Daily Log January 2014

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    Ashley GinPeriod 4

    Daily News1/6Overcoming structural uncertainty in computer modelsA computer model is a representation of the functional relationship between one set

    of parameters, which forms the model input, and a corresponding set of targetparameters, which forms the model output A true model for a particular problemcan rarely be de!ned with certainty "he most we can do to mitigate error is to#uantify the uncertainty in the model $cientists ha%e now o&ered a method toincorporate 'udgments into a model about structural uncertainty that results frombuilding an (incorrect( model1/)The search for seeds of black holes*ow do you grow a supermassi%e blac+ hole that is a million to a billion times themass of our sun Astronomers do not +now the answer, but a new study using datafrom NA$A(s -ide.!eld nfrared $ur%ey 0plorer, or -$0, has turned up what mightbe the cosmic seeds from which a blac+ hole will sprout "he results are helping

    scientists piece together the e%olution of supermassi%e blac+ holes .. powerfulob'ects that dominate the hearts of all galaies1/2Wind energy: New insight into best arrangement of wind turbines on largeinstallations3esearchers ha%e de%eloped a new way to study wa+e e&ects that includes theairow both within and around a wind farm and challenges the con%entional beliefthat turbines arrayed in chec+er board patterns produce the highest power output

     "heir study pro%ides insight into factors that determine the most fa%orablepositioning1/5Attention changes in the course of a dog's life mirror those of humans$cientists ha%e been the !rst to in%estigate the e%olution of dogs( attenti%eness inthe course of their li%es and to what etent they resemble humans in this regard

     "he outcome dogs( attentional and sensorimotor control de%elopmental tra'ectoriesare %ery similar to those found in humans1/17Switching brain cells with less lightNetwor+ed ner%e cells are the control center of organisms n a nematode, 877ner%e cells are su9cient to initiate comple beha%ior "o understand the propertiesof the networ+s, researchers switch cells on and o& with light and obser%e theresulting beha%ior of the organism $cientists now present a protein that facilitatesthe control of ner%e cells by light t might be used as a basis of studies of diseasesof the ner%ous system1/18Spine surgeons need to screen more patients for aniety! depression!study suggests:nly 17 percent of orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons follow professionalguidelines recommending routine psychological screenings of patients prior toma'or surgery for se%ere bac+ and leg pain, a study shows "he o%ersight,researchers say, may pose a serious ris+ to patients( surgical reco%ery Pre%iousreports ha%e tied bouts of depression to longer recuperations, delayed returns to

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    wor+, more postsurgical complications and failures to comply with medicationschedules after patients lea%e the hospital1/14"ood vibrations: #sing light$heated water to deliver drugsA new mechanism for using light to acti%ate drug.deli%ering nanoparticles and othertargeted therapeutic substances inside the body has been de%eloped by a

    collaboration of materials scientists, engineers and neurobiologists "his disco%eryrepresents a ma'or inno%ation ;p to now, only a handful of strategies using light.triggered release from nanoparticles ha%e been reported1/1<"alactic serial killer: "alay engulfed several other galaies in its violenthistoryA new image shows two contrasting galaies NG= 1816, and its smaller neighborNG= 181) "hese two are #uite close to each other in space, but they ha%e %erydi&erent histories "he small spiral NG= 181) has led an une%entful life, but NG=1816 has engulfed se%eral other galaies in its %iolent history and shows the battlescars1/16

    %irst ring system around asteroid: &hariklo found to have two ringsAstronomers ha%e made the surprise disco%ery that the remote asteroid =hari+lo issurrounded by two dense and narrow rings "his is the smallest ob'ect by far foundto ha%e rings and only the !fth body in the $olar $ystem > after the much largerplanets ?upiter, $aturn, ;ranus and Neptune > to ha%e this feature1/1)eforestation of sandy soils a greater climate threatA new study !nds that tree remo%al has far greater conse#uences for climatechange in some soils than in others, a !nding that could pro%ide +ey insights intowhich ecosystems should be managed with etra care n a comprehensi%e analysisof soil collected from 11 distinct ;$ regions, from *awaii to northern Alas+a,researchers found that the etent to which deforestation disturbs underground

    microbial communities that regulate the loss of carbon into the atmospheredepends almost eclusi%ely on the teture of the soil1/@1(ybrid vehicles more fuel e)cient in *ndia! &hina than in #+S+-hat ma+es cities in ndia and =hina so frustrating to dri%e in .. hea%y tra9c,aggressi%e dri%ing style, few freeways .. ma+es them ideal for sa%ing fuel withhybrid %ehicles, according to new research n a pair of studies using real.worlddri%ing conditions, they found that hybrid cars are signi!cantly more fuel.e9cient inndia and =hina than they are in the ;nited $tates1/@@Time out: Spanking babies is surprisingly common! #+S+ study ,nds

     "he same hands that parents use to lo%ingly feed, clothe and bathe their babies arealso commonly used to span+ their bundles of 'oy A new study found that 87percent of 1.year.old children were span+ed at least once in the past month by theirmother, father or both parents A long.time topic of debate, span+ing children is acommon practice among ;$ parents1/@8&linical trial results inconsistently reported among -ournals! governmentwebsite! study suggests

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    edical researchers often presented the !ndings of their clinical trials in a di&erentway on a federal go%ernment website than they did in the medical 'ournals wheretheir studies were ultimately published, according to a recent analysis1/@4"ratitude! not 'gimme!' makes for more satisfaction! study ,ndsPeople who are materialistic are more li+ely to be depressed and unsatis!ed, in part

    because they !nd it harder to be grateful for what they ha%e, according to a studyBGratitude is a positi%e mood t(s about other people,B said the study(s lead authorA material outloo+ focuses on what one does not ha%e, impairing the ability to begrateful for what one already has, researchers said1/@)*mportant and comple systems! from the global ,nancial market togroups of friends! may be highly controllable$cientists ha%e disco%ered that all comple systems, whether they are found in thebody, in international !nance, or in social situations, actually fall into 'ust threebasic categories, in terms of how they can be controlled1/@2#sing a treadmill while working can boost employee productivity! study

    ,nds-al+ing while you wor+ may not only impro%e an employee(s health, it may alsoboost producti%ity, according to new research 3esearchers studied employeesusing treadmills instead of o9ce chairs as they wor+ "heir o9ces were re!tted toha%e a computer, phone, and writing space on a des+ in front of a treadmill to beoperated by the employee at up to two mph "he results of the study wereencouraging .. the treadmills had a signi!cantly fa%orable impact on both physicalacti%ity and wor+ performance1/@5./ect of important air pollutants may be absent from key precipitationobservationsPioneering new research could ha%e a ma'or impact on climate and en%ironmental

    science by drastically transforming the percei%ed reliability of +ey obser%ations ofprecipitation, which includes rain, sleet and snow "he ground brea+ing studyeamines the e&ect that increased aerosol concentrations in the atmosphere,emitted as a result of burning fossil fuels, had on regional temperature andprecipitation le%els1/87&hildren eposed to methamphetamine before birth have increasedcognitive problems

     "he researchers studied 1