WorldWideScience

Sample records for met office climate

  1. The HadGEM2 family of Met Office Unified Model climate configurations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    The HadGEM2 Development Team: G. M. Martin

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available We describe the HadGEM2 family of climate configurations of the Met Office Unified Model, MetUM. The concept of a model "family" comprises a range of specific model configurations incorporating different levels of complexity but with a common physical framework. The HadGEM2 family of configurations includes atmosphere and ocean components, with and without a vertical extension to include a well-resolved stratosphere, and an Earth-System (ES component which includes dynamic vegetation, ocean biology and atmospheric chemistry. The HadGEM2 physical model includes improvements designed to address specific systematic errors encountered in the previous climate configuration, HadGEM1, namely Northern Hemisphere continental temperature biases and tropical sea surface temperature biases and poor variability. Targeting these biases was crucial in order that the ES configuration could represent important biogeochemical climate feedbacks. Detailed descriptions and evaluations of particular HadGEM2 family members are included in a number of other publications, and the discussion here is limited to a summary of the overall performance using a set of model metrics which compare the way in which the various configurations simulate present-day climate and its variability.

  2. Design and implementation of the infrastructure of HadGEM3: the next-generation Met Office climate modelling system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. T. Hewitt

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the development of a technically robust climate modelling system, HadGEM3, which couples the Met Office Unified Model atmosphere component, the NEMO ocean model and the Los Alamos sea ice model (CICE using the OASIS coupler. Details of the coupling and technical solutions of the physical model (HadGEM3-AO are documented, in addition to a description of the configurations of the individual submodels. The paper demonstrates that the implementation of the model has resulted in accurate conservation of heat and freshwater across the model components. The model performance in early versions of this climate model is briefly described to demonstrate that the results are scientifically credible. HadGEM3-AO is the basis for a number of modelling efforts outside of the Met Office, both within the UK and internationally. This documentation of the HadGEM3-AO system provides a detailed reference for developers of HadGEM3-based climate configurations.

  3. Sandscape - engaging people in Met Office science through sand sculpture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liggins, Felicity; Dowell, Ellen; Wardley, Jamie; Jamieson, Claire

    2017-04-01

    In 2015, the Met Office's award-winning outreach programme, designed to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, delivered one of its most ambitious and creative activities to date. It explored how scientists and artists can come together to create an engaging experience for young people and families. This activity was called Sandscape. Sandscape is an interactive sand sculpture workshop exploring how weather and climate affect our health. Budding sand sculptors are shown how to fashion elaborate structures from sand and water - creating a landscape with bridges, skyscrapers, forests and factories. As they work, participants are encouraged by the scientists delivering the activity to reflect on what makes a healthy city, considering how the natural and built environments influence air quality and circulation and how this impacts our health. Topics discussed include urban heat islands, air pollution and dispersion modelling, pollen forecasting and predicting the wind-borne spread of animal diseases. Each hour long workshop culminates in a dramatic demonstration that uses dry ice to represent clean air circulating from mountains, along rivers and into cities. Here we present an overview of Sandscape, identify the strengths and challenges of such a collaborative, innovative and playful approach to public engagement and share the results of our evaluation. Sandscape was originally supported by the Met Office and the Wellcome Trust, and produced by Einstein's Garden in collaboration with the Met Office, scientists from the University of Exeter and sand sculptors from Sand in Your Eye. It was first presented in Einstein's Garden at Green Man festival 2015, an independent music and arts festival held annually in Wales, and has since been invited to run at the 2015 Bournemouth Arts By the Sea Festival and Teignmouth's TRAIL Sculpture Festival in the summer of 2016.

  4. Geoengineering by stratospheric SO2 injection: results from the Met Office HadGEM2 climate model and comparison with the Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Kravitz

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available We examine the response of the Met Office Hadley Centre's HadGEM2-AO climate model to simulated geoengineering by continuous injection of SO2 into the lower stratosphere, and compare the results with those from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE. Despite the differences between the models, we find a broadly similar geographic distribution of the response to geoengineering in both models in terms of near-surface air temperature and mean June–August precipitation. The simulations also suggest that significant changes in regional climate would be experienced even if geoengineering was successful in maintaining global-mean temperature near current values, and both models indicate rapid warming if geoengineering is not sustained.

  5. Teaching weather and climate science in primary schools - a pilot project from the UK Met Office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orrell, Richard; Liggins, Felicity; Challenger, Lesley; Lethem, Dom; Campbell, Katy

    2017-04-01

    Wow Schools is a pilot project from the Met Office with an aim to inspire and educate the next generation of scientists and, uniquely, use the data collected by schools to improve weather forecasts and warnings across the UK. Wow Schools was launched in late 2015 with a competition open to primary schools across the UK. 74 schools entered the draw, all hoping to be picked as one of the ten lucky schools taking part in the pilot scheme. Each winning school received a fully automatic weather station (AWS), enabling them to transmit real-time local weather observations to the Met Office's Weather Observation Website (WOW - wow.metoffice.gov.uk), an award winning web portal for uploading and sharing a range of environmental observations. They were also given a package of materials designed to get students out of the classroom to observe the weather, get hands-on with the science underpinning weather forecasting, and analyse the data they are collecting. The curriculum-relevant materials were designed with the age group 7 to 11 in mind, but could be extended to support other age groups. Each school was offered a visit by a Wow Schools Ambassador (a Met Office employee) to bring the students' learning to life, and access to a dedicated forecast for its location generated by our new supercomputer. These forecasts are improved by the school's onsite AWS reinforcing the link between observations and forecast production. The Wow Schools pilot ran throughout 2016. Here, we present the initial findings of the project, examining the potential benefits and challenges of working with schools across the UK to: enrich students' understanding of the science of weather forecasting; to source an ongoing supply of weather observations and discover how these might be used in the forecasting process; and explore what materials and business model(s) would be most useful and affordable if a wider roll-out of the initiative was undertaken.

  6. Remote Sensing of Volcanic ASH at the Met Office

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marenco F.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 has triggered the rapid development of volcanic ash remote sensing activities at the Met Office. Volcanic ash qualitative and quantitative mapping have been achieved using lidar on board the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM research aircraft, and using improved satellite retrieval algorithms. After the eruption, a new aircraft facility, the Met Office Civil Contingencies Aircraft (MOCCA, has been set up to enable a rapid response, and a network of ground-based remote sensing sites with lidars and sunphotometers is currently being developed. Thanks to these efforts, the United Kingdom (UK will be much better equipped to deal with such a crisis, should it happen in the future.

  7. The East Asian Atmospheric Water Cycle and Monsoon Circulation in the Met Office Unified Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, José M.; Milton, Sean F.; Marzin, Charline

    2017-10-01

    In this study the low-level monsoon circulation and observed sources of moisture responsible for the maintenance and seasonal evolution of the East Asian monsoon are examined, studying the detailed water budget components. These observational estimates are contrasted with the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) climate simulation performance in capturing the circulation and water cycle at a variety of model horizontal resolutions and in fully coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations. We study the role of large-scale circulation in determining the hydrological cycle by analyzing key systematic errors in the model simulations. MetUM climate simulations exhibit robust circulation errors, including a weakening of the summer west Pacific Subtropical High, which leads to an underestimation of the southwesterly monsoon flow over the region. Precipitation and implied diabatic heating biases in the South Asian monsoon and Maritime Continent region are shown, via nudging sensitivity experiments, to have an impact on the East Asian monsoon circulation. By inference, the improvement of these tropical biases with increased model horizontal resolution is hypothesized to be a factor in improvements seen over East Asia with increased resolution. Results from the annual cycle of the hydrological budget components in five domains show a good agreement between MetUM simulations and ERA-Interim reanalysis in northern and Tibetan domains. In simulations, the contribution from moisture convergence is larger than in reanalysis, and they display less precipitation recycling over land. The errors are closely linked to monsoon circulation biases.

  8. Operational Use of OGC Web Services at the Met Office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Bruce

    2010-05-01

    The Met Office has adopted the Service-Orientated Architecture paradigm to deliver services to a range of customers through Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). The approach uses standard Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web services to provide information to web-based applications through a range of generic data services. "Invent", the Met Office beta site, is used to showcase Met Office future plans for presenting web-based weather forecasts, product and information to the public. This currently hosts a freely accessible Weather Map Viewer, written in JavaScript, which accesses a Web Map Service (WMS), to deliver innovative web-based visualizations of weather and its potential impacts to the public. The intention is to engage the public in the development of new web-based services that more accurately meet their needs. As the service is intended for public use within the UK, it has been designed to support a user base of 5 million, the analysed level of UK web traffic reaching the Met Office's public weather information site. The required scalability has been realised through the use of multi-tier tile caching: - WMS requests are made for 256x256 tiles for fixed areas and zoom levels; - a Tile Cache, developed in house, efficiently serves tiles on demand, managing WMS request for the new tiles; - Edge Servers, externally hosted by Akamai, provide a highly scalable (UK-centric) service for pre-cached tiles, passing new requests to the Tile Cache; - the Invent Weather Map Viewer uses the Google Maps API to request tiles from Edge Servers. (We would expect to make use of the Web Map Tiling Service, when it becomes an OGC standard.) The Met Office delivers specialist commercial products to market sectors such as transport, utilities and defence, which exploit a Web Feature Service (WFS) for data relating forecasts and observations to specific geographic features, and a Web Coverage Service (WCS) for sub-selections of gridded data. These are locally rendered as maps or

  9. Operational assimilation of ASCAT surface soil wetness at the Met Office

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Dharssi

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Currently, no extensive, near real time, global soil moisture observation network exists. Therefore, the Met Office global soil moisture analysis scheme has instead used observations of screen temperature and humidity. A number of new space-borne remote sensing systems, operating at microwave frequencies, have been developed that provide a more direct retrieval of surface soil moisture. These systems are attractive since they provide global data coverage and the horizontal resolution is similar to weather forecasting models. Several studies show that measurements of normalised backscatter (surface soil wetness from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT on the meteorological operational (MetOp satellite contain good quality information about surface soil moisture. This study describes methods to convert ASCAT surface soil wetness measurements to volumetric surface soil moisture together with bias correction and quality control. A computationally efficient nudging scheme is used to assimilate the ASCAT volumetric surface soil moisture data into the Met Office global soil moisture analysis. This ASCAT nudging scheme works alongside a soil moisture nudging scheme that uses observations of screen temperature and humidity. Trials, using the Met Office global Unified Model, of the ASCAT nudging scheme show a positive impact on forecasts of screen temperature and humidity for the tropics, North America and Australia. A comparison with in-situ soil moisture measurements from the US also indicates that assimilation of ASCAT surface soil wetness improves the soil moisture analysis. Assimilation of ASCAT surface soil wetness measurements became operational during July 2010.

  10. From big data analysis in the cloud to robotic pot drumming: tales from the Met Office Informatics Lab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Niall; Tomlinson, Jacob; Prudden, Rachel; Hilson, Alex; Arribas, Alberto

    2017-04-01

    The Met Office Informatics Lab is a small multidisciplinary team which sits between science, technology and design. Our mission is simply "to make Met Office data useful" - a deliberately broad objective. Our prototypes often trial cutting edge technologies, and so far have included projects such as virtual reality data visualisation in the web browser, bots and natural language interfaces, and artificially intelligent weather warnings. In this talk we focus on our latest project, Jade, a big data analysis platform in the cloud. It is a powerful, flexible and simple to use implementation which makes extensive use of technologies such as Jupyter, Dask, containerisation, Infrastructure as Code, and auto-scaling. Crucially, Jade is flexible enough to be used for a diverse set of applications: it can present weather forecast information to meteorologists and allow climate scientists to analyse big data sets, but it is also effective for analysing non-geospatial data. As well as making data useful, the Informatics Lab also trials new working practises. In this presentation, we will talk about our experience of making a group like the Lab successful.

  11. MET Standards for Electro-Technical Officers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janusz Mindykowski

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with one of the most important changes in the STCW 1978 as amended in 2010 Convention, from the point of view of the watchkeeping officers responsible for control, maintenance, diagnostic and repair of electrical and electronic installations on board of ships. Some reasons, why the MET Standards for Electro-Technical had to be developed and implemented are shortly analyzed and described. A legislative way towards and a short description of the minimum standards competence for ETO are presented. Next, new tools supporting ETO’s standards implementation are appointed. Finally, the future works as well as the concluding remarks concerning discussed issue are formulated and commented on.

  12. Verification of space weather forecasts at the UK Met Office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bingham, S.; Sharpe, M.; Jackson, D.; Murray, S.

    2017-12-01

    The UK Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC) has produced space weather guidance twice a day since its official opening in 2014. Guidance includes 4-day probabilistic forecasts of X-ray flares, geomagnetic storms, high-energy electron events and high-energy proton events. Evaluation of such forecasts is important to forecasters, stakeholders, model developers and users to understand the performance of these forecasts and also strengths and weaknesses to enable further development. Met Office terrestrial near real-time verification systems have been adapted to provide verification of X-ray flare and geomagnetic storm forecasts. Verification is updated daily to produce Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and Reliability diagrams, and rolling Ranked Probability Skill Scores (RPSSs) thus providing understanding of forecast performance and skill. Results suggest that the MOSWOC issued X-ray flare forecasts are usually not statistically significantly better than a benchmark climatological forecast (where the climatology is based on observations from the previous few months). By contrast, the issued geomagnetic storm activity forecast typically performs better against this climatological benchmark.

  13. The Met Office Global Coupled Model 3.0 and 3.1 (GC3.0 and GC3.1) Configurations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, K. D.; Copsey, D.; Blockley, E. W.; Bodas-Salcedo, A.; Calvert, D.; Comer, R.; Davis, P.; Graham, T.; Hewitt, H. T.; Hill, R.; Hyder, P.; Ineson, S.; Johns, T. C.; Keen, A. B.; Lee, R. W.; Megann, A.; Milton, S. F.; Rae, J. G. L.; Roberts, M. J.; Scaife, A. A.; Schiemann, R.; Storkey, D.; Thorpe, L.; Watterson, I. G.; Walters, D. N.; West, A.; Wood, R. A.; Woollings, T.; Xavier, P. K.

    2018-02-01

    The Global Coupled 3 (GC3) configuration of the Met Office Unified Model is presented. Among other applications, GC3 is the basis of the United Kingdom's submission to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6). This paper documents the model components that make up the configuration (although the scientific descriptions of these components are in companion papers) and details the coupling between them. The performance of GC3 is assessed in terms of mean biases and variability in long climate simulations using present-day forcing. The suitability of the configuration for predictability on shorter time scales (weather and seasonal forecasting) is also briefly discussed. The performance of GC3 is compared against GC2, the previous Met Office coupled model configuration, and against an older configuration (HadGEM2-AO) which was the submission to CMIP5. In many respects, the performance of GC3 is comparable with GC2, however, there is a notable improvement in the Southern Ocean warm sea surface temperature bias which has been reduced by 75%, and there are improvements in cloud amount and some aspects of tropical variability. Relative to HadGEM2-AO, many aspects of the present-day climate are improved in GC3 including tropospheric and stratospheric temperature structure, most aspects of tropical and extratropical variability and top-of-atmosphere and surface fluxes. A number of outstanding errors are identified including a residual asymmetric sea surface temperature bias (cool northern hemisphere, warm Southern Ocean), an overly strong global hydrological cycle and insufficient European blocking.

  14. The new Met Office strategy for seasonal forecasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hewson, T. D.

    2012-04-01

    In October 2011 the Met Office began issuing a new-format UK seasonal forecast, called "The 3-month Outlook". Government interest in a UK-relevant product had been heightened by infrastructure issues arising during the severe cold of previous winters. At the same time there was evidence that the Met Office's "GLOSEA4" long range forecasting system exhibited some hindcast skill for the UK, that was comparable to its hindcast skill for the larger (and therefore less useful) 'northern Europe' region. Also, the NAO- and AO- signals prevailing in the previous two winters had been highlighted by the GLOSEA4 model well in advance. This presentation will initially give a brief overview of GLOSEA4, describing key features such as evolving sea-ice, a well-resolved stratosphere, and the perturbation strategy. Skill measures will be shown, along with forecasts for the last 3 winters. The new structure 3-month outlook will then be described and presented. Previously, our seasonal forecasts had been based on a tercile approach. The new format outlook aims to substantially improve upon this by illustrating graphically, and with text, the full range of possible outcomes, and by placing those outcomes in the context of climatology. In one key component the forecast pdfs (probability density functions) are displayed alongside climatological pdfs. To generate the forecast pdf we take the bias-corrected GLOSEA4 output (42 members), and then incorporate, via expert team, all other relevant information. Firstly model forecasts from other centres are examined. Then external 'forcing factors', such as solar, and the state of the land-ocean-ice system, are referenced, assessing how well the models represent their influence, and bringing in statistical relationships where appropriate. The expert team thereby decides upon any changes to the GLOSEA4 data, employing an interactive tool to shift, expand or contract the forecast pdfs accordingly. The full modification process will be illustrated

  15. Climate Variability over India and Bangladesh from the Perturbed UK Met Office Hadley Model: Impacts on Flow and Nutrient Fluxes in the Ganges Delta System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehead, P. G.; Caesar, J.; Crossman, J.; Barbour, E.; Ledesma, J.; Futter, M. N.

    2015-12-01

    A semi-distributed flow and water quality model (INCA- Integrated Catchments Model) has been set up for the whole of the Ganges- Brahmaputra- Meghna (GBM) River system in India and Bangladesh. These massive rivers transport large fluxes of water and nutrients into the Bay of Bengal via the GBM Delta system in Bangladesh. Future climate change will impact these fluxes with changing rainfall, temperature, evapotranspiration and soil moisture deficits being altered in the catchment systems. In this study the INCA model has been used to assess potential impacts of climate change using the UK Met Office Hadley Centre GCM model linked to a regionally coupled model of South East Asia, covering India and Bangladesh. The Hadley Centre model has been pururbed by varying the parameters in the model to generate 17 realisations of future climates. Some of these reflect expected change but others capture the more extreme potential behaviour of future climate conditions. The 17 realisations have been used to drive the INCA Flow and Nitrogen model inorder to generate downstream times series of hydrology and nitrate- nitrogen. The variability of the climates on these fluxes are investigated and and their likley impact on the Bay of Begal Delta considered. Results indicate a slight shift in the monsoon season with increased wet season flows and increased temperatures which alter nutrient fluxes. Societal Importance to Stakeholders The GBM Delta supports one of the most densely populated regions of people living in poverty, who rely on ecosystem services provided by the Delta for survival. These ecosystem services are dependent upon fluxes of water and nutrients. Freshwater for urban, agriculture, and aquaculture requirements are essential to livelihoods. Nutrient loads stimulate estuarine ecosystems, supporting fishing stocks, which contribute significantly the economy of Bangladesh. Thus the societal importance of upstream climate driven change change in Bangladesh are very

  16. Using Machine Learning as a fast emulator of physical processes within the Met Office's Unified Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prudden, R.; Arribas, A.; Tomlinson, J.; Robinson, N.

    2017-12-01

    The Unified Model is a numerical model of the atmosphere used at the UK Met Office (and numerous partner organisations including Korean Meteorological Agency, Australian Bureau of Meteorology and US Air Force) for both weather and climate applications.Especifically, dynamical models such as the Unified Model are now a central part of weather forecasting. Starting from basic physical laws, these models make it possible to predict events such as storms before they have even begun to form. The Unified Model can be simply described as having two components: one component solves the navier-stokes equations (usually referred to as the "dynamics"); the other solves relevant sub-grid physical processes (usually referred to as the "physics"). Running weather forecasts requires substantial computing resources - for example, the UK Met Office operates the largest operational High Performance Computer in Europe - and the cost of a typical simulation is spent roughly 50% in the "dynamics" and 50% in the "physics". Therefore there is a high incentive to reduce cost of weather forecasts and Machine Learning is a possible option because, once a machine learning model has been trained, it is often much faster to run than a full simulation. This is the motivation for a technique called model emulation, the idea being to build a fast statistical model which closely approximates a far more expensive simulation. In this paper we discuss the use of Machine Learning as an emulator to replace the "physics" component of the Unified Model. Various approaches and options will be presented and the implications for further model development, operational running of forecasting systems, development of data assimilation schemes, and development of ensemble prediction techniques will be discussed.

  17. The performance of FLake in the Met Office Unified Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Gerard Rooney

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available We present results from the coupling of FLake to the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM. The coupling and initialisation are first described, and the results of testing the coupled model in local and global model configurations are presented. These show that FLake has a small statistical impact on screen temperature, but has the potential to modify the weather in the vicinity of areas of significant inland water. Examination of FLake lake ice has revealed that the behaviour of lakes in the coupled model is unrealistic in some areas of significant sub-grid orography. Tests of various modifications to ameliorate this behaviour are presented. The results indicate which of the possible model changes best improve the annual cycle of lake ice. As FLake has been developed and tuned entirely outside the Unified Model system, these results can be interpreted as a useful objective measure of the performance of the Unified Model in terms of its near-surface characteristics.

  18. Semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian modelling of the atmosphere: a Met Office perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benacchio Tommaso

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The semi-Lagrangian numerical method, in conjunction with semi-implicit time integration, provides numerical weather prediction models with numerical stability for large time steps, accurate modes of interest, and good representation of hydrostatic and geostrophic balance. Drawing on the legacy of dynamical cores at the Met Office, the use of the semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian method in an operational numerical weather prediction context is surveyed, together with details of the solution approach and associated issues and challenges. The numerical properties and performance of the current operational version of the Met Office’s numerical model are then investigated in a simplified setting along with the impact of different modelling choices.

  19. Solar shading control strategy for office buildings in cold climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røseth Karlsen, Line; Heiselberg, Per Kvols; Bryn, Ida

    2016-01-01

    Highlights •Solar shading control strategy for office buildings in cold climate is developed. •Satisfying energy and indoor environmental performance is confirmed. •Importance of integrated evaluations when selecting shading strategy is illustrated.......Highlights •Solar shading control strategy for office buildings in cold climate is developed. •Satisfying energy and indoor environmental performance is confirmed. •Importance of integrated evaluations when selecting shading strategy is illustrated....

  20. An Assessment of Data from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder at the Met Office

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy Doherty

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available An appraisal of the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS for use in numerical weather prediction (NWP is presented, including an assessment of the data quality, the impact on Met Office global forecasts in preoperational trials, and a summary of performance over a period of 17 months operational use. After remapping, the noise performance (NEΔT of the tropospheric temperature sounding channels is evaluated to be approximately 0.1 K, comparing favourably with AMSU-A. However, the noise is not random, differences between observations and simulations based on short-range forecast fields show a spurious striping effect, due to 1/f noise in the receiver. The amplitude of this signal is several tenths of a Kelvin, potentially a concern for NWP applications. In preoperational tests, adding ATMS data to a full Met Office system already exploiting data from four microwave sounders improves southern hemisphere mean sea level pressure forecasts in the 2- to 5-day range by 1-2%. In operational use, where data from five other microwave sounders is assimilated, forecast impact is typically between −0.05 and −0.1 J/kg (3.4% of total mean impact per day over the period 1 April to 31 July 2013. This suggests benefits beyond redundancy, associated with reducing already small analysis errors.

  1. The Met Office Coupled Atmosphere/Land/Ocean/Sea-Ice Data Assimilation System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lea, Daniel; Mirouze, Isabelle; King, Robert; Martin, Matthew; Hines, Adrian

    2015-04-01

    The Met Office has developed a weakly-coupled data assimilation (DA) system using the global coupled model HadGEM3 (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model, version 3). At present the analysis from separate ocean and atmosphere DA systems are combined to produced coupled forecasts. The aim of coupled DA is to produce a more consistent analysis for coupled forecasts which may lead to less initialisation shock and improved forecast performance. The HadGEM3 coupled model combines the atmospheric model UM (Unified Model) at 60 km horizontal resolution on 85 vertical levels, the ocean model NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean) at 25 km (at the equator) horizontal resolution on 75 vertical levels, and the sea-ice model CICE at the same resolution as NEMO. The atmosphere and the ocean/sea-ice fields are coupled every 1-hour using the OASIS coupler. The coupled model is corrected using two separate 6-hour window data assimilation systems: a 4D-Var for the atmosphere with associated soil moisture content nudging and snow analysis schemes on the one hand, and a 3D-Var FGAT for the ocean and sea-ice on the other hand. The background information in the DA systems comes from a previous 6-hour forecast of the coupled model. To isolate the impact of the coupled DA, 13-month experiments have been carried out, including 1) a full atmosphere/land/ocean/sea-ice coupled DA run, 2) an atmosphere-only run forced by OSTIA SSTs and sea-ice with atmosphere and land DA, and 3) an ocean-only run forced by atmospheric fields from run 2 with ocean and sea-ice DA. In addition, 5-day and 10-day forecast runs, have been produced from initial conditions generated by either run 1 or a combination of runs 2 and 3. The different results have been compared to each other and, whenever possible, to other references such as the Met Office atmosphere and ocean operational analyses or the OSTIA SST data. The performance of the coupled DA is similar to the existing separate ocean and atmosphere

  2. Preparing for climate change: a perspective from local public health officers in California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bedsworth, Louise

    2009-04-01

    The most recent scientific findings show that even with significant emission reductions, some amount of climate change is likely inevitable. The magnitude of the climate changes will depend on future emissions and climate sensitivity. These changes will have local impacts, and a significant share of coping with these changes will fall on local governmental agencies. Public health is no exception, because local public health agencies are crucial providers of disease prevention, health care, and emergency preparedness services. This article presents the results of a survey of California's local pubic health officers conducted between August and October 2007. The survey gauged health officers' concerns about the public health impacts of climate change, programs in place that could help to mitigate these health effects, and information and resource needs for better coping with a changing climate. The results of this survey show that most public health officers feel that climate change poses a serious threat to public health but that they do not feel well equipped in terms of either resources or information to cope with that threat. Nonetheless, public health agencies currently implement a number of programs that will help these agencies handle some of the challenges posed by a changing climate. Overall, the results suggest that local public health agencies in California are likely in a better position than they perceive to address the threats associated with climate change but that there is a larger role for them to play in climate policy.

  3. Indoor climate, psychosocial work environment and symptoms in open-plan offices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pejtersen, J; Allermann, L; Kristensen, T S

    2006-01-01

    To study the indoor climate, the psychosocial work environment and occupants' symptoms in offices a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was made in 11 naturally and 11 mechanically ventilated office buildings. Nine of the buildings had mainly cellular offices; five of the buildings had mainly open...... irritation, skin irritation, central nervous system (CNS) symptoms and psychosocial factors. Occupants in open-plan offices are more likely to perceive thermal discomfort, poor air quality and noise and they more frequently complain about CNS and mucous membrane symptoms than occupants in multi......-person and cellular offices. The association between psychosocial factors and office size was weak. Open-plan offices may not be suited for all job types. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: Open-plan offices may be a risk factor for adverse environmental perceptions and symptoms....

  4. Optimization of annual energy demand in office buildings under the influence of climate change in Chile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubio-Bellido, Carlos; Pérez-Fargallo, Alexis; Pulido-Arcas, Jesús A.

    2016-01-01

    Numerous studies about climate change have emerged in recent years because of their potential impact on many activities of human life, amongst which, the building sector is no exception. Changes in climate conditions have a direct influence on the external conditions for buildings and, thus, on their energy demand. In this context, computer aided simulation provides handy tools that help in assessing this impact. This paper investigates climate data for future scenarios and the effect on energy demand in office buildings in Chile. This data has been generated in the 9 climatic zones that are representative of the main inhabited areas, for the years 2020, 2050 and 2080. Predictions have been produced for the acknowledged A2 ‘medium-high’ Greenhouse Gases emissions GHG scenario, pursuant the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The effect of climate change on the energy demand for office buildings is optimized by implementing the calculation procedure of ISO-13790:2008, based on iterations of its envelope and form. As a result, this research clarifies how future climate scenarios will affect the energy demand for different types of office buildings in Chile, and how their shape and enclosure can be optimized. - Highlights: • Forecast of 9 Chilean climate zones under Greenhouse Gases Scenario A2. • Influence of envelope and form on future energy demand in office buildings. • Multiple iterations on Form Ratio (FR) and Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR). • Optimization in early stages of design considering global warming.

  5. Relationship between Organizational Climate, Job Stress and Job Performance Officer at State Education Department

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suandi, Turiman; Ismail, Ismi Arif; Othman, Zulfadli

    2014-01-01

    This research aims at finding out the relationship between Organizational Climate, job stress and job performance among State Education Department (JPN) officers . The focus of the research is to determine the job performance of state education department officers, level of job stress among the officers, level of connection between organizational…

  6. Investigation of Indoor Climate in a Naturally Ventilated Office Building

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Tine Steen; Kalyanova, Olena; Jensen, Rasmus Lund

    2008-01-01

    A measuring program in a naturally ventilated office building in Copenhagen was carried out to document the indoor climate and ventilation system performance during a year. It included a questionnaire regarding the perceived indoor environmental quality and physical measurements of thermal comfort...... to a combination of poor control of solar shading and a very high local heat load that was above the Danish recommendations for naturally ventilated office buildings. Both measured and perceived indoor air quality in the building was in general very high. The measured air flow rates was relatively high due...... to the need for cooling in the office building, while the level of infiltration was quite low indicating an airtight construction....

  7. Climate-sensitive urban design through Envi-Met simulation: case study in Kemayoran, Jakarta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusumastuty, K. D.; Poerbo, H. W.; Koerniawan, M. D.

    2018-03-01

    Indonesia as a tropical country which the character of its climate are hot and humid, the outdoor activity applications are often disrupted due to discomfort in thermal conditions. Massive construction of skyscrapers in urban areas are caused by the increase of human population leads to reduced green and infiltration areas that impact to environmental imbalances and triggering microclimate changes with rising air temperatures on the surface. The area that significantly experiences the rise of temperature in the Central Business District (CBD), which has need an analysis to create thermal comfort conditions to improve the ease of outdoor activities by an approach. This study aims to design the Kemayoran CBD through Climate Sensitive Urban Design especially in hot and humid tropical climate area and analyze thermal comfort level and optimal air conditioning in the outdoor area. This research used a quantitative method by generating the design using Climate Sensitive Urban Design principle through Envi-met 4.1 simulation program to find out the value of PMV, air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity conditions. The design area considers the configuration of buildings such as the distance between buildings, the average height, the orientation of the building, and the width of the road.

  8. The seasonal predictability of blocking frequency in two seasonal prediction systems (CMCC, Met-Office) and the associated representation of low-frequency variability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athanasiadis, Panos; Gualdi, Silvio; Scaife, Adam A.; Bellucci, Alessio; Hermanson, Leon; MacLachlan, Craig; Arribas, Alberto; Materia, Stefano; Borelli, Andrea

    2014-05-01

    Low-frequency variability is a fundamental component of the atmospheric circulation. Extratropical teleconnections, the occurrence of blocking and the slow modulation of the jet streams and storm tracks are all different aspects of low-frequency variability. Part of the latter is attributed to the chaotic nature of the atmosphere and is inherently unpredictable. On the other hand, primarily as a response to boundary forcings, tropospheric low-frequency variability includes components that are potentially predictable. Seasonal forecasting faces the difficult task of predicting these components. Particularly referring to the extratropics, the current generation of seasonal forecasting systems seem to be approaching this target by realistically initializing most components of the climate system, using higher resolution and utilizing large ensemble sizes. Two seasonal prediction systems (Met-Office GloSea and CMCC-SPS-v1.5) are analyzed in terms of their representation of different aspects of extratropical low-frequency variability. The current operational Met-Office system achieves unprecedented high scores in predicting the winter-mean phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO, corr. 0.74 at 500 hPa) and the Pacific-N. American pattern (PNA, corr. 0.82). The CMCC system, considering its small ensemble size and course resolution, also achieves good scores (0.42 for NAO, 0.51 for PNA). Despite these positive features, both models suffer from biases in low-frequency variance, particularly in the N. Atlantic. Consequently, it is found that their intrinsic variability patterns (sectoral EOFs) differ significantly from the observed, and the known teleconnections are underrepresented. Regarding the representation of N. hemisphere blocking, after bias correction both systems exhibit a realistic climatology of blocking frequency. In this assessment, instantaneous blocking and large-scale persistent blocking events are identified using daily geopotential height fields at

  9. A new Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer channel selection and assessment of its impact on Met Office NWP forecasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Young-Chan; Sohn, Byung-Ju; Kim, Yoonjae; Joo, Sangwon; Bell, William; Saunders, Roger

    2017-11-01

    A new set of Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) channels was re-selected from 314 EUMETSAT channels. In selecting channels, we calculated the impact of the individually added channel on the improvement in the analysis outputs from a one-dimensional variational analysis (1D-Var) for the Unified Model (UM) data assimilation system at the Met Office, using the channel score index (CSI) as a figure of merit. Then, 200 channels were selected in order by counting each individual channel's CSI contribution. Compared with the operationally used 183 channels for the UM at the Met Office, the new set shares 149 channels, while the other 51 channels are new. Also examined is the selection from the entropy reduction method with the same 1D-Var approach. Results suggest that channel selection can be made in a more objective fashion using the proposed CSI method. This is because the most important channels can be selected across the whole IASI observation spectrum. In the experimental trial runs using the UM global assimilation system, the new channels had an overall neutral impact in terms of improvement in forecasts, as compared with results from the operational channels. However, upper-tropospheric moist biases shown in the control run with operational channels were significantly reduced in the experimental trial with the newly selected channels. The reduction of moist biases was mainly due to the additional water vapor channels, which are sensitive to the upper-tropospheric water vapor.

  10. Evaluation of the UK Met Office's HadGEM3-RA and HadRM3P regional climate models within South America-CORDEX simulations: ENSO related interannual precipitation variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozkurt, D.; Rojas, M.

    2014-12-01

    This study aims to investigate and compare the ability of the UK Met Office's HadGEM3-RA and HadRM3P regional climate models (RCMs) to simulate mean and interannual variability of precipitation over South America with a special focus on Chile. The HadGEM3-RA is a regional version of the newly developed HadGEM3 global model and the HadRM3P is based on the earlier HadCM3 global model. The RCMs simulations were carried out at 0.44o x 0.44o degree resolution over South America-CORDEX domain for the period 1989-2008. The initial and boundary conditions were provided by ERA-Interim Reanalysis data available at 6-h intervals with a resolution of 1.5o x 1.5o in the horizontal and 37 pressure levels. We compare the results against a number of observational datasets, including gridded dataset of CRU, UDEL, TRMM and GPCP. Moreover, available station data is derived from Direccion General de Aguas (DGA) mainly for Central Chile, which is the heartland of Chile with the highest population and important economic activities. The analysis is mainly focused on evaluating the abilities of the RCMs in simulating spatial pattern and ENSO related precipitation variability in different subregions of South America-CORDEX domain. In general, both RCMs have a good skill in reproducing spatial pattern and annual cycle of observed precipitation in climatically different subregions. However, both RCMs tend to underestimate precipitation in the Amazon Basin, which is more pronounced in the HadRM3P simulations. On the contrary, the RCMs tend to overestimate the precipitation over the Andes and southern Chile. The overestimation could be related to the physical core of the RCMs, but the discrepancies could also arise due to insufficient station network, especially in the mountainous areas, potentially yielding smaller precipitation quantities in the observed data than the true ones. In terms of interannual variability, the models capture ENSO related wet and dry interannual precipitation

  11. The Analysis Of Capillary Tube System For Office Buildings In Africa. A Case Study Of Nigerian And Namibian Climate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sulaiman Muhammad kabir

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The change in climate and the rise in energy rates have become a necessary consideration in the construction industry which has made architects and engineers to arise with improved building design concepts. A focus on creating a comfortable indoor climate in office buildings ensures productive working conditions for the users and reduces global warming. Specific climatic design principles are often disregarded when designing to create a comfortable indoor climate. Sustainable design methods in buildings has been replicated from one zone to another zone without adjustments which results to buildings that do not provide adequate comfort. Capillary tube system is used to provide a comfortable indoor climate for office buildings making an interesting use of geothermal energy. This paper aims to explain its principle using geothermal energy and the effect of climate on the use of this system in office buildings in Africa. A case study of Lagos state lying on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean which is challenged with high rise in sea level as a result of global warming in Nigeria and Windhoek in Namibia is to be taken into consideration as the business hub of its country. These regions comprises of many office buildings to facilitate the countries trade internationally and locally.

  12. 41 CFR 109-25.104 - Acquisition of office furniture and office machines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... furniture and office machines. 109-25.104 Section 109-25.104 Public Contracts and Property Management... furniture and office machines. DOE offices and designated contractors shall make the determination as to whether requirements can be met through the utilization of DOE owned furniture and office machines. ...

  13. Pastoors naar de PFA: nieuwe impuls voor samenwerking met de wetenschap (interview met Martin Pastoors)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pastoors, M.A.

    2014-01-01

    De Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association (PFA) heeft visserijonderzoeler Martin Pastoors aangenomen als 'Chief Science Officer'. De afgelopen tien jaar is de PFA zich steeds meer bezig gaan houden met wetenschappelijk onderzoek. Bijvoorbeeld door het ontwikkelen van nieuwe manieren om data te

  14. Now, Here's the Weather Forecast...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Mathew

    2013-01-01

    The Met Office has a long history of weather forecasting, creating tailored weather forecasts for customers across the world. Based in Exeter, the Met Office is also home to the Met Office Hadley Centre, a world-leading centre for the study of climate change and its potential impacts. Climate information from the Met Office Hadley Centre is used…

  15. Percieved control over indoor climate and its impact on Dutch office workers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boerstra, A.C.; Loomans, M.G.L.C.; Hensen, J.L.M.; Loomans, M.G.L.C.; Kulve, te M.

    2015-01-01

    A field study was conducted in nine modern office buildings in the Netherlands. The study focused on perceived control over indoor climate and its impact on satisfaction of building occupants, the incidence of building related (SBS) symptoms and self-assessed performance. The study involved a

  16. Measuring Safety Culture on Ships Using Safety Climate: A Study among Indian Officers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yogendra Bhattacharya

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Workplace safety continues to be an area of concern in the maritime industry due to the international nature of the operations. The effectiveness of extensive legislation to manage shipboard safety remains in doubt. The focus must therefore shift towards the human element - seafarers and their perceptions of safety. The study aims to understand the alignment that exists between safety culture and safety climate on board ships as perceived by seafarers. The underlying factors of safety climate were identified using factor analysis which isolated seven factors - Support on Safety, Organizational Support, Resource Availability, Work Environment, Job Demands, ‘Just’ Culture, and Safety Compliance. The perception of safety level of seafarers was found to be low indicating the existence of misalignments between safety culture values and the actual safety climate. The study also reveals that the safety perceptions of officers employed directly by ship owners and those by managers do not differ significantly, nor do they differ between senior and junior officers. A shift in perspective towards how seafarers themselves feel towards safety might provide more effective solutions – instead of relying on regulations - and indeed aid in reducing incidents on board. This paper details practical suggestions on how to identify the factors that contribute towards a better safety climate on board ships.

  17. Improvement with insight. Healthier indoor climate and lower energy consumption with wireless Sensor networks; Verbeteren met inzicht. Gezonder binnenklimaat en lager energiegebruik met draadloze Sensor netwerken

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peekstok, E.J. [MakeMoreSense, Sommelsdijk (Netherlands)

    2010-11-15

    Wireless Sensor Networks connected to the internet will dramatically influence the future of Indoor Climate and Energy use. Munisense, a Dutch company, has developed a real-time and web-based monitoring tool called InSightNow. With Insight it is possible to improve the environment, often with very simple measures. The majority of things going wrong are caused by human interventions. For example engineers when programming installations and users adjusting settings. Giving people insight in their behaviour via a 'dashboard for buildings', creates awareness and makes it possible to improve. Installers are able to limit failure cost, improve quality of service and contribute to the customers success by limiting sick-leave, improve work performance, reduce energy cost and unused floor space. [Dutch] Het is noodzakelijk om in schoolgebouwen een blijvend gezond binnenklimaat te creeren, want binnenklimaat, ziekteverzuim en leerprestaties hebben volgens wetenschappelijk onderzoek een direct verband met elkaar. Netwerken met draadloze sensors kunnen daar een rol bij spelen.

  18. Method for Cost-Benefit Analysis of Improved Indoor Climate Conditions and Reduced Energy Consumption in Office Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktoras Dorosevas

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Indoor climate affects health and productivity of the occupants in office buildings, yet in many buildings of this type indoor climate conditions are not well-controlled due to insufficient heating or cooling capacity, high swings of external or internal heat loads, improper control or operation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC equipment, etc. However, maintenance of good indoor environmental conditions in buildings requires increased investments and possible higher energy consumption. This paper focuses on the relation between investment costs for retrofitting HVAC equipment as well as decreased energy use and improved performance of occupants in office buildings. The cost-benefit analysis implementation algorithm is presented in this paper, including energy survey of the building, estimation of occupants dissatisfied by key indoor climate indicators using questionnaire survey and measurements. Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS analysis is used in the proposed method for data processing. A case study of an office building is presented in order to introduce an application example of the proposed method. Results of the study verify the applicability of the proposed algorithm and TOPSIS analysis as a practical tool for office building surveys in order to maximize productivity by means of cost efficient technical building retrofitting solutions.

  19. Global climate change: a synopsis of current activities in the Office of Fossil Energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    South, D.W.; Kane, R.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports on the US DOE Office of Fossil Energy investigation and monitoring of several aspects of global climate change as it relates to fossil fuels. The paper consists of the overheads from the presentation. The topics of this paper include greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, scientific uncertainties, legislation and protocols, mitigation strategies and policies, energy and economic impacts, and the role of clean coal technologies and fossil fuels in global climate change

  20. Simulation Study of Performance of Active Ceilings with Phase Change Material in Office Buildings under Extreme Climate Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stefansen, Casper; Farhan, Hajan; Bourdakis, Eleftherios

    2018-01-01

    simulations were run with a building simulation software for eight climates. The chosen climates were Dubai –UAE, Istanbul – Turkey, Lima – Peru, Moscow – Russia, Nuuk – Greenland, Salvador – Brazil, Tokyo – Japan and Tromsø – Norway. Two models of a two-person office were made for each climate; one model...

  1. The effects of climate change on heating energy consumption of office buildings in different climate zones in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Fanchao; Li, Mingcai; Cao, Jingfu; Li, Ji; Xiong, Mingming; Feng, Xiaomei; Ren, Guoyu

    2017-06-01

    Climate plays an important role in heating energy consumption owing to the direct relationship between space heating and changes in meteorological conditions. To quantify the impact, the Transient System Simulation Program software was used to simulate the heating loads of office buildings in Harbin, Tianjin, and Shanghai, representing three major climate zones (i.e., severe cold, cold, and hot summer and cold winter climate zones) in China during 1961-2010. Stepwise multiple linear regression was performed to determine the key climatic parameters influencing heating energy consumption. The results showed that dry bulb temperature (DBT) is the dominant climatic parameter affecting building heating loads in all three climate zones across China during the heating period at daily, monthly, and yearly scales (R 2 ≥ 0.86). With the continuous warming climate in winter over the past 50 years, heating loads decreased by 14.2, 7.2, and 7.1 W/m2 in Harbin, Tianjin, and Shanghai, respectively, indicating that the decreasing rate is more apparent in severe cold climate zone. When the DBT increases by 1 °C, the heating loads decrease by 253.1 W/m2 in Harbin, 177.2 W/m2 in Tianjin, and 126.4 W/m2 in Shanghai. These results suggest that the heating energy consumption can be well predicted by the regression models at different temporal scales in different climate conditions owing to the high determination coefficients. In addition, a greater decrease in heating energy consumption in northern severe cold and cold climate zones may efficiently promote the energy saving in these areas with high energy consumption for heating. Particularly, the likely future increase in temperatures should be considered in improving building energy efficiency.

  2. Potential climate change impacts and the BLM Rio Puerco field office's transportation system : a technical report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-01

    This report provides information about potential climate change impacts in central New Mexico and their possible implications for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rio Puerco Field Office (RPFO) transportation network. The report considers existing...

  3. Evaluating Thermal Comfort in a Naturally Conditioned Office in a Temperate Climate Zone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Gallardo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to determine the optimal approach for evaluating thermal comfort in an office that uses natural ventilation as the main conditioning strategy; the office is located in Quito-Ecuador. The performance of the adaptive model included in CEN Standard EN15251 and the traditional PMV model are compared with reports of thermal environment satisfaction surveys presented simultaneously to all occupants of the office to determine which of the two comfort models is most suitable to evaluate the thermal environment. The results indicate that office occupants have developed some degree of adaptation to the climatic conditions of the city where the office is located (which only demands heating operation, and tend to accept and even prefer lower operative temperatures than those considered optimum by applying the PMV model. This is an indication that occupants of naturally conditioned buildings are usually able to match their comfort temperature to their normal environment. Therefore, the application of the adaptive model included in CEN Standard EN15251 seems like the optimal approach for evaluating thermal comfort in naturally conditioned buildings, because it takes into consideration the adaptive principle that indicates that if a change occurs such as to produce discomfort, people tend to react in ways which restore their comfort.

  4. Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosch, Marije; Dijkstra, Rob; Wensing, Michel; van der Weijden, Trudy; Grol, Richard

    2008-08-21

    Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from 83 health care professionals involved in diabetes care from 30 primary care practices in the Netherlands, with a total of 752 diabetes mellitus type II patients participating in an improvement study. We used self-reported measures of team climate (Team Climate Inventory) and organizational culture (Competing Values Framework), and measures of quality of diabetes care and clinical patient characteristics from medical records and self-report. We conducted multivariate analyses of the relationship between culture, climate and HbA1c, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and a sum score on process indicators for the quality of diabetes care, adjusting for potential patient- and practice level confounders and practice-level clustering. A strong group culture was negatively associated to the quality of diabetes care provided to patients (beta = -0.04; p = 0.04), whereas a more 'balanced culture' was positively associated to diabetes care quality (beta = 5.97; p = 0.03). No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate and clinical patient outcomes. Although some significant associations were found between high quality diabetes care in general practice and different organizational cultures, relations were rather marginal. Variation in clinical patient outcomes could not be attributed to organizational culture or teamwork. This study therefore contributes to the discussion about the legitimacy of the widespread idea that aspects of redesigning care such as teamwork and culture

  5. Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van der Weijden Trudy

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. Methods We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from 83 health care professionals involved in diabetes care from 30 primary care practices in the Netherlands, with a total of 752 diabetes mellitus type II patients participating in an improvement study. We used self-reported measures of team climate (Team Climate Inventory and organizational culture (Competing Values Framework, and measures of quality of diabetes care and clinical patient characteristics from medical records and self-report. We conducted multivariate analyses of the relationship between culture, climate and HbA1c, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and a sum score on process indicators for the quality of diabetes care, adjusting for potential patient- and practice level confounders and practice-level clustering. Results A strong group culture was negatively associated to the quality of diabetes care provided to patients (β = -0.04; p = 0.04, whereas a more 'balanced culture' was positively associated to diabetes care quality (β = 5.97; p = 0.03. No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate and clinical patient outcomes. Conclusion Although some significant associations were found between high quality diabetes care in general practice and different organizational cultures, relations were rather marginal. Variation in clinical patient outcomes could not be attributed to organizational culture or teamwork. This study therefore contributes to the discussion about the legitimacy of the widespread idea

  6. Relationships between ethical climate, political behavior, ethical leadership, and job satisfaction of operational officers in a wholesale company, Bangkok Metropolitan region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patthiya Naiyananont

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This research investigated whether the ethical climate, political behavior, ethical leadership, and job satisfaction in one organization have an impact on each other. The research was conducted using a selected group of 177 operational officers in a wholesale business company in the Bangkok Metropolitan region. The operational officers were recruited from four divisions (commercial, finance, marketing, and administration using a stratified random sampling approach. The majority was female and the participants' average age was 32 years. The instrument used was a designed questionnaire divided into five sections and consisting of checklists, opened-end questions, and rating scales. The data were analyzed statistically using percentages, means, standard deviations, Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, and multiple regression analyses. The results showed that the operational officers in the wholesale business company had a high level of overall ethical climate, a low level of overall political behavior, and moderate levels of overall ethical leadership and overall job satisfaction. The ethical climate and ethical leadership were positively correlated with job satisfaction. The multiple regression analyses method also confirmed that the ethical climate, political behavior, and ethical leadership constructively had significant predictive ability regarding job satisfaction.

  7. The treatment of climate science in Integrated Assessment Modelling: integration of climate step function response in an energy system integrated assessment model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dessens, Olivier

    2016-04-01

    Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) are used as crucial inputs to policy-making on climate change. These models simulate aspect of the economy and climate system to deliver future projections and to explore the impact of mitigation and adaptation policies. The IAMs' climate representation is extremely important as it can have great influence on future political action. The step-function-response is a simple climate model recently developed by the UK Met Office and is an alternate method of estimating the climate response to an emission trajectory directly from global climate model step simulations. Good et al., (2013) have formulated a method of reconstructing general circulation models (GCMs) climate response to emission trajectories through an idealized experiment. This method is called the "step-response approach" after and is based on an idealized abrupt CO2 step experiment results. TIAM-UCL is a technology-rich model that belongs to the family of, partial-equilibrium, bottom-up models, developed at University College London to represent a wide spectrum of energy systems in 16 regions of the globe (Anandarajah et al. 2011). The model uses optimisation functions to obtain cost-efficient solutions, in meeting an exogenously defined set of energy-service demands, given certain technological and environmental constraints. Furthermore, it employs linear programming techniques making the step function representation of the climate change response adapted to the model mathematical formulation. For the first time, we have introduced the "step-response approach" method developed at the UK Met Office in an IAM, the TIAM-UCL energy system, and we investigate the main consequences of this modification on the results of the model in term of climate and energy system responses. The main advantage of this approach (apart from the low computational cost it entails) is that its results are directly traceable to the GCM involved and closely connected to well-known methods of

  8. Seasonal and decadal information towards climate services: EUPORIAS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buontempo, Carlo; Hewitt, Chris

    2013-04-01

    Societies have always faced challenges and opportunities arising from variations in climate, and have often flourished or collapsed depending on their ability to adapt to such changes. Recent advances in our understanding and ability to forecast climate variability and climate change have meant that skilful predictions are beginning to be routinely made on seasonal to decadal (s2d) timescales. Such forecasts have the potential to be of great value to a wide range of decision-making, where outcomes are strongly influenced by variations in the climate. The European Commission have recently commissioned a major four year long project (EUPORIAS) to develop prototype end-to-end climate impact prediction services operating on a seasonal to decadal timescale, and assess their value in informing decision-making. EUPORIAS commenced on 1 November 2012, coordinated by the UK Met Office leading a consortium of 24 organisations representing world-class European climate research and climate service centres, expertise in impacts assessments and seasonal predictions, two United Nations agencies, specialists in new media, and commercial companies in climate-vulnerable sectors such as energy, water and tourism. The paper describes the setup of the project, its main outcome and some of the very preliminary results.

  9. 34 CFR 692.101 - What requirements must be met by a State partnership?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What requirements must be met by a State partnership...) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LEVERAGING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PARTNERSHIP... What requirements must be met by a State partnership? (a) State. A State that is receiving an allotment...

  10. Exoplanet modelling with the Met Office Unified Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutle, Ian; Lines, Stefan; Mayne, Nathan; Lee, Graham; Helling, Christiane; Drummond, Ben; Manners, James; Goyal, Jayesh; Lambert, Hugo; Acreman, David; Earnshaw, Paul; Amundsen, David; Baraffe, Isabelle

    2017-04-01

    This talk will present an overview of work being done to adapt the Unified Model, one of the most sophisticated weather and climate models of this planet, into a flexible planet simulator for use in the study of any exoplanet. We will focus on two current projects: Clouds in hot Jupiter atmospheres - recent HST observations have revealed a continuum in atmospheric composition from cloudy to clear skies. The presence of clouds is inferred from a grey opacity in the near-IR that mutes key absorption features in the transmission spectra. Unlike the L-T Brown Dwarf sequence, this transition does not correlate well with equilibrium temperature, suggesting that a cloud formation scheme more comprehensive than simply considering the condensation temperature needed for homogenous cloud growth, is required. In our work, we conduct 3D simulations of cloud nucleation, growth, advection, evaporation and gravitational settling in the atmospheres of HD209458b and HD189733 using the kinetic and mixed-grain cloud formation code DIHRT, coupled to the Unified Model. We explore cloud composition, vertical structure and particle sizes, as well as highlighting the importance of the strong atmospheric dynamics seen in tidally locked hot Jupiters on the evolution and distribution of the cloud. Climate of Proxima B - we present results of simulations of the climate of the newly discovered planet Proxima Centauri B, examining the responses of both an `Earth-like' atmosphere and simplified nitrogen and trace carbon dioxide atmosphere to the radiation likely received. Overall, our results are in agreement with previous studies in suggesting Proxima Centauri B may well have surface temperatures conducive to the presence of liquid water. Moreover, we have expanded the parameter regime over which the planet may support liquid water to higher values of eccentricity and lower incident fluxes, guided by observational constraints. This increased parameter space arises because of the low sensitivity

  11. INFLUENCE OF TRAINING SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP AND CLIMATE OF WORKING ON THE EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE IN OFFICE EDUCATION PROVINCE OF LAMPUNG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Patimah

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The leadership and the atmosphere in the working environment within the organization as a manager and leader of an organization have a very big role in creating a conducive and innovative working environment. Therefore, this study investigates leadership and working climate influencing on employee performance of Lampung Provincial Education Office. It uses a quantitative approach and descriptive survey method. Based on data analysis, the results are as follows: first, in general the results of data analysis showed that the leadership, the climate of employee and employee performance Education Office of Lampung Province is categorised as middle/enough, it means that the leadership, work climate and employee performance still need to be improved. Based on the results it can be argued that in order to improve the performance of employees can be done through visionary leadership, hard work, perseverance, steel service and discipline as well as to create a conducive working environment.

  12. The MeteoMet2 project—highlights and results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merlone, A.; Sanna, F.; Beges, G.; Bell, S.; Beltramino, G.; Bojkovski, J.; Brunet, M.; del Campo, D.; Castrillo, A.; Chiodo, N.; Colli, M.; Coppa, G.; Cuccaro, R.; Dobre, M.; Drnovsek, J.; Ebert, V.; Fernicola, V.; Garcia-Benadí, A.; Garcia-Izquierdo, C.; Gardiner, T.; Georgin, E.; Gonzalez, A.; Groselj, D.; Heinonen, M.; Hernandez, S.; Högström, R.; Hudoklin, D.; Kalemci, M.; Kowal, A.; Lanza, L.; Miao, P.; Musacchio, C.; Nielsen, J.; Nogueras-Cervera, M.; Oguz Aytekin, S.; Pavlasek, P.; de Podesta, M.; Rasmussen, M. K.; del-Río-Fernández, J.; Rosso, L.; Sairanen, H.; Salminen, J.; Sestan, D.; Šindelářová, L.; Smorgon, D.; Sparasci, F.; Strnad, R.; Underwood, R.; Uytun, A.; Voldan, M.

    2018-02-01

    Launched in 2011 within the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) of EURAMET, the joint research project ‘MeteoMet’—Metrology for Meteorology—is the largest EMRP consortium; national metrology institutes, universities, meteorological and climate agencies, research institutes, collaborators and manufacturers are working together, developing new metrological techniques, as well as improving existing ones, for use in meteorological observations and climate records. The project focuses on humidity in the upper and surface atmosphere, air temperature, surface and deep-sea temperatures, soil moisture, salinity, permafrost temperature, precipitation, and the snow albedo effect on air temperature. All tasks are performed using a rigorous metrological approach and include the design and study of new sensors, new calibration facilities, the investigation of sensor characteristics, improved techniques for measurements of essential climate variables with uncertainty evaluation, traceability, laboratory proficiency and the inclusion of field influencing parameters, long-lasting measurements, and campaigns in remote and extreme areas. The vision for MeteoMet is to take a step further towards establishing full data comparability, coherency, consistency, and long-term continuity, through a comprehensive evaluation of the measurement uncertainties for the quantities involved in the global climate observing systems and the derived observations. The improvement in quality of essential climate variables records, through the inclusion of measurement uncertainty budgets, will also highlight possible strategies for the reduction of the uncertainty. This contribution presents selected highlights of the MeteoMet project and reviews the main ongoing activities, tasks and deliverables, with a view to its possible future evolution and extended impact.

  13. The SAO and Kelvin waves in the EuroGRIPS GCMS and the UK Met. Office analyses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Amodei

    Full Text Available We compare the tropical oscillations and planetary scale Kelvin waves in four troposphere-stratosphere climate models and the assimilated dataset produced by the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO. The comparison has been made in the GRIPS framework "GCM-Reality Intercomparison Project for SPARC", where SPARC is Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate, a project of the World Climate Research Program. The four models evaluated are European members of GRIPS: the UKMO Unified Model (UM, the model of the Free University in Berlin (FUB–GCM, the ARPEGE-climat model of the French National Centre for Meteorological Research (CNRM, and the Extended UGAMP GCM (EUGCM of the Centre for Global Atmospheric Modelling (CGAM. The integrations were performed with different, but annually periodic external conditions (e.g., sea-surface temperature, sea ice, and incoming solar radiation. The structure of the tropical winds and the strengths of the Kelvin waves are examined. In the analyses where the SAO (Semi-Annual Oscillation and the QBO (Quasi-Biennal Oscillation are reasonably well captured, the amplitude of these analysed Kelvin waves is close to that observed in independent data from UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. In agreement with observations, the Kelvin waves generated in the models propagate into the middle atmosphere as wave packets, consistent with a convective forcing origin. In three of the models, slow Kelvin waves propagate too high and their amplitudes are overestimated in the upper stratosphere and in the mesosphere, the exception is the UM which has weaker waves. None of the modelled waves are sufficient to force realistic eastward phases of the QBO or SAO. Although the SAO is represented by all models, only two of them are able to generate westerlies between 10 hPa and 50 hPa. The importance of the role played in the SAO by unresolved gravity waves is emphasized. Although it exhibits some unrealistic features, the

  14. The SAO and Kelvin waves in the EuroGRIPS GCMS and the UK Met. Office analyses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Amodei

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available We compare the tropical oscillations and planetary scale Kelvin waves in four troposphere-stratosphere climate models and the assimilated dataset produced by the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO. The comparison has been made in the GRIPS framework "GCM-Reality Intercomparison Project for SPARC", where SPARC is Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate, a project of the World Climate Research Program. The four models evaluated are European members of GRIPS: the UKMO Unified Model (UM, the model of the Free University in Berlin (FUB–GCM, the ARPEGE-climat model of the French National Centre for Meteorological Research (CNRM, and the Extended UGAMP GCM (EUGCM of the Centre for Global Atmospheric Modelling (CGAM. The integrations were performed with different, but annually periodic external conditions (e.g., sea-surface temperature, sea ice, and incoming solar radiation. The structure of the tropical winds and the strengths of the Kelvin waves are examined. In the analyses where the SAO (Semi-Annual Oscillation and the QBO (Quasi-Biennal Oscillation are reasonably well captured, the amplitude of these analysed Kelvin waves is close to that observed in independent data from UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. In agreement with observations, the Kelvin waves generated in the models propagate into the middle atmosphere as wave packets, consistent with a convective forcing origin. In three of the models, slow Kelvin waves propagate too high and their amplitudes are overestimated in the upper stratosphere and in the mesosphere, the exception is the UM which has weaker waves. None of the modelled waves are sufficient to force realistic eastward phases of the QBO or SAO. Although the SAO is represented by all models, only two of them are able to generate westerlies between 10 hPa and 50 hPa. The importance of the role played in the SAO by unresolved gravity waves is emphasized. Although it exhibits some unrealistic features, the

  15. Solar hybrid cooling system for high-tech offices in subtropical climate - Radiant cooling by absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fong, K.F.; Chow, T.T.; Lee, C.K.; Lin, Z.; Chan, L.S.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → A solar hybrid cooling system is proposed for high-tech offices in subtropical climate. → An integration of radiant cooling, absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification. → Year-round cooling and energy performances were evaluated through dynamic simulation. → Its annual primary energy consumption was lower than conventional system up to 36.5%. → The passive chilled beams were more energy-efficient than the active chilled beams. - Abstract: A solar hybrid cooling design is proposed for high cooling load demand in hot and humid climate. For the typical building cooling load, the system can handle the zone cooling load (mainly sensible) by radiant cooling with the chilled water from absorption refrigeration, while the ventilation load (largely latent) by desiccant dehumidification. This hybrid system utilizes solar energy for driving the absorption chiller and regenerating the desiccant wheel. Since a high chilled water temperature generated from the absorption chiller is not effective to handle the required latent load, desiccant dehumidification is therefore involved. It is an integration of radiant cooling, absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification, which are powered up by solar energy. In this study, the application potential of the solar hybrid cooling system was evaluated for the high-tech offices in the subtropical climate through dynamic simulation. The high-tech offices are featured with relatively high internal sensible heat gains due to the intensive office electric equipment. The key performance indicators included the solar fraction and the primary energy consumption. Comparative study was also carried out for the solar hybrid cooling system using two common types of chilled ceilings, the passive chilled beams and active chilled beams. It was found that the solar hybrid cooling system was technically feasible for the applications of relatively higher cooling load demand. The annual primary energy

  16. Climate Services for Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunby, M.; Bhaskaran, B.; Buontempo, C.; Willett, K.

    2010-09-01

    Working to improve the lives of the poorest people in the world is a huge challenge that has cost 2.3 trillion over the last 50 years. The work is far from done. Now there is also the challenge of adapting to changes in climate that threaten the very land on which the poorest live and work. There can be no simple plan to solve these problems, but those with information, knowledge or skills that could make a difference have a vital role to play. In this presentation we explore recent developments in communications technologies, the use of these technologies in assisting development in poorer countries, and how "open data" is enabling the rapid flow of information to those who need it most. Examples of recent Met Office projects and collaborations illustrate challenges faced and technical approaches already available. We pay particular attention to "feedback" - gathering information from end users throughout the entire lifetime of a service in order to best allocate resources and make rapid improvements in the quality, reach and benefits of climate services.

  17. Energy and cost associated with ventilating office buildings in a tropical climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rim, Donghyun; Schiavon, Stefano; Nazaroff, William W

    2015-01-01

    Providing sufficient amounts of outdoor air to occupants is a critical building function for supporting occupant health, well-being and productivity. In tropical climates, high ventilation rates require substantial amounts of energy to cool and dehumidify supply air. This study evaluates the energy consumption and associated cost for thermally conditioning outdoor air provided for building ventilation in tropical climates, considering Singapore as an example locale. We investigated the influence on energy consumption and cost of the following factors: outdoor air temperature and humidity, ventilation rate (L/s per person), indoor air temperature and humidity, air conditioning system coefficient of performance (COP), and cost of electricity. Results show that dehumidification of outdoor air accounts for more than 80% of the energy needed for building ventilation in Singapore's tropical climate. Improved system performance and/or a small increase in the indoor temperature set point would permit relatively large ventilation rates (such as 25 L/s per person) at modest or no cost increment. Overall, even in a thermally demanding tropical climate, the energy cost associated with increasing ventilation rate up to 25 L/s per person is less than 1% of the wages of an office worker in an advanced economy like Singapore's. This result implies that the benefits of increasing outdoor air ventilation rate up to 25 L/s per person--which is suggested to provide for productivity increases, lower sick building syndrome symptom prevalence, and reduced sick leave--can be much larger than the incremental cost of ventilation.

  18. Regional climate service in Southern Germany

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schipper, Janus; Hackenbruch, Julia

    2013-04-01

    Climate change challenges science, politics, business and society at the international, national and regional level. The South German Climate Office at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a contact for the structuring and dissemination of information on climate and climate change in the South German region. It provides scientifically based and user-oriented climate information. Thereby it builds a bridge between the climate sciences and society and provides scientific information on climate change in an understandable way. The expertise of KIT, in which several institutions operate on fundamental and applied climate research, and of partner institutions is the basis for the work in the climate office. The regional focus is on the south of Germany. Thematic focuses are e.g. regional climate modeling, trends in extreme weather events such as heavy rain and hail event, and issues for energy and water management. The South German Climate Office is one of four Regional Helmholtz Climate Offices, of which each has a regional and thematic focus. The users of the Climate Office can be summarized into three categories. First, there is the general public. This category consists mainly of non-professionals. Here, special attention is on an understandable translation of climate information. Attention is paid to application-related aspects, because each individual is affected in a different way by climate change. Typical examples of this category are school groups, citizens and the media. The second category consists of experts of other disciplines. Unlike the first category they are mainly interested in the exchange of results and data. It is important to the climate office to provide support for the use of climatological results. Typical representatives of this category are ministries, state offices, and companies. In the third and final category are scientists. In addition to the climatologists, this category also holds representatives from other scientific

  19. The right indoor climate. In monuments with a museum function; Het verantwoorde binnenklimaat. In monumenten met een museal functie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schellen, H.L.; Ankersmit, B. [Faculteit Bouwkunde, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven TUE, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Neuhaus, E. [Afdeling Onderzoek, Instituut Collectie Nederland ICN, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Martens, M. [Ingenieursbureau PHYSITEC, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

    2008-06-15

    Establishing a museum quality indoor climate for the preservation of a collection which is housed in a historic building is sometimes in conflict with the need to preserve the building itself. This article illustrates the dilemma referencing four examples from important museums. New Dutch guidelines have been issued for museum climate conditions. They aim to do justice both to preservation of the collection and preservation of the (historic) building. The new guidelines return to the source: the relation between relative humidity and temperature, and the damage that may occur to objects. It presents a four-step plan to help a collection manager select absolute values for an appropriate indoor climate. [Dutch] De realisatie van een museaal binnenklimaat voor het behoud van een collectie in oude gebouwen staat op gespannen voet met het behoud van het monumentale gebouw. Aan de hand van vier voorbeelden van toonaangevende musea wordt dit geillustreerd. In Nederland worden nieuwe richtlijnen voor het museale binnenklimaat opgesteld, die zowel recht proberen te doen aan het behoud van de collectie als het (monumentale) gebouw waarin het museum is gehuisvest. De nieuwe richtlijn gaat terug naar de bron: de relatie tussen de relatieve vochtigheid en temperatuur en de schade aan objecten. Een vier stappen plan wordt aangereikt om een collectiemanager te laten komen tot een keuze van absolute waarden voor een verantwoord binnenklimaat.

  20. You need to do everything with tact. Climatic change and the relation between science and the government; Je moet alles met beleid doen. Klimaatverandering en de relatie tussen wetenschap en overheid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bregman, B.

    2011-12-15

    The author discusses the challenges in the field of climate change and climate science by means of a number of central themes in the relation between science and government: dealing with uncertainties, communication, knowledge management, the credibility of climate science and the role of social media [Dutch] De auteur bespreekt de uitdagingen m.b.t. klimaatbeleid en de klimaatwetenschap aan de hand van thema’s die centraal staan in de relatie tussen wetenschap en overheid: het omgaan met onzekerheden, communicatie, kennismanagement, de geloofwaardigheid van de klimaatwetenschap en de rol van sociale media.

  1. Building with green and glass. Innovations in the horticulture for living and working; Bouwen met groen en glas. Innovaties uit de glastuinbouw voor wonen en werken

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bergs, J.; Ter Haar, H.; Huisman, S.; Kristinsson, J.; Kruseman, I.; Oei, P.

    2007-07-01

    New technologies and insights from greenhouses, space technology and psychology are used for innovative applications in the building sector. Use is made of daylight, solar heat and vegetation. Architects can thus realize a clean, healthy and comfortable indoor climate in houses, school buildings, offices, health care centers, and also reduce the consumption of energy for cooling and heating. In particular attention is paid to the use of glass. [Dutch] Glastuinbouw, ruimtevaart en psychologie. Drie boeiende vakgebieden die op het eerste gezicht weinig met elkaar te maken hebben. Bouwen met groen en glas bewijst het tegendeel door gebruik te maken van nieuwe technieken en inzichten uit deze vakgebieden. Het concept maakt optimaal gebruik van daglicht, zonnewarmte en de weldaad van groen. Het toont de vele mogelijkheden die architecten met groen en glas kunnen aanboren. Waarom zou een architect dat doen? Omdat Bouwen met groen en glas de kern raakt van een uiterst actueel en tevens tijdloos thema: een schoon, gezond en prettig binnenklimaat in woningen, scholen, kantoren en zorginstellingen, gecombineerd met een substantieel lager energieverbruik voor koelen en verwarmen. Nieuwe technieken uit de glastuinbouw bieden nieuwe oplossingen. Bijvoorbeeld, in de zomer warmte oogsten en opslaan om die in de winter weer aan te boren. Veel glas stimuleert ook de toepassing van groen. Planten zijn meer dan versiering. Ze reinigen de lucht, zorgen voor bevochtiging en bieden mensen aangename omstandigheden om in te leren en te werken. Bouwen met groen en glas pleit dan ook voor gebouwen met een eigen ecosysteem, met planten als integraal onderdeel van het gebouw en de technische installaties.

  2. Sustainable newly built UPC office in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Use of surface water for cooling call centre and office building; Duurzame nieuwbouw UPC Leeuwarden. Oppervlaktewater voor koeling callcenter en kantoor ingezet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Groot-D' hondt, E. [Wolter en Dros, Amersfoort (Netherlands)

    2010-10-15

    The municipality of Leeuwarden, Netherlands, and the cable company UPC Netherlands signed contracts for the construction of the UPC headquarters in Leeuwarden, March 2010. The building of the 'greenest' Green Office of the Netherlands, started in June 2010 and is expected to be finalized the end of 2011. Use is made of surface water, rain, heat and cold storage in combination with a heat pump and low temperature systems, such as climate ceilings and floor heating, green roofs, natural insulation, and photovoltaic cells. [Dutch] De gemeente Leeuwarden en UPC Nederland ondertekenden 17 maart 2010 de contracten voor de nieuwbouw van het UPC-hoofdkantoor in Leeuwarden. De bouw van het 'groenste' Green Office van Nederland, startte in juni 2010 en wordt naar verwachting eind 2011 opgeleverd. Er wordt gebruik gemaakt van oppervlaktewater, regenwater, warmte- en koudeopslag in combinatie met een warmtepomp en lage temperatuursystemen, zoals klimaatplafonds en vloerverwarming, groene daken , natuurlijke isolatie, en photovoltaische cellen.

  3. The Mars Pathfinder atmospheric structure investigation/meteorology (ASI/MET) experiment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schofield, J.T.; Barnes, J.R.; Crisp, D.

    1997-01-01

    The Mars Pathfinder atmospheric structure investigation/meteorology (ASI/MET) experiment measured the vertical density, pressure, and temperature structure of the martian atmosphere from the surface to 160 km, and monitored surface meteorology and climate for 83 sols (1 sol = 1 martian day = 24...

  4. Relationships between ethical climate, political behavior, ethical leadership, and job satisfaction of operational officers in a wholesale company, Bangkok Metropolitan region

    OpenAIRE

    Patthiya Naiyananont; Thipthinna Smuthranond

    2017-01-01

    This research investigated whether the ethical climate, political behavior, ethical leadership, and job satisfaction in one organization have an impact on each other. The research was conducted using a selected group of 177 operational officers in a wholesale business company in the Bangkok Metropolitan region. The operational officers were recruited from four divisions (commercial, finance, marketing, and administration) using a stratified random sampling approach. The majority was female an...

  5. Data Quality Assessment of FY-3C MWRI Microwave Imager from CMA, ECMWF and the Met Office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Q.; WU, S.; Dou, F.; Sun, F.; Lawrence, H.; Geer, A.; English, S.; Newman, S.; Bell, W.; Bormann, N.; Carminati, F.

    2017-12-01

    MWRI is a conical-scanning microwave imager following on from the heritage of similar instruments such as SSMI/S and AMSR-2, with ten channels at frequencies between 10.65 GHz and 89 GHz. MWRI is flown on the China Meteorological Administration's (CMA's) Feng-Yun-3 (FY-3) satellite series, including on FY-3C and the upcoming FY-3D, scheduled for launch in September 2017. Here we present an evaluation of the data from MWRI on the FY-3C satellite launched in 2013. At CMA, the MWRI instrumental parameters and statistics between observation and simulation from RTTOV and CRTM radiative transfer modeling were monitored to characterise instrumental uncertainty from calibration and assess the data quality. The data were also assessed using model-equivalent brightness temperatures from the ECMWF and Met Office short-range forecasts. The forecasts were first transformed into brightness temperature space using the RTTOV radiative transfer code. By analysing observed minus model background ("O-B") brightness temperature departures we were able to investigate the instrument and geophysical state dependence of biases. We show examples of how biases can impact the data quality, related to ascending/descending node differences and radio frequency interference. We discuss the prospects of assimilation of MWRI data at NWP centres.

  6. Electricity use characteristics of purpose-built office buildings in subtropical climates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lam, Joseph C.; Chan, Ricky Y.C.; Tsang, C.L.; Li, Danny H.W.

    2004-01-01

    The electricity use characteristics of 20 air conditioned office buildings in the public sector in subtropical Hong Kong were investigated. Monthly electricity consumption data were gathered and analysed. The annual electricity use per unit gross floor area ranged from 163 to 389 kW h/m 2 , with a mean of 270 kW h/m 2 . Detailed energy audits and site surveys were conducted to obtain a breakdown of the energy use. The percentage consumption for the four major electricity end users, namely heating, ventilation and air conditioning, lighting, electrical equipment and lifts and escalators were 47.5%, 27.4%, 21.8% and 3.3%, respectively. Regression techniques were used to correlate the monthly electricity use with the design and climatic variables. This paper presents the work and discusses the energy use implications

  7. In a warming climate, just how predictable are temperature extremes at weather and seasonal time scales?

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Landman, WA

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available stream_source_info Landman7_2011.pdf.txt stream_content_type text/plain stream_size 3538 Content-Encoding ISO-8859-1 stream_name Landman7_2011.pdf.txt Content-Type text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 In a warming climate... at UK Met Office N9 members SA Japan UKUSA USA Brazil* SA SASA * IBSA-Ocean In use Near future Far future VCM/UTCM ENSEMBLES Strong anthropogenically forced warming trends have been observed over southern Africa and are projected...

  8. Evaluation of stratocumulus cloud prediction in the Met Office forecast model during VOCALS-REx

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. J. Abel

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Observations in the subtropical southeast Pacific obtained during the VOCALS-REx field experiment are used to evaluate the representation of stratocumulus cloud in the Met Office forecast model and to identify key areas where model biases exist. Marked variations in the large scale structure of the cloud field were observed during the experiment on both day-to-day and on diurnal timescales. In the remote maritime region the model is shown to have a good representation of synoptically induced variability in both cloud cover and marine boundary layer depth. Satellite observations show a strong diurnal cycle in cloud fraction and liquid water path in the stratocumulus with enhanced clearances of the cloud deck along the Chilean and Peruvian coasts on certain days. The model accurately simulates the phase of the diurnal cycle but is unable to capture the coastal clearing of cloud. Observations along the 20° S latitude line show a gradual increase in the depth of the boundary layer away from the coast. This trend is well captured by the model (typical low bias of 200 m although significant errors exist at the coast where the model marine boundary layer is too shallow and moist. Drizzle in the model responds to changes in liquid water path in a manner that is consistent with previous ship-borne observations in the region although the intensity of this drizzle is likely to be too high, particularly in the more polluted coastal region where higher cloud droplet number concentrations are typical. Another mode of variability in the cloud field that the model is unable to capture are regions of pockets of open cellular convection embedded in the overcast stratocumulus deck and an example of such a feature that was sampled during VOCALS-REx is shown.

  9. MetHumi - Humidity Device for Mars MetNet Lander

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genzer, Maria; Polkko, Jouni; Harri, Ari-Matti; Schmidt, Walter; Leinonen, Jussi; Mäkinen, Teemu; Haukka, Harri

    2010-05-01

    MetNet Mars Mission focused for Martian atmospheric science is based on a new semihard landing vehicle called the MetNet Lander (MNL). The MNL will have a versatile science payload focused on the atmospheric science of Mars. The scientific payload of the MetNet Mission encompasses separate instrument packages for the atmospheric entry and descent phase and for the surface operation phase. MetHumi is the humidity sensor of MetNet Lander designed to work on Martian surface. It is based on Humicap® technology developed by Vaisala, Inc. MetHumi is a capacitive type of sensing device where an active polymer film changes capacitance as function of relative humidity. One MetHumi device package consists of one humidity transducer including three Humicap® sensor heads, an accurate temperature sensor head (Thermocap® by Vaisala, Inc.) and constant reference channels. MetHumi is very small, lightweighed and has low power consumption. It weighs only about 15 g without wires, and consumes 15 mW of power. MetHumi can make meaningful relative humidity measurements in range of 0 - 100%RH down to -70°C ambient temperature, but it survives even -135°C ambient temperature.

  10. Met kerse op met -konstruksies 1 : 'n Verwysingspuntperspektief ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Met kerse op met-konstruksies1: 'n Verwysingspuntperspektief. Johanna Messerschmidt, Luna Bergh. Abstract. This article analyses the usage of the Afrikaans preposition met ('with'). The analysis is done within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics and more specifically within the model proposed by Langacker (1993) ...

  11. Simulating Climate Change in Ireland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolan, P.; Lynch, P.

    2012-04-01

    At the Meteorology & Climate Centre at University College Dublin, we are using the CLM-Community's COSMO-CLM Regional Climate Model (RCM) and the WRF RCM (developed at NCAR) to simulate the climate of Ireland at high spatial resolution. To address the issue of model uncertainty, a Multi-Model Ensemble (MME) approach is used. The ensemble method uses different RCMs, driven by several Global Climate Models (GCMs), to simulate climate change. Through the MME approach, the uncertainty in the RCM projections is quantified, enabling us to estimate the probability density function of predicted changes, and providing a measure of confidence in the predictions. The RCMs were validated by performing a 20-year simulation of the Irish climate (1981-2000), driven by ECMWF ERA-40 global re-analysis data, and comparing the output to observations. Results confirm that the output of the RCMs exhibit reasonable and realistic features as documented in the historical data record. Projections for the future Irish climate were generated by downscaling the Max Planck Institute's ECHAM5 GCM, the UK Met Office HadGEM2-ES GCM and the CGCM3.1 GCM from the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling. Simulations were run for a reference period 1961-2000 and future period 2021-2060. The future climate was simulated using the A1B, A2, B1, RCP 4.5 & RCP 8.5 greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Results for the downscaled simulations show a substantial overall increase in precipitation and wind speed for the future winter months and a decrease during the summer months. The predicted annual change in temperature is approximately 1.1°C over Ireland. To date, all RCM projections are in general agreement, thus increasing our confidence in the robustness of the results.

  12. Glazed yard climate in the Kredittkassen office block in Middelthunsgt. 17. [Oslo, Norway]. Glassgaardsklima i Kredittkassens kontorbygg i Middelthunsgt. 17

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Novakovic, V; Harsem, T T

    1986-09-01

    The report deals with the glazed yard climate in the Kredittkassen head office block in Oslo (Norway). The climate has been simulated by means of the computer program Royal-DEBAK. Considered in particular are the summery and bright sunny day conditions together with the annual power required and energy consumption. The use of insulating glasses, indoor curtains, ventilation systems in the narrow zone of the glass roof, and cooling systems in the floor are important parts of the concept. 9 drawings.

  13. MetBaro - Pressure Device for Mars MetNet Lander

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haukka, Harri; Polkko, Jouni; Harri, Ari-Matti; Schmidt, Walter; Leinonen, Jussi; Genzer, Maria; Mäkinen, Teemu

    2010-05-01

    MetNet Mars Mission focused for Martian atmospheric science is based on a new semihard landing vehicle called the MetNet Lander (MNL). The MNL will have a versatile science payload focused on the atmospheric science of Mars. The scientific payload of the MetNet Mission encompasses separate instrument packages for the atmospheric entry and descent phase and for the surface operation phase. MetBaro is the pressure sensor of MetNet Lander designed to work on Martian surface. It is based on Barocap® technology developed by Vaisala, Inc. MetBaro is a capacitive type of sensing device where capasitor plates are moved by ambient pressure. MetBaro device consists of two pressure transducers including a total of 4 Barocap® sensor heads of high-stability and high-resolution types. The long-term stability of MetBaro is in order of 20…50 µBar and resolution a few µBar. MetBaro is small, lightweighed and has low power consumption. It weighs about 50g without wires and controlling FPGA, and consumes 15 mW of power. A similar device has successfully flown in Phoenix mission, where it performed months of measurements on Martian ground. Another device is also part of the Mars Science Laboratory REMS instrument (to be launched in 2011).

  14. Thermal performance of air-conditioned office buildings constructed with inclined walls in different climates in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, A.L.S.; Chow, T.T.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A generic fully air-conditioned office building with inclined walls was modeled. • Simulations were run under climatic conditions in three modern cities in China. • Reduction in cooling load can outweigh the increase in heating load for Hong Kong. • Inclined angle of 30° is appropriate for inverted pyramidal building in Hong Kong. • Building constructed with inclined walls is not encouraged in Shanghai and Beijing. - Abstract: An inverted pyramidal building is built with inclined walls instead of the traditional vertical façades. In terms of thermal performance, an inverted pyramidal building can provide a self-shading effect against the beam solar radiation, leading to a reduction in solar heat gain as well as building cooling load. On the other hand, the heating requirement of an inverted pyramidal building will be increased in winter. There is a strong dependency of building performance on the climatic condition. In this study, a generic air-conditioned office building with inclined walls set at different inclination angles was modeled using a building energy simulation program. Computer simulations were run to assess the thermal performance of the building constructed with inclined walls under different climatic conditions in three modern cities in China–Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. The results reveal that for the building cases with inclined walls set at different inclination angles in subtropical Hong Kong, the saving in annual cooling load ranges from 0.6% to 10.9% and can outweigh the increase in heating load. Moreover, an inclination angle of 30° was found as a better design option for an inverted pyramidal building with symmetrical layout design under the climatic condition in Hong Kong. For the other two cities: Shanghai and Beijing, the saving in cooling load due to self-shading effect cannot offset the increased heating requirement. Design and construction of an inverted pyramidal building is not encouraged in these two

  15. Acoustic conditions in open plan offices – Pilot test results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Witold Mikulski

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: The main source of noise in open plan office are conversations. Office work standards in such premises are attained by applying specific acoustic adaptation. This article presents the results of pilot tests and acoustic evaluation of open space rooms. Material and Methods: Acoustic properties of 6 open plan office rooms were the subject of the tests. Evaluation parameters, measurement methods and criterial values were adopted according to the following standards: PN-EN ISO 3382- 3:2012, PN-EN ISO 3382-2:2010, PN-B-02151-4:2015-06 and PN-B-02151-3:2015-10. Results: The reverberation time was 0.33– 0.55 s (maximum permissible value in offices – 0.6 s; the criterion was met, sound absorption coefficient in relation to 1 m2 of the room’s plan was 0.77–1.58 m2 (minimum permissible value – 1.1 m2; 2 out of 6 rooms met the criterion, distraction distance was 8.5–14 m (maximum permissible value – 5 m; none of the rooms met the criterion, A-weighted sound pressure level of speech at a distance of 4 m was 43.8–54.7 dB (maximum permissible value – 48 dB; 2 out of 6 rooms met the criterion, spatial decay rate of the speech was 1.8–6.3 dB (minimum permissible value – 7 dB; none of the rooms met the criterion. Conclusions: Standard acoustic treatment, containing sound absorbing suspended ceiling, sound absorbing materials on the walls, carpet flooring and sound absorbing workplace barriers, is not sufficient. These rooms require specific advanced acoustic solutions. Med Pr 2016;67(5:653–662

  16. Office-like Test Chambers to Measure Cool Roof Energy Savings in Four Indian Climates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arumugam, Rathish [Saint Gobain Research India Pvt. Ltd. (India); B, Sasank [Saint Gobain Research India Pvt. Ltd. (India); T, Rajappa [Saint Gobain Research India Pvt. Ltd. (India); N, Vinay [Saint Gobain Research India Pvt. Ltd. (India); Garg, Vishal [International Inst. of Information Technology, Hyderabad (India); Reddy, Niranjan [International Inst. of Information Technology, Hyderabad (India); Levinson, Ronnen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2016-08-21

    Selecting a high albedo (solar reflectance) waterproofing layer on the top of a roof helps lower the roof’s surface temperature and reduce the air conditioning energy consumption in the top floor of a building. The annual energy savings depend on factors including weather, internal loads, and building operation schedule. To demonstrate the energy saving potential of high albedo roofs, an apparatus consisting of two nearly identical test chambers (A and B) has been built in four Indian climates: Chennai (hot & humid), Bangalore (temperate), Jhagadia (Hot & dry) and Delhi (composite). Each chamber has well-insulated walls to mimic the core of an office building. Both chambers have the same construction, equipment, and operating schedule, differing only in roof surface. The reinforced cement concrete roof of Chamber A is surfaced with a low-albedo cement layer, while that of Chamber B is surfaced with a high-albedo water proof membrane (change in solar reflectance of 0.28). The experiment will be carried out for one year to explore seasonal variations in energy savings. Initial results in the month of July (post summer) shows that savings from high albedo roof ranges from 0.04 kWh/m2/day in temperate climates, to 0.08 kWh/m2/day in hot & dry climate.

  17. Officer Overexecution: Analysis and Solutions (Technical Background)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-08-01

    298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 i Abstract Understanding surface warfare officer (SWO) retention is critical for...civilian economy. We estimate that a one-unit increase in an index of macroeconomic activity (indicating a worsening of the economy) increases...officer requirements can be met. Thus, understanding the factors that affect SWO retention is critical for SWO accession planning and community

  18. Ocean waves from tropical cyclones in the Gulf of Mexico and the effect of climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appendini, C. M.; Pedrozo-Acuña, A.; Meza-Padilla, R.; Torres-Freyermuth, A.; Cerezo-Mota, R.; López-González, J.

    2016-12-01

    To generate projections of wave climate associated to tropical cyclones is a challenge due to their short historical record of events, their low occurrence, and the poor wind field resolution in General Circulation Models. Synthetic tropical cyclones provide an alternative to overcome such limitations, improving robust statistics under present and future climates. We use synthetic events to characterize present and future wave climate associated with tropical cyclones in the Gulf of Mexico. The NCEP/NCAR atmospheric reanalysis and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models NOAA/GFDL CM3 and UK Met Office HADGEM2-ES, were used to derive present and future wave climate under RCPs 4.5 and 8.5. The results suggest an increase in wave activity for the future climate, particularly for the GFDL model that shows less bias in the present climate, although some areas are expected to decrease the wave energy. The practical implications of determining the future wave climate is exemplified by means of the 100-year design wave, where the use of the present climate may result in under/over design of structures, since the lifespan of a structure includes the future wave climate period.

  19. 75 FR 77671 - Expansion of the Scope of NRTL Recognition of MET Laboratories, Inc.; Correction of the Scope of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-13

    ... connection with this request, NRTL Program staff did not perform any on-site review of MET's recognized site... MET application are available for review by contacting the Docket Office, Occupational Safety and... and Marine Crafts UL 466 Electric Scales UL 561 Floor-Finishing Machines UL 1230 Amateur Movie Lights...

  20. MetBaro - Pressure Instrument for Mars MetNet Lander

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polkko, J.; Haukka, H.; Harri, A.-M.; Schmidt, W.; Leinonen, J.; Mäkinen, T.

    2009-04-01

    THE METNET MISSION FOCUSED ON THE Martian atmospheric science is based on a new semihard landing vehicle called the MetNet Lander (MNL). The MNL will have a versatile science payload focused on the atmospheric science of Mars. The scientific payload of the MetNet Mission encompasses separate instrument packages for the atmospheric entry and descent phase and for the surface operation phase. MetBaro is the pressure instrument of MetNet Lander designed to work on Martian surface. It is based on Barocap® technology developed by Vaisala, Inc. MetBaro is a capacitic type of sensing device where capasitor plates are moved by ambient pressure. MetBaro device consists of two pressure transducers including a total of 6 Barocap® sensor heads of high-stability and high-resolution types. The long-term stability of MetBaro is in order of 20…50 µBar and resolution a few µBar. MetBaro is small, lightweighed and has low power consumption. It weighs about 50g without wires and controlling FPGA, and consumes 15 mW of power. A similar device has successfully flown in Phoenix mission, where it performed months of measurements on Martian ground. Another device is also part of the Mars Science Laboratory REMS instrument (to be launched in 2011).

  1. Extreme waves from tropical cyclones and climate change in the Gulf of Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appendini, Christian M.; Pedrozo-Acuña, Adrian; Meza-Padilla, Rafael; Torres-Freyermuth, Alec; Cerezo-Mota, Ruth; López-González, José

    2017-04-01

    Tropical cyclones generate extreme waves that represent a risk to infrastructure and maritime activities. The projection of the tropical cyclones derived wave climate are challenged by the short historical record of tropical cyclones, their low occurrence, and the poor wind field resolution in General Circulation Models. In this study we use synthetic tropical cyclones to overcome such limitations and be able to characterize present and future wave climate associated with tropical cyclones in the Gulf of Mexico. Synthetic events derived from the NCEP/NCAR atmospheric reanalysis and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models NOAA/GFDL CM3 and UK Met Office HADGEM2-ES, were used to force a third generation wave model to characterize the present and future wave climate under RCP 4.5 and 8.5 escenarios. An increase in wave activity is projected for the future climate, particularly for the GFDL model that shows less bias in the present climate, although some areas are expected to decrease the wave energy. The practical implications of determining the future wave climate is exemplified by means of the 100-year design wave, where the use of the present climate may result in under/over design of structures, since the lifespan of a structure includes the future wave climate period.

  2. Differences in MetS marker prevalence between black African and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Multiple linear regression analysis, independent of covariates, showed that the albumin:creatinine ratio is explained only by glucose in Africans. Conclusion: African women, as a group, present with few MetS risk factors, and glucose is associated with renal function risk in Africans. Keywords: MetS, metabolic syndrome, ...

  3. Energy savings due to daylight and artificial lighting integration in office buildings in hot climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Ashwal, Nagib T. [Sana' a University, Sana' a (Yemen); Budaiwi, Ismail M. [King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

    2011-07-01

    Reducing energy consumption while maintaining acceptable environmental quality in buildings has been a challenging task for building professionals. In office buildings, artificial lighting systems are a major consumer of energy and can significantly contribute to building cooling load. Furthermore, although reliable, artificial lighting does not necessarily provide the required quality of lighting. Significant improvement in lighting quality and energy consumption can be achieved by proper integration of daylight and artificial lighting. The objective of this study is to investigate the energy performance of office buildings resulting from daylight and artificial lighting integration in hot climates. A parametric analysis is conducted to find the impact of different window design parameters, including window area, height and glazing type, on building energy performance. Results have shown that as much as 35% reduction in lighting energy consumption and 13% reduction in total energy consumption can be obtained when proper daylighting and artificial lighting integration is achieved.

  4. Increased wind risk from sting-jet windstorms with climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Alvarado, Oscar; Gray, Suzanne L.; Hart, Neil C. G.; Clark, Peter A.; Hodges, Kevin; Roberts, Malcolm J.

    2018-04-01

    Extra-tropical cyclones dominate autumn and winter weather over western Europe. The strongest cyclones, often termed windstorms, have a large socio-economic impact on landfall due to strong surface winds and coastal storm surges. Climate model integrations have predicted a future increase in the frequency of, and potential damage from, European windstorms and yet these integrations cannot properly represent localised jets, such as sting jets, that may significantly enhance damage. Here we present the first prediction of how the climatology of sting-jet-containing cyclones will change in a future warmer climate, considering the North Atlantic and Europe. A proven sting-jet precursor diagnostic is applied to 13 year present-day and future (~2100) climate integrations from the Met Office Unified Model in its Global Atmosphere 3.0 configuration. The present-day climate results are consistent with previously-published results from a reanalysis dataset (with around 32% of cyclones exhibiting the sing-jet precursor), lending credibility to the analysis of the future-climate integration. The proportion of cyclones exhibiting the sting-jet precursor in the future-climate integration increases to 45%. Furthermore, while the proportion of explosively-deepening storms increases only slightly in the future climate, the proportion of those storms with the sting-jet precursor increases by 60%. The European resolved-wind risk associated with explosively-deepening storms containing a sting-jet precursor increases substantially in the future climate; in reality this wind risk is likely to be further enhanced by the release of localised moist instability, unresolved by typical climate models.

  5. Safety in the c-suite: How chief executive officers influence organizational safety climate and employee injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker, Sean; Ogunfowora, Babatunde; Ehr, Dayle

    2016-09-01

    According to social learning theory, powerful and high status individuals can significantly influence the behaviors of others. In this paper, we propose that chief executive officers (CEOs) indirectly impact frontline injuries through the collective social learning experiences and effort of different groups of organizational actors-including members of the top management team (TMT), organizational supervisors, and frontline employees. We found support for our collective social learning model using data from 2,714 frontline employees, 1,398 supervisors, and 229 members of TMTs in 54 organizations. TMT members' experiences within a CEO-driven TMT safety climate was positively related to organizational supervisors' reports of the broader organizational safety climate and their subsequent collective support for safety (reported by frontline employees). In turn, supervisory support for safety was associated with fewer employee injuries at the individual level. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for workplace safety research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Climate change projections for Tamil Nadu, India: deriving high-resolution climate data by a downscaling approach using PRECIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bal, Prasanta Kumar; Ramachandran, A.; Geetha, R.; Bhaskaran, B.; Thirumurugan, P.; Indumathi, J.; Jayanthi, N.

    2016-02-01

    In this paper, we present regional climate change projections for the Tamil Nadu state of India, simulated by the Met Office Hadley Centre regional climate model. The model is run at 25 km horizontal resolution driven by lateral boundary conditions generated by a perturbed physical ensemble of 17 simulations produced by a version of Hadley Centre coupled climate model, known as HadCM3Q under A1B scenario. The large scale features of these 17 simulations were evaluated for the target region to choose lateral boundary conditions from six members that represent a range of climate variations over the study region. The regional climate, known as PRECIS, was then run 130 years from 1970. The analyses primarily focus on maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall over the region. For the Tamil Nadu as a whole, the projections of maximum temperature show an increase of 1.0, 2.2 and 3.1 °C for the periods 2020s (2005-2035), 2050s (2035-2065) and 2080s (2065-2095), respectively, with respect to baseline period (1970-2000). Similarly, the projections of minimum temperature show an increase of 1.1, 2.4 and 3.5 °C, respectively. This increasing trend is statistically significant (Mann-Kendall trend test). The annual rainfall projections for the same periods indicate a general decrease in rainfall of about 2-7, 1-4 and 4-9 %, respectively. However, significant exceptions are noticed over some pockets of western hilly areas and high rainfall areas where increases in rainfall are seen. There are also indications of increasing heavy rainfall events during the northeast monsoon season and a slight decrease during the southwest monsoon season. Such an approach of using climate models may maximize the utility of high-resolution climate change information for impact-adaptation-vulnerability assessments.

  7. INVESTIGATING THE RELATION BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR IN THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION OFFICES EMPLOYEES IN MAZANDARAN PROVINCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmadizadeh Zahra

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Purpose : The aim of present study was to investigate the relation between organizational atmosphere and organizational citizenship behavior of Mazandaran province physical education offices staff. Material : This is a correlation and descriptive study, and also a field study. Statistical population of the study was the whole staff of Mazandaran province offices of physical education in 1390 (N=188, that 127 of them were selected randomly and with allocating coordination method. Tools for collecting data were three questionnaires, (1 individual characteristics questionnaire, (2 organizational citizenship behavior questionnaire of Bell and Mangog, and (3 organizational climate questionnaire of Sussman & Deep. To analyze data we used descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient and multi-variable regression. Results : Study results showed a significant positive relation between organizational climate and its factors with staff organizational citizenship behavior (p≤0/01. Also step-by-step multi-variable regression analyze showed that goal and communication factors are good predictors of organizational citizenship behavior of physical education headquarters staff, respectively (p≤0/01. Conclusions : According to results we recommend that sport organizations managers through creating positive organizational atmosphere, goal clarity and more staff interactions, can increase the outbreak of organizational citizenship behavior in staff, and finally improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

  8. Assessing peak aerobic capacity in Dutch law enforcement officers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harriet Wittink

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To cross-validate the existing peak rate of oxygen consumption (VO2peak prediction equations in Dutch law enforcement officers and to determine whether these prediction equations can be used to predict VO2peak for groups and in a single individual. A further objective was to report normative absolute and relative VO2peak values of a sample of law enforcement officers in the Netherlands. Material and Methods: The peak rate of oxygen consumption (ml×kg–1×min–1 was measured using a maximal incremental bicycle test in 1530 subjects, including 1068 male and 461 female police officers. Validity of the prediction equations for groups was assessed by comparing predicted VO2peak with measured VO2peak using paired t-tests. For individual differences limits of agreement (LoA were calculated. Equations were considered valid for individuals when the difference between measured and predicted VO2peak did not exceed ±1 metabolic equivalent (MET in 95% of individuals. Results: None of the equations met the validity criterion of 95% of individuals having ±1 MET difference or less than the measured value. Limits of agreement (LoAs were large in all predictions. At the individual level, none of the equations were valid predictors of VO2peak (ml×kg–1×min–1. Normative values for Dutch law enforcement officers were presented. Conclusions: Substantial differences between measured and predicted VO2peak (ml×kg–1×min–1 were found. Most tested equations were invalid predictors of VO2peak at group level and all were invalid at individual levels.

  9. Determination of Optimum Window to External Wall Ratio for Offices in a Hot and Humid Climate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Halil Alibaba

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Heat loss and gain through windows has a very high impact on the thermal comfort of offices. This paper analyzes a standard low energy consumption university office that has a standard envelope. Dynamic thermal simulations with EDSL Tas software, a predicted mean vote (PMV, and a predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD with all local discomfort as stated in ASHRAE, ISO 7730: 2005, EN 15251: 2007 were used for thermal sensation, in order to optimize the best window to external wall proportion in a hot and humid climate that exists in the Famagusta case study. A simulated office building is oriented east to west in order to take advantage of the wind direction. In May 45% (PPD < 6%–0.7% open window, 93% (PPD < 10–0.2 open window, and 97% (PPD < 15%–0.1% open window thermal comfort scores are obtained when the window to external wall ratio (WWR is 10%. In October 43% (PPD < 6%–0.7% open window, 86% (PPD < 10–0.2 open window, and 92% (PPD < 15%–0.1% open window thermal comfort scores are obtained when the WWR is 10%. In September 49% (PPD < 10% full open window and 51% (PPD < 15%–0.1% open window thermal comfort scores are obtained when the WWR is 10%.

  10. Evaluating Mitigation Effects of Urban Heat Islands in a Historical Small Center with the ENVI-Met® Climate Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dario Ambrosini

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Urban morphology and increasing building density play a key role in the overall use of energy and promotion of environmental sustainability. The urban environment causes a local increase of temperature, a phenomenon known as Urban Heat Island (UHI. The purpose of this work is the study of the possible formation of an UHI and the evaluation of its magnitude, in the context of a small city, carried out with the ENVI-met® software. For this purpose, a simulation was needed, and this simulation is preparatory for a monitoring campaign on site, which will be held in the immediate future. ENVI-met® simulates the temporal evolution of several thermodynamics parameters on a micro-scale range, creating a 3D, non-hydrostatic model of the interactions between building-atmosphere-vegetation. The weather conditions applied simulate a typical Italian summer heat wave. Three different case-studies have been analyzed: Base Case, Cool Case and Green Case. Analysis of the actual state in the Base Case shows how even in an area with average building density, such as the old town center of a small city, fully developed UHI may rise with strong thermal gradients between built areas and open zones with plenty of vegetation. These gradients arise in a really tiny space (few hundreds of meters, showing that the influence of urban geometry can be decisive in the characterization of local microclimate. Simulations, carried out considering the application of green or cool roofs, showed small relevant effects as they become evident only in large areas heavily built up (metropolis subject to more intense climate conditions.

  11. Offshore Wind Energy Climate Projection Using UPSCALE Climate Data under the RCP8.5 Emission Scenario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Markus; Magar, Vanesa

    2016-01-01

    In previous work, the authors demonstrated how data from climate simulations can be utilized to estimate regional wind power densities. In particular, it was shown that the quality of wind power densities, estimated from the UPSCALE global dataset in offshore regions of Mexico, compared well with regional high resolution studies. Additionally, a link between surface temperature and moist air density in the estimates was presented. UPSCALE is an acronym for UK on PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe)-weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk. The UPSCALE experiment was performed in 2012 by NCAS (National Centre for Atmospheric Science)-Climate, at the University of Reading and the UK Met Office Hadley Centre. The study included a 25.6-year, five-member ensemble simulation of the HadGEM3 global atmosphere, at 25km resolution for present climate conditions. The initial conditions for the ensemble runs were taken from consecutive days of a test configuration. In the present paper, the emphasis is placed on the single climate run for a potential future climate scenario in the UPSCALE experiment dataset, using the Representation Concentrations Pathways (RCP) 8.5 climate change scenario. Firstly, some tests were performed to ensure that the results using only one instantiation of the current climate dataset are as robust as possible within the constraints of the available data. In order to achieve this, an artificial time series over a longer sampling period was created. Then, it was shown that these longer time series provided almost the same results than the short ones, thus leading to the argument that the short time series is sufficient to capture the climate. Finally, with the confidence that one instantiation is sufficient, the future climate dataset was analysed to provide, for the first time, a projection of future changes in wind power resources using the UPSCALE dataset. It is hoped that this, in turn, will provide

  12. Offshore Wind Energy Climate Projection Using UPSCALE Climate Data under the RCP8.5 Emission Scenario.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markus Gross

    Full Text Available In previous work, the authors demonstrated how data from climate simulations can be utilized to estimate regional wind power densities. In particular, it was shown that the quality of wind power densities, estimated from the UPSCALE global dataset in offshore regions of Mexico, compared well with regional high resolution studies. Additionally, a link between surface temperature and moist air density in the estimates was presented. UPSCALE is an acronym for UK on PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe-weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk. The UPSCALE experiment was performed in 2012 by NCAS (National Centre for Atmospheric Science-Climate, at the University of Reading and the UK Met Office Hadley Centre. The study included a 25.6-year, five-member ensemble simulation of the HadGEM3 global atmosphere, at 25km resolution for present climate conditions. The initial conditions for the ensemble runs were taken from consecutive days of a test configuration. In the present paper, the emphasis is placed on the single climate run for a potential future climate scenario in the UPSCALE experiment dataset, using the Representation Concentrations Pathways (RCP 8.5 climate change scenario. Firstly, some tests were performed to ensure that the results using only one instantiation of the current climate dataset are as robust as possible within the constraints of the available data. In order to achieve this, an artificial time series over a longer sampling period was created. Then, it was shown that these longer time series provided almost the same results than the short ones, thus leading to the argument that the short time series is sufficient to capture the climate. Finally, with the confidence that one instantiation is sufficient, the future climate dataset was analysed to provide, for the first time, a projection of future changes in wind power resources using the UPSCALE dataset. It is hoped that this, in

  13. Offshore Wind Energy Climate Projection Using UPSCALE Climate Data under the RCP8.5 Emission Scenario

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Markus; Magar, Vanesa

    2016-01-01

    In previous work, the authors demonstrated how data from climate simulations can be utilized to estimate regional wind power densities. In particular, it was shown that the quality of wind power densities, estimated from the UPSCALE global dataset in offshore regions of Mexico, compared well with regional high resolution studies. Additionally, a link between surface temperature and moist air density in the estimates was presented. UPSCALE is an acronym for UK on PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe)—weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk. The UPSCALE experiment was performed in 2012 by NCAS (National Centre for Atmospheric Science)-Climate, at the University of Reading and the UK Met Office Hadley Centre. The study included a 25.6-year, five-member ensemble simulation of the HadGEM3 global atmosphere, at 25km resolution for present climate conditions. The initial conditions for the ensemble runs were taken from consecutive days of a test configuration. In the present paper, the emphasis is placed on the single climate run for a potential future climate scenario in the UPSCALE experiment dataset, using the Representation Concentrations Pathways (RCP) 8.5 climate change scenario. Firstly, some tests were performed to ensure that the results using only one instantiation of the current climate dataset are as robust as possible within the constraints of the available data. In order to achieve this, an artificial time series over a longer sampling period was created. Then, it was shown that these longer time series provided almost the same results than the short ones, thus leading to the argument that the short time series is sufficient to capture the climate. Finally, with the confidence that one instantiation is sufficient, the future climate dataset was analysed to provide, for the first time, a projection of future changes in wind power resources using the UPSCALE dataset. It is hoped that this, in turn, will

  14. US Climate Variability and Predictability Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patterson, Mike [University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO (United States)

    2017-11-14

    The US CLIVAR Project Office administers the US CLIVAR Program with its mission to advance understanding and prediction of climate variability and change across timescales with an emphasis on the role of the ocean and its interaction with other elements of the Earth system. The Project Office promotes and facilitates scientific collaboration within the US and international climate and Earth science communities, addressing priority topics from subseasonal to centennial climate variability and change; the global energy imbalance; the ocean’s role in climate, water, and carbon cycles; climate and weather extremes; and polar climate changes. This project provides essential one-year support of the Project Office, enabling the participation of US scientists in the meetings of the US CLIVAR bodies that guide scientific planning and implementation, including the scientific steering committee that establishes program goals and evaluates progress of activities to address them, the science team of funded investigators studying the ocean overturning circulation in the Atlantic, and two working groups tackling the priority research topics of Arctic change influence on midlatitude climate and weather extremes and the decadal-scale widening of the tropical belt.

  15. Improving PAQ and comfort conditions in Spanish office buildings with passive climate control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Orosa, Jose A.; Baalina, A. [Departamento de Energia y P.M. Escuela Tecnica Superior de N. y M, Universidade da Coruna, Paseo de Ronda 51, P.C.:15011 A Coruna (Spain)

    2009-03-15

    Some researchers have demonstrated that passive moisture transfer between indoor air and hygroscopic structures has the potential to moderate variations of indoor air relative humidity and, thus, to improve comfort and PAQ [Simonson CJ, Salonvaara M, Ojalen T. The effect of structures on indoor humidity-possibility to improve comfort and perceived air quality. Indoor Air 2002; 12: 243-51; Simonson CJ, Salonvaara M, Ojalen T. Improving indoor climate and comfort with wooden structures. Espoo 2001. Technical Research Centre of Finland, VTT Publications 431.200p+app 91p]. The main objective of this study is to show the internal wall coating effect on indoor air conditions and, as a consequence of this, in comfort conditions and PAQ. In a previous paper [Orosa JA, Baalina A. Passive climate control in Spanish office buildings for long periods of time. Building and Environment 2008], we analysed the influence of permeable and impermeable materials on indoor air conditions, during the unoccupied period, in 25 office buildings in different seasons. Results obtained lead us to conclude that real coverings such as permeable, semi-permeable and impermeable types, present different behavioural patterns in indoor air conditions. Furthermore, we concluded that an absorbent structure will moderate relative humidity indoors. In this paper, we study this indoor relative humidity effect on local thermal discomfort, due to decreased respiratory cooling, and indoor ambience acceptability for the early hours of morning applying PD and Acc models [Toftum J, Jorgensen AS, Fanger PO. Upper limits for indoor air humidity to avoid uncomfortably humid skin. Energy and buildings 1998; 28: 1-13; Toftum J, Jorgensen AS, Fanger PO. Upper limits of air humidity for preventing warm respiratory discomfort. Energy and Buildings 1998; 28: 15-23] such as that proposed by Simonson et al. [The effect of structures on indoor humidity-possibility to improve comfort and perceived air quality. Indoor Air

  16. Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional officers: a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Finney Caitlin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In adult correctional facilities, correctional officers (COs are responsible for the safety and security of the facility in addition to aiding in offender rehabilitation and preventing recidivism. COs experience higher rates of job stress and burnout that stem from organizational stressors, leading to negative outcomes for not only the CO but the organization as well. Effective interventions could aim at targeting organizational stressors in order to reduce these negative outcomes as well as COs’ job stress and burnout. This paper fills a gap in the organizational stress literature among COs by systematically reviewing the relationship between organizational stressors and CO stress and burnout in adult correctional facilities. In doing so, the present review identifies areas that organizational interventions can target in order to reduce CO job stress and burnout. Methods A systematic search of the literature was conducted using Medline, PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts. All retrieved articles were independently screened based on criteria developed a priori. All included articles underwent quality assessment. Organizational stressors were categorized according to Cooper and Marshall’s (1976 model of job stress. Results The systematic review yielded 8 studies that met all inclusion and quality assessment criteria. The five categories of organizational stressors among correctional officers are: stressors intrinsic to the job, role in the organization, rewards at work, supervisory relationships at work and the organizational structure and climate. The organizational structure and climate was demonstrated to have the most consistent relationship with CO job stress and burnout. Conclusions The results of this review indicate that the organizational structure and climate of correctional institutions has the most consistent relationship with COs’ job stress and burnout. Limitations of the

  17. Energy efficient glazed office buildings with double skin facades in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eriksson, Bo; Blomsterberg, Aake (WSP Environmental (Sweden)). e-mail: bo.eriksson@wspgroup.se

    2009-07-01

    Many modern office buildings have highly glazed facades. Their energy efficiency and indoor climate are, however, being questioned. Therefore more and more of these buildings are being built with double skin facades, which can provide improvements: A project BESTFACADE, with participants from Austria, Germany, Greece, Portugal (France) and Sweden, was therefore funded by the European Commission (IEE) to actively promote well-performing concepts of double skin facades. Included were best practice guidelines, which included the determination of the energy use and thermal comfort by simulations for warm, mild and cold climates. The main conclusion is that the choice of glazing properties such as glazing area, U-value (thermal transmittance) of the glazing and its profiles, g-value (the total solar energy transmittance) of the glazing and type of solar shading are crucial for the energy and indoor climate performance of an office. The choice of control strategies for ventilation of the cavity and operation of solar shading are crucial. The above choices are very dependant on the climate. Choices which are optimal in a cold climate, will not work very well in a warm climate, and vice versa. From an energy and indoor climate point of view a highly glazed office with a double skin facade is often preferred to a single

  18. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Services Portal: A New Centralized Resource for Distributed Climate Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burroughs, J.; Baldwin, R.; Herring, D.; Lott, N.; Boyd, J.; Handel, S.; Niepold, F.; Shea, E.

    2010-09-01

    With the rapid rise in the development of Web technologies and climate services across NOAA, there has been an increasing need for greater collaboration regarding NOAA's online climate services. The drivers include the need to enhance NOAA's Web presence in response to customer requirements, emerging needs for improved decision-making capabilities across all sectors of society facing impacts from climate variability and change, and the importance of leveraging climate data and services to support research and public education. To address these needs, NOAA (during fiscal year 2009) embarked upon an ambitious program to develop a NOAA Climate Services Portal (NCS Portal). Four NOAA offices are leading the effort: 1) the NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO), 2) the National Ocean Service's Coastal Services Center (CSC), 3) the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC), and 4) the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's (NESDIS) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Other offices and programs are also contributing in many ways to the effort. A prototype NCS Portal is being placed online for public access in January 2010, http://www.climate.gov. This website only scratches the surface of the many climate services across NOAA, but this effort, via direct user engagement, will gradually expand the scope and breadth of the NCS Portal to greatly enhance the accessibility and usefulness of NOAA's climate data and services.

  19. Multifunctional. Glass system walls optimize acoustics, lighting and room climate in open offices; Multifunktional. Glas-Systemwaende optimieren Akustik, Beleuchtung und Klima in offenen Buerolandschaften

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fuchs, H.V. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Bauphysik (IBP), Stuttgart (Germany); Renz, J. [renz solutions GmbH, Aidlingen (Germany)

    2008-05-15

    Acoustics, light and climate are determining factors of thermal comfort in multiple office buildings. Internal structural elements used to take over these ergonomic functions until now; now, all three aspects can be integrated completely and at low cost in new types of glass wall systems. (orig.)

  20. Biases of the MET Temperature and Relative Humidity Sensor (HMP45) Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kyrouac, Jenni [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Theisen, Adam [Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)

    2017-06-30

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Data Quality (DQ) Office was alerted to a potential bias in the surface meteorological instrumentation (MET) temperature when compared with a nearby Mesonet station. This led to an investigation into this problem that was expanded to include many of the other extended facilities (EF) and both the temperature and relative humidity (RH) variables. For this study, the Mesonet was used as the standard reference due to results that showed an increased accuracy in high-humidity environments along with the fact that the Mesonet had previous documented a problem with the HMP45C sensors. Some differences between the sites were taken into account during the analysis: 1. ARM MET sensors were upgraded from an HMP35 to an HMP45 throughout 2007 2. Mesonet switched to aspirated shields in 2009 – To mitigate the differences between aspirated and non-aspirated measurements, data were only analyzed when the wind speed was higher than 3 m/s. This reduced the uncertainty for the non-aspirated measurements from 1.51 ºC to 0.4 ºC. 3. ARM MET is mounted 0.5m higher than the Mesonet station (2.0m versus 1.5m) – This is assumed to have a negligible effect on the differences. 4. Sites were not co-located – For some locations, the distances between sites were as much as 45 km. As part of the investigation into the differences, the Mesonet had reported that the HMP45 sensors had a low-temperature bias in high-humidity environments. This was verified at two different sites where the ARM measurements were compared with the Mesonet measurements. The Mesonet provided redundant temperature measurements from two different sensors at each site. These measurements compared fairly well, while the ARM sensor showed a bias overnight when the humidities were higher. After reviewing the yearly average differences in the data and analyzing the RH data during fog events when we assume it should be

  1. Design methodology and criteria for daylight and thermal comfort in nearly-zero energy office buildings in Nordic climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karlsen, Line Røseth

    The objective of this PhD thesis was to arrange for an integrated building design with respect to thermal comfort, daylighting and energy use, applicable for office buildings in Nordic climate. In order to achieve this, it is suggested that modelling of mean radiant temperature (MRT) should...... into the simulation tool IDA ICE. Furthermore, the control of solar shading is given attention, since it is a crucial link between the thermal and daylighting performance. The thesis presents results of an occupant survey with 46 subjects, which was carried out to investigate occupants’ preferences towards...

  2. Gezondheidsrisico's in verband met het werken met Pentachloorfenol : een onderzoek

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geuskens, R.B.M.; Nossent, S.M.; Koëter, H.B.W.M.; Dreef-van der Meulen, H.C.; Stijkel, A.; Zielhuis, R.l.

    1989-01-01

    De gezondheidsrisico's i.v.m. het werken met pentachloorfenol (PCP) wordt geevalueerd. Het gebruik van PCP in Nederlandse arbeidssituaties neemt sterk af en is beperkt tot de formulering van emeltenkorrels en de, met name preventieve, houtverduurzaming. De totale risicopopulatie is niet omvangrijk

  3. Micro Climate Simulation in new Town 'Hashtgerd'

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sodoudi, S.; Langer, I.; Cubasch, U.

    2012-04-01

    One of the objectives of climatological part of project Young Cities 'Developing Energy-Efficient Urban Fabric in the Tehran-Karaj Region' is to simulate the micro climate (with 1m resolution) in 35ha of new town Hashtgerd, which is located 65 km far from mega city Tehran. The Project aims are developing, implementing and evaluating building and planning schemes and technologies which allow to plan and build sustainable, energy-efficient and climate sensible form mass housing settlements in arid and semi-arid regions ("energy-efficient fabric"). Climate sensitive form also means designing and planning for climate change and its related effects for Hashtgerd New Town. By configuration of buildings and open spaces according to solar radiation, wind and vegetation, climate sensitive urban form can create outdoor thermal comfort. To simulate the climate on small spatial scales, the micro climate model Envi-met has been used to simulate the micro climate in 35 ha. The Eulerian model ENVI-met is a micro-scale climate model which gives information about the influence of architecture and buildings as well as vegetation and green area on the micro climate up to 1 m resolution. Envi-met has been run with information from topography, downscaled climate data with neuro-fuzzy method, meteorological measurements, building height and different vegetation variants (low and high number of trees) Through the optimal Urban Design and Planning for the 35ha area the microclimate results shows, that with vegetation the microclimate in streets will be change: • 2 m temperature is decreased by about 2 K • relative humidity increase by about 10 % • soil temperature is decreased by about 3 K • wind speed is decreased by about 60% The style of buildings allows free movement of air, which is of high importance for fresh air supply. The increase of inbuilt areas in 35 ha reduces the heat island effect through cooling caused by vegetation and increase of air humidity which caused by

  4. Met UM Upper-tropospheric summer jet teleconnections: A model assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joao Carvalho, Maria; Rodriguez, Jose; Milton, Sean

    2017-04-01

    The upper tropospheric jet stream has been documented to act as a waveguide (Hoskins and Ambrizzi, 1993) and supporting quasi-stationary Rossby waves (Schubert et al. 2011). These have been associated with remote effects in surface level weather such as rainfall anomalies in the East Asian Summer Monsoon as well as extreme temperature events. The goal of this work was to analyse the intraseasonal to interannual upper level boreal summer jet variability and its coupling with low level atmospheric dynamics within the Met Office Unified Model using climate runs. Using the Wallace and Gutzler (1981) proposed approach to find teleconnection patterns on the 200 hPa level wind, lead-lag correlation and Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis on the upper-level jet and relating the results with surface weather variables as well as dynamical variables, it was found that the model presents too strong jet variability, particularly in the tropical region and. In addition, the model presents high teleconnectivity hotspots with higher importance in areas such as the Mediterranean and Caspian Sea which are important source areas for Rossby Waves. Further to this, the model was found to produce an area of teleconnectivity between the tropical Atlantic and western Africa which is not observed in the reanalysis but coexists with long lasting precipitation biases. As comparison for the model results, ERA-Interim circulation and wind data and the TRMM precipitation dataset were used. In order to assess the relative importance of relevant model parameters in the biases and process errors, work is currently underway using perturbed model parameter ensembles.

  5. Hydration Status in US Military Officer Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Reva; Cole, Renee

    2016-01-01

    Relocation from a cool to a hot climate is a frequent occurrence in military service. Acclimatization requires time and exposure to heat. Nonacclimatized individuals frequently consume inadequate fluid leading to hypohydration, which can quickly result in dehydration with increased risk of heat illness/injury. This descriptive cross-sectional study assessed the hydration status of 196 officers attending the US Army Medical Department's Officer Basic Course (67%) or Captain's Career Course (33%) in San Antonio, Texas, prior to taking the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). Consenting Soldiers provided a first morning void urine sample and demographic survey (age, rank, sex, previous geographic location, etc) prior to the APFT. Height, weight, and APFT event scores were collected from a subject-coded, APFT scorecard without personal information data. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify variables that contribute to predicting hypohydration status. The sample population was 54% male, a mean age of 30 years, 5.2 years of military service, and a mean body mass index of 25 kg/m². Nearly one-third met the criteria for hypohydration (≥1.02 urine specific gravity). Soldiers who relocated from a cool environment within 9 days of taking the APFT had 2.1 higher odds of being hypohydrated compared with individuals who had resided in a hot environment for more than 9 days. Women had a 0.5 lower odds of being hypohydrated as compared to males. Significantly more Soldiers were hypohydrated on Monday compared to those tested on Tuesday (33% vs 16%, P=.004). Given these findings, the authors provided 5 recommendations to reduce the number of Soldiers exercising in a hypohydrated state.

  6. To Investigate the Influence of Building Envelope and Natural Ventilation on Thermal Heat Balance in Office Buildings in Warm and Humid Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kini, Pradeep G.; Garg, Naresh Kumar; Kamath, Kiran

    2017-07-01

    India’s commercial building sector is witnessing robust growth. India continues to be a key growth market among global corporates and this is reflective in the steady growth in demand for prime office space. A recent trend that has been noted is the increase in demand for office spaces not just in major cities but also in smaller tier II and Tier III cities. Growth in the commercial building sector projects a rising trend of energy intensive mechanical systems in office buildings in India. The air conditioning market in India is growing at 25% annually. This is due to the ever increasing demand to maintain thermal comfort in tropical regions. Air conditioning is one of the most energy intensive technologies which are used in buildings. As a result India is witnessing significant spike in energy demand and further widening the demand supply gap. Challenge in India is to identify passive measures in building envelope design in office buildings to reduce the cooling loads and conserve energy. This paper investigates the overall heat gain through building envelope components and natural ventilation in warm and humid climate region through experimental and simulation methods towards improved thermal environmental performance.

  7. Boreal summer sub-seasonal variability of the South Asian monsoon in the Met Office GloSea5 initialized coupled model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayakumar, A.; Turner, A. G.; Johnson, S. J.; Rajagopal, E. N.; Mohandas, Saji; Mitra, A. K.

    2017-09-01

    Boreal summer sub-seasonal variability in the Asian monsoon, otherwise known as the monsoon intra-seasonal oscillation (MISO), is one of the dominant modes of intraseasonal variability in the tropics, with large impacts on total monsoon rainfall and India's agricultural production. However, our understanding of the mechanisms involved in MISO is incomplete and its simulation in various numerical models is often flawed. In this study, we focus on the objective evaluation of the fidelity of MISO simulation in the Met Office Global Seasonal forecast system version 5 (GloSea5), an initialized coupled model. We analyze a series of nine-member hindcasts from GloSea5 over 1996-2009 during the peak monsoon period (July-August) over the South-Asian monsoon domain focusing on aspects of the time-mean background state and air-sea interaction processes pertinent to MISO. Dominant modes during this period are evident in power spectrum analysis, but propagation and evolution characteristics of the MISO are not realistic. We find that simulated air-sea interactions in the central Indian Ocean are not supportive of MISO initiation in that region, likely a result of the low surface wind variance there. As a consequence, the expected near-quadrature phase relationship between SST and convection is not represented properly over the central equatorial Indian Ocean, and northward propagation from the equator is poorly simulated. This may reinforce the equatorial rainfall mean state bias in GloSea5.

  8. Micro climate Simulation in new Town `Hashtgerd' using downscaled climate data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sodoudi, S.

    2010-12-01

    One of the objectives of climatological part of project Young Cities ‘Developing Energy-Efficient Urban Fabric in the Tehran-Karaj Region’ is to simulate the micro climate (with 1m resolution) in 35ha of new town Hashtgerd, which is located 65 km far from mega city Tehran. The Project aims are developing, implementing and evaluating building and planning schemes and technologies which allow to plan and build sustainable, energy-efficient and climate sensible form mass housing settlements in arid and semi-arid regions (energy-efficient fabric). Climate sensitive form also means designing and planning for climate change and its related effects for Hashtgerd New Town. By configuration of buildings and open spaces according to solar radiation, wind and vegetation, climate sensitive urban form can create outdoor thermal comfort. To simulate the climate on small spatial scales, the micro climate model Envi-met has been used to simulate the micro climate in 35 ha. The Eulerian model ENVI-met is a micro-scale climate model which gives information about the influence of architecture and buildings as well as vegetation and green area on the micro climate up to 1 m resolution. Envi-met has been run with information from topography, downscaled climate data with neuro-fuzzy method, meteorological measurements, building height and different vegetation variants (low and high number of trees) The first results were compared with each other and show In semi-arid climates the protection from solar radiation is of major importance. This can be achieved by implementation of vegetation and geometry of buildings. Due to the geographical location and related sun’s orbit the degree of shading in this area is rather low. Technical construction such awnings have to be implemented. A second important factor is wind. The design follows the idea to block the prevailing winds from west and northwest as well as the hot and dusty winds in summer time from the southeast but at the same time

  9. Lipid ratio as a suitable tool to identify individuals with MetS risk: A case- control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbasian, Maryam; Delvarianzadeh, Mehri; Ebrahimi, Hossein; Khosravi, Farideh

    2017-11-01

    This study aimed to compare the serum lipids ratio in staff with and without metabolic syndrome (MetS) who were working in Shahroud University of Medical Sciences. This case-control study was conducted in 2015 on 499 personnel aged 30-60 years old. ATP III criteria were used to diagnose patients with MetS. The data were analyzed by using logistic regression and ROC curve. Mean lipid ratio was higher in individuals having the MetS in both sexes compared with those without. In addition, the mean levels of lipid ratios significantly increased with increasing number of MetS components in both sexes. Also it could be concluded that TG/HDL-C ratio is the best marker for the diagnosis of MetS in men and women. Moreover, the cut-off point for the TG/HDL-C was 2.86 in women and 4.03 in men. It was found that for any unit of increases in the TG/HDL-C, the risk of developing the MetS will increase by 2.12 times. TG/HDL-C ratio is found to be the best clinical marker for the diagnosis of MetS compare with other lipid ratios, therefore it is recommended to be used as a feasible tool to identify individuals with MetS risk. Copyright © 2016 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. High-resolution global climate modelling: the UPSCALE project, a large-simulation campaign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. S. Mizielinski

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The UPSCALE (UK on PRACE: weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk project constructed and ran an ensemble of HadGEM3 (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model 3 atmosphere-only global climate simulations over the period 1985–2011, at resolutions of N512 (25 km, N216 (60 km and N96 (130 km as used in current global weather forecasting, seasonal prediction and climate modelling respectively. Alongside these present climate simulations a parallel ensemble looking at extremes of future climate was run, using a time-slice methodology to consider conditions at the end of this century. These simulations were primarily performed using a 144 million core hour, single year grant of computing time from PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe in 2012, with additional resources supplied by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC and the Met Office. Almost 400 terabytes of simulation data were generated on the HERMIT supercomputer at the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS, and transferred to the JASMIN super-data cluster provided by the Science and Technology Facilities Council Centre for Data Archival (STFC CEDA for analysis and storage. In this paper we describe the implementation of the project, present the technical challenges in terms of optimisation, data output, transfer and storage that such a project involves and include details of the model configuration and the composition of the UPSCALE data set. This data set is available for scientific analysis to allow assessment of the value of model resolution in both present and potential future climate conditions.

  11. Interannual rainfall variability over China in the MetUM GA6 and GC2 configurations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephan, Claudia Christine; Klingaman, Nicholas P.; Vidale, Pier Luigi; Turner, Andrew G.; Demory, Marie-Estelle; Guo, Liang

    2018-05-01

    Six climate simulations of the Met Office Unified Model Global Atmosphere 6.0 and Global Coupled 2.0 configurations are evaluated against observations and reanalysis data for their ability to simulate the mean state and year-to-year variability of precipitation over China. To analyse the sensitivity to air-sea coupling and horizontal resolution, atmosphere-only and coupled integrations at atmospheric horizontal resolutions of N96, N216 and N512 (corresponding to ˜ 200, 90 and 40 km in the zonal direction at the equator, respectively) are analysed. The mean and interannual variance of seasonal precipitation are too high in all simulations over China but improve with finer resolution and coupling. Empirical orthogonal teleconnection (EOT) analysis is applied to simulated and observed precipitation to identify spatial patterns of temporally coherent interannual variability in seasonal precipitation. To connect these patterns to large-scale atmospheric and coupled air-sea processes, atmospheric and oceanic fields are regressed onto the corresponding seasonal mean time series. All simulations reproduce the observed leading pattern of interannual rainfall variability in winter, spring and autumn; the leading pattern in summer is present in all but one simulation. However, only in two simulations are the four leading patterns associated with the observed physical mechanisms. Coupled simulations capture more observed patterns of variability and associate more of them with the correct physical mechanism, compared to atmosphere-only simulations at the same resolution. However, finer resolution does not improve the fidelity of these patterns or their associated mechanisms. This shows that evaluating climate models by only geographical distribution of mean precipitation and its interannual variance is insufficient. The EOT analysis adds knowledge about coherent variability and associated mechanisms.

  12. A climate risk assessment of clean water supply in an urban area: A case study of South Tangerang city, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nastiti, S. I. W.; Kusnoputranto, H.; Boer, R.; Utomo, S. W.

    2018-03-01

    The demand for clean water in South Tangerang, Indonesia, is very high. At present, this demand is mostly met by groundwater that is much influenced by climate variability, land cover change, and human activities. The local company on water services (PDAM) provides clean water services for only about 9% of the population. The climate risk assessment conducted by South Tangerang Government in 2016 indicates that several areas are potentially exposed to a high risk of climate change. Survey and in-depth interview with communities and sectoral officers suggest that a risk to clean water supply in this city is increasing. This study aims to assess climate potential risks on clean water supply based on the 2016 study. We adopted the method of that study by modifying some of the vulnerability indicators that can represent clean water access and supply. The results of the study demonstrate that many wards in South Tangerang would be exposed to high climate risks of clean water supply. By 2021, about 54% of wards would be exposed from high to the very very high risk of clean water supply. These results signify the tangible need of adaptation actions, to prevent the worsening impacts of climate on clean water supply.

  13. Improved scheme for parametrization of convection in the Met Office's Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment (NAME)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meneguz, Elena; Thomson, David; Witham, Claire; Kusmierczyk-Michulec, Jolanta

    2015-04-01

    NAME is a Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model used by the Met Office to predict the dispersion of both natural and man-made contaminants in the atmosphere, e.g. volcanic ash, radioactive particles and chemical species. Atmospheric convection is responsible for transport and mixing of air resulting in a large exchange of heat and energy above the boundary layer. Although convection can transport material through the whole troposphere, convective clouds have a small horizontal length scale (of the order of few kilometres). Therefore, for large-scale transport the horizontal scale on which the convection exists is below the global NWP resolution used as input to NAME and convection must be parametrized. Prior to the work presented here, the enhanced vertical mixing generated by non-resolved convection was reproduced by randomly redistributing Lagrangian particles between the cloud base and cloud top with probability equal to 1/25th of the NWP predicted convective cloud fraction. Such a scheme is essentially diffusive and it does not make optimal use of all the information provided by the driving meteorological model. To make up for these shortcomings and make the parametrization more physically based, the convection scheme has been recently revised. The resulting version, presented in this paper, is now based on the balance equation between upward, entrainment and detrainment fluxes. In particular, upward mass fluxes are calculated with empirical formulas derived from Cloud Resolving Models and using the NWP convective precipitation diagnostic as closure. The fluxes are used to estimate how many particles entrain, move upward and detrain. Lastly, the scheme is completed by applying a compensating subsidence flux. The performance of the updated convection scheme is benchmarked against available observational data of passive tracers. In particular, radioxenon is a noble gas that can undergo significant long range transport: this study makes use of observations of

  14. C-MET overexpression and amplification in gliomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwak, Yoonjin; Kim, Seong-Ik; Park, Chul-Kee; Paek, Sun Ha; Lee, Soon-Tae; Park, Sung-Hye

    2015-01-01

    We investigated c-Met overexpression and MET gene amplification in gliomas to determine their incidence and prognostic significance. c-Met immunohistochemistry and MET gene fluorescence in situ hybridization were carried out on tissue microarrays from 250 patients with gliomas (137 grade IV GBMs and 113 grade II and III diffuse gliomas). Clinicopathological features of these cases were reviewed. c-Met overexpression and MET gene amplification were detected in 13.1% and 5.1% of the GBMs, respectively. All the MET-amplified cases showed c-Met overexpression, but MET amplification was not always concordant with c-Met overexpression. None of grade II and III gliomas demonstrated c-Met overexpression or MET gene amplification. Mean survival of the GBM patients with MET amplification was not significantly different from patients without MET amplification (P=0.155). However, GBM patients with c-Met overexpression survived longer than patients without c-Met overexpression (P=0.035). Although MET amplification was not related to poor GBM prognosis, it is partially associated with the aggressiveness of gliomas, as MET amplification was found only in grade IV, not in grade II and III gliomas. We suggest that MET inhibitor therapy may be beneficial in about 5% GBMs, which was the incidence of MET gene amplification found in the patients included in this study.

  15. Association between Depressive Symptoms and Metabolic Syndrome in Police Officers: Results from Two Cross-Sectional Studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartley, T.A.; Fekedulegn, D.; Andrew, M.E.; Burchfiel, C.M.; Hartley, T.A.; Knox, S.S.; Barbosa-Leiker, C.; Violanti, J.M.

    2012-01-01

    Policing is one of the most dangerous and stressful occupations and such stress can have deleterious effects on health. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between depressive symptoms and metabolic syndrome (Met Syn) in male and female police officers from two study populations, Buffalo, NY and Spokane, WA. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Met Syn was defined using the 2005 AHA/NHBLI guidelines. Analysis of covariance was used to describe differences in number of Met Syn components across depressive symptom categories. The number of Met Syn components increased significantly across categories of CES-D for Spokane men only (p-trend = 0.003). For each 5-unit increase in CES-D score, odds increased by 47.6% for having hypertriglyceridemia, by 51.8% for having hypertension, and by 56.7% for having glucose intolerance. Exploring this association is important since both are predictors of future chronic health problems and the results could be helpful in developing future gender-specific prevention and intervention efforts among police officers

  16. A climate-based multivariate extreme emulator of met-ocean-hydrological events for coastal flooding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camus, Paula; Rueda, Ana; Mendez, Fernando J.; Tomas, Antonio; Del Jesus, Manuel; Losada, Iñigo J.

    2015-04-01

    Atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) are useful to analyze large-scale climate variability (long-term historical periods, future climate projections). However, applications such as coastal flood modeling require climate information at finer scale. Besides, flooding events depend on multiple climate conditions: waves, surge levels from the open-ocean and river discharge caused by precipitation. Therefore, a multivariate statistical downscaling approach is adopted to reproduce relationships between variables and due to its low computational cost. The proposed method can be considered as a hybrid approach which combines a probabilistic weather type downscaling model with a stochastic weather generator component. Predictand distributions are reproduced modeling the relationship with AOGCM predictors based on a physical division in weather types (Camus et al., 2012). The multivariate dependence structure of the predictand (extreme events) is introduced linking the independent marginal distributions of the variables by a probabilistic copula regression (Ben Ayala et al., 2014). This hybrid approach is applied for the downscaling of AOGCM data to daily precipitation and maximum significant wave height and storm-surge in different locations along the Spanish coast. Reanalysis data is used to assess the proposed method. A commonly predictor for the three variables involved is classified using a regression-guided clustering algorithm. The most appropriate statistical model (general extreme value distribution, pareto distribution) for daily conditions is fitted. Stochastic simulation of the present climate is performed obtaining the set of hydraulic boundary conditions needed for high resolution coastal flood modeling. References: Camus, P., Menéndez, M., Méndez, F.J., Izaguirre, C., Espejo, A., Cánovas, V., Pérez, J., Rueda, A., Losada, I.J., Medina, R. (2014b). A weather-type statistical downscaling framework for ocean wave climate. Journal of

  17. Idealized climate change simulations with a high-resolution physical model: HadGEM3-GC2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senior, Catherine A.; Andrews, Timothy; Burton, Chantelle; Chadwick, Robin; Copsey, Dan; Graham, Tim; Hyder, Pat; Jackson, Laura; McDonald, Ruth; Ridley, Jeff; Ringer, Mark; Tsushima, Yoko

    2016-06-01

    Idealized climate change simulations with a new physical climate model, HadGEM3-GC2 from The Met Office Hadley Centre are presented and contrasted with the earlier MOHC model, HadGEM2-ES. The role of atmospheric resolution is also investigated. The Transient Climate Response (TCR) is 1.9 K/2.1 K at N216/N96 and Effective Climate Sensitivity (ECS) is 3.1 K/3.2 K at N216/N96. These are substantially lower than HadGEM2-ES (TCR: 2.5 K; ECS: 4.6 K) arising from a combination of changes in the size of climate feedbacks. While the change in the net cloud feedback between HadGEM3 and HadGEM2 is relatively small, there is a change in sign of its longwave and a strengthening of its shortwave components. At a global scale, there is little impact of the increase in atmospheric resolution on the future climate change signal and even at a broad regional scale, many features are robust including tropical rainfall changes, however, there are some significant exceptions. For the North Atlantic and western Europe, the tripolar pattern of winter storm changes found in most CMIP5 models is little impacted by resolution but for the most intense storms, there is a larger percentage increase in number at higher resolution than at lower resolution. Arctic sea-ice sensitivity shows a larger dependence on resolution than on atmospheric physics.

  18. Samen in Zee met Zelfregulatie: Een Design-Based Aanpak met Vmbo Leraren

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jossberger, Helen; Brand-Gruwel, Saskia; Boshuizen, Els; Van de Wiel, Margje

    2010-01-01

    Jossberger, H., Brand-Gruwel, S., Boshuizen, H. P. A., & Van der Wiel, M. (2010, June). Samen in Zee met Zelfregulatie: Een Design-Based Aanpak met Vmbo Leraren. Poster presented at the 37th Onderwijs Research Dagen (ORD), Enschede, Nederland.

  19. DOE Contribution to the 2015 US CLIVAR Project Office Budget

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeWeaver, Eric [National Science Foundation (NSF), Washington, DC (United States); Patterson, Michael [US CLIVAR Project Office (USCPO),Washington DC (United States)

    2017-05-10

    The primary goal of the US Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Project Office is to enable science community planning and implementation of research to understand and predict climate variability and change on intraseasonal-to-centennial timescales, through observations and modeling with emphasis on the role of the ocean and its interaction with other elements of the Earth system, and to serve the climate community and society through the coordination and facilitation of research on outstanding climate questions.

  20. Energy optimization of office buildings; Energioptimering af kontorbyggeri

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wittchen, K.B.; Place Hansen, E.J. de (Statens Byggeforskningsinstitut (SBi), Hoersholm (Denmark)); Radisch, N.H.; Treldal, J. (Ramboell A/S, Koebenhavn (Denmark))

    2011-07-01

    The project analysed two main office building types - high-rises and low-rises - and calculated a number of parameters, using the simulation program BSim. Calculations showed that the overall building design and orientation effect is moderate compared with, for instance, use of daylight control and low-energy lighting, computers, etc. Considerable energy savings can be achieved by use of natural ventilation in the summer, thus only using mechanical ventilation with heat recovery during the day in the winter. Open-plan offices result in a better indoor climate and lower energy consumption than cubicle offices. (LN)

  1. From climate-smart agriculture to climate-smart landscapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scherr Sara J

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background For agricultural systems to achieve climate-smart objectives, including improved food security and rural livelihoods as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation, they often need to be take a landscape approach; they must become ‘climate-smart landscapes’. Climate-smart landscapes operate on the principles of integrated landscape management, while explicitly incorporating adaptation and mitigation into their management objectives. Results An assessment of climate change dynamics related to agriculture suggests that three key features characterize a climate-smart landscape: climate-smart practices at the field and farm scale; diversity of land use across the landscape to provide resilience; and management of land use interactions at landscape scale to achieve social, economic and ecological impacts. To implement climate-smart agricultural landscapes with these features (that is, to successfully promote and sustain them over time, in the context of dynamic economic, social, ecological and climate conditions requires several institutional mechanisms: multi-stakeholder planning, supportive landscape governance and resource tenure, spatially-targeted investment in the landscape that supports climate-smart objectives, and tracking change to determine if social and climate goals are being met at different scales. Examples of climate-smart landscape initiatives in Madagascar’s Highlands, the African Sahel and Australian Wet Tropics illustrate the application of these elements in contrasting contexts. Conclusions To achieve climate-smart landscape initiatives widely and at scale will require strengthened technical capacities, institutions and political support for multi-stakeholder planning, governance, spatial targeting of investments and multi-objective impact monitoring.

  2. Senior Strategic Outreach and Engagement Officer | IDRC ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    The Senior Strategic Outreach and Engagement Officer provides strategic advice ... the third one in the area of knowledge management and the forth one in the area ... or the International Research Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change.

  3. AATSR - Precise Sea-Surface Temperature for Climate Monitoring and for Operational Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llewellyn-Jones, David; Corlett, Gary; Donlon, Craig; Stark, John

    The Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) is an imaging radiometer specifi- cally designed to measure Sea-Surface Temperature (SST) to the demanding levels of accuracy and stability required for climate research. AATSR, which has been operating continuously on ESA's Envisat Satellite since its launch in 2002, achieves the required levels of accuracy on account of its unique dual view, whereby each terrestrial scene is viewed twice, once at nadir and then through an inclined path which uses a different atmospheric path-length, thereby providing a direct observation of atmospheric effects, leading to an exceptionally accurate atmospheric correction. This feature is accompanied by an advanced calibration system combined with excellent optical and thermal designs. Recent rigorous and extensive comparisons with in situ data have shown that, for most of the global oceans, AATSR can achieve and accuracy of around 0.2o C with high stability, which has qualified them for use in climate analysis schemes. Because AATSR is the third sensor in a near-continuous series which started with the launch of ATSR-1 on ERS-1 satellite in 1991, there is a time-series of 16+ years of climate standard SSTs which have recently been re-processed and are now becoming available to the World-wide user community from data centres in Europe. SST data from AATSR have been included in the suite of operational SST products generated by the GODAE/GHRSST Pilot Project, on a timescale needed by operational users and in a format which allows easy ingestion and error estimates for data from AATSR and most of the other sensors currently providing SST measurements from space. Within the GODAE/GHRSST data-products, AATSR SST data are generally regarded as the benchmark for accuracy and are used to provide bias corrections for data from the other sensors, which often have superior coverage, thus exploiting synergistically the complementary qualities if the different data-sets. The UK Met Office

  4. Solar and Lighting Transmission through Complex Fenestration Systems of Office Buildings in a Warm and Dry Climate of Chile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waldo Bustamante

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Overheating, glare, and high-energy demand are recurrent problems in office buildings in Santiago, Chile (33°27'S; 70°42'W during cooling periods. Santiago climate is warm and dry, with high solar radiation and temperature during most of the year. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the thermal and daylighting performance of office buildings transparent façades composed of three different complex fenestration systems (CFS. Each CFS contains a different external shading device (ESD: (1 external roller, (2 vertical undulated and perforated screens, and (3 tilted undulated and perforated screens. The study was carried out by in situ monitoring in three office buildings in Santiago, Chile. Buildings were selected from a database of 103 buildings, representing those constructed between 2005 and 2011 in the city. The monitoring consisted of measuring the short wave solar and daylighting transmission through fenestration systemsby means of pyranometers and luxometers, respectively. This paper shows measurements that were carried out during summer period. A good performance is observed in a building with the external roller system. This system—applied to a northwest façade—shows a regular and high solar and daylighting control of incoming solar radiation. The other two ESD systems evidence a general good performance. However, some deficiencies at certain times of the day were detected, suggesting a non-appropriated design.

  5. The Influence of a Substellar Continent on the Climate of a Tidally Locked Exoplanet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Neil T.; Lambert, F. Hugo; Boutle, Ian A.; Mayne, Nathan J.; Manners, James; Acreman, David M.

    2018-02-01

    Previous studies have demonstrated that continental carbon-silicate weathering is important to the continued habitability of a terrestrial planet. Despite this, few studies have considered the influence of land on the climate of a tidally locked planet. In this work we use the Met Office Unified Model, coupled to a land-surface model, to investigate the climate effects of a continent located at the substellar point. We choose to use the orbital and planetary parameters of Proxima Centauri B as a template, to allow comparison with the work of others. A region of the surface where T s > 273.15 K is always retained, and previous conclusions on the habitability of Proxima Centauri B remain intact. We find that substellar land causes global cooling and increases day–night temperature contrasts by limiting heat redistribution. Furthermore, we find that substellar land is able to introduce a regime change in the atmospheric circulation. Specifically, when a continent offset to the east of the substellar point is introduced, we observe the formation of two mid-latitude counterrotating jets, and a substantially weakened equatorial superrotating jet.

  6. An observational and modeling study of the August 2017 Florida climate extreme event.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konduru, R.; Singh, V.; Routray, A.

    2017-12-01

    A special report on the climate extremes by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) elucidates that the sole cause of disasters is due to the exposure and vulnerability of the human and natural system to the climate extremes. The cause of such a climate extreme could be anthropogenic or non-anthropogenic. Therefore, it is challenging to discern the critical factor of influence for a particular climate extreme. Such kind of perceptive study with reasonable confidence on climate extreme events is possible only if there exist any past case studies. A similar rarest climate extreme problem encountered in the case of Houston floods and extreme rainfall over Florida in August 2017. A continuum of hurricanes like Harvey and Irma targeted the Florida region and caused catastrophe. Due to the rarity of August 2017 Florida climate extreme event, it requires the in-depth study on this case. To understand the multi-faceted nature of the event, a study on the development of the Harvey hurricane and its progression and dynamics is significant. Current article focus on the observational and modeling study on the Harvey hurricane. A global model named as NCUM (The global UK Met office Unified Model (UM) operational at National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, India, was utilized to simulate the Harvey hurricane. The simulated rainfall and wind fields were compared with the observational datasets like Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission rainfall datasets and Era-Interim wind fields. The National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) automated tracking system was utilized to track the Harvey hurricane, and the tracks were analyzed statistically for different forecasts concerning the Harvey hurricane track of Joint Typhon Warning Centre. Further, the current study will be continued to investigate the atmospheric processes involved in the August 2017 Florida climate extreme event.

  7. Does climate undermine subjective well-being? A 58-nation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Ronald; Van de Vliert, Evert

    2011-08-01

    The authors test predictions from climato-economic theories of culture that climate and wealth interact in their influence on psychological processes. Demanding climates (defined as colder than temperate and hotter than temperate climates) create potential threats for humans. If these demands can be met by available economic resources, individuals experience challenging opportunities for self-expression and personal growth and consequently will report lowest levels of ill-being. If threatening climatic demands cannot be met by resources, resulting levels of reported ill-being will be highest. These predictions are confirmed in nation-level means of health complaints, burnout, anxiety, and depression across 58 societies. Climate, wealth, and their interaction together account for 35% of the variation in overall subjective ill-being, even when controlling for known predictors of subjective well-being. Further investigations of the process suggest that cultural individualism does not mediate these effects, but subjective well-being may function as a mediator of the impact of ecological variables on ill-being.

  8. Student Perceptions of School Climate as Predictors of Office Discipline Referrals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gage, Nicholas A.; Larson, Alvin; Sugai, George; Chafouleas, Sandra M.

    2016-01-01

    Research indicates that school climate influences students' academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. Therefore, improving school climate provides a promising avenue for preventing academic, social, and behavioral difficulties. Research has examined school-level measurement of school climate, but few studies have examined student-level responses…

  9. On the climate model simulation of Indian monsoon low pressure systems and the effect of remote disturbances and systematic biases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levine, Richard C.; Martin, Gill M.

    2018-06-01

    Monsoon low pressure systems (LPS) are synoptic-scale systems forming over the Indian monsoon trough region, contributing substantially to seasonal mean summer monsoon rainfall there. Many current global climate models (GCMs), including the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM), show deficient rainfall in this region, much of which has previously been attributed to remote systematic biases such as excessive equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) convection, while also substantially under-representing LPS and associated rainfall as they travel westwards across India. Here the sources and sensitivities of LPS to local, remote and short-timescale forcing are examined, in order to understand the poor representation in GCMs. An LPS tracking method is presented using TRACK feature tracking software for comparison between re-analysis data-sets, MetUM GCM and regional climate model (RCM) simulations. RCM simulations, at similar horizontal resolution to the GCM and forced with re-analysis data at the lateral boundaries, are carried out with different domains to examine the effects of remote biases. The results suggest that remote biases contribute significantly to the poor simulation of LPS in the GCM. As these remote systematic biases are common amongst many current GCMs, it is likely that GCMs are intrinsically capable of representing LPS, even at relatively low resolution. The main problem areas are time-mean excessive EIO convection and poor representation of precursor disturbances transmitted from the Western Pacific. The important contribution of the latter is established using RCM simulations forced by climatological 6-hourly lateral boundary conditions, which also highlight the role of LPS in moving rainfall from steep orography towards Central India.

  10. Interannual rainfall variability over China in the MetUM GA6 and GC2 configurations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. C. Stephan

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Six climate simulations of the Met Office Unified Model Global Atmosphere 6.0 and Global Coupled 2.0 configurations are evaluated against observations and reanalysis data for their ability to simulate the mean state and year-to-year variability of precipitation over China. To analyse the sensitivity to air–sea coupling and horizontal resolution, atmosphere-only and coupled integrations at atmospheric horizontal resolutions of N96, N216 and N512 (corresponding to ∼ 200, 90 and 40 km in the zonal direction at the equator, respectively are analysed. The mean and interannual variance of seasonal precipitation are too high in all simulations over China but improve with finer resolution and coupling. Empirical orthogonal teleconnection (EOT analysis is applied to simulated and observed precipitation to identify spatial patterns of temporally coherent interannual variability in seasonal precipitation. To connect these patterns to large-scale atmospheric and coupled air–sea processes, atmospheric and oceanic fields are regressed onto the corresponding seasonal mean time series. All simulations reproduce the observed leading pattern of interannual rainfall variability in winter, spring and autumn; the leading pattern in summer is present in all but one simulation. However, only in two simulations are the four leading patterns associated with the observed physical mechanisms. Coupled simulations capture more observed patterns of variability and associate more of them with the correct physical mechanism, compared to atmosphere-only simulations at the same resolution. However, finer resolution does not improve the fidelity of these patterns or their associated mechanisms. This shows that evaluating climate models by only geographical distribution of mean precipitation and its interannual variance is insufficient. The EOT analysis adds knowledge about coherent variability and associated mechanisms.

  11. Pacific Northwest Laboratory annual report for 1993 to the DOE Office of Energy Research. Part 3: Atmospheric and climate research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-05-01

    The US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) atmospheric sciences and carbon dioxide research programs provide the DOE with scientifically defensible information on the local, regional, and global distributions of energy-related pollutants and their effects on climate. PNL has had a long history of technical leadership in the atmospheric sciences research programs within OHER. Within the Environmental Sciences Division of OHER, the Atmospheric Chemistry Program continues DOE`s long-term commitment to understanding the local, regional, and global effects of energy-related air pollutants. Research through direct measurement, numerical modeling, and analytical studies in the Atmospheric Chemistry Program emphasizes the long-range transport, chemical transformation, and removal of emitted pollutants, photochemically produced oxidant species, nitrogen-reservoir species, and aerosols. The atmospheric studies in Complex Terrain Program applies basic research on atmospheric boundary layer structure and evolution over inhomogeneous terrain to DOE`s site-specific and generic mission needs in site safety, air quality, and climate change. Research at PNL provides basic scientific underpinnings to DOE`s program of global climate research. Research projects within the core carbon dioxide and ocean research programs are now integrated with those in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements, the Computer Hardware, Advanced Mathematics and Model Physics, and Quantitative Links program to form DOE`s contribution to the US Global Change Research Program. The description of ongoing atmospheric and climate research at PNL is organized in two broad research areas: atmospheric research; and climate research. This report describes the progress in fiscal year 1993 in each of these areas. Individual papers have been processed separately for inclusion in the appropriate data bases.

  12. Multiple regression models for energy use in air-conditioned office buildings in different climates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lam, Joseph C.; Wan, Kevin K.W.; Liu Dalong; Tsang, C.L.

    2010-01-01

    An attempt was made to develop multiple regression models for office buildings in the five major climates in China - severe cold, cold, hot summer and cold winter, mild, and hot summer and warm winter. A total of 12 key building design variables were identified through parametric and sensitivity analysis, and considered as inputs in the regression models. The coefficient of determination R 2 varies from 0.89 in Harbin to 0.97 in Kunming, indicating that 89-97% of the variations in annual building energy use can be explained by the changes in the 12 parameters. A pseudo-random number generator based on three simple multiplicative congruential generators was employed to generate random designs for evaluation of the regression models. The difference between regression-predicted and DOE-simulated annual building energy use are largely within 10%. It is envisaged that the regression models developed can be used to estimate the likely energy savings/penalty during the initial design stage when different building schemes and design concepts are being considered.

  13. Effect of internal woven roller shade and glazing on the energy and daylighting performances of an office building in the cold climate of Shillong

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Ramkishore; Lazarus, I.J.; Kishore, V.V.N.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We simulated a number of glazing and interior roller shade alternatives. • Office room has been simulated for three window-to-wall ratios in a cold climate. • Daylighting and energy performances have been assessed for each alternative. • Maximum energy savings have been estimated in the office with a 30% glazed area. • Energy saving decreases for larger glazed area and fabric transmittance. - Abstract: The energy and visual performances of the façades are defined by many parameters including façade size, properties of glazings and shadings, and their arrangements as well as control strategies. In this study, a number of combinations of internal woven roller shades and four double glazings have been proposed and assessed in integrated manner in order to improve the energy efficiency and visual comfort in new or existing office buildings. Office rooms facing south, east, north and west have been simulated for cold climate, by varying glazed areas and proposed glazing and shading alternatives. Results have been calculated, compared and analyzed in terms of the energy consumptions, energy saving potentials, daylight autonomy, useful daylight illuminance and discomfort glare free time, for each of the combinations. Simulation results show that the choice of glazing and shading alternatives can have substantial impact on energy and visual performances of the office space. Regardless of façade orientation, the maximum energy saving is achieved for a window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of 30%. Saving potential decreases significantly for larger glazed area and for each façade orientation. For all façade orientations and glazed areas (except for 30% WWR in the north wall), a bare low-e coated double glazing (U = 1.616 W/m"2 K, SHGC = 0.209, τ_v = 0.301) is found to be the most energy efficient choice. For 30% north glazing, the energy efficiency can be maximized with a different bare low-e coated double glazing (U = 1.628 W/m"2 K, SHGC = 0.370, τ_v = 0

  14. Sereniteit met een dip

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    dr Ed de Jonge

    2015-01-01

    Boekbespreking van Serendipiteit. De ongezochte vondst. Het boek opent met een verzameling van citaten die direct of indirect met het onderwerp samenhangen. Daarna volgt een kort voorwoord van Hans Clevers, de toenmalige president van de KNAW, die een lans breekt voor serendipiteit in de biologie.

  15. Evaluation of the ENVI-Met Vegetation Model of Four Common Tree Species in a Subtropical Hot-Humid Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhixin Liu

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Urban trees can significantly improve the outdoor thermal environment, especially in subtropical zones. However, due to the lack of fundamental evaluations of numerical simulation models, design and modification strategies for optimizing the thermal environment in subtropical hot-humid climate zones cannot be proposed accurately. To resolve this issue, this study investigated the physiological parameters (leaf surface temperature and vapor flux and thermal effects (solar radiation, air temperature, and humidity of four common tree species (Michelia alba, Mangifera indica, Ficus microcarpa, and Bauhinia blakeana in both spring and summer in Guangzhou, China. A comprehensive comparison of the observed and modeled data from ENVI-met (v4.2 Science, a three-dimensional microclimate model was performed. The results show that the most fundamental weakness of ENVI-met is the limitation of input solar radiation, which cannot be input hourly in the current version and may impact the thermal environment in simulation. For the tree model, the discrepancy between modeled and observed microclimate parameters was acceptable. However, for the physiological parameters, ENVI-met tended to overestimate the leaf surface temperature and underestimate the vapor flux, especially at midday in summer. The simplified calculation of the tree model may be one of the main reasons. Furthermore, the thermal effect of trees, meaning the differences between nearby treeless sites and shaded areas, were all underestimated in ENVI-met for each microclimate variable. This study shows that the tree model is suitable in subtropical hot-humid climates, but also needs some improvement.

  16. Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) Climate Change Adaptation Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    This training discusses climate vulnerabilities and methods for incorporating adaptation measures into OLEM programs. This training is meant to follow completion of EPA's Introductory Climate Change Training.

  17. Metsämaisema ulkoilijoiden kokemana

    OpenAIRE

    Vuohijoki, Jaana

    2010-01-01

    Työn aiheena oli tutkia, miten ulkoilijat kokevat metsämaiseman Tampereella. Tavoitteena oli selvittää ulkoilijoiden maisema-arvostuksia sekä suhtautumista metsänhoidon toimenpiteisiin. Tutkimus toteutettiin maastohaastatteluina Tampereella kolmella eri asuinalueella: Hallilassa, Leinolassa ja Tesomajärvellä. Otoskooksi muodostui kymmenen haastattelua aluetta kohti, mutta yhdeltä vastaajalta ei ehditty kysyä kaikkia kysymyksiä. Vastaajat olivat yleisesti ottaen tyytyväisiä alueiden metsän...

  18. Mars MetNet Mission Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harri, A.-M.; Aleksashkin, S.; Arruego, I.; Schmidt, W.; Genzer, M.; Vazquez, L.; Haukka, H.; Palin, M.; Nikkanen, T.

    2015-10-01

    New kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars is under development in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Lavochkin Association (LA), Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institutio Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA). The Mars MetNet mission is based on a new semihard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). The scientific payload of the Mars MetNet Precursor [1] mission is divided into three categories: Atmospheric instruments, Optical devices and Composition and structure devices. Each of the payload instruments will provide significant insights in to the Martian atmospheric behavior. The key technologies of the MetNet Lander have been qualified and the electrical qualification model (EQM) of the payload bay has been built and successfully tested.

  19. Word je met Donkey Konga een betere muzikant? : Muziek leren spelen met de spelcomputer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tom Langhorst

    2010-01-01

    Kan de spelcomputer behulpzaam zijn bij de ontwikkeling van het muzikale gevoel? Met die vraag in het achterhoofd bekijkt Tom Langhorst hier kritisch het Nintendo-spel Donkey Konga, waarin de speler mee kan drummen met bekende popsongs.

  20. 78 FR 17640 - National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-22

    .... SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce's Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration... the USGCRP.'' Dated: March 5, 2013. Jason Donaldson, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative... INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Cynthia J. Decker, Designated Federal Officer, National Climate Assessment and...

  1. Mars MetNet Mission Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harri, Ari-Matti; Aleksashkin, Sergei; Arruego, Ignacio; Schmidt, Walter; Genzer, Maria; Vazquez, Luis; Haukka, Harri

    2015-04-01

    New kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars is under development in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Lavochkin Association (LA), Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institutio Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA). The Mars MetNet mission is based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). The scientific payload of the Mars MetNet Precursor [1] mission is divided into three categories: Atmospheric instruments, Optical devices and Composition and structure devices. Each of the payload instruments will provide significant insights in to the Martian atmospheric behavior. The key technologies of the MetNet Lander have been qualified and the electrical qualification model (EQM) of the payload bay has been built and successfully tested. 1. MetNet Lander The MetNet landing vehicles are using an inflatable entry and descent system instead of rigid heat shields and parachutes as earlier semi-hard landing devices have used. This way the ratio of the payload mass to the overall mass is optimized. The landing impact will burrow the payload container into the Martian soil providing a more favorable thermal environment for the electronics and a suitable orientation of the telescopic boom with external sensors and the radio link antenna. It is planned to deploy several tens of MNLs on the Martian surface operating at least partly at the same time to allow meteorological network science. 2. Scientific Payload The payload of the two MNL precursor models includes the following instruments: Atmospheric instruments: 1. MetBaro Pressure device 2. MetHumi Humidity device 3. MetTemp Temperature sensors Optical devices: 1. PanCam Panoramic 2. MetSIS Solar irradiance sensor with OWLS optical wireless system for data transfer 3. DS Dust sensor The descent processes dynamic properties are monitored by a special 3-axis accelerometer combined with a 3-axis gyrometer. The data will be sent via auxiliary beacon antenna throughout the

  2. Climatic variation and tortoise survival: has a desert species met its match?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Yackulic, Charles B.; Freilich, Jerry; Agha, Mickey; Austin, Meaghan; Meyer, Katherine P.; Arundel, Terence R.; Hansen, Jered; Vamstad, Michael S.; Root, Stephanie A.

    2014-01-01

    While demographic changes in short-lived species may be observed relatively quickly in response to climate changes, measuring population responses of long-lived species requires long-term studies that are not always available. We analyzed data from a population of threatened Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at a 2.59 km2 study plot in the Sonoran Desert ecosystem of Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA from 1978 to 2012 to examine variation in apparent survival and demography in this long-lived species. Transect-based, mark-recapture surveys were conducted in 10 of those years to locate living and dead tortoises. Previous modeling suggested that this area would become unsuitable as tortoise habitat under a warming and drying climate scenario. Estimated adult population size declined greatly from 1996 to 2012. The population appeared to have high apparent survival from 1978 to 1996 but apparent survival decreased from 1997 to 2002, concurrent with persistent drought. The best model relating apparent survivorship of tortoises ≥18 cm over time was based on a three year moving average of estimated winter precipitation. The postures and positions of a majority of dead tortoises found in 2012 were consistent with death by dehydration and starvation. Some live and many dead tortoises found in 2012 showed signs of predation or scavenging by mammalian carnivores. Coyote (Canis latrans) scats and other evidence from the site confirmed their role as tortoise predators and scavengers. Predation rates may be exacerbated by drought if carnivores switch from preferred mammalian prey to tortoises during dry years. Climate modeling suggests that the region will be subjected to even longer duration droughts in the future and that the plot may become unsuitable for continued tortoise survival. Our results showing wide fluctuations in apparent survival and decreasing tortoise density over time may be early signals of that possible outcome.

  3. Development and demonstration of Denmark's first low-energy class 1 office building with focus on electricity consumption. Final report; Udvikling og demonstration af Danmarks foerste lavenergiklasse 1 kontorbyggeri med fokus pae elforbrug. Slutrapport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stephansen, C. [En2tech, Skanderborg (Denmark); Nellemose Knudsen, H. [Aalborg Univ., Statens Byggeforskningsinstitut (SBi), Koebenhavn (Denmark); Busk Rohde, T. [EnergiMidt, Silkeborg (Denmark); Nielsen, Allan [Insight Building Automation, Silkeborg (Denmark)

    2012-12-15

    The company EnergiMidt's new office building is established as a low-energy class 1 building, and although it has shown a significantly higher consumption than expected in the first 1.5 years of operation, extensive experience and knowledge of the development and implementation of a low-energy class 1 building was provided, as well as of the possibilities for improvements so that low energy requirements can realistically be achieved. Employees' expectations for the new systems and indoor climate are largely met, but considerable experience is also gained about how to introduce and adapt new technology in the workplace for the employees. (LN)

  4. Climate Science's Globally Distributed Infrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, D. N.

    2016-12-01

    The Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) is primarily funded by the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science (the Office of Biological and Environmental Research [BER] Climate Data Informatics Program and the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research Next Generation Network for Science Program), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the European Infrastructure for the European Network for Earth System Modeling (IS-ENES), and the Australian National University (ANU). Support also comes from other U.S. federal and international agencies. The federation works across multiple worldwide data centers and spans seven international network organizations to provide users with the ability to access, analyze, and visualize data using a globally federated collection of networks, computers, and software. Its architecture employs a series of geographically distributed peer nodes that are independently administered and united by common federation protocols and application programming interfaces (APIs). The full ESGF infrastructure has now been adopted by multiple Earth science projects and allows access to petabytes of geophysical data, including the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP; output used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports), multiple model intercomparison projects (MIPs; endorsed by the World Climate Research Programme [WCRP]), and the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME; ESGF is included in the overarching ACME workflow process to store model output). ESGF is a successful example of integration of disparate open-source technologies into a cohesive functional system that serves the needs the global climate science community. Data served by ESGF includes not only model output but also observational data from satellites and instruments, reanalysis, and generated images.

  5. White House Conference on Global Climate Change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1993-11-01

    President Clinton has directed the White House office on Environmental Policy to coordinate an interagency process to develop a plan to fulfill the commitment he made in his Earth Day address on April 21, 1993. This plan will become the cornerstone of the Climate Change Plan that will be completed shortly after the Rio Accord enters into force. The Office on Environmental Policy established the Interagency Climate Change Mitigation Group to draw on the expertise of federal agencies including the National Economic Council; the Council of Economic Advisors; the Office of Science and Technology Policy; the Office of Management and Budget; the National Security Council; the Domestic Policy Council; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, Interior, Treasury, Commerce, and State. Working groups have been established to examine six key policy areas: energy demand, energy supply, joint implementation, methane and other gases, sinks, and transportation. The purpose of the White House Conference on Global Climate Change was to ``tap the real-world experiences`` of diverse participants and seek ideas and information for meeting the President`s goals. During the opening session, senior administration officials defined the challenge ahead and encouraged open and frank conversation about the best possible ways to meet it.

  6. Building energy efficiency in different climates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lam, Joseph C.; Wan, Kevin K.W.; Tsang, C.L.; Yang Liu

    2008-01-01

    Energy simulation was conducted for office buildings in the five major climate zones - severe cold, cold, hot summer and cold winter, mild, and hot summer and warm winter - in China using DOE-2.1E. The primary aim was to investigate the thermal and energy performance of office buildings with centralised heating, ventilation and air conditioning plants in the major climatic zones in China. The computed results were analysed in three aspects - heating load, cooling load and the corresponding building energy consumption. The building peak monthly heating load varied from 142 MW h (1033 MW h cooling) in Hong Kong to 447 MW h (832 MW h cooling) in Harbin. It was also found that passive solar designs could have large energy savings potential in the severe cold and cold climates. In Harbin, the window solar component helped lower the annual building heating load by 650 MW h. Internal loads (lighting and office equipment) and part load operations of fans and pumps also played a significant role in the overall building energy efficiency. This paper presents the work, its findings and energy efficiency implications

  7. BASINs 4.0 Climate Assessment Tool (CAT): Supporting ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA announced the availability of the report, BASINS 4.0 Climate Assessment Tool (CAT): Supporting Documentation and User's Manual. This report was prepared by the EPA's Global Change Research Program (GCRP), an assessment-oriented program, that sits within the Office of Research and Development, that focuses on assessing how potential changes in climate and other global environmental stressors may impact water quality, air quality, aquatic ecosystems, and human health in the United States. The Program’s focus on water quality is consistent with the Research Strategy of the U.S. Climate Change Research Program—the federal umbrella organization for climate change science in the U.S. government—and is responsive to U.S. EPA’s mission and responsibilities as defined by the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. A central goal of the EPA GCRP is to provide EPA program offices, Regions, and other stakeholders with tools and information for assessing and responding to any potential future impacts of climate change. In 2007, the EPA Global Change Research Program (GCRP), in partnership with the EPA Office of Water, supported development of a Climate Assessment Tool (CAT) for version 4 of EPA’s BASINS modeling system. This report provides supporting documentation and user support materials for the BASINS CAT tool. The purpose of this report is to provide in a single document a variety of documentation and user support materials supporting the use

  8. How to handle heat stress and flooding in the city; Omgaan met hittestress en wateroverlast in de stad

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Runhaar, H.; Mees, H.; Driessen, P. [Sectie Milieumaatschappijwetenschappen, Faculteit Geowetenschappen, Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht (Netherlands); Van der Sluijs, J.; Wardekker, A. [Sectie Natuurwetenschap en Samenleving NWS, Faculteit Betawetenschappen, Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2011-03-15

    Climate change can bring along various risks such as an increase in heat stress and flooding. Scientific research usually focuses on providing insight in these risks and on developing adaptation measures. Less information is available on how urban planners anticipate climate change. In this contribution we analyze whether and how the future effects of climate change are anticipated in Dutch cities. [Dutch] Klimaatverandering kan verschillende risico's met zich meebrengen, zoals toename van hittestress en wateroverlast. Wetenschappelijk onderzoek richt zich doorgaans op het inzichtelijk maken van deze risico's en de ontwikkeling van adaptatiemaatregelen. Veel minder is bekend hoe stedelijke planners anticiperen op klimaatveranderingen. In deze bijdrage analyseren we of en hoe in Nederlandse steden wordt ingespeeld op toekomstige invloeden van klimaatverandering.

  9. Annual Energy Savings and Thermal Comfort of Autonomously Heated and Cooled Office Chairs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carmichael, Scott [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Booten, Chuck [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Robertson, Joseph [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chin, Justin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Christensen, Dane [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Pless, Jacquelyn [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Arent, Doug [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-07-01

    Energy use in offices buildings is largely driven by air conditioning demands. But the optimal temperature is not the same for all building occupants, leading to the infamous thermostat war. And many occupants have independently overcome building comfort weaknesses with their own space heaters or fans. NREL tested is a customized office chair that automatically heats and cools the occupant along the seat and chair back according to the occupants' personal preferences. This product is shown to deliver markedly better comfort at room temperatures well above typical office cooling setpoints. Experimental subjects reported satisfaction in these elevated air temperatures, partly because the chair's cooling effect was tuned to their own individual needs. Simulation of the chair in office buildings around the U.S. shows that energy can be saved everywhere, with impacts varying due to the climate. Total building HVAC energy savings exceeded 10% in hot-dry climate zones. Due to high product cost, simple payback for the chair we studied is beyond the expected chair life. We then understood the need to establish cost-performance targets for comfort delivery packages. NREL derived several hypothetical energy/cost/comfort targets for personal comfort product systems. In some climate regions around the U.S., these show the potential for office building HVAC energy savings in excess of 20%. This report documents this research, providing an overview of the research team's methods and results while also identifying areas for future research building upon the findings.

  10. Carbon dioxide and climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-10-01

    Global climate change is a serious environmental concern, and the US has developed ''An Action Agenda'' to deal with it. At the heart of the US effort is the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which has been developed by the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences (CEES) of the Federal Coordinating Council for Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET). The USGCRP will provide the scientific basis for sound policy making on the climate-change issue. The DOE contribution to the USGCRP is the Carbon Dioxide Research Program, which now places particular emphasis on the rapid improvement of the capability to predict global and regional climate change. DOE's Carbon Dioxide Research Program has been addressing the carbon dioxide-climate change connection for more than twelve years and has provided a solid scientific foundation for the USGCRP. The expansion of the DOE effort reflects the increased attention that the Department has placed on the issue and is reflected in the National Energy Strategy (NES) that was released in 1991. This Program Summary describes projects funded by the Carbon Dioxide Research Program during FY 1991 and gives a brief overview of objectives, organization, and accomplishments. The Environmental Sciences Division of the Office of Health and Environmental Research, Office of Energy Research supports a Carbon Dioxide Research Program to determine the scientific linkage between the rise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide, and climate and vegetation change. One facet is the Core CO 2 Program, a pioneering program that DOE established more than 10 years ago to understand and predict the ways that fossil-fuel burning could affect atmospheric CO 2 concentration, global climate, and the Earth's biosphere. Major research areas are: global carbon cycle; climate detection and models of climate change; vegetation research; resource analysis; and, information and integration

  11. Personal control over indoor climate and productivity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boerstra, A.C.; Loomans, M.G.L.C.; Hensen, J.L.M.

    2014-01-01

    A multilayer study was designed to investigate how having or not having control over one’s indoor climate affects work performance in office buildings. The study consisted of 2 stages. The HOPE database (with results from a large study in 64 European office buildings) was reanalyzed on correlations

  12. Climate variability and climate change vulnerability and adaptation. Workshop summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhatti, N.; Cirillo, R.R.; Dixon, R.K.

    1995-01-01

    Representatives from fifteen countries met in Prague, Czech Republic, on September 11-15, 1995, to share results from the analysis of vulnerability and adaptation to global climate change. The workshop focused on the issues of global climate change and its impacts on various sectors of a national economy. The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), which has been signed by more than 150 governments worldwide, calls on signatory parties to develop and communicate measures they are implementing to respond to global climate change. An analysis of a country's vulnerability to changes in the climate helps it identify suitable adaptation measures. These analyses are designed to determine the extent of the impacts of global climate change on sensitive sectors such as agricultural crops, forests, grasslands and livestock, water resources, and coastal areas. Once it is determined how vulnerable a country may be to climate change, it is possible to identify adaptation measures for ameliorating some or all of the effects.The objectives of the vulnerability and adaptation workshop were to: The objectives of the vulnerability and adaptation workshop were to: Provide an opportunity for countries to describe their study results; Encourage countries to learn from the experience of the more complete assessments and adjust their studies accordingly; Identify issues and analyses that require further investigation; and Summarize results and experiences for governmental and intergovernmental organizations

  13. Climate variability and climate change vulnerability and adaptation. Workshop summary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bhatti, N.; Cirillo, R.R. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Dixon, R.K. [U.S. Country Studies Program, Washington, DC (United States)] [and others

    1995-12-31

    Representatives from fifteen countries met in Prague, Czech Republic, on September 11-15, 1995, to share results from the analysis of vulnerability and adaptation to global climate change. The workshop focused on the issues of global climate change and its impacts on various sectors of a national economy. The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), which has been signed by more than 150 governments worldwide, calls on signatory parties to develop and communicate measures they are implementing to respond to global climate change. An analysis of a country`s vulnerability to changes in the climate helps it identify suitable adaptation measures. These analyses are designed to determine the extent of the impacts of global climate change on sensitive sectors such as agricultural crops, forests, grasslands and livestock, water resources, and coastal areas. Once it is determined how vulnerable a country may be to climate change, it is possible to identify adaptation measures for ameliorating some or all of the effects.The objectives of the vulnerability and adaptation workshop were to: The objectives of the vulnerability and adaptation workshop were to: Provide an opportunity for countries to describe their study results; Encourage countries to learn from the experience of the more complete assessments and adjust their studies accordingly; Identify issues and analyses that require further investigation; and Summarize results and experiences for governmental and intergovernmental organizations.

  14. Phase I Trial of Anti-MET Monoclonal Antibody in MET-Overexpressed Refractory Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jeeyun; Kim, Seung Tae; Park, Sungju; Lee, Sujin; Park, Se Hoon; Park, Joon Oh; Lim, Ho Yeong; Ahn, Hongmo; Bok, Haesook; Kim, Kyoung-Mee; Ahn, Myung Ju; Kang, Won Ki; Park, Young Suk

    2018-06-01

    Samsung Advance Institute of Technology-301 (SAIT301) is a human immunoglobulin G2 antibody that can specifically target mesenchymal epithelial transition factor (c-MET). This novel antibody has higher priority over hepatocyte growth factors when binding to the Sema domain of c-MET and accelerates the internalization and degradation of c-MET, proving its powerful antitumor activities in intra- as well as extracellular areas. SAIT301 was administered intravenously once every 3 weeks in c-MET overexpressed solid tumor patients, focusing on metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) according to common clinical phase I criteria. Dose escalation was performed according to a modified Fibonacci design, following the conventional 3+3 design. The purpose of this phase I study was to assess the safety profile, to establish the recommended dose for clinical phase II studies and to assess potential anticancer activity of the compound. Sixteen patients with a median age of 56 (range, 39-69) years were enrolled in the study. The most common adverse events were decreased appetite (50.0%), hypophosphatemia, fatigue and dizziness (25.0%, respectively), and diarrhea, blood alkaline phosphatase increased and dyspnea (18.8%, respectively). For tumor response, no patients achieved complete response. One (9.1%) CRC patient had a partial response in the 1.23 mg/kg group, 4 (36.4%) patients achieved stable disease (2 in the 0.41 mg/kg group, 2 in the 1.23 mg/kg group, 0 in the 3.69 mg/kg group, and 1 in the 8.61 mg/kg group). Because of the increase in dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) at 8.61 mg/kg, the 3.69 mg/kg dose was considered the maximum tolerated dose and selected for further assessment in phase II. We successfully completed a phase I trial with MET antibody in a MET-overexpressed patient population focusing on CRC, and found that the DLTs were alkaline phosphatase elevation or hypophosphatemia. The recommended dose of SAIT301 for phase II is the dose of 3.69 mg/kg. Copyright © 2018

  15. Energy Conservation in an Office Building Using an Enhanced Blind System Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edorta Carrascal-Lekunberri

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The two spaces office module is usually considered as a representative case-study to analyse the energetic improvement in office buildings. In this kind of buildings, the use of a model predictive control (MPC scheme for the climate system control provides energy savings over 15% in comparison to classic control policies. This paper focuses on the influence of solar radiation on the climate control of the office module under Belgian weather conditions. Considering MPC as main climate control, it proposes a novel distributed enhanced control for the blind system (BS that takes into account part of the predictive information of the MPC. In addition to the savings that are usually achieved by MPC, it adds a potential 15% improvement in global energy use with respect to the usually proposed BS hysteresis control. Moreover, from the simulation results it can be concluded that the thermal comfort is also improved. The proposed BS scheme increases the energy use ratio between the thermally activated building system (TABS and air-handling unit (AHU; therefore increasing the use of TABS and allowing economic savings, due to the use of more cost-effective thermal equipment.

  16. Microbewerking met behulp van lasers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ezendam, M.M.M.

    1994-01-01

    Het bewerken van materialen met behulp van lasers staat momenteel enorm in de belangstelling, en terecht. De ontwikkeling van bestaande en nieuwe typen lasers staat alles behalve stil. Ontwikkelingen bevinden zich met name in het gebied van hogere vermogens, betere bundelkwaliteit en hogere

  17. MMPM - Mars MetNet Precursor Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harri, A.-M.; Schmidt, W.; Pichkhadze, K.; Linkin, V.; Vazquez, L.; Uspensky, M.; Polkko, J.; Genzer, M.; Lipatov, A.; Guerrero, H.; Alexashkin, S.; Haukka, H.; Savijarvi, H.; Kauhanen, J.

    2008-09-01

    We are developing a new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars - MetNet in situ observation network based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called the Met-Net Lander (MNL). The eventual scope of the MetNet Mission is to deploy some 20 MNLs on the Martian surface using inflatable descent system structures, which will be supported by observations from the orbit around Mars. Currently we are working on the MetNet Mars Precursor Mission (MMPM) to deploy one MetNet Lander to Mars in the 2009/2011 launch window as a technology and science demonstration mission. The MNL will have a versatile science payload focused on the atmospheric science of Mars. Detailed characterization of the Martian atmospheric circulation patterns, boundary layer phenomena, and climatology cycles, require simultaneous in-situ measurements by a network of observation posts on the Martian surface. The scientific payload of the MetNet Mission encompasses separate instrument packages for the atmospheric entry and descent phase and for the surface operation phase. The MetNet mission concept and key probe technologies have been developed and the critical subsystems have been qualified to meet the Martian environmental and functional conditions. Prototyping of the payload instrumentation with final dimensions was carried out in 2003-2006.This huge development effort has been fulfilled in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), the Russian Lavoschkin Association (LA) and the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI) since August 2001. Currently the INTA (Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial) from Spain is also participating in the MetNet payload development. To understand the behavior and dynamics of the Martian atmosphere, a wealth of simultaneous in situ observations are needed on varying types of Martian orography, terrain and altitude spanning all latitudes and longitudes. This will be performed by the Mars MetNet Mission. In addition to the science aspects the

  18. MET gene exon 14 deletion created using the CRISPR/Cas9 system enhances cellular growth and sensitivity to a MET inhibitor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Togashi, Yosuke; Mizuuchi, Hiroshi; Tomida, Shuta; Terashima, Masato; Hayashi, Hidetoshi; Nishio, Kazuto; Mitsudomi, Tetsuya

    2015-12-01

    MET splice site mutations resulting in an exon 14 deletion have been reported to be present in about 3% of all lung adenocarcinomas. Patients with lung adenocarcinoma and a MET splice site mutation who have responded to MET inhibitors have been reported. The CRISPR/Cas9 system is a recently developed genome-engineering tool that can easily and rapidly cause small insertions or deletions. We created an in vitro model for MET exon 14 deletion using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and the HEK293 cell line. The phenotype, which included MET inhibitor sensitivity, was then investigated in vitro. Additionally, MET splice site mutations were analyzed in several cancers included in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. An HEK293 cell line with a MET exon 14 deletion was easily and rapidly created; this cell line had a higher MET protein expression level, enhanced MET phosphorylation, and prolonged MET activation. In addition, a direct comparison of phenotypes using this system demonstrated enhanced cellular growth, colony formation, and MET inhibitor sensitivity. In the TCGA dataset, lung adenocarcinomas had the highest incidence of MET exon 14 deletions, while other cancers rarely carried such mutations. Approximately 10% of the lung adenocarcinoma samples without any of driver gene alterations carried the MET exon 14 deletion. These findings suggested that this system may be useful for experiments requiring the creation of specific mutations, and the present experimental findings encourage the development of MET-targeted therapy against lung cancer carrying the MET exon 14 deletion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Simulated trends of extreme climate indices for the Carpathian basin using outputs of different regional climate models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pongracz, R.; Bartholy, J.; Szabo, P.; Pieczka, I.; Torma, C. S.

    2009-04-01

    Regional climatological effects of global warming may be recognized not only in shifts of mean temperature and precipitation, but in the frequency or intensity changes of different climate extremes. Several climate extreme indices are analyzed and compared for the Carpathian basin (located in Central/Eastern Europe) following the guidelines suggested by the joint WMO-CCl/CLIVAR Working Group on climate change detection. Our statistical trend analysis includes the evaluation of several extreme temperature and precipitation indices, e.g., the numbers of severe cold days, winter days, frost days, cold days, warm days, summer days, hot days, extremely hot days, cold nights, warm nights, the intra-annual extreme temperature range, the heat wave duration, the growing season length, the number of wet days (using several threshold values defining extremes), the maximum number of consecutive dry days, the highest 1-day precipitation amount, the greatest 5-day rainfall total, the annual fraction due to extreme precipitation events, etc. In order to evaluate the future trends (2071-2100) in the Carpathian basin, daily values of meteorological variables are obtained from the outputs of various regional climate model (RCM) experiments accomplished in the frame of the completed EU-project PRUDENCE (Prediction of Regional scenarios and Uncertainties for Defining EuropeaN Climate change risks and Effects). Horizontal resolution of the applied RCMs is 50 km. Both scenarios A2 and B2 are used to compare past and future trends of the extreme climate indices for the Carpathian basin. Furthermore, fine-resolution climate experiments of two additional RCMs adapted and run at the Department of Meteorology, Eotvos Lorand University are used to extend the trend analysis of climate extremes for the Carpathian basin. (1) Model PRECIS (run at 25 km horizontal resolution) was developed at the UK Met Office, Hadley Centre, and it uses the boundary conditions from the HadCM3 GCM. (2) Model Reg

  20. Creating Office Spaces in the Mediterranean. The importance of well-being, health and performance of office users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Mateo-Cecilia

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Recent research has studied the influence of office buildings indoor environment quality (IEQ on employees’ well-being, health and performance. However, it seems that it has not been explicitly explored what are the appropriate environmental conditions to different work patterns that coexist in these spaces. This paper presents results of an empirical research, based on the synchronized measurements of different IEQ parameters (i.e., noise, lighting and temperature, and well-being, health and performance of 71 employees in twelve office spaces in the Valencian Community along three periods, considering winter and summer conditions. Findings of the first winter period data, suggest the existence of different ideal parameters for different levels of task complexity (one of the dimensions that characterizes work patterns in the Mediterranean climate; and open new avenues of research to build up a specific Smart and Sustainable Offices (SSO model and further systemic design-support tools.

  1. Effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and met allele load on declarative memory related neural networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodds, Chris M; Henson, Richard N; Suckling, John; Miskowiak, Kamilla W; Ooi, Cinly; Tait, Roger; Soltesz, Fruzsina; Lawrence, Phil; Bentley, Graham; Maltby, Kay; Skeggs, Andrew; Miller, Sam R; McHugh, Simon; Bullmore, Edward T; Nathan, Pradeep J

    2013-01-01

    It has been suggested that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism modulates episodic memory performance via effects on hippocampal neural circuitry. However, fMRI studies have yielded inconsistent results in this respect. Moreover, very few studies have examined the effect of met allele load on activation of memory circuitry. In the present study, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of the effects of the BDNF polymorphism on brain responses during episodic memory encoding and retrieval, including an investigation of the effect of met allele load on memory related activation in the medial temporal lobe. In contrast to previous studies, we found no evidence for an effect of BDNF genotype or met load during episodic memory encoding. Met allele carriers showed increased activation during successful retrieval in right hippocampus but this was contrast-specific and unaffected by met allele load. These results suggest that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism does not, as previously claimed, exert an observable effect on neural systems underlying encoding of new information into episodic memory but may exert a subtle effect on the efficiency with which such information can be retrieved.

  2. Effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and met allele load on declarative memory related neural networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris M Dodds

    Full Text Available It has been suggested that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism modulates episodic memory performance via effects on hippocampal neural circuitry. However, fMRI studies have yielded inconsistent results in this respect. Moreover, very few studies have examined the effect of met allele load on activation of memory circuitry. In the present study, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of the effects of the BDNF polymorphism on brain responses during episodic memory encoding and retrieval, including an investigation of the effect of met allele load on memory related activation in the medial temporal lobe. In contrast to previous studies, we found no evidence for an effect of BDNF genotype or met load during episodic memory encoding. Met allele carriers showed increased activation during successful retrieval in right hippocampus but this was contrast-specific and unaffected by met allele load. These results suggest that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism does not, as previously claimed, exert an observable effect on neural systems underlying encoding of new information into episodic memory but may exert a subtle effect on the efficiency with which such information can be retrieved.

  3. Simulation of temperature in office with building integrated heating and cooling system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitzmann, Peter

    2002-01-01

    In this paper a numerical investigation of the thermal indoor environment has been performed for an office with building integrated hydronic heating and cooling system. Today office buildings are designed in such a way, and have such high internal heat loads and solar gains, that some kind...... of cooling is normally necessary for most of the year. Even in as cool climates as in the Nordic countries. The way the cooling is often achieved is through air conditioning. This can in many cases lead to sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, and furthermore it results in high energy consumption periods...... the temperature of the concrete to a level slightly below the desired room temperature, the concrete will work as an absorber for the excess heat in the office. This can significantly reduce the need for air conditioning, which will give both improved indoor climate and lower energy costs in the building...

  4. Tools for Climate Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartmann, H. C.

    2007-05-01

    Full realization of socio-economic benefits of from public investments in climate services remains incomplete because decision makers have difficulty: 1) interpreting individual products, 2) appropriately judging information credibility, and 3) linking different types of information, both conceptually and practically. Addressing these barriers is as important as improving the science leading to improved information. The challenge is creating flexible climate information products and tools that can accommodate unique user needs; the goal is a systemic change in the nature of information delivery and use. The underlying assumption is not that climate information is good and useful, and simply needs to be communicated effectively. Rather, a number of conditions must be met before decision makers can make informed choices about whether to use particular information in a specific situation. Several case studies, of varying success, illustrate user-centric strategies for developing decision support tools: a forecast evaluation tool, a climate information management system, and a hydrologic alert system. However, tools alone will not bridge the barriers in climate services, with training and other capacity- building activities remaining important activities.

  5. Migration and Adaptation (DECCMA)

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Hutton C.W.

    Population potentially displaced by current sea-level trends to 2050. (Extreme >1 million; high ... As climate change and sea-level rise increases, so the range of .... (UK Met Office). • Gender issues (Kulima Integrated Development Solutions).

  6. Occupational stress among senior police officers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, J; Cooper, C; Kirkcaldy, B

    1996-02-01

    From a survey of over 500 senior UK police officers completing the occupational stress inventory, it was observed that those serving in England and Wales exhibited the highest job stress related to structure and climate, co-worker relationships and their managerial role. There were no inter-regional differences on the individual difference variables, Type A behaviour, locus of control, or on physical health measures. Superintendents in Scotland used coping methods least frequently including domestic/home support, time management and social support, the latter strategy being most used by Northern Ireland officers. Findings relating job stress to job satisfaction were inconsistent with other police populations. Results are discussed in the context of organizational reform in the police service.

  7. Gezondheidsrisico's in verband met het werken met Polychloorbifenylen : een onderzoek

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geuskens, R.B.M.; Nossent, S.M.; Koëter, H.B.W.M.; Dreef-van der Meulen, H.C.; Stijkel, A.; Zielhuis, R.L.

    1989-01-01

    Met behulp van gegevens verkregen uit een werkplekinventarisatie naar gegevens over produktie/gebruik, risicopopulatie en (mogelijke) blootstelling aan polychloorbifenylen (PCB's), en een literatuurstudie naar mogelijke schadelijke eigenschappen van PCB's op het reproductiesysteem en/of nageslacht

  8. The EGFR/ErbB3 Pathway Acts as a Compensatory Survival Mechanism upon c-Met Inhibition in Human c-Met+ Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven N Steinway

    Full Text Available c-Met, a high-affinity receptor for Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF, plays a critical role in tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC patients with activated HGF/c-Met signaling have a significantly worse prognosis. Targeted therapies using c-Met tyrosine kinase inhibitors are currently in clinical trials for HCC, although receptor tyrosine kinase inhibition in other cancers has demonstrated early success. Unfortunately, therapeutic effect is frequently not durable due to acquired resistance.We utilized the human MHCC97-H c-Met positive (c-Met+ HCC cell line to explore the compensatory survival mechanisms that are acquired after c-Met inhibition. MHCC97-H cells with stable c-Met knockdown (MHCC97-H c-Met KD cells were generated using a c-Met shRNA vector with puromycin selection and stably transfected scrambled shRNA as a control. Gene expression profiling was conducted, and protein expression was analyzed to characterize MHCC97-H cells after blockade of the c-Met oncogene. A high-throughput siRNA screen was performed to find putative compensatory survival proteins, which could drive HCC growth in the absence of c-Met. Findings from this screen were validated through subsequent analyses.We have previously demonstrated that treatment of MHCC97-H cells with a c-Met inhibitor, PHA665752, results in stasis of tumor growth in vivo. MHCC97-H c-Met KD cells demonstrate slower growth kinetics, similar to c-Met inhibitor treated tumors. Using gene expression profiling and siRNA screening against 873 kinases and phosphatases, we identified ErbB3 and TGF-α as compensatory survival factors that are upregulated after c-Met inhibition. Suppressing these factors in c-Met KD MHCC97-H cells suppresses tumor growth in vitro. In addition, we found that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway serves as a negative feedback signal responsible for the ErbB3 upregulation after c-Met inhibition. Furthermore, in vitro studies demonstrate that

  9. Evaluating a New Homogeneous Total Ozone Climate Data Record from GOME/ERS-2, SCIAMACHY/Envisat, and GOME-2/MetOp-A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koukouli, M.E.; Lerot, C.; Granville, J.; Goutail, F.; Lambert, J.-C.; Pommereau, J.-P.; Balis, D.; Zyrichidou, I.; Van Roozendael, M.; Coldewey-Egbers, M.; hide

    2015-01-01

    The European Space Agency's Ozone Climate Change Initiative (O3-CCI) project aims at producing and validating a number of high-quality ozone data products generated from different satellite sensors. For total ozone, the O3-CCI approach consists of minimizing sources of bias and systematic uncertainties by applying a common retrieval algorithm to all level 1 data sets, in order to enhance the consistency between the level 2 data sets from individual sensors. Here we present the evaluation of the total ozone products from the European sensors Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME)/ERS-2, SCIAMACHY/Envisat, and GOME-2/MetOp-A produced with the GOME-type Direct FITting (GODFIT) algorithm v3. Measurements from the three sensors span more than 16 years, from 1996 to 2012. In this work, we present the latest O3-CCI total ozone validation results using as reference ground-based measurements from Brewer and Dobson spectrophotometers archived at the World Ozone and UV Data Centre of the World Meteorological Organization as well as from UV-visible differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS)/Système D'Analyse par Observations Zénithales (SAOZ) instruments from the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change. In particular, we investigate possible dependencies in these new GODFIT v3 total ozone data sets with respect to latitude, season, solar zenith angle, and different cloud parameters, using the most adequate type of ground-based instrument. We show that these three O3-CCI total ozone data products behave very similarly and are less sensitive to instrumental degradation, mainly as a result of the new reflectance soft-calibration scheme. The mean bias to the ground-based observations is found to be within the 1 plus or minus 1 percent level for all three sensors while the near-zero decadal stability of the total ozone columns (TOCs) provided by the three European instruments falls well within the 1-3 percent requirement of the European Space

  10. Towards energy-neutral offices. The UKP-NESK office buildings in the initiation phase; Naar energieneutrale kantoren. De UKP-NESK kantoren in de initiatiefase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prendergast, E.; Schuller, Y. [MoBius consult, Driebergen-Rijsenburg (Netherlands)

    2011-06-15

    This publication contains information and analysis from the initiation phase of the 7 NESK offices. NESK represents the tender scheme 'Towards zero energy schools and offices' in which 15 projects (8 schools and 7 offices) participate. The project addressed the people and their ambition, the process, technology, financing and judicial agreements. The 7 office projects were granted with a financial contribution because they stood out in terms of: CO2 emission reduction; Indoor environment quality; Innovation, quality and other sustainability issues; Cooperation and success rate; and The potential for upscaling and repetition. [Dutch] Deze publicatie bevat de informatie en analyse uit de initiatieffase van de 7 NESK-kantoren. NESK staat voor de tenderregeling 'Naar energieneutrale scholen en kantoren' waaraan 15 projecten (8 scholen en 7 kantoren) deelnemen. In het project is aandacht besteed de mensen en hun ambitie, het proces, de techniek, de financien en de juridische afspraken. De 7 kantorenprojecten zijn met een financiele bijdrage gehonoreerd omdat ze als beste uit de bus kwamen waar het gaat om: CO2-emissiereductie; Kwaliteit binnenklimaat; Innovatie, andere duurzaamheidaspecten en kwaliteitsborging; Samenwerking en slaagkans; en Herhalings- en opschalingspotentieel.

  11. MET Expression in Primary and Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Implications of Correlative Biomarker Assessment to MET Pathway Inhibitors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian Shuch

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims. Inhibitors of the MET pathway hold promise in the treatment for metastatic kidney cancer. Assessment of predictive biomarkers may be necessary for appropriate patient selection. Understanding MET expression in metastases and the correlation to the primary site is important, as distant tissue is not always available. Methods and Results. MET immunofluorescence was performed using automated quantitative analysis and a tissue microarray containing matched nephrectomy and distant metastatic sites from 34 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Correlations between MET expressions in matched primary and metastatic sites and the extent of heterogeneity were calculated. The mean expression of MET was not significantly different between primary tumors when compared to metastases (P=0.1. MET expression weakly correlated between primary and matched metastatic sites (R=0.5 and a number of cases exhibited very high levels of discordance between these tumors. Heterogeneity within nephrectomy specimens compared to the paired metastatic tissues was not significantly different (P=0.39. Conclusions. We found that MET expression is not significantly different in primary tumors than metastatic sites and only weakly correlates between matched sites. Moderate concordance of MET expression and significant expression heterogeneity may be a barrier to the development of predictive biomarkers using MET targeting agents.

  12. COMT (Val158Met and BDNF (Val66Met Genes Polymorphism in Schizophrenia: A Case-Control Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ramin saravani

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The effects of human brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF Val66Met (G>A and the human Catechol-O-methylTransferase (COMT Val158Met (G>A polymorphisms on Schizophrenia (SCZ risk were evaluated.Methods: This case control study included 92 SCZ patients and 92 healthy controls (HCs. Genotyping of both variants were conducted using Amplification Refractory Mutation System-Polymerase Chain Reaction (ARMS-PCR.Results: The findings showed that BDNF Val66Met (G>A variant increased the risk of SCZ (OR=2.008 95%CI=1.008-4.00, P=0.047, GA vs. GG, OR=3.876 95%CI=1.001-14.925, P=0.049. AA vs. GG, OR=2.272. 95%CI=1.204-4.347, P=0.011, GA+AA vs. GG, OR=2.22 95%CI=1.29-3.82. P=0.005, A vs. G. COMT Val158Met (G>A polymorphism was not associated with the risk/protective of SCZ.Conclusion: The results proposed that BDNF Val66Met (G>A polymorphism may increase the risk of SCZ development and did not support an association between COMT Val158Met (G>A variant and risk/protective of SCZ. Further studies and different ethnicities are recommended to confirm the findings.

  13. Mars MetNet Precursor Mission Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harri, A.-M.; Aleksashkin, S.; Guerrero, H.; Schmidt, W.; Genzer, M.; Vazquez, L.; Haukka, H.

    2013-09-01

    We are developing a new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Lavochkin Association (LA), Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institutio Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA). The Mars MetNet mission is based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). The scientific payload of the Mars MetNet Precursor [1] mission is divided into three categories: Atmospheric instruments, Optical devices and Composition and structure devices. Each of the payload instruments will provide significant insights in to the Martian atmospheric behavior. The key technologies of the MetNet Lander have been qualified and the electrical qualification model (EQM) of the payload bay has been built and successfully tested.

  14. Using Photographs to Assess Equity Climate: A Taxonomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banning, James H.; Middleton, Valerie; Deniston, Terry L.

    2008-01-01

    In educational settings, the concepts of environment, culture, and climate are often used interchangeably, but climate also has a more narrow meaning that focuses on organizational attitudes and behaviors that foster organizational patterns and atmospheres. From this perspective, the physical artifacts of a school, office, or other organization…

  15. Energy impact of indoor environmental policy for air-conditioned offices of Hong Kong

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, L.T.; Mui, K.W.; Shi, K.L.

    2008-01-01

    Air-conditioned office buildings are one of the biggest energy consumers of electricity in developed cities in the subtropical climate regions. A good energy policy for the indoor environment should respond to both the needs of energy conservation and the needs for a desirable indoor healthy environment with a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) generation. This study evaluates energy implications and the corresponding CO 2 generation of some indoor environmental policies for air-conditioned office buildings in the subtropical climate. In particular, the thermal energy consumption in an air-conditioned office building was evaluated by the heat gains through the building fabric, the transport of outdoor fresh air for ventilation, and the heat generated by the occupant and equipment in the space. With the Monte-Carlo sampling technique and the parameters from the existing office building stocks of Hong Kong, the energy consumption profiles of air-conditioned office buildings in Hong Kong were evaluated. Energy consumption profiles were simulated for certain indoor environmental quality (IEQ) policies on indoor air temperature and CO 2 concentration settings in the offices, with other building parameters remaining unchanged. The impact assessment and the regression models described in this study may be useful for evaluation of energy performances of IEQ policies. They will also be useful for the promotion of energy-saving measures in air-conditioned office buildings in Hong Kong. This study presented a useful source of references for policymakers, building professionals and end users to quantify the energy and environmental impacts due to an IEQ policy for air-conditioned office buildings

  16. National Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goplen, Susan E.; Sloan, Jeff L.

    2015-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office leads the implementation of UAS technology in the Department of the Interior (DOI). Our mission is to support the transition of UAS into DOI as a new cost-effective tool for collecting remote-sensing data to monitor environmental conditions, respond to natural hazards, recognize the consequences and benefits of land and climate change and conduct wildlife inventories. The USGS is teaming with all DOI agencies and academia as well as local, State, and Tribal governments with guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration and the DOI Office of Aviation Services (OAS) to lead the safe, efficient, costeffective and leading-edge adoption of UAS technology into the scientific research and operational activities of the DOI.

  17. Environmental Noise Exposure On Occupants In Naturally Ventilated Open-Plan Offices Case Of Selected Offices In Kumasi Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koranteng

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The design of buildings in public educational institutions in Ghana predominantly adopts open-plan offices that are naturally ventilated with the aid of operable windows for reasons such as achieving adaptable spaces improved social climate and effective ventilation. However adoption of open-plan naturally ventilated offices in these educational institutions expose occupants to noise that emanates indoors and from outdoor sources which can interfere with and impede work performance. The study aimed at assessing noise exposure levels and occupants satisfaction with noise level in selected naturally ventilated open-plan offices in Ghana. The study employed an empirical assessment of the noise levels in and around three of the office buildings using a PCE222 Digital Sound Level Meter and a survey involving interviews to assess workers satisfaction of noise levels of the open-plan offices at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. The results show that mean outdoor noise levels for offices ranged from 11 per cent below to 5 per cent above the WHO permissible limits while mean indoor noise levels exceeded the limit by between 20-40 per cent during the course of the day. In spite of the high levels of noise occupants generally considered the overall noise level in their offices as acceptable. Likewise the results indicate that there are no significant differences in occupants exposure to noise from their various sitting positions in an office space and floor levels in an office building. The paper recommends strategies to manage and improve ambient noise quality within naturally ventilated open-plan office spaces in Ghana. The study will be of relevance as a useful guide to organizations and policy makers concerned with built environmental issues.

  18. Impacts of Vegetation and Urban planning on micro climate in Hashtgerd new Town

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sodoudi, Sahar; langer, Ines; Cubasch, Ulrich

    2013-04-01

    One of the objectives of climatological part of project Young Cities 'Developing Energy-Efficient Urban Fabric in the Tehran-Karaj Region' is to simulate the micro climate (with 1m resolution) in 35ha of new town Hashtgerd, which is located 65 km far from mega city Tehran. The Project aims are developing, implementing and evaluating building and planning schemes and technologies which allow to plan and build sustainable, energy-efficient and climate sensible form mass housing settlements in arid and semi-arid regions ("energy-efficient fabric"). Climate sensitive form also means designing and planning for climate change and its related effects for Hashtgerd New Town. By configuration of buildings and open spaces according to solar radiation, wind and vegetation, climate sensitive urban form can create outdoor thermal comfort. To simulate the climate on small spatial scales, the micro climate model Envi-met has been used to simulate the micro climate in 35 ha. The Eulerian model ENVI-met is a micro-scale climate model which gives information about the influence of architecture and buildings as well as vegetation and green area on the micro climate up to 1 m resolution. Envi-met has been run with information from topography, downscaled climate data with neuro-fuzzy method, meteorological measurements, building height and different vegetation variants (low and high number of trees) Through the optimal Urban Design and Planning for the 35ha area the microclimate results shows, that with vegetation the microclimate in street canopies will be change: • 2 m temperature is decreased by about 2 K • relative humidity increase by about 10 % • soil temperature is decreased by about 3 K • wind speed is decreased by about 60% The style of buildings allows free movement of air, which is of high importance for fresh air supply. The increase of inbuilt areas in 35 ha reduces the heat island effect through cooling caused by vegetation and increase of air humidity which

  19. Targeting MET Amplification as a New Oncogenic Driver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawakami, Hisato; Okamoto, Isamu; Okamoto, Wataru; Tanizaki, Junko; Nakagawa, Kazuhiko; Nishio, Kazuto

    2014-01-01

    Certain genetically defined cancers are dependent on a single overactive oncogene for their proliferation and survival, a phenomenon known as “oncogene addiction”. A new generation of drugs that selectively target such “driver oncogenes” manifests a clinical efficacy greater than that of conventional chemotherapy in appropriate genetically defined patients. MET is a proto-oncogene that encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase, and aberrant activation of MET signaling occurs in a subset of advanced cancers as result of various genetic alterations including gene amplification, polysomy, and gene mutation. Our preclinical studies have shown that inhibition of MET signaling either with the small-molecule MET inhibitor crizotinib or by RNA interference targeted to MET mRNA resulted in marked antitumor effects in cancer cell lines with MET amplification both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, patients with non-small cell lung cancer or gastric cancer positive for MET amplification have shown a pronounced clinical response to crizotinib. Accumulating preclinical and clinical evidence thus suggests that MET amplification is an “oncogenic driver” and therefore a valid target for treatment. However, the prevalence of MET amplification has not been fully determined, possibly in part because of the difficulty in evaluating gene amplification. In this review, we provide a rationale for targeting this genetic alteration in cancer therapy

  20. Targeting MET Amplification as a New Oncogenic Driver

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawakami, Hisato [Department of Medical Oncology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-higashi, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka 589-8511 (Japan); Okamoto, Isamu, E-mail: okamotoi@kokyu.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Medical Oncology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-higashi, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka 589-8511 (Japan); Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Kyushu University Hospital, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashiku, Fukuoka 812-8582 (Japan); Okamoto, Wataru [Department of Medical Oncology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-higashi, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka 589-8511 (Japan); Division of Transrlational Research, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577 (Japan); Tanizaki, Junko [Department of Medical Oncology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-higashi, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka 589-8511 (Japan); Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, HIM223, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Nakagawa, Kazuhiko [Department of Medical Oncology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-higashi, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka 589-8511 (Japan); Nishio, Kazuto [Department of Genome Biology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-higashi, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka 589-8511 (Japan)

    2014-07-22

    Certain genetically defined cancers are dependent on a single overactive oncogene for their proliferation and survival, a phenomenon known as “oncogene addiction”. A new generation of drugs that selectively target such “driver oncogenes” manifests a clinical efficacy greater than that of conventional chemotherapy in appropriate genetically defined patients. MET is a proto-oncogene that encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase, and aberrant activation of MET signaling occurs in a subset of advanced cancers as result of various genetic alterations including gene amplification, polysomy, and gene mutation. Our preclinical studies have shown that inhibition of MET signaling either with the small-molecule MET inhibitor crizotinib or by RNA interference targeted to MET mRNA resulted in marked antitumor effects in cancer cell lines with MET amplification both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, patients with non-small cell lung cancer or gastric cancer positive for MET amplification have shown a pronounced clinical response to crizotinib. Accumulating preclinical and clinical evidence thus suggests that MET amplification is an “oncogenic driver” and therefore a valid target for treatment. However, the prevalence of MET amplification has not been fully determined, possibly in part because of the difficulty in evaluating gene amplification. In this review, we provide a rationale for targeting this genetic alteration in cancer therapy.

  1. Review of Climate Change and Health in Ethiopia: Status and Gap ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Review of Climate Change and Health in Ethiopia: Status and Gap Analysis. ... Thirdly, there are no reliable policy guidelines and programs among organizations, agencies and offices that target climate change and health. Fourth, the existing policies fail to consider the gender and community-related dimensions of climate ...

  2. Measurement of functional capacity requirements of police officers to aid in development of an occupation-specific cardiac rehabilitation training program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Jenny; Schneider, Jonna; Hubbard, Matthew; McCullough-Shock, Tiffany; Cheng, Dunlei; Simms, Kay; Hartman, Julie; Hinton, Paul; Strauss, Danielle

    2010-01-01

    This study was designed to measure the functional capacity of healthy subjects during strenuous simulated police tasks, with the goal of developing occupation-specific training for cardiac rehabilitation of police officers. A calibrated metabolic instrument and an oxygen consumption data collection mask were used to measure the oxygen consumption and heart rates of 30 Dallas Police Academy officers and cadets as they completed an 8-event obstacle course that simulated chasing, subduing, and handcuffing a suspect. Standard target heart rates (85% of age-predicted maximum heart rate, or 0.85 x [220 - age]) and metabolic equivalents (METs) were calculated; a matched-sample t test based on differences between target and achieved heart rate and MET level was used for statistical analysis. Peak heart rates during the obstacle course simulation were significantly higher than the standard target heart rates (those at which treadmill stress tests in physicians' offices are typically stopped) (t(29) = 12.81, P requires a functional capacity greater than that typically attained in traditional cardiac rehabilitation programs. Rehabilitation professionals should consider performing maximal stress tests and increasing the intensity of cardiac rehabilitation workouts to effectively train police officers who have had a cardiac event.

  3. Mars MetNet Mission Payload Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harri, A.-M.; Haukka, H.; Alexashkin, S.; Guerrero, H.; Schmidt, W.; Genzer, M.; Vazquez, L.

    2012-09-01

    A new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars is being developed in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Lavochkin Association (LA), Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institutio Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA). The Mars MetNet mission [1] is based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). The scientific payload of the Mars MetNet Precursor mission is divided into three categories: Atmospheric instruments, Optical devices and Composition and structure devices. Each of the payload instruments will provide crucial scientific data about the Martian atmospheric phenomena.

  4. Ervaringen met beeldverwerking.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meuleman, J.

    1989-01-01

    Verslag van een werkbezoek aan het Franse instituut Cemagref, met nadruk op beeldverwerking. Toepassingen van beeldverwerking zijn onder andere: een plukrobot voor appels; het detecteren van oppervlaktebeschadigingen bij appels; het detecteren van breuk in eieren; remote sensing

  5. Alkaline transition of pseudoazurin Met16X mutant proteins: protein stability influenced by the substitution of Met16 in the second sphere coordination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdelhamid, Rehab F; Obara, Yuji; Kohzuma, Takamitsu

    2008-01-01

    Several blue copper proteins are known to change the active site structure at alkaline pH (alkaline transition). Spectroscopic studies of Met16Phe, Met16Tyr, Met16Trp, and Met16Val pseudoazurin variants were performed to investigate the second sphere role through alkaline transition. The visible electronic absorption and resonance Raman spectra of Met16Phe, Met16Tyr, and Met16Trp variants showed the increasing of axial component at pH approximately 11 like wild-type PAz. The visible electronic absorption and far-UV CD spectra of Met16Val demonstrated that the destabilization of the protein structure was triggered at pH>11. Resonance Raman (RR) spectra of PAz showed that the intensity-weighted averaged Cu-S(Cys) stretching frequency was shifted to higher frequency region at pH approximately 11. The higher frequency shift of Cu-S(Cys) bond is implied the stronger Cu-S(Cys) bond at alkaline transition pH approximately 11. The visible electronic absorption and far-UV CD spectra of Met16X PAz revealed that the Met16Val variant is denatured at pH>11, but Met16Phe, Met16Tyr, and Met16Trp mutant proteins are not denatured even at pH>11. These observations suggest that Met16 is important to maintain the protein structure through the possible weak interaction between methionine -SCH3 part and coordinated histidine imidazole moiety. The introduction of pi-pi interaction in the second coordination sphere may be contributed to the enhancement of protein structure stability.

  6. Future illumination systems and the climate change challenge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjarklev, Araceli; Bjarklev, Anders Overgaard

    2010-01-01

    are met in conjunction with situations, where the esthetical design issues are addressed. Finally, our study also points out to the necessity of finding a trans-disciplinary cooperation across sectors to more effectively answer to the climate change challenge, when designing low-carbon technologies...

  7. Energy use in office buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1980-10-01

    This is the report on Task IB, Familiarization with Additional Data Collection Plans of Annual Survey of BOMA Member and Non-Member Buildings in 20 Cities, of the Energy Use in Office Buildings project. The purpose of the work was to monitor and understand the efforts of the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) in gathering an energy-use-oriented data base. In order to obtain an improved data base encompassing a broad spectrum of office space and with information suitable for energy analysis in greater detail than is currently available, BOMA undertook a major data-collection effort. Based on a consideration of geographic area, climate, population, and availability of data, BOMA selected twenty cities for data collection. BOMA listed all of the major office space - buildings in excess of 40,000 square feet - in each of the cities. Tax-assessment records, local maps, Chamber of Commerce data, recent industrial-development programs, results of related studies, and local-realtor input were used in an effort to assemble a comprehensive office-building inventory. In order to verify the accuracy and completeness of the building lists, BOMA assembled an Ad-Hoc Review Committee in each city to review the assembled inventory of space. A questionnaire on office-building energy use and building characteristics was developed. In each city BOMA assembled a data collection team operating under the supervision of its regional affiliate to gather the data. For each city a random sample of buildings was selected, and data were gathered. Responses for over 1000 buildings were obtained.

  8. Secondary tracheoesophageal puncture in-office using Seldinger technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Britt, Christopher J; Lippert, Dylan; Kammer, Rachael; Ford, Charles N; Dailey, Seth H; McCulloch, Timothy; Hartig, Gregory

    2014-05-01

    Evaluate the safety and efficacy of in-office secondary tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) technique using transnasal esophagoscopy (TNE) and the Seldinger technique in conjunction with a cricothyroidotomy kit for placement. Case series with chart review. Academic medical center. A retrospective chart review was performed on 83 subjects who underwent in-office secondary TEP. Variables that were examined included disease site, staging, histologic diagnosis, extent of resection and reconstruction, chemoradiation, functional voice status (as assessed by speech pathologist in most recent note), and complications directly related to the procedure. Eighty-three individuals from our institution met our criteria for in-office secondary TEP from 2005 to August 2012. Of these, 97.6% (81/83) had no complications of TEP. The overall complication rate was 2.4% (2/83). Complications included bleeding from puncture site and closure of puncture site after dislodgement of prosthesis at the time of puncture. Fluent conversational speech was achieved in 69.9% of all patients (58/83), and an additional 19.3% (16/83) achieved functional/intelligible speech; of those, 3.6% (3/83) were unable to achieve fluent conversational speech due to anatomic defects from previous surgery. An in-office TEP can be safely performed using the Seldinger technique with direct visualization using TNE, despite the extent of resection or reconstruction, with functional speech outcomes comparable to other studies available in the literature.

  9. Autorijden met ADHD

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fuermaier, Anselm B.M.; Tucha, Lara; de Vries, Stefanie M.; Koerts, Janneke; de Waard, Dick; Brookhuis, Karel; Tucha, Oliver

    Volwassenen met attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) hebben uiteenlopende cognitieve beperkingen, die een aanzienlijke invloed kunnen hebben op verschillende aspecten van het dagelijks leven. Een van deze aspecten is het besturen van een auto. Autorijden is een belangrijke activiteit in

  10. Research progress in c-Met and hepatocellular carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    WANG Changqing

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available c-Met plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, which can lead to proliferation, survival, cytoskeleton reorganization, separation and diffusion, and angiogenesis of tumor cells. Moreover, c-Met is an important prognostic factor for HCC. In HCC, c-Met acts as an activator of a series of signaling pathways, including PI3K/AKT/mTOR, ERK/MAPK, and Rac-Pak. In recent years, it has been reported that small-molecule kinase inhibitors can abolish phosphorylation at the intracellular carboxyl terminal of c-Met, and then inhibit the recruitment of signal convertors and downstream signaling pathways, which finally achieve anti-tumor activities. Based on the carcinogenic activity of c-Met in HCC, this paper points out that selective inhibitors of c-Met hold promise for targeted therapies for HCC.

  11. Designing of zero energy office buildings in hot arid climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdel-Gwad, Mohamed

    2011-07-01

    The designing of office buildings by using large glass areas to have a transparent building is an attractive approach in the modern office building architecture. This attitude increases the energy demand for cooling specially in the hot arid region which has long sun duration time, while the use of small glazing areas increases the energy demand for lighting. The use of uncontrolled natural ventilation increases the rate of hot ambient air flow which increases the building energy demand for cooling. At the same time, the use of mechanical ventilation to control the air change rate may increase the energy demand for fans. Some ideas such as low energy design concept are introduced for improving the building energy performance and different rating systems have been developed such as LEED, BREEAM and DGNB for evaluating building energy performance system. One of the new ideas for decreasing the dependence on fossil fuels and improving the use of renewable energy is the net zero-energy building concept in which the building generates enough renewable energy on site to equal or exceed its annual energy use. This work depends on using the potentials of mixing different energy strategies such as hybrid ventilation strategy, passive night cooling, passive chilled ceiling side by side with the integrating of photovoltaic modules into the building facade to produce energy and enrich the architectural aesthetics and finally reaching the Net Zero Energy Building. There are different definitions for zero energy buildings, however in this work the use of building-integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) to provide the building with its annual energy needs is adopted, in order to reach to a Grid-Connected Net-Zero Energy Office Building in the hot arid desert zone represented by Cairo, Egypt. (orig.)

  12. A comparison of the job-satisfied and job-dissatisfied environmental health officer in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. D. Louw

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available Environmental health is one of the key areas in the Reconstruction and Development Programme in South Africa because of its close links with the primary prevention of disease. The possibility of individual differences between job-satisfied and job-dissatisfied environmental health officers were investigated. The individual differences found between these groups can be used to select and train students for training who show a tendency towards the indicated personality traits. A relationship is indicated by researchers between job-satisfaction and job performance; it can therefore be expected that the selection of environmental health officers with the indicated tendencies in personality, values, achievement motivation, interests and biographical information will have a positive effect on productivity in environmental health. Opsomming Omgewingsgesondheid is een van die sleutelareas in die Heropbou- en Ontwikkelingsprogram in Suid-Afrika, vanwee die noue band wat dit met die primere voorkoming van siektes het. Hierdie studie ondersoek die moontlikheid van individuele verskille tussen werkstevrede en nie-werkstevrede omgewingsgesondheidsbeamptes. Die individuele verskille wat tussen die groepe gevind is, kan gebruik word vir die keuring en opieiding van studente met n neiging tot die aangeduide persoonlikheidstrekke.'n Verband word tussen werkstevredenheid en werksprestasie word deur navorsers aangedui. Daar kan dus verwag word dat die keuring van omgewingsgesondheidsbeamptes met die aangeduide geneigdhede in persoonlikheid, waardes, prestasiemotiverings, belangstellings en biografiese besonderhede, n positiewe bydrae tot produktiwiteit in Omgewingsgesondheid sal lewer.

  13. School Climate Improvement Action Guide for Noninstructional Staff. School Climate Improvement Resource Package

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, 2017

    2017-01-01

    Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps that noninstructional staff--including guidance counselors, social workers, school psychologists, office staff, bus drivers, maintenance and facility staff, and food service staff--can take to support school…

  14. MET amplification, expression, and exon 14 mutations in colorectal adenocarcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Meng; Li, Guichao; Sun, Xiangjie; Ni, Shujuan; Tan, Cong; Xu, Midie; Huang, Dan; Ren, Fei; Li, Dawei; Wei, Ping; Du, Xiang

    2018-04-08

    MET amplification, expression, and splice mutations at exon 14 result in dysregulation of the MET signaling pathway. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between MET amplification, protein or mRNA expression, and mutations in colorectal cancer (CRC). MET immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used for MET protein expression analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used for MET amplification detection. Both analyses were performed in tissue microarrays (TMA) containing 294 of colorectal adenocarcinoma tissue samples and 131 samples of adjacent normal epithelial tissue. MET mRNA expression was examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 72 fresh colorectal adenocarcinoma tissue samples and adjacent normal colon tissue. PCR sequencing was performed to screen for MET exon 14 splice mutations in 59 fresh CRC tissue samples. Our results showed that MET protein expression was higher in colorectal tumor tissue than in adjacent normal intestinal epithelium. Positive MET protein expression was associated with significantly poorer overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Multivariate analysis revealed that positive MET protein expression was an independent risk factor for DFS, but not for OS. MET mRNA expression was upregulated in tumor tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues. The incidence of MET amplification was 4.4%. None of the patients was positive for MET mutation. Collectively, MET was overexpressed in colorectal adenocarcinoma, and its positive protein expression predicted a poorer outcome in CRC patients. Furthermore, according to our results, MET amplification and 14 exon mutation are extremely rare events in colorectal adenocarcinoma. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  15. Jeugd met beperkingen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sjoerd Kooiker

    2006-01-01

    Voor kinderen en jongeren met een lichamelijke of verstandelijke beperking is 'gewoon meedoen' in de samenleving geen vanzelfsprekendheid.  Zij ervaren vaak meer obstakels bij het naar school gaan, het vinden van een baan en in hun vrijetijdsbesteding dan andere kinderen en jongeren. Ook

  16. SPSS met syntax

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grotenhuis, H.F. te; Visscher, C.A.M.

    2007-01-01

    Dit boekje wijkt af van de gebruikelijke statistiekboeken omdat het sec gaat over het bekende statistische computerprogramma SPSS, en dan alleen nog de oorspronkelijke variant waarin wordt gewerkt met syntax (intypen commando's -zoals bij DOS) i.p.v. de later ontwikkelde 'Windows-schil' (aanklikken

  17. Improving Climate Literacy of NOAA Staff and Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timofeyeva, M. M.; Bair, A.; Staudenmaier, M.; Meyers, J. C.; Mayes, B.; Zdrojewski, J.

    2010-12-01

    Since 2002, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) Climate Services Division (CSD) has offered numerous training opportunities to NWS staff. After eight-years of development, the training program offers three instructor-led courses and roughly 25 online (distance learning) modules covering various climate topics, such as: climate data and observations, climate variability and change, and NWS national / local climate products (tools, skill, and interpretation). Leveraging climate information and expertise available at all NOAA line offices and partners allows for the delivery of the most advanced knowledge and is a very critical aspect of the training program. The emerging NOAA Climate Service (NCS) requires a well-trained, climate-literate workforce at the local level capable of delivering NOAA’s climate products and services as well as providing climate-sensitive decision support. NWS Weather Forecast Offices and River Forecast Centers presently serve as local outlets for the NCS climate services. Trained NWS climate service personnel use proactive and reactive approaches and professional education methods in communicating climate variability and change information to local users. Both scientifically-sound messages and amiable communication techniques are important in developing an engaged dialog between the climate service providers and users. Several pilot projects have been conducted by the NWS CSD this past year that apply the program’s training lessons and expertise to specialized external user group training. The technical user groups included natural resources managers, engineers, hydrologists, and planners for transportation infrastructure. Training of professional user groups required tailoring instructions to the potential applications for each group of users. Training technical users identified the following critical issues: (1) knowledge of target audience expectations, initial knowledge status, and potential use of climate information; (2

  18. Advances of NOAA Training Program in Climate Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timofeyeva, M. M.

    2012-12-01

    Since 2002, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) Climate Services Division (CSD) has offered numerous training opportunities to NWS staff. After eight-years of development, the training program offers three instructor-led courses and roughly 25 online (distance learning) modules covering various climate topics, such as: climate data and observations, climate variability and change, and NWS national / local climate products (tools, skill, and interpretation). Leveraging climate information and expertise available at all NOAA line offices and partners allows for the delivery of the most advanced knowledge and is a very critical aspect of the training program. The emerging NOAA Climate Service (NCS) requires a well-trained, climate-literate workforce at the local level capable of delivering NOAA's climate products and services as well as providing climate-sensitive decision support. NWS Weather Forecast Offices and River Forecast Centers presently serve as local outlets for the NCS climate services. Trained NWS climate service personnel use proactive and reactive approaches and professional education methods in communicating climate variability and change information to local users. Both scientifically-sound messages and amiable communication techniques are important in developing an engaged dialog between the climate service providers and users. Several pilot projects have been conducted by the NWS CSD this past year that apply the program's training lessons and expertise to specialized external user group training. The technical user groups included natural resources managers, engineers, hydrologists, and planners for transportation infrastructure. Training of professional user groups required tailoring instructions to the potential applications for each group of users. Training technical users identified the following critical issues: (1) knowledge of target audience expectations, initial knowledge status, and potential use of climate information; (2) leveraging

  19. PHA665752, a small-molecule inhibitor of c-Met, inhibits hepatocyte growth factor-stimulated migration and proliferation of c-Met-positive neuroblastoma cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crosswell, Hal E; Dasgupta, Anindya; Alvarado, Carlos S; Watt, Tanya; Christensen, James G; De, Pradip; Durden, Donald L; Findley, Harry W

    2009-01-01

    c-Met is a tyrosine kinase receptor for hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), and both c-Met and its ligand are expressed in a variety of tissues. C-Met/HGF/SF signaling is essential for normal embryogenesis, organogenesis, and tissue regeneration. Abnormal c-Met/HGF/SF signaling has been demonstrated in different tumors and linked to aggressive and metastatic tumor phenotypes. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated inhibition of c-Met/HGF/SF signaling by the small-molecule inhibitor PHA665752. This study investigated c-Met and HGF expression in two neuroblastoma (NBL) cell lines and tumor tissue from patients with NBL, as well as the effects of PHA665752 on growth and motility of NBL cell lines. The effect of the tumor suppressor protein PTEN on migration and proliferation of tumor cells treated with PHA665752 was also evaluated. Expression of c-Met and HGF in NBL cell lines SH-EP and SH-SY5Y and primary tumor tissue was assessed by immunohistochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR. The effect of PHA665752 on c-Met/HGF signaling involved in NBL cell proliferation and migration was evaluated in c-Met-positive cells and c-Met-transfected cells. The transwell chemotaxis assay and the MTT assay were used to measure migration and proliferation/cell-survival of tumor cells, respectively. The PPAR-γ agonist rosiglitazone was used to assess the effect of PTEN on PHA665752-induced inhibition of NBL cell proliferation/cell-survival and migration High c-Met expression was detected in SH-EP cells and primary tumors from patients with advanced-stage disease. C-Met/HGF signaling induced both migration and proliferation of SH-EP cells. Migration and proliferation/cell-survival were inhibited by PHA665752 in a dose-dependent manner. We also found that induced overexpression of PTEN following treatment with rosiglitazone significantly enhanced the inhibitory effect of PHA665752 on NBL-cell migration and proliferation. c-Met is highly expressed in most tumors from

  20. Dissection of combinatorial control by the Met4 transcriptional complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Traci A; Jorgensen, Paul; Bognar, Andrew L; Peyraud, Caroline; Thomas, Dominique; Tyers, Mike

    2010-02-01

    Met4 is the transcriptional activator of the sulfur metabolic network in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Lacking DNA-binding ability, Met4 must interact with proteins called Met4 cofactors to target promoters for transcription. Two types of DNA-binding cofactors (Cbf1 and Met31/Met32) recruit Met4 to promoters and one cofactor (Met28) stabilizes the DNA-bound Met4 complexes. To dissect this combinatorial system, we systematically deleted each category of cofactor(s) and analyzed Met4-activated transcription on a genome-wide scale. We defined a core regulon for Met4, consisting of 45 target genes. Deletion of both Met31 and Met32 eliminated activation of the core regulon, whereas loss of Met28 or Cbf1 interfered with only a subset of targets that map to distinct sectors of the sulfur metabolic network. These transcriptional dependencies roughly correlated with the presence of Cbf1 promoter motifs. Quantitative analysis of in vivo promoter binding properties indicated varying levels of cooperativity and interdependency exists between members of this combinatorial system. Cbf1 was the only cofactor to remain fully bound to target promoters under all conditions, whereas other factors exhibited different degrees of regulated binding in a promoter-specific fashion. Taken together, Met4 cofactors use a variety of mechanisms to allow differential transcription of target genes in response to various cues.

  1. Innoveren met serious games : Wat is serious gaming?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Werkhoven, P.J.

    2008-01-01

    Het begrip serious gaming is inmiddels gekaapt door vele aanbieders van wat vroeger simulatie en virtual reality technologie genoemd werd. Met die technologie kunnen we mensen laten rondlopen in virtuele gebouwen en landschappen, al dan niet met grote projectieschermen of met brillen op. Maar dat is

  2. EUROPEAN UNION POLICIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Canter

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Climate change is one of the most important challenges that humanity faces in the 21st century, and for the European Union, combating this phenomenon represents an important element, which is reflected both in the actions carried out in recent years, domestically and internationally, as well as in the EU policy on climate change. Within the EU, regulations were adopted, that demonstrate the importance that the Union confers to the limitation of this phenomenon, stressing at the same time the need for an integrated policy framework to ensure the security for potential investors and a coordinated approach between Member States. This paper will present recent developments for the most important policies to combat and mitigate climate change in the European Union, starting with "20-20-20" objectives, which are to be met through the package "Energy-Climate Change", continuing with 2030 and 2050 timeframes, and finally presenting the main lines of action to combat climate change.

  3. Vulnerability Assessments in Support of the Climate Ready ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    As part of the Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) program, the Global Change Research Program (GCRP) in the National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has prepared this draft report exploring a new methodology for climate change vulnerability assessments using San Francisco Bay’s salt marsh and mudflat ecosystems as a demonstration. N/A

  4. Efficient use of energy by means of Weather Forecast Control. When the weather forecast controls the heating; Efficienter energiegebruik met Weather Forecast Control. Als de weersverwachting de verwarming aanstuurt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crijns, H. [Crijns Energy Controlling, Malden (Netherlands)

    2012-06-15

    As of late 2007, three government buildings in the German federal state of Nordrhein-Westfalen have been equipped with a Weather Forecast Control (VVFC) system, a new application in the building control system that should create a more healthy indoor climate at significantly lower energy costs than currently feasible. The result of three years of measurement: a noticeably increase in comfort level of the indoor climate and an average saving on energy cost of 12 percent. [Dutch] In de Duitse deelstaat Nordrhein-Westfalen zijn vanaf eind 2007 drie overheidsgebouwen uitgerust met Weather Forecast Control (VVFC), een nieuwe applicatie van het gebouwbeheersysteem dat een gezonder binnenklimaat moet creeren met beduidend lagere energiekosten dan momenteel haalbaar is. Het resultaat na drie jaar meten: een merkbaar comfortabeler binnenklimaat en gemiddeld 12 procent besparing op de energiekosten.

  5. The HGF Receptor c-Met Is Overexpressed in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis J. Herrera

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF receptor, Met, has established oncogenic properties; however, its expression and function in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA remain poorly understood. We aimed to determine the expression and potential alterations in Met expression in EA. Met expression was investigated in surgical specimens of EA, Barrett's esophagus (BE, and normal esophagus (NE using immunohistochemistry (IHC and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Met expression, phosphorylation, and the effect of COX-2 inhibition on expression were examined in EA cell lines. IHC demonstrated intense Met immunoreactivity in all (100% EA and dysplastic BE specimens. In contrast, minimal immunostaining was observed in BE without dysplasia or NE specimens. Met mRNA and protein levels were increased in three EA cell lines, and Met protein was phosphorylated in the absence of serum. Sequence analysis found the kinase domain of c-met to be wild type in all three EA cell lines. HGF mRNA expression was identified in two EA cell lines. In COX-2-overexpressing cells, COX-2 inhibition decreased Met expression. Met is consistently overexpressed in EA surgical specimens and in three EA cell lines. Met dysregulation occurs early in Barrett's dysplasia to adenocarcinoma sequence. Future study of Met inhibition as a potential biologic therapy for EA is warranted.

  6. Improving leadership on climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chandani, Achala

    2011-03-15

    The upcoming UN conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa throws a spotlight on African climate policy. As part of a knowledge-sharing initiative in Southern Africa, we assessed parliamentarians' needs for more information on climate threats and responses, and ways to improve their capabilities as key stakeholders influencing national and global decisionmaking. Funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and partnered with the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA), IIED worked with parliamentarians in the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) — Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland — through interviews, literature surveys, field trips and workshops. Similar studies in Malawi and Scotland also fed into this project.

  7. Nisine geholpen met hordentechnologie

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jong, de L.S.

    2001-01-01

    Een combinatie van nisine met carvacrol, thymol of carvon leidde tot een synergistische reductie van het aantal levensvatbare cellen van Listeria monocytogenes en Bacillus cereus. Verslag van een promotieonderzoek

  8. A comparison of metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors in Filipino women and Filipino American women: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ancheta, Irma B; Battie, Cynthia A; Tuason, Teresa; Ancheta, Christine V

    2012-01-01

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in women of Filipino ethnicity. The objective of our work was to determine if metabolic syndrome (MetS), a modifiable CVD risk factor, differs in women as a function of country of residency and to determine if, CVD prevention strategies need to differ for these groups of Filipino women. Data were collected in community-based health screenings for this cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS were recruited at places of worship in southeast United States (n=60) and Central Visayas, Philippines (n=56). Prevalence of MetS and its component factors as defined by the International Diabetes Federation criteria. The prevalence of MetS in Filipino women (FW) and Filipino American women (FAW) groups was similar (52% vs 55%, P=.08) although the prevalence of elevated waist circumference was greater for FAW (78% vs 59%, P=.03). Conversely, the percentage of FW women with risk-associated high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels was higher than the FAW group (84% vs 42%, PFilipino women regardless of the country of residency although the FAW tended to have higher rates of central obesity while the FW tended to have higher rates of risk-associated HDL levels. Further research should examine the cause of these differences in order to develop better cardiovascular screening and intervention strategies.

  9. Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) Final Scientific/Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaudhary, Aashish [Kitware, Inc.

    2017-10-17

    Seven Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, Universities, and Kitware, undertook a coordinated effort to build an Earth system modeling capability tailored to meet the climate change research strategic objectives of the DOE Office of Science, as well as the broader climate change application needs of other DOE programs.

  10. Pacific Northwest Laboratory annual report for 1992 to the DOE Office of Energy Research. Part 3, Atmospheric and climate research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schrempf, R.E. [ed.

    1993-04-01

    Within the US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER), the atmospheric sciences and carbon dioxide research programs are part of the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD). One of the central missions of the division is to provide the DOE with scientifically defensible information on the local, regional, and global distributions of energy-related pollutants and their effects on climate. This information is vital to the definition and implementation of a sound national energy strategy. This volume reports on the progress and status of all OHER atmospheric science and climate research projects at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). PNL has had a long history of technical leadership in the atmospheric sciences research programs within OHER. Within the ESD, the Atmospheric Chemistry Program (ACP) continues DOE`s long-term commitment to study the continental and oceanic fates of energy-related air pollutants. Research through direct measurement, numerical modeling, and laboratory studies in the ACP emphasizes the long-range transport, chemical transformation, and removal of emitted pollutants, oxidant species, nitrogen-reservoir species, and aerosols. The Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) program continues to apply basic research on density-driven circulations and on turbulent mixing and dispersion in the atmospheric boundary layer to the micro- to mesoscale meteorological processes that affect air-surface exchange and to emergency preparedness at DOE and other facilities. Research at PNL provides basic scientific underpinnings to DOE`s program of global climate research. Research projects within the core carbon dioxide and ocean research programs are now integrated with those in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM), the Computer Hardware, Advanced Mathematics and Model Physics (CHAMMP), and Quantitative Links programs to form DOE`s contribution to the US Global Change Research Program.

  11. Met1-linked Ubiquitination in Immune Signalling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fiil, Berthe Katrine; Gyrd-Hansen, Mads

    2014-01-01

    Methionine 1-linked ubiquitin chains (Met1-Ub), or linear ubiquitin, has emerged as a central post-translational modification in innate immune signalling. Molecular machinery that assembles, senses and, more recently, disassembles Met1-Ub has been identified, and technical advances have enabled...... identification of physiological substrates for Met1-Ub in response to activation of innate immune receptors. These discoveries have significantly advanced our understanding of how non-degradative ubiquitin modifications control pro-inflammatory responses mediated by nuclear factor κB and mitogen...

  12. Inversion, error analysis, and validation of GPS/MET occultation data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. K. Steiner

    Full Text Available The global positioning system meteorology (GPS/MET experiment was the first practical demonstration of global navigation satellite system (GNSS-based active limb sounding employing the radio occultation technique. This method measures, as principal observable and with millimetric accuracy, the excess phase path (relative to propagation in vacuum of GNSS-transmitted radio waves caused by refraction during passage through the Earth's neutral atmosphere and ionosphere in limb geometry. It shows great potential utility for weather and climate system studies in providing an unique combination of global coverage, high vertical resolution and accuracy, long-term stability, and all-weather capability. We first describe our GPS/MET data processing scheme from excess phases via bending angles to the neutral atmospheric parameters refractivity, density, pressure and temperature. Special emphasis is given to ionospheric correction methodology and the inversion of bending angles to refractivities, where we introduce a matrix inversion technique (instead of the usual integral inversion. The matrix technique is shown to lead to identical results as integral inversion but is more directly extendable to inversion by optimal estimation. The quality of GPS/MET-derived profiles is analyzed with an error estimation analysis employing a Monte Carlo technique. We consider statistical errors together with systematic errors due to upper-boundary initialization of the retrieval by a priori bending angles. Perfect initialization and properly smoothed statistical errors allow for better than 1 K temperature retrieval accuracy up to the stratopause. No initialization and statistical errors yield better than 1 K accuracy up to 30 km but less than 3 K accuracy above 40 km. Given imperfect initialization, biases >2 K propagate down to below 30 km height in unfavorable realistic cases. Furthermore, results of a statistical validation of GPS/MET profiles through comparison

  13. OpenClimateGIS - A Web Service Providing Climate Model Data in Commonly Used Geospatial Formats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erickson, T. A.; Koziol, B. W.; Rood, R. B.

    2011-12-01

    The goal of the OpenClimateGIS project is to make climate model datasets readily available in commonly used, modern geospatial formats used by GIS software, browser-based mapping tools, and virtual globes.The climate modeling community typically stores climate data in multidimensional gridded formats capable of efficiently storing large volumes of data (such as netCDF, grib) while the geospatial community typically uses flexible vector and raster formats that are capable of storing small volumes of data (relative to the multidimensional gridded formats). OpenClimateGIS seeks to address this difference in data formats by clipping climate data to user-specified vector geometries (i.e. areas of interest) and translating the gridded data on-the-fly into multiple vector formats. The OpenClimateGIS system does not store climate data archives locally, but rather works in conjunction with external climate archives that expose climate data via the OPeNDAP protocol. OpenClimateGIS provides a RESTful API web service for accessing climate data resources via HTTP, allowing a wide range of applications to access the climate data.The OpenClimateGIS system has been developed using open source development practices and the source code is publicly available. The project integrates libraries from several other open source projects (including Django, PostGIS, numpy, Shapely, and netcdf4-python).OpenClimateGIS development is supported by a grant from NOAA's Climate Program Office.

  14. Effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and met allele load on declarative memory related neural networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dodds, Chris M; Henson, Richard N; Suckling, John

    2013-01-01

    It has been suggested that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism modulates episodic memory performance via effects on hippocampal neural circuitry. However, fMRI studies have yielded inconsistent results in this respect. Moreover, very few studies have examined the effect of met allele load on activatio...

  15. Hydrogen storage capacity of titanium met-cars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akman, N; Durgun, E; Yildirim, T; Ciraci, S

    2006-01-01

    The adsorption of hydrogen molecules on the titanium metallocarbohedryne (met-car) cluster has been investigated by using the first-principles plane wave method. We have found that, while a single Ti atom at the corner can bind up to three hydrogen molecules, a single Ti atom on the surface of the cluster can bind only one hydrogen molecule. Accordingly, a Ti 8 C 12 met-car can bind up to 16 H 2 molecules and hence can be considered as a high-capacity hydrogen storage medium. Strong interaction between two met-car clusters leading to the dimer formation can affect H 2 storage capacity slightly. Increasing the storage capacity by directly inserting H 2 into the met-car or by functionalizing it with an Na atom have been explored. It is found that the insertion of neither an H 2 molecule nor an Na atom could further promote the H 2 storage capacity of a Ti 8 C 12 cluster. We have also tested the stability of the H 2 -adsorbed Ti 8 C 12 met-car with ab initio molecular dynamics calculations which have been carried out at room temperature

  16. Is neurofeedback effectief bij kinderen met ADHD?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Hen, M.H.; Geurts, H.M.

    2008-01-01

    Kan neurofeedback verantwoord ingezet worden bij de behandeling van kinderen met ADHD? Omdeze vraag te beantwoorden worden zeven recente onderzoeken naar de effectiviteit van neurofeedback bij kinderen met ADHD geanalyseerd. Ondanks dat de resultaten in eerste instantie lijken te suggereren dat

  17. Proef met duurzaam watergebruik in de bollenstreek

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fliegenthart, F.; Dik, P.E.; Groenendijk, P.

    2009-01-01

    In 2007 begon in de Wieringermeer een praktijkproef met alternatieve waterbeheersystemen voor de bollenteelt. Met drie verschillende teeltsystemen wordt onderzoek verricht naar zo optimaal mogelijk gebruik van zoet water door recirculatie en hergebruik. Ook loopt onderzoek naar de emissie van

  18. Multi-angled Façade System for Office Building Renovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hannoudi, Loay Akram; Christensen, Jørgen Erik; Lauring, Michael

    renovating office buildings. The architectural potential is presented with the help of AutoCAD software. The energy efficiency and indoor climate are investigated and evaluated by using correlational research and simulation research methods with the software IDA ICE. From a functional perspective, the multi......-angled façade increases the area of the office room and provides more space. There are many potential aesthetic benefits provided by multi-angled façades such as improved optical and visual quality from inside the office room and the possibility for daylight penetration and a view to outside from one part...... compared to a renovated flat façade varies between 4.9 and 6.5 kWh/(m2.year), depending on the orientation of the façade. The increase in the office room area, when renovated with a multi-angled façade, is by 19%, while the increase of the yearly primary energy consumption (not area weighted), is by 4...

  19. Mars MetNet Mission Pressure and Humidity Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haukka, H.; Harri, A.-M.; Schmidt, W.; Genzer, M.; Polkko, J.; Kemppinen, O.; Leinonen, J.

    2012-09-01

    A new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars is being developed in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Lavochkin Association (LA), Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institutio Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA). The Mars MetNet mission [1] is based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). MetBaro and MetHumi are part of the scientific payload of the MNL. Main scientific goal of both devices is to measure the meteorological phenomena (pressure and humidity) of the Martian atmosphere and complement the previous Mars mission atmospheric measurements (Viking and Phoenix) for better understanding of the Martian atmospheric conditions.

  20. Aptamers Binding to c-Met Inhibiting Tumor Cell Migration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Birgit Piater

    Full Text Available The human receptor tyrosine kinase c-Met plays an important role in the control of critical cellular processes. Since c-Met is frequently over expressed or deregulated in human malignancies, blocking its activation is of special interest for therapy. In normal conditions, the c-Met receptor is activated by its bivalent ligand hepatocyte growth factor (HGF. Also bivalent antibodies can activate the receptor by cross linking, limiting therapeutic applications. We report the generation of the RNA aptamer CLN64 containing 2'-fluoro pyrimidine modifications by systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX. CLN64 and a previously described single-stranded DNA (ssDNA aptamer CLN3 exhibited high specificities and affinities to recombinant and cellular expressed c-Met. Both aptamers effectively inhibited HGF-dependent c-Met activation, signaling and cell migration. We showed that these aptamers did not induce c-Met activation, revealing an advantage over bivalent therapeutic molecules. Both aptamers were shown to bind overlapping epitopes but only CLN3 competed with HGF binding to cMet. In addition to their therapeutic and diagnostic potential, CLN3 and CLN64 aptamers exhibit valuable tools to further understand the structural and functional basis for c-Met activation or inhibition by synthetic ligands and their interplay with HGF binding.

  1. Evolution of Indian Ocean biases in the summer monsoon season hindcasts from the Met Office Global Seasonal Forecasting System GloSea5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chevuturi, A.; Turner, A. G.; Woolnough, S. J.

    2016-12-01

    In this study we investigate the development of biases in the Indian Ocean region in summer hindcasts of the UK Met Office coupled initialised global seasonal forecasting system, GloSea5-GC2. Previous work has demonstrated the rapid evolution of strong monsoon circulation biases over India from seasonal forecasts initialised in early May, together with coupled strong easterly wind biases on the equator. We analyse a set of three springtime start dates for the 20-year hindcast period (1992-2011) and fifteen total ensemble members for each year. We use comparisons with a variety of observations to test the rate of evolving mean-state biases in the Arabian Sea, over India, and over the equatorial Indian Ocean. Biases are all shown to develop rapidly, particularly for the circulation bias over India that is connected to convection. These circulation biases later reach the surface and lead to responses in Arabian Sea SST in accordance with coastal and Ekman upwelling processes. We also assess the evolution of radiation and turbulent heat fluxes at the surface. Meanwhile at the equator, easterly biases in surface winds are shown to develop rapidly, consistent with an SST pattern that is consistent with positive-Indian Ocean dipole mean state conditions (warm western equatorial Indian Ocean, cold east). This bias develops consistent with coupled ocean-atmosphere exchanges and Bjerknes feedback. We hypothesize that lower tropospheric easterly wind biases developing in the equatorial region originate from the surface, and also that signals of the cold bias in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean propagate to the Bay of Bengal via coastal Kelvin waves. Earlier work has shown the utility of wind-stress corrections in the Indian Ocean for correcting the easterly winds bias there and ultimately improving the evolution of the Indian Ocean Dipole. We identify and test this wind-stress correction technique in case study years from the hindcast period to see their impact on seasonal

  2. A first-in-human phase I study of SAR125844, a selective MET tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumours with MET amplification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angevin, Eric; Spitaleri, Gianluca; Rodon, Jordi; Dotti, Katia; Isambert, Nicolas; Salvagni, Stefania; Moreno, Victor; Assadourian, Sylvie; Gomez, Corinne; Harnois, Marzia; Hollebecque, Antoine; Azaro, Analia; Hervieu, Alice; Rihawi, Karim; De Marinis, Filippo

    2017-12-01

    Dysregulated MET signalling is implicated in oncogenesis. The safety and preliminary efficacy of a highly selective MET kinase inhibitor (SAR125844) was investigated in patients with advanced solid tumours and MET dysregulation. This was a phase I dose-escalation (3 + 3 design [50-740 mg/m 2 ]) and dose-expansion study. In the dose escalation, patients had high total MET (t-MET) expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or MET amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridisation. In the dose expansion, patients had MET amplification (including a subset of patients with non-small cell lung cancer [NSCLC]) or phosphorylated-MET (p-MET) expression (IHC). Objectives were determination of maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of once-weekly intravenous SAR125844 based on dose-limiting toxicities; safety and pharmacokinetic profile; preliminary efficacy of SAR125844 MTD in the expansion cohort. In total, 72 patients were enrolled: dose escalation, N = 33; dose expansion, N = 39; 570 mg/m 2 was established as the MTD. Most frequent treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) were asthenia/fatigue (58.3%), nausea (31.9%), and abdominal pain, constipation, and dyspnea (27.8% for each); 58.3% of patients reported grade 3 AEs (19.4% were treatment related). Of the 29 evaluable patients with MET amplification treated at 570 mg/m 2 , five achieved a partial response, including four of 22 with NSCLC; 17 patients had stable disease. No response was observed in patients with high p-MET solid tumours. There was no correlation between tumour response and t-MET status or MET gene copy number. The MTD of once-weekly SAR125844 was 570 mg/m 2 ; SAR125844 was well tolerated, with significant antitumour activity in patients with MET-amplified NSCLC. NCT01391533. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Flow variation in Astore river under assumed glaciated extents due to climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naeem, U.A.

    2012-01-01

    Various researchers have concluded the existence of many glaciers in doubt by the end of this century due to global warming phenomenon. The great Himalayas are also under such stress. The recent acceleration in rainfall pattern resulted the ever worst destruction due to floods (2010) in Pakistan. Many Watershed models, capable of incorporating the climate change scenarios have been developed in this regard to predict the future flows. But it is not easy to select the most appropriate model for a particular watershed to get the best results. In this regard. the paper is an effort where the analysis has been made on Astore Watershed, Pakistan, by considering the model results obtained from the three watershed models i.e. UBC Watershed Model, HBV-Met and HBV-PRECIS. The results are obtained by considering different glaciated extents of 100%, 50% and 0% under future climate scenario (SRES A2), simulated by PRECIS Regional Climate Model for (2071-2100). For changed climate scenario, discharges for the simulations at 100% reduction in glaciated area were -72%, -15% and-46% for HBV-Met, HBV-PRECIS and UBC Watershed Model respectively. (author)

  4. Climate Change Literacy across the Critical Zone Observatory Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, A.; Derry, L. A.; Zabel, I.; Duggan-Haas, D.; Ross, R. M.

    2017-12-01

    Earth's Critical Zone extends from the top of the tree canopy to the base of the groundwater lens. Thus the Critical Zone is examined as a suite of interconnected systems and study of the CZ is inherently interdisciplinary. Climate change is an important driver of CZ processes. The US Critical Zone Observatory Network comprises nine observatories and a coordinating National Office. Educational programs and materials developed at each CZO and the National Office have been collected, reviewed, and presented on-line at the CZONO (criticalzone.org/national/education-outreach/resources). Because the CZOs are designed to observe and measure a suite of common parameters on varying geological substrates and within different ecological contexts, educational resources reflect the diversity of processes represented across the network. As climate change has a network-wide impact, the fundamental building blocks of climate change literacy are key elements in many activities within the CZONO resource collection. Carbon-cycle and hydrologic cycle processes are well-represented, with emphasis on human interactions with these resources, as well as the impact of extreme events and the changing climate. Current work on the resource collection focuses on connecting individual resources to "Teach Climate Science" project and the Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change (teachclimatescience.wordpress.com). The Teacher-Friendly Guide is a manual for K-12 teachers that presents both the fundamentals of climate science alongside resources for effective teaching of this controversial topic. Using the reach of the CZO network we hope to disseminate effective climate literacy resources and support to the K-12 community.

  5. Effective implementation of novel MET pharmacodynamic assays in translational studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Apurva K; Navas, Tony; Herrick, William G; Hollingshead, Melinda G; Bottaro, Donald P; Doroshow, James H; Parchment, Ralph E

    2017-01-01

    MET tyrosine kinase (TK) dysregulation is significantly implicated in many types of cancer. Despite over 20 years of drug development to target MET in cancers, a pure anti-MET therapeutic has not yet received market approval. The failure of two recently concluded phase III trials point to a major weakness in biomarker strategies to identify patients who will benefit most from MET therapies. The capability to interrogate oncogenic mutations in MET via circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) provides an important advancement in identification and stratification of patients for MET therapy. However, a wide range in type and frequency of these mutations suggest there is a need to carefully link these mutations to MET dysregulation, at least in proof-of-concept studies. In this review, we elaborate how we can utilize recently developed and validated pharmacodynamic biomarkers of MET not only to show target engagement, but more importantly to quantitatively measure MET dysregulation in tumor tissues. The MET assay endpoints provide evidence of both canonical and non-canonical MET signaling, can be used as "effect markers" to define biologically effective doses (BEDs) for molecularly targeted drugs, confirm mechanism-of-action in testing combination of drugs, and establish whether a diagnostic test is reporting MET dysregulation. We have established standard operating procedures for tumor biopsy collections to control pre-analytical variables that have produced valid results in proof-of-concept studies. The reagents and procedures are made available to the research community for potential implementation on multiple platforms such as ELISA, quantitative immunofluorescence assay (qIFA), and immuno-MRM assays.

  6. Climate change and the federal budget. CBO memorandum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-08-01

    This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) memorandum was prepared at the request of the Senate Committee on the Budget to document current US efforts in the area of global climate change and to review current federal spending programs and tax policies that relate to climate change. The memorandum also describes proposals contained in the President's 1999 budget for funding for those programs and several new tax policies. It should be helpful to policymakers as they consider options to respond to international proposals for reducing the threat of climate change

  7. When Historiography Met Epistemology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-François Stoffel

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Review of Bordoni, Stefano. When historiography met epistemology: Sophisticated histories and philosophies of science in French-speaking countries in the second half of the nineteenth century. Reviewed by Jean-François Stoffel.

  8. Regional climate science: lessons and opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mote, P. W.; Miles, E. L.; Whitely Binder, L.

    2008-12-01

    Since its founding in 1995, the Climate Impacts Group (CIG) at the University of Washington (UW) has achieved remarkable success at translating global- and regional-scale science into forms and products that are useful to, and used by, decision-makers. From GCM scenarios to research on the connection between global climate patterns and locally important factors like floods and wildfires, CIG's strong physical science foundation is matched by a vigorous and successful outreach program. As a result, CIG and its partner the Office of Washington State Climatologist at UW have made substantial progress at bridging the gap between climate science and decision-making, and are deeply involved in advising all levels of government and many business interests on adapting to climate variability and change. This talk will showcase some of the specific activities and tools, describe lessons learned, and illustrate how such efforts fit into a "National Climate Service."

  9. Chemical and climatic drivers of radiative forcing due to changes in stratospheric and tropospheric ozone over the 21st century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Antara; Maycock, Amanda C.; Pyle, John A.

    2018-02-01

    The ozone radiative forcings (RFs) resulting from projected changes in climate, ozone-depleting substances (ODSs), non-methane ozone precursor emissions and methane between the years 2000 and 2100 are calculated using simulations from the UM-UKCA chemistry-climate model (UK Met Office's Unified Model containing the United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols sub-model). Projected measures to improve air-quality through reductions in non-methane tropospheric ozone precursor emissions present a co-benefit for climate, with a net global mean ozone RF of -0.09 W m-2. This is opposed by a positive ozone RF of 0.05 W m-2 due to future decreases in ODSs, which is driven by an increase in tropospheric ozone through stratosphere-to-troposphere transport of air containing higher ozone amounts. An increase in methane abundance by more than a factor of 2 (as projected by the RCP8.5 scenario) is found to drive an ozone RF of 0.18 W m-2, which would greatly outweigh the climate benefits of non-methane tropospheric ozone precursor reductions. A small fraction (˜ 15 %) of the ozone RF due to the projected increase in methane results from increases in stratospheric ozone. The sign of the ozone RF due to future changes in climate (including the radiative effects of greenhouse gases, sea surface temperatures and sea ice changes) is shown to be dependent on the greenhouse gas emissions pathway, with a positive RF (0.05 W m-2) for RCP4.5 and a negative RF (-0.07 W m-2) for the RCP8.5 scenario. This dependence arises mainly from differences in the contribution to RF from stratospheric ozone changes. Considering the increases in tropopause height under climate change causes only small differences (≤ |0.02| W m-2) for the stratospheric, tropospheric and whole-atmosphere RFs.

  10. European research on Climat change impact on human health and environment

    OpenAIRE

    Pogonysheva I. A.; Kuznetsova V. P.; Pogonyshev D. A.; Lunyak I. I.

    2018-01-01

    European countries have accumulated a considerable body of research that proves both direct and indirect influence of climate change on human health. The article analyses “Protecting health in an environment challenged by climate change: European Regional Framework for Action”. The article gives a detailed analysis of the work of European Office of World Health Organisation and The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe related to climate change.

  11. Technical Support Document: Development of the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jarnagin, Ronald E.; Liu, Bing; Winiarski, David W.; McBride, Merle F.; Suharli, L.; Walden, D.

    2006-11-30

    This Technical Support Document (TSD) describes the process and methodology for the development of the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings (AEDG-SO), a design guidance document intended to provide recommendations for achieving 30% energy savings in small office buildings over levels contained in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The AEDG-SO is the first in a series of guides being developed by a partnership of organizations, including the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), the New Buildings Institute (NBI), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Each of the guides in the AEDG series will provide recommendations and user-friendly design assistance to designers, developers and owners of small commercial buildings that will encourage steady progress towards net-zero energy buildings. The guides will provide prescriptive recommendation packages that are capable of reaching the energy savings target for each climate zone in order to ease the burden of the design and construction of energy-efficient small commercial buildings The AEDG-SO was developed by an ASHRAE Special Project committee (SP-102) made up of representatives of each of the partner organizations in eight months. This TSD describes the charge given to the committee in developing the office guide and outlines the schedule of the development effort. The project committee developed two prototype office buildings (5,000 ft2 frame building and 20,000 ft2 two-story mass building) to represent the class of small office buildings and performed an energy simulation scoping study to determine the preliminary levels of efficiency necessary to meet the energy savings target. The simulation approach used by the project committee is documented in this TSD along with

  12. Convening Young Leaders for Climate Resilience in New York State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kretser, J.

    2017-12-01

    This project, led by The Wild Center, will partner with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County, the Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School in Brooklyn, and the Alliance for Climate Education to do the following over three years: 1) increase climate literacy and preparedness planning in high school students through place-based Youth Climate Summits in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and New York City; 2) enhance young people's capacity to lead on climate issues through a Youth Climate Leadership Practicum 3) increase teacher comprehension and understanding of climate change through a Teacher Climate Institute and 4) communicate climate change impacts and resilience through student-driven Community Climate Outreach activities. The project will align with New York State's climate resiliency planning by collaborating with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Office of Climate (OCC), NYS Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA), and NOAA's Climate Program Office to provide accurate scientific information, resources, and tools. This collaboration will result in an increase in understanding of the impacts of climate change in rural (Adirondacks, Catskills) and urban (New York City) regions of New York State; a wider awareness of the threats and vulnerabilities that are associated with a community's location; and a stronger connection between current community resilience initiatives, educators, and youth. All three of the project sites are critically underserved in both climate literacy and action, making addressing the need of these sites to be resilient and proactive in the face of climate change critical. Our model will provide pilot lessons for how youth in both rural and urban areas can draw on local assets to address resiliency in ways appropriate for their own areas, and these lessons may be able to be applied across the United States.The proposed project is informed by best practices and specifically strengthens and replicates The Wild

  13. Saving energy with paint. Coating with ceramic globules; Energie besparen met verf. Coating met keramische bolletjes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Willemse, R. [Coateq Coatings, Haarlem (Netherlands)

    2011-07-01

    The special paint coating of ThermoShield saves energy. The coating consists for 50% of hollow, vacuum ceramic globules. The waterborne damp-open coating with capillary function resists rain water and removes redundant water in case of draught and it reflects sunlight. [Dutch] Met de speciale verfcoating ThermoShield kan energie worden bespaard. De coating bestaat voor 50% uit holle, vacuum getrokken keramische bolletjes. De watergedragen damp-open coating met capillaire werking stoot bij regen water af en voert bij droogte overtollig vocht af en reflecteert zonlicht.

  14. Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: Four Case Studies of Water Utility Practices (2011 Final)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA has released the final report titled, Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: Four Case Studies of Water Utility Practices. This report was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment's Global Climate Research Staff in the Office of Research and D...

  15. Meeting the Climate Challenge. Recommendations of the International Climate Change Taskforce

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    To chart a way forward, an International Climate Change Taskforce, composed of leading scientists, public officials, and representatives of business and non-governmental organisations, was established at the invitation of three leading public policy institutes - the Institute for Public Policy Research, the Center for American Progress and The Australia Institute. The Taskforce's aim has been to develop proposals to consolidate and build on the gains achieved under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol to ensure that climate change is addressed effectively over the long term. In doing so, the Taskforce has met twice, in Windsor, United Kingdom and Sydney, Australia, where they reviewed and debated detailed research papers prepared by the Taskforce Secretariat, provided by the three founding organisations. The Taskforce's recommendations are to all governments and policy-makers worldwide. However, particular emphasis is placed on providing independent advice to the governments of the Group of Eight (G8) and the European Union (EU) in the context of the UK's presidencies of both organisations in 2005, during which Prime Minister Tony Blair has pledged to make addressing climate change a priority. The recommendations are also made in the context of the start of international negotiations in 2005 on future collective action on climate change, and the need to engage the governments of those industrialised countries that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol

  16. Groen proceswater: zuivering brouwerijprocesafvalwater met microalgen : Resultaten onderzoek 2013

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, van W.; Diem, van A.; Doornbusch, P.; Grobben-Gaastra, S.A.; Kleinhout, G.; Kroon, A.; Weide, van der R.Y.

    2014-01-01

    Afgelopen jaar is de pilot met het kweken van algen met afvalwater van de brouwerijlocatie Zoeterwoude geslaagd. Dit is gedaan in een samenwerkingsverband van Heineken Nederland BV, Algae Food & Fuel en WUR-Acrres. Dit is de eerste inline pilot in de wereld waarbij met LED verlichting op 1000 L

  17. Job demands, resources and mental health in UK prison officers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinman, G; Clements, A J; Hart, J

    2017-08-01

    Research findings indicate that working as a prison officer can be highly stressful, but the aspects of work that predict their mental health status are largely unknown. To examine, using elements of the demands-resources model, the extent to which work pressure and several potential resources (i.e. control, support from managers and co-workers, role clarity, effective working relationships and positive change management) predict mental health in a sample of UK prison officers. The Health and Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool was used to measure job demands and resources. Mental health was assessed by the General Health Questionnaire-28. The effects of demands and resources on mental health were examined via linear regression analysis with GHQ score as the outcome. The study sample comprised 1267 prison officers (86% male). Seventy-four per cent met 'caseness' criteria for mental health problems. Job demands, poor interpersonal relationships, role ambiguity and, to a lesser extent, low job control and poor management of change were key predictors of mental health status. The findings of this study can help occupational health practitioners and psychologists develop structured interventions to improve well-being among prison officers. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  18. Efficacy of c-Met inhibitor for advanced prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tu, William H; Zhu, Chunfang; Clark, Curtis; Christensen, James G; Sun, Zijie

    2010-01-01

    Aberrant expression of HGF/SF and its receptor, c-Met, often correlates with advanced prostate cancer. Our previous study showed that expression of c-Met in prostate cancer cells was increased after attenuation of androgen receptor (AR) signalling. This suggested that current androgen ablation therapy for prostate cancer activates c-Met expression and may contribute to development of more aggressive, castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Therefore, we directly assessed the efficacy of c-Met inhibition during androgen ablation on the growth and progression of prostate cancer. We tested two c-Met small molecule inhibitors, PHA-665752 and PF-2341066, for anti-proliferative activity by MTS assay and cell proliferation assay on human prostate cancer cell lines with different levels of androgen sensitivity. We also used renal subcapsular and castrated orthotopic xenograft mouse models to assess the effect of the inhibitors on prostate tumor formation and progression. We demonstrated a dose-dependent inhibitory effect of PHA-665752 and PF-2341066 on the proliferation of human prostate cancer cells and the phosphorylation of c-Met. The effect on cell proliferation was stronger in androgen insensitive cells. The c-Met inhibitor, PF-2341066, significantly reduced growth of prostate tumor cells in the renal subcapsular mouse model and the castrated orthotopic mouse model. The effect on cell proliferation was greater following castration. The c-Met inhibitors demonstrated anti-proliferative efficacy when combined with androgen ablation therapy for advanced prostate cancer

  19. Evolving the US Climate Resilience Toolkit to Support a Climate-Smart Nation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilmes, C.; Niepold, F., III; Fox, J. F.; Herring, D.; Dahlman, L. E.; Hall, N.; Gardiner, N.

    2015-12-01

    Communities, businesses, resource managers, and decision-makers at all levels of government need information to understand and ameliorate climate-related risks. Likewise, climate information can expose latent opportunities. Moving from climate science to social and economic decisions raises complex questions about how to communicate the causes and impacts of climate variability and change; how to characterize and quantify vulnerabilities, risks, and opportunities faced by communities and businesses; and how to make and implement "win-win" adaptation plans at local, regional, and national scales. A broad coalition of federal agencies launched the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit (toolkit.climate.gov) in November 2014 to help our nation build resilience to climate-related extreme events. The site's primary audience is planners and decision makers in business, resource management, and government (at all levels) who seek science-based climate information and tools to help them in their near- and long-term planning. The Executive Office of the President assembled a task force of dozens of subject experts from across the 13 agencies of the U.S. Global Change Research Program to guide the site's development. The site's ongoing evolution is driven by feedback from the target audience. For example, based on feedback, climate projections will soon play a more prominent role in the site's "Climate Explorer" tool and case studies. The site's five-step adaptation planning process is being improved to better facilitate people getting started and to provide clear benchmarks for evaluating progress along the way. In this session, we will share lessons learned from a series of user engagements around the nation and evidence that the Toolkit couples climate information with actionable decision-making processes in ways that are helping Americans build resilience to climate-related stressors.

  20. The impact of training interventions on organizational readiness to support innovations in juvenile justice offices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taxman, Faye S; Henderson, Craig; Young, Doug; Farrell, Jill

    2014-03-01

    Clinical trials on technology transfer models are rare, even with the interest in advancing the uptake of evidence-based practices in social service agencies. This article presents the results from a trial examining different transfer strategies to assist juvenile justice caseworkers in using screening, assessment, and case planning practices to address mental health and substance use needs. Study findings examine factors that promote organizational readiness. A clinical trial was conducted examining the impact of three post-training strategies: an external coach to build the social network of the justice office (build social climate), an external coach to educate staff (build skills and knowledge), and a control condition consisting of traditional management directives (directives to staff of agency priorities). All groups were exposed to a 1 day refresher course in motivational interviewing. The social network and skill building groups also attended an intensive 3-day training followed by three on-site booster sessions over a 12 month period of time. Twelve juvenile justice offices (with their 231 juvenile justice staff) were assigned to one of three conditions. The study examined the impact of different transfer conditions on organizational readiness to implement the innovation of screening, assessment, and referral strategies. External coaching targeting the social climate of the justice office to support innovations improved organizational readiness to change, regardless of office size. Coaching that targeted either the social climate or staff knowledge and skills both improved organizational readiness for change compared to management directives, but social climate coaching resulted in greater improvements in receptivity to change. No individual level features of case workers (e.g., age, gender, years of experience) significantly predicted organizational readiness to change. Unexpectedly, the skill and knowledge building approach did not perform any better

  1. A protective effect of the BDNF Met/Met genotype in obesity in healthy Caucasian subjects but not in patients with coronary heart disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sustar, A; Nikolac Perkovic, M; Nedic Erjavec, G; Svob Strac, D; Pivac, N

    2016-08-01

    Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophic factor with an important role in the regulation of body weight, body mass index (BMI) and obesity. Increased BMI that leads to obesity is a substantial risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). The functional BDNF Val66Met polymorphism (rs6265) has been associated with CHD, obesity and BMI. The aim of the study was to determine the association between BDNF rs6265 polymorphism and CHD and/or BMI in patients with CHD and healthy control subjects. The study included 704 Caucasian subjects: 206 subjects with CHD and 498 healthy control subjects. The BDNF rs6265 genotype frequency was similar in male and female subjects, and there were no differences in the frequency of the BDNF rs6265 genotypes in 206 patients with CHD and in 498 healthy subjects. When study participants were subdivided according to the BMI categories into normal weight, overweight and obese subjects, significantly different BDNF rs6265 genotype frequency was found within healthy subjects, but not within patients with CHD. Healthy subjects, but not patients with CHD, subdivided into carriers of the Met/Met, Met/Val and Val/Val genotype, had different BMI scores. The BDNF rs6265 genotype frequency was similar in male and female subjects, and there were no differences in the frequency of the BDNF rs6265 genotypes in 206 patients with CHD and in 498 healthy subjects. When study participants were subdivided according to the BMI categories into normal weight, overweight and obese subjects, significantly different BDNF rs6265 genotype frequency was found within healthy subjects, but not within patients with CHD. Healthy subjects, but not patients with CHD, subdivided into carriers of the Met/Met, Met/Val and Val/Val genotype, had different BMI scores. BDNF rs6265 polymorphism was not associated with a diagnosis of CHD or with BMI categories among patients with CHD. In contrast, healthy Caucasians, carriers of the BDNF Met/Met genotype, had more

  2. Cost-benefit analysis of improved air quality in an office building

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Djukanovic, R.; Wargocki, Pawel; Fanger, Povl Ole

    2002-01-01

    A cost-benefit analysis of measures to improve air quality in an existing air-conditoned office building (11581 m2, 864 employees) was carried out for hot, temperate and cold climates and for two operating modes: Variable Air Volume (VAV) with economizer; and Constant Air Volume (CAV) with heat...... recovery. The annual energy cost and first cost of the HVAC system were calculat4ed using DOE 2.1E for different levels of air quality (10-50% dissatisfied). This was achieved by changing the outdoor air supply rate and the pollution loads. Previous studies have documented a 1.1% increase in office...

  3. Mars MetNet Mission - Martian Atmospheric Observational Post Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hari, Ari-Matti; Haukka, Harri; Aleksashkin, Sergey; Arruego, Ignacio; Schmidt, Walter; Genzer, Maria; Vazquez, Luis; Siikonen, Timo; Palin, Matti

    2017-04-01

    A new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars is under development in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Lavochkin Association (LA), Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institutio Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA). The Mars MetNet mission is based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). The scientific payload of the Mars MetNet Precursor [1] mission is divided into three categories: Atmospheric instruments, Optical devices and Composition and structure devices. Each of the payload instruments will provide significant insights in to the Martian atmospheric behavior. The key technologies of the MetNet Lander have been qualified and the electrical qualification model (EQM) of the payload bay has been built and successfully tested. 1. MetNet Lander The MetNet landing vehicles are using an inflatable entry and descent system instead of rigid heat shields and parachutes as earlier semi-hard landing devices have used. This way the ratio of the payload mass to the overall mass is optimized. The landing impact will burrow the payload container into the Martian soil providing a more favorable thermal environment for the electronics and a suitable orientation of the telescopic boom with external sensors and the radio link antenna. It is planned to deploy several tens of MNLs on the Martian surface operating at least partly at the same time to allow meteorological network science. 2. Strawman Scientific Payload The strawman payload of the two MNL precursor models includes the following instruments: Atmospheric instruments: - MetBaro Pressure device - MetHumi Humidity device - MetTemp Temperature sensors Optical devices: - PanCam Panoramic - MetSIS Solar irradiance sensor with OWLS optical wireless system for data transfer - DS Dust sensor Composition and Structure Devices: Tri-axial magnetometer MOURA Tri-axial System Accelerometer The descent processes dynamic properties are monitored by a special 3-axis

  4. Climate Central World Weather Attribution (WWA) project: Real-time extreme weather event attribution analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haustein, Karsten; Otto, Friederike; Uhe, Peter; Allen, Myles; Cullen, Heidi

    2015-04-01

    Extreme weather detection and attribution analysis has emerged as a core theme in climate science over the last decade or so. By using a combination of observational data and climate models it is possible to identify the role of climate change in certain types of extreme weather events such as sea level rise and its contribution to storm surges, extreme heat events and droughts or heavy rainfall and flood events. These analyses are usually carried out after an extreme event has occurred when reanalysis and observational data become available. The Climate Central WWA project will exploit the increasing forecast skill of seasonal forecast prediction systems such as the UK MetOffice GloSea5 (Global seasonal forecasting system) ensemble forecasting method. This way, the current weather can be fed into climate models to simulate large ensembles of possible weather scenarios before an event has fully emerged yet. This effort runs along parallel and intersecting tracks of science and communications that involve research, message development and testing, staged socialization of attribution science with key audiences, and dissemination. The method we employ uses a very large ensemble of simulations of regional climate models to run two different analyses: one to represent the current climate as it was observed, and one to represent the same events in the world that might have been without human-induced climate change. For the weather "as observed" experiment, the atmospheric model uses observed sea surface temperature (SST) data from GloSea5 (currently) and present-day atmospheric gas concentrations to simulate weather events that are possible given the observed climate conditions. The weather in the "world that might have been" experiments is obtained by removing the anthropogenic forcing from the observed SSTs, thereby simulating a counterfactual world without human activity. The anthropogenic forcing is obtained by comparing the CMIP5 historical and natural simulations

  5. Does temperature nudging overwhelm aerosol radiative effects in regional integrated climate models?

    Science.gov (United States)

    For over two decades, data assimilation (popularly known as nudging) methods have been used for improving regional weather and climate simulations by reducing model biases in meteorological parameters and processes. Similar practice is also popular in many regional integrated met...

  6. Studeren met Hans Rosenberg

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rutten, R.J.

    2001-01-01

    Hoe was het om in de jaren zestig te studeren? Laat ik een terugblik ophangen aan een studiemakker, Hans Rosenberg. We vormden samen de sterrekundejaar- gang 1961. Hans studeerde af in 1966 met hoofdvak wiskunde, promoveerde op radiostralingsprocessen in de zonnecorona in 1973, verliet de

  7. Higher Levels of c-Met Expression and Phosphorylation Identify Cell Lines With Increased Sensitivity to AMG-458, a Novel Selective c-Met Inhibitor With Radiosensitizing Effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Bo; Torossian, Artour; Sun, Yunguang; Du, Ruihong; Dicker, Adam P.; Lu Bo

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: c-Met is overexpressed in some non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines and tissues. Cell lines with higher levels of c-Met expression and phosphorylation depend on this receptor for survival. We studied the effects of AMG-458 on 2 NSCLC cell lines. Methods and Materials: 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl) -2H-tetrazolium assays assessed the sensitivities of the cells to AMG-458. Clonogenic survival assays illustrated the radiosensitizing effects of AMG-458. Western blot for cleaved caspase 3 measured apoptosis. Immunoblotting for c-Met, phospho-Met (p-Met), Akt/p-Akt, and Erk/p-Erk was performed to observe downstream signaling. Results: AMG-458 enhanced radiosensitivity in H441 but not in A549. H441 showed constitutive phosphorylation of c-Met. A549 expressed low levels of c-Met, which were phosphorylated only in the presence of exogenous hepatocyte growth factor. The combination of radiation therapy and AMG-458 treatment was found to synergistically increase apoptosis in the H441 cell line but not in A549. Radiation therapy, AMG-458, and combination treatment were found to reduce p-Akt and p-Erk levels in H441 but not in A549. H441 became less sensitive to AMG-458 after small interfering RNA knockdown of c-Met; there was no change in A549. After overexpression of c-Met, A549 became more sensitive, while H441 became less sensitive to AMG-458. Conclusions: AMG-458 was more effective in cells that expressed higher levels of c-Met/p-Met, suggesting that higher levels of c-Met and p-Met in NSCLC tissue may classify a subset of tumors that are more sensitive to molecular therapies against this receptor.

  8. Klimaatverandering en de stadsboom (interview met Jitze Kopinga)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bennink, P.; Kopinga, J.

    2010-01-01

    Bomen in de stad staan vaak op warme plaatsen met een gebrekkige waterhuishouding. Volgens het KNMI zal Nederland in de toekomst steeds vaker met hitte en droogte te maken hebben. Wat betekent dat voor onze stadsbomen?

  9. Sustained Large-Scale Collective Climate Action Supported by Effective Climate Change Education Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niepold, F., III; Crim, H.; Fiorile, G.; Eldadah, S.

    2017-12-01

    Since 2012, the Climate and Energy Literacy community have realized that as cities, nations and the international community seek solutions to global climate change over the coming decades, a more comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to climate literacy—one that includes economic and social considerations—will play a vital role in knowledgeable planning, decision-making, and governance. City, county and state leaders are now leading the American response to a changing climate by incubating social innovation to prevail in the face of unprecedented change. Cities are beginning to realize the importance of critical investments to support the policies and strategies that will foster the climate literacy necessary for citizens to understand the urgency of climate actions and to succeed in a resilient post-carbon economy and develop the related workforce. Over decade of federal and non-profit Climate Change Education effective methods have been developed that can support municipality's significant educational capabilities for the purpose of strengthening and scaling city, state, business, and education actions designed to sustain and effectively address this significant social change. Looking to foster the effective and innovative strategies that will enable their communities several networks have collaborated to identify recommendations for effective education and communication practices when working with different types of audiences. U.S. National Science Foundation funded Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation, NOAA Climate Program Office, Tri-Agency Climate Change Education Collaborative and the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) are working to develop a new web portal that will highlight "effective" practices that includes the acquisition and use of climate change knowledge to inform decision-making. The purpose of the web portal is to transfer effective practice to support communities to be

  10. Earthwatch and the HSBC Climate Partnership: Linking climate change and forests management one citizen scientist at a time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stover, D. B.; Jones, A.; Kusek, K.; Bebber, D.; Phillips, R.; Campbell, J.

    2010-12-01

    Earthwatch has engaged more than 90,000 citizen scientists in long-term research studies since its founding in 1971. One of its newer research and engagement programs is the HSBC Climate Partnership, a five-year global program on climate change to inspire action by individuals, businesses and governments (2007-2012). In this unique NGO-business partnership, Earthwatch has implemented five forest research-focused climate centers in the US, UK, Brazil, India and China. At each center, a team of scientists—supported by HSBC banking employees and local citizen scientists—is gathering data to determine how temperate and tropical forests are affected by changes in climate and human activity. Results are establishing baseline data to empower forest managers, conservationists and communities with the information they need to better manage forests within a changing climate. A critical component of the program is the engagement of 2,200 corporate HSBC employees who spend two weeks out of the office at one of the regional climate centers. They work alongside leading scientists to perform forest research by day, and participate each evening in an interactive education program on the ecological and socioeconomic impacts of climate change—including how climate change impacts HSBC’s bottom line. Program participants are empowered and have successfully developed sustainability projects they implement back in their office, homes and communities that furthers corporate and public commitment to sustainability and combating the effects of climate change. In addition to the corporate engagement model, Earthwatch has successfully engaged scores of local community stakeholders in the HSBC Climate Partnership, including teachers who report back to their classrooms “live from the field,” reporters and other business/NGO leaders in modified one week versions of the field program. New models of citizen science engagement are currently under development, with best practices and

  11. Scientist versus sceptic. Report of a weblog discussion between a climatic change researcher and a climatic change sceptic; Wetenschapper versus scepticus. Verslag van een weblogdiscussie tussen een klimaatonderzoeker en een klimaatscepticus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strengers, B.J.; Labohm, H.H.J.

    2010-05-15

    In the run up to the international climate conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, climate sceptic Hans Labohm and climate researcher Bart Strengers of the Environmental Assessment Agency entered into a debate on the website of the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation NOS. The blog discussion offers a good view on the dilemmas surrounding knowledge about climate change. [Dutch] In de aanloop naar de internationale klimaatconferentie in december 2009 in Kopenhagen gingen klimaatscepticus Hans Labohm en klimaatonderzoeker van het Planbureau voor de leefomgeving Bart Strengers met elkaar in debat op de website van de NOS. De blogdiscussie geeft een goed beeld van de dilemma's rond de kennis over klimaatverandering.

  12. Development of regional future climate change scenarios in South America using the Eta CPTEC/HadCM3 climate change projections: climatology and regional analyses for the Amazon, Sao Francisco and the Parana River basins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marengo, Jose A.; Chou, Sin Chan; Alves, Lincoln M.; Pesquero, Jose F.; Soares, Wagner R.; Santos, Daniel C.; Lyra, Andre A.; Sueiro, Gustavo; Chagas, Diego J.; Gomes, Jorge L.; Bustamante, Josiane F.; Tavares, Priscila [National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Cachoeira Paulista, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Kay, Gillian; Betts, Richard [UK Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, Devon (United Kingdom)

    2012-05-15

    The objective of this study is to assess the climate projections over South America using the Eta-CPTEC regional model driven by four members of an ensemble of the Met Office Hadley Centre Global Coupled climate model HadCM3. The global model ensemble was run over the twenty-first century according to the SRES A1B emissions scenario, but with each member having a different climate sensitivity. The four members selected to drive the Eta-CPTEC model span the sensitivity range in the global model ensemble. The Eta-CPTEC model nested in these lateral boundary conditions was configured with a 40-km grid size and was run over 1961-1990 to represent baseline climate, and 2011-2100 to simulate possible future changes. Results presented here focus on austral summer and winter climate of 2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100 periods, for South America and for three major river basins in Brazil. Projections of changes in upper and low-level circulation and the mean sea level pressure (SLP) fields simulate a pattern of weakening of the tropical circulation and strengthening of the subtropical circulation, marked by intensification at the surface of the Chaco Low and the subtropical highs. Strong warming (4-6 C) of continental South America increases the temperature gradient between continental South America and the South Atlantic. This leads to stronger SLP gradients between continent and oceans, and to changes in moisture transport and rainfall. Large rainfall reductions are simulated in Amazonia and Northeast Brazil (reaching up to 40%), and rainfall increases around the northern coast of Peru and Ecuador and in southeastern South America, reaching up to 30% in northern Argentina. All changes are more intense after 2040. The Precipitation-Evaporation (P-E) difference in the A1B downscaled scenario suggest water deficits and river runoff reductions in the eastern Amazon and Sao Francisco Basin, making these regions susceptible to drier conditions and droughts in the future

  13. 77 FR 74175 - Solicitation of Review Editors for the Draft Report of the National Climate Assessment and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-13

    ... Climate Change Science; The NCA Long-Term Process. Dated: December 6, 2012. Jason Donaldson, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic... Assessment 2013 Draft Report. Review Editor Role In the NCA Process: One Review Editor for each NCA 2013...

  14. MetNet Network Mission for Martian Atmospheric Investigations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harri, A.-M.; Alexashkin, S.; Arrugeo, I.; Schmidt, W.; Vazquez, L.; Genzer, M.; Haukka, H.

    2014-07-01

    A new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars called MetNet is being developed for martian atmospheric investigations. The eventual scope of the MetNet Mission is to deploy tens of small landers on the martian surface.

  15. RAAAF's office landscape The End of Sitting: Energy expenditure and temporary comfort when working in non-sitting postures.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone R Caljouw

    Full Text Available An earlier study suggested that the activity-inviting office landscape called "The End of Sitting", designed by Rietveld Architecture Art Affordances (RAAAF, should be considered as an alternative working environment to prevent sedentary behavior. The End of Sitting lacks chairs and tables but consists instead of a myriad of sloped surfaces at different heights that afford workers to stand, lean or recline at different locations. In this study, we assessed the impact of four of its workspaces on physical intensity, temporary comfort and productivity of office work and compared the outcomes with sitting and standing behind a desk. Twenty-four participants worked for 10 minutes in each of the six test conditions. Energy expenditure, measured by indirect calorimetry, and heart rate were recorded. Questionnaires were used to assess the perceived comfort. The number of words found in the word search test was counted as a measure of productivity. The majority of The End of Sitting workspaces led to a significant increase in energy expenditure compared with sitting behind a desk (ps < .05. Average MET values ranged from 1.40 to 1.58 which is a modest rise in energy expenditure compared to sitting (1.32 METs and not significantly different from standing (1.47 METs. The scores on the general comfort scale indicated that some workspaces were less comfortable than sitting (ps < .05, but the vast majority of participants reported that at least one of The End of Sitting workspaces was equally or more comfortable than sitting. No differences in productivity between the test conditions were found. Further long-term studies are required to assess the behavioral adaptations, productivity and the level of comfort when using The End of Sitting as a permanent office.

  16. Requirements to be met by the operation manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-03-01

    The rule applies to the contents and the lay-out of the operating manual for stationary nuclear power plants. The draft contains: 1. General requirement to be met by the contents of the operating manual. The operating manual to be arranged in 4 parts (part 1: internal rules and regulations; part 2: operation overall plant; part 3: incidents; part 4: operation systems). Safety specifications to be included in the manual, the exemption being the system of technical documentation. 2. General requirements to be met by the lay-out of the operating manual. Comprehensibility; legibility; structure and subdivisions; arrangement of the instructions and design of the manuals cover. 3. Requirements to be met by part 1. Defining the various internal rules and regulations (personnel management); rules and regulations concerning inspections and shift work; maintenance and repair; radiation protection; guard duty and admission; alarm; fire protection; first aid. 4. Requirements to be met by part 2. Provisions and operational limitations; limit values important from the point of view of safety; normal operation; anomalous operation; in-service inspections. 6. Requirements to be met by part 3. 7. Annex: Rules, regulations and stipulations mentioned in the rule draft. (orig.)

  17. Dimensionering van de Uniqfill chemischer wasser met lamellen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Starmans, D.A.J.

    2006-01-01

    In dit rapport wordt een eerste aanzet gegeven tot de modellering van een kruisstroom chemische wasser met lamellen. Met behulp van bestaande metingen is de stofoverdrachtscoëfficiënt afgeschat, waarna scenario's voor nieuwe wassers doorgerekend konden worden.

  18. The radiation protection officer as a temporary employee in foreign industrial facilities - A statement commenting on a former contribution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoegl, A.

    1998-01-01

    As the AKR sees it, the author of the contribution published in SSP 1/98, page 37 et seq., wishes to enhance the requirements to be met by a radiation protection officer performing his functions as a temporary employee in a facility subject to licensing of activities according to section 20 of the StrlSchV (Radiation protection ordinance), so as to adjust them to the standards of a permanently employed radiation protection officer in a nuclear power plant. For the AKR however, the reasons stated by the author are not convincing. Amendment of the legal requirements and duties of an external radiation protection officer according to the proposals of the author might create the situation that exclusively external radiation protection officers will be legally authorized to perform the activities required for licensing, so that permanently employed radiation protection officers in such facilities might become redundant. This would mean an undesirable development. (orig./CB) [de

  19. MET overexpression, gene amplification and relevant clinicopathological features in gastric adenocarcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jing; Guo, Lei; Liu, Xiuyun; Li, Wenbin; Ying, Jianming

    2017-02-07

    This study was conducted to investigate the expression of MET in Chinese gastric adenocarcinoma cohort, the correlation between MET overexpression and clinical pathological features, HER2 expression and MET gene amplification. A total of 816 gastric adenocarcinoma patients were included and MET and HER2 immunohistochemical (IHC) staining were performed. IHC and dual-color silver in situ hybridization analysis were performed in the tissue microarrays, constructed from the 240 patients who were randomly selected. MET overexpression (IHC 3+) was observed in 6.0% (49/816) of the cohort. MET overexpression rate was higher in patients with poor prognostic factors, such as clinical stages III/IV (p =0.012) and pathologic stages T3/T4 (p =0.027). The HER2 overexpression (IHC 3+) rate was 8.8% (72/816) and MET overexpression rate was higher in HER2 positive patients (9.7%, 7/72). A high concordance rate (94.6%) between MET overexpression and gene amplification was demonstrated. Therefore, MET overexpression could serve as a prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.

  20. Mindfulness voor volwassenen met een licht verstandelijke beperking

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Punt, M.; Helmond, P.E.; Meirmans, M.; Otten, R.; Speckens, A.E.M.

    2016-01-01

    Mensen met een licht verstandelijke beperking (LVB) hebben veelal te maken met een opeenstapeling van verschillende biologische, psychologische en sociale factoren, waardoor zij vijf tot zes keer meer kans hebben op het ontwikkelen van psychopathologie dan normaal begaafden (Allen, 2008; Buckles,

  1. Anxiolytic effect of music exposure on BDNFMet/Met transgenic mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wen-Jing; Yu, Hui; Yang, Jian-Min; Gao, Jing; Jiang, Hong; Feng, Min; Zhao, Yu-Xia; Chen, Zhe-Yu

    2010-08-06

    Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been reported to play important roles in the modulation of anxiety, mood stabilizers, and pathophysiology of affective disorders. Recently, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the BDNF gene (Val66Met) has been found to be associated with depression and anxiety disorders. The humanized BDNF(Met/Met) knock-in transgenic mice exhibited increased anxiety-related behaviors that were unresponsive to serotonin reuptake inhibitors, fluoxetine. Music is known to be able to elicit emotional changes, including anxiolytic effects. In this study, we found that music treatment could significantly decrease anxiety state in BDNF(Met/Met) mice, but not in BDNF(+/)(-), mice compared with white noise exposure in open field and elevated plus maze test. Moreover, in contrast to white noise exposure, BDNF expression levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala and hippocampus were significantly increased in music-exposed adult BDNF(Met/Met) mice. However, music treatment could not upregulate BDNF levels in the PFC, amygdala, and hippocampus in BDNF(+/)(-) mice, which suggests the essential role of BDNF in the anxiolytic effect of music. Together, our results imply that music may provide an effective therapeutic intervention for anxiety disorders in humans with this genetic BDNF(Met) variant. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism in obese Korean children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Dae-Sun; Kim, Se-Lim; Kim, Sun-Young; Hwang, Pyoung Han; Lee, Kee-Hyoung; Lee, Dae-Yeol

    2005-11-01

    Ghrelin is a novel gut-brain peptide that has somatotropic, orexigenic, and adipogenic effects. We examined the preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism in 222 obese Korean children to determine whether it is associated with obesity. The frequencies of the Leu72Met polymorphism were 29.3% in obese, 32.3% in overweight, and 32.5% in lean Korean children. No significant difference was found between Met72 carrier and non-carrier obese children with respect to BMI, total body fat, serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, or LDL-cholesterol levels. Our data suggest that the preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism is not associated with obesity in children.

  3. Patient safety issues in office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLennan, Stuart; Schwappach, David; Harder, Yves; Staender, Sven; Elger, Bernice

    2017-08-01

    To identify the spectrum of patient safety issues in office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland. Purposive sample of 23 experts in surgery and anaesthesia and quality and regulation in Switzerland. Data were collected via individual qualitative interviews using a researcher-developed semi-structured interview guide between March 2016 and September 2016. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using conventional content analysis. Issues were categorised under the headings "structure", "process", and "outcome". Experts identified two key overarching patient safety and regulatory issues in relation to office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland. First, experts repeatedly raised the current lack of data and transparency of the setting. It is unknown how many surgeons are operating in offices, how many and what types of operations are being done, and what the outcomes are. Secondly, experts also noted the limited oversight and regulation of the setting. While some standards exists, most experts felt that more minimal safety standards are needed regarding the requirements that must be met to do office-based surgery and what can and cannot be done in the office-based setting are needed, but they advocated a self-regulatory approach. There is a lack of empirical data regarding the quantity and quality office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland. Further research is needed to address these research gaps and inform health policy in relation to patient safety in office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  4. Effect of MET on formation and vigor of wheat roots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Bingkui; Jin Ziyu; Zhao Miaozhen; Zhao Yanshen

    1993-01-01

    Effect of MET on the formation and vigor of roots of wheat seedlings were studied. The results showed that 50 ∼ 200 ppm MET inhibited vertical elongation of roots, increased root, shoot ratio and enhanced the formation and vigor of roots. But MET had no effect on the dry weight of roots. The activity of peroxidase was decreased and the proportion of assimilates in roots was increased by MET treatment compared with the control

  5. Smart energy strategies. Meeting the climate change challenge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    This book published by the Energy Science Center (ESC) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich presents a wide selection of reports on how the challenge of dealing with climate change can be met. The 69 reports included cover a wide range of topics ranging from traffic modelling, biofuels and electrification of power trains, through demand-side management, electricity production and distribution and life cycle assessment, to the integration of wind power and renewable energy technologies. Also, climate policy matters are dealt with as are nano-technology applications in the energy area and the integration of energy conversion and production processes and waste management

  6. Smart energy strategies. Meeting the climate change challenge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2008-07-01

    This book published by the Energy Science Center (ESC) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich presents a wide selection of reports on how the challenge of dealing with climate change can be met. The 69 reports included cover a wide range of topics ranging from traffic modelling, biofuels and electrification of power trains, through demand-side management, electricity production and distribution and life cycle assessment, to the integration of wind power and renewable energy technologies. Also, climate policy matters are dealt with as are nano-technology applications in the energy area and the integration of energy conversion and production processes and waste management.

  7. First National Expert and Stakeholder Workshop on Water Infrastructure Sustainability and Adaptation to Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) and EPA Office of Water (OW) joinined efforts to assess and evaluate programmatic, research & development (R&D) needs for sustainable water infrastructure development and effective adaptation to climate changes. The purpose of this pr...

  8. The influence of climate-warming on the power production of Swiss hydroelectric power stations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaeppi, A.

    2006-01-01

    This article summarises an interview with Michael Piot of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) on a study commissioned by the office that takes a look at the influence of a possible climate warming on water flow in the Swiss alpine area. In particular, the influence of such possible changes on the Swiss power generation industry are looked at. Prognoses for climate change are reviewed, as are the results of a study made by the SFOE on energy perspectives for the period up to the year 2035. Possible changes in the alpine climate are discussed and their influence on the water household of the region is examined. Possible further and more drastic changes in the period up to 2099 are briefly commented on

  9. Deelname aan de samenleving van mensen met een beperking: participatiemonitor 2007.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogen, P. van den; Cardol, M.; Speet, M.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; Rijken, M.

    2008-01-01

    Hoe doen mensen met een beperking mee in de maatschappij? Mensen met een lichamelijke beperking wonen en werken meestal net als iedereen, en ook zij zijn niet altijd tevreden met hun werk. Mensen met een verstandelijke beperking wonen en werken vaak in een speciale omgeving. Het overheidsbeleid

  10. {sup 89}Zr-Onartuzumab PET imaging of c-MET receptor dynamics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pool, Martin; Kol, Arjan; Giesen, Danique; Vries, Elisabeth G.E. de [University of Groningen, Department of Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Terwisscha van Scheltinga, Anton G.T. [University of Groningen, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Lub-de Hooge, Marjolijn N. [University of Groningen, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); University of Groningen, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands)

    2017-08-15

    c-MET and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor are often dysregulated in human cancers. Dynamic changes in c-MET expression occur and might predict drug efficacy or emergence of resistance. Noninvasive visualization of c-MET dynamics could therefore potentially guide c-MET-directed therapies. We investigated the feasibility of {sup 89}Zr-labelled one-armed c-MET antibody onartuzumab PET for detecting relevant changes in c-MET levels induced by c-MET-mediated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib resistance or heat shock protein-90 (HSP90) inhibitor NVP-AUY-922 treatment in human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) xenografts. In vitro membrane c-MET levels were determined by flow cytometry. HCC827ErlRes, an erlotinib-resistant clone with c-MET upregulation, was generated from the exon-19 EGFR-mutant human NSCLC cell line HCC827. Mice bearing HCC827 and HCC827ErlRes tumours in opposite flanks underwent {sup 89}Zr-onartuzumab PET scans. The HCC827-xenografted mice underwent {sup 89}Zr-onartuzumab PET scans before treatment and while receiving biweekly intraperitoneal injections of 100 mg/kg NVP-AUY-922 or vehicle. Ex vivo, tumour c-MET immunohistochemistry was correlated with the imaging results. In vitro, membrane c-MET was upregulated in HCC827ErlRes tumours by 213 ± 44% in relation to the level in HCC827 tumours, while c-MET was downregulated by 69 ± 9% in HCC827 tumours following treatment with NVP-AUY-922. In vivo, {sup 89}Zr-onartuzumab uptake was 26% higher (P < 0.05) in erlotinib-resistant HCC827ErlRes than in HCC827 xenografts, while HCC827 tumour uptake was 33% lower (P < 0.001) following NVP-AUY-922 treatment. The results show that {sup 89}Zr-onartuzumab PET effectively discriminates relevant changes in c-MET levels and could potentially be used clinically to monitor c-MET status. (orig.)

  11. Climate Change and Political Action: the Citizens' Climate Lobby

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, P. H.; Secord, S.

    2014-12-01

    Recognizing the reality of global warming and its origin in greenhouse gas emissions, what does one do about it? Individual action is commendable, but inadequate. Collective action is necessary--Citizens' Climate Lobby proposes a "fee-and-dividend" approach in which a fee is imposed on carbon-based fuel at its sources of production. The fee increases annually in a predictable manner. The funds collected are paid out to consumers as monthly dividends. The approach is market-based, in that the cost of the fee to producers is passed on to consumers in the cost of carbon-based fuels. Downstream energy providers and consumers then make their choices regarding investments and purchases. Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) builds national consensus by growing local Chapters, led and populated by volunteers. The Chapters are charged with public education and presenting the fee-and-dividend proposal to their respective Representatives and Senators. CCL builds trust by its non-partisan approach, meeting with all members of Congress regardless of party affiliation and stance on climate-related issues. CCL also builds trust by a non-confrontational approach, seeking to understand rather than to oppose. CCL works both locally, through its local Chapters, and nationally, with an annual conference in Washington DC during which all Congressional offices are visited. CCL recognizes that a long-term, sustained effort is necessary to address climate change.

  12. Downscaling of South America present climate driven by 4-member HadCM3 runs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chou, Sin Chan; Marengo, Jose A.; Lyra, Andre A.; Sueiro, Gustavo; Pesquero, Jose F.; Alves, Lincoln M.; Chagas, Diego J.; Gomes, Jorge L.; Bustamante, Josiane F.; Tavares, Priscila [National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Sao Paulo (Brazil); Kay, Gillian; Betts, Richard [UK Met Office Hadley Centre, Devon (United Kingdom)

    2012-02-15

    The objective of this work is to evaluate climate simulations over South America using the regional Eta Model driven by four members of an ensemble of the UK Met Office Hadley Centre HadCM3 global model. The Eta Model has been modified with the purpose of performing long-term decadal integrations and has shown to reproduce ''present climate'' - the period 1961-1990 - reasonably well when forced by HadCM3. The global model lateral conditions with a resolution of 2.5 latitude x 3.75 longitude were provided at a frequency of 6 h. Each member of the global model ensemble has a different climate sensitivity, and the four members were selected to span the range of uncertainty encompassed by the ensemble. The Eta Model nested in the HadCM3 global model was configured with 40-km horizontal resolution and 38 layers in the vertical. No large-scale internal nudging was applied. Results are shown for austral summer and winter at present climate defined as 1961-90. The upper and low-level circulation patterns produced by the Eta-CPTEC/HadCM3 experiment set-up show good agreement with reanalysis data and the mean precipitation and temperature with CRU observation data. The spread in the downscaled mean precipitation and temperature is small when compared against model errors. On the other hand, the benefits in using an ensemble is clear in the improved representation of the seasonal cycle by the ensemble mean over any one realization. El Nino and La Nina years were identified in the HadCM3 member runs based on the NOAA Climate Prediction Center criterion of sea surface temperature anomalies in the Nino 3.4 area. The frequency of the El Nino and La Nina events in the studied period is underestimated by HadCM3. The precipitation and temperature anomalies typical of these events are reproduced by most of the Eta-CPTEC/HadCM3 ensemble, although small displacements of the positions of the anomalies occur. This experiment configuration is the first step on the

  13. Medical emergencies in a dental office: inhalation and ingestion of orthodontic objects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilder, Leon; Hazan-Molina, Hagai; Aizenbud, Dror

    2011-01-01

    The authors reviewed the literature regarding inhalation and ingestion of orthodontic appliances and suggest ways to manage and prevent these events. The authors conducted literature searches of free text and Medical Subject Headings terms by using PubMed and Embase databases and selected appropriate studies. They analyzed retrieved articles according to several parameters: inhalation or ingestion event, number of cases, patient's sex and age, type of orthodontic appliance, in-office event or out-of-office event, and medical treatment. The authors found a total of 2,279 articles in their preliminary search. Eighteen reports of 24 cases from this search met all of the search criteria (that is, clinical studies, case reports or reviews limited to English, Hebrew or Arabic on any form of aspiration or inhalation of orthodontic appliances). Most cases (67 percent) involved ingested objects, and of those cases, the majority (57 percent) occurred in female patients. Most cases (85 percent) occurred outside the orthodontist's office. Seventeen patients (71 percent) had been treated with a fixed orthodontic appliance. In 60 percent of cases, the maxilla was involved. With one exception, no severe complications were reported (only seven patients were examined in a hospital emergency department), and patients were discharged uneventfully from the orthodontic office or emergency department. Orthodontists and team members should participate in medical emergency management courses that emphasize the use of guidelines in cases of inhalation or ingestion of orthodontic objects. Each orthodontist's office should develop written emergency protocols for out-of-office events and present them to patients and their parents at the start of treatment.

  14. Ensemble of regional climate model projections for Ireland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolan, Paul; McGrath, Ray

    2016-04-01

    The method of Regional Climate Modelling (RCM) was employed to assess the impacts of a warming climate on the mid-21st-century climate of Ireland. The RCM simulations were run at high spatial resolution, up to 4 km, thus allowing a better evaluation of the local effects of climate change. Simulations were run for a reference period 1981-2000 and future period 2041-2060. Differences between the two periods provide a measure of climate change. To address the issue of uncertainty, a multi-model ensemble approach was employed. Specifically, the future climate of Ireland was simulated using three different RCMs, driven by four Global Climate Models (GCMs). To account for the uncertainty in future emissions, a number of SRES (B1, A1B, A2) and RCP (4.5, 8.5) emission scenarios were used to simulate the future climate. Through the ensemble approach, the uncertainty in the RCM projections can be partially quantified, thus providing a measure of confidence in the predictions. In addition, likelihood values can be assigned to the projections. The RCMs used in this work are the COnsortium for Small-scale MOdeling-Climate Limited-area Modelling (COSMO-CLM, versions 3 and 4) model and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The GCMs used are the Max Planck Institute's ECHAM5, the UK Met Office's HadGEM2-ES, the CGCM3.1 model from the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and the EC-Earth consortium GCM. The projections for mid-century indicate an increase of 1-1.6°C in mean annual temperatures, with the largest increases seen in the east of the country. Warming is enhanced for the extremes (i.e. hot or cold days), with the warmest 5% of daily maximum summer temperatures projected to increase by 0.7-2.6°C. The coldest 5% of night-time temperatures in winter are projected to rise by 1.1-3.1°C. Averaged over the whole country, the number of frost days is projected to decrease by over 50%. The projections indicate an average increase in the length of the growing season

  15. Ran GTPase promotes cancer progression via Met receptor-mediated downstream signaling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuen, Hiu-Fung; Chan, Ka-Kui; Platt-Higgins, Angela; Dakir, El-Habib; Matchett, Kyle B.; Haggag, Yusuf Ahmed; Jithesh, Puthen V.; Habib, Tanwir; Faheem, Ahmed; Dean, Fennell A.; Morgan, Richard; Rudland, Philip S.; El-Tanani, Mohamed

    2016-01-01

    It has been shown previously that cancer cells with an activated oncogenic pathway, including Met activation, require Ran for growth and survival. Here, we show that knockdown of Ran leads to a reduction of Met receptor expression in several breast and lung cancer cell lines. This, in turn suppressed HGF expression and the Met-mediated activation of the Akt pathway, as well as cell adhesion, migration, and invasion. In a cell line model where Met amplification has previously been shown to contribute to gefitinib resistance, Ran knockdown sensitized cells to gefitinib-mediated inhibition of Akt and ERK1/2 phosphorylation and consequently reduced cell proliferation. We further demonstrate that Met reduction-mediated by knockdown of Ran, occurs at the post-transcriptional level, probably via a matrix metalloproteinase. Moreover, the level of immunoreactive Ran and Met are positively associated in human breast cancer specimens, suggesting that a high level of Ran may be a pre-requisite for Met overexpression. Interestingly, a high level of immunoreactive Ran dictates the prognostic significance of Met, indicating that the co-overexpression of Met and Ran may be associated with cancer progression and could be used in combination as a prognostic indicator. PMID:27716616

  16. Met .naturalis in zee: Nederlands koraalrifonderzoek in de Indo-Pacific

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoeksema, B.W.

    2003-01-01

    In een serie arikelen onder de naam 'Met Naturalis in zee', zal Onderwatersport in samenwerking met het Leidse museum Naturalis met enige regelmaat aandacht besteden aan Nederlands biologisch koraalrifonderzoek in de Indische en de Stille Oceaan. Bert Hoeksema schreef de introductie van de serie.

  17. Data Mashups: Linking Human Health and Wellbeing with Weather, Climate and the Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming, L. E.; Sarran, C.; Golding, B.; Haines, A.; Kessel, A.; Djennad, M.; Hajat, S.; Nichols, G.; Gordon Brown, H.; Depledge, M.

    2016-12-01

    A large part of the global disease burden can be linked to environmental factors, underpinned by unhealthy behaviours. Research into these linkages suffers from lack of common tools and databases for investigations across many different scientific disciplines to explore these complex associations. The MEDMI (Medical and Environmental Data-a Mash-up Infrastructure) Partnership brings together leading organisations and researchers in climate, weather, environment, and human health. We have created a proof-of-concept central data and analysis system with the UK Met Office and Public Health England data as the internet-based MEDMI Platform (www.data-mashup.org.uk) to serve as a common resource for researchers to link and analyse complex meteorological, environmental and epidemiological data in the UK. The Platform is hosted on its own dedicated server, with secure internet and in-person access with appropriate safeguards for ethical, copyright, security, preservation, and data sharing issues. Via the Platform, there is a demonstration Browser Application with access to user-selected subsets of the data for: a) analyses using time series (e.g. mortality/environmental variables), and b) data visualizations (e.g. infectious diseases/environmental variables). One demonstration project is linking climate change, harmful algal blooms and oceanographic modelling building on the hydrodynamic-biogeochemical coupled models; in situ and satellite observations as well as UK HAB data and hospital episode statistics data are being used for model verification and future forecasting. The MEDMI Project provides a demonstration of the potential, barriers and challenges, of these "data mashups" of environment and health data. Although there remain many challenges to creating and sustaining such a shared resource, these activities and resources are essential to truly explore the complex interactions between climate and other environmental change and health at the local and global scale.

  18. Effects of the BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Met Allele Load on Declarative Memory Related Neural Networks

    OpenAIRE

    Dodds, Chris M.; Henson, Richard N.; Suckling, John; Miskowiak, Kamilla W.; Ooi, Cinly; Tait, Roger; Soltesz, Fruzsina; Lawrence, Phil; Bentley, Graham; Maltby, Kay; Skeggs, Andrew; Miller, Sam R.; McHugh, Simon; Bullmore, Edward T.; Nathan, Pradeep J.

    2013-01-01

    It has been suggested that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism modulates episodic memory performance via effects on hippocampal neural circuitry. However, fMRI studies have yielded inconsistent results in this respect. Moreover, very few studies have examined the effect of met allele load on activation of memory circuitry. In the present study, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of the effects of the BDNF polymorphism on brain responses during episodic memory encoding and retrieval, including...

  19. Topsector Energy. Innovation Officers Network; Topsector Energie. Innovatie Attache Netwerk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-06-15

    The Top Sector policy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation (ELI) has resulted in strongly worded plans with big ambitions for the various priority sectors. In this publication the Dutch Network of Innovation Officers gives an overview for the Top Sector Energy of developments taking place in the leading countries of the world in the field of Research, Development and Innovation. The information provides clues for the establishment and strengthening of international R and D strategy for the top sector and related options for cooperation with foreign parties [Dutch] Het topsectorenbeleid van onder meer het Ministerie van Economische zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie (ELI) heeft geresulteerd in scherp geformuleerde plannen met flinke ambities voor de diverse topsectoren. Het Netwerk van Innovatie Attachés geeft in deze publikatie een overzicht voor de Topsector Energie wat er in de meest toonaangevende landen van de wereld gebeurt op het terrein van Research and Development en Innovatie. De informatie biedt aanknopingspunten voor het opzetten en versterken van een internationale R and D strategie voor de topsector en daar toe behorende samenwerking met buitenlandse partijen.

  20. Interior shadings for office indoor visual comfort in humid climate region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinapradipta, Asri; Sudarma, Erwin; Defiana, Ima; Erwindi, Collinthia

    2018-03-01

    As part of the fenestration system, the interior shadings have also a role to control the indoor environment to maintain indoor visual comfort. As the occupants have personal access to control these, their control behavior then, might enhance or even worsen indoor comfort performance. The controlling behavior might not only influence indoor comfort performance but can also indicate the success or failure of interior shading as a control device element. This paper is intended to report control behavior patterns, as represented by the variety of the slats’ openings of two types of interior shading i.e. Venetian and Vertical blinds and to analyze these on the concurrent impacts to indoor office building’s indoor illuminance and luminance distribution. The purpose of this research is to figure out the shading control patterns as well as to examine the effectiveness of these two types of interior shadings to control indoor visual environment. This study is a quantitative research using experimentation on the slats’ opening of two types of shadings at two identical office rooms. The research results suggested that both types of blinds seem unsuitable for gaining proper illumination values at work planes in humid tropics area. However, these shadings demonstrate good performance for luminance distribution except for that of the closed Venetian blinds.

  1. Deelname aan de samenleving van mensen met een beperking: participatiemonitor 2007.

    OpenAIRE

    Hoogen, P. van den; Cardol, M.; Speet, M.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; Rijken, M.

    2008-01-01

    Hoe doen mensen met een beperking mee in de maatschappij? Mensen met een lichamelijke beperking wonen en werken meestal net als iedereen, en ook zij zijn niet altijd tevreden met hun werk. Mensen met een verstandelijke beperking wonen en werken vaak in een speciale omgeving. Het overheidsbeleid is erop gericht dat iedereen – dus ook mensen met een beperking – zoveel mogelijk ‘gewoon mee kan doen’ in de maatschappij. Bijvoorbeeld werken bij een gewone werkgever, schoolgaan op een gewone school...

  2. Radiation Chemical Studies of Gly-Met-Gly in Aqueous Solution

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barata-Vallejo, Sebastian; Ferreri, Carla; Zhang, Tao; Permentier, Hjalmar; Bischoff, Rainer; Bobrowski, Krzysztof; Chatgilialoglu, Chryssostomos

    2016-01-01

    Important biological consequences are related to the reaction of HO(•) radicals with methionine (Met). Several fundamental aspects remain to be defined when Met is an amino acid residue incorporated in the interior of peptides and proteins. The present study focuses on Gly-Met-Gly, the simplest

  3. Lack of neural compensatory mechanisms of BDNF val66met met carriers and APOE E4 carriers in healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomar, Jesus J; Conejero-Goldberg, Concepcion; Huey, Edward D; Davies, Peter; Goldberg, Terry E

    2016-03-01

    Compromises in compensatory neurobiologic mechanisms due to aging and/or genetic factors (i.e., APOE gene) may influence brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) val66met polymorphism effects on temporal lobe morphometry and memory performance. We studied 2 cohorts from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative: 175 healthy subjects and 222 with prodromal and established Alzheimer's disease. Yearly structural magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive performance assessments were carried out over 3 years of follow-up. Both cohorts had similar BDNF Val/Val and Met allele carriers' (including both Val/Met and Met/Met individuals) distribution. In healthy subjects, a significant trend for thinner posterior cingulate and precuneus cortices was detected in Met carriers compared to Val homozygotes in APOE E4 carriers, with large and medium effect sizes, respectively. The mild cognitive impairment/Alzheimer's disease cohort showed a longitudinal decline in entorhinal thickness in BDNF Met carriers compared to Val/Val in APOE E4 carriers, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large. In addition, an effect of BDNF genotype was found in APOE E4 carriers for episodic memory (logical memory and ADAS-Cog) and semantic fluency measures, with Met carriers performing worse in all cases. These findings suggest a lack of compensatory mechanisms in BDNF Met carriers and APOE E4 carriers in healthy and pathological aging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Outbreak of eczema and rhinitis in a group of office workers in Greenland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ebbehøj, Niels E; Agner, Tove; Zimerson, Erik

    2015-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Disturbed indoor climate may in some cases be associated with illness. In the present paper, we report the results from a thorough investigation of office workers in Greenland, who developed skin and/or airway problems after moving into renewed offices. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 2009...... the office of the Bank of Greenland had a total renovation of the building, including new furniture and carpets. Symptoms developed within the first year after moving back into the renewed buildings. After removal of carpets in the building, symptoms significantly improved. Workers were examined in 2009......: In total, 32 out of 80 workers (40%) developed symptoms; 27 reported eczema, 20 rhinitis and 4 urticaria. Eczema was located on the hands and/or lower arms in 18 workers, on the face in 10 workers and on legs/trunk in 12 workers. After intervention in the office, 22 workers with eczema reported significant...

  5. Mars MetNet Mission - Martian Atmospheric Observational Post Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harri, A.-M.; Haukka, H.; Aleksashkin, S.; Arruego, I.; Schmidt, W.; Genzer, M.; Vazquez, L.; Siikonen, T.; Palin, M.

    2017-09-01

    A new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars is under development in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Lavochkin Association (LA), Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institutio Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA). The Mars MetNet mission is based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL). The scientific payload of the Mars MetNet Precursor [1] mission is divided into three categories: Atmospheric instruments, Optical devices and Composition and structure devices. Each of the payload instruments will provide significant insights in to the Martian atmospheric behavior. The key technologies of the MetNet Lander have been qualified and the electrical qualification model (EQM) of the payload bay has been built and successfully tested.

  6. El acertijo de la metáfora visual

    OpenAIRE

    De la Rosa Alzate, Adriana; Universidad Autónoma de Occidente

    2016-01-01

    En este artículo se presentan los resultados de la investigación sobre el proceso de interpretación de la metáfora visual, en niños entre tres y cuatro años de edad. El propósito de la investigación fue dar cuenta del proceso de interpretación de la metáfora visual y del razonamiento involucrado. La metáfora visual se entiende como un fenómeno en el que los objetos representados presentan transformaciones que traen como consecuencia la emergencia de nuevas categorías e incluso la ambigüedad, ...

  7. Yucca Mountain Climate Technical Support Representative

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharpe, Saxon E

    2007-01-01

    The primary objective of Project Activity ORD-FY04-012, 'Yucca Mountain Climate Technical Support Representative', was to provide the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) with expertise on past, present, and future climate scenarios and to support the technical elements of the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) climate program. The Climate Technical Support Representative was to explain, defend, and interpret the YMP climate program to the various audiences during Site Recommendation and License Application. This technical support representative was to support DOE management in the preparation and review of documents, and to participate in comment response for the Final Environmental Impact Statement, the Site Recommendation Hearings, the NRC Sufficiency Comments, and other forums as designated by DOE management. Because the activity was terminated 12 months early and experience a 27% reduction in budget, it was not possible to complete all components of the tasks as originally envisioned. Activities not completed include the qualification of climate datasets and the production of a qualified technical report. The following final report is an unqualified summary of the activities that were completed given the reduced time and funding

  8. Resultaten boomkorsurvey 2013: BTS met onderzoeksvaartuigen Isis en Tridens (interview met Ingeborg de Boois)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boois, de I.J.

    2013-01-01

    Van begin augustus tot half september heeft IMARES de boomkorsurvey (BTS) uitgevoerd met de onderzoeksschepen Isis en Tridens. Op 29 maart 2014 wordt een bijeenkomst georganiseerd voor geinteresseerden, waar de resultaten van zowel de BTS als de bedrijfssurvey gepresenteerd worden. De BTS wordt

  9. A quantitative analysis of the causes of the global climate change research distribution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pasgaard, Maya; Strange, Niels

    2013-01-01

    investigates whether the need for knowledge on climate changes in the most vulnerable regions of the world is met by the supply of knowledge measured by scientific research publications from the last decade. A quantitative analysis of more than 15,000 scientific publications from 197 countries investigates...... the poorer, fragile and more vulnerable regions of the world. A quantitative keywords analysis of all publications shows that different knowledge domains and research themes dominate across regions, reflecting the divergent global concerns in relation to climate change. In general, research on climate change...... the distribution of climate change research and the potential causes of this distribution. More than 13 explanatory variables representing vulnerability, geographical, demographical, economical and institutional indicators are included in the analysis. The results show that the supply of climate change knowledge...

  10. La metáfora

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agustin, Oscar Garcia

    2007-01-01

    2002 y principios de 2003, anteriores a la proclamación de las Juntas de Buen Gobierno. Nuestro objetivo es comprobar cómo las metáforas crean nuevas significaciones, que intentan deshacer una lógica comúnmente asumida, y promover otros modos de comprender la acción y la realidad político-social. Este...

  11. A sultry afternoon in a naturally ventilated office during the hottest summer on record

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Conradie, Dirk

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Weather Service. Although this particular office has a split unit air conditioner the author, being a great believer in passive design, never uses it. Conventional design wisdom argues that a high thermal mass building is the answer in climates that have a...

  12. Metáforas metalinguísticas de Euclides da Cunha

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Antônio Magalhães Guedelha

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo apresenta uma leitura das metáforas metalinguísticas do escritor Euclides da Cunha, ou seja, as metáforas que ele utilizou para se referir aos seus dois principais livros, Os Sertões (sobre a guerra de Canudos e Um paraíso perdido (sobre a Amazônia. O conceito de metalinguagem estabelecido por Jakobson foi fundamental para a pesquisa, que teve como suporte teórico básico o postulado da metáfora conceptual, proposta por Lakoff e Johnson. As metáforas analisados neste artigo (VINGAR-SE É ESCREVER e UM LIVRO É UM FILHO foram colhidas de ensaios do escritor e de cartas que ele escreveu a amigos e familiares, “escriturando” a sua escrita por meio da metalinguagem. A análise das metáforas assume, com base em Lakoff e Johnson, que a metáfora não é uma questão apenas de linguagem. Ela é também – e fundamentalmente – uma questão de pensamento e ação.

  13. Solar cooling for small office buildings: Comparison of solar thermal and photovoltaic options for two different European climates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hartmann, N. [University of Stuttgart, Institute of Energy Economics and the Rational Use of Energy (IER), Hessbruehlstr. 49a, 70565 Stuttgart (Germany); Glueck, C. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Fluid Machinery (FSM), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany); Schmidt, F.P. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Fluid Machinery (FSM), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany); Fraunhofer ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg (Germany)

    2011-05-15

    We present a comparison of solar thermal and solar electric cooling for a typical small office building exposed to two different European climates (Freiburg and Madrid). The investigation is based on load series for heating and cooling obtained previously from annual building simulations in TRNSYS. A conventional compression chiller is used as the reference system against which the solar options are evaluated with respect to primary energy savings and additional cost. A parametric study on collector and storage size is carried out for the solar thermal system to reach achieve the minimal cost per unit of primary energy saved. The simulated solar electric system consists of the reference system, equipped with a grid connected photovoltaic module, which can be varied in size. For cost comparison of the two systems, the electric grid is assumed to function as a cost-free storage. A method to include macroeconomic effects in the comparison is presented and discussed. Within the system parameters and assumptions used here, the grid coupled PV system leads to lower costs of primary energy savings than the solar thermal system at both locations. The presumed macroeconomic advantages of the solar thermal system, due to the non-usage of energy during peak demand, can be confirmed for Madrid. (author)

  14. Global climate change model natural climate variation: Paleoclimate data base, probabilities and astronomic predictors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kukla, G.; Gavin, J. [Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States). Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory

    1994-05-01

    This report was prepared at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University at Palisades, New York, under subcontract to Pacific Northwest Laboratory it is a part of a larger project of global climate studies which supports site characterization work required for the selection of a potential high-level nuclear waste repository and forms part of the Performance Assessment Scientific Support (PASS) Program at PNL. The work under the PASS Program is currently focusing on the proposed site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and is under the overall direction of the Yucca Mountain Project Office US Department of Energy, Las Vegas, Nevada. The final results of the PNL project will provide input to global atmospheric models designed to test specific climate scenarios which will be used in the site specific modeling work of others. The primary purpose of the data bases compiled and of the astronomic predictive models is to aid in the estimation of the probabilities of future climate states. The results will be used by two other teams working on the global climate study under contract to PNL. They are located at and the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, and the Applied Research Corporation in College Station, Texas. This report presents the results of the third year`s work on the global climate change models and the data bases describing past climates.

  15. A CBO Study: The Economics of Climate Change: A Primer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2003-01-01

    This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study-prepared at the request of the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science-presents an overview of issues related to climate change, focusing primarily on its economic aspects...

  16. Climate for work group creativity and innovation: Norwegian validation of the team climate inventory (TCI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathisen, Gro Ellen; Einarsen, Ståle; Jørstad, Kari; Brønnick, Kolbjørn S

    2004-11-01

    The present study assessed the psychometric properties and the validity of the Norwegian translation of the Team Climate Inventory (TCI). The TCI is a measure of climate for innovation within groups at work and is based on the four-factor theory of climate for innovation (West, 1990). Cronbach's alpha revealed satisfactory reliabilities and exploratory factor analysis successfully extracted the four original factors as well as a fifth factor that has also been reported in other studies (N = 195 teams from a wide range of professions). Results from confirmatory factor analysis, using a different sample (N = 106 teams from the Norwegian public postal service), suggested that the five-factor solution had the most parsimonious fit. Criterion validity was explored by correlating TCI scores from 92 post offices and 395 postal distribution teams with customer satisfaction scores. Significant positive relationships were found between three of four TCI scales and customer satisfaction.

  17. A Science-Driven Photojournalistic Documentation of Climate Change (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braasch, G.; Rothlein, J. E.

    2013-12-01

    World View of Global Warming is an independent photojournalistic documentation of global warming and rapid climate change begun in 1999. The intended outcomes of the work - the photographs, reportage and publications - are based on the principles of scientific accuracy, a journalistic approach, strong photographic skills, long-term observations, science literacy, education, documentation for policy makers and inspiration to others. During the course of this project the team of photojournalist and public health toxicologist visited, interviewed and/or had correspondence with more than 150 scientists in the field on every continent. Hundreds more have influenced and informed the work. World View of Global Warming has tested the idea that climate change can be more easily understood by the public and government officials through photographs which accurately and engagingly depict the locations and the scientists involved in research, communities responding to impacts of climate change and innovations for mitigation. Use of the photographs by scientists to further their own work and outreach was an immediate and continuing result, including use in journals, reports, textbooks and conferences. This presentation will demonstrate the many uses of photography in climate change communications and discuss how scientists and educators can more effectively interact with the public and media and artists. The website for this project was established in 2002 and now has more than 100 pages of photographs and information. It is strictly non-commercial and documented. Wide and repeated publication indicates the value of the project's climate communication: Exhibition at the Boston Museum of Science (2013), the National Academy of Sciences and the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science and other venues; extended use by the United Nations, UNFCCC, World Meteorological Organization, Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive

  18. DAYLIGHTING PERFORMANCE OF HORIZONTAL LIGHT PIPE BRANCHING ON OPEN PLAN OFFICE SPACE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feny ELSIANA

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available For daylighting purpose, office buildings should have a shallow plan and increase the ratio of surface to building’s volume. However, intensive use of air-conditioning drives office building’s plan to be deep with a minimum surface to volume ratio. This leads to the presence of areas that have insufficient daylight level at the work plane. Considering limitations of some daylighting methods in distributing daylight to these areas, Horizontal Light Pipe (HLP was selected. The aim of this research was to evaluate and explain the effect of HLP branching on daylight quantity and distribution inside open plan office space. Experimental with simulation as a tool was used as the research method. HLP branching’s uniformity ratio, illuminance and Daylight Factor were compared with unbranching HLP, simultaneously with daylighting standards. Results showed that office space with HLP-L branching had higher daylight level than HLP-T branching, 296 lux and 295 lux, HLP-L and HLP-T, respectively. However, HLP-T branching distributed daylight more evenly than HLP-L branching, with uniformity ratio as 1.49:1 and 1.50:1, HLP-T and HLP-L, respectively. Both of them met the illuminance target value and uniformity at work plane. Light’s deflection and improvement amount of opening distribution decreased average illuminance and Daylight Factor up to 3.59%. Those also decreased uniformity of daylight inside the space.

  19. The JCOMM Marine Climate Data System (MCDS): presented at Twenty-second Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE-XXII), Ensenada, Mexico, 11-15 March 2013.

    OpenAIRE

    2013-01-01

    JCOMM will strive to address the WMO and IOC applications requirements for appropriate marine-meteorological and oceanographic climatological data (met ocean climate data), and particularly address those for long term climate monitoring (Global Climate Observing System-GCOS), seasonal to inter-annual climate forecasts, for the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), and ocean climate requirements of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS°.

  20. MetReS, an Efficient Database for Genomic Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilaplana, Jordi; Alves, Rui; Solsona, Francesc; Mateo, Jordi; Teixidó, Ivan; Pifarré, Marc

    2018-02-01

    MetReS (Metabolic Reconstruction Server) is a genomic database that is shared between two software applications that address important biological problems. Biblio-MetReS is a data-mining tool that enables the reconstruction of molecular networks based on automated text-mining analysis of published scientific literature. Homol-MetReS allows functional (re)annotation of proteomes, to properly identify both the individual proteins involved in the processes of interest and their function. The main goal of this work was to identify the areas where the performance of the MetReS database performance could be improved and to test whether this improvement would scale to larger datasets and more complex types of analysis. The study was started with a relational database, MySQL, which is the current database server used by the applications. We also tested the performance of an alternative data-handling framework, Apache Hadoop. Hadoop is currently used for large-scale data processing. We found that this data handling framework is likely to greatly improve the efficiency of the MetReS applications as the dataset and the processing needs increase by several orders of magnitude, as expected to happen in the near future.

  1. 77 FR 71821 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of Management and Budget (OMB...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-04

    ... inform decision-making in a variety of contexts, including agriculture, drought monitoring, and wildfire... Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior via email: ( [email protected] animals respond to environmental variation and changes in weather and climate. Contemporary data collected...

  2. Shifting the Climate Finance Paradigm: Nine Key Challenges for Developed Countries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Curtin, Joseph

    2013-03-13

    In 2009, developed countries committed to part-funding the cost of adapting to the impacts of climate change and of low carbon development in developing countries. From 2010 to 2012, fast start finance began to flow from developed country exchequers. However, the climate finance paradigm is now shifting. A transition from loans and grants provided from scarce exchequer resources to innovative instruments for leveraging private capital and mitigating investment risk is required in the coming period. But what are the implications for developed countries? This policy brief explores the policy context defining the current climate finance debate; examines the extent to which commitments have been met; and identifies nine key challenges for developed countries as they enter the new climate finance paradigm, drawing on the lessons of the fast start finance period. This is the second in a series of Environment Nexus policy briefs by leading experts in the fields of agriculture, energy, climate change and water.

  3. Role of Met Axis in Head and Neck Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Yiru, E-mail: xuyiru@umich.edu; Fisher, Gary J., E-mail: xuyiru@umich.edu [Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

    2013-11-26

    Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide. Despite advances in aggressive multidisciplinary treatments, the 5-year survival rate for this dreadful disease is only 50%, mostly due to high rate of recurrence and early involvement of regional lymph nodes and subsequent metastasis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for invasion and metastasis is one of the most pressing goals in the field of head and neck cancer. Met, also known as hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGFR), is a member of the receptor protein tyrosine kinase (RPTK) family. There is compelling evidence that Met axis is dysregulated and plays important roles in tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, angiogenesis, and drug resistance in head and neck cancer. We describe in this review current understanding of Met axis in head and neck cancer biology and development of therapeutic inhibitors targeting Met axis.

  4. Using Perturbed Physics Ensembles and Machine Learning to Select Parameters for Reducing Regional Biases in a Global Climate Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, S.; Rupp, D. E.; Hawkins, L.; Mote, P.; McNeall, D. J.; Sarah, S.; Wallom, D.; Betts, R. A.

    2017-12-01

    This study investigates the potential to reduce known summer hot/dry biases over Pacific Northwest in the UK Met Office's atmospheric model (HadAM3P) by simultaneously varying multiple model parameters. The bias-reduction process is done through a series of steps: 1) Generation of perturbed physics ensemble (PPE) through the volunteer computing network weather@home; 2) Using machine learning to train "cheap" and fast statistical emulators of climate model, to rule out regions of parameter spaces that lead to model variants that do not satisfy observational constraints, where the observational constraints (e.g., top-of-atmosphere energy flux, magnitude of annual temperature cycle, summer/winter temperature and precipitation) are introduced sequentially; 3) Designing a new PPE by "pre-filtering" using the emulator results. Steps 1) through 3) are repeated until results are considered to be satisfactory (3 times in our case). The process includes a sensitivity analysis to find dominant parameters for various model output metrics, which reduces the number of parameters to be perturbed with each new PPE. Relative to observational uncertainty, we achieve regional improvements without introducing large biases in other parts of the globe. Our results illustrate the potential of using machine learning to train cheap and fast statistical emulators of climate model, in combination with PPEs in systematic model improvement.

  5. 11C-MET PET/MRI for detection of recurrent glioma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deuschl, C; Kirchner, J; Poeppel, T D; Schaarschmidt, B; Kebir, S; El Hindy, N; Hense, J; Quick, H H; Glas, M; Herrmann, K; Umutlu, L; Moenninghoff, C; Radbruch, A; Forsting, M; Schlamann, M

    2018-04-01

    Radiological assessment of brain tumors is widely based on the Radiology Assessment of Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria that consider non-specific T1 and T2 weighted images. Limitation of the RANO criteria is that they do not include metabolic imaging techniques that have been reported to be helpful to differentiate treatment related changes from true tumor progression. In the current study, we assessed if the combined use of MRI and PET with hybrid 11 C-MET PET/MRI can improve diagnostic accuracy and diagnostic confidence of the readers to differentiate treatment related changes from true progression in recurrent glioma. Fifty consecutive patients with histopathologically proven glioma were prospectively enrolled for a hybrid 11 C-MET PET/MRI to differentiate recurrent glioma from treatment induced changes. Sole MRI data were analyzed based on RANO. Sole PET data and in a third evaluation hybrid 11 C-MET-PET/MRI data were assessed for metabolic respectively metabolic and morphologic glioma recurrence. Diagnostic performance and diagnostic confidence of the reader were calculated for the different modalities, and the McNemar test and Mann-Whitney U Test were applied for statistical analysis. Hybrid 11 C-MET PET/MRI was successfully performed in all 50 patients. Glioma recurrence was diagnosed in 35 of the 50 patients (70%). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for MRI (86.11% and 71.43%), for 11 C-MET PET (96.77% and 73.68%), and for hybrid 11 C-MET-PET/MRI (97.14% and 93.33%). For diagnostic accuracy hybrid 11 C-MET-PET/MRI (96%) showed significantly higher values than MRI alone (82%), whereas no significant difference was found for 11C-MET PET (88%). Furthermore, by rating on a five-point Likert scale significantly higher scores were found for diagnostic confidence when comparing 11 C-MET PET/MRI (4.26 ± 0,777) to either PET alone (3.44 ± 0.705) or MRI alone (3.56 ± 0.733). This feasibility study showed that hybrid PET/MRI might strengthen

  6. Chemical and climatic drivers of radiative forcing due to changes in stratospheric and tropospheric ozone over the 21st century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Banerjee

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The ozone radiative forcings (RFs resulting from projected changes in climate, ozone-depleting substances (ODSs, non-methane ozone precursor emissions and methane between the years 2000 and 2100 are calculated using simulations from the UM-UKCA chemistry–climate model (UK Met Office's Unified Model containing the United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols sub-model. Projected measures to improve air-quality through reductions in non-methane tropospheric ozone precursor emissions present a co-benefit for climate, with a net global mean ozone RF of −0.09 W m−2. This is opposed by a positive ozone RF of 0.05 W m−2 due to future decreases in ODSs, which is driven by an increase in tropospheric ozone through stratosphere-to-troposphere transport of air containing higher ozone amounts. An increase in methane abundance by more than a factor of 2 (as projected by the RCP8.5 scenario is found to drive an ozone RF of 0.18 W m−2, which would greatly outweigh the climate benefits of non-methane tropospheric ozone precursor reductions. A small fraction (∼ 15 % of the ozone RF due to the projected increase in methane results from increases in stratospheric ozone. The sign of the ozone RF due to future changes in climate (including the radiative effects of greenhouse gases, sea surface temperatures and sea ice changes is shown to be dependent on the greenhouse gas emissions pathway, with a positive RF (0.05 W m−2 for RCP4.5 and a negative RF (−0.07 W m−2 for the RCP8.5 scenario. This dependence arises mainly from differences in the contribution to RF from stratospheric ozone changes. Considering the increases in tropopause height under climate change causes only small differences (≤ |0.02| W m−2 for the stratospheric, tropospheric and whole-atmosphere RFs.

  7. Invloed krachtvoerniveau op vleesproduktiekenmerken van Piemontese met zwartbont kruislingstieren

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hanekamp, W.J.A.

    1989-01-01

    Met 3 ronden van elk 36 Piemontese X zwartbonte kruislingstieren is het effect van extra krachtvoer vergeleken met de normaal gangbare gift naast onbeperkt snijmaoskuil. De stieren waren gehuisvest in een natuurlijk geventileerde stal (space-boarding)en op een volledige roostervloer.

  8. Met Ed gets reprieve: banks lend tax money

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Utroska, D.

    1981-01-01

    A consortium of banks agreed to loan Metropolitan Edison $23 million to pay its April 15 state taxes and temporarily relieve a cash-flow problem that is leading to default after the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission expedited a rate request. The continued solvency of Met Ed is a matter of speculation because the present credit formula is based on liquid assets which the PUC did not address. While the action taken by the bankers gives Met Ed a reprieve, it does not provide a long-term solution. The Revolving Credit Agreement will expire on October 1. Met Ed is still faced with the problem of relicensing Three Mile Island-1 unit and the cost of underwriting the cleanup of the No. 2 unit

  9. Recent advances in the discovery of small molecule c-Met Kinase inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parikh, Palak K; Ghate, Manjunath D

    2018-01-01

    c-Met is a prototype member of a subfamily of heterodimeric receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and is the receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Binding of HGF to its receptor c-Met, initiates a wide range of cellular signalling, including those involved in proliferation, motility, migration and invasion. Importantly, dysregulated HGF/c-Met signalling is a driving factor for numerous malignancies and promotes tumour growth, invasion, dissemination and/or angiogenesis. Dysregulated HGF/c-Met signalling has also been associated with poor clinical outcomes and resistance acquisition to some approved targeted therapies. Thus, c-Met kinase has emerged as a promising target for cancer drug development. Different therapeutic approaches targeting the HGF/c-Met signalling pathway are under development for targeted cancer therapy, among which small molecule inhibitors of c-Met kinase constitute the largest effort within the pharmaceutical industry. The review is an effort to summarize recent advancements in medicinal chemistry development of small molecule c-Met kinase inhibitors as potential anti-cancer agents which would certainly help future researchers to bring further developments in the discovery of small molecule c-Met kinase inhibitors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  10. Design and synthesis of 3,3'-biscoumarin-based c-Met inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jimin; Ai, Jing; Liu, Sheng; Peng, Xia; Yu, Linqian; Geng, Meiyu; Nan, Fajun

    2014-06-14

    A library of biscoumarin-based c-Met inhibitors was synthesized, based on optimization of 3,3'-biscoumarin hit 3, which was identified as a non-ATP competitive inhibitor of c-Met from a diverse library of coumarin derivatives. Among these compounds, 38 and 40 not only showed potent enzyme activities with IC50 values of 107 nM and 30 nM, respectively, but also inhibited c-Met phosphorylation in BaF3/TPR-Met and EBC-1 cells.

  11. Personal View Climate change as the biggest threat to public health ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Adaptation: Reducing the risk. Some impacts of ... from their courses due to financial difficulties or family background. ... pharmacists, clinical officers, and health managers through ... Climate risk and vulnerability: a handbook for. Southern ...

  12. Impact of climate change on tropospheric ozone and its global budgets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Zeng

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available We present the chemistry-climate model UMCAM in which a relatively detailed tropospheric chemical module has been incorporated into the UK Met Office's Unified Model version 4.5. We obtain good agreements between the modelled ozone/nitrogen species and a range of observations including surface ozone measurements, ozone sonde data, and some aircraft campaigns.

    Four 2100 calculations assess model responses to projected changes of anthropogenic emissions (SRES A2, climate change (due to doubling CO2, and idealised climate change-associated changes in biogenic emissions (i.e. 50% increase of isoprene emission and doubling emissions of soil-NOx. The global tropospheric ozone burden increases significantly for all the 2100 A2 simulations, with the largest response caused by the increase of anthropogenic emissions. Climate change has diverse impacts on O3 and its budgets through changes in circulation and meteorological variables. Increased water vapour causes a substantial ozone reduction especially in the tropical lower troposphere (>10 ppbv reduction over the tropical ocean. On the other hand, an enhanced stratosphere-troposphere exchange of ozone, which increases by 80% due to doubling CO2, contributes to ozone increases in the extratropical free troposphere which subsequently propagate to the surface. Projected higher temperatures favour ozone chemical production and PAN decomposition which lead to high surface ozone levels in certain regions. Enhanced convection transports ozone precursors more rapidly out of the boundary layer resulting in an increase of ozone production in the free troposphere. Lightning-produced NOx increases by about 22% in the doubled CO2 climate and contributes to ozone production.

    The response to the increase of isoprene emissions shows that the change of ozone is largely determined by background NOx levels: high

  13. France's Climate Plan. Implementation of the Grenelle Environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    This report discusses the greenhouse gas emission reduction objectives by 2020 set by the French government within the frame of the 'Grenelle de l'Environnement' and also in compliance with France's commitments within international agreements and conferences, and indicates the share of each sector for these reductions (housing and office building, industry, energy, transports). This report first recalls the conclusions of the IPCC, indicates the observed evolutions and tendencies in the case of France, and describes the expected impacts of climate change. It gives an overview of the French climate policy and presents the methodology adopted to update the Climate Plan (scenarios, global assessment, assessment of the impact of some specific measures, cost assessment). Then, it describes French emission evolutions (globally and per sector) according to two scenarios by 2020. Global and transverse policies and measures are discussed, as well as those per sector (housing and office building, transport, industry, agriculture and forests, energy, wastes, public authorities and local communities, information and education). A global method of assessment of scenarios is presented, and an assessment of policies and measures is reported. A sensitivity study of the impact of the present crisis on France's emissions is also reported. The Kyoto protocol mechanism is described as well as the adaptation process

  14. Climate Literacy: Progress in AMS Climate Studies Undergraduate Course in Meteorology Program at Jackson State University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, S. R.

    2013-12-01

    AMS Climate Studies is an introductory college-level course developed by the American Meteorological Society for implementation at undergraduate institutions nationwide and increasing involvement of under-represented groups The course places students in a dynamic and highly motivational educational environment where they investigate Earth's climate system using real-world environmental data. The AMS Climate Studies course package consists of a textbook, investigations manual, course website, and course management system-compatible files. Instructors can use these resources in combinations that make for an exciting learning experience for their students. The AMS Climate Studies Diversity Project Workshop participation is on a first-come, first-serve basis as determined by the date-of-receipt of the License Order Form. To grow AMS Diversity Programs to their fullest extent, institutions are encouraged to nominate course instructors who did not previously attend Diversity Project workshops. Until three months before the workshop, two-thirds of the workshop positions would be reserved for institutions new to AMS Diversity Projects. The AMS five day course implementation workshop was held in Washington, DC, during May 24-29, 2012. It covered essential course topics in climate science and global climate change, and strategies for course implementation. Talks would feature climate science and sustainability experts from Federal agencies and area research institutions, such as NASA, NOAA, University of Maryland, Howard University, George Mason University, and other Washington, DC, area institutions. The workshop would also include visits to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. JSU Meteorology Program will be offering AMS Climate Studies undergraduate course under MET 210: Climatology in spring 2014. AMS Climate Studies is offered as a 3 credit hour laboratory course with 2 lectures and 1 lab sessions per week. Although this course places

  15. Metáfora y estructura conceptual

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emilia Castaño

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available La lingüística cognitiva siempre ha argumentado que la metáfora no pertenece exclusivamente al lenguaje, sino que es una competencia que se basa en la habilidad humana de concebir un dominio de experiencia en términos de otro. Entendida así, la metáfora no puede ser otra cosa que un fenómeno conceptual. No obstante, pocos adeptos de la lingüística cognitiva han concentrados sus esfuerzos en catalogar manifestaciones metafóricas en ámbitos no lingüísticos. En este trabajo, sugerimos que es factible encontrar pruebas de que la metáfora es un proceso conceptual y, como tal, se manifiesta en esferas que no son estrictamente lingüísticas. Para ello, aportamos un seguido de evidencias muy diversas, como por ejemplo su papel en el razonamiento lógico-matemático de los niños en la fase preoperacional del desarrollo cognitivo, la programación de interfaces para aplicaciones informáticas y los resultados de tres estudios empíricos realizados recientemente en el campo  de la psicología cognitiva que analizan los efectos whorfianos en la conceptualización del tiempo y los efectos del espacio en la memoria emocional.

  16. Taming Typhon: Advancing Climate Literacy by Coordinating Federal Earth System Science Education Investments Through the U.S. Climate Change Science Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karsten, J. L.; Niepold, F.; Wei, M.; Waple, A. M.

    2008-12-01

    Thirteen Federal agencies in the United States invest in research, communication, and education activities related to climate and global change. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) works to integrate the research activities of these different agencies, with oversight from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Council on Environmental Quality, the National Economic Council and the Office of Management and Budget. The CCSP is the result of a Presidential initative in 2001 to build on the Global Change Research Program, which exists as a result of the Global Change Research Act of 1990. This initiative was to shift the focus of the Program from 'discovery and characterization' to 'differentiation and strategy investigation.' With this shift, CCSP's focus is now on evaluating optimal strategies for addressing climate change risks, improving coordination among the Federal agencies, communicating research results to all stakeholders (including national policy leaders and local resource managers), and improving public debate and decision-making related to global change. Implicit to these activities is the need to educate the general public about the science of climate change and its consequences, as well as coordinate Federal investments related to climate change education. This is no small task, given the variety of missions and approaches of the participating agencies. Recognizing that its Communications Interagency Working Group (CIWG) does not have the expertise or focus to adequately address issues related to science education, the CCSP recently established an ad-hoc Education Interagency Working Group (EIWG), comprising representatives from all 13 agencies, that will work closely with the CIWG to enhance education goals. Its mission is to advance literacy in climate and related sciences and increase informed decision making for the Nation. The EIWG envisions that its primary activities in the near-term will be focused on establishing: (1) a

  17. Activated HGF-c-Met Axis in Head and Neck Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Levi Arnold

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC is a highly morbid disease. Recent developments including Food and Drug Administration (FDA approved molecular targeted agent’s pembrolizumab and cetuximab show promise but did not improve the five-year survival which is currently less than 40%. The hepatocyte growth factor receptor; also known as mesenchymal–epithelial transition factor (c-Met and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor (HGF are overexpressed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC; and regulates tumor progression and response to therapy. The c-Met pathway has been shown to regulate many cellular processes such as cell proliferation, invasion, and angiogenesis. The c-Met pathway is involved in cross-talk, activation, and perpetuation of other signaling pathways, curbing the cogency of a blockade molecule on a single pathway. The receptor and its ligand act on several downstream effectors including phospholipase C gamma (PLCγ, cellular Src kinase (c-Src, phosphotidylinsitol-3-OH kinase (PI3K alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (Akt, mitogen activate protein kinase (MAPK, and wingless-related integration site (Wnt pathways. They are also known to cross-talk with other receptors; namely epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR and specifically contribute to treatment resistance. Clinical trials targeting the c-Met axis in HNSCC have been undertaken because of significant preclinical work demonstrating a relationship between HGF/c-Met signaling and cancer cell survival. Here we focus on HGF/c-Met impact on cellular signaling in HNSCC to potentiate tumor growth and disrupt therapeutic efficacy. Herein we summarize the current understanding of HGF/c-Met signaling and its effects on HNSCC. The intertwining of c-Met signaling with other signaling pathways provides opportunities for more robust and specific therapies, leading to better clinical outcomes.

  18. Organizational Climate, Stress, and Error in Primary Care: The MEMO Study

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Linzer, Mark; Manwell, Linda B; Mundt, Marlon; Williams, Eric; Maguire, Ann; McMurray, Julia; Plane, Mary B

    2005-01-01

    .... Physician surveys assessed office environment and organizational climate (OC). Stress was measured using a 4-item scale, past errors were self reported, and the likelihood of future errors was self-assessed using the OSPRE...

  19. Anti-c-MET Nanobody - a new potential drug in multiple myeloma treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slørdahl, Tobias Schmidt; Denayer, Tinneke; Moen, Siv Helen; Standal, Therese; Børset, Magne; Ververken, Cedric; Rø, Torstein Baade

    2013-11-01

    c-MET is the tyrosine kinase receptor of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). HGF-c-MET signaling is involved in many human malignancies, including multiple myeloma (MM). Recently, multiple agents have been developed directed to interfere at different levels in HGF-c-MET signaling pathway. Nanobodies are therapeutic proteins based on the smallest functional fragments of heavy-chain-only antibodies. In this study, we wanted to determine the anticancer effect of a novel anti-c-MET Nanobody in MM. We examined the effects of an anti-c-MET Nanobody on thymidine incorporation, migration, adhesion of MM cells, and osteoblastogenesis in vitro. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of the Nanobody on HGF-dependent c-MET signaling by Western blotting. We show that the anti-c-MET Nanobody effectively inhibited thymidine incorporation of ANBL-6 MM cells via inhibition of an HGF autocrine growth loop and thymidine incorporation in INA-6 MM cells induced by exogenous HGF. HGF-induced migration and adhesion of INA-6 were completely and specifically blocked by the Nanobody. Furthermore, the Nanobody abolished the inhibiting effect of HGF on bone morphogenetic protein-2-induced alkaline phosphatase activity and the mineralization of human mesenchymal stem cells. Finally, we show that the Nanobody reduced phosphorylation of tyrosine residues in c-MET, MAPK, and Akt. We also compared the Nanobody with anti-c-MET monoclonal antibodies and revealed the similar or better effect. The anti-c-MET Nanobody inhibited MM cell migration, thymidine incorporation, and adhesion, and blocked the HGF-mediated inhibition of osteoblastogenesis. The anti-c-MET Nanobody might represent a novel therapeutic agent in the treatment of MM and other cancers driven by HGF-c-MET signaling. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. A Balancing Act: China's Role in Climate Change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hallding, Karl; Guoyi Han; Olsson, Marie (Stockholm Environment Inst., Stockholm (Sweden))

    2009-03-15

    At a time when climate change is at the top of the global political agenda, China has come to a point where continued economic growth must be balanced with environmental limitations. Through the implementation of ambitious national targets that bear on climate mitigation, the Chinese leadership is showing that it is willing to actively participate in the global climate game. China understands its role in global climate change and is fully aware of the fact that, at a minimal level, OECD countries will need some kind of assurance that China is sufficiently 'in' for there to be a realistic chance of containing global emissions. In return, at a minimal level, China will insist on developed countries demonstrating sufficient commitment (e.g., significant mid-term targets, clear response to China's proposal on technology transfer and adaptation). With those two minimal requirements met, trust building may start, and that is where the ultimate hope lies for an effective green deal

  1. Performance analysis of a new design of office diffuse ceiling ventilation system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fan, Jianhua; Hviid, Christian Anker; Yang, Honglu

    2013-01-01

    This paper aims to document and analyse performance of a new design of diffuse ceiling ventilation system in a typical office room. A full scale measurement is carried out in a climate chamber with an office setup at the Technical University of Denmark. Indoor air temperatures, air speeds, wall...... surface temperatures, pressure loss of the ceiling and ventilation effectiveness are measured for an air change rate of 3.5 h-1 and 5.1 h -1 respectively. A computational fluid dynamics model of the office with the diffuse ceiling ventilation system is built and validated by the full scale measurement....... The measurements of pressure loss across the ceiling show a low pressure drop between the plenum and the occupied zone. Ventilation effectiveness is measured to be close to 1 on average under the tested conditions. It is shown that the diffuse ceiling ventilation system is able to remove indoor pollutant...

  2. Mogelijkheden om vroeg tijdig bladrandproblemen te signaleren met MIPS bij Hortensia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noort, van F.R.; Jalink, H.

    2010-01-01

    Met geavanceerde camera technieken zijn beelden vast te leggen van fotosynthese activiteit en het is ook mogelijk gebleken om bladgedeelten met stress vast te leggen, zonder dat deze stress met het blote oog al te zien is. Dit opent perspectieven om monitorringonderzoek te doen naar het ontstaan van

  3. Design and Implementation of Image Research for the Columbia Mets

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-01-01

    the other hand, developed an unusual camaraderie through identifying with their underdog Mets." (7) Teams are finding good public relations programs do...supports the club. Question 24 was designed to measure brand loyalty by respondents to Mets sponsors versus non-Mets sponsors. Finally, question 27...be done to attract crowds. Especially with a brand new stadium. The Carolinas, in my opinion, are big minor league baseball states. Let’s get people

  4. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Workplace Charging Success: MetLife

    Science.gov (United States)

    future." Several others noted that their decision to purchase or lease a PEV was based on MetLife's : MetLife " By making PEV charging stations more readily available to employees, we can encourage more promote alternative transportation. By making PEV charging stations more readily available to employees

  5. Factors influencing smallholder farmers' behavioural intention towards adaptation to climate change in transitional climatic zones: A case study of Hwedza District in Zimbabwe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamasiya, Byron; Nyikahadzoi, Kefasi; Mukamuri, Billy Billiard

    2017-08-01

    This paper examines factors influencing behavioural change among smallholder farmers towards adaptation to climate change in transitional climatic zones of Africa, specifically, Hwedza District in Zimbabwe. Data for this study were collected from 400 randomly-selected smallholder farmers, using a structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The study used an ordered logit model to examine the factors that influence smallholder farmers' behavioural intention towards adaptation to climate change. Results from the study show that the gender of the household head, access to extension services on crop and livestock production, access to climate information, membership to social groups and experiencing a drought have a positive influence on farmers' attitude towards adaptation to climate change and variability. The study concluded that although the majority of smallholder farmers perceive that the climate is changing, they continue to habour negative attitudes towards prescribed climate change adaptation techniques. This study recommends more education on climate change, as well as adaptation strategies for both agricultural extension workers and farmers. This can be complemented by disseminating timely climate information through extension officers and farmers' groups. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Evaluation of high intensity precipitation from 16 Regional climate models over a meso-scale catchment in the Midlands Regions of England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wetterhall, F.; He, Y.; Cloke, H.; Pappenberger, F.; Freer, J.; Wilson, M.; McGregor, G.

    2009-04-01

    Local flooding events are often triggered by high-intensity rain-fall events, and it is important that these can be correctly modelled by Regional Climate Models (RCMs) if the results are to be used in climate impact assessment. In this study, daily precipitation from 16 RCMs was compared with observations over a meso-scale catchment in the Midlands Region of England. The RCM data was provided from the European research project ENSEMBLES and the precipitation data from the UK MetOffice. The RCMs were all driven by reanalysis data from the ERA40 dataset over the time period 1961-2000. The ENSEMBLES data is on the spatial scale of 25 x 25 km and it was disaggregated onto a 5 x 5 km grid over the catchment and compared with interpolated observational data with the same resolution. The mean precipitation was generally underestimated by the ENSEMBLES data, and the maximum and persistence of high intensity rainfall was even more underestimated. The inter-annual variability was not fully captured by the RCMs, and there was a systematic underestimation of precipitation during the autumn months. The spatial pattern in the modelled precipitation data was too smooth in comparison with the observed data, especially in the high altitudes in the western part of the catchment where the high precipitation usually occurs. The RCM outputs cannot reproduce the current high intensity precipitation events that are needed to sufficiently model extreme flood events. The results point out the discrepancy between climate model output and the high intensity precipitation input needs for hydrological impact modelling.

  7. Successful Climate Science Communication Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinclair, P.

    2016-12-01

    In the past decade, efforts to communicate the facts of global change have not successfully moved political leaders and the general public to action. In response, a number of collaborative efforts between scientists and professional communicators, writers, journalists, bloggers, filmmakers, artists and others have arisen seeking to bridge that gap. As a result, a new cadre of science-literate communicators, and media-savvy scientists have made themselves visible across diverse mainstream, traditional, and social media outlets. Because of these collaborations, in recent years, misinformation, and disinformation have been successfully met with accurate and credible rebuttals within a single news cycle.Examples of these efforts is the Dark Snow Project, a science/communication collaboration focusing initially on accelerated arctic melt and sea level rise, and the Climate Science Rapid Response team, which matches professional journalists with appropriate science experts in order to respond within a single news cycle to misinformation or misunderstandings about climate science.The session will discuss successful examples and suggest creative approaches for the future.

  8. Organizational Context and Female Faculty's Perception of the Climate for Women in Academic Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carapinha, René; McCracken, Caitlin M; Warner, Erica T; Hill, Emorcia V; Reede, Joan Y

    2017-05-01

    Gender inequalities in the careers of faculty in academic medicine could partially be attributed to an organizational climate that can exclude or be nonsupportive of women faculty. This study explores the climate for women faculty from a systems perspective at the organizational and individual levels based on the perceptions of women faculty. Race differences were also investigated. Cross-sectional survey data from women faculty (N = 3127) at 13 purposively sampled medical schools and an institutional assessment of organizational characteristics were used. Organizational factors related to the climate for women were identified using bivariate statistics. The association between perceived climate for women and organizational characteristics, individual perceptions of the work environment and individual career, and personal characteristics with control variables were investigated using hierarchical linear regression models. Organizational effects by race/ethnicity were estimated using interaction terms. The climate for women faculty varied across institutions and by classification as minority-serving institutions (MSIs). Respondent's report of existence of an office for women's affairs, trust in leadership, and satisfaction with mentoring were positively associated with the climate for women. Perceived workplace discrimination and work-family conflict were inversely associated with a positive climate. No race/ethnicity differences were observed in the multivariable analysis. The climate for women faculty in academic medicine should not be regarded constant across organizations, specifically between MSIs and non-MSIs. Efforts to advance a positive climate for women could focus on improving trust in leadership, increasing support for structures/offices for women, and mitigating perceived discrimination and work-family conflict.

  9. Cetuximab-Induced MET Activation Acts as a Novel Resistance Mechanism in Colon Cancer Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Na Song

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Aberrant MET expression and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF signaling are implicated in promoting resistance to targeted agents; however, the induced MET activation by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR inhibitors mediating resistance to targeted therapy remains elusive. In this study, we identified that cetuximab-induced MET activation contributed to cetuximab resistance in Caco-2 colon cancer cells. MET inhibition or knockdown sensitized Caco-2 cells to cetuximab-mediated growth inhibition. Additionally, SRC activation promoted cetuximab resistance by interacting with MET. Pretreatment with SRC inhibitors abolished cetuximab-mediated MET activation and rendered Caco-2 cells sensitive to cetuximab. Notably, cetuximab induced MET/SRC/EGFR complex formation. MET inhibitor or SRC inhibitor suppressed phosphorylation of MET and SRC in the complex, and MET inhibitor singly led to disruption of complex formation. These results implicate alternative targeting of MET or SRC as rational strategies for reversing cetuximab resistance in colon cancer.

  10. What is the ARM Climate Research Facility: Is Global Warming a Real Bias or a Statistical Anomaly?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Egami, Takeshi [U of Tennessee and ORNL; Sisterson, Douglas L.

    2010-03-10

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research national user facility. With multi-laboratory management of distributed facilities worldwide, the ACRF does not fit the mold of a traditional user facility located at a national laboratory. The ACRF provides the world's most comprehensive 24/7 observational capabilities for obtaining atmospheric data specifically for climate change research. Serving nearly 5,000 registered users from 15 federal and state agencies, 375 universities, and 67 countries, the ACRF Data Archive collects and delivers over 5 terabytes of data per month to its users. The ACRF users provide critical information about cloud formation processes, water vapor, and aerosols, and their influence on radiative transfer in the atmosphere. This information is used to improve global climate model predictions of climate change.

  11. Efficient utilization of energy in office buildings. Planning manual; Effiziente Energienutzung in Buerogebaeuden. Planungsleitfaden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2008-07-15

    Regarding to the energy efficiency of office buildings, a high standard is set to architects: Office buildings need more energy for the cooling in the summer than for the heating in the winter. Additionally, there is an energy consumption for lighting, ventilation and operation of office equipment. Under this aspect, in the planning manual under consideration ten demands for an efficient energy utilization at office buildings are described: (a) Integral concept for the minimization of the entire power demand; (b) Compact building method and very good structural thermal protection; (c) Adapted glass areas and quality of vitrifications; (d) Integrals ventilation planning; (e) Efficient ventilation systems; (f) Efficient room climate concept and minimization of internal and outside heat loads; (g) Utilization of daylight with adapted architectural draft; (h) Efficient artificial lighting; (i) Supply of warmth and coldness with minimum characteristic values for primary energy; (j) Energy monitoring and optimization of operation. This manual also is valid for other buildings such as schools, administration buildings or swimming pools.

  12. MetWAMer: eukaryotic translation initiation site prediction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brendel Volker

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Translation initiation site (TIS identification is an important aspect of the gene annotation process, requisite for the accurate delineation of protein sequences from transcript data. We have developed the MetWAMer package for TIS prediction in eukaryotic open reading frames of non-viral origin. MetWAMer can be used as a stand-alone, third-party tool for post-processing gene structure annotations generated by external computational programs and/or pipelines, or directly integrated into gene structure prediction software implementations. Results MetWAMer currently implements five distinct methods for TIS prediction, the most accurate of which is a routine that combines weighted, signal-based translation initiation site scores and the contrast in coding potential of sequences flanking TISs using a perceptron. Also, our program implements clustering capabilities through use of the k-medoids algorithm, thereby enabling cluster-specific TIS parameter utilization. In practice, our static weight array matrix-based indexing method for parameter set lookup can be used with good results in data sets exhibiting moderate levels of 5'-complete coverage. Conclusion We demonstrate that improvements in statistically-based models for TIS prediction can be achieved by taking the class of each potential start-methionine into account pending certain testing conditions, and that our perceptron-based model is suitable for the TIS identification task. MetWAMer represents a well-documented, extensible, and freely available software system that can be readily re-trained for differing target applications and/or extended with existing and novel TIS prediction methods, to support further research efforts in this area.

  13. Proceedings of a climate change workshop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-11-01

    Canadian Gas Association (CGA) member companies are drawn from the transmission, distribution and manufacturing sectors with additional membership from producers, energy service providers, marketers and others interested in the industry. Fifty-four delegates participated at this climate change workshop at which Canada's voluntary challenge and registry (VCR) program, a key component of the national action program on climate change, was the major topic of discussion. It was reported that as of October 1996, all member distribution companies and three major pipeline companies had filed action plans with the VCR office. The accomplishments of all member companies in the areas of reducing their own emissions, technology development, and other environmentally related activities were also reviewed. tabs., figs

  14. Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices

    OpenAIRE

    Bosch, Marije; Dijkstra, Rob; Wensing, Michel; van der Weijden, Trudy; Grol, Richard

    2008-01-01

    Abstract Background Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. Methods We conducted cross-sectional analyses of d...

  15. c-MET receptor tyrosine kinase as a molecular target in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granito, Alessandro; Guidetti, Elena; Gramantieri, Laura

    2015-01-01

    c-MET is the membrane receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), also known as scatter factor or tumor cytotoxic factor, a mitogenic growth factor for hepatocytes. HGF is mainly produced by cells of mesenchymal origin and it mainly acts on neighboring epidermal and endothelial cells, regulating epithelial growth and morphogenesis. HGF/MET signaling has been identified among the drivers of tumorigenesis in human cancers. As such, c-MET is a recognized druggable target, and against it, targeted agents are currently under clinical investigation. c-MET overexpression is a common event in a wide range of human malignancies, including gastric, lung, breast, ovary, colon, kidney, thyroid, and liver carcinomas. Despite c-MET overexpression being reported by a large majority of studies, no evidence for a c-MET oncogenic addiction exists in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In particular, c-MET amplification is a rare event, accounting for 4%-5% of cases while no mutation has been identified in c-MET oncogene in HCC. Thus, the selection of patient subgroups more likely to benefit from c-MET inhibition is challenging. Notwithstanding, c-MET overexpression was reported to be associated with increased metastatic potential and poor prognosis in patients with HCC, providing a rationale for its therapeutic inhibition. Here we summarize the role of activated HGF/MET signaling in HCC, its prognostic relevance, and the implications for therapeutic approaches in HCC.

  16. The quest for reliable regional scenarios of climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gates, W.L.

    1991-01-01

    A number of problems still confront climate modelers if the challenge of providing information that can be used for local impact estimation is to be met. First, the models must be improved. Models continue to show large systematic errors, and the structure and behavior of these errors are not well understood. This suggests the need for more analysis, diagnosis, and intercomparison of model results, in order to understand the reasons for the differences among models and their sensitivity to both parameterization and resolution. It is to be hoped that the resources necessary to do this on a sustained and coordinated basis will be made available. It should also be recognized that modeled climate changes will inevitably be in terms of frequency distributions rather than categorical results. Ideally, these distributions should be constructed from the statistics of an ensemble of model runs, rather than by guessing or by uncertain analogs. Such information would permit the determination of the risk or uncertainty of the derived climate impact estimates and would place climate model applications on a firmer scientific basis

  17. Innovative and sustainable cooling with hybrid dry cooling; Innovatief en duurzaam koelen met hybride droge koeling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quadflieg, J. [Jaeggi/Guentner Schweiz, Soest (Netherlands)

    2010-10-15

    The COP value( Coefficiency of Performance) is a measure for the energy efficiency of for example a cooling system or heat pump. The higher the value , the more energy efficient the performance is. Next to energy efficiency, water use should also be addressed in view of the climate and environment. This article addresses the options of hybrid dry cooling. [Dutch] De COP-waarde (Coefficiency of Performance) is een maat voor de energie efficiency van bijvoorbeeld een koelsysteem of een warmtepomp. Hoe hoger de waarde, hoe energie-efficienter de prestatie. Naast de energie-efficientie moet met het oog op het klimaat en milieu ook het watergebruik beoordeeld worden. In dit artikel wordt aandacht besteed aan de mogelijkheden van hybride droge koeling.

  18. Aerosol-Cloud Interactions in the South-East Atlantic: Knowledge Gaps, Planned Observations to Address Them, and Implications for Global Climate Change Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redemann, Jens; Wood, R.; Zuidema, P.; Haywood, J.; Luna, B.; Abel, S.

    2015-01-01

    Southern Africa produces almost a third of the Earth's biomass burning (BB) aerosol particles, yet the fate of these particles and their influence on regional and global climate is poorly understood. Particles lofted into the mid-troposphere are transported westward over the South-East (SE) Atlantic, home to one of the three permanent subtropical Stratocumulus (Sc) cloud decks in the world. The stratocumulus "climate radiators" are critical to the regional and global climate system. They interact with dense layers of BB aerosols that initially overlay the cloud deck, but later subside and are mixed into the clouds. These interactions include adjustments to aerosol-induced solar heating and microphysical effects. As emphasized in the latest IPCC report, the global representation of these aerosol-cloud interaction processes in climate models is one of the largest uncertainty in estimates of future climate. Hence, new observations over the SE Atlantic have significant implications for global climate change scenarios. We discuss the current knowledge of aerosol and cloud property distributions based on satellite observations and sparse suborbital sampling, and describe planned field campaigns in the region. Specifically, we describe the scientific objectives and implementation of the following four synergistic, international research activities aimed at providing a process-level understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions over the SE Atlantic: 1) ORACLES (Observations of Aerosols above Clouds and their interactions), a five-year investigation between 2015 and 2019 with three Intensive Observation Periods (IOP), recently funded by the NASA Earth-Venture Suborbital Program, 2) CLARIFY-2016 (Cloud-Aerosol-Radiation Interactions and Forcing: Year 2016), a comprehensive observational and modeling programme funded by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and supported by the UK Met Office. 3) LASIC (Layered Atlantic Smoke Interactions with Clouds), a funded

  19. Prognostic impact of tumor MET expression among patients with stage IV gastric cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Erichsen, Rune; Kelsh, Michael A; Oliner, Kelly S

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the prevalence and prognostic impact of tumor mesenchymal epithelial transition factor (MET) expression in stage IV gastric cancers in a real-world clinical setting because existing evidence is sparse. METHODS: The study included archived cancer specimens from 103...... stage IV gastric cancer patients (2003-2010). We analyzed MET-protein expression by immunohistochemistry (MET-positive if ≥25% of tumor cells showed MET expression). We calculated overall survival using the Kaplan-Meier method and hazard ratios comparing mortality among MET-positive and MET.......6 months), corresponding to an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.2 (95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.7). CONCLUSIONS: Tumor MET expression is prevalent and has substantial prognostic impact in stage IV gastric cancer patients....

  20. OTULIN antagonizes LUBAC signaling by specifically hydrolyzing met1-linked polyubiquitin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Keusekotten, K.; Elliott, P.R.; Kulathu, Y.

    2013-01-01

    The linear ubiquitin (Ub) chain assembly complex (LUBAC) is an E3 ligase that specifically assembles Met1-linked (also known as linear) Ub chains that regulate nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling. Deubiquitinases (DUBs) are key regulators of Ub signaling, but a dedicated DUB for Met1 linkages has...... not been identified. Here, we reveal a previously unannotated human DUB, OTULIN (also known as FAM105B), which is exquisitely specific for Met1 linkages. Crystal structures of the OTULIN catalytic domain in complex with diubiquitin reveal Met1-specific Ub-binding sites and a mechanism of substrate...

  1. De Doop met de Heilige Geest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. C.W. Duvenage.

    1965-03-01

    Full Text Available Ds. Molenaar begin sy boek, waarvan hy self die publikasienie beleef het nie, deur te wys op 'n groot tekort, ’n manko,nie alleen in die Gereformeerde vroomheid of lewe nie maarook in die Gereformeerde teologie. Hy beskou dit as hoogsmerkwaardig dat die Gereformeerde teologie in die verledeso goed as niks raakgesien het van die groot betekenis vandie sogenaamde doop met die Heilige Gees nie. Daarby meenhy dat die Gereformeerde predikante verleë sit met die Pinkterfees.Talle probleme meen hy vir die Gereformeerde teoloograak te sien, veral ten aansien van die moontlikhede van dieGees teenoor die so tasbare „onmoontIikhede” in ons lewe. Dieprobleme is syns insiens nie onoplosbaar nie, as mens maardie moontlikhede van die Gees nie beperk tot die verlede nie.

  2. The BRIDGE HadCM3 family of climate models: HadCM3@Bristol v1.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdes, Paul J.; Armstrong, Edward; Badger, Marcus P. S.; Bradshaw, Catherine D.; Bragg, Fran; Crucifix, Michel; Davies-Barnard, Taraka; Day, Jonathan J.; Farnsworth, Alex; Gordon, Chris; Hopcroft, Peter O.; Kennedy, Alan T.; Lord, Natalie S.; Lunt, Dan J.; Marzocchi, Alice; Parry, Louise M.; Pope, Vicky; Roberts, William H. G.; Stone, Emma J.; Tourte, Gregory J. L.; Williams, Jonny H. T.

    2017-10-01

    Understanding natural and anthropogenic climate change processes involves using computational models that represent the main components of the Earth system: the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, and land surface. These models have become increasingly computationally expensive as resolution is increased and more complex process representations are included. However, to gain robust insight into how climate may respond to a given forcing, and to meaningfully quantify the associated uncertainty, it is often required to use either or both ensemble approaches and very long integrations. For this reason, more computationally efficient models can be very valuable tools. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of the suite of climate models based around the HadCM3 coupled general circulation model. This model was developed at the UK Met Office and has been heavily used during the last 15 years for a range of future (and past) climate change studies, but has now been largely superseded for many scientific studies by more recently developed models. However, it continues to be extensively used by various institutions, including the BRIDGE (Bristol Research Initiative for the Dynamic Global Environment) research group at the University of Bristol, who have made modest adaptations to the base HadCM3 model over time. These adaptations mean that the original documentation is not entirely representative, and several other relatively undocumented configurations are in use. We therefore describe the key features of a number of configurations of the HadCM3 climate model family, which together make up HadCM3@Bristol version 1.0. In order to differentiate variants that have undergone development at BRIDGE, we have introduced the letter B into the model nomenclature. We include descriptions of the atmosphere-only model (HadAM3B), the coupled model with a low-resolution ocean (HadCM3BL), the high-resolution atmosphere-only model (HadAM3BH), and the regional model (HadRM3B). These also include

  3. c-MET Overexpression in Colorectal Cancer: A Poor Prognostic Factor for Survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Su Jin; Lee, Jeeyun; Park, Se Hoon; Park, Joon Oh; Lim, Ho Yeong; Kang, Won Ki; Park, Young Suk; Kim, Seung Tae

    2018-03-02

    Increased mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor gene (c-MET) expression in several human malignancies is related to increased tumor progression and is a new potential drug target for several types of cancers. In the present study, we investigated the incidence of c-MET overexpression and its prognostic significance in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). We retrospectively reviewed the data from 255 stage IV CRC patients who had results from a c-MET immunohistochemical test at Samsung Medical Center. We explored the relationships between c-MET overexpression and clinicopathological features and survival. Primary tumor sites were 67 right-sided colon, 98 left-sided colon, and 90 rectum. Forty-two patients (16.7%) had poorly differentiated or mucinous carcinoma. Among the 255 patients, 39 (15.3%) exhibited c-MET overexpression. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of c-MET overexpression according to primary site, histologic differentiation, molecular markers, or metastatic sites. In a comparison of the tumor response to first-line chemotherapy according to the level of c-MET expression, we found no significant difference in either partial response or disease control rate. In the survival analysis, patients with c-MET overexpression had significantly shorter overall survival (39 vs. 27 months; P = .018) and progression-free survival (PFS) during bevacizumab treatment (10 vs. 7 months; P = .024). c-MET overexpression, which was detected in 39 CRC patients (15.3%) irrespective of primary sites or molecular markers, indicated a poor survival prognosis and predicted shorter PFS during bevacizumab treatment in patients with CRC. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the value of c-MET-targeted therapy in CRC patients. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Role of cMET in the Development and Progression of Colorectal Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilaria Bossi

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET is a member of a distinct subfamily of heterodimeric receptor tyrosine kinase receptors that specifically binds the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF. Binding to HGF leads to receptor dimerization/multimerization and phosphorylation, resulting in its catalytic activation. MET activation drives the malignant progression of several tumor types, including colorectal cancer (CRC, by promoting signaling cascades that mainly result in alterations of cell motility, survival, and proliferation. MET is aberrantly activated in many human cancers through various mechanisms, including point mutations, gene amplification, transcriptional up-regulation, or ligand autocrine loops. MET promotes cell scattering, invasion, and protection from apoptosis, thereby acting as an adjuvant pro-metastatic gene for many tumor types. In CRC, MET expression confers more aggressiveness and worse clinical prognosis. With all of this rationale, inhibitors that target the HGF/MET axis with different types of response have been developed. HGF and MET are new promising targets to understand the pathogenesis of CRC and for the development of new, targeted therapies.

  5. When goals diverge: Staff consensus and the organizational climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnick, Gerald; Ulaszek, Wendy R; Lin, Hsiu-Ju; Wexler, Harry K

    2009-08-01

    A sample of correctional officers and prison substance abuse treatment staff collected by the National Criminal Justice Treatment Practices Survey is used to provide an exploratory study of an aspect of organizational culture consisting of consensus (agreement) among prison personnel regarding their beliefs about rehabilitation in the presence of conflicting organizational goals and aspects of the organizational climate important to change. Findings show that among those staff members responding to the survey, the belief in rehabilitation scale mean score was associated with higher levels of organizational commitment, and interdepartmental coordination. However, an hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis that used an index score derived from the standard deviation for staff consensus regarding these same beliefs about rehabilitation produced a different pattern of results, showing that high levels of consensus were associated with job frustration, cynicism towards the ability of the institution to change, and lower levels of organizational commitment. The authors conclude that, although the sample may not express the beliefs of corrections officers or prison-based treatment staff at large, within the sample, consensus appeared to play a unique role in evaluating the effect of divergent goals on organizational climate as it relates to change, and warrants consideration when considering the effects of organizational climate.

  6. Fosfaatwerking ogranische meststoffen vergelijkbaar met kunstmest

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ehlert, P.A.I.; Pasterkamp, H.P.

    2000-01-01

    Gegevens in bijgaande tabel: Indicatieve fosfaatgehalten en de relatieve verdeling over mineraalfosfaat en organisch gebonden fosfaat in meststoffen met per mestsoort gegevens over het totaal fosfaatgehalte, het percentage mineraal fosfaat en het percentage organisch fosfaat

  7. User-Defined Meteorological (MET) Profiles from Climatological and Extreme Condition Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-04-01

    ARL-TN-0876 ● MAR 2018 US Army Research Laboratory User-Defined Meteorological (MET) Profiles from Climatological and Extreme...needed. Do not return it to the originator. ARL-TN-0876 ● MAR 2018 US Army Research Laboratory User-Defined Meteorological (MET...User-Defined Meteorological (MET) Profiles from Climatological and Extreme Condition Data 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM

  8. Rocket experiment METS - Microwave Energy Transmission in Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, N.; Matsumoto, H.; Akiba, R.

    A Microwave Energy Transmission in Space (METS) rocket experiment is being planned by the Solar Power Satellite Working Group at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan for the forthcoming International Space Year, 1992. The METS experiment is an advanced version of the previous MINIX rocket experiment (Matsumoto et al., 1990). This paper describes a conceptual design of the METS rocket experiment. It aims at verifying a newly developed microwave energy transmission system for space use and to study nonlinear effects of the microwave energy beam in the space plasma environment. A high power microwave of 936 W will be transmitted by the new phased-array antenna from a mother rocket to a separated target (daughter rocket) through the ionospheric plasma. The active phased-array system has a capability of focusing the microwave energy around any spatial point by controlling the digital phase shifters individually.

  9. Rocket experiment METS Microwave Energy Transmission in Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, N.; Matsumoto, H.; Akiba, R.

    A METS (Microwave Energy Transmission in Space) rocket experiment is being planned by the SPS (Solar Power Satellite) Working Group at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) in Japan for the forthcoming International Space Year (ISY), 1992. The METS experiment is an advanced version of our MINIX rocket experiment. This paper describes the conceptual design for the METS rocket experiment. Aims are to verify the feasibility of a newly developed microwave energy transmission system designed for use in space and to study nonlinear effects of the microwave energy beam on space plasma. A high power microwave (936 W) will be transmitted by a new phase-array antenna from a mother rocket to a separate target (daughter rocket) through the Earth's ionospheric plasma. The active phased-array system has the capability of being able to focus the microwave energy at any spatial point by individually controlling the digital phase shifters.

  10. 75 FR 2549 - Office of Biotechnology Activities; Office of Science Policy; Office of the Director; Notice of a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology... Coordinator, Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director, National..., Office of Biotechnology Activities, National Institutes of Health. [FR Doc. 2010-730 Filed 1-14-10; 8:45...

  11. Norwegian climate research. An evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-06-15

    [English] In early 2011, the Norwegian Research Council (RCN) appointed a committee to review Norwegian climate research. The aim of the evaluation was to provide a critical review of Norwegian climate research in an international perspective and to recommend measures to enhance the quality, efficiency and relevance of future climate research. The Evaluation Committee met three times: in August and December 2011, and March 2012. RCN sent an invitation to 140 research organisations to participate by delivering background information on their climate research. Based on the initial response, 48 research units were invited to submit self-assessments and 37 research units responded. These were invited to hearings during the second meeting of the Evaluation Committee in December. In our judgement, a great majority of the most active research units are covered by this evaluation report. It should be emphasised that the evaluation concerned the Norwegian landscape of climate research rather than individual scientists or research units. Bibliometric analyses and social network analyses provided additional information. We are aware of problems in making comparisons across disciplinary publishing traditions, especially with regard to the differences between the natural and social sciences and the humanities. The Evaluation Committee also reviewed a number of governmental and RCN policy documents and conducted interviews with the chairs of the NORKLIMA Programme Steering Board and the Norwegian IPY Committee, as well as with staff members of RCN. Additional information was received from hearings organised by RCN with the science communities and various stakeholders in January 2012. For the purpose of this evaluation, climate research was divided into three broad thematic areas: 1. The climate system and climate change: research on climate variability and change in order to improve our capability of understanding climate and of projecting climate change for different time

  12. Coaching small communities towards a climate stretegy plan -- experiences from Sweden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gormsen, D. [City of Malmoe (Sweden). Environment Dept.

    2008-07-01

    Working on climate change mitigation and adaptation is often more difficult for small communities than is the case for larger cities. Smaller cities and towns may lack the resources and time to take up this work in a comprehensive manner, which is usually not prescribed as a local governmental task by national law but instead is performed voluntarily. In Sweden, applications for a national climate investment fund have shown that small and medium-sized communities are represented to a very small degree among applicants to the fund. To address this gap, the Swedish Network of Municipalities on Climate Change initiated a project called 'Climate coaching -- support to local activities on climate change in small communities', which started in January 2007. Twenty-three small communities joined the project that aims at the production of sustainable energy and the development of climate plans in at least 11 of the participants by September 2008. The remaining communities should by then at least be in the process of developing a climate strategy. The communities receive direct support from a climate coach who visits the communities, arranges seminars of common interest to the participants, and gives support via email and telephone. Additional support comes also from the existing Swedish Network of Municipalities on Climate Change and their 23 members. The results show so far that a number of factors are important for the success of local work. These include the following: The responsibility for the work has to be clear within the municipal organization; The responsible officers need to have time and resources which will allow them to work with climate issues; The politicians should support the commitment of the officers; and It is also important that attention is paid to the establishment of a suitable internal organization for climate mitigation and adaptation, and that this process is allowed to take time. When these issues are in place this will guarantee that

  13. Forestry in times of climatic change. From adaptation to climate protection; Forstwirtschaft in Zeiten des Klimawandels. Von Anpassung bis Klimaschutz

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2010-07-01

    The notification 30/2010 of the Thuringian State Institute for Forest, Hunting and Fishing (Gotha, Federal Republic of Germany) reports on the forest management in times of the climatic changes. This notification consists of the following contributions: (1) Perception of the climatic change by private forest owners - A social-scientific investigation (Stefanie Rimkus); (2) Fundamentals for the designation of the inventory destination types adapted to climatic change for Thuringia (Nico Frischbier); (3) Recommendations of tree species adapted to climatic change for the forestry practice in Thuringia (Wolfgang Arenhoevel); (4) Development of carbon storage in the state-owned forest Thuringia (Thomas Wutzler); (5) The carbon inventories in copper beech forests (Fagus Sylvatica L.) under the influence of different silvicultural treatment (Martina Mund); (6) Wood products for the climate protection - The state of the art in Thuringia (Ingolf Profft); (7) HABIT-CHANGE - 'Adaptive management of climate-induced changes of habitat diversity in protected areas' (Nico Frischbier); (8) Cultivation experiences of non-indigenous tree species (Wolfgang Ahrenhoevel); (9) Registration of damages of the storm 'Xynthia' in the forestry office Bad Salzungen by means of ANDROMEDA {sup registered} data (Herbert Sagischewski); (10) www.waldundklima.net - The open internet portal on forest, wood and climate (Ingolf Profft).

  14. NOAA Climate Information and Tools for Decision Support Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timofeyeva, M. M.; Higgins, W.; Strager, C.; Horsfall, F. M.

    2013-12-01

    NOAA is an active participant of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) contributing data, information, analytical capabilities, forecasts, and decision support services to the Climate Services Partnership (CSP). These contributions emerge from NOAA's own climate services, which have evolved to respond to the urgent and growing need for reliable, trusted, transparent, and timely climate information across all sectors of the U.S. economy. Climate services not only enhance development opportunities in many regions, but also reduce vulnerability to climate change around the world. The NOAA contribution lies within the NOAA Climate Goal mission, which is focusing its efforts on four key climate priority areas: water, extremes, coastal inundation, and marine ecosystems. In order to make progress in these areas, NOAA is exploiting its fundamental capabilities, including foundational research to advance understanding of the Earth system, observations to preserve and build the climate data record and monitor changes in climate conditions, climate models to predict and project future climate across space and time scales, and the development and delivery of decision support services focused on risk management. NOAA's National Weather Services (NWS) is moving toward provision of Decision Support Services (DSS) as a part of the Roadmap on the way to achieving a Weather Ready National (WRN) strategy. Both short-term and long-term weather, water, and climate information are critical for DSS and emergency services and have been integrated into NWS in the form of pilot projects run by National and Regional Operations Centers (NOC and ROCs respectively) as well as several local offices. Local offices with pilot projects have been focusing their efforts on provision of timely and actionable guidance for specific tasks such as DSS in support of Coastal Environments and Integrated Environmental Studies. Climate information in DSS extends the concept of climate services to

  15. {sup 11}C-MET PET/MRI for detection of recurrent glioma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deuschl, C. [University Hospital Essen, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Essen (Germany); University of Duisburg-Essen, Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen (Germany); Kirchner, J.; Schaarschmidt, B. [University Duesseldorf, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Duesseldorf (Germany); Poeppel, T.D.; Herrmann, K. [University Hospital Essen, Clinic for Nuclear Medicine, Essen (Germany); Kebir, S.; Glas, M. [University Hospital Essen, Division of Clinical Neurooncology, Department of Neurology, Essen (Germany); El Hindy, N. [University Hospital Essen, Department of Neurosurgery, Essen (Germany); Hense, J. [University Hospital Essen, Department of Medical Oncology, West German Cancer Center, Essen (Germany); Quick, H.H. [University of Duisburg-Essen, Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen (Germany); University Hospital Essen, High Field and Hybrid MR Imaging, Essen (Germany); Umutlu, L.; Moenninghoff, C.; Radbruch, A.; Forsting, M. [University Hospital Essen, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Essen (Germany); Schlamann, M. [University Hospital Essen, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Essen (Germany); University Hospital Cologne, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Cologne (Germany)

    2018-04-15

    Radiological assessment of brain tumors is widely based on the Radiology Assessment of Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria that consider non-specific T1 and T2 weighted images. Limitation of the RANO criteria is that they do not include metabolic imaging techniques that have been reported to be helpful to differentiate treatment related changes from true tumor progression. In the current study, we assessed if the combined use of MRI and PET with hybrid {sup 11}C-MET PET/MRI can improve diagnostic accuracy and diagnostic confidence of the readers to differentiate treatment related changes from true progression in recurrent glioma. Fifty consecutive patients with histopathologically proven glioma were prospectively enrolled for a hybrid {sup 11}C-MET PET/MRI to differentiate recurrent glioma from treatment induced changes. Sole MRI data were analyzed based on RANO. Sole PET data and in a third evaluation hybrid {sup 11}C-MET-PET/MRI data were assessed for metabolic respectively metabolic and morphologic glioma recurrence. Diagnostic performance and diagnostic confidence of the reader were calculated for the different modalities, and the McNemar test and Mann-Whitney U Test were applied for statistical analysis. Hybrid {sup 11}C-MET PET/MRI was successfully performed in all 50 patients. Glioma recurrence was diagnosed in 35 of the 50 patients (70%). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for MRI (86.11% and 71.43%), for {sup 11}C-MET PET (96.77% and 73.68%), and for hybrid {sup 11}C-MET-PET/MRI (97.14% and 93.33%). For diagnostic accuracy hybrid {sup 11}C-MET-PET/MRI (96%) showed significantly higher values than MRI alone (82%), whereas no significant difference was found for 11C-MET PET (88%). Furthermore, by rating on a five-point Likert scale significantly higher scores were found for diagnostic confidence when comparing {sup 11}C-MET PET/MRI (4.26 ± 0,777) to either PET alone (3.44 ± 0.705) or MRI alone (3.56 ± 0.733). This feasibility study showed that hybrid

  16. 'Epistemology models ontology'− In gesprek met John Polkinghorne

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Test

    7 Jun 2011 ... maar met die aard daarvan. Polkinghorne wil met sy boek One World (1996) presies sê wat die titel suggereer. Hiervoor kry hy die oplossing by sy mentor en latere kollega, Paul Dirac. Vir meer as 30 jaar het Dirac dieselfde leerstoel in Fisika aan Cambridge beklee as Isaac Newton (Polkinghorne 2005:34).

  17. 49 CFR 800.25 - Delegation to the Directors of Office of Aviation Safety, Office of Railroad Safety, Office of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Office of Aviation Safety, Office of Railroad Safety, Office of Highway Safety, Office of Marine Safety... Offices of Aviation, Railroad, Highway, Marine, and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety, the authority... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Delegation to the Directors of Office of Aviation...

  18. The applications of 11C-MET PET in brain tumor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hua Fengchun

    2002-01-01

    11 C-methionine (MET), an amino acid, is the most widely used radio pharmaceutics which can reflect transport metabolism of amino acid in vivo, and synthesis of protein in tumor. 11 C-MET PET can be used for evaluation of brain tumor: detection of tumor, differential diagnosis between recurrence and radiation necrosis and early evaluation of response to treatment. Especially, for the definition of tumor margin and detection of low-grade tumors, PET with 11 C-MET is better than PET with 18 F-FDG or other modalities such as CT and MRI

  19. Pacific Northwest Laboratory annual report for 1990 to the DOE Office of Energy Research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Owczarski, E.L. (ed.)

    1991-04-01

    At the start of FY 1990, the atmospheric sciences and carbon dioxide research programs within the Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) were gathered into the new Atmospheric and Climate Research Division (ACRD). One of the central missions of this new division is to provide the Department of Energy with scientifically defensible information on the local, regional, and global distributions of energy-related pollutants and their effects on climate. This information is vital to the definition and implementation of a sound national energy strategy. Because much of the work done at PNL during FY 1990 falls under the umbrella of the new ACRD, we are including in this volume the progress and status reports for all OHER atmospheric and climate research projects at PNL. The description of ongoing atmospheric and climate research at PNL is organized along two broad research areas; atmospheric research and climate research. This report describes the progress in FY 1990 in each of these areas. A divider page summarizes the goals of each area and lists projects that support research activities.

  20. The impact of climatic risk factors on the prevalence, distribution, and severity of acute and chronic trachoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anita Ramesh

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Trachoma is the most common cause of infectious blindness. Hot, dry climates, dust and water scarcity are thought to be associated with the distribution of trachoma but the evidence is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological evidence regarding the extent to which climatic factors explain the current prevalence, distribution, and severity of acute and chronic trachoma. Understanding the present relationship between climate and trachoma could help inform current and future disease elimination. METHODS: A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted to identify observational studies which quantified an association between climate factors and acute or chronic trachoma and which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies that assessed the association between climate types and trachoma prevalence were also reviewed. RESULTS: Only eight of the 1751 papers retrieved met the inclusion criteria, all undertaken in Africa. Several papers reported an association between trachoma prevalence and altitude in highly endemic areas, providing some evidence of a role for temperature in the transmission of acute disease. A robust mapping study found strong evidence of an association between low rainfall and active trachoma. There is also consistent but weak evidence that the prevalence of trachoma is higher in savannah-type ecological zones. There were no studies on the effect of climate in low endemic areas, nor on the effect of dust on trachoma. CONCLUSION: Current evidence on the potential role of climate on trachoma distribution is limited, despite a wealth of anecdotal evidence. Temperature and rainfall appear to play a role in the transmission of acute trachoma, possibly mediated through reduced activity of flies at lower temperatures. Further research is needed on climate and other environmental and behavioural factors, particularly in arid and savannah areas. Many studies did not

  1. Milde voedselverwerkingstechnologie II : milde conservering met hoge druk : nieuwe ontwikkelingen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Matser, A.M.; Ven, van der C.; Berg, van den R.

    2004-01-01

    Met behulp van hogedruktechnologie kunnen producten langer houdbaar worden gemaakt. Deze bekende techniek kent de laatste tijd nieuwe ontwikkelingen en toepassingen . Naast pasteuriseren door een hogedrukbehandeling bij kamertemperatuur is het nu ook mogelijk om te steriliseren met hoge druk. Ook

  2. Bio-composiet : Thermoplastische kunsstof met natuurvezels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beurden, van K.M.M. (Karin); Goselink, E.A. (Erik)

    2013-01-01

    Een biocomposiet wordt samengesteld uit een vezel en een hars. In dit document worden twee verwerkingsvormen van biocomposieten behandeld: - Vezel/poeder versterkt kunststof (granulaat); - Kunststof plaatmateriaal versterkt met een weefsel (laminaat), ook wel Sizopreg® genoemd. Door een

  3. Technisch lego met een Duplo-interface

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pimentel, A.; Schipper, D.

    2008-01-01

    Daedalus is een ontwerpflow op systeemniveau waarmee techneuten snel kunnen experimenteren met verschillende multiprocessorarchitecturen tijdens de vroege stadia van het ontwerptraject. Het is het resultaat van tien jaar onderzoek en ontwikkeling binnen de Progress-projecten Artemis en Artemisia.

  4. 76 FR 28793 - Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of... Hill, NSABB Program Assistant, NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 750...

  5. 76 FR 3918 - Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of... Assistant NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 750, Bethesda, Maryland 20892...

  6. 76 FR 77240 - Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of..., NSABB Program Assistant, NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 750...

  7. 77 FR 66624 - Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-06

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of..., Maryland 20892. Contact Person: Ronna Hill, NSABB Program Assistant, NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities...

  8. 75 FR 58410 - Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of..., NSABB Program Assistant, NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 750...

  9. Accuracy and Quality of Spirometry in Primary Care Offices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegewald, Matthew J; Gallo, Heather M; Wilson, Emily L

    2016-12-01

    Spirometry is necessary for the optimal management of patients with respiratory disease. The quality of spirometry performed in the primary care setting has been inconsistent. We aimed to evaluate spirometer accuracy, determine the clinical significance of inaccurate spirometers, and assess the quality of spirograms obtained in primary care offices. We tested 17 spirometers used in primary care offices with a waveform generator; accuracy and precision were assessed using American Thoracic Society criteria. The clinical significance of inaccurate instruments was determined by applying the FEV 1 /FVC error from an obstructed waveform to a clinical data set. Spirogram quality was determined by grading spirograms using acceptability and repeatability criteria. The relationship between the number of tests performed by a clinic and test quality was assessed. Only 1 of 17 spirometers met accuracy criteria, with mean errors for FVC, FEV 1 , and FEV 1 /FVC ranging from 1.7 to 3.1%. Applying the percentage error to a clinical data set resulted in 28% of tests being recategorized from obstructed to nonobstructed. Of the spirograms reviewed, 60% were considered acceptable for clinical use. There was no association between the number of tests performed by a clinic and spirometry quality. Most spirometers tested were not accurate. The magnitude of the errors resulted in significant changes in the categorization of patients with obstruction. Acceptable-quality tests were produced for only 60% of patients. Our results raise concerns regarding the utility of spirometry obtained in primary care offices without greater attention to quality assurance and training.

  10. 75 FR 43944 - Defense Science Board; Task Force on Trends and Implications of Climate Change for National and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Defense Science Board; Task Force on Trends and Implications of Climate Change for National and International Security AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD... and Implications of Climate Change for National and International Security will meet in closed session...

  11. 75 FR 34438 - Defense Science Board Task Force on Trends and Implications of Climate Change for National and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Defense Science Board Task Force on Trends and Implications of Climate Change for National and International Security AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD... and Implications of Climate Change for National and International Security will meet in closed session...

  12. MET and Small-Cell Lung Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Gelsomino

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC is one of the most aggressive lung tumors. The majority of patients with SCLC are diagnosed at an advanced stage. This tumor type is highly sensitive to chemo-radiation treatment, with very high response rates, but invariably relapses. At this time, treatment options are still limited and the prognosis of these patients is poor. A better knowledge of the molecular biology of SCLC allowed us to identify potential druggable targets. Among these, the MET/HGF axis seems to be one of the most aberrant signaling pathways involved in SCLC invasiveness and progression. In this review, we describe briefly all recent literature on the different molecular profiling in SCLC; in particular, we discuss the specific alterations involving c-MET gene and their implications as a potential target in SCLC.

  13. Cooperative interaction of MUC1 with the HGF/c-Met pathway during hepatocarcinogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozkaya, Giray; Korhan, Peyda; Cokaklı, Murat; Erdal, Esra; Sağol, Ozgül; Karademir, Sedat; Korch, Christopher; Atabey, Neşe

    2012-09-11

    Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) induced c-Met activation is known as the main stimulus for hepatocyte proliferation and is essential for liver development and regeneration. Activation of HGF/c-Met signaling has been correlated with aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MUC1 is a transmembrane mucin, whose over-expression is reported in most cancers. Many of the oncogenic effects of MUC1 are believed to occur through the interaction of MUC1 with signaling molecules. To clarify the role of MUC1 in HGF/c-Met signaling, we determined whether MUC1 and c-Met interact cooperatively and what their role(s) is in hepatocarcinogenesis. MUC1 and c-Met over-expression levels were determined in highly motile and invasive, mesenchymal-like HCC cell lines, and in serial sections of cirrhotic and HCC tissues, and these levels were compared to those in normal liver tissues. Co-expression of both c-Met and MUC1 was found to be associated with the differentiation status of HCC. We further demonstrated an interaction between c-Met and MUC1 in HCC cells. HGF-induced c-Met phosphorylation decreased this interaction, and down-regulated MUC1 expression. Inhibition of c-Met activation restored HGF-mediated MUC1 down-regulation, and decreased the migratory and invasive abilities of HCC cells via inhibition of β-catenin activation and c-Myc expression. In contrast, siRNA silencing of MUC1 increased HGF-induced c-Met activation and HGF-induced cell motility and invasion. These findings indicate that the crosstalk between MUC1 and c-Met in HCC could provide an advantage for invasion to HCC cells through the β-catenin/c-Myc pathway. Thus, MUC1 and c-Met could serve as potential therapeutic targets in HCC.

  14. c-MET receptor tyrosine kinase as a molecular target in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Granito A

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Alessandro Granito,1 Elena Guidetti,1 Laura Gramantieri2,3 1Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 2Dipartimento dell'Apparato Digerente, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 3Centro di Ricerca Biomedica Applicata (CRBA, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico S Orsola-Malpighi e Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy Abstract: c-MET is the membrane receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF, also known as scatter factor or tumor cytotoxic factor, a mitogenic growth factor for hepatocytes. HGF is mainly produced by cells of mesenchymal origin and it mainly acts on neighboring epidermal and endothelial cells, regulating epithelial growth and morphogenesis. HGF/MET signaling has been identified among the drivers of tumorigenesis in human cancers. As such, c-MET is a recognized druggable target, and against it, targeted agents are currently under clinical investigation. c-MET overexpression is a common event in a wide range of human malignancies, including gastric, lung, breast, ovary, colon, kidney, thyroid, and liver carcinomas. Despite c-MET overexpression being reported by a large majority of studies, no evidence for a c-MET oncogenic addiction exists in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC. In particular, c-MET amplification is a rare event, accounting for 4%–5% of cases while no mutation has been identified in c-MET oncogene in HCC. Thus, the selection of patient subgroups more likely to benefit from c-MET inhibition is challenging. Notwithstanding, c-MET overexpression was reported to be associated with increased metastatic potential and poor prognosis in patients with HCC, providing a rationale for its therapeutic inhibition. Here we summarize the role of activated HGF/MET signaling in HCC, its prognostic relevance, and the implications for therapeutic approaches in HCC. Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, c-MET, clinical trials

  15. Cooperative interaction of MUC1 with the HGF/c-Met pathway during hepatocarcinogenesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bozkaya Giray

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF induced c-Met activation is known as the main stimulus for hepatocyte proliferation and is essential for liver development and regeneration. Activation of HGF/c-Met signaling has been correlated with aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC. MUC1 is a transmembrane mucin, whose over-expression is reported in most cancers. Many of the oncogenic effects of MUC1 are believed to occur through the interaction of MUC1 with signaling molecules. To clarify the role of MUC1 in HGF/c-Met signaling, we determined whether MUC1 and c-Met interact cooperatively and what their role(s is in hepatocarcinogenesis. Results MUC1 and c-Met over-expression levels were determined in highly motile and invasive, mesenchymal-like HCC cell lines, and in serial sections of cirrhotic and HCC tissues, and these levels were compared to those in normal liver tissues. Co-expression of both c-Met and MUC1 was found to be associated with the differentiation status of HCC. We further demonstrated an interaction between c-Met and MUC1 in HCC cells. HGF-induced c-Met phosphorylation decreased this interaction, and down-regulated MUC1 expression. Inhibition of c-Met activation restored HGF-mediated MUC1 down-regulation, and decreased the migratory and invasive abilities of HCC cells via inhibition of β-catenin activation and c-Myc expression. In contrast, siRNA silencing of MUC1 increased HGF-induced c-Met activation and HGF-induced cell motility and invasion. Conclusions These findings indicate that the crosstalk between MUC1 and c-Met in HCC could provide an advantage for invasion to HCC cells through the β-catenin/c-Myc pathway. Thus, MUC1 and c-Met could serve as potential therapeutic targets in HCC.

  16. Building envelope influence on the annual energy performance in office buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harmati Norbert L.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the research is to determine the quantitative influence of building envelope on the annual heating and cooling energy demand in office buildings demonstrated on a reference office-tower building located in Novi Sad, Serbia. The investigation intended to find preferable and applicable solutions for energy performance improvement in currently inefficient office buildings. A comparative and evaluative analysis was performed among the heating energy expenses and simulated values from the multi-zone model designed in EnergyPlus engine. The research determines an improved window to wall ratio using dynamic daylight simulation and presents the influence of glazing parameters (U-value, Solar heat gain coefficient - SHGC on the annual energy performance. Findings presented window to wall ratio reduction down to 30% and point out the significance of the SHGC parameter on the overall energy performance of buildings with high internal loads. The calculation of the air-ventilation energy demand according to EN 15251 is included respectively. Results offer effective methods for energy performance improvement in temperate climate conditions.

  17. Technical Note: Description and assessment of a nudged version of the new dynamics Unified Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Morgenstern

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available We present a "nudged" version of the Met Office general circulation model, the Unified Model. We constrain this global climate model using ERA-40 re-analysis data with the aim of reproducing the observed "weather" over a year from September 1999. Quantitative assessments are made of its performance, focusing on dynamical aspects of nudging and demonstrating that the "weather" is well simulated.

  18. Extraboard performance : TriMet case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-01

    This paper examines extraboard operations and management at TriMet, the transit provider for the Portland Oregon metropolitan area. The : extraboard consists of a pool of operators who fill open work resulting from absences and other causes. The pape...

  19. Preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism is not associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sun-Young; Jo, Dae-Sun; Hwang, Pyoung Han; Park, Ji Hyun; Park, Sung Kwang; Yi, Ho Keun; Lee, Dae-Yeol

    2006-03-01

    Ghrelin is a novel gut-brain peptide, which exerts somatotropic, orexigenic, and adipogenic effects. Genetic variants of ghrelin have been associated with both obesity and insulin metabolism. In this study, we determined a role of preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism on type 2 diabetes mellitus and its relationship to variables studied. Genotypes were assessed by polymerase chain reaction. Frequencies of the Leu72Met polymorphism were found to be 35.4% in the type 2 diabetic patients and 32.5% in the normal controls. The Leu72Met polymorphism was not associated with hypertension, macroangiopathy, retinopathy, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, blood urea nitrogen, HbA(1c), lipoprotein (a), fasting insulin, or 24-hour urinary protein levels in the type 2 diabetic group. However, the Leu72Met polymorphism was clearly associated with serum creatinine levels in the diabetic group, as the Met72 carriers exhibited lower serum creatinine levels than the Met72 noncarriers. Our data indicate that the preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism is not associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the Leu72Met polymorphism is associated with serum creatinine levels. These data suggest that Met72 carrier status may be a predictable marker for diabetic nephropathy or renal impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

  20. c-Met in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: an independent prognostic factor and potential therapeutic target.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozawa, Yohei; Nakamura, Yasuhiro; Fujishima, Fumiyoshi; Felizola, Saulo J A; Takeda, Kenichiro; Okamoto, Hiroshi; Ito, Ken; Ishida, Hirotaka; Konno, Takuro; Kamei, Takashi; Miyata, Go; Ohuchi, Noriaki; Sasano, Hironobu

    2015-06-03

    c-Met is widely known as a poor prognostic factor in various human malignancies. Previous studies have suggested the involvement of c-Met and/or its ligand, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but the correlation between c-Met status and clinical outcome remains unclear. Furthermore, the identification of a novel molecular therapeutic target might potentially help improve the clinical outcome of ESCC patients. The expression of c-Met and HGF was immunohistochemically assessed in 104 surgically obtained tissue specimens. The correlation between c-Met/HGF expression and patients' clinicopathological features, including survival, was evaluated. We also investigated changes in cell functions and protein expression of c-Met and its downstream signaling pathway components under treatments with HGF and/or c-Met inhibitor in ESCC cell lines. Elevated expression of c-Met was significantly correlated with tumor depth and pathological stage. Patients with high c-Met expression had significantly worse survival. In addition, multivariate analysis identified the high expression of c-Met as an independent prognostic factor. Treatment with c-Met inhibitor under HGF stimulation significantly inhibited the invasive capacity of an ESCC cell line with elevated c-Met mRNA expression. Moreover, c-Met and its downstream signaling inactivation was also detected after treatment with c-Met inhibitor. The results of our study identified c-Met expression as an independent prognostic factor in ESCC patients and demonstrated that c-Met could be a potential molecular therapeutic target for the treatment of ESCC with elevated c-Met expression.

  1. Office of the Chief Financial Officer Annual Report 2009

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fernandez, Jeffrey

    2009-12-15

    Presented is the 2009 Chief Financial Officer's Annual Report. The data included in this report has been compiled from the Budget Office, the Controller, Procurement and Property Management and the Sponsored Projects Office.

  2. A brief report on mets system

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Fernandes, W.A.

    Mets system is basically a gas monitoring system, used for the detection of underwater gas. The system consists of a sensor, datalogger and energy module. The sensor works on the diffusion techniques. The system can be deployed to a water depth...

  3. Climate data and climate change - Analysis of the influence on energy demand, performance requirement and thermal comfort of buildings; Klimadaten und Klimawandel - Untersuchungen zum Einfluss auf den Energiebedarf, den Leistungsbedarf und den thermischen Komfort von Gebaeuden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voss, Karsten; Kuenz, Carolin [Bergische Universitaet Wuppertal (Germany)

    2012-10-15

    Continuous research on climate change has improved the knowledge on climate forecast modelling, so that local and regional climate data sets for the application in building energy modelling are available. The paper analyses the data sets of most known sources and compares the relevant characteristics at four German locations. Simulation results for three commercial building examples (office, school and hotel) illustrate how the climate change may influence heating and cooling demands and capacities as well as the summer thermal comfort if no adjustments with respect to construction, service technology and user behaviour are applied. A significant decrease in space heating demand is contrasted by increased cooling demand and increased indoor temperatures during summer even until 2050. Especially for the office buildings, the summer conditions develop critical, so that active cooling will be mandatory in the summer hot regions. This trend was already detected during the past decade. The forecast is critical for all existing buildings. Significant improvements of the envelope properties such as glazing or shading and passive cooling options become mandatory. The changes predicted for schools and hotels remain moderate.

  4. 76 FR 5391 - Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-31

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), February...

  5. The potential roles of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF-MET pathway inhibitors in cancer treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parikh RA

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Rahul A Parikh,1 Peng Wang,2 Jan H Beumer,3 Edward Chu,1 Leonard J Appleman11Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Cancer Therapeutics Program, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 2Division of Medical Oncology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Markey Cancer Center, Lexington, KY, USA; 3University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Cancer Therapeutics Program, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USAAbstract: MET is located on chromosome 7q31 and is a proto-oncogene that encodes for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF receptor, a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK family. HGF, also known as scatter factor (SF, is the only known ligand for MET. MET is a master regulator of cell growth and division (mitogenesis, mobility (motogenesis, and differentiation (morphogenesis; it plays an important role in normal development and tissue regeneration. The HGF-MET axis is frequently dysregulated in cancer by MET gene amplification, translocation, and mutation, or by MET or HGF protein overexpression. MET dysregulation is associated with an increased propensity for metastatic disease and poor overall prognosis across multiple tumor types. Targeting the dysregulated HGF-MET pathway is an area of active research; a number of monoclonal antibodies to HGF and MET, as well as small molecule inhibitors of MET, are under development. This review summarizes the key biological features of the HGF-MET axis, its dysregulation in cancer, and the therapeutic agents targeting the HGF-MET axis, which are in development.Keywords: MET inhibitor, HGF inhibitor, cancer

  6. 75 FR 1007 - MetLife, Inc. and MetLife Capital Trust V; Notice of Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-07

    ... the definition of investment company by section 3(b) of the Act or by the rules or regulations under... Act for an exclusion from the definition of an investment company. To the extent MetLife or another... definition of a ``parent company'' in rule 3a-5(b)(2)(i) solely because it is an ``insurance company'' or...

  7. The effect of room acoustics on the measured speech privacy in two typical European open plan offices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wenmaekers, R.H.C.; Hout, van N.H.A.M.; Luxemburg, van L.C.J.; Hak, C.C.J.M.

    2009-01-01

    The reverberation time and the background noise level are often used as the most important design parameters in European open plan offices to achieve a comfortable acoustic climate and to control speech intelligibility. Good speech intelligibility is desired for people working together, but bad

  8. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met genotype modulates amygdala habituation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Rodriguez, M Mercedes; New, Antonia S; Goldstein, Kim E; Rosell, Daniel; Yuan, Qiaoping; Zhou, Zhifeng; Hodgkinson, Colin; Goldman, David; Siever, Larry J; Hazlett, Erin A

    2017-05-30

    A deficit in amygdala habituation to repeated emotional stimuli may be an endophenotype of disorders characterized by emotion dysregulation, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD). Amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli is genetically modulated by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) variants. Whether amygdala habituation itself is also modulated by BDNF genotypes remains unknown. We used imaging-genetics to examine the effect of BDNF Val66Met genotypes on amygdala habituation to repeated emotional stimuli. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 57 subjects (19 BPD patients, 18 patients with schizotypal personality disorder [SPD] and 20 healthy controls [HC]) during a task involving viewing of unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant pictures, each presented twice to measure habituation. Amygdala responses across genotypes (Val66Met SNP Met allele-carriers vs. Non-Met carriers) and diagnoses (HC, BPD, SPD) were examined with ANOVA. The BDNF 66Met allele was significantly associated with a deficit in amygdala habituation, particularly for emotional pictures. The association of the 66Met allele with a deficit in habituation to unpleasant emotional pictures remained significant in the subsample of BPD patients. Using imaging-genetics, we found preliminary evidence that deficient amygdala habituation may be modulated by BDNF genotype. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Gene (Val158Met) and Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF) (Val66Met) Genes Polymorphism in Schizophrenia: A Case-Control Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saravani, Ramin; Galavi, Hamid Reza; Lotfian Sargazi, Marzieh

    2017-10-01

    Objective: Several studies have shown that some polymorphisms of genes encoding catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), the key enzyme in degrading dopamine, and norepinephrine and the human brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), a nerve growth factor, are strong candidates for risk of schizophrenia (SCZ). In the present study, we aimed at examining the effects of COMT Val158Met (G>A) and BDNF Val66Met (G>A) polymorphisms on SCZ risk in a sample of Iranian population. Method: This case- control study included 92 SCZ patients and 92 healthy controls (HCs). Genotyping of both variants (COMT Val158Met (G>A) and BDNF Val66Met (G>A)) were conducted using Amplification Refractory Mutation System-Polymerase Chain Reaction (ARMS-PCR). Results: The findings revealed that the COMT Val158Met (G>A) polymorphism was not associated with the risk/protective of SCZ in all models (OR=0.630, 95%CI=0.299-1.326, P=0.224, GA vs. GG, OR=1.416, 95%CI=0.719-2.793, P=0.314, AA vs. GG, OR=1.00, 95%CI=0.56-1.79, P=1.00 GA+AA vs. GG, OR=1.667, 95%CI=0.885-3.125, P=0.11, AA vs. GG+GA, OR=1.247, 95%CI=0.825-1.885, P=0.343, A vs. G,). However, BDNF Val66Met (G>A) variant increased the risk of SCZ (OR = 2.008 95%CI = 1.008-4.00, P = 0.047, GA vs. GG, OR = 3.876 95%CI = 1.001-14.925, P = 0.049. AA vs. GG, OR = 2.272. 95%CI = 1.204-4.347, P = 0.011, GA+AA vs. GG, OR = 2.22 95%CI = 1.29-3.82. P = 0.005, A vs. G). Conclusion: The results did not support an association between COMT Val158Met (G>A) variant and risk/protective of SCZ. Moreover, it was found that BDNF Val66Met (G>A) polymorphism may increase the risk of SCZ development. Further studies and different ethnicities are recommended to confirm the findings.

  10. Coastal Climate Change Education, Mitigation, and Adaptation in the Natural and Built Environments: Progress of the Coastal Areas Climate Change Education Partnership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldman, A.; Herman, B.; Vernaza-Hernández, V.; Ryan, J. G.; Muller-Karger, F. E.; Gilbes, F.

    2011-12-01

    The Coastal Area Climate Change Education (CACCE) Partnership, funded by the National Science Foundation, seeks to develop new ways to educate citizens about global climate change. The core themes are sea level rise and impacts of climate change in the southeastern United States and the Caribbean Sea. CACCE focuses on helping partners, educators, students, and the general public gain a fundamental and working understanding of the interrelation among the natural environment, built environment, and social aspects in the context of climate change in coastal regions. To this end, CACCE's objectives reported here include: 1) defining the current state of awareness, perceptions, and literacy about the impacts of climate change; and 2) testing a model of transdisciplinary research and learning as a means of training a new generation of climate professionals. Objective one is met in part by CACCE survey efforts that reveal Florida and Puerto Rico secondary science teachers hold many non-scientific views about climate change and climate change science and provide inadequate instruction about climate change. Associated with objective two are five Multiple Outcome Interdisciplinary Research and Learning (MOIRL) pilot projects underway in schools in Florida and Puerto Rico. In the CACCE Partnership the stakeholders include: students (K-16 and graduate); teachers and education researchers; informal science educators; scientists and engineers; business and industry; policy makers; and community members. CACCE combines interdisciplinary research with action research and community-based participatory research in a way that is best described as "transdisciplinary". Learning occurs in all spheres of interactions among stakeholders as they engage in scientific, educational, community and business activities through their legitimate peripheral participation in research communities of practice. We will describe the process of seeking and building partnerships, and call for a dialogue

  11. c-Met in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: an independent prognostic factor and potential therapeutic target

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ozawa, Yohei; Nakamura, Yasuhiro; Fujishima, Fumiyoshi; Felizola, Saulo JA; Takeda, Kenichiro; Okamoto, Hiroshi; Ito, Ken; Ishida, Hirotaka; Konno, Takuro; Kamei, Takashi; Miyata, Go; Ohuchi, Noriaki; Sasano, Hironobu

    2015-01-01

    c-Met is widely known as a poor prognostic factor in various human malignancies. Previous studies have suggested the involvement of c-Met and/or its ligand, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but the correlation between c-Met status and clinical outcome remains unclear. Furthermore, the identification of a novel molecular therapeutic target might potentially help improve the clinical outcome of ESCC patients. The expression of c-Met and HGF was immunohistochemically assessed in 104 surgically obtained tissue specimens. The correlation between c-Met/HGF expression and patients’ clinicopathological features, including survival, was evaluated. We also investigated changes in cell functions and protein expression of c-Met and its downstream signaling pathway components under treatments with HGF and/or c-Met inhibitor in ESCC cell lines. Elevated expression of c-Met was significantly correlated with tumor depth and pathological stage. Patients with high c-Met expression had significantly worse survival. In addition, multivariate analysis identified the high expression of c-Met as an independent prognostic factor. Treatment with c-Met inhibitor under HGF stimulation significantly inhibited the invasive capacity of an ESCC cell line with elevated c-Met mRNA expression. Moreover, c-Met and its downstream signaling inactivation was also detected after treatment with c-Met inhibitor. The results of our study identified c-Met expression as an independent prognostic factor in ESCC patients and demonstrated that c-Met could be a potential molecular therapeutic target for the treatment of ESCC with elevated c-Met expression. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1450-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

  12. Northern Great Basin Seasonal Lakes: Vulnerability to Climate Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, M.; Eitel, J.

    2017-12-01

    Seasonal alkaline lakes in southeast Oregon, northeast California, and northwest Nevada serve as important habitat for migrating birds utilizing the Pacific Flyway, as well as local plant and animal communities. Despite their ecological importance, and anecdotal suggestions that these lakes are becoming less reliable, little is known about the vulnerability of these lakes to climate change. Our research seeks to understand the vulnerability of Northern Great Basin seasonal lakes to climate change. For this, we will be using historical information from the European Space Agency's Global Surface Water Explorer and the University of Idaho's gridMET climate product, to build a model that allows estimating surface water extent and timing based on climate variables. We will then utilize downscaled future climate projections to model surface water extent and timing in the coming decades. In addition, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) will be utilized at a subset of dried basins to obtain precise 3D bathymetry and calculate water volume hypsographs, a critical factor in understanding the likelihood of water persistence and biogeochemical habitat suitability. These results will be incorporated into decision support tools that land managers can utilize in water conservation, wildlife management, and climate mitigation actions. Future research may pair these forecasts with animal movement data to examine fragmentation of migratory corridors and species-specific impacts.

  13. Activating mutation in MET oncogene in familial colorectal cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schildkraut Joellen M

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In developed countries, the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC is 5%, and it is the second leading cause of death from cancer. The presence of family history is a well established risk factor with 25-35% of CRCs attributable to inherited and/or familial factors. The highly penetrant inherited colon cancer syndromes account for approximately 5%, leaving greater than 20% without clear genetic definition. Familial colorectal cancer has been linked to chromosome 7q31 by multiple affected relative pair studies. The MET proto-oncogene which resides in this chromosomal region is considered a candidate for genetic susceptibility. Methods MET exons were amplified by PCR from germline DNA of 148 affected sibling pairs with colorectal cancer. Amplicons with altered sequence were detected with high-resolution melt-curve analysis using a LightScanner (Idaho Technologies. Samples demonstrating alternative melt curves were sequenced. A TaqMan assay for the specific c.2975C >T change was used to confirm this mutation in a cohort of 299 colorectal cancer cases and to look for allelic amplification in tumors. Results Here we report a germline non-synonymous change in the MET proto-oncogene at amino acid position T992I (also reported as MET p.T1010I in 5.2% of a cohort of sibling pairs affected with CRC. This genetic variant was then confirmed in a second cohort of individuals diagnosed with CRC and having a first degree relative with CRC at prevalence of 4.1%. This mutation has been reported in cancer cells of multiple origins, including 2.5% of colon cancers, and in Conclusions Although the MET p.T992I genetic mutation is commonly found in somatic colorectal cancer tissues, this is the first report also implicating this MET genetic mutation as a germline inherited risk factor for familial colorectal cancer. Future studies on the cancer risks associated with this mutation and the prevalence in different at-risk populations will

  14. Varroabestrijding met bijenbroed als mijtenval (2)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Calis, J.; Beetsma, J.; Boot, W.J.; Eijnde, van den J.; Ruijter, de A.

    1994-01-01

    Bij deze bestrijdingsmethode worden belegde darreraten uit een moergoede veger overgehangen naar het moerloze en later broedloze hoofdvolk. Hier worden de mijten die zich op de bijen bevinden gevangen. Nadat de laatste darreraat uit een hoofdvolk is verwijderd, wordt het bijenvolk met Perizine

  15. Groen proceswater: zuivering brouwerijprocesafvalwater met microalgen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, van W.; Weide, van der R.Y.; Kroon, A.

    2016-01-01

    In 2012 is het project Groen Proceswater gestart. Hierin worden de mogelijkheden van zuivering van brouwerijprocesafvalwater met behulp van microalgen onderzocht. Dit is gedaan in een samenwerkingsverband van Heineken Nederland BV, Algae Food & Fuel en WUR-ACRRES. De resultaten behaald in 2012

  16. Risicoanalyse voor buisleidingen met brandbare vloeistoffen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Vliet AAC; Laheij GMH; Wolting AG; CEV

    2006-01-01

    De minimale veiligheidsafstanden tussen buisleidingen met brandbare vloeistoffen en bebouwingen kunnen gelijk blijven of iets verkleind worden. Dit is de conclusie na een herberekening van de afstanden uit een circulaire uit 1991. In Nederland ligt zo'n 1850 kilometer aan ondergrondse buisleiding

  17. 75 FR 15713 - Office of Biotechnology Activities; Office of Science Policy; Office of the Director; Notice of a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology... Lewallen, Advisory Committee Coordinator, Office of Biotechnology Activities, Office of Science Policy..., Director, Office of Biotechnology Activities, National Institutes of Health. [FR Doc. 2010-6970 Filed 3-29...

  18. El sexo de las metáforas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pérez Sedeño, Eulalia

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The hypothesis that states metaphors are structurally determinant in our social relations, routines, and experience has been accepted broadly in the last decades. Moreover, metaphors are to be found in many different levels of scientific practices, and have a diverse set of functions in science. Therefore, they impregnate all scientific enterprise. In this work we examine selected gender metaphors used in biology. We show metaphors are effective precisely because its effectiveness depends on shared social conventions, kinship relations and, authority that, by convention, is given to those that use them.

    La tesis de que las metáforas estructuran gran parte de nuestras relaciones sociales y nuestra experiencia cotidiana ha sido ampliamente aceptada en las últimas décadas. En la ciencia, además, aparecen en muchos niveles y desempeñan diversas funciones, impregnando todo el quehacer científico. En este trabajo se examinan algunas metáforas de género usadas en biología. Se muestra que las metáforas eficaces lo son porque su efectividad depende de las convenciones sociales compartidas, los parecidos de familia ya vigentes y de la autoridad que, por convención, se otorga a quienes las usan.

  19. A Firsthand Comparison of a System Office to a College Office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hom, Willard C.

    2010-01-01

    System offices for community college institutional research differ in many ways from campus offices for community college institutional research. The other chapters in this volume describe salient characteristics of system IR offices, but many readers may want to see a direct comparison of system IR offices to campus IR offices in the community…

  20. Single-molecule photobleaching reveals increased MET receptor dimerization upon ligand binding in intact cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dietz, Marina S; Haße, Daniel; Ferraris, Davide M; Göhler, Antonia; Niemann, Hartmut H; Heilemann, Mike

    2013-01-01

    The human receptor tyrosine kinase MET and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor are essential during embryonic development and play an important role during cancer metastasis and tissue regeneration. In addition, it was found that MET is also relevant for infectious diseases and is the target of different bacteria, amongst them Listeria monocytogenes that induces bacterial uptake through the surface protein internalin B. Binding of ligand to the MET receptor is proposed to lead to receptor dimerization. However, it is also discussed whether preformed MET dimers exist on the cell membrane. To address these issues we used single-molecule fluorescence microscopy techniques. Our photobleaching experiments show that MET exists in dimers on the membrane of cells in the absence of ligand and that the proportion of MET dimers increases significantly upon ligand binding. Our results indicate that partially preformed MET dimers may play a role in ligand binding or MET signaling. The addition of the bacterial ligand internalin B leads to an increase of MET dimers which is in agreement with the model of ligand-induced dimerization of receptor tyrosine kinases.

  1. MetAssimulo:Simulation of Realistic NMR Metabolic Profiles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    De Iorio Maria

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Probing the complex fusion of genetic and environmental interactions, metabolic profiling (or metabolomics/metabonomics, the study of small molecules involved in metabolic reactions, is a rapidly expanding 'omics' field. A major technique for capturing metabolite data is 1H-NMR spectroscopy and this yields highly complex profiles that require sophisticated statistical analysis methods. However, experimental data is difficult to control and expensive to obtain. Thus data simulation is a productive route to aid algorithm development. Results MetAssimulo is a MATLAB-based package that has been developed to simulate 1H-NMR spectra of complex mixtures such as metabolic profiles. Drawing data from a metabolite standard spectral database in conjunction with concentration information input by the user or constructed automatically from the Human Metabolome Database, MetAssimulo is able to create realistic metabolic profiles containing large numbers of metabolites with a range of user-defined properties. Current features include the simulation of two groups ('case' and 'control' specified by means and standard deviations of concentrations for each metabolite. The software enables addition of spectral noise with a realistic autocorrelation structure at user controllable levels. A crucial feature of the algorithm is its ability to simulate both intra- and inter-metabolite correlations, the analysis of which is fundamental to many techniques in the field. Further, MetAssimulo is able to simulate shifts in NMR peak positions that result from matrix effects such as pH differences which are often observed in metabolic NMR spectra and pose serious challenges for statistical algorithms. Conclusions No other software is currently able to simulate NMR metabolic profiles with such complexity and flexibility. This paper describes the algorithm behind MetAssimulo and demonstrates how it can be used to simulate realistic NMR metabolic profiles with

  2. Structural Basis for Selective Small Molecule Kinase Inhibition of Activated c-Met

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rickert, Keith W.; Patel, Sangita B.; Allison, Timothy J.; Byrne, Noel J.; Darke, Paul L.; Ford, Rachael E.; Guerin, David J.; Hall, Dawn L.; Kornienko, Maria; Lu, Jun; Munshi, Sanjeev K.; Reid, John C.; Shipman, Jennifer M.; Stanton, Elizabeth F.; Wilson, Kevin J.; Young, Jonathon R.; Soisson, Stephen M.; Lumb, Kevin J. (Merck)

    2012-03-15

    The receptor tyrosine kinase c-Met is implicated in oncogenesis and is the target for several small molecule and biologic agents in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. Binding of the hepatocyte growth factor to the cell surface receptor of c-Met induces activation via autophosphorylation of the kinase domain. Here we describe the structural basis of c-Met activation upon autophosphorylation and the selective small molecule inhibiton of autophosphorylated c-Met. MK-2461 is a potent c-Met inhibitor that is selective for the phosphorylated state of the enzyme. Compound 1 is an MK-2461 analog with a 20-fold enthalpy-driven preference for the autophosphorylated over unphosphorylated c-Met kinase domain. The crystal structure of the unbound kinase domain phosphorylated at Tyr-1234 and Tyr-1235 shows that activation loop phosphorylation leads to the ejection and disorder of the activation loop and rearrangement of helix {alpha}C and the G loop to generate a viable active site. Helix {alpha}C adopts a orientation different from that seen in activation loop mutants. The crystal structure of the complex formed by the autophosphorylated c-Met kinase domain and compound 1 reveals a significant induced fit conformational change of the G loop and ordering of the activation loop, explaining the selectivity of compound 1 for the autophosphorylated state. The results highlight the role of structural plasticity within the kinase domain in imparting the specificity of ligand binding and provide the framework for structure-guided design of activated c-Met inhibitors.

  3. Developing Climate Resilience Toolkit Decision Support Training Sectio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livezey, M. M.; Herring, D.; Keck, J.; Meyers, J. C.

    2014-12-01

    The Climate Resilience Toolkit (CRT) is a Federal government effort to address the U.S. President's Climate Action Plan and Executive Order for Climate Preparedness. The toolkit will provide access to tools and products useful for climate-sensitive decision making. To optimize the user experience, the toolkit will also provide access to training materials. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been building a climate training capability for 15 years. The target audience for the training has historically been mainly NOAA staff with some modified training programs for external users and stakeholders. NOAA is now using this climate training capacity for the CRT. To organize the CRT training section, we collaborated with the Association of Climate Change Officers to determine the best strategy and identified four additional complimentary skills needed for successful decision making: climate literacy, environmental literacy, risk assessment and management, and strategic execution and monitoring. Developing the climate literacy skills requires knowledge of climate variability and change, as well as an introduction to the suite of available products and services. For the development of an environmental literacy category, specific topics needed include knowledge of climate impacts on specific environmental systems. Climate risk assessment and management introduces a process for decision making and provides knowledge on communication of climate information and integration of climate information in planning processes. The strategic execution and monitoring category provides information on use of NOAA climate products, services, and partnership opportunities for decision making. In order to use the existing training modules, it was necessary to assess their level of complexity, catalog them, and develop guidance for users on a curriculum to take advantage of the training resources to enhance their learning experience. With the development of this CRT

  4. The NOAA Local Climate Analysis Tool - An Application in Support of a Weather Ready Nation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timofeyeva, M. M.; Horsfall, F. M.

    2012-12-01

    Citizens across the U.S., including decision makers from the local to the national level, have a multitude of questions about climate, such as the current state and how that state fits into the historical context, and more importantly, how climate will impact them, especially with regard to linkages to extreme weather events. Developing answers to these types of questions for locations has typically required extensive work to gather data, conduct analyses, and generate relevant explanations and graphics. Too frequently providers don't have ready access to or knowledge of reliable, trusted data sets, nor sound, scientifically accepted analysis techniques such that they can provide a rapid response to queries they receive. In order to support National Weather Service (NWS) local office forecasters with information they need to deliver timely responses to climate-related questions from their customers, we have developed the Local Climate Analysis Tool (LCAT). LCAT uses the principles of artificial intelligence to respond to queries, in particular, through use of machine technology that responds intelligently to input from users. A user translates customer questions into primary variables and issues and LCAT pulls the most relevant data and analysis techniques to provide information back to the user, who in turn responds to their customer. Most responses take on the order of 10 seconds, which includes providing statistics, graphical displays of information, translations for users, metadata, and a summary of the user request to LCAT. Applications in Phase I of LCAT, which is targeted for the NWS field offices, include Climate Change Impacts, Climate Variability Impacts, Drought Analysis and Impacts, Water Resources Applications, Attribution of Extreme Events, and analysis techniques such as time series analysis, trend analysis, compositing, and correlation and regression techniques. Data accessed by LCAT are homogenized historical COOP and Climate Prediction Center

  5. Association of Catechol-O-methyltransferase polymorphism Val158Met and mammographic density: A meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kallionpää, Roope A; Uusitalo, Elina; Peltonen, Juha

    2017-08-15

    The Val158Met polymorphism in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme reduces the methylation of catechol estrogens, which may affect mammographic density. High mammographic density is a known risk factor of breast cancer. Our aim was to perform meta-analysis of the effect of COMT Val158Met polymorphism on mammographic density. Original studies reporting data on mammographic density, stratified by the presence of COMT Val158Met polymorphism, were identified and combined using genetic models Met/Val vs. Val/Val, Met/Met vs. Val/Val, Val/Met+Met/Met vs. Val/Val (dominant model) and Met/Met vs. Val/Met+Val/Val (recessive model). Subgroup analyses by breast cancer status, menopausal status and use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were also performed. Eight studies were included in the meta-analysis. The overall effect in percent mammographic density was -1.41 (CI -2.86 to 0.05; P=0.06) in the recessive model. Exclusion of breast cancer patients increased the effect size to -1.93 (CI -3.49 to -0.37; P=0.02). The results suggested opposite effect of COMT Val158Met for postmenopausal users of HRT versus premenopausal women or postmenopausal non-users of HRT. COMT Val158Met polymorphism may be associated with mammographic density at least in healthy women. Menopausal status and HRT should be taken into account in future studies to avoid masking of the underlying effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Betere en efficiëntere zorg met Lean Six Sigma

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trip, A.; Jong, L.J.; Does, R.J.M.M.

    2009-01-01

    Zorgaanbieders moeten steeds meer met elkaar concurreren. De wetten van de markteconomie worden daarom meer en meer van toepassing in de zorgsector die dat tot voor kort helemaal niet gewend was. Dat vergt veranderingen, zowel in het besturen van deze organisaties, als in de omgang met patiënten en

  7. Low-energy office buildings using existing technology. Simulations with low internal heat gains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flodberg, Kajsa; Blomsterberg, Aake; Dubois, Marie-Claude [Lund Univ. (Sweden). Div. of Energy and Building Design

    2012-11-01

    Although low-energy and nearly zero-energy residential houses have been built in Sweden in the past decade, there are very few examples of low-energy office buildings. This paper investigates the design features affecting energy use in office buildings and suggests the optimal low-energy design from a Swedish perspective. Dynamic simulations have been carried out with IDA ICE 4 on a typical narrow office building with perimeter cell rooms. The results from the parametric study reveal that the most important design features for energy saving are demand-controlled ventilation as well as limited glazing on the facade. Further energy-saving features are efficient lighting and office equipment which strongly reduce user-related electricity and cooling energy. Together, the simulation results suggest that about 48% energy can be saved compared to a new office building built according to the Swedish building code. Thus, it is possible, using a combination of simple and well-known building technologies and configurations, to have very low energy use in new office buildings. If renewable energy sources, such as solar energy and wind power, are added, there is a potential for the annual energy production to exceed the annual energy consumption and a net zero-energy building can be reached. One aspect of the results concerns user-related electricity, which becomes a major energy post in very low-energy offices and which is rarely regulated in building codes today. This results not only in high electricity use, but also in large internal heat gains and unnecessary high cooling loads given the high latitude and cold climate. (orig.)

  8. Synthesis of Tc-99m labeled 1,2,3-triazole-4-yl c-met binding peptide as a potential c-met receptor kinase positive tumor imaging agent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Eun-Mi; Joung, Min-Hee; Lee, Chang-Moon; Jeong, Hwan-Jeong; Lim, Seok Tae; Sohn, Myung-Hee; Kim, Dong Wook

    2010-07-15

    The mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met), which is related to tumor cell growth, angiogenesis and metastases, is known to be overexpressed in several tumor types. In this study, we synthesized technetium-99m labeled 1,2,3-triazole-4-yl c-Met binding peptide (cMBP) derivatives, prepared by solid phase peptide synthesis and the 'click-to-chelate' protocol for the introduction of tricarbonyl technetium-99m, as a potential c-Met receptor kinase positive tumor imaging agent, and evaluated their in vitro c-Met binding affinity, cellular uptake, and stability. The (99m)Tc labeled cMBP derivatives ([(99m)Tc(CO)(3)]12, [(99m)Tc(CO)(3)]13, and [(99m)Tc(CO)(3)]14) were prepared in 85-90% radiochemical yields. The cold surrogate cMBP derivatives, [Re(CO)(3)]12, [Re(CO)(3)]13, and [Re(CO)(3)]14, were shown to have high binding affinities (0.13 microM, 0.06 microM, and 0.16 microM, respectively) to a purified cMet/Fc chimeric recombinant protein. In addition, the in vitro cellular uptake and inhibition studies demonstrated the high specific binding of these (99m)Tc labeled cMBP derivatives ([(99m)Tc(CO)(3)]12-14) to c-Met receptor positive U87MG cells. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Interview met Leon Deben: van tegenstellingen leer je het meeste

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Diepen, A.; Huisman, C.

    2008-01-01

    Wat in de jaren zeventig begonnen is als Sociologie van bouwen en wonen is uitgegroeid tot Stadssociologie. Leon Deben heeft het medeopgebouwd. Hij nam onlangs afscheid van de universiteit met een rede over de openbare ruimte. "Het centrale bestuur van de stad is druk met de waan van de dag en dan

  10. France's Climate Plan - update 2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosciusko-Morizet, Nathalie

    2011-07-01

    After a presentation of the background of the French climate policy and of prospective data regarding carbon emissions by 2020 (global evolution, sector-based analysis, vigilance items, scenario by 2030), this report presents the different policies and measures implemented in France. After the transverse policies and measures, it presents the current status and policies and measures for different sectors: housing and office building, transports, industry, agriculture and forest, energy (energy demand and management of greenhouse gas emissions related to energy production), wastes, public authorities and local communities

  11. De betekenis van Paulus' oproep tot de groet met de heilige kus

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voogd, Joanna Bernarda

    Dit boek is een studie naar de betekenis van de Paulijnse oproep tot de groet met de heilige kus. In vier passages in het Nieuwe Testament is deze oproep vindbaar: “Groet alle broeders (en zusters) met de heilige kus” (1 Tes 5:26) of “groet elkaar met de heilige kus” (1 Kor 16:20; 2 Kor 13:12 en

  12. Climate Services for Development Planning and Implementation: A Framework for Assessing and Valuing Climate Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, G.

    2012-04-01

    climate services arrayed in columns. The Working Group is meeting at the American Meteorological Society meetings in January to finalize the matrix and carry out the following analyses: 1) Working Group members in attendance will offer their views on the potential application of climate services for each user group. For simplicity, each cell of the matrix will be assigned a value of "high", "medium", or "low" importance. This will be a starting point and follow-up steps are planned to refine these rankings. 2) The second step will be to review the list of climate services projects and applications (approximately 100) that was developed by the Developing Country Task Team that met in conjunction with the ICCT and assign the climate services in the list to appropriate cells in the matrix. Although not rigorous, it will allow the Working Group to revisit the initial rankings in light of the empirical record. In concert with this review, the matrix will be shared with CSP members to elicit their comments on the rankings and to identify additional climate services projects and applications. 3) A typology of potential economic benefits will be developed and used to describe the benefits in specific cells of the matrix. This work will provide the basis for follow-up case study analysis and preparation of a synthesis paper on valuing climate services benefits.

  13. Report of a Policy Forum: Weather, Climate, and Energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2002-07-01

    The report of a policy forum on Weather, Climate, and Energy presents findings and recommendations that, if implemented, could position the energy sector, the providers of weather and climate science and services, and energy consumers to mange more cooperatively and effectively the production, distribution, and consumption of electrical power and fossil fuels. Recent U.S. experience with a series of energy shortages encouraged the AMS Atmospheric Policy Program to join with the University of Oklahoma in the development of a forum to address the issues connected with responding to those shortages. Nearly 100 representatives from the public, private, and academic portions of the energy production sector, the meteorological community, political and corporate leaders, weather risk management analysts, and policy makers met on October 16-17, 2001 to discuss these policy issues.

  14. The Met receptor tyrosine kinase prevents zebrafish primary motoneurons from expressing an incorrect neurotransmitter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eisen Judith S

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Expression of correct neurotransmitters is crucial for normal nervous system function. How neurotransmitter expression is regulated is not well-understood; however, previous studies provide evidence that both environmental signals and intrinsic differentiation programs are involved. One environmental signal known to regulate neurotransmitter expression in vertebrate motoneurons is Hepatocyte growth factor, which acts through the Met receptor tyrosine kinase and also affects other aspects of motoneuron differentiation, including axonal extension. Here we test the role of Met in development of motoneurons in embryonic zebrafish. Results We found that met is expressed in all early developing, individually identified primary motoneurons and in at least some later developing secondary motoneurons. We used morpholino antisense oligonucleotides to knock down Met function and found that Met has distinct roles in primary and secondary motoneurons. Most secondary motoneurons were absent from met morpholino-injected embryos, suggesting that Met is required for their formation. We used chemical inhibitors to test several downstream pathways activated by Met and found that secondary motoneuron development may depend on the p38 and/or Akt pathways. In contrast, primary motoneurons were present in met morpholino-injected embryos. However, a significant fraction of them had truncated axons. Surprisingly, some CaPs in met morpholino antisense oligonucleotide (MO-injected embryos developed a hybrid morphology in which they had both a peripheral axon innervating muscle and an interneuron-like axon within the spinal cord. In addition, in met MO-injected embryos primary motoneurons co-expressed mRNA encoding Choline acetyltransferase, the synthetic enzyme for their normal neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, and mRNA encoding Glutamate decarboxylase 1, the synthetic enzyme for GABA, a neurotransmitter never normally found in these motoneurons, but

  15. Technical Support Document: 50% Energy Savings for Small Office Buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thornton, Brian A.; Wang, Weimin; Huang, Yunzhi; Lane, Michael D.; Liu, Bing

    2010-04-30

    The Technical Support Document (TSD) for 50% energy savings in small office buildings documents the analysis and results for a recommended package of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) referred to as the advanced EEMs. These are changes to a building design that will reduce energy usage. The package of advanced EEMs achieves a minimum of 50% energy savings and a construction area weighted average energy savings of 56.6% over the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 for 16 cities which represent the full range of climate zones in the United States. The 50% goal is for site energy usage reduction. The weighted average is based on data on the building area of construction in the various climate locations. Cost-effectiveness of the EEMs is determined showing an average simple payback of 6.7 years for all 16 climate locations. An alternative set of results is provided which includes a variable air volume HVAC system that achieves at least 50% energy savings in 7 of the 16 climate zones with a construction area weighted average savings of 48.5%. Other packages of EEMs may also achieve 50% energy savings; this report does not consider all alternatives but rather presents at least one way to reach the goal. Design teams using this TSD should follow an integrated design approach and utilize additional analysis to evaluate the specific conditions of a project.

  16. Monitoring the impacts of weather and climate extremes on global agricultural production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Johansson

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB, under the direction of the Department of Agriculture's Office of the Chief Economist, employs a staff of agricultural meteorologists whose mission is to monitor and assess the impacts of weather and climate on crops in key growing areas throughout the world. The results of those analyses contribute to the deliberations conducted by the Interagency Commodity Estimates Committees (ICEC led by analysts at the World Agricultural Outlook Board. The results of those deliberations can be found in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE report, one of the designated Principle Federal Economic Indicators issued monthly by the Federal Government (White House (Office of Management and Budget, 2015. The process used to develop those estimates each month requires the integration of an assessment of the current climatic conditions with knowledge of the agricultural practices and market conditions of a particular country. Weather and climate data are used in conjunction with information on when and where crops are planted, production practices including irrigation, which varieties are best suited for that particular climate, and what naturally occurring hazards can be expected in any given year. Being able to closely compare current conditions to historic observations of weather and realized output on a fine scale, temporally and geographically, is a key component of the international estimates in the WASDE process.

  17. 37 CFR 1.414 - The United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Designated Office or Elected Office.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false The United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Designated Office or Elected Office. 1.414 Section 1.414 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES International Processing...

  18. The Moving Target of Climate Mitigation: Examples from the Energy Sector in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarroja, B.; AghaKouchak, A.; Forrest, K.; Chiang, F.; Samuelsen, S.

    2016-12-01

    In response to the concerns of climate change-induced impacts on human health, environmental integrity, and the secure operation of resource supply infrastructures, strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of major societal sectors have been in development. In the energy sector, these strategies are based in low carbon primary energy deployment, increased energy efficiency, and implementing complementary technologies for operational resilience. While these strategies are aimed at climate mitigation, a degree of climate change-induced impacts will occur by the time of their deployment, and many of these impacts can compromise the effectiveness of these climate mitigation strategies. In order to develop climate mitigation strategies that will achieve their GHG reduction and other goals, the impact that climate change-induced conditions can have on different components of climate mitigation strategies must be understood. This presentation will highlight three examples of how climate change-induced conditions affect components of climate mitigation strategies in California: through impacts on 1) hydropower generation, 2) renewable potential for geothermal and solar thermal resources to form part of the renewable resource portfolio, and 3) the magnitudes and shapes of the electric load demand that must be met sustainably. These studies are part of a larger, overarching project to understand how climate change impacts the energy system and how to develop a sustainable energy infrastructure that is resilient against these impacts.

  19. Voice: Reflections on an Artist-Led Program at the Met

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valladares, Maya

    2017-01-01

    This article explores an education project in which artist Fred Wilson, poets from Lincoln Center's Poet-Linc program, and the Met Museum Education Department collaborated to produce a teen-led spoken-word poetry performance in the Met's galleries. Wilson drew from his own knowledge of the collection to facilitate a group dialogue about objects…

  20. Environmental and climate research programme 1988/89

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    The Study Group of the Large-scale Research Institutes (AGF) has been reporting on these projects since 1972, in its programme for 'Environmental and Climate Research'. The programme, which is worked out by the AGF's Coordination Office for Environmental Research, is closely connected with the programmes of the Federal Government; it is revised and updated periodically by the AGF's Coordination Committees for 'Environmental Research' and 'Climate Research'. The 1988/89 programme gives an up-to-date overview of research projects in the field of 'Research and Technology for Health, Nutrition and the Environment' financed with the AGF programme budget of 1988. At the same time, however, it also documents projects of other areas of the programme concerned with environmental issues. Development trends are also discernible in the specification of the goals for 1989. The figures mentioned in the present programme are not comparable with those of earlier programmes, owing to inclusion of the programme section concerned with issues of climate, and to structural changes. (orig./KW) [de

  1. Using species co-occurrence networks to assess the impacts of climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bastos Araujo, Miguel; Rozenfeld, Alejandro; Rahbek, Carsten

    2011-01-01

    Viable populations of species occur in a given place if three conditions are met: the environment at the place is suitable; the species is able to colonize it; co-occurrence is possible despite or because of interactions with other species. Studies investigating the effects of climate change...... on species have mainly focused on measuring changes in climate suitability. Complex interactions among species have rarely been explored in such studies. We extend network theory to the analysis of complex patterns of co-occurrence among species. The framework is used to explore the robustness of networks...... under climate change. With our data, we show that networks describing the geographic pattern of co-occurrence among species display properties shared by other complex networks, namely that most species are poorly connected to other species in the network and only a few are highly connected. In our...

  2. The climate controversy demands substantive discussion. 'Climatic change sceptics' opposite 'greenhouse effect believers'; De klimaatcontroverse vergt inhoudelijke discussie. 'Klimaatsceptici' tegenover 'broeikasgelovigen'

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thoenes, D.; Labohm, H.

    2006-07-01

    With the aim to inform policymakers an overview is given of the arguments that are used by climatic change sceptics and greenhouse effect believers, and on which arguments do they agree or disagree. [Dutch] Met het doel beleidsmakers te informeren wordt een overzicht te geven van de argumenten die worden gebruikt door klimaatsceptici en broeikasgelovigen, en over welke argumenten ze het (on)eens zijn.

  3. Kas Eesti Mets on vanim praegu ilmuv eestikeelne ajakiri? / Rosmarii Kurvits

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Kurvits, Roosmarii, 1969-

    2015-01-01

    Artiklist selgub, et vanim tänini ilmuv eestikeelne ajakiri on baptistide häälekandja Teekäija. Kuid vanuselt järgmine ongi 1921. aastast ilmuv Eesti Mets. Ühtlasi on Eesti Mets vanim kodumaine loodusajakiri

  4. Activation of the JNK pathway is essential for transformation by the Met oncogene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, G A; Park, M; Schlessinger, J

    1997-05-15

    The Met/Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) receptor tyrosine kinase is oncogenically activated through a rearrangement that creates a hybrid gene Tpr-Met. The resultant chimeric p65(Tpr-Met) protein is constitutively phosphorylated on tyrosine residues in vivo and associates with a number of SH2-containing signaling molecules including the p85 subunit of PI-3 kinase and the Grb2 adaptor protein, which couples receptor tyrosine kinases to the Ras signaling pathway. Mutation of the binding site for Grb2 impairs the ability of Tpr-Met oncoprotein to transform fibroblasts, suggesting that the activation of the Ras/MAP kinase signaling pathway through Grb2 may be essential for cellular transformation. To test this hypothesis dominant-negative mutants of Grb2 with deletions of the SH3 domains were introduced into Tpr-Met transformed fibroblasts. Cells overexpressing the mutants were found to be morphologically reverted and exhibited reduced growth in soft agar. Surprisingly, the Grb2 mutants blocked activation of the JNK/SAPK but not MAP kinase activity induced by the Tpr-Met oncoprotein. Additionally, cells expressing dominant-negative Grb2 mutants had reduced PI-3-kinase activity and dominant-negative mutants of Rac1 blocked both Tpr-Met-induced transformation and activation of JNK. These experiments reveal a novel link between Met and the JNK pathway, which is essential for transformation by this oncogene.

  5. Workplace-Based Interventions for Neck Pain in Office Workers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Xiaoqi; Coombes, Brooke K; Sjøgaard, Gisela

    2018-01-01

    -quality evidence. Limitations: Data could not be obtained from some studies for meta-analysis and assessment of risk of bias. Reporting bias might have been present because only studies in the English language were included. Conclusions: Workplace-based strengthening exercises were effective in reducing neck pain....... Data Sources: MEDLINE, PEDro, CINAHL, and CENTRAL were searched for trials published since inception and before May 31, 2016. Study Selection: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were considered when they met the following criteria: population consisted of office workers, intervention(s) was performed...... at the workplace, outcome measures included neck and/or neck/shoulder pain intensity and incidence/prevalence, and comparator groups included no/other intervention. Data Extraction: Data were extracted by 1 reviewer using predefined data fields and checked by a second reviewer. Risk of bias was assessed by 2...

  6. Simulation of energy use, human thermal comfort and office work performance in buildings with moderately drifting operative temperatures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolarik, Jakub; Toftum, Jørn; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    2011-01-01

    Annual primary energy use in a central module of an office building consisting of two offices separated with a corridor was estimated by means of dynamic computer simulations. The simulations were conducted for conventional all-air VAV ventilation system and thermo active building system (TABS) s....... The TABS working in a moderate climate kept the predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) 10%; 1.4% in comparison to 17.5% h/yr. The highest estimated loss of occupants’ productivity related to their thermal sensation hasn’t exceeded 1% in whole year average....

  7. Intern transport beter te plannen met computer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Annevelink, E.

    1999-01-01

    Verbetering van intern transport in de potplantenteelt. Door getoetste vuistregels te combineren met toegepaste wiskunde is automatische planning van het intern transport binnen handbereik. Dit leidt tot minder transportbewegingen en tijdsbesparing bij het plannen

  8. In vivo detection of c-Met expression in a rat C6 glioma model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Towner, R A; Smith, N; Doblas, S; Tesiram, Y; Garteiser, P; Saunders, D; Cranford, R; Silasi-Mansat, R; Herlea, O; Ivanciu, L; Wu, D; Lupu, F

    2008-01-01

    The tyrosine kinase receptor, c-Met, and its substrate, the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), are implicated in the malignant progression of glioblastomas. In vivo detection of c-Met expression may be helpful in the diagnosis of malignant tumours. The C6 rat glioma model is a widely used intracranial brain tumour model used to study gliomas experimentally. We used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) molecular targeting agent to specifically tag the cell surface receptor, c-Met, with an anti-c-Met antibody (Ab) linked to biotinylated Gd (gadolinium)-DTPA (diethylene triamine penta acetic acid)-albumin in rat gliomas to detect overexpression of this antigen in vivo. The anti-c-Met probe (anti-c-Met-Gd-DTPA-albumin) was administered intravenously, and as determined by an increase in MRI signal intensity and a corresponding decrease in regional T(1) relaxation values, this probe was found to detect increased expression of c-Met protein levels in C6 gliomas. In addition, specificity for the binding of the anti-c-Met contrast agent was determined by using fluorescence microscopic imaging of the biotinylated portion of the targeting agent within neoplastic and 'normal'brain tissues following in vivo administration of the anti-c-Met probe. Controls with no Ab or with a normal rat IgG attached to the contrast agent component indicated no non-specific binding to glioma tissue. This is the first successful visualization of in vivo overexpression of c-Met in gliomas.

  9. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of energy and visual performances of office building with external venetian blind shading in hot-dry climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Ramkishore; Lazarus, I.J.; Kishore, V.V.N.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Various alternatives of glazing and venetian blind were simulated for office space. • Daylighting and energy performances were assessed for each alternative. • Large uncertainties were estimated in the energy consumptions and UDI values. • Glazing design parameters were prioritised by performing sensitivity analysis. • WWR, glazing type, blind orientation and slat angle were identified top in priority. - Abstract: Fenestration has become an integral part of the buildings and has a significant impact on the energy and indoor visual performances. Inappropriate design of the fenestration component may lead to low energy efficiency and visual discomfort as a result of high solar and thermal heat gains, excessive daylight and direct sunlight. External venetian blind has been identified as one of the effective shading devices for controlling the heat gains and daylight through fenestration. This study explores uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to identify and prioritize the most influencing parameters for designing glazed components that include external shading devices for office buildings. The study was performed for hot-dry climate of Jodhpur (Latitude 26° 180′N, longitude 73° 010′E) using EnergyPlus, a whole building energy simulation tool providing a large number of inputs for eight façade orientations. A total 150 and 845 data points (for each orientation) for input variables were generated using Hyper Cubic Sampling and extended FAST methods for uncertainty and sensitivity analyses respectively. Results indicated a large uncertainty in the lighting, HVAC, source energy consumptions and useful daylight illuminance (UDI). The estimated coefficients of variation were highest (up to 106%) for UDI, followed by lighting energy (up to 45%) and HVAC energy use (around 33%). The sensitivity analysis identified window to wall ratio, glazing type, blind type (orientation of slats) and slat angle as highly influencing factors for energy and

  10. Muziektherapie voor kinderen en jongeren met ASS : En overzicht van de relevante literatuur

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pater, Mathieu; van Yperen, Tom

    Muziektherapie wordt met grote regelmaat toegepast bij kinderen en jongeren met een autismespectrumstoornis (ASS). De vraag is of dit effect heeft. Dit artikel geeft een overzicht van de recente literatuur op dit vlak. Over de periode 1990 tot en met 2016 zijn 33 studies gevonden naar de inzet en

  11. Beeldverwerking met de Micron Automatic Processor

    OpenAIRE

    Goyens, Frank

    2017-01-01

    Deze thesis is een onderzoek naar toepassingen binnen beeldverwerking op de Micron Automata Processor hardware. De hardware wordt vergeleken met populaire hedendaagse hardware. Ook bevat dit onderzoek nuttige informatie en strategieën voor het ontwikkelen van nieuwe toepassingen. Bevindingen in dit onderzoek omvatten proof of concept algoritmes en een praktische toepassing.

  12. Climate Literacy: Progress in Climate and Global Change Undergraduate Courses in Meteorology and Earth System Science Programs at Jackson State University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, S. R.; Tuluri, F.; Fadavi, M.

    2017-12-01

    JSU Meteorology Program will be offering AMS Climate Studies undergraduate course under MET 210: Climatology in spring 2013. AMS Climate Studies is offered as a 3 credit hour laboratory course with 2 lectures and 1 lab sessions per week. Although this course places strong intellectual demands upon each student, the instructors' objective is to help each student to pass the course with an adequate understanding of the fundamentals and advanced and advanced courses. AMS Climate Studies is an introductory college-level course developed by the American Meteorological Society for implementation at undergraduate institutions nationwide. The course places students in a dynamic and highly motivational educational environment where they investigate Earth's climate system using real-world environmental data. The AMS Climate Studies course package consists of a textbook, investigations manual, course website, and course management system-compatible files. Instructors can use these resources in combinations that make for an exciting learning experience for their students. This is a content course in Earth Science. It introduces a new concept that views Earth as a synergistic physical system applied concepts of climatology, for him/her to understand basic atmospheric/climate processes, physical and dynamical climatology, regional climatology, past and future climates and statistical analysis using climate data and to be prepared to profit from studying more of interrelated phenomenon governed by complex processes involving the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, and the solid Earth. The course emphasizes that the events that shape the physical, chemical, and biological processes of the Earth do not occur in isolation. Rather, there is a delicate relationship between the events that occur in the ocean, atmosphere, and the solid Earth. The course provides a multidimensional approach in solving scientific issues related to Earth-related sciences,

  13. Climate change negotiations. COP-2 and beyond

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-09-01

    The Second Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-2), which met in Geneva during July, 1996, was only a partial success when considered in relation to its avowed aims, gaining acceptance of the Second Assessment Report by IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), producing an agreed Ministerial Declaration, making real advances towards a protocol, and agreeing Rules of Procedure. This paper describes the main aims of COP-2, consideration of and response to the IPCC`s Second Assessment Report, the COP-2 Ministerial Declaration, some significant statements by individual country delegations at COP-2, lack of progress on Rules of Procedure for the Conference, realization of returning the greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized countries based on the Montreal Protocol, differing views among countries to the Convention on a protocol, prospects for achieving agreement on a legally binding protocol at COP-3 planned for Kyoto, Japan in December, 1997, and recent scientific and technical findings.

  14. Human subjects’ perception of indoor environment and their office work performance during exposures to moderate operative temperature ramps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolarik, Jakub; Toftum, Jørn; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    2008-01-01

    The objective of the presented research work was to study the effects of moderate operative temperature drifts on human thermal comfort, perceived air quality, intensity of SBS symptoms and office work performance. Experimental subjects (52, 50% female) were seated in a climatic chamber and exposed....... A linear relation between perceived air quality and temperature (enthalpy) was found. No significant consistent effect of individual temperature ramps on office work performance was found. Increasing operative temperature appeared to slightly decrease speed of addition and text typing regardless the slope...... sensation was also included. Subjects filled out questionnaires regarding perception of the environment and intensity of SBS symptoms. Subjects performed simulated office tasks (addition, text typing, proof reading, comprehension and reasoning). Results showed that all tested ramps were recognized...

  15. Remembering the early days of the Met Lab

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katz, J.J.

    1990-01-01

    The Met Lab was set up by the war-time Manhattan District, US Corp of Engineers to (i) find a system using normal uranium in which a chain reaction would occur; (ii) to show that if such a chain reaction did occur, it would be possible to separate plutonium chemically from the uranium matrix and the fission products formed in the chain reactions; and (iii) to prepare plans for the large-scale production of plutonium. Chemistry Section C-1 of the Met Lab was assigned the responsibility for developing separation methods for plutonium production on the industrial scale. This report describes some aspects of daily life in Section C-1

  16. Clinical and prognostic value of the C-Met/HGF signaling pathway in cervical cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boromand, Nadia; Hasanzadeh, Malihe; ShahidSales, Soodabeh; Farazestanian, Marjaneh; Gharib, Masoumeh; Fiuji, Hamid; Behboodi, Negin; Ghobadi, Niloofar; Hassanian, Seyed Mahdi; Ferns, Gordon A; Avan, Amir

    2018-06-01

    Aberrant activation of the HGF/c-Met signalling pathway is reported to be associated with cell proliferation, progression, and metastasis features of several tumor types, including cervical cancer, suggesting that it may be of potential value as a novel therapeutic target. Furthermore, HPV-positive patients had a higher serum level of HGF or c-Met protein, compared with HPV-negative patients. c-Met or HGF overexpression in lesions of cervical cancer is reported to be related to a poorer prognosis, and hence this may be of value as a prognostic and predictive biomarker. Several approaches have been developed for targeting HGF and/or c-Met. One of these is crizotinib (a dual c-Met/ALK inhibitor). This has been approved by FDA for the treatment of lung-cancer. Further investigations are required to evaluate and optimize the use of c-Met inhibitors in cervical cancer or parallel targeting signalling pathway associated/activated via MET/HGF pathway. The main aim of current review was to give an overview of the potential of the c-Met/HGF pathway as a prognostic, or predictive biomarker in cervical cancer. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Making Homes Part of the Climate Solution: Policy Options To Promote Energy Efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, Dr. Marilyn Ann [Georgia Institute of Technology; Chandler, Jess [Georgia Institute of Technology; Lapsa, Melissa Voss [ORNL; Ally, Moonis [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

    2009-06-01

    In the area of energy efficiency, advanced technologies combined with best practices appear to afford not only large, but also cost-effective options to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (McKinsey & Company, 2007). In practice, however, the realization of this potential has often proven difficult. Progress appears to require large numbers of individuals to act knowledgeably, and each individual must often act with enabling assistance from others. Even when consumer education is effective and social norms are supportive, the actions of individuals and businesses can be impeded by a broad range of barriers, many of which are non-technical in nature. Title XVI of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 included a mandate to examine barriers to progress and make recommendations in this regard. A detailed report on barriers as well as the National strategy for overcoming barriers met this requirement (Brown et al, 2008; CCCSTI, 2009). Following up on this mandate, the U.S. Climate Change Technology Program (CCTP) chose to focus next on the development of policy options to improve energy efficiency in residential buildings, with supporting analysis of pros and cons, informed in part by behavioral research. While this work is sponsored by CCTP, it has been undertaken in coordination with DOE's Building Technologies Program and Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.

  18. Anomalous inhibition of c-Met by the kinesin inhibitor aurintricarboxylic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milanovic, Mina; Radtke, Simone; Peel, Nick; Howell, Michael; Carrière, Virginie; Joffre, Carine; Kermorgant, Stéphanie; Parker, Peter J

    2012-03-01

    c-Met [the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor] is a receptor tyrosine kinase playing a role in various biological events. Overexpression of the receptor has been observed in a number of cancers, correlating with increased metastatic tendency and poor prognosis. Additionally, activating mutations in c-Met kinase domain have been reported in a subset of familial cancers causing resistance to treatment. Receptor trafficking, relying on the integrity of the microtubule network, plays an important role in activation of downstream targets and initiation of signalling events. Aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) is a triphenylmethane derivative that has been reported to inhibit microtubule motor proteins kinesins. Additional reported properties of this inhibitor include inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatases, nucleases and members of the Jak family. Here we demonstrate that ATA prevents HGF-induced c-Met phosphorylation, internalisation, subsequent receptor trafficking and degradation. In addition, ATA prevented HGF-induced downstream signalling which also affected cellular function, as assayed by collective cell migration of A549 cells. Surprisingly, the inhibitory effect of ATA on HGF-induced phosphorylation and signalling in vivo was associated with an increase in basal c-Met kinase activity in vitro. It is concluded that the inhibitory effects of ATA on c-Met in vivo is an allosteric effect mediated through the kinase domain of the receptor. As the currently tested adenosine triphosphate competitive tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) may lead to tumor resistance (McDermott U, et al., Cancer Res 2010;70:1625-34), our findings suggest that novel anti-c-Met therapies could be developed in the future for cancer treatment. Copyright © 2011 UICC.

  19. Preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism in Chinese subjects with coronary artery disease and controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Na-Ping; Wang, Lian-Sheng; Yang, Li; Gu, Hai-Juan; Zhu, Huai-Jun; Zhou, Bo; Sun, Qing-Min; Cong, Ri-Hong; Wang, Bin

    2008-01-01

    Ghrelin, a novel endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, is considered to exert a protective effect against atherosclerosis. The Leu72Met (+408C>A) polymorphic variant of the preproghrelin, the gene for the ghrelin precursor, has been linked to obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. However, it is unclear whether this polymorphism is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). We conducted a case-control study with 317 CAD patients and 323 controls to investigate the potential association of the Leu72Met polymorphism with the occurrence of CAD and CAD-related phenotypes in Chinese population. No significant difference in the Leu72Met genotype frequency was observed between CAD patients and controls (P=NS). The Leu72Met polymorphism was not associated with hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, the number of diseased vessels, plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol or fasting glucose levels in CAD patients. However, among CAD patients, those with variant genotypes (Leu72Met and Met72Met) had lower BMI (24.4+/-0.3 kg/m(2)) than Leu72Leu carriers (25.4+/-0.2 kg/m(2), adjusted P=0.033). Our data indicate that the preproghrelin Leu72Met polymorphism is not associated with CAD in Chinese population. However, the Leu72Met variant is associated with BMI among CAD patients.

  20. Reciprocal activating crosstalk between c-Met and caveolin 1 promotes invasive phenotype in hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korhan, Peyda; Erdal, Esra; Kandemiş, Emine; Cokaklı, Murat; Nart, Deniz; Yılmaz, Funda; Can, Alp; Atabey, Neşe

    2014-01-01

    c-Met, the receptor for Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF), overexpressed and deregulated in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Caveolin 1 (CAV1), a plasma membrane protein that modulates signal transduction molecules, is also overexpressed in HCC. The aim of this study was to investigate biological and clinical significance of co-expression and activation of c-Met and CAV1 in HCC. We showed that c-Met and CAV1 were co-localized in HCC cells and HGF treatment increased this association. HGF-triggered c-Met activation caused a concurrent rise in both phosphorylation and expression of CAV1. Ectopic expression of CAV1 accelerated c-Met signaling, resulted in enhanced migration, invasion, and branching-morphogenesis. Silencing of CAV1 downregulated c-Met signaling, and decreased migratory/invasive capability of cells and attenuated branching morphogenesis. In addition, activation and co-localization of c-Met and CAV1 were elevated during hepatocarcinogenesis. In conclusion reciprocal activating crosstalk between c-Met and CAV1 promoted oncogenic signaling of c-Met contributed to the initiation and progression of HCC.

  1. Reciprocal activating crosstalk between c-Met and caveolin 1 promotes invasive phenotype in hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peyda Korhan

    Full Text Available c-Met, the receptor for Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF, overexpressed and deregulated in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC. Caveolin 1 (CAV1, a plasma membrane protein that modulates signal transduction molecules, is also overexpressed in HCC. The aim of this study was to investigate biological and clinical significance of co-expression and activation of c-Met and CAV1 in HCC. We showed that c-Met and CAV1 were co-localized in HCC cells and HGF treatment increased this association. HGF-triggered c-Met activation caused a concurrent rise in both phosphorylation and expression of CAV1. Ectopic expression of CAV1 accelerated c-Met signaling, resulted in enhanced migration, invasion, and branching-morphogenesis. Silencing of CAV1 downregulated c-Met signaling, and decreased migratory/invasive capability of cells and attenuated branching morphogenesis. In addition, activation and co-localization of c-Met and CAV1 were elevated during hepatocarcinogenesis. In conclusion reciprocal activating crosstalk between c-Met and CAV1 promoted oncogenic signaling of c-Met contributed to the initiation and progression of HCC.

  2. Climate change and its influence on human health, implementation of preventative measures in Europe

    OpenAIRE

    Kuznetsova V. P.; Pogonysheva I. A.

    2018-01-01

    Many European countries are implementing long-term programmes for health protection from climate change. These programmes are based on World Health Assembly Resolution. European office of World Health Organisation studies the data and supports capacity building initiatives in order to strengthen healthcare system response to climate change and to ensure that health issues are considered when decisions are made in other sectors related to health – power industry and transportation. The article...

  3. Pepino overdraagbaar via zaad (interview met René van der Vlugt)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boonekamp, G.; Vlugt, van der R.A.A.

    2008-01-01

    Zaad geoogst van planten met pepinomozaïekvirus vormt een risico voor de overdracht van het virus naar teeltbedrijven. Dit blijkt uit resultaten van het Europees onderzoeksproject Pereira. Al langer bestonden er vermoedens dat pepino met zaad wordt overgebracht. Nu blijkt inderdaad dat het virus,

  4. Associations between safety climate and safety management practices in the construction industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marín, Luz S; Lipscomb, Hester; Cifuentes, Manuel; Punnett, Laura

    2017-06-01

    Safety climate, a group-level measure of workers' perceptions regarding management's safety priorities, has been suggested as a key predictor of safety outcomes. However, its relationship with actual injury rates is inconsistent. We posit that safety climate may instead be a parallel outcome of workplace safety practices, rather than a determinant of workers' safety behaviors or outcomes. Using a sample of 25 commercial construction companies in Colombia, selected by injury rate stratum (high, medium, low), we examined the relationship between workers' safety climate perceptions and safety management practices (SMPs) reported by safety officers. Workers' perceptions of safety climate were independent of their own company's implementation of SMPs, as measured here, and its injury rates. However, injury rates were negatively related to the implementation of SMPs. Safety management practices may be more important than workers' perceptions of safety climate as direct predictors of injury rates. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Effects of office innovation on office workers' health and performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, Eline M.; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.; Sluiter, Judith K.

    2009-01-01

    The implementation of an innovative office concept (e.g. open-plan, flexible workplaces and a paperless office concept) on health and productivity among office workers was evaluated with questionnaires of 138 workers at baseline and 6 and 15 months afterwards. Work-related fatigue, general health,

  6. Variant BDNF Val66Met polymorphism affects extinction of conditioned aversive memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Hui; Wang, Yue; Pattwell, Siobhan; Jing, Deqiang; Liu, Ting; Zhang, Yun; Bath, Kevin G; Lee, Francis S; Chen, Zhe-Yu

    2009-04-01

    Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays important roles in activity-dependent plasticity processes, such as long-term potentiation, learning, and memory. The recently reported human BDNF Val66Met (BDNF(Met)) polymorphism has been shown to lead to altered hippocampal volume and impaired hippocampal-dependent memory and is associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. There are few studies, however, that investigate the effect of the BDNF(Met) polymorphism on hippocampal-independent memory processes. A conditioned taste aversion (CTA) task was used for studying the mechanisms of long-term, hippocampal-independent, nondeclarative memory in the mammalian brain. Using the CTA paradigm, we found a novel impairment in extinction learning, but not acquisition or retention, of aversive memories resulting from the variant BDNF(Met). BDNF(Met) mice were slower to extinguish an aversive CTA memory compared with wild-type counterparts. Moreover, the BDNF(Met) was associated with smaller volume and decreased neuronal dendritic complexity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), which plays a significant role in extinction of CTA. Finally, this delay in extinction learning could be rescued pharmacologically with a cognitive enhancer, d-cycloserine (DCS). To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that the BDNF(Met) polymorphism contributes to abnormalities in memory extinction. This abnormality in extinction learning may be explained by alterations in neuronal morphology, as well as decreased neural activity in the vmPFC. Importantly, DCS was effective in rescuing this delay in extinction, suggesting that when coupled with behavior therapy, DCS may be an effective treatment option for anxiety disorders in humans with this genetic variant BDNF.

  7. Office Hysteroscopy

    OpenAIRE

    Hikmet Hassa; Basar Tekin; H. Mete Tanir; Bulent Cakmak

    2007-01-01

    Although hysteroscopy has evolved in recent years, its use in the office setting was not made practical until early 1980s with the introduction of small caliber hysteroscopes of less than 5- mm outer diameter.This innovation simplifies ambulatory uterine exploration and the office evaluation of patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. This article reviews current trends in office hysteroscopy and its areas of application in different forms of gynecological problems.

  8. The Ad Hoc process to strengthen the framework convention on climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramakrishna, K.; Deutz, A.M.; Jacobsen, L.A. [eds.

    1995-11-01

    The Woods Hole Research Center convened an International Conference on The Ad Hoc Process to Strengthen the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Woods Hole, MA, on October 7-9, 1995. The conference was conducted to examine the prospects for successful adoption of a protocol to the Framework Convention on Climate Change by 1997. In preparation for the Second session of the Ad Hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate, several governmental and nongovernmental representatives met in Woods Hole to discuss the process and possible outcome of the Berlin Mandate negotiations for a protocol or other legal instrument to strengthen the Convention. The conference was by invitation and all participants attended in their personal capacities.

  9. Gesloten kringloop met omgekeerde osmose of membraandestilatie

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stijger, H.; Os, van E.A.

    2011-01-01

    TNO heeft samen met Wageningen UR Glastuinbouw een inventarisatie uitgevoerd naar geschikte zuiveringstechnieken om de waterstroom op tuinbouwbedrijven gesloten te krijgen. Uit de haalbaarheidstudie komen twee veelbelovende technieken naar voren die op vrij korte termijn inzetbaar zijn: omgekeerde

  10. Joint effects of climate variability and socioecological factors on dengue transmission: epidemiological evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akter, Rokeya; Hu, Wenbiao; Naish, Suchithra; Banu, Shahera; Tong, Shilu

    2017-06-01

    To assess the epidemiological evidence on the joint effects of climate variability and socioecological factors on dengue transmission. Following PRISMA guidelines, a detailed literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. Peer-reviewed, freely available and full-text articles, considering both climate and socioecological factors in relation to dengue, published in English from January 1993 to October 2015 were included in this review. Twenty studies have met the inclusion criteria and assessed the impact of both climatic and socioecological factors on dengue dynamics. Among those, four studies have further investigated the relative importance of climate variability and socioecological factors on dengue transmission. A few studies also developed predictive models including both climatic and socioecological factors. Due to insufficient data, methodological issues and contextual variability of the studies, it is hard to draw conclusion on the joint effects of climate variability and socioecological factors on dengue transmission. Future research should take into account socioecological factors in combination with climate variables for a better understanding of the complex nature of dengue transmission as well as for improving the predictive capability of dengue forecasting models, to develop effective and reliable early warning systems. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Metaphor and Corpus Linguistics Metáfora e linguística de corpus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tony Berber Sardinha

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, I look at four different aspects of metaphor research from a corpus linguistic perspective, namely: (1 the lexicogrammar of metaphors, which refers to the patterning of linguistic metaphor revealed by corpus analysis; (2 metaphor probabilities, which is a facet of metaphor that emerges from frequency-based studies of metaphor; (3 dimensions of metaphor variation, or the search for systematic parameters of variation in metaphor use across different registers; and (4 automated metaphor retrieval, which relates to the development of software to help identify metaphors in corpora. I argue that these four aspects are interrelated, and that advances in one of them can drive changes in the others.Neste artigo discuto quarto aspectos da pesquisa sobre metáfora do ponto de vista da linguística de corpus: (1 a lexicogramática das metáforas, que se refere aos padrões da metáfora linguística revelados pela análise de corpus; (2 probabilidades metafóricas, que é uma faceta da metáfora que emerge a partir dos estudos relacionados à freqüência de metáforas; (3 dimensões da variação de metáforas, ou a busca por parâmetros sistemáticos de variação de uso de metáfora em diferentes gêneros; e (4 captura automática de metáfora, que está relacionada ao desenvolvimento de softwares que auxiliam na identificação de metáforas em corpora. I defendo que esses quatro aspectos são interrelacionados, e que progressos em um deles podem acarretar mudanças nos outros.

  12. 75 FR 10293 - Office of Biotechnology Activities; Office of Science Policy; Office of the Director; Notice of a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology... meeting, please contact Ms. Laurie Lewallen, Advisory Committee Coordinator, Office of Biotechnology...: March 1, 2010. Amy P. Patterson, Director, Office of Biotechnology Activities, National Institutes of...

  13. Office 2013 simplified

    CERN Document Server

    Marmel, Elaine

    2013-01-01

    A basic introduction to learn Office 2013 quickly, easily, and in full color Office 2013 has new features and tools to master, and whether you're upgrading from an earlier version or using the Office applications for the first time, you'll appreciate this simplified approach. Offering a clear, visual style of learning, this book provides you with concise, step-by-step instructions and full-color screen shots that walk you through the applications in the Microsoft Office 2013 suite: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Publisher.Shows you how to tackle dozens of Office 2013

  14. Recurrent MET fusion genes represent a drug target in pediatric glioblastoma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sehested, Astrid Marie

    2016-01-01

    Pediatric glioblastoma is one of the most common and most deadly brain tumors in childhood. Using an integrative genetic analysis of 53 pediatric glioblastomas and five in vitro model systems, we identified previously unidentified gene fusions involving the MET oncogene in ∼10% of cases. These MET...

  15. Future Projections of Air Temperature and Precipitation for the CORDEX-MENA Domain by Using RegCM4.3.5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturk, Tugba; Turp, M. Tufan; Türkeş, Murat; Kurnaz, M. Levent

    2015-04-01

    In this study, the projected changes for the periods of 2016 - 2035, 2046 - 2065, and 2081 - 2100 in the seasonal averages of air temperature and precipitation variables with respect to the reference period of 1981 - 2000 were examined for the Middle East and North Africa region. In this context, Regional Climate Model (RegCM4.3.5) of ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) was run by using two different global climate models. MPI-ESM-MR global climate model of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and HadGEM2 of the Met Office Hadley Centre were dynamically downscaled to 50 km for the CORDEX-MENA domain. The projections were realized according to the RCP4.5 and the RCP8.5 emission scenarios of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change).

  16. Causal knowledge promotes behavioral self-regulation: An example using climate change dynamics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David K Sewell

    Full Text Available Adopting successful climate change mitigation policies requires the public to choose how to balance the sometimes competing goals of managing CO2 emissions and achieving economic growth. It follows that collective action on climate change depends on members of the public to be knowledgeable of the causes and economic ramifications of climate change. The existing literature, however, shows that people often struggle to correctly reason about the fundamental accumulation dynamics that drive climate change. Previous research has focused on using analogy to improve people's reasoning about accumulation, which has been met with some success. However, these existing studies have neglected the role economic factors might play in shaping people's decisions in relation to climate change. Here, we introduce a novel iterated decision task in which people attempt to achieve a specific economic goal by interacting with a causal dynamic system in which human economic activities, CO2 emissions, and warming are all causally interrelated. We show that when the causal links between these factors are highlighted, people's ability to achieve the economic goal of the task is enhanced in a way that approaches optimal responding, and avoids dangerous levels of warming.

  17. Climate Research Roadmap Workshop: Summary Report, May 13-14, 2010

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2010-09-01

    In recognition of the ongoing advances and challenges of climate change research, DOE's Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) organized a workshop asking the scientific community to identify the current state of climate science. The goal of the workshop was to determine the research challenges important for developing a predictive understanding of global climate. Participants were asked to focus on interdisciplinary research that capitalized on BER's scientific strengths in Atmospheric System Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science, and Climate and Earth System Modeling. Approximately 50 scientists representing these three areas were asked to identify desired outcomes for the next 10 years. Goals were identified for the near (1--3 years), mid (4--7 years), and long term (8--10 years). Discussions were focused by discipline (atmospheric, terrestrial, and modeling) and by latitude (high, temperate, and tropical). In addition, opportunities and needs for integration across disciplines and latitudes were identified with a specific focus on crosscutting challenges and outcomes. BER will use this workshop output to update its strategic plan for climate research.

  18. Office Hysteroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hikmet Hassa

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Although hysteroscopy has evolved in recent years, its use in the office setting was not made practical until early 1980s with the introduction of small caliber hysteroscopes of less than 5- mm outer diameter.This innovation simplifies ambulatory uterine exploration and the office evaluation of patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. This article reviews current trends in office hysteroscopy and its areas of application in different forms of gynecological problems.

  19. 28 CFR 0.118 - Office of Chief Administrative Hearing Officer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Officer. 0.118 Section 0.118 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Executive Office for Immigration Review § 0.118 Office of Chief Administrative Hearing... Law Judges in performance of their duties in accordance with 8 U.S.C. 1324 A and B. ...

  20. Met tyrosine kinase inhibitor, PF-2341066, suppresses growth and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao Y

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Yuanyuan Zhao,1,* Jing Zhang,2,* Ying Tian,1,* Cong Xue,1 Zhihuang Hu,1 Li Zhang1,3 1Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, 2Department of Medical Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guang Zhou Traditional Chinese Medicine University, 3National Anti-Cancer Drug Research Centre, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: We explored the effect of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF/Met signaling pathway on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC cells in vitro and in vivo, and investigated the ability of Met tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI to block HGF-induced biological signaling.Experimental design: Met TKI inhibitor PF-2341066 alone, or in combination with cisplatin, was investigated for its ability to block HGF-induced signaling and biological effects in vitro and in vivo. HGF/Met expression and activation of signaling in NPC cells were detected by using Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Biological evaluation, including wound healing, cell proliferation, and invasion of NPC cells, was also examined, and the correlation between HGF/Met expression of primary and metastatic tumor in NPC patients and clinical prognosis were also analyzed.Results: Met TKI inhibitor, PF-2341066, inhibited growth of NPC cells in vivo with half maximal inhibitory concentration of 0.79±0.21 µmol/L, and suppressed invasion and migration of NPC cells; also, the inhibition of PF-2341066 was synergized with cisplatin treatment. Compared with the control group, Met TKI inhibited metastasis of transplanted NPC in nude mice (the number of live metastases [mean ± SD]: 5.8±2.2 versus 11.8±2.2, P=0.03; the number of lung metastases: 2.3±1.5 versus

  1. Isolation and characterization of anti c-met single chain fragment variable (scFv) antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qamsari, Elmira Safaie; Sharifzadeh, Zahra; Bagheri, Salman; Riazi-Rad, Farhad; Younesi, Vahid; Abolhassani, Mohsen; Ghaderi, Sepideh Safaei; Baradaran, Behzad; Somi, Mohammad Hossein; Yousefi, Mehdi

    2017-12-01

    The receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) Met is the cell surface receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) involved in invasive growth programs during embryogenesis and tumorgenesis. There is compelling evidence suggesting important roles for c-Met in colorectal cancer proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and survival. Hence, a molecular inhibitor of an extracellular domain of c-Met receptor that blocks c-Met-cell surface interactions could be of great thera-peutic importance. In an attempt to develop molecular inhibitors of c-Met, single chain variable fragment (scFv) phage display libraries Tomlinson I + J against a specific synthetic oligopeptide from the extracellular domain of c-Met receptor were screened; selected scFv were then characterized using various immune techniques. Three c-Met specific scFv (ES1, ES2, and ES3) were selected following five rounds of panning procedures. The scFv showed specific binding to c-Met receptor, and significantly inhibited proliferation responses of a human colorectal carcinoma cell line (HCT-116). Moreover, anti- apoptotic effects of selected scFv antibodies on the HCT-116 cell line were also evaluated using Annexin V/PI assays. The results demonstrated rates of apoptotic cell death of 46.0, 25.5, and 37.8% among these cells were induced by use of ES1, ES2, and ES3, respectively. The results demonstrated ability to successfully isolate/char-acterize specific c-Met scFv that could ultimately have a great therapeutic potential in immuno-therapies against (colorectal) cancers.

  2. Climate change: from Copenhagen to Cancun

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abeysinghe, Achala Chandani; Carlson, John

    2011-03-15

    A year after the grim UN climate change negotiations in Denmark that resulted in parties merely 'taking note' of a three-page 'Copenhagen Accord', 194 countries met in Cancun, Mexico. Unlike the furore surrounding the Copenhagen negotiations, expectations were comparatively low-key for Cancun. The Copenhagen conference had damaged faith in the UN climate convention as an effective and legitimate negotiating forum. Restoring confidence in this process was a priority for Cancun. Parties were seeking a modest but balanced outcome across all main elements of the 2007 Bali Action Plan (BAP) which includes adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology, and capacity building. By the end of the two week negotiations, countries had finalized the 'Cancun Agreements', which managed to encompass decisions on each part of the BAP. In addition, the conference was widely recognized as having rebuilt fractured negotiating relationships between parties. The conference proceedings focused on the ongoing efforts of the two ad-hoc working groups that were established to find ways to enhance implementation of the convention and to discuss future commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

  3. Characterization of HGF/Met Signaling in Cell Lines Derived From Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Young H. [Urologic Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States); Apolo, Andrea B. [Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States); Agarwal, Piyush K.; Bottaro, Donald P., E-mail: dbottaro@helix.nih.gov [Urologic Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States)

    2014-11-25

    There is mounting evidence of oncogenic hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/Met signaling in urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder. The effects of three kinase inhibitors, cabozantinib, crizotinib and EMD1214063, on HGF-driven signaling and cell growth, invasion and tumorigenicity were analyzed in cultured UC cell lines. SW780 xenograft growth in SCID and human HGF knock-in SCID (hHGF/SCID) mice treated with cabozantinib or vehicle, as well as tumor levels of Met and pMet, were also determined. Met content was robust in most UC-derived cell lines. Basal pMet content and effector activation state in quiescent cells were low, but significantly enhanced by added HGF, as were cell invasion, proliferation and anchorage independent growth. These HGF-driven effects were reversed by Met inhibitor treatment. Tumor xenograft growth was significantly higher in hHGF/SCID mice vs. SCID mice and significantly inhibited by cabozantinib, as was tumor phospho-Met content. These studies indicate the prevalence and functionality of the HGF/Met signaling pathway in UC cells, suggest that paracrine HGF may contribute to UC tumor growth and progression, and that support further preclinical investigation of Met inhibitors for the treatment of UC is warranted.

  4. METs in adults while playing active video games: a metabolic chamber study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyachi, Motohiko; Yamamoto, Kenta; Ohkawara, Kazunori; Tanaka, Shigeho

    2010-06-01

    Active video game systems controlled through arm gestures and motions (Nintendo Wii Sports) and video games controlled through force plate (Wii Fit Plus) are becoming increasingly popular. This study was performed to determine the energy expenditure (EE) during Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports game activities. Twelve adult men and women performed all the activities of Wii Sports (five activities: golf, bowling, tennis, baseball, and boxing) and Wii Fit Plus (63 activities classified as yoga, resistance, balance, and aerobic exercises). Each activity was continued for at least 8 min to obtain a steady-state EE. Because EE was assessed in an open-circuit indirect metabolic chamber consisting of an airtight room (20,000 or 15,000 L), subjects were freed of apparatus to collect expired gas while playing the games. MET value was calculated from resting EE and steady-state EE during activity. The mean MET values of all 68 activities were distributed over a wide range from 1.3 METs (Lotus Focus) to 5.6 METs (single-arm stand). The mean MET values in yoga, balance, resistance, and aerobic exercise of Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports were 2.1, 2.0, 3.2, 3.4, and 3.0 METs, respectively. Forty-six activities (67%) were classified as light intensity (6.0 METs). Time spent playing one-third of the activities supplied by motion- and gesture-controlled video games can count toward the daily amount of exercise required according to the guidelines provided by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association, which focus on 30 min of moderate-intensity daily physical activity 5 d x wk(-1).

  5. Office 365 For Dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Withee, Ken

    2012-01-01

    The information you need to create a virtual office that can be accessed anywhere Microsoft Office 365 is a revolutionary technology that allows individuals and companies of all sizes to create and maintain a virtual office in the cloud. Featuring familiar Office Professional applications, web apps, Exchange Online, and Lync Online, Office 365 offers business professionals added flexibility and an easy way to work on the go. This friendly guide explains the cloud, how Office 365 takes advantage of it, how to use the various components, and the many possibilities offered by Office 365. It provi

  6. COMT Val158Met polymorphism, cognitive stability and cognitive flexibility: an experimental examination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Elise C

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dopamine in prefrontal cortex (PFC modulates core cognitive processes, notably working memory and executive control. Dopamine regulating genes and polymorphisms affecting PFC - including Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT Val158Met - are crucial to understanding the molecular genetics of cognitive function and dysfunction. A mechanistic account of the COMT Val158Met effect associates the Met allele with increased tonic dopamine transmission underlying maintenance of relevant information, and the Val allele with increased phasic dopamine transmission underlying the flexibility of updating new information. Thus, consistent with some earlier work, we predicted that Val carriers would display poorer performance when the maintenance component was taxed, while Met carriers would be less efficient when rapid updating was required. Methods Using a Stroop task that manipulated level of required cognitive stability and flexibility, we examined reaction time performance of patients with schizophrenia (n = 67 and healthy controls (n = 186 genotyped for the Val/Met variation. Results In both groups we found a Met advantage for tasks requiring cognitive stability, but no COMT effect when a moderate level of cognitive flexibility was required, or when a conflict cost measure was calculated. Conclusions Our results do not support a simple stability/flexibility model of dopamine COMT Val/Met effects and suggest a somewhat different conceptualization and experimental operationalization of these cognitive components.

  7. Vigas de madera laminada Glulam reforzadas con pletinas metálicas dentadas

    OpenAIRE

    Cañola, Hernán Darío

    2015-01-01

    En esta tesis se estudian las propiedades mecánicas de vigas de madera maciza y de madera laminada Glulam reforzadas con pletinas metálicas dentadas. Se fabricaron y analizaron experimentalmente cuatro grupos diferentes de vigas: 30 vigas de madera maciza no reforzadas, 30 vigas de madera maciza reforzadas con pletinas metálicas dentadas, 30 vigas de madera laminada Glulam no reforzadas y 30 vigas de madera laminada Glulam reforzadas con pletinas metálicas dentadas. Las vigas de madera ...

  8. A recommendation of the National Board for Atomic Safety and Radiation Protection for the appointment of Nuclear Safety Control Officers for research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adler, B.

    1990-01-01

    The Ordinance on the Implementation of Atomic Safety and Radiation Protection of the GDR requires that the managers of plants where nuclear facilities are operated appoint Control Officers for the fields of radiation protection, nuclear safety, physical protection, and accounting for and control of nuclear materials. The Control Officers are staff members of the operating organization but their appointment is subject to approval by the National Board and requires adequate qualification. The main task of the Control Officers as specialists is to give advice to the plant manager who retains responsibility for the safety of nuclear facilities, and to verify on his behalf that all requirements within their competence are met by the operating group. For this reason the Control Officer has to be absolutely independent of the head of the operating group. To enable the Control Officers to accomplish all necessary control activities and to guarantee independence from the head of the operating group, the plant manager has to establish adequate regulations of operation. As a pattern for such regulations the National Board has issued a Recommendation for the Appointment of Nuclear Safety Control Officers for Research Reactors, which provides a comprehensive survey of the requisite qualification features as well as the duties and rights of these Control Officers. This recommendation will be dealt with in the presentation

  9. The BRIDGE HadCM3 family of climate models: HadCM3@Bristol v1.0

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. J. Valdes

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Understanding natural and anthropogenic climate change processes involves using computational models that represent the main components of the Earth system: the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, and land surface. These models have become increasingly computationally expensive as resolution is increased and more complex process representations are included. However, to gain robust insight into how climate may respond to a given forcing, and to meaningfully quantify the associated uncertainty, it is often required to use either or both ensemble approaches and very long integrations. For this reason, more computationally efficient models can be very valuable tools. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of the suite of climate models based around the HadCM3 coupled general circulation model. This model was developed at the UK Met Office and has been heavily used during the last 15 years for a range of future (and past climate change studies, but has now been largely superseded for many scientific studies by more recently developed models. However, it continues to be extensively used by various institutions, including the BRIDGE (Bristol Research Initiative for the Dynamic Global Environment research group at the University of Bristol, who have made modest adaptations to the base HadCM3 model over time. These adaptations mean that the original documentation is not entirely representative, and several other relatively undocumented configurations are in use. We therefore describe the key features of a number of configurations of the HadCM3 climate model family, which together make up HadCM3@Bristol version 1.0. In order to differentiate variants that have undergone development at BRIDGE, we have introduced the letter B into the model nomenclature. We include descriptions of the atmosphere-only model (HadAM3B, the coupled model with a low-resolution ocean (HadCM3BL, the high-resolution atmosphere-only model (HadAM3BH, and the regional model (HadRM3B

  10. "Met" Made Simple: Building Research-Based Teacher Evaluations. Issue Analysis Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    New Teacher Project, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Groundbreaking new findings from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project hold the potential to answer crucial questions about how to assess teachers' performance. For the past two years, MET researchers have conducted a research project of unprecedented scope, involving 3,000 teachers in six school…

  11. 76 FR 53935 - Delegation Authority for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-30

    ... Office of the Chief Financial Officer AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD. ACTION: Notice of delegation of authority. SUMMARY: In this notice, the Secretary of HUD, pursuant to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act), which established the position of the Chief Financial Officer within HUD, is...

  12. Energy efficiency evaluation of hospital building office

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitriani, Indah; Sangadji, Senot; Kristiawan, S. A.

    2017-01-01

    One of the strategy employed in building design is reducing energy consumption while maintaining the best comfort zone in building indoor climate. The first step to improve office buildings energy performance by evaluating its existing energy usage using energy consumption intensity (Intensitas Konsumsi Energi, IKE) index. Energy evaluation of office building for hospital dr. Sayidiman at Kabupaten Magetan has been carried out in the initial investigation. The office building is operated with active cooling (air conditioning, AC) and use limited daylighting which consumes 14.61 kWh/m2/month. This IKE value is attributed into a slightly inefficient category. Further investigation was carried out by modeling and simulating thermal energy load and room lighting in every building zone using of Ecotect from Autodesk. Three scenarios of building energy and lighting retrofit have been performed simulating representing energy efficiency using cross ventilation, room openings, and passive cooling. The results of the numerical simulation indicate that the third scenario by employing additional windows, reflector media and skylight exhibit the best result and in accordance with SNI 03-6575-2001 lighting standard. Total thermal load of the existing building which includes fabric gains, indirect solar gains, direct solar gains, ventilation fans, internal gains, inter-zonal gains and cooling load were 162,145.40 kWh. Based on the three scenarios, the thermal load value (kWh) obtained was lowest achieved scenario 2 with the thermal value of 117,539.08 kWh.The final results are interpreted from the total energy emissions evaluated using the Ecotect software, the heating and cooling demand value and specific design of the windows are important factors to determine the energy efficiency of the buildings.

  13. Energy efficiency evaluation of hospital building office

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fitriani, Indah; Sangadji, Senot; Kristiawan, S.A.

    2017-01-01

    One of the strategy employed in building design is reducing energy consumption while maintaining the best comfort zone in building indoor climate. The first step to improve office buildings energy performance by evaluating its existing energy usage using energy consumption intensity (Intensitas Konsumsi Energi, IKE) index. Energy evaluation of office building for hospital dr. Sayidiman at Kabupaten Magetan has been carried out in the initial investigation. The office building is operated with active cooling (air conditioning, AC) and use limited daylighting which consumes 14.61 kWh/m2/month. This IKE value is attributed into a slightly inefficient category. Further investigation was carried out by modeling and simulating thermal energy load and room lighting in every building zone using of Ecotect from Autodesk. Three scenarios of building energy and lighting retrofit have been performed simulating representing energy efficiency using cross ventilation, room openings, and passive cooling. The results of the numerical simulation indicate that the third scenario by employing additional windows, reflector media and skylight exhibit the best result and in accordance with SNI 03-6575-2001 lighting standard. Total thermal load of the existing building which includes fabric gains, indirect solar gains, direct solar gains, ventilation fans, internal gains, inter-zonal gains and cooling load were 162,145.40 kWh. Based on the three scenarios, the thermal load value (kWh) obtained was lowest achieved scenario 2 with the thermal value of 117,539.08 kWh.The final results are interpreted from the total energy emissions evaluated using the Ecotect software, the heating and cooling demand value and specific design of the windows are important factors to determine the energy efficiency of the buildings. (paper)

  14. Genetic contribution of catechol-O-methyltransferase polymorphism (Val158Met) in children with chronic tension-type headache.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-de-las-Peñas, César; Ambite-Quesada, Silvia; Rivas-Martínez, Inés; Ortega-Santiago, Ricardo; de-la-Llave-Rincón, Ana Isabel; Fernández-Mayoralas, Daniel M; Pareja, Juan A

    2011-10-01

    Our aim was to investigate the relationship between Val158Met polymorphisms, headache, and pressure hypersensitivity in children with chronic tension-type headache (CTTH). A case-control study with blinded assessor was conducted. Seventy children with CTTH associated with pericranial tenderness and 70 healthy children participated. After amplifying Val158Met polymorphism by polymerase chain reactions, we assessed genotype frequencies and allele distributions. We classified children according to their Val158Met polymorphism: Val/Val, Val/Met, Met/Met. Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) were bilaterally assessed over the temporalis, upper trapezius, second metacarpal, and tibialis anterior muscles. The distribution of Val158Met genotypes was not significantly different (p = 0.335), between children with CTTH and healthy children, and between boys and girls (p = 0.872). Children with CTTH with the Met/Met genotype showed a longer headache history compared with those with Met/Val (p = 0.001) or Val/Val (p = 0.002) genotype. Children with CTTH with Met/Met genotype showed lower PPT over upper trapezius and temporalis muscles than children with CTTH with Met/Val or Val/Val genotype (p < 0.01). The Val158Met catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) polymorphism does not appear to be involved in predisposition to suffer from CTTH in children; nevertheless, this genetic factor may be involved in the phenotypic expression, as pressure hypersensitivity was greater in those CTTH children with the Met/Met genotype.

  15. Comfort Study of Office Buildings with Large Glazed Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Violeta Motuzienė

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In the buildings with large glazed areas the biggest problem is the space overheating during the warm season. This causes increased energy demand for cooling. The survey was carried out during the warm and cold seasons in two office buildings with large glazed areas. The methodology was prepared for evaluating indoor climate parameters using objective and subjective evaluation. The measurements have shown that there are problems with lighting in workplaces of both buildings during both the warm and cold seasons. The biggest problem is too dry air during the cold period, an acceptable temperature is also not always in the building No. 2. The survey has shown that some employees are dissatisfied with the indoor climate in the workplace, the bigger dissatisfaction is in building No. 2. Assessing according to the O. Fanger methodology was obtained that the number of PPD is in the normal range during the cold period, whereas close to the limit when the building can not be operated in the warm period.

  16. Targeting the MET oncogene by concomitant inhibition of receptor and ligand via an antibody-"decoy" strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basilico, Cristina; Modica, Chiara; Maione, Federica; Vigna, Elisa; Comoglio, Paolo M

    2018-04-25

    MET, a master gene sustaining "invasive growth," is a relevant target for cancer precision therapy. In the vast majority of tumors, wild-type MET behaves as a "stress-response" gene and relies on the ligand (HGF) to sustain cell "scattering," invasive growth and apoptosis protection (oncogene "expedience"). In this context, concomitant targeting of MET and HGF could be crucial to reach effective inhibition. To test this hypothesis, we combined an anti-MET antibody (MvDN30) inducing "shedding" (i.e., removal of MET from the cell surface), with a "decoy" (i.e., the soluble extracellular domain of the MET receptor) endowed with HGF-sequestering ability. To avoid antibody/decoy interaction-and subsequent neutralization-we identified a single aminoacid in the extracellular domain of MET-lysine 842-that is critical for MvDN30 binding and engineered the corresponding recombinant decoyMET (K842E). DecoyMET K842E retains the ability to bind HGF with high affinity and inhibits HGF-induced MET phosphorylation. In HGF-dependent cellular models, MvDN30 antibody and decoyMET K842E used in combination cooperate in restraining invasive growth, and synergize in blocking cancer cell "scattering." The antibody and the decoy unbridle apoptosis of colon cancer stem cells grown in vitro as spheroids. In a preclinical model, built by orthotopic transplantation of a human pancreatic carcinoma in SCID mice engineered to express human HGF, concomitant treatment with antibody and decoy significantly reduces metastatic spread. The data reported indicate that vertical targeting of the MET/HGF axis results in powerful inhibition of ligand-dependent MET activation, providing proof of concept in favor of combined target therapy of MET "expedience." © 2018 UICC.

  17. Governing Carbon Mitigation and Climate Change within Local Councils: A Case Study of Adelaide, South Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heather Zeppel

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available There is growing concern about climate change impacts on local government areas. In Australia, the federal carbon tax (from 1 July 2012 will also increase costs for local councils. This paper evaluates what carbon mitigation (i.e. energy, water, and waste management actions have been implemented by metropolitan Adelaide councils (n=14 and why (or why not. A survey of environmental officers profiled carbon mitigation actions, emissions auditing, and motives for emissions reduction by Adelaide councils. The main reasons for adopting carbon actions were a climate change plan, climate leadership, and cost savings. Internal council governance of climate change actions was also evaluated. A climate governance framework based on adaptive management, communication, and reflective practice (Nursey-Bray 2010 was applied to assess climate mitigation by Adelaide councils.

  18. Team Climate Inventory with a merged organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dackert, Ingrid; Brenner, Sten-Olof; Johansson, Curt R

    2002-10-01

    The present study examines the team climate for innovation in work teams within a newly merged organization. Four teams working at a regional head office of a Social Insurance organization answered the Team Climate Inventory. The results were compared to those of a study by Agrell and Gustafson of more stable teams. The comparison showed that participative safety and support for innovation were rated lower and that vision was rated higher in the newly merged teams. The 38-item original inventory was used and based on the results, a 1999 proposed shortened version of 14 items by Kivimäki and Elovainio was compared with the original one. Analysis indicated that the short version can be a valid alternative to the original version but that further testing of the short version is needed.

  19. MET-RODOS: A comprehensive atmospheric dispersion module

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mikkelsen, T.; Thykier-Nielsen, S.; Astrup, P.

    1997-01-01

    A comprehensive meteorological dispersion module called MET-RODOS is being developed to serve the real-time RODOS(1-3) decision support system with an integrated prediction capability for airborne radioactive spread, deposition and gamma radiation exposure on all scales. Deposition, ground level ...

  20. Sustainable water deliveries from the Colorado River in a changing climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnett, Tim P; Pierce, David W

    2009-05-05

    The Colorado River supplies water to 27 million users in 7 states and 2 countries and irrigates over 3 million acres of farmland. Global climate models almost unanimously project that human-induced climate change will reduce runoff in this region by 10-30%. This work explores whether currently scheduled future water deliveries from the Colorado River system are sustainable under different climate-change scenarios. If climate change reduces runoff by 10%, scheduled deliveries will be missed approximately 58% of the time by 2050. If runoff reduces 20%, they will be missed approximately 88% of the time. The mean shortfall when full deliveries cannot be met increases from approximately 0.5-0.7 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/yr) in 2025 to approximately 1.2-1.9 bcm/yr by 2050 out of a request of approximately 17.3 bcm/yr. Such values are small enough to be manageable. The chance of a year with deliveries climate-change or long-term mean flows, currently scheduled future water deliveries from the Colorado River are not sustainable. However, the ability of the system to mitigate droughts can be maintained if the various users of the river find a way to reduce average deliveries.

  1. Mice with GFAP-targeted loss of neurofibromin demonstrate increased axonal MET expression with aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Weiping; Xing, Rubing; Guha, Abhijit; Gutmann, David H; Sherman, Larry S

    2007-05-01

    Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is a common genetic disease that predisposes patients to peripheral nerve tumors and central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities including low-grade astrocytomas and cognitive disabilities. Using mice with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-targeted Nf1 loss (Nf1(GFAP)CKO mice), we found that Nf1(-/-) astrocytes proliferate faster and are more invasive than wild-type astrocytes. In light of our previous finding that aberrant expression of the MET receptor tyrosine kinase contributes to the invasiveness of human NF1-associated malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, we sought to determine whether MET expression is aberrant in the brains of Nf1 mutant mice. We found that Nf1(-/-) astrocytes express slightly more MET than wild-type cells in vitro, but do not express elevated MET in situ. However, fiber tracts containing myelinated axons in the hippocampus, midbrain, cerebral cortex, and cerebellum express higher than normal levels of MET in older (> or =6 months) Nf1(GFAP)CKO mice. Both Nf1(GFAP)CKO and wild-type astrocytes induced MET expression in neurites of wild-type hippocampal neurons in vitro, suggesting that astrocyte-derived signals may induce MET in Nf1 mutant mice. Because the Nf1 gene product functions as a RAS GTPase, we examined MET expression in the brains of mice with GFAP-targeted constitutively active forms of RAS. MET was elevated in axonal fiber tracts in mice with active K-RAS but not H-RAS. Collectively, these data suggest that loss of Nf1 in either astrocytes or GFAP(+) neural progenitor cells results in increased axonal MET expression, which may contribute to the CNS abnormalities in children and adults with NF1. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  2. The Contribution of Student Perceptions of School Climate to Understanding the Disproportionate Punishment of African American Students in a Middle School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirley, Erica L. M.; Cornell, Dewey G.

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the contribution of student perceptions of school climate to racial differences in school discipline. Four hundred middle school students completed a school climate survey. Compared to Caucasian students, African-American students were referred to the office for discipline three times as frequently and received five times…

  3. 76 FR 53939 - Order of Succession for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-30

    ... Office of the Chief Financial Officer AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD. ACTION: Notice of Order of... Chief Financial Officer. This Order of Succession supersedes all prior Orders of Succession for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. DATES: Effective Date: August 19, 2011. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION...

  4. Office of Child Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... for Children & Families Office of Child Care By Office Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Administration on Children, ... about the Child Care Rule > What is the Office of Child Care (OCC)? The Office of Child ...

  5. Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor-MET signaling in neural crest-derived melanocyte development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kos, L; Aronzon, A; Takayama, H; Maina, F; Ponzetto, C; Merlino, G; Pavan, W

    1999-02-01

    The mechanisms governing development of neural crest-derived melanocytes, and how alterations in these pathways lead to hypopigmentation disorders, are not completely understood. Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) signaling through the tyrosine-kinase receptor, MET, is capable of promoting the proliferation, increasing the motility, and maintaining high tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis of melanocytes in vitro. In addition, transgenic mice that ubiquitously overexpress HGF/SF demonstrate hyperpigmentation in the skin and leptomenigenes and develop melanomas. To investigate whether HGF/ SF-MET signaling is involved in the development of neural crest-derived melanocytes, transgenic embryos, ubiquitously overexpressing HGF/SF, were analyzed. In HGF/SF transgenic embryos, the distribution of melanoblasts along the characteristic migratory pathway was not affected. However, additional ectopically localized melanoblasts were also observed in the dorsal root ganglia and neural tube, as early as 11.5 days post coitus (p.c.). We utilized an in vitro neural crest culture assay to further explore the role of HGF/SF-MET signaling in neural crest development. HGF/SF added to neural crest cultures increased melanoblast number, permitted differentiation into pigmented melanocytes, promoted melanoblast survival, and could replace mast-cell growth factor/Steel factor (MGF) in explant cultures. To examine whether HGF/SF-MET signaling is required for the proper development of melanocytes, embryos with a targeted Met null mutation (Met-/-) were analysed. In Met-/- embryos, melanoblast number and location were not overtly affected up to 14 days p.c. These results demonstrate that HGF/SF-MET signaling influences, but is not required for, the initial development of neural crest-derived melanocytes in vivo and in vitro.

  6. La metáfora como proceso cognitivo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luz Amparo Fajardo Uribe

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available La metáfora es un mecanismo que hace posible conceptualizar y reconceptualizar el mundo a partir de la traslación de rasgos de un dominio de origen a un dominio de llegada. En esa medida, la metáfora no necesita inventar nuevos términos para referirse a la realidad, sino que a partir de los ya existentes brinda una visión diferente de ésta en tanto que ha sido enriquecida con la afectividad y la emotividad del sujeto cognoscente. Por esa razón, la comprensión y producción metafórica requiere más de la competencia comunicativa que de la competencia lingüística, dado que el sentido que éste adopta depende del contexto comunicativo y no de la constitución léxica, morfológica sintáctica del enunciado.

  7. A Systematic Exploration of the Local and Remote Climate Effects of Anthropogenic Aerosol Emissions from Key Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voulgarakis, A.; Kasoar, M.; Shawki, D.; Lamarque, J. F.; Shindell, D. T.; Faluvegi, G.; Bellouin, N.; Collins, W.; Tsigaridis, K.

    2016-12-01

    The radiative forcing of short-lived pollutants such as aerosols and tropospheric ozone is highly inhomogeneous and can therefore affect regional temperature, circulation and precipitation in a much more complicated way than the forcing of well-mixed greenhouse gases. Such effects have only recently started to be examined thoroughly and systematically from a global point of view, to understand regional interactions. Here, after outlining some key past work in this area, results from recent simulations with the UK Met Office's HadGEM3 global composition-climate model will be presented in which anthropogenic emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and black carbon in key regions (East Asia, South Asia, Europe, the US, and the northern mid-latitudes as a whole) have been removed. The linkages between emissions, concentrations, radiative forcing, temperature and precipitation responses will be discussed. A particular emphasis will be placed on non-local effects, i.e. how emissions over a certain region can affect other areas remotely. Finally, we will contrast our results with those from similar experiments pursued using the NASA GISS-E2 and the NCAR CESM1 models for US and East Asian SO2 emissions, and will discuss the large differences in the models' behaviour.

  8. Organizational Climate as Perceived by Veterinary Assistant Surgeons of Andhra Pradesh in India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ratnayake, Talata Chandrakanthi; Gupta, Jancy

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To identify various organizational climatic factors responsible for role performances of veterinary officers in Andhra Pradesh, India. Design/methodology/approach: Study was conducted in 11 selected districts. Data were collected from 220 respondents through a pretested interview schedule and subjected to correlation and multiple…

  9. Multi-office engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowle, E.S.; Hall, L.D.; Koss, P.; Saheb, E.; Setrakian, V.

    1995-01-01

    This paper addresses the viability of multi-office project engineering as has been made possible in a large part by the computer age. Brief discussions are provided on two past projects describing the authors' initial efforts at multi-office engineering, and an in-depth discussion is provided on a current Bechtel project that demonstrates their multi-office engineering capabilities. Efficiencies and cost savings associated with executing an engineering project from multiple office locations was identified as a viable and cost-effective execution approach. The paper also discusses how the need for multi-office engineering came about, what is required to succeed, and where they are going from here. Furthermore, it summarizes the benefits to their clients and to Bechtel

  10. Life Cycle Assessment of Flat Roof Technologies for Office Buildings in Israel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetlana Pushkar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal of the current study was to evaluate the environmental damage from three flat roof technologies typically used in Israel: (i concrete, (ii ribbed slab with concrete blocks, and (iii ribbed slab with autoclaved aerated blocks. The roofs were evaluated using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA methodology. The Production and Construction (P and C, Operational Energy (OE, and Maintenance to Demolition (MtoD stages were considered. The roofs were modeled based on an office building module located in the four climate zones of Israel, and the hierarchical ReCiPe2008 Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA method was applied. The percent difference of one, which is the default methodological option of ReCiPe2008, and an ANOVA of the six methodological options of ReCiPe2008 were used. The results revealed that (i in a hot climate, the best roof technology can be selected by considering only the OE stage, whereas in a mild climate, both the OE and P and C stages must be considered; (ii in a hot climate, the best roof technology is a concrete roof, but in a mild climate, the best options are ribbed slab roofs with concrete blocks and autoclaved aerated blocks; and (iii the conjugation of ReCiPe2008 with a two-stage nested ANOVA is the appropriate approach to evaluate the differences in environmental damage in order to compare flat roof technologies.

  11. Inhaken met sociale media in 60 minuten

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thijs Waardenburg; Komala Mazerant

    2018-01-01

    Met creatieve content die slim inhaakt op actuele gebeurtenissen kun je elke dag nieuwe mensen bereiken. Goedkoper dan adverteren op sociale media, en sympathieker bovendien.Thijs Waardenburg en Komala Mazerant leggen uit hoe je kansrijke inhakers bedenkt en communiceert om je bereik op sociale

  12. Annual Report 2008 -- Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fernandez, Jeffrey

    2008-12-22

    It is with great pleasure that I present to you the 2008 Chief Financial Officer's Annual Report. The data included in this report has been compiled from the Budget Office, the Controller, Procurement and Property Management and the Sponsored Projects Office. Also included are some financial comparisons with other DOE Laboratories and a glossary of commonly used acronyms.

  13. Physician offices marketing: assessing patients' views of office visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmett, Dennis; Chandra, Ashish

    2010-01-01

    Physician offices often lack the sense of incorporating appropriate strategies to make their facilities as marketer of their services. The patient experience at a physician's office not only incorporates the care they receive from the physician but also the other non-healthcare related aspects, such as the behavior of non-health professionals as well as the appearance of the facility itself. This paper is based on a primary research conducted to assess what patients assess from a physician office visit.

  14. 12 CFR 1710.17 - Certification of disclosures by chief executive officer and chief financial officer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... officer and chief financial officer. 1710.17 Section 1710.17 Banks and Banking OFFICE OF FEDERAL HOUSING... Corporate Practices and Procedures § 1710.17 Certification of disclosures by chief executive officer and chief financial officer. The chief executive officer and the chief financial officer of an Enterprise...

  15. The Pleiotropic MET Receptor Network: Circuit Development and the Neural-Medical Interface of Autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eagleson, Kathie L; Xie, Zhihui; Levitt, Pat

    2017-03-01

    People with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are behaviorally and medically heterogeneous. The combination of polygenicity and gene pleiotropy-the influence of one gene on distinct phenotypes-raises questions of how specific genes and their protein products interact to contribute to NDDs. A preponderance of evidence supports developmental and pathophysiological roles for the MET receptor tyrosine kinase, a multifunctional receptor that mediates distinct biological responses depending upon cell context. MET influences neuron architecture and synapse maturation in the forebrain and regulates homeostasis in gastrointestinal and immune systems, both commonly disrupted in NDDs. Peak expression of synapse-enriched MET is conserved across rodent and primate forebrain, yet regional differences in primate neocortex are pronounced, with enrichment in circuits that participate in social information processing. A functional risk allele in the MET promoter, enriched in subgroups of children with autism spectrum disorder, reduces transcription and disrupts socially relevant neural circuits structurally and functionally. In mice, circuit-specific deletion of Met causes distinct atypical behaviors. MET activation increases dendritic complexity and nascent synapse number, but synapse maturation requires reductions in MET. MET mediates its specific biological effects through different intracellular signaling pathways and has a complex protein interactome that is enriched in autism spectrum disorder and other NDD candidates. The interactome is coregulated in developing human neocortex. We suggest that a gene as pleiotropic and highly regulated as MET, together with its interactome, is biologically relevant in normal and pathophysiological contexts, affecting central and peripheral phenotypes that contribute to NDD risk and clinical symptoms. Copyright © 2016 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Physiological Signaling and Structure of the HGF Receptor MET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gianluca Baldanzi

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The “hepatocyte growth factor” also known as “scatter factor”, is a multifunctional cytokine with the peculiar ability of simultaneously triggering epithelial cell proliferation, movement and survival. The combination of those proprieties results in the induction of an epithelial to mesenchymal transition in target cells, fundamental for embryogenesis but also exploited by tumor cells during metastatization. The hepatocyte growth factor receptor, MET, is a proto-oncogene and a prototypical transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor. Inhere we discuss the MET molecular structure and the hepatocyte growth factor driven physiological signaling which coordinates epithelial proliferation, motility and morphogenesis.

  17. Met zorg ondernemen: Bouwstenen voor succesvolle samenwerking tussen ondernemers en langdurige zorg

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mogendorff, K.

    2007-01-01

    Het project Samenwerking tussen langdurige zorg en leidinggevenden (in het bedrijfsleven) wil relevante partijen inspireren en stimuleren om meer met elkaar te gaan samenwerken om zo doelstellingen als het vergroten van de maatschappelijke participatie van mensen met een langdurige zorgbehoefte te

  18. Collaborative Project: Development of an Isotope-Enabled CESM for Testing Abrupt Climate Changes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Zhengyu [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

    2018-01-24

    One of the most important validations for a state-of-art Earth System Model (ESM) with respect to climate changes is the simulation of the climate evolution and abrupt climate change events in the Earth’s history of the last 21,000 years. However, one great challenge for model validation is that ESMs usually do not directly simulate geochemical variables that can be compared directly with past proxy records. In this proposal, we have met this challenge by developing the simulation capability of major isotopes in a state-of-art ESM, the Community Earth System Model (CESM), enabling us to make direct model-data comparison by comparing the model directly against proxy climate records. Our isotope-enabled ESM incorporates the capability of simulating key isotopes and geotracers, notably δ18O, δD, δ14C, and δ13C, Nd and Pa/Th. The isotope-enabled ESM have been used to perform some simulations for the last 21000 years. The direct comparison of these simulations with proxy records has shed light on the mechanisms of important climate change events.

  19. The Grenelle de l'Environnement: the climate plan in France

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-11-01

    This document presents the objectives of the struggle against climate change as they have been defined by the French 'Grenelle de l'Environnement' statement. It presents the different policies and the main measures implemented after the Grenelle de l'Environnement for different sectors: residential and office building, transports, industry, agriculture and forest, energy, wastes, public authorities and local communities, information and training

  20. BASINs 4.0 Climate Assessment Tool (CAT): Supporting Documentation and User's Manual (Final Report)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA announced the availability of the report, BASINS 4.0 Climate Assessment Tool (CAT): Supporting Documentation and User's Manual. This report was prepared by the EPA's Global Change Research Program (GCRP), an assessment-oriented program, that sits within the Office of R...