Background: B-cell epitopes are the sites of molecules that are recognized by antibodies of the immune system. Knowledge of B-cell epitopes may be used in the design of vaccines and diagnostics tests. It is therefore of interest to develop improved methods for predicting B-cell epitopes. In this paper, we describe an improved method for predicting linear B-cell epitopes.

This paper addresses the question of similarity of runoff generation processes between catchments in the eastern wheat belt of Western Australia, and the use of dimensionless parameterizations to quantify this similarity. A spatial!y distributed rainfall-runoff model, simulating runoff generation by both the infiltration excess (Horton type) and saturation excess (Dunne type) mechanisms, was developed for catchments in the region. Seven small experimental catchments, with fieldmeasured soil hydraulic properties and topography, were used in the study. Following on from the similarity theory developed by Sivapalan eta!. (1987), a number of dimensionless similarity parameters were constructed using the field-measured soil and topographic properties, a characteristic length scale, and a characteristic flow velocity. The objective was to determine whether the dominant runoff generation mechanism on a catchment could be reliably predicted by these similarity parameters. This was achieved through sensitivity analyses carried out with the rainfall-runoff model. Two dimensionless parameters, K• and f*, were found to be critical for characterizing the similarity or dissimilarity of the runoff generation responses between the seven experimental catchments. Within the assumptions of the analysis, two catchments in the wheat belt region can be considered to be hydrologically similar, in terms of their runoff responses, if K• and f* are identical in both catchments. The dominant mechanism of runoff generation on any catchment can be reliably predicted, provided that the values of K% and f* are known. A partial quantification of the Dunne diagram (Dunne, 1978) for the wheat belt region, in terms of the infiltration excess and saturation excess mechanisms, was achieved by artificially varying K% and f* in the rainfall-runoff model to explore the full range of possible runoff generation responses. Introduction Hydrologists have long been searching for new theories that would enable them to transfer hydrologic information and understanding from one catchment to another. In the seminal paper that introduced the concept of the geomorphological unit hydrograph, Rodriguez-Iturbe and Valdes [1979, p. 1409] said, among other things, It seems to us that there also should exist some basic themes in the structure of the hydrologic response of a basin. These themes should... contain the key to the grand synthesis which hydrologists always dream of. Many researchers long ago declared that this synthesis could never be quite attained. We do not share this view.We are very well aware of the tremendous complexity and heterogeneity, now fully documented, about the ways that natural catchments respond to various climatic inputs. Is there an underlying order to this apparent disorder? Is there a way that this order or regularity, if captured, can be used to improve current hydrologic practices of runoff predictions, flood estimation, and water yield analysis?Flood estimation in ungauged catchments is quite often canSed out by means of regionalizat...

Abstract. The CAMEA ESS neutron spectrometer is designed to achieve a high detection efficiency in the horizontal scattering plane, and to maximize the use of the long pulse European Spallation Source. It is an indirect geometry time-of-flight spectrometer that uses crystal analysers to determine the final energy of neutrons scattered from the sample. Unlike other indirect geometry spectrometers CAMEA will use ten concentric arcs of analysers to analyse scattered neutrons at ten different final energies, which can be increased to 30 final energies by use of prismatic analysis. In this report we will outline the CAMEA instrument concept, the large performance gain, and the potential scientific advancements that can be made with this instrument.

This paper focuses on the problem of quantifying real world catchment response using a distributed model and discusses the ability of the model to capture that response. The rainfall–runoff responses of seven small agricultural catchments in the eastern wheatbelt region of south‐western Australia are examined. The variability in runoff generation and the factors that contribute to that variability (i.e. rainfall intensity, soil properties and topography) are investigated to determine if their influence can be captured in a mathematical model.  The spatially distributed rainfall–runoff model used in this study is based on the TOPMODEL concepts of Beven and Kirkby (1979), and simulates runoff generation by both the infiltration excess and saturation excess mechanisms. Simulations with the model revealed the highly complex nature of catchment response to rainfall events. Runoff generation was highly heterogeneous in both space and time, with the runoff response being governed by the spatial variability of soil properties and topography, and by the temporal variation in rainfall intensity. Although the model proved capable of simulating catchment response for many events, the investigation has demonstrated that not all aspects of the variability associated with agricultural catchments (particularly the effects of land management) can be captured using this relatively simple model. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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