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Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are filaments of extensive water vapor transport in the lower troposphere that play a crucial role in the distribution of freshwater but can also cause natural and economic damage by facilitating heavy precipitation. Here, we investigate the large-scale spatiotemporal synchronization patterns of heavy precipitation events (HPEs) over the western coast and the continental regions of North America (NA), during the period from 1979 to 2018. In particular, we use event synchronization and a complex network approach incorporating varying delays to examine the temporal evolution of spatial patterns of HPEs in the aftermath of land-falling ARs. For that, we employ the SIO-R1 catalog of ARs that landfall on the western coast of NA, ranked in terms of intensity and persistence on an AR-strength scale which varies from level AR1 to AR5, along with daily precipitation estimates from ERA5 with a 0.25∘ spatial resolution. Our analysis reveals a cascade of synchronized HPEs, triggered by ARs of level AR3 or higher. On the first 3 d after an AR makes landfall, HPEs mostly occur and synchronize along the western coast of NA. In the subsequent days, moisture can be transported to central and eastern Canada and cause synchronized but delayed HPEs there. Furthermore, we confirm the robustness of our findings with an additional AR catalog based on a different AR detection method. Finally, analyzing the anomalies of integrated water vapor transport, geopotential height, upper-level meridional wind, and precipitation, we find atmospheric circulation patterns that are consistent with the spatiotemporal evolution of the synchronized HPEs. Revealing the role of ARs in the precipitation patterns over NA will lead to a better understanding of inland HPEs and the effects that changing climate dynamics will have on precipitation occurrence and consequent impacts in the context of a warming atmosphere.

Greater public and scholarly awareness of the educational influence of males (men and fathers) on child development has generated a parallel need for empirical research into the gender-related structure and dynamics of relationships between girls/boys and female/male educators in early childhood education institutions. The Austrian W-INN pilot study, carried out between 2010 and 2012, used a cross-sectional mixed-methods design (video-based observation and questionnaires) to research possible pedagogical differences and similarities between male and female educators, and their impact on boys' and girls' behaviour in early childhood education institutions. Ten Austrian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) groups were recruited: 5 female-only and 5 mixed-gender teams of educators, 30 children (15 boys, 15 girls) aged 4-6. Analysis of data on educational dimensions reveal male and female educators hardly differ (the exception, men are significantly more permissive). Mixed-gender teams produce significantly greater social mobility among children than do female-only teams. Analysing children's behaviour towards educators, clear gender specific effects can be found across various levels of inquiry: girls react less obviously to an educator's gender; boys, especially, are drawn significantly more frequently to a man in the ECEC team. Implications for pedagogical professionalism as well as limitations of the results are discussed. [This article was translated by Richard N. Myers.]

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) are co-localized at the blood–brain barrier, where they display functional redundancy to restrict the brain distribution of dual P-gp/BCRP substrate drugs. We used positron emission tomography (PET) with the metabolically stable P-gp/BCRP substrates [11C]tariquidar, [11C]erlotinib, and [11C]elacridar to assess whether a similar functional redundancy as at the BBB exists in the liver, where both transporters mediate the biliary excretion of drugs. Wild-type, Abcb1a/b(−/−), Abcg2(−/−), and Abcb1a/b(−/−)Abcg2(−/−) mice underwent dynamic whole-body PET scans after i.v. injection of either [11C]tariquidar, [11C]erlotinib, or [11C]elacridar. Brain uptake of all three radiotracers was markedly higher in Abcb1a/b(−/−)Abcg2(−/−) mice than in wild-type mice, while only moderately changed in Abcb1a/b(−/−) and Abcg2(−/−) mice. The transfer of radioactivity from liver to excreted bile was significantly lower in Abcb1a/b(−/−)Abcg2(−/−) mice and almost unchanged in Abcb1a/b(−/−) and Abcg2(−/−) mice (with the exception of [11C]erlotinib, for which biliary excretion was also significantly reduced in Abcg2(−/−) mice). Our data provide evidence for redundancy between P-gp and BCRP in controlling both the brain distribution and biliary excretion of dual P-gp/BCRP substrates and highlight the utility of PET as an upcoming tool to assess the effect of transporters on drug disposition at a whole-body level.

Theoretically based on early pedagogical and psychoanalytic research findings, the Austrian W-INN-study aims at confirming research questions as well as finding possible new hypotheses about men’s influence on children. The pilot study focuses on different research questions: What similarities and/or differences can be found in interactions with children depending on childcare staff composition (mixed gender vs. female)? What are childrens’ (re-)actions in these groups/towards staff? Are there possible ‘compensatory effects’ of male childcarers for children who don’t have much contact with fathers and/or men in general? Our paper will present the main results of the research project and its practical implications. Keywords: early childhood education – child-teacher-relationship – mixed gender staff – video observation – mixed-method-design

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are filaments of extensive water vapor transport in the lower troposphere that play a crucial role in the distribution of freshwater but can also cause natural and economic damage by facilitating heavy precipitation. Here, we investigate the large-scale spatiotemporal synchronization patterns of heavy precipitation events (HPEs) over the western coast and the continental regions of North America (NA), during the period from 1979 to 2018. In particular, we use event synchronization and a complex network approach incorporating varying delays to examine the temporal evolution of spatial patterns of HPEs in the aftermath of land-falling ARs. For that, we employ the SIO-R1 catalog of ARs that landfall on the western coast of NA, ranked in terms of intensity and persistence on an AR-strength scale which varies from level AR 1 to AR 5 , along with daily precipitation estimates from ERA5 with a 0.25∘ spatial resolution. Our analysis reveals a cascade of synchronized HPEs, triggered by ARs of level AR 3 or higher. On the first 3 d after an AR makes landfall, HPEs mostly occur and synchronize along the western coast of NA. In the subsequent days, moisture can be transported to central and eastern Canada and cause synchronized but delayed HPEs there. Furthermore, we confirm the robustness of our findings with an additional AR catalog based on a different AR detection method. Finally, analyzing the anomalies of integrated water vapor transport, geopotential height, upper-level meridional wind, and precipitation, we find atmospheric circulation patterns that are consistent with the spatiotemporal evolution of the synchronized HPEs. Revealing the role of ARs in the precipitation patterns over NA will lead to a better understanding of inland HPEs and the effects that changing climate dynamics will have on precipitation occurrence and consequent impacts in the context of a warming atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an experimental campaign, as regards the thermo-mechanical properties (heat capacity, thermal conductivity, Young's modulus, and tensile (bending) strength) of talcum-based steatite ceramics with artificially introduced porosity, is presented. The latter has been created by adding various amounts of an organic pore-forming agent, almond shell granulate, prior to compaction and sintering of the green bodies. The so-obtained porosity-dependent material parameters have been represented by homogenization schemes from effective medium/effective field theory. As regards the latter, thermal conductivity and elastic properties are well described by the self-consistent estimate, with effective material properties scaling in a linear manner with porosity, with the latter in the range of 1.5 vol-%, representing the intrinsic porosity of the ceramic material, to 30 vol-% in this study. On the other hand, strength properties are, due to the localization of the failure mechanism in the quasi-brittle material, characterized by a higher-order power-law dependency on porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are filaments of extensive water vapor transport in the lower troposphere, that play a crucial role in the distribution of water, but can also cause natural and economical damage by facilitating heavy rainfall. Here, we investigate the large-scale spatio-temporal synchronization patterns of heavy rainfall over the western coast and the continental regions of North America (NA), during the period from 1979 to 2018. In particular, we utilize event synchronization and a complex network approach incorporating varying delays to examine the temporal evolution of spatial patterns of heavy rainfall events in the aftermath of land-falling ARs. For that, we employ the SIO-R1 catalog of ARs that land-fall over the western coast of NA, categorized in terms of strength and persistence on an AR-intensity scale which varies from category 1 to 5, along with daily rainfall estimates from the ERA5 reanalysis with 0.25? spatial resolution. Our analysis reveals a cascade of synchronized heavy rainfall events, triggered by ARs of category 3 or higher: in the first 3 days after the first day of an AR strike, rainfall events mostly occur and synchronize along the western coast of NA. In the subsequent days, moisture can be transported to central and eastern Canada and cause synchronized but delayed heavy rainfall there. Furthermore, we assess the robustness of our findings by studying an additional AR detection method. Finally, analyzing the anomalies of integrated water vapor transport, geopotential height, upper-level meridional wind, and rainfall, we find atmospheric circulation patterns that are consistent with the spatio-temporal evolution of the synchronized heavy rainfall events. Understanding and revealing the effects of ARs in the rainfall patterns over NA will lead to better anticipating the evolution of the climate dynamics of the region in the context of a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of white noise and global coupling strength on the maximum degree of synchronization in complex networks are explored. We perform numerical simulations of generic oscillator models with both linear and non-linear coupling functions on a broad spectrum of network topologies. The oscillator models include the Fitzhugh–Nagumo model, the Izhikevich model and the Kuramoto phase oscillator model. The network topologies range from regular, random and highly modular networks to scale-free and small-world networks, with both directed and undirected edges. We then study the dependency of the maximum degree of synchronization on the global coupling strength and the noise intensity. We find a general scaling of the synchronizability, and quantify its validity by fitting a regression model to the numerical data.

The viscosity of suspensions depends on the properties of the fluid, i.e., the matrix material as well as on the volume fraction and shape of embedded inclusions. Regarding this dependence, a micromechanics-based homogenization approach is presented, giving access to the resulting effective viscous properties, starting from well established homogenization schemes originally proposed for the linear-elastic material response. In order to incorporate nonlinear matrix behavior, i.e., non-Newtonian fluids, the secant method of nonlinear homogenization is employed. The effect of nonsphericity of inclusions is considered by substituting the Eshelby tensor by a replacement tensor (replacement Eshelby tensor) determined by linear-elastic finite element simulations in Traxl and Lackner [Mech. Mater. 126, 126–139 (2018)]. In total, suspensions consisting of four different types of matrix materials, namely, (i) Newtonian, (ii) shear thickening, (iii) shear thinning power-law fluids, and (iv) Bingham or Herschel–Bulkley yield-stress fluids are considered embedding spherical, cubical, and tetrahedral inclusions (rigid particles and pores). The performance of the model is assessed by finite element simulations of respective representative volume elements, showing good agreement between model predictions and numerical results for small and moderate inclusion volume fractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]