Scale invariance of daily runoff time series in agricultural watersheds

International audienceFractal scaling behavior of long-term records of daily runoff time series in 32 sub-watersheds covering a wide range of size were examined using the shifted box-counting method and Hurst rescaled range (R/S) analysis. These sub-watersheds were associated with four agricultural watersheds of different climate and topography. The results showed that the records of daily runoff rate exhibited scale invariance over certain time scales. Two scaling ranges were identified from the shifted box-counting plots with a break point at about 12 months. The Hurst R/S analysis showed that the runoff time series displayed strong long-term persistence which dissipated after 15~18 months. The same fractal dimensions and Hurst exponents were obtained for the sub-watersheds within each watershed, indicating that the runoff of these sub-watersheds have similar distribution of occurrence and similar long-term memory. The existence of scale invariance in runoff time series from agricultural watersheds may have implications for extrapolating observations from gauged to ungauged watersheds

Rsp5/​Nedd4 is the main ubiquitin ligase that targets cytosolic misfolded proteins following heat stress

The heat-shock response is a complex cellular program that induces major changes in protein translation, folding and degradation to alleviate toxicity caused by protein misfolding. Although heat shock has been widely used to study proteostasis, it remained unclear how misfolded proteins are targeted for proteolysis in these conditions. We found that ​Rsp5 and its mammalian homologue ​Nedd4 are important E3 ligases responsible for the increased ubiquitylation induced by heat stress. We determined that ​Rsp5 ubiquitylates mainly cytosolic misfolded proteins upon heat shock for proteasome degradation. We found that ubiquitylation of heat-induced substrates requires the Hsp40 co-chaperone ​Ydj1 that is further associated with ​Rsp5 upon heat shock. In addition, ubiquitylation is also promoted by PY ​Rsp5-binding motifs found primarily in the structured regions of stress-induced substrates, which can act as heat-induced degrons. Our results support a bipartite recognition mechanism combining direct and chaperone-dependent ubiquitylation of misfolded cytosolic proteins by ​Rsp5

Language and anxiety: an ethnographic study of international postgraduate students

This paper presents some findings from an ethnographic study of international postgraduate students at a university in the South of England, which involved interviews and participant observation over a twelve-month academic year. One of the major themes that emerged from this research was students’ anxiety over their level of English language. Although all students entered their course with a minimum level of IELTS 6, the majority felt disadvantaged by particularly poor spoken English, and suffered feelings of anxiety, shame and inferiority. Low self-confidence meant that they felt ill-equipped to engage in class discussion and in social interaction which used English as the medium of communication. A common reaction to stress caused by language problems was to retreat into monoethnic communication with students from the same country, further inhibiting progress in language. Whilst some linguistic progress was made by nearly all students during the academic sojourn, the anxiety suffered by students in the initial stage must not be underestimated, and appropriate support systems must be put in place to alleviate their distress

The social contract and human rights bases for promoting access to effective, novel, high-priced medicines

This technical report explores how social contract theories, the global public (health) goods discourse and international human rights can be employed to sketch the broad contours of the responsibilities and rights of key stakeholders – particularly governments and pharmaceutical companies. These three approaches ascertain that stakeholders have specific responsibilities to assist in increasing access to high-priced medicines, yet they remain vague about the precise nature of actions stakeholders should perform to promote access to medicines.This report builds particularly on international human rights, and identifies specific obligations that, if properly implemented, should contribute to better access to medicines

Xenon in Mercury-Manganese Stars

Previous studies of elemental abundances in Mercury-Manganese (HgMn) stars have occasionally reported the presence of lines of the ionized rare noble gas Xe II, especially in a few of the hottest stars with Teff ~ 13000--15000 K. A new study of this element has been undertaken using observations from Lick Observatory's Hamilton Echelle Spectrograph. In this work, the spectrum synthesis program UCLSYN has been used to undertake abundance analysis assuming LTE. We find that in the Smith & Dworetsky sample of HgMn stars, Xe is vastly over-abundant in 21 of 22 HgMn stars studied, by factors of 3.1--4.8 dex. There does not appear to be a significant correlation of Xe abundance with Teff. A comparison sample of normal late B stars shows no sign of Xe II lines that could be detected, consistent with the expected weakness of lines at normal abundance. The main reason for the previous lack of widespread detection in HgMn stars is probably due to the strongest lines being at longer wavelengths than the photographic blue. The lines used in this work were 4603.03A, 4844.33A and 5292.22A.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 8 January 200

The social contract and human rights bases for promoting access to effective, novel, high-priced medicines

This technical report explores how social contract theories, the global public (health) goods discourse and international human rights can be employed to sketch the broad contours of the responsibilities and rights of key stakeholders – particularly governments and pharmaceutical companies. These three approaches ascertain that stakeholders have specific responsibilities to assist in increasing access to high-priced medicines, yet they remain vague about the precise nature of actions stakeholders should perform to promote access to medicines.This report builds particularly on international human rights, and identifies specific obligations that, if properly implemented, should contribute to better access to medicines

A consideration of the challenges involved in supervising international masters students

This paper explores the challenges facing supervisors of international postgraduate students at the dissertation stage of the masters programme. The central problems of time pressure, language difficulties, a lack of critical analysis and a prevalence of personal problems among international students are discussed. This paper makes recommendations for the improvement of language and critical thinking skills, and questions the future policy of language requirements at HE for international Masters students

Length of Stay and Hospital Cost Comparison in Hind Foot and Ankle Surgery on Patients With Anxiety and Depression Versus Those Without Psychopathology Diagnoses.

To evaluate if patients with depression and/or anxiety have more post-operative pain, necessitating more pain medication and requiring longer hospital stays, corresponding to increased costs following elective hind foot and/or ankle surgery. Through comparing the LOS between our study group and our control group, a diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety did not seem to extend the length of time admitted to the hospital. We found, as expected, the average VAS pain score was increased in the study group, which has been previously seen in the available literature