No abstract

[1] In this study, we present the collation and analysis of the gridded land-based dataset of indices of temperature and precipitation extremes: HadEX2. Indices were calculated based on station data using a consistent approach recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices, resulting in the production of 17 temperature and 12 precipitation indices derived from daily maximum and minimum temperature and precipitation observations. High-quality in situ observations from over 7000 temperature and 11,000 precipitation meteorological stations across the globe were obtained to calculate the indices over the period of record available for each station. Monthly and annual indices were then interpolated onto a 3.75 Â 2.5 longitude-latitude grid over the period 1901-2010. Linear trends in the gridded fields were computed and tested for statistical significance. Overall there was very good agreement with the previous HadEX dataset during the overlapping data period. Results showed widespread significant changes in temperature extremes consistent with warming, especially for those indices derived from daily minimum temperature over the whole 110 years of record but with stronger trends in more recent decades. Seasonal results showed significant warming in all seasons but more so in the colder months. Precipitation indices also showed widespread and significant trends, but the changes were much more spatially heterogeneous compared with temperature changes. However, results indicated more areas with significant increasing trends in extreme precipitation amounts, intensity, and frequency than areas with decreasing trends.Citation: Donat, M. G., et al. (2013), Updated analyses of temperature and precipitation extreme indices since the beginning of the twentieth century: The HadEX2 dataset,

The effects of UV illumination on the electronic properties and gas sensing performance of ZnO are reported. It is found that UV light improves the sensitivity and the sensor response and recovery rate. By investigating the photoresponse behavior of ZnO, we observe that the electrons generated by UV light promote the adsorption of oxygen and form the photoinduced oxygen ions [O2−(hv)]. These ions [O2−(hv)] are responsible for the room-temperature gas sensing phenomena and promise enhanced sensor performance through further optimization.

We present the second update to a data set of gridded land‐based temperature and precipitation extremes indices: HadEX3. This consists of 17 temperature and 12 precipitation indices derived from daily, in situ observations and recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). These indices have been calculated at around 7,000 locations for temperature and 17,000 for precipitation. The annual (and monthly) indices have been interpolated on a 1.875°×1.25° longitude‐latitude grid, covering 1901–2018. We show changes in these indices by examining ”global”‐average time series in comparison with previous observational data sets and also estimating the uncertainty resulting from the nonuniform distribution of meteorological stations. Both the short and long time scale behavior of HadEX3 agrees well with existing products. Changes in the temperature indices are widespread and consistent with global‐scale warming. The extremes related to daily minimum temperatures are changing faster than the maximum. Spatial changes in the linear trends of precipitation indices over 1950–2018 are less spatially coherent than those for temperature indices. Globally, there are more heavy precipitation events that are also more intense and contribute a greater fraction to the total. Some of the indices use a reference period for calculating exceedance thresholds. We present a comparison between using 1961–1990 and 1981–2010. The differences between the time series of the temperature indices observed over longer time scales are shown to be the result of the interaction of the reference period with a warming climate. The gridded netCDF files and, where possible, underlying station indices are available from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadex3 and http://www.climdex.org.

No abstract

We have studied how different growth conditions, namely, oxygen flow rate, annealing temperature and annealing time affect the diameter, aspect ratio and number density of CuO nanorods using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. CuO nanorods are synthesized by thermal annealing of thin copper foil. It is observed that while the diameter and number density of nanorods depend critically on the oxygen flow rate and annealing temperature, the aspect ratio and dispersion in diameter of nanorods can mostly be improved by thermal annealing for extended time periods. The growth mechanism of the nanorods is inferred from the evolution of observed microstructural changes. It is proposed that the growth of nanorods takes place from triangular shaped pyramids due to the relaxation of stress accumulated in oxide film during the process of oxidation and annealing.

Binding of short chain phosphatidylserine (C6PS) enhances the proteolytic activity of factor X a by 60-fold (Koppaka, V., Wang, J., Banerjee, M., and Lentz, B. R. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 7482-7491). In the present study, we locate three C6PS binding sites to different domains of factor X a using a combination of activity, circular dichroism, fluorescence, and equilibrium dialysis measurements on proteolytic and biosynthetic fragments of factor X a . Our results demonstrate that the structural responses of human and bovine factor X a to C6PS binding are somewhat different. Despite this difference, data obtained with fragments from both human and bovine factor X a are consistent with a common hypothesis for the location of C6PS binding sites to different structural domains. First, the ␥-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) domain binds C6PS only in the absence of Ca 2؉ (k d ϳ 1 mM), although this PS site does not influence the functional response of factor X a . Second, a Ca 2؉ -dependent binding site is in the epidermal growth factor domains (EGF NC ) that are linked by Ca 2؉ and C6PS binding to the Gla domain. This site appears to be the lipid regulatory site of factor X a . Third, a Ca 2؉ -requiring site seems to be in the EGF C -catalytic domain. This site appears not to be a lipid regulatory site but rather to share residues with the substrate recognition site. Finally, the full functional response to C6PS requires linkage of the Gla, EGF NC , and catalytic domains in the presence of Ca 2؉ , meaning that PS regulation of factor X a involves linkage between widely separated parts of the protein.The substantial effects of soluble phosphatidylserine (C6PS 1 ) on the kinetics of prothrombin activation by factor X a(1) and on the structure of factor X a , as documented here, indicate that phosphatidylserine (PS) may act as an allosteric regulator of prothrombin activation. PS located on the cytoplasmic face of resting platelet plasma membranes is exposed on the surface of activated platelet vesicles (2, 3). The implication of this PS exposure and of the effect of PS on factor X a and on its ability to catalyze activation of prothrombin is that PS may act as a second messenger in regulating thrombin formation. Because of the crucial role of thrombin in hemostasis, the exposure of PS may be a crucial regulatory step in blood coagulation. To better define this regulatory process, it is important to know the locations of the PS binding sites on factor X a . The organization of factor X into structural domains is illustrated below in Fig. 1. Factor X consists of two peptides. The light chain consists of an N terminus ␥-carboxyglutamic acidrich region (Gla module) and two Cys-rich cassette modules. The heavy chain consists of the serine protease catalytic domain. The two cassette modules of the light chain show strong sequence and structural homology to epidermal growth factor (EGF) (4) and are thus referred to as EGF N and EGF C , where N and C indicate the domain nearer to the N and C termini, respectively. Crystal structures o...

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) has emerged as a leading platform for gene delivery for treating various diseases due to its excellent safety profile and efficient transduction to various target tissues. However, the large-scale production and long-term storage of viral vectors is not efficient resulting in lower yields, moderate purity, and shorter shelf-life compared to recombinant protein therapeutics. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of upstream, downstream and formulation unit operation challenges encountered during AAV vector manufacturing, and discusses how desired product quality attributes can be maintained throughout product shelf-life by understanding the degradation mechanisms and formulation strategies. The mechanisms of various physical and chemical instabilities that the viral vector may encounter during its production and shelf-life because of various stressed conditions such as thermal, shear, freeze-thaw, and light exposure are highlighted. The role of buffer, pH, excipients, and impurities on the stability of viral vectors is also discussed. As such, the aim of this review is to outline the tools and a potential roadmap for improving the quality of AAV-based drug products by stressing the need for a mechanistic understanding of the involved processes.