Abstract
The importance of submesoscale instabilities, particularly mixed layer baroclinic instability and symmetric instability, on upper-ocean mixing and energetics is well documented in regions of ...strong, persistent fronts such as the Kuroshio and the Gulf Stream. Less attention has been devoted to studying submesoscale flows in the open ocean, far from long-term, mean geostrophic fronts, characteristic of a large proportion of the global ocean. This study presents a year-long, submesoscale-resolving time series of near-surface buoyancy gradients, potential vorticity, and instability characteristics, collected by ocean gliders, that provides insight into open-ocean submesoscale dynamics over a full annual cycle. The gliders continuously sampled a 225 km
2
region in the subtropical northeast Atlantic, measuring temperature, salinity, and pressure along 292 short (~20 km) hydrographic sections. Glider observations show a seasonal cycle in near-surface stratification. Throughout the fall (September–November), the mixed layer deepens, predominantly through gravitational instability, indicating that surface cooling dominates submesoscale restratification processes. During winter (December–March), mixed layer depths are more variable, and estimates of the balanced Richardson number, which measures the relative importance of lateral and vertical buoyancy gradients, depict conditions favorable to symmetric instability. The importance of mixed layer instabilities on the restratification of the mixed layer, as compared with surface heating and cooling, shows that submesoscale processes can reverse the sign of an equivalent heat flux up to 25% of the time during winter. These results demonstrate that the open-ocean mixed layer hosts various forced and unforced instabilities, which become more prevalent during winter, and emphasize that accurate parameterizations of submesoscale processes are needed throughout the ocean.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Vertex detectors and the linear collider Damerell, C.J.S.
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
11/2006, Letnik:
568, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
We review the physics requirements for the ILC vertex detectors, which lead to the specification of silicon pixel sensors arranged as nested barrels, possibly augmented by endcap detectors for ...enhanced coverage of small polar angles. We describe how the detector requirements are a natural outgrowth of 25 years development of CCD-based vertex detectors in fixed-target and colliding beam experiments, culminating in the 307 Mpixel SLD vertex detector. We discuss how the technology has recently branched out into about a dozen architectures which might be made to work at the ILC, where the main challenge is to increase the effective readout rate by about a factor 1000 compared to conventional CCDs, while preserving the small pixels (∼20
μm) and low-power dissipation. Preserving gaseous cooling as at SLD opens the door to layer thicknesses as low as 0.1%
X
0. Finally, we consider how best to manage electromagnetic interference associated with the beam wakefields and other RF sources during the bunch train. In conclusion, we suggest a strategy for moving on from the present rich R&D programmes to optimal detectors for the startup of the ILC physics programme.
Environmental education is frequently undertaken as a conservation intervention designed to change the attitudes and behaviour of recipients. Much conservation education is aimed at children, with ...the rationale that children influence the attitudes of their parents, who will consequently change their behaviour. Empirical evidence to substantiate this suggestion is very limited, however. For the first time, we use a controlled trial to assess the influence of wetland-related environmental education on the knowledge of children and their parents and household behaviour. We demonstrate adults exhibiting greater knowledge of wetlands and improved reported household water management behaviour when their child has received wetland-based education at Seychelles wildlife clubs. We distinguish between 'folk' knowledge of wetland environments and knowledge obtained from formal education, with intergenerational transmission of each depending on different factors. Our study provides the first strong support for the suggestion that environmental education can be transferred between generations and indirectly induce targeted behavioural changes.
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, lacks effective therapeutics. Additionally, no antiviral drugs or vaccines were developed against the closely related coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1 or MERS-CoV, despite ...previous zoonotic outbreaks. To identify starting points for such therapeutics, we performed a large-scale screen of electrophile and non-covalent fragments through a combined mass spectrometry and X-ray approach against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, one of two cysteine viral proteases essential for viral replication. Our crystallographic screen identified 71 hits that span the entire active site, as well as 3 hits at the dimer interface. These structures reveal routes to rapidly develop more potent inhibitors through merging of covalent and non-covalent fragment hits; one series of low-reactivity, tractable covalent fragments were progressed to discover improved binders. These combined hits offer unprecedented structural and reactivity information for on-going structure-based drug design against SARS-CoV-2 main protease.
Results from the ISIS1 detector Cussans, D.; Goldstein, J.; Payton, O. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
06/2009, Letnik:
604, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The In Situ Storage Image Sensor (ISIS) is a monolithic active pixel sensor with memory cells in each pixel. The memory cells are implemented as a CCD register. A test device with parameters suitable ...for tracking charged particles has been constructed and characterized. The characteristics of a proof-of-principle ISIS device are described and results from using the sensor as a tracking device for high energy electrons are presented.
Effective agents to treat coronavirus infection are urgently required, not only to treat COVID-19, but to prepare for future outbreaks. Repurposed anti-virals such as remdesivir and human ...anti-inflammatories such as barcitinib have received emergency approval but their overall benefits remain unclear. Vaccines are the most promising prospect for COVID-19, but will need to be redeveloped for any future coronavirus outbreak. Protecting against future outbreaks requires the identification of targets that are conserved between coronavirus strains and amenable to drug discovery. Two such targets are the main protease (Mpro) and the papain-like protease (PLpro) which are essential for the coronavirus replication cycle. We describe the discovery of two non-antiviral therapeutic agents, the caspase-1 inhibitor SDZ 224015 and Tarloxotinib that target Mpro and PLpro, respectively. These were identified through extensive experimental screens of the drug repurposing ReFRAME library of 12,000 therapeutic agents. The caspase-1 inhibitor SDZ 224015, was found to be a potent irreversible inhibitor of Mpro (IC50 30 nM) while Tarloxotinib, a clinical stage epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, is a sub micromolar inhibitor of PLpro (IC50 300 nM, Ki 200 nM) and is the first reported PLpro inhibitor with drug-like properties. SDZ 224015 and Tarloxotinib have both undergone safety evaluation in humans and hence are candidates for COVID-19 clinical evaluation.
First results of the ISIS1 beam test Velthuis, J.J.; Cussans, D.; Goldstein, J. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
02/2009, Letnik:
599, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The in situ storage image sensor (ISIS) is a monolithic active pixel sensor with memory cells in each pixel. The memory cells are implemented as a CCD register. This and other features of the sensor ...make the ISIS an excellent device for detectors that will be used at the International linear collider (ILC), an electron-positron accelerator with a proposed centre-of-mass energy of around 500
GeV. The sensor can be made very thin while retaining a high signal-to-noise ratio. The memory cells can be read out between bunch trains at a relatively low clock speed, hence limiting power consumption. The actual signal charge is stored in potential wells and not on capacitors, minimizing the sensitivity to electromagnetic interference. This paper presents the results of the first beam test of the first ISIS prototype. The measurements made include the signal-to-noise ratio, position resolution and efficiency.
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotides have emerged as key signals of the cellular redox state. Yet the structural basis for allosteric gene regulation by the ratio of reduced NADH to oxidized NAD+ is ...poorly understood. A key sensor among Gram-positive bacteria, Rex represses alternative respiratory gene expression until a limited oxygen supply elevates the intracellular NADH:NAD+ ratio. Here we investigate the molecular mechanism for NADH/NAD+ sensing among Rex family members by determining structures of Thermus aquaticus Rex bound to (1) NAD+, (2) DNA operator, and (3) without ligand. Comparison with the Rex/NADH complex reveals that NADH releases Rex from the DNA site following a 40° closure between the dimeric subunits. Complementary site-directed mutagenesis experiments implicate highly conserved residues in NAD-responsive DNA-binding activity. These rare views of a redox sensor in action establish a means for slight differences in the nicotinamide charge, pucker, and orientation to signal the redox state of the cell.
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▸ A structural comparison of Rex in the NAD+/DNA-bound, apo-, and NADH-bound states ▸ A rigid-body rotation of Rex subunits permits DNA binding after NADH dissociation ▸ A single NAD+ binds the Rex dimer/DNA complex ▸ A triad of conserved residues are required for NADH/NAD+ sensing by Rex
At the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), relatively warm ACC waters encounter the colder waters surrounding Antarctica. Strong density gradients across the southern ...boundary indicate the presence of a frontal jet and are thought to modulate the southward heat transport across the front. In this study, the southern boundary in the Weddell Sea sector at the prime meridian is surveyed for the first time in high resolution over 2 months during an austral summer with underwater gliders occupying a transect across the front on five occasions. The five transects show that the frontal structure (i.e. hydrography, velocities and lateral density gradients) varies temporally. The results demonstrate significant, transient (a few weeks) variability of the southern boundary and its frontal jet in location, strength and width. A mesoscale cold-core eddy is identified to disrupt the southern boundary’s frontal structure and strengthen lateral density gradients across the front. The front's barrier properties are assessed using mixing length scales and potential vorticity to establish the cross-frontal exchange of properties between the ACC and the Weddell Gyre. The results show that stronger lateral density gradients caused by the mesoscale eddy strengthen the barrier-like properties of the front through reduced mixing length scales and pronounced gradients of potential vorticity. In contrast, the barrier-like properties of the southern boundary are reduced when no mesoscale eddy is influencing the density gradients across the front. Using satellite altimetry, we further demonstrate that the barrier properties over the past decade have strengthened as a result of increased meridional gradients of absolute dynamic topography and increased frontal jet speeds in comparison to previous decades. Our results emphasise that locally and rapidly changing barrier properties of the southern boundary are important to quantify the cross-frontal exchange, which is particularly relevant in regions where the southern boundary is located near the Antarctic shelf break (e.g. in the West Antarctic sector).
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