Can the Southern annular mode influence the Korean summer monsoon rainfall?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prabhu, Amita; Kripalani, Ramesh; Oh, Jaiho; Preethi, Bhaskar

2017-05-01

We demonstrate that a large-scale longitudinally symmetric global phenomenon in the Southern Hemisphere sub-polar region can transmit its influence over a remote local region of the Northern Hemisphere traveling more than 100° of latitudes (from 70°S to 40°N). This is illustrated by examining the relationship between the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the Korean Monsoon Rainfall (KMR) based on the data period 1983-2013. Results reveal that the May-June SAM (MJSAM) has a significant in-phase relationship with the subsequent KMR. A positive MJSAM is favorable for the summer monsoon rainfall over the Korean peninsula. The impact is relayed through the central Pacific Ocean. When a negative phase of MJSAM occurs, it gives rise to an anomalous meridional circulation in a longitudinally locked air-sea coupled system over the central Pacific that propagates from sub-polar to equatorial latitudes and is associated with the central Pacific warming. The ascending motion over the central Pacific descends over the Korean peninsula during peak-boreal summer resulting in weakening of monsoon rainfall. The opposite features prevail during a positive phase of SAM. Thus, the extreme modes of MJSAM could possibly serve as a predictor for ensuing Korean summer monsoon rainfall.

Zonally asymmetric response of the Southern Ocean mixed-layer depth to the Southern Annular Mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sallée, J. B.; Speer, K. G.; Rintoul, S. R.

2010-04-01

Interactions between the atmosphere and ocean are mediated by the mixed layer at the ocean surface. The depth of this layer is determined by wind forcing and heating from the atmosphere. Variations in mixed-layer depth affect the rate of exchange between the atmosphere and deeper ocean, the capacity of the ocean to store heat and carbon and the availability of light and nutrients to support the growth of phytoplankton. However, the response of the Southern Ocean mixed layer to changes in the atmosphere is not well known. Here we analyse temperature and salinity data from Argo profiling floats to show that the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the dominant mode of atmospheric variability in the Southern Hemisphere, leads to large-scale anomalies in mixed-layer depth that are zonally asymmetric. From a simple heat budget of the mixed layer we conclude that meridional winds associated with departures of the SAM from zonal symmetry cause anomalies in heat flux that can, in turn, explain the observed changes of mixed-layer depth and sea surface temperature. Our results suggest that changes in the SAM, including recent and projected trends attributed to human activity, drive variations in Southern Ocean mixed-layer depth, with consequences for air-sea exchange, ocean sequestration of heat and carbon, and biological productivity.

Amplitude-dependent relationship between the Southern Annular Mode and the El Niño Southern Oscillation in austral summer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Baek-Min; Choi, Hyesun; Kim, Seong-Joong; Choi, Wookap

2017-02-01

Co-variability between the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) during the austral summer is examined, and it is found that there exists an apparent co-variability of a negative (positive) SAM during the mature period of El Niño (La Niña). However, this co-variability is largely controlled by the small number of strong ENSO cases. When strong ENSO cases are excluded, the correlation becomes non-significant. This behavior in the relationship between SAM and ENSO is supported by a series of general circulation model experiments with prescribed sea surface temperature boundary conditions that represent the incremental strengthening of El Niño (La Niña) conditions. The modeled Antarctic sub-polar jet exhibits similar behavior to that identified through observational analysis. Marked changes in both the magnitude and position of the sub-polar jet are largely controlled by particularly strong transient eddy forcing. Planetary wave forcing plays only a minor role in the co-variability, but it can explain in part the asymmetric response of the sub-polar jet between El Niño and La Niña.

Influence of the May Southern annular mode on the South China Sea summer monsoon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ting; Li, Jianping; Li, YanJie; Zhao, Sen; Zheng, Fei; Zheng, Jiayu; Yao, Zhixiong

2017-07-01

The possible impact of the May Southern Hemisphere (SH) annular mode (SAM) on the following South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon (SCSSM) is examined. A close inverse relationship between the two is revealed in the observations. The simultaneous South Pacific dipole (SPD), a dipole-like sea surface temperature anomaly pattern in the South Pacific, acts as the "oceanic bridge" to preserve the May SAM signal and prolong it into June-September. Observational evidence and numerical simulations both demonstrate that the SPD communicates its large thermal inertia signal to the atmosphere, regulating the Southern Pacific Subtropical Jet (SPSJ) variability over eastern Australia. Corresponding to the adjustment of circulation associated with the SPSJ is a prominent tripolar cross-Pacific teleconnection pattern stretching from the SH middle-high latitudes into the NH East Asia coastal region, referred to as the South-North Pacific (SNP) teleconnection pattern. Wave ray tracing analysis manifests that the SNP acts as the "atmospheric bridge" to propagate the related wave energy across the equator and into the Maritime Continent and SCS monsoon region, modulating the vertical motion and middle-lower tropospheric flows, and favoring the out-of-phase variation of the SCSSM. Therefore, the "coupled oceanic-atmospheric bridge" process and the related Rossby wave energy transmission are possible mechanisms for the significant influence of the May SAM on the variability of the following SCSSM. Therefore, the May SAM provides a fresh insight into the prediction of the SCSSM from the perspective of the SH high latitudes.

Relationships between the extratropical ENSO precursor and leading modes of atmospheric variability in the Southern Hemisphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Jianhuang; Ding, Ruiqiang; Wu, Zhiwei; Li, Jianping; Zhao, Sen

2017-03-01

Previous studies suggest that the atmospheric precursor of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the extratropical Southern Hemisphere (SH) might trigger a quadrapole sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) in the South Pacific and subsequently influence the following ENSO. Such a quadrapole SSTA is referred to as the South Pacific quadrapole (SPQ). The present study investigated the relationships between the atmospheric precursor signal of ENSO and leading modes of atmospheric variability in the extratropical SH [including the SH annular mode (SAM), the first Pacific-South America (PSA1) mode, and the second Pacific-South America (PSA2) mode]. The results showed that the atmospheric precursor signal in the extratropical SH basically exhibits a barotropic wavenumber-3 structure over the South Pacific and is significantly correlated with the SAM and the PSA2 mode during austral summer. Nevertheless, only the PSA2 mode was found to be a precursor for the following ENSO. It leads the SPQ-like SSTA by around one month, while the SAM and the PSA1 mode do not show any obvious linkage with either ENSO or the SPQ. This suggests that the PSA2 mode may provide a bridge between the preceding circulation anomalies over the extratropical SH and the following ENSO through the SPQ-like SSTA.

How are interannual modes of variability IOD, ENSO, SAM, AMO excited by natural and anthropogenic forcing?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maher, Nicola; Marotzke, Jochem

2017-04-01

Natural climate variability is found in observations, paleo-proxies, and climate models. Such climate variability can be intrinsic internal variability or externally forced, for example by changes in greenhouse gases or large volcanic eruptions. There are still questions concerning how external forcing, both natural (e.g., volcanic eruptions and solar variability) and anthropogenic (e.g., greenhouse gases and ozone) may excite both interannual modes of variability in the climate system. This project aims to address some of these problems, utilising the large ensemble of the MPI-ESM-LR climate model. In this study we investigate the statistics of four modes of interannual variability, namely the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Using the 100-member ensemble of MPI-ESM-LR the statistical properties of these modes (amplitude and standard deviation) can be assessed over time. Here we compare the properties in the pre-industrial control run, historical run and future scenarios (RCP4.5, RCP2.6) and present preliminary results.

Southern Hemisphere extratropical circulation: Recent trends and natural variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Jordan L.; Waugh, Darryn W.; Gnanadesikan, Anand

2015-07-01

Changes in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), Southern Hemisphere (SH) westerly jet location, and magnitude are linked with changes in ocean circulation along with ocean heat and carbon uptake. Recent trends have been observed in these fields but not much is known about the natural variability. Here we aim to quantify the natural variability of the SH extratropical circulation by using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) preindustrial control model runs and compare with the observed trends in SAM, jet magnitude, and jet location. We show that trends in SAM are due partly to external forcing but are not outside the natural variability as described by these models. Trends in jet location and magnitude, however, lie outside the unforced natural variability but can be explained by a combination of natural variability and the ensemble mean forced trend. These results indicate that trends in these three diagnostics cannot be used interchangeably.

Spatio-temporal atmospheric circulation variability around the Antarctic Peninsula based on hemispheric circulation modes and weather types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wachter, Paul; Beck, Christoph; Philipp, Andreas; Jacobeit, Jucundus; Höppner, Kathrin

2017-04-01

Large parts of the Polar Regions are affected by a warming trend associated with substantial changes in the cryosphere. In Antarctica this positive trend pattern is most dominant in the western part of the continent and on the Antarctic Peninsula (AP). An important driving mechanism of temperature variability and trends in this region is the atmospheric circulation. Changes in atmospheric circulation modes and frequencies of circulation types have major impacts on temperature characteristics at a certain station or region. We present results of a statistical downscaling study focused on AP temperature variability showing both results of large-scale atmospheric circulation modes and regional weather type classifications derived from monthly and daily gridded reanalysis data sets. In order to investigate spatial trends and variabilities of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), we analyze spatio-temporally resolved SAM-pattern maps from 1979 to 2015. First results show dominant multi-annual to decadal pattern variabilities which can be directly linked to temperature variabilities at the Antarctic Peninsula. A sub-continental to regional view on the influence of atmospheric circulation on AP temperature variability is given by the analysis of weather type classifications (WTC). With this analysis we identify significant changes in the frequency of occurrence of highly temperature-relevant circulation patterns. The investigated characteristics of weather type frequencies can also be related to the identified changes of the SAM.

Dominant covarying climate signals in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic Sea Ice influence during last three decades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerrone, Dario; Fusco, Giannetta; Simmonds, Ian; Aulicino, Giuseppe; Budillon, Giorgio

2017-04-01

A composite dataset (comprising geopotential height, sea surface temperature, zonal and meridional surface winds, precipitation, cloud cover, surface air temperature, latent plus sensible heat fluxes , and sea ice concentration) has been investigated with the aim of revealing the dominant timescales of variability from 1982 to 2013. Three covarying climate signals associated with variations in the sea ice distribution around Antarctica have been detected through the application of the Multiple-Taper Method with Singular Value Decomposition (MTM-SVD). Features of the established patterns of variation over the Southern Hemisphere (SH) extratropics have been identified in each of these three climate signals in the form of coupled or individual oscillations. The climate patterns considered here are the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the Pacific-South America (PSA) teleconnection, the Semi-Annual Oscillation (SAO) and Zonal Wavenumber-3 (ZW3) mode. It is shown that most of the sea ice temporal variance is concentrated at the quasi-triennial scale resulting from the constructive superposition of the PSA and ZW3 patterns. In addition the combination of the SAM and SAO patterns is found to promote the interannual sea ice variations underlying a general change in the Southern Ocean atmospheric and oceanic circulations. These two modes of variability are also found consistent with the occurrence of the SAM+/PSA- or SAM-/PSA+ combinations, which could have favored the cooling of the sub-Antarctic and important changes in the Antarctic sea ice distribution since 2000.

Fast and slow responses of Southern Ocean sea surface temperature to SAM in coupled climate models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostov, Yavor; Marshall, John; Hausmann, Ute; Armour, Kyle C.; Ferreira, David; Holland, Marika M.

2017-03-01

We investigate how sea surface temperatures (SSTs) around Antarctica respond to the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) on multiple timescales. To that end we examine the relationship between SAM and SST within unperturbed preindustrial control simulations of coupled general circulation models (GCMs) included in the Climate Modeling Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). We develop a technique to extract the response of the Southern Ocean SST (55°S-70°S) to a hypothetical step increase in the SAM index. We demonstrate that in many GCMs, the expected SST step response function is nonmonotonic in time. Following a shift to a positive SAM anomaly, an initial cooling regime can transition into surface warming around Antarctica. However, there are large differences across the CMIP5 ensemble. In some models the step response function never changes sign and cooling persists, while in other GCMs the SST anomaly crosses over from negative to positive values only 3 years after a step increase in the SAM. This intermodel diversity can be related to differences in the models' climatological thermal ocean stratification in the region of seasonal sea ice around Antarctica. Exploiting this relationship, we use observational data for the time-mean meridional and vertical temperature gradients to constrain the real Southern Ocean response to SAM on fast and slow timescales.

Rapid drawdown of Antarctica's Wordie Ice Shelf glaciers in response to ENSO/Southern Annular Mode-driven warming in the Southern Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, C. C.; Gardner, A. S.

2017-10-01

Here we investigate the largest acceleration in ice flow across all of Antarctica between ∼2008 InSAR and 2014 Landsat velocity mappings. This occurred in glaciers that used to feed into the Wordie Ice Shelf on the west Antarctic Peninsula, which rapidly disintegrated in ∼1989. Between 2008 and 2014, these glaciers experienced at least a threefold increase in surface elevation drawdown relative to the 2002-2008 time period. After ∼20 yrs of relative stability, it is unlikely that the ice shelf collapse played a role in the large response. Instead, we find that the rapid acceleration and surface drawdown is linked to enhanced melting at the ice-ocean boundary, attributable to changes in winds driven by global atmospheric circulation patterns, namely the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Southern Annular Mode (SAM), linking changes in grounded ice to atmospheric-driven ocean warming.

The Influence of Recurrent Modes of Climate Variability on the Occurrence of Monthly Temperature Extremes Over South America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loikith, Paul C.; Detzer, Judah; Mechoso, Carlos R.; Lee, Huikyo; Barkhordarian, Armineh

2017-10-01

The associations between extreme temperature months and four prominent modes of recurrent climate variability are examined over South America. Associations are computed as the percent of extreme temperature months concurrent with the upper and lower quartiles of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Atlantic Niño, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index distributions, stratified by season. The relationship is strongest for ENSO, with nearly every extreme temperature month concurrent with the upper or lower quartiles of its distribution in portions of northwestern South America during some seasons. The likelihood of extreme warm temperatures is enhanced over parts of northern South America when the Atlantic Niño index is in the upper quartile, while cold extremes are often association with the lowest quartile. Concurrent precipitation anomalies may contribute to these relations. The PDO shows weak associations during December, January, and February, while in June, July, and August its relationship with extreme warm temperatures closely matches that of ENSO. This may be due to the positive relationship between the PDO and ENSO, rather than the PDO acting as an independent physical mechanism. Over Patagonia, the SAM is highly influential during spring and fall, with warm and cold extremes being associated with positive and negative phases of the SAM, respectively. Composites of sea level pressure anomalies for extreme temperature months over Patagonia suggest an important role of local synoptic scale weather variability in addition to a favorable SAM for the occurrence of these extremes.

Summer Drivers of Atmospheric Variability Affecting Ice Shelf Thinning in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deb, Pranab; Orr, Andrew; Bromwich, David H.; Nicolas, Julien P.; Turner, John; Hosking, J. Scott

2018-05-01

Satellite data and a 35-year hindcast of the Amundsen Sea Embayment summer climate using the Weather Research and Forecasting model are used to understand how regional and large-scale atmospheric variability affects thinning of ice shelves in this sector of West Antarctica by melting from above and below (linked to intrusions of warm water caused by anomalous westerlies over the continental shelf edge). El Niño episodes are associated with an increase in surface melt but do not have a statistically significant impact on westerly winds over the continental shelf edge. The location of the Amundsen Sea Low and the polarity of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) have negligible impact on surface melting, although a positive SAM and eastward shift of the Amundsen Sea Low cause anomalous westerlies over the continental shelf edge. The projected future increase in El Niño episodes and positive SAM could therefore increase the risk of disintegration of West Antarctic ice shelves.

Eddy response to variable atmospheric forcing in the Southern Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, M. L.; McC. Hogg, A.

2009-04-01

Satellite altimeter data of the Southern Ocean (SO) reveal an anomalous peak in eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in 2000-2002. This peak has been attributed to a delayed response to an earlier peak in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and its associated circumpolar eastward winds that occurred around 1998, where the delay is due to the formation and adjustment of the eddy field associated with the increased winds (Meredith & Hogg, 2006). A more recent analysis reveals that the EKE response varies regionally, with the strongest response in the Pacific, and it has been suggested that this variability is due to the additional influence of ENSO. The 2000-2002 peak in EKE is therefore attributed to the coincident peak in SAM and ENSO 2-3 years earlier, and that the EKE response was weaker in past years when modes were out of phase (Morrow & Pasquet, 2008). We investigate this issue by applying SAM-like and ENSO-like wind forcings to Q-GCM, the eddy-resolving model used in Meredith & Hogg and configured for the Southern Ocean. We analyze the EKE response to each individual forcing as well as a simultaneous forcing of the two, both in and out of phase. From these results, we are able to quantify both the global and regional response to each forcing, and the degree to which each mode is responsible for the EKE strength and distribution across the ACC.

The influence of ozone forcing on blocking in the Southern Hemisphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dennison, Fraser W.; McDonald, Adrian; Morgenstern, Olaf

2016-12-01

We investigate the influence of ozone depletion and recovery on tropospheric blocking in the Southern Hemisphere. Blocking events are identified using a persistent positive anomaly method applied to 500 hPa geopotential height. Using the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research-United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols chemistry-climate model, we compare reference runs that include forcing due to greenhouse gases (GHGs) and ozone-depleting substances to sensitivity simulations in which ozone-depleting substances are fixed at their 1960 abundances and other sensitivity simulations with GHGs fixed at their 1960 abundances. Blocking events in the South Atlantic are shown to follow stratospheric positive anomalies in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index; this is not the case for South Pacific blocking events. This relationship means that summer ozone depletion, and corresponding positive SAM anomalies, leads to an increased frequency of blocking in the South Atlantic while having little effect in the South Pacific. Similarly, ozone recovery, having the opposite effect on the SAM, leads to a decline in blocking frequency in the South Atlantic, although this may be somewhat counteracted by the effect of increasing GHGs.

Response of Antarctic ice shelf melt to SAM trend and possible feedbacks with the ice-dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donat-Magnin, Marion; Jourdain, Nicolas C.; Gallée, Hubert; Spence, Paul; Cornford, Stephen L.; Le Sommer, Julien; Durand, Gaël

2017-04-01

The observed positive trend in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) may warm the Southern Ocean sub-surface through decreased Ekman downward pumping. Subsequent change in ice-shelves melt has been suggested to trigger glacier acceleration in West Antarctica. Here we use a regional ocean model configuration of the Amundsen Sea that includes interactive ice-shelf cavities. Our results show that the inclusion of ice-shelves changes the ocean response to the projected SAM trend, i.e. it typically inhibits a part of the SAM-induced subsurface warming. Heat budget analysis has been used to propose responsible mechanisms. Regarding Thwaites and Pine Island, sub ice-shelf melt increases above 400m by approximately 40% for Thwaites and 10% for Pine Island and decreases by up to 10% below in response to ocean temperature changes driven by the projected SAM trend. The melt sensitivity to poleward shifting winds is nonetheless small compared to the sensitivity to an ice-sheet instability, i.e. to a projected change in the shape of ice-shelf cavities. For instance, the sub ice-shelf melt are doubled near the grounding line of some glaciers in response to the largest grounding line retreat projected for 2100. Large increase in basal melt close to the grounding line could largely impact instability and glacier acceleration. Our work suggests the need for including ice shelves into ocean models, and to couple ocean models to ice-sheet models in climate projections.

Evaluating the Accuracy of MODIS Products in the Southern Scean Using Tagged Marine Predators, and Measuring Significant Change in 12 Years of [Chl-a], Zeu and Cloud Fraction Data.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biermann, L.; Boehme, L.; Guinet, C.

2016-02-01

The Southern Ocean is vital to the functioning of our global atmospheric and marine systems. However, this key ocean is also measurably responsive to the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the dominant mode of atmospheric variability in the Southern Hemisphere. Decreased ozone and increases in greenhouse gases appear to be forcing the SAM towards its positive phase, significantly changing wind patterns and, thus, altering mixing and circulation regimes of Southern Ocean waters. Inevitably, these changes must impact on patterns of phytoplankton abundance and distribution. Using remotely sensed data that have been evaluated alongside in situ data collected by tagged southern elephant seals, this work investigates if changes to summer phytoplankton abundance and distribution in the Southern Ocean can already be measured in the 12-year MODIS record. Patterns and trends in surface chlorophyll-a concentration ([Chl-a]), the depth of the 1% light level (Zeu) and mean cloud fraction are examined over time, as well as relative to the SAM. Trends in [Chl-a] and Zeu over the months of October, November and December suggest overall declines in surface phytoplankton, and shifts in timing of blooms. Indeed, by January and February over the 12-year timeseries, trends reverse to suggest increases in phytoplankton abundance. Relative to the increasingly positive SAM, trends of overall decline in phytoplankton abundance are significant only over Decembers. Trends in cloud cover are more difficult to interpret but the Atlantic Ocean appears to be becoming less cloudy, the southern sector of the Pacific Ocean appears to be becoming cloudier, and that the southern sector of the Indian Ocean is most variable over time. Only the increase in cloud over the southern Pacific in Decembers appears to be significantly related to changes to the SAM. Interestingly, in no cases were the changes to [Chl-a], Zeu or cloud cover strictly zonal. The asymmetry of these results reinforces findings from previous studies addressing responses of the MLD (and [Chl-a]) to the SAM.

Understanding Southern Ocean SST Trends in Historical Simulations and Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostov, Yavor; Ferreira, David; Marshall, John; Armour, Kyle

2017-04-01

Historical simulations with CMIP5 global climate models do not reproduce the observed 1979-2014 Southern Ocean (SO) cooling, and most ensemble members predict gradual warming around Antarctica. In order to understand this discrepancy and the mechanisms behind the SO cooling, we analyze output from 19 CMIP5 models. For each ensemble member we estimate the characteristic responses of SO SST to step changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing and in the seasonal indices of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Using these step-response functions and linear convolution theory, we reconstruct the original CMIP5 simulations of 1979-2014 SO SST trends. We recover the CMIP5 ensemble mean trend, capture the intermodel spread, and reproduce very well the behavior of individual models. We thus suggest that GHG forcing and the SAM are major drivers of the simulated 1979-2014 SO SST trends. In consistence with the seasonal signature of the Antarctic ozone hole, our results imply that the summer (DJF) and fall (MAM) SAM exert a particularly important effect on the SO SST. In some CMIP5 models the SO SST response to SAM partially counteracts the warming due to GHG forcing, while in other ensemble members the SAM-induced SO SST trends complement the warming effect of GHG forcing. The compensation between GHG and SAM-induced SO SST anomalies is model-dependent and is determined by multiple factors. Firstly, CMIP5 models have different characteristic SST step response functions to SAM. Kostov et al. (2016) relate these differences to biases in the models' climatological SO temperature gradients. Secondly, many CMIP5 historical simulations underestimate the observed positive trends in the DJF and MAM seasonal SAM indices. We show that this affects the models' ability to reproduce the observed SO cooling. Last but not least, CMIP5 models differ in their SO SST step response functions to GHG forcing. Understanding the diverse behavior of CMIP5 models helps shed light on the physical processes that drive SST trends in the real SO.

Developing novel peat isotope proxies from vascular plant-dominated peatlands of New Zealand to reconstruct Southern Hemisphere climate dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roland, T.; Amesbury, M. J.; Charman, D.; Newnham, R.; Royles, J.; Griffiths, H.; Ratcliffe, J.; Rees, A.; Campbell, D.; Baisden, T.; Keller, E. D.

2017-12-01

The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is a key control on the strength and position of the southern westerly winds (SWW), which are a major influence on Southern Hemisphere (SH) mid- to high-latitude climate. A shift towards a more positive SAM has occurred since the 1950s, driven by ozone layer thinning and enhanced by greenhouse gas driven warming. Although these recent changes are thought to be unprecedented over the last 1000 years, the longer-term behaviour of the SAM is poorly understood. We are developing stable isotope proxies from plant cellulose in vascular plant-dominated (Empodisma spp.) peatlands in New Zealand that we hypothesise are related to changes in past temperature (δ13C) and precipitation moisture source (δ18O). The moisture source signal is driven by the balance between Southern Ocean sources (depleted δ18O) and sub-tropical sources (enriched δ18O), reflecting the relative states of SAM and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. We aim to provide palaeoclimatic context for the recent positive trend in the SAM, and explore the long-term relationship between the SAM and ENSO, testing the contention that tropical Pacific variability is a key influence on past and future SAM variability. Terrestrial palaeoclimate records in the Southern Hemisphere are often spatially isolated and temporally fragmented. However, New Zealand is ideally placed to test such hypotheses as it registers strong correlations between SAM, temperature and precipitation, and it straddles the zone of interaction between the SWW and sub-tropical moisture sources, reflected in a strong precipitation δ18O gradient. We report data from surface samples across New Zealand and explore the spatial and temporal patterns in stable isotopes in cellulose and water that we will use to interpret the palaeoenvironmental data. Preliminary downcore data will be used to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach to reconstructing moisture sources and temperature linked to moisture source variability.

Impacts of Atmosphere-Ocean Coupling on Southern Hemisphere Climate Change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Feng; Newman, Paul; Pawson, Steven

2013-01-01

Climate in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) has undergone significant changes in recent decades. These changes are closely linked to the shift of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) towards its positive polarity, which is driven primarily by Antarctic ozone depletion. There is growing evidence that Antarctic ozone depletion has significant impacts on Southern Ocean circulation change. However, it is poorly understood whether and how ocean feedback might impact the SAM and climate change in the SH atmosphere. This outstanding science question is investigated using the Goddard Earth Observing System Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean-Chemistry Climate Model(GEOS-AOCCM).We perform ensemble simulations of the recent past (1960-2010) with and without the interactive ocean. For simulations without the interactive ocean, we use sea surface temperatures and sea ice concentrations produced by the interactive ocean simulations. The differences between these two ensemble simulations quantify the effects of atmosphere-ocean coupling. We will investigate the impacts of atmosphere-ocean coupling on stratospheric processes such as Antarctic ozone depletion and Antarctic polar vortex breakup. We will address whether ocean feedback affects Rossby wave generation in the troposphere and wave propagation into the stratosphere. Another focuson this study is to assess how ocean feedback might affect the tropospheric SAM response to Antarctic ozone depletion

Hydroclimate variability and regional atmospheric circulation over the past 1,350 years reconstructed from Lake Ohau, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roop, H. A.; Levy, R. H.; Vandergoes, M.; Dunbar, G. B.; Howarth, J. D.; Lorrey, A.; Phipps, S. J.

2016-12-01

Comprehensive understanding of natural climate-system dynamics requires high-resolution paleoclimate records extending beyond the instrumental period. This is particularly the case for the sparsely-instrumented Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, where the timing and amplitude of regional and hemispheric-scale climatic events are poorly constrained. Here we present a 1,350-year record of hydroclimatic variability and regional circulation derived from an annually laminated sediment record from Lake Ohau, South Island, New Zealand (44.23°S, 169.85°E). The climate of New Zealand is influenced by climatological patterns originating in both the tropics (e.g. El-Niño-Southern Oscillation, Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation) and the Antarctic (Southern Annular Mode, SAM). Utilizing the annually resolved Lake Ohau hydroclimate record in combination with a tree-ring record of summer temperature from Oroko Swamp, New Zealand (Cook et al., 2002), we generate a circulation index for the Western South Island of New Zealand. This index utilizes the temperature and precipitation anomalies defined by the Regional Climate Regime Classification scheme for New Zealand to assign synoptic scale circulation patterns to 25-year intervals from 900-2000 AD. This circulation index shows significant periods of change, most notably 835 - 985 AD when northerly airflow dominated and from 1385 - 1710 AD when strong southerly airflow persisted. Comparisons with regional SAM and ENSO reconstructions show that dry, warm conditions at Lake Ohau are consistently associated with strengthened tropical teleconnections to New Zealand and a positive SAM, while cold and wet conditions are driven by increased southerly airflow and negative phase SAM. A persistent negative SAM dominates the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1385-1710 AD) interval in the Western South Island. This same period coincides with the Northern Hemisphere LIA.

Southern Hemisphere rainfall variability over the past 200 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gergis, Joëlle; Henley, Benjamin J.

2017-04-01

This study presents an analysis of three palaeoclimate rainfall reconstructions from the Southern Hemisphere regions of south-eastern Australia (SEA), southern South Africa (SAF) and southern South America (SSA). We provide a first comparison of rainfall variations in these three regions over the past two centuries, with a focus on identifying synchronous wet and dry periods. Despite the uncertainties associated with the spatial and temporal limitations of the rainfall reconstructions, we find evidence of dynamically-forced climate influences. An investigation of the twentieth century relationship between regional rainfall and the large-scale climate circulation features of the Pacific, Indian and Southern Ocean regions revealed that Indo-Pacific variations of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean dipole dominate rainfall variability in SEA and SAF, while the higher latitude Southern Annular Mode (SAM) exerts a greater influence in SSA. An assessment of the stability of the regional rainfall-climate circulation modes over the past two centuries revealed a number of non-stationarities, the most notable of which occurs during the early nineteenth century around 1820. This corresponds to a time when the influence of ENSO on SEA, SAF and SSA rainfall weakens and there is a strengthening of the influence of SAM. We conclude by advocating the use of long-term palaeoclimate data to estimate decadal rainfall variability for future water resource management.

Interactions between Antarctic sea ice and large-scale atmospheric modes in CMIP5 models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroeter, Serena; Hobbs, Will; Bindoff, Nathaniel L.

2017-03-01

The response of Antarctic sea ice to large-scale patterns of atmospheric variability varies according to sea ice sector and season. In this study, interannual atmosphere-sea ice interactions were explored using observations and reanalysis data, and compared with simulated interactions by models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Simulated relationships between atmospheric variability and sea ice variability generally reproduced the observed relationships, though more closely during the season of sea ice advance than the season of sea ice retreat. Atmospheric influence on sea ice is known to be strongest during advance, and it appears that models are able to capture the dominance of the atmosphere during advance. Simulations of ocean-atmosphere-sea ice interactions during retreat, however, require further investigation. A large proportion of model ensemble members overestimated the relative importance of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) compared with other modes of high southern latitude climate, while the influence of tropical forcing was underestimated. This result emerged particularly strongly during the season of sea ice retreat. The zonal patterns of the SAM in many models and its exaggerated influence on sea ice overwhelm the comparatively underestimated meridional influence, suggesting that simulated sea ice variability would become more zonally symmetric as a result. Across the seasons of sea ice advance and retreat, three of the five sectors did not reveal a strong relationship with a pattern of large-scale atmospheric variability in one or both seasons, indicating that sea ice in these sectors may be influenced more strongly by atmospheric variability unexplained by the major atmospheric modes, or by heat exchange in the ocean.

Stratosphere-resolving CMIP5 models simulate different changes in the Southern Hemisphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rea, Gloria; Riccio, Angelo; Fierli, Federico; Cairo, Francesco; Cagnazzo, Chiara

2018-03-01

This work documents long-term changes in the Southern Hemisphere circulation in the austral spring-summer season in the Coupled Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models, showing that those changes are larger in magnitude and closer to ERA-Interim and other reanalyses if models include a dynamical representation of the stratosphere. Specifically, models with a high-top and included dynamical and—in some cases—chemical feedbacks within the stratosphere better simulate the lower stratospheric cooling observed over 1979-2001 and strongly driven by ozone depletion, when compared to the other models. This occurs because high-top models can fully capture the stratospheric large scale circulation response to the ozone-induced cooling. Interestingly, this difference is also found at the surface for the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) changes, even though all model categories tend to underestimate SAM trends over those decades. In this analysis, models including a proper dynamical stratosphere are more sensitive to lower stratospheric cooling in their tropospheric circulation response. After a brief discussion of two RCP scenarios, our study confirms that at least for large changes in the extratropical regions, stratospheric changes induced by external forcing have to be properly simulated, as they are important drivers of tropospheric climate variations.

Annular Mode Dynamics: Eddy Feedbacks and the Underlying Mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassanzadeh, P.; Ma, D.; Kuang, Z.

2017-12-01

Annular modes are the leading modes the extratropical circulation variability in both hemispheres on intraseasonal to interannual timescales. Temporal persistence and an equivalent-barotropic dipolar wind anomaly are the key spatio-temporal characteristics of the annular modes. The potential source(s) of this persistence, and in particular, whether there is a contribution from a positive eddy-jet feedback, are still unclear (e.g., Lorenz and Hartmann, 2001; Byrne et al., 2016). The mechanism of this feedback, and how it depends on processes such as surface friction, is also not well understood (e.g., Robinson, 2000; Gerber et al., 2007). In this study, we utilize the recently calculated Linear Response Function (LRF) of an idealized GCM (Hassanzadeh and Kuang, 2016). The LRF enables us to accurately calculate the response of eddy momentum/heat fluxes to the zonal-mean zonal wind and temperature anomalies of the annular mode. Using this information: 1) We confirm the existence of a positive eddy-jet feedback in the annular mode of the idealized GCM and accurately quantify the magnitude of this feedback; 2) We quantify the contribution of key processes (e.g., eddy momentum/heat fluxes and surface friction) to the annular mode dynamics in the idealized GCM. We show that as proposed by Robinson (2000), the baroclinic component of the annular mode and surface friction are essential for the positive eddy-jet feedback. Results show that this feedback increases the persistence of the annular mode by a factor of two. We also show that the barotropic component of the annular mode alone does not lead to persistence. In fact, the eddy-jet feedback for the barotropic component is negative because of the dominance of the barotropic governor effect. 3) Using the results of 1, we evaluate the underlying assumptions and accuracy of the statistical methods previously developed for quantifying the eddy-jet feedback (Lorenz and Hartmann, 2001; Simpson et al., 2013) and introduce a new statistical method that shows superior accuracy. We apply the new method to reanalysis data to quantify the eddy-jet feedback for the Southern Annular Mode. The key findings of 1-3 and their implications for our understanding of the annular mode dynamics will be discussed in this presentation.

Drivers of Antarctic sea-ice expansion and Southern Ocean surface cooling over the past four decades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purich, Ariaan; England, Matthew

2017-04-01

Despite global warming, total Antarctic sea-ice coverage has increased overall during the past four decades. In contrast, the majority of CMIP5 models simulate a decline. In addition, Southern Ocean surface waters have largely cooled, in stark contrast to almost all historical CMIP5 simulations. Subantarctic Surface Waters have cooled and freshened while waters to the north of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current have warmed and increased in salinity. It remains unclear as to what extent the cooling and Antarctic sea-ice expansion is due to natural variability versus anthropogenic forcing; due for example to changes in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). It is also unclear what the respective role of surface buoyancy fluxes is compared to internal ocean circulation changes, and what the implications are for longer-term climate change in the region. In this presentation we will outline three distinct drivers of recent Southern Ocean surface trends that have each made a significant contribution to regional cooling: (1) wind-driven surface cooling and sea-ice expansion due to shifted westerly winds, (2) teleconnections of decadal variability from the tropical Pacific, and (3) surface cooling and ice expansion due to large-scale Southern Ocean freshening, most likely driven by SAM-related precipitation trends over the open ocean. We will also outline the main reasons why climate models for the most part miss these Southern Ocean cooling trends, despite capturing overall trends in the SAM.

Linking the variability of atmospheric carbon monoxide to climate modes in the Southern Hemisphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchholz, Rebecca; Monks, Sarah; Hammerling, Dorit; Worden, Helen; Deeter, Merritt; Emmons, Louisa; Edwards, David

2017-04-01

Biomass burning is a major driver of atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) variability in the Southern Hemisphere. The magnitude of emissions, such as CO, from biomass burning is connected to climate through both the availability and dryness of fuel. We investigate the link between CO and climate using satellite measured CO and climate indices. Observations of total column CO from the satellite instrument MOPITT are used to build a record of interannual variability in CO since 2001. Four biomass burning regions in the Southern Hemisphere are explored. Data driven relationships are determined between CO and climate indices for the climate modes: El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO); the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD); the Tropical Southern Atlantic (TSA); and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Stepwise forward and backward regression is used to select the best statistical model from combinations of lagged indices. We find evidence for the importance of first-order interaction terms of the climate modes when explaining CO variability. Implications of the model results are discussed for the Maritime Southeast Asia and Australasia regions. We also draw on the chemistry-climate model CAM-chem to explain the source contribution as well as the relative contributions of emissions and meteorology to CO variability.

The effect of changing wind forcing on Antarctic ice shelf melting in high-resolution, global sea ice-ocean simulations with the Accelerated Climate Model for Energy (ACME)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asay-Davis, Xylar; Price, Stephen; Petersen, Mark; Wolfe, Jonathan

2017-04-01

The capability for simulating sub-ice shelf circulation and submarine melting and freezing has recently been added to the U.S. Department of Energy's Accelerated Climate Model for Energy (ACME). With this new capability, we use an eddy permitting ocean model to conduct two sets of simulations in the spirit of Spence et al. (GRL, 41, 2014), who demonstrate increased warm water upwelling along the Antarctic coast in response to poleward shifting and strengthening of Southern Ocean westerly winds. These characteristics, symptomatic of a positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM), are projected to continue into the 21st century under anthropogenic climate change (Fyfe et al., J. Clim., 20, 2007). In our first simulation, we force the climate model using the standard CORE interannual forcing dataset (Large and Yeager; Clim. Dyn., 33, 2009). In our second simulation, we force our climate model using an altered version of CORE interannual forcing, based on the latter half of the full time series, which we take as a proxy for a future climate state biased towards a positive SAM. We compare ocean model states and sub-ice shelf melt rates with observations, exploring sources of model biases as well as the effects of the two forcing scenarios.

Autumn Cooling of Western East Antarctica Linked to the Tropical Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clem, Kyle R.; Renwick, James A.; McGregor, James

2018-01-01

Over the past 60 years, the climate of East Antarctica cooled while portions of West Antarctica were among the most rapidly warming regions on the planet. The East Antarctic cooling is attributed to a positive trend in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and a strengthening of the westerlies, while West Antarctic warming is tied to zonally asymmetric circulation changes forced by the tropics. This study finds recent (post-1979) surface cooling of East Antarctica during austral autumn to also be tied to tropical forcing, namely, an increase in La Niña events. The recent increase in La Niña conditions forces a Rossby wave into the Southern Hemisphere that increases anticyclonic circulation over the South Atlantic. The South Atlantic anticyclone is associated with cold air advection, weakened northerlies, and increased sea ice concentrations across the western East Antarctic coast, which has increased the rate of cooling at Novolazarevskaya and Syowa stations after 1979. This enhanced cooling over western East Antarctica is tied more broadly to a zonally asymmetric temperature trend pattern across East Antarctica during autumn that is consistent with a tropically forced Rossby wave rather than a SAM pattern; the positive SAM pattern is associated with ubiquitous cooling across East Antarctica, which is not seen in temperature observations after 1979. We conclude that El Niño-Southern Oscillation-related circulation anomalies, particularly zonal asymmetries that locally enhance meridional wind, are an important component of East Antarctic climate variability during autumn, and future changes in tropical Pacific climate will likely have implications for East Antarctica.

The response of the southwest Western Australian wave climate to Indian Ocean climate variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wandres, Moritz; Pattiaratchi, Charitha; Hetzel, Yasha; Wijeratne, E. M. S.

2018-03-01

Knowledge of regional wave climates is critical for coastal planning, management, and protection. In order to develop a regional wave climate, it is important to understand the atmospheric systems responsible for wave generation. This study examines the variability of the southwest Western Australian (SWWA) shelf and nearshore wind wave climate and its relationship to southern hemisphere climate variability represented by various atmospheric indices: the southern oscillation index (SOI), the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode Index (DMI), the Indian Ocean Subtropical Dipole (IOSD), the latitudinal position of the subtropical high-pressure ridge (STRP), and the corresponding intensity of the subtropical ridge (STRI). A 21-year wave hindcast (1994-2014) of the SWWA continental shelf was created using the third generation wave model Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN), to analyse the seasonal and inter-annual wave climate variability and its relationship to the atmospheric regime. Strong relationships between wave heights and the STRP and the STRI, a moderate correlation between the wave climate and the SAM, and no significant correlation between SOI, DMI, and IOSD and the wave climate were found. Strong spatial, seasonal, and inter-annual variability, as well as seasonal longer-term trends in the mean wave climate were studied and linked to the latitudinal changes in the subtropical high-pressure ridge and the Southern Ocean storm belt. As the Southern Ocean storm belt and the subtropical high-pressure ridge shifted southward (northward) wave heights on the SWWA shelf region decreased (increased). The wave height anomalies appear to be driven by the same atmospheric conditions that influence rainfall variability in SWWA.

Land-atmosphere-ocean interactions in the southeastern Atlantic: interannual variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xiaoming; Vizy, Edward K.; Cook, Kerry H.

2018-02-01

Land-atmosphere-ocean interactions in the southeastern South Atlantic and their connections to interannual variability are examined using a regional climate model coupled with an intermediate-level ocean model. In austral summer, zonal displacements of the South Atlantic subtropical high (SASH) can induce variations of mixed-layer currents in the Benguela upwelling region through surface wind stress curl anomalies near the Namibian coast, and an eastward shifted SASH is related to the first Pacific-South American mode. When the SASH is meridionally displaced, mixed layer vertically-integrated Ekman transport anomalies are mainly a response to the change of alongshore surface wind stress. The latitudinal shift of the SASH tends to dampen the anomalous alongshore wind by modulating the land-sea thermal contrast, while opposed by oceanic diffusion. Although the position of the SASH is closely linked to the phase of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the southern annular mode (SAM) in austral summer, an overall relationship between Benguela upwelling strength and ENSO or SAM is absent. During austral winter, variations of the mixed layer Ekman transport in the Benguela upwelling region are connected to the strength of the SASH through its impact on both coastal wind stress curl and alongshore surface wind stress. Compared with austral summer, low-level cloud cover change plays a more important role. Although wintertime sea surface temperature fluctuations in the equatorial Atlantic are strong and may act to influence variability over the northern Benguela area, the surface heat budget analysis suggests that local air-sea interactions dominate.

Reconciling the Observed and Modeled Southern Hemisphere Circulation Response to Volcanic Eruptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGraw, M. C.; Barnes, E. A.; Deser, C.

2016-12-01

Confusion exists regarding the tropospheric circulation response to volcanic eruptions, with models and observations seeming to disagree on the sign of the response. The forced Southern Hemisphere circulation response to the eruptions of Pinatubo and El Chichon is shown to be a robust positive annular mode, using over 200 ensemble members from 38 climate models. It is demonstrated that the models and observations are not at odds, but rather, internal climate variability is large and can overwhelm the forced response. It is further argued that the state of ENSO can at least partially explain the sign of the observed anomalies, and may account for the perceived discrepancy between model and observational studies. The eruptions of both El Chichon and Pinatubo occurred during El Nino events, and it is demonstrated that the SAM anomalies following volcanic eruptions are weaker during El Nino events compared to La Nina events.

The impacts of the atmospheric annular mode on the AMOC and its feedback in an idealized experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santis, Wlademir; Aimola, Luis; Campos, Edmo J. D.; Castellanos, Paola

2018-03-01

The interdecadal variability of the atmospheric and oceanic meridional overturning circulation is studied, using a coupled model with two narrow meridional barriers representing the land and a flat bottomed Aquaplanet. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis are used in the atmospheric and oceanic meridional overturning cells, revealing the atmospheric interdecadal variability is dominated by an annular mode, in both hemispheres, which introduces in the ocean a set of patterns of variability. The most energetic EOFs in the ocean are the barotropic responses from the annular mode. The interaction between the heat anomalies, due to the barotropic response, and the thermohaline circulation of each basin leads to a resonance mechanism that feeds back to the atmospheric forcing, modulating the annular mode spectrum. Besides the barotropic response, the annular mode introduces anomalies of salinity and temperature in the subtropical Atlantic that affects its upper buoyancy. These anomalies are incorporated within the ocean circulation and advected until the areas of deep sinking in the northern Atlantic, impacting on its overturning circulation as well.

Dynamic response of peatbank moss communities to hydroclimate over the last 2000 years in the western Antarctic Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stelling, J.; Yu, Z.; Beilman, D. W.

2016-12-01

The western Antarctic Peninsula experienced rapid warming in late half of the 20th century in part due to a positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) causing poleward expansion of the southern westerly wind belt that brings warmer and moister air to the peninsula. However, we do not know how coastal terrestrial ecosystems have responded to changes in temperature and hydroclimate. Here we present a paleoecological and geochemical record of ecosystem history derived from late Holocene peatbank deposits on Litchfield Island (64°46'S; 64°06'W) to reconstruct terrestrial response to temperature and hydroclimate fluctuations. Chronology of our 80-cm-long peat core from the north-facing slope is constrained by 11 AMS 14C dates covering the last 2500 years. Our macrofossil results show that relative abundance of the two dominant moss species fluctuates between <10 and 90%. Furthermore, the δ13C values of bulk peat range from -26.4 to -22.1‰ that mostly reflects species relative abundance change through time. The periods with C:N values of <20—lower than the expected C:N values (40 to 80) of fresh moss plants—corresponds with intervals containing abundant fine debris (>50%), indicating greater decomposition and selective removal of carbon from peat. Our record shows that periods where moss dominance shifts to Polytrichum, a dry and cold tolerant moss, peat decomposition increases, and coincides with periods of negative SAM. Conversely, dominance shifts to Chorisodontium, a less drought tolerant moss, with decomposition decreased during periods of strong positive SAM. This study demonstrates that ecosystem structure and geochemical signature within these moss peatbanks is sensitive to regional moisture change that can potentially be used to reconstruct shifts in hydroclimate and possibly atmospheric circulation.

Long-term (1993-2013) changes in macrozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steinberg, Deborah K.; Ruck, Kate E.; Gleiber, Miram R.; Garzio, Lori M.; Cope, Joseph S.; Bernard, Kim S.; Stammerjohn, Sharon E.; Schofield, Oscar M. E.; Quetin, Langdon B.; Ross, Robin M.

2015-07-01

The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, and where a high apex predator biomass is supported in large part by macrozooplankton. We examined trends in summer (January-February) abundance of major taxa of macrozooplankton along the WAP over two decades (1993-2013) and their relationship with environmental parameters (sea ice, atmospheric climate indices, sea surface temperature, and phytoplankton biomass and productivity). Macrozooplankton were collected from the top 120 m of the water column in a mid-Peninsula study region divided into latitudinal (North, South, and Far South) and cross-shelf (coastal, shelf, slope) sub-regions. Trends for krill species included a 5-year cycle in abundance peaks (positive anomalies) for Euphausia superba, but no directional long-term trend, and an increase in Thysanoessa macrura in the North; variability in both species was strongly influenced by primary production 2-years prior. E. crystallorophias abundance was best explained by the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and Multivariate El Niño Southern Oscillation Index (MEI), and was more abundant in higher ice conditions. The salp Salpa thompsoni and thecosome pteropod Limacina helicina cycled between negative and positive anomalies in the North, but showed increasing positive anomalies in the South over time. Variation in salp and pteropod abundance was best explained by SAM and the MEI, respectively, and both species were more abundant in lower ice conditions. There was a long-term increase in some carnivorous gelatinous zooplankton (polychaete worm Tomopteris spp.) and amphipods. Abundance of Pseudosagitta spp. chaetognaths was closely related to SAM, with higher abundance tied to lower ice conditions. Long-term changes and sub-decadal cycles of WAP macrozooplankton community composition may affect energy transfer to higher trophic levels, and alter biogeochemical cycling in this seasonally productive and sensitive polar ecosystem.

Transport variability of the Brazil Current from observations and a data assimilation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmid, Claudia; Majumder, Sudip

2018-06-01

The Brazil Current transports from observations and the Hybrid Coordinate Model (HYCOM) model are analyzed to improve our understanding of the current's structure and variability. A time series of the observed transport is derived from a three-dimensional field of the velocity in the South Atlantic covering the years 1993 to 2015 (hereinafter called Argo & SSH). The mean transports of the Brazil Current increases from 3.8 ± 2.2 Sv (1 Sv is 106 m3 s-1) at 25° S to 13.9 ± 2.6 Sv at 32° S, which corresponds to a mean slope of 1.4 ± 0.4 Sv per degree. Transport estimates derived from HYCOM fields are somewhat higher (5.2 ± 2.7 and 18.7 ± 7.1 Sv at 25 and 32° S, respectively) than those from Argo & SSH, but these differences are small when compared with the standard deviations. Overall, the observed latitude dependence of the transport of the Brazil Current is in agreement with the wind-driven circulation in the super gyre of the subtropical South Atlantic. A mean annual cycle with highest (lowest) transports in austral summer (winter) is found to exist at selected latitudes (24, 35, and 38° S). The significance of this signal shrinks with increasing latitude (both in Argo & SSH and HYCOM), mainly due to mesoscale and interannual variability. Both Argo & SSH, as well as HYCOM, reveal interannual variability at 24 and 35° S that results in relatively large power at periods of 2 years or more in wavelet spectra. It is found that the interannual variability at 24° S is correlated with the South Atlantic Subtropical Dipole Mode (SASD), the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), and the Niño 3.4 index. Similarly, correlations between SAM and the Brazil Current transport are also found at 35° S. Further investigation of the variability reveals that the first and second mode of a coupled empirical orthogonal function of the meridional transport and the sea level pressure explain 36 and 15 % of the covariance, respectively. Overall, the results indicate that SAM, SASD, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation have an influence on the transport of the Brazil Current.

On the relationship between large-scale climate modes and regional synoptic patterns that drive Victorian rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verdon-Kidd, D.; Kiem, A. S.

2008-10-01

In this paper regional (synoptic) and large-scale climate drivers of rainfall are investigated for Victoria, Australia. A non-linear classification methodology known as self-organizing maps (SOM) is used to identify 20 key regional synoptic patterns, which are shown to capture a range of significant synoptic features known to influence the climate of the region. Rainfall distributions are assigned to each of the 20 patterns for nine rainfall stations located across Victoria, resulting in a clear distinction between wet and dry synoptic types at each station. The influence of large-scale climate modes on the frequency and timing of the regional synoptic patterns is also investigated. This analysis revealed that phase changes in the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and/or Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are associated with a shift in the relative frequency of wet and dry synoptic types. Importantly, these results highlight the potential to utilise the link between the regional synoptic patterns derived in this study and large-scale climate modes to improve rainfall forecasting for Victoria, both in the short- (i.e. seasonal) and long-term (i.e. decadal/multi-decadal scale). In addition, the regional and large-scale climate drivers identified in this study provide a benchmark by which the performance of Global Climate Models (GCMs) may be assessed.

Spatial patterns of recent Antarctic surface temperature trends and the importance of natural variability: lessons from multiple reconstructions and the CMIP5 models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Karen L.; Polvani, Lorenzo M.

2017-04-01

The recent annually averaged warming of the Antarctic Peninsula, and of West Antarctica, stands in stark contrast to very small trends over East Antarctica. This asymmetry arises primarily from a highly significant warming of West Antarctica in austral spring and a cooling of East Antarctica in austral autumn. Here we examine whether this East-West asymmetry is a response to anthropogenic climate forcings or a manifestation of natural climate variability. We compare the observed Antarctic surface air temperature trends over two distinct time periods (1960-2005 and 1979-2005), and with those simulated by 40 models participating in Phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). We find that the observed East-West asymmetry differs substantially between the two periods and, furthermore, that it is completely absent from the forced response seen in the CMIP5 multi-model mean, from which all natural variability is eliminated by the averaging. We also examine the relationship between the Southern Annular mode (SAM) and Antarctic temperature trends, in both models and reanalyses, and again conclude that there is little evidence of anthropogenic SAM-induced driving of the recent temperature trends. These results offer new, compelling evidence pointing to natural climate variability as a key contributor to the recent warming of West Antarctica and of the Peninsula.

Orientation of 6-mercaptopurine SAMs at the silver electrode as studied by Raman mapping and in situ SERS.

PubMed

Chu, Hui; Yang, Haifeng; Huan, Shuangyan; Shen, Guoli; Yu, Ruqin

2006-03-23

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) on a silver electrode in acid and alkaline media were investigated by a combination protocol of the SERS technique with Raman mapping, and it was found that the adsorption mode of 6MP SAMs changed with the pH value of the environment. Quantum calculations for the vibrational mode were performed by the BLYP/6-31G method. 6MP was adsorbed on the silver electrode with a tilted orientation via S, N1, and N7 atoms in acid medium, while the SAMs adopted head-on adsorption modes with the S atom and the N1 atom anchoring the silver surface in alkaline medium. However, 6MP SAMs turned to the same upright orientation on the electrode through the S and N7 atoms when either acid or basic solution was removed. Stability of 6MP SAMs was observed by in situ SERS spectroelectrochemical measurements. The results reveal that the desorption potentials of 6MP SAMs formed under acid and alkaline conditions from the Ag electrode were at ca. -1.3 V and -1.6 V vs SCE, respectively.

Climate forcing for dynamics of dissolved inorganic nutrients at Palmer Station, Antarctica: An interdecadal (1993-2013) analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyewon; Doney, Scott C.; Iannuzzi, Richard A.; Meredith, Michael P.; Martinson, Douglas G.; Ducklow, Hugh W.

2016-09-01

We analyzed 20 years (1993-2013) of observations of dissolved inorganic macronutrients (nitrate, N; phosphate, P; and silicate, Si) and chlorophyll a (Chl) at Palmer Station, Antarctica (64.8°S, 64.1°W) to elucidate how large-scale climate and local physical forcing affect the interannual variability in the seasonal phytoplankton bloom and associated drawdown of nutrients. The leading modes of nutrients (N, P, and Si empirical orthogonal functions 1, EOF1) represent overall negative anomalies throughout growing seasons, showing a mixed signal of variability in the initial levels and drawdown thereafter (low-frequency dynamics). The second most common seasonal patterns of nitrate and phosphate (N and P EOF2) capture prolonged drawdown events during December-March, which are correlated to Chl EOF1. Si EOF2 captures a drawdown event during November-December, which is correlated to Chl EOF2. These different drawdown patterns are shaped by different sets of physical and climate forcing mechanisms. N and P drawdown events during December-March are influenced by the winter and spring Southern Annular Mode (SAM) phase, where nutrient utilization is enhanced in a stabilized upper water column as a consequence of SAM-driven winter sea ice and spring wind dynamics. Si drawdown during November-December is influenced by early sea ice retreat, where ice breakup may induce abrupt water column stratification and a subsequent diatom bloom or release of diatom cells from within the sea ice. Our findings underscore that seasonal nutrient dynamics in the coastal WAP are coupled to large-scale climate forcing and related physics, understanding of which may enable improved projections of biogeochemical responses to climate change.

Photoacoustics and speed-of-sound dual mode imaging with a long depth-of-field by using annular ultrasound array.

PubMed

Ding, Qiuning; Tao, Chao; Liu, Xiaojun

2017-03-20

Speed-of-sound and optical absorption reflect the structure and function of tissues from different aspects. A dual-mode microscopy system based on a concentric annular ultrasound array is proposed to simultaneously acquire the long depth-of-field images of speed-of-sound and optical absorption of inhomogeneous samples. First, speed-of-sound is decoded from the signal delay between each element of the annular array. The measured speed-of-sound could not only be used as an image contrast, but also improve the resolution and accuracy of spatial location of photoacoustic image in inhomogeneous acoustic media. Secondly, benefitting from dynamic focusing of annular array and the measured speed-of-sound, it is achieved an advanced acoustic-resolution photoacoustic microscopy with a precise position and a long depth-of-field. The performance of the dual-mode imaging system has been experimentally examined by using a custom-made annular array. The proposed dual-mode microscopy might have the significances in monitoring the biological physiological and pathological processes.

What do Westerly Wind Reconstructions from Fiordland, New Zealand, say about Southern Hemisphere Paleoclimatic Mechanisms?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knudson, K. P.; Hendy, I. L.; Neil, H.

2010-12-01

The Southern Hemisphere westerly winds (SWW) have a major influence over deep ocean ventilation around Antarctica and are modulated by inter-annual and decadal climate variability, such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), and Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Fiordland, New Zealand (44.5-46.5°S), is optimally located for reconstructing the SWW, since the fjord sediments record changes in precipitation dependent on the strength and position of the SWW. Here we present a multi-proxy precipitation reconstruction from three New Zealand fjords, demonstrating SWW variability during the late-Holocene, and compare our results to other climate records from New Zealand, Patagonia, and Antarctica. Our fjord sediment analysis uses bulk sediment δ13C and organic C/N ratios to determine the relative contributions of terrestrial organic matter (TOM) versus marine suspended organic matter (SPOM), indicative of terrestrial runoff due to precipitation. Our data indicate dry conditions in Fiordland at 1500-1100 and 750-150 yr B.P., with a reversal at 400 years B.P., and wet conditions at 2300-1600 and 1100-750 yr B.P., with short reversals around 1900 and 900 yr B.P. Our precipitation reconstruction linked to SWW variability provides significant implications for interpreting other Southern Hemisphere climate records and better understanding Pacific basin-wide SWW behavior. Locally, wet periods are likely associated with intervals of increased westerly flow over Fiordland, such as -SAM, El Niño, and/or +IPO, while dry periods may be associated with +SAM, La Niña, and/or -IPO. Comparison of our New Zealand record with Patagonian precipitation records shows differences, which may be attributed to regional variations of the expression of SAM, ENSO, and IPO. In contrast, Fiordland precipitation records appear to correlate to West Antarctic ice cores suggesting a linkage via SAM. Finally, Fiordland precipitation may be modulated by the position of the Subtropical Convergence Zone (STCZ) in the Tasman Sea, which has control over the moisture sources within the SWW path. Therefore, wet periods in Fiordland may be amplified by a southern position of the STCZ that caused the SWW to encounter a warm moisture source before reaching Fiordland.

Late-Holocene hydroclimate and atmospheric circulation variability in southern Patagonia: insights from triple stable isotopes (δ18O, δ13C, δD) of peat bog Sphagnum moss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Z.; Yu, Z.; Zheng, Y.; Loisel, J.; Huang, Y.

2017-12-01

The Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds (SHWWs) exert important influences on regional and global climates, but their long-term behaviors and dynamics are still poorly understood but critical for projecting future changes. Here we present a 5,500-year record from a Sphagnum-dominated peat bog located on the lee side of the Andes at 54.2 °S in southern Patagonia—based on plant macrofossils, Sphagnum cellulose δ18O and δ13C, and lipid δD data—to document and understand the variability in hydroclimate and atmospheric circulation. There is a striking negative correlation between cellulose δ18O and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index over the last millennium; particularly the 2.5‰ negative shift of δ18O is concurrent with the observed positive trend in the SAM over the recent decades. The interval of Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA, 850-600 yr BP) is characterized by a 2.5‰ negative shift of δ18O and low δ13C values, while the Little Ice Age (LIA, 500-300 yr BP) is characterized by a 2.5‰ positive shift of δ18O and high δ13C values. Furthermore, we find the largest negative shift of δ18O ( 3‰) at 2,300 yr BP, suggesting a significantly positive shift in the SAM. We interpret high Sphagnum abundance and high cellulose δ13C values to reflect great moss moisture conditions, while cellulose δ18O variations primarily reflect moisture sources and atmospheric circulation. During the positive phase of SAM (e.g., the MCA and recent decades), strengthened SHWWs enhance the rain-shadow effect, resulting in dry climate and 18O-depleted precipitation (low δ18O values) in the study region. During the negative phase of SAM (e.g., the LIA), weakened SHWWs reduce rain-shadow effect, resulting in wet climate and high δ18O values caused by increases in moisture contributions from the southerly and easterly flows that do not experience strong Rayleigh distillation process during air mass transports. Furthermore, coupling cellulose δ18O and lipid δD enables inverse calculation on the deuterium excess to understand the origin of atmospheric moisture. Our results provide new insights into the evolution of the SHWW and SAM during the late Holocene. We also use back-trajectory analysis equipped with moisture uptake algorithm to link moisture sources and trajectories with isotopic composition of precipitation in southern Patagonia.

Analytic wave solution with helicon and Trivelpiece-Gould modes in an annular plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carlsson, Johan; Pavarin, Daniele; Walker, Mitchell

2009-11-26

Helicon sources in an annular configuration have applications for plasma thrusters. The theory of Klozenberg et al.[J. P. Klozenberg B. McNamara and P. C. Thonemann, J. Fluid Mech. 21(1965) 545-563] for the propagation and absorption of helicon and Trivelpiece-Gould modes in a cylindrical plasma has been generalized for annular plasmas. Analytic solutions are found also in the annular case, but in the presence of both helicon and Trivelpiece-Gould modes, a heterogeneous linear system of equations must be solved to match the plasma and inner and outer vacuum solutions. The linear system can be ill-conditioned or even exactly singular, leading tomore » a dispersion relation with a discrete set of discontinuities. The coefficients for the analytic solution are calculated by solving the linear system with singular-value decomposition.« less

Phase-locking of annular-combination CO2 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Tingxiang; Chen, Mei; Zhang, Rongzhu; Xiao, Qianyi

2015-07-01

A new annular-combination resonator structure adopting the external-injection phase-locking technology is presented theoretically for that the beam quality of stable annular resonator is not satisfying. The phase-locking principle and feasibility are characterized by energy density of injection beam and coupling coefficient. Based on the diffraction theory, output mode of the resonator with phase-locking is deduced and simulated. Results also confirm that injection beam have a good control effect on output mode. The intensity distributions of output beam are studied briefly and indicate that this new resonator which is adaptable to annular gain media can produce high-power laser beam with high quality.

Recent Climate Variability in Antarctica from Satellite-derived Temperature Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, David P.; Steig, Eric J.; Comiso, Josefino C.

2004-01-01

Recent Antarctic climate variability on month-to-month to interannual time scales is assessed through joint analysis of surface temperatures from satellite thermal infrared observations (T(sub IR)) and passive microwave brightness temperatures (T(sub B)). Although Tw data are limited to clear-sky conditions and T(sub B) data are a product of the temperature and emissivity of the upper approx. 1m of snow, the two data sets share significant covariance. This covariance is largely explained by three empirical modes, which illustrate the spatial and temporal variability of Antarctic surface temperatures. T(sub B) variations are damped compared to TIR variations, as determined by the period of the temperature forcing and the microwave emission depth; however, microwave emissivity does not vary significantly in time. Comparison of the temperature modes with Southern Hemisphere (SH) 500-hPa geopotential height anomalies demonstrates that Antarctic temperature anomalies are predominantly controlled by the principal patterns of SH atmospheric circulation. The leading surface temperature mode strongly correlates with the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) in geopotential height. The second temperature mode reflects the combined influences of the zonal wavenumber-3 and Pacific South American (PSA) patterns in 500-hPa height on month-to-month timescales. ENSO variability projects onto this mode on interannual timescales, but is not by itself a good predictor of Antarctic temperature anomalies. The third temperature mode explains winter warming trends, which may be caused by blocking events, over a large region of the East Antarctic plateau. These results help to place recent climate changes in the context of Antarctica's background climate variability and will aid in the interpretation of ice core paleoclimate records.

Primary Mirror Figure Maintenance of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope using the Segment Alignment Maintenance System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rakoczy, John; Hall, Drew; Howard, Ricky; Ly, William; Weir, John; Montgomery, Edward; Brantley, Lott W. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Segment Alignment Maintenance System (SAMs) was installed on McDonald Observatory's Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) in August 2001. The SAMs became fully operational in October 2001. The SAMs uses a system of 480 inductive edge sensors to correct misalignments of the HET's 91 primary mirror segments when the segments are perturbed from their aligned reference positions. A special observer estimated and corrects for the global radius of curvature (GroC) mode, a mode unobservable by the edge sensors. The SAMs edge sensor system and (GroC) estimator are able to maintain HET's primary figure for much longer durations than previously had been observed. Telescope image quality has improved, and the amount of overhead time required from primary mirror alignment has been reduced. This paper gives a functional description of the SAMs control system and presents performance verification data. This paper also describes how the SAMs has improved the operational efficiency of the HET.

Raman mapping and in situ SERS spectroelectrochemical studies of 6-mercaptopurine SAMs on the gold electrode.

PubMed

Yang, Haifeng; Liu, Yanli; Liu, Zhimin; Yang, Yu; Jiang, Jianhui; Zhang, Zongrang; Shen, Guoli; Yu, Ruqin

2005-02-24

The self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) were formed at the roughened polycrystalline gold surfaces in acid and alkaline media. The time-dependent Raman mapping spectral analysis in conjunction with the quantum calculations for the vibrational modes using ab initio BLYP/6-31G method suggested that both of the resulted 6MP SAMs adopted the same adsorption mode through the S atom of pyrimidine moiety and the N7 atom of the imidazole moiety anchoring the gold surface in a vertical way. The in situ surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroelectrochemical experiment was conducted to examine the stability of the SAMs at various bias potentials. It was found that the detaching process of the 6MP SAMs from the surface involved one electron reduction as the voltage was applied at ca. 0.7 V vs a standard calomel electrode.

Understanding the recent changes in the Southern Ocean carbon cycle: A multidisciplinary approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manizza, M.; Kahru, M.; Menemenlis, D.; Nevison, C. D.; Mitchell, B. G.; Keeling, R. F.

2016-12-01

The Southern Ocean represents a key area of the global ocean for the uptake of the CO2 originating from fossil fuels emissions. In these waters, cold temperatures combined with high rates of biological production drive the carbon uptake that accounts for about one-third of the global ocean uptake.Recent studies showed that changes in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index, mainly a proxy of the intensity of westerly winds, had a significant impact on the temporal variability of the CO2 uptake in the Southern Ocean. In order to shed light on this problem we propose to use both satellite-derived estimates of ocean productivity and carbon export in combinations of ocean physical and biogeochemical state estimates focusing on the 2006-2013 period. While the estimates of carbon fixation and export based on remote sensing will provide key information on the spatial and temporal variations of the biological carbon pump, the ocean state estimates will provide additional information on physical and carbon cycle processes, including the air-sea CO2 fluxes of the Southern Ocean in the 2006-2013 period where model solutions have been optimized.These physical estimates will be used to force an ocean biogeochemical model (ECCO2-Darwin) that will compute the CO2 uptake for each year. The physical model, forced with optimized atmospheric forcing, aims to realistically simulate interannual ocean climate variability that drives changes in both physical and biogeochemical processes ultimately impacting the carbon uptake of the Southern Ocean, and potentially responding to the SAM index variations.Although in this study great emphasis is given to the role of physical climate variations at driving the CO2 uptake of these polar waters, we will integrate model results with estimates from remote sensing techniques to better understand role of the biological carbon pump and its variability potentially responding to the SAM index changes.

Astronaut Sam Gemar works with Middeck O-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

Astronaut Charles D. (Sam) Gemar, mission specialist, works with the Middeck O-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE) aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. The reusable test facility is designed to study the nonlinear, gravity-dependent behavior of two types of space hardware - contained fluids and (as depicted here) large space structures - planned for future spacecraft.

Radiation Effects on the Thermodiffusive Instability of Premixed Flames on a Cylindrical Porous Flame Holder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Minglong; Yang, Lijun

2017-10-01

A linear analysis method was used to investigate the mechanics of radiation heat loss and mass transfer in the porous wall of premixed annular flames and their effect on thermodiffusive instability. The dispersion relation between the disturbance wave growth rate and wavenumber was calculated numerically. Results showed that radiation heat loss elevated the annular flame slightly away from the porous wall. In the annular flame with small Lewis numbers, radiation heat loss changed the thermodiffusive instability from a pulsating to a cellular state, while for the large Lewis numbers, only the pulsating instability was represented. Increasing radiation heat loss and the radius of the porous wall enhanced the instability of the annular flames. Heat losses decreased with the continued increase in thickness of the porous wall and the decrease in porosity. Annular flames with long-wave mode along the angular direction were more unstable than the shortwave mode.

On LAM's and SAM's for Halley's rotation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peale, Stanton J.

1992-01-01

Non principal axis rotation for comet Halley is inferred from dual periodicities evident in the observations. The modes where the spin axis precesses around the axis of minimum moment of inertia (long axis mode or LAM) and where it precesses around the axis of maximum moment of inertia (short axis mode or SAM) are described from an inertial point of view. The currently favored LAM model for Halley's rotation state satisfies observational and dynamical constraints that apparently no SAM can satisfy. But it cannot reproduce the observed post perihelion brightening through seasonal illumination of localized sources on the nucleus, whereas a SAM can easily produce post or pre perihelion brightening by this mechanism. However, the likelihood of a LAM rotation for elongated nuclei of periodic comets such as Halley together with Halley's extreme post perihelion behavior far from the Sun suggest that Halley's post perihelion brightening may be due to effects other than seasonal illumination of localized sources, and therefore such brightening may not constrain its rotation state.

Meteorological Drivers of West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Ice Shelf Surface Melt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, R. C.; Nicolas, J. P.; Bromwich, D. H.; Norris, J. R.; Lubin, D.

2017-12-01

We identify synoptic patterns and surface energy balance components driving warming and surface melting on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and ice shelves using reanalysis and satellite remote sensing data from 1973-present. We have developed a synoptic climatology of atmospheric circulation patterns during the summer melt season using k-means cluster and composite analysis of daily 700-mb geopotential height and near-surface air temperature and wind fields from the ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalysis. Surface melt occurrence is detected in satellite passive microwave brightness temperature observations (K-band, horizontal polarization) beginning with the NASA Nimbus-5 Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR) and continuing with its more familiar descendants SMMR, SSM/I and SSMIS. To diagnose synoptic precursors and physical processes driving surface melt we combine the circulation climatology and multi-decadal records of cloud cover with surface radiative fluxes from the Extended AVHRR Polar Pathfinder (APP-x) project. We identify three distinct modes of regional summer West Antarctic warming since 1979 involving anomalous ridging over West Antarctica (WA) and the Amundsen Sea (AS). During the 1970s, ESMR data reveal four extensive melt events on the Ross Sea sector of the WAIS also linked to AS blocking. We therefore define an Amundsen Sea Blocking Index (ASBI). The ASBI and synoptic circulation pattern occurrence frequencies are correlated with the tropical Pacific (ENSO) and high latitude Southern Annular Mode (SAM) indices and the West Antarctic melt index. Surface melt in WA is favored by enhanced downwelling infrared and turbulent sensible heat fluxes associated with intrusions of warm, moist marine air. Consistent with recent findings from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE), marine advection to the Ross sector is favored by El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific and a negative SAM. We also find that El Niño-related blocking favors warming and melting on the marine-based ice streams draining from Wilkes Basin, East Antarctica.

High latitude Southern Hemisphere fire history during the mid-late Holocene (750- 6000 yr BP)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Battistel, Dario; Kehrwald, Natalie; Zennaro, Piero; Pellegrino, Giuseppe; Barbaro, Elena; Zangrando, Roberta; Pedeli, Xanthi X.; Varin, Cristiano; Spolaor, Andrea; Vallelonga, Paul T.; Gambaro, Andrea; Barbante, Carlo

2018-01-01

We determined the specific biomass burning biomarker levoglucosan in an ice core from the TALos Dome Ice CorE drilling project (TALDICE) during the mid- to late Holocene (6000–750 BP). The levoglucosan record is characterized by a long-term increase with higher rates starting at  ∼  4000 BP and peaks between 2500 and 1500 BP. The anomalous increase in levoglucosan centered at  ∼  2000 BP is consistent with other Antarctic biomass burning records. Multiple atmospheric phenomena affect the coastal Antarctic Talos Dome drilling site, where the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is the most prominent as the Southern Annular Mode Index (SAMA) correlates with stable isotopes in precipitation throughout the most recent 1000 years of the ice core. If this connection remains throughout the mid- to late Holocene, then our results demonstrate that changes in biomass burning, rather than changes in atmospheric transport, are the major influence on the TALDICE levoglucosan record. Comparisons with charcoal syntheses help evaluate fire sources, showing a greater contribution from southern South American fires than from Australian biomass burning. The levoglucosan peak centered at  ∼  2000 BP occurs during a cool period throughout the Southern Hemisphere, yet during a time of increased fire activity in both northern and southern Patagonia. This peak in biomass burning is influenced by increased vegetation in southern South America from a preceding humid period, in which the vegetation desiccated during the following cool, dry period. The Talos Dome ice core record from 6000 to  ∼  750 BP currently does not provide clear evidence that the fire record may be strongly affected by anthropogenic activities during the mid- to late Holocene, although we cannot exclude at least a partial influence.

Common themes and differences in SAM recognition among SAM riboswitches

PubMed Central

Price, Ian R.; Grigg, Jason C.; Ke, Ailong

2014-01-01

The recent discovery of short cis-acting RNA elements termed riboswitches has caused a paradigm shift in our understanding of genetic regulatory mechanisms. The three distinct superfamilies of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) riboswitches are the most commonly found riboswitch classes in nature. These RNAs represent three independent evolutionary solutions to achieve specific SAM recognition. This review summarizes research on 1) modes of gene regulatory mechanisms, 2) common themes and differences in ligand recognition, and 3) ligand-induced conformational dynamics among SAM riboswitch families. The body of work on the SAM riboswitch families constitutes a useful primer to the topic of gene regulatory RNAs as a whole. PMID:24863160

Sound propagation in and radiation from acoustically lined flow ducts: A comparison of experiment and theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plumblee, H. E., Jr.; Dean, P. D.; Wynne, G. A.; Burrin, R. H.

1973-01-01

The results of an experimental and theoretical study of many of the fundamental details of sound propagation in hard wall and soft wall annular flow ducts are reported. The theory of sound propagation along such ducts and the theory for determining the complex radiation impedance of higher order modes of an annulus are outlined, and methods for generating acoustic duct modes are developed. The results of a detailed measurement program on propagation in rigid wall annular ducts with and without airflow through the duct are presented. Techniques are described for measuring cut-on frequencies, modal phase speed, and radial and annular mode shapes. The effects of flow velocity on cut-on frequencies and phase speed are measured. Comparisons are made with theoretical predictions for all of the effects studies. The two microphone method of impedance is used to measure the effects of flow on acoustic liners. A numerical study of sound propagation in annular ducts with one or both walls acoustically lined is presented.

On the relationship between large-scale climate modes and regional synoptic patterns that drive Victorian rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verdon-Kidd, D. C.; Kiem, A. S.

2009-04-01

In this paper regional (synoptic) and large-scale climate drivers of rainfall are investigated for Victoria, Australia. A non-linear classification methodology known as self-organizing maps (SOM) is used to identify 20 key regional synoptic patterns, which are shown to capture a range of significant synoptic features known to influence the climate of the region. Rainfall distributions are assigned to each of the 20 patterns for nine rainfall stations located across Victoria, resulting in a clear distinction between wet and dry synoptic types at each station. The influence of large-scale climate modes on the frequency and timing of the regional synoptic patterns is also investigated. This analysis revealed that phase changes in the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and/or the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) are associated with a shift in the relative frequency of wet and dry synoptic types on an annual to inter-annual timescale. In addition, the relative frequency of synoptic types is shown to vary on a multi-decadal timescale, associated with changes in the Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO). Importantly, these results highlight the potential to utilise the link between the regional synoptic patterns derived in this study and large-scale climate modes to improve rainfall forecasting for Victoria, both in the short- (i.e. seasonal) and long-term (i.e. decadal/multi-decadal scale). In addition, the regional and large-scale climate drivers identified in this study provide a benchmark by which the performance of Global Climate Models (GCMs) may be assessed.

Tropical circulation and precipitation response to ozone depletion and recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brönnimann, Stefan; Jacques-Coper, Martín; Rozanov, Eugene; Fischer, Andreas M.; Morgenstern, Olaf; Zeng, Guang; Akiyoshi, Hideharu; Yamashita, Yousuke

2017-06-01

Among the few well established changes in atmospheric circulation in recent decades are those caused by stratospheric ozone depletion. They include a strengthening and poleward contraction of the westerly atmospheric circulation over the Southern extratropics, i.e. a strengthening Southern Annular Mode (SAM), in austral spring and summer. Associated effects on extratropical temperature and precipitation and more recently subtropical precipitation have been documented and are understood in a zonal mean framework. We present zonally asymmetric effects of ozone depletion that reach into the tropics and affect atmospheric circulation and precipitation, including the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), the most important rainband of the Southern Hemisphere. Using observation-based analyses and model simulations we show that over the 1961-1996 period, ozone depletion led to increased precipitation at the northern flank of the SPCZ and to decreased precipitation to the south. The effects originate from a flow pattern over the southwestern Pacific that extends equatorward and alters the propagation of synoptic waves and thus the position of the SPCZ. Model simulations suggest that anticipated stratospheric ozone recovery over the next decades will reverse these effects.

Association of climate drivers with rainfall in New South Wales, Australia, using Bayesian Model Averaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duc, Hiep Nguyen; Rivett, Kelly; MacSween, Katrina; Le-Anh, Linh

2017-01-01

Rainfall in New South Wales (NSW), located in the southeast of the Australian continent, is known to be influenced by four major climate drivers: the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Many studies have shown the influences of ENSO, IPO modulation, SAM and IOD on rainfall in Australia and on southeast Australia in particular. However, only limited work has been undertaken using a multiple regression framework to examine the extent of the combined effect of these climate drivers on rainfall. This paper analysed the role of these combined climate drivers and their interaction on the rainfall in NSW using Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) to account for model uncertainty by considering each of the linear models across the whole model space which is equal to the set of all possible combinations of predictors to find the model posterior probabilities and their expected predictor coefficients. Using BMA for linear regression models, we are able to corroborate and confirm the results from many previous studies. In addition, the method gives the ranking order of importance and the probability of the association of each of the climate drivers and their interaction on the rainfall at a site. The ability to quantify the relative contribution of the climate drivers offers the key to understand the complex interaction of drivers on rainfall, or lack of rainfall in a region, such as the three big droughts in southeastern Australia which have been the subject of discussion and debate recently on their causes.

Astronaut Sam Gemar works with Middeck O-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE)

NASA Image and Video Library

1994-03-04

STS062-23-017 (4-18 March 1994) --- Astronaut Charles D. (Sam) Gemar, mission specialist, works with Middeck 0-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE) aboard the earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. The reusable test facility is designed to study the nonlinear, gravity-dependent behavior of two types of space hardware -- contained fluids and (as depicted here) large space structures -- planned for future spacecraft.

Active Control of Fan Noise: Feasibility Study. Volume 6; Theoretical Analysis for Coupling of Active Noise Control Actuator Ring Sources to an Annular Duct with Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kraft, R. E.

1996-01-01

The objective of this effort is to develop an analytical model for the coupling of active noise control (ANC) piston-type actuators that are mounted flush to the inner and outer walls of an annular duct to the modes in the duct generated by the actuator motion. The analysis will be used to couple the ANC actuators to the modal analysis propagation computer program for the annular duct, to predict the effects of active suppression of fan-generated engine noise sources. This combined program will then be available to assist in the design or evaluation of ANC systems in fan engine annular exhaust ducts. An analysis has been developed to predict the modes generated in an annular duct due to the coupling of flush-mounted ring actuators on the inner and outer walls of the duct. The analysis has been combined with a previous analysis for the coupling of modes to a cylindrical duct in a FORTRAN computer program to perform the computations. The method includes the effects of uniform mean flow in the duct. The program can be used for design or evaluation purposes for active noise control hardware for turbofan engines. Predictions for some sample cases modeled after the geometry of the NASA Lewis ANC Fan indicate very efficient coupling in both the inlet and exhaust ducts for the m = 6 spinning mode at frequencies where only a single radial mode is cut-on. Radial mode content in higher order cut-off modes at the source plane and the required actuator displacement amplitude to achieve 110 dB SPL levels in the desired mode were predicted. Equivalent cases with and without flow were examined for the cylindrical and annular geometry, and little difference was found for a duct flow Mach number of 0.1. The actuator ring coupling program will be adapted as a subroutine to the cylindrical duct modal analysis and the exhaust duct modal analysis. This will allow the fan source to be defined in terms of characteristic modes at the fan source plane and predict the propagation to the arbitrarily-located ANC source plane. The actuator velocities can then be determined to generate the anti-phase mode. The resulting combined fan source/ANC pressure can then be calculated at any desired wall sensor position. The actuator velocities can be determined manually or using a simulation of a control system feedback loop. This will provide a very useful ANC system design and evaluation tool.

Inelastic electron tunneling process for alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okabayashi, Norio; Paulsson, Magnus; Komeda, Tadahiro

2013-02-01

Recent investigations of inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) for alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are reviewed. Alkanethiol SAMs are usually prepared by immersing a gold substrate into a solution of alkanethiol molecules, and they are very stable, even under ambient conditions. Thus, alkanethiol SAMs have been used as typical molecules for research into molecular electronics. Infrared spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) have frequently been employed to characterize SAMs on the macroscopic scale. For characterization of alkanethiol SAMs on the nanometer scale region, or for single alkanethiol molecules through which electrons actually tunnel, IETS has proven to be an effective method. However, IETS experiments for alkanethiol SAMs employing different methods have shown large differences, i.e., there is a lack of standard data for alkanethiol SAMs with which to understand the IET process or to satisfactorily compare with theoretical investigations. An effective means of acquiring standard data is the formation of a tunneling junction with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). After explanation of the STM experimental techniques, standard IETS data are presented whereby a contact condition between the tip and SAM is tuned. We have found that many vibrational modes are detected by STM-IETS, as is also the case for EELS. These results are compared with IET spectra measured with different tunneling junctions. In order to precisely investigate which vibrational modes are active in IETS, isotope labeling of alkanethiols with specifically synthesized isotopically substituted molecule has been examined. This method provides unambiguous assignments of IET spectra peaks and site selectivity for alkanethiol SAMs such that all parts of the alkanethiol molecules almost equally contribute to the IET process. The IET process is also discussed based on density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green’s function calculations. These results quantitatively reproduce many the experimentally observed features, whereas Fermi’s golden rule for IETS qualitatively explains the propensity rule and site selectivity observed in the experiments. However, comparison between experiment and theory reveals a large difference in IETS intensity for the C-H stretching mode that originates from the side chains of the alkanethiol molecules. In order to explain this difference, we discuss the importance of an intermolecular tunneling process in the SAM. Application of STM-IETS to identify a hydrogenated alkanethiol molecule inserted into a deuterated alkanethiol SAM matrix is also demonstrated.

All optical detection of picosecond spin-wave dynamics in 2D annular antidot lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porwal, Nikita; Mondal, Sucheta; Choudhury, Samiran; De, Anulekha; Sinha, Jaivardhan; Barman, Anjan; Datta, Prasanta Kumar

2018-02-01

Novel magnetic structures with precisely controlled dimensions and shapes at the nanoscale have potential applications in spin logic, spintronics and other spin-based communication devices. We report the fabrication of 2D bi-structure magnonic crystal in the form of embedded nanodots in a periodic Ni80Fe20 antidot lattice structure (annular antidot) by focused ion-beam lithography. The spin-wave spectra of the annular antidot sample, studied for the first time by a time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect microscopy show a remarkable variation with bias field, which is important for the above device applications. The optically induced spin-wave spectra show multiple modes in the frequency range 14.7 GHz-3.5 GHz due to collective interactions between the dots and antidots as well as the annular elements within the whole array. Numerical simulations qualitatively reproduce the experimental results, and simulated mode profiles reveal the spatial distribution of the spin-wave modes and internal magnetic fields responsible for these observations. It is observed that the internal field strength increases by about 200 Oe inside each dot embedded within the hole of annular antidot lattice as compared to pure antidot lattice and pure dot lattice. The stray field for the annular antidot lattice is found to be significant (0.8 kOe) as opposed to the negligible values of the same for the pure dot lattice and pure antidot lattice. Our findings open up new possibilities for development of novel artificial crystals.

Wavelength-versatile graphene-gold film saturable absorber mirror for ultra-broadband mode-locking of bulk lasers.

PubMed

Ma, Jie; Xie, Guoqiang; Lv, Peng; Gao, Wenlan; Yuan, Peng; Qian, Liejia; Griebner, Uwe; Petrov, Valentin; Yu, Haohai; Zhang, Huaijin; Wang, Jiyang

2014-05-23

An ultra-broadband graphene-gold film saturable absorber mirror (GG-SAM) with a spectral coverage exceeding 1300 nm is experimentally demonstrated for mode-locking of bulk solid-state lasers. Owing to the p-type doping effect caused by graphene-gold film interaction, the graphene on gold-film substrate shows a remarkably lower light absorption relative to pristine graphene, which is very helpful to achieve continuous-wave mode-locking in low-gain bulk lasers. Using the GG-SAM sample, stable mode-locking is realized in a Yb:YCOB bulk laser near 1 μm, a Tm:CLNGG bulk laser near 2 μm and a Cr:ZnSe bulk laser near 2.4 μm. The saturable absorption is characterised at an intermediate wavelength of 1.56 μm by pump-probe measurements. The as-fabricated GG-SAM with ultra-broad bandwidth, ultrafast recovery time, low absorption, and low cost has great potential as a universal saturable absorber mirror for mode-locking of various bulk lasers with unprecedented spectral coverage.

Wavelength-Versatile Graphene-Gold Film Saturable Absorber Mirror for Ultra-Broadband Mode-Locking of Bulk Lasers

PubMed Central

Ma, Jie; Xie, Guoqiang; Lv, Peng; Gao, Wenlan; Yuan, Peng; Qian, Liejia; Griebner, Uwe; Petrov, Valentin; Yu, Haohai; Zhang, Huaijin; Wang, Jiyang

2014-01-01

An ultra-broadband graphene-gold film saturable absorber mirror (GG-SAM) with a spectral coverage exceeding 1300 nm is experimentally demonstrated for mode-locking of bulk solid-state lasers. Owing to the p-type doping effect caused by graphene-gold film interaction, the graphene on gold-film substrate shows a remarkably lower light absorption relative to pristine graphene, which is very helpful to achieve continuous-wave mode-locking in low-gain bulk lasers. Using the GG-SAM sample, stable mode-locking is realized in a Yb:YCOB bulk laser near 1 μm, a Tm:CLNGG bulk laser near 2 μm and a Cr:ZnSe bulk laser near 2.4 μm. The saturable absorption is characterised at an intermediate wavelength of 1.56 μm by pump-probe measurements. The as-fabricated GG-SAM with ultra-broad bandwidth, ultrafast recovery time, low absorption, and low cost has great potential as a universal saturable absorber mirror for mode-locking of various bulk lasers with unprecedented spectral coverage. PMID:24853072

Standing wave acoustic levitation on an annular plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kandemir, Mehmet Hakan; Çalışkan, Mehmet

2016-11-01

In standing wave acoustic levitation technique, a standing wave is formed between a source and a reflector. Particles can be attracted towards pressure nodes in standing waves owing to a spring action through which particles can be suspended in air. This operation can be performed on continuous structures as well as in several numbers of axes. In this study an annular acoustic levitation arrangement is introduced. Design features of the arrangement are discussed in detail. Bending modes of the annular plate, known as the most efficient sound generation mechanism in such structures, are focused on. Several types of bending modes of the plate are simulated and evaluated by computer simulations. Waveguides are designed to amplify waves coming from sources of excitation, that are, transducers. With the right positioning of the reflector plate, standing waves are formed in the space between the annular vibrating plate and the reflector plate. Radiation forces are also predicted. It is demonstrated that small particles can be suspended in air at pressure nodes of the standing wave corresponding to a particular bending mode.

Diagnosis of the influence of the solar cycle in the annular character of the NAM using RAM.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de La Torre, L.; Gimeno, L.; Tesouro, M.; Nieto, R.; Añel, J. A.; Ribera, P.; García, R.; Hernández, E.

2003-04-01

It has been suggested that the North Atlantic Oscillation is a regional expression of the so called Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode (NAM), although some evidences have been found against this hypothesis. However, recent studies conect the spatial structure of the NAM with the phase of solar cycle, being annular-like only for the periods of high solar activity. With this work we try to make a contribution to the debate by using atmospheric relative angular momentum (RAM) to diagnose the annular character of the mode. Correlations of RAM vs. temperature and geopotential height at different levels for high activity years show a more zonally extended pattern than those for low activity years. Moreover, the Atlantic pattern is always shown, even when using RAM computed by 60º longitude sectors. On the other hand, the Pacific pattern almost dissapear.

Two-phase flow patterns of a top heat mode closed loop oscillating heat pipe with check valves (THMCLOHP/CV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thongdaeng, S.; Bubphachot, B.; Rittidech, S.

2016-11-01

This research is aimed at studying the two-phase flow pattern of a top heat mode closed loop oscillating heat pipe with check valves. The working fluids used are ethanol and R141b and R11 coolants with a filling ratio of 50% of the total volume. It is found that the maximum heat flux occurs for the R11 coolant used as the working fluid in the case with the inner diameter of 1.8 mm, inclination angle of -90°, evaporator temperature of 125°C, and evaporator length of 50 mm. The internal flow patterns are found to be slug flow/disperse bubble flow/annular flow, slug flow/disperse bubble flow/churn flow, slug flow/bubble flow/annular flow, slug flow/disperse bubble flow, bubble flow/annular flow, and slug flow/annular flow.

Functionalization and Characterization of Gold Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Techane, Sirnegeda D.

2011-12-01

Surface characterization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is necessary to obtain a thorough understanding of the AuNP properties and ultimately realize their full potential in applications. The work described in this dissertation strives to the structure and composition of AuNPs using highly surface sensitive techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) in addition to the more widely used characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-VIS spectroscopy. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols were used to modify AuNPs surfaces to create positively and negatively charged surfaces. Functionalization with carboxylic acid terminated alkanethiol SAMs (COON-SAMs) was first optimized to produce clean and stable negatively charged AuNPs. Using 14nm and 40nm diameter AuNPs in combination with C11 and C16 chain length COOH-SAMs, it was found that addition of NH4OH during functionalization coupled with dialysis purification produced AuNPs that did not aggregate and did not have unbound thiols. Effects of AuNP size and COOH-SAM chain lengths were studied using 14, 25 and 40nm average diameter AuNPs functionalized with C6, C8, C11 and C16 COOH-SAMs. Flat Au surfaces were also functionalized with the COOH-SAMs for comparison. It was shown that the 14nm AuNPs with C16 COOH-SAMs were the most stable and had crystalline-like, well-ordered SAM structures. The SAMs on the 40nm AuNPs had similar surface chemistry as the SAMs on the flat Au surfaces. The effective photoelectron take-off angle of the C16 COOH-SAM decreased when the size of the AuNP increased. It was also shown that when using Kratos AxisUltra DLD XPS instrument in the hybrid mode, it was important to consider effects of both the hybrid mode and the AuNPs curvature when calculating overlayer thickness of the SAMs on AuNPs. Using the Kratos in the electrostatic mode, the overlayer thickness of C16 COON-SAM was 21A on a flat Au surface, which was comparable with previously reported values. However, the apparent thickness of the same SAM on the 14nm AuNPs was 31A, indicating the curvature of the AuNPs had an effect on the XPS measurements. To produce the positively charged AuNP surfaces, amine terminated alkanethiols (NH2 -thiols) with a C2 chain length were used in one-step AuNP synthesis and functionalization process followed by a ligand-exchange reaction with C11 chain length NH2-thiols. It was found that 14 days were needed for the ligand-exchange to be complete. After the ligand-exchange, it was found that the AuNPs with C11 NH2-SAMs were stable and could be purified, unlike AuNPs with C2 NH2-SAMs which aggregated upon purification. The C11 NH2-SAMs had both unbound and oxidized sulfur, which could be removed/converted after hydrochloric acid treatment. SESSA (simulation of electron spectra for surface analysis) allowed better interpretation of the XPS data of SAMs on AuNPs and flat Au. Comparing SESSA and experimental XPS data, it was found that C16 COON-SAM on a flat Au surface was 20A thick with a 1.5A hydrocarbon contamination overlayer and 1.05 relative surface roughness. After geometric weighing of angle-resolved XPS and SESSA data, it was found that C16 COOH-SAMs on 14nm AuNPs were 17A thick with a 1.5A hydrocarbon contamination. The decreased SAM thickness on the AuNPs is likely due to an increased tilt angle of the alkane chains or increased disorder in the SAM.

Common themes and differences in SAM recognition among SAM riboswitches.

PubMed

Price, Ian R; Grigg, Jason C; Ke, Ailong

2014-10-01

The recent discovery of short cis-acting RNA elements termed riboswitches has caused a paradigm shift in our understanding of genetic regulatory mechanisms. The three distinct superfamilies of S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) riboswitches are the most commonly found riboswitch classes in nature. These RNAs represent three independent evolutionary solutions to achieve specific SAM recognition. This review summarizes research on 1) modes of gene regulatory mechanisms, 2) common themes and differences in ligand recognition, and 3) ligand-induced conformational dynamics among SAM riboswitch families. The body of work on the SAM riboswitch families constitutes a useful primer to the topic of gene regulatory RNAs as a whole. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Riboswitches. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High-resolution dynamical downscaling of re-analysis data over the Kerguelen Islands using the WRF model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fonseca, Ricardo; Martín-Torres, Javier

2018-03-01

We have used the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to simulate the climate of the Kerguelen Islands (49° S, 69° E) and investigate its inter-annual variability. Here, we have dynamically downscaled 30 years of the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) over these islands at 3-km horizontal resolution. The model output is found to agree well with the station and radiosonde data at the Port-aux-Français station, the only location in the islands for which observational data is available. An analysis of the seasonal mean WRF data showed a general increase in precipitation and decrease in temperature with elevation. The largest seasonal rainfall amounts occur at the highest elevations of the Cook Ice Cap in winter where the summer mean temperature is around 0 °C. Five modes of variability are considered: conventional and Modoki El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), Subtropical IOD (SIOD) and Southern Annular Mode (SAM). It is concluded that a key mechanism by which these modes impact the local climate is through interaction with the diurnal cycle in particular in the summer season when it has a larger magnitude. One of the most affected regions is the area just to the east of the Cook Ice Cap extending into the lower elevations between the Gallieni and Courbet Peninsulas. The WRF simulation shows that despite the small annual variability, the atmospheric flow in the Kerguelen Islands is rather complex which may also be the case for the other islands located in the Southern Hemisphere at similar latitudes.

Changes in the formation of AAIW and storage of anthropogenic carbon in the South Atlantic in the 1990s and 2000s

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kieke, Dagmar; Steinfeldt, Reiner; Rhein, Monika; Huhn, Oliver

2017-04-01

Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is the most abundant intermediate water mass originating in the southern hemisphere and is easily recognized by its low salinity tongue located at depths between 500 m to 1500 m. As AAIW contributes to the upper limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), knowledge regarding its formation, associated variability, and its vulnerability with respect to the uptake of anthropogenic carbon (Cant) is of high relevance in a world facing increasing atmospheric Cant concentrations and global warming with direct impact on the AMOC strength and variability. We have used transient tracer data (chlorofluorocarbon, CFC) covering the period 1982-2005 to calculate CFC inventories and to derive rates of AAIW formation in the South Atlantic. Tracer data collected prior to 1995 have been referenced to 1990 and data from 1995 onwards to the year 2000. This allows to assess the changes in formation between these two periods. As a major result, we find a significant decrease in the formation of AAIW in the South Atlantic. Based on the tracer data and applying the transit time distribution (TTD) method, we have furthermore estimated changes in the inventories and storage of Cant within the AAIW. We find that the reduction of AAIW formation has severe implications for the uptake of Cant within this layer in the South Atlantic. Our results are discussed in the light of long-term changes regarding the strength of the surface forcing over the western South Atlantic and variations in the phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). A decrease in the AAIW formation can partly be attributed to a weakening in the surface forcing that correlates to variations in the SAM.

Integrated population modeling reveals the impact of climate on the survival of juvenile emperor penguins.

PubMed

Abadi, Fitsum; Barbraud, Christophe; Gimenez, Olivier

2017-03-01

Early-life demographic traits are poorly known, impeding our understanding of population processes and sensitivity to climate change. Survival of immature individuals is a critical component of population dynamics and recruitment in particular. However, obtaining reliable estimates of juvenile survival (i.e., from independence to first year) remains challenging, as immatures are often difficult to observe and to monitor individually in the field. This is particularly acute for seabirds, in which juveniles stay at sea and remain undetectable for several years. In this work, we developed a Bayesian integrated population model to estimate the juvenile survival of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), and other demographic parameters including adult survival and fecundity of the species. Using this statistical method, we simultaneously analyzed capture-recapture data of adults, the annual number of breeding females, and the number of fledglings of emperor penguins collected at Dumont d'Urville, Antarctica, for the period 1971-1998. We also assessed how climate covariates known to affect the species foraging habitats and prey [southern annular mode (SAM), sea ice concentration (SIC)] affect juvenile survival. Our analyses revealed that there was a strong evidence for the positive effect of SAM during the rearing period (SAMR) on juvenile survival. Our findings suggest that this large-scale climate index affects juvenile emperor penguins body condition and survival through its influence on wind patterns, fast ice extent, and distance to open water. Estimating the influence of environmental covariates on juvenile survival is of major importance to understand the impacts of climate variability and change on the population dynamics of emperor penguins and seabirds in general and to make robust predictions on the impact of climate change on marine predators. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Structural analysis of a putative SAM-dependent methyltransferase, YtqB, from Bacillus subtilis.

PubMed

Park, Sun Cheol; Song, Wan Seok; Yoon, Sung-il

2014-04-18

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferases (MTases) methylate diverse biological molecules using a SAM cofactor. The ytqB gene of Bacillus subtilis encodes a putative MTase and its biological function has never been characterized. To reveal the structural features and the cofactor binding mode of YtqB, we have determined the crystal structures of YtqB alone and in complex with its cofactor, SAM, at 1.9 Å and 2.2 Å resolutions, respectively. YtqB folds into a β-sheet sandwiched by two α-helical layers, and assembles into a dimeric form. Each YtqB monomer contains one SAM binding site, which shapes SAM into a slightly curved conformation and exposes the reactive methyl group of SAM potentially to a substrate. Our comparative structural analysis of YtqB and its homologues indicates that YtqB is a SAM-dependent class I MTase, and provides insights into the substrate binding site of YtqB. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Summary Report of Mission Acceleration Measurements for STS-79. Launched 16 Sep. 1996

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Melissa J. B.; Moskowitz, Milton E.; Hrovat, Kenneth; Reckart, Timothy A.

1997-01-01

The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) collected acceleration data in support of the Mechanics of Granular Materials experiment during the STS-79 Mir docking mission, September 1996. STS-79 was the first opportunity to record SAMS data on an Orbiter while it was docked to Mir. Crew exercise activities in the Atlantis middeck and the Mir base module are apparent in the data. The acceleration signals related to the Enhanced Orbiter Refrigerator Freezer had different characteristics when comparing the data recorded on Atlantis on STS-79 with the data recorded on Mir during STS-74. This is probably due, at least in part, to different transmission paths and SAMS sensor head mounting mechanisms. Data collected on Atlantis during the STS-79 docking indicate that accelerations due to vehicle and solar array structural modes from Mir transfer to Atlantis and that the structural modes of the Atlantis-Mir complex are different from those of either vehicle independently. A 0.18 Hz component of the SAMS data, present while the two vehicles were docked, was probably caused by the Mir solar arrays. Compared to Atlantis structural modes of about 3.9 and 4.9 Hz, the Atlantis-Mir complex has structural components of about 4.5 and 5.1 Hz. After docking, apparent structural modes appeared in the data at about 0.8 and 1.8 Hz. The appearance, disappearance, and change in the structural modes during the docking and undocking phases of the joint Atlantis-Mir operations indicates that the structural modes of the two spacecraft have an effect on the microgravity environment of each other. The transfer of structural and equipment related accelerations between vehicles is something that should be considered in the International Space Station era.

Structural basis for diversity in the SAM clan of riboswitches.

PubMed

Trausch, Jeremiah J; Xu, Zhenjiang; Edwards, Andrea L; Reyes, Francis E; Ross, Phillip E; Knight, Rob; Batey, Robert T

2014-05-06

In bacteria, sulfur metabolism is regulated in part by seven known families of riboswitches that bind S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM). Direct binding of SAM to these mRNA regulatory elements governs a downstream secondary structural switch that communicates with the transcriptional and/or translational expression machinery. The most widely distributed SAM-binding riboswitches belong to the SAM clan, comprising three families that share a common SAM-binding core but differ radically in their peripheral architecture. Although the structure of the SAM-I member of this clan has been extensively studied, how the alternative peripheral architecture of the other families supports the common SAM-binding core remains unknown. We have therefore solved the X-ray structure of a member of the SAM-I/IV family containing the alternative "PK-2" subdomain shared with the SAM-IV family. This structure reveals that this subdomain forms extensive interactions with the helix housing the SAM-binding pocket, including a highly unusual mode of helix packing in which two helices pack in a perpendicular fashion. Biochemical and genetic analysis of this RNA reveals that SAM binding induces many of these interactions, including stabilization of a pseudoknot that is part of the regulatory switch. Despite strong structural similarity between the cores of SAM-I and SAM-I/IV members, a phylogenetic analysis of sequences does not indicate that they derive from a common ancestor.

Stable switching among high-order modes in polariton condensates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yongbao; Yoon, Yoseob; Khan, Saeed; Ge, Li; Steger, Mark; Pfeiffer, Loren N.; West, Ken; Türeci, Hakan E.; Snoke, David W.; Nelson, Keith A.

2018-01-01

We report multistate optical switching among high-order bouncing-ball modes ("ripples") and whispering-gallery modes ("petals") of exciton-polariton condensates in a laser-generated annular trap. By tailoring the diameter and power of the annular trap, the polariton condensate can be switched among different trapped modes, accompanied by redistribution of spatial densities and superlinear increase in the emission intensities, implying that polariton condensates in this geometry could be exploited for an all-optical multistate switch. A model based on non-Hermitian modes of the generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation reveals that this mode switching arises from competition between pump-induced gain and in-plane polariton loss. The parameters for reproducible switching among trapped modes have been measured experimentally, giving us a phase diagram for mode switching. Taken together, the experimental result and theoretical modeling advance our fundamental understanding of the spontaneous emergence of coherence and move us toward its practical exploitation.

Pictorial Format Display Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-05-01

FIGR) under- Contract No. F33615-81-C-3610. Dr. John M. Reising served as Project Manager .with Capt. Carole Jean Kopala and, later, Major James S...Typo (SAM or AAA) Mode (Seahr, trac or launch) Air or Troak or Treat Type (MIG 21, MIK 23. SAM. or AAA" aa le Iunc Mode (Sara, trock or- lmxch) Clock...presentation (l pilot). Should come up automatically (I pilot). Airplane this smart should be able to fix these problems and just announce fix (1 pilot

Azimuthally spinning wave modes and heat release in an annular combustor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nygard, Hakon; Mazur, Marek; Dawson, James R.; Worth, Nicholas A.

2017-11-01

In order to reduce NOx emissions from aeroengines and stationary gas turbines the fuel-air mixture can be made leaner, at the risk of introducing potentially damaging thermo-acoustic instabilities. At present this phenomenon is not understood well enough to eliminate these instabilities at the design stage. Recently, the presence of different azimuthal modes in annular combustors has been demonstrated both experimentally and numerically. These naturally occurring instabilities in annular geometry have been observed to constantly switch between spinning and standing modes, making it more difficult to analyse the flame structure and dynamics. Very recently this issue was partially addressed using novel acoustic forcing to generate a standing mode. In the present study this concept has been developed further by creating an azimuthal array of loud speakers, which for the first time permits predominantly spinning modes to be set up inside the combustion chamber. The use of pressure and high speed OH* measurements enables the study of the flame dynamics and heat release rate oscillations of the combustor, which will be reported in the current paper. The ability to precisely control the azimuthal mode of oscillation greatly enhances our further understanding of the phenomenon. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No 677931 TAIAC).

Inelastic Tunneling Spectroscopy of Alkanethiol Molecules: High-Resolution Spectroscopy and Theoretical Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okabayashi, Norio; Paulsson, Magnus; Ueba, Hiromu; Konda, Youhei; Komeda, Tadahiro

2010-02-01

We investigate inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) for alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAM) with a scanning tunneling microscope and compare it to first-principles calculations. Using a combination of partial deuteration of the molecule and high-resolution measurements, we identify and differentiate between methyl (CH3) and methylene (CH2) groups and their symmetric and asymmetric C-H stretch modes. The calculations agree quantitatively with the measured IETS in producing the weight of the symmetric and asymmetric C-H stretch modes while the methylene stretch mode is largely underestimated. We further show that inelastic intermolecular scattering is important in the SAM by plotting the theoretical current densities.

New insights into the use of stable water isotopes at the northern Antarctic Peninsula as a tool for regional climate studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandoy, Francisco; Tetzner, Dieter; Meyer, Hanno; Gacitúa, Guisella; Hoffmann, Kirstin; Falk, Ulrike; Lambert, Fabrice; MacDonell, Shelley

2018-03-01

Due to recent atmospheric and oceanic warming, the Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most challenging regions of Antarctica to understand in terms of both local- and regional-scale climate signals. Steep topography and a lack of long-term and in situ meteorological observations complicate the extrapolation of existing climate models to the sub-regional scale. Therefore, new techniques must be developed to better understand processes operating in the region. Isotope signals are traditionally related mainly to atmospheric conditions, but a detailed analysis of individual components can give new insight into oceanic and atmospheric processes. This paper aims to use new isotopic records collected from snow and firn cores in conjunction with existing meteorological and oceanic datasets to determine changes at the climatic scale in the northern extent of the Antarctic Peninsula. In particular, a discernible effect of sea ice cover on local temperatures and the expression of climatic modes, especially the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), is demonstrated. In years with a large sea ice extension in winter (negative SAM anomaly), an inversion layer in the lower troposphere develops at the coastal zone. Therefore, an isotope-temperature relationship (δ-T) valid for all periods cannot be obtained, and instead the δ-T depends on the seasonal variability of oceanic conditions. Comparatively, transitional seasons (autumn and spring) have a consistent isotope-temperature gradient of +0.69 ‰ °C-1. As shown by firn core analysis, the near-surface temperature in the northern-most portion of the Antarctic Peninsula shows a decreasing trend (-0.33 °C year-1) between 2008 and 2014. In addition, the deuterium excess (dexcess) is demonstrated to be a reliable indicator of seasonal oceanic conditions, and therefore suitable to improve a firn age model based on seasonal dexcess variability. The annual accumulation rate in this region is highly variable, ranging between 1060 and 2470 kg m-2 year-1 from 2008 to 2014. The combination of isotopic and meteorological data in areas where data exist is key to reconstruct climatic conditions with a high temporal resolution in polar regions where no direct observations exist.

Transverse spin and transverse momentum in scattering of plane waves.

PubMed

Saha, Sudipta; Singh, Ankit K; Ray, Subir K; Banerjee, Ayan; Gupta, Subhasish Dutta; Ghosh, Nirmalya

2016-10-01

We study the near field to the far field evolution of spin angular momentum (SAM) density and the Poynting vector of the scattered waves from spherical scatterers. The results show that at the near field, the SAM density and the Poynting vector are dominated by their transverse components. While the former (transverse SAM) is independent of the helicity of the incident circular polarization state, the latter (transverse Poynting vector) depends upon the polarization state. It is further demonstrated that the interference of the transverse electric and transverse magnetic scattering modes enhances both the magnitudes and the spatial extent of the transverse SAM and the transverse momentum components.

A thickness-mode piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducer annular array using a PMN–PZT single crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Woojin; Jung, Joontaek; Lee, Wonjun; Ryu, Jungho; Choi, Hongsoo

2018-07-01

Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) technologies were used to develop a thickness-mode piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (Tm-pMUT) annular array utilizing a lead magnesium niobate–lead zirconate titanate (PMN–PZT) single crystal prepared by the solid-state single-crystal-growth method. Dicing is a conventional processing method for PMN–PZT single crystals, but MEMS technology can be adopted for the development of Tm-pMUT annular arrays and has various advantages, including fabrication reliability, repeatability, and a curved element shape. An inductively coupled plasma–reactive ion etching process was used to etch a brittle PMN–PZT single crystal selectively. Using this process, eight ring-shaped elements were realized in an area of 1  ×  1 cm2. The resonance frequency and effective electromechanical coupling coefficient of the Tm-pMUT annular array were 2.66 (±0.04) MHz, 3.18 (±0.03) MHz, and 30.05%, respectively, in the air. The maximum positive acoustic pressure in water, measured at a distance of 7.27 mm, was 40 kPa from the Tm-pMUT annular array driven by a 10 Vpp sine wave at 2.66 MHz without beamforming. The proposed Tm-pMUT annular array using a PMN–PZT single crystal has the potential for various applications, such as a fingerprint sensor, and for ultrasonic cell stimulation and low-intensity tissue stimulation.

Advective pathways near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula: Trends, variability and ecosystem implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renner, Angelika H. H.; Thorpe, Sally E.; Heywood, Karen J.; Murphy, Eugene J.; Watkins, Jon L.; Meredith, Michael P.

2012-05-01

Pathways and rates of ocean flow near the Antarctic Peninsula are strongly affected by frontal features, forcings from the atmosphere and the cryosphere. In the surface mixed layer, the currents advect material from the northwestern Weddell Sea on the eastern side of the Peninsula around the tip of the Peninsula to its western side and into the Scotia Sea, connecting populations of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and supporting the ecosystem of the region. Modelling of subsurface drifters using a particle tracking algorithm forced by the velocity fields of a coupled sea ice-ocean model (ORCA025-LIM2) allows analysis of the seasonal and interannual variability of drifter pathways over 43 years. The results show robust and persistent connections from the Weddell Sea both to the west into the Bellingshausen Sea and across the Scotia Sea towards South Georgia, reproducing well the observations. The fate of the drifters is sensitive to their deployment location, in addition to other factors. From the shelf of the eastern Antarctic Peninsula, the majority enter the Bransfield Strait and subsequently the Bellingshausen Sea. When originating further offshore over the deeper Weddell Sea, drifters are more likely to cross the South Scotia Ridge and reach South Georgia. However, the wind field east and southeast of Elephant Island, close to the tip of the Peninsula, is crucial for the drifter trajectories and is highly influenced by the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Increased advection and short travel times to South Georgia, and reduced advection to the western Antarctic Peninsula can be linked to strong westerlies, a signature of the positive phase of the SAM. The converse is true for the negative phase. Strong westerlies and shifts of ocean fronts near the tip of the Peninsula that are potentially associated with both the SAM and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation restrict the connection from the Weddell Sea to the west, and drifters then predominantly follow the open paths to South Georgia and the east. Over the 43-year time series, the number of drifters advected into the Bellingshausen Sea decreases significantly by 23% and the travel time to South Georgia shortens significantly by 19% which corresponds to 56 days. We propose that these trends are linked, at least in part, to the increasingly positive trend in the SAM and, as such, this suggests an additional anthropogenic source of change to the regional ecosystem.

Radial electron-beam-breakup transit-time oscillator

DOEpatents

Kwan, Thomas J. T.; Mostrom, Michael A.

1998-01-01

A radial electron-beam-breakup transit-time oscillator (RBTO) provides a compact high power microwave generator. The RBTO includes a coaxial vacuum transmission line having an outer conductor and an inner conductor. The inner conductor defines an annular cavity with dimensions effective to support an electromagnetic field in a TEM.sub.00m mode. A radial field emission cathode is formed on the outer conductor for providing an electron beam directed toward the annular cavity electrode. Microwave energy is then extracted from the annular cavity electrode.

APPARATUS FOR ARC WELDING

DOEpatents

Lingafelter, J.W.

1960-04-01

An apparatus is described in which a welding arc created between an annular electrode and a workpiece moves under the influence of an electromagnetic field about the electrode in a closed or annular path. This mode of welding is specially suited to the enclosing of nuclear-fuel slugs in a protective casing. For example, a uranium slug is placed in an aluminum can, and an aluminum closure is welded to the open end of the can along a closed or annular path conforming to the periphery of the end closure.

Social Activity Method (SAM): A Fractal Language for Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowling, Paul

2013-01-01

In this paper I shall present and develop my organisational language, "social activity method" (SAM), and illustrate some of its applications. I shall introduce a new scheme for "modes of recontextualisation" that enables the analysis of the ways in which one activity--which might be school mathematics or social research or any…

Nonlinear distortion of thin liquid sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehring, Carsten Ralf

Thin planar, annular and conical liquid sheets or films are analyzed, in a unified manner, by means of a reduced- dimension approach providing governing equations for the nonlinear motion of planar and swirling annular thin inviscid and incompressible liquid sheets in zero gravity and with axial disturbances only. Temporal analyses of periodically disturbed infinite sheets are considered, as well as spatial analyses of semi-infinite sheets modulated at the nozzle exit. Results on planar and swirling annular or conical sheets are presented for a zero density ambient gas. Here, conical sheets are obtained in the nearfield of the nozzle exit by considering sheets or films with swirl in excess of that needed to stabilize the discharging stream in its annular configuration. For nonswirling annular sheets a spatially and/or temporally constant gas-core pressure is assumed. A model extension considering the influence of aerodynamic effects on planar sheets is proposed. For planar and annular sheets, linear analyses of the pure initial- and pure boundary-value problem provide insight into the propagation characteristics of dilational and sinuous waves, the (linear) coupling between both wave modes, the stability limits for the annular configuration, as well as the appearance of particular waves on semi-infinite modulated sheets downstream from the nozzle exit. Nonlinear steady-state solutions for the conical configuration (without modulation) are illustrated. Comparison between nonlinear and linear numerical and linear analytical solutions for temporally or spatially developing sheets provides detailed information on the nonlinear distortion characteristics including nonlinear wave propagation and mode-coupling for all the considered geometric configurations and for a variety of parameter configurations. Sensitivity studies on the influence of Weber number, modulation frequency, annular radius, forcing amplitude and sheet divergence on breakup or collapse length and times are reported for modulated semi-infinite annular and conical sheets. Comparisons between the different geometric configurations are made. For periodically disturbed planar sheets, accuracy of the employed reduced-dimension approach is demonstrated by comparison with more accurate two-dimensional vortex dynamics simulations.

Surface adhesion and confinement variation of Staphylococcus aurius on SAM surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amroski, Alicia; Olsen, Morgan; Calabrese, Joseph; Senevirathne, Reshani; Senevirathne, Indrajith

2012-02-01

Controlled surface adhesion of non - pathogenic gram positive strain, Staphylococcus aureus is interesting as a model system due to possible development of respective biosensors for prevention and detection of the pathogenic strain methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and further as a study for bio-machine interfacing. Self Assembled Monolayers (SAM) with engineered surfaces of linear thiols on Au(111) were used as the substrate. Sub cultured S. aureus were used for the analysis. The SAM layered surfaces were dipped in 2 -- 4 Log/ml S. aureus solution. Subsequent surface adhesion at different bacterial dilutions on surfaces will be discussed, and correlated with quantitative and qualitative adhesion properties of bacteria on the engineered SAM surfaces. The bacteria adhered SAM surfaces were investigated using intermittent contact, noncontact, lateral force and contact modes of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).

CD and NMR conformational studies of a peptide encompassing the Mid Loop interface of Ship2-Sam.

PubMed

Mercurio, Flavia A; Scognamiglio, Pasqualina L; Di Natale, Concetta; Marasco, Daniela; Pellecchia, Maurizio; Leone, Marilisa

2014-11-01

The lipid phosphatase Ship2 is a protein that intervenes in several diseases such as diabetes, cancer, neurodegeneration, and atherosclerosis. It is made up of a catalytic domain and several protein docking modules such as a C-terminal Sam (Sterile alpha motif) domain. The Sam domain of Ship2 (Ship2-Sam) binds to the Sam domains of the EphA2 receptor (EphA2-Sam) and the PI3K effector protein Arap3 (Arap3-Sam). These heterotypic Sam-Sam interactions occur through formation of dimers presenting the canonical "Mid Loop/End Helix" binding mode. The central region of Ship2-Sam, spanning the C-terminal end of α2, the α3 and α4 helices together with the α2α3 and α3α4 interhelical loops, forms the Mid Loop surface that is needed to bind partners Sam domains. A peptide encompassing most of the Ship2-Sam Mid Loop interface (Shiptide) capable of binding to both EphA2-Sam and Arap3-Sam, was previously identified. Here we investigated the conformational features of this peptide, through solution CD and NMR studies in different conditions. These studies reveal that the peptide is highly flexible in aqueous buffer, while it adopts a helical conformation in presence of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. The discovered structural insights and in particular the identification of a helical motif, may lead to the design of more constrained and possibly cell permeable Shiptide analogs that could work as efficient antagonists of Ship2-Sam heterotypic interactions and embrace therapeutic applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Understanding Wave-mean Flow Feedbacks and Tropospheric Annular Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, D. J.

2016-12-01

The structure of internal tropospheric variability is important for determining the impact of the stratosphere on the troposphere. This study aims to better understand the fundamental dynamical mechanisms that control the feedbacks between the eddies and the mean flow, which in turn select the tropospheric annular mode. Recent work using Rossby Wave Chromatography suggests that "barotropic processes", which directly impact the meridional propagation of wave activity (specifically the reflectivity of the poleward flank of the mid-latitude jet), are more important for the positive feedback between the annular mode and the eddies than "baroclinic processes", which involve changes in the generation of wave activity by baroclinic instability. In this study, experiments with a fully nonlinear quasi-geostrophic model are discussed which provide independent confirmation of the importance of barotropic versus baroclinic processes. The experiments take advantage of the steady-state balance at upper-levels between the meridional gradient in diabatic heating and the second derivative of the upper-level EP flux divergence. Simulations with standard Newtonian heating are compared to simulations with constant-in-time heating taken from the climatology of the standard run and it is found that the forced annular mode response to changes in surface friction is very similar. Moreover, as expected from the annular mode response, the eddy momentum fluxes are also very similar. This is despite the fact that the upper-level EP flux divergence is very different between the two simulations (upper-level EP flux divergence must remain constant in the constant heating simulation while in the standard simulation there is no such constraint). The upper-level balances are maintained by a large change in the baroclinic wave source (i.e. vertical EP flux), which is accompanied by little momentum flux change. Therefore the eddy momentum fluxes appear to be relatively insensitive to the wave activity source. A more detailed comparison suggests a helpful rule-of-thumb relating the amplitude of the baroclinic wave source to the upper-level vorticity flux forced by this wave source.

Study of optical reflectance properties in 1D annular photonic crystal containing double negative (DNG) metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Sanjeev K.; Aghajamali, Alireza

2016-05-01

Theoretical investigation of photonic band gaps or reflection bands in one-dimensional annular photonic crystal (APC) containing double negative (DNG) metamaterials and air has been presented. The proposed structure consists of the alternate layers of dispersive DNG material and air immersed in free space. In order to study photonic band gaps we obtain the reflectance spectrum of the annular PC by employing the transfer matrix method (TMM) in the cylindrical waves for both TE and TM polarizations. In this work we study the effect of azimuthal mode number (m) and starting radius (ρ0) on the three band gaps viz. zero averaged refractive index (zero-nbar) gap, zero permittivity (zero- ε) and zero permeability (zero- μ) gaps. It is found that for m ≥ 1 , zero- μ gap appears in TE mode and zero- ε gap appears in TM mode. The width of both zero- μ and zero- ε gap increases by increasing m values, but the enhancement of zero- μ gap is more appreciable. Also, the effect of ρ0 on the three band gaps (reflection bands) of annular PC structure at the given m-number has been studied, for both TE and TM polarizations. The result shows that in both polarizations zero- ε and zero- μ gaps decreases when ρ0 increases, whereas zero-nbar gap remains invariant.

Future Effects of Southern Hemisphere Stratospheric Zonal Asymmetries on Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, K.; Solomon, S.; Kinnison, D. E.; Fyfe, J. C.

2017-12-01

Stratospheric zonal asymmetries in the Southern Hemisphere have been shown to have significant influences on both stratospheric and tropospheric dynamics and climate. Accurate representation of stratospheric ozone in particular is important for realistic simulation of the polar vortex strength and temperature trends. This is therefore also important for stratospheric ozone change's effect on the troposphere, both through modulation of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), and more localized climate. Here, we characterization the impact of future changes in Southern Hemisphere zonal asymmetry on tropospheric climate, including changes to future tropospheric temperature, and precipitation. The separate impacts of increasing GHGs and ozone recovery on the zonal asymmetric influence on the surface are also investigated. For this purpose, we use a variety of models, including Chemistry Climate Model Initiative simulations from the Community Earth System Model, version 1, with the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (CESM1(WACCM)) and the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator-Chemistry Climate Model (ACCESS-CCM). These models have interactive chemistry and can therefore more accurately represent the zonally asymmetric nature of the stratosphere. The CESM1(WACCM) and ACCESS-CCM models are also compared to simulations from the Canadian Can2ESM model and CESM-Large Ensemble Project (LENS) that have prescribed ozone to further investigate the importance of simulating stratospheric zonal asymmetry.

Fast scanning mode and its realization in a scanning acoustic microscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ju, Bing-Feng; Bai, Xiaolong; Chen, Jian

2012-03-01

The scanning speed of the two-dimensional stage dominates the efficiency of mechanical scanning measurement systems. This paper focused on a detailed scanning time analysis of conventional raster and spiral scan modes and then proposed two fast alternative scanning modes. Performed on a self-developed scanning acoustic microscope (SAM), the measured images obtained by using the conventional scan mode and fast scan modes are compared. The total scanning time is reduced by 29% of the two proposed fast scan modes. It will offer a better solution for high speed scanning without sacrificing the system stability, and will not introduce additional difficulties to the configuration of scanning measurement systems. They can be easily applied to the mechanical scanning measuring systems with different driving actuators such as piezoelectric, linear motor, dc motor, and so on. The proposed fast raster and square spiral scan modes are realized in SAM, but not specially designed for it. Therefore, they have universal adaptability and can be applied to other scanning measurement systems with two-dimensional mechanical scanning stages, such as atomic force microscope or scanning tunneling microscope.

Spatial Analysis and Modeling Systems (SAMS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vermillion, Charles; Chan, Paul; Hill, John; Jaske, Robert; Rochon, Gilbert; Stetina, Fran

1991-01-01

The objective is to develop a uniform environmental data gathering and distribution system to support (1) emergency management for environmental disasters, and (2) the calibration and validation of remotely sensed data. Initial activities will be to select a data test site and to demonstrate multi-discipline applications using simulated or satellite data in a non real-time mode. Rainfall and flooding are chosen as the testbeds for the SAMS concept because of the abundance of data and the availability of models. The capability to display and process GOES data and analyze GOES generated rain-rate maps will be integrated into SAMS.

Structural insights into SAM domain-mediated tankyrase oligomerization.

PubMed

DaRosa, Paul A; Ovchinnikov, Sergey; Xu, Wenqing; Klevit, Rachel E

2016-09-01

Tankyrase 1 (TNKS1; a.k.a. ARTD5) and tankyrase 2 (TNKS2; a.k.a ARTD6) are highly homologous poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) that function in a wide variety of cellular processes including Wnt signaling, Src signaling, Akt signaling, Glut4 vesicle translocation, telomere length regulation, and centriole and spindle pole maturation. Tankyrase proteins include a sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain that undergoes oligomerization in vitro and in vivo. However, the SAM domains of TNKS1 and TNKS2 have not been structurally characterized and the mode of oligomerization is not yet defined. Here we model the SAM domain-mediated oligomerization of tankyrase. The structural model, supported by mutagenesis and NMR analysis, demonstrates a helical, homotypic head-to-tail polymer that facilitates TNKS self-association. Furthermore, we show that TNKS1 and TNKS2 can form (TNKS1 SAM-TNKS2 SAM) hetero-oligomeric structures mediated by their SAM domains. Though wild-type tankyrase proteins have very low solubility, model-based mutations of the SAM oligomerization interface residues allowed us to obtain soluble TNKS proteins. These structural insights will be invaluable for the functional and biophysical characterization of TNKS1/2, including the role of TNKS oligomerization in protein poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) and PARylation-dependent ubiquitylation. © 2016 The Protein Society.

The SAM domain inhibits EphA2 interactions in the plasma membrane.

PubMed

Singh, Deo R; Ahmed, Fozia; Paul, Michael D; Gedam, Manasee; Pasquale, Elena B; Hristova, Kalina

2017-01-01

All members of the Eph receptor family of tyrosine kinases contain a SAM domain near the C terminus, which has been proposed to play a role in receptor homotypic interactions and/or interactions with binding partners. The SAM domain of EphA2 is known to be important for receptor function, but its contribution to EphA2 lateral interactions in the plasma membrane has not been determined. Here we use a FRET-based approach to directly measure the effect of the SAM domain on the stability of EphA2 dimers on the cell surface in the absence of ligand binding. We also investigate the functional consequences of EphA2 SAM domain deletion. Surprisingly, we find that the EphA2 SAM domain inhibits receptor dimerization and decreases EphA2 tyrosine phosphorylation. This role is dramatically different from the role of the SAM domain of the related EphA3 receptor, which we previously found to stabilize EphA3 dimers and increase EphA3 tyrosine phosphorylation in cells in the absence of ligand. Thus, the EphA2 SAM domain likely contributes to a unique mode of EphA2 interaction that leads to distinct signaling outputs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Virtual cathode microwave generator having annular anode slit

DOEpatents

Kwan, Thomas J. T.; Snell, Charles M.

1988-01-01

A microwave generator is provided for generating microwaves substantially from virtual cathode oscillation. Electrons are emitted from a cathode and accelerated to an anode which is spaced apart from the cathode. The anode has an annular slit therethrough effective to form the virtual cathode. The anode is at least one range thickness relative to electrons reflecting from the virtual cathode. A magnet is provided to produce an optimum magnetic field having the field strength effective to form an annular beam from the emitted electrons in substantial alignment with the annular anode slit. The magnetic field, however, does permit the reflected electrons to axially diverge from the annular beam. The reflected electrons are absorbed by the anode in returning to the real cathode, such that substantially no reflexing electrons occur. The resulting microwaves are produced with a single dominant mode and are substantially monochromatic relative to conventional virtual cathode microwave generators.

Auxiliary iron-sulfur cofactors in radical SAM enzymes.

PubMed

Lanz, Nicholas D; Booker, Squire J

2015-06-01

A vast number of enzymes are now known to belong to a superfamily known as radical SAM, which all contain a [4Fe-4S] cluster ligated by three cysteine residues. The remaining, unligated, iron ion of the cluster binds in contact with the α-amino and α-carboxylate groups of S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM). This binding mode facilitates inner-sphere electron transfer from the reduced form of the cluster into the sulfur atom of SAM, resulting in a reductive cleavage of SAM to methionine and a 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical. The 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical then abstracts a target substrate hydrogen atom, initiating a wide variety of radical-based transformations. A subset of radical SAM enzymes contains one or more additional iron-sulfur clusters that are required for the reactions they catalyze. However, outside of a subset of sulfur insertion reactions, very little is known about the roles of these additional clusters. This review will highlight the most recent advances in the identification and characterization of radical SAM enzymes that harbor auxiliary iron-sulfur clusters. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Fe/S proteins: Analysis, structure, function, biogenesis and diseases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Teleconnections in the Presence of Climate Change: A Case Study of the Annular Modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerber, Edwin; Baldwin, Mark

2010-05-01

Long model integrations of future and past climates present a problem for defining teleconnection patterns through Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) or correlation analysis when trends in the underlying climate begin to dominate the covariance structure. Similar issues may soon appear in observations as the record becomes longer, especially if climate trends accelerate. The Northern and Southern Annular Modes provide a prime example, because the poleward shift of the jet streams strongly projects onto these patterns, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. Climate forecasts of the 21st century by chemistry climate models provide a case study. Computation of the annular modes in these long data sets with secular trends requires refinement of the standard definition of the annular mode, and a more robust procedure that allows for slowly varying trends is established and verified. The new procedure involves two key changes. First, the global mean geopotential height is removed at each time step before computing anomalies. This is particularly important high in the atmosphere, where seasonal variations in geopotential height become significant, and filters out trends due to changes in the temperature structure of the atmosphere. Pattern definition can be very sensitive near the tropopause, as regions of the atmosphere that used to be more of stratospheric character begin to take on tropospheric characteristics as the tropopause rises. The second change is to define anomalies relative to a slowly evolving seasonal climatology, so that the covariance structure reflects internal variability. Once these changes are accounted for, it is found that the zonal mean variability of the atmosphere stays remarkably constant, despite significant changes in the baseline climate forecast for the rest of the century. This stability of the internal variability makes it possible to relate trends in climate to teleconnections.

Even the Odd Numbers Help: Failure Modes of SAM-Based Tunnel Junctions Probed via Odd-Even Effects Revealed in Synchrotrons and Supercomputers.

PubMed

Thompson, Damien; Nijhuis, Christian A

2016-10-18

This Account describes a body of research in atomic level design, synthesis, physicochemical characterization, and macroscopic electrical testing of molecular devices made from ferrocene-functionalized alkanethiol molecules, which are molecular diodes, with the aim to identify, and resolve, the failure modes that cause leakage currents. The mismatch in size between the ferrocene headgroup and alkane rod makes waxlike highly dynamic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on coinage metals that show remarkable atomic-scale sensitivity in their electrical properties. Our results make clear that molecular tunnel junction devices provide an excellent testbed to probe the electronic and supramolecular structures of SAMs on inorganic substrates. Contacting these SAMs to a eutectic "EGaIn" alloy top-electrode, we designed highly stable long-lived molecular switches of the form electrode-SAM-electrode with robust rectification ratios of up to 3 orders of magnitude. The graphic that accompanies this conspectus displays a computed SAM packing structure, illustrating the lollipop shape of the molecules that gives dynamic SAM supramolecular structures and also the molecule-electrode van der Waals (vdW) contacts that must be controlled to form good SAM-based devices. In this Account, we first trace the evolution of SAM-based electronic devices and rationalize their operation using energy level diagrams. We describe the measurement of device properties using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy complemented by molecular dynamics and electronic structure calculations together with large numbers of electrical measurements. We discuss how data obtained from these combined experimental/simulation codesign studies demonstrate control over the supramolecular and electronic structure of the devices, tuning odd-even effects to optimize inherent packing tendencies of the molecules in order to minimize leakage currents in the junctions. It is now possible, but still very costly to create atomically smooth electrodes and we discuss progress toward masking electrode imperfections using cooperative molecule-electrode contacts that are only accessible by dynamic SAM structures. Finally, the unique ability of SAM devices to achieve simultaneously high and atom-sensitive electrical switching is summarized and discussed. While putting these structures to work as real world electronic devices remains very challenging, we speculate on the scientific and technological advances that are required to further improve electronic and supramolecular structure, toward the creation of high yields of long-lived molecular devices with (very) large, reproducible rectification ratios.

Basis for ligand discrimination between ON and OFF state riboswitch conformations: The case of the SAM-I riboswitch

PubMed Central

Boyapati, Vamsi Krishna; Huang, Wei; Spedale, Jessica; Aboul-ela, Fareed

2012-01-01

Riboswitches are RNA elements that bind to effector ligands and control gene expression. Most consist of two domains. S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAM) binds the aptamer domain of the SAM-I riboswitch and induces conformational changes in the expression domain to form an intrinsic terminator (transcription OFF state). Without SAM the riboswitch forms the transcription ON state, allowing read-through transcription. The mechanistic link between the SAM/aptamer recognition event and subsequent secondary structure rearrangement by the riboswitch is unclear. We probed for those structural features of the Bacillus subtilis yitJ SAM-I riboswitch responsible for discrimination between the ON and OFF states by SAM. We designed SAM-I riboswitch RNA segments forming “hybrid” structures of the ON and OFF states. The choice of segment constrains the formation of a partial P1 helix, characteristic of the OFF state, together with a partial antiterminator (AT) helix, characteristic of the ON state. For most choices of P1 vs. AT helix lengths, SAM binds with micromolar affinity according to equilibrium dialysis. Mutational analysis and in-line probing confirm that the mode of SAM binding by hybrid structures is similar to that of the aptamer. Altogether, binding measurements and in-line probing are consistent with the hypothesis that when SAM is present, stacking interactions with the AT helix stabilize a partially formed P1 helix in the hybrids. Molecular modeling indicates that continuous stacking between the P1 and the AT helices is plausible with SAM bound. Our findings raise the possibility that conformational intermediates may play a role in ligand-induced aptamer folding. PMID:22543867

Basis for ligand discrimination between ON and OFF state riboswitch conformations: the case of the SAM-I riboswitch.

PubMed

Boyapati, Vamsi Krishna; Huang, Wei; Spedale, Jessica; Aboul-Ela, Fareed

2012-06-01

Riboswitches are RNA elements that bind to effector ligands and control gene expression. Most consist of two domains. S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAM) binds the aptamer domain of the SAM-I riboswitch and induces conformational changes in the expression domain to form an intrinsic terminator (transcription OFF state). Without SAM the riboswitch forms the transcription ON state, allowing read-through transcription. The mechanistic link between the SAM/aptamer recognition event and subsequent secondary structure rearrangement by the riboswitch is unclear. We probed for those structural features of the Bacillus subtilis yitJ SAM-I riboswitch responsible for discrimination between the ON and OFF states by SAM. We designed SAM-I riboswitch RNA segments forming "hybrid" structures of the ON and OFF states. The choice of segment constrains the formation of a partial P1 helix, characteristic of the OFF state, together with a partial antiterminator (AT) helix, characteristic of the ON state. For most choices of P1 vs. AT helix lengths, SAM binds with micromolar affinity according to equilibrium dialysis. Mutational analysis and in-line probing confirm that the mode of SAM binding by hybrid structures is similar to that of the aptamer. Altogether, binding measurements and in-line probing are consistent with the hypothesis that when SAM is present, stacking interactions with the AT helix stabilize a partially formed P1 helix in the hybrids. Molecular modeling indicates that continuous stacking between the P1 and the AT helices is plausible with SAM bound. Our findings raise the possibility that conformational intermediates may play a role in ligand-induced aptamer folding.

An analysis of surface air temperature trends and variability along the Andes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franquist, Eric S.

Climate change is difficult to study in mountainous regions such as the Andes since steep changes in elevation cannot always be resolved by climate models. However, it is important to examine temperature trends in this region as rises in surface air temperature are leading to the melting of tropical glaciers. Local communities rely on the glacier-fed streamflow to get their water for drinking, irrigation, and livestock. Moreover, communities also rely on the tourism of hikers who come to the region to view the glaciers. As the temperatures increase, these glaciers are no longer in equilibrium with their current climate and are receding rapidly and decreasing the streamflow. This thesis examines surface air temperature from 858 weather stations across Ecuador, Peru, and Chile in order to analyze changes in trends and variability. Three time periods were studied: 1961--1990, 1971--2000, and 1981--2010. The greatest warming occurred during the period of 1971--2000 with 92% of the stations experiencing positive trends with a mean of 0.24°C/decade. There was a clear shift toward cooler temperatures at all latitudes and below elevations of 500 m during the most recent time period studied (1981--2010). Station temperatures were more strongly correlated with the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), than the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). A principal component analysis confirmed ENSO as the main contributor of variability with the most influence in the lower latitudes. There were clear multidecadal changes in correlation strength for the PDO. The PDO contributed the most to the increases in station temperature trends during the 1961--1990 period, consistent with the PDO shift to the positive phase in the middle of this period. There were many strong positive trends at individual stations during the 1971--2000 period; however, these trends could not fully be attributed to ENSO, PDO, or SAM, indicating anthropogenic effects of greenhouse gas emissions as the most likely cause.

January 2016 West Antarctic Melt Event: Large Scale Forcing and Local Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bromwich, D. H.; Nicolas, J. P.

2017-12-01

A huge surface melt event occurred in January 2016 that affected a large portion of the Ross Ice Shelf and adjacent parts of Marie Byrd Land of West Antarctica. It coincided with one of the strongest El Niño events on record in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The El Niño teleconnection pattern in the South Pacific Ocean favors the advection of warm, moist air into the western part of West Antarctica. At the same time strong westerly winds over the Southern Ocean, captured by the Southern Annular Mode or SAM, were strong before, during, and after the melting episode, and these tend to limit the transport of marine air into the Ross Ice Shelf region. This prominent melt event demonstrates that extensive melting can happen regardless of the state of the SAM when the El Niño forcing is strong. Furthermore, because climate models project more frequent major El Niños in the future with a warming climate, we can expect more major surface melt events in West Antarctica as the 21st century unfolds. The melting event occurred in part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet that the ice sheet modeling study of DeConto and Pollard (2016) suggests is prone to collapse as a result of extreme greenhouse warming. This melt event happened while an important field campaign, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE), was ongoing in central West Antarctica. The observations collected during this campaign provided unique insight into some of the physical mechanisms governing surface melting in this otherwise data-sparse region. In particular, these observations highlighted the presence of low-level liquid-water clouds, which aided the radiative heating of the snow surface from both shortwave and longwave radiation, reminiscent of summer melting conditions in Greenland. The resulting large flux of energy into the snow pack was reflected in increased satellite microwave brightness temperatures that were used to follow the evolution of the widespread melting.

Changes in Andes snow cover from MODIS data, 2000-2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saavedra, Freddy A.; Kampf, Stephanie K.; Fassnacht, Steven R.; Sibold, Jason S.

2018-03-01

The Andes span a length of 7000 km and are important for sustaining regional water supplies. Snow variability across this region has not been studied in detail due to sparse and unevenly distributed instrumental climate data. We calculated snow persistence (SP) as the fraction of time with snow cover for each year between 2000 and 2016 from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite sensors (500 m, 8-day maximum snow cover extent). This analysis is conducted between 8 and 36° S due to high frequency of cloud (> 30 % of the time) south and north of this range. We ran Mann-Kendall and Theil-Sens analyses to identify areas with significant changes in SP and snowline (the line at lower elevation where SP = 20 %). We evaluated how these trends relate to temperature and precipitation from Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications-2 (MERRA2) and University of Delaware datasets and climate indices as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Southern Annular Mode (SAM), and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Areas north of 29° S have limited snow cover, and few trends in snow persistence were detected. A large area (34 370 km2) with persistent snow cover between 29 and 36° S experienced a significant loss of snow cover (2-5 fewer days of snow year-1). Snow loss was more pronounced (62 % of the area with significant trends) on the east side of the Andes. We also found a significant increase in the elevation of the snowline at 10-30 m year-1 south of 29-30° S. Decreasing SP correlates with decreasing precipitation and increasing temperature, and the magnitudes of these correlations vary with latitude and elevation. ENSO climate indices better predicted SP conditions north of 31° S, whereas the SAM better predicted SP south of 31° S.

Regional Changes in the Sea Ice Cover and Ice Production in the Antarctic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comiso, Josefino C.

2011-01-01

Coastal polynyas around the Antarctic continent have been regarded as sea ice factories because of high ice production rates in these regions. The observation of a positive trend in the extent of Antarctic sea ice during the satellite era has been intriguing in light of the observed rapid decline of the ice extent in the Arctic. The results of analysis of the time series of passive microwave data indicate large regional variability with the trends being strongly positive in the Ross Sea, strongly negative in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas and close to zero in the other regions. The atmospheric circulation in the Antarctic is controlled mainly by the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the marginal ice zone around the continent shows an alternating pattern of advance and retreat suggesting the presence of a propagating wave (called Antarctic Circumpolar Wave) around the circumpolar region. The results of analysis of the passive microwave data suggest that the positive trend in the Antarctic sea ice cover could be caused primarily by enhanced ice production in the Ross Sea that may be associated with more persistent and larger coastal polynyas in the region. Over the Ross Sea shelf, analysis of sea ice drift data from 1992 to 2008 yields a positive rate-of-increase in the net ice export of about 30,000 km2 per year. For a characteristic ice thickness of 0.6 m, this yields a volume transport of about 20 km3/year, which is almost identical, within error bars, to our estimate of the trend in ice production. In addition to the possibility of changes in SAM, modeling studies have also indicated that the ozone hole may have a role in that it causes the deepening of the lows in the western Antarctic region thereby causing strong winds to occur offthe Ross-ice shelf.

Turbofan aft duct suppressor study program listing and user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joshi, M. C.; Kraft, R. E.

1983-01-01

A description of the structure of the Annular Flow Duct Program (AFDP) for the calculation of acoustic suppression due to treatment in a finite length annular duct carrying sheared flow is presented. Although most appropriate for engine exhaust ducts, this program can be used to study sound propagation in any duct that maintains annular geometry over a considerable length of the duct. The program is based on the modal analysis of sound propagation in ducts with axial segments of different wall impedances. For specified duct geometry, wall impedance, flow and acoustic conditions in the duct (including mode amplitude distribution of the source) and duct termination reflection characteristics, the program calculates the suppression due to the treatment in the duct. The presence of forward and backward traveling modes in the duct due to the reflection and redistribution of modes at segment interfaces and duct end terminations are taken into account in the calculations. The effects of thin wall boundary layers (with a linear or mean flow velocity profile) on the acoustic propagation are also included in the program. A functional description of the major subroutines is included and a sample run is provided with an explanation of the output.

Phase 3 experiments of the JAERI/USDOE collaborative program on fusion blanket neutronics. Volume 1: Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oyama, Yukio; Konno, Chikara; Ikeda, Yujiro; Maekawa, Fujio; Kosako, Kazuaki; Nakamura, Tomoo; Maekawa, Hiroshi; Youssef, Mahmoud Z.; Kumar, Anil; Abdou, Mohamed A.

1994-02-01

A pseudo-line source has been realized by using an accelerator based D-T point neutron source. The pseudo-line source is obtained by time averaging of continuously moving point source or by superposition of finely distributed point sources. The line source is utilized for fusion blanket neutronics experiments with an annular geometry so as to simulate a part of a tokamak reactor. The source neutron characteristics were measured for two operational modes for the line source, continuous and step-wide modes, with the activation foil and the NE213 detectors, respectively. In order to give a source condition for a successive calculational analysis on the annular blanket experiment, the neutron source characteristics was calculated by a Monte Carlo code. The reliability of the Monte Carlo calculation was confirmed by comparison with the measured source characteristics. The shape of the annular blanket system was a rectangular with an inner cavity. The annular blanket was consist of 15 mm-thick first wall (SS304) and 406 mm-thick breeder zone with Li2O at inside and Li2CO3 at outside. The line source was produced at the center of the inner cavity by moving the annular blanket system in the span of 2 m. Three annular blanket configurations were examined; the reference blanket, the blanket covered with 25 mm thick graphite armor and the armor-blanket with a large opening. The neutronics parameters of tritium production rate, neutron spectrum and activation reaction rate were measured with specially developed techniques such as multi-detector data acquisition system, spectrum weighting function method and ramp controlled high voltage system. The present experiment provides unique data for a higher step of benchmark to test a reliability of neutronics design calculation for a realistic tokamak reactor.

Summary Report of Mission Acceleration Measurements for STS-89: Launched January 22, 1998

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hrovat, Kenneth; McPherson, Kevin

1999-01-01

Support of microgravity research on the 89th flight of the Space Transportation System (STS-89) and a continued effort to characterize the acceleration environment of the Space Shuttle Orbiter and the Mir Space Station form the basis for this report. For the STS-89 mission, the Space Shuttle Endeavour was equipped with a Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) unit, which collected more than a week's worth of data. During docked operations with Mir, a second SAMS unit collected approximately a day's worth of data yielding the only set of acceleration measurements recorded simultaneously on the two spacecraft. Based on the data acquired by these SAMS units, this report serves to characterize a number of acceleration events and quantify their impact on the local nature of the accelerations experienced at the Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM) experiment location. Crew activity was shown to nearly double the median root-mean-square (RMS) acceleration level calculated below 10 Hz, while the Enhanced Orbiter Refrigerator/Freezer operating at about 22 Hz was a strong acceleration source in the vicinity of the MGM location. The MGM science requirement that the acceleration not exceed q I mg was violated numerous times during their experiment runs; however, no correlation with sample instability has been found to this point. Synchronization between the SAMS data from Endeavour and from Mir was shown to be close much of the time, but caution with respect to exact timing should be exercised when comparing these data. When orbiting as a separate vehicle prior to docking, Endeavour had prominent structural modes above 3 Hz, while Mir exhibited a cluster of modes around 1 Hz. When mated, a transition to common modes was apparent in the two SAMS data sets. This report is not a comprehensive analysis of the acceleration data, so those interested in further details should contact the Principal Investigator Microgravity Services team at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's John H. Glenn Research Center.

SAM Gcms Chromatography Performed at Mars : Elements of Interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szopa, C.; Coll, P. J.; Buch, A.; François, P.; Cabane, M.; Coscia, D.; Teinturier, S.; Navarro-Gonzalez, R.; Glavin, D. P.; Freissinet, C.; Mahaffy, P. R.

2013-12-01

The characterisation of the chemical and mineralogical composition of regolith samples collected with the Curiosity rover is a primary objective of the SAM experiment. These data should provide essential clues on the past habitability of Gale crater. Interpretation of the data collected after SAM pyrolysis evolved gas analysis (EGA) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) experiments on the first soil samples collected by MSL at the Rocknest Aeolian Deposit in Gale Crater has been challenging due to the concomitant presence in the ovens of an oxychlorine phase present in the samples, and a derivatization agent coming from the SAM wet chemistry experiment (Glavin et al., 2013). Moreover, accurate identification and quantification, in the SAM EGA mode, of volatiles released from the heated sample, or generated by reactions occurring in the SAM pyrolysis oven, is also difficult for a few compounds due to evolution over similar temperature ranges and overlap of their MS signatures. Hence, the GC analyses, coupled with MS, enabled the separation and identification and quantification of most of the volatile compounds detected. These results can have been obtained through tests and calibration done with GC individual spare components and with the SAM testbed. This paper will present a view of the interpretation of the chromatograms obtained when analyzing the Rocknest and John Klein solid samples delivered to SAM, on sols 96 and 199 respectively, supported by laboratory calibrations.

Single-mode annular chirally-coupled core fibers for fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Haitao; Hao, He; He, Linlu; Gong, Mali

2018-03-01

Chirally-coupled core (CCC) fiber can transmit single fundamental mode and effectively suppresses higher-order mode (HOM) propagation, thus improve the beam quality. However, the manufacture of CCC fiber is complicated due to its small side core. To decrease the manufacture difficulty in China, a novel fiber structure is presented, defined as annular chirally-coupled core (ACCC) fiber, replacing the small side core by a larger side annulus. In this paper, we designed the fiber parameters of this new structure, and demonstrated that the new structure has a similar property of single mode with traditional CCC fiber. Helical coordinate system was introduced into the finite element method (FEM) to analyze the mode field in the fiber, and the beam propagation method (BPM) was employed to analyze the influence of the fiber parameters on the mode loss. Based on the result above, the fiber structure was optimized for efficient single-mode transmission, in which the core diameter is 35 μm with beam quality M2 value of 1.04 and an optical to optical conversion efficiency of 84%. In this fiber, fundamental mode propagates in an acceptable loss, while the HOMs decay rapidly.

Frequency-dependent behavior of the barotropic and baroclinic modes of zonal jet variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheshadri, A.; Plumb, R. A.

2016-12-01

Stratosphere-troposphere interactions are frequently described in terms of the leading modes of variability, i.e. the annular modes. An idealized dynamical core model is used to explore the differences between the low- and high- frequency (periods greater and less than 30 days) behavior of the first two principal components of zonal mean zonal wind and eddy kinetic energy, i.e., the barotropic/baroclinic annular modes of variability of the extratropical circulation. The modes show similar spatial characteristics in the different frequency ranges considered, however the ranking of the modes switches in some cases from one range to the other. There is some cancelation in the signatures of eddy heat flux and eddy kinetic energy in the leading low-pass and high-pass filtered zonal wind mode, partly explaining their small signature in the total. At low frequencies, the first zonal wind mode describes latitudinal shifts of both the midlatitude jet and its associated storm tracks, and the persistence of zonal wind anomalies appears to be sustained primarily by a baroclinic, rather than a barotropic, feedback. On shorter time scales, the behavior is more complicated and transient.

Structural insights into SAM domain‐mediated tankyrase oligomerization

PubMed Central

DaRosa, Paul A.; Ovchinnikov, Sergey

2016-01-01

Abstract Tankyrase 1 (TNKS1; a.k.a. ARTD5) and tankyrase 2 (TNKS2; a.k.a ARTD6) are highly homologous poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerases (PARPs) that function in a wide variety of cellular processes including Wnt signaling, Src signaling, Akt signaling, Glut4 vesicle translocation, telomere length regulation, and centriole and spindle pole maturation. Tankyrase proteins include a sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain that undergoes oligomerization in vitro and in vivo. However, the SAM domains of TNKS1 and TNKS2 have not been structurally characterized and the mode of oligomerization is not yet defined. Here we model the SAM domain‐mediated oligomerization of tankyrase. The structural model, supported by mutagenesis and NMR analysis, demonstrates a helical, homotypic head‐to‐tail polymer that facilitates TNKS self‐association. Furthermore, we show that TNKS1 and TNKS2 can form (TNKS1 SAM‐TNKS2 SAM) hetero‐oligomeric structures mediated by their SAM domains. Though wild‐type tankyrase proteins have very low solubility, model‐based mutations of the SAM oligomerization interface residues allowed us to obtain soluble TNKS proteins. These structural insights will be invaluable for the functional and biophysical characterization of TNKS1/2, including the role of TNKS oligomerization in protein poly(ADP‐ribosyl)ation (PARylation) and PARylation‐dependent ubiquitylation. PMID:27328430

Resonant optical transmission through sub-wavelength annular apertures caused by a plasmonic transverse electromagnetic (TEM) mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ndao, A.; Salvi, J.; Salut, R.; Bernal, M.-P.; Alaridhee, T.; Belkhir, A.; Baida, F. I.

2014-12-01

We demonstrate enhanced transmission through annular aperture arrays (AAA) by the excitation of the transverse electromagnetic (TEM) guided mode. A complete numerical study is performed to correctly design the structure before it is experimentally characterized. Actually, the challenge was to get efficient TEM-based transmission in the visible range. It turned out to be a hard task because of the strong absorption associated with this guided mode. Nevertheless, we have succeeded to experimentally prove its excitation thanks to the enhanced transmission measured in the far-field. This is the first time we demonstrate experimental evidence of this phenomenon with such AAA structure illuminated at oblique incidence in the visible range. This increases the potential applications of such structures as well, single molecule spectroscopy, photovoltaic, spectral filtering, optical trapping, etc...

Annular beam with segmented phase gradients

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, Shubo; Wu, Liang; Tao, Shaohua, E-mail: eshtao@csu.edu.cn

2016-08-15

An annular beam with a single uniform-intensity ring and multiple segments of phase gradients is proposed in this paper. Different from the conventional superposed vortices, such as the modulated optical vortices and the collinear superposition of multiple orbital angular momentum modes, the designed annular beam has a doughnut intensity distribution whose radius is independent of the phase distribution of the beam in the imaging plane. The phase distribution along the circumference of the doughnut beam can be segmented with different phase gradients. Similar to a vortex beam, the annular beam can also exert torques and rotate a trapped particle owingmore » to the orbital angular momentum of the beam. As the beam possesses different phase gradients, the rotation velocity of the trapped particle can be varied along the circumference. The simulation and experimental results show that an annular beam with three segments of different phase gradients can rotate particles with controlled velocities. The beam has potential applications in optical trapping and optical information processing.« less

Self-Assembled Monolayers of Dithiophosphinic Acids on Gold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

San Juan, Ronan Roca

This dissertation reports the synthesis of derivatives of dithiophosphinic acids (R1R2DTPAs), and the formation and characterization of DTPA SAMs on gold to build a knowledge base on their nature of binding, organization of the alkyl chains and electrochemical barrier properties. The binding of DTPA molecules on gold depends on the morphology of the gold film: They bind in a mixed monodentate and bidentate modes on standard as-deposited (As-Dep) gold, while they fully chelate on smoother template-stripped (TS) gold. Chapter 2 focuses on van der Waals interactions of various alkyl chain lengths of symmetrical R2DTPA SAMs, which increase with increasing chain lengths similar to those of the analogous n-alkanethiol SAMs, but with alkyl chains that are generally less dense than those of n-alkanethiol SAMs. Chapter 3 addresses why the DTPA compounds do not chelate on the standard As-Dep gold by comparing (C16)2DTPA SAM to (C16 )2DDP SAM. Here, side chain crystallinity stabilizes DTPA SAM structure at the expense of chelation of the DTPA molecules, which leads to a mixture of bidentate and monodentate DTPA molecules, whereas the increased flexibility of the chains in DDP due to the oxygen atoms retains chelation of the DDP molecules. Chapter 4 focuses on the SAMs formed from RlongRshort DTPAs, which shows that the length of the short chain spacer affects SAM packing density and thickness. The SAMs of these molecules also show homogeneous mixing of Rlong and Rshort chains. Chapter 5 investigates PhRDTPA SAMs in preparation for molecular junction studies. The chelation of PhRDTPA molecules on TS gold allows the PhRDTPAs to act as molecular alligator clips. The length of the alkyl chains controls the density of the phenyl group and they fill in the voids between adsorbates to prevent electrical shorting. Finally, Chapter 6 incorporates OH tail group(s) to control the wettability of DTPA SAMs. The presence of OH groups in DTPAs forms hydrophilic SAMs. The symmetrical OH-terminated DTPA forms a SAM with similar packing density to that of an analogous CH3-terminated DTPA SAM, while the OH/CH 3-terminated DTPA forms a thin SAM with low molecular packing, however, the chains of this SAM are homogeneously mixed.

Transverse spin in the scattering of focused radially and azimuthally polarized vector beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Ankit Kumar; Saha, Sudipta; Gupta, Subhasish Dutta; Ghosh, Nirmalya

2018-04-01

We study the effect of focusing of the radially and azimuthally polarized vector beams on the spin angular momentum (SAM) density and Poynting vector of scattered waves from a Mie particle. Remarkably, the study reveals that the SAM density of the scattered field is solely transverse in nature for radially and azimuthally polarized incident vector beams; however, the Poynting vector shows the usual longitudinal character. We also demonstrate that the transverse SAM density can further be tuned with wavelength and focusing of the incident beam by exploiting the interference of different scattering modes. These results may stimulate further experimental techniques to detect the transverse spin and Belinfante's spin-momentum densities.

Acoustic theory of axisymmetric multisectioned ducts. [reduction of turbofan engine noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zorumski, W. E.

1974-01-01

Equations are developed for the acoustic field in a duct system which is made up of a number of connected circular and annular ducts. These equations are suitable for finding the acoustic field inside of and radiated from an aircraft turbofan engine. Acoustic modes are used as generalized coordinates in order to develop a set of matrix equations for the acoustic field. Equations for these modes are given for circular and annular ducts with uniform flow. Modal source equations are derived for point acoustic sources. General equations for mode transmission and reflection are developed and detailed equations are derived for ducts with multiple sections of acoustic treatment and for ducts with circumferential splitter rings. The general theory is applied to the special case of a uniform area circular duct with multisection liners and it is shown that the mode reflection effects are proportional to differences of the acoustic admittances of adjacent liners. A numerical example is given which shows that multisection liners may provide greater noise suppression than uniform liners.

Propagating annular modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheshadri, A.; Plumb, R. A.

2017-12-01

The leading "annular mode", defined as the dominant EOF of surface pressure or of zonal mean zonal wind variability, appears as a dipolar structure straddling the mean midlatitude jet and thus seems to describe north-south wobbling of the jet latitude. However, extratropical zonal wind anomalies frequently tend to migrate poleward. This behavior can be described by the first two EOFs, the first (AM1) being the dipolar structure, and the second (AM2) having a tripolar structure centered on the mean jet. Taken in isolation, AM1 thus describes a north-south wobbling of the jet position, while AM2 describes a strengthening and narrowing of the jet. However, despite the fact that they are spatially orthogonal, and their corresponding time series temporally orthogonal, AM1 and AM2 are not independent, but show significant lag-correlations which reveal the propagation. The EOFs are not modes of the underlying dynamical system governing the zonal flow evolution. The true modes can be estimated using principal oscillation pattern (POP) analysis. In the troposphere, the leading POPs manifest themselves as a pair of complex conjugate structures with conjugate eigenvalues thus, in reality, constituting a single, complex, mode that describes propagating anomalies. Even though the principal components associated with the two leading EOFs decay at different rates, each decays faster than the true mode. These facts have implications for eddy feedback and the susceptibility of the mode to external perturbations. If one interprets the annular modes as the modes of the system, then simple theory predicts that the response to steady forcing will usually be dominated by AM1 (with the longest time scale). However, such arguments should really be applied to the true modes. Experiments with a simplified GCM show that climate response to perturbations do not necessarily have AM1 structures. Implications of these results for stratosphere-troposphere interactions are explored. The POP structures are shown to be independent of any weighting (unlike the EOFs, the structures and time scales of which change substantially with pressure weighting), a fact that is particularly important for a deep system such as the troposphere and stratospere. The structure and time evolution of coupled modes of the troposphere-stratosphere system are studied.

First Detection of Non-Chlorinated Organic Molecules Indigenous to a Martian Sample

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freissinet, C.; Glavin, D. P.; Buch, A.; Szopa, C.; Summons, R. E.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Archer, P. D., Jr.; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Brunner, A. E.; Cabane, M.;

Performance of chemical vapor deposition fabricated graphene absorber mirror in Yb3+ : Sc2SiO5 mode-locked laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Wei; Li, Yaqi; Zhu, Hongtong; Jiang, Shouzhen; Xu, Shicai; Liu, Jie; Zheng, Lihe; Su, Liangbi; Xu, Jun

2014-12-01

A reflective graphene saturable absorber mirror (SAM) was successfully fabricated by chemical vapor deposition technology. A stable diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb3+:Sc2SiO5 laser using a graphene SAM as a saturable absorber was accomplished for the first time. The measured average output power amounts to 351 mW under the absorbed pump power of 12.5 W. Without prisms compensating for dispersion, the minimum pulse duration of 7 ps with a repetition rate of 97 MHz has been obtained at the central wavelength of 1063 nm. The corresponding peak power and the maximum pulse energy were 516 W and 3.6 nJ, respectively.

Systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve associated with right ventricular systolic hypertension in 9 dogs.

PubMed

Paige, Christopher F; Abbott, Jonathan A; Pyle, R Lee

2007-05-01

To describe the zoographic and echocardiographic characteristics of canine patients in which systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve (SAM) was identified in association with right ventricular systolic hypertension (RVSH). Medical records and digitally recorded echocardiographic examinations were reviewed for RVSH and two-dimensional (2DE) or M-mode echocardiographic evidence of SAM. SAM was identified in association with RSVH in 9 patients; 5 had pulmonic stenosis, 2 had tetralogy of Fallot and 2, pulmonary hypertension. Relative to body weight, the end-diastolic and end-systolic left ventricular dimensions were subnormal in all patients. Hyperdynamic left ventricular systolic performance was identified in 8 of 9 patients. In 5 of the 9 patients, SAM was mild or moderate in degree. Left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction and mitral valve regurgitation were documented by Doppler studies in only 3 of the 4 patients with marked SAM. However, late systolic acceleration within the LVOT was recorded in 2 additional patients for whom peak velocities were normal. In the cases described here, the presence of SAM is likely explained by alterations in left ventricular geometry and function associated with diminished pulmonary venous return together with sympathetic activation resulting from subnormal stroke volume. Although the hemodynamic consequences were apparently minor, the association of SAM with right-sided heart disease might be of interest to those engaged in the practice of veterinary echocardiography.

Interannual Variation in Phytoplankton Class-specific Primary Production at a Global Scale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rousseaux, Cecile; Gregg, Watson

2014-01-01

Phytoplankton is responsible for over half of the net primary production on earth. The knowledge on the contribution of various phytoplankton groups to the total primary production is still poorly understood. Data from satellite observations suggest that for upwelling regions, photosynthetic rates by microplankton is higher than that of nanoplankton but that when the spatial extent is considered, the production by nanoplankton is comparable or even larger than microplankton. Here, we used the NASA Ocean Biogeochemical Model (NOBM) combined with remote sensing data via assimilation to evaluate the contribution of 4 phytoplankton groups to the total primary production. Globally, diatoms were the group that contributed the most to the total phytoplankton production (approx. 50%) followed by coccolithophores and chlorophytes. Primary production by diatoms was highest in high latitude (>45 deg) and in major upwelling systems (Equatorial Pacific and Benguela system). We assessed the effects of climate variability on the class-specific primary production using global (i.e. Multivariate El Nino Index, MEI) and 'regional' climate indices (e.g. Southern Annular Mode (SAM), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)). Most interannual variability occurred in the Equatorial Pacific and was associated with climate variability. These results provide a modeling and data assimilation perspective to phytoplankton partitioning of primary production and contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of the carbon cycle in the oceans at a global scale.

Ice core and climate reanalysis analogs to predict Antarctic and Southern Hemisphere climate changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayewski, P. A.; Carleton, A. M.; Birkel, S. D.; Dixon, D.; Kurbatov, A. V.; Korotkikh, E.; McConnell, J.; Curran, M.; Cole-Dai, J.; Jiang, S.; Plummer, C.; Vance, T.; Maasch, K. A.; Sneed, S. B.; Handley, M.

2017-01-01

A primary goal of the SCAR (Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research) initiated AntClim21 (Antarctic Climate in the 21st Century) Scientific Research Programme is to develop analogs for understanding past, present and future climates for the Antarctic and Southern Hemisphere. In this contribution to AntClim21 we provide a framework for achieving this goal that includes: a description of basic climate parameters; comparison of existing climate reanalyses; and ice core sodium records as proxies for the frequencies of marine air mass intrusion spanning the past ∼2000 years. The resulting analog examples include: natural variability, a continuation of the current trend in Antarctic and Southern Ocean climate characterized by some regions of warming and some cooling at the surface of the Southern Ocean, Antarctic ozone healing, a generally warming climate and separate increases in the meridional and zonal winds. We emphasize changes in atmospheric circulation because the atmosphere rapidly transports heat, moisture, momentum, and pollutants, throughout the middle to high latitudes. In addition, atmospheric circulation interacts with temporal variations (synoptic to monthly scales, inter-annual, decadal, etc.) of sea ice extent and concentration. We also investigate associations between Antarctic atmospheric circulation features, notably the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL), and primary climate teleconnections including the SAM (Southern Annular Mode), ENSO (El Nîno Southern Oscillation), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the AMO (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), and solar irradiance variations.

Microwave generator

DOEpatents

Kwan, T.J.T.; Snell, C.M.

1987-03-31

A microwave generator is provided for generating microwaves substantially from virtual cathode oscillation. Electrons are emitted from a cathode and accelerated to an anode which is spaced apart from the cathode. The anode has an annular slit there through effective to form the virtual cathode. The anode is at least one range thickness relative to electrons reflecting from the virtual cathode. A magnet is provided to produce an optimum magnetic field having the field strength effective to form an annular beam from the emitted electrons in substantial alignment with the annular anode slit. The magnetic field, however, does permit the reflected electrons to axially diverge from the annular beam. The reflected electrons are absorbed by the anode in returning to the real cathode, such that substantially no reflexing electrons occur. The resulting microwaves are produced with a single dominant mode and are substantially monochromatic relative to conventional virtual cathode microwave generators. 6 figs.

Characteristic analysis and comparison of two kinds of hybrid plasmonic annular resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Jie; Shi, Feifei; Zhou, Taojie; He, Kebo; Qiu, Bocang; Zhang, Zhaoyu

2017-04-01

We designed two kinds of hybrid plasmonic annular resonators with different cross-sectional shapes, i.e., a square and circle called "square ring" and "circle ring" resonators, respectively. Both resonators feature an ultracompact mode volume of ˜10-4 μm3 and a relatively high-quality factor of ˜102 at a submicron footprint within our studied wavelength range from 400 to 900 nm. Their performance as defined by the Q/V ratio (quality factor over mode volume) is enhanced considerably with a reduction in their physical dimensions. There exists critical annular radii, which increase from 400 to 600 nm with an increase in the azimuthal numbers from m=7 to m=10, if the two types of rings are compared with the same mode numbers and same ring thickness of 120 nm. Below the critical radii, the circle ring resonator outperforms the square ring resonator in terms of the Q/V ratio, and the difference in Q/V of the two types of rings increases rapidly with the decrease of the radii. On the other hand, they have critical annular radii of ˜250 nm, below which the square ring resonator outperforms the circle ring resonator at the wavelengths of 490 and 595 nm however, the difference in Q/V of the two types of rings remains small within the radii range we consider. It is suggested that, in practice, with the consideration of the wavelength of green emission for these two ring structures with radii from 100 to 500 nm and ring thickness ˜120 nm, they have a negligible difference in Q/V performance.

Standardized added metabolic activity (SAM): a partial volume independent marker of total lesion glycolysis in liver metastases.

PubMed

Mertens, Jeroen; Dobbeleir, André; Ham, Hamphrey; D'Asseler, Yves; Goethals, Ingeborg; Van de Wiele, Christophe

2012-09-01

The standardized added metabolic activity (SAM) is a new marker of total lesion glycolysis that avoids partial volume effect (PVE) and thresholding. SAM is calculated by drawing a volume of interest (VOI(1)) around the tumour and a larger VOI (VOI(2)) around VOI(1). Subtracting the background activity in VOI(2)-VOI(1) from VOI(1) yields SAM. If VOI(1) is set at a reasonable distance from the tumour, PVE are avoided. Phantom and initial clinical validation data are presented. Spheres of a Jaszczak phantom were filled with a 5.4, 3.64 and 2.0 times higher concentration relative to background activity and positron emission tomography (PET) data were acquired during 10 min. SAM of all spheres was expressed as a percentage of the expected value (the actual activity ratio minus 1). In 15 patients a 10-min list-mode acquisition PET study centred on their primary squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) was performed and images of 1-10 min reconstructed. SAM1-9min values of PSCC were expressed as a percentage of SAM10min. Nineteen patients suffering from liver metastases treated with chemotherapy underwent PET/CT prior to (scan 1) and after 3-6 cycles of chemotherapy (scan 2). SAM and maximum standardized uptake values (SUV(max)) of the liver lesions on scan 1 (SAM1 and SUV(max)1) and the percentage reduction between both ΔSAM and ΔSUV(max) were related to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) response. For the phantom acquisitions, the mean normalized SAM/sphere volume calculated was 94.9 % (SD 5.9 %) of the expected value. In the PSCC patients, the mean difference between SAM1min and SAM10min was only 4 % (SD 5 %). SUV(max)1min and SUV(max)10min proved to be not significantly different, but the variability was slightly larger than that of SAM (SD 6.4 %). SAM1 and ΔSAM values for responders versus non-responders were, respectively, 57 (SD 119) versus 297 (SD 625) for SAM1 (p = 0.2) and 99 % (SD 3 %) versus 32 % (SD 44 %) for ΔSAM (p = 0.001). SUV(max)1 and ΔSUV(max) values in responders versus non-responders were, respectively, 3.9 (SD 2.4) versus 6.3 (SD 3.1) for SUV(max)1 (p = 0.08) and 94 % (SD 17) versus 7 % (SD 40 %) for ΔSUV(max) (p = 0.0001). The AUC of ΔSAM and ΔSUV(max) were not significantly different on receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis (AUC 1.0 and 0.99, respectively, p = 0.6). SAM is a promising parameter for tumour response assessment of liver metastases by means of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET.

Rippled beam free electron laser amplifier

DOEpatents

Carlsten, Bruce E.

1999-01-01

A free electron laser amplifier provides a scalloping annular electron beam that interacts with the axial electric field of a TM.sub.0n mode. A waveguide defines an axial centerline and, a solenoid arranged about the waveguide produces an axial constant magnetic field within the waveguide. An electron beam source outputs a annular electron beam that interacts with the axial magnetic field to have an equilibrium radius and a ripple radius component having a variable radius with a ripple period along the axial centerline. An rf source outputs an axial electric field that propagates within the waveguide coaxial with the electron beam and has a radial mode that interacts at the electron beam at the equilibrium radius component of the electron beam.

Molecular Level Understanding of Interfaces and Excited State Electronic Structure in Organic Solar Cells Using Soft X-ray Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gliboff, Matthew

Transparent conductive oxides like indium tin oxide (ITO) are common substrates for optoelectronic devices, including organic light emitting diodes and organic solar cells. Tailoring the interface between the oxide and the active layer by adjusting the work function or wettability of the oxide can improve the performance of these devices in both emissive and photovoltaic applications. Molecular design of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) allows for a range of surface properties using the same oxide material. The molecular ordering and conformation adopted by the SAMs determine properties such as work function and wettability at these critical interfaces. I use angle-dependent near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, to determine the molecular orientations of a variety of dipolar phosphonic acid surface modifiers. For a model system, phenylphosphonic acid on indium zinc oxide, the SAMs prove to be surprisingly well-oriented, with the phenyl ring adopting a well-defined tilt angle of 12-16° from the surface normal. The NEXAFS results agree with polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) results and orientations calculated from density functional theory (DFT). These results not only provide a detailed picture of the molecular structure of a technologically important class of SAMs, but they also resolve a long-standing ambiguity regarding the vibrational-mode assignments for phosphonic acids on oxide surfaces, thus improving the utility of PM-IRRAS for future studies. The effect of fluorination on the orientation of these phosponic-acid SAMs is non-trivial, due to the combined effects of the fluorination on binding mode and steric packing. The latter effects are found to be more dominant in aliphatic SAMs, leading to a more upright orientation in the fluorinated SAM. In the aromatic case, the fluorinated SAM adopted a less upright orientation which I attribute to changes in binding mode. The relationship between structure and performance in active layer polymers for organic electronics is not yet well understood. To gain insight into the effect of the excited state electronic structure on device performance, we examine two similar donor-acceptor polymers: PCPDTBT and PCDTBT, which produce devices with internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of 70% and 100% respectively. We use time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) in combination with near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) and resonant Auger spectroscopy to predict the electronic structure of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). The resonant Auger results are found to be independent of film morphology and likely dominated by monomer structure. We show that the degree of LUMO localization onto the benzothiadiazole acceptor group in each polymer is similar, indicating that that the differences in IQE between these two polymers are driven by larger-scale morphology and not explained by the electronic structure of the excited state.

Characteristics of the modelled meteoric freshwater budget of the western Antarctic Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Wessem, J. M.; Meredith, M. P.; Reijmer, C. H.; van den Broeke, M. R.; Cook, A. J.

2017-05-01

Rapid climatic changes in the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) have led to considerable changes in the meteoric freshwater input into the surrounding ocean, with implications for ocean circulation, the marine ecosystem and sea-level rise. In this study, we use the high-resolution Regional Atmospheric Climate Model RACMO2.3, coupled to a firn model, to assess the various contributions to the meteoric freshwater budget of the WAP for 1979-2014: precipitation (snowfall and rainfall), meltwater runoff to the ocean, and glacial discharge. Snowfall is the largest component in the atmospheric contribution to the freshwater budget, and exhibits large spatial and temporal variability. The highest snowfall rates are orographically forced and occur over the coastal regions of the WAP (> 2000 mm water equivalent (w.e.) y-1) and extend well onto the ocean up to the continental shelf break; a minimum (∼ 500 mm w . e .y-1) is reached over the open ocean. Rainfall is an order of magnitude smaller, and strongly depends on latitude and season, being large in summer, when sea ice extent is at its minimum. For Antarctic standards, WAP surface meltwater production is relatively large (> 50 mm w . e .y-1) , but a large fraction refreezes in the snowpack, limiting runoff. Only at a few more northerly locations is the meltwater predicted to run off into the ocean. In summer, we find a strong relationship of the freshwater fluxes with the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index. When SAM is positive and occurs simultaneously with a La Niña event there are anomalously strong westerly winds and enhanced snowfall rates over the WAP mountains, Marguerite Bay and the Bellingshausen Sea. When SAM coincides with an El Niño event, winds are more northerly, reducing snowfall and increasing rainfall over the ocean, and enhancing orographic snowfall over the WAP mountains. Assuming balance between snow accumulation (mass gain) and glacial discharge (mass loss), the largest glacial discharge is found for the regions around Adelaide Island (10 Gty-1) , Anvers Island (8 Gty-1) and southern Palmer Land (12 Gty-1) , while a minimum (< 2 Gty-1) is found in Marguerite Bay and the northern WAP. Glacial discharge is in the same order of magnitude as the direct freshwater input into the ocean from snowfall, but there are some local differences. The spatial patterns in the meteoric freshwater budget have consequences for local productivity and carbon drawdown in the coastal ocean.

Online versus offline spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) M-mode for the evaluation of cardiac longitudinal annular displacement in fetal growth restriction.

PubMed

Tanis, Jozien C; Mohammed, Nuruddin; Bennasar, Mar; Martinez, Josep Maria; Bijnens, Bart; Crispi, Fatima; Gratacos, Eduard

2018-07-01

Our first aim was to compare online M-mode with offline spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) M-mode for assessing longitudinal annular displacement (LAD) in growth-restricted fetuses (FGR). Our second aim was to compare LAD measures of FGR cases with controls. Prospective study including 40 FGR cases (defined estimated fetal weight and birth weight <10th centile) and 72 normally grown fetuses matched to cases by gestational age at scan. LAD was measured with online M-mode and offline STIC M-mode at the left and right ventricular free walls and septum in all fetuses. FGR cases had a significant decrease in LAD by STIC in all sites as compared to controls (e.g. right LAD in FGR mean 6.7 mm (SD 1.2) versus controls 7.2 mm (1.2), p = .033). There was a non-significant trend for lower values in FGR when using online M-mode (e.g. right LAD in FGR 6.9 mm (1.5) versus controls 7.4 mm (1.5), p = .084). STIC M-mode seems a better method than online M-mode for detecting subtle changes in myocardial motion. STIC presents more precise results and allows an ideal placement of the M-mode arrow. These results confirm previous data suggesting decreased longitudinal motion in FGR.

Reconstructing streamflow variation of the Baker River from tree-rings in Northern Patagonia since 1765

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lara, Antonio; Bahamondez, Alejandra; González-Reyes, Alvaro; Muñoz, Ariel A.; Cuq, Emilio; Ruiz-Gómez, Carolina

2015-10-01

The understanding of the long-term variation of large rivers streamflow with a high economic and social relevance is necessary in order to improve the planning and management of water resources in different regions of the world. The Baker River has the highest mean discharge of those draining both slopes of the Andes South of 20°S and it is among the six rivers with the highest mean streamflow in the Pacific domain of South America (1100 m3 s-1 at its outlet). It drains an international basin of 29,000 km2 shared by Chile and Argentina and has a high ecologic and economic value including conservation, tourism, recreational fishing, and projected hydropower. This study reconstructs the austral summer - early fall (January-April) streamflow for the Baker River from Nothofagus pumilio tree-rings for the period 1765-2004. Summer streamflow represents 45.2% of the annual discharge. The regression model for the period (1961-2004) explains 54% of the variance of the Baker River streamflow (R2adj = 0.54). The most significant temporal pattern in the record is the sustained decline since the 1980s (τ = -0.633, p = 1.0144 ∗ 10-5 for the 1985-2004 period), which is unprecedented since 1765. The Correlation of the Baker streamflow with the November-April observed Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is significant (1961-2004, r = -0.55, p < 0.001). The Baker record is also correlated with the available SAM tree-ring reconstruction based on other species when both series are filtered with a 25-year spline and detrended (1765-2004, r = -0.41, p < 0.01), emphasizing SAM as the main climatic forcing of the Baker streamflow. Three of the five summers with the highest streamflow in the entire reconstructed record occurred after the 1950s (1977, 1958 and 1959). The causes of this high streamflow events are not yet clear and cannot be associated with the reported recent increase in the frequency of glacial-lake outburst floods (GLOFs). The decreasing trend in the observed and reconstructed streamflow of the Baker River documented here for the 1980-2004 period is consistent with precipitation decrease associated with the SAM. Conversely, other studies have reported an increase of summer streamflow for a portion of the Baker River for the 1994-2008 period, explained by ice melt associated with temperature increase and glacier retreat and thinning. Future research should consider the development of new tree-ring reconstructions to increase the geographic range and to cover the last 1000 or more years using long-lived species (e.g. Fitzroya cupressoides and Pilgerodendron uviferum). Expanding the network and quality of instrumental weather, streamflow and other monitoring stations as well as the study and modeling of the complex hydrological processes in the Baker basin are necessary. This should be the basis for planning, policy design and decision making regarding water resources in the Baker basin.

Understanding the d18O Response to Precession in the South Asian Monsoon Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabor, C. R.; Otto-Bliesner, B. L.; Brady, E. C.; Nusbaumer, J. M.; Zhu, J.; Erb, M. P.

2017-12-01

Speleothem records from the South Asian Monsoon (SAM) region display d18O variability at orbital frequencies. The dominant mode of variability in many of these records reflects cycles of precession. There are several potential explanations for why speleothem records from the SAM region show a strong precession signal, including the amount effect, temperature differences, and circulation changes. Here, we use a version of the Community Earth System Model with water isotope tracking capability to explore the mechanisms responsible for precession driven d18O variability in the SAM region. By using a fully coupled model with idealized orbits and regional isotope tracking techniques, we are able to tease apart the various contributions to the precession driven d18O signal found in the SAM speleothem records. Our preliminary results suggest that neither the amount effect nor temperature differences cause the majority of SAM d18O response to changes in precession. Instead, changes in the relative moisture contributions from different source regions drive much of the d18O variability. During Northern Hemisphere summer at aphelion, much of the SAM precipitation sources from the nearby ocean. The nearby location of these sources limits the amount of rainout that occurs before reaching the SAM region, which results in a relatively enriched precipitation d18O signal. Conversely, during Northern Hemisphere summer at perihelion, a greater portion of the SAM precipitation sources from far away regions such as the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Africa. Water vapor from these sources is more depleted by the time it reaches the SAM region, leading to precipitation relatively depleted in d18O as well. Further, we find that the modeled d18O signals of soil water better match the d18O signals in the SAM speleothems, suggesting that local evaporation also plays an important role.

Structural basis of RNA recognition and dimerization by the STAR proteins T-STAR and Sam68

PubMed Central

Feracci, Mikael; Foot, Jaelle N.; Grellscheid, Sushma N.; Danilenko, Marina; Stehle, Ralf; Gonchar, Oksana; Kang, Hyun-Seo; Dalgliesh, Caroline; Meyer, N. Helge; Liu, Yilei; Lahat, Albert; Sattler, Michael; Eperon, Ian C.; Elliott, David J.; Dominguez, Cyril

2016-01-01

Sam68 and T-STAR are members of the STAR family of proteins that directly link signal transduction with post-transcriptional gene regulation. Sam68 controls the alternative splicing of many oncogenic proteins. T-STAR is a tissue-specific paralogue that regulates the alternative splicing of neuronal pre-mRNAs. STAR proteins differ from most splicing factors, in that they contain a single RNA-binding domain. Their specificity of RNA recognition is thought to arise from their property to homodimerize, but how dimerization influences their function remains unknown. Here, we establish at atomic resolution how T-STAR and Sam68 bind to RNA, revealing an unexpected mode of dimerization different from other members of the STAR family. We further demonstrate that this unique dimerization interface is crucial for their biological activity in splicing regulation, and suggest that the increased RNA affinity through dimer formation is a crucial parameter enabling these proteins to select their functional targets within the transcriptome. PMID:26758068

Structural basis of RNA recognition and dimerization by the STAR proteins T-STAR and Sam68.

PubMed

Feracci, Mikael; Foot, Jaelle N; Grellscheid, Sushma N; Danilenko, Marina; Stehle, Ralf; Gonchar, Oksana; Kang, Hyun-Seo; Dalgliesh, Caroline; Meyer, N Helge; Liu, Yilei; Lahat, Albert; Sattler, Michael; Eperon, Ian C; Elliott, David J; Dominguez, Cyril

2016-01-13

Sam68 and T-STAR are members of the STAR family of proteins that directly link signal transduction with post-transcriptional gene regulation. Sam68 controls the alternative splicing of many oncogenic proteins. T-STAR is a tissue-specific paralogue that regulates the alternative splicing of neuronal pre-mRNAs. STAR proteins differ from most splicing factors, in that they contain a single RNA-binding domain. Their specificity of RNA recognition is thought to arise from their property to homodimerize, but how dimerization influences their function remains unknown. Here, we establish at atomic resolution how T-STAR and Sam68 bind to RNA, revealing an unexpected mode of dimerization different from other members of the STAR family. We further demonstrate that this unique dimerization interface is crucial for their biological activity in splicing regulation, and suggest that the increased RNA affinity through dimer formation is a crucial parameter enabling these proteins to select their functional targets within the transcriptome.

Systematic approach to study of thinly and thickly sectioned melanoma tissues with scanning acoustic microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyasaka, C.; Tittmann, B. R.; Tutwiler, R.; Tian, Y.; Maeva, E.; Shum, D.

2010-03-01

The present study is to investigate the feasibility of applying in-vivo acoustic microscopy to the analysis of cancerous tissue. The study was implemented with mechanical scanning reflection acoustic microscope (SAM) by the following procedures. First, we ultrasonically visualized thick sections of normal and tumor tissues to determine the lowest transducer frequency required for cellular imaging. We used skin for normal tissue and the tumor was a malignant melanoma. Thin sections of the tissue were also studied with the optical and high-frequency-ultrasonic imaging for pathological evaluation. Secondly, we ultrasonically visualized subsurface cellular details of thin tissue specimens with different modes (i.e., pulse and tone-burst wave modes) to obtain the highest quality ultrasonic images. The objective is to select the best mode for the future design of a future SAM for in-vivo examination. Thirdly, we developed a mathematical modeling technique based on an angular spectrum approach for improving image processing and comparing numerical to experimental results.

Annular modes and apparent eddy feedbacks in the Southern Hemisphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byrne, Nicholas J.; Shepherd, Theodore G.; Woollings, Tim; Plumb, R. Alan

2016-04-01

Lagged correlation analysis is often used to infer intraseasonal dynamical effects but is known to be affected by nonstationarity. We highlight a pronounced quasi 2 year peak in the anomalous zonal wind and eddy momentum flux convergence power spectra in the Southern Hemisphere, which is prima facie evidence for nonstationarity. We then investigate the consequences of this nonstationarity for the Southern Annular Mode and for eddy momentum flux convergence. We argue that positive lagged correlations previously attributed to the existence of an eddy feedback are more plausibly attributed to nonstationary interannual variability external to any potential feedback process in the midlatitude troposphere. The findings have implications for the diagnosis of feedbacks in both models and reanalysis data as well as for understanding the mechanisms underlying variations in the zonal wind.

Annular modes and apparent eddy feedbacks in the Southern Hemisphere.

PubMed

Byrne, Nicholas J; Shepherd, Theodore G; Woollings, Tim; Plumb, R Alan

2016-04-28

Lagged correlation analysis is often used to infer intraseasonal dynamical effects but is known to be affected by nonstationarity. We highlight a pronounced quasi 2 year peak in the anomalous zonal wind and eddy momentum flux convergence power spectra in the Southern Hemisphere, which is prima facie evidence for nonstationarity. We then investigate the consequences of this nonstationarity for the Southern Annular Mode and for eddy momentum flux convergence. We argue that positive lagged correlations previously attributed to the existence of an eddy feedback are more plausibly attributed to nonstationary interannual variability external to any potential feedback process in the midlatitude troposphere. The findings have implications for the diagnosis of feedbacks in both models and reanalysis data as well as for understanding the mechanisms underlying variations in the zonal wind.

Fiber-guided modes conversion using superposed helical gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yancheng; Fang, Liang; Wu, Guoan

2017-03-01

Optical fibers can support various modal forms, including vector modes, linear polarization (LP) modes, and orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes, etc. The modal correlation among these modes is investigated via Jones matrix, associated with polarization and helical phase corresponding to spin angular momentum (SAM) and OAM of light, respectively. We can generate different modal forms by adopting superposed helical gratings (SHGs) with opposite helix orientations. Detailed analysis and discussion on mode conversion is given as for mode coupling in optical fibers with both low and high contrast index, respectively. Our study may deepen the understanding for various fiber-guided modes and mode conversion among them via fiber gratings.

Vibrational mode and sound radiation of electrostatic speakers using circular and annular diaphragms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Yu-Hsi; Chiang, Hsin-Yuan

2016-06-01

This study modeled two diaphragms comprising a pair of indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent plates sandwiching a vibrating diaphragm to create circular (30 mm radius) and annular (30 mm outer and 3 mm inner radius) push-pull electrostatic speakers. We then measured the displacement amplitudes and mode shapes produced by the devices. Vibration characteristics were used to predict sound pressure levels (SPLs) using the lumped parameter method (LPM) and distributed parameter method (DPM). The two measurement results obtained using a laser system were compared to the SPLs obtained using traditional acoustic measurement (AM) from 20 Hz to 20 kHz in order to verify our predictions. When using LPM and DPM, the SPL prediction results in the first three symmetric modes were in good agreement with the AM results. Under the assumption of linear operations, the DPM and amplitude-fluctuation electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) techniques proved effective in determining the visualization of mode shape (0,1)-(0,3). The use of ITO plates is a practical technique for the prediction of SPL, as well as measurement of mode shapes. The four evaluation methods, i.e. LPM, DPM, ESPI and AM, present a high degree of consistency with regard to vibrational mode and sound radiation characteristics.

Evidence for Perchlorates and the Origin of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Detected by SAM at the Rocknest Aeolian Deposit in Gale Crater

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glavin, Daniel P.; Freissinet, Caroline; Miller, Kristen E.; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Brunner, Anna E.; Buch, Arnaud; Sutter, Brad; Archer, P. Douglas, Jr.; Atreya, Sushil K.; Brinckerhoff, William B.;

Observation of molecular level behavior in molecular electronic junction device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maitani, Masato

In this dissertation, I utilize AFM based scanning probe measurement and surface enhanced Raman scattering based vibrational spectroscopic analysis to directly characterize topographic, electronic, and chemical properties of molecules confined in the local area of M3 junction to elucidate the molecular level behavior of molecular junction electronic devices. In the introduction, the characterization of molecular electronic devices with different types of metal-molecule-metal (M3) structures based upon self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is reviewed. A background of the characterization methods I use in this dissertation, conducting probe atomic force microscopy (cp-AFM) and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), is provided in chapter 1. Several attempts are performed to create the ideal top metal contacts on SAMs by metal vapor phase deposition in order to prevent the metal penetration inducing critical defects of the molecular electronic devices. The scanning probe microscopy (SPM), such as cp-AFM, contact mode (c-) AFM and non-contact mode (nc-) AFM, in ultra high vacuum conditions are utilized to study the process of the metal-SAM interface construction in terms of the correlation between the morphological and electrical properties including the metal nucleation and filament generation as a function of the functionalization of long-chain alkane thiolate SAMs on Au. In chapter 2, the nascent condensation process of vapor phase Al deposition on inert and reactive SAMs are studied by SPM. The results of top deposition, penetration, and filament generation of deposited Al are discussed and compared to the results previously observed by spectroscopic measurements. Cp-AFM was shown to provide new insights into Al filament formation which has not been observed by conventional spectroscopic analysis. Additionally, the electronic characteristics of individual Al filaments are measured. Chapter 3 reveals SPM characterization of Au deposition onto --COOH terminated SAMs utilized with strong surface dipole-dipole intermolecular interaction based on hydrogen bonding and ionic bonding potentially preventing the metal penetration. The observed results are discussed with kinetic paths of metal atoms on each SAM including temporal vacancies controlled by the intermolecular interactions in SAM upon the comparison with the spectroscopic results previously reported. The results in chapter 2 and 3 strongly suggests that AFM based characterization technique is powerful tool especially for detecting molecular-size local phenomena in vapor phase metal deposition process, especially, the electric short-circuit filaments growing through SAMs, which may induce critical misinterpretation of M3 junction device properties. In Chapter 4, an altered metal deposition process on inert SAM with using a buffer layer is performed to diminish the kinetic energy of impinging metal atoms. SPM characterization reveals an abrupt metal-SAM interface without any metal penetration. Examined electric characteristics also revealed typical non-resonant tunneling characteristics of long chain alkane thiolate SAMs. In chapter 5, the buffer layer assisted growth process is used to prepare a nano particles-SAM pristine interface on SAMs to control the metal-SAM interaction in order to study the fundamental issue of chemical enhancement mechanism of SERS. Identical Au nanoparticles-SAM-Au M3 structures with different Au-SAM interactions reveal a large discrepancy of enhancement factors of ˜100 attributed to the chemical interaction. In chapter 6, Raman spectroscopy of M3 junction is applied to the characterization of molecular electronics devices. A crossed nanowire junction (X-nWJ) device is employed for in-situ electronic-spectroscopic simultaneous characterization using Raman spectroscopy. A detailed study reveals the multi-probe capability of X-nWJ for in-situ Raman and in-elastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) as vibrational spectroscopies to diagnose molecular electronic devices. In chapter 7, aniline oligomer (OAn) based redox SAMs are characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic methods under different chemical redox states by reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), Raman, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and AFM in order to elucidate the mechanism of electric switching molecular junctions previously reported. Obtained results are discussed in terms of the chemical and geometrical conformations of molecules in closely packed SAM domains. In chapter 8, in-situ Raman spectroscopy and cp-AFM microscopic techniques are applied to study the electric switching characteristics of X-nWJ incorporating OAn based SAM. The results of tunneling current and in-situ Raman spectroscopy are discussed with the conformational change of OAn component. The conductance switching mechanism associated with domain conformation change of OAn SAM is proposed and evaluated based on the results.

Edge-dip air core fiber for improvement of the transmission of higher-order OAM modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xibo; Geng, Yuanchao; Zhu, Qihua; Feng, Xi; Huang, Wanqing; Zhang, Ying; Wang, Wenyi; Liu, Lanqin

2018-03-01

We presented a novel scheme to improve the stability of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes transmission by adding a dip at the edge of the annular high-index region of the air-core fiber. The simulation indicated a larger effective index difference of the vector modes that composed OAM modes in the same order, promising a stable transmission of the OAM modes. The intensity of the modes was concentrated better in this scheme decreasing the crosstalk between adjacent fibers. The propagation properties of the OAM modes in bent fiber were investigated.

Interannual Variation in Phytoplankton Class-Specific Primary Production at a Global Scale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rousseaux, Cecile Severine; Gregg, Watson W.

2014-01-01

We used the NASA Ocean Biogeochemical Model (NOBM) combined with remote sensing data via assimilation to evaluate the contribution of 4 phytoplankton groups to the total primary production. First we assessed the contribution of each phytoplankton groups to the total primary production at a global scale for the period 1998-2011. Globally, diatoms were the group that contributed the most to the total phytoplankton production (50, the equivalent of 20 PgC y-1. Coccolithophores and chlorophytes each contributed to 20 (7 PgC y-1 of the total primary production and cyanobacteria represented about 10 (4 PgC y(sub-1) of the total primary production. Primary production by diatoms was highest in high latitude (45) and in major upwelling systems (Equatorial Pacific and Benguela system). We then assessed interannual variability of this group-specific primary production over the period 1998-2011. Globally the annual relative contribution of each phytoplankton groups to the total primary production varied by maximum 4 (1-2 PgC y-1. We assessed the effects of climate variability on the class-specific primary production using global (i.e. Multivariate El Nio Index, MEI) and regional climate indices (e.g. Southern Annular Mode (SAM), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)). Most interannual variability occurred in the Equatorial Pacific and was associated with climate variability as indicated by significant correlation (p 0.05) between the MEI and the class-specific primary production from all groups except coccolithophores. In the Atlantic, climate variability as indicated by NAO was significantly correlated to the primary production of 2 out of the 4 groups in the North Central Atlantic (diatomscyanobacteria) and in the North Atlantic (chlorophytes and coccolithophores). We found that climate variability as indicated by SAM had only a limited effect on the class-specific primary production in the Southern Ocean. These results provide a modeling and data assimilation perspective to phytoplankton partitioning of primary production and contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of the carbon cycle in the oceans at a global scale.

Interannual Variation in Phytoplankton Primary Production at a Global Scale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rousseaux, Cecile Severine; Gregg, Watson W.

2013-01-01

We used the NASA Ocean Biogeochemical Model (NOBM) combined with remote sensing data via assimilation to evaluate the contribution of four phytoplankton groups to the total primary production. First, we assessed the contribution of each phytoplankton groups to the total primary production at a global scale for the period 1998-2011. Globally, diatoms contributed the most to the total phytoplankton production ((is)approximately 50%, the equivalent of 20 PgC·y1). Coccolithophores and chlorophytes each contributed approximately 20% ((is) approximately 7 PgC·y1) of the total primary production and cyanobacteria represented about 10% ((is) approximately 4 PgC·y1) of the total primary production. Primary production by diatoms was highest in the high latitudes ((is) greater than 40 deg) and in major upwelling systems (Equatorial Pacific and Benguela system). We then assessed interannual variability of this group-specific primary production over the period 1998-2011. Globally the annual relative contribution of each phytoplankton groups to the total primary production varied by maximum 4% (1-2 PgC·y1). We assessed the effects of climate variability on group-specific primary production using global (i.e., Multivariate El Niño Index, MEI) and "regional" climate indices (e.g., Southern Annular Mode (SAM), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)). Most interannual variability occurred in the Equatorial Pacific and was associated with climate variability as indicated by significant correlation (p (is) less than 0.05) between the MEI and the group-specific primary production from all groups except coccolithophores. In the Atlantic, climate variability as indicated by NAO was significantly correlated to the primary production of 2 out of the 4 groups in the North Central Atlantic (diatoms/cyanobacteria) and in the North Atlantic (chlorophytes and coccolithophores). We found that climate variability as indicated by SAM had only a limited effect on group-specific primary production in the Southern Ocean. These results provide a modeling and data assimilation perspective to phytoplankton partitioning of primary production and contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of the carbon cycle in the oceans at a global scale.

Imprints of climate signals in a 204 year 18O tree-ring record of Nothofagus pumilio from Perito Moreno Glacier, southern Patagonia (50°S).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grießinger, Jussi; Langhamer, Lukas; Schneider, Christoph; Saß, Björn-Lukas; Steger, David; Skvarca, Pedro; Braun, Matthias H.; Meier, Wolfgang J.-H.; Srur, Ana M.; Hochreuther, Philipp

2018-04-01

A 204 year-long record of 18O in tree-ring cellulose of southern beech (Nothofagus pumilio) from a site near Perito Moreno Glacier (50°S) in southern Patagonia was established to assess its potential for a climate reconstruction. The annually resolved oxygen isotope chronology is built out of seven individual tree-ring 18O series with a significant mean inter-series correlation (r = 0.61) and is the first of its kind located in Southern America south of 50°S. Over a common period from 1960 to 2013 of available stationary and high-resolution gridded CRU TS v. 4.01 data, the 18O chronology exhibits a strong sensitivity towards hydroclimatic as well as temperature parameters as revealed by correlation analyses. Among these, positive correlations with maximum temperature in the first part of the summer season (CRU rONDJ = 0.51, p<0.01) and negative correlations with precipitation in the latter half of the vegetation period (CRU rONDJ = - 0.54, p<0.01) show the highest sensitivities. A strong supra-regional influence of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is clearly recorded in this chronology as indicated by significant positive correlations during the vegetation period (rONDJ = 0.62, p<0.01). This indicates that the presented 18O-chronology shows great promise to reconstruct the influence and variability of the SAM within the last two centuries in southern South America. The modulation of positive and negative anomalies within this series can be interlinked to changes in moisture source origin as revealed by backward trajectory modeling. Additionally, these anomalies can be directly associated to positive or negative phases of the Antarctic Oscillation Index (AAOI) and therefore the strength of the Westerlies. Aligned by the analysis on the influence of different main weather types on the 18O chronology it is shown that such time-series hold the potential to additionally capture their respective influence and change during the last centuries.

Enhanced optical transmission through double-overlapped annular aperture array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chaonan; Bai, Ming; Jin, Ming

2012-07-01

In this paper, transmission properties through an array of concentric or eccentric double-overlapped annular apertures (CDOAAs or EDOAAs) are investigated. It is demonstrated that local surface plasmon-assisted TE11-like modes in CDOAAs exhibit a blue shift with the increasing overlapped factor. For EDOAAs with asymmetric annular apertures in both directions, a new resonant peak can be excited at a larger wavelength using linearly polarised light, which corresponds to extreme field localisation around the narrowest gap attributed to the gap plasmons' excitation and is quite sensitive to the offset of the eccentric centre island. These properties provide a possible method to achieve multiplexed and tunable wavelength selection using different local surface plasmon resonances and are of significant potential applicable value to the designing of tunable optical devices.

Evidence for Perchlorates and the Origin of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Detected by SAM at the Rocknest Aeolian Deposit in Gale Crater

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glavin, Daniel P.; Freissinet, Caroline; Miller, Kristen E.; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Brunner, Anna E.; Buch, Arnaud; Sutter, Brad; Archer, P. Douglas, Jr.; Atreya, Sushil K.; Brinckerhoff, William B.;

Turbofan aft duct suppressor study. Contractor's data report of mode probe signal data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fiske, G. H.; Motsinger, R. E.; Syed, A. A.; Joshi, M. C.; Kraft, R. E.

1983-01-01

Acoustic modal distributions were measured in a fan test model having an annular exhaust duct for comparison with theoretically predicted acoustic suppression values. This report contains the amplitude and phase data of the acoustic signals sensed by the transducers of the two mode probes employed in the measurement. Each mode probe consisted of an array of 12 transducers sensing the acoustic field at three axial positions and four radial positions.

Astronaut Thuot and Gemar work with Middeck O-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

Astronauts Pierre J. Thuot (top) and Charles D. (Sam) Gemar show off the Middeck O-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE) aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. The reusable test facility is designed to study the non-linear gravity-dependent behavior of two types of space hardware - large space structures (as depicted here) and contained fluids - planned for future spacecraft.

Atomic force measurements of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid and its salt with CH 3, OH, and CONHCH 3 functionalized self-assembled monolayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morales-Cruz, Angel L.; Tremont, Rolando; Martínez, Ramón; Romañach, Rodolfo; Cabrera, Carlos R.

2005-03-01

Chemical and mechanical properties of different compounds can be elucidated by measuring fundamental forces such as adhesion, attraction and repulsion, between modified surfaces by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in force mode calibration. This work presents a combination of AFM, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), and crystallization techniques to study the forces of interaction between excipients and active ingredients used in pharmaceutical formulations. SAMs of 16-mercaptohexadecanoate, which represent magnesium stereate, were used to modify the probe tip, whereas CH3-, OH- and CONHCH3-functional SAMs were formed on a gold-coated mica substrate, and used as examples of the surfaces of lactose and theophylline. The crystals of lactose and theophylline were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The modification of gold surfaces with 16-mercaptohexadecanoate, 10-mercapto-1-decanol (OH-functional SAM), 1-decanethiol (CH3-functional) and N-methyl-11-mercaptoundecanamide (CONHCH3-functional SAM) was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) in specular reflectance mode. XPS and AES results of the modified surfaces showed the presence of sulfur binding, and kinetic energies that correspond to the presence of 10-mercapto-1-decanol, 1-decanethiol, N-methyl-11-mercaptoundecanamide and the salt of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid. The absorption bands in the IR spectra further confirm the modification of the gold-coated substrates with these compounds. Force versus distance measurements were performed between the modified tip and the modified gold-coated mica substrates. The mean adhesion forces between the COO-Ca2+ functionalized tip and the CH3-, OH-, and CONHCH3-modified substrates were determined to be 4.5, 8.9 and 6.3 nN, respectively. The magnitude of the adhesion force (ion-dipole) interaction between the modified tip and substrate decreases in the following order: COO-Ca2+/OH > COO-Ca2+/CONHCH3 > COO-Ca2+/CH3.

Expression of SHOOT MERISTEMLESS, WUSCHEL, and ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 Homologs in the Shoots of Podostemaceae: Implications for the Evolution of Novel Shoot Organogenesis[W

PubMed Central

Katayama, Natsu; Koi, Satoshi; Kato, Masahiro

2010-01-01

Podostemaceae (the river weeds) are ecologically and morphologically unusual angiosperms. The subfamily Tristichoideae has typical shoot apical meristems (SAMs) that produce leaves, but Podostemoideae is devoid of SAMs and new leaves arise below the base of older leaves. To reveal the genetic basis for the evolution of novel shoot organogenesis in Podostemaceae, we examined the expression patterns of key regulatory genes for shoot development (i.e., SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM), WUSCHEL (WUS), and ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1/ROUGH SHEATH2/PHANTASTICA (ARP) orthologs) in Tristichoideae and Podostemoideae. In the SAM-mediated shoots of Tristichoideae, like in model plants, STM and WUS orthologs were expressed in the SAM. In the SAM-less shoots of Podostemoideae, STM and WUS orthologs were expressed in the initiating leaf/bract primordium. In older leaf/bract primordia, WUS expression disappeared and STM expression became restricted to the basal part, whereas ARP was expressed in the distal part in a complementary pattern to STM expression. In the reproductive shoots of Podostemoideae with a normal mode of flower development, STM and WUS were expressed in the floral meristem, but not in the floral organs, similar to the pattern in model plants. These results suggest that the leaf/bract of Podostemoideae is initiated as a SAM and differentiates into a single apical leaf/bract, resulting in the evolution of novel shoot-leaf mixed organs in Podostemaceae. PMID:20647344

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

1994-03-04

Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-62) Mission specialist Charles D. (Sam) Gemar works with the Middeck 0-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE). The reusable test facility is designed to study the nonlinear, gravity-dependent behavior of liquids and skewed space structures in the microgravity environment.

A High Frequency Model of Cascade Noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Envia, Edmane

1998-01-01

Closed form asymptotic expressions for computing high frequency noise generated by an annular cascade in an infinite duct containing a uniform flow are presented. There are two new elements in this work. First, the annular duct mode representation does not rely on the often-used Bessel function expansion resulting in simpler expressions for both the radial eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the duct. In particular, the new representation provides an explicit approximate formula for the radial eigenvalues obviating the need for solutions of the transcendental annular duct eigenvalue equation. Also, the radial eigenfunctions are represented in terms of exponentials eliminating the numerical problems associated with generating the Bessel functions on a computer. The second new element is the construction of an unsteady response model for an annular cascade. The new construction satisfies the boundary conditions on both the cascade and duct walls simultaneously adding a new level of realism to the noise calculations. Preliminary results which demonstrate the effectiveness of the new elements are presented. A discussion of the utility of the asymptotic formulas for calculating cascade discrete tone as well as broadband noise is also included.

Stability of Mars' annular polar vortex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seviour, W.; Waugh, D.; Scott, R.

2016-12-01

In common with the Earth and several other planetary bodies, the martian atmosphere exhibits regions of high potential vorticity (PV) near the winter pole, known as polar vortices. On Earth, PV increases monotonically from the equator to pole, however, on Mars there is a local minimum at the pole, with an annulus of high PV encircling it. Recently produced reanalyses of the martian atmospheric circulation have confirmed that this annular vortex is a persistent feature, forming in autumn and lasting until spring. This finding is surprising since an isolated band of PV is barotropically unstable, a result going back to Rayleigh. Here we investigate the stability of an annular vortex using numerical integrations of the rotating shallow water equations. We show that the mode of instability and its growth rate strongly depends upon the latitude and width of the annulus. By introducing thermal relaxation with a time scale similar to that of the instability we are able to simulate a persistent annular vortex with similar characteristics as that observed in the martian atmosphere. This time scale, typically 1-2 sols, is similar to thermal relaxation timescales which have been estimated for the martian atmosphere. We also demonstrate that the persistence of an annular vortex is robust to topographic forcing, as long as it is below a certain amplitude. We hence propose that the persistence of this barotropically unstable annular vortex is permitted due to the combination of short radiative relaxation time scales and relatively weak topographic forcing in the martian polar atmosphere.

ISSLS prize winner: microstructure and mechanical disruption of the lumbar disc annulus: part II: how the annulus fails under hydrostatic pressure.

PubMed

Veres, Samuel P; Robertson, Peter A; Broom, Neil D

2008-12-01

Mechanically induced annular disruption of lumbar intervertebral discs followed by microstructural investigation. To investigate the role that elevated nuclear pressures play in disrupting the lumbar intervertebral disc's annulus fibrosus. Compound mechanical loadings have been used to recreate clinically relevant annular disruptions in vitro. However, the role that individual loading parameters play in disrupting the lumbar disc's annulus remains unclear. The nuclei of ovine lumbar intervertebral discs were gradually pressurized by injecting a viscous radio-opaque gel via their inferior vertebrae. Pressurization was conducted until catastrophic failure of the disc occurred. Investigation of the resulting annular disruption was carried out using microcomputed tomography and differential interference contrast microscopy. Gel extrusion from the posterior annulus was the most common mode of disc failure. Unlike other aspects of the annular wall, the posterior region was unable to distribute hydrostatic pressures circumferentially. In each extrusion case, severe disruption of the posterior annulus occurred. Although intralamellar disruption occurred in the mid annulus, interlamellar disruption occurred in the outer posterior annulus. Radial ruptures between lamellae always occurred in the mid-axial plane. With respect to the annular wall, the posterior region is most susceptible to failure in the presence of high nuclear pressure, even when loaded in the neutral position. Weak interlamellar cohesion of the outer posterior lamellae may explain why the majority of herniations remain contained as protrusions within the outer annular wall.

The Signature of Southern Hemisphere Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Antarctic Precipitation

PubMed Central

Thompson, David W. J.; van den Broeke, Michiel R.

2017-01-01

Abstract We provide the first comprehensive analysis of the relationships between large‐scale patterns of Southern Hemisphere climate variability and the detailed structure of Antarctic precipitation. We examine linkages between the high spatial resolution precipitation from a regional atmospheric model and four patterns of large‐scale Southern Hemisphere climate variability: the southern baroclinic annular mode, the southern annular mode, and the two Pacific‐South American teleconnection patterns. Variations in all four patterns influence the spatial configuration of precipitation over Antarctica, consistent with their signatures in high‐latitude meridional moisture fluxes. They impact not only the mean but also the incidence of extreme precipitation events. Current coupled‐climate models are able to reproduce all four patterns of atmospheric variability but struggle to correctly replicate their regional impacts on Antarctic climate. Thus, linking these patterns directly to Antarctic precipitation variability may allow a better estimate of future changes in precipitation than using model output alone. PMID:29398735

Excitation of THz hybrid modes in an elliptical dielectric rod waveguide with a cold collisionless unmagnetized plasma column by an annular electron beam

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rahmani, Z., E-mail: z.rahmani@kashanu.ac.ir; Safari, S.; Heidari-Semiromi, E.

2016-06-15

The dispersion relation of electromagnetic waves propagating in an elliptical plasma waveguide with a cold collisionless unmagnetized plasma column and a dielectric rod is studied analytically. The frequency spectrum of the hybrid waves and the growth rate for excitation of the waves by a thin annular relativistic elliptical electron beam (TAREEB) is obtained. The effects of relative permittivity constant of dielectric rod, geometrical dimensions, plasma frequency, accelerating voltage, and current density of TAREEB on the growth rate and frequency spectra of the waveguide will be investigated.

Targeting S-adenosylmethionine biosynthesis with a novel allosteric inhibitor of Mat2A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Quinlan, Casey L.; Kaiser, Stephen E.; Bolaños, Ben

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is an enzyme cofactor used in methyl transfer reactions and polyamine biosynthesis. The biosynthesis of SAM from ATP and L-methionine is performed by the methionine adenosyltransferase enzyme family (Mat; EC 2.5.1.6). Human methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (Mat2A), the extrahepatic isoform, is often deregulated in cancer. We identified a Mat2A inhibitor, PF-9366, that binds an allosteric site on Mat2A that overlaps with the binding site for the Mat2A regulator, Mat2B. Studies exploiting PF-9366 suggested a general mode of Mat2A allosteric regulation. Allosteric binding of PF-9366 or Mat2B altered the Mat2A active site, resulting in increased substrate affinity and decreased enzymemore » turnover. These data support a model whereby Mat2B functions as an inhibitor of Mat2A activity when methionine or SAM levels are high, yet functions as an activator of Mat2A when methionine or SAM levels are low. The ramification of Mat2A activity modulation in cancer cells is also described.« less

Coupling of Low Speed Fan Stator Vane Unsteady Pressures to Duct Modes: Measured versus Predicted

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutliff, Daniel L.; Heidelberg, Laurence J.; Envia, Edmane

1999-01-01

Uniform-flow annular-duct Green's functions are the essential elements of the classical acoustic analogy approach to the problem of computing the noise generated by rotor-stator interaction inside the fan duct. This paper investigates the accuracy of this class of Green's functions for predicting the duct noise levels when measured stator vane unsteady surface pressures are used as input to the theoretical formulation. The accuracy of the method is evaluated by comparing the predicted and measured acoustic power levels for the NASA 48 inch low speed Active Noise Control Fan. The unsteady surface pressures are measured,by an array of microphones imbedded in the suction and pressure sides of a single vane, while the duct mode levels are measured using a rotating rake system installed in the inlet and exhaust sections of the fan duct. The predicted levels are computed using properly weighted integrals of measured surface pressure distribution. The data-theory comparisons are generally quite good particularly when the mode cut-off criterion is carefully interpreted. This suggests that, at least for low speed fans, the uniform-flow annular-duct Green's function theory can be reliably used for prediction of duct mode levels if the cascade surface pressure distribution is accurately known.

Surface passivation of (100) GaSb using self-assembled monolayers of long-chain octadecanethiol

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Papis-Polakowska, E., E-mail: papis@ite.waw.pl; Kaniewski, J.; Jurenczyk, J.

2016-05-15

The passivation of (100) GaSb surface was investigated by means of the long-chain octadecanethiol (ODT) self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The properties of ODT SAM on (100) GaSb were characterized by the atomic force microscopy using Kelvin probe force microscopy mode and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The chemical treatment of 10 mM ODT-C{sub 2}H{sub 5}OH has been applied to the passivation of a type-II superlattice InAs/GaSb photodetector. The electrical measurements indicate that the current density was reduced by one order of magnitude as compared to an unpassivated photodetector.

Near-limit propagation of gaseous detonations in narrow annular channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Y.; Ng, H. D.; Lee, J. H. S.

2017-03-01

New results on the near-limit behaviors of gaseous detonations in narrow annular channels are reported in this paper. Annular channels of widths 3.2 and 5.9 mm were made using circular inserts in a 50.8 mm-diameter external tube. The length of each annular channel was 1.8 m. Detonations were initiated in a steel driver tube where a small volume of a sensitive C2H2+ 2.5O2 mixture was injected to facilitate detonation initiation. A 2 m length of circular tube with a 50.8 mm diameter preceded the annular channel so that a steady Chapman-Jouguet (CJ) detonation was established prior to entering the annular channel. Four detonable mixtures of C2H2 {+} 2.5O2 {+} 85 % Ar, C2H2 {+} 2.5O2 {+} 70 % Ar, C3H8 {+} 5O2, and CH4 {+} 2O2 were used in the present study. Photodiodes spaced 10 cm throughout the length of both the annular channel and circular tube were used to measure the detonation velocity. In addition, smoked foils were inserted into the annular channel to monitor the cellular structure of the detonation wave. The results show that, well within the detonability limits, the detonation wave propagates along the channel with a small local velocity fluctuation and an average global velocity can be deduced. The average detonation velocity has a small deficit of 5-15 % far from the limits and the velocity rapidly decreases to 0.7V_{CJ}-0.8V_{CJ} when the detonation propagates near the limit. Subsequently, the fluctuation of local velocity also increases as the decreasing initial pressure approaches the limit. In the two annular channels used in this work, no galloping detonations were observed for both the stable and unstable mixtures tested. The present study also confirms that single-headed spinning detonation occurs at the limit, as in a circular tube, rather than the up and down "zig zag" mode in a two-dimensional, rectangular channel.

Global Radius of Curvature Estimation and Control for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rakoczy, John; Hall, Drew; Howard, Ricky; Ly, William; Weir, John; Montgomery, Edward; Brantley, Lott W. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A system, which estimates the global radius of curvature (GroC) and corrects for changes in GroC on a segmented primary mirror has been developed for and verified on McDonald Observatory's Hobby Eberly Telescope (HET). The GroC estimation and control system utilizes HET's primary mirror control (PMC) system and the Segment Alignment Maintenance System (SAMS), an inductive edge sensor system. A special set of boundary conditions is applied to the derivation of the optimal edge match control. The special boundary conditions allow the further derivation of an observer, which enables estimation and control of the Groc mode to within HET's specification. The magnitude of the GroC mode can then be controlled despite the inability of the SAMS edge sensor system, by itself, to observe or control the GroC mode. The observer can be extended to any segmented mirror telescope. It will be shown that the observer improves with accuracy as the number of segments increases. This paper presents the mathematical theory of the observer. Simulation results will demonstrate the inherent accuracy and robustness of the system. Performance verification data from the HET will be presented.

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of a continuously rotating detonation in the annular combustion chamber with a wide gap and separate delivery of fuel and oxidizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frolov, S. M.; Dubrovskii, A. V.; Ivanov, V. S.

2016-07-01

The possibility of integrating the Continuous Detonation Chamber (CDC) in a gas turbine engine (GTE) is demonstrated by means of three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations, i. e., the feasibility of the operation process in the annular combustion chamber with a wide gap and with separate feeding of fuel (hydrogen) and oxidizer (air) is proved computationally. The CDC with an upstream isolator damping pressure disturbances propagating towards the compressor is shown to exhibit a gain in the total pressure of 15% as compared with the same combustion chamber operating in the deflagration mode.

Velocity surveys in a turbine stator annular-cascade facility using laser Doppler techniques. [flow measurement and flow characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldman, L. J.; Seasholtz, R. G.; Mclallin, K. L.

1976-01-01

A laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) was used to determine the flow conditions downstream of an annular cascade of stator blades operating at an exit critical velocity ratio of 0.87. Two modes of LDV operation (continuous scan and discrete point) were investigated. Conventional pressure probe measurements were also made for comparison with the LDV results. Biasing errors that occur in the LDV measurement of velocity components were also studied. In addition, the effect of pressure probe blockage on the flow conditions was determined with the LDV. Photographs and descriptions of the test equipment used are given.

Atmospheric Influences on the Anomalous 2016 Antarctic Sea Ice Decay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raphael, M. N.; Schlosser, E.; Haumann, A.

2017-12-01

Over the past three decades, a small but significant increase in sea ice extent (SIE) has been observed in the Antarctic. However, in 2016 there was a surprisingly early onset of the melt season. The maximum Antarctic SIE was reached in August rather than end of September, and was followed by a rapid decrease. The decline of the sea ice area (SIA) started even earlier, in July. The retreat of the ice was particularly large in November where Antarctic SIE exhibited a negative anomaly (compared to the 1981-2010 average) of almost 2 Mio. km2, which, combined with reduced Arctic SIE, led to a distinct minimum in global SIE. And, satellite observations show that from November 2016 to February 2017, the daily Antarctic SIE has been at record low levels. We use sea level pressure and geopotential height data from the ECMWF- Interim reanalysis, in conjunction with sea ice data obtained from the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), to investigate possible atmospheric influences on the observed phenomena. Indications are that both the onset of the melt in July and the rapid decrease in SIA and SIE in November were triggered by atmospheric flow patterns related to a positive Zonal Wave 3 index, i.e. synoptic situations leading to strong meridional flow. Additionally the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index reached its second lowest November value since the beginning of the satellite observations. It is likely that the SIE decrease was preconditioned by SIA decrease. Positive feedback effects led to accelerated melt and consequently to the extraordinary low November SIE.

Atmospheric influences on the anomalous 2016 Antarctic sea ice decay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlosser, Elisabeth; Haumann, F. Alexander; Raphael, Marilyn N.

2018-03-01

In contrast to the Arctic, where total sea ice extent (SIE) has been decreasing for the last three decades, Antarctic SIE has shown a small, but significant, increase during the same time period. However, in 2016, an unusually early onset of the melt season was observed; the maximum Antarctic SIE was already reached as early as August rather than the end of September, and was followed by a rapid decrease. The decay was particularly strong in November, when Antarctic SIE exhibited a negative anomaly (compared to the 1979-2015 average) of approximately 2 million km2. ECMWF Interim reanalysis data showed that the early onset of the melt and the rapid decrease in sea ice area (SIA) and SIE were associated with atmospheric flow patterns related to a positive zonal wave number three (ZW3) index, i.e., synoptic situations leading to strong meridional flow and anomalously strong southward heat advection in the regions of strongest sea ice decline. A persistently positive ZW3 index from May to August suggests that SIE decrease was preconditioned by SIA decrease. In particular, in the first third of November northerly flow conditions in the Weddell Sea and the Western Pacific triggered accelerated sea ice decay, which was continued in the following weeks due to positive feedback effects, leading to the unusually low November SIE. In 2016, the monthly mean Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index reached its second lowest November value since the beginning of the satellite observations. A better spatial and temporal coverage of reliable ice thickness data is needed to assess the change in ice mass rather than ice area.

Propagating and Non-propagating Annular Modes and Principal Oscillation Patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plumb, R. A.; Sheshadri, A.

2016-12-01

The leading "annular mode" in each hemisphere — usually defined as the dominant EOF of surface pressure or of zonal mean zonal wind variability — appears as a dipolar structure straddling the mean midlatitude jet and thus seems to describe north-south wobbling of the jet latitude. However, extratropical zonal wind anomalies frequently tend to migrate poleward. This behavior can be described by the first two EOFs, the first (AM1) being the dipolar structure, and the second (AM2) having a tripolar structure centered on the mean jet. (AM2 explains a significant amount of variance, though less than AM1.) Taken in isolation, AM1 thus describes a north-south wobbling of the jet position, while AM2 describes a strengthening and narrowing (or weakening and broadening) of the jet. However, despite the fact that they are spatially orthogonal, and their corresponding time series temporally orthogonal, AM1 and AM2 are not independent, but show significant lag-correlations which reveal the poleward propagation. The EOFs are not modes of the underlying dynamical system governing the zonal flow evolution. The true modes can be estimated using principal oscillation pattern (POP) analysis. The leading POPs manifest themselves as a pair of complex conjugate structures with conjugate eigenvalues thus, in reality, constituting a single, complex, mode that describes poleward propagating anomalies. This mode then shows up as AM1 and AM2 in EOF analyses. Even though the principal components associated with the two leading EOFs decay at different rates, each decays faster than the true mode. In the propagating regime, these facts have implications for the use of autocorrelations and cross-correlations to quantify eddy feedback and the susceptibility of the mode to external perturbations, including the response to stratospheric anomalies.

Characterization of interfacial waves in horizontal core-annular flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathi, Sumit; Bhattacharya, Amitabh; Singh, Ramesh; Tabor, Rico F.

2016-11-01

In this work, we characterize interfacial waves in horizontal core annular flow (CAF) of fuel-oil and water. Experimental studies on CAF were performed in an acrylic pipe of 15.5mm internal diameter, and the time evolution of the oil-water interface shape was recorded with a high speed camera for a range of different flow-rates of oil (Qo) and water (Qw). The power spectrum of the interface shape shows a range of notable features. First, there is negligible energy in wavenumbers larger than 2 π / a , where a is the thickness of the annulus. Second, for high Qo /Qw , there is no single dominant wavelength, as the flow in the confined annulus does not allow formation of a preferred mode. Third, for lower Qo /Qw , a dominant mode arises at a wavenumber of 2 π / a . We also observe that the power spectrum of the interface shape depends weakly on Qw, and strongly on Qo, perhaps because the net shear rate in the annulus appears to depend weakly on Qw as well. We also attempt to build a general empirical model for CAF by relating the interfacial stress (calculated via the mean pressure gradient) to the flow rate in the annulus, the annular thickness and the core velocity. Authors are thankful to Orica Mining Services (Australia) for the financial support.

Influence of the burner swirl on the azimuthal instabilities in an annular combustor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazur, Marek; Nygård, Håkon; Worth, Nicholas; Dawson, James

2017-11-01

Improving our fundamental understanding of thermoacoustic instabilities will aid the development of new low emission gas turbine combustors. In the present investigation the effects of swirl on the self-excited azimuthal combustion instabilities in a multi-burner annular annular combustor are investigated experimentally. Each of the burners features a bluff body and a swirler to stabilize the flame. The combustor is operated with an ethylene-air premixture at powers up to 100 kW. The swirl number of the burners is varied in these tests. For each case, dynamic pressure measurements at different azimuthal positions, as well as overhead imaging of OH* of the entire combustor are conducted simultaneously and at a high sampling frequency. The measurements are then used to determine the azimuthal acoustic and heat release rate modes in the chamber and to determine whether these modes are standing, spinning or mixed. Furthermore, the phase shift between the heat release rate and pressure and the shape of these two signals are analysed at different azimuthal positions. Based on the Rayleigh criterion, these investigations allow to obtain an insight about the effects of the swirl on the instability margins of the combustor. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement n° 677931 TAIAC).

Mode-Locked Spike Trains in Responses of Ventral Cochlear Nucleus Chopper and Onset Neurons to Periodic Stimuli

PubMed Central

Laudanski, Jonathan; Coombes, Stephen; Palmer, Alan R.

2010-01-01

We report evidence of mode-locking to the envelope of a periodic stimulus in chopper units of the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN). Mode-locking is a generalized description of how responses in periodically forced nonlinear systems can be closely linked to the input envelope, while showing temporal patterns of higher order than seen during pure phase-locking. Re-analyzing a previously unpublished dataset in response to amplitude modulated tones, we find that of 55% of cells (6/11) demonstrated stochastic mode-locking in response to sinusoidally amplitude modulated (SAM) pure tones at 50% modulation depth. At 100% modulation depth SAM, most units (3/4) showed mode-locking. We use interspike interval (ISI) scattergrams to unravel the temporal structure present in chopper mode-locked responses. These responses compared well to a leaky integrate-and-fire model (LIF) model of chopper units. Thus the timing of spikes in chopper unit responses to periodic stimuli can be understood in terms of the complex dynamics of periodically forced nonlinear systems. A larger set of onset (33) and chopper units (24) of the VCN also shows mode-locked responses to steady-state vowels and cosine-phase harmonic complexes. However, while 80% of chopper responses to complex stimuli meet our criterion for the presence of mode-locking, only 40% of onset cells show similar complex-modes of spike patterns. We found a correlation between a unit's regularity and its tendency to display mode-locked spike trains as well as a correlation in the number of spikes per cycle and the presence of complex-modes of spike patterns. These spiking patterns are sensitive to the envelope as well as the fundamental frequency of complex sounds, suggesting that complex cell dynamics may play a role in encoding periodic stimuli and envelopes in the VCN. PMID:20042702

Structural Health Monitoring of Above-Ground Storage Tank Floors by Ultrasonic Guided Wave Excitation on the Tank Wall.

PubMed

Lowe, Premesh S; Duan, Wenbo; Kanfoud, Jamil; Gan, Tat-Hean

2017-11-04

There is an increasing interest in using ultrasonic guided waves to assess the structural degradation of above-ground storage tank floors. This is a non-invasive and economically viable means of assessing structural degradation. Above-ground storage tank floors are ageing assets which need to be inspected periodically to avoid structural failure. At present, normal-stress type transducers are bonded to the tank annular chime to generate a force field in the thickness direction of the floor and excite fundamental symmetric and asymmetric Lamb modes. However, the majority of above-ground storage tanks in use have no annular chime due to a simplified design and/or have a degraded chime due to corrosion. This means that transducers cannot be mounted on the chime to assess structural health according to the present technology, and the market share of structural health monitoring of above-ground storage tank floors using ultrasonic guided wave is thus limited. Therefore, the present study investigates the potential of using the tank wall to bond the transducer instead of the tank annular chime. Both normal and shear type transducers were investigated numerically, and results were validated using a 4.1 m diameter above-ground storage tank. The study results show shear mode type transducers bonded to the tank wall can be used to assess the structural health of the above-ground tank floors using an ultrasonic guided wave. It is also shown that for the cases studied there is a 7.4 dB signal-to-noise ratio improvement at 45 kHz for the guided wave excitation on the tank wall using shear mode transducers.

Structural Health Monitoring of Above-Ground Storage Tank Floors by Ultrasonic Guided Wave Excitation on the Tank Wall

PubMed Central

Kanfoud, Jamil; Gan, Tat-Hean

2017-01-01

There is an increasing interest in using ultrasonic guided waves to assess the structural degradation of above-ground storage tank floors. This is a non-invasive and economically viable means of assessing structural degradation. Above-ground storage tank floors are ageing assets which need to be inspected periodically to avoid structural failure. At present, normal-stress type transducers are bonded to the tank annular chime to generate a force field in the thickness direction of the floor and excite fundamental symmetric and asymmetric Lamb modes. However, the majority of above-ground storage tanks in use have no annular chime due to a simplified design and/or have a degraded chime due to corrosion. This means that transducers cannot be mounted on the chime to assess structural health according to the present technology, and the market share of structural health monitoring of above-ground storage tank floors using ultrasonic guided wave is thus limited. Therefore, the present study investigates the potential of using the tank wall to bond the transducer instead of the tank annular chime. Both normal and shear type transducers were investigated numerically, and results were validated using a 4.1 m diameter above-ground storage tank. The study results show shear mode type transducers bonded to the tank wall can be used to assess the structural health of the above-ground tank floors using an ultrasonic guided wave. It is also shown that for the cases studied there is a 7.4 dB signal-to-noise ratio improvement at 45 kHz for the guided wave excitation on the tank wall using shear mode transducers. PMID:29113058

A megawatt-level surface wave oscillator in Y-band with large oversized structure driven by annular relativistic electron beam.

PubMed

Wang, Jianguo; Wang, Guangqiang; Wang, Dongyang; Li, Shuang; Zeng, Peng

2018-05-03

High power vacuum electronic devices of millimeter wave to terahertz regime are attracting extensive interests due to their potential applications in science and technologies. In this paper, the design and experimental results of a powerful compact oversized surface wave oscillator (SWO) in Y-band are presented. The cylindrical slow wave structure (SWS) with rectangular corrugations and large diameter about 6.8 times the radiation wavelength is proposed to support the surface wave interacting with annular relativistic electron beam. By choosing appropriate beam parameters, the beam-wave interaction takes place near the π-point of TM 01 mode dispersion curve, giving high coupling impedance and temporal growth rate compared with higher TM 0n modes. The fundamental mode operation of the device is verified by the particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results, which also indicate its capability of tens of megawatts power output in the Y-band. Finally, a compact experimental setup is completed to validate our design. Measurement results show that a terahertz pulse with frequency in the range of 0.319-0.349 THz, duration of about 2 ns and radiation power of about 2.1 MW has been generated.

Streamflow variability in the Chilean Temperate-Mediterranean climate transition (35°S-42°S) during the last 400 years inferred from tree-ring records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muñoz, Ariel A.; González-Reyes, Alvaro; Lara, Antonio; Sauchyn, David; Christie, Duncan; Puchi, Paulina; Urrutia-Jalabert, Rocío; Toledo-Guerrero, Isadora; Aguilera-Betti, Isabella; Mundo, Ignacio; Sheppard, Paul R.; Stahle, Daniel; Villalba, Ricardo; Szejner, Paul; LeQuesne, Carlos; Vanstone, Jessica

2016-12-01

As rainfall in South-Central Chile has decreased in recent decades, local communities and industries have developed an understandable concern about their threatened water supply. Reconstructing streamflows from tree-ring data has been recognized as a useful paleoclimatic tool in providing long-term perspectives on the temporal characteristics of hydroclimate systems. Multi-century long streamflow reconstructions can be compared to relatively short instrumental observations in order to analyze the frequency of low and high water availability through time. In this work, we have developed a Biobío River streamflow reconstruction to explore the long-term hydroclimate variability at the confluence of the Mediterranean-subtropical and the Temperate-humid climate zones, two regions represented by previous reconstructions of the Maule and Puelo Rivers, respectively. In a suite of analyses, the Biobío River reconstruction proves to be more similar to the Puelo River than the Maule River, despite its closer geographic proximity to the latter. This finding corroborates other studies with instrumental data that identify 37.5°S as a latitudinal confluence of two climate zones. The analyzed rivers are affected by climate forcings on interannual and interdecadal time-scales, Tropical (El Niño Southern Oscillation) and Antarctic (Southern Annular Mode; SAM). Longer cycles found, around 80-years, are well correlated only with SAM variation, which explains most of the variance in the Biobío and Puelo rivers. This cycle also has been attributed to orbital forcing by other authors. All three rivers showed an increase in the frequency of extreme high and low flow events in the twentieth century. The most extreme dry and wet years in the instrumental record (1943-2000) were not the most extreme of the past 400-years reconstructed for the three rivers (1600-2000), yet both instrumental record years did rank in the five most extreme of the streamflow reconstructions as a whole. These findings suggest a high level of natural variability in the hydro-climatic conditions of the region, where extremes characterized the twentieth century. This information is particularly useful when evaluating and improving a wide variety of water management models that apply to water resources that are sensitive to agricultural and hydropower industries.

Impact of the global SST gradients changes on the Antarctic ice sheet surface mass balance through the Plio/Pliocene transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colleoni, Florence; Florindo, Fabio; McKay, Robert; Golledge, Nicholas; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Montoli, Enea; Masina, Simona; Cherchi, Annalisa; De Santis, Laura

2017-04-01

Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) reconstructions have shown that the Pliocene global zonal and meridional temperature gradients were different from today, implying changes of atmospheric and oceanic circulations, and thus of the main teleconnections. The impact of the main atmospheric teleconnections on the surface mass balance (SMB) of the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) in the past has been seldom investigated. The ANDRILL marine record have shown that at the end of the Pliocene, the ice sheet expanded in the Ross Sea concomitantly with the expansion of the sea ice cover. This would have enhanced the formation of bottom waters that in turn, would have fostered upwelling along the West African coast and along the coast of Peru. The impact of Antarctica on the tropical climate dynamics has been shown by previous studies. To close the loop, this work investigates the impact of the tropical and high-latitude SST cooling on the main atmospheric teleconnections and then on the Antarctic SMB through the Plio/Pleistocene transition. Idealized Atmospheric General Circulation Model simulations are performed, in which high-latitude and tropical SST cooling are prescribed starting from the Pliocene SST. The atmospheric conditions obtained are then used to force an ice sheet model and a stand-alone energy balance model to investigate the impact on the SMB of the two main atmospheric teleconnections active in the Southern Hemisphere, namely the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the Pacific-South-American oscillation (PSA. In agreement with ANDRILL marine records, results show that the Easterlies strengthen along the Antarctic coasts during the Plio/Pleistocene transition. This, however, occurs only after cooling the tropical SSTs in the AGCM simulations. More importantly, the cooling of the tropical SST, through the strengthening of the PSA, has the largest influence on the spatial distribution of the climatic anomalies over Antarctica. This explains most of the SMB patterns simulated by the ice sheet model. In particular, the PSA fosters positive SMB over the Victoria Land, the Wilson Basin, the Aurora Basin and Prydz Bay that were partly deglaciated during the warm Pliocene. While the amplitude of the ice thickness changes due to the SAM and the PSA remains of the same order of today, i.e, few tens of meters, the main impact occurs in strategic areas of the AIS dynamics.

Sound radiation from a flanged inclined duct.

PubMed

McAlpine, Alan; Daymond-King, Alex P; Kempton, Andrew J

2012-12-01

A simple method to calculate sound radiation from a flanged inclined duct is presented. An inclined annular duct is terminated by a rigid vertical plane. The duct termination is representative of a scarfed exit. The concept of a scarfed duct has been examined in turbofan aero-engines as a means to, potentially, shield a portion of the radiated sound from being transmitted directly to the ground. The sound field inside the annular duct is expressed in terms of spinning modes. Exterior to the duct, the radiated sound field owing to each mode can be expressed in terms of its directivity pattern, which is found by evaluating an appropriate form of Rayleigh's integral. The asymmetry is shown to affect the amplitude of the principal lobe of the directivity pattern, and to alter the proportion of the sound power radiated up or down. The methodology detailed in this article provides a simple engineering approach to investigate the sound radiation for a three-dimensional problem.

Turbofan aft duct suppressor study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Syed, A. A.; Motsinger, R. E.; Fiske, G. H.; Joshi, M. C.; Kraft, R. E.

1983-01-01

Suppressions due to acoustic treatment in the annular exhaust duct of a model fan were theoretically predicted and compared with measured suppressions. The predictions are based on the modal analysis of sound propagation in a straight annular flow duct with segmented treatment. Modal distributions of the fan noise source (fan-stator interaction only) were measured using in-duct modal probes. The flow profiles were also measured in the vicinity of the modal probes. The acoustic impedance of the single degree of freedom treatment was measured in the presence of grazing flow. The measured values of mode distribution of the fan noise source, the flow velocity profile and the acoustic impedance of the treatment in the duct were used as input to the prediction program. The predicted suppressions, under the assumption of uniform flow in the duct, compared well with the suppressions measured in the duct for all test conditions. The interaction modes generated by the rotor-stator interaction spanned a cut-off ratio range from nearly 1 to 7.

Hollow Fiber Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator Development and Testing for Advanced Spacesuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bue, Grant C.; Trevino, Luis; Tsioulos, Gus; Settles, Joseph; Colunga, Aaron; Vogel, Matthew; Vonau, Walt

2010-01-01

Grant Bue and Matthew Vogel presented the two types of Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporators (SWME) that were developed based on hydrophobic microporous membranes. One type, the Sheet Membrane (SaM) SWME, is composed of six concentric Teflon sheet membranes fixed on cylindrical-supporting screens to form three concentric annular water channels. Those water channels are surrounded by vacuum passages to draw off the water vapor that passes through the membrane. The other type, the Hollow Fiber (HoFi) SWME, is composed of more than 14,000 tubes. Water flows through the tubes and water vapor passes through the tube wall to the shell side that vents to the vacuum of space. Both SWME types have undergone testing to baseline the performance at predicted operating temperatures and flow rates; the units also have been subjected to contamination testing and other conditions to test resiliency.

Annular Focused Electron/Ion Beams for Combining High Spatial Resolution with High Probe Current.

PubMed

Khursheed, Anjam; Ang, Wei Kean

2016-10-01

This paper presents a proposal for reducing the final probe size of focused electron/ion beam columns that are operated in a high primary beam current mode where relatively large final apertures are used, typically required in applications such as electron beam lithography, focused ion beams, and electron beam spectroscopy. An annular aperture together with a lens corrector unit is used to replace the conventional final hole-aperture, creating an annular ring-shaped primary beam. The corrector unit is designed to eliminate the first- and second-order geometric aberrations of the objective lens, and for the same probe current, the final geometric aberration limited spot size is predicted to be around a factor of 50 times smaller than that of the corresponding conventional hole-aperture beam. Direct ray tracing simulation is used to illustrate how a three-stage core lens corrector can be used to eliminate the first- and second-order geometric aberrations of an electric Einzel objective lens.

Dispersion properties of plasma cladded annular optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

KianiMajd, M.; Hasanbeigi, A.; Mehdian, H.; Hajisharifi, K.

2018-05-01

One of the considerable problems in a conventional image transferring fiber optic system is the two-fold coupling of propagating hybrid modes. In this paper, using a simple and practical analytical approach based on exact modal vectorial analysis together with Maxwell's equations, we show that applying plasma as a cladding medium of an annular optical fiber can remove this defect of conventional fiber optic automatically without any external instrument as the polarization beam splitter. Moreover, the analysis indicates that the presence of plasma in the proposed optical fiber could extend the possibilities for controlling the propagation property. The proposed structure presents itself as a promising route to advanced optical processing and opens new avenues in applied optics and photonics.

Substrate Independence of THz Vibrational Modes of Polycrystalline Thin Films of Molecular Solids in Waveguide THz-TDS

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

THz-TDS technique is investigated. The sample film of salicylic acid is studied using waveguide THz-TDS on three different metal substrates and two...vibrational modes with wave- guide THz-TDS. The investigation of substrate dependence is performed using salicylic acid as the test molecule. This...Al and a self assembled monolayer (SAM) on Au. Salicylic acid is first characterized in the pel- let form and then compared to the absorption features

Non-modal analysis of the diocotron instability: Cylindrical geometry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mikhailenko, V. V.; Lee, Hae June; Mikhailenko, V. S.

2013-04-15

The temporal evolution of the linear diocotron instability of the cylindrical annular plasma column is investigated by employing the extension of the shearing modes methodology to the cylindrical geometry. It was obtained that the spatial time-dependent distortion of the electron density initial perturbations by shear flows leads to the non-modal evolution of the potential, which was referred to as the manifestation of the continuous spectrum. The evolution process leads toward the convergence to the phase-locking configuration of the mutually growing normal modes.

Static regenerative fuel cell system for use in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levy, Alexander H. (Inventor); VanDine, Leslie L. (Inventor); Trocciola, John C. (Inventor)

1989-01-01

The cell stack can be operated as a fuel cell stack or as an electrolysis cell stack. The stack consists of a series of alternate fuel cell subassemblies with intervening electrolysis cell subassemblies, and interspersed cooling plates. The water produced and consumed in the two modes of operation migrates between adjacent cell subassemblies. The component plates are annular with a central hydrogen plenum and integral internal oxygen manifolds. No fluid pumps are needed to operate the stack in either mode.

3D metamaterial absorber for attomole molecular detection (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Takuo; Ishikawa, Atsushi

2016-09-01

3D Metamaterial absorber was used for a background-suppressed surface-enhanced molecular detection technique. By utilizing the resonant coupling of plasmonic modes of a metamaterial absorber and infrared (IR) vibrational modes of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), attomole level molecular sensitivity was experimentally demonstrated. IR absorption spectroscopy of molecular vibrations is of importance in chemical, material, medical science and so on, since it provides essential information of the molecular structure, composition, and orientation. In the vibrational spectroscopic techniques, in addition to the weak signals from the molecules, strong background degrades the signal-to-noise ratio, and suppression of the background is crucial for the further improvement of the sensitivity. Here, we demonstrate low-background resonant Surface enhanced IR absorption (SEIRA) by using the metamaterial IR absorber that offers significant background suppression as well as plasmonic enhancement. The fabricated metamaterial consisted of 1D array of Au micro-ribbons on a thick Au film separated by a transparent gap layer made of MgF2. The surface structures were designed to exhibit an anomalous IR absorption at 3000 cm-1, which spectrally overlapped with C-H stretching vibrational modes. 16-Mercaptohexadecanoic acid (16-MHDA) was used as a test molecule, which formed a 2-nm thick SAM with their thiol head-group chemisorbed on the Au surface. In the FTIR measurements, the symmetric and asymmetric C-H stretching modes were clearly observed as reflection peaks within a broad plasmonic absorption of the metamaterial.

Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy of planar phosphatidylethanolamine hybrid bilayer membranes under water.

PubMed

Kett, Peter J N; Casford, Michael T L; Davies, Paul B

2010-06-15

Sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy has been used to study the structure of phosphatidylethanolamine hybrid bilayer membranes (HBMs) under water at ambient temperatures. The HBMs were formed using a modified Langmuir-Schaefer technique and consisted of a layer of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE) physisorbed onto an octadecanethiol (ODT) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) at a series of surface pressures from 1 to 40 mN m(-1). The DPPE and ODT were selectively deuterated so that the contributions to the SFG spectra from the two layers could be determined separately. SFG spectra in both the C-H and C-D stretching regions confirmed that a monolayer of DPPE had been adsorbed to the ODT SAM and that there were gauche defects within the alkyl chains of the phospholipid. On adsorption of a layer of DPPE, methylene modes from the ODT SAM were detected, indicating that the phospholipid had partially disordered the alkanethiol monolayer. SFG spectra recorded in air indicated that removal of water from the surface of the HBM resulted in disruption of the DPPE layer and the formation of phospholipid bilayers.

Exposure limits: the underestimation of absorbed cell phone radiation, especially in children.

PubMed

Gandhi, Om P; Morgan, L Lloyd; de Salles, Alvaro Augusto; Han, Yueh-Ying; Herberman, Ronald B; Davis, Devra Lee

2012-03-01

The existing cell phone certification process uses a plastic model of the head called the Specific Anthropomorphic Mannequin (SAM), representing the top 10% of U.S. military recruits in 1989 and greatly underestimating the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) for typical mobile phone users, especially children. A superior computer simulation certification process has been approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) but is not employed to certify cell phones. In the United States, the FCC determines maximum allowed exposures. Many countries, especially European Union members, use the "guidelines" of International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), a non governmental agency. Radiofrequency (RF) exposure to a head smaller than SAM will absorb a relatively higher SAR. Also, SAM uses a fluid having the average electrical properties of the head that cannot indicate differential absorption of specific brain tissue, nor absorption in children or smaller adults. The SAR for a 10-year old is up to 153% higher than the SAR for the SAM model. When electrical properties are considered, a child's head's absorption can be over two times greater, and absorption of the skull's bone marrow can be ten times greater than adults. Therefore, a new certification process is needed that incorporates different modes of use, head sizes, and tissue properties. Anatomically based models should be employed in revising safety standards for these ubiquitous modern devices and standards should be set by accountable, independent groups.

How are recent changes in Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds affecting East Antarctic terrestrial plants?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, S. A.; Waterman, M. J.; Bramley-Alves, J.; Clarke, L. J.; Hua, Q.

2017-12-01

Antarctica has experienced major changes in temperature, wind speed, stratospheric ozone levels and ultraviolet-B radiation over the last century. However, because East Antarctica has shown little climate warming, biological changes were predicted to be relatively slow, compared to the rapid changes observed on the warmer Antarctic Peninsula. Detecting the biological effects of Antarctic climate change has been hindered by the paucity of long-term data sets, particularly for organisms that have been exposed to these changes throughout their lives. Recent studies using radiocarbon signals preserved along the shoots of individual mosses, as well as peat cores, enables accurate determination of the growth rates of the dominant Antarctic moss flora over the last century. This allows us to explore the influence of environmental variables on growth providing a dramatic demonstration of the effects of climate change on Antarctic biodiversity. We generated detailed 50-year growth records for four Antarctic moss species, Ceratodon purpureus, Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Schistidium antarctici and Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostre using the 1960s radiocarbon bomb spike. Ceratodon purpureus' growth rates are positively correlated with ozone depth and temperature and negatively correlated with wind speed. Carbon stable isotopic measurements (∂13C) suggest that the observed effects of climate variation on growth are mediated through changes in water availability and mostly likely linked to the more positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and changing westerly wind patterns. For cold remote locations like Antarctica, where climate records are limited and of relatively short duration, this illustrates that mosses can act as microclimate proxies and have the potential to increase our knowledge of coastal Antarctic climate change.

Analytic models of ducted turbomachinery tone noise sources. Volume 2: Subprogram documentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, T. L.; Ganz, U. W.; Graf, G. A.; Westall, J. S.

1974-01-01

Analytical models were developed for computing the periodic sound pressures of subsonic fans in an infinite hardwall annular duct with uniform flow. The computer programs are described which are used for numerical computations of sound pressure mode amplitudes. The data are applied to the acoustic properties of turbomachinery.

Observed linkages between the northern annular mode/North Atlantic Oscillation, cloud incidence, and cloud radiative forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ying; Thompson, David W. J.; Huang, Yi; Zhang, Minghong

2014-03-01

The signature of the northern annular mode/North Atlantic Oscillation (NAM/NAO) in the vertical and horizontal distribution of tropospheric cloudiness is investigated in CloudSat and CALIPSO data from June 2006 to April 2011. During the Northern Hemisphere winter, the positive polarity of the NAM/NAO is marked by increases in zonally averaged cloud incidence north of ~60°N, decreases between ~25 and 50°N, and increases in the subtropics. The tripolar-like anomalies in cloud incidence associated with the NAM/NAO are largest over the North Atlantic Ocean basin/Middle East and are physically consistent with the NAM/NAO-related anomalies in vertical motion. Importantly, the NAM/NAO-related anomalies in tropospheric cloud incidence lead to significant top of atmosphere cloud radiative forcing anomalies that are comparable in amplitude to those associated with the NAM/NAO-related temperature anomalies. The results provide observational evidence that the most prominent pattern of Northern Hemisphere climate variability is significantly linked to variations in cloud radiative forcing. Implications for two-way feedback between extratropical dynamics and cloud radiative forcing are discussed.

Pteropods and climate off the Antarctic Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loeb, Valerie J.; Santora, Jarrod A.

2013-09-01

Shelled (thecosome) and naked (gymnosome) pteropods are regular, at times abundant, members of Southern Ocean zooplankton assemblages. Regionally, shelled species can play a major role in food webs and carbon cycling. Because of their aragonite shells thecosome pteropods may be vulnerable to the impacts of ocean acidification; without shells they cannot survive and their demise would have major implications for food webs and carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. Additionally, pteropod species in the southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean inhabit a region of rapid warming and climate change, the impacts of which are predicted to be observed as poleward distribution shifts. Here we provide baseline information on intraseasonal, interannual and longer scale variability of pteropod populations off the Antarctic Peninsula between 1994 and 2009. Concentrations of the 4 dominant taxa, Limacina helicina antarctica f. antarctica, Clio pyramidata f. sulcata, Spongiobranchaea australis and Clione limacina antarctica, are similar to those monitored during the 1928-1935 Discovery Investigations and reflect generally low values but with episodic interannual abundance peaks that, except for C. pyr. sulcata, are related to basin-scale climate forcing associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate mode. Significant abundance increases of L. helicina and S. australis after 1998 were associated with a climate regime shift that initiated a period dominated by cool La Niña conditions and increased nearshore influence of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This background information is essential to assess potential future changes in pteropod species distribution and abundance associated with ocean warming and acidification. construct maps of pteropod spatial frequency and mean abundance to assess their oceanographic associations; quantify pteropod abundance anomalies for comparing intraseasonal and interannual variability relative to m-3 environmental variables and climate modes; investigate the presence of long-term trends and/or cycles of peak abundance of the pteropod species in this region as have been described for krill and salps (Loeb et al., 2009, 2010; Loeb and Santora, 2012). We then examine interannual and longer-term variability of pteropod species abundance with respect to possible effects of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Southern Annular Mode (SAM) on population size, advection into and retention within the survey area. In doing so we highlight the importance of having sufficient spatial and temporal sampling coverage, as well as appropriate net mesh size, to establish statistically significant abundance changes associated with climate modes and long-term warming.

Coupled counterrotating polariton condensates in optically defined annular potentials

PubMed Central

Dreismann, Alexander; Cristofolini, Peter; Balili, Ryan; Christmann, Gabriel; Pinsker, Florian; Berloff, Natasha G.; Hatzopoulos, Zacharias; Savvidis, Pavlos G.; Baumberg, Jeremy J.

2014-01-01

Polariton condensates are macroscopic quantum states formed by half-matter half-light quasiparticles, thus connecting the phenomena of atomic Bose–Einstein condensation, superfluidity, and photon lasing. Here we report the spontaneous formation of such condensates in programmable potential landscapes generated by two concentric circles of light. The imposed geometry supports the emergence of annular states that extend up to 100 μm, yet are fully coherent and exhibit a spatial structure that remains stable for minutes at a time. These states exhibit a petal-like intensity distribution arising due to the interaction of two superfluids counterpropagating in the circular waveguide defined by the optical potential. In stark contrast to annular modes in conventional lasing systems, the resulting standing wave patterns exhibit only minimal overlap with the pump laser itself. We theoretically describe the system using a complex Ginzburg–Landau equation, which indicates why the condensate wants to rotate. Experimentally, we demonstrate the ability to precisely control the structure of the petal condensates both by carefully modifying the excitation geometry as well as perturbing the system on ultrafast timescales to reveal unexpected superfluid dynamics. PMID:24889642

The intra-annular acylamide chelate-coordinated compound: The keto-tautomer of metal (II) milrinone complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Yun; Liu, Jinzhi; Tang, Wang; Hu, Changwen

2008-03-01

In the presence of N, N'-dimethyllformamide (DMF), two isostructural metal (II)-milrinone complexes formulated as M(C 12H 8N 3O) 2 (M = Co 1 and Ni 2) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, TG and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The two compounds crystallize in the tetragonal system, chiral space group P4 32 12. They exhibit similar two dimensional (2D) square grid-like framework, in which milrinone acts as a ditopic ligand with its terminal pyridine and intra-annular acylamide groups covalently bridging different metal centers. The intra-annular acylamide ligand shows a chelate-coordinated mode. Compounds 1 and 2 are stable under 200 °C. Compound 3 formulated as (C 12H 9N 3O) 4·H 2O was obtained in the presence of water, the water molecule in the structure leads to the racemization of compound 3 and it crystallizes in the monoclinic system, non-chiral space group P2 1/ c. Milrinone exhibits a keto-form in the three compounds and compounds 1- 3 exhibit different photoluminescence properties.

AE (Acoustic Emission) for Flip-Chip CGA/FCBGA Defect Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2014-01-01

C-mode scanning acoustic microscopy (C-SAM) is a nondestructive inspection technique that uses ultrasound to show the internal feature of a specimen. A very high or ultra-high-frequency ultrasound passes through a specimen to produce a visible acoustic microimage (AMI) of its inner features. As ultrasound travels into a specimen, the wave is absorbed, scattered or reflected. The response is highly sensitive to the elastic properties of the materials and is especially sensitive to air gaps. This specific characteristic makes AMI the preferred method for finding "air gaps" such as delamination, cracks, voids, and porosity. C-SAM analysis, which is a type of AMI, was widely used in the past for evaluation of plastic microelectronic circuits, especially for detecting delamination of direct die bonding. With the introduction of the flip-chip die attachment in a package; its use has been expanded to nondestructive characterization of the flip-chip solder bumps and underfill. Figure 1.1 compares visual and C-SAM inspection approaches for defect detection, especially for solder joint interconnections and hidden defects. C-SAM is specifically useful for package features like internal cracks and delamination. C-SAM not only allows for the visualization of the interior features, it has the ability to produce images on layer-by-layer basis. Visual inspection; however, is only superior to C-SAM for the exposed features including solder dewetting, microcracks, and contamination. Ideally, a combination of various inspection techniques - visual, optical and SEM microscopy, C-SAM, and X-ray - need to be performed in order to assure quality at part, package, and system levels. This reports presents evaluations performed on various advanced packages/assemblies, especially the flip-chip die version of ball grid array/column grid array (BGA/CGA) using C-SAM equipment. Both external and internal equipment was used for evaluation. The outside facility provided images of the key features that could be detected using the most advanced C-SAM equipment with a skilled operator. Investigation continued using in-house equipment with its limitations. For comparison, representative X-rays of the assemblies were also gathered to show key defect detection features of these non-destructive techniques. Key images gathered and compared are: Compared the images of 2D X-ray and C-SAM for a plastic LGA assembly showing features that could be detected by either NDE technique. For this specific case, X-ray was a clear winner. Evaluated flip-chip CGA and FCBGA assemblies with and without heat sink by C-SAM. Only the FCCGA package that had no heat sink could be fully analyzed for underfill and bump quality. Cross-sectional microscopy did not revealed peripheral delamination features detected by C-SAM. Analyzed a number of fine pitch PBGA assemblies by C-SAM. Even though the internal features of the package assemblies could be detected, C-SAM was unable to detect solder joint failure at either the package or board level. Twenty times touch ups by solder iron with 700degF tip temperature, each with about 5 second duration, did not induce defects to be detected by C-SAM images. Other techniques need to be considered to induce known defects for characterization. Given NASA's emphasis on the use of microelectronic packages and assemblies and quality assurance on workmanship defect detection, understanding key features of various inspection systems that detect defects in the early stages of package and assembly is critical to developing approaches that will minimize future failures. Additional specific, tailored non-destructive inspection approaches could enable low-risk insertion of these advanced electronic packages having hidden and fine features.

Antarctic Climate Variability: Covariance of Ozone and Sea Ice in Atmosphere - Ocean Coupled Model Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jrrar, Amna; Abraham, N. Luke; Pyle, John A.; Holland, David

2014-05-01

Changes in sea ice significantly modulate climate change because of its high reflective and insulating nature. While Arctic Sea Ice Extent (SIE) shows a negative trend. Antarctic SIE shows a weak but positive trend, estimated at 0.127 x 106 km2 per decade. The trend results from large regional cancellations, more ice in the Weddell and the Ross seas, and less ice in the Amundsen - Bellingshausen seas. A number of studies had demonstrated that stratospheric ozone depletion has had a major impact on the atmospheric circulation, causing a positive trend in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), which has been linked to the observed positive trend in autumn sea ice in the Ross Sea. However, other modelling studies show that models forced with prescribed ozone hole simulate decreased sea ice in all regions comparative to a control run. A recent study has also shown that stratospheric ozone recovery will mitigate Antarctic sea ice loss. To verify this assumed relationship, it is important first to investigate the covariance between ozone's natural (dynamical) variability and Antarctic sea ice distribution in pre-industrial climate, to estimate the trend due to natural variability. We investigate the relationship between anomalous Antarctic ozone years and the subsequent changes in Antarctic sea ice distribution in a multidecadal control simulation using the AO-UMUKCA model. The model has a horizontal resolution of 3.75 X 2.5 degrees in longitude and latitude; and 60 hybrid height levels in the vertical, from the surface up to a height of 84 km. The ocean component is the NEMO ocean model on the ORCA2 tripolar grid, and the sea ice model is CICE. We evaluate the model's performance in terms of sea ice distribution, and we calculate sea ice extent trends for composites of anomalously low versus anomalously high SH polar ozone column. We apply EOF analysis to the seasonal anomalies of sea ice concentration, MSLP, and Z 500, and identify the leading climate modes controlling the variability of Antarctic sea ice in each case, and study their relationship with SH polar ozone column.

Distribution of the microelastic properties within the human anterior mitral leaflet.

PubMed

Jensen, Anne Skakkebaek; Baandrup, Ulrik; Hasenkam, J Michael; Kundu, Tribikram; Jørgensen, Claus Schiøtt

2006-12-01

Knowledge of the biomechanical properties of the mitral valve leaflets and their relation to histologic structure is of importance for understanding the leaflet movement characteristics under normal and pathologic conditions, but such knowledge is not yet available. The aim of this study was to determine biomechanical properties of the human anterior mitral leaflet on a microscopic scale. We used scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) to examine the human anterior mitral leaflet. Sections of fixed human anterior mitral leaflet tissue were obtained from postmortem human anterior mitral leaflets (n = 5). We measured the speed of sound (nu(L)) in each histologic layer in three regions-of-interest (ROIs): these were at the annular edge, at the valve midpoint and close to the free edge. nu(L) varied in the three histologic layers (p < 0.01). It was higher in the fibrous layer (1.76 km/s) compared with the atrial layer (1.75 km/s) and ventricular layer (1.73 km/s). Also, nu(L) differed between positions along the length of the annulus-free edge line (p < 0.01), showing a decline from the annular edge (1.76 km/s) to the free edge (1.73 km/s), both as a whole and also within the atrial and the fibrous layer. These results demonstrate that the fibrous layer is stiffer than the atrial and ventricular layer and that the leaflet as a whole and within the atrial and the fibrous layer is stiffer at the annulus part in comparison with those near the free edge. (E-mail: ).

Stability of miscible core?annular flows with viscosity stratification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selvam, B.; Merk, S.; Govindarajan, Rama; Meiburg, E.

The linear stability of variable viscosity, miscible core-annular flows is investigated. Consistent with pipe flow of a single fluid, the flow is stable at any Reynolds number when the magnitude of the viscosity ratio is less than a critical value. This is in contrast to the immiscible case without interfacial tension, which is unstable at any viscosity ratio. Beyond the critical value of the viscosity ratio, the flow can be unstable even when the more viscous fluid is in the core. This is in contrast to plane channel flows with finite interface thickness, which are always stabilized relative to single fluid flow when the less viscous fluid is in contact with the wall. If the more viscous fluid occupies the core, the axisymmetric mode usually dominates over the corkscrew mode. It is demonstrated that, for a less viscous core, the corkscrew mode is inviscidly unstable, whereas the axisymmetric mode is unstable for small Reynolds numbers at high Schmidt numbers. For the parameters under consideration, the switchover occurs at an intermediate Schmidt number of about 500. The occurrence of inviscid instability for the corkscrew mode is shown to be consistent with the Rayleigh criterion for pipe flows. In some parameter ranges, the miscible flow is seen to be more unstable than its immiscible counterpart, and the physical reasons for this behaviour are discussed.A detailed parametric study shows that increasing the interface thickness has a uniformly stabilizing effect. The flow is least stable when the interface between the two fluids is located at approximately 0.6 times the tube radius. Unlike for channel flow, there is no sudden change in the stability with radial location of the interface. The instability originates mainly in the less viscous fluid, close to the interface.

Metamaterial absorber for molecular detection and identification (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Takuo

2017-03-01

Metamaterial absorber was used for a background-suppressed surface-enhanced molecular detection technique. By utilizing the resonant coupling between plasmonic modes of a metamaterial absorber and infrared (IR) vibrational modes of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), attomole level molecular sensitivity was experimentally demonstrated. IR absorption spectroscopy of molecular vibrations is of importance in chemical, material, medical science and so on, since it provides essential information of the molecular structure, composition, and orientation. In the vibrational spectroscopic techniques, in addition to the weak signals from the molecules, strong background degrades the signal-to-noise ratio, and suppression of the background is crucial for the further improvement of the sensitivity. Here, we demonstrate low-background resonant Surface enhanced IR absorption (SEIRA) by using the metamaterial IR absorber that offers significant background suppression as well as plasmonic enhancement. By using mask-less laser lithography technique, metamaterial absorber which consisted of 1D array of Au micro-ribbons on a thick Au film separated by a transparent gap layer made of MgF2 was fabricated. This metamaterial structure was designed to exhibit an anomalous IR absorption at 3000 cm-1, which spectrally overlapped with C-H stretching vibrational modes. 16-Mercaptohexadecanoic acid (16-MHDA) was used as a test molecule, which formed a 2-nm thick SAM with their thiol head-group chemisorbed on the Au surface. In the FTIR measurements, the symmetric and asymmetric C-H stretching modes were clearly observed as reflection peaks within a broad plasmonic absorption of the metamaterial, and 1.8 attomole molecular sensitivity was experimentally demonstrated.

The dynamics and tuning of orchestral crotales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deutsch, Bradley M.; Ramirez, Cherie L.; Moore, Thomas R.

2004-10-01

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the acoustic and vibrational properties of orchestral crotales within the range C6 to C8 is reported. Interferograms of the acoustically important modes of vibration are presented and the frequencies are reported. It is shown that the acoustic spectra of crotales are not predicted by assuming that they are either thin circular plates or annular plates clamped at the center, despite the physical resemblance to these objects. Results from finite element analysis are presented that demonstrate how changing the size of the central mass affects the tuning of the instruments, and it is concluded that crotales are not currently designed to ensure optimal tuning. The possibility of using annular plates as crotales is also investigated and the physical parameters for such a set of instruments are presented. .

Nonlinear Metasurface for Simultaneous Control of Spin and Orbital Angular Momentum in Second Harmonic Generation.

PubMed

Li, Guixin; Wu, Lin; Li, King F; Chen, Shumei; Schlickriede, Christian; Xu, Zhengji; Huang, Siya; Li, Wendi; Liu, Yanjun; Pun, Edwin Y B; Zentgraf, Thomas; Cheah, Kok W; Luo, Yu; Zhang, Shuang

2017-12-13

The spin and orbital angular momentum (SAM and OAM) of light is providing a new gateway toward high capacity and robust optical communications. While the generation of light with angular momentum is well studied in linear optics, its further integration into nonlinear optical devices will open new avenues for increasing the capacity of optical communications through additional information channels at new frequencies. However, it has been challenging to manipulate the both SAM and OAM of nonlinear signals in harmonic generation processes with conventional nonlinear materials. Here, we report the generation of spin-controlled OAM of light in harmonic generations by using ultrathin photonic metasurfaces. The spin manipulation of OAM mode of harmonic waves is experimentally verified by using second harmonic generation (SHG) from gold meta-atom with 3-fold rotational symmetry. By introducing nonlinear phase singularity into the metasurface devices, we successfully generate and measure the topological charges of spin-controlled OAM mode of SHG through an on-chip metasurface interferometer. The nonlinear photonic metasurface proposed in this work not only opens new avenues for manipulating the OAM of nonlinear optical signals but also benefits the understanding of the nonlinear spin-orbit interaction of light in nanoscale devices.

Modal characteristics of a simplified brake rotor model using semi-analytical Rayleigh Ritz method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F.; Cheng, L.; Yam, L. H.; Zhou, L. M.

2006-10-01

Emphasis of this paper is given to the modal characteristics of a brake rotor which is utilized in automotive disc brake system. The brake rotor is modeled as a combined structure comprising an annular plate connected to a segment of cylindrical shell by distributed artificial springs. Modal analysis shows the existence of three types of modes for the combined structure, depending on the involvement of each substructure. A decomposition technique is proposed, allowing each mode of the combined structure to be decomposed into a linear combination of the individual substructure modes. It is shown that the decomposition coefficients provide a direct and systematic means to carry out modal classification and quantification.

Loading Mode Optimization and Structure Tailoring in Spark Plasma Sintering of Monocarbide Powder-based Components for High Temperature Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Xialu

In this study, the spark plasma sintering (SPS) is employed to consolidate poorly sinter-able ultra-high temperature ceramic (UHTC) powders due to the fact that the conjoint application of electric current and mechanical pressure during SPS can largely offset the required processing temperature. Zirconium carbide (ZrC) is selected as target material as it broadly represents properties of typical UHTCs. Investigations on SPS of ZrC are concurrently conducted in two correlated regimes: One regime is used to optimize the SPS densification efficiency by manipulating the loading schematics. The other regime is used to produce complex shape carbide components for high temperature applications via SPS. Both theoretical and experimental studies are involved in the achievement of the formulated research objectives. Consolidation of ZrC has been carried out to form a densification map with determining the optimal processing parameters. The densification of ZrC is studied through the continuum theory of sintering, in which the ZrC power-law creep parameters have been determined through the clarification of electrical and thermal aspects of the employed SPS system. Then the SPS-forging setup is proposed as it is theoretically and experimentally proven to be able to render more densification than the regular SPS. SPS-forging and regular SPS are eventually integrated into a hybrid loading mode SPS regime to combine the advantages of the individual setups to obtain the optimal densification kinetics. Annular shape ZrC pellets have been fabricated using SPS. Finite element modeling framework is constructed to manifest the thermomechanical interactions during the SPS of annular shape ZrC specimens. The fabrication procedures are practically adapted to produce also annular shape carbide composites with excellent high temperature structural strength being used as alternative SPS tooling components. The applicability of annular shape fuel pellet to accommodate volume swelling under its service conditions is investigated. The irradiation-induced swelling phenomena are analyzed by analytical modeling and finite element simulations, in which the generated fission products are considered to be the sources of the fuel pellet swelling.

Estimated phase transition and melting temperature of APTES self-assembled monolayer using surface-enhanced anti-stokes and stokes Raman scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yingying; Yanagisawa, Masahiro; Kunimoto, Masahiro; Nakamura, Masatoshi; Homma, Takayuki

2016-02-01

A structure's temperature can be determined from the Raman spectrum using the frequency and the ratio of the intensities of the anti-Stokes and Stokes signals (the Ias/Is ratio). In this study, we apply this approach and an equation relating the temperature, Raman frequency, and Ias/Is ratio to in-situ estimation of the phase change point of a (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane self-assembled monolayer (APTES SAM). Ag nanoparticles were deposited on APTES to enhance the Raman signals. A time-resolved measurement mode was used to monitor the variation in the Raman spectra in situ. Moreover, the structural change in APTES SAM (from ordered to disordered structure) under heating was discussed in detail, and the phase change point (around 118 °C) was calculated.

Evaluation of Sea Ice Kinematics and their Impact on Ice Thickness Distribution in the Arctic

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

operational and research data to interested users. The position error for these buoys has been estimated as 0.3 km by Thorndike and Colony (1980...1297–1300. ———, and ———,1999: Annular Modes in the Extratropical Circulations. Part II: Trends. J. Clim., 13, 1018–1036. Thorndike , A. S., and R

Quantitative comparison of bright field and annular bright field imaging modes for characterization of oxygen octahedral tilts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Young-Min; Pennycook, Stephen J.; Borisevich, Albina Y.

Octahedral tilt behavior is increasingly recognized as an important contributing factor to the physical behavior of perovskite oxide materials and especially their interfaces, necessitating the development of high-resolution methods of tilt mapping. There are currently two major approaches for quantitative imaging of tilts in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), bright field (BF) and annular bright field (ABF). In this study, we show that BF STEM can be reliably used for measurements of oxygen octahedral tilts. While optimal conditions for BF imaging are more restricted with respect to sample thickness and defocus, we find that BF imaging with an aberration-corrected microscopemore » with the accelerating voltage of 300 kV gives us the most accurate quantitative measurement of the oxygen column positions. Using the tilted perovskite structure of BiFeO 3 (BFO) as our test sample, we simulate BF and ABF images in a wide range of conditions, identifying the optimal imaging conditions for each mode. Finally, we show that unlike ABF imaging, BF imaging remains directly quantitatively interpretable for a wide range of the specimen mistilt, suggesting that it should be preferable to the ABF STEM imaging for quantitative structure determination.« less

Quantitative comparison of bright field and annular bright field imaging modes for characterization of oxygen octahedral tilts

DOE PAGES

Kim, Young-Min; Pennycook, Stephen J.; Borisevich, Albina Y.

2017-04-29

Octahedral tilt behavior is increasingly recognized as an important contributing factor to the physical behavior of perovskite oxide materials and especially their interfaces, necessitating the development of high-resolution methods of tilt mapping. There are currently two major approaches for quantitative imaging of tilts in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), bright field (BF) and annular bright field (ABF). In this study, we show that BF STEM can be reliably used for measurements of oxygen octahedral tilts. While optimal conditions for BF imaging are more restricted with respect to sample thickness and defocus, we find that BF imaging with an aberration-corrected microscopemore » with the accelerating voltage of 300 kV gives us the most accurate quantitative measurement of the oxygen column positions. Using the tilted perovskite structure of BiFeO 3 (BFO) as our test sample, we simulate BF and ABF images in a wide range of conditions, identifying the optimal imaging conditions for each mode. Finally, we show that unlike ABF imaging, BF imaging remains directly quantitatively interpretable for a wide range of the specimen mistilt, suggesting that it should be preferable to the ABF STEM imaging for quantitative structure determination.« less

Maintenance of coupling between stratosphere and troposphere annular modes in middle and late winter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de La Torre, L.; Gimeno, L.; Nieto, R.; Tesouro, M.; Añel, J. A.; Ribera, P.; García, R.; Hernández, E.

2003-04-01

The main objective of this work is to know when the coupling between stratosphere and troposphere Northern Annular Mode (NAM) is maintained during mid- and late winter (January-February-March) . Daily NAM-index time series calculated at 17 pressure levels from 1000 to 10-hPa for the period 1958-2001 were used in this study, as well as NCAR-NCEP reanalysis to characterize spatial patterns. So, a) we identified periods when coupling between stratospheric and tropospheric NAMs are intense/weak in mid-late winter, b) we tried to characterize these periods in terms of spatial patterns of geopotential anomalies and c) we characterized these periods in terms of stratospheric-tropospheric NAMs cross-correlation structures. Results suggest that: a)there is intense interannual variability in the number of uncoupling/coupling days, b) coupling periods are characterized by strong negative geopotential anomalies over Eurasia, c) there is only positive NAO values in the coupling days composite, c) there is two main pattens of cross-correlations, in one of them troposphere and stratosphere NAM are correlated at lag 0 and in the other troposphere NAM leads stratosphere NAM in about two weeks.

Heterotypic Sam-Sam association between Odin-Sam1 and Arap3-Sam: binding affinity and structural insights.

PubMed

Mercurio, Flavia A; Marasco, Daniela; Pirone, Luciano; Scognamiglio, Pasqualina L; Pedone, Emilia M; Pellecchia, Maurizio; Leone, Marilisa

2013-01-02

Arap3 is a phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase effector protein that plays a role as GTPase activator (GAP) for Arf6 and RhoA. Arap3 contains a sterile alpha motif (Sam) domain that has high sequence homology with the Sam domain of the EphA2-receptor (EphA2-Sam). Both Arap3-Sam and EphA2-Sam are able to associate with the Sam domain of the lipid phosphatase Ship2 (Ship2-Sam). Recently, we reported a novel interaction between the first Sam domain of Odin (Odin-Sam1), a protein belonging to the ANKS (ANKyrin repeat and Sam domain containing) family, and EphA2-Sam. In our latest work, we applied NMR spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to characterize the association between Arap3-Sam and Odin-Sam1. We show that these two Sam domains interact with low micromolar affinity. Moreover, by means of molecular docking techniques, supported by NMR data, we demonstrate that Odin-Sam1 and Arap3-Sam might bind with a topology that is common to several Sam-Sam complexes. The revealed structural details form the basis for the design of potential peptide antagonists that could be used as chemical tools to investigate functional aspects related to heterotypic Arap3-Sam associations. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Intermolecular and interfacial forces: Elucidating molecular mechanisms using chemical force microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashby, Paul David

Investigation into the origin of forces dates to the early Greeks. Yet, only in recent decades have techniques for elucidating the molecular origin of forces been developed. Specifically, Chemical Force Microscopy uses the high precision and nanometer scale probe of Atomic Force Microscopy to measure molecular and interfacial interactions. This thesis presents the development of many novel Chemical Force Microscopy techniques for measuring equilibrium and time-dependant force profiles of molecular interactions, which led to a greater understanding of the origin of interfacial forces in solution. In chapter 2, Magnetic Feedback Chemical Force Microscopy stiffens the cantilever for measuring force profiles between self-assembled monolayer (SAM) surfaces. Hydroxyl and carboxyl terminated SAMs produce long-range interactions that extend one or three nanometers into the solvent, respectively. In chapter 3, an ultra low noise AFM is produced through multiple modifications to the optical deflection detection system and signal processing electronics. In chapter 4, Brownian Force Profile Reconstruction is developed for accurate measurement of steep attractive interactions. Molecular ordering is observed for OMCTS, 1-nonanol, and water near flat surfaces. The molecular ordering of the solvent produces structural or solvation forces, providing insight into the orientation and possible solidification of the confined solvent. Seven molecular layers of OMCTS are observed but the oil remains fluid to the last layer. 1-nonanol strongly orders near the surface and becomes quasi-crystalline with four layers. Water is oriented by the surface and symmetry requires two layers of water (3.7 A) to be removed simultaneously. In chapter 5, electronic control of the cantilever Q (Q-control) is used to obtain the highest imaging sensitivity. In chapter 6, Energy Dissipation Chemical Force Microscopy is developed to investigate the time dependence and dissipative characteristics of SAM interfacial interactions in solution. Long-range adhesive forces for hydroxyl and carboxyl terminated SAM surfaces arise from solvent, not ionic, interactions. Exclusion of the solvent and contact between the SAM surfaces leads to rearrangement of the SAM headgroups. The isolation of the chemical and physical interfacial properties from the topography by Energy Dissipation Chemical Force Microscopy produces a new quantitative high-sensitivity imaging mode.

Dynamics of circular arrangements of vorticity in two dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swaminathan, Rohith V.; Ravichandran, S.; Perlekar, Prasad; Govindarajan, Rama

2016-07-01

The merger of two like-signed vortices is a well-studied problem, but in a turbulent flow, we may often have more than two like-signed vortices interacting. We study the merger of three or more identical corotating vortices initially arranged on the vertices of a regular polygon. At low to moderate Reynolds numbers, we find an additional stage in the merger process, absent in the merger of two vortices, where an annular vortical structure is formed and is long lived. Vortex merger is slowed down significantly due to this. Such annular vortices are known at far higher Reynolds numbers in studies of tropical cyclones, which have been noticed to a break down into individual vortices. In the preannular stage, vortical structures in a viscous flow are found here to tilt and realign in a manner similar to the inviscid case, but the pronounced filaments visible in the latter are practically absent in the former. Five or fewer vortices initially elongate radially, and then reorient their long axis closer to the azimuthal direction so as to form an annulus. With six or more vortices, the initial alignment is already azimuthal. Interestingly at higher Reynolds numbers, the merger of an odd number of vortices is found to proceed very differently from that of an even number. The former process is rapid and chaotic whereas the latter proceeds more slowly via pairing events. The annular vortex takes the form of a generalized Lamb-Oseen vortex (GLO), and diffuses inward until it forms a standard Lamb-Oseen vortex. For lower Reynolds number, the numerical (fully nonlinear) evolution of the GLO vortex follows exactly the analytical evolution until merger. At higher Reynolds numbers, the annulus goes through instabilities whose nonlinear stages show a pronounced difference between even and odd mode disturbances. Here again, the odd mode causes an early collapse of the annulus via decaying turbulence into a single central vortex, whereas the even mode disturbance causes a more orderly progression into a single vortex. Results from linear stability analysis agree with the nonlinear simulations, and predict the frequencies of the most unstable modes better than they predict the growth rates. It is hoped that the present findings, that multiple vortex merger is qualitatively different from the merger of two vortices, will motivate studies on how multiple vortex interactions affect the inverse cascade in two-dimensional turbulence.

Sam37 is crucial for formation of the mitochondrial TOM-SAM supercomplex, thereby promoting β-barrel biogenesis.

PubMed

Wenz, Lena-Sophie; Ellenrieder, Lars; Qiu, Jian; Bohnert, Maria; Zufall, Nicole; van der Laan, Martin; Pfanner, Nikolaus; Wiedemann, Nils; Becker, Thomas

2015-09-28

Biogenesis of mitochondrial β-barrel proteins requires two preprotein translocases, the general translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) and the sorting and assembly machinery (SAM). TOM and SAM form a supercomplex that promotes transfer of β-barrel precursors. The SAM core complex contains the channel protein Sam50, which cooperates with Sam35 in precursor recognition, and the peripheral membrane protein Sam37. The molecular function of Sam37 has been unknown. We report that Sam37 is crucial for formation of the TOM-SAM supercomplex. Sam37 interacts with the receptor domain of Tom22 on the cytosolic side of the mitochondrial outer membrane and links TOM and SAM complexes. Sam37 thus promotes efficient transfer of β-barrel precursors to the SAM complex. We conclude that Sam37 functions as a coupling factor of the translocase supercomplex of the mitochondrial outer membrane. © 2015 Wenz et al.

Selective radiative heating of nanostructures using hyperbolic metamaterials

DOE PAGES

Ding, Ding; Minnich, Austin J

2015-01-01

Hyperbolic metamaterials (HMM) are of great interest due to their ability to break the diffraction limit for imaging and enhance near-field radiative heat transfer. Here we demonstrate that an annular, transparent HMM enables selective heating of a sub-wavelength plasmonic nanowire by controlling the angular mode number of a plasmonic resonance. A nanowire emitter, surrounded by an HMM, appears dark to incoming radiation from an adjacent nanowire emitter unless the second emitter is surrounded by an identical lens such that the wavelength and angular mode of the plasmonic resonance match. Our result can find applications in radiative thermal management.

Indices of climate change in the Artic zone derived from radiosondes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Añel, J. A.; Gimeno, L.; de La Torre, L.; Nieto, R.; Tesouro, M.; Ribera, P.; García, R.; Hernández, E.

2003-04-01

The use of indices has been traditionally one of the main tools to identify climatic change. Here we present a study of the interannual variability of parameters derived from radiosonde data to study climate change in the artic zone. Trends, oscillations and the relationship with the principal climate variability mode for this region ( Northern Annular Mode) have been studied. We calculate the indices from the Upper Air Digital Files of the National Climatic Data Center (CARDS). We chose for our work the radiosonde data of stations over the studied region, with a temporal coverage of 27 years (1973-1998).

Sensitivity Analysis for Multidisciplinary Systems (SAMS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

support both mode-based structural representations and time-dependent, nonlinear finite element structural dynamics. This interim report describes...Adaptation, & Sensitivity Toolkit • Elasticity, heat transfer, & compressible flow • Adjoint solver for sensitivity analysis • High-order finite elements ...PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 62201F 6. AUTHOR(S) Richard D. Snyder 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 2401 5e. TASK NUMBER N/A 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER Q1FS 7

Three component laser anemometer measurements in an annular cascade of core turbine vanes with contoured end wall

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldman, Louis J.; Seasholtz, Richard G.

1988-01-01

The three mean velocity components were measured in a full-scale annular turbine stator cascade with contoured hub end wall using a newly developed laser anemometer system. The anemometer consists of a standard fringe configuration using fluorescent seed particles to measure the axial and tangential components. The radial component is measured with a scanning confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer. These two configurations are combined in a single optical system that can operate simultaneously in a backscatter mode through a single optical access port. Experimental measurements were obtained both within and downstream of the stator vane row and compared with calculations from a three-dimensional inviscid computer program. In addition, detailed calibration procedures are described that were used, prior to the experiment, to accurately determine the laser beam probe volume location relative to the cascade hardware.

Measurement of the surface-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (SECARS) due to the 1574 cm(-1) surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) mode of benzenethiol using low-power (<20 mW) CW diode lasers.

PubMed

Aggarwal, Roshan L; Farrar, Lewis W; Greeneltch, Nathan G; Van Duyne, Richard P; Polla, Dennis L

2013-02-01

The surface-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (SECARS) from a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of benzenethiol on a silver-coated surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate has been measured for the 1574 cm(-1) SERS mode. A value of 9.6 ± 1.7×10(-14) W was determined for the resonant component of the SECARS signal using 17.8 mW of 784.9 nm pump laser power and 7.1 mW of 895.5 nm Stokes laser power; the pump and Stokes lasers were polarized parallel to each other but perpendicular to the grooves of the diffraction grating in the spectrometer. The measured value of resonant component of the SECARS signal is in agreement with the calculated value of 9.3×10(-14) W using the measured value of 8.7 ± 0.5 cm(-1) for the SERS linewidth Γ (full width at half-maximum) and the value of 5.7 ± 1.4×10(-7) for the product of the Raman cross section σSERS and the surface concentration Ns of the benzenethiol SAM. The xxxx component of the resonant part of the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility |3 χxxxx((3)R)| for the 1574 cm(-1) SERS mode has been determined to be 4.3 ± 1.1×10(-5) cm·g(-1)·s(2). The SERS enhancement factor for the 1574 cm(-1) mode was determined to be 3.6 ± 0.9×10(7) using the value of 1.8×10(15) molecules/cm(2) for Ns.

Multiple polymer architectures of human Polyhomeotic homolog 3 (PHC3) SAM

PubMed Central

Nanyes, David R.; Junco, Sarah E.; Taylor, Alexander B.; Robinson, Angela K.; Patterson, Nicolle L.; Shivarajpur, Ambika; Halloran, Jonathan; Hale, Seth M.; Kaur, Yogeet; Hart, P. John; Kim, Chongwoo A.

2014-01-01

The self-association of sterile alpha motifs (SAMs) into a helical polymer architecture is a critical functional component of many different and diverse array of proteins. For the Drosophila Polycomb group (PcG) protein Polyhomeotic (Ph), its SAM polymerization serves as the structural foundation to cluster multiple PcG complexes, helping to maintain a silenced chromatin state. Ph SAM shares 64% sequence identity with its human ortholog, PHC3 SAM, and both SAMs polymerize. However, in the context of their larger protein regions, PHC3 SAM forms longer polymers compared to Ph SAM. Motivated to establish the precise structural basis for the differences, if any, between Ph and PHC3 SAM, we determined the crystal structure of the PHC3 SAM polymer. PHC3 SAM utilizes the same SAM-SAM interaction as the Ph SAM six-fold repeat polymer. Yet, PHC3 SAM polymerizes utilizing just five SAMs per turn of the helical polymer rather than the typical six per turn observed for all SAM polymers reported to date. Structural analysis suggested that malleability of the PHC3 SAM would allow formation of not just the five-fold repeat structure but possibly others. Indeed, a second PHC3 SAM polymer in a different crystal form forms a six-fold repeat polymer. These results suggest that the polymers formed by PHC3 SAM, and likely others, are quite dynamic. The functional consequence of the variable PHC3 SAM polymers may be to create different chromatin architectures. PMID:25044168

The Sam Domain of EphA2 Receptor and its Relevance to Cancer: A Novel Challenge for Drug Discovery?

PubMed

Mercurio, Flavia A; Leone, Marilisa

2016-01-01

Eph receptors play important functions in developmental processes and diseases and among them EphA2 is well known for its controversial role in cancer. Drug discovery strategies are mainly centered on EphA2 extracellular ligand-binding domain however, the receptor also contains a largely unexplored cytosolic Sam (Sterile alpha motif) domain at the C-terminus. EphA2-Sam binds the Sam domain from the lipid phosphatase Ship2 and the first Sam domain of Odin. Sam-Sam interactions may be important to regulate ligand-induced receptor endocytosis and degradation i.e., processes that could be engaged against tumor malignancy. We critically analyzed literature related to a) Eph receptors with particular emphasis on EphA2 and its role in cancer, b) Sam domains, c) heterotypic Sam-Sam interactions involving EphA2-Sam. While literature data indicate that binding of EphA2-Sam to Ship2-Sam should largely generate pro-oncogenic effects in cancer cells, the correlation between EphA2- Sam/Odin-Sam1 complex and the disease is unclear. Recently a few linear peptides encompassing binding interfaces from either Ship2-Sam and Odin-Sam1 have been characterized but failed to efficiently block heterotypic Sam-Sam interactions involving EphA2-Sam due to the lack of a native like fold. Molecule antagonists of heterotypic EphA2-Sam associations could work as potential anticancer agents or be implemented as tools to further clarify receptor functions and eventually validate its role as a novel target in the field of anti-cancer drug discovery. Due to the failure of linear peptides there is a crucial need for novel approaches, based on cyclic or helical molecules, to target Sam-Sam interfaces.

Generation of 2 µm Laguerre-Gaussian mode in a Tm:LuYAG solid-state laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Qiyao; Ding, Manman; Zhao, Yongguang; Zhou, Wei; Shen, Deyuan

2018-04-01

In this article, we discuss the first vortex laser in the 2 µm spectral range directly generated from a Tm:LuYAG oscillator, in which a pump beam with annular intensity distribution is employed in line with Laguerre-Gaussian modes. Laser thresholds of different-order Laguerre-Gaussian modes are theoretically analyzed and discussed. Vortex lasers with orbital angular momentum of ħ and  -ħ were experimentally produced with corresponding output powers of 1.75 W and 1.64 W, respectively. This directly emitted vortex laser generated in the ~2 µm region from a compact and robust Tm:LuYAG oscillator has potential applications in the areas of molecular spectroscopy and organic material processing amongst others.

Structures of the peptide-modifying radical SAM enzyme SuiB elucidate the basis of substrate recognition.

PubMed

Davis, Katherine M; Schramma, Kelsey R; Hansen, William A; Bacik, John P; Khare, Sagar D; Seyedsayamdost, Mohammad R; Ando, Nozomi

2017-09-26

Posttranslational modification of ribosomally synthesized peptides provides an elegant means for the production of biologically active molecules known as RiPPs (ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides). Although the leader sequence of the precursor peptide is often required for turnover, the exact mode of recognition by the modifying enzymes remains unclear for many members of this class of natural products. Here, we have used X-ray crystallography and computational modeling to examine the role of the leader peptide in the biosynthesis of a homolog of streptide, a recently identified peptide natural product with an intramolecular lysine-tryptophan cross-link, which is installed by the radical S -adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzyme, StrB. We present crystal structures of SuiB, a close ortholog of StrB, in various forms, including apo SuiB, SAM-bound SuiB, and a complex of SuiB with SAM and its peptide substrate, SuiA. Although the N-terminal domain of SuiB adopts a typical RRE (RiPP recognition element) motif, which has been implicated in precursor peptide recognition, we observe binding of the leader peptide in the catalytic barrel rather than the N-terminal domain. Computational simulations support a mechanism in which the leader peptide guides posttranslational modification by positioning the cross-linking residues of the precursor peptide within the active site. Together the results shed light onto binding of the precursor peptide and the associated conformational changes needed for the formation of the unique carbon-carbon cross-link in the streptide family of natural products.

Organic molecules in the Sheepbed Mudstone, Gale Crater, Mars

PubMed Central

Freissinet, C; Glavin, D P; Mahaffy, P R; Miller, K E; Eigenbrode, J L; Summons, R E; Brunner, A E; Buch, A; Szopa, C; Archer, P D; Franz, H B; Atreya, S K; Brinckerhoff, W B; Cabane, M; Coll, P; Conrad, P G; Des Marais, D J; Dworkin, J P; Fairén, A G; François, P; Grotzinger, J P; Kashyap, S; ten Kate, I L; Leshin, L A; Malespin, C A; Martin, M G; Martin-Torres, F J; McAdam, A C; Ming, D W; Navarro-González, R; Pavlov, A A; Prats, B D; Squyres, S W; Steele, A; Stern, J C; Sumner, D Y; Sutter, B; Zorzano, M-P

2015-01-01

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on board the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover is designed to conduct inorganic and organic chemical analyses of the atmosphere and the surface regolith and rocks to help evaluate the past and present habitability potential of Mars at Gale Crater. Central to this task is the development of an inventory of any organic molecules present to elucidate processes associated with their origin, diagenesis, concentration, and long-term preservation. This will guide the future search for biosignatures. Here we report the definitive identification of chlorobenzene (150–300 parts per billion by weight (ppbw)) and C2 to C4 dichloroalkanes (up to 70 ppbw) with the SAM gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GCMS) and detection of chlorobenzene in the direct evolved gas analysis (EGA) mode, in multiple portions of the fines from the Cumberland drill hole in the Sheepbed mudstone at Yellowknife Bay. When combined with GCMS and EGA data from multiple scooped and drilled samples, blank runs, and supporting laboratory analog studies, the elevated levels of chlorobenzene and the dichloroalkanes cannot be solely explained by instrument background sources known to be present in SAM. We conclude that these chlorinated hydrocarbons are the reaction products of Martian chlorine and organic carbon derived from Martian sources (e.g., igneous, hydrothermal, atmospheric, or biological) or exogenous sources such as meteorites, comets, or interplanetary dust particles. Key Points First in situ evidence of nonterrestrial organics in Martian surface sediments Chlorinated hydrocarbons identified in the Sheepbed mudstone by SAM Organics preserved in sample exposed to ionizing radiation and oxidative condition PMID:26690960

Organic molecules in the Sheepbed Mudstone, Gale Crater, Mars.

PubMed

Freissinet, C; Glavin, D P; Mahaffy, P R; Miller, K E; Eigenbrode, J L; Summons, R E; Brunner, A E; Buch, A; Szopa, C; Archer, P D; Franz, H B; Atreya, S K; Brinckerhoff, W B; Cabane, M; Coll, P; Conrad, P G; Des Marais, D J; Dworkin, J P; Fairén, A G; François, P; Grotzinger, J P; Kashyap, S; Ten Kate, I L; Leshin, L A; Malespin, C A; Martin, M G; Martin-Torres, F J; McAdam, A C; Ming, D W; Navarro-González, R; Pavlov, A A; Prats, B D; Squyres, S W; Steele, A; Stern, J C; Sumner, D Y; Sutter, B; Zorzano, M-P

2015-03-01

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on board the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover is designed to conduct inorganic and organic chemical analyses of the atmosphere and the surface regolith and rocks to help evaluate the past and present habitability potential of Mars at Gale Crater. Central to this task is the development of an inventory of any organic molecules present to elucidate processes associated with their origin, diagenesis, concentration, and long-term preservation. This will guide the future search for biosignatures. Here we report the definitive identification of chlorobenzene (150-300 parts per billion by weight (ppbw)) and C 2 to C 4 dichloroalkanes (up to 70 ppbw) with the SAM gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GCMS) and detection of chlorobenzene in the direct evolved gas analysis (EGA) mode, in multiple portions of the fines from the Cumberland drill hole in the Sheepbed mudstone at Yellowknife Bay. When combined with GCMS and EGA data from multiple scooped and drilled samples, blank runs, and supporting laboratory analog studies, the elevated levels of chlorobenzene and the dichloroalkanes cannot be solely explained by instrument background sources known to be present in SAM. We conclude that these chlorinated hydrocarbons are the reaction products of Martian chlorine and organic carbon derived from Martian sources (e.g., igneous, hydrothermal, atmospheric, or biological) or exogenous sources such as meteorites, comets, or interplanetary dust particles. First in situ evidence of nonterrestrial organics in Martian surface sediments Chlorinated hydrocarbons identified in the Sheepbed mudstone by SAM Organics preserved in sample exposed to ionizing radiation and oxidative condition.

Human polyhomeotic homolog 3 (PHC3) sterile alpha motif (SAM) linker allows open-ended polymerization of PHC3 SAM.

PubMed

Robinson, Angela K; Leal, Belinda Z; Nanyes, David R; Kaur, Yogeet; Ilangovan, Udayar; Schirf, Virgil; Hinck, Andrew P; Demeler, Borries; Kim, Chongwoo A

2012-07-10

Sterile alpha motifs (SAMs) are frequently found in eukaryotic genomes. An intriguing property of many SAMs is their ability to self-associate, forming an open-ended polymer structure whose formation has been shown to be essential for the function of the protein. What remains largely unresolved is how polymerization is controlled. Previously, we had determined that the stretch of unstructured residues N-terminal to the SAM of a Drosophila protein called polyhomeotic (Ph), a member of the polycomb group (PcG) of gene silencers, plays a key role in controlling Ph SAM polymerization. Ph SAM with its native linker created shorter polymers compared to Ph SAM attached to either a random linker or no linker. Here, we show that the SAM linker for the human Ph ortholog, polyhomeotic homolog 3 (PHC3), also controls PHC3 SAM polymerization but does so in the opposite fashion. PHC3 SAM with its native linker allows longer polymers to form compared to when attached to a random linker. Attaching the PHC3 SAM linker to Ph SAM also resulted in extending Ph SAM polymerization. Moreover, in the context of full-length Ph protein, replacing the SAM linker with PHC3 SAM linker, intended to create longer polymers, resulted in greater repressive ability for the chimera compared to wild-type Ph. These findings show that polymeric SAM linkers evolved to modulate a wide dynamic range of SAM polymerization abilities and suggest that rationally manipulating the function of SAM containing proteins through controlling their SAM polymerization may be possible.

Persistence of Antarctic polar stratospheric clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccormick, M. Patrick; Trepte, C. R.

1988-01-01

The persistence of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) observed by the Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement (SAM) 2 satellite sensor over a 9-year period is compared and contrasted. Histograms of the SAM 2 1.0 micron extinction ratio data (aerosol extinction normalized by the molecular extinction) at an altitude of 18 km in the Antarctic have been generated for three 10-day periods in the month of September. Statistics for eight different years (1979 to 1982 and 1984 to 1987) are shown in separate panels for each figure. Since the SAM 2 system is a solar occultation experiment, observations are limited to the edge of the polar night and no measurements are made deep within the vortex where temperatures could be colder. For this reason, use is made of the NMC global gridded fields and the known temperature-extinction relationship to infer additional information on the occurrence and areal coverage of PSCs. Calculations of the daily areal coverage of the 195 K isotherm will be presented for this same period of data. This contour level lies in the range of the predicted temperature for onset of the Type 1 particle enhancement mode at 50 mb (Poole and McCormick, 1988b) and should indicate approximately when formation of the binary HNO3-H2O particles begins.

Grid Effects on LES Thermo-Acoustic Limit-Cycle of a Full Annular Aeronautical Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolf, Pierre; Gicquel, Laurent Y. M.; Staffelbach, Gabriel; Poinsot, Thierry

Recent developments in large scale computer architectures allow Large Eddy Simulation (LES) to be considered for the prediction of turbulent reacting flows in geometries encountered in industry. To do so, various difficulties must be overcome and the first one is to ensure that proper meshes can be used for LES. Indeed, the quality of meshes is known to be a critical factor in LES of reacting flows. This issue becomes even more crucial when LES is used to compute large configurations such as full annular combustion chambers. Various analysis of mesh effects on LES results have been published before but all are limited to single-sector computational domains. However, real annular gas-turbine engines contain ten to twenty of such sectors and LES must also be used in such full chambers for the study of ignition or azimuthal thermo-acoustic interactions. Instabilities (mostly azimuthal modes involving the full annular geometry) remain a critical issue to aeronautical or power-generation industries and LES seems to be a promising path to properly apprehend such complex unsteady couplings. Based on these observations, mesh effects on LES in a full annular gas-turbine combustion chamber (including its casing) is studied here in the context of its azimuthal thermo-acoustic response. To do so, a fully compressible, multi-species reacting LES is used on two meshes yielding two fully unsteady turbulent reacting predictions of the same configuration. The two tetrahedra meshes contain respectively 38 and 93 millions cells. Limit-cycles as obtained by the two LES are gauged against each other for various flow quantities such as mean velocity profiles, flame position and temperature fields. The thermo-acoustic limit-cycles are observed to be relatively indepedent of the grid resolution which comforts the use of LES tools to provide insights and understanding of the mechanisms triggering the coupling between the system acoustic eigenmodes and combustion.

Highlight on the indigenous organic molecules detected on Mars by SAM and potential sources of artifacts and backgrounds generated by the sample preparation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buch, A.; Belmahdi, I.; Szopa, C.; Freissinet, C.; Glavin, D. P.; Coll, P. J.; Cabane, M.; Millan, M.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Navarro-Gonzalez, R.; Stern, J. C.; Pinnick, V. T.; Coscia, D.; Teinturier, S.; Stambouli, M.; Dequaire, T.; Mahaffy, P. R.

2015-12-01

Among the experiments which explore the martian soil aboard the Curiosity Rover, SAM experiment is mainly dedicated to the search for indigenous organic compounds. To reach its goals SAM can operate in different analysis modes: Pyrolysis-GC-MS and Pyrolysis-MS (EGA). In addition SAM includes wet chemistry experiments [1] to supports extraction of polar organic compounds from solid samples that improves their detection either by increasing the release of chemical species from solid sample matrices, or by changing their chemical structure to make compounds more amenable to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). The two wet chemistry experimental capabilities of SAM provide alternatives to the nominal inert-thermal desorption/pyrolysis analytical protocol and are more aptly suited for polar components: MTBSTFA derivatization [2-3] and TMAH thermochemolysis [4-5]. Here we focus on the MTBSTFA derivatization experiment. In order to build a support used to help the interpretation of SAM results, we have investigated the artifacts and backgrounds sources generated by the all analysis process: Solid sample were heated up to approximately 840°C at a rate of 35°C/min under He flow. For GC analyses, the majority of the gas released was trapped on a hydrocarbon trap (Tenax®) over a specific temperature range. Adsorbed volatiles on the GC injection trap (IT) were then released into the GC column (CLP-MXT 30m x 0.25mm x 0.25μm) by rapidly heating the IT to 300°C. Then, in order better understand the part of compounds detected coming from internal reaction we have performed several lab experiments to mimic the SAM device: Among the sources of artifact, we test: (1) the thermal stability and the organic material released during the degradation of Tenax® and carbosieve, (2) the impact of MTBSTFA and a mixture of DMF and MTBSTFA on the adsorbent, (3) the reaction between the different adsorbents (Tenax® and Carbosieve) and calcium perchlorate and then (4) the sources and molecules that may constitute organic material precursors sources. References: [1] Mahaffy, P. et al. (2012) Space Sci Rev, 170, 401-478. [2] Glavin, D. et al. (2013), JGR. [3] Leshin L. et al. (2013), Science, [4] Williams, A.J., Eigenbrode, J.L.,m Floyd, M.M., Wilhelm, M.B., and Mahaffy, P.R., (2015), GSA. [5] Eigenbrode, J.L. et al. (2010), LPSC, abst.1460.

Restricted Modal Analysis Applied to Internal Annular Combustor Autospectra and Cross-Spectra Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miles, Jeffrey Hilton

2007-01-01

A treatment of the modal decomposition of the pressure field in a combustor as determined by two pressure time history measurements is developed herein. It is applied to a Pratt and Whitney PW4098 engine combustor over a range of operating conditions. For modes other than the plane wave the assumption is made that there are distinct frequency bands in which the individual modes, including the plane wave mode, overlap such that if circumferential mode m and circumferential mode m-1 are present then circumferential mode m-2 is not. In the analysis used herein at frequencies above the first cutoff mode frequency, only pairs of circumferential modes are individually present at each frequency. Consequently, this is a restricted modal analysis. As part of the analysis one specifies mode cut-on frequencies. This creates a set of frequencies that each mode spans. One finding was the successful use of the same modal span frequencies over a range of operating conditions for this particular engine. This suggests that for this case the cut-on frequencies are in proximity at each operating condition. Consequently, the combustion noise spectrum related to the circumferential modes might not change much with operating condition.

Effect of flow on the acoustic performance of extended reaction lined ducts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hersh, A. S.; Walker, B.

1983-01-01

A model is developed for the effects of uniform and boundary-layer mean flow on the attenuation and propagation of harmonically excited sound waves in an extended reaction lined cylindrical duct. A duct geometry consisting of an annular outer region of bulk material surrounding an inner cylinder of air is utilized. A numerical solution is obtained for the coupled wave equations governing the motion of the sound in both the inner and annular regions. It is found that the numerically predicted attenuation and propagations constants are in excellent agreement with measured values using Kevlar as the liner material for plane-wave mode (O,O) excitation over a wide range of mean flows and sound frequency. The boundary-layer effects are determined to be unimportant, at least for plane-wave sound. In addition, numerical studies indicate small differences between the use of either the radial velocity or the radial displacement boundary conditions.

A generalized theory for eccentric and misalignment effects in high-pressure annular seals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, W. C.; Jackson, E. D.

1986-01-01

High-pressure annular seal leakage and dynamic coefficients vary with eccentricity and misalignment. Recent seal leakage data with both concentric and fully eccentric alignments support the seal leakage model with surface roughness and eccentricity effects included. In this paper, the seal dynamic coefficient calculation has been generalized and allows direct calculation of the seal dynamic coefficients at any circumferential location. The generalized solution agrees with the results obtained by using the calculated values of an earlier paper and performing a coordinate transformation. The analysis results coincide with the measured data in showing that the stiffness and damping matrices of seal coefficients are not skew symmetric, and the main diagonal seal coefficients are not equal. The measured direct stiffnesses were found higher than predicted by the concentric seal theory, but this may be explained by the presence of eccentricity in the test operating mode.

Interactions between large-scale modes of climate and their relationship with Australian climate and hydrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whan, K. R.; Lindesay, J. A.; Timbal, B.; Raupach, M. R.; Williams, E.

2010-12-01

Australia’s natural environment is adapted to low rainfall availability and high variability but human systems are less able to adapt to variability in the hydrological cycle. Understanding the mechanisms underlying drought persistence and severity is vital to contextualising future climate change. Multiple external forcings mean the mechanisms of drought occurrence in south-eastern Australian are complex. The key influences on SEA climate are El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the sub-tropical ridge (STR); each of these large-scale climate modes (LSCM) has been studied widely. The need for research into the interactions among the modes has been noted [1], although to date this has received limited attention. Relationships between LSCM and hydrometeorological variability are nonlinear, making linearity assumptions underlying usual statistical techniques (e.g. correlation, principle components analysis) questionable. In the current research a statistical technique that can deal with nonlinear interactions is applied to a new dataset enabling a full examination of the Australian water balance. The Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP) dataset models the Australian water balance on a fine grid [2]. Hydrological parameters (e.g. soil moisture, evaporation, runoff) are modelled from meteorological data, allowing the complete Australian water balance (climate and hydrology) to be examined and the mechanisms of drought to be studied holistically. Classification and regression trees (CART) are a powerful regression-based technique that is capable of accounting for nonlinear effects. Although it has limited previous application in climate research [3] this methodology is particularly informative in cases with multiple predictors and nonlinear relationships such as climate variability. Statistical relationships between variables are the basis for the decision rules in CART that are used to split the data into increasingly homogeneous groups. CART is applied to the AWAP dataset to identify the hydroclimatic regimes associated with various combinations of LSCM and the importance of each mode in producing the regime. Analysis of the LSCM is conducted on a range of hydroclimatic variables to assess the relative and combined influences of these LSCM on the Australian water balance. This gives information about interactions between LSCM that are vital for specific hydroclimatic states (e.g. drought) and about which combinations of LSCM result in specific regimes. The dominant LSCM in different seasons and the relationships among the climate drivers have been identified. 1. Ummenhofer, C., et al., What causes southeast Australia's worst droughts? Geophysical Research Letters, 2009. 36: p. L04706. 2. Raupach, M., et al., Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP). CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Component: Final Report for Phase 3. 2008. 3. Burrows, W., et al., CART Decision-Tree Statistical Analysis and Prediction of Summer Season Maximum Surface Ozone for the Vancouver, Montreal and Atlantic Regions of Canada. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 1995. 34: p. 1848-1862.

DNA adenine methylation of sams1 gene in symbiont-bearing Amoeba proteus.

PubMed

Jeon, Taeck J

2008-10-01

The expression of amoeba sams genes is switched from sams1 to sams2 when amoebae are infected with Legionella jeonii. To elucidate the mechanism for the inactivation of host sams1 gene by endosymbiotic bacteria, methylation states of the sams1 gene of D and xD amoebae was compared in this study. The sams1 gene of amoebae was methylated at an internal adenine residue of GATC site in symbiont-bearing xD amoebae but not in symbiont-free D amoebae, suggesting that the modification might have caused the inactivation of sams1 in xD amoebae. The sams1 gene of xD amoebae was inactivated at the transcriptional level. Analysis of DNA showed that adenine residues in L. jeonii sams were also methylated, implying that L. jeonii bacteria belong to a Dam methylase-positive strain. In addition, both SAM and Met appeared to act as negative regulators for the expression of sams1 whereas the expression of sams2 was not affected in amoebae.

An analytical theory for a three-dimensional thick-disc thin-plate vibratory gyroscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sedebo, G. T.; Joubert, S. V.; Shatalov, M. Y.

2018-04-01

We consider a cylindrical vibratory gyroscope comprising a not necessarliy thin-shelled annular disc with small-plate thickness, vibrating in the m -th vibration mode in-plane and in the (m + 1)st vibration mode out-of-plane. We derive the equations of motion for this contrivance in the “force-to-rebalance regime” and show how a slow (three-dimensional) inertial rotation rate of the gyroscope can be calculated in terms of amplitudes of vibration and other constants, all of which can be measured experimentally or calculated when the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the system are known. By means of a concrete example, a numerical experiment demonstrates how varying the inner radius of the annulus as well as the thickness of the plate allows us to “tune” the vibration frequencies of the in-plane and out-of-plane vibrations so that they coincide (for all practical purposes), eliminating any frequency split. Conventionally, an array of at least three thin-shelled hemispherical (or thin-ring) vibratory (resonator) gyroscopes is used to measure any three-dimensional rotation of the craft to which the gyroscopes are fixed. With the design proposed here, the array can be reduced to a solitary, tuned, annular thick-disc thin-plate vibratory gyroscope, reducing both size and cost.

Onset and Evolution of Southern Annular Mode-Like Changes at Centennial Timescale.

PubMed

Moreno, P I; Vilanova, I; Villa-Martínez, R; Dunbar, R B; Mucciarone, D A; Kaplan, M R; Garreaud, R D; Rojas, M; Moy, C M; De Pol-Holz, R; Lambert, F

2018-02-22

The Southern Westerly Winds (SWW) are the surface expression of geostrophic winds that encircle the southern mid-latitudes. In conjunction with the Southern Ocean, they establish a coupled system that not only controls climate in the southern third of the world, but is also closely connected to the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and CO 2 degassing from the deep ocean. Paradoxically, little is known about their behavior since the last ice age and relationships with mid-latitude glacier history and tropical climate variability. Here we present a lake sediment record from Chilean Patagonia (51°S) that reveals fluctuations of the low-level SWW at mid-latitudes, including strong westerlies during the Antarctic Cold Reversal, anomalously low intensity during the early Holocene, which was unfavorable for glacier growth, and strong SWW since ~7.5 ka. We detect nine positive Southern Annular Mode-like events at centennial timescale since ~5.8 ka that alternate with cold/wet intervals favorable for glacier expansions (Neoglaciations) in southern Patagonia. The correspondence of key features of mid-latitude atmospheric circulation with shifts in tropical climate since ~10 ka suggests that coherent climatic shifts in these regions have driven climate change in vast sectors of the Southern Hemisphere at centennial and millennial timescales.

Atomic-level insights into metabolite recognition and specificity of the SAM-II riboswitch.

PubMed

Doshi, Urmi; Kelley, Jennifer M; Hamelberg, Donald

2012-02-01

Although S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), a metabolic by-product of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), differs from SAM only by a single methyl group and an overall positive charge, SAH binds the SAM-II riboswitch with more than 1000-fold less affinity than SAM. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated the molecular basis of such high selectivity in ligand recognition by SAM-II riboswitch. The biosynthesis of SAM exclusively generates the (S,S) stereoisomer, and (S,S)-SAM can spontaneously convert to the (R,S) form. We, therefore, also examined the effects of (R,S)-SAM binding to SAM-II and its potential biological function. We find that the unfavorable loss in entropy in SAM-II binding is greater for (S,S)- and (R,S)-SAM than SAH, which is compensated by stabilizing electrostatic interactions with the riboswitch. The positively charged sulfonium moiety on SAM acts as the crucial anchor point responsible for the formation of key ionic interactions as it fits favorably in the negatively charged binding pocket. In contrast, SAH, with its lone pair of electrons on the sulfur, experiences repulsion in the binding pocket of SAM-II and is enthalpically destabilized. In the presence of SAH, similar to the unbound riboswitch, the pseudoknot structure of SAM-II is not completely formed, thus exposing the Shine-Dalgarno sequence. Unlike SAM, this may further facilitate ribosomal assembly and translation initiation. Our analysis of the conformational ensemble sampled by SAM-II in the absence of ligands and when bound to SAM or SAH reveals that ligand binding follows a combination of conformational selection and induced-fit mechanisms.

Design of a portable noninvasive photoacoustic glucose monitoring system integrated laser diode excitation with annular array detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Lvming; Liu, Guodong; Yang, Diwu; Ren, Zhong; Huang, Zhen

2008-12-01

A near-infrared photoacoustic glucose monitoring system, which is integrated dual-wavelength pulsed laser diode excitation with eight-element planar annular array detection technique, is designed and fabricated during this study. It has the characteristics of nonivasive, inexpensive, portable, accurate location, and high signal-to-noise ratio. In the system, the exciting source is based on two laser diodes with wavelengths of 905 nm and 1550 nm, respectively, with optical pulse energy of 20 μJ and 6 μJ. The laser beam is optically focused and jointly projected to a confocal point with a diameter of 0.7 mm approximately. A 7.5 MHz 8-element annular array transducer with a hollow structure is machined to capture photoacoustic signal in backward mode. The captured signals excitated from blood glucose are processed with a synthetic focusing algorithm to obtain high signal-to-noise ratio and accurate location over a range of axial detection depth. The custom-made transducer with equal area elements is coaxially collimated with the laser source to improve the photoacoustic excite/receive efficiency. In the paper, we introduce the photoacoustic theory, receive/process technique, and design method of the portable noninvasive photoacoustic glucose monitoring system, which can potentially be developed as a powerful diagnosis and treatment tool for diabetes mellitus.

Microstrip-antenna design for hyperthermia treatment of superficial tumors.

PubMed

Montecchia, F

1992-06-01

Microstrip antennas have many different advantages over other RF/MW radiative applicators employed for superficial hyperthermia treatment. This is mainly due to their compact and body-conformable structure as well as to printed circuit board techniques, both of which allow a wide design flexibility for superficial tumor heating. Among the wide variety of radiator configurations, three microstrip antennas of increasing complexity with electromagnetic and heating characteristics potentially suitable as applicators for superficial hyperthermia have been designed, developed, and tested in different radiative conditions: a microstrip disk, a microstrip annular-slot, and a microstrip spiral. Electromagnetic design criteria are presented together with the determinations of the applicator return loss versus frequency and thermograms of the near-field heating pattern in muscle-like phantom. The results are in good agreement with theory and indicate that: i) the operating frequency is either single or multiple according to the applicator-mode, "resonant" or "traveling-wave," and can be chosen in the useful frequency range for hyperthermia (200-1000 MHz) according to the tumor cross-section and depth; ii) the heating pattern flexibility increases going from the simple geometry disk to the annular-slot and spiral applicators; iii) a distilled-water bolus is required; iv) the annular-slot applicator exhibits the highest efficiency, while the spiral applicator provides the best performance.

Numerical Simulation of Flow in a Whirling Annular Seal and Comparison with Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Athavale, M. M.; Hendricks, R. C.; Steinetz, B. M.

1995-01-01

The turbulent flow field in a simulated annular seal with a large clearance/radius ratio (0.015) and a whirling rotor was simulated using an advanced 3D CFD code SCISEAL. A circular whirl orbit with synchronous whirl was imposed on the rotor center. The flow field was rendered quasi-steady by making a transformation to a totaling frame. Standard k-epsilon model with wall functions was used to treat the turbulence. Experimentally measured values of flow parameters were used to specify the seal inlet and exit boundary conditions. The computed flow-field in terms of the velocity and pressure is compared with the experimental measurements inside the seal. The agreement between the numerical results and experimental data with correction is fair to good. The capability of current advanced CFD methodology to analyze this complex flow field is demonstrated. The methodology can also be extended to other whirl frequencies. Half- (or sub-) synchronous (fluid film unstable motion) and synchronous (rotor centrifugal force unbalance) whirls are the most unstable whirl modes in turbomachinery seals, and the flow code capability of simulating the flows in steady as well as whirling seals will prove to be extremely useful in the design, analyses, and performance predictions of annular as well as other types of seals.

Heat Transfer Modeling of an Annular On-Line Spray Water Cooling Process for Electric-Resistance-Welded Steel Pipe

PubMed Central

Chen, Zejun; Han, Huiquan; Ren, Wei; Huang, Guangjie

2015-01-01

On-line spray water cooling (OSWC) of electric-resistance-welded (ERW) steel pipes can replace the conventional off-line heat treatment process and become an important and critical procedure. The OSWC process improves production efficiency, decreases costs, and enhances the mechanical properties of ERW steel pipe, especially the impact properties of the weld joint. In this paper, an annular OSWC process is investigated based on an experimental simulation platform that can obtain precise real-time measurements of the temperature of the pipe, the water pressure and flux, etc. The effects of the modes of annular spray water cooling and related cooling parameters on the mechanical properties of the pipe are investigated. The temperature evolutions of the inner and outer walls of the pipe are measured during the spray water cooling process, and the uniformity of mechanical properties along the circumferential and longitudinal directions is investigated. A heat transfer coefficient model of spray water cooling is developed based on measured temperature data in conjunction with simulation using the finite element method. Industrial tests prove the validity of the heat transfer model of a steel pipe undergoing spray water cooling. The research results can provide a basis for the industrial application of the OSWC process in the production of ERW steel pipes. PMID:26201073

Heat Transfer Modeling of an Annular On-Line Spray Water Cooling Process for Electric-Resistance-Welded Steel Pipe.

PubMed

Chen, Zejun; Han, Huiquan; Ren, Wei; Huang, Guangjie

2015-01-01

On-line spray water cooling (OSWC) of electric-resistance-welded (ERW) steel pipes can replace the conventional off-line heat treatment process and become an important and critical procedure. The OSWC process improves production efficiency, decreases costs, and enhances the mechanical properties of ERW steel pipe, especially the impact properties of the weld joint. In this paper, an annular OSWC process is investigated based on an experimental simulation platform that can obtain precise real-time measurements of the temperature of the pipe, the water pressure and flux, etc. The effects of the modes of annular spray water cooling and related cooling parameters on the mechanical properties of the pipe are investigated. The temperature evolutions of the inner and outer walls of the pipe are measured during the spray water cooling process, and the uniformity of mechanical properties along the circumferential and longitudinal directions is investigated. A heat transfer coefficient model of spray water cooling is developed based on measured temperature data in conjunction with simulation using the finite element method. Industrial tests prove the validity of the heat transfer model of a steel pipe undergoing spray water cooling. The research results can provide a basis for the industrial application of the OSWC process in the production of ERW steel pipes.

Expanding the Chemistry of the Class C Radical SAM Methyltransferase NosN by Using an Allyl Analogue of SAM.

PubMed

Ji, Xinjian; Mandalapu, Dhanaraju; Cheng, Jinduo; Ding, Wei; Zhang, Qi

2018-03-30

The radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) superfamily enzymes cleave SAM reductively to generate a highly reactive 5'-deoxyadenosyl (dAdo) radical, which initiates remarkably diverse reactions. Unlike most radical SAM enzymes, the class C radical SAM methyltransferase NosN binds two SAMs in the active site, using one SAM to produce a dAdo radical and the second as a methyl donor. Here, we report a mechanistic investigation of NosN in which an allyl analogue of SAM (allyl-SAM) was used. We show that NosN cleaves allyl-SAM efficiently and the resulting dAdo radical can be captured by the olefin moieties of allyl-SAM or 5'-allylthioadenosine (ATA), the latter being a derivative of allyl-SAM. Remarkably, we found that NosN produced two distinct sets of products in the presence and absence of the methyl acceptor substrate, thus suggesting substrate-triggered production of ATA from allyl-SAM. We also show that NosN produces S-adenosylhomocysteine from 5'-thioadenosine and homoserine lactone. These results support the idea that 5'-methylthioadenosine is the direct methyl donor in NosN reactions, and demonstrate great potential to modulate radical SAM enzymes for novel catalytic activities. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Morphogenesis at the inflorescence shoot apex of Anagallis arvensis: surface geometry and growth in comparison with the vegetative shoot.

PubMed

Kwiatkowska, Dorota; Routier-Kierzkowska, Anne-Lise

2009-01-01

Quantitative analysis of geometry and surface growth based on the sequential replica method is used to compare morphogenesis at the shoot apex of Anagallis arvensis in the reproductive and vegetative phases of development. Formation of three types of lateral organs takes place at the Anagallis shoot apical meristem (SAM): vegetative leaf primordia are formed during the vegetative phase and leaf-like bracts and flower primordia during the reproductive phase. Although the shapes of all the three types of primordia are very similar during their early developmental stages, areal growth rates and anisotropy of apex surface growth accompanying formation of leaf or bract primordia are profoundly different from those during formation of flower primordia. This provides an example of different modes of de novo formation of a given shape. Moreover, growth accompanying the formation of the boundary between the SAM and flower primordium is entirely different from growth at the adaxial leaf or bract primordium boundary. In the latter, areal growth rates at the future boundary are the lowest of all the apex surface, while in the former they are relatively very high. The direction of maximal growth rate is latitudinal (along the future boundary) in the case of leaf or bract primordium but meridional (across the boundary) in the case of flower. The replica method does not enable direct analysis of growth in the direction perpendicular to the apex surface (anticlinal direction). Nevertheless, the reconstructed surfaces of consecutive replicas taken from an individual apex allow general directions of SAM surface bulging accompanying primordium formation to be recognized. Precise alignment of consecutive reconstructions shows that the direction of initial bulging during the leaf or bract formation is nearly parallel to the shoot axis (upward bulging), while in the case of flower it is perpendicular to the axis (lateral bulging). In future, such 3D reconstructions can be used to assess displacement velocity fields so that growth in the anticlinal direction can be assessed. In terms of self-perpetuation, the inflorescence SAM of Anagallis differs from the SAM in the vegetative phase in that the centrally located region of slow growth is less distinct in the inflorescence SAM. Moreover, the position of this slowly growing zone with respect to cells is not stable in the course of the meristem ontogeny.

75 FR 56147 - Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-15

... received. Permits were issued on September 9, 2010 to: Sam Feola Permit No. 2011-009. Sam Feola Permit No. 2011-010. Sam Feola Permit No. 2011-011. Sam Feola Permit No. 2011-012. Sam Feola Permit No. 2011-013. Sam Feola Permit No. 2011-014. Sam Feola Permit No. 2011-015. Nadene G. Kennedy, Permit Officer. [FR...

Atomic-level insights into metabolite recognition and specificity of the SAM-II riboswitch

PubMed Central

Doshi, Urmi; Kelley, Jennifer M.; Hamelberg, Donald

2012-01-01

Although S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), a metabolic by-product of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), differs from SAM only by a single methyl group and an overall positive charge, SAH binds the SAM-II riboswitch with more than 1000-fold less affinity than SAM. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated the molecular basis of such high selectivity in ligand recognition by SAM-II riboswitch. The biosynthesis of SAM exclusively generates the (S,S) stereoisomer, and (S,S)-SAM can spontaneously convert to the (R,S) form. We, therefore, also examined the effects of (R,S)-SAM binding to SAM-II and its potential biological function. We find that the unfavorable loss in entropy in SAM-II binding is greater for (S,S)- and (R,S)-SAM than SAH, which is compensated by stabilizing electrostatic interactions with the riboswitch. The positively charged sulfonium moiety on SAM acts as the crucial anchor point responsible for the formation of key ionic interactions as it fits favorably in the negatively charged binding pocket. In contrast, SAH, with its lone pair of electrons on the sulfur, experiences repulsion in the binding pocket of SAM-II and is enthalpically destabilized. In the presence of SAH, similar to the unbound riboswitch, the pseudoknot structure of SAM-II is not completely formed, thus exposing the Shine-Dalgarno sequence. Unlike SAM, this may further facilitate ribosomal assembly and translation initiation. Our analysis of the conformational ensemble sampled by SAM-II in the absence of ligands and when bound to SAM or SAH reveals that ligand binding follows a combination of conformational selection and induced-fit mechanisms. PMID:22194311

The effect of thiopurine drugs on DNA methylation in relation to TPMT expression.

PubMed

Hogarth, L A; Redfern, C P F; Teodoridis, J M; Hall, A G; Anderson, H; Case, M C; Coulthard, S A

2008-10-15

The thiopurine drugs 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and 6-thioguanine (6-TG) are well-established agents for the treatment of leukaemia but their main modes of action are controversial. Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) metabolises thiopurine drugs and influences their cytotoxic activity. TPMT, like DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs), transfers methyl groups from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and generates S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH). Since SAM levels are dependent on de novo purine synthesis (DNPS) and the metabolic products of 6-TG and 6-MP differ in their ability to inhibit DNPS, we postulated that 6-TG compared to 6-MP would have differential effects on changes in SAM and SAH levels and global DNA methylation, depending on TPMT status. To test this hypothesis, we used a human embryonic kidney cell line with inducible TPMT. Although changes in SAM and SAH levels occurred with each drug, decrease in global DNA methylation more closely reflected a decrease in DNMT activity. Inhibition was influenced by TPMT for 6-TG, but not 6-MP. The decrease in global methylation and DNMT activity with 6-MP, or with 6-TG when TPMT expression was low, were comparable to 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. However, this was not reflected in changes in methylation at the level of an individual marker gene (MAGE1A). The results suggest that a non-TPMT metabolised metabolite of 6-MP and 6-TG and the TPMT-metabolised 6-MP metabolite 6-methylthioguanosine 5'-monophosphate, contribute to a decrease in DNMT levels and global DNA methylation. As demethylating agents have shown promise in leukaemia treatment, inhibition of DNA methylation by the thiopurine drugs may contribute to their cytotoxic affects.

Mars Organic Matter Revealed by the Detection of Organo-chlorinated Molecules from Pyro-GCMS Analyses of Yellowknife Bay Mudstone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szopa, C.; Freissinet, C.; Glavin, D. P.; Buch, A.; Coll, P. J.; Cabane, M.; Millan, M.; Belmahadi, I.; Navarro-Gonzalez, R.; Steele, A.; Summons, R. E.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Mahaffy, P. R.

2015-12-01

Mudstones collected on the Yellowknife Bay site in Gale crater by the Curiosity rover, were analyzed with the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) chemical laboratory with the aim (among others) to detect and identify organic molecules in the Martian reglith [1]. The pyrolysis (to 900°C)-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Pyro-GCMS) analytical mode was systematically used to reach that goal. It revealed the existence of complex interactions between compounds present in the soil sample (e.g. oxychlorines [2]) and internal components of the SAM experiment (e.g. derivatization reactant) resulting in signals complex to interpret [3]. By comparing these results with those obtained for the other Mars samples analysed with SAM, and by carefully identifying, from laboratory work, the possible SAM internal contributions to the organic molecules detected [4], chlorobenzene has already been identified as mainly originating from organics present in the mudstone [5]. Since this discovery, we did additional studies of the chromatograms that reveal the presence of dichlorobenzene originating from an organic source endogenous to the sample. Even if the exact original source of these organic molecules cannot be strictly identified, the detection of several chlorinated aromatic molecules suggests the presence of a significant amount of aromatized materials which are in an oxidized state involving oxygen in the mudstone. We present here the corresponding results and the implication it can have on the origin of these organic materials References: [1] Mahaffy, P. et al. (2012) Space Sci Rev, 170, 401-478. [2] Glavin, D. et al. (2013), JGR. [3] Ming D. et al. (2013), Science 32, 64, [4] Miller K. et al. (In press), JGR, [5] Freissinet et al., (2015), JGR Pla. 120, 495.

Characterization of sams genes of Amoeba proteus and the endosymbiotic X-bacteria.

PubMed

Jeon, Taeck J; Jeon, Kwang W

2003-01-01

As a result of harboring obligatory bacterial endosymbionts, the xD strain of Amoeba proteus no longer produces its own S-adenosylmethionine synthetase (SAMS). When symbiont-free D amoebae are infected with symbionts (X-bacteria), the amount of amoeba SAMS decreases to a negligible level within four weeks, but about 47% of the SAMS activity, which apparently comes from another source, is still detected. Complete nucleotide sequences of sams genes of D and xD amoebae are presented and show that there are no differences between the two. Long-established xD amoebae contain an intact sams gene and thus the loss of xD amoeba's SAMS is not due to the loss of the gene itself. The open reading frame of the amoeba's sams gene has 1,281 nucleotides, encoding SAMS of 426 amino acids with a mass of 48 kDa and pI of 6.5. The amino acid sequence of amoeba SAMS is longer than the SAMS of other organisms by having an extra internal stretch of 28 amino acids. The 5'-flanking region of amoeba sams contains consensus-binding sites for several transcription factors that are related to the regulation of sams genes in E. coli and yeast. The complete nucleotide sequence of the symbiont's sams gene is also presented. The open reading frame of X-bacteria sams is 1,146 nucleotides long, encoding SAMS of 381 amino acids with a mass of 41 kDa and pI of 6.0. The X-bacteria SAMS has 45% sequence identity with that of A. proteus.

The Sam-Sam interaction between Ship2 and the EphA2 receptor: design and analysis of peptide inhibitors.

PubMed

Mercurio, Flavia Anna; Di Natale, Concetta; Pirone, Luciano; Iannitti, Roberta; Marasco, Daniela; Pedone, Emilia Maria; Palumbo, Rosanna; Leone, Marilisa

2017-12-12

The lipid phosphatase Ship2 represents a drug discovery target for the treatment of different diseases, including cancer. Its C-terminal sterile alpha motif domain (Ship2-Sam) associates with the Sam domain from the EphA2 receptor (EphA2-Sam). This interaction is expected to mainly induce pro-oncogenic effects in cells therefore, inhibition of the Ship2-Sam/EphA2-Sam complex may represent an innovative route to discover anti-cancer therapeutics. In the present work, we designed and analyzed several peptide sequences encompassing the interaction interface of EphA2-Sam for Ship2-Sam. Peptide conformational analyses and interaction assays with Ship2-Sam conducted through diverse techniques (CD, NMR, SPR and MST), identified a positively charged penta-amino acid native motif in EphA2-Sam, that once repeated three times in tandem, binds Ship2-Sam. NMR experiments show that the peptide targets the negatively charged binding site of Ship2-Sam for EphA2-Sam. Preliminary in vitro cell-based assays indicate that -at 50 µM concentration- it induces necrosis of PC-3 prostate cancer cells with more cytotoxic effect on cancer cells than on normal dermal fibroblasts. This work represents a pioneering study that opens further opportunities for the development of inhibitors of the Ship2-Sam/EphA2-Sam complex for therapeutic applications.

Improvement of isotope-based climate reconstructions in Patagonia through a better understanding of climate influences on isotopic fractionation in tree rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavergne, Aliénor; Daux, Valérie; Villalba, Ricardo; Pierre, Monique; Stievenard, Michel; Srur, Ana Marina

2017-02-01

Very few studies of stable isotopes exist across the Andes in South America. This study is the first presenting annually resolved chronologies of both δ18 O and δ13 C in Nothofagus pumilio and Fitzroya cupressoides trees from Northern Patagonia. Interannual variability in δ18 O and δ13 C was assessed over the period 1952-2011. Based on these chronologies, we determined the primary climatic controls on stable isotopes and tree physiological responses to changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations (ca), temperature and humidity. Changes in specific intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) were inferred from variations in δ13 C whereas the effects of CO2 increase on stomatal conductance were explored using δ18 O. Over the 60-year period, iWUE increased significantly (by ca. 25%) in coincidence with the rise of ca. The two species appear to have different strategies of gas-exchange. Whereas iWUE variations were likely driven by both stomatal conductance and photosynthetic assimilation rates in F. cupressoides, they were largely related to stomatal conductance in N. pumilio. After removing the low-frequency trends related to increasing ca, significant relationships between δ13 C and summer temperatures were recorded for both species. However, δ13 C variations in F. cupressoides were more strongly influenced by summer temperatures than in N. pumilio. Our results advocate for an indirect effect of summer temperatures on stable isotope ratios, which is mostly influenced by sunlight radiation in F. cupressoides and relative humidity/soil moisture in N. pumilio. δ13 C variations in F. cupressoides were spatially correlated to a large area south of 35°S in southern South America. These promising results encourage the use of δ13 C variations in F. cupressoides for reconstructing past variations in temperature and large-scale circulation indexes such as the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) in the Southern Hemisphere.

Climate variability reflected by tree-ring width and δ18O in a heavily glaciated area of the Patagonian Andes since the Little Ice Age

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meier, W. J. H.; Wernicke, J., Jr.; Braun, M.; Aravena, J. C.; Jaña, R.; Griessinger, J.

2016-12-01

Since the end of the Little Ice Age, the area of the Northern and Southern Patagonian ice sheet decreased by more than 14% and 11%, respectively. The melting increased since the last decade by 2.3%. The glaciers of Cordillera Darwin recorded a surface decrease of approximately 14% for the last 140 years. The reason for the excessive glacial change is often explained through the rise in temperature combined with a decrease in precipitation or a change in seasonality. Since a spatially coherent coverage of climatological measurement is lacking it is not possible to verify this assumption in a differentiated manner. Hence, the German- Chilean joint project "Responses of GlAciers, Biosphere and hYdrology to climate Variability and climate chAnge across the Southern Andes (GABY-VASA)" aims to determine the influence of long and short term climate variabilities (El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM)) on the cryo- and biosphere. Trees growing at the glacier margins and at the natural treeline were sampled at four different locations ranging from the humid western part of the southern Andes (annual precipitation > 10.000mma-1) to the distinct dryer eastern part (annual precipitation < 500mma-1). Besides the tree-ring width based temperature reconstruction the precipitation variability reflected by δ18O in tree-rings is a promising approach to obtain detailed information of small-scaled hydro climatic conditions. Furthermore the use of δ18O as a proxy in combination with tree-ring width offers the opportunity of meteorological back trajectories and the derivation of air masses since the Little Ice Age. It thus interlinks past and present climate and allows to draw conclusions about the driving forces of glacial change.

A monsoon-like Southwest Australian circulation and its relation with rainfall in Southwest Western Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Juan; Li, Jianping; Li, Yun

2010-05-01

Using the NCEP/NCAR, ERA-40 reanalysis, and precipitation data from CMAP and Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the variability and circulation features influencing the southwest Western Australia (SWWA) winter rainfall are investigated. It is found that the climate of southwest Australia bears a strong seasonality in the annual cycle and exhibits a monsoon-like atmospheric circulation, which is termed as the southwest Australian circulation (SWAC) for its several distinct features characterizing a monsoonal circulation: the seasonal reversal of winds, alternate wet and dry seasons, and an evident land-sea thermal contrast. The seasonal march of the SWAC in extended winter (May to October) is demonstrated by pentad data. An index based on the dynamics normalized seasonality was introduced to describe the behavior and variation of the winter SWAC. It is found that the winter rainfall over SWWA has a significant positive correlation with the SWAC index in both early (May to July) and late (August to October) winter. In weaker winter SWAC years there is an anti-cyclonic anomaly over southern Indian Ocean resulting in weaker westerlies and northerlies which are not favorable for more rainfall over SWWA, and the opposite combination is true in the stronger winter SWAC years. The SWAC explains not only a large portion of the interannual variability of SWWA rainfall in both early and late winter, but also the long term drying trend over SWWA in early winter. The well-coupled SWAC-SWWA rainfall relationship seems to be largely independent of the well-known effects of large-scale atmospheric circulations such as the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM), El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and ENSO Modoki (EM). The result offers qualified support for the argument that the monsoon-like circulation may contribute to the rainfall decline in early winter over SWWA.

Physics Constrained Stochastic-Statistical Models for Extended Range Environmental Prediction

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-30

pressure ( SLP ), respectively]. A major finding of this work, illustrated in Figure 1, is that the North Pacific patterns identified in [1] are part of...Figure II 1. Reconstruction of sea ice concentration, SST, and SLP anomalies in the arctic using NLSA reemergence modes during an active phase of...to reemerge. The geostrophic winds associated with the annular SLP pattern in the right-hand column are cold Northerlies (warm Southerlies) in the

Single scan femtosecond laser transverse writing of depressed cladding waveguides enabled by three-dimensional focal field engineering.

PubMed

Zhang, Qian; Yang, Dong; Qi, Jia; Cheng, Ya; Gong, Qihuang; Li, Yan

2017-06-12

We report single scan transverse writing of depressed cladding waveguides inside ZBLAN glass with the longitudinally oriented annular ring-shaped focal intensity distribution of the femtosecond laser. The entire region of depressed cladding at the cross section, where a negative change of refraction index is induced, can be modified simultaneously with the ring-shaped focal intensity profile. The fabricated waveguides exhibit good single guided mode.

Probing the nature and resistance of the molecule-electrode contact in SAM-based junctions.

PubMed

Sangeeth, C S Suchand; Wan, Albert; Nijhuis, Christian A

2015-07-28

It is challenging to quantify the contact resistance and to determine the nature of the molecule-electrode contacts in molecular two-terminal junctions. Here we show that potentiodynamic and temperature dependent impedance measurements give insights into the nature of the SAM-electrode interface and other bottlenecks of charge transport (the capacitance of the SAM (C(SAM)) and the resistance of the SAM (R(SAM))), unlike DC methods, independently of each other. We found that the resistance of the top-electrode-SAM contact for junctions with the form of Ag(TS)-SC(n)//GaO(x)/EGaIn with n = 10, 12, 14, 16 or 18 is bias and temperature independent and hence Ohmic (non-rectifying) in nature, and is orders of magnitude smaller than R(SAM). The C(SAM) and R(SAM) are independent of the temperature, indicating that the mechanism of charge transport in these SAM-based junctions is coherent tunneling and the charge carrier trapping at the interfaces is negligible.

Analysis of the liver mitochondrial proteome in response to ethanol and S-adenosylmethionine treatments: novel molecular targets of disease and hepatoprotection.

PubMed

Andringa, Kelly K; King, Adrienne L; Eccleston, Heather B; Mantena, Sudheer K; Landar, Aimee; Jhala, Nirag C; Dickinson, Dale A; Squadrito, Giuseppe L; Bailey, Shannon M

2010-05-01

S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) minimizes alcohol hepatotoxicity; however, the molecular mechanisms responsible for SAM hepatoprotection remain unknown. Herein, we use proteomics to determine whether the hepatoprotective action of SAM against early-stage alcoholic liver disease is linked to alterations in the mitochondrial proteome. For this, male rats were fed control or ethanol-containing liquid diets +/- SAM and liver mitochondria were prepared for proteomic analysis. Two-dimensional isoelectric focusing (2D IEF/SDS-PAGE) and blue native gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE) were used to determine changes in matrix and oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) proteins, respectively. SAM coadministration minimized alcohol-dependent inflammation and preserved mitochondrial respiration. SAM supplementation preserved liver SAM levels in ethanol-fed rats; however, mitochondrial SAM levels were increased by ethanol and SAM treatments. With use of 2D IEF/SDS-PAGE, 30 proteins showed significant changes in abundance in response to ethanol, SAM, or both. Classes of proteins affected by ethanol and SAM treatments were chaperones, beta oxidation proteins, sulfur metabolism proteins, and dehydrogenase enzymes involved in methionine, glycine, and choline metabolism. BN-PAGE revealed novel changes in the levels of 19 OxPhos proteins in response to ethanol, SAM, or both. Ethanol- and SAM-dependent alterations in the proteome were not linked to corresponding changes in gene expression. In conclusion, ethanol and SAM treatment led to multiple changes in the liver mitochondrial proteome. The protective effects of SAM against alcohol toxicity are mediated, in part, through maintenance of proteins involved in key mitochondrial energy conserving and biosynthetic pathways. This study demonstrates that SAM may be a promising candidate for treatment of alcoholic liver disease.

The SAM-responsive SMK box is a reversible riboswitch

PubMed Central

Smith, Angela M.; Fuchs, Ryan T.; Grundy, Frank J.; Henkin, Tina M.

2010-01-01

The SMK (SAM-III) box is an S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-responsive riboswitch found in the 5′ untranslated region of metK genes, encoding SAM synthetase, in many members of the Lactobacillales. SAM binding causes a structural rearrangement in the RNA that sequesters the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence by pairing with a complementary anti-SD (ASD) sequence; sequestration of the SD sequence inhibits binding of the 30S ribosomal subunit and prevents translation initiation. We observed a slight increase in the half-life of the metK transcript in vivo when Enterococcus faecalis cells were depleted for SAM, but no significant change in overall transcript abundance, consistent with the model that this riboswitch regulates at the level of translation initiation. The half-life of the SAM-SMK box RNA complex in vitro is shorter than that of the metK transcript in vivo, raising the possibility of reversible binding of SAM. We used a fluorescence assay to directly visualize reversible switching between the SAM-free and SAM-bound conformations. We propose that the SMK box riboswitch can make multiple SAM-dependent regulatory decisions during the lifetime of the transcript in vivo, acting as a reversible switch that allows the cell to respond rapidly to fluctuations in SAM pools by modulating expression of the SAM synthetase gene. PMID:21143313

Influences of spring-to-summer sea surface temperatures over different Indian Ocean domains on the Asian summer monsoon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhenning; Yang, Song

2017-11-01

The influences of spring-to-summer sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in different domains of the Indian Ocean (IO) on the Asian summer monsoon are investigated by conducting a series of numerical experiments using the NCAR CAM4 model. It is found that, to a certain extent, the springtime IO SST anomalies can persist to the summer season. The spring-to-summer IO SST anomalies associated with the IO basin warming mode are strongly linked to the summer climate over Asia, especially the South Asian monsoon (SAM) and the East Asian monsoon. Among this connection, the warming of tropical IO plays the most critical role, and the warming of southern IO is important for monsoon variation and prediction prior to the full development of the monsoon. The atmospheric response to IO basin wide warming is similar with that to tropical IO warming. The influence of northern IO warming on the SAM, however, is opposite to the effect of southern IO warming. Meanwhile, the discrepancies between the results from idealized SST forcing simulations and observations, especially for the southern IO, reveal that the dominant role of air-sea interaction in the monsoon-IO coupled system cannot be ignored. Moreover, the springtime northern IO warming seems to favor an early onset or a stronger persistence of the SAM.

The role of surface electrostatics on the stability, function and regulation of human cystathionine β-synthase, a complex multidomain and oligomeric protein.

PubMed

Pey, Angel L; Majtan, Tomas; Kraus, Jan P

2014-09-01

Human cystathionine β-synthase (hCBS) is a key enzyme of sulfur amino acid metabolism, controlling the commitment of homocysteine to the transsulfuration pathway and antioxidant defense. Mutations in hCBS cause inherited homocystinuria (HCU), a rare inborn error of metabolism characterized by accumulation of toxic homocysteine in blood and urine. hCBS is a complex multidomain and oligomeric protein whose activity and stability are independently regulated by the binding of S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) to two different types of sites at its C-terminal regulatory domain. Here we study the role of surface electrostatics on the complex regulation and stability of hCBS using biophysical and biochemical procedures. We show that the kinetic stability of the catalytic and regulatory domains is significantly affected by the modulation of surface electrostatics through noticeable structural and energetic changes along their denaturation pathways. We also show that surface electrostatics strongly affect SAM binding properties to those sites responsible for either enzyme activation or kinetic stabilization. Our results provide new insight into the regulation of hCBS activity and stability in vivo with implications for understanding HCU as a conformational disease. We also lend experimental support to the role of electrostatic interactions in the recently proposed binding modes of SAM leading to hCBS activation and kinetic stabilization. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Growth dynamics of L-cysteine SAMs on single-crystal gold surfaces: a metastable deexcitation spectroscopy study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canepa, M.; Lavagnino, L.; Pasquali, L.; Moroni, R.; Bisio, F.; DeRenzi, V.; Terreni, S.; Mattera, L.

2009-07-01

We report on a metastable deexcitation spectroscopy investigation of the growth of L-cysteine layers deposited under UHV conditions on well-defined Au(110)- (1 × 2) and Au(111) surfaces. The interaction of He* with molecular orbitals gave rise to well-defined UPS-like Penning spectra which provided information on the SAM assembly dynamics and adsorption configurations. Penning spectra have been interpreted through comparison with molecular orbital DFT calculations of the free molecule and have been compared with XPS results of previous works. Regarding adsorption of first-layer molecules at room temperature (RT), two different growth regimes were observed. On Au(110), the absence of spectral features related to orbitals associated with SH groups indicated the formation of a compact SAM of thiolate molecules. On Au(111), the data demonstrated the simultaneous presence, since the early stages of growth, of strongly and weakly bound molecules, the latter showing intact SH groups. The different growth mode was tentatively assigned to the added rows of the reconstructed Au(110) surface which behave as extended defects effectively promoting the formation of the S-Au bond. The growth of the second molecular layer was instead observed to proceed similarly for both substrates. Second-layer molecules preferably adopt an adsorption configuration in which the SH group protrudes into the vacuum side.

Improving methionine and ATP availability by MET6 and SAM2 co-expression combined with sodium citrate feeding enhanced SAM accumulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

Chen, Hailong; Wang, Zhou; Wang, Zhilai; Dou, Jie; Zhou, Changlin

2016-04-01

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM), biosynthesized from methionine and ATP, exhibited diverse pharmaceutical applications. To enhance SAM accumulation in S. cerevisiae CGMCC 2842 (wild type), improvement of methionine and ATP availability through MET6 and SAM2 co-expression combined with sodium citrate feeding was investigated here. Feeding 6 g/L methionine at 12 h into medium was found to increase SAM accumulation by 38 % in wild type strain. Based on this result, MET6, encoding methionine synthase, was overexpressed, which caused a 59 % increase of SAM. To redirect intracellular methionine into SAM, MET6 and SAM2 (encoding methionine adenosyltransferase) were co-expressed to obtain the recombinant strain YGSPM in which the SAM accumulation was 2.34-fold of wild type strain. The data obtained showed that co-expression of MET6 and SAM2 improved intracellular methionine availability and redirected the methionine to SAM biosynthesis. To elevate intracellular ATP levels, 6 g/L sodium citrate, used as an auxiliary energy substrate, was fed into the batch fermentation medium, and an additional 19 % increase of SAM was observed after sodium citrate addition. Meanwhile, it was found that addition of sodium citrate improved the isocitrate dehydrogenase activity which was associated with the intracellular ATP levels. The results demonstrated that addition of sodium citrate improved intracellular ATP levels which promoted conversion of methionine into SAM. This study presented a feasible approach with considerable potential for developing highly SAM-productive strains based on improving methionine and ATP availability.

How does the association of iron oxides and perchlorate salts influence organic matter evolution when using Sample Analysis at Mars pyrolysis onboard Curiosity?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

François, Pascaline; Coll, Patrice; Szopa, Cyril; Buch, Arnaud; Cabane, Michel; McAdam, Amy; Freissinet, Caroline; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Glavin, Daniel P.; Navarro-Gonzalez, Rafael; Mahaffy, Paul R.

2014-05-01

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite aboard the Curiosity rover is designed to characterize organic and inorganic volatiles thermally evolved from solid samples. It can analyze evolved volatiles directly with its quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS) to perform evolved gas analysis (EGA) or it can analyze volatiles after they have been sent through a gas chromatography column to perform pyrolysis-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (pyr-GC-MS) [1]. Three solid samples have been analyzed by SAM, a scoop of basaltic sand at Rocknest (RN) and two rocks drilled at Yellowknife Bay designated as John Klein (JK) and Cumberland (CB). All these samples contain an oxychlorine phase (e.g., a perchlorate salt) [2, 3] that evolves HCl, Cl2 and O2 on heating leading to the possible chlorination and/or combustion of organic molecules [4]. Chlorohydrocarbons detected at RN, JK and CB are derived from reactions between martian oxychlorine compounds and terrestrial carbon that is part of the SAM background (e.g., MTBSTFA [2]) as well as potentially reactions with martian carbon and/or thermal desorption directly from the samples for the production of chlorobenzene evolved during pyrolysis of CB. RN, JK and CB samples also contain iron oxides (e.g., hematite, magnetite) [5] which could oxidize organic compounds and catalyze their decomposition [6] leading to differences in the amount and/or nature of pyrolysis products. In order to help interpretation of in situ data obtained by SAM, we study the influence of an iron oxide, hematite, and an oxychlorine phase, Ca-perchlorate, individually, as well as mixed, on alanine, a common amino acid, under conditions simulating the SAM pyrolysis. This work aims to help to determine the influences of key sample minerals on the production of organic compounds detected with SAM in both GC-MS and EGA mode, and to identify potential parent molecules. References: [1] Mahaffy, P. et al. (2012), Space Sci Rev, 170, 401-478. [2] Glavin, D. et al. (2013), JGR. [3] Ming, D. et al. (2013), Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1245267 [4] Navarro-Gonzalez, R. et al. (2010), JGR. [5] Vaniman, D. T. et al (2013), Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1243480. 71, 9-17. [6] Iniguez, E. et al. (2009), Geophysical Research Letters, 36. Acknowledgments: SAM-GC team acknowledges support from the French Space Agency (CNES), French National Programme of Planetology (PNP), National French Council (CNRS), Pierre Simon Laplace Institute, Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) and ESEP Labex. J. Eigenbrode and D. Glavin were supported by the NASA MSL participating scientist program.

Picosecond Nd:BaY2F8 laser discretely tunable around 1 μm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnesi, A.; Pirzio, F.; Reali, G.; Toncelli, A.; Tonelli, M.

2010-09-01

Passive mode-locking of a diode-pumped Nd:BaY2F8 (Nd:BaYF) was achieved on four lines in the range 1040-1074 nm, employing a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SAM). Nearly Fourier-limited pulses with durations of 2.6 to 7.2 ps and output power ≈50 mW were generated in a dispersion-controlled resonator using a single prism for wavelength selection, tuning and dispersion management.

Homology modeling of Homo sapiens lipoic acid synthase: Substrate docking and insights on its binding mode.

PubMed

Krishnamoorthy, Ezhilarasi; Hassan, Sameer; Hanna, Luke Elizabeth; Padmalayam, Indira; Rajaram, Rama; Viswanathan, Vijay

2017-05-07

Lipoic acid synthase (LIAS) is an iron-sulfur cluster mitochondrial enzyme which catalyzes the final step in the de novo pathway for the biosynthesis of lipoic acid, a potent antioxidant. Recently there has been significant interest in its role in metabolic diseases and its deficiency in LIAS expression has been linked to conditions such as diabetes, atherosclerosis and neonatal-onset epilepsy, suggesting a strong inverse correlation between LIAS reduction and disease status. In this study we use a bioinformatics approach to predict its structure, which would be helpful to understanding its role. A homology model for LIAS protein was generated using X-ray crystallographic structure of Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 (PDB ID: 4U0P). The predicted structure has 93% of the residues in the most favour region of Ramachandran plot. The active site of LIAS protein was mapped and docked with S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAM) using GOLD software. The LIAS-SAM complex was further refined using molecular dynamics simulation within the subsite 1 and subsite 3 of the active site. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report a reliable homology model of LIAS protein. This study will facilitate a better understanding mode of action of the enzyme-substrate complex for future studies in designing drugs that can target LIAS protein. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Peptide Fragments of Odin-Sam1: Conformational Analysis and Interaction Studies with EphA2-Sam.

PubMed

Mercurio, Flavia A; Di Natale, Concetta; Pirone, Luciano; Scognamiglio, Pasqualina L; Marasco, Daniela; Pedone, Emilia M; Saviano, Michele; Leone, Marilisa

2015-07-27

Odin is a protein belonging to the ANKS family, and has two tandem Sam domains. The first, Odin-Sam1, binds to the Sam domain of the EphA2 receptor (EphA2-Sam); this interaction could be crucial for the regulation of receptor endocytosis and might have an impact on cancer. Odin-Sam1 associates with EphA2-Sam by adopting a "mid-loop/end-helix" model. In this study three peptide sequences, encompassing the mid-loop interacting portion of Odin-Sam1 and its C-terminal α5 helix, were designed. Their conformational properties were analyzed by CD and NMR. In addition, their abilities to interact with EphA2-Sam were investigated by SPR studies. The peptides adopt a predominantly disordered state in aqueous buffer, but a higher helical content is evident in the presence of the cosolvent trifluoroethanol. Dissociation constants towards EphA2-Sam were in the high micromolar range. The structural findings suggest further routes for the design of potential anti-cancer therapeutics as inhibitors of EphA2-Sam heterotypic interactions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Redox Behavior of the S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM)-Binding Fe-S Cluster in Methylthiotransferase RimO, toward Understanding Dual SAM Activity.

PubMed

Molle, Thibaut; Moreau, Yohann; Clemancey, Martin; Forouhar, Farhad; Ravanat, Jean-Luc; Duraffourg, Nicolas; Fourmond, Vincent; Latour, Jean-Marc; Gambarelli, Serge; Mulliez, Etienne; Atta, Mohamed

2016-10-18

RimO, a radical-S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzyme, catalyzes the specific C 3 methylthiolation of the D89 residue in the ribosomal S 12 protein. Two intact iron-sulfur clusters and two SAM cofactors both are required for catalysis. By using electron paramagnetic resonance, Mössbauer spectroscopies, and site-directed mutagenesis, we show how two SAM molecules sequentially bind to the unique iron site of the radical-SAM cluster for two distinct chemical reactions in RimO. Our data establish that the two SAM molecules bind the radical-SAM cluster to the unique iron site, and spectroscopic evidence obtained under strongly reducing conditions supports a mechanism in which the first molecule of SAM causes the reoxidation of the reduced radical-SAM cluster, impeding reductive cleavage of SAM to occur and allowing SAM to methylate a HS - ligand bound to the additional cluster. Furthermore, by using density functional theory-based methods, we provide a description of the reaction mechanism that predicts the attack of the carbon radical substrate on the methylthio group attached to the additional [4Fe-4S] cluster.

Split ring floating air riding seal for a turbine

DOEpatents

Mills, Jacob A

2015-11-03

A floating air riding seal for a gas turbine engine with a rotor and a stator, an annular piston chamber with an axial moveable annular piston assembly within the annular piston chamber, an annular cavity formed on the annular piston assembly that faces a seal surface on the rotor, and a central passage connecting the annular cavity to the annular piston chamber to supply compressed air to the seal face, where the annular piston assembly is a split piston assembly to maintain a tight seal as coning of the rotor disk occurs.

Dispersion relations for circular single and double dusty plasma chains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tkachenko, D. V.; Misko, V. R.; Sheridan, T. E.

2011-10-15

We derive dispersion relations for a system of identical particles confined in a two-dimensional annular harmonic well and which interact through a Yukawa potential, e.g., a dusty plasma ring. When the particles are in a single chain (i.e., a one-dimensional ring), we find a longitudinal acoustic mode and a transverse optical mode which show approximate agreement with the dispersion relation for a straight configuration for large radii of the ring. When the radius decreases, the dispersion relations modify: there appears an anticrossing of the modes near the crossing point resulting in a frequency gap between the lower and upper branchesmore » of the modified dispersion relations. For the double chain (i.e., a two-dimensional zigzag configuration), the dispersion relation has four branches: longitudinal acoustic and optical and transverse acoustic and optical.« less

Dispersion relations for circular single and double dusty plasma chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tkachenko, D. V.; Sheridan, T. E.; Misko, V. R.

2011-10-01

We derive dispersion relations for a system of identical particles confined in a two-dimensional annular harmonic well and which interact through a Yukawa potential, e.g., a dusty plasma ring. When the particles are in a single chain (i.e., a one-dimensional ring), we find a longitudinal acoustic mode and a transverse optical mode which show approximate agreement with the dispersion relation for a straight configuration for large radii of the ring. When the radius decreases, the dispersion relations modify: there appears an anticrossing of the modes near the crossing point resulting in a frequency gap between the lower and upper branches of the modified dispersion relations. For the double chain (i.e., a two-dimensional zigzag configuration), the dispersion relation has four branches: longitudinal acoustic and optical and transverse acoustic and optical.

High power coaxial ubitron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balkcum, Adam J.

In the ubitron, also known as the free electron laser, high power coherent radiation is generated from the interaction of an undulating electron beam with an electromagnetic signal and a static periodic magnetic wiggler field. These devices have experimentally produced high power spanning the microwave to x-ray regimes. Potential applications range from microwave radar to the study of solid state material properties. In this dissertation, the efficient production of high power microwaves (HPM) is investigated for a ubitron employing a coaxial circuit and wiggler. Designs for the particular applications of an advanced high gradient linear accelerator driver and a directed energy source are presented. The coaxial ubitron is inherently suited for the production of HPM. It utilizes an annular electron beam to drive the low loss, RF breakdown resistant TE01 mode of a large coaxial circuit. The device's large cross-sectional area greatly reduces RF wall heat loading and the current density loading at the cathode required to produce the moderate energy (500 keV) but high current (1-10 kA) annular electron beam. Focusing and wiggling of the beam is achieved using coaxial annular periodic permanent magnet (PPM) stacks without a solenoidal guide magnetic field. This wiggler configuration is compact, efficient and can propagate the multi-kiloampere electron beams required for many HPM applications. The coaxial PPM ubitron in a traveling wave amplifier, cavity oscillator and klystron configuration is investigated using linear theory and simulation codes. A condition for the dc electron beam stability in the coaxial wiggler is derived and verified using the 2-1/2 dimensional particle-in-cell code, MAGIC. New linear theories for the cavity start-oscillation current and gain in a klystron are derived. A self-consistent nonlinear theory for the ubitron-TWT and a new nonlinear theory for the ubitron oscillator are presented. These form the basis for simulation codes which, along with MAGIC, are used to design a representative 200 MW, 40% efficient, X-band amplifier for linear accelerators and a 1 GW, 21% efficient, S-band oscillator for directed energy. The technique of axial mode profiling in the ubitron cavity oscillator is also proposed and shown to increase the simulated interaction efficiency to 46%. These devices are realizable and their experimental implementation, including electron beam formation and spurious mode suppression techniques, is discussed.

The northern annular mode in summer and its relation to solar activity variations in the GISS ModelE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jae N.; Hameed, Sultan; Shindell, Drew T.

2008-03-01

The northern annular mode (NAM) has been successfully used in several studies to understand the variability of the winter atmosphere and its modulation by solar activity. The variability of summer circulation can also be described by the leading empirical orthogonal function (EOF) of geopotential heights. We compare the annular modes of the summer geopotential heights in the northern hemisphere stratosphere and troposphere in the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) ModelE with those in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis. In the stratosphere, the summer NAM obtained from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis as well as from the ModelE simulations has the same sign throughout the northern hemisphere, but shows greater variability at low latitudes. The patterns in both analyses are consistent with the interpretation that low NAM conditions represent an enhancement of the seasonal difference between the summer and the annual averages of geopotential height, temperature and velocity distributions, while the reverse holds for high NAM conditions. Composite analysis of high and low NAM cases in both model and observation suggests that the summer stratosphere is more "summer-like" when the solar activity is near a maximum. This means that the zonal easterly wind flow is stronger and the temperature is higher than normal. Thus increased irradiance favors a low summer NAM. A quantitative comparison of the anti-correlation between the NAM and the solar forcing is presented in the model and in the observation, both of which show lower/higher NAM index in solar maximum/minimum conditions. The temperature fluctuations in simulated solar minimum conditions are greater than in solar maximum throughout the summer stratosphere. The summer NAM in the troposphere obtained from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis has a dipolar zonal structure with maximum variability over the Asian monsoon region. The corresponding EOF in ModelE has a qualitatively similar structure but with less variability in the Asian monsoon region which is displaced eastward of its observed position. In both the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and the GCM the negative anomalies associated with the NAM in the Euro-Atlantic and Aleutian island regions are enhanced in the solar minimum conditions, though the results are not statistically significant.

Molecular orientation of organic thin films on dielectric solid substrates: a phase-sensitive vibrational SFG study.

PubMed

Ge, Aimin; Peng, Qiling; Qiao, Lin; Yepuri, Nageshwar R; Darwish, Tamim A; Matsusaki, Michiya; Akashi, Mitsuru; Ye, Shen

2015-07-21

Broadband phase-sensitive vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy was utilized to study the molecular orientation of molecules adsorbed on dielectric solid substrates. A gold thin film was employed to generate a SFG signal as a local oscillator (LO). To simplify the phase measurement, a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) was used as a standard sample for phase correction of the phase-sensitive SFG measurements on the solid/air interface. It was demonstrated that the absolute orientation of molecules in the LB films on a fused quartz surface can be clearly distinguished by phase-sensitive SFG measurement. In addition, the observation on the SAM of d35-OTS reveals that the two C-H stretching modes for α-CH2 group are in opposite phase. Furthermore, by using the present phase-sensitive SFG setup, the orientation flipping of water molecules on positively and negatively charged solid/liquid interface can be distinguished.

[STS-48 Mission Highlights Resource Tape. Part 1 of 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

In this first part of a two part video mission-highlights set, the flight of the STS-48 Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery is reviewed. The flight crew consisted of: J. O. Creighton (Commander); Ken Reightler (Pilot); Charles 'Sam' Gemar (Mission Specialist); James 'Jim' Buchli (MS); and Mark Brown (MS). Step-by-step pre-launch and sunset launch sequences are shown with accompanying shots inside the Mission Control Center. The primary goal of this mission was the deployment of Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). Other (secondary) payloads included: the MidDeck Zero Gravity Experiment (MODE); the Sam/Cream device; the Shuttle Activation Monitor/Cosmic Ray Effects and Activation Monitor Experiment; and the Physiology and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE). Crew activities were shown, along with Earth views (Aurora Borealis (B/W), light from the Kuwait oil fires, lightning over Italy and other areas, polar regions and ice caps, and the United States at night (B/W)). This was the thirteenth flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery. A night landing is shown.

Self-assembled monolayers of alendronate on Ti6Al4V alloy surfaces enhance osteogenesis in mesenchymal stem cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rojo, Luis; Gharibi, Borzo; McLister, Robert; Meenan, Brian J.; Deb, Sanjukta

2016-07-01

Phosphonates have emerged as an alternative for functionalization of titanium surfaces by the formation of homogeneous self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) via Ti-O-P linkages. This study presents results from an investigation of the modification of Ti6Al4V alloy by chemisorption of osseoinductive alendronate using a simple, effective and clean methodology. The modified surfaces showed a tailored topography and surface chemistry as determined by SEM microscopy and RAMAN spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that an effective mode of bonding is created between the metal oxide surface and the phosphate residue of alendronate, leading to formation of homogenous drug distribution along the surface. In-vitro studies showed that alendronate SAMs induce differentiation of hMSC to a bone cell phenotype and promote bone formation on modified surfaces. Here we show that this novel method for the preparation of functional coatings on titanium-based medical devices provides osseoinductive bioactive molecules to promote enhanced integration at the site of implantation.

Self-assembled monolayers of alendronate on Ti6Al4V alloy surfaces enhance osteogenesis in mesenchymal stem cells

PubMed Central

Rojo, Luis; Gharibi, Borzo; McLister, Robert; Meenan, Brian J.; Deb, Sanjukta

2016-01-01

Phosphonates have emerged as an alternative for functionalization of titanium surfaces by the formation of homogeneous self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) via Ti-O-P linkages. This study presents results from an investigation of the modification of Ti6Al4V alloy by chemisorption of osseoinductive alendronate using a simple, effective and clean methodology. The modified surfaces showed a tailored topography and surface chemistry as determined by SEM microscopy and RAMAN spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that an effective mode of bonding is created between the metal oxide surface and the phosphate residue of alendronate, leading to formation of homogenous drug distribution along the surface. In-vitro studies showed that alendronate SAMs induce differentiation of hMSC to a bone cell phenotype and promote bone formation on modified surfaces. Here we show that this novel method for the preparation of functional coatings on titanium-based medical devices provides osseoinductive bioactive molecules to promote enhanced integration at the site of implantation. PMID:27468811

Improving the productivity of S-adenosyl-l-methionine by metabolic engineering in an industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain.

PubMed

Zhao, Weijun; Hang, Baojian; Zhu, Xiangcheng; Wang, Ri; Shen, Minjie; Huang, Lei; Xu, Zhinan

2016-10-20

S-Adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) is an important metabolite having prominent roles in treating various diseases. In order to improve the production of SAM, the regulation of three metabolic pathways involved in SAM biosynthesis were investigated in an industrial yeast strain ZJU001. GLC3 encoded glycogen-branching enzyme (GBE), SPE2 encoded SAM decarboxylase, as well as ERG4 and ERG6 encoded key enzymes in ergosterol biosynthesis, were knocked out in ZJU001 accordingly. The results indicated that blocking of either glycogen pathway or SAM decarboxylation pathway could improve the SAM accumulation significantly in ZJU001, while single disruption of either ERG4 or ERG6 gene had no obvious effect on SAM production. Moreover, the double mutant ZJU001-GS with deletion of both GLC3 and SPE2 genes was also constructed, which showed further improvement of SAM accumulation. Finally, SAM2 was overexpressed in ZJU001-GS to give the best SAM-producing recombinant strain ZJU001-GS-SAM2, in which 12.47g/L SAM was produced by following our developed pseudo-exponential fed-batch cultivation strategy, about 81.0% increase comparing to its parent strain ZJU001. The present work laid a solid base for large-scale SAM production with the industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adsorption of hydrophobin on different self-assembled monolayers: the role of the hydrophobic dipole and the electric dipole.

PubMed

Peng, Chunwang; Liu, Jie; Zhao, Daohui; Zhou, Jian

2014-09-30

In this work, the adsorptions of hydrophobin (HFBI) on four different self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) (i.e., CH3-SAM, OH-SAM, COOH-SAM, and NH2-SAM) were investigated by parallel tempering Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations. Simulation results indicate that the orientation of HFBI adsorbed on neutral surfaces is dominated by a hydrophobic dipole. HFBI adsorbs on the hydrophobic CH3-SAM through its hydrophobic patch and adopts a nearly vertical hydrophobic dipole relative to the surface, while it is nearly horizontal when adsorbed on the hydrophilic OH-SAM. For charged SAM surfaces, HFBI adopts a nearly vertical electric dipole relative to the surface. HFBI has the narrowest orientation distribution on the CH3-SAM, and thus can form an ordered monolayer and reverse the wettability of the surface. For HFBI adsorption on charged SAMs, the adsorption strength weakens as the surface charge density increases. Compared with those on other SAMs, a larger area of the hydrophobic patch is exposed to the solution when HFBI adsorbs on the NH2-SAM. This leads to an increase of the hydrophobicity of the surface, which is consistent with the experimental results. The binding of HFBI to the CH3-SAM is mainly through hydrophobic interactions, while it is mediated through a hydration water layer near the surface for the OH-SAM. For the charged SAM surfaces, the adsorption is mainly induced by electrostatic interactions between the charged surfaces and the oppositely charged residues. The effect of a hydrophobic dipole on protein adsorption onto hydrophobic surfaces is similar to that of an electric dipole for charged surfaces. Therefore, the hydrophobic dipole may be applied to predict the probable orientations of protein adsorbed on hydrophobic surfaces.

Conformational heterogeneity of the SAM-I riboswitch transcriptional ON state: a chaperone-like role for S-adenosyl methionine.

PubMed

Huang, Wei; Kim, Joohyun; Jha, Shantenu; Aboul-Ela, Fareed

2012-05-18

Riboswitches are promising targets for the design of novel antibiotics and engineering of portable genetic regulatory elements. There is evidence that variability in riboswitch properties allows tuning of expression for genes involved in different stages of biosynthetic pathways by mechanisms that are not currently understood. Here, we explore the mechanism for tuning of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM)-I riboswitch folding. Most SAM-I riboswitches function at the transcriptional level by sensing the cognate ligand SAM. SAM-I riboswitches orchestrate the biosynthetic pathways of cysteine, methionine, SAM, and so forth. We use base-pair probability predictions to examine the secondary-structure folding landscape of several SAM-I riboswitch sequences. We predict different folding behaviors for different SAM-I riboswitch sequences. We identify several "decoy" base-pairing interactions involving 5' riboswitch residues that can compete with the formation of a P1 helix, a component of the ligand-bound "transcription OFF" state, in the absence of SAM. We hypothesize that blockage of these interactions through SAM contacts contributes to stabilization of the OFF state in the presence of ligand. We also probe folding patterns for a SAM-I riboswitch RNA using constructs with different 3' truncation points experimentally. Folding was monitored through fluorescence, susceptibility to base-catalyzed cleavage, nuclear magnetic resonance, and indirectly through SAM binding. We identify key decision windows at which SAM can affect the folding pathway towards the OFF state. The presence of decoy conformations and differential sensitivities to SAM at different transcript lengths is crucial for SAM-I riboswitches to modulate gene expression in the context of global cellular metabolism. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Space acceleration measurement system description and operations on the First Spacelab Life Sciences Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delombard, Richard; Finley, Brian D.

1991-01-01

The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) project and flight units are briefly described. The SAMS operations during the STS-40 mission are summarized, and a preliminary look at some of the acceleration data from that mission are provided. The background and rationale for the SAMS project is described to better illustrate its goals. The functions and capabilities of each SAMS flight unit are first explained, then the STS-40 mission, the SAMS's function for that mission, and the preparation of the SAMS are described. Observations about the SAMS operations during the first SAMS mission are then discussed. Some sample data are presented illustrating several aspects of the mission's microgravity environment.

Ceramic gas turbine shroud

DOEpatents

Shi, Jun; Green, Kevin E.

2014-07-22

An example gas turbine engine shroud includes a first annular ceramic wall having an inner side for resisting high temperature turbine engine gasses and an outer side with a plurality of radial slots. A second annular metallic wall is positioned radially outwardly of and enclosing the first annular ceramic wall and has a plurality of tabs in communication with the slot of the first annular ceramic wall. The tabs of the second annular metallic wall and slots of the first annular ceramic wall are in communication such that the first annular ceramic wall and second annular metallic wall are affixed.

Floating air riding seal for a turbine

DOEpatents

Ebert, Todd A

2016-08-16

A floating air riding seal for a gas turbine engine with a rotor and a stator, an annular piston chamber with an axial moveable annular piston assembly within the annular piston chamber formed in the stator, an annular cavity formed on the annular piston assembly that faces a seal surface on the rotor, where the axial moveable annular piston includes an inlet scoop on a side opposite to the annular cavity that scoops up the swirling cooling air and directs the cooling air to the annular cavity to form an air cushion with the seal surface of the rotor.

Specific Eph receptor-cytoplasmic effector signaling mediated by SAM-SAM domain interactions.

PubMed

Wang, Yue; Shang, Yuan; Li, Jianchao; Chen, Weidi; Li, Gang; Wan, Jun; Liu, Wei; Zhang, Mingjie

2018-05-11

The Eph receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family is the largest subfamily of RTKs playing critical roles in many developmental processes such as tissue patterning, neurogenesis and neuronal circuit formation, angiogenesis, etc. How the 14 Eph proteins, via their highly similar cytoplasmic domains, can transmit diverse and sometimes opposite cellular signals upon engaging ephrins is a major unresolved question. Here we systematically investigated the bindings of each SAM domain of Eph receptors to the SAM domains from SHIP2 and Odin, and uncover a highly specific SAM-SAM interaction-mediated cytoplasmic Eph-effector binding pattern. Comparative X-ray crystallographic studies of several SAM-SAM heterodimer complexes, together with biochemical and cell biology experiments, not only revealed the exquisite specificity code governing Eph/effector interactions but also allowed us to identify SAMD5 as a new Eph binding partner. Finally, these Eph/effector SAM heterodimer structures can explain many Eph SAM mutations identified in patients suffering from cancers and other diseases. © 2018, Wang et al.

SAM-VI RNAs selectively bind S-adenosylmethionine and exhibit similarities to SAM-III riboswitches.

PubMed

Mirihana Arachchilage, Gayan; Sherlock, Madeline E; Weinberg, Zasha; Breaker, Ronald R

2018-03-04

Five distinct riboswitch classes that regulate gene expression in response to the cofactor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) or its metabolic breakdown product S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) have been reported previously. Collectively, these SAM- or SAH-sensing RNAs constitute the most abundant collection of riboswitches, and are found in nearly every major bacterial lineage. Here, we report a potential sixth member of this pervasive riboswitch family, called SAM-VI, which is predominantly found in Bifidobacterium species. SAM-VI aptamers selectively bind the cofactor SAM and strongly discriminate against SAH. The consensus sequence and structural model for SAM-VI share some features with the consensus model for the SAM-III riboswitch class, whose members are mainly found in lactic acid bacteria. However, there are sufficient differences between the two classes such that current bioinformatics methods separately cluster representatives of the two motifs. These findings highlight the abundance of RNA structures that can form to selectively recognize SAM, and showcase the ability of RNA to utilize diverse strategies to perform similar biological functions.

SAM Photovoltaic Model Technical Reference 2016 Update

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilman, Paul; DiOrio, Nicholas A; Freeman, Janine M

This manual describes the photovoltaic performance model in the System Advisor Model (SAM) software, Version 2016.3.14 Revision 4 (SSC Version 160). It is an update to the 2015 edition of the manual, which describes the photovoltaic model in SAM 2015.1.30 (SSC 41). This new edition includes corrections of errors in the 2015 edition and descriptions of new features introduced in SAM 2016.3.14, including: 3D shade calculator Battery storage model DC power optimizer loss inputs Snow loss model Plane-of-array irradiance input from weather file option Support for sub-hourly simulations Self-shading works with all four subarrays, and uses same algorithm for fixedmore » arrays and one-axis tracking Linear self-shading algorithm for thin-film modules Loss percentages replace derate factors. The photovoltaic performance model is one of the modules in the SAM Simulation Core (SSC), which is part of both SAM and the SAM SDK. SAM is a user-friedly desktop application for analysis of renewable energy projects. The SAM SDK (Software Development Kit) is for developers writing their own renewable energy analysis software based on SSC. This manual is written for users of both SAM and the SAM SDK wanting to learn more about the details of SAM's photovoltaic model.« less

Evolution of the eastward shift in the quasi-stationary minimum of the Antarctic total ozone column

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grytsai, Asen; Klekociuk, Andrew; Milinevsky, Gennadi; Evtushevsky, Oleksandr; Stone, Kane

2017-02-01

The quasi-stationary pattern of the Antarctic total ozone has changed during the last 4 decades, showing an eastward shift in the zonal ozone minimum. In this work, the association between the longitudinal shift of the zonal ozone minimum and changes in meteorological fields in austral spring (September-November) for 1979-2014 is analyzed using ERA-Interim and NCEP-NCAR reanalyses. Regressive, correlative and anomaly composite analyses are applied to reanalysis data. Patterns of the Southern Annular Mode and quasi-stationary zonal waves 1 and 3 in the meteorological fields show relationships with interannual variability in the longitude of the zonal ozone minimum. On decadal timescales, consistent longitudinal shifts of the zonal ozone minimum and zonal wave 3 pattern in the middle-troposphere temperature at the southern midlatitudes are shown. Attribution runs of the chemistry-climate version of the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS-CCM) model suggest that long-term shifts of the zonal ozone minimum are separately contributed by changes in ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases. As is known, Antarctic ozone depletion in spring is strongly projected on the Southern Annular Mode in summer and impacts summertime surface climate across the Southern Hemisphere. The results of this study suggest that changes in zonal ozone asymmetry accompanying ozone depletion could be associated with regional climate changes in the Southern Hemisphere in spring.

[Interest of tricuspid annular displacement (TAD) in evaluation of right ventricular ejection fraction].

PubMed

Hugues, T; Ducreux, D; Bertora, D; Berthier, F; Lemoigne, F; Padovani, B; Gibelin, P

2010-04-01

The ultrasound assessment of RV structure and function is often sub-optimal. The range of excursions of the mitral or tricuspid annulus measured in millimetre by 2D or TM-mode in centimetre per second by DTI-mode echocardiography has been shown to reflect the systolic function of both ventricles. We studied a new technique based on a tissue tracking algorithm that is ultrasound beam angle independent for automated detection of tricuspid annular displacement (TAD) (QLAB, Philips Medical Imaging). Twenty-six patients (pts) referred for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 44 control subjects underwent a complete transthoracic echocardiography. MRI of the right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) was correlated by linear regression with TAD. Sixteen pts (61.5%) exhibited right ventricular systolic dysfunction (MRI RVEF<40%). The MRI RVEF was positively correlated with TAD (R(2)=0,65; p<0,0001). A value of TAD <14mm predicted right ventricular dysfunction with a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 90%. Most of (90%) healthy subjects exhibited TAD values exceeding this cut-off point (mean: 16.9+/-1.64mm; range: 13.3 to 24.8mm). Negative correlation was found between TAD and age (R(2)=0,36; p<0,0001). Our study is the first to correlate TAD with MRI RVEF. TAD is a simple, rapid, and non-invasive tool for right ventricular systolic function assessment.

Alzheimer Abeta(1-42) monomer adsorbed on the self-assembled monolayers.

PubMed

Wang, Qiuming; Zhao, Jun; Yu, Xiang; Zhao, Chao; Li, Lingyan; Zheng, Jie

2010-08-03

Amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide aggregation on the cell membranes is a key pathological event responsible for neuron cell death in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We present a collection of molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations to study the conformational dynamics and adsorption behavior of Abeta monomer on the self-assembled monolayer (SAM), in comparison to Abeta structure in bulk solution. Two distinct Abeta conformations (i.e., alpha-helix and beta-hairpin) are selected as initial structures to mimic different adsorption states, whereas four SAM surfaces with different end groups in hydrophobicity and charge distribution are used to examine the effect of surface chemistry on Abeta structure and adsorption. Simulation results show that alpha-helical monomer displays higher structural stability than beta-hairpin monomer on all SAMs, suggesting that the preferential conformation of Abeta monomer could be alpha-helical or random structure when bound to surfaces. Structural stability and adsorption behavior of Abeta monomer on the SAMs originates from competitive interactions between Abeta and SAM and between SAM and interfacial water, which involve the conformation of Abeta, the surface chemistry of SAM, and the structure and dynamics of interfacial waters. The relative net binding affinity of Abeta with the SAMs is in the favorable order of COOH-SAM > NH(2)-SAM > CH(3)-SAM > OH-SAM, highlighting the importance of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions for driving Abeta adsorption at the SAMs, but both interactions contribute differently to each Abeta-SAM complex. This work provides parallel insights into the understanding of Abeta structure and aggregation on cell membrane.

High-Frequency Ultrasonic Imaging of the Anterior Segment Using an Annular Array Transducer

PubMed Central

Silverman, Ronald H.; Ketterling, Jeffrey A.; Coleman, D. Jackson

2006-01-01

Objective Very-high-frequency (>35 MHz) ultrasound (VHFU) allows imaging of anterior segment structures of the eye with a resolution of less than 40-μm. The low focal ratio of VHFU transducers, however, results in a depth-of-field (DOF) of less than 1-mm. Our aim was to develop a high-frequency annular array transducer for ocular imaging with improved DOF, sensitivity and resolution compared to conventional transducers. Design Experimental Study Participants Cadaver eyes, ex vivo cow eyes, in vivo rabbit eyes. Methods A spherically curved annular array ultrasound transducer was fabricated. The array consisted of five concentric rings of equal area, had an overall aperture of 6 mm and a geometric focus of 12 mm. The nominal center frequency of all array elements was 40 MHz. An experimental system was designed in which a single array element was pulsed and echo data recorded from all elements. By sequentially pulsing each element, echo data were acquired for all 25 transmit/receive annuli combinations. The echo data were then synthetically focused and composite images produced. Transducer operation was tested by scanning a test object consisting of a series of 25-μm diameter wires spaced at increasing range from the transducer. Imaging capabilities of the annular array were demonstrated in ex vivo bovine, in vivo rabbit and human cadaver eyes. Main Outcome Measures Depth of field, resolution and sensitivity. Results The wire scans verified the operation of the array and demonstrated a 6.0 mm DOF compared to the 1.0 mm DOF of a conventional single-element transducer of comparable frequency, aperture and focal length. B-mode images of ex vivo bovine, in vivo rabbit and cadaver eyes showed that while the single-element transducer had high sensitivity and resolution within 1–2 mm of its focus, the array with synthetic focusing maintained this quality over a 6 mm DOF. Conclusion An annular array for high-resolution ocular imaging has been demonstrated. This technology offers improved depth-of-field, sensitivity and lateral resolution compared to single-element fixed focus transducers currently used for VHFU imaging of the eye. PMID:17141314

High-frequency ultrasonic imaging of the anterior segment using an annular array transducer.

PubMed

Silverman, Ronald H; Ketterling, Jeffrey A; Coleman, D Jackson

2007-04-01

Very high-frequency ultrasound (VHFU; >35 megahertz [MHz]) allows imaging of anterior segment structures of the eye with a resolution of less than 40 microm. The low focal ratio of VHFU transducers, however, results in a depth of field (DOF) of less than 1 mm. The aim was to develop a high-frequency annular array transducer for ocular imaging with improved DOF, sensitivity, and resolution compared with conventional transducers. Experimental study. Cadaver eyes, ex vivo cow eyes, in vivo rabbit eyes. A spherically curved annular array ultrasound transducer was fabricated. The array consisted of 5 concentric rings of equal area, had an overall aperture of 6 mm, and a geometric focus of 12 mm. The nominal center frequency of all array elements was 40 MHz. An experimental system was designed in which a single array element was pulsed and echo data were recorded from all elements. By sequentially pulsing each element, echo data were acquired for all 25 transmit-and-receive annuli combinations. The echo data then were focused synthetically and composite images were produced. Transducer operation was tested by scanning a test object consisting of a series of 25-microm diameter wires spaced at increasing range from the transducer. Imaging capabilities of the annular array were demonstrated in ex vivo bovine, in vivo rabbit, and human cadaver eyes. Depth of field, resolution, and sensitivity. The wire scans verified the operation of the array and demonstrated a 6.0-mm DOF, compared with the 1.0-mm DOF of a conventional single-element transducer of comparable frequency, aperture, and focal length. B-mode images of ex vivo bovine, in vivo rabbit, and cadaver eyes showed that although the single-element transducer had high sensitivity and resolution within 1 to 2 mm of its focus, the array with synthetic focusing maintained this quality over a 6-mm DOF. An annular array for high-resolution ocular imaging has been demonstrated. This technology offers improved DOF, sensitivity, and lateral resolution compared with single-element fixed focus transducers currently used for VHFU imaging of the eye.

Statistical assessment of normal mitral annular geometry using automated three-dimensional echocardiographic analysis.

PubMed

Pouch, Alison M; Vergnat, Mathieu; McGarvey, Jeremy R; Ferrari, Giovanni; Jackson, Benjamin M; Sehgal, Chandra M; Yushkevich, Paul A; Gorman, Robert C; Gorman, Joseph H

2014-01-01

The basis of mitral annuloplasty ring design has progressed from qualitative surgical intuition to experimental and theoretical analysis of annular geometry with quantitative imaging techniques. In this work, we present an automated three-dimensional (3D) echocardiographic image analysis method that can be used to statistically assess variability in normal mitral annular geometry to support advancement in annuloplasty ring design. Three-dimensional patient-specific models of the mitral annulus were automatically generated from 3D echocardiographic images acquired from subjects with normal mitral valve structure and function. Geometric annular measurements including annular circumference, annular height, septolateral diameter, intercommissural width, and the annular height to intercommissural width ratio were automatically calculated. A mean 3D annular contour was computed, and principal component analysis was used to evaluate variability in normal annular shape. The following mean ± standard deviations were obtained from 3D echocardiographic image analysis: annular circumference, 107.0 ± 14.6 mm; annular height, 7.6 ± 2.8 mm; septolateral diameter, 28.5 ± 3.7 mm; intercommissural width, 33.0 ± 5.3 mm; and annular height to intercommissural width ratio, 22.7% ± 6.9%. Principal component analysis indicated that shape variability was primarily related to overall annular size, with more subtle variation in the skewness and height of the anterior annular peak, independent of annular diameter. Patient-specific 3D echocardiographic-based modeling of the human mitral valve enables statistical analysis of physiologically normal mitral annular geometry. The tool can potentially lead to the development of a new generation of annuloplasty rings that restore the diseased mitral valve annulus back to a truly normal geometry. Copyright © 2014 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 1739.10 - Eligible applicant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...'s number. (d) Register in the System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly Central Contractor... paper, must be registered in the SAM prior to submitting an application. Applicants may register for the SAM at https://www.sam.gov/. (2) The SAM registration must remain active, with current information, at...

SAM Photovoltaic Model Technical Reference

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilman, P.

2015-05-27

This manual describes the photovoltaic performance model in the System Advisor Model (SAM). The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory maintains and distributes SAM, which is available as a free download from https://sam.nrel.gov. These descriptions are based on SAM 2015.1.30 (SSC 41).

SAM International Case Studies: DPV Analysis in Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCall, James D

Presentation demonstrates the use of the System Advisor Model (SAM) in international analyses, specifically Mexico. Two analyses are discussed with relation to SAM modelling efforts: 1) Customer impacts from changes to net metering and billing agreements and 2) Potential benefits of PV for Mexican solar customers, the Mexican Treasury, and the environment. Along with the SAM analyses, integration of the International Utility Rate Database (I-URDB) with SAM and future international SAM work are discussed. Presentation was created for the International Solar Energy Society's (ISES) webinar titled 'International use of the NREL System Advisor Model (SAM) with case studies'.

Structural Basis for Methyl Transfer by a Radical SAM Enzyme

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boal, Amie K.; Grove, Tyler L.; McLaughlin, Monica I.

2014-10-02

The radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzymes RlmN and Cfr methylate 23S ribosomal RNA, modifying the C2 or C8 position of adenosine 2503. The methyl groups are installed by a two-step sequence involving initial methylation of a conserved Cys residue (RlmN Cys{sup 355}) by SAM. Methyl transfer to the substrate requires reductive cleavage of a second equivalent of SAM. Crystal structures of RlmN and RlmN with SAM show that a single molecule of SAM coordinates the [4Fe-4S] cluster. Residue Cys{sup 355} is S-methylated and located proximal to the SAM methyl group, suggesting the SAM that is involved in the initial methyl transfermore » binds at the same site. Thus, RlmN accomplishes its complex reaction with structural economy, harnessing the two most important reactivities of SAM within a single site.« less

Experimental investigation of hydrodynamics and heat exchange in the ring channel with heat exchangers in the modes of single-phase convection and bubble boiling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agishev, B. Y.; Boltenko, E. A.; Varava, A. N.; Dedov, A. V.; Zakharenkov, A. V.; Komov, A. T.; Smorchova, Y. V.

2018-03-01

The effectiveness of the heat exchange intensifier “rib-twisted wire” is considered in this paper. The main goal is to study the influence of the wire coiling step t on heat transfer and hydraulic resistance for different values Ḣ of the dimensionless height of the edge Ḣ, as well as some results on heat exchange during bubbly boiling in an annular channel. Show: • a brief description and an image of the heat exchange intensifier “rib-twisted wire” • generalized results of studies of heat exchange and hydraulic resistance in the annular channel in the single-phase convection with different geometric characteristics of the intensifier; • empirical correlations of the generalized experimental results that allow to calculating the coefficient of hydraulic resistance and heat transfer in the range of regime parameters in the single-phase convection that is being studied. • some results of experiments in bubbly boiling regimes and near-critical thermal loads.

Dynamics of face and annular seals with two-phase flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, William F.; Basu, Prithwish; Beatty, Paul A.; Beeler, Richard M.; Lau, Stephen

1988-01-01

A detailed study was made of face and annular seals under conditions where boiling, i.e., phase change of the leaking fluid, occurs within the seal. Many seals operate in this mode because of flashing due to pressure drop and/or heat input from frictional heating. Some of the distinctive behavior characteristics of two phase seals are discussed, particularly their axial stability. The main conclusions are that seals with two phase flow may be unstable if improperly balanced. Detailed theoretical analyses of low (laminar) and high (turbulent) leakage seals are presented along with computer codes, parametric studies, and in particular a simplified PC based code that allows for rapid performance prediction: calculations of stiffness coefficients, temperature and pressure distributions, and leakage rates for parallel and coned face seals. A simplified combined computer code for the performance prediction over the laminar and turbulent ranges of a two phase flow is described and documented. The analyses, results, and computer codes are summarized.

Optimization of passively mode-locked quasi-continuously diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser in bounce geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, Milan; Jelínek, Michal; Kubeček, Václav

2015-01-01

In this paper the operation of pulsed diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser oscillator in bounce geometry passively modelocked using semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SAM), generating microjoule level picosecond pulses at wavelength of 1063 nm, is reported. Optimization of the output coupling for generation either Q-switched mode locked pulse trains or cavity dumped single pulses with maximum energy was performed, which resulted in extraction of single pulses as short as 10 ps and energy of 20 uJ. In comparison with the previous results obtained with this Nd:GdVO4 oscillator and saturable absorber in transmission mode, the achieved pulse duration is five times shorter. Using different absorbers and parameters of single pulse extraction enables generation of the pulses with duration up to 100 ps with the energy in the range from 10 to 20 μJ.

Microfabrication using soft lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xiao-Mei

Soft Lithography is a group of non-photolithographic techniques currently being explored in our group. Four such techniques-microcontact printing (μCP), replica molding (REM), micromolding in capillaries (MIMIC), and microtransfer molding (μTM)-have been demonstrated for fabricating micro- and nanostructures of a variety of materials with dimension >=30 nm. Part I (Chapters 1-5) reviews several aspects of the three molding techniques REM, MIMIC, and μTM. Chapters 1-3 describe μTM and MIMIC, and the use of these techniques in the fabrication of functional devices. μTM is capable of generating μm-scale structures over large areas, on both planar and contoured surfaces, and is able to make 3-dimensional structures layer by layer. The capability of μTM and MIMIC has been demonstrated in the fabrication of single-mode waveguides, waveguide couplers and interferometers. The coupling between waveguides can be tailored by waveguide spacing or the differential in curing time between the waveguides and the cladding. Chapters 4-5 demonstrate the combination of REM and shrinkable polystyrene (PS) films to reduce the feature size of microstructures and to generate microstructures with high aspect ratios on both planar and curved surfaces. A shrinkable PS film is patterned with relief structures, and then heated and shrinks. Thermal shrinkage results in a 100-fold increase in the aspect ratio of the patterned microstructures in the PS film. The microstructures in the shrunken PS films can be transferred to many other materials by REM. Part II (Chapters 6-7) focuses on two issues in the microfabrication using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as ultrathin resists. Chapter 6 describes a selective etching solution for transferring patterns of SAMs of alkanethiolates into the underlying layers (e.g., gold, silver, and copper). This etching solution uses thiosulfate as the ligand that coordinates to the metal ions, and ferricyanide as the oxidant. It has been demonstrated to be less toxic, more efficient, and provide fewer defects in the SAM-protected metallic regions upon etching. Chapter 7 describes a technique to measure the surface density of defects in SAMs of hexadecanethiolates on gold and in the structures prepared by using the SAMs as resists and the aqueous ferricyanide solution as the etchant, under conditions that may be encountered in lithographic processing. This technique uses two steps of amplification through chemical reaction to convert pinhole defects in SAMs into easily imaged, micron-scale pits in an underlying Si support.

Modeling of natural acoustic frequencies of a gas-turbine plant combustion chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zubrilin, I. A.; Gurakov, N. I.; Zubrilin, R. A.; Matveev, S. G.

2017-05-01

The paper presents results of determination of natural acoustic frequencies of a gas-turbine plant annular combustion chamber model using 3D-simulation. At the beginning, a calculation procedure for determining natural acoustic frequencies of the gas-turbine plant combustion chamber was worked out. The effect of spatial inhomogeneity of the flow parameters (fluid composition, pressure, temperature) arising in combustion and some geometrical parameters (cooling holes of the flame tube walls) on the calculation results is studied. It is found that the change of the fluid composition in combustion affects the acoustic velocity not more than 5%; therefore, the air with a volume variable temperature can be taken as a working fluid in the calculation of natural acoustic frequencies. It is also shown that the cooling holes of the flame tube walls with diameter less than 2 mm can be neglected in the determination of the acoustic modes in the frequency range of up to 1000 Hz. This reduces the number of the grid-model elements by a factor of six in comparison with a model that considers all of the holes. Furthermore, a method of export of spatial inhomogeneity of the flow parameters from a CFD solver sector model to the annular combustion chamber model in a modal solver is presented. As a result of the obtained model calculation, acoustic modes of the combustion chamber in the frequency range of up to 1000 Hz are determined. For a standard engine condition, a potentially dangerous acoustic mode with a frequency close to the ripple frequency of the precessing vortex core, which is formed behind the burner device of this combustion chamber, is detected.

An Overview of the Automated Dispatch Controller Algorithms in the System Advisor Model (SAM)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DiOrio, Nicholas A

2017-11-22

Three automatic dispatch modes have been added to the battery model within the System Adviser Model. These controllers have been developed to perform peak shaving in an automated fashion, providing users with a way to see the benefit of reduced demand charges without manually programming a complicated dispatch control. A flexible input option allows more advanced interaction with the automated controller. This document will describe the algorithms in detail and present brief results on its use and limitations.

Characterization of the SAM domain of the PKD-related protein ANKS6 and its interaction with ANKS3.

PubMed

Leettola, Catherine N; Knight, Mary Jane; Cascio, Duilio; Hoffman, Sigrid; Bowie, James U

2014-07-07

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common genetic disorder leading to end-stage renal failure in humans. In the PKD/Mhm(cy/+) rat model of ADPKD, the point mutation R823W in the sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain of the protein ANKS6 is responsible for disease. SAM domains are known protein-protein interaction domains, capable of binding each other to form polymers and heterodimers. Despite its physiological importance, little is known about the function of ANKS6 and how the R823W point mutation leads to PKD. Recent work has revealed that ANKS6 interacts with a related protein called ANKS3. Both ANKS6 and ANKS3 have a similar domain structure, with ankyrin repeats at the N-terminus and a SAM domain at the C-terminus. The SAM domain of ANKS3 is identified as a direct binding partner of the ANKS6 SAM domain. We find that ANKS3-SAM polymerizes and ANKS6-SAM can bind to one end of the polymer. We present crystal structures of both the ANKS3-SAM polymer and the ANKS3-SAM/ANKS6-SAM complex, revealing the molecular details of their association. We also learn how the R823W mutation disrupts ANKS6 function by dramatically destabilizing the SAM domain such that the interaction with ANKS3-SAM is lost. ANKS3 is a direct interacting partner of ANKS6. By structurally and biochemically characterizing the interaction between the ANKS3 and ANKS6 SAM domains, our work provides a basis for future investigation of how the interaction between these proteins mediates kidney function.

Characterization of the SAM domain of the PKD-related protein ANKS6 and its interaction with ANKS3

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common genetic disorder leading to end-stage renal failure in humans. In the PKD/Mhm(cy/+) rat model of ADPKD, the point mutation R823W in the sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain of the protein ANKS6 is responsible for disease. SAM domains are known protein-protein interaction domains, capable of binding each other to form polymers and heterodimers. Despite its physiological importance, little is known about the function of ANKS6 and how the R823W point mutation leads to PKD. Recent work has revealed that ANKS6 interacts with a related protein called ANKS3. Both ANKS6 and ANKS3 have a similar domain structure, with ankyrin repeats at the N-terminus and a SAM domain at the C-terminus. Results The SAM domain of ANKS3 is identified as a direct binding partner of the ANKS6 SAM domain. We find that ANKS3-SAM polymerizes and ANKS6-SAM can bind to one end of the polymer. We present crystal structures of both the ANKS3-SAM polymer and the ANKS3-SAM/ANKS6-SAM complex, revealing the molecular details of their association. We also learn how the R823W mutation disrupts ANKS6 function by dramatically destabilizing the SAM domain such that the interaction with ANKS3-SAM is lost. Conclusions ANKS3 is a direct interacting partner of ANKS6. By structurally and biochemically characterizing the interaction between the ANKS3 and ANKS6 SAM domains, our work provides a basis for future investigation of how the interaction between these proteins mediates kidney function. PMID:24998259

Ablation of the Sam68 RNA Binding Protein Protects Mice from Age-Related Bone Loss

PubMed Central

Richard, Stéphane; Torabi, Nazi; Franco, Gladys Valverde; Tremblay, Guy A; Chen, Taiping; Vogel, Gillian; Morel, Mélanie; Cléroux, Patrick; Forget-Richard, Alexandre; Komarova, Svetlana; Tremblay, Michel L; Li, Wei; Li, Ailian; Gao, Yun Jing; Henderson, Janet E

2005-01-01

The Src substrate associated in mitosis of 68 kDa (Sam68) is a KH-type RNA binding protein that has been shown to regulate several aspects of RNA metabolism; however, its physiologic role has remained elusive. Herein we report the generation of Sam68-null mice by homologous recombination. Aged Sam68−/− mice preserved their bone mass, in sharp contrast with 12-month-old wild-type littermates in which bone mass was decreased up to approximately 75%. In fact, the bone volume of the 12-month-old Sam68−/− mice was virtually indistinguishable from that of 4-month-old wild-type or Sam68−/− mice. Sam68−/− bone marrow stromal cells had a differentiation advantage for the osteogenic pathway. Moreover, the knockdown of Sam68 using short hairpin RNA in the embryonic mesenchymal multipotential progenitor C3H10T1/2 cells resulted in more pronounced expression of the mature osteoblast marker osteocalcin when differentiation was induced with bone morphogenetic protein-2. Cultures of mouse embryo fibroblasts generated from Sam68+/+ and Sam68−/− littermates were induced to differentiate into adipocytes with culture medium containing pioglitazone and the Sam68−/− mouse embryo fibroblasts shown to have impaired adipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, in vivo it was shown that sections of bone from 12-month-old Sam68−/− mice had few marrow adipocytes compared with their age-matched wild-type littermate controls, which exhibited fatty bone marrow. Our findings identify endogenous Sam68 as a positive regulator of adipocyte differentiation and a negative regulator of osteoblast differentiation, which is consistent with Sam68 being a modulator of bone marrow mesenchymal cell differentiation, and hence bone metabolism, in aged mice. PMID:16362077

Molecular dynamics simulations of low-ordered alzheimer β-amyloid oligomers from dimer to hexamer on self-assembled monolayers.

PubMed

Zhao, Jun; Wang, Qiuming; Liang, Guizhao; Zheng, Jie

2011-12-20

Accumulation of small soluble oligomers of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the human brain is thought to play an important pathological role in Alzheimer's disease. The interaction of these Aβ oligomers with cell membrane and other artificial surfaces is important for the understanding of Aβ aggregation and toxicity mechanisms. Here, we present a series of exploratory molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the early adsorption and conformational change of Aβ oligomers from dimer to hexamer on three different self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) terminated with CH(3), OH, and COOH groups. Within the time scale of MD simulations, the conformation, orientation, and adsorption of Aβ oligomers on the SAMs is determined by complex interplay among the size of Aβ oligomers, the surface chemistry of the SAMs, and the structure and dynamics of interfacial waters. Energetic analysis of Aβ adsorption on the SAMs reveals that Aβ adsorption on the SAMs is a net outcome of different competitions between dominant hydrophobic Aβ-CH(3)-SAM interactions and weak CH(3)-SAM-water interactions, between dominant electrostatic Aβ-COOH-SAM interactions and strong COOH-SAM-water interactions, and between comparable hydrophobic and electrostatic Aβ-OH-SAM interactions and strong OH-SAM-water interactions. Atomic force microscopy images also confirm that all of three SAMs can induce the adsorption and polymerization of Aβ oligomers. Structural analysis of Aβ oligomers on the SAMs shows a dramatic increase in structural stability and β-sheet content from dimer to trimer, suggesting that Aβ trimer could act as seeds for Aβ polymerization on the SAMs. This work provides atomic-level understanding of Aβ peptides at interface. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Edge-to-edge repair for prevention and treatment of mitral valve systolic anterior motion.

PubMed

Myers, Patrick O; Khalpey, Zain; Maloney, Ann M; Brinster, Derek R; D'Ambra, Michael N; Cohn, Lawrence H

2013-10-01

The edge-to-edge technique has been proposed to prevent systolic anterior motion (SAM) of the mitral valve. There is limited clinical data available on outcomes of this technique for this indication. We reviewed the midterm results of this technique for SAM prevention and treatment. A total of 2226 patients had mitral valve repair between 2000 and 2011, 1148 of which were for myxomatous mitral regurgitation. Beginning in 2000, predictability of postrepair SAM based on the prebypass, intraoperative transesophageal echocardiogram arose in our program. The edge-to-edge technique was used in 65 patients (5.7%) for SAM management, in 53 patients preemptively for transesophageal echocardiogram-based SAM prediction, and in 12 patients for postrepair SAM treatment. There was no operative mortality. Postoperative mitral regurgitation was significantly improved in all patients compared with the preoperative grade (P < .001). SAM was completely eliminated, the mean mitral regurgitation grade in the postoperative period was 0.7 ± 0.9, and the mean transmitral gradient was 1.3 ± 2.2 mm Hg. During a mean follow-up of 26 months, 1 patient in the SAM treatment group presented late recurrence of SAM and no patients developed mitral stenosis (mean transmitral gradient, 2.0 ± 2.6 mm Hg; P = .12). Without SAM prediction and preemptive edge-to-edge technique, the expected rate of SAM would have been 5.7%; however, the observed rate was 1% (12 of 1148 patients). Initiating an expectation for prebypass SAM prediction, combined with a surgical SAM prevention strategy, resulted in a reduced prevalence of SAM compared with our model of observed to-expected-ratios and to published norms. Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fast-Acting Valve

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wojciechowski, Bogdan V. (Inventor); Pegg, Robert J. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

A fast-acting valve includes an annular valve seat that defines an annular valve orifice between the edges of the annular valve seat, an annular valve plug sized to cover the valve orifice when the valve is closed, and a valve-plug holder for moving the annular valve plug on and off the annular valve seat. The use of an annular orifice reduces the characteristic distance between the edges of the valve seat. Rather than this distance being equal to the diameter of the orifice, as it is for a conventional circular orifice, the characteristic distance equals the distance between the inner and outer radii (for a circular annulus). The reduced characteristic distance greatly reduces the gap required between the annular valve plug and the annular valve seat for the valve to be fully open, thereby greatly reducing the required stroke and corresponding speed and acceleration of the annular valve plug. The use of a valve-plug holder that is under independent control to move the annular valve plug between its open and closed positions is important for achieving controllable fast operation of the valve.

Enhancement of power output by a new stress-applied mode on circular piezoelectric energy harvester

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shu, Fangming; Yang, Tongqing; Liu, Yaoze

2018-04-01

A new stress-applied mode is proposed on piezoelectric circular diaphragm energy harvester. Differing from the usual mode used in previous researches, the mass stick at the center of the diaphragm (PZT-51) is designed into an annular hollow shape. In this case, stress of the mass is applied along the edge of the copper sheet. A screw bonded with the undersurface of the diaphragm transfers force from the vibrator to the diaphragm. This device has a cylindrical shape and its volume is ˜7.9 cm3. With this new stress-applied mode, the piezoelectric energy harvester (with an optimal load of 18 kΩ, a mass of 30 g) could generate a maximum power output of ˜20.8 mW under 9.8 m.s-2 at its resonant frequency of ˜237 Hz. Meanwhile, the greater the hardness ratio between the ceramic and the copper sheet, the greater the advantages of the new structure.

S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) alters the transcriptome and methylome and specifically blocks growth and invasiveness of liver cancer cells

PubMed Central

Wang, Yan; Sun, ZhongSheng; Szyf, Moshe

2017-01-01

S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) is a ubiquitous methyl donor that was reported to have chemo- protective activity against liver cancer, however the molecular footprint of SAM is unknown. We show here that SAM selectively inhibits growth, transformation and invasiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines but not normal primary liver cells. Analysis of the transcriptome of SAM treated and untreated liver cancer cell lines HepG2 and SKhep1 and primary liver cells reveals pathways involved in cancer and metastasis that are upregulated in cancer cells and are downregulated by SAM. Analysis of the methylome using bisulfite mapping of captured promoters and enhancers reveals that SAM hyper-methylates and downregulates genes in pathways of growth and metastasis that are upregulated in liver cancer cells. Depletion of two SAM downregulated genes STMN1 and TAF15 reduces cellular transformation and invasiveness, providing evidence that SAM targets are genes important for cancer growth and invasiveness. Taken together these data provide a molecular rationale for SAM as an anticancer agent. PMID:29340097

S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) alters the transcriptome and methylome and specifically blocks growth and invasiveness of liver cancer cells.

PubMed

Wang, Yan; Sun, ZhongSheng; Szyf, Moshe

2017-12-19

S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) is a ubiquitous methyl donor that was reported to have chemo- protective activity against liver cancer, however the molecular footprint of SAM is unknown. We show here that SAM selectively inhibits growth, transformation and invasiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines but not normal primary liver cells. Analysis of the transcriptome of SAM treated and untreated liver cancer cell lines HepG2 and SKhep1 and primary liver cells reveals pathways involved in cancer and metastasis that are upregulated in cancer cells and are downregulated by SAM. Analysis of the methylome using bisulfite mapping of captured promoters and enhancers reveals that SAM hyper-methylates and downregulates genes in pathways of growth and metastasis that are upregulated in liver cancer cells. Depletion of two SAM downregulated genes STMN1 and TAF15 reduces cellular transformation and invasiveness, providing evidence that SAM targets are genes important for cancer growth and invasiveness. Taken together these data provide a molecular rationale for SAM as an anticancer agent.

Sam68 promotes Schwann cell proliferation by enhancing the PI3K/Akt pathway and acts on regeneration after sciatic nerve crush

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Weijie, E-mail: 459586768@qq.com; Liu, Yuxi, E-mail: 924013616@qq.com; Wang, Youhua, E-mail: wyouhua1516@163.com

Sam68 (Src-associated in mitosis of 68 kD), a KH domain RNA-binding protein, is not only important in signaling transduction cascades, but crucial in a variety of cellular processes. Sam68 is reported to be involved in the phospoinositide3-kinase (PI3K) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways, and it is closely associated with cell proliferation, RNA metabolism, and tumor progression. However, we know little about the role of Sam68 during peripheral nervous system injury and regeneration. In this study, we investigated the expression of Sam68 and its biological significances in sciatic nerve crush. Interestingly, we found Sam68 had a co-localization with S100 (Schwannmore » cell marker). Moreover, after crush, Sam68 had a spatiotemporal protein expression, which was in parallel with proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). In vitro, we also observed increased expression of Sam68 during the process of TNF-α-induced Schwann cell proliferation model. Besides, flow cytometry analyses, CCK-8, and EDU were all performed with the purpose of investigating the role of Sam68 in the regulation of Schwann cell proliferation. Even more importantly, we discovered that Sam68 could enhance the phosphorylation of Akt while LY294002 (a PI3K inhibitor) obviously reversed Sam68-induced cell proliferation. Finally, we detected the variance during regeneration progress through the rat walk footprint test. In summary, all these evidences demonstrated that Sam68 might participate in Schwann cell proliferation partially via PI3K/Akt pathway and also regulate regeneration after sciatic nerve crush. -- Highlights: •The dynamic changes and location of Sam68 after sciatic nerve crush. •Sam68 promoted Schwann cell proliferation via PI3K/Akt pathway. •Sam68 modulated functional recovery after sciatic nerve crush.« less

The use of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on 316L stainless steel for coronary artery stent nanomedicine applications: an oxidative and in vitro stability study.

PubMed

Mahapatro, Anil; Johnson, Dave M; Patel, Devang N; Feldman, Marc D; Ayon, Arturo A; Agrawal, C Mauli

2006-09-01

The use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on medical devices offers a methodology for the incorporation of nanotechnology into medicine. SAMs are highly ordered nanosized molecular coatings, adding 1 to 10 nm thickness to a surface. This work is part of an overall goal to deliver therapeutic drugs from the surface of metal coronary stents using SAMs. In this study the oxidative and in vitro stability of functional alkylthiol SAMs on 316L stainless steel (SS) has been demonstrated. SAMs of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (-COOH SAM) and 11-mercapto-1-undecanol (-OH SAM) were formed on 316L SS. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and contact angle (CA) measurements collectively confirmed the formation of functional alkylthiol SAMs on 316L SS. Well-formed SAMs (CA: 82 deg +/- 9 deg) were achieved within 48 hours of immersion in ethanolic solutions, after which no significant improvement in CA was observed. The ratio of the thiolate peak (163.5 eV) to the oxidized sulfur (sulfonates) peak (166.5 eV) gives us an indication of the percentage SAMs that would bind to the metal and serve as a drug reservoir in vivo; which in turn represents the stability and viability of these SAMs, keeping in mind the cardiovascular application under consideration. Oxidative and in vitro stability studies showed that alkanethiol SAMs oxidized completely within 14 days. The SAMs tend to desorb and leave the metal surface after longer time periods (21 days) in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) immersion, whereas for oxidative exposure the SAMs continue to remain on the metal surface in the form of sulfonates. Although the chemistry of bonding of alkylthiol with the 316L SS is not well understood, the nanosized alkylthiol SAMs demonstrate sufficient stability to justify further study on these systems for potential in vivo drug delivery in the chosen coronary artery stent applications.

The Growth-Suppressive Function of the Polycomb Group Protein Polyhomeotic Is Mediated by Polymerization of Its Sterile Alpha Motif (SAM) Domain*

PubMed Central

Robinson, Angela K.; Leal, Belinda Z.; Chadwell, Linda V.; Wang, Renjing; Ilangovan, Udayar; Kaur, Yogeet; Junco, Sarah E.; Schirf, Virgil; Osmulski, Pawel A.; Gaczynska, Maria; Hinck, Andrew P.; Demeler, Borries; McEwen, Donald G.; Kim, Chongwoo A.

2012-01-01

Polyhomeotic (Ph), a member of the Polycomb Group (PcG), is a gene silencer critical for proper development. We present a previously unrecognized way of controlling Ph function through modulation of its sterile alpha motif (SAM) polymerization leading to the identification of a novel target for tuning the activities of proteins. SAM domain containing proteins have been shown to require SAM polymerization for proper function. However, the role of the Ph SAM polymer in PcG-mediated gene silencing was uncertain. Here, we first show that Ph SAM polymerization is indeed required for its gene silencing function. Interestingly, the unstructured linker sequence N-terminal to Ph SAM can shorten the length of polymers compared with when Ph SAM is individually isolated. Substituting the native linker with a random, unstructured sequence (RLink) can still limit polymerization, but not as well as the native linker. Consequently, the increased polymeric Ph RLink exhibits better gene silencing ability. In the Drosophila wing disc, Ph RLink expression suppresses growth compared with no effect for wild-type Ph, and opposite to the overgrowth phenotype observed for polymer-deficient Ph mutants. These data provide the first demonstration that the inherent activity of a protein containing a polymeric SAM can be enhanced by increasing SAM polymerization. Because the SAM linker had not been previously considered important for the function of SAM-containing proteins, our finding opens numerous opportunities to manipulate linker sequences of hundreds of polymeric SAM proteins to regulate a diverse array of intracellular functions. PMID:22275371

Non-axisymmetric annular curtain stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Zahir U.; Khayat, Roger E.; Maissa, Philippe; Mathis, Christian

2013-08-01

A stability analysis of non-axisymmetric annular curtain is carried out for an axially moving viscous jet subject in surrounding viscous gas media. The effect of inertia, surface tension, gas-to-liquid density ratio, inner-to-outer radius ratio, and gas-to-liquid viscosity ratio on the stability of the jet is studied. In general, the axisymmetric disturbance is found to be the dominant mode. However, for small wavenumber, the non-axisymmetric mode is the most unstable mode and the one likely observed in reality. Inertia and the viscosity ratio for non-axisymmetric disturbances show a similar stability influence as observed for axisymmetric disturbances. The maximum growth rate in non-axisymmetric flow, interestingly, appears at very small wavenumber for all inertia levels. The dominant wavenumber increases (decreases) with inertia for non-axisymmetric (axisymmetric) flow. Gas-to-liquid density ratio, curvature effect, and surface tension, however, exhibit an opposite influence on growth rate compared to axisymmetric disturbances. Surface tension tends to stabilize the flow with reductions of the unstable wavenumber range and the maximum growth rate as well as the dominant wavenumber. The dominant wavenumber remains independent of viscosity ratio indicating the viscosity ratio increases the breakup length of the sheet with very little influence on the size of the drops. The range of unstable wavenumbers is affected only by curvature in axisymmetric flow, whereas all the stability parameters control the range of unstable wavenumbers in non-axisymmetric flow. Inertia and gas density increase the unstable wavenumber range, whereas the radius ratio, surface tension, and the viscosity ratio decrease the unstable wavenumber range. Neutral curves are plotted to separate the stable and unstable domains. Critical radius ratio decreases linearly and nonlinearly with the wavenumber for axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric disturbances, respectively. At smaller Weber numbers, a wider unstable domain is predicted for non-axisymmetric modes. For both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric modes, the disturbance frequency is found to be the same and equal to the negative of axial wavenumber. Finally, comparison between theory and existing experiment leads to good qualitative agreement. A more accurate comparison is not possible given the difference in flow conditions.

Gene switching in Amoeba proteus caused by endosymbiotic bacteria.

PubMed

Jeon, Taeck J; Jeon, Kwang W

2004-02-01

The expression of genes for S-adenosylmethionine synthetase (SAMS), which catalyzes the synthesis of S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet), a major methyl donor in cells, was studied in symbiont-free (D) and symbiont-bearing (xD) amoeba strains to determine the effect of bacterial endosymbionts. The symbionts suppressed the expression of the gene in host xD amoebae, but amoebae still exhibited about half the enzyme activity found in symbiont-free D amoebae. The study was aimed at elucidating mechanisms of the suppression of the amoeba's gene and determining the alternative source for the gene product. Unexpectedly, we found a second sams (sams2) gene in amoebae, which encoded 390 amino acids. Results of experiments measuring SAMS activities and amounts of AdoMet in D and xD amoebae showed that the half SAMS activity found in xD amoebae came from the amoeba's SAMS2 and not from their endosymbionts. The expression of amoeba sams genes was switched from sams1 to sams2 as a result of infection with X-bacteria, raising the possibility that the switch in the expression of sams genes by bacteria plays a role in the development of symbiosis and the host-pathogen interactions. This is the first report showing such a switch in the expression of host sams genes by infecting bacteria.

Interannual Variability and Trends of Extratropical Ozone, Part II: Southern Hemisphere. Part 2; Southern Hemisphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yung, Y. L.

2008-01-01

A principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to the Southern Hemisphere (SH) total column ozone following the method established for analyzing the data in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) in a companion paper. The interannual variability (IAV) of extratropical O-3 in the SH is characterized by four main modes, which account for 75% of the total variance. The first two leading modes are approximately zonally symmetric and relate to the Southern Hemisphere annular mode and the quasi-biennial oscillation. The third and fourth modes exhibit wavenumber-1 structures. Contrary to the Northern Hemisphere, the third and fourth are nor related to stationary waves. Similar results obtained for the 30 100-hPa geopotential thickness.The decreasing O3 trend in the SH is captured in the first mode. The largest trend is at the South Pole, with value similar to-2 Dobson Units (DU)/yr. Both the spatial pattern and trends in the column ozone are captured by the Goddard Earth Observation System chemistry-climate model (GEOS-CCM) in the SH.

78 FR 80369 - Federal Acquisition Regulation; Service Contracts Reporting Requirements

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-31

...-and- materials, and labor-hour contracts and orders above the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT... thresholds established in FAR 4.1703 (e.g., above the SAT for cost-reimbursement, time-and-materials, and... reporting will be made at www.sam.gov (See section 3.10 of the SAM User Guide at https://www.sam.gov/sam/SAM...

Unanticipated coordination of tris buffer to the Radical SAM cluster of the RimO methylthiotransferase.

PubMed

Molle, Thibaut; Clémancey, Martin; Latour, Jean-Marc; Kathirvelu, Velavan; Sicoli, Giuseppe; Forouhar, Farhad; Mulliez, Etienne; Gambarelli, Serge; Atta, Mohamed

2016-07-01

Radical SAM enzymes generally contain a [4Fe-4S](2+/1+) (RS cluster) cluster bound to the protein via the three cysteines of a canonical motif CxxxCxxC. The non-cysteinyl iron is used to coordinate SAM via its amino-carboxylate moiety. The coordination-induced proximity between the cluster acting as an electron donor and the adenosyl-sulfonium bond of SAM allows for the homolytic cleavage of the latter leading to the formation of the reactive 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical used for substrate activation. Most of the structures of Radical SAM enzymes have been obtained in the presence of SAM, and therefore, little is known about the situation when SAM is not present. In this report, we show that RimO, a methylthiotransferase belonging to the radical SAM superfamily, binds a Tris molecule in the absence of SAM leading to specific spectroscopic signatures both in Mössbauer and pulsed EPR spectroscopies. These data provide a cautionary note for researchers who work with coordinative unsaturated iron sulfur clusters.

A new astronomical dating of the Trojan war's end.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papamarinopoulos, S.; Preka-Papadema, P.; Mitropetros, P.; Antonopoulos, P.; Mitropetrou, E.; Saranditis, G.

A solar eclipse's evolution was described in the Iliad in a stepwise mode manifested in increasing gradual darkness, during a warm day at late noon; from Sarpedon's death time to few later from Patroclus' death time. We examined the solar eclipses within the time span 1400-1130 B.C. and we found that only the annular solar eclipse on 6th June 1218 yr B.C. observable in Troy with significant obscuration 75.2 % fits fully with the Homeric descriptions.

Serum S-adenosylmethionine, but not methionine, increases in response to overfeeding in humans.

PubMed

Elshorbagy, A K; Jernerén, F; Samocha-Bonet, D; Refsum, H; Heilbronn, L K

2016-01-25

Plasma concentration of the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) is linearly associated with body mass index (BMI) and fat mass. As SAM is a high-energy compound and a sensor of cellular nutrient status, we hypothesized that SAM would increase with overfeeding. Forty normal to overweight men and women were overfed by 1250 kcal per day for 28 days. Serum SAM increased from 106 to 130 nmol/l (P=0.006). In stratified analysis, only those with weight gain above the median (high-weight gainers; average weight gain 3.9±0.3 kg) had increased SAM (+42%, P=0.001), whereas low-weight gainers (weight gain 1.5±0.2 kg) did not (Pinteraction=0.018). Overfeeding did not alter serum concentrations of the SAM precursor, methionine or the products, S-adenosyl-homocysteine and homocysteine. The SAM/SAH (S-adenosylhomocysteine) ratio was unchanged in the total population, but increased in high-weight gainers (+52%, P=0.006, Pinteraction =0.005). Change in SAM correlated positively with change in weight (r=0.33, P=0.041) and fat mass (r=0.44, P=0.009), but not with change in protein intake or plasma methionine, glucose, insulin or low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol. Overfeeding raised serum SAM in proportion to the fat mass gained. The increase in SAM may help stabilize methionine levels, and denotes a responsiveness of SAM to nutrient state in humans. The role of SAM in human energy metabolism deserves further attention.

Verification of TEMPEST with neoclassical transport theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Z.; Cohen, B. I.; Cohen, R. H.; Dorr, M.; Hittinger, J.; Kerbel, G.; Nevins, W. M.; Rognlien, T.; Umansky, M.; Xu, X.

2006-10-01

TEMPEST is an edge gyro-kinetic continuum code developed to study boundary plasma transport over the region extending from the H-mode pedestal across the separatrix to the divertor plates. For benchmark purposes, we present results from the 4D (2r,2v) TEMPEST for both steady-state transport and time-dependent Geodesic Acoustic Modes (GAMs). We focus on an annular region inside the separatrix of a circular cross-section tokamak where analytical and numerical results are available. The parallel flow velocity and radial particle flux are obtained for different collisional regimes and compared with previous neoclassical results. The effect of radial electric field and the transition to steep edge gradients is emphasized. The dynamical response of GAMs is also shown and compared to recent theory.

Design Considerations of a Novel Two-Beam Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luginsland, John William

This thesis reports the design study of a new type of charged particle accelerator called the Twobetron. The accelerator consists of two beams of electrons traveling through a series of pillbox cavities. The power of a high current annular beam excites an electromagnetic mode in the cavities, which, in turn, drives a low current on-axis pencil beam to high energy. We focus on the design considerations that would make use of existing pulsed power systems, for a proof-of-principle experiment. Potential applications of this new device include radiotherapy, materials processing, and high energy accelerators. The first phase of the research involves analytic description of the accelerating process. This reveals the problem of phase slippage. Derbenev's proposed cure of beam radius modulation is analyzed. Further studies include the effect of initial phase and secondary beam loading. Scaling laws to characterize the Twobetron's performance are derived. Computer simulation is performed to produce a self-consistent analysis of the dynamics of the space charge and its interaction with the accelerator structure. Particle -in-cell simulations answer several questions concerning beam stability, cavity modes, and the nature of the structure. Specifically, current modulation on the primary beam is preserved in the simulations. However, these simulations also revealed that mode competition and significant cavity coupling are serious issues that need to be addressed. Also considered is non-axisymmetric instability on the driver beam of the Twobetron, in particular, the beam breakup instability (BBU), which is known to pose a serious threat to linear accelerators in general. We extend the classical analysis of BBU to annular beams. The effect of higher order non-axisymmetric modes is also examined. It is shown that annular beams are more stable than pencil beams to BBU in general. Our analysis also reveals that the rf magnetic field is more important than the rf electric field in contributing to BBU growth. We next address the issue of primary beam modulation. Both particle-in-cell and analytic investigation showed that the usual relativistic klystron amplifiers (RKA) mechanism cannot provide full beam modulation at convenient levels of external rf drive. However, the recent discovery at the Air Force Phillips Laboratory of the injection locked relativistic klystron oscillator suggests that electromagnetic feedback between the driver cavity and the booster cavity might significantly enhance the current modulation. A simple model is constructed to analyze this cavity coupling and its mutual interaction with the primary beam. Quantitative agreement is found between our model and the Phillips Laboratory experiments. This analysis suggests that significant current modulation on the primary beam may be achieved with low level external rf drive.

Differential-Mode Biosensor Using Dual Extended-Gate Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Jinhyeon; Lee, Hee Ho; Ahn, Jungil; Seo, Sang-Ho; Shin, Jang-Kyoo

2012-06-01

In this paper, we present a differential-mode biosensor using dual extended-gate metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), which possesses the advantages of both the extended-gate structure and the differential-mode operation. The extended-gate MOSFET was fabricated using a 0.6 µm standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The Au extended gate is the sensing gate on which biomolecules are immobilized, while the Pt extended gate is the dummy gate for use in the differential-mode detection circuit. The differential-mode operation offers many advantages such as insensitivity to the variation of temperature and light, as well as low noise. The outputs were measured using a semiconductor parameter analyzer in a phosphate buffered saline (PBS; pH 7.4) solution. A standard Ag/AgCl reference electrode was used to apply the gate bias. We measured the variation of output voltage with time, temperature, and light intensity. The bindings of self-assembled monolayer (SAM), streptavidin, and biotin caused a variation in the output voltage of the differential-mode detection circuit and this was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiment. Biotin molecules could be detected up to a concentration of as low as 0.001 µg/ml.

Triple acting radial seal

DOEpatents

Ebert, Todd A [West Palm Beach, FL; Carella, John A [Jupiter, FL

2012-03-13

A triple acting radial seal used as an interstage seal assembly in a gas turbine engine, where the seal assembly includes an interstage seal support extending from a stationary inner shroud of a vane ring, the interstage seal support includes a larger annular radial inward facing groove in which an outer annular floating seal assembly is secured for radial displacement, and the outer annular floating seal assembly includes a smaller annular radial inward facing groove in which an inner annular floating seal assembly is secured also for radial displacement. A compliant seal is secured to the inner annular floating seal assembly. The outer annular floating seal assembly encapsulates the inner annular floating seal assembly which is made from a very low alpha material in order to reduce thermal stress.

Improved Electrical Contact For Dowhhole Drilling Networks

DOEpatents

Hall, David R.; Hall, Jr., H. Tracy; Pixton, David S.; Dahlgren, Scott; Fox, Joe; Sneddon, Cameron

2005-08-16

An electrical contact system for transmitting information across tool joints while minimizing signal reflections that occur at the tool joints includes a first electrical contact comprising an annular resilient material. An annular conductor is embedded within the annular resilient material and has a surface exposed from the annular resilient material. A second electrical contact is provided that is substantially equal to the first electrical contact. Likewise, the second electrical contact has an annular resilient material and an annular conductor. The two electrical contacts configured to contact one another such that the annular conductors of each come into physical contact. The annular resilient materials of each electrical contact each have dielectric characteristics and dimensions that are adjusted to provide desired impedance to the electrical contacts.

Inhibition of angiogenesis by S-adenosylmethionine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sahin, Mehmet, E-mail: msahin@akdeniz.edu.tr; Sahin, Emel; Guemueslue, Saadet

2011-04-29

Highlights: {yields} Effects of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) were investigated in endothelial cells. {yields} Our results showed that SAM decreased proliferation of endothelial cells. {yields} SAM influentially inhibited the percentage of cell migration. {yields} SAM probably stopped migration as independent from its effects on proliferation. {yields} SAM was shown to suppress in vitro angiogenesis. -- Abstract: Metastasis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in cancer. One of the steps in metastasis process is the formation of new blood vessels. Aberrant DNA methylation patterns are common in cancer cells. In recent studies, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), which is a DNA methylating agent, hasmore » been found to have inhibitory effects on some carcinoma cells in vivo and in vitro. In the present study, we have used SAM to investigate whether it is effective against angiogenesis in vitro. Our results have shown that SAM can reduce the formation and organization of capillary-like structures of endothelial cells in tumoral environment. Besides, we have found SAM can block endothelial cell proliferation and the migration of cells towards growth factors-rich media. In conclusion, our study suggests that SAM may be used against angiogenesis as a natural bio-product.« less

Selection and Characteristics of Fermented Salted Seafood (jeotgal)-Originated Strains with Excellent S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) Production and Probiotics Efficacy.

PubMed

Kim, Min-Jeong; Park, Sunhyun; Lee, Ran-Sook; Lim, Sang-Dong; Kim, Hyo Jin; Lee, Myung-Ki

2014-01-01

This study is executed to develop probiotics which produce S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM), a methyl group donor of the 5-methyltetrahydrofolate methylation reaction within the animal cell. SAM is an essential substance for the synthesis, activation, and metabolism of hormones, neurotransmitters, nucleic acids, phospholipids, and cell membranes of animals. The SAM is also known as a nutritional supplement to improve brain functions of the human. In this study, the SAM-producing strains are identified in 18 types of salted fish, and then, the strains with excellent SAM productions are being identified, with 1 strain in the Enterococcus genus and 9 strains in the Bacillus genus. Strains with a large amount of SAM production include the lactic acid bacteria such as En. faecium and En. durans, En. sanguinicola, as well as various strains in the Bacil-lus genus. The SAM-overproducing strains show antibacterial activities with certain harmful microbes in addition to the weak acid resistances and strong bile resistances, indicating characteristics of probiotics. It is possible that the jeotgal-originated beneficial strains with overproducing SAM can be commercially utilized in order to manufacture SAM enriched foods.

The Improvement of SAM Accumulation by Integrating the Endogenous Methionine Adenosyltransferase Gene SAM2 in Genome of the Industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strain.

PubMed

Zhao, Weijun; Shi, Feng; Hang, Baojian; Huang, Lei; Cai, Jin; Xu, Zhinan

2016-03-01

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) plays important roles in trans-methylation, trans-sulfuration, and polyamine synthesis in all living cells, and it is also an effective cure for liver disease, depressive syndromes, and osteoarthritis. The increased demands of SAM in pharmaceuticals industry have aroused lots of attempts to improve its production. In this study, a multiple-copy integrative plasmid pYMIKP-SAM2 was introduced into the chromosome of wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain ZJU001 to construct the recombined strain R1-ZJU001. Further studies showed that the recombinant yeast exhibited higher enzymatic activity of methionine adenosyltransferase and improved its SAM biosynthesis. With a three-phase fed-batch strategy in 15-liter bench-top fermentor, 8.81 g/L SAM was achieved after 52 h cultivation of R1-ZJU001, about 27.1 % increase over its parent strain ZJU001, whereas the SAM content was also improved from 64.6 mg/g DCW to 91.0 mg/g DCW. Our results shall provide insights into the metabolic engineering of SAM pathway in yeast for improved productivity of SAM and subsequent industrial applications.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, Zhiwei; Walker, Amy V., E-mail: amy.walker@utdallas.edu

The room temperature atomic layerlike deposition (ALLD) of ZnS on functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) was investigated, using diethyl zinc (DEZ) and in situ generated H{sub 2}S as reactants. Depositions on SAMs with three different terminal groups, –CH{sub 3,} –OH, and –COOH, were studied. It was found that the reaction of DEZ with the SAM terminal group is critical in determining the film growth rate. Little or no deposition is observed on –CH{sub 3} terminated SAMs because DEZ does not react with the methyl terminal group. ZnS does deposit on both –OH and –COOH terminated SAMs, but the grow rate onmore » –COOH terminated SAMs is ∼10% lower per cycle than on –OH terminated SAMs. DEZ reacts with the hydroxyl group on –OH terminated SAMs, while on –COOH terminated SAMs it reacts with both the hydroxyl and carbonyl bonds of the terminal groups. The carbonyl reaction is found to lead to the formation of ketones rather than deposition of ZnS, lowering the growth rate on –COOH terminated SAMs. SIMS spectra show that both –OH and –COOH terminated SAMs are covered by the deposited ZnS layer after five ALLD cycles. In contrast to ZnO ALLD where the composition of the film differs for the first few layers on –COOH and –OH terminated SAMs, the deposited film composition is the same for both –COOH and –OH terminated SAMs. The deposited film is found to be Zn-rich, suggesting that the reaction of H{sub 2}S with the Zn-surface adduct may be incomplete.« less

Using ocean bottom pressure from the gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) to estimate transport variability in the southern Indian Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makowski, Jessica K.; Chambers, Don P.; Bonin, Jennifer A.

2015-06-01

Previous studies have suggested that ocean bottom pressure (OBP) from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) can be used to measure the depth-averaged, or barotropic, transport variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Here, we use GRACE OBP observations to calculate transport variability in a region of the southern Indian Ocean encompassing the major fronts of the ACC. We use a statistical analysis of a simulated GRACE-like data set to determine the uncertainty of the estimated transport for the 2003.0-2013.0 time period. We find that when the transport is averaged over 60° of longitude, the uncertainty (one standard error) is close to 1 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s-1) for low-pass filtered transport, which is significantly smaller than the signal and lower than previous studies have found. The interannual variability is correlated with the Southern Annual mode (SAM) (0.61), but more highly correlated with circumpolar zonally averaged winds between 45°S and 65°S (0.88). GRACE transport reflects significant changes in transport between 2007 and 2009 that is observed in the zonal wind variations but not in the SAM index. We also find a statistically significant trend in transport (-1.0 ± 0.4 Sv yr-1, 90% confidence) that is correlated with a local deceleration in zonal winds related to an asymmetry in the SAM on multidecadal periods.

Ectopic shoot meristem generation in monocotyledonous rpk1 mutants is linked to SAM loss and altered seedling morphology.

PubMed

Fiesselmann, Birgit S; Luichtl, Miriam; Yang, Xiaomeng; Matthes, Michaela; Peis, Ottilie; Torres-Ruiz, Ramon A

2015-07-07

In dicot Arabidopsis thaliana embryos two cotyledons develop largely autonomously from the shoot apical meristem (SAM). Recessive mutations in the Arabidopsis receptor-like kinase RPK1 lead to monocotyledonous seedlings, with low (10 %) penetrance due to complex functional redundancy. In strong rpk1 alleles, about 10 % of these (i. e. 1 % of all homozygotes) did not develop a SAM. We wondered whether RPK1 might also control SAM gene expression and SAM generation in addition to its known stochastic impact on cell division and PINFORMED1 (PIN1) polarity in the epidermis. SAM-less seedlings developed a simple morphology with a straight and continuous hypocotyl-cotyledon structure lacking a recognizable epicotyl. According to rpk1's auxin-related PIN1 defect, the seedlings displayed defects in the vascular tissue. Surprisingly, SAM-less seedlings variably expressed essential SAM specific genes along the hypocotyl-cotyledon structure up into the cotyledon lamina. Few were even capable of developing an ectopic shoot meristem (eSM) on top of the cotyledon. The results highlight the developmental autonomy of the SAM vs. cotyledons and suggest that the primary rpk1 defect does not lie in the seedling's ability to express SAM genes or to develop a shoot meristem. Rather, rpk1's known defects in cell division and auxin homeostasis, by disturbed PIN1 polarity, impact on SAM and organ generation. In early embryo stages this failure generates a simplified monocotyledonous morphology. Once generated, this likely entails a loss of positional information that in turn affects the spatiotemporal development of the SAM. SAM-bearing and SAM-less monocotyledonous phenotypes show morphological similarities either to real monocots or to dicot species, which only develop one cotyledon. The specific cotyledon defect in rpk1 mutants thus sheds light upon the developmental implications of the transition from two cotyledons to one.

System Advisor Model, SAM 2014.1.14: General Description

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blair, Nate; Dobos, Aron P.; Freeman, Janine

2014-02-01

This document describes the capabilities of the U.S. Department of Energy and National Renewable Energy Laboratory's System Advisor Model (SAM), Version 2013.9.20, released on September 9, 2013. SAM is a computer model that calculates performance and financial metrics of renewable energy systems. Project developers, policy makers, equipment manufacturers, and researchers use graphs and tables of SAM results in the process of evaluating financial, technology, and incentive options for renewable energy projects. SAM simulates the performance of photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, solar water heating, wind, geothermal, biomass, and conventional power systems. The financial model can represent financial structures for projects thatmore » either buy and sell electricity at retail rates (residential and commercial) or sell electricity at a price determined in a power purchase agreement (utility). SAM's advanced simulation options facilitate parametric and sensitivity analyses, and statistical analysis capabilities are available for Monte Carlo simulation and weather variability (P50/P90) studies. SAM can also read input variables from Microsoft Excel worksheets. For software developers, the SAM software development kit (SDK) makes it possible to use SAM simulation modules in their applications written in C/C++, C#, Java, Python, and MATLAB. NREL provides both SAM and the SDK as free downloads at http://sam.nrel.gov. Technical support and more information about the software are available on the website.« less

Variable sequences outside the SAM-binding core critically influence the conformational dynamics of the SAM-III/SMK box riboswitch

PubMed Central

Lu, Changrui; Smith, Angela M; Ding, Fang; Chowdhury, Anirban; Henkin, Tina M; Ke, Ailong

2012-01-01

The SMK box (SAM-III) translational riboswitches were identified in S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) synthetase metK genes in members of the Lactobacillales. This riboswitch switches between two alternative conformations in response to the intracellular SAM concentration and controls metK expression at the level of translation initiation. We previously reported the crystal structure of the SAM-bound SMK box riboswitch. In this study we combined SHAPE chemical probing with mutagenesis to probe the ligand-induced conformational switching mechanism. We revealed that while the majority of the apo SMK box RNA molecules exist in an alternatively base paired (ON) conformation, a subset of them pre-organize into a SAM-bound-like (READY) conformation, which upon SAM exposure is selectively stabilized into the SAM-bound (OFF) conformation through an induced-fit mechanism. Mutagenesis showed that the ON state is only slightly more stable than the READY state, as several single-nucleotide substitutions in a hypervariable region outside the SAM-binding core can alter the folding landscape to favor the READY state. Such SMK variants display a “constitutively-OFF” behavior both in vitro and in vivo. Time-resolved and temperature-dependent SHAPE analyses revealed adaptation of the SMK box RNA to its mesothermal working environment. The latter analysis revealed that the SAM-bound SMK box RNA follows a two-step folding/unfolding process. PMID:21549712

Shock compression and flash-heating of molecular adsorbates on the picosecond time scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berg, Christopher Michael

An ultrafast nonlinear coherent laser spectroscopy termed broadband multiplex vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) with nonresonant suppression was employed to monitor vibrational transitions of molecular adsorbates on metallic substrates during laser-driven shock compression and flash-heating. Adsorbates were in the form of well-ordered self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and included molecular explosive simulants, such as nitroaromatics, and long chain-length alkanethiols. Based on reflectance measurements of the metallic substrates, femtosecond flash-heating pulses were capable of producing large-amplitude temperature jumps with DeltaT = 500 K. Laser-driven shock compression of SAMs produced pressures up to 2 GPa, where 1 GPa ≈ 1 x 104 atm. Shock pressures were estimated via comparison with frequency shifts observed in the monolayer vibrational transitions during hydrostatic pressure measurements in a SiC anvil cell. Molecular dynamics during flash-heating and shock loading were probed with vibrational SFG spectroscopy with picosecond temporal resolution and sub-nanometer spatial resolution. Flash-heating studies of 4-nitrobenzenethiolate (NBT) on Au provided insight into effects from hot-electron excitation of the molecular adsorbates at early pump-probe delay times. At longer delay times, effects from the excitation of SAM lattice modes and lower-energy NBT vibrations were shown. In addition, flash-heating studies of alkanethiolates demonstrated chain disordering behaviors as well as interface thermal conductances across the Au-SAM junction, which was of specific interest within the context of molecular electronics. Shock compression studies of molecular explosive simulants, such as 4-nitrobenzoate (NBA), demonstrated the proficiency of this technique to observe shock-induced molecular dynamics, in this case orientational dynamics, on the picosecond time scale. Results validated the utilization of these refined shock loading techniques to probe the shock initiation or first bond-breaking reactions in molecular explosives such as delta-HMX: a necessary study for the development of safer and more effective energetic materials.

Mercury adsorption to gold nanoparticle and thin film surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, Todd Ashley

Mercury adsorption to gold nanoparticle and thin film surfaces was monitored by spectroscopic techniques. Adsorption of elemental mercury to colloidal gold nanoparticles causes a color change from wine-red to orange that was quantified by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The wavelength of the surface plasmon mode of 5, 12, and 31 nm gold particles blue-shifts 17, 14, and 7.5 nm, respectively, after a saturation exposure of mercury vapor. Colorimetric detection of inorganic mercury was demonstrated by employing 2.5 nm gold nanoparticles. The addition of low microgram quantities of Hg 2+ to these nanoparticles induces a color change from yellow to peach or blue. It is postulated that Hg2+ is reduced to elemental mercury by SCN- before and/or during adsorption to the nanoparticle surface. It has been demonstrated that surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPRS) is sensitive to mercury adsorption to gold and silver surfaces. By monitoring the maximum change in reflectivity as a function of amount of mercury adsorbed to the surface, 50 nm Ag films were shown to be 2--3 times more sensitive than 50 nm Au films and bimetallic 15 nm Au/35 nm Ag films. In addition, a surface coverage of ˜40 ng Hg/cm2 on the gold surface results in a 0.03° decrease in the SPR angle of minimum reflectivity. SPRS was employed to follow Hg exposure to self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au. The data indicate that the hydrophilic or hydrophobic character of the SAM has a significant effect on the efficiency of Hg penetration. Water adsorbed to carboxylic acid end group of the hydrophilic SAMs is believed to slow the penetration of Hg compared to methyl terminated SAMs. Finally, two protocols were followed to remove mercury from gold films: immersion in concentrated nitric acid and thermal annealing up to 200°C. The latter protocol is preferred because it removes all of the adsorbed mercury from the gold surface and does not affect the morphology of the gold surface.

Randomized DNA libraries construction tool: a new 3-bp 'frequent cutter' TthHB27I/sinefungin endonuclease with chemically-induced specificity.

PubMed

Krefft, Daria; Papkov, Aliaksei; Prusinowski, Maciej; Zylicz-Stachula, Agnieszka; Skowron, Piotr M

2018-05-11

Acoustic or hydrodynamic shearing, sonication and enzymatic digestion are used to fragment DNA. However, these methods have several disadvantages, such as DNA damage, difficulties in fragmentation control, irreproducibility and under-representation of some DNA segments. The DNA fragmentation tool would be a gentle enzymatic method, offering cleavage frequency high enough to eliminate DNA fragments distribution bias and allow for easy control of partial digests. Only three such frequently cleaving natural restriction endonucleases (REases) were discovered: CviJI, SetI and FaiI. Therefore, we have previously developed two artificial enzymatic specificities, cleaving DNA approximately every ~ 3-bp: TspGWI/sinefungin (SIN) and TaqII/SIN. In this paper we present the third developed specificity: TthHB27I/SIN(SAM) - a new genomic tool, based on Type IIS/IIC/IIG Thermus-family REases-methyltransferases (MTases). In the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) or its analogue SIN, the 6-bp cognate TthHB27I recognition sequence 5'-CAARCA-3' is converted into a combined 3.2-3.0-bp 'site' or its statistical equivalent, while a cleavage distance of 11/9 nt is retained. Protocols for various modes of limited DNA digestions were developed. In the presence of DMSO and SAM or SIN, TthHB27I is transformed from rare 6-bp cutter to a very frequent one, approximately 3-bp. Thus, TthHB27I/SIN(SAM) comprises a new tool in the very low-represented segment of such prototype REases specificities. Moreover, this modified TthHB27I enzyme is uniquely suited for controlled DNA fragmentation, due to partial DNA cleavage, which is an inherent feature of the Thermus-family enzymes. Such tool can be used for quasi-random libraries generation as well as for other DNA manipulations, requiring high frequency cleavage and uniform distribution of cuts along DNA.

Summary Status of the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS), September 1993

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeLombard, Richard

1993-01-01

The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) was developed to measure the microgravity acceleration environment to which NASA science payloads are exposed during microgravity science missions on the shuttle. Six flight units have been fabricated to date. The inaugural flight of a SAMS unit was on STS-40 in June 1991 as part of the flrst Spacelab Life Sciences mission. Since that time, SAMS has flown on six additional missions and gathered 18 gigabytes of data representing 68 days of microgravity environment. The SAMS units have been flown in the shuttle middeck and cargo bay, in the Spacelab module, and in the Spacehab module. This paper summarizes the missions and experiments which SAMS has supported. The quantity of data and the utilization of the SAMS data is described. Future activities are briefly described for the SAMS project and.the Microgravity Measurement and Analysis Project (MMAP) to support science experiments and scientists with microgravity environment measurement and analysis.

Infrared spectroscopy of large scale single layer graphene on self assembled organic monolayer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Woo Kim, Nak; Youn Kim, Joo; Lee, Chul

2014-01-27

We study the effect of self-assembled monolayer (SAM) organic molecule substrate on large scale single layer graphene using infrared transmission measurement on Graphene/SAM/SiO{sub 2}/Si composite samples. From the Drude weight of the chemically inert CH{sub 3}-SAM, the electron-donating NH{sub 2}-SAM, and the SAM-less graphene, we determine the carrier density doped into graphene by the three sources—the SiO{sub 2} substrate, the gas-adsorption, and the functional group of the SAM's—separately. The SAM-treatment leads to the low carrier density N ∼ 4 × 10{sup 11} cm{sup −2} by blocking the dominant SiO{sub 2}- driven doping. The carrier scattering increases by the SAM-treatment rather than decreases. However, the transportmore » mobility is nevertheless improved due to the reduced carrier doping.« less

Segment Alignment Maintenance System for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rakoczy, John; Burdine, Robert (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in collaboration with Blue Line Engineering of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is developing a Segment Alignment Maintenance System (SAMS) for McDonald Observatory's Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET). The SAMS shall sense motions of the 91 primary mirror segments and send corrections to HET's primary mirror controller as the mirror segments misalign due to thermo -elastic deformations of the mirror support structure. The SAMS consists of inductive edge sensors. All measurements are sent to the SAMS computer where mirror motion corrections are calculated. In October 2000, a prototype SAMS was installed on a seven-segment cluster of the HET. Subsequent testing has shown that the SAMS concept and architecture are a viable practical approach to maintaining HET's primary mirror figure, or the figure of any large segmented telescope. This paper gives a functional description of the SAMS sub-array components and presents test data to characterize the performance of the subarray SAMS.

Low-frequency ultrasonic Bessel-like collimated beam generation from radial modes of piezoelectric transducers

DOE PAGES

Chillara, Vamshi Krishna; Pantea, Cristian; Sinha, Dipen N.

2017-02-06

We present a very simple approach to generate a collimated ultrasonic beam that exploits the natural Bessel-like vibration pattern of the radial modes of a piezoelectric disc with lateral clamping. This eliminates the need for the conventional annular Bessel pattern of the electrodes with individual electrode excitation on the piezo-disc, thus simplifying the transducer design. Numerical and experimental studies are carried out to investigate the Bessel-like vibration patterns of these radial modes showing an excellent agreement between these two studies. Measured ultrasonic beam- pro les in water from the radial modes con rm the profile to be a Bessel beam.more » Collimated beam generation from radial modes is investigated using a coupled electromechanical finite-element model. It is found that clamping the lateral edges of piezoelectric transducers results in a high-degree of collimation with practically no side-lobes similar to a parametric array beam. Ultrasonic beam- profile measurements in water with both free and clamped piezoelectric transducer are presented. The collimated beam generation using the present technique of using the laterally clamped radial modes finds significant applications in low-frequency imaging through highly attenuating materials.« less

Low-frequency ultrasonic Bessel-like collimated beam generation from radial modes of piezoelectric transducers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chillara, Vamshi Krishna; Pantea, Cristian; Sinha, Dipen N.

We present a very simple approach to generate a collimated ultrasonic beam that exploits the natural Bessel-like vibration pattern of the radial modes of a piezoelectric disc with lateral clamping. This eliminates the need for the conventional annular Bessel pattern of the electrodes with individual electrode excitation on the piezo-disc, thus simplifying the transducer design. Numerical and experimental studies are carried out to investigate the Bessel-like vibration patterns of these radial modes showing an excellent agreement between these two studies. Measured ultrasonic beam- pro les in water from the radial modes con rm the profile to be a Bessel beam.more » Collimated beam generation from radial modes is investigated using a coupled electromechanical finite-element model. It is found that clamping the lateral edges of piezoelectric transducers results in a high-degree of collimation with practically no side-lobes similar to a parametric array beam. Ultrasonic beam- profile measurements in water with both free and clamped piezoelectric transducer are presented. The collimated beam generation using the present technique of using the laterally clamped radial modes finds significant applications in low-frequency imaging through highly attenuating materials.« less

Cascade conical refraction for annular pumping of a vortex Nd:YAG laser and selective excitation of low- and high-order Laguerre–Gaussian modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yongxiao; Wang, Zhongyang; Chen, Sanbin; Shirakwa, Akira; Ueda, Ken-ichi; Li, Jianlang

2018-05-01

We proposed an efficient and vortex Nd:YAG laser for selective lasing of low- and high-order vortex modes, in which multiple-ring pump light was originated from cascaded conical refraction of multiple biaxial crystals. In our proof of concept demonstration, we used two-crystal cascade conical refraction to generate two-ring pump light; the mutual intensity ratio and relative separation of the inner ring and outer ring were controlled by rotating the second biaxial crystal and by moving the imaging lens, respectively. As a result, we obtained selective excitation of Laguerre–Gaussian (LG01 and LG03) vortex modes in the end-pump Nd:YAG laser. For LG01-mode output, the laser power reached 439 mW with 52.5% slope efficiency; for LG03-mode output, the laser power reached 160 mW with 41.3% slope efficiency. Our results revealed that the multiple-ring pumping technique based on cascaded conical refraction would pave the way for realization of the efficient and switchable excitation of low- and high-order LG modes in an end-pumped solid-state laser.

Immunoassay of S-adenosylmethionine and S-adenosylhomocysteine: the methylation index as a biomarker for disease and health status.

PubMed

Hao, Xiujuan; Huang, Yan; Qiu, Ming; Yin, Chunlin; Ren, Huiming; Gan, Hongjie; Li, Huijun; Zhou, Yaxia; Xia, Jiazhi; Li, Wenting; Guo, Lijuan; Angres, Isaac A

2016-11-28

S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) are relevant to a variety of diseases. Previous reports that quantified SAM and SAH were based on HPLC or LC-MS/MS. No antibody against SAM has been generated, and the antibody against SAH cannot be used with blood samples. Immunoassays have not been used to measure SAM and SAH. In this study, ELISA was used to measure blood SAM and SAH levels. Specific antibodies against SAM were produced for the first time using a stable analog as the antigen. The monoclonal antibodies against SAM and SAH were characterized. No cross-reactivity was detected for the analyzed analogs. For the anti-SAM antibodies, the ELISA sensitivity was ~2 nM, and the affinity was 7.29 × 10 10 L/mol. For the anti-SAH antibodies, the sensitivity was ~15 nM, and the affinity was 2.79 × 10 8 L/mol. Using high-quality antibodies against SAM and SAH, immunoassays for the detection of SAM and SAH levels in blood and tissue samples were developed. Clinical investigations using immunoassays to measure SAM, SAH and the methylation index (MI) in normal and diseased samples indicated that (1) the SAM level is age and gender dependent; (2) the SAM level is associated with the severity of liver diseases, inflammatory reactions and other diseases; and (3) the methylation index (MI) is significantly reduced in many diseases and may serve as a screening biomarker to identify potentially unfavorable health conditions. It is possible to generate antibodies against active small biomolecules with weak immunogenicity, such as SAM and SAH, using traditional hybridoma technology. The antigens and antibodies described here will contribute to the development of immunoassays to measure SAM, SAH and related molecules. These assays enable the MI to be measured specifically, accurately, easily and quickly without costly equipment. This preliminary study indicates that the MI could be an effective indicator of general health, except under conditions that may alter the value of the MI, such as special diets and medications.

Jeffries Matusita-Spectral Angle Mapper (JM-SAM) spectral matching for species level mapping at Bhitarkanika, Muthupet and Pichavaram mangroves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Padma, S.; Sanjeevi, S.

2014-12-01

This paper proposes a novel hyperspectral matching algorithm by integrating the stochastic Jeffries-Matusita measure (JM) and the deterministic Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), to accurately map the species and the associated landcover types of the mangroves of east coast of India using hyperspectral satellite images. The JM-SAM algorithm signifies the combination of a qualitative distance measure (JM) and a quantitative angle measure (SAM). The spectral capabilities of both the measures are orthogonally projected using the tangent and sine functions to result in the combined algorithm. The developed JM-SAM algorithm is implemented to discriminate the mangrove species and the landcover classes of Pichavaram (Tamil Nadu), Muthupet (Tamil Nadu) and Bhitarkanika (Odisha) mangrove forests along the Eastern Indian coast using the Hyperion image dat asets that contain 242 bands. The developed algorithm is extended in a supervised framework for accurate classification of the Hyperion image. The pixel-level matching performance of the developed algorithm is assessed by the Relative Spectral Discriminatory Probability (RSDPB) and Relative Spectral Discriminatory Entropy (RSDE) measures. From the values of RSDPB and RSDE, it is inferred that hybrid JM-SAM matching measure results in improved discriminability of the mangrove species and the associated landcover types than the individual SAM and JM algorithms. This performance is reflected in the classification accuracies of species and landcover map of Pichavaram mangrove ecosystem. Thus, the JM-SAM (TAN) matching algorithm yielded an accuracy better than SAM and JM measures at an average difference of 13.49 %, 7.21 % respectively, followed by JM-SAM (SIN) at 12.06%, 5.78% respectively. Similarly, in the case of Muthupet, JM-SAM (TAN) yielded an increased accuracy than SAM and JM measures at an average difference of 12.5 %, 9.72 % respectively, followed by JM-SAM (SIN) at 8.34 %, 5.55% respectively. For Bhitarkanika, the combined JM-SAM (TAN) and (SIN) measures improved the performance of individual SAM by (16.1 %, 15%) and of JM by (10.3%, 9.2%) respectively.

Giant Shoot Apical Meristems in Cacti Have Ordinary Leaf Primordia but Altered Phyllotaxy and Shoot Diameter

PubMed Central

MAUSETH, JAMES D.

2004-01-01

• Background and Aims Shoot apical meristems (SAMs) in most seed plants are quite uniform in size and zonation, and molecular genetic studies of Arabidopsis and other model plants are revealing details of SAM morphogenesis. Some cacti have SAMs much larger than those of A. thaliana and other seed plants. This study examined how SAM size affects leaf primordium (LP) size, phyllotaxy and shoot diameter. • Methods. Apices from 183 species of cacti were fixed, microtomed and studied by light microscopy. • Key Results Cactus SAM diameter varies from 93 to 2565 µm, the latter being 36 times wider than SAMs of A. thaliana and having a volume 45 thousand times larger. Phyllotaxy ranges from distichous to having 56 rows of leaves and is not restricted to Fibonacci numbers. Leaf primordium diameter ranges from 44 to 402 µm, each encompassing many more cells than do LP of other plants. Species with high phyllotaxy have smaller LP, although the correlation is weak. There is almost no correlation between SAM diameter and LP size, but SAM diameter is strongly correlated with shoot diameter, with shoots being about 189·5 times wider than SAMs. • Conclusions Presumably, genes such as SHOOT‐MERISTEMLESS, WUSCHEL and CLAVATA must control much larger volumes of SAM tissue in cacti than they do in A. thaliana, and genes such as PERIANTHIA might establish much more extensive fields of inhibition around LP. These giant SAMs should make it possible to more accurately map gene expression patterns relative to SAM zonation and LP sites. PMID:15145794

Differences in reporting of perceived acute effects of alcohol use, marijuana use, and simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use.

PubMed

Lee, Christine M; Cadigan, Jennifer M; Patrick, Megan E

2017-11-01

Although there are serious negative harms associated with simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use, little is known about the self-reported acute effects of SAM use and how they may be similar to or different than effects experienced when using alcohol or marijuana only. The current study examines the perceived acute effects of SAM use, compared to using alcohol or marijuana only, as well as demographic and substance use predictors of overall SAM effects. Participants were a community sample of young adults ages 18-23 participating in a longitudinal study on social role transitions and substance use during young adulthood. Young adults who reported SAM use at least once in their lifetime were selected for the present analyses (N=315; mean age=21.42; 58% female) and reported the effects they experienced from typical alcohol use, marijuana use, and SAM use. There were significant differences in the extent to which young adults perceived the effects depending on the substances used. Most effects (i.e., clumsy, confused, dizzy, difficulty concentrating) were rated strongest when engaging in SAM use, compared to typical alcohol or marijuana use alone. Feeling high and feeling marijuana effects were rated strongest when engaging in marijuana use alone compared to SAM use, but feeling drunk was greater during SAM use compared to alcohol use alone. Greater alcohol use and increased time spent high during typical SAM use were associated with greater overall SAM effects. When young adults engage in SAM use they report experiencing greater negative physiological and cognitive effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SAM/SAH Analogs as Versatile Tools for SAM-Dependent Methyltransferases.

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Zheng, Yujun George

2016-03-18

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is a sulfonium molecule with a structural hybrid of methionine and adenosine. As the second largest cofactor in the human body, its major function is to serve as methyl donor for SAM-dependent methyltransferases (MTases). The resultant transmethylation of biomolecules constitutes a significant biochemical mechanism in epigenetic regulation, cellular signaling, and metabolite degradation. Recently, numerous SAM analogs have been developed as synthetic cofactors to transfer the activated groups on MTase substrates for downstream ligation and identification. Meanwhile, new compounds built upon or derived from the SAM scaffold have been designed and tested as selective inhibitors for important MTase targets. Here, we summarized the recent development and application of SAM analogs as chemical biology tools for MTases.

Inflow/Outflow Conditions for Unsteady Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics in Nonuniform Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atassi, Oliver V.; Grady, Joseph E. (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

The effect of a nonuniform mean flow on the normal modes; the inflow/outflow nonreflecting boundary conditions; and the sound power are studied. The normal modes in an annular duct are computed using a spectral method in combination with a shooting method. The swirl causes force imbalance which couples the acoustic and vortical modes. The acoustic modes are distinguished from the vortical modes by their large pressure and small vorticity content. The mean swirl also produces a Doppler shift in frequency. This results in more counter-spinning modes cut-on at a given frequency than modes spinning with the swirl. Nonreflecting boundary conditions are formulated using the normal mode solutions. The inflow/outflow boundary conditions are implemented in a linearized Euler scheme and validated by computing the propagation of acoustic and vortical waves in a duct for a variety of swirling mean flows. Numerical results show that the evolution of the vortical disturbances is sensitive to the inflow conditions and the details of the wake excitations. All three components of the wake velocity must be considered to correctly compute the wake evolution and the blade upwash. For high frequencies, the acoustic-vortical mode coupling is weak and a conservation equation for the acoustic energy can be derived. Sound power calculations show significant mean flow swirl effects, but mode interference effects are small.

Noncanonical Radical SAM Enzyme Chemistry Learned from Diphthamide Biosynthesis.

PubMed

Dong, Min; Zhang, Yugang; Lin, Hening

2018-05-10

Radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes are a superfamily of enzymes that use SAM and reduced [4Fe-4S] cluster to generate a 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical to catalyze numerous challenging reactions. We have reported a type of noncanonical radical SAM enzymes in the diphthamide biosynthesis pathway. These enzymes also use SAM and reduced [4Fe-4S] clusters, but generate a 3-amino-3-carboxypropyl (ACP) radical to modify the substrate protein, translation elongation factor 2. The regioselective cleavage of a different C-S bond of the sulfonium center of SAM in these enzymes comparing to canonical radical SAM enzymes is intriguing. Here, we highlight some recent findings in the mechanism of these types of enzymes, showing that the diphthamide biosynthetic radial SAM enzymes bound SAM with a distinct geometry. In this way, the unique iron of the [4Fe-4S] cluster in the enzyme can only attack the carbon on the ACP group to form an organometallic intermediate. The homolysis of the organometallic intermediate releases the ACP radical and generates the EF2 radial.

Crystal structures of the SAM-III/SMK riboswitch reveal the SAM-dependent translation inhibition mechanism

PubMed Central

Lu, Changrui; Smith, Angela M; Fuchs, Ryan T; Ding, Fang; Rajashankar, Kanagalaghatta; Henkin, Tina M; Ke, Ailong

2011-01-01

Three distinct classes of S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM)-responsive riboswitches have been identified that regulate bacterial gene expression at the levels of transcription attenuation or translation inhibition. The SMK box (SAM-III) translational riboswitch has been identified in the SAM synthetase gene in members of the Lactobacillales. Here we report the 2.2-Å crystal structure of the Enterococcus faecalis SMK box riboswitch. The Y-shaped riboswitch organizes its conserved nucleotides around a three-way junction for SAM recognition. The Shine-Dalgarno sequence, which is sequestered by base-pairing with the anti–Shine-Dalgarno sequence in response to SAM binding, also directly participates in SAM recognition. The riboswitch makes extensive interactions with the adenosine and sulfonium moieties of SAM but does not appear to recognize the tail of the methionine moiety. We captured a structural snapshot of the SMK box riboswitch sampling the near-cognate ligand S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine (SAH) in which SAH was found to adopt an alternative conformation and fails to make several key interactions. PMID:18806797

Crystal structures of the SAM-III/S[subscript MK] riboswitch reveal the SAM-dependent translation inhibition mechanism

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, C.; Smith, A.M.; Fuchs, R.T.

2010-01-07

Three distinct classes of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-responsive riboswitches have been identified that regulate bacterial gene expression at the levels of transcription attenuation or translation inhibition. The SMK box (SAM-III) translational riboswitch has been identified in the SAM synthetase gene in members of the Lactobacillales. Here we report the 2.2-{angstrom} crystal structure of the Enterococcus faecalis SMK box riboswitch. The Y-shaped riboswitch organizes its conserved nucleotides around a three-way junction for SAM recognition. The Shine-Dalgarno sequence, which is sequestered by base-pairing with the anti-Shine-Dalgarno sequence in response to SAM binding, also directly participates in SAM recognition. The riboswitch makes extensive interactions withmore » the adenosine and sulfonium moieties of SAM but does not appear to recognize the tail of the methionine moiety. We captured a structural snapshot of the SMK box riboswitch sampling the near-cognate ligand S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (SAH) in which SAH was found to adopt an alternative conformation and fails to make several key interactions.« less

Successful microscopic renal autotransplantation for left renal aneurysm associated with segmental arterial mediolysis.

PubMed

Yoshioka, Takashi; Araki, Motoo; Ariyoshi, Yuichi; Wada, Koichiro; Tanaka, Noriyuki; Nasu, Yasutomo

2017-07-01

Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM) is an uncommon, nonarteriosclerotic vascular disease. SAM is characterized by lysis of arterial media and can lead to aneurysm formation. The renal arteries are the third most common arteries associated with SAM. We report the case of a 32-year-old man with left renal artery aneurysm associated with SAM. We successfully performed left renal autotransplantation using microscopic vascular reconstruction. SAM is characterized by vascular fragility; therefore, microscopic surgery is favorable for treating aneurysms associated with SAM. Copyright © 2016 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ER residency of the ceramide phosphoethanolamine synthase SMSr relies on homotypic oligomerization mediated by its SAM domain.

PubMed

Cabukusta, Birol; Kol, Matthijs; Kneller, Laura; Hilderink, Angelika; Bickert, Andreas; Mina, John G M; Korneev, Sergei; Holthuis, Joost C M

2017-01-25

SMSr/SAMD8 is an ER-resident ceramide phosphoethanolamine synthase with a critical role in controlling ER ceramides and suppressing ceramide-induced apoptosis in cultured cells. SMSr-mediated ceramide homeostasis relies on the enzyme's catalytic activity as well as on its N-terminal sterile α-motif or SAM domain. Here we report that SMSr-SAM is structurally and functionally related to the SAM domain of diacylglycerol kinase DGKδ, a central regulator of lipid signaling at the plasma membrane. Native gel electrophoresis indicates that both SAM domains form homotypic oligomers. Chemical crosslinking studies show that SMSr self-associates into ER-resident trimers and hexamers that resemble the helical oligomers formed by DGKδ-SAM. Residues critical for DGKδ-SAM oligomerization are conserved in SMSr-SAM and their substitution causes a dissociation of SMSr oligomers as well as a partial redistribution of the enzyme to the Golgi. Conversely, treatment of cells with curcumin, a drug disrupting ceramide and Ca 2+ homeostasis in the ER, stabilizes SMSr oligomers and promotes retention of the enzyme in the ER. Our data provide first demonstration of a multi-pass membrane protein that undergoes homotypic oligomerization via its SAM domain and indicate that SAM-mediated self-assembly of SMSr is required for efficient retention of the enzyme in the ER.

S-adenosylmethionine directly inhibits binding of 30S ribosomal subunits to the SMK box translational riboswitch RNA

PubMed Central

Fuchs, Ryan T.; Grundy, Frank J.; Henkin, Tina M.

2007-01-01

The SMK box is a conserved riboswitch motif found in the 5′ untranslated region of metK genes [encoding S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthetase] in lactic acid bacteria, including Enterococcus, Streptococcus, and Lactococcus sp. Previous studies showed that this RNA element binds SAM in vitro, and SAM binding causes a structural rearrangement that sequesters the Shine–Dalgarno (SD) sequence by pairing with an anti-SD (ASD) element. A model was proposed in which SAM binding inhibits metK translation by preventing binding of the ribosome to the SD region of the mRNA. In the current work, the addition of SAM was shown to inhibit binding of 30S ribosomal subunits to SMK box RNA; in contrast, the addition of S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) had no effect. A mutant RNA, which has a disrupted SD-ASD pairing, was defective in SAM binding and showed no reduction of ribosome binding in the presence of SAM, whereas a compensatory mutation that restored SD-ASD pairing restored the response to SAM. Primer extension inhibition assays provided further evidence for SD-ASD pairing in the presence of SAM. These results strongly support the model that SMK box translational repression operates through occlusion of the ribosome binding site and that SAM binding requires the SD-ASD pairing. PMID:17360376

Design and fabrication of sub-wavelength annular apertures on fiber tip for femtosecond laser machining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tung, Yen-Chun; Chung, Ming-Han; Sung, I.-Hui; Lee, Chih-Kung

2014-03-01

Adopting optical technique to pursue micromachining must make a compromise between the focal spot sizes the depth of focus. The focal spot size determines the minimum features can be fabricated. On the other hand, the depth of focus influences the ease of alignment in positioning the fabrication light beam. A typical approach to bypass the diffraction limit is to adopt the near-field approach, which has spot size in the range of the optical fiber tip. However, the depth of focus of the emitted light beam will be limited to tens of nanometers in most cases, which posts a difficult challenge to control the distance between the optical fiber tip and the sample to be machined optically. More specifically, problems remained in this machining approach, which include issues such as residue induced by laser ablation tends to deposit near the optical fiber tip and leads to loss of coupling efficiency. We proposed a method based on illuminating femtosecond laser through a sub-wavelength annular aperture on metallic film so as to produce Bessel light beam of sub-wavelength while maintaining large depth of focus first. To further advance the ease of use in one such system, producing sub-wavelength annular aperture on a single mode optical fiber head with sub-wavelength focusing ability is detailed. It is shown that this method can be applied in material machining with an emphasis to produce high aspect ratio structure. Simulations and experimental results are presented in this paper.

Systematic biochemical characterization of the SAM domains in Eph receptor family from Mus Musculus.

PubMed

Wang, Yue; Li, Qingxia; Zheng, Yunhua; Li, Gang; Liu, Wei

2016-05-13

The Eph receptor family is the largest subfamily of receptor tyrosine kinases and well-known for their pivotal roles in axon guidance, synaptogenesis, artery/venous differentiation and tumorigenesis, etc. Activation of the Eph receptor needs multimerization of the receptors. The intracellular C-terminal SAM domain of Eph receptor was reported to mediate self-association of Eph receptors via the homo SAM-SAM interaction. In this study, we systematically expressed and purified the SAM domain proteins of all fourteen Eph receptors of Mus musculus in Escherichia coli. The FPLC (fast protein liquid chromatography) results showed the recombinant SAM domains were highly homogeneous. Using CD (circular dichroism) spectrometry, we found that the secondary structure of all the SAM domains was typically alpha helical folded and remarkably similar. The thermo-stability tests showed that they were quite stable in solution. SEC-MALS (size exclusion chromatography coupled with multiple angle light scattering) results illustrated 200 μM Eph SAM domains behaved as good monomers in the size-exclusion chromatography. More importantly, DLS (dynamic light scattering) results revealed the overwhelming majority of SAM domains was not multimerized in solution either at 200 μM or 2000 μM protein concentration, which indicating the SAM domain alone was not sufficient to mediate the polymerization of Eph receptor. In summary, our studies provided the systematic biochemical characterizations of the Eph receptor SAM domains and implied their roles in Eph receptor mediated signaling pathways. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structure-guided discovery of the metabolite carboxy-SAM that modulates tRNA function.

PubMed

Kim, Jungwook; Xiao, Hui; Bonanno, Jeffrey B; Kalyanaraman, Chakrapani; Brown, Shoshana; Tang, Xiangying; Al-Obaidi, Nawar F; Patskovsky, Yury; Babbitt, Patricia C; Jacobson, Matthew P; Lee, Young-Sam; Almo, Steven C

2013-06-06

The identification of novel metabolites and the characterization of their biological functions are major challenges in biology. X-ray crystallography can reveal unanticipated ligands that persist through purification and crystallization. These adventitious protein-ligand complexes provide insights into new activities, pathways and regulatory mechanisms. We describe a new metabolite, carboxy-S-adenosyl-l-methionine (Cx-SAM), its biosynthetic pathway and its role in transfer RNA modification. The structure of CmoA, a member of the SAM-dependent methyltransferase superfamily, revealed a ligand consistent with Cx-SAM in the catalytic site. Mechanistic analyses showed an unprecedented role for prephenate as the carboxyl donor and the involvement of a unique ylide intermediate as the carboxyl acceptor in the CmoA-mediated conversion of SAM to Cx-SAM. A second member of the SAM-dependent methyltransferase superfamily, CmoB, recognizes Cx-SAM and acts as a carboxymethyltransferase to convert 5-hydroxyuridine into 5-oxyacetyl uridine at the wobble position of multiple tRNAs in Gram-negative bacteria, resulting in expanded codon-recognition properties. CmoA and CmoB represent the first documented synthase and transferase for Cx-SAM. These findings reveal new functional diversity in the SAM-dependent methyltransferase superfamily and expand the metabolic and biological contributions of SAM-based biochemistry. These discoveries highlight the value of structural genomics approaches in identifying ligands within the context of their physiologically relevant macromolecular binding partners, and in revealing their functions.

Air riding seal for a turbine

DOEpatents

Mills, Jacob A; Brown, Wesley D; Sexton, Thomas D; Jones, Russell B

2016-07-19

An air riding seal between a rotor and a stator in a turbine of a gas turbine engine, where an annular piston is movable in an axial direction within a housing that extends from the stator, and a bellows is secured to the annular piston to form a flexible air passageway from a compressed air inlet through the annular piston and into a cushion cavity that forms an air riding seal between the annular piston and the rotor sealing surface. In another embodiment, a flexible seal secured to and extending from the annular piston forms a sealing surface between the annular piston chamber and the annular piston to provide a seal and allow for axial movement.

Microdissection of Shoot Meristem Functional Domains

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The shoot apical meristem (SAM) maintains a pool of indeterminate cells within the SAM proper, while lateral organs are initiated from the SAM periphery. Laser microdissection–microarray technology was used to compare transcriptional profiles within these SAM domains to identify novel maize genes th...

The qualitative f-ratio method applied to electron channelling-induced x-ray imaging with an annular silicon drift detector in a scanning electron microscope in the transmission mode.

PubMed

Brodusch, Nicolas; Gauvin, Raynald

2017-09-01

Electron channelling is known to affect the x-ray production when an accelerated electron beam is applied to a crystalline material and is highly dependent on the local crystal orientation. This effect, unless very long counting time are used, is barely noticeable on x-ray energy spectra recorded with conventional silicon drift detectors (SDD) located at a small elevation angle. However, the very high count rates provided by the new commercially available annular SDDs permit now to observe this effect routinely and may, in some circumstances, hide the true elemental x-ray variations due to the local true specimen composition. To circumvent this issue, the recently developed f-ratio method was applied to display qualitatively the true net intensity x-ray variations in a thin specimen of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy in a scanning electron microscope in transmission mode. The diffraction contrast observed in the x-ray images was successfully cancelled through the use of f-ratios and the true composition variations at the grain boundaries could be observed in relation to the dislocation alignment prior to the β-phase nucleation. The qualitative effectiveness in removing channelling effects demonstrated in this work makes the f-ratio, in its quantitative form, a possible alternative to the ZAF method in channelling conditions. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2017 Royal Microscopical Society.

Sediment Transport of Fine Sand to Fine Gravel on Transverse Bed Slopes in Rotating Annular Flume Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baar, Anne W.; de Smit, Jaco; Uijttewaal, Wim S. J.; Kleinhans, Maarten G.

2018-01-01

Large-scale morphology, in particular meander bend depth, bar dimensions, and bifurcation dynamics, are greatly affected by the deflection of sediment transport on transverse bed slopes due to gravity and by secondary flows. Overestimating the transverse bed slope effect in morphodynamic models leads to flattening of the morphology, while underestimating leads to unrealistically steep bars and banks and a higher braiding index downstream. However, existing transverse bed slope predictors are based on a small set of experiments with a minor range of flow conditions and sediment sizes, and in practice models are calibrated on measured morphology. The objective of this research is to experimentally quantify the transverse bed slope effect for a large range of near-bed flow conditions with varying secondary flow intensity, sediment sizes (0.17-4 mm), sediment transport mode, and bed state to test existing predictors. We conducted over 200 experiments in a rotating annular flume with counterrotating floor, which allows control of the secondary flow intensity separate from the streamwise flow velocity. Flow velocity vectors were determined with a calibrated analytical model accounting for rough bed conditions. We isolated separate effects of all important parameters on the transverse slope. Resulting equilibrium transverse slopes show a clear trend with varying sediment mobilities and secondary flow intensities that deviate from known predictors depending on Shields number, and strongly depend on bed state and sediment transport mode. Fitted functions are provided for application in morphodynamic modeling.

System Advisor Model (SAM) General Description (Version 2017.9.5)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Freeman, Janine M; DiOrio, Nicholas A; Blair, Nathan J

This document describes the capabilities of the System Advisor Model (SAM) developed and distributed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The document is for potential users and others wanting to learn about the model's capabilities. SAM is a techno-economic computer model that calculates performance and financial metrics of renewable energy projects. Project developers, policy makers, equipment manufacturers, and researchers use graphs and tables of SAM results in the process of evaluating financial, technology, and incentive options for renewable energy projects. SAM simulates the performance of photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, solar water heating, wind, geothermal, biomass, andmore » conventional power systems. The financial models are for projects that either buy and sell electricity at retail rates (residential and commercial) or sell electricity at a price determined in a power purchase agreement (PPA). SAM's simulation tools facilitate parametric and sensitivity analyses, Monte Carlo simulation and weather variability (P50/P90) studies. SAM can also read input variables from Microsoft Excel worksheets. For software developers, the SAM software development kit (SDK) makes it possible to use SAM simulation modules in their applications written in C/C plus plus, C sharp, Java, Python, MATLAB, and other languages. NREL provides both SAM and the SDK as free downloads at https://sam.nrel.gov. SAM is an open source project, so its source code is available to the public. Researchers can study the code to understand the model algorithms, and software programmers can contribute their own models and enhancements to the project. Technical support and more information about the software are available on the website.« less

Defects in subventricular zone pigmented epithelium-derived factor niche signaling in the senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8.

PubMed

Castro-Garcia, Paola; Díaz-Moreno, María; Gil-Gas, Carmen; Fernández-Gómez, Francisco J; Honrubia-Gómez, Paloma; Álvarez-Simón, Carmen Belén; Sánchez-Sánchez, Francisco; Cano, Juan Carlos Castillo; Almeida, Francisco; Blanco, Vicente; Jordán, Joaquín; Mira, Helena; Ramírez-Castillejo, Carmen

2015-04-01

We studied potential changes in the subventricular zone (SVZ) stem cell niche of the senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 (SAM-P8) aging model. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) assays with longtime survival revealed a lower number of label-retaining stem cells in the SAM-P8 SVZ compared with the SAM-Resistant 1 (SAM-R1) control strain. We also found that in SAM-P8 niche signaling is attenuated and the stem cell pool is less responsive to the self-renewal niche factor pigmented epithelium-derived factor (PEDF). Protein analysis demonstrated stable amounts of the PEDF ligand in the SAM-P8 SVZ niche; however, SAM-P8 stem cells present a significant expression decrease of patatin-like phospholipase domain containing 2, a receptor for PEDF (PNPLA2-PEDF) receptor, but not of laminin receptor (LR), a receptor for PEDF (LR-PEDF) receptor. We observed changes in self-renewal related genes (hairy and enhancer of split 1 (Hes1), hairy and enhancer of split 1 (Hes5), Sox2] and report that although these genes are down-regulated in SAM-P8, differentiation genes (Pax6) are up-regulated and neurogenesis is increased. Finally, sheltering mammalian telomere complexes might be also involved given a down-regulation of telomeric repeat binding factor 1 (Terf1) expression was observed in SAM-P8 at young age periods. Differences between these 2 models, SAM-P8 and SAM-R1 controls, have been previously detected at more advanced ages. We now describe alterations in the PEDF signaling pathway and stem cell self-renewal at a very young age, which could be involved in the premature senescence observed in the SAM-P8 model. © FASEB.

Ringlight for use in high radiation

DOEpatents

Baylor, G.A.; Jacket, H.S.

1992-09-01

A ringlight having an annular array of light-emitting elements centered about a viewing passage has an outer annular body with an inner annular body fitted concentrically within the outer body to form an annular void and a light-emitting aperture therebetween. A plurality of optical fibers extends into the void with end portions of the optical fibers secured therein to form an annular array at the light-emitting aperture. The first and second annular bodies cooperate to angle the end portions of the optical fibers towards a central axis of the viewing passage. 3 figs.

Direct imaging of the tricuspid valve annular motions by fiberoptic cardioscopy in dogs. I. Does De Vega's annuloplasty preserve the annular motions?

PubMed

Minato, N; Itoh, T

1992-12-01

Applying the technology of direct imaging by fiberoptic cardioscopy, physiologic and pathophysiologic motions of the tricuspid valve anulus were studied in 10 anesthetized normal dogs (control group) and in 9 dogs that had chronic tricuspid regurgitation (TR group). The heart was perfused with transparent modified Tyrode's solution by working heart method, and the anuli, outlined by sutured beads, were observed and recorded on a high-speed video system in real time. Tricuspid valve annular area was calculated at 14 points during the cardiac cycle. The control group was studied in the normal condition, and the tricuspid regurgitation group was studied during four interventions: nontricuspid annuloplasty group and three tricuspid annuloplasty groups with reducing tricuspid valve annular area to 80%, 65%, and 50% of that of the non-tricuspid annuloplasty group by De Vega's procedure. Tricuspid valve annular area in the control group increased by 7% during atrial systole and was reduced by 34% mainly during ventricular systole, in which the free wall annular area and the septal annular area narrowed by an equal 34%. Chronic tricuspid regurgitation lessened tricuspid valve annular area narrowing to 20% in percent reduction (p < 0.01). In the TR group the decrease in tricuspid valve annular area narrowing was attributed mainly to lessened narrowing of the free wall anulus (percent reduction of tricuspid valve annular area, 19%; p < 0.01). The amplitudes in tricuspid valve annular area narrowing were unchanged in the tricuspid annuloplasty groups even when tricuspid valve annular area, was reduced to 50% by De Vega's tricuspid annuloplasty (percent reduction of tricuspid valve annular area, 16%; not significant). These findings suggest that De Vega's tricuspid annuloplasty is a reasonable method that does preserve the physiologic annular motions in the opening and closing mechanism of the tricuspid valve.

Summary Status of the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS), September 1993

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeLombard, Richard

1994-01-01

The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) was developed to measure the microgravity acceleration environment to which NASA science payloads are exposed during microgravity science missions on the shuttle. Six flight units have been fabricated to date. The inaugural flight of a SAMS unit was on STS-40 in June 1991 as part of the First Spacelab Life Sciences mission. Since that time, SAMS has flown on six additional missions and gathered eighteen gigabytes of data representing sixty-eight days of microgravity environment. The SAMS units have been flown in the shuttle middeck and cargo bay, in the Spacelab module, and in the Spacehab module. This paper summarizes the missions and experiments which SAMS has supported. The quantity of data and the utilization of the SAMS data is described. Future activities are briefly described for the SAMS project and the Microgravity Measurement and Analysis project (MMAP) to support science experiments and scientists with microgravity environment measurement and analysis.

Structure-guided design of fluorescent S-adenosylmethionine analogs for a high-throughput screen to target SAM-I riboswitch RNAs.

PubMed

Hickey, Scott F; Hammond, Ming C

2014-03-20

Many classes of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-binding RNAs and proteins are of interest as potential drug targets in diverse therapeutic areas, from infectious diseases to cancer. In the former case, the SAM-I riboswitch is an attractive target because this structured RNA element is found only in bacterial mRNAs and regulates multiple genes in several human pathogens. Here, we describe the synthesis of stable and fluorescent analogs of SAM in which the fluorophore is introduced through a functionalizable linker to the ribose. A Cy5-labeled SAM analog was shown to bind several SAM-I riboswitches via in-line probing and fluorescence polarization assays, including one from Staphylococcus aureus that controls the expression of SAM synthetase in this organism. A fluorescent ligand displacement assay was developed and validated for high-throughput screening of compounds to target the SAM-I riboswitch class. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Single-molecule FRET reveals the energy landscape of the full-length SAM-I riboswitch.

PubMed

Manz, Christoph; Kobitski, Andrei Yu; Samanta, Ayan; Keller, Bettina G; Jäschke, Andres; Nienhaus, G Ulrich

2017-11-01

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) ligand binding induces major structural changes in SAM-I riboswitches, through which gene expression is regulated via transcription termination. Little is known about the conformations and motions governing the function of the full-length Bacillus subtilis yitJ SAM-I riboswitch. Therefore, we have explored its conformational energy landscape as a function of Mg 2+ and SAM ligand concentrations using single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) microscopy and hidden Markov modeling analysis. We resolved four conformational states both in the presence and the absence of SAM and determined their Mg 2+ -dependent fractional populations and conformational dynamics, including state lifetimes, interconversion rate coefficients and equilibration timescales. Riboswitches with terminator and antiterminator folds coexist, and SAM binding only gradually shifts the populations toward terminator states. We observed a pronounced acceleration of conformational transitions upon SAM binding, which may be crucial for off-switching during the brief decision window before expression of the downstream gene.

System Advisor Model, SAM 2011.12.2: General Description

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilman, P.; Dobos, A.

2012-02-01

This document describes the capabilities of the U.S. Department of Energy and National Renewable Energy Laboratory's System Advisor Model (SAM), Version 2011.12.2, released on December 2, 2011. SAM is software that models the cost and performance of renewable energy systems. Project developers, policy makers, equipment manufacturers, and researchers use graphs and tables of SAM results in the process of evaluating financial, technology, and incentive options for renewable energy projects. SAM simulates the performance of solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and conventional power systems. The financial model can represent financing structures for projects that either buy and sell electricity at retail ratesmore » (residential and commercial) or sell electricity at a price determined in a power purchase agreement (utility). Advanced analysis options facilitate parametric, sensitivity, and statistical analyses, and allow for interfacing SAM with Microsoft Excel or with other computer programs. SAM is available as a free download at http://sam.nrel.gov. Technical support and more information about the software are available on the website.« less

Demonstration of a Segment Alignment Maintenance System on a Seven-Segment Sub-Array of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rakoczy, John; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in collaboration with Blue Line Engineering of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is developing a Segment Alignment Maintenance System (SAMS) for McDonald Observatory's Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET). The SAMS shall sense motions of the 91 primary mirror segments and send corrections to HET's primary mirror controller as the mirror segments misalign due to thermo-elastic deformations of the mirror support structure. The SAMS consists of inductive edge sensors supplemented by inclinometers for global radius of curvature sensing. All measurements are sent to the SAMS computer where mirror motion corrections are calculated. In October 2000, a prototype SAMS was installed on a seven-segment cluster of the HET. Subsequent testing has shown that the SAMS concept and architecture are a viable practical approach to maintaining HET's primary mirror figure, or the figure of any large segmented telescope. This paper gives a functional description of the SAMS sub-array components and presents test data to characterize the performance of the sub-array SAMS.

Substrate dependent structure of adsorbed aryl isocyanides studied by sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy.

PubMed

Ito, Mikio; Noguchi, Hidenori; Ikeda, Katsuyoshi; Uosaki, Kohei

2010-04-07

Effects of metal substrate on the bonding nature of isocyanide group of two aryl isocyanides, 1,4-phenylene diisocyanide (PDI) and 4-methylphenyl isocyanide (MPI), and tilt angle of MPI were examined by measuring sum frequency generation (SFG) spectra of the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of these molecules on Au, Pt, Ag, and Pd surfaces. The SFG peaks due to "metal bonded" and "free"-NC groups were resolved by comparing the SFG spectra of PDI with IR spectra obtained by DFT calculations and previous results of vibrational spectroscopy. Based on the peak positions of the "metal bonded"-NC, it is clarified that while PDI and MPI were adsorbed at top sites on Au, Ag, and Pt surfaces, they adsorbed at bridge sites on the Pd surface. The tilt angles of MPI were determined from the intensity ratio between the SFG peaks of C-H symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrational modes of the CH(3) group. The tilt angles of the MPI SAMs were in the order of Pt < Pd < Ag < Au, reflecting the bonding nature between the -NC group and the substrate atoms.

Mapping benthic macroalgal communities in the coastal zone using CHRIS-PROBA mode 2 images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casal, G.; Kutser, T.; Domínguez-Gómez, J. A.; Sánchez-Carnero, N.; Freire, J.

2011-09-01

The ecological importance of benthic macroalgal communities in coastal ecosystems has been recognised worldwide and the application of remote sensing to study these communities presents certain advantages respect to in situ methods. The present study used three CHRIS-PROBA images to analyse macroalgal communities distribution in the Seno de Corcubión (NW Spain). The use of this sensor represent a challenge given that its design, build and deployment programme is intended to follow the principles of the "faster, better, cheaper". To assess the application of this sensor to macroalgal mapping, two types of classifications were carried out: Maximum Likelihood and Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM). Maximum Likelihood classifier showed positive results, reaching overall accuracy percentages higher than 90% and kappa coefficients higher than 0.80 for the bottom classes shallow submerged sand, deep submerged sand, macroalgae less than 5 m and macroalgae between 5 and 10 m depth. The differentiation among macroalgal groups using SAM classifications showed positive results for green seaweeds although the differentiation between brown and red algae was not clear in the study area.

Targeting EphA2-Sam and Its Interactome: Design and Evaluation of Helical Peptides Enriched in Charged Residues.

PubMed

Mercurio, Flavia A; Marasco, Daniela; Di Natale, Concetta; Pirone, Luciano; Costantini, Susan; Pedone, Emilia M; Leone, Marilisa

2016-11-17

The EphA2 receptor controls diverse physiological and pathological conditions and its levels are often upregulated in cancer. Targeting receptor overexpression, through modulation of endocytosis and consequent degradation, appears to be an appealing strategy for attacking tumor malignancy. In this scenario, the Sam domain of EphA2 plays a pivotal role because it is the site where protein regulators of endocytosis and stability are recruited by means of heterotypic Sam-Sam interactions. Because EphA2-Sam heterotypic complexes are largely based on electrostatic contacts, we have investigated the possibility of attacking these interactions with helical peptides enriched in charged residues. Several peptide sequences with high predicted helical propensities were designed, and detailed conformational analyses were conducted by diverse techniques including NMR, CD, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Interaction studies were also performed by NMR, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and microscale thermophoresis (MST) and led to the identification of two peptides capable of binding to the first Sam domain of Odin. These molecules represent early candidates for the generation of efficient Sam domain binders and antagonists of Sam-Sam interactions involving EphA2. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The nuclear protein Sam68 is cleaved by the FMDV 3C protease redistributing Sam68 to the cytoplasm during FMDV infection of host cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence, Paul; Schafer, Elizabeth A.; Rieder, Elizabeth, E-mail: elizabeth.rieder@ars.usda.gov

2012-03-30

Picornavirus infection can lead to disruption of nuclear pore traffic, shut-off of cell translation machinery, and cleavage of proteins involved in cellular signal transduction and the innate response to infection. Here, we demonstrated that the FMDV 3C{sup pro} induced the cleavage of nuclear RNA-binding protein Sam68 C-terminus containing the nuclear localization sequence (NLS). Consequently, it stimulated the redistribution of Sam68 to the cytoplasm. The siRNA knockdown of Sam68 resulted in a 1000-fold reduction in viral titers, which prompted us to study the effect of Sam68 on FMDV post-entry events. Interestingly, Sam68 interacts with the internal ribosomal entry site within themore » 5 Prime non-translated region of the FMDV genome, and Sam68 knockdown decreased FMDV IRES-driven activity in vitro suggesting that it could modulate translation of the viral genome. The results uncover a novel role for Sam68 in the context of picornaviruses and the proteolysis of a new cellular target of the FMDV 3C{sup pro}.« less

Evaluating SAMS in Hong Kong Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwok, Lam-for; Lau, Chi-kuen; Fung, Sun-wai

1999-01-01

Describes the School Administration and Management Systems (SAMS) that was developed to support elementary and secondary schools in Hong Kong in administrative and managerial tasks. Reports results of a survey that investigated the impact of SAMS, evaluated its effectiveness, and identified possible areas of improvement to SAMS operation.…

ER residency of the ceramide phosphoethanolamine synthase SMSr relies on homotypic oligomerization mediated by its SAM domain

PubMed Central

Cabukusta, Birol; Kol, Matthijs; Kneller, Laura; Hilderink, Angelika; Bickert, Andreas; Mina, John G. M.; Korneev, Sergei; Holthuis, Joost C. M.

2017-01-01

SMSr/SAMD8 is an ER-resident ceramide phosphoethanolamine synthase with a critical role in controlling ER ceramides and suppressing ceramide-induced apoptosis in cultured cells. SMSr-mediated ceramide homeostasis relies on the enzyme’s catalytic activity as well as on its N-terminal sterile α-motif or SAM domain. Here we report that SMSr-SAM is structurally and functionally related to the SAM domain of diacylglycerol kinase DGKδ, a central regulator of lipid signaling at the plasma membrane. Native gel electrophoresis indicates that both SAM domains form homotypic oligomers. Chemical crosslinking studies show that SMSr self-associates into ER-resident trimers and hexamers that resemble the helical oligomers formed by DGKδ-SAM. Residues critical for DGKδ-SAM oligomerization are conserved in SMSr-SAM and their substitution causes a dissociation of SMSr oligomers as well as a partial redistribution of the enzyme to the Golgi. Conversely, treatment of cells with curcumin, a drug disrupting ceramide and Ca2+ homeostasis in the ER, stabilizes SMSr oligomers and promotes retention of the enzyme in the ER. Our data provide first demonstration of a multi-pass membrane protein that undergoes homotypic oligomerization via its SAM domain and indicate that SAM-mediated self-assembly of SMSr is required for efficient retention of the enzyme in the ER. PMID:28120887

Effect of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM), an allosteric activator of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) on colorectal cancer cell proliferation and bioenergetics in vitro.

PubMed

Módis, Katalin; Coletta, Ciro; Asimakopoulou, Antonia; Szczesny, Bartosz; Chao, Celia; Papapetropoulos, Andreas; Hellmich, Mark R; Szabo, Csaba

2014-09-15

Recent data show that colon cancer cells selectively overexpress cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS), which produces hydrogen sulfide (H2S), to maintain cellular bioenergetics, support tumor growth and stimulate angiogenesis and vasorelaxation in the tumor microenvironment. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of the allosteric CBS activator S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) on the proliferation and bioenergetics of the CBS-expressing colon cancer cell line HCT116. The non-transformed, non-tumorigenic colon epithelial cell line NCM356 was used as control. For assessment of cell proliferation, the xCELLigence system was used. Bioenergetic function was measured by Extracellular Flux Analysis. Experiments using human recombinant CBS or HCT116 homogenates complemented the cell-based studies. SAM markedly enhanced CBS-mediated H2S production in vitro, especially when a combination of cysteine and homocysteine was used as substrates. Addition of SAM (0.1-3 mM) to HCT116 cells induced a concentration-dependent increase H2S production. SAM exerted time- and concentration-dependent modulatory effects on cell proliferation. At 0.1-1 mM SAM increased HCT116 proliferation between 0 and 12 h, while the highest SAM concentration (3 mM) inhibited proliferation. Over a longer time period (12-24 h), only the lowest concentration of SAM used (0.1 mM) stimulated cell proliferation; higher SAM concentrations produced a concentration-dependent inhibition. The short-term stimulatory effects of SAM were attenuated by the CBS inhibitor aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA) or by stable silencing of CBS. In contrast, the inhibitory effects of SAM on cell proliferation was unaffected by CBS inhibition or CBS silencing. In contrast to HCT116 cells, the lower rate of proliferation of the low-CBS expressor NCM356 cells was unaffected by SAM. Short-term (1 h) exposure of HCT116 cells to SAM induced a concentration-dependent increase in oxygen consumption and bioenergetic function at 0.1-1 mM, while 3 mM was inhibitory. Longer-term (72 h) exposure of HCT116 cells to all concentrations of SAM tested suppressed mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate, cellular ATP content and cell viability. The stimulatory effect of SAM on bioenergetics was attenuated in cells with stable CBS silencing, while the inhibitory effects were unaffected. In NCM356 cells SAM exerted smaller effects on cellular bioenergetics than in HCT116 cells. We have also observed a downregulation of CBS in response to prolonged exposure of SAM both in HCT116 and NCM356 cells. Taken together, the results demonstrate that H2S production in HCT116 cells is stimulated by the allosteric CBS activator, SAM. At low-to intermediate levels and early time periods the resulting H2S serves as an endogenous cancer cell growth and bioenergetic factor. In contrast, the inhibition of cell proliferation and bioenergetic function by SAM does not appear to relate to adverse autocrine effects of H2S resulting from CBS over-stimulation but, rather to CBS-independent pharmacological effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

48 CFR 4.1102 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... SAM database prior to award of a contract or agreement, except for— (1) Purchases under the micro... registration in the SAM database, or use of SAM data, could compromise the safeguarding of classified... (a)(3) of this section to require SAM registration. (c)(1)(i) If a contractor has legally changed its...

78 FR 62627 - Sam Rayburn Dam Rate

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-22

..., Wholesale Rates for Hydro Power and Energy Sold to Sam Rayburn Dam Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Contract No... Schedule SRD-08, Wholesale Rates for Hydro Power and Energy Sold to Sam Rayburn Dam Electric Cooperative... ADMINISTRATION RATE SCHEDULE SRD-13 \\1\\ WHOLESALE RATES FOR HYDRO POWER AND ENERGY SOLD TO SAM RAYBURN DAM...

Interface instabilities during displacements of two miscible fluids in a vertical pipe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scoffoni, J.; Lajeunesse, E.; Homsy, G. M.

2001-03-01

We study experimentally the downward vertical displacement of one miscible fluid by another in a vertical pipe at sufficiently high velocities for diffusive effects to be negligible. For certain viscosity ratios and flow rates, the interface between the two fluids can destabilize. We determine the dimensionless flow rate Uc above which the instability is triggered and its dependence on the viscous ratio M, resulting in a stability map Uc=Uc(M). Two different instability modes have been observed: an asymmetric "corkscrew" mode and an axisymmetric one. We remark that the latter is always eventually disturbed by "corkscrew" type instabilities. We speculate that these instabilities are driven by the viscosity stratification and are analogous to those already observed in core annular flows of immiscible fluids.

An analog integrated circuit beamformer for high-frequency medical ultrasound imaging.

PubMed

Gurun, Gokce; Zahorian, Jaime S; Sisman, Alper; Karaman, Mustafa; Hasler, Paul E; Degertekin, F Levent

2012-10-01

We designed and fabricated a dynamic receive beamformer integrated circuit (IC) in 0.35-μm CMOS technology. This beamformer IC is suitable for integration with an annular array transducer for high-frequency (30-50 MHz) intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging. The beamformer IC consists of receive preamplifiers, an analog dynamic delay-and-sum beamformer, and buffers for 8 receive channels. To form an analog dynamic delay line we designed an analog delay cell based on the current-mode first-order all-pass filter topology, as the basic building block. To increase the bandwidth of the delay cell, we explored an enhancement technique on the current mirrors. This technique improved the overall bandwidth of the delay line by a factor of 6. Each delay cell consumes 2.1-mW of power and is capable of generating a tunable time delay between 1.75 ns to 2.5 ns. We successfully integrated the fabricated beamformer IC with an 8-element annular array. Experimental test results demonstrated the desired buffering, preamplification and delaying capabilities of the beamformer.

Crystal structure of SAM-dependent methyltransferase from Pyrococcus horikoshii.

PubMed

Pampa, K J; Madan Kumar, S; Hema, M K; Kumara, Karthik; Naveen, S; Kunishima, Naoki; Lokanath, N K

2017-12-01

Methyltransferases (MTs) are enzymes involved in methylation that are needed to perform cellular processes such as biosynthesis, metabolism, gene expression, protein trafficking and signal transduction. The cofactor S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is used for catalysis by SAM-dependent methyltransferases (SAM-MTs). The crystal structure of Pyrococcus horikoshii SAM-MT was determined to a resolution of 2.1 Å using X-ray diffraction. The monomeric structure consists of a Rossmann-like fold (domain I) and a substrate-binding domain (domain II). The cofactor (SAM) molecule binds at the interface between adjacent subunits, presumably near to the active site(s) of the enzyme. The observed dimeric state might be important for the catalytic function of the enzyme.

SAMS-II Requirements and Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wald, Lawrence W.

1998-01-01

The Space Acceleration Measurements System (SAMS) II is the primary instrument for the measurement, storage, and communication of the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). SAMS-II is being developed by the NASA Lewis Research Center Microgravity Science Division to primarily support the Office of Life and Microgravity Science and Applications (OLMSA) Microgravity Science and Applications Division (MSAD) payloads aboard the ISS. The SAMS-II is currently in the test and verification phase at NASA LeRC, prior to its first hardware delivery scheduled for July 1998. This paper will provide an overview of the SAMS-II instrument, including the system requirements and topology, physical and electrical characteristics, and the Concept of Operations for SAMS-II aboard the ISS.

Non-canonical active site architecture of the radical SAM thiamin pyrimidine synthase.

PubMed

Fenwick, Michael K; Mehta, Angad P; Zhang, Yang; Abdelwahed, Sameh H; Begley, Tadhg P; Ealick, Steven E

2015-03-27

Radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes use a [4Fe-4S] cluster to generate a 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical. Canonical radical SAM enzymes are characterized by a β-barrel-like fold and SAM anchors to the differentiated iron of the cluster, which is located near the amino terminus and within the β-barrel, through its amino and carboxylate groups. Here we show that ThiC, the thiamin pyrimidine synthase in plants and bacteria, contains a tethered cluster-binding domain at its carboxy terminus that moves in and out of the active site during catalysis. In contrast to canonical radical SAM enzymes, we predict that SAM anchors to an additional active site metal through its amino and carboxylate groups. Superimposition of the catalytic domains of ThiC and glutamate mutase shows that these two enzymes share similar active site architectures, thus providing strong evidence for an evolutionary link between the radical SAM and adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzyme superfamilies.

Enhanced chemiluminescent detection scheme for trace vapor sensing in pneumatically-tuned hollow core photonic bandgap fibers.

PubMed

Stolyarov, Alexander M; Gumennik, Alexander; McDaniel, William; Shapira, Ofer; Schell, Brent; Sorin, Fabien; Kuriki, Ken; Benoit, Gilles; Rose, Aimee; Joannopoulos, John D; Fink, Yoel

2012-05-21

We demonstrate an in-fiber gas phase chemical detection architecture in which a chemiluminescent (CL) reaction is spatially and spectrally matched to the core modes of hollow photonic bandgap (PBG) fibers in order to enhance detection efficiency. A peroxide-sensitive CL material is annularly shaped and centered within the fiber's hollow core, thereby increasing the overlap between the emission intensity and the intensity distribution of the low-loss fiber modes. This configuration improves the sensitivity by 0.9 dB/cm compared to coating the material directly on the inner fiber surface, where coupling to both higher loss core modes and cladding modes is enhanced. By integrating the former configuration with a custom-built optofluidic system designed for concomitant controlled vapor delivery and emission measurement, we achieve a limit-of-detection of 100 parts per billion (ppb) for hydrogen peroxide vapor. The PBG fibers are produced by a new fabrication method whereby external gas pressure is used as a control knob to actively tune the transmission bandgaps through the entire visible range during the thermal drawing process.

Comparison of selective staining of fungi in paraffin sections by light microscopy, SEM and BEI

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berman, E.L.; Laudate, A.; Carter, H.W.

Paraffin-embedded sections from human tissues with fungi or organisms classified with fungi were studied by light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the backscatter electron imaging (BEI) mode of the SEM. The fungal organisms selected for study were those familiar to the pathologist on the basis of their appearance in paraffin-embedded material stained with the Gomori-Grocott Chromic Acid Methenamine Silver Stain (GMS). The organisms were Actinomyces, Rhizopus, Cryptococcus, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Coccidia imitis. Sections were stained with the GMS Stain and/or the Becker modification of the GMS Stain (BGMS) and examined in the secondary electron imaging mode (SEI) andmore » BEI mode with an annular backscatter electron detector. This silver staining technique accentuated the wall of fungal organisms, in the backscatter mode. Depending on the fungal organism and type of silver stain employed, the GMS seemed the preferable stain. The advantages of SEM over LM were greater depth of focus and potential range of magnifications. BEI may also be used in conjunction with LM stain for microorganisms to establish their presence.« less

SAM Companion Documents

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

SAM Companion Documents and Sample Collection Procedures provide information intended to complement the analytical methods listed in Selected Analytical Methods for Environmental Remediation and Recovery (SAM).

S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) attenuates the development of tolerance to analgesic activity of morphine in rats.

PubMed

Katyal, Jatinder; Kumar, Hemant; Joshi, Dinesh; Gupta, Yogendra Kumar

2017-04-03

Development of tolerance to analgesic effect, on chronic administration of morphine, limits its clinical usefulness in pain management. S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) used for arthritis and approved as a supplement in many countries including United States was evaluated for reducing morphine tolerance. Male 'Wistar' rats were used. The analgesic activity was determined using tail flick analgesiometer (Columbus Instruments, USA). Rats given morphine (7mg/kg), intraperitoneally (i.p.), once daily for 5days developed tolerance to analgesic effect. To evaluate the effect of SAM on morphine tolerance, SAM 800mg/kg was administered orally (p.o.), 45min prior to each dose of morphine. The analgesic activity of SAM and opioidergic component in its activity was also evaluated. Co-administration of morphine and SAM reversed morphine tolerance. SAM exhibited analgesic effect after repeated administration which was reversed by naloxone administration. Since safety of SAM on chronic use is documented it can be a good option in morphine tolerance. Role in drug addiction and withdrawal should also be evaluated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Expanding Radical SAM Chemistry by Using Radical Addition Reactions and SAM Analogues.

PubMed

Ji, Xinjian; Li, Yongzhen; Xie, Liqi; Lu, Haojie; Ding, Wei; Zhang, Qi

2016-09-19

Radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzymes utilize a [4Fe-4S] cluster to bind SAM and reductively cleave its carbon-sulfur bond to produce a highly reactive 5'-deoxyadenosyl (dAdo) radical. In almost all cases, the dAdo radical abstracts a hydrogen atom from the substrates or from enzymes, thereby initiating a highly diverse array of reactions. Herein, we report a change of the dAdo radical-based chemistry from hydrogen abstraction to radical addition in the reaction of the radical SAM enzyme NosL. This change was achieved by using a substrate analogue containing an olefin moiety. We also showed that two SAM analogues containing different nucleoside functionalities initiate the radical-based reactions with high efficiencies. The radical adduct with the olefin produced in the reaction was found to undergo two divergent reactions, and the mechanistic insights into this process were investigated in detail. Our study demonstrates a promising strategy in expanding radical SAM chemistry, providing an effective way to access nucleoside-containing compounds by using radical SAM-dependent reactions. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synthesis, characterization, and relative stabilities of self-assembled monolayers on gold generated from bidentate n-alkyl xanthic acids.

PubMed

Moore, H Justin; Colorado, Ramon; Lee, Han Ju; Jamison, Andrew C; Lee, T Randall

2013-08-27

A series of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold were generated by the adsorption of n-alkyl xanthic acids (NAXAs) having the general formula CH3(CH2)nOCS2H (n = 12-15). The structural features of these SAMs were characterized by optical ellipsometry, contact angle goniometry, polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This series of xanthate SAMs were compared to SAMs generated from the corresponding n-alkanethiols and aliphatic dithiocarboxylic acids (ADTCAs). The collected data indicate that the NAXAs generate densely packed and well-ordered monolayers. The contact angles of hexadecane on the xanthate monolayers exhibited a large "odd-even" effect similar to that produced by the ADTCA SAMs. The relative stability of these bidentate xanthate SAMs was evaluated by monitoring the changes in ellipsometric thicknesses and wettability as a function of time under various conditions. The results demonstrate that SAMs formed from NAXAs are much less stable than analogous n-alkanethiolate and ADTCA SAMs.

Crystal Structure of Bicc1 SAM Polymer and Mapping of Interactions between the Ciliopathy-Associated Proteins Bicc1, ANKS3, and ANKS6.

PubMed

Rothé, Benjamin; Leettola, Catherine N; Leal-Esteban, Lucia; Cascio, Duilio; Fortier, Simon; Isenschmid, Manuela; Bowie, James U; Constam, Daniel B

2018-02-06

Head-to-tail polymers of sterile alpha motifs (SAM) can scaffold large macromolecular complexes. Several SAM-domain proteins that bind each other are mutated in patients with cystic kidneys or laterality defects, including the Ankyrin (ANK) and SAM domain-containing proteins ANKS6 and ANKS3, and the RNA-binding protein Bicc1. To address how their interactions are regulated, we first determined a high-resolution crystal structure of a Bicc1-SAM polymer, revealing a canonical SAM polymer with a high degree of flexibility in the subunit interface orientations. We further mapped interactions between full-length and distinct domains of Bicc1, ANKS3, and ANKS6. Neither ANKS3 nor ANKS6 alone formed macroscopic homopolymers in vivo. However, ANKS3 recruited ANKS6 to Bicc1, and the three proteins together cooperatively generated giant macromolecular complexes. Thus, the giant assemblies are shaped by SAM domains, their flanking sequences, and SAM-independent protein-protein and protein-mRNA interactions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Square Wave Voltammetry of TNT at Gold Electrodes Modified with Self-Assembled Monolayers Containing Aromatic Structures

PubMed Central

Trammell, Scott A.; Zabetakis, Dan; Moore, Martin; Verbarg, Jasenka; Stenger, David A.

2014-01-01

Square wave voltammetry for the reduction of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) was measured in 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 8) at gold electrodes modified with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) containing either an alkane thiol or aromatic ring thiol structures. At 15 Hz, the electrochemical sensitivity (µA/ppm) was similar for all SAMs tested. However, at 60 Hz, the SAMs containing aromatic structures had a greater sensitivity than the alkane thiol SAM. In fact, the alkane thiol SAM had a decrease in sensitivity at the higher frequency. When comparing the electrochemical response between simulations and experimental data, a general trend was observed in which most of the SAMs had similar heterogeneous rate constants within experimental error for the reduction of TNT. This most likely describes a rate limiting step for the reduction of TNT. However, in the case of the alkane SAM at higher frequency, the decrease in sensitivity suggests that the rate limiting step in this case may be electron tunneling through the SAM. Our results show that SAMs containing aromatic rings increased the sensitivity for the reduction of TNT when higher frequencies were employed and at the same time suppressed the electrochemical reduction of dissolved oxygen. PMID:25549081

Motor coordination defects in mice deficient for the Sam68 RNA-binding protein.

PubMed

Lukong, Kiven E; Richard, Stéphane

2008-06-03

The role of RNA-binding proteins in the central nervous system and more specifically their role in motor coordination and learning are poorly understood. We previously reported that ablation of RNA-binding protein Sam68 in mice results in male sterility and delayed mammary gland development and protection against osteoporosis in females. Sam68 however is highly expressed in most regions of the brain especially the cerebellum and thus we investigated the cerebellar-related manifestations in Sam68-null mice. We analyzed the mice for motor function, sensory function, and learning and memory abilities. Herein, we report that Sam68-null mice have motor coordination defects as assessed by beam walking and rotorod performance. Forty-week-old Sam68-null mice (n=12) were compared to their wild-type littermates (n=12). The Sam68-null mice exhibited more hindpaw faults in beam walking tests and fell from the rotating drum at lower speeds and prematurely compared to the wild-type controls. The Sam68-null mice were, however, normal for forelimb strength, tail-hang reflex, balance test, grid walking, the Morris water task, recognition memory, visual discrimination, auditory stimulation and conditional taste aversion. Our findings support a role for Sam68 in the central nervous system in the regulation of motor coordination.

Indices of climate change in the Atlantic coast derived from radiosondes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Añel, J. A.; Gimeno, L.; Nieto, R.; Tesouro, M.; de La Torre, L.; Ribera, P.; García, R.; Hernández, E.

2003-04-01

In this poster we present the use of National Climatic Data Center Upper Air Digital Files (CARDS) to look for indications of climatic change over the principal area affected by the North Atlantic Oscillation. To do that we use several parameters calculated using radiosonde data. In this analysis, we take into account radiosonde stations from 28 North to 64 North, with data for the period from 1973 to 1998. Trends, oscillations and the relationship with the Northern Annular Mode and ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) were also studied.

Eddy current measurement of tube element spacing

DOEpatents

Latham, Wayne Meredith; Hancock, Jimmy Wade; Grut, Jayne Marie

1998-01-01

A method of electromagnetically measuring the distance between adjacent tube elements in a heat exchanger. A cylindrical, high magnetic permeability ferrite slug is placed in the tube adjacent the spacing to be measured. A bobbin or annular coil type probe operated in the absolute mode is inserted into a second tube adjacent the spacing to be measured. From prior calibrations on the response of the eddy current coil, the signals from the coil, when sensing the presence of the ferrite slug, are used to determine the spacing between the tubes.

3D Reconstruction of SPM Probes by Electron Tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X.; Peng, Y.; Saghi, Z.; Gay, R.; Inkson, B. J.; Möbus, G.

2007-04-01

Three-dimensional morphological and compositional structures of tungsten tips consisting of layered amorphous oxide shell and crystalline W core are reconstructed by electron tomography using both coherent and incoherent imaging modes. The fidelity of the reconstruction is dependent on three criteria, suppression of unwanted crystal orientation contrast in the crystalline core, nonlinear intensity-thickness relations above a certain thickness limit, and artefacts due to missing angular ranges when acquiring a tilt series of images. Annular dark field (ADF), and EDX chemical mapping are discussed as alternatives to standard bright field (BF) TEM imaging.

Acoustics flow analysis in circular duct using sound intensity and dynamic mode decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weyna, S.

2014-08-01

Sound intensity generation in hard-walled duct with acoustic flow (no mean-flow) is treated experimentally and shown graphically. In paper, numerous methods of visualization illustrating the vortex flow (2D, 3D) can graphically explain diffraction and scattering phenomena occurring inside the duct and around open end area. Sound intensity investigation in annular duct gives a physical picture of sound waves in any duct mode. In the paper, modal energy analysis are discussed with particular reference to acoustics acoustic orthogonal decomposition (AOD). The image of sound intensity fields before and above "cut-off" frequency region are found to compare acoustic modes which might resonate in duct. The experimental results show also the effects of axial and swirling flow. However acoustic field is extremely complicated, because pressures in non-propagating (cut-off) modes cooperate with the particle velocities in propagating modes, and vice versa. Measurement in cylindrical duct demonstrates also the cut-off phenomenon and the effect of reflection from open end. The aim of experimental study was to obtain information on low Mach number flows in ducts in order to improve physical understanding and validate theoretical CFD and CAA models that still may be improved.

Cooperation between Magnesium and Metabolite Controls Collapse of the SAM-I Riboswitch.

PubMed

Roy, Susmita; Onuchic, José N; Sanbonmatsu, Karissa Y

2017-07-25

The S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-I riboswitch is a noncoding RNA that regulates the transcription termination process in response to metabolite (SAM) binding. The aptamer portion of the riboswitch may adopt an open or closed state depending on the presence of metabolite. Although the transition between the open and closed states is critical for the switching process, its atomistic details are not well understood. Using atomistic simulations, we calculate the effect of SAM and magnesium ions on the folding free energy landscape of the SAM-I riboswitch. These molecular simulation results are consistent with our previous wetlab experiments and aid in interpreting the SHAPE probing measurements. Here, molecular dynamics simulations explicitly identify target RNA motifs sensitive to magnesium ions and SAM. In the simulations, we observe that, whereas the metabolite mostly stabilizes the P1 and P3 helices, magnesium serves an important role in stabilizing a pseudoknot interaction between the P2 and P4 helices, even at high metabolite concentrations. The pseudoknot stabilization by magnesium, in combination with P1 stabilization by SAM, explains the requirement of both SAM and magnesium to form the fully collapsed metabolite-bound closed state of the SAM-I riboswitch. In the absence of SAM, frequent open-to-closed conformational transitions of the pseudoknot occur, akin to breathing. These pseudoknot fluctuations disrupt the binding site by facilitating fluctuations in the 5'-end of helix P1. Magnesium biases the landscape toward a collapsed state (preorganization) by coordinating pseudoknot and 5'-P1 fluctuations. The cooperation between SAM and magnesium in stabilizing important tertiary interactions elucidates their functional significance in transcription regulation. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Structural investigation of a C-terminal EphA2 receptor mutant: Does mutation affect the structure and interaction properties of the Sam domain?

PubMed

Mercurio, Flavia A; Costantini, Susan; Di Natale, Concetta; Pirone, Luciano; Guariniello, Stefano; Scognamiglio, Pasqualina L; Marasco, Daniela; Pedone, Emilia M; Leone, Marilisa

2017-09-01

Ephrin A2 receptor (EphA2) plays a key role in cancer, it is up-regulated in several types of tumors and the process of ligand-induced receptor endocytosis, followed by degradation, is considered as a potential path to diminish tumor malignancy. Protein modulators of this mechanism are recruited at the cytosolic Sterile alpha motif (Sam) domain of EphA2 (EphA2-Sam) through heterotypic Sam-Sam associations. These interactions engage the C-terminal helix of EphA2 and close loop regions (the so called End Helix side). In addition, several studies report on destabilizing mutations in EphA2 related to cataract formation and located in/or close to the Sam domain. Herein, we analyzed from a structural point of view, one of these mutants characterized by the insertion of a novel 39 residue long polypeptide at the C-terminus of EphA2-Sam. A 3D structural model was built by computational methods and revealed partial disorder in the acquired C-terminal tail and a few residues participating in an α-helix and two short β-strands. We investigated by CD and NMR studies the conformational properties in solution of two peptides encompassing the whole C-terminal tail and its predicted helical region, respectively. NMR binding experiments demonstrated that these peptides do not interact relevantly with either EphA2-Sam or its interactor Ship2-Sam. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations further indicated that the EphA2 mutant could be represented only through a conformational ensemble and that the C-terminal tail should not largely wrap the EphA2-Sam End-Helix interface and affect binding to other Sam domains. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Allosteric monofunctional aspartate kinases from Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Curien, Gilles; Laurencin, Mathieu; Robert-Genthon, Mylène; Dumas, Renaud

2007-01-01

Plant monofunctional aspartate kinase is unique among all aspartate kinases, showing synergistic inhibition by lysine and S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM). The Arabidopsis genome contains three genes for monofunctional aspartate kinases. We show that aspartate kinase 2 and aspartate kinase 3 are inhibited only by lysine, and that aspartate kinase 1 is inhibited in a synergistic manner by lysine and SAM. In the absence of SAM, aspartate kinase 1 displayed low apparent affinity for lysine compared to aspartate kinase 2 and aspartate kinase 3. In the presence of SAM, the apparent affinity of aspartate kinase 1 for lysine increased considerably, with K(0.5) values for lysine inhibition similar to those of aspartate kinase 2 and aspartate kinase 3. For all three enzymes, the inhibition resulted from an increase in the apparent K(m) values for the substrates ATP and aspartate. The mechanism of aspartate kinase 1 synergistic inhibition was characterized. Inhibition by lysine alone was fast, whereas synergistic inhibition by lysine plus SAM was very slow. SAM by itself had no effect on the enzyme activity, in accordance with equilibrium binding analyses indicating that SAM binding to aspartate kinase 1 requires prior binding of lysine. The three-dimensional structure of the aspartate kinase 1-Lys-SAM complex has been solved [Mas-Droux C, Curien G, Robert-Genthon M, Laurencin M, Ferrer JL & Dumas R (2006) Plant Cell18, 1681-1692]. Taken together, the data suggest that, upon binding to the inactive aspartate kinase 1-Lys complex, SAM promotes a slow conformational transition leading to formation of a stable aspartate kinase 1-Lys-SAM complex. The increase in aspartate kinase 1 apparent affinity for lysine in the presence of SAM thus results from the displacement of the unfavorable equilibrium between aspartate kinase 1 and aspartate kinase 1-Lys towards the inactive form.

S-Adenosylmethionine attenuates bile duct early warm ischemia reperfusion injury after rat liver transplantation.

PubMed

Tang, Yong; Chu, Hongpeng; Cao, Guojun; Du, Xiaolong; Min, Xiaobo; Wan, Chidan

2018-03-01

Warm ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) plays a key role in biliary complication, which is a substantial vulnerability of liver transplantation. The early pathophysiological changes of IRI are characterized by an excessive inflammatory response. S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) is an important metabolic intermediate that modulates inflammatory reactions; however, its role in bile duct warm IRI is not known. In this study, male rats were treated with or without SAM (170 μmol/kg body weight) after orthotopic autologous liver transplantation. The histopathological observations showed that bile duct injury in the IRI group was more serious than in the SAM group. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and direct bilirubin (DBIL) levels in the serum of the IRI group were significantly increased compared to the SAM group (P < .05). Simultaneously, SAM effectively improved the survival of the transplant recipients. Furthermore, the H 2 O 2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) of the IRI group were much higher compared to the SAM group (P < .05). The GSH/GSSG ratio in the SAM group was significantly increased by SAM treatment compared to the IRI group (P < .05). SAM administration significantly inhibited macrophage infiltration in liver and bile duct tissues, down-regulated TNF-α levels and up-regulated IL-10 expression in bile duct tissues compared to the IRI group (P < .05). The number of apoptotic biliary epithelial cells and caspase-3-positive cells in IRI rat livers were much higher compared to those in SAM-treated rats at 24 h after liver transplantation (P < .05). These data suggested that SAM protected bile ducts against warm IRI by suppressing oxidative stress, inflammatory reactions and apoptosis of biliary epithelial cells after liver transplantation.α. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electroactive Self-Assembled Monolayers Detect Micelle Formation.

PubMed

Dionne, Eric R; Badia, Antonella

2017-02-15

The interfacial electrochemistry of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of ferrocenyldodecanethiolate on gold (FcC 12 SAu) electrodes is applied to detect the micellization of some common anionic surfactants, sodium n-alkyl sulfates, sodium n-alkyl sulfonates, sodium diamyl sulfosuccinate, and sodium dodecanoate, in aqueous solution by cyclic voltammetry. The apparent formal redox potential (E°' SAM ) of the FcC 12 SAu SAM is used to track changes in the concentration of the unaggregated surfactant anions and determine the critical micelle concentration (cmc). The effect of added salt (NaF) on the sodium alkyl sulfate concentration dependence of E°' SAM is also investigated. Weakly hydrated anions, such as ClO 4 - , pair with the electrogenerated SAM-bound ferroceniums to neutralize the excess positive charge created at the SAM/electrolyte solution interface and stabilize the oxidized cations. E°' SAM exhibits a Nernstian-type dependence on the anion activity in solution. Aggregation of the surfactant anions into micelles above the cmc causes the free surfactant anion activity to deviate from the molar concentration of added surfactant, resulting in a break in the plot of E°' SAM versus the logarithm of the concentration of anionic surfactant. The concentration at which this deviation occurs is in good agreement with literature or experimentally determined values of the cmc. The effects of Ohmic potential drop, liquid junction potential, and surfactant adsorption behavior on E°' SAM are addressed. Ultimately, the E°' SAM response as a function of the anionic surfactant concentration exhibits the same features reported using potentiometry and surfactant ion-selective electrodes, which provide a direct measure of the free surfactant anion activity, thus making FcC 12 SAu SAM electrodes useful for the detection of surfactant aggregation and micelle formation.

Global optical climatology of the free tropospheric aerosol from 1.0-micron satellite occultation measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kent, G. S.; Schaffner, S. K.; Mccormick, M. P.

1991-01-01

Measurements of the aerosol/molecular extinction ratio at 1-micron wavelength, obtained from the SAGE I, SAGE II, and SAM II solar occultation satellite experiments between 1978 and 1986, have been used to study the global-scale behavior of the upper tropospheric aerosol. The distribution of extinction ratio values shows a pronounced mode between about 0.5 and 5 in all data subsets, regardless of latitude and season. Within a given latitude band and season with mode value is nearly constant over the altitude range from about 5 km above the earth's surface to 3 km below the tropopause. The mode shows a distinct seasonal variation, with maxima in local spring and summer, and is significantly enhanced following vlocanic injection of material into the stratosphere. South of latitude 20-deg N, mode values in the absence of volcanic contamination are normally between 0.5 and 1.0 north of 20-deg N, values up to about 5 are observed, probably associated with aerosol derived from surface dust or anthropogenic sources. A secondary mode, with extinction ratios of 30 or greater and little or no variation of extinction with wavelength, is apparent just below the tropopause. This mode is believed to be associated with thin cloud along the ray path from the sun to the satellite.

Fragmentation and reactivity in collisions of protonated diglycine with chemically modified perfluorinated alkylthiolate-self-assembled monolayer surfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnes, George L.; Yang Li; Hase, William L.

2011-03-07

Direct dynamics simulations are reported for quantum mechanical (QM)/molecular mechanical (MM) trajectories of N-protonated diglycine (gly{sub 2}-H{sup +}) colliding with chemically modified perfluorinated octanethiolate self-assembled monolayer (SAM) surfaces. The RM1 semiempirical theory is used for the QM component of the trajectories. RM1 activation and reaction energies were compared with those determined from higher-level ab initio theories. Two chemical modifications are considered in which a head group (-COCl or -CHO) is substituted on the terminal carbon of a single chain of the SAM. These surfaces are designated as the COCl-SAM and CHO-SAM, respectively. Fragmentation, peptide reaction with the SAM, and covalentmore » linkage of the peptide or its fragments with the SAM surface are observed. Peptide fragmentation via concerted CH{sub 2}-CO bond breakage is the dominant pathway for both surfaces. HCl formation is the dominant species produced by reaction with the COCl-SAM, while for the CHO-SAM a concerted H-atom transfer from the CHO-SAM to the peptide combined with either a H-atom or radical transfer from the peptide to the surface to form singlet reaction products is the dominant pathway. A strong collision energy dependence is found for the probability of peptide fragmentation, its reactivity, and linkage with the SAM. Surface deposition, i.e., covalent linkage between the surface and the peptide, is compared to recent experimental observations of such bonding by Laskin and co-workers [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 10, 1512 (2008)]. Qualitative differences in reactivity are seen between the COCl-SAM and CHO-SAM showing that chemical identity is important for surface reactivity. The probability of reactive surface deposition, which is most closely analogous to experimental observables, peaks at a value of around 20% for a collision energy of 50 eV.« less

Testing the validity, reliability and utility of the Self-Administration of Medication (SAM) tool in patients undergoing rehabilitation.

PubMed

Anderson, Jessica; Manias, Elizabeth; Kusljic, Snezana; Finch, Sue

2014-01-01

Determination of patients' ability to self-administer medications in the hospital has largely been determined using the subjective judgment of health professionals. To examine the validity, reliability and utility of the Self-Administration of Medication (SAM) tool as an objective means to determine patients' ability to self-administer in a rehabilitation unit of a public teaching hospital in Melbourne, Australia. To assess validity of the SAM tool, associations were examined between the total SAM tool score and of the patients' competence to self-administer from the perceptions of the tool administrator, patients and nurses. Validity also was determined from a principal component analysis. Pearson correlations were calculated for how SAM scores related to scores obtained from the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and Barthel Score Index (BSI). To assess the SAM tool's reliability, a Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated. Utility of the SAM tool was evidenced by documenting its administration time. One hundred patients participated in this study. The SAM tool had a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.75 and took a mean time of 5.36 min to complete. The capability to self-medicate section of the SAM tool had strong correlations with the FIM (r = 0.485) and BSI (r = 0.472) data, respectively, and the total SAM tool had moderate and strong correlations with the nurses' (r = 0.315) and tool administrator's (r = 0.632) perceptions of patients' ability to self-administer, respectively. Bland-Altman and ROC curve analyses showed poor agreement between the total SAM tool score and the nurses' perceptions. The SAM tool demonstrated acceptable overall internal consistency. It only requires a short time to be completed and is more objective than seeking out health professionals' perceptions. Additional research is needed to further validate this approach to determining patients' ability to self-medicate. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine in relation to drug exposure in children with and without severe acute malnutrition: an open comparative intervention study in Mali and Niger.

PubMed

Denoeud-Ndam, Lise; Dicko, Alassane; Baudin, Elisabeth; Guindo, Ousmane; Grandesso, Francesco; Diawara, Halimatou; Sissoko, Sibiri; Sanogo, Koualy; Traoré, Seydou; Keita, Sekouba; Barry, Amadou; de Smet, Martin; Lasry, Estrella; Smit, Michiel; Wiesner, Lubbe; Barnes, Karen I; Djimde, Abdoulaye A; Guerin, Philippe J; Grais, Rebecca F; Doumbo, Ogobara K; Etard, Jean-François

2016-10-24

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) affects almost all organs and has been associated with reduced intestinal absorption of medicines. However, very limited information is available on the pharmacokinetic properties of antimalarial drugs in this vulnerable population. We assessed artemether-lumefantrine (AL) clinical efficacy in children with SAM compared to those without. Children under 5 years of age with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were enrolled between November 2013 and January 2015 in Mali and Niger, one third with uncomplicated SAM and two thirds without. AL was administered under direct observation with a fat intake consisting of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF - Plumpy'Nut®) in SAM children, twice daily during 3 days. Children were followed for 42 days, with PCR-corrected adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) at day 28 as the primary outcome. Lumefantrine concentrations were assessed in a subset of participants at different time points, including systematic measurements on day 7. A total of 399 children (360 in Mali and 39 in Niger) were enrolled. Children with SAM were younger than their non-SAM counterparts (mean 17 vs. 28 months, P < 0.0001). PCR-corrected ACPR was 100 % (95 % CI, 96.8-100 %) in SAM at both day 28 and 42, versus 98.8 % (96.4-99.7 %) at day 28 and 98.3 % (95.6-99.4 %) at day 42 in non-SAM (P = 0.236 and 0.168, respectively). Compared to younger children, children older than 21 months experienced more reinfections and SAM was associated with a greater risk of reinfection until day 28 (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.10 (1.04-4.22), P = 0.038). Day 7 lumefantrine concentrations were significantly lower in SAM than non-SAM (median 251 vs. 365 ng/mL, P = 0.049). This study shows comparable therapeutic efficacy of AL in children without SAM and in those with SAM when given in combination with RUTF, but a higher risk of reinfection in older children suffering from SAM. This could be associated with poorer exposure to the antimalarials as documented by a lower lumefantrine concentration on day 7. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01958905 , registration date: October 7, 2013.

Calibration and Sequence Development Status for the Sample Analysis at Mars Investigation on the Mars Science Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahaffy, Paul R.

2012-01-01

The measurement goals of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on the "Curiosity" Rover of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) include chemical and isotopic analysis of organic and inorganic volatiles for both atmospheric and solid samples [1,2]. SAM directly supports the ambitious goals of the MSL mission to provide a quantitative assessment of habitability and preservation in Gale crater by means of a range of chemical and geological measurements [3]. The SAM FM combined calibration and environmental testing took place primarily in 2010 with a limited set of tests implemented after integration into the rover in January 2011. The scope of SAM FM testing was limited both to preserve SAM consumables such as life time of its electromechanical elements and to minimize the level of terrestrial contamination in the SAM instrument. A more comprehensive calibration of a SAM-like suite of instruments will be implemented in 2012 with calibration runs planned for the SAM testbed. The SAM Testbed is nearly identical to the SAM FM and operates in a ambient pressure chamber. The SAM Instrument Suite: SAM's instruments are a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), a 6-column Gas Chromatograph (GC), and a 2-channel Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS). Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry is designed for identification of even trace organic compounds. The TLS [5] secures the C, H, and O isotopic composition in carbon dioxide, water, and methane. Sieved materials are delivered from the MSL sample acquisition and processing system to one of68 cups of the Sample Manipulation System (SMS). 59 of these cups are fabricated from inert quartz. After sample delivery, a cup is inserted into one of 2 ovens for evolved gas analysis (EGA ambient to >9500C) by the QMS and TLS. A portion of the gas released can be trapped and subsequently analyzed by GCMS. Nine sealed cups contain liquid solvents and chemical derivatization or thermochemolysis agents to extract and transform polar molecules such as amino acids, nucleobases, and carboxylic acids into compounds that are sufficiently volatile to transmit through the GC columns. The remaining 6 cups contain calibrants. SAM FM Calibration Overview: The SAM FM calibration in the Mars chamber employed a variety of pure gases, gas mixtures, and solid materials. Isotope calibration runs for the TLS utilized 13C enriched C02 standards and 0 enriched CH4. A variety of fluorocarbon compounds that spanned the entire mass range of the QMS as well as C3-C6 hydrocarbons were utilized for calibration of the GCMS. Solid samples consisting of a mixture of calcite, melanterite, and inert silica glass either doped or not with fluorocarbons were introduced into the SAM FM cups through the SAM inlet funnel/tube system.

Air riding seal with purge cavity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sexton, Thomas D; Mills, Jacob A

An air riding seal for a turbine in a gas turbine engine, where an annular piston is axial moveable within an annular piston chamber formed in a stator of the turbine and forms a seal with a surface on the rotor using pressurized air that forms a cushion in a pocket of the annular piston. A purge cavity is formed on the annular piston and is connected to a purge hole that extends through the annular piston to a lower pressure region around the annular piston or through the rotor to an opposite side. The annular piston is sealed alsomore » with inner and outer seals that can be a labyrinth seal to form an additional seal than the cushion of air in the pocket to prevent the face of the air riding seal from overheating.« less

75 FR 4579 - Certificate of Alternative Compliance for the Tugboat MR SAM

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-28

... Compliance for the Tugboat MR SAM AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces that a Certificate of Alternative Compliance was issued for the tugboat MR SAM as required by 33 U... Title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 81 and 89, has been issued for the tugboat MR SAM, O.N...

Preparation for Analytical Measurements on Mars

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-03-31

A Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) team member at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, prepares the SAM testbed for an experiment. This test copy of the SAM suite of instruments is inside a chamber that, when closed, can model the pressure and temperature environment that SAM sees inside NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars. Many weeks of testing are often needed to develop and refine sequences of operations that SAM uses for making specific measurements on Mars. This was the case with preparation to pull a volume of gas from the atmosphere and extract the heavy noble gas xenon. SAM's measurements of different types of xenon in the Martian atmosphere provide clues about the planet's history. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19149

Acoustic-Structure Interaction in Rocket Engines: Validation Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, R. Benjamin; Joji, Scott S.; Parks, Russel A.; Brown, Andrew M.

2009-01-01

While analyzing a rocket engine component, it is often necessary to account for any effects that adjacent fluids (e.g., liquid fuels or oxidizers) might have on the structural dynamics of the component. To better characterize the fully coupled fluid-structure system responses, an analytical approach that models the system as a coupled expansion of rigid wall acoustic modes and in vacuo structural modes has been proposed. The present work seeks to experimentally validate this approach. To experimentally observe well-coupled system modes, the test article and fluid cavities are designed such that the uncoupled structural frequencies are comparable to the uncoupled acoustic frequencies. The test measures the natural frequencies, mode shapes, and forced response of cylindrical test articles in contact with fluid-filled cylindrical and/or annular cavities. The test article is excited with a stinger and the fluid-loaded response is acquired using a laser-doppler vibrometer. The experimentally determined fluid-loaded natural frequencies are compared directly to the results of the analytical model. Due to the geometric configuration of the test article, the analytical model is found to be valid for natural modes with circumferential wave numbers greater than four. In the case of these modes, the natural frequencies predicted by the analytical model demonstrate excellent agreement with the experimentally determined natural frequencies.

Overmoded subterahertz surface wave oscillator with pure TM{sub 01} mode output

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Guangqiang; Zeng, Peng; Wang, Dongyang

2016-02-15

Overmoded O-type Cerenkov generators using annular electron beams are facing the problem of multi-modes output due to the inevitable structural discontinuities. A simple but effective method to achieve the pure TM{sub 01} mode output is applied on the 0.14 THz overmoded surface wave oscillator (SWO) in this paper. In spite of still using an overmoded slow wave structure to ensure the easy fabrication, the followed smooth circular waveguide is shrinkingly tapered to the output waveguide with appropriate radius that it cuts off other higher modes except TM{sub 01} mode. Moreover, the modified device here has the same power capacity as themore » previous one according to the numerical analysis. By optimized lengths of the transition waveguide and tapered waveguide, particle-in-cell simulation results indicate that the subterahertz wave with output power increased 14.2% at the same frequency is obtained from the proposed SWO under the previous input conditions, and importantly, the output power is all carried by TM{sub 01} mode as expected. Further simulation results in the pulse regime confirm the feasibility of the optimized structure in the actual experiments. This simple and viable design is also applicable to overmoded devices in the lower frequency band of subterahertz wave.« less

Linkages between the South and East Asian summer monsoons: a review and revisit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ha, Kyung-Ja; Seo, Ye-Won; Lee, June-Yi; Kripalani, R. H.; Yun, Kyung-Sook

2017-07-01

The relationship between the South Asia monsoon (SAM) and the East Asia monsoon (EAM) possibly modulated by both external forcings and internal dynamics has been a long-standing and controversial issue in climate sciences. This study reviews their linkages as revealed in modern records and model simulations during the past, present and future, and provides a comprehensive explanation of the key mechanisms controlling the diversity of the SAM-EAM relationship. Particular attention is paid to several external forcings that modulate the relationship, including El Niño and Southern Oscillation, Indian Ocean Dipole mode (IODM), boreal summer teleconnections, and Eurasian snow extent on intraseasonal to interdecadal timescales. The major focus is placed on two integral views of the inter-connection between the two monsoon systems: one is the positive inter-correlation, which is associated with decaying El Niño and developing Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) warming anomalies; the other is the negative inter-correlation, resulting from developing El Niño and western Pacific SST cooling. The IODM mode also has a delayed impact on the negative connection by modulating Eurasian snow cover. The observed evidence reveals that the recent intensification of the negative relationship is attributable to the strengthening of the zonal SST gradient along the Indian Ocean, western Pacific, and eastern Pacific. Analysis of experiments in the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project further indicates a possibility for the negative linkage to be further enhanced under anthropogenic global warming with considerable interdecadal modulation in mid and late twenty-first century.

Computational Analysis of Cysteine and Methionine Metabolism and Its Regulation in Dairy Starter and Related Bacteria

PubMed Central

Liu, Mengjin; Prakash, Celine; Nauta, Arjen; Siezen, Roland J.

2012-01-01

Sulfuric volatile compounds derived from cysteine and methionine provide many dairy products with a characteristic odor and taste. To better understand and control the environmental dependencies of sulfuric volatile compound formation by the dairy starter bacteria, we have used the available genome sequence and experimental information to systematically evaluate the presence of the key enzymes and to reconstruct the general modes of transcription regulation for the corresponding genes. The genomic organization of the key genes is suggestive of a subdivision of the reaction network into five modules, where we observed distinct differences in the modular composition between the families Lactobacillaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Leuconostocaceae, on the one hand, and the family Streptococcaceae, on the other. These differences are mirrored by the way in which transcription regulation of the genes is structured in these families. In the Lactobacillaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Leuconostocaceae, the main shared mode of transcription regulation is methionine (Met) T-box-mediated regulation. In addition, the gene metK, encoding S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthetase, is controlled via the SMK box (SAM). The SMK box is also found upstream of metK in species of the family Streptococcaceae. However, the transcription control of the other modules is mediated via three different LysR-family regulators, MetR/MtaR (methionine), CmbR (O-acetyl[homo]serine), and HomR (O-acetylhomoserine). Redefinition of the associated DNA-binding motifs helped to identify/disentangle the related regulons, which appeared to perfectly match the proposed subdivision of the reaction network. PMID:22522891

The structure of mode-locking regions of piecewise-linear continuous maps: II. Skew sawtooth maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, D. J. W.

2018-05-01

In two-parameter bifurcation diagrams of piecewise-linear continuous maps on , mode-locking regions typically have points of zero width known as shrinking points. Near any shrinking point, but outside the associated mode-locking region, a significant proportion of parameter space can be usefully partitioned into a two-dimensional array of annular sectors. The purpose of this paper is to show that in these sectors the dynamics is well-approximated by a three-parameter family of skew sawtooth circle maps, where the relationship between the skew sawtooth maps and the N-dimensional map is fixed within each sector. The skew sawtooth maps are continuous, degree-one, and piecewise-linear, with two different slopes. They approximate the stable dynamics of the N-dimensional map with an error that goes to zero with the distance from the shrinking point. The results explain the complicated radial pattern of periodic, quasi-periodic, and chaotic dynamics that occurs near shrinking points.

Multi-functional annular fairing for coupling launch abort motor to space vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Camarda, Charles J. (Inventor); Scotti, Stephen J. (Inventor); Buning, Pieter G. (Inventor); Bauer, Steven X. S. (Inventor); Engelund, Walter C. (Inventor); Schuster, David M. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

An annular fairing having aerodynamic, thermal, structural and acoustic attributes couples a launch abort motor to a space vehicle having a payload of concern mounted on top of a rocket propulsion system. A first end of the annular fairing is fixedly attached to the launch abort motor while a second end of the annular fairing is attached in a releasable fashion to an aft region of the payload. The annular fairing increases in diameter between its first and second ends.

The Roles of Climate Change and El Niño in the Record Low Rainfall in October 2015 in Tasmania, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karoly, David; Black, Mitchell; Grose, Michael; King, Andrew

2017-04-01

The island state of Tasmania, in southeast Australia, received record low average rainfall of 21 mm in October 2015, 17% of the 1961-90 normal. This had major impacts across the state, affecting agriculture and hydroelectric power generation and preconditioning the landscape for major bushfires the following summer. Rainfall in Tasmania is normally high throughout the year, with variations in Austral spring associated with mean sea level pressure (MSLP) and circulation variations due to El Niño, the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD), and the southern annular mode (SAM). Spring rainfall is declining and projected to decrease further in Tasmania We have investigated the roles of anthropogenic climate change, the 2015/16 El Niño, and internal atmospheric variability on this record low October rainfall using observational data, regional climate simulations driven by specified sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from the weather@home Australia and New Zealand (w@h ANZ) project, and coupled climate model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5. Anthropogenic climate change and the strong El Niño in 2015 very likely increased the chances of breaking the previous record low rainfall in 1965. In terms of contributions to the magnitude of this rainfall deficit, internal atmospheric variability as indicated by the Pacific-South American MSLP pattern was likely the main contributor, with El Niño next and a smaller but significant contribution from anthropogenic climate change. In this case, it was the MSLP and circulation changes associated with anthropogenic climate change in the Southern Hemisphere middle and high latitudes and not the thermodynamic effects of anthropogenic climate change that contributed to this event. Karoly, D. J., M.T. Black, M.R. Grose and A. D. King (2016) The roles of climate change and El Niño in the record low rainfall in October 2015 in Tasmania, Australia [in "Explaining Extremes of 2015 from a Climate Perspective"]. Bull. Am. Met. Soc., 97, S127-S130.

A pilot study investigating the feasibility of symptom assessment manager (SAM), a Web-based real-time tool for monitoring challenging behaviors.

PubMed

Loi, Samantha M; Wanasinghage, Sangeeth; Goh, Anita; Lautenschlager, Nicola T; Darby, David G; Velakoulis, Dennis

2018-04-01

Improving and minimizing challenging behaviors seen in psychiatric conditions, including behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia are important in the care of people with these conditions. Yet there is a lack of systematic evaluation of these as a part of routine clinical care. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory is a validated and reliable tool for rating the severity and disruptiveness of challenging behaviors. We report on the evaluation of a Web-based symptom assessment manager (SAM), designed to address the limitation of previous tools using some of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory functions, to monitor behaviors by staff caring for people with dementia and other psychiatric conditions in inpatient and residential care settings. The SAM was piloted in an 8-bed inpatient neuropsychiatry unit over 5 months. Eleven nurses and 4 clinicians were trained in usage of SAM. Primary outcomes were usage of SAM and perceived usability, utility, and acceptance of SAM. Secondary outcomes were the frequencies of documented behavior. Usage data were analyzed using chi-square and logistic regression analyses. The SAM was used for all admitted patients regardless of diagnosis, with a usage rate of 64% for nurses regularly employed in the unit. Staff provided positive feedback regarding the utility of SAM. The SAM appeared to offer individualized behavior assessment by providing a quick, structured, and standardized platform for assessing behavior in a real-world setting. Further research would involve trialing SAM with more staff in alternative settings such as in home or residential care settings. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Feasibility and validity of the structured attention module among economically disadvantaged preschool-age children.

PubMed

Bush, Hillary H; Eisenhower, Abbey; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret; Carter, Alice S

2015-01-01

Rooted in the theory of attention put forth by Mirsky, Anthony, Duncan, Ahearn, and Kellam (1991), the Structured Attention Module (SAM) is a developmentally sensitive, computer-based performance task designed specifically to assess sustained selective attention among 3- to 6-year-old children. The current study addressed the feasibility and validity of the SAM among 64 economically disadvantaged preschool-age children (mean age = 58 months; 55% female); a population known to be at risk for attention problems and adverse math performance outcomes. Feasibility was demonstrated by high completion rates and strong associations between SAM performance and age. Principal Factor Analysis with rotation produced robust support for a three-factor model (Accuracy, Speed, and Endurance) of SAM performance, which largely corresponded with existing theorized models of selective and sustained attention. Construct validity was evidenced by positive correlations between SAM Composite scores and all three SAM factors and IQ, and between SAM Accuracy and sequential memory. Value-added predictive validity was not confirmed through main effects of SAM on math performance above and beyond age and IQ; however, significant interactions by child sex were observed: Accuracy and Endurance both interacted with child sex to predict math performance. In both cases, the SAM factors predicted math performance more strongly for girls than for boys. There were no overall sex differences in SAM performance. In sum, the current findings suggest that interindividual variation in sustained selective attention, and potentially other aspects of attention and executive function, among young, high-risk children can be captured validly with developmentally sensitive measures.

Polished Downhole Transducer Having Improved Signal Coupling

DOEpatents

Hall, David R.; Fox, Joe

2006-03-28

Apparatus and methods to improve signal coupling in downhole inductive transmission elements to reduce the dispersion of magnetic energy at the tool joints and to provide consistent impedance and contact between transmission elements located along the drill string. A transmission element for transmitting information between downhole tools is disclosed in one embodiment of the invention as including an annular core constructed of a magnetically conductive material. The annular core forms an open channel around its circumference and is configured to form a closed channel by mating with a corresponding annular core along an annular mating surface. The mating surface is polished to provide improved magnetic coupling with the corresponding annular core. An annular conductor is disposed within the open channel.

Synthetic-Focusing Strategies for Real-Time Annular-Array Imaging

PubMed Central

Ketterling, Jeffrey A.; Filoux, Erwan

2012-01-01

Annular arrays provide a means to achieve enhanced image quality with a limited number of elements. Synthetic-focusing (SF) strategies that rely on beamforming data from individual transmit-to-receive (TR) element pairs provide a means to improve image quality without specialized TR delay electronics. Here, SF strategies are examined in the context of high-frequency ultrasound (>15 MHz) annular arrays composed of five elements, operating at 18 and 38 MHz. Acoustic field simulations are compared with experimental data acquired from wire and anechoic-sphere phantoms, and the values of lateral beamwidth, SNR, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and depth of field (DOF) are compared as a function of depth. In each case, data were acquired for all TR combinations (25 in total) and processed with SF using all 25 TR pairs and SF with the outer receive channels removed one by one. The results show that removing the outer receive channels led to an overall degradation of lateral resolution, an overall decrease in SNR, and did not reduce the DOF, although the DOF profile decreased in amplitude. The CNR was >1 and remained fairly constant as a function of depth, with a slight decrease in CNR for the case with just the central element receiving. The relative changes between the calculated and measured quantities were nearly identical for the 18- and 38-MHz arrays. B-mode images of the anechoic phantom and an in vivo mouse embryo using full SF with 25 TR pairs or reduced TR-pair approaches showed minimal qualitative difference. PMID:22899130

A Response to Sam McKegney's "Strategies for Ethical Engagement: An Open Letter Concerning Non-Native Scholars of Native Literatures"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appleford, Rob

2009-01-01

This article presents the author's response to Sam McKegney's "Strategies for Ethical Engagement: An Open Letter Concerning Non-Native Scholars of Native Literatures." In his response to Sam's diagnosis of the malaise currently afflicting non-Aboriginal critics of this literature, the author attempts to consider the "cure" Sam offers (albeit…

Walking with a Slower Friend

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, Herb; Kalman, Dan

2011-01-01

Fay and Sam go for a walk. Sam walks along the left side of the street while Fay, who walks faster, starts with Sam but walks to a point on the right side of the street and then returns to meet Sam to complete one segment of their journey. We determine Fay's optimal path minimizing segment length, and thus maximizing the number of times they meet…

Severe acute malnutrition.

PubMed

Nel, E D

2016-05-01

The mortality and morbidity associated with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) remain high. A summary of recent studies that are of interest to clinicians treating children with SAM is provided. Three important themes emerged in 2015: the use of anthropometry in the diagnosis of SAM and its correlation with body composition; the composition of ready-to-use therapeutic feeds (RUTF); and an improved understanding of the pathophysiology of SAM. Standard anthropometry does not accurately predict body composition and mid-upper arm circumference more accurately reflects fat mass in children. As single measure, mid-upper arm circumference identifies those children who are most likely to die from SAM and is not influenced by dehydration. However, a significant proportion of SAM children requiring treatment will not be detected. Present RUTF formulations are deficient in long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Current evidence suggests that preformed docosahexaenoic acid should be added and/or the content of linoleic acid reduced in RUTF. In contrast to an animal model, stabile children with SAM have the same cardiac index as children without SAM. The situation in haemodynamically unstable children is unknown, continued conservative use of intravenous fluids seems advisable. A reduction in variability of the faecal DNA virome may account for increased susceptibility to malnutrition in vulnerable children.

An adaptor role for cytoplasmic Sam68 in modulating Src activity during cell polarization.

PubMed

Huot, Marc-Etienne; Brown, Claire M; Lamarche-Vane, Nathalie; Richard, Stéphane

2009-04-01

The Src-associated substrate during mitosis with a molecular mass of 68 kDa (Sam68) is predominantly nuclear and is known to associate with proteins containing the Src homology 3 (SH3) and SH2 domains. Although Sam68 is a Src substrate, little is known about the signaling pathway that link them. Src is known to be activated transiently after cell spreading, where it modulates the activity of small Rho GTPases. Herein we report that Sam68-deficient cells exhibit loss of cell polarity and cell migration. Interestingly, Sam68-deficient cells exhibited sustained Src activity after cell attachment, resulting in the constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of p190RhoGAP and its association with p120rasGAP. Consistently, we observed that Sam68-deficient cells exhibited deregulated RhoA and Rac1 activity. By using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we observed Sam68 near the plasma membrane after cell attachment coinciding with phosphorylation of its C-terminal tyrosines and association with Csk. These findings show that Sam68 localizes near the plasma membrane during cell attachment and serves as an adaptor protein to modulate Src activity for proper signaling to small Rho GTPases.

Ontogeny of the Maize Shoot Apical Meristem[W][OA

PubMed Central

Takacs, Elizabeth M.; Li, Jie; Du, Chuanlong; Ponnala, Lalit; Janick-Buckner, Diane; Yu, Jianming; Muehlbauer, Gary J.; Schnable, Patrick S.; Timmermans, Marja C.P.; Sun, Qi; Nettleton, Dan; Scanlon, Michael J.

2012-01-01

The maize (Zea mays) shoot apical meristem (SAM) arises early in embryogenesis and functions during stem cell maintenance and organogenesis to generate all the aboveground organs of the plant. Despite its integral role in maize shoot development, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of SAM initiation. Laser microdissection of apical domains from developing maize embryos and seedlings was combined with RNA sequencing for transcriptomic analyses of SAM ontogeny. Molecular markers of key events during maize embryogenesis are described, and comprehensive transcriptional data from six stages in maize shoot development are generated. Transcriptomic profiling before and after SAM initiation indicates that organogenesis precedes stem cell maintenance in maize; analyses of the first three lateral organs elaborated from maize embryos provides insight into their homology and to the identity of the single maize cotyledon. Compared with the newly initiated SAM, the mature SAM is enriched for transcripts that function in transcriptional regulation, hormonal signaling, and transport. Comparisons of shoot meristems initiating juvenile leaves, adult leaves, and husk leaves illustrate differences in phase-specific (juvenile versus adult) and meristem-specific (SAM versus lateral meristem) transcript accumulation during maize shoot development. This study provides insight into the molecular genetics of SAM initiation and function in maize. PMID:22911570

Threshold-Voltage Shifts in Organic Transistors Due to Self-Assembled Monolayers at the Dielectric: Evidence for Electronic Coupling and Dipolar Effects.

PubMed

Aghamohammadi, Mahdieh; Rödel, Reinhold; Zschieschang, Ute; Ocal, Carmen; Boschker, Hans; Weitz, R Thomas; Barrena, Esther; Klauk, Hagen

2015-10-21

The mechanisms behind the threshold-voltage shift in organic transistors due to functionalizing of the gate dielectric with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are still under debate. We address the mechanisms by which SAMs determine the threshold voltage, by analyzing whether the threshold voltage depends on the gate-dielectric capacitance. We have investigated transistors based on five oxide thicknesses and two SAMs with rather diverse chemical properties, using the benchmark organic semiconductor dinaphtho[2,3-b:2',3'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene. Unlike several previous studies, we have found that the dependence of the threshold voltage on the gate-dielectric capacitance is completely different for the two SAMs. In transistors with an alkyl SAM, the threshold voltage does not depend on the gate-dielectric capacitance and is determined mainly by the dipolar character of the SAM, whereas in transistors with a fluoroalkyl SAM the threshold voltages exhibit a linear dependence on the inverse of the gate-dielectric capacitance. Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements indicate this behavior is attributed to an electronic coupling between the fluoroalkyl SAM and the organic semiconductor.

(13)C-metabolic flux analysis in S-adenosyl-L-methionine production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

Hayakawa, Kenshi; Kajihata, Shuichi; Matsuda, Fumio; Shimizu, Hiroshi

2015-11-01

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is a major biological methyl group donor, and is used as a nutritional supplement and prescription drug. Yeast is used for the industrial production of SAM owing to its high intracellular SAM concentrations. To determine the regulation mechanisms responsible for such high SAM production, (13)C-metabolic flux analysis ((13)C-MFA) was conducted to compare the flux distributions in the central metabolism between Kyokai no. 6 (high SAM-producing) and S288C (control) strains. (13)C-MFA showed that the levels of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux in SAM-overproducing strain were considerably increased compared to those in the S228C strain. Analysis of ATP balance also showed that a larger amount of excess ATP was produced in the Kyokai 6 strain because of increased oxidative phosphorylation. These results suggest that high SAM production in Kyokai 6 strains could be attributed to enhanced ATP regeneration with high TCA cycle fluxes and respiration activity. Thus, maintaining high respiration efficiency during cultivation is important for improving SAM production. Copyright © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Discrimination between Closely Related Cellular Metabolites by the SAM-I Riboswitch

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Montange, R.; Mondragon, E; van Tyne, D

2010-01-01

The SAM-I riboswitch is a cis-acting element of genetic control found in bacterial mRNAs that specifically binds S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). We previously determined the 2.9-{angstrom} X-ray crystal structure of the effector-binding domain of this RNA element, revealing details of RNA-ligand recognition. To improve this structure, variations were made to the RNA sequence to alter lattice contacts, resulting in a 0.5-{angstrom} improvement in crystallographic resolution and allowing for a more accurate refinement of the crystallographic model. The basis for SAM specificity was addressed by a structural analysis of the RNA complexed to S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and sinefungin and by measuring the affinity ofmore » SAM and SAH for a series of mutants using isothermal titration calorimetry. These data illustrate the importance of two universally conserved base pairs in the RNA that form electrostatic interactions with the positively charged sulfonium group of SAM, thereby providing a basis for discrimination between SAM and SAH.« less

The vesicle protein SAM-4 regulates the processivity of synaptic vesicle transport.

PubMed

Zheng, Qun; Ahlawat, Shikha; Schaefer, Anneliese; Mahoney, Tim; Koushika, Sandhya P; Nonet, Michael L

2014-10-01

Axonal transport of synaptic vesicles (SVs) is a KIF1A/UNC-104 mediated process critical for synapse development and maintenance yet little is known of how SV transport is regulated. Using C. elegans as an in vivo model, we identified SAM-4 as a novel conserved vesicular component regulating SV transport. Processivity, but not velocity, of SV transport was reduced in sam-4 mutants. sam-4 displayed strong genetic interactions with mutations in the cargo binding but not the motor domain of unc-104. Gain-of-function mutations in the unc-104 motor domain, identified in this study, suppress the sam-4 defects by increasing processivity of the SV transport. Genetic analyses suggest that SAM-4, SYD-2/liprin-α and the KIF1A/UNC-104 motor function in the same pathway to regulate SV transport. Our data support a model in which the SV protein SAM-4 regulates the processivity of SV transport.

The Vesicle Protein SAM-4 Regulates the Processivity of Synaptic Vesicle Transport

PubMed Central

Zheng, Qun; Ahlawat, Shikha; Schaefer, Anneliese; Mahoney, Tim; Koushika, Sandhya P.; Nonet, Michael L.

2014-01-01

Axonal transport of synaptic vesicles (SVs) is a KIF1A/UNC-104 mediated process critical for synapse development and maintenance yet little is known of how SV transport is regulated. Using C. elegans as an in vivo model, we identified SAM-4 as a novel conserved vesicular component regulating SV transport. Processivity, but not velocity, of SV transport was reduced in sam-4 mutants. sam-4 displayed strong genetic interactions with mutations in the cargo binding but not the motor domain of unc-104. Gain-of-function mutations in the unc-104 motor domain, identified in this study, suppress the sam-4 defects by increasing processivity of the SV transport. Genetic analyses suggest that SAM-4, SYD-2/liprin-α and the KIF1A/UNC-104 motor function in the same pathway to regulate SV transport. Our data support a model in which the SV protein SAM-4 regulates the processivity of SV transport. PMID:25329901

Non-canonical active site architecture of the radical SAM thiamin pyrimidine synthase

DOE PAGES

Fenwick, Michael K.; Mehta, Angad P.; Zhang, Yang; ...

2015-03-27

Radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes use a [4Fe-4S] cluster to generate a 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical. Canonical radical SAM enzymes are characterized by a β-barrel-like fold and SAM anchors to the differentiated iron of the cluster, which is located near the amino terminus and within the β-barrel, through its amino and carboxylate groups. Here we show that ThiC, the thiamin pyrimidine synthase in plants and bacteria, contains a tethered cluster-binding domain at its carboxy terminus that moves in and out of the active site during catalysis. In contrast to canonical radical SAM enzymes, we predict that SAM anchors to an additional active sitemore » metal through its amino and carboxylate groups. Superimposition of the catalytic domains of ThiC and glutamate mutase shows that these two enzymes share similar active site architectures, thus providing strong evidence for an evolutionary link between the radical SAM and adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzyme superfamilies.« less

Axial Flow Conditioning Device for Mitigating Instabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ahuja, Vineet (Inventor); Birkbeck, Roger M. (Inventor); Hosangadi, Ashvin (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A flow conditioning device for incrementally stepping down pressure within a piping system is presented. The invention includes an outer annular housing, a center element, and at least one intermediate annular element. The outer annular housing includes an inlet end attachable to an inlet pipe and an outlet end attachable to an outlet pipe. The outer annular housing and the intermediate annular element(s) are concentrically disposed about the center element. The intermediate annular element(s) separates an axial flow within the outer annular housing into at least two axial flow paths. Each axial flow path includes at least two annular extensions that alternately and locally direct the axial flow radially outward and inward or radially inward and outward thereby inducing a pressure loss or a pressure gradient within the axial flow. The pressure within the axial flow paths is lower than the pressure at the inlet end and greater than the vapor pressure for the axial flow. The invention minimizes fluidic instabilities, pressure pulses, vortex formation and shedding, and/or cavitation during pressure step down to yield a stabilized flow within a piping system.

Three cases of subcutaneous granuloma annulare of the penis: a rare presentation of a common disease.

PubMed

Toepfer, Nicholas J; Wessner, Scott R; Elston, Dirk M; Simmons, Jennifer; Sumfest, Joel M

2011-09-01

To describe three patients who presented to a single institution within four years of each other with isolated granuloma annulare of the penis. Granuloma annulare is an inflammatory disease of the dermis that can affect men of any age including childhood. Granuloma annulare of the penis is a remarkably uncommon presentation with only 12 cases previously reported. A retrospective review of pathologic records was conducted confirming three cases of penile granuloma annulare diagnosed at our institution. The three cases are described in detail including the history, presentation, histological findings and treatment of each patient. The clinical variants, characteristic histology, classic clinical presentation, differential diagnosis and recurrence following surgery of granuloma annulare are reviewed. We describe three individuals from a single institution with isolated granuloma annulare of the penis suggesting this condition is more common than previously thought. Patients with penile granuloma annulare may present to practicing urologists and it is important to be familiar with this idiopathic subcutaneous disorder in order to avoid unnecessary aggressive surgery. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The SAM Suite

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-08

This illustration shows the instruments and subsystems of the Sample Analysis at Mars SAM suite on the Curiosity Rover of NASA Mars Science Laboratory Project. SAM analyzes the gases in the Martian atmosphere.

Evolved Gas Analyses of Sedimentary Materials in Gale Crater, Mars: Results of the Curiosity Rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument from Yellowknife Bay to the Stimson Formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutter, B.; McAdam, A. C.; Rampe, E. B.; Ming, D. W.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Navarro-Gonzalez, R.; Stern, J. C.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Archer, P. D.

2016-01-01

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument aboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover has analyzed 10 samples from Gale Crater. All SAM evolved gas analyses have yielded a multitude of volatiles (e.g, H2O, SO2, H2S, CO2, CO, NO, O2, HC1). The objectives of this work are to 1) Characterize the evolved H2O, SO2, CO2, and O2 gas traces of sediments analyzed by SAM through sol 1178, 2) Constrain sediment mineralogy/composition based on SAM evolved gas analysis (SAM-EGA), and 3) Discuss the implications of these results releative to understanding the geochemical history of Gale Crater.

Low vitamin D does not predict statin associated muscle symptoms but is associated with transient increases in muscle damage and pain.

PubMed

Taylor, Beth A; Lorson, Lindsay; White, C Michael; Thompson, Paul D

2017-01-01

Low vitamin D (VITD) may contribute to statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS). We examined the influence of baseline and change in VITD in patients with verified SAMS. SAMS was verified in 120 patients with prior statin muscle complaints using 8-week randomized, double-blind crossover trials of simvastatin (SIMVA) 20 mg/d and placebo. 25 (OH)vitamin D was measured at each phase of the trial. Forty-three patients (35.8%) experienced muscle pain on SIMVA but not placebo, exhibiting confirmed SAMS. VITD (mean ± standard deviation) prior to SIMVA treatment was not different between patients who did (31.7 ± 12.1 ng/mL, n = 43) or did not (31.6 ± 10.3 ng/mL, n = 77) develop SAMS and did not predict SAMS (p = 0.96). The change in VITD with SIMVA treatment was not different between patients with and without SAMS (0.3 ± 5.9 vs. 0.2 ± 8.3 ng/mL, respectively) and did not predict SAMS (p = 0.96). The proportion of patients classified as VITD deficient (<20 ng/mL) did not differ between patients with (n = 16) and without (n = 10) SAMS (χ 2  = 1.45; p = 0.23), nor did the proportion of patients classified as VITD insufficient (<30 ng/mL) (n = 42 vs. 48; χ 2  < 0.01 and p = 0.94). Both baseline and on-statin VITD were inversely related to the change in creatine kinase (CK) with statin therapy (p = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively), independent of SAMS (p = 0.36 and 0.35). Baseline VITD, VITD deficiency/insufficiency and changes in VITD with statin therapy do not predict SAMS in patients with rigorously verified SAMS. However, low VITD may exacerbate statin-induced muscle injury and could contribute to SAMS development with a longer duration of statin treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Standardized added metabolic activity (SAM) IN ¹⁸F-FDG PET assessment of treatment response in colorectal liver metastases.

PubMed

Mertens, Jeroen; De Bruyne, S; Van Damme, N; Smeets, P; Ceelen, W; Troisi, R; Laurent, S; Geboes, K; Peeters, M; Goethals, I; Van de Wiele, C

2013-08-01

Standardized added metabolic activity (SAM) is a PET parameter for assessing the total metabolic load of malignant processes, avoiding partial volume effects and lesion segmentation. The potential role of this parameter in the assessment of response to chemotherapy and bevacizumab was tested in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer with potentially resectable liver metastases (mCRC). (18)F-FDG PET/CT was performed in 18 mCRC patients with liver metastases before treatment and after five cycles of FOLFOX/FOLFIRI and bevacizumab. Of the 18 patients, 16 subsequently underwent resection of liver metastases. Baseline and follow-up SUVmax, and SAM as well as reduction in SUVmax (∆SUVmax) and SAM (∆SAM) of all liver metastases were correlated with morphological response, and progression-free and overall survival (PFS and OS). A significant reduction in metabolic activity of the liver metastases was seen after chemotherapy with a median ∆SUVmax of 25.3% and ∆SAM of 94.5% (p = 0.033 and 0.003). Median baseline SUVmax and SAM values were significantly different between morphological responders and nonresponders (3.8 vs. 7.2, p = 0.021; and 34 vs. 211, p = 0.002, respectively), but neither baseline PET parameters nor morphological response was correlated with PFS or OS. Follow-up SUVmax and SAM as well as ∆SAM were found to be prognostic factors. The median PFS and OS in the patient group with a high follow-up SUVmax were 10.4 months and 32 months, compared to a median PFS of 14.7 months and a median OS which had not been reached in the group with a low follow-up SUVmax (p = 0.01 and 0.003, respectively). The patient group with a high follow-up SAM and a low ∆SAM had a median PFS and OS of 9.4 months and 32 months, whereas the other group had a median PFS of 14.7 months and a median OS which had not been reached (p = 0.002 for both PFS and OS). (18)F-FDG PET imaging is a useful tool to assess treatment response and predict clinical outcome in patients with mCRC who undergo chemotherapy before liver metastasectomy. Follow-up SUVmax, follow-up SAM and ∆SAM were found to be significant prognostic factors for PFS and OS.

Metabolism of a 5HT6 antagonist, 2-methyl-1-(phenylsulfonyl)-4-(piperazin-1-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole (SAM-760): impact of sulfonamide metabolism on diminution of a ketoconazole mediated clinical drug-drug interaction.

PubMed

Sawant-Basak, Aarti; Obach, R Scott; Doran, Angela C; Lockwood, Peter; Schildknegt, Klaas; Gao, Hongying; Mancuso, Jessica; Tse, Susanna; Comery, Tom

2018-04-25

SAM-760, (2-methyl-1-(phenylsulfonyl)-4-(piperazin-1-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole), a 5HT 6 antagonist, was investigated in humans for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. In liver microsomes and recombinant CYP450 isozymes, SAM-760 was predominantly metabolized by CYP3A (~85%). Based on these observations and an expectation of 5-fold magnitude of interaction with moderate to strong CYP3A inhibitors, a clinical DDI study was performed. In presence of ketoconazole, mean C max and AUC 0-inf of SAM-760 showed only a modest increase by 30% and 38%, respectively. In vitro investigation of this unexpectedly low interaction was undertaken using [ 14 C]SAM-760. Radiometric profiling in human hepatocytes, confirmed all oxidative metabolites observed previously with unlabeled SAM-760; however the pre-dominant radiometric peak was an unexpected polar metabolite which was insensitive to pan-CYP inhibitor, 1-aminobenzotriazole. In human hepatocytes, radiometric integration attributed 43% of total metabolism of SAM-760 to this non-CYP pathway. Using an authentic standard, this predominant metabolite was confirmed as benzenesulfinic acid. Additional investigation revealed that the benzenesulfinic acid metabolite may be a novel, non-enzymatic, thiol mediated reductive cleavage of aryl sulfonamide group of SAM-760. We also determined the relative contribution of P450 to metabolism of SAM-760 in human hepatocytes, by following the rate of formation of oxidative metabolites in presence and absence of P450 isoform specific inhibitors. P450 mediated oxidative metabolism of SAM-760 was still primarily attributed to CYP3A (33%), with minor contributions from CYP isoforms 2C19 and 2D6. Thus, disposition of [ 14 C]SAM-760 in human hepatocytes via novel sulfonamide metabolism and CYP3A verified the lower than expected clinical DDI when SAM-760 was co-administered with ketoconazole. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Membrane protein resistance of oligo(ethylene oxide) self-assembled monolayers.

PubMed

Vaish, Amit; Vanderah, David J; Vierling, Ryan; Crawshaw, Fay; Gallagher, D Travis; Walker, Marlon L

2014-10-01

As part of an effort to develop biointerfaces for structure-function studies of integral membrane proteins (IMPs) a series of oligo(ethylene oxide) self-assembled monolayers (OEO-SAMs) were evaluated for their resistance to protein adsorption (RPA) of IMPs on Au and Pt. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) was used to determine SAM thicknesses and compare the RPA of HS(CH2)3O(CH2CH2O)6CH3 (1), HS(CH2)3O(CH2CH2O)6H (2), [HS(CH2)3]2CHO(CH2CH2O)6CH3 (3) and [HS(CH2)3]2CHO(CH2CH2O)6H (4), assembled from water. For both substrates, SAM thicknesses for 1 to 4 were found to be comparable indicating SAMs with similar surface coverages and OEO chain order and packing densities. Fibrinogen (Fb), a soluble plasma protein, and rhodopsin (Rd), an integral membrane G-protein coupled receptor, adsorbed to the SAMs of 1, as expected from previous reports, but not to the hydroxy-terminated SAMs of 2 and 4. The methoxy-terminated SAMs of 3 were resistant to Fb but, surprisingly, not to Rd. The stark difference between the adsorption of Rd to the SAMs of 3 and 4 clearly indicate that a hydroxy-terminus of the OEO chain is essential for high RPA of IMPs. The similar thicknesses and high RPA of the SAMs of 2 and 4 show the conditions of protein resistance (screening the underlying substrate, packing densities, SAM order, and conformational mobility of the OEO chains) defined from previous studies on Au are applicable to Pt. In addition, the SAMs of 4, exhibiting the highest resistance to Fb and Rd, were placed in contact with undiluted fetal bovine serum for 2h. Low protein adsorption (≈12.4ng/cm(2)), obtained under these more challenging conditions, denote a high potential of the SAMs of 4 for various applications requiring the suppression of non-specific protein adsorption. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Future's operation areas: new-generation suppression enemy air defence (SEAD) elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazinedar, Ä.°lker

2015-05-01

Since air vehicles took place in the theater of operations, they have become the indispensable elements and the strongest attack power of armed forces. In the following period, with technological development, supersonic aircrafts took place in the operation area and this increased effectiveness of air vehicles much more. Air forces have used these aircrafts during important missions like strategic attack and air defense operations. On the other hand, decision makers understood that it was not feasible to intercept fighter aircrafts by executing combat air patrol flight missions. Since there is not enough reaction time to intercept the high speed aircrafts, ground stationed Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) system requirement has emerged. Therefore, SAM systems took place in the operation scene as well. Due to the fact that SAM systems emerged against the attack power, the attack aircrafts are to keep away from the fire of the ground stationed SAM systems. Hence, the requirement of Suppression Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) arose. SEAD elements take under suppression the radar of the SAM systems. In this way, attack aircrafts are able to attack without the risk of SAM systems. The purpose of this study is to find new methods or concepts in order to protect friendly attack aircrafts against ground based surface to air missiles' fires. Modernization of SAM systems and new generation SAM system producing activities have proceeded with positive acceleration. So, current SEAD elements and concepts are not able to cover the requirements due to the increased SAM system ranges. According to the concepts, SEAD weapons` ranges must be longer than the SAM weapons' ranges to protect friendly aircrafts. In this study, new concept was offered to overcome the deficiencies of current SEAD concept. The elements of new concepts were put forward. Classic SEAD concept and new generation concepts were assessed by using SWOT analysis technique. As a result, this study has revealed that, air forces' effectiveness can be enhanced by using new generation SEAD concepts against enemy SAM systems.

The Statin-Associated Muscle Symptom Clinical Index (SAMS-CI): Revision for Clinical Use, Content Validation, and Inter-rater Reliability.

PubMed

Rosenson, Robert S; Miller, Kate; Bayliss, Martha; Sanchez, Robert J; Baccara-Dinet, Marie T; Chibedi-De-Roche, Daniela; Taylor, Beth; Khan, Irfan; Manvelian, Garen; White, Michelle; Jacobson, Terry A

2017-04-01

The Statin-Associated Muscle Symptom Clinical Index (SAMS-CI) is a method for assessing the likelihood that a patient's muscle symptoms (e.g., myalgia or myopathy) were caused or worsened by statin use. The objectives of this study were to prepare the SAMS-CI for clinical use, estimate its inter-rater reliability, and collect feedback from physicians on its practical application. For content validity, we conducted structured in-depth interviews with its original authors as well as with a panel of independent physicians. Estimation of inter-rater reliability involved an analysis of 30 written clinical cases which were scored by a sample of physicians. A separate group of physicians provided feedback on the clinical use of the SAMS-CI and its potential utility in practice. Qualitative interviews with providers supported the content validity of the SAMS-CI. Feedback on the clinical use of the SAMS-CI included several perceived benefits (such as brevity, clear wording, and simple scoring process) and some possible concerns (workflow issues and applicability in primary care). The inter-rater reliability of the SAMS-CI was estimated to be 0.77 (confidence interval 0.66-0.85), indicating high concordance between raters. With additional provider feedback, a revised SAMS-CI instrument was created suitable for further testing, both in the clinical setting and in prospective validation studies. With standardized questions, vetted language, easily interpreted scores, and demonstrated reliability, the SAMS aims to estimate the likelihood that a patient's muscle symptoms were attributable to statins. The SAMS-CI may support better detection of statin-associated muscle symptoms in clinical practice, optimize treatment for patients experiencing muscle symptoms, and provide a useful tool for further clinical research.

The senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 (SAM-P8) oxidative stress is associated with upregulation of renal NADPH oxidase system.

PubMed

Baltanás, Ana; Solesio, Maria E; Zalba, Guillermo; Galindo, María F; Fortuño, Ana; Jordán, Joaquín

2013-12-01

Herein, we investigate whether the NADPH oxidase might be playing a key role in the degree of oxidative stress in the senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 (SAM-P8). To this end, the activity and expression of the NADPH oxidase, the ratio of glutathione and glutathione disulfides (GSH/GSSG), and the levels of malonyl dialdehyde (MDA) and nitrotyrosine (NT) were determined in renal tissue from SAM-P8 mice at the age of 1 and 6 months. The senescence-accelerated-resistant mouse (SAM-R1) was used as control. At the age of 1 month, NADPH oxidase activity and Nox2 protein expression were higher in SAM-P8 than in SAM-R1 mice. However, we found no differences in the GSH/GSSG ratio, MDA, NT, and Nox4 levels between both groups of animals. At the age of 6 months, SAM-R1 mice in comparison to SAM-P8 mice showed an increase in NADPH oxidase activity, which is associated with higher levels of NT and increased Nox4 and Nox2 expression levels. Furthermore, we found oxidative stress hallmarks including depletion in GSH/GSSG ratio and increase in MDA levels in the kidney of SAM-P8 mice. Finally, NADPH oxidase activity positively correlated with Nox2 expression in all the animals (r = 0.382, P < 0.05). Taken together, our data allow us to suggest that an increase in NADPH oxidase activity might be an early hallmark to predict future oxidative stress in renal tissue during the aging process that takes place in SAM-P8 mice.

Semantic Indexing of Medical Learning Objects: Medical Students' Usage of a Semantic Network.

PubMed

Tix, Nadine; Gießler, Paul; Ohnesorge-Radtke, Ursula; Spreckelsen, Cord

2015-11-11

The Semantically Annotated Media (SAM) project aims to provide a flexible platform for searching, browsing, and indexing medical learning objects (MLOs) based on a semantic network derived from established classification systems. Primarily, SAM supports the Aachen emedia skills lab, but SAM is ready for indexing distributed content and the Simple Knowledge Organizing System standard provides a means for easily upgrading or even exchanging SAM's semantic network. There is a lack of research addressing the usability of MLO indexes or search portals like SAM and the user behavior with such platforms. The purpose of this study was to assess the usability of SAM by investigating characteristic user behavior of medical students accessing MLOs via SAM. In this study, we chose a mixed-methods approach. Lean usability testing was combined with usability inspection by having the participants complete four typical usage scenarios before filling out a questionnaire. The questionnaire was based on the IsoMetrics usability inventory. Direct user interaction with SAM (mouse clicks and pages accessed) was logged. The study analyzed the typical usage patterns and habits of students using a semantic network for accessing MLOs. Four scenarios capturing characteristics of typical tasks to be solved by using SAM yielded high ratings of usability items and showed good results concerning the consistency of indexing by different users. Long-tail phenomena emerge as they are typical for a collaborative Web 2.0 platform. Suitable but nonetheless rarely used keywords were assigned to MLOs by some users. It is possible to develop a Web-based tool with high usability and acceptance for indexing and retrieval of MLOs. SAM can be applied to indexing multicentered repositories of MLOs collaboratively.

Reaction-diffusion pattern in shoot apical meristem of plants.

PubMed

Fujita, Hironori; Toyokura, Koichi; Okada, Kiyotaka; Kawaguchi, Masayoshi

2011-03-29

A fundamental question in developmental biology is how spatial patterns are self-organized from homogeneous structures. In 1952, Turing proposed the reaction-diffusion model in order to explain this issue. Experimental evidence of reaction-diffusion patterns in living organisms was first provided by the pigmentation pattern on the skin of fishes in 1995. However, whether or not this mechanism plays an essential role in developmental events of living organisms remains elusive. Here we show that a reaction-diffusion model can successfully explain the shoot apical meristem (SAM) development of plants. SAM of plants resides in the top of each shoot and consists of a central zone (CZ) and a surrounding peripheral zone (PZ). SAM contains stem cells and continuously produces new organs throughout the lifespan. Molecular genetic studies using Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that the formation and maintenance of the SAM are essentially regulated by the feedback interaction between WUSHCEL (WUS) and CLAVATA (CLV). We developed a mathematical model of the SAM based on a reaction-diffusion dynamics of the WUS-CLV interaction, incorporating cell division and the spatial restriction of the dynamics. Our model explains the various SAM patterns observed in plants, for example, homeostatic control of SAM size in the wild type, enlarged or fasciated SAM in clv mutants, and initiation of ectopic secondary meristems from an initial flattened SAM in wus mutant. In addition, the model is supported by comparing its prediction with the expression pattern of WUS in the wus mutant. Furthermore, the model can account for many experimental results including reorganization processes caused by the CZ ablation and by incision through the meristem center. We thus conclude that the reaction-diffusion dynamics is probably indispensable for the SAM development of plants.

Reaction-Diffusion Pattern in Shoot Apical Meristem of Plants

PubMed Central

Fujita, Hironori; Toyokura, Koichi; Okada, Kiyotaka; Kawaguchi, Masayoshi

2011-01-01

A fundamental question in developmental biology is how spatial patterns are self-organized from homogeneous structures. In 1952, Turing proposed the reaction-diffusion model in order to explain this issue. Experimental evidence of reaction-diffusion patterns in living organisms was first provided by the pigmentation pattern on the skin of fishes in 1995. However, whether or not this mechanism plays an essential role in developmental events of living organisms remains elusive. Here we show that a reaction-diffusion model can successfully explain the shoot apical meristem (SAM) development of plants. SAM of plants resides in the top of each shoot and consists of a central zone (CZ) and a surrounding peripheral zone (PZ). SAM contains stem cells and continuously produces new organs throughout the lifespan. Molecular genetic studies using Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that the formation and maintenance of the SAM are essentially regulated by the feedback interaction between WUSHCEL (WUS) and CLAVATA (CLV). We developed a mathematical model of the SAM based on a reaction-diffusion dynamics of the WUS-CLV interaction, incorporating cell division and the spatial restriction of the dynamics. Our model explains the various SAM patterns observed in plants, for example, homeostatic control of SAM size in the wild type, enlarged or fasciated SAM in clv mutants, and initiation of ectopic secondary meristems from an initial flattened SAM in wus mutant. In addition, the model is supported by comparing its prediction with the expression pattern of WUS in the wus mutant. Furthermore, the model can account for many experimental results including reorganization processes caused by the CZ ablation and by incision through the meristem center. We thus conclude that the reaction-diffusion dynamics is probably indispensable for the SAM development of plants. PMID:21479227

Molecular interfaces for plasmonic hot electron photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelayo García de Arquer, F.; Mihi, Agustín; Konstantatos, Gerasimos

2015-01-01

The use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to improve and tailor the photovoltaic performance of plasmonic hot-electron Schottky solar cells is presented. SAMs allow the simultaneous control of open-circuit voltage, hot-electron injection and short-circuit current. To that end, a plurality of molecule structural parameters can be adjusted: SAM molecule's length can be adjusted to control plasmonic hot electron injection. Modifying SAMs dipole moment allows for a precise tuning of the open-circuit voltage. The functionalization of the SAM can also be selected to modify short-circuit current. This allows the simultaneous achievement of high open-circuit voltages (0.56 V) and fill-factors (0.58), IPCE above 5% at the plasmon resonance and maximum power-conversion efficiencies of 0.11%, record for this class of devices.The use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to improve and tailor the photovoltaic performance of plasmonic hot-electron Schottky solar cells is presented. SAMs allow the simultaneous control of open-circuit voltage, hot-electron injection and short-circuit current. To that end, a plurality of molecule structural parameters can be adjusted: SAM molecule's length can be adjusted to control plasmonic hot electron injection. Modifying SAMs dipole moment allows for a precise tuning of the open-circuit voltage. The functionalization of the SAM can also be selected to modify short-circuit current. This allows the simultaneous achievement of high open-circuit voltages (0.56 V) and fill-factors (0.58), IPCE above 5% at the plasmon resonance and maximum power-conversion efficiencies of 0.11%, record for this class of devices. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Contact-potential differentiometry measurements, FTIR characterization, performance statistics and gold devices. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr06356b

Sam Donaldson: Tips From a Cancer Survivor

MedlinePlus

... Home Current Issue Past Issues Special Section Sam Donaldson: Tips From a Cancer Survivor Past Issues / Spring ... courtesy of ABC News For 40 years, Sam Donaldson has worked for ABC News, reporting from virtually ...

pH-Switchable Interaction of a Carboxybetaine Ester-Based SAM with DNA and Gold Nanoparticles.

PubMed

Filip, Jaroslav; Popelka, Anton; Bertok, Tomas; Holazova, Alena; Osicka, Josef; Kollar, Jozef; Ilcikova, Marketa; Tkac, Jan; Kasak, Peter

2017-07-11

We describe a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on a gold surface with a carboxybetaine ester functionality to control the interaction between DNA and gold nanoparticles via pH. The negatively charged phosphate backbone of DNA interacts with and adsorbs to the positively charged carboxybetaine esters on the SAM. DNA release can be achieved by the hydrolysis of carboxybetaine ester (CBE) to a zwitterionic carboxybetaine state. Furthermore, the adsorption of negatively charged citrate-capped gold nanoparticles to a SAM-modified plain gold surface can be controlled by the pH. The SAM based on carboxybetaine ester allows for the homogeneous adsorption of particles, whereas the SAM after hydrolysis at high pH repels AuNP adsorption. The antifouling surface properties of the surface modified with carboxybetaine were investigated with protein samples.

Detection and Quantification of Nitrogen Compounds in the First Drilled Martian Solid Samples by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, Jennifer C.; Navarro-Gonzalez, Rafael; Freissinet, Caroline; McKay, Christopher P.; Archer, P. Douglas, Jr.; Buch, Arnaud; Coll, Patrice; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Franz, Heather B.; Glavin, Daniel P.;

Chemical resistivity of self-assembled monolayer covalently attached to silicon substrate to hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, N.; Youda, S.; Hayashi, K.; Sugimura, H.; Takai, O.

2003-06-01

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were prepared on hydrogen-terminated silicon substrates through chemical vapor deposition using 1-hexadecene (HD) as a precursor. The HD-SAMs prepared in an atmosphere under a reduced pressure (≈50 Pa) showed better chemical resistivities to hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride (NH 4F) solutions than that of an organosilane SAM formed on oxide-covered silicon substrates. The surface covered with the HD-SAM was micro-patterned by vacuum ultraviolet photolithography and consequently divided into two areas terminated with HD-SAM or silicon dioxide. This micro-patterned sample was immersed in a 40 vol.% NH 4F aqueous solution. Surface images obtained by an optical microscopy clearly show that the micro-patterns of HD-SAM/silicon dioxide were successfully transferred into the silicon substrate.

A role of the SAM domain in EphA2 receptor activation.

PubMed

Shi, Xiaojun; Hapiak, Vera; Zheng, Ji; Muller-Greven, Jeannine; Bowman, Deanna; Lingerak, Ryan; Buck, Matthias; Wang, Bing-Cheng; Smith, Adam W

2017-03-24

Among the 20 subfamilies of protein receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), Eph receptors are unique in possessing a sterile alpha motif (SAM domain) at their C-terminal ends. However, the functions of SAM domains in Eph receptors remain elusive. Here we report on a combined cell biology and quantitative fluorescence study to investigate the role of the SAM domain in EphA2 function. We observed elevated tyrosine autophosphorylation levels upon deletion of the EphA2 SAM domain (EphA2ΔS) in DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells and a skin tumor cell line derived from EphA1/A2 knockout mice. These results suggest that SAM domain deletion induced constitutive activation of EphA2 kinase activity. In order to explain these effects, we applied fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to investigate the lateral molecular organization of EphA2. Our results indicate that SAM domain deletion (EphA2ΔS-GFP) increases oligomerization compared to the full length receptor (EphA2FL-GFP). Stimulation with ephrinA1, a ligand for EphA2, induced further oligomerization and activation of EphA2FL-GFP. The SAM domain deletion mutant, EphA2ΔS-GFP, also underwent further oligomerization upon ephrinA1 stimulation, but the oligomers were larger than those observed for EphA2FL-GFP. Based on these results, we conclude that the EphA2 SAM domain inhibits kinase activity by reducing receptor oligomerization.

Evaluating the effectiveness of self-administration of medication (SAM) schemes in the hospital setting: a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Richardson, Suzanna J; Brooks, Hannah L; Bramley, George; Coleman, Jamie J

2014-01-01

Self-administration of medicines is believed to increase patients' understanding about their medication and to promote their independence and autonomy in the hospital setting. The effect of inpatient self-administration of medication (SAM) schemes on patients, staff and institutions is currently unclear. To systematically review the literature relating to the effect of SAM schemes on the following outcomes: patient knowledge, patient compliance/medication errors, success in self-administration, patient satisfaction, staff satisfaction, staff workload, and costs. Keyword and text word searches of online databases were performed between January and March 2013. Included articles described and evaluated inpatient SAM schemes. Case studies and anecdotal studies were excluded. 43 papers were included for final analysis. Due to the heterogeneity of results and unclear findings it was not possible to perform a quantitative synthesis of results. Participation in SAM schemes often led to increased knowledge about drugs and drug regimens, but not side effects. However, the effect of SAM schemes on patient compliance/medication errors was inconclusive. Patients and staff were highly satisfied with their involvement in SAM schemes. SAM schemes appear to provide some benefits (e.g. increased patient knowledge), but their effect on other outcomes (e.g. compliance) is unclear. Few studies of high methodological quality using validated outcome measures exist. Inconsistencies in both measuring and reporting outcomes across studies make it challenging to compare results and draw substantive conclusions about the effectiveness of SAM schemes.

Sam2bam: High-Performance Framework for NGS Data Preprocessing Tools

PubMed Central

Cheng, Yinhe; Tzeng, Tzy-Hwa Kathy

2016-01-01

This paper introduces a high-throughput software tool framework called sam2bam that enables users to significantly speed up pre-processing for next-generation sequencing data. The sam2bam is especially efficient on single-node multi-core large-memory systems. It can reduce the runtime of data pre-processing in marking duplicate reads on a single node system by 156–186x compared with de facto standard tools. The sam2bam consists of parallel software components that can fully utilize multiple processors, available memory, high-bandwidth storage, and hardware compression accelerators, if available. The sam2bam provides file format conversion between well-known genome file formats, from SAM to BAM, as a basic feature. Additional features such as analyzing, filtering, and converting input data are provided by using plug-in tools, e.g., duplicate marking, which can be attached to sam2bam at runtime. We demonstrated that sam2bam could significantly reduce the runtime of next generation sequencing (NGS) data pre-processing from about two hours to about one minute for a whole-exome data set on a 16-core single-node system using up to 130 GB of memory. The sam2bam could reduce the runtime of NGS data pre-processing from about 20 hours to about nine minutes for a whole-genome sequencing data set on the same system using up to 711 GB of memory. PMID:27861637

Annular pancreas

MedlinePlus

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001142.htm Annular pancreas To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. An annular pancreas is a ring of pancreatic tissue that encircles ...

Taking global scale data handling to the Fermilab intensity frontier

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lyon, Adam L.; Illingworth, Robert A.; Mengel, Marc

2012-01-01

SAM is a comprehensive data management system used by the Tevatron Run II experiments with great success. The newest experiments at Fermilab, the Intensity Frontier experiments, are currently lacking such a system. In these proceedings, the advantages of using SAM for these experiments is discussed. Two improvements to SAM, namely SAMWeb and SAMfs are described. These improvements will make SAM much easier to integrate, deploy, maintain, and use.

Regulation of C. elegans presynaptic differentiation and neurite branching via a novel signaling pathway initiated by SAM-10

PubMed Central

Zheng, Qun; Schaefer, Anneliese M.; Nonet, Michael L.

2011-01-01

Little is known about transcriptional control of neurite branching or presynaptic differentiation, events that occur relatively late in neuronal development. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans mechanosensory circuit as an in vivo model, we show that SAM-10, an ortholog of mammalian single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSDP), functions cell-autonomously in the nucleus to regulate synaptic differentiation, as well as positioning of, a single neurite branch. PLM mechanosensory neurons in sam-10 mutants exhibit abnormal placement of the neurite branch point, and defective synaptogenesis, characterized by an overextended synaptic varicosity, underdeveloped synaptic morphology and disrupted colocalization of active zone and synaptic vesicles. SAM-10 functions coordinately with Lim domain-binding protein 1 (LDB-1), demonstrated by our observations that: (1) mutations in either gene show similar defects in PLM neurons; and (2) LDB-1 is required for SAM-10 nuclear localization. SAM-10 regulates PLM synaptic differentiation by suppressing transcription of prk-2, which encodes an ortholog of the mammalian Pim kinase family. PRK-2-mediated activities of SAM-10 are specifically involved in PLM synaptic differentiation, but not other sam-10 phenotypes such as neurite branching. Thus, these data reveal a novel transcriptional signaling pathway that regulates neuronal specification of neurite branching and presynaptic differentiation. PMID:21115607

Regulation of C. elegans presynaptic differentiation and neurite branching via a novel signaling pathway initiated by SAM-10.

PubMed

Zheng, Qun; Schaefer, Anneliese M; Nonet, Michael L

2011-01-01

Little is known about transcriptional control of neurite branching or presynaptic differentiation, events that occur relatively late in neuronal development. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans mechanosensory circuit as an in vivo model, we show that SAM-10, an ortholog of mammalian single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSDP), functions cell-autonomously in the nucleus to regulate synaptic differentiation, as well as positioning of, a single neurite branch. PLM mechanosensory neurons in sam-10 mutants exhibit abnormal placement of the neurite branch point, and defective synaptogenesis, characterized by an overextended synaptic varicosity, underdeveloped synaptic morphology and disrupted colocalization of active zone and synaptic vesicles. SAM-10 functions coordinately with Lim domain-binding protein 1 (LDB-1), demonstrated by our observations that: (1) mutations in either gene show similar defects in PLM neurons; and (2) LDB-1 is required for SAM-10 nuclear localization. SAM-10 regulates PLM synaptic differentiation by suppressing transcription of prk-2, which encodes an ortholog of the mammalian Pim kinase family. PRK-2-mediated activities of SAM-10 are specifically involved in PLM synaptic differentiation, but not other sam-10 phenotypes such as neurite branching. Thus, these data reveal a novel transcriptional signaling pathway that regulates neuronal specification of neurite branching and presynaptic differentiation.

Similar regulation patterns of choline monooxygenase, phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase and S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthetase in leaves of the halophyte Atriplex nummularia L.

PubMed

Tabuchi, Tomoki; Kawaguchi, Yusuke; Azuma, Tetsushi; Nanmori, Takashi; Yasuda, Takeshi

2005-03-01

Glycinebetaine (betaine) highly accumulates as a compatible solute in certain plants and has been considered to play a role in the protection from salt stress. The betaine biosynthesis pathway of betaine-accumulating plants involves choline monooxygenase (CMO) as the key enzyme and phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEAMT), which require S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) as a methyl donor. SAM is synthesized by SAM synthetase (SAMS), and is needed not only for betaine synthesis but also for the synthesis of other compounds, especially lignin. We cloned CMO, PEAMT and SAMS isogenes from a halophyte Atriplex nummularia L. (Chenopodiaceous). The transcript and protein levels of CMO were much higher in leaves and stems than in roots, suggesting that betaine is synthesized mainly in the shoot. The regulation patterns of transcripts for SAMS and PEAMT highly resembled that of CMO in the leaves during and after relief from salt stress, and on a diurnal rhythm. In the leaves, the betaine content was increased but the lignin content was not changed by salt stress. These results suggest that the transcript levels of SAMS are co-regulated with those of PEAMT and CMO to supply SAM for betaine synthesis in the leaves.

Laparoscopic transgastric circumferential stapler-assisted versus endoscopic esophageal mucosectomy in a porcine model

PubMed Central

Steinemann, Daniel C.; Zerz, Andreas; Müller, Philip C.; Sauer, Peter; Schaible, Anja; Lasitschka, Felix; Schwarz, Anne-Catherine; Müller-Stich, Beat P.; Linke, Georg R.

2018-01-01

Background and study aims Extensive endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) for Barrett’s esophagus (BE) may lead to stenosis. Laparoscopic, transgastric, stapler-assisted mucosectomy (SAM) retrieving circumferential specimens is proposed. Methods SAM was evaluated in two phases. The feasibility of SAM and the quality of specimens was assessed in eight animals. The mucosal healing was evaluated in a 6-weeks survival experiment comparing SAM (n=6) and EMR (n=6). The ratio of the esophageal lumen width (REL) at the resection level measured in fluoroscopy after 6-weeks divided by the width immediately after resection was compared. Results In all animals a circular mucosectomy specimen was successfully obtained with an area of 492(426-573)mm2 and 941(813-1209)mm2 using a 21-mm and 25-mm stapler, respectively. In the survival experiments two animals developed symptomatic stenosis after EMR and none after SAM. The REL was 0.27[0.18-0.39] and 0.96[0.9-1.04] (p<0.0001) for EMR and SAM, respectively. Conclusions SAM provides a novel technique for en-bloc mucosectomy in BE. In contrast to EMR mucosal healing in SAM was not associated with stenosis up to six weeks after intervention. PMID:28301879

The SAM, not the electrodes, dominates charge transport in metal-monolayer//Ga2O3/gallium-indium eutectic junctions.

PubMed

Reus, William F; Thuo, Martin M; Shapiro, Nathan D; Nijhuis, Christian A; Whitesides, George M

2012-06-26

The liquid-metal eutectic of gallium and indium (EGaIn) is a useful electrode for making soft electrical contacts to self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). This electrode has, however, one feature whose effect on charge transport has been incompletely understood: a thin (approximately 0.7 nm) film-consisting primarily of Ga(2)O(3)-that covers its surface when in contact with air. SAMs that rectify current have been measured using this electrode in Ag(TS)-SAM//Ga(2)O(3)/EGaIn (where Ag(TS) = template-stripped Ag surface) junctions. This paper organizes evidence, both published and unpublished, showing that the molecular structure of the SAM (specifically, the presence of an accessible molecular orbital asymmetrically located within the SAM), not the difference between the electrodes or the characteristics of the Ga(2)O(3) film, causes the observed rectification. By examining and ruling out potential mechanisms of rectification that rely either on the Ga(2)O(3) film or on the asymmetry of the electrodes, this paper demonstrates that the structure of the SAM dominates charge transport through Ag(TS)-SAM//Ga(2)O(3)/EGaIn junctions, and that the electrical characteristics of the Ga(2)O(3) film have a negligible effect on these measurements.

48 CFR 4.1803 - Verifying CAGE codes prior to award.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... registration in the System for Award Management (SAM). Active registrations in SAM have had the associated CAGE codes verified. (b) For entities not required to be registered in SAM, the contracting officer shall...

Hypovolemia induced systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve in two dogs.

PubMed

Hammes, K; Novo Matos, J; Baron Toaldo, M; Glaus, T

2016-12-01

Systolic anterior (septal) motion of the mitral valve (SAM) is a common secondary phenomenon in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in people and cats. In humans, it is increasingly recognized that SAM may be found in other cardiac and non-cardiac disease states. In small animal cardiology, SAM unassociated with HCM has been described in dogs with mitral valve dysplasia and right ventricular pressure overload. In this report, we describe two cases of dogs where transient SAM was caused by hypovolemia. When SAM was present both dogs showed pseudohypertrophy and tachycardia. Important factors in the genesis of SAM in this scenario are probably hypovolemia induced changes in left ventricular geometry affecting the orientation of the mitral valve apparatus combined with elevated catecholamine levels. SAM associated with increased wall thickness is not pathognomonic of HCM; this observation is of particular clinical importance when extrapolated to species where HCM is highly prevalent, e.g., cats. An echocardiographic diagnosis should always be evaluated together with full clinical assessment of history and physical examination. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Utilizing self-assembled-monolayer-based gate dielectrics to fabricate molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kawanago, Takamasa, E-mail: kawanago.t.ab@m.titech.ac.jp; Oda, Shunri

In this study, we apply self-assembled-monolayer (SAM)-based gate dielectrics to the fabrication of molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}) field-effect transistors. A simple fabrication process involving the selective formation of a SAM on metal oxides in conjunction with the dry transfer of MoS{sub 2} flakes was established. A subthreshold slope (SS) of 69 mV/dec and no hysteresis were demonstrated with the ultrathin SAM-based gate dielectrics accompanied by a low gate leakage current. The small SS and no hysteresis indicate the superior interfacial properties of the MoS{sub 2}/SAM structure. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed a sharp and abrupt interface of the MoS{sub 2}/SAM structure.more » The SAM-based gate dielectrics are found to be applicable to the fabrication of low-voltage MoS{sub 2} field-effect transistors and can also be extended to various layered semiconductor materials. This study opens up intriguing possibilities of SAM-based gate dielectrics in functional electronic devices.« less

Alternative function for the mitochondrial SAM complex in biogenesis of alpha-helical TOM proteins.

PubMed

Stojanovski, Diana; Guiard, Bernard; Kozjak-Pavlovic, Vera; Pfanner, Nikolaus; Meisinger, Chris

2007-12-03

The mitochondrial outer membrane contains two preprotein translocases: the general translocase of outer membrane (TOM) and the beta-barrel-specific sorting and assembly machinery (SAM). TOM functions as the central entry gate for nuclear-encoded proteins. The channel-forming Tom40 is a beta-barrel protein, whereas all Tom receptors and small Tom proteins are membrane anchored by a transmembrane alpha-helical segment in their N- or C-terminal portion. Synthesis of Tom precursors takes place in the cytosol, and their import occurs via preexisting TOM complexes. The precursor of Tom40 is then transferred to SAM for membrane insertion and assembly. Unexpectedly, we find that the biogenesis of alpha-helical Tom proteins with a membrane anchor in the C-terminal portion is SAM dependent. Each SAM protein is necessary for efficient membrane integration of the receptor Tom22, whereas assembly of the small Tom proteins depends on Sam37. Thus, the substrate specificity of SAM is not restricted to beta-barrel proteins but also includes the majority of alpha-helical Tom proteins.

Cyclodextrin-based microsensor for volatile organic compounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Swanson, B.I.; Li, D.Q.

1996-12-31

The direct covalent attachment of modified {alpha}- and {beta}-cyclodextrin on oxide surfaces has been studied for application in chemical sensors. First, oxide surfaces were treated with a silane coupling layer followed by the addition of cyclodextrin to form a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of host receptors. Second, the oxide surfaces were reacted with a sol-gel (SG) precursor based on cyclodextrin structure to form a thick film with defined hydrophobic cyclodextrin cavities. The sensing properties of both films (SAM and SG) were examined with surface acoustic wave (SAW) measurement platform. Molecular interactions between an organic guest and a host thin-film on amore » 200 MHZ SAW resonator are being studied as a method of tracking and recognizing the presence of volatile organics. Surface acoustic wave sensors based on the inclusion chemistry of the bucket-type (cyclodextrin) molecules, were capable of detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) down to ppb levels. Because the nature of the interactions is moderate but noncovalent, detection of these VOCs was possible using a reversible real-time mode. Pattern recognition with an array of complementary microsensors appears to be a viable approach for identifying and quantifying VOCs. Recent results using optical waveguides for sensor transduction will also be discussed.« less

Transfer of Orbital and Spin angular momentum from non-paraxial optical vortex to atomic BEC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmik, Anal; Mondal, Pradip Kumar; Majumder, Sonjoy; Deb, Bimalendu

2017-04-01

Allen and co-workers first brought up the realization that optical vortex can carry well defined orbital angular momentum (OAM) associated with its spatial mode. Spin angular momentum (SAM) of the light, associated with the polarization, interacts with the internal electronic motion of the atom. The exchange of orbital angular momentum (OAM) between optical vortex and the center-of-mass (CM) motion of an atom or molecule is well known in paraxial approximation. We show that, how the total angular momentum (TAM) of non-paraxial optical vortex is shared with atom, in terms of OAM and SAM. Both the angular momenta are now possible to be transferred to the internal electronic and external CM motion of atom. Here we have studied how the Rabi frequencies of the excitations of two-photon Raman transitions with respect to focusing angles. Also, we investigate the properties of the vortex superposed state for a Bose-Einstein condensate condensate by a single non-paraxial vortex beam. The density distribution of the vortex-antivortex superposed state has a petal structure which is determined by the quantum circulations and proportion of the vortex and antivortex.

Angular-momentum-dependent splitting of light through metal nanohole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Dejiao; Liu, Yu; Zhang, ZhiYou; Xiao, Xiao; Du, JingLei

2014-11-01

We numerically study the splitting of light beam which carries orbital angular momentum (OAM) through single metal nano-scale hole. A light beam carrying with OAM has a helical phase distribution in the transverse plane, where the electric field has the form: E(r,θ)=E0exp(lθ), and l is the topological charge which denotes the value of OAM. The circular polarization state is corresponding to the spin angular momentum (SAM), where s=+1 represents the left-handed polarization and s=-1 the right-handed polarization. Simulation results show l dependent splitting of beam through nano metal hole. When l is odd, the transmitted far field splits while no splitting happens when l is even. This phenomenon is attributed to the interaction between OAM beam and plasmonic mode of metal nano-hole. It is revealed that different OAM beam can excite different transverse mode in the metal cavity, which means the interaction should obey an OAM section rule. We show that even l can excite transverse mode with zero total AM and odd l can excite transverse mode with non-zero total AM within the hole. Orbital-spin conversion is also revealed in the free wave/plasmon interaction.

Korean Affairs Report, No. 315.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-24

assuming the connection with Kim Yong -sam forces, reacted with an unexpectedly resolute stance, aiming its resolute response toward the Kim Yong -sam... Kim Yong -sam, former president of the now-defunct New Democratic Party, to a 10-day detention yesterday. Chon Hong-ki, 31, a member of the Minju...Democratic) Alpine Club, had stood before a summary court on 28 June for having spread printed material on the hunger strike of Kim Yong -sam. He was

Radical SAM catalysis via an organometallic intermediate with an Fe-[5'-C]-deoxyadenosyl bond.

PubMed

Horitani, Masaki; Shisler, Krista; Broderick, William E; Hutcheson, Rachel U; Duschene, Kaitlin S; Marts, Amy R; Hoffman, Brian M; Broderick, Joan B

2016-05-13

Radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes use a [4Fe-4S] cluster to cleave SAM to initiate diverse radical reactions. These reactions are thought to involve the 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical intermediate, which has not yet been detected. We used rapid freeze-quenching to trap a catalytically competent intermediate in the reaction catalyzed by the radical SAM enzyme pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme. Characterization of the intermediate by electron paramagnetic resonance and (13)C, (57)Fe electron nuclear double-resonance spectroscopies reveals that it contains an organometallic center in which the 5' carbon of a SAM-derived deoxyadenosyl moiety forms a bond with the unique iron site of the [4Fe-4S] cluster. Discovery of this intermediate extends the list of enzymatic bioorganometallic centers to the radical SAM enzymes, the largest enzyme superfamily known, and reveals intriguing parallels to B12 radical enzymes. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Effect of molecular desorption on the electronic properties of self-assembled polarizable molecular monolayers.

PubMed

Wang, Gunuk; Jeong, Hyunhak; Ku, Jamin; Na, Seok-In; Kang, Hungu; Ito, Eisuke; Jang, Yun Hee; Noh, Jaegeun; Lee, Takhee

2014-04-01

We investigated the interfacial electronic properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAM)-modified Au metal surface at elevated temperatures. We observed that the work functions of the Au metal surfaces modified with SAMs changed differently under elevated-temperature conditions based on the type of SAMs categorized by three different features based on chemical anchoring group, molecular backbone structure, and the direction of the dipole moment. The temperature-dependent work function of the SAM-modified Au metal could be explained in terms of the molecular binding energy and the thermal stability of the SAMs, which were investigated with thermal desorption spectroscopic measurements and were explained with molecular modeling. Our study will aid in understanding the electronic properties at the interface between SAMs and metals in organic electronic devices if an annealing treatment is applied. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emerging roles for Sam68 in adipogenesis and neuronal development.

PubMed

Vogel, Gillian; Richard, Stéphane

2012-09-01

Sam68, the Src-associated substrate during mitosis of 68 kDa, belongs to the large class of heteronuclear ribonucleoprotein particle K (hnRNP K) homology (KH) domain family of RNA-binding proteins. Sam68 contains a single KH domain harboring conserved N- and C-terminal sequences required for RNA binding and homodimerization. The KH domain is one of the most prevalent RNA binding domains that directly contacts single-stranded RNA. Sam68 has been implicated in numerous aspects of RNA metabolism including alternative splicing and polysomal recruitment of mRNAs. Studies in mice have revealed physiological roles linking Sam68 to osteoporosis, obesity, cancer, infertility and ataxia. Recent publications have greatly enhanced our understanding of Sam68 mechanism of action in addition to its cellular role. Herein, we will discuss the latest advances in the literature pertaining to obesity and neuronal development.

Detection and Quantification of Nitrogen Compounds in the First Drilled Martian Solid Samples by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, J. C.; Navarro-Gonzales, R.; Freissinet, C.; McKay, C. P.; Archer, P. D., Jr.; Buch, A.; Brunner, A. E.; Coll, P.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Franz, H. B.;

Identification of a Novel Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 Inhibitor in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer by Structure-Based Virtual Screening

PubMed Central

Wang, Qianqian; Xu, Jiahui; Li, Ying; Huang, Jumin; Jiang, Zebo; Wang, Yuwei; Liu, Liang; Leung, Elaine Lai Han; Yao, Xiaojun

2018-01-01

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is able to regulate gene transcription by catalyzing the symmetrical dimethylation of arginine residue of histone, which plays a key role in tumorigenesis. Many efforts have been taken in discovering small-molecular inhibitors against PRMT5, but very few were reported and most of them were SAM-competitive. EPZ015666 is a recently reported PRMT5 inhibitor with a new binding site, which is different from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-binding pocket. This new binding site provides a new clue for the design and discovery of potent and specific PRMT5 inhibitors. In this study, the structure-based virtual screening targeting this site was firstly performed to identify potential PRMT5 inhibitors. Then, the bioactivity of the candidate compound was studied. MTT results showed that compound T1551 decreased cell viability of A549 and H460 non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. By inhibiting the methyltransferase activity of PRMT5, T1551 reduced the global level of H4R3 symmetric dimethylation (H4R3me2s). T1551 also downregulated the expression of oncogene FGFR3 and eIF4E, and disturbed the activation of related PI3K/AKT/mTOR and ERK signaling in A549 cell. Finally, we investigated the conformational spaces and identified collective motions important for description of T1551/PRMT5 complex by using molecular dynamics simulation and normal mode analysis methods. This study provides a novel non-SAM-competitive hit compound for developing small molecules targeting PRMT5 in non-small cell lung cancer. PMID:29545752

Identification of a Novel Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 Inhibitor in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer by Structure-Based Virtual Screening.

PubMed

Wang, Qianqian; Xu, Jiahui; Li, Ying; Huang, Jumin; Jiang, Zebo; Wang, Yuwei; Liu, Liang; Leung, Elaine Lai Han; Yao, Xiaojun

2018-01-01

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is able to regulate gene transcription by catalyzing the symmetrical dimethylation of arginine residue of histone, which plays a key role in tumorigenesis. Many efforts have been taken in discovering small-molecular inhibitors against PRMT5, but very few were reported and most of them were SAM-competitive. EPZ015666 is a recently reported PRMT5 inhibitor with a new binding site, which is different from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-binding pocket. This new binding site provides a new clue for the design and discovery of potent and specific PRMT5 inhibitors. In this study, the structure-based virtual screening targeting this site was firstly performed to identify potential PRMT5 inhibitors. Then, the bioactivity of the candidate compound was studied. MTT results showed that compound T1551 decreased cell viability of A549 and H460 non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. By inhibiting the methyltransferase activity of PRMT5, T1551 reduced the global level of H4R3 symmetric dimethylation (H4R3me2s). T1551 also downregulated the expression of oncogene FGFR3 and eIF4E, and disturbed the activation of related PI3K/AKT/mTOR and ERK signaling in A549 cell. Finally, we investigated the conformational spaces and identified collective motions important for description of T1551/PRMT5 complex by using molecular dynamics simulation and normal mode analysis methods. This study provides a novel non-SAM-competitive hit compound for developing small molecules targeting PRMT5 in non-small cell lung cancer.

Detection of illicit substances in fingerprints by infrared spectral imaging.

PubMed

Ng, Ping Hei Ronnie; Walker, Sarah; Tahtouh, Mark; Reedy, Brian

2009-08-01

FTIR and Raman spectral imaging can be used to simultaneously image a latent fingerprint and detect exogenous substances deposited within it. These substances might include drugs of abuse or traces of explosives or gunshot residue. In this work, spectral searching algorithms were tested for their efficacy in finding targeted substances deposited within fingerprints. "Reverse" library searching, where a large number of possibly poor-quality spectra from a spectral image are searched against a small number of high-quality reference spectra, poses problems for common search algorithms as they are usually implemented. Out of a range of algorithms which included conventional Euclidean distance searching, the spectral angle mapper (SAM) and correlation algorithms gave the best results when used with second-derivative image and reference spectra. All methods tested gave poorer performances with first derivative and undifferentiated spectra. In a search against a caffeine reference, the SAM and correlation methods were able to correctly rank a set of 40 confirmed but poor-quality caffeine spectra at the top of a dataset which also contained 4,096 spectra from an image of an uncontaminated latent fingerprint. These methods also successfully and individually detected aspirin, diazepam and caffeine that had been deposited together in another fingerprint, and they did not indicate any of these substances as a match in a search for another substance which was known not to be present. The SAM was used to successfully locate explosive components in fingerprints deposited on silicon windows. The potential of other spectral searching algorithms used in the field of remote sensing is considered, and the applicability of the methods tested in this work to other modes of spectral imaging is discussed.

Dynamics of face and annular seals with two-phase flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, William F.; Basu, Prithwish; Beatty, Paul A.; Beeler, Richard M.; Lau, Stephen

1989-01-01

A detailed study was made of face and annular seals under conditions where boiling, i.e., phase change of the leaking fluid, occurs within the seal. Many seals operate in this mode because of flashing due to pressure drop and/or heat input from frictional heating. High pressure, water pumps, industrial chemical pumps, and cryogenic pumps are mentioned as a few of many applications. The initial motivation was the LOX-GOX seals for the space shuttle main engine, but the study was expanded to include any face or annular seal where boiling occurs. Some of the distinctive behavior characteristics of two-phase seals were discussed, particularly their axial stability. While two-phase seals probably exhibit instability to disturbances of other degrees of freedom such as wobble, etc., under certain conditions, such analyses are too complex to be treated at present. Since an all liquid seal (with parallel faces) has a neutral axial stiffness curve, and is stabilized axially by convergent coning, other degrees of freedom stability analyses are necessary. However, the axial stability behavior of the two-phase seal is always a consideration no matter how well the seal is aligned and regardless of the speed. Hence, axial stability is thought of as the primary design consideration for two-phase seals and indeed the stability behavior under sub-cooling variations probably overshadows other concerns. The main thrust was the dynamic analysis of axial motion of two-phase face seals, principally the determination of axial stiffness, and the steady behavior of two-phase annular seals. The main conclusions are that seals with two-phase flow may be unstable if improperly balanced. Detailed theoretical analyses of low (laminar) and high (turbulent) leakage seals are presented along with computer codes, parametric studies, and in particular a simplified PC based code that allows for rapid performance prediction. A simplified combined computer code for the performance prediction over the laminar and turbulent ranges of a two-phase seal is described and documented. The analyses, results, and computer codes are summarized.

Indicators of climate change for the African continent derived from radiosondes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Añel, J. A.; Gimeno, L.; Tesouro, M.; de La Torre, L.; Nieto, R.; Ribera, P.; García, R.; Hernández, E.

2003-04-01

Here we study the interannual variability of different parameters calculated from radiosonde data in the African continent. Data used in the analysis were a subset of the National Climatic Data Center Upper Air Digital Files of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA) (CARDS). This work show the climatic trends in the studied region during the period and from 1973 to 1998). Results show that radiosonde stations were useful for this analysis in the African continent. Main oscillations and the relationship with the Northern Annular Mode and El Niño-Southern Oscillation were also studied.

Rotation sets and phase-locking in an electronic three oscillator system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashwin, Peter; Guaschi, John; Phelps, J. M.

1993-07-01

The parameter space of an electronic three oscillator system is investigated and various codimension one and two bifurcations predicted by Baesens, Guckenheimer, Kim and MacKay are identified. Sampled time-series from the experimental systems are recorded and analysed for partial mode-locking or resonance (one or two independent rational relations between the average rates of change of the angles describing the system) using knowledge of where the invariant torus lies and the torus unfolding scheme of Ashwin and Swift. Examples of toroidal and annular chaos are investigated by finding bounds on the size and shape of the rotation set.

Practical aspects in the management of statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS).

PubMed

Laufs, Ulrich; Filipiak, Krysztof J; Gouni-Berthold, Ioanna; Catapano, Alberico L

2017-04-01

Statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS) frequently cause statin non-adherence, switching and discontinuation, contributing to adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. Therefore, the management of SAMS is key in the effective treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), through achievement of maximum-tolerated statin dosing and other practical aspects. The aim of this article is to provide practical, focused advice for healthcare professionals on the management of patients with SAMS. An expert working group combined current evidence, published guidelines and experiences surrounding a number of topics concerning SAMS to provide recommendations on how to best assess and manage this condition and reach the highest tolerated dose of statin for each individual patient. The group collaborated to provide guidance on definitions in the SAMS field, psychological issues, re-challenging and switching treatments, as well as interpretation of current guidelines and optimal treatment of SAMS in different patient populations. An algorithm was developed to guide the management of patients with SAMS. In addition, the expert working group considered some of the more complex scenarios in a series of frequently asked questions and suggested answers. The expert working group gave recommendations for healthcare professionals on the management of SAMS but highlighted the importance of tailoring the treatment approach to each individual patient. Evidence supporting the role of nutraceuticals and complementary therapies, such as vitamin D, was lacking, however the majority of the group favoured combination therapy with ezetimibe and the addition of PCSK9 inhibitors in high-risk patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

4-Mercaptophenylboronic acid SAMs on gold: comparison with SAMs derived from thiophenol, 4-mercaptophenol, and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid.

PubMed

Barriet, David; Yam, Chi Ming; Shmakova, Olga E; Jamison, Andrew C; Lee, T Randall

2007-08-14

We report the formation and characterization of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) derived from the adsorption of 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (MPBA) on gold. For comparison, SAMs derived from the adsorption of thiophenol (TP), 4-mercaptophenol (MP), and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) were also examined. The structure and properties of the SAMs were evaluated by ellipsometry, contact-angle goniometry, polarization-modulation infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Specifically, ellipsometry was used to assess the formation of monolayer films, and contact angle measurements were used to determine the surface hydrophilicity and homogeneity. Separately, PM-IRRAS was used to evaluate the molecular composition and orientation as well as the intermolecular hydrogen bonding within the SAMs. Finally, XPS was used to evaluate the film composition and surface coverage (i.e., packing density), which was observed to increase in the following order: TP < MP < MPBA < MBA. A rationalization for the observed packing differences is presented. The XPS data indicate further that ultrahigh vacuum conditions induce the partial dehydration of MPBA SAMs with the concomitant formation of surface boronic anhydride species. Overall, the analytical data collectively show that the MPBA moieties in the SAMs exist in the acid form rather than the anhydride form under ambient laboratory conditions. Furthermore, stability studies find that MPBA SAMs are surprisingly labile in basic solution, where the terminal B-C bonds are cleaved by the attack of hydroxide ion and strongly basic amine nucleophiles. The unanticipated lability observed here should be considered by those wishing to use MPBA moieties in carbohydrate-sensing applications.

Soft Ultraviolet (UV) Photopatterning and Metallization of Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) Formed from the Lipoic Acid Ester of α-Hydroxy-1-acetylpyrene: The Generality of Acid-Catalyzed Removal of Thiol-on-Gold SAMs using Soft UV Light.

PubMed

Pukenas, Laurynas; Prompinit, Panida; Nishitha, Boda; Tate, Daniel J; Singh, N D Pradeep; Wälti, Christoph; Evans, Stephen D; Bushby, Richard J

2017-05-31

Under a layer of 0.1 M HCl in isopropanol, soft ultraviolet (UV) (365 nm) photolysis of the thiol-on-gold self-assembled monolayer (SAM) derived from the lipoic acid ester of α-hydroxy-1-acetylpyrene results in the expected removal of the acetylpyrene protecting group. When photolyzing through a mask, this can be used to produce a patterned surface and, at a controlled electrochemical potential, it is then possible to selectively and reversibly electrodeposit copper on the photolyzed regions. Rather surprisingly, under these photolysis conditions, there is not only the expected photodeprotection of the ester but also partial removal of the lipoic acid layer which has been formed. In further studies, it is shown that this type of acid-catalyzed photoremoval of SAM layers by soft UV is a rather general phenomenon and results in the partial removal of the thiol-on-gold SAM layers derived from other ω-thiolated carboxylic acids. However, this phenomenon is chain-length dependent. Under conditions in which there is a ∼60% reduction in the thickness of the SAM derived from dithiobutyric acid, the SAM derived from mercaptoundecanoic acid is almost unaffected. The process by which the shorter-chain SAM layers are partially removed is not fully understood because these compounds do not absorb significantly in the 365 nm region of the spectrum! Significantly, this study shows that acid catalysis photolysis of thiol-on-gold SAMs needs to be used with caution.