BackgroundThe beta-defensin gene cluster (DEFB) at chromosome 8p23.1 is one of the most copy number (CN) variableregions of the human genome. Whereas individual DEFB CNs have been...Full Text Available
In Experiment I, lever pressing by squirrel monkeys was maintained under a sequence of variable-interval, multiple variable-interval variable-interval, and multiple variable-interval extinction schedules...Full Text Available
A plethora of experimental studies use mtDNA as a marker of demographic processes without questioning the possibility that selection may bias their interpretations. We studied four lines of Drosophila melanogaster that have a standardized nuclear DNA but variable mtDNA. We completed the sequencing of the mitochondrial genomes (excluding the A+T rich region) and compiled the differences. We then assayed male influence on oviposition, starvation resistance, lipid proportion and physical activity. We discuss these results in terms of the known differences between the lines and conclude that naturally occurring mtDNA variants in D. melanogaster are expressed at the level of the organismal phenotype. PMID:21757031
In this paper, we derive the moderate deviation principle for stationary sequences of bounded random variables with values in a Hilbert space. The conditions obtained are expressed in terms of martingale-type conditions. The main tools are martingale approximations and a new Hoeffding inequality for non adpated sequences of Hilbert-valued random variables. Applications to Cramer-Von Mises statistics, functions of linear processes and stable Markov chains are given.
Abstract The benthic marine worm Xenoturbella is frequently contaminated with molluscan DNA, which had earlier caused confusion resulting in a suggested bivalve relationship. In order to find the source of the contaminant, we have used molluscan sequences derived from Xenoturbella and compared them to barcodes obtained from several individuals of the nonmicroscopic molluscs sharing the same environment as Xenoturbella. Using cytochrome oxidase 1, we found the contaminating sequences to be 98% similar to the bivalve Ennucula tenuis. Using the highly variable D1-D2 region of the large ribosomal subunit in Xenoturbella, we found three distinct species of contaminating molluscs, one of which is 99% similar to the bivalve Abra nitida, one of the most abundant bivalves in the Gullmarsfjord where...
The heat-shock gene, Hsp90, was targeted as a new variable genomic region to supplement other DNA-based tests for identification and discrimination of Globodera pallida, G. rostochiensis and G. tabacum tabacum. Populations of the potato cyst nematodes, G. pallida and G. rostochiensis (PCN), originating from Canada, France, Belgium and USA, together with two populations of G. tabacum tabacum from the USA and France were used for the amplification of a fragment of the Hsp90 gene. General and specific primers and probes for each species were derived from the consensus and non-consensus regions of the aligned sequences, respectively. A triplex conventional PCR assay, using a general forward and reverse or three specific reverse primers, as well as a real-time PCR using general primers and spec...
Most codon indices used today are based on highly biased nonrandom usage of codons in coding regions. The background of a coding or noncoding DNA sequence, however, is fairly random, and can be characterized...Full Text Available
Hox genes encode a family of transcriptional regulators that operate differential developmental programs along the anteroposterior axis of bilateral animals. Regulatory changes affecting Hox gene expression are believed to have been crucial for the evolution of animal body plans. In Drosophila melanogaster, Hox expression is post-transcriptionally regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs) acting on target sites located in the 3' untranslated regions (3'UTRs) of Hox mRNAs. Notably, recent work has shown that during D. melanogaster development Hox genes produce mRNAs with variable 3'UTRs (short and long forms) in different sets of tissues as a result of alternative polyadenylation; importantly, Hox short and long 3'UTRs contain very different target sites for miRNAs. Here, we use a computational approach to explore the evolution of Hox 3'UTRs treated with especial regard to miRNA regulation. Our work is focused on the 12 Drosophila species for which ...
BackgroundDue to the increased accuracy of Copy Number Variableregion (CNV) break point mapping, it is now possible to say with a reasonable degree of confidence whether a gene...Full Text Available
the southern Arabian Gulf region left its signature on the heterogeneous aerosol .... Arabian Gulf region, since large differences in ? may be caused by ...
BackgroundSynonymous sites are freer to vary because of redundancy in genetic code. Messenger RNA secondary structure restricts this freedom, as revealed by previous findings in...Full Text Available
The sequence-dependent structural variability and conformational dynamics of DNA play pivotal roles in many biological milieus, such as in the site-specific binding of transcription factors to target...Full Text Available
The sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) domain data obtained by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis with 18S rDNA and fingerprinting (M13) for clinical...Full Text Available
Human BTEB cDNA clones have been isolated, sequenced, and the corresponding gene has been assigned to human chromosome 9, region q13, by fluorescent in situ hybridization and DNA blot analysis using DNAs from hybrid cell clones containing a single human chromosome. The cDNA clone encodes a polypeptide of 244 amino acids whose sequence shows a high sequence similarity with the rat BTEB (98% amino acid identity).
Full text: DNA rearrangement events leading to chromosomal aberrations are central to ionizing radiation-induced cell death. Although DNA double-strand breaks are probably the lesion that initiates formation of chromosomal aberrations, little is understood about the molecular mechanisms that generate and modulate DNA rearrangement. Examination of the sequences that flank sites of DNA rearrangement may provide information regarding the processes and enzymes involved in rearrangement events. Accordingly, we developed a method using inverse PCR that allows the detection and sequencing of putative radiation-induced DNA rearrangements in defined regions of the human genome. The method can detect single copies of a rearrangement event that has occurred in a particular region of the genome and, therefore, DNA rearrangement detection does not require survival and continued multiplication of the affected cell. ...
A methodology and hypothetical case study are presented for incorporation of uncertainty and variability into calculations of human health risk appropriate for regional, or basin-scale, groundwater management problems. Uncertainty in well water concentration is introduced through complex contaminant migration patterns in the subsurface. Variability is considered in parameters related to individual behavior patterns and biological effects and to groundwater extraction and distribution networks. A joint uncertainty and variability (JUV) analysis is used to generate a two-dimensional distribution or risk surface that spans both transport uncertainty as well as individual variability. Cuts in this distributional surface (fractiles of variability and percentiles of uncertainty) are presented and discussed. Comparisons with alternative approaches based upon ...
The disrupted magnetic braking theory for the period gap of cataclysmic variable systems is used to study the binary evolution of low-mass main-sequence-like stars with white dwarf companions. The model is able to reproduce the observed location and width of the gap provided that the average mass transfer rates above the upper edge of the gap are greater than about 1.9 x 10 to the -9th solar masses/yr. For the case of angular momentum loss by magnetic braking, the slope of the mass transfer rate with respect to orbital period is shown to range from 3.4 to 3.7. For the evolutionary sequences considered, the He-3 abundance at the surface of the secondary exceeds 0.0015 after the complete mixing phase, resulting in modifications in the nuclear burning development of nova explosions. 31 refs.
Homology analyses of the protein sequences of chicken liver and rat mammary gland fatty acid synthases were carried out. The amino acid sequences of the chicken and rat enzymes are 67% identical. If conservative substitutions are allowed, 78% of the amino acids are matched. A region of low homologies exists between the functional domains, in particular around amino acid residues 1059-1264 of the chicken enzyme. Homologies between the active sites of chicken and rat and of chicken and yeast enzymes have been analyzed by an alignment method. A high degree of homology exists between the active sites of the chicken and rat enzymes. However, the chicken and yeast enzymes show a lower degree of homology. The DADPH-binding dinucleotide folds of the {beta}-ketoacyl reductase and the enoyl reductase sites were identified by comparison with a known consensus sequence for the DADP- and FAD-binding dinucleotide ...
1. Amino acid sequences covering the region between residues 173 and 248 [adopting the numbering system proposed by Lai, Nakai & Chang (1974) Science 183, 1204-1206] were derived for trout (Salmo...Full Text Available
In previous studies it has been established that in Escherichia coli the three known subunits of anaerobic nitrate reductase are encoded by the narGHI operon. From the nucleotide sequence of the narI...Full Text Available
A series of deletion mutants extending from -250 toward the capsite has been constructed in the early promoter region of the adenovirus 2 EIIa gene and tested both in vitro, and in vivo after transfection...Full Text Available
The evolution of the human mitochondrial genome is characterized by the emergence of ethnically distinct lineages or haplogroups. Nine European, seven Asian (including Native American), and three African...Full Text Available
The sequence in the first hypervariable segment (HVS-I) of the control region has been used as a source of evolutionary information in most phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA. Population genetic inference...Full Text Available
The vaginal bacterial microbiota of 19 premenopausal women was examined by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing of the V2-V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Ten of the women...Full Text Available
BackgroundPromoter region plays an important role in determining where the transcription of a particular gene should be initiated. Computational prediction of eukaryotic Pol II promoter...Full Text Available
In methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the methicillin resistance gene mecA is localized within a large chromosomal region which is absent in the methicillin-susceptible...Full Text Available
Amino acids labelled with dimethylaminoazobenzenesulphonyl chloride can be separated by reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography and detected in the visible region (436 nm). All 19 naturally...Full Text Available
The complete complementary code (CCC) is a sequence family with ideal correlation sums which was proposed by Suehiro and Hatori. Numerous literatures show its applications to direct-spread code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems for inter-channel interference (ICI)-free communication with improved spectral efficiency. In this paper, we propose a systematic framework for the construction of CCCs based on $N$-shift cross-orthogonal sequence families ($N$-CO-SFs). We show theoretical bounds on the size of $N$-CO-SFs and CCCs, and give a set of four algorithms for their generation and extension. The algorithms are optimal in the sense that the size of resulted sequence families achieves theoretical bounds and, with the algorithms, we can construct an optimal CCC consisting of sequences whose lengths are not only almost arbitrary but even variable between ...
Activation-induced deaminase (AID) initiates somatic hypermutation, gene conversion and class switch recombination by deaminating variable and switch region DNA cytidines to uridines. AID is predominantly...Full Text Available
Simulations with a regional chemical transport model show that anthropogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) lead to a dramatic diurnal...Full Text Available
The distribution of 20 variableregions resulting from insertion-deletion events in the genomes of the tubercle bacilli has been evaluated in a total of 100 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis,...Full Text Available
Full text: A novel protocol based on electrospray ionization (ESI) multiple stage high capacity ion trap (HCT) mass spectrometry (MS) was developed for glycosphingolipidomic surveys. The method was optimized for detailed structural elucidation of human brain gangliosides and particularly applied to human hippocampus-associated structures. The multiple stage MS experiments allowed for a complete structural characterization of GM1 ganglioside species, which was achieved by elucidation of the oligosaccharide sequence, identification of the GM1 a structural isomer from the data upon sialic acid localization along the sugar backbone and determination of the d18:1/18:0 of fatty acid/sphingoid base composition of the ceramide moiety. The methodology developed here is of general practical applicability for glycolipids and represents a step forward in the implementation of the advanced and most modern MS methods in glycomics. Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids, which ...
The Sperchios Basin is an active asymmetric graben, bounded to the south by a major border fault system with major fault segments typically 20-30 km long. The basin is dominated by a major axial fluvio-deltaic system which enters the partially enclosed Maliakos Gulf to the east. Lateral sourced depositional systems within the basin comprise hanging-wall and footwall-derived alluvial fans and a narrow coastal plain along the footwall scarp bordering the Maliakos Gulf. High resolution seismic data from the Maliakos Gulf reveals three late Quaternary progradational parasequences sourced from axial and lateral depositional systems, with a regional late-Pleistocene transgressive surface dated at circa. 10 ka BP within the Maliakos Gulf. Differential subsidence of the late Pleistocene transgressive surface indicates marked variation in subsidence from 2.4 m ka[sup -1] at fault segment centers to 0.8 m ka[sup -1] at segment boundaries. The geometry and internal ...
The Sperchios Basin is an active asymmetric graben, bounded to the south by a major border fault system with major fault segments typically 20-30 km long. The basin is dominated by a major axial fluvio-deltaic system which enters the partially enclosed Maliakos Gulf to the east. Lateral sourced depositional systems within the basin comprise hanging-wall and footwall-derived alluvial fans and a narrow coastal plain along the footwall scarp bordering the Maliakos Gulf. High resolution seismic data from the Maliakos Gulf reveals three late Quaternary progradational parasequences sourced from axial and lateral depositional systems, with a regional late-Pleistocene transgressive surface dated at circa. 10 ka BP within the Maliakos Gulf. Differential subsidence of the late Pleistocene transgressive surface indicates marked variation in subsidence from 2.4 m ka{sup -1} at fault segment centers to 0.8 m ka{sup -1} at segment boundaries. The geometry and internal ...
The report is the second of three describing the geology of coal quality variations in the foothills and mountains region of Alberta. The Lower Cretaceous Luscar Group, Lower Paleocene Coalspur Formation, and the Upper Paleocene Paskapoo Formation (Obed-Marsh coal zone, which is classified as a foothills deposit) are evaluated. Data on proximate and ultimate analysis variables, calorific analysis, vitrinite reflectance, maceral analyses, and coal quality relationships are presented. The coals range from low volatile bituminous to subbituminous A. Regional and local in seam coal quality variations are examined. 49 refs., 39 figs., 6 tabs.
I review what we know about the donor stars in cataclysmic variables (CVs), focusing particularly on the close link between these binary components and the overall secular evolution of CVs. I begin with a brief overview of the "standard model" of CV evolution and explain why the key observables this model is designed to explain - the period gap and the period minimum -- are intimately connected to the properties of the secondary stars in these systems. CV donors are expected to be slightly inflated relative to isolated, equal-mass main-sequence (MS) stars, and this "donor bloating" has now been confirmed observationally. The empirical donor mass-radius relationship also shows a discontinuity at M_2 = 0.2 M_sun which neatly separates long- and short-period CVs. This is strong confirmation of the basic disrupted magnetic braking scenario for CV evolution. The empirical M_2-R_2 relation can be combined with stellar models to construct a complete, ...
The detailed sequence stratigraphic analysis of the siliciclastic-dominated Late Cretaceous sediments (Aren Sandstone and Garumnian red beds, south central Pyrenees, Spain) reveals the repeating disposition of critical elements and controlling mechanisms of cycles and sequences. Our approach integrates (a) hierarchy of unconformity-bounded units, (b) physical expression of boundaries traceable from the continent to the basin, (c) featuring facies and depositional systems, (d) well log and seismic expression, and (e) driving basing-filling mechanisms. A comparison to other active basins is suggested in order to prove the validity beyond the regional scale. Four basin-wide transgressive facies cycles were identified and interpreted as third-order units. The transgressive phase of each cycle is represented by mixed shelf deposits, while regressive periods consists of complex delta systems. The cycles are composed within their ...
The sequencing and detailed comparative functional analysis of genomes of a number of select botanical models open new doors into comparative genomics among the angiosperms, with potential benefits for improvement of many orphan crops that feed large populations. In this study, a set of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers was developed by mining the expressed sequence tag (EST) database of sorghum. Among the SSR-containing sequences, only those sharing considerable homology with rice genomic sequences across the lengths of the 12 rice chromosomes were selected. Thus, 600 SSR-containing sorghum EST sequences (50 homologous sequences on each of the 12 rice chromosomes) were selected, with the intention of providing coverage for corresponding homologous regions of the sorghum genome. Primer pairs were designed and ...
Acanthamoeba castellanii myosins IA and IB demonstrate the catalytic properties of a myosin and can support analogues of contractile and motile activity in vitro, but their single, low molecular weight heavy chains, roughly globular shapes, and inabilities to self-assemble into filaments make them structurally atypical myosins. The authors present the complete amino acid sequence of the 128-kDa myosin IB heavy chain, which they deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the gene and which reveals that the polypeptide is a fusion of myosin-like and non-myosin-like sequences. Specifically, the amino-terminal approx. 76 kDa of amino acid sequence is highly similar to the globular head sequences of conventional myosins. By contrast, the remaining approx. 51 kDa of sequence shows no similarity to any portion of conventional myosin sequences, ...
Acanthamoeba castellanii myosins IA and IB demonstrate the catalytic properties of a myosin and can support analogues of contractile and motile activity in vitro, but their single, low molecular weight heavy chains, roughly globular shapes, and inabilities to self-assemble into filaments make them structurally atypical myosins. The authors present the complete amino acid sequence of the 128-kDa myosin IB heavy chain, which they deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the gene and which reveals that the polypeptide is a fusion of myosin-like and non-myosin-like sequences. Specifically, the amino-terminal #approx# 76 kDa of amino acid sequence is highly similar to the globular head sequences of conventional myosins. By contrast, the remaining #approx# 51 kDa of sequence shows no similarity to any portion of conventional myosin sequences, ...
It was the aim of this study to specifically detect the DNA sequences for the bphC gene, the meta-cleavage enzyme of the aerobic catabolic pathway for biphenyl and polychlorinated biphenyl degradation, in aquatic sediments without prior cultivation of microorganisms by using extraction of total DNA, PCR amplification of bphC sequences, and detection with specific gene probes. The direct DNA extraction protocol used was modified to enhance lysis efficiency. Crude extracts of DNA were further purified by gel filtration, which yielded DNA that could be used for the PCR. PCR primers were designed for conserved regions of the bphC gene from a sequence alignment of five known sequences. The specificity of PCR amplification was verified by using digoxigenin-labeled DNA probes which were located internal to the amplified gene sequence. The detection limit for the bphC ...
DNA methylation is an important event in epigenetic changes in cells, and a fundamental regulator of gene transcription. Bisulfite genomic sequencing is a powerful technique used in studies of DNA methylation. However, the established procedures often require relatively large amounts of DNA. In everyday practice, samples submitted for analysis might contain very small amounts of poor quality material, as is often the case with forensic stain samples. In this study, we assess a modified, more efficient method of bisulfite genomic sequencing. Genomic DNA extracted from 3-mm dried blood spots using QIAamp micro kit was treated with sodium bisulfite (using EpiTect kit). Subsequent methylation-specific PCR (MSP) followed by DNA sequencing displayed the differentially methylated region of imprinted gene SNRPN. Our results show that this new combination of efficient DNA extraction and bisulfite treatment ...
We have isolated a genomic clone containing 'Lupinus luteus' 5S ribosomal RNA genes by screening with 5S rDNA probe clones that were hybridized previously with the initiator methionine tRNA preparation (contaminated) with traces of rRNA or its degradation products). The clone isolated contains ten repeat units of 342 bp with 119 bp fragment showing 100% homology to the 5S rRNA from yellow lupine. Sequence analysis indicates only point heterogeneities among the flanking regions of the genes. (author). 6 refs, 3 figs.
A proposed metallization system for large area silicon solar cells with shallow junctions is outlined, and its desirable features are discussed. A baseline process sequence for the nickel palladium metallization system (NPMS) is delineated. This baseline process sequence is serving as the starting point from which process variations are being performed. The eventual goal is optimization of the NPMS process and determination of the control ranges for NPMS process variables. Initial studies of palladium displacement and electroless chemical plating solutions used in the baseline NPMS have begun and progress is reported. In support of this work, an annotated bibliography (45 citations) dealing primarily with palladium plating and palladium-silicon contact formation has been prepared (and will be subject to updating in the future reports).
Genetic mapping is approached using the techniques of high resolution fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This technology and the results of its application are designed to rapidly generate whole genome as tool box of expressed sequence to speed the identification of human disease genes. The results of this study are intended to dovetail with and to link the results of existing technologies for creating backbone YAC and genetic maps. In the first eight months, this approach generated 60--80% of the expressed sequence map, the remainder expected to be derived through more long-term, labor-intensive, regional chromosomal gene searches or sequencing. The laboratory has made significant progress in the set-up phase, in mapping fetal and adult brain and other cDNAs, in testing a model system for directly linking genetic and physical maps using FISH with small fragments, in setting up a database, and ...
Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), family Nanaviridae, genus Babuvirus, is a single stranded DNA virus (ssDNA) that causes banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) in banana plants. It is the most common and most destructive of all viruses in these plants and is widespread throughout the Asia-Pacific region. In this study we isolated, cloned and sequenced a BBTV sample from Hainan Island, China. The results from sequencing and bioinformatics analysis indicate this isolate represents a satellite DNA component with 12 DNA sequences motifs. We also predicted the physical and chemical properties, structure, signal peptide, phosphorylation, secondary structure, tertiary structure and functional domains of its encoding protein, and compare them with the corresponding quantities in the replication initiatio...
The human smooth muscle myosin heavy chain locus (MYH11) was mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization to the middle of the p arm of chromosome 16 using a genomic cosmid clone containing coding sequences of the gene as probe. Probe from coding sequence, when applied to Southern blots of a panel of hybrids containing different portions of human chromosome 16, localized the gene to 16p13.13-13.12. Coding sequence PCR primers, when used on the DNA from a CHO-mouse hybrid clone mapping panel informative for mouse chromosomes, showed that the gene was located on mouse chromosome 16. These results correct a recent assignment of MYH11 from 16q12.2 to the region of the 16p-arm inversion breakpoint seen in acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML) M4Eo and demonstrate that the conflicting data do not result from the presence of additional MYH genes on the q arm of the chromosome. Also, a new ...
In this project we determined primary production and optical variability in the shelf and slope waters off of Cape Hatteras, N.C. These processes were addressed in conjunction with other Ocean Margins Program investigators, during the Spring Transition period and during Summer. We found that there were significant differences in measured parameters between Spring and Summer, enabling us to develop seasonally specific carbon production and ecosystem models as well as seasonal and regional algorithm improvements for use in remote sensing applications.
A cDNA library was constructed using RNA isolated from the livers of chickens which had been treated with zinc. This library was screened with a RNA probe complementary to mouse metallothionein-I (MT), and eight chicken MT cDNA clones were obtained. All of the cDNA clones contained nucleotide sequences homologous to regions of the longest (375 bp) cDNA clone. The latter contained an open reading frame of 189 bp, and the deduced amino acid sequence indicates a protein of 63 amino acids of which 20 are cysteine residues. Amino acid composition and partial amino acid sequence analyses of purified chicken MT protein agreed with the amino acid composition and sequence deduced from the cloned cDNA. Amino acid sequence comparison establish that chicken MT shares extensive homology with mammalian MTs. Southern blot analysis of chicken DNA indicates that the chicken MT ...
This report is the conclusion of a three-part series that describes and attempts to explain regional coal quality variations within the foothills/mountains region of Alberta. Proximate and ultimate analysis variables, plus some vitrinite reflectance and maceral analyses, are examined for the Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Kootenay Group, Lower Cretaceous Luscar Group, the Lower Paleocene Coalspur Formation, and the Upper Paleocene Obed-Marsh coal-bearing units. The study has two major components: a statistical analysis and mapping of coal quality data provided by the Energy Resources Conservation Board; and a 'geologic models' section, in which regional and local in-seam coal quality variations are examined from a geological perspective. The first component is designed to describe, characterize, and set limits for the coal quality variables, while the second component ...
Various SST indices in the Indo-Pacific region have been proposed in the literature in light of a long-range seasonal forecasting of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). However, the dynamics associated with these different indices have never been compared in detail. To this end, the present work re-examines the variabilities of ISM rainfall, onset and withdrawal dates at interannual timescales and explores their relationships with El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and various modes of coupled variability in the Indian Ocean. Based on recent findings in the literature, five SST indices are considered here: Ni?o3.4 SST index in December?January both preceding [Nino(?1)] and following the ISM [Nino(0)], South East Indian Ocean (SEIO) SST in February?March, the Indian Ocean Basin (IOB) mode in ...
Multi-millennial climate changes were relatively minor over the mid-late Holocene in the British Isles, because orbitally forced insolation changes were smaller than those at higher latitudes. Centennial climate variability is thus likely to have exerted a greater influence on the environment and human society of the region. Proxy-climate records from the British Isles covering the last 4500years are assembled and re-evaluated with the aim of identifying centennial climate variability reflected by multi-proxy indicators. The proxies include bog oak populations, peatland surface wetness, flooding episodes from fluvial deposits, speleothem annual band width and oxygen isotopes, chironomids from lake sediments and sand and dune deposition. Most proxies reflect water balance rather than temper...
This paper presents a study on Manasbal lake, which is one of the high altitude lakes in the Kashmir Valley, India. Eighteen water samples were analysed for major ions and trace elements to assess the variability of water quality of the lake for various purposes. Geostatistics, the theory of regionalizedvariables, was then used to enhance the dataset and estimate some missing spatial values. Results indicated that the concentration of major ions in the water samples in winter was higher than in summer. The scatter diagrams suggested the dominance of alkaline earths over the alkali elements. Three types of water were identified in the lake that are referred to as Ca?HCO3, Mg?HCO3 and hybrid types. The lake water was found to be controlled by rock?water interaction with carbonate lithology ...
The effect of pair-binding energy variations on the denaturation of double stranded DNAs is investigated. Using a two-parameter renormalization group (RG) analysis and extensive transfer matrix calculations, we find a random quenched-in variations to be marginally irrelevant, indicating that the system is self-averaging at the transition. The effect of a recently-proposed variable backbone stiffness is also investigated. Although irrelevant in the RG sense, it dramatically amplifies the randomness, leading to the appearance of ``multi-step melting'' for realistic sequences. These results are relevant to the adsorption of random heteropolymers and the wetting of disordered substrates.
The emergence of bacterial antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, yet the variables that influence the rate of emergence of resistance are not well understood. In a microfluidic device designed to mimic naturally occurring bacterial niches, resistance of Escherichia coli to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin developed within 10 hours. Resistance emerged with as few as 100 bacteria in the initial inoculation. Whole-genome sequencing of the resistant organisms revealed that four functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms attained fixation. Knowledge about the rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance in the heterogeneous conditions within the mammalian body may be helpful in understanding the emergence of drug resistance during cancer chemotherapy. PMID:21940899
Eight phospholipases A2 (PLAs) and four three-finger-toxins (3FTx) from the pooled venom of Bungarus fasciatus (Bf) were previously studied and sequenced, but their expression pattern in individual Bf venom and possible geographic variations remained to be investigated. We herein analyze the individual venom of two Bf specimens from Kolkata (designated as KBf) to address this question. Seven PLAs and five 3FTx were purified from the KBf venoms, and respective cDNAs were cloned from venom glands of one of the snakes. Comparison of their mass and N-terminal sequence revealed that all the PLAs were conserved in both KBf venoms, but that two of their 3FTx isoforms were variable. When comparing the sequences of these KBf-PLAs with those published, only one was found to be identical to that of Bf Vb-2, and the other five were 94-98% identical to those of Bf II, III, Va, VI and XI-2, respectively. Notably, the ...
Tectonically active basins may host a spectrum of sequence stratigraphic expressions previously considered to be spatially mutually exclusive. In low accommodation areas with high sediment supply, fourth order eustatic cyclicity results in high frequency sequence sets while within rapidly subsiding areas, time-equivalent Type-2 sequences are expressed by highly asymmetrical coarsening upward successions, resembling large parasequences. In the shallow marine Fulmar Formation, of the U.K. North Sea Central Graben a sequence boundary and overlying lowstand deposits, which illustrate the effects of laterally variable subsidence rate and intrabasinal topography on the expression of a eustatic sea-level fall, lie between the Glosense and Serratum (J54a and J54b) maximum flooding surfaces. The syn-rift physiography comprises major tilted fault blocks, with the Central Graben dipping ...
Short-duration measurements have been widely used to screen for exposures to elevated radon concentrations in individual houses or at state or regional levels. However, a number of factors, including spatial and temporal variability in radon concentrations, must be considered before comparison to concentration guidelines can be made. Daily variations in radon concentration can lead to inherent measurement uncertainties ranging from 20 to 100+ percent. Differences in radon concentration due to seasonal effects and/or sampling location are also variable, and do not appear to be regionally consistent. Winter/summer concentration ratios, for example, have been observed to vary by as much as a factor of 10 in basements and by a factor of 5 in first floors. In this paper the implications of these uncertainties on the use of short-term sampling for inferring long-term exposures are discussed.
Starting from the original collective Hamiltonian of Bohr and separating the beta and gamma variables as in the X(5) model of Iachello, an exactly soluble model corresponding to a harmonic oscillator potential in the beta-variable (to be called X(5)-$\\beta^2$) is constructed. Furthermore, it is proved that the potentials of the form $\\beta^{2n}$ (with n being integer) provide a ``bridge'' between this new X(5)-$\\beta^2$ model (occuring for n=1) and the X(5) model (corresponding to an infinite well potential in the beta-variable, materialized for n going to infinity. Parameter-free (up to overall scale factors) predictions for spectra and B(E2) transition rates are given for the potentials $\\beta^2$, $\\beta^4$, $\\beta^6$, $\\beta^8$, corresponding to E(4)/E(2) ratios of 2.646, 2.769, 2.824, and 2.852 respectively, compared to the E(4)/E(2) ratios of 2.000 for U(5) and 2.904 for X(5). Hints about nuclei showing this ...
Comparative sequence analysis of the human and the pufferfish Fugu rubripes (fugu) genomes has revealed several novel functional coding and noncoding regions in the human genome. In particular, the fugu genome has been extremely valuable for identifying transcriptional regulatory elements in human loci harboring unusually high levels of evolutionary conservation to rodent genomes. In such regions, the large evolutionary distance between human and fishes provides an additional filter through which functional noncoding elements can be detected with high efficiency.
In vitro mutagenesis of functional DNA gene fragments by covalently reactive agents permits one in principle to examine the consequent alterations in DNA sequence directly. I have carried out selective mutagenesis of the tetracycline resistance gene in the plasmid pBR322 using the long wavelength UV light activated reaction of 4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen (TMP). The mutagenized DNA sequence was the EcoR1-Hind III restriction fragment in the vicinity of the Tcsup(R) promoter. Two classes of mutants were obtained. One exhibited a high level of Tc resistance (40-60 ..mu..g/ml) but still lower than the wild-type. Interestingly, these showed no sequence alterations at all in the vicinity of the TMP-reacted fragment. The other class of mutants exhibited low levels of drug resistance (< 20 ..mu..g/ml) and two of those that were sequenced were found to contain a 15-base pair insertion to the right of ...
Two overlapping cDNA clones encoding human DNA topoisomerase II were identified by two independent methods. In one, a human cDNA library in phage {lambda} was screened by hybridization with a mixed oligonucleotide probe encoding a stretch of seven amino acids found in yeast and Drosophila DNA topoisomerase II; in the other, a different human cDNA library in a {lambda}gt11 expression vector was screened for the expression of antigenic determinants that are recognized by rabbit antibodies specific to human DNA topoisomerase II. The entire coding sequences of the human DNA topoisomerase II gene were determined from these and several additional clones, identified through the use of the cloned human TOP2 gene sequences as probes. Hybridization between the cloned sequences and mRNA and genomic DNA indicates that the human enzyme is encoded by a single-copy gene. The location of the gene was mapped to chromosome 17q21-22 by in ...
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA integration has been shown to occur frequently in human hepatocellular carcinomas. The authors have investigated whether common cellular DNA domains might be rearranged, possibly by HBV integration, in human primary liver tumors. Unique cellular DNA sequences adjacent to an HBV integration site were isolated from a patient with hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatocellular carcinoma. These probes detected rearrangement of this cellular region of chromosomal DNA in 3 of 50 additional primary liver tumors studied. Of these three tumor samples, two contained HBV DNA, without an apparent link between the viral DNA and the rearranged allele; HBV DNA sequences were not detected in the third tumor sample. By use of a panel of somatic cell hybrids, these unique cellular DNA sequences were shown to be located on chromosome 4. Therefore, this region of ...
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA integration has been shown to occur frequently in human hepatocellular carcinomas. The authors have investigated whether common cellular DNA domains might be rearranged, possibly by HBV integration, in human primary liver tumors. Unique cellular DNA sequences adjacent to an HBV integration site were isolated from a patient with hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatocellular carcinoma. These probes detected rearrangement of this cellular region of chromosomal DNA in 3 of 50 additional primary liver tumors studied. Of these three tumor samples, two contained HBV DNA, without an apparent link between the viral DNA and the rearranged allele; HBV DNA sequences were not detected in the third tumor sample. By use of a panel of somatic cell hybrids, these unique cellular DNA sequences were shown to be located on chromosome 4. Therefore, this region of ...
Within the Williston basin, thickness variations of the Prairie Formation are common and are interpreted to originate by two processes: differential accumulation of salt during deposition and differential removal of salt by dissolution. Unambiguous evidence for each process is rare because the Prairie/Winnipegosis interval is seldom cored within the US portion of the basin. Therefore, indirect methods, using well logs, provide the principal method for identifying characteristics of the two processes. The results of this study indicate that the two processes can be distinguished using correlations within the Prairie Formation. Several regionally correlative brining-upward and probably shoaling-upward sequences occur within the Prairie Formation. Near the basin center, the lowermost sequence is transitional with the underlying Winnipegosis Formation. This transition is characterized by thinly laminated basal carbonates that ...
Background The identification of sequences that control transcription in metazoans is a major goal of genome analysis. In a previous study, we demonstrated that searching for clusters of predicted transcription factor binding sites could discover active regulatory sequences, and identified 37 regions of the Drosophila melanogaster genome with high densities of predicted binding sites for five transcription factors involved in anterior-posterior embryonic patterning. Nine of these clusters overlapped known enhancers. Here, we report the results of in vivo functional analysis of 27 remaining clusters. Results We generated transgenic flies carrying each cluster attached to a basal promoter and reporter gene, and assayed embryos for reporter gene expression. Six clusters are enhancers of adjacent genes: giant, fushi tarazu, odd-skipped, nubbin, squeeze and pdm2; three drive expression in patterns unrelated to those of ...
The first reported Far East scarlet-like fever (FESLF) epidemic swept the Pacific coastal region of Russia in the late 1950s. Symptoms of the severe infection included erythematous skin rash and desquamation,...Full Text Available
We have isolated a human thrombomodulin cDNA, and a human genomic clone containing the putative promoter domain, as well as the translated and untranslated regions of the endothelial cell receptor....Full Text Available
Effect of hydroxide nature, concentration and temperature on corrosion resistance of domestic steels and alloys to hot NaOH, KOH, LiOH solutions is considered. It is ascertained that by corrosion growth in relation to stainless steels and nickel alloys, the hydroxides are placed in the following sequence: LiOHregions in which stainless steel and nickel alloy tendency to cracking is manifested, are determined. 12 refs., 12 figs.
The retrovirus-like particles of Drosophila are intermediates of retrotransposition of the transposable element copia. In these particles, a 39-nucleotide-long fragment from the 5' region of Drosophila...Full Text Available
The structure functions (SF) of nuclei determined within the framework of the flucton model with rescaling (FMR) are compared with new experimental data of the ITEP on cumulative #pi#-meson yield in a wide range of the scale variable X (1region has confirmed the hypothesis of limiting fragmentation.
The long-range correlation properties in the hourly time variability of geochemical signals measured in a 70 m depth well at Triponzo (Umbria region), are investigated by the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). DFA is a data processing method that allows for the detection of scaling behaviors in observational time series even in the presence of non-stationarities. The procedure adopted has allowed for the unambiguous identification of possible correlations among the recorded signals and local earthquakes.
BackgroundStudies of chronic health effects due to exposures to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) are often limited by sparse...Full Text Available
An unusual S1-nuclease sensitive microsatellite (STMS) has been found in the single copy, rat polymeric immunoglobulin receptor gene (PIGR) terminal exon. In Fisher rats, elements within or beyond the...Full Text Available
Seismic stratigraphy based chronostratigraphic (SSBC) analysis of the Serbian Banat region allows the delineation of the spatial and stratigraphic relationships of the generally regressive and shallowing upward Neogene depositional fill of a tectonically unstable central portion of the Pannonian Basin. When geometrically restored in time and space, the sediment dispersal directions, sediment source directions, types of sedimentation breaks and the tectonic events influencing basin evolution can be delineated. For such an analysis the time-transgressive lithostratigraphic units used in the neighbouring Hungarian part of the Pannonian Basin are conveniently introduced based upon their characteristic seismic facies and constrained borehole log records as mappable seismic stratigraphic sequence units, termed "seismic operational sequences". The respective Neogene stage and operational sequence equivalents ...
Tidally dominated sections from the Middle Jurassic Beryl Formation of the Beryl Field, Viking Graben (UKCS) were deposited during rapid changes in relative sea level. High density well coverage in this key producing interval has allowed the construction of an integrated high resolution sequence stratigraphic scheme based on sedimentological, ichnofaunal, wireline, biostratigraphic and engineering data. From this database a number of high resolution sequences in the Bajocian-Bathonian Beryl Formation have been identified composed of interbedded sandstones, siltstones and mudstones. These sediments formed tidally-influenced deltas and estuaries deposited in actively subsiding half-grabens during regionally extensive base-level changes. For reservoir management purposes, the formation has been split into 5 units. The thickest interval, Unit 3, is considered here. In the northern part of the Beryl Field, Unit 3 is bounded ...
It is becoming clear that simple sequence repeats (SSRs) play a significant role in fungal genome organization, and they are a large source of genetic markers for population genetics and meiotic maps. We identified SSRs in the Laccaria bicolor genome by in silico survey and analyzed their distribution in the different genomic regions. We also compared the abundance and distribution of SSRs in L. bicolor with those of the following fungal genomes: Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Coprinopsis cinerea, Ustilago maydis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus nidulans, Magnaporthe grisea, Neurospora crassa and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using the MISA computer program, we detected 277,062 SSRs in the L. bicolor genome representing 8% of the assembled genomic sequence. Among the analyzed basidiomycetes, L. bicolor exhibited the highest SSR density although no correlation between relative abundance and the genome sizes was observed. In ...
We present mid-infrared spectro-imagery and high-resolution spectroscopy ofthe Orion bar and of a region in the Orion nebula. These observations have beenobtained in the Guaranteed Time with the Circular Variable Filters of the ISOcamera (CAM-CVF) and with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS), on board theEuropean Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). Our data shows emission fromamorphous silicate grains from the entire HII region and around the isolatedO9.5V star Theta2 Ori A. The observed spectra can be reproduced by a mixture ofinterstellar silicate and carbon grains heated by the radiation of the hotstars present in the region. Crystalline silicates are also observed in theOrion nebula and suspected around Theta2 Ori A. They are probably ofinterstellar origin. The ionization structure and the distribution of thecarriers of the Aromatic Infrared Bands (AIBs) are briefly discussed on thebasis of the ...
Remotely sensed ocean color data and numerical modeling have been used to study the phenology of both spring and fall phytoplankton blooms (FPBs) in the Nova Scotian Shelf (NSS)-Gulf of Maine (GoM) region. The ocean color data reveal a general pattern of westward progression of the spring phytoplankton bloom (SPB), and an eastward progression of the FPB in the NSS-GoM region. The spatial pattern of mean chlorophyll concentration in spring is similar to that in fall, with a lower concentration in the NSS and higher in the GoM. Interannually, there is a weak but significant tendency for years with earlier (delayed) SPBs to be followed by delayed (earlier) FPBs, but the mean chlorophyll concentrations during SPBs are not correlated with those during FPBs. The interannual variability of SPB ti...
We have determined the actual RNA sequence of four mitochondrial genes: pcf, nad3, rps12, and coxII. Because plant mitochondrial proteins cannot be predicted from DNA sequences, the actual primary structures of the encoded proteins were unknown. We have gained information concerning the process of RNA editing. Editing can occur before splicing. Our data is consistent with the hypothesis that RNA editing is not simultaneous with transcription. Unlike other systems, the process of editing in plant does not exhibit a discernable direction. As a result of our RNA editing studies, we have produced a number of clones of the proper coding regions tube used for incorporating these mitochondrial genes into the nucleus. 6 refs., 4 figs.
Fasciolosis caused by Fasciola spp. (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda: Digenea) is considered as the most important helminth infection of ruminants in tropical countries, causing considerable socioeconomic problems. In the endemic regions of the North of Iran, Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica have been previously characterized on the basis of morphometric differences, but the use of molecular markers is necessary to distinguish exactly between species and intermediate forms. Samples from buffaloes and goats from different localities of northern Iran were identified morphologically and then genetically characterized by sequences of the first (ITS-1) and second (ITS-2) Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA). Comparison of the ITS of the northern Iranian samples ...
The ultimate goal of this research is to generate and apply novel technologies to speed completion and integration of the human genome map and sequence with biomedical problems. To do this, techniques were developed and genome-wide resources generated. This includes a genome-wide Mapped and Integrated BAC/PAC Resource that has been used for gene finding, map completion and anchoring, breakpoint definition and sequencing. In the last period of the grant, the Human Mapped BAC/PAC Resource was also applied to determine regions of human variation and to develop a novel paradigm of primate evolution through to humans. Further, in order to more rapidly evaluate animal models of human disease, a BAC Map of the mouse was generated in collaboration with the MTI Genome Center, Dr. Bruce Birren.
The authors have cloned and determined the entire nucleotide sequence of cDNAs corresponding to the putative {alpha} subunits of the human and rat mast cell high-affinity IgE receptors. Both human and rat cDNAs encode an NH{sub 2}-terminal signal peptide, two immunoglobulin-like extracellular domains (encoded by discrete exons), a hydrophobic transmembrane region, and a positively charged cytoplasmic tail. The human and rat {alpha} subunits share an overall homology with one another and the immunoglobulin gene family, suggesting that they arose from a common ancestral gene and continue to share structural homology with their ligands. In addition, the rat gene is transcribed into at least three distinct forms, each of which yields a somewhat different coding sequence.
Two criteria, geologic stability and barrier effectiveness, form the basis of the Subseabed Disposal Program's site qualification plan to evaluate the ocean basins and identify those regions having characteristics most favorable for containment of radioactive waste. Stability criteria are used to define those regions least likely to be disturbed by tectonic forces or oceanographic changes during the lifetime of a waste repository. Barrier criteria define those lithologies most likely to form an effective barrier to the release of radionuclides. Two north Pacific regions and three north Atlantic regions (PAC I and II and ATL I, II, and III, respectively) have thus far been selected for further investigation based on the site qualification plan. The PAC I region, centered on the Shatsky Rise in the northwest Pacific, has been subdivided into areas and locations on the basis ...
Possible factors regulating phytoplankton variability in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf were analyzed on the basis of satellite observations and meteorological data (1997-2009), including remotely-sensed chlorophyll a concentration (CHL), sea surface temperature, wind, solar radiation, precipitation, and aerosols. Shallow waters of northwestern Gulf influenced by Shatt Al-Arab River discharge were more productive than open Gulf waters, although seasonal CHL patterns in this and other shallow regions looked unrealistic likely because the CHL signal was obscured by bottom reflection. Therefore our further analyses focused on the open Gulf waters, which show a subtropical seasonal CHL cycle with maximum in winter and minimum in spring-summer. This cycle, however, was decoupled from the seasonal e...
Gene analysis was used to determined the presence, abundance and phylogenetic affiliation of methanogens that exist in gas-hydrate-bearing sediment samples obtained from 23 drill cores from the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC et al. Mallik 5L-38 gas hydrate research well. Rates of methane production were examined using sediment-inoculated enrichments containing {sup 14}C-labeled carbon substrates, carbon dioxide and acetate. Archaeal 16S rDNA was only detected in 6 of the samples, resulting in 8 sequences with relationships to the Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group (7 clones) and the Subsurface Euryarchaeotic Group (1 clone). The single Euryarchaeota sequence did not appear to be related to methanogens. Subsamples from the cores showed variable results upon DNA extraction and amplification. Methanogenic Coenzyme M (CoM) was detected in 13 of the 20 cores, but methanogenic methyl CoM reductase genes were not amplified from the samples when ...
The carbon isotope profiles of shallow-marine carbonates from the Barremian-Aptian Kharaib and Shuaiba formations of the Arabian Gulf region range between 0.5 and 7{per_thousand} {delta}{sup 13}C PDB (Peedee belemnite). Systematic variations can be correlated with isotope profiles reported from Tethyan pelagic limestone sequences. The detailed correspondence between the isotopic signature of the relatively well-dated pelagic limestones and the poorly dated shallow-water limestones from the Arabian Gulf region suggests that global marine carbon isotope changes apparently affected deep-sea and shallow-water carbonate sediments similarly and at a similar time resolution. Although oxygen isotopes have been reset during diagenesis, carbon isotopes appear to have maintained their primary marine signature through time. No evidence has been found to connect carbon isotope trends to subaerial exposure or later meteoric diagenesis. ...
Genetic mapping is approached using the techniques of high resolution fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This technology and the results of its application are designed to rapidly generate whole genome as tool box of expressed sequence to speed the identification of human disease genes. The results of this study are intended to dovetail with and to link the results of existing technologies for creating backbone YAC and genetic maps. In the first eight months, this approach generated 60--80% of the expressed sequence map, the remainder expected to be derived through more long-term, labor-intensive, regional chromosomal gene searches or sequencing. The laboratory has made significant progress in the set-up phase, in mapping fetal and adult brain and other cDNAs, in testing a model system for directly linking genetic and physical maps using FISH with small fragments, in setting up a database, and ...
We investigate the existence of time-periodic solutions of the Dirac equation in the Kerr-Newman background metric. To this end, the solutions are expanded in a Fourier series with respect to the time variable $t$ and the Chandrasekhar separation ansatz is applied so that the question of existence of a time-periodic solution is reduced to the solvability of a certain coupled system of ordinary differential equations. First, we prove the already known result that there are no time-periodic solutions in the non-extreme case. Then it is shown that in the extreme case for fixed black hole data there is a sequence of particle masses $(m_N)_{N\\in\\mathbb N}$ for which a time-periodic solution of the Dirac equation does exist. The period of the solution depends only on the data of the black hole described by the Kerr-Newman metric.
Monocelis lineata is a complex of cryptic species (three in the Mediterranean and one in the Atlantic) widespread in midlittoral habitats. Throughout the range, populations with or without an ocular pigmented shield are found. We investigated the genetic structure of the North-East Atlantic populations with the aim of shedding light on their phylogeography and reconstructing possible patterns of recolonization after the Wrmian glaciation. Fourteen samples were investigated using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 13 by inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs). COI did not exhibit a clear pattern of decreased genetic diversity along a latitudinal gradient. Populations from Ferrol (Spain), Doolin (Ireland), and Helsingr (Denmark) showed a higher genetic variability, whereas a reduction in...
The authors report an effort to determine the basis for the altered migration of seven inherited albumin variants detected by one-dimensional electrophoresis in population surveys involving tribal Amerindians and Japanese children. An amino acid substitution has thus far been determined for four of the variants. The randomness in the albumin polypeptide of these and the other sixteen independently ascertained amino acid substitutions of albumin and proalbumin thus far established was analyzed; the clustering of eight of these at two positions in the six-amino acid propeptide sequence seems noteworthy. By comparison with other proteins studied by electrophoresis, albumin exhibits average variability. It is a paradox that individuals who, for genetic reasons, lack albumin exhibit no obvious ill effects; yet, electrophoretic variants of albumin are no more numerous than are variants of proteins, the absence of which results in severe disease.
A nodal integral method is derived for the monoenergetic, steady-state, fixed source neutron diffusion equation in hexagonal geometry based on a coordinate transformation that maps a parallelogram into a rectangle. The new hexagonal nodal diffusion method is implemented in the computer code HND where the discrete-variable equations are solved via an iterative scheme. Because the new method's equations are derived for a rhombus, they can be solved on a sequence of embedded meshes to study the method's error order. Indeed a preliminary numerical error analysis reveals a second-order error in the mesh size, and comparison with finite difference results obtained with the finite difference based BOLD-VENTURE code indicate the superior accuracy of our new nodal method.
The DNA sequence motif ATTTGCAT (octamer) or its inverse complement has been identified as an evolutionarily conserved element in the promoter region of immunoglobulin genes. Two major DNA-binding proteins that bind in a sequence-specific manner to the octamer DNA sequence have been identified in mammalian species--a ubiquitously expressed protein (Oct-1) and a lymphoid-specific protein (Oct-2). During characterization of the promoter region of the chicken immunoglobulin light chain gene, the authors identified two homologous octamer-binding proteins in chicken B cells. when the cloning of the human gene for Oct-2 revealed it to be a member of a distinct family of homeobox genes, they sought to determine if the human Oct-2 cDNA could be used to identify homologous chicken homeobox genes. Using a human Oct-2 homeobox-specific DNA probe, they were able to identify 6-10 ...
We have used a cell-free polymerase I transcription system derived from HeLa cells to study the regulation of human rRNA synthesis. Analysis of deletion mutants spanning the start site of transcription at nucleotide +1 indicates that the control region affecting initiation of human rRNA synthesis is contained within sequences from nucleotides -158 to +18. This promoter region can be subdivided into (i) a central segment of approximately 40 base pair that is required for transcription and (ii) flanking sequences that influence the efficiency of transcription in vitro. We have examined the in vitro transcriptional activity of the human extract under various conditions that are thought to modulate rRNA synthesis in vivo. Cell-free extracts prepared from HeLa cells infected with adenovirus 2 synthesize human rRNA at levels greatly decreased relative to uninfected cell extracts. By contrast, in vitro ...
The Drosophila hairy gene encodes a basic helix- loop-helix protein that functions in at least two steps during Drosophila development: (1) during embryogenesis, when it partakes in the establishment of segments, and (2) during the larval stage, when it functions negatively in determining the pattern of sensory bristles on the adult fly. In the rat, a structurally homologous gene (RHL) behaves as an immediate-early gene in its response to growth factors and can, like that in Drosophila, suppress neuronal differentiation events. Here, the authors report the genomic cloning of the human hairy gene homolog (HRY). The coding region of the gene is contained within four exons. The predicted amino acid sequence reveals only four amino acid differences between the human and rat genes. Analysis of the DNA sequence 5[prime] to the coding region reveals a putatitve untranslated exon. To increase the value of the ...
It is currently unclear if the potential for West Nile virus transmission by mosquito vectors in the eastern United States is related to landscape or climate factors or both. We compared abundance of vector species between urban and suburban neighborhoods of Henrico County, VA, in relation to the following factors: temperature, precipitation, canopy cover, building footprint, and proximity to drainage infrastructure. Mosquitoes were collected throughout the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons and tested for West Nile virus (WNV) in pools of 10-50. Test results of mosquito pools were compared to average site abundance from 37 sites in Henrico County, VA; abundance was then examined in relation to ecological variables. Urban infrastructure was positively correlated with the abundance of Culex pipiens L./Cx. restuans, and our findings implicate combined sewer overflow systems as large contributors to Culex vector populations. No measure of urbanization examined in our study ...
Objective. To compare turbo inversion recovery magnitude (TIRM) with standard T1-weighted (T1-W) and T2-weighted (T2-W) MR sequences in the very early detection of acute osteomyelitis in children. Materials and methods. In 15 children with osteomyelitis, 15 sets of T1-W spin-echo (SE) (TR/TE, 400-640/12-17), T2-W turbo spin-echo (TSE) (TR/TE/ETL, 3290-4465/112-120/11), and TIRM (TR/TE/TI, 4000-6120/60/160) images were acquired with a 1.0-T magnet. Contrast-to-noise (C/N) ratios and percentage of signal between lesion and normal bone marrow were analysed with a computer-assisted image analysing system in a region of interest (ROI). Results. In 13 of 15 patients, the absolute signal enhancement in a ROI on the TIRM images was better than on the T1-W SE and T2-W TSE images and in 14 of 15 cases, C/N ratios were also better on the TIRM images than on the other sequences. In the other cases, the TIRM signal was diagnostically ...
Different calculated models are presented for turbulent break-off flows and their classification, reflecting the sequence of historical development. The study was done based on equations of viscous liquid of the Navier-Stokes type with development of special phenomenological models of turbulence which take into consideration real properties of the break-off flows based on simpler models of flow presented in the work. In order to calculate two-dimensional turbulent flows, a method of viscous-nonviscous interaction is used. It employs numerical solutions for nonviscous flow and integrated methods of calculating the dissipative region. This method can be extended for calculating the transonic break-off flows, and also break-off in an incompressible fluid when there is cavitation.
Recent surveys of supergiants stars in the LMC indicate that the post-main-sequenceregion of the colour-magnitude diagram is well populated, although numerical evolution of massive stars with normal surface hydrogen indicates to the contrary. Supergiant stars having surface enrichment of helium acquired for example from a previous phase of accretion from a binary companion, however, evolve in a way so that the evolved models and observed data are consistent. We compare the available data with computed evolutionary tracks of massive stars of metallicity relevant to the LMC with and without helium-enriched envelopes and conclude that a large fraction of supergiant stars may occur in binaries. (author).
We report localization of the human cone transducin (GNAT2) gene using fluorescence in situ hybridization on chromosome 1 in band p13. The recent assignment of a gene for Stargardt disease to the same chromosomal region by linkage analysis prompted us to investigate the possible role of GNAT2 in the pathogenesis of this disease. We investigated 66 unrelated patients for mutations in the coding region of the GNAT2 gene using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism analysis (SSCP) and direct sequencing. No disease-specific mutations were found, indicating that GNAT2 is probably not involved in the pathogenesis of most cases of Stargardt disease. 19 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.
Evolutionary conservation of DNA sequences provides a tool for the identification of functional elements in genomes. We have created a database of evolutionary conserved regions (ECRs) in vertebrate genomes entitled ECRbase that is constructed from a collection of pairwise vertebrate genome alignments produced by the ECR Browser database. ECRbase features a database of syntenic blocks that recapitulate the evolution of rearrangements in vertebrates and a collection of promoters in all vertebrate genomes presented in the database. The database also contains a collection of annotated transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) in all ECRs and promoter elements. ECRbase currently includes human, rhesus macaque, dog, opossum, rat, mouse, chicken, frog, zebrafish, and two pufferfish genomes. It is freely accessible at http://ECRbase.dcode.org.
The authors have identified a protein present only in erythroid cells that binds to two adjacent sites within an enhancer region of the chicken {beta}-globin locus. Mutation of the sites, so that binding by the factor can no longer be detected in vitro, leads to a loss of enhancing ability, assayed by transient expression in primary erythrocytes. Binding sites for the erythroid-specific factor (Eryf1) are found within regulatory regions for all chicken globin genes. A strong Eryf1 binding site is also present within the enhancer of at least one human globin gene, and proteins from human erythroid cells (but not HeLa cells) bind to both the chicken and the human sites.
The quasar B2005+403 located behind the Cygnus region, is a suitable object for studying the interplay between propagation effects, which are extrinsic to the source and source intrinsic variability. On the basis of VLBI experiments performed at 1.6, 5, 8, 15, 22, and 43GHz between 1992-2003 and parallel multi-frequency monitoring of the total flux density, we investigated the variability of total flux density and source structure. Below 8 GHz, the point-like VLBI source is affected by scatter-broadening of the turbulent interstellar medium, which is located along the line of sight and likely associated with the Cygnus region. We present and discuss the measured frequency dependence of the source size, which shows a power-law with slope of -1.91+/-0.05. From the measured scattering angle at 1GHz of 77.1+/-4.0mas a SM=0.43+/-0.04 m^{-20/3} kpc is derived, consistent with the general properties of the ISM ...
The high-spin states in transitional odd-mass nuclei are studied in terms of an odd quasi-particle coupled to an asymmetric rotor with a variable moment of inertia (VMI). In order to take into account the VMI, the basis states are expanded in terms of the core eigenfunctions. Excitation energies, quadrupole moments, magnetic moments, B(E2) values and B(M1) values are calculated and compared with the experimental data for nuclei in Au and La regions. On comparison with other descriptions it is found that the treatment with VMI provides a more satisfactory explanation of the data. (Auth.).
The A dependence of cumulative pion production yield cross sections on the basis of the comparison of the data on relative pion yields on Be,C,Al,Ti,Mo and W nuclei at the 159 deg angle laboratory system for the incident proton energy E_0 from 25 to 62 GeV is considered. The regular A dependence on cumulative variable X is noted. The results are compared with the data at E_0< 10 GeV. A possible interpretation of the observed behaviour on the basis of the hypothesis of the flucton mechanism of the pion production in the cumulative region is discussed. 15 refs.; 4 figs.
Understanding the impacts of climate change on viticulture is especially essential in those areas producing high-quality wines. In this work, we create an operational framework to investigate climate change impact on viticulture in the Tuscany region (central Italy) the viticulture industry of which relies on producing high-quality wines to compete in a global market. The framework includes (i) statistical downscaling of General Circulation Model (GCM) outputs for the period 1975?2099 to a local scale; (ii) the use of downscaling outputs as driving variables in specific simulation models; (iii) the spatial interpolation of model outputs to feed an economic and (iv) a quality model. The results show that as a consequence of a progressive increase in temperature and a decrease in rainfall, (...
Crenarchaea are ubiquitous and abundant microbial constituents of soils, sediments, lakes and ocean waters, yet relatively little is known about their fundamental evolutionary, ecological, and physiological properties. To better describe the ubiquitous nonthermophilic Crenarchaea, we analyzed the genome sequence of one representative, the uncultivated sponge symbiont, Cenarchaeum symbiosum. C. symbiosum genotypes coinhabiting the same host partitioned into two dominant populations, corresponding to previously described a- and b-type ribosomal RNA variants. Although synthetic, overlapping a- and b-type ribotypes harbored significant genetic variability. A single tiling path comprising the dominant a-type genotype was assembled, and used to explore the biological properties of C. symbiosum and its planktonic relatives. Out of a total of 2,066 predicted open reading frames, 36% were more highly conserved with other Archaea. The remainder ...
We present the results of a comprehensive study of the temperature dependences of the quantum efficiency for ultraviolet detectors based on GaAs, GaP and 4H--SiC Schottky structures, and on Si, GaAs p-n structures. For ultraviolet detectors based on Schottky structures, the quantum efficiency increases with increasing temperature for all photon energies, even including the semiconductor intrinsic absorption region. On the other hand, for ultraviolet detectors based on p-n structures, the quantum efficiency is practically temperature independent in the semiconductor intrinsic absorption region. The change in the quantum efficiency for the GaAs and Si detectors is less than 0.01% per degree. To explain the measurements, a variable trap occupancy model is presented. Subsurface imperfections of the semiconductor cause fluctuations in the profile of the conduction band and the valence band edges. In the presence of an electric ...
We present the results of a comprehensive study of the temperature dependences of the quantum efficiency for ultraviolet detectors based on GaAs, GaP and 4H--SiC Schottky structures, and on Si, GaAs p-n structures. For ultraviolet detectors based on Schottky structures, the quantum efficiency increases with increasing temperature for all photon energies, even including the semiconductor intrinsic absorption region. On the other hand, for ultraviolet detectors based on p-n structures, the quantum efficiency is practically temperature independent in the semiconductor intrinsic absorption region. The change in the quantum efficiency for the GaAs and Si detectors is less than 0.01% per degree. To explain the measurements, a variable trap occupancy model is presented. Subsurface imperfections of the semiconductor cause fluctuations in the profile of the conduction band and the valence band edges. In the presence of an electric ...
Although the German Molasse Basin can be regarded as a mature hydrocarbon province, no regionalsequence stratigraphic analysis has been carried out so far. We have studied seismic lines and well data from the region between the Isar and Inn rivers (SE Germany) that have been generously supplied by German oil companies (DEE, BEB, Mobil, RWE-DEA and Wintershall). Initial work indicates that five major seismic sequences within three main depositional cycles are developed. The Alpine thrust belt to the south serves as the primary sediment source in the foreland basin. However, sedimentary infill mainly took place parallel to the basin axis. Our analysis suggests that the stratigraphic development of the Molasse Basin was mainly controlled by eustatic sea-level changes which caused the shoreline to shift in the W-E direction. The shifting of the depocenter axis in a N-S direction was controlled by the ...
Timing and geometry of Maastrichtian third-order sequences and systems tracts of south-central Wyoming were mostly controlled by rapid basin subsidence resulting from thrust loading of foreland basin crust. The basement of the Red Desert/Washakie basin was affected by thrusting in the Sevier belt to the west and by thrusting along the edge of the Wind River Mountains and Granite Mountains. A transgressive systems tract consists of the youngest Ericson Formation above a regional unconformity, backstepping Almond Formation nearshore and nonmarine facies, and shelfal mudstones of the lower Lewis Shale. Regionally, the onset of transgression is younger from east to west, beginning at 71.5 Ma in eastern Wyoming and at 70.5-71 Ma in south-central Wyoming. The transgression culminated in a condensed shale section evident on gamma-ray logs that occurs throughout the basin. Above the gamma-ray zone, the highstand systems tract of ...
We are developing a laterally variable velocity model of the crust and upper mantle across Eurasia and North Africa to reduce event location error by improving regional travel-time prediction accuracy. The model includes both P and S velocities and we describe methods to compute travel-times for Pn, Sn, Pg, and Lg phases. For crustal phases Pg and Lg we assume that the waves travel laterally at mid-crustal depths, with added ray segments from the event and station to the mid crustal layer. Our work on Pn and Sn travel-times extends the methods described by Zhao and Xie (1993). With consideration for a continent scale model and application to seismic location, we extend the model parameterization of Zhao and Xie (1993) by allowing the upper-mantle velocity gradient to vary laterally. This extension is needed to accommodate the large variation in gradient that is known to exist across Eurasia and North African. Further, we extend the linear ...
The product of the human GRO gene is a cytokine with inflammatory and growth-regulatory properties; GRO is also called MGSA for melanoma growth-stimulatory activity. The authors have identified two additional genes, GRO#beta# and GRO#gamma#, that share 90% and 86% identity at the deduced amino acid level with the original GRO#alpha# isolate. One amino acid substitution of proline in GRO#alpha# by leucine in GRO#beta# and GRO#gamma# leads to a large predicted change in protein conformation. Significant differences also exist in the 3' untranslated region, including different numbers of ATTTA repeats associated with mRNA instability. A 122-base-pair region in the 3' region is conserved among the three GRO genes, and a part of it is also conserved in the Chinese hamster genome, suggesting a role in regulation. DNA hybridization with oligonucleotide probes and partial sequence analysis of the genomic clones ...
The authors characterized nine human actin genes that they isolated from a library of cloned human DNA. Measurements of the thermal stability of hybrids formed between each cloned actin gene and ..cap alpha..-, ..beta..-, and ..gamma..-actin mRNA demonstrated that only one of the clones is most homologous to sarcomeric actin mRNA, whereas the remaining eight clones are most homologous to cytoplasmic actin mRNA. By the following criteria they show that these nine clones represent nine different actin gene loci rather than different alleles or different parts of a single gene: (i) the restriction enzyme maps of the coding regions are dissimilar; (ii) each clone contains sufficient coding region to encode all or most of an entire actin gene; and (iii) each clone contains sequences homologous to both the 5' and 3' ends of the coding region of a cloned chicken ..beta..-actin cDNA. They ...
We present interactive computer programs for the analysis of nucleic acid sequences. In order to handle these programs, minimum computer experience is sufficient. The nucleotide sequence of the human...Full Text Available
Estuaries and coastal regions are highly variable in the physical and hydrographic conditions. As a result of heavy urbanization and industrialization of the head waters of most estuaries, there are substantial localized inputs of contaminants to the estuary. These factors combined with the flushing characteristics of individual estuaries to create relatively unique features that result in variation in the typical levels of trace metals for these systems. This makes intercomparison of the estuaries difficult. Comparability among estuaries becomes even more difficult when metals analyses are conducted without proper control of field and laboratory contamination, now firmly established in the trace metal analytical literature as a prerequisite for reliable marine trace metals analysis. This paper compares the concentrations of selected trace metal (Ag, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) concentrations in the waters of several major estuaries of the United ...
In this study, the nearly complete sequence (14,519 bp) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the entomophagous endoparasite Xenos vesparum (Insecta: Strepsiptera) is described. All protein coding genes (PCGs) are in the arrangement known to be ancestral for insects, but three tRNA genes (trnA, trnS(gcu), and trnL(uag)) have transposed to derived positions and there are three tandem copies of trnH, each of which is potentially functional. All of these rearrangements except for that of trnL(uag) is within the short span between nad3 and nad4 and there are numerous blocks of unassignable sequence in this region, perhaps as remnants of larger scale predisposing rearrangements. X. vesparum mtDNA nucleotide composition is strongly biased toward As and Ts, as is typical for insect mtDNAs. There is also significant strand skew in the distribution of these nucleotides, with the J-strand being richer in A than T and in C than G, and ...
Escherichia coli spheroplast protein y (EcSpy) is a small periplasmic protein that is homologous with CpxP, an inhibitor of the extracytoplasmic stress response. Stress conditions such as spheroplast formation induce the expression of Spy via the Cpx or the Bae two-component systems in E. coli, though the function of Spy is unknown. Here, we report the crystal structure of EcSpy, which reveals a long kinked hairpin-like structure of four ?-helices that form an antiparallel dimer. The dimer contains a curved oval shape with a highly positively charged concave surface that may function as a ligand binding site. Sequence analysis reveals that Spy is highly conserved over the Enterobacteriaceae family. Notably, three conserved regions that contain identical residues and two LTxxQ motifs are placed at the horizontal end of the dimer structure, stabilizing the overall fold. CpxP also contains the conserved sequence motifs and has ...
In this study, the complete sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Atelura formicaria (Hexapoda: Zygentoma) is described. The molecule is 15.205 bp in length and it is the third complete mt genome sequenced from the Zygentoma. The genome organization conforms with the putative ancestral insect gene arrangement. All protein coding genes use standard initiation codons (methionine and isoleucine). The exception is nad4 that starts with GTG, a codon used for this purpose in other insect species. A peculiar strand skew bias is observed, given that the PCGs encoded on the J-strand contain more thymines than adenines and more cytosines than guanines. This trend in nucleotide composition has been observed also in the "firebrat" Thermobia domestica (Zygentoma, Lepismatidae), but differs from that of the majority of hexapod species, including Tricholepidion gertschi (Zygentoma, Lepidotrichidae), where adenines and cytosines outnumber thymines and ...
The leakage behavior of containments beyond design conditions and knowledge of failure modes is required for evaluation of mitigation strategies for severe accidents, risk studies, emergency preparedness planning, and siting. These studies are directed towards assessing the risk and consequences of severe accidents. An accident sequence analysis conducted on a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), Mark I (MK I), indicated very high temperatures in the dry-well region, which is the location of the majority of electrical penetration assemblies. Because of the high temperatures, it was postulated in the ORNL study that the sealants would fail and all the electrical penetration assemblies would leak before structural failure would occur. Since other containments had similar electrical penetration assemblies, it was concluded that all containments would experience the same type of failure. The results of this study, however, show that this conclusion does ...
Human erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate is normally quite stable in the presence of 10 #mu#M NADP"+. Certain glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase variants lose virtually all their activity at this concentration of NADP"+ but are reactivated by 200 #mu#M NADP"+. Such variants presumably have a defect in their NADP"+-binding site. The authors analyzed the sequence of cDNA or genomic DNA from seven unrelated patients with hemolytic anemia due to the inheritance of variants that are reactivated by NADP"+. Six patients had substitutions of one of three adjacent amino acids, and the seventh patient had another amino acid substitution 23 residues downstream. These amino acids are highly conserved, all being present in rat and all but one being found also in Drosophila. The anomalous electrophoretic behavior of some of the variants can be explained by their loss of ability to bind NADP"+. The conclude that the region in which these mutations occur defines ...
Abstract Background & aims: Hepatitis B or C virus infection is considered to be the main cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a carcinogen associated with HCC in regions with high exposure. Mutations in codon 249, exon 7 are a hallmark of AFB1 exposure. Therefore, to clarify the role of AFB1 in hepatocarcinogenesis, we examined AFB1-DNA in liver tissue and sequenced TP53 in Japanese patients with HCC. Methods: Hepatocyte AFB1-DNA adducts were determined immunohistochemically and direct sequencing of TP53 was done to determine mutations in 188 of 279 patients who underwent hepatic resection for HCC. We assessed hepatitis C virus antibodies (HCV Ab) and HBSAg expression; patients without either were defined as having non-B non-C hepatocellular carcinoma (...
The chromosomal region 17q12-q21 contains a gene (BRCA1) conferring susceptibility to early-onset familial breast and ovarian cancer. An 8000-rad radiation-reduced hybrid (RH) panel was constructed to provide a resource for long-range mapping of this region. A large fraction of the hybrids ([approximately]90%) retained detectable human chromosome 17 sequences. The complete panel of 76 hybrids was scored for the presence or absence of 22 markers from this chromosomal region, including 14 cloned genes, seven microsatellite repeats, and one anonymous DNA segment. Statistical analysis of the marker retention data employing multipoint methods provided both comprehensive and framework maps of this chromosomal region, including distance estimates between adjacent markers. The comprehensive RH map includes 17 loci and spans 179 cRays[sub (8000)]. Likelihood ratios of at least 1000:1 support ...
Large depositional oil traps (Priob, Sugmut, etc.) have been discovered in the West Siberian Neocomian. Sequence stratigraphic analysis of well logs and seismic reflection profiles demonstrate that reservoirs of these fields represent sands deposited during lowstand, transgressive and highstand phases of relative sea level cycles. Transgressions and regressions advanced in regional longitudinal and local latitudinal directions. The regional longitudinal pattern is dominated by westward prograding clinoforms formed as the sediment supply exceeded the accommodation space. Local northward and northwestward prograding complexes appear to be controlled by local basin-floor topography. In each systems tract, the coastal zones were landward from the shelf-breaks resulting in dominance of marine facies at each depositional shelf-edge. Lowstand systems tracts are represented on the upper slope by prograding wedges with thin shelfal ...
The control problem associated to a class of horizontal-axis fixed-pitch variable-speed low-power wind energy conversion systems, working in the partial load region, consisting in the energy conversion maximization, is approached here under the assumption that the wind turbine model and its parameters are poorly known. Using a new approach derived from the optimum seeking methods category, generically called Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), the proposed control solution aims at driving the average position of the operating point near to optimality. Instead of inducing sinusoidal search signals, the wind turbulence is here used as search disturbance. The high-speed shaft's average rotational speed is slowly adjusted using the Fast Fourier Transform processing of some available measures from the system as an estimate of the operating point's position/distance to optimality. Numerical simulations are used for preliminary ...
The dynamical factors controlling the mean state and variability of the east Pacific intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and the associated cross-equatorial boundary layer flow are investigated using observations from the East Pacific Investigation of Climate (EPIC2001) project. The tropical east Pacific exhibits a southerly boundary layer flow that terminates in the ITCZ. This flow is induced by the strong meridional sea surface temperature (SST) gradient in the region. Away from the equator and from deep convection, it is reasonably well described on a day-to-day basis by an extended Ekman balance model. Variability in the strength and northward extent of this flow is caused by variations in free-tropospheric pressure gradients that either reinforce or oppose the pressure gradient associated with the SST gradient. These free-tropospheric gradients are caused by easterly waves, tropical cyclones, and the Madden Julian ...
The carbon dioxide concentration has been measured in air samples collected approximately once per week at 22 globally distributed sites during 1981-1984. All samples were analyzed on the same non-dispersive infrared analyzer apparatus. The measured concentrations are directly traceable to the WMO primary CO/sub 2/ standards. Samples which do not contain well-mixed, regionally representative air or which have been contaminated during or subsequent to sampling, have been identified. The selected data have been analyzed using an objective curve fitting method which enables improved estimation of uncertainties associated with derived parameters. The latitudinal distribution of annual mean CO/sub 2/ concentration at the network sites shows significant interannual variability possibly related to the 1982-1983 El NinoSouthern Oscillation event. No evidence was found for significant interannnual variations or trend in the phase or amplitude of the ...
In developing severe accident management strategies, an engineering decision would be made based on the available data and information that are vague, imprecise and uncertain by nature. These sorts of vagueness and uncertainty are due to lack of knowledge for the severe accident sequences of interest. The fuzzy set theory offers a possibility of handling these sorts of data and information. In this paper, the possibility to apply the decision-making method based on fuzzy set theory to the evaluation of the accident management strategies at a nuclear power plant is scrutinized. The fuzzy decision-making method uses linguistic variables and fuzzy numbers to represent the decision-maker's subjective assessments for the decision alternatives according to the decision criteria. The fuzzy mean operator is used to aggregate the decision-maker's subjective assessments, while the total integral value method is used to rank the decision ...
We examine patterns of variation of 32 primarily main sequence stars, extending our previous 7-12 year time series to 13-20 years by combining b, y data from Lowell Observatory with similar data from Fairborn Observatory. Parallel chromospheric Ca II H and K emission data from the Mount Wilson Observatory span the entire interval. The extended data strengthen the relationship between chromospheric and photometric variation derived previously. Twenty-seven stars are deemed variable. On a year-to-year timescale young active stars become fainter when their Ca II emission increases while older less active stars such as the Sun become brighter when their Ca II emission increases. The Sun's total irradiance variation, scaled to the b and y filter photometry, still appears to be somewhat smaller than stars in our limited sample with similar mean chromospheric activity, but we now regard this discrepancy as probably due mainly to our limited stellar ...
To establish the phylogeographic relationships in rabies viruses in Brazil, we studied a dataset retrieved from GenBank consisting of 71 genetic sequences from the coding region of the N gene of rabies viruses isolated in dogs over a period of 22?years. The Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method available in the BEAST package was used with the GTR+G+?4 evolutionary model in conjunction with the relaxed uncorrelated lognormal molecular clock model and an exponential growth tree prior. A discrete phylogeographic diffusion model was also analyzed using a standard continuous-time Markov chain viewed with Google Earth to provide a spatial projection of the diffusion of genetic lineages based on their phylogeographic relationships. The topology of the time and substitution phylogenetic trees a...
Eshkaft-e Gavi is a cave located in the southern Zagros Mountains of Iran and is one of the few archaeological sites in the region to preserve both Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic occupations. Excavation of the site in the 1970s yielded an assemblage of lithic and faunal remains, including ten hominin specimens: a mandibular molar, four cranial fragments, a clavicular diaphysis, the proximal half of a metacarpal, a fragment of os coxa, the proximal diaphysis of a juvenile femur, and a patella. The bones derive from a minimum of four individuals, including two juveniles. Although many of these remains could be Epi-Paleolithic in age, one of the juvenile specimens-the mandibular molar-occurs at the base of the caves Upper Paleolithic sequence. The remains are very fragmentary, but t...
We show that accretion disks, both in the subcritical and supercritical accretion rate regime, may exhibit significant amplitude luminosity oscillations. The luminosity time behavior has been obtained by performing a set of time-dependent 2D SPH simulations of accretion disks with different values of ? and accretion rate. An explanation of this luminosity behavior is proposed in terms of limit-cycle instability: the disk oscillates between a radiation pressure dominated configuration (with a high luminosity value) and a gas pressure dominated one (with a low luminosity value). The origin of this instability is the difference between the heat produced by viscosity and the energy emitted as radiation from the disk surface (the well-known thermal instability mechanism). We support this hypothesis showing that the limit-cycle behavior produces a sequence of collapsing and refilling states of the innermost disk region.
Toadlets of the genus Brachycephalus are endemic to the Atlantic rainforests of southeastern and southern Brazil. The 14 species currently described have snout-vent lengths less than 18mm and are thought to have evolved through miniaturization: an evolutionary process leading to an extremely small adult body size. Here, we present the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for Brachycephalus, using a multilocus approach based on two nuclear (Rag-1 and Tyr) and three mitochondrial (Cyt b, 12S, and 16S rRNA) gene regions. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using a partitioned Bayesian analysis of concatenated sequences and the hierarchical Bayesian method (BEST) that estimates species trees based on the multispecies coalescent model. Individual gene trees showed conflict and also va...
This paper reviews the molecular biology of the renin-angiotensin system. The renin gene structure is analyzed in detail, including an examination of the putative regulatory regions. The combined action of these regulatory sequences would result in the complex, tissue-specific expression and regulation observed in vivo. The expression of the tissue renin-angiotensin systems, which may have important physiological functions, is also described. In addition, the pathway of renin biosynthesis and secretion is reviewed. This includes speculation on the fate of circulating prorenin and the physiological role of multiple renin forms and secretory pathways. The molecular approaches described in this paper have greatly advanced our knowledge of the biology of the renin-angiotensin system. Future studies using these and other approaches should provide further insight into this complex system.
Summary CAG trinucleotide repeat length in the nuclear polymerase gamma gene (POLg) has been shown to be associated with men with reduced fertility. The present study investigated the frequency of CAG repeat length genotypes and three exonuclease motifs of the POLg in relation to the frequency of mitochondrial nucleotide substitutions. DNA from semen samples of 93 normozoospermic men and 192 non-normozoospermic men was isolated and the specific regions of the genes were amplified by polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and sequenced to identify mutations. The genotypic frequencies of pooled POLg CAG repeat lengths, =10/!=10 heterozygotes and !=10/!=10 homozygotes, were significantly different between normozoospermic and non-normozoospermic men (p p POLg genotype. Of the 17 men with non-synonym...
We show that accretion disks, both in the subcritical and supercritical accretion rate regime, may exhibit significant amplitude luminosity oscillations. The luminosity time behavior has been obtained by performing a set of time-dependent 2D SPH simulations of accretion disks with different values of ? and accretion rate. An explanation of this luminosity behavior is proposed in terms of limit-cycle thermal instability: the disk oscillates between a radiation pressure dominated configuration (with a high luminosity value) and a gas pressure dominated one (with a low luminosity value). We support this hypothesis showing that the limit-cycle behavior produces a sequence of collapsing and refilling states of the innermost disk region.
Keratinocyte growth factor receptor (KGFR) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 2c share identical amino acid sequences, except for a 46-amino acid domain in the extracellular region. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to KGFR have not been reported nor are commercially available. In this study, we generated murine MAbs specific to KGFR in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice using a modified Repeated Immunizations at Multiple Sites (RIMMS) technology. Stable cell lines expressing the full-length human KGFR or FGFR2c were produced to facilitate the identification of KGFR-specific MAbs. Following the initial screening of hybridoma clones with a fluorescence-based, confocal cell detection method and ELISA, KGFR-specific MAbs were selected and confirmed by flow cytometry and Western blot ...
Guar seed gum, consisting primarily of a high molecular weight galactomannan, is the most cost effective natural thickener, having broad applications in the food, cosmetics, paper, pharmaceutical and petroleum industries. The properties of the polymer can potentially be enhanced by genetic modification. Development of suitable endosperm-specific promoters for use in guar is desirable for metabolic engineering of the seed gum. A ~1.6?kb guar mannan synthase (MS) promoter region has been isolated. The MS promoter sequence was fused with the GUS reporter gene and overexpressed in the heterologous species alfalfa (Medicago sativa). The potential strength and specificity of the MS promoter was compared with those of the constitutive 35S promoter and the seed specific ?-phaseolin promoter. Quant...
Amphiphysin is a protein concentrated in neuronal synapses and peripherally associated with neurotransmitter vesicles. It is expressed in many neurons of the central and peripheral nervous systems, in the adrenal medulla, in the anterior and posterior pituitary, in cell lines of the endocrine pancreas, and in spermatocytes. Its subcellular localization and tissue distribution indicate a potential involvement in mechanisms of regulated exocytosis. A role in the dynamic organization of the membrane-associated cytoskeleton is suggested by structural homology to the products of two yeast genes, RVS161 and RVS167, whose mutation results in an abnormal actin distribution, disturbs budding morphology, and impairs cell entry into stationary phase. Limited stretches of sequence similarity, including an SH3 domain, are also shared with other actin-binding proteins. Amphiphysin is the dominant autoantigen in paraneoplastic Stiff-Man syndrome, a neurological autoimmune ...
The application of multi-objective genetic algorithms for green building design in two phases were presented in order to better help designers in the decision-making process. The purpose is to minimize two conflicting criteria: the life-cycle cost and the life-cycle environmental impact. Environmental impact criteria examined include energy and non-energy natural resources, global warming, and acidification. Variables focus on building envelope-related parameters. The application of multi-objective genetic algorithms is divided into two phases. The first phase intends to help designers in understanding the trade-off relationship between the two conflicting criteria. The second phase intends to refine the performance region that is of the designer's interest. The results after the two-phase application of the multi objective genetic algorithm were then presented. 13 refs., 4 tabs., 3 figs.
The agricultural sector is probably the one that will suffer most directly from the climatic variations expected at the global level. In particular, the analysis of the changes expected in water availability and demand is fundamental in order to correctly establish both the present water resource management and the definition of new strategies. In this paper the time series of some climatic and agro-climatic indices in the Region of Umbria (Central Italy) have been analyzed with the aim of finding signs of climate changes and identifying the potential impacts on the agricultural water balance. The aforesaid indices include the precipitation, the mean maximum and minimum temperatures (Tmin, Tmax), the mean temperature range (DT), the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and two drought indice...
The potential of different multitemporal and multispectral airborne and spaceborne remote sensing methods for assessment and monitoring of the lignite open-cast mining areas are discussed in this chapter. Emphasis is placed on the successful use of different remote sensing data in variable vegetation structures for dumped sediments with different mineralogical and geochemical properties and for hydrochemical properties of the residual lakes. Multiple remote sensing data are a cost and time efficient tool for the assessment of environmental impacts, supervising of reclamation activities as well as for long term monitoring of the mining area. The airborne data are well suited for large scale detailed research and mapping in smaller sites and the satellite data for the overview scale 1:50 000. An integrated remote sensing-GIS-system including all field and lab data, DTM and other graphical data, improve the results of the remote sensing data classification for the ...
A 2-year-old, female spayed, domestic shorthair cat presented to the University of Missouri-Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (UMC-VMTH) with an approximately 11-month history of fluid-draining pockets along her ventral thorax and axillae. The skin in these regions was erythematous, and multiple areas drained a serous to serosanguinous fluid. Fluid-filled, nodules formed along the ventrum, but these nodules disappeared as fluid drained spontaneously. Histologic assessment of skin biopsies revealed areas of vascular proliferation extending along the deep margin of the section and rare instances of invasion into the superficial dermis. These vascular channels were devoid of cells, lined by variably pleomorphic endothelial cells which had a low mitotic index. Based on the mild to moderate ...
The cross section of hard semiexclusive A(e,e"'N)(A-1) reactions for fixed missing energy and momentum is calculated within the eikonal approximation. Relativistic dynamics and kinematics of high energy processes are unambiguously accounted for by using the analysis of appropriate Feynman diagrams. A significant dependence of the final state interactions on the missing energy is found, which is important for interpretation of forthcoming color transparency experiments. A new, more stringent kinematic restriction on the region where the contribution of short-range nucleon correlations is enhanced in semiexclusive knock-out processes is derived. It is also demonstrated that the use of light-cone variables leads to a considerable simplification of the description of high energy knock-out reactions. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society.
Twenty autopsy cases with 2009 pandemic influenza A (2009 H1N1) virus infection, performed between August 2009 and February 2010, were histopathologically analyzed. Hematoxylin-eosin staining, immunohistochemistry for type A influenza nucleoprotein antigen, and real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay for viral RNA were performed on formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens. In addition, the D222G amino acid substitution in influenza virus hemagglutinin, which binds to specific cell receptors, was analyzed in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded trachea and lung sections by direct sequencing of PCR-amplified products. There were several histopathological patterns in the lung according to the most remarkable findings in each case: acute diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) with a hyaline membrane (four cases), organized DAD (one case), acute massive intra-alveolar edema with variable degrees of hemorrhage (three cases), neutrophilic ...
The centromere is the most characteristic landmark of eukaryotic chromosomes. Centromeres function as the site for kinetochore assembly and spindle attachment, allowing for the faithful pairing and segregation of sister chromatids during cell division. Characterization of centromeric DNA is not only essential to understand the structure and organization of plant genomes, but it is also a critical step in the development of plant artificial chromosomes. The centromeres of most model eukaryotic species, consist predominantly of long arrays of satellite DNA. Determining the precise DNA boundary of a centromere has proven to be a difficult task in multicellular eukaryotes. We have successfully cloned and sequenced the centromere of rice chromosome 8 (Cen8), representing the first fully sequenced centromere from any multicellular eukaryotes. The functional core of Cen8 spans ~800 kb of DNA, which was determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation ...
A portion of the active site of rabbit skeletal myosin near the ribose ring of ATP can be labeled by the photoaffinity analogue 3{prime}(2{prime})-O-(4-benzoylbenzoyl)adenosine triphosphate (Bz{sub 2}ATP). The specificity of the photolabeling was assured by first trapping ({sup 14}C)Bz{sub 2}ATP at the active site by use of thiol cross-linking agents. Five radioactive peptides were isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography after extensive trypsin and subtilisin digestion of photolabeled myosin subfragment 1. Four of these peptides were sequenced by Edman techniques, and all originated from a region with the sequence Gly-Glu-Ile-Thr-Val-Pro-Ser-Ile-Asp-Asp-Gln, which corresponds to rabbit myosin heavy chain residues 312-328. The fifth labeled peptide had an amino acid composition appropriate for residues 312-328. Amino acid composition, radiochemical analysis, and sequence data indicate that ...
Intervertebral spacers for anterior spine fusion are made of different materials, such as titanium and cobalt chromium alloys and carbon fiber-reinforced polymers. Implant-related susceptibility artifacts can decrease the quality of MRI scans. The aim of this cadaveric study was to demonstrate the extent that implant-related MRI artifacting affects the postfusion differentiation of determined regions of interest (ROIs). In six cadaveric porcine spines, we evaluated the postimplantation MRI scans of a titanium, cobalt-chromium and carbon spacer that differed in shape and surface qualities. A spacer made of human cortical bone was used as a control. A defined evaluation unit was divided into ROIs to characterize the spinal canal as well as the intervertebral disc space. Considering 15 different MRI sequences read independently by an interobserver-validated team of specialists the artifact-affected image quality of the median MRI slice was rated ...
The profile imaging technique is used to study the oxidation of ZnTe and InP surfaces induced by in situ reaction due to the electron beam of the microscope and by ex situ heating in air. For both materials, in situ reaction with the electron beam resulted in desorption of the anion species and the formation of the metal oxide. The observation of In metal particles, and the fact that the rate of formation of In_2O_3 was substantially reduced by an improvement of the vacuum near the specimen region, suggested that the presence of oxygen is not involved in the desorption process. The ex situ heating of ZnTe up to 260 degrees C in air resulted in crystals of ZnO and Te metal, generally in a layered surface region with the sequence of ZnTe/Te/ZnO. The large Te crystals usually had an epitaxial relationship with the bulk ZnTe but the small ZnO crystals had random orientations. The ex situ heating of InP to 380 degrees C in air ...
The human zinc finger protein genes (ZFX/Y) were identified as a result of a systematic search for the testis-determining factor gene on the human Y chromosome. Although they play no direct role in sex determination, they are of particular interest because they are highly conserved among mammals, birds, and amphibians and because, in eutherian mammals at least, they have active alleles on both the X and the Y chromosomes outside the pseudoautosomal region. We used in situ hybridization to localize the homologues of the zinc finger protein gene to chromosome 1 of the Australian echidna and to an equivalent position on chromosomes 1 and 2 of the playtpus. The localization to platypus chromosome 1 was confirmed by Southern analysis of a Chinese hamster [times] platypus cell hybrid retaining most of platypus chromosome 1. This localization is consistent with the cytological homology of chromosome 1 between the two species. The zinc finger protein gene homologues were ...
Boat sampling technique (BST) is a surface sampling technique, which has been developed for obtaining, in-situ, metal samples from the surface of an operating component without affecting its operating service life. The BST is non-destructive in nature and the sample is obtained without plastic deformation or without thermal degradation of the parent material. The shape and size of the sample depends upon the shape of the cutter and the surface geometry of the parent material. Miniature test specimens are generated from the sample and the specimens are subjected to various tests, viz. Metallurgical Evaluation, Metallographic Evaluation, Micro-hardness Evaluation, sensitisation test, small punch test etc. to confirm the integrity and assessment of safe operating life of the component. This paper highlights design objective of boat sampling technique, description of sampling module, sampling cutter and its performance evaluation, cutting process, boat samples, operational ...
The PMS2 gene encodes a protein that is involved in DNA mismatch repair and is mutated in a subset of patients with hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC). The previously published PMS2 cDNA sequence lack an upstream in-frame stop codon preceding the presumptive initiating methionine. To evaluate the 5` terminus of the PMS2 coding region further, we isolated additional cDNA clones, RT-PCR products, and the corresponding 5` genomic segment of the PMS2 locus. The PMS2 gene transcripts were found to have heterogeneous but colinear 5` termini, one of which contained an in-frame termination codon preceding the initiating methionine. In addition, a novel gene encoding a 34.5-kDa polypeptide was found to initiate transcriptionally within PMS2 from the opposite strand. 23 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs.
Commercially available CT devices reconstruct cross-sectional slices of the human body. A sequence of such abutting cross-sectional slices can be, and usually is, used to obtain information about the region of the head, which requires several slices to cover it. However, there are situations for which such asequence of displays is far from optimal - for example, when one would like to see the anatomic relationship between two features appearing in different slices or the shape of a particular region or tumor. The Computer Aided Three-Dimensional Reconstruction and Imaging System (CATRIS), developed at our university, can build up a three-dimensional image from a series of CT cross-sections and can display its stereoscopic image on a three-dimensional graphic display system, thus providing helpful information for clinical use in recognizing the anatomic relationship between two features appearing in different slices or the ...
The Ordos Basin is a typical lapped basin, including three sequences of strata: early Paleozoic, late Paleozoic and Mesozoic, with a total thickness of 4000-6000m. Impermeable sealing beds are well developed at the top and base of the upper Paleozoic sequence, separating it from the Mesozoic and the lower Paleozoic strata to form an independent petroleum system. In this petroleum system, the source rocks are widely distributed coals and dark mudstones occurring in the Carboniferous-lower Permian coal measures, with a thickness of 10-15 and 40-60m, respectively. The reservoirs are mainly early Permian tight sandstones, mostly with a porosity of 4-8% and a permeability of 0.1-1.0x10{sup -3}{mu}m{sup 2}. The regional cap rock is a 100-150m thick mudstone in the upper Permian strata. The structural framework of the basin is a huge asymmetric syncline, dipping gently toward the east and north, and steeply toward the south and ...
Magnetically driven non-stationary acceleration of jets in active galactic nuclei results in the leading parts of the flow being accelerated to much higher Lorentz factors than in the case of steady-state acceleration with the same parameters. The higher Doppler-boosted parts of the flow may dominate the high-energy emission of blazar jets. We suggest that highly variable GeV and TeV emission in blazars is produced by the faster moving leading edges of highly magnetized non-stationary ejection blobs, while the radio data trace the slower-moving bulk flow. Thus, the radio and gamma-ray emission regions have different, but correlated, Doppler factors. High-energy emission is generated, typically within the optically thick core, in the outer parts of the broad-line emission region, avoiding the radiative drag on the faster parts of the flow. The radio emission should correlate with the gamma-ray emission, delayed with ...
The quantum behavior of the vacuum Bianchi type-IX universe with the cosmological constant is investigated in terms of the Ashtekar variables. An exact solution to the quantum Hamiltonian constraint in the holomorphic representation is given. This solution reduces to the Hartle-Hawking wave function in the spatially isotropic sector and extends in the triad representation to the classically forbidden region where the determinant of the spatial metric becomes negative. The analysis of the quantum Robertson-Walker universe indicates that if the superspace is extended to such a classically forbidden region, the holomorphic representation picks up some restricted class of solutions in general. This observation leads to a new ansatz on the boundary condition of the Universe. In particular, the behavior of the Lorentzian and Euclidean WKB orbits corresponding to the solution suggests a new picture on the semiclassical behavior of ...
The quantum behavior of the vacuum Bianchi type-IX universe with the cosmological constant is investigated in terms of the Ashtekar variables. An exact solution to the quantum Hamiltonian constraint in the holomorphic representation is given. This solution reduces to the Hartle-Hawking wave function in the spatially isotropic sector and extends in the triad representation to the classically forbidden region where the determinant of the spatial metric becomes negative. The analysis of the quantum Robertson-Walker universe indicates that if the superspace is extended to such a classically forbidden region, the holomorphic representation picks up some restricted class of solutions in general. This observation leads to a new ansatz on the boundary condition of the Universe. In particular, the behavior of the Lorentzian and Euclidean WKB orbits corresponding to the solution suggests a new picture on the semiclassical behavior of ...
An analysis on landscape level was performed to investigate the growth of Scots pine stands (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the research area of 'Duebener Heide' under the impact of rapidly changing pollution loads and to evaluate their further development. Central to the work was a spatial database, installed using a geographic information system (GIS). This database enabled the statistical analysis of relationships and correlations between the growth of the pine stands, the influence of pollution impacts and the natural site characteristics. The results of emission and immission modelling gave detailed evaluation of the pollution load over the investigated area. The spatial information database was linked with a process-based growth model called FORSANA. The resulting regional model was used to simulate forest growth on stand level for variable time periods. The plausibility of the simulation results of the model was checked for ...
The influence of the sulfur dioxide emissions from a large copper smelter in Tacoma, Washington, USA, was studied by measuring the chemical composition of rainwater collected upwind and downwind of the source, before and after permanent closure of the smelter in 1985. Data analysis was based on a statistical model that accounted for variability associated with location of 25 sampling sites within three geographic regions, smelter operation, ten individual rain events observed over 2 years, and measurement uncertainty. After smelter closure, the upwind-downwind differences in mean hydrogen ion and excess sulfate ion concentrations within a 600 km/sup 2/ region extending to 25 km downwind of the source had decreased significantly compared to the pre-closure value. No significant decreases in mean ion concentrations were observed farther downwind in the Seattle, urban area. During five events sampled prior to smelter closure, ...
Mammography has emerged as a reliable non-invasive technique for the early detection of breast cancer--the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality among American women. The radiographic appearance of the female breast consists of radiolucent (dark) regions due to fat and radiodense (light) regions due to connective and epithelial tissue. The amount of radiodense tissue can be used as a marker for predicting breast cancer risk. This paper presents the development of an algorithm for estimating the percentage of radiodense tissue in a digitized mammogram. The technique involves determining a dynamic threshold for segmenting radiodense indications in mammograms. Both the mammographic image and the threshold are modeled as Gaussian random variables. This work is intended to support a concurrent study at the Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC) exploring the association between dietary patterns and breast cancer risk. ...
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a cost-effectiveness (CE) analysis to estimate the incremental cost of complying with the proposed effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs) for the coastal oil and gas industry (EPA 1995a). EPA`s CE analysis calculates the pounds of each pollutant that would be removed if the chosen discharge option is selected. In 1993, EPA issued final ELGs for the offshore oil and gas industry and published an offshore CE analysis. The chemical characteristics of produced water from the offshore region are essentially the same as those of produced water from the coastal region. It was surprising, therefore, that EPA chose a much longer list of pollutants and generally stricter weighting factors for the coastal CE analysis. This report reviews the data, assumptions, and analyses used in EPA`s coastal CE analysis and identifies alternate data, assumptions, and analyses that could lead to significantly ...
This research validates a novel approach for source tracking based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of DNA extracted from Escherichia coli isolates. Escherichia coli from different animal sources and from river samples upstream from, at, and downstream of a combined sewer overflow were subjected to DGGE to determine sequence variations within the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region (ISR) of the rrnB ribosomal operon. The ISR was analyzed to determine if E. coli isolates from various animal sources could be differentiated from each other. DNA isolated from the E. coli animal sources was PCR amplified to isolate the rrnB operon. To prevent amplification of all 7 E. coli ribosomal operons by PCR amplification using universal primers, sequence-specific primers were utilized for the rrnB operon. Another primer set was then used to prepare samples of the 16S-23S ISR for DGGE. Comparison of PCR-DGGE results ...
A series of radioactive catastrophes (from 1948 to 1967) in the Southern Urals in the USSR led to intensive environmental contamination. Radioactive wastes were dispersed over the 20000 km(2) territory of four provinces-Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen' and Kurgan-due to the activity of the military facility that was built in 1948 for the production of nuclear bomb plutonium. The results of 50 years of investigations into the consequences of these disasters allow a general picture of the events that occurred to be reconstructed and allow the medical consequences of the irradiation of about half a million residents to be depicted. However, due to the atmosphere of secrecy and inadequate medical procedures, the results of medical studies of radiation victims are scant. The current protocols present a unique opportunity to study the DNA damage at the nucleotide resolution level in the genome of inhabitants of the given region, who presumably received chronic doses of ...
The Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) is a severe autosomal recessive condition, features of which are partial oculocutaneous albinism, increased susceptibility to infections, deficient natural killer cell activity, and the presence of large intracytoplasmic granulations in various cell types. Similar genetic disorders have been described in other species, including the beige mouse. On the basis of the hypothesis that the murine chromosome 13 region containing the beige locus was homologous to human chromosome 1, we have mapped the CHS locus to a 5-cM interval in chromosome segment 1q42.1-q42.2. The highest LOD score was obtained with the marker D1S235 (Z{sub max} = 5.38; {theta} = 0). Haplotype analysis enabled us to establish D1S2680 and D1S163, respectively, as the telomeric and the centromeric flanking markers. Multipoint linkage analysis confirms the localization of the CHS locus in this interval. Three YAC clones were found to cover the entire ...
In dynamic cardiac SPECT estimates of kinetic parameters ofa one-compartment perfusion model are usually obtained in a two stepprocess: 1) first a MAP iterative algorithm, which properly models thePoisson statistics and the physics of the data acquisition, reconstructsa sequence of dynamic reconstructions, 2) then kinetic parameters areestimated from time activity curves generated from the dynamicreconstructions. This paper provides a method for calculating thecovariance matrix of the kinetic parameters, which are determined usingweighted least squares fitting that incorporates the estimated varianceand covariance of the dynamic reconstructions. For each transaxial slicesets of sequential tomographic projections are reconstructed into asequence of transaxial reconstructions usingfor each reconstruction inthe time sequence an iterative MAP reconstruction to calculate themaximum a priori reconstructed estimate. Time-activity curves for a sumof ...
2-Azido[#alpha#-"3"2P]adenosine diphosphate (2-azido[#alpha#-"3"2P]ADP) has been used to photolabel the ADP/ATP carrier in beef heart mitochondria. In reversible binding assays carried out in the dark, this photoprobe was found to inhibit ADP/ATP transport in beef heart mitochondria and to bind to two types of specific sites of the ADP/ATP carrier characterized by high-affinity binding (K/sub d/ = 20 #mu#M) and low-affinity binding (K/sub d/ = 400 #mu#M). In contrast, it was unable to bind to specific carrier sites in inverted submitochondrial particles. Upon photoirradiation of beef heart mitochondria in the presence of 2-azido[#alpha#-"3"2P]ADP, the ADP/ATP carrier was covalently labeled. After purification, the photolabeled carrier protein was cleaved chemically by acidolysis or cyanogen bromide and enzymatically with the Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease. In the ADP/ATP carrier protein, which is 297 amino acid residues in length, two discrete regions extending ...
Leaded gasoline has been used as fuel for trucks and automobiles in the United States since 1924; it has been implicated as a source of lead that is deposited on the soil and eventually can be ingested by small children, contributing to their burden of this toxic metal. The lead content of 667 surface-soil samples (taken at depths of 0-5 cm) and 159 subsurface-soil samples (from depths of 25-30 cm) collected from Illinois play areas near roads was measured and related to traffic variables. The samples were collected between June and October of 1985, and their measured lead levels exceeded the average natural background level for Illinois soil. The highest lead concentrations were found in samples from the six-county metropolitan Chicago region, where both traffic volume and traffic density are higher than in the rest of the state. Regression analysis showed significant correlation of lead concentration in the top 5 cm of soil with three ...
An interactive system for computer analysis of nucleic acid and protein sequences has been developed for the Los Alamos DNA Sequence Database. It provides a convenient way to search or verify various...Full Text Available
We describe a non-isotopic, semi-automated method for large-scale multiplex analysis of nucleic acid sequences, using the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene as an example. Products...Full Text Available
Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) has been explored widely for DNA sequencing. The major requirement for this method is that the DNA sequencing fragments...Full Text Available
The human genome contains greater than 20 actin-related sequences, six of which at least are expressed as protein. We have shown by blot hybridization the presence of actin-like sequences on both the...Full Text Available
We consider chemical reaction networks taken with mass action kinetics. The steady states of such a system are solutions to a system of polynomial equations. Even for small systems the task of finding the solutions is daunting. We develop an algebraic framework and procedure for linear elimination of variables. The procedure reduces the variables in the system to a set of "core" variables by eliminating variables corresponding to a set of non-interacting species. The steady states are parameterized algebraically by the core variables, and a graphical condition is given for when a steady state with positive core variables necessarily have all variables positive. Further, we characterize graphically the sets of eliminated variables that are constrained by a conservation law and show that this conservation law takes a ...
BackgroundOver the past decade, many investigators have used sophisticated time series tools for the analysis of genomic sequences. Specifically, the correlation of the nucleotide...Full Text Available
Motivation: DNA sequences can be represented by sequences of four symbols, but it is often useful to convert the symbols into real or complex numbers for further analysis. Several mapping...Full Text Available
BackgroundPublicly available DNA sequence databases such as GenBank are large, and are growing at an exponential rate. The sheer volume of data being dealt with presents serious...Full Text Available
The authors have interpreted 1,400 km of industry and government multichannel seismic reflection data from eastern Lake Superior. Seismic sequences have been identified by using reflection character and reflector terminations and truncations. This framework, coupled with outcrop information, has allowed them to assign lithologic units to some of these reflectors and reconstruct the timing and geometry of structures within the basin. The authors have mapped the Base Jacobsville-Bayfield Group/Top oronto Group, Base oronto Group/Top Keweenawan volcanics, and Basement as well as several reflectors internal to these groups. Integration of gravity and magnetic data with the seismic grid permits regional mapping of faults and folds between seismic lines. In the eastern part of the basin, high-angle basement-involved reverse faults, such as the southeastern combination of the Keweenaw fault, trend NNW-SSE, while broad folds trend E-W. The Keweenaw ...
Transducin {alpha} subunits are members of a large family of G-proteins and play an important role in phototransduction in rod and cone photoreceptors. We report the localization of the human cone {alpha} transducin (GNAT2) gene using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on chromosome 1 in band p13. The recent assignment of a gene for Stargardt`s disease to the same chromosomal region by linkage analysis prompted us to investigate the possible role of GNAT2 in the pathogenesis of this disease. Stargardt`s disease is characterized by degeneration in late childhood or early adulthood of the macula of the retina, a region rich in cones. We screened patients with Stargardt`s disease, with or without peripheral cone involvement as monitored by the full-field ERG, for mutations in this gene. We investigated 66 unrelated patients including 22 with peripheral cone dysfunction for mutations in the coding region of the GNAT2 ...
A chronology for Paleocene strata of the Hinton area of west-central Alberta was developed from the integration of a magnetostratigraphic and palynostratigraphic study of the upper Coalspur and middle to upper Paskapoo strata in the Coal Valley to Obed Mountain area. The study resulted in the compilation of a complete section of 1100 m of strata with a maximum sediment accumulation rate of 250 m/m.y. Four new informal biostratigraphic units were used to highlight stratigraphically useful bioevents not previously recognized in existing zonations. These strata range in age from magnetochron 29r to 24r and palynozones Wodehouseia spinata Zone, Aquilapollenites reticulatus Subzone through the Pistillipollenite mcgregorii Zone. The 3 intervals with the most rapid changes in the palynoflora were the earliest Paleocene; the transition from the early to middle Paleocene; and in the late Paleocene. Each coincides with critical times in basin development, notably the initiation of ...
The primary goal of this project is to increase the availability and ease of access to critical data on the Mesaverde and Dakota tight gas reservoirs of the San Juan Basin. Secondary goals include tuning well log interpretations through integration of core, water chemistry and production analysis data to help identify bypassed pay zones; increased knowledge of permeability ratios and how they affect well drainage and thus infill drilling plans; improved time-depth correlations through regional mapping of sonic logs; and improved understanding of the variability of formation waters within the basin through spatial analysis of water chemistry data. The project will collect, integrate, and analyze a variety of petrophysical and well data concerning the Mesaverde and Dakota reservoirs of the San Juan Basin, with particular emphasis on data available in the areas defined as tight gas areas for purpose of FERC. A relational, geo-referenced database ...
Purpose: Patients with ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) show greatly increased radiation sensitivity and cancer predisposition. Family studies imply that the otherwise clinically silent heterozygotes of this autosomal recessive disease run a 3.5 to 3.8 higher risk of developing cancer. In vitro studies suggest moderately increased cellular radiation sensitivity of A-T carriers. They may also show elevated clinical radiosensitivity. We retrospectively examined patients who presented with severe adverse reactions during or after standard radiation treatment for mutations in the gene responsible for A-T, ATM, considering a potential means of future identification of radiosensitive individuals prospectively to adjust dosage schedules. Material and Methods: We selected 20 cancer patients (breast, 11; rectum, 2; ENT, 2; bladder, 1; prostate, 1; anus, 1; astrocytoma, 1; Hodgkins lymphoma, 1) with Grade 3 to 4 (RTOG) acute and/or late tissue radiation side effects by reaction severity. DNA from the ...
Retention or dispersion of larvae from the spawning grounds has been identified as one of the key processes influencing recruitment success in fish stocks. To examine the potential effects of transport on recruitment. numerical simulations were performed utilizing a three-dimensional physical oceanographic model of the Baltic Sea. Cod larvae were represented as Lagrangian drifters released in the deepwater region of the Bornholm Basin, the main spawning ground for Baltic cod. Simulations were performed for the major spawning seasons of 1993 and 1994. when annual and interannual variability of meteorological forcing was large. The principal goals of the modelling exercise were first to identify the physical processes influencing the demersal distribution of the early life stages and second to describe the transport of the pelagic stages in response to variations in windstress, thereby identifying the meteorological and hydrodynamic mechanisms ...
To investigate mechanisms responsible for positive and negative transcriptional control, the authors have utilized two types of promoters that are diffferentially regulated by thyroid hormone (T{sub 3}) receptors. Promoters containing the palindromic T{sub 3} response element TCAGGTCA TGACCTGA are positively regulated by the T{sub 3} receptor after the administration of T{sub 3}, whereas otherwise identical promoters containing the estrogen response element TCAGGTCA CTG TGACCTGA can be regulated negatively; converse effects are observed with the estrogen receptor. They describe evidence that the transcriptional inhibitory effects of the T{sub 3} or estrogen receptors on the estrogen or T{sub 3} response elements, respectively, are imposed by amino acid sequences in the C'-terminal region that colocalize with dimerization and hormone-binding domains and that these sequences can transfer inhibitory functions to other ...
The amino acid residues 114-118 in actin were found to be implicated strongly in the binding of nucleotide, and as would be expected for such an important binding site, they are located in a completely conserved region of the actin sequence. A 19-residue peptide with the actin sequence 106-124 was synthesized in order to span the putative triphosphate binding site. Proton NMR spectra of the actin peptide 114-118 in the presence and absence of ATP indicated that Arg-116 and Lys-118 are particularly involved in binding ATP. A strong binding of ATP to the peptide 106-124 also was measured. Tripolyphosphate bound to the peptide 106-124 somewhat more weakly than ATP. Binding involved residues 115-118 and 121-124, indicating the presence of a reverse turn between these segments. Proton resonances were assigned by using two-dimensional double quantum correlated spectroscopy, one-dimensional spin decoupling techniques, ...
ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are small guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that enhance the enzymatic activities of cholera toxin. Two ARF cDNAs, ARF1 and ARF3, were cloned from a human cerebellum library. Based on deduced amino acid sequences and patterns of hybridization of cDNA and oligonucleotide probes with mammalian brain poly(A)"+ RNA, human ARF1 is the homologue of bovine ARF1. Human ARF3, which differs from bovine ARF1 and bovine ARF2, appears to represent a newly identified third type of ARF. Hybridization patterns of human ARF cDNA and clone-specific oligonucleotides with poly(A)"+ RNA are consistent with the presence of at least two, and perhaps four, separate ARF messages in human brain. In vitro translation of ARF1, ARF2, and ARF3 produced proteins that behaved, by SDS/PAGE, similar to a purified soluble brain ARF. Deduced amino acid sequences of human ARF1 and ARF3 contain regions, similar to those in ...
African bovine trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma sp., is a major constraint on cattle productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Some African Bos taurus breeds are highly tolerant of infection, but the potentially more productive Bos indicus zebu breeds are much more susceptible. Zebu cattle are well adapted for plowing and haulage, and increasing their tolerance of trypanosomiasis could have a major impact on crop cultivation as well as dairy and beef production. We used three strategies to obtain short lists of candidate genes within QTL that were previously shown to regulate response to infection. We analyzed the transcriptomes of trypanotolerant N'Dama and susceptible Boran cattle after infection with Trypanosoma congolense. We sequenced EST libraries from these two breeds to identify polymorphisms that might underlie previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL), and we assessed QTL regions and candidate loci for evidence of selective ...
When preadipocytes differentiate into adipocytes, several differentiation-linked genes are activated. Lipo-protein lipase (LPL) is one of the first genes induced during this process. To investigate early events in adipocyte development, we have focused on the transcriptional activation of the LPL gene. For this purpose, we have cloned and fused different parts of intragenic and flanking sequences with a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene. Transient transfection experiments and DNase I hypersensitivity assays indicate that several positive as well as negative elements contribute to transcriptional regulation of the LPL gene. When reporter gene constructs were stably introduced into preadipocytes, we were able to monitor and compare the activation patterns of different promoter deletion mutants at selected time points representing the process of adipocyte development. We could delimit two cis-regulatory elements important for gradual activation of the ...
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) regionsequences 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 ...
High spin states of the proton rich nuclei in the mass region A {approx} 100 have been studied at the GASP spectrometer through the evaporation of light charged particles and heavier ions detected in the 4{pi} Si-ball Isis. Rear side injection and pulse shape analysis have allowed a good discrimination among protons, alpha particles and heavy ions up to C. Of the several nuclei populated in the reactions we will discuss here the high spin states of {sup 105} Sn. In addition to an extension of the spherical level, scheme, a regular sequence of dipole transitions has been found, The states of the dipole band are suggested to be built on a neutron h{sup 2}{sub 11/2} excitation coupled to proton particle-hole states, which polarize the core to a slightly prolate shape. The experimental results are in agreement with the prediction of tilted axis cranking calculations, which satisfactorily explain the properties of the band. (author) 17 refs., 4 ...
The Oklo natural fossil fission reactors in Gabon, Equatorial Africa, have been studied as a natural analogue for spent nuclear fuel in a geological environment. For these studies, it is important to know what has happened to these reactors since they formed. This review is focussed on existing geological and geochronological information concerning the Oklo reactors and the surrounding ore. A sequence of geological and geochemical events in the Oklo area, as described in the literature, is given. The data and the studies behind this established geochronology are discussed and evaluated. Of the regional geology, special attention is given to the dating of the Francevillian sediments, and the intrusion of a dolerite dyke swarm. The processes that led to the mineralisation at Oklo, the subsequent formation of the nuclear reactors and later migration of fission products are described. Further discussion concerns the studies of the dolerite dyke ...
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 ...
A study was undertaken of the effect of monovalent cations (Li/sup +/, Na/sup +/, K/sup +/) on the dielectric constant (epsilon) of the water-lipid interface of unilamellar phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles, i.e., the ester carbonyl oxygen region of the PC molecules or the neighborhood of the oxygen atoms of the phosphorylcholine moiety. epsilon was determined by reacting the free radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl with ..cap alpha..-tocopherol incorporated in the lipid vesicles. The results are consistent with a decrease of epsilon (LiCl: 35.5 to 29.5; NaCl: 34 to 29; KCl: 33 to 29) as the concentration of the salts in the solvent media increases from 0.025 to 0.5 M. These effects can be rationalized in terms of dielectric saturation at the water-lipid interface brought about by ion-induced local electric fields. In the unilamellar PC vesicles the effect of the ions on epsilon follows the sequence K/sup +/ > Na/sup +/ > Li/sup +/ ...
[alpha]-Melanocyte stimulating hormone ([alpha]-MSH), a hormone originally named for its ability to regulate pigmentation of melanocytes, is a 13-amino-acid post-translational product of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene. [alpha]-MSH and the other products of POMC processing, which share the core heptapeptide amino acid sequence Met-Glu (Gly)-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly (Asp), the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), [beta]-MSH, and [gamma]-MSH, are collectively referred to as melanocortins. While best known for their effects on the melanocyte (pigmentation) and adrenal cortical cells (steroidogenesis), melanocortins have been postulated to function in diverse activities, including enhancement of learning and memory, control of the cardiovascular system, analgesia, thermoregulation, immunomodulation, parturition, and neurotrophism. To identify the chromosomal band encoding the human melanocortin-1 receptor gene, 1 [mu]g of an EMBL clone coding region ...
We used the recuperation effect (see also 'Recuperation of infrared stimulated luminescence of feldspars' in this issue) for investigating the connection between infrared- and greenlight-stimulated luminescence (IRSL and GLSL) of feldspars by performing a 'double-bleach recuperation' experiment. A diode system was used for infrared (IR) stimulation, and a filtered-light unit for greenlight (GL) stimulation. Powdered feldspar samples (2 mg each) of known chemical characterisation from a mineral collection were used. After beta-irradiation with 180 Gy and storage in the dark for several weeks feldspar aliquots were bleached down to a residual level of {approx}1% of the initial level, first with IR and subsequently with GL. For both stimulations, detection of the stimulated luminescence was carried out in the near ultraviolet region (around 260-360 nm, peaked at 340 nm). Other aliquots were bleached in reverse order (1st GL, 2nd ...
We used the recuperation effect (see also 'Recuperation of infrared stimulated luminescence of feldspars' in this issue) for investigating the connection between infrared- and greenlight-stimulated luminescence (IRSL and GLSL) of feldspars by performing a 'double-bleach recuperation' experiment. A diode system was used for infrared (IR) stimulation, and a filtered-light unit for greenlight (GL) stimulation. Powdered feldspar samples (2 mg each) of known chemical characterisation from a mineral collection were used. After beta-irradiation with 180 Gy and storage in the dark for several weeks feldspar aliquots were bleached down to a residual level of #approx#1% of the initial level, first with IR and subsequently with GL. For both stimulations, detection of the stimulated luminescence was carried out in the near ultraviolet region (around 260-360 nm, peaked at 340 nm). Other aliquots were bleached in reverse order (1st GL, 2nd IR). These bleaching ...
Through analysis of archival images and photometry from the Spitzer GLIMPSE and MIPSGAL surveys combined with Two Micron All Sky Survey and MSX data, we have identified 488 candidate young stellar objects (YSOs) in the giant molecular cloud M17 SWex, which extends #approx#50 pc southwest from the prominent Galactic H II region M17. Our sample includes >200 YSOs with masses >3 M _s_u_n that will become B-type stars on the main sequence. Extrapolating over the stellar initial mass function (IMF), we find that M17 SWex contains >1.3 x 10"4 young stars, representing a proto-OB association. The YSO mass function is significantly steeper than the Salpeter IMF, and early O stars are conspicuously absent from M17 SWex. Assuming M17 SWex will form an OB association with a Salpeter IMF, these results reveal the combined effects of (1) more rapid circumstellar disk evolution in more massive YSOs and (2) delayed onset of massive star formation.
We consider closed string tachyons localized at the fixed points of noncompact nonsupersymmetric orbifolds. We argue that tachyon condensation drives these orbifolds to flat space or supersymmetric ALE spaces. The decay proceeds via an expanding shell of dilaton gradients and curvature which interpolates between two regions of distinct angular geometry. The string coupling remains weak throughout. For small tachyon VEVs, evidence comes from quiver theories on D-branes probes, in which deformations by twisted couplings smoothly connect non-supersymmetric orbifolds to supersymmetric orbifolds of reduced order. For large tachyon VEVs, evidence comes from worldsheet RG flow and spacetime gravity. For C{sup 2}/Z{sub n}, we exhibit infinite sequences of transitions producing SUSY ALE spaces via twisted closed string condensation from non-supersymmetric ALE spaces. In a T-dual description this provides a mechanism for creating NS5-branes via closed ...
We report the isolation of cDNA clones for the mouse {alpha}7 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit (gene symbol Acra7), the only nicotinic receptor subunit known to bind a-bungarotoxin in mammalian brain. This gene may have relevance to nicotine sensitivity and to some electrophysiologic findings in schizophrenia. The mouse {alpha}7 subunit gene encodes a protein of 502 amino acids with substantial identity to the rat (99.6%), human (92.8%), and chicken (87.5%) amino acid sequences. The {alpha}7 gene was mapped to mouse chromosome 7 near the p locus with the following gene order from proximal to distal: Myod1-3.5 {+-}1.7 cM-Gas2-0.9 cM {+-} 0.9 cM-D7Mit70-1.8 {+-} 1.2 cM- Acra7-4.4 {+-}1.0 cM-Hras1-ps11/Igf1r/Snrp2a. The human gene was confirmed to map to the homologous region of human chromosome 15q13-q14. 26 refs., 3 figs.
N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis has led to the elucidation of several regulator genes for melanocyte and skin development. Here we characterized a mutant from ENU mutagenesis with similar phenotype as that of Splotch mutant, including exencephaly, spina bifida and abnormal limbs in homozygotes as well as white belly spotting and occasionally loop-tail in heterozygotes. This novel mutant was named as Sp(xG). Through genome-wide linkage analysis in backcross progenies with microsatellite markers, the Sp(xG) was confined to a region between D1MIT415 and D1MIT7 on chromosome 1, where notable Pax3 gene was located. Direct sequencing revealed that Sp(xG) carried a nucleotide A894G missense transition in exon 6 of Pax3 gene that resulted in Asn to Asp substitution at amino acid 269 within the highly-conserved homeodomain (HD) DNA recognition module, which was the first point mutation found in this domain in mice. This N269D mutation impaired ...
Boron (B) is an essential plant micronutrient that is toxic at higher levels. NIP5;1 is a boric acid channel required for B uptake and growth under B deficiency. Accumulation of the NIP5;1 transcript is upregulated under B deficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana roots. To elucidate the mechanism of regulation, the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of NIP5;1 was tested for its ability to confer B-dependent regulation using ?-glucuronidase and green fluorescent protein as reporters. This analysis showed that the 5' UTR was involved in NIP5;1 transcript accumulation in response to B conditions. We also found that high-B conditions trigger NIP5;1 mRNA degradation and that the sequence from +182 to +200 bp in the 5' UTR is required for this mRNA destabilization. In the nip5;1-1 mutant background, a NIP5;1 complementation construct without the 5' UTR produced high levels of mRNA accumulation, increased B concentrations in tissues, and reduced growth under ...
Catalase is an important antioxidant protein which can protect organisms against various oxidative stresses by eliminating hydrogen peroxide. The catalase cDNA of Cristaria plicata@?cpCAT@? was cloned from the haemocytes using degenerate primers by the method of 3' and 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends PCR. The gene is 4863 bp long and has a total of two introns and three exons. The precise size and location of the introns and exons have been determined. In addition the full-length cDNA of cpCAT contained 2618 bp, The cDNA contained a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 136 nucleotides, the 3' UTR of 979 bp with a canonical polyadenylation signal sequence AATAAA and a polyA tail, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 1503 bp, encoding 501 amino acid residues with 56.86 kDa predicted molecular w...
Overhead persistent surveillance systems are becoming more capable at acquiring wide-field image sequences for long time-spans. The need to exploit this data is becoming ever greater. The ability to track a single vehicle of interest or to track all the observable vehicles, which may number in the thousands, over large, cluttered regions while they persist in the imagery is very desirable. Typically, this imagery has many thousands of pixels on a side and is characterized by lower resolutions (e.g. {approx}0.5 meters/pixel to {approx}2.0 meters/pixel) and lower frame rates (e.g. {approx} sub-Hz to several Hz). We describe our ultra-scale capable implementation of a multiple-vehicle tracking algorithm for overhead persistent surveillance imagery. This work builds upon an earlier report, where now the algorithm has been modified for improved performance and has been substantially improved to handle much larger datasets in a much shorter time.
We revisit our original papers on the burst mode of accretion by incorporating a detailed energy balance equation into a thin-disk model for the formation and evolution of circumstellar disks around low-mass protostars. Our model includes the effect of radiative cooling, viscous and shock heating, and heating due to stellar and background irradiation. Following the collapse from the prestellar phase allows us to model the early embedded phase of disk formation and evolution. During this time, the disk is susceptible to fragmentation, depending upon the properties of the initial prestellar core. Globally, we find that higher initial core angular momentum and mass content favors more fragmentation, but higher levels of background radiation can moderate the tendency to fragment. A higher rate of mass infall onto the disk than that onto the star is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for disk fragmentation. More locally, both the Toomre Q-parameter needs to be below a critical value ...
We present a proof-of-concept analysis of the measurement of the health damage of ozone (O_3) produced from nitrogen oxides (NO_x=NO+NO_2) emitted by individual large point sources in the eastern United States. We use a regional atmospheric model of the eastern United States, the Comprehensive Air quality Model with Extensions (CAMx), to quantify the variable impact that a fixed quantity of NO_x emitted from individual sources can have on the downwind concentration of surface O_3, depending on temperature and local biogenic hydrocarbon emissions. We also examine the dependence of resulting O_3-related health damages on the size of the exposed population. The investigation is relevant to the increasingly widely used 'cap and trade' approach to NO_x regulation, which presumes that shifts of emission over time and space, holding the total fixed over the course of the summer O_3 season, will have minimal effect on the environmental outcome. By ...
In order to practice design-by-analysis of thermohydraulics design of BWR fuel rod bundles, the subchannel analysis would play a major role. There, one of the immediate concerns is improvement in its predictive capability of boiling transition phenomena on the fuel rod surface. This capability strongly depends on the modeling of thermohydraulics phenomena of interests: 1) vapor-liquid redistribution by inter-subchannel exchanges due to the diversion cross flow, turbulent mixing and void drift, 2) liquid film behaviors, 3) transition of two-phase flow regimes, 4) droplet entrainment and deposition and 5) spacer-droplet interactions. These are considered to be five key factors in understanding the BT in BWR fuel rod bundles. This paper describes a progress and current status in the second year of the three year project on developing generalized boiling transition models with the above five key factors being focused on. A combined approach of experiment and computation is described in ...
We present new 12CO J=3-2 and HCN J=3-2 molecular line maps of the region surrounding the young star AR 6 using the 15 metre James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. AR 6 was previously found to be a double source with both components exhibiting several characteristics of FU Orionis (FUor) eruptive variable stars. Our data indicates that AR 6, like FU Orionis itself, does not possess a CO outflow and likewise, does not show evidence for large amounts of molecular g as in its circumstellar environment. We conclude that from the near-IR to the sub-mm, AR 6 is similar to FU Orionis in several respects. We interpret the lack of significant dust and molecular gas in the circumstellar environment of AR 6, together with the large near-IR thermal excess, as evidence that the sources have exhausted their natal envelopes, that they have at least small hot circumstellar disks, and that they are more evolved than Class I protostars. This, in itself, suggests that, ...
One of the least understood regions of the upper atmosphere is the thermosphere, principally due to the difficulty of making observations. The neutral atmosphere is known to be highly variable, and its composition and density varies by several orders of magnitude due to solar activity, diurnal cycles, latitude, geomagnetic activity, and gravity waves. In the past, most in-situ measurements of the neutral atmosphere have utilized detectors that are dependent on arrival angle and energy accommodation of incoming species, so that information related to nascent velocity distribution and reactive species abundances is often masked. This paper will review design concepts and laboratory tests related to the development of a novel open-ionizer, neutral particle detector for space environment measurements which can overcome these limitations. The sensor features a very large field-of-view suitable for sounding rocket missions. This time-of-flight ...
Introduction: Thalassemia is the most common hereditary blood disorder in the world. Iran is located on the thalassemic belt and there is a high prevalence of the hepatosplenomegaly in beta thalassemia minor patients which is reported to be very variable. The goal of this research was to study the frequency of these signs in the cases with beta thalassemia minor patients in Iran. Materials and methods: Two hundred and fifty-nine cases that referred to center for pre-marriage tests were divided into two groups according to their MCV, MCH, and HbA2 (beta thalassemia minor cases and control groups). Liver and spleen sizes were determined by ultrasonographic method and the two groups were compared with each other. Results: Average spleen volumes in case and control groups were 163.48 {+-} 133.97 and 126.29 {+-} 53.98 mm{sup 3}, respectively. Average spleen lengths in case and control groups were 10.71 {+-} 1.52 and 10.60 {+-} 5.4 cm, respectively. Conclusion: In the ...
The characteristic space-time scales of surface solar radiation fields measured by the 111-instrument ME-SONET in Oklahoma are estimated after removal of the diurnal cycle. These estimates of {open_quotes}within-day{close_quotes} are used to deduce the representativeness of surface solar radiation measurements measurement site as a function of time-averaging interval. Nomograms of the relation between point measurements and area averages are given for different space-time-averaging intervals. Examples from the nomograms show, for instance, that under conditions of low mean radiation (cloudy days), the central site point measurements are representative of a spatial area the size of a T42 GCM grid box (280 km X 280 km) if one uses hourly averages and is willing to accept a correlation of 0.45 between area average and point measurement. The point data represent a 60 km X 60 km region at a 0.90 correlation level if a 5-min time average is used. The characteristic ...
We intend to solve equations governing turbulent plane-vertical isotherm and non isotherm jets by taking into account inflow conditions at the exit of the nozzle. The analysis is focused on the influence of these conditions on this type of flow. Two cases are considered (uniform and parabolic velocity and temperature profiles). A finite difference scheme is developed to solve the governing equations. This numeric model allows us to show that the region of fully developed regime begins much nearer the nozzle for the turbulent case than for the laminar flow case. Indeed, the turbulence increases the mixing between the incoming gas from the nozzle and the ambient fluid, and consequently the size of the potential core zone decreases. The results are compared to other works introducing mathematical variables based on the energy conservation for the case of the mixed convection and the momentum conservation for the forced convection, which allows the ...
A new miniature high-frequency (HF) plasma source intended for bio-medical applications is studied using nitrogen/oxygen mixture at atmospheric pressure. This plasma source can be used as an element of a plasma source array for applications in dermatology and surgery. Nitric oxide and ozone which are produced in this plasma source are well-known agents for proliferation of the cells, inhalation therapy for newborn infants, disinfection of wounds and blood ozonation. Using optical emission spectroscopy, microphotography and numerical simulation, the gas temperature in the active plasma region and plasma parameters (electron density and electron distribution function) are determined for varied nitrogen/oxygen flows. The influence of the gas flows on the plasma conditions is studied. Ozone and nitric oxide concentrations in the effluent of the plasma source are measured using absorption spectroscopy and electro-chemical NO-detector at variable gas ...
This paper describes the comprehensive modeling method of fluid and heat flows in the hydrological system. Based upon the concept that the hydrological system is composed of the air-water 2-phase fluids, and the rock phase, various natural processes are modeled including surface/subsurface 2-phase mass transfer, heat exchanges between fluid phases, between fluid and solid phases, and sensible/latent heat exchanges on the ground surface. A field-oriented numerical simulator is developed, in which a set of governing equations is solved for different variables on the surface and in subsurface regions, respectively. Results of an experimental study are presented, in which transient formulation of heat exchange between fluid/solid phases is examined through matching of the observation and calculated performances. (author)
This paper describes the comprehensive modeling method of fluid and heat flows in the hydrological system. Based upon the concept that the hydrological system is composed of the air-water 2-phase fluids, and the rock phase, various natural processes are modeled including surface/subsurface 2-phase mass transfer, heat exchanges between fluid phases, between fluid and solid phases, and sensible/latent heat exchanges on the ground surface. A field-oriented numerical simulator is developed, in which a set of governing equations is solved for different variables on the surface and in subsurface regions, respectively. Results of an experimental study are presented, in which transient formulation of heat exchange between fluid/solid phases is examined through matching of the observation and calculated performances. (author)
ObjectivesIn the long term, we aim to improve understanding of the relationships between ecosystem services, water resources, food production and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, we seek to understand how local communities deal with climate-related risk and uncertainty and the opportunities they have - or could have - in shaping adaptation planning around pro-poor, small-scale irrigation and to identify priorities for ecosystem management, particularly in terms of pro-poor water allocation. In [continued...]DescriptionIncreased food production is widely considered to be a fundamental step toward the reduction of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although the agricultural sector account for two-thirds of the labour force, SSA is the only region in the world where per capita food production declined over the latter half of the 20th century. It also remains highly vulnerable to extreme climate variability and future climate change ...
This document describes the contents of a digital climatological data set that may be used by raster or vector geographic information systems (GISs). The primary focus of the data set is the quantification of the occurrence of synoptic storms and other climatological factors that affect coastlines. However, recent demands for new and/or improved climatologies of storm events as well as an increase in the availability of source data have made it useful to extend the domain of most of the data variables to that of regional and/or global coverage. The expansion of the data makes the data set applicable in several areas of climatic research. The data set contains eight data groups. Spatial coverage of data varies by data group. All data groups except one are referred to 1{degree} {times} 1{degree} or 5{degree} {times} 5{degree} grid cells of latitude and longitude. (Data group (3) is referenced by state.) 19 refs., 12 figs., 26 tabs.
Stargardt disease (STGD) and fundus flavimaculatus are infrequent autosomal recessive conditions characterized by a juvenile macular dystrophy and variable degrees of peripheral retinal changes. Linkage analysis performed in 47 STGD/fundus flavimaculatus families demonstrated significant linkage to 13 polymorphic DNA markers on chromosome 1p. The maximum combined two-point lod score was 32.7 (maximum recombination fraction [{theta}{sub max}] = .006) with the polymorphic marker D1S188. Our data demonstrate that STGD and fundus flavimaculatus are the same disorder clinically and genetically and provide further evidence for genetic homogeneity of this phenotype. Analysis of recombination on disease chromosomes placed the STGD gene within a 4-cM interval between markers D1S435 and D1S236. A physical map was constructed of a YAC contig flanking STGD, from markers D1S500 to D1S495, and includes the critical interval delineated by historical recombinants. This contig ...
The goal of assembly sequencing is to plan a feasible series of operations to construct a product from its individual parts. Previous research has thoroughly investigated assembly sequencing under the assumption that parts have nominal geometry. This paper considers the case where parts have toleranced geometry. Its main contribution is an efficient procedure that decides if a product admits an assembly sequence with infinite translations that is feasible for all possible instances of the components within the specified tolerances. If the product admits one such sequence, the procedure can also generate it. For the cases where there exists no such assembly sequence, another procedure is proposed which generates assembly sequences that are feasible only for some values of the toleranced dimensions. If this procedure produces no such sequence, ...
Waveform correlation detectors compare a signal template with successive windows of a continuous data stream and report a detection when the correlation coefficient, or some comparable detection statistic, exceeds a specified threshold. Since correlation detectors exploit the fine structure of the full waveform, they are exquisitely sensitive when compared to power (STA/LTA) detectors. The drawback of correlation detectors is that they require complete knowledge of the signal to be detected, which limits such methods to instances of seismicity in which a very similar signal has already been observed by every station used. Such instances include earthquake swarms, aftershock sequences, repeating industrial seismicity, and many other forms of controlled explosions. The reduction in the detection threshold is even greater when the techniques are applied to arrays since stacking can be performed on the individual channel correlation traces to achieve significant array ...
The mechanisms involved in the glacial inception are still poorly constrained due to a lack of high resolution and cross-dated climate records at various locations. Using air isotopic measurements in the recently drilled NorthGRIP ice core, we show that no evidence exists for stratigraphic disturbance of the climate record of the last glacial inception ({proportional_to}123-100 kyears BP) encompassing Dansgaard-Oeschger events (DO) 25, 24 and 23, even if we lack sufficient resolution to completely rule out disturbance over DO 25. We quantify the rapid surface temperature variability over DO 23 and 24 with associated warmings of 10{+-}2.5 and 16{+-}2.5 C, amplitudes which mimic those observed in full glacial conditions. We use records of {delta}{sup 18}O of O{sub 2} to propose a common timescale for the NorthGRIP and the Antarctic Vostok ice cores, with a maximum uncertainty of 2,500 years, and to examine the interhemispheric sequence of events ...
The SGTR project has been carried out within the fifth EURATOM Framework Programme (Contract No FIKS-CT-1999-0007). Its main objective was to provide an experimental database and to develop and/or verify models to support definition of accident management measures in the hypothetical case of a Steam Generator tube Rupture (SGTR) sequence. The project addressed both vertical and horizontal steam generator designs. This report summarises the main results obtained in the intermediate scale experimentation that addressed Western type steam generators. The specific goal of this test programme was to investigate aerosol retention in the break stage of the secondary side of a water-empty steam generator. The test matrix consisted of 12 tests that explored the influence of variables such as break type and orientation and inlet gas flow rate. This work was performed in the PECA facility of the Laboratory for Analysis of Safety Systems (LASS). Aerosol ...
This report describes the basis, results, and related risk implications of an analysis performed by an ad hoc working group of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess the containment bypass potential attributable to steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) induced by severe accident conditions. The SGTR Severe Accident Working Group, comprised of staff members from the NRC`s Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) and Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES), undertook the analysis beginning in December 1995 to support a proposed steam generator integrity rule. The work drew upon previous risk and thermal-hydraulic analyses of core damage sequences, with a focus on the Surry plant as a representative example. This analysis yielded new results, however, derived by predicting thermal-hydraulic conditions of selected severe accident scenarios using the SCDAP/RELAP5 computer code, flawed tube failure modeling, and tube failure probability estimates. These ...
The chemical composition and evolution of produced waters associated with gas production in the Palm Valley gas field, Northern Territory, has important implications for issues such as gas reserve calculations, reservoir management and saline water disposal. The occurrence of saline formation water in the Palm Valley field has been the subject of considerable debate. There were no occurrences of mobile water early in the development of the field and only after gas production had reduced the reservoir pressure, was saline formation water produced. Initially this was in small quantities but has increased dramatically with time, particularly after the initiation of compression in November 1996. The produced waters range from highly saline (up to 300,000 mg/L TDS), with unusual enrichments in Ca, Ba and Sr, to low salinity fluids that may represent condensate waters. The Sr isotopic compositions of the waters ({sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr = 0.7041-0.7172) are also variable ...
The chemical composition and evolution of produced waters associated with gas production in the Palm Valley gas field, Northern Territory, has important implications for issues such as gas reserve calculations, reservoir management and saline water disposal. The occurrence of saline formation water in the Palm Valley field has been the subject of considerable debate. There were no occurrences of mobile water early in the development of the field and only after gas production had reduced the reservoir pressure, was saline formation water produced. Initially this was in small quantities but has increased dramatically with time, particularly after the initiation of compression in November 1996. The produced waters range from highly saline (up to 300,000 mg/L TDS), with unusual enrichments in Ca, Ba and Sr, to low salinity fluids that may represent condensate waters. The Sr isotopic compositions of the waters ("8"7Sr/"8"6Sr = 0.7041-0.7172) are also variable but do not ...
By polymerase chain reaction with arbitrary primer (AP-PCR), the possibility of transmission of genome instability to somatic cells of the offspring (F_1 generation) from male parents of mice exposed to chronic low-dose #gamma#-radiation was studied. Male mice 15 days after exposure to 10-50 cGy were mated with unirradiated females. Biopsies were taken from tale tips of two month-old mice progeny for DNA separation. Primer in the AP-PCR was 20-mer oligonucleotide flanking the micro-satellite locus Atplb2 on chromosome 11 of the mouse. Comparative analysis of individual fingerprints of AP-PCR products on DNA-templates from the offspring of irradiated and unirradiated male mice revealed an increased variability of micro-satellite-associated sequences in the genome of the offspring of males exposed to 25 and 50 cGy. DNA-fingerprints of the offspring of male mice exposed to chronic irradiation doses 10 and 25 cGy. 15 days before fertilization (at ...
Thirty-three measured sections of the Dinwoody Formation, including five from the literature, provide information on thickness, lithology, paleontology, and stratigraphic relations within the Wind River basin and immediately adjacent areas of Wyoming. Most of these sections are in Fremont County, and some lie within the Wind River Indian Reservation. The Dinwoody becomes progressively thinner eastward, from a maximum thickness of 54.6 m in the northwestern Wind River Mountains to zero near the Natrona County line. The formation is characterized by yellowish-weathering, gray siltstone and silty shale. Variable amounts of limestone, sandstone, gypsum, and claystone are also present. Marine bivalves, gastropods, brachiopods (Lingula), and conodonts are common in the western part of the study area, but are absent to the northeast in gypsiferous strata, and near the eastern limit of Dinwoody deposition. The Dinwoody in the Wind River Basin area was deposited ...
Fully coupled, Newton-Krylov algorithms are investigated for solving strongly coupled, nonlinear systems of partial differential equations arising in the field of computational fluid dynamics. Primitive variable forms of the steady incompressible and compressible Navier-Stokes and energy equations that describe the flow of a laminar Newtonian fluid in two-dimensions are specifically considered. Numerical solutions are obtained by first integrating over discrete finite volumes that compose the computational mesh. The resulting system of nonlinear algebraic equations are linearized using Newton`s method. Preconditioned Krylov subspace based iterative algorithms then solve these linear systems on each Newton iteration. Selected Krylov algorithms include the Arnoldi-based Generalized Minimal RESidual (GMRES) algorithm, and the Lanczos-based Conjugate Gradients Squared (CGS), Bi-CGSTAB, and Transpose-Free Quasi-Minimal Residual (TFQMR) algorithms. Both Incomplete ...
A unified Nonhydrostatic Multiscale Model on the Arakawa B grid (NMMB) designed for a broad range of spatial and temporal scales has been under development within the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) as a part of the new National Environmental Modeling System (NEMS). The model follows the general modeling philosophy of the NCEP's WRF NMM grid-point regional dynamical core. The model uses the regular latitude-longitude grid for the global domain, and a rotated latitude-longitude grid in regional applications. The nonhydrostatic component of the model dynamics is introduced through an add-on module that can be turned on or off depending on resolution. The "isotropic" quadratic conservative finite-volume horizontal differencing employed in the model conserves a variety of basic and derived dynamical and quadratic quantities and preserves some important properties of differential ...
The primary objective of this task was to perform a variability study of the high activity waste (HAW) acidic feed to determine the impact of feed variability on the quality of the final grout and on the mixability of the salt solution into the dry powders. The HAW acidic feeds were processed through the neutralization/pH process, targeting a final pH of 12. These fluids were then blended with the dry materials to make the final waste forms. A secondary objective was to determine if elemental substitution for cost prohibitive or toxic elements in the simulant affects the mixing response, thus providing a more economical simulant for use in full scale tests. Though not an objective, the HAW simulant used in the full scale tests was also tested and compared to the results from this task. A statistically designed test matrix was developed based on the maximum molarity inputs used to make the acidic solutions. The maximum molarity inputs were: 7.39 ...
We report the first visible (657 nm) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. The photopumped undoped structure was grown using low-pressure metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy in a single-growth sequence on misoriented GaAs substrates. The optical cavity consists of an In{sub 0.54}Ga{sub 0.46}P/In{sub 0.48}(Al{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 0.3}){sub 0.52} P strained quantum-well active region and a lattice-matched In{sub 0.48}(Al{sub {ital y}}Ga{sub 1{minus}{ital y}}){sub 0.52} P (0.7{le}{ital y}{le}1.0) graded spacer region, while the distributed Bragg reflectors are composed of Al{sub 0.5}Ga{sub 0.5}As/AlAs quarter-wave stacks. Room-temperature optically pumped lasing was achieved with a very low-threshold power, clearly demonstrating the viability of this new technology. These results provide the foundation for visible semiconductor laser-diode arrays for a number of applications including laser projection displays, holographic memories, ...
Better understanding and modelling of three-phase flow through porous media is of great interest, especially for improved oil recovery methods such as gas injection processes. Early theoretical and experimental studies have already demonstrated that the wettability characteristics of the solid surface and the spreading characteristics of the fluid system hold the key roles. This observation is confirmed by our theoretical results using DLP theory on the stability and the thickness of static oil films. In most of the works related to three-phase flow processes, homogeneous wettability is assumed. There exist only a few studies demonstrating the tremendous impact of the wettability heterogeneities on gas injection. The objective of the present work is twofold: to demonstrate the effect of small scale wettability heterogeneities on gas injection efficiency, and to develop a tool to predict this impact for various patterns and spatial distributions. To this end an experimental ...
In neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and prion disease it has been shown that host genetic background can have a significant effect on susceptibility. Indeed, human genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated several candidate genes. Understanding such genetic susceptibility is relevant to risks of developing variant CJD (vCJD) in populations exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and understanding mechanisms of neurodegeneration. In mice, aspects of prion disease susceptibility can be modelled by examining the incubation period following experimental inoculation. Quantitative trait linkage studies have already identified multiple candidate genes; however, it is also possible to take an individual candidate gene approach. Rarb and Stmn2 were selected as candidates based on the known association with vCJD. Because of the increasing overlap described between prion and Alzheimer's diseases we also chose Clu, Picalm and Cr1, which were identified as ...
The classical Stefan problem describes the motion of a solidification front through a uniform half-space in response to a step change in temperature on its boundary. The predictions of such a model can be applied quite accurately to the freezing of water in a porous medium so long as the pore geometry remains unaltered by the passing solidification front. It is observed, however, that in fine-grained porous media, ice has a tendency to form in segregated horizontal bands, known as ice lenses, that disrupt the regular pattern of heat flow through their enhanced consumption of latent heat. This process, known as frost heave, causes significant ground deformation in regions subject to prolonged freezing, and is one of the most important weathering processes in polar and alpine regions. Recent improvements to our understanding of the mechanics of ice lens nucleation and growth are applied here to predict the conditions and characteristics of frost ...
The first sediments to onlap the metamorphosed Precambrian Arabian shield were Infracambrian (Proterozoic) to Middle Cambrian carbonates, clastics, and evaporites. The oldest Arabian reservoir rocks occur in the Precambrian to lower Paleozoic Era Salt of the Huqf Group, which forms the Birba field of Oman. The Middle Cambrian sequence was followed by Late Cambrian through Early Permian marine sandstones and continental to littoral siltstones and variegated shales. The first commercial oil discovered in the Arabian Gulf region occurs in fluvial sands of the Ordovician to Permian Haima and Haushi Groups of the Marmul field in south Oman. These strata are also productive in other fields and are sealed by unconformable contact with the Al Khlata Formation or beneath shale of the Albian Nahr Umr Formation. The deeply buried kerogen sediments of the Huqf Group to the southeast are believed to be the source rocks for these fields of south Oman. The ...
This paper reports, to complement current knowledge on brain development, late regional brain maturation assessed with quantitative MR imaging. Axial and coronal head spin-echo (SE) images were obtained in 60 healthy individuals aged 5--56 years, with a double-echo, flow compensated imaging sequence obtained with a 1.5-T Magnetom spectroscopy and imaging system. T2-weighted images were calculated from the intensity differences in SE images at echo times (TEs) of 15 and 90 msec (TR = 2.5 second). The mean T2 values were determined at 16 sites in each cerebral hemisphere. T2 values of the six frontal subcortical white matter (FSCWM) sites and of the internal capsule (IC) were evaluated. Mean T2 values in the IC decreased until age 10 years, whereas this decrease continued in the FSCWM past age 15 years before reaching a plateau. Differential age-dependent patterns of mean T2 values emerged between the six FSCWM sites. The spread of T2 values ...
We present sensitive high angular resolution (0.''57-0.''78) SO, SO_2, CO, C_2H_5OH, HC_3N, and HCOCH_2OH line observations at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths of the young O-type protostar W51 North made with the Submillimeter Array. We report the presence of a large (about 8000 AU) and hot molecular circumstellar disk around this object, which connects the inner dusty disk with the molecular ring or toroid reported recently and confirms the existence of a single bipolar outflow emanating from this object. The molecular emission from the large disk is observed in layers with the transitions characterized by high excitation temperatures in their lower energy states (up to 1512 K) being concentrated closer to the central massive protostar. The molecular emission from those transitions with low or moderate excitation temperatures is found in the outermost parts of the disk and exhibits an inner cavity with an angular size of around 0.''7. We modeled all lines with a local ...
Selected case studies of auroral structure/activity observed at different local times on the dayside are presented and discussed in the context of electrodynamic coupling between the different magnetospheric boundary regions and the ionosphere. The first case addresses the question of the auroral signatures of the two boundary regions referred to as cusp and cleft/LLBL. Combined ground-based and satellite data reveal the different latitudinal zones of auroral forms/particle precipitation/field-aligned current and the relationship with the respective magnetospheric plasma populations, i.e. CPS, BPS, LLBL, and the plasma mantle. Midday auroral breakup events and the related ionospheric ion drift and magnetic observations show many of the features that have been predicted to be ionospheric signatures of flux transfer events. An alternative explanation that has been proposed by others, i.e. ionospheric effect of magnetopause perturbations excited ...
Attention is given to the folowing topics: population I and II variable stars; LP variables, the sun, and mass determination; and predegenerate and degenerate variables. Particular papers are presented on alternative evolutionary approaches to the absolute magnitude of the RR Lyrae variables; the evolution of the Cepheid stars; nonradial pulsations in rapidly rotating Delta Scuti stars; dynamical models of dust shells around Mira variables; and pulsations of central stars of planetary nebulae.
Two branches of research are conducted in this thesis. The first deals with nonlinear combustion response as a mechanism for triggering combustion instabilities in solid rocket motors. A nonlinear wave equation is developed to study a wide class of combustion response functions to second-order in fluctuation amplitude. Conditions for triggering are derived from analysis of limit cycles, and regions of triggering are found in parametric space. Introduction of linear cross-coupling and quadratic self-coupling among the acoustic modes appears to be how the nonlinear combustion response produces triggering to a stable limit cycle. Regions of initial conditions corresponding to stable pulses were found, suggesting that stability depends on initial phase angle and harmonic content, as well as the composite amplitude, of the pulse. Also, dependence of nonlinear stability upon system parameters is considered. The second part of this thesis presents ...
Moisture profiles from neutron probe data provide valuable information in site characterization and to supplement ground water monitoring efforts. The neutron probe precision error (reproducibility) is found to be about 0.2 vol% under in situ field conditions where the slope in moisture content with depth is varying slowly. This error is about 2 times larger near moisture spikes (e.g., at the vapor phase notch), due to the sensitivity of the probe response to vertical position errors on the order of 0.5 inches. Calibrations were performed to correct the downhole probe response to the volumetric moisture content determined on core samples. Calibration is sensitive to borehole diameter and casing type, requiring 3 separate calibration relations for the boreholes surveyed here. Power law fits were used for calibration in this study to assure moisture content results greater than zero. Findings in the boreholes reported here confirm the broad features seen previously in moisture profiles ...
Cross sections for some electro- and photoinduced spallation reactions on {sup 27}Al and {sup 51}V are measured in the energy region 130 MeV to 580 MeV with the activation method. Comparisons are made with calculations based on the Dalitz formalism for virtual photon spectra, and Monte Carlo calculations based on a cascade evaporation model, respectively. By use of Bremsstrahlung with end-point energies from threshold to 750 MeV, the yields for photo- production of{pi}{sup -}leading to ground and isomeric states in {sup 197}Hg are measured with the activation method. The activity from the Hg-isotopes were measured after a chemical separation of Hg from the target material. The yields and isomeric ratios are compared with impulse approximation calculations. For the photoproduction of {sup 195m}Hg and {sup 192}Hg from {sup 197}Au, the yields were measured. The experimental mean cross sections are compared with data from other experiments and with cascade evaporation ...
The distribution of radiation dose commitments within the body that can result from the lung deposition of a number of transuranic radionuclides ("2"3"7Pu, "2"3"8Pu, "2"3"9Pu, "2"4"0Pu, "2"4"1Pu, "2"4"2Pu, "2"4"3Pu, "2"4"4Pu, "2"4"1Am, "2"4"2Am, "2"4"3Am, "2"4"4Am, "2"4"2Cm, "2"4"3Cm, "2"4"4Cm, and "2"4"6Cm) was calculated. The variables that influence these organ dose commitments include the mobility of the particle or its dissolution products within the body, the radiation characteristics of the inhaled radionuclides and their progeny, and the size of the particles inhaled. In the calculation of organ dose commitments for whole-body, lungs, liver, bone tissues, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract from the inhalation of transuranium radionuclides, physical characteristics of importance are the dimensions of the particle, its aerodynamic properties, and its density. For particles within the respirable size range, a useful description is provided by the activity ...
Large amounts of atmospheric dust are lifted from the North African deserts and are transported by the trade winds over the Caribbean region, especially during the summer months. How African dust particles influence the earth's radiative budget is not well understood because these particles are highly variable and their physical, optical, and chemical properties are poorly characterized, especially when they are atmospherically processed as are those that travel from Africa to the Caribbean region. Here we present results of aerosol measurements performed at Cape San Juan (CPR), a ground-based station located at the northeastern tip of the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. We used a condensation particle counter to determine the particle number concentration, a sunphotometer (part of the AErosol RObotical NETwork, AERONET, aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov) to determine volume size distributions and aerosol optical thickness, and ...
Tumours lesions of the temporal bone and of the cerebello-pontine angle are rare.This tumours can be separated into benign and malignant lesions. In this paper the CT and MRI characteristica of tumours of the temporal bone and the cerebello-pontane angle will be demonstrated. High resolution CT (HRCT) as usually performed in the axial plane are using a high resolution bone window level setting, coronal planes are the reconstructed from the axial data set or will be obtained directly. With the MRI FLAIR sequence in the axial plane the whole brain will be scanned either to depict or exclude a tumour invasion into the brain. After this,T2-weighted fast spin echo sequences or fatsuppressed inversion recovery sequences in high resolution technique in the axial plane will be obtained from the temporal bone and axial T1-weighted spinecho sequences before and after the intravenous application of contrast ...
The viroid and viroid-like RNA database is a compilation of all natural sequences published in journals or available from the GenBank and EMBL nucleotide sequence libraries. Several information regarding...Full Text Available
The "ovalbumin Y" gene, one of three which constitute the ovalbumin gene family in chicken has been completely sequenced. The exact location of exons can be derived from the comparison with the ovalbumin...Full Text Available
1. The amino acid sequences around the thiol groups of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from badger and monkey skeletal muscle were compared with the sequences around the thiol groups in the...Full Text Available
BackgroundGenomes store information for building and maintaining organisms. Complete sequencing of many genomes provides the opportunity to study and compare global information properties...Full Text Available
Promoters are important regulatory elements that contain the necessary sequence features for cells to initiate transcription. To functionally characterize a large set of human promoters, we measured...Full Text Available
BackgroundHigh throughput sequencing has become an increasingly important tool for biological research. However, the existing software systems for managing and processing these data...Full Text Available
Radixin is a cytoskeletal protein that may be important in linking actin to the plasma membrane. Recent cloning of the murine and porcine radixin cDNAs revealed a protein highly homologous to ezrin and moesin. The authors have cloned and sequenced the human radixin cDNA and found the predicted amino acid sequence for the human protein to be nearly identical to those predicted for radixin in the two other species. By Southern analyses of Chinese hamster x human somatic cell hybrid DNA and of PCR products derived from hybrids, the coding gene (RDX) was mapped to 11q. Fluorescence chromosomal in situ hybridization with a cDNA plasmid further localized this gene to band 11q23. However, PCR amplification with [open quotes]radixin-specific[close quotes] primers on the hybrid DNA panel yielded an additional, very similar DNA sequence that was further characterized by direct sequencing of PCR products. This ...
Two bacteriolytic enzymes secreted by Achromobacter lyticus M497-1 were purified and identified as being very similar (considering their amino acid composition and N-terminal sequence) to alpha- and...Full Text Available
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
[Leu]- and [Met]enkephalin from thoracic ganglia of the shore crab Carcinus maenas have been purified to homogeneity by a reversed-phase HPLC procedure. Automated gas-phase sequencing revealed a primary...Full Text Available
The spliced alignment of expressed sequence data to genomic sequence has proven a key tool in the comprehensive annotation of genes in eukaryotic genomes. A novel algorithm was developed to assemble...Full Text Available
The use of dideoxynucleotide triphosphates labeled with different fluorescent dyes (dye terminators) is the most versatile method for automated DNA sequencing. However, variation in peak heights reduces...Full Text Available
BackgroundA large fraction of the human genome is attributable to L1 retrotransposon sequences. Not only do L1s themselves make up a significant portion of the genome, but L1-encoded...Full Text Available
The genome sequence of the solvent-producing bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 has been determined by the shotgun approach. The genome consists of a 3.94-Mb chromosome and...Full Text Available
BackgroundConcerted evolution refers to the pattern in which copies of multigene families show high intraspecific sequence homogeneity but high interspecific sequence diversity....Full Text Available
We sequenced 16S rRNA genes from the vaginal swab contents of a postmenopausal woman with asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV). Sequences from Atopobium vaginae were the most commonly...Full Text Available
The two haploid genome sequences that a person inherits from the two parents represent the most fundamentally useful type of genetic information for the study of heritable diseases and the development...Full Text Available
BackgroundPlastid genome content and protein sequence are highly conserved across land plants and their closest algal relatives. Parasitic plants, which obtain some or all of their...Full Text Available
The complete nucleotide sequences of two alleles of cellobiose dehydrogenase, cdh-1 (3,627 bp) and cdh-2 (3,623 bp), from Phanerochaete chrysosporium OGC101 are reported. The nucleotide sequences of...Full Text Available
Signatures of natural selection occur throughout the human genome and can be detected at the sequence level. We have re-sequenced ABCE1, a host candidate gene essential for...Full Text Available
Here we develop an argument in support of sequencing a garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) genome, and outline a plan to accomplish this. This snake is a common, widespread, nonvenomous...Full Text Available
Software for gel image analysis and base-calling in fluorescence-based sequencing consisting of two primary programs, BaseFinder and GelImager, is described. BaseFinder is a framework for trace processing,...Full Text Available
A DNA fragment located on the 3' side of the Coxiella burnetii htpAB operon was determined by Southern blotting to exist in approximately 19 copies in the Nine Mile I genome. The DNA sequences of this...Full Text Available
Synthetic complementary oligonucleotides are useful hybridization probes for the detection of mRNAs and genes encoding proteins for which only a partial amino acid sequence is known. Usually this involves...Full Text Available
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies were differentiated by PCR-based sequencing of the borrelial flagellin gene. To evaluate the usefulness of KingFisher"T"M magnetic particle processor in PCR product purification, borrelia PCR products were purified with KingFisher"T"M magnetic particle processor prior to cycle sequencing and the quality of the sequence data received was analyzed. KingFisher was found to offer a rapid and reliable alternative for borrelial PCR product purification.
The influence of material configuration and impact parameters on the damage tolerance characteristics of sandwich composites comprised of carbon-epoxy woven fabric facesheets and Nomex honeycomb cores was investigated using empirically based response surfaces. A series of carefully selected tests were used to isolate the coupled influence of various combinations of the number of facesheet plies, core density, core thickness, impact energy, impactor diameter, and impact velocity on the damage formation and residual strength degradation due to normal impact. The ranges of selected material parameters were typical of those found in common aircraft applications. The diameter of the planar damage area associated with Through Transmission Ultrasonic C-scan measurements and the peak residual facesheet indentation depth were used to describe the extent of internal and detectable surface damage, respectively. Standard analysis of variance techniques were used to assess the significance of the ...
Greenland is the world's largest island, with an area of 2.2 million square kilometres, 80 % of which is covered by the ice sheet. The climate is Arctic, but as Greenland stretches 2600 km from north to south, there is a huge variability in climate, with temperature decreasing from south to north. Due to the influence of oceanic currents, the west coast is slightly warmer than the east coast. Precipitation also decreases strongly from the south to the north, and also with distance from the coast. Kangerlussuaq is located in the dry, continental area of central west Greenland. The bedrock of Greenland is dominated by Precambrian gneisses, with sedimentary rocks occurring in some areas of East and North Greenland, and smaller areas of basalts. All of Greenland has been glaciated several times and has thus been eroded and shaped by the ice, as it still is at the ice margin. Soils are generally thin, and especially in the gneiss regions rather poor ...
The Bacillus anthracis Sterne plasmid pXO1 was sequenced by random, “shotgun” cloning. A circular sequence of 181,654 bp was generated. One hundred forty-three open...Full Text Available
Peculiar DNA sequences made up by the tandem repetition of a 5 bp unit have been identified within or upstream from three avian protein-coding genes. One sequence is located within an intron of the...Full Text Available
Ozsvath and Szabo show that there is a spectral sequence whose E^2 term is the reduced Khovanov homology of L, and which converges to the Heegaard Floer homology of the (orientation reversed) branched double cover of S^3 along L. We prove that the E^k term of this spectral sequence is an invariant of the link L when k>2. If L is a transverse link, then we show that Plamenevskaya's transverse invariant gives rise to a transverse invariant of L in each of these higher terms.
The nucleotide sequence of 16S rDNA from Euglena gracilis chloroplasts has been determined representing the first complete sequence of an algal chloroplast rRNA gene. The structural part of the 16S...Full Text Available
A 13.1-kb DNA fragment carrying Pseudomonas denitrificans cob genes has been sequenced. The nucleotide sequence and genetic analysis revealed that this fragment contained five different cob genes named...Full Text Available
Two sequences with homology to a thioredoxin oligonucleotide probe were detected by Southern blot analysis of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 genomic DNA. One of the sequences was shown to code for a protein...Full Text Available
The nucleotide sequence of the 5'-terminal oligonucleotides produced by pancreatic RNase digestion of bacteriophage T3 RNA polymerase (EC 2.7.7.6) transcripts of T3 DNA has been determined. The sequence...Full Text Available
The influence of rigid-body and differential rotation and of a fine-scale chaotic magnetic field and a poloidal magnetic field on the minimum mass of a main-sequence star is investigated. It is shown that rotation and a magnetic field with an energy equal to 10--20% of the star's gravitational energy increase the minimum mass of a main-sequence star by 1.5--2 times.
Genome sequences are essential tools for comparative and mutational analyses. Here we present the short read sequence of mouse chromosome 17 from the Mus musculus domesticus derived...Full Text Available
Iguanian lizards form a diverse clade whose members have been the focus of many comparative studies of ecology, behavior, and evolution. Despite the importance of phylogeny to such studies, interrelationships among many iguanian clades remain uncertain. Within the Old World clade Acrodonta, Agamidae is sometimes found to be paraphyletic with respect to Chamaeleonidae, and recent molecular studies have produced conflicting results for many major clades. Within the largely New World clade Pleurodonta, relationships among the 12 currently recognized major subclades (mostly ranked as families) have been largely unresolved or poorly supported in previous studies. To clarify iguanian evolutionary history, we first infer phylogenies using concatenated maximum-likelihood (ML) and Bayesian analyses of DNA sequence data from 29 nuclear protein-coding genes for 47 iguanian and 29 outgroup taxa. We then estimate a relaxed-clock Bayesian chronogram for iguanians using BEAST. ...
Materials and methods: 12 patients with 22 coronary bypass grafts underwent intraoperative flow quantification using the transit time ultrasound method. These values were compared to postoperative MR phase shift measurements. Flow measurements were performed preoperatively in 28 coronary arteries of 20 patients. For flow measurement, we used a velocity-encoded k-space segmented gradient echo sequence with a temporal resolution of 110 or 125 ms, respectively. 6-8 pase shift images could be acquired during one cardiac cycle. Results: There was a significant correlation between intraoperative and flow measurements using velocity-encoded MR imaging (r=0.76, p<0.0001, t-test). Flow volumes determined by MR imaging were systematically larger than those determined by the transit time ultrasound method. Mean flow in coronary arteries was reduced in severely stenosed vessels (>70%) compared to normal vessels. Intra- and interobserver ...
Current methods to calculate dose distributions with organ motion can be broadly classified as 'dose convolution' and 'fluence convolution' methods. In the former, a static dose distribution is convolved with the probability distribution function (PDF) that characterizes the motion. However, artifacts are produced near the surface and around inhomogeneities because the method assumes shift invariance. Fluence convolution avoids these artifacts by convolving the PDF with the incident fluence instead of the patient dose. In this paper we present an alternative method that improves the accuracy, generality as well as the speed of dose calculation with organ motion. The algorithm starts by sampling an isocenter point from a parametrically defined space curve corresponding to the patient-specific motion trajectory. Then a photon is sampled in the linac head and propagated through the three-dimensional (3-D) collimator structure corresponding to a particular MLC segment chosen randomly from ...
A common property of aging in all animals is that chronologically and genetically identical individuals age at different rates. To unveil mechanisms that influence aging variability, we identified markers...Full Text Available
Variability in motor performance decreases with practice but is never entirely eliminated, due in part to inherent motor noise. The present study develops a method that quantifies how performers...Full Text Available
Operation of an X-ray spectrometer based on a spherical variable-line-spacing (VLS) grating is analyzed using dedicated ray-tracing software allowing fast optimization of the grating parameters and...Full Text Available
Background/AimsTo explore different definitions of intra-individual variability (IIV) to summarize performance on commonly utilized cognitive tests (Mini Mental State Exam; Clock...Full Text Available
This work reports the design of and experimentation with a topographically patterned cell culture substrate of variable local density and anisotropy as a facile and efficient platform to guide...Full Text Available
BackgroundVariable platelet response to clopidogrel has been widely observed. Studies have shown that the mean aggregation response to clopidogrel can be changed...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn cancer research, most clinical variables have already been investigated and are now well established. The use of transcriptomic variables has raised two problems: restricting...Full Text Available
A common approach used to fuse simultaneously recorded EEG and fMRI is to correlate trial-by-trial variability in the EEG, or variability of components derived therefrom, with the blood oxygenation...Full Text Available
Recent developments in the analysis of Mira atmosphere, the determination of the pulsation mode, the problem of mass loss, and the evolution of the Mira variables are covered. Model atmospheres for Mira variables, including the opacities of the molecules expected in very late M-type atmospheres are discussed. The pulsation constant for Omicron Ceti is evaluated using T(eff) = 2900 + or - 200 K, and it is concluded that Miras are fundamental mode pulsators. The importance of molecular opacity to the driving of mass loss is evaluated, and it is pointed out that the radiation pressure on molecules is not a major factor in driving mass loss from Mira. Mass loss is considered as a factor in the calculations of the periods for Mira variables. 30 refs.
A theory of the asymptotic functions for the case of many variables is presented. It is shown that the class F(R"N) of these generalized functions is closed in respect to the linear algebraic and analytic operations, multiplication as well as a set of linear and polynomial changes of the variables. The existence in F(R"N) of analogues (consistent with the linear operations) of the Schwartz distributions with point support is proved. In terms of these analogues, some formulae for singular products and changes of variables of the Dirac #delta#-function and its derivatives #delta#"("i")(x), x is an element of R"N, are given. (author). 14 refs.
The thymus is a key organ of the immune system in most vertebrates and, for this reason, it has been used in this paper for the generation of a normalized cDNA library from sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), one of the most extensively cultured species in South Mediterranean aquaculture. A total of 1632 ESTs from this library were initially analysed for sequence quality and vector sequences and, after this control, 1264 (77% of total clones sequenced) high-quality ESTs were further processed. The total collection of D. labrax thymus ESTs has been deposited in the EBI-GenBank-DBJ database (GenBank accession numbers from FN565576 to FN566839). The functional classification of ESTs was performed by Gene Ontology and KEGG annotation and, successively, the sequences were analysed using the Immuno...
Summary: Protein features are often displayed along the linear sequence of amino acids that make up that protein, but in reality these features occupy a position in the folded proteins 3D space. Mapping sequence features to known or predicted protein structures is useful when trying to deduce the function of those features and when evaluating sequence or structural predictions. To facilitate this goal, we developed PDBpaint, a simple tool that displays protein sequence features gathered from bioinformatics resources on top of protein structures, which are displayed in an interactive window (using the Jmol Java viewer). PDBpaint can be used either with existing protein structures or with novel structures provided by the user. The current version of PDBpaint allows the visualization of annot...
The framework of time-sequence stratigraphy was established according to the point of view of high-resolution sequence stratigraphy. The development characteristic of the sequence, the distribution pattern of strata, the basin evolution and filling, and the relationship between variations of base level and coal accumulation of epicontinental basin were expounded based on the base-level cycles. The result shows that the C-P coal measures in Hebei is a series of basin deposit of inner epicontinental sea. The formation and evolution and sedimentation of the basin is intimately related to the changes of the basin base-level, which controls the development of the coal-accumulation, forming a clear coal-bearing sequence in the cycle. 9 refs., 3 figs.
Since high resolution sequence stratigraphy was introduced into China by DENG Hong-wen in 1995, it has been experienced two development stages in China which are the beginning stage of theory research and development of theory research and application, and the stage of theoretical maturity and widely application that is going into. It is proved by practices that high resolution sequence stratigraphy plays more and more important roles in the exploration and development of oil and gas in Chinese continental oil-bearing basin and the research field spreads to the exploration of coal mine, uranium mine and other strata deposits. However, the theory of high resolution sequence stratigraphy still has some shortages, it should be improved in many aspects. The authors point out that high resolution sequence stratigraphy should be characterized quantitatively and modelized by computer techniques. (authors)
Let us call a sequence of numbers heapable if they can be sequentially inserted to form a binary tree with the heap property, where each insertion subsequent to the first occurs at a leaf of the tree, i.e. below a previously placed number. In this paper we consider a variety of problems related to heapable sequences and subsequences that do not appear to have been studied previously. Our motivation for introducing these concepts is two-fold. First, such problems correspond to natural extensions of the well-known secretary problem for hiring an organization with a hierarchical structure. Second, from a purely combinatorial perspective, our problems are interesting variations on similar longest increasing subsequence problems, a problem paradigm that has led to many deep mathematical connections. We provide several basic results. We obtain an efficient algorithm for determining the heapability of a sequence, and also prove ...
A clone encoding a human D{sub 2} dopamine receptor was isolated from a pituitary cDNA library and sequenced. The deduced protein sequence is 96% identical with that of the cloned rat receptor with one major difference: the human receptor contains an additional 29 amino acids in its putative third cytoplasmic loop. Southern blotting demonstrated the presence of only one human D{sub 2} receptor gene. Two overlapping phage containing the gene were isolated and characterized. DNA sequence analysis of these clones showed that the coding sequence is interrupted by six introns and that the additional amino acids present in the human pituitary receptor are encoded by a single exon of 87 base pairs. The involvement of this sequence in alternative splicing and its biological significance are discussed.
Algorithms for the authentication of byte sequences are described. The algorithms are designed to authenticate data in the Storage, Retrieval, Analysis, and Display (SRAD) Test Data Archive of the Radiation Effects and Testing Directorate (9100) at Sandia National Laboratories, and may be used in similar situations where authentication of stored data is required. The algorithms use a well-known error detection method called the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). When a byte sequence is authenticated and stored, CRC bytes are generated and attached to the end of the sequence. When the authenticated data is retrieved, the authentication check consists of processing the entire sequence, including the CRC bytes, and checking for a remainder of zero. The error detection properties of the CRC are extensive and result in a reliable authentication of SRAD data.
Success in improving hydropower project efficiency has opened more global markets for variable-speed generator technology. Manufacturers continue to test the markets as the technology evolves. The potential of variable-speed application becomes evident considering that more than 150 pumped storage plants, with a combined capacity exceeding 100,000 MW, are in operation globally.
Based on proposed models for the tidal spin-up and magnetic braking of stars with a convective outer envelope, it is suggested that the rotation of secondaries in cataclysmic variables is not necessarily synchronized with the orbital revolution. This may provide an explanation for the observed large range in the mass transfer rate (at the same orbital period) of cataclysmic variables above the period gap. (author).
This paper examines how robust economic, political, and demographic variables are related to water and air pollution. Employing Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE) for a cross section of 47 countries, 34 variables and 3 proxies for air and water pollution over a period from 1980 to 2000 we confirm the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis and highlight the relevance of variables that are not directly related to production.
In recent years there has been a renewed interest in the treatment of quantum mechanics in terms of joint distribution functions, i.e. functions of momentum and position coordinates p and q. The author considers j.d.f. in the sense of classical probability theory of a stochastic variable. The j.d.f. is then interpreted as the probability that the variables p and q have certain values, the variables being considered as a property possessed by the object system. This formalism is used to provide a unified description of bradyons and tachyons. (Auth.).
The authors summarize EUVE's contribution to the study of the boundary layer emission of high accretion-rate nonmagnetic cataclysmic variables, especially the dwarf novae SS Cyg, U Gem, VW Hyi, and OY Car in outburst. They discuss the optical and EUV light curves of dwarf nova outbursts, the quasi-coherent oscillations of the EUV flux of SS Cyg, the EUV spectra of dwarf novae, and the future of EUV observations of cataclysmic variables.
Respiration and related physiologic variables in different tissues of Barytelphusa guerini and the respiration of this freshwater crab as a whole are closely synchronized in phase and in frequency along the circadian scale, in the face of large differences in circadian amplitude. A very close timing of most of the 36 variables examined in 2 separate circadian profiles and a modulation of some of these variables in added profiles as a function of lunar stage are clearly demonstrable, statistically significant and illustrative of time relations at 2 interacting frequencies. PMID:6745009
Detailed quantitative sequence stratigraphic analysis and three-dimensional (3-D) modeling of the fluvio-deltaic Pikeville, Hyden, and four Corners formations of the Breathitt Group, eastern Kentucky, indicate that it is possible to make confident deterministic correlations of sand bodies at offshore development well spacings. The key to high-confidence correlation is the delineation of the 3-D architecture of third-order composite sequences, which are seismically mappable, and the recognition of internal fourth-order sequences, which are stacked into lowstand, transgressive, and highstand sequence sets. Volumetric partitioning of reservoir sand bodies between systems tracts and sequences allows prediction of channel sandstone geometries and channel: crevasse splay ratios. Furthermore, channel-fill type is predictable from the sequence stratigraphy. Within 13 ...
The red sequence is an important feature of galaxy clusters and plays a crucial role in optical cluster detection. Measurement of the slope and scatter of the red sequence are affected both by selection of red sequence galaxies and measurement errors. In this paper, we describe a new error corrected Gaussian Mixture Model for red sequence galaxy identification. Using this technique, we can remove the effects of measurement error and extract unbiased information about the intrinsic properties of the red sequence. We use this method to select red sequence galaxies in each of the 13,823 clusters in the maxBCG catalog, and measure the red sequence ridgeline location and scatter of each. These measurements provide precise constraints on the variation of the average red galaxy populations in the observed frame with redshift. We find that the ...
The presence of endothelin (ET)-like immunoreactivity and the cardiovascular effects of mammalian ET-1 in fish have been reported. To identify ET-related peptides in fish, we screened the cDNA library of the salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) stomach by means of rapid amplification of cDNA ends, and we cloned cDNAs encoding an ET-related peptide. The salmon ET-related sequence of 21 amino acids is identical to the trout ET-1 peptide recently purified from kidney specimens of Oncorhynchus mykiss. The deduced amino acid sequence of salmon pre-proET-1 (PPET-1) comprises 244 amino acids, including a putative signal sequence and mature ET-1, as well as big ET-1 and ET-1-like sequences. This precursor, the first reported PPET-1 sequence for Salmoniformes, Teleostei, has low homology with the sequences of human, mouse, frog (Xenopus laevis), and zebrafish (Danio rerio) PPET-1 ...
Exposure of cells to light of less than 320 nanometers wavelengths may lead to lethal lesions and perhaps carcinogenesis. Many organisms have evolved mechanisms to repair U.V. light-induced damage. Organisms such as deep-sea bacteria are presumably never exposed to U.V. light and perhaps occasionally to visible from bioluminescence. Thus, the repair of U.V. damage in deep-sea bacterial DNA might be inefficient and repair by photoreactivation unlikely. The bacteria utilized in this investigation are temperature sensitive and barophilic. Four deep-sea isolates were chosen for this study: PE-36 from 3584 m, CNPT-3 from 5782 m, HS-34 from 5682 m, and MT-41 from 10,476 m, all are from the North Pacific ocean. The deep-sea extends from 1100 m to depths greater than 7000 m. It is a region of relatively uniform conditions. The temperature ranges from 5 to -1"0C. There is no solar light in the deep-sea. Deep-sea bacteria are sensitive to U.V. light; in fact more sensitive ...
The neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor {alpha}7 subunit is a member of a family of ligand-gated ion channels, and is the only subunit know to bind {alpha}-bungarotoxin in mammalian brain. {alpha}-Bungarotoxin binding sites are known to be more abundant in the hippocampus of mouse strains that are particularly sensitive to nicotine-induced seizures. The {alpha}7 receptor is highly permeable to calcium, which could suggest a role in synaptic plasticity in the nervous system. Auditory gating deficiency, an abnormal response to a second auditory stimulus, is characteristic of schizophrenia. Mouse strains that exhibit a similar gating deficit have reduced hippocampal expression of the {alpha}7 subunit. We have cloned and sequenced the full length cDNA for the mouse {alpha}7 gene (Acra-7) and characterized its gene structure. The murine {alpha}7 shares amino acid identity of 99% and 93% with the rat and human {alpha}7 subunits, respectively. Using an interspecies ...
The Pequop Mountains (PM), Wood Hills (WH) and East Humboldt Range (EHR), NE Nevada, provide evidence that the hinterland of the Sevier thrust belt experienced large-magnitude Mesozoic shortening ([>=]55 km) and crustal thickening ([>=] 30 km). These ranges expose a structurally continuous crustal cross section of unmetamorphosed to high pressure upper amphibolite facies Triassic to Precambrian miogeoclinal strata. This sequence lies structurally beneath unmetamorphosed extensional klippen that omit metamorphic grade and crustal section, but also repeat stratigraphic units. Because they repeat stratigraphic units, the underlying miogeoclinal section, or footwall, must have once lain beneath a thrust fault (herein named the Windermere thrust). The footwall of the Windermere thrust was exhumed by two generations of top-to-the-W-NW low-angle normal faults that are distinguished by whether they are depositionally overlapped by Eocene volcanic rocks or if they cut ...
The authors have used limited proteolysis of affinity-labeled estrogen receptors (ER), coupled with antireceptor antibody immunoreactivity, to assess structural features of ER and the relatedness of ER from MCF-7 human breast cancer and rat uterine cells. MCF-7 ER preparations covalently labeled with ["3H]tamoxifen aziridine (["3H]TAZ) were treated with trypsin (T), #alpha#-chymotrypsin (C), or Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease prior to electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels. Fluorography revealed a distinctive ladder of ER fragments containing TAZ for each protease generated from the M/sub r/ 66,000 ER. Immunoblot detection with the primate-specific antibody D75P3#gamma# revealed that all immunoreactive fragments corresponded to TAZ-labeled fragments but that some small TAZ-labeled fragments were no longer immunoreactive. In contrast, use of the antibody H222SP#gamma# revealed a correspondence between TAZ-labeled and immunoreactive fragments down to the smallest fragments ...
The Rebi Block is currently in the early stages of hydrocarbon exploration. The subsurface geology of this area is only known from seismic reflection data. By applying seismic stratigraphy techniques, unconformities and condensed sections were recognized. These discontinuities were dated using paleontological information from the Kulka-1 well, Northwest Shelf of Australia. With these age constraints, seven unconformities and three condensed sections were dated and correlated to the Exxon global sea level curve. The chronostratigraphic charts for the Rebi Block and the Northwest Shelf of Australia have clarified the Mesozoic stratigraphy of the study area. The Exxon global sea level curve has refined the ages determined by conventional paleontological dating. The chart has also helped in predicting source, reservoir and seal potential within a time framework. Prospective stratigraphic traps were those related to the incised valleys at the southeastern part of the Rebi Block. Although ...
A synthesis of the sedimentation processes as deduced from the seismic stratigraphy and the deduced facies associations suggests the following. Small fans developed along the northern major fault line of the SCFVS and contains sediment fed directly from Crete through a series of small canyons, most of which trend perpendicular to the coast. However, the main east-west-trending valley transects the mid- and lower fan sectors and contains several intravalley basinal areas, converging toward the main Messara basin. Thus much of the suprafan sediment is reworked and longitudinally transported into the deeper basins. In these deeper intrabasinal and main basinal areas the thickness of the post-Messinian sediments generally exceeds 800 m and in places exceeds 1,500 m. Toward the south the SCFVS receives additional sediment from the Ptolemy Mountains and the Gavdos rise. Cores recovered along the SCFVS contain a remarkable association of sedimentary sequences which are ...
The Korean Next Generation Reactor (KNGR) adopts 4-train Direct Vessel Injection (DVI) configuration and injects the safety injection water directly into the downcomer through the 8.5'' DVI nozzle. Thus, the thermal hydraulic phenomena such as ECCS mixing and bypass are expected to be different from those observed in the cold leg injection. In order to investigate the realistic injection phenomena and modify the analysis code developed in the basis of cold leg injection, thermal hydraulic test with the performance evaluation is required. Preliminarily, the sequence of events and major thermal hydraulic phenomena during the small break LOCA for KNGR are identified from the analysis results calculated by the CEFLASH-4AS/REM. It is shown from the analysis results that the major transient behaviors including the core mixture level are largely affected by the downcomer modeling. Therefore, to investigate the proper thermal hydraulic phenomena occurring ...
Accurate lung tumor tracking in real time is a keystone to image-guided radiotherapy of lung cancers. Existing lung tumor tracking approaches can be roughly grouped into three categories: (1) deriving tumor position from external surrogates; (2) tracking implanted fiducial markers fluoroscopically or electromagnetically; (3) fluoroscopically tracking lung tumor without implanted fiducial markers. The first approach suffers from insufficient accuracy, while the second may not be widely accepted due to the risk of pneumothorax. Previous studies in fluoroscopic markerless tracking are mainly based on template matching methods, which may fail when the tumor boundary is unclear in fluoroscopic images. In this paper we propose a novel markerless tumor tracking algorithm, which employs the correlation between the tumor position and surrogate anatomic features in the image. The positions of the surrogate features are not directly tracked; instead, we use principal component analysis of ...
Recycling of the spent rinse water discharged from the wet benches commonly used in semiconductor processing is one tactic for responding to the targets for water usage published in the 1997 National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (NTRS). Not only does the NTRS list a target that dramatically reduces total water usage/unit area of silicon manufactured by the industry in the future but for the years 2003 and beyond, the NTRS actually touts goals which would have semiconductor manufacturers drawing less water from a regional water supply per unit area of silicon manufactured than the quantity of ultrapure water (UPW) used in the production of that same silicon. Achieving this latter NTRS target strongly implies more widespread recycling of spent rinse waters at semiconductor manufacturing sites. In spite of the fact that, by most metrics, spent rinse waters are of much higher purity than incoming municipal waters, recycling of these spent rinse waters back ...
The Upper Jurassic Hith Anhydrite is a major hydrocarbon seal in the Arabian Gulf region. Outcrops, core samples from the subsurface, and the literature indicate that the Hith Formation is composed mainly of anhydrite. In most locations where a section of the Hith Formation has been measured, this unit contains less than 20% carbonate much of which is in the form of thin laminations. This lack of carbonate, locally thick layers of salt, and the predominance of anhydrite favor a playa for the setting in which this sediment was accumulated. In fact, much of the Hith has the sedimentary characteristics of the Holocene Lake MacLeod playa of Western Australia, which is dominated by layers of gypsum and halite (what little carbonate that occurs is found in layers at the base of the section). Locally the Hith appears to have accumulated in a sabkha setting, particularly toward central Abu Dhabi where it pinches out into shallow-water, and peritidal carbonate. This sabkha ...
Dawsonite, NaAlCO{sub 3}(OH){sub 2}, is widespread as a cement, replacement, and cavity filling in Permo-Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney basin system eastern Australia. The origin of dawsonite in these rocks was studied by petrographic and stable isotope analysis. Dawsonite {delta}{sup 13}C (PDB) values range from {minus}4.0 to +4.1{per_thousand} and are remarkably consistent throughout the Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney basin system. These values indicate either a marine carbonate or magmatic source for carbon in the dawsonite. A magmatic carbon source is considered more likely on the basis that (1) evidence of and the cause for widespread marine carbonate dissolution in the sedimentary successions are not apparent, (2) dawsonite is widespread in both marine and nonmarine facies, (3) the region has been the site of major igneous activity, (4) other dawsonite deposits of similar carbon isotopic composition are linked to igneous activity, and (5) ...
Presently, high wind potentials in remote areas may not be utilized for electricity production due to limited grid transmission capacity and/or difficulties in matching the electricity production with the demand. The overall project objective is to help overcome these bottlenecks, i.e. to identify and analyze methods and technologies for making it viable to utilize more of the wind potential in remote areas. The suggestion is to develop a power control concept for wind turbines which will even out the power fluctuations and make it possible to increase the wind energy penetration. The main options are to combine wind power with a pumped hydro power storage or with an AC/DC converter and battery storage. The AC/DC converter can either be an `add-on` type or it can be designed as an integrated part of a variable speed wind turbine. The idea is that combining wind power with the power control concept will make wind power more firm and possible to connect to weaker ...
Computational transport models are described with applications in three problem areas related to unsaturated zone moisture movement beneath Area G. These studies may be used to support the ongoing maintenance of the site Performance Assessment. The three areas include: a 1-D transient analysis with average tuff hydraulic properties in the near surface region with computed results compared to field data; the influence on near surface transient moisture percolation due to realistic distributions in hydraulic properties derived statistically from the observed variance in the field data; and the west to east moisture flow in a 2-D steady geometry approximation of the Pajarito Plateau. Results indicate that a simple transient model for transport of moisture volume fraction fits field data well compared to a moisture pulse observed in the active disposal unit, pit 37. Using realistic infiltration boundary conditions for summer showers and for spring snow melt conditions, ...
Analytical means have been developed to predict scour and accretion in sub-sea structures. Such structures can be very large and can have a large density of piping and structural members. They introduce a blocking and a shielding in the flow at the sea bottom leading to variable velocities and turbulence in the interior of the structure. This changes the transport capacity of the flow and result in general erosion where the transport capacity is increased and in accretion where the transport capacity is decreased. In addition there may occur the so-called tunnel erosion for structures built on concrete mats or similar. This type of erosion undermines the foundation of the sub-sea structure. Analytical models are developed and programmed to analyse the above phenomena. The internal flow variations are found by means of the LICengineering shielding programme and these are coupled to the transport formulae. The methodology is unstable if the starting conditions are ...
The resident bald eagles of the lower Columbia River have lower productivity and higher contaminant levels than other bald eagles of the Pacific Northwest. The primary population stressors are believed to be habitat loss, human disturbance, p,p{prime}DDE, PCBs, dioxins and furans. The primary effect of habitat loss is to reduce the carrying capacity of the region for nesting sites, and the primary effects of human disturbance and contamination by organic compounds are to reduce productivity. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the effects of all of, these potential stressors on the bald eagle population dynamics. A model of the population dynamics was developed. The model structure includes a physiologically-based toxicokinetic (PBTK) submodel to estimate the degree of contamination, which is linked via a toxicology submodel to a population dynamics submodel. The PBTK submodel is time-variable, incorporating ...
The Creating Wetlands in the Oil Sands Reclamation workshop was held to solicit expert views from leading authorities in a number of disciplines related to the creation and study of wetlands, as well as to investigate challenges in the creation of wetlands in reclaimed oil sands landscapes. This document provided a detailed transcript of each presentation and all discussions that followed. The workshop was divided into 5 sessions: (1) wetlands background information; (2) groundwater conditions and boreal wetlands; (3) creating wetland types; (4) wildlife in boreal wetlands and traditional environmental knowledge; and (5) treatment wetlands. An expert panel overview provided presentations on post-mining restoration of boreal landscapes in oil sands regions; the creation of fens, marshes and shallow water wetlands at oil sands sites and the restoration of damaged peatlands. A outline of the physical scale of the oil sands mining disturbances was provided during the ...
We use UV/optical and X-ray observations of 272 radio-quiet Type 1 active galactic nuclei and quasars to investigate the C IV Baldwin Effect (BEff). The UV/optical spectra are drawn from the Hubble Space Telescope, International Ultraviolet Explorer and Sloan Digital Sky Survey archives. The X-ray spectra are from the Chandra and XMM-Newton archives. We apply correlation and partial-correlation analyses to the equivalent widths (EWs), continuum monochromatic luminosities, and ?ox, which characterizes the relative X-ray to UV brightness. The EW of the C IV ?1549 emission line is correlated with both ?ox and luminosity. We find that by regressing l?(2500 A) with EW(C IV) and ?ox, we can obtain tighter correlations than by regressing l?(2500 A) with only EW(C IV). Both correlation and regression analyses imply that l?(2500 A) is not the only factor controlling the changes of EW(C IV); ?ox (or, equivalently, the soft X-ray emission) plays a fundamental role in the formation and variation ...
The aim of the thesis is to validate concepts used in hydrocarbon generation and migration models; the model considered is the Temispack model developed by IFP, and the validation is based on the investigation of the thermal and hydraulic evolution in various sedimentary basins. It is shown that, in general, the thermal history of sediments is influenced by external processes (sedimentation rates, lithology, climate changes, regional-scale groundwater circulations) which frequently overprint internal processes (variations of crustal/mantle heat flow). It is found that external processes can frequently explain past thermal events that were erroneously attributed to internal causes (tectonic-thermal events). The origin of over-pressures in young basins with high sedimentation rates is shown to be generally related to compaction disequilibrium. Shale permeability values calibrated against overpressure profiles are consistent with experimental constraints. Compaction ...
Seismic transects in this area show a strongly reflective Moho of generally low relief, which, in the area of modern transects, consists of a thin zone (< 2 km thick) of short reflectors. The upper mantle is transparent and has a P{sub n} of 7.8-8.0 km/s similar to much of the western US. A lower crustal zone, 2-13 km thick, has variable internal reflectivity and a relatively low velocity of 6.6-6.8 km/s. Upper mantle peridotite xenoliths show both ductile and brittle deformational features and have structures and composition affected by magmatic intrusion; intrusions form complex dike systems and extensive zones of grain boundary infiltration in peridotite xenoliths. Whereas melt infiltration preceded and followed ductile deformation, brittle deformation, represented by closely spaced joint systems and faults, followed ductile deformation and is related to the youngest magmatic episodes. Lower crustal xenoliths are dominantly igneous-textured pyroxenites and ...
We report here on an experimental system that utilizes ion-selective microelectrodes to measure the electrochemical potential gradients for H"+ and K"+ ions within the unstirred layer near the root surface of both tact 4-day-old corn seedlings and corn root segments. Analysis of the steady state H"+ and K"+ electrochemical potential gradients provided a simultaneous measure of the fluxes crossing a localized region of the root surface. Net K"+ influx values obtained by this method were compared with unidirectional K"+ ("8"6Rb"+) influx kinetic data; at any particular K"+ concentration, similar values were obtained by either technique. The ion-specific microelectrode system was then used to investigate the association between net H"+ efflux and net K"+ influx. Although the computed H"+K"+ stoichiometry is dependent upon the choice of diffusion coefficients, the values obtained were extremely variable, and net K"+ influx rarely appeared to be ...
The impacts of federal projects on wetlands should be included in documents prepared to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA assessments of impacts on wetlands are often related to requirements of other laws, regulations, and executive orders, such as permitting requirements under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and those contained in Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands. This paper reviews recent NEPA environmental impact statements that contained assessments of impacts on wetlands or that involved projects likely to affect wetlands. It covers documents prepared by several federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Energy, Federal Highway Administration, Soil Conservation Service, and Tennessee Valley Authority. The extent and depth of analyses of wetlands issues was found to be highly variable, both within and among agencies. Most analyses did not provide adequate geographical or ecological context ...
The computer program is developed based on Visual C++, which is equipped with a user-friendly interface of the input/output(I/O) and a display function for the measuring conditions. This program consists of three parts which are the port communication, PLC(Programmable Logic Controller) and the MCA(Multi Channel Analyzer) control parts. The communication type between the CPU of the PLC module box and the computer is selected as be the Rs-232 asynchronous type and the thread method is adapted in the development of the first part of the program. The PLC-related program has been developed so that the data communication between the PLC CPU and the computer could be harmonized with the unique commands which have already been defined in the PLC. The measuring space and time intervals, the start and end ROI(region of interest) values, and the allowable error limitation are input at each measurement in this program. Finally the controlling MCA program has been developed by ...
The Ordos Basin of north-central China is well known for vast energy resources. This nonmarine interior basin developed on the North China-Korean platform following the Late Triassic Indochina orogeny and, for a time, contained a large freshwater lake prior to being uplifted into its present form at the close of the Mesozoic. Lower to Middle Jurassic coal occurs in the fluviolacustrine Yan'an Formation along the southern margin of the basin in the Huanglong coalfield. In the northeast part of the field, the formation ranges from 0 to 180 m in thickness and is divided into five fining-upward members, each representing a regressive-transgressive lacustrine cycle. Low-sulfur, high-volatile bituminous coal is complexly distributed in the lowest member of the Yan'an Formation. Deposition of this member was influenced by two tectonic events that controlled coal occurrence. First, regional uplifts were produced by the Late Triassic Indochina orogeny and ...
Corrosion probes are being developed and combined with an existing measurement technology to provide a tool for assessing the extent of corrosion of metallic materials on the fireside in coal-fired boilers. The successful development of this technology will provide power plant operators the ability to (1) accurately monitor metal loss in critical regions of the boiler, such as waterwalls, superheaters, and reheaters; and (2) use corrosion rates as process variables. In the former, corrosion data could be used to schedule maintenance periods and in the later, processes can be altered to decrease corrosion rates. The research approach involves laboratory research in simulated environments that will lead to field tests of corrosion probes in coal-fired boilers. Laboratory research has already shown that electrochemically-measured corrosion rates for ash-covered metals are similar to actual mass loss corrosion rates. Electrochemical tests conducted ...
Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) has variable degree of F-18 FDG avidity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between F-18 FDG uptake and pathological or immunohistochemical features of DTC. DTC patients who underwent both pre-operative F-18 FDG PET/CT scan and surgery were included in the study. Maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) of primary tumor were calculated. If the primary tumor showed no perceptibly increased F-18 FDG uptake, region of interest was drawn based on finding of CT portion of the PET/CT images. Pathological and immunohistochemical markers such as presence of lymph node (LN) metastasis and underlying thyroiditis, tumor size, Ki-67 labeling index, expressions of EGFR, COX-2, and Galectin-3 were evaluated. Total of 106 patients was included (102 papillary carcinomas, 4 follicular carcinomas). The mean SUVmax of the large tumors (above 1 cm) was significantly higher than the mean SUVmax of small ...
A parallel event to the eleventh Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change was held to demonstrate examples of adaptation from around the world in the areas of food security, water resources, coastal zones, and communities/infrastructure. Panels on each theme presented examples from developing countries, countries in economic transition, and developed countries. These 4 themes were chosen because both mitigation and adaptation are essential to meeting the challenge of climate change. The objective of the event was to improve the knowledge of Canada's vulnerabilities to climate change, identify ways to minimize the negative effects of future impacts, and explore opportunities that take advantage of any positive impacts. This third session focused on how coastal communities are adapting to climate change in such places as Quebec, the Caribbean, and small Island States. It also presented the example of how a developed country became ...
A geological study was conducted to better understand the nature of cleat development and degree of mineralization in coal seams of the Scollard and Coalspur Formations in western Alberta. The results can be applied to equivalent formations. The source and reservoir rocks of a coalbed methane (CBM) system were described. Coal seams are basically fractured reservoirs with 7 types of cleats. The field work involved cleat minerals sampling and determining cleat attributes such as type, strike and spacing from open-cut mines and outcrops. The laboratory work involved X-Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive microscopy, stable isotope analysis, and fluid inclusions analysis. The study showed that coal seams of the Scollard and Coalspur Formations are widespread and cleated to various degrees. The face and butt cleats strike northeast-southwest and northwest southeast respectively along the structural grain of the Laramide Orogeny. The major cleat mineral is calcite ...
Full text: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex disorder characterised by profound fatigue and neuropsychiatric dysfunction. Previous studies with cerebral perfusion SPECT (rCBF) scans were performed with inhomogeneous patient populations and were not analysed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). We have used SPM to study subjects with moderate CFS based on the Fukuda criteria, who were not on medication and not depressed, compared to age matched control subjects. An apparent bimodal age distribution has been observed in CFS. Subjects were therefore divided into two age groups: 16-35 or under 35 (17 CFS, 11 control) and 36-61 or over 35 (15 CFS, 15 control). HMPAO brain SPECT was acquired on a 3-head camera. After lower window scatter subtraction, reconstruction with attenuation correction (mu=0.15/cm) and editing of facial activity, scans were spatially normalised (affine + 2x3x2 nonlinear) to SPM's anatomical space. SPM statistical analysis yielded the location, ...
... 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 ...
Gel dosimetry is a new dosimetry method applied in radiation therapy. Gel dosimeters consist of a radiation sensitive gel, which can integrate absorbed doses from several radiation sources or beams. The dose to the gel can be evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a procedure that is the focus of the present thesis. A robust tool for the evaluation of the nonuniformity in MRI has been developed, the Deviation Image method. Unlike previously presented methods, the Deviation Image method includes all nonuniformity variations across a phantom surface and is insensitive to stochastic noise. Methods for the estimation of stochastic noise were analyzed in terms of sensitivity to nonuniformities. A method that averages the stochastic noise level over five regions over the phantom surface, and a method that assesses the stochastic noise level from the background, were found to be the methods of choice. Pronounced MR image nonuniformity variation with repetition and ...
Inter-symbol interference (ISI) channels with data dependent Gauss Markov noise have been used to model read channels in magnetic recording and other data storage systems. The Viterbi algorithm can be adapted for performing maximum likelihood sequence detection in such channels. However, the problem of finding an analytical upper bound on the bit error rate of the Viterbi detector in this case has not been fully investigated. Current techniques rely on an exhaustive enumeration of short error events and determine the BER using a union bound. In this work, we consider a subset of the class of ISI channels with data dependent Gauss-Markov noise. We derive an upper bound on the pairwise error probability (PEP) between the transmitted bit sequence and the decoded bit sequence that can be expressed as a product of functions depending on current and previous states in the (incorrect) decoded sequence and the ...
Sequence stratigraphic interpretation of paralic successions is complicated by the complex interfingering of marine and continental strata. The successions may also include terrestrial extensions of marine parasequences and completely independent lacustrine parasequence analogues. Failure in recognizing the possible interbedding of these two independent parasequence types may lead to construction of sequence stratigraphic schemes based on incompatible data sets. We have studied a Lower Jurassic paralic section from the Baltic island of Bornholm. The Hettangian-Sinemurian Sose Bugt Member (Ronne Formation) of Bornholm includes lacustrine, fluvial and restricted marine, estuarine deposits reflecting the basin-margin position. Biostatigraphic resolution is poor and a sequence stratigraphic interpretation of the paralic succession is far from straightforward. A multidisciplinary approach including facies analysis, recognition ...
This thesis studied the petrology and sequence stratigraphy of the Hoadley barrier, a Glauconitic member in the Westerose field in Alberta. The unit contains gas reserves in an extensive northeast-southwest trending marine complex. A high resolution sequence stratigraphic model was used to understand the facies development of the unit and the diagenetic pathway of the strata. Six high frequency sequences were identified within the Glauconitic member. Each are separated from one another by surfaces of incision or subaerial exposure which sometimes coincide with a flooding surface and erosion. This thesis provided a petrographic characterization and depositional history of each of the 6 sequences. Reservoir quality is developed within the relatively quartz-rich foreshore facies of the G2B sandstones. The G3 chert litharenite to sublitharenite sandstones are excellent gas producers because of their coarser ...
Decay sequences based on the 1/2"+[660] proton orbital have been identified in "1"7"1Ta and "1"7"7Re based on spin, parity, and large alignment. This decay sequence is observed higher in energy than predicted in cranking calculations based on modified oscillator potentials. Similarly known 1/2"-[541] decay sequences in these and other neighbouring isotopes are observed lower in energy than predicted. A reduction in the strength of the spin-orbit potential for protons is suggested as a solution to these problem. (orig.).
The ore-hosting Yaojia Formation is composed of a set of braided stream medium-fine grained sediments. Guided by the basic theory of high-resolution sequence stratigraphy, and based on the core observation, the analysis of chemical composition of rocks, and data of natural potential logging and apparent resistivity logging, the authors have set up the high-resolution sequence stratigraphy framework of the ore-hosting Yaojia Formation, and discussed the relation of the stratigraphic structure of the middle cycle, as well as the paleotopography, the micro-facies to the formation of uranium deposit. (authors)
The relationship between short term relative sea-level oscillations and the reef, off-reef deposits geometry of an Upper Devonian third order sequence highstand of the Nisku Formation in west central Alberta was studied through the analysis of high resolution sequence stratigraphy. Hydrocarbon generation was reconstructed by total organic carbon values and migration patterns that were dependent on the geometry of three fourth order sequences. This stratigraphic reconstruction provided the key to recent hydrocarbon discoveries such as in the Brazeau southern reef margin.
This course in System Reliability and Analysis Techniques focuses on the probabilistic quantification of accident sequences and the link between accident sequences and consequences. Other sessions in this series focus on the quantification of system reliability and the development of event trees and fault trees. This course takes the viewpoint that event tree sequences or combinations of system failures and success are available and that Boolean equations for system fault trees have been developed and are available. 93 figs., 11 tabs.
The multi-frequency binary sequence experimental technique has been implemented at the Fast Flux Test Facility for routine surveillance activities. The frequency content of the standard rod-movement sequence has been shown to be sufficient to normalize the data at moderate frequencies. This obviates the need for auxiliary calibration measurements and provides the reactivity worth of the test control rod. Analyses of a series of tests conducted in 1986 illustrate that the rod worths inferred from the tests are consistent with zero-power measurements. Also, the dependence of the prompt feedback time constant on reactor conditions was determined.
Decay sequences based on the 1/2/sup +/(660) proton orbital have been identified in /sup 171/Ta and /sup 177/Re based on spin, parity, and large alignment. This decay sequence is observed higher in energy than predicted in cranking calculations based on modified oscillator potentials. Similarly known 1/2/sup -/(541) decay sequences in these and other neighbouring isotopes are observed lower in energy than predicted. A reduction in the strength of the spin-orbit potential for protons is suggested as a solution to these problem.
Technology progress in DNA sequencing boosts the genomic database growth at faster and faster rate. Compression, accompanied with random access capabilities, is the key to maintain those huge amounts of data. In this paper we present an LZ77-style compression scheme for relative compression of multiple genomes of the same species. While the solution bears similarity to known algorithms, it offers significantly higher compression ratios at compression speed over a order of magnitude greater. One of the new successful ideas is augmenting the reference sequence with phrases from the other sequences, making more LZ-matches available.
The congestion cost caused by transmission capacities and voltage limit is an important issue in a competitive electricity market. To allocate the congestion cost equitably, the active constraints in a constrained dispatch and the sequence of these constraints should be considered. A multi-stage method is proposed which reflects the effects of both the active constraints and the sequence. In a multi-stage method, the types of congestion are analysed in order to consider the sequence, and the relationship between congestion and the active constraints is derived in a mathematical way. The case study shows that the proposed method can give more accurate and equitable signals to customers. (Author)
Ultraconserved elements (UCEs) are sequences that are identical between reference genomes of distantly related species. As they are under negative selection and enriched near or in specific classes...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe availability of multiple, essentially complete genome sequences of prokaryotes and eukaryotes spurred both the demand and the opportunity for the construction of an...Full Text Available
High-throughput technologies for DNA sequencing and for analyses of transcriptomes, proteomes and metabolomes have provided the foundations for deciphering the structure, variation and function of the...Full Text Available
The sequence of events from the assembly of a space nuclear power system to its integration in the Space Shuttle Transportation System (STS) is considered. First, the sequence followed for SNAP-10A, the only free world space reactor electric power system ever launched and operated in space, is reviewed. Before shipment, the SNAP-10A reactor was raised to operating temperature using electrically supplied heat and operated at low power for control calibration. Next we discuss shipment to the launch site, a phase that is critical because of the potential for various accidents. Once the power system arrives at the launch site, the processing sequence is performed. This sequence includes checkout, mating with the payload or upper stage launch vehicle, and integration into the STS.
The Sirtuins are a family of orthologues of yeast Sir2 found in a wide range of organisms from bacteria to man. They display a high degree of conservation between species, in both sequence and function,...Full Text Available
Plasmid pRK404-a smaller derivative of RK2-is a tetracycline-resistant broad-host-range vector that carries a multiple cloning site and the lacZ(alpha) peptide that enables blue/white selection for cloned inserts in Escherichia coli. We present herein the complete and annotated sequence of pRK404 and three related vectors-pRK437, pRK442, and pRK442(H). These derivatives have proven to be valuable tools for genetic manipulation in Gram-negative bacteria. The knowledge of their complete sequences will facilitate efficient future engineering of them and will enhance their general applicability to the design of genetic systems for use in organisms for which new genomic sequence data are becoming available.
BackgroundAlternative splicing is an important mechanism mediating the diversified functions of genes in multicellular organisms, and such event occurs in around 40-60% of human...Full Text Available
... and one near-main-sequence star, which will stringently constrain calculations of single-star evolution at high metallicity. Independent of SIM Lite observations ...
Although many studies have examined the performance of animals in detecting a frequency change in a sequence of tones, few have measured animals' discrimination of the fundamental frequency...Full Text Available
BackgroundSection Calochroi is one of the most species-rich lineages in the genus Cortinarius (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) and is widely distributed...Full Text Available
BackgroundGenetic predisposition to scrapie in sheep is associated with several variations in the peptide sequence of the prion protein gene (PRNP). DNA-based tests...Full Text Available
This document provides information on the supply and disposition of natural gas to a wide audience. The 1996 data are presented in a sequence that follows natural gas from it`s production to it`s end use.
These include, but are not limited to: stellar winds and outflows, post-main- sequence stellar evolution, binary/multiple star evolution, globular cluster ...
These include, but are not limited to: stellar winds and outflows, post-main- sequence star evolution, binary star evolution, globular cluster structure and ...
The basic biology of the menstrual cycle is a complex, coordinated sequence of events involving the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary, ovary, and endometrium. The menstrual cycle with all its...Full Text Available
Processing of symbolic sequences represented by mapping of symbolic data into numerical signals is commonly used in various applications. It is a particularly popular approach in genomic and proteomic sequence analysis. Numerous mappings of symbolic sequences have been proposed for various applications. It is unclear however whether the processing of symbolic data provides an artifact of the numerical mapping or is an inherent property of the symbolic data. This issue has been long ignored in the engineering and scientific literature. It is possible that many of the results obtained in symbolic signal processing could be a byproduct of the mapping and might not shed any light on the underlying properties embedded in the data. Moreover, in many applications, conflicting conclusions may arise due to the choice of the mapping used for numerical representation of symbolic data. In this paper, we present a novel framework for ...
17 patients with chronic aortic dissection were examined by MRI. In 12 patients, comparison between gradient echo sequences and SE sequences was possible. Gradient echo sequences, unlike SE sequences, permitted evaluation of flow in the true and false lumen, reliable differentiation between thrombus and flowing blood and clear delination of the intimal flap. An additional comparison between transoesophageal ultrasound and MRT in 15 patients showed significant advantages in favour of MRI. In three patients MRI was able to detect more proximal origins of the dissection. Moreover, MRI allowed evaluation of the major aortic branches and their relation to the dissection; this was not possible with ultrasound. MRI plays an important role in the follow-up of chronic aortic dissections. (orig.).
The authors used a near full-length human ornithine [delta]-aminotransferase cDNA, huOAT6, as a probe under low stringency hybridization conditions to identify a new autosomal ornithine [delta]-aminotransferase-related sequence (OATL3). Cloning and characterization of this sequence reveal it to be a partial nonprocessed pseudogene corresponding to exon 3 and flanking intronic sequences of the ornithine [delta]-aminotransferase structural gene. Using somatic cell hybrids and fluorescence in situ hybridization, they mapped OATL3 to 10q26, adjacent to the ornithine [delta]-aminotransferase structural gene locus. 13 refs., 3 figs.
These include, but are not limited to: stellar winds and outflows, post-main- sequence stellar evolution, binary/multiple star evolution, globular cluster structure ...
These include, but are not limited to: stellar winds and outflows, post-main- sequence stellar evolution, binary/multiple star evolution, globular cluster structure ...
XMRV or xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related retrovirus, a recently discovered retrovirus, has been linked to both prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Recently, the teams of Drs. Shyh-Ching Lo and Harvey Alter discovered the presence of sequences closely related to XMRV in the blood of 86.5% of patients with CFS [1]. These findings are important because since the initial discovery of XMRV in CFS, several studies have failed to find XMRV in specimens collected from CFS patients. While the current study also did not find XMRV in CFS, Lo et al. did detect sequences that belong to polytropic mouse endogenous retroviruses (PMV), which share considerable similarity with XMRV. Criteria for future studies that will help bring greater clarity to the issue of retroviral sequences in CFS are proposed below. PMID:21994623
Phage display is effective in screening peptides that mimic venom's neutralizing epitopes. A phage display cyclized heptapeptide library (C7C library) was panned with purified divalent antivenin IgG, which neutralizes Naja naja atra venom (NAV) and Bungarus multicinctus venom (BMV). The selected heptapeptide sequences were aligned with known protein sequences of NAV and BMV in GenBank. One of the four consensus sequences, L/PKSSLL, mimicked the crucial epitope on Loop III of Taiwan cobra cardiotoxin that is associated with the venom's lethal potency. In dot blot analysis, several clones showed varying reactivities for NAV monovalent antivenin and lesser cross-reactions with BMV monovalent antivenin. The KSSLLRN-carrying phage occurred four times in selected clones and showed the strongest ...
BackgroundNucleotide sequences and the gene arrangements of mitochondrial genomes are effective tools for resolving phylogenetic problems. Hemipteroid insects are known to possess...Full Text Available
Cis-acting regulatory sequences are required for the proper temporal and spatial control of gene expression. Variation in gene expression is highly heritable and a significant determinant...Full Text Available
The main aim of DNA barcoding is to establish a shared community resource of DNA sequences that can be used for organismal identification and taxonomic clarification. This approach was successfully...Full Text Available
AbstractThe elucidation of the human and mouse genome sequence and developments in high-throughput genome analysis, and in computational tools, have made it possible to profile entire...Full Text Available
To study interactions between plants and plant-parasitic nematodes, several omics studies have nowadays become extremely useful. Since most data available so far is derived from sedentary nematodes, we decided to improve the knowledge on migratory nematodes by studying the transcriptome of the nematode Pratylenchus coffeae through generating expressed sequence tags (ESTs) on a 454 sequencing platform. In this manuscript we present the generation, assembly and annotation of over 325,000 reads from P. coffeae. After assembling these reads, 56,325 contigs and singletons with an average length of 353bp were selected for further analyses. Homology searches revealed that 25% of these sequences had significant matches to the Swiss-prot/trEMBL database and 29% had significant matches in nematode E...
Two different approaches can be used in phylogenomics: combined or separate analysis. In the first approach, different datasets are combined in a concatenated supermatrix. In the second, datasets are...Full Text Available
In order to practice a design-by-analysis of thermohydraulics design of BWR fuel rod bundles, the subchannel analysis would play a major role. There, the immediate concern is improvement in its predictive capability of CHF due in particular to the film dryout (boiling transition phenomena: BT) on the fuel rod surface. Constitutive equations in the subchannel analysis formulation are responsible for the quality of calculated results. The constitutive equations are a result of integration of the local and instantaneous description of two-phase flows over the subchannel control volume. In general, they are expressed in terms of subchannel-control-volume- as well as area-averaged two-phase flow state variables. In principle the information on local and instantaneous physical phenomena taking place inside subchannels must be counted for in the algebraic form of the equations on the basis of a more mechanistic modeling approach. They should include also influences of the ...
Full text of publication follows:In order to practice a design-by-analysis of thermohydraulics design of BWR fuel rod bundles, the subchannel analysis would play a major role. There, the immediate concern is improvement in its predictive capability of CHF due in particular to the film dryout (boiling transition phenomena: BT) on the fuel rod surface. Constitutive equations in the subchannel analysis formulation are responsible for the quality of calculated results. The constitutive equations are a result of integration of the local and instantaneous description of two-phase flows over the subchannel control volume. In general, they are expressed in terms of subchannel-control-volume- as well as area-averaged two-phase flow state variables. In principle the information on local and instantaneous physical phenomena taking place inside subchannels must be counted for in the algebraic form of the equations on the basis of a more mechanistic modeling approach. They ...
In order to practice a design-by-analysis of thermohydraulics design of BWR fuel rod bundles, the subchannel analysis would play a major role. There, the immediate concern is improvement in its predictive capability of CHF due in particular to the film dryout (boiling transition phenomena: BT) on the fuel rod surface. Constitutive equations in the subchannel analysis formulation are responsible for the quality of calculated results. The constitutive equations are a result of integration of the local and instantaneous description of two-phase flows over the subchannel control volume. In general, they are expressed in terms of subchannel-control-volume- as well as area-averaged two-phase flow state variables. In principle the information on local and instantaneous physical phenomena taking place inside subchannels must be counted for in the algebraic form of the equations on the basis of a more mechanistic modeling approach. They should include also influences of the ...
High temperature components of power plants are in many cases subjected to variable loading conditions such as cyclic creep or strain cycling. Therefore the cyclic behaviour of important heat resistant steels has been investigated under stress control and to a smaller extent under strain control. The behaviour under cyclic creep rupture conditions was determined in long term experiments covering a wide range of loading conditions. This behaviour can be described with the modified life fraction rule and a factor concept of relative life for single stage cycles and additionally with a multistep hypothesis for multi-stage cycles. The description can be adapted to estimate the life consumption under service type random conditions. The strain cycling behaviour was investigated in regard to the conditions of the heated surface of large components. To simulate this type of loading and to generate long term creep fatigue data, a service type strain cycle was developed. ...
Purpose: To assess the new method of 3-dimensional echocardiography in comparison to the 'gold standard' MRI as to its ability to calculate left ventricular volumes in patients with congenital heart disease. Materials and methods: Eighteen patients between the ages of 3.9 to 37.3 years (mean: 12.8{+-}9.7) with a geometrically abnormal left ventricle were examined using a 1.5 T scanner with a fast gradient-echo sequence (TR=14 ms, TE=2.6-2.9 ms, FOV=300-400 mm, flip angle=20 , matrix=128:256, slice thickness=5 mm, retrospective gating) in multislice-multiphase technique. Transthoracic 3D-echocardiography was performed with a 3.5 MHz transducer and a Tomtec {sup trademark} (Munich, Germany) system for 3D reconstruction. Results: Volume calculation was possible in all patients with 3D-echocardiography, but the muscle mass calculation only succeeded in 11 to 18 patients (61%) due to inadequate visualization of the entire myocardium. Comparing MRI and ...
Dimensional variability studies and published dimensional variability standards have been used by the foundry industry for years as an indicator of the casting process` ability to produce uniform parts. These studies are an extremely useful tool in the continuous ``dimensional dialogue`` between foundries and customers. The nature of these studies, and of the current tolerancing systems used by casting designers, leaves room for some misinterpretation and misuse of these study results. This paper contains two important discussions. The first part explains exactly what these studies represent. Following this is a brief explanation on dimensional and geometric tolerances and how they communicate dimensional requirements.
This research investigates the impact of national culture and several institutional factors on the safety performance of society and establishes statistically significant relationships between those variables. As expected, the research results reveal that some cultural variables such as uncertainty avoidance, gender orientation and institutional variables such as the degree of law avoidance can directly influence the safety performance of the society. The findings also support the inverted u-curve (Safety Kuznet curve) hypothesis indicating even if we expect a negative trend at the beginning stage of industrialization, we can expect a positive trend in safety performance as their income level continues to improve beyond a certain point.
In this talk, we explore the feasibility of quantum computation using continuous-variable systems by means of local measurements only. In the first part of the talk, we will identify crucial limitations that arise when starting from Gaussian cluster states. This is done by resorting to a Gaussian projected entangled pair picture as well as to notions of continuous-variable quantum repeater networks. In the second part, we look at instances in which these limitations can be overcome, and how suitable encodings of qubits in oscillators and feasible non-Gaussian resource states give rise to universal schemes for quantum computing.
Creep properties of modified 9 Cr-1 Mo steel, an alloy significantly improved in elevated-temperature strength over 2 1/4 Cr-1 Mo and other similar alloys, are presented here. Data are primarily on material in the normalized and tempered condition. Effects of variables such as isothermal annealing treatment, cold work, normalizing temperature, tempering temperature, notch, and biaxial stress state have also been examined. Data analysis and comparisons have shown that modified 9 Cr-1 Mo alloy is very insensitive in response to several material variables, heat treatments, and specimen design variables.
Background and ObjectivePulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment of cutaneous vascular lesions is associated with variable and unpredictable efficacy. Thus, alternative treatment...Full Text Available
The proteolytic activities of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM); a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) families play important...Full Text Available
The fatigue life variability of the #alpha#+#beta# titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo increased with decreasing stress level. The variability in life was found to be due to segregation of lives due to two failure mechanisms. A bimodal cumulative distribution model was shown to accurately describe the combined failure modes. The nominal failure processes for the two regimes were similar, with crack nucleation occurring in equiaxed #alpha#p particles, irrespective of life or stress level. However the variability in life was not controlled by the size of the crack-nucleating #alpha#p, but rather by the ability of the material to distribute deformation and avoid early crack nucleation.
... Variable, Alimentos mal enlatados, especialmente verduras enlatadas en el hogar; pescado fermentado, papas asadas en papel de aluminio, ajo envasado. ...
Brains are usually described as input/output systems: they transform sensory input into motor output. However, the motor output of brains (behavior) is notoriously variable, even under identical sensory...Full Text Available
A central composite design was employed to optimize the extraction of pectin with citric acid. The independent variables were citric acid concentration (0.086-2.91% w/v) and extraction time (17-102min). The combined effect of these variables on the degree of esterification was investigated. Results have shown that the generated regression models adequately explained the data variation and significantly represented the actual relationship between the independent variables and the responses. Besides that, the citric acid concentration was the most important factor to affect the degree of esterification, as it exerted a significant influence on the dependent variable. Lower citric acid concentration increased the pectin degree of esterification. The surface response showed the relationships b...
In this paper we present a complete solution to the problem of multifractal analysis of multiple ergodic averages in the case of symbolic dynamics for functions of two variables depending on the first coordinate.
Worldwide century-long forest hydrologic research has documented that deforestation and forestation (i.e. reforestation and afforestation) can have variable ...
Jul 25, 2011 ... Koji Mukai's Bibliography. Invited Reviews. Mukai, K. 1994, "ASCA PV Phase Observations of Cataclysmic Variables," in "New Horizon of X-ray ...
According to classical concepts of physiologic control, healthy systems are self-regulated to reduce variability and maintain physiologic constancy. Contrary to the predictions of homeostasis, however,...Full Text Available
Background and AimsAnnonaceae are one of the largest families of Magnoliales. This study investigates the comparative floral development of 15 species to understand the basis for...Full Text Available
Statistically based experimental designs were applied to screen and optimize the bioleaching of spent hydrocracking catalyst by Penicillium simplicissimum. Eleven factors were examined for their significance on bioleaching using a Plackett-Burman factorial design. Four significant variables (pulp density, sucrose, NaNO"3, and yeast extract concentrations) were selected for the optimization studies. The combined effect of these variables on metal bioleaching was studied using a central composite design (CCD). Second-order polynomials were established to identify the relationship between the recovery percent of the metals and the four significant variables. The optimal values of the variables for maximum metals bioleaching were as follows: pulp density (4.0%, w/v), sucrose (90g/L), NaNO"3 (2...
Knowledge on environmental variability and how it is affected by disturbances is crucial for understanding patterns of biodiversity and determining adequate conservation strategies. The aim of this study is to assess environmental variability in patches undergoing post-fire vegetation recovery, identifying trends of change and their relevant drivers. We particularly evaluate: the value of three spectral indices derived from Landsat satellite data [Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Wetness Component of the Tasseled Cap Transformation (TCW)] for describing secondary succession; the effectiveness of three metrics (diversity, evenness and richness) as indicators of patch variability; and how thematic resolution can affect the perception of environme...
Wildlife Refuge, CA Rare and endangered endemic plants Diana Anderson Northern Arizona University Geomorphology Kathryn Thomas USGS, Flagstaff, AZ Vegetation dynamics John...
Climate variability greatly affects animals through direct and indirect effects. Animals with slow reproductive adaptation to ecological changes such as large mammals are likely to have evolved mechanisms to anticipate early such impacts of climate variability on the environment. One of the adaptive mechanisms between reproductive costs and benefits in mammals affects parental investment through biases in sex ratio. Deer might be likely to show an early detection of climate variability because conception takes place in early autumn, but the main raising cost in deer concerns lactation, which takes place at the end of the following spring. The aim of this paper is to assess whether there is a relationship between global indices of climate variability such as El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (EN...
The study of genetic variability within natural populations of pathogens may provide insight into their evolution and pathogenesis. We used a Mycobacterium tuberculosis high-density...Full Text Available
The study has analysed the effects of various factors on hydroelectric power generation potential to include climate change/variability, water demand, and installation of proposed hydroelectric power schemes in the Zambezi River Basin. An assessment of historical (1970?2000) power potential in relation to climate change/variability at existing hydro electric power schemes(Cahora Bassa, Kariba, Kafue Gorge and Itezhi-Tezhi) in the Zambezi River Basin was conducted. The correlation of hydroelectric power potential with climate change/variability aimed at observing the link and extent of influence of the latter on the former was investigated. In order to predict the future outlook of hydro electric power potential, General Circulation Models (GCM) were used to generate projected precipitation...
measure meteorological variables and bulk water temper- ature. The locations of the buoys are given in Table 1. TB2 and TB3 were moved slightly farther south ...
We construct the Baxter Q-operator and the representation of the Separated Variables (SoV) for the homogeneous open SL(2,R) spin chain. Applying the diagrammatical approach, we calculate Sklyanin's integration measure in the separated variables and obtain the solution to the spectral problem for the model in terms of the eigenvalues of the Q-operator. We show that the transition kernel to the SoV representation is factorized into the product of certain operators each depending on a single separated variable. As a consequence, it has a universal pyramid-like form that has been already observed for various quantum integrable models such as periodic Toda chain, closed SL(2,R) and SL(2,C) spin chains.
We obtain an elegant and useful description of the dynamics of Szekeres dust models (in their full generality) by means of "quasi--local" scalar variables constructed by suitable integral distributions that can be interpreted as weighed proper volume averages of the local covariant scalars. In terms of these variables, the field equations and basic physical and geometric quantities are formally identical to their corresponding expressions in the spherically symmetric LTB dust models. Since we can map every Szekeres model to a unique LTB model, rigorous results valid for the latter models can be readily generalized to a non--spherical Szekeres geometry. The new variables lead naturally to an initial value formulation in which all scalars are expressed as scaling laws in terms of their values at an arbitrary initial space slice. These variables also yield a significant simplification of numerical work, ...
There is very little known about the long-term evolution of the MHC and MHC-like molecules. This is because both the theory (the evolutionary questions and models) and the practice (the animals systems, functional assays and reagents to identify and characterize these molecules) have been difficult to develop. There is no molecular evidence yet to decide whether vertebrate immune systems (and particularly the MHC molecules) are evolutionarily related to invertebrate allorecognition systems, and the functional evidence can be interpreted either way. Even among the vertebrates, there is great heterogeneity in the quality and quantity of the immune response. The functional evidence for T-lymphocyte function in jawless and cartilagenous fish is poor, while the bony fish seem to have many characteristics of a mammalian immune system. The organization and sequence of fish Ig genes also indicate that important events in the evolution of the immune system and the MHC ...
Southeastern Finland belongs to the area covered by the Weichselian ice sheet, where the release of the ice load caused a rapid isostatic rebound during the postglacial time. While the mean overall apparent uplift is of the order of 2 mm/yr today, in the early Holocene time it was several times higher. A marked decrease in the rebound rate occurred around 8500 BP, however, since then the uplift rate has remained high until today, with a slightly decreasing trend towards the present time. According to current understanding there have neither been temporary increases nor decreases in the rate of uplift during the postglacial time. Even so, it is not known for sure whether there are regional irregularities on the rebound in Finland. Concurrently with land uplift, relative sea-level changes in the Baltic basin were also strongly affected by the global eustatic rise of sea-level. During the early Litorina Sea stage on the southern coast of Finland around 7000 BP, the ...
Mass accretion onto (proto-)stars at high accretion rates M-dot_*> 10"-"4 M_s_u_n yr"-"1 is expected in massive star formation. We study the evolution of massive protostars at such high rates by numerically solving the stellar structure equations. In this paper, we examine the evolution via disk accretion. We consider a limiting case of 'cold' disk accretion, whereby most of the stellar photosphere can radiate freely with negligible backwarming from the accretion flow, and the accreting material settles onto the star with the same specific entropy as the photosphere. We compare our results to the calculated evolution via spherically symmetric accretion, the opposite limit, whereby the material accreting onto the star contains the entropy produced in the accretion shock front. We examine how different accretion geometries affect the evolution of massive protostars. For cold disk accretion at 10"-"3 M_s_u_n yr"-"1, the radius of a protostar is initially small, R_*#approx =# a few ...
Which imaging modalities are appropriate for the Differential diagnosis of Rheumatic diseases. MRI has far most the highest sensitivity and is unequaled in its brilliant presentation of Anatomy and Pathology. But it is sometimes forgotten, that this is at least in part the result of carefully selected sequences, dedicated to the expected result. In a method totally independent of any result, this should not be the case. In contrary this method should be highly standardised and regardless what will be the findings. This is true for Plain X-ray. It will be shown, that already the outer silhouette of the soft parts with different features of swelling, and differences in density and even more - defects or appositions of the bony silhouette in the majority of cases at least will allow to classify the patient for a group of diseases and in many cases will lead to a definite diagnosis. Differential diagnoses like Rheumatoid Arthritis versus Psoriatic Arthritis or simply ...
We show that the holographic principle in quantum gravity imposes a strong constraint on life. The degrees of freedom of an organism can be estimated according to the theory of Boolean networks, which is constrained by the entropy bound. Hence we can explain the languages in protein sequences or in DNA sequences. The overall evolution of biological complexity can be illustrated. And some general properties of protein length distributions can be explained by a linguistic mechanism.
Metagenomics projects based on shotgun sequencing of populations of micro-organisms yield insight into protein families. We used sequence similarity clustering to explore proteins with a comprehensive dataset consisting of sequences from available databases together with 6.12 million proteins predicted from an assembly of 7.7 million Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) sequences. The GOS dataset covers nearly all known prokaryotic protein families. A total of 3,995 medium- and large-sized clusters consisting of only GOS sequences are identified, out of which 1,700 have no detectable homology to known families. The GOS-only clusters contain a higher than expected proportion of sequences of viral origin, thus reflecting a poor sampling of viral diversity until now. Protein domain distributions in the GOS dataset and current protein databases show distinct biases. Several ...
Targeted genome capture combined with next-generation sequencing was used to analyze 2.9 Mb of the DFNB79 interval on chromosome 9q34.3, which includes 108 candidate genes. Genomic...Full Text Available
A 269-kilobase conjugative plasmid, pK29, from a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain was sequenced. The plasmid harbors multiple antimicrobial resistance genes, including those encoding CMY-8...Full Text Available
We have identified two novel, very closely related genes, SAS1 and SAS2, from Dictyostelium discoideum. These encode small, approximately 20-kilodaton proteins with amino acid sequences thought to be...Full Text Available
Extensive sequence repeats have been observed in a biologically active fragment of type 24 streptococcal M protein, namely Pep M24 [Beachey, E. H., Sayer, J. M. & Kang, A. H. (1978) Proc....Full Text Available
BackgroundPlasmid encoded blaCTX-M enzymes represent an important sub-group of class A β-lactamases causing the ESBL phenotype which is increasingly...Full Text Available
The complete nucleotide sequence of the cap3A gene of Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is directly responsible for the transformation of some unencapsulated, serotype 3 mutants to the encapsulated phenotype,...Full Text Available
We report the presence of oligosaccharide structures on a glutamine residue present in the VL domain sequence of a recombinant human IgG2 molecule. Residue Gln-106, present in the QGT sequence...Full Text Available
We have isolated the human prointerleukin 1 (proIL-1) beta gene from leukocyte and fetal liver libraries. The nucleotide sequence and its gene organization reveals that the proIL-1 beta gene is composed...Full Text Available
The dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella sp. strain HN-41 was first reported to produce novel photoactive As-S nanotubes via reduction of As(V) and S(2)O(3)(2-) under anaerobic conditions. Here we report the draft genome sequence and annotation of strain HN-41. PMID:21868804
We sequenced 16S rRNA genes from the vaginal swab contents of a postmenopausal woman with asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV). Sequences from Atopobium vaginae were the most commonly detected. In a survey of 35 other postmenopausal women, this organism was detected in 44% with BV but not in any subjects deemed healthy. PMID:15071062
A new leaf-sequencing approach has been developed that is designed to reduce the number of required beam segments for step-and-shoot intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). This approach to leaf sequencing is called continuous-intensity-map-optimization (CIMO). Using a simulated annealing algorithm, CIMO seeks to minimize differences between the optimized and sequenced intensity maps. Two distinguishing features of the CIMO algorithm are (1) CIMO does not require that each optimized intensity map be clustered into discrete levels and (2) CIMO is not rule-based but rather simultaneously optimizes both the aperture shapes and weights. To test the CIMO algorithm, ten IMRT patient cases were selected (four head-and-neck, two pancreas, two prostate, one brain, and one pelvis). For each case, the optimized intensity maps were extracted from the Pinnacle"3 treatment planning system. The CIMO algorithm was applied, and the ...
Nucleotide sequence analysis of the Escherichia coli chromosomal DNA inserted in the plasmid pLC33-5 of the Clarke and Carbon library [Clarke & Carbon (1976) Cell 9, 91-99] revealed the existence...Full Text Available
Polymers are required to use in radiation environments as insulation materials. However, they often suffer from tracking failure. There is an increasing demand to evaluate radiation effects on dielectric performance. This paper presents a recurrence plot (RP) approach to analyse surface discharge sequences of gamma-ray irradiated polymer materials based on tracking test. Studying the non-linear characteristics of discharge sequences can assist in understanding the underlying mechanism of the discharge process. Discharge sequences of the test are extended to m-dimensional phase space by using the phase space reconstructed method. As test samples, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polybutylene naphthalate (PBN) were irradiated to 100 kGy and then up to 1 MGy with a dosage rate of 10 kGy h{sup -1} by using a {sup 60}Co gamma source. The tracking tests were carried out according to the test method described in IEC60112. It ...
Fetal nucleated cells within maternal blood represent a potential source of fetal genes obtainable by venipuncture. The authors used monoclonal antibody against the transferrin receptor (TIR) to identify nucleated erythrocytes in the peripheral blood of pregnant women. Candidate fetal cells from 19 pregnancies were isolated by flow sorting at 12 1/2-17 weeks gestation. The DNA in these cells was amplified for a 222-base-pair (bp) sequence present on the short arm of the Y chromosome as proof that the cells were derived from the fetus. The amplified DNA was compared with standardized DNA concentrations. In the case of the female fetus, DNA prepared from samples at 32 weeks of gestation and cord blood at delivery also showed the presence of the Y chromosomal sequence, suggesting Y sequence mosaicism or translocation. In 10/12 cases where the 222-bp band was absent, the fetuses were female. Thus, they were successful in ...
We describe a method for affinity purification of sequence-specific DNA binding proteins that is fast and effective. Complementary chemically synthesized oligodeoxynucleotides that contain a recognition site for a sequence-specific DNA binding protein are annealed and ligated to give oligomers. This DNA is then covalently coupled to Sepharose CL-2B with cyanogen bromide to yield the affinity resin. A partially purified protein fraction is combined with competitor DNA and subsequently passed through the DNA-Sepharose resin. The desired sequence-specific DNA binding protein is purified because it preferentially binds to the recognition sites in the affinity resin rather than to the nonspecific competitor DNA in solution. For example, a protein fraction that is enriched for transcription factor Sp1 can be further purified 500- to 1000-fold by two sequential affinity chromatography steps to give Sp1 of an estimated 90% ...
Region Lombardia has carried out a radon gas monitoring survey on its territory to localize radon prone areas as by law 241/00 enacted. To plan the survey, the Lombardia territory has been divided into two different types according to the morphology as well as the presence of a substratum of rock. The area with hills and mountains has been investigated with more attention compared to the plain because we can assume higher variability in radon concentration distribution due to the geological and morphological characteristics. The territory subdivision was based on the standard grid.. of the techniregional cartography (8 x 5 km). To perform radon indoor concentration measurements about 3600 measuring points were selected. They are located at the ground floor of buildings with the characteristics to ensure the tests are representative and comparable. It has also been taken into account evaluations done with previous surveys in accordance with the ...
This interim technical report presented a summary of results obtained from Pit Lake models developed from different simulation models. The models were used to predict stratification in a hypothetical Pit Lake. Predictions were used to assess the hydrodynamic similarities and differences between the 2 models and to determine if the models would produce similar stratification profiles for the Pit Lakes to previous models. Results showed that the models produced similar results for both temperatures and salinities. The main difference between the RMA10 and CE-QUAL-W2 model used in a previous study was found to be run time. A sensitivity analysis of the RMA10 and CE-QUAL-W2 model predictions was completed to assess the effects of segmentation; time step; lake surface area; lake orientation; and model coefficients or parameters. Results showed that the selected time step and model segmentation were appropriate, as both led to modelling results that were stable. However, while the CE-QUAL-W2 ...
Minimum weight design is an important criterion in aircraft and spacecraft because it allows either an increased pay-load or higher performance. As a result, the use of composite sandwich panels has grown due to their light weight and high rigidity. In order to further increase the efficiency of these structures, designers have used different materials in different shapes in the facesheets and in the core. One of the most recent innovations has been the use of a uniform net of carbon fibre/epoxy as the facesheets. In the present study, the optimal design of sandwich plates with heterogeneous, facesheets is treated. The plate mass is minimized, considering the first natural frequency and certain failure loads as constraints. Weight reduction is obtained by defining a nonuniform distribution of composite material in the facesheets. Initially, the facesheets are assumed to be constructed of composite strips in a regular pattern. During the optimization process, both the widths of the ...
Understanding the link between the Sun and climate is vital in the current incidence of global climate change, and 10Be in natural archives constitutes an excellent tracer for this purpose. As cosmic rays enter the atmosphere, cosmogenic isotopes like 10Be and 14C are formed. Variations in solar activity modulate the amount of incoming cosmic rays, and thereby cosmogenic isotope production. Atmospherically produced 10Be enters natural archives such as sediments and glaciers by wet and dry deposition within about a year of production. 10Be from natural archives therefore provides information on past solar activity, and because these archives also contain climate information, solar activity and climate can be linked. One remaining question is to what degree 10Be in natural archives reflects production, and to what extent the local and regional environment overprints the production signal. To explore this, 10Be was measured at annual resolution over the last 600 years ...
Synthesis of silver nanoparticles based on a polyol process and variable frequency microwave (VFM) was investigated. Comparing to a thermal method, the reaction by VFM radiation was much faster. The effects of silver nitrate concentration, poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) concentration, reaction time and reaction temperature were studied. It was found that the higher concentration of silver nitrate, longer reaction time and higher temperature increased the particle size while the higher concentration of PVP decreased the particle size.
A physical model of free-electron laser (FEL) amplifier with variable-parameter wiggler magnets for one-dimensional numerical simulation is presented and a numerical example is given. The wiggler parameters, efficiency of energy conversion between electron beam and laser field, laser intensity, phase-space distributions and energy spectrum of electrons are computed. The period of synchronous oscillation and saturation value of laser intensity agree with estimated one.
In the case of large capacity steam turbines the conventional nozzle group control is, for mechanical and thermodynamic reasons, diminishing more and more in importance in favour of variable pressure control. A design for constant-pressure operation as an alternative to nozzle group control is described; this demonstrates a series of important advantages compared with the latter. (orig.).
This book contains the Proceedings of the Conference on Climate and Water under the following groupings: Impacts of climatic variability and change-resulting from the changes in hydrological variables; Aquatic environment; Terrestrial environment; Coastal zones and navigation; Urban and industrial water supply and drainage; Energy production; Intropogenic changes of climate and water management problems; Flood potential; Irrigation and land drainage.
This book contains the Proceedings of the Conference on Climate and Water under the following groupings: Impacts of climatic variability and change-resulting from the changes in hydrological variables; Aquatic environment; Terrestrial environment; Coastal zones and navigation; Urban and industrial water supply and drainage; Energy production; Intropogenic changes of climate and water management problems; Flood potential; Irrigation and land drainage.
BackgroundFor hundred of years, people in the region encompassed by the Afghanistan-Iran-Pakistan borders (AIP region) have been challenged by conflict and political and civil instability,...Full Text Available
Second Regional Meeting for Nuclear Energy in Central Europe is an annual meeting of the Nuclear Society of Slovenia. The proceedings contains 75 articles from Slovenia, surrounding countries and countries of the Central and Eastern European Region
Two major developments have given impetus to wider adoption of variable-speed turbine/generators in hydroelectric plants, both essentially environmental: (1) the need for stream-bed stability below river dams, and (2) the need to minimize fish damage. Also, the need to stabilize pumped-storage and generating efficiencies to match extreme changes in head levels has been a driving force. Variable-speed operation in hydro applications is relatively new to North America. In other parts of the world, it has been used in pumped-storage plants since 1971. In the US, and increasing potential exists for variable-speed hydro, considering the 30 pumped-storage plants already in operation and several river plants struggling with high head fluctuations--including four at stations operated by the Bonneville Power Administration. Several modifications to hydro-plant hardware and operating procedures are actively being considered at ...
The effect of fetal distress on the neonatal brain was investigated by neonatal CT brain scan, FHR monitoring and mode of delivery. This study involved 11 cases of full term vertex delivery in which FHR was recorded by fetal direct ECG during the second stage labor. All infants weighed 2,500 g or more. FHR monitoring was evaluated by Hon's classification. Neonatal brain edema was evaluated by cranial CT histgraphic analysis (Nakada's method). 1) Subdural hemorrhage was noted in 6 of 7 infants delivered by vacuum extraction or fundal pressure (Kristeller's method). 2) Intracranial hemorrhage was demonstrated in all of 3 infants with 5-min. Apgar score 7 or less. 3) Two cases with prolonged bradycardia and no variability had intraventricular or intracerebral hemorrhage which resulted in severe central nervous system damage. 4) The degree of neonatal brain edema correlated with 5-min. Apgar score. 5) One case with prolonged bradycardia and ...
The effect of fetal distress on the neonatal brain was investigated by neonatal CT brain scan, FHR monitoring and mode of delivery. This study involved 11 cases of full term vertex delivery in which FHR was recorded by fetal direct ECG during the second stage labor. All infants weighed 2,500 g or more. FHR monitoring was evaluated by Hon's classification. Neonatal brain edema was evaluated by cranial CT histgraphic analysis (Nakada's method). 1) Subdural hemorrhage was noted in 6 of 7 infants delivered by vacuum extraction or fundal pressure (Kristeller's method). 2) Intracranial hemorrhage was demonstrated in all of 3 infants with 5-min. Apgar score 7 or less. 3) Two cases with prolonged bradycardia and no variability had intraventricular or intracerebral hemorrhage which resulted in severe central nervous system damage. 4) The degree of neonatal brain edema correlated with 5-min. Apgar score. 5) One case with prolonged bradycardia and no ...
... Marine transport and oil disposal by boats and Matadi pose threats in the region. When the water ... Marine transport and oil disposal by boats and Matadi pose threats in the region. When the water ... ...
The muscles of three different arthropods, a mite, a fly, and an ostracod, show variations in the length of the A region within a given individual. There is no indication that the observed differences...Full Text Available
... Harbor Township Vineland Voorhees Pediatric Partner Hospitals AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center- City Campus, Atlantic City AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center - ...
dust measured in the Arabian Gulf region during UAE2 and examine the hypothesis that ... [8] UAE2 took place in the southern Arabian Gulf region in August and ...
Nop25 is a putative RNA binding nucleolar protein associated with rRNA transcription. The present study was undertaken to determine the mechanism of Nop25 localization in the nucleolus. Deletion experiments of Nop25 amino acid sequence showed Nop25 to contain a nuclear targeting sequence in the N-terminal and a nucleolar targeting sequence in the C-terminal. By expressing derivative peptides from the C-terminal as GFP-fusion proteins in the cells, a lysine and arginine residue-enriched peptide (KRKHPRRAQDSTKKPPSATRTSKTQRRRR) allowed a GFP-fusion protein to be transported and fully retained in the nucleolus. When the peptide was fused with cMyc epitope and expressed in the cells, a cMyc epitope was then detected in the nucleolus. Nop25 did not localize in the nucleolus by deletion of the peptide from Nop25. Furthermore, deletion of a subdomain (KRKHPRRAQ) in the peptide or amino acid substitution of lysine and arginine ...
Purpose: Measurement of the oscillating CSF flow in the spinal canal (SC) of healthy volunteers and in patients with post-traumatic syringomyelia (PTS) using an optimized MRI protocol as well as to determine whether stenosis induced velocity changes are detectable using MRI. Methods: In 68 healthy volunteers quantitative studies of CSF flow in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions were performed. First, an optimized sequence was developed and tested in 19 volunteers using four different flow-encoding velocities (4, 8, 12, 16 cm/s). Secondly, the optimized sequence was employed in 49 volunteers to measure the different CSF patterns in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spinal canals (CSC, TSC, LSC). Part three of the study, in which patients with PTS are being examined is still underway. We measured the maximum velocity (cm/s), the pixel area (mm{sup 2}), and the stroke volume (ml/s). Using a flow model the velocities ...
As a continuation of its efforts to provide methodologies and tools to Member States to carry out comparative assessment and analyse priority environmental issues related to the development of the electric power sector, the IAEA has completed a new version of the Wien Automatic System Planning (WASP) Package WASP-IV for carrying out power generation expansion planning taking into consideration fuel availability and environmental constraints. This manual constitutes a part of this work and aims to provide users with a guide to use effectively the new version of the model WASP-IV. WASP was originally developed in 1972 by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA to meet the IAEA needs to analyse the economic competitiveness of nuclear power in comparison to other generation expansion alternatives for supplying the future electricity requirements of a country or region. Previous versions of the model were used by Member States in ...
This study focuses the granitoids of center-southern portion of Guyana Shield, southeastern Roraima, Brazil. The region is characterized by two tectonic-stratigraphic domains, named as Central Guyana (GCD) and Uatuma-Anaua (UAD) and located probably in the limits of geochronological provinces (e.g. Ventuari-Tapajos or Tapajos-Parima, Central Amazonian and Maroni-Itacaiunas or Transamazon). The aim this doctoral thesis is to provide new petrological and lithostratigraphic constraints on the granitoid rocks and contribute to a better understanding of the origin and geo dynamic evolution of Guyana Shield. The GCD is only locally studied near to the UAD boundary, and new geological data and two single zircon Pb-evaporation ages in mylonitic biotite granodiorite (1.89 Ga) and foliated hastingsite-biotite granite (1.72 Ga) are presented. These ages of the protholiths contrast with the lithostratigraphic picture in the other areas of Cd (1.96-1.93 Ga). ...
The infection of cultured human cells with baboon endogenous virus (BEV) frequently leads to an association of viral DNA with a specific genetic locus (termed BEVI, for baboon endogenous virus infection) on chromosome 6. Restriction endonuclease digestion of DNA from BEV-infected human cells and their derived somatic cell clones frequently revealed a common cellular DNA sequence in the proximity of one of the junctions between cellular DNA and the integrated virus. We propose that a short cellular DNA sequence, repeated on chromosome 6 and separated by unique DNA sequences, presents a high-affinity target for the integration of BEV in human cells. PMID:6401843
Complex numbers are an intrinsic part of the mathematical formalism of quantum theory and are perhaps its most characteristic feature. In this article, we show that the complex nature of the quantum formalism can be derived directly from the assumption that a pair of real numbers is associated with each sequence of measurement outcomes, with the probability of this sequence being a real-valued function of this number pair. By making use of elementary symmetry conditions, and without assuming that these real number pairs have any other algebraic structure, we show that these pairs must be manipulated according to the rules of complex arithmetic. We demonstrate that these complex numbers combine according to Feynman's sum and product rules, with the modulus-squared yielding the probability of a sequence of outcomes.
The dynamical decoupling (DD) aims at suppressing the decoherence by means of coherent control pulses. Even if devices exist where instantaneous pulses are an adequate approximation, experimentally a finite duration #tau#_p and a bounded amplitude are inevitable. They are the cause of additional errors which can be corrected by designing the pulse shape appropriately. The new pulse has the overall effect of an ideal, instantaneous pulse with the advantage of decoupling the spin (or qubit) from the bath up to the order O(#tau#_p"3). The limitation of the no-go theorem for #pi# pulses is avoided. Hence, the Uhrig sequence (UDD), originally thought for ideal #pi# pulses, works also for bounded control Hamiltonians. Numerical simulations show that concatenated sequences of real pulses are effective against general decoherence.
This paper reports the use of molecular methods to characterize the coprophilous fungal communities (CFC) that inhabit the dung of four species of mammalian herbivores at two sites, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in New Mexico and Wind Cave National Park (WCNP) in South Dakota. Results reveal that CFC from domesticated cattle (Bos taurus) at SNWR, and bison (Bison bison) and black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) at WCNP were diverse but dominated primarily by members within eight taxonomic orders, including the rarely cultured and anaerobic order Neocallimastigales. In addition, 7.7% (138 of 1,788) of the sequences obtained from all dung samples were at least 97% similar to root-associated fungal (RAF) sequences previously described from blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis...
The Lesch-Nyhan (LN) syndrome is a severe X chromosome-linked disease that results from a deficiency of the purine salvage enzyme hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). The mutations leading to the disease are heterogeneous and frequently arise as de novo events. The authors have identified nucleotide alterations in 15 independently arising HPRT-deficiency cases by direct DNA sequencing of in vitro amplified HPRT cDNA. They also demonstrate that the direct DNA sequence analysis can be automated, further simplifying the detection of new mutations at this locus. The mutations include DNA base substitutions, small DNA deletions, a single DNA base insertion, and errors in RNA splicing. The application of these procedures allows DNA diagnosis and carrier identification by the direct detection of the mutant alleles within individual families affected by LN.
By applying the high-resolution sequence stratigraphy, the different sub-divisions of base-level cycles of Qingtujing Formation, Middle Jurassic in Chaoshui Basin are analyzed in detail. 23 short, 3 middle and 1 long base-level cycles are recognized. On the above basis, the corresponding frameworks of high-resolution sequence stratigraphy have been established in northern and southern sub-basins respectively, and the detailed sedimentary facies of MSC_1_-_3 and the special distribution of Qintujing Formation are discussed. It is pointed out that MSC_2 is the most favorable layer for the localization of sandstone-type uranium deposits. (authors)
Given a double complex $X$ there are spectral sequences with the $E_2$ terms being either H$_I$ (H$_{II}(X))$ or H$_{II}($H$_I (X))$. But if $H_I(X)=H_{II}(X)=0$ both spectral sequences have all their terms 0. This can happen even though there is nonzero (co)homology of interest associated with $X$. This is frequently the case when dealing with Tate (co)homology. So in this situation the spectral sequences may not give any information about the (co)homology of interest. In this article we give a different way of constructing homology groups of $X$ when H$_I(X)=$H$_{II}(X)=0$. With this result we give a new and elementary proof of balance of Tate homology and cohomology.
The Jeanne d`Arc Basin is located 320 km offshore in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. It is a Mesozoic failed-rift basin with recoverable oil reserves of about 2 billion barrels. Its huge Hibernia Field will be in production by late 1997. The basin has been reappraised using sequence stratigraphic concepts, and renewed exploration in the area is expected. The Upper Jurassic - Lower Cretaceous sedimentary accumulation in the Basin was formed by the extensional tectonics that created the North Atlantic Ocean. The sedimentary packages were placed in chronostratigraphic order by calibrating the biostratigraphy of the Oxfordian to Maastrichtian section to the detailed ammonite zonation from the North Sea.
Lateral and vertical variabilities in the bulk and mechanical properties of silicic volcanic tuff at the potential nuclear waste repository site in Yucca Mountain, NV have been evaluated. Laboratory measurements have been performed on tuff specimens recovered from boreholes located to support the design of the Exploratory Studies Facility/North Ramp. The data include dry and saturated bulk densities, average grain density, porosity, compressional and shear wave velocities, elastic moduli, and compressional and tensional fracture strengths. Data from eight boreholes aligned in a northwest-southeast direction have been collected under the required quality assurance program. Three boreholes have penetrated the potential repository horizon. The information collected provides for an accurate appraisal of the variability of rock properties in the vicinity of the boreholes. As expected, there is substantial variability in the bulk ...
To assess the variability and systematic differences in polyp measurements on optical colonoscopy and CT colonography. Gastroenterologists measured 51 polyps by visual estimation, forceps comparison and linear probe. CT colonography observers randomly assessed polyp size two-dimensionally (abdominal and intermediate window) and three-dimensionally (manually and semi-automatically). Linear mixed models were used to assess the variability and systematic differences between CT colonography and optical colonoscopy techniques. The variability of forceps and linear probe measurements was comparable and both showed less variability than measurement by visual assessment. Measurements by linear probe were 0.7 mm smaller than measurements by visual assessment or by forceps. The variability of all CT colonography techniques was lower than for measurements by forceps or visual assessment and ...