Limited resources and increasing environmental concerns have prompted calls to identify the critical questions that most need to be answered to advance conservation, thereby providing an agenda for ...scientific research priorities. Cetaceans are often keystone indicator species but also high profile, charismatic flagship taxa that capture public and media attention as well as political interest. A dedicated workshop was held at the conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (December 2013, New Zealand) to identify where lack of data was hindering cetacean conservation and which questions need to be addressed most urgently. This paper summarizes 15 themes and component questions prioritized during the workshop. We hope this list will encourage cetacean conservation-orientated research and help agencies and policy makers to prioritize funding and future activities. This will ultimately remove some of the current obstacles to science-based cetacean conservation.
ABSTRACT
Short-orbit gas giant planet formation/evolution mechanisms are still not well understood. One promising pathway to discriminate between mechanisms is to constrain the occurrence rate of ...these peculiar exoplanets at the earliest stage of the system’s life. However, a major limitation when studying newly born stars is stellar activity. This cocktail of phenomena triggered by fast rotation, strong magnetic fields, and complex internal dynamics, especially present in very young stars, compromises our ability to detect exoplanets. In this paper, we investigated the limitations of such detections in the context of already acquired data solely using radial velocity data acquired with a non-stabilized spectrograph. We employed two strategies: Doppler Imaging and Gaussian Processes and could confidently detect hot Jupiters with a semi-amplitude of 100 m s−1 buried in the stellar activity. We also showed the advantages of the Gaussian Process approach in this case. This study serves as a proof of concept to identify potential candidates for follow-up observations or even discover such planets in legacy data sets available to the community.
In this the first of a series of Letters, we present a panchromatic data set in the Extended Groth Strip region of the sky. Our survey, the All-Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey ...(AEGIS), aims to study the physical properties and evolutionary processes of galaxies at z 6 1. It includes the following deep, wide-field imaging data sets: Chandra/ACIS X-ray, GALEX ultraviolet, CFHT/MegaCam Legacy Survey optical, CFHT/CFH12K optical, Hubble Space Telescope/ACS optical and NICMOS near-infrared, Palomar/WIRC near-infrared, Spitzer/IRAC mid-infrared, Spitzer/MIPS far-infrared, and VLA radio continuum. In addition, mis region of the sky has been targeted for extensive spectroscopy using the Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph (DEIMOS) on the Keck II 10 m telescope. Our survey is compared to other large multiwavelength surveys in terms of depth and sky coverage.
Three-dimensional silicon integration Knickerbocker, J U; Andry, P S; Dang, B ...
IBM journal of research and development,
11/2008, Letnik:
52, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Three-dimensional (3D) silicon integration of active devices with through-silicon vias (TSVs), thinned silicon, and silicon-to-silicon fine-pitch interconnections offers many product benefits. ...Advantages of these emerging 3D silicon integration technologies can include the following: power efficiency, performance enhancements, significant product miniaturization, cost reduction, and modular design for improved time to market. IBM research activities are aimed at providing design rules, structures, and processes that make 3D technology manufacturable for chips used in actual products on the basis of data from test-vehicle (i.e., prototype) design, fabrication, and characterization demonstrations. Three-dimensional integration can be applied to a wide range of interconnection densities (<10/cm^sup 2^ to 10^sup 8^/cm^sup 2^), requiring new architectures for product optimization and multiple options for fabrication. Demonstration test structures, which are designed, fabricated, and characterized, are used to generate experimental data, establish models and design guidelines, and help define processes for future product consideration. This paper 1) reviews technology integration from a historical perspective, 2) describes industry-wide progress in 3D technology with examples of TSV and silicon-silicon interconnection advancement over the last 10 years, 3) highlights 3D technology from IBM, including demonstration test vehicles used to develop ground rules, collect data, and evaluate reliability, and 4) provides examples of 3D emerging industry product applications that could create marketable systems. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Introduction of irrigated agriculture changes the partitioning of the surface energy flux between sensible and latent heat (H vs LE) and alters the albedo α and emissivity ε. In the absence of ...changes in the radiation components of the surface energy balance, the change in the Bowen ratio due to irrigation typically suppresses the local air temperature T but increases the total near-surface atmospheric heat content (as measured using equivalent potential temperature θₑ). While the effect of irrigation on surface energy partitioning due to enhanced surface and subsurface water availability has long been acknowledged, the roles of associated changes in ε and α have received less attention, and the scales and magnitudes of these effects remain uncertain. A new methodology designed for application to in situ and remote sensing data is presented and used to demonstrate that the net impact of irrigation on T and θₑ is strongly dependent on the regional climate, land cover in surrounding areas, and the amount of irrigation in the upwind fetch. The results suggest that the impact of the radiative forcing terms on net available energy is not negligible and may amplify or offset the impact from changed energy partitioning on T and θₑ depending on the specific regional climate and land cover.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Bed stresses in the bottom boundary layer of the York River estuary, Va., were estimated from 3D near-bottom velocities measured by Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADVs) and also by a profiling array ...of electromagnetic current meters. By assuming the measurements were made in a constant stress layer, four methods of stress estimation were evaluated using ADVs: (1) direct covariance (COV) measurement; (2) turbulent kinetic energy; (3) inertial dissipation utilizing the Kolmogorov spectrum; and (4) log profile. The four methods yielded similar estimates of frictional velocity U* based on ADV output from both 14 and 44 cm above bed. All eight estimates of average U* were consistent with the overall mean of 1.10 cm s to within the 95% confidence interval for individual burst estimates. The COV method worked slightly better nearer the bed, possibly because of the sensitivity of COV to the upper limit of the constant stress layer. The inertial dissipation method performed marginally well at 14 cm above bed, likely due to sediment induced stratification and insufficient separation of turbulent production and dissipation scales. The log profile method was the most variable and appeared most sensitive to stratification and to the thickness of the constant stress layer. The turbulent kinetic energy method was the most consistent at both heights and appears most promising for further development. Results encourage future use of the ADV in estuarine environments but also favor the simultaneous use of several methods to estimate bottom stress.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, FGGLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Offshore wind farms (OWFs) are a key part of efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. However, they have the potential to negatively impact seabird species through collisions with turbine ...blades, displacement from preferred foraging habitat and the perception of wind farms as a barrier to migrating or foraging birds. Whilst the data available to model these impacts are increasing, many data gaps remain, particularly in relation to the impacts of barrier effects. We analyse the movements of Sandwich terns in relation to an offshore wind farm cluster using data collected as part of a multi-year GPS tracking study. Over the course of the study, two additional wind farms were built within the home range of the breeding colony. The construction of these wind farms coincided with a change in the foraging and commuting areas used by breeding terns. Whilst birds entered OWFs when foraging, they appeared to avoid them when commuting, driving an apparent ‘funnelling’ effect to important feeding locations. We discuss if this could be driven by changes to the prey base, subsequent displacement and potentially altered routes reflecting new favourable airflow patterns following OWF construction. Our results suggest that behavioural responses of birds to OWFs may be the result of a complex series of ecological and environmental interactions, as opposed to simplistic assumptions around the perception of the OWF as a barrier to movement.
Real-time ecological momentary interventions have shown promising effects in domains other than alcohol use; however, only few studies regarding ecological momentary interventions for alcohol use ...have been conducted thus far. The increasing popularity of smartphones offers new avenues for intervention and innovation in data collection.
We aimed to test the efficacy of an ecological momentary intervention, comprising mobile Web-based ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and text messaging (short message service, SMS) brief interventions, delivered during drinking events using participants' mobile phones.
We conducted a three-armed randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of a mobile Web-based ecological momentary assessment with texting feedback on self-reported alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms in young adults. Participants were enrolled from an existing observational cohort study of young adults screened for risky drinking behavior. The intervention group (ecological momentary intervention group) completed repeated ecological momentary assessments during 6 drinking events and received immediate texting-based feedback in response to each ecological momentary assessment. The second group (ecological momentary assessment group) completed ecological momentary assessments without the brief intervention, and the third did not receive any contact during the trial period. Recent peak risky single-occasion drinking was assessed at the baseline and follow-up using telephone interviews. We used a random effects mixed modeling approach using maximum likelihood estimation to provide estimates of differences in mean drinking levels between groups between baseline and 12-week follow-up.
A total of 269 participants were randomized into the 3 groups. The ecological momentary intervention group exhibited a small and nonsignificant increase between baseline and follow-up in (geometric) the mean number of standard drinks consumed at the most recent heavy drinking occasion (mean 12.5 vs 12.7). Both ecological momentary assessment and control groups exhibited a nonsignificant decrease (ecological momentary assessment: mean 13.8 vs 11.8; control: mean 12.3 vs 11.6); these changes did not differ significantly between groups (Wald χ
1.6; P=.437) and the magnitude of the effects of the intervention were markedly small. No other significant differences between groups on measures of alcohol consumption or related harms were observed. The intervention acceptability was high despite the technical problems in delivery.
With a small number of participants, this study showed few effects of an SMS-based brief intervention on peak risky single-occasion drinking. Nevertheless, the study highlights areas for further investigation into the effects of EMI on young adults with heavy alcohol consumption.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616001323415; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=369534 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/7074mqwcs).
PDF
