Salt-water up-coning during extraction of fresh water from a tropical island

Rainwater can collect in a lens-shaped region within the rock of a tropical island, and may be separated from the underlying salt water by a sharp interface. This paper presents a nonlinear theory for determining the shape of this interface. The island is assumed to be saturated with rain, and provision is made for the outflow of rain-water through the sides of the island. The effect of a bore well on the shape of the interface is investigated, and the problem is solved using a spectral method. An integral-equation method is also presented for the case when the island has infinite width.     

Forced oscillations in an exothermic chemical reaction

We study non-linear behaviour in a model chemical reaction scheme (proposed by Sal?nikov), in which a single chemical species undergoes a two-stage, first-order decay process. The second stage is exothermic and has a temperature-dependent rate, and as a result, spontaneous oscillations in the temperature and the concentration of an intermediate chemical are known to be possible. An additional oscillation is imposed on the system by varying the ambient temperature in a sinusoidal manner. Primary resonance occurs when the forcing frequency coincides with the frequency of the natural oscillations in this scheme and an infinite sequence of super-and subharmonic resonances is also present. Chaos is possible for appropriate parameter values and may result either from the Feigenbaum period-doubling cascade, or else as a result of the Ruelle-Takens approach through quasi-periodicity.     

Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military and Veteran Populations.

While concerns about the psychological effects of war are not new, only recently has systematic attention been paid to such problems among past and present military personnel. There is increasing recognition that mental health has serious implications for operational performance, retention, and compensation. Although little controlled research exists with this population, preliminary evidence suggests that psychological treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder may be beneficial, albeit less so than for civilian populations. This article reviews evidence for each of several psychological treatment stages: stabilization and engagement, psychoeducation, symptom management, prolonged exposure, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention, with particular reference to the clinical issues raised by military personnel. Possible explanations for reduced treatment effects in this population compared with civilians are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unsteady free surface flow induced by a line sink in a fluid of finite depth

The unsteady withdrawal of fluid from a reservoir of finite depth with a free surface through a line sink is considered. A numerical method is used to investigate the evolution of a free surface in several different geometric and initial configurations, and it is shown that there are some critical flow parameters at which the flow changes its nature. The existence of steady states is also considered. Results both with and without surface tension are included and placed in context with previous work. Inclusion of surface tension reveals that solutions either evolve to a steady state or drawdown. As the sink is moved off the base, the behaviour becomes consistent with flows in a fluid of infinite depth, and consequently flows can be classified as either “shallow” or “deep” depending on their drawdown behaviour.     

Magnetic Relaxation of Solid and Liquid 3He Confined Inside a Silver Sinter

We present T ₁ measurements performed in liquid and solid ³ He confined in sintered silver. In the liquid case, we find a close to linear relationship between T ₁ and the applied magnetic field, similar to other (non metallic) systems, and up to higher frequencies (corresponding to 11 T) than previously reported. In the solid, the relaxation rate is found to increase spectacularly at large polarizations, which may indicate a polarization dependence of the exchange motion. Now atNow at     

EMS1 gene expression in primary breast cancer: relationship to cyclin D1 and oestrogen receptor expression and patient survival

The EMS1 and CCND1 genes at chromosome 11q13 are amplified in about 15% of primary breast cancers but appear to confer different phenotypes in ER positive and ER negative tumours. Since there are no published data on EMS1 expression in large series of breast cancers we examined the relationship of EMS1 expression with EMS1 gene copy number and expression of mRNAs for cyclin D1 and ER. In a subset of 129 patients, where matched tumour RNA and DNA was available, EMS1 mRNA overexpression was associated predominantly with gene amplification (P = 0.0061), whereas cyclin D1 mRNA overexpression was not (P = 0.3142). In a more extensive series of 351 breast cancers, there was no correlation between cyclin D1 and EMS1 expression in the EMS1 and cyclin D1 overexpressors (P = 0.3503). Although an association between EMS1 mRNA expression and ER positivity was evident (P = 0.0232), when the samples were divided into quartiles of EMS1 or cyclin D1 mRNA expression, the increase in the proportion of ER positive tumours in the ascending EMS1 mRNA quartiles was not statistically significant (P = 0.0951). In marked contrast there was a significant stepwise increase in ER positivity in ascending quartiles of cyclin D1 mRNA (P = 0.030). A potential explanation for this difference was provided by the observation that in ER positive breast cancer cells oestradiol treatment resulted in increased cyclin D1 gene expression but was without effect on EMS1. The relationship between EMS1 expression and clinical outcome was examined in a subset of 234 patients with median follow-up of 74 months. High EMS1 expression was associated with age > 50 years (P = 0.0001), postmenopausal status (P = 0.0008), lymph node negativity (P = 0.019) and an apparent trend for worse prognosis in the ER negative subgroup. These data demonstrate that overexpression of EMS1 mRNA is largely due to EMS1 gene amplification, is independent of cyclin D1 and ER expression and, in contrast to cyclin D1, is not regulated by oestrogen. Independent overexpression of these genes may confer different phenotypes and disease outcomes in breast cancer as has been inferred from recent studies of EMS1 and CCND1 gene amplification.     

Continuous-time norm-constrained Kalman filtering

This paper considers continuous-time state estimation when part of the state estimate or the entire state estimate is norm-constrained. In the former case continuous-time state estimation is considered by posing a constrained optimization problem. The optimization problem can be broken up into two separate optimization problems, one which solves for the optimal observer gain associated with the unconstrained state estimates, while the other solves for the optimal observer gain associated with the constrained state estimates. The optimal constrained state estimate is found by projecting the time derivative of an unconstrained estimate onto the tangent space associated with the norm constraint. The special case where the entire state estimate is norm-constrained is briefly discussed. The utility of the filtering results developed are highlighted through a spacecraft attitude estimation example. Numerical simulation results are included.     

Implicit Bayesian Inference Using Option Prices

Abstract. A Bayesian approach to option pricing is presented in which posterior inference about the underlying returns process is conducted implicitly via observed option prices. A range of models allowing for conditional leptokurtosis, skewness and time‐varying volatility in returns are considered, with posterior parameter distributions and model probabilities backed out from the option prices. Models are ranked according to several criteria, including out‐of‐sample predictive and hedging performance. The methodology accommodates heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation in the option pricing errors, as well as regime shifts across contract groups. The method is applied to intraday option price data on the S&P500 stock index for 1995. While the results provide support for models that accommodate leptokurtosis and skewness, no one model dominates when all criteria are considered.     

Effect of Visual Cues and a Mixture of Isothiocyanates on Trap Capture of Cabbage Seed Weevil, Ceutorhynchus assimilis

The effect of trap design, trap color, and a mixture of isothiocyanates on the capture of Ceutorhynchus assimilis (Paykull) was studied in a series of field experiments. Unbaited yellow water traps, a yellow sticky box trap, and a yellow sticky card trap, mounted vertically, or at 45° to the vertical with the yellow card facing upwards were effective for capturing seed weevils, but a horizontal yellow sticky card trap caught few. White, green, and black traps were unattractive. During migratory periods, trap catch could be enhanced two to four times with a lure consisting of a mixture of allyl, 3-butenyl, 4-pentenyl, and 2-phenylethyl isothiocyanates, but this bait did not attract in a trap with ineffective design. The sticky card trap, mounted at 45° to the vertical and baited with the isothiocyanate mixture, may be useful for monitoring movement of C. assimilis during migratory periods. However, during the colonization phase, lures of either a mixture of isothiocyanates or of allyl isothiocyanate alone were not attractive.