Excess open solar magnetic flux from satellite data: 1. Analysis of the third perihelion Ulysses pass

We use the third perihelion pass by the Ulysses spacecraft to illustrate and investigate the “flux excess” effect, whereby open solar flux estimates from spacecraft increase with increasing heliocentric distance. We analyze the potential effects of small-scale structure in the heliospheric field (giving fluctuations in the radial component on timescales smaller than 1 h) and kinematic time-of-flight effects of longitudinal structure in the solar wind flow. We show that the flux excess is explained by neither very small-scale structure (timescales < 1 h) nor by the kinematic “bunching effect” on spacecraft sampling. The observed flux excesses is, however, well explained by the kinematic effect of larger-scale (>1 day) solar wind speed variations on the frozen-in heliospheric field. We show that averaging over an interval T (that is long enough to eliminate structure originating in the heliosphere yet small enough to avoid cancelling opposite polarity radial field that originates from genuine sector structure in the coronal source field) is only an approximately valid way of allowing for these effects and does not adequately explain or account for differences between the streamer belt and the polar coronal holes.

Predictions of the arrival time of coronal mass ejections at 1AU: an analysis of the causes of errors

Three existing models of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection (ICME) transit between the Sun and the Earth are compared to coronagraph and in situ observations: all three models are found to perform with a similar level of accuracy (i.e. an average error between observed and predicted 1AU transit times of approximately 11 h). To improve long-term space weather prediction, factors influencing CME transit are investigated. Both the removal of the plane of sky projection (as suffered by coronagraph derived speeds of Earth directed CMEs) and the use of observed values of solar wind speed, fail to significantly improve transit time prediction. However, a correlation is found to exist between the late/early arrival of an ICME and the width of the preceding sheath region, suggesting that the error is a geometrical effect that can only be removed by a more accurate determination of a CME trajectory and expansion. The correlation between magnetic field intensity and speed of ejecta at 1AU is also investigated. It is found to be weak in the body of the ICME, but strong in the sheath, if the upstream solar wind conditions are taken into account.

Associations between elevated atmospheric temperature and human mortality: a critical review of the literature

The effects of the anomalously warm European summer of 2003 highlighted the importance of understanding the relationship between elevated atmospheric temperature and human mortality. This review is an extension of the brief evidence examining this relationship provided in the IPCC’s Assessment Reports. A comprehensive and critical review of the literature is presented, which highlights avenues for further research, and the respective merits and limitations of the methods used to analyse the relationships. In contrast to previous reviews that concentrate on the epidemiological evidence, this review acknowledges the inter-disciplinary nature of the topic and examines the evidence presented in epidemiological, environmental health, and climatological journals. As such, present temperature–mortality relationships are reviewed, followed by a discussion of how these are likely to change under climate change scenarios. The importance of uncertainty, and methods to include it in future work, are also considered.

Spectral analysis of the elliptic sine-Gordon equation in the quarter plane

We study the elliptic sine-Gordon equation in the quarter plane using a spectral transform approach. We determine the Riemann-Hilbert problem associated with well-posed boundary value problems in this domain and use it to derive a formal representation of the solution. Our analysis is based on a generalization of the usual inverse scattering transform recently introduced by Fokas for studying linear elliptic problems.

ASYM20: a program for force constant and normal coordinate calculations, with a critical review of the theory involved

The theory of harmonic force constant refinement calculations is reviewed, and a general-purpose program for force constant and normal coordinate calculations is described. The program, called ASYM20. is available through Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange. It will work on molecules of any symmetry containing up to 20 atoms and will produce results on a series of isotopomers as desired. The vibrational secular equations are solved in either nonredundant valence internal coordinates or symmetry coordinates. As well as calculating the (harmonic) vibrational wavenumbers and normal coordinates, the program will calculate centrifugal distortion constants, Coriolis zeta constants, harmonic contributions to the α′s. root-mean-square amplitudes of vibration, and other quantities related to gas electron-diffraction studies and thermodynamic properties. The program will work in either a predict mode, in which it calculates results from an input force field, or in a refine mode, in which it refines an input force field by least squares to fit observed data on the quantities mentioned above. Predicate values of the force constants may be included in the data set for a least-squares refinement. The program is written in FORTRAN for use on a PC or a mainframe computer. Operation is mainly controlled by steering indices in the input data file, but some interactive control is also implemented.

Analysis of the eyes formed in simulated tropical cyclones and polar lows

The structure and size of the eyes generated in numerically simulated tropical cyclones and polar lows have been studied. A primitive-equation numerical model simulated systems in which the structures of the eyes formed were consistent with available observations. Whilst the tropical cyclone eyes generated were usually rapidly rotating, it appeared impossible for an eye formed in a system with a polar environment to develop this type of structure. The polar low eyes were found to be unable to warm through the subsidence of air with high values of potential temperature, as the environment was approximately statically neutral. Factors affecting the size of the eye were investigated through a series of controlled experiments. In mature tropical cyclone systems the size of the eye was insensitive to small changes in initial conditions, surface friction and latent and sensible heating from the ocean. In contrast, the eye size was strongly dependent on these parameters in the mature polar lows. Consistent with the findings, a mechanism is proposed in which the size of the eye in simulated polar lows is controlled by the strength of subsidence within it.

Sequence analysis of the cupin gene family in Synechocystis PCC6803

The recently described cupin superfamily of proteins includes the germin and germinlike proteins, of which the cereal oxalate oxidase is the best characterized. This superfamily also includes seed storage proteins, in addition to several microbial enzymes and proteins with unknown function. All these proteins are characterized by the conservation of two central motifs, usually containing two or three histidine residues presumed to be involved with metal binding in the catalytic active site. The present study on the coding regions of Synechocystis PCC6803 identifies a previously unknown group of 12 related cupins, each containing the characteristic two-motif signature. This group comprises 11 single-domain proteins, ranging in length from 104 to 289 residues, and includes two phosphomannose isomerases and two epimerases involved in cell wall synthesis, a member of the pirin group of nuclear proteins, a possible transcriptional regulator, and a close relative-of a cytochrome c551 from Rhodococcus. Additionally, there is a duplicated, two-domain protein that has close similarity to an oxalate decarboxylase from the fungus Collybia velutipes and that is a putative progenitor of the storage proteins of land plants.

Analysis of the SDS−Lysozyme binding isotherm

A scheme to describe SDS−lysozyme complex formation has been proposed on the basis of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and FTIR spectroscopy data. ITC isotherms are convoluted and reveal a marked effect of both SDS and lysozyme concentration on the stoichiometry of the SDS−lysozyme complex. The binding isotherms have been described with the aid of FTIR spectroscopy in terms of changes in the lysozyme structure and the nature of the SDS binding. At low SDS concentrations, ITC isotherms feature an exothermic region that corresponds to specific electrostatic binding of SDS to positively charged amino acid residues on the lysozyme surface. This leads to charge neutralization of the complex and precipitation. The number of SDS molecules that bind specifically to lysozyme is approximately 8, as determined from our ITC isotherms, and is independent of lysozyme solution concentration. At high SDS concentrations, hydrophobic cooperative association dominates the binding process. Saturated binding stoichiometries as a molar ratio of SDS per molecule of lysozyme range from 220:1 to 80:1, depending on the lysozyme solution concentration. A limiting value of 78:1 has been calculated for lysozyme solution concentrations above 0.25 mM.

Input usage, output mix and industry deregulation: an analysis of the Australian dairy manufacturing industry

In this paper we estimate a Translog output distance function for a balanced panel of state level data for the Australian dairy processing sector. We estimate a fixed effects specification employing Bayesian methods, with and without the imposition of monotonicity and curvature restrictions. Our results indicate that Tasmania and Victoria are the most technically efficient states with New South Wales being the least efficient. The imposition of theoretical restrictions marginally affects the results especially with respect to estimates of technical change and industry deregulation. Importantly, our bias estimates show changes in both input use and output mix that result from deregulation. Specifically, we find that deregulation has positively biased the production of butter, cheese and powders.

Phylogeographic analysis of the chloroplast DNA variation in wild common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in the Americas

The wild common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is widely but discontinuously distributed from northern Mexico to northern Argentina on both sides of the Isthmus of Panama. Little is known on how the species has reached its current disjunct distribution. In this research, chloroplast DNA polymorphisms in seven non-coding regions were used to study the history of migration of wild P. vulgaris between Mesoamerica and South America. A penalized likelihood analysis was applied to previously published Leguminosae ITS data to estimate divergence times between P. vulgaris and its sister taxa from Mesoamerica, and divergence times of populations within P. vulgaris. Fourteen chloroplast haplotypes were identified by PCR-RFLP and their geographical associations were studied by means of a Nested Clade Analysis and Mantel Tests. The results suggest that the haplotypes are not randomly distributed but occupy discrete parts of the geographic range of the species. The current distribution of haplotypes may be explained by isolation by distance and by at least two migration events between Mesoamerica and South America: one from Mesoamerica to South America and another one from northern South America to Mesoamerica. Age estimates place the divergence of P. vulgaris from its sister taxa from Mesoamerica at or before 1.3 Ma, and divergence of populations from Ecuador-northern Peru at or before 0.6 Ma. As these ages are taken as minimum divergence times, the influence of past events, such as the closure of the Isthmus of Panama and the final uplift of the Andes, on the migration history and population structure of this species cannot be disregarded.

Analysis of the calving pattern of herds in small-scale dairy systems in central Mexico

This study sets out to find the best calving pattern for small-scale dairy systems in Michoacan State, central Mexico. Two models were built. First, a linear programming model was constructed to optimize calving pattern and herd structure according to metabolizable energy availability. Second, a Markov chain model was built to investigate three reproductive scenarios (good, average and poor) in order to suggest factors that maintain the calving pattern given by the linear programming model. Though it was not possible to maintain the optimal linear programming pattern, the Markov chain model suggested adopting different reproduction strategies according to period of the year that the cow is expected to calve. Comparing different scenarios, the Markov model indicated the effect of calving interval on calving pattern and herd structure.