Implementation of a new urban energy budget scheme in the MetUM. Part I: Description and idealized simulations

This paper describes the formulation of a new urban scheme, MORUSES (Met Office–Reading Urban Surface Exchange Scheme) for use in the Met Office Unified Model. The implementation of the new scheme ensures that (1) the new scheme offers more flexibility in the parametrization of the building properties, and hence provides a more realistic representation of the fluxes; (2) the bulk outputs are in satisfactory agreement with previous observational studies; and (3) the impact of the new scheme on the energy balance fluxes is similar to the impact of the current urban scheme when set up to mimic it. As well as having a better physical basis, MORUSES also gains in flexibility in applications and adaptations to different urban materials as well as urban planning. The new scheme represents the urban area as a composition of two tiles, a canyon and a roof, using a simple 2D geometry. Sensitivity analysis to canyon geometry and thickness of the roof canopy emphasizes the gain in flexibility captured by the new scheme. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright

Why the home region matters: location and regional multinationals

Much of the literature in international business analysing the multinational enterprise uses the country as the relevant environmental parameter. This paper presents both theoretical and empirical evidence to demonstrate that country-level analysis now needs to be augmented by analysis at the ‘regional’ level of the broad triad markets of Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific. The great majority of the world's 500 largest firms concentrate their activities within their home region of the triad. This study uses variance component analysis and finds that this home region effect outperforms the country effect. Together, the regional and industry effects explain most of the geographic expansion of multinational enterprises (MNEs), whereas country, firm and year effects are very minor. The new data and variance component analysis on the activities of large MNEs reported here suggest that new thinking is required about the importance of large regions of the triad as the relevant unit of analysis for business strategy to supplement the conventional focus on the country.

Description and process evaluation of pharmacists’ interventions in a pharmacist-led information technology-enabled multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial for reducing medication errors in general practice (PINCER trial)

Objective To undertake a process evaluation of pharmacists' recommendations arising in the context of a complex IT-enabled pharmacist-delivered randomised controlled trial (PINCER trial) to reduce the risk of hazardous medicines management in general practices. Methods PINCER pharmacists manually recorded patients’ demographics, details of interventions recommended, actions undertaken by practice staff and time taken to manage individual cases of hazardous medicines management. Data were coded and double entered into SPSS v15, and then summarised using percentages for categorical data (with 95% CI) and, as appropriate, means (SD) or medians (IQR) for continuous data. Key findings Pharmacists spent a median of 20 minutes (IQR 10, 30) reviewing medical records, recommending interventions and completing actions in each case of hazardous medicines management. Pharmacists judged 72% (95%CI 70, 74) (1463/2026) of cases of hazardous medicines management to be clinically relevant. Pharmacists recommended 2105 interventions in 74% (95%CI 73, 76) (1516/2038) of cases and 1685 actions were taken in 61% (95%CI 59, 63) (1246/2038) of cases; 66% (95%CI 64, 68) (1383/2105) of interventions recommended by pharmacists were completed and 5% (95%CI 4, 6) (104/2105) of recommendations were accepted by general practitioners (GPs), but not completed at the end of the pharmacists’ placement; the remaining recommendations were rejected or considered not relevant by GPs. Conclusions The outcome measures were used to target pharmacist activity in general practice towards patients at risk from hazardous medicines management. Recommendations from trained PINCER pharmacists were found to be broadly acceptable to GPs and led to ameliorative action in the majority of cases. It seems likely that the approach used by the PINCER pharmacists could be employed by other practice pharmacists following appropriate training.

Statistical modelling of grapevine yield in the Port Wine region under present and future climate conditions

The impact of projected climate change on wine production was analysed for the Demarcated Region of Douro, Portugal. A statistical grapevine yield model (GYM) was developed using climate parameters as predictors. Statistically significant correlations were identified between annual yield and monthly mean temperatures and monthly precipitation totals during the growing cycle. These atmospheric factors control grapevine yield in the region, with the GYM explaining 50.4% of the total variance in the yield time series in recent decades. Anomalously high March rainfall (during budburst, shoot and inflorescence development) favours yield, as well as anomalously high temperatures and low precipitation amounts in May and June (May: flowering and June: berry development). The GYM was applied to a regional climate model output, which was shown to realistically reproduce the GYM predictors. Finally, using ensemble simulations under the A1B emission scenario, projections for GYM-derived yield in the Douro Region, and for the whole of the twenty-first century, were analysed. A slight upward trend in yield is projected to occur until about 2050, followed by a steep and continuous increase until the end of the twenty-first century, when yield is projected to be about 800 kg/ha above current values. While this estimate is based on meteorological parameters alone, changes due to elevated CO2 may further enhance this effect. In spite of the associated uncertainties, it can be stated that projected climate change may significantly benefit wine yield in the Douro Valley.

Decadal predictions with the HiGEM high resolution global coupled climate model: description and basic evaluation

This paper describes the development and basic evaluation of decadal predictions produced using the HiGEM coupled climate model. HiGEM is a higher resolution version of the HadGEM1 Met Office Unified Model. The horizontal resolution in HiGEM has been increased to 1.25◦ × 0.83◦ in longitude and latitude for the atmosphere, and 1/3◦ × 1/3◦ globally for the ocean. The HiGEM decadal predictions are initialised using an anomaly assimilation scheme that relaxes anomalies of ocean temperature and salinity to observed anomalies. 10 year hindcasts are produced for 10 start dates (1960, 1965,..., 2000, 2005). To determine the relative contributions to prediction skill from initial conditions and external forcing, the HiGEM decadal predictions are compared to uninitialised HiGEM transient experiments. The HiGEM decadal predictions have substantial skill for predictions of annual mean surface air temperature and 100 m upper ocean temperature. For lead times up to 10 years, anomaly correlations (ACC) over large areas of the North Atlantic Ocean, the Western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean exceed values of 0.6. Initialisation of the HiGEM decadal predictions significantly increases skill over regions of the Atlantic Ocean,the Maritime Continent and regions of the subtropical North and South Pacific Ocean. In particular, HiGEM produces skillful predictions of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre for up to 4 years lead time (with ACC > 0.7), which are significantly larger than the uninitialised HiGEM transient experiments.

Menezesite, the first natural heteropolyniobate, from Cajati, Sao Paulo, Brazil: Description and crystal structure

Menezesite, ideally Ba2MgZr4(BaNb12O42)center dot 12H(2)O, occurs as a vug mineral in the contact zone between dolomite carbonatite and ""jacupirangite"" (=a pyroxenite) at the Jacupiranga mine, in Cajati county, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, associated with dolomite, calcite, magnetite, clinohumite, phlogopite, ancylite-(Ce), strontianite, pyrite, and tochilinite. This is also the type locality for quintinite-2H. The mineral forms rhombododecahedra up to I mm, isolated or in aggregates. Menezesite is transparent and displays a vitreous luster; it is reddish brown with a white streak. It is non-fluorescent. Mohs hardness is about 4. Calculated density derived from the empirical formula is 4.181 g/cm(3). It is isotropic, 1.93(1) (white light); n(calc) = 2.034. Menezesite exhibits weak anomalous birefringence. The empirical formula is (Ba1.47K0.53Ca0.3,Ce0.17Nd0.10Na0.06La0.02)(Sigma 2.66)(Mg0.94Mn0.23Fe0.23Al0.03)(Sigma 1.43)(Zr2.75Ti0.96Th0.29)(Sigma 4.00)[(Ba0.72Th0.26U0.02)(Sigma 1.00)(Nb9.23Ti2.29Ta0.36Si0.12)Sigma O-12.00(42)]center dot 12H(2)O. The mineral is cubic, space group 10 (204), a = 13.017(1) angstrom, V = 2206(1) angstrom(3), Z = 2. Menezesite is isostructural with the synthetic compound Mg-7[MgW12O42](OH)(4)center dot 8H(2)O. The mineral was named in honor of Luiz Alberto Dias Menezes Filho (born 1950), mining engineer, mineral collector and merchant. Both the description and the name were approved by the CNMMN-IMA (Nomenclature Proposal 2005-023). Menezesite is the first natural heteropolyniobate. Heteropolyanions have been employed in a range of applications that include virus-binding inorganic drugs (including the AIDs virus), homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, electro-optic and electrochromic materials, metal and protein binding, and as building blocks for nanostructuring of materials.

Description and prevalence of Thynnascaris sp. larvae Dollfus, 1933 (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in Plagioscion squamosissimus Heckel, 1840 from Volta Grande Reservoir, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo o estudo da helmintofauna da corvina de água doce Plagioscion squamosissimus, do reservatório de Volta Grande, MG, Brasil. Foram colhidos 68 peixes com comprimento médio de 25,2 cm e peso médio de 180,9 g, com rede de espera, bimestralmente no período de dezembro de 1995 a dezembro de 1996. Os parasitos foram cuidadosamente retirados de seus cistos que estavam aderidos ao mesentério intestinal. Os espécimes foram fixados em AFA a 65°C e conservados em álcool 70°GL contendo 5% de glicerina. Após diafanização com ácido acético ou lactofenol de Amann, 21 nematóides foram desenhados em câmara clara. As larvas foram identificadas como Thynnascaris sp. (Nematoda: Anisakidae). Das 68 corvinas examinadas, 30 estavam infectadas por esses parasitos com uma prevalência de 44,1%. O número médio de parasitos por hospedeiro foi de 0 a 13,8 e a intensidade média, de 0 a 16. A análise estatística, de acordo com o Teste Exato de Fisher, mostrou que a sazonalidade foi dependente da pluviosidade e temperatura do ar.

Description and key to the fifth-instars of some Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) associated with coffee plants in Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Heteroplasmy in Hair: Study of Mitochondrial DNA Third Hypervariable Region in Hair and Blood Samples

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Individual Venom Profiling of Crotalus durissus terrificus Specimens from a Geographically Limited Region: Crotamine Assessment and Captivity Evaluation on the Biological Activities

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Identification and characterization of polymorphisms within the 5' flanking region, first exon and part of first intron of bovine GH gene

The aim of the present study was to identify and characterize polymorphisms within the 5' flanking region, first exon and part of first intron of the bovine growth hormone gene among different beef cattle breeds: Nelore (n = 25), Simmental (n = 39), Simbrasil (n = 24), Simmental x Nelore (n = 30), Canchim x Nelore (n = 30) and Angus x Nelore (n = 30). Two DNA fragments (GH1, 464 bp and GH2, 453 bp) were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and then used for polymorphism identification by SSCP. Within the GH1 fragment, five polymorphisms were identified, corresponding to three different alleles: GH1.1, GH1.2 and GH1.3 (GenBank: AY662648, AY662649 and AY662650, respectively). These allele sequences were aligned and compared with bovine GH gene nucleotide sequence (GenBank: M57764 and AF118837), resulting in the identification of five insertion/deletions (INDELs) and five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In the GH2 fragment two alleles were identified, GH2.1 and GH2.2 (GenBank: AY662651 and AY662652, respectively). The allele sequences were compared with GenBank sequences (M57764, AF007750 and AH009106) and three INDELs and four SNPs were identified. In conclusion, we were able to identify six new polymorphisms of the bovine GH gene (one INDEL and five SNPs), which can be used as molecular markers in genetic studies.

Effects of polymorphic microsatellites in the regulatory region of IGF1 and GHR on growth and carcass traits in beef cattle

Growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF1 and IGF2) and their associated binding proteins and transmembrane receptors (GHR, IGF1R and IGF2R) play an important role in the physiology of mammalian growth. The objectives of the present study were to estimate the allele and genotype frequencies of microsatellite markers located in the 5'-regulatory region of the IGF1 and GHR genes in beef cattle belonging to different genetic groups and to determine effects of these markers on growth and carcass traits in these animals under an intensive production system. For this purpose, genotyping was performed on 384 bulls including 79 Nellore, 30 Canchim (5/8 Charolais + 3/8 Zebu) and 275 crossbred animals originating from crosses of Simmental (1/2 Simmental, n = 30) and Angus (1/2 Angus, n = 245) sires with Nellore females. The effects of substituting L allele for S allele of GHR microsatellite across Nellore, Canchim and 1/2 Angus were significant for weight gain and body weight (P < 0.05). The IGF1 microsatellite allele substitutions of 229 for 225 within Nellore group and of 225 for 229 within 1/2 Angus were not significant for any of the traits.

Description and relationships of Otothyropsis marapoama, a new genus and species of hypoptopomatine catfish (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from rio Tietê basin, southeastern Brazil

Otothyropsis marapoama, novo gênero e espécie, é descrito baseado em espécimes recentemente coletados em um riacho de cabeceira da porção media do rio Tietê, um rio da bacia do alto rio Paraná no sudeste do Brasil. O novo táxon pertence a um clado que inclui também os gêneros Schizolecis, Otothyris e Pseudotothyris. Otothyropsis marapoama é considerado o grupo-irmão de Pseudotothyris e Otothyris baseado principalmente na presença de vários caracteres derivados da cápsula da bexiga natatória e ossos associados. Vários caracteres pedomórficos compartilhados por Pseudotothyris e Otothyris e seu significado filogenético para a posição deste novo gênero são discutidos.