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Eighteen lightning flash rate parameterization schemes (FRPSs) were investigated in a Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry cloud‐resolved simulation of the 29–30 May 2012 supercell storm system observed during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign. Most of the observed storm's meteorological conditions were well represented when the model simulation included both convective damping and lightning data assimilation techniques. Newly‐developed FRPSs based on DC3 radar observations and Lightning Mapping Array data are implemented in the model, along with previously developed schemes from the literature. The schemes are based on relationships between lightning and various kinematic, structural, and microphysical thunderstorm characteristics (e.g., cloud top height, hydrometeors, reflectivity, and vertical velocity) available in the model. The results suggest the model‐simulated graupel and snow/ice hydrometeors require scaling factors to more closely represent proxy observations. The model‐simulated lightning flash trends and total flashes generated by each scheme over the simulation period are compared with observations from the central Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array. For this supercell system, 13 of the 18 schemes overpredicted flashes by >100% with the group of FRPSs based on storm kinematics and structure (particularly updraft volume) performing slightly better than the hydrometeor‐based schemes. During the storm's first 4 hr, the upward cloud ice flux FRPS, which is based on the combination of vertical velocity and hydrometeors, well represents the observed total flashes and flash rate trend; while, the updraft volume scheme well represents the observed flash rate peak and subsequent sharp decline in flash rate. Plain Language Summary: Accurate lightning forecasts are important for daily activities. They are also important because lightning produces nitrogen oxide, which affects the distribution of atmospheric trace gases that have significant roles in influencing our climate (e.g., ozone). Lightning is recreated in weather models using already determined relationships between observed lightning and thunderstorm characteristics (e.g., hydrometeors and vertical velocity). Lightning prediction is also highly dependent on how well the model represents current conditions, like thunderstorm location and strength. Eighteen lightning‐thunderstorm relationships, or schemes, were investigated in a cloud‐resolved Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry to simulate the 29–30 May 2012 supercell storm system observed during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign and to identify the best scheme associated with the event. Modifications to the model‐simulation were first required to better represent the observed convection before comparing the observed and model‐simulated lightning. Generally, the schemes based on storm kinematics and structure perform slightly better for this case study than the microphysical schemes. Two schemes (i.e., upward cloud ice flux and updraft volume) well represent the supercell system's lightning activity. The upward cloud ice flux scheme was used in follow‐on lightning chemistry and trace gas analyses. Key Points: Thirteen of eighteen flash rate parameterization schemes overestimated the observed number of flashes by more than 100%Upward cloud ice flux and updraft volume schemes well represent lightning activity in the early and later stages of the storm, respectivelyFlash rate prediction is highly dependent on how schemes are applied in cloud‐resolved models and on accurate simulation of storm variables [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convective clouds are important for both the vertical redistribution of tropospheric trace gases and the removal, via microphysical scavenging, of soluble trace gas precursors of ozone. We investigate wet scavenging of formaldehyde (CH2O), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and methyl hydrogen peroxide (CH3OOH) in quasi‐marine and land convective storms over Texas, USA observed on 18 September 2013 during the 2013 SEAC4RS campaign. Cloud‐resolving simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF‐Chem) were performed to understand the effect of entrainment, scavenging efficiency (SE), and ice physics processes on these trace gases with varying solubility. While marine and land convection can have distinctly different microphysical properties, we did not find significant differences in the SEs of CH2O, H2O2, or CH3OOH. The SEs of 44%–53% for CH2O and 85%–90% for H2O2 are consistent with our previous studies from SEAC4RS and the 2012 DC3 field experiment storms. Using WRF‐Chem simulations, the ice retention factor (rf) for CH2O was determined to be 0.5–0.9, which is higher than found in previous studies. We show that the CH2O rf is higher in airmass and multicell storms than in severe storms and hypothesize that ice shattering may affect CH2O rf values. The CH3OOH SEs (39%–73%) were higher than expected from Henry's Law equilibrium. While recent studies suggest that CH3OOH measurements have interference due to methane diol, we find that this interference cannot fully explain the higher‐than‐expected CH3OOH SEs determined here and during DC3, suggesting further research is needed to understand CH3OOH vertical redistribution. Plain Language Summary: Thunderstorms are important mechanisms for the transport and removal of trace gases in the atmosphere. This study investigates the transport and removal processes of tropospheric ozone trace gas precursors in marine and land convective storms over Texas, USA. Numerical simulations were performed to understand storm processes affecting atmospheric gases with different solubilities. While marine and land storms can have distinctly different storm structure and updraft winds, we did not find significant differences in the amount of gases removed by these storms. The results show that the efficiency of the storm in removing gas from the atmosphere is consistent with our previous findings for moderate to severe storms over the US. In addition, the analysis showed when cloud drops freeze onto ice and snow particles that formaldehyde had more retention in the frozen particle in moderate storms compared to severe storms suggesting that there are many processes affecting this key ozone precursor in deep convection. The more soluble hydrogen peroxide did not show the same ice retention behavior because it is removed by precipitation in the warmer, liquid‐only region of the storm. Key Points: Although marine and land convection have different microphysical properties, there are no relevant differences in the scavenging efficiencyWRF‐Chem simulations analysis shows ice retention factor for formaldehyde is higher than found in previous studiesMethyl hydrogen peroxide scavenging efficiencies are higher than expected from Henry's Law, even with potential measurement interference [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large‐scale biodiversity databases have great potential for quantifying long‐term trends of species, but they also bring many methodological challenges. Spatial bias of species occurrence records is well recognized. Yet, the dynamic nature of this spatial bias – how spatial bias has changed over time – has been largely overlooked. We examined the spatial bias of species occurrence records within multiple biodiversity databases in Germany and tested whether spatial bias in relation to land cover or land use (urban and protected areas) has changed over time. We focused our analyses on urban and protected areas as these represent two well‐known correlates of sampling bias in biodiversity datasets. We found that the proportion of annual records from urban areas has increased over time while the proportion of annual records within protected areas has not consistently changed. Using simulations, we examined the implications of this changing sampling bias for estimation of long‐term trends of species' distributions. When assessing biodiversity change, our findings suggest that the effects of spatial bias depend on how it affects sampling of the underlying land‐use change drivers affecting species. Oversampling of regions undergoing the greatest degree of change, for instance near human settlements, might lead to overestimation of the trends of specialist species. For robust estimation of the long‐term trends in species' distributions, analyses using species occurrence records may need to consider not only spatial bias, but also changes in the spatial bias through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are air pollutants critical to ozone and fine particle production in the troposphere. Here, we present fuel‐based emission inventories updated to 2018, including for mobile source engines using the Fuel‐based Inventory of Vehicle Emissions (FIVEs) and oil and gas production using the Fuel‐based Oil and Gas (FOG) inventory. The updated FIVE emissions are now consistent with the NEI17 estimates differing within 2% across the contiguous US (CONUS). Tropospheric NO2 columns modeled by the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry model (WRF‐Chem) are compared with those observed by TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) during the summer of 2018. Modeled NO2 columns show strong temporal and spatial correlations with TROPOMI (OMI), identified with biases of −3% (−21%) over CONUS, and +8% (−6%) over point sources plus urban regions. Taking account of the negative bias (∼20%) in early version of TROPOMI over polluted regions, WRF‐Chem shows good performance with updated FIVE and FOG emissions. Our model tends to under‐predict the tropospheric NO2 columns over background and rural regions (bias of −21% to −3%). Through model sensitivity analyses, we demonstrate the important roles of emissions from soils (11.7% average over CONUS), oil and gas production (4.1%), wildfires (10.6%), and lightning (2.3%) with greater contributions at regional scales. This work provides a roadmap for satellite‐based evaluations for emission updates from various sources. Plain Language Summary: Satellite observations of tropospheric NO2 columns provide important constraints on air pollutants from space, which have been widely used to validate the performance of atmospheric models. To gain better knowledge of the accuracy of the recently updated fuel‐based emissions inventory, we conducted NO2 assessments between a regional chemical transport model (Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry model, WRF‐Chem), with the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over the contiguous United States. We find that model simulation results show strong spatial and temporal correlations with satellite observations across point sources, urban, oil and gas production, and rural regions. With updated emissions, our regional atmospheric model can reconcile with satellite retrievals differing from −3% (TROPOMI) to −21% (OMI) overall. Soils, oil and gas production, wildfires and lightning emissions can play key roles in regional air quality. This work provides an important baseline of a pre‐COVID year by which sharp changes in anthropogenic NOx emissions due to the pandemic can be assessed. Key Points: Updated fuel‐based NOx emissions for 2018 are now consistent with the NEI 2017 within 2% for mobile source engines across the contiguous USWRF‐Chem reproduces trop. NO2 columns over point plus urban regions within 10% but underestimates in remote area by −21%(OMI) to −3%(TROPOMI)Sensitivity analyses show important roles of soil (11.7%), fire (10.6%), O&G (4.1%), lightning (2.3%) over CONUS, especially at regional scales [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convectively driven transport of soluble trace gases from the lower to the upper troposphere can occur on timescales of less than an hour, and recent studies suggest that microphysical scavenging is the dominant removal process of tropospheric ozone precursors. We examine the processes responsible for vertical transport, entrainment, and scavenging of soluble ozone precursors (formaldehyde and peroxides) for midlatitude convective storms sampled on 2 September 2013 during the Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) study. Cloud‐resolving simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry model combined with aircraft measurements were performed to understand the effect of entrainment, scavenging efficiency (SE), and ice physics processes on these trace gases. Analysis of the observations revealed that the SEs of formaldehyde (43–53%) and hydrogen peroxide (~80–90%) were consistent between SEAC4RS storms and the severe convection observed during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Experiment (DC3) campaign. However, methyl hydrogen peroxide SE was generally smaller in the SEAC4RS storms (4%–27%) compared to DC3 convection. Predicted ice retention factors exhibit different values for some species compared to DC3, and we attribute these differences to variations in net precipitation production. The analyses show that much larger production of precipitation between condensation and freezing levels for DC3 severe convection compared to smaller SEAC4RS storms is largely responsible for the lower amount of soluble gases transported to colder temperatures, reducing the amount of soluble gases which eventually interact with cloud ice particles. Key Points: Formaldehyde and hydrogen peroxide scavenging efficiencies are consistent with literature, while methyl hydrogen peroxide is generally smallerHighly soluble hydrogen peroxide is mostly depleted between cloud base and the freezing level, that is, the warm region of the stormRetention of dissolved trace gases in frozen precipitation seems to be more important for moderately soluble trace gases [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) project aimed to determine the impact of deep, midlatitude continental convective clouds on tropospheric composition and chemistry. The DC3 field campaign was conducted over a broad area of the central United States during May–June 2012. Data collected by DC3 have been extensively analyzed, with many results published in Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry 2012 Studies (DC3), a joint special section of JGR Atmospheres and Geophysical Research Letters. This paper highlights key results from the DC3 project as an introduction to the special issue. Key Point: Key findings from the DC3 project on convective transport, chemistry, lightning, and cloud physics are summarized [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep convection can transport surface moisture and pollution from the planetary boundary layer to the upper troposphere (UT) within a few minutes. The convective transport of precursors of both ozone and aerosols from the planetary boundary layer affects the concentrations of these constituents in the UT and can influence the Earth's radiation budget and climate. Some precursors of both ozone and aerosols are soluble and reactive in the aqueous phase. This study uses the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF‐Chem) to simulate the wet scavenging of precursors of both ozone and aerosols including CH2O, CH3OOH, H2O2, and SO2 in a supercell system observed on 29 May 2012, during the 2012 Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign at cloud‐parameterized resolution. The default WRF‐Chem simulations underestimate the mixing ratios of soluble ozone precursors in the UT because the dissolved soluble trace gases are not released when the droplets freeze. In order to improve the model simulation of cloud‐parameterized wet scavenging, we added ice retention factors for various species to the cloud‐parameterized wet scavenging module and adjusted the conversion rate of cloud water to rainwater at temperatures below freezing in the cloud parameterization as well as in the subgrid‐scale wet‐scavenging calculation. The introduction of these model modifications greatly improved the model simulation of less soluble species. Key Points: WRF‐Chem‐parameterized wet scavenging scheme overestimates the removal of soluble trace gasesIntroducing an ice retention factor improves the parameterized wet‐scavenging scheme simulationModel simulation is further improved with revised cloud‐to‐rain conversion parameters that are implemented at temperatures below freezing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094 is among the least altered samples of the early solar system. We have studied concentric sulfide-oxide aggregates from this meteorite by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). The main minerals present are magnetite, pentlandite, and pyrrhotite/troilite. The outer parts of the aggregates include µm-sized olivine and pyroxenes with variable Mg/Fe ratios. One aggregate contains taenite (56.7 wt% Ni) within its central part that is surrounded by pentlandite and magnetite. We conclude that both phases have formed by oxidation and sulfidization of metal and, based on the metal and sulfide Fe/Ni ratio, a (sulfide)-formation temperature of 400-550 °C can be constrained. This temperature is higher than any temperature that could be expected to have occurred on the Acfer 094 parent body, and also textural evidence indicates that the aggregates formed before parent-body accretion. We therefore conclude that the formation of the sulfide-oxide aggregates occurred most likely in the solar nebular at highly variable H2O and H2S fugacities. Oxygen-isotopic compositions of magnetite within these assemblages show that they are indistinguishable from the meteorite's matrix (δ17OSMOW ≈ 4 ± 8‰, δ18OSMOW ≈ 10 ± 6‰, and Δ17OSMOW ≈ -1 ± 5‰). An enrichment of 17,18O relative to chondrules of Acfer 094 suggests a link between the formation of the sulfide-oxide aggregates and the preaccretionary processing of matrix grains in a volatile-enriched nebular environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Almahata Sitta strewn field is dominated by ureilites, but contains a large fraction of chondritic fragments of various types. We analyzed stable isotopes of He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe, and the cosmogenic radionuclides 10Be, 26Al, and 36Cl in six chondritic Almahata Sitta fragments ( EL6 breccia, EL6, EL3-5, CB, LL4/5, R-like). The cosmic-ray exposure ( CRE) ages of five of the six samples have an average of 19.2 ± 3.3 Ma, close to the average of 19.5 ± 2.5 Ma for four ureilites. The cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations in the chondrites indicate a preatmospheric size consistent with Almahata Sitta. This corroborates that Almahata Sitta chondrite samples were part of the same asteroid as the ureilites. However, MS-179 has a lower CRE age of 11.0 ± 1.4 Ma. Further analysis of short-lived radionuclides in fragment MS-179 showed that it fell around the same time, and from an object of similar size as Almahata Sitta, making it almost certain that MS-179 is an Almahata Sitta fragment. Instead, its low CRE age could be due to gas loss, chemical heterogeneity that may have led to an erroneous 21Ne production-rate, or, perhaps most likely, MS-179 could represent the true 4π exposure age of Almahata Sitta (or an upper limit thereof), while all other samples analyzed so far experienced exposure on the parent body of similar lengths. Finally, MS-179 had an extraordinarily high activity of neutron-capture 36Cl, ~600 dpm kg−1, the highest activity observed in any meteorite to date, related to a high abundance of the Cl-bearing mineral lawrencite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is a key parameter in air quality research and plays a dominant role in the Colorado Northern Front Range Metropolitan Area (NFRMA), where terrain-induced flows and recirculation patterns can lead to vigorous mixing of different emission sources. To assess different transport processes and their connection to air quality in the NFRMA during the FRAPPÉ and DISCOVER-AQ campaigns in summer 2014, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with inert tracers. Overall, the model represents well the measured winds, and the inert tracers are in good agreement with observations of comparable trace gas concentrations. The model tracers support the analysis of surface wind and ozone measurements and allow for the analysis of transport patterns and interactions of emissions. A main focus of this study is on characterizing pollution transport from the NFRMA to the mountains by mountain-valley flows and the potential for recirculating pollution back into the NFRMA. One such event on 12 August 2014 was well captured by the aircraft and is studied in more detail. The model represents the flow conditions and demonstrates that during upslope events, frequently, there is a separation of air masses that are heavily influenced by oil and gas emissions to the north and dominated by urban emissions to the south. This case study provides evidence that NFRMA pollution not only can impact the nearby foothills and mountain areas to the east of the Continental Divide but that pollution can 'spillover' into the valleys to the west of the Continental Divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pontocerebellar hypoplasias ( PCH) are characterized by lack of development and/or early neurodegeneration of cerebellum and brainstem. We report five patients referred for PCH, showing atypical clinical and magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI) features suggestive of defects in the Reelin pathway. We screened for mutations in RELN or VLDLR and compared the phenotype of these patients with that of previously reported patients. All patients had profound cerebellar hypoplasia on MRI with peculiar cerebellar morphology, associated with flattened pons and neocortical abnormalities. Patient 1 had profound motor and intellectual disability with moderate lissencephaly suggestive of RELN mutations and was shown to harbor a splicing homozygous RELN mutation. The four other patients had a milder phenotype consistent with CARMQ1 (cerebellar ataxia and mental retardation with or without quadrupedal locomotion). These patients showed mild simplification or thickening of cortical gyration and had VLDLR mutations. Reelin signaling regulates neuronal migration in the developing mammalian brain. VLDLR is a key component of the Reelin pathway. Our patients had a very small and dysplatic cerebellar vermis that should suggest the involvement of these genes. Moreover, differences in clinical severity, involvement of the cerebellar hemispheres, together with the severity of the neocortical defect, enables RELN-mutated patients to be distinguished from VLDLR-mutated patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WFS1 mutations are responsible for Wolfram syndrome ( WS) characterized by juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus and optic atrophy, and for low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss ( LFSNHL). Our aim was to analyze the French cohort of 96 patients with WFS1-related disorders in order (i) to update clinical and molecular data with 37 novel affected individuals, (ii) to describe uncommon phenotypes and, (iii) to precise the frequency of large-scale rearrangements in WFS1. We performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) in 13 patients, carrying only one heterozygous variant, to identify large-scale rearrangements in WFS1. Among the 37 novel patients, 15 carried 15 novel deleterious putative mutations, including one large deletion of 17,444 base pairs. The analysis of the cohort revealed unexpected phenotypes including (i) late-onset symptoms in 13.8% of patients with a probable autosomal recessive transmission; (ii) two siblings with recessive optic atrophy without diabetes mellitus and, (iii) six patients from four families with dominantly-inherited deafness and optic atrophy. We highlight the expanding spectrum of WFS1-related disorders and we show that, even if large deletions are rare events, they have to be searched in patients with classical WS carrying only one WFS1 mutation after sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcriptional activity of nuclear receptors is the result of transactivation capability and the concentration of the receptor protein. The concentration of ecdysteroid receptor (EcR) isoforms, constitutively expressed in mammalian CHO cells, is dependent on a number of factors. As shown previously, ligand binding stabilizes receptor protein concentration. In this paper, we investigate the degradation of EcR isoforms and provide evidence that N-terminal degradation is modulated by isoform-specific ubiquitination sites present in the A/B domains of EcR-A and -B1. This was demonstrated by the increase in EcR concentration by treatment with carbobenzoxy-L-leucyl-L-leucyl-L-leucinal (MG132), an inhibitor of ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation and by deletion of ubiquitination sites. In addition, EcR is degraded by the peptidyl-dipeptidase cathepsin B (CatB) and the endopeptidase cathepsin S (CatS) at the C-terminus in an isoform-specific manner, despite identical C-termini. Ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated degradation and the proteolytic action are modulated by heterodimerization with Ultraspiracle (USP). The complex regulation of receptor protein concentration offers an additional opportunity to regulate transcriptional activity in an isoform- and target cell-specific way and allows the temporal limitation of hormone action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Whereas propionic acidemia (PA) is a target disease of newborn screening (NBS) in many countries, it is not in others. Data on the benefit of NBS for PA are sparse. Study design Twenty PA patients diagnosed through NBS were compared to 35 patients diagnosed by selectivemetabolic screening (SMS) prompted by clinical findings, family history, or routine laboratory test results. Clinical and biochemical data of patients from 16metabolic centers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland were evaluated retrospectively. Additionally, assessment of the intelligent quotient (IQ) was performed. In a second step, the number of PA patients who have died within the past 20 years was estimated based on information provided by the participating metabolic centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deficiency of propionyl CoA carboxylase (PCC), a dodecamer of alpha and beta subunits, causes inherited propionic acidemia. We have studied, at the molecular level, PCC in 54 patients from 48 families comprised of 96 independent alleles. These patients of various ethnic backgrounds came from research centers and hospitals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The thorough clinical characterization of these patients was described in the accompanying paper (Grünert et al. 2012). In all 54 patients, many of whom originated from consanguineous families, the entire PCCB gene was examined by genomic DNA sequencing and in 39 individuals the PCCA gene was also studied. In three patients we found mutations in both PCC genes. In addition, in many patients RT-PCR analysis of lymphoblast RNA, lymphoblast enzyme assays, and expression of new mutations in E.coli were carried out. Eight new and eight previously detected mutations were identified in the PCCA gene while 15 new and 13 previously detected mutations were found in the PCCB gene. One missense mutation, p.V288I in the PCCB gene, when expressed in E.coli, yielded 134% of control activity and was consequently classified as a polymorphism in the coding region. Numerous new intronic polymorphisms in both PCC genes were identified. This study adds a considerable amount of new molecular data to the studies of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcriptional activity of nuclear receptors is the result of transactivation capability and receptor protein concentration. The concentration of ecdysteroid receptor (EcR) constitutively expressed in vertebrate cells varies depending on the isoforms. Besides ligand binding and heterodimerization with ultraspiracle (USP), which stabilizes receptor protein concentration, degradation is regulated by interaction of the receptor complex with different ecdysteroid response elements (EcREs). Coexpression of EcREs significantly reduces ecdysteroid receptor concentration depending on the type of EcRE. Transcriptional activity and interaction with hormone response elements (HREs) as determined by Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) are often inversely related to receptor protein concentration. The complex regulation of receptor protein concentration offers an additional opportunity to regulate transcriptional activity in an isoform- and target cell-specific manner and allows the temporal limitation of hormone action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a very high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) gradient-echo technique with a twofold parallel imaging acceleration using a specialized occipital receiver coil at 3 T to perform functional MRI (fMRI) of the visual cortex. This configuration makes it possible to acquire 3D fMRI data within a timescale compatible with a block design. Without further processing, the functional maps at an isotropic 3D resolution of 0.42 µL (0.75 mm voxel size) and near-isotropic resolution of 1.2 µL (1 mm voxel size) show very robust activation in visual areas, but with clear contamination from larger veins. As this technique allows direct identification of veins in the functional scan, it permits removal of their effect from the activation maps. In our study, elimination of veins qualitatively improves the spatial specificity of activation maps, while reducing the activated volume by about 25%. The proposed technique provides functional information at the resolution of anatomical scans, is localized to gray matter, and facilitates functional to anatomical co-registration because of minimal distortions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecdysteroid regulation of gene transcription in Drosophila melanogaster and other insects is mediated by a heterodimer comprised of Ultraspiracle (USP) and one of three ecdysone receptor (EcR) isoforms (A, B1 and B2). This study revealed that the EcR/USP heterodimer displays isoform-specific capabilities. EcRB1 is normally induced with a form of USP that is missing its DNA-binding domain (DBD), although potentiation by juvenile hormone (JH) III is reduced. The EcRA and B2 isoforms, however, display almost no response to ecdysteroids with the DBD− USP. A mutation, K497E, in the shared ligand-binding domain of the EcR isoforms caused elevated EcRB2-specific affinity for a canonical ecdysone response element. The effects of directed modification and mutagenesis offer a strategy for developing hypotheses and considerations for studying in vivo function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assesses continuous ozone exposure for extending the market life of blackberries. Vulnerability to fungal decay; Evaluation of berries for anthocyanins, color and peroxidase (POD) activity; Ozone's role in oxidizing contaminants in air.

Deep convective transport of surface moisture and pollution from the planetary boundary layer to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere affects the radiation budget and climate. This study uses cloud‐parameterized Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry simulations to analyze the subgrid deep convective transport of CO at 12‐ and 36‐km horizontal resolution in supercell and mesoscale convective systems observed during the 2012 Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry field campaign and compares the simulation results with aircraft measurements and cloud‐resolved simulations. The best Weather Research and Forecasting simulation of these storms was obtained with the use of the Grell‐Freitas convective scheme. The default Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry subgrid convective transport scheme was replaced with a scheme to compute convective transport within the Grell‐Freitas subgrid cumulus parameterization, which resulted in improved transport simulations. We examined the CO tendencies due to subgrid‐ and grid‐scale convective transport. Results showed that the subgrid convective transport started earlier than the grid‐scale convective transport. The subgrid‐scale convective transport reached its maximum during the hour prior to the formation of the grid‐scale constant‐altitude detrainment layer. After that, both the subgrid‐ and grid‐scale convective transport began to decrease. The subgrid‐scale convective transport played a more significant role in the supercell case than the mesoscale convective system case. Subgrid contribution reached ~90% at the beginning of the storm and decreased to ~30% (17%) for the 36‐km (12‐km) domain 4 hr later. Key Points: Subgrid‐scale convective transport was more significant relative to that at grid scale in a supercell case than in a MCS caseSubgrid contribution was ~90% at the beginning of the storm and decreased to ~30% (17%) for the 36‐km (12‐km) domain 4 hr laterSubgrid convective transport in chemical models needs to be consistent with the cloud parameterization in the driving meteorological model [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]