Concerted functions of Streptococcus gordonii surface proteins PadA and Hsa mediate activation of human platelets and interactions with extracellular matrix.

PubMed

Haworth, Jennifer A; Jenkinson, Howard F; Petersen, Helen J; Back, Catherine R; Brittan, Jane L; Kerrigan, Steve W; Nobbs, Angela H

2017-01-01

A range of Streptococcus bacteria are able to interact with blood platelets to form a thrombus (clot). Streptococcus gordonii is ubiquitous within the human oral cavity and amongst the common pathogens isolated from subjects with infective endocarditis. Two cell surface proteins, Hsa and Platelet adherence protein A (PadA), in S. gordonii mediate adherence and activation of platelets. In this study, we demonstrate that PadA binds activated platelets and that an NGR (Asparagine-Glycine-Arginine) motif within a 657 amino acid residue N-terminal fragment of PadA is responsible for this, together with two other integrin-like recognition motifs RGT and AGD. PadA also acts in concert with Hsa to mediate binding of S. gordonii to cellular fibronectin and vitronectin, and to promote formation of biofilms. Evidence is presented that PadA and Hsa are each reliant on the other's active presentation on the bacterial cell surface, suggesting cooperativity in functions impacting both colonization and pathogenesis. © 2016 The Authors Cellular Microbiology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A new species of Aspidura Wagler, 1830 (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae) from Sri Pada sanctuary (Peak Wilderness), Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Wickramasinghe, L J Mendis; Vidanapathirana, Dulan Ranga; Kandambi, H K Dushantha; Pyron, R Alexander; Wickramasinghe, Nethu

2017-11-13

We describe a new species, Aspidura ravanai sp. nov., representing the eighth species of the genus known from Sri Lanka. The new species is readily distinguished from all other congeners by its colour pattern, scalation, and genetic distinctiveness. Our molecular results indicated that Aspidura began diversifying in the Miocene approximately 18 Ma, and A. ravanai sp. nov. diverged from its likely sister lineage A. trachyprocta at least 6.2 Ma. The species is currently known only from the type locality, on the western slopes of Sri Pada Peak in the central highlands of Sri Lanka.

Indoor Air Pollution in Non Ac Passenger Bus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Husna, Iksiroh; Unzilatirrizqi, Rizal D. Yan El; Karyanto, Yudi; Sunoko, Henna R.

2018-02-01

Passenger buses have been one of favorite means of transportation in Indonesia due to its affordability and flexibility. Intensity of human activities during the trip in the buses have a potential of causing indoor air pollution (polusi udara dalam ruang; PUDR). The indoor air pollution has an impact of 1000-time bigger than outdoor air pollution (polusi udara luar ruang; PULR) on lung. This study aimed to find out indoor air pollution rate of non air conditioned buses using an approach to biological agent pollutant source. The study applied an analysis restricted to microorganisms persistence as one of the sources of the indoor air pollution. The media were placed in different parts of the non AC buses. This study revealed that fungs were found in the non AC buses. They became contaminants and developed pathogenic bacteria that caused air pollution.

The return of "Gasoline station-park" status into green-open space in DKI Jakarta Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kautsar, L. H. R.; Waryono, T.; Sobirin

2017-07-01

The development of gasoline stations in 1970 increased drastically due to the Government support through DKT Jaya Official Note (DKT Jakarta), resulting in a great number of the parks (green open space or RTH - Ruang Terbuka Hijau) converted into a gasoline station. Currently, to meet the RTH target (13.94 % RTH based RTRW [(Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah) DKT Jakarta 2010], the policy was changed by Decree No.728 year 2009 and Governor Tnstruction No.75 year 2009. Land function of 27 gasoline stations unit must be returned. This study is to determine the appropriateness of gasoline Station-Park conversion into RTH based site and situation approach. The scope of this study was limited only to gasoline stations not converted into RTH. The methodology was the combination of AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) and ranking method. Site variables were meant for prone to flooding, the width of land for gasoline station, land status. Situation variables were meant for other public space, availability of other gasoline stations, gasoline stations service, road segments, and the proportions of built space. Analysis study used quantitative descriptive analysis. The results were three of the five gasoline stations were congruence to be converted into a green open space (RTH).

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Poly(1-adamantyl acrylate): Living Anionic Polymerization, Block Copolymerization, and Thermal Properties

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

Lu, Wei; Huang, Caili; Hong, Kunlun

Living anionic polymerization of acrylates is challenging due to intrinsic side reactions including backbiting reactions of propagating enolate anions and aggregation of active chain ends. In this study, the controlled synthesis of poly(1-adamatyl acrylate) (PAdA) was performed successfully for the first time via living anionic polymerization through investigation of the initiation systems of sec-butyllithium/diphenylethylene/lithium chloride (sec-BuLi/DPE/LiCl), diphenylmethylpotassium/diethylzinc (DPMK/Et 2Zn), and sodium naphthalenide/dipenylethylene/diethylzinc (Na-Naph/DPE/Et2Zn) in tetrahydrofuran at -78 °C using custom glass-blowing and high-vacuum techniques. PAdA synthesized via anionic polymerization using DPMK with a large excess (more than 40-fold to DPMK) of Et 2Zn as the ligand exhibited predicted molecular weightsmore » from 4.3 to 71.8 kg/mol and polydispersity indices of around 1.10. In addition, the produced PAdAs exhibit a low level of isotactic content (mm triads of 2.1%). The block copolymers of AdA and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were obtained by sequential anionic polymerization, and the distinct living property of PAdA over other acrylates was demonstrated based on the observation that the resulting PAdA-b-PMMA block copolymers were formed with no residual PAdA homopolymer. The PAdA homopolymers exhibit a very high glass transition temperature (133 °C) and outstanding thermal stability (T d: 376 °C) as compared to other acrylic polymers such as poly(tert-butyl acrylate) and poly(methyl acrylate). These merits make PAdA a promising candidate for acrylic-based thermoplastic elastomers with high upper service temperature and enhanced mechanical strength.« less

Poly(1-adamantyl acrylate): Living Anionic Polymerization, Block Copolymerization, and Thermal Properties

DOE PAGES

Lu, Wei; Huang, Caili; Hong, Kunlun; ...

2016-12-06

Living anionic polymerization of acrylates is challenging due to intrinsic side reactions including backbiting reactions of propagating enolate anions and aggregation of active chain ends. In this study, the controlled synthesis of poly(1-adamatyl acrylate) (PAdA) was performed successfully for the first time via living anionic polymerization through investigation of the initiation systems of sec-butyllithium/diphenylethylene/lithium chloride (sec-BuLi/DPE/LiCl), diphenylmethylpotassium/diethylzinc (DPMK/Et 2Zn), and sodium naphthalenide/dipenylethylene/diethylzinc (Na-Naph/DPE/Et2Zn) in tetrahydrofuran at -78 °C using custom glass-blowing and high-vacuum techniques. PAdA synthesized via anionic polymerization using DPMK with a large excess (more than 40-fold to DPMK) of Et 2Zn as the ligand exhibited predicted molecular weightsmore » from 4.3 to 71.8 kg/mol and polydispersity indices of around 1.10. In addition, the produced PAdAs exhibit a low level of isotactic content (mm triads of 2.1%). The block copolymers of AdA and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were obtained by sequential anionic polymerization, and the distinct living property of PAdA over other acrylates was demonstrated based on the observation that the resulting PAdA-b-PMMA block copolymers were formed with no residual PAdA homopolymer. The PAdA homopolymers exhibit a very high glass transition temperature (133 °C) and outstanding thermal stability (T d: 376 °C) as compared to other acrylic polymers such as poly(tert-butyl acrylate) and poly(methyl acrylate). These merits make PAdA a promising candidate for acrylic-based thermoplastic elastomers with high upper service temperature and enhanced mechanical strength.« less

Comparative study of landslides susceptibility mapping methods: Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salleh, S. A.; Rahman, A. S. A. Abd; Othman, A. N.; Mohd, W. M. N. Wan

2018-02-01

As different approach produces different results, it is crucial to determine the methods that are accurate in order to perform analysis towards the event. This research aim is to compare the Rank Reciprocal (MCDM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) analysis techniques in determining susceptible zones of landslide hazard. The study is based on data obtained from various sources such as local authority; Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) and other agencies. The data were analysed and processed using Arc GIS. The results were compared by quantifying the risk ranking and area differential. It was also compared with the zonation map classified by DBKL. The results suggested that ANN method gives better accuracy compared to MCDM with 18.18% higher accuracy assessment of the MCDM approach. This indicated that ANN provides more reliable results and it is probably due to its ability to learn from the environment thus portraying realistic and accurate result.

Challenges on Java’s small city spatial planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wirawan, B.; Tambunan, J. R.

2018-05-01

Most Indonesians nowadays live in the urban area, due to urbanization. 60 percent of the inhabitants of Java, the most populous island in Indonesia, will live in the urban area by 2010, a figure that is higher than the national average of 55 percent. Urbanization has brought a large influx of newcomers not only into the metropolitan or large cities, but also into small and medium cities. One of urbanization’s most concerning impacts is urban sprawl that harms sustainability. There is a dearth of academic literature studying the phenomenon of urban sprawl in Indonesian small cities. Urban sprawl in small cities is commonly ignored, considered as a contained problem the solution for which is a simple use of local spatial plan. Unfortunately, for Indonesia, this solution is difficult to implement because city spatial plans works only within administrative jurisdictions, whilst the urban sprawls themselves generally occur across the borders of different administrative jurisdictions. This study studies urban sprawls occurring in several small cities in Java. While those cities already have spatial plan, most were the general spatial plan (Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah Kota/Kabupaten) that operates only within the city’s administrative jurisdiction. We are unable to find detailed strategies in these cities to deal with urban sprawl. We also found that all spatial plans are unable to come up with urban growth boundary strategy. Finally, we are also unable to find integrated detailed spatial plan among those cities to answer the urban sprawl situation.

Tests of Rock Cores Michigamme Study Area, Michigan

DTIC Science & Technology

1970-06-01

cca;c-rraincd tona- l ".1 ., reck with dis - ’ pte, --’gmatite bands. MG-CR-26 SAMcO-9, DC-2 2 17 Black and white, medium- grtlned gn.insic ,onalite. I...4 . :t:::*.::: l N . . ......... 20,000 W:., ..... ... ... ... ...... ....... ... . .1. 1:: t: :1:1:1 N.: .111:::: Fiji. milIA : -mit: 15.00C :N...PCS13.60/MF$3.00 SutrdPormigSre.Vl l siae V Bilogcal ervcesProgam.Fisal Yar 975Software Project Resource Requirement* PADA251 738/PAT 52 p PC$4.50

Strategic competence of senior secondary school students in solving mathematics problem based on cognitive style

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syukriani, Andi; Juniati, Dwi; Siswono, Tatag Yuli Eko

2017-08-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the strategic competence of senior secondary school students in solving mathematics problems. Terdapat dua subjek, satu bergaya kognitif field-independent dan satu bergaya kognitif field-dependent tetapi keduanya memiliki tingkat prestasi belajar matematika yang setara. There were two subjects, one field-independent cognitive style and one field-dependent cognitive style. They had an equivalent high level of mathematics achievement. Keduanya dipilih berdasarkan hasil tes kompetensi matematika dan GEFT (Group Embedded Figures Test). Subjects were selected based on the test results of mathematics competence and GEFT (Group Embedded Figures Test). Kompetensi strategis dapat merangsang perkembangan otonomi dan fleksibilitas dalam diri siswa karena merupakan keterampilan yang sangat dibutuhkan di sepanjang abad 21. Gaya kognitif merupakan kecenderungan siswa dalam mengolah informasi sangat mempengaruhi performance dalam menyelesaikan masalah matematika. Strategic competence can stimulate the development of autonomy and flexibility of students and they are skills which are needed in the 21st century. Cognitive style is the tendency of students in processing informations and it greatly affects the performance in solving mathematics problems. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa subjek FI cenderung analitis baik pada pembentukan bayangannya maupun pada gambar yang dibuatnya untuk memproses informasi berdasarkan dengan struktur pengetahuannya sendiri (Internally directed). The research result showed that subject FI tended to be analytical both in forming the mental imagination and the picture to process information in accordance with his own knowledge structure (internally directed). Subjek FD kurang analitis dan tidak dapat mengenal bentuk sederhana (konsep matematika) dari bentuk yang kompleks (Exeternally directed) sehingga menerima ide sebagaimana yang disajikan. Subject FD was less analytical and unable to recognize simple form

Urban greenspace for resilient city in the future: Case study of Yogyakarta City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni'mah, N. M.; Lenonb, S.

2017-06-01

The capacity of adaptation is essential elements towards urban resilience. One adaptation that can be done is to consider the provision of open space and public space in the city. Yogyakarta City development which focused on the built area and negates the open space has blurred the characteristics of the city. Efforts in increasing the availability of public space is one of the seven priorities of the programs included in the environmental and the utilization of space in Yogyakarta City. An understanding of the provision of public green open spaces in Yogyakarta is important because the products and processes that take place in a development will determine the successful implementation of the development plan. The objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to identify the provision green space in Yogyakarta City from the aspects of product and procedure; and (2) to identify the role of green space to build resilient city. This study is used descriptive qualitative approach with in-depth interview, literature review, and triangulation as the method for data collection. Yogyakarta has had instruments for public green open spaces provision called Masterplan Ruang Terbuka Hijau (RTH) Up-Scaling Yogyakarta 2013-2032 which govern the typologies and criteria for green open space development in the city.Public green open spaces development mechanism can be grouped into the planning phase, the utilization phase, and the control phase of each consisting of legal and regulatory aspects, institutional aspects, financial aspects, and technical aspects. The mechanism of green open space provision should regard the need of advocacy for “urban green commons” (UGCs) development as a systematic approach of collective-participatory for urban land management.

Clinical value of jointly detection serum lactate dehydrogenase/pleural fluid adenosine deaminase and pleural fluid carcinoembryonic antigen in the identification of malignant pleural effusion.

PubMed

Zhang, Fan; Hu, Lijuan; Wang, Junjun; Chen, Jian; Chen, Jie; Wang, Yumin

2017-09-01

Limited data are available for the diagnostic value, and for the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of joint detection of serum lactate dehydrogenase (sLDH)/pleural fluid adenosine deaminase (pADA) and pleural fluid carcinoembryonic antigen (pCEA) in malignant pleural effusion (MPE). We collected 987 pleural effusion specimens (of which 318 were malignant pleural effusion, 374 were tubercular pleural effusion, and 295 were parapneumonic effusion specimens) from the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from July 2012 to March 2016. The pADA, sLDH, pleural fluid LDH (pLDH), serum C-reactive protein (sCRP), pleural fluid protein, pCEA, white blood cell (WBC), and red blood cell (RBC) were analyzed, and the clinical data of each group were collected for statistical analysis. The level of sLDH/pADA, pCEA, and RBC from the MPE group was markedly higher than the tuberculosis pleural effusion (TB) group (Mann-Whitney U=28422.000, 9278.000, 30518, P=.000, .000, .000) and the parapneumonic pleural fluid group (Mann-Whitney U=5972.500, 7113.000, 36750.500, P=.000, .000, .000). The receiver operating characteristic curve ROC showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) (=0.924, 0.841) of pCEA and sLDH/pADA (cutoff=4.9, 10.6) were significantly higher than other markers for the diagnosis of MPE. Thus, joint detection of pCEA and sLDH/pADA suggested that the sensitivity, specificity, and AUC was 0.94, 81.70, and 94.32 at the cutoff 0.16 and diagnostic performance was higher than pCEA or sLDH/pADA. Joint detection of sLDH/pADA and pCEA can be used as a good indicator for the identification of benign and MPE with higher sensitivity and specificity than pCEA or sLDH/pADA. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

STS-100 Photo-op/Shut-up/Depart O&C/Launch Endeavour On Orbit/Landing/Crew Egress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

This video shows an overview of crew activities from STS-100. The crew of Space Shuttle Shuttle Endeavour includes: Commander Kent Rominger; Pilot Jeffrey Ashby; and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni, and Yuri Lonchakov. Sections of the video include: Photo-op; Suit-up; Depart O&C; Ingress; Launch with Playbacks; On-orbit; Landing with Playbacks; Crew Egress & Departure. Voiceover narration introduces the astronauts at their pre-flight meal, and continues during the video, except for the launch and landing sequences. Launch playback views include: NEXT; Beach Tracker; VAB; PAD-A; Tower-1; UCS-15; Grandstand; OTV-60; OTV-70; OTV-71; DOAMS; UCS-10 Tracker; UCS-23 Tracker; On-board Ascent Camera. The On-orbit section of the video shows preparations for an extravehicular activity (EVA) to install Canadarm 2 on the International Space Station (ISS). Preparation for docking with the ISS, and the docking of the orbiter and ISS are shown. The attachment of Canadarm 2 and the Raffaello Logistics Module, a resupply vehicle, are shown. The crew also undertakes some maintenance of the ISS. Landing playback views include: TV-1; TV-2; LRO-1; LRO-2; PPOV.

[The construction of care by the health team and the caretaker within a home-care program for bedridden patients in Porto Alegre (RS, Brazil)].

PubMed

de Almeida Freitas, Ivani Bueno; Meneghel, Stela Nazareth; Selli, Lucilda

2011-01-01

The main objective of this case study was to understand the construction of care in the Homecare Program for Bedridden Patients (PADA) of a basic health unit (UBS) in Porto Alegre, RS. Data were obtained from 13 caretaker groups in the UBS, and participating observation recorded in field diary in the patient's homes. An analysis of the discourse practices was performed inspired in Foucault's discourse concepts speeches and in studies on ethics and self-care. In the groups, the caretaker occupied a space that we metaphorically called the Delphic Oracle, a place for acceptance, listening and support. Hearing the dialogues that took place between the team and the caretakers made us face the contradiction present in the institutional discourse, which both stimulates self-care, and imposes rules, duties, tasks. Care as a citizenship right opposite to care as submission and subjugation created tension inside the group several times. Foucault's notion of care comprises a synthesis of the exercise of a person over his- or herself, making him or her better as a human being and, at the same time, capacitating him or her to become a better citizen.

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

Lu, Wei; Wang, Yangyang; Wang, Weiyu

All acrylic-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) offer potential alternatives to the widely-used styrenic TPEs. However, the high entanglement molecular weight ( M e) of polyacrylates, as compared to polydienes, leads to “disappointing” mechanical performance as compared to styrenic TPEs. In this study, triblock copolymers composed of alkyl acrylates with different pendant groups and different glass transition temperatures ( T gs), i.e. 1-adamatyl acrylate (AdA) and tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate (THFA), were synthesized via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Thermal characterization of the resulting polymers was performed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the T gs of both segments were observed for themore » block copolymers. This indication of microphase separation behavior was further demonstrated using atomic-force microscopy (AFM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed that the softening temperature of the PAdA domains is 123 °C, which is higher than that of both styrenic TPEs and commercial acrylic based TPEs with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) hard block. Here, the resulting triblock copolymers also exhibited stress–strain behavior superior to that of conventional all acrylic-based TPEs composed of PMMA and poly( n-butyl acrylate) (PBA) made by controlled radical processes, while the tensile strength was lower than for products made by living anionic polymerization.« less

All acrylic-based thermoplastic elastomers with high upper service temperature and superior mechanical properties

DOE PAGES

Lu, Wei; Wang, Yangyang; Wang, Weiyu; ...

2017-08-25

All acrylic-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) offer potential alternatives to the widely-used styrenic TPEs. However, the high entanglement molecular weight ( M e) of polyacrylates, as compared to polydienes, leads to “disappointing” mechanical performance as compared to styrenic TPEs. In this study, triblock copolymers composed of alkyl acrylates with different pendant groups and different glass transition temperatures ( T gs), i.e. 1-adamatyl acrylate (AdA) and tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate (THFA), were synthesized via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Thermal characterization of the resulting polymers was performed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the T gs of both segments were observed for themore » block copolymers. This indication of microphase separation behavior was further demonstrated using atomic-force microscopy (AFM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed that the softening temperature of the PAdA domains is 123 °C, which is higher than that of both styrenic TPEs and commercial acrylic based TPEs with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) hard block. Here, the resulting triblock copolymers also exhibited stress–strain behavior superior to that of conventional all acrylic-based TPEs composed of PMMA and poly( n-butyl acrylate) (PBA) made by controlled radical processes, while the tensile strength was lower than for products made by living anionic polymerization.« less

Direction-of-arrival estimation for co-located multiple-input multiple-output radar using structural sparsity Bayesian learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Fang-Qing; Zhang, Gong; Ben, De

2015-11-01

This paper addresses the direction of arrival (DOA) estimation problem for the co-located multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar with random arrays. The spatially distributed sparsity of the targets in the background makes compressive sensing (CS) desirable for DOA estimation. A spatial CS framework is presented, which links the DOA estimation problem to support recovery from a known over-complete dictionary. A modified statistical model is developed to accurately represent the intra-block correlation of the received signal. A structural sparsity Bayesian learning algorithm is proposed for the sparse recovery problem. The proposed algorithm, which exploits intra-signal correlation, is capable being applied to limited data support and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scene. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm has less computation load compared to the classical Bayesian algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has a more accurate DOA estimation than the traditional multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm and other CS recovery algorithms. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61071163, 61271327, and 61471191), the Funding for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China (Grant No. BCXJ14-08), the Funding of Innovation Program for Graduate Education of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. KYLX 0277), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (Grant No. 3082015NP2015504), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PADA), China.

Bringing the CMS distributed computing system into scalable operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belforte, S.; Fanfani, A.; Fisk, I.; Flix, J.; Hernández, J. M.; Kress, T.; Letts, J.; Magini, N.; Miccio, V.; Sciabà, A.

2010-04-01

Establishing efficient and scalable operations of the CMS distributed computing system critically relies on the proper integration, commissioning and scale testing of the data and workload management tools, the various computing workflows and the underlying computing infrastructure, located at more than 50 computing centres worldwide and interconnected by the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid. Computing challenges periodically undertaken by CMS in the past years with increasing scale and complexity have revealed the need for a sustained effort on computing integration and commissioning activities. The Processing and Data Access (PADA) Task Force was established at the beginning of 2008 within the CMS Computing Program with the mandate of validating the infrastructure for organized processing and user analysis including the sites and the workload and data management tools, validating the distributed production system by performing functionality, reliability and scale tests, helping sites to commission, configure and optimize the networking and storage through scale testing data transfers and data processing, and improving the efficiency of accessing data across the CMS computing system from global transfers to local access. This contribution reports on the tools and procedures developed by CMS for computing commissioning and scale testing as well as the improvements accomplished towards efficient, reliable and scalable computing operations. The activities include the development and operation of load generators for job submission and data transfers with the aim of stressing the experiment and Grid data management and workload management systems, site commissioning procedures and tools to monitor and improve site availability and reliability, as well as activities targeted to the commissioning of the distributed production, user analysis and monitoring systems.

Seasonal variability of chlorophyll-a and oceanographic conditions in Sabah waters in relation to Asian monsoon--a remote sensing study.

PubMed

Abdul-Hadi, Alaa; Mansor, Shattri; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Tan, C K

2013-05-01

A study was conducted to investigate the influence of Asian monsoon on chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) content in Sabah waters and to identify the related oceanographic conditions that caused phytoplankton blooms at the eastern and western coasts of Sabah, Malaysia. A series of remote sensing measurements including surface Chl-a, sea surface temperature, sea surface height anomaly, wind speed, wind stress curl, and Ekman pumping were analyzed to study the oceanographic conditions that lead to large-scale nutrients enrichment in the surface layer. The results showed that the Chl-a content increased at the northwest coast from December to April due to strong northeasterly wind and coastal upwelling in Kota Kinabalu water. The southwest coast (Labuan water) maintained high concentrations throughout the year due to the effect of Padas River discharge during the rainy season and the changing direction of Baram River plume during the northeast monsoon (NEM). However, with the continuous supply of nutrients from the upwelling area, the high Chl-a batches were maintained at the offshore water off Labuan for a longer time during NEM. On the other side, the northeast coast illustrated a high Chl-a in Sandakan water during NEM, whereas the northern tip off Kudat did not show a pronounced change throughout the year. The southeast coast (Tawau water) was highly influenced by the direction of the surface water transport between the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and the prevailing surface currents. The study demonstrates the presence of seasonal phytoplankton blooms in Sabah waters which will aid in forecasting the possible biological response and could further assist in marine resource managements.