A photographic record of a pre- and post-lake creation event from World War II at Valley, Isle of Anglesey, UK

The article compares a recent aerial photograph of the lowlands of the Isle of Anglesey area with a German surveillance photograph from 1941. The authors aim to infer the environmental changes made to this sand dune and lake system as a direct consequence of constructing the airfield. Part of Tywyn Trewan, the extensive sand dune system, was completely destroyed in order to create runways and the technical and domestic accommodation to house a strategic airfield. As part of the dredging, six new water bodies with a combined surface area of approximately 6 ha were created.

Battery-Powered RF Pre-Ionization System for the Caltech Magnetohydrodynamically-Driven Jet Experiment: RF Discharge Properties and MHD-Driven Jet Dynamics

This thesis describes investigations of two classes of laboratory plasmas with rather different properties: partially ionized low pressure radiofrequency (RF) discharges, and fully ionized high density magnetohydrodynamically (MHD)-driven jets. An RF pre-ionization system was developed to enable neutral gas breakdown at lower pressures and create hotter, faster jets in the Caltech MHD-Driven Jet Experiment. The RF plasma source used a custom pulsed 3 kW 13.56 MHz RF power amplifier that was powered by AA batteries, allowing it to safely float at 4-6 kV with the cathode of the jet experiment. The argon RF discharge equilibrium and transport properties were analyzed, and novel jet dynamics were observed.

Although the RF plasma source was conceived as a wave-heated helicon source, scaling measurements and numerical modeling showed that inductive coupling was the dominant energy input mechanism. A one-dimensional time-dependent fluid model was developed to quantitatively explain the expansion of the pre-ionized plasma into the jet experiment chamber. The plasma transitioned from an ionizing phase with depressed neutral emission to a recombining phase with enhanced emission during the course of the experiment, causing fast camera images to be a poor indicator of the density distribution. Under certain conditions, the total visible and infrared brightness and the downstream ion density both increased after the RF power was turned off. The time-dependent emission patterns were used for an indirect measurement of the neutral gas pressure.

The low-mass jets formed with the aid of the pre-ionization system were extremely narrow and collimated near the electrodes, with peak density exceeding that of jets created without pre-ionization. The initial neutral gas distribution prior to plasma breakdown was found to be critical in determining the ultimate jet structure. The visible radius of the dense central jet column was several times narrower than the axial current channel radius, suggesting that the outer portion of the jet must have been force free, with the current parallel to the magnetic field. The studies of non-equilibrium flows and plasma self-organization being carried out at Caltech are relevant to astrophysical jets and fusion energy research.

Cytological aspects of gonadotropic cells and pre-opticoneurohypophysial neurosecretion during the ovarian cycle of Eudontomyzon danfordi. [Translation from: Studia Univ.Babes-Bolyai, Biologia 18 105-113, 1973.]

The connection between the activity of the gonadotropic cells of the hypophysis and the neurosecretion in the pre-optico neuro-hypophysial system in different groups of vertebrates has been examined by many authors. It has been established that in many species there exists some kind of synchronism between the sexual cycle and the cellular activity of neurosecretion, a fact that has led to the prevailing idea that gonadotropic activity in the hypophysis is regulated by the hypothalamus. This paper summarises the results of experiments made in this direction on Cyclostomata. The materials for research came from adult individuals of Eudontomyson danfordi Regan taken from the rivers Somes-Rece and Ivo (Harghita district) at different times of the year.

El soleamiento en las fachadas, técnicas para su reducción y pre dimensionamiento.

[EU]Lan honen helburu nagusia eraikuntzan gehituko diren argi-babeski sistema mota desberdinak aurkeztea da, bertan ematen den energia kontsumoa murrizteko asmoz. Izan ere, argi naturalaren erabilpen egoki batek eraikinaren efizientzia hobetzera eramango gaitu. Horretarako, ezinbestekoa izango da baliabide hau behar bezala ezagutzea, argitasuna eta beharrezko babesa eskaintzeko, eta ondorioz, energia aurreztea lortzeko. Babes sistema egokiena aukeratu baino lehen, aldez aurretik sortu izan diren argi-babeski mota desberdinak aztertu izan dira. Horrez gain, eguzki erradiazioa neurtzeko metodo grafiko eta analitikoak ere aztertu dira. Ondoren, Ecotect programak eskaintzen dituen simulazioei esker, eguzki erradiazioaren datu zehatzagoak lortzeko asmoz, ikasketa horretan erabiliko den eraikinaren kokapena, orientazioa eta ezaugarriak erabaki dira. Behin prototipoa definituta, programa bidez lau babes sistema mota desberdinak aztertu dira, horrela babesik gabeko eraikinean lortutako datuak alderatzeko. Azterketa Bilbo eta Sevillan egitea erabaki izan da. Izan ere, bi hiriburu hauek klimatologian duten desberdintasuna argi-babeskien aukeraketan duen eragina aztertzeko aukeratu dira, gainera, orientazioak eta argi babeskien dimentsioek ere izan dute zer esana aukeraketa garaian. Horrez gain, argi-babeskiek sortutako itzala ere aztertu izan da. Horrela, sistema hauen jarrera orokorra ikusi daiteke, eta beraz, uda garaian babesteko eta negu garaian eguzki izpiak sartzen uzteko duten ahalmena ikusi da. Bukatzeko, aurretik lortutako datu guztiei esker, eta bai kokapena zein orientazioa kontutan hartuz, babes sistema egokiena aukeratu da, jakinik ezinbestekoa dela argitasuna, babesa eta aurrezte energetikoaren arteko oreka egoki bat lortzea.

Genetic Variants in MiRNA Processing Genes and Pre-MiRNAs Are Associated with the Risk of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several low-penetrance susceptibility alleles in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Nevertheless, these studies scarcely study regions that are implicated in non-coding molecules such as microRNAs (miRNAs). Abnormalities in miRNAs, as altered expression patterns and mutations, have been described in CLL, suggesting their implication in the development of the disease. Genetic variations in miRNAs can affect levels of miRNA expression if present in pre-miRNAs and in miRNA biogenesis genes or alter miRNA function if present in both target mRNA and miRNA sequences. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate whether polymorphisms in pre-miRNAs, and/or miRNA processing genes contribute to predisposition for CLL. A total of 91 SNPs in 107 CLL patients and 350 cancer-free controls were successfully analyzed using TaqMan Open Array technology. We found nine statistically significant associations with CLL risk after FDR correction, seven in miRNA processing genes (rs3805500 and rs6877842 in DROSHA, rs1057035 in DICER1, rs17676986 in SND1, rs9611280 in TNRC6B, rs784567 in TRBP and rs11866002 in CNOT1) and two in pre-miRNAs (rs11614913 in miR196a2 and rs2114358 in miR1206). These findings suggest that polymorphisms in genes involved in miRNAs biogenesis pathway as well as in pre-miRNAs contribute to the risk of CLL. Large-scale studies are needed to validate the current findings.