network

Science.gov (United States)

Čech, Radek; Mačutek, Ján; Žabokrtský, Zdeněk

2011-10-01

Syntax of natural language has been the focus of linguistics for decades. The complex network theory, being one of new research tools, opens new perspectives on syntax properties of the language. Despite numerous partial achievements, some fundamental problems remain unsolved. Specifically, although statistical properties typical for complex networks can be observed in all syntactic networks, the impact of syntax itself on these properties is still unclear. The aim of the present study is to shed more light on the role of syntax in the syntactic network structure. In particular, we concentrate on the impact of the syntactic function of a verb in the sentence on the complex network structure. Verbs play the decisive role in the sentence structure (“local” importance). From this fact we hypothesize the importance of verbs in the complex network (“global” importance). The importance of verb in the complex network is assessed by the number of links which are directed from the node representing verb to other nodes in the network. Six languages (Catalan, Czech, Dutch, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese) were used for testing the hypothesis.

Response of snow-dependent hydrologic extremes to continued global warming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diffenbaugh, Noah [Stanford University; Scherer, Martin [Stanford University; Ashfaq, Moetasim [ORNL

2012-01-01

Snow accumulation is critical for water availability in the Northern Hemisphere1,2, raising concern that global warming could have important impacts on natural and human systems in snow-dependent regions1,3. Although regional hydrologic changes have been observed (for example, refs 1,3 5), the time of emergence of extreme changes in snow accumulation and melt remains a key unknown for assessing climate- change impacts3,6,7. We find that the CMIP5 global climate model ensemble exhibits an imminent shift towards low snow years in the Northern Hemisphere, with areas of western North America, northeastern Europe and the Greater Himalaya showing the strongest emergence during the near- termdecadesandat2 Cglobalwarming.Theoccurrenceof extremely low snow years becomes widespread by the late twenty-first century, as do the occurrences of extremely high early-season snowmelt and runoff (implying increasing flood risk), and extremely low late-season snowmelt and runoff (implying increasing water stress). Our results suggest that many snow-dependent regions of the Northern Hemisphere are likely to experience increasing stress from low snow years within the next three decades, and from extreme changes in snow-dominated water resources if global warming exceeds 2 C above the pre-industrial baseline.

Simulating merging binary black holes with nearly extremal spins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lovelace, Geoffrey; Scheel, Mark A.; Szilagyi, Bela

2011-01-01

Astrophysically realistic black holes may have spins that are nearly extremal (i.e., close to 1 in dimensionless units). Numerical simulations of binary black holes are important tools both for calibrating analytical templates for gravitational-wave detection and for exploring the nonlinear dynamics of curved spacetime. However, all previous simulations of binary-black-hole inspiral, merger, and ringdown have been limited by an apparently insurmountable barrier: the merging holes' spins could not exceed 0.93, which is still a long way from the maximum possible value in terms of the physical effects of the spin. In this paper, we surpass this limit for the first time, opening the way to explore numerically the behavior of merging, nearly extremal black holes. Specifically, using an improved initial-data method suitable for binary black holes with nearly extremal spins, we simulate the inspiral (through 12.5 orbits), merger and ringdown of two equal-mass black holes with equal spins of magnitude 0.95 antialigned with the orbital angular momentum.

Developing research about extreme events and impacts to support international climate policy

Science.gov (United States)

Otto, Friederike; James, Rachel; Parker, Hannah; Boyd, Emily; Jones, Richard; Allen, Myles; Mitchell, Daniel; Cornforth, Rosalind

2015-04-01

Climate change is expected to have some of its most significant impacts through changes in the frequency and severity of extreme events. There is a pressing need for policy to support adaptation to changing climate risks, and to deal with residual loss and damage from climate change. In 2013, the Warsaw International Mechanism was established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to address loss and damage in developing countries. Strategies to help vulnerable regions cope with losses from extreme events will presumably require information about the influence of anthropogenic forcing on extreme weather. But what kind of scientific evidence will be most useful for the Warsaw Mechanism? And how can the scientific communities working on extreme events and impacts develop their research to support the advance of this important policy? As climate scientists conducting probabilistic event attribution studies, we have been working with social scientists to investigate these questions. Our own research seeks to examine the role of external drivers, including greenhouse gas emissions, on the risk of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, and drought. We use large ensembles of climate models to compute the probability of occurrence of extreme events under current conditions and in a world which might have been without anthropogenic interference. In cases where the models are able to simulate extreme weather, the analysis allows for conclusions about the extent to which climate change may have increased, decreased, or made no change to the risk of the event occurring. These results could thus have relevance for the UNFCCC negotiations on loss and damage, and we have been communicating with policymakers and observers to the policy process to better understand how we can develop our research to support their work; by attending policy meetings, conducting interviews, and using a participatory game developed with the Red Cross

[Effect of extremely low frequency magnetic field on glutathione in rat muscles].

Science.gov (United States)

Ciejka, Elzbieta; Jakubowska, Ewa; Zelechowska, Paulina; Huk-Kolega, Halina; Kowalczyk, Agata; Goraca, Anna

2014-01-01

Free radicals (FR) are atoms, molecules or their fragments. Their excess leads to the development of oxidizing stress, the cause of many neoplastic, neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases, and aging of the organism. Industrial pollution, tobacco smoke, ionizing radiation, ultrasound and magnetic field are the major FR exogenous sources. The low frequency magnetic field is still more commonly applied in the physical therapy. The aim of the presented study was to evaluate the effect of extremely low frequency magnetic field used in the magnetotherapy on the level of total glutathione, oxidized and reduced, and the redox state of the skeletal muscle cells, depending on the duration of exposure to magnetic field. The male rats, weight of 280-300 g, were randomly devided into 3 experimental groups: controls (group I) and treatment groups exposed to extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) (group II exposed to 40 Hz, 7 mT for 0.5 h/day for 14 days and group III exposed to 40 Hz, 7 mT for 1 h/day for 14 days). Control rats were kept in a separate room not exposed to extremely low frequency magnetic field. Immediately after the last exposure, part of muscles was taken under pentobarbital anesthesia. Total glutathione, oxidized and reduced, and the redox state in the muscle tissue of animals were determined after exposure to magnetic fields. Exposure to low magnetic field: 40 Hz, 7 mT for 30 min/day and 60 min/day for 2 weeks significantly increased the total glutathione levels in the skeletal muscle compared to the control group (p magnetic therapy plays an important role in the development of adaptive mechanisms responsible for maintaining the oxidation-reduction balance in the body and depends on exposure duration.

CD-Based Microfluidics for Primary Care in Extreme Point-of-Care Settings

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Suzanne Smith

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We review the utility of centrifugal microfluidic technologies applied to point-of-care diagnosis in extremely under-resourced environments. The various challenges faced in these settings are showcased, using areas in India and Africa as examples. Measures for the ability of integrated devices to effectively address point-of-care challenges are highlighted, and centrifugal, often termed CD-based microfluidic technologies, technologies are presented as a promising platform to address these challenges. We describe the advantages of centrifugal liquid handling, as well as the ability of a standard CD player to perform a number of common laboratory tests, fulfilling the role of an integrated lab-on-a-CD. Innovative centrifugal approaches for point-of-care in extremely resource-poor settings are highlighted, including sensing and detection strategies, smart power sources and biomimetic inspiration for environmental control. The evolution of centrifugal microfluidics, along with examples of commercial and advanced prototype centrifugal microfluidic systems, is presented, illustrating the success of deployment at the point-of-care. A close fit of emerging centrifugal systems to address a critical panel of tests for under-resourced clinic settings, formulated by medical experts, is demonstrated. This emphasizes the potential of centrifugal microfluidic technologies to be applied effectively to extremely challenging point-of-care scenarios and in playing a role in improving primary care in resource-limited settings across the developing world.

Direct and mediating role of social and human capital in influencing opportunity recognition and resource mobilization in handloom clusters in India

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bhagavatula, S.; Elfring, T.; van Tilburg, A.; van de Bunt, G.

2010-01-01

Small-scale firms in rural areas play an extremely important role in the development of any country, and especially in developing countries. To understand entrepreneurs who operate in a low-technology industry, we rely on the network perspective on entrepreneurship. In this paper, we investigate how

Genomics of an extreme psychrophile, Psychromonas ingrahamii

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Hauser Loren J

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The genome sequence of the sea-ice bacterium Psychromonas ingrahamii 37, which grows exponentially at -12C, may reveal features that help to explain how this extreme psychrophile is able to grow at such low temperatures. Determination of the whole genome sequence allows comparison with genes of other psychrophiles and mesophiles. Results Correspondence analysis of the composition of all P. ingrahamii proteins showed that (1 there are 6 classes of proteins, at least one more than other bacteria, (2 integral inner membrane proteins are not sharply separated from bulk proteins suggesting that, overall, they may have a lower hydrophobic character, and (3 there is strong opposition between asparagine and the oxygen-sensitive amino acids methionine, arginine, cysteine and histidine and (4 one of the previously unseen clusters of proteins has a high proportion of "orphan" hypothetical proteins, raising the possibility these are cold-specific proteins. Based on annotation of proteins by sequence similarity, (1 P. ingrahamii has a large number (61 of regulators of cyclic GDP, suggesting that this bacterium produces an extracellular polysaccharide that may help sequester water or lower the freezing point in the vicinity of the cell. (2 P. ingrahamii has genes for production of the osmolyte, betaine choline, which may balance the osmotic pressure as sea ice freezes. (3 P. ingrahamii has a large number (11 of three-subunit TRAP systems that may play an important role in the transport of nutrients into the cell at low temperatures. (4 Chaperones and stress proteins may play a critical role in transforming nascent polypeptides into 3-dimensional configurations that permit low temperature growth. (5 Metabolic properties of P. ingrahamii were deduced. Finally, a few small sets of proteins of unknown function which may play a role in psychrophily have been singled out as worthy of future study. Conclusion The results of this genomic analysis

Public perceptions of climate change and extreme weather events

Science.gov (United States)

Bruine de Bruin, W.; Dessai, S.; Morgan, G.; Taylor, A.; Wong-Parodi, G.

2013-12-01

Climate experts face a serious communication challenge. Public debate about climate change continues, even though at the same time people seem to complain about extreme weather events becoming increasingly common. As compared to the abstract concept of ';climate change,' (changes in) extreme weather events are indeed easier to perceive, more vivid, and personally relevant. Public perception research in different countries has suggested that people commonly expect that climate change will lead to increases in temperature, and that unseasonably warm weather is likely to be interpreted as evidence of climate change. However, relatively little is known about whether public concerns about climate change may also be driven by changes in other types of extreme weather events, such as exceptional amounts of precipitation or flooding. We therefore examined how perceptions of and personal experiences with changes in these specific weather events are related to public concerns about climate change. In this presentation, we will discuss findings from two large public perception surveys conducted in flood-prone Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (US) and with a national sample in the UK, where extreme flooding has recently occurred across the country. Participants completed questions about their perceptions of and experiences with specific extreme weather events, and their beliefs about climate change. We then conducted linear regressions to predict individual differences in climate-change beliefs, using perceptions of and experiences with specific extreme weather events as predictors, while controlling for demographic characteristics. The US study found that people (a) perceive flood chances to be increasing over the decades, (b) believe climate change to play a role in increases in future flood chances, and (c) would interpret future increases in flooding as evidence for climate change. The UK study found that (a) UK residents are more likely to perceive increases in ';wet' events such

Roy's Adaptation Model-Guided Education and Promoting the Adaptation of Veterans With Lower Extremities Amputation.

Science.gov (United States)

Azarmi, Somayeh; Farsi, Zahra

2015-10-01

Any defect in extremities of the body can affect different life aspects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Roy's adaptation model-guided education on promoting the adaptation of veterans with lower extremities amputation. In a randomized clinical trial, 60 veterans with lower extremities amputation referring to Kowsar Orthotics and Prosthetics Center of veterans clinic in Tehran, Iran, were recruited with convenience method and were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups during 2013 - 2014. For data collection, Roy's adaptation model questionnaire was used. After completing the questionnaires in both groups, maladaptive behaviors were determined in the intervention group and an education program based on Roy's adaptation model was implemented. After two months, both groups completed the questionnaires again. Data was analyzed with SPSS software. Independent t-test showed statistically significant differences between the two groups in the post-test stage in terms of the total score of adaptation (P = 0.001) as well as physiologic (P = 0.0001) and role function modes (P = 0.004). The total score of adaptation (139.43 ± 5.45 to 127.54 ± 14.55, P = 0.006) as well as the scores of physiologic (60.26 ± 5.45 to 53.73 ± 7.79, P = 0.001) and role function (20.30 ± 2.42 to 18.13 ± 3.18, P = 0.01) modes in the intervention group significantly increased, whereas the scores of self-concept (42.10 ± 4.71 to 39.40 ± 5.67, P = 0.21) and interdependence (16.76 ± 2.22 to 16.30 ± 2.57, P = 0.44) modes in the two stages did not have a significant difference. Findings of this research indicated that the Roy's adaptation model-guided education promoted the adaptation level of physiologic and role function modes in veterans with lower extremities amputation. However, this intervention could not promote adaptation in self-concept and interdependence modes. More intervention is advised based on Roy's adaptation model for improving the

Extremely long posterior communicating artery diagnosed by MR angiography: report of two cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Uchino, Akira; Suzuki, Chihiro; Tanaka, Masahiko

2015-07-01

We report two cases of an extremely long left posterior communicating artery (PCoA) diagnosed by magnetic resonance (MR) angiography. The PCoA arose from the normal point of the supraclinoid internal carotid artery and fused with the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) at its posterior ambient segment, forming an extremely long PCoA and extremely long precommunicating segment of the PCA. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such variation. Careful observation of MR angiographic images is important for detecting rare arterial variations. To identify these anomalous arteries on MR angiography, partial maximum-intensity-projection images are useful.

Enhancing the nurses' role in healthcare delivery through strategic management: recognizing its importance or not?

Science.gov (United States)

Carney, Marie

2009-09-01

To determine the importance of strategy in nursing management and to establish if strategic management has entered the lexicon of nurses' vocabulary. Developing and managing strategy is a critical success factor for health care managers. It remains unclear if nurse managers view strategy development as their role. A review of scholarly International nursing and management literature, available through CINAHL and PUBMED Data Bases was undertaken. The titles of 1063 articles, published between 1997 and 2007 were examined in order to determine the profile of strategy in those titles. Documentary analysis was undertaken on a random sample of 250 of those articles and on the full text of a further 100. Less than 10% of journal titles contained the word strategy. What was presented as strategy was in the majority of cases describing policy, administration or management. Little formal strategy theory was evident. The nursing profession does not appear to have adopted the terms strategy or strategic management to any great extent. Nurse Managers could play a greater role in enhancing healthcare delivery if an understanding of, and acceptance of the importance of strategy in health care delivery was promoted.

Pyrophosphate as a central energy carrier in the hydrogen-producing extremely thermophilic Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bielen, A.A.M.; Willquist, K.; Engman, J.; Oost, van der J.; Niel, van E.W.J.; Kengen, S.W.M.

2010-01-01

The role of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) as an energy carrier in the central metabolism of the extremely thermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus was investigated. In agreement with its annotated genome sequence, cell extracts were shown to exhibit PPi-dependent

[Noncovalent cation-π interactions--their role in nature].

Science.gov (United States)

Fink, Krzysztof; Boratyński, Janusz

2014-11-07

Non-covalent interactions play an extremely important role in organisms. The main non-covalent interactions in nature are: ion-ion interactions, dipole-dipole interactions, hydrogen bonds, and van der Waals interactions. A new kind of intermolecular interactions--cation-π interactions--is gaining increasing attention. These interactions occur between a cation and a π system. The main contributors to cation-π interactions are electrostatic, polarization and, to a lesser extent, dispersion interactions. At first, cation-π interactions were studied in a gas phase, with metal cation-aromatic system complexes. The characteristics of these complexes are as follows: an increase of cation atomic number leads to a decrease of interaction energy, and an increase of cation charge leads to an increase of interaction energy. Aromatic amino acids bind with metal cations mainly through interactions with their main chain. Nevertheless, cation-π interaction with a hydrophobic side chain significantly enhances binding energy. In water solutions most cations preferentially interact with water molecules rather than aromatic systems. Cation-π interactions occur in environments with lower accessibility to a polar solvent. Cation-π interactions can have a stabilizing role on the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins. These interactions play an important role in substrate or ligand binding sites in many proteins, which should be taken into consideration when the screening of effective inhibitors for these proteins is carried out. Cation-π interactions are abundant and play an important role in many biological processes.

Transcriptome and network changes in climbers at extreme altitudes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Chen

Full Text Available Extreme altitude can induce a range of cellular and systemic responses. Although it is known that hypoxia underlies the major changes and that the physiological responses include hemodynamic changes and erythropoiesis, the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways mediating such changes are largely unknown. To obtain a more complete picture of the transcriptional regulatory landscape and networks involved in extreme altitude response, we followed four climbers on an expedition up Mount Xixiabangma (8,012 m, and collected blood samples at four stages during the climb for mRNA and miRNA expression assays. By analyzing dynamic changes of gene networks in response to extreme altitudes, we uncovered a highly modular network with 7 modules of various functions that changed in response to extreme altitudes. The erythrocyte differentiation module is the most prominently up-regulated, reflecting increased erythrocyte differentiation from hematopoietic stem cells, probably at the expense of differentiation into other cell lineages. These changes are accompanied by coordinated down-regulation of general translation. Network topology and flow analyses also uncovered regulators known to modulate hypoxia responses and erythrocyte development, as well as unknown regulators, such as the OCT4 gene, an important regulator in stem cells and assumed to only function in stem cells. We predicted computationally and validated experimentally that increased OCT4 expression at extreme altitude can directly elevate the expression of hemoglobin genes. Our approach established a new framework for analyzing the transcriptional regulatory network from a very limited number of samples.

Republic Scientific-practical Conference 'The Youth Role in solving the most important issues of globalization process' Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

Present collection comprises of materials of Republic Scientific-practical Conference 'The Youth Role in solving the most important issues of globalization process'. Present collection is intended for scientific and technical staff, postgraduates, and students of institutes of higher education.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Associated with Extreme Hypertriglyceridemia

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Chin-Sung Huang

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Only a few cases of hypertriglyceridemia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE have been reported. We report a case of a 13-year-old girl suffering from SLE associated with severe hypertriglyceridemia. The persistent hypertriglyceridemia was extremely well tolerated. As a result of steroid treatment, serum triglycerides fell dramatically from a high of 5601 mg/dL to 75 mg/dL despite the patient switching to a free diet. We considered the presence of an autoantibody to lipoprotein lipase and commenced immunosuppression. The role of steroids in completely correcting deficient lipoprotein lipase activity is discussed.

Which Screening Tools Can Predict Injury to the Lower Extremities in Team Sports? A Systematic Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dallinga, Joan M.; Benjaminse, Anne; Lemmink, Koen A. P. M.

2012-01-01

Background: Injuries to lower extremities are common in team sports such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, football and field hockey. Considering personal grief, disabling consequences and high costs caused by injuries to lower extremities, the importance for the prevention of these injuries is

Countering violent extremism in Indonesia: priorities, practice and the role of civil society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cameron Sumpter

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Indonesia has experimented with initiatives aimed at countering violent extremism (CVE since the wave of arrests following the first Bali bombing attack in 2002. Initial efforts involved police attempting to develop relationships of trust with terrorists in custody. Today, a broader range of strategies are employed, from promoting peace among youth and thwarting the allure of extremist narratives, to managing prisoners and assisting former terrorists reintegrate with society. The lead government body since 2010 has been the national counterterrorism agency, Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Terorisme (BNPT, which is tasked with coordinating stakeholders in Indonesia’s struggle with domestic terrorism. But managing the divergent and sometimes competing interests of Indonesia’s large state institutions has not been straightforward, and effective collaboration between relevant state agencies remains an obstacle to the success of CVE initiatives. Where government has fallen short, civil society organisations (CSOs often fill the gaps, and a number of dedicated practitioners now have invaluable experience, local contacts, and the specific knowledge required for countering extremism in the Indonesian context. CSOs also possess greater levels of trust among the communities they engage than security-centric state agencies could possibly hope to achieve. Yet instead of exploiting these civil society resources, the BNPT has largely preferred an independent (and top-down approach to CVE initiatives, collaborating if and when assistance is required. The Indonesian government should make better use of the unique legitimacy and expertise of civil society organisations.

Are recent severe floods in Xiang River basin of China linked with the increase extreme precipitation?

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, L.; Du, J.

2015-12-01

The Xiang River, a main tributary of the Yangtze River, is subjected to high floods frequently in recent twenty years. Climate change, including abrupt shifts and fluctuations in precipitation is an important factor influencing hydrological extreme conditions. In addition, human activities are widely recognized as another reasons leading to high flood risk. With the effects of climate change and human interventions on hydrological cycle, there are several questions that need to be addressed. Are floods in the Xiang River basin getting worse? Whether the extreme streamflow shows an increasing tendency? If so, is it because the extreme rainfall events have predominant effect on floods? To answer these questions, the article detected existing trends in extreme precipitation and discharge using Mann-Kendall test. Continuous wavelet transform method was employed to identify the consistency of changes in extreme precipitation and discharge. The Pearson correlation analysis was applied to investigate how much degree of variations in extreme discharge can be explained by climate change. The results indicate that slightly upward trends can be detected in both extreme rainfalls and discharge in the upper region of Xiang River basin. For the most area of middle and lower river basin, the extreme rainfalls show significant positive trends, but the extreme discharge displays slightly upward trends with no significance at 90% confidence level. Wavelet transform analysis results illustrate that highly similar patterns of signal changes can be seen between extreme precipitation and discharge in upper section of the basin, while the changes in extreme precipitation for the middle and lower reaches do not always coincide with the extreme streamflow. The correlation coefficients of the wavelet transforms for the precipitation and discharge signals in most area of the basin pass the significance test. The conclusion may be drawn that floods in recent years are not getting worse in

Introducing Software Engineering by means of Extreme Programming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hedin, G.; Bendix, Lars Gotfred; Magnusson, B.

2003-01-01

This paper reports on experience from teaching basic software engineering concepts by using Extreme Programming in a second year undergraduate course taken by 107 students. We describe how this course fits into a wider programme on software engineering and technology and report our experience from...... running and improving the course. Particularly important aspects of our set-up includes team coaching (by older students) and "team-in-one-room". Our experience so far is very positive and we see that students get a good basic understanding of the important concepts in software engineering, rooted...

THE IMPORTANCE AND THE ROLES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION

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Nazım BURGUL

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to determine the importance and the roles of the existing informationtechnologies in preschool education and to do a content analysis.The research is done by using the descriptive study method which is one of the general scanning models. Having examinedthe results of the previous researches, the theoretical framework that would light the way for the research was prepared. Theavailable information about the subject was scanned from resources such as documents, other written sources and also theinternet, and expert’s opinions were asked for. The content analysis of the collected information was done.The preschool period is a process to which all education scientists attach great importance. However, in order to realize theaim of this process, well planned education programmes are needed. The preschool education period provides crèche,nursery and reception education activities. Because of the annual changes of education technologies, positive differences areseen for the teaching activities in this area. On the other hand, there are some requirements to do to speed up the educationand to increase the productivity of education in our present day information society.The preschool education programmes are “the Crèche Programme (0-36 months”, “The Nursery Programme (37-60months and “The Reception Programme (61-72 months”. Optimum educational programs must be prepared for activitiesthat will take place on a daily basis according to specific aims and attitudes to determine the educational status of theseactivities. After having examined the technology-based education model, it is observed by the evaluation and assessmentdiscipline that using equipment such as tv, radio, computer, video, projection, overhead projector and slide apparatus makesthe learning process more effective and productive.As a result, information has become the most expensive product today. The roles of computer-aided education and the

Secondary prevention at 360°: the important role of diagnostic imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciarrapico, Anna Micaela; Manenti, Guglielmo; Pistolese, Chiara; Fabiano, Sebastiano; Fiori, Roberto; Romagnoli, Andrea; Sergiacomi, Gianluigi; Stefanini, Matteo; Simonetti, Giovanni

2015-06-01

The aim of this paper is to underline the importance of the role of general practitioners (GPs) in distributing vital information about prevention to citizens, to highlight the importance of the so-called voluntary prevention programmes, both for conditions for which no organised screening programmes exist and for those for which they do exist but may well be obsolete or inefficient. Nowadays, voluntary prevention is made more effective thanks to the new sophisticated diagnostic technologies applied worldwide by diagnostic imaging. Epidemiological data about the incidence and causes of death among the Italian population have shown that screening programmes should be aimed first at fighting the following diseases: prostatic carcinoma, lung cancer, colorectal carcinoma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, aortic and peripheral vascular disease. GPs do not generally give good or adequate instructions concerning voluntary prevention programmes; GPs may not even be aware of this type of prevention which could represent a valuable option together with the existing mass screening programmes. Therefore, in the following analysis, we aim to outline the correct diagnostic pathway for the prevention of diseases having the highest incidence in our country and which represent the most frequent causes of death. If used correctly, these screening programmes may contribute to the success of secondary prevention, limiting the use of tertiary prevention and thus producing savings for the Italian National Health System.

Upper Extremity Proprioception After Stroke: Bridging the Gap Between Neuroscience and Rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Findlater, Sonja E; Dukelow, Sean P

2017-01-01

Proprioception is an important aspect of function that is often impaired in the upper extremity following stroke. Unfortunately, neurorehabilitation has few evidence based treatment options for those with proprioceptive deficits. The authors consider potential reasons for this disparity. In doing so, typical assessments and proprioceptive intervention studies are discussed. Relevant evidence from the field of neuroscience is examined. Such evidence may be used to guide the development of targeted interventions for upper extremity proprioceptive deficits after stroke. As researchers become more aware of the impact of proprioceptive deficits on upper extremity motor performance after stroke, it is imperative to find successful rehabilitation interventions to target these deficits and ultimately improve daily function.

Microwave tomography for functional imaging of extremity soft tissues: feasibility assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semenov, Serguei; Kellam, James; Althausen, Peter; Williams, Thomas; Abubakar, Aria; Bulyshev, Alexander; Sizov, Yuri

2007-01-01

It is important to assess the viability of extremity soft tissues, as this component is often the determinant of the final outcome of fracture treatment. Microwave tomography (MWT) and sensing might be able to provide a fast and mobile assessment of such properties. MWT imaging of extremities possesses a complicated, nonlinear, high dielectric contrast inverse problem of diffraction tomography. There is a high dielectric contrast between bone and soft tissue in the extremities. A contrast between soft tissue abnormalities is less pronounced when compared with the high bone-soft tissue contrast. The goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of MWT for functional imaging of extremity soft tissues, i.e. to detect a relatively small contrast within soft tissues in closer proximity to high contrast boney areas. Both experimental studies and computer simulation were performed. Experiments were conducted using live pigs with compromised blood flow and compartment syndrome within an extremity. A whole 2D tomographic imaging cycle at 1 GHz was computer simulated and images were reconstructed using the Newton, MR-CSI and modified Born methods. Results of experimental studies demonstrate that microwave technology is sensitive to changes in the soft tissue blood content and elevated compartment pressure. It was demonstrated that MWT is feasible for functional imaging of extremity soft tissues, circulatory-related changes, blood flow and elevated compartment pressure

A New Family of Consistent and Asymptotically-Normal Estimators for the Extremal Index

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Jose Olmo

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The extremal index (θ is the key parameter for extending extreme value theory results from i.i.d. to stationary sequences. One important property of this parameter is that its inverse determines the degree of clustering in the extremes. This article introduces a novel interpretation of the extremal index as a limiting probability characterized by two Poisson processes and a simple family of estimators derived from this new characterization. Unlike most estimators for θ in the literature, this estimator is consistent, asymptotically normal and very stable across partitions of the sample. Further, we show in an extensive simulation study that this estimator outperforms in finite samples the logs, blocks and runs estimation methods. Finally, we apply this new estimator to test for clustering of extremes in monthly time series of unemployment growth and inflation rates and conclude that runs of large unemployment rates are more prolonged than periods of high inflation.

The importance of moral construal: moral versus non-moral construal elicits faster, more extreme, universal evaluations of the same actions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jay J Van Bavel

Full Text Available Over the past decade, intuitionist models of morality have challenged the view that moral reasoning is the sole or even primary means by which moral judgments are made. Rather, intuitionist models posit that certain situations automatically elicit moral intuitions, which guide moral judgments. We present three experiments showing that evaluations are also susceptible to the influence of moral versus non-moral construal. We had participants make moral evaluations (rating whether actions were morally good or bad or non-moral evaluations (rating whether actions were pragmatically or hedonically good or bad of a wide variety of actions. As predicted, moral evaluations were faster, more extreme, and more strongly associated with universal prescriptions-the belief that absolutely nobody or everybody should engage in an action-than non-moral (pragmatic or hedonic evaluations of the same actions. Further, we show that people are capable of flexibly shifting from moral to non-moral evaluations on a trial-by-trial basis. Taken together, these experiments provide evidence that moral versus non-moral construal has an important influence on evaluation and suggests that effects of construal are highly flexible. We discuss the implications of these experiments for models of moral judgment and decision-making.

The relationship between extreme weather events and crop losses in central Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Li-Wei

2017-09-01

The frequency of extreme weather events, which cause severe crop losses, is increasing. This study investigates the relationship between crop losses and extreme weather events in central Taiwan from 2003 to 2015 and determines the main factors influencing crop losses. Data regarding the crop loss area and meteorological information were obtained from government agencies. The crops were categorised into the following five groups: `grains', `vegetables', `fruits', `flowers' and `other crops'. The extreme weather events and their synoptic weather patterns were categorised into six and five groups, respectively. The data were analysed using the z score, correlation coefficient and stepwise regression model. The results show that typhoons had the highest frequency of all extreme weather events (58.3%). The largest crop loss area (4.09%) was caused by two typhoons and foehn wind in succession. Extreme wind speed coupled with heavy rainfall is an important factor affecting the losses in the grain and vegetable groups. Extreme wind speed is a common variable that affects the loss of `grains', `vegetables', `fruits' and `flowers'. Consecutive extreme weather events caused greater crop losses than individual events. Crops with long production times suffered greater losses than those with short production times. This suggests that crops with physical structures that can be easily damaged and long production times would benefit from protected cultivation to maintain food security.

Extreme hydronephrosis due to uretropelvic junction obstruction in infant (case report).

Science.gov (United States)

Krzemień, Grażyna; Szmigielska, Agnieszka; Bombiński, Przemysław; Barczuk, Marzena; Biejat, Agnieszka; Warchoł, Stanisław; Dudek-Warchoł, Teresa

2016-01-01

Hydronephrosis is the one of the most common congenital abnormalities of urinary tract. The left kidney is more commonly affected than the right side and is more common in males. To determine the role of ultrasonography, renal dynamic scintigraphy and lowerdose computed tomography urography in preoperative diagnostic workup of infant with extreme hydronephrosis. We presented the boy with antenatally diagnosed hydronephrosis. In serial, postnatal ultrasonography, renal scintigraphy and computed tomography urography we observed slightly declining function in the dilated kidney and increasing pelvic dilatation. Pyeloplasty was performed at the age of four months with good result. Results of ultrasonography and renal dynamic scintigraphy in child with extreme hydronephrosis can be difficult to asses, therefore before the surgical procedure a lower-dose computed tomography urography should be performed.

Generalized Extreme Value's shape parameter and its nature for extreme precipitation using long time series and Bayesian approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ragulina, Galina; Reitan, Trond

2016-04-01

Assessing the probability of extreme precipitation events is of great importance in civil planning. This requires understanding of how return values change with different return periods, which is essentially described by the Generalized Extreme Value distribution's shape parameter. Some works in the field have suggested a constant shape parameter, while our analysis indicates a non-universal value. We first re-analyse an older precipitation dataset (169 stations) extended by Norwegian data (71 stations). We show that while each set seems to have a constant shape parameter, it differs between the two datasets, indicating regional differences. For a more comprehensive analysis of spatial effects, we examine a global dataset (1495 stations). We provide shape parameter maps for two models. We find clear evidence for the shape parameter being dependent on elevation while the effect of latitude remains uncertain. Our results confirm an explanation in terms of dominating precipitation systems based on a proxy derived from the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.

Evolution caused by extreme events.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Peter R; Grant, B Rosemary; Huey, Raymond B; Johnson, Marc T J; Knoll, Andrew H; Schmitt, Johanna

2017-06-19

Extreme events can be a major driver of evolutionary change over geological and contemporary timescales. Outstanding examples are evolutionary diversification following mass extinctions caused by extreme volcanism or asteroid impact. The evolution of organisms in contemporary time is typically viewed as a gradual and incremental process that results from genetic change, environmental perturbation or both. However, contemporary environments occasionally experience strong perturbations such as heat waves, floods, hurricanes, droughts and pest outbreaks. These extreme events set up strong selection pressures on organisms, and are small-scale analogues of the dramatic changes documented in the fossil record. Because extreme events are rare, almost by definition, they are difficult to study. So far most attention has been given to their ecological rather than to their evolutionary consequences. We review several case studies of contemporary evolution in response to two types of extreme environmental perturbations, episodic (pulse) or prolonged (press). Evolution is most likely to occur when extreme events alter community composition. We encourage investigators to be prepared for evolutionary change in response to rare events during long-term field studies.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Role of media and peers on body change strategies among adult men: is body size important?

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, Marita P; McGreevy, Shauna J

2011-01-01

There has been limited previous research that has examined the role of sociocultural influences on body change strategies among adult men. The current study investigated the role of specific types of messages (encouragement, teasing and modelling) from peers and the media on the strategies to change weight among adult men. Differences were evaluated between 526 men aged from 18 to 60 years from three groups (normal weight, overweight and obese) on body image, body change strategies and messages about their body received from peers and the media. Men were primarily drawn from United States, Australia and Europe. Results showed that messages received by men regarding losing weight or increasing muscle size differed according to weight. Body image and media messages were the strongest predictors of losing weight, whereas body image importance and messages from peers were the strongest predictors of increasing muscles. These findings highlight the importance of sociocultural influences on body change strategies among adult males. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Magnetic resonance venography of congenital vascular malformations of the extremities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laor, T.; Burrows, P.E.; Hoffer, F.A.

1996-01-01

Contrast angiography can demonstrate the vascular components of a vascular malformation, but can be technically challenging in small patients with complex venous anomalies. We reviewed the role of magnetic resonance venography (MRV) in the evaluation of children with predominantly low-flow, vascular malformations of the extremities. MRV (2D time-of-flight technique) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examinations were performed in ten young patients with congential predominantly low-flow vascular malformations of the extremities. MR imaging was used to characterize and determine the extent of the malformations, and MRV to evaluate the deep and superficial venous channels. In all patients, MRV studies were reviewed in conjunction with contrast angiograms, considered the gold standard, to confirm the findings. All signficant channel anomalies seen with contrast angiography were identified with MRV. In addition, MRV demonstrated some veins that were not intentionally opacified during contrast studies. MRV demonstrates both the superficial and deep conducting veins, whereas contrast angiography is a more directed study, evaluating only those channels intentionally opacified. Together, MR imaging and MRV data can non-invasively form the basis for determining the prognosis and choosing the individual treatment of congenital vascular malformations of the extremities. (orig.)

THE SUSTAINABLE IMPORTANCE OF REMITTANCES AND THEIR ROLE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THE CASE OF ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liana SON

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The increasing amplitude of migrants and remittences in the last years, especially toward the developing countries has positive effects on development in the countries of origin. Empiric research outline the potentially significant effect of remittances on the economy of a country in various ways, as a source of external financing, contributing to the growth and economic development, to the increase of the national income and stimulation of consumption, and at the same time, important in financing households, contributing to poverty decrease. These challenges are a priority for Romania, an emigration country that receives every year un important volume of remittances, but, at present with a preponderant role in the consumption.

An overview on extremity dosimetry in medical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanhavere, F.; Carinou, E.; Donadille, L.; Ginjaume, M.; Jankowski, J.; Rimpler, A.; Sans Merce, M.

2008-01-01

Some activities of EURADOS Working Group 9 (WG9) are presently funded by the European Commission (CONRAD project). The objective of WG9 is to promote and co-ordinate research activities for the assessment of occupational exposures to staff at workplaces in interventional radiology (IR) and nuclear medicine. For some of these applications, the skin of the fingers is the limiting organ for individual monitoring of external radiation. Therefore, sub-group 1 of WG9 deals with the use of extremity dosemeters in medical radiation fields. The wide variety of radiation field characteristics present in a medical environment together with the difficulties in measuring a local dose that is representative for the maximum skin dose, usually with one single detector, makes it difficult to perform accurate extremity dosimetry. Sub-group 1 worked out a thorough literature review on extremity dosimetry issues in diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography, interventional radiology and interventional cardiology and brachytherapy. Some studies showed that the annual dose limits could be exceeded if the required protection measures are not taken, especially in nuclear medicine. The continuous progress in new applications and techniques requires an important effort in radiation protection and training. (authors)

Medical and psychosocial implications of adolescent extreme obesity - acceptance and effects of structured care, short: Youth with Extreme Obesity Study (YES).

Science.gov (United States)

Wabitsch, Martin; Moss, Anja; Reinehr, Thomas; Wiegand, Susanna; Kiess, Wieland; Scherag, André; Holl, Reinhard; Holle, Rolf; Hebebrand, Johannes

2013-08-29

. Our aim is to evaluate realistic treatment options. Therefore inclusion and exclusion criteria are minimized. We will recruit adolescents (age range 14-21 years) with extreme obesity (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) (extreme group) within 24 months (120 per centre, 5 centres) as well as obese adolescents being at risk for developing extreme obesity (BMI ≥ 30-34.9 kg/m2) (at risk group). Follow-up evalutations will be performed biannually after inclusion for several years depending on additional funding. In sum, we aim at establishing evaluated health care structures for extremely obese adolescents. The results of YES will be of importance for a frequently neglected group of individuals, for whom current medicine has little to offer in terms of structured access to empirically evaluated therapeutic programs. Thus, the results will be both a help for the adolescents within the study and for others in the future given that the trial will lead to a positive finding. Moreover, it will help practitioners and therapists to deal with this neglected group of individuals. Project registration numbers for each subproject: 1.) ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01625325, NCT01703273, NCT01662271, NCT01632098; 2.) Germanctr.de: DRKS00004172, DRKS00004195, DRKS00004198, DRKS00004197.

Future Simulated Intensification of Precipitation Extremes, CMIP5 Model Uncertainties and Dependencies

Science.gov (United States)

Bador, M.; Donat, M.; Geoffroy, O.; Alexander, L. V.

2017-12-01

Precipitation intensity during extreme events is expected to increase with climate change. Throughout the 21st century, CMIP5 climate models project a general increase in annual extreme precipitation in most regions. We investigate how robust this future increase is across different models, regions and seasons. We find that there is strong similarity in extreme precipitation changes between models that share atmospheric physics, reducing the ensemble of 27 models to 14 independent projections. We find that future simulated extreme precipitation increases in most models in the majority of land grid cells located in the dry, intermediate and wet regions according to each model's precipitation climatology. These increases significantly exceed the range of natural variability estimated from long equilibrium control runs. The intensification of extreme precipitation across the entire spectrum of dry to wet regions is particularly robust in the extra-tropics in both wet and dry season, whereas uncertainties are larger in the tropics. The CMIP5 ensemble therefore indicates robust future intensification of annual extreme rainfall in particular in extra-tropical regions. Generally, the CMIP5 robustness is higher during the dry season compared to the wet season and the annual scale, but inter-model uncertainties in the tropics remain important.

Modeling the Pineapple Express phenomenon via Multivariate Extreme Value Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Weller, G.; Cooley, D. S.

2011-12-01

The pineapple express (PE) phenomenon is responsible for producing extreme winter precipitation events in the coastal and mountainous regions of the western United States. Because the PE phenomenon is also associated with warm temperatures, the heavy precipitation and associated snowmelt can cause destructive flooding. In order to study impacts, it is important that regional climate models from NARCCAP are able to reproduce extreme precipitation events produced by PE. We define a daily precipitation quantity which captures the spatial extent and intensity of precipitation events produced by the PE phenomenon. We then use statistical extreme value theory to model the tail dependence of this quantity as seen in an observational data set and each of the six NARCCAP regional models driven by NCEP reanalysis. We find that most NCEP-driven NARCCAP models do exhibit tail dependence between daily model output and observations. Furthermore, we find that not all extreme precipitation events are pineapple express events, as identified by Dettinger et al. (2011). The synoptic-scale atmospheric processes that drive extreme precipitation events produced by PE have only recently begun to be examined. Much of the current work has focused on pattern recognition, rather than quantitative analysis. We use daily mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) fields from NCEP to develop a "pineapple express index" for extreme precipitation, which exhibits tail dependence with our observed precipitation quantity for pineapple express events. We build a statistical model that connects daily precipitation output from the WRFG model, daily MSLP fields from NCEP, and daily observed precipitation in the western US. Finally, we use this model to simulate future observed precipitation based on WRFG output driven by the CCSM model, and our pineapple express index derived from future CCSM output. Our aim is to use this model to develop a better understanding of the frequency and intensity of extreme

Likelihood estimators for multivariate extremes

KAUST Repository

Huser, Raphaë l; Davison, Anthony C.; Genton, Marc G.

2015-01-01

The main approach to inference for multivariate extremes consists in approximating the joint upper tail of the observations by a parametric family arising in the limit for extreme events. The latter may be expressed in terms of componentwise maxima, high threshold exceedances or point processes, yielding different but related asymptotic characterizations and estimators. The present paper clarifies the connections between the main likelihood estimators, and assesses their practical performance. We investigate their ability to estimate the extremal dependence structure and to predict future extremes, using exact calculations and simulation, in the case of the logistic model.

Likelihood estimators for multivariate extremes

KAUST Repository

Huser, Raphaël

2015-11-17

The main approach to inference for multivariate extremes consists in approximating the joint upper tail of the observations by a parametric family arising in the limit for extreme events. The latter may be expressed in terms of componentwise maxima, high threshold exceedances or point processes, yielding different but related asymptotic characterizations and estimators. The present paper clarifies the connections between the main likelihood estimators, and assesses their practical performance. We investigate their ability to estimate the extremal dependence structure and to predict future extremes, using exact calculations and simulation, in the case of the logistic model.

Extremal black holes in dynamical Chern–Simons gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNees, Robert; Stein, Leo C; Yunes, Nicolás

2016-01-01

Rapidly rotating black hole (BH) solutions in theories beyond general relativity (GR) play a key role in experimental gravity, as they allow us to compute observables in extreme spacetimes that deviate from the predictions of GR. Such solutions are often difficult to find in beyond-general-relativity theories due to the inclusion of additional fields that couple to the metric nonlinearly and non-minimally. In this paper, we consider rotating BH solutions in one such theory, dynamical Chern–Simons (dCS) gravity, where the Einstein–Hilbert action is modified by the introduction of a dynamical scalar field that couples to the metric through the Pontryagin density. We treat dCS gravity as an effective field theory and work in the decoupling limit, where corrections are treated as small perturbations from GR. We perturb about the maximally rotating Kerr solution, the so-called extremal limit, and develop mathematical insight into the analysis techniques needed to construct solutions for generic spin. First we find closed-form, analytic expressions for the extremal scalar field, and then determine the trace of the metric perturbation, giving both in terms of Legendre decompositions. Retaining only the first three and four modes in the Legendre representation of the scalar field and the trace, respectively, suffices to ensure a fidelity of over 99% relative to full numerical solutions. The leading-order mode in the Legendre expansion of the trace of the metric perturbation contains a logarithmic divergence at the extremal Kerr horizon, which is likely to be unimportant as it occurs inside the perturbed dCS horizon. The techniques employed here should enable the construction of analytic, closed-form expressions for the scalar field and metric perturbations on a background with arbitrary rotation. (paper)

Regional amplification of projected changes in extreme temperatures strongly controlled by soil moisture-temperature feedbacks

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Martha Marie; Orth, René; Cheruy, Frederique; Hagemann, Stefan; Lorenz, Ruth; van den Hurk, Bart; Seneviratne, Sonia Isabelle

2017-04-01

Regional hot extremes are projected to increase more strongly than global mean temperature, with substantially larger changes than 2°C even if global warming is limited to this level. We investigate here the role of soil moisture-temperature feedbacks for this response based on multi-model experiments for the 21st century with either interactive or fixed (late 20th century mean seasonal cycle) soil moisture. We analyze changes in the hottest days in each year in both sets of experiments, relate them to the global mean temperature increase, and investigate physical processes leading to these changes. We find that soil moisture-temperature feedbacks significantly contribute to the amplified warming of hottest days compared to that of global mean temperature. This contribution reaches more than 70% in Central Europe and Central North America and between 42%-52% in Amazonia, Northern Australia and Southern Africa. Soil moisture trends (multi-decadal soil moisture variability) are more important for this response than short-term (e.g. seasonal, interannual) soil moisture variability. These results are relevant for reducing uncertainties in regional temperature projections. Vogel, M.M. et al.,2017. Regional amplification of projected changes in extreme temperatures strongly controlled by soil moisture-temperature feedbacks. Geophysical Research Letters, accepted.

Evaluation of support groups for women with breast cancer: importance of the navigator role

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Till James E

2003-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background At least some forms of breast cancer are increasingly being viewed as a chronic illness, where an emphasis is placed on meeting the various ongoing needs of people living with cancer, their families and other members of their social support networks. This commentary outlines some approaches to the evaluation of cancer-related support groups, with a particular emphasis on those designed to provide long-distance support, via the internet, for women with breast cancer. Discussion The literature on evaluations of community-based cancer support groups indicates that they offer a number of benefits, and that it is more reasonable to expect an impact of such interventions on psychosocial functioning and/or health-related quality of life than on survival. The literature on both face-to-face and online social support groups suggests that they offer many advantages, although evaluation of the latter delivery mechanism presents some ethical issues that need to be addressed. Many popular online support groups are peer-moderated, rather than professionally-moderated. In an evaluation of online support groups, different models of the role of the "navigator" need to be taken into account. Some conceptual models are outlined for the evaluation of the "navigator role" in meeting the informational, decisional and educational needs of women with breast cancer. The Breast-Cancer Mailing List, an example of an unmoderated internet-based peer-support group, is considered within the context of a Shared or Tacit Model of the navigator role. Conclusion Application of the concept of a "navigator role" to support groups in general, and to unmoderated online ones in particular, has received little or no attention in the research literature. The navigator role should be taken into account in research on this increasingly important aspect of cancer communication.

Classifying Returns as Extreme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Charlotte

2014-01-01

I consider extreme returns for the stock and bond markets of 14 EU countries using two classification schemes: One, the univariate classification scheme from the previous literature that classifies extreme returns for each market separately, and two, a novel multivariate classification scheme tha...

Modeling extreme (Carrington-type) space weather events using three-dimensional MHD code simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Ngwira, C. M.; Pulkkinen, A. A.; Kuznetsova, M. M.; Glocer, A.

2013-12-01

There is growing concern over possible severe societal consequences related to adverse space weather impacts on man-made technological infrastructure and systems. In the last two decades, significant progress has been made towards the modeling of space weather events. Three-dimensional (3-D) global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models have been at the forefront of this transition, and have played a critical role in advancing our understanding of space weather. However, the modeling of extreme space weather events is still a major challenge even for existing global MHD models. In this study, we introduce a specially adapted University of Michigan 3-D global MHD model for simulating extreme space weather events that have a ground footprint comparable (or larger) to the Carrington superstorm. Results are presented for an initial simulation run with ``very extreme'' constructed/idealized solar wind boundary conditions driving the magnetosphere. In particular, we describe the reaction of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system and the associated ground induced geoelectric field to such extreme driving conditions. We also discuss the results and what they might mean for the accuracy of the simulations. The model is further tested using input data for an observed space weather event to verify the MHD model consistence and to draw guidance for future work. This extreme space weather MHD model is designed specifically for practical application to the modeling of extreme geomagnetically induced electric fields, which can drive large currents in earth conductors such as power transmission grids.

A Case Report on Upper Extremity Pain of Cardiac Origin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Turgay Altınbilek

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Upper extremity pain can originate from the musculoskeletal system, or be a reflection of problems originating from various organs. Therefore, it is highly important to perform a detailed clinical evaluation on patients during differential diagnosis. In this case report, we present a 61 year-old male patient who was admitted with pain in both upper extremities and the upper back that presumed to be of cardiac origin following our clinical evaluations. The patient was referred to the cardiology department, where he was diagnosed with coronary heart disease. The patient’s complaints of pain were fully resolved through the application of an intracoronary stent.

Understanding extreme sea levels for coastal impact and adaptation analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Wahl, T.; Haigh, I. D.; Nicholls, R. J.; Arns, A.; Hinkel, J.; Dangendorf, S.; Slangen, A.

2016-12-01

Coastal impact and adaptation assessments require detailed knowledge on extreme sea levels, because increasing damage due to extreme events, such as storm surges and tropical cyclones, is one of the major consequences of sea level rise and climate change. In fact, the IPCC has highlighted in its AR4 report that "societal impacts of sea level change primarily occur via the extreme levels rather than as a direct consequence of mean sea level changes". Over the last few decades, substantial research efforts have been directed towards improved understanding of past and future mean sea level; different scenarios were developed with process-based or semi-empirical models and used for coastal impact assessments at various spatial scales to guide coastal management and adaptation efforts. The uncertainties in future sea level rise are typically accounted for by analyzing the impacts associated with a range of scenarios leading to a vertical displacement of the distribution of extreme sea-levels. And indeed most regional and global studies find little or no evidence for changes in storminess with climate change, although there is still low confidence in the results. However, and much more importantly, there is still a limited understanding of present-day extreme sea-levels which is largely ignored in most impact and adaptation analyses. The two key uncertainties stem from: (1) numerical models that are used to generate long time series of extreme sea-levels. The bias of these models varies spatially and can reach values much larger than the expected sea level rise; but it can be accounted for in most regions making use of in-situ measurements; (2) Statistical models used for determining present-day extreme sea-level exceedance probabilities. There is no universally accepted approach to obtain such values for flood risk assessments and while substantial research has explored inter-model uncertainties for mean sea level, we explore here, for the first time, inter

Narrowing the Insurance Protection Gap: The important role of Natural Hazards Research

Science.gov (United States)

Manghnani, V.

2016-12-01

The Insurance industry is a key component of the economic engine. It allows businesses to reduce uncertainty in their operations, and individuals to rebound from unanticipated events. A thriving insurance industry efficiently transfers risk from individuals and businesses to the capital markets. It allows society to function smoothly and fosters growth. In areas where the private insurance is not a viable option, the outcome is suboptimal - the society ends up carrying the burden. Higher insurance penetration increases disaster resiliency. The long term viability of an insurance product depends on the ability of the insurance provider to accurately assess risks, which is critical to pricing insurance and risk monitoring. Insurance payouts are typically incurred during extreme events, therefore the industry is very interested in extreme events research. There are several examples where the insurance industry has stepped away from a market or severely limited its appetite because of lack of data or proper understanding of the underlying risks - such as, flood. Further, the insurance Industry has seen a rising trend of natural hazard related losses over the past few decades. The trends have been particularly strong in hydro meteorological hazards. While a good part of this increasing trend can been explained by increase in exposures, there is also concern that underlying hazard landscape may be evolving. The industry would really benefit from research that identifies secular and long term trends in hydro-meteorological hazards, particularly in the extremes. Insight into non-stationarity in the climate system at a regional level would be very informative of risk management decisions. One can envision a scenario where in the industry stops insuring certain risk (such as storm surge), because of a lack of understanding of the trends in the underlying risk and a consequent poor performance record. In sum, the ability of the industry to assess complex and emerging natural

The European Commission: nuclear power has an important role to play

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2008-01-01

The European Commission (E.C.) thinks that nuclear power has an important role to play: first to reduce CO 2 emissions and secondly to reinforce energy self-reliance of the member states. The decision to introduce nuclear power in their energy mix belongs to every state but the E.C. has also highlighted that if adequate investment are quickly made 2 thirds of the electricity produced in the European Union in 2010 could by from low-carbon-emitting sources. Today with 148 reactors operating in 15 member countries nuclear power contributes to 1 third of the electricity produced. Another issue that is looming is the security of electricity supplying. A study has shown that the security level is worsening (particularly in winter) because of the greater part of wind energy in the energy mix as wind energy is not necessarily available when energy demand is peaking. The E.C. has proposed a new directive drawing a common standard frame for nuclear safety requirements concerning design, site selection, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Each member state will have the choice to implement stiffer regulations. The European Union must reduce its dependency on Russian gas by increasing its storing capacities, by easing gas exchanges between member states and by importing more liquefied natural gas. European member states will have to invert 1000*10 9 euros in gas and electrical power infrastructures in the next 25 years. (A.C.)

A Novel Hybrid Model Based on Extreme Learning Machine, k-Nearest Neighbor Regression and Wavelet Denoising Applied to Short-Term Electric Load Forecasting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weide Li

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Electric load forecasting plays an important role in electricity markets and power systems. Because electric load time series are complicated and nonlinear, it is very difficult to achieve a satisfactory forecasting accuracy. In this paper, a hybrid model, Wavelet Denoising-Extreme Learning Machine optimized by k-Nearest Neighbor Regression (EWKM, which combines k-Nearest Neighbor (KNN and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM based on a wavelet denoising technique is proposed for short-term load forecasting. The proposed hybrid model decomposes the time series into a low frequency-associated main signal and some detailed signals associated with high frequencies at first, then uses KNN to determine the independent and dependent variables from the low-frequency signal. Finally, the ELM is used to get the non-linear relationship between these variables to get the final prediction result for the electric load. Compared with three other models, Extreme Learning Machine optimized by k-Nearest Neighbor Regression (EKM, Wavelet Denoising-Extreme Learning Machine (WKM and Wavelet Denoising-Back Propagation Neural Network optimized by k-Nearest Neighbor Regression (WNNM, the model proposed in this paper can improve the accuracy efficiently. New South Wales is the economic powerhouse of Australia, so we use the proposed model to predict electric demand for that region. The accurate prediction has a significant meaning.

Stationary and non-stationary extreme value modeling of extreme temperature in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, Husna; Salleh, Nur Hanim Mohd; Kassim, Suraiya

2014-09-01

Extreme annual temperature of eighteen stations in Malaysia is fitted to the Generalized Extreme Value distribution. Stationary and non-stationary models with trend are considered for each station and the Likelihood Ratio test is used to determine the best-fitting model. Results show that three out of eighteen stations i.e. Bayan Lepas, Labuan and Subang favor a model which is linear in the location parameter. A hierarchical cluster analysis is employed to investigate the existence of similar behavior among the stations. Three distinct clusters are found in which one of them consists of the stations that favor the non-stationary model. T-year estimated return levels of the extreme temperature are provided based on the chosen models.

Spatial planning via extremal optimization enhanced by cell-based local search

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sidiropoulos, Epaminondas

2014-01-01

A new treatment is presented for land use planning problems by means of extremal optimization in conjunction to cell-based neighborhood local search. Extremal optimization, inspired by self-organized critical models of evolution has been applied mainly to the solution of classical combinatorial optimization problems. Cell-based local search has been employed by the author elsewhere in problems of spatial resource allocation in combination with genetic algorithms and simulated annealing. In this paper it complements extremal optimization in order to enhance its capacity for a spatial optimization problem. The hybrid method thus formed is compared to methods of the literature on a specific characteristic problem. It yields better results both in terms of objective function values and in terms of compactness. The latter is an important quantity for spatial planning. The present treatment yields significant compactness values as emergent results

Detecting impacts of extreme events with ecological in situ monitoring networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. D. Mahecha

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Extreme hydrometeorological conditions typically impact ecophysiological processes on land. Satellite-based observations of the terrestrial biosphere provide an important reference for detecting and describing the spatiotemporal development of such events. However, in-depth investigations of ecological processes during extreme events require additional in situ observations. The question is whether the density of existing ecological in situ networks is sufficient for analysing the impact of extreme events, and what are expected event detection rates of ecological in situ networks of a given size. To assess these issues, we build a baseline of extreme reductions in the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR, identified by a new event detection method tailored to identify extremes of regional relevance. We then investigate the event detection success rates of hypothetical networks of varying sizes. Our results show that large extremes can be reliably detected with relatively small networks, but also reveal a linear decay of detection probabilities towards smaller extreme events in log–log space. For instance, networks with  ≈  100 randomly placed sites in Europe yield a  ≥  90 % chance of detecting the eight largest (typically very large extreme events; but only a  ≥  50 % chance of capturing the 39 largest events. These findings are consistent with probability-theoretic considerations, but the slopes of the decay rates deviate due to temporal autocorrelation and the exact implementation of the extreme event detection algorithm. Using the examples of AmeriFlux and NEON, we then investigate to what degree ecological in situ networks can capture extreme events of a given size. Consistent with our theoretical considerations, we find that today's systematically designed networks (i.e. NEON reliably detect the largest extremes, but that the extreme event detection rates are not higher than would

A note on extreme sets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radosław Cymer

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In decomposition theory, extreme sets have been studied extensively due to its connection to perfect matchings in a graph. In this paper, we first define extreme sets with respect to degree-matchings and next investigate some of their properties. In particular, we prove the generalized Decomposition Theorem and give a characterization for the set of all extreme vertices in a graph.

IRBIT plays an important role in NHE3-mediated pHi regulation in HSG cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Tien Manh; Park, Moon-Yong; Lee, Jiyeon; Bae, Jun-Seok; Hwang, Sung-Min; Choi, Se-Young; Mikoshiba, Katsuhiko; Park, Kyungpyo

2013-07-19

Expression of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor-binding protein (IRBIT) has been reported in epithelial cells. However, its role in pHi regulation is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the role of IRBIT in pHi regulation, mediated by Na(+)/H(+) exchangers (NHEs), in salivary glands. We measured pHi recovery from cell acidification in BCECF-loaded salivary HSG cells. Western blot and co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP) assays were also performed, showing that NHE1, 2 and 3 are expressed, and IRBIT binds to NHE3. HOE642, a specific NHE1 blocker, inhibited pHi recovery, but 40% pH(i) recovery was still observed even at the highest concentration of HOE642. Furthermore, pretreatment of the cells with siIRBIT significantly inhibited pHi recovery, indicating that NHE3 potentially plays a role in pHi recovery as well. The amount of membrane-localized NHE3 and its interaction with IRBIT are also significantly increased by cell acidification. In addition, we found that Ste20p-related proline alanine-rich kinase (SPAK) reverses the effect of IRBIT on membrane NHE3 translocation. Taken together, we conclude that IRBIT plays an important role in pHi regulation, mediated by NHE3, and further regulated by SPAK. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Extreme Programming: Maestro Style

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Jeffrey; Fox, Jason; Rabe, Kenneth; Shu, I-Hsiang; Powell, Mark

2009-01-01

"Extreme Programming: Maestro Style" is the name of a computer programming methodology that has evolved as a custom version of a methodology, called extreme programming that has been practiced in the software industry since the late 1990s. The name of this version reflects its origin in the work of the Maestro team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that develops software for Mars exploration missions. Extreme programming is oriented toward agile development of software resting on values of simplicity, communication, testing, and aggressiveness. Extreme programming involves use of methods of rapidly building and disseminating institutional knowledge among members of a computer-programming team to give all the members a shared view that matches the view of the customers for whom the software system is to be developed. Extreme programming includes frequent planning by programmers in collaboration with customers, continually examining and rewriting code in striving for the simplest workable software designs, a system metaphor (basically, an abstraction of the system that provides easy-to-remember software-naming conventions and insight into the architecture of the system), programmers working in pairs, adherence to a set of coding standards, collaboration of customers and programmers, frequent verbal communication, frequent releases of software in small increments of development, repeated testing of the developmental software by both programmers and customers, and continuous interaction between the team and the customers. The environment in which the Maestro team works requires the team to quickly adapt to changing needs of its customers. In addition, the team cannot afford to accept unnecessary development risk. Extreme programming enables the Maestro team to remain agile and provide high-quality software and service to its customers. However, several factors in the Maestro environment have made it necessary to modify some of the conventional extreme

Chirality plays important roles in radiopharmaceuticals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Yumei

2006-01-01

The paper introduces the basic concept of chirality, target specific selectivity and their relationship in radiopharmaceuticals. If the ligands labeled by radionuclides have chiral center, the enantiomers must be separated, or the target specific selectivity will not be good. Chirality is one of the most important factors which must be considered in the study of the structure-activity relationship of radiopharmaceuticals. (authors)

Tourniquet Deflation Prior to 20 Minutes in Upper Extremity Intravenous Regional Anesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurich, Richard W; Langan, Justin W; Teasdall, Robert J; Tanner, Stephanie L; Sanders, John L

2018-03-01

Bier blocks, or intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA), are a method of anesthesia for upper extremity surgeries. This study reports our experience with tourniquet deflation prior to 20 minutes with upper extremity IVRA. This study was designed as a retrospective cohort analysis. Records, including intraoperative and immediate postoperative anesthesia notes, of 430 patients who underwent IVRA with an upper extremity Bier block and a corresponding tourniquet time of less than 20 minutes were reviewed. Patient demographics, procedure(s) performed, American Society of Anesthesiologists scores, volume of lidocaine used in Bier block, tourniquet time, and any complications were recorded. This cohort consisted of 127 males and 303 females. The 3 most common procedures performed were carpal tunnel release (315), trigger finger release (47), and excision of masses (34). The average tourniquet time for this cohort was 16 minutes (range, 9-19 minutes), and the average volume of lidocaine (0.5% plain) injected was 44 mL (range, 30-70 mL). A tourniquet time of 17 minutes or less was observed in 339 patients, and 170 patients had tourniquet times of 15 minutes or less. Five complications were recorded: intraoperative vomiting, mild postoperative nausea/vomiting, severe postoperative nausea and vomiting, and transient postoperative hypotension that responded to a fluid bolus. No major complications were observed in our cohort of upper extremity IVRA and tourniquet times of less than 20 minutes. Several variables play a role in the safety of upper extremity IVRA.

Important Late-Stage Symbiotic Role of the Sinorhizobium meliloti Exopolysaccharide Succinoglycan.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Markus F F; Penterman, Jon; Shabab, Mohammed; Chen, Esther J; Walker, Graham C

2018-07-01

Sinorhizobium meliloti enters into beneficial symbiotic interactions with Medicago species of legumes. Bacterial exopolysaccharides play critical signaling roles in infection thread initiation and growth during the early stages of root nodule formation. After endocytosis of S. meliloti by plant cells in the developing nodule, plant-derived nodule-specific cysteine-rich (NCR) peptides mediate terminal differentiation of the bacteria into nitrogen-fixing bacteroids. Previous transcriptional studies showed that the intensively studied cationic peptide NCR247 induces expression of the exo genes that encode the proteins required for succinoglycan biosynthesis. In addition, genetic studies have shown that some exo mutants exhibit increased sensitivity to the antimicrobial action of NCR247. Therefore, we investigated whether the symbiotically active S. meliloti exopolysaccharide succinoglycan can protect S. meliloti against the antimicrobial activity of NCR247. We discovered that high-molecular-weight forms of succinoglycan have the ability to protect S. meliloti from the antimicrobial action of the NCR247 peptide but low-molecular-weight forms of wild-type succinoglycan do not. The protective function of high-molecular-weight succinoglycan occurs via direct molecular interactions between anionic succinoglycan and the cationic NCR247 peptide, but this interaction is not chiral. Taken together, our observations suggest that S. meliloti exopolysaccharides not only may be critical during early stages of nodule invasion but also are upregulated at a late stage of symbiosis to protect bacteria against the bactericidal action of cationic NCR peptides. Our findings represent an important step forward in fully understanding the complete set of exopolysaccharide functions during legume symbiosis. IMPORTANCE Symbiotic interactions between rhizobia and legumes are economically important for global food production. The legume symbiosis also is a major part of the global nitrogen

A Potential Role of Chronic Exposure to Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields in Triggering Persistent Pain Post Breast Cancer Surgery: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azadeh Stark

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Persistent Pain after Breast Cancer Surgery (PPBCS ranks second to amputation of extremities for neuropathic chronic pain. PPBCS is associated with the formation of intercostobrachial neuroma bulbs along the lateral chest. These neuroma bulbs are either un-/thinly myelinated and express hypersensitivity to environmental stimuli. Hypersensitivity is manifested as spontaneous pain in response to innocuous stimuli and exaggerating pain in response to noxious stimuli. Excision of neuromas, a common intervention to alleviate pain, has been reported as ineffective. Experience of individuals with amputation of extremities and experimental models of human nerve injuries confirm anthropogenic EMF evoke excruciating pain. Findings from invitro and animal studies clearly support that EMF exposure depolarizes cell membranes, interrupts voltage gated calcium channels which then activates peripheral sensory neurons and initiates propagation of a train of action potentials along the axons of primary afferent nerve fibers. The World Health Organization guidelines, established based on approximation of the human anatomy are limited and assumes no potential compounding effects of nerve injuries or alterations of physiological milieu of tissues. The objective of this review is to direct the attention of the medical community to the potential role of anthropogenic EMF as a risk factor for persistent pain after breast surgery. Patients rely heavily on the recommendations of their providers to manage their pain. The current epidemic of opioid abuse in the US has been partially attributed to the high prescription rate of opioid-based pain killers. Understanding the potential triggers of chronic pain can reduce dependency on pharmaceutical agents.

Extremely deformable structures

CERN Document Server

2015-01-01

Recently, a new research stimulus has derived from the observation that soft structures, such as biological systems, but also rubber and gel, may work in a post critical regime, where elastic elements are subject to extreme deformations, though still exhibiting excellent mechanical performances. This is the realm of ‘extreme mechanics’, to which this book is addressed. The possibility of exploiting highly deformable structures opens new and unexpected technological possibilities. In particular, the challenge is the design of deformable and bi-stable mechanisms which can reach superior mechanical performances and can have a strong impact on several high-tech applications, including stretchable electronics, nanotube serpentines, deployable structures for aerospace engineering, cable deployment in the ocean, but also sensors and flexible actuators and vibration absorbers. Readers are introduced to a variety of interrelated topics involving the mechanics of extremely deformable structures, with emphasis on ...

Memory, not just perception, plays an important role in terrestrial mammalian migration.

Science.gov (United States)

Bracis, Chloe; Mueller, Thomas

2017-05-31

One of the key questions regarding the underlying mechanisms of mammalian land migrations is how animals select where to go. Most studies assume perception of resources as the navigational mechanism. The possible role of memory that would allow forecasting conditions at distant locations and times based on information about environmental conditions from previous years has been little studied. We study migrating zebra in Botswana using an individual-based simulation model, where perceptually guided individuals use currently sensed resources at different perceptual ranges, while memory-guided individuals use long-term averages of past resources to forecast future conditions. We compare simulated individuals guided by perception or memory on resource landscapes of remotely sensed vegetation data to trajectories of GPS-tagged zebras. Our results show that memory provides a clear signal that best directs migrants to their destination compared to perception at even the largest perceptual ranges. Zebras modelled with memory arrived two to four times, or up to 100 km, closer to the migration destination than those using perception. We suggest that memory in addition to perception is important for directing ungulate migration. Furthermore, our findings are important for the conservation of migratory mammals, as memory informing direction suggests migration routes could be relatively inflexible. © 2017 The Author(s).

Spatial analysis of extreme precipitation deficit as an index for atmospheric drought in Belgium

Science.gov (United States)

Zamani, Sepideh; Van De Vyver, Hans; Gobin, Anne

2014-05-01

The growing concern among the climate scientists is that the frequency of weather extremes will increase as a result of climate change. European society, for example, is particularly vulnerable to changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme events such as heat waves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and wind storms, as seen in recent years [1,2]. A more than 50% of the land is occupied by managed ecosystem (agriculture, forestry) in Belgium. Moreover, among the many extreme weather conditions, drought counts to have a substantial impact on the agriculture and ecosystem of the affected region, because its most immediate consequence is a fall in crop production. Besides the technological advances, a reliable estimation of weather conditions plays a crucial role in improving the agricultural productivity. The above mentioned reasons provide a strong motivation for a research on the drought and its impacts on the economical and agricultural aspects in Belgium. The main purpose of the presented work is to map atmospheric drought Return-Levels (RL), as first insight for agricultural drought, employing spatial modelling approaches. The likelihood of future drought is studied on the basis of precipitation deficit indices for four vegetation types: water (W), grass (G), deciduous (D) and coniferous forests (C) is considered. Extreme Value Theory (EVT) [3,4,5] as a branch of probability and statistics, is dedicated to characterize the behaviour of extreme observations. The tail behaviour of the EVT distributions provide important features about return levels. EVT distributions are applicable in many study areas such as: hydrology, environmental research and meteorology, insurance and finance. Spatial Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions, as a branch of EVT, are applied to annual maxima of drought at 13 hydro-meteorological stations across Belgium. Superiority of the spatial GEV model is that a region can be modelled merging the individual time series of

Assessing Climate Variability using Extreme Rainfall and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user1

extreme frequency); the average intensity of rainfall from extreme events ... frequency and extreme intensity indices, suggesting that extreme events are more frequent and intense during years with high rainfall. The proportion of total rainfall from ...

Role of three-phase bone scintigraphy in therapy of lower extremity infections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grund, F.M.; Larson, B.W.; Sinn, L.M.; Peterson, L.R.

1990-01-01

This paper evaluates the ability of three-phase bone scintigraphy to predict the need for prolonged antibiotic therapy and assess results of therapy of lower extremity infections in patients with diabetes mellitus and/or peripheral vascular disease. The authors retrospectively reviewed three-phase bone scans from 39 patients who completed either 3 weeks or 3 months of oral ciprofloxacin based on initial clinical and radiologic impression. bone scans were obtained at diagnosis and 1 year later. IN 31 patients, increased focal activity was shown on the delayed images. Nineteen of 25 were successfully treated with 3 months of antibiotics, but only one of six were successfully treated with 3 weeks of antibiotics. Eight patient showed no focal increased uptake on delayed images, and seven of these were successfully treated with 3 weeks of antibiotics

An empirical study, role and importance of visual merchandising in retail branding- A practitioners’ perspective

OpenAIRE

Rebeiro, Damian

2015-01-01

The aim of this research is to analyze the role and importance of Visual merchandising and below the line advertising on retail branding. An initial investigation on “visual merchandising” is undertaken along with its effects on consumer’s purchase behavior and brand identity. The research is based on the companies in Dubai, which represents the Middle East and African market. Semi - Structured Interviews of various practitioner based in Dubai were undertaken in order to understand the topic ...

Overrepresentation of extreme events in decision making reflects rational use of cognitive resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Lieder, Falk; Griffiths, Thomas L; Hsu, Ming

2018-01-01

People's decisions and judgments are disproportionately swayed by improbable but extreme eventualities, such as terrorism, that come to mind easily. This article explores whether such availability biases can be reconciled with rational information processing by taking into account the fact that decision makers value their time and have limited cognitive resources. Our analysis suggests that to make optimal use of their finite time decision makers should overrepresent the most important potential consequences relative to less important, put potentially more probable, outcomes. To evaluate this account, we derive and test a model we call utility-weighted sampling. Utility-weighted sampling estimates the expected utility of potential actions by simulating their outcomes. Critically, outcomes with more extreme utilities have a higher probability of being simulated. We demonstrate that this model can explain not only people's availability bias in judging the frequency of extreme events but also a wide range of cognitive biases in decisions from experience, decisions from description, and memory recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Importance And Role Of Competence In Professional Career Of Product Develop Engineers

Science.gov (United States)

Miltenović, Aleksandar; Banić, Milan; Miltenović, Vojislav

2015-07-01

Product development is a creative task where is systematically created a new product, which makes possible to firms to offer attractive, innovative and market oriented products. In conditions of fierce competition and saturated markets, companies that do not innovate are stagnating and disappear from the market. Innovation is therefore every intervention which can reduce production costs, enables optimum utilization of available human, energy and material resources, improve product quality, improve the placement, which leads to an increase in competitiveness. A prerequisite for fulfillment of the above-mentioned tasks is that the companies have engineers with the appropriate competencies, which are able to, through creativity, innovation and fascinating technique of creating new or improving existing products and lunch it on the market. The paper discusses the role and importance of the competences that are necessary for a successful professional career of product development engineers.

Extreme events in total ozone over Arosa – Part 1: Application of extreme value theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. E. Rieder

2010-10-01

Full Text Available In this study ideas from extreme value theory are for the first time applied in the field of stratospheric ozone research, because statistical analysis showed that previously used concepts assuming a Gaussian distribution (e.g. fixed deviations from mean values of total ozone data do not adequately address the structure of the extremes. We show that statistical extreme value methods are appropriate to identify ozone extremes and to describe the tails of the Arosa (Switzerland total ozone time series. In order to accommodate the seasonal cycle in total ozone, a daily moving threshold was determined and used, with tools from extreme value theory, to analyse the frequency of days with extreme low (termed ELOs and high (termed EHOs total ozone at Arosa. The analysis shows that the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD provides an appropriate model for the frequency distribution of total ozone above or below a mathematically well-defined threshold, thus providing a statistical description of ELOs and EHOs. The results show an increase in ELOs and a decrease in EHOs during the last decades. The fitted model represents the tails of the total ozone data set with high accuracy over the entire range (including absolute monthly minima and maxima, and enables a precise computation of the frequency distribution of ozone mini-holes (using constant thresholds. Analyzing the tails instead of a small fraction of days below constant thresholds provides deeper insight into the time series properties. Fingerprints of dynamical (e.g. ENSO, NAO and chemical features (e.g. strong polar vortex ozone loss, and major volcanic eruptions, can be identified in the observed frequency of extreme events throughout the time series. Overall the new approach to analysis of extremes provides more information on time series properties and variability than previous approaches that use only monthly averages and/or mini-holes and mini-highs.

Extreme Weather and Climate: Workshop Report

Science.gov (United States)

Sobel, Adam; Camargo, Suzana; Debucquoy, Wim; Deodatis, George; Gerrard, Michael; Hall, Timothy; Hallman, Robert; Keenan, Jesse; Lall, Upmanu; Levy, Marc;

Role of the tunisian central pharmacy in the import of radio-pharmaceutical products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souissi Jaziri, Camelia; Moulahi, L.

2013-01-01

In Tunisia the centralized organization of the medicine sector has a strategic and economic importance. It presents particular characteristics concerning the importation and the control of drugs. Tcp has a monopoly on the importation of drugs for the country, which enters in the state policy for the control of drug purchasing costs, their availability in different region of the country and their guarantee and quality. The Tcp has a crucial role in the availability of drugs and in the holding safety stock and strategic reserve of the imported pharmaceutical products, either for the public or private sector. The Tcp has to stock up medicaments, chemical and pharmaceutical products, objects of bandages, instruments, accessory tools and other supplies necessary for the human and veterinary medicine. The Tcp packages any specialized or not medicament and all other products or supplies. The Tcp provides medicaments and products entering within the framework of its task to different health groups and hospitals. The Tcp provides distributors, laboratories and pharmacies over the country. In Tunisia the import of radioisotopes used in the medical domain is attributed to the Tcp. The objective is to centralize purchases and to guarantee: the security, the availability as well as the traceability. The Tcp supply radiopharmaceutical products for diagnostic and therapy purposes according to an authorization delivered annually by the National Center of Radiation Protection (NCRP). An authorization of removal used at the customs allows the clearance of products at the level of the air freights by the transit service of the Tcp. Regarding the evolution of purchases of radio-pharmaceutical products, their importation remained stable during the last three years. Indeed, it is approximately around 1MDT annually (954 121 DT in 2010, 939 956 in 2011 and 1047 967 in 2012). Sources of supply are divided between 4 suppliers: International IBA-CISBIO (49.9 pour cent), COVIDIEN EX (TYCO

Forcings and feedbacks on convection in the 2010 Pakistan flood: Modeling extreme precipitation with interactive large-scale ascent

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Ji; Shaevitz, Daniel A.; Sobel, Adam H.

2016-09-01

Extratropical extreme precipitation events are usually associated with large-scale flow disturbances, strong ascent, and large latent heat release. The causal relationships between these factors are often not obvious, however, the roles of different physical processes in producing the extreme precipitation event can be difficult to disentangle. Here we examine the large-scale forcings and convective heating feedback in the precipitation events, which caused the 2010 Pakistan flood within the Column Quasi-Geostrophic framework. A cloud-revolving model (CRM) is forced with large-scale forcings (other than large-scale vertical motion) computed from the quasi-geostrophic omega equation using input data from a reanalysis data set, and the large-scale vertical motion is diagnosed interactively with the simulated convection. Numerical results show that the positive feedback of convective heating to large-scale dynamics is essential in amplifying the precipitation intensity to the observed values. Orographic lifting is the most important dynamic forcing in both events, while differential potential vorticity advection also contributes to the triggering of the first event. Horizontal moisture advection modulates the extreme events mainly by setting the environmental humidity, which modulates the amplitude of the convection's response to the dynamic forcings. When the CRM is replaced by either a single-column model (SCM) with parameterized convection or a dry model with a reduced effective static stability, the model results show substantial discrepancies compared with reanalysis data. The reasons for these discrepancies are examined, and the implications for global models and theoretical models are discussed.

Test-retest and interrater reliability of the functional lower extremity evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Haitz, Karyn; Shultz, Rebecca; Hodgins, Melissa; Matheson, Gordon O

2014-12-01

Repeated-measures clinical measurement reliability study. To establish the reliability and face validity of the Functional Lower Extremity Evaluation (FLEE). The FLEE is a 45-minute battery of 8 standardized functional performance tests that measures 3 components of lower extremity function: control, power, and endurance. The reliability and normative values for the FLEE in healthy athletes are unknown. A face validity survey for the FLEE was sent to sports medicine personnel to evaluate the level of importance and frequency of clinical usage of each test included in the FLEE. The FLEE was then administered and rated for 40 uninjured athletes. To assess test-retest reliability, each athlete was tested twice, 1 week apart, by the same rater. To assess interrater reliability, 3 raters scored each athlete during 1 of the testing sessions. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to assess the test-retest and interrater reliability of each of the FLEE tests. In the face validity survey, the FLEE tests were rated as highly important by 58% to 71% of respondents but frequently used by only 26% to 45% of respondents. Interrater reliability intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.83 to 1.00, and test-retest reliability ranged from 0.71 to 0.95. The FLEE tests are considered clinically important for assessing lower extremity function by sports medicine personnel but are underused. The FLEE also is a reliable assessment tool. Future studies are required to determine if use of the FLEE to make return-to-play decisions may reduce reinjury rates.

Liver transcriptome profile in pigs with extreme phenotypes of intramuscular fatty acid composition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramayo-Caldas Yuliaxis

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background New advances in high-throughput technologies have allowed for the massive analysis of genomic data, providing new opportunities for the characterization of the transcriptome architectures. Recent studies in pigs have employed RNA-Seq to explore the transcriptome of different tissues in a reduced number of animals. The main goal of this study was the identification of differentially-expressed genes in the liver of Iberian x Landrace crossbred pigs showing extreme phenotypes for intramuscular fatty acid composition using RNA-Seq. Results The liver transcriptomes of two female groups (H and L with phenotypically extreme intramuscular fatty acid composition were sequenced using RNA-Seq. A total of 146 and 180 unannotated protein-coding genes were identified in intergenic regions for the L and H groups, respectively. In addition, a range of 5.8 to 7.3% of repetitive elements was found, with SINEs being the most abundant elements. The expression in liver of 186 (L and 270 (H lncRNAs was also detected. The higher reproducibility of the RNA-Seq data was validated by RT-qPCR and porcine expression microarrays, therefore showing a strong correlation between RT-qPCR and RNA-Seq data (ranking from 0.79 to 0.96, as well as between microarrays and RNA-Seq (r=0.72. A differential expression analysis between H and L animals identified 55 genes differentially-expressed between groups. Pathways analysis revealed that these genes belong to biological functions, canonical pathways and three gene networks related to lipid and fatty acid metabolism. In concordance with the phenotypic classification, the pathways analysis inferred that linolenic and arachidonic acids metabolism was altered between extreme individuals. In addition, a connection was observed among the top three networks, hence suggesting that these genes are interconnected and play an important role in lipid and fatty acid metabolism. Conclusions In the present study RNA-Seq was used

Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Interventions for Lower-Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Dorsey, Julie; Bradshaw, Michelle

Lower-extremity (LE) musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) can have a major impact on the ability to carry out daily activities. The effectiveness of interventions must be examined to enable occupational therapy practitioners to deliver the most appropriate services. This systematic review examined the literature published between 1995 and July 2014 that investigated the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for LE MSDs. Forty-three articles met the criteria and were reviewed. Occupational therapy interventions varied on the basis of population subgroup: hip fracture, LE joint replacement, LE amputation or limb loss, and nonsurgical osteoarthritis and pain. The results indicate an overall strong role for occupational therapy in treating clients with LE MSDs. Activity pacing is an effective intervention for nonsurgical LE MSDs, and multidisciplinary rehabilitation is effective for LE joint replacement and amputation. Further research on specific occupational therapy interventions in this important area is needed. Copyright © 2017 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Clinical importance of the anterior choroidal artery: a review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jing; Xu, Ning; Zhao, Ying; Yu, Jinlu

2018-01-01

The anterior choroidal artery (AChA) is a critical artery in brain physiology and function. The AChA is involved in many diseases, including aneurysm, brain infarct, Moyamoya disease (MMD), brain tumor, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), etc. The AChA is vulnerable to damage during the treatment of these diseases and is thus a very important vessel. However, a comprehensive systematic review of the importance of the AChA is currently lacking. In this study, we used the PUBMED database to perform a literature review of the AChA to increase our understanding of its role in neurophysiology. Although the AChA is a small thin artery, it supplies an extremely important region of the brain. The AChA consists of cisternal and plexal segments, and the point of entry into the choroidal plexus is known as the plexal point. During treatment for aneurysms, tumors, AVM or AVF, the AChA cisternal segments should be preserved as a pathway to prevent the infarction of the AChA target region in the brain. In MMD, a dilated AChA provides collateral flow for posterior circulation. In brain infarcts, rapid treatment is necessary to prevent brain damage. In Parkinson disease (PD), the role of the AChA is unclear. In trauma, the AChA can tear and result in intracranial hematoma. In addition, both chronic and non-chronic branch vessel occlusions in the AChA are clinically silent and should not deter aneurysm treatment with flow diversion. Based on the data available, the AChA is a highly essential vessel.

Dynamical structure of extreme ultraviolet macrospicules

Science.gov (United States)

Karovska, Margarita; Habbal, Shadia Rifai

1994-01-01

We describe the substructures forming the macrospicules and their temporal evolution, as revealed by the application of an image enhancement algorithm to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) observations of macrospicules. The enhanced images uncover, for the first time, the substructures forming the column-like structures within the macrospicules and the low-lying arches at their base. The spatial and temporal evolution of macrospicules clearly show continuous interaction between these substructures with occasional ejection of plasma following a ballistic trajectory. We comment on the importance of these results for planning near future space observations of macrospicules with better temporal and spatial resolution.

Global predictability of temperature extremes

Science.gov (United States)

Coughlan de Perez, Erin; van Aalst, Maarten; Bischiniotis, Konstantinos; Mason, Simon; Nissan, Hannah; Pappenberger, Florian; Stephens, Elisabeth; Zsoter, Ervin; van den Hurk, Bart

2018-05-01

Extreme temperatures are one of the leading causes of death and disease in both developed and developing countries, and heat extremes are projected to rise in many regions. To reduce risk, heatwave plans and cold weather plans have been effectively implemented around the world. However, much of the world’s population is not yet protected by such systems, including many data-scarce but also highly vulnerable regions. In this study, we assess at a global level where such systems have the potential to be effective at reducing risk from temperature extremes, characterizing (1) long-term average occurrence of heatwaves and coldwaves, (2) seasonality of these extremes, and (3) short-term predictability of these extreme events three to ten days in advance. Using both the NOAA and ECMWF weather forecast models, we develop global maps indicating a first approximation of the locations that are likely to benefit from the development of seasonal preparedness plans and/or short-term early warning systems for extreme temperature. The extratropics generally show both short-term skill as well as strong seasonality; in the tropics, most locations do also demonstrate one or both. In fact, almost 5 billion people live in regions that have seasonality and predictability of heatwaves and/or coldwaves. Climate adaptation investments in these regions can take advantage of seasonality and predictability to reduce risks to vulnerable populations.

Review of complex networks application in hydroclimatic extremes with an implementation to characterize spatio-temporal drought propagation in continental USA

Science.gov (United States)

Konapala, Goutam; Mishra, Ashok

2017-12-01

The quantification of spatio-temporal hydroclimatic extreme events is a key variable in water resources planning, disaster mitigation, and preparing climate resilient society. However, quantification of these extreme events has always been a great challenge, which is further compounded by climate variability and change. Recently complex network theory was applied in earth science community to investigate spatial connections among hydrologic fluxes (e.g., rainfall and streamflow) in water cycle. However, there are limited applications of complex network theory for investigating hydroclimatic extreme events. This article attempts to provide an overview of complex networks and extreme events, event synchronization method, construction of networks, their statistical significance and the associated network evaluation metrics. For illustration purpose, we apply the complex network approach to study the spatio-temporal evolution of droughts in Continental USA (CONUS). A different drought threshold leads to a new drought event as well as different socio-economic implications. Therefore, it would be interesting to explore the role of thresholds on spatio-temporal evolution of drought through network analysis. In this study, long term (1900-2016) Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) was selected for spatio-temporal drought analysis using three network-based metrics (i.e., strength, direction and distance). The results indicate that the drought events propagate differently at different thresholds associated with initiation of drought events. The direction metrics indicated that onset of mild drought events usually propagate in a more spatially clustered and uniform approach compared to onsets of moderate droughts. The distance metric shows that the drought events propagate for longer distance in western part compared to eastern part of CONUS. We believe that the network-aided metrics utilized in this study can be an important tool in advancing our knowledge on drought

Extremal graph theory

CERN Document Server

Bollobas, Bela

2004-01-01

The ever-expanding field of extremal graph theory encompasses a diverse array of problem-solving methods, including applications to economics, computer science, and optimization theory. This volume, based on a series of lectures delivered to graduate students at the University of Cambridge, presents a concise yet comprehensive treatment of extremal graph theory.Unlike most graph theory treatises, this text features complete proofs for almost all of its results. Further insights into theory are provided by the numerous exercises of varying degrees of difficulty that accompany each chapter. A

PEDAGOGICAL PHILOSOPHY: THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF THEORY IN CREATIVE COGNITION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleksandr Plahotskyi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The main provisions and the essential characteristics of the theory of pedagogical philosophy are considered in the article. The outstanding Ukrainian scientists in the branch of pedagogical studies (V. Alfimov, O. Hluzman, V. Yevdokimov, О. Kucheriavyi and in the field of education practice (H. Minenko follow the point of view of problem relevance. Appearing of the pedagogical philosophy is caused by the need of understanding complicated issues like what a modern person (a child, a pupil, a student, a teacher, a tutor is; what the modern environment of human life is like; what the part the education plays in their life. The aim of the study is to justify the prospective opportunities of pedagogical philosophy while solving current educational tasks in order to arise the practitioners’ interest and desire to find the ways of using them in their creative activity. In the article the role and importance of pedagogical philosophy in the practice of school and higher educational institutions in modern Ukraine are analyzed. The challenges of time and the motion of the education system in advancing development are noted. The key parallels between the understanding of the essence of the educational process in the pedagogical philosophy and the current needs of human development and educational objectives are determined. The author concludes that theory of pedagogical philosophy, which is being developed at present time, is really new, independent, relevant and corresponding to the current life needs. In general its role and significance is proved by the fact that pedagogical philosophy has a necessary and sufficient recourse of showing the ways in the future for educators at secondary schools and higher educational establishments according to the occasions and processes that take place in Ukraine.

Medical and psychosocial implications of adolescent extreme obesity – acceptance and effects of structured care, short: Youth with Extreme Obesity Study (YES)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

elucidate medical and psychosocial outcomes. Our aim is to evaluate realistic treatment options. Therefore inclusion and exclusion criteria are minimized. We will recruit adolescents (age range 14–21 years) with extreme obesity (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) (extreme group) within 24 months (120 per centre, 5 centres) as well as obese adolescents being at risk for developing extreme obesity (BMI ≥ 30 – 34.9 kg/m2) (at risk group). Follow-up evalutations will be performed biannually after inclusion for several years depending on additional funding. In sum, we aim at establishing evaluated health care structures for extremely obese adolescents. Discussion The results of YES will be of importance for a frequently neglected group of individuals, for whom current medicine has little to offer in terms of structured access to empirically evaluated therapeutic programs. Thus, the results will be both a help for the adolescents within the study and for others in the future given that the trial will lead to a positive finding. Moreover, it will help practitioners and therapists to deal with this neglected group of individuals. Trial registration Project registration numbers for each subproject: 1.) ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01625325, NCT01703273, NCT01662271, NCT01632098; 2.) Germanctr.de: DRKS00004172, DRKS00004195, DRKS00004198, DRKS00004197. PMID:23987123

The Source of Variation in Policies around the World: The Case of Protection of Human Health from Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandel, S.

2006-01-01

Scientific evidence supposedly plays a dominant role in environmental and public health regulation. This paper uses the example of Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields regulation to test whether this is indeed the case. The paper first shows that there exists a significant variation in health protection policies for Extremely Low Frequencies Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields around the world. Some countries adopt the international scientific-based guidelines while other countries choose to apply additional precautionary regulations of varying severity. Electromagnetic Fields policy makers around the world indicate that the Cost Benefit Analysis is one of the parameters considered for their choice among various policy options. A simple Cost Benefit Analysis framework is presented, utilizing scientific evidence on health risks from Extremely Low Frequencies as well as parameter values used in the Cost Benefit Analysis studies from California, Netherlands, Israel, and the United Kingdom to determine the justification of using several mitigation techniques. This Cost Benefit Analysis using data from the different countries leads to a clear conclusion: under all parameter values considered, only the low cost intervention measures, such as re-phasing and compacting lines, are justified. Re-routing lines, except in cases of very close proximity to residences, and under grounding existing lines cannot be justified due to the high costs involved and the small health benefits that are projected. Since the stringent policies cannot be accomplished with the low-cost measures, this suggests that if the Cost Benefit Analysis were indeed the basis for the policies implemented in different countries, one would expect a smaller variation in the worldwide policies observed today. The divergence between the policies that are implemented and those that can be supported by the Cost Benefit Analysis suggests that the Cost Benefit Analysis is either not used to

THE RATIONALE OF LAW. THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE LOGICAL METHOD OF INTERPRETATION OF LEGAL NORMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihai BĂDESCU

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The interpretation of law was and remains an indispensable postulation, inherent and the most significant in the application of the law. Through interpretation the aim is to clarify the obscure text, to rectify the imperfection of the text of the legal norm, to remedy its shortcomings, and in consequence, to specify the exact meaning of the legal norm. Interpretation concerns itself with emphasizing the authentic meaning of the normative texts, finding the spirit of the lawmaker-author, the authentic legal sense of the actions that occurred, of the conduct of the perpetrator, and the significant legal connection of these meanings. The necessity of interpreting legal norms is justified by several considerations, out of which the most important remains the one regarding the act that the lawmaker cannot and need not provide everything in the normative text. The unity between the spirit and the letter of the law, the continuity of interpretation, the useful effect of the legal norm are just a few of the principles that need to be taken into account in interpretation. Be it official (obligatory, or unofficial (doctrinary, interpretation remains an extremely important stage in the application of the law: the literature of specialty consecrates five important methods of interpretation (grammatical, historical, systematical, teleological, and logical. The latter method allows for the formulation by the interpreter of certain rational assessments, done through operations of generalization, of logical analysis of the text, of analogy, through applying formal logic. The present study will mainly deal with this method, analyzing the main logical arguments used in interpretation.

Role of Acclimatization in Weather-Related Human Mortality During the Transition Seasons of Autumn and Spring in a Thermally Extreme Mid-Latitude Continental Climate

Science.gov (United States)

de Freitas, Christopher R.; Grigorieva, Elena A.

2015-01-01

Human mortality is closely related to natural climate-determined levels of thermal environmental stress and the resulting thermophysiological strain. Most climate-mortality research has focused on seasonal extremes during winter and summer when mortality is the highest, while relatively little attention has been paid to mortality during the transitional seasons of autumn and spring. The body acclimatizes to heat in the summer and cold in winter and readjusts through acclimatization during the transitions between the two during which time the body experiences the thermophysiological strain of readjustment. To better understand the influences of weather on mortality through the acclimatization process, the aim here is to examine the periods that link very cold and very warms seasons. The study uses the Acclimatization Thermal Strain Index (ATSI), which is a comparative measure of short-term thermophysiological impact on the body. ATSI centers on heat exchange with the body’s core via the respiratory system, which cannot be protected. The analysis is based on data for a major city in the climatic region of the Russian Far East characterized by very hot summers and extremely cold winters. The results show that although mortality peaks in winter (January) and is at its lowest in summer (August), there is not a smooth rise through autumn nor a smooth decline through spring. A secondary peak occurs in autumn (October) with a smaller jump in May. This suggests the acclimatization from warm-to-cold produces more thermophysiological strain than the transition from cold-to-warm. The study shows that ATSI is a useful metric for quantifying the extent to which biophysical adaptation plays a role in increased strain on the body during re-acclimatization and for this reason is a more appropriate climatic indictor than air temperature alone. The work gives useful bioclimatic information on risks involved in transitional seasons in regions characterized by climatic extremes. This

Attribution of extreme precipitation in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during May 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chunxiang; Tian, Qinhua; Yu, Rong; Zhou, Baiquan; Xia, Jiangjiang; Burke, Claire; Dong, Buwen; Tett, Simon F. B.; Freychet, Nicolas; Lott, Fraser; Ciavarella, Andrew

2018-01-01

May 2016 was the third wettest May on record since 1961 over central eastern China based on station observations, with total monthly rainfall 40% more than the climatological mean for 1961-2013. Accompanying disasters such as waterlogging, landslides and debris flow struck part of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Causal influence of anthropogenic forcings on this event is investigated using the newly updated Met Office Hadley Centre system for attribution of extreme weather and climate events. Results indicate that there is a significant increase in May 2016 rainfall in model simulations relative to the climatological period, but this increase is largely attributable to natural variability. El Niño years have been found to be correlated with extreme rainfall in the Yangtze River region in previous studies—the strong El Niño of 2015-2016 may account for the extreme precipitation event in 2016. However, on smaller spatial scales we find that anthropogenic forcing has likely played a role in increasing the risk of extreme rainfall to the north of the Yangtze and decreasing it to the south.

The Role of Beliefs about the Importance of Social Skills in Elementary Children's Social Behaviors and School Attitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Kyongboon; Kim, Elizabeth Moorman; Sheridan, Susan M.

2014-01-01

Background: Positive attitudes toward school have been suggested as a meaningful indicator of school engagement among elementary children. The current study was guided by a social cognitive developmental perspective which suggests that social cognitions, including beliefs, play an important role in children's adjustment outcomes. Objective: The…

Invasion of melanoma cells into dermal connective tissue in vitro: evidence for an important role of cysteine proteases.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dennhofer, R.; Kurschat, P.; Zigrino, P.; Klose, A.; Bosserhoff, A.; Muijen, G.N.P. van; Krieg, T.; Mauch, C.; Hunzelmann, N.

2003-01-01

Invasion of melanoma cells into the dermal connective tissue is a major characteristic in the complex process of metastasis. Proteases play an important role in tumor cell invasion as these enzymes are able to degrade most components of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and thus enable cells to

On the Importance of the Flare's Late Phase for the Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Irradiance

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Thomas N.; Eparvier, Frank; Jones, Andrew R.; Hock, Rachel; Chamberlin, Phillip C.; Klimchuk, James A.; Didkovsky, Leonid; Judge, Darrell; Mariska, John; Bailey, Scott;

The role of angular momentum in the superrotor theory for rovibrational motion of extremely flexible molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Schmiedt, Hanno; Jensen, Per; Schlemmer, Stephan

2017-12-01

Recently, we proposed a novel approach to the description of the rotation-vibration motion for extremely flexible molecules (Schmiedt et al., 2016, 2017). Such molecules have multiple very "soft" vibrational modes and so, they lack a well-defined equilibrium structure. We have applied the new superrotor model to the prototype example of an extremely flexible molecule, CH5+, for which we combine two, essentially free vibrational modes (describing internal rotation) with the over-all rotation of the molecule and consider the resulting motion as a free rotation in five-dimensional space, with a Hamiltonian whose symmetry is described by SO(5), the five-dimensional rotation group. In the present work we discuss the correlation between the superrotor energies and those obtained in the more usual situation of the internal and over-all rotations being separable, and we give an initial discussion of the selection rules for electric dipole transitions obtained in the superrotor approach. Such selection rules are required for a detailed comparison between the superrotor predictions and the available, experimentally derived energy spacings (Asvany et al., 2015; Brackertz, 2016).

Neurodevelopmental problems and extremes in BMI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nóra Kerekes

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background. Over the last few decades, an increasing number of studies have suggested a connection between neurodevelopmental problems (NDPs and body mass index (BMI. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD and autism spectrum disorders (ASD both seem to carry an increased risk for developing extreme BMI. However, the results are inconsistent, and there have been only a few studies of the general population of children.Aims. We had three aims with the present study: (1 to define the prevalence of extreme (low or high BMI in the group of children with ADHD and/or ASDs compared to the group of children without these NDPs; (2 to analyze whether extreme BMI is associated with the subdomains within the diagnostic categories of ADHD or ASD; and (3 to investigate the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to BMI in boys and girls at ages 9 and 12.Method. Parents of 9- or 12-year-old twins (n = 12,496 were interviewed using the Autism—Tics, ADHD and other Comorbidities (A-TAC inventory as part of the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS. Univariate and multivariate generalized estimated equation models were used to analyze associations between extremes in BMI and NDPs.Results. ADHD screen-positive cases followed BMI distributions similar to those of children without ADHD or ASD. Significant association was found between ADHD and BMI only among 12-year-old girls, where the inattention subdomain of ADHD was significantly associated with the high extreme BMI. ASD scores were associated with both the low and the high extremes of BMI. Compared to children without ADHD or ASD, the prevalence of ASD screen-positive cases was three times greater in the high extreme BMI group and double as much in the low extreme BMI group. Stereotyped and repetitive behaviors were significantly associated with high extreme BMIs.Conclusion. Children with ASD, with or without coexisting ADHD, are more prone to have low or high extreme BMIs than

Suction is kid's play: extremely fast suction in newborn seahorses

Science.gov (United States)

Van Wassenbergh, Sam; Roos, Gert; Genbrugge, Annelies; Leysen, Heleen; Aerts, Peter; Adriaens, Dominique; Herrel, Anthony

2009-01-01

Ongoing anatomical development typically results in a gradual maturation of the feeding movements from larval to adult fishes. Adult seahorses are known to capture prey by rotating their long-snouted head extremely quickly towards prey, followed by powerful suction. This type of suction is powered by elastic recoil and requires very precise coordination of the movements of the associated feeding structures, making it an all-or-none phenomenon. Here, we show that newborn Hippocampus reidi are able to successfully feed using an extremely rapid and powerful snout rotation combined with a high-volume suction, surpassing that observed in adult seahorses. An inverse dynamic analysis shows that an elastic recoil mechanism is also used to power head rotation in newborn H. reidi. This illustrates how extreme levels of performance in highly complex musculoskeletal systems can be present at birth given a delayed birth and rapid development of functionally important structures. The fact that the head skeleton of newborn seahorses is still largely cartilaginous may not be problematic because the hydrodynamic stress on the rotating snout appeared considerably lower than in adult syngnathids. PMID:19324657

Possible alternatives to critical elements in coatings for extreme applications

Science.gov (United States)

Grilli, Maria Luisa; Valerini, Daniele; Piticescu, Radu Robert; Bellezze, Tiziano; Yilmaz, Mehmet; Rinaldi, Antonio; Cuesta-López, Santiago; Rizzo, Antonella

2018-03-01

Surface functionalisation and protection have been used since a long time for improving specific properties of materials such as lubrication, water repellence, brightness, and for increasing durability of objects and tools. Among the different kinds of surface treatments used to achieve the required properties, the use of coatings is fundamental to guarantee substrate durability in harsh environments. Extreme working conditions of temperature, pressure, irradiation, wear and corrosion occur in several applications, thus very often requiring bulk material protection by means of coatings. In this study, three main classes of coatings used in extreme conditions are considered: i) hard and superhard coatings for application in machining tools, ii) coatings for high temperatures (thermal barrier coatings), and iii) coatings against corrosion. The presence of critical elements in such coatings (Cr, Y, W, Co, etc.) is analysed and the possibility to use CRMs-free substitutes is reviewed. The role of multilayers and nanocomposites in tailoring coating performances is also discussed for thermal barrier and superhard coatings.

Projections of West African summer monsoon rainfall extremes from two CORDEX models

Science.gov (United States)

Akinsanola, A. A.; Zhou, Wen

2018-05-01

Global warming has a profound impact on the vulnerable environment of West Africa; hence, robust climate projection, especially of rainfall extremes, is quite important. Based on two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios, projected changes in extreme summer rainfall events over West Africa were investigated using data from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment models. Eight (8) extreme rainfall indices (CDD, CWD, r10mm, r20mm, PRCPTOT, R95pTOT, rx5day, and sdii) defined by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices were used in the study. The performance of the regional climate model (RCM) simulations was validated by comparing with GPCP and TRMM observation data sets. Results show that the RCMs reasonably reproduced the observed pattern of extreme rainfall over the region and further added significant value to the driven GCMs over some grids. Compared to the baseline period 1976-2005, future changes (2070-2099) in summer rainfall extremes under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios show statistically significant decreasing total rainfall (PRCPTOT), while consecutive dry days and extreme rainfall events (R95pTOT) are projected to increase significantly. There are obvious indications that simple rainfall intensity (sdii) will increase in the future. This does not amount to an increase in total rainfall but suggests a likelihood of greater intensity of rainfall events. Overall, our results project that West Africa may suffer more natural disasters such as droughts and floods in the future.

Danish extreme wind atlas: Background and methods for a WAsP engineering option

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rathmann, O; Kristensen, L; Mann, J [Risoe National Lab., Wind Energy and Atmospheric Physics Dept., Roskilde (Denmark); Hansen, S O [Svend Ole Hansen ApS, Copenhagen (Denmark)

1999-03-01

Extreme wind statistics is necessary design information when establishing wind farms and erecting bridges, buildings and other structures in the open air. Normal mean wind statistics in terms of directional and speed distribution may be estimated by wind atlas methods and are used to estimate e.g. annual energy output for wind turbines. It is the purpose of the present work to extend the wind atlas method to also include the local extreme wind statistics so that an extreme value as e.g. the 50-year wind can be estimated at locations of interest. Together with turbulence estimates such information is important regarding the necessary strength of wind turbines or structures to withstand high wind loads. In the `WAsP Engineering` computer program a flow model, which includes a model for the dynamic roughness of water surfaces, is used to realise such an extended wind atlas method. With basis in an extended wind atlas, also containing extreme wind statistics, this allows the program to estimate extreme winds in addition to mean winds and turbulence intensities at specified positions and heights. (au) EFP-97. 15 refs.

Wetlands and Flood Mitigation in Ontario: Natural adaptation to extreme rainfall

OpenAIRE

Marchildon, Mason

2017-01-01

Abstract Wetlands are often recognized for their flood control value, but little research exists specific to Ontario, where extreme weather causing flooding poses ever-greater threats to urban areas. Ducks Unlimited Canada has undertaken new research to better understand the role of wetlands in storing and attenuating flood flows in an urban/rural watershed. The second phase of this research, reported here, employs advanced hydrologic modelling to address the questions of where and how we...

Cartographic modeling: The role and importance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ikonović Vesna

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Aim and sense of cartographic modeling is to represent essential, typical and characteristically attributes of mapping territory. Cartographic modeling is applying in two phases: 1. trough theoretical modeling and creating mind models (by notice relevant factors of space, modeling is in cartographer’s mind and 2. trough practical modeling and making prototype model (continuing and objectification of mind model which one has bigger degree of concrezation and experimented role. The maps are mathematical and logical models, which are not just representing the contents of the real space, but also their specific and relational traits which can’t be seen at first sight. Atlas is modeled contexture contents of treated thematic of space on optimal map union. Atlases are higher form of cartography. Modern computer's technology and specific software make possible better and faster making of all kinds of maps, atlases and spatial analysis connections and relationships among all elements of contents from concrete space which is, until now, demand much more time or they can not imagine.

Hazard analysis of typhoon-related external events using extreme value theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yo Chan; Jang, Seung Cheol [Integrated Safety Assessment Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Tae Jin [Dept. of Industrial Information Systems Engineering, Soongsil University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-02-15

After the Fukushima accident, the importance of hazard analysis for extreme external events was raised. To analyze typhoon-induced hazards, which are one of the significant disasters of East Asian countries, a statistical analysis using the extreme value theory, which is a method for estimating the annual exceedance frequency of a rare event, was conducted for an estimation of the occurrence intervals or hazard levels. For the four meteorological variables, maximum wind speed, instantaneous wind speed, hourly precipitation, and daily precipitation, the parameters of the predictive extreme value theory models were estimated. The 100-year return levels for each variable were predicted using the developed models and compared with previously reported values. It was also found that there exist significant long-term climate changes of wind speed and precipitation. A fragility analysis should be conducted to ensure the safety levels of a nuclear power plant for high levels of wind speed and precipitation, which exceed the results of a previous analysis.

High-resolution stochastic generation of extreme rainfall intensity for urban drainage modelling applications

Science.gov (United States)

Peleg, Nadav; Blumensaat, Frank; Molnar, Peter; Fatichi, Simone; Burlando, Paolo

2016-04-01

Urban drainage response is highly dependent on the spatial and temporal structure of rainfall. Therefore, measuring and simulating rainfall at a high spatial and temporal resolution is a fundamental step to fully assess urban drainage system reliability and related uncertainties. This is even more relevant when considering extreme rainfall events. However, the current space-time rainfall models have limitations in capturing extreme rainfall intensity statistics for short durations. Here, we use the STREAP (Space-Time Realizations of Areal Precipitation) model, which is a novel stochastic rainfall generator for simulating high-resolution rainfall fields that preserve the spatio-temporal structure of rainfall and its statistical characteristics. The model enables a generation of rain fields at 102 m and minute scales in a fast and computer-efficient way matching the requirements for hydrological analysis of urban drainage systems. The STREAP model was applied successfully in the past to generate high-resolution extreme rainfall intensities over a small domain. A sub-catchment in the city of Luzern (Switzerland) was chosen as a case study to: (i) evaluate the ability of STREAP to disaggregate extreme rainfall intensities for urban drainage applications; (ii) assessing the role of stochastic climate variability of rainfall in flow response and (iii) evaluate the degree of non-linearity between extreme rainfall intensity and system response (i.e. flow) for a small urban catchment. The channel flow at the catchment outlet is simulated by means of a calibrated hydrodynamic sewer model.

Factors favorable to frequent extreme precipitation in the upper Yangtze River Valley

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Baoqiang; Fan, Ke

2013-08-01

Extreme precipitation events in the upper Yangtze River Valley (YRV) have recently become an increasingly important focus in China because they often cause droughts and floods. Unfortunately, little is known about the climate processes responsible for these events. This paper investigates factors favorable to frequent extreme precipitation events in the upper YRV. Our results reveal that a weakened South China Sea summer monsoon trough, intensified Eurasian-Pacific blocking highs, an intensified South Asian High, a southward subtropical westerly jet and an intensified Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) increase atmospheric instability and enhance the convergence of moisture over the upper YRV, which result in more extreme precipitation events. The snow depth over the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) in winter and sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) over three key regions in summer are important external forcing factors in the atmospheric circulation anomalies. Deep snow on the Tibetan Plateau in winter can weaken the subsequent East Asian summer monsoon circulation above by increasing the soil moisture content in summer and weakening the land-sea thermal contrast over East Asia. The positive SSTA in the western North Pacific may affect southwestward extension of the WNPSH and the blocking high over northeastern Asia by arousing the East Asian-Pacific pattern. The positive SSTA in the North Atlantic can affect extreme precipitation event frequency in the upper YRV via a wave train pattern along the westerly jet between the North Atlantic and East Asia. A tripolar pattern from west to east over the Indian Ocean can strengthen moisture transport by enhancing Somali cross-equatorial flow.

Extreme heat and cultural and linguistic minorities in Australia: perceptions of stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Alana; Nitschke, Monika; Saniotis, Arthur; Benson, Jill; Tan, Yan; Smyth, Val; Wilson, Leigh; Han, Gil-Soo; Mwanri, Lillian; Bi, Peng

2014-06-03

Despite acclimatisation to hot weather, many individuals in Australia are adversely affected by extreme heat each summer, placing added pressure on the health sector. In terms of public health, it is therefore important to identify vulnerable groups, particularly in the face of a warming climate. International evidence points to a disparity in heat-susceptibility in certain minority groups, although it is unknown if this occurs in Australia. With cultural diversity increasing, the aim of this study was to explore how migrants from different cultural backgrounds and climate experiences manage periods of extreme heat in Australia. A qualitative study was undertaken across three Australian cities, involving interviews and focus groups with key informants including stakeholders involved in multicultural service provision and community members. Thematic analysis and a framework approach were used to analyse the data. Whilst migrants and refugees generally adapt well upon resettlement, there are sociocultural barriers encountered by some that hinder environmental adaptation to periods of extreme heat in Australia. These barriers include socioeconomic disadvantage and poor housing, language barriers to the access of information, isolation, health issues, cultural factors and lack of acclimatisation. Most often mentioned as being at risk were new arrivals, people in new and emerging communities, and older migrants. With increasing diversity within populations, it is important that the health sector is aware that during periods of extreme heat there may be disparities in the adaptive capacity of minority groups, underpinned by sociocultural and language-based vulnerabilities in migrants and refugees. These factors need to be considered by policymakers when formulating and disseminating heat health strategies.

Large Scale Processes and Extreme Floods in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeiro Lima, C. H.; AghaKouchak, A.; Lall, U.

2016-12-01

Persistent large scale anomalies in the atmospheric circulation and ocean state have been associated with heavy rainfall and extreme floods in water basins of different sizes across the world. Such studies have emerged in the last years as a new tool to improve the traditional, stationary based approach in flood frequency analysis and flood prediction. Here we seek to advance previous studies by evaluating the dominance of large scale processes (e.g. atmospheric rivers/moisture transport) over local processes (e.g. local convection) in producing floods. We consider flood-prone regions in Brazil as case studies and the role of large scale climate processes in generating extreme floods in such regions is explored by means of observed streamflow, reanalysis data and machine learning methods. The dynamics of the large scale atmospheric circulation in the days prior to the flood events are evaluated based on the vertically integrated moisture flux and its divergence field, which are interpreted in a low-dimensional space as obtained by machine learning techniques, particularly supervised kernel principal component analysis. In such reduced dimensional space, clusters are obtained in order to better understand the role of regional moisture recycling or teleconnected moisture in producing floods of a given magnitude. The convective available potential energy (CAPE) is also used as a measure of local convection activities. We investigate for individual sites the exceedance probability in which large scale atmospheric fluxes dominate the flood process. Finally, we analyze regional patterns of floods and how the scaling law of floods with drainage area responds to changes in the climate forcing mechanisms (e.g. local vs large scale).

Metaorganisms in extreme environments: do microbes play a role in organismal adaptation?

KAUST Repository

Bang, Corinna

2018-02-15

From protists to humans, all animals and plants are inhabited by microbial organisms. There is an increasing appreciation that these resident microbes influence the fitness of their plant and animal hosts, ultimately forming a metaorganism consisting of a uni- or multicellular host and a community of associated microorganisms. Research on host–microbe interactions has become an emerging cross-disciplinary field. In both vertebrates and invertebrates a complex microbiome confers immunological, metabolic and behavioural benefits; conversely, its disturbance can contribute to the development of disease states. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling the interactions within a metaorganism are poorly understood and many key interactions between the associated organisms remain unknown. In this perspective article, we outline some of the issues in interspecies interactions and in particular address the question of how metaorganisms react and adapt to inputs from extreme environments such as deserts, the intertidal zone, oligothrophic seas, and hydrothermal vents.

Metaorganisms in extreme environments: do microbes play a role in organismal adaptation?

KAUST Repository

Bang, Corinna; Dagan, Tal; Deines, Peter; Dubilier, Nicole; Duschl, Wolfgang J.; Fraune, Sebastian; Hentschel, Ute; Hirt, Heribert; Hü lter, Nils; Lachnit, Tim; Picazo, Devani; Pita, Lucia; Pogoreutz, Claudia; Radecker, Nils; Saad, Maged; Schmitz, Ruth A.; Schulenburg, Hinrich; Voolstra, Christian R.; Weiland-Brä uer, Nancy; Ziegler, Maren; Bosch, Thomas C.G.

2018-01-01

From protists to humans, all animals and plants are inhabited by microbial organisms. There is an increasing appreciation that these resident microbes influence the fitness of their plant and animal hosts, ultimately forming a metaorganism consisting of a uni- or multicellular host and a community of associated microorganisms. Research on host–microbe interactions has become an emerging cross-disciplinary field. In both vertebrates and invertebrates a complex microbiome confers immunological, metabolic and behavioural benefits; conversely, its disturbance can contribute to the development of disease states. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling the interactions within a metaorganism are poorly understood and many key interactions between the associated organisms remain unknown. In this perspective article, we outline some of the issues in interspecies interactions and in particular address the question of how metaorganisms react and adapt to inputs from extreme environments such as deserts, the intertidal zone, oligothrophic seas, and hydrothermal vents.

Autophagy plays an important role in protecting Pacific oysters from OsHV-1 and Vibrio aestuarianus infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreau, Pierrick; Moreau, Kevin; Segarra, Amélie; Tourbiez, Delphine; Travers, Marie-Agnès; Rubinsztein, David C; Renault, Tristan

2015-01-01

Recent mass mortality outbreaks around the world in Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, have seriously affected the aquaculture economy. Although the causes for these mortality outbreaks appear complex, infectious agents are involved. Two pathogens are associated with mass mortality outbreaks, the virus ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1) and the bacterium Vibrio aestuarianus. Here we describe the interactions between these 2 pathogens and autophagy, a conserved intracellular pathway playing a key role in innate immunity. We show for the first time that autophagy pathway is present and functional in Pacific oysters and plays an important role to protect animals from infections. This study contributes to better understand the innate immune system of Pacific oysters.

Greenland Halibut in Upernavik: a preliminary study of the importance of the stock for the fishing populace

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Delaney, Alyne E.; Becker Jakobsen, Rikke; Hendriksen, Kåre

for Greenland halibut in Upernavik. There are up to an additional 75 who also fish, however, without paying the license fee. This means that almost half of working age men fish for halibut in the Upernavik district. Fishing is extremely important in Upernavik for its role in the local, mixed economy. Fishing...... often provides the cash needed for materials needed for work (hunting and fishing equipment such as bullets, nets, snowmobiles, etc.) and daily living (housing, transport, television, food, etc). Fishing also supports the important local cultural practice of meeting social obligations and reciprocity...... of Greenland is currently in the midst of proposing changes to the Halibut management structure, the report focuses specifically on potential social impacts of the fishery management plan to coastal fishers. The degree and consequence of any impact is a function of the characteristics of the fishing community...

Modeling extreme "Carrington-type" space weather events using three-dimensional global MHD simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Ngwira, Chigomezyo M.; Pulkkinen, Antti; Kuznetsova, Maria M.; Glocer, Alex

2014-06-01

There is a growing concern over possible severe societal consequences related to adverse space weather impacts on man-made technological infrastructure. In the last two decades, significant progress has been made toward the first-principles modeling of space weather events, and three-dimensional (3-D) global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models have been at the forefront of this transition, thereby playing a critical role in advancing our understanding of space weather. However, the modeling of extreme space weather events is still a major challenge even for the modern global MHD models. In this study, we introduce a specially adapted University of Michigan 3-D global MHD model for simulating extreme space weather events with a Dst footprint comparable to the Carrington superstorm of September 1859 based on the estimate by Tsurutani et. al. (2003). Results are presented for a simulation run with "very extreme" constructed/idealized solar wind boundary conditions driving the magnetosphere. In particular, we describe the reaction of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system and the associated induced geoelectric field on the ground to such extreme driving conditions. The model setup is further tested using input data for an observed space weather event of Halloween storm October 2003 to verify the MHD model consistence and to draw additional guidance for future work. This extreme space weather MHD model setup is designed specifically for practical application to the modeling of extreme geomagnetically induced electric fields, which can drive large currents in ground-based conductor systems such as power transmission grids. Therefore, our ultimate goal is to explore the level of geoelectric fields that can be induced from an assumed storm of the reported magnitude, i.e., Dst˜=-1600 nT.

Extreme temperatures and out-of-hospital coronary deaths in six large Chinese cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Renjie; Li, Tiantian; Cai, Jing; Yan, Meilin; Zhao, Zhuohui; Kan, Haidong

2014-12-01

The seasonal trend of out-of-hospital coronary death (OHCD) and sudden cardiac death has been observed, but whether extreme temperature serves as a risk factor is rarely investigated. We therefore aimed to evaluate the impact of extreme temperatures on OHCDs in China. We obtained death records of 126,925 OHCDs from six large Chinese cities (Harbin, Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Shanghai and Guangzhou) during the period 2009-2011. The short-term associations between extreme temperature and OHCDs were analysed with time-series methods in each city, using generalised additive Poisson regression models. We specified distributed lag non-linear models in studying the delayed effects of extreme temperature. We then applied Bayesian hierarchical models to combine the city-specific effect estimates. The associations between extreme temperature and OHCDs were almost U-shaped or J-shaped. The pooled relative risks (RRs) of extreme cold temperatures over the lags 0-14 days comparing the 1st and 25th centile temperatures were 1.49 (95% posterior interval (PI) 1.26-1.76); the pooled RRs of extreme hot temperatures comparing the 99th and 75th centile temperatures were 1.53 (95% PI 1.27-1.84) for OHCDs. The RRs of extreme temperature on OHCD were higher if the patients with coronary heart disease were old, male and less educated. This multicity epidemiological study suggested that both extreme cold and hot temperatures posed significant risks on OHCDs, and might have important public health implications for the prevention of OHCD or sudden cardiac death. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Septic Shock following Prostate Biopsy: Aggressive Limb Salvage for Extremities after Pressor-Induced Ischemic Gangrene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jocelyn Lu, BS

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Summary:. Vasopressors used to treat patients with septic shock can cause ischemic necrosis of appendages such as the ears and nose, as well as the extremities. Cases of quadruple-extremity necrosis have high morbidity and mortality, and a profound negative impact on quality of life. This case report details the successful limb salvage and return to function using free tissue transfer as a means to salvage bilateral lower extremities in a patient who suffered vasopressor-induced ischemia of upper and lower extremities after prostate biopsy–induced septic shock. Septic shock following transrectal ultrasound–guided prostate biopsy is a rare, yet life-threatening complication. Successful treatment included thorough planning and staging of therapies such as awaiting tissue demarcation and serial surgical debridement to adequately prepare the tissue bed for free tissue transfer. Adjunctive treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative-pressure wound therapy, and meticulous wound care played a crucial role in wound healing. This vigilant planning and coordinated care resulted in the successful lower extremity salvage, consisting of bilateral transmetatarsal amputations and free tissue transfer to both limbs. We present our long-term follow-up of a functional ambulatory patient after catastrophic, life-threatening infection and appropriate multidisciplinary care.

Extreme Precipitation and Runoff under Changing Climate in Southern Maine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan, Eugene [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Jared, Alissa [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Mahat, Vinod [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Picel, Mark [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Verner, Duane [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Wall, Thomas [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Moges, Edom M. [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Demissie, Yonas K. [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Pierce, Julia [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2016-12-01

The quantification of extreme precipitation events is vitally important for designing and engineering water and flood sensitive infrastructure. Since this kind of infrastructure is usually built to last much longer than 10, 50, or even 100 years, there is great need for statistically sound estimates of the intensity of 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year rainstorms and associated floods. The recent assessment indicated that the intensity of the most extreme precipitation events (or the heaviest 1% of all daily events) have increased in every region of the contiguous states since the 1950s (Melillo et al. 2014). The maximum change in precipitation intensity of extreme events occurred in the northeast region reaching 71%. The precipitation extremes can be characterized using intensity-duration-frequency analysis (IDF). However, the current IDFs in this region were developed around the assumption that climate condition remains stationary over the next 50 or 100 years. To better characterize the potential flood risk, this project will (1) develop precipitation IDFs on the basis of both historical observations and future climate projections from dynamic downscaling with Argonne National Laboratory’s (Argonne’s) regional climate model and (2) develop runoff IDFs using precipitation IDFs for the Casco Bay Watershed. IDF development also considers non-stationary distribution models and snowmelt effects that are not incorporated in the current IDFs.

Extremal surfaces and the rigidity of null geodesic incompleteness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, I P Costa e; Flores, J L

2015-01-01

An important, if relatively less well known aspect of the singularity theorems in Lorentzian geometry, is to understand how their conclusions fare upon weakening or suppression of one or more of their hypotheses. Then, theorems with modified conclusion may arise, showing that those conclusions will fail only in special cases, at least some of which may be described. These are the so-called rigidity theorems, and have many important examples in the specialized literature. In this paper, we prove rigidity results for generalized plane waves and certain globally hyperbolic spacetimes in the presence of extremal compact surfaces. (paper)

Grid Frequency Extreme Event Analysis and Modeling: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Florita, Anthony R [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Clark, Kara [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Gevorgian, Vahan [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Folgueras, Maria [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Wenger, Erin [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-11-01

Sudden losses of generation or load can lead to instantaneous changes in electric grid frequency and voltage. Extreme frequency events pose a major threat to grid stability. As renewable energy sources supply power to grids in increasing proportions, it becomes increasingly important to examine when and why extreme events occur to prevent destabilization of the grid. To better understand frequency events, including extrema, historic data were analyzed to fit probability distribution functions to various frequency metrics. Results showed that a standard Cauchy distribution fit the difference between the frequency nadir and prefault frequency (f_(C-A)) metric well, a standard Cauchy distribution fit the settling frequency (f_B) metric well, and a standard normal distribution fit the difference between the settling frequency and frequency nadir (f_(B-C)) metric very well. Results were inconclusive for the frequency nadir (f_C) metric, meaning it likely has a more complex distribution than those tested. This probabilistic modeling should facilitate more realistic modeling of grid faults.

Hydrodynamic modelling of extreme flood events in the Kashmir valley in India

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Manoj; Parvaze, Sabah

2017-04-01

Floods are one of the most predominant, costly and deadly hazards of all natural vulnerabilities. Every year, floods exert a heavy toll on human life and property in many parts of the world. The prediction of river stages and discharge during flood extremes plays a vital role in planning structural and non-structural measures of flood management. The predictions are also valuable to prepare the flood inundation maps and river floodplain zoning. In the Kashmir Valley, floods occur mainly and very often in the Jhelum Basin mostly due to extreme precipitation events and rugged mountainous topography of the basin. These floods cause extreme damage to life and property in the valley from time to time. Excessive rainfall, particularly in higher sub-catchments causes the snow to melt resulting in excessive runoff downhill to the streams causing floods in the Kashmir Valley where Srinagar city is located. However, very few hydrological studies have been undertaken for the Jhelum Basin mainly due to non-availability of hydrological data due to very complex mountainous terrain. Therefore, the present study has been conducted to model the extreme flood events in the Jhelum Basin in Kashmir Valley. An integrated NAM and MIKE 11 HD model has been setup for Jhelum basin up to Ram Munshi Bagh gauging site and then four most extreme historical flood events in the time series has been analyzed separately including the most recent and most extreme flood event of 2014. In September 2014, the Kashmir Valley witnessed the most severe flood in the past 60 years due to catastrophic rainfall from 1st to 6th September wherein the valley received unprecedented rainfall of more than 650 mm in just 3 days breaking record of many decades. The MIKE 11 HD and NAM model has been calibrated using 21 years (1985-2005) data and validated using 9 years (2006-2014) data. The efficiency indices of the model for calibration and validation period is 0.749 and 0.792 respectively. The model simulated

Physics of condensed matter at extreme conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, M.

1988-01-01

The study of matter under extreme conditions is a highly interdisciplinary subject with broad applications to materials science, geophysics and astrophysics. High-pressure properties are studied in the laboratory using static and dynamic techniques. The two differ drastically in the methods of generating and measuring pressure and in the fundamentally different nature of the final compressed state. This article covers a very broad range of conditions, intended to present an overview of important recent developments and to emphasize the behavior of materials and the kinds of properties now being studied

Are Extremes of Consumption in Eating Disorders Related to an Altered Balance between Reward and Inhibition?

Science.gov (United States)

Wierenga, Christina E; Ely, Alice; Bischoff-Grethe, Amanda; Bailer, Ursula F; Simmons, Alan N; Kaye, Walter H

2014-01-01

The primary defining characteristic of a diagnosis of an eating disorder (ED) is the "disturbance of eating or eating-related behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food" (DSM V; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There is a spectrum, ranging from those who severely restrict eating and become emaciated on one end to those who binge and overconsume, usually accompanied by some form of compensatory behaviors, on the other. How can we understand reasons for such extremes of food consummatory behaviors? Recent work on obesity and substance use disorders has identified behaviors and neural pathways that play a powerful role in human consummatory behaviors. That is, corticostriatal limbic and dorsal cognitive neural circuitry can make drugs and food rewarding, but also engage self-control mechanisms that may inhibit their use. Importantly, there is considerable evidence that alterations of these systems also occur in ED. This paper explores the hypothesis that an altered balance of reward and inhibition contributes to altered extremes of response to salient stimuli, such as food. We will review recent studies that show altered sensitivity to reward and punishment in ED, with evidence of altered activity in corticostriatal and insula processes with respect to monetary gains or losses, and tastes of palatable foods. We will also discuss evidence for a spectrum of extremes of inhibition and dysregulation behaviors in ED supported by studies suggesting that this is related to top-down self-control mechanisms. The lack of a mechanistic understanding of ED has thwarted efforts for evidence-based approaches to develop interventions. Understanding how ED behavior is encoded in neural circuits would provide a foundation for developing more specific and effective treatment approaches.

Upslope deposition of extremely distal turbidites: An example from the Tiburon Rise, west-central Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Dolan, James; Beck, Christian; Ogawa, Yujiro

1989-11-01

Terrigenous silt and sand turbidites recovered from the crest of the Tiburon Rise in the west-central Atlantic represent an unprecedented example of upslope turbidite deposition in an extremely distal setting. These Eocene-Oligocene beds, which were derived from South America more than 1000 km to the southeast, were probably deposited by extremely thick (>1500 m) turbidity currents that flowed parallel to the southern margin of the rise. We suggest that flow thickness was the dominant control on deposition of these beds, rather than true upslope flow. This interpretation points out the importance of local bathymetry on the behavior of even extremely distal turbidity currents.

Language barriers in Hispanic patients: relation to upper-extremity disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Menendez, Mariano E; Eberlin, Kyle R; Mudgal, Chaitanya S; Ring, David

2015-06-01

Although upper-extremity disability has been shown to correlate highly with various psychosocial aspects of illness (e.g., self-efficacy, depression, kinesiophobia, and pain catastrophizing), the role of language in musculoskeletal health status is less certain. In an English-speaking outpatient hand surgery office setting, we sought to determine (1) whether a patient's primary native language (English or Spanish) is an independent predictor of upper-extremity disability and (2) whether there are any differences in the contribution of measures of psychological distress to disability between native English- and Spanish-speaking patients. A total of 122 patients (61 native English speakers and 61 Spanish speakers) presenting to an orthopaedic hand clinic completed sociodemographic information and three Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)-based computerized adaptive testing questionnaires: PROMIS Pain Interference, PROMIS Depression, and PROMIS Upper-Extremity Physical Function. Bivariate and multivariable linear regression modeling were performed. Spanish-speaking patients reported greater upper-extremity disability, pain interference, and symptoms of depression than English-speaking patients. After adjusting for sociodemographic covariates and measures of psychological distress using multivariable regression modeling, the patient's primary language was not retained as an independent predictor of disability. PROMIS Depression showed a medium correlation (r = -0.35; p Spanish-speaking patients. PROMIS Pain Interference had a large correlation with disability in both patient cohorts (Spanish-speaking: r = -0.66; p immigration to the USA did not correlate with disability among Spanish speakers. Primary language has less influence on symptom intensity and magnitude of disability than psychological distress and ineffective coping strategies. Interventions to optimize mood and to reduce pain interference should be considered in

The greenhouse effect and extreme weather

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groenaas, Sigbjoern; Kvamstoe, Nils Gunnar

2002-01-01

The article asserts that an anthropogenic global warming is occurring. This greenhouse effect is expected to cause more occurrences of extreme weather. It is extremely difficult, however, to relate specific weather catastrophes to global warming with certainty, since such extreme weather conditions are rare historically. The subject is controversial. The article also discusses the public debate and the risk of floods

The role of imported cases and favorable meteorological conditions in the onset of dengue epidemics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuin-Shee Shang

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Travelers who acquire dengue infection are often routes for virus transmission to other regions. Nevertheless, the interplay between infected travelers, climate, vectors, and indigenous dengue incidence remains unclear. The role of foreign-origin cases on local dengue epidemics thus has been largely neglected by research. This study investigated the effect of both imported dengue and local meteorological factors on the occurrence of indigenous dengue in Taiwan.Using logistic and Poisson regression models, we analyzed bi-weekly, laboratory-confirmed dengue cases at their onset dates of illness from 1998 to 2007 to identify correlations between indigenous dengue and imported dengue cases (in the context of local meteorological factors across different time lags. Our results revealed that the occurrence of indigenous dengue was significantly correlated with temporally-lagged cases of imported dengue (2-14 weeks, higher temperatures (6-14 weeks, and lower relative humidity (6-20 weeks. In addition, imported and indigenous dengue cases had a significant quantitative relationship in the onset of local epidemics. However, this relationship became less significant once indigenous epidemics progressed past the initial stage.These findings imply that imported dengue cases are able to initiate indigenous epidemics when appropriate weather conditions are present. Early detection and case management of imported cases through rapid diagnosis may avert large-scale epidemics of dengue/dengue hemorrhagic fever. The deployment of an early-warning surveillance system, with the capacity to integrate meteorological data, will be an invaluable tool for successful prevention and control of dengue, particularly in non-endemic countries.

Defining Extreme Events: A Cross-Disciplinary Review

Science.gov (United States)

McPhillips, Lauren E.; Chang, Heejun; Chester, Mikhail V.; Depietri, Yaella; Friedman, Erin; Grimm, Nancy B.; Kominoski, John S.; McPhearson, Timon; Méndez-Lázaro, Pablo; Rosi, Emma J.; Shafiei Shiva, Javad

2018-03-01

Extreme events are of interest worldwide given their potential for substantial impacts on social, ecological, and technical systems. Many climate-related extreme events are increasing in frequency and/or magnitude due to anthropogenic climate change, and there is increased potential for impacts due to the location of urbanization and the expansion of urban centers and infrastructures. Many disciplines are engaged in research and management of these events. However, a lack of coherence exists in what constitutes and defines an extreme event across these fields, which impedes our ability to holistically understand and manage these events. Here, we review 10 years of academic literature and use text analysis to elucidate how six major disciplines—climatology, earth sciences, ecology, engineering, hydrology, and social sciences—define and communicate extreme events. Our results highlight critical disciplinary differences in the language used to communicate extreme events. Additionally, we found a wide range in definitions and thresholds, with more than half of examined papers not providing an explicit definition, and disagreement over whether impacts are included in the definition. We urge distinction between extreme events and their impacts, so that we can better assess when responses to extreme events have actually enhanced resilience. Additionally, we suggest that all researchers and managers of extreme events be more explicit in their definition of such events as well as be more cognizant of how they are communicating extreme events. We believe clearer and more consistent definitions and communication can support transdisciplinary understanding and management of extreme events.

Management of the mangled extremity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prasarn, Mark L.; Helfet, David L.; Kloen, Peter

2012-01-01

The management of a mangled extremity continues to be a matter of debate. With modern advances in trauma resuscitation, microvascular tissue transfer, and fracture fixation, severe traumatic extremity injuries that would historically have been amputated are often salvaged. Even if preserving a

Report from the 6th Workshop on Extremely Large Databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Liwei Wang

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Petascale data management and analysis remain one of the main unresolved challenges in today's computing. The 6th Extremely Large Databases workshop was convened alongside the XLDB conference to discuss the challenges in the health care, biology, and natural resources communities. The role of cloud computing, the dominance of file-based solutions in science applications, in-situ and predictive analysis, and commercial software use in academic environments were discussed in depth as well. This paper summarizes the discussions of this workshop.

The important roles of nuclear energy in the future energy system of China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yingzhong, L.

1984-01-01

The goal of Four Modernizations in China requires doubling present energy production by the year 2000. Because of uneven geographic distribution of coal and hydropower resources, difficulties in exploitation and transportation, and environmental issues, conventional energy alone could not meet the tremendous energy demand in the most densely populated and highly industrialized coastal provinces. Therefore nuclear energy will play an increasingly important role in such regions and is now considered indispensable for the development of China's economy. Nuclear energy will supply not only base-load electricity but district heating and process heat in these provinces. Another promising potential application of nuclear heat will be in the petroleum industry. Nuclear energy will find broad applications in various sectors of China's economy as the country achieves the Four Modernizations. (author)

The Impact of Stratospheric Circulation Extremes on Minimum Arctic Sea Ice Extent

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, K. L.; Polvani, L. M.; Tremblay, B.

2017-12-01

The interannual variability of summertime Arctic sea ice extent (SIE) is anti-correlated with the leading mode of extratropical atmospheric variability in preceding winter, the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Given this relationship and the need for better seasonal predictions of Arctic SIE, we here examine the role of stratospheric circulation extremes and stratosphere-troposphere coupling in linking the AO and Arctic SIE variability. We show that extremes in the stratospheric circulation during the winter season, namely stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) and strong polar vortex (SPV) events, are associated with significant anomalies in sea ice concentration in the Bering Straight and the Sea of Okhotsk in winter, the Barents Sea in spring and along the Eurasian coastline in summer in both observations and a fully-coupled, stratosphere-resolving general circulation model. The accompanying figure shows the composite mean sea ice concentration anomalies from the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) for SSWs (N = 126, top row) and SPVs (N = 99, bottom row) for winter (a,d), spring (b,e) and summer (c,f). Consistent with previous work on the AO, we find that SSWs, which are followed by the negative phase of the AO at the surface, result in sea ice growth, whereas SPVs, which are followed by the positive phase of the AO at the surface, result in sea ice loss, although the dynamic and thermodynamic processes driving these sea ice anomalies in the three Arctic regions, noted above, are different. Our analysis suggests that the presence or absence of stratospheric circulation extremes in winter may play a non-trivial role in determining total September Arctic SIE when combined with other factors.

Measurement Properties of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Saurabh P; Fulton, Allison; Quach, Cedric; Thistle, Megan; Toledo, Cesar; Evans, Neil A

2016-03-01

Systematic review of measurement properties. Many primary studies have examined the measurement properties, such as reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change, of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) in different clinical populations. A systematic review summarizing these properties for the LEFS may provide an important resource. To locate and synthesize evidence on the measurement properties of the LEFS and to discuss the clinical implications of the evidence. A literature search was conducted in 4 databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL), using predefined search terms. Two reviewers performed a critical appraisal of the included studies using a standardized assessment form. A total of 27 studies were included in the review, of which 18 achieved a very good to excellent methodological quality level. The LEFS scores demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ranging between 0.85 and 0.99) and demonstrated the expected relationships with measures assessing similar constructs (Pearson correlation coefficient values of greater than 0.7). The responsiveness of the LEFS scores was excellent, as suggested by consistently high effect sizes (greater than 0.8) in patients with different lower extremity conditions. Minimal detectable change at the 90% confidence level (MDC90) for the LEFS scores varied between 8.1 and 15.3 across different reassessment intervals in a wide range of patient populations. The pooled estimate of the MDC90 was 6 points and the minimal clinically important difference was 9 points in patients with lower extremity musculoskeletal conditions, which are indicative of true change and clinically meaningful change, respectively. The results of this review support the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the LEFS scores for assessing functional impairment in a wide array of patient groups with lower extremity musculoskeletal conditions.

A Novel, Extremely Elongated, and Endocellular Bacterial Symbiont Supports Cuticle Formation of a Grain Pest Beetle.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirota, Bin; Okude, Genta; Anbutsu, Hisashi; Futahashi, Ryo; Moriyama, Minoru; Meng, Xian-Ying; Nikoh, Naruo; Koga, Ryuichi; Fukatsu, Takema

2017-09-26

The saw-toothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (Silvanidae), is a cosmopolitan stored-product pest. Early studies on O. surinamensis in the 1930s described the presence of peculiar bacteriomes harboring endosymbiotic bacteria in the abdomen. Since then, however, the microbiological nature of the symbiont has been elusive. Here we investigated the endosymbiotic system of O. surinamensis in detail. In the abdomen of adults, pupae, and larvae, four oval bacteriomes were consistently identified, whose cytoplasm was full of extremely elongated tubular bacterial cells several micrometers wide and several hundred micrometers long. Molecular phylogenetic analysis identified the symbiont as a member of the Bacteroidetes , in which the symbiont was the most closely related to the endosymbiont of a grain pest beetle, Rhyzopertha dominica (Bostrichidae). The symbiont was detected in developing embryos, corroborating vertical symbiont transmission through host generations. The symbiont gene showed AT-biased nucleotide composition and accelerated molecular evolution, plausibly reflecting degenerative evolution of the symbiont genome. When the symbiont infection was experimentally removed, the aposymbiotic insects grew and reproduced normally, but exhibited a slightly but significantly more reddish cuticle and lighter body mass. These results indicate that the symbiont of O. surinamensis is not essential for the host's growth and reproduction but contributes to the host's cuticle formation. Symbiont genome sequencing and detailed comparison of fitness parameters between symbiotic and aposymbiotic insects under various environmental conditions will provide further insights into the symbiont's biological roles for the stored-product pest. IMPORTANCE Some beetles notorious as stored-product pests possess well-developed symbiotic organs called bacteriomes for harboring specific symbiotic bacteria, although their biological roles have been poorly understood. Here we report

Thermoregulatory value of cracking-clay soil shelters for small vertebrates during extreme desert conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Waudby, Helen P; Petit, Sophie

2017-05-01

Deserts exhibit extreme climatic conditions. Small desert-dwelling vertebrates have physiological and behavioral adaptations to cope with these conditions, including the ability to seek shelter. We investigated the temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) regulating properties of the soil cracks that characterize the extensive cracking-clay landscapes of arid Australia, and the extent of their use by 2 small marsupial species: fat-tailed and stripe-faced dunnarts (Sminthopsis crassicaudata and Sminthopsis macroura). We measured hourly (over 24-h periods) the T and RH of randomly-selected soil cracks compared to outside conditions, during 2 summers and 2 winters. We tracked 17 dunnarts (8 Sminthopsis crassicaudata and 9 Sminthopsis macroura) to quantify their use of cracks. Cracks consistently moderated microclimate, providing more stable conditions than available from non-crack points, which often displayed comparatively dramatic fluctuations in T and RH. Both dunnart species used crack shelters extensively. Cracks constitute important shelter for small animals during extreme conditions by providing a stable microclimate, which is typically cooler than outside conditions in summer and warmer in winter. Cracks likely play a fundamental sheltering role by sustaining the physiological needs of small mammal populations. Globally, cracking-clay areas are dominated by agricultural land uses, including livestock grazing. Management of these systems should focus not only on vegetation condition, but also on soil integrity, to maintain shelter resources for ground-dwelling fauna. © 2016 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Increasing evidence for the important role of Labyrinthulomycetes in marine ecosystems

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Raghukumar, S.; Damare, V.S.

This review summarizes increasing evidence for the role of Labyrinthulomycetes in marine ecosystems gathered over the last six decades. It focuses on their diversity, habitats, biomass, productivity and overall role in food webs and remineralization...

Extreme Physics and Informational/Computational Limits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Sia, Paolo, E-mail: paolo.disia@univr.it, E-mail: 10alla33@virgilio.it [Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, Verona University, Strada Le Grazie 15, I-37134 Verona (Italy) and Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bozen, Piazza Domenicani 3, I-39100 Bozen-Bolzano (Italy)

2011-07-08

A sector of the current theoretical physics, even called 'extreme physics', deals with topics concerning superstring theories, multiverse, quantum teleportation, negative energy, and more, that only few years ago were considered scientific imaginations or purely speculative physics. Present experimental lines of evidence and implications of cosmological observations seem on the contrary support such theories. These new physical developments lead to informational limits, as the quantity of information, that a physical system can record, and computational limits, resulting from considerations regarding black holes and space-time fluctuations. In this paper I consider important limits for information and computation resulting in particular from string theories and its foundations.

Extreme Physics and Informational/Computational Limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Sia, Paolo

2011-01-01

A sector of the current theoretical physics, even called 'extreme physics', deals with topics concerning superstring theories, multiverse, quantum teleportation, negative energy, and more, that only few years ago were considered scientific imaginations or purely speculative physics. Present experimental lines of evidence and implications of cosmological observations seem on the contrary support such theories. These new physical developments lead to informational limits, as the quantity of information, that a physical system can record, and computational limits, resulting from considerations regarding black holes and space-time fluctuations. In this paper I consider important limits for information and computation resulting in particular from string theories and its foundations.

A decade of weather extremes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coumou, Dim; Rahmstorf, Stefan

The ostensibly large number of recent extreme weather events has triggered intensive discussions, both in- and outside the scientific community, on whether they are related to global warming. Here, we review the evidence and argue that for some types of extreme - notably heatwaves, but also

Attitude extremity, consensus and diagnosticity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Pligt, J.; Ester, P.; van der Linden, J.

1983-01-01

Studied the effects of attitude extremity on perceived consensus and willingness to ascribe trait terms to others with either pro- or antinuclear attitudes. 611 Ss rated their attitudes toward nuclear energy on a 5-point scale. Results show that attitude extremity affected consensus estimates. Trait

Extreme Events in Nature and Society

CERN Document Server

Albeverio, Sergio; Kantz, Holger

2006-01-01

Significant, and usually unwelcome, surprises, such as floods, financial crisis, epileptic seizures, or material rupture, are the topics of Extreme Events in Nature and Society. The book, authored by foremost experts in these fields, reveals unifying and distinguishing features of extreme events, including problems of understanding and modelling their origin, spatial and temporal extension, and potential impact. The chapters converge towards the difficult problem of anticipation: forecasting the event and proposing measures to moderate or prevent it. Extreme Events in Nature and Society will interest not only specialists, but also the general reader eager to learn how the multifaceted field of extreme events can be viewed as a coherent whole.

Using GRACE Satellite Gravimetry for Assessing Large-Scale Hydrologic Extremes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Y. Sun

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Global assessment of the spatiotemporal variability in terrestrial total water storage anomalies (TWSA in response to hydrologic extremes is critical for water resources management. Using TWSA derived from the gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE satellites, this study systematically assessed the skill of the TWSA-climatology (TC approach and breakpoint (BP detection method for identifying large-scale hydrologic extremes. The TC approach calculates standardized anomalies by using the mean and standard deviation of the GRACE TWSA corresponding to each month. In the BP detection method, the empirical mode decomposition (EMD is first applied to identify the mean return period of TWSA extremes, and then a statistical procedure is used to identify the actual occurrence times of abrupt changes (i.e., BPs in TWSA. Both detection methods were demonstrated on basin-averaged TWSA time series for the world’s 35 largest river basins. A nonlinear event coincidence analysis measure was applied to cross-examine abrupt changes detected by these methods with those detected by the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI. Results show that our EMD-assisted BP procedure is a promising tool for identifying hydrologic extremes using GRACE TWSA data. Abrupt changes detected by the BP method coincide well with those of the SPI anomalies and with documented hydrologic extreme events. Event timings obtained by the TC method were ambiguous for a number of river basins studied, probably because the GRACE data length is too short to derive long-term climatology at this time. The BP approach demonstrates a robust wet-dry anomaly detection capability, which will be important for applications with the upcoming GRACE Follow-On mission.

Empirically Assessing the Importance of Characteristics of Accounting Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, William M.; McGregor, Calvert C.

2000-01-01

Three employer groups (n=117), 47 accounting faculty, and 63 students rated the following characteristics of potential employees: master's degree, overall and accounting grade point average, personal integrity, communication skills, energy/drive/enthusiasm, and appearance. Employers and faculty considered integrity extremely important; students…

What Is the Role and Importance of the Revised AERA, APA, NCME "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing"?

Science.gov (United States)

Plake, Barbara S.; Wise, Lauress L.

2014-01-01

With the 2014 publication of the 5th revision of the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing," the cochairs of the Joint Committee for the revision process were asked to consider the role and importance of the "Standards" for the educational testing community, and in particular for members of the National Council…

Regional amplification of extreme temperatures strongly controlled by soil moisture-temperature feedbacks

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, M.; Orth, R.; Seneviratne, S. I.

2016-12-01

Land temperatures, and in particular hot extremes, will likely increase by more than 2° C in many regions, even in the case that the global temperature increase with respect to pre-industrial levels can be limited to 2°C. We investigate here the role of soil moisture-temperature feedbacks for projected changes of extreme temperatures by comparing experiments from the GLACE-CMIP5 (Global Land-Atmosphere Coupling Experiment - Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) project. In particular, we consider fully coupled experiments with all 6 involved GCMs and corresponding experiments where soil moisture is fixed to the local present-day seasonal cycle until the end of the 21st century. We consider the yearly hottest days and apply a scaling approach whereby we relate changes of hottest days to global mean temperature increase. We find that soil moisture-temperature coupling significantly contributes to additional future warming of extreme temperatures in many regions: In particular, it can explain more than 70% of the warming amplification of hottest days compared to global mean temperature in Central Europe, Central North America and Northern Australia, and around 50% of this signal in the Amazonian Region and Southern Africa.

Effects of land cover change on temperature and rainfall extremes in multi-model ensemble simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. J. Pitman

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The impact of historical land use induced land cover change (LULCC on regional-scale climate extremes is examined using four climate models within the Land Use and Climate, IDentification of robust impacts project. To assess those impacts, multiple indices based on daily maximum and minimum temperatures and daily precipitation were used. We contrast the impact of LULCC on extremes with the impact of an increase in atmospheric CO₂ from 280 ppmv to 375 ppmv. In general, consistent changes in both high and low temperature extremes are similar to the simulated change in mean temperature caused by LULCC and are restricted to regions of intense modification. The impact of LULCC on both means and on most temperature extremes is statistically significant. While the magnitude of the LULCC-induced change in the extremes can be of similar magnitude to the response to the change in CO₂, the impacts of LULCC are much more geographically isolated. For most models, the impacts of LULCC oppose the impact of the increase in CO₂ except for one model where the CO₂-caused changes in the extremes are amplified. While we find some evidence that individual models respond consistently to LULCC in the simulation of changes in rainfall and rainfall extremes, LULCC's role in affecting rainfall is much less clear and less commonly statistically significant, with the exception of a consistent impact over South East Asia. Since the simulated response of mean and extreme temperatures to LULCC is relatively large, we conclude that unless this forcing is included, we risk erroneous conclusions regarding the drivers of temperature changes over regions of intense LULCC.

Meteorological Drivers of Extreme Air Pollution Events

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Horton, D. E.; Schnell, J.; Callahan, C. W.; Suo, Y.

2017-12-01

The accumulation of pollutants in the near-surface atmosphere has been shown to have deleterious consequences for public health, agricultural productivity, and economic vitality. Natural and anthropogenic emissions of ozone and particulate matter can accumulate to hazardous concentrations when atmospheric conditions are favorable, and can reach extreme levels when such conditions persist. Favorable atmospheric conditions for pollutant accumulation include optimal temperatures for photochemical reaction rates, circulation patterns conducive to pollutant advection, and a lack of ventilation, dispersion, and scavenging in the local environment. Given our changing climate system and the dual ingredients of poor air quality - pollutants and the atmospheric conditions favorable to their accumulation - it is important to characterize recent changes in favorable meteorological conditions, and quantify their potential contribution to recent extreme air pollution events. To facilitate our characterization, this study employs the recently updated Schnell et al (2015) 1°×1° gridded observed surface ozone and particulate matter datasets for the period of 1998 to 2015, in conjunction with reanalysis and climate model simulation data. We identify extreme air pollution episodes in the observational record and assess the meteorological factors of primary support at local and synoptic scales. We then assess (i) the contribution of observed meteorological trends (if extant) to the magnitude of the event, (ii) the return interval of the meteorological event in the observational record, simulated historical climate, and simulated pre-industrial climate, as well as (iii) the probability of the observed meteorological trend in historical and pre-industrial climates.

A single pH fluorescent probe for biosensing and imaging of extreme acidity and extreme alkalinity.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Jian-Bin; Wang, Hui-Juan; Zhang, Yong-Bin; Li, Zhi-Qing; Liu, Yu-Hong; Huo, Fang-Jun; Yin, Cai-Xia; Shi, Ya-Wei; Wang, Juan-Juan

2017-07-04

A simple tailor-made pH fluorescent probe 2-benzothiazole (N-ethylcarbazole-3-yl) hydrazone (Probe) is facilely synthesized by the condensation reaction of 2-hydrazinobenzothiazole with N-ethylcarbazole-3-formaldehyde, which is a useful fluorescent probe for monitoring extremely acidic and alkaline pH, quantitatively. The pH titrations indicate that Probe displays a remarkable emission enhancement with a pK a of 2.73 and responds linearly to minor pH fluctuations within the extremely acidic range of 2.21-3.30. Interestingly, Probe also exhibits strong pH-dependent characteristics with pK a 11.28 and linear response to extreme-alkalinity range of 10.41-12.43. In addition, Probe shows a large Stokes shift of 84 nm under extremely acidic and alkaline conditions, high selectivity, excellent sensitivity, good water-solubility and fine stability, all of which are favorable for intracellular pH imaging. The probe is further successfully applied to image extremely acidic and alkaline pH values fluctuations in E. coli cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydroclimatic Extremes and Cholera Dynamics in the 21st Century

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Akanda, A. S.; Jutla, A. S.; Islam, S.

2012-12-01

Cholera, an acute water-borne diarrheal illness, has reemerged as a significant health threat across much of the developing world. Despite major advances in the ecological and the microbiological understanding of the causative agent, V. cholerae, the role of the underlying climatic and environmental processes in propagating transmission is not adequately understood. Recent findings suggest a more prominent role of hydroclimatic extremes - droughts and floods - on the unique dual cholera peaks in the Bengal Delta region of South Asia, the native homeland of cholera. Increasing water scarcity and abundance, and coastal sea-level rise, influenced by changing climate patterns and large-scale climatic phenomena, is likely to adversely impact cholera transmission in South Asia. We focus on understanding how associated changes in macro-scale conditions in this region will impact micro-scale processes related to cholera in coming decades. We use the PRECIS Regional Climate Model over the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin region to simulate detailed high resolution projections of climate patterns for the 21st century. Precipitation outputs are analyzed for the 1980-2040 period to identify the trends and changes in hydroclimatic extremes and potential impacts on cholera dynamics over the next three decades (2010-2040), in relation to the cholera surveillance operations over the past three decades (1980-2010). We find that an increased number of extreme precipitation events with prolonged dry periods in the Ganges basin region will likely adversely affect dry season cholera outbreaks. Increased monsoon precipitation volumes in the Brahmaputra basin catchments are likely to cause record floods and subsequently trigger large epidemics in downstream areas. Our results provide new insight by identifying the changes in the two distinctly different, pre and post monsoon, cholera transmission mechanisms related to large-scale climatic controls that prevail in the region. A

Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events : Challenges and directions

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Van de Pol, Martijn; Jenouvrier, Stéphanie; Cornelissen, Johannes H.C.; Visser, Marcel E.

2017-01-01

More extreme climatic events (ECEs) are among the most prominent consequences of climate change. Despite a long-standing recognition of the importance of ECEs by paleo-ecologists and macro-evolutionary biologists, ECEs have only recently received a strong interest in the wider ecological and

Near-extreme system condition and near-extreme remaining useful time for a group of products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Hai-Kun; Li, Yan-Feng; Huang, Hong-Zhong; Jin, Tongdan

2017-01-01

When a group of identical products is operating in field, the aggregation of failures is a catastrophe to engineers and customers who strive to develop reliable and safe products. In order to avoid a swarm of failures in a short time, it is essential to measure the degree of dispersion from different failure times in a group of products to the first failure time. This phenomenon is relevant to the crowding of system conditions near the worst one among a group of products. The group size in this paper represents a finite number of products, instead of infinite number or a single product. We evaluate the reliability of the product fleet from two aspects. First, we define near-extreme system condition and near-extreme failure time for offline solutions, which means no online observations. Second, we apply them to a continuous degradation system that breaks down when it reaches a soft failure threshold. By using particle filtering in the framework of prognostics and health management for a group of products, we aim to estimate near-extreme system condition and further predict the remaining useful life (RUL) using online solutions. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. - Highlights: • The aggregation of failures is measured for a group of identical products. • The crowding of failures is quantitated by the near-extreme evaluations. • Near-extreme system condition are given for offline solutions. • Near-extreme remaining useful time are provided for online solutions.

Water shortages and extreme events: a call for research.

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Carmichael, Catriona; Odams, Sue; Murray, Virginia; Sellick, Matthew; Colbourne, Jeni

2013-09-01

Water shortages as a result of extreme weather events, such as flooding and severe cold, have the potential to affect significant numbers of people. Therefore, the need to build robust, coordinated plans based on scientific evidence is crucial. The literature review outlined in this short communication was conducted as part of a joint Drinking Water Inspectorate and Health Protection Agency (now Public Health England) report which aimed to review the scientific evidence base on extreme events, water shortages and the resulting health impacts. A systematic literature review was undertaken to identify published literature from both peer-reviewed and grey literature sources. The retrieved literature was then assessed using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network quality assessment. The authors found very few scientific studies. However, a great deal of valuable grey literature was retrieved and used by the research team. In total, six main themes of importance that were identified by the review and discussed included health impacts, water quantity and quality, alternative supplies, vulnerable groups, communication with those affected and the emergency response. The authors conclude that more research needs to be conducted on health impacts and extreme events water shortages in order to build the future knowledge base and development of resilience.

Mortality impact of extreme winter temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, Julio; García, Ricardo; López, César; Linares, Cristina; Tobías, Aurelio; Prieto, Luis

2005-01-01

During the last few years great attention has been paid to the evaluation of the impact of extreme temperatures on human health. This paper examines the effect of extreme winter temperature on mortality in Madrid for people older than 65, using ARIMA and GAM models. Data correspond to 1,815 winter days over the period 1986 1997, during which time a total of 133,000 deaths occurred. The daily maximum temperature (Tmax) was shown to be the best thermal indicator of the impact of climate on mortality. When total mortality was considered, the maximum impact occured 7 8 days after a temperature extreme; for circulatory diseases the lag was between 7 and 14 days. When respiratory causes were considered, two mortality peaks were evident at 4 5 and 11 days. When the impact of winter extreme temperatures was compared with that associated with summer extremes, it was found to occur over a longer term, and appeared to be more indirect.

The personal dispositions of violent extremism

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Davydov D.G.

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the differences in the nature of extremism and radicalism, and the necessity of introducing the concept of "violent extremism." It is shown that the ideology is the explanation of extremist behavior, rather than its cause. The ideology of extremism often eclectic, contradictory and can easily be transformed by changing the object of hostility, depending on the situation. For the description of the psychological causes of extremism it is proposed to use the concept of personal disposition. Disposition is the preferred way to subjective interpretation of reality and reflects both the specific needs of a person as well the typical social situations where it realized and personal experience. Considered the following dispositions of violent extremism: the Cult of force and aggression, Intolerance, Out-group hostility Conventional coercion, Social pessimism and destructiveness, Mystical, Fighting and overcoming, Nihilism to law, Anti-subjectivism. It is proposed to use these dispositions as diagnostic criteria and for preventing and correcting.

Extreme heat and cultural and linguistic minorities in Australia: perceptions of stakeholders

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Despite acclimatisation to hot weather, many individuals in Australia are adversely affected by extreme heat each summer, placing added pressure on the health sector. In terms of public health, it is therefore important to identify vulnerable groups, particularly in the face of a warming climate. International evidence points to a disparity in heat-susceptibility in certain minority groups, although it is unknown if this occurs in Australia. With cultural diversity increasing, the aim of this study was to explore how migrants from different cultural backgrounds and climate experiences manage periods of extreme heat in Australia. Methods A qualitative study was undertaken across three Australian cities, involving interviews and focus groups with key informants including stakeholders involved in multicultural service provision and community members. Thematic analysis and a framework approach were used to analyse the data. Results Whilst migrants and refugees generally adapt well upon resettlement, there are sociocultural barriers encountered by some that hinder environmental adaptation to periods of extreme heat in Australia. These barriers include socioeconomic disadvantage and poor housing, language barriers to the access of information, isolation, health issues, cultural factors and lack of acclimatisation. Most often mentioned as being at risk were new arrivals, people in new and emerging communities, and older migrants. Conclusions With increasing diversity within populations, it is important that the health sector is aware that during periods of extreme heat there may be disparities in the adaptive capacity of minority groups, underpinned by sociocultural and language-based vulnerabilities in migrants and refugees. These factors need to be considered by policymakers when formulating and disseminating heat health strategies. PMID:24889099

The Influence of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (mjo) on Extreme Rainfall Over the Central and Southern Peruvian Andes

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Heidinger, H.; Jones, C.; Carvalho, L. V.

2015-12-01

Extreme rainfall is important for the Andean region because of the large contribution of these events to the seasonal totals and consequent impacts on water resources for agriculture, water consumption, industry and hydropower generation, as well as the occurrence of floods and landslides. Over Central and Southern Peruvian Andes (CSPA), rainfall exceeding the 90th percentile contributed between 44 to 100% to the total Nov-Mar 1979-2010 rainfall. Additionally, precipitation from a large majority of stations in the CSPA exhibits statistically significant spectral peaks on intraseasonal time-scales (20 to 70 days). The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is the most important intraseasonal mode of atmospheric circulation and moist convection in the tropics and the occurrence of extreme weather events worldwide. Mechanisms explaining the relationships between the MJO and precipitation in the Peruvian Andes have not been properly described yet. The present study examines the relationships between the activity and phases of the MJO and the occurrence of extreme rainfall over the CSPA. We found that the frequency of extreme rainfall events increase in the CSPA when the MJO is active. MJO phases 5, 6 and 7 contribute to the overall occurrence of extreme rainfall events over the CSPA. However, how the MJO phases modulate extreme rainfall depends on the location of the stations. For instance, extreme precipitation (above the 90th percentile) in stations in the Amazon basin are slightly more sensitive to phases 2, 3 and 4; the frequency of extremes in stations in the Pacific basin increases in phases 5, 6 and 7 whereas phase 2, 3 and 7 modulates extreme precipitation in stations in the Titicaca basin. Greater variability among stations is observed when using the 95th and 99th percentiles to identify extremes. Among the main mechanisms that explain the increase in extreme rainfall events in the Peruvian Andes is the intensification of the easterly moisture flux anomalies, which

Epidemiological role of birds in the transmission and maintenance of zoonoses.

Science.gov (United States)

Contreras, A; Gómez-Martín, A; Paterna, A; Tatay-Dualde, J; Prats-Van Der Ham, M; Corrales, J C; De La Fe, C; Sánchez, A

2016-12-01

The risk of zoonoses spreading from birds to humans is lower, quantitatively speaking, than the risk of transmission between other host groups, because the two taxonomic groups share fewer pathogens. Nevertheless, birds have a number of epidemiological characteristics that make them extremely important hosts in the transmission and maintenance of zoonoses, including their susceptibility to pathogens that are extremely hazardous to humans (such as highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, West Nile virus and Chlamydia psittaci) and their ability to travel long distances, especially in the case of migratory birds. The fact that the human diet includes poultry products (meat, eggs and their by-products) also means that most human cases of foodborne zoonoses are infections of avian origin. Lastly, close contact between humans and pet birds or urban birds leads to interactions of public health concern. This article sets out to describe the main factors that determine the role of birds in the epidemiology of zoonotic infections. © OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health), 2016.

Extreme hydrometeorological events in the Peruvian Central Andes during austral summer and their relationship with the large-scale circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Sulca, Juan C.

In this Master's dissertation, atmospheric circulation patterns associated with extreme hydrometeorological events in the Mantaro Basin, Peruvian Central Andes, and their teleconnections during the austral summer (December-January-February-March) are addressed. Extreme rainfall events in the Mantaro basin are related to variations of the large-scale circulation as indicated by the changing strength of the Bolivian High-Nordeste Low (BH-NL) system. Dry (wet) spells are associated with a weakening (strengthening) of the BH-NL system and reduced (enhanced) influx of moist air from the lowlands to the east due to strengthened westerly (easterly) wind anomalies at mid- and upper-tropospheric levels. At the same time extreme rainfall events of the opposite sign occur over northeastern Brazil (NEB) due to enhanced (inhibited) convective activity in conjunction with a strengthened (weakened) Nordeste Low. Cold episodes in the Mantaro Basin are grouped in three types: weak, strong and extraordinary cold episodes. Weak and strong cold episodes in the MB are mainly associated with a weakening of the BH-NL system due to tropical-extratropical interactions. Both types of cold episodes are associated with westerly wind anomalies at mid- and upper-tropospheric levels aloft the Peruvian Central Andes, which inhibit the influx of humid air masses from the lowlands to the east and hence limit the potential for development of convective cloud cover. The resulting clear sky conditions cause nighttime temperatures to drop, leading to cold extremes below the 10-percentile. Extraordinary cold episodes in the MB are associated with cold and dry polar air advection at all tropospheric levels toward the central Peruvian Andes. Therefore, weak and strong cold episodes in the MB appear to be caused by radiative cooling associated with reduced cloudiness, rather than cold air advection, while the latter plays an important role for extraordinary cold episodes only.

A New Integrated Threshold Selection Methodology for Spatial Forecast Verification of Extreme Events

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Kholodovsky, V.

2017-12-01

Extreme weather and climate events such as heavy precipitation, heat waves and strong winds can cause extensive damage to the society in terms of human lives and financial losses. As climate changes, it is important to understand how extreme weather events may change as a result. Climate and statistical models are often independently used to model those phenomena. To better assess performance of the climate models, a variety of spatial forecast verification methods have been developed. However, spatial verification metrics that are widely used in comparing mean states, in most cases, do not have an adequate theoretical justification to benchmark extreme weather events. We proposed a new integrated threshold selection methodology for spatial forecast verification of extreme events that couples existing pattern recognition indices with high threshold choices. This integrated approach has three main steps: 1) dimension reduction; 2) geometric domain mapping; and 3) thresholds clustering. We apply this approach to an observed precipitation dataset over CONUS. The results are evaluated by displaying threshold distribution seasonally, monthly and annually. The method offers user the flexibility of selecting a high threshold that is linked to desired geometrical properties. The proposed high threshold methodology could either complement existing spatial verification methods, where threshold selection is arbitrary, or be directly applicable in extreme value theory.

Controls on fluvial metamorphosis during global warming at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (56 Ma) in Spain: extreme droughts, extreme floods or both?

Science.gov (United States)

Castelltort, Sebastien; Chen, Chen; Guerit, Laure; Foreman, Brady; Paola, Chris; Adatte, Thierry

2017-04-01

How does global warming change the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events? The response to this question is partly preserved in the geological record. 56 Ma ago, global temperatures increased during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), leading to a major biotic turnover, but how this event affected the nature of extreme events remains unknown. On several continents, fluvial systems with sinuous channels within fine-grained floodplains suddenly transformed at the P-E boundary into apparently coarser-grained braid plains with frequent lateral migrations, washing their muddy floodplains to the seas. This landscape transformation has been related to aridification and intensification of precipitation allowing transport of coarser material as a result of P-E global warming, with important implications for predicting the consequences of current global change. Here we test this hypothesis by quantifying the magnitude of grain size change and flow depth at a representative P-E locality in Northern Spain. We find that the size of pebbles in transport and flow depth remained similar to, or even smaller than, pre-PETM conditions. This suggests that, if more seasonal and extreme precipitation occurred, they are not necessarily borne out in the predicted deeper flow depths and coarser grain sizes, but rather trigger a shift to multiple active channels. However, an alternative or complementary explanation may rest in pollen data found in coeval marine records and which document a dramatic vegetation shift from permanent conifer forests prior to the crisis into periodic vegetation in brief periods of rain during the hyperthermal episode. Such change induced by long periods of intense droughts, could have enhanced erodibility of channel banks by decreasing root-controlled cohesion of fine-grained floodplains and interfluves, promoting their lateral mobility and the observed fluvial metamorphosis. Thus, although water is regarded as the main agent sculpting

The pH of chemistry assays plays an important role in monoclonal immunoglobulin interferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Alberti, Michael O; Drake, Thomas A; Song, Lu

2015-12-01

Immunoglobulin paraproteins can interfere with multiple chemistry assays. We want to investigate the mechanisms of immunoglobulin interference. Serum samples containing paraproteins from the index patient and eight additional patients were used to investigate the interference with the creatinine and total protein assays on the Beckman Coulter AU5400/2700 analyzer, and to determine the effects of pH and ionic strength on the precipitation of different immunoglobulins in these patient samples. The paraprotein interference with the creatinine and total protein assays was caused by the precipitation of IgM paraprotein in the index patient's samples under alkaline assay conditions. At extremely high pH (12-13) and extremely low pH (1-2) and low ionic strength, paraprotein formed large aggregates in samples from the index patient but not from other patients. The pH and ionic strength are the key factors that contribute to protein aggregation and precipitation which interfere with the creatinine and total protein measurements on AU5400/2700. The different amino acid sequence of each monoclonal paraprotein will determine the pH and ionic strength at which the paraprotein will precipitate.

Identifying evidence of climate change impact on extreme events in permeable chalk catchments

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, A. P.; Nubert, S.

2009-12-01

The permeable chalk catchments of southern England are vital for the economy and well being of the UK. Not only important as a water resource, their freely draining soils support intensive agricultural production, and the rolling downs and chalk streams provide important habitants for many protected plant and animal species. Consequently, there are concerns about the potential impact of climate change on such catchments, particularly in relation to groundwater recharge. Of major concern are possible changes in extreme events, such as groundwater floods and droughts, as any increase in the frequency and/or severity of these has important consequences for water resources, ecological systems and local infrastructure. Studies of climate change impact on extreme events for such catchments have indicated that, under medium and high emissions scenarios, droughts are likely to become more severe whilst floods less so. However, given the uncertainties in such predictions and the inherent variability in historic data, producing definitive evidence of changes in flood/drought frequency/severity poses a significant challenge. Thus, there is a need for specific extreme event statistics that can be used as indicators of actual climate change in streamflow and groundwater level observations. Identifying such indicators that are sufficiently robust requires catchments with long historic time series data. One such catchment is the River Lavant, an intermittent chalk stream in West Sussex, UK. Located within this catchment is Chilgrove House, the site of the UK’s longest groundwater monitoring well (with a continuous record of water level observations of varying frequency dating back to 1836). Using a variety of meteorological datasets, the behaviour of the catchment has been modelled, from 1855 to present, using a 'leaky aquifer' conceptual model. Model calibration was based on observed daily streamflow, at a gauging station just outside the town of Chichester, from 1970. Long

Statistics of extremes theory and applications

CERN Document Server

Beirlant, Jan; Segers, Johan; Teugels, Jozef; De Waal, Daniel; Ferro, Chris

2006-01-01

Research in the statistical analysis of extreme values has flourished over the past decade: new probability models, inference and data analysis techniques have been introduced; and new application areas have been explored. Statistics of Extremes comprehensively covers a wide range of models and application areas, including risk and insurance: a major area of interest and relevance to extreme value theory. Case studies are introduced providing a good balance of theory and application of each model discussed, incorporating many illustrated examples and plots of data. The last part of the book covers some interesting advanced topics, including  time series, regression, multivariate and Bayesian modelling of extremes, the use of which has huge potential.  

Predicting the solubility of gases in Nitrile Butadiene Rubber in extreme conditions using molecular simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Khawaja, Musab; Molinari, Nicola; Sutton, Adrian; Mostofi, Arash

In the oil and gas industry, elastomer seals play an important role in protecting sensitive monitoring equipment from contamination by gases - a problem that is exacerbated by the high pressures and temperatures found down-hole. The ability to predict and prevent such permeative failure has proved elusive to-date. Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) is a common choice of elastomer for seals due to its resistance to heat and fuels. In the conditions found in the well it readily absorbs small molecular weight gases. How this behaviour changes quantitatively for different gases as a function of temperature and pressure is not well-understood. In this work a series of fully atomistic simulations are performed to understand the effect of extreme conditions on gas solubility in NBR. Widom particle insertion is used to compute solubilities. The importance of sampling and allowing structural relaxation upon compression are highlighted, and qualitatively reasonable trends reproduced. Finally, while at STP it has previously been shown that the solubility of CO2 is higher than that of He in NBR, we observe that under the right circumstances it is possible to reverse this trend.

Hydrometeorological extremes derived from taxation records for south-eastern Moravia, Czech Republic, 1751-1900 AD

Science.gov (United States)

Brázdil, R.; Chromá, K.; Valášek, H.; Dolák, L.

2012-03-01

Historical written records associated with tax relief at ten estates located in south-eastern Moravia (Czech Republic) are used for the study of hydrometeorological extremes and their impacts during the period 1751-1900 AD. At the time, the taxation system in Moravia allowed farmers to request tax relief if their crop yields had been negatively affected by hydrological and meteorological extremes. The documentation involved contains information about the type of extreme event and the date of its occurrence, while the impact on crops may often be derived. A total of 175 extreme events resulting in some kind of damage are documented for 1751-1900, with the highest concentration between 1811 and 1860 (74.9% of all events analysed). The nature of events leading to damage (of a possible 272 types) include hailstorm (25.7%), torrential rain (21.7%), flood (21.0%), followed by thunderstorm, flash flood, late frost and windstorm. The four most outstanding events, affecting the highest number of settlements, were thunderstorms with hailstorms (25 June 1825, 20 May 1847 and 29 June 1890) and flooding of the River Morava (mid-June 1847). Hydrometeorological extremes in the 1816-1855 period are compared with those occurring during the recent 1961-2000 period. The results obtained are inevitably influenced by uncertainties related to taxation records, such as their temporal and spatial incompleteness, the limits of the period of outside agricultural work (i.e. mainly May-August) and the purpose for which they were originally collected (primarily tax alleviation, i.e. information about hydrometeorological extremes was of secondary importance). Taxation records constitute an important source of data for historical climatology and historical hydrology and have a great potential for use in many European countries.