Coherent Trends Research Articles

Future climate change scenario in hot semi-arid climate of Saurashtra, Gujarat by using statistical downscaling by LARS-WG model

Climate change is considered to be the greatest challenge faced by mankind in the twenty first century which can lead to severe impacts on different major sectors of the world such as water resources, agriculture, energy and tourism and are likely to alter trends and timing of precipitation and other weather drivers. Analyses and prediction of change in critical climatic variables like rainfall and temperature are, therefore, extremely important. Keeping this in mind, this study aims to verify the skills of LARS-WG (Long Ashton Research - Weather Generator), a statistical downscaling model, in simulating weather data in hot semi-arid climate of Saurashtra and analyze the future changes of temperature (maximum and minimum) and precipitation downscaled by LARS-WG based on IPCC SRA2 scenario generated by seven GCMs' projections for the near (2011-2030), medium (2046-2065) and far (2080-2099) future periods. Rajkot (22.3° N, 70.78° E) observatory of IMD, representing hot semi-arid climate of Saurashtra, Gujarat state was chosen for this purpose. Daily rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature data for the period of 1969-2013 have been utilized. LARS-WG is found to show reasonably good skill in downscaling daily rainfall and excellent skill in downscaling maximum and minimum temperature. The downscaled rainfall indicated no coherent change trends among various GCMs’ projections of rainfall during near, medium and far future periods. Contrary to rainfall projections, simulations from the seven GCMs have coherent results for both the maximum and minimum temperatures. Based on the ensemble mean of seven GCMs, projected rainfall at Rajkot in monsoon season (JJAS) showed an increase in near future, i.e., 2011-2030, medium future (2046-2065) and far future (2080-2099) periods to the tune of 2, 11 and 14% respectively compared to the baseline value. Model studies indicating tropospheric warming leading to enhancement of atmospheric moisture content could be the reason for this increasing trend. Further, at the study site summer (MAM) maximum temperature is projected to increase by 0.5, 1.7 and 3.3°C during 2011-2030, 2046-2065 and 2080-2099 respectively and winter (DJF) minimum temperature is projected to increase by 0.8, 2.2 and 4.5 °C during 2011-2030, 2046-2065 and 2080-2099 respectively.

Geochronological and geochemical signatures of the granitic rocks emplaced at the north‐eastern fringe of the Eastern Dharwar Craton, South India: Implications for late Archean crustal growth

Geochemical and zircon U–Pb age data on granites of the Chitrial area, situated at the NE part of the Eastern Dharwar Craton, are presented to elucidate their petrogenesis, time(s) of emplacement, and role in crust formation. Based on field and geochemical characters, these granites are classified as alkali feldspar/monzo‐granite. Whole‐rock data of selected samples show evolved calc‐alkaline and peraluminous characters with high SiO2, K2O, large‐ion lithophile element, and light rare earth elements (LREE), depleted heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and strongly negative Eu anomaly. One sample shows slightly different character with low SiO2, enriched light rare earth elements, and depleted heavy rare earth elements without Eu anomaly. Geochemical analyses suggest that the rocks are S‐type granite with syn‐collisional and volcanic arc signatures. These granites define a coherent trend favouring low pressure crystallization of the magma. U–Pb zircon data show that the crystallization ages of the granites vary within 2514 ± 10 to 2525 ± 24 Ma. The geodynamic evolution of the Eastern Dharwar Craton is discussed wherein subduction and deep burial of sediment is envisaged to cause partial melting and granite genesis in the craton.

Spatiotemporal changes in extreme sea levels along the coasts of the North Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico

AbstractExtreme sea levels along the densely monitored coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico have been investigated using high‐frequency tide gauge measurements in the GESLA‐2 data set (www.gesla.org). Our results, based on nontidal residuals and skew surges in records since 1960, confirm that mean sea level (MSL) is a major, but not a unique, driver of extremes. Regionally coherent linear trends and correlations with large‐scale climate patterns are found in extreme events, even after the removal of MSL. A similar conclusion, that MSL is a major but not the only driver of extremes, comes from a small number of long records starting in the mid‐19th century. The records show slight increases in the intensity of extreme episodes at centennial time scales, together with multidecadal variability unrelated to MSL. Objective statistical criteria have been used to investigate whether extreme sea level distributions are stationary or not, resulting in nonstationarity being favored in many records, with or without accounting for changes in MSL. Extremes have been found to favor a non‐Gumbel behavior at many locations, with implications for the accuracy of return levels for coastal engineering.

How to prevent mind-wandering during an EVA ? Presentation of a mind-wandering detection method using ECG technology in a Mars-analog environment

The purpose of this study is to detect mind-wandering in an Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) context during a long supervision task. Detection is realized using an electro-cardiogram and measures of heart rate variability. Experienced by everyone, mind-wandering depicts the state of mind where thoughts are not related to the current action. Its deleterious aspect regarding performance suggests a need to take mind-wandering seriously as an impediment to manned space missions' safety. Previous research confirmed the hypothesis according to which several physiological responses can be used to track down mind-wandering. ECG recordings are both easy to obtain and analyze, statistically related to mind-wandering, and easy to record during extra-vehicular activities. Data analyzed in this paper have been recorded during a Mars-analog mission (MDRS 164), from February 20 to March 6, 2016 at the Mars Desert Research Station (Utah). During various cognitive tasks, the subject had his ECG and awareness levels monitored at the same time to see if a correlation between these two measures can be used in a Mars-mission environment. At different time intervals, the subject was interrupted using the thought probe method to inquire about his thoughts. Heart Rate Variability (HRV, which power in high frequencies is related to the parasympathetic system and is expected to vary with mind-wandering) was then computed from recorded data, and its statistical changes during on-task and off-task thoughts were assessed. Although data revealed no significant differences nor coherent trends in HRV-related metrics between the two conditions, results are paving the way towards a better understanding of ECG-recordings and their use during space-analog missions.

The Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val(108/158)Met Genetic Polymorphism cannot be Recommended as a Biomarker for the Prediction of Venlafaxine Efficacy in Patients Treated in Psychiatric Settings.

The antidepressant venlafaxine is known to increase the turnover of cerebral monoamines, which are catabolized by the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). The COMT (Val(108/158)Met, rs4680) genetic polymorphism affects the cerebral COMT activity. But whether this genetic polymorphism is associated with response to venlafaxine remains unclear. We assessed the impact of the COMT Val(108/158)Met, rs4680 genetic polymorphism on the efficacy of venlafaxine in depressed patients. This study was nested in the METADAP cohort, a real-world naturalistic treatment study in psychiatric settings. A total of 206 Caucasian patients with a unipolar major depressive episode (DSM-IVTR) treated with venlafaxine and evaluated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were studied. One hundred and eighty patients were genotyped for the COMT Val(108/158)Met, rs4680 genetic polymorphism and classified into three genotype subgroups: Val/Val, Val/Met and Met/Met. The COMT genotype was the explanatory variable, and the variables to be explained were HDRS score, HDRS score improvement over time, response rate and remission rate. Venlafaxine had a trend to higher efficacy in the Val/Val patients as compared to Met/Met carriers, as shown by the HDRS score improvement after 3months of treatment, but this result was not significant in mixed models [Val/Val: 59.78% (±22.4); Val/Met: 51.64% (±26.3); Met/Met: 39.52% (±27.6)]. The percentage of responders and remitters after 3months of treatment was not significantly different in the three genotype groups, although coherent trends were shown. The COMT Val(108/158)Met, rs4680 genetic polymorphism cannot be recommended as a biomarker for the prediction of venlafaxine efficacy in patients treated in psychiatric settings.

Joining the Dots: The Challenge of Creating Coherent School Improvement

Background/ContextSustained school improvement requires adequate organizational and instructional coherence, yet, in typical high schools, subject department organization, norms of teacher professional autonomy, and involvement in multiple initiatives present powerful obstacles to forging a coherent approach to improvement. This study examines the relationships among coordination, coherence, and improved achievement in five New Zealand high schools voluntarily participating in an initiative to improve the achievement outcomes of underserved student groups.PurposeThe first purpose of this study is to develop a theoretical framework for describing and evaluating coordination and coherence and to apply it to the implementation of an improvement initiative. The second purpose is to examine the relationship between coherence and longitudinal trends in pass rates on national qualifications.Research DesignAdjusted odds ratios were used to compare the pass rates of students in the five high schools before and after the intervention. This analysis, conducted independently of the study of school coherence, yielded a group of schools whose pass rates had improved and a second group that had maintained stable pass rates through the course of the intervention. Using case studies written for each of the schools, we systematically compared the schools in each group on degree of coordination in five domains of activity and in overall coherence.FindingsThere were considerable differences in degree of coordination between the two groups in three of the five domains. Improving schools were more tightly coordinated in how they organized to achieve results, in teacher professional learning, and in strategic leadership. Principal capability and willingness to address barriers to improved achievement, which was part of strategic leadership, was markedly greater in the improving than in the maintaining schools. In the remaining two domains, goal-setting and teacher culture, differences were smaller but still in the expected direction. The overall coherence of each improving school was independently evaluated as high, while the maintaining schools were evaluated as low or medium in overall coherence.ConclusionsWe discuss the implications of coordination and coherence for the successful implementation of any school improvement initiative. We argue that, since educational work contains weak cues about the adequacy of the performance of any component activity, we cannot rely on adequate coordination emerging through the interactions of interdependent agents. More emphasis must be given, in coordination theory and improvement practice, to steering such interactions through task design, widely distributed expertise, and strategic leadership.

Network-aided Bi-Clustering for discovering cancer subtypes

Bi-clustering is a widely used data mining technique for analyzing gene expression data. It simultaneously groups genes and samples of an input gene expression data matrix to discover bi-clusters that relevant samples exhibit similar gene expression profiles over a subset of genes. The discovered bi-clusters bring insights for categorization of cancer subtypes, gene treatments and others. Most existing bi-clustering approaches can only enumerate bi-clusters with constant values. Gene interaction networks can help to understand the pattern of cancer subtypes, but they are rarely integrated with gene expression data for exploring cancer subtypes. In this paper, we propose a novel method called Network-aided Bi-Clustering (NetBC). NetBC assigns weights to genes based on the structure of gene interaction network, and it iteratively optimizes sum-squared residue to obtain the row and column indicative matrices of bi-clusters by matrix factorization. NetBC can not only efficiently discover bi-clusters with constant values, but also bi-clusters with coherent trends. Empirical study on large-scale cancer gene expression datasets demonstrates that NetBC can more accurately discover cancer subtypes than other related algorithms.

Beyond Hammer: the first run market and the prestige horror film in the early 1960s

Although 1960s horror was supposedly dominated by Hammer, Heffernan has pointed out that Hammer (and AIP) were both trying hard to break out of the low bracket market and into the middle bracket. This article focuses on the prestige horror films of the early 1960s, and not only looks at them as a coherent production trend (rather than as a series of individual or anomalous films) but in the process, offers a new context for an understanding of 1960s horror; that is, it demonstrates that the 1960s horror film was not simply low budget cinema but that it operated in almost all the key American film markets—the first run cinema, the low budget and the art cinema. Consequently, we cannot only see that Hammer and AIP, rather than simply the dominant form, were actually defined by their attempt to steer a course between different sectors of the market (they were from the low budget end but trying to move into the first run market, whilst also drawing on some of the distinction associated with the art cinema); but also that the prestige horror films had their own very specific problems to negotiate. These negotiations would also lay the foundations for the industry-wide transformations of the late 1960s. This article is published as part of a collection on gothic and horror.

Strontium and neodymium isotope systematics of target rocks and impactites from the El'gygytgyn impact structure: Linking impactites and target rocks

The 3.6 Ma El'gygytgyn structure, located in northeastern Russia on the Chukotka Peninsula, is an 18 km diameter complex impact structure. The bedrock is formed by mostly high-silica volcanic rocks of the ~87 Ma old Okhotsk-Chukotka Volcanic Belt (OCVB). Volcanic target rocks and impact glasses collected on the surface, as well as drill core samples of bedrock and impact breccias have been investigated by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) to obtain new insights into the relationships between these lithologies in terms of Nd and Sr isotope systematics. Major and trace element data for impact glasses are added to compare with the composition of target rocks and drill core samples. Sr isotope data are useful tracers of alteration processes and Nd isotopes reveal characteristics of the magmatic sources of the target rocks, impact breccias, and impact glasses. There are three types of target rocks mapped on the surface: mafic volcanics, dacitic tuff and lava of the Koekvun’ Formation, and dacitic to rhyolitic ignimbrite of the Pykarvaam Formation. The latter represents the main contributor to the impact rocks. The drill core is divided into a suevite and a bedrock section by the Sr isotope data, for which different postimpact alteration regimes have been detected. Impact glasses from the present-day surface did not suffer postimpact hydrothermal alteration and their data indicate a coherent alteration trend in terms of Sr isotopes with the target rocks from the surface. Surprisingly, the target rocks do not show isotopic coherence with the Central Chukotka segment of the OCVB or with the Berlozhya magmatic assemblage (BMA), a late Jurassic felsic volcanic suite that crops out in the eastern part of the central Chukotka segment of the OCVB. However, concordance for these rocks exists with the Okhotsk segment of the OCVB. This finding argues for variable source magmas having contributed to the build-up of the OCVB.

Spatial coherence of the seismic wavefield continuously recorded by the USArray

AbstractWe use a method based on the array covariance matrix eigenvalues to study the level of spatial coherence and of isotropy of the seismic wavefield continuously recorded during 2010 by the USArray. First, we observe that the raw data are often dominated by local sources. To remove their influence, we apply spectral and temporal normalizations to the input signals. We notice that this widely used preprocessing in ambient‐noise seismology does not fully homogenize the seismic wavefield and that some strongly coherent arrivals persist. Among these persistent signals generated by teleseismic sources we detect (1) seismic waves emitted by strong earthquakes, (2) a nearly continuous quasi‐monochromatic signal at 26 s period, and (3) multiday coherent wave trends in the spectral band of oceanic microseisms (0.07–0.2 Hz). For the latter, beamforming analysis shows that while most of the signals are composed of surface waves, some are dominated by body waves likely generated in the deep ocean.

Origin of adakite-like plutons in southern Korea

We present Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions for two adakite-like intrusions in southern Korea (Jindong and Bongnae), including major and trace element concentrations, and the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U–Pb age. Our aim is to constrain the origin and tectonomagmatic processes that gave rise to the plutons. A SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 88.7±0.7Ma was obtained from a Jindong granodiorite sample. The Jindong plutons belong to the medium-K calc-alkaline series, and have an overall enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILE), such as K, Rb, Ba, and Pb, and a relative depletion in high field strength elements, such as Nb, Ta, and Ti, compared with the neighboring elements in the primitive mantle-normalized multi-trace element variation diagram. It was found that (87Sr/86Sr)i=0.70475–0.70596, (143Nd/144Nd)i=0.512547–0.512604, [(εNd)i=+0.4 to 2.2], and (206Pb/204Pb)i=18.19–18.37, which fall within the field of the arc-type Cretaceous to Tertiary Bulguksa intrusive rocks in the Sr–Nd and Pb–Pb isotopic correlation diagrams. The elevated Sr/Y (17–40), but low La/Yb (3.7–8.8) ratios of the Jindong plutons, together with their coherent geochemical trends and U-shaped rare earth element (REE) patterns, indicate that they were not formed by slab melting, but by amphibole-dominated fractional crystallization of the Bulguksa-like arc magma. A SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 226.5±2.5Ma was obtained from a Bongnae tonalite sample. The Bongnae plutons belong to the shoshonitic series. Their trace element patterns resemble the Jindong samples, but are characterized by significantly negative U anomalies in mafic rocks. They also have elevated MgO, Ni, Co, Cr, Rb, Ba, Sr, and low Al2O3 and Na2O contents at a given SiO2 concentration compared with the Jindong plutons, and are typified by highly radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions: [(87Sr/86Sr)i=0.71096–0.71290, (143Nd/144Nd)i=0.511641–0.511681, (εNd)i=−13.0 to −13.8, and (206Pb/204Pb)i=17.53–17.45]. The Bongnae plutons have adakite-like elevated Sr/Y (36–56) and La/Yb (12.9–42.7) ratios, but are highly potassic compared with slab melts. The petrogenesis of the C-type Bongnae adakites is consistent with formation by the partial melting of two components (a lower crust and metasomatized lithospheric mantle) in a post-collisional tectonic setting. Asthenospheric upwelling induced by slab breakoff after continental collision between the north and south China blocks may be a heat source for melting of the continental lithosphere. The Paleo-Tethys subduction before continental collision in this area or lower crustal delamination and subsequent low fractions of melting may have induced metasomatic overprinting in LILE in the overlying lithospheric mantle.

Observed changes in extreme temperature and precipitation over Indonesia

ABSTRACTThis paper documents the changes in climate extremes over Indonesia during the past three decades (1983–2012) based on a subset of extreme indices recommended by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). The extreme indices were calculated based on the quality controlled daily observational data (minimum and maximum temperature and precipitation) from 88 weather stations. Overall, we found significant and spatially coherent trends of warming in the temperature indices over Indonesia, consistent with other studies conducted at different countries within the Southeast Asia. The frequency of cool days (TX10p) and cools nights (TN10p) had decreased whereas warm days (TX90p) and warm nights (TN90p) were observed more frequently. Averaged over the country, the annual mean of daily maximum (TXmean) and minimum temperature (TNmean) had increased significantly by 0.18 and 0.30 °C decade−1, respectively. Other temperature indices also showed significant warming trends. In contrast, trends in the precipitation extremes indices were generally not significant and less spatially coherent. However, a tendency towards wetter conditions was observed, in agreement with the results at the global scale. The daily precipitation intensity (SDII) had increased significantly over the country by 0.21 mm day−1 decade−1 during the period studied. At the regional scale, we observed a significant wetting trend in the annual highest daily amount (RX1day) and the rainfall amount contributed by the extremely very wet days (R99p) in the northern part of the country. The wetting trends of a number of extreme precipitation indices were depicted prominently in December–January–February (DJF) and/or March–April–May (MAM) seasons, both at country and regional levels. However, for the southern region of Indonesia, a drying tendency was observed for June–July–August (JJA), September–October–November (SON) and MAM.

Microstructural and geochemical constraints on the evolution of deep arc lithosphere

AbstractMantle xenoliths from the Sierra Nevada, California, USA, sampled a vertical column (60–120 km) of lithosphere that formed during Mesozoic continental arc magmatism. This lithosphere experienced an anticlockwise P‐T‐t path resulting in rapid cooling that effectively “quenched in” features inherited from earlier high‐temperature conditions. Here we combine new mineral chemistry data (water, trace element, and major element concentrations) with mineral crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) to investigate the relationship between melt infiltration and deformation. The peridotites record a refertilization trend with increasing depth, starting from shallow, coarse‐protogranular, less‐melt‐infiltrated spinel peridotite with strong, orthorhombic olivine CPO to deep, fine‐porphyroclastic, highly melt‐infiltrated garnet peridotite with weak, axial‐[010] olivine CPO. In contrast to the observed axial‐[010] CPOs, subgrain boundary orientations and misorientation axes suggest the dominant activation of the (001)[100] slip system, suggesting deformation under moderately hydrous conditions. After accounting for effects of subsolidus cooling, we see coherent trends between mineral trace element abundance and water content, indicating that melt infiltration led to an increase in water content of the peridotites. However, measured olivine and pyroxene water contents in all peridotites (5–10 and 30–500 wt ppm, respectively) are lower than that required to promote dominant (001)[100] slip system observed in both natural and experimental samples. These results suggest that deformation occurred earlier along the P‐T path, probably during or shortly after hydrous melt infiltration. Subsequent rapid cooling at 90 Ma led to water loss from olivine (owing to decreased solubility at low temperature), leaving behind a deep arc lithosphere that remained viscously coupled to the Farallon slab until the opening of the slab window in the late Cenozoic.

Historical records from dated sediment cores reveal the multidecadal dynamic of the toxic dinoflagellateAlexandrium minutumin the Bay of Brest (France)

The multiannual dynamic of the cyst-forming and toxic marine dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum was studied over a time scale of about 150 years by a paleoecological approach based on ancient DNA (aDNA) quantification and cyst revivification data obtained from two dated sediment cores of the Bay of Brest (Brittany, France). The first genetic traces of the species presence in the study area dated back to 1873 ± 6. Specific aDNA could be quantified by a newly developed real-time PCR assay in the upper core layers, in which the germination of the species (in up to 17-19-year-old sediments) was also obtained. In both cores studied, our quantitative paleogenetic data showed a statistically significant increasing trend in the abundance of A. minutum ITS1 rDNA copies over time, corroborating three decades of local plankton data that have documented an increasing trend in the species cell abundance. By comparison, paleogenetic data of the dinoflagellate Scrippsiella donghaienis did not show a coherent trend between the cores studied, supporting the hypothesis of the existence of a species-specific dynamic of A. minutum in the study area. This work contributes to the development of paleoecological research, further showing its potential for biogeographical, ecological and evolutionary studies on marine microbes.

Modeling common trends of zooplankton, atherinopsid, and barred splitfin time series in a shallow tropical lake

Abstract Dynamic factor analysis was used to discern underlying common trends and the effect of physicochemical variables on time series of zooplankton, fish density, and biomass of barred splitfin (Chapalichthys encaustus) and atherinopsids (Chirostoma spp.) from Lake Chapala, Mexico. Strongly coherent trends were identified for the zooplankton and atherinopsid time series. Weakly coherent trends were detected for the barred splitfin time series.

Time-lapse monitoring of climate effects on earthworks using surface waves

The UK’s transportation network is supported by critical geotechnical assets (cuttings/embankments/dams) that require sustainable, cost-effective management, while maintaining an appropriate service level to meet social, economic, and environmental needs. Recent effects of extreme weather on these geotechnical assets have highlighted their vulnerability to climate variations. We have assessed the potential of surface wave data to portray the climate-related variations in mechanical properties of a clay-filled railway embankment. Seismic data were acquired bimonthly from July 2013 to November 2014 along the crest of a heritage railway embankment in southwest England. For each acquisition, the collected data were first processed to obtain a set of Rayleigh-wave dispersion and attenuation curves, referenced to the same spatial locations. These data were then analyzed to identify a coherent trend in their spatial and temporal variability. The relevance of the observed temporal variations was also verified with respect to the experimental data uncertainties. Finally, the surface wave dispersion data sets were inverted to reconstruct a time-lapse model of S-wave velocity for the embankment structure, using a least-squares laterally constrained inversion scheme. A key point of the inversion process was constituted by the estimation of a suitable initial model and the selection of adequate levels of spatial regularization. The initial model and the strength of spatial smoothing were then kept constant throughout the processing of all available data sets to ensure homogeneity of the procedure and comparability among the obtained [Formula: see text] sections. A continuous and coherent temporal pattern of surface wave data, and consequently of the reconstructed [Formula: see text] models, was identified. This pattern is related to the seasonal distribution of precipitation and soil water content measured on site.

Future Climate Change Scenario at Hot Semi-arid Climate of Ahmedabad (23.04°N, 72.38°E), India Based on Statistical Downscaling by LARS-WG Model

General Circulation Models (GCMs) are widely used nowadays to simulate future climate scenarios. However, present GCMs have limited skills in simulating the complex and local climate features and to provide reliable information on precipitation and temperature data which are the principal inputs to hydrologic impact assessment models. Furthermore, the outputs provided by GCMs are too coarse to be used by such hydrologic models, as they require information at much finer scales. Downscaling of GCMs output is, therefore, a necessity. Keeping this in view, the present study aimed at verifying the skills of LARS-WG, a popular downscaling tool, in downscaling weather data in hot semi-arid climate of Ahmedabad and predict and analyze the future changes of temperature (daily maximum and minimum) and precipitation based on IPCC SRA2 scenario generated by seven GCMs’ predictions for the near (2011–2030), medium (2046–2065) and far (2080–2099) future periods. For this purpose, daily rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature data for the study site Ahmedabad for 1969–2013 have been utilized. LARS-WG showed excellent skill in downscaling maximum and minimum temperature and reasonably good skill in downscaling daily rainfall data at Ahmedabad. The downscaled precipitation from the predictions of seven GCMs indicated no coherent change trends among various GCMs’ predictions of precipitation during near, medium and far future periods. Predicted rainfall in monsoon season (JJAS) based on the ensemble mean of seven GCMs showed a decrease in rainfall in near future i.e. 2011–2030 by about 2%; however, during medium future (2046–2065) it is predicted to increase and remain close to the baseline value; and during far future (2080–2099) period it is predicted to increase by about 5% compared to the baseline value. Summer maximum temperature is predicted to increase by 0.7, 2.0 and 4.0 deg. Celsius during 2011–2030, 2046–2065 and 2080–2099 respectively at the study site. Winter minimum temperature is predicted to increase by 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 deg. Celsius during 2011–2030, 2046–2065 and 2080–2099 respectively at Ahmedabad.

Evaluation method of allowable variance for results of tribological measurement on the basis of their the coherence trends and of the covariance trends

Abstract This article discusses the possibility of assessing the technical condition of rolling bearings based on tribological tests of oil samples. The problem is to define diagnostic levels, especially when has a relatively small number of measurements (3, 4, 5 etc.). Rating variance of measurements can be performed using the dimensionless factor covariance ρ(τ) and the dimensionless coherence function γ2(ω). The set is compact enough when ρ (τ) and γ 2(ω) will be close enough to oscillate around the value of 1 [1, 3]. In summary, it is concluded that the thresholds δ, 2δ, 3δ are reliable when ρ (τ) and γ 2(ω) are greater than 0.7 [6].

Low Temperature Adaptation Is Not the Opposite Process of High Temperature Adaptation in Terms of Changes in Amino Acid Composition.

Previous studies focused on psychrophilic adaptation generally have demonstrated that multiple mechanisms work together to increase protein flexibility and activity, as well as to decrease the thermostability of proteins. However, the relationship between high and low temperature adaptations remains unclear. To investigate this issue, we collected the available predicted whole proteome sequences of species with different optimal growth temperatures, and analyzed amino acid variations and substitutional asymmetry in pairs of homologous proteins from related species. We found that changes in amino acid composition associated with low temperature adaptation did not exhibit a coherent opposite trend when compared with changes in amino acid composition associated with high temperature adaptation. This result indicates that during their evolutionary histories the proteome-scale evolutionary patterns associated with prokaryotes exposed to low temperature environments were distinct from the proteome-scale evolutionary patterns associated with prokaryotes exposed to high temperature environments in terms of changes in amino acid composition of the proteins.

Spatially coherent trends of annual maximum daily precipitation in the United States

AbstractA new multilevel, hierarchical Bayesian model is developed to simultaneously identify clusters of stations with similar temporal patterns, the trend associated with each cluster and for the individual stations within each cluster. An application to the annual maximum daily precipitation in the United States for a common 70 year (1941–2010) period across the HADEX2 sites is presented. The model identifies statistically homogeneous regions, spatially clustering the data into groups according to the intensity and the trend. Partial pooling of model parameters for each group is considered. Spatially consistent trends are detected in the Midwest and Northeast U.S., at the cluster and at the station level. The new approach can dramatically improve trend identification for precipitation extremes; e.g., all 14 stations in the Midwest report a significant trend as opposed to only 4 stations based on single site analysis. The method is generally applicable for improving trend identification over a heterogeneous region.