The effects of disjunct sampling and averaging time on maximum mean wind speeds

Conventionally, the 50-year wind is calculated on basis of the annual maxima of consecutive 10-min averages. Very often, however, the averages are saved with a temporal spacing of several hours. We call it disjunct sampling. It may also happen that the wind speeds are averaged over a longer time period before being saved. In either case, the extreme wind will be underestimated. This paper investigates the effects of the disjunct sampling interval and the averaging time on the attenuation of the extreme wind estimation by means of a simple theoretical approach as well as measurements. The measurements include climates dominated by extratropical lows, as well as more complicated, wind climate types. For both, the investigations are done for omni-directional and sector-wise situations. The theory assumes the time series is a Gaussian Markov chain and it performs adequately for sites in the extratropical regions. The sector-wise situation is more complicated. The attenuation of the extreme mean winds for a sector shows a dependency on the frequency of occurrence from that sector.     

Die Innovationstätigkeit der deutschen Softwareindustrie

In this article we present the results of two empirical studies focusing on the structure and extent of the innovation activities of the German Software Industry and analyze distinctive features of Software Innovations. We distinguish the activities of the primary (core) Software Industry and secondary industries such as Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Motor Industry and Telecommunications. A special focus is put on the question if innovations in Software are sequential, on the role of Open Source Software and the importance of interoperability.     

A Simple Method Using Tracer Gas to Identify the Main Airflow and Contaminant Paths within a Room

The main airflow and contaminant paths or the spatial distribution of the age of air (or contaminant) in a room are of great interest in estimating venrilation efficiency. A simple meusurement method is presented which consists of injecting one or more tracer gases at locations of interest and analysing the concentration at several other locations, carefully chosen for best accuracy. Response functions can be fitted to these measurements, which are the age of the tracers or of the air or the concentration of the tracers as a function of the location. The salient paths, such as the dead zones, are also determined from these functions. The paper presents the method, its application and validation in a well controlled test room.     

Cloning and characterization of a cDNA encoding a novel subtype of rat thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor

A cDNA encoding a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor expressed in the pituitary was previously cloned (De La Pena, P., Delgado, L. M., Del Camino, D., and Barros, F. (1992) Biochem. J. 284, 891-899; De La Pena, P., Delgado, L. M., Del Camino, D., and Barros, F. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 25703-25708; Duthie, S. M., Taylor, P. L., Anderson, J., Cook, J., and Eidne, K. A. (1993) Mol. Cell Endocrinol. 95, R11-R15). We now describe the isolation of a rat cDNA encoding a novel subtype of TRH receptor (termed TRHR2) displaying an overall homology of 50% to the pituitary TRH receptor. Introduction of TRHR2 cDNA in HEK-293 cells resulted in expression of high affinity TRH binding with a different pharmacological profile than the pituitary TRH receptor. De novo expressed receptors were functional and resulted in stimulation of calcium transient as assessed by fluorometric imaging plate reader analysis. The message for TRHR2 was exclusive to central nervous system tissues as judged by Northern blot analysis. Studies of the expression of TRHR-2 message by in situ hybridization revealed a pattern of expression remarkably distinct (present in spinothalamic tract, spinal cord dorsal horn) from that of the pituitary TRH receptor (present in hypothalamus, and ventral horn of the spinal cord, anterior pituitary). Therefore, we have identified a novel, pharmacologically distinct receptor for thyrotropin-releasing hormone that appears to be more restricted to the central nervous system particularly to the sensory neurons of spinothalamic tract and spinal cord dorsal horn, which may account for the sensory antinociceptive actions of TRH.     

Decidable properties of monadic recursive schemas with a depth parameter

Summary Monadic table counter schemas (MTCS) are defined as extensions of recursive monadic schemas by incorporating a depth-of-recursion counter. The family of languages generated by free MTCS under Herbrand interpretation is shown to be the family of ETOL languages. It is proven that the halting and divergence problems are decidable for free MTCS and that the freedom problem is decidable. Most of these results are obtained using results on regular control sequences from L system theory.     

Frequency distribution and signal formation around a vessel

We describe the NMR signal formation properties of a single vessel. Instead of assuming the frequency distribution to be a simple Lorentzian or Gaussian one, we take into account that the frequency distribution around the vessel is a complex function. Considering the static dephasing regime we find a relationship between signal formation and frequency distribution. Analytical expressions for the frequency distribution in a voxel and the magnetization decay are obtained. In the case of small volume fractions of blood and week magnetic fields the results can be used for describing signal formation processes in a vascular network. A relationship between the frequency distribution and the properties of the vascular network is derived. The magnetization decay in different time regimes is discussed. The result is relevant for describing signal formation processes around a vessel for arbitrary pulse sequences.     

The Relative Persuasiveness of Gain-Framed and Loss-Framed Messages for Encouraging Disease Detection Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review

A meta-analytic review of 53 studies (N = 9,145) finds that in messages aimed at encouraging disease detection behaviors, loss-framed appeals (which emphasize the disadvantages of noncompliance with the communicator's recommendation) are only slightly, but statistically significantly, more persuasive than gain-framed appeals (which emphasize the advantages of compliance); the difference corresponds to a correlation of −.04. Loss-framed appeals enjoy a small statistically significant advantage for messages advocating breast cancer detection behaviors, but not for any other kind of detection behavior (detection of skin cancer, other cancers, dental problems, or miscellaneous other diseases) nor for all other kinds of detection behaviors combined. Thus, in advocacy of disease detection behaviors, using loss-framed rather than gain-framed appeals is unlikely to substantially improve persuasiveness.     

Gaussian vs non‐Gaussian turbulence: impact on wind turbine loads

From large‐eddy simulations of atmospheric turbulence, a representation of Gaussian turbulence is constructed by randomizing the phases of the individual modes of variability. Time series of Gaussian turbulence are constructed and compared with its non‐Gaussian counterpart. Time series from the two types of turbulence are then used as input to wind turbine load simulations under normal operations with the HAWC2 software package. A slight increase in the extreme loads of the tower base fore‐aft moment is observed for high wind speeds when using non‐Gaussian turbulence but is insignificant when taking into account the safety factor for extreme moments. Other extreme load moments as well as the fatigue loads are not affected because of the use of non‐Gaussian turbulent inflow. It is suggested that the turbine thus acts like a low‐pass filter that averages out the non‐Gaussian behaviour, which is mainly associated with the fastest and smallest scales. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.