Implementing the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB) in a general circulation model: Methodologies and results

The Simple Biosphere MOdel (SiB) of Sellers et al., (1986) was designed to simulate the interactions between the Earth's land surface and the atmosphere by treating the vegetation explicitly and relistically, thereby incorporating biophysical controls on the exchanges of radiation, momentum, sensible and latent heat between the two systems. The steps taken to implement SiB in a modified version of the National Meteorological Center's spectral GCM are described. The coupled model (SiB-GCM) was used with a conventional hydrological model (Ctl-GCM) to produce summer and winter simulations. The same GCM was used with a conventional hydrological model (Ctl-GCM) to produce comparable 'control' summer and winter variations. It was found that SiB-GCM produced a more realistic partitioning of energy at the land surface than Ctl-GCM. Generally, SiB-GCM produced more sensible heat flux and less latent heat flux over vegetated land than did Ctl-GCM and this resulted in the development of a much deeper daytime planetary boundary and reduced precipitation rates over the continents in SiB-GCM. In the summer simulation, the 200 mb jet stream and the wind speed at 850 mb were slightly weakened in the SiB-GCM relative to the Ctl-GCM results and equivalent analyses from observations

Observed Changes in the Lifetime and Amplitude of the Madden–Julian Oscillation Associated with Interannual ENSO Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is analysed using the reanalysis zonal wind and satellite outgoing longwave radiation-based indices of Wheeler and Hendon for the 1974-2005 period. The average life time of MJO events varies with season, being 36 days for events whose central date occurs in December, and 48 days for events in September. The life time of the MJO in the equinoctial seasons (March-May and October-December) is also dependent on the state of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During October-December it is only 32 days under El Nino conditions, increasing to 48 days under La Nina conditions, with similar values in northern spring. This difference is due to faster eastward propagation of the MJO convective anomalies through the Maritime Continent and western Pacific during El Nino, consistent with theoretical arguments concerning equatorial wave speeds. The analysis is extended back to 1950 by using an alternative definition of the MJO based on just the zonal wind component of the Wheeler and Hendon indices. A rupture in the amplitude of the MJO is found in 1975, at the same time as the well known rupture in the ENSO time series, that has been associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. The mean amplitude of the MJO is 16% larger in the post-rupture period (1976-2005) compared to the pre-rupture period (1950-1975). Before the 1975 rupture, the amplitude of the MJO is a maximum (minimum) under El Nino (La Nina) conditions during northern winter, and a minimum (maximum) under El Nino (La Nina) conditions during northern summer. After the rupture, this relationship disappears. When the MJO-ENSO relationship is analysed using all year round data, or a shorter data set, as in some previous studies, no relationship is found

Identification of plant-derived alkaloids with therapeutic potential for myotonic dystrophy type I

Myotonic dystrophy type I (DM1) is a disabling neuromuscular disease with no causal treatment available. This disease is caused by expanded CTG trinucleotide repeats in the 3 UTR of the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene. On the RNA level, expanded (CUG)n repeats form hairpin structures that sequester splicing factors such as muscleblind-like 1 (MBNL1). Lack of availableMBNL1leads to misregulated alternative splicing of many target pre-mRNAs, leading to the multisystemic symptoms in DM1. Many studies aiming to identify small molecules that target the (CUG)n-MBNL1 complex focused on synthetic molecules. In an effort to identify new small molecules that liberate sequesteredMBNL1from (CUG)n RNA, we focused specifically on small molecules of natural origin. Natural products remain an important source for drugs and play a significant role in providing novel leads and pharmacophores for medicinal chemistry. In a new DM1 mechanism-based biochemical assay, we screened a collection of isolated natural compounds and a library of over 2100 extracts from plants and fungal strains. HPLC-based activity profiling in combination with spectroscopic methods were used to identify the active principles in the extracts. The bioactivity of the identified compounds was investigated in a human cell model and in a mouse model of DM1.We identified several alkaloids, including the -carboline harmine and the isoquinoline berberine, that ameliorated certain aspects of theDM1pathology in these models. Alkaloids as a compound class may have potential for drug discovery in other RNA-mediated diseases

GMMIP (v1.0) contribution to CMIP6: Global Monsoons Model Inter-comparison Project

The Global Monsoons Model Inter-comparison Project (GMMIP) has been endorsed by the panel of Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP) as one of the participating MIPs in the sixth phase of CMIP (CMIP6). The focus of GMMIP is on monsoon climatology, variability, prediction and projection, which is relevant to four of the “Grand Challenges” proposed by the World Climate Research Programme. At present, 21 international modelling groups are committed to joining GMMIP. This overview paper introduces the motivation behind GMMIP and the scientific questions it intends to answer. Three tiers of experiments, of decreasing priority, are designed to examine: (a) model skill in simulating the climatology and interannual-to-multidecadal variability of global monsoons in SST-forced experiments of the historical climate period; (b) the roles of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation in driving variations of the global and regional monsoons; and (c) the effects of large orographic terrain on the establishment of the monsoons. The outputs of the CMIP6 DECK, “historical” simulation and endorsed MIPs will also be used in the diagnostic analysis of GMMIP to give a comprehensive understanding of the roles played by different external forcings, potential improvements in the simulation of monsoon rainfall at high resolution and reproducibility at decadal time scales. The implementation of GMMIP will improve our understanding of the fundamental physics of changes in the global and regional monsoons over the past 140 years and ultimately benefit monsoons prediction and projection in the current century

Nontraditional Students Success in Compressed Courses within a Community College Cohort

Nontraditional students are an untapped population for American higher education institutions. Private baccalaureate-granting universities have taken the lead on creating programs for this population’s needs. These programs typically include combinations of online instruction, cohorts, compressed or accelerated courses, and prior learning assessment. Similarly constructed programs for nontraditional students at public community colleges are less common. A review of the Council for Accelerated Programs’ website reveals only twelve of the 98-member institutions are community or technical colleges, and only one is in California (Council for Accelerated Programs, n.d.). In 2016, Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District in California created the Accelerated College Education (ACE) program specifically for working adults. ACE utilizes a cohort model, compressed courses, structured scheduling, and dedicated staff and faculty. However, little research exists that evaluates the combination of these elements for correlation to course success or student feelings of connectedness at a community college. This study uses Tinto’s framework of academic and social integration, including criticisms of its applicability to nontraditional students, to evaluate academic and social integration of Shasta College students who completed ACE compressed courses between June 2016 and December 2017. Course grade data showed higher participation by nontraditional students in these courses, and the ACE-cohort students’ course success rate was significantly higher than non-ACE-cohort students’ course success rate. Survey results demonstrated that ACE-cohort students had significantly more interactions with and feelings of connectedness to program/student support staff and other students than non-ACE-cohort students, and that these connections may have contributed to the success of their overall academics

Interviews with Elizabeth Fagly, Olive Sutley, Esther Sewer, Herman Sullivan, the Stuttgart Vocal Quartet, Music by Alvin Boggle, Paul Kellerman and Fred Kellerman

Interviews with Elizabeth Fagly, Olive Sutley, Esther Sewer, Herman Sullivan, the Stuttgart Vocal Quartet, Music by Alvin Boggle, Paul Kellerman and Fred Kellerman 00:00:50 - Interview with Elizabeth Fagly. This interview is of poor quality. A significant amount of the interview was erased on the original tape. It has been digitally restored to the best extent possible given the condition of the original media. 00:05:23 - Elizabeth Fagly\u27s granddaughter 00:06:01 - Interview with Olive Sutley of Speed, KS on June 12, 1962. Recording is difficult to understand 00:06:32 - Parent\u27s origin 00:11:08 - Poem 00:12:09 - Interview with Esther Sewer of Logan, KS on June 14, 1962 00:12:50 - Founding of Logan, KS 00:16:00 - The white buffalo 00:16:45 - The Logan Goldrush 00:19:16 - Sorghum story 00:20:12 - First dance in Logan 00:21:06 - The scalping The recording cuts off and the remainder is missinghttps://scholars.fhsu.edu/sackett/1066/thumbnail.jp

Arctic System Reanalysis improvements in topographically forced winds near Greenland

Southern Greenland is home to a number of weather systems characterized by high speed low-level winds that are the result of topographic flow distortion. These systems include tip jets, barrier winds and katabatic flows. Global atmospheric reanalyses have proven to be important tools in furthering our understanding of these systems and their role in the climate system. However, there is evidence that their mesoscale structure may be poorly resolved in these global products. Here output from the regional Arctic System Reanalysis (ASRv1–30 km and ASRv2–15 km grid resolutions) are compared to the global ERA-Interim Reanalysis (ERA-I–80 km grid resolution), focusing on their ability to represent winds in the vicinity of southern Greenland. Comparisons are made to observations from surface and upper-air stations, as well as from research aircraft flights during the Greenland Flow Distortion Experiment (GFDex). The ERA-I reanalysis has a tendency to underestimate high wind speeds and overestimate low wind speeds, which is reduced in ASRv1 and nearly eliminated in ASRv2. In addition, there is generally a systematic reduction in the root mean square error between the observed and the reanalysis wind speeds from ERA-I to ASRv1 to ASRv2, the exception being low-level marine winds where the correspondence is similar in all reanalyses. Case studies reveal that mesoscale spatial features of the wind field are better captured in ASRv2 as compared to the ERA-I or ASRv1. These results confirm that a horizontal grid size on the order of 15 km is needed to characterize the impact that Greenland’s topography has on the regional wind field and climate. However even at this resolution, there are still features of the wind field that are under-resolved