We here present results and analysis from a study of affective tactile communication between human and humanoid robot (the NAO robot). In the present work, participants conveyed eight emotions to the NAO via touch. In this study, we sought to understand the potential for using a wearable affective (tactile) interface, or WAffI. The aims of our study were to address the following: (i) how emotio...

The distribution of the daily wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index in the 40-yr ECMWF ReAnalysis (ERA-40) is significantly negatively skewed. Dynamical and statistical analyses both suggest that this skewness reflects the presence of two distinct regimes—referred to as ‘‘Greenland blocking’’ and ‘‘subpolar jet.’’ Changes in both the relative occurrence and in the structure of the r...

Objectives (1) Analyze the relationship between intranasal airflow distribution and subjective nasal patency in healthy and nasal airway obstruction (NAO) cohorts using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). (2) Determine whether intranasal airflow distribution is an important objective measure of airflow sensation that should be considered in future NAO virtual surgery planning. Study Design Cros...

The title compound, NaCa(AsO(4)), was synthesized using a hydro-thermal method at 633-643 K. It has a dense structure composed of alternating layers of distorted [CaO(6)] octa-hedra and layers of [AsO(4)] tetra-hedra and distorted [NaO(6)] octa-hedra, stacked along the a axis. The As, Ca and two O atoms lie on the mirror plane at y = 1/4 (i.e. 4c), while the Na atom lies on an inversion centre ...

Harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) have evolved life history strategies to exploit seasonal sea ice as a breeding platform. As such, individuals are prepared to deal with fluctuations in the quantity and quality of ice in their breeding areas. It remains unclear, however, how shifts in climate may affect seal populations. The present study assesses the effects of climate change on harp seals...

The fluctuations of catches of the deep-sea shrimp Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816) were analysed in the 6 ports of Catalonia where production is concentrated, based on monthly landings from 1988 to 2004. The 6 selected ports produced 300 t of red shrimp in 2004, or 80% of the total production in Catalonia. The series for each port showed clear interannual variability, with peaks of production...

Understanding and predicting the state of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is key to forecasting weather in United Kingdom (UK). It has been shown that particular phases Madden–Julian (MJO) act as precursors either NAO+ or NAO? events. We assess ability UK Met Office coupled climate model (HadGEM3-GC3.1-MM) simulate these NAO responses at lead times 1–2 weeks show improvements are needed modell...

This paper proposes the hypothesis that the low-frequency variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) arises as a result of variations in the occurrence of upper-level Rossby wave–breaking events over the North Atlantic. These events lead to synoptic situations similar to midlatitude blocking that are referred to as high-latitude blocking episodes. A positive NAO is envisaged as being a...

[1] The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has a profound effect on winter climate variability around the Atlantic basin. Strengthening of the NAO in recent decades has altered surface climate in these regions at a rate far in excess of global mean warming. However, only weak NAO trends are reproduced in climate simulations of the 20th Century, even with prescribed climate forcings and historical...

We investigated the roles of sodium-calcium exchange, sarcoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria in Cai homeostasis in cultured chick ventricular cells. Specifically, the influence of low sodium medium on contractile state, calcium fluxes, and cytosolic free [Ca] [( Ca]i) was examined. [Ca]i was measured using fura-2. Mean [Ca]i in control medium was 126 +/- 14 nM. Exposure of cells to sodium-fre...