University of Reading

About: University of Reading is a education organization based out in Reading, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 18728 authors who have published 46707 publications receiving 1758671 citations. The organization is also known as: University College, Reading.

Bacterial iron homeostasis

Abstract: Iron is essential to virtually all organisms, but poses problems of toxicity and poor solubility. Bacteria have evolved various mechanisms to counter the problems imposed by their iron dependence, allowing them to achieve effective iron homeostasis under a range of iron regimes. Highly efficient iron acquisition systems are used to scavenge iron from the environment under iron-restricted conditions. In many cases, this involves the secretion and internalisation of extracellular ferric chelators called siderophores. Ferrous iron can also be directly imported by the G protein-like transporter, FeoB. For pathogens, host–iron complexes (transferrin, lactoferrin, haem, haemoglobin) are directly used as iron sources. Bacterial iron storage proteins (ferritin, bacterioferritin) provide intracellular iron reserves for use when external supplies are restricted, and iron detoxification proteins (Dps) are employed to protect the chromosome from iron-induced free radical damage. There is evidence that bacteria control their iron requirements in response to iron availability by down-regulating the expression of iron proteins during iron-restricted growth. And finally, the expression of the iron homeostatic machinery is subject to iron-dependent global control ensuring that iron acquisition, storage and consumption are geared to iron availability and that intracellular levels of free iron do not reach toxic levels.

The Steady Linear Response of a Spherical Atmosphere to Thermal and Orographic Forcing

Abstract: Motivated by some results from barotropic models, a linearized steady-state five-layer baroclinic model is used to study the response of a spherical atmosphere to thermal and orographic forcing. At low levels the significant perturbations are confined to the neighborhood of the source and for midlatitude thermal forcing these perturbations are crucially dependent on the vertical distribution of the source. In the upper troposphere the sources generate wavetrains which are very similar to those given by barotropic models. For a low-latitude source, long wavelengths propagate strongly polewards as well as eastwards. Shorter wavelengths are trapped equatorward of the poleward flank of the jet, resulting in a split of the wave-trains at this latitude. Using reasonable dissipation magnitudes, the easiest way to produce an appreciable response in middle and high latitudes is by subtropical forcing. These results suggest an explanation for the shapes of patterns described in observational studies. The t...

Approximating the Nondominated Front Using the Pareto Archived Evolution Strategy

Abstract: We introduce a simple evolution scheme for multiobjective optimization problems, called the Pareto Archived Evolution Strategy (PAES) We argue that PAES may represent the simplest possible nontrivial algorithm capable of generating diverse solutions in the Pareto optimal set The algorithm, in its simplest form, is a (1 + 1) evolution strategy employing local search but using a reference archive of previously found solutions in order to identify the approximate dominance ranking of the current and candidate solution vectors (1 + 1)-PAES is intended to be a baseline approach against which more involved methods may be compared It may also serve well in some real-world applications when local search seems superior to or competitive with population-based methods We introduce (1 + λ) and (μ | λ) variants of PAES as extensions to the basic algorithm Six variants of PAES are compared to variants of the Niched Pareto Genetic Algorithm and the Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm over a diverse suite of six test functions Results are analyzed and presented using techniques that reduce the attainment surfaces generated from several optimization runs into a set of univariate distributions This allows standard statistical analysis to be carried out for comparative purposes Our results provide strong evidence that PAES performs consistently well on a range of multiobjective optimization tasks

Language Style as Audience Design

Abstract: Language style is one of the most challenging aspects of sociolinguistic variation. The basic principle of language style is that an individual speaker does not always talk in the same way on all occasions. Style means that speakers have alternatives or choices — a ‘that way’ which could have been chosen instead of a ‘this way’. Speakers talk in different ways in different situations, and these different ways of speaking can carry different social meanings.

Climate change impacts on global food security

Abstract: Climate change could potentially interrupt progress toward a world without hunger. A robust and coherent global pattern is discernible of the impacts of climate change on crop productivity that could have consequences for food availability. The stability of whole food systems may be at risk under climate change because of short-term variability in supply. However, the potential impact is less clear at regional scales, but it is likely that climate variability and change will exacerbate food insecurity in areas currently vulnerable to hunger and undernutrition. Likewise, it can be anticipated that food access and utilization will be affected indirectly via collateral effects on household and individual incomes, and food utilization could be impaired by loss of access to drinking water and damage to health. The evidence supports the need for considerable investment in adaptation and mitigation actions toward a “climate-smart food system” that is more resilient to climate change influences on food security.