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Backgrounds and Aims The stem growth habit, determinate or indeterminate, of soybean, Glycine max, varieties affects various plant morphological and developmental traits. The objective of this study is to identify the effect of stem growth habit in soybean on the stomatal conductance of single leaves in relation to their leaf morphology in order to better understand the ecological and agronomic significance of this plant trait. Methods The stomatal conductance of leaves on the main stem was measured periodically under favourable field conditions to evaluate gmax, defined as the maximum stomatal conductance at full leaf expansion, for four varieties of soybean and their respective determinate or indeterminate near isogenic lines (NILs). Leaf morphological traits including stomatal density, ...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Antisense- or RNAi-mediated suppression of the biosynthesis of nutritionally inferior storage proteins is a promising strategy for improving the amino acid profile of seeds. However, the potential pleiotropic effects of this on interconnected pathways and the agronomic quality traits need to be addressed. In the current study, a transcriptomic analysis of an antisense C-hordein line of barley was performed, using a grain-specific cDNA array. The C-hordein antisense line is characterized by marked changes in storage protein and amino acid profiles, while the seed weight is within the normal range and no external morphological irregularities were observed. The results of the transcriptome analysis showed excellent correlation with data on changes in the relative proportions of storage proteins and amino acid composition. The antisense line had a lower C-hordein level and down-regulated transcript encoding C-hordein. The production of the S-rich ...

Science.gov (United States)

Carbon isotope discrimination (?(13) C) is considered a useful indicator for indirect selection of grain yield (GY) in cereals. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the genetic variation in ?(13) C and its relationship with GY. A doubled haploid (DH) population derived from a cross of two common wheat varieties, Hanxuan 10 (H10) and Lumai 14 (L14), was phenotyped for ?(13) C in the flag leaf, GY and yield associated traits in two trials contrasted by water availability, specifically, rain-fed and irrigated. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified by single locus and two locus QTL analyses. QTLs for ?(13) C were located on chromosomes 1A, 2B, 3B, 5A, 7A and 7B, and QTLs for other traits on all chromosomes except 1A, 4D, 5A, 5B and 6D. The population selected for high ?(13) C had an increased frequency of QTL for high ?(13) C, GY and number of spikes per plant (NSP) when grown under rain-fed conditions and only for ...

Science.gov (United States)

Seed dormancy is an adaptive mechanism and an important agronomic trait. Temperature during seed development strongly affects seed dormancy in wheat (Triticum aestivum) with lower temperatures producing higher levels of seed dormancy. To identify genes important for seed dormancy, we used a wheat microarray to analyze gene expression in embryos from mature seeds grown at lower and higher temperatures. We found that a wheat homolog of MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 (MFT) was upregulated after physiological maturity in dormant seeds grown at the lower temperature. In situ hybridization analysis indicated that MFT was exclusively expressed in the scutellum and coleorhiza. Mapping analysis showed that MFT on chromosome 3A (MFT-3A) colocalized with the seed dormancy quantitative trait locus (QTL) QPhs.ocs-3A.1. MFT-3A expression levels in a dormant cultivar used for the detection of the QTL were higher after physiological maturity; this ...

CERN Document Server

Multicast transmission has several distinctive traits as opposed to more commonly studied unicast networks. Specially, these include (i) identical packets must be delivered successfully to several nodes, (ii) outage could simultaneously happen at different receivers, and (iii) the multicast rate is dominated by the receiver with the weakest link in order to minimize outage and retransmission. To capture these key traits, we utilize a Poisson cluster process consisting of a distinct Poisson point process (PPP) for the transmitters and receivers, and then define the multicast transmission capacity (MTC) as the maximum achievable multicast rate times the number of multicast clusters per unit volume, accounting for outages and retransmissions. Our main result shows that if $\\tau$ transmission attempts are allowed in a multicast cluster, the MTC is $\\Theta\\left(\\rho k^{x}\\log(k)\\right)$ where $\\rho$ and $x$ are functions ...

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Sugarcane rusts, brown (caused by Puccinia melanocephala) and orange (caused by P. kuehnii), are agronomically important diseases in Florida. Cultivar resistance is the best means of managing these diseases. Unfortunately, natural infection of brown rust is not always efficient in determining resist...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The Dynamic Analog Scale (DAS) is introduced as a technique for generating single-item measures of personality traits. The DAS is comprised of extensive trait definitions and an analog scale on which respondents simultaneously rate themselves and others. In two studies the Big Five personality traits were assessed with the DAS and compared to a multiple-item questionnaire that measured the same traits. Statistical analysis supported the validity of the DAS for predicting self-reported behavioral acts, drinking behaviors, affect, and religiosity in ways similar to the multiple-item questionnaire. Consistent with previous research, both studies supported the viability of measuring personality traits with single items.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Dissecting the genes involved in complex traits can be confounded by multiple factors, including extensive epistatic interactions among genes, the involvement of epigenetic regulators, and the variable...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI) are a biological marker for schizophrenia. To unravel the mechanisms that control PPI, we performed quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis on 1,010 F2 mice derived...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

For identification of genes responsible for varietal differences in flowering time and leaf morphological traits, we constructed a linkage map of Brassica rapa DNA markers including...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 2,000 trait-SNP associations, and the number continues to increase. GWAS have focused on traits with potential consequences for human...Full Text Available

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This paper aims to explore consumer preference for fresh vegetables labelled as organic in combination with health and environment related quality traits. The study decomposes organic farming into its main quality aspects and measures consumers' preference structure for organic, in general, and for specific organic quality traits in particular. By means of stated choice preference modelling, the following hypotheses are tested: consumers prefer health over environment related quality traits; the organic label plays a significant role in consumers' choice for organic products; organic farming is perceived as healthier and more environmentally friendly than conventional farming; purchase intention is mainly driven by health related quality traits; both health and environmental concerns influ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biogas-Compost Technology is being experimented in several research centers in Burkina Faso. This technology is about putting up prototypes in order to allow the use of fermentation products. Research on how to operate such technology, no matter small irrigation or domestic energy, has enabled the evaluation of the biogas-compost production and consumption. The implementation of such technology has made possible the agronomic valorization of fermentation residues, the improvement of the process of gas production, and the decrease of installation costs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Analysis of data on seedling traits from 20 diverse genotypes revealed significant differences fro most of the seedling traits. Significant estimates of broad-sense heritability were observed for VI, ERI, FRTW, DRTW and R/S ratio. Genetic advance was maximum for VI,ERI and E%. The correlation of VI with ERI and R/S ratio was negative and significant, whereas it was positive and significant with E%, FSHW and DSHW. Characterization of the sorghum genotypes according to Anderson's Metro glyph Statistics revealed five different groups for seedling trails. (authors)

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Specialized olfactory lobe glomeruli relating to sexual or caste differences have been observed in at least five orders of insects, suggesting an early appearance of this trait in insect evolution....Full Text Available

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Annona reticulata L. possesses many traits desirable in other edible annonas, and hybridization is the simplest means to combine desirable features of related species. In this study, A. reticulata was hybridized with atemoya (A. cherimola Mill.??A. squamosa L.), and 250 trispecies hybrids were studied for 28 traits (12 tree traits and 16 fruit traits) with the objective of salvaging useful genes from the three edible annonas and determining the extent of variation in the progeny. The heterozygous nature of Annona spp. and simultaneous segregation of three distant genomes resulted in a tremendous heterogeneity in the progenies. The fitness of the progenies ranged from very vigorous to very weak, with a wide range of values for tree height (1.75?5.9?m), canopy spread (1.15?5.07?m) and trunk...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

To test the hypothesis that leaf level photosynthetic related traits might confer late successionals a competitive advantage over early successionals in low light growth conditions, steady photosynthetic assimilation and dynamic photosynthetic induction related traits were examined in low light grown seedlings with contrasting successional status. Compared with the early successionals, late successionals as a group significantly exhibited lower leaf gas exchange rates. While late successionals required a longer time to respond to simulated sunflecks, they had lower rates of induction losses after sunflecks. Such photosynthetic induction traits allowed late successionals to more effectively utilize subsequent sunflecks. It was observed that plants with lower gas exchange rates responded mor...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In the post Genome era, the aim of behavior genetics has shifted from estimating the relative contributions of genes and environmental factors to (co-)variation in human complex traits, to localization of genes and identification of functional genetic variants. This special issue reflects this transition and presents fifteen papers that report on genome-wide linkage scans for complex traits in humans and on methodological tools and innovations. Six papers focus on cognition and report overlapping linkage peaks on chromosomes 6p and 14p. Papers on addictive behavior, i.e. smoking and alcohol dependence and its endophenotypes, find moderate LOD scores on chromosomes 6p, 5q, 4p and 7q, respectively. Three papers concentrate on emotionality, depression and loneliness and examine chromosomes 2q...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary 1. Plants express multiple defensive traits, but little is known about the genetic stability and phenotypic plasticity of these traits in nature. To investigate sources of variation and their potential ecological consequences for herbivores, we combined field observations of cyanogenic lima bean with laboratory experiments. 2. Field studies in South Mexico revealed a distinct variability of cyanogenic traits within and among wild lima bean populations. To differentiate among genetic variation and the impact of ambient conditions on plant phenotypes, we used seed grown plants as well as clones propagated from high (HC) and low cyanogenic (LC) wild type plants. 3. In growth chamber experiments, we cultivated plants under three intensities each of drought and salt stress, nutrient sup...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

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...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundSelection programs for growth and stress traits in cultured fish are fundamental to the improvement of aquaculture production. The gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata)...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Sexual conflict is a conflict between the evolutionary interests of individuals of the two sexes. The sexes can have different trait optima but this need not imply conflict if their optima can be attained...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

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

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Vocal learning is a critical behavioral substrate for spoken human language. It is a rare trait found in three distantly related groups of birds-songbirds, hummingbirds, and parrots. These avian groups...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Life history theory proposes that early-life cues induce highly integrated responses in traits associated with energy partitioning, maturation, reproduction, and aging such that the individual phenotype...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Scaling relations among plant traits are both cause and consequence of processes at organ-to-ecosystem scales. The relationship between leaf nitrogen and phosphorus is of particular interest, as both...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Soybean (Glycine max) is a paleopolyploid whose genome has gone through at least two rounds of polyploidy and subsequent diploidization events. Several studies have investigated the...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Life-history theory predicts that traits involved in maturity, reproduction and survival correlate along a fast–slow continuum of life histories. Evolutionary theories and empirical results...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report is intended to satisfy two concurrent needs: (1) provide a contract deliverable from Oncorh Consulting to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), with emphasis on identification of salient results of value to ongoing Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) planning and (2) summarize results of research that have broader scientific relevance. This is the fourth in a series of reports that address reproductive ecological research and monitoring of spring chinook populations in the Yakima River basin. This annual report summarizes data collected between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005 and includes analyses of historical baseline data, as well. Supplementation success in the Yakima Klickitat Fishery Project's (YKFP) spring chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) program is defined as increasing natural production and harvest opportunities, while keeping adverse ecological interactions and genetic impacts within acceptable bounds (Busack et al. 1997). ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Academic, government, and industrial field researchers have generated a significant database of field studies of the volatility of soil applied fumigants. However, limited work exists in validating physical models against field volatility data sets and fully exploring the volatility parametric response surface. Field studies quantifying atmospheric flux for soil fumigants 1,3-dichloropropene and chloropicrin are validated against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA Salinity Laboratory) soil physics model CHAIN_2D that was modified specifically for agronomic uses of soil fumigants. Comparison between model predictions and field observations for six unique field trials in five different states indicate that CHAIN_2D effectively captures the magnitude and duration of fumigant em...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Udgivelsesdato: winter

Science.gov (United States)

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The capacity to maintain internal ion homeostasis amidst changing conditions is particularly important for teleost fishes whose reproductive cycle is dependent upon movement from freshwater to seawater. Although the physiology of seawater osmoregulation in mitochondria-rich cells of fish gill epithelium is well understood, less is known about the underlying causes of inter- and intraspecific variation in salinity tolerance. We used a genome-scan approach in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) correlated with variation in four salinity tolerance performance traits and six body size traits. Comparative genomics approaches allowed us to infer whether allelic variation at candidate gene loci (e.g., ATP1alpha1b, NKCC1, CFTR, and cldn10e) could have underlain observed variation. RESULTS: Combined parental analyses yielded genome-wide significant QTL on linkage groups 8, 14 ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary - Hydraulic traits were studied in temperate, woody evergreens in a high-elevation heath community to test for trade-offs between the delivery of water to canopies at rates sufficient to sustain photosynthesis and protection against disruption to vascular transport caused by freeze-thaw-induced embolism. - Freeze-thaw-induced loss in hydraulic conductivity was studied in relation to xylem anatomy, leaf- and sapwood-specific hydraulic conductivity and gas exchange characteristics of leaves. - We found evidence that a trade-off between xylem transport capacity and safety from freeze-thaw-induced embolism affects photosynthetic activity in overwintering evergreens. The mean hydraulically weighted xylem vessel diameter and sapwood-specific conductivity correlated with susceptibility to...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Obesity is associated with increased susceptibility to dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and hypertension, a combination of traits that comprise the traditional definition of the metabolic syndrome. Recent evidence suggests that obesity is also associated with the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Despite the high prevalence of obesity and its related conditions, their etiologies and pathophysiology remains unknown. Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of obesity and NAFLD. Previous genetic analysis of high-fat, diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6J (B6) and A/J male mice using a panel of B6-ChrA/J/NaJ chromosome substitution strains (CSSs) demonstrated that 17 CSSs conferred resistance to high-fat, diet-induced obesity. One of these CSS st...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Previous research has established the comorbidity of adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with different personality disorders including Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The association between adult ADHD and BPD has primarily been investigated at the phenotypic level and not yet at the genetic level. The present study investigates the genetic and environmental contributions to the association between borderline personality traits (BPT) and ADHD symptoms in a sample of 7,233 twins and siblings (aged 18-90 years) registered with the Netherlands Twin Register and the East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (EFPTS) . Participants completed the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS-S:SV) and the Personality Assessment Inventory-Borderline Features Scale (PAI-BO...

CERN Document Server

In key management schemes that realize secure multicast communications encrypted by group keys on a public network, tree structures are often used to update the group keys efficiently. Selcuk and Sidhu have proposed an efficient scheme which updates dynamically the tree structures based on the withdrawal probabilities of members. In this paper, it is shown that Selcuk-Sidhu scheme is asymptotically optimal for the cost of withdrawal. Furthermore, a new key management scheme, which takes account of key update costs of joining in addition to withdrawal, is proposed. It is proved that the proposed scheme is also asymptotically optimal, and it is shown by simulation that it can attain good performance for nonasymptotic cases.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We used microarrays and a previously established linkage map to localize the genetic determinants of brain gene expression for a backcross family of lake whitefish species pairs (Coregonus sp.). Our...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SummaryExposure to stress during prenatal or early postnatal life can dramatically impact adult behavior and neuroendocrine function. We recently began to selectively breed Sprague-Dawley...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

APP is a transmembrane precursor of beta-amyloid. In dominantly inherited familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), point mutations V6421, V642F and V642G have been discovered in APP695. Here we show that...Full Text Available

ScienceCinema

...english uh ? that's quite motor ...

Science.gov (United States)

In this article, we describe the development and preliminary psychometric properties of the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO), a semistructured interview designed for the dimensional assessment of identity, primitive defenses, and reality testing, the three primary content domains in the model of personality health and disorder elaborated by Kernberg (1984; Kernberg & Caligor, 2005). Results of this investigation, conducted in a clinical sample representing a broad range of personality pathology, indicate that identity and primitive defenses as operationalized in the STIPO are internally consistent and that interrater reliability for all 3 content domains is adequate. Validity findings suggest that the assessment of one's sense of self and significant others (Identity) is predictive of measures of positive and negative affect, whereas the maladaptive ways in which the subject uses his or her objects for purposes of regulating one's self experience (Primitive ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The germplasm with exotic genomic components especially from Sea Island cotton (Gossypium barbadense L. Gb) is the dominant genetic resources to enhance fiber quality of upland cotton (G. hirsutum L., Gh). Due to low efficiency of phenotypic evaluation and selection on fiber quality, genetic dissection of favorable alleles using molecular markers is essential. Genetic dissection on putative Gb introgressions related to fiber traits were conducted by SSR markers with mapping populations derived from a cross between Luyuan343 (LY343), a superior fiber quality introgression line (IL) with genomic components from Gb, and an elite Upland cotton cv. Lumianyan#22 (LMY22). Among 82 polymorphic loci screened out from 4050 SSRs, 42 were identified as putative introgression alleles. A total of 29 fib...

Science.gov (United States)

If episodic memory is an adaptation, it must have evolved to benefit present or future survival and reproduction, rather than to provide an accurate record of the past per se. Recent research has documented various links between the ability to construct episodes of the past and imagine potential future episodes, and it has been argued that the former may be a design feature of the latter. Thus, claims about the existence of episodic memory in non-verbal organisms may be evaluated by examining behavioural evidence for foresight. Here we review recent data on foresight in animals and conclude that the evidence to suggest episodic memory so far is equivocal. We suggest specific experimental criteria that could provide stronger evidence. We maintain that there must be uniquely human traits for which there are no animal models and it remains possible that mental time travel depends on several such traits. Identification of what precisely is unique ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

For companies, relationships with external actors may constitute intangible assets. Many firms have put in place key account management programs in order to pay sufficient attention to strategically important customers and the marketing literature has studied such programs. However, a company's relationship portfolio also comprises relationships with other types of actors. The objective of this paper is to show that ? across the different types of external relationships a company may develop ? some relationships have more importance than others and, hence, are key. The authors argue that, as a consequence, the keyness of certain relationships has led to the emergence of approaches which can be referred to as key relationship management. For this purpose, the authors first present empirical...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaussian-process models are developed to detect genetic linkage using complete high-resolution maps of identity by descent between affected relative pairs. Approximations are given for the significance level and power of the likelihood-ratio test of no linkage and for likelihood-ratio confidence regions for trait loci. The sample sizes required to detect linkage by using different classes of affected relative pairs are compared, and the problem of combining data from different classes of relatives is discussed. 23 refs., 2 figs.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractIndividual informed consent is a key ethical obligation for clinical studies, but empirical studies show that key requirements are often not met. Common recommendations to strengthen...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Food-deprived pigeons were presented with a row of four response keys situated above a grain hopper aperture. At the start of a trial, three of four keys were randomly selected and illuminated white...Full Text Available

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... Uninterrupted access to and use of critical infrastructure in the Arabian Gulf region are key to the successful prosecution of the Global War on Terror ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is developing poplars (Populus species and hybrids) as sources of renewable energy, i.e., ethanol. Notable increases in adaptability, volume productivity, and pest/stress resistance have been achieved via classical selection and breeding and intensified cultural practices. Significant advances have also been made in the efficiencies of harvesting and handling systems. Given these and anticipated accomplishments, program leaders are considering shifting some attention to genetically modifying feedstock physical and chemical properties, so as to improve the efficiency with which feedstocks can be converted to ethanol. This report provides an in-depth review and synthesis of opportunities for and feasibilities of genetically modifying feedstock qualities via classical selection and breeding, marker-aided selection and breeding, and genetic transformation. Information was collected ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Diet overlap and niche breadth are well-known species traits from trophic ecology that can assist in explaining how species interact and coexist as well as the ecological mechanisms that influence biodiversity. In the present study, we analyzed the relationships between these trophic variables and indicators of resource availability with some attributes of fish assemblages (species richness, Shannon diversity index, evenness, density and individual body size). The physical and chemical characteristics of the biotopes (topography, water quality and conservation of slopes) were examined to identify possible patterns. Monthly sampling using electrofishing was conducted in 2003 along five streams located in the Cuiab? River watershed. The relationships between environmental variables and attri...

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Summary 1.-The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) predicts that, after correcting for body mass variation among organisms, the rates of most biological processes will vary as a universal function of temperature. However, empirical support for -universal temperature dependence- (UTD) is currently equivocal and based on studies of a limited number of traits. 2.-In many ectothermic animals, the rate at which females produce mature eggs is temperature dependent and may be an important factor in determining the costs of reproduction. 3.-We tested whether the rate of egg maturation in marine turtles varies with environmental temperature as predicted by MTE, using the time separating successive clutches of individual females to estimate the rate at which eggs are formed. We also assessed the pheno...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

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...

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Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a measure of sensorimotor gating, a pre-attentional inhibitory brain mechanism that filters extraneous stimuli. Prepulse inhibition is correlated with measures of cognition and executive functioning, and is considered an endophenotype of schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses in which patients show PPI impairments. As a first step toward identifying genes that regulate PPI, we performed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) screen of PPI phenotypes in a panel of mouse chromosome substitution strains (CSSs). We identified five CSSs with altered PPI compared with the host C57BL/6J strain: CSS-4 exhibited decreased PPI, whereas CSS-10, -11, -16 and -Y exhibited higher PPI compared with C57BL/6J. These data indicate that A/J chromosomes 4, 10, 11, 16 and Y harbor...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The expression of motor activity levels in response to novel situations is under complex genetic and environmental control. Several genetic loci have been implicated in the regulation of this behavioral phenotype, but their relationship to epigenetic and epistatic interactions is relatively unknown. Here, we report on a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on mouse chromosome 1 for novelty-induced motor activity in the open field, using chromosome substitution strains derived from a high active host strain (C57BL/6J) and a low active donor strain (A/J). The QTL for open field (horizontal distance moved) peaked at the location of Kcnj9, however, QTL detection was initially masked by an interplay of both grandparent genetic origin and genetic co-factors influencing behavior on chromosome 1. Our fi...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary 1.-Traditional views of ecological disturbance emphasize the role that physical disturbances play in reducing competition between populations and maintaining species coexistence. I present an alternative view that employs a simple Lotka-Volterra model to demonstrate how disturbance resistance, disturbance resilience and resource storage can increase competition between individual perennial plants of similar growth form along a resource supply gradient. 2.-In contrasting the growth of individual genets of two hypothetical species, I assumed that traits associated with inherently low module (i.e. plant part) mortality in infertile soils resulted in greater resource storage, but traded off with maximum potential net photosynthesis rates and thus disturbance resilience. 3.-The species ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Excessive physical activity plays an important role in the progression of anorexia nervosa (AN) by accelerating weight loss during dietary restriction. To search for mechanisms underlying this trait, a panel of mouse chromosome substitution strains derived from C57BL/6J and A/J strains was exposed to a scheduled feeding paradigm and to voluntary running wheel (RW) access. Here, we showed that A/J chromosomes 4, 12 and 13 contribute to the development of a disrupted RW activity in response to daily restricted feeding. This pattern is characterized by intense RW activity during the habitual rest phase and leads to accelerated body weight loss. Regions on mouse chromosomes 4, 12 and 13 display homology with regions on human chromosomes linked with anxiety and obsessionality in AN cohorts. The...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We prove that the 1984 protocol of Bennett and Brassard (BB84) for quantum key distribution is secure. We first give a key distribution protocol based on entanglement purification, which can be proven secure using methods from Lo and Chau's proof of security for a similar protocol. We then show that the security of this protocol implies the security of BB84. The entanglement purification based protocol uses Calderbank-Shor-Steane codes, and properties of these codes are used to remove the use of quantum computation from the Lo-Chau protocol. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper discusses key methods for sustaining quality engineering data, the fundamental principles that these methods are based on, and the methods for supporting the performance of nuclear power plants by the provision of quality engineering data at all times. The concept of an 'engineering data foundation', and a Configuration Management data model are developed. The concepts and methods for managing the integrity of engineering data across many different databases and document systems are developed, including the key concepts of data-positions and data-values, Master Data and Copy Data, and the concept of a 'partnership between people and technology'. (author). 7 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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.

Science.gov (United States)

although additional research is needed to corroborate such findings. Key words: Avicennia germinans; disturbance; downed wood; Everglades National Park; Hurricane Andrew;...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Medical Science Liaison (MSL) teams are a well-recognized function within the pharmaceutical and medical products industries. While in most organizations, MSLs have focused on the development of relationships with individual Key Opinion Leaders, progressive companies have realized the value that MSLs can also bring to Key Account Management (KAM). This article discusses the five steps that should be followed in order to successfully integrate the support of Key Accounts into an MSL function. These include understanding the business approach to KAM, identifying what MSL resources are available, developing a comprehensive strategic plan, implementing the plan, and evaluating and making any necessary adjustments. Finally, a case example outlining the experience of a small pharmaceutical compa...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Summary brochure of GeoPowering the West (GPW) activities, and areas of technology transfer and market transformation. It also provides current contact information for key DOE and national laboratory staff representing the GPW program.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Citrate and lactose fermentation are subject to the same metabolic regulation. In both processes, pyruvate is the key intermediate. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The existence of thresholds for toxicants is a matter of debate in chemical risk assessment and regulation. Current risk assessment methods are based on the assumption that, in the absence of sufficient...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Twenty-two landrace-derived inbred lines from the Spanish Barley Core Collection (SBCC) were found to display high levels of resistance to a panel of 27 isolates of the fungus Blumeria graminis that exhibit a wide variety of virulences. Among these lines, SBCC145 showed high overall resistance and a distinctive spectrum of resistance compared with the other lines. Against this background, the main goal of the present work was to investigate the genetic basis underlying such resistance using a doubled haploid population derived from a cross between SBCC145 and the elite spring cultivar Beatrix. The population was genotyped with the 1,536-SNP Illumina GoldenGate Oligonucleotide Pool Assay (Barley OPA-1 or BOPA1 for short), whereas phenotypic analysis was performed using two B. graminis isolates. A major quantitative trait locus (QTL) for resistance to both isolates was identified on the long arm of chromosome 6H (6HL) and accounted for ca. 60% of the phenotypic ...

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...Keeping chickens: a beginner's guide : Directgov - Environment and greener living chickens, feeding chickens, egg marking, registering a ...flock, battery hens Chickens; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Registrations; Animals; Livestock; Local government; Local ...authorities A guide for people keeping chickens on the laws for registering and feeding them, and how to spot key diseases. A ...guide for people keeping chickens on the laws for registering and feeding them, and how to spot key diseases. Keeping chickens: ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We tested the hypothesis that overstorey of eucalypt forest dominated by tall, large diameter trees uses less water than regrowth stands in the high rainfall zone (>1100mmyear^-^1) of the northern jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest in southwestern Australia. We measured leaf area, cover, sapwood area and sapwood density at three paired old and regrowth stands. We also measured sapflow velocity at one paired stand (Dwellingup) from June 2007 to October 2008. Old stands had more basal area but less foliage cover, less leaf area and slightly thinner sapwood. The ratio of sapwood area to basal area decreased markedly as tree size increased. Sapwood area of the regrowth forest stands (6.6+/-0.30m^2ha^-^1) was nearly double that of the old stands (3.4+/-0.17m^2ha^-^1), despite larger basal are...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Propagation costs could be cut by replacing part of the micropropagation process with steps involving more traditional techniques. This study explored possibilities for improving existing vegetative propagation techniques for aspen using stem cuttings obtained from micropropagated plants. Vegetative propagation through stem cuttings was studied in 10 micropropagated hybrid aspen clones (Populus tremula L. x P. tremuloides Michx). Cuttings containing one axillary bud were harvested from the same donor plants twice during the growing season: the first harvest in May and the second harvest in July. Rooting percentage was correlated positively with root length, number of roots and height of cutting plant but negatively with length of rooting. The average rooting percentage was 53% in the first harvest and 27% in second harvest. Indole-3-butyric acid treatments (1.2 mM) significantly improved rooting in the second harvest, but not in the first harvest, suggesting different endogenous auxin ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally inherited trait that fails to produce functional pollen grains. The CMS system is widely employed to facilitate the utilization of heterosis in major crops. However, little is known about the CMS associated genes in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). The objective of this study was to compare CMS cotton (CMS-D2) with the cytoplasm from G. harknessii and its isogenic maintainer line with the normal fertile Upland cotton cytoplasm to identify CMS-D2 specific gene(s) and to develop CMS-specific sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. Based on Southern blot analysis using 10 mitochondrial gene-specific probes (cob, cox2, atp6, atp9, nad3, cox3, atpA, cox1, nad6 and nad9), three probes (cox3, atpA, and nad6) revealed restriction ...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Recent technological developments have facilitated intensified searches for genetic markers under selection in nonmodel species. Here, we present an approach for the identification of candidate gene variation in nonmodel organisms. We report on the characterization of 82 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and on the development of a specific genotyping assay for 30 SNPs in 18 candidate genes for growth and reproduction in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). These markers can be used for scanning natural populations for signatures of selection in both contemporary and archived historical samples, for example in retrospective studies assessing the effects of environmental changes, such as increasing temperatures, and selection imposed by high fishing pressure. Furthermore, these gene markers may be of interest to aquaculture, serving as a starting point for linking phenotypic traits important for productivity with genotypes and potentially be of use for marker-assisted ...

Science.gov (United States)

Molecular genetic markers can be used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for thermal resistance and this has allowed characterization of a major QTL for knockdown resistance to high temperature in Drosophila melanogaster. The QTL showed trade-off associations with cold resistance under laboratory conditions. However, assays of thermal tolerance conducted in the laboratory may not necessarily reflect performance at varying temperatures in the field. Here we tested if lines with different genotypes in this QTL show different thermal performance under high and low temperatures in the field using a release recapture assay. We found that lines carrying the QTL genotype for high thermal tolerance were significantly better at locating resources in the field releases under hot temperatures while the QTL line carrying the contrasting genotype were superior at cold temperatures. Further, we studied copulatory success between the different QTL genotypes at different ...

Science.gov (United States)

The ability to feed on vertebrate blood has evolved many times in various arthropod clades. Each time this trait evolves, novel solutions to the problem posed by vertebrate hemostasis are generated. Consequently, saliva of blood-feeding arthropods has proven to be a rich source of antihemostatic molecules. Vasodilators include nitrophorins (nitric oxide storage and transport heme proteins), a variety of peptides that mimic endogenous vasodilatory neuropeptides, and proteins that catabolize or sequester endogenous vasoconstrictors. A variety of platelet aggregation inhibitors antagonize platelet responses to wound-generated signals, including ADP, thrombin, and collagen. Anticoagulants disrupt elements of both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. Molecular approaches (termed 'sialomics') to characterize the full inventory of mRNAs transcribed in salivary glands have revealed a surprising level of complexity within a single species. Multiple salivary proteins may be ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Background The objective of this study was to confirm provisional quantitative trait loci (QTL) for cocaine-induced locomotor activation, on chromosomes 1, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, and 18, previously identified in the AXB/BXA recombinant inbred (RI) and AcB/BcA recombinant congenic (RC) strains of mice derived from A/J (A) and C57BL/6J (B6) progenitors. This was accomplished through a genetic analysis of cocaine-induced activity in an AxB6 F2 cross and a phenotypic survey across a panel of B6.A chromosome substitution strains (CSS) mice. Mice were tested for cocaine-induced activity, following administration of saline and cocaine (20?mg/kg), utilizing an open-field procedure. Results Among AxB6 F2 mice, differences in cocaine-induced activity were associated with loci on chromosome 1 (D1Mi...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Objective: Given the increasing popularity of motorcycle riding and heightened risk of injury or death associated with being a rider, this study explored rider behavior as a determinant of rider safety and, in particular, key beliefs and motivations that influence such behavior. To enhance the effectiveness of future education and training interventions, it is important to understand riders' own views about what influences how they ride. Specifically, this study sought to identify key determinants of riders' behaviors in relation to the social context of riding, including social and identity-related influences relating to the group (group norms and group identity) as well as the self (moral/personal norm and self-identity). Method: Qualitative research was undertaken via group discussions ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose - Key account management (KAM) programmes are a way for companies to develop existing relationships and increase sales, thus being proactive and searching for opportunities (which is often expected of KAM). It is also a way to meet changing customer demands arising from changes in purchasing strategy, buyers' mergers and acquisitions and the search for synergies in order to reduce costs. The purpose of this article is to analyse different key account management programmes on how they manage the sales process complexity and customer expectations. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on qualitative data collected during a field study of ABB and six of their major customers, based on annual or biannual interviews with 50 individuals within ABB from 1996 to 2006 and three to t...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The phenomenon of key supply management (KSM) in business companies is far less investigated than the phenomenon of key account management (KAM) which beneficiates, both in practice and in an academic context, from a growing interest. This article is based on the empirical analysis of a sample of 10 international companies which have recently launched KSM programmes or are currently working on launching such programs. It examines the difficulties these companies come up against when implementing such programmes and proposes to organize these difficulties around three dimensions: 1) the difficulties in implementing real supplier portfolio approaches; 2) the narrow view of value co-creation with suppliers, and 3) the persistent lack of integration of the purchasing function with other intern...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The UK government's economy-wide 60% carbon dioxide reduction target by 2050 requires a paradigm shift in the whole energy system. Numerous analytical studies have concluded that the power sector is a critical contributor to a low carbon energy system, and electricity generation has dominated the policy discussion on UK decarbonisation scenarios. However, range of technical, social and market challenges, combined with alternate market investment strategies mean that large scale deployment of key classes of low carbon electricity technologies is fraught with uncertainty. The UK MARKAL energy systems model has been used to investigate these long-term uncertainties in key electricity generation options. A range of power sector specific parametric sensitivities have been performed under a 'what-if' framework to provide a systematic exploration of least-cost energy system configurations under a broad, integrated set of ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

While it has been established that microRNAs (miRNAs) play key roles throughout development and are dysregulated in many human pathologies, the specific processes and pathways regulated by individual...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The astronomical number of letters handled by the Post Office makes automatic sorting technology essential. Key roles are played by the postcode system and an ink-jet printer that has been developed to use phosphorescent inks.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SummaryIn vivo tumor cell migration through integrin-dependent pathways is key to the metastatic behavior of malignant cells. Using quantitative in vivo...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

By analysis of crossovers in key recombinant families and by homozygosity analysis of inbred families, the Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) locus was localized in a 300-kb interval between the X104 gene and...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SYNOPSISRhomboid proteases are a fascinating class of enzymes that combine a serine protease active site within the core of an integral membrane protein. Despite having key roles...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Although deep-sea cephalopods are key marine organims, their feeding ecology remains essentially unknown. Here, we report for the first time the trophic structure of an assemblage of these animals (19...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SummarySoluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is a key enzyme in the metabolic conversion and degradation of P450 eicosanoids called epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). Genetic variations...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

It has become increasing clear that alterations in cellular metabolism have a key role in the generation and maintenance of cancer. Some of the metabolic changes can be attributed to the activation...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundCurrently used indicators of iron status have limitations. Hepcidin, a key regulator of iron metabolism, is reduced in iron deficiency. We sought to determine the properties...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Bacteria expressing type III secretion systems (T3SS) have been responsible for the deaths of millions worldwide, acting as key virulence elements in diseases ranging from plague to typhoid...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The establishment of the primary meristems through proliferation after germination is essential for plant post-embryonic development. Cytokinins have long been considered a key regulator of...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... presumed first instar Geocharidius. Anillines occur in deep forest litters, beneath rocks and in soil (endogean), or as ... their small size and cryptic mode of life. Forest litter inhabiting anillines ma...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A structurally conserved element, the trigger loop, has been suggested to play a key role in substrate selection and catalysis of RNA polymerase II (pol II) transcription elongation. Recently resolved...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Four-dimensional (4D) radiotherapy is the explicit inclusion of the temporal changes in anatomy during the imaging, planning, and delivery of radiotherapy. One key component of 4D radiotherapy planning...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Stem cells are expected to play a key role in the development and maintenance of organisms, and hold great therapeutic promises. However, a number of questions must be answered to achieve an...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Mycolic acids are key cell wall components for the survival, pathogenicity, and antibiotic resistance of the human tubercle bacillus. Although it was thought that Mycobacterium tuberculosis...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundDysregulation of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, a common consequence of adiposity-induced insulin resistance, may be a key underlying mechanism...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Objective: To highlight the key differences in history, examination, and management of pyoderma gangrenosum and necrotizing fasciitis and to outline the importance of distinguishing these...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractIntrathymic expression of tissue-restricted antigens (TRAs) has been viewed as the key element in the induction of central tolerance and recently, a central role for the autoimmune...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background Little is known about how migrants adapt to first-world public health systems. In Norway, patients are assigned a registered general practitioner (RGP) to provide basic care...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background/Objective:To determine the utility of certain instruments to assess sexuality and fertility after SCI, an expert panel identified key areas to study and evaluated...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Despite the availability of dozens of animal genome sequences, two key questions remain unanswered: First, what fraction of any species' genome confers biological function, and second, are apparent...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundA key question in the risk assessment of exposures to multiple chemicals is whether mixture effects may occur when chemicals are combined at low doses which individually...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundLarviciding is a key strategy used in many vector control programmes around the world. Costs could be reduced if larvicides could be manufactured locally. The potential...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Given the high prevalence of overweight and low levels of physical activity among children, a better understanding of physical activity behaviour is an important step in intervention planning. This...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

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

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Mouse models have dramatically improved our understanding of cancer development and tumor biology. However, these models have shown limited efficacy as tractable systems for unbiased genetic...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundGene regulation is a key mechanism in higher eukaryotic cellular processes. One of the major challenges in gene regulation studies is to identify regulators affecting the...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Recently, we demonstrated that the central ghrelin signalling system, involving the ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A), is important for alcohol reinforcement. Ghrelin targets a key mesolimbic circuit involved...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Moenomycin A (MmA) belongs to a family of natural products that inhibit peptidoglycan biosynthesis by binding to the peptidoglycan glycosyltransferases (PGTs), the enzymes that make the glycan...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

Summarizing the three main reasons why customized programs are commissioned, this book explains and explores the key aspects of successful development programs, with views from corporate sponsors, participants, faculty contributors and case studies of customised programs commissioned by 6 organizations

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Trypanothione reductase (TryR) is a key enzyme involved in the oxidative stress management of the Trypanosoma and Leishmania parasites, which helps to maintain an intracellular reducing environment...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Reversible protein glutathionylation plays a key role in cellular regulation and cell signaling and protects protein thiols from hyperoxidation. Sulfiredoxin (Srx), an enzyme that catalyzes the reduction...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated to play key roles in normal physiological functions, and altered expression of specific miRNAs has been associated with a number of diseases. It is of great interest...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Detecting plant health conditions plays a key role in farm pest management and crop protection. In this study, measurement of hyperspectral leaf reflectance in rice crop (Oryzasativa...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Effectiveness Flu Shot Nasal Spray Vaccine (LAIV) Thimerosal Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) Antiviral Drugs: Key Facts Antiviral Drugs: Q&A Antiviral Drug Resistance Links,...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundBiomarkers play a key role in risk assessment, assessing treatment response, and detecting recurrence and the investigation of multiple biomarkers may also prove useful...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Hundreds of genomes have been successfully sequenced to date, and the data are publicly available. At the same time, the advances in large-scale expression and purification of recombinant proteins have...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Tyrosinase or polyphenol oxidase (EC 1.14.18.1) is the key enzyme in melanin biosynthesis and in the enzymatic browning of fruits and vegetables. The role of tyrosinase in the secondary metabolism of...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Sep 9, 2009 ... You are here: GES DISC Home Geomorphology from Space By Location Landforms by Location: Asia. Info. Landforms by Location: Asia. KEY, ASIA ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundAdipose tissue lipid storage and processing capacity can be a key factor for obesity-related metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and diabetes. Lipid uptake is...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

From Toki-shakuyaku-san, an herbal formulation for “cleansing stagnated blood,” a key gene regulatory compound was purified and identified through a screening based on DNA microarray...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background and AimsSecondary growth via successive cambia has been intriguing researchers for decades. Insight into the mechanism of growth layer formation is, however, limited to...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

How learning and memory is achieved in the brain is a central question in neuroscience. Key to today’s research into information storage in the brain is the concept of synaptic plasticity, a...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Two avowable quantum communication schemes are proposed. One is an avowable teleportation protocol based on the quantum cryptography. In this protocol one teleports a set of one-particle states based on the availability of an honest arbitrator, the keys and the Einstein Podolsky Rosen pairs shared by the communication parties and the arbitrator. The key point is that the fact of the teleportation can neither be disavowed by the sender nor be denied by the receiver. Another is an avowable quantum secure direct communication scheme. A one-way Hash function chosen by the communication parties helps the receiver to validate the truth of the information and to avoid disavowing for the sender.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trapped ions are a near ideal system to study quantum information processing due to the high degree of control over the ion's external confinement and internal degrees of freedom. We demonstrate the key steps necessary for trapped ion quantum computing and focus on phonon-mediated entangling gates. We highlight several key algorithms implemented over the last decade with these gates and give a detailed description of Grover's quantum database search implemented with two trapped ion qubits.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

With increasing liberalization of the energy sector, German suppliers of line-transmitted energy find themselves in an utterly changed sales environment, forcing companies and utilities to elaborate for the first time management policies and strategies that will ensure loyalty of their present customers, and help to solicit new customers. The article here explains some major terms and instruments used in designing key-account management strategies, as well as general procedures for suitability assessment. (orig/CB)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A complete guide to 7000 key decision makers and 2800 organizations actively involved in energy today, the 1983 Directory updates the changes in state and Congressional energy offices that resulted from the 1982 elections, the reshuffling at DOE, the shifts of jurisdiction at the Department of the Interior, and the increasing role of the private sector in funding energy research and development. New features include the addition of nearly 100 major venture-capital firms and key public-affairs contacts. The Directory also features an Annual Energy Review highlighting development that will have international effects in the coming year.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This article presents a linear-analytical case study on the development of ICT within the educational systems of Chile and South Korea. Through a comprehensive meta-data analysis and bibliographic review, we collected information on both educational systems and their ICT adoption policies. Key differences necessary to understand how both countries have developed their educational systems by integrating ICT were analyzed, including the educational system structure, the organization of state entities responsible for educational ICT, cultural characteristics, the creation of policies regarding ICT in education, and the effectiveness of such policies for the expansion of infrastructure and the ICT curriculum integration. We analyze these key differences in order to understand two cases of ICT ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

One regenerative path to produce hydrogen is the photo-biological hydrogen production by the green micro-alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This process can be divided into three phases: a growth phase, a phase in which the algae adapt from oxygen production and CO2-fixation to fermentative H2 production, and a phase in which H2 is produced. In a research project carried out at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, a new developed flat panel bioreactor was investigated. A system analysis was conducted and energetic and environmental key figures were determined. The intention of this assessment on a very early technological stage was to collect first technical data in order to classify the current technological status of the photo-biological H2 production to identify future potentials and to uncover weaknesses. For this reason the key figures were evaluated for the status quo and for two scenarios which allow an outlook on the mid and the long term. The results ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A ground-breaking study was recently completed as part of the Seabrook Level 2 PRA update. This study updates the post-core damage phenomena to be consistent with the most recent information and includes accident management activities that should be modeled in the Level 2 PRA. Overall, the result is a Level 2 PRA that fully meets the requirements of the ASME PRA Standard with respect to modeling accident management in the LERF assessment and NRC requirements in Regulatory Guide 1.174 for considering late containment failures. This technical paper deals only with the incorporation of operator actions into the Level 2 PRA based on a comprehensive study of the Seabrook Station accident response procedures and guidance. The paper describes the process used to identify the key operator actions that can influence the Level 2 PRA results and the development of success criteria for these key operator actions. This addresses a key ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In June 2009, the State of Hawaii enacted an Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS) with a target of 4,300 gigawatt hours (GWh) by 2030 (Hawaii 2009). Upon setting this goal, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), working with select local stakeholders, partnered to execute the first key step toward attaining the EEPS goal: the creation of a high-resolution roadmap outlining key areas of potential electricity savings. This roadmap was divided into two core elements: savings from new construction and savings from existing buildings. BAH focused primarily on the existing building analysis, while NREL focused on new construction forecasting. This report presents the results of the Booz Allen Hamilton study on the existing building stock of Hawaii, along with conclusions on the key drivers of potential energy efficiency savings and on the steps ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The broad use of Six Sigma in the improvement of all types of processes has provided new insight for how to design, analyze, and interpret formulation studies and mixture experiments. Experience has shown that, consistent with the Pareto principle, there are typically three to six key variables that have major effects on the performance of the process. Identifying these key variables increases your ability to control and optimize the process. Applying this concept to formulation studies suggests that we should be searching for those critical few components that are driving the performance of the product formulation. This thinking changes how we approach both the design and analysis phases of product formulation studies, including the reassessment of formulations in use today. A review of t...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The key to the future for electric utilities will not be found in legislation or regulation. Title VII of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 will prove to be just as ineffectual in improving the industry's position as was the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. These legislative palliatives, which produced so much commotion and so many reams of heated commentary, are largely irrelevant to a successful future for electric utilities. The key will be found in economics, not in law, and the future will lie in completing Thomas A. Edison's century-old vision for the industry, half of which the industry has heretofore ignored. The industry must embrace the complete vision and evolve from electric utilities into [open quotes]end-use energy utilities.[close quotes

CERN Document Server

Integrated femtocell/macrocell networks, comprising a conventional cellular network overlaid with femtocells, offer an economically appealing way to improve coverage, quality of service, and access network capacity. The key element to successful femtocells/macrocell integration lies in its self-organizing capability. Provisioning of quality of service is the main technical challenge of the femtocell/macrocell integrated networks, while the main administrative challenge is the choice of the proper evolutionary path from the existing macrocellular networks to the integrated network. In this article, we introduce three integrated network architectures which, while increasing the access capacity, they also reduce the deployment and operational costs. Then, we discuss a number of technical issues, which are key to making such integration a reality, and we offer possible approaches to their solution. These issues include efficient frequency and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KEPCO (Korean Electric Power Corp.) with the support of AECL and other Korean and Canadian subcontractors has created a strong multi-company team to execute design and construction of the Wolsung-2 CANDU 6 power plant. Key concepts of the project team are: 1. KEPCO is the project manager, and AECL is the major engineering and supply contractor; 2. Significant participation by Korean companies in design work in Canada and Korea; 3. Significant manufacturing in both Canada and Korea; 4. Construction by Korean contractors. Key concepts of the Wolsung 2 design are: 1. Evolutionary improvement of the Wolsung-1 plant which balances proven technology and necessary design improvements including current codes and standards. 2. Sharing some structures with the Wolsung-1 plant. This paper describes the successful establishment and operation of the complex project interfaces along with the current project status and plans.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The document provides: An overview of CCS technology including what plant equipment is novel and what is currently in use within the CCS or other industries; An in depth guide to carbon dioxide to broaden the readers understanding of the material and its health and safety issues; Key design features of plant and pipelines for carbon dioxide service including experience gained from the industrial gases sector; and Key operational information for plant and pipelines for carbon dioxide service including experience gained from the industrial gases sector to ensure that your operating practices take into account the latest operational experiences from carbon dioxide plant. 45 figs., 18 tabs.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Heat transfer through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) is a key process in the design and operation of a PEM fuel cell. The analysis of this process requires determination of the effective thermal conductivity as well as the thermal contact resistance associated with the interface between the GDL and adjacent surfaces/layers. In the present study, a custom-made test bed that allows the separation of effective thermal conductivity and thermal contact resistance in GDLs under vacuum and ambient conditions is described. Measurements under varying compressive loads are performed using Toray carbon paper samples with a porosity of 78% for a range of thicknesses. The measurements are complemented by compact analytical models that achieve good agreement with experimental data. A key finding is that ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Until recently, the wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) transmission system has reached record capacities and distances due to innovations such as FEC (Forward Error Correction), distributed Raman amplification, new transmission fiber and advanced optical format. Optical-communication systems exclusively employed conventional On-Off Keying signals in either Non-Return-To-Zero (NRZ) or Return-To-Zero (RZ) format. Recently a number of advanced modulation formats have attracted attention. Some of these formats carry information through On-Off-Keying but also modulate the optical phase in order to enhance the robustness of signal to chromatic dispersion, optical filtering and non-linearities. Through extensive sets of simulation results, we showed that it is possible to replace a channel wit...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) is a key multipurpose species for the African region. In the recent years there has been an extended commercial interest for different A. digitata products. As a spectacular African key species there has been a growing interest from NGO?s and various research groups. A research group, focussing on the following countries Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, has participated in a concerted research action with cross counter disciplinary cooperation between plant physiology, population genetics, tree breeding, food science, and socioeconomics. This paper presents a review and the way knowledge gaps are being addressed using the above mentioned approach. The overall work was initiated in 2005?2006 when a large collection of A. digitata seeds was carried out in...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The objective of the present investigation was to develop a Bayesian framework for updating and integrating covariate information into key parameters of metabolizable energy (ME) systems for dairy cows. The study addressed specifically the effects of genetic improvements and feed quality on key parameters in current ME systems. These are net and metabolizable energy for maintenance (NEM and MEM, respectively), efficiency of utilization of ME for milk production (kL) and growth (kG), and efficiency of utilization of body stores for milk production (kT). Data were collated from 38 studies, yielding 701 individual cow observations on milk energy, ME intake, and tissue gain and loss. A function based on a linear relationship between milk energy and ME intake and correcting for tissue energy lo...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The primary objective of this project is to investigate the effects of global change on the biodiversity of aphid communities in Western Europe. Biodiversity has been examined at 3 levels: total number of species, phenology and reproductive strategy. Data were provided by EXAMINE, the European suction traps network which has been now operating for 35 years. 392 different species have been identified. At each location, total number of species has been regularly increasing, one additional species being caught every 1 or 2 years depending on location. This is due to introduced species but also to warming which favours rare species. No general trend of increasing density has been detected, but phenological earliness of almost all species (annual date of first appearance in suction traps) is strongly correlated with temperature and especially with mean daily temperature (during more or less long periods of time lying principally in February and March) or number of days below 0 C. Strong ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The sterile insect release technique can often be improved by removal of females before release. Rearing efficiencies can also be increased if removal of the females occurs at early developmental stages. In order to begin to develop genetic sexing strains for the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), it was necessary to determine the best dosage of radiation for induction of viable sex linked recessive lethal mutations and to see if stocks containing induced sex linked lethals could be maintained in culture. Sex linked recessive lethal mutations can be detected by distorted sex ratios in the progeny of treated adults. However, in the pink bollworm, highly distorted sex ratios are common even in the absence of induced mutations. Therefore, a visible sex linked trait, purple eye, was used as a marker for the untreated X-chromosomes in crosses. Thus, the presence of a recessive sex linked lethal mutation induced by the radiation treatment may be detected ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The origin of the epithelial and myoepithelial cells in the human breast has not been delineated. In this study we have addressed whether luminal epithelial cells and myoepithelial cells are vertically connected, i.e., whether one is the precursor for the other. We used a primary culture assay allowing preservation of basic phenotypic traits of luminal epithelial and myoepithelial cells in culture. The two cell types were then separated immunomagnetically using antibodies directed against lineage-specific cell surface antigens into at best 100% purity. The cellular identity was ascertained by cytochemistry, immunoblotting, and 2-D gel electrophoresis. Luminal epithelial cells were identified by strong expression of cytokeratins 18 and 19 while myoepithelial cells were recognized by expression of vimentin and {alpha}-smooth muscle actin. We used a previously devised culture medium (CDM4) that allows vigorous expansion of proliferative myoepithelial cells and also ...

Science.gov (United States)

Rice is a very important food staple that feeds more than half the world's population. Two major Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) subspecies, japonica and indica, show significant phenotypic variation in their stress responses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenotypic variation are still largely unknown. A common link among different stresses is that they produce an oxidative burst and result in an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, methyl viologen (MV) as a ROS agent was applied to investigate the rice oxidative stress response. We observed that 93-11 (indica) seedlings exhibited leaf senescence with severe lesions under MV treatment compared to Nipponbare (japonica). Whole-genome microarray experiments were conducted, and 1,062 probe sets were identified with gene expression level polymorphisms between the two rice cultivars in addition to differential expression under MV treatment, which were assigned as Core Intersectional Probesets ...

Science.gov (United States)

The ecological success of shallow-water reef-building corals (Hexacorallia: Scleractinia) is framed by their intimate endosymbiosis with photosynthetic dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium (zooxanthellae). In contrast, the closely related black corals (Hexacorallia: Anthipatharia) are described as azooxanthellate (lacking Symbiodinium), a trait thought to reflect their preference for low-light environments that do not support photosynthesis. We examined 14 antipatharian species collected between 10 and 396 m from Hawai'i and Johnston Atoll for the presence of Symbiodinium using molecular typing and histology. Symbiodinium internal transcribed spacer-2 (ITS-2) region sequences were retrieved from 43 per cent of the antipatharian samples and 71 per cent of the examined species, and across the entire depth range. The ITS-2 sequences were identical or very similar to those commonly found in shallow-water scleractinian corals throughout the Pacific. Histological ...

Environmental Research Database

DescriptionThis new research programme activity on Urban Atmospheric Science will deliver aspects of the NERC strategy: Next Generation Science for Planet Earth. It has been developed as part of the Environment, Pollution & Human Health theme. Research in the Environment, Pollution & Human Health theme is directed at elucidating key environmental processes that form part of a causal pathway between an environmental hazard and disease outcome, and providing a predictive capability of the risk to human heal [continued...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This work has analyzed the key variables of indentation tip radius, contact radius, delamination radius, residual stress and superlayer/film/interlayer properties on nanoindentation measurements of adhesion. The goal to connect practical works of adhesion for very thin films to true works of adhesion has been achieved. A review of this work titled ''Interfacial toughness measurements of thin metal films,'' which has been submitted to Acta Materialia, is included.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The proactive protection measures and the traditional passive security protection tools are complementarities each other. It also can supply the conventional network security protection system and enhance its capability of the security protection. Based upon sorts of existing network security technologies, this article analyses and summarizes the technologies, functions and the development directions of some key proactive network security protection tools. (authors)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This articles deals with an approach that has given some key information about the mechanisms of the liquid phase oxidation of butane to acetic acid. This procedure has been developed over the last 34 years; however, much of what will be discussed represents a synthesis of previous insights. Many of the observations are relatively recent and have not been previously published. In principle, this approach should be applicable to many oxidation processes. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The author describes the results of post-test analyses of PANDA transient (M-series) tests M2 and M3. The purpose of the PANDA post-test analysis activity is to demonstrate that TRACG is applicable for the calculation of long-term SBWR containment response to a LOCA. Comparisons between TRACG predictions and test measurements are presented and discussed in the dual context of what the test results show and the capability of TRACG to predict their key features

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We propose a scheme with potential experimental realization to generate 'polarization' entanglement between two atomic ensembles and show one of the applications - a novel secure communication allowing asymptotically key distribution and quasisecure direct communication. The scheme involves laser manipulation of atomic ensembles, adjustable quarter- and half-wave plates, beam splitters, polarizing beam splitters and single-photon detectors, and well fits the status of the current experimental technology.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The FFTF is an ERDA facility which does not require licensing, but a technical review by NRC is required by ERDA policy. Safety issues which were not fully resolved in the course of the review for construction authorization have been the subject of continuing review since mid-1973. These issues included HCDA energetics, design fallback provisions for additional safety margins, piping integrity, and natural circulation core cooling.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This CD-Rom edited by the French scientific and technical committee of the space heating, ventilation and air-conditioning industry (CoSTIC) presents a series of technical files about ventilation and space heating systems with several references to the current regulatory texts. Modifications of the original legislative texts have been integrated to the original texts for a more comfortable reading. Search is performed using diagrams and key-words. (J.S.)

Wastenet

... Targeted fields of research Continuation of ongoing research - Finalising detailed design work on the ITER project; getting JET operational at full power; Improvement of the basic concepts of fusion devices - Fusion plasmas; theoretical studies; technology watch on research into inertial confinement; new experimental concepts and systems; etc.; Long-term technology - Preparations for building a demonstration reactor (development of tritium breeding blankets; prospective ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This EPRI sponsored report describes factors that influence the selection of drives in process industry. These factors include economics, safety aspects, speed control and the plant steam balance. Since the economics play a key-role in the decision, this report provides a quick way of estimating the economics of replacing steam turbines with electric motors. The tools to carry out economic analyses have been provided in the form of graphs and nomographs for quick estimation.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The NREL Sensitized Solar Cell (SSC) Core Program supports the Solar America Initiative by: (1) targeting new devices and processes for commercialization by 2015 that are less expensive, more efficient, highly reliable, and environmentally benign; (2) collaborating with DOE OS/BES to conduct basic research targeting breakthroughs in key areas, such as ultra-high efficiency and/or ultra-low cost materials and devices.

Wastenet

... News In Practice UK work Key facts & information Mass Balance Projects Resources & Library Technical Area Contacts Site Map Benchmarking solvent waste in the UK furniture manufacturing industry OrganisationBritish Furniture Manufacturers Ltd Project ReportSolvent Waste in Furniture Manufacturing Website: www.bfmenvironment.co.uk Return to list � RSWT | Website Design Quiet Storm Solutions Ltd Please consider upgrading your browser! If you can see this ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) 4α is a key transcription factor regulating endo/xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes and transporters. We investigated whether microRNAs are involved in the regulation...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Administration of minocycline (MN), a tetracycline antibiotic, produces a black pigment in the thyroids of humans and several species of experimental animals and antithyroid effects in rodents. We have previously shown that these effects appear to be related to interactions of MN with thyroid peroxidase (TPO), the key enzyme in thyroid hormone synthesis. In the present study, the mechanisms for inhibition of TPO-catalyzed iodination and coupling reactions by MN were investigated. 37 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs.

CERN Document Server

A qualitatively different manifestation of the Rayleigh instability is demonstrated, where, instead of the usual extended undulations and breakup of the liquid into many droplets, the instability is localized, leading to an isolated narrowing of the liquid filament. The localized instability, caused by a nonuniform curvature of the liquid domain, plays a key role in the evaporation of thin liquid films off solid surfaces.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report provides key information on the irradiation environment of the MONJU fuel tests MFA-1 and MFA-2 in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). This information includes the fission powers, neutron fluxes, sodium temperatures and sodium flow rates in MFA-I, MFA-2 and adjacent assemblies. It also includes MFA-1 and MFA-2 compositions as a function of exposure. The work was performed at the request of Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuels Corporation (PNC) of Japan.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundIntermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp) is a key intervention in the national strategy for malaria control in Tanzania. SP, the current drug...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Information Systems Definition architecture evaluated information Management (IM) processes in several key organizations. The intent of the study is to identify improvements in TWRS IM processes that will enable better support to the TWRS mission, and accommodate changes in TWRS business environment. The ultimate goals of the study are to reduce IM costs, Manage the configuration of TWRS IM elements, and improve IM-related process performance.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This one-day TOPTEC session began with an overview of hybrid electric vehicle technology. Updates were given on alternative types of energy storage, APU control for low emissions, simulation programs, and industry and government activities. The keynote speech was about battery technology, a key element to the success of hybrids. The TOPEC concluded with a panel discussion on the mission of hybrid electric vehicles, with a perspective from industry and government experts from United States and Canada on their view of the role of this technology.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Immune challenge induces behavioral changes including reduced ingestion of palatable food. Multiple pathways likely contribute to this effect, including viscerosensory pathways controlling hypothalamic...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To assist in attaining the HSE's objective of providing perspective and focus for Safety Case Assessment, a generic model of the structural design process for the foundations of pile supported fixed steel structures has been developed. Interfaces between the foundation design team and other stakeholders have been identified and assessments made of both the magnitude and the potential significance of the uncertainties associated with key elements of the design process. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Focuses on the application of remote sensing techniques to the study of coal waste mounds. The situation at the coal waste mounds in Fukuoka, Japan is cited. Guidelines on film parameters, photographic keys and tasks required to inventory, monitor and manage coal waste mounds in Japan are addressed. Application of photogrammetry, remote sensing, aerial photography and satellite imagery techniques in monitoring spoil banks is reviewed. Applicability of the techniques is discussed. 24 refs.

CERN Document Server

Femtocell is emerging as a key technology to secure the coverage and capacity in indoor environments. However the deployment of a new femtocell layer may originate undesired interference to the whole system. This paper investigates spectrum resource coordination and interference management for the femtocell networks. A resource coordination scheme based on broadcasting resource coordination request messages by the femto mobile is proposed to reduce the system interference.

Science.gov (United States)

Devolution, as other types of decentralization (e.g. deconcentration, delegation, privatization), profoundly changes governance relations in the health system. Devolution is meant to affect performance of the health system by transferring responsibilities and authority to locally elected governments. The key question of this article is: what does devolution mean for human resources for health in Mali?This article assesses the key advantages and dilemmas associated with devolution such as responsiveness to local needs, downward accountability and health worker retention. Challenges of politics and capacities are also addressed in relation to human resources for health at the local level. Examples are derived from experiences in Mali with a capacity development programme and from case studies of other countries. It is not research findings that are presented, but highlights of key issues at stake aimed at inspiring the debate ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

T-cell activation requires the influx of extracellular calcium, although mechanistic details regarding such activation are not fully defined. Here, we show that P2X₇ receptors play a key...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niger is the second poorest country in the world but it has natural resources underground in the form of uranium ores deposits. This uranium is currently mined by two companies incorporated under Nigerian law: Somair and Cominak, operated by the principal shareholder Areva (through its subsidiary Cogema). After a presentation of Somair and Cominak key figures, this document details the working conditions and radiological protection, the environmentally friendly operations, the production traceability, the local economic development, the strengthening of the health care system and the development of the infrastructure. (A.L.B.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A bibliography is presented of unclassified published and in-house technical material written by members of the Accelerator Technology Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, since its inception in January, 1978. The author and subject concordances in this report provide cross-reference to detailed citations kept in a computer database and a microfilm file of the documents. The citations include an abstract and other notes, and can be searched for key words and phrases.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Electric cars have long been seen as science fiction. This may be changing. As the 1990s began, several companies chose to launch publicity campaigns for electric vehicles. In California, experimental programmes are gaining momentum, in the context of LA's appalling air pollution problems and tightening clean air standards. Supporters claim that electric motive power is a key to solving several environmental problems involving atmospheric pollution. These claims are examined. (author).

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Ethylene (C₂H₄) is a unique plant-signaling molecule that regulates numerous developmental processes. The key enzyme in the two-step biosynthetic pathway of ethylene is 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The forest products industry is the third largest economic sector in Alberta, producing pulp and paper, dimensional lumber, paneling, and value added products, providing some 40,000 jobs . 'Value added' is a key component of expanding economic activity within the forest products sector. Wood residues can play a key role in obtaining more value from forest resources by providing new products, serving as feedstock to energy and chemical production, and playing a role in agriculture and land reclamation. One of the principal roles of the Forest Products Development Branch of the Alberta Economics Department is to encourage the development of the industry by creating new uses for these materials and developing awareness of the scope of the resource. Distances to markets, economic competition from conventional energy sources and coordination of research efforts are substantial barriers to further development that the Forest ...

Environmental Research Database

ObjectivesThe key testing-grounds for theories concerning the origin of helping are primitively eusocial taxa in which the option of independent reproduction still exists. Co-foundress associations of Polistes paper wasps are the best studied primitively eusocial system, yet it remains unclear why many foundresses choose to become helpers. Especially paradoxical are populations of P. dominulus, in which >30% of helpers are unrelated to the dominant egg-layer in the group. The proposed research will use [continued...]DescriptionThe evolution of sociality is one of the major transitions in evolutionary biology. The key testing-grounds for theories concerning the origin of helping are primitively eusocial taxa in which the option of independent reproduction still exists. Social groups of Polistes paper wasps comprise groups of females in which one 'dominant' female lays most or all of the eggs while the others ( 'helpers') forage to feed the ...

Environmental Research Database

ObjectivesWe have developed a life cycle perspective inspired conceptual model (CM) that suggests the importance of terrestrial ecosystems as a major repository of ZnO, TiO2, and Ag (Tier 1) manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) introduced via the land application of MNM-containing biosolids. We propose to investigate the transport, fate, behavior, bioavailability, and effects of MNMs in(to) agroecosystems under environmentally realistic scenarios organized around three key hypotheses: Hypothesis (H1) Surface [continued...]DescriptionWe have developed a life cycle perspective inspired conceptual model (CM) that suggests the importance of terrestrial ecosystems as a major repository of ZnO, TiO2, and Ag (Tier 1) manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) introduced via the land application of MNM-containing biosolids. We propose to investigate the transport, fate, behavior, bioavailability, and effects of MNMs in(to) agroecosystems under environmentally realistic scenarios ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The study of natural convection flow and heat transfer within a cylindrical annulus has received considerable attention because of its numerous applications, such as in nuclear reactor design, electronic component cooling, thermal storage systems, energy conservation, energy storage, and energy transmission. Here, the effects of multiple geometric perturbations on the inner and outer cylinders of an annulus with impermeable end walls are investigated in this work. A three-dimensional study was done using a numerical scheme based on a Galerkin method of finite element formulation. The nature of the buoyancy-induced flow field has been analyzed in detail. The flow fields for the cases considered were found to be qualitatively similar, and the introduction of each additional perturbation altered the flow field in a regular and recurring manner. The introduction of each perturbation on the outer cylinder causes clockwise and counterclock-wise rotating patterns on either side of the ...

Science.gov (United States)

This paper summarizes the progress to date by CH2M HILL and the UKAEA in development of a parametric modelling capability for estimating the costs of large nuclear decommissioning projects in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe. The ability to successfully apply parametric cost estimating techniques will be a key factor to commercial success in the UK and European multi-billion dollar waste management, decommissioning and environmental restoration markets. The most useful parametric models will be those that incorporate individual components representing major elements of work: reactor decommissioning, fuel cycle facility decommissioning, waste management facility decommissioning and environmental restoration. Models must be sufficiently robust to estimate indirect costs and overheads, permit pricing analysis and adjustment, and accommodate the intricacies of international monetary exchange, currency fluctuations and contingency. The development of a parametric cost ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fitness, (biometric measurements, reproduction) and behaviour that are ecologically relevant biomarkers in assessing the quality of estuarine sediments were studied by comparing the responses of the polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor - a key species in estuaries - along a pollution gradient. Intersite differences were shown for all the measured parameters: size-weight relationships, energy reserves as glycogen and lipids, sexual maturation patterns, total number of oocytes per female, total and relative fecundity, burrowing behaviour. The physiological and behavioural status of N. diversicolor was consistently disturbed in the larger, most contaminated estuaries (Loire and Seine, Fr.) compared to reference sites (Bay of Bourgneuf, Goyen estuary, Fr.). Many classes of potentially toxic chemicals present in these estuaries most likely contribute to these impairments but food availability may act as a confounding factor, interfering with the potential impact of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This booklet outlines the position of Manitoba's heat pump market with the objective of promoting the widespread use of geothermal heat pumps in the province. It makes reference to the size of the market, customer satisfaction with heat pumps, and opinion of key players in the industry regarding the heat pump market. The information in this booklet is drawn on market research and lessons learned in Europe and the United States. In October 2001, a group of key stakeholders in Manitoba's heat pump market attended an industry working meeting to address the issues of market barriers, market enablers and market hot buttons. Market barriers include the high cost of geothermal heat pumps, lack of consumer awareness, lack of consistent standards, and public perception that heat pumps are not reliable. Market enablers include the low and stable operating costs of geothermal heat pumps, high level of comfort, high quality and reliability of geothermal ...

CERN Document Server

Sparse learning has recently received increasing attention in many areas including machine learning, statistics, and applied mathematics. The mixed-norm regularization based on the L1/Lq norm with q > 1 is attractive in many applications of regression and classification in that it facilitates group sparsity in the model. The resulting optimization problem is, however, challenging to solve due to the structure of the L1/Lq -regularization. Existing work deals with special cases including q = 2,infinity, and they cannot be easily extended to the general case. In this paper, we propose an efficient algorithm based on the accelerated gradient method for solving the L1/Lq -regularized problem, which is applicable for all values of q larger than 1, thus significantly extending existing work. One key building block of the proposed algorithm is the L1/Lq -regularized Euclidean projection (EP1q). Our theoretical analysis reveals the key properties of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The newly developed techniques by the Hot Laboratory (JMTR HL) have provided for us the key information on behavior of specimens due to mechanical / physical / chemical / synergistic effects of radiation, stress and water for fission and fusion reactor environment. These techniques are focused on several topics as follows; (1) miniaturized specimen test for the development of fusion reactor materials, (2) slow strain rate tensile testing (SSRT) and crack propagation measuring tests for the study of Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (IASCC) of core internals of LWR, (3) handling technique on specimens including tritium for the research and development of tritium breeders and neutron multiplier as fusion blanket materials, (4) joining method using the Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding technique for re-assembling of capsule and re-fabrication of specimen and (5) nondestructive evaluation using ultrasonic wave and infrared thermography for the quantitative ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The APMP/TCRI Dosimetry Working Group performed the APMP.RI(I)-K3 key comparison of measurement of air kerma for medium-energy x-rays (100 kV to 250 kV) between 2000 and 2003. In total, 11 institutes took part in the comparison, among which 8 were APMP member laboratories. Two commercial cavity ionization chambers were used as transfer instruments and circulated among the participants. All the participants established the 100 kV, 135 kV, 180 kV and 250 kV x-ray beam qualities equivalent to those of the BIPM. The results showed that the maximum difference between the participants and the BIPM in the medium-energy x-ray range, evaluated using the comparison data of the linking laboratories ARPANSA and PTB, is less than 1.4%. The degrees of equivalence between the participants are presented and this comparison confirms the calibration capabilities of the participating laboratories. (authors)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The present investigation represents the initial phase of a comprehensive experimental program designed to study the potential for increasing the heat transfer per unit pressure drop in a ribbed duct by positioning vortex generators at key locations in the flow. In particular, the present investigation consists of a rib positioned at the inlet to a rectangular test section with uniform heating at its bottom wall. Local and average Nusselt number results are obtained for a circular rod positioned either immediately above or just downstream of the rib.

Science.gov (United States)

This paper examines the availability and adequacy of schools' infrastructural facilities for implementation of the Universal Basic Education program in Nigeria. Adopting the "ex post facto" design, the researchers used existing school data on physical facilities, including a survey of key stakeholders in the education sector. Data analysed revealed inadequacy of physical facilities for effective implementation of the UBE program. It was accordingly recommended that government at the national, state and local levels show better commitment to the implementation of the Universal Basic Education program. (Contains 3 figures and 4 tables.)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary DNA topoisomerases are the key enzymes involved in carrying out high precision DNA transactions inside the cells. However, they are detrimental to the cell when a wide variety of topoisomerase-targeted drugs generate cytotoxic lesions by trapping the enzymes in covalent complexes on the DNA. The discovery of unusual heterodimeric topoisomerase I in kinetoplastid family added a new twist in topoisomerase research related to evolution, functional conservation and their preferential sensitivity to Camptothecin. On the other hand, structural and mechanistic studies on kinetoplastid topoisomerase II delineate some distinguishing features that differentiate the parasitic enzyme from its prokaryotic and eukaryotic counterparts. This review summarizes the recent advances in research in kin...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of this research was to determine improved thermal, epithermal, and fast fluxes and several responses at mechanical test surveillance location keys 2, 4, 5, and 7 of the pressure vessel of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) for the beginning of the fuel cycle. The purpose of the research was to provide essential flux data in support of radiation embrittlement studies of the pressure vessel shell and beam tubes at some of the important locations.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

On the basis of literary sources and experimental data, the advantages of a monogamous reproductive strategy are analyzed. Monogamous species of Lepidoptera have no postcopulative mechanisms of control over the success of reproductive sperm competition, cryptic female choice, and, probably, the male?s nuptial gift. Selection of the sex partner and of the quality of the future generation is determined by the precopulative and copulative mechanisms of the reproductive behavior, which include chemocommunication and a ?lock-and-key? mechanism. In an experiment with one male and one female, the quota of successful mating can depend on the morphological complication of the genital apparatus of males. Cases are considered of repeated mating for some, usually monogamous, species. In comparison wit...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper explores the feasibility of integrating energyefficiency program evaluation with the emerging need for the evaluationof programs from different "energy cultures" (demand response, renewableenergy, and climate change). The paper reviews key features andinformation needs of the energy cultures and critically reviews theopportunities and challenges associated with integrating these withenergy efficiency program evaluation. There is a need to integrate thedifferent policy arenas where energy efficiency, demand response, andclimate change programs are developed, and there are positive signs thatthis integration is starting to occur.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Both the nature of international climate policy architectures and the development and diffusion of new energy technologies could dramatically influence future costs of reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases. This paper explores the implications of interactions between technology availability and performance and international policy architectures for technology choice and the social cost of limiting atmospheric CO2 concentrations to 500 ppm by the year 2095. Key issues explored in the paper include the role of bioenergy production with CO2 capture and storage (CCS), overshoot concentration pathways, and the sensitivity of mitigation costs to policy and technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Research continued on the synthesis of model compounds for coal liquefaction research. This report covers the actual laboratory investigation performed during the reporting period in order to attain the stated objective of the project, viz, the synthesis of a model compound containing tetrahydronaphthalene, naphthalene and phenyl moieties linked by methylene, ethylene and ether bonds. The overall synthetic approach aimed at obtaining the end product has been broken down into three major steps that involve the synthesis of three key reactive intermediates. These are: (1) 3,5-dimethyl-5-bromobenzyl chloride, (2) 1-chloromethylene-2-hydroxytetralin and (3) 2-chloromethylene-1-hydroxynaphthalene.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Project management mode plays a key role in project construction, especially in nuclear power field. From the aspects of right, responsibility and benefit, this paper discussed the differences among the common used project management modes. Also the main kinds of the construction management modes used in China's nuclear power plants were summarized. At last, considering the experience of Ningde nuclear power plant, this paper put forward several perspectives about the selection of project management mode in nuclear power plant construction. (authors)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We report on a promising approach to high-sensitivity anisotropy measurements using a high-finesse cavity locked by optical feedback to a diode laser. We provide a simple and effective way to decouple the weak anisotropy of interest from the inherent mirror's birefringence whose drift may be identified as the key limiting parameter in cavity-based techniques. We demonstrate a shot-noise-limited phase shift resolution previously inaccessible in an optical cavity, readily achieving the state-of-the-art level of 3x10"-"1"3 rad.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract This study presents a review of distributed model predictive control (DMPC) strategies followed by recent studies conducted by the authors on the robustness of these strategies to model errors and a summary of future challenges in this area. The review identifies three key challenges for the successful application of DMPC: (i) the selection of optimal control structure for DMPC; (ii) the choice of a suitable coordination strategy among the controllers; and (iii) the robustness of DMPC strategies to model errors. Then, the study summarises recent developments related to the robustness of unconstrained and constrained DMPC algorithms. For the unconstrained case, a methodology that is based on the calculation of a performance index is proposed to balance the trade-off between perform...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The product of several advanced physical coal cleaning processes is a dry, ultrafine coal (DUC), in the order of 10 microns mean mass diameter. To utilize this fuel commercially, cost-effective, environmentally safe systems must be provided for the storage, transport, and handling of this finely divided form of fuel. The objective of the project described herein is the development of total logistics systems for DUC, including experimental verification of key features. The systems to be developed will provide for safe, economic, and environmentally protective storage and delivery of DUC for residential, commercial, and industrial uses. 20 figs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The study of imported ceramics found in Beirut and suspected to belong to north Syrian products will provide key evidence for the roles in trade of the various postulated centers in northern Syria and northern Lebanon. It is proposed that a comprehensive range of likely north Syrian products imported to Beirut will be chemically analyzed by PIXE (proton induced X-ray emission) in order to characterize, compare and isolate the various regional production centers that supplied the city from the Persian to Byzantine periods. In this work, we were mainly focusing on the characterization of Amrit products, by using 3 MeV proton beam and Al funny filter, as X-ray absorber.

CERN Document Server

We propose a mechanism to explain what occurs when a mixture of grains of different sizes and different shapes (i.e. different repose angles) is poured into a quasi-two-dimensional cell. Specifically, we develop a model that displays spontaneous stratification of the large and small grains in alternating layers. We find that the key requirement for stratification is a difference in the repose angles of the two pure species, a prediction confirmed by experimental findings. We also identify a kink mechanism that appears to describe essential aspects of the dynamics of stratification.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An overview of particle and photon beam bunch length measurements is presented in the context of free-electron laser (FEL) challenges. Particle-beam peak current is a critical factor in obtaining adequate FEL gain for both oscillators and self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) devices. Since measurement of charge is a standard measurement, the bunch length becomes the key issue for ultrashort bunches. Both time-domain and frequency-domain techniques are presented in the context of using electromagnetic radiation over eight orders of magnitude in wavelength. In addition, the measurement of microbunching in a micropulse is addressed.