Local health and social care responses to implementing the national cold weather plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Heffernan, C; Jones, L; Ritchie, B; Erens, B; Chalabi, Zaid; Mays, N

2017-09-18

The Cold Weather Plan (CWP) for England was launched by the Department of Health in 2011 to prevent avoidable harm to health by cold weather by enabling individuals to prepare and respond appropriately. This study sought the views of local decision makers involved in the implementation of the CWP in the winter of 2012/13 to establish the effects of the CWP on local planning. It was part of a multi-component independent evaluation of the CWP. Ten LA areas were purposively sampled which varied in level of deprivation and urbanism. Fifty-two semi-structured interviews were held with health and social care managers involved in local planning between November 2012 and May 2013. Thematic analysis revealed that the CWP was considered a useful framework to formalize working arrangements between agencies though local leadership varied across localities. There were difficulties in engaging general practitioners, differences in defining vulnerable individuals and a lack of performance monitoring mechanisms. The CWP was welcomed by local health and social care managers, and improved proactive winter preparedness. Areas for improvement include better integration with general practice, and targeting resources at socially isolated individuals in cold homes with specific interventions aimed at reducing social isolation and building community resilience. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Climate adaption and post-fire restoration of a foundational perennial in cold desert: Insights from intraspecific variation in response to weather

Science.gov (United States)

Brabec, Martha M.; Germino, Matthew; Richardson, Bryce A.

2017-01-01

1.The loss of foundational but fire-intolerant perennials such as sagebrush due to increases in fire size and frequency in semiarid regions has motivated efforts to restore them, often with mixed or even no success. Seeds of sagebrush Artemisia tridentata and related species must be moved considerable distances from seed source to planting sites, but such transfers have not been guided by an understanding of local climate adaptation. Initial seedling establishment and its response to weather are a key demographic bottleneck that likely varies among subspecies and populations of sagebrush. 2.We assessed differences in survival, growth, and physiological responses of sagebrush to weather among eleven seed sources that varied in subspecies, cytotype, and climates-of-origin over 18 months following outplanting. Diploid or polyploid populations of mountain, Wyoming, and basin big sagebrush (A.tridentata ssp. vaseyana, A.tridentata ssp. wyomingensis, and A.tridentata ssp. tridentata, respectively) were planted onto five burned sites that normally support A.t.wyomingensis with some A.t.tridentata. 3.A.t.wyomingensis had the most growth and survival, and tetraploid populations had greater survival and height than diploids. Seasonal timing of mortality varied among the subspecies/cytotypes and was more closely related to minimum temperatures than water deficit. 4.Temperatures required to induce ice formation were up to 6°C more negative in 4n-A.t.tridentata and A.t.wyomingensis than other subspecies/cytotypes, indicating greater freezing avoidance. In contrast, freezing resistance of photosynthesis varied only 1°C among subspecies/cytotypes, being greatest in A.t.wyomingensis and least in the subspecies normally considered most cold-adapted,A.t.vaseyana. A large spectrum of reliance on freezing-avoidance vs. freezing-tolerance was observed and corresponded to differences in post-fire survivorship among subspecies/cytotypes. Differences in water deficit

Improving the health forecasting alert system for cold weather and heat-waves in England: a case-study approach using temperature-mortality relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Masato, Giacomo; Cavany, Sean; Charlton-Perez, Andrew; Dacre, Helen; Bone, Angie; Carmicheal, Katie; Murray, Virginia; Danker, Rutger; Neal, Rob; Sarran, Christophe

2015-04-01

The health forecasting alert system for cold weather and heatwaves currently in use in the Cold Weather and Heatwave plans for England is based on 5 alert levels, with levels 2 and 3 dependent on a forecast or actual single temperature action trigger. Epidemiological evidence indicates that for both heat and cold, the impact on human health is gradual, with worsening impact for more extreme temperatures. The 60% risk of heat and cold forecasts used by the alerts is a rather crude probabilistic measure, which could be substantially improved thanks to the state-of-the-art forecast techniques. In this study a prototype of a new health forecasting alert system is developed, which is aligned to the approach used in the Met Office's (MO) National Severe Weather Warning Service (NSWWS). This is in order to improve information available to responders in the health and social care system by linking temperatures more directly to risks of mortality, and developing a system more coherent with other weather alerts. The prototype is compared to the current system in the Cold Weather and Heatwave plans via a case-study approach to verify its potential advantages and shortcomings. The prototype health forecasting alert system introduces an "impact vs likelihood matrix" for the health impacts of hot and cold temperatures which is similar to those used operationally for other weather hazards as part of the NSWWS. The impact axis of this matrix is based on existing epidemiological evidence, which shows an increasing relative risk of death at extremes of outdoor temperature beyond a threshold which can be identified epidemiologically. The likelihood axis is based on a probability measure associated with the temperature forecast. The new method is tested for two case studies (one during summer 2013, one during winter 2013), and compared to the performance of the current alert system. The prototype shows some clear improvements over the current alert system. It allows for a much greater

Cold Stress

Science.gov (United States)

... Publications and Products Programs Contact NIOSH NIOSH COLD STRESS Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir Workers who ... cold environments may be at risk of cold stress. Extreme cold weather is a dangerous situation that ...

Survival strategies of freshwater insects in cold environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeria LENCIONI

2004-09-01

Full Text Available At high latitudes and altitudes, ice formation is a major variable affecting survival of freshwater fauna and hence the abundance and composition of invertebrate communities. Freezing, but also desiccation and anoxia, are lethal threats to all life stages of aquatic insects, from the eggs to the adults. During cold periods, the aquatic stages commonly remain in or move to a portion of the water body that will not freeze or dry (e.g., deep waters of lakes, springs and hyporheic zone where they can remain active. Less frequently they migrate to habitats that will freeze at the onset of winter. Insects have developed a complex of strategies to survive at their physiological temperature minimum, comprising (a morphological (melanism, reduction in size, hairiness/pubescence, brachyptery and aptery, (b behavioural (basking in the sun, changes in feeding and mating habit, parthenogenesis, polyploidy, ovoviviparity, habitat selection and cocoon building, (c ecological (extension of development to several years by quiescence or diapause and reduction of the number of generations per year, (d physiological and biochemical (freezing tolerance and freezing avoidance adaptations. Most species develop a combination of these survival strategies that can be different in the aquatic and terrestrial phase. Freezing avoidance and freezing tolerance may be accompanied by diapause. Both cold hardiness and diapause manifest during the unfavourable season and: (i involve storage of food resources (commonly glycogen and lipids; (ii are under hormonal control (ecdysone and juvenile hormone; (iii involve a depression or suppression of the oxidative metabolism with mitochondrial degradation. However, where the growing season is reduced to a few weeks, insects may develop cold hardiness without entering diapause, maintaining in the haemolymph a high concentration of Thermal Hysteris Proteins (THPs for the entire year and a slow but continuous growth. A synthesis of

Case report of cold-weather-induced radiation recall dermatitis after chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kindts, Isabelle; Stellamans, Karin; Planckaert, Nikie; Goethals, Laurence; Bonny, Michiel

2014-01-01

The radiation recall reaction (RRR) is an inflammatory reaction that occurs in previously irradiated areas. The phenomenon is probably due to an idiosyncratic hypersensitivity reaction, in which a second agent can recall the inflammatory reaction. This case report documents a cold-weather-induced radiation recall dermatitis (RRD). We observed a severe RRD in a patient after chemoradiotherapy treatment with cisplatin for a nasopharyngeal carcinoma, precipitated by cold temperatures, which developed 9 days after completion of therapy. In the medical literature, RRD following extreme cold temperatures seems to be a peculiar event. Until further information on the interaction is available, future studies on combined chemotherapy with cisplatin should be carefully monitored and any side effects clearly documented. This case suggests that environmental conditions may play a contributing role in the development of RRD. This case also implies that neither fraction size nor total radiation dose is a determining factor in the development of the dermatologic reaction. (orig.) [de

Testing of Rice Stocks for Their Survival of Winter Cold

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Ikehashi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Rice cultivation is considered to be initiated by vegetative propagation of sprout from wild perennial stocks. To test whether any presently cultivated rice cultivar can survive the winter cold or not, rice stocks of several cultivars including indica and japonica types were placed in a shallow pool from October to April in 2015–2016 and 2016–2017. During the coldest period of the winter, the bases of the stocks were placed 5–6 cm below the surface of water, where temperatures ranged from 3 °C to 5 °C, while the surface was frozen for two or three times and covered with snow for a day. Only one cultivar, Nipponbare, a japonica type, survived the winter cold and regenerated sprouts in the end of April or early May. A possibility to develop perennial cultivation of rice or perennial hybrid rice is discussed.

Cold stress improves the ability of Lactobacillus plantarum L67 to survive freezing.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Sooyeon; Bae, Dong-Won; Lim, Kwangsei; Griffiths, Mansel W; Oh, Sejong

2014-11-17

The stress resistance of bacteria is affected by the physiological status of the bacterial cell and environmental factors such as pH, salts and temperature. In this study, we report on the stress response of Lactobacillus plantarum L67 after four consecutive freeze-thaw cycles. The cold stress response of the cold-shock protein genes (cspC, cspL and cspP) and ATPase activities were then evaluated. The cold stress was adjusted to 5 °C when the bacteria were growing at the mid-exponential phase. A comparative proteomic analysis was performed with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D SDS-PAGE) and a matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometer. Only 56% of the L. plantarum L67 cells without prior exposure to cold stress survived after four consecutive freeze-thaw cycles. However, 78% of the L. plantarum L67 cells that were treated with cold stress at 5 °C for 6 h survived after freeze-thaw conditions. After applying cold stress to the culture for 6h, the cells were then stored for 60 days at 5 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C separately. The cold-stressed culture of L. plantarum L67 showed an 8% higher viability than the control culture. After applying cold stress for 6h, the transcript levels of two genes (cspP and cspL) were up-regulated 1.4 (cspP) and 1.2 (cspL) times compared to the control. However, cspC was not up-regulated. A proteomic analysis showed that the proteins increased after a reduction of the incubation temperature to 5 °C. The importance of the expression of 13 other relevant proteins was also determined through the study. The exposure of L. plantarum cells to low temperatures aids their ability to survive through subsequent freeze-thaw processes and lyophilization. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

All or nothing: Survival, reproduction and oxidative balance in Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) in response to cold.

Science.gov (United States)

Plantamp, Christophe; Salort, Katleen; Gibert, Patricia; Dumet, Adeline; Mialdea, Gladys; Mondy, Nathalie; Voituron, Yann

2016-06-01

Winter severity and overwintering capacity are key ecological factors in successful invasions, especially in ectotherms. The integration of physiological approaches into the study of invasion processes is emerging and promising. Physiological information describes the mechanisms underlying observed survival and reproductive capacities, and it can be used to predict an organism's response to environmental perturbations such as cold temperatures. We investigated the effects of various cold treatments on life history and physiological traits of an invasive pest species, Drosophila suzukii, such as survival, fertility and oxidative balance. This species, a native of temperate Asian areas, is known to survive where cold temperatures are particularly harsh and has been recently introduced into Europe and North America. We found that cold treatments had a strong impact on adult survival but no effect on female's fertility. Although only minor changes were observed after cold treatment on studied physiological traits, a strong sex-based difference was observed in both survival and physiological markers (antioxidant defences and oxidative markers). Females exhibited higher survival, reduced oxidative defences, less damage to nucleic acids, and more damage to lipids. These results suggest that D. suzukii relies on a pathway other than oxidative balance to resist cold injury. Altogether, our results provide information concerning the mechanisms of successful invasion by D. suzukii. These findings may assist in the development of population models that predict the current and future geographic ranges of this species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Capability of LOFT vital batteries to supply emergency power demands during severe cold weather conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeates, J.A.

1978-01-01

This study evaluates the capability of the vital batteries (PPS) to provide electrical power via the vital DC-AC motor generator sets to the LOFT PPS loads during severe cold weather conditions. It is concluded that these batteries while at a temperature of 5 0 F will supply the necessary PPS electrical loads for a time in excess of the one hour permitted to start the diesel generators and are, therefore, adequate at this temperature. This Revision B of the LTR includes revised, more recent, and complete technical data relating to MG set efficiency, battery operating procedures and cold temperature derating. Revision B supersedes and replaces all previous issues

Survival, recovery and microcystin release of Microcystis aeruginosa in cold or dark condition

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Yi; Gan, Nanqin; Liu, Jin; Zheng, Lingling; Li, Lin; Song, Lirong

2017-03-01

Microcystis often dominates phytoplankton in eutrophic lakes and must survive a long period of cold or dark conditions. However, the survival strategies of Microcystis to withstand cold or dark stress are less well known. In this study, we conducted experiments on the responses of two toxic Microcystis aeruginosa strains (FACHB-905 and FACHB-915) and their microcystin release in conditions of low temperature (15°C or 4°C, with illumination) or darkness, and subsequent recovery in standard conditions (25°C with illumination). On exposure to 15°C, a small decrease in cell viability was observed, but the cell number increased gradually, suggesting that M. aeruginosa FACHB-905 and FACHB-915 cells seem in general tolerant in 15°C. Interestingly, our results show that a higher carotenoid content and microcystin release potentially enhance the fitness of surviving cells at 15°C. M. aeruginosa cells exposed to lower temperature light stress (4°C) did not completely lose viability and retained the ability to reinitiate growth. In darkness, the maximum quantum yield ( F v/ F m) and the maximum electron transport rate (ETRmax) values and cell viability of M. aeruginosa cells gradually decreased with time. During the recovery period, the photosynthetic efficiency of M. aeruginosa reverted to the normal level. Additionally, M. aeruginosa FACHB-905 and FACHB-915 exposed to low temperature had increased caspase-3-like activity and DNA fragmentation, which suggests the occurrence of a type of cell death in M. aeruginosa cells under cold stress similar to programmed cell death. Overall, our findings could confer certain advantages on the Microcystis for surviving cold or dark conditions encountered in the annual cycle, and help explain its repeated occurrence in water blooms in large and shallow lakes.

Exploring the Intersection of Beliefs toward Outdoor Play and Cold Weather among Northeast Minnesota's Formal Education and Non-Formal EE Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Amy Christine; Zak, Kevin; Ernst, Julie; Meyer, Rebecca

2017-01-01

In a notoriously cold-seasoned region, this paper explored how our formal education and non-formal environmental education (EE) gatekeepers of Northeastern Minnesota regard the importance of outdoor play and cold weather for young students. This research study explored the relationship between participant gatekeepers' beliefs of the benefits…

Basalt Weathering in a Cold and Icy Climate: Three Sisters, Oregon as an Analog for Early Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Rampe, E. B.; Horgan, B.; Smith, R. J.; Scudder, N. A.; Rutledge, A. M.; Bamber, E.; Morris, R. V.

2017-01-01

There is abundant evidence for liquid water on early Mars, but the debate remains whether early Mars was warm and wet or cold and icy with punctuated periods of melting. To further investigate the hypothesis of a cold and icy early Mars, we collected rocks and sediments from the Collier and Diller glacial valleys in the Three Sisters volcanic complex in Oregon. We analyzed rocks and sediments with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopies with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM, TEM, EDS), and visible, short-wave infrared (VSWIR) and thermal-IR (TIR) spectroscopies to characterize chemical weathering and sediment transport through the valleys. Here, we focus on the composition and mineralogy of the weathering products and how they compare to those identified on the martian surface. Phyllosilicates (smectite), zeolites, and poorly crystalline phases were discovered in pro- and supra-glacial sediments, whereas Si-rich regelation films were found on hand samples and boulders in the proglacial valleys. Most phyllosilicates and zeolites are likely detrital, originating from hydrothermally altered units on North Sister. TEM-EDS analyses of the flour samples demonstrate a variety of poorly crystalline (i.e., no long-range crystallographic order) phases: iron oxides, devitrified volcanic glass, and Fe-Si-Al phases. The CheMin XRD on the Curiosity rover in Gale crater has identified significant amounts of X-ray amorphous materials in all samples measured to date. The amorphous component is likely a combination of silicates, iron oxides, and sulfates. Although we have not yet observed amorphous sulfate in the samples from Three Sisters, the variety of poorly crystalline weathering products found at this site is consistent with the variable composition of the X-ray amorphous component identified by CheMin. We suggest that these amorphous phases on Mars could have formed in a similarly cold and icy environment.

Winter Weather Emergencies

Science.gov (United States)

Severe winter weather can lead to health and safety challenges. You may have to cope with Cold related health problems, including ... there are no guarantees of safety during winter weather emergencies, you can take actions to protect yourself. ...

Cognitive Performance during a 24-Hour Cold Exposure Survival Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. Taber

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Survivor of a ship ground in polar regions may have to wait more than five days before being rescued. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore cognitive performance during prolonged cold exposure. Core temperature (Tc and cognitive test battery (CTB performance data were collected from eight participants during 24 hours of cold exposure (7.5°C ambient air temperature. Participants (recruited from those who have regular occupational exposure to cold were instructed that they could freely engage in minimal exercise that was perceived to maintaining a tolerable level of thermal comfort. Despite the active engagement, test conditions were sufficient to significantly decrease Tc after exposure and to eliminate the typical 0.5–1.0°C circadian rise and drop in core temperature throughout a 24 h cycle. Results showed minimal changes in CTB performance regardless of exposure time. Based on the results, it is recommended that survivors who are waiting for rescue should be encouraged to engage in mild physical activity, which could have the benefit of maintaining metabolic heat production, improve motivation, and act as a distractor from cold discomfort. This recommendation should be taken into consideration during future research and when considering guidelines for mandatory survival equipment regarding cognitive performance.

Thermal stress analysis of reactor containment building considering severe weather condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yun; Kim, Yun-Yong; Hyun, Jung-Hwan; Kim, Do-Gyeum

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We examine that through-wall crack risk in cold weather is high. • It is predicted that cracking in concrete wall will not happen in hot region. • Cracking due to hydration heat can be controlled by appropriate curing condition. • Temperature differences between inner and outer face is relatively small in hot weather. - Abstract: Prediction of concrete cracking due to hydration heat in mass concrete such as reactor containment building (RCB) in nuclear power plant is a crucial issue in construction site. In this study, the numerical analysis for heat transfer and stress development is performed for the containment wall in RCB by considering the severe weather conditions. Finally, concrete cracking risk in hot and cold weather is discussed based on analysis results. In analyses considering severe weather conditions, it is found that the through-wall cracking risk in cold weather is high due to the abrupt temperature difference between inside concrete and the ambient air in cold region. In hot weather, temperature differences between inner and outer face is relatively small, and accordingly the relevant cracking risk is relatively low in contrast with cold weather

Proceedings of the cold climate construction conference and expo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2008-07-01

This conference provided a forum to present innovative technologies in engineering, construction, energy efficiency, workforce productivity and several other aspects affecting cold regions. The session on winter construction featured tools techniques and technologies that maximize winter construction, with reference to the latest in cold weather construction techniques and lessons learned from the far north and south. It featured lessons on building on ice, frozen ground and permafrost. The session on sustainability addressed issues regarding sustainable design; solar, wind and geothermal systems; building envelopes that work in cold climates; and energy efficient products and techniques. The session on workforce productivity presented methods to keep the workforce warm and healthy in cold conditions; attracting and preparing foreign workers for the far north; worker productivity in a cold environment; tools, techniques and clothing to minimize the effects of cold weather; and cold weather equipment operations. Three presentations from the conference have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs.

Cold acclimation increases cold tolerance independently of diapause programing in the bean bug, Riptortus pedestris.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozsypal, J; Moos, M; Goto, S G

2017-10-17

The bean bug (Riptortus pedestris) is a pest of soybeans and other legumes in Japan and other Asian countries. It enters a facultative adult diapause on exposure to short days. While photoperiodism and diapause are well understood in R. pedestris, knowledge of cold tolerance is very limited, as is information on the effect of diapause on cold tolerance. We examined the effect of photoperiod, cold acclimation, and feeding status on cold tolerance in R. pedestris. We found that cold acclimation significantly increased survival at -10°C in both long- and short-day adult R. pedestris. Since the difference in cold survival between long- and short-day cold-acclimated groups was only marginal, we conclude that entering diapause is not crucial for R. pedestris to successfully pass through cold acclimation and become cold tolerant. We observed similar effects in 5th instar nymphs, with both long- and short-day cold-acclimated groups surviving longer cold exposures compared with non-acclimated groups. Starvation, which was tested only in adult bugs, had only a negligible and negative impact on cold survival. Although cold tolerance significantly increased with cold acclimation in adult bugs, supercooling capacity unexpectedly decreased. Our results suggest that changes in supercooling capacity as well as in water content are unrelated to cold tolerance in R. pedestris. An analysis of metabolites revealed differences between the treatments, and while several metabolites markedly increased with cold acclimation, their concentrations were too low to have a significant effect on cold tolerance.

Powertrain preheating system of tracked hybrid electric vehicle in cold weather

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Rui; Wang, Yichun; Feng, Chaoqing; Zhang, Xilong

2015-01-01

In order to make sure that the heavy duty tracked vehicle can work in various conditions, especially severe cold weather, preheating system of powertrain should be adopted, and a novel preheating system is presented for the tracked hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) in which heat is generated by the low-speed drive motor. The new preheating system can meet the need of cold start without adding any additional device. The characteristic of heat generation by motor is tested when the rotor of motor is rotated in very low speed. The heat loss from power cabin to external environment has been simulated, and the relevant test has been done to verify the simulation results. Combining the characteristic of heat generation and heat loss situation about preheating system, the heat transfer model of preheating system was implemented by MATLAB. The total energy required for preheating in different ambient temperature was calculated by this model. The results showed that: the minimum heating power was 70 kW and energy required was about 180 MJ when the HEV worked in −46 °C. If lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP) battery was used in power system, the minimum battery capacity is about 290 A h. - Highlights: • A novel preheating method was proposed for heavy duty tracked HEV. • Thermal energy in preheating system is produced by the PMSM in driving system. • This method can achieve preheating target by its own components without any adding. • Analyzing low temperature performance of power battery and select its capacity.

Assessment of the Suitability of High Resolution Numerical Weather Model Outputs for Hydrological Modelling in Mountainous Cold Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Rasouli, K.; Pomeroy, J. W.; Hayashi, M.; Fang, X.; Gutmann, E. D.; Li, Y.

2017-12-01

The hydrology of mountainous cold regions has a large spatial variability that is driven both by climate variability and near-surface process variability associated with complex terrain and patterns of vegetation, soils, and hydrogeology. There is a need to downscale large-scale atmospheric circulations towards the fine scales that cold regions hydrological processes operate at to assess their spatial variability in complex terrain and quantify uncertainties by comparison to field observations. In this research, three high resolution numerical weather prediction models, namely, the Intermediate Complexity Atmosphere Research (ICAR), Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), and Global Environmental Multiscale (GEM) models are used to represent spatial and temporal patterns of atmospheric conditions appropriate for hydrological modelling. An area covering high mountains and foothills of the Canadian Rockies was selected to assess and compare high resolution ICAR (1 km × 1 km), WRF (4 km × 4 km), and GEM (2.5 km × 2.5 km) model outputs with station-based meteorological measurements. ICAR with very low computational cost was run with different initial and boundary conditions and with finer spatial resolution, which allowed an assessment of modelling uncertainty and scaling that was difficult with WRF. Results show that ICAR, when compared with WRF and GEM, performs very well in precipitation and air temperature modelling in the Canadian Rockies, while all three models show a fair performance in simulating wind and humidity fields. Representation of local-scale atmospheric dynamics leading to realistic fields of temperature and precipitation by ICAR, WRF, and GEM makes these models suitable for high resolution cold regions hydrological predictions in complex terrain, which is a key factor in estimating water security in western Canada.

Warfighter Physiological Status Monitoring (WPSM): Energy Balance and Thermal Status During a 10-Day Cold Weather U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course Field Exercise

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hoyt, Reed

2001-01-01

...) during a 10-day field exercise (FEX) at Quantico, VA. Question: Does intense physical activity, limited sleep, and restricted rations, combined with cold/damp weather, result in excessively negative energy balance and hypothermia? Methods...

Temporal associations between weather and headache: analysis by empirical mode decomposition.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert C Yang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Patients frequently report that weather changes trigger headache or worsen existing headache symptoms. Recently, the method of empirical mode decomposition (EMD has been used to delineate temporal relationships in certain diseases, and we applied this technique to identify intrinsic weather components associated with headache incidence data derived from a large-scale epidemiological survey of headache in the Greater Taipei area. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The study sample consisted of 52 randomly selected headache patients. The weather time-series parameters were detrended by the EMD method into a set of embedded oscillatory components, i.e. intrinsic mode functions (IMFs. Multiple linear regression models with forward stepwise methods were used to analyze the temporal associations between weather and headaches. We found no associations between the raw time series of weather variables and headache incidence. For decomposed intrinsic weather IMFs, temperature, sunshine duration, humidity, pressure, and maximal wind speed were associated with headache incidence during the cold period, whereas only maximal wind speed was associated during the warm period. In analyses examining all significant weather variables, IMFs derived from temperature and sunshine duration data accounted for up to 33.3% of the variance in headache incidence during the cold period. The association of headache incidence and weather IMFs in the cold period coincided with the cold fronts. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Using EMD analysis, we found a significant association between headache and intrinsic weather components, which was not detected by direct comparisons of raw weather data. Contributing weather parameters may vary in different geographic regions and different seasons.

Case report of cold-weather-induced radiation recall dermatitis after chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kindts, Isabelle; Stellamans, Karin; Planckaert, Nikie; Goethals, Laurence [AZ Groeninge Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, Kortrijk (Belgium); Bonny, Michiel [AZ Groeninge Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Kortrijk (Belgium)

2014-08-15

The radiation recall reaction (RRR) is an inflammatory reaction that occurs in previously irradiated areas. The phenomenon is probably due to an idiosyncratic hypersensitivity reaction, in which a second agent can recall the inflammatory reaction. This case report documents a cold-weather-induced radiation recall dermatitis (RRD). We observed a severe RRD in a patient after chemoradiotherapy treatment with cisplatin for a nasopharyngeal carcinoma, precipitated by cold temperatures, which developed 9 days after completion of therapy. In the medical literature, RRD following extreme cold temperatures seems to be a peculiar event. Until further information on the interaction is available, future studies on combined chemotherapy with cisplatin should be carefully monitored and any side effects clearly documented. This case suggests that environmental conditions may play a contributing role in the development of RRD. This case also implies that neither fraction size nor total radiation dose is a determining factor in the development of the dermatologic reaction. (orig.) [German] Die ''Radiation-Recall-Reaktion'' (RRR) ist eine Entzuendungsreaktion, die in zuvor bestrahlten Bereichen auftritt. Das Phaenomen wird wahrscheinlich durch eine spezifische Ueberempfindlichkeitsreaktion verursacht, bei der ein zweites Agens die Entzuendungsreaktion hervorruft. Dieser Fallbericht beschreibt eine kaltwetterinduzierte RR-Hautentzuendung. Wir beobachteten bei dem Patienten nach einer Radiochemotherapie mit Cisplatin aufgrund eines Nasopharynxkarzinoms eine heftige RR-Dermatitis (RRD) aufgrund kalter Temperaturen, die sich 9 Tage nach Therapiebeendigung entwickelte. In der medizinischen Literatur scheint eine RRD infolge extrem kalter Temperaturen ein besonderes Ereignis. Bis weitere Informationen zu der Interaktion verfuegbar sind, sollten zukuenftige Studien zur Kombinationstherapie mit Cisplatin sorgfaeltig ueberwacht und Nebenwirkungen eindeutig dokumentiert

A Meteorological Supersite for Aviation and Cold Weather Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gultepe, Ismail; Agelin-Chaab, M.; Komar, J.; Elfstrom, G.; Boudala, F.; Zhou, B.

2018-05-01

The goal of this study is to better understand atmospheric boundary layer processes and parameters, and to evaluate physical processes for aviation applications using data from a supersite observing site. Various meteorological sensors, including a weather and environmental unmanned aerial vehicle (WE-UAV), and a fog and snow tower (FSOS) observations are part of the project. The PanAm University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Meteorological Supersite (PUMS) observations are being collected from April 2015 to date. The FSOS tower gathers observations related to rain, snow, fog, and visibility, aerosols, solar radiation, and wind and turbulence, as well as surface and sky temperature. The FSOSs are located at three locations at about 450-800 m away from the PUMS supersite. The WE-UAV measurements representing aerosol, wind speed and direction, as well as temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) are provided during clear weather conditions. Other measurements at the PUMS site include cloud backscattering profiles from CL51 ceilometer, MWR observations of liquid water content (LWC), T, and RH, and Microwave Rain Radar (MRR) reflectivity profile, as well as the present weather type, snow water depth, icing rate, 3D-ultrasonic wind and turbulence, and conventional meteorological observations from compact weather stations, e.g., WXTs. The results based on important weather event studies, representing fog, snow, rain, blowing snow, wind gust, planetary boundary layer (PBL) wind research for UAV, and icing conditions are given. The microphysical parameterizations and analysis processes for each event are provided, but the results should not be generalized for all weather events and be used cautiously. Results suggested that integrated observing systems based on data from a supersite as well as satellite sites can provide better information applicable to aviation meteorology, including PBL weather research, validation of numerical weather model predictions, and

Using Weather Types to Understand and Communicate Weather and Climate Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Prein, A. F.; Hale, B.; Holland, G. J.; Bruyere, C. L.; Done, J.; Mearns, L.

2017-12-01

A common challenge in atmospheric research is the translation of scientific advancements and breakthroughs to decision relevant and actionable information. This challenge is central to the mission of NCAR's Capacity Center for Climate and Weather Extremes (C3WE, www.c3we.ucar.edu). C3WE advances our understanding of weather and climate impacts and integrates these advances with distributed information technology to create tools that promote a global culture of resilience to weather and climate extremes. Here we will present an interactive web-based tool that connects historic U.S. losses and fatalities from extreme weather and climate events to 12 large-scale weather types. Weather types are dominant weather situations such as winter high-pressure systems over the U.S. leading to very cold temperatures or summertime moist humid air masses over the central U.S. leading to severe thunderstorms. Each weather type has a specific fingerprint of economic losses and fatalities in a region that is quantified. Therefore, weather types enable a direct connection of observed or forecasted weather situation to loss of life and property. The presented tool allows the user to explore these connections, raise awareness of existing vulnerabilities, and build resilience to weather and climate extremes.

Weather and landscape factors affect white-tailed deer neonate survival at ecologically important life stages in the Northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Michel, Eric S.; Jenks, Jonathan A.; Kaskie, Kyle D.; Klaver, Robert W.; Jensen, William F.

2018-01-01

Offspring survival is generally more variable than adult survival and may limit population growth. Although white-tailed deer neonate survival has been intensively investigated, recent work has emphasized how specific cover types influence neonate survival at local scales (single study area). These localized investigations have often led to inconsistences within the literature. Developing specific hypotheses describing the relationships among environmental, habitat, and landscape factors influencing white-tailed deer neonate survival at regional scales may allow for detection of generalized patterns. Therefore, we developed 11 hypotheses representing the various effects of environmental (e.g., winter and spring weather), habitat (e.g., hiding and escape cover types), and landscape factors (e.g., landscape configuration regardless of specific cover type available) on white-tailed deer neonate survival up to one-month and from one- to three-months of age. At one-month, surviving fawns experienced a warmer lowest recorded June temperature and more June precipitation than those that perished. At three-months, patch connectance (percent of patches of the corresponding patch type that are connected within a predefined distance) positively influenced survival. Our results are consistent with white-tailed deer neonate ecology: increased spring temperature and precipitation are likely associated with a flush of nutritional resources available to the mother, promoting increased lactation efficiency and neonate growth early in life. In contrast, reduced spring temperature with increased precipitation place neonates at risk to hypothermia. Increased patch connectance likely reflects increased escape cover available within a neonate’s home range after they are able to flee from predators. If suitable escape cover is available on the landscape, then managers could focus efforts towards manipulating landscape configuration (patch connectance) to promote increased neonate

Extreme weather-related health needs of people who are homeless.

Science.gov (United States)

Cusack, Lynette; van Loon, Antonia; Kralik, Debbie; Arbon, Paul; Gilbert, Sandy

2013-01-01

To identify the extreme weather-related health needs of homeless people and the response by homeless service providers in Adelaide, South Australia, a five-phased qualitative interpretive study was undertaken. (1) Literature review, followed by semi-structured interviews with 25 homeless people to ascertain health needs during extreme weather events. (2) Identification of homeless services. (3) Semi-structured interviews with 16 homeless service providers regarding their response to the health needs of homeless people at times of extreme weather. (4) Gap analysis. (5) Suggestions for policy and planning. People experiencing homelessness describe adverse health impacts more from extreme cold, than extreme hot weather. They considered their health suffered more, because of wet bedding, clothes and shoes. They felt more depressed and less able to keep themselves well during cold, wet winters. However, homeless service providers were more focussed on planning for extra service responses during times of extreme heat rather than extreme cold. Even though a city may be considered to have a temperate climate with a history of very hot summers, primary homeless populations have health needs during winter months. The experiences and needs of homeless people should be considered in extreme weather policy and when planning responses.

Influence of processing steps in cold-smoked salmon production on survival and growth of persistent and presumed non-persistent Listeria monocytogenes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Porsby, Cisse Hedegaard; Vogel, Birte Fonnesbech; Mohr, Mona

2008-01-01

conditions, (ii) fillets of salmon cold-smoked in a pilot plant and finally, (iii) assessment of the bacterial levels before and after processing during commercial scale production. L. monocytogenes proliferated on salmon blocks that were brined or dipped in liquid smoke and left at 25 degrees C......Cold-smoked salmon is a ready-to-eat product in which Listeria monocytogenes sometimes can grow to high numbers. The bacterium can colonize the processing environment and it is believed to survive or even grow during the processing steps. The purpose of the present study was to determine...... if the steps in the processing of cold-smoked salmon affect Survival and subsequent growth of a persistent strain of L. monocytogenes to a lesser degree than presumed non-persistent strains. We used a sequence of experiments increasing in complexity: (i) small salmon blocks salted, smoked or dried under model...

A detailed view of Listeria monocytogenes’ adaptation and survival under cold temperature stress

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hingston, P.; Hansen, Lisbeth Truelstrup; Wang, S.

The human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) continues to be a challenge for the food industry where it is known to contaminate ready-to-eat foods and grow during refrigerated storage. In order to gain increased control of Lm in the food-supply-chain, an improved understanding of low temperature...... expression occured in Lm cells during late SP at 4°C, the most relevant physiological state to Lm’s survival in chilled food products. Common among all time points was the upregulation of nine genes required for branched-chain fatty acid (BCFA) synthesis, which was supported by an increase in membrane BCFAs...... from 77% at T1-4°C to 93%at T5-4°C. Putative cold stress regulatory mechanisms could be observed through negatively correlated expression levels of sense and antisense RNA. This research highlights Lm’s response to cold stress and provides deeper insight into how refrigerated storage conditions...

Cold temperatures increase cold hardiness in the next generation Ophraella communa beetles.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhong-Shi Zhou

Full Text Available The leaf beetle, Ophraella communa, has been introduced to control the spread of the common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, in China. We hypothesized that the beetle, to be able to track host-range expansion into colder climates, can phenotypically adapt to cold temperatures across generations. Therefore, we questioned whether parental experience of colder temperatures increases cold tolerance of the progeny. Specifically, we studied the demography, including development, fecundity, and survival, as well as physiological traits, including supercooling point (SCP, water content, and glycerol content of O. communa progeny whose parents were maintained at different temperature regimes. Overall, the entire immature stage decreased survival of about 0.2%-4.2% when parents experienced cold temperatures compared to control individuals obtained from parents raised at room temperature. However, intrinsic capacity for increase (r, net reproductive rate (R 0 and finite rate of increase (λ of progeny O. communa were maximum when parents experienced cold temperatures. Glycerol contents of both female and male in progeny was significantly higher when maternal and paternal adults were cold acclimated as compared to other treatments. This resulted in the supercooling point of the progeny adults being significantly lower compared to beetles emerging from parents that experienced room temperatures. These results suggest that cold hardiness of O. communa can be promoted by cold acclimation in previous generation, and it might counter-balance reduced survival in the next generation, especially when insects are tracking their host-plants into colder climates.

The effects of synoptic weather on influenza infection incidences: a retrospective study utilizing digital disease surveillance

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Naizhuo; Cao, Guofeng; Vanos, Jennifer K.; Vecellio, Daniel J.

2018-01-01

The environmental drivers and mechanisms of influenza dynamics remain unclear. The recent development of influenza surveillance-particularly the emergence of digital epidemiology-provides an opportunity to further understand this puzzle as an area within applied human biometeorology. This paper investigates the short-term weather effects on human influenza activity at a synoptic scale during cold seasons. Using 10 years (2005-2014) of municipal level influenza surveillance data (an adjustment of the Google Flu Trends estimation from the Centers for Disease Control's virologic surveillance data) and daily spatial synoptic classification weather types, we explore and compare the effects of weather exposure on the influenza infection incidences in 79 cities across the USA. We find that during the cold seasons the presence of the polar [i.e., dry polar (DP) and moist polar (MP)] weather types is significantly associated with increasing influenza likelihood in 62 and 68% of the studied cities, respectively, while the presence of tropical [i.e., dry tropical (DT) and moist tropical (MT)] weather types is associated with a significantly decreasing occurrence of influenza in 56 and 43% of the cities, respectively. The MP and the DP weather types exhibit similar close positive correlations with influenza infection incidences, indicating that both cold-dry and cold-moist air provide favorable conditions for the occurrence of influenza in the cold seasons. Additionally, when tropical weather types are present, the humid (MT) and the dry (DT) weather types have similar strong impacts to inhibit the occurrence of influenza. These findings suggest that temperature is a more dominating atmospheric factor than moisture that impacts the occurrences of influenza in cold seasons.

Relative influence of human harvest, carnivores, and weather on adult female elk survival across western North America

Science.gov (United States)

Brodie, Jedediah; Johnson, Heather; Mitchell, Michael; Zager, Peter; Proffitt, Kelly; Hebblewhite, Mark; Kauffman, Matthew; Johnson, Bruce; Bissonette, John; Bishop, Chad; Gude, Justin; Herbert, Jeff; Hersey, Kent R.; Hurley, Mark; Lukacs, Paul M.; McCorquodale, Scott; McIntire, Eliot; Nowak, Josh; Sawyer, Hall; Smith, Douglas; White, P.J.

2013-01-01

Well-informed management of harvested species requires understanding how changing ecological conditions affect demography and population dynamics, information that is lacking for many species. We have limited understanding of the relative influence of carnivores, harvest, weather and forage availability on elk Cervus elaphus demography, despite the ecological and economic importance of this species. We assessed adult female survival, a key vital rate for population dynamics, from 2746 radio-collared elk in 45 populations across western North America that experience wide variation in carnivore assemblage, harvest, weather and habitat conditions. Proportional hazard analysis revealed that 'baseline' (i.e. not related to human factors) mortality was higher with very high winter precipitation, particularly in populations sympatric with wolves Canis lupus. Mortality may increase via nutritional stress and heightened vulnerability to predation in snowy winters. Baseline mortality was unrelated to puma Puma concolor presence, forest cover or summer forage productivity. Cause-specific mortality analyses showed that wolves and all carnivore species combined had additive effects on baseline elk mortality, but only reduced survival by baseline adult female elk mortality from wolves in years with high winter precipitation could affect elk abundance as winters across the western US become drier and wolves recolonize portions of the region. In the absence of human harvest, wolves had additive, although limited, effects on mortality. However, human harvest, and its apparent use by managers to offset predation, primarily controls overall variation in adult female mortality. Altering harvest quotas is thus a strong tool for offsetting impacts of carnivore recolonization and shifting weather patterns on elk across western North America.

Weather In Some Islands

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王良华

2007-01-01

There are four seasons in a year. When spring comes, the weather is mild(温和的). Summer comes after spring. Summer is the hottest season of the year. Autumn follows summer. It is the best season of the year. Winter is the coldest season of the year. Some islands(岛) have their own particular(特别的) seasons because their weather is very much affected(影响) by the oceans(海洋) around them. In Britain, winter is not very cold and summer is not very hot.

Dynamics of 2013 Sudden Stratospheric Warming event and its impact on cold weather over Eurasia: Role of planetary wave reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Nath, Debashis; Chen, Wen; Zelin, Cai; Pogoreltsev, Alexander Ivanovich; Wei, Ke

2016-04-07

In the present study, we investigate the impact of stratospheric planetary wave reflection on tropospheric weather over Central Eurasia during the 2013 Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event. We analyze EP fluxes and Plumb wave activity fluxes to study the two and three dimensional aspects of wave propagation, respectively. The 2013 SSW event is excited by the combined influence of wavenumber 1 (WN1) and wavenumber 2 (WN2) planetary waves, which makes the event an unusual one and seems to have significant impact on tropospheric weather regime. We observe an extraordinary development of a ridge over the Siberian Tundra and the North Pacific during first development stage (last week of December 2012) and later from the North Atlantic in the second development stage (first week of January 2013), and these waves appear to be responsible for the excitation of the WN2 pattern during the SSW. The wave packets propagated upward and were then reflected back down to central Eurasia due to strong negative wind shear in the upper stratospheric polar jet, caused by the SSW event. Waves that propagated downward led to the formation of a deep trough over Eurasia and brought extreme cold weather over Kazakhstan, the Southern part of Russia and the Northwestern part of China during mid-January 2013.

Warm Arctic episodes linked with increased frequency of extreme winter weather in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Judah; Pfeiffer, Karl; Francis, Jennifer A

2018-03-13

Recent boreal winters have exhibited a large-scale seesaw temperature pattern characterized by an unusually warm Arctic and cold continents. Whether there is any physical link between Arctic variability and Northern Hemisphere (NH) extreme weather is an active area of research. Using a recently developed index of severe winter weather, we show that the occurrence of severe winter weather in the United States is significantly related to anomalies in pan-Arctic geopotential heights and temperatures. As the Arctic transitions from a relatively cold state to a warmer one, the frequency of severe winter weather in mid-latitudes increases through the transition. However, this relationship is strongest in the eastern US and mixed to even opposite along the western US. We also show that during mid-winter to late-winter of recent decades, when the Arctic warming trend is greatest and extends into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, severe winter weather-including both cold spells and heavy snows-became more frequent in the eastern United States.

Prevention and Management of Cold-Weather Injuries

Science.gov (United States)

2005-04-01

49 d. After an initial stimulation of respiration with mild hypothermia (leading to respiratory alkalosis ), there is a progressive decrease...nonevaporated sweat will reduce clothing insulation and possibly form ice crystals. Breathing cold air can slightly exacerbate respiratory water loss... Respiratory . (1) Upper airway temperatures, which normally remain unchanged during exercise under temperate conditions, can decrease substantially

The impact of cold spells on mortality and effect modification by cold spell characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lijun; Liu, Tao; Hu, Mengjue; Zeng, Weilin; Zhang, Yonghui; Rutherford, Shannon; Lin, Hualiang; Xiao, Jianpeng; Yin, Peng; Liu, Jiangmei; Chu, Cordia; Tong, Shilu; Ma, Wenjun; Zhou, Maigeng

2016-12-01

In China, the health impact of cold weather has received little attention, which limits our understanding of the health impacts of climate change. We collected daily mortality and meteorological data in 66 communities across China from 2006 to 2011. Within each community, we estimated the effect of cold spell exposure on mortality using a Distributed Lag Nonlinear Model (DLNM). We also examined the modification effect of cold spell characteristics (intensity, duration, and timing) and individual-specific factors (causes of death, age, gender and education). Meta-analysis method was finally used to estimate the overall effects. The overall cumulative excess risk (CER) of non-accidental mortality during cold spell days was 28.2% (95% CI: 21.4%, 35.3%) compared with non-cold spell days. There was a significant increase in mortality when the cold spell duration and intensity increased or occurred earlier in the season. Cold spell effects and effect modification by cold spell characteristics were more pronounced in south China. The elderly, people with low education level and those with respiratory diseases were generally more vulnerable to cold spells. Cold spells statistically significantly increase mortality risk in China, with greater effects in southern China. This effect is modified by cold spell characteristics and individual-level factors.

A study of weather types at Athens and Thessaloniki and their relationship to circulation types for the cold-wet period, part II: discriminant analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Michailidou, C.; Maheras, P.; Arseni-Papadimititriou, A.; Kolyva-Machera, F.; Anagnostopoulou, C.

2009-06-01

A discriminant analysis is applied in order to determine the relationships between circulation types in the middle troposphere and prevailing weather types over two major Greek cities, Athens and Thessaloniki. In order to describe the synoptic conditions, an automatic classification scheme for the Greek region is used. For each circulation type identified (14 in total), several meteorological parameters at the 500 hPa level are calculated such as geopotential heights and their anomalies, temperature and relative vorticity. Weather group-types that reflect the conditions at the surface, were previously defined using a two-step cluster analysis. These types result from a combination of five meteorological parameters—maximum temperature, precipitation amount, relative humidity, wind velocity and sunshine duration. The study period is 43 years long (1958-2000) and is restricted to the cold and wet period of the year, from December until March. For Athens, six weather types are developed, whereas for Thessaloniki five are produced. By means of a stepwise discriminant analysis (DA) model, the most important variables from the 500 hPa level are found and are used to generate the necessary functions that can discriminate weather types over the two stations. The aim of the present study is first to discriminate weather types effectively and to identify the most important discriminating variables, and second, to connect these weather types to elements of the prevailing synoptic pattern, through mathematical functions provided by DA. The results of the evaluation of the aforementioned procedure are considered to be very satisfactory.

Relationships between Long-Term Demography and Weather in a Sub-Arctic Population of Common Eider.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jón Einar Jónsson

Full Text Available Effects of local weather on individuals and populations are key drivers of wildlife responses to climatic changes. However, studies often do not last long enough to identify weather conditions that influence demographic processes, or to capture rare but extreme weather events at appropriate scales. In Iceland, farmers collect nest down of wild common eider Somateria mollissima and many farmers count nests within colonies annually, which reflects annual variation in the number of breeding females. We collated these data for 17 colonies. Synchrony in breeding numbers was generally low between colonies. We evaluated 1 demographic relationships with weather in nesting colonies of common eider across Iceland during 1900-2007; and 2 impacts of episodic weather events (aberrantly cold seasons or years on subsequent breeding numbers. Except for episodic events, breeding numbers within a colony generally had no relationship to local weather conditions in the preceding year. However, common eider are sexually mature at 2-3 years of age and we found a 3-year time lag between summer weather and breeding numbers for three colonies, indicating a positive effect of higher pressure, drier summers for one colony, and a negative effect of warmer, calmer summers for two colonies. These findings may represent weather effects on duckling production and subsequent recruitment. Weather effects were mostly limited to a few aberrant years causing reductions in breeding numbers, i.e. declines in several colonies followed severe winters (1918 and some years with high NAO (1992, 1995. In terms of life history, adult survival generally is high and stable and probably only markedly affected by inclement weather or aberrantly bad years. Conversely, breeding propensity of adults and duckling production probably do respond more to annual weather variations; i.e. unfavorable winter conditions for adults increase probability of death or skipped breeding, whereas favorable summers

Prevalence of weather sensitivity in Germany and Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Mackensen, Sylvia; Hoeppe, Peter; Maarouf, Abdel; Tourigny, Pierre; Nowak, Dennis

2005-01-01

Several studies have shown that atmospheric conditions can affect well-being or disease, and that some individuals seem to be more sensitive to weather than others. Since epidemiological data on the prevalence of weather-related health effects are lacking, two representative weather sensitivity (WS) surveys were conducted independently in Germany and Canada. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to identify the prevalence of WS in Germany and Canada, (2) to describe weather-related symptoms and the corresponding weather conditions, and (3) to compare the findings in the two countries. In Germany 1,064 citizens (age >16 years) were interviewed in January 2001, and in Canada 1,506 persons (age >18 years) were interviewed in January 1994. The results showed that 19.2% of the German population thought that weather affected their health “to a strong degree,” 35.3% that weather had “some influence on their health” (sum of both = 54.5% weather sensitive), whereas the remaining 45.5% did not consider that weather had an effect on their health status. In Canada 61% of the respondents considered themselves to be sensitive to the weather. The highest prevalence of WS (high + some influence) in Germans was found in the age group older than 60 years (68%), which was almost identical in the Canadian population (69%). The highest frequencies of weather-related symptoms were reported in Germany for stormy weather (30%) and when it became colder (29%). In Canada mainly cold weather (46%), dampness (21%) and rain (20%) were considered to affect health more than other weather types. The most frequent symptoms reported in Germany were headache/migraine (61%), lethargy (47%), sleep disturbances (46%), fatigue (42%), joint pain (40%), irritation (31%), depression (27%), vertigo (26%), concentration problems (26%) and scar pain (23%). Canadian weather-sensitive persons reported colds (29%), psychological effects (28%) and painful joints, muscles or arthritis (10%). In Germany 32

Climate control: United States weather modification in the cold war and beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Kristine C

2008-03-01

Rainmaking, hail busting, fog lifting, snowpack enhancing, lightning suppressing, hurricane snuffing...weather control. At the lunatic fringe of scientific discussion in the early twentieth century--and the subject of newspaper articles with tones ranging from skeptical titters to awestruck wonder--weather modification research became more serious after World War II. In the United States, the 'seeds' of silver iodide and dry ice purported to enhance rainfall and bust hailstorms soon became seeds of controversy from which sprouted attempts by federal, state and local government to control the controllers and exploit 'designer weather' for their own purposes.

Weatherization Beyond the Numbers: Case Studies of Fifteen High-performing Weatherization Agencies - Conducted May 2011 through July 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tonn, Bruce Edward [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Rose, Erin M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Hawkins, Beth A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2014-09-01

The report presents fifteen individual case studies of high-performing and unique local weatherization agencies. This research was one component of the retrospective evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy s Weatherization Assistance Program. The agencies were chosen to represent a range of contexts and approaches to weatherization. For example, the set of agencies includes a mix of urban and rural agencies, those that mainly use in-house crews to weatherize homes versus those that use contractor crews, and a mix of locations, from very cold climates to moderate to hot humid and dry climates. The case studies were mainly based on site visits to the agencies that encompassed interviews with program directors, weatherization crews, and recipients of weatherization. This information was supplemented by secondary materials. The cases document the diversity of contexts and challenges faced by the agencies and how they operate on a day-by-day basis. The cases also high common themes found throughout the agencies, such as their focus on mission and respect for their clients.

Weather conditions and political party vote share in Dutch national parliament elections, 1971-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Eisinga, Rob; Te Grotenhuis, Manfred; Pelzer, Ben

2012-11-01

Inclement weather on election day is widely seen to benefit certain political parties at the expense of others. Empirical evidence for this weather-vote share hypothesis is sparse however. We examine the effects of rainfall and temperature on share of the votes of eight political parties that participated in 13 national parliament elections, held in the Netherlands from 1971 to 2010. This paper merges the election results for all Dutch municipalities with election-day weather observations drawn from all official weather stations well distributed over the country. We find that the weather parameters affect the election results in a statistically and politically significant way. Whereas the Christian Democratic party benefits from substantial rain (10 mm) on voting day by gaining one extra seat in the 150-seat Dutch national parliament, the left-wing Social Democratic (Labor) and the Socialist parties are found to suffer from cold and wet conditions. Cold (5°C) and rainy (10 mm) election day weather causes the latter parties to lose one or two parliamentary seats.

Demographic responses to weather fluctuations are context dependent in a long-lived amphibian.

Science.gov (United States)

Cayuela, Hugo; Arsovski, Dragan; Thirion, Jean-Marc; Bonnaire, Eric; Pichenot, Julian; Boitaud, Sylvain; Miaud, Claude; Joly, Pierre; Besnard, Aurélien

2016-08-01

Weather fluctuations have been demonstrated to affect demographic traits in many species. In long-lived organisms, their impact on adult survival might be buffered by the evolution of traits that reduce variation in interannual adult survival. For example, skipping breeding is an effective behavioral mechanism that may limit yearly variation in adult survival when harsh weather conditions occur; however, this in turn would likely lead to strong variation in recruitment. Yet, only a few studies to date have examined the impact of weather variation on survival, recruitment and breeding probability simultaneously in different populations of the same species. To fill this gap, we studied the impact of spring temperatures and spring rainfall on survival, on reproductive skipping behavior and on recruitment in five populations of a long-lived amphibian, the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata). Based on capture-recapture data, our findings demonstrate that survival depends on interactions between age, population and weather variation. Varying weather conditions in the spring result in strong variation in the survival of immature toads, whereas they have little effect on adult toads. Breeding probability depends on both the individual's previous reproductive status and on the weather conditions during the current breeding season, leading to high interannual variation in recruitment. Crucially, we found that the impact of weather variation on demographic traits is largely context dependent and may thus differ sharply between populations. Our results suggest that studies predicting the impact of climate change on population dynamics should be taken with caution when the relationship between climate and demographic traits is established using only one population or few populations. We therefore highly recommend further research that includes surveys replicated in a substantial number of populations to account for context-dependent variation in demographic processes. �

A transcription factor for cold sensation!

OpenAIRE

Kim, Susan J; Qu, Zhican; Milbrandt, Jeffrey; Zhuo, Min

2005-01-01

Abstract The ability to feel hot and cold is critical for animals and human beings to survive in the natural environment. Unlike other sensations, the physiology of cold sensation is mostly unknown. In the present study, we use genetically modified mice that do not express nerve growth factor-inducible B (NGFIB) to investigate the possible role of NGFIB in cold sensation. We found that genetic deletion of NGFIB selectively affected behavioral responses to cold stimuli while behavioral respons...

OTEC Cold Water Pipe-Platform Subsystem Dynamic Interaction Validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Varley, Robert [Lockheed Martin Corporation, Manassas, VA (United States); Halkyard, John [John Halkyard and Associates, Houston, TX (United States); Johnson, Peter [BMT Scientific Marine Services, Inc., Houston, TX (United States); Shi, Shan [Houston Offshore Engineering, Houston, TX (United States); Marinho, Thiago [Federal Univ. of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). LabOceano

2014-05-09

A commercial floating 100-megawatt (MW) ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) power plant will require a cold water pipe (CWP) with a diameter of 10-meter (m) and length of up to 1,000 m. The mass of the cold water pipe, including entrained water, can exceed the mass of the platform supporting it. The offshore industry uses software-modeling tools to develop platform and riser (pipe) designs to survive the offshore environment. These tools are typically validated by scale model tests in facilities able to replicate real at-sea meteorological and ocean (metocean) conditions to provide the understanding and confidence to proceed to final design and full-scale fabrication. However, today’s offshore platforms (similar to and usually larger than those needed for OTEC applications) incorporate risers (or pipes) with diameters well under one meter. Secondly, the preferred construction method for large diameter OTEC CWPs is the use of composite materials, primarily a form of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP). The use of these material results in relatively low pipe stiffness and large strains compared to steel construction. These factors suggest the need for further validation of offshore industry software tools. The purpose of this project was to validate the ability to model numerically the dynamic interaction between a large cold water-filled fiberglass pipe and a floating OTEC platform excited by metocean weather conditions using measurements from a scale model tested in an ocean basin test facility.

Habitat quality affects stress responses and survival in a bird wintering under extremely low ambient temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Cīrule, Dina; Krama, Tatjana; Krams, Ronalds; Elferts, Didzis; Kaasik, Ants; Rantala, Markus J.; Mierauskas, Pranas; Luoto, Severi; Krams, Indrikis A.

2017-12-01

Animals normally respond to stressful environmental stimuli by releasing glucocorticoid hormones. We investigated whether baseline corticosterone (CORT), handling-induced corticosterone concentration(s), and body condition indices of members of willow tit ( Poecile montanus) groups differed while wintering in old growth forests and managed young forests in mild weather conditions and during cold spells. Willow tits spend the winter season in non-kin groups in which dominant individuals typically claim their priority to access resources, while subordinate individuals may experience greater levels of stress and higher mortality, especially during cold spells. We captured birds to measure baseline CORT and levels of handling-induced CORT secretion after 20 min of capture. Willow tits in the young forests had higher baseline CORT and a smaller increase in CORT in response to capture than individuals in the old forests. Baseline CORT was higher in females and juvenile birds compared to adult males, whereas handling-induced CORT secretion did not differ between birds of different ages. During cold spells, baseline CORT of willow tits increased and handling-induced CORT secretion decreased, especially in birds in young forests. Willow tits' survival was higher in the old forests, with dominant individuals surviving better than subordinates. Our results show that changes in CORT secretion reflect responses to habitat quality and climate harshness, indicating young managed coniferous forests as a suboptimal habitat for the willow tit.

Relative influence of human harvest, carnivores, and weather on adult female elk survival across western North America

Science.gov (United States)

Brodie, Jedediah; Johnson, Heather; Mitchell, Michael; Zager, Peter; Proffitt, Kelly; Hebblewhite, Mark; Kauffman, Matthew; Johnson, Bruce; Bissonette, John; Bishop, Chad; Gude, Justin; Herbert, Jeff; Hersey, Kent R.; Hurley, Mark; Lukacs, Paul M.; McCorquodale, Scott; McIntire, Eliot; Nowak, Josh; Sawyer, Hall; Smith, Douglas; White, P.J.

2013-01-01

Well-informed management of harvested species requires understanding how changing ecological conditions affect demography and population dynamics, information that is lacking for many species. We have limited understanding of the relative influence of carnivores, harvest, weather and forage availability on elk Cervus elaphus demography, despite the ecological and economic importance of this species. We assessed adult female survival, a key vital rate for population dynamics, from 2746 radio-collared elk in 45 populations across western North America that experience wide variation in carnivore assemblage, harvest, weather and habitat conditions. Proportional hazard analysis revealed that 'baseline' (i.e. not related to human factors) mortality was higher with very high winter precipitation, particularly in populations sympatric with wolves Canis lupus. Mortality may increase via nutritional stress and heightened vulnerability to predation in snowy winters. Baseline mortality was unrelated to puma Puma concolor presence, forest cover or summer forage productivity. Cause-specific mortality analyses showed that wolves and all carnivore species combined had additive effects on baseline elk mortality, but only reduced survival by <2%. When human factors were included, ‘total’ adult mortality was solely related to harvest; the influence of native carnivores was compensatory. Annual total mortality rates were lowest in populations sympatric with both pumas and wolves because managers reduced female harvest in areas with abundant or diverse carnivores. Mortality from native carnivores peaked in late winter and early spring, while harvest-induced mortality peaked in autumn. The strong peak in harvest-induced mortality during the autumn hunting season decreased as the number of native carnivore species increased. Synthesis and applications. Elevated baseline adult female elk mortality from wolves in years with high winter precipitation could affect elk abundance as

Heat shock protection against cold stress of Drosophila melanogaster

OpenAIRE

Burton, Vicky; Mitchell, Herschel K.; Young, Patricia; Petersen, Nancy S.

1988-01-01

Heat shock protein synthesis can be induced during recovery from cold treatment of Drosophila melanogaster larvae. Survival of larvae after a cold treatment is dramatically improved by a mild heat shock just before the cold shock. The conditions which induce tolerance to cold are similar to those which confer tolerance to heat.

Risk of hospitalization for fire-related burns during extreme cold weather.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayoub, Aimina; Kosatsky, Tom; Smargiassi, Audrey; Bilodeau-Bertrand, Marianne; Auger, Nathalie

2017-10-01

Environmental factors are important predictors of fires, but no study has examined the association between outdoor temperature and fire-related burn injuries. We sought to investigate the relationship between extremely cold outdoor temperatures and the risk of hospitalization for fire-related burns. We carried out a time-stratified case-crossover study of 2470 patients hospitalized for fire-related burn injuries during cold months between 1989 and 2014 in Quebec, Canada. The main exposure was the minimum outdoor temperature on the day of and the day before the burn. We computed odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to evaluate the relationship between minimum temperature and fire-related burns, and assessed how associations varied across sex and age. Exposure to extreme cold temperature was associated with a significantly higher risk of hospitalization for fire-related burns. Compared with 0°C, exposure to a minimum temperature of -30°C was associated with an OR of 1.51 (95% CI 1.22-1.87) for hospitalization for fire-related burns. The associations were somewhat stronger for women, youth, and the elderly. Compared with 0°C, a minimum temperature of -30°C was associated with an OR for fire-related burn hospitalization of 1.65 for women (95% CI 1.13-2.40), 1.60 for age fire-related burns. Measures to prevent fires should be implemented prior to the winter season, and enhanced during extreme cold. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human whole body cold adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Daanen, Hein A M; Van Marken Lichtenbelt, Wouter D

2016-01-01

Reviews on whole body human cold adaptation generally do not distinguish between population studies and dedicated acclimation studies, leading to confusing results. Population studies show that indigenous black Africans have reduced shivering thermogenesis in the cold and poor cold induced vasodilation in fingers and toes compared to Caucasians and Inuit. About 40,000 y after humans left Africa, natives in cold terrestrial areas seems to have developed not only behavioral adaptations, but also physiological adaptations to cold. Dedicated studies show that repeated whole body exposure of individual volunteers, mainly Caucasians, to severe cold results in reduced cold sensation but no major physiological changes. Repeated cold water immersion seems to slightly reduce metabolic heat production, while repeated exposure to milder cold conditions shows some increase in metabolic heat production, in particular non-shivering thermogenesis. In conclusion, human cold adaptation in the form of increased metabolism and insulation seems to have occurred during recent evolution in populations, but cannot be developed during a lifetime in cold conditions as encountered in temperate and arctic regions. Therefore, we mainly depend on our behavioral skills to live in and survive the cold.

Analysis of the synoptic winter mortality climatology in five regions of England: Searching for evidence of weather signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Paschalidou, A K; Kassomenos, P A; McGregor, G R

2017-11-15

Although heat-related mortality has received considerable research attention, the impact of cold weather on public health is less well-developed, probably due to the fact that physiological responses to cold weather can vary substantially among individuals, age groups, diseases etc., depending on a number of behavioral and physiological factors. In the current work we use the classification techniques provided by the COST-733 software to link synoptic circulation patterns with excess cold-related mortality in 5 regions of England. We conclude that, regardless of the classification scheme used, the most hazardous conditions for public health in England are associated with the prevalence of the Easterly type of weather, favoring advection of cold air from continental Europe. It is noteworthy that there has been observed little-to-no regional variation with regards to the classification results among the 5 regions, suggestive of a spatially homogenous response of mortality to the atmospheric patterns identified. In general, the 10 different groupings of days used reveal that excess winter mortality is linked with the lowest daily minimum/maximum temperatures in the area. However it is not uncommon to observe high mortality rates during days with higher, in relative terms, temperatures, when rapidly changing weather results in an increase of mortality. Such a finding confirms the complexity of cold-related mortality and highlights the importance of synoptic climatology in understanding of the phenomenon. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An abridged history of federal involvement in space weather forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Becaja; McCarron, Eoin; Jonas, Seth

2017-10-01

Public awareness of space weather and its adverse effects on critical infrastructure systems, services, and technologies (e.g., the electric grid, telecommunications, and satellites) has grown through recent media coverage and scientific research. However, federal interest and involvement in space weather dates back to the decades between World War I and World War II when the National Bureau of Standards led efforts to observe, forecast, and provide warnings of space weather events that could interfere with high-frequency radio transmissions. The efforts to observe and predict space weather continued through the 1960s during the rise of the Cold War and into the present with U.S. government efforts to prepare the nation for space weather events. This paper provides a brief overview of the history of federal involvement in space weather forecasting from World War II, through the Apollo Program, and into the present.

Haemodynamic responses and changes of haemostatic risk factors in cold-adapted humans.

Science.gov (United States)

De Lorenzo, F; Kadziola, Z; Mukherjee, M; Saba, N; Kakkar, V V

1999-09-01

Epidemiological studies have shown an increase in acute myocardial infarctions or deaths due to myocardial infarction in colder weather; the mechanisms most likely involve increased blood levels of haemostatic risk factors, and increases in arterial blood pressure and heart rate. We studied the relationship between cold adaptation, haemostatic risk factors and haemodynamic variables. Cold adaptation was obtained by a programme of immersion of the whole body up to the neck in a water-filled bath, the temperature of which was gradually decreased from 22 degrees C to 14 degrees C, time of exposure being increased from 5 to 20 min over a period of 90 days. We studied 428 patients (44% men) and measured blood levels of fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator antigen (t-PA), plasma viscosity, von Willebrand factor, D-dimer and platelet count, both at baseline and after 90 days of daily immersion. There were significant reductions in von Willebrand factor (-3%; p cold adaptation (-310; p = 0.004). Cold adaptation, compared with exposure to cold weather, induces different haemodynamic responses and changes of blood levels of haemostatic risk factors.

A transcription factor for cold sensation!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milbrandt Jeffrey

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The ability to feel hot and cold is critical for animals and human beings to survive in the natural environment. Unlike other sensations, the physiology of cold sensation is mostly unknown. In the present study, we use genetically modified mice that do not express nerve growth factor-inducible B (NGFIB to investigate the possible role of NGFIB in cold sensation. We found that genetic deletion of NGFIB selectively affected behavioral responses to cold stimuli while behavioral responses to noxious heat or mechanical stimuli were normal. Furthermore, behavioral responses remained reduced or blocked in NGFIB knockout mice even after repetitive application of cold stimuli. Our results provide strong evidence that the first transcription factor NGFIB determines the ability of animals to respond to cold stimulation.

The influence of weather on health-related help-seeking behavior of senior citizens in Hong Kong

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Ho Ting; Chiu, Marcus Yu Lung; Wu, Cynthia Sau Ting; Lee, Tsz Cheung

2015-03-01

It is believed that extreme hot and cold weather has a negative impact on general health conditions. Much research focuses on mortality, but there is relatively little community health research. This study is aimed at identifying high-risk groups who are sensitive to extreme weather conditions, in particular, very hot and cold days, through an analysis of the health-related help-seeking patterns of over 60,000 Personal Emergency Link (PE-link) users in Hong Kong relative to weather conditions. In the study, 1,659,716 PE-link calls to the help center were analyzed. Results showed that females, older elderly, people who did not live alone, non-subsidized (relatively high-income) users, and those without medical histories of heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and diabetes were more sensitive to extreme weather condition. The results suggest that using official government weather forecast reports to predict health-related help-seeking behavior is feasible. An evidence-based strategic plan could be formulated by using a method similar to that used in this study to identify high-risk groups. Preventive measures could be established for protecting the target groups when extreme weather conditions are forecasted.

Cold Climate Structural Fire Danger Rating System?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria-Monika Metallinou

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Worldwide, fires kill 300,000 people every year. The fire season is usually recognized to be in the warmer periods of the year. Recent research has, however, demonstrated that the colder season also has major challenges regarding severe fires, especially in inhabited (heated wood-based structures in cold-climate areas. Knowledge about the effect of dry cellulose-based materials on fire development, indoor and outdoor, is a motivation for monitoring possible changes in potential fire behavior and associated fire risk. The effect of wind in spreading fires to neighboring structures points towards using weather forecasts as information on potential fire spread behavior. As modern weather forecasts include temperature and relative humidity predictions, there may already be sufficient information available to develop a structural fire danger rating system. Such a system may include the following steps: (1 Record weather forecasts and actual temperature and relative humidity inside and outside selected structures; (2 Develop a meteorology-data-based model to predict indoor relative humidity levels; (3 Perform controlled drying chamber experiments involving typical hygroscopic fire fuel; (4 Compare the results to the recorded values in selected structures; and (5 Develop the risk model involving the results from drying chamber experiments, weather forecasts, and separation between structures. Knowledge about the structures at risk and their use is also important. The benefits of an automated fire danger rating system would be that the society can better plan for potentially severe cold-climate fires and thereby limit the negative impacts of such fires.

Synoptic climatological analysis of persistent cold air pools over the Carpathian Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Szabóné André, Karolina; Bartholy, Judit; Pongrácz, Rita

2016-04-01

A persistent cold air pool (PCAP) is a winter-time, anticyclone-related weather event over a relatively large basin. During this time the air is colder near the surface than aloft. This inversion near the surface can last even for weeks. As the cold air cools down, relative humidity increases and fog forms. The entire life cycle of a PCAP depends on the large scale circulation pattern. PCAP usually appears when an anticyclone builds up after a cold front passed over the examined basin, and it is usually destructed by a coming strong cold front of another midlatitude cyclone. Moreover, the intensity of the anticyclone affects the intensity of the PCAP. PCAP may result in different hazards for the population: (1) Temperature inversion in the surface layers together with weak wind may lead to severe air pollution causing health problems for many people, especially, elderly and children. (2) The fog and/or smog during chilly weather conditions often results in freezing rain. Both fog and freezing rain can distract transportation and electricity supply. Unfortunately, the numerical weather prediction models have difficulties to predict PCAP formation and destruction. One of the reasons is that PCAP is not defined objectively with a simple formula, which could be easily applied to the numerical output data. However, according to some recommendations from the synoptic literature, the shallow convective potential energy (SCPE) can be used to mathematically describe PCAP. In this study, we used the ERA-Interim reanalysis datasets to examine this very specific weather event (i.e., PCAP) over the Carpathian Basin. The connection between the mean sea level pressure and some PCAP measures (e.g., SCPE, energy deficit, etc.) is evaluated. For instance, we used logistic regression to identify PCAP periods over the Carpathian Basin. Then, further statistical analysis includes the evaluation of the length and intensity of these PCAP periods.

Trends in Cold Extremes and Winter Weather for the SPTC Region

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-31

Extreme weather poses multifaceted hazards to transportation. There is now increased awareness of the threats of climate variability and change on transportation safety and state of good repair. In particular, a non-stationary climate will potentiall...

The impact of weather changes on air quality and health in the United States in 1994-2012

Science.gov (United States)

Jhun, Iny; Coull, Brent A.; Schwartz, Joel; Hubbell, Bryan; Koutrakis, Petros

2015-08-01

Air quality is heavily influenced by weather conditions. In this study, we assessed the impact of long-term weather changes on air quality and health in the US during 1994-2012. We quantified past weather-related increases, or ‘weather penalty’, in ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and thereafter estimated the associated excess deaths. Using statistical regression methods, we derived the weather penalty as the additional increases in air pollution relative to trends assuming constant weather conditions (i.e., weather-adjusted trends). During our study period, temperature increased and wind speed decreased in most US regions. Nationally, weather-related 8 h max O3 increases were 0.18 ppb per year (95% CI: 0.06, 0.31) in the warm season (May-October) and 0.07 ppb per year (95% CI: 0.02, 0.13) in the cold season (November-April). The weather penalties on O3 were relatively larger than PM2.5 weather penalties, which were 0.056 μg m-3 per year (95% CI: 0.016, 0.096) in warm months and 0.027 μg m-3 per year (95% CI: 0.010, 0.043) in cold months. Weather penalties on O3 and PM2.5 were associated with 290 (95% CI: 80, 510) and 770 (95% CI: 190, 1350) excess annual deaths, respectively. Over a 19-year period, this amounts to 20 300 excess deaths (5600 from O3, 14 700 from PM2.5) attributable to the weather penalty on air quality.

Cold dark matter from the hidden sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arias, Paola; Pontificia Univ. Catolica de Chile, Santiago

2012-02-01

Weakly interacting slim particles (WISPs) such as hidden photons (HP) and axion-like particles (ALPs) have been proposed as cold dark matter candidates. They might be produced non-thermally via the misalignment mechanism, similarly to cold axions. In this talk we review the main processes of thermalisation of HP and we compute the parameter space that may survive as cold dark matter population until today. Our findings are quite encouraging for experimental searches in the laboratory in the near future.

Cold dark matter from the hidden sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arias, Paola [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Pontificia Univ. Catolica de Chile, Santiago (Chile). Facultad de Fisica

2012-02-15

Weakly interacting slim particles (WISPs) such as hidden photons (HP) and axion-like particles (ALPs) have been proposed as cold dark matter candidates. They might be produced non-thermally via the misalignment mechanism, similarly to cold axions. In this talk we review the main processes of thermalisation of HP and we compute the parameter space that may survive as cold dark matter population until today. Our findings are quite encouraging for experimental searches in the laboratory in the near future.

Consequences of cold-ischemia time on primary nonfunction and patient and graft survival in liver transplantation: a meta-analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James E Stahl

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The ability to preserve organs prior to transplant is essential to the organ allocation process.The purpose of this study is to describe the functional relationship between cold-ischemia time (CIT and primary nonfunction (PNF, patient and graft survival in liver transplant.To identify relevant articles Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane database, including the non-English literature identified in these databases, was searched from 1966 to April 2008. Two independent reviewers screened and extracted the data. CIT was analyzed both as a continuous variable and stratified by clinically relevant intervals. Nondichotomous variables were weighted by sample size. Percent variables were weighted by the inverse of the binomial variance.Twenty-six studies met criteria. Functionally, PNF% = -6.678281+0.9134701*CIT Mean+0.1250879*(CIT Mean-9.895352-0.0067663*(CIT Mean-9.895353, r2 = .625, , p<.0001. Mean patient survival: 93% (1 month, 88% (3 months, 83% (6 months and 83% (12 months. Mean graft survival: 85.9% (1 month, 80.5% (3 months, 78.1% (6 months and 76.8% (12 months. Maximum patient and graft survival occurred with CITs between 7.5-12.5 hrs at each survival interval. PNF was also significantly correlated with ICU time, % first time grafts and % immunologic mismatches.The results of this work imply that CIT may be the most important pre-transplant information needed in the decision to accept an organ.

Acidic weathering of carbonate building stones: experimental assessment

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Ryszard Kryza

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Three types of carbonate rocks, travertine, limestone and marble have been studied to determine their selected technical parameters (water absorption, resistance to salt crystallization damage and reaction to experimentally modelled acid rain weathering imitating the polluted urban atmospheric conditions. The acidic agents present in natural acid rain precipitation, H2SO4, HCl, HNO3, CH3COOH and mixture of all the acids, “Acid mix”, were tested. The initial stages of acid weathering involve, apart from chemical dissolution, particularly intense physical detachment of rock particles (granular disintegration significantly contributing to the total mass loss. Travertine was found to be most prone to salt crystallization damage and to acid weathering, and these features should be taken into account especially in external architectural usage of this stone in cold climate conditions and polluted urban atmosphere.

Metabolomic profiling of rapid cold hardening and cold shock in Drosophila melanogaster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Overgaard, Johannes; Malmendal, Anders; Sørensen, Jesper

2007-01-01

study used untargeted (1)H NMR metabolomic profiling to examine the metabolomic response in Drosophila melanogaster during the 72 h following RCH and cold shock treatment. These findings are discussed in relation to the costs and benefits of RCH that are measured in terms of survival and reproductive...

The effect of inclement weather on trauma orthopaedic workload.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Cashman, J P

2012-01-31

BACKGROUND: Climate change models predict increasing frequency of extreme weather. One of the challenges hospitals face is how to make sure they have adequate staffing at various times of the year. AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of this severe inclement weather on hospital admissions, operative workload and cost in the Irish setting. We hypothesised that there is a direct relationship between cold weather and workload in a regional orthopaedic trauma unit. METHODS: Trauma orthopaedic workload in a regional trauma unit was examined over 2 months between December 2009 and January 2010. This corresponded with a period of severe inclement weather. RESULTS: We identified a direct correlation between the drop in temperature and increase in workload, with a corresponding increase in demand on resources. CONCLUSIONS: Significant cost savings could be made if these injuries were prevented. While the information contained in this study is important in the context of resource planning and staffing of hospital trauma units, it also highlights the vulnerability of the Irish population to wintery weather.

The impact of weather changes on air quality and health in the United States in 1994–2012

Science.gov (United States)

Jhun, Iny; Coull, Brent A; Schwartz, Joel; Hubbell, Bryan; Koutrakis, Petros

2016-01-01

Air quality is heavily influenced by weather conditions. In this study, we assessed the impact of long-term weather changes on air quality and health in the US during 1994–2012. We quantified past weather-related increases, or ‘weather penalty’, in ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and thereafter estimated the associated excess deaths. Using statistical regression methods, we derived the weather penalty as the additional increases in air pollution relative to trends assuming constant weather conditions (i.e., weather-adjusted trends). During our study period, temperature increased and wind speed decreased in most US regions. Nationally, weather-related 8 h max O3 increases were 0.18 ppb per year (95% CI: 0.06, 0.31) in the warm season (May–October) and 0.07 ppb per year (95% CI: 0.02, 0.13) in the cold season (November–April). The weather penalties on O3 were relatively larger than PM2.5 weather penalties, which were 0.056 µg m−3 per year (95% CI: 0.016, 0.096) in warm months and 0.027 µg m−3 per year (95% CI: 0.010, 0.043) in cold months. Weather penalties on O3 and PM2.5 were associated with 290 (95% CI: 80, 510) and 770 (95% CI: 190, 1350) excess annual deaths, respectively. Over a 19-year period, this amounts to 20 300 excess deaths (5600 from O3, 14 700 from PM2.5) attributable to the weather penalty on air quality PMID:27570539

The impact of weather changes on air quality and health in the United States in 1994–2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jhun, Iny; Schwartz, Joel; Koutrakis, Petros; Coull, Brent A; Hubbell, Bryan

2015-01-01

Air quality is heavily influenced by weather conditions. In this study, we assessed the impact of long-term weather changes on air quality and health in the US during 1994–2012. We quantified past weather-related increases, or ‘weather penalty’, in ozone (O 3 ) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and thereafter estimated the associated excess deaths. Using statistical regression methods, we derived the weather penalty as the additional increases in air pollution relative to trends assuming constant weather conditions (i.e., weather-adjusted trends). During our study period, temperature increased and wind speed decreased in most US regions. Nationally, weather-related 8 h max O 3 increases were 0.18 ppb per year (95% CI: 0.06, 0.31) in the warm season (May–October) and 0.07 ppb per year (95% CI: 0.02, 0.13) in the cold season (November–April). The weather penalties on O 3 were relatively larger than PM 2.5 weather penalties, which were 0.056 μgm −3 per year (95% CI: 0.016, 0.096) in warm months and 0.027 μgm −3 per year (95% CI: 0.010, 0.043) in cold months. Weather penalties on O 3 and PM 2.5 were associated with 290 (95% CI: 80, 510) and 770 (95% CI: 190, 1350) excess annual deaths, respectively. Over a 19-year period, this amounts to 20 300 excess deaths (5600 from O 3 , 14 700 from PM 2.5 ) attributable to the weather penalty on air quality. (letter)

RNA-Seq-based analysis of cold shock response in Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis, a bacterium harboring a single cold shock protein encoding gene.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Liu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Although cold shock responses and the roles of cold shock proteins in microorganisms containing multiple cold shock protein genes have been well characterized, related studies on bacteria possessing a single cold shock protein gene have not been reported. Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis MB4, a thermophile harboring only one known cold shock protein gene (TtescpC, can survive from 50° to 80 °C, but has poor natural competence under cold shock at 50 °C. We therefore examined cold shock responses and their effect on natural competence in this bacterium. RESULTS: The transcriptomes of T. tengcongensis before and after cold shock were analyzed by RNA-seq and over 1200 differentially expressed genes were successfully identified. These genes were involved in a wide range of biological processes, including modulation of DNA replication, recombination, and repair; energy metabolism; production of cold shock protein; synthesis of branched amino acids and branched-chain fatty acids; and sporulation. RNA-seq analysis also suggested that T. tengcongensis initiates cell wall and membrane remodeling processes, flagellar assembly, and sporulation in response to low temperature. Expression profiles of TtecspC and failed attempts to produce a TtecspC knockout strain confirmed the essential role of TteCspC in the cold shock response, and also suggested a role of this protein in survival at optimum growth temperature. Repression of genes encoding ComEA and ComEC and low energy metabolism levels in cold-shocked cells are the likely basis of poor natural competence at low temperature. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated changes in global gene expression under cold shock and identified several candidate genes related to cold shock in T. tengcongensis. At the same time, the relationship between cold shock response and poor natural competence at low temperature was preliminarily elucidated. These findings provide a foundation for future studies on genetic

Direct effects of cold shock: bioassays with three Columbia River organisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, C.D.; Schneider, M.J.

1975-01-01

Results of studies of the direct effects of cold shock on the pumpkinseed sunfish (representing a warmwater fish), the rainbow trout (representing a coldwater fish), and the common crayfish showed that resistance to cold shock varies between species, is dependent on acclimation temperature, and resistance to temperature declines is dependent on the decline rate. Severe cold shock at a sublethal level is accompanied by disorientation, loss of equilibrium, and immobilization. Pumpkinseed, the warm water species, are most susceptible. Rainbow, the cold water species, are less susceptible; at an acclimation 10 0 C, rainbow survive abrupt shock to levels slightly above freezing. Crayfish, the decapod crustacean, are most resistant; at an acclimation of 15 0 C, crayfish survive abrupt shock to the point just above freezing

Arctic-midlatitude weather linkages in North America

Science.gov (United States)

Overland, James E.; Wang, Muyin

2018-06-01

There is intense public interest in whether major Arctic changes can and will impact midlatitude weather such as cold air outbreaks on the central and east side of continents. Although there is progress in linkage research for eastern Asia, a clear gap is conformation for North America. We show two stationary temperature/geopotential height patterns where warmer Arctic temperatures have reinforced existing tropospheric jet stream wave amplitudes over North America: a Greenland/Baffin Block pattern during December 2010 and an Alaska Ridge pattern during December 2017. Even with continuing Arctic warming over the past decade, other recent eastern US winter months were less susceptible for an Arctic linkage: the jet stream was represented by either zonal flow, progressive weather systems, or unfavorable phasing of the long wave pattern. The present analysis lays the scientific controversy over the validity of linkages to the inherent intermittency of jet stream dynamics, which provides only an occasional bridge between Arctic thermodynamic forcing and extended midlatitude weather events.

Cultural adaptations to the differential threats posed by hot versus cold climates.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Damian R

2013-10-01

Hot and cold climates have posed differential threats to human survival throughout history. Cold temperatures can pose direct threats to survival in themselves, whereas hot temperatures may pose threats indirectly through higher prevalence of infectious disease. These differential threats yield convergent predictions for the relationship between more demanding climates and freedom of expression, but divergent predictions for freedom from discrimination.

Weather elements, chemical air pollutants and airborne pollen influencing asthma emergency room visits in Szeged, Hungary: performance of two objective weather classifications.

Science.gov (United States)

Makra, László; Puskás, János; Matyasovszky, István; Csépe, Zoltán; Lelovics, Enikő; Bálint, Beatrix; Tusnády, Gábor

2015-09-01

Weather classification approaches may be useful tools in modelling the occurrence of respiratory diseases. The aim of the study is to compare the performance of an objectively defined weather classification and the Spatial Synoptic Classification (SSC) in classifying emergency department (ED) visits for acute asthma depending from weather, air pollutants, and airborne pollen variables for Szeged, Hungary, for the 9-year period 1999-2007. The research is performed for three different pollen-related periods of the year and the annual data set. According to age and gender, nine patient categories, eight meteorological variables, seven chemical air pollutants, and two pollen categories were used. In general, partly dry and cold air and partly warm and humid air aggravate substantially the symptoms of asthmatics. Our major findings are consistent with this establishment. Namely, for the objectively defined weather types favourable conditions for asthma ER visits occur when an anticyclonic ridge weather situation happens with near extreme temperature and humidity parameters. Accordingly, the SSC weather types facilitate aggravating asthmatic conditions if warm or cool weather occur with high humidity in both cases. Favourable conditions for asthma attacks are confirmed in the extreme seasons when atmospheric stability contributes to enrichment of air pollutants. The total efficiency of the two classification approaches is similar in spite of the fact that the methodology for derivation of the individual types within the two classification approaches is completely different.

Evaluation of Durum Wheat Lines for Tolerance to Early Season Cold via Early Planting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Rashidi

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Cold stress is one of the environmental factors that affect planting date of durum wheat in mountainous North West areas of Iran. To study tolerance of 36 Durum wheat lines for cold, an experiment was conducted in mid winter (mid of February at the Agricultural Research Station of Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, in 2007. Experimental design used was simple lattice. The results of analysis of variance showed that the lines under study responded differently to cold as to traits like percentage of survival, yield and its components. This indicates existence of genetic diversity among durum wheat lines. Percentage of survival of the lines 30, 5, 16, 27, 31 and 35 were for higher than those at other lines. Thus, they can be considered to be tolerant to early season cold. Comparison of means showed that lines 35, 31, 16 and 5 possessed higher percentage of survival and other percent survival also correlated positive with plant height, number of fertile spike seed yield and 1000 grain weight. As a whole line 35 was found to be more tolerant to early season cold than the others were. Cluster analysis was divided 36 lines into three groups. Lines in the third group possessed higher percentage of survival, plant height, number of fertile spike, biomass and high yield than their over all means.

Parametric study on the advantages of weather-predicted control algorithm of free cooling ventilation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medved, Sašo; Babnik, Miha; Vidrih, Boris; Arkar, Ciril

2014-01-01

Predicted climate changes and the increased intensity of urban heat islands, as well as population aging, will increase the energy demand for the cooling of buildings in the future. However, the energy demand for cooling can be efficiently reduced by low-exergy free-cooling systems, which use natural processes, like evaporative cooling or the environmental cold of ambient air during night-time ventilation for the cooling of buildings. Unlike mechanical cooling systems, the energy for the operation of free-cooling system is needed only for the transport of the cold from the environment into the building. Because the natural cold potential is time dependent, the efficiency of free-cooling systems could be improved by introducing a weather forecast into the algorithm for the controlling. In the article, a numerical algorithm for the optimization of the operation of free-cooling systems with night-time ventilation is presented and validated on a test cell with different thermal storage capacities and during different ambient conditions. As a case study, the advantage of weather-predicted controlling is presented for a summer week for typical office room. The results show the necessity of the weather-predicted controlling of free-cooling ventilation systems for achieving the highest overall energy efficiency of such systems in comparison to mechanical cooling, better indoor comfort conditions and a decrease in the primary energy needed for cooling of the buildings. - Highlights: • Energy demand for cooling will increase due to climate changes and urban heat island • Free cooling could significantly reduce energy demand for cooling of the buildings. • Free cooling is more effective if weather prediction is included in operation control. • Weather predicted free cooling operation algorithm was validated on test cell. • Advantages of free-cooling on mechanical cooling is shown with different indicators

Properties of volcanic soils in cold climate conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Kuznetsova, Elena

2017-04-01

Layers of volcanic ash and the Andosol soils derived from them may play an important role in preserving snow and ice as well as developing permafrost conditions in the immediate vicinity of volcanoes of high elevation or those situated at high latitudes, and land areas, often distant from volcanic activity that are either prone to permafrost or covered by snow and ice, but are affected by the deposition of subaerial ash. The special properties of volcanic ash that are responsible are critically reviewed particularly in relation to recent research in Kamchatka in the Far East of Russia. Of particular importance are the thermal properties and the unfrozen water contents of ash layers and the rate at which the weathering of volcanic glass takes place. Volcanic glass is the most easily weathered component of volcanic ejecta (Shoji et al., 1993; Kimble et al., 2000). There are many specific environmental conditions, including paleoclimate and present-day climate, the composition of volcanic tephra and glaciation history, which cause the differences in weathering and development of volcanic ash soils (Zehetner et al., 2003). The preservation of in situ, unweathered, and unaltered surficial ash-fall deposits in the cold regions has important implications for paleoclimate and glacial history. Ash-fall deposits, which trap and preserve the soils, sediments, and landforms on which they fall, can be used to resolve local climate conditions (temperature and moisture) at the ash site during ash-fall deposition. The preservation of detailed sedimentary features (e.g. bedding in the ash, sharpness of stratigraphic contacts) can tell us about their post-depositional history, whether they have been redeposited by wind or water, or overridden by glaciers (Marchant et al., 1996). Weathering of volcanic glass results in the development of amorphous clay minerals (e.g. allophane, opal, palagonite) but this takes place much slower in cold than under warmer climate conditions. Only few

Metabolomic profiling of rapid cold hardening and cold shock in Drosophila melanogaster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Overgaard, Johannes; Malmendal, Anders; Sørensen, Jesper Givskov

2007-01-01

and reproductive output after a subsequent cold shock but the RCH treatment alone was associated with costs in terms of reduced survival and reproductive output. The most pronounced changes following the RCH treatment were elevated levels of glucose and trehalose. Although, it is difficult to discern if a change...

Cold-climate slope deposits and landscape modifications of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, Eastern USA

Science.gov (United States)

Newell, Wayne L.; Dejong, B.D.

2011-01-01

The effects of Pleistocene cold-climate geomorphology are distributed across the weathered and eroded Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain uplands from the Wisconsinan terminal moraine south to Tidewater Virginia. Cold-climate deposits and landscape modifications are superimposed on antecedent landscapes of old, weathered Neogene upland gravels and Pleistocene marine terraces that had been built during warm periods and sea-level highstands. In New Jersey, sequences of surficial deposits define a long history of repeating climate change events. To the south across the Delmarva Peninsula and southern Maryland, most antecedent topography has been obscured by Late Pleistocene surficial deposits. These are spatially variable and are collectively described as a cold-climate alloformation. The cold-climate alloformation includes time-transgressive details of climate deterioration from at least marine isotope stage (MIS) 4 through the end of MIS 2. Some deposits and landforms within the alloformation may be as young as the Younger Dryas. Southwards along the trend of the Potomac River, these deposits and their climatic affinities become diffused. In Virginia, a continuum of erosion and surficial deposits appears to be the product of ‘normal’ temperate, climate-forced processes. The cold-climate alloformation and more temperate deposits in Virginia are being partly covered by Holocene alluvium and bay mud.

Winter circulation weather types and hospital admissions for respiratory diseases in Galicia, Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Royé, D; Taboada, J J; Martí, A; Lorenzo, M N

2016-04-01

The link between various pathologies and atmospheric conditions has been a constant topic of study over recent decades in many places across the world; knowing more about it enables us to pre-empt the worsening of certain diseases, thereby optimizing medical resources. This study looked specifically at the connections in winter between respiratory diseases and types of atmospheric weather conditions (Circulation Weather Types, CWT) in Galicia, a region in the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula. To do this, the study used hospital admission data associated with these pathologies as well as an automatic classification of weather types. The main result obtained was that weather types giving rise to an increase in admissions due to these diseases are those associated with cold, dry weather, such as those in the east and south-east, or anticyclonic types. A second peak was associated with humid, hotter weather, generally linked to south-west weather types. In the future, this result may help to forecast the increase in respiratory pathologies in the region some days in advance.

Winter circulation weather types and hospital admissions for respiratory diseases in Galicia, Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Royé, D.; Taboada, J. J.; Martí, A.; Lorenzo, M. N.

2016-04-01

The link between various pathologies and atmospheric conditions has been a constant topic of study over recent decades in many places across the world; knowing more about it enables us to pre-empt the worsening of certain diseases, thereby optimizing medical resources. This study looked specifically at the connections in winter between respiratory diseases and types of atmospheric weather conditions (Circulation Weather Types, CWT) in Galicia, a region in the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula. To do this, the study used hospital admission data associated with these pathologies as well as an automatic classification of weather types. The main result obtained was that weather types giving rise to an increase in admissions due to these diseases are those associated with cold, dry weather, such as those in the east and south-east, or anticyclonic types. A second peak was associated with humid, hotter weather, generally linked to south-west weather types. In the future, this result may help to forecast the increase in respiratory pathologies in the region some days in advance.

Abscisic acid enhances cold tolerance in honeybee larvae.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, Leonor; Negri, Pedro; Sturla, Laura; Guida, Lucrezia; Vigliarolo, Tiziana; Maggi, Matías; Eguaras, Martín; Zocchi, Elena; Lamattina, Lorenzo

2017-04-12

The natural composition of nutrients present in food is a key factor determining the immune function and stress responses in the honeybee ( Apis mellifera ). We previously demonstrated that a supplement of abscisic acid (ABA), a natural component of nectar, pollen, and honey, increases honeybee colony survival overwinter. Here we further explored the role of ABA in in vitro -reared larvae exposed to low temperatures. Four-day-old larvae (L4) exposed to 25°C for 3 days showed lower survival rates and delayed development compared to individuals growing at a standard temperature (34°C). Cold-stressed larvae maintained higher levels of ABA for longer than do larvae reared at 34°C, suggesting a biological significance for ABA. Larvae fed with an ABA-supplemented diet completely prevent the low survival rate due to cold stress and accelerate adult emergence. ABA modulates the expression of genes involved in metabolic adjustments and stress responses: Hexamerin 70b, Insulin Receptor Substrate, Vitellogenin , and Heat Shock Proteins 70. AmLANCL2, the honeybee ABA receptor, is also regulated by cold stress and ABA. These results support a role for ABA increasing the tolerance of honeybee larvae to low temperatures through priming effects. © 2017 The Author(s).

Abscisic acid enhances cold tolerance in honeybee larvae

Science.gov (United States)

Sturla, Laura; Guida, Lucrezia; Vigliarolo, Tiziana; Maggi, Matías; Eguaras, Martín; Zocchi, Elena; Lamattina, Lorenzo

2017-01-01

The natural composition of nutrients present in food is a key factor determining the immune function and stress responses in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). We previously demonstrated that a supplement of abscisic acid (ABA), a natural component of nectar, pollen, and honey, increases honeybee colony survival overwinter. Here we further explored the role of ABA in in vitro-reared larvae exposed to low temperatures. Four-day-old larvae (L4) exposed to 25°C for 3 days showed lower survival rates and delayed development compared to individuals growing at a standard temperature (34°C). Cold-stressed larvae maintained higher levels of ABA for longer than do larvae reared at 34°C, suggesting a biological significance for ABA. Larvae fed with an ABA-supplemented diet completely prevent the low survival rate due to cold stress and accelerate adult emergence. ABA modulates the expression of genes involved in metabolic adjustments and stress responses: Hexamerin 70b, Insulin Receptor Substrate, Vitellogenin, and Heat Shock Proteins 70. AmLANCL2, the honeybee ABA receptor, is also regulated by cold stress and ABA. These results support a role for ABA increasing the tolerance of honeybee larvae to low temperatures through priming effects. PMID:28381619

Toxicological Risk Assessment of a Nickel Compound Found on the Surfaces of Replacement Hyperstretch Neoprene (CWU-83P) Neck and Wrist Seals for a Cold water Submersion Survival Suit

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Arfsten, Darryl

2001-01-01

.... The conservative approach for estimating the toxicological risk of nickeldialkyldithiocarbamate exposure to humans is to assume that these compounds have the same toxic properties as soluble nickel compounds. Lifetime average daily dose (LADD) estimates for persons wearing cold water survival suits were calculated using conservative exposure assumptions.

Energetics of sows and gilts in gestation crates in the cold.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verstegen, M.W.A.; Curtis, S.E.

1988-01-01

Seventy pregnant sows and gilts in gestation crates with unbedded concrete-slat floors and partitions in common (which permitted contact by neighbors) in a closed house with air temperature 10 to 12 degrees C during cold weather were studied for 3 wk. The animals' lower critical temperature and

Weather-centric rangeland revegetation planning

Science.gov (United States)

Hardegree, Stuart P.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Brunson, Mark W.; Germino, Matthew; Hegewisch, Katherine C.; Moffet, Corey A.; Pilliod, David S.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Boehm, Alex R.; Meredith, Gwendwr R.

2018-01-01

Invasive annual weeds negatively impact ecosystem services and pose a major conservation threat on semiarid rangelands throughout the western United States. Rehabilitation of these rangelands is challenging due to interannual climate and subseasonal weather variability that impacts seed germination, seedling survival and establishment, annual weed dynamics, wildfire frequency, and soil stability. Rehabilitation and restoration outcomes could be improved by adopting a weather-centric approach that uses the full spectrum of available site-specific weather information from historical observations, seasonal climate forecasts, and climate-change projections. Climate data can be used retrospectively to interpret success or failure of past seedings by describing seasonal and longer-term patterns of environmental variability subsequent to planting. A more detailed evaluation of weather impacts on site conditions may yield more flexible adaptive-management strategies for rangeland restoration and rehabilitation, as well as provide estimates of transition probabilities between desirable and undesirable vegetation states. Skillful seasonal climate forecasts could greatly improve the cost efficiency of management treatments by limiting revegetation activities to time periods where forecasts suggest higher probabilities of successful seedling establishment. Climate-change projections are key to the application of current environmental models for development of mitigation and adaptation strategies and for management practices that require a multidecadal planning horizon. Adoption of new weather technology will require collaboration between land managers and revegetation specialists and modifications to the way we currently plan and conduct rangeland rehabilitation and restoration in the Intermountain West.

Optimized Strategies for Detecting Extrasolar Space Weather

Science.gov (United States)

Hallinan, Gregg

2018-06-01

Fully understanding the implications of space weather for the young solar system, as well as the wider population of planet-hosting stars, requires remote sensing of space weather in other stellar systems. Solar coronal mass ejections can be accompanied by bright radio bursts at low frequencies (typically measurement of the magnetic field strength of the planet, informing on whether the atmosphere of the planet can survive the intense magnetic activity of its host star. However, both stellar and planetary radio emission are highly variable and optimal strategies for detection of these emissions requires the capability to monitor 1000s of nearby stellar/planetary systems simultaneously. I will discuss optimized strategies for both ground and space-based experiments to take advantage of the highly variable nature of the radio emissions powered by extrasolar space weather to enable detection of stellar CMEs and planetary magnetospheres.

Respiratory hospital admissions and weather changes: a retrospective study in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Robert E.; Enfield, Kyle B.

2018-06-01

In most midlatitude locations, human morbidity and mortality are highly seasonal, with winter peaks driven by respiratory disease and associated comorbidities. But the transition between high and low mortality/morbidity months varies spatially. We use a measure of the thermal biophysical strain imposed on the respiratory system—the Acclimatization Thermal Strain Index (ATSI)—to examine respiratory hospital admissions in Charlottesville, VA. Daily respiratory admissions to the University of Virginia over a 19-year period are compared to ATSI values derived from hourly surface weather data acquired from the Charlottesville airport. Negative ATSI values (associated with transitions from warm (and humid) to cold (and dry) conditions) are related to admission peaks at seasonal and weekly timescales, whereas positive ATSI values (cold to warm) exhibit weaker relationships. This research marks the first application of the ATSI to human morbidity, and results suggest that respiratory strain may account for how people who are acclimated to different climates respond to short-term weather changes.

Respiratory hospital admissions and weather changes: a retrospective study in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Robert E.; Enfield, Kyle B.

2018-02-01

In most midlatitude locations, human morbidity and mortality are highly seasonal, with winter peaks driven by respiratory disease and associated comorbidities. But the transition between high and low mortality/morbidity months varies spatially. We use a measure of the thermal biophysical strain imposed on the respiratory system—the Acclimatization Thermal Strain Index (ATSI)—to examine respiratory hospital admissions in Charlottesville, VA. Daily respiratory admissions to the University of Virginia over a 19-year period are compared to ATSI values derived from hourly surface weather data acquired from the Charlottesville airport. Negative ATSI values (associated with transitions from warm (and humid) to cold (and dry) conditions) are related to admission peaks at seasonal and weekly timescales, whereas positive ATSI values (cold to warm) exhibit weaker relationships. This research marks the first application of the ATSI to human morbidity, and results suggest that respiratory strain may account for how people who are acclimated to different climates respond to short-term weather changes.

Evaluating the quality and usability of crowdsourced weather data

Science.gov (United States)

Koole, Martijn; Siegmund, Peter

2016-04-01

In April 2015 the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) launched the Weather Observations Website (WOW-NL, https://wow.knmi.nl/) in the Netherlands in cooperation with the UK Met Office, who launched a similar WOW-UK website in 2011. WOW-NL functions as a platform to collect weather data that is measured by amateurs or organizations who own an automatic weather station. Such data can be used to increase the spatial and temporal resolution of existing observation networks. This can be meaningful for better understanding of e.g. urban climate (urban heat islands) and the occurrence of extreme meteorological events. In November 2015 the number of Dutch participants of WOW-NL was approximately 250. The following meteorological parameters are uploaded to the website every 10 minutes: air temperature, air pressure, rainfall rate, humidity, wind speed and wind direction. To get an idea about the location and environment at which the weather stations are placed, participants are asked to rate their station based on exposure, type of devices used and the level of urbanization. They can also specify the elevation and add a short description of the equipment that is used. This study examines the quality of the crowd-sourced weather data by using interpolated weather data that is measured at official weather stations that are operated by KNMI. Measurements at amateur stations are compared with the interpolated measurements and differences are explained using the metadata that the participants specified. A number of days is selected where interesting meteorological situations occurred, such as extremely hot weather, cold fronts, rain fronts or heavy winds. Based on this, recommendations are presented about possible applications of crowd-sourced weather data with respect to the quality level.

Phenotypic and genetic characteristics associated with Listeria monocytogenes food chain isolates displaying enhanced and diminished cold tolerance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hingston, P.; Chen, J.; Laing, C.

between strains with varied cold tolerance. The objective of this study was to determine if Lm isolates with enhanced cold tolerance, exhibit other high risk characteristics that may add to their survival and/or pathogenicity. To accomplish this, 166 predominantly food/food plant Lm isolates were tested...... in brainheart infusion broth, for their ability to tolerate cold (4°C), salt (6% NaCl, 25°C), acid (pH 5, 25°C), and desiccation (33% RH, 20°C) stress. Isolates were considered tolerant or sensitive if they exhibited survival characteristics > or ... with a truncated version (n=47). Cold tolerant isolates were more likely to be tolerant to the other three stresses than intermediate and cold sensitive isolates. Similarly, cold sensitive isolates were more likely to be sensitive to the other stresses. Cold tolerant isolates had shorter (p=0.012) lag phases...

Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, and Human Health Implications in the Asia Pacific Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Jamal Hisham; Hashim, Zailina

2016-03-01

The Asia Pacific region is regarded as the most disaster-prone area of the world. Since 2000, 1.2 billion people have been exposed to hydrometeorological hazards alone through 1215 disaster events. The impacts of climate change on meteorological phenomena and environmental consequences are well documented. However, the impacts on health are more elusive. Nevertheless, climate change is believed to alter weather patterns on the regional scale, giving rise to extreme weather events. The impacts from extreme weather events are definitely more acute and traumatic in nature, leading to deaths and injuries, as well as debilitating and fatal communicable diseases. Extreme weather events include heat waves, cold waves, floods, droughts, hurricanes, tropical cyclones, heavy rain, and snowfalls. Globally, within the 20-year period from 1993 to 2012, more than 530 000 people died as a direct result of almost 15 000 extreme weather events, with losses of more than US$2.5 trillion in purchasing power parity. © 2015 APJPH.

Effects of cold fronts on ozone in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Area

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, R.; Talbot, R. W.; Wang, Y.; Wang, S. C.; Estes, M. J.

2017-12-01

A cold front may have confounding effects on ozone by bringing in contaminated air masses to an area and causing lower temperatures which likely lead to low ozone production rates. Literature reports on individual cold front events showing increasing and decreasing effects on ozone. The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) area as the energy capital of USA suffers relatively high ozone levels. The effect of cold fronts on HGB ozone in the long-term range remains unknown. Weather Prediction Center (WPC) Surface Analysis Archive from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which records cold fronts' positions since 2003 has been employed in this study. The results show the count of cold fronts passing the HGB area shows no clear trend but great interannual variation. Cold front appearance in summer is much less than in other seasons. In general, both mean MDA8 and background ozone during cold front days increased compared non-cold front days. This increasing effect has been enhanced during post-front days and summer season. Cluster analysis on meteorological parameters shows cold front days with high precipitation or wind speed could lower the MDA8 and background ozone but the proportion of those days are low in all cold front days. It may explain why cold fronts show increasing effects on ozone in the HGB area.

Future weather types and their influence on mean and extreme climate indices for precipitation and temperature in Central Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulf Riediger

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In Central Europe, the spatial and temporal distributions of precipitation and temperature are determined by the occurrence of major weather types. In this paper, we examine climate indices (i.e. mean values or hot, cold, wet and dry days for different weather types in a recent (1971–2000 and future climate (2070–2099. The weather types are classified objectively for the control run and for the A1B scenario with an ensemble of eight global climate simulations (GCM to be compared with different reanalyses. To derive climate indices, the high-resolution, regionalized reference dataset HYRAS and an ensemble of nine regional climate simulations (RCM are used. Firstly, the reliability of simulated weather patterns and their climate indices are tested in the control period. The reanalyses circulation climatology can be reproduced well by the GCM ensemble mean. For temperature and precipitation, each climate index is characterized and evaluated in terms of defined weather patterns. The comparison of HYRAS and RCM data show reliable mean temperature values with differences between weather classes by +2$+2$ to -6$-6$ °C during winter (13 to 19 °C in summer. The analysis of observed and simulated precipitation reveal that mean winter precipitation is significantly influenced by the direction of air flow, while in summer, mesoscale atmospheric patterns of cyclonic rotation play a larger role. Secondly, the analysis of potential future changes simulated by the RCM ensemble were able to demonstrate that weather type changes, superior climate trends (such as mean warming and their interaction lead to major changes for precipitation and temperature in Central Europe. While temperature differences between cold and warm weather types are nearly stable over time, the ensemble temperature changes (with a range of +2$+2$ to +4$+4$ °C reinforce warm/hot conditions in the future winter and summer. Milder, wetter winters can be explained by an increased

Costs and benefits of cold acclimation in field released Drosophila

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Torsten N; Hoffmann, Ary A; Overgaard, Johannes

2008-01-01

-acclimated were up to 36 times more likely to find food than the cold-acclimated flies when temperatures were warm. Such costs and strong benefits were not evident in laboratory tests where we found no reduction in heat survival of the cold-acclimated flies. Field release studies, therefore, reveal costs of cold......One way animals can counter the effects of climatic extremes is via physiological acclimation, but acclimating to one extreme might decrease performance under different conditions. Here, we use field releases of Drosophila melanogaster on two continents across a range of temperatures to test...... for costs and benefits of developmental or adult cold acclimation. Both types of cold acclimation had enormous benefits at low temperatures in the field; in the coldest releases only cold-acclimated flies were able to find a resource. However, this advantage came at a huge cost; flies that had not been cold...

Overwintering strategy and mechanisms of cold tolerance in the codling moth (Cydia pomonella.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Rozsypal

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The codling moth (Cydia pomonella is a major insect pest of apples worldwide. Fully grown last instar larvae overwinter in diapause state. Their overwintering strategies and physiological principles of cold tolerance have been insufficiently studied. No elaborate analysis of overwintering physiology is available for European populations. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We observed that codling moth larvae of a Central European population prefer to overwinter in the microhabitat of litter layer near the base of trees. Reliance on extensive supercooling, or freeze-avoidance, appears as their major strategy for survival of the winter cold. The supercooling point decreases from approximately -15.3 °C during summer to -26.3 °C during winter. Seasonal extension of supercooling capacity is assisted by partial dehydration, increasing osmolality of body fluids, and the accumulation of a complex mixture of winter specific metabolites. Glycogen and glutamine reserves are depleted, while fructose, alanine and some other sugars, polyols and free amino acids are accumulated during winter. The concentrations of trehalose and proline remain high and relatively constant throughout the season, and may contribute to the stabilization of proteins and membranes at subzero temperatures. In addition to supercooling, overwintering larvae acquire considerable capacity to survive at subzero temperatures, down to -15 °C, even in partially frozen state. CONCLUSION: Our detailed laboratory analysis of cold tolerance, and whole-winter survival assays in semi-natural conditions, suggest that the average winter cold does not represent a major threat for codling moth populations. More than 83% of larvae survived over winter in the field and pupated in spring irrespective of the overwintering microhabitat (cold-exposed tree trunk or temperature-buffered litter layer.

Context-dependent effects of cold stress on behavioral, physiological, and life-history traits of the red flour beetle.

Science.gov (United States)

Scharf, Inon; Wertheimer, Keren-Or; Xin, Joy Lim; Gilad, Tomer; Goldenberg, Inna; Subach, Aziz

2017-06-20

Animals are exposed in nature to a variety of stressors. While stress is generally harmful, mild stress can also be beneficial and contribute to reproduction and survival. We studied the effect of five cold shock events versus a single cold shock and a control group, representing three levels of stress (harsh, mild, and no stress), on behavioral, physiological, and life-history traits of the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum, Herbst 1797). Beetles exposed to harsh cold stress were less active than a control group: they moved less and failed more frequently to detect a food patch. Their probability to mate was also lower. Beetle pairs exposed to harsh cold stress frequently failed to reproduce at all, and if reproducing, females laid fewer eggs, which were, as larvae in mid-development, smaller than those in the control group. However, harsh cold stress led to improved female starvation tolerance, probably due to enhanced lipid accumulation. Harsh cold shock also improved tolerance to an additional cold shock compared to the control. Finally, a single cold shock event negatively affected fewer measured response variables than the harsh cold stress, but also enhanced neither starvation tolerance nor tolerance to an additional cold shock. The consequences of a harsher cold stress are thus not solely detrimental but might even enhance survival under stressful conditions. Under benign conditions, nevertheless, harsh stress impedes beetle performance. The harsh stress probably shifted the balance point of the survival-reproduction trade-off, a shift that did not take place following exposure to mild stress. © 2017 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Weather Effects on the Patterns of People's Everyday Activities: A Study Using GPS Traces of Mobile Phone Users

Science.gov (United States)

Leong, Tuck W.; Sekimoto, Yoshihide; Shibasaki, Ryosuke

2013-01-01

This study explores the effects that the weather has on people's everyday activity patterns. Temperature, rainfall, and wind speed were used as weather parameters. People's daily activity patterns were inferred, such as place visited, the time this took place, the duration of the visit, based on the GPS location traces of their mobile phones overlaid upon Yellow Pages information. Our analysis of 31,855 mobile phone users allowed us to infer that people were more likely to stay longer at eateries or food outlets, and (to a lesser degree) at retail or shopping areas when the weather is very cold or when conditions are calm (non-windy). When compared to people's regular activity patterns, certain weather conditions affected people's movements and activities noticeably at different times of the day. On cold days, people's activities were found to be more diverse especially after 10AM, showing greatest variations between 2PM and 6PM. A similar trend is observed between 10AM and midnight on rainy days, with people's activities found to be most diverse on days with heaviest rainfalls or on days when the wind speed was stronger than 4 km/h, especially between 10AM–1AM. Finally, we observed that different geographical areas of a large metropolis were impacted differently by the weather. Using data of urban infrastructure to characterize areas, we found strong correlations between weather conditions upon people's accessibility to trains. This study sheds new light on the influence of weather conditions on human behavior, in particular the choice of daily activities and how mobile phone data can be used to investigate the influence of environmental factors on urban dynamics. PMID:24367481

Aspects of cold intrusions over Greece during autumn

Science.gov (United States)

Mita, Constantina; Marinaki, Aggeliki; Zeini, Konstantina; Konstantara, Metaxia

2010-05-01

This study is focused on the description of atmospheric disturbances that caused intense cold intrusions over Greece during autumn for a period of 25 years (1982-2006). The study was based on data analysis from the meteorological station network of the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS) and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Initially, the days with temperature at the isobaric surface of 850 hPa less or equal to the mean temperature for the 10-day period the day under investigation belongs to are isolated, composing a new confined data set which was further used. An event of intense cold intrusion is identified based on a subjective set of criteria, considering the temperature decrease at the level of 850 hPa and its duration. In particular, the criteria that were used to identify a cold intrusion were: temperature variation between two successive days at the isobaric level of 850 hPa being equal or greater than 50 C at least once during the event and duration of the event of at least two successive days with continuous temperature decrease. Additionally, the synoptic analysis of the atmospheric disturbances involved using weather charts from ECMWF, revealed that all cases were related to low pressure systems at the level of 500 hPa, accompanied by cold air masses. Moreover, a methodology proposed to classify the cold intrusions based on general circulation characteristics of the atmosphere, resulted in seven major categories. More than half of the events belong in two categories, originated northwest of the greater Greek area (Greece and parts of neighbouring countries), between 400 and 600 N. Further analysis indicated that the frequency of events increases from September to November and the majority of the events lasted two to three days. Additionally, the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test was used for the investigation of the statistical significance of the trends appearing in the results. The tests revealed that over

Acute Anxiety Predicts Components of the Cold Shock Response on Cold Water Immersion: Toward an Integrated Psychophysiological Model of Acute Cold Water Survival

Science.gov (United States)

Barwood, Martin J.; Corbett, Jo; Massey, Heather; McMorris, Terry; Tipton, Mike; Wagstaff, Christopher R. D.

2018-01-01

Introduction: Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death. In cold-water, sudden skin cooling triggers the life-threatening cold shock response (CSR). The CSR comprises tachycardia, peripheral vasoconstriction, hypertension, inspiratory gasp, and hyperventilation with the hyperventilatory component inducing hypocapnia and increasing risk of aspirating water to the lungs. Some CSR components can be reduced by habituation (i.e., reduced response to stimulus of same magnitude) induced by 3–5 short cold-water immersions (CWI). However, high levels of acute anxiety, a plausible emotion on CWI: magnifies the CSR in unhabituated participants, reverses habituated components of the CSR and prevents/delays habituation when high levels of anxiety are experienced concurrent to immersions suggesting anxiety is integral to the CSR. Purpose: To examine the predictive relationship that prior ratings of acute anxiety have with the CSR. Secondly, to examine whether anxiety ratings correlated with components of the CSR during immersion before and after induction of habituation. Methods: Forty-eight unhabituated participants completed one (CON1) 7-min immersion in to cold water (15°C). Of that cohort, twenty-five completed four further CWIs that would ordinarily induce CSR habituation. They then completed two counter-balanced immersions where anxiety levels were increased (CWI-ANX) or were not manipulated (CON2). Acute anxiety and the cardiorespiratory responses (cardiac frequency [fc], respiratory frequency [fR], tidal volume [VT], minute ventilation [E]) were measured. Multiple regression was used to identify components of the CSR from the most life-threatening period of immersion (1st minute) predicted by the anxiety rating prior to immersion. Relationships between anxiety rating and CSR components during immersion were assessed by correlation. Results: Anxiety rating predicted the fc component of the CSR in unhabituated participants (CON1; p anxiety rating predicted the f

Acute Anxiety Predicts Components of the Cold Shock Response on Cold Water Immersion: Toward an Integrated Psychophysiological Model of Acute Cold Water Survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Barwood, Martin J; Corbett, Jo; Massey, Heather; McMorris, Terry; Tipton, Mike; Wagstaff, Christopher R D

2018-01-01

Introduction: Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death. In cold-water, sudden skin cooling triggers the life-threatening cold shock response (CSR). The CSR comprises tachycardia, peripheral vasoconstriction, hypertension, inspiratory gasp, and hyperventilation with the hyperventilatory component inducing hypocapnia and increasing risk of aspirating water to the lungs. Some CSR components can be reduced by habituation (i.e., reduced response to stimulus of same magnitude) induced by 3-5 short cold-water immersions (CWI). However, high levels of acute anxiety, a plausible emotion on CWI: magnifies the CSR in unhabituated participants, reverses habituated components of the CSR and prevents/delays habituation when high levels of anxiety are experienced concurrent to immersions suggesting anxiety is integral to the CSR. Purpose: To examine the predictive relationship that prior ratings of acute anxiety have with the CSR. Secondly, to examine whether anxiety ratings correlated with components of the CSR during immersion before and after induction of habituation. Methods: Forty-eight unhabituated participants completed one (CON1) 7-min immersion in to cold water (15°C). Of that cohort, twenty-five completed four further CWIs that would ordinarily induce CSR habituation. They then completed two counter-balanced immersions where anxiety levels were increased (CWI-ANX) or were not manipulated (CON2). Acute anxiety and the cardiorespiratory responses (cardiac frequency [ f c ], respiratory frequency [ f R ], tidal volume [ V T ], minute ventilation [ E ]) were measured. Multiple regression was used to identify components of the CSR from the most life-threatening period of immersion (1 st minute) predicted by the anxiety rating prior to immersion. Relationships between anxiety rating and CSR components during immersion were assessed by correlation. Results: Anxiety rating predicted the f c component of the CSR in unhabituated participants (CON1; p CSR when anxiety

Clumpy cold dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Silk, Joseph; Stebbins, Albert

1993-01-01

A study is conducted of cold dark matter (CDM) models in which clumpiness will inhere, using cosmic strings and textures suited to galaxy formation. CDM clumps of 10 million solar mass/cu pc density are generated at about z(eq) redshift, with a sizable fraction surviving. Observable implications encompass dark matter cores in globular clusters and in galactic nuclei. Results from terrestrial dark matter detection experiments may be affected by clumpiness in the Galactic halo.

Colluvial deposits as a possible weathering reservoir in uplifting mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Carretier, Sébastien; Goddéris, Yves; Martinez, Javier; Reich, Martin; Martinod, Pierre

2018-03-01

during cold periods, colluvium produces most of the simulated weathering flux for a large range of erosion parameters and precipitation rate patterns. In addition to other reservoirs such as deep fractured bedrock, colluvial deposits may help to maintain a substantial and constant weathering flux in rapidly uplifting mountains during cooling periods.

Temperature Variation and Heat Wave and Cold Spell Impacts on Years of Life Lost Among the Urban Poor Population of Nairobi, Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thaddaeus Egondi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Weather extremes are associated with adverse health outcomes, including mortality. Studies have investigated the mortality risk of temperature in terms of excess mortality, however, this risk estimate may not be appealing to policy makers assessing the benefits expected for any interventions to be adopted. To provide further evidence of the burden of extreme temperatures, we analyzed the effect of temperature on years of life lost (YLL due to all-cause mortality among the population in two urban informal settlements. YLL was generated based on the life expectancy of the population during the study period by applying a survival analysis approach. Association between daily maximum temperature and YLL was assessed using a distributed lag nonlinear model. In addition, cold spell and heat wave effects, as defined according to different percentiles, were investigated. The exposure-response curve between temperature and YLL was J-shaped, with the minimum mortality temperature (MMT of 26 °C. An average temperature of 21 °C compared to the MMT was associated with an increase of 27.4 YLL per day (95% CI, 2.7–52.0 years. However, there was no additional effect for extended periods of cold spells, nor did we find significant associations between YLL to heat or heat waves. Overall, increased YLL from all-causes were associated with cold spells indicating the need for initiating measure for reducing health burdens.

Effects of gull predation and weather on survival of emperor goose goslings

Science.gov (United States)

Schmutz, Joel A.; Manly, Bryan F.J.; Dau, Christian P.

2001-01-01

Numbers of emperor geese (Chen canagica) have remained depressed since the mid-1980s. Despite increases in glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus), a primary predator of goslings, little information existed to assess whether recent patterns of gosling survival have been a major factor affecting population dynamics. We used observations of known families of emperor geese to estimate rates of gosling survival during 1993-96 on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Survival of goslings to 30 days of age varied among years from 0.332 during 1994 to 0.708 during 1995. Survival was lowest during 1993-94, which corresponded with the years of highest frequency of disturbance of goose broods by glaucous gulls. Rainfall during early brood rearing was much higher in 1994 than other years, and this corresponded to low survival among goslings ≤5 days of age. Numbers of juveniles in families during fall staging were negatively related to rainfall during early brood rearing (n = 23 yr). Although there are no data to assess whether gosling survival in emperor geese has declined from some previous level, current survival rates of emperor goose goslings are as high as or higher than those observed in other goose species that are rapidly increasing. A proposed reduction of glaucous gull numbers by managers may not be the most effective means for increasing population growth in emperor geese.

Livers from fasted rats acquire resistance to warm and cold ischemia injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumimoto, R; Southard, J H; Belzer, F O

1993-04-01

Successful liver transplantation is dependent upon many factors, one of which is the quality of the donor organ. Previous studies have suggested that the donor nutritional status may affect the outcome of liver transplantation and starvation, due to prolonged stay in the intensive care unit, may adversely affect the liver. In this study we have used the orthotopic rat liver transplant model to measure how fasting the donor affects the outcome of liver transplantation. Rat livers were preserved with UW solution either at 37 degrees C (warm ischemia for 45-60 min) or at 4 degrees C (cold ischemia for 30 or 44 hr). After preservation the livers were orthotopically transplanted and survival (for 7 days) was measured, as well as liver functions 6 hr after transplantation. After 45 min of warm ischemia 50% (3 of 6) animals survived when the liver was obtained from a fed donor about 80% (4 of 5) survived when the liver was obtained from a three-day-fasted donor. After 60 min warm ischemia no animal survived (0 of 8, fed group). However, if the donor was fasted for 3 days 89% (8 of 9) of the animals survived for 7 days. Livers cold-stored for 30 hr were 50% viable (3 of 6) and fasting for 1-3 days did not affect this outcome. However, if the donor was fasted for 4 days 100% (9 of 9) survival was obtained. After 44-hr preservation only 29% (2/7) of the recipients survived for 7 days. If the donor was fasted for 4 days, survival increased to 83% (5/6). Liver functions, bile production, and serum enzymes were better in livers from the fasted rats than from the fed rats. Fasting caused a 95% decrease in liver glycogen content. Even with this low concentration of glycogen, liver viability (animal survival) after warm or cold ischemia was not affected, and livers with a low glycogen content were fully viable. Thus liver glycogen does not appear to be important in liver preservation. This study shows that fasting the donor does not cause injury to the liver after warm or cold

RNA metabolism in Xylella fastidiosa during cold adaptation and survival responses

Science.gov (United States)

Fastidious plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa has a reduced ability to adapt to cold temperatures, limiting persistence in perennial hosts, such as grapevine, growing in colder regions. RNA metabolism is an essential part of bacterial response to low temperature, including inducible expression of RNA...

The effect of natural weathering on the mechanical, morphological and thermal properties of high impact polystyrene (HIPS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahin, Tuelin; Sinmazcelik, Tamer; Sahin, Senol

2007-01-01

The effect of natural weathering on the mechanical, morphological and thermal properties on the high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and cold drawn HIPS are investigated. After natural weathering period of 8760 h, under known meteorological parameters, the changes in mechanical properties are investigated by using tensile, instrumented impact and hardness tests. Thermo-mechanical properties are characterized by using thermomechanical analysis (TMA) and melt flow index (MFI). Fractured surfaces of the materials are investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Natural weathering effects on fracture mechanisms are discussed by means of fractographical analysis. Remarkable morphological changes were observed especially at the surface of the material. This results in dramatic loss in mechanical properties

Overwintering biology and limits of cold tolerance in larvae of pistachio twig borer, Kermania pistaciella.

Science.gov (United States)

Mollaei, M; Izadi, H; Šimek, P; Koštál, V

2016-08-01

Pistachio twig borer, Kermania pistaciella is an important pest of pistachio trees. It has an univoltine life-cycle and its larvae tunnel and feed inside pistachio twigs for almost 10 months each year. The last larval instars overwinter inside the twigs. Survival/mortality associated with low temperatures during overwintering stage is currently unknown. We found that overwintering larvae of the Rafsanjan (Iran) population of K. pistaciella rely on maintaining a stably high supercooling capacity throughout the cold season. Their supercooling points (SCPs) ranged between -19.4 and -22.7°C from October to February. Larvae were able to survive 24 h exposures to -15°C anytime during the cold season. During December and January, larvae were undergoing quiescence type of dormancy caused probably by low ambient temperatures and/or changes in host tree physiology (tree dormancy). Larvae attain highest cold tolerance (high survival at -20°C) during dormancy, which offers them sufficient protection against geographically and ecologically relevant cold spells. High cold tolerance during dormancy was not associated with accumulation of any low-molecular mass cryoprotective substances. The SCP sets the limit of cold tolerance in pistachio twig borer, meaning that high mortality of overwintering populations can be expected only in the regions or years where or when the temperatures fall below the average larval SCP (i.e., below -20°C). Partial mortality can be expected also when temperatures repeatedly drop close to the SCP on a diurnal basis.

Weathering process in Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Kanamaru, T.; Suganuma, Y.; Oiwane, H.; Miura, M.; Okuno, J.; Hayakawa, H.

2016-12-01

Weathering process under the hyper-arid and hypothermal environment is a key to understand the geomorphogic process and landscape evolution in Antarctica and on Mars. A nunber of studies have focused on weathering process of basaltic rocks in Antarctica, however, the nature of the weathering process of plutonic type rock, a common rock type on the Earth, have been less focused and remain unclear. Here, we report the physical/chemical weathering process of the granitic rocks obtained from Dronning Maud Land in East Antarctica based on a multiplicity of petrological approaches. Loss on Ignition (LOI) and major element composition of the crust and core of the rock samples indicate that chemical weathering process in this area seems to be very limited. The microscopic observations and laser-Raman micro spectroscopy for thin sections from the crust and core indicate that goethite grains are formed mainly in the vein around the crust, which is consistent with the higher Fe3+/Fe2+ contrast from the core to crust. A negative correlation between the rock hardness and color strength index (CSI) values also indicate that crust of rock samples tend to less hard than core due to cracking of the rock samples and following goethite formation. On the other hand, EPMA analysis indicates that original Fe-Ti oxide grains in the core of rock samples are damaged by weathering, and altered to hematite, and to non-stoichiometric Fe-Ti compound associated with ilmenite grans in case of the higher relative height samples. These reveal that the weathering process of the plutonic rocks under the hyper-cold and hypothermal environment are mainly controlled by oxidation, including iron hydroxide formation in the veins formed by mechanical distraction, and Fe-Ti oxide alteration in rock interior.

Pulmonary Blastomycosis in Vilas County, Wisconsin: Weather, Exposures and Symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dennis J. Baumgardner

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Blastomycosis is a serious fungal infection contracted by inhalation of Blastomyces spores from the environment. Case occurrence in dogs in Vilas County, Wisconsin, has been associated with antecedent weather. We aimed to explore the effects of weather on the occurrence of human pulmonary blastomycosis in this area, and update exposure factors and symptoms since last published reports. Methods: Mandatory case reports were reviewed. Chi-square test was used for categorical data of exposures, comparing 1979–1996 (n=101 versus 1997–June 2013 (n=95. Linear regression was used to model local weather data (available 1990–2013; n=126; Southern Oscillation Index (SOI, North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI, and Wisconsin River water discharge (WRD from the adjacent county (all available for 1984–2013; n=174; and case counts of known onset by warm (April–September and cold (October–March 6-month periods. Results: Distribution of pulmonary blastomycosis cases did not vary by season. Environmental exposures for the 1997–June 2013 group (mean age 45, 59% male were: residence(76%, excavation (42% and gardening (31%, all similar to the 1979–1996 group. Fishing (23% vs. 37%; P=0.09 and hunting (15% vs. 26%; P=0.13 exposures were less common in 1997–June 2013, but not significantly different. Overall, 69% of cases recalled some prior soil-disturbing activities. Considering the 6-month warm/cold periods, 19% of variation is explained by a direct relationship with total precipitation from two periods prior (P=0.005. There was no association of case occurrence with SOI, NAOI or WRD. Estimated annual incidence of blastomycosis for 1997–June 2013 was 27/100,000 compared with 44/100,000 for 1984–1996. Several symptoms were significantly less frequent in 2002–June 2013 compared to earlier years. Conclusions: As with dogs, human pulmonary blastomycosis occurrence is partially determined by antecedent precipitation. It is unclear if

Mountain and Cold Weather Warfighting: Critical Capability for the 21st Century

Science.gov (United States)

2008-05-22

guidance, and sage advice. His extensive and detailed understanding of mountain warfare, the former Soviet Union and Afghanistan, and his knowledge ...not brooding about the grimness of nature, they are apt to exult in their mastery of it…Most adults are excellent cross-country skiers . Even the...training apparatus had not prepared them for such conditions. The Finns moved well cross-country in the snow and cold. They were proficient skiers

Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment in cold climate - A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mo; Zhang, Dong Qing; Dong, Jian Wen; Tan, Soon Keat

2017-07-01

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been successfully used for treating various wastewaters for decades and have been identified as a sustainable wastewater management option worldwide. However, the application of CW for wastewater treatment in frigid climate presents special challenges. Wetland treatment of wastewater relies largely on biological processes, and reliable treatment is often a function of climate conditions. To date, the rate of adoption of wetland technology for wastewater treatment in cold regions has been slow and there are relatively few published reports on CW applications in cold climate. This paper therefore highlights the practice and applications of treatment wetlands in cold climate. A comprehensive review of the effectiveness of contaminant removal in different wetland systems including: (1) free water surface (FWS) CWs; (2) subsurface flow (SSF) CWs; and (3) hybrid wetland systems, is presented. The emphasis of this review is also placed on the influence of cold weather conditions on the removal efficacies of different contaminants. The strategies of wetland design and operation for performance intensification, such as the presence of plant, operational mode, effluent recirculation, artificial aeration and in-series design, which are crucial to achieve the sustainable treatment performance in cold climate, are also discussed. This study is conducive to further research for the understanding of CW design and treatment performance in cold climate. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Laser-Free Cold-Atom Gymnastics

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Harvey; Feinberg, Benedict; Munger, Charles T., Jr.; Nishimura, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

We have performed beam transport simulations on ultra cold (2 μK) and cold (130 μK) neutral Cs atoms in the F = M = + 4 (magnetic weak-field seeking) ground state. We use inhomogeneous magnetic fields to focus and accelerate the atoms. Acceleration of neutral atoms by an inhomogeneous magnetic field was demonstrated by Stern and Gerlach in 1922. In the simulations, a two mm diameter cloud of atoms is released to fall under gravity. A magnetic coil focuses the falling atoms. After falling 41 cm, the atoms are reflected in the magnetic fringe field of a solenoid. They return to their starting height, about 0.7 s later, having passed a second time through the focusing coil. The simulations show that > 98 % of ultra cold Cs atoms and > 70 % of cold Cs atoms will survive at least 15 round trips (assuming perfect vacuum). More than 100 simulations were run to optimize coil currents and focusing coil diameter and height. Simulations also show that atoms can be launched into a fountain. An experimental apparatus to test the simulations, is being constructed. This technique may find application in atomic fountain clocks, interferometers, and gravitometers, and may be adaptable for use in microgravity. It may also work with Bose-Einstein condensates of paramagnetic atoms.

Weather derivatives: Business hedge instrument from weather risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđević Bojan S.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In the late 1990s, a new financial market was developed - a market for weather derivatives, so that the risk managers could hedge their exposure to weather risk. After a rather slow start, the weather derivatives market had started to grow rapidly. Risk managers could no longer blame poor financial results on the weather. Weather risk could now be removed by hedging procedure. This paper will explain briefly what the weather derivatives are and will point out at some of the motives for use of derivatives. Thereafter we will look at the history of the weather risk market, how the weather derivatives market has developed in recent years and also who are the current and potential players in the weather derivatives market.

Survival of indicator organisms, e.g. E. coli in drinking water pipes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albrechtsen, Hans-Jørgen; Silhan, J.; Corfitzen, Charlotte B.

2006-01-01

The survival of E. coli was investigated in used drinking water pipes from households. The investigation showed that E. coli survived longer in plastic pipes than in cupper pipes and galvanized steel pipes. The investigation also showed longer survival at cold water temperatures (15?C) than at hot...

Climate, Weather and Daily Mobility : Transport Mode Choices and Travel Experiences in the Randstad Holland

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Böcker, L.

2014-01-01

Intuitively, weather plays an important role in everyday mobility. How often do we not expose ourselves to cold, heat, sun, rain, snow or wind when we are travelling on foot or by bicycle; waiting at a bus stop; walking towards a parked car; or driving under slippery road conditions. Recently,

Viable cold-tolerant iron-reducing microorganisms in geographically diverse subglacial environments

Science.gov (United States)

Nixon, Sophie L.; Telling, Jon P.; Wadham, Jemma L.; Cockell, Charles S.

2017-03-01

Subglacial environments are known to harbour metabolically diverse microbial communities. These microbial communities drive chemical weathering of underlying bedrock and influence the geochemistry of glacial meltwater. Despite its importance in weathering reactions, the microbial cycling of iron in subglacial environments, in particular the role of microbial iron reduction, is poorly understood. In this study we address the prevalence of viable iron-reducing microorganisms in subglacial sediments from five geographically isolated glaciers. Iron-reducing enrichment cultures were established with sediment from beneath Engabreen (Norway), Finsterwalderbreen (Svalbard), Leverett and Russell glaciers (Greenland), and Lower Wright Glacier (Antarctica). Rates of iron reduction were higher at 4 °C compared with 15 °C in all but one duplicated second-generation enrichment culture, indicative of cold-tolerant and perhaps cold-adapted iron reducers. Analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA genes indicates Desulfosporosinus were the dominant iron-reducing microorganisms in low-temperature Engabreen, Finsterwalderbreen and Lower Wright Glacier enrichments, and Geobacter dominated in Russell and Leverett enrichments. Results from this study suggest microbial iron reduction is widespread in subglacial environments and may have important implications for global biogeochemical iron cycling and export to marine ecosystems.

Mars weathering analogs - Secondary mineralization in Antarctic basalts

Science.gov (United States)

Berkley, J. L.

1982-01-01

Alkalic basalt samples from Ross Island, Antarctica, are evaluated as terrestrial analogs to weathered surface materials on Mars. Secondary alteration in the rocks is limited to pneumatolytic oxidation of igneous minerals and glass, rare groundmass clay and zeolite mineralization, and hydrothermal minerals coating fractures and vesicle surfaces. Hydrothermal mineral assemblages consist mainly of K-feldspar, zeolites (phillipsite and chabazite), calcite, and anhydrite. Low alteration rates are attributed to cold and dry environmental factors common to both Antarctica and Mars. It is noted that mechanical weathering (aeolian abrasion) of Martian equivalents to present Antarctic basalts would yield minor hydrothermal minerals and local surface fines composed of primary igneous minerals and glass but would produce few hydrous products, such as palagonite, clay or micas. It is thought that leaching of hydrothermal vein minerals by migrating fluids and redeposition in duricrust deposits may represent an alternate process for incorporating secondary minerals of volcanic origin into Martian surface fines.

The effect of cold stress on UVB injury in mouse skin and cultured keratinocytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ota, Toshiaki; Hanada, Katsumi; Hashimoto, Isao

1996-01-01

The effect of cold stress on skin damage caused by UVB irradiation was investigated both in vivo and in vitro. Ear skin of mice that had been exposed to cold stress at 0 o C for 20 min and at 5 o C for 24 h was exposed to UVB radiation. Sunburn cell production was less in mice exposed to the lower temperature. In addition, the effect of cold stress on the survival rate of UVB-irradiated rat keratinocytes was examined in a cytoxicity test, with the results showing that keratinocytes exposed to cold stress of 0 o C had a higher survival rate than control cells. To pursue a promising clue for explaining the result, we examined metallothionein (MT) production in rat keratinocytes that had been exposed to cold stress at 0 o C. Microfluorometric quantification showed a positive correlation between the time course and the intensity of immunofluorescence for MT, indicating that the molecule is inducible by exposure to cold stress in our experimental system. These results suggest that epidermal cells that have been exposed to cold stress maintain a higher resistance to UV radiation than nonexposed controls in vivo and in vitro, and that MT with radical-scavenging activity might contribute, at least in part, to photoprotection against UVB-induced oxidative damage in mammalian skin. (Author)

The effect of cold stress on UVB injury in mouse skin and cultured keratinocytes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ota, Toshiaki; Hanada, Katsumi; Hashimoto, Isao [Hirosaki Univ., Aomori (Japan). School of Medicine

1996-12-01

The effect of cold stress on skin damage caused by UVB irradiation was investigated both in vivo and in vitro. Ear skin of mice that had been exposed to cold stress at 0{sup o}C for 20 min and at 5{sup o}C for 24 h was exposed to UVB radiation. Sunburn cell production was less in mice exposed to the lower temperature. In addition, the effect of cold stress on the survival rate of UVB-irradiated rat keratinocytes was examined in a cytoxicity test, with the results showing that keratinocytes exposed to cold stress of 0{sup o}C had a higher survival rate than control cells. To pursue a promising clue for explaining the result, we examined metallothionein (MT) production in rat keratinocytes that had been exposed to cold stress at 0{sup o}C. Microfluorometric quantification showed a positive correlation between the time course and the intensity of immunofluorescence for MT, indicating that the molecule is inducible by exposure to cold stress in our experimental system. These results suggest that epidermal cells that have been exposed to cold stress maintain a higher resistance to UV radiation than nonexposed controls in vivo and in vitro, and that MT with radical-scavenging activity might contribute, at least in part, to photoprotection against UVB-induced oxidative damage in mammalian skin. (Author).

Colluvial deposits as a possible weathering reservoir in uplifting mountains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Carretier

2018-03-01

sparsely covered by regolith during cold periods, colluvium produces most of the simulated weathering flux for a large range of erosion parameters and precipitation rate patterns. In addition to other reservoirs such as deep fractured bedrock, colluvial deposits may help to maintain a substantial and constant weathering flux in rapidly uplifting mountains during cooling periods.

WISPy cold dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arias, Paola [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Pontificia Univ. Catolica de Chile, Santiago (Chile). Facultad de Fisica; Cadamuro, Davide; Redondo, Javier [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany); Goodsell, Mark [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland); Jaeckel, Joerg [Durham Univ. (United Kingdom). Inst. for Particle Physics Phenomenology; Ringwald, Andreas [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2012-01-15

Very weakly interacting slim particles (WISPs), such as axion-like particles (ALPs) or hidden photons (HPs), may be non-thermally produced via the misalignment mechanism in the early universe and survive as a cold dark matter population until today. We find that, both for ALPs and HPs whose dominant interactions with the standard model arise from couplings to photons, a huge region in the parameter spaces spanned by photon coupling and ALP or HP mass can give rise to the observed cold dark matter. Remarkably, a large region of this parameter space coincides with that predicted in well motivated models of fundamental physics. A wide range of experimental searches - exploiting haloscopes (direct dark matter searches exploiting microwave cavities), helioscopes (searches for solar ALPs or HPs), or light-shining-through-a-wall techniques - can probe large parts of this parameter space in the foreseeable future. (orig.)

SPAGETTA: a Multi-Purpose Gridded Stochastic Weather Generator

Science.gov (United States)

Dubrovsky, M.; Huth, R.; Rotach, M. W.; Dabhi, H.

2017-12-01

SPAGETTA is a new multisite/gridded multivariate parametric stochastic weather generator (WG). Site-specific precipitation occurrence and amount are modelled by Markov chain and Gamma distribution, the non-precipitation variables are modelled by an autoregressive (AR) model conditioned on precipitation occurrence, and the spatial coherence of all variables is modelled following the Wilks' (2009) approach. SPAGETTA may be run in two modes. Mode 1: it is run as a classical WG, which is calibrated using weather series from multiple sites, and only then it may produce arbitrarily long synthetic series mimicking the spatial and temporal structure of the calibration data. To generate the weather series representing the future climate, the WG parameters are modified according to the climate change scenario, typically derived from GCM or RCM simulations. Mode 2: the user provides only basic information (not necessarily to be realistic) on the temporal and spatial auto-correlation structure of the weather variables and their mean annual cycle; the generator itself derives the parameters of the underlying AR model, which produces the multi-site weather series. Optionally, the user may add the spatially varying trend, which is superimposed to the synthetic series. The contribution consists of following parts: (a) Model of the WG. (b) Validation of WG in terms of the spatial temperature and precipitation characteristics, including characteristics of spatial hot/cold/dry/wet spells. (c) Results of the climate change impact experiment, in which the WG parameters representing the spatial and temporal variability are modified using the climate change scenarios and the effect on the above spatial validation indices is analysed. In this experiment, the WG is calibrated using the E-OBS gridded daily weather data for several European regions, and the climate change scenarios are derived from the selected RCM simulations (CORDEX database). (d) The second mode of operation will be

Influences of extreme weather, climate and pesticide use on invertebrates in cereal fields over 42 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Ewald, Julie A; Wheatley, Christopher J; Aebischer, Nicholas J; Moreby, Stephen J; Duffield, Simon J; Crick, Humphrey Q P; Morecroft, Michael B

2015-11-01

Cereal fields are central to balancing food production and environmental health in the face of climate change. Within them, invertebrates provide key ecosystem services. Using 42 years of monitoring data collected in southern England, we investigated the sensitivity and resilience of invertebrates in cereal fields to extreme weather events and examined the effect of long-term changes in temperature, rainfall and pesticide use on invertebrate abundance. Of the 26 invertebrate groups examined, eleven proved sensitive to extreme weather events. Average abundance increased in hot/dry years and decreased in cold/wet years for Araneae, Cicadellidae, adult Heteroptera, Thysanoptera, Braconidae, Enicmus and Lathridiidae. The average abundance of Delphacidae, Cryptophagidae and Mycetophilidae increased in both hot/dry and cold/wet years relative to other years. The abundance of all 10 groups usually returned to their long-term trend within a year after the extreme event. For five of them, sensitivity to cold/wet events was lowest (translating into higher abundances) at locations with a westerly aspect. Some long-term trends in invertebrate abundance correlated with temperature and rainfall, indicating that climate change may affect them. However, pesticide use was more important in explaining the trends, suggesting that reduced pesticide use would mitigate the effects of climate change. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

“100 percent fun”: A case study of benefits from cold water surfing in Jæren, Norway

OpenAIRE

Elmahdy, Yasmine Mounir

2015-01-01

Master's thesis in International hotel and tourism management Norway is steadily progressing towards being a popular cold-water surf destination. The long Norwegian coastline is attracting an increasing number of surfers who surf year round in extreme weather conditions. The aim of this research is to identify the benefits acquired by Norwegian surfers surfing in cold water along the Jæren coast, south the city of Stavanger in Norway. This research adopted a phenomenological approach and q...

Elevated olivine weathering rates and sulfate formation at cryogenic temperatures on Mars.

Science.gov (United States)

Niles, Paul B; Michalski, Joseph; Ming, Douglas W; Golden, D C

2017-10-17

Large Hesperian-aged (~3.7 Ga) layered deposits of sulfate-rich sediments in the equatorial regions of Mars have been suggested to be evidence for ephemeral playa environments. But early Mars may not have been warm enough to support conditions similar to what occurs in arid environments on Earth. Instead cold, icy environments may have been widespread. Under cryogenic conditions sulfate formation might be blocked, since kinetics of silicate weathering are typically strongly retarded at temperatures well below 0 °C. But cryo-concentration of acidic solutions may counteract the slow kinetics. Here we show that cryo-concentrated acidic brines rapidly chemically weather olivine minerals and form sulfate minerals at temperatures as low as -60 °C. These experimental results demonstrate the viability of sulfate formation under current Martian conditions, even in the polar regions. An ice-hosted sedimentation and weathering model may provide a compelling description of the origin of large Hesperian-aged layered sulfate deposits on Mars.

Effects of weather conditions on emergency ambulance calls for acute coronary syndromes

Science.gov (United States)

Vencloviene, Jone; Babarskiene, Ruta; Dobozinskas, Paulius; Siurkaite, Viktorija

2015-08-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between weather conditions and daily emergency ambulance calls for acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The study included data on 3631 patients who called the ambulance for chest pain and were admitted to the department of cardiology as patients with ACS. We investigated the effect of daily air temperature ( T), barometric pressure (BP), relative humidity, and wind speed (WS) to detect the risk areas for low and high daily volume (DV) of emergency calls. We used the classification and regression tree method as well as cluster analysis. The clusters were created by applying the k-means cluster algorithm using the standardized daily weather variables. The analysis was performed separately during cold (October-April) and warm (May-September) seasons. During the cold period, the greatest DV was observed on days of low T during the 3-day sequence, on cold and windy days, and on days of low BP and high WS during the 3-day sequence; low DV was associated with high BP and decreased WS on the previous day. During June-September, a lower DV was associated with low BP, windless days, and high BP and low WS during the 3-day sequence. During the warm period, the greatest DV was associated with increased BP and changing WS during the 3-day sequence. These results suggest that daily T, BP, and WS on the day of the ambulance call and on the two previous days may be prognostic variables for the risk of ACS.

Multiple cold resistance loci confer the high cold tolerance adaptation of Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) to its high-latitude habitat.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Donghai; Yu, Li; Chen, Dazhou; Li, Lanying; Zhu, Yuxing; Xiao, Yeqing; Zhang, Dechun; Chen, Caiyan

2015-07-01

Dongxiang wild rice is phylogenetically close to temperate japonica and contains multiple cold resistance loci conferring its adaptation to high-latitude habitat. Understanding the nature of adaptation in wild populations will benefit crop breeding in the development of climate-resilient crop varieties. Dongxiang wild rice (DXWR), the northernmost common wild rice known, possesses a high degree of cold tolerance and can survive overwintering in its native habitat. However, to date, it is still unclear how DXWR evolved to cope with low-temperature environment, resulting in limited application of DXWR in rice breeding programs. In this study, we carried out both QTL mapping and phylogenetic analysis to discern the genetic mechanism underlying the strong cold resistance. Through a combination of interval mapping and single locus analysis in two genetic populations, at least 13 QTLs for seedling cold tolerance were identified in DXWR. A phylogenetic study using both genome-wide InDel markers and markers associated with cold tolerance loci reveals that DXWR belongs to the Or-III group, which is most closely related to cold-tolerant Japonica rice rather than to the Indica cultivars that are predominant in the habitat where DXWR grows. Our study paves the way toward an understanding of the nature of adaptation to a northern habitat in O. rufipogon. The QTLs identified in DXWR in this study will be useful for molecular breeding of cold-tolerant rice.

Evaluation of simplified ventilation system with direct air supply through the facade in a school in a cold climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mysen, M. [Norwegian Building Research Institute, Blindern, Oslo (Norway); Department of Energy and Process Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim (Norway); Schild, P. G.; Hellstrand, V.; Thunshelle, K. [Norwegian Building Research Institute, Blindern, Oslo (Norway)

2004-07-01

Many educational buildings in industrialised countries have poor indoor climate, according to today's knowledge about the impact of indoor climate on well-being and productivity. Budget restrictions and practical limitations such as lack of space for central air handling units and ventilation ducts, have motivated the application of simplified ventilation systems in some schools, such as taking unconditioned supply air directly from the facade. One such school was recently evaluated in Norway. On cold days, thermal comfort in the classroom deteriorated due to cold down draught from the supply outlet. In addition, moist and fertile conditions for microbiological growth were observed in the air supply ductwork. On the other hand the same pupils are more satisfied with the school and have less sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms during winter than summer. An improved control strategy with a temperature-compensated CO{sub 2} set-point for controlling the air flow is suggested. This could improve thermal comfort and reduce energy use without compromising perceived air quality (PAQ) during cold weather. Furthermore it could improve indoor air quality (IAQ) during warm weather with only a slight increase of energy use. Further evaluation of an improved solution is needed before such a ventilation concept can be recommended in cold climates. (author)

Screening Prosopis (mesquite) for cold tolerance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Felker, P. (Texas AandI Univ., Kingsville); Clark, P.R.; Nash, P.; Osborn, J.F.; Cannell, G.H.

1982-09-01

Cold tolerance and biomass estimation of Prosopis species were examined under field conditions. Prosopis africana and P. pallida tolerated several minus 1.5/sup 0/C freezes but none survived a minus 5/sup 0/C freeze. P. alba, P. articulata, P. chilensis, P. nigra, and P. tamarugo tolerated several minus 5/sup 0/C freezes but not a 12-hour below 0/sup 0/C freeze. Most North American native species P. glandulosa var. glandulosa, P. glandulosa var. torreyana, and P. velutina tolerated the 12 hour freeze with only moderate damage. In general trees with greater productivity belonged to the most cold sensitive accessions but sufficient variability exists to substantially improve Prosopis biomass production on the coldest areas where it now naturally occurs.

Weather conditions associated with autumn migration by mule deer in Wyoming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chadwick D. Rittenhouse

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Maintaining ecological integrity necessitates a proactive approach of identifying and acquiring lands to conserve unfragmented landscapes, as well as evaluating existing mitigation strategies to increase connectivity in fragmented landscapes. The increased use of highway underpasses and overpasses to restore connectivity for wildlife species offers clear conservation benefits, yet also presents a unique opportunity to understand how weather conditions may impact movement of wildlife species. We used remote camera observations (19,480 from an existing wildlife highway underpass in Wyoming and daily meteorological observations to quantify weather conditions associated with autumn migration of mule deer in 2009 and 2010. We identified minimal daily temperature and snow depth as proximate cues associated with mule deer migration to winter range. These weather cues were consistent across does and bucks, but differed slightly by year. Additionally, extreme early season snow depth or cold temperature events appear to be associated with onset of migration. This information will assist wildlife managers and transportation officials as they plan future projects to maintain and enhance migration routes for mule deer.

Hyperbranched polyglycerol as a colloid in cold organ preservation solutions.

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Sihai Gao

Full Text Available Hydroxyethyl starch (HES is a common colloid in organ preservation solutions, such as in University of Wisconsin (UW solution, for preventing graft interstitial edema and cell swelling during cold preservation of donor organs. However, HES has undesirable characteristics, such as high viscosity, causing kidney injury and aggregation of erythrocytes. Hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG is a branched compact polymer that has low intrinsic viscosity. This study investigated HPG (MW-0.5 to 119 kDa as a potential alternative to HES for cold organ preservation. HPG was synthesized by ring-opening multibranching polymerization of glycidol. Both rat myocardiocytes and human endothelial cells were used as an in vitro model, and heart transplantation in mice as an in vivo model. Tissue damage or cell death was determined by both biochemical and histological analysis. HPG polymers were more compact with relatively low polydispersity index than HES in UW solution. Cold preservation of mouse hearts ex vivo in HPG solutions reduced organ damage in comparison to those in HES-based UW solution. Both size and concentration of HPGs contributed to the protection of the donor organs; 1 kDa HPG at 3 wt% solution was superior to HES-based UW solution and other HPGs. Heart transplants preserved with HPG solution (1 kDa, 3% as compared with those with UW solution had a better functional recovery, less tissue injury and neutrophil infiltration in syngeneic recipients, and survived longer in allogeneic recipients. In cultured myocardiocytes or endothelial cells, significantly more cells survived after cold preservation with the HPG solution than those with the UW solution, which was positively correlated with the maintenance of intracellular adenosine triphosphate and cell membrane fluidity. In conclusion, HPG solution significantly enhanced the protection of hearts or cells during cold storage, suggesting that HPG is a promising colloid for the cold storage of donor organs

Cold-Season Tornadoes: Climatological, Meteorological, and Social Perspectives

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Childs, Samuel J.

Tornadoes that occur during the cold season, defined here as November-February (NDJF), pose many unique societal risks. For example, people can be caught off-guard because in general one does not expect severe weather and tornadoes during winter months. The public can also be unsuspecting of significant weather due to the bustle of major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, when most people are concerned with family activities and not thinking about the weather. Cold-season tornadoes also have a propensity to be nocturnal and occur most frequently in the South and Southeastern U.S., where variable terrain, inadequate resources, and a relatively high mobile home density add additional social vulnerabilities. Over the period 1953-2015 within a study domain of (25-42.5°N, 75-100°W), some 937 people lost their lives as a result of NDJF tornadoes. Despite this enhanced societal risk of cold-season tornadoes in the South, very little attention has been given to their meteorological characteristics and climate patterns, and public awareness of their potential impacts is lacking. This thesis aims to greatly advance the current state of knowledge of NDJF tornadoes by providing an in-depth investigation from three different science perspectives. First, a climatology of all (E)F1-(E)F5 NDJF tornadoes is developed, spanning the period 1953-2015 within a domain of (25-42.5°N, 75-100°W), in order to assess frequency and spatial changes over time. A large increasing trend in cold-season tornado occurrence is found across much of the Southeastern U.S., with the greatest uptick in Tennessee, while a decreasing trend is found across eastern Oklahoma. Spectral analysis reveals a cyclic pattern of enhanced NDJF counts every 3-7 years, coincident with the known period for ENSO. Indeed, La Nina episodes are found to be correlated with NDJF tornado counts, although a stronger teleconnection correlation exists with the Arctic Oscillation (AO), which explains 25% of

A Temperature-Independent Cold-Shock Protein Homolog Acts as a Virulence Factor in Xylella fastidiosa.

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Burbank, Lindsey P; Stenger, Drake C

2016-05-01

Xylella fastidiosa, causal agent of Pierce's disease (PD) of grapevine, is a fastidious organism that requires very specific conditions for replication and plant colonization. Cold temperatures reduce growth and survival of X. fastidiosa both in vitro and in planta. However, little is known regarding physiological responses of X. fastidiosa to temperature changes. Cold-shock proteins (CSP), a family of nucleic acid-binding proteins, act as chaperones facilitating translation at low temperatures. Bacterial genomes often encode multiple CSP, some of which are strongly induced following exposure to cold. Additionally, CSP contribute to the general stress response through mRNA stabilization and posttranscriptional regulation. A putative CSP homolog (Csp1) with RNA-binding activity was identified in X. fastidiosa Stag's Leap. The csp1 gene lacked the long 5' untranslated region characteristic of cold-inducible genes and was expressed in a temperature-independent manner. As compared with the wild type, a deletion mutant of csp1 (∆csp1) had decreased survival rates following cold exposure and salt stress in vitro. The deletion mutant also was significantly less virulent in grapevine, as compared with the wild type, in the absence of cold stress. These results suggest an important function of X. fastidiosa Csp1 in response to cellular stress and during plant colonization.

De Novo Transcriptome Sequencing and the Hypothetical Cold Response Mode of Saussurea involucrata in Extreme Cold Environments.

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Li, Jin; Liu, Hailiang; Xia, Wenwen; Mu, Jianqiang; Feng, Yujie; Liu, Ruina; Yan, Panyao; Wang, Aiying; Lin, Zhongping; Guo, Yong; Zhu, Jianbo; Chen, Xianfeng

2017-06-07

Saussurea involucrata grows in high mountain areas covered by snow throughout the year. The temperature of this habitat can change drastically in one day. To gain a better understanding of the cold response signaling pathways and molecular metabolic reactions involved in cold stress tolerance, genome-wide transcriptional analyses were performed using RNA-Seq technologies. A total of 199,758 transcripts were assembled, producing 138,540 unigenes with 46.8 Gb clean data. Overall, 184,416 (92.32%) transcripts were successfully annotated. The 365 transcription factors identified (292 unigenes) belonged to 49 transcription factor families associated with cold stress responses. A total of 343 transcripts on the signal transduction (132 upregulated and 212 downregulated in at least any one of the conditions) were strongly affected by cold temperature, such as the CBL-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase ( CIPKs ), receptor-like protein kinases , and protein kinases . The circadian rhythm pathway was activated by cold adaptation, which was necessary to endure the severe temperature changes within a day. There were 346 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to transport, of which 138 were upregulated and 22 were downregulated in at least any one of the conditions. Under cold stress conditions, transcriptional regulation, molecular transport, and signal transduction were involved in the adaptation to low temperature in S. involucrata . These findings contribute to our understanding of the adaptation of plants to harsh environments and the survival traits of S. involucrata . In addition, the present study provides insight into the molecular mechanisms of chilling and freezing tolerance.

Cold hardiness research on agricultural and horticultural crops in Finland

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L. LINDÉN

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This paper represents an overview of cold hardiness research conducted on agricultural and horticultural crops, as well as on amenity plants in Finland. Inadequate freezing tolerance and/or winter hardiness often prevents introduction of new species and cultivars to Finland. Field observations on winter hardiness and more recently the results from laboratory freezing tests, have assisted breeders to select hardy genotypes. Research approaches for agricultural crops have evolved from observations on winter and frost damage to studies on molecular mechanisms of cold acclimation and freezing injury. The results of experiments on survival of winter cereals, grasses and clovers and frost tolerance of potato and turnip rape are discussed. The studies conducted on horticultural crops, including apple, strawberry, raspberry, currants, blueberry, sea buckthorn, perennial herbs as well as on ornamental trees and shrubs have included field evaluations of cultivars, or selections for winter hardiness, and studies on the effects of cultural management practices on winter survival. During the last decade detailed studies including controlled freezing tests have provided tools to assist in explanation of the underlying mechanisms of cold hardiness also in horticultural plants. ;

Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City

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Kathryn Lane

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Exposure to cold weather can cause cold-related illness and death, which are preventable. To understand the current burden, risk factors, and circumstances of exposure for illness and death directly attributed to cold, we examined hospital discharge, death certificate, and medical examiner data during the cold season from 2005 to 2014 in New York City (NYC, the largest city in the United States. On average each year, there were 180 treat-and-release emergency department visits (average annual rate of 21.6 per million and 240 hospital admissions (29.6 per million for cold-related illness, and 15 cold-related deaths (1.8 per million. Seventy-five percent of decedents were exposed outdoors. About half of those exposed outdoors were homeless or suspected to be homeless. Of the 25% of decedents exposed indoors, none had home heat and nearly all were living in single-family or row homes. The majority of deaths and illnesses occurred outside of periods of extreme cold. Unsheltered homeless individuals, people who use substances and become incapacitated outdoors, and older adults with medical and psychiatric conditions without home heat are most at risk. This information can inform public health prevention strategies and interventions.

Aerobic methanotrophic bacteria of cold ecosystems.

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Trotsenko, Yuri A; Khmelenina, Valentina N

2005-06-01

This review summarizes the recent advances in understanding the ecophysiological role and structure-function features of methanotrophic bacteria living in various cold ecosystems. The occurrence of methanotrophs in a majority of psychrosphere sites was verified by direct measurement of their methane-utilizing activity, by electron microscopy and immunofluorescent observations, and analyses of specific signatures in cellular phospholipids and total DNAs extracted from environmental samples. Surprisingly, the phenotypic and genotypic markers of virtually all extant methanotrophs were detected in various cold habitats, such as underground waters, Northern taiga and tundra soils, polar lakes and permafrost sediments. Also, recent findings indicated that even after long-term storage in permafrost, some methanotrophs can oxidize and assimilate methane not only at positive but also at subzero temperatures. Pure cultures of psychrophilic and psychrotolerant methanotrophs were isolated and characterized as new genera and species: Methylobacter psychrophilus, Methylosphaera hansonii, Methylocella palustris, Methylocella silvestris, Methylocella tundrae, Methylocapsa acidiphila and Methylomonas scandinavica. However, our knowledge about their adaptive mechanisms and survival in cold ecosystems remains limited and needs to be established using both traditional and molecular microbiological methods.

WEATHER INDEX- THE BASIS OF WEATHER DERIVATIVES

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Botos Horia Mircea

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This paper approaches the subject of Weather Derivatives, more exactly their basic element the weather index. The weather index has two forms, the Heating Degree Day (HDD and the Cooling Degree Day (CDD. We will try to explain their origin, use and the relationship between the two forms of the index. In our research we started from the analysis of the weather derivatives and what they are based on. After finding out about weather index, we were interested in understanding exactly how they work and how they influence the value of the contract. On the national level the research in the field is scares, but foreign materials available. The study for this paper was based firstly on reading about Weather Derivative, and then going in the meteorogical field and determining the way by which the indices were determined. After this, we went to the field with interest in the indices, such as the energy and gas industries, and figured out how they determined the weather index. For the examples we obtained data from the weather index database, and calculated the value for the period. The study is made on a period of five years, in 8 cities of the European Union. The result of this research is that we can now understand better the importance of the way the indices work and how they influence the value of the Weather Derivatives. This research has an implication on the field of insurance, because of the fact that weather derivative are at the convergence point of the stock markets and the insurance market. The originality of the paper comes from the personal touch given to the theoretical aspect and through the analysis of the HDD and CDD index in order to show their general behaviour and relationship.

Interactive Effects of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Growth, Fitness and Survival of the Cold-Water Coral Lophelia pertusa under Different Food Availabilities

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Janina V. Büscher

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Cold-water corals are important bioengineers that provide structural habitat for a diverse species community. About 70% of the presently known scleractinian cold-water corals are expected to be exposed to corrosive waters by the end of this century due to ocean acidification. At the same time, the corals will experience a steady warming of their environment. Studies on the sensitivity of cold-water corals to climate change mainly concentrated on single stressors in short-term incubation approaches, thus not accounting for possible long-term acclimatisation and the interactive effects of multiple stressors. Besides, preceding studies did not test for possible compensatory effects of a change in food availability. In this study a multifactorial long-term experiment (6 months was conducted with end-of-the-century scenarios of elevated pCO2 and temperature levels in order to examine the acclimatisation potential of the cosmopolitan cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa to future climate change related threats. For the first time multiple ocean change impacts including the role of the nutritional status were tested on L. pertusa with regard to growth, “fitness,” and survival. Our results show that while L. pertusa is capable of calcifying under elevated CO2 and temperature, its condition (fitness is more strongly influenced by food availability rather than changes in seawater chemistry. Whereas growth rates increased at elevated temperature (+4°C, they decreased under elevated CO2 concentrations (~800 μatm. No difference in net growth was detected when corals were exposed to the combination of increased CO2 and temperature compared to ambient conditions. A 10-fold higher food supply stimulated growth under elevated temperature, which was not observed in the combined treatment. This indicates that increased food supply does not compensate for adverse effects of ocean acidification and underlines the importance of considering the nutritional status

COSMIC Payload in NCAR-NASPO GPS Satellite System for Severe Weather Prediction

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Lai-Chen, C.

Severe weather, such as cyclones, heavy rainfall, outburst of cold air, etc., results in great disaster all the world. It is the mission for the scientists to design a warning system, to predict the severe weather systems and to reduce the damage of the society. In Taiwan, National Satellite Project Office (NSPO) initiated ROCSAT-3 program at 1997. She scheduled the Phase I conceptual design to determine the mission for observation weather system. Cooperating with National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR), NSPO involved an international cooperation research and operation program to build a 32 GPS satellites system. NCAR will offer 24 GPS satellites. The total expanse will be US 100 millions. NSPO also provide US 80 millions for launching and system engineering operation. And NCAR will be responsible for Payload Control Center and Fiducial Network. The cooperative program contract has been signed by Taiwan National Science Council, Taipei Economic Cultural Office of United States and American Institute in Taiwan. One of the payload is COSMIC, Constellation Observation System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate. It is a GPS meteorology instrument system. The system will observe the weather information, e. g. electron density profiles, horizontal and vertical TEC and CFT scintillation and communication outage maps. The mission is to obtain the weather data such as vertical temperature profiles, water vapor distribution and pressure distribution over the world for global weather forecasting, especially during the severe weather period. The COSMIC Conference held on November, 1998. The export license was also issued by Department of Commerce of Unites States at November, 1998. Recently, NSPO begun to train their scientists to investigate the system. Scientists simulate the observation data to combine the existing routine satellite infrared cloud maps, radar echo and synoptic weather analysis for severe weather forecasting. It is hopeful to provide more accurate

Field Performance of Inverter-Driven Heat Pumps in Cold Climates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williamson, James [Consortium of Advanced Residential Buildings, Norwalk, CT (United States); Aldrich, Robb [Consortium of Advanced Residential Buildings, Norwalk, CT (United States)

2015-08-19

Traditionally, air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) have been used more often in warmer climates; however, some new ASHPs are gaining ground in colder areas. These systems operate at subzero (Fahrenheit) temperatures and many do not include backup electric resistance elements. There are still uncertainties, however, about capacity and efficiency in cold weather. Also, questions such as “how cold is too cold?” do not have clear answers. These uncertainties could lead to skepticism among homeowners; poor energy savings estimates; suboptimal system selection by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning contractors; and inconsistent energy modeling. In an effort to better understand and characterize the heating performance of these units in cold climates, the U.S. Department of Energy Building America team, Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), monitored seven inverter-driven, ductless ASHPs across the Northeast. Operating data were collected for three Mitsubishi FE18 units, three Mitsubishi FE12 units, and one Fujitsu 15RLS2 unit. The intent of this research was to assess heat output, electricity consumption, and coefficients of performance (COPs) at various temperatures and load conditions. This assessment was accomplished with long- and short-term tests that measured power consumption; supply, return, and outdoor air temperatures; and airflow through the indoor fan coil.

Preference for safflower oil in rats exposed to a cold environment under free-feeding conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Saitoh, Masaji; Ishii, Toshiaki; Takewaki, Tadashi; Nishimura, Masakazu

2005-07-01

There are several benefits to a high-fat diet for animals exposed to cold, including improved tolerance to severe cold conditions and increased survival rates in cold environments. It is therefore of interest to examine whether animals exposed to cold will selectively consume lipids. We examined the intake of safflower oil (SO) by rats exposed to cold (4 +/- 2 degrees C) under a feeding condition in which the rats were given free access to SO. Rats exposed to cold consumed more SO than those housed at 25 +/- 2 degrees C. This finding suggests that rats prefer SO in a cold environment. There was no significant difference in the ratio of calories of SO ingested to that of matter (standard laboratory chow plus SO) ingested between rats exposed to cold and those at 25 +/- 2 degrees C. The high SO intake also affected cold tolerance and metabolite kinetics in the rats. Factors that affected the SO intake of rats exposed to cold are also discussed.

The split in the ancient cold front in the Perseus cluster

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Walker, Stephen A.; ZuHone, John; Fabian, Andy; Sanders, Jeremy

2018-04-01

Sloshing cold fronts in clusters, produced as the dense cluster core moves around in the cluster potential in response to in-falling subgroups, provide a powerful probe of the physics of the intracluster medium and the magnetic fields permeating it1,2. These sharp discontinuities in density and temperature rise gradually outwards with age in a characteristic spiral pattern, embedding into the intracluster medium a record of the minor merging activity of clusters: the further from the cluster centre a cold front is, the older it is. Recently, it was discovered that these cold fronts can survive out to extremely large radii in the Perseus cluster3. Here, we report on high-spatial-resolution Chandra observations of the large-scale cold front in Perseus. We find that rather than broadening through diffusion, the cold front remains extremely sharp (consistent with abrupt jumps in density) and instead is split into two sharp edges. These results show that magnetic draping can suppress diffusion for vast periods of time—around 5 Gyr—even as the cold front expands out to nearly half the cluster virial radius.

Extreme weather events: Should drinking water quality management systems adapt to changing risk profiles?

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Stuart J; Deere, Daniel; Leusch, Frederic D L; Humpage, Andrew; Jenkins, Madeleine; Cunliffe, David

2015-11-15

Among the most widely predicted and accepted consequences of global climate change are increases in both the frequency and severity of a variety of extreme weather events. Such weather events include heavy rainfall and floods, cyclones, droughts, heatwaves, extreme cold, and wildfires, each of which can potentially impact drinking water quality by affecting water catchments, storage reservoirs, the performance of water treatment processes or the integrity of distribution systems. Drinking water guidelines, such as the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and the World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, provide guidance for the safe management of drinking water. These documents present principles and strategies for managing risks that may be posed to drinking water quality. While these principles and strategies are applicable to all types of water quality risks, very little specific attention has been paid to the management of extreme weather events. We present a review of recent literature on water quality impacts of extreme weather events and consider practical opportunities for improved guidance for water managers. We conclude that there is a case for an enhanced focus on the management of water quality impacts from extreme weather events in future revisions of water quality guidance documents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of cold pain, cold allodynia and cold hyperalgesia in freely behaving rats

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Woolf Clifford J

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pain is elicited by cold, and a major feature of many neuropathic pain states is that normally innocuous cool stimuli begin to produce pain (cold allodynia. To expand our understanding of cold induced pain states we have studied cold pain behaviors over a range of temperatures in several animal models of chronic pain. Results We demonstrate that a Peltier-cooled cold plate with ± 1°C sensitivity enables quantitative measurement of a detection withdrawal response to cold stimuli in unrestrained rats. In naïve rats the threshold for eliciting cold pain behavior is 5°C. The withdrawal threshold for cold allodynia is 15°C in both the spared nerve injury and spinal nerve ligation models of neuropathic pain. Cold hyperalgesia is present in the spared nerve injury model animals, manifesting as a reduced latency of withdrawal response threshold at temperatures that elicit cold pain in naïve rats. We also show that following the peripheral inflammation produced by intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant, a hypersensitivity to cold occurs. Conclusion The peltier-cooled provides an effective means of assaying cold sensitivity in unrestrained rats. Behavioral testing of cold allodynia, hyperalgesia and pain will greatly facilitate the study of the neurobiological mechanisms involved in cold/cool sensations and enable measurement of the efficacy of pharmacological treatments to reduce these symptoms.

Weather Effects on Mobile Social Interactions: A Case Study of Mobile Phone Users in Lisbon, Portugal

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Phithakkitnukoon, Santi; Leong, Tuck W.; Smoreda, Zbigniew; Olivier, Patrick

2012-01-01

The effect of weather on social interactions has been explored through the analysis of a large mobile phone use dataset. Time spent on phone calls, numbers of connected social ties, and tie strength were used as proxies for social interactions; while weather conditions were characterized in terms of temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, and wind speed. Our results are based on the analysis of a full calendar year of data for 22,696 mobile phone users (53.2 million call logs) in Lisbon, Portugal. The results suggest that different weather parameters have correlations to the level and character of social interactions. We found that although weather did not show much influence upon people's average call duration, the likelihood of longer calls was found to increase during periods of colder weather. During periods of weather that were generally considered to be uncomfortable (i.e., very cold/warm, very low/high air pressure, and windy), people were found to be more likely to communicate with fewer social ties. Despite this tendency, we found that people are more likely to maintain their connections with those they have strong ties with much more than those of weak ties. This study sheds new light on the influence of weather conditions on social relationships and how mobile phone data can be used to investigate the influence of environmental factors on social dynamics. PMID:23071523

Weather effects on mobile social interactions: a case study of mobile phone users in Lisbon, Portugal.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santi Phithakkitnukoon

Full Text Available The effect of weather on social interactions has been explored through the analysis of a large mobile phone use dataset. Time spent on phone calls, numbers of connected social ties, and tie strength were used as proxies for social interactions; while weather conditions were characterized in terms of temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, and wind speed. Our results are based on the analysis of a full calendar year of data for 22,696 mobile phone users (53.2 million call logs in Lisbon, Portugal. The results suggest that different weather parameters have correlations to the level and character of social interactions. We found that although weather did not show much influence upon people's average call duration, the likelihood of longer calls was found to increase during periods of colder weather. During periods of weather that were generally considered to be uncomfortable (i.e., very cold/warm, very low/high air pressure, and windy, people were found to be more likely to communicate with fewer social ties. Despite this tendency, we found that people are more likely to maintain their connections with those they have strong ties with much more than those of weak ties. This study sheds new light on the influence of weather conditions on social relationships and how mobile phone data can be used to investigate the influence of environmental factors on social dynamics.

Effect of prolonged coldness on survival and fertility of Drosophila melanogaster.

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Robin J Mockett

Full Text Available The laboratory fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is used widely in biological research, but the requirement to maintain stocks with a roughly biweekly generation time imposes substantial burdens of labor, potential cross-contamination and mutation accumulation. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of prolonged cold stress or milder cooling on survivorship and fertility. The hypothesis was that cold storage would result in postponement of reproduction and a longer generation time. Flies of several genotypes were maintained continuously at 4-11 °C; recovery rates and subsequent yields of adult progeny were recorded. Adults and pupae of a relatively long-lived y w lineage were more resistant to severe cold stress than embryos and larvae. Adults exhibited minimal mortality up to at least 5 d at 4 °C, 20 d at 8 °C and 12 weeks at 11 °C. Reproduction did not occur at these temperatures, but progeny were obtained after recovery at 25 °C. At all temperatures, chilling caused a rapid, severe and progressive decrease in fertility during the first 2 d of recovery. The impact on fertility during the subsequent 2-4 d was much milder and it occurred only after prolonged incubation at low temperatures. The total reproductive output during the first 6 d of recovery was sufficient to replace the parental population after 12 weeks at 11 °C. Food spoilage had an unexpectedly low impact on survivorship and fertility, and the reproductive output of F1 progeny was not affected by storing parental flies at 11 °C for 8-10 weeks. In the case of w1118 flies, replacement of the parents within 6 d of recovery was possible for up to 60 d at 11 °C. Among less fertile genotypes, replacement of the parents was possible within 18 d after 4-10 weeks at 11 °C. These results show that the 2-week maintenance interval of stocks of D. melanogaster can be extended 3-7 fold, at least for 1 generation, by storing adult flies at 11 °C.

Effect of sequential heat and cold shocks on nuclear phenotypes of the blood-sucking insect, Panstrongylus megistus (Burmeister (Hemiptera, Reduviidae

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Garcia Simone L

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Thermal shocks induce changes in the nuclear phenotypes that correspond to survival (heterochromatin decondensation, nuclear fusion or death (apoptosis, necrosis responses in the Malpighian tubules of Panstrongylus megistus. Since thermal tolerance increased survival and molting rate in this species following sequential shocks, we investigated whether changes in nuclear phenotypes accompanied the insect survival response to sequential thermal shocks. Fifth instar nymphs were subjected to a single heat (35 or 40°C, 1 h or cold (5 or 0°C, 1 h shock and then subjected to a second shock for 12 h at 40 or 0°C, respectively, after 8, 18, 24 and 72 h at 28°C (control temperature. As with specimen survival, sequential heat and cold shocks induced changes in frequency of the mentioned nuclear phenotypes although their patterns differed. The heat shock tolerance involved decrease in apoptosis simultaneous to increase in cell survival responses. Sequential cold shocks did not involve cell/nuclear fusion and even elicited increase in necrosis with advancing time after shocks. The temperatures of 40 and 0ºC were more effective than the temperatures of 35 and 5ºC in eliciting the heat and cold shock tolerances, respectively, as shown by cytological analysis of the nuclear phenotypes. It is concluded that different sequential thermal shocks can trigger different mechanisms of cellular protection against stress in P. megistus, favoring the insect to adapt to various ecotopes.

The Rapid Arctic Warming and Its Impact on East Asian Winter Weather in Recent Decade

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Kim, S. J.; Kim, B. M.; Kim, J. H.

2015-12-01

The Arctic is warming much more rapidly than the lower latitudes. In contrast to the rapid Arctic warming, in winters of the recent decade, the cold-air outbreaks over East Asia occur more frequently and stronger than in 1990s. By accompanying the snow over East Asia, the strong cold surges have led to a severe socio-economic impact. Such severe cold surges in recent decade over east Asia is consistent with the more dominant negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO), that may be attributed by the Arctic amplification. In both observation-based reanalysis and numerical model experiments, the Arctic sea ice melting leads to the weakening of the AO polarity by reducing the meridional temperature gradient through a heat flux feedback. The Arctic warming and associated sea ice melting over the Kara-Barents area in late fall and early winter first release a lot of heat to the atmosphere from the ocean by a strong contrast in temperature and moisture and higher height anomaly is developed over the Kara/Barents and the Ural mountains The anomalous anticyclonic anomaly over the Arctic strengthen the Siberian High and at the same time the east Asian trough is developed over the western coast of the North Pacific. Through the passage between the margin of the Siberian High and east Asian tough, an extremely cold air is transported from east Siberia to east Asia for sometimes more than a week. Such a severe sold air brings about the moisture from nearby ocean, largely influencing the daily lives and economy in north East China, Korea, and Japan. The recent Arctic and associated sea ice melting is not only contributed to the local climate and weather, but also a severe weather in mid-latitudes through a modulation in polar vortex.

Testicular torsion and weather conditions: analysis of 21,289 cases in Brazil

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Fernando Korkes

2012-04-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: The hypothesis of association between testicular torsion and hyperactive cremasteric reflex, worsened by cold weather, has not been proved. Thirteen studies in the literature evaluated this issue, with inconclusive results. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the seasonality of testicular torsion in a large subset of patients surgically treated in Brazil, and additionally to estimate the incidence of testicular torsion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Brazilian Public Health System Database was assessed from 1992-2010 to evaluate hospital admissions associated with treatment of testicular torsion. Average monthly temperature between 1992-2010 was calculated for each region. RESULTS: We identified 21,289 hospital admissions for treatment of testicular torsion. There was a higher number of testicular torsions during colder months (p = 0.002. To estimate the incidence of testicular torsion, we have related our findings to data from the last Brazilian census (2010. In 2010, testicular torsion occurred in 1.4:100,000 men in Brazil. CONCLUSIONS:Testicular torsion occurred at an annual incidence of approximately 1.4:100,000 men in Brazil in 2010. Seasonal variations do occur, with a significant increase of events during winter. Our findings support the theory of etiological role of cold weather to the occurrence of testicular torsion. Strategies to prevent these events can be based on these findings.

Forest bat population dynamics over 14 years at a climate refuge: Effects of timber harvesting and weather extremes.

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Law, Bradley S; Chidel, Mark; Law, Peter R

2018-01-01

Long-term data are needed to explore the interaction of weather extremes with habitat alteration; in particular, can 'refugia' buffer population dynamics against climate change and are they robust to disturbances such as timber harvesting. Because forest bats are good indicators of ecosystem health, we used 14 years (1999-2012) of mark-recapture data from a suite of small tree-hollow roosting bats to estimate survival, abundance and body condition in harvested and unharvested forest and over extreme El Niño and La Niña weather events in southeastern Australia. Trapping was replicated within an experimental forest, located in a climate refuge, with different timber harvesting treatments. We trapped foraging bats and banded 3043 with a 32% retrap rate. Mark-recapture analyses allowed for dependence of survival on time, species, sex, logging treatment and for transients. A large portion of the population remained resident, with a maximum time to recapture of nine years. The effect of logging history (unlogged vs 16-30 years post-logging regrowth) on apparent survival was minor and species specific, with no detectable effect for two species, a positive effect for one and negative for the other. There was no effect of logging history on abundance or body condition for any of these species. Apparent survival of residents was not strongly influenced by weather variation (except for the smallest species), unlike previous studies outside of refugia. Despite annual variation in abundance and body condition across the 14 years of the study, no relationship with extreme weather was evident. The location of our study area in a climate refuge potentially buffered bat population dynamics from extreme weather. These results support the value of climate refugia in mitigating climate change impacts, though the lack of an external control highlights the need for further studies on the functioning of climate refugia. Relatively stable population dynamics were not compromised by

Forest bat population dynamics over 14 years at a climate refuge: Effects of timber harvesting and weather extremes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bradley S Law

Full Text Available Long-term data are needed to explore the interaction of weather extremes with habitat alteration; in particular, can 'refugia' buffer population dynamics against climate change and are they robust to disturbances such as timber harvesting. Because forest bats are good indicators of ecosystem health, we used 14 years (1999-2012 of mark-recapture data from a suite of small tree-hollow roosting bats to estimate survival, abundance and body condition in harvested and unharvested forest and over extreme El Niño and La Niña weather events in southeastern Australia. Trapping was replicated within an experimental forest, located in a climate refuge, with different timber harvesting treatments. We trapped foraging bats and banded 3043 with a 32% retrap rate. Mark-recapture analyses allowed for dependence of survival on time, species, sex, logging treatment and for transients. A large portion of the population remained resident, with a maximum time to recapture of nine years. The effect of logging history (unlogged vs 16-30 years post-logging regrowth on apparent survival was minor and species specific, with no detectable effect for two species, a positive effect for one and negative for the other. There was no effect of logging history on abundance or body condition for any of these species. Apparent survival of residents was not strongly influenced by weather variation (except for the smallest species, unlike previous studies outside of refugia. Despite annual variation in abundance and body condition across the 14 years of the study, no relationship with extreme weather was evident. The location of our study area in a climate refuge potentially buffered bat population dynamics from extreme weather. These results support the value of climate refugia in mitigating climate change impacts, though the lack of an external control highlights the need for further studies on the functioning of climate refugia. Relatively stable population dynamics were not

Excess cardiovascular mortality associated with cold spells in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyncl Jan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The association between cardiovascular mortality and winter cold spells was evaluated in the population of the Czech Republic over 21-yr period 1986–2006. No comprehensive study on cold-related mortality in central Europe has been carried out despite the fact that cold air invasions are more frequent and severe in this region than in western and southern Europe. Methods Cold spells were defined as periods of days on which air temperature does not exceed -3.5°C. Days on which mortality was affected by epidemics of influenza/acute respiratory infections were identified and omitted from the analysis. Excess cardiovascular mortality was determined after the long-term changes and the seasonal cycle in mortality had been removed. Excess mortality during and after cold spells was examined in individual age groups and genders. Results Cold spells were associated with positive mean excess cardiovascular mortality in all age groups (25–59, 60–69, 70–79 and 80+ years and in both men and women. The relative mortality effects were most pronounced and most direct in middle-aged men (25–59 years, which contrasts with majority of studies on cold-related mortality in other regions. The estimated excess mortality during the severe cold spells in January 1987 (+274 cardiovascular deaths is comparable to that attributed to the most severe heat wave in this region in 1994. Conclusion The results show that cold stress has a considerable impact on mortality in central Europe, representing a public health threat of an importance similar to heat waves. The elevated mortality risks in men aged 25–59 years may be related to occupational exposure of large numbers of men working outdoors in winter. Early warnings and preventive measures based on weather forecast and targeted on the susceptible parts of the population may help mitigate the effects of cold spells and save lives.

Donor Diabetes and Prolonged Cold Ischemia Time Synergistically Increase the Risk of Graft Failure After Liver Transplantation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brüggenwirth, Isabel M A; Dolgin, Natasha H; Porte, Robert J; Bozorgzadeh, Adel; Martins, Paulo N A

BACKGROUND: Both prolonged cold ischemia time (CIT) and donor history of diabetes mellitus (DM) are associated with reduced graft survival after liver transplantation. However, it is unknown whether the adverse effect of prolonged CIT on posttransplant graft survival is more pronounced after

Zeolite Formation and Weathering Processes in Dry Valleys of Antartica: Martian Analogs

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, E. K., Jr.; Wentworth, S. J.; McKay, D. S.; Socki, R. A.

2004-01-01

Terrestrial weathering processes in cold-desert climates such as the Dry Valleys of Antarctica may provide an excellent analog to chemical weathering and diagenesis of soils on Mars. Detailed studies of soil development and the chemical and mineralogical alterations occurring within soil columns in Wright Valley, Antarctica show incredible complexity in the upper meter of soil. Previous workers noted the ice-free Dry Valleys are the best terrestrial approximations to contemporary Mars. Images returned from the Pathfinder and Spirit landers show similarities to surfaces observed within the Dry Valleys. Similarities to Mars that exist in these valleys are: mean temperatures always below freezing (-20 C), no rainfall, sparse snowfall-rapidly removed by sublimation, desiccating winds, diurnal freeze-thaw cycles (even during daylight hours), low humidity, oxidative environment, relatively high solar radiation and low magnetic fields . The Dry Valley soils contain irregular distributions and low abundances of soil microorganisms that are somewhat unusual on Earth. Physical processes-such as sand abrasion-are dominant mechanisms of rock weathering in Antarctica. However, chemical weathering is also an important process even in such extreme climates. For example, ionic migration occurs even in frozen soils along liquid films on individual soil particles. It has also been shown that water with liquid-like properties is present in soils at temperatures on the order of approx.-80 C and it has been observed that the percentage of oxidized iron increases with increasing soil age and enrichments in oxidized iron occurs toward the surface. The presence of evaporates is evident and appear similar to "evaporite sites" within the Pathfinder and Spirit sites. Evaporites indicate ionic migration and chemical activity even in the permanently frozen zone. The presence of evaporates indicates that chemical weathering of rocks and possibly soils has been active. Authogenic zeolites have

Rainfall during parental care reduces reproductive and survival components of fitness in a passerine bird

OpenAIRE

?berg, Meit; Arlt, Debora; P?rt, Tomas; Laugen, Ane T; Eggers, S?nke; Low, Matthew

2014-01-01

Adverse weather conditions during parental care may have direct consequences for offspring production, but longer-term effects on juvenile and parental survival are less well known. We used long-term data on reproductive output, recruitment, and parental survival in northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) to investigate the effects of rainfall during parental care on fledging success, recruitment success (juvenile survival), and parental survival, and how these effects related to nestling age,...

Analysis on energy-saving path of rural buildings in hot summer and cold winter zone

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Mingqiang; Li, Jinheng

2018-02-01

Since the reform and opening policy, the construction of rural area in China has become more and more important. The idea of establishing green villages needs to be accepted and recognized by the public. The hot summer and cold winter zone combines two contradictory weather conditions that is cold winter and hot summer. So the living conditions are limited. In response to this climate, residents extensively use electric heaters or air conditioning to adjust the indoor temperature, resulting in energy waste and environmental pollution. In order to improve the living conditions of residents, rural area energy conservation has been put on the agenda. Based on the present situation and energy consumption analysis of the rural buildings in the hot summer and cold winter zone, this article puts forward several energy saving paths from government, construction technology and so on

Why we must abolish nuclear weapons after the end of the Cold War

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohnishi, Hitoshi

1997-01-01

The end of the Cold War has offered a great opportunity to reduce or even abolish nuclear weapons, but the international community seemed to lose interest in nuclear weapons issues. Today, however, there are a lot of other major menaces to the survival of the mankind: pollution, hunger, poverty, ethnic conflicts. So the nuclear weapons issue is merely one of the most pressing threats to survival

Weathering the storm: how lodgepole pine trees survive mountain pine beetle outbreaks.

Science.gov (United States)

Erbilgin, Nadir; Cale, Jonathan A; Hussain, Altaf; Ishangulyyeva, Guncha; Klutsch, Jennifer G; Najar, Ahmed; Zhao, Shiyang

2017-06-01

Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks in western North America killed millions of lodgepole pine trees, leaving few survivors. However, the mechanism underlying the ability of trees to survive bark beetle outbreaks is unknown, but likely involve phytochemicals such as monoterpenes and fatty acids that can drive beetle aggregation and colonization on their hosts. Thus, we conducted a field survey of beetle-resistant lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) trees to retrospectively deduce whether these phytochemicals underlie their survival by comparing their chemistry to that of non-attacked trees in the same stands. We also compared beetle attack characteristics between resistant and beetle-killed trees. Beetle-killed trees had more beetle attacks and longer ovipositional galleries than resistant trees, which also lacked the larval establishment found in beetle-killed trees. Resistant trees contained high amounts of toxic and attraction-inhibitive compounds and low amounts of pheromone-precursor and synergist compounds. During beetle host aggregation and colonization, these compounds likely served three critical roles in tree survival. First, low amounts of pheromone-precursor (α-pinene) and synergist (mycrene, terpinolene) compounds reduced or prevented beetles from attracting conspecifics to residual trees. Second, high amounts of 4-allyanisole further inhibited beetle attraction to its pheromone. Finally, high amounts of toxic limonene, 3-carene, 4-allyanisole, α-linolenic acid, and linoleic acid inhibited beetle gallery establishment and oviposition. We conclude that the variation of chemotypic expression of local plant populations can have profound ecological consequences including survival during insect outbreaks.

Coastal Frontogenesis and Associated Severe Weather on 13 March 1986 (GALE IOP 13)

Science.gov (United States)

1989-01-01

facilities used in this research are described as follows: a) Sounding operations The GALE sounding operations were designed to provide three-dimensional...airplanes were developed for a variety of weather scenarios. These tracks were designed to provide, but were not limited to, in situ measurements of...NU PA NJ Figur 2.. TpgahMfIh otesen ntdSae D ikea .,18) 32 3. CASE STUDY 3.1 Synoptic Overview On 12 March 1986 a back-door cold front (Carr, 1951

Municipalities' Preparedness for Weather Hazards and Response to Weather Warnings.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehiriz, Kaddour; Gosselin, Pierre

2016-01-01

The study of the management of weather-related disaster risks by municipalities has attracted little attention even though these organizations play a key role in protecting the population from extreme meteorological conditions. This article contributes to filling this gap with new evidence on the level and determinants of Quebec municipalities' preparedness for weather hazards and response to related weather warnings. Using survey data from municipal emergency management coordinators and secondary data on the financial and demographic characteristics of municipalities, the study shows that most Quebec municipalities are sufficiently prepared for weather hazards and undertake measures to protect the population when informed of imminent extreme weather events. Significant differences between municipalities were noted though. Specifically, the level of preparedness was positively correlated with the municipalities' capacity and population support for weather-related disaster management policies. In addition, the risk of weather-related disasters increases the preparedness level through its effect on population support. We also found that the response to weather warnings depended on the risk of weather-related disasters, the preparedness level and the quality of weather warnings. These results highlight areas for improvement in the context of increasing frequency and/or severity of such events with current climate change.

What is the best clothing to prevent heat and cold stress? Experiences with thermal manikin.

Science.gov (United States)

Magyar, Z; Tamas, R

2013-02-01

The present study summarizes the current knowledge of the heat and cold stress which might significantly affect military activities and might also occur among travellers who are not well adapted to weather variations during their journey. The selection of the best clothing is a very important factor in preserving thermal comfort. Our experiences with thermal manikin are also represented in this paper.

Study of frontal weather system using satellite images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qureshi, J.; Ershad, S.

2005-01-01

Pakistan which is situated in the south Asian sub continent, has a peculiar climatological position. It is one of the few countries in the world, which undergo a complete transformation from summer to winter season. However this project only pertains to the winter weather conditions in Pakistan. During winter, the land masses cool off rapidly as compared to the seas and so high pressure cells are developed over land causing, weak anti-cyclonic circulation over the country. In between these cells of anti-cyclonic flow of wind, there are zones of convergence, which offer a good breeding place for low-pressure waves. The low-pressure waves are similar to the extra tropical depressions and approach and approach Pakistan from west. From the same reason these are locally called the western Disturbances. Consequently the focus of study is on the extra tropical cyclones which originate along the boundary between polar continental and tropical or polar maritime and tropical maritime air masses. The extra tropical cyclones (also called western disturbances and westerly waves.) which are embedded in westerly flow of air move across north of Pakistan are usually originate from the Mediterranean sea. These systems consist of two types of fronts i.e. warm and cold fronts. In fact these systems can be traced right from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The location of frontal weather is generally associated with the surrounding synoptic situation, geographical position of the westerly wave, location of subtropical jet stream, steering wind level etc. although the satellite imageries are quite helpful for forecasting the frontal weather over our region however the weather charts (both surface and upper air ) and jet maps are also very helpful for this purpose

National Weather Service

Science.gov (United States)

... GIS International Weather Cooperative Observers Storm Spotters Tsunami Facts and Figures National Water Center WEATHER SAFETY NOAA Weather Radio StormReady Heat Lightning Hurricanes Thunderstorms Tornadoes Rip Currents Floods Winter Weather ...

Comparing Enchytraeus albidus populations from contrasting climatic environments suggest a link between cold tolerance and metabolic activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Žagar, Anamarija; Holmstrup, Martin; Simčič, Tatjana; Debeljak, Barabara; Slotsbo, Stine

2018-06-06

Basal metabolic activity and freezing of body fluids create reactive oxygen species (ROS) in freeze-tolerant organisms. These sources of ROS can have an additive negative effect via oxidative stress. In cells, antioxidant systems are responsible for removing ROS in order to avoid damage due to oxidative stress. Relatively little is known about the importance of metabolic rate for the survival of freezing, despite a good understanding of several cold tolerance related physiological mechanisms. We hypothesized that low basal metabolism would be selected for in freeze-tolerant organisms where winter survival is important for fitness for two reasons. First, avoidance of the additive effect of ROS production from metabolism and freezing, and second, as an energy-saving mechanism under extended periods of freezing where the animal is metabolically active, but unable to feed. We used the terrestrial oligochaete, Enchytraeus albidus, which is widely distributed from Spain to the high Arctic and compared eight populations originating across a broad geographical and climatic gradient after they had been cold acclimated at 5 °C in a common garden experiment. Cold tolerance (lower lethal temperature: LT50) and the potential metabolic activity (PMA, an estimator of the maximal enzymatic potential of the mitochondrial respiration chain) of eight populations were positively correlated amongst each other and correlated negatively with latitude and positively with average yearly temperature and the average temperature of the coldest month. These results indicate that low PMA in cold tolerant populations is important for survival in extremely cold environments. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Sporulation and survival of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in different types of commercial cat litters

Science.gov (United States)

Toxoplasma gondii oocysts are environmentally resistant and can survive outdoors for months in the dry and cold climates. In the present study, sporulation and survival of T. gondii oocysts was studied in different types of cat litters commercially available in the US. Oocysts sporulated within 2-...

Surface Weather, Signal Service and Weather Bureau

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Surface Weather, Signal Service and Weather Bureau (SWSSWB) Records primarily created by the United States Army Signal Service from 1819 until the paid and voluntary...

The other side of the coin: urban heat islands as shields from extreme cold

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, J.; Bou-Zeid, E.

2017-12-01

Extensive studies focusing on urban heat islands (UHIs) during hot periods create a perception that UHIs are invariably hazardous to human health and the sustainability of cities. Consequently, cities have invested substantial resources to try to mitigate UHIs. These urban policies can have serious repercussions since the health risks associated with cold weather are in fact higher than for heat episodes, yet wintertime UHIs have hardly been explored. We combine ground observations from 12 U.S. cities and high-resolution simulations to show that UHIs not only warm urban areas in the winter, but also further intensify during cold waves by up to 1.32 ± 0.78 oC (mean ± standard deviation) at night. Urban heat islands serve as shelters against extreme colds and provide invaluable benefits of reducing health risks and heating demand. More importantly, our simulations indicate that standard UHI mitigation measures such as green or cool roofs reduce these cold time amenities to different extents. Cities, particularly in cool and cold temperate climates, should hence revisit policies and efforts that are only desgined for hot periods. A paradigm shift is urgently needed to give an equal weight to the wintertime benefits of UHIs in the sustainability and resilience blueprints of cities.

Adverse Weather Evokes Nostalgia.

Science.gov (United States)

van Tilburg, Wijnand A P; Sedikides, Constantine; Wildschut, Tim

2018-03-01

Four studies examined the link between adverse weather and the palliative role of nostalgia. We proposed and tested that (a) adverse weather evokes nostalgia (Hypothesis 1); (b) adverse weather causes distress, which predicts elevated nostalgia (Hypothesis 2); (c) preventing nostalgia exacerbates weather-induced distress (Hypothesis 3); and (d) weather-evoked nostalgia confers psychological benefits (Hypothesis 4). In Study 1, participants listened to recordings of wind, thunder, rain, and neutral sounds. Adverse weather evoked nostalgia. In Study 2, participants kept a 10-day diary recording weather conditions, distress, and nostalgia. We also obtained meteorological data. Adverse weather perceptions were positively correlated with distress, which predicted higher nostalgia. Also, adverse natural weather was associated with corresponding weather perceptions, which predicted elevated nostalgia. (Results were mixed for rain.) In Study 3, preventing nostalgia (via cognitive load) increased weather-evoked distress. In Study 4, weather-evoked nostalgia was positively associated with psychological benefits. The findings pioneer the relevance of nostalgia as source of comfort in adverse weather.

How cold is cold dark matter?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armendariz-Picon, Cristian; Neelakanta, Jayanth T.

2014-01-01

If cold dark matter consists of particles, these must be non-interacting and non-relativistic by definition. In most cold dark matter models however, dark matter particles inherit a non-vanishing velocity dispersion from interactions in the early universe, a velocity that redshifts with cosmic expansion but certainly remains non-zero. In this article, we place model-independent constraints on the dark matter temperature to mass ratio, whose square root determines the dark matter velocity dispersion. We only assume that dark matter particles decoupled kinetically while non-relativistic, when galactic scales had not entered the horizon yet, and that their momentum distribution has been Maxwellian since that time. Under these assumptions, using cosmic microwave background and matter power spectrum observations, we place upper limits on the temperature to mass ratio of cold dark matter today (away from collapsed structures). These limits imply that the present cold dark matter velocity dispersion has to be smaller than 54 m/s. Cold dark matter has to be quite cold, indeed

Possible stimulation of anti-tumor immunity using repeated cold stress: a hypothesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radoja Sasa

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The phenomenon of hormesis, whereby small amounts of seemingly harmful or stressful agents can be beneficial for the health and lifespan of laboratory animals has been reported in literature. In particular, there is accumulating evidence that daily brief cold stress can increase both numbers and activity of peripheral cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells, the major effectors of adaptive and innate tumor immunity, respectively. This type of regimen (for 8 days has been shown to improve survival of mice infected with intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which would also be consistent with enhanced cell-mediated immunity. Presentation of the hypothesis This paper hypothesizes that brief cold-water stress repeated daily over many months could enhance anti-tumor immunity and improve survival rate of a non-lymphoid cancer. The possible mechanism of the non-specific stimulation of cellular immunity by repeated cold stress appears to involve transient activation of the sympathetic nervous system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axes, as described in more detail in the text. Daily moderate cold hydrotherapy is known to reduce pain and does not appear to have noticeable adverse effects on normal test subjects, although some studies have shown that it can cause transient arrhythmias in patients with heart problems and can also inhibit humoral immunity. Sudden immersion in ice-cold water can cause transient pulmonary edema and increase permeability of the blood-brain barrier, thereby increasing mortality of neurovirulent infections. Testing the hypothesis The proposed procedure is an adapted cold swim (5–7 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius, includes gradual adaptation to be tested on a mouse tumor model. Mortality, tumor size, and measurements of cellular immunity (numbers and activity of peripheral CD8+ T lymphocytes and natural killer cells of the cold-exposed group would be compared to

Cold Antimatter Plasmas, and Aspirations for Cold Antihydrogen

Science.gov (United States)

2002-06-24

UNCLASSIFIED Defense Technical Information Center Compilation Part Notice ADP012494 TITLE: Cold Antimatter Plasmas, and Aspirations for Cold...part numbers comprise the compilation report: ADP012489 thru ADP012577 UNCLASSIFIED Cold Antimatter Plasmas, and Aspirations for Cold Antihydrogen G...and positrons. The antiprotons come initially from the new Antiproton Decel- erator facility at CERN. Good control of such cold antimatter plasmas is

Annual elk calf survival in a multiple carnivore system

Science.gov (United States)

Eacker, Daniel R.; Hebblewhite, Mark; Proffitt, Kelly M.; Jimenez, Benjamin S.; Mitchell, Michael S.; Robinson, Hugh S.

2016-01-01

The realized effect of multiple carnivores on juvenile ungulate recruitment may depend on the carnivore assemblage as well as compensation from forage and winter weather severity, which may mediate juvenile vulnerability to predation in ungulates. We used a time-to-event approach to test for the effects of risk factors on annual elk (Cervus canadensis) calf survival and to estimate cause-specific mortality rates for 2 elk populations in adjacent study areas in the southern Bitterroot Valley, Montana, USA, during 2011–2014. We captured and radio-tagged 286 elk calves: 226 neonates, and 60 6-month-old calves. Summer survival probability was less variable than winter (P = 0.12) and averaged 0.55 (95% CI = 0.47–0.63), whereas winter survival varied more than summer and significantly across study years (P = 0.003) and averaged 0.73 (95% CI = 0.64–0.81). During summer, elk calf survival increased with biomass of preferred forage biomass, and was slightly lower following winters with high precipitation; exposure to mountain lion (Puma concolor) predation risk was unimportant. In contrast, during winter, we found that exposure to mountain lion predation risk influenced survival, with a weak negative effect of winter precipitation. We found no evidence that forage availability or winter weather severity mediated vulnerability to mountain lion predation risk in summer or winter (e.g., an interaction), indicating that the effect of mountain lion predation was constant regardless of spatial variation in forage or weather. Mountain lions dominated known causes of elk calf mortality in summer and winter, with estimated cause-specific mortality rates of 0.14 (95% CI = 0.09–0.20) and 0.12 (95% CI = 0.07–0.18), respectively. The effect of carnivores on juvenile ungulate recruitment varies across ecological systems depending on relative carnivore densities. Mountain lions may be the most important carnivore for ungulates, especially where grizzly

Extreme winter warming events more negatively impact small rather than large soil fauna: shift in community composition explained by traits not taxa.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bokhorst, S.F.; Phoenix, G.K.; Bjerke, J.W.; Callaghan, T.V.; Huyer-Brugman, F.A.; Berg, M.P.

2012-01-01

Extreme weather events can have negative impacts on species survival and community structure when surpassing lethal thresholds. Extreme winter warming events in the Arctic rapidly melt snow and expose ecosystems to unseasonably warm air (2-10 °C for 2-14 days), but returning to cold winter climate

Hypothermic general cold adaptation induced by local cold acclimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Savourey, G; Barnavol, B; Caravel, J P; Feuerstein, C; Bittel, J H

1996-01-01

To study relationships between local cold adaptation of the lower limbs and general cold adaptation, eight subjects were submitted both to a cold foot test (CFT, 5 degrees C water immersion, 5 min) and to a whole-body standard cold air test (SCAT, 1 degree C, 2 h, nude at rest) before and after a local cold acclimation (LCA) of the lower limbs effected by repeated cold water immersions. The LCA induced a local cold adaptation confirmed by higher skin temperatures of the lower limbs during CFT and a hypothermic insulative general cold adaptation (decreased rectal temperature and mean skin temperature P adaptation was related to the habituation process confirmed by decreased plasma concentrations of noradrenaline (NA) during LCA (P general cold adaptation was unrelated either to local cold adaptation or to the habituation process, because an increased NA during SCAT after LCA (P syndrome" occurring during LCA.

A comprehensive review on cold work of AISI D2 tool steel

Science.gov (United States)

Abdul Rahim, Mohd Aidil Shah bin; Minhat, Mohamad bin; Hussein, Nur Izan Syahriah Binti; Salleh, Mohd Shukor bin

2017-11-01

As a common material in mould and die application, AISI D2 cold work tool steel has proven to be a promising chosen material in the industries. However, challenges remain in using AISI D2 through a modified version with a considerable progress having been made in recent years. This paper provides a critical review of the original as-cast AISI D2 cold work tool steel up to the modified version. The main purpose is to develop an understanding of current modified tool steel trend; the machinability of AISI D2 (drilling, milling, turning, grinding and EDM/WEDM; and the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of these cold work tool steels due to the presence of alloy materials in the steel matrix. The doping of rare earth alloy element, new steel fabrication processes, significant process parameter in machinability and surface treatment shows that there have been few empirical investigations into these cold work tool steel alloys. This study has discovered that cold work tool steel will remain to be explored in order to survive in the steel industries.

Correlation of volumetric flow rate and skin blood flow with cold intolerance in digital replantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Gang; Mi, Jingyi; Rui, Yongjun; Pan, Xiaoyun; Yao, Qun; Qiu, Yang

2017-12-01

Cold intolerance is a common complication of digital replantation. The exact etiology is unclear, but it is considered to be multifactorial, including nonsurgical characteristics, vascular, and neurologic conditions. Blood flow may play a significant role in cold intolerance. This study was designed to evaluate the correlation of digital blood flow, including volumetric flow rate (VFR) and skin blood flow (SkBF), with cold intolerance in replanted fingers.A retrospective study was conducted among patients who underwent digital replantation between 2010 and 2013. Patients were selected into study cohort based on the inclusion criteria. Surgical data was collected on each patient, including age, sex, injury mechanism, amputation level, ischemia time, number of arteries repaired, and whether or not vascular crisis occurred. Patients were included as study cohort with both nerves repaired and without chronic disease. Cold intolerance was defined as a Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity (CISS) score over 30. The arterial flow velocity and caliber were measured by Color Doppler Ultrasound and the digital VFR was calculated. The SkBF was measured by Laser Speckle Imager. Both VFR and SkBF were calculated as a percentage of the contralateral fingers. Comparative study of surgical data and blood flow was performed between the patient with and without cold intolerance. Correlation between VFR and SkBF was also analyzed.A total of 93 patients met inclusion criteria for the study. Approximately, 42 patients were identified as having cold intolerance. Fingers that survived vascular crisis had a higher incidence of cold intolerance with a lower VFR and SkBF. The VFR was higher in 2-artery replantation, but the SkBF and incidence of cold intolerance did not differ significantly. No differences were found in age, sex, injury mechanism, amputation level, or ischemia time. Furthermore, no correlation was found between VFR and SkBF.Cold intolerance of digital replantation is associated

Weather swap as an instrument for weather risk management in wheat production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marković Todor

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A special type of weather derivatives are weather forwards and they exists mostly in the form of weather swaps. Hedging effectiveness in wheat production with and without weather swap was analyzed in this paper using stochastic dominance. The results show that the effect of risk reduction is significant using weather swap, but geographical- basis risk and production-related basis risk are important factor that reduce the utility of weather derivatives.

Has dry/cold weather an impact on the skin condition of cleanroom workers?

Science.gov (United States)

Weistenhöfer, Wobbeke; Uter, Wolfgang; Drexler, Hans

2016-01-01

In previous epidemiological studies irritant skin changes were reported significantly more frequently under dry/cold ambient air conditions. The aim of this study was to assess whether a similar effect might be observed in cleanroom workers, occupationally exposed to strictly controlled ambient conditions. This investigation examined 690 employees of a semiconductor production company in Germany, one half in winter (n = 358) and the other half in spring (n = 332). In both waves, both cleanroom workers, who used occlusive gloves predominantly during the entire shift, and employees in the administration, serving as the control group, were included. Ambient outdoor temperature and relative humidity (RH) were measured and absolute humidity (AH) was calculated. Hands were dermatologically examined with quantitative clinical skin score HEROS, supplemented by transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and stratum corneum hydration measurements. Temperature ranged from -5.41 to 6.51°C in winter (RH 71.04-92.38%; AH 2.85-6.7 g/m 3 ) and from 6.35 to 10.26°C in spring (RH 76.17-82.79%; AH 5.66-7.92 g/m 3 ). Regarding HEROS, TEWL, and corneometry, no marked consistent pattern regarding an enhanced or decreased risk of irritant skin changes was found. Work in a strictly controlled environment with prolonged wearing of occlusive gloves, with clean hands and without exposure to additional hazardous substances, did not seem to negatively affect the skin. In this particular setting, meteorological conditions also did not appear to adversely affect the skin. It is conceivable that wearing of gloves and air conditioning in the plant protect skin of the hands from adverse effects due to dry and cold air encountered when not working.

CD36 is indispensable for thermogenesis under conditions of fasting and cold stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Putri, Mirasari; Syamsunarno, Mas Rizky A.A.; Iso, Tatsuya; Yamaguchi, Aiko; Hanaoka, Hirofumi; Sunaga, Hiroaki; Koitabashi, Norimichi; Matsui, Hiroki; Yamazaki, Chiho; Kameo, Satomi; Tsushima, Yoshito

2015-01-01

Hypothermia can occur during fasting when thermoregulatory mechanisms, involving fatty acid (FA) utilization, are disturbed. CD36/FA translocase is a membrane protein which facilitates membrane transport of long-chain FA in the FA consuming heart, skeletal muscle (SkM) and adipose tissues. It also accelerates uptake of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein by brown adipose tissue (BAT) in a cold environment. In mice deficient for CD36 (CD36 −/− mice), FA uptake is markedly reduced with a compensatory increase in glucose uptake in the heart and SkM, resulting in lower levels of blood glucose especially during fasting. However, the role of CD36 in thermogenic activity during fasting remains to be determined. In fasted CD36 −/− mice, body temperature drastically decreased shortly after cold exposure. The hypothermia was accompanied by a marked reduction in blood glucose and in stores of triacylglycerols in BAT and of glycogen in glycolytic SkM. Biodistribution analysis using the FA analogue 125 I-BMIPP and the glucose analogue 18 F-FDG revealed that uptake of FA and glucose was severely impaired in BAT and glycolytic SkM in cold-exposed CD36 −/− mice. Further, induction of the genes of thermogenesis in BAT was blunted in fasted CD36 −/− mice after cold exposure. These findings strongly suggest that CD36 −/− mice exhibit pronounced hypothermia after fasting due to depletion of energy storage in BAT and glycolytic SkM and to reduced supply of energy substrates to these tissues. Our study underscores the importance of CD36 for nutrient homeostasis to survive potentially life-threatening challenges, such as cold and starvation. - Highlights: • We examined the role of CD36 in thermogenesis during cold exposure. • CD36 −/− mice exhibit rapid hypothermia after cold exposure during fasting. • Uptake of fatty acid and glucose is impaired in thermogenic tissues during fasting. • Storage of energy substrates is reduced in thermogenic tissues during

Weathering and landscape evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Turkington, Alice V.; Phillips, Jonathan D.; Campbell, Sean W.

2005-04-01

In recognition of the fundamental control exerted by weathering on landscape evolution and topographic development, the 35th Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium was convened under the theme of Weathering and Landscape Evolution. The papers and posters presented at the conference imparted the state-of-the-art in weathering geomorphology, tackled the issue of scale linkage in geomorphic studies and offered a vehicle for interdisciplinary communication on research into weathering and landscape evolution. The papers included in this special issue are encapsulated here under the general themes of weathering mantles, weathering and relative dating, weathering and denudation, weathering processes and controls and the 'big picture'.

Cold Weather Entomology.

Science.gov (United States)

McLure, John W.

1983-01-01

Suggests instructional strategies and student activities related to the study of insects during the winter. Includes possible collecting sites and classroom activities once the insects have been collected. (JN)

Cold habituation does not improve manual dexterity during rest and exercise in 5 °C

Science.gov (United States)

Muller, Matthew D.; Seo, Yongsuk; Kim, Chul-Ho; Ryan, Edward J.; Pollock, Brandon S.; Burns, Keith J.; Glickman, Ellen L.

2014-04-01

When exposed to a cold environment, a barehanded person experiences pain, cold sensation, and reduced manual dexterity. Both acute (e.g. exercise) and chronic (e.g. cold acclimatization or habituation) processes might lessen these negative effects. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of cold habituation on physiology, perception, and manual dexterity during rest, exercise, and recovery in 5 °C. Six cold weather athletes (CWA) and eight non habituated men (NON) volunteered to participate in a repeated measures cross-over design. The protocol was conducted in 5 °C and was 90 min of resting cold exposure, 30 min of cycle ergometry exercise (50 % VO2 peak), and 60 min of seated recovery. Core and finger skin temperature, metabolic rate, Purdue Pegboard dexterity performance, hand pain, thermal sensation, and mood were quantified. Exercise-induced finger rewarming (EIFRW) was calculated for each hand. During 90 min of resting exposure to 5 °C, the CWA had a smaller reduction in finger temperature, a lower metabolic rate, less hand pain, and less negative mood. Despite this cold habituation, dexterity performance was not different between groups. In response to cycle ergometry, EIFRW was greater in CWA (~12 versus 7 °C) and occurred at lower core temperatures (37.02 versus 37.31 °C) relative to NON but dexterity was not greater during post-exercise recovery. The current data indicate that cold habituated men (i.e., CWA) do not perform better on the Purdue Pegboard during acute cold exposure. Furthermore, despite augmented EIFRW in CWA, dexterity during post-exercise recovery was similar between groups.

Reconstruction of Historical Weather by Assimilating Old Weather Diary Data

Science.gov (United States)

Neluwala, P.; Yoshimura, K.; Toride, K.; Hirano, J.; Ichino, M.; Okazaki, A.

2017-12-01

Climate can control not only human life style but also other living beings. It is important to investigate historical climate to understand the current and future climates. Information about daily weather can give a better understanding of past life on earth. Long-term weather influences crop calendar as well as the development of civilizations. Unfortunately, existing reconstructed daily weather data are limited to 1850s due to the availability of instrumental data. The climate data prior to that are derived from proxy materials (e.g., tree-ring width, ice core isotopes, etc.) which are either in annual or decadal scale. However, there are many historical documents which contain information about weather such as personal diaries. In Japan, around 20 diaries in average during the 16th - 19th centuries have been collected and converted into a digitized form. As such, diary data exist in many other countries. This study aims to reconstruct historical daily weather during the 18th and 19th centuries using personal daily diaries which have analogue weather descriptions such as `cloudy' or `sunny'. A recent study has shown the possibility of assimilating coarse weather data using idealized experiments. We further extend this study by assimilating modern weather descriptions similar to diary data in recent periods. The Global Spectral model (GSM) of National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) is used to reconstruct weather with the Local Ensemble Kalman filter (LETKF). Descriptive data are first converted to model variables such as total cloud cover (TCC), solar radiation and precipitation using empirical relationships. Those variables are then assimilated on a daily basis after adding random errors to consider the uncertainty of actual diary data. The assimilation of downward short wave solar radiation using weather descriptions improves RMSE from 64.3 w/m2 to 33.0 w/m2 and correlation coefficient (R) from 0.5 to 0.8 compared with the case without any

Monthly Weather Review

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Supplements to the Monthly Weather Review publication. The Weather Bureau published the Monthly weather review Supplement irregularly from 1914 to 1949. The...

Cold acclimation improves chill tolerance in the migratory locust through preservation of ion balance and membrane potential

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Mads; Folkersen, Rasmus; MacMillan, Heath Andrew

2017-01-01

potential (Vm). Several studies have therefore suggested a link between preservation of Vm and cellular survival after cold stress, but none has measured Vm in this context. We tested this hypothesis by acclimating locusts (Locusta migratoria) to high (31°C) and low temperature (11°C) for 4 days before...... revealed that cellular injury during cold exposure occurs when Vm becomes severely depolarized. Interestingly, we found that cellular sensitivity to hypothermic hyperkalaemia was lower in cold-acclimated locusts that were better able to defend Vm whilst exposed to high extracellular [K+]. Together...

Increasing weather-related impacts on European population under climate and demographic change

Science.gov (United States)

Forzieri, Giovanni; Cescatti, Alessandro; Batista e Silva, Filipe; Kovats, Sari R.; Feyen, Luc

2017-04-01

Over the last three decades the overwhelming majority of disasters have been caused by weather-related events. The observed rise in weather-related disaster losses has been largely attributed to increased exposure and to a lesser degree to global warming. Recent studies suggest an intensification in the climatology of multiple weather extremes in Europe over the coming decades in view of climate change, while urbanization continues. In view of these pressures, understanding and quantifying the potential impacts of extreme weather events on future societies is imperative in order to identify where and to what extent their livelihoods will be at risk in the future, and develop timely and effective adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies. Here we show a comprehensive assessment of single- and multi-hazard impacts on the European population until the year 2100. For this purpose, we developed a novel methodology that quantifies the human impacts as a multiplicative function of hazard, exposure and population vulnerability. We focus on seven of the most impacting weather-related hazards - including heat and cold waves, wildfires, droughts, river and coastal floods and windstorms - and evaluated their spatial and temporal variations in intensity and frequency under a business-as-usual climate scenario. Long-term demographic dynamics were modelled to assess exposure developments under a corresponding middle-of-the-road scenario. Vulnerability of humans to weather extremes was appraised based on more than 2300 records of weather-related disasters. The integration of these elements provides a range of plausible estimates of extreme weather-related risks for future European generations. Expected impacts on population are quantified in terms of fatalities and number of people exposed. We find a staggering rise in fatalities from extreme weather events, with the projected death toll by the end of the century amounting to more than 50 times the present number of people

Survival and bioactivities of selected probiotic lactobacilli in yogurt fermentation and cold storage: New insights for developing a bi-functional dairy food.

Science.gov (United States)

Rutella, Giuseppina Sefora; Tagliazucchi, Davide; Solieri, Lisa

2016-12-01

In previous work, we demonstrated that two probiotic strains, namely Lactobacillus casei PRA205 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus PRA331, produce fermented milks with potent angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory and antioxidant activities. Here, we tested these strains for the survivability and the release of antihypertensive and antioxidant peptides in yogurt fermentation and cold storage. For these purposes three yogurt batches were compared: one prepared using yogurt starters alone (Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus 1932 and Streptococcus thermophilus 99), and the remaining two containing either PRA205 or PRA331 in addition to yogurt starters. Despite the lower viable counts at the fermentation end compared to PRA331, PRA205 overcame PRA331 in survivability during refrigerated storage for 28 days, leading to viable counts (>10(8) CFU/g) higher than the minimum therapeutic threshold (10(6) CFU/g). Analyses of in vitro ACE-inhibitory and antioxidant activities of peptide fractions revealed that yogurt supplemented with PRA205 displays higher amounts of antihypertensive and antioxidant peptides than that produced with PRA331 at the end of fermentation and over storage. Two ACE-inhibitory peptides, Valine-Proline-Proline (VPP) and Isoleucine-Proline-Proline (IPP), were identified and quantified. This study demonstrated that L. casei PRA205 could be used as adjunct culture for producing bi-functional yogurt enriched in bioactive peptides and in viable cells, which bring health benefits to the host as probiotics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic Weather Routes: A Weather Avoidance Concept for Trajectory-Based Operations

Science.gov (United States)

McNally, B. David; Love, John

2011-01-01

The integration of convective weather modeling with trajectory automation for conflict detection, trial planning, direct routing, and auto resolution has uncovered a concept that could help controllers, dispatchers, and pilots identify improved weather routes that result in significant savings in flying time and fuel burn. Trajectory automation continuously and automatically monitors aircraft in flight to find those that could potentially benefit from improved weather reroutes. Controllers, dispatchers, and pilots then evaluate reroute options to assess their suitability given current weather and traffic. In today's operations aircraft fly convective weather avoidance routes that were implemented often hours before aircraft approach the weather and automation does not exist to automatically monitor traffic to find improved weather routes that open up due to changing weather conditions. The automation concept runs in real-time and employs two keysteps. First, a direct routing algorithm automatically identifies flights with large dog legs in their routes and therefore potentially large savings in flying time. These are common - and usually necessary - during convective weather operations and analysis of Fort Worth Center traffic shows many aircraft with short cuts that indicate savings on the order of 10 flying minutes. The second and most critical step is to apply trajectory automation with weather modeling to determine what savings could be achieved by modifying the direct route such that it avoids weather and traffic and is acceptable to controllers and flight crews. Initial analysis of Fort Worth Center traffic suggests a savings of roughly 50% of the direct route savings could be achievable.The core concept is to apply trajectory automation with convective weather modeling in real time to identify a reroute that is free of weather and traffic conflicts and indicates enough time and fuel savings to be considered. The concept is interoperable with today

Long-term survivability of riprap for armoring uranium-mill tailings and covers: a literature review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindsey, C.G.; Long, L.W.; Begej, C.W.

1982-06-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is investigating the use of a rock armoring blanket (riprap) to mitigate wind and water erosion of an earthen radon suppression cover applied to uranium mill tailings. Because the radon suppression cover and the tailings must remain intact for up to 1000 years or longer, the riprap must withstand natural weathering forces. This report is a review of information on rock weathering and riprap durability. Chemical and physical weathering processes, rock characteristics related to durability, climatic conditions affecting the degree and rate of weathering, and testing procedures used to measure weathering susceptibilities have been reviewed. Sampling and testing techniques, as well as analyses of physical and chemical weathering susceptibilities, are necessary to evaluate rock durability. Many potential riprap materials may not be able to survive 1000 years of weathering. Available techniques for durability testing cannot adequately predict rock durability for the 1000-year period because they do not consider the issue of time (i.e., how long must riprap remain stable). This report includes an Appendix, which discusses rock weathering, written by Dr. Richard Jahns of Stanford University

High Latitude Corals Tolerate Severe Cold Spell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chenae A. Tuckett

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Climatically extreme weather events often drive long-term ecological responses of ecosystems. By disrupting the important symbiosis with zooxanthellae, Marine Cold Spells (MCS can cause bleaching and mortality in tropical and subtropical scleractinian corals. Here we report on the effects of a severe MCS on high latitude corals, where we expected to find bleaching and mortality. The MCS took place off the coast of Perth (32°S, Western Australia in 2016. Bleaching was assessed before (2014 and after (2017 the MCS from surveys of permanent plots, and with timed bleaching searches. Temperature data was recorded with in situ loggers. During the MCS temperatures dipped to the coldest recorded in ten years (15.3°C and periods of <17°C lasted for up to 19 days. Only 4.3% of the surveyed coral colonies showed signs of bleaching. Bleaching was observed in 8 species where those most affected were Plesiastrea versipora and Montipora mollis. These findings suggest that high latitude corals in this area are tolerant of cold stress and are not persisting near a lethal temperature minimum. It has not been established whether other environmental conditions are limiting these species, and if so, what the implications are for coral performance on these reefs in a warmer future.

Survival of microorganisms in smectite clays - Implications for Martian exobiology

Science.gov (United States)

Moll, Deborah M.; Vestal, J. R.

1992-01-01

The survival of Baccillus subtilis, Azotobacter chroococcum, and the enteric bacteriophage MS2 has been examined in clays representing terrestrial (Wyoming type montmorillonite) and Martian (Fe3+ montmorillonite) soils exposed to terrestrial and Martian environmental conditions of temperature and atmospheric composition and pressure. An important finding is that MS2 survived simulated Mars conditions better than the terrestrial environment, probably owing to stabilization of the virus caused by the cold and dry conditions of the simulated Mars environment. This finding, the first published indication that viruses may be able to survive in Mars-type soils, may have important implications for future missions to Mars.

Cold injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruse, R J

1995-01-01

There are two categories of cold injury. The first is hypothermia, which is a systemic injury to cold, and the second is frostbite, which is a local injury. Throughout history, entire armies, from George Washington to the Germans on the Russian Front in World War II, have fallen prey to prolonged cold exposure. Cold injury is common and can occur in all seasons if ambient temperature is lower than the core body temperature. In the 1985 Boston Marathon, even though it was 76 degrees and sunny, there were 75 runners treated for hypothermia. In general, humans adapt poorly to cold exposure. Children are at particular risk because of their relatively greater surface area/body mass ratio, causing them to cool even more rapidly than adults. Because of this, the human's best defense against cold injury is to limit his/her exposure to cold and to dress appropriately. If cold injury has occurred and is mild, often simple passive rewarming such as dry blankets and a warm room are sufficient treatment.

Cockpit weather information needs

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlon, Charles H.

1992-01-01

The primary objective is to develop an advanced pilot weather interface for the flight deck and to measure its utilization and effectiveness in pilot reroute decision processes, weather situation awareness, and weather monitoring. Identical graphical weather displays for the dispatcher, air traffic control (ATC), and pilot crew should also enhance the dialogue capabilities for reroute decisions. By utilizing a broadcast data link for surface observations, forecasts, radar summaries, lightning strikes, and weather alerts, onboard weather computing facilities construct graphical displays, historical weather displays, color textual displays, and other tools to assist the pilot crew. Since the weather data is continually being received and stored by the airborne system, the pilot crew has instantaneous access to the latest information. This information is color coded to distinguish degrees of category for surface observations, ceiling and visibilities, and ground radar summaries. Automatic weather monitoring and pilot crew alerting is accomplished by the airborne computing facilities. When a new weather information is received, the displays are instantaneously changed to reflect the new information. Also, when a new surface or special observation for the intended destination is received, the pilot crew is informed so that information can be studied at the pilot's discretion. The pilot crew is also immediately alerted when a severe weather notice, AIRMET or SIGMET, is received. The cockpit weather display shares a multicolor eight inch cathode ray tube and overlaid touch panel with a pilot crew data link interface. Touch sensitive buttons and areas are used for pilot selection of graphical and data link displays. Time critical ATC messages are presented in a small window that overlays other displays so that immediate pilot alerting and action can be taken. Predeparture and reroute clearances are displayed on the graphical weather system so pilot review of weather along

Investigating trehalose synthesis genes after cold acclimation in the Antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna C. Seybold

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1 is a freeze-tolerant Antarctic nematode which survives extensive intracellular ice formation. The molecular mechanisms of this extreme adaptation are still poorly understood. We recently showed that desiccation-enhanced RNA interference (RNAi soaking can be used in conjunction with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR to screen for phenotypes associated with reduced expression of candidate genes in Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1. Here, we present the use of this approach to investigate the role of trehalose synthesis genes in this remarkable organism. Previous studies have shown that acclimating Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1 at 5°C before freezing or desiccation substantially enhances survival. In this study, the expression of tps-2 and other genes associated with trehalose metabolism, as well as lea-1, hsp-70 and gpx-1, in cold-acclimated and non-acclimated nematodes was analyzed using qPCR. Pd-tps-2 and Pd-lea-1 were significantly upregulated after cold acclimation, indicating an inducible expression in the cold adaptation of Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1. The role of trehalose synthesis genes in Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1 was further investigated by RNAi. Compared to the controls, Pd-tps-2a(RNAi-treated and cold-acclimated nematodes showed a significant decrease in mRNA, but no change in trehalose content or freezing survival. The involvement of two other trehalose synthesis genes (tps-2b and gob-1 was also investigated. These findings provide the first functional genomic investigation of trehalose synthesis genes in the non-model organism Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1. The presence of several trehalose synthesis genes with different RNAi sensitivities suggests the existence of multiple backup systems in Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1, underlining the importance of this sugar in preparation for freezing.

Weather and Tourism: Thermal Comfort and Zoological Park Visitor Attendance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David R. Perkins

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Weather events have the potential to greatly impact business operations and profitability, especially in outdoor-oriented economic sectors such as Tourism, Recreation, and Leisure (TRL. Although a substantive body of work focuses on the macroscale impacts of climate change, less is known about how daily weather events influence attendance decisions, particularly relating to the physiological thermal comfort levels of each visitor. To address this imbalance, this paper focuses on ambient thermal environments and visitor behavior at the Phoenix and Atlanta zoos. Daily visitor attendances at each zoo from September 2001 to June 2011, were paired with the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET to help measure the thermal conditions most likely experienced by zoo visitors. PET was calculated using hourly atmospheric variables of temperature, humidity, wind speed, and cloud cover from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at each zoological park location and then classified based on thermal comfort categories established by the American Society of Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE. The major findings suggested that in both Phoenix and Atlanta, optimal thermal regimes for peak attendance occurred within “slightly warm” and “warm” PET-based thermal categories. Additionally, visitors seemed to be averse to the most commonly occurring thermal extreme since visitors appeared to avoid the zoo on excessively hot days in Phoenix and excessively cold days in Atlanta. Finally, changes in the daily weather impacted visitor attendance as both zoos experienced peak attendance on days with dynamic changes in the thermal regimes and depressed attendances on days with stagnant thermal regimes. Building a better understanding of how weather events impact visitor demand can help improve our assessments of the potential impacts future climate change may have on tourism.

COLD HARDINESS AND RANGE OF THE MYRIAPOD Angarozonium amurense (POLYZONIIDAE, DIPLOPODA, ARTHROPODA) IN PERMAFROST ENVIRONMENTS.

Science.gov (United States)

Berman, D I; Meshcheryakova, E N; Mikhaljova, E V

2015-01-01

Angarozonium amurense (Gerstfeldt, 1859) is the only one out of more than a hundred diplopod species described in Siberia and the Far East that inhabits regions with solid permafrost. To evaluate the cold hardiness of A. amurense that allows this species to inhabit permafrost regions. The survival temperature thresholds and supercooling points (SCP) were measured. The temperature thresholds for adult animal survival are -8.5 C in summer and -27 C in winter. Average SCP decreases from -7.7 in summer to -16.9 in winter. Water content decreases from 55.7% in summer to 49.4% in winter. The cold hardiness of A. amurense sets the record in this class of animals. It allows it to overwinter in the upper 15 centimeters layer of soil in most biotopes of the coldest permafrost regions in North Asia.

CD36 is indispensable for thermogenesis under conditions of fasting and cold stress

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Putri, Mirasari [Department of Medicine and Biological Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Department of Public Health, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Syamsunarno, Mas Rizky A.A. [Department of Medicine and Biological Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Department of Biochemistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jl. Raya Bandung Sumedang KM 21, Jatinangor, West Java 45363 (Indonesia); Iso, Tatsuya, E-mail: isot@gunma-u.ac.jp [Department of Medicine and Biological Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Education and Research Support Center, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Yamaguchi, Aiko; Hanaoka, Hirofumi [Department of Bioimaging Information Analysis, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Sunaga, Hiroaki [Department of Laboratory Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Koitabashi, Norimichi [Department of Medicine and Biological Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Matsui, Hiroki [Department of Laboratory Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Yamazaki, Chiho; Kameo, Satomi [Department of Public Health, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); Tsushima, Yoshito [Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 (Japan); and others

2015-02-20

Hypothermia can occur during fasting when thermoregulatory mechanisms, involving fatty acid (FA) utilization, are disturbed. CD36/FA translocase is a membrane protein which facilitates membrane transport of long-chain FA in the FA consuming heart, skeletal muscle (SkM) and adipose tissues. It also accelerates uptake of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein by brown adipose tissue (BAT) in a cold environment. In mice deficient for CD36 (CD36{sup −/−} mice), FA uptake is markedly reduced with a compensatory increase in glucose uptake in the heart and SkM, resulting in lower levels of blood glucose especially during fasting. However, the role of CD36 in thermogenic activity during fasting remains to be determined. In fasted CD36{sup −/−} mice, body temperature drastically decreased shortly after cold exposure. The hypothermia was accompanied by a marked reduction in blood glucose and in stores of triacylglycerols in BAT and of glycogen in glycolytic SkM. Biodistribution analysis using the FA analogue {sup 125}I-BMIPP and the glucose analogue {sup 18}F-FDG revealed that uptake of FA and glucose was severely impaired in BAT and glycolytic SkM in cold-exposed CD36{sup −/−} mice. Further, induction of the genes of thermogenesis in BAT was blunted in fasted CD36{sup −/−} mice after cold exposure. These findings strongly suggest that CD36{sup −/−} mice exhibit pronounced hypothermia after fasting due to depletion of energy storage in BAT and glycolytic SkM and to reduced supply of energy substrates to these tissues. Our study underscores the importance of CD36 for nutrient homeostasis to survive potentially life-threatening challenges, such as cold and starvation. - Highlights: • We examined the role of CD36 in thermogenesis during cold exposure. • CD36{sup −/−} mice exhibit rapid hypothermia after cold exposure during fasting. • Uptake of fatty acid and glucose is impaired in thermogenic tissues during fasting. • Storage of energy substrates is

Cold acclimation induces distinctive changes in the chromatin state and transcript levels of COR genes in Cannabis sativa varieties with contrasting cold acclimation capacities.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Boris F; Ali-Benali, Mohamed Ali; Demone, Jordan; Bertrand, Annick; Charron, Jean-Benoit

2015-11-01

Little is known about the capacity of Cannabis sativa to cold-acclimate and develop freezing tolerance. This study investigates the cold acclimation (CA) capacity of nine C. sativa varieties and the underlying genetic and epigenetic responses. The varieties were divided into three groups based on their contrasting CA capacities by comparing the survival of non-acclimated and cold-acclimated plants in whole-plant freeze tests. In response to the CA treatment, all varieties accumulated soluble sugars but only the varieties with superior capacity for CA could maintain higher levels throughout the treatment. In addition, the varieties that acclimated most efficiently accumulated higher transcript levels of cold-regulated (COR) genes and genes involved in de novo DNA methylation while displaying locus- and variety-specific changes in the levels of H3K9ac, H3K27me3 and methylcytosine (MeC) during CA. Furthermore, these hardy C. sativa varieties displayed significant increases in MeC levels at COR gene loci when deacclimated, suggesting a role for locus-specific DNA methylation in deacclimation. This study uncovers the molecular mechanisms underlying CA in C. sativa and reveals higher levels of complexity regarding how genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors intertwine. © 2014 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

NASA Space Weather Center Services: Potential for Space Weather Research

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yihua; Kuznetsova, Masha; Pulkkinen, Antti; Taktakishvili, A.; Mays, M. L.; Chulaki, A.; Lee, H.; Hesse, M.

2012-01-01

The NASA Space Weather Center's primary objective is to provide the latest space weather information and forecasting for NASA's robotic missions and its partners and to bring space weather knowledge to the public. At the same time, the tools and services it possesses can be invaluable for research purposes. Here we show how our archive and real-time modeling of space weather events can aid research in a variety of ways, with different classification criteria. We will list and discuss major CME events, major geomagnetic storms, and major SEP events that occurred during the years 2010 - 2012. Highlights of major tools/resources will be provided.

Weathering and weathering rates of natural stone

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, Erhard M.

1987-06-01

Physical and chemical weathering were studied as separate processes in the past. Recent research, however, shows that most processes are physicochemical in nature. The rates at which calcite and silica weather by dissolution are dependent on the regional and local climatic environment. The weathering of silicate rocks leaves discolored margins and rinds, a function of the rocks' permeability and of the climatic parameters. Salt action, the greatest disruptive factor, is complex and not yet fully understood in all its phases, but some of the causes of disruption are crystallization pressure, hydration pressure, and hygroscopic attraction of excess moisture. The decay of marble is complex, an interaction between disolution, crack-corrosion, and expansion-contraction cycies triggered by the release of residual stresses. Thin spalls of granites commonly found near the street level of buildings are generally caused by a combination of stress relief and salt action. To study and determine weathering rates of a variety of commercial stones, the National Bureau of Standards erected a Stone Exposure Test Wall in 1948. Of the many types of stone represented, only a few fossiliferous limestones permit a valid measurement of surface reduction in a polluted urban environment.

Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in synthetic gastric fluid after cold and acid habituation in apple juice or trypticase soy broth acidified with hydrochloric acid or organic acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Uljas, H E; Ingham, S C

1998-08-01

Extreme acid tolerance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 has raised doubts about the safety of acidic foods. This study examined whether prior storage in acidic and/or cold conditions enhanced survival of E. coli O157:H7 in synthetic gastric fluid (SGF). Three E. coli O157:H7 strains were stored in trypticase soy broth (TSB; acidified with HCl, malic acid, citric acid, or lactic acid) or pH 3.5 and 6.5 (nonacidic control) apple juice at 4 and 21 degrees C for acids, suggesting that juice constituents other than organic acids protect E. coli O157:H7. Refrigeration combined with low pH best protected cells in apple juice and acidified TSB, but, compared to the nonacidic control, only acidified TSB enhanced subsequent survival in pH 2.5 SGF. Equal survival in SGF occurred after storage in pH 3.5 or 6.5 apple juice at 4 degrees C, suggesting that low temperature alone in apple juice enhanced acid tolerance. Two strains stored at 4 degrees C in TSB containing malic or citric acid subsequently survived better in SGF than cells stored in nonacidified TSB but poorer than cells stored in the presence of HCl. These differences reflect the higher pKa of these organic acids. However, subsequent survival of these strains in SGF was poorer after refrigerated storage in apple juice than in TSB containing citric or malic acids. Cells stored in lactic acid were most likely to be completely eliminated upon transfer to SGF. Differences in survival in storage media or SGF related to strain, storage conditions, or acidifier were consistent and often statistically significant (P acidic beverages may not be affected by the type of acidifier used, the subsequent survival in SGF of this pathogen may be critically dependent on this factor.

Weatherization Works: Weatherization Assistance Program Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The United States demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Hyperprolinemic larvae of the drosophilid fly, Chymomyza costata, survive cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen.

Science.gov (United States)

Kostál, Vladimír; Zahradnícková, Helena; Šimek, Petr

2011-08-09

The larva of the drosophilid fly, Chymomyza costata, is probably the most complex metazoan organism that can survive submergence in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) in a fully hydrated state. We examined the associations between the physiological and biochemical parameters of differently acclimated larvae and their freeze tolerance. Entering diapause is an essential and sufficient prerequisite for attaining high levels of survival in liquid nitrogen (23% survival to adult stage), although cold acclimation further improves this capacity (62% survival). Profiling of 61 different metabolites identified proline as a prominent compound whose concentration increased from 20 to 147 mM during diapause transition and subsequent cold acclimation. This study provides direct evidence for the essential role of proline in high freeze tolerance. We increased the levels of proline in the larval tissues by feeding larvae proline-augmented diets and found that this simple treatment dramatically improved their freeze tolerance. Cell and tissue survival following exposure to liquid nitrogen was evident in proline-fed nondiapause larvae, and survival to adult stage increased from 0% to 36% in proline-fed diapause-destined larvae. A significant statistical correlation was found between the whole-body concentration of proline, either natural or artificial, and survival to the adult stage in liquid nitrogen for diapause larvae. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis suggested that high proline levels, in combination with a relatively low content of osmotically active water and freeze dehydration, increased the propensity of the remaining unfrozen water to undergo a glass-like transition (vitrification) and thus facilitated the prevention of cryoinjury.

Cold, dry air is associated with influenza and pneumonia mortality in Auckland, New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Robert E; Dougherty, Erin; McArthur, Colin; Huang, Qiu Sue; Baker, Michael G

2016-07-01

The relationship between weather and influenza and pneumonia mortality was examined retrospectively using daily data from 1980 to 2009 in Auckland, New Zealand, a humid, subtropical location. Mortality events, defined when mortality exceeded 0·95 standard deviation above the mean, followed periods of anomalously cold air (ta.m. = -4·1, P < 0·01; tp.m. = -4·2, P < 0·01) and/or anomalously dry air (ta.m. = -4·1, P < 0·01; tp.m. = -3·8, P < 0·01) by up to 19 days. These results suggest that respiratory infection is enhanced during unusually cold conditions and during conditions with unusually low humidity, even in a subtropical location where humidity is typically high. © 2015 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Powernext weather, benchmark indices for effective weather risk management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, an estimated 25% of the GNP is affected by weather-related events. The variations in temperature - even small ones - can also have long-lasting effects on the operational results of a company. Among other, the Energy supply sector is sensitive to weather risks: a milder or harsher than usual winter leads to a decrease or increase of energy consumption. The price of electricity on power trading facilities like Powernext is especially sensitive to odd changes in temperatures. Powernext and Meteo-France (the French meteorological agency) have joined expertise in order to promote the use of weather indices in term of decision making or underlying of hedging tools to energy actors, end users from any other sector of activity and specialists of the weather risk hedging. The Powernext Weather indices are made from information collected by Meteo-France's main observation network according to the norms of international meteorology, in areas carefully selected. The gross data are submitted to a thorough review allowing the correction of abnormalities and the reconstitution of missing data. Each index is fashioned to take into account the economic activity in the various regions of the country as represented by each region's population. This demographic information represents a fair approximation of the weight of the regional economic activity. This document presents the Powernext/Meteo France partnership for the elaboration of efficient weather-related risk management indices. (J.S.)

Extreme Weather Impacts on Maize Yield: The Case of Shanxi Province in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taoyuan Wei

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Extreme weather can have negative impacts on crop production. In this study, we statistically estimate the impacts of dry days, heat waves, and cold days on maize yield based on household survey data from 1993 to 2011 in ten villages of Shanxi province, China. Our results show that dry days, heat waves, and cold days have negative effects on maize yield, although these effects are marginal if these extreme events do not increase dramatically. Specifically, a one percent increase in extreme-heat-degree-days and consecutive-dry-days results in a maize yield declines of 0.2% and 0.07%, respectively. Maize yield also is reduced by 0.3% for cold days occurring during the growing season from May to September. However, these extreme events can increase dramatically in a warmer world and result in considerable reduction in maize yields. If all the historical temperatures in the villages are shifted up by 2 degrees Celsius, total impacts of these extreme events would lead to a reduction of maize yield by over 30 percent. The impacts may be underestimated since we did not exclude the offset effect of adaptation measures adopted by farmers to combat these extreme events.

Socio-Economic Impacts of Space Weather and User Needs for Space Weather Information

Science.gov (United States)

Worman, S. L.; Taylor, S. M.; Onsager, T. G.; Adkins, J. E.; Baker, D. N.; Forbes, K. F.

2017-12-01

The 2015 National Space Weather Strategy and Space Weather Action Plan (SWAP) details the activities, outcomes, and timelines to build a "Space Weather Ready Nation." NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center and Abt Associates are working together on two SWAP initiatives: (1) identifying, describing, and quantifying the socio-economic impacts of moderate and severe space weather; and (2) outreach to engineers and operators to better understand user requirements for space weather products and services. Both studies cover four technological sectors (electric power, commercial aviation, satellites, and GNSS users) and rely heavily on industry input. Findings from both studies are essential for decreasing vulnerabilities and enhancing preparedness.

Application of the Hess-Brezowsky classification to the identification of weather patterns causing heavy winter rainfall in Brittany (France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Planchon

2009-07-01

Full Text Available An accurate knowledge of the weather patterns causing winter rainfall over the Scorff watershed in western Brittany (W. France was developed prior to studies of the impact of the climate factor on land use management, and of the hydrological reponses to rain-producing weather patterns. These two studies are carried out in the context of the climate change. The identification of rainy air-circulation types was realized using the objective computational version of the 29-type Hess and Brezowsky Grosswetterlagen system of classifying European synoptic regimes, for the cold season (November-March of the 1958–2005 period at the reference weather station of Lorient, and 13 other stations located in western and southern Brittany, including a more detailed study for the wet 2000–2001 cold season for three reference stations of the Scorff watershed (Lorient, Plouay and Plouray. The precipitation proportion (including the days with rainfall ≥20 mm was calculated by major air-circulation type (GWT: see Appendix A and by individual air-circulation subtype (GWL: see Appendix A for the studied time-period. The most frequently occurrence of rainy days associated with westerly and southerly GWL confirmed well-known observations in western Europe and so justify the use of the Hess-Brezowsky classification in other areas outside Central Europe. The southern or south-western exposure of the watershed with a hilly inland area enhanced the heavy rainfall generated by the SW and S circulation types, and increased the difference between the rainfall amounts of coastal and inland stations during the wettest days.

Survival rate and expression of Heat-shock protein 70 and Frost genes after temperature stress in Drosophila melanogaster lines that are selected for recovery time from temperature coma.

Science.gov (United States)

Udaka, Hiroko; Ueda, Chiaki; Goto, Shin G

2010-12-01

In this study, we investigated the physiological mechanisms underlying temperature tolerance using Drosophila melanogaster lines with rapid, intermediate, or slow recovery from heat or chill coma that were established by artificial selection or by free recombination without selection. Specifically, we focused on the relationships among their recovery from heat or chill coma, survival after severe heat or cold, and survival enhanced by rapid cold hardening (RCH) or heat hardening. The recovery time from heat coma was not related to the survival rate after severe heat. The line with rapid recovery from chill coma showed a higher survival rate after severe cold exposure, and therefore the same mechanisms are likely to underlie these phenotypes. The recovery time from chill coma and survival rate after severe cold were unrelated to RCH-enhanced survival. We also examined the expression of two genes, Heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and Frost, in these lines to understand the contribution of these stress-inducible genes to intraspecific variation in recovery from temperature coma. The line showing rapid recovery from heat coma did not exhibit higher expression of Hsp70 and Frost. In addition, Hsp70 and Frost transcription levels were not correlated with the recovery time from chill coma. Thus, Hsp70 and Frost transcriptional regulation was not involved in the intraspecific variation in recovery from temperature coma. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Weathering and genesis of Soils from Ellsworth Mountains, East Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Karoline Delpupo Souza, Katia; Schaefer, Carlos Ernesto; Michel, Roberto; Monari, Julia; Machado, Vania

2015-04-01

Knowledge on Antarctic soils from the Ellsworth Mountains (EM) are patchy comparatively with Dry Valleys soils from the Transantartic Mountains, and could help understand the genesis of cryogenic soils under extreme dry, cold desert conditions. The EM are a slightly arcuate 350-km-long north-northwest-trending mountain chain is bordered on the west by the polar plateau of West Antarctica and on the east by Ronne Ice Shelf. The range is as much as 90 km wide and constitutes one of the largest areas of exposed bedrock in West Antarctica. The stratigraphic succession in the EM includes strata from Cambriam to Permian in age. The objective of this study is to analyze the properties of soils from EM in order to identify the main factors and processes involved in soil formation under cold desert conditions in Antarctica. The sampling design aimed to represent the different geological substrates (marble-clast conglomerate, graywacke, argillite, conglomerate, black shale, marble and quartzite) as well as altitudinal levels and landforms within the same substrate. We characterized soils from EM regarding their morphological, physics and chemical properties. Soil samples were air dried and passed through 2 mm sieves. After removal of water soluble salts, the samples were submitted to chemical and physical analyses such as: pH in water, potential acidity (H + Al), exchangeable bases, total organic carbon, electric conductivity, soil texture and color. The soils classify, for the most part, in weathering stages 1 to 2. Only in the upper parts of ridges were there traces of soils at weathering stage 3. This indicates that much of the present icefree topography has been overridden by ice within the last few hundred thousand years. Cryoturbation is a widespread phenomenon in this area resulting in intense cryoclastic weathering and patterned ground, forming sorted circles, stripes and gelifluxion lobes. The soil show low horizontation, discrete patches of salt on the surface, and

Topographic imprint on chemical weathering in deeply weathered soil-mantled landscapes (southern Brazil)

Science.gov (United States)

Vanacker, Veerle; Schoonejans, Jerome; Ameijeiras-Marino, Yolanda; Opfergelt, Sophie; Minella, Jean

2017-04-01

The regolith mantle is defined as the thin layer of unconsolidated material overlaying bedrock that contributes to shape the Earth's surface. The development of the regolith mantle in a landscape is the result of in-situ weathering, atmospheric input and downhill transport of weathering products. Bedrock weathering - the physical and chemical transformations of rock to soil - contributes to the vertical development of the regolith layer through downward propagation of the weathering front. Lateral transport of soil particles, aggregates and solutes by diffusive and concentrated particle and solute fluxes result in lateral redistribution of weathering products over the hillslope. In this study, we aim to expand the empirical basis on long-term soil evolution at the landscape scale through a detailed study of soil weathering in subtropical soils. Spatial variability in chemical mass fluxes and weathering intensity were studied along two toposequences with similar climate, lithology and vegetation but different slope morphology. This allowed us to isolate the topographic imprint on chemical weathering and soil development. The toposequences have convexo-concave slope morphology, and eight regolith profiles were analysed involving the flat upslope, steep midslope and flat toeslope part. Our data show a clear topographic imprint on soil development. Along hillslope, the chemical weathering intensity of the regolith profiles increases with distance from the crest. In contrast to the upslope positions, the soils in the basal concavities develop on in-situ and transported regolith. While the chemical weathering extent on the slope convexities (the upslope profiles) is similar for the steep and gentle toposequence, there is a clear difference in the rate of increase of the chemical weathering extent with distance from the crest. The increase of chemical weathering extent along hillslope is highest for the steep toposequence, suggesting that topography enhances soil particle

Cold plate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marroquin, Christopher M.; O' Connell, Kevin M.; Schultz, Mark D.; Tian, Shurong

2018-02-13

A cold plate, an electronic assembly including a cold plate, and a method for forming a cold plate are provided. The cold plate includes an interface plate and an opposing plate that form a plenum. The cold plate includes a plurality of active areas arranged for alignment over respective heat generating portions of an electronic assembly, and non-active areas between the active areas. A cooling fluid flows through the plenum. The plenum, at the non-active areas, has a reduced width and/or reduced height relative to the plenum at the active areas. The reduced width and/or height of the plenum, and exterior dimensions of cold plate, at the non-active areas allow the non-active areas to flex to accommodate surface variations of the electronics assembly. The reduced width and/or height non-active areas can be specifically shaped to fit between physical features of the electronics assembly.

Long-term survivability of riprap for armoring uranium-mill tailings and covers: a literature review. [203 references

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindsey, C.G.; Long, L.W.; Begej, C.W.

1982-06-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is investigating the use of a rock armoring blanket (riprap) to mitigate wind and water erosion of an earthen radon suppression cover applied to uranium mill tailings. Because the radon suppression cover and the tailings must remain intact for up to 1000 years or longer, the riprap must withstand natural weathering forces. This report is a review of information on rock weathering and riprap durability. Chemical and physical weathering processes, rock characteristics related to durability, climatic conditions affecting the degree and rate of weathering, and testing procedures used to measure weathering susceptibilities have been reviewed. Sampling and testing techniques, as well as analyses of physical and chemical weathering susceptibilities, are necessary to evaluate rock durability. Many potential riprap materials may not be able to survive 1000 years of weathering. Available techniques for durability testing cannot adequately predict rock durability for the 1000-year period because they do not consider the issue of time (i.e., how long must riprap remain stable). This report includes an Appendix, which discusses rock weathering, written by Dr. Richard Jahns of Stanford University.

The CGM of Massive Galaxies: Where Cold Gas Goes to Die?

Science.gov (United States)

Howk, Jay

2017-08-01

We propose to survey the cold HI content and metallicity of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) around 50 (45 new, 5 archival) z 0.5 Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) to directly test a fundamental prediction of galaxy assembly models: that cold, metal-poor accretion does not survive to the inner halos of very massive galaxies. Accretion and feedback through the CGM play key roles in our models of the star formation dichotomy in galaxies. Low mass galaxies are thought to accrete gas in cold streams, while high mass galaxies host hot, dense halos that heat incoming gas and prevent its cooling, thereby quenching star formation. HST/COS has provided evidence for cold, metal-poor streams in the halos of star-forming galaxies (consistent with cold accretion). Observations have also demonstrated the presence of cool gas in the halos of passive galaxies, a potential challenge to the cold/hot accretion model. Our proposed observations will target the most massive galaxies and address the origin of the cool CGM gas by measuring the metallicity. This experiment is enabled by our novel approach to deriving metallicities, allowing the use of much fainter QSOs. It cannot be done with archival data, as these rare systems are not often probed along random sight lines. The H I column density (and metallicity) measurements require access to the UV. The large size of our survey is crucial to robustly assess whether the CGM in these galaxies is unique from that of star-forming systems, a comparison that provides the most stringent test of cold-mode accretion/quenching models to date. Conversely, widespread detections of metal-poor gas in these halos will seriously challenge the prevailing theory.

Weather and emotional state

Science.gov (United States)

Spasova, Z.

2010-09-01

Introduction Given the proven effects of weather on the human organism, an attempt to examine its effects on a psychic and emotional level has been made. Emotions affect the bio-tonus, working ability and concentration, hence their significance in various domains of economic life, such as health care, education, transportation, tourism, etc. Data and methods The research has been made in Sofia City within a period of 8 months, using 5 psychological methods (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Test for Self-assessment of the emotional state (developed by Wessman and Ricks), Test for evaluation of moods and Test "Self-confidence - Activity - Mood" (developed by the specialists from the Military Academy in Saint Petersburg). The Fiodorov-Chubukov's complex-climatic method was used to characterize meteorological conditions because of the purpose to include in the analysis a maximal number of meteorological elements. 16 weather types are defined in dependence of the meteorological elements values according to this method. Abrupt weather changes from one day to another, defined by the same method, were considered as well. Results and discussions The results obtained by t-test show that the different categories of weather lead to changes in the emotional status, which indicates a character either positive or negative for the organism. The abrupt weather changes, according to expectations, have negative effect on human emotions but only when a transition to the cloudy weather or weather type, classified as "unfavourable" has been realized. The relationship between weather and human emotions is rather complicated since it depends on individual characteristics of people. One of these individual psychological characteristics, marked by the dimension "neuroticism", has a strong effect on emotional reactions in different weather conditions. Emotionally stable individuals are more "protected" to the weather influence on their emotions

Casebook on application for weather

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-11-01

This book introduces the excellent cases on application using weather at the industry, research center and public office. It lists the names and application cases in 2008 and 2009, which includes research on decease in risk by weather in the industry by Sam sung institute of safety and environment, service on weather information for people by KT, application with weather information in the flight by Korean air, use on weather information for prevention of disasters by Masan city hall, upgrade for business with weather marketing, center for river forecast in NOAA and the case using weather management for high profit margins.

Extreme weather and experience influence reproduction in an endangered bird

Science.gov (United States)

Reichert, Brian E.; Cattau, Christopher E.; Fletcher, Robert J.; Kendall, William L.; Kitchens, Wiley M.

2012-01-01

Extreme weather events, such as droughts and heat waves, are expected to become more severe and more frequent in the coming years, and understanding their impacts on demographic rates is of increasing interest to both evolutionary ecologists and conservation practitioners. An individual's breeding probability can be a sensitive indicator of the decision to initiate reproductive behavior under varying environmental conditions, has strong fitness consequences, and can be considered the first step in a life history trade-off between allocating resources for breeding activities or self-survival.

Weather Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Brantley, L. Reed, Sr.; Demanche, Edna L.; Klemm, E. Barbara; Kyselka, Will; Phillips, Edwin A.; Pottenger, Francis M.; Yamamoto, Karen N.; Young, Donald B.

This booklet presents some activities to measure various weather phenomena. Directions for constructing a weather station are included. Instruments including rain gauges, thermometers, wind vanes, wind speed devices, humidity devices, barometers, atmospheric observations, a dustfall jar, sticky-tape can, detection of gases in the air, and pH of…

Survival analysis and classification methods for forest fire size.

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Pier-Olivier; Duchesne, Thierry; Cumming, Steven G

2018-01-01

Factors affecting wildland-fire size distribution include weather, fuels, and fire suppression activities. We present a novel application of survival analysis to quantify the effects of these factors on a sample of sizes of lightning-caused fires from Alberta, Canada. Two events were observed for each fire: the size at initial assessment (by the first fire fighters to arrive at the scene) and the size at "being held" (a state when no further increase in size is expected). We developed a statistical classifier to try to predict cases where there will be a growth in fire size (i.e., the size at "being held" exceeds the size at initial assessment). Logistic regression was preferred over two alternative classifiers, with covariates consistent with similar past analyses. We conducted survival analysis on the group of fires exhibiting a size increase. A screening process selected three covariates: an index of fire weather at the day the fire started, the fuel type burning at initial assessment, and a factor for the type and capabilities of the method of initial attack. The Cox proportional hazards model performed better than three accelerated failure time alternatives. Both fire weather and fuel type were highly significant, with effects consistent with known fire behaviour. The effects of initial attack method were not statistically significant, but did suggest a reverse causality that could arise if fire management agencies were to dispatch resources based on a-priori assessment of fire growth potentials. We discuss how a more sophisticated analysis of larger data sets could produce unbiased estimates of fire suppression effect under such circumstances.

Constraining Silicate Weathering Processes in an Active Volcanic Complex: Implications for the Long-term Carbon Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Washington, K.; West, A. J.; Hartmann, J.; Amann, T.; Hosono, T.; Ide, K.

2017-12-01

While analyzing geochemical archives and carbon cycle modelling can further our understanding of the role of silicate weathering as a sink in the long-term carbon cycle, it is necessary to study modern weathering processes to inform these efforts. A recent compilation of data from rivers draining basaltic catchments estimates that rock weathering in active volcanic fields (AVFs) consumes atmospheric CO2 approximately three times faster than in inactive volcanic fields (IVFs), suggesting that the eruption and subsequent weathering of large igneous provinces likely played a major role in the carbon cycle in the geologic past [1]. The study demonstrates a significant correlation between catchment mean annual temperature (MAT) and atmospheric CO2 consumption rate for IVFs. However CO2 consumption due to weathering of AVFs is not correlated with MAT as the relationship is complicated by variability in hydrothermal fluxes, reactive surface area, and groundwater flow paths. To investigate the controls on weathering processes in AVFs, we present data for dissolved and solid weathering products from Mount Aso Caldera, Japan. Aso Caldera is an ideal site for studying the how the chemistry of rivers draining an AVF is impacted by high-temperature water/rock interactions, volcanic ash weathering, and varied groundwater flow paths and residence times. Samples were collected over five field seasons from two rivers and their tributaries, cold groundwater springs, and thermal springs. These samples capture the region's temperature and precipitation seasonality. Solid samples of unaltered volcanic rocks, hydrothermally-altered materials, volcanic ash, a soil profile, and suspended and bedload river sediments were also collected. The hydrochemistry of dissolved phases were analyzed at the University of Hamburg, while the mineralogy and geochemical compositions of solid phases were analyzed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. This work will be discussed in the context of

A Milestone in Commercial Space Weather: USTAR Center for Space Weather

Science.gov (United States)

Tobiska, W.; Schunk, R. W.; Sojka, J. J.; Thompson, D. C.; Scherliess, L.; Zhu, L.; Gardner, L. C.

2009-12-01

As of 2009, Utah State University (USU) hosts a new organization to develop commercial space weather applications using funding that has been provided by the State of Utah’s Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative. The USTAR Center for Space Weather (UCSW) is located on the USU campus in Logan, Utah and is developing innovative applications for mitigating adverse space weather effects in technological systems. Space weather’s effects upon the near-Earth environment are due to dynamic changes in the Sun’s photons, particles, and fields. Of the space environment domains that are affected by space weather, the ionosphere is the key region that affects communication and navigation systems. The UCSW has developed products for users of systems that are affected by space weather-driven ionospheric changes. For example, on September 1, 2009 USCW released, in conjunction with Space Environment Technologies, the world’s first real-time space weather via an iPhone app. Space WX displays the real-time, current global ionosphere total electron content along with its space weather drivers; it is available through the Apple iTunes store and is used around the planet. The Global Assimilation of Ionospheric Measurements (GAIM) system is now being run operationally in real-time at UCSW with the continuous ingestion of hundreds of global data streams to dramatically improve the ionosphere’s characterization. We discuss not only funding and technical advances that have led to current products but also describe the direction for UCSW that includes partnering opportunities for moving commercial space weather into fully automated specification and forecasting over the next half decade.

Optimizing Placement of Weather Stations: Exploring Objective Functions of Meaningful Combinations of Multiple Weather Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, A.; Dietterich, T.; Selker, J. S.

2017-12-01

Many regions of the world lack ground-based weather data due to inadequate or unreliable weather station networks. For example, most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have unreliable, sparse networks of weather stations. The absence of these data can have consequences on weather forecasting, prediction of severe weather events, agricultural planning, and climate change monitoring. The Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO.org) project seeks to address these problems by deploying and operating a large network of weather stations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. To design the TAHMO network, we must determine where to place weather stations within each country. We should consider how we can create accurate spatio-temporal maps of weather data and how to balance the desired accuracy of each weather variable of interest (precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, etc.). We can express this problem as a joint optimization of multiple weather variables, given a fixed number of weather stations. We use reanalysis data as the best representation of the "true" weather patterns that occur in the region of interest. For each possible combination of sites, we interpolate the reanalysis data between selected locations and calculate the mean average error between the reanalysis ("true") data and the interpolated data. In order to formulate our multi-variate optimization problem, we explore different methods of weighting each weather variable in our objective function. These methods include systematic variation of weights to determine which weather variables have the strongest influence on the network design, as well as combinations targeted for specific purposes. For example, we can use computed evapotranspiration as a metric that combines many weather variables in a way that is meaningful for agricultural and hydrological applications. We compare the errors of the weather station networks produced by each optimization problem formulation. We also compare these

Conceptualizing Cold Disasters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauta, Kristian Cedervall; Dahlberg, Rasmus; Vendelø, Morten Thanning

2017-01-01

In the present article, we explore in more depth the particular circumstances and characteristics of governing what we call ‘cold disasters’, and thereby, the paper sets out to investigate how disasters in cold contexts distinguish themselves from other disasters, and what the implications hereof...... are for the conceptualization and governance of cold disasters. Hence, the paper can also be viewed as a response to Alexander’s (2012a) recent call for new theory in the field of disaster risk reduction. The article is structured in four overall parts. The first part, Cold Context, provides an overview of the specific...... conditions in a cold context, exemplified by the Arctic, and zooms in on Greenland to provide more specific background for the paper. The second part, Disasters in Cold Contexts, discusses “cold disasters” in relation to disaster theory, in order to, elucidate how cold disasters challenge existing...

Synoptic weather types associated with critical fire weather

Science.gov (United States)

Mark J. Schroeder; Monte Glovinsky; Virgil F. Hendricks; Frank C. Hood; Melvin K. Hull; Henry L. Jacobson; Robert Kirkpatrick; Daniel W. Krueger; Lester P. Mallory; Albert G. Oeztel; Robert H. Reese; Leo A. Sergius; Charles E. Syverson

1964-01-01

Recognizing that weather is an important factor in the spread of both urban and wildland fires, a study was made of the synoptic weather patterns and types which produce strong winds, low relative humidities, high temperatures, and lack of rainfall--the conditions conducive to rapid fire spread. Such historic fires as the San Francisco fire of 1906, the Berkeley fire...

Weatherization: Wyoming's Hidden Resource; Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Wyoming demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Weather derivatives or how an energy company can hedge its weather risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahghighi, A.; Carpentier, Ph.

2000-01-01

This paper gives a detailed overview of weather derivatives and explains where this new class of financial products falls. The emergence of weather derivatives came about as a response to a need in the energy sector to hedge this sector's weather risks. This article focuses on the nature of these financial contracts, what they include and how they are priced. This article concludes by stating that energy companies in Europe can no longer afford to remain exposed to weather risks in an increasingly privatized and competitive market

Formation of halloysite from feldspar: Low temperature, artificial weathering versus natural weathering

Science.gov (United States)

Parham, Walter E.

1969-01-01

Weathering products formed on surfaces of both potassium and plagioclase feldspar (An70), which were continuously leached in a Soxhlet extraction apparatus for 140 days with 7.21 of distilled water per day at a temperature of approximately 78°C, are morphologically identical to natural products developed on potassium feldspars weathered under conditions of good drainage in the humid tropics. The new products, which first appear as tiny bumps on the feldspar surface, start to develop mainly at exposed edges but also at apparently random sites on flat cleavage surfaces. As weathering continues, the bumps grow outward from the feldspar surface to form tapered projections, which then develop into wide-based thin films or sheets. The thin sheets of many projections merge laterally to form one continuous flame-shaped sheet. The sheets formed on potassium feldspars may then roll to form tubes that are inclined at a high angle to the feldspar surface. Etch pits of triangular outline on the artificially weathered potassium feldspars serve as sites for development of continuous, non-rolled, hollow tubes. It is inferred from its morphology that this weathering product is halloysite or its primitive form. The product of naturally weathered potassium feldspars is halloysite . 4H2O.The flame-shaped films or sheets formed on artificially weathered plagioclase feldspar do not develop into hollow tubes, but instead give rise to a platy mineral that is most probably boehmite. These plates form within the flame-shaped films, and with continued weathering are released as the film deteriorates. There is no indication from this experiment that platy pseudohexagonal kaolinite forms from any of these minerals under the initial stage of weathering.

Complete genome sequence of Arthrobacter alpinus ERGS4:06, a yellow pigmented bacterium tolerant to cold and radiations isolated from Sikkim Himalaya.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Rakshak; Singh, Dharam; Swarnkar, Mohit Kumar; Singh, Anil Kumar; Kumar, Sanjay

2016-02-20

Arthrobacter alpinus ERGS4:06, a yellow pigmented bacterium which exhibited tolerance to cold and UV radiations was isolated from the glacial stream of East Rathong glacier in Sikkim Himalaya. Here we report the 4.3Mb complete genome assembly that has provided the basis for potential role of pigments as a survival strategy to combat stressed environment of cold and high UV-radiation and additionally the ability to produce cold active industrial enzymes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Waste glass weathering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, J.K.; Buck, E.C.

1994-01-01

The weathering of glass is reviewed by examining processes that affect the reaction of commercial, historical, natural, and nuclear waste glass under conditions of contact with humid air and slowly dripping water, which may lead to immersion in nearly static solution. Radionuclide release data from weathered glass under conditions that may exist in an unsaturated environment are presented and compared to release under standard leaching conditions. While the comparison between the release under weathering and leaching conditions is not exact, due to variability of reaction in humid air, evidence is presented of radionuclide release under a variety of conditions. These results suggest that both the amount and form of radionuclide release can be affected by the weathering of glass

Weather Information Processing

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

Science Communications International (SCI), formerly General Science Corporation, has developed several commercial products based upon experience acquired as a NASA Contractor. Among them are METPRO, a meteorological data acquisition and processing system, which has been widely used, RISKPRO, an environmental assessment system, and MAPPRO, a geographic information system. METPRO software is used to collect weather data from satellites, ground-based observation systems and radio weather broadcasts to generate weather maps, enabling potential disaster areas to receive advance warning. GSC's initial work for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center resulted in METPAK, a weather satellite data analysis system. METPAK led to the commercial METPRO system. The company also provides data to other government agencies, U.S. embassies and foreign countries.

Wacky Weather

Science.gov (United States)

Sabarre, Amy; Gulino, Jacqueline

2013-01-01

What do a leaf blower, water hose, fan, and ice cubes have in common? Ask the students who participated in an integrative science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (I-STEM) education unit, "Wacky Weather," and they will tell say "fun and severe weather"--words one might not have expected! The purpose of the unit…

Weather Radar Stations

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — These data represent Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) and Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) weather radar stations within the US. The NEXRAD radar stations are...

The Effects of In-Hospital Intravenous Cold Saline in Postcardiac Arrest Patients Treated with Targeted Temperature Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Suppogu, Nissi; Panza, Gregory A; Kilic, Sena; Gowdar, Shreyas; Kallur, Kamala R; Jayaraman, Ramya; Lundbye, Justin; Fernandez, Antonio B

2018-03-01

Recent data suggest that rapid infusion of intravenous (IV) cold saline for Targeted Temperature Management (TTM) after cardiac arrest is associated with higher rates of rearrest, pulmonary edema, and hypoxia, with no difference in neurologic outcomes or survival when administered by Emergency Medical Services. We sought to determine the effects of IV cold saline administration in the hospital setting in postcardiac arrest patients to achieve TTM and its effect on clinical parameters and neurologic outcomes. A cohort of 132 patients who completed TTM after cardiac arrest in a single institution was retrospectively studied. Patients who did not receive cold saline were matched by age, gender, Glasgow coma scale, downtime, and presenting rhythm to patients who received cold saline. Demographics, cardiac rearrest, diuretic use, time to target temperature, and Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) scores were recorded among other variables. Patients who received cold saline achieved target temperature sooner (280 vs. 345 minutes, p = 0.05), had lower lactate levels on day 1 (4.2 ± 3.5 mM vs. 6.0 ± 4.9 mM, p = 0.019) and day 2 (1.3 ± 2.2 mM vs. 2.2 ± 3.2 mM, p = 0.046), increased incidence of pulmonary edema (51.5% vs. 31.8%, p = 0.006), and increased diuretic utilization (63.6% vs. 42.4%, p = 0.014). There was no significant difference in cardiac rearrest, arterial oxygenation, and CPC scores (ps > 0.05). Infusion of IV cold saline is associated with shorter time to target temperature, increased incidence of pulmonary edema, and diuretic use, with no difference in cardiac rearrest, survival, and neurologic outcomes.

Cold urticaria. Dissociation of cold-evoked histamine release and urticara following cold challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Keahey, T M; Greaves, M W

1980-02-01

Nine patients with acquired cold urticaria were studied to assess the effects of beta-adrenergic agents, xanthines, and corticosteroids on cold-evoked histamine release from skin in vivo. The patients, in all of whom an immediate urticarial response developed after cooling of the forearm, demonstrated release of histamine into the venous blood draining that forearm. Following treatment with aminophylline and albuterol in combination or prednisone alone, suppression of histamine release occurred in all but one patient. In some patients, this was accompanied by a subjective diminution in pruritus or buring, but there was no significant improvement in the ensuing edema or erythema. In one patient, total suppression of histamine release was achieved without any effect on whealing and erythema in response to cold challenge. Our results suggest that histamine is not central to the pathogenesis of vascular changes in acquired cold urticaria.

Effects of oil sands tailings compounds and harsh weather on mortality rates, growth and detoxification efforts in nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gentes, Marie-Line [Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4 (Canada)]. E-mail: marie-line.gentes@usask.ca; Waldner, Cheryl [Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4 (Canada)]. E-mail: cheryl.waldner@usask.ca; Papp, Zsuzsanna [Toxicology Research Centre, 44 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B3 (Canada)]. E-mail: zsp127@duke.usask.ca; Smits, Judit E.G. [Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4 (Canada)]. E-mail: judit.smits@usask.ca

2006-07-15

Oil sands mining companies in Alberta, Canada, are evaluating the feasibility of using wetlands to detoxify oil sands process material (OSPM) as a reclamation strategy. Reproductive success, nestling growth, survival and ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) activity were measured in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) on experimental wetlands. In 2003, harsh weather triggered a widespread nestling die-off. Mortality rates on the control site reached 48% while they ranged from 59% to 100% on reclaimed wetlands. The odds of dying on the most process-affected sites were more than ten times higher than those on the control site. In 2004, weather was less challenging. Mortality rates were low, but nestlings on reclaimed wetlands weighed less than those on the control site, and had higher EROD activity. These results indicate that compared with reference birds, nestlings from OSPM-impacted wetlands may be less able to withstand additional stressors, which could decrease their chances of survival after fledging. - Under natural stress caused by harsh weather, birds exposed to chemicals from the oil sands extraction process suffered higher mortality than those in control areas.

Effects of oil sands tailings compounds and harsh weather on mortality rates, growth and detoxification efforts in nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gentes, Marie-Line; Waldner, Cheryl; Papp, Zsuzsanna; Smits, Judit E.G.

2006-01-01

Oil sands mining companies in Alberta, Canada, are evaluating the feasibility of using wetlands to detoxify oil sands process material (OSPM) as a reclamation strategy. Reproductive success, nestling growth, survival and ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) activity were measured in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) on experimental wetlands. In 2003, harsh weather triggered a widespread nestling die-off. Mortality rates on the control site reached 48% while they ranged from 59% to 100% on reclaimed wetlands. The odds of dying on the most process-affected sites were more than ten times higher than those on the control site. In 2004, weather was less challenging. Mortality rates were low, but nestlings on reclaimed wetlands weighed less than those on the control site, and had higher EROD activity. These results indicate that compared with reference birds, nestlings from OSPM-impacted wetlands may be less able to withstand additional stressors, which could decrease their chances of survival after fledging. - Under natural stress caused by harsh weather, birds exposed to chemicals from the oil sands extraction process suffered higher mortality than those in control areas

Internet Weather Source

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Weather Service (NWS) National Telecommunications Gateway provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its...

Validation of standard ASTM F2732 and comparison with ISO 11079 with respect to comfort temperature ratings for cold protective clothing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Chuansi; Lin, Li-Yen; Halder, Amitava; Kuklane, Kalev; Holmér, Ingvar

2015-01-01

American standard ASTM F2732 estimates the lowest environmental temperature for thermal comfort for cold weather protective clothing. International standard ISO 11079 serves the same purpose but expresses cold stress in terms of required clothing insulation for a given cold climate. The objective of this study was to validate and compare the temperature ratings using human subject tests at two levels of metabolic rates (2 and 4 MET corresponding to 116.4 and 232.8 W/m(2)). Nine young and healthy male subjects participated in the cold exposure at 3.4 and -30.6 °C. The results showed that both standards predict similar temperature ratings for an intrinsic clothing insulation of 1.89 clo and for 2 MET activity. The predicted temperature rating for 2 MET activity is consistent with test subjects' thermophysiological responses, perceived thermal sensation and thermal comfort. For 4 MET activity, however, the whole body responses were on the cold side, particularly the responses of the extremities. ASTM F2732 is also limited due to its omission and simplification of three climatic variables (air velocity, radiant temperature and relative humidity) and exposure time in the cold which are of practical importance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Mariners Weather Log

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Mariners Weather Log (MWL) is a publication containing articles, news and information about marine weather events and phenomena, worldwide environmental impact...

Pilot Weather Reports

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Aviation weather reports relayed from pilots to FAA air traffic controllers or National Weather Service personnel. Elements include sky cover, turbulence, wind...

LENR/"Cold Fusion" and Modern Physics: A Crisis Within a Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Mallove, Eugene F. E.

2004-03-01

The primary theorists in the field of Cold Fusion/LENR have generally assumed that the excess heat phenomena is commensurate with nuclear ash (such as helium), whether already identified or presumed to be present but not yet found, and moreover that it can be explained by hydrided metal lattice structures acting coherently. Though this was an excellent initial hypothesis, the commensurate nuclear ash hypothesis has not been proved, and appears to be approximately correct in only a few experiments. At the same time, compelling evidence has also emerged for other microphysical sources of energy that were unexpected by accepted physics. The exemplars have been the work Dr. Randell Mills and his colleagues at BlackLight Power Corporation and Dr. Paulo and Alexandra Correa in Canada.This has led to a crisis within a crisis: Neither "cold fusion" nor "Modern Physics" will be able to explain the full range of experimental data now available---not even the data within "mainstream" cold fusion/LENR per se--- by insisting that the fundamental paradigms of Modern Physics are without significant flaw. The present crisis is of magnitude comparable to the Copernican Revolution. Neither Modern Physics nor Cold Fusion/LENR will survive in their present forms when this long delayed revolution has run its course.

Survival at Sea for Mariners, Aviators and Search and Rescue Personnel (Survie en mer pour les marins, les aviateurs et le personnel de recherche et de sauvetage)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2008-01-01

.... The text discusses key issues such as drowning through cold shock and swimming failure induced by immersion in water particularly below 15 deg C, survival prediction curves and non-freezing cold injuries...

Cultured Chinese hamster cells undergo apoptosis after exposure to cold but nonfreezing temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagle, W A; Soloff, B L; Moss, A J; Henle, K J

1990-08-01

Cultured Chinese hamster V79 fibroblast cells at the transition from logarithmic to stationary growth have been shown to undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death) after cold shock [B. L. Soloff, W. A. Nagle, A. J. Moss, Jr., K. J. Henle, and J. T. Crawford, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 145, 876-883 (1987)]. In this report, we show that about 95% of the cell population was susceptible to cold-induced apoptosis, and the amount of cell killing was dependent on the duration of hypothermia. Cells treated for 0-90 min at 0 degrees C exhibited an exponential survival curve with a D0 of 32 min; thus, even short exposures to the cold (e.g., 5 min) produced measurable cell killing. The cold-induced injury was not produced by freezing, because similar results were observed at 6 degrees C, and cell killing was not influenced by the cryoprotective agent dimethyl sulfoxide. Cold-induced apoptosis was inhibited by rewarming at 23 degrees C, compared to 37 degrees C, by inhibitors of macromolecular synthesis, such as cycloheximide, and by 0.8 mM zinc sulfate. The results suggest that apoptosis represents a new manifestation of cell injury after brief exposure to 0-6 degrees C hypothermia.

Surface Weather Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Surface Weather Observation Collection consists primarily of hourly, synoptic, daily, and monthly forms submitted to the archive by the National Weather Service...

Radar Weather Observation

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Radar Weather Observation is a set of archived historical manuscripts stored on microfiche. The primary source of these radar weather observations manuscript records...

Daily Weather Records

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These daily weather records were compiled from a subset of stations in the Global Historical Climatological Network (GHCN)-Daily dataset. A weather record is...

Differences in the importance of weather and weather-based decisions among campers in Ontario parks (Canada)

Science.gov (United States)

Hewer, Micah J.; Scott, Daniel J.; Gough, William A.

2017-10-01

Parks and protected areas represent an important resource for tourism in Canada, in which camping is a common recreational activity. The important relationship between weather and climate with recreation and tourism has been widely acknowledged within the academic literature. Howbeit, the need for activity-specific assessments has been identified as an on-going need for future research in the field of tourism climatology. Furthermore, very little is known about the interrelationships between personal characteristics and socio-demographics with weather preferences and behavioural thresholds. This study uses a stated climate preferences approach (survey responses) to explore differences in the importance of weather and related weather-based decisions among summer campers in Ontario parks. Statistically significant differences were found among campers for each of the four dependent variables tested in this study. Physically active campers placed greater importance on weather but were still more tolerant of adverse weather conditions. Older campers placed greater importance on weather. Campers travelling shorter distances placed greater importance on weather and were more likely to leave the park early due to adverse weather. Campers staying for longer periods of time were less likely to leave early due to weather and were willing to endure longer durations of adverse weather conditions. Beginner campers placed greater importance on weather, were more likely to leave early due to weather and recorded lower temporal weather thresholds. The results of this study contribute to the study of tourism climatology by furthering understanding of how personal characteristics such as gender, age, activity selection, trip duration, distance travelled, travel experience and life cycles affect weather preferences and decisions, focusing this time on recreational camping in a park tourism context.

Relationships of self-identified cold tolerance and cold-induced vasodilatation in the finger

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Joonhee; Lee, Joo-Young

2016-04-01

This study was conducted to investigate relationships of self-identified cold tolerance and cold-induced vasodilatation (CIVD) in the finger. Nine males and 34 females participated in the following 2 tests: a CIVD test and a self-reported survey. The CIVD test was conducted 30-min cold-water immersion (3.8 ± 0.3 °C) of the middle finger at an air temperature of 27.9 ± 0.1 °C. The self-reported questionnaire consisted of 28 questions about whole and local body cold and heat tolerances. By a cluster analysis on the survey results, the participants were divided into two groups: high self-identified cold tolerance (HSCT, n = 25) and low self-identified cold tolerance (LSCT, n = 18). LSCT had lower self-identified cold tolerance ( P cold or heat tolerance had relationships with cold tolerance index, T max, and amplitude ( P cold tolerance classified through a standardized survey could be a good index to predict physiological cold tolerance.

Survival and growth of fresh and stored planting stock.

Science.gov (United States)

Robert H. Ruth

1953-01-01

Does planting stock that has been kept in storage survive and grow as well as freshly dug stock? This question is important because the ground at a forest nursery may still be frozen when spring planting time arrives in the warmer parts of the region. This means that seedlings for spring planting need to be dug in the fall, kept in cold storage over winter, and shipped...

A simple and inexpensive method for determining cold sensitivity and adaptation in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Brenner, Daniel S; Golden, Judith P; Vogt, Sherri K; Gereau, Robert W

2015-03-17

Cold hypersensitivity is a serious clinical problem, affecting a broad subset of patients and causing significant decreases in quality of life. The cold plantar assay allows the objective and inexpensive assessment of cold sensitivity in mice, and can quantify both analgesia and hypersensitivity. Mice are acclimated on a glass plate, and a compressed dry ice pellet is held against the glass surface underneath the hindpaw. The latency to withdrawal from the cooling glass is used as a measure of cold sensitivity. Cold sensation is also important for survival in regions with seasonal temperature shifts, and in order to maintain sensitivity animals must be able to adjust their thermal response thresholds to match the ambient temperature. The Cold Plantar Assay (CPA) also allows the study of adaptation to changes in ambient temperature by testing the cold sensitivity of mice at temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 5 °C. Mice are acclimated as described above, but the glass plate is cooled to the desired starting temperature using aluminum boxes (or aluminum foil packets) filled with hot water, wet ice, or dry ice. The temperature of the plate is measured at the center using a filament T-type thermocouple probe. Once the plate has reached the desired starting temperature, the animals are tested as described above. This assay allows testing of mice at temperatures ranging from innocuous to noxious. The CPA yields unambiguous and consistent behavioral responses in uninjured mice and can be used to quantify both hypersensitivity and analgesia. This protocol describes how to use the CPA to measure cold hypersensitivity, analgesia, and adaptation in mice.

NASA Aviation Safety Program Weather Accident Prevention/weather Information Communications (WINCOMM)

Science.gov (United States)

Feinberg, Arthur; Tauss, James; Chomos, Gerald (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Weather is a contributing factor in approximately 25-30 percent of general aviation accidents. The lack of timely, accurate and usable weather information to the general aviation pilot in the cockpit to enhance pilot situational awareness and improve pilot judgment remains a major impediment to improving aviation safety. NASA Glenn Research Center commissioned this 120 day weather datalink market survey to assess the technologies, infrastructure, products, and services of commercial avionics systems being marketed to the general aviation community to address these longstanding safety concerns. A market survey of companies providing or proposing to provide graphical weather information to the general aviation cockpit was conducted. Fifteen commercial companies were surveyed. These systems are characterized and evaluated in this report by availability, end-user pricing/cost, system constraints/limits and technical specifications. An analysis of market survey results and an evaluation of product offerings were made. In addition, recommendations to NASA for additional research and technology development investment have been made as a result of this survey to accelerate deployment of cockpit weather information systems for enhancing aviation safety.

Influence of High-Pressure Processing at Low Temperature and Nisin on Listeria innocua Survival and Sensory Preference of Dry-Cured Cold-Smoked Salmon.

Science.gov (United States)

Lebow, Noelle K; DesRocher, Lisa D; Younce, Frank L; Zhu, Mei-Jun; Ross, Carolyn F; Smith, Denise M

2017-12-01

Cold-smoked salmon (CSS) production lacks a validated kill step for Listeria monocytogenes. Although Listeria spp. are reduced by nisin or high-pressure processing (HPP), CSS muscle discoloration is often observed after HPP. Effects of nisin and low-temperature HPP on L. innocua survival (nonpathogenic surrogate for L. monocytogenes), spoilage organism growth, color, and sensory preference and peelability of CSS were studied. Cold-smoked sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) fillets ± nisin (10 μg/g) were inoculated with a 3-strain L. innocua cocktail, vacuum-packaged, frozen at - 30 °C, and high-pressure processed in an ice slurry within an insulated sleeve. Initial experiments indicated that nisin and HPP for 120 s at 450 MPa (N450) and 600 MPa (N600) were most effective against L. innocua, and thus were selected for further storage studies. L. innocua in N450 and N600-treated CSS was reduced 2.63 ± 0.15 and 3.99 ± 0.34 Log CFU/g, respectively, immediately after HPP. L. innocua and spoilage growth were not observed in HPP-treated CSS during 36 d storage at 4 °C. Low-temperature HPP showed a smaller increase in lightness of CSS compared to ambient-temperature HPP performed in previous studies. Sensory evaluation indicated that overall liking of CSS treated with N450 and N600 were preferred over the control by 61% and 62% of panelists, respectively (P high-risk ready-to-eat product that may be contaminated with L. monocytogenes. Results showed that nisin combined with high-pressure processing at low temperature, reduced the population of Listeria and controlled the spoilage organisms during storage. As an added benefit, high-pressure processing at low temperature may reduce lightening of the salmon flesh, leading to enhanced consumer preference. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Auchmann

2012-02-01

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

Distribution and abundance of the west Indian manatee Trichechus manatus around selected Florida power plants following winter cold fronts: 1984-85

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reynolds, J.E. III, Wilcox, J.R.

1986-01-01

Ten one-day aerial surveys were conducted in winter, 1984-85, to assess manatee distribution and abundance around five Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) plants: Cape Canaveral (PCC), Riviera (PRV), Port Everglades (PPE), Lauderdale (PFL) and Fort Myers (PFM). A total of 3804 manatees was observed, with a maximum of 636 animals for a single survey. Individual surveys for 1984-84 produced higher combined counts for all plants than in previous years. Maximum counts for PRV, PPE and PFM were the highest recorded for those particular plants. The maximum count for PCC in 1984-85 was lower than counts from most previous years, and the maximum from PFL was intermediate, relative to maxima from previous years. The counts along the east coast of Florida probably reflected a southward redistribution of manatees as well as very cold January weather after warm December conditions. The high count at PFM probably resulted from cold January weather and surface resting behavior by the manatees which made them more visible than usual. Calves represented 10 x 3% of the animals observed near the FPL plants and in Hobe Sound. PFM had a higher percentage of calves than did other plants.

Survival analysis and classification methods for forest fire size

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

Factors affecting wildland-fire size distribution include weather, fuels, and fire suppression activities. We present a novel application of survival analysis to quantify the effects of these factors on a sample of sizes of lightning-caused fires from Alberta, Canada. Two events were observed for each fire: the size at initial assessment (by the first fire fighters to arrive at the scene) and the size at “being held” (a state when no further increase in size is expected). We developed a statistical classifier to try to predict cases where there will be a growth in fire size (i.e., the size at “being held” exceeds the size at initial assessment). Logistic regression was preferred over two alternative classifiers, with covariates consistent with similar past analyses. We conducted survival analysis on the group of fires exhibiting a size increase. A screening process selected three covariates: an index of fire weather at the day the fire started, the fuel type burning at initial assessment, and a factor for the type and capabilities of the method of initial attack. The Cox proportional hazards model performed better than three accelerated failure time alternatives. Both fire weather and fuel type were highly significant, with effects consistent with known fire behaviour. The effects of initial attack method were not statistically significant, but did suggest a reverse causality that could arise if fire management agencies were to dispatch resources based on a-priori assessment of fire growth potentials. We discuss how a more sophisticated analysis of larger data sets could produce unbiased estimates of fire suppression effect under such circumstances. PMID:29320497

Improved platelet survival after cold storage by prevention of glycoprotein Ibα clustering in lipid rafts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gitz, E.; Koekman, C.A.; van den Heuvel, D.J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/355331861; Deckmyn, H.; Akkerman, J.W.N.; Gerritsen, H.C.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/071548777; Urbanus, R.T

2012-01-01

ABSTRACT Background Room temperature storage of platelets for transfusion increases the risk of microbial infection and decreases platelet functionality, leading to out-date discard rates of up to 20%. Cold storage may be a better alternative, but this treatment leads to rapid platelet clearance

Weatherization Makes Headlines in Connecticut: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Connecticut demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Weatherization Makes Headlines in Connecticut: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D& R International

2001-10-10

Connecticut demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes.

Cold Ambient Temperature Promotes Nosema spp. Intensity in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gina Retschnig

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Interactions between parasites and environmental factors have been implicated in the loss of managed Western honey bee (=HB, Apis mellifera colonies. Although laboratory data suggest that cold temperature may limit the spread of Nosema ceranae, an invasive species and now ubiquitous endoparasite of Western HBs, the impact of weather conditions on the distribution of this microsporidian in the field is poorly understood. Here, we conducted a survey for Nosema spp. using 18 Swiss apiaries (four colonies per apiary over a period of up to 18 months. Samples consisting of 60 workers were collected monthly from each colony to estimate Nosema spp. intensity, i.e., the number of spores in positive samples using microscopy. Ambient apiary temperature was measured daily to estimate the proportion of days enabling HB flight (>10 °C at midday. The results show that Nosema spp. intensities were negatively correlated with the proportion of days enabling HB flight, thereby suggesting a significant and unexpected positive impact of cold ambient temperature on intensities, probably via regulation of defecation opportunities for infected hosts.

Burning Cold: Involvement of TRPA1 in Noxious Cold Sensation

OpenAIRE

Kwan, Kelvin Y.; Corey, David P.

2009-01-01

Soon after its discovery ten years ago, the ion channel TRPA1 was proposed as a sensor of noxious cold. Evidence for its activation by painfully cold temperatures (below ~15° C) has been mixed, however. Some groups found that cold elicits a nonselective conductance in cells expressing TRPA1; others found no activation, or argued that activation is an indirect effect of elevated \\(Ca^{ 2+}\\) . Sensory cells from the trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia that are activated by cold were sometimes c...

Conserved TRAM Domain Functions as an Archaeal Cold Shock Protein via RNA Chaperone Activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Zhang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Cold shock proteins (Csps enable organisms to acclimate to and survive in cold environments and the bacterial CspA family exerts the cold protection via its RNA chaperone activity. However, most Archaea do not contain orthologs to the bacterial csp. TRAM, a conserved domain among RNA modification proteins ubiquitously distributed in organisms, occurs as an individual protein in most archaeal phyla and has a structural similarity to Csp proteins, yet its biological functions remain unknown. Through physiological and biochemical studies on four TRAM proteins from a cold adaptive archaeon Methanolobus psychrophilus R15, this work demonstrated that TRAM is an archaeal Csp and exhibits RNA chaperone activity. Three TRAM encoding genes (Mpsy_0643, Mpsy_3043, and Mpsy_3066 exhibited remarkable cold-shock induced transcription and were preferentially translated at lower temperature (18°C, while the fourth (Mpsy_2002 was constitutively expressed. They were all able to complement the cspABGE mutant of Escherichia coli BX04 that does not grow in cold temperatures and showed transcriptional antitermination. TRAM3066 (gene product of Mpsy_3066 and TRAM2002 (gene product of Mpsy_2002 displayed sequence-non-specific RNA but not DNA binding activity, and TRAM3066 assisted RNases in degradation of structured RNA, thus validating the RNA chaperone activity of TRAMs. Given the chaperone activity, TRAM is predicted to function beyond a Csp.

New York Signals Weatherization Savings: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

New York demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

New York Signals Weatherization Savings: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D& R International

2001-10-10

New York demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes.

NASA GSFC Space Weather Center - Innovative Space Weather Dissemination: Web-Interfaces, Mobile Applications, and More

Science.gov (United States)

Maddox, Marlo; Zheng, Yihua; Rastaetter, Lutz; Taktakishvili, A.; Mays, M. L.; Kuznetsova, M.; Lee, Hyesook; Chulaki, Anna; Hesse, Michael; Mullinix, Richard;

Cold-Hearted or Cool-Headed: Physical Coldness Promotes Utilitarian Moral Judgment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroko eNakamura

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In the current study, we examine the effect of physical coldness on personal moral dilemma judgment. Previous studies have indicated that utilitarian moral judgment—sacrificing a few people to achieve the greater good for others—was facilitated when: (1 participants suppressed an initial emotional response and deliberately thought about the utility of outcomes; (2 participants had a high-level construal mindset and focused on abstract goals (e.g., save many; or (3 there was a decreasing emotional response to sacrificing a few. In two experiments, we exposed participants to extreme cold or typical room temperature and then asked them to make personal moral dilemma judgments. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that coldness prompted utilitarian judgment, but the effect of coldness was independent from deliberate thought or abstract high-level construal mindset. As Experiment 2 revealed, coldness facilitated utilitarian judgment via reduced empathic feelings. Therefore, physical coldness did not affect the cool-headed deliberate process or the abstract high-level construal mindset. Rather, coldness biased people toward being cold-hearted, reduced empathetic concern about a sacrificed victim, and facilitated utilitarian moral judgments.

Survival analysis approach to account for non-exponential decay rate effects in lifetime experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coakley, K.J.; Dewey, M.S.; Huber, M.G.; Huffer, C.R.; Huffman, P.R.; Marley, D.E.; Mumm, H.P.; O'Shaughnessy, C.M.; Schelhammer, K.W.; Thompson, A.K.; Yue, A.T.

2016-01-01

In experiments that measure the lifetime of trapped particles, in addition to loss mechanisms with exponential survival probability functions, particles can be lost by mechanisms with non-exponential survival probability functions. Failure to account for such loss mechanisms produces systematic measurement error and associated systematic uncertainties in these measurements. In this work, we develop a general competing risks survival analysis method to account for the joint effect of loss mechanisms with either exponential or non-exponential survival probability functions, and a method to quantify the size of systematic effects and associated uncertainties for lifetime estimates. As a case study, we apply our survival analysis formalism and method to the Ultra Cold Neutron lifetime experiment at NIST. In this experiment, neutrons can escape a magnetic trap before they decay due to a wall loss mechanism with an associated non-exponential survival probability function.

Survival analysis approach to account for non-exponential decay rate effects in lifetime experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coakley, K.J., E-mail: kevincoakley@nist.gov [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); Dewey, M.S.; Huber, M.G. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8461, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (United States); Huffer, C.R.; Huffman, P.R. [North Carolina State University, 2401 Stinson Drive, Box 8202, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, 116 Science Drive, Box 90308, Durham, NC 27708 (United States); Marley, D.E. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8461, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (United States); North Carolina State University, 2401 Stinson Drive, Box 8202, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Mumm, H.P. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8461, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (United States); O' Shaughnessy, C.M. [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 120 E. Cameron Ave., CB #3255, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (United States); Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, 116 Science Drive, Box 90308, Durham, NC 27708 (United States); Schelhammer, K.W. [North Carolina State University, 2401 Stinson Drive, Box 8202, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, 116 Science Drive, Box 90308, Durham, NC 27708 (United States); Thompson, A.K.; Yue, A.T. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8461, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (United States)

2016-03-21

In experiments that measure the lifetime of trapped particles, in addition to loss mechanisms with exponential survival probability functions, particles can be lost by mechanisms with non-exponential survival probability functions. Failure to account for such loss mechanisms produces systematic measurement error and associated systematic uncertainties in these measurements. In this work, we develop a general competing risks survival analysis method to account for the joint effect of loss mechanisms with either exponential or non-exponential survival probability functions, and a method to quantify the size of systematic effects and associated uncertainties for lifetime estimates. As a case study, we apply our survival analysis formalism and method to the Ultra Cold Neutron lifetime experiment at NIST. In this experiment, neutrons can escape a magnetic trap before they decay due to a wall loss mechanism with an associated non-exponential survival probability function.

Fair weather atmospheric electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrison, R G

2011-01-01

Not long after Franklin's iconic studies, an atmospheric electric field was discovered in 'fair weather' regions, well away from thunderstorms. The origin of the fair weather field was sought by Lord Kelvin, through development of electrostatic instrumentation and early data logging techniques, but was ultimately explained through the global circuit model of C.T.R. Wilson. In Wilson's model, charge exchanged by disturbed weather electrifies the ionosphere, and returns via a small vertical current density in fair weather regions. New insights into the relevance of fair weather atmospheric electricity to terrestrial and planetary atmospheres are now emerging. For example, there is a possible role of the global circuit current density in atmospheric processes, such as cloud formation. Beyond natural atmospheric processes, a novel practical application is the use of early atmospheric electrostatic investigations to provide quantitative information on past urban air pollution.

Aviation & Space Weather Policy Research: Integrating Space Weather Observations & Forecasts into Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, G.; Jones, B.

2006-12-01

The American Meteorological Society and SolarMetrics Limited are conducting a policy research project leading to recommendations that will increase the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the nation's airline operations through more effective use of space weather forecasts and information. This study, which is funded by a 3-year National Science Foundation grant, also has the support of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) who is planning the Next Generation Air Transportation System. A major component involves interviewing and bringing together key people in the aviation industry who deal with space weather information. This research also examines public and industrial strategies and plans to respond to space weather information. The focus is to examine policy issues in implementing effective application of space weather services to the management of the nation's aviation system. The results from this project will provide government and industry leaders with additional tools and information to make effective decisions with respect to investments in space weather research and services. While space weather can impact the entire aviation industry, and this project will address national and international issues, the primary focus will be on developing a U.S. perspective for the airlines.

Space Weather Services of Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, K.; Hong, S.; Jangsuk, C.; Dong Kyu, K.; Jinyee, C.; Yeongoh, C.

2016-12-01

The Korean Space Weather Center (KSWC) of the National Radio Research Agency (RRA) is a government agency which is the official source of space weather information for Korean Government and the primary action agency of emergency measure to severe space weather condition. KSWC's main role is providing alerts, watches, and forecasts in order to minimize the space weather impacts on both of public and commercial sectors of satellites, aviation, communications, navigations, power grids, and etc. KSWC is also in charge of monitoring the space weather condition and conducting research and development for its main role of space weather operation in Korea. In this study, we will present KSWC's recent efforts on development of application-oriented space weather research products and services on user needs, and introduce new international collaborative projects, such as IPS-Driven Enlil model, DREAM model estimating electron in satellite orbit, global network of DSCOVR and STEREO satellites tracking, and ARMAS (Automated Radiation Measurement for Aviation Safety).

Physiology of diapause and cold hardiness in the overwintering pupae of the fall webworm Hyphantria cunea (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Y -P.; Goto, M; Ito, S; Sato, Y; Sasaki, K; Goto, N

2001-09-01

The fall webworm Hyphantria cunea Drury, which was accidentally introduced to Japan in 1945, overwinters on the ground in pupal diapause. Diapause termination, as indicated by the respiration rate and the period required for adult emergence, began in March and ended in April. Cold hardiness (the ability to survive exposure to -15 degrees C) decreased linearly with diapause development from November to the following April under field conditions. Cold hardiness of diapause pupae (DP) decreased as the acclimation temperature decreased from 15 to -10 degrees C, whereas cold hardiness of non-diapause pupae (NDP) remained high as the acclimation temperature decreased from 5 to -5 degrees C. However, H. cunea in Japan can survive exposure to -5 degrees C for two weeks, whether it is in a diapause or non-diapause state. Trehalose was the main sugar detected in the body, but its level was less than 0.8%. Trehalose levels increased in field-collected pupae from January to March. DP accumulated less trehalose than NDP, as the acclimation temperature was decreased from 5 to -5 degrees C. The alanine content in field-collected pupae increased from November to February. Both diapause and low temperature caused an accumulation of alanine. These results suggest that under field conditions, overwintering pupae of H. cunea in Japan do not accumulate high levels of sugars and polyols and do not develop a high level of cold hardiness. Furthermore, DP do not accumulate high levels of sugars and polyols and their ability to survive exposure to -15 degrees C is not greater than that of NDP. The physiological and biochemical bases of diapause in H. cunea from Japan are discussed.

A comprehensive review of lithium-ion batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles at cold temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaguemont, J.; Boulon, L.; Dubé, Y.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We present a comprehensive review on lithium ion batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles under cold temperatures. • The weak performances of lithium-ion batteries in cold weather are explained. • The influence of low temperatures on the aging mechanisms of lithium ion batteries is discussed. • The different uses of thermal strategies in an automotive application are proposed. - Abstract: Because of their numerous advantages, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have recently become a focus of research interest for vehicle applications. Li-ion batteries are suitable for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) because of advantages such as their high specific energy, high energy density, and low self-discharge rate in comparison with other secondary batteries. Nevertheless, the commercial availability of Li-ion batteries for vehicle applications has been hindered by issues of safety, cost, charging time, and recycling. One principal limitation of this technology resides in its poor low-temperature performance. Indeed, the effects of low temperature reduce the battery’s available energy and increase its internal impedance. In addition, performance-hampering cell degradation also occurs at low temperatures and throughout the entire life of a Li-ion battery. All of these issues pose major difficulties for cold-climate countries. This paper reviews the effects of cold temperatures on the capacity/power fade of Li-ion battery technology. Extensive attention is paid to the aging mechanisms of Li-ion batteries at cold temperatures. This paper also reviews several battery models found in the literature. Finally, thermal strategies are detailed, along with a discussion of the ideal approach to cold-temperature operation.

Weather Information Communications (WINCOMM) Project: Dissemination of Weather Information for the Reduction of Aviation Weather-Related Accident Causal Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Jarrell, Michael; Tanger, Thomas

2004-01-01

Weather Information Communications (WINCOMM) is part of the Weather Accident Prevention (WxAP) Project, which is part of the NASA's Aviation Safety and Security Program. The goals of WINCOMM are to facilitate the exchange of tactical and strategic weather information between air and ground. This viewgraph presentation provides information on data link decision factors, architectures, validation goals. WINCOMM is capable of providing en-route communication air-to-ground, ground-to-air, and air-to-air, even on international or intercontinental flights. The presentation also includes information on the capacity, cost, and development of data links.

The lab and the land: overcoming the Arctic in Cold War Alaska.

Science.gov (United States)

Farish, Matthew

2013-03-01

The militarization of Alaska during and after World War II created an extraordinary set of new facilities. But it also reshaped the imaginative role of Alaska as a hostile environment, where an antagonistic form of nature could be defeated with the appropriate combination of technology and training. One of the crucial sites for this reformulation was the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory, based at Ladd Air Force Base in Fairbanks. In the first two decades of the Cold War, its employees conducted numerous experiments on acclimatization and survival. The laboratory is now best known for an infamous set of tests involving the application of radioactive tracers to indigenous Alaskans--experiments publicized by post-Cold War panels established to evaluate the tragic history of atomic-era human subject research. But little else has been written about the laboratory's relationship with the populations and landscapes that it targeted for study. This essay presents the laboratory as critical to Alaska's history and the history of the Cold War sciences. A consideration of the laboratory's various projects also reveals a consistent fascination with race. Alaskan Natives were enrolled in experiments because their bodies were understood to hold clues to the mysteries of northern nature. A scientific solution would aid American military campaigns not only in Alaska, but in cold climates everywhere.

Influence of selected factors on bovine spermatozoa cold shock resistance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luděk Stádník

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of sire, extender, and addition of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL to extenders used on the percentage rate of spermatozoa survival after cold shock. Two groups of extenders were compared: without LDL addition (control variants and LDL enriched (experimental variants. Three extenders were used: AndroMed®, Bioxcell®, and Triladyl®. Experimental variants included 4–8% LDL addition into the AndroMed® and Bioxcell® extenders, and 6–10% LDL addition into the Triladyl® extender. In total, 12 samples of fresh semen were collected from 4 bulls during a period of 8 weeks. Bovine spermatozoa cold shock resistance (1 ± 1 °C, 10 min was evaluated by the percentage rate of live sperm using eosin-nigrosine staining immediately and after heat incubation (37 ± 1 °C, 120 min. The results showed the effect of sire as important and individual differences between selected sires in their sperm resistance against cold shock were confirmed. AndroMed® and Bioxcell® were found to be providing better protection of bull semen to cold shock compared to Triladyl® due to lower decline of live sperm proportion. Our results detected a positive effect of LDL addition on sperm resistance against cold shock, especially on lower decrease of live sperm percentage rate after 120 min of the heat test (P < 0.05. Further studies are needed to assess the optimal concentration of LDL in various kinds of extenders as well to state ideal time and temperature conditions for ensuring LDL reaction with sperm.

Geochemical Weathering in Glacial and Proglacial Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Tranter, M.

2003-12-01

solution, typically monitored by electrical conductivity, is often inverse with discharge on both a diurnal and a seasonal basis at lower latitudes, but ismore complex at higher latitudes (Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3). Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3 also show that the total flux of glacial solutes is usually dominated by fluxes associated with high discharge, dilute waters. The chemical weathering reactions that are inferred to occur from the field studies have been supported, in part, by controlled laboratory studies (e.g., Brown et al., 1993a). Recent stable-isotope studies have reported the key involvement of microbial processes in certain regions of the glacier bed ( Bottrell and Tranter, 2002), and these processes are yet to be incorporated in lab-based chemical weathering studies. (14K)Figure 1. (a) The temporal variation of discharge and in non-sea-salt calcium (*Ca2+) concentration in runoff from Haut Glacier d'Arolla, a small, warm-based, valley glacier in the Swiss Alps, during 1989 (Brown et al., 1993a). (b) The temporal variation in *Ca2+ flux from Haut Glacier d'Arolla during 1989. Maximum fluxes are associated with higher discharge waters. (9K)Figure 2. (a) The temporal variation of discharge (Q) and non-sea-salt *Ca2+ concentration in runoff from Manitsoq Glacier, a small outlet glacier on the SW margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet, during 1999. The glacier is warm based, but has a cold-based margin during the winter and early ablation season, so displays polythermal-based hydrological features (Skidmore et al., in preparation). (b) The temporal variation in *Ca2+ flux from Manitsoq Glacier during 1999. Maximum flux is associated with an early season "outburst" event, where longer stored subglacial water first exits the glacier. Otherwise, maximum fluxes are associated with higher discharge waters. (10K)Figure 3. (a) The temporal variation of discharge and *Ca2+ concentration in runoff from Scott Turnerbreen, a small, cold-based, valley glacier on

A weather regime characterisation of Irish wind generation and electricity demand in winters 2009–11

Science.gov (United States)

Cradden, Lucy C.; McDermott, Frank

2018-05-01

Prolonged cold spells were experienced in Ireland in the winters of 2009–10 and 2010–11, and electricity demand was relatively high at these times, whilst wind generation capacity factors were low. Such situations can cause difficulties for an electricity system with a high dependence on wind energy. Studying the atmospheric conditions associated with these two winters offers insights into the large-scale drivers for cold, calm spells, and helps to evaluate if they are rare events over the long-term. The influence of particular atmospheric patterns on coincidental winter wind generation and weather-related electricity demand is investigated here, with a focus on blocking in the North Atlantic/European sector. The occurrences of such patterns in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 winters are examined, and 2010–11 in particular was found to be unusual in a long-term context. The results are discussed in terms of the relevance to long-term planning and investment in the electricity system.

Grooved cold moderator tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, K.; Kiyanagi, Y.; Iwasa, H.; Watanabe, N.; Ikeda, S.; Carpenter, J.M.; Ishikawa, Y.

1983-01-01

We performed some grooved cold moderator experiments for methane at 20 K by using the Hokkaido University linac to obtain information to be used in the planning of the KENS-I' project. Cold neutron gains, spatial distribution of emitted beams and time distribution of the neutrons in the grooved cold moderator were measured. Furthermore, we assessed the effects of the grooved cold moderator on the performances of the spectrometers presently installed at the KENS-I cold source. We concluded that the grooved cold moderator benefited appreciably the performances of the spectrometers

Scraping through the ice: uncovering the role of TRPM8 in cold transduction

Science.gov (United States)

McCoy, Daniel D.; Knowlton, Wendy M.

2011-01-01

The proper detection of environmental temperatures is essential for the optimal growth and survival of organisms of all shapes and phyla, yet only recently have the molecular mechanisms for temperature sensing been elucidated. The discovery of temperature-sensitive ion channels of the transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily has been pivotal in explaining how temperatures are sensed in vivo, and here we will focus on the lone member of this cohort, TRPM8, which has been unequivocally shown to be cold sensitive. TRPM8 is expressed in somatosensory neurons that innervate peripheral tissues such as the skin and oral cavity, and recent genetic evidence has shown it to be the principal transducer of cool and cold stimuli. It is remarkable that this one channel, unlike other thermosensitive TRP channels, is associated with both innocuous and noxious temperature transduction, as well as cold hypersensitivity during injury and, paradoxically, cold-mediated analgesia. With ongoing research, the field is getting closer to answering a number of fundamental questions regarding this channel, including the cellular mechanisms of TRPM8 modulation, the molecular context of TRPM8 expression, as well as the full extent of the role of TRPM8 in cold signaling in vivo. These findings will further our understanding of basic thermotransduction and sensory coding, and may have important implications for treatments for acute and chronic pain. PMID:21411765

Simulated cold bias being improved by using MODIS time-varying albedo in the Tibetan Plateau in WRF model

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, X.; Lyu, S.; Zhang, T.; Zhao, L.; Li, Z.; Han, B.; Li, S.; Ma, D.; Chen, H.; Ao, Y.; Luo, S.; Shen, Y.; Guo, J.; Wen, L.

2018-04-01

Systematic cold biases exist in the simulation for 2 m air temperature in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) when using regional climate models and global atmospheric general circulation models. We updated the albedo in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model lower boundary condition using the Global LAnd Surface Satellite Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer albedo products and demonstrated evident improvement for cold temperature biases in the TP. It is the large overestimation of albedo in winter and spring in the WRF model that resulted in the large cold temperature biases. The overestimated albedo was caused by the simulated precipitation biases and over-parameterization of snow albedo. Furthermore, light-absorbing aerosols can result in a large reduction of albedo in snow and ice cover. The results suggest the necessity of developing snow albedo parameterization using observations in the TP, where snow cover and melting are very different from other low-elevation regions, and the influence of aerosols should be considered as well. In addition to defining snow albedo, our results show an urgent call for improving precipitation simulation in the TP.

Alaska Native Weatherization Training and Jobs Program First Steps Toward Tribal Weatherization – Human Capacity Development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiita, Joanne

2013-07-30

The Alaska Native Weatherization Training and Jobs Project expanded weatherization services for tribal members’ homes in southeast Alaska while providing weatherization training and on the job training (OJT) for tribal citizens that lead to jobs and most probably careers in weatherization-related occupations. The program resulted in; (a) 80 Alaska Native citizens provided with skills training in five weatherization training units that were delivered in cooperation with University of Alaska Southeast, in accordance with the U.S. Department of Energy Core Competencies for Weatherization Training that prepared participants for employment in three weatherizationrelated occupations: Installer, Crew Chief, and Auditor; (b) 25 paid OJT training opportunities for trainees who successfully completed the training course; and (c) employed trained personnel that have begun to rehab on over 1,000 housing units for weatherization.

Influence of culture conditions and preconditioning on survival of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus ND02 during lyophilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Yuyu; Gao, Shuran; Guo, Huiling; Zhang, Heping

2014-03-01

The cryotolerance of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus is weak during vacuum freeze-drying. Many factors affect cryoresistance of these bacteria, such as cryoprotectant composition, the lyophilization technology used, and the intrinsic characteristics of the bacteria. In this research, we explored the fermentation technology and other preconditioning treatments of cells in improving the cryoresistance of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus strains during lyophilization. The addition of yeast extract in the propagation medium exerted a negative effect on the cryotolerance of these bacteria and decreased survival during lyophilization. The count of the freeze-dried cells from medium containing a high level (4%) of yeast extract was only 4.1 × 10(9) cfu/g, indicating a death rate as high as 88%, compared with the culture medium without yeast extract, with a lower death rate of 44.7%. When Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus ND02 was propagated in yeast extract-free de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe broth at a set pH value of 5.1, the cells showed unexpectedly higher survival after freeze-drying. Viable counts of the lyophilized cell of strain ND02 cultivated at pH 5.1 could reach 1.05 × 10(11)cfu/g and survival of the freeze-drying process was 68.3%, whereas at pH 5.7, survival was only 51.2%. We also examined the effects of pretreatment of cells on survival of the bacteria after vacuum freeze-drying. By analyzing the effect of pretreatment conditions on the expression of cold- and heat-shock genes, we established 2 pretreatments that improved survival of cells after lyophilization. Optimal fermentation conditions and pretreatment of the cell-cryoprotectant mixture at 10°C for 2h or 37°C for 30 min improved the cryoresistance of 4 strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus to varying degrees. Cells of IMAU20269 and IMAU20291 that were pretreated showed enhanced survival of 16.06 and 16.82%, respectively, after lyophilization. Expression of

Convection Weather Detection by General Aviation Pilots with Convectional and Data-Linked Graphical Weather Information Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Chamberlain, James P.; Latorella, Kara A.

2001-01-01

This study compares how well general aviation (GA) pilots detect convective weather in flight with different weather information sources. A flight test was conducted in which GA pilot test subjects were given different in-flight weather information cues and flown toward convective weather of moderate or greater intensity. The test subjects were not actually flying the aircraft, but were given pilot tasks representative of the workload and position awareness requirements of the en route portion of a cross country GA flight. On each flight, one test subject received weather cues typical of a flight in visual meteorological conditions (VMC), another received cues typical of flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and a third received cues typical of flight in IMC but augmented with a graphical weather information system (GWIS). The GWIS provided the subject with near real time data-linked weather products, including a weather radar mosaic superimposed on a moving map with a symbol depicting the aircraft's present position and direction of track. At several points during each flight, the test subjects completed short questionnaires which included items addressing their weather situation awareness and flight decisions. In particular, test subjects were asked to identify the location of the nearest convective cells. After the point of nearest approach to convective weather, the test subjects were asked to draw the location of convective weather on an aeronautical chart, along with the aircraft's present position. This paper reports preliminary results on how accurately test subjects provided with these different weather sources could identify the nearest cell of moderate or greater intensity along their route of flight. Additional flight tests are currently being conducted to complete the data set.

Integration of Weather Avoidance and Traffic Separation

Science.gov (United States)

Consiglio, Maria C.; Chamberlain, James P.; Wilson, Sara R.

2011-01-01

This paper describes a dynamic convective weather avoidance concept that compensates for weather motion uncertainties; the integration of this weather avoidance concept into a prototype 4-D trajectory-based Airborne Separation Assurance System (ASAS) application; and test results from a batch (non-piloted) simulation of the integrated application with high traffic densities and a dynamic convective weather model. The weather model can simulate a number of pseudo-random hazardous weather patterns, such as slow- or fast-moving cells and opening or closing weather gaps, and also allows for modeling of onboard weather radar limitations in range and azimuth. The weather avoidance concept employs nested "core" and "avoid" polygons around convective weather cells, and the simulations assess the effectiveness of various avoid polygon sizes in the presence of different weather patterns, using traffic scenarios representing approximately two times the current traffic density in en-route airspace. Results from the simulation experiment show that the weather avoidance concept is effective over a wide range of weather patterns and cell speeds. Avoid polygons that are only 2-3 miles larger than their core polygons are sufficient to account for weather uncertainties in almost all cases, and traffic separation performance does not appear to degrade with the addition of weather polygon avoidance. Additional "lessons learned" from the batch simulation study are discussed in the paper, along with insights for improving the weather avoidance concept. Introduction

The scope of the Weatherization Assistance Program: The weatherized population and the resource base

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Power, M.; Eisenberg, J.F.; Michels, E. (Economic Opportunity Research Inst., Washington, DC (United States)); Witherspoon, M.J. (National Association for State Community Service Programs, Washington, DC (United States)); Brown, M.A. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States))

1992-05-01

This study is one of five parts of the US Department of Energy's national evaluation of its Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). It has three major goals: (1) to enumerate the size and sources of investment in low-income weatherization; (2) to provide a count of the number of low-income units weatherized by all weatherization programs and characterized the type and tenure of those homes; and (3) to document the extent to which the DOE/WAP funding has been expanded though use of external resources.

The scope of the Weatherization Assistance Program: The weatherized population and the resource base

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Power, M.; Eisenberg, J.F.; Michels, E. [Economic Opportunity Research Inst., Washington, DC (United States); Witherspoon, M.J. [National Association for State Community Service Programs, Washington, DC (United States); Brown, M.A. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1992-05-01

This study is one of five parts of the US Department of Energy`s national evaluation of its Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). It has three major goals: (1) to enumerate the size and sources of investment in low-income weatherization; (2) to provide a count of the number of low-income units weatherized by all weatherization programs and characterized the type and tenure of those homes; and (3) to document the extent to which the DOE/WAP funding has been expanded though use of external resources.

Space Weather- Physics and Effects

CERN Document Server

Bothmer, Volker

2007-01-01

This book is a state-of-the-art review on the physics of space weather and on space weather impacts on human technology, including manned spaceflight. With contributions from a team of international experts, this comprehensive work covers all aspects of space weather physical processes, and all known aspects of space hazards from humans, both in space and on Earth. Space Weather - Physics and Effects provides the first comprehensive, scientific background of space storms caused by the sun and its impact on geospace focuses on weather issues that have become vital for the development of nationwide technological infrastructures explains magnetic storms on Earth, including the effects of EUV radiation on the atmosphere is an invaluable aid in establishing real-time weather forecasts details the threat that solar effects might have on modern telecommunication systems, including national power grid systems, aircraft and manned spaceflight.

Fantasy and Reality in the History of Weather and Climate Control

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, J. R.

2005-12-01

This presentation examines the history of large-scale weather and climate engineering since 1840, with special reference to imaginative and speculative literature and with special relevance to ethical and policy issues. Ultimate control of the weather and climate embodies both our wildest fantasies and our greatest fears. Fantasy often informs reality (and vice-versa). NASA managers know this well, as do Trekkies. The best science fiction authors typically build from the current state of a field to construct futuristic scenarios that reveal and explore the human condition. Scientists as well often venture into flights of fancy. Though not widely documented, the fantasy-reality axis is also a prominent aspect of the history of the geosciences. James Espy's proposal in the 1840s to enhance precipitation by lighting huge fires, thus stimulating convective updrafts, preceded the widespread charlatanism of the rain-makers, or so-called "pluviculturalists," in the western U.S. One hundred years later, promising discoveries in "cloud seeding" by Irving Langmuir and his associates at the General Electric Corporation rapidly devolved into unsupportable proposals and questionable practices by military and commercial rain-makers seeking to control the weather. During the Cold War, Soviet engineers also promoted a chilling vision (to Westerners) of global climate control. Recently, rather immodest proposals to "fix" a climate system perceived to be out of control have received wide circulation. In 2003 the U.S. Pentagon released a report recommending that the government should "explore geo-engineering options that control the climate." In 2004 a symposium in Cambridge, England set out to "identify, debate, and evaluate" possible, but highly controversial options for the design and construction of engineering projects for the management and mitigation of global climate change. This talk will locate the history of weather and climate modification within a long tradition of

Fabulous Weather Day

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Candice; Mogil, H. Michael

2007-01-01

Each year, first graders at Kensington Parkwood Elementary School in Kensington, Maryland, look forward to Fabulous Weather Day. Students learn how meteorologists collect data about the weather, how they study wind, temperature, precipitation, basic types/characteristics of clouds, and how they forecast. The project helps the students grow in…

Seasonal Forecasting of Fire Weather Based on a New Global Fire Weather Database

Science.gov (United States)

Dowdy, Andrew J.; Field, Robert D.; Spessa, Allan C.

2016-01-01

Seasonal forecasting of fire weather is examined based on a recently produced global database of the Fire Weather Index (FWI) system beginning in 1980. Seasonal average values of the FWI are examined in relation to measures of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The results are used to examine seasonal forecasts of fire weather conditions throughout the world.

Military cold injury during the war in the Falkland Islands 1982: an evaluation of possible risk factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Craig, R P

2007-01-01

Throughout the history of war, there have been many instances when the cold has ravaged armies more effectively than their enemies. Delineated risk factors are restricted to negro origins, previous cold injury, moderate but not heavy smoking and the possession of blood group O. No attention has been directed to the possibility that abnormal blood constituents could feasibly predispose to the development of local cold injury. This study considers this possibility and investigates the potential contribution of certain components of the circulating blood which might do so. Three groups of soldiers from two of the battalions who served during the war in the Falklands Islands in 1982 were investigated. The risk factors which were sought included the presence or absence of asymptomatic cryoglobulinaemia, abnormal total protein, albumin, individual gamma globulin or complement C3 or C4 levels, plasma hyperviscosity or evidence of chronic alcoholism manifesting as high haemoglobin, PCV, RBC, MCV or gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). No cases of cryoglobulinaemia were isolated and there was no haematological evidence to suggest that any of those men who had developed cold injury, one year before this study was performed, had abnormal circulating proteins, plasma hyperviscosity or indicators of alcohol abuse. Individual blood groups were not incriminated as a predisposing factor although the small numbers of negroes in this series fared badly. Although this investigation has excluded a range of potential risk factors which could contribute to the development of cold injury, the problem persists. Two areas of further study are needed: the first involves research into the production of better protective clothing in the form of effective cold weather boots and gloves and the second requires the delineation of those dietary and ethnic factors which allow certain communities to adapt successfully to the cold. A review of the literature in this latter area is presented.

Influenza epidemics, seasonality, and the effects of cold weather on cardiac mortality

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background More people die in the winter from cardiac disease, and there are competing hypotheses to explain this. The authors conducted a study in 48 US cities to determine how much of the seasonal pattern in cardiac deaths could be explained by influenza epidemics, whether that allowed a more parsimonious control for season than traditional spline models, and whether such control changed the short term association with temperature. Methods The authors obtained counts of daily cardiac deaths and of emergency hospital admissions of the elderly for influenza during 1992–2000. Quasi-Poisson regression models were conducted estimating the association between daily cardiac mortality, and temperature. Results Controlling for influenza admissions provided a more parsimonious model with better Generalized Cross-Validation, lower residual serial correlation, and better captured Winter peaks. The temperature-response function was not greatly affected by adjusting for influenza. The pooled estimated increase in risk for a temperature decrease from 0 to −5°C was 1.6% (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-2.1%). Influenza accounted for 2.3% of cardiac deaths over this period. Conclusions The results suggest that including epidemic data explained most of the irregular seasonal pattern (about 18% of the total seasonal variation), allowing more parsimonious models than when adjusting for seasonality only with smooth functions of time. The effect of cold temperature is not confounded by epidemics. PMID:23025494

Weatherization is a Hit in Michigan: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Michigan demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Weatherization Builds on Delaware's Innovative Past: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Delaware demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Hatching delays in great tits and blue tits in response to an extreme cold spell: a long-term study

Science.gov (United States)

Glądalski, Michał; Bańbura, Mirosława; Kaliński, Adam; Markowski, Marcin; Skwarska, Joanna; Wawrzyniak, Jarosław; Zieliński, Piotr; Bańbura, Jerzy

2018-04-01

Variation in ambient temperature affects various life stages of organisms. It has been suggested that climate change not only implies higher global temperatures but also more unpredictable weather and more frequent extreme weather events. Temperature has a major influence on the optimal laying-incubation-hatching dates of insectivorous passerines, because it poses energetic constraints and affects the timing of food abundance. We have been studying breeding characteristics of great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus in two areas, an urban parkland and a deciduous forest, around the city of Łódź since 2002. During the egg-laying period in 2017, both tit species at both study areas faced an unusual cold spell as reflected by a sudden decrease in the mean ambient temperature to ca. 2-3 °C for about 5 days, which caused mean hatching delays of up to 6 days. Since flexibility of behavior plays a major role in adjusting to unpredictable weather conditions, examining its limits may be an important goal for future research.

Training Early Career Space Weather Researchers and other Space Weather Professionals at the CISM Space Weather Summer School

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, N. A.; Hughes, W.

2011-12-01

This talk will outline the organization of a summer school designed to introduce young professions to a sub-discipline of geophysics. Through out the 10 year life time of the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling (CISM) the CISM Team has offered a two week summer school that introduces new graduate students and other interested professional to the fundamentals of space weather. The curriculum covers basic concepts in space physics, the hazards of space weather, and the utility of computer models of the space environment. Graduate students attend from both inside and outside CISM, from all the sub-disciplines involved in space weather (solar, heliosphere, geomagnetic, and aeronomy), and from across the nation and around the world. In addition, between 1/4 and 1/3 of the participants each year are professionals involved in space weather in some way, such as: forecasters from NOAA and the Air Force, Air Force satellite program directors, NASA specialists involved in astronaut radiation safety, and representatives from industries affected by space weather. The summer school has adopted modern pedagogy that has been used successfully at the undergraduate level. A typical daily schedule involves three morning lectures followed by an afternoon lab session. During the morning lectures, student interaction is encouraged using "Timeout to Think" questions and peer instruction, along with question cards for students to ask follow up questions. During the afternoon labs students, working in groups of four, answer thought provoking questions using results from simulations and observation data from a variety of source. Through the interactions with each other and the instructors, as well as social interactions during the two weeks, students network and form bonds that will last them through out their careers. We believe that this summer school can be used as a model for summer schools in a wide variety of disciplines.

Powernext weather, benchmark indices for effective weather risk management; Powernext Weather, des indices de reference pour gerer le risque meteo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, an estimated 25% of the GNP is affected by weather-related events. The variations in temperature - even small ones - can also have long-lasting effects on the operational results of a company. Among other, the Energy supply sector is sensitive to weather risks: a milder or harsher than usual winter leads to a decrease or increase of energy consumption. The price of electricity on power trading facilities like Powernext is especially sensitive to odd changes in temperatures. Powernext and Meteo-France (the French meteorological agency) have joined expertise in order to promote the use of weather indices in term of decision making or underlying of hedging tools to energy actors, end users from any other sector of activity and specialists of the weather risk hedging. The Powernext Weather indices are made from information collected by Meteo-France's main observation network according to the norms of international meteorology, in areas carefully selected. The gross data are submitted to a thorough review allowing the correction of abnormalities and the reconstitution of missing data. Each index is fashioned to take into account the economic activity in the various regions of the country as represented by each region's population. This demographic information represents a fair approximation of the weight of the regional economic activity. This document presents the Powernext/Meteo France partnership for the elaboration of efficient weather-related risk management indices. (J.S.)

A specific glycerol kinase induces rapid cold hardening of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Youngjin; Kim, Yonggyun

2014-08-01

Insects in temperate zones survive low temperatures by migrating or tolerating the cold. The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is a serious insect pest on cabbage and other cruciferous crops worldwide. We showed that P. xylostella became cold-tolerant by expressing rapid cold hardiness (RCH) in response to a brief exposure to moderately low temperature (4°C) for 7h along with glycerol accumulation in hemolymph. Glycerol played a crucial role in the cold-hardening process because exogenously supplying glycerol significantly increased the cold tolerance of P. xylostella larvae without cold acclimation. To determine the genetic factor(s) responsible for RCH and the increase of glycerol, four glycerol kinases (GKs), and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (PxGPDH) were predicted from the whole P. xylostella genome and analyzed for their function associated with glycerol biosynthesis. All predicted genes were expressed, but differed in their expression during different developmental stages and in different tissues. Expression of the predicted genes was individually suppressed by RNA interference (RNAi) using double-stranded RNAs specific to target genes. RNAi of PxGPDH expression significantly suppressed RCH and glycerol accumulation. Only PxGK1 among the four GKs was responsible for RCH and glycerol accumulation. Furthermore, PxGK1 expression was significantly enhanced during RCH. These results indicate that a specific GK, the terminal enzyme to produce glycerol, is specifically inducible during RCH to accumulate the main cryoprotectant. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate Prediction - NOAA's National Weather Service

Science.gov (United States)

Statistical Models... MOS Prod GFS-LAMP Prod Climate Past Weather Predictions Weather Safety Weather Radio National Weather Service on FaceBook NWS on Facebook NWS Director Home > Climate > Predictions Climate Prediction Long range forecasts across the U.S. Climate Prediction Web Sites Climate Prediction

Graphical tools for TV weather presentation

Science.gov (United States)

Najman, M.

2010-09-01

Contemporary meteorology and its media presentation faces in my opinion following key tasks: - Delivering the meteorological information to the end user/spectator in understandable and modern fashion, which follows industry standard of video output (HD, 16:9) - Besides weather icons show also the outputs of numerical weather prediction models, climatological data, satellite and radar images, observed weather as actual as possible. - Does not compromise the accuracy of presented data. - Ability to prepare and adjust the weather show according to actual synoptic situtation. - Ability to refocus and completely adjust the weather show to actual extreme weather events. - Ground map resolution weather data presentation need to be at least 20 m/pixel to be able to follow the numerical weather prediction model resolution. - Ability to switch between different numerical weather prediction models each day, each show or even in the middle of one weather show. - The graphical weather software need to be flexible and fast. The graphical changes nee to be implementable and airable within minutes before the show or even live. These tasks are so demanding and the usual original approach of custom graphics could not deal with it. It was not able to change the show every day, the shows were static and identical day after day. To change the content of the weather show daily was costly and most of the time impossible with the usual approach. The development in this area is fast though and there are several different options for weather predicting organisations such as national meteorological offices and private meteorological companies to solve this problem. What are the ways to solve it? What are the limitations and advantages of contemporary graphical tools for meteorologists? All these questions will be answered.

Road weather information for travelers : improving road weather messages and dissemination methods.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Road Weather Management Program (RWMP) recently completed a study titled Human Factors Analysis of Road Weather Advisory and Control Information (Publication No. FHWAJPO- 10-053). The goal of the study was to...

National Convective Weather Diagnostic

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Current convective hazards identified by the National Convective Weather Detection algorithm. The National Convective Weather Diagnostic (NCWD) is an automatically...

Natural Weathering Exposure Station

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Corps of Engineers' Treat Island Natural Weathering Exposure Station is a long-term natural weathering facility used to study concrete durability. Located on the...

Pilot's Automated Weather Support System (PAWSS) concepts demonstration project. Phase 1: Pilot's weather information requirements and implications for weather data systems design

Science.gov (United States)

Crabill, Norman L.; Dash, Ernie R.

1991-01-01

The weather information requirements for pilots and the deficiencies of the current aviation weather support system in meeting these requirements are defined. As the amount of data available to pilots increases significantly in the near future, expert system technology will be needed to assist pilots in assimilating that information. Some other desirable characteristics of an automation-assisted system for weather data acquisition, dissemination, and assimilation are also described.

The impact of temperature on mortality in a subtropical city: effects of cold, heat, and heat waves in São Paulo, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Ji-Young; Gouveia, Nelson; Bravo, Mercedes A.; de Freitas, Clarice Umbelino; Bell, Michelle L.

2016-01-01

Understanding how weather impacts health is critical, especially under a changing climate; however, relatively few studies have investigated subtropical regions. We examined how mortality in São Paulo, Brazil, is affected by cold, heat, and heat waves over 14.5 years (1996-2010). We used over-dispersed generalized linear modeling to estimate heat- and cold-related mortality, and Bayesian hierarchical modeling to estimate overall effects and modification by heat wave characteristics (intensity, duration, and timing in season). Stratified analyses were performed by cause of death and individual characteristics (sex, age, education, marital status, and place of death). Cold effects on mortality appeared higher than heat effects in this subtropical city with moderate climatic conditions. Heat was associated with respiratory mortality and cold with cardiovascular mortality. Risk of total mortality was 6.1 % (95 % confidence interval 4.7, 7.6 %) higher at the 99th percentile of temperature than the 90th percentile (heat effect) and 8.6 % (6.2, 11.1 %) higher at the 1st compared to the 10th percentile (cold effect). Risks were higher for females and those with no education for heat effect, and males for cold effect. Older persons, widows, and non-hospital deaths had higher mortality risks for heat and cold. Mortality during heat waves was higher than on non-heat wave days for total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality. Our findings indicate that mortality in São Paulo is associated with both cold and heat and that some subpopulations are more vulnerable.

The impact of temperature on mortality in a subtropical city: effects of cold, heat, and heat waves in São Paulo, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Ji-Young; Gouveia, Nelson; Bravo, Mercedes A; de Freitas, Clarice Umbelino; Bell, Michelle L

2016-01-01

Understanding how weather impacts health is critical, especially under a changing climate; however, relatively few studies have investigated subtropical regions. We examined how mortality in São Paulo, Brazil, is affected by cold, heat, and heat waves over 14.5 years (1996-2010). We used over-dispersed generalized linear modeling to estimate heat- and cold-related mortality, and Bayesian hierarchical modeling to estimate overall effects and modification by heat wave characteristics (intensity, duration, and timing in season). Stratified analyses were performed by cause of death and individual characteristics (sex, age, education, marital status, and place of death). Cold effects on mortality appeared higher than heat effects in this subtropical city with moderate climatic conditions. Heat was associated with respiratory mortality and cold with cardiovascular mortality. Risk of total mortality was 6.1% (95% confidence interval 4.7, 7.6%) higher at the 99th percentile of temperature than the 90th percentile (heat effect) and 8.6% (6.2, 11.1%) higher at the 1st compared to the 10th percentile (cold effect). Risks were higher for females and those with no education for heat effect, and males for cold effect. Older persons, widows, and non-hospital deaths had higher mortality risks for heat and cold. Mortality during heat waves was higher than on non-heat wave days for total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality. Our findings indicate that mortality in São Paulo is associated with both cold and heat and that some subpopulations are more vulnerable.

Improving cold storage of subitaneous eggs of the copepod Acartia tonsa Dana from the Gulf of Mexico (Florida, USA)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Drillet, Guillaume; Lindley, L.C.; Michels, A.

2007-01-01

(kanamycin sulphate and oxytetracycline HCl) on extending the shelf life of cold-stored subitaneous Acartia tonsa eggs. Also, egg development effects on the survival of the eggs were tested. Glucose did not have any significant effects on the survival of the eggs. However, the addition of antibiotics......%. However, long exposure to high concentrations of antibiotics was lethal to the copepod eggs. After more than 30 days of exposure to 100 mg L-1 of oxytetracycline, the survival of the eggs was lower than in the untreated samples. After 45 days, oxytetracycline-treated eggs (100 mg L-1) presented a hatching...

Weather forecast

CERN Document Server

Courtier, P

1994-02-07

Weather prediction is performed using the numerical model of the atmosphere evolution.The evolution equations are derived from the Navier Stokes equation for the adiabatic part but the are very much complicated by the change of phase of water, the radiation porocess and the boundary layer.The technique used operationally is described. Weather prediction is an initial value problem and accurate initial conditions need to be specified. Due to the small number of observations available (105 ) as compared to the dimension of the model state variable (107),the problem is largely underdetermined. Techniques of optimal control and inverse problems are used and have been adapted to the large dimension of our problem. our problem.The at mosphere is a chaotic system; the implication for weather prediction is discussed. Ensemble prediction is used operationally and the technique for generating initial conditions which lead to a numerical divergence of the subsequent forecasts is described.

Surface Weather Observations Hourly

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Standard hourly observations taken at Weather Bureau/National Weather Service offices and airports throughout the United States. Hourly observations began during the...

Land Surface Weather Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — METAR is the international standard code format for hourly surface weather observations. The acronym roughly translates from French as Aviation Routine Weather...

Cold formability of steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafond, G.; Leclerq, G.; Moliexe, F.; Namdar, R.; Roesch, L.; Sanz, G.

1977-01-01

This work was essentially aimed to the study of the following three questions. Is it possible to assess the cold formability of steels using simple material properties as criteria. What values of mechanical properties can one expect to reach in cold formed parts. Are there simple ways of characterizing the speroidization treatments carried out on steels before cold forming operations. The present report describes the results obtained during this investigation. It is logically divided into three separate parts. Experimental study of cold formability in wire drawing. Influence of metallurgical variables on mechanical properties of high carbon cold drawn wires. Contribution to the study of characterization methods of cold forming steels subjected to a spheroidization heat treatment

Survival of microorganisms in smectite clays: Implications for Martian exobiology

Science.gov (United States)

Moll, Deborah M.; Vestal, J. Robie

1992-08-01

Manned exploration of Mars may result in the contamination of that planet with terrestrial microbes, a situation requiring assessment of the survival potential of possible contaminating organisms. In this study, the survival of Bacillus subtilis, Azotobacter chroococcum, and the enteric bacteriophage MS2 was examined in clays representing terrestrial (Wyoming type montmorillonite) or Martian (Fe 3+-montmorillonite) soils exposed to terrestrial and Martian environmental conditions of temperature and atmospheric pressure and composition, but not to UV flux or oxidizing conditions. Survival of bacteria was determined by standard plate counts and biochemical and physiological measurements over 112 days. Extractable lipid phosphate was used to measure microbial biomass, and the rate of 14C-acetate incorporation into microbial lipids was used to determine physiological activity. MS2 survival was assayed by plaque counts. Both bacterial types survived terrestrial or Martian conditions in Wyoming montmorillonite better than Martian conditions in Fe 3+-montmorillonite. Decreased survival may have been caused by the lower pH of the Fe 3+-montmorillonite compared to Wyoming montmorillonite. MS2 survived simulated Mars conditions better than the terrestrial environment, likely due to stabilization of the virus caused by the cold and dry conditions of the simulated Martian environment. The survival of MS2 in the simulated Martian environment is the first published indication that viruses may be able to survive in Martian type soils. This work may have implications for planetary protection for future Mars missions.

Sun, weather, and climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herman, J.R.; Goldberg, R.A.

1985-01-01

The general field of sun-weather/climate relationships that is, apparent weather and climate responses to solar activity is introduced and theoretical and experimental suggestions for further research to identify and investigate the unknown casual mechanisms are provided. Topics of discussion include: (1) solar-related correlation factors and energy sources; (2) long-term climate trends; (3) short-term meteorological correlations; (4) miscellaneous obscuring influences; (5) physical processes and mechanisms; (6) recapitulation of sun-weather relationships; and (7) guidelines for experiments. 300 references

"Share weather" : Design and evaluation of a new concept for sharing weather information

OpenAIRE

Elevant, Katarina

2013-01-01

Already centuries ago, humans had observed the weather in their everyday lives, seeking ways to understand, comprehend, and predict it. Until the present day, weather has had tremendous impacts on our lives and with climate change human civilizations as well. With new media technologies weather constitutes a part of the information services used by many residents of modern cities, people and businesses worldwide. The rise of Web 2.0, a cyberspace where individuals may connect and interact und...

Space Weather in Operation

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The “Space Weather in Operations” effort will provide on-demand and near-real time space weather event information to the Data Access Toolkit (DAT), which is the...

Weather Augmented Risk Determination (WARD) System

Science.gov (United States)

Niknejad, M.; Mazdiyasni, O.; Momtaz, F.; AghaKouchak, A.

2017-12-01

Extreme climatic events have direct and indirect impacts on society, economy and the environment. Based on the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data, over one third of the U.S. GDP can be considered as weather-sensitive involving some degree of weather risk. This expands from a local scale concrete foundation construction to large scale transportation systems. Extreme and unexpected weather conditions have always been considered as one of the probable risks to human health, productivity and activities. The construction industry is a large sector of the economy, and is also greatly influenced by weather-related risks including work stoppage and low labor productivity. Identification and quantification of these risks, and providing mitigation of their effects are always the concerns of construction project managers. In addition to severe weather conditions' destructive effects, seasonal changes in weather conditions can also have negative impacts on human health. Work stoppage and reduced labor productivity can be caused by precipitation, wind, temperature, relative humidity and other weather conditions. Historical and project-specific weather information can improve better project management and mitigation planning, and ultimately reduce the risk of weather-related conditions. This paper proposes new software for project-specific user-defined data analysis that offers (a) probability of work stoppage and the estimated project length considering weather conditions; (b) information on reduced labor productivity and its impacts on project duration; and (c) probabilistic information on the project timeline based on both weather-related work stoppage and labor productivity. The software (WARD System) is designed such that it can be integrated into the already available project management tools. While the system and presented application focuses on the construction industry, the developed software is general and can be used for any application that involves

Transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily C, member 5 (TRPC5) is a cold-transducer in the peripheral nervous system.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, Katharina; Lennerz, Jochen K; Hein, Alexander; Link, Andrea S; Kaczmarek, J Stefan; Delling, Markus; Uysal, Serdar; Pfeifer, John D; Riccio, Antonio; Clapham, David E

2011-11-01

Detection and adaptation to cold temperature is crucial to survival. Cold sensing in the innocuous range of cold (>10-15 °C) in the mammalian peripheral nervous system is thought to rely primarily on transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels, most notably the menthol receptor, TRPM8. Here we report that TRP cation channel, subfamily C member 5 (TRPC5), but not TRPC1/TRPC5 heteromeric channels, are highly cold sensitive in the temperature range 37-25 °C. We found that TRPC5 is present in mouse and human sensory neurons of dorsal root ganglia, a substantial number of peripheral nerves including intraepithelial endings, and in the dorsal lamina of the spinal cord that receives sensory input from the skin, consistent with a potential TRPC5 function as an innocuous cold transducer in nociceptive and thermosensory nerve endings. Although deletion of TRPC5 in 129S1/SvImJ mice resulted in no temperature-sensitive behavioral changes, TRPM8 and/or other menthol-sensitive channels appear to underpin a much larger component of noxious cold sensing after TRPC5 deletion and a shift in mechanosensitive C-fiber subtypes. These findings demonstrate that highly cold-sensitive TRPC5 channels are a molecular component for detection and regional adaptation to cold temperatures in the peripheral nervous system that is distinct from noxious cold sensing.

Cold/menthol TRPM8 receptors initiate the cold-shock response and protect germ cells from cold-shock-induced oxidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Borowiec, Anne-Sophie; Sion, Benoit; Chalmel, Frédéric; D Rolland, Antoine; Lemonnier, Loïc; De Clerck, Tatiana; Bokhobza, Alexandre; Derouiche, Sandra; Dewailly, Etienne; Slomianny, Christian; Mauduit, Claire; Benahmed, Mohamed; Roudbaraki, Morad; Jégou, Bernard; Prevarskaya, Natalia; Bidaux, Gabriel

2016-09-01

Testes of most male mammals present the particularity of being externalized from the body and are consequently slightly cooler than core body temperature (4-8°C below). Although, hypothermia of the testis is known to increase germ cells apoptosis, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms, including cold sensors, transduction pathways, and apoptosis triggers. In this study, using a functional knockout mouse model of the cold and menthol receptors, dubbed transient receptor potential melastatine 8 (TRPM8) channels, we found that TRPM8 initiated the cold-shock response by differentially modulating cold- and heat-shock proteins. Besides, apoptosis of germ cells increased in proportion to the cooling level in control mice but was independent of temperature in knockout mice. We also observed that the rate of germ cell death correlated positively with the reactive oxygen species level and negatively with the expression of the detoxifying enzymes. This result suggests that the TRPM8 sensor is a key determinant of germ cell fate under hypothermic stimulation.-Borowiec, A.-S., Sion, B., Chalmel, F., Rolland, A. D., Lemonnier, L., De Clerck, T., Bokhobza, A., Derouiche, S., Dewailly, E., Slomianny, C., Mauduit, C., Benahmed, M., Roudbaraki, M., Jégou, B., Prevarskaya, N., Bidaux, G. Cold/menthol TRPM8 receptors initiate the cold-shock response and protect germ cells from cold-shock-induced oxidation. © The Author(s).

Taking Weatherization to New Heights in Colorado: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Colorado demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Weatherization is a Natural Choice for Montana: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Montana demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Weatherization is a Natural Choice for Montana: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D& R International

2001-10-10

Montana demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes.

Weatherization Sails on Maryland's Legacy of Innovation: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Maryland demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Weatherization Plays a Starring Role in Mississippi: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D& R International

2001-10-10

Mississippi demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes.

DAF-16 and Δ9 desaturase genes promote cold tolerance in long-lived Caenorhabditis elegans age-1 mutants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fiona R Savory

Full Text Available In Caenorhabditis elegans, mutants of the conserved insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS pathway are long-lived and stress resistant due to the altered expression of DAF-16 target genes such as those involved in cellular defence and metabolism. The three Δ(9 desaturase genes, fat-5, fat-6 and fat-7, are included amongst these DAF-16 targets, and it is well established that Δ(9 desaturase enzymes play an important role in survival at low temperatures. However, no assessment of cold tolerance has previously been reported for IIS mutants. We demonstrate that long-lived age-1(hx546 mutants are remarkably resilient to low temperature stress relative to wild type worms, and that this is dependent upon daf-16. We also show that cold tolerance following direct transfer to low temperatures is increased in wild type worms during the facultative, daf-16 dependent, dauer stage. Although the cold tolerant phenotype of age-1(hx546 mutants is predominantly due to the Δ(9 desaturase genes, additional transcriptional targets of DAF-16 are also involved. Surprisingly, survival of wild type adults following a rapid temperature decline is not dependent upon functional daf-16, and cellular distributions of a DAF-16::GFP fusion protein indicate that DAF-16 is not activated during low temperature stress. This suggests that cold-induced physiological defences are not specifically regulated by the IIS pathway and DAF-16, but expression of DAF-16 target genes in IIS mutants and dauers is sufficient to promote cross tolerance to low temperatures in addition to other forms of stress.

Weatherization Savings Takes Root in New Mexico: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

New Mexico demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Cold stress alters transcription in meiotic anthers of cold tolerant chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Kamal Dev; Nayyar, Harsh

2014-10-11

Cold stress at reproductive phase in susceptible chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) leads to pollen sterility induced flower abortion. The tolerant genotypes, on the other hand, produce viable pollen and set seed under cold stress. Genomic information on pollen development in cold-tolerant chickpea under cold stress is currently unavailable. DDRT-PCR analysis was carried out to identify anther genes involved in cold tolerance in chickpea genotype ICC16349 (cold-tolerant). A total of 9205 EST bands were analyzed. Cold stress altered expression of 127 ESTs (90 up-regulated, 37 down-regulated) in anthers, more than two third (92) of which were novel with unknown protein identity and function. Remaining about one third (35) belonged to several functional categories such as pollen development, signal transduction, ion transport, transcription, carbohydrate metabolism, translation, energy and cell division. The categories with more number of transcripts were carbohydrate/triacylglycerol metabolism, signal transduction, pollen development and transport. All but two transcripts in these categories were up-regulated under cold stress. To identify time of regulation after stress and organ specificity, expression levels of 25 differentially regulated transcripts were also studied in anthers at six time points and in four organs (anthers, gynoecium, leaves and roots) at four time points. Limited number of genes were involved in regulating cold tolerance in chickpea anthers. Moreover, the cold tolerance was manifested by up-regulation of majority of the differentially expressed transcripts. The anthers appeared to employ dual cold tolerance mechanism based on their protection from cold by enhancing triacylglycerol and carbohydrate metabolism; and maintenance of normal pollen development by regulating pollen development genes. Functional characterization of about two third of the novel genes is needed to have precise understanding of the cold tolerance mechanisms in chickpea anthers.

Differences in volatile profiles of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in two distinct regions of China and their responses to weather conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiao-Qing; Liu, Bin; Zhu, Bao-Qing; Lan, Yi-Bin; Gao, Yuan; Wang, Dong; Reeves, Malcolm J; Duan, Chang-Qing

2015-04-01

Volatile compounds are considered important for plants to communicate with each other and interact with their environments. Most wine-producing regions in China feature a continental monsoon climate with hot-wet summers and dry-cold winters, giving grapes markedly different growing environments compared to the Mediterranean or oceanic climates described in previous reports. This study focused on comparing the volatile profiles of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon berries from two regions with distinct climate characteristics: Changli has a warm and semi-humid summer, and Gaotai has a cool-arid summer and a cold winter. The relationship between meteorological metrics and the concentrations of grape volatiles were also examined. In harvested grapes, benzyl alcohol, phenylethyl alcohol, 1-hexanol and 1-octen-3-ol were more abundant in the Changli berries, while hexanal, heptanal, 2-methoxy-3-isobutylpyrazine, and (E)-β-damascenone presented higher levels in the Gaotai berries. The fluctuation in the accumulation of volatile compounds observed during berry development was closely correlated with variations in short-term weather (weather in a week), especially rainfall. The concentration of some volatiles, notably aliphatic aldehydes, was significantly related to diurnal temperature differences. The variability during berry development of concentrations for compounds such as C6 volatile compounds, 2-methoxy-3-isobutylpyrazine and (E)-β-damascenone strongly depended upon weather conditions. This work expands our knowledge about the influence of continental monsoon climates on volatile compounds in developing grape berries. It will also improve the comprehension of the plant response to their surrounding environments through the accumulation of volatiles. The results will help growers to alter viticultural practices according to local conditions to improve the aromatic quality of grapes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Cough & Cold Medicine Abuse

Science.gov (United States)

... Videos for Educators Search English Español Cough & Cold Medicine Abuse KidsHealth / For Teens / Cough & Cold Medicine Abuse ... resfriado Why Do People Use Cough and Cold Medicines to Get High? There's an ingredient in many ...

AWE: Aviation Weather Data Visualization Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Spirkovska, Lilly; Lodha, Suresh K.; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Weather is one of the major causes of aviation accidents. General aviation (GA) flights account for 92% of all the aviation accidents, In spite of all the official and unofficial sources of weather visualization tools available to pilots, there is an urgent need for visualizing several weather related data tailored for general aviation pilots. Our system, Aviation Weather Data Visualization Environment AWE), presents graphical displays of meteorological observations, terminal area forecasts, and winds aloft forecasts onto a cartographic grid specific to the pilot's area of interest. Decisions regarding the graphical display and design are made based on careful consideration of user needs. Integral visual display of these elements of weather reports is designed for the use of GA pilots as a weather briefing and route selection tool. AWE provides linking of the weather information to the flight's path and schedule. The pilot can interact with the system to obtain aviation-specific weather for the entire area or for his specific route to explore what-if scenarios and make "go/no-go" decisions. The system, as evaluated by some pilots at NASA Ames Research Center, was found to be useful.

Deep Super-SAGE transcriptomic analysis of cold acclimation in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.).

Science.gov (United States)

Barrios, Abel; Caminero, Constantino; García, Pedro; Krezdorn, Nicolas; Hoffmeier, Klaus; Winter, Peter; Pérez de la Vega, Marcelino

2017-06-30

Frost is one of the main abiotic stresses limiting plant distribution and crop production. To cope with the stress, plants evolved adaptations known as cold acclimation or chilling tolerance to maximize frost tolerance. Cold acclimation is a progressive acquisition of freezing tolerance by plants subjected to low non-freezing temperatures which subsequently allows them to survive exposure to frost. Lentil is a cool season grain legume that is challenged by winter frost in some areas of its cultivation. To better understand the genetic base of frost tolerance differential gene expression in response to cold acclimation was investigated. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the cross Precoz x WA8649041 were first classified as cold tolerant or cold susceptible according to their response to temperatures between -3 to -15 °C. Then, RILs from both extremes of the response curve were cold acclimated and the leaf transcriptomes of two bulks each of eight frost tolerant and seven cold susceptible RILs were investigated by Deep Super-SAGE transcriptome profiling. Thus, four RNA bulks were analysed: the acclimated susceptible, the acclimated tolerant and the respective controls (non-acclimated susceptible and non-acclimated tolerant). Approximately 16.5 million 26 nucleotide long Super-SAGE tags were sequenced in the four sets (between ~3 and 5.4 millions). In total, 133,077 different unitags, each representing a particular transcript isoform, were identified in these four sets. Tags which showed a significantly different abundance in any of the bulks (fold change ≥4.0 and a significant p-value <0.001) were selected and used to identify the corresponding lentil gene sequence. Three hundred of such lentil sequences were identified. Most of their known homologs coded for glycine-rich, cold and drought-regulated proteins, dormancy-associated proteins, proline-rich proteins (PRPs) and other membrane proteins. These were generally but not exclusively over-expressed in the

Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program - Weatherization Assistance Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2010-06-01

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program reduces energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, while ensuring their health and safety.

Thermal comfort sustained by cold protective clothing in Arctic open-pit mining-a thermal manikin and questionnaire study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jussila, Kirsi; Rissanen, Sirkka; Aminoff, Anna; Wahlström, Jens; Vaktskjold, Arild; Talykova, Ljudmila; Remes, Jouko; Mänttäri, Satu; Rintamäki, Hannu

2017-12-07

Workers in the Arctic open-pit mines are exposed to harsh weather conditions. Employers are required to provide protective clothing for workers. This can be the outer layer, but sometimes also inner or middle layers are provided. This study aimed to determine how Arctic open-pit miners protect themselves against cold and the sufficiency, and the selection criteria of the garments. Workers' cold experiences and the clothing in four Arctic open-pit mines in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia were evaluated by a questionnaire (n=1,323). Basic thermal insulation (I cl ) of the reported clothing was estimated (ISO 9920). The I cl of clothing from the mines were also measured by thermal manikin (standing/walking) in 0.3 and 4.0 m/s wind. The questionnaire showed that the I cl of the selected clothing was on average 1.2 and 1.5 clo in mild (-5 to +5°C) and dry cold (-20 to -10°C) conditions, respectively. The I cl of the clothing measured by thermal manikin was 1.9-2.3 clo. The results show that the Arctic open-pit miners' selected their clothing based on occupational (time outdoors), environmental (temperature, wind, moisture) and individual factors (cold sensitivity, general health). However, the selected clothing was not sufficient to prevent cooling completely at ambient temperatures below -10°C.

The impact of weather on women's tendency to wear red or pink when at high risk for conception.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica L Tracy

Full Text Available Women are particularly motivated to enhance their sexual attractiveness during their most fertile period, and men perceive shades of red, when associated with women, as sexually attractive. Building on this research, we recently found that women are more likely to wear reddish clothing when at peak fertility (Beall & Tracy, 2013, presumably as a way of increasing their attractiveness. Here, we first report results from a methodological replication, conducted during warmer weather, which produced a null effect. Investigating this discrepancy, we considered the impact of a potentially relevant contextual difference between previous research and the replication: current weather. If the red-dress effect is driven by a desire to increase one's sexual appeal, then it should emerge most reliably when peak-fertility women have few alternative options for accomplishing this goal (e.g., wearing minimal clothing. Results from re-analyses of our previously collected data and a new experiment support this account, by demonstrating that the link between fertility and red/pink dress emerges robustly in cold, but not warm, weather. Together, these findings suggest that the previously documented red-dress effect is moderated by current climate concerns, and provide further evidence that under certain circumstances red/pink dress is reliably associated with female fertility.

Assessing Weather Curiosity in University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, A. E.

2017-12-01

This research focuses upon measuring an individual's level of trait curiosity about the weather using the Weather Curiosity Scale (WCS). The measure consists of 15 self-report items that describe weather preferences and/or behaviors that people may perform more or less frequently. The author reports on two initial studies of the WCS that have used the responses of 710 undergraduate students from a large university in the southeastern United States. In the first study, factor analysis of the 15 items indicated that the measure was unidimensional - suggesting that its items singularly assessed weather curiosity. The WCS also was internally consistent as evidenced by an acceptable Cronbach's alpha, a = .81). The second study sought to identify other personality variables that may relate with the WCS scores and thus illuminate the nature of weather curiosity. Several clusters of personality variables appear to underlie the curiosity levels people exhibited, the first of which related to perceptual curiosity (r = .59). Being curious about sights, sounds, smells, and textures generally related somewhat to curiosity about weather. Two measures of trait sensitivity to environmental stimulation, the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (r = .47) and the Orientation Sensitivity Scale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (r = .43), also predicted weather curiosity levels. Finally, possessing extraverted personality traits (r = .34) and an intense style of experiencing one's emotions (r = .33) related to weather curiosity. How can this measure be used in K-12 or post-secondary settings to further climate literacy? First, the WCS can identify students with natural curiosities about weather and climate so these students may be given more challenging instruction that will leverage their natural interests. Second, high-WCS students may function as weather and climate ambassadors during inquiry-based learning activities and thus help other students who are not as oriented to the

Verification of Space Weather Forecasts using Terrestrial Weather Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Henley, E.; Murray, S.; Pope, E.; Stephenson, D.; Sharpe, M.; Bingham, S.; Jackson, D.

2015-12-01

The Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC) provides a range of 24/7 operational space weather forecasts, alerts, and warnings, which provide valuable information on space weather that can degrade electricity grids, radio communications, and satellite electronics. Forecasts issued include arrival times of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and probabilistic forecasts for flares, geomagnetic storm indices, and energetic particle fluxes and fluences. These forecasts are produced twice daily using a combination of output from models such as Enlil, near-real-time observations, and forecaster experience. Verification of forecasts is crucial for users, researchers, and forecasters to understand the strengths and limitations of forecasters, and to assess forecaster added value. To this end, the Met Office (in collaboration with Exeter University) has been adapting verification techniques from terrestrial weather, and has been working closely with the International Space Environment Service (ISES) to standardise verification procedures. We will present the results of part of this work, analysing forecast and observed CME arrival times, assessing skill using 2x2 contingency tables. These MOSWOC forecasts can be objectively compared to those produced by the NASA Community Coordinated Modelling Center - a useful benchmark. This approach cannot be taken for the other forecasts, as they are probabilistic and categorical (e.g., geomagnetic storm forecasts give probabilities of exceeding levels from minor to extreme). We will present appropriate verification techniques being developed to address these forecasts, such as rank probability skill score, and comparing forecasts against climatology and persistence benchmarks. As part of this, we will outline the use of discrete time Markov chains to assess and improve the performance of our geomagnetic storm forecasts. We will also discuss work to adapt a terrestrial verification visualisation system to space weather, to help

Subthermal linewidths in photoassociation spectra of cold alkaline-earth-metal atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machholm, Mette; Julienne, Paul S.; Suominen, Kalle-Antti

2002-01-01

Narrow s-wave features with subthermal widths are predicted for the 1 Π g photoassociation spectra of cold alkaline-earth-metal atoms. The phenomenon is explained by numerical and analytical calculations. These show that only a small subthermal range of collision energies near threshold contributes to the s-wave features that are excited when the atoms are very far apart. The resonances survive thermal averaging, and may be detectable for Ca cooled near the Doppler cooling temperature of the 4 1 P 1 S laser-cooling transition

New Technologies for Weather Accident Prevention

Science.gov (United States)

Stough, H. Paul, III; Watson, James F., Jr.; Daniels, Taumi S.; Martzaklis, Konstantinos S.; Jarrell, Michael A.; Bogue, Rodney K.

2005-01-01

Weather is a causal factor in thirty percent of all aviation accidents. Many of these accidents are due to a lack of weather situation awareness by pilots in flight. Improving the strategic and tactical weather information available and its presentation to pilots in flight can enhance weather situation awareness and enable avoidance of adverse conditions. This paper presents technologies for airborne detection, dissemination and display of weather information developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), industry and the research community. These technologies, currently in the initial stages of implementation by industry, will provide more precise and timely knowledge of the weather and enable pilots in flight to make decisions that result in safer and more efficient operations.

Overexpression of the long noncoding RNA TUG1 protects against cold-induced injury of mouse livers by inhibiting apoptosis and inflammation.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Song; Liu, Jiang; He, Kai; Zhang, Mengyu; Feng, Chunhong; Peng, Fangyi; Li, Bo; Xia, Xianming

2016-04-01

Hepatic injury provoked by cold storage is a major problem affecting liver transplantation, as exposure to cold induces apoptosis in hepatic tissues. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are increasingly understood to regulate apoptosis, but the contribution of lncRNAs to cold-induced liver injury remains unknown. Using RNA-seq, we determined the differential lncRNA expression profile in mouse livers after cold storage and found that expression of the lncRNA TUG1 was significantly down-regulated. Overexpression of TUG1 attenuated cold-induced apoptosis in mouse hepatocytes and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells LSECs, in part by blocking mitochondrial apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways. Moreover, TUG1 attenuated apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress in vivo in livers subjected to cold storage. Overexpression of TUG1 also improved hepatocyte function and prolonged hepatic graft survival rates in mice. These results suggest that the lncRNA TUG1 exerts a protective effect against cold-induced liver damage by inhibiting apoptosis in mice, and suggests a potential role for TUG1 as a target for the prevention of cold-induced liver damage in liver transplantation. RNA-seq data are available from GEO using accession number GSE76609. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Insurance against weather risk : use of heating degree-days from non-local stations for weather derivatives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Asseldonk, van M.A.P.M.

2003-01-01

Weather derivatives enable policy-holders to safeguard themselves against extreme weather conditions. The effectiveness and the efficiency of the risk transfer is determined by the spatial risk basis, which is the stochastic dependency of the local weather outcome being insured and the outcome of

Can the Weather Affect My Child's Asthma?

Science.gov (United States)

... English Español Can the Weather Affect My Child's Asthma? KidsHealth / For Parents / Can the Weather Affect My ... Asthma? Print Can the Weather Affect My Child's Asthma? Yes. Weather conditions can bring on asthma symptoms. ...

NWS Weather Fatality, Injury and Damage Statistics

Science.gov (United States)

... Weather Awareness Floods, Wind Chill, Tornadoes, Heat... Education Weather Terms, Teachers, Statistics government web resources and services. Natural Hazard Statistics Statistics U.S. Summaries 78-Year List of Severe Weather Fatalities Preliminary Hazardous Weather Statistics for 2017 Now

... AND HERE COMES THE WEATHER - Austrian TV and radio weather news in the eye of the public

Science.gov (United States)

Keul, A.; Holzer, A. M.; Wostal, T.

2010-09-01

Media weather reports as the main avenue of meteorological and climatological information to the general public have always been in the focus of critical investigation. Former research found that although weather reports are high-interest topics, the amount of information recalled by non-experts is rather low, and criticized this. A pilot study (Keul et al., 2009) by the Salzburg University in cooperation with ORF, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, used historic radio files on a fair-weather and a storm situation. It identified the importance of intelligible wording of the weather forecast messages for lay people. Without quality control, weather information can stimulate rumours, false comfort or false alarms. More qualitative and experimental research, also on TV weather, seems justified. This need for further research was addressed by a second and larger field experiment in the spring of 2010. The survey took place in Salzburg City, Austria, with a quota sample of about 90 lay persons. This time TV and radio weather reports were used and a more realistic listening and viewing situation was created by presenting the latest weather forecasts of the given day to the test persons in the very next hours after originally broadcasting them. It asked lay people what they find important in the weather reports and what they remember for their actual next-day use. Reports of a fairweather prognosis were compared with a warning condition. The weather media mix of the users was explored. A second part of the study was a questionnaire which tested the understanding of typical figures of speech used in weather forecasts or even meteorological terms, which might also be important for fully understanding the severe weather warnings. This leads to quantitative and qualitative analysis from which the most important and unexpected results are presented. Short presentation times (1.5 to 2 minutes) make Austrian radio and TV weather reports a narrow compromise between general

A Severe Weather Laboratory Exercise for an Introductory Weather and Climate Class Using Active Learning Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Grundstein, Andrew; Durkee, Joshua; Frye, John; Andersen, Theresa; Lieberman, Jordan

2011-01-01

This paper describes a new severe weather laboratory exercise for an Introductory Weather and Climate class, appropriate for first and second year college students (including nonscience majors), that incorporates inquiry-based learning techniques. In the lab, students play the role of meteorologists making forecasts for severe weather. The…

A Waste of a Desert: Nevada and the Cold War Chemical Legacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cinzia Scarpino

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Taking the lead from Don DeLillo’s epic novel Underworld (1997 – with its overarching theme of “waste” functioning as its unifying metaphor and its picture of the American deserts turned into hazardous waste dumps or missile depots – this essay provides a close reading of the empty spaces of the Nevada desert, spaces that bear the mark left by the nuclear exploitation and the hazardous waste which have plagued Nevada since the Fifties. By linking the history of Nevada to the Cold War, and to the chemical legacy of those years, with its notions of “containment” and “weather control”, Scarpino argues that they be read as interwoven threads of the same discourse.

Engaging Earth- and Environmental-Science Undergraduates Through Weather Discussions and an eLearning Weather Forecasting Contest

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, David M.; Anderson, Stuart; Seo-Zindy, Ryo

2013-06-01

For students who major in meteorology, engaging in weather forecasting can motivate learning, develop critical-thinking skills, improve their written communication, and yield better forecasts. Whether such advances apply to students who are not meteorology majors has been less demonstrated. To test this idea, a weather discussion and an eLearning weather forecasting contest were devised for a meteorology course taken by third-year undergraduate earth- and environmental-science students. The discussion consisted of using the recent, present, and future weather to amplify the topics of the week's lectures. Then, students forecasted the next day's high temperature and the probability of precipitation for Woodford, the closest official observing site to Manchester, UK. The contest ran for 10 weeks, and the students received credit for participation. The top students at the end of the contest received bonus points on their final grade. A Web-based forecast contest application was developed to register the students, receive their forecasts, and calculate weekly standings. Students who were successful in the forecast contest were not necessarily those who achieved the highest scores on the tests, demonstrating that the contest was possibly testing different skills than traditional learning. Student evaluations indicate that the weather discussion and contest were reasonably successful in engaging students to learn about the weather outside of the classroom, synthesize their knowledge from the lectures, and improve their practical understanding of the weather. Therefore, students taking a meteorology class, but not majoring in meteorology, can derive academic benefits from weather discussions and forecast contests. Nevertheless, student evaluations also indicate that better integration of the lectures, weather discussions, and the forecasting contests is necessary.

Commemoration of a cold war

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Farbøl, Rosanna

2015-01-01

This article brings together the fields of Cold War studies and memory studies. In Denmark, a remarkable institutionalisation of Cold War memory has taken place in the midst of a heated ideological battle over the past and whether to remember the Cold War as a ‘war’. Using Danish Cold War museums...... and heritage sites as case studies, this article sheds new light on the politics of history involved in Cold War commemoration. It suggests that the Cold War is commemorated as a war, yet this war memory is of a particular kind: it is a war memory without victims....

Cold thermal injury from cold caps used for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

Science.gov (United States)

Belum, Viswanath Reddy; de Barros Silva, Giselle; Laloni, Mariana Tosello; Ciccolini, Kathryn; Goldfarb, Shari B; Norton, Larry; Sklarin, Nancy T; Lacouture, Mario E

2016-06-01

The use of scalp cooling for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is increasing. Cold caps are placed onto the hair-bearing areas of the scalp for varying time periods before, during, and after cytotoxic chemotherapy. Although not yet reported, improper application procedures could result in adverse events (AEs). At present, there are no evidence-based scalp cooling protocols, and there is no regulatory oversight of their use. To report the occurrence of cold thermal injury (frostbite) on the scalp, following the use of cold caps for the prevention of CIA. We identified four patients who developed cold thermal injuries on the scalp following the application of cold caps. Medical records were analyzed to retrieve the demographic and clinical characteristics. The cold thermal injuries in our patients were grade 1/2 in severity and improved with topical interventions and interruption of cold cap use, although grade 1 persistent alopecia ensued in 3 patients. The true incidence of such injuries in this setting, however, remains unknown. Cold thermal injuries are likely infrequent and preventable AEs that may result from improper device application procedures during cold cap use. Although these untoward events are usually mild to moderate in severity, the potential occurrence of long-term sequelae (e.g., permanent alopecia and scarring) or the need to discontinue cold cap use, are not known. Prospective studies are needed to further elucidate the risk and standardize healthcare delivery methods, and to improve patient/supportive/healthcare provider education.

Time-lagged effects of weather on plant demography: drought and Astragalus scaphoides.

Science.gov (United States)

Tenhumberg, Brigitte; Crone, Elizabeth E; Ramula, Satu; Tyre, Andrew J

2018-04-01

Temperature and precipitation determine the conditions where plant species can occur. Despite their significance, to date, surprisingly few demographic field studies have considered the effects of abiotic drivers. This is problematic because anticipating the effect of global climate change on plant population viability requires understanding how weather variables affect population dynamics. One possible reason for omitting the effect of weather variables in demographic studies is the difficulty in detecting tight associations between vital rates and environmental drivers. In this paper, we applied Functional Linear Models (FLMs) to long-term demographic data of the perennial wildflower, Astragalus scaphoides, and explored sensitivity of the results to reduced amounts of data. We compared models of the effect of average temperature, total precipitation, or an integrated measure of drought intensity (standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index, SPEI), on plant vital rates. We found that transitions to flowering and recruitment in year t were highest if winter/spring of year t was wet (positive effect of SPEI). Counterintuitively, if the preceding spring of year t - 1 was wet, flowering probabilities were decreased (negative effect of SPEI). Survival of vegetative plants from t - 1 to t was also negatively affected by wet weather in the spring of year t - 1 and, for large plants, even wet weather in the spring of t - 2 had a negative effect. We assessed the integrated effect of all vital rates on life history performance by fitting FLMs to the asymptotic growth rate, log(λt). Log(λt) was highest if dry conditions in year t - 1 were followed by wet conditions in the year t. Overall, the positive effects of wet years exceeded their negative effects, suggesting that increasing frequency of drought conditions would reduce population viability of A. scaphoides. The drought signal weakened when reducing the number of monitoring years. Substituting space for time

Regional-seasonal weather forecasting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abarbanel, H.; Foley, H.; MacDonald, G.; Rothaus, O.; Rudermann, M.; Vesecky, J.

1980-08-01

In the interest of allocating heating fuels optimally, the state-of-the-art for seasonal weather forecasting is reviewed. A model using an enormous data base of past weather data is contemplated to improve seasonal forecasts, but present skills do not make that practicable. 90 references. (PSB)

Analysis of Stress-Responsive Gene Expression in Cultivated and Weedy Rice Differing in Cold Stress Tolerance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline Borges Bevilacqua

Full Text Available Rice (Oryza sativa L. cultivars show impairment of growth in response to environmental stresses such as cold at the early seedling stage. Locally adapted weedy rice is able to survive under adverse environmental conditions, and can emerge in fields from greater soil depth. Cold-tolerant weedy rice can be a good genetic source for developing cold-tolerant, weed-competitive rice cultivars. An in-depth analysis is presented here of diverse indica and japonica rice genotypes, mostly weedy rice, for cold stress response to provide an understanding of different stress adaptive mechanisms towards improvement of the rice crop performance in the field. We have tested a collection of weedy rice genotypes to: 1 classify the subspecies (ssp. grouping (japonica or indica of 21 accessions; 2 evaluate their sensitivity to cold stress; and 3 analyze the expression of stress-responsive genes under cold stress and a combination of cold and depth stress. Seeds were germinated at 25°C at 1.5- and 10-cm sowing depth for 10d. Seedlings were then exposed to cold stress at 10°C for 6, 24 and 96h, and the expression of cold-, anoxia-, and submergence-inducible genes was analyzed. Control plants were seeded at 1.5cm depth and kept at 25°C. The analysis revealed that cold stress signaling in indica genotypes is more complex than that of japonica as it operates via both the CBF-dependent and CBF-independent pathways, implicated through induction of transcription factors including OsNAC2, OsMYB46 and OsF-BOX28. When plants were exposed to cold + sowing depth stress, a complex signaling network was induced that involved cross talk between stresses mediated by CBF-dependent and CBF-independent pathways to circumvent the detrimental effects of stresses. The experiments revealed the importance of the CBF regulon for tolerance to both stresses in japonica and indica ssp. The mechanisms for cold tolerance differed among weedy indica genotypes and also between weedy indica and

Weather Derivatives – Origin, Types and Application

OpenAIRE

Piotr Binkowski

2008-01-01

The number of companies that are exposed to the revenues loss risk caused by weather variability is still increasing. The businesses that are mostly exposed to weather risk are following: energy, agriculture, constructions and transport. That situation has initiated dynamic growth of weather derivatives markets as well as the awareness of the weather risk among the market participants. Presently, the weather derivatives markets evaluate rapidly in all the mature economies: USA, Asia and Europ...

Cold urticaria: inhibition of cold-induced histamine release by doxantrazole.

Science.gov (United States)

Bentley-Phillips, C B; Eady, R A; Greaves, M W

1978-10-01

Thirteen patients with cold urticaria were studied to assess the effect of the systemic drug doxantrazole, which has actions resembling disodium cromoglycate, on cold evoked histamine release. The patients, all of whom developed an immediate local whealing response after cooling of the forearm, demonstrated release of histamine into venous blood draining that forearm. Following doxantrazole treatment, significant suppression of histamine release occurred. In some but not all patients this was accompanied by diminution of urtication in response to cooling. A double-blind study was carried out in 3 subjects, all of whom showed diminished cold-stimulated histamine release after doxantrazole. Two of these showed clinical improvement. Doxantrazole had no effect on erythema due to intradermal histamine, but did suppress the erythematous reaction to intradermal injection of compound 48/80. Our results suggest that doxantrazole or related anti-allergic agents might be useful in the treatment of cold urticaria.

Does water temperature influence the performance of key survival skills?

Science.gov (United States)

Schnitzler, C; Button, C; Seifert, L; Armbrust, G; Croft, J L

2018-03-01

Aquatic survival skills may be compromised in cold water thereby increasing the likelihood of drowning. This study compared physiological, psychological, and behavioral responses of humans treading water and swimming in cold and temperate water. Thirty-eight participants were classified as inexperienced (n = 9), recreational (n = 15), or skilled (n = 10) swimmers. They performed 3 tasks: treading water (120 seconds), swim at "comfortable" pace, and swim at "fast" pace in 2 water conditions (28°C vs 10°C). Heart rate, oxygen uptake, psychometric variables, spatio-temporal (swim speed, stroke rate, and stroke length), and coordination type were examined as a function of expertise. Tasks performed in cold water-generated higher cardiorespiratory responses (HR = 145 ± 16 vs 127 ± 21 bpm) and were perceived about 2 points more strenuous on the Borg scale on average (RPE = 14.9 ± 2.8 vs 13.0 ± 2.0). The voluntary durations of both treading water (60 ± 32 vs 91 ± 33 seconds) and swimming at a comfortable pace (66 ± 22 vs 103 ± 34 seconds) were significantly reduced in cold water. However, no systematic changes in movement pattern type could be determined in either the treading water task or the swimming tasks. Water temperature influences the physical demands of these aquatic skills but not necessarily the behavior. Training treading water and swimming skills in temperate water seems to transfer to cold water, but we recommend training these skills in a range of water conditions to help adapt to the initial "cold-shock" response. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Weatherization in Arkansas: A Gem of a Program: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Arkansas demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Weather Derivatives – Origin, Types and Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piotr Binkowski

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The number of companies that are exposed to the revenues loss risk caused by weather variability is still increasing. The businesses that are mostly exposed to weather risk are following: energy, agriculture, constructions and transport. That situation has initiated dynamic growth of weather derivatives markets as well as the awareness of the weather risk among the market participants. Presently, the weather derivatives markets evaluate rapidly in all the mature economies: USA, Asia and Europe. Constructing weather derivatives relies on qu- antifying climate factors in the form of indexes, what is quite simple task, more difficultly can be gathering precise historical data of required climate factors. Taking into consideration so far development of derivatives especially the financial derivatives based on different types of indexes financial market has at disposal wide range of different types of proved derivatives (futures, forward, options, swaps, which can be successfully utilised on the weather-driven markets both for hedging weather risk and speculating.

Effect of Postsowing Compaction on Cold and Frost Tolerance of North China Plain Winter Wheat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caiyun Lu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Improper postsowing compaction negatively affects soil temperature and thereby cold and frost tolerance, particularly in extreme cold weather. In North China Plain, the temperature falls to 5 degrees below zero, even lower in winter, which is period for winter wheat growing. Thus improving temperature to promote wheat growth is important in this area. A field experiment from 2013 to 2016 was conducted to evaluate effects of postsowing compaction on soil temperature and plant population of wheat at different stages during wintering period. The effect of three postsowing compaction methods—(1 compacting wheel (CW, (2 crosskill roller (CR, and (3 V-shaped compacting roller after crosskill roller (VCRCR—on winter soil temperatures and relation to wheat shoot growth parameters were measured. Results showed that the highest soil midwinter temperature was in the CW treatment. In the 20 cm and 40 cm soil layer, soil temperatures were ranked in the following order of CW > VCRCR > CR. Shoot numbers under CW, CR, and VCRCR treatments were statistically 12.40% and 8.18% higher under CW treatment compared to CR or VCRCR treatments at the end of wintering period. The higher soil temperature under CW treatment resulted in higher shoot number at the end of wintering period, apparently due to reduced shoot death by cold and frost damage.

KSC Weather and Research

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, Launa; Huddleston, Lisa; Smith, Kristin

2016-01-01

This briefing outlines the history of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Weather organization, past research sponsored or performed, current organization, responsibilities, and activities, the evolution of weather support, future technologies, and an update on the status of the buoys located offshore of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and KSC.

Weather and road capacity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Thomas Christian

2014-01-01

The paper presents estimations of the effect of bad weather on the observed speed on a Danish highway section; Køge Bugt Motorvejen. The paper concludes that weather, primarily precipitation and snow, has a clear negative effect on speed when the road is not in hypercongestion mode. Furthermore...

Tales of future weather

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hazeleger, W.; Van den Hurk, B.J.J.M.; Min, E.; Van Oldenborgh, G.J.; Petersen, A.C.; Stainforth, D.A.; Vasileiadou, E.; Smith, L.A.

2015-01-01

Society is vulnerable to extreme weather events and, by extension, to human impacts on future events. As climate changes weather patterns will change. The search is on for more effective methodologies to aid decision-makers both in mitigation to avoid climate change and in adaptation to changes. The

77 FR 43117 - Meeting of the Cold War Advisory Committee for the Cold War Theme Study

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-23

... the Cold War Advisory Committee for the Cold War Theme Study AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior... Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. Appendix, that the Cold War Advisory Committee for the Cold War Theme Study will... National Park Service (NPS) concerning the Cold War Theme Study. DATES: The teleconference meeting will be...

49 CFR 195.224 - Welding: Weather.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Welding: Weather. 195.224 Section 195.224 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY... PIPELINE Construction § 195.224 Welding: Weather. Welding must be protected from weather conditions that...

Superpower nuclear minimalism in the post-Cold War era?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graben, E.K.

1992-07-01

With the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union, the strategic environment has fundamentally changed, so it would seem logical to reexamine strategy as well. There are two main schools of nuclear strategic thought: a maximalist school, which emphasizes counterforce superiority and nuclear war-fighting capability, and a MAD-plus school, which emphasizes survivability of an assured destruction capability along with the ability to deliver small, limited nuclear attacks in the event that conflict occurs. The MAD-plus strategy is the more logical of the two strategies, because the maximalist strategy is based on an attempt to conventionalize nuclear weapons which is unrealistic

The Spirit of North Dakota: Alive in Weatherization; Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

North Dakota demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

A Tribute to Weatherization Solutions in South Dakota: Weatherization Assistance Close-Up Fact Sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

South Dakota demonstrates its commitment to technology and efficiency through the Weatherization Program. Weatherization uses advanced technologies and techniques to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes

Investigating Subjective Experience and the Influence of Weather Among Individuals With Fibromyalgia: A Content Analysis of Twitter.

Science.gov (United States)

Delir Haghighi, Pari; Kang, Yong-Bin; Buchbinder, Rachelle; Burstein, Frada; Whittle, Samuel

2017-01-19

(subjective experience). It also included a list of weather-related terms such as "weather," "cold," and "rain." According to our results, a uniform causal effect of weather variation on fibromyalgia symptoms at the group level remains unlikely. Any impact of weather on fibromyalgia symptoms may vary geographically or at an individual level. Future work will further explore geographic variation and interactions focusing on individual pain trajectories over time. ©Pari Delir Haghighi, Yong-Bin Kang, Rachelle Buchbinder, Frada Burstein, Samuel Whittle. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 19.01.2017.

Integrating Sphere-based Weathering Device

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — Description:In the artificial ultraviolet (UV) weathering of materials, a need exists for weathering devices that can uniformly illuminate test specimens with a high...

Amplification and quantification of cold-associated microRNAs in the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) agricultural pest.

Science.gov (United States)

Morin, M D; Frigault, J J; Lyons, P J; Crapoulet, N; Boquel, S; Storey, K B; Morin, P Jr

2017-10-01

The Colorado potato beetle [Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)] is an important insect pest that can inflict considerable damage to potato plants. This insect can survive extended periods of cold exposure, and yet the molecular switches underlying this phenomenon have not been fully elucidated. A better characterization of this process would highlight novel vulnerabilities associated with L. decemlineata that could serve as targets for the management of this devastating pest. Using high-throughput sequencing, the current work reveals a cold-associated signature group of microRNAs (miRNAs) in control (15 °C) and -5 °C-exposed L. decemlineata. The results show 42 differentially expressed miRNAs following cold exposure including miR-9a-3p, miR-210-3p, miR-276-5p and miR-277-3p. Functional analysis of predicted targets associated with these cold-responsive miRNAs notably linked these changes with vital metabolic and cellular processes. Overall, this study highlights the miRNAs probably responsible for facilitating cold adaptation in L. decemlineata and implicates miRNAs as a key molecular target to consider in the development of novel pest management strategies against these insects. © 2017 The Royal Entomological Society.

Mass mortality of eastern box turtles with upper respiratory disease following atypical cold weather.

Science.gov (United States)

Agha, Mickey; Price, Steven J; Nowakowski, A Justin; Augustine, Ben; Todd, Brian D

2017-04-20

Emerging infectious diseases cause population declines in many ectotherms, with outbreaks frequently punctuated by periods of mass mortality. It remains unclear, however, whether thermoregulation by ectotherms and variation in environmental temperature is associated with mortality risk and disease progression, especially in wild populations. Here, we examined environmental and body temperatures of free-ranging eastern box turtles Terrapene carolina during a mass die-off coincident with upper respiratory disease. We recorded deaths of 17 turtles that showed clinical signs of upper respiratory disease among 76 adult turtles encountered in Berea, Kentucky (USA), in 2014. Of the 17 mortalities, 11 occurred approximately 14 d after mean environmental temperature dropped 2.5 SD below the 3 mo mean. Partial genomic sequencing of the major capsid protein from 1 sick turtle identified a ranavirus isolate similar to frog virus 3. Turtles that lacked clinical signs of disease had significantly higher body temperatures (23°C) than sick turtles (21°C) during the mass mortality, but sick turtles that survived and recovered eventually warmed (measured by temperature loggers). Finally, there was a significant negative effect of daily environmental temperature deviation from the 3 mo mean on survival, suggesting that rapid decreases in environmental temperature were correlated with mortality. Our results point to a potential role for environmental temperature variation and body temperature in disease progression and mortality risk of eastern box turtles affected by upper respiratory disease. Given our findings, it is possible that colder or more variable environmental temperatures and an inability to effectively thermoregulate are associated with poorer disease outcomes in eastern box turtles.

Development of Cold Neutron Activation Station at HANARO Cold Neutron Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, G. M.; Hoang, S. M. T.; Moon, J. H.; Chung, Y. S.; Cho, S. J.; Lee, K. H.; Park, B. G.; Choi, H. D.

2012-01-01

A new cold neutron source at the HANARO Research Reactor had been constructed in the framework of a five-year project, and ended in 2009. It has seven neutron guides, among which five guides were already allocated for a number of neutron scattering instruments. A new two-year project to develop a Cold Neutron Activation Station (CONAS) was carried out at the two neutron guides since May 2010, which was supported by the program of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Korea. Fig. 1 shows the location of CONAS. CONAS is a complex facility including several radioanalytical instruments utilizing neutron capture reaction to analyze elements in a sample. It was designed to include three instruments like a CN-PGAA (Cold Neutron - Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis), a CN-NIPS (Cold Neutron - Neutron Induced Pair Spectrometer), and a CN-NDP (Cold Neutron - Neutron-induced prompt charged particle Depth Profiling). Fig. 2 shows the conceptual configuration of the CONAS concrete bioshield and the instruments. CN-PGAA and CN-NIPS measure the gamma-rays promptly emitted from the sample after neutron capture, whereas CN-NDP is a probe to measure the charged particles emitted from the sample surface after neutron capture. For this, we constructed two cold neutron guides called CG1 and CG2B guides from the CNS

Accelerated laboratory weathering of acrylic lens materials

Science.gov (United States)

Arndt, Thomas; Richter, Steffen; Kogler, René; Pasierb, Mike; Walby, Christopher

2015-09-01

Flat samples from various poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) formulations were subjected to outdoor weathering in Arizona and Florida, EMMAQUA® accelerated outdoor weathering, and two accelerated laboratory weathering procedures at 3 Sun irradiance which, imitate dry (Arizona) and wet (Florida) conditions. The main mode of degradation is yellowing and not the generation of haze for any weathering procedure within the investigated radiant exposure. Higher UV absorber concentrations lead to smaller changes in optical properties and in the resulting relative concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) module efficiencies. Comparison of sample properties after various weathering procedures reveals that the influence of weathering factors other than radiant exposure depends on the sample as well.

Support for cold neutron utilization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kye Hong; Han, Young Soo; Choi, Sungmin; Choi, Yong; Kwon, Hoon; Lee, Kwang Hee

2012-06-01

- Support for experiments by users of cold neutron scattering instrument - Short-term training of current and potential users of cold neutron scattering instrument for their effective use of the instrument - International collaboration for advanced utilization of cold neutron scattering instruments - Selection and training of qualified instrument scientists for vigorous research endeavors and outstanding achievements in experiments with cold neutron - Research on nano/bio materials using cold neutron scattering instruments - Bulk nano structure measurement using small angle neutron scattering and development of analysis technique

The Effect of Early Frost Damage on the Penetration Resistance of Chloride Ion of NPP Concrete

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koh, Kyung Teak; Park, Chun Jin; Kim, Si Hwan; Ryu, Gum Sung [Korea Institute of Construction Technology, Goyang (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

The specification for the nuclear power plant (NPP) structure construction specifies the conformity of the regulation ACI-306R in constructing the cold-weather concrete. According to the regulation with regard to the curing condition for cold weather concrete, the insulation curing of cold weather concrete should be appropriately performed under the environment of 5 .deg. C or more until the strength of 500 psi is developed. In addition, according to the regulations regarding the cold weather concrete in the domestic concrete specifications, the insulation curing should be performed until the strength development of 715 psi considering the safety factor indicated to the ACI regulation under the temperature of 5 .deg. C or more. According to the above-mentioned regulations, the NPP structure is required to develop the minimum strength of 715 psi or more and to maintain the important quality including strength development, early anti-freezing and duality under the cold weather condition. However, even though the early strength of 715 psi or more is secured under cold weather condition, if the structure is exposed to the continuous cold weather condition after the protection equipment including curing coat are removed, the structure's durability can go down compared to the concrete cured under the standard curing temperature condition in spring and fall, but the studies on this status still remain poor. Accordingly, this study tried to verify the adequacy of the insulation curing management standard, which is currently presented, in time of constructing the cold weather concrete, through reviewing the penetration resistance of chloride ion with considering the local characteristics of domestic NPP located at coastal areas after curing until the point of 715 psi, then exposing it to a certain cycle of freeze-thaw environment under the continuous cold weather condition

36 CFR 910.71 - Weather protection.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Weather protection. 910.71 Section 910.71 Parks, Forests, and Public Property PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION GENERAL... DEVELOPMENT AREA Glossary of Terms § 910.71 Weather protection. Weather protection means a seasonal or...

Flight Deck Weather Avoidance Decision Support: Implementation and Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shu-Chieh; Luna, Rocio; Johnson, Walter W.

2013-01-01

Weather related disruptions account for seventy percent of the delays in the National Airspace System (NAS). A key component in the weather plan of the Next Generation of Air Transportation System (NextGen) is to assimilate observed weather information and probabilistic forecasts into the decision process of flight crews and air traffic controllers. In this research we explore supporting flight crew weather decision making through the development of a flight deck predicted weather display system that utilizes weather predictions generated by ground-based radar. This system integrates and presents this weather information, together with in-flight trajectory modification tools, within a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) prototype. that the CDTI features 2D and perspective 3D visualization models of weather. The weather forecast products that we implemented were the Corridor Integrated Weather System (CIWS) and the Convective Weather Avoidance Model (CWAM), both developed by MIT Lincoln Lab. We evaluated the use of CIWS and CWAM for flight deck weather avoidance in two part-task experiments. Experiment 1 compared pilots' en route weather avoidance performance in four weather information conditions that differed in the type and amount of predicted forecast (CIWS current weather only, CIWS current and historical weather, CIWS current and forecast weather, CIWS current and forecast weather and CWAM predictions). Experiment 2 compared the use of perspective 3D and 21/2D presentations of weather for flight deck weather avoidance. Results showed that pilots could take advantage of longer range predicted weather forecasts in performing en route weather avoidance but more research will be needed to determine what combinations of information are optimal and how best to present them.

Effects of mild cold stress on the survival of seawater-adapted mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) maintained on food contaminated with petroleum

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, W.N.; Gorsline, J.; Cronshaw, J.

1979-01-01

(1) Seawater-adapted Mallard ducks maintained in the laboratory will freely consume food that has been contaminated with either any one of a variety of crude oils or a petroleum derivative such as No. 2 fuel oil. (2) During a 100-day experimental period total masses of petroleum equivalent to 50% of the mean body weight were consumed by some birds and many showed no apparent symptoms of distress. (3) The consumption of petroleum-contaminated food was frequently accompanied by a persistent hyperphagia but no clear patterns of change in body weight were associated with this condition. (4) Among those birds that survived the 100-day experimental period only small changes in mean body weight were observed between successive weighings and in most instances these represented less than 10% of the previously recorded weight. (5) In all groups, including those maintained on uncontaminated food, most of the mortality occurred following exposure to continuous mild cold stress. The total number of deaths in the groups given petroleum-contaminated food, however, was always higher than that among birds given uncontaminated food. (6) The spate of mortality that occurred in groups given petroleum-contaminated food usually occurred earlier, lasted longer, and involved more birds than it did among groups fed uncontaminated food. (7) The pattern of each episode of mortality was sometimes quantitatively related to the concentration of petroleum in the food and a striking range of relative toxicities were observed among the crude oils from different geographic regions. (8) Throughout the experiment, the mean body weight of the birds that died was always significantly less than that of the survivors in the same group; in all instances most of the loss in weight occurred during the 2 weeks preceding death. (9) Autopsy revealed that adrenal hypertrophy and lymphoepithelial involution were characteristic in all of the birds that died, suggesting that a high level of adrenocortical

Simultaneous measurement of current and temperature distributions in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell during cold start processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiao Kui; Alaefour, Ibrahim E.; Karimi, Gholamreza; Li Xianguo

2011-01-01

Cold start is critical to the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in automotive applications. Dynamic distributions of current and temperature in PEMFC during various cold start processes determine the cold start characteristics, and are required for the optimization of design and operational strategy. This study focuses on an investigation of the cold start characteristics of a PEMFC through the simultaneous measurements of current and temperature distributions. An analytical model for quick estimate of purging duration is also developed. During the failed cold start process, the highest current density is initially near the inlet region of the flow channels, then it moves downstream, reaching the outlet region eventually. Almost half of the cell current is produced in the inlet region before the cell current peaks, and the region around the middle of the cell has the best survivability. These two regions are therefore more important than other regions for successful cold start through design and operational strategy, such as reducing the ice formation and enhancing the heat generation in these two regions. The evolution of the overall current density distribution over time remains similar during the successful cold start process; the current density is the highest near the flow channel inlets and generally decreases along the flow direction. For both the failed and the successful cold start processes, the highest temperature is initially in the flow channel inlet region, and is then around the middle of the cell after the overall peak current density is reached. The ice melting and liquid formation during the successful cold start process have negligible influence on the general current and temperature distributions.

Phytoplankton variability in Lake Fraijanes, Costa Rica, in response to local weather variation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerardo Umaña-Villalobos

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Phytoplankton species show a variety in morphology which is the result of adaptations to pelagic life including responses to fluctuations in water column dynamics driven by weather conditions. This has been reported in the oceans and in Northern temperate lakes. In order to observe whether tropical freshwater phytoplankton responds to seasonal variation in weather, the weekly variation in temperature of the water column and phytoplankton composition was studied in Lake Fraijanes, Costa Rica, a shallow (6.2m lake at 1 640m above sea level. A chain of data loggers for temperature was placed in the deepest point in the lake to register temperature every hour at four different depths, and phytoplankton samples were retrieved every week for a year. Additional monthly samples for nutrients were taken at two depths. Notwithstanding its shallowness, the lake developed a thermal gradient which kept the water column stratified for several months during dry season. Whole lake overturns occurred during cold spells with intense precipitation. Phytoplankton changed throughout the year mainly through a shift in dominant taxa. From September to February the lake was frequently mixed by rain storms and windy weather. At this time, phytoplankton was dominated by Chlorococcal green algae. From March to June, the lake was stratified and warmer. Phytoplankton became dominated by Cyanobateria, mainly colonial Chroococcales. The rainy season started again in May 2009. During June and July the lake started to mix intermittently during rain events and phytoplankton showed a brief increase in the contribution of Chlorococcales. These changes fitted well to a general model of phytoplankton succession based on functional groups identified according to their morphology and adaptations.

The Nav1.9 Channel Is a Key Determinant of Cold Pain Sensation and Cold Allodynia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stéphane Lolignier

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Cold-triggered pain is essential to avoid prolonged exposure to harmfully low temperatures. However, the molecular basis of noxious cold sensing in mammals is still not completely understood. Here, we show that the voltage-gated Nav1.9 sodium channel is important for the perception of pain in response to noxious cold. Nav1.9 activity is upregulated in a subpopulation of damage-sensing sensory neurons responding to cooling, which allows the channel to amplify subthreshold depolarizations generated by the activation of cold transducers. Consequently, cold-triggered firing is impaired in Nav1.9−/− neurons, and Nav1.9 null mice and knockdown rats show increased cold pain thresholds. Disrupting Nav1.9 expression in rodents also alleviates cold pain hypersensitivity induced by the antineoplastic agent oxaliplatin. We conclude that Nav1.9 acts as a subthreshold amplifier in cold-sensitive nociceptive neurons and is required for the perception of cold pain under normal and pathological conditions.

Cold adaptive traits revealed by comparative genomic analysis of the eurypsychrophile Rhodococcus sp. JG3 isolated from high elevation McMurdo Dry Valley permafrost, Antarctica.

Science.gov (United States)

Goordial, Jacqueline; Raymond-Bouchard, Isabelle; Zolotarov, Yevgen; de Bethencourt, Luis; Ronholm, Jennifer; Shapiro, Nicole; Woyke, Tanja; Stromvik, Martina; Greer, Charles W; Bakermans, Corien; Whyte, Lyle

2016-02-01

The permafrost soils of the high elevation McMurdo Dry Valleys are the most cold, desiccating and oligotrophic on Earth. Rhodococcus sp. JG3 is one of very few bacterial isolates from Antarctic Dry Valley permafrost, and displays subzero growth down to -5°C. To understand how Rhodococcus sp. JG3 is able to survive extreme permafrost conditions and be metabolically active at subzero temperatures, we sequenced its genome and compared it to the genomes of 14 mesophilic rhodococci. Rhodococcus sp. JG3 possessed a higher copy number of genes for general stress response, UV protection and protection from cold shock, osmotic stress and oxidative stress. We characterized genome wide molecular adaptations to cold, and identified genes that had amino acid compositions favourable for increased flexibility and functionality at low temperatures. Rhodococcus sp. JG3 possesses multiple complimentary strategies which may enable its survival in some of the harshest permafrost on Earth. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

North America Synoptic Weather Maps

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Series of Synoptic Weather Maps. Maps contains a surface analysis comprised of plotted weather station observations, isobars indicating low and high-pressure...

Cold Exposure Induces Proliferation of Mature Brown Adipocyte in a ß3-Adrenergic Receptor-Mediated Pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukano, Keigo; Okamatsu-Ogura, Yuko; Tsubota, Ayumi; Nio-Kobayashi, Junko; Kimura, Kazuhiro

2016-01-01

Hyperplasia of brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a fundamental mechanism for adaptation to survive in the cold environment in rodents. To determine which cell types comprising BAT contribute to tissue hyperplasia, immunohistochemical analysis using a proliferative marker Ki67 was performed on the BAT from 6-week-old C57BL/6J mice housed at 23°C (control) or 10°C (cold) for 5 days. Interestingly, in the control group, the cell proliferative marker Ki67 was detected in the nuclei of uncoupling protein 1-positive mature brown adipocytes (7.2% ± 0.4% of brown adipocyte), as well as in the non-adipocyte stromal-vascular (SV) cells (19.6% ± 2.3% of SV cells), which include preadiopocytes. The percentage of Ki67-positive brown adipocytes increased to 25.6% ± 1.8% at Day 1 after cold exposure and was significantly higher than the non-cold acclimated control until Day 5 (21.8% ± 1.7%). On the other hand, the percentage of Ki67-positive SV cells gradually increased by a cold exposure and peaked to 42.1% ± 8.3% at Day 5. Injection of a ß3-adrenergic receptor (ß3-AR) agonist for continuous 5 days increased the number of Ki67-positive brown adipocytes even at Day 1 but not that of SV cells. In addition, the ß3-AR antagonist, but not ß1-AR antagonist, attenuated the cold exposure-induced increase in the number of Ki67-positive brown adipocytes. These results suggest that mature brown adipocytes proliferate immediately after cold exposure in a ß3-AR-mediated pathway. Thus, proliferation of mature brown adipocytes as well as preadipocytes in SV cells may contribute to cold exposure-induced BAT hyperplasia.

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND LEUKOCYTE SUBSET RESPONSES TO EXERCISE AND COLD EXPOSURE IN COLD-ACCLIMATIZED SKATERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Kim

2014-07-01

Full Text Available We investigated physiological responses and changes in circulating immune cells following exercise in cold and thermoneutral conditions. Participants were short track skaters (n=9 who were acclimatized to cold conditions, and inline skaters (n=10 who were not acclimatized. All skaters were young, and skating at a recreational level three days per week for at least one year. Using a cross-over design, study variables were measured during 60 min of submaximal cycling (65% ·VO2max in cold (ambient temperature: 5±1°C, relative humidity: 41±9% and thermoneutral conditions (ambient temperature: 21±1°C, relative humidity: 35±5%. Heart rate, blood lactate and tympanic temperature were measured at rest, during exercise and recovery. Plasma cortisol, calprotectin and circulating blood cell numbers were measured before and after 60 min of cold or thermoneutral conditions, and during recovery from exercise. Heart rate was lower in both groups during exercise in cold versus thermoneutral conditions (P<0.05. The increase in total leukocytes during recovery was primarily due to an increase in neutrophils in both groups. The cold-acclimatized group activated neutrophils after exercise in cold exposure, whereas the non-acclimatized group activated lymphocyte and cortisol after exercise in cold exposure. Lymphocyte subsets significantly changed in both groups over time during recovery as compared to rest. Immediately after exercise in both groups, CD16+ and CD69+ cells were elevated compared to rest or before exercise in both conditions. Acclimatization to exercise in the cold does not appear to influence exercise-induced immune changes in cold conditions, with the possible exception of neutrophils, lymphocytes and cortisol concentration.

Weather Risk Management in Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Bobriková

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on valuation of a weather derivative with payoffs depending on temperature. We use historical data from the weather station in the Slovak town Košice to obtain unique prices of option contracts in an incomplete market. Numerical examples of prices of some contracts are presented, using the Burn analysis. We provide an example of how a weather contract can be designed to hedge the financial risk of a suboptimal temperature condition. The comparative comparison of the selected option hedging strategies has shown the best results for the producers in agricultural industries who hedges against an unfavourable weather conditions. The results of analysis proved that by buying put option or call option, the farmer establishes the highest payoff in the case of temperature decrease or increase. The Long Straddle Strategy is the most expensive but is available to the farmer who hedges against a high volatility in temperature movement. We conclude with the findings that weather derivatives could be useful tools to diminish the financial losses for agricultural industries highly dependent for temperature.

Geography and Weather: Mountain Meterology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mogil, H. Michael; Collins, H. Thomas

1990-01-01

Provided are 26 ideas to help children explore the effects of mountains on the weather. Weather conditions in Nepal and Colorado are considered separately. Nine additional sources of information are listed. (CW)

Rapid restoration of electric vehicle battery performance while driving at cold temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guangsheng; Ge, Shanhai; Yang, Xiao-Guang; Leng, Yongjun; Marple, Dan; Wang, Chao-Yang

2017-12-01

Electric vehicles (EVs) driven in cold weather experience two major drawbacks of Li-ion batteries: drastic power loss (up to 10-fold at -30 °C) and restriction of regenerative braking at temperatures below 5-10 °C. Both factors greatly reduce cruise range, exacerbating drivers' range anxiety in winter. While preheating the battery before driving is a practice widely adopted to maintain battery power and EV drivability, it is time-consuming (on the order of 40 min) and prohibits instantaneous mobility. Here we reveal a control strategy that can rapidly restore EV battery power and permit full regeneration while driving at temperatures as low as -40 °C. The strategy involves heating the battery internally during regenerative braking and rest periods of driving. We show that this technique fully restores room-temperature battery power and regeneration in 13, 33, 46, 56 and 112 s into uninterrupted driving in 0, -10, -20, -30 and -40 °C environments, respectively. Correspondingly, the strategy significantly increases cruise range of a vehicle operated at cold temperatures, e.g. 49% at -40 °C in simulated US06 driving cycle tests. The present work suggests that smart batteries with embedded sensing/actuation can leapfrog in performance.

Tolerance of subzero winter cold in kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) and its implications for northward migration in a warming climate

Science.gov (United States)

Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) is an important invasive species that was planted throughout southeastern North America until the mid-20th century. Winter survival is commonly assumed to control its distribution; however, its cold tolerance thresholds have not been determined. Here, we used bio...

Cold fusion, Alchemist's dream

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clayton, E.D.

1989-09-01

In this report the following topics relating to cold fusion are discussed: muon catalysed cold fusion; piezonuclear fusion; sundry explanations pertaining to cold fusion; cosmic ray muon catalysed cold fusion; vibrational mechanisms in excited states of D 2 molecules; barrier penetration probabilities within the hydrogenated metal lattice/piezonuclear fusion; branching ratios of D 2 fusion at low energies; fusion of deuterons into 4 He; secondary D+T fusion within the hydrogenated metal lattice; 3 He to 4 He ratio within the metal lattice; shock induced fusion; and anomalously high isotopic ratios of 3 He/ 4 He

Using Artificial Intelligence to Inform Pilots of Weather

Science.gov (United States)

Spirkovska, Lilly; Lodha, Suresh K.

2006-01-01

An automated system to assist a General Aviation (GA) pilot in improving situational awareness of weather in flight is now undergoing development. This development is prompted by the observation that most fatal GA accidents are attributable to loss of weather awareness. Loss of weather awareness, in turn, has been attributed to the difficulty of interpreting traditional preflight weather briefings and the difficulty of both obtaining and interpreting traditional in-flight weather briefings. The developmental automated system not only improves weather awareness but also substantially reduces the time a pilot must spend in acquiring and maintaining weather awareness.

Cold neutron production and application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Kazuhiko; Watanabe, Noboru.

1976-01-01

The first part gives general introduction to cold neutrons, namely the definition and the role as a probe in basic science and technology. The second part reviews various methods of cold neutron production. Some physical characteristics required for cold moderators are presented, and a list summarizes a number of cold moderators and their reactor physics constants. The definition of flux gain factor and the measured values for liquid light- and heavy-hydrogen are also given. The cold neutron spectra in methane and liquid hydrogen measured by LINAC time-of-flight method are presented to show the advantage of solid methane. The cold neutron sources using experimental reactors or linear accelerators are explained along with the examples of existing facilities. Two Japanese programs, the one is the use of a high flux reactor and the other is the use of a LINAC, are also presented. The third part of this report reviews the application areas of cold neutrons. (Aoki, K.)

Effects of Weather on Tourism and its Moderation

Science.gov (United States)

Park, J. H.; Kim, S.; Lee, D. K.

2016-12-01

Tourism is weather sensitive industry (Gómez Martín, 2005). As climate change has been intensifying, the concerns about negative effects of weather on tourism also have been increasing. This study attempted to find ways that mitigate the negative effects from weather on tourism, by analyzing a path of the effects of weather on intention to revisit and its moderation. The data of the study were collected by a self-recording online questionnaire survey of South Korean domestic tourists during August 2015, and 2,412 samples were gathered. A path model of effects of weather on intention to revisit that including moderating effects from physical attraction satisfaction and service satisfaction was ran. Season was controlled in the path model. The model fit was adequate (CMIN/DF=2.372(p=.000), CFI=.974, RMSEA=.024, SRMR=0.040), and the Model Comparison, which assumes that the base model to be correct with season constrained model, showed that there was a seasonal differences in the model ( DF=24, CMIN=32.430, P=.117). By the analysis, it was figured out that weather and weather expectation affected weather satisfaction, and the weather satisfaction affected intention to revisit (spring/fall: .167**, summer: .104**, and winter: .114**). Meanwhile physical attraction satisfaction (.200**), and service satisfaction (.210**) of tourism positively moderated weather satisfaction in summer, and weather satisfaction positively moderated physical attraction (.238**) satisfaction and service satisfaction (.339**). In other words, in summer, dissatisfaction from hot weather was moderated by satisfaction from physical attractions and services, and in spring/fall, comfort weather conditions promoted tourists to accept tourism experience and be satisfied from attractions and services positively. Based on the result, it was expected that if industries focus on offering the good attractions and services based on weather conditions, there would be positive effects to alleviate tourists

Effects of cold temperatures on the excitability of rat trigeminal ganglion neurons that are not for cold-sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Kanda, Hirosato; Gu, Jianguo G.

2016-01-01

Except a small population of primary afferent neurons for sensing cold to generate the sensations of innocuous and noxious cold, it is generally believed that cold temperatures suppress the excitability of other primary afferent neurons that are not for cold-sensing. These not-for-cold-sensing neurons include the majority of non-nociceptive and nociceptive afferent neurons. In the present study we have found that not-for-cold-sensing neurons of rat trigeminal ganglia (TG) change their excitability in several ways at cooling temperatures. In nearly 70% of not-for-cold-sensing TG neurons, the cooling temperature of 15°C increases their membrane excitability. We regard these neurons as cold-active neurons. For the remaining 30% of not-for-cold-sensing TG neurons, the cooling temperature of 15°C either has no effect (regarded as cold-ineffective neurons) or suppress (regarded as cold-suppressive neurons) their membrane excitability. For cold-active neurons, the cold temperature of 15°C increases their excitability as is evidenced by the increases in action potential (AP) firing numbers and/or reduction of AP rheobase when these neurons are depolarized electrically. The cold temperature of 15°C significantly inhibits M-currents and increases membrane input resistance of cold-active neurons. Retigabine, an M-current activator, abolishes the effect of cold temperatures on AP firing but not the effect of cold temperature on AP rheobase levels. The inhibition of M-currents and the increases of membrane input resistance are likely two mechanisms by which cooling temperatures increase the excitability of not-for-cold-sensing TG neurons. PMID:26709732

The Nav1.9 channel is a key determinant of cold pain sensation and cold allodynia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lolignier, Stéphane; Bonnet, Caroline; Gaudioso, Christelle; Noël, Jacques; Ruel, Jérôme; Amsalem, Muriel; Ferrier, Jérémy; Rodat-Despoix, Lise; Bouvier, Valentine; Aissouni, Youssef; Prival, Laetitia; Chapuy, Eric; Padilla, Françoise; Eschalier, Alain; Delmas, Patrick; Busserolles, Jérôme

2015-05-19

Cold-triggered pain is essential to avoid prolonged exposure to harmfully low temperatures. However, the molecular basis of noxious cold sensing in mammals is still not completely understood. Here, we show that the voltage-gated Nav1.9 sodium channel is important for the perception of pain in response to noxious cold. Nav1.9 activity is upregulated in a subpopulation of damage-sensing sensory neurons responding to cooling, which allows the channel to amplify subthreshold depolarizations generated by the activation of cold transducers. Consequently, cold-triggered firing is impaired in Nav1.9(-/-) neurons, and Nav1.9 null mice and knockdown rats show increased cold pain thresholds. Disrupting Nav1.9 expression in rodents also alleviates cold pain hypersensitivity induced by the antineoplastic agent oxaliplatin. We conclude that Nav1.9 acts as a subthreshold amplifier in cold-sensitive nociceptive neurons and is required for the perception of cold pain under normal and pathological conditions. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pregalactic formation of globular clusters in cold dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faber, S.M.; Blumenthal, G.R.; Rosenblatt, E.I.

1988-01-01

The pregalactic hypothesis for the formation of globular clusters is reconsidered in the light of Zinn's (1985) discovery of a two-component globular population in the Milky Way. For a cold dark matter spectrum, high-sigma fluctuations of 10 to the 5th - 10 to the 6th solar masses are assumed to be the progenitors of the spheroidal population of globular clusters. The mass fraction of globular clusters in galaxies then requires that perturbations above roughly 2.8 sigma survive as globulars, and their observed radii require baryonic collapse factors of order 10. Such an absolute density threshold for globular cluster formation achieves adequate fits to observed cluster radii and densities, the mass fraction of globulars versus Hubble type, the radial density profile of globulars within galaxies, and the globular luminosity function. However, a fixed density threshold criterion for cluster survival lacks convincing physical justification and does not by itself explain the homogeneous metallicities within clusters or the large metallicity variations from cluster to cluster and from galaxy to galaxy. 33 references

Designing a Weather Station

Science.gov (United States)

Roman, Harry T.

2012-01-01

The collection and analysis of weather data is crucial to the location of alternate energy systems like solar and wind. This article presents a design challenge that gives students a chance to design a weather station to collect data in advance of a large wind turbine installation. Data analysis is a crucial part of any science or engineering…

Impact of abiotic factors on frost resistance and cold acclimation in Salix species and clones

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fircks, H. von [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Short Rotation Forestry

1996-12-31

The effects of mineral nitrogen, photoperiod and day-night temperature on frost resistance and growth cessation in Salix species and clones are discussed. Increased nitrogen supply and imbalances between nitrogen and other elements might cause extensive frost damage in plants of Salix. Vegetation frosts below -3 deg C reduces the level of annual yield. Although Salix clones differ in resistance to freezing stress, the capacity to recover and grow after frosts are equal essential properties which affect the growth and biomass production of shoots after night frosts in June. Early autumn frosts causing freezing damage not only may delay the onset of growth cessation and cold acclimation, but also affect the winter survival of shoots. Increased nitrogen supply prior to cold acclimation postponed growth cessation and cold acclimation. Differences in nutrient status in plants cause also differences in retranslocation of mineral nutrients. Absence of damaging autumn frosts allow plants irrespective of nitrogen status to develop a frost resistance of at least - 80 deg C. 21 refs, 1 fig, 3 tabs

Five case studies of multifamily weatherization programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kinney, L; Wilson, T.; Lewis, G. [Synertech Systems Corp. (United States); MacDonald, M. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1997-12-31

The multifamily case studies that are the subject of this report were conducted to provide a better understanding of the approach taken by program operators in weatherizing large buildings. Because of significant variations in building construction and energy systems across the country, five states were selected based on their high level of multifamily weatherization. This report summarizes findings from case studies conducted by multifamily weatherization operations in five cities. The case studies were conducted between January and November 1994. Each of the case studies involved extensive interviews with the staff of weatherization subgrantees conducting multifamily weatherization, the inspection of 4 to 12 buildings weatherized between 1991 and 1993, and the analysis of savings and costs. The case studies focused on innovative techniques which appear to work well.

Severe Weather Data Inventory (SWDI)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Severe Weather Data Inventory (SWDI) is an integrated database of severe weather records for the United States. SWDI enables a user to search through a variety...

Laboratory weathering of combusted oil shale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Essington, M.E.

1991-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine the mineralogy and leachate chemistry of three combusted oil shales (two Green River Formation and one New Albany) in a laboratory weathering environment using the humidity cell technique. The mineralogy of the combusted western oil shales (Green River Formation) is process dependent. In general, processing resulted in the formation of anhydrite, lime, periclase, and hematite. During the initial stages of weathering, lime, periclase, and hematite. During the initial stages of weathering, lime, periclase, and anhydrite dissolve and ettringite precipitates. The initial leachates are highly alkaline, saline, and dominated by Na, hydroxide, and SO 4 . As weathering continues, ettringite precipitates. The initial leachates are highly alkaline, saline, and dominated by Na, hydroxide, and SO 4 . As weathering continues, ettringite dissolves, gypsum and calcite precipitate, and the leachates are dominated by Mg, SO 4 , and CO 3 . Leachate pH is rapidly reduced to between 8.5 and 9 with leaching. The combusted eastern oil shale (New Albany) is composed of quartz, illite, hematite, and orthoclase. Weathering results in the precipitation of gypsum. The combusted eastern oil shale did not display a potential to produce acid drainage. Leachate chemistry was dominated by Ca and SO 4 . Element concentrations continually decreased with weathering. IN a western disposal environment receiving minimal atmospheric precipitation, spent oil shale will remain in the initial stages of weathering, and highly alkaline and saline conditions will dominate leachate chemistry. In an eastern disposal environment, soluble salts will be rapidly removed from the spent oil shale to potentially affect the surrounding environment

Latitudinal variation in cold hardiness in introduced Tamarix and native Populus

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Jonathan M.; Roelle, James E.; Gaskin, John F.; Pepper, Alan E.; Manhart, James R.

2008-01-01

To investigate the evolution of clinal variation in an invasive plant, we compared cold hardiness in the introduced saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima, Tamarix chinensis, and hybrids) and the native plains cottonwood (Populus deltoidessubsp. monilifera). In a shadehouse in Colorado (41°N), we grew plants collected along a latitudinal gradient in the central United States (29–48°N). On 17 occasions between September 2005 and June 2006, we determined killing temperatures using freeze-induced electrolyte leakage and direct observation. In midwinter, cottonwood survived cooling to −70°C, while saltcedar was killed at −33 to −47°C. Frost sensitivity, therefore, may limit northward expansion of saltcedar in North America. Both species demonstrated inherited latitudinal variation in cold hardiness. For example, from September through January killing temperatures for saltcedar from 29.18°N were 5–21°C higher than those for saltcedar from 47.60°N, and on September 26 and October 11, killing temperatures for cottonwood from 33.06°N were >43°C higher than those for cottonwood from 47.60°N. Analysis of nine microsatellite loci showed that southern saltcedars are more closely related to T. chinensis while northern plants are more closely related to T. ramosissima. Hybridization may have introduced the genetic variability necessary for rapid evolution of the cline in saltcedar cold hardiness.

Cold fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koster, J.

1989-01-01

In this contribution the author the phenomenom of so-called cold fusion, inspired by the memorable lecture of Moshe Gai on his own search for this effect. Thus much of what follows was presented by Dr. Gai; the rest is from independent reading. What is referred to as cold fusion is of course the observation of possible products of deuteron-deuteron (d-d) fusion within deuterium-loaded (dentended) electrodes. The debate over the two vanguard cold fusion experiments has raged under far more public attention than usually accorded new scientific phenomena. The clamor commenced with the press conference of M. Fleishmann and S. Pons on March 23, 1989 and the nearly simultaneous wide circulation of a preprint of S. Jones and collaborators. The majority of work attempting to confirm these observations has at the time of this writing yet to appear in published form, but contributions to conferences and electronic mail over computer networks were certainly filled with preliminary results. To keep what follows to a reasonable length the author limit this discussion to the searches for neutron (suggested by ref. 2) or for excessive heat production (suggested by ref. 1), following a synopsis of the hypotheses of cold fusion

Solar process for cold production at low temperature (-28 deg) by solid-gas sorption; Procede solaire de production de froid basse temperature (-28 deg) par sorption solide-gaz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Le Pierres, N.

2005-09-15

The aim of this work is the design and experimentation of a thermochemical process for cold production purpose at -28 deg. C using low grade heat (70 deg. C) supplied by flat plate solar collectors. An exergetic analysis of the thermo-chemical dipole and of ideal thermodynamic cycles led to the definition of an original solar process. This process involves two cascaded cycles functioning in parallel. The cycle is discontinuous and presents a day phase of heating and regeneration and a night phase of cold production. A dynamic simulation allowed the study of its functioning depending on the weather conditions and on the dimensions of the process. A prototype covering the needs of a cold chamber loosing 40 W of cold continuously was built and tested in real conditions in Perpignan. It demonstrated the feasibility of this innovative concept and validated the hypothesis used to develop the model. A study of the process functioning was lead by simulation in different meteorological conditions and for different heat sources (solar, geothermal or industrial waste). It showed the potentialities of the concept. (author)

Portable Weather Applications for General Aviation Pilots.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahlstrom, Ulf; Ohneiser, Oliver; Caddigan, Eamon

2016-09-01

The objective of this study was to examine the potential benefits and impact on pilot behavior from the use of portable weather applications. Seventy general aviation (GA) pilots participated in the study. Each pilot was randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group and flew a simulated single-engine GA aircraft, initially under visual meteorological conditions (VMC). The experimental group was equipped with a portable weather application during flight. We recorded measures for weather situation awareness (WSA), decision making, cognitive engagement, and distance from the aircraft to hazardous weather. We found positive effects from the use of the portable weather application, with an increased WSA for the experimental group, which resulted in credibly larger route deviations and credibly greater distances to hazardous weather (≥30 dBZ cells) compared with the control group. Nevertheless, both groups flew less than 20 statute miles from hazardous weather cells, thus failing to follow current weather-avoidance guidelines. We also found a credibly higher cognitive engagement (prefrontal oxygenation levels) for the experimental group, possibly reflecting increased flight planning and decision making on the part of the pilots. Overall, the study outcome supports our hypothesis that portable weather displays can be used without degrading pilot performance on safety-related flight tasks, actions, and decisions as measured within the constraints of the present study. However, it also shows that an increased WSA does not automatically translate to enhanced flight behavior. The study outcome contributes to our knowledge of the effect of portable weather applications on pilot behavior and decision making. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Internet-accessible real-time weather information system

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Desai, R.G.P.; Joseph, A.; Desa, E.; Mehra, P.; Desa, E.; Gouveia, A.D.

An internet-accessible real-time weather information system has been developed. This system provides real-time accessibility to weather information from a multitude of spatially distributed weather stations. The Internet connectivity also offers...

Controls on Weathering of Pyrrhotite in a Low-Sulfide, Granitic Mine-Waste Rock in the Canadian Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Langman, J. B.; Holland, S.; Sinclair, S.; Blowes, D.

2013-12-01

Increased environmental risk is incurred with expansion of mineral extraction in the Arctic. A greater understanding of geochemical processes associated with hard-rock mining in this cold climate is needed to evaluate and mitigate these risks. A laboratory and in-situ experiment was conducted to examine mineral weathering and the generation of acid rock drainage in a low-sulfide, run-of-mine waste rock in an Arctic climate. Rock with different concentrations of sulfides (primarily pyrrhotite [Fe7S8] containing small amounts of Co and Ni) and carbonates were weathered in the laboratory and in-situ, large-scale test piles to examine leachate composition and mineral weathering. The relatively larger sulfide-containing rock produced sufficient acid to overcome carbonate buffering and produced a declining pH environment with concomitant release of SO4, Fe, Co, and Ni. Following carbonate consumption, aluminosilicate buffering stabilized the pH above 4 until a reduction in acid generation. Results from the laboratory experiment assisted in determining that after consumption of 1.6 percent of the total sulfide, the larger sulfide-concentration test pile likely is at an internal steady-state or maximal weathering rate after seven years of precipitation input and weathering that is controlled by an annual freeze-thaw cycle. Further weathering of the test pile should be driven by external factors of temperature and precipitation in this Arctic, semi-arid region instead of internal factors of wetting and non-equilibrium buffering. It is predicted that maximal weathering will continue until at least 20 percent of the total sulfide is consumed. Using the identified evolution of sulfide consumption in this Arctic climate, a variable rate factor can now be assessed for the possible early evolution and maximal weathering of larger scale waste-rock piles and seasonal differences because of changes in the volume of a waste-rock pile undergoing active weathering due to the freeze

Directable weathering of concave rock using curvature estimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Michael D; Farley, McKay; Butler, Joseph; Beardall, Matthew

2010-01-01

We address the problem of directable weathering of exposed concave rock for use in computer-generated animation or games. Previous weathering models that admit concave surfaces are computationally inefficient and difficult to control. In nature, the spheroidal and cavernous weathering rates depend on the surface curvature. Spheroidal weathering is fastest in areas with large positive mean curvature and cavernous weathering is fastest in areas with large negative mean curvature. We simulate both processes using an approximation of mean curvature on a voxel grid. Both weathering rates are also influenced by rock durability. The user controls rock durability by editing a durability graph before and during weathering simulation. Simulations of rockfall and colluvium deposition further improve realism. The profile of the final weathered rock matches the shape of the durability graph up to the effects of weathering and colluvium deposition. We demonstrate the top-down directability and visual plausibility of the resulting model through a series of screenshots and rendered images. The results include the weathering of a cube into a sphere and of a sheltered inside corner into a cavern as predicted by the underlying geomorphological models.

Survey of public knowledge and responses to educational slogans regarding cold-water immersion.

Science.gov (United States)

Giesbrecht, Gordon G; Pretorius, Thea

2008-01-01

Cold water temperature is a significant factor in North American drownings. These deaths are usually attributed to hypothermia. Survey questions were administered to 661 attendees of cold-stress seminars-including medical, rescue, law enforcement and lay attendees-to determine general knowledge of the effects of ice water immersion and responses to 2 public service educational slogans. Five questions were posed at the beginning of seminars to 8 groups (ranging in size from 46 to 195) during a 2-year period. Pi(2) analyses were used to determine if responses within any occupational category differed from the group responses. A high portion of respondents greatly underestimated the time to become hypothermic in ice water (correct answer >30 minutes; 84% stated 15 minutes or less) and the time until cooling was life threatening (correct answer >60 minutes; 85% stated 30 minutes or less). There were no occupational differences in these responses. Most of the respondents identified a correct cause of death during cold stress (81% stated cardiac arrest, hypothermia, or drowning). Although both educational slogans had some advantages, between 40% (Slogan #1) to 50% (Slogan #2) of respondents did not respond correctly. The majority of respondents underestimated the time available for survival during ice water immersion. It is important to educate the public accurately to decrease the probability of panic under these circumstances. More work is required to develop effective educational slogans that provide proper information and actions for victims of cold-water immersion.

Cold acclimation and cognitive performance: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Douglas M; Bailey, Stephen P; Roelands, Bart; Buono, Michael J; Meeusen, Romain

2017-12-01

Athletes, occupational workers, and military personnel experience cold temperatures through cold air exposure or cold water immersion, both of which impair cognitive performance. Prior work has shown that neurophysiological pathways may be sensitive to the effects of temperature acclimation and, therefore, cold acclimation may be a potential strategy to attenuate cold-induced cognitive impairments for populations that are frequently exposed to cold environments. This review provides an overview of studies that examine repeated cold stress, cold acclimation, and measurements of cognitive performance to determine whether or not cold acclimation provides beneficial protection against cold-induced cognitive performance decrements. Studies included in this review assessed cognitive measures of reaction time, attention, logical reasoning, information processing, and memory. Repeated cold stress, with or without evidence of cold acclimation, appears to offer no added benefit of improving cognitive performance. However, research in this area is greatly lacking and, therefore, it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions regarding the use of cold acclimation to improve cognitive performance during subsequent cold exposures. Given the current state of minimal knowledge on this topic, athletes, occupational workers, and military commands looking to specifically enhance cognitive performance in cold environments would likely not be advised to spend the time and effort required to become acclimated to cold. However, as more knowledge becomes available in this area, recommendations may change. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detection of Weather Radar Clutter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bøvith, Thomas

2008-01-01

classification and use a range of different techniques and input data. The first method uses external information from multispectral satellite images to detect clutter. The information in the visual, near-infrared, and infrared parts of the spectrum can be used to distinguish between cloud and cloud-free areas......Weather radars provide valuable information on precipitation in the atmosphere but due to the way radars work, not only precipitation is observed by the weather radar. Weather radar clutter, echoes from non-precipitating targets, occur frequently in the data, resulting in lowered data quality....... Especially in the application of weather radar data in quantitative precipitation estimation and forecasting a high data quality is important. Clutter detection is one of the key components in achieving this goal. This thesis presents three methods for detection of clutter. The methods use supervised...

Viability of bifidobacteria strains in yogurt with added oat beta-glucan and corn starch during cold storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosburg, Valerie; Boylston, Terri; White, Pamela

2010-06-01

Probiotics must be consumed at a level of 10(7) CFU/mL for successful colonization of the gut. In yogurts containing beneficial cultures, the survival of probiotic strains can quickly decline below this critical concentration during cold storage. We hypothesized that beta-glucan would increase the viability of bifidobacteria strains in yogurt during cold storage. Yogurts were produced containing 0.44% beta-glucan (concentrated or freeze-dried) extracted from whole oat flour and/or 1.33% modified corn starch, and bifidobacteria (B. breve or B. longum) at a concentration of at least 10(9) CFU/mL. All yogurts were stored at 4 degrees C. Bifidobacteria and yogurt cultures, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbureckii subsp. bulgaricus, were enumerated from undisturbed aliquots before fermentation, after fermentation, and once a week for 5 wk. S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus maintained a concentration of at least 10(8) CFU/mL in yogurts containing concentrated or freeze-dried beta-glucan regardless of starch addition, and in the control with no added beta-glucan or starch. Similarly, the probiotic, Bifidobacterium breve, survived above a therapeutic level in all treatments. The addition of beta-glucan prolonged the survival of Bifidobacterium longum at a concentration of at least 10(7) CFU/mL by up to 2 wk on average beyond the control. Further, the inclusion of concentrated beta-glucan in yogurt improved survival of B. longum above 10(7) CFU/mL by 1 wk longer than did freeze-dried beta-glucan. Study results suggest that beta-glucan has a protective effect on bifidobacteria in yogurt when stressed by low-temperature storage.

The greenhouse effect and extreme weather

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groenaas, Sigbjoern; Kvamstoe, Nils Gunnar

2002-01-01

The article asserts that an anthropogenic global warming is occurring. This greenhouse effect is expected to cause more occurrences of extreme weather. It is extremely difficult, however, to relate specific weather catastrophes to global warming with certainty, since such extreme weather conditions are rare historically. The subject is controversial. The article also discusses the public debate and the risk of floods

Human whole body cold adaptation.

OpenAIRE

Daanen, Hein A.M.; Van Marken Lichtenbelt, Wouter D.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Reviews on whole body human cold adaptation generally do not distinguish between population studies and dedicated acclimation studies, leading to confusing results. Population studies show that indigenous black Africans have reduced shivering thermogenesis in the cold and poor cold induced vasodilation in fingers and toes compared to Caucasians and Inuit. About 40,000?y after humans left Africa, natives in cold terrestrial areas seems to have developed not only behavioral adaptations...