Assisted users with expired passwords Closed 233 NCICB Support Wizard Accounts Tickets Set up Resource Accounts for individual developers to control and track access on QA Application servers Maintained daily account synchronization between GForge project developers and CVS write access accounts Created FTP and SFTP user accounts for TCGA test, analysis datasets downloads and analysis datasets management.
A technique is presented for the analyss of DNA histograms which is an extension of earlier discrete Gaussian summing methods. It alleviates the problems encountered with previous methods by extending the S-phase portions of the distribution under the G/sub 1/ and G/sub 2/ + M peaks. The resuts obtained by this method for the fraction of cells in the G/sub 1/, S, and G/sub 2/ + M phases of the life cycle are compared with autoradiographic results. With one or two exceptions which are discussed, agreement between autoradiography and the analytical method is good.
A method and apparatus for determining the condition of tissue or otherwise making chemical identifications includes exposing the sample to a light source, and using a synchronous luminescence system to produce a spectrum that can be analyzed for tissue condition.
Folder Display Clocks Folder TWSTT Folder Loran-C Folder Telephone Time Folder NTP Info Web-Based Time Synchronization Web time displays from the USNO Master Clock, Washington, DC...
Endogenous circadian clocks are robust regulators of physiology and behavior. Synchronization or entrainment of biological clocks to environmental time is adaptive and important for physiological homeostasis...Full Text Available
Several theories have proposed a functional role for synchronous neuronal firing in generating the neural code of a sensory perception. Synchronous neural activity develops during a critical...Full Text Available
BackgroundBrains interact with the world through actions that are implemented by sensory and motor processes. A substantial part of these interactions consists in synchronized goal-directed...Full Text Available
... to integrate and synchronize SC efforts and capabilities, as noted in the SC Roadmap, the joint community needs to publish SC policy and expand ...
In Daya Bay and Ling'ao Nuclear Power Station, the Microgovernor has the control functions such as synchronization, block loading etc. The control principle of the Microgovernor is right described by sequence diagram for the first time. That the fault occurred in the synchronization process of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station unit 1 is also analyzed and illustrated. (author)
The celebrated Kuramoto model captures various synchronization phenomena in biological and man-made dynamical systems of coupled oscillators. It is well-known that there exists a critical coupling strength among the oscillators at which a phase transition from incoherency to synchronization occurs. This paper features three contributions. First, we characterize and distinguish the different notions of synchronization used throughout the literature and formally introduce the concept of phase cohesiveness as an analysis tool and performance index for synchronization. Second, we review the vast literature providing necessary, sufficient, implicit, and explicit estimates of the critical coupling strength in the finite and infinite-dimensional case. Finally, we present the first explicit necessary and sufficient condition on the critical coupling strength to achieve synchronization in ...
A transformation monoid on a set Omega is called synchronizing if it contains an element of rank 1 (that is, mapping the whole of Omega to a single point). In this paper, I tackle the question: given n and k, what is the probability that the submonoid of the full transformation monoid T_n generated by k random transformations is synchronizing? This question is analogous to Dixon's Theorem that two random permutations generate the symmetric or alternating group with high probability. Following the technique of Dixon's theorem, we need to analyse the maximal non-synchronizing submonoids of T_n. I develop a very close connection between transformation monoids and graphs, from which we obtain a description of non-synchronizing monoids as endomorphism monoids of graphs satisfying some very strong conditions. However, counting such graphs, and dealing with the intersections of their endomorphism monoids, ...
... Division and the 82nd ABN Division spearheaded a ... attack through the stalled 90th Division to ... mi,_es, which included airborne infantrv, regular ...
Even when a healthy individual is studied, his/her erythrocytes in capillaries continually change their shape in a synchronized erratic fashion. In this work, the problem of characterizing the cell...Full Text Available
The rapid circularization and synchronization of the stellar components in an eccentric binary system at the onset of Roche lobe overflow is a fundamental assumption common to all binary stellar evolution and population synthesis codes, even though the validity of this assumption is questionable both theoretically and observationally. Here we calculate the evolution of the orbital elements of an eccentric binary through the direct three-body integration of a massive particle ejected through the inner Lagrangian point of the donor star at periastron. The trajectory of this particle leads to three possible outcomes: direct accretion onto the companion star within a single orbit, self-accretion back onto the donor star within a single orbit, or a quasi-periodic orbit around the companion star, possibly leading to the formation of a disk. We calculate the secular evolution of the binary orbit in the first two cases and conclude that direct impact ...
Communicating and collaborating online are becoming common requirements in education. The specialized notations and symbols necessary for some content areas where mathematical expressions are part of the conversation require that users select appropriate communication tools. The purpose of this article is to describe tools that can be used for online, asynchronous or synchronous communication involving mathematical expressions.
With the advent of computer technology, researchers and instructors are attempting to devise computer support for effective collaborative technical writing. In this study, a computer-supported environment for collaborative technical writing was developed. This system (Process-Writing Wizard) provides process-oriented scaffolds and a synchronous online chat room to facilitate real-time collaborative writing practice. It allows multiple students to work synchronously on collaborative writing tasks via the Internet. It also helps develop collaborative writing strategies, such as creating team agendas, brainstorming, creating team outlines, and generating team articles. An experiment was conducted to examine the effect of the system on EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students? collaborativ...
A general analytical form of the round trip phase shift in grating feedback diode lasers is proposed. Using the new form, it is obvious that the round trip phase shift can be independent of rotation angle in first order approximation when only one restriction condition is met. We call this the quasi synchronous tuning (QST) condition. In the QST region, a considerably large mode hopping free tuning range can be obtained. An adjustment structure with only one freedom is needed to accurately find and locate the quasi synchronous pivot, which is not strictly confined on the grating surface and its extension. It means that the external cavity diode lasers design can be easier and the laser can be more stable and reliable. PMID:21946988
An artificial neural network (ANN), trained as an inverse of the controlled plant, to function as a power system stabilizer (PSS) is presented in this paper. In order to make the proposed ANN PSS work properly, it was trained over the full working range of the generating unit with a large variety of disturbances. Data used to train the ANN PSS consists of the control input and the synchronous machine response with an adaptive PSS (APSS) controlling the generator. During training, the ANN was required to memorize the reverse input/output mapping of the synchronous machine. After the training, the output of the synchronous machine was applied as the input of the ANN PSS and the output of the ANN PSS was used as the control signal. Simulation results show that the proposed ANN PSS can provide good damping of the power system over a wide operating range and significantly improve the system performance.
The ability to respond to stress is at the core of an organism's survival. The hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine play a central role in stress responses in mammals, which require the synchronized...Full Text Available
The development of an HIV vaccine will require a more precise understanding of the immunological and virological underpinnings of HIV infection. Magnetofection, the process of magnetizing HIV...Full Text Available
The progress of digital audio technology enabled the familiar use of the products such as CD and DAT in the acoustic measurement. For example, a signal reproduced with CD player is inputted into a subject of measurement and DAT recorder records its response. However, the sampling cannot be synchronized completely with the input signal although both nominal sample rates are set up equally, because player and recorder work independently. It is the most popular software solution to perform the synchronous addition after converting the recorded signal into the original sampling rate. However, the rate conversion also has the error due to the windowing in the high frequency region of processed signal. This paper proposes a new method for averaging asynchronous sampling data to solve these problems. To evaluate performance, the transfer function of only measuring equipment estimated from asynchronous sampling data was compared with the measuring ...
Reliable characterization of locomotor dynamics of human walking is vital to understanding the neuromuscular control of human locomotion and disease diagnosis. However, the inherent oscillation and...Full Text Available
BackgroundEukaryotic DNA replication is regulated at the level of large chromosomal domains (0.5–5 megabases in mammals) within which replicons are activated relatively synchronously....Full Text Available
This study explores a method to characterize temporal structure of intermittent phase locking in oscillatory systems. When an oscillatory system is in a weakly synchronized regime away from a synchronization threshold, it spends most of the time in parts of its phase space away from synchronization state. Therefore characteristics of dynamics near this state (such as its stability properties/Lyapunov exponents or distributions of the durations of synchronized episodes) do not describe system's dynamics for most of the time. We consider an approach to characterize the system dynamics in this case, by exploring the relationship between the phases on each cycle of oscillations. If some overall level of phase locking is present, one can quantify when and for how long phase locking is lost, and how the system returns back to the phase-locked state. We consider several examples to illustrate this approach: ...
The photosynthetic activity of the green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda was investigated during synchronous growth in light/dark cycles. The rate of O2 evolution increased...Full Text Available
This paper presents experimental investigations of the all-optical synchronization of a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser self-pulsating at 40GHz on various injected bit-rate signals. Even though there is no modulation applied to this laser, it exhibits a modulation of its output emission, measured at 39.7GHz with a linewidth of 30MHz. Such performance is exploited in all-optical clock recovery for a return-to-zero data stream at 40Gbit/s. The SP-DBR laser wavelength and the injected signal wavelength are 10nm apart. All-optical synchronization is demonstrated at 40Gbit/s with a linewidth of less than 20MHz for injected signals at 10 and 20Gbit/s, respectively. Thus the SP-DBR laser proves to be very versatile and can be synchronized on various bit-rate data signals.
BackgroundThe default mode network (DMN) is a set of brain regions that exhibit synchronized low frequency oscillations at resting-state, and is believed to be relevant to attention...Full Text Available
A dc-to-dc converter has been designed which employs the synchronizing phenomenon in the transistor core multivibrator. In the proposed circuit, the voltage feedback is applied from the control transistor and the current feedback is applied from the main transistor. The operation of the converter is analyzed by the averaging method of the state space technique. The converter features small switching loss and is suitable for high frequency operation. An efficiency of more than 95% is obtained for 5 V, 3 A output at a switching frequency of 200 kHz.
This work describes the development of a synchronous key based on micro controller to the switching of three-phase power transformers, which makes possible the achievement of tests to register the inrush current, and the previous establishment of the instantaneous values of the voltage firstly applied to different phases of the energy process. This key is a value tool to the development electric power system projects and to the teaching and researching activities at the laboratory related to transitory phenomena and electric system protection.
The objective of this animation is to develop a QTL mapping population for locating and characterizing the genes responsible for resistance to tan spot disease of wheat.
Surveillance of a population, such as a weapon stockpile, is needed to discover manufacturing defects as well as deterioration as the population ages. This article considers the risks of sampling rates for surveillance from three perspectives: detection probability of defects in a proportion of a population with pass/fail data, detection of a trend in a defective proportion of the population with pass/fail data, and detection of a trend with quantitative degradation measurements. Understanding of these risks will help the decision maker choose a sampling rate to protect against such problems of a specified size at a tolerable risk.
The latest inclined mine winder started operation in April, 1995 at the Kushiro Mining Station of Taiheiyo Coal Mining Co. A permanent magnet synchronous motor, a cycloconverter, and H{sub {infinity}} control are employed to complete the latest inclined mine winder. The winder is the world`s longest and fastest inclined mine winder, and the torque of the permanent magnet synchronous motor is the largest in the world. A report is made on the driving system placing emphasis on the points considered in the design. The gallery has the length of world`s longest 6,626m and the average gentle inclination of 6 degree. The worker transport car runs at the world`s fastest speed of 420m/min from the mouth to the bottom of the pit, making a round trip in 40 minutes. Speed is adjusted smoothly by the cycloconverter, and the car arrives at the destination safely in a short time due H{sub {infinity}} controlling. By the application of H{sub {infinity}} ...
Most pumped-storage plants have the capability to operate as synchronous condensers. As such, they can be brought on line very quickly to support system load requirements. However, one of the effects of making a rapid transition from synchronous condenser operation to turbine/governor operation is an initial reverse power flow into the machine. This reverse power flow can be very undesirable at a time when the system is calling for load support. On weak or isolated systems, this reverse power flow can lead to objectionable voltage and frequency dips in the system. With the proper utilization of a static frequency converter (SFC) and its associated controls and auxiliary switchgear systems, the reverse power flow resulting from a transition from synchronous condenser operation can be eliminated. This paper will describe the method by which an SFC system can be used to make this rapid load response in pumped-storage plants ...
We present evidence for the existence of two ~35 day clocks in the Her X-1/HZ Her binary system. ~35 day modulations are observed 1) in the Turn-On cycles with two on- and two off-states, and 2) in the changing shape of the pulse profiles which re-appears regularly. The two ways of counting the 35 day cycles are generally in synchronization. This synchronization did apparently break down temporarily during the long Anomalous Low (AL3) which Her X-1 experienced in 1999/2000, in the sense that there must have been one extra Turn-On cycle. Our working hypothesis is that there are two clocks in the system, both with a period of about ~35 days: precession of the accretion disk (the less stable "Turn-On clock") and free precession of the neutron star (the more stable "Pulse profile clock"). We suggest that free precession of the neutron star is the master clock, and that the precession of the accretion disk is basically ...
Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) can fully use the frequency band and transmit data at high speeds. The ADSP-TS101 is a high performance digital signal processor (DSP) with good properties that include parallel processing and a high speed. Aimed at the real-time processing requirement of the OFDM algorithm, an underwater acoustic communication system with real-time processing capability is carried out. The system is mainly composed of multiple ADSP-TS101s, a multi-channel synchronous sample module and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip. The multiprocessor structure is made up of a cluster/data flow associated multiprocessing parallel processing structure as the operation kernel, and a multi-channel synchronous sample module is designed to realize no phase warp amo...
This paper presents a new method and newly developed stabilizing equipment to prevent the loss of synchronism of generators in pumped-storage plants from spreading. The proposed method includes functions to estimate the swing of each generator by using on-line generator output sampled at a rate of 600 times per second after an occurrence of disturbance such as fault, faulty equipment and so on, to predict generator swing 200-300 milliseconds ahead and loss of synchronism between generators in pumped-storage plants and those in thermal and nuclear plants, and to decide the number of generators that must be shed to maintain stability. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) installed the newly developed stabilizing equipment based on this method in the power system in June, 1986.
This paper presents a new method and newly developed stabilizing equipment to prevent the loss of synchronism of generators in pumped-storage plants from spreading. The proposed method includes functions to estimate the swing of each generator by using on-line generator output sampled at a rate of 600 times per second after an occurrence of disturbance such as fault, faulty equipment and so on, to predict generator swing 200-300 milliseconds ahead and loss of synchronism between generators in pumped-storage plants and those in thermal and nuclear plants, and to decide the number of generators that must be shed to maintain stability. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) installed the newly developed stabilizing equipment based on this method in the power system in June, 1986.
Linkage disequilibrium (LD) between densely spaced, polymorphic genetic markers in humans and other species contains information about historical population size. Inferring past population size is of...Full Text Available
Feasibility of using sterile females for population suppression of Earias vittella (Fabricius) was evaluated by conducting studies on mating competitiveness of radiation sterilized females, both in individual pairs and in simulated large population conditions. Results showed that sterility induced by using a 10:1:1 ratio (sterile female: normal female: normal male) in single pair experiments and also in simulated large population conditions was more than 99.0 per cent. Release of radiation- sterilized females of E. vittella in natural populations has thus an excellent potential for population suppression. (author)
Removal Sampling is an easy-to-use Windows program which calculates population statistics from removal trapping experiment data. Using maximum likelihood methods it ... ...
PurposeTo describe the prevalence of cataract in older people in 2 areas of north and south India.DesignPopulation-based, cross-sectional study.ParticipantsRandomly...Full Text Available
Comparative Molecular Genetic Monitoring of Myxoviruses Circulating in Populations of Seals Phoca Caspia and Phoca Sibirica in Northern Caspian Region and Lake Baikal
Coral are symbiotic with photosynthetic dinoflagellates from the genus Symbiodinium. There are eight divergent clades (A-H) within the genus which each ... ...
Fungal and oomycete populations and their dynamics were investigated following the introduction of the biocontrol agent Pythium oligandrum into the rhizosphere of tomato plants grown...Full Text Available
Acquisition of detailed knowledge of the structure and evolution of Trypanosoma cruzi populations is essential for control of Chagas disease....Full Text Available
Based on proposed models for the tidal spin-up and magnetic braking of stars with a convective outer envelope, it is suggested that the rotation of secondaries in cataclysmic variables is not necessarily synchronized with the orbital revolution. This may provide an explanation for the observed large range in the mass transfer rate (at the same orbital period) of cataclysmic variables above the period gap. (author).
An overview of the developments and designs of electric cars is given. It can be concluded that the numbers of electric-powered vehicles in the world, presented by different companies, are confusing and that it is very difficult to categorize the electric cars because of the many different prototypes under development sofar. Also an introduction is given on the engine technology of such cars. Attention is paid to the direct current (DC) motor, the induction motor, the brushless DC-motor, and the synchronous motor. 2 figs., 4 ills., 35 refs.
It is shown that the existence of faster-than-light signals (tachyons) would imply the existence (and detectability) of a privileged inertial frame and that one can avoid all problems with reversed-time order only by using absolute synchronization instead of the standard one. The connection between these results and the EPR-paradox is discussed.
The present study is aiming at the visualization of the boiling structures for various pool boiling and flow boiling conditions by applying multiple visualization techniques simultaneously. The bubble growth rate and microlayer behavior were simultaneously visualized for an isolated boiling regime of a water by using a shadow graph and a total reflection technique, respectively
A quadruply redundant synchronous fault tolerant processor (FTP) is now under fabrication at the C.S. Draper Laboratory to be used initially as a trip monitor for the Experimental Breeder Reactor EBR-II operated by the Argonne National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The real time operating system for this processor is described.
A physical model of free-electron laser (FEL) amplifier with variable-parameter wiggler magnets for one-dimensional numerical simulation is presented and a numerical example is given. The wiggler parameters, efficiency of energy conversion between electron beam and laser field, laser intensity, phase-space distributions and energy spectrum of electrons are computed. The period of synchronous oscillation and saturation value of laser intensity agree with estimated one.
The dynamic behavior of electrooptic bistable devices with delayed feedback is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The operation principle of the system is analyzed by the method of iterated maps. Stable, bistable, periodic, higher periodic, and chaotic solutions are discussed and realized experimentally by using an integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer on LiNbO3 as a basic nonlinear element. Taking into account the periodic modulator characteristic, the application of this device as a simple and fast bistable and monostable multivibrator is demonstrated. In addition, the synchronization properties of the astable multivibrator are investigated.
Respiration and related physiologic variables in different tissues of Barytelphusa guerini and the respiration of this freshwater crab as a whole are closely synchronized in phase and in frequency along the circadian scale, in the face of large differences in circadian amplitude. A very close timing of most of the 36 variables examined in 2 separate circadian profiles and a modulation of some of these variables in added profiles as a function of lunar stage are clearly demonstrable, statistically significant and illustrative of time relations at 2 interacting frequencies. PMID:6745009
The state of chromatin during the cell cycle was examined using synchronized cultures of CHO hamster cells. Results support Mazia's dynamic chromosome cycle model and indicate that DNA-interactive chemotherapeutic agents elicit different types of kinetic responses in treated cells, suggesting a degree of specificity of interaction between various alkylating and intercalating agents and the genome. Effects of sarkosyl crystals, heparin, and chemotherapeutic agents, neocarzinostatin and adriamycin, on chromation are discussed. (HLW)
A self-tuning Power System Stabilizer (PSS) is suggested in this paper. Computer simulations, of a lightly-damped single turbine-generator supplying power to an infinite bus system, show that this self-tuning PSS can work over a large operating range and make a significant improvement in rotor damping.
Based on our cryogenic FT-IR spectroscopic studies of hydrogen bonds in cholic acid, the two-dimensional FT-IR spectroscopy was applied to enhance our understanding of the hydrogen bonds. Fine spectral structures were revealed by asynchronous 2D FT-IR spectra. The co-relationship among various bands was discussed according to the synchronous 2D FT-IR spectra. .
Parasites display considerable phenotypic plasticity in life-history traits such as, body size. Varroa destructor is an ectoparasitic mite of the western honey bee Apis mellifera. Several studies have reported that in V. destructor, there is a wide phenotypic plasticity within a population of mites. However, it is unknown if there are morphologic variations in V. destructor populations affecting different A. mellifera populations. A morphometric study of V. destructor populations was conducted to provide information concerned to the relationships among parasite populations found in different geographic locations from A. mellifera colonies of Argentina. The hypothesis tested was different morphotypes of V. destructor populations parasitizing different A. mellifera populations from Argentina...
Native plant individuals often persist within communities dominated by exotics but the influence of this exposure on native populations is poorly understood. Selection for traits contributing to competitive ability may lead to native plant populations that are more tolerant of the presence of exotic invaders. In this way, long-term coexistence with an exotic may confer competitive advantages to remnant (experienced) native populations and be potentially beneficial to restoration. In past studies we have documented genetic differentiation within native grass populations exposed to the exotic invader Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens). Here, we examine populations of a cool-season grass, needle-and-thread (Hesperostipa comata [Trin. & Rupr.]) and a warm season, alkali sacaton (Sporobolus a...
This paper presents a technique for speed control three-phase induction motor using the pulse width modulation (PWM), in open loop while maintaining the tension for constant frequency. The technique is adapted from a thesis entitled 'Control of the three-phase induction motor, using discrete PWM generation, optimized and synchronized', where studies are presented aimed at their application in home appliances, to eliminate mechanical parts, replaced by low cost electronic control, thus having a significant reduction in power consumption. Initially the experiment was done with the Intel 80C31 micro controller. In this paper, the PWM modulation is implemented using a PIC micro controller, and the speed control kept a low profile, based on tables, synchronized with transitions and reduced generation of harmonics in the network. Confirmations were made using the same process of building tables, but takes advantage of the program of ...
Power system stabilizers (PSSs) are used to enhance damping of power system oscillations through excitation control of synchronous generator. The objective of the PSS is to generate a stabilizing signal, which produces a damping torque component on the generator shaft. Conventional PSSs are designed with the phase compensation technique in the frequency domain and include the lead-lag blocks whose parameters are determined according to a linearized power system model. The performance of conventional PSSs (CPSSs) depends upon the generator operating point and the system parameters, but a reasonable level of robustness can be achieved depending on the tuning method. This paper presents a new three-dimensional PSS (3D PSS), which uses rotor speed deviation, rotor acceleration and load angle deviation as input signals. The 3D PSS attempts to return the generator to the state-space origin, based on the generator's trajectory in state-space and the achievement ...
The synchronous orbit performance of Hughes Aircraft Company solar arrays is presented and compared with the results of ground based predictions for orbital durations of almost 11 years. Performances of the Intelsat IV*, IVA*, and Telesat (Anik) solar arrays are detailed. This paper is an update of the in-orbit performances previously reported in 1976 (1). The in-space performance data indicate solar array power degradation of 16.7 percent for Intelsat IV F-2 after 130 months in orbit, and 13.0 percent for Telesat F-1 after 85 months in orbit. The predicted output of each of these solar arrays is within 2 percent of the actual in-orbit performance of these systems. The Intelsat IV F-2 experienced the 4 August 1972 solar flare. The ability to accurately predict the performance of solar arrays within telemetry accuracy is demonstrated. This ability combines the electrical measurements of a solar array in the ''as built'' ...
Commissioning of a Pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) plant of NPCIL involves three phases viz phase-A which consist of pre-criticality activities such as hydro test, air hold test, no load test of motors etc., phase-B consist of criticality and post criticality physics experiments. The phase-C, which is considered the major phase, consist of initial power raise to about 10 % , TG rolling, synchronization, going to significant power in steps and performance tests such as load rejection tests from various power levels. In order to have smooth commissioning for the Phase-C, an integrated team consisting of engineers from various design and analysis groups of NPCIL headquarters was formed to participate along with site O and M engineers, closely observe and coordinate phase-C commissioning activities. During this commissioning some major events and observations took place. An attempt is made to bring out the salient observations of Tarapur-4 Phase-C commissioning. ...
A transient stability program was developed for the Taiwan Power Company, which has a high proportion of nuclear generation in its power system. This program offers a new territory to investigate nuclear plant effects on the power system transient stability. This program also provides a high speed tool for the Taipower system operational planning. A generalized procedure of synchronous machine modeling for a large-scale stability study is presented. The merits and weaknesses of machine modeling can be comprehended through each item of this procedure. Three types of nonlinear synchronous machine modeling implemented into this stability program are derived by following this procedure. A robust subroutine was derived to perform the fourth order Runge-Kutta integration method, making the software programming neat and systematical. For simulating the nuclear plant influence on the system, this program implemented an additional four functions: ...
A transient stability program was developed for the Taiwan Power Company, which has a high proportion of nuclear generation in its power system. This program offers a new territory to investigate nuclear plant effects on the power system transient stability. This program also provides a high speed tool for the Taipower system operational planning. A generalized procedure of synchronous machine modeling for a large-scale stability study is presented. The merits and weaknesses of machine modeling can be comprehended through each item of this procedure. Three types of nonlinear synchronous machine modeling implemented into this stability program are derived by following this procedure. A robust subroutine was derived to perform the fourth order Runge-Kutta integration method, making the software programming neat and systematical. For simulating the nuclear plant influence on the system, this program implemented an additional four functions: ...
Experiments were completed to study intermittent coal-water slurry (CWS) fuel sprays injected from an electronically-controlled accumulator injector system. A new synchronization technique was developed using the light extinction signal as a triggering source for the data taking initiation with a laser diffraction particle analyzing (LDPA) technique. This technique allowed measurement of SMDs near the spray tip where the light extinction was low and the data were free from the multiscattering bias. Coal-water slurry fuel with 50% coal loading in mass containing 5 {mu}m mass median diameter coal particulates was considered. A correlation of the SMD with the injection conditions was determined which should show a satisfactory agreement with the measured SMD data. The spray SMD showed an increase with the distance of the axial measurement location and with the ambient gas density, and showed a decrease with increasing injection pressure.
A (n +1)-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) model is considered. For diagonal cosmological type metrics the equations of motion are reduced to a set of Lagrange equations. The effective Lagrangian contains two minisuperspace metrics on R^n. The first one is the well-known 2-metric of pseudo-Euclidean signature and the second one is the Finslerian 4-metric that is proportional to n-dimensional Berwald-Moor 4-metric. When a synchronous-like time gauge is considered the equations of motion are reduced to an autonomous system of first order differential equations. For the case of the pure Gauss-Bonnet model two exact solutions with power-law and exponential dependence of scale factors (w.r.t. synchronous-like variable) are obtained. In cosmological case the first solution was obtained earlier by A. Toporensky and P. Tretyakov for n = 5 (and verified for n = 6,7). A generalization of the effective Lagrangian to the Lowelock case is conjectured. ...
The SPring-8 linac has been improved to realize stable top-up injection into the SPring-8 and the NewSUBARU storage rings. The beam energy instability of 0.02% rms in the long term was achieved by means of reducing RF variations, providing beam energy compensation, reinforcement of monitor systems and introduction of beam feedback controls: Variations in the RF power and phase have been reduced by improving the voltage regulation system for the klystron modulator, and by stabilizing the temperature drift of the atmosphere and cooling water in order to reduce the phase variation. A new synchronous oscillator synchronizes a beam trigger pulse and a 2856 MHz reference signal, reducing variation in the beam charge. A beam energy compression system (ECS) was installed to compensate for accidental energy variation and reduce the energy spread. Beam feedback controls compensate for residual long-term variations of beam trajectory and energy. (author)
Recent research work on adjustable speed pumped storage plants conducted in Japan, the USA and Europe suggests that they have many advantages over fixed-speed plants, and can contribute to power system regulation even in pump mode. This paper describes two types of static frequency converter for such pumped storage plants, especially those with greatly fluctuating heads. The design characteristics and operation of the doubly fed induction machine and the synchronous machine with DC link converter are set out and the devices compared. (UK)
In this paper, power system stabilizer design for multi-machine power systems is translated into an equivalent problem of decentralized controller design for Multi-Output Multi-Input (MIMO) control systems. Subject to a condition based on the structured singular values, each stabilizer can be designed independently. Within this general framework, the conventional stabilizer design methodology based on the concept of synchronous and damping torques is used to decide the design details of each stabilizer. The suggested design method is applied to a model of a practical 10 machine power system. (author)
Advances in the development of several electrooptic shutter devices utilizing the quadratic electrooptic effect of lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramic wafers are described. Aperture sizes utilized in these PLZT devices ranged from 25 ..mu..m to 0.25 m. Practical applications of the shutters discussed in this paper include eye protection in military and industrial applications, a goggle-type device with dual synchronously operated PLZT shutters for use in a stereoscopic three-dimensional TV display, an electrically controlled variable density filter for use with vidicon tubes, a large-aperture photographic shutter for image motion compensation cameras, and a page composer for use in a holographic memory system.
This patent describes an ignition system of an internal combustion engine which consists of: a permanent magnet supported by a rotary member of the engine adapted to rotate in synchronism with a rotary shaft of the engine; a generating coil for generating an electromotive force to produce an electric current as the permanent magnet acts on the generating coil during the rotation of the rotary member; an ignition capacitor charged by the electric current generated by the generating coil; a thyristor caused to turn on by a counter electromotive force generated by the generating coil to thereby cause the ignition capacitor to begin to discharge; and an ignition coil generating a high voltage as the ignition capacitor begins to discharge, to cause a spark discharge to take place in an ignition plug of the internal combustion engine.
The gravitational radiation produced by the big bang is calculated in order to provide a condition for the unification of the gravitational and electromagnetic forces. By analogy with electromagnetic radiation and under the assumption that gravity is also quantized, it is shown that matter would have decoupled from gravitational radiation at a time of approximately 10 to the -43rd sec and would have dominated it at 10 to the -17th sec. Furthermore, the theory predicts a background gravitational radiation temperature of 0.003 K which peaks at a wavelength of about 1 m, which may be detected by the comparison of the synchronization of clocks at increasing distances.
Analytical and numerical calculations are presented for a reflexing electron beam type of collective ion accelerator. These results are then compared to those obtained through experiment. By constraining one free parameter to experimental conditions, the self-similar solution of the ion energy distribution agrees closely with the experimental distribution. Hence the reflexing beam model appears to be a valid model for explaining the experimental data. Simulation shows in addition to the agreement with the experimental ion distribution that synchronization between accelerated ions and electric field is phase unstable. This instability seems to further restrict the maximum ion energy to several times the electron energy.
The mutual inductance between parallel transmission lines influences the locating of the transmission line faults. A fault location algorithm for parallel lines developed in this paper takes into account the magnetic coupling between parallel lines. The paper presents a detailed description of the developed algorithm and test results performed on a simplified real transmission line. The obtained error is less than 0.5 percent in most cases. Also, the developed algorithm is not sensitive to typical fault parameters, such as: resistance, type, location, and incidence angle. 7 refs, 4 figs, 12 tabs
Populations living close to high-voltage transmission lines often have residential magnetic field exposures in excess of 1 [mu]T, and sometimes over 2 [mu]T. Yet, populations studied in most epidemiologic investigations of the association between residential magnetic field exposure and cancer typically have exposures below 1 [mu]T and frequently below 0.5 [mu]T. To improve statistical power and precision, it would be useful to compare high exposure populations with low exposure population. Toward this end, we have developed an automated method for identifying populations living near high-voltage transmissions lines. These populations likely have more highly exposed individuals that the population at large. The method uses a geographic information system (GIS) to superimpose digitized transmission line locations on U.S. Census block location ...
Transmission line faults must be located accurately to allow maintenance crews to arrive at the scene and repair the faulted section as soon as possible. Rugged terrain and geographical layout cause some sections of power transmission lines to be difficult to reach. In the past, a variety of fault location algorithms were introduced as either an add-on feature in protective relays or stand-alone implementation in fault locators. In both cases, the measurements of current and voltages were taken at one terminal of a transmission line only. Under such conditions, it may become difficult to determine the fault location accurately, since data from other transmission line ends are required for more precise computations. In the absence of data from the other end, existing algorithms have accuracy problems under several circumstances, such as varying switching and loading conditions, fault infeed from the other end, and random value of fault resistance. Most of the one-end algorithms were ...
Skip to Content Cancer Control and Population Sciences Home Applied Research Home Risk Factor Monitoring and Methods Home Diet Usual Dietary Intakes: Background The NCI Method Details of the NCI Method Food Intakes, US Population, 2001-04 Selected Intakes
Skip to Content Cancer Control and Population Sciences Home Applied Research Home Risk Factor Monitoring and Methods Home Diet Usual Dietary Intakes: Background The NCI Method Details of the NCI Method Food Intakes, US Population, 2001-04 Selected Intakes
Objectives. This study determined to what extent lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations have been studied over the past 20 years of public health research.Methods....Full Text Available
A population based survey of trachoma and blindness was conducted in a rural Nile Delta hamlet. Trachoma remains hyperendemic in this region. Active trachoma was common among preschool children; over...Full Text Available
A community health survey of 438 individuals was taken to detect health problems related to high voltage electrical transmission among an adjacent residential population. Results revealed no significant...Full Text Available
BackgroundDespite having the largest population in Africa, Nigeria has no accurate population based data to plan and evaluate eye care services. A national survey was undertaken...Full Text Available
This investigation will explore the effect that current timber extraction techniques have on plethadontid salamander populations in ... group selection, and two-age harvest. Broad scale timber extraction can d...
BackgroundSeverely disabling chronic pain in the adult population is strongly associated with a range of negative health consequences for individuals and high health care costs,...Full Text Available
This paper presents a new deformable model using both population and patient-specific statistics to segment the prostate from CT images. There are two novelties in the proposed method. First,...Full Text Available
ObjectivesMild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) case-finding criteria have low specificity in general population studies. The present study retrospectively identifies cases...Full Text Available
BackgroundAn abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that is identified when the abdomen is imaged for some other reason is known as an incidental AAA. No population-based studies have...Full Text Available
Production of dissolved macromolecules by ambient autotrophic and heterotrophic microbial populations was measured in a eutrophic Florida reservoir by in situ labeling with various radioactive substrates....Full Text Available
During a study of the health status of children in rural Nigerian communities a gross lack of fit was observed between the sample and the growth attainment standards derived from local longitudinal...Full Text Available
An explicit proposal for experiments leading to abrupt transitions in spatially extended bacterial populations in a Petri dish is presented on the basis of an exact formula obtained through an analytic...Full Text Available
BackgroundLong-term vegetation changes in hyper-arid areas have long been neglected. Mortality, recruitment and change in populations of the ecologically and culturally important...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVES. In this study we tested the association between occupational stress--as measured by job demands, decision latitude, and job strain--and hypertension in a population of 1396 Black and White...Full Text Available
Background and AimsMany plants reproduce both clonally and sexually, and the balance between the two modes of reproduction will vary among populations. Clonal reproduction was characterized...Full Text Available
The selection due to the "healthy worker effect" was estimated from a random sample of the total Finnish population. The sample of 20 000 people was followed for changes in occupations from 1960 to...Full Text Available
Natural accumulations of skeletal material (death assemblages) have the potential to provide historical data on species diversity and population structure for regions lacking decades of wildlife monitoring,...Full Text Available
BackgroundBengal tiger Panthera tigris tigris the National Animal of India, is an endangered species. Estimating populations for such species is the main objective...Full Text Available
This is the first report of research for an ongoing study to evaluate the genetic effects of using hatchery-reared fish to supplement natural populations of chinook salmon and steelhead in the Snake River Basin.
AIMS: To examine the frequency of intraocular metastases in patients who had died of cancer, in an eye bank and necropsy population sample. METHODS: The first group included 302 cancer cases received...Full Text Available
Fibroblast cell population kinetics in the developing molar periodontal ligament was investigated in 10, 12, 16 and 20 days old mice by autoradiography after the administration of [3H]thymidine. Labelled...Full Text Available
The effective population size (Ne) is an important parameter in ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology. It is, however, notoriously difficult to estimate,...Full Text Available
The roles played by environmental factors in seasonal changes in microbial populations were investigated in the Tvärminne area, off the southern coast of Finland. Surface-layer samples were...Full Text Available
Recently reported technologies for DNA-directed organic synthesis and for DNA computing rely on routing DNA populations through complex networks. The reduction of these ideas to practice has been limited...Full Text Available
The extensive diversity of Plasmodium falciparum antigens is a major obstacle to a broadly effective malaria vaccine but population genetics has rarely been used to guide vaccine design....Full Text Available
BackgroundThis study examines the prevalence and nature of bereavement help-seeking among the population who experienced an "expected" death in the five years before their survey...Full Text Available
AimsTo develop a population pharmacokinetic model for maraviroc, a noncompetitive CCR5 antagonist, after oral administration of tablets to healthy volunteers and asymptomatic HIV-infected...Full Text Available
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are leading causes of morbidity across all populations, with heritability estimates of ∼80% indicating a substantial genetic component. Population genetics...Full Text Available
Variation for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain yield and its component traits was documented in a `Cheyenne¿ x Cheyenne (`Wichita¿ 3A) recombinant inbred chromosome line population. In the present study, a population of 223 Cheyenne (Wichita 3A) recombinant inbred chromosome lines was used to map ...
Populations living close to high-voltage transmission lines often have residential magnetic field exposures in excess of 1 microT, and sometimes over 2 microT. Yet, populations studied in most epidemiologic...Full Text Available
Simple, one-zone models for inhomogeneous chemical evolution of the Galactic halo are used to predict the number fraction of zero-metallicity, Population III stars, which currently is empirically estimated at < 4e-4. These analytic models minimize the number of free parameters, highlighting the most fundamental constraints on halo evolution. There are disagreements of at least an order of magnitude between observations and predictions in limiting cases for both homogeneous Simple Model and Simple Inhomogeneous Model (SIM). Hence, this demonstrates a quantitative, unambiguous discrepancy in the observed and expected fraction of Population III stars. We explore how the metallicity distribution of the parent enrichment events f(z_0) drives the SIM and predictions for the Population III fraction. The SIM shows that the previously-identified "high halo" and "low halo" populations are consistent with a ...
The GSD must be considered as a quantity by means of which the risk in a given population can be described exclusively in terms of genetic risk. In cases of a simultaneous increase in the rate of examinations, the GSD may lead to a misinterpretation of the population exposure, suggesting a decreasing trend, although there is an actual increase in the somatic radiation exposure. It is recommended to indicate not only the GSD but also the amount of somatic radiation exposure of the population for each specific source when comparing and evaluating radiation exposures from different sources. Although the somatically significant dose formally would be suited as a complement to the GSD, it is recommended to use the effective per caput dose equivalent. It must be pointed out that the application of the concept of effective dose equivalent is only appropriate for comparative evaluations of the population ...
A good knowledge of medfly population dynamics is necessary to control it. Population dynamics are being studied by means of the Jackson trap with trimedlure attractant (male, sex-pheromone). Weekly sampling of wild medfly populations was started in June at Aabde and in August at Sour and Jbeil. Trap surveys of medfly density will be carried for at least one year before sterile males releases are started against a long-established infestation. Since populations can vary with season and in different parts of an infested area. Knowledge of this variation is needede to determine when releases should start, because they should begin, just after or during a population decline. Field evaluation will include, ecological data on medfly population distribution number, host preference, and medfly overwintering. Surveys of medfly adults and larvae, host species, and ...
The genetically significant dose (GSD) is an index variable which exclusively allows to describe the genetic risk in the progeny of a population due to the application of ionizing radiation and radioactive substances in one part of this population. It may result in wrong interpretation of population exposure at increasing incidence of examinations in a population involving ionizing radiation and radioactive drugs at simultaneously increasing application of alternative methods in children and adolescents owing to the fact that it indicates a downward trend although somatic exposure of this population has increased. Therefore, it is recommended to state both the GSD and the level of somatic radiation exposure of the population taken from the individual sources for the comparison and assessment of radiation exposure from various sources in future. Although the ...
A method and system for enhancing the transient stability of an intertied three-phase electric power generating system. A set of power exporting generators (10) is connected to a set of power importing generators (20). When a transient cannot be controlled by conventional stability controls, and imminent loss of synchronism is detected (such as when the equivalent rotor angle difference between the two generator sets exceeds a predetermined value, such as 150 degrees), the intertie is disconnected by circuit breakers. Then a switch (30) having a 120-degree phase rotation, or a circuit breaker having a 120-degree phase rotation is placed in the intertie. The intertie is then reconnected. This results in a 120-degree reduction in the equivalent rotor angle difference between the two generator sets, making the system more stable and allowing more time for the conventional controls to stabilize the transient.
A Real-Time Operating System(RTOS) is an Operating System(OS) intended for real-time applications. Benchmarking is a point of reference by which something can be measured. The QNX is a Real Time Operating System(RTOS) developed by QSSL(QNX Software Systems Ltd.) in Canada. The ELMSYS is the brand name of commercially available Personal Computer(PC) for applications such as Cabinet Operator Module(COM) of Digital Plant Protection System(DPPS) and COM of Digital Engineered Safety Features Actuation System(DESFAS). The ELMSYS PC Hardware is being qualified by KTL(Korea Testing Lab.) for use as a Cabinet Operator Module(COM). The QNX RTOS is being dedicated by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). This paper describes the outline and benchmarking test results on Context Switching, Message Passing, Synchronization and Deadline Violation of QNX RTOS under the ELMSYS PC platform
A start safety apparatus of an engine adapted for a multipurpose power tool is described which consists of: an engine, an exciter coil generating alternate electromotive force in synchronism with rotation of the engine; an ignition coil having primary and secondary windings; a spark plug connected to the secondary winding of the ignition coil; a capacitor connected to the primary winding of the ignition coil the capacitor being charged with a positive half-cycle of the electromotive force; ignition timing control means for controlling discharge of the capacitor; a throttle control latch for setting a throttle valve of the engine in a predetermined throttle angle; a tool driven by the engine; and a centrifugal clutch transferring engine power to the tool when an engine speed exceeds a clutch-in speed.
We investigate the variation of the out-of-phase periodic rhythm produced by two chaotic neurons {bold (}Hindmarsh-Rose neurons [J. L. Hindmarsh and R. M. Rose, Proc. R. Soc. London B {bold 221}, 87 (1984)]{bold )} coupled by electrical and reciprocally synaptic connections. The exploration of a two-parametric bifurcation diagram, as a function of the strength of the electrical and inhibitory coupling, reveals that the periodic rhythms associated to the limit cycles bounded by saddle-node bifurcations, undergo a strong variation as a function of small changes of electrical coupling. We found that there is a scaling law for the bifurcations of the limit cycles as a function of the strength of both couplings. From the functional point of view of this mixed typed of coupling, the small variation of electrical coupling provides a high sensitivity for period regulation inside the regime of out-of-phase synchronization. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical ...
As organizations merge or collaborate closely, an important question is how their existing software assets should be handled. If these previously separate organizations are in the same business domain - they might even have been competitors - it is likely that they have developed similar software systems. To rationalize, these existing software assets should be integrated, in the sense that similar features should be implemented only once. The integration can be achieved in different ways. Success of it involves properly managing challenges such as making as well founded decisions as early as possible, maintaining commitment within the organization, managing the complexities of distributed teams, and synchronizing the integration efforts with concurrent evolution of the existing systems.Th...
A system model for transmission of computer user's data with a finite number of regular users in a resource-sharing mode in parallel distributed information-processing systems is considered. The mini/microcomputer included in the system model is considered to be receiving the mixed arrival data of the user from a picture-phone terminal with uniformly-distributed data arrivals and a teletypewriter terminal with Erlang-distributed data arrivals. The large-memory performance of the mini/microcomputer is analysed with the mixed input data, constant service-times, synchronous transmission and single server interruption through a first-order Markov process. A simple and general approach to calculate the data arrivals from picture-phone and teletypewriter terminals and their mixed data arrivals is presented. Expressions for memory content probability and average queueing delay are derived. The application of the model is illustrated by presenting an integrated ...
Recently a new method of controlling the pulse length of a short-pulse free-electron laser (FEL) has been developed. By modulating the synchronism between the optical and electron pulses in the FEL cavity, it was found that the output power and the micropulse length of the FEL beam oscillates at the modulation frequency. In this paper, we study theoretically the behavior of the micropulse length, both in the high loss (steady state) regime and the low loss (limit cycle) regime, when a modulated desynchronism is applied. In order to do this, we analyze the dynamics of a short-pulse FEL oscillator. The modulation frequency value plays an important role in the dynamics. We find that there is a resonantlike phenomenon between the externally applied desynchronism modulation and the limit cycle oscillation without modulation of a free-electron laser.
Energy saving technologies in the railway vehicle traction field can be mainly categorized into two domains: reducing loss and increasing the regenerative energy. Energy saving technologies for the traction equipment by the use of power converters with less loss and high-efficiency permanent magnet synchronous motors are introduced. The regenerative brake related technologies are also presented as another measure to save the energy, including the improvement of the regenerative brake control and application of energy storage devices. It is concluded that the benefit of the energy saving technology is not only the energy saving itself but also downsizing traction equipments and reducing the maintenance work in the electrical railway system. Copyright Copyright 2010 Institute of Electrical E...
Aim To better define the indications for adrenalectomy for adrenal metastasis we have analysed factors predicting survival in our institutional series. Methods A consecutive series of 30 patients undergoing adrenalectomy for metastasis (1996-2007), excluding patients with simultaneous ipsilateral renal cell carcinoma (RCC), was studied. Metastases were regarded as synchronous (6 mo), depending on the interval after primary surgery. Survival was calculated from time of adrenalectomy and factors influencing survival were identified. Results The tumour diagnoses were RCC n = 9, malignant melanoma n = 5, non-small-cell lung cancer n = 5, colorectal carcinoma n = 4, foregut carcinoid n = 2, adrenocortical carcinoma, breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, urothelial c...
A compilation of technical papers, from the 23rd annual Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) Applications and Planning Meeting, is presented. Papers were given in the following categories: (1) developments in rubidium, cesium, and hydrogen-based frequency standards, and in cryogenic and trapped-ion technology; (2) international and transnational applications of PTTI technology with emphasis on satellite laser tracking networks, GLONASS timing, comparison of national time scales and international communications; (3) applications of PTTI technology to the telecommunications, power distribution, platform positioning, and geophysical survey industries; (4) applications of PTTI technology to evolving military communications and navigation systems; and (5) dissemination of precise time and frequency by means of GPS, GLONASS, MILSTAR, Loran, and synchronous communications satellites.
A recurrent idea in the study of complex systems is that optimal information processing is to be found near bifurcation points or phase transitions. However, this heuristic hypothesis has few (if any) concrete realizations where a standard and biologically relevant quantity is optimized at criticality. Here we give a clear example of such a phenomenon: a network of excitable elements has its sensitivity and dynamic range maximized at the critical point of a non-equilibrium phase transition. Our results are compatible with the essential role of gap junctions in olfactory glomeruli and retinal ganglionar cell output. Synchronization and global oscillations also appear in the network dynamics. We propose that the main functional role of electrical coupling is to provide an enhancement of dynamic range, therefore allowing the coding of information spanning several orders of magnitude. The mechanism could provide a microscopic neural basis for psychophysical laws.
This paper describes a state-of-the-art online monitoring system using multivariate statistical technologies for continuous steel casting process, which was commissioned at Dofasco's No. 2 caster to provide consistent indication of process health for caster's start-up, continuous production and transitional operations. The paper particularly focuses on development of a novel scheme to synchronize process trajectories for monitoring specific transitional operations such as equipment or steel product grade changes. The proposed scheme is demonstrated by several industrial examples with the results showing good detectability of various process abnormalities. With the aid of this fully integrated, innovative monitoring system, Dofasco has generated significant value through improved productivi...
Animal studies demonstrated the powerful impact of maternal-infant social contact on the infant's physiological systems, yet the online effects of social interactions on the human infant's physiology remain poorly understood. Mothers and their 3-month old infants were observed during face-to-face interactions while cardiac output was collected from mother and child. Micro-analysis of the partners' behavior marked episodes of gaze, affect, and vocal synchrony. Time-series analysis showed that mother and infant coordinate heart rhythms within lags of less than 1s. Bootstrapping analysis indicated that the concordance between maternal and infant biological rhythms increased significantly during episodes of affect and vocal synchrony compared to non-synchronous moments. Humans, like other mamm...
This thesis deals with the reduced-order modeling of electrical machines and interconnected power systems in the medium time scale using integral manifold techniques. First, an improved model for power system stabilizer design that captures the damping due to the amortisseur windings while retaining the simplicity of the DeMello-Concordia model is presented. Second, time scales of the regulated synchronous machine are analyzed using the linearized models, and the well-known effects of the high-gain regulator on the system are explained. A reduced-order model that captures the damping due to the power-system stabilizer is presented. Third, speed-damping terms are obtained in the swing equation in a multimachine environment by approximating the integral manifold associated with fast damper windings. This provides a theoretical basis for the practice of adding cross-damping terms to the swing equation to account for damping present in the system. Verification for the ...
The perceptual center (P-center) is fundamental to the timing of heterogeneous event sequences, including music and speech. Unfortunately, there is currently no comprehensive and reliable model of P-centers in acoustic events, so P-centers must instead be measured empirically. This study reviews existing measurement methods and evaluates two methods in detail?the rhythm adjustment method and a new method based on the phase correction response (PCR) in a synchronous tapping task. The two methods yielded consistent P-center estimates and showed no evidence of P-center context dependence. The PCR method appears promising because it is accurate and efficient and does not require explicit perceptual judgments. As a secondary result, the magnitude of the PCR is shown to vary systematically with ...
The Idaho Explosives Detection System was developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to respond to threats imposed by delivery trucks potentially carrying explosives into military bases. A full-scale prototype system has been built and is currently undergoing testing. The system consists of two racks, one on each side of a subject vehicle. Each rack includes a neutron generator and an array of NaI detectors. The two neutron generators are pulsed and synchronized. A laptop computer controls the entire system. The control software is easily operable by minimally trained staff. The system was developed to detect explosives in a medium size truck within a 5-min measurement time. System performance was successfully demonstrated with explosives at the INL in June 2004 and at Andrews Air Force Base in July 2004.
The IGC Highlights briefly outlines some of the the significant progresses made by Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam during the period 1996-1997. The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) was operated at the maximum power level possible with the available partial core. The first generation of electricity from FBTR and its synchronization with the grid in 1997 marked a significant step in the nuclear programme of the Centre. Another important event was the commissioning of the "2"3"3U - fuelled Kamini reactor.The mission-oriented programmes in fast reactor technology was supported by a host of research and development programmes, in closely related areas namely materials technology, welding metallurgy, sodium technology, manufacturing technology, non-destructive testing, quality engineering, in-service inspection, electronics and instrumentation and safety research. The Highlights also contains the organisation chart and the list of publications
Entanglement swapping allows to establish entanglement between independent particles that never have interacted nor share a common past. This feature makes it an integral constituent of quantum repeaters and a promising tool for future tests of the foundations of quantum physics. Here, we demonstrate entanglement swapping with time-synchronized independent sources with a fidelity high enough to violate a Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality by more than four standard deviations. The fact that both entangled photon pairs are created by fully independent laser sources, which are only electronically connected, ensures that this technique is suitable for future long-distance entanglement swapping and quantum-repeater experiments.
The function of selenium in an organism is mediated mostly by selenoproteins including glutathione peroxidase. Glutathione peroxidase is a potent anti-oxidative enzyme, scavenging a variety of peroxides. The green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda was used to investigate the relationship between the toxicity of selenium and the glutathione peroxidase activity. Selenium resistant strains SeIV and SeVI were synchronized and grown in high concentrations of Se (selenite or selenate). As a measure of selenium toxicity the EC50 values were determined. During growth of the untreated wild type, glutathione peroxidase activity increased slightly and then declined gradually until the end of the cell cycle. A similar pattern was observed in untreated resistant strains and when resistant strains were grown...
A design of a compact free-electron laser (FEL), generating ultra-fast, high-peak flux, XUV pulses is presented. The FEL is driven by ahigh-current, 0.5 GeV electron beam from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) laser-plasma accelerator, whose active acceleration length is only a few centimeters. The proposed ultra-fast source (~;;10 fs) would be intrinsically temporally synchronized to the drive laser pulse, enabling pump-probe studies in ultra-fast science. Owing to the high current (>10 kA) of the laser-plasma-accelerated electron beams, saturated output fluxes are potentially greater than 10^13 photons/pulse. Devices based both on self-amplified spontaneous emission and high-harmonic generated input seeds, to reduce undulator length and fluctuations, are considered.
The abstract is additional with repect to the paper published in JGCD. Ordinary Earth satellites are usually placed into five categories of special orbits: sun-synchronous orbits, orbits at the critical inclination, frozen orbits, repeating ground track orbits, and geostationary orbits. This paper investigates their counterparts around Mars and examines the basic nature of these orbits, which are of special interest for missions conducted around Mars, including Mars reconnaissance. Mars' gravity field is much more complicated, with relatively smaller J2, compared to Earth's, which makes the behaviors of these Martian orbits different from those of Earth. Analytical formulations and numerical simulations are used to analyze these Martian orbits and compare them with their Earth counterparts. First, mean element theory is employed to describe variations of orbital elements and give the constraint conditions for achieving these special orbits. Then, numerical ...
We present preliminary analysis for the feasibility of the attosecond x-ray pulses at a proposed FERMI@ELETTRA free electron laser (FEL) [1]. In part 1 we restrict ourselves to minimal modifications to the proposed FEL and consider a scheme for attosecond x-ray production which can be qualified as a small add-on to a primary facility. We demonstrate that at 5-nm wavelength our scheme is capable for production of pulses with an approximate duration of 100 attoseconds at approximately 2 MW peak power and with an absolute temporal synchronization to a pump laser pulse. In part 2 we propose to use an FEL amplifier seeded by a VUV signal and to follow it by the scheme for attosecond x-ray production described in part 1.
The primary objective of batch data as trajectory alignment (or synchronization) is to standardize the data sampling per batch according to the evolution of the process, and secondarily to homogenize the samples per run. The use of an indicator variable performs both objectives well. Two examples from the pharmaceutical sector are discussed to illustrate the different ways to deal with uneven samples across batches and across variables in the same batch. Since trajectory alignment requires large time investment, a simple triage approach is proposed to assess the need to analyze the dynamics of a given process and hence perform alignment. The presented examples are representative of a broad variety of batch processes that are operated by recipe in the pharmaceutical sector. In our experienc...
An integrated tabu-fuzzy knowledge based controller applied to enhance the performance of power system stabilizer (PSS) is presented in this paper. The fuzzy knowledge based controller (FKBC) has been developed to perform the function of a PSS and to provide a supplementary signal to the excitation system of the synchronous generator. The method used for storing and representing the fuzzy rules is called the fuzzy associative memory (FAM) matrix. The well-defined FAM determines the performance of the FKBC and hence the tabu search algorithm is proposed and applied to determine the construction and optimization of the FAM. The controller has been tested in the case of single machine infinite bus and multi-machine systems for various types of disturbance. To show the effectiveness of the proposed controller, the comparison with the conventional PSS is presented. (author)
Digital audio sampling is explained, and some of its implications in digital sound applications are discussed. Digital sound equipment is rapidly replacing analog recording devices as the state-of-the-art in audio technology. The philosophy of digital recording involves doing away with the continuously variable analog waveforms and turning the patterns into numbers. A digital recording device rapidly samples the incoming sounds, quantifying the signal into a series of numerical values (binary codes). Although digital sound eliminates many of the traditional analog problems, digital signal processing presents key problems in sampling rates and synchronization. Careful control is necessary to check signals through each step in the audio chain. The advantages of digital audio processing include increased signal-to-noise ratio, no flutter, transparent generation of copies, and sound manipulation. These benefits come with increased quality control requirements. One ...
A robust adaptive Power System Stabilizer algorithm using a Generalized Multivariable Pole Shifting (GMPS) technique is presented in this paper. The algorithm handles systems with equal or unequal numbers of inputs and outputs, therefore both shaft speed as well as the generator power are used to derive the stabilizing control. The technique also provides a simple scheme of on-line self-searching pole shifting factor to meet the excitation control limits. The application of the proposed stabilizer to a simulated generator excitation control under a wide range of operating and disturbance conditions demonstrates that the new control strategy is superior to conventional Power System Stabilizer (PSS) and the widely accepted Minimum Variance Self-Tuning Controller (MVSTC).
Synchronized cultures of the green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda were grown in the absence (untreated cultures) or in the presence (FdUrd-treated cultures) of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, the specific inhibitor of nuclear DNA replication. The attainment of commitment points, at which the cells become committed to nuclear DNA replication, mitosis and cellular division, and the course of committed processes themselves were determined for cell cycle characterization. FdUrd-treated cultures showed nearly unaffected growth and attainment of the commitment points, while DNA replication(s), nuclear division(s) and protoplast fission(s) were blocked. Interestingly, the FdUrd-treated cells possessed a very high mitotic histone H1 kinase activity in the absence of any nuclear division(s). Compared with the ...
Varying load can cause changes in a measured gearbox vibration signal. However, conventional techniques for fault diagnosis are based on the assumption that changes in vibration signal are only caused by deterioration of the gearbox. There is a need to develop a technique to provide accurate state indicator of gearbox under fluctuating load conditions. This paper presents an approach to gear fault diagnosis based on complex Morlet continuous wavelet transform under this condition. Gear motion residual signal, which represents the departure of time synchronously averaged signal from the average tooth-meshing vibration, is analyzed as source data due to its lower sensitiveness to the alternating load condition. A fault growth parameter based on the amplitude of wavelet transform is proposed ...
A new principle of particle trapping in the simple spherical cavity using both electric and magnetic components of radiofrequency electromagnetic field is proposed. The electric component of H {sub 12} oscillating mode drives the fast particle oscillations, while the magnetic component synchronously bends the trajectories to the cavity center. A specially developed theory of particle stability predicts dense and energetic electron cluster in the trap. Numerical simulations of particle dynamics in the complete electromagnetic field taking into account both space charge and particle-induced magnetic field are in good agreement with the analytic results, giving a density of 2.6*10{sup 1} electrons/cm{sup 3} and an average kinetic energy of around 30 keV at an operating frequency of 3 GHz. Being used at lower frequency, spherical cavity can trap protons and heavier ions too, but with lower density and kinetic energy.
A technique for designing an adaptive power system stabilizer is presented which improves the dynamic stability of power systems by effectively increasing the damping torque of the synchronous generator in the system. The proposed adaptive stabilizer is optimal in the sense of minimizing a specified performance condition. A characteristic feature of using a Lyapunov techniques is that it leads to stable adaptation loops. The dynamic responses following a step disturbance by digital simulations are obtained by means of three types of stabilizers: the conventional power system stabilizer, a frequency-response-based optimal adaptive stabilizer and the proposed Lyapunov stabilizer. Simulation results on a typical single-machine/infinite-bus system illustrate the superiority of the proposed technique. (author).
In a recent survey of the stellar populations of LINERS and LINER/HII Transition Objects (TOs) we identified a numerous class of nuclei which stand out because of their conspicuous 10^8-9 yr populations. These objects were called ``Young-TOs'', since they all have TO-like emission line ratios. In this paper we investigate the radial variations of spectral properties in Low Luminosity AGN. Our analysis is based on high S/N, 3500-5500 A, long-slit spectra for 47 galaxies. The data probe distances of typically up to 850 pc from the nucleus with a resolution of ~ 100 pc and S/N ~ 30. Stellar population gradients are mapped by the radial profiles of absorption line equivalent widths and colours along the slit. These variations are further analyzed by means of a decomposition of each spectrum in terms of template galaxies representative of very young (<= 10^7 yr), intermediate age (10^8-9 yr) and old (10^10 yr) ...
In this paper, we consider the prey-dependent consumption predator-prey (natural enemy-pest) models with age structure for the predator, immature and mature natural enemies are released and pesticide is applied impulsively. We prove that, when the impulsive period is no longer than some threshold, the pest-eradication solution is globally asymptotically stable, or say, the pest population can be eradicated totally. But from the point of ecological balance and saving resources, we only need to control the pest population under the economic threshold level instead of eradicating it totally, so we further prove that, when the impulsive period is longer than the threshold, pest population and natural enemy population can coexist, i.e., the system is uniformly permanent. Considering population communities always are imbedded in periodically varying environments, and the parameters in ...
Examination of measurement invariance provides a powerful method to evaluate the hypothesis that the same set of psychological constructs underlies a set of test scores in different populations. If measurement invariance is observed, then the same psychological meaning can be ascribed to scores in both populations. In this study, the measurement model including core and supplementary subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth edition (WAIS-IV) were compared across the U.S. and Canadian standardization samples. Populations were compared on the 15 subtest version of the test in people aged 70 and younger and on the 12 subtest version in people aged 70 or older. Results indicated that a slightly modified version of the four-factor model reported in the WAIS-IV technical manual provided the best fit in both populations and in both age groups. The null hypothesis of measurement invariance ...
Amphibians are considered reliable indicators of environmental quality. In the western United States, a general decline of frog populations parallels an apparent worldwide decline. The factors thought...Full Text Available
Parthenogenesis-inducing (PI) Wolbachia belong to a class of intracellular symbionts that distort the offspring sex ratio of their hosts toward a female bias. In many PI Wolbachia-infected species sex ratio distortion has reached its ultimate expression-fixation of infection and all-female populations. This is only possible with thelytokous PI symbionts as they provide an alternative form of reproduction and remove the requirement for males and sexual reproduction. Many populations fixed for PI Wolbachia infection have lost the ability to reproduce sexually, even when cured of the infection. We examine one such population in the species Trichogramma pretiosum. Through a series of backcrossing experiments with an uninfected Trichogramma pretiosum population we were able to show that the gen...
We determined the underlying aetiology of blindness for the registered blind population of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In both 1981 and 1984 single-gene disorders accounted for 30% of...Full Text Available
Snakebites are common among the rural population of developing countries. The severity of venomous snakebites depends on several factors, including the location of the bite, the amount of venom injected,...Full Text Available
PurposeTo describe etiologies and clinical characteristics of corneal opacities leading patients to seek cosmetic treatments.MethodsThe medical records...Full Text Available
BackgroundTo identify the differential tuberculosis (TB) characteristics within the immigrant population with respect to natives in Spain.Methodology/Principal...Full Text Available
IntroductionShoulder pain covers a wide range of problems and affects up to 20% of the population. It is not a specific diagnosis. Shoulder pain can be caused by problems with the...Full Text Available
BackgroundCharacterizing and comparing the determinant of cotinine concentrations in different populations should facilitate a better understanding of smoking patterns and addiction....Full Text Available
The resident bald eagles of the lower Columbia River have lower productivity and higher contaminant levels than other bald eagles of the Pacific Northwest. The primary population stressors are believed to be habitat loss, human disturbance, p,p{prime}DDE, PCBs, dioxins and furans. The primary effect of habitat loss is to reduce the carrying capacity of the region for nesting sites, and the primary effects of human disturbance and contamination by organic compounds are to reduce productivity. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the effects of all of, these potential stressors on the bald eagle population dynamics. A model of the population dynamics was developed. The model structure includes a physiologically-based toxicokinetic (PBTK) submodel to estimate the degree of contamination, which is linked via a toxicology submodel to a population dynamics submodel. The PBTK submodel is ...
Age-related alterations in the cellular composition of the B lineage are a major cause of the poor antibody response to vaccination and to infectious agents among the elderly population. The mechanisms...Full Text Available
This paper focuses on the Internet as a tool for enhancing behavior and lifestyle changes to reduce the burden of cancer at a population level. The premise of this paper is that the Internet...Full Text Available
Despite advances in standard of living of the population, the condition of widows and divorced women remains deplorable in society. The situation is worse in developing nations with their unique social,...Full Text Available
BackgroundA large and increasing part of the European population has a history of migration. Germany, for example, is home to about 15 million people with migrant background, which...Full Text Available
The geographical arrangement of people on the surface of the earth is approximated by a mathematical equation of 361 terms. This is a convenient form for comparison with other distributions and for...Full Text Available
... in western DRC, at the Zaire River near Matadi (Brown 1994). (click map to view full version) ... is available to confirm this. The population of Matadi is increasin...
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated, in a large, heterogeneous population, the outcome of open cholecystectomy as it is currently practiced. SUMMARY BACKGROUND AND DATA: Although cholecystectomy has been...Full Text Available
The binding energy parameter #lambda# plays an important role in common envelope evolution. Previous works have already pointed out that #lambda# varies throughout the stellar evolution, though it has been adopted as a constant in most of the population synthesis calculations. We have systematically calculated the binding energy parameter #lambda# for both Population I and Population II stars of masses 1-20 M _s_u_n, taking into account the contribution from the internal energy of stellar matter. We present fitting formulae for #lambda# that can be incorporated into future population synthesis investigations. We also briefly discuss the possible applications of the results in binary evolutions.
ABSTRACTOBJECTIVETo explore the prevalence and the demographic predictors of nonmedical use of opioid analgesics in the Canadian adolescent population.DESIGNData...Full Text Available
AIMSTo develop a population pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic model to describe the occurrence and severity of bleeding or bruising as a function of enoxaparin exposure.METHODSData...Full Text Available
BackgroundAs long-term nursing home care is likely to increase with the aging of the population, identifying chronic medical conditions is of particular interest. Although need factors...Full Text Available
Background and AimsIt is well known that genome size differs among species. However, information on the variation and dynamics of genome size in wild populations and on the early...Full Text Available
About a third of the population in the cities of developing countries live in slums and shanty towns. By the year 2000 it is estimated that this number will grow to 2200 million, and by 2025 about 57%...Full Text Available
Genetics, Genomics, and Molecular Biology USGS scientists develop and integrate new genetic and molecular techniques into systematic analyses to describe individuals and populations of fish .....
Behavioral responses to wind are thought to play a critical role in controlling the dispersal and population genetics of wild Drosophila species1,Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: Cuba's response to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic has been to conduct mass testing of the population to ascertain seroprevalence, to enforce mandatory relative quarantine...Full Text Available
The study of genetic variability within natural populations of pathogens may provide insight into their evolution and pathogenesis. We used a Mycobacterium tuberculosis high-density...Full Text Available
Abstract: In many biological processes heterogeneity within clonal cell populations is an important issue. One of the most striking examples is a population of cancer cells in which after a common, identical death signal some cells die whereas others survive. The reason for this heterogeneity is intrinsic and extrinsic noise. In this paper we present a mechanistic multi-scale modeling framework for cell populations, in which the dynamics of every individual cell is captured by a parameter dependent stochastic differential equation (SDE). Heterogeneity among individual cells is accounted for by differences in parameter values, modeling extrinsic influences. Based on the statistical properties of the extrinsic noise and the SDE model for the individual cell, a partial differential equation (...
BackgroundMultiple myeloma is a hematologic malignancy associated with the development of a destructive osteolytic bone disease.ResultsMathematical...Full Text Available
Research highlights: {yields} Mathematical model represents a power system which consists of synchronous machine connected to infinite bus through transmission line. {yields} Power system stabilizer was designed based on optimal pole shifting controller. {yields} The system performances was tested through load disturbances at different operating conditions. {yields} The system performance with the proposed optimal pole shifting controller is compared with the conventional pole placement controller. {yields} The digital simulation results indicated that the proposed controller has a superior performance. -- Abstract: Power system stabilizer based on optimal pole shifting is proposed. An approach for shifting the real parts of the open-loop poles to any desired positions while preserving the imaginary parts is presented. In each step of this approach, it is required to solve a first-order or a second-order linear matrix Lyapunov equation for shifting one real pole or ...
Research highlights: ? Mathematical model represents a power system which consists of synchronous machine connected to infinite bus through transmission line. ? Power system stabilizer was designed based on optimal pole shifting controller. ? The system performances was tested through load disturbances at different operating conditions. ? The system performance with the proposed optimal pole shifting controller is compared with the conventional pole placement controller. ? The digital simulation results indicated that the proposed controller has a superior performance. -- Abstract: Power system stabilizer based on optimal pole shifting is proposed. An approach for shifting the real parts of the open-loop poles to any desired positions while preserving the imaginary parts is presented. In each step of this approach, it is required to solve a first-order or a second-order linear matrix Lyapunov equation for shifting one real pole or two complex conjugate poles, ...
A community health survey of 438 individuals was taken to detect health problems related to high voltage electrical transmission among an adjacent residential population. Results revealed no significant or consistent relationships between exposure to a high voltage DC power line and the perceived health problems that were measured. The sample was not, however, large enough to draw statistically significant conclusions regarding possible health effects with a very low incidence.
The Ra, Th, and K-40 content of the most important phosphate fertilizers used and authorized in the FRG was determined by #gamma#-spectroscopy. The results, together with statistical data on the consumption and use of fertilizers, were used for an estimation of the contribution of #gamma#-radiation from phosphate fertilizers to the external population exposure in the FRG. (orig./AK).
Dwarf galaxies are generally faint. To derive their age and metallicity distributions, it is critical to optimize the use of any collected photon. Koleva et al., using full spectrum fitting, have found strong population gradients in some dwarf elliptical galaxies. Here, we show that the population profiles derived with this method are consistent and more precise than those obtained with spectrophotometric indices. This allows studying fainter objects in less telescope time.
The consumption of food products obtained in areas subjected to radioactive contamination as a consequence of a radiation accident appears to be the most significant source of irradiation for the population. At the same time, this route can be regulated very effectively. The regularities of contamination of agricultural production, peculiar features of internal dose formation in the population and the effectiveness of countermeasures in agriculture have been analysed using the experience of two major accidents in the former USSR - in the South Urals (Kyshtym accident) in 1957, and at the Chernobyl NPP in 1986. (Author).
The radiation burden of the people of the GDR in relation to biomedical radiography altogether as well as organ doses, gonad doses and genetically significant doses in detail are outlined. The concepts of radiation protection and standards of radiographic examination are demonstrated. Possibilities of influencing radiation exposure by scientifically based indication of X-ray examination, application of new and improvement of usual examination techniques are discussed with regard to quality assurance and control. Proposals concerning the reduction of radiation exposure of the GDR population are presented.
This report revises estimates of population exposure to external natural background made by D. T. Oakley in 1972. The revisions include more recent estimates of dose equivalents from cosmic rays, use of 1970 U.S. census data, and corrections for building shielding and for self-shielding in the body. The dose equivalents calculated are those from cosmic rays and terrestrial radiation, and do not include doses from natural radioactive materials in the body.
From the frequency of diagnostic radiologic examinations and their radiation dose delivered to the population the risk of cancer induction and genetic damage is calculated on the basis of the risk factors given by the ICRP. Thus 0.38 % and 3 % of the total mortality for cancer and leukemia, resp., can be attributed to X-ray diagnostics. Chest examinations alone result in 0.07-0.7 damages per 100,000 persons depending on the imaging technique applied. (author).
It is shown that observations of the lithium isotope ratio in high surface temperature Population II stars may be critical to cosmological nucleosynthesis models. In particular, decaying particle scenarios as derived in some supersymmetric models may stand or fall with such observations. 18 references.
Hematological deficiencies increase with aging leading to anemias, reduced hematopoietic stress responses and myelodysplasias. This study tested the hypothesis that side population hematopoietic...Full Text Available
The theoretical evolution of a horizontal branch star of Population II is followed through the helium burning in the core phase and is compared with the results given by other investigators. The m- fluence of different physics and interpolation schemes in the opacity tables is discussed. Some thoughts are given on the explanation of the erratic period variations observed in some of the RR Lyrae variables in the globular clusters. (auth)
Iron deficiency anaemia is highly prevalent among rural population of Northeast Thailand. The habitual diets are plant-based. Several herbal vegetables and spices such as lead tree leaves, ivy gourd, Thai basil, chilli peppers etc are consumed in a substantial in common Northeast dishes. High contents of phytate and polyphenol compounds including tannin in these herbs and spices may profoundly influence iron bioavailability in the northeast population
Discussion is presented of world CO{sub 2} emissions and the effect rising population and population distribution has on this. Possible ways of decreasing emissions are presented, including potential for heat recovery, exhaust-air purification as an energy supply, shared power supply in industry, the use of cogeneration, and multiple use of heat in industry. 9 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs.
The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) are inversely associated with inflammatory processes in an elderly background population.
Using QCT, we made a longitudinal, population-based assessment of rates of bone loss over life at the distal radius, distal tibia, and lumbar spine. Cortical bone loss began in perimenopause in women...Full Text Available
There are many sources of population exposures to power-frequency (50/60 Hz) electric and magnetic fields including household appliances and wiring, neighborhood distribution circuits, and high-voltage transmission lines. Bioeffects studies were unable to demonstrate that exposures to power-frequency fields can affect public health. Researcher have likewise been unable to show that the health effects of such exposures are negligible. State and federal regulatory agencies are, therefore, grappling with questions of whether and how to regulate the sitting or design of new extra high-voltage transmission lines so as to control the ground-level fields to which people are exposed. The purpose of this dissertation is to illuminate some of the exposure-related aspects of these question. A taxonomy of the relationship between field encounter and effect is developed to clarify the meaning of terms such as exposure and dose in the power-frequency context. The major inputs to ...
Annual medical examinations are conducted by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) for a population of Marshallese who were accidentally exposed to radioactive fallout in 1954, for a comparison population, and for all inhabitants of the atolls of Rongelap and Utirik. Disease surveillance includes analysis of serum samples. Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels are common along Pacific populations, and modifying environmental factors have been investigated as a cause for this finding. The authors have studied SUA levels of people living in the Marshall Islands, and have found elevated values similar to those reported for other Micronesian populations. The nearly Gaussian distribution of individual serum uric acid values for men, and for women less than or equal to45 years of age, indicates that the elevation is due to a regularized increase in serum uric acid rather than to a subpopulation that has ...
Biomonitoring of human populations for exposure to genotoxic/clastogenic agents in the environment or the workplace must depend upon statistical tests for elevations in the frequencies of the biological endpoints being monitored, usually chromosomal aberrations (CA), micronuclei (MN), or sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Statistical tests are based, in turn, upon certain assumptions regarding the distribution of the test statistic. When they are often not recognized as such, tests of significance can be in error, and any conclusion drawn that there is or is not a statistically significant difference between one population sample and another maybe erroneous. In population monitoring this means either false negatives or false positives can result and it is hard to know which is worse. Furthermore, even the intelligent design of studies whose object is to test for an elevated level in an exposed ...
Female rats were given tritiated drinking water (3 microCi/ml) from 30 days before mating up to and throughout pregnancy. At this low dose, the course and the outcome of pregnancy were normal. The differences between newborn body and cerebral weights of the treated rats and those of control animals were on the borderline of significance. In contrast, cerebral DNA and cerebral protein were highly significantly lower. In 30-35% of the treated population the DNA and protein values were more than 2 standard deviations (SD) below the mean values for the control population. Thus the number of the progeny of the mothers exposed to tritiated water that were considered to have outstandingly low levels of DNA and protein was 14-17 times greater than in the control group. The irradiated population also had 3-5% of severely affected individuals with cerebral DNA and protein values more than 2 SD below the mean of the experimental ...
Abstract Absence of the palmaris longus muscle has been well documented in several populations at a prevalence rate ranging between 2.2 and 63.9% which varies according to race, sex, and side of the body. There is little documentation of the prevalence of absence of this muscle from populations in the Arabian Gulf region. We examined 1,043 subjects, 3 85 years old, from the Kingdom of Bahrain for the presence or absence of the palmaris longus muscle using the conventional test for the presence of this muscle. Statistical analyses investigated the association of muscle absence with sex, hand dominance, and laterality. The palmaris longus muscle was absent in 36.8% of subjects. Bilateral absence (19%) was more common than unilateral absence (17.9%) with preponderance in female subjects. The ...
In this article, we propose a model selection method, the Bayesian composite model space approach, to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) in a half-sib population for continuous and binary traits. In our method, the identity-by-descent-based variance component model is used. To demonstrate the performance of this model, the method was applied to map QTL underlying production traits on BTA6 in a Chinese half-sib dairy cattle population. A total of four QTLs were detected, whereas only one QTL was identified using the traditional least square (LS) method. We also conducted two simulation experiments to validate the efficiency of our method. The results suggest that the proposed method based on a multiple-QTL model is efficient in mapping multiple QTL for an outbred half-sib population and is more powerful than the LS method based on a single-QTL model. PMID:21487433
Abstract It is well established that ageing handicaps the ability of prey to escape predators, yet surprisingly little is known about how ageing affects the ability of predators to catch prey. Research into long-lived predators has assumed that adults have uniform impacts on prey regardless of age. Here we use longitudinal data from repeated observations of individually-known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to demonstrate that adult predatory performance declines with age and that an increasing ratio of senescent individuals in the wolf population depresses the rate of prey offtake. Because this ratio fluctuates independently of population size, predatory senescence may cause wolf populations of equal size but different age structure to have d...
Phenotypic plasticity can facilitate reproductive strategies that maximize mating success in variable environments and lead to differences in sex allocation among populations. For simultaneous hermaphrodites with sperm competition, including Serranus tortugarum a small coral reef fish, proportional male allocation (testis in total gonad) is often greater where local density or mating group size is higher. We tested whether S. tortugarum reduced male allocation when transplanted from a higher density site to a lower density site. After 4?months, transplants mirrored the sex-allocation patterns of the resident population on their new reef. Transplants had significantly lower male allocation than representatives from their source population, largely as a result of reduced testis mass relative...
To determine the proportion of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving preventive health care according to US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations compared with a community-based population sample, with emphasis on dyslipidemia testing, given the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in RA patients. Patients with RA (ICD-9 code 714.0 at ?2 office visits with a rheumatologist) and a primary care physician (PCP) at the Geisinger Health System (GHS) were identified through electronic health records. The records were searched back from 3/31/08 for the length of time required to satisfy each outcome measure. Percentages were compared with population testing rates using the Pearson Chi-square test. Eight hundred and thirty-one RA patients were compared to 169,476 subjects...
Monocelis lineata is a complex of cryptic species (three in the Mediterranean and one in the Atlantic) widespread in midlittoral habitats. Throughout the range, populations with or without an ocular pigmented shield are found. We investigated the genetic structure of the North-East Atlantic populations with the aim of shedding light on their phylogeography and reconstructing possible patterns of recolonization after the Wrmian glaciation. Fourteen samples were investigated using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 13 by inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs). COI did not exhibit a clear pattern of decreased genetic diversity along a latitudinal gradient. Populations from Ferrol (Spain), Doolin (Ireland), and Helsingr (Denmark) showed a higher genetic variability, whereas a reduction in...
ABSTRACT New observations from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field suggest that the star formation rate at Formula Not Shown drops off faster than previously thought. Using a newly determined star formation rate for the normal mode of Population II/I (PopII/I) stars, including this new constraint, we compute the Thomson scattering optical depth and find a result that is marginally consistent with Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5 results. We also reconsider the role of Population III (PopIII) stars in light of cosmological and stellar evolution constraints. While this input may be needed for reionization, we show that it is essential in order to account for cosmic chemical evolution in the early universe. We investigate the consequences of PopIII stars on the local metallicity distribution fu...
Despite the many advances in scientific research over the last several decades, cutting edge technologies and therapeutics often take many years to find their way into widespread use. The dissemination and uptake of best practices into clinical care is sometimes a neglected component of research that is essential to improve the population?s health. Type 2 translational research, sometimes called ?Proof in Practice Research,? seeks to maximize the yield of what has been learned from the bench and from carefully controlled clinical trials and to extend those benefits to a larger population. One aspect of type 2 translational research, sometimes called evidence implementation or implementation science, applies what has been learned about clinical medicine to achieve best practices across prov...
The number of immigrants to Western Europe has been increasing, with immigration the subject of much controversy in contemporary Europe. In this article, we investigate the relationship between the size of the immigrant population, how natives perceive this size, and their anti-immigrant attitudes. We use data from the 2002/2003 European Social Survey covering 17 Western European countries, and we find that as a rule Western Europeans think that the immigrant population in their country is much larger than it actually is. The perceived size of an immigrant population has an impact on anti-immigrant prejudices, but the real size does not. Like many authors before us, we find that education reduces prejudice. However, we also find that around 10 percent of the total effect of education is a ...
The WIDeField telescope for Gamma-ray burst Early Timing (WIDGET) is used for a fully automated, ultra-wide-field survey aimed at detecting the prompt optical emission associated with Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs). WIDGET surveys the HETE-2 and Swift/BAT pointing directions covering a total field of view of 62 degree x 62 degree every 10 secounds using an unfiltered system. This monitoring survey allows exploration of the optical emission before the gamma-ray trigger. The unfiltered magnitude is well converted to the SDSS r' system at a 0.1 mag level. Since 2004, WIDGET has made a total of ten simultaneous and one pre-trigger GRB observations. The efficiency of synchronized observation with HETE-2 is four times better than that of Swift. There has been no bright optical emission similar to that from GRB 080319B. The statistical analysis implies that GRB080319B is a rare event. This paper summarizes the design and operation of the WIDGET system and the simultaneous GRB ...
Detailed three dimensional wing kinematics and aerodynamic characteristics are experimentally presented for the free flight of a beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma, which has a pair of elytra (fore wings) and hind wings. The kinematic parameters of the wing motion, such as the wing tip trajectory, angle of attack, torsion angle, and camber deformation, are obtained from a 3D reconstruction technique that involves the use of two or three synchronized high-speed cameras to digitize various points marked on the wings. Our data show outstanding characteristics of wing deformation and flexibility in the free flight of the beetle. To find out the mechanism of aerodynamic force, the leading edge vortex (LEV) and trailing edge vortex (TEV) on both elytron and hind wing were observed by using smoke wire visualization and digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) technique. Qualitative smoke lines in the region of the most intent vortex shedding demonstrate clearly the interaction ...
During the Eddy Experiment, two synchronous GPS receivers were flown at 1 km altitude to collect L1 signals and their reflections from the sea surface for assessment of altimetric precision and accuracy. Wind speed (U10) was around 10 m/s, and SWH up to 2 m. A geophysical parametric waveform model was used for retracking and estimation of the lapse between the direct and reflected signals with a 1-second precision of 3 m. The lapse was used to estimate the SSH along the track using a differential model. The RMS error of the 20 km averaged GNSS-R absolute altimetric solution with respect to Jason-1 SSH and a GPS buoy measurement was of 10 cm, with a 2 cm mean difference. Multipath and retracking parameter sensitivity due to the low altitude are suspected to have degraded accuracy. This result provides an important milestone on the road to a GNSS-R mesoscale altimetry space mission.
This work presents the development of a streak camera 'jitter free' sweep unit synchronized on a femtosecond laser. This application of high voltage photoconductive switches ('High voltage Auston switch') yields subpicosecond resolution for accumulated images on streak camera on a few hundreds micro joule femtosecond laser. Two others applications of these photoconductive switches are studied: - ultrafast optical commutation by a Pockels cell directly driven by a photoconductive switch (rising edge < 100 ps and jitter < 2 ps), - laser pulse energy self-stabilization experimentally proving that driving a Pockels cell by a photoconductive switch can increase the stability of the laser pulse energy from 7 % to 0.7 % rms. Additionally, the application of the acoustic-optical programmable dispersive filter (Dazzler) to the self referenced spectral phase measurement is presented. As these measurements require a linear ...
Use of an adaptive optimal control algorithm for two realtime control applications, optimal excitation control of a synchronous generator (OEC) and power system stabilizer (PSS) is described in this paper. Experimental studies on a physical model of a power system show that the proposed OEC and PSS can track the controlled system by parameter identification at different operating conditions. The proposed control algorithm is based on the linear optimal control theory and a special 5th order discrete Riccati equation is solved in each sampling period. The proposed OEC and PSS can always guarantee that in closed loop the controlled system is stable based on the identified parameters. As the actual output of the controlled system and control are directly used in the controller, no observer is required. Also, the proposed OEC and PSS can track the controlled system very fast. A number of tests have been performed. All show satisfactory results.
Pellet injectors are needed to fuel long pulse tokamak plasmas and other magnetic confinement devices. For this purpose, an apparatus has been developed that forms 1.3-mm-diam pellets of frozen deuterium at a rate of 40 pellets per second and accelerates them to a speed of 1 km/s. Pellets are formed by extruding a billet of solidified deuterium through a 1.3-mm-diam nozzle at a speed of 5 cm/s. The extruding deuterium is chopped with a razor knife, forming 1.3-mm right circular cylinders of solid deuterium. The pellets are accelerated by synchronously injecting them into a high speed rotating arbor containing a guide track, which carries them from a point near the center of rotation to the periphery. The pellets leave the wheel after 150/sup 0/ of rotation at double the tip speed. The centrifuge is formed in the shape of a centrifugal catenary and is constructed of high strength KEVLAR/epoxy composite. This arbon has been spin-tested to a tip speed of 1 km/s.
Human beings are confronted with another grievous disaster - coal fire. The monitoring on underground coal bed combustion relied on drilling supervising in the past, but this method is not good. By taking the coal fire of Gulaben mine in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as an example, the monitoring methods of underground coal bed combustion were explored based on the hyperspectra and high-resolution remote sensing technology. By employing the OMIS imaging apparatus developed by Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the airborne hyperspectral images and the characteristic spectra of different types were obtained and the temperature was measured synchronously on the ground. Then according to the correlation of DN value of the thermal infrared band and surface temperature, the image information was processed, the spectral features were analyzed, and the surface temperature retrieval model was built. Finally, by hyperspectral imagery ...
The traveling-wave mode in ring lasers is achieved by two methods: by a reversing mirror, and by using an intracavity nonreciprocal device. This paper is devoted to realization of the traveling-wave mode in a mode-locked YAG-Nd ring laser by a method proposed by Tomov et al. This method uses two intracavity Q-switches. In mode-locked operation, pulses are generated that can be considered short compared with the period of modulation T = L/C (where L is the length of the perimeter of the cavity). Analysis shows that if the shift of the switching signals corresponds to the time of travel of a light pulse between Q-switches, the pulse in one direction will pass the Q-switches at instants of zero losses, while losses in the other direction will be maximized for a distance between Q-switches of L/4, and will be zero for a distance L/2. Experimental verification of the proposed method gave unidirectional lasing with an intensity ratio in the two directions of at least 600:1, the intensity of ...
On June 19, 1998, after the first annual outage, Wolsung Unit 2 was shutdown at a controlled rate due to the continuous instability of Liquid Zone Control level. Investigation revealed that the Liquid Zone Control level instability was caused by water condensed inside the helium lines, generated from the moistened helium flow, especially, inside the helium balance header feed and bleed valve lines. It was found that improper installation of the diaphragm type isolation valves and the drain valve tap could easily contain the water inside the lines and be destined to form water traps causing the balance header pressure oscillation. After the lines were dried, Liquid Zone Control level instability was almost vanished, and approached the allowable equilibrium state. As the reactor power was increased, however, the zone level instability increased again. In order to compensate for the excessive, the Bulk Power Control Gain (Kp) was reduced to provide a more stable steady state system ...
The behavior of a small power system consisting of two interconnected generators is simulated in real-time by a prototype Digital Transient Network Analyzer (TNA). The prototype Digital TNA consists of two Computational Modules and one I/O Module. The Modules communicate with each other through ribbon cables. Each Computational Module simulates one Turbo-Generator, its Transformer, its Governor, Exciter, and Power System Stabilizer Systems. The numerical integration is shared by two TMS320C30 DSPs at a step-size of 100 microseconds in real-time. The I/O module post-processes the state variables and presents selected information for analog display. The paper presents oscillograms from a test program which includes symmetry checks and behavioral checks against well known waveforms of hunting oscillations, synchronization out-of-phase torques, and subsynchronous resonance phenomena. The success of the Digital TNA depends on: (a) the theoretical method of Decoupled ...
The U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management's (DOE-EM) investments in science and technology, as well as science and technology investments associated with other parts of the DOE are aimed at meeting the Departments cleanup goals. These investments, primarily focused on EM's cleanup mission, comprise the Environmental Quality Research and Development (R&D) portfolios. Synchronizing EM's Cleanup Project Managers (operations facility and process owners throughout the DOE complex) operational needs with EM R&D including the extensive work of the six Focus Areas (major thrust areas within DOE-EM) has been a continuing challenge. This recent initiative to better integrate the R&D program is in response to evolving needs within the Department to apply proven system engineering methods to clarify requirements and define EM's process to effectively orchestrate their R&D Program. To optimize this partnership, ...
We compare the physics potential of the upcoming neutrino oscillation experiments Daya Bay, Double Chooz, NOvA, RENO, and T2K based on their anticipated nominal luminosities and schedules. After discussing the sensitivity to theta_{13} and the leading atmospheric parameters, we demonstrate that leptonic CP violation will hardly be measurable without upgrades of the T2K and NOvA proton drivers, even if theta_{13} is large. In the presence of the proton drivers, the fast track to hints for CP violation requires communication between the T2K and NOvA collaborations in terms of a mutual synchronization of their neutrino-antineutrino run plans. Even in that case, upgrades will only discover CP violation in a relatively small part of the parameter space at the 3 sigma confidence level, while 90% confidence level hints will most likely be obtained. Therefore, we conclude that a new facility will be required if the goal is to obtain a significant result with high ...
A Bragg waveguide consisting of multiple dielectric layers with alternating index of refraction becomes an excellent option to form electron accelerating structure powered by high power laser sources. It provides confinement of a synchronous speed-of-light mode with extremely low loss. However, laser field can not be coupled into the structure collinearly with the electron beam. There are three requirements in designing input coupler for a Bragg electron accelerator: side-coupling, selective mode excitation, and high coupling efficiency. We present a side coupling scheme using a distributed grating-assisted coupler to inject the laser power into the waveguide. Side coupling is achieved by a grating with a period on the order of an optical wavelength. The phase matching condition results in resonance coupling thus providing selective mode excitation capability. The coupling efficiency is limited by profile matching between the outgoing beam and the incoming beam, ...
A newly developed 220 Mbps free-space 4-ary pulse position modulation (PPM) direct detection optical communication system is described. High speed GaAs integrated circuits were used to construct the PPM encoder and receiver electronic circuits. Both PPM slot and word timing recovery were provided in the PPM receiver. The optical transmitter consisted of an AlGaAs laser diode (Mitsubishi ML5702A, lambda=821nm) and a high speed driver unit. The photodetector consisted of a silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) (RCA30902S) preceded by an optical interference filter (delta lambda=10nm). Preliminary tests showed that the self-synchronized PPM receiver could achieve a receiver bit error rate of less than 10(exp -6) at 25 nW average received optical signal power or 360 photons per transmitted information bit. The relatively poor receiver sensitivity was believed to be caused by the insufficient electronic bandwidth of the APD preamplifier and the poor linearity of the ...
A highly reliable control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) installed inside the reactor vessel has developed for use of an advanced marine reactor. This CRDM contributes to compactness and simplicity of the reactor system, and it can eliminate the possibility of a rod ejection accident. The CRDM works in the high temperature and high pressure water - 310degC and 12 MPa, the same atmosphere as the primary loop. Driving force is produced by a synchronous motor with the rotor of a permanent magnet, which has been developed. An innovative latch mechanism using separable ball nuts can latch driving shaft connecting the control rod and de-latch it for scram. The rod position detector using a magnetostrictive wire type sensor on the principle of Wiedeman effect has been developed, accuracy of which is verified to have a detecting error within 1.2 mm. Ball bearings for thrust and radial supports in rotation have been developed to be capable of working under the high temperature ...
Electromechanical oscillations of small magnitude and low frequency exist in the interconnected power system and often persist for long periods of time. Power system stabilizers (PSSs) are traditionally used to provide damping torque for the synchronous generators to suppress the oscillations by generating supplementary control signals for the generator excitation system. Numerous techniques have previously been proposed to design PSSs but many of them are synthesized based on a linearized model. This paper presents a nonlinear power system stabilizer based on synergetic control theory. Synergetic synthesis of the PSS is based fully on a simplified nonlinear model of the power system. The dynamic characteristics of the proposed PSS are studied in a typical single-machine infinite-bus power system and compared with the cases with a conventional PSS and without a PSS. Simulation results show the proposed PSS is robust for such nonlinear dynamic system and achieves ...
Recently, a drive laser for an S-band (2.86 GHz) rf photoinjector, designed to provide a pulse that has a flat temporal and spatial profile, has been built, commissioned, and put into service as part of the LLNL Compton-scattering monoenergetic {gamma}-ray source program. This laser is based on an all-fiber oscillator and front-end amplification system, and provides both the laser light to generate the electrons as well as the rf signal that is amplified to accelerate them. Now, a new 11.424 GHz photoinjector is being developed, which has required a revised design for the laser system. The higher frequency has placed more stringent requirements on the synchronization stability, delivered pulse length, and pulse rise times to maintain the desired emittance. Presented here are the overall design and measured performance of the current system and a discussion of what changes are being made to address observed shortcomings and more demanding requirements to make the ...
We consider the wireless Rayleigh fading relay channel with finite complex input constellations. Assuming global knowledge of the channel state information and perfect synchronization, upper and lower bounds on the achievable rate, for the full-duplex relay, as well as the more practical half-duplex relay (in which the relay cannot transmit and receive simultaneously), are studied. Assuming the power constraint at the source node and the relay node to be equal, the gain in rate offered by the use of relay over the direct transmission (without the relay) is investigated. It is shown that for the case of finite complex input constellations, the relay gain attains the maximum at a particular SNR and at higher SNRs the relay gain tends to become zero. Since practical schemes always use finite complex input constellation, the above result means that the relay offers maximum advantage over the direct transmission when we operate at a particular SNR and offers no ...
In the past ten years, significant research effort was invested in audio browsers, programs able to decode the structure of Web pages and put them into an audio format. Few advanced browsers use machine learning algorithms to classify objects on the Web page and learn browsing behaviors, have multimodal input and outputs and are able to synchronize between the graphical and audio modalities to interact with the Web page. The disadvantages of these audio browsers include the necessity of a high computation power since the user's machine has to decode the structure of the Web page, and, therefore, making impossible the installation of such programs on mobile devices. In this paper, we propose a simpler and more efficient solution for the creation of a multimodal application. We developed a middleware that automatically annotates Web pages with VoiceXML generated from the content of the Web page. Using our system, the user can interact with the Web page, by using ...
Varying load can cause changes in a measured gearbox vibration signal. However, conventional techniques for fault diagnosis are based on the assumption that changes in vibration signal are only caused by deterioration of the gearbox. There is a need to develop a technique to provide accurate state indicator of gearbox under fluctuating load conditions. This paper presents an approach to gear fault diagnosis based on complex Morlet continuous wavelet transform under this condition. Gear motion residual signal, which represents the departure of time synchronously averaged signal from the average tooth-meshing vibration, is analyzed as source data due to its lower sensitiveness to the alternating load condition. A fault growth parameter based on the amplitude of wavelet transform is proposed to evaluate gear fault advancement quantitatively. We found that this parameter is insensitive to varying load and can correctly indicate early gear fault. For a comparison, the ...
The somatically significant dose index can be considered as a measure for the somatic radiation risk to which the population is exposed. Figures are stated for conventional tomography of the skull and thorax. These are compared with the corresponding data for other x-ray examinations, especially computerised tomography. PMID:7134769
To evaluate the role of chronic inflammation in the development of gallstones and biliary tract cancer, we examined the risk associated with 62 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including...Full Text Available
Geographic information systems (GIS) are being used with increasing frequency in environmental epidemiology studies. Reported applications include locating the study population by geocoding addresses...Full Text Available
BackgroundExisting studies concerning the health care use of homeless people describe higher utilisation rates for hospital-based care and emergency care, and lower rates for primary...Full Text Available
Demographic and health surveillance (DS) systems monitor and document individual and group-level processes in well-defined populations over long periods of time. The resulting data are complex...Full Text Available
Ecological investigations were made of habitats containing natural populations of the snail Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi and of habitats free from the snail in the island of Leyte,...Full Text Available
Recent reports confirm that, due to the presence of long-lived, latently infected cell populations, eradication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) from infected patients by using antiretroviral...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE--To assess the accuracy of the ten questions screen as a measure of childhood disability for epidemiologic studies in populations lacking resources for professional assessment of children's...Full Text Available
Ecological speciation is the process by which barriers to gene flow between populations evolve due to adaptive divergence via natural selection. A relatively unexplored area in ecological speciation...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe aim of the study was to examine the role that melatonin production plays in the regulation of sleep consolidation in a population of shiftworkers working and sleeping...Full Text Available
In a cross-sectional study of the pattern of isolated sleep paralysis among the entire population of nursing students at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Abeokuta, Nigeria (consisting of 58 males and...Full Text Available
BackgroundDuring the last ten years, major advances have been made in characterizing and understanding the evolution of mitochondrial DNA, the most popular marker of molecular biodiversity....Full Text Available
Chronic heart failure (HF) is a cardiovascular disease of cardinal importance because of several factors: a) an increasing occurrence due to the aging of the population, primary and secondary prevention...Full Text Available
Most of the general population is exposed to carbaryl and other contemporary-use insecticides at low levels. Studies of laboratory animals, in addition to limited human data, show an association between...Full Text Available
BackgroundCharacterizing infectious disease burden in Africa is important for prioritizing and targeting limited resources for curative and preventive services and monitoring the...Full Text Available
BackgroundEpidemiological studies have shown a J- or U-shaped relation between alcohol and type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD). The underlying mechanisms are not clear....Full Text Available
BackgroundThe link between maternal factors and birth outcomes is well established. Substantial changes in society and medical care over time have influenced women's reproductive...Full Text Available
Background. For unknown reasons, the prevalence of thyroid autoimmune disorders is higher in patients with Down's syndrome than in the general population. The present case strongly...Full Text Available
BackgroundPublic information about prevention of zoonoses should be based on the perceived problem by the public and should be adapted to regional circumstances. Growing fox populations...Full Text Available
High blood pressure (BP) is a major public health problem in India and its prevalence is rapidly increasing among urban and rural populations. Reducing systolic and diastolic BP can decrease cardiovascular...Full Text Available
Gonadal, adrenal, and thyroid hormones affect the brain directly, and the sensitivity to hormones begins in embryonic life with the appearance of hormone receptor sites in discrete populations of neurons....Full Text Available
Objectives: To determine the community based prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in the rural population of the district of Rahim Yaar Khan in Pakistan.Subjects...Full Text Available
Goals of workThe goal of this study was to evaluate, at a population level, the association between specialized palliative care services (SPCS) and short- and long-term caregiver...Full Text Available
BackgroundPrevention of Chagas disease depends mainly on control of the insect vectors that transmit infection. Unfortunately, the vectors have been resurgent in some areas. It is...Full Text Available
The somatically significant dose index can be considered as a measure for the somatic radiation risk to which the population is exposed. Figures are stated for conventional tomography of the skull and thorax. These are compared with the corresponding data for other X-ray examinations, especially computerised tomography.
The somatically significant dose index can be considered as a measure for the somatic radiation risk to which the population is exposed. Figures are stated for conventional tomography of the skull and thorax. These are compared with the corresponding data for other X-ray examinations, especially computerised tomography. (orig.).
Background:Smoking cessation is an important strategy for reducing the harmful effects of tobacco, particularly in the prevention of lung cancer; however, prospective data on the...Full Text Available
Dental caries continues to be a common chronic disease among various population groups. Patient care can be improved with detection at the earliest stage. However, current techniques do not...Full Text Available
BackgroundLarge population growth surveys of children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 y were undertaken in Hong Kong in 1963 and 1993. The global epidemic of obesity is a major public...Full Text Available
Project ZEUS was designed to characterize the effects of long-term gamma irradiation on free-ranging meadow voles, and to determine the lowest level of radiation at which biological effects are discernible in the population. Behavioural tests are consider...
Atypical antipsychotic medications have assumed growing importance for the treatment of bipolar disorder, an illness that affects approximately 1.2%–3.7% of the general population in a given...Full Text Available
PurposeNocturnal rhythms of gene expression in the retina are known to be both darkness- and circadian clock-dependent, but their role and cellular location are not well defined....Full Text Available
Background:Parity has been linked to gallbladder cancer and gallstones, but the effects of other reproductive factors are less clear.Methods:We examined...Full Text Available
Quality reporting tools, integrated with ambulatory electronic health records, can help clinicians and administrators understand performance, manage populations, and improve quality. Report Central...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE--The survey aimed at studying the associations between prevalent respiratory symptoms in an occupational population and sickness absence due to respiratory disorders. METHODS--A cross sectional...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE--To examine the effect of a reduced sodium and increased potassium and magnesium intake on blood pressure. DESIGN--Randomised double blind placebo controlled trial. SETTING--General population...Full Text Available
Several different neuronal populations are involved in regulating energy homeostasis. Among these, agouti-related protein (AgRP) neurons are thought to promote feeding and weight gain; however, the...Full Text Available
BackgroundQuality of Life measurements are necessary tools for effectively evaluating health services. In the population of patients afflicted with war-related blindness in Iran,...Full Text Available
A quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis designed for a multi-parent population was carried out and tested in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), which is a diploid cross-fertilising...Full Text Available
Testicular neoplasm accounts for about 1% of all cancers in men. Over the last 40 years, the incidence of testicular cancer has increased in northern European male populations for unknown reasons. When...Full Text Available
Forty species of anaerobes were screened for the ability to produce an ether-extractable mutagen which is present in the feces of 15 to 20% of individuals in populations at high risk for colon cancer....Full Text Available
A patient’s electronic medical record contains a large amount of unstructured textual information. As patient records become increasingly dense owing to an aging population and increased occurrence...Full Text Available
BackgroundMost maternal deaths in developing countries can be prevented. China is among the 13 countries with the most maternal deaths; however, there has been a marked decrease...Full Text Available
AimTo estimate the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment in the population aged 40 years and over in Muyuka, a rural district in the South West Province...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: Although the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in high-risk groups has been proven, vaccine coverage continues to be less than 50% in The Netherlands. To improve vaccination rates,...Full Text Available
Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of human malaria, invades host erythrocytes using several proteins on the surface of the invasive merozoite, which have been proposed...Full Text Available
Factors potentially contributing to the lower incidence of Lyme borreliosis (LB) in the far-western than in the northeastern United States include tick host-seeking behavior resulting in fewer human...Full Text Available
... being reported (Kisseberth et al., 1984; Ma, 1989; Shore and Douben, 1994). Small mammals are useful indicator species because they have relatively small home ranges allowing a direct tie to the source of ...
Orthologous positions of 55 genes associated with height in four human populations were located on the bovine genome. Single nucleotide polymorphisms close to eight of these genes were significantly...Full Text Available
ObjectiveTo evaluate the association of physical activity with left ventricular structure and function in the general population in a community setting.Full Text Available
The sequence in the first hypervariable segment (HVS-I) of the control region has been used as a source of evolutionary information in most phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA. Population genetic inference...Full Text Available
Amphibian populations are declining globally at an alarming rate. Pesticides are among a number of proposed causes for these declines. Although a sizable database examining effects of pesticides on...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVEModerately preterm infants (30–34 6/7 weeks’ gestational age) represent the largest population of NICU residents. Whether their clinical...Full Text Available
BackgroundSeasonal influenza A infection affects a significant cohort of the global population annually, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality. Therapeutic strategies...Full Text Available
Background. The Free Radical Theory of Aging mechanistically links oxidative stress to aging. Okinawa has among the world's longest-lived populations but oxidative stress in this...Full Text Available
BackgroundOral cancer is as prevalent as cervical and testicular cancer in the United Kingdom. Nursing staff provide the oral health care for the patient population in hospital....Full Text Available
Rapid changes in China over the past two decades have led to significant problems associated with population migration and changing social attitudes, including a growing sex industry and concurrent...Full Text Available
Marine ecosystems are suffering severe depletion of apex predators worldwide; shark declines are principally due to conservative life-histories and fisheries overexploitation. On coral reefs, sharks are strongly interacting apex predators and play a key role in maintaining healthy reef ecosystems. Despite increasing fishing pressure, reef shark catches are rarely subject to specific limits, with management approaches typically depending upon no-take marine reserves to maintain populations. Here, we reveal that this approach is failing by documenting an ongoing collapse in two of the most abundant reef shark species on the Great Barrier Reef (Australia). We find an order of magnitude fewer sharks on fished reefs compared to no-entry management zones that encompass only 1% of reefs. No-take zones, which are more difficult to enforce than no-entry zones, offer almost no protection for shark populations. Population viability ...
The evolution of drug resistant bacteria is a severe public health problem, both in hospitals and in the community. Currently, some countries aim at concentrating highly specialized services in large...Full Text Available
BackgroundIt is a priority to achieve an adequate nutritional status of iodine during pregnancy since iodine deficiency in this population may have repercussions on the mother during...Full Text Available
Listeria monocytogenes, isolated from outbreaks in either human or nonhuman primate populations, was administered orally at doses ranging from 106 to 1010 CFU....Full Text Available
Neurodegenerative and infectious disorders including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and stroke are rapidly increasing as population’s...Full Text Available
PurposeThe size of neuronal populations is modulated by gene variants that influence cell production and survival, in turn influencing neuronal connectivity, function,...Full Text Available
BackgroundRecent advances in the understanding of the maternal and paternal heritage of south and southwest Asian populations have highlighted their role in the colonization of Eurasia...Full Text Available
BackgroundIdentification of global livestock diversity hotspots and their importance in diversity maintenance is essential for making global conservation efforts. We screened 52...Full Text Available
Nutrient transport affinities of nutrient-starved microbial populations were measured as initial slopes of plots of limiting-nutrient transport rates versus extracellular limiting-nutrient concentrations....Full Text Available
BackgroundTwo planned trials of pre-exposure prophylaxis tenofovir in Cambodia and Cameroon to prevent HIV infection in high-risk populations were closed due to activist pressure...Full Text Available
Within the next 30 years, the proportion of urban dwellers will rise from under half to two thirds of the world’s population. Such a shift will entail massive public health consequences,...Full Text Available
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the leading cause of lower urinary tract symptoms among the aging male population. Epidemiological, pathophysiological and clinical studies indicate that...Full Text Available
IntroductionNormal and neoplastic breast tissues are comprised of heterogeneous populations of epithelial cells exhibiting various degrees of maturation and differentiation. While...Full Text Available
We have exploited ``progeny testing'' to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying the genetic variation of milk production in a selected dairy cattle population. A total of 1,518 sires, with progeny...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe complications of hypertension cause severe health problems in rural areas in China. We (i) screened the major factors inducing hypertensive complications and provided...Full Text Available
Dysregulation of the alternative pathway of complement activation, caused by mutations or polymorphisms in the genes encoding factor H, membrane co-factor protein, factor I or factor B, is associated...Full Text Available
The somatic sensory system responds to stimuli of distinct modalities, including touch, pain, itch, and temperature sensitivity. In the past century, great progress has been made in understanding the...Full Text Available
Kin form important political groups, which change in size and relative inequality with demographic shifts. Increases in the rate of population growth increase the size of kin groups but decrease their...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe maternally inherited, bacterial symbiont, parthenogenesis inducing (PI) Wolbachia, causes females in some haplodiploid insects to produce daughters...Full Text Available
Large population sizes, rapid growth and 3.8 billion years of evolution firmly establish microorganisms as a major source of the planet's biological and genetic diversity. However, up to 99% of the...Full Text Available
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are highly polymorphic components of the vertebrate immune system, which play a key role in pathogen resistance. MHC genes may also function as odour-related...Full Text Available
Populations of a common forage fish, red shiner Notropis lutrensis, were sampled from four localities on the Brazos River, Texas, affected by cold-water discharge from a hydroelectric dam and from unaltered sites in the same region. Polymorphism at the Mdh-B locus, encoding supernatant malate dehydrogenase, indicates that populations within 57 km of the dam are distinctive from other regional populations and possess a unique Mdh-B allele, have significantly higher levels of heterozygosity at the Mdh-B locus, represent a homogeneous set that have significantly different Mdh-B zygotic frequencies from other regional populations, and have significantly different Mdh-B zygotic proportions than would be expected under a Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Increased levels of heterozygosity in fish within 57 km of the dam were correlated with discharge-associated fluctuations in water temperature at sampling ...
A collaborative research effort by scientists in several states and in Canada has produced information to develop a formal risk assessment of the impact of Bt corn on monarch butterfly...Full Text Available
IntroductionPrevious observations suggest that active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) is associated with a prominent erythropoiesis gene-expression signature. The aim...Full Text Available
The Carassius auratus complex in natural populations includes diploid triploid and polyploidy individuals. Diploid individuals belong to the species Carassius auratus...Full Text Available
Epigenetic remodeling is a hallmark of cancer, with the frequent acquisition of de novo DNA methylation in CpG islands. However, the functional relevance of de novo...Full Text Available
... M. Taylor, T. Kurt Kyser. (2009) Feather isotope analysis discriminates age-classes of Western, Least, and Semipalmated sandpipers when plumage ... ...
Of 868 patients admitted with pancreatitis between 1971 and 1976, coexisting hyperbilirubinemia was noted in 125 (14%). The patient population was primarily composed of alcoholics (84%) with chronic...Full Text Available
BackgroundPopulation densities of many species throughout the world are changing due to direct persecution as well as anthropogenic habitat modification. These changes may induce...Full Text Available
Background:No recent data exist on human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in Beijing, People's Republic of China.Materials and methodWe interviewed...Full Text Available
We have developed a new strategy for immunization of wild rabbit populations against myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) that uses recombinant viruses based on a naturally attenuated field...Full Text Available
It is now widely accepted that novel infectious disease can be a leading cause of serious population decline and even outright extinction in some invertebrate and vertebrate groups (e.g., amphibians)....Full Text Available
Childhood cancer survivors often experience complications related to cancer and its treatment that may adversely affect quality of life and increase the risk of premature death. The purpose of this...Full Text Available
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ecologically important root symbionts of most terrestrial plants. Ecological studies of AMF have concentrated on differences between species; largely assuming...Full Text Available
Background and objectives: Few studies have examined health literacy in patients with end stage kidney disease. We hypothesized that inadequate health literacy in a hemodialysis population is common...Full Text Available
High rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among jail and prison inmates suggest that HIV prevention efforts should focus on incarcerated populations. Overcrowding, the high prevalence...Full Text Available
Every year nearly 200,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa), and another 29,000 men succumb to the disease. Within certain regions of the world population based...Full Text Available
A fundamental property of neuronal networks in Ammon’s horn is that each area is comprised of a single glutamatergic cell population and various types of GABAergic neurons. Here we describe...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe objective of the study was to analyse the evolution of Bordetella pertussis population and the influence of herd immunity in different areas of the...Full Text Available
With the advent of dense maps of human genetic variation, it is now possible to detect positive natural selection across the human genome. Here we report an analysis of over 3 million polymorphisms...Full Text Available
Giardiasis is recognized as a worldwide public health problem. Seroprevalence data from both the developing and developed world show high rates of carriage in populations at risk for fecal-oral transmission,...Full Text Available
Amphibian population declines and sudden species' extinctions began to be noted at the beginning of the 1980s. Understanding the causes of the losses is hampered by our poor knowledge of the amphibian...Full Text Available
Background and Aim: The purpose of this study was to establish for the first time reference curves for body fat levels in a Greek pediatric population aged 7-15y.Methods:...Full Text Available
The inflammatory and immune cell populations of the human lung parenchyma have not been characterized in detail. This report describes a novel and efficient procedure for their extraction. Histologically...Full Text Available
Forty-one Spanish families with polycystic kidney disease 1 (PKD1) were studied for evidence of linkage disequilibrium between the disease locus and six closely linked markers. Four of these loci--three...Full Text Available
There is increasing recognition of intraspecific diversity and population structure within marine fish species, yet there is little direct evidence of the isolating mechanisms that maintain it or documentation...Full Text Available
Quality research, requiring large numbers of participants, in the intensive care unit (ICU) population requires multicentre collaboration. Although logistically challenging, this methodology reduces...Full Text Available
In the period November 1, 1985 to January 31, 1986, 703 cases of giardiasis were reported in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (population 50,265). The community obtained its water from two main reservoirs...Full Text Available
AimsTo describe the pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic (PK–PD) characteristics of the direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran in hip replacement patients by assessing coagulation...Full Text Available
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection on production, reproduction and longevity in dairy cattle. The study population was a commercial Holstein...Full Text Available
Methyl fluoride is frequently used to specifically inhibit acetoclastic methanogenesis, thus allowing determination of the relative contribution of acetate versus H2/CO2 to total...Full Text Available
Dogs are domestic reservoir hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. We evaluated the effect of deltamethrin-treated dog collars (DTDCs) over time...Full Text Available
Analysis of gestation length in an obstetric population of indigenous African women revealed a mean pregnancy duration of 274.8 days, which is similar to values recorded in women of African descent...Full Text Available
BackgroundStudies from various countries have observed worse population health in geographical areas with more income inequality. The psychosocial interpretation of this association...Full Text Available
Data from 8,032 Manitoba respondents to the 1996/97 Canadian National Population Health Survey were linked to the 1996 census to study whether measures of morbidity, both self-reported and objectively...Full Text Available
BackgroundLittle is known about differences in professional care seeking based on marital status. The few existing studies show more professional care seeking among the divorced...Full Text Available
Many pathogens colonize different anatomical sites, but the selective pressures contributing to survival in the diverse niches are poorly understood. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is...Full Text Available
BackgroundDiet is considered an important factor for bone health, but is composed of a wide variety of foods containing complex combinations of nutrients. Therefore we investigated...Full Text Available
The association of dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) with cardiovascular diseases has been examined in several populations with varying results. We tested the hypothesis that...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVES: To assess the subjective quality of life (QOL) of family caregivers of Sudanese type-1 and type-2 diabetic outpatients, using the WHO 26-item QOL instrument, compared with a general population...Full Text Available
In rats, damage to neuronal populations in some brain regions occurs in response to neonatal alcohol exposure coinciding with the period of rapid brain growth. These alcohol-induced defects...Full Text Available
The primary mode of transmission of Helicobacter pylori, a human pathogen carried by more than half the population worldwide, is still unresolved. Some epidemiological data suggest...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:In view of increasing therapeutic efficacy, the delivery of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antiviral treatment is expected to increase. Yet practical experience reveals...Full Text Available
Will the aging of Canada's population bankrupt the health care system? In this issue (see pages 1555 to 1560) Dr. Marie Demers reports that the increase in physician service costs for elderly people...Full Text Available
Accurate prediction of the pathogenic effects of specific genotypes is important for the design and execution of clinical trials as well as for meaningful counseling of individual patients. However,...Full Text Available
ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to describe the levels of daily spiritual experiences in community-dwelling older adults, to compare levels of spiritual...Full Text Available
Cystic dysplasia of the rete testis (CDT) is a very rare congenital benign testicular tumor that is often associated with ipsilateral genitourinary anomalies. It is usually found in the pediatric population...Full Text Available
Determine the degree to which different precautionary themes are dominant in various target populations and how these themes are acquired. Assess cultural signals of potential danger: are there different kinds of potential danger in different cultures. Do...
BackgroundBreast-feeding rates in the UK are known to vary by maternal socio-economic status but the latter function is imperfectly defined. We test if CTVB (Council Tax Valuation...Full Text Available
Post amputation pain can be debilitating for patients and families. Chronic pain is a common phenomenon after lower extremity amputation, occurring in up to 80% of this population. The purpose of this...Full Text Available
BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia with a population prevalence of about 1%. Natriuretic peptide level is elevated in patients with AF with...Full Text Available
Parasite transmission generally exhibits some form of positive density dependence. Thus, as population density increases, so too does the per capita risk of becoming infected. Under...Full Text Available
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a leading cause of diarrhea in travelers to countries where the disease is endemic and causes a major disease burden in the indigenous population,...Full Text Available
ObjectiveFish consumption advisories are issued to warn the public of possible toxicological threats from consuming certain fish species. Although developing fetuses and children...Full Text Available
There is limited information about the true incidence of acute renal failure (ARF). Most studies could not quantify disease frequency in the general population as they are hospital-based and...Full Text Available
A cross sectional population based epidemiological survey of 899 adults aged between 15 and 59 was undertaken in two urban areas of demographic surveillance sites in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, using the...Full Text Available
In world Helminthes infections are the most widespread of all the infections in humans. The morbidity due to parasitic diseases has been increasing in our population. The gastrointestinal helminthes...Full Text Available
Calcium, vitamin D, exposure to sunshine, and vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotypes have been associated rectal cancer. We used data from 750 rectal tumors and 1,205 population-based...Full Text Available
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been identified in a number of solid tumors, but not yet in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most frequently occurring soft tissue tumor in childhood. Hence, the aim of this...Full Text Available
BackgroundLevels of brominated flame retardants are increasing in U.S. populations, yet little data are available on body burdens of these and other persistent hormonally-active...Full Text Available
Global hypomethylation has been shown to increase genome instability potentially leading to increased cancer risk. We determined whether global methylation in blood leukocyte DNA was associated...Full Text Available
The importance of algal and detrital food supplies to the planktonic food web of a highly disturbed, estuarine ecosystem was evaluated in response to declining zooplankton and fish populations. We assessed...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn 1988, the SPILI project was established in order to evaluate the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profile of the inhabitants of Spili, in rural Crete, Greece. The first...Full Text Available
BK virus (BKV) is a polyomavirus that ubiquitously infects the human population. Following a typically subclinical primary infection, BKV establishes a lifelong persistent infection in the kidney...Full Text Available
Baldwin County is located on the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama and has a rapidly growing population. Almost 3,000 permits for septic systems are approved annually by by the Baldwin County Health Department. More than 50% of the county's residents rely on septic systems for their d...
Objective: Determine and compare the prevalence of known risk factors for cardiovascular disease among unselected individuals presenting with their first ever episode of...Full Text Available
... hearing protection since you play, sit or stand near loud instruments and speakers. Here are a few ... piper's calling you to join him" Led Zeppelin (Robert Plant), "Stairway to Heaven" "My ears are ringin' ...
Teleost gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) consists of leucocyte populations located both intraepithelially and in the lamina propria with no structural organization. The present study aims to assess...Full Text Available
The different radiation loads caused by natural and artificial radionuclides are compared in this paper. This examples will serve to illustrate that the problem of population exposure to radiation can only be solved in consideration of all components and to show which effects of the radiation from natural sources are of special importance in this connexion. (orig./AK).
Many species introduced by humans for social and economic benefits have invaded new ranges by escaping from captivity. Such invasive species can negatively affect biodiversity and economies. Understanding...Full Text Available
The distribution and activity of communities of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and methanogenic archaea in two contrasting Antarctic sediments were investigated. Methanogenesis dominated in freshwater...Full Text Available
A goal of our research is to identify biochemical factors that underlie the susceptibility of bone marrow cell populations to benzene metabolites so as to develop a mechanistically based chemoprotective...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe goat (Capra hircus) represents one of the most important farm animal species. It is reared in all continents with an estimated world population of...Full Text Available
BackgroundTraumatic pneumothoraces are common. Many are managed with tube thoracostomy. However, there is a high complication rate from chest tube placement, particularly in patients...Full Text Available
IntroductionMale circumcision is being promoted for HIV prevention in high-risk heterosexual populations. However, there is a concern that circumcision may impair...Full Text Available
Besides ethanol, acetic acid is produced in naturally fermenting sweet resources and is a significant environmental stress for fruit-breeding Drosophila populations and species. Although not related...Full Text Available
BackgroundChronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease are major causes of morbidity and mortality that are seen far more commonly in the aged population. Interestingly, kidney...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn malarious areas of the world, a higher proportion of the population has blood group O than in non-malarious areas. This is probably due to a survival advantage conferred...Full Text Available
We describe the Phase II HapMap, which characterizes over 3.1 million human single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in 270 individuals from four geographically diverse populations and...Full Text Available
AIM: To examine the determinants of maternal-neonatal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV).METHODS: A nested case-control study was conducted in Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic...Full Text Available
A generalized Fisher equation (GFE) relates the time derivative of the average of the intrinsic rate of growth to its variance. The GFE is an exact mathematical result that has been widely used in population...Full Text Available
During the autumn of 1994 an investigation of foodstuffs has been accomplished to assess the average intake of {sup 137}Cs by the Swedish population due to the Chernobyl accident. A standardized food basket has been collected from two grocers in 10 localities, of which the majority came from areas with the highest fallout. The estimated maximum intake of {sup 137}Cs was 815 Bq/year in the inland of the county of Vaesterbotten. The population weighted average intake for the fallout affected counties was 435 Bq/year. The rest of the county received an intake of 235 Bq/year. The population weighted average of the intake for the whole county was estimated to 274 Bq/year. From this intake the calculated body burden would be 1.3 Bq/kg for the average citizen. Whole-body measurements of a sample of the population gave 2.0 Bq/kg. A plausible explanation would be that 40% of the intake of {sup 137}Cs can have ...
OBJECTIVES--This case cohort study examines whether there is an association between exposure to electric and magnetic fields and suicide in a population of 21,744 male electrical utility workers from...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between erectile dysfunction (ED) and the long-term risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and the role of age as a modifier of this association.PARTICIPANTS...Full Text Available
BackgroundInsurance coverage of tobacco cessation medications increases their use and reduces smoking prevalence in a population. However, uncertainty about the impact of this coverage...Full Text Available
Murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) is an important animal model of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a β-Herpesvirus that infects the majority of the world's population and causes disease in neonates...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVESTo examine the association between α-blocker use and sexual dysfunction among men participating in a population-based cohort of...Full Text Available
"The focus of this study was to examine the structural, social, and attitudinal factors that influence an individual?s decision to choose an IT career. The findings revealed many differences among male and female high school students? attitudes and intentions. Although many stereotypes existed among the male and female students, perceptions appeared to be similar within the population. For boys, computer and technical skills had a stronger association with attitudes toward IT than for girls. For girls, social issues showed a strong association with attitudes toward IT. Overall, the intention to pursue IT as a career was most likely to prevail within the population of the high school boys."
Microbial population and moisture content of traditional herbal medicines contaminated with 3 kinds of aerobic microbes, packed in 5 kinds of plastic packaging materials, followed by irradiation at minimum dose of 5 kGy and stored for 6 months were investigated. The highest reduction of microbial counts during storage was observed on samples packed in polyethylene bags. All of packaging materials used were found to be impermeable to microbes and water vapour. Radiation and packaging materials used acted synergistically to inactivate microbes durind storage. The microbial counts decreased as much as 2 to 4 log cycles during storage. (author).
The author describes the history of the Soviet Unions nuclear weapons testing in Siberia from the first bomb on 29th August 1949 until the test-ban treaty of 1963. The effects of the weapons testing on the local population is only now becoming widely known. Levels of cancers and cataracts are significantly higher than in uneffected populations, and there are also high levels of some lung, bone, skin and digestive conditions. Perhaps the most important information relates to cataracts, previously thought to be caused by single large bursts of radiation. Regulatory authorities worldwide will need to tighten the safety limits for eye radiation exposure to these findings. (U.K.).
The author describes the history of the Soviet Unions nuclear weapons testing in Siberia from the first bomb on 29th August 1949 until the test-ban treaty of 1963. The effects of the weapons testing on the local population is only now becoming widely known. Levels of cancers and cataracts are significantly higher than in uneffected populations, and there are also high levels of some lung, bone, skin and digestive conditions. Perhaps the most important information relates to cataracts, previously thought to be caused by single large bursts of radiation. Regulatory authorities worldwide will need to tighten the safety limits for eye radiation exposure to these findings. (U.K.).
Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained atrial arrhythmia and it is independently associated with an increased morbidity and mortality. As a result of the high prevalence of AF, the economic and clinical impact of the disease is substantial. This study describes the economic and clinical impact of AF in the Netherlands. Methods Epidemiological data on AF in the Netherlands were projected on population estimates of the Netherlands in 2009 and combined with data on the cost of AF and its interventions. Results Overall prevalence of AF in the Netherlands is 5.5% in the population over 55?years, corresponding to about 250,000 AF patients. The prevalence increases with age, and the mean age of AF patients is 69.3?years. Incidence of AF in the Netherlands varies with age...
A survey is presented of the consequences of the irradiation of the population with ionizing radiation. There is an increased incidence of leukemia in irradiated population groups. Among the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki maximum death of leukemia was observed in the years 1951 to 1952. The results are summed up of the observation of carcinoma of the breast, lungs and bronchi, bones, and carcinoma of the thyroid. The effect of radiation on experimental animals is described. It was found that the scatter of the dependence of the incidence of various types of cancer on the dose equivalent apparently reflects differences in the biological mechanism of this incidence and that a proportional relationship cannot be expected between the primary damage of cells during irradiation and the actual manifestation of the disease. (E.S.).
The role of natural enemies in the regulation of populations is one of the major questions facing population ecologists. Simplification have led to two theoretical ways of incorporating the role of natural enemies in single ecological models: diffusion models and patch-type models. The predictions of the models are different because of the way variability is incorporated. Three equations are presented for diffusion models and one for patch models. Since the two types of models apply at different combinations of spatial and temporal scales, the right model(s) to choose for a particular study requires careful assessment. A continuing dialogue between experimentalists and theoreticians will lead to a better understanding of natural systems such as those that occur in biological control.
The development of Callossobruchus chinensis (L.) in different packaging materials were conducted with gram and lentil seeds under control temperature. The highest population rise was recorded in laminated jute bags and the weight loss of gram increased with the increase of the number of insects. A doses of 0.1 kGy inhibit all metamorphic stages of the beetle. The use of appropriate packaging materials can reduce the risk of re infestation in the post-irradiated food items. 9 refs., 1 fig., 2 tables (author).
A database has been compiled on human dietary intakes of trace elements by populations groups living in various countries. The main sources of information used were (1) publications in the open scientific literature, and (2) data submitted to the IAEA in response to a questionnaire. The database contains 1,758 intake values covering 35 elements and 47 countries. In this report the data are listed in various ways to facilitate identification of intake values for any specified country, element and population group. 4 refs, 5 tabs.
The genetically and leukemia-significant doses (GSD and LSD) were calculated from the average gonad and bone marrow doses caused by the most frequently applied radiopharmaceuticals in Bulgaria in 1976. Because of the lack of information about the age groups of the patients examined assumptions have been made which led to estimated values of 0.97 mrad for GSD and 2.0 mrad for LSD which must be considered as the upper limit of the real GSD and LSD. The influence of the different radiopharmaceuticals on the average radiation exposure of the population is discussed. (author).
Abstract The white sea bream, Diplodus sargus (Teleostei, Sparidae), is a species with a high commercial importance in Mediterranean aquaculture. There is currently little information available about the genetic characteristics of cultured populations. In this survey, we have developed eight polymorphic microsatellites for the white sea bream using an enriched genome library protocol. All of them were polymorphic in the 67 individuals tested, 32 of which were wild specimens, and 35 were individuals from a captive F1 broodstock. These markers can potentially be useful tools for use in population genetic studies.
Microbial dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) often stops although a significant number of removable chlorines remain. To determine the reason for the cessation, we investigated the limitation of organic carbon, PCB bioavailability, and inhibition by metabolic products. Enrichment with carbon sources did not induce additional chlorination, indicating the plateau was not due to depletion of organic carbon. The bioavailability was not limiting, since a subcritical micelle concentration of the surfactant, which enhanced desorption without inhibiting dechlorinating microorganisms, failed to lower the plateau. Neither was it due to accumulation of metabolites, since no additional dechlorination was detected when plateau sediments were incubated with fresh medium. Similarly, dechlorination was not inhibited in freshly spiked sediment slurries. Dechlorination ended up at the same level with nearly identical congener profiles, regardless of treatment. These results indicate that ...
The population doses and risks of stochastic effects from occupational exposures in Japan in 1978 were estimated on the basis of a nation-wide survey. The survey was conducted on annual collective dose equivalents by sex, age group and type of radiation work for about 82,500 workers other than the workers in nuclear power stations. The data on the workers in nuclear power stations were obtained from the offitial publication of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission. The total number of workers except for nuclear power stations was estimated to be about 170,000 persons. Radiation works were subdivided as follows: medical works including dental; nondestructive inspectional; non-atomic energy industrial; research and educational; atomic energy industrial and nuclear power industrial. The annual collective dose equivalents were estimated to be about 6,000 man rem for medical workers, 450 man rem for non-destructive inspectional, 450 man rem for non-atomic energy ...
Collective dose equivalent and population dose from occupational exposures in Japan, 1988 were estimated on the basis of a nationwide survey. The survey was conducted on annual collective dose equivalents by sex, age group and type of radiation work for about 0.21 million workers except for the workers in nuclear power stations. The data on the workers in nuclear power stations were obtained from the official report of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission. The total number of workers including nuclear power stations was estimated to be about 0.26 million. Radiation works were subdivided as follows: medical works including dental; non-atomic energy industry; research and education; atomic energy industry and nuclear power station. For the determination of effective dose equivalent and population dose, organ or tissue doses were measured with a phantom experiment. The resultant doses were compared with the doses previously calculated using a chord ...
Collective dose equivalent and population dose from occupational exposures in Japan, 1988 were estimated on the basis of a nationwide survey. The survey was conducted on annual collective dose equivalents by sex, age group and type of radiation work for about 0.21 million workers except for the workers in nuclear power stations. The data on the workers in nuclear power stations were obtained from the official report of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission. The total number of workers including nuclear power stations was estimated to be about 0.26 million. Radiation works were subdivided as follows: medical works including dental; non-atomic energy industry; research and education; atomic energy industry and nuclear power station. For the determination of effective dose equivalent and population dose, organ or tissue doses were measured with a phantom experiment. The resultant doses were compared with the doses previously calculated using a chord ...
We have developed refined statistical and modeling techniques to assess low-level uptake and urinary excretion of plutonium from different population group in the northern Marshall Islands. Urinary excretion rates of plutonium from the resident population on Enewetak Atoll and from resettlement workers living on Rongelap Atoll range from <1 to 8 {micro}Bq per day and are well below action levels established under the latest Department regulation 10 CFR 835 in the United States for in vitro bioassay monitoring of {sup 239}Pu. However, our statistical analyses show that urinary excretion of plutonium-239 ({sup 239}Pu) from both cohort groups is significantly positively associated with volunteer age, especially for the resident population living on Enewetak Atoll. Urinary excretion of {sup 239}Pu from the Enewetak cohort was also found to be positively associated with estimates of cumulative exposure to worldwide ...
In the case of a serious accident and as a precautionary measure, several protection actions can be implemented by the prefect during the emergency phase. In France the levels of intervention are given by a ministerial decree of the 13. october 2003, resuming recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The selected values are: an efficient dose of 10 mSv for the stake under cover and in the listening: the concerned persons have to put under cover in a building, any openings carefully closed and stay in the listening of the orders of the prefect; an efficient dose of 50 mSv for evacuation; an efficient dose to the thyroid of 100 mSv for the taking of stable iodine tablets. In order to help the authorities to choose between the keeping of populations at their place or immediate evacuation the decision criteria are: if the forecasted efficient dose of the first month is under 1 mSv, the populations stay in place; if the forecasted ...
Background: Anxiety disorders are known to be common in the general population. Previous studies with adults with intellectual disabilities (IDs) report a prevalence of general anxiety disorder ranging from less than 2% to 17.4%. Little is known about associated factors in this population. This study investigates point prevalence of anxiety disorders and determines the factors independently associated with them. Methods: Information was collected with 1023 adults with IDs who participated in a large-scale, population-based study. All had a comprehensive physical and mental health assessment. The point prevalence of anxiety disorders according to different diagnostic criteria was determined, as were independently associated factors by using logistic regression analysis. Results: Three point eight per cent (95% CI = 2.7-5.2%) of the cohort had an anxiety disorder at the time of assessment. Generalised anxiety disorder was the ...
During outbreaks, Microdiprion pallipes (Fall.) is the most destructive of the pine sawflies in Sweden. Its distribution includes most provinces, but damaging outbreaks have until recently occurred only in two inland areas in northern Sweden. These areas are characterised by high elevation, a harsh climate, and slow tree growth. The four recorded outbreak periods showed a 10 year periodicity. Outside these areas, a lesser outbreak occurred in 1988 to 1990, on the east coast (province of Uppland). Outbreak patterns, life history variation, and mortality factors were studied. Factors that may explain the distribution of outbreaks and the population patterns were identified.Experimental and observational evidence on the potential of various factors to influence fecundity, dispersal, and survival was evaluated. In the outbreak areas, there were few major population factors. Parasitism by Rhorus substitutor (Thunb.) was the largest cause of larval ...
The most important factor in assessing radiologic risk is ensuring scientific means for evaluation of the radioactive release impact upon humans and organisms. To evaluate quantitatively this impact not only knowledge of radioactivity distribution in these dynamical systems is necessary but also understanding the transfer mechanisms between ecosystem components is needed. Thus a complete radioecologic study appear to be very complex and needs defining the source term, dynamic description of radionuclides behavior in the ecosystem, estimation of radiation doses in the major components of the ecosystem and finally the effects of radiation doses upon different parts of the systems. A diagram of the steps implied in evaluation of the effects due to radioactive effluent release in the environment is presented and discussed. The following steps are described: - identification of radioactive sources, as well as their input rate. Presence of noxious materials such as heavy metals or some ...
Boxy and peanut-shaped bulges are seen in about half of edge-on disc galaxies. Comparisons of the photometry and major-axis gas and stellar kinematics of these bulges to simulations of bar formation and evolution indicate that they are bars viewed in projection. If the properties of boxy bulges can be entirely explained by assuming they are bars, then this may imply that their hosts are pure disc galaxies with no classical bulge. A handful of these bulges, including that of the Milky Way, have been observed to rotate cylindrically, i.e. with a mean stellar velocity independent of height above the disc. In order to assess whether such behaviour is ubiquitous in boxy bulges, and whether a pure disc interpretation is consistent with their stellar populations, we have analysed the stellar kinematics and populations of the boxy or peanut-shaped bulges in a sample of five edge-on galaxies. We placed slits along the major axis of each galaxy and at ...
We study the stellar and dust properties of a well-defined sample of local elliptical galaxies to investigate the relationship between host galaxy properties and nuclear activity. We select a complete sample of 45 ellipticals from the Palomar spectroscopic survey of nearby galaxies, which includes 20 low-luminosity active galactic nuclei classified as LINERs and 25 inactive galaxies. Using a stellar population synthesis method, we compare the derived stellar population properties of the LINER versus the inactive subsamples. We also study the dust and stellar surface brightness distributions of the central regions of these galaxies using high-resolution images obtained with the {\\it Hubble Space Telescope}. Relative to the inactive subsample, ellipticals hosting LINERs share similar total optical and near-infrared luminosity, central stellar velocity dispersions, and nuclear stellar populations as judged from their ...
(abridged) We present a study of stellar population of LAEs at z=4.86 in GOODS-N and its flanking field. With the publicly available IRAC data in GOODS-N and further IRAC observations in the flanking fields, we select five LAEs which are not contaminated by neighboring objects in IRAC images and construct their observed SEDs with I_c, z', IRAC 3.6micron, and 4.5micron band photometry. The SEDs cover the rest-frame UV to optical wavelengths. We derive stellar masses, ages, color excesses, and star formation rates of five LAEs using SED fitting method. Assuming the constant star formation history, we find that the stellar masses range from 10^8 to $10^{10} Msun with the median value of 2.5x10^9 Msun. The derived ages range from very young ages (7.4 Myr) to 437 Myr with a median age of 25 Myr. The color excess E(B-V) are between 0.1-0.4 mag. Star formation rates are 55-209 Msun/yr. A comparison of the stellar populations is made between three LAEs ...
The hazards of smoking in relation to lung cancer can never be over emphasized. In recent times shortly after Ebonyi State was created in 1996, the capital territory has increasingly been polluted by either quarry operators, motorcycle (Okada) riders or reckless cigarette smokers and bush burning. To investigate the havoc caused by all these on people, questionnaire was distributed among smokers and non smokers in various areas of specialization and habitations. In measuring the significance of association and the degree of association, a chi2 test and odds ratio method of analysis was employed. The result of the analysis showed that non-smokers do suffer lung cancer. It also revealed that the chances of a smoker to have lung cancer is 1.765 times higher than that of a non-smoker. Analysis also showed that lung cancer depends on age of smokers. It was later discovered that middle aged population are mostly affected, by the reason of chi2 partitioning. This research ...
An attempt to determine lysozyme hydration by employing a proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin-echo technique and to correlated such measurements with the 20 "0C sorption equilibrium data is made. Determinations of specific site hydration for lysozyme, as well as proton NMR transverse relaxation rates for five different types of water populations in the lysozyme-water system, are presented over the whole range of lysozyme concentrations. The proton spin-echo NMR results are consistent with a three-component analysis of the sorption isotherm up to 70% water content, above which two additional water populations are identified by 360-MHz proton NMR spin-echoes. On the basis of the proton NMR results, a major component (III) of the lysozyme sorption isotherm is assigned to the water trapped between lysozyem molecules, whose relaxation rate is increased by diffusion barriers. The trapped water population dominates the ...
For a long time, signal processing applications, and most particularly detection and parameter estimation methods, have relied on the limiting behaviour of test statistics and estimators, as the number n of observations of a population grows large comparatively to the population size N, i.e. n>>N. Modern technological and societal advances now demand the study of sometimes extremely large populations, while simultaneously requiring fast signal processing due to accelerated system dynamics; this results in not-so-large practical ratios n/N, sometimes even smaller than one. A disruptive change in classical signal processing methods has therefore been initiated in the past ten years, mostly spurred by the field of large dimensional random matrix theory. The early literature in random matrix theory for signal processing applications is however scarce and highly technical. This tutorial proposes an accessible ...
The principal paradigm for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) suggests that the prompt transient gamma-ray signal arises from multiple shocks internal to the relativistic expansion. This paper explores how GRB prompt emission spectra can constrain electron (or ion) acceleration properties at the relativistic shocks that pertain to GRB models. The array of possible high-energy power-law indices in accelerated populations is highlighted, focusing on how spectra above 1 MeV can probe the field obliquity in GRB internal shocks, and the character of hydromagnetic turbulence in their environs. When encompassing the MeV-band spectral break, fits to BATSE/EGRET burst data indicate that the preponderance of electrons responsible for the prompt emission reside in an intrinsically non-thermal population. This differs markedly from typical populations generated in acceleration simulations; potential resolutions of this conflict such as the action ...
The release of any potential radioactive pollutant to the environment during routine operation of a Nuclear Power Plant should be the subject of appropriate controls and assessments. It is impossible to monitor directly the dose contribution of normal releases because the environmental radioactivity levels are very small but source monitoring provides a means of assessing the radiation exposure of population groups, critical groups and individual members of the public. Derived emissions limits ( DELs ) are used to quantify the relationship between releases of radioactivity and doses to public - critical groups. CNE Cernavoda DELs are based on a pathway analysis conducted for Cernavoda site specific conditions and they were computed using a compartment transfer model. Annual air and water emissions for the most significant radionuclides between 1997 and 2008 are presented in terms of doses and can be observed that population doses are far below ...
We present new results from BRAVA, a large-scale radial velocity survey of the Galactic bulge, using M giant stars selected from the Two Micron All Sky Survey catalog as targets for the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 4 m Hydra multi-object spectrograph. The purpose of this survey is to construct a new generation of self-consistent bar models that conform to these observations. We report the dynamics for fields at the edge of the Galactic bulge at latitudes b = -8 deg. and compare to the dynamics at b = -4 deg. We find that the rotation curve V(r) is the same at b = -8 deg. as at b = -4 deg. That is, the Galactic boxy bulge rotates cylindrically, as do boxy bulges of other galaxies. The summed line-of-sight velocity distribution at b = -8 deg. is Gaussian, and the binned longitude-velocity plot shows no evidence for either a (disk) population with cold dynamics or for a (classical bulge) population with hot dynamics. The observed ...
Men who have sex with men (MSM) have become one of the populations with severely HIV prevalence in China. However, very few genetic studies have been done on HIV-1 spreading in this population. In this study, the genetic characterization of HIV-1 strains prevalent in the MSM in Shijiazhuang, China, was analyzed basing on the HIV-1 full-length gag, pol, and partial env gene. 21 drug-naive HIV-1 sero-positive patients were enrolled into the study. Full length gag, pol, partial env genes and some near full length genomes were amplified with nest RT-PCR followed by sequencing. Multiple subtypes, including CRF01_AE (52.9%), subtype B (35.3%) and CRF07_BC (11.8%), were found in the population. Phylogenetic analysis showed close relationship between our strains with those from Beijing MSM but not...
Glycosaminoglycan synthesis by two subpopulations of a mouse mammary tumor cell line was compared. The two sublines express distinctly different growth characteristics in vitro and in vivo which indicate differences in growth regulation. Newly made glycosaminoglycans were recovered from the culture media, the cell surfaces, and residual cellular material. The cell population which grows more aggressively in vivo (+SA subline, a subline that grows in soft agarose) incorporated about 8 times more (/sup 14/C)glucosamine per cell into total glycosaminoglycans than did the slower-growing population (-SA subline, which does not grow in soft agarose). Appropriate control experiments indicated that the apparent difference in rates of synthesis was not due to discrepancies in glucosamine uptake. The main residual cellular molecule labeled was heparan sulfate, but the predominant molecule at the cell surface and in the culture fluid was hyaluronic acid. ...
In this 150-day study, chicken manure, kenaf, and white rot fungus were added to soil microcosms in an attempt to enhance the degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls. The soil was contaminated with commercial PCB mixtures. Dishes were ammended with 5% dry weight chicken manure, 1% dry weight kenaf, and 1% dry weight kenaf plus Phanerochaete chrysosporium inoculant. PCB concentrations were determined at 30 day intervals by soxhlet extraction and gas chromatography analyses. Preliminary results of microbial populations and PCB degradation are presented. At 90 days, the microcosms amended with chicken manure had significantly higher populations of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. However, at 120 days, these soils underwent great reductions in actinomycete and bacterial populations. Through 60 days, the concentration of the PCBs Aroclor 1242 and 1248 had its greatest reduction in the kenaf amended soils. The concentration ...
Population doses from diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radiopharmaceuticals have been estimated on the basis of a nation wide survey data on the number of investigations and treatments used radiopharmaceuticals in the nuclear medicine and the annual amount of their activities. The gonad and marrow doses were calculated from published biokinetics data from humans, employing the MIRD method. The resultant annual genetically significant dose from diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radiopharmaceuticals was 0.36 and 0.02 mrad (3.6 and 0.2 #mu#Gy) per person, respectively, with a total 0.38 mrad (3.8 #mu#Gy) per person. The annual per Caput mean bone marrow dose was 2.3 mrad (23 #mu#Gy) for diagnosis and 0.2 mrad (2 #mu#Gy), for therapy. The resultant annual leukemia significant dose was 1.8 mrad (18 #mu#Gy) per person for diagnostic uses and 0.2 mrad (2 #mu#Gy) per person for therapeutic use, with a total of 2.0 mrad (20 #mu#Gy) per person. These ...
Live cores were obtained from five reservoirs using special precautions to prevent contamination by exogenous microorganisms and minimize exposure to oxygen. The depths from which the cores were obtained ranged from 2,705 ft to 6,568 ft. Core plugs were cut radially from live cores, encased in heat-shrink plastic tubes, placed in core holders, and fitted with inlets and outlets. Nutrient additions stimulated the in-situ microbial population to increase, dissolve stratal material, produce gases, and release oil. Reduction in flow through the core plugs was observed in some cases, while in other cases flow was increased, probably due to the dissolution of carbonates in the formation. A field demonstration of the ability of the in-situ microbial population to increase oil recovery by blocking the more permeable zones of the reservoir is currently underway. This demonstration is being conducted in the North Blowhorn Creek Unit situated in Lamar ...
Containing an epidemic at its origin is the most desirable mitigation. Epidemics have often originated in rural areas, with rural communities among the first affected. Disease dynamics in rural regions have received limited attention, and results of general studies cannot be directly applied since population densities and human mobility factors are very different in rural regions from those in cities. We create a network model of a rural community in Kansas, USA, by collecting data on the contact patterns and computing rates of contact among a sampled population. We model the impact of different mitigation strategies detecting closely connected groups of people and frequently visited locations. Within those groups and locations, we compare the effectiveness of random and targeted vaccinations using a Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered compartmental model on the contact network. Our simulations show that the targeted vaccinations of only 10% ...
With the recent advance of the utilization of nuclear energy in a large scale, social interest is being focussed in the potential risk which the nuclear technology will accompany. Especially after the accidents in Chernobyl and other nuclear facilities, serious anxiety to the utilization of nuclear energy is prevailing among the general public. In order to meet the anxiety and distrust of the population in the use of the nuclear power, the health effect or risk which radioactive materials released into the environment will bring about should be comprehensively and properly evaluated, and then should be widely reported to the population. The development of HESANS code system (Health and Environmental Safety Assessment Network System) was planned to set up such a comprehensive computer code that covers a whole pathway of radioactive material from its release to estimates of derived health effects in the population, including ...
Blomqvist M, Ahadi S, Fernell E, Ek U, Dahllf G. Dental caries in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a population-based follow-up study. Eur J Oral Sci 2011; 119: 381-385. 2011 Eur J Oral Sci This study tested the hypothesis that adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit a higher prevalence of caries than adolescents in a control group. Thirty-two adolescents with ADHD and a control group of 55 adolescents from a population-based sample, all 17-yr of age, underwent a clinical and radiographic dental examination. The mean--SD number of decayed surfaces (DS) was 2.0--2.2 in adolescents with ADHD and 0.9--1.4 in adolescents of the control group. Thirty-one per cent of the adolescents in the ADHD group had no new caries lesions (DS-=-0) co...
Naturally occurring radionuclides in building materials are a source of external and interal radiation exposure to essentially the entire US population. Although detailed data are not available, estimates are that the average contribution from such sources to the external dose equilvaent rate in brick and masonry houses is about 5 to 10 mrem/year. For critical population groups, values reported in the literature for the contribution from such sources range up to a hundred mrem/year or more. Dose equivalent rates to the lungs are even higher and, for abnormal situations, it would appear that control measures, either on a voluntary or mandatory (legislative) basis should be considered. Such measures include: (1) material substitution; (2) improved manufacturing standards; (3) changes in basic building designs; (4) application of surface sealants; and (5) increased ventilation accompanied by processes for the adsorption and/or filtration of ...
The role of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i) on hematopoiesis was investigated in long term bone marrow cultures using cytokines and agonists of P2 receptors. Cytokines interleukin 3 and granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulator factor promoted a modest increase in Ca2+i concentration ([Ca2+]i) with activation of phospholipase Cgamma, MEK1/2, and Ca2+/calmodulin kinase II. Involvement of protein kinase C was restricted to stimulation with interleukin 3. In addition, these cytokines promoted proliferation (20 times) and an increase in the Gr-1(-)Mac-1+ population with participation of gap junctions (GJ). Nevertheless ATP, ADP, and UTP promoted a large increase in [Ca2+]i, moderate proliferation (6 times), a reduction in the primitive Gr-1(-)Mac-1(-)c-Kit+ population, and differentiation into macrophages without participation of GJ. It is likely that Ca2+i participates as a regulator of hematopoietic signaling: moderate increases in [Ca2+]i would be ...
The program package COSYMA for assessing the radiological and economic consequences of nuclear accidents, developed with the support of the European Commission, was applied to investigate the health effects and risks from accidental releases of radioactive material from the Daya Bay nuclear power plant. Population distribution data in the range of 80 km around the site and hourly meteorological data for the year 1985 representative of accident consequence analysis were used. The results showed that early effects are more important at distances closer to the site, while the number of fatal cancers is closely related to the population density and the late effects are still important at distances larger than 50 km from the site. The mean annual expected values for early mortality and late mortality estimated for the population within a circle of 80 km around the Daya Bay nuclear power plant are 4.5x10"-"3 and 0.1 yr"-"1, ...
A technique has been developed to estimate the percent population having electric power access based on the presence of satellite detected nighttime lighting. A global survey was conducted for the year 2006 using nighttime lights collected by the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) in combination with the U.S. Department of Energy Landscan population dataset. The survey includes results for 229 countries and more than 2000 subnational units. The results are compared to reported electrification rates for 87 countries compiled from a variety of sources by the International Energy Agency. The DMSP derived estimate of number of people worldwide who lack access to electricity is 1.62 billion, only slightly larger than the 1.58 billion estimated by the International Energy Agency.
This paper reports that at present geothermal energy is utilized in the USSR mostly for district heating, and for industrial and agricultural purposes. The populations of 7 towns have district heating that is supplied by thermal waters. The population supplied totals about 125,000 people. The total area of greenhouses is 850,000 m"2. Electric energy generated at geothermal power stations still remains negligible with the installed capacity of the single Pauzhetka station (Kamchatka) being 11 MW. another station at Mutnovka is currently under construction and is expected to be producing 50 MW by 1992 and 200 MW by 1998. The proven geothermal resources in the USSR provide hope for a significant increase in the utilization of the earth's deep heat in the near future.
Energy in general is essential for economic and social development, prosperity, health and security of citizens. of the other hand, world population over the last 10 years has increased by more than 12%, and now it is exactly about 6.4 billion people and it means more demand for energy. Meanwhile, global primary energy consumption has seen an increase of 20%. Energy supply has some sources and unfortunately most of them have impact on life cycle in biosphere. However, the developed countries, that are only 16% in the population in 2000, consume the energy of 80%. This article deals with the threat of global climate change and its implications throughout the world.
Abstract We address the fundamental question of matching the rest-frame K-band luminosity function (LF) of galaxies over the Hubble time using semi-analytic models after modification of the stellar population modelling. We include the Maraston evolutionary synthesis models, which feature a higher contribution by the thermally pulsating asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stellar phase, into three different semi-analytic models, namely the De Lucia and Blaizot version of the Munich model, morgana and the Menci model. We leave all other input physics and parameters unchanged. We find that the modification of the stellar population emission can solve the mismatch between models and the observed rest-frame K-band luminosity from the brightest galaxies derived from UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey d...
Home economics is a dynamic field that imparts knowledge intended to help people adapt to their environment by making effective use of human and material resources. Hence, the profession values global concerns for the environment, human rights, health, and well-being. In Nigeria, home economics teachers must also consider the role they play in programs such as family life education, poverty alleviation, and universal basic education. In particular, home economics is one of the subjects through which core messages of the country's Population and Family Life Education program are to be integrated at the secondary school level. In this article, the author discusses the outcomes of this program and provides recommendations for teachers teaching this subject. (Contains 1 table and 1 resource.)
The long-term health consequences of war service remain unclear, despite burgeoning scientific interest. A longitudinal cohort study of a random sample of Australian Vietnam veterans was designed to assess veterans' postwar physical and mental health 36 years after the war (2005-2006) and to examine its relation to Army service, combat, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) assessed 14 years previously (1990-1993). Prevalences in veterans (n = 450) were compared with those in the Australian general population. Veterans' Army service and data from the first assessments were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression prediction modeling. Veterans' general health and some health risk factors were poorer and medical consultation rates were higher than Australian population expectatio...
Abstract An increase in chronic disease prevalence is contributing to health care cost growth and decreased quality of life in industrialized nations worldwide. Inadequate management of chronic diseases is a leading cause of hospitalizations and, thus, avoidable expenditures. In this study, we evaluated the impact of nurse-delivered care calls, the primary intervention of a proactive chronic care management (CCM) program, in a population aged 65 and older in Germany. In this analysis, hospital admission rates were evaluated among program enrollees who were diagnosed with diabetes, heart failure, coronary heart disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Intervention group comprised those members who participated in care calls (n?=?13,486), whereas the Comparison group included e...
Study Design Best evidence synthesis. Objective To undertake a best evidence synthesis of the published evidence on the burden and determinants of neck pain and its associated disorders in the general population. Summary of Background Data The evidence on burden and determinants of neck has not previously been summarized. Methods The Bone and Joint Decade 2000?2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders performed a systematic search and critical review of literature published between 1980 and 2006 to assemble the best evidence on neck pain. Studies meeting criteria for scientific validity were included in a best evidence synthesis. Results We identified 469 studies on burden and determinants of neck pain, and judged 249 to be scientifically admissible; 101 articles related to...
Most heat shock proteins (Hsps) function as molecular chaperones that help organisms to cope with stress. Although the best empirical evidence is related to heat shock, there is evidence that Hsps and their encoding genes are involved in resistance to other ecologically relevant types of stresses such as those imposed by high population density. We quantified density-dependent gene expression of large (i.e. Hsp40, Hsc70 and Hsp90) and small (Hsp20.5, Hsp20.6 and Hsp20.7) heat shock genes in neural tissue of fifth-instar nymphs of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera, using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Locusts are of particular interest when studying the influence of stress induced by high population density since they show an extreme form of phenotypic plastici...
Abstract Mitochondrial ribosomal gene sequences were used to investigate the status of several populations of hydromedusae belonging to the genus Turritopsis (family Oceaniidae). Several nominal species have been described for this genus, but most of them had been synonymized and attributed to one cosmopolitan species, Turritopsis nutricula. A recent revision based on morphological and reproductive characters, however, has shown that many different populations can be distinguished and that several of the nominal Turritopsis species are likely valid biological species. Our investigation using molecular sequence data of 16S mitochondrial gene confirms these results. The Mediterranean Turritopsis must be attributed to Turritopsis dohrnii and the Turritopsis of New Zealand must be referred to ...
Summary 1. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, bison Bison bison and elk Cervus canadensis nelsoni act as hosts for Brucella abortus. The presence of B. abortus within wildlife populations is an important conservation issue because of the risk of brucellosis transmission from wildlife to cattle. 2. We investigated conditions facilitating contact between bison (40-60% seroprevalence) and elk on a shared winter range in the Madison headwaters area of Yellowstone National Park. We evaluated the effects of snow pack, season, elk and bison population sizes, and wolf Canis lupus predation risk on the degree of spatial overlap between bison and elk from 1991 to 2006. 3. Sixty-eight per cent of 10 093 independent elk observations occurred within the known bison wintering range, 29% occurred with...
Abstract Iodine concentrates in gastric tissue and may act as an antioxidant for the stomach. We previously showed that self-reported goiter was associated with significantly increased risk of gastric noncardia adenocarcinoma (GNCA) and nonsignificantly increased risks of gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in a prospective case-cohort study in a high-risk population in China. Negatively correlated with iodine levels, serum thyroglobulin (Tg) is a more sensitive biomarker of iodine deficiency than goiter. Our study aimed to determine whether baseline serum Tg was also associated with development of GNCA, GCA and ESCC in the same cohort, the Linxian General Population Nutrition Intervention Trial. Sera from -200 subjects of each case type and 40...
Background: This study investigates the psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) in the general population of Hong Kong. Methods: Random sampling was used to recruit 6028 participants aged 15years or over. Among them, 203 were surveyed twice within a two-week period. Participants completed the Chinese version of the PHQ-9 (including 2 items of the PHQ-2), the Chinese Health Questionnaire, the Happiness Scale, the SF-12, and questions about diagnosis and health service utilization. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct and discriminant validity of the PHQ-2 were assessed. Results: Cronbach's a was 0.76. The test-retest reliability over two weeks calculated by intraclass correlation was 0.70. Spearman correlation results showed that the PHQ-2 s...
Immune function is critical in health and disease. The control and regulation of immune reactions is an area of intense investigation that has important implications for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Immune reactions are regulated in a number of important ways. Compartmentalization of immune responses and the production of both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines play a major role. More recently several populations of T cells that regulate immune responses termed regulatory T cells have been identified. This manuscript will focus on CD4^+CD25^+FoxP3^+ natural regulatory T cells (T"r"e"g) and @a@bTCR^+CD4^+NK1.1^+ natural killer T (NK-T) cells which both suppress graft vs host disease but appear to function by distinct mechanisms.
HCV infection continues to spread at an alarming rate among IDU populations. The available evidence suggests that HCV is acquired relatively quickly following onset of injection. However, there are few prospective studies of HCV acquisition, particularly among IDU populations in resource-poor settings. A sample of young male heroin injectors with recent onset of injection (<4?years) was recruited in Hanoi, Vietnam for a prospective assessment of the early course of injection (n?=?179). Both behavioral and biological assessments (including detailed retrospective assessment of injection initiation) were conducted at baseline and repeated at 6-month intervals for a period of 16?months. Variables associated with HCV infection (p value?p value?=?0.0005). In multivariate logistic regression anal...
As a consequence of the close integration of cattle into the food chain of humans, forensically relevant cases involving cattle (Bos taurus) DNA analysis are common. However, scientific publications reporting the information content of the commonly used bovine short tandem repeat (STR) loci remains scarce. Population studies were performed for 16 polymorphic STR loci (BM1818, BM1824, BM2113, CSRM60, CSSM66, ETH3, ETH10, ETH225, HAUT27, ILSTS006, INRA023, SPS115, TGLA53, TGLA122, TGLA126, and TGLA227) including 4,162 randomly selected cattle representing 20 distinct breeds. The power of parental exclusion, expected and observed heterozygosity, probability of identity, and non-amplifying (?null?) allele frequencies were calculated. Major differences existed in the information content between...
We model coral community response to bleaching and mass mortality events which are predicted to increase in frequency with climate change. The model was parameterized for the Arabian/Persian Gulf, but is generally applicable. We assume three species groups (Acropora, faviids, and Porites) in two life-stages each where the juveniles are in competition but the adults can enter a size-refuge in which they cannot be competitively displaced. An aggressive group (Acropora species) dominates at equilibrium, which is not reached due to mass mortality events that primarily disadvantage this group (compensatory mortality, >90% versus 25% in faviids and Porites) roughly every 15 years. Population parameters (N individuals, carrying capacity) were calculated from satellite imagery and in situ transect...
Microreserves may be useful in protecting native arthropod diversity in urbanized landscapes. However, species that do not disperse through the urban matrix may eventually be lost from these fragments. Population extinctions may be precipitated by an increase in genetic differentiation among fragments and loss of genetic diversity within fragments, and these effects should become stronger with time. We analyzed population genetic structure in the dispersal limited Jerusalem cricket Stenopelmatus n. sp. ?santa monica?? in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills north of Los Angeles, California (CA), to determine the impacts of fragmentation over the past 70 years. MtDNA divergence was greater among urban fragments than within contiguous habitat and was positively correlated with fragment ...
During helium beam fuelling experiments in JET, distinctive anisotropic features have been observed in the velocity distribution function describing both fast and thermal alpha particle populations. During the initial fuelling phase the central helium ion temperature observed perpendicular to the magnetic field is higher than the central electron temperature, while the central helium ion temperature observed parallel to the magnetic field is lower than or equal to the central electron temperature. In order to verify temperature measurements of both perpendicular and parallel lines of sight, other independent methods of deducing the ion temperature are investigated: deuterium ion temperature, deuterium density, comparison with neutron rates and profiles (influence of a possible metastable population of helium). 6 refs., 7 figs.
Culture-independent microbiological technologies that interrogate complex microbial populations without prior axenic culture, coupled with high-throughput DNA sequencing, have revolutionized the scale, speed and economics of microbial ecological studies. Their application to the medical realm has led to a highly productive merger of clinical, experimental and environmental microbiology. The functional roles played by members of the human microbiota are being actively explored through experimental manipulation of animal model systems and studies of human populations. In concert, these studies have appreciably expanded our understanding of the composition and dynamics of human-associated microbial communities (microbiota). Of note, several human diseases have been linked to alterations in th...
The United States deployed 118 military working dogs (MWDs) to the Persian Gulf theater during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This study is a retrospective descriptive study of medical records of these deployed dogs, with the objective to determine whether there were infectious or parasitic diseases with a zoonotic potential in a sentinel population of MWDs that may be of concern to Persian Gulf veterans. Fifty-one percent of visits to veterinary treatment facilities during deployment were for illness or injury. Potential zoonotic conditions accounted for 21% of the total visits, 41% of the "sick-call" visits, and 63% of presentations for illness to veterinary treatment facilities. This study did not determine whether the diseases treated were transmitted between MWDs and the troops. Although the etiologic agents were not determined in these cases, no evidence was found supporting new or reemerging illnesses in this population of ...
The heat-shock gene, Hsp90, was targeted as a new variable genomic region to supplement other DNA-based tests for identification and discrimination of Globodera pallida, G. rostochiensis and G. tabacum tabacum. Populations of the potato cyst nematodes, G. pallida and G. rostochiensis (PCN), originating from Canada, France, Belgium and USA, together with two populations of G. tabacum tabacum from the USA and France were used for the amplification of a fragment of the Hsp90 gene. General and specific primers and probes for each species were derived from the consensus and non-consensus regions of the aligned sequences, respectively. A triplex conventional PCR assay, using a general forward and reverse or three specific reverse primers, as well as a real-time PCR using general primers and spec...
The population of the hyporheic interstice and moss cushions by meso- and macroinvertebrates as found at the three measuring points along the Alte Riefensbeek and the Grosse Soese, respectively, in the period from March 1987 to May 1988 is studied and evaluated together with chemical measurements performed between 1987 and 1990. The six measuring points are positioned along an acidification gradient ranging from non-acid to severely acidified. Chemical and biological paramerters are studied with regard to their suitability as indicators of acidification. A model is presented which decribes the influence of abiotic anthropogenic and natural factors on invertebrate species diversity and populations and which can serve as a basis for the calculation of critical deposition burdens. (orig.).
We investigated gathering and cultivating practices and how they complement each other in a rural population of Northwestern Patagonia. We analyzed plant diversity, species similarity, biogeographic origin, and plant use by means of semi-structured interviews and field visits. Pichi Leufu inhabitants used 173 species: 138 cultivated plants, mainly for edible purposes, and 45 wild species principally for medicinal use. Most cultivated species were exotic (91.3%), whereas gathered plants were both native and exotic. While locals maintained vegetable gardens, the adoption of greenhouses improved conditions for certain crops. The integration of novel practices with ancestral knowledge suggests resilient processes in this community, probably reflected in the dynamics of current horticultural an...
Entorhinal grid cells in mammals fire as a function of animal location, with spatially periodic response patterns. This nonlocal periodic representation of location, a local variable, is unlike other neural codes. There is no theoretical explanation for why such a code should exist. We examined how accurately the grid code with noisy neurons allows an ideal observer to estimate location and found this code to be a previously unknown type of population code with unprecedented robustness to noise. In particular, the representational accuracy attained by grid cells over the coding range was in a qualitatively different class from what is possible with observed sensory and motor population codes. We found that a simple neural network can effectively correct the grid code. To the best of our kn...
The gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata, represents an important economic resource for Mediterranean aquaculture. In spite of its wide geographic distribution and economic importance, only recently studies have been carried out on the genetic composition of natural populations, which have revealed a picture of a heterogeneous degree of genetic differentiation among S. aurata populations. In this study an allozyme analysis of samples from six different collecting sites along the Italian and Croatian coasts was carried out, covering an area in the Central Mediterranean sea that has yet to be investigated through gene-enzyme systems. Data on 26 gene loci, 10 of which are polymorphic, indicate a slight but significant genetic structure (FST = 0.0167) of the species. A hierarchical analysis of pop...
Stellar rotation velocities and velocity dispersions along three slit positions in M31 have been measured, and three-dimensional velocity and velocity dispersion fields are obtained in order to search for a central black hole. Synthetic apparent spectra are constructed to eliminate problems with the reaction of the Fourier quotient program to stellar population mixes. Models are constructed to explore parameter space. The large velocities and velocity gradients that are found imply that the total mass-to-light ratio rises sharply at r of 0.5 arcsec or less to values greater than 100. This is much larger than normal for old stellar populations. Velocity anisotropies are not a major uncertainty because of the rapid rotation. There is thus strong evidence for a dark central mass, probably a supermassive black hole. 48 references.
Recently it is strongly required to reduce energy consumption to cope with the global warming. Since energy consumption in commercial and residential sectors are increasing while industrial sector is almost constant in Japan, policies to lead energy conservation in urban areas is quite important. This study aims at investigating the performance of urban energy systems which install combined heat and power (CHP) as a district heating and cooling (DHC) plant and the influence of CHP on the structure of electric power systems of utilities. The behavior of energy technologies and the possibility of energy conservation are evaluated based on an optimization model with respect to total system cost. Sensitivity analysis of population allocation into urban areas indicates that fossil fuel consumption varies in the range of 10--20% compared with conventional systems.
Ecosystems worldwide are experiencing unprecedented nitrogen enrichment through fertilization and pollution. While longterm ecological consequences are difficult to predict, it seems that plants and animals adapted to nitrogen-limited environments are at particular risk from these changes. This report summarizes the limited body of literature which addresses this important topic. From a herbivoreAes perspective, fertilization increases the nutritional quality of host plant tissues. In some cases fertilization has lead to decreased production of defensive compounds. How this affects populations of insects is unclear because fertilization affects not only herbivores but their natural enemies. This report outlines how fertilization affects tree processes such as growth, photosynthesis, and production of defensive compounds. The many factors that affect insect repsonse to fertilization and the difficulties in assessing how fertilization affects insect ...
In this paper, we study some general models suggested to describe the effects of chemical compounds produced by an algal population on its survival in a chemostat-like environment. The conditions for its persistence and extinction are found. In particular, in the first model we make very general assumptions to represent the uptake, the regulative and the inhibiting functions, and analyze its global stability completely. In the second one we specify the first two functions and leave general the third one. Here the regulative function has different property from that in the first model, and a saddle-node bifurcation phenomenon occurs. In addition, according to the experimental data reported in DellaGreca et al. [2010. Fatty acids released by Clorella vulgaris and their role in interference w...
The Effective Dose Equivalent Concept defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection in 1977 considers the risk from irradiation including both hereditary and somatic effects. This paper will deal with the definition of a concept for somatic effects only, the somatically significant dose equivalent. This is defined as the dose equivalent which if received by every member of the population, would be expected to produce the same total somatic injury to the population as does the actual dose equivalent received by various individuals. The somatically effective dose equivalent for a particular radiopharmaceutical is the weighted sum of the average dose equivalent to various organs. The dose equivalent to various organs can be derived from an extended MIRD formalism also considering the rest of body excluding the source volumes and the re iden e times in total body and the target organs. Examples are given for the calculation of ...
The Effective Dose Equivalent Concept defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection in 1977 considers the risk from irradiation including both hereditary and somatic effects. This paper will deal with the definition of a concept for somatic effects only, the somatically significant dose equivalent. This is defined as the dose equivalent which if received by every member of the population, would be expected to produce the same total somatic injury to the population as does the actual dose equivalent received by various individuals. The somatically effective dose equivalent for a particular radiopharmaceutical is the weighted sum of the average dose equivalent to various organs. The dose equivalent to various organs can be derived from an extended MIRD formalism also considering the rest of body excluding the source volumes and the re iden e times in total body and the target organs. Examples are given for the calculation of ...
The role of adaptation in the divergence of lineages has long been a central question in evolutionary biology, and as multilocus sequence data sets have become available for a wide range of taxa, empirical estimates of levels of adaptive molecular evolution are increasingly common. Estimates vary widely among taxa, with high levels of adaptive evolution in Drosophila, bacteria, and viruses but very little evidence of widespread adaptive evolution in hominids. Although estimates in plants are more limited, some recent work has suggested that rates of adaptive evolution in a range of plant taxa are surprisingly low and that there is little association between adaptive evolution and effective population size in contrast to patterns seen in other taxa. Here, we analyze data from 35 loci for si...
The main sources of energy that might be available in remote low populated areas of Libya are either diesel generating units or wind mills for water pumping. Several problems in the working performance of these two types of energy production may arise due to environmental conditions. Direct conversion of solar energy can replace other ways of energy delivery or production, especially in this country where the solar radiation all year is relatively high. Direct conversion of solar energy is relatively expensive, however the cost of erecting long feeders and supervising them may be much more expensive than the usage of solar systems. This paper investigates the economics associated with either solutions of energy production. A case study is given in detail to supply one of the remote areas with a population of about 250. (author)
Data are presented to support the hypothesis that the initial step in the morphologic transformation of irradiated rodent (BALB/3T3) cells is a frequent cellular event involving a large fraction of the irradiated population. This process appears to involve DNA damage, but not to represent a targeted mutation in specific structural gene(s). Morphologic transformation and immortalization appear to be distinct steps in the overall process of transformation. In contradistinction to rodent cells, immortalization is a very rare event in human diploid cells which is induced at extremely low frequencies. The hypothesis is presented that immortality develops among clones of cells bearing stable chromosomal rearrangements which emerge during the proliferation of a population of radiation damaged cells.
Biodynamic parameters of the ragworm Nereis diversicolor from southern Spain and south England were experimentally derived to assess the inter-population variability of physiological parameters of the bioaccumulation of Ag, Cd and Zn from water and sediment. Although there were some limited variations, these were not consistent with the local metal bioavailability nor with temperature changes. Incorporating the biodynamic parameters into a defined biodynamic model, confirmed that sediment is the predominant source of Cd and Zn accumulated by the worms, accounting in each case for 99% of the overall accumulated metals, whereas the contribution of dissolved Ag to the total accumulated by the worm increased from about 27 to about 53% with increasing dissolved Ag concentration. Standardised va...
Teleost gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) consists of leucocyte populations located both intraepithelially and in the lamina propria with no structural organization. The present study aims to assess different protocols for the isolation of GALT cells from an important fish species in the Mediterranean aquaculture, the gilthead seabream. Mechanical, chemical and enzymatic treatments were assayed. Nylon wool columns and continuous density gradients were used for further separation of cell subpopulations. Light microscopy and flow cytometry showed that the highest density band (HD) consisted of a homogeneous lymphocytic population, whereas the intermediate density band (ID) corresponded to epithelial and secretory cells and some lymphocytes. Respiratory burst activity of total cell suspen...
Calcaneus quantitative ultrasound (QUS) assessment is a safe and reliable method for evaluating skeletal status. Until now, considerable data have been accumulated on the distribution of QUS in Caucasian populations, whereas such data are still insufficient in Asian populations, especially in Chinese mainland. The present study aimed to obtain the distribution characteristic of calcaneus QUS in healthy Chinese women, and to further investigate the distribution of low bone mass by QUS stiffness index (SI). This study included 2,498 healthy Chinese females aged 10-87 yr. The QUS exhibited a characteristic mild rise and then fall pattern with increasing age. Age, body height, and weight were significant influencing factors on SI, especially age and weight. The prevalence of osteoporosis detec...
AbstractBackground Few published data are available on the benefits of aspirin use in patients with unstable angina (UA). Hypothesis Aspirin use carries a mortality benefit in a population-based cohort of patients presenting with UA. Methods All residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota presenting to local emergency departments with acute chest pain from January 1985 through December 1992 having symptoms consistent with UA were identified through medical records. A total of 1628 patients were identified with UA and were stratified by aspirin use in-hospital and at discharge. Cardiovascular mortality and nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke were assessed over a median of 7.5 years follow-up and all-cause mortality data over a median of 16.7 years. The mean age of patients with UA was 65 y...
Application of the Geographic Information System (GIS) with a statistical model to evaluate the magnetic field exposure of a population from high-voltage transmission lines near residential areas is discussed, focusing on the interaction of the GIS with the statistical model. In an effort to validate the model measurements of the magnetic field, profiles were taken at two sites and these profiles have been compared with calculated values. Two conclusions have been drawn from the results: (1) the statistical model linked with the GIS is a very powerful tool for the evaluation of exposure of a population to magnetic fields, and (2) success depends on the presence of other sources of magnetic fields and on the exactness of the data used in the model. 4 refs., 5 figs.
The authors report an effort to determine the basis for the altered migration of seven inherited albumin variants detected by one-dimensional electrophoresis in population surveys involving tribal Amerindians and Japanese children. An amino acid substitution has thus far been determined for four of the variants. The randomness in the albumin polypeptide of these and the other sixteen independently ascertained amino acid substitutions of albumin and proalbumin thus far established was analyzed; the clustering of eight of these at two positions in the six-amino acid propeptide sequence seems noteworthy. By comparison with other proteins studied by electrophoresis, albumin exhibits average variability. It is a paradox that individuals who, for genetic reasons, lack albumin exhibit no obvious ill effects; yet, electrophoretic variants of albumin are no more numerous than are variants of proteins, the absence of which results in severe disease.
The evolution of clinal variation has become a topic widely studied for invasive species. Most studies of this kind have found significant correlations between latitude and various plant traits, usually using univariate analytic methods. However, plants are composed of multiple, interacting traits, and it is this correlation among traits that can affect how quickly or even whether the populations of invasive plants adapt to their local climatic conditions. We used data from a common garden experiment to determine the possible formation of latitudinal clines in invasive North American populations of Lythrum salicaria L. (purple loosestrife) from the central portion of its invasive range. Analyses were conducted using the more common univariate approach (nested and oneway ANOVAs; linear regr...
Studies of various established human bladder and renal carcinoma cell lines cultured in vitro demonstrated the presence of specific, saturable, high affinity binding sites for /sup 125/I-labeled human interferon Beta ser IFN-beta ser). This recombinant produced interferon labeled with approximately one atom of /sup 125/I/molecule of IFN expressed minimal or no loss of antiviral activity. A single class of binding sites (1000-2000/cell) with an affinity constant of 10(10)-10(11) L/M was measured at 4 degrees C for cells exhibiting widely different sensitivity to the antiproliferative effect of IFN-beta ser. Major fluctuations in the binding of /sup 125/I-labeled IFN-beta ser to cellular receptors were observed during in vitro proliferation of four of five cell lines examined. A significant decrease (P less than 0.001) in specific binding was observed 48 h after cultures were established. Cell cycle analysis suggested that within the first 24 h and in the very late log and stationary ...
The mechanisms involved in the glacial inception are still poorly constrained due to a lack of high resolution and cross-dated climate records at various locations. Using air isotopic measurements in the recently drilled NorthGRIP ice core, we show that no evidence exists for stratigraphic disturbance of the climate record of the last glacial inception ({proportional_to}123-100 kyears BP) encompassing Dansgaard-Oeschger events (DO) 25, 24 and 23, even if we lack sufficient resolution to completely rule out disturbance over DO 25. We quantify the rapid surface temperature variability over DO 23 and 24 with associated warmings of 10{+-}2.5 and 16{+-}2.5 C, amplitudes which mimic those observed in full glacial conditions. We use records of {delta}{sup 18}O of O{sub 2} to propose a common timescale for the NorthGRIP and the Antarctic Vostok ice cores, with a maximum uncertainty of 2,500 years, and to examine the interhemispheric sequence of events over this period. After a ...
An electron moving over the surface of a diffraction grating will transfer a part of its kinetic energy to radiation via a velocity synchronous coupling with a slow space harmonic component of the field. Since the phase velocity of a slow space harmonic is less than the speed of light, the slow components decay exponentially, or evanesce, with distance above the grating and the evanescence scale is determined by the product of the relative velocity, #beta#, the relative energy, #gamma#, and the wavelength #lambda#. Thus, in the relativistic regime, good electron - grating coupling can be maintained at beam heights that are greater than the emitted wavelength. In order to explore this regime a series of experiments have been carried out with moderately energetic beams and an experiment with the 70-MeV beam at the Accelerator Test Facility is in the planning stage. The work has two basic goals: the first is to explore the characteristics of the spontaneous emission ...
A scheme for on-line tuning of a fuzzy-logic power system stabilizer is presented. firstly, a fuzzy-logic power system stabilizer is developed using speed deviation and accelerating power as the controller input variables. The inference mechanism of fuzzy-logic controller is represented by a decision table, constructed of linguistic IF-THEN rules. The Linguistic rules are available from experts and the design procedure is based on these rules. It assumed that an exact model of the plant is not available and it is difficult to extract the exact parameters of the power plant. Thus, the design procedure can not be based on an exact model. This is an advantage of fuzzy logic that makes the design of a controller possible without knowing the exact model of the plant. Secondly, two scaling parameters are introduced to tune the fuzzy-logic power system stabilizer. These scaling parameters are the outputs of another fuzzy-logic system, which gets the operating conditions of power system as ...
Twenty-four high-risk Ewing's sarcoma patients were treated on an intensive combined modality protocol including low-dose fractionated total body irradiaiton (TBI) and autologous bone marrow infusion (ABMI). Twenty patients (83%) achieved a complete clinical response to the primary and/or metastatic sites following induction therapy. The median disease-free interval was 18 months, and nine patients remain disease-free with a follow-up of 22 to 72 months. Local failure as a manifestation of initial relapse occurred in only three patients (15%), each having synchronous distant failure. Eight patients failed initially with only distant metastases, usually within 1-2 years following a complete clinical response. Two patterns of granulocyte recovery following consolidative therapy (including TBI and ABMI) were recognized. The time to platelet recovery was different for the groups with early and late granulocyte recovery. Patients with late recovery did not tolerate ...
Bone formation and resorption have been measured in patients with idiopathic osteoporosis by histomorphometry of 7.5-mm trephine biopsies and in the whole body by 85Sr radiotracer methodology and calcium balances. The studies were synchronized and most were preceded by double in vivo tetracycline labeling. Correlations between histological and kinetic bone formation indices were better when better when based on the extent of double tetracycline labels than on measurements of osteoid by visible light microscopy. Correction of the kinetic data for long-term exchange, using 5 months' serial whole body counting of retained 85Sr, improved the fit of the kinetic to the histological data. A statistical analysis of the measurement uncertainties showed that the residual scatter in the best correlations (between exchange-corrected bone formation rates and double-labeled osteoid surface indices) could be attributed to measurement imprecision alone. The ...