Distorted food pyramid in kids programmes: a content analysis of television advertising watched in Switzerland.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Simone K; Schulz, Peter J

2011-06-01

In the light of increasing childhood obesity, the role of food advertisements relayed on television (TV) is of high interest. There is evidence of food commercials having an impact on children's food preferences, choices, consumption and obesity. We describe the product categories advertised during kids programmes, the type of food promoted and the characteristics of food commercials targeting children. A content analysis of the commercials aired during the kids programmes of six Swiss, one German and one Italian stations was conducted. The commercials were collected over a 6-month period in 2006. Overall, 1365 h of kids programme were recorded and 11 613 advertisements were found: 3061 commercials (26.4%) for food, 2696 (23.3%) promoting toys, followed by those of media, cleaning products and cosmetics. Regarding the broadcast food advertisements, 55% were for fast food restaurants or candies. The results of the content analysis suggest that food advertising contributes to the obesity problem: every fourth advertisement is for food, half of them for products high in sugar and fat and hardly any for fruit or vegetables. Long-term exposure to this distortion of the pyramid of recommended food should be considered in the discussion of legal restrictions for food advertising targeting children.

A Quarter Century of TV Food Advertising Targeted at Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Gamble, Margaret; Cotugna, Nancy

1999-01-01

Analyzed current trends in television advertising targeting children, comparing results to the historical perspective of the last quarter century. Researchers evaluated 16 hours of Saturday morning children's programming on four network channels for commercial content based on Food Guide Pyramid and USDA Child Nutrition criteria. Overall,…

Food Production & Service Curriculum Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. Coll. of Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Inst.

This curriculum guide deals with planning and implementing a course in food production and service. Addressed in the course are the following topics: using basic food service processes; performing the tasks of a kitchen helper, stock clerk, baker's helper, pastry helper, cook's helper, pantry goods maker, short order cook, cook, dining room…

Road Map to Statewide Implementation of the Pyramid Model. Roadmap to Effective Intervention Practices #6

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlap, Glen; Smith, Barbara J.; Fox, Lise; Blase, Karen

2014-01-01

This document is a guide--a "Road Map"--for implementing widespread use of the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/pyramid_model. htm). It is a road map of systems change. The Road Map is written for statewide systems change, although it could be…

Food Products Procurement, Receiving and Storage Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Kansas Association of School Business Officials, Haysville.

This guide is intended as a resource document for the beginner in food services and food purchasing. The publication is divided topically by (1) purchasing procedures, (2) specifications and evaluation, (3) sources for purchasing food products, (4) storage of food products and inventory procedures, (5) type of food service management, and (6)…

Eat Wheat!

Science.gov (United States)

Idaho Wheat Commission, Boise.

This pamphlet contains puzzles, games, and a recipe designed to teach elementary school pupils about wheat. It includes word games based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid and on foods made from wheat. The Food Guide Pyramid can be cut out of the pamphlet and assembled as a three-dimensional information source and food guide.…

Memory-guided sensory comparisons in the prefrontal cortex: contribution of putative pyramidal cells and interneurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussar, Cory R; Pasternak, Tatiana

2012-02-22

Comparing two stimuli that occur at different times demands the coordination of bottom-up and top-down processes. It has been hypothesized that the dorsolateral prefrontal (PFC) cortex, the likely source of top-down cortical influences, plays a key role in such tasks, contributing to both maintenance and sensory comparisons. We examined this hypothesis by recording from the PFC of monkeys comparing directions of two moving stimuli, S1 and S2, separated by a memory delay. We determined the contribution of the two principal cell types to these processes by classifying neurons into broad-spiking (BS) putative pyramidal cells and narrow-spiking (NS) putative local interneurons. During the delay, BS cells were more likely to exhibit anticipatory modulation and represent the remembered direction. While this representation was transient, appearing at different times in different neurons, it weakened when direction was not task relevant, suggesting its utility. During S2, both putative cell types showed comparison-related activity modulations. These modulations were of two types, each carried by different neurons, which either preferred trials with stimuli moving in the same direction or trials with stimuli of different directions. These comparison effects were strongly correlated with choice, suggesting their role in circuitry underlying decision making. These results provide the first demonstration of distinct contributions made by principal cell types to memory-guided perceptual decisions. During sensory stimulation both cell types represent behaviorally relevant stimulus features contributing to comparison and decision-related activity. However in the absence of sensory stimulation, putative pyramidal cells dominated, carrying information about the elapsed time and the preceding direction.

Standard Guide for Packaging Materials for Foods to Be Irradiated

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2009-01-01

1.1 This guide provides a format to assist producers and users of food packaging materials in selecting materials that have the desirable characteristics for their intended use and comply with applicable standards or government authorizations. It outlines parameters that should be considered when selecting food-contact packaging materials intended for use during irradiation of prepackaged foods and it examines the criteria for fitness for their use. 1.2 This guide identifies known regulations and regulatory frameworks worldwide pertaining to packaging materials for holding foods during irradiation; but it does not address all regulatory issues associated with the selection and use of packaging materials for foods to be irradiated. It is the responsibility of the user of this guide to determine the pertinent regulatory issues in each country where foods are to be irradiated and where irradiated foods are distributed. 1.3 This guide does not address all of the food safety issues associated with the synergisti...

Hunger: The World Food Crisis. An NSTA Environmental Materials Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, Kathryn Mervine

This document provides a materials guide containing annotated bibliographies of literature for teachers and students, a film guide, and a curriculum materials guide for educational sources relating to hunger, food, and the world food crisis. Materials span the range from pre-school to grade 12. (SL)

Consumo alimentar de crianças e adolescentes com disfagia decorrente de estenose de esôfago: avaliação com base na pirâmide alimentar brasileira Food consumption by children and adolescent with dysphagia due to esophageal stricture: assessment based on the Brazilian food guide pyramid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Marciano

2011-04-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar o consumo alimentar de pacientes com disfagia decorrente de estenose de esôfago, comparando a dieta de consistência líquida com a dieta de consistência pastosa e sólida, com base na Pirâmide Alimentar Brasileira. MÉTODOS: Estudo de corte transversal, no qual foram incluídos consecutivamente 31 pacientes com estenose esofágica, sendo 18 (58,0% cáustica, 7 (22,6% pós-cirúrgica, 3 (9,7% péptica e 3 (9,7% sem causa definida. Empregou-se o recordatório de 24 horas; os alimentos foram transformados em porções em função dos oito grupos de alimentos, conforme recomendado por Philippi. Utilizou-se o teste Kruskal-Wallis e Exato de Fisher, fixando em 5% o nível de rejeição da hipótese de nulidade. RESULTADOS: A idade variou entre 15 e 176 meses (mediana, 56 meses, sendo 28 crianças e três adolescentes, e 18 do sexo masculino. Vinte e nove pacientes (93,5% apresentavam disfagia, sendo grave em 34,4% (10/29, moderada em 41,3% (12/29, e leve em 24,1% (7/29. O consumo mediano de porções de cereais, leguminosas, e óleos e gorduras foi menor no grupo com dieta líquida (pOBJECTIVE: This study assessed food intake by patients with dysphagia due to esophageal stricture and compared liquid, soft and solid diets based on the Brazilian Food guide pyramid. METHODS: This cross-sectional study consecutively included 31 patients with esophageal stricture, of which 18 (58.0% were caustic, 7 (22.6% were postoperative, 3 (9.7% were peptic and 3 (9.7% were of unknown etiology. The 24-hour dietary recall was used and the foods were converted into servings according to the eight food groups, as recommended by Philippi. The Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher's Exact Test were used and the significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: The ages of the patients varied from 15 to 176 months (median: 56 months. There were 28 children and 3 adolescents, of which 28 were males. Twenty-nine patients (93.5% presented dysphagia, of which 34.4% (10

Provisions for the pyramid builders: new evidence from the ancient site of Giza

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Anne Murray

2004-08-01

Full Text Available The great pyramids of Giza are famous emblems of ancient Egyptian civilization, but until recently little was known about where and how the pyramid builders lived. The site of their large settlement has now been found, and excavation is revealing its complex layout and providing evidence of the plants and animals on which the builders depended for their food supply.

Provisions for the pyramid builders: new evidence from the ancient site of Giza

OpenAIRE

Mary Anne Murray

2004-01-01

The great pyramids of Giza are famous emblems of ancient Egyptian civilization, but until recently little was known about where and how the pyramid builders lived. The site of their large settlement has now been found, and excavation is revealing its complex layout and providing evidence of the plants and animals on which the builders depended for their food supply.

The Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza. Educational Packet.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagliano, Sara; Rapport, Wendy

This packet of materials was created to accompany the exhibit "The Sphinx and the Pyramids: 100 Years of American Archaeology at Giza" at the Semitic Museum of Harvard University. The lessons and teacher's guide focus on the following: (1) "The Mystery of the Secret Tomb" where students take on the role of an archaeologist by…

High density micro-pyramids with silicon nanowire array for photovoltaic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, Tasmiat; Navarro-Cía, Miguel; Fobelets, Kristel

2014-01-01

We use a metal assisted chemical etch process to fabricate silicon nanowire arrays (SiNWAs) onto a dense periodic array of pyramids that are formed using an alkaline etch masked with an oxide layer. The hybrid micro-nano structure acts as an anti-reflective coating with experimental reflectivity below 1% over the visible and near-infrared spectral regions. This represents an improvement of up to 11 and 14 times compared to the pyramid array and SiNWAs on bulk, respectively. In addition to the experimental work, we optically simulate the hybrid structure using a commercial finite difference time domain package. The results of the optical simulations support our experimental work, illustrating a reduced reflectivity in the hybrid structure. The nanowire array increases the absorbed carrier density within the pyramid by providing a guided transition of the refractive index along the light path from air into the silicon. Furthermore, electrical simulations which take into account surface and Auger recombination show an efficiency increase for the hybrid structure of 56% over bulk, 11% over pyramid array and 8.5% over SiNWAs. (paper)

Applying a food processing-based classification system to a food guide: a qualitative analysis of the Brazilian experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Vanessa Fernandes; Moubarac, Jean-Claude; Medeiros, Kharla Janinny; Jaime, Patricia Constante

2018-01-01

The present paper aimed to identify the stakeholders, as well as their arguments and recommendations, in the debate on the application of a food processing-based classification system to the new Brazilian Food Guide. Qualitative approach; an analysis was made of documents resulting from the consultation conducted for the development of the new Brazilian Food Guide, which uses the NOVA classification for its dietary recommendations. A thematic matrix was constructed and the resulting themes represented the main points for discussion raised during the consultation. Brazil. Actors from academia, government and associations/unions/professional bodies/organizations related to the area of nutrition and food security; non-profit institutions linked to consumer interests and civil society organizations; organizations, associations and food unions linked to the food industry; and individuals. Four themes were identified: (i) conflicting paradigms; (ii) different perceptions about the role and need of individuals; (iii) we want more from the new food guide; and (iv) a sustainable guide. There was extensive participation from different sectors of society. The debate generated by the consultation revealed two main conflicting opinions: a view aligned with the interests of the food industry and a view of healthy eating which serves the interests of the population. The first group was against the adoption of a food processing-based classification system in a public policy such as the new Brazilian Food Guide. The second group, although mostly agreeing with the new food guide, argued that it failed to address some important issues related to the food and nutrition agenda in Brazil.

Community Living Skills Guide: Cooking/Food Preparation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nickovich, Marti; Kreps, Alice Roelofs

One of twenty course guides in the Community Living Skills Guide for the College for Living series, this document provides guidelines and workbook activities for the course, Cooking/Food Preparation. The series of courses for developmentally disabled adults is intended to supplement residential programs and to aid in orienting institutionalized…

Food packaging and shelf life: a practical guide

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Robertson, Gordon L

2010-01-01

.... Food Packaging and Shelf Life: A Practical Guide provides package developers with the information they need to specify just the right amount of protective packaging to maintain food quality and maximize shelf life...

Change of trade balance analysis in agricultural and food products with using of index pyramidal system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marek Záboj

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with analysis of the trade balance in Czech Republic in the field of agricultural and food products. The main goal is to determine the influence of analytical indicators; in this case these are changes of quantity and average unit price of export and import; over the synthetic indicator – change of trade balance. Next step of this analysis is to calculate the portions of change of inputs volume and change of total productivity of inputs over the change of export caused by change of quantity. To fulfill this aim it is suitable to use methods for pyramidal decomposition of indicators – chain substitution, logarithmic and functional methods. These methods are compared and the results are interpreted.

Image-guided preoperative prediction of pyramidal tract side effect in deep brain stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Baumgarten, C.; Zhao, Y.; Sauleau, P.; Malrain, C.; Jannin, P.; Haegelen, C.

2016-03-01

Deep brain stimulation of the medial globus pallidus is a surgical procedure for treating patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. Its therapeutic effect may be limited by the presence of pyramidal tract side effect (PTSE). PTSE is a contraction time-locked to the stimulation when the current spreading reaches the motor fibers of the pyramidal tract within the internal capsule. The lack of side-effect predictive model leads the neurologist to secure an optimal electrode placement by iterating clinical testing on an awake patient during the surgical procedure. The objective of the study was to propose a preoperative predictive model of PTSE. A machine learning based method called PyMAN (for Pyramidal tract side effect Model based on Artificial Neural network) that accounted for the current of the stimulation, the 3D electrode coordinates and the angle of the trajectory, was designed to predict the occurrence of PTSE. Ten patients implanted in the medial globus pallidus have been tested by a clinician to create a labeled dataset of the stimulation parameters that trigger PTSE. The kappa index value between the data predicted by PyMAN and the labeled data was .78. Further evaluation studies are desirable to confirm whether PyMAN could be a reliable tool for assisting the surgeon to prevent PTSE during the preoperative planning.

Commercial Foods and Culinary Arts. Florida Vocational Program Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

University of South Florida, Tampa. Dept. of Adult and Vocational Education.

This guide identifies considerations in the organization, operation, and evaluation of secondary and postsecondary vocational education programs. It contains both a vocational program guide and Career Merit Achievement Plan (Career MAP) for commercial foods and culinary arts. The guide contains the following sections: occupational description;…

Thermoluminescence of pyramid stones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomaa, M.A.; Eid, A.M.

1982-01-01

It is the aim of the present study to investigate some thermoluminescence properties of pyramid stones. Using a few grammes of pyramid stones from Pyramids I and II, the TL glow peaks were observed at 250 and 310 0 C, respectively. The TL glow peaks of samples annealed at 600 0 C, then exposed to 60 Co γ-rays were observed at 120, 190 and 310 0 C, respectively. The accumulated dose of natural samples is estimated to be around 310 Gray (31 krad). By assuming an annual dose is 1 mGy, the estimated age of pyramid stones is 0.31 M year. (author)

Thermoluminescence of pyramid stones

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomaa, M A; Eid, A M [Atomic Energy Establishment, Cairo (Egypt)

1982-01-01

It is the aim of the present study to investigate some thermoluminescence properties of pyramid stones. Using a few grammes of pyramid stones from Pyramids I and II, the TL glow peaks were observed at 250 and 310/sup 0/C, respectively. The TL glow peaks of samples annealed at 600/sup 0/C, then exposed to /sup 60/Co ..gamma..-rays were observed at 120, 190 and 310/sup 0/C, respectively. The accumulated dose of natural samples is estimated to be around 310 Gray (31 krad). By assuming an annual dose is 1 mGy, the estimated age of pyramid stones is 0.31 M year.

[Analysis of TV food advertising in the context of recommendations by the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population].

Science.gov (United States)

Maia, Emanuella Gomes; Costa, Bruna Vieira de Lima; Coelho, Francielly de Souza; Guimarães, Julia Soares; Fortaleza, Rafaela Garcia; Claro, Rafael Moreira

2017-05-18

This study aimed to analyze TV food advertising in Brazil based on the recommendations of the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population, 2014. Programming from the four most popular TV channels was recorded on two non-consecutive days in January 2014. The commercials were categorized in (i) foods and beverages, (ii) restaurants, and (iii) non-food services, goods, and products, with those in the first category subdivided according to recommendations in the food guide. The commercials' categories were described by means of their frequency (and 95% confidence interval), for all the records and according to the day of the week. Of the 2,732 commercials that were identified, food and beverage advertising was the third largest category, with 10.2% of the total. In this category, ultra-processed foods accounted for 60.7% of the commercials, while fresh or minimally processed foods at around 7%. The findings run counter to the guide's recommendations, reinforcing the importance of measures to regulate food advertising in Brazil.

The Pyramidal Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lysgaard, Jens

This paper introduces the Pyramidal Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (PCVRP) as a restricted version of the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). In the PCVRP each route is required to be pyramidal in a sense generalized from the Pyramidal Traveling Salesman Problem (PTSP). A pyramidal...

The pyramidal capacitated vehicle routing problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lysgaard, Jens

2010-01-01

This paper introduces the pyramidal capacitated vehicle routing problem (PCVRP) as a restricted version of the capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP). In the PCVRP each route is required to be pyramidal in a sense generalized from the pyramidal traveling salesman problem (PTSP). A pyramidal...

Are we really "eating well with Canada's food guide"?

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Joyce J; Mudryj, Adriana N

2018-05-22

Canada's Food Guide (CFG) has been an important health promotion tool for over seventy years. The most recent version was released in 2007. This study examined Canadians' exposure to, knowledge, and use of CFG. Data came from the Canadian Community Health Survey's Rapid Response on the Awareness and Usage of Canada's Food Guide, which included 10,098 Canadians ≥12 y in all ten provinces. Questions were asked on familiarity, awareness and usage of CFG and Canada's Food Guide for First Nations, Inuit and Métis, as well as healthy eating principles and behaviours. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to observe counts and differences among key demographic variables. More than 80% of Canadians have heard of CFG however significantly more women than men were aware of the Guide. Most knew that 'Vegetables and Fruit' had the most recommended servings and that dark green vegetables should be consumed daily; however fewer than half knew this of orange vegetables. Just under one third had a copy in their homes, and the most common sources for obtaining CFG were child's school and health professional/trainer. Those who consulted CFG recently were more likely to consume the recommended servings of vegetables and fruits, and to state that their eating habits were 'much better' than one year previously. CFG has "brand recognition" among Canadians however there are gaps between awareness and eating behaviours. The new Food Guide could consider additional dissemination tools including social media, videos and workbooks tailored to various age groups, demographic groups and settings.

Top-down cellular pyramids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, A Y; Rosenfeld, A

1983-10-01

A cellular pyramid is an exponentially tapering stack of arrays of processors (cells), where each cell is connected to its neighbors (siblings) on its own level, to a parent on the level above, and to its children on the level below. It is shown that in some situations, if information flows top-down only, from fathers to sons, then a cellular pyramid may be no faster than a one-level cellular array; but it may be possible to use simpler cells in the pyramid case. 23 references.

Commercial Foods and Culinary Arts. Student Learning Guides.

Science.gov (United States)

Ridge Vocational-Technical Center, Winter Haven, FL.

These 13 learning guides are self-instructional packets for 13 tasks identified as essential for performance on an entry-level job in commercial foods and culinary arts. Each guide is based on a terminal performance objective (task) and 1-4 enabling objectives. For each enabling objective, some or all of these materials may be presented: learning…

Image-guided preoperative prediction of pyramidal tract side effect in deep brain stimulation: proof of concept and application to the pyramidal tract side effect induced by pallidal stimulation

OpenAIRE

Baumgarten, Clement; Zhao, Yulong; Sauleau, Paul; Malrain, Cecile; Jannin, Pierre; Haegelen, Claire

2016-01-01

Deep brain stimulation of the medial globus pallidus (GPm) is a surgical procedure for treating patients suffering from Parkinson���s disease. Its therapeutic effect may be limited by the presence of pyramidal tract side effect (PTSE). PTSE is a contraction time-locked to the stimulation when the current spreading reaches the motor fibers of the pyramidal tract within the internal capsule. The objective of the study was to propose a preoperative predictive model of PTSE. A machine learning-ba...

Urban public health: is there a pyramid?

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Meirong; Chen, Bin; Yang, Zhifeng; Cai, Yanpeng; Wang, Jiao

2013-01-28

Early ecologists identified a pyramidal trophic structure in terms of number, biomass and energy transfer. In 1943, the psychologist Maslow put forward a pyramid model to describe layers of human needs. It is indicated that the pyramid principle is universally applicable in natural, humanistic and social disciplines. Here, we report that a pyramid structure also exists in urban public health (UPH). Based on 18 indicators, the UPH states of four cities (Beijing, Tokyo, New York, and London) are compared from the point of view of five aspects, namely physical health, living conditions, social security, environmental quality, and education and culture. A pyramid structure was found in each city when focusing on 2000-2009 data. The pyramid of Beijing is relatively similar to that of Tokyo, and the pyramids of New York and London are similar to each other. A general development trend in UPH is proposed and represented by different pyramid modes. As a basic conjecture, the UPH pyramid model can be verified and developed with data of more cities over a longer period, and be used to promote healthy urban development.

Urban Public Health: Is There a Pyramid?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meirong Su

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Early ecologists identified a pyramidal trophic structure in terms of number, biomass and energy transfer. In 1943, the psychologist Maslow put forward a pyramid model to describe layers of human needs. It is indicated that the pyramid principle is universally applicable in natural, humanistic and social disciplines. Here, we report that a pyramid structure also exists in urban public health (UPH. Based on 18 indicators, the UPH states of four cities (Beijing, Tokyo, New York, and London are compared from the point of view of five aspects, namely physical health, living conditions, social security, environmental quality, and education and culture. A pyramid structure was found in each city when focusing on 2000–2009 data. The pyramid of Beijing is relatively similar to that of Tokyo, and the pyramids of New York and London are similar to each other. A general development trend in UPH is proposed and represented by different pyramid modes. As a basic conjecture, the UPH pyramid model can be verified and developed with data of more cities over a longer period, and be used to promote healthy urban development.

Can social instability, food deprivation and food inequality accelerate neuronal aging?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Moradi

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Based on both animal and human studies, inequality in food intake and social instability has adverse effects on the health of individuals and the community. However, it is not known whether social instability, food deprivation and food inequality affect neuronal death and premature aging in young animals. To address this question, the effects of these adverse situations, histopathological changes in hippocampal pyramidal cells and aging process were investigated. and instability and caused significant changes in lipofuscin accumulation in hippocampal pyramidal cells in comparison to the control group (p<0.005. The results also showed a significant increase in the ratio of apoptotic to normal cells in all of the stressed groups compared to the control group (p<0.05. Moreover, application of the social inequality and stresses alone or together modulated levels of cortisol in the experimental group. These findings suggest that food deprivation, inequality and social instability enhance the susceptibility of hippocampal pyramidal cells to apoptosis and premature aging induced by lipofuscin accumulation. Forty eight New Zeeland white male rabbits were divided into six groups and all of them were housed in similar conditions, with 2 animals per cage in a temperature-controlled colony room under light–dark cycle. All experimental animals were fed on standard rabbit commercial pellets and different social situations such as food deprivation, inequality in food intake, and unstable social status were applied to experimental groups during eight weeks. Afterward, lipofuscin accumulation and apoptosis, as main markers of aging, were compared to the control group by Long Ziehl Nelseen staining and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL reaction assay to reveal the rate of lipofuscin pigment accumulation and TUNEL-reactive apoptotic bodies in the hippocampal pyramidal cells. Serum cortisol level was also measured. Inequality

INSTABILITY MODELING OF FINANCIAL PYRAMIDS

OpenAIRE

Girdzijauskas, Stasys; Moskaliova, Vera

2005-01-01

The financial structures that make use of money flow for “easy money” or cheating purpose are called financial pyramids. Recently financial pyramids intensively penetrates IT area. It is rather suitable way of the fraud. Money flow modeling and activity analysis of such financial systems allows identifying financial pyramids and taking necessary means of precautions. In the other hand even investing companies that function normally when market conditions changes (e.g. interest rates) eventual...

Pyramid Comet Sampler, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Based on the sampling requirements, we propose an Inverted Pyramid sampling system. Each face of the pyramid includes a cutting blade which is independently actuated...

Guide for dosimetry in radiation research on food and agricultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

This guide covers the minimum requirements for dosimetry and absorbed-dose validation needed to conduct research on the irradiation of food and agricultural products. Such research includes establishment of the quantitative relationship between the absorbed dose and the relevant effects in these products. This guide also describes the overall need for dosimetry in such research, and in reporting of the results. This guide is intended for use by research scientists in the food and agricultural communities, and not just scientists conducting irradiation research. It, therefore, includes more tutorial information than most other ASTM and ISO/ASTM dosimetry standards for radiation processing. This guide is in no way intended to limit the flexibility of the experimenter in the experimental design. However, the radiation source and experimental set up should be chosen such that the results of the experiment will be beneficial and understandable to other scientists, regulatory agencies, and the food and agricultural communities. The effects produced by ionizing radiation in biological systems depend on a large number of factors which may be physical, physiological, or chemical. Although not treated in detail in this guide, quantitative data of environmental factors that may affect the absorbed-dose response of dosimeters, such as temperature and moisture content in the food or agricultural products should be reported. The overall uncertainty in the absorbed-dose measurement and the inherent absorbed-dose range within the specimen should be taken into account in the design of an experiment. The guide covers research conducted using the following types of ionizing radiation: gamma rays, bremsstrahlung X-rays, and electron beams. This guide does not include other aspects of radiation processing research, such as planning of the experimental design. Dosimetry must be considered as an integral part of the experimental design. The guide does not include dosimetry for irradiator

Food Production, Management, and Services: Curriculum Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Mumme, Debbie; Koukel, Sonja

This curriculum guide provides occupationally specific training designed to develop knowledge and skills for employment in the area of food production, management, and services. Contents include the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEAKS); sample course outlines; instructional strategies organized topically by chapters, each containing a…

Pyramid solar micro-grid

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Bin-Juine; Hsu, Po-Chien; Wang, Yi-Hung; Tang, Tzu-Chiao; Wang, Jia-Wei; Dong, Xin-Hong; Hsu, Hsin-Yi; Li, Kang; Lee, Kung-Yen

2018-03-01

A novel pyramid solar micro-grid is proposed in the present study. All the members within the micro-grid can mutually share excess solar PV power each other through a binary-connection hierarchy. The test results of a 2+2 pyramid solar micro-grid consisting of 4 individual solar PV systems for self-consumption are reported.

Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma in a thyroid pyramidal lobe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Tae Kwan; Kim, Dong Wook; Park, Ha Kyoung; Jung, Soo Jin [Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2014-12-15

We report an extremely rare case of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) in the thyroid pyramidal lobe (TPL). A 48-year-old woman underwent ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for a small thyroid nodule in the right lobe in local clinic, and it revealed a malignant cytology. On preoperative ultrasonography for tumor staging in our hospital, another small suspiciously malignant hypoechoic nodule was detected in the left TPL. Total thyroidectomy and central nodal dissection were performed. Histopathology confirmed PTMCs in the left TPL and both thyroid lobes. Ultrasonography for TPL should be required for complete evaluation of possible multifocality of thyroid malignancy.

Food Processing Curriculum Material and Resource Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Louisiana State Dept. of Education, Baton Rouge.

Intended for secondary vocational agriculture teachers, this curriculum guide contains a course outline and a resource manual for a seven-unit food processing course on meats. Within the course outline, units are divided into separate lessons. Materials provided for each lesson include preparation for instruction (student objectives, review of…

Climbing the Needs Pyramids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. C. Lomas

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Abraham Maslow’s theory of human adult motivation is often represented by a pyramid image showing two proposals: First, the five needs stages in emergent order of hierarchical ascension and second, a percentage of the adult population suggested to occupy each needs tier. Specifically, Maslow proposed that adults would be motivated to satisfy their unfilled needs until they reached the hierarchy’s apex and achieved self-transcendence. Yet how adults can purposefully ascend Maslow’s pyramid through satisfying unfilled needs remains elusive. This brief article challenges this on the theory’s 70th anniversary by presenting a new image of the needs hierarchy, based on ecological design principles to support adults’ purposeful endeavors to climb the needs pyramid.

Investigation of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Science.gov (United States)

Peace, Nigel; And Others

1997-01-01

Describes an activity in which geometry and trigonometry are studied using pyramids. Identical model pyramids are constructed from card stock, along with pyramids of different proportions and cuboids to use as controls. Also includes an investigation of some apparently non-scientific claims. (DDR)

Imaging a Pyramid Interior by ERT-3D Methods, Preliminar Results at El Castillo Pyramid, Chichen Itza, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Chavez, R. E.; Tejero, A.; Cifuentes, G.; HernaNdez-Quintero, J. E.; Garcia-Serrano, A.

2016-12-01

The well known Pyramid El Castillo, located in the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, in the Yucatan Peninsula is the emblematic structure of this archaeological site and elected as one of the man-made world seven wonders. The archaeological team that restored this structure during the 1920's discovered a smaller pyramid inside this prehispanic body, which corresponded to an older Mayan period. The possibility of finding other constructive periods inside this edifice should be important to reconstruct the Mayan history. Previous geophysical studies carried out by us in 2014, employed novel Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) arrays that surrounded the pyramids surface with flat electrodes to obtain a 3D image of the subsoil. At that time, a low resistivity body was found beneath the pyramid, which was associated to a sinkhole filled with sweet water. Employing the same technique, a series of flat electrodes were deployed on each body conforming the pyramid, a total of 10 bodies were covered, employing a different number of electrodes trying to keep the distance between each electrode constant ( 3 m). Each body was treated as a single observation cube, where the apparent resistivity data measured was later inverted. A precise topographic control for each electrode was realized and introduced in the inversion process. 45,000 observation points within the pyramid were obtained. Initially, each working cube corresponding to a given pyramid's body was inverted. A composition of each inversion was assembled to form the resistivity distribution within the pyramid using a smooth interpolation method. A high resistivity anomaly was found towards the northern portion of the model that could be associated to the main stairway of the inner pyramid. The cavity detected during the 2014 survey was observed as a low resistivity anomaly found at the pyramid's base. At the moment, we are assembling the full observed resistivity data as a single file to compute an integrated

Foods: A Teacher's Guide to an Employment Orientation Course for Special Needs Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Grubb, Francine

This teacher's guide on foods is one of a series of six designed for the employment orientation program for special needs students at the Gloucester County Vocational-Technical School in Sewell, New Jersey. The series includes laundry, hospitality, sewing, basic business, foods, and beauty culture. Each guide contains lesson plans consisting of…

Guided imagery targeting exercise, food cravings, and stress: a multi-modal randomized feasibility trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Giacobbi, Peter; Long, Dustin; Nolan, Richard; Shawley, Samantha; Johnson, Kelsey; Misra, Ranjita

2018-02-01

The purpose of this randomized wait-list controlled trial was to test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a guided imagery based multi-behavior intervention intended to address psychological stress, food cravings, and physical activity. Personalized guided imagery scripts were created and participants were instructed to practice guided imagery every day for 35 consecutive days. Of 48 women who enrolled, we report comparisons between 16 randomized to treatment with 19 who were wait-listed (overall M age  = 45.50; M bodymassindex  = 31.43). Study completers reported 89% compliance with practicing guided imagery during the intervention. A significant time-by-group interaction was observed with reductions in food cravings and increases in physical activity compared with wait-list controls. Telephone-based multi-behavior interventions that utilize guided imagery to address food cravings and exercise behavior appear to be acceptable for overweight and obese women. Future phone-based guided imagery research testing this skill to address multiple health behaviors is justified.

Virtual Reality Tumor Resection: The Force Pyramid Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawaya, Robin; Bugdadi, Abdulgadir; Azarnoush, Hamed; Winkler-Schwartz, Alexander; Alotaibi, Fahad E; Bajunaid, Khalid; AlZhrani, Gmaan A; Alsideiri, Ghusn; Sabbagh, Abdulrahman J; Del Maestro, Rolando F

2017-09-05

The force pyramid is a novel visual representation allowing spatial delineation of instrument force application during surgical procedures. In this study, the force pyramid concept is employed to create and quantify dominant hand, nondominant hand, and bimanual force pyramids during resection of virtual reality brain tumors. To address 4 questions: Do ergonomics and handedness influence force pyramid structure? What are the differences between dominant and nondominant force pyramids? What is the spatial distribution of forces applied in specific tumor quadrants? What differentiates "expert" and "novice" groups regarding their force pyramids? Using a simulated aspirator in the dominant hand and a simulated sucker in the nondominant hand, 6 neurosurgeons and 14 residents resected 8 different tumors using the CAE NeuroVR virtual reality neurosurgical simulation platform (CAE Healthcare, Montréal, Québec and the National Research Council Canada, Boucherville, Québec). Position and force data were used to create force pyramids and quantify tumor quadrant force distribution. Force distribution quantification demonstrates the critical role that handedness and ergonomics play on psychomotor performance during simulated brain tumor resections. Neurosurgeons concentrate their dominant hand forces in a defined crescent in the lower right tumor quadrant. Nondominant force pyramids showed a central peak force application in all groups. Bimanual force pyramids outlined the combined impact of each hand. Distinct force pyramid patterns were seen when tumor stiffness, border complexity, and color were altered. Force pyramids allow delineation of specific tumor regions requiring greater psychomotor ability to resect. This information can focus and improve resident technical skills training. Copyright © 2017 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons

Eating well with Canada's food guide? Authoritative knowledge about food and health among newcomer mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, L C; Mah, C L; Sellen, D W

2015-08-01

Current versions of Canada's Food Guide (CFG) aim to inform a culturally diverse population, but it is not known how intended audiences from different cultural and linguistic groups within Canada's diverse population understand and apply its messages. We analyzed data from qualitative interviews conducted with 32 newcomer mothers of children aged 1-5 years to explore how conceptions of food and health change with migration to Canada among Spanish-speaking Latin American and Tamil Speaking Sri Lankan newcomers and may influence the appropriateness and applicability of Canada's Food Guide (CFG) as a nutrition education tool. We applied Jordan's model of authoritative knowledge to identify different forms of newcomer maternal nutrition knowledge, how they influence child feeding practices, and shifts causing some forms of knowledge to be devalued in favor of others. Awareness of CFG differed between groups, with all Latin American and only half of Tamil participants familiar with it. Three distinct, overlapping ways of knowing about the relationship between food and health are identified within both groups of mothers: "natural" foods as healthy; influence of foods on illness susceptibility, and the nutritional components of food. CFG was found to be limited in its representations of recommended foods and its exclusive utilization of biomedical concepts of nutrition. Development of new, culturally competent versions of CFG that depict a variety of ethno-culturally meaningful diets and encompass both non-biomedical conceptualizations of food and health has the potential to enhance effective knowledge translation of CFG's key messages to an increasingly cosmopolitan Canadian population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma in a thyroid pyramidal lobe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae Kwun Ha

2014-10-01

Full Text Available

We report an extremely rare case of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC in the thyroid Epub ahead of print pyramidal lobe (TPL. A 48-year-old woman underwent ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for a small thyroid nodule in the right lobe in local clinic, and it revealed a malignant cytology. On preoperative ultrasonography for tumor staging in our hospital, another small suspiciously malignant hypoechoic nodule was detected in the left TPL. Total thyroidectomy and central nodal dissection were performed. Histopathology confirmed PTMCs in the left TPL and both thyroid lobes. Ultrasonography for TPL should be required for complete evaluation of possible multifocality of thyroid malignancy.

PYRAMID LAKE RENEWEABLE ENERGY PLAN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

HIGH DESERT GEOCULTURE, LLC

2009-06-06

The Pyramid Lake Renewable Energy Plan covers these areas: energy potential (primarily focusing on geothermal resource potential, but also more generally addressing wind energy potential); renewable energy market potential; transmission system development; geothermal direct use potential; and business structures to accomplish the development objectives of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

The relativistic titls of Giza pyramids' entrance-passages

Science.gov (United States)

Aboulfotouh, H.

The tilts of Giza pyramids' entrance-passages have never been considered as if they were the result of relativistic mathematical equations, and never been thought to encode the Earth's obliquity parameters. This paper presents an attempt to retrieve the method of establishing the equations that the pyramids' designer used to quantify the entrance-passages' tilts of these architectonic masterpieces. It proves that the pyramids' designer was able to include the geographic, astronomical and time parameters in one relativistic equation, encoding the date of the design of the Giza pyramids in the tilt of the entrance passage of the great pyramid.

Sports Nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Missouri State Dept. of Health, Jefferson City.

This guide deals with various aspects of sports and nutrition. Twelve chapters are included: (1) "Sports and Nutrition"; (2) "Eat to Compete"; (3) "Fit Folks Need Fit Food"; (4) "The Food Guide Pyramid"; (5) "Fat Finder's Guide"; (6) "Pre- and Post-Event Meals"; (7) "Tips for the…

Commercial Foods and Culinary Arts. Student Learning Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Palm Beach County Board of Public Instruction, West Palm Beach, FL.

This student learning guide contains one module for completing a course in commercial foods and culinary arts. It is designed especially for use in secondary schools in Palm Beach County, Florida. The module covers one task, and consists of a purpose, performance objective, enabling objectives, learning activities keyed to resources, information…

Egyptian pyramid or Aztec pyramid: How should we describe the industrial architecture of automotive supply chains in Europe?

OpenAIRE

Vincent FRIGANT (GREThA, CNRS, UMR 5113)

2011-01-01

This article questions a terminology that is frequently used to describe automotive supply chains’ industrial architecture. Since vertical disintegration became a trend in the 1980s, this architecture has been represented using the image of the pyramid. Implicitly, authors have had the image of an Egyptian pyramid in mind, one that is pointed at the top and broad at the base. We will demonstrate that even if pyramids are an appropriate image, in the auto industry the Aztec variant, with its s...

On the astronomical orientation of the IV dynasty Egyptian pyramids and the dating of the second Giza pyramid

OpenAIRE

Magli, Giulio

2003-01-01

The data on the astronomical orientation of the IV dynasty Egyptian pyramids are re-analyzed and it is shown that such data suggest an inverse chronology between the `first` and the `second` Giza pyramid.

77 FR 18830 - Small Entity Compliance Guide: Further Amendments to General Regulations of the Food and Drug...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-28

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0121] Small Entity Compliance Guide: Further Amendments to General Regulations of the Food and Drug... Food and Drug Administration to Incorporate Tobacco Products--Small Entity Compliance Guide'' to the...

Housing under the pyramid reduces susceptibility of hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons to prenatal stress in the developing rat offspring.

Science.gov (United States)

Murthy, Krishna Dilip; George, Mitchel Constance; Ramasamy, Perumal; Mustapha, Zainal Arifin

2013-12-01

Mother-offspring interaction begins before birth. The foetus is particularly vulnerable to environmental insults and stress. The body responds by releasing excess of the stress hormone cortisol, which acts on glucocorticoid receptors. Hippocampus in the brain is rich in glucocorticoid receptors and therefore susceptible to stress. The stress effects are reduced when the animals are placed under a model wooden pyramid. The present study was to first explore the effects of prenatal restraint-stress on the plasma corticosterone levels and the dendritic arborisation of CA3 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus of the offspring. Further, to test whether the pyramid environment would alter these effects, as housing under a pyramid is known to reduce the stress effects, pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were restrained for 9 h per day from gestation day 7 until parturition in a wire-mesh restrainer. Plasma corticosterone levels were found to be significantly increased. In addition, there was a significant reduction in the apical and the basal total dendritic branching points and intersections of the CA3 hippocampal pyramidal neurons. The results thus suggest that, housing in the pyramid dramatically reduces prenatal stress effects in rats.

A study on radiation energy of Pyramidal shape 1- Effect of housing within a Pyramid model on cancer growth and some blood parameters of mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Abiad, N.M.; Lotfi, S.A.; El Hadary, A.A.; Nagi, G.A.

2010-01-01

A study of solid tumor growth retardation by impaling the pyramid energy radiation in a pyramidal model shape was carried out. The great Pyramid of Egypt has evoked a keen interest since 1920, both for its architectural, marvel and mystical significance. Its strange thing (via shaping of razers, longer shelf life of vegetables, alerted states of consciousnesses, sleeping in hum and, wound healing). Power energy radiations are said to occur within a pyramid constructed in the exact geometric properties of Giza pyramid. The effect of housing in two different pyramidal shapes on cancer growth and some blood physiological indices in mice infected with cancer were observed. The results obtained that housing in pyramid shape cage significantly reduced the development of cancer, significant increase in liver enzymes activity and α feto proteins, however, no effect was observed in levels of thyroid hormones concentration when compared with their matched value in ordinary 2 inverted pyramid cages. It could be concluded that the radiation energy of pyramidal shapes might improve certain biochemical and physiological indices leading to tumor growth retardation

Exciton binding energy in a pyramidal quantum dot

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

A ANITHA

2018-03-27

Mar 27, 2018 ... screening function on exciton binding energy in a pyramid-shaped quantum dot of ... tures may generate unique properties and they show .... where Ee is the ground-state energy of the electron in ... Figure 1. The geometry of the pyramidal quantum dot. base and H is the height of the pyramid which is taken.

Imaging the Cheops Pyramid

CERN Document Server

Bui, H D

2012-01-01

In this book Egyptian Archeology  and Mathematics meet. The author is an expert in theories and applications in Solid Mechanics and Inverse Problems, a former professor at Ecole Polytechnique and now works with Electricité de France on maintenance operations on nuclear power plants. In the Autumn of 1986, after the end of the operation on the King’s chamber conducted under the Technological and Scientific Sponsorship of EDF, to locate a cavity, he was called to solve a mathematical inverse problem, to find the unknown tomb of the King and the density structure of the whole pyramid based on measurements of microgravity made inside and outside of the pyramid. This book recounts the various search operations on the pyramid of Cheops made at the request of the Egyptian and French authorities in 1986-1987. After the premature end of the Cheops operation in the Autumn of 1986, following the fiasco of unsuccessful drillings in the area suspected by both architects G. Dormion and J.P. Goidin and microgravity aus...

Sonographic findings in primary diseases of renal pyramids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, B.K.

1987-01-01

Primary pathologic processes involving the renal pyramids such as papillary necrosis, drug-induced necrosis or calcinosis, cysts, neoplasms, and medullary nephrocalcinosis are rare. Thirty-four patients with primary renal pyramid diseases underwent US evaluation for altered morphology; a 5-MHz transducer was used. In 20 patients site-specific changes in the pyramid (e.g., papillary necrosis at the apex, small cysts at the base in medullary cystic disease, tubular calcification in MSK, corticomedullary hyperechogenicity in oxalosis) were noted on US. Sonographic delineation of the site and pattern of pathologic changes in the renal pyramid may help to identify specific diseases

The Formation and Characterization of GaN Hexagonal Pyramids

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shi-Ying; Xiu, Xiang-Qian; Lin, Zeng-Qin; Hua, Xue-Mei; Xie, Zi-Li; Zhang, Rong; Zheng, You-Dou

2013-05-01

GaN with hexagonal pyramids is fabricated using the photo-assisted electroless chemical etching method. Defective areas of the GaN substrate are selectively etched in a mixed solution of KOH and K2S2O8 under ultraviolet illumination, producing submicron-sized pyramids. Hexagonal pyramids on the etched GaN with well-defined {101¯1¯} facets and very sharp tips are formed. High-resolution x-ray diffraction shows that etched GaN with pyramids has a higher crystal quality, and micro-Raman spectra reveal a tensile stress relaxation in GaN with pyramids compared with normal GaN. The cathodoluminescence intensity of GaN after etching is significantly increased by three times, which is attributed to the reduction in the internal reflection, high-quality GaN with pyramids and the Bragg effect.

Nutrient use efficiency in the food chain of China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ma, L.

2014-01-01

Key words: Nitrogen, phosphorus, food chain, food pyramid, food system, food security, food cost, environmental impacts, nutrient cycling, nutrient management

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer applications have greatly contributed to the increased global food production

77 FR 74582 - Small Entity Compliance Guide: What You Need To Know About Registration of Food Facilities...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-17

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 1 [Docket No FDA-2012-D-1003] Small Entity Compliance Guide: What You Need To Know About Registration of Food Facilities... ``What You Need To Know About Registration of Food Facilities--Small Entity Compliance Guide.'' FDA has...

Relevance of the pyramidal syndrome in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Álvarez, N; Díez, L; Avellaneda, C; Serra, M; Rubio, M Á

Pyramidal signs (hyperreflexia, spasticity, Babinski sign) are essential for the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, these signs are not always present at onset and may vary over time, besides which their role in disease evolution is controversial. Our goal was to describe which pyramidal signs were present and how they evolved in a cohort of patients with ALS, as well as their role in prognosis. Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected patients diagnosed with ALS in our centre from 1990 to 2015. Of a total of 130 patients with ALS, 34 (26.1%) patients showed no pyramidal signs at the first visit while 15 (11.5%) had a complete pyramidal syndrome. Of those patients without initial pyramidal signs, mean time of appearance of the first signs was 4.5 months. Babinski sign was positive in 64 (49.2%) patients, hyperreflexia in 90 (69.2%) and 22 (16.9%) patients had spasticity. Pyramidal signs tended to remain unchanged over time, although they seem to appear at later stages or even disappear with time in some patients. We found no association between survival and the presence of changes to pyramidal signs, although decreased spasticity was associated with greater clinical deterioration (ALSFR scale) (P<.001). A quarter of patients with ALS initially showed no pyramidal signs and in some cases they even disappear over time. These data support the need for tools that assess the pyramidal tract. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The Future Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2008-02-05

Feb 5, 2008 ... The Future Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations and Rules on Intellectual ... New funding opportunity to fight antimicrobial resistance ... IDRC and key partners will showcase critical work on adaptation and ...

[Pyramidal syndrome in lateral amyotrophic sclerosis: clinico-morphological analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Musaeva, L S; Zavalishin, I A; Gulevskaia, T S

2003-01-01

Retrospective clinical analysis with a special focus on pyramidal syndrome expression in the disease course as well as morphological study of brain and spinal structures in all levels of cortical-spinal projection (from brain motor cortex to spinal lumbar segments) have been conducted for 11 section cases of lateral amyotrophic sclerosis (LAS), sporadic type. Two groups of patients were studied: with pronounced pyramidal syndrome (spasticity, hyperreflexia, etc)--7 cases and with some signs of pyramidal deficiency (anisoreflexia, stability of peritoneal reflexes)--4 cases. Pyramidal syndrome in LAS is considered as an emergence of current neurodegenerative process, embracing a significant part of upper motor neurons of both precentral convolution and its axons along the whole length of cerebrospinal axis in the form of cytoplasmic inclusions and axonal spheroids. A presence of pathomorphological changes in other upper segmental structures of motor control reveals their role in pyramidal deficiency. Comparative analysis showed that expression of pyramidal syndrome signs and its correlation to atrophic paresis appearances is specifically determined by the severity of upper and lower motor neurons lesions. With regard to morphological changes in CNS structures, the peculiarities of some pyramidal syndrome appearances in LAS are analyzed.

Teacher Acquisition of Functional Analysis Methods Using Pyramidal Training

Science.gov (United States)

Pence, Sacha T.; St. Peter, Claire C.; Giles, Aimee F.

2014-01-01

Pyramidal training involves an experienced professional training a subset of individuals who, in turn, train additional individuals. Pyramidal training is effective for training a variety of behavior-analytic skills with direct-care staff, parents, and teachers. As teachers' roles in behavioral assessment increase, pyramidal training may be…

Intraoperative tractography and neuronavigation of the pyramidal tract

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nimsky, C.; Ganslandt, O.; Weigel, D.; Keller, B. von; Stadlbauer, A.; Akutsu, H.; Hammen, T.; Buchfelder, M.

2008-01-01

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) based fiber tracking was applied to visualize the course of the pyramidal tract in the surgical field by microscope-based navigation. In 70 patients with lesions adjacent to the pyramidal tract, DTI data were integrated in a navigational setup. Diffusion data (b=0) were rigidly registered with standard T1-weighted 3-D images. Fiber tracking was performed applying a tensor-deflection algorithm using a multiple volume of interest approach as seed regions for tracking. fMRI data identifying the motor gyrus were applied as selection criteria to define the fibers of interest. After tracking, a 3-D object was generated representing the pyramidal tract. In selected cases, the intraoperative image data (1.5 T intraoperative MRI) were used to update the navigation system. In all patients the pyramidal tract could be visualized in the operative field applying the heads-up display of the operating microscope. In 8 patients (11%) a new or aggravated postoperative paresis could be observed, which was transient in 5 of them; thus, only in 3 patients (4.2%) was there a new permanent neurological deficit. Intraoperative imaging depicted a shifting of the pyramidal tract which amounted up to 15 mm; even the direction of shifting was variable and could not be predicted before surgery, so that mathematical models trying to predict brain shift behaviour are of restricted value only. DTI fiber tracking data can be reliably integrated into navigational systems providing intraoperative visualization of the pyramidal tract. This technique allowed the resection of lesions adjacent to the pyramidal tract with low morbidity. (author)

Effect of housing rats within a pyramid on stress parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhat, Surekha; Rao, Guruprasad; Murthy, K Dilip; Bhat, P Gopalakrishna

2003-11-01

The Giza pyramids of Egypt have been the subject of much research. Pyramid models with the same base to height ratio as of the Great Pyramid of Giza, when aligned on a true north-south axis, are believed to generate, transform and transmit energy. Research done with such pyramid models has shown that they induced greater relaxation in human subjects, promoted better wound healing in rats and afforded protection against stress-induced neurodegnerative changes in mice. The present study was done to assess the effects of housing Wistar rats within the pyramid on the status of oxidative damage and antioxidant defense in their erythrocytes and cortisol levels in their plasma. Rats were housed in cages under standard laboratory conditions. Cages were left in the open (normal control), under a wooden pyramid model (experimental rats) or in a cubical box of comparable dimensions (6 hr/day for 14 days). Erythrocyte malondialdehyde and plasma cortisol levels were significantly decreased in rats kept within the pyramid as compared to the normal control and those within the square box. Erythrocyte reduced glutathione levels, erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities were significantly increased in the rats kept in the pyramid as compared to the other two groups. There was no significant difference in any of the parameters between the normal control and rats kept in the square box. The results showed that exposure of adult female Wistar rats to pyramid environment reduces stress oxidative stress and increases antioxidant defense in them.

Image-guided preoperative prediction of pyramidal tract side effect in deep brain stimulation: proof of concept and application to the pyramidal tract side effect induced by pallidal stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumgarten, Clement; Zhao, Yulong; Sauleau, Paul; Malrain, Cecile; Jannin, Pierre; Haegelen, Claire

2016-04-01

Deep brain stimulation of the medial globus pallidus (GPm) is a surgical procedure for treating patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. Its therapeutic effect may be limited by the presence of pyramidal tract side effect (PTSE). PTSE is a contraction time-locked to the stimulation when the current spreading reaches the motor fibers of the pyramidal tract within the internal capsule. The objective of the study was to propose a preoperative predictive model of PTSE. A machine learning-based method called PyMAN (PTSE model based on artificial neural network) accounting for the current used in stimulation, the three-dimensional electrode coordinates and the angle of the trajectory, was designed to predict the occurrence of PTSE. Ten patients implanted in the GPm have been tested by a clinician to create a labeled dataset of the stimulation parameters that trigger PTSE. The kappa index value between the data predicted by PyMAN and the labeled data was 0.78. Further evaluation studies are desirable to confirm whether PyMAN could be a reliable tool for assisting the surgeon to prevent PTSE during the preoperative planning.

The cradle of pyramids in satellite images

OpenAIRE

Sparavigna, Amelia Carolina

2011-01-01

We propose the use of image processing to enhance the Google Maps of some archaeological areas of Egypt. In particular we analyse that place which is considered the cradle of pyramids, where it was announced the discovery of a new pyramid by means of an infrared remote sensing.

Using Pyramids Effects as a method of nuclear and radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdullayev, I.E.

2011-01-01

Results most of experiments fixed that When radioactive waste is placed inside the pyramids, there is a decrease in their level of radioactivity Based on result of these experiments we suggest - Using Pyramids Effects as a method of nuclear and radiation protection. Explanation of this method based on 3 factors. (2 of them - internal factors, 1 of them - external factor) Factor I. Based o the Theory of the Pyramids Effects we know, that Pyramid construction separate the normal geomagnetic field of the Earth to 2 parts, which have difference vise verse physical characteristics. Cause of the energetic barrier of side of Pyramid, internal space of the Pyramid isolate from the influence of the external normal geomagnetic field of Earth. Therefore, internal space of the Pyramid is fulfilling only by the attractive power of the Earth (pic.1)

A new class of morphological pyramids for multiresolution image analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roerdink, Jos B.T.M.; Asano, T; Klette, R; Ronse, C

2003-01-01

We study nonlinear multiresolution signal decomposition based on morphological pyramids. Motivated by a problem arising in multiresolution volume visualization, we introduce a new class of morphological pyramids. In this class the pyramidal synthesis operator always has the same form, i.e. a

Enlargement of Axo-Somatic Contacts Formed by GAD-Immunoreactive Axon Terminals onto Layer V Pyramidal Neurons in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex of Adolescent Female Mice Is Associated with Suppression of Food Restriction-Evoked Hyperactivity and Resilience to Activity-Based Anorexia

OpenAIRE

Chen, Yi-Wen; Wable, Gauri Satish; Chowdhury, Tara Gunkali; Aoki, Chiye

2015-01-01

Many, but not all, adolescent female mice that are exposed to a running wheel while food restricted (FR) become excessive wheel runners, choosing to run even during the hours of food availability, to the point of death. This phenomenon is called activity-based anorexia (ABA). We used electron microscopic immunocytochemistry to ask whether individual differences in ABA resilience may correlate with the lengths of axo-somatic contacts made by GABAergic axon terminals onto layer 5 pyramidal neur...

David Macaulay's Pyramid.

Science.gov (United States)

Frew, Andrew W.

1997-01-01

Integrating literature and mathematics can be meaningful using David Macaulay's "Pyramid." This article provides an annotated bibliography of picture books, fiction, folk tales, nonfiction, videotapes, audio books, and CD-ROMs for grades 1-12 to support a unit on Egypt. Describes related math activities; and highlights a catalog of…

Evaluation of the Green Egyptian Pyramid

OpenAIRE

Ammar, Mohamed Gamal

2012-01-01

In January 2009 was established the Egyptian Council for evaluating green building, then the Board issue a primary version of the Egyptian pyramid in 2010, and as a result of economic, social and political changes that happened in Egypt after the Arab spring period, the study of regional experiences of neighboring countries in Africa and Asia in the development of evaluation system for green buildings of global systems that can contribute to the development of the Egyptian pyramid to promote ...

Tiling a Pyramidal Polycube with Dominoes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivier Bodini

2007-05-01

Full Text Available The notion of pyramidal polycubes, namely the piling-up of bricks of a non-increasing size, generalizes in ℝ n the concept of trapezoidal polyominoes. In the present paper, we prove that n-dimensional dominoes can tile a pyramidal polycube if and only if the latter is balanced, that is, if the number of white cubes is equal to the number of black ones for a chessboard-like coloration, generalizing the result of [BC92] when n=2

Tunneling and propping : a justification for pyramidal ownership

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Riyanto, Y.E.; Toolsema-Veldman, Linda

2004-01-01

This paper presents a formal model of tunneling and propping in a pyramidal ownership structure. Tunneling refers to controlling shareholders shifting resources from one firm to another in the same pyramid. Propping is tunneling that is done to save the receiving firm from bankruptcy. We compare the

Food Group Categories of Low-Income African American Women

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Elizabeth B.; Holmes, Shane

2011-01-01

Objective: Describe lay food group categories of low-income African American women and assess the overlap of lay food groups and MyPyramid food groups. Design: A convenience sample of African American mothers from a low-income Chicago neighborhood performed a card-sorting task in which they grouped familiar food items into food groups. Setting:…

[Mediterranean diet: not only food].

Science.gov (United States)

da Vico, Letizia; Agostini, Susanna; Brazzo, Silvia; Biffi, Barbara; Masini, Maria Luisa

2012-09-01

The proposal of a Mediterranean way of life is much more than advise how to eat. The Mediterranean Diet, a model of Sustainable Diet, is an example of how to combine personal choices, economic, social and cultural rights, protective of human health and the ecosystem. There is in fact fundamental interdependence between dietary requirements, nutritional recommendations, production and consumption of food. In literature studies and nutritional and epidemiological monitoring activities at national and international level have found a lack of adherence to this lifestyle, due to the spread of the economy, lifestyles of the Western type and globalization of the production and consumption. To encourage the spread of a culture and a constant practice of the Mediterranean Diet, there are some tools that are presented in this article. The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid in addition to the recommendations on the frequency and portions of food, focuses on the choice of how to cook and eat food. The "Double Food Pyramid" encourages conscious food choices based on "healthy eating and sustainability. All the nutrition professionals and dietitians in particular should be constantly striving to encourage the adoption of a sustainable and balanced nutrition.

Tunneling and propping : A justification for pyramidal ownership

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Riyanto, Y.E.; Toolsema-Veldman, Linda

2008-01-01

This paper links existence of the pyramidal ownership structure to tunneling and propping. Tunneling refers to a transfer of resources from a lower-level firm to a higher-level firm in the pyramidal chain, whereas propping concerns a transfer in the opposite direction intended to bail out the

Content-adaptive pyramid representation for 3D object classification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kounalakis, Tsampikos; Boulgouris, Nikolaos; Triantafyllidis, Georgios

2016-01-01

In this paper we introduce a novel representation for the classification of 3D images. Unlike most current approaches, our representation is not based on a fixed pyramid but adapts to image content and uses image regions instead of rectangular pyramid scales. Image characteristics, such as depth...... and color, are used for defining regions within images. Multiple region scales are formed in order to construct the proposed pyramid image representation. The proposed method achieves excellent results in comparison to conventional representations....

Space Station view of the Pyramids at Giza

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

One of the world's most famous archaeological sites has been photographed in amazing detail by the astronauts onboard Space Station Alpha. This image, taken 15 August, 2001, represents the greatest detail of the Giza plateau captured from a human-occupied spacecraft (approximate 7 m resolution). Afternoon sun casts shadows that help the eye make out the large pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. Sets of three smaller queens' pyramids can be seen to the east of the Pyramid of Khufu and south of the Pyramid of Menkaure. The light-colored causeway stretching from the Mortuary Temple at the Pyramid of Khafre to the Valley Temple near the Sphinx (arrow) can also be seen. Because it is not tall enough to cast a deep shadow, the Sphinx itself cannot readily be distinguished. Although some commercial satellites, such as IKONOS, have imaged the Pyramids at Giza in greater detail (1 m resolution), this image highlights the potential of the International Space Station as a remote sensing platform. A commercial digital camera without space modifications was used to obtain this picture. Similarly, a variety of remote sensing instruments developed for use on aircraft can potentially be used from the Space Station. Currently, all photographs of Earth taken by astronauts from the Space Shuttle and Space Station are released to the public for scientific and educational benefit and can be accessed on the World Wide Web through the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth (http://eol/jsc.nasa.gov/sseop). Image ISS003-ESC-5120 was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov).

A possible explanation of the void discovered in the pyramid of Khufu on the basis of the pyramid texts

OpenAIRE

Magli, Giulio

2017-01-01

A recent exploration has shown the presence of a significant void in the pyramid of Khufu at Giza. A possible explanation of this space, interpreted as a chamber connected to the lower north channel and aimed to contain a specific funerary equipment is tentatively proposed. According to the Pyramid Texts, this equipment might consist of a Iron throne, actually a wooden throne endowed with meteoritic Iron sheets.

Analysis of food advertisements on cable television directed to children based on the food guide for the Brazilian population and current legislation

OpenAIRE

BRITTO,Soraya da Rocha; VIEBIG,Renata Furlan; MORIMOTO,Juliana Masami

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: This study examined food product advertisements directed to children and aired on closed television channels in Brazil, according to the types of foods and beverages advertised and the advertising content. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on the adequacy of food commercials directed to children and aired by six pay-television broadcasters according to two parameters: "The Food Guide for the Brazilian Population, 2014", and the National Council on Children's and...

Multiresolution, Multi-Scale Target Identification and Tracking using the Anisotropic Diffusion Pyramid

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Acton, Scott

1998-01-01

...: the anisotropic diffusion pyramid and the morphological pyramid. Coarse-to-fine target searches are implemented within the image pyramids, providing a lOOX improvement in computational expense over standard correlation-based approaches...

[Change of awareness level of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top and relation with sociodemographic and health-related characteristics].

Science.gov (United States)

Takaizumi, Kanae; Harada, Kazuhiro; Nakamura, Yoshio

2011-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the sociodemographic and health-related characteristics of those who are unaware of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top (Food Guide). A longitudinal study was conducted using an Internet-based questionnaire with 1,012 Japanese adults (40.2 +/- 10.0 years, mean +/- SD) recruited from registrants of a Japanese social research company. Conducted between November 2007 (T1) and December 2008 (T2), the survey included items on awareness level ("I know the contents." "I have heard of this Guide." or "I have not heard of this Guide.") of the Food Guide as the dependent variable, and demographics factors (e.g., age, education status, marital status, household income, and employment status) and health-related characteristics (obesity, abdominal obesity, and insufficient physical activity) as the independent variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relation between awareness level and each variable. The relation between change of awareness level (T1-T2) and each variable was analyzed using a chi-square test. All the analyses were stratified by gender. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for all variables, men with a household income of 5,000,000-10,000,000 yen (OR=1.78; 95% CI=1.10-2.88) were positively associated with awareness level ("I have heard of this Guide."). In contrast, unmarried women were negatively associated with awareness level in T1 ("I know the contents"; OR=0.35; 95% CI=0.17-0.70. "I have heard of this Guide"; OR=0.50; 95% CI=0.27-0.92). In men, the awareness level of the Food Guide increased from T1 to T2, change of awareness level (T1; "I have not heard of this Guide") and education status being related (P=0.023). In women, the awareness levels overall did not improve from T1 to T2, but change of awareness level (T1; "I have heard of this Guide") was associated with household income (Plevel was not associated with health-related characteristics. The results

Food First Resource Guide: Documentation on the Roots of World Hunger and Rural Poverty.

Science.gov (United States)

Institute for Food and Development Policy, San Francisco, CA.

This guide reviews resources used to develop the analysis of world hunger in "Food First: Beyond the Myth of Scarcity," Houghton Mifflin, 1977. The objectives are to help people understand the economic and political factors that contribute to food deprivation, document this analysis with credible sources, and inform high school, college, and…

Gene pyramiding as a Bt resistance management strategy: How ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Reports on the emergence of insect resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis delta endotoxins have raised doubts on the sustainability of Bt-toxin based pest management technologies. Corporate industry has responded to this challenge with innovations that include gene pyramiding among others. Pyramiding entails stacking ...

The Heeger & Bergen Pyramid Based Texture Synthesis Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thibaud Briand

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This contribution deals with the Heeger-Bergen pyramid-based texture analysis/synthesis algorithm. It brings a detailed explanation of the original algorithm tested on many characteristic examples. Our analysis reproduces the original results, but also brings a minor improvement concerning non-periodic textures. Inspired by visual perception theories, Heeger and Bergen proposed to characterize a texture by its first-order statistics of both its color and its responses to multiscale and multi-orientation filters, namely the steerable pyramid. The Heeger-Bergen algorithm consists in the following procedure: starting from a white noise image, histogram matchings are performed to the noise alternatively in both the image domain and steerable pyramid domain, so that the corresponding histograms match the ones of the input texture.

Career Preparation in Agricultural Products (Food Processing): A Curriculum Guide for High School Vocational Agriculture. Test Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Eddie A.

This curriculum guide in agricultural products (food processing) is one of 10 guides developed as part of a vocational project stressing agribusiness, natural resources, and environmental protection. The scope of this guide includes three occupational subgroups: meat, fish, poultry; dairy (milk) products; fruits and vegetables. It is meant as an…

Interview and questionnaire guide: Quantification of food losses and waste in primary production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svanes, Erik; Hartikainen, Hanna; Mogensen, Lisbeth

production in the Nordic countries. Other aims were to estimate the amount of side flow and to gain knowledge about the reasons behind it, how it can be reduced, how it is treated and how it can be better utilized.This guide contains a catalogue of questions that may be used for interviews and questionnaires...... with primary producers and other stakeholders within primary production. It also contains the justification behind the questions and some tips on how to conduct interviews.......This interview guide was developed within the Nordic project “Food losses and waste in primary production” (Franke et al. 2016). One of the main purposes of the project was to test research methods for the quantification of food losses and waste (in the project called 'side flow') from primary...

ServAR: An augmented reality tool to guide the serving of food.

Science.gov (United States)

Rollo, Megan E; Bucher, Tamara; Smith, Shamus P; Collins, Clare E

2017-05-12

Accurate estimation of food portion size is a difficult task. Visual cues are important mediators of portion size and therefore technology-based aids may assist consumers when serving and estimating food portions. The current study evaluated the usability and impact on estimation error of standard food servings of a novel augmented reality food serving aid, ServAR. Participants were randomised into one of three groups: 1) no information/aid (control); 2) verbal information on standard serving sizes; or 3) ServAR, an aid which overlayed virtual food servings over a plate using a tablet computer. Participants were asked to estimate the standard serving sizes of nine foods (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, kidney beans, potato, pasta, rice, and sweetcorn) using validated food replicas. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests compared median served weights of each food to reference standard serving size weights. Percentage error was used to compare the estimation of serving size accuracy between the three groups. All participants also performed a usability test using the ServAR tool to guide the serving of one randomly selected food. Ninety adults (78.9% female; a mean (95%CI) age 25.8 (24.9-26.7) years; BMI 24.2 (23.2-25.2) kg/m 2 ) completed the study. The median servings were significantly different to the reference portions for five foods in the ServAR group, compared to eight foods in the information only group and seven foods for the control group. The cumulative proportion of total estimations per group within ±10%, ±25% and ±50% of the reference portion was greater for those using ServAR (30.7, 65.2 and 90.7%; respectively), compared to the information only group (19.6, 47.4 and 77.4%) and control group (10.0, 33.7 and 68.9%). Participants generally found the ServAR tool easy to use and agreed that it showed potential to support optimal portion size selection. However, some refinements to the ServAR tool are required to improve the user experience. Use of the

Fabrication of micromirrors with pyramidal shape using anisotropic etching of silicon

OpenAIRE

Moktadir, Z.; Vijaya Prakash, G.; Trupke, M.; Koukharenko, E.; Kraft, M.; Baumberg, J.J.; Eriksson, S.; Hinds, E.A.

2005-01-01

Gold micro-mirrors have been formed in silicon in an inverted pyramidal shape. The pyramidal structures are created in the (100) surface of a silicon wafer by anisotropic etching in potassium hydroxide. High quality micro-mirrors are then formed by sputtering gold onto the smooth silicon (111) faces of the pyramids. These mirrors show great promise as high quality optical devices suitable for integration into MOEMS systems.

On-The-Job Training: A Practical Guide for Food Service Supervisors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hospital Research and Educational Trust, Chicago, IL.

The on-the-job training guide was developed to assist food service supervisors in preparing, presenting, and evaluating a Job Instruction Training (JIT) lesson, a method which employs step-by-step learning of job-related tasks. Part 1, preparing for a JIT lesson, discusses the checklist of duties, the job description, the skills inventory, the…

THE DIGITAL VON FAHRENHEID PYRAMID

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Bura

2017-08-01

Full Text Available 3D Scanners Lab from Digital Humanities Laboratory at the University of Warsaw initiated the scientific project, the purpose of which was to call attention to systematically penetrated and devastated pyramid-shaped tomb from the XVIII/XIX century, of family von Fahrenheid in Rapa in Banie Mazurskie commune (NE Poland. By conducting a series of non-invasive studies, such as 3D inventory using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS, thermal imaging, georadar measurements (around and inside the tomb and anthropological research of mummified remains as well - the complete dataset was collected. Through the integration of terrestrial (TLS and airborne laser scanning (ALS authors managed to analyse the surroundings of Fahrenheid pyriamid and influence of some objects (like trees on the condition and visibility of the Pyramids in the landscape.

Inclinations of Egyptian pyramids and finding of the divine essence

OpenAIRE

GRIGORIEV STANISLAV ARKADIEVICH

2015-01-01

The aim of this research is discovery of astronomical reasons in orientation of slopes of Egyptian pyramids used as tombs for pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. The article contains results of statistical analysis of change in inclination of slopes of the pyramids (3rd 2nd millennia BC) depending on time of their building. The first year of the corresponding pharaoh’s reign has been accepted, as usually it is considered that building of pyramids ones started during either the first or second year of ...

Contribution to the development of a food guide in Benin: linear programming for the optimization of local diets.

Science.gov (United States)

Levesque, Sarah; Delisle, Hélène; Agueh, Victoire

2015-03-01

Food guides are important tools for nutrition education. While developing a food guide in Benin, the objective was to determine the daily number of servings per food group and the portion sizes of common foods to be recommended. Linear programming (LP) was used to determine, for each predefined food group, the optimal number and size of servings of commonly consumed foods. Two types of constraints were introduced into the LP models: (i) WHO/FAO Recommended Nutrient Intakes and dietary guidelines for the prevention of chronic diseases; and (ii) dietary patterns based on local food consumption data recently collected in southern Benin in 541 adults. Dietary intakes of the upper tertile of participants for diet quality based on prevention and micronutrient adequacy scores were used in the LP algorithms. Southern area of the Republic of Benin. Local key-players in nutrition (n 30) from the government, academic institutions, international organizations and civil society were partners in the development of the food guide directed at the population. The number of servings per food group and the portion size for eight age-sex groups were determined. For four limiting micronutrients (Fe, Ca, folate and Zn), local diets could be optimized to meet only 70 % of the Recommended Nutrient Intakes, not 100 %. It was possible to determine the daily number of servings and the portion sizes of common foods that can be recommended in Benin with the help of LP to optimize local diets, although Recommended Nutrient Intakes were not fully met for a few critical micronutrients.

Exciton binding energy in a pyramidal quantum dot

Science.gov (United States)

Anitha, A.; Arulmozhi, M.

2018-05-01

The effects of spatially dependent effective mass, non-parabolicity of the conduction band and dielectric screening function on exciton binding energy in a pyramid-shaped quantum dot of GaAs have been investigated by variational method as a function of base width of the pyramid. We have assumed that the pyramid has a square base with area a× a and height of the pyramid H=a/2. The trial wave function of the exciton has been chosen according to the even mirror boundary condition, i.e. the wave function of the exciton at the boundary could be non-zero. The results show that (i) the non-parabolicity of the conduction band affects the light hole (lh) and heavy hole (hh) excitons to be more bound than that with parabolicity of the conduction band, (ii) the dielectric screening function (DSF) affects the lh and hh excitons to be more bound than that without the DSF and (iii) the spatially dependent effective mass (SDEM) affects the lh and hh excitons to be less bound than that without the SDEM. The combined effects of DSF and SDEM on exciton binding energy have also been calculated. The results are compared with those available in the literature.

Pyramid Algorithm Framework for Real-Time Image Effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sangüesa, Adriá Arbués; Ene, Andreea-Daniela; Jørgensen, Nicolai Krogh

2016-01-01

Pyramid methods are useful for certain image processing techniques due to their linear time complexity. Implementing them using compute shaders provides a basis for rendering image effects with reduced impact on performance compared to conventional methods. Although pyramid methods are used...... in the game industry, they are not easily accessible to all developers because many game engines do not include built-in support. We present a framework for a popular game engine that allows users to take advantage of pyramid methods for developing image effects. In order to evaluate the performance...... and to demonstrate the framework, a few image effects were implemented. These effects were compared to built-in effects of the same game engine. The results showed that the built-in image effects performed slightly better. The performance of our framework could potentially be improved through optimisation, mainly...

Adherence to the USDA Food Guide, DASH Eating Plan, and Mediterranean dietary pattern reduces risk of colorectal adenoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, L Beth; Subar, Amy F; Peters, Ulrike; Weissfeld, Joel L; Bresalier, Robert S; Risch, Adam; Schatzkin, Arthur; Hayes, Richard B

2007-11-01

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans include quantitative recommendations for 2 eating patterns, the USDA Food Guide and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan, to promote optimal health and reduce disease risk. A Mediterranean dietary pattern has also been promoted for health benefits. Our objective was to determine whether adherence to the USDA Food Guide recommendations, the DASH Eating Plan, or a Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with reduced risk of distal colorectal adenoma. In the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, men and women aged 55-74 y were screened for colorectal cancer by sigmoidoscopy at 10 centers in the U.S. After adjusting for potential confounders, men who most complied with the USDA Food Guide recommendations had a 26% reduced risk of colorectal adenoma compared with men who least complied with the recommendations (OR USDA score >or= 5 vs. dietary pattern. Women who most complied with the USDA Food Guide recommendations had an 18% reduced risk for colorectal adenoma, but subgroup analyses revealed protective associations only for current smokers (OR USDA score >or= 5 vs. or= 5 vs. dietary recommendations or a Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with reduced risk of colorectal adenoma, especially in men.

Protective action guides for accidentally contaminated water and food. Proceedings of a workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-09-01

The Workshop on Protective Action Guides for Accidentally Contaminated Water and Food was designed for those who have experience in planning for and responding to ingestion exposure scenarios. The objective was to identify and discuss all of the issues, problems, relevant experiences, and research that should be considered in the development of Protective Action Guides (PAGs) for water and food. The workshop proved to be very helpful for those responsible for developing PAGs for the ingestion exposure pathways. This workshop addressed the roles and responsibilities for the development of PAGs. EPA has the responsibility for development of PAGs, except in the case of PAGs for food for which the responsibility is shared with FDA. EPA participated in the development of the recommendations on PAGs for food and animal feed that FDA published in 1982, which are under revision. In the absence of PAGs specifically for water, past practice has been for EPA to provide ad hoc guidance when needed. EPA will be developing guidance for drinking water during the next fiscal year and, therefore, one of the working groups at the workshop was devoted to considering issues related to PAGs for water. It has not yet been determined whether PAGs for drinking water should be separate or included with those for food. These issues were discussed at the workshop and the recommendations included in this proceedings document will be used as resource in the development of PAGs for the ingestion pathway

Protective action guides for accidentally contaminated water and food. Proceedings of a workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1989-09-01

The Workshop on Protective Action Guides for Accidentally Contaminated Water and Food was designed for those who have experience in planning for and responding to ingestion exposure scenarios. The objective was to identify and discuss all of the issues, problems, relevant experiences, and research that should be considered in the development of Protective Action Guides (PAGs) for water and food. The workshop proved to be very helpful for those responsible for developing PAGs for the ingestion exposure pathways. This workshop addressed the roles and responsibilities for the development of PAGs. EPA has the responsibility for development of PAGs, except in the case of PAGs for food for which the responsibility is shared with FDA. EPA participated in the development of the recommendations on PAGs for food and animal feed that FDA published in 1982, which are under revision. In the absence of PAGs specifically for water, past practice has been for EPA to provide ad hoc guidance when needed. EPA will be developing guidance for drinking water during the next fiscal year and, therefore, one of the working groups at the workshop was devoted to considering issues related to PAGs for water. It has not yet been determined whether PAGs for drinking water should be separate or included with those for food. These issues were discussed at the workshop and the recommendations included in this proceedings document will be used as resource in the development of PAGs for the ingestion pathway.

Ischemic stroke of the pyramidal decussation causing quadriplegia and anarthria.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, Emilia G; Kamel, Hooman; Johnson, Eric C B; Shalev, Sarah M; Josephson, S Andrew

2012-10-01

A 52-year-old man with a history of hypertension and previously irradiated head and neck cancer presented with quadriplegia and anarthria sparing the face and sensory functions. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated acute infarction of the pyramidal decussation. We describe the clinical and radiological characteristics of infarction at the pyramidal decussation and review the arterial supply to this region in the lower brainstem. Although rare, infarction of the pyramidal decussation should be considered in the differential diagnosis when patients present with atraumatic pure motor quadriplegia. Copyright © 2012 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding political radicalization: The two-pyramids model.

Science.gov (United States)

McCauley, Clark; Moskalenko, Sophia

2017-04-01

This article reviews some of the milestones of thinking about political radicalization, as scholars and security officials struggled after 9/11 to discern the precursors of terrorist violence. Recent criticism of the concept of radicalization has been recognized, leading to a 2-pyramids model that responds to the criticism by separating radicalization of opinion from radicalization of action. Security and research implications of the 2-pyramids model are briefly described, ending with a call for more attention to emotional experience in understanding both radicalization of opinion and radicalization of action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Exogenous progesterone exacerbates running response of adolescent female mice to repeated food restriction stress by changing α4-GABAA receptor activity of hippocampal pyramidal cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wable, G S; Chen, Y-W; Rashid, S; Aoki, C

2015-12-03

Adolescent females are particularly vulnerable to mental illnesses with co-morbidity of anxiety, such as anorexia nervosa (AN). We used an animal model of AN, called activity-based anorexia (ABA), to investigate the neurobiological basis of vulnerability to repeated, food restriction (FR) stress-evoked anxiety. Twenty-one of 23 adolescent female mice responded to the 1st FR with increased wheel-running activity (WRA), even during the limited period of food access, thereby capturing AN's symptoms of voluntary FR and over-exercise. Baseline WRA was an excellent predictor of FR-elicited WRA (severity of ABA, SOA), with high baseline runners responding to FR with minimal SOA (i.e., negative correlation). Nine gained resistance to ABA following the 1st FR. Even though allopregnanolone (3α-OH-5α-pregnan-20-one, THP), the metabolite of progesterone (P4), is a well-recognized anxiolytic agent, subcutaneous P4 to these ABA-resistant animals during the 2nd FR was exacerbative, evoking greater WRA than the counterpart resistant group that received oil vehicle, only. Moreover, P4 had no WRA-reducing effect on animals that remained ABA-vulnerable. To explain the sensitizing effect of P4 upon the resistant mice, we examined the relationship between P4 treatment and levels of the α4 subunit of GABAARs at spines of pyramidal cells of the hippocampal CA1, a parameter previously shown to correlate with resistance to ABA. α4 levels at spine membrane correlated strongly and negatively with SOA during the 1st ABA (prior to P4 injection), confirming previous findings. α4 levels were greater among P4-treated animals that had gained resistance than of vehicle-treated resistant animals or of the vulnerable animals with or without P4. We propose that α4-GABAARs play a protective role by counterbalancing the ABA-induced increase in excitability of CA1 pyramidal neurons, and although exogenous P4's metabolite, THP, enhances α4 expression, especially among those that can gain resistance

Pyramidal cell-interneuron interactions underlie hippocampal ripple oscillations.

Science.gov (United States)

Stark, Eran; Roux, Lisa; Eichler, Ronny; Senzai, Yuta; Royer, Sebastien; Buzsáki, György

2014-07-16

High-frequency ripple oscillations, observed most prominently in the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal layer, are associated with memory consolidation. The cellular and network mechanisms underlying the generation, frequency control, and spatial coherence of the rhythm are poorly understood. Using multisite optogenetic manipulations in freely behaving rodents, we found that depolarization of a small group of nearby pyramidal cells was sufficient to induce high-frequency oscillations, whereas closed-loop silencing of pyramidal cells or activation of parvalbumin- (PV) or somatostatin-immunoreactive interneurons aborted spontaneously occurring ripples. Focal pharmacological blockade of GABAA receptors abolished ripples. Localized PV interneuron activation paced ensemble spiking, and simultaneous induction of high-frequency oscillations at multiple locations resulted in a temporally coherent pattern mediated by phase-locked interneuron spiking. These results constrain competing models of ripple generation and indicate that temporally precise local interactions between excitatory and inhibitory neurons support ripple generation in the intact hippocampus. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The mammalian neocortical pyramidal cell: a new theory on prenatal development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel eMarín-Padilla

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Mammals’ new cerebral cortex (neocortex and the new type of pyramidal neuron are mammalian innovations that have evolved for operating their increasing motor capabilities using essentially analogous anatomical and neural makeups. The human neocortex starts to develop in the 6-week-old embryo with the establishment of a primordial cortical organization that resembles the primitive cortices of amphibian and reptiles that operated his early motor activities. From the 8th to the 15th week of age, the new pyramidal neurons, of ependymal origin, are progressively incorporated within this primordial cortex forming a cellular plate that divide its components into those above it (neocortex first lamina and those below it (neocortex subplate elements. From the 16th week of age to birth and postnatally, the new pyramidal neurons continue to elongate functionally their apical dendrite by adding synaptic membrane to incorporate the needed sensory information for operating the animal muscular activities. The new pyramidal neuron’ distinguishing feature is the capacity of elongating anatomically and functionally its apical dendrite (its main receptive surface without losing its original attachment to first lamina or the location of its soma retaining its essential nature. The number of pyramidal cell functional strata established in the motor cortex increases and reflects each mammalian species motor capabilities: the hedgehog needs 2 pyramidal cell functional strata to carry out all its motor activities, the mouse three, cat four, primates 5 and humans 6. The presence of six pyramidal cell functional strata distinguish the human motor cortex from that of others primates. Homo sapiens represent a new evolutionary stage that have transformed his primate brain for operating his unique motor capabilities, such as speaking, writing, painting, sculpturing including thinking as a premotor activity.

A muon detector to be installed at the Pyramid of the Sun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfaro, R.; Belmont M, E.; Cervantes, A.; Grabski, V.; Lopez R, J.M.; Manzanilla, L.; Martinez D, A.; Moreno, M.; Menchaca R, A.

2003-01-01

Is the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan a mausoleum, or just a ceremonial monument? A similar question inspired Luis Alvarez over 30 years ago to carry out his famous muon detection experiment at the Chephren Pyramid, in Giza. A fortunate similarity between this monument and the Pyramid of the Sun is a tunnel, running 8 m below the base and ending close to the symmetry axis, which allows us to emulate Alvarez in a search for possible hidden chambers in one of the largest pyramids in Latin America. Here we elaborate on what is known about this monument, on a description of the proposed detector design, and its expected performance based on simulations. (Author)

Renal pyramid echogenicity in ureteropelvic junction obstruction: correlation between altered echogenicity and differential renal function

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chavhan, Govind; Daneman, Alan; Lim, Ruth; Traubici, Jeffrey [University of Toronto, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (Canada); Moineddin, Rahim [University of Toronto, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Toronto (Canada); Langlois, Valerie [University of Toronto, Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (Canada)

2008-10-15

Improvement in resolution and use of high-frequency transducers in US has enabled visualization of previously unreported changes in medullary pyramid echogenicity in children with obstructive hydronephrosis. To determine whether these unreported changes in echogenicity and morphology of the renal pyramids in ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction correlate with differential renal function (DRF) of the kidney as determined by technetium-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine ({sup 99m}Tc-MAG3) scan. Renal sonograms in 60 children with UPJ obstruction were retrospectively reviewed. Children were divided into three groups based on the echogenicity of the pyramids: (1) normal echogenicity of the pyramids, (2) increased echogenicity of the pyramids with maintained corticomedullary differentiation (CMD), and (3) loss of CMD. DRF, as determined by {sup 99m}Tc-MAG3 scan, of the obstructed kidney of {>=}45% was considered normal and of {<=}44% was considered abnormal based on a published study correlating histological changes with DRF. Fisher's exact test was performed for assessing the association between DRF and altered echogenicity of the pyramids. In group 1, which consisted of 13 patients with normal pyramids on US, DRF was normal in 11 and abnormal in two. In group 2, which consisted of 33 patients with echogenic pyramids and preserved CMD, DRF was normal in 15 and abnormal in 18. In group 3, which consisted of 14 patients with complete loss of CMD, DRF was normal in 2 and abnormal in 12. There was a strong correlation between abnormal pyramids and DRF (P=0.0009). The risk ratio (RR) of DRF becoming abnormal for those kidneys with abnormal echogenicity of the pyramids with preserved CMD (group 2) compared to normal pyramid echogenicity (group 1) was 1.56 (95% CI 1.088-2.236). The RR of DRF becoming abnormal for those kidneys with loss of CMD (group 3) compared to normal pyramid echogenicity (group 1) was 5.571 (95% CI 1.530-20.294). We observed that in obstructed kidneys

Guide to resource conservation and cost savings opportunities in the food service sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

Opportunities for conserving energy and water, as well as reducing waste, within the 24,000 establishment-strong food service sector in Ontario are identified. Operators are encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities to lower their costs while conserving valuable resources at the same time. In preparing this guide, site visits were carried out at six food service facilities in Ontario. Information about how much money is generally spent on energy, water and waste management by food service operators is provided. The amount and type of waste generated by these facilities is also described. The volatility of the commercial food service market place was identified as one of the major impediments to energy conservation. It was found that most owners of the food service facilities make business decisions based on the lowest first costs, irrespective of longer-term energy efficiency and operating costs. 31 refs., 13 tabs., 9 figs., 4 appendices.

Wooden's pyramid: building a hierarchy of skills for successful communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Epner, Daniel E; Baile, Walter F

2011-01-01

John Wooden, the legendary college basketball coach, created the "Pyramid of Success", which he constructed from 14 timeless character traits and interpersonal skills that are critical to competitive greatness. Wooden's pyramid is a powerful symbol that he and others have used for several decades as an educational tool to promote leadership and teamwork. This article proposes the "Pyramid of Relational Excellence (PRE)", patterned after Wooden's pyramid, as a mnemonic-based educational symbol for communication skills training. Literature review, personal reflection. The PRE is constructed of four tiers with a total of 12 building blocks, with each successive tier built upon the one beneath it. The building blocks represent fundamental elements that are known to be critical to successful communication. The PRE is process oriented rather than task oriented and focuses exclusively on the face-to-face encounter. It therefore complements established communications curricula, such as the UK communication wheel and others, which are more comprehensive and task oriented. The PRE is constructed of timeless, fundamental principles. It is therefore particularly well suited for training medical students and residents.

The azimuth-dependent offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid in 3D HTI media

KAUST Repository

Hao, Qi

2013-09-22

Analytical representation of offset-midpoint traveltime equation is very important for pre-stack Kirchhoff migration and velocity inversion in anisotropic media. For VTI media, the offset-midpoint traveltime resembles the shape of Cheop\\'s pyramid. In this study, we extend the offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid to the case of 3D HTI media. We employ the stationary phase method to derive the analytical representation of traveltime equation, and then use Shanks transformation to improve the accuracy of horizontal and vertical slownesses. The traveltime pyramid is derived in both the depth- and time-domain. Numerical examples indicate that the azimuthal characteristics of both the traveltime pyramid and the migration isochrones are very obvious in HTI media due to the effect of anisotropy.

Climbing the Needs Pyramids

OpenAIRE

J. C. Lomas

2013-01-01

Abraham Maslow’s theory of human adult motivation is often represented by a pyramid image showing two proposals: First, the five needs stages in emergent order of hierarchical ascension and second, a percentage of the adult population suggested to occupy each needs tier. Specifically, Maslow proposed that adults would be motivated to satisfy their unfilled needs until they reached the hierarchy’s apex and achieved self...

Pyramidal-Reflector Solar Heater

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

Motor-driven reflector compensates for seasonal changes in Sun's altitude. System has flat-plate absorbers mounted on north side of attic interior. Skylight window on south-facing roof admits Sunlight into attic, lined with mirrors that reflect light to absorbers. Reflectors are inner surfaces of a pyramid lying on its side with window at its base and absorber plates in a cross-sectional plane near its apex.

Searching for possible hidden chambers in the Pyramid of the Sun

Science.gov (United States)

Alfaro, R.; Belmont, E.; Grabski, V.; Manzanilla, L.; Martinez-Davalos, A.; Menchaca-Rocha, A.; Moreno, M.; Sandoval, A.

The Pyramid of the Sun, at Teotihuacan, Mexico, is being searched for possible hidden chambers, using a muon tracking technique inspired in the experiment carried out by Luis Alvarez over 30 years ago at the Chephren Pyramid, in Giza. A fortunate similarity between this monument and the Pyramid of the Sun is a tunnel, running 8 m below the base and ending close to the symmetry axis, which permits the use muon attenuation measurements. A brief account of the project, including planning, detector design, construction and simulations, as well as the current status of the project is presented

The Base of the Pyramid

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hutte, E.; Vermeulen, P.A.M.; Vermeulen, P.; Hutte, E.

2014-01-01

This chapter provides a brief background to the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) phenomenon. It begins with a discussion on what sets the BoP markets apart from more traditional markets and why companies have not identified them as a business opportunity. The chapter then provides an overview of how

Inverting the pyramid! Extent and quality of food advertised on Austrian television.

Science.gov (United States)

Missbach, Benjamin; Weber, Adelheid; Huber, Elke M; König, Jürgen S

2015-09-18

Research showed that food marketing for children frequently contradicts national dietary guidelines. Children, unlike adults, are not able to understand the persuasiveness of the advertisements with its short- and long-term effects on health, thus the common international tenor is to restrict food marketing. In the European Union, marketing restriction based on self-regulation have been initiated (EU Pledge Nutrition Criteria). The study aims contribute to depict the status quo of television advertisement targeted at children before the pledged initiative came into full effect. In this study we analyze the quality and displaying frequency of a set of advertisements targeted at children broadcasted on Austrian television. Promoted food products targeted at children or adults were identified. Category-based analysis of the displayed food was performed based on the Austrian Nutrition guidelines (number of displayed food per food category). The children's food content was analyzed according to the newly established nutritional quality criteria for advertised food in the EU to assess the nutritional quality of the depicted food. In total, 360 h of video material was recorded in February and March 2014. A set of 1919 food advertisements, with 15.1 % targeted at children were broadcasted. Of all food advertisements targeted at children, 92.4 % was for fatty, sweet and salty snacks, while no advertisements for vegetables, legumes or fruits were shown. From all food advertisements for children, 65.9 % originated from participating companies of the EU Pledge Nutrition Criteria. Further analysis revealed that 95.9 % of the advertised food for children showed at least one aspect of nonconformity with the EU Pledge Nutrition Criteria; on the contrary 64.7 % of the displayed food advertisement also featured at least one desirable food component (e.g. high fibre content, high protein content). The present research suggests that the majority of advertised food for children do not

Evaluation of the Green Egyptian Pyramid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Gamal Ammar

2012-12-01

The research concluded to the need of developing the Egyptian pyramid system through studying more global systems, in addition to the need to benefit from the Egyptian experience stock of solutions and environmental treatments in ancient architecture.

Effective lifetime of minority carriers in black silicon nano-textured by cones and pyramids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Onyshchenko, V.F.; Karachevtseva, L.A.; Lytvynenko, O.O.

2017-01-01

We calculated the dependence of effective lifetime of minority carriers in black silicon nano-textured by cones and pyramids on the diameter of the cone base, the side of the pyramid base, the height of cone and pyramid. The numerical calculation shows that n-type polished plate of single crystal...

Effect of varying durations of pyramid exposure - an indication towards a possibility of overexposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhat, Surekha; Rao, Guruprasad; Murthy, K Dilip; Bhat, P Gopalakrishna

2009-10-01

Miniature replicas modeled after the Great Pyramid of Giza are believed to concentrate geoelectromagnetic energy within their cavities and hence act as antistressors in humans and animals. Although there are not many reports of adverse effects of 'overexposure' in the pyramid, subjects have claimed to feel uneasy after certain duration of staying in the pyramid. The present study was aimed to analyze the effects of prolonged pyramid exposure on plasma cortisol level, markers of oxidative damage and antioxidant defense in erythrocytes of adult female Wistar rats. Rats were divided into three groups, normal controls (NC, n=6) that were maintained under standard laboratory conditions in their home cages, pyramid exposed group-2 (PE-2, n=6) & pyramid exposed group-4 (PE-4, n=6) where the rats were housed under the pyramid for 6 hours/day for 2 weeks and 4 weeks respectively. Plasma cortisol and erythrocyte TBARS levels were significantly lower in both PE-2 and PE-4 rats and erythrocyte GSH levels and GSH-Px activity were significantly higher in them as compared to the NC rats. There was no significant difference in the results for these parameters between the PE-2 and PE-4 rats except for erythrocyte GSH-Px activity which was significantly more in the PE-2 rats than in the PE-4 rats. Although these results don't confirm any adverse effects of prolonged exposure in pyramids, they indicate a possibility of such adverse effects.

Pyramid shape of polymer solar cells: a simple solution to triple efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, Yuxin; Hou, Lintao; Ma, Kaijie; Wang, Biao; Xiong, Kang; Liu, Pengyi; Liao, Jihai; Wen, Shangsheng; Wang, Ergang

2013-01-01

Pyramid-shaped polymer solar cells fabricated on flexible substrates were investigated. Effective light trapping can be realized due to light reflection in all 360° directions, and 100% space utilization is achieved when assembled into arrays. The power conversion efficiency is enhanced by 200% ([60]PCBM as the acceptor) and 260% ([70]PCBM as the acceptor) with a dihedral angle of 30° between the opposite sides of the pyramid compared with a planar device, and a high V oc of 3.5 V in series connection is obtained. Considering the material utilization, an angle of 90° for pyramid-shaped polymer solar cells is proposed. Pyramid-shaped polymer solar cells are particularly suitable for installation on roof of vehicles and houses, which have limited surface area. (paper)

Ancient Egyptian chronology and the astronomical orientation of pyramids

Science.gov (United States)

Spence, Kate

2000-11-01

The ancient Egyptian pyramids at Giza have never been accurately dated, although we know that they were built approximately around the middle of the third millennium BC. The chronologies of this period have been reconstructed from surviving lists of kings and the lengths of their reigns, but the lists are rare, seldom complete and contain known inconsistencies and errors. As a result, the existing chronologies for that period (the Old Kingdom) can be considered accurate only to about +/-100 years, a figure that radiocarbon dating cannot at present improve. Here I use trends in the orientation of Old Kingdom pyramids to demonstrate that the Egyptians aligned them to north by using the simultaneous transit of two circumpolar stars. Modelling the precession of these stars yields a date for the start of construction of the Great Pyramid that is accurate to +/-5 yr, thereby providing an anchor for the Old Kingdom chronologies.

Distinctive transcriptome alterations of prefrontal pyramidal neurons in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Arion, D; Corradi, J P; Tang, S; Datta, D; Boothe, F; He, A; Cacace, A M; Zaczek, R; Albright, C F; Tseng, G; Lewis, D A

2015-11-01

Schizophrenia is associated with alterations in working memory that reflect dysfunction of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) circuitry. Working memory depends on the activity of excitatory pyramidal cells in DLPFC layer 3 and, to a lesser extent, in layer 5. Although many studies have profiled gene expression in DLPFC gray matter in schizophrenia, little is known about cell-type-specific transcript expression in these two populations of pyramidal cells. We hypothesized that interrogating gene expression, specifically in DLPFC layer 3 or 5 pyramidal cells, would reveal new and/or more robust schizophrenia-associated differences that would provide new insights into the nature of pyramidal cell dysfunction in the illness. We also sought to determine the impact of other variables, such as a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder or medication use at the time of death, on the patterns of gene expression in pyramidal neurons. Individual pyramidal cells in DLPFC layers 3 or 5 were captured by laser microdissection from 36 subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and matched normal comparison subjects. The mRNA from cell collections was subjected to transcriptome profiling by microarray followed by quantitative PCR validation. Expression of genes involved in mitochondrial (MT) or ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) functions were markedly downregulated in the patient group (P-values for MT-related and UPS-related pathways were schizoaffective disorder subjects (diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder was the most significant covariate, Pschizoaffective disorder, providing a potential molecular-cellular basis of differences in clinical phenotypes.

Discovery of a big void in Khufu's Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons.

Science.gov (United States)

Morishima, Kunihiro; Kuno, Mitsuaki; Nishio, Akira; Kitagawa, Nobuko; Manabe, Yuta; Moto, Masaki; Takasaki, Fumihiko; Fujii, Hirofumi; Satoh, Kotaro; Kodama, Hideyo; Hayashi, Kohei; Odaka, Shigeru; Procureur, Sébastien; Attié, David; Bouteille, Simon; Calvet, Denis; Filosa, Christopher; Magnier, Patrick; Mandjavidze, Irakli; Riallot, Marc; Marini, Benoit; Gable, Pierre; Date, Yoshikatsu; Sugiura, Makiko; Elshayeb, Yasser; Elnady, Tamer; Ezzy, Mustapha; Guerriero, Emmanuel; Steiger, Vincent; Serikoff, Nicolas; Mouret, Jean-Baptiste; Charlès, Bernard; Helal, Hany; Tayoubi, Mehdi

2017-12-21

The Great Pyramid, or Khufu's Pyramid, was built on the Giza plateau in Egypt during the fourth dynasty by the pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), who reigned from 2509 bc to 2483 bc. Despite being one of the oldest and largest monuments on Earth, there is no consensus about how it was built. To understand its internal structure better, we imaged the pyramid using muons, which are by-products of cosmic rays that are only partially absorbed by stone. The resulting cosmic-ray muon radiography allows us to visualize the known and any unknown voids in the pyramid in a non-invasive way. Here we report the discovery of a large void (with a cross-section similar to that of the Grand Gallery and a minimum length of 30 metres) situated above the Grand Gallery. This constitutes the first major inner structure found in the Great Pyramid since the nineteenth century. The void, named ScanPyramids' Big Void, was first observed with nuclear emulsion films installed in the Queen's chamber, then confirmed with scintillator hodoscopes set up in the same chamber and finally re-confirmed with gas detectors outside the pyramid. This large void has therefore been detected with high confidence by three different muon detection technologies and three independent analyses. These results constitute a breakthrough for the understanding of the internal structure of Khufu's Pyramid. Although there is currently no information about the intended purpose of this void, these findings show how modern particle physics can shed new light on the world's archaeological heritage.

Activity of pyramidal I and II slip in Mg alloys as revealed by texture development

Science.gov (United States)

Zecevic, Miroslav; Beyerlein, Irene J.; Knezevic, Marko

2018-02-01

Due to the geometry of the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) lattice, there are two types of pyramidal slip modes: { 10 1 bar 1 } 〈 11 2 bar 3 bar 〉 or type I and { 1 bar 1 bar 22 } 〈 11 2 bar 3 〉 or type II in HCP crystalline materials. Here we use crystal plasticity to examine the importance of crystallographic slip by pyramidal type I and type II on texture evolution. The study is applied to an Mg-4%Li alloy. An elastic-plastic polycrystal model is employed to elucidate the reorientation tendencies of these two slip modes in rolling of a textured polycrystal. Comparisons with experimental texture measurements indicate that both pyramidal I and II type slip were active during rolling deformation, with pyramidal I being the dominant mode. A single-slip-mode analysis is used to identify the orientations that prefer pyramidal I vs. II type slip when acting alone in a crystal. The analysis applies not only to Mg-4%Li, but identifies the key texture components in HCP crystals that would help distinguish the activity of pyramidal I from pyramidal II slip in rolling deformation.

Building online genomics applications using BioPyramid.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, Liam; Wakeham, Yoshua; Seidenman, Nick; Choi, Jarny

2018-03-29

BioPyramid is a python package, which serves as a scaffold for building an online application for the exploration of gene expression data. It is designed for bioinformaticians wishing to quickly share transformed data and interactive analyses with collaborators. Current R-based tools similarly address the need to quickly share "omics"-data in an exploratory format, but these are generally small-scale, single-dataset solutions. Biopyramid is written in python pyramid framework and scalable to address longer-term or more complex projects. It contains a number of components designed to reduce the time and effort in building such an application from scratch, including gene annotation, dataset models and visualisation tools. Freely available at http://github.com/jarny/biopyramid. Implemented in python and javascript. jarnyc@unimelb.edu.au.

The Differences between Multilevel Marketing and the Financial Pyramids or “Pyramid Scheme”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanessa Braga Santos

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This research aims to analyze and understand the difference between the concept of Multilevel Marketing and the Financial Pyramids. The main objective of this work is to clarify the differences between these two business models that are growing worldwide and also present concepts that show the success of professionals in this kind of new business model. Multilevel Marketing shows a sustainable system, a direct selling business that includes recruiting distributors with a profit share and also by recruiting new members. In the Financial Pyramid concept, the problem is that business support is the network itself, and often there are no products to be commercialized, so this model is unsustainable and considered as an illegal business in several countries, including Brazil. Within this approach, a case study was conducted with one of the largest Multilevel Marketing companies in the world, Mary Kay. We conducted a direct interview with one of Mary Kay Independent Sales Directors from the city of Piracicaba, held in October 2016, and collected data surveys from the internet. The markets today are based on moving products, so we concluded that Multilevel Marketing is a great business opportunity to make an extra income by marketing services and products.

Technique Based on Image Pyramid and Bayes Rule for Noise Reduction in Unsupervised Change Detection

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LI Zhi-qiang; HUO hong; FANG Tao; ZHU Ju-lian; GE Wei-li

2009-01-01

In this paper, a technique based on image pyramid and Bayes rule for reducing noise effects in unsupervised change detection is proposed. By using Gaussian pyramid to process two multitemporal images respectively, two image pyramids are constructed. The difference pyramid images are obtained by point-by-point subtraction between the same level images of the two image pyramids. By resizing all difference pyramid images to the size of the original multitemporal image and then making product operator among them, a map being similar to the difference image is obtained. The difference image is generated by point-by-point subtraction between the two multitemporal images directly. At last, the Bayes rule is used to distinguish the changed pixels. Both synthetic and real data sets are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed technique. Experimental results show that the map from the proposed technique is more robust to noise than the difference image.

Dietary risk assessment in the WIC program

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Dietary Risk Assessment in the WIC Program

2002-01-01

.... This book documents that nearly all low-income women in the childbearing years and children 2 years and over are at risk because their diets fail to meet the recommended numbers of servings of the food guide pyramid...

Pyramidal anchor stone from Baga waters of Goa, west coast of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Tripati, S.

. Pyramidal anchor stones have an apex hole which goes up to the round hole, however Goa anchor stone has no such perforation, but, instead has a rectangular cutting on the apex. The anchor stone is compared with Greek pyramidal anchor stones, and probably...

Functional health literacy and healthy eating: Understanding the brazilian food guide recommendations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Auristela Magalhães Coelho

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess the relationship between the functional health literacy of Unified Heath System users and the understanding of food servings in the pocket version of the Brazilian Food Guide. Methods: Functional health literacy was assessed by the Brief Test of functional health literacy. Two dialogue rounds were conducted with patients with adequate functional health literacy (Group 1 and inadequate functional health literacy (Group 2. The dialogues were recorded and analyzed according to the discourse of the collective subject. Results: Most (58.0% users had inadequate functional health literacy. Five core areas were identified: understands serving sizes; does not understand serving sizes; serving sizes are confusing; unfamiliar/uncommon foods; small letters. Group 2 had more trouble understanding. Conclusion: Difficulty understanding hinders health promotion. Individuals need to have access to educational materials that are easier to understand and developed taking their functional health literacy into account.

Environmental contaminants in food. Volume II-part a: working papers. I. Priority setting of toxic substances for guiding monitoring programs. II. Five case studies of environmental food contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

This volume contains working papers written for Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to assist in preparation of the report Environmental Contaminants in Food. The contents include: (1) Priority setting of toxic substances for guiding monitoring programs; and (2) Five case studies of environmental food contamination

[Evolution of the relative prices of food groups between 1939 and 2010 in the city of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Yuba, Tania Yuka; Sarti, Flavia Mori; Campino, Antonio Carlos Coelho; Carmo, Heron Carlos Esvael do

2013-06-01

To analyze the evolution of relative prices of food groups and its influence on public healthy eating policies. Data from the municipality of Sao Paulo between 1939 and 2010 were analyzed based on calculating index numbers. Data from the Economic Researches Foundation Institute price database and weight structures (1939 to 1988) and from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (1989 to 2010) were used to. The price database was organized, its consistency tested and prices were deflated using the consumer price index. Relative prices were calculated and associated to food categories and groups, according to the food pyramid guide adapted for the Brazilian population. The price indices for each group were calculated according to Laspeyres modified formula. The general food price index was compared with the indices for each food group and respective category: fresh food, processed food, beverages, meat, legumes, milk and eggs, cereals and root vegetables and eating out. Price indices for fat, oil, spices, sugars and sweets and processed food showed relative price reduction. Fresh food, such as fruit and vegetables, showed an increase in relative prices. Other food groups, such as cereals, flour and pasta, meat, milk and egg, showed a steadier long term trend in relative prices. The evolution of relative prices of food in the city of Sao Paulo demonstrates a negative trend towards healthy eating at household level in the long run.

A Backward Pyramid Oriented Optical Flow Field Computing Method for Aerial Image

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LI Jiatian

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Aerial image optical flow field is the foundation for detecting moving objects at low altitude and obtaining change information. In general,the image pyramid structure is embedded in numerical procedure in order to enhance the convergence globally. However,more often than not,the pyramid structure is constructed using a bottom-up approach progressively,ignoring the geometry imaging process.In particular,when the ground objects moving it will lead to miss optical flow or the optical flow too small that could hardly sustain the subsequent modeling and analyzing issues. So a backward pyramid structure is proposed on the foundation of top-level standard image. Firstly,down sampled factors of top-level image are calculated quantitatively through central projection,which making the optical flow in top-level image represent the shifting threshold of the set ground target. Secondly,combining top-level image with its original,the down sampled factors in middle layer are confirmed in a constant proportion way. Finally,the image of middle layer is achieved by Gaussian smoothing and image interpolation,and meanwhile the pyramid is formed. The comparative experiments and analysis illustrate that the backward pyramid can calculate the optic flow field in aerial image accurately,and it has advantages in restraining small ground displacement.

A pliocene cliff-line around the Giza Pyramids Plateau, Egypt

OpenAIRE

Aigner, Thomas

1982-01-01

Aigner, T., 1983. A Pliocene cliff-line around the Giza Pyramids Plateau, Egypt. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 4 2 : 313—322. Escarpments bordering the Giza Pyramids Plateau represent the cliff-line of a Pliocene transgression up the pre-Nile ("Eonile") Valley. Geomorphologically, a limestone cliff can be distinguished from a slip-block shore associated with a distinct fining-up sequence. Differences in bedrock lithology and in structure (Joint pattern, faults) are morphogen...

The force pyramid: a spatial analysis of force application during virtual reality brain tumor resection.

Science.gov (United States)

Azarnoush, Hamed; Siar, Samaneh; Sawaya, Robin; Zhrani, Gmaan Al; Winkler-Schwartz, Alexander; Alotaibi, Fahad Eid; Bugdadi, Abdulgadir; Bajunaid, Khalid; Marwa, Ibrahim; Sabbagh, Abdulrahman Jafar; Del Maestro, Rolando F

2017-07-01

OBJECTIVE Virtual reality simulators allow development of novel methods to analyze neurosurgical performance. The concept of a force pyramid is introduced as a Tier 3 metric with the ability to provide visual and spatial analysis of 3D force application by any instrument used during simulated tumor resection. This study was designed to answer 3 questions: 1) Do study groups have distinct force pyramids? 2) Do handedness and ergonomics influence force pyramid structure? 3) Are force pyramids dependent on the visual and haptic characteristics of simulated tumors? METHODS Using a virtual reality simulator, NeuroVR (formerly NeuroTouch), ultrasonic aspirator force application was continually assessed during resection of simulated brain tumors by neurosurgeons, residents, and medical students. The participants performed simulated resections of 18 simulated brain tumors with different visual and haptic characteristics. The raw data, namely, coordinates of the instrument tip as well as contact force values, were collected by the simulator. To provide a visual and qualitative spatial analysis of forces, the authors created a graph, called a force pyramid, representing force sum along the z-coordinate for different xy coordinates of the tool tip. RESULTS Sixteen neurosurgeons, 15 residents, and 84 medical students participated in the study. Neurosurgeon, resident and medical student groups displayed easily distinguishable 3D "force pyramid fingerprints." Neurosurgeons had the lowest force pyramids, indicating application of the lowest forces, followed by resident and medical student groups. Handedness, ergonomics, and visual and haptic tumor characteristics resulted in distinct well-defined 3D force pyramid patterns. CONCLUSIONS Force pyramid fingerprints provide 3D spatial assessment displays of instrument force application during simulated tumor resection. Neurosurgeon force utilization and ergonomic data form a basis for understanding and modulating resident force

A dual triangular pyramidal indentation technique based on FEA solutions for Material property evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Minsoo; Hyun, Hong Chul [Sogana Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jin Haeng; Lee, Hyungyil [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-01-15

In this study, we suggest a method for material property evaluation by dual triangular pyramidal indenters using the reverse analysis. First, we demonstrated that load displacement curves of conical and triangular pyramidal indenters are different for the same material. For this reason, an independent research on the triangular pyramidal indenter is needed. From FE indentation analyses on various materials, we then investigated the relationships among material properties, indentation parameters and load displacement curves. From this, we established property evaluation formula using dual triangular pyramidal indenters having two different half included angles. The approach provides the values of elastic modulus, yield strength and strain hardening exponent within an average error of 3% for various materials.

A role for progesterone and α4-containing GABAA receptors of hippocampal pyramidal cells in the exacerbated running response of adolescent female mice to repeated food restriction stress

Science.gov (United States)

Wable, Gauri; Chen, Yi-Wen; Rashid, Shannon; Aoki, Chiye

2015-01-01

Adolescent females are particularly vulnerable to mental illnesses with comorbidity of anxiety, such as anorexia nervosa (AN). We used an animal model of AN, called activity-based anorexia (ABA), to investigate the neurobiological basis of vulnerability to repeated, food restriction (FR) stress-evoked anxiety. Twenty-one of 23 adolescent female mice responded to the 1st FR with increased wheel running activity (WRA), even during the limited period of food access, thereby capturing AN's symptoms of voluntary FR and over-exercise. Baseline WRA was an excellent predictor of FR-elicited WRA (severity of ABA, SOA), with high baseline-runners responding to FR with minimal SOA (i.e., negative correlation). Nine gained resistance to ABA following the 1st FR. Even though allopregnanolone (3α-OH-5α-pregnan-20-one, THP), the metabolite of progesterone (P4), is a well-recognized anxiolytic agent, subcutaneous P4 to these ABA-resistant animals during the 2nd FR was exacerbative, evoking greater WRA than the counterpart resistant group that received oil vehicle, only. Moreover, P4 had no WRA-reducing effect on animals that remained ABA-vulnerable. To explain the sensitizing effect of P4 upon the resistant mice, we examined the relationship between P4 treatment and levels of the α4 subunit of GABAARs at spines of pyramidal cells of the hippocampal CA1, a parameter previously shown to correlate with resistance to ABA. α4 levels at spine membrane correlated strongly and negatively with SOA during the 1st ABA (prior to P4 injection), confirming previous findings. α4 expression levels were greater among P4-treated animals that had gained resistance than of vehicle-treated resistant animals or of the vulnerable animals with or without P4. We propose that α4-GABAARs play a protective role by counterbalancing the ABA-induced increase in excitability of CA1 pyramidal neurons, and although exogenous P4's metabolite, THP, enhances α4 expression, especially among those that can gain

Proposed food and drug administration protection action guides for human food and animal feed: Rationale and limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shleien, B.; Schmidt, G.D.; Chiacchierini, R.P.

1978-01-01

The Food and Drug Administration is proposing Protective Action Guides (PAG's) to be used in the event that a radiological incident results in the radioactive contamination of human food and animal feed. PAG's are proposed for two levels of response: (1) PREVENTIVE PAG - establishes a level at which responsible officials should take protective action to prevent or reduce the concentration of radioactivity in food or animal feed. (2) EMERGENCY PAG - establishes a level at which responsible officials should isolate food containing radioactivity to prevent its introduction into commerce and determine whether condemnation or another disposition is appropriate. Derived response levels, which are defined as the concentration of radioactivity in food or animal feed corresponding to the above PAG's, are proposed for radionuclides of most significance. The presentation will discuss the supporting rationale as well as the numerical limits for the PAG's. This rationale is based on the process of risk assessment and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis. The risk assessment compares the risk of radiation exposure to the risk from prevalent hazards accepted by society and from variability of the natural radiation environment. The cost-benefit analysis is limited to protective actions efficacious in the reduction of iodine-131 dose to the thyroid via the milk pathway (condemnation and use of stored feed). In addition, the metabolic and agricultural transfer models that were used to calculate derived response levels will be described briefly. (author)

Proposed food and drug administration protection action guides for human food and animal feed: Rationale and limits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shleien, B; Schmidt, G D; Chiacchierini, R P [Food and Drug Administration, Bureau of Radiological Health, Rockville, MD (United States)

1978-12-01

The Food and Drug Administration is proposing Protective Action Guides (PAG's) to be used in the event that a radiological incident results in the radioactive contamination of human food and animal feed. PAG's are proposed for two levels of response: (1) PREVENTIVE PAG - establishes a level at which responsible officials should take protective action to prevent or reduce the concentration of radioactivity in food or animal feed. (2) EMERGENCY PAG - establishes a level at which responsible officials should isolate food containing radioactivity to prevent its introduction into commerce and determine whether condemnation or another disposition is appropriate. Derived response levels, which are defined as the concentration of radioactivity in food or animal feed corresponding to the above PAG's, are proposed for radionuclides of most significance. The presentation will discuss the supporting rationale as well as the numerical limits for the PAG's. This rationale is based on the process of risk assessment and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis. The risk assessment compares the risk of radiation exposure to the risk from prevalent hazards accepted by society and from variability of the natural radiation environment. The cost-benefit analysis is limited to protective actions efficacious in the reduction of iodine-131 dose to the thyroid via the milk pathway (condemnation and use of stored feed). In addition, the metabolic and agricultural transfer models that were used to calculate derived response levels will be described briefly. (author)

The offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid of P-waves in homogeneous orthorhombic media

KAUST Repository

Hao, Qi

2016-07-18

The offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid describes the diffraction traveltime of a point diffractor in homogeneous media. We have developed an analytic approximation for the P-wave offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid for homogeneous orthorhombic media. In this approximation, a perturbation method and the Shanks transform were implemented to derive the analytic expressions for the horizontal slowness components of P-waves in orthorhombic media. Numerical examples were shown to analyze the proposed traveltime pyramid formula and determined its accuracy and the application in calculating migration isochrones and reflection traveltime. The proposed offset-midpoint traveltime formula is useful for Kirchhoff prestack time migration and migration velocity analysis for orthorhombic media.

The offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid of P-waves in homogeneous orthorhombic media

KAUST Repository

Hao, Qi; Stovas, Alexey; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

2016-01-01

The offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid describes the diffraction traveltime of a point diffractor in homogeneous media. We have developed an analytic approximation for the P-wave offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid for homogeneous orthorhombic media. In this approximation, a perturbation method and the Shanks transform were implemented to derive the analytic expressions for the horizontal slowness components of P-waves in orthorhombic media. Numerical examples were shown to analyze the proposed traveltime pyramid formula and determined its accuracy and the application in calculating migration isochrones and reflection traveltime. The proposed offset-midpoint traveltime formula is useful for Kirchhoff prestack time migration and migration velocity analysis for orthorhombic media.

Percepção de responsáveis e recreadores sobre diferentes representações gráficas de guia alimentar para crianças de dois a três anos Perceptions of parents, guardians and recreators on different graphic representations of food guides for young children aged two to tree years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roseane Moreira S. Barbosa

2008-12-01

parents/guardians of young children aged two to three years in a public day care center of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Five graphic representations of nutritional concepts (circle, pyramid, rainbow, little train and plate were shown to these adults. Then, they were questioned about food group knowledge, concepts of nutrition (proportionality, moderation and variety, healthy eating habits. After this step, they were supposed to point out the best icon to represent healthy eating habits. Analysis of the content was performed. RESULTS: Most of the parents/guardians (92% understood well the concept of food groups as they reported that food guides were divided by foods and grouped according to nutrients. They understood the concept of proportionality/moderation; however, the hierarchic format of the pyramid led them to misinterpretation: they pointed the food groups at the top as the most important ones. Participants remarked the importance of including all food groups in the diet, but the concept of intragroup variety was only understood by two participants. Adults chose the circle as the best graphic representation for a healthy nutrition. CONCLUSIONS: The elaboration of a food guide should take into consideration the comprehension of nutritional concepts by individuals in order to achieve the goals proposed.

Comparing Volumes of Prisms and Pyramids

Science.gov (United States)

Vinogradova, Natalya

2012-01-01

Students' experience in using formulas for volumes is often limited to substituting numbers into given formulas. An activity presented in this article may help students make connections between the formulas for volumes of prisms and volumes of pyramids. In addition, some interesting facts from number theory arise, demonstrating strong connections…

Logical thinking in the pyramidal schema of concepts the logical and mathematical elements

CERN Document Server

Geldsetzer, Lutz

2014-01-01

This book proposes a new way of formalizing in logic and mathematics - a "pyramidal graph system," devised by the author and based on Porphyrian trees and modern concepts of classification, in both of which pyramids act as the organizing schema.

Computing Homology Group Generators of Images Using Irregular Graph Pyramids

OpenAIRE

Peltier , Samuel; Ion , Adrian; Haxhimusa , Yll; Kropatsch , Walter; Damiand , Guillaume

2007-01-01

International audience; We introduce a method for computing homology groups and their generators of a 2D image, using a hierarchical structure i.e. irregular graph pyramid. Starting from an image, a hierarchy of the image is built, by two operations that preserve homology of each region. Instead of computing homology generators in the base where the number of entities (cells) is large, we first reduce the number of cells by a graph pyramid. Then homology generators are computed efficiently on...

The architectonic encoding of the minor lunar standstills in the horizon of the Giza pyramids.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossam, M. K. Aboulfotouh

The paper is an attempt to show the architectonic method of the ancient Egyptian designers for encoding the horizontal-projections of the moon's declinations during two events of the minor lunar standstills, in the design of the site-plan of the horizon of the Giza pyramids, using the methods of descriptive geometry. It shows that the distance of the eastern side of the second Giza pyramid from the north-south axis of the great pyramid encodes a projection of a lunar declination, when earth's obliquity-angle was ~24.10°. Besides, it shows that the angle of inclination of the causeway of the second Giza pyramid, of ~13.54° south of the cardinal east, encodes the projection of another lunar declination when earth's obliquity-angle reaches ~22.986°. In addition, it shows the encoded coordinate system in the site-plan of the horizon of the Giza pyramids.

Fundamental constructs in food parenting practices: a content map to guide future research.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughn, Amber E; Ward, Dianne S; Fisher, Jennifer O; Faith, Myles S; Hughes, Sheryl O; Kremers, Stef P J; Musher-Eizenman, Dara R; O'Connor, Teresia M; Patrick, Heather; Power, Thomas G

2016-02-01

Although research shows that "food parenting practices" can impact children's diet and eating habits, current understanding of the impact of specific practices has been limited by inconsistencies in terminology and definitions. This article represents a critical appraisal of food parenting practices, including clear terminology and definitions, by a working group of content experts. The result of this effort was the development of a content map for future research that presents 3 overarching, higher-order food parenting constructs--coercive control, structure, and autonomy support--as well as specific practice subconstructs. Coercive control includes restriction, pressure to eat, threats and bribes, and using food to control negative emotions. Structure includes rules and limits, limited/guided choices, monitoring, meal- and snacktime routines, modeling, food availability and accessibility, food preparation, and unstructured practices. Autonomy support includes nutrition education, child involvement, encouragement, praise, reasoning, and negotiation. Literature on each construct is reviewed, and directions for future research are offered. Clear terminology and definitions should facilitate cross-study comparisons and minimize conflicting findings resulting from previous discrepancies in construct operationalization. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Dielectrophoresis-Assisted Raman Spectroscopy of Intravesicular Analytes on Metallic Pyramids.

Science.gov (United States)

Barik, Avijit; Cherukulappurath, Sudhir; Wittenberg, Nathan J; Johnson, Timothy W; Oh, Sang-Hyun

2016-02-02

Chemical analysis of membrane-bound containers such as secretory vesicles, organelles, and exosomes can provide insights into subcellular biology. These containers are loaded with a range of important biomolecules, which further underscores the need for sensitive and selective analysis methods. Here we present a metallic pyramid array for intravesicular analysis by combining site-selective dielectrophoresis (DEP) and Raman spectroscopy. Sharp pyramidal tips act as a gradient force generator to trap nanoparticles or vesicles from the solution, and the tips are illuminated by a monochromatic light source for concurrent spectroscopic detection of trapped analytes. The parameters suitable for DEP trapping were optimized by fluorescence microscopy, and the Raman spectroscopy setup was characterized by a nanoparticle based model system. Finally, vesicles loaded with 4-mercaptopyridine were concentrated at the tips and their Raman spectra were detected in real time. These pyramidal tips can perform large-area array-based trapping and spectroscopic analysis, opening up possibilities to detect molecules inside cells or cell-derived vesicles.

The Conflict Pyramid: A Holistic Approach to Structuring Conflict Resolution in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Hakvoort, Ilse

2010-01-01

This paper examines how the conflict pyramid, originally defined and used by Richard Cohen, can be used as a model to describe the relations between different conflict resolution education programs and activities included in the programs. The central questions posed in the paper are: How can Richard Cohen's conflict pyramid be used as a model for…

On higher order pyramidal finite elements

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Liu, L.; Davies, K.B.; Křížek, Michal; Guan, L.

2011-01-01

Roč. 3, č. 2 (2011), s. 131-140 ISSN 2070-0733 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA100190803 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : pyramidal polynomial basis functions * finite element method * composite elements * three-dimensional mortar elements Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.750, year: 2011

Static Posturography and Falls According to Pyramidal, Sensory and Cerebellar Functional Systems in People with Multiple Sclerosis

Science.gov (United States)

Kalron, Alon; Givon, Uri; Frid, Lior; Dolev, Mark; Achiron, Anat

2016-01-01

Balance impairment is common in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and frequently impacts quality of life by decreasing mobility and increasing the risk of falling. However, there are only scarce data examining the contribution of specific neurological functional systems on balance measures in MS. Therefore, the primary aim of our study was to examine the differences in posturography parameters and fall incidence according to the pyramidal, cerebellar and sensory systems functional systems in PwMS. The study included 342 PwMS, 211 women and mean disease duration of 8.2 (S.D = 8.3) years. The study sample was divided into six groups according to the pyramidal, cerebellar and sensory functional system scores, derived from the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) data. Static postural control parameters were obtained from the Zebris FDM-T Treadmill (zebris® Medical GmbH, Germany). Participants were defined as "fallers" and "non-fallers" based on their fall history. Our findings revealed a trend that PwMS affected solely in the pyramidal system, have reduced stability compared to patients with cerebellar and sensory dysfunctions. Moreover, the addition of sensory impairments to pyramidal dysfunction does not exacerbate postural control. The patients in the pure sensory group demonstrated increased stability compared to each of the three combined groups; pyramidal-cerebellar, pyramidal-sensory and pyramidal-cerebellar-sensory groups. As for fall status, the percentage of fallers in the pure pyramidal, cerebellar and sensory groups were 44.3%, 33.3% and 19.5%, respectively. As for the combined functional system groups, the percentage of fallers in the pyramidal-cerebellar, pyramidal-sensory and pyramidal-cerebellar-sensory groups were 59.7%, 40.7% and 65%, respectively. This study confirms that disorders in neurological functional systems generate different effects on postural control and incidence of falls in the MS population. From a clinical standpoint, the

Static Posturography and Falls According to Pyramidal, Sensory and Cerebellar Functional Systems in People with Multiple Sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalron, Alon; Givon, Uri; Frid, Lior; Dolev, Mark; Achiron, Anat

2016-01-01

Balance impairment is common in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and frequently impacts quality of life by decreasing mobility and increasing the risk of falling. However, there are only scarce data examining the contribution of specific neurological functional systems on balance measures in MS. Therefore, the primary aim of our study was to examine the differences in posturography parameters and fall incidence according to the pyramidal, cerebellar and sensory systems functional systems in PwMS. The study included 342 PwMS, 211 women and mean disease duration of 8.2 (S.D = 8.3) years. The study sample was divided into six groups according to the pyramidal, cerebellar and sensory functional system scores, derived from the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) data. Static postural control parameters were obtained from the Zebris FDM-T Treadmill (zebris® Medical GmbH, Germany). Participants were defined as "fallers" and "non-fallers" based on their fall history. Our findings revealed a trend that PwMS affected solely in the pyramidal system, have reduced stability compared to patients with cerebellar and sensory dysfunctions. Moreover, the addition of sensory impairments to pyramidal dysfunction does not exacerbate postural control. The patients in the pure sensory group demonstrated increased stability compared to each of the three combined groups; pyramidal-cerebellar, pyramidal-sensory and pyramidal-cerebellar-sensory groups. As for fall status, the percentage of fallers in the pure pyramidal, cerebellar and sensory groups were 44.3%, 33.3% and 19.5%, respectively. As for the combined functional system groups, the percentage of fallers in the pyramidal-cerebellar, pyramidal-sensory and pyramidal-cerebellar-sensory groups were 59.7%, 40.7% and 65%, respectively. This study confirms that disorders in neurological functional systems generate different effects on postural control and incidence of falls in the MS population. From a clinical standpoint, the

Sparse aperture differential piston measurements using the pyramid wave-front sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Arcidiacono, Carmelo; Chen, Xinyang; Yan, Zhaojun; Zheng, Lixin; Agapito, Guido; Wang, Chaoyan; Zhu, Nenghong; Zhu, Liyun; Cai, Jianqing; Tang, Zhenghong

2016-07-01

In this paper we report on the laboratory experiment we settled in the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) to investigate the pyramid wave-front sensor (WFS) ability to measure the differential piston on a sparse aperture. The ultimate goal is to verify the ability of the pyramid WFS work in close loop to perform the phasing of the primary mirrors of a sparse Fizeau imaging telescope. In the experiment we installed on the optical bench we performed various test checking the ability to flat the wave-front using a deformable mirror and to measure the signal of the differential piston on a two pupils setup. These steps represent the background from which we start to perform full close loop operation on multiple apertures. These steps were also useful to characterize the achromatic double pyramids (double prisms) manufactured in the SHAO optical workshop.

Usefulness of MR coronal imaging of the ''pyramidal line''. Predictive value in motor function of stroke patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satoh, Kenichi; Matsuzaki, Takayuki; Shimazaki, Mitsunori

1997-01-01

A coronal image was obtained along a straight line between the front edge of the medulla and the deepest point of the interpeduncular cistern in the midsagittal plane (the ''pyramidal line''). This coronal image along the pyramidal line revealed the pyramidal tract extending from the internal capsule down to the medulla. Using this technique, we studied 25 patients with motor deficit associated with cerebrovascular disease. We predicted the possibility of their recovery in the subacute stage. We were able to predict the recovery in 23 patients (92%). We conclude that a coronal image along the pyramidal line is useful for the understanding of relation between pyramidal tract and lesion and for predicting motor function. (author)

Usefulness of MR coronal imaging of the ``pyramidal line``. Predictive value in motor function of stroke patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Satoh, Kenichi; Matsuzaki, Takayuki; Shimazaki, Mitsunori [Hakodate Red Cross Hospital, Hokkaido (Japan)

1997-06-01

A coronal image was obtained along a straight line between the front edge of the medulla and the deepest point of the interpeduncular cistern in the midsagittal plane (the ``pyramidal line``). This coronal image along the pyramidal line revealed the pyramidal tract extending from the internal capsule down to the medulla. Using this technique, we studied 25 patients with motor deficit associated with cerebrovascular disease. We predicted the possibility of their recovery in the subacute stage. We were able to predict the recovery in 23 patients (92%). We conclude that a coronal image along the pyramidal line is useful for the understanding of relation between pyramidal tract and lesion and for predicting motor function. (author)

Home Economics--Food Service Catering. Kit No. 54. Instructor's Manual [and] Student Learning Activity Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowery, Ann

An instructor's manual and student activity guide on food service, catering are provided in this set of prevocational education materials which focuses on the vocational area of home economics. (This set of materials is one of ninety-two prevocational education sets arranged around a cluster of seven vocational offerings: agriculture, home…

Field emission properties of an array of pyramidal structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Assis, Thiago A [Departamento de QuImica, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Borondo, F [Departamento de QuImica, Instituto Mixto de Ciencias Matematicas CSIC-UAM-UC3M-UCM, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); De Castilho, C M C; Brito Mota, F [Grupo de Fisica de SuperfIcies e Materiais, Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Campus Universitario da Federacao, 40210-340, Salvador, BA (Brazil); Benito, R M, E-mail: t.albuquerque@uam.e, E-mail: f.borondo@uam.e, E-mail: caio@ufba.b, E-mail: fbmota@ufba.b, E-mail: rosamaria.benito@upm.e [Grupo de Sistemas Complejos, Departamento de Fisica y Mecanica, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros Agronomos, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

2009-10-07

The properties and efficiency of the emission current density produced by a metallic array of pyramidal structures are investigated. The theoretical results obtained by numerical integration of the corresponding Laplace equation using a finite differences scheme offer useful information for the optimization of field emission devices based on cathodes with this geometry. Our study shows that the inter-pyramidal distance strongly affects the current density, and even more important for this issue is the protrusion characteristics of these structures. Another relevant, although less important, parameter determining this density is the anode-cathode distance. The effect of the array characteristics on the maximum local electric field intensity is also discussed.

Self-assembly of the general membrane-remodeling protein PVAP into sevenfold virus-associated pyramids.

Science.gov (United States)

Daum, Bertram; Quax, Tessa E F; Sachse, Martin; Mills, Deryck J; Reimann, Julia; Yildiz, Özkan; Häder, Sabine; Saveanu, Cosmin; Forterre, Patrick; Albers, Sonja-Verena; Kühlbrandt, Werner; Prangishvili, David

2014-03-11

Viruses have developed a wide range of strategies to escape from the host cells in which they replicate. For egress some archaeal viruses use a pyramidal structure with sevenfold rotational symmetry. Virus-associated pyramids (VAPs) assemble in the host cell membrane from the virus-encoded protein PVAP and open at the end of the infection cycle. We characterize this unusual supramolecular assembly using a combination of genetic, biochemical, and electron microscopic techniques. By whole-cell electron cryotomography, we monitored morphological changes in virus-infected host cells. Subtomogram averaging reveals the VAP structure. By heterologous expression of PVAP in cells from all three domains of life, we demonstrate that the protein integrates indiscriminately into virtually any biological membrane, where it forms sevenfold pyramids. We identify the protein domains essential for VAP formation in PVAP truncation mutants by their ability to remodel the cell membrane. Self-assembly of PVAP into pyramids requires at least two different, in-plane and out-of-plane, protein interactions. Our findings allow us to propose a model describing how PVAP arranges to form sevenfold pyramids and suggest how this small, robust protein may be used as a general membrane-remodeling system.

Discovery of a big void in Khufu’s Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons

Science.gov (United States)

Morishima, Kunihiro; Kuno, Mitsuaki; Nishio, Akira; Kitagawa, Nobuko; Manabe, Yuta; Moto, Masaki; Takasaki, Fumihiko; Fujii, Hirofumi; Satoh, Kotaro; Kodama, Hideyo; Hayashi, Kohei; Odaka, Shigeru; Procureur, Sébastien; Attié, David; Bouteille, Simon; Calvet, Denis; Filosa, Christopher; Magnier, Patrick; Mandjavidze, Irakli; Riallot, Marc; Marini, Benoit; Gable, Pierre; Date, Yoshikatsu; Sugiura, Makiko; Elshayeb, Yasser; Elnady, Tamer; Ezzy, Mustapha; Guerriero, Emmanuel; Steiger, Vincent; Serikoff, Nicolas; Mouret, Jean-Baptiste; Charlès, Bernard; Helal, Hany; Tayoubi, Mehdi

2017-12-01

The Great Pyramid, or Khufu’s Pyramid, was built on the Giza plateau in Egypt during the fourth dynasty by the pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), who reigned from 2509 BC to 2483 BC. Despite being one of the oldest and largest monuments on Earth, there is no consensus about how it was built. To understand its internal structure better, we imaged the pyramid using muons, which are by-products of cosmic rays that are only partially absorbed by stone. The resulting cosmic-ray muon radiography allows us to visualize the known and any unknown voids in the pyramid in a non-invasive way. Here we report the discovery of a large void (with a cross-section similar to that of the Grand Gallery and a minimum length of 30 metres) situated above the Grand Gallery. This constitutes the first major inner structure found in the Great Pyramid since the nineteenth century. The void, named ScanPyramids’ Big Void, was first observed with nuclear emulsion films installed in the Queen’s chamber, then confirmed with scintillator hodoscopes set up in the same chamber and finally re-confirmed with gas detectors outside the pyramid. This large void has therefore been detected with high confidence by three different muon detection technologies and three independent analyses. These results constitute a breakthrough for the understanding of the internal structure of Khufu’s Pyramid. Although there is currently no information about the intended purpose of this void, these findings show how modern particle physics can shed new light on the world’s archaeological heritage.

Exploring Utilitarian and Hedonic Aspects of Consumption at the Bottom of Pyramid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Gerhard

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The number of researches about the Bottom of Pyramid has increased over the last decades; however, a discussion about its consumer habits is still necessary. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the behavior of consumers in informal markets, inherent to this segment. Specifically, this study explores the meanings attributed by consumers to attend a trade fair, through the lenses of hedonic and utilitarian buying values. Through the triangulation of two research methods, Birds’ Fair and its consumers (Brazil were analyzed. The results highlight the fact that the Fair is constituted by the syncretism of non-homogenous groups of consumers, who have different reasons to visit it. Along with the central economic-utilitarian concept of low-prices, a hedonic-festive element arises as an essential attribute of the consumer’s behavior. In this sense, individuals make their purchases guided by a need for usefulness, but there is also pleasure in the activity of shopping itself.

Pyramidal cell development: postnatal spinogenesis, dendritic growth, axon growth, and electrophysiology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guy eElston

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Here we review recent findings related to postnatal spinogenesis, dendritic and axon growth, pruning and electrophysiology of neocortical pyramidal cells in the developing primate brain. Pyramidal cells in sensory, association and executive cortex grow dendrites, spines and axons at different rates, and vary in the degree of pruning. Of particular note is the fact that pyramidal cells in primary visual area (V1 prune more spines than they grow during postnatal development, whereas those in inferotemporal (TEO and TE and granular prefrontal cortex (gPFC; Brodmann’s area 12 grow more than they prune. Moreover, pyramidal cells in TEO, TE and the gPFC continue to grow larger dendritic territories from birth into adulthood, replete with spines, whereas those in V1 become smaller during this time. The developmental profile of intrinsic axons also varies between cortical areas: those in V1, for example, undergo an early proliferation followed by pruning and local consolidation into adulthood, whereas those in area TE tend to establish their territory and consolidate it into adulthood with little pruning. We correlate the anatomical findings with the electrophysiological properties of cells in the different cortical areas, including membrane time constant, depolarizing sag, duration of individual action potentials, and spike-frequency adaptation. All of the electrophysiological variables ramped up before 7 months of age in V1, but continued to ramp up over a protracted period of time in area TE. These data suggest that the anatomical and electrophysiological profiles of pyramidal cells vary among cortical areas at birth, and continue to diverge into adulthood. Moreover, the data reveal that the use it or lose it notion of synaptic reinforcement may speak to only part of the story, use it but you still might lose it may be just as prevalent in the cerebral cortex.

Nano-pyramid arrays for nano-particle trapping

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sun, Xingwu; Veltkamp, Henk-Willem; Berenschot, Johan W.; Gardeniers, Johannes G.E.; Tas, Niels Roelof

2016-01-01

Abstract In this paper we present the drastic miniaturization of nano-wire pyramids fabricated by corner lithography. A particle trapping device was fabricated in a well-defined and symmetrical array. The entrance and exit hole-size can be tuned by adjusting fabrication parameters. We describe here

Analysis of food advertisements on cable television directed to children based on the food guide for the Brazilian population and current legislation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soraya da Rocha BRITTO

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: This study examined food product advertisements directed to children and aired on closed television channels in Brazil, according to the types of foods and beverages advertised and the advertising content. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on the adequacy of food commercials directed to children and aired by six pay-television broadcasters according to two parameters: "The Food Guide for the Brazilian Population, 2014", and the National Council on Children's and Adolescents' Rights Resolution nº 163 of 2014 about food advertising. The advertisements were recorded in July 2015, at different times and days of the week. Results: One hundred and sixty-two hours were recorded, registering 3,468 commercials: 1,850 were related to internal programming and 1,618 advertised toys (22.15%, food and beverages (5.61%, applications for electronic devices (5.58%, and entertainment/events (5.56%. The Fisher exact test showed fewer number of food commercials compared to other types of commercials (p<0.001. The main food items advertised by all television stations were ultraprocessed foods and no advertisements of fresh food were observed (p<0.001. Most of the food commercials (64.30% used children's language and characters; 43.00% used songs in children's voices, and 21.40% linked gift distribution to food. Conclusion: The number of food commercials observed was lower than in previous national studies. However, the advertisements did not follow current legislation, indicating the abuse of marketing communication to children. More effective public policies and the respect and enforcement of legislation on child advertising could protect children from high consumption of ultraprocessed foods.

Degeneration of pyramidal tract of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamagami, Tatsuhito; Harada, Noboru; Gotoh, Yasunobu; Imataka, Kiyoharu; Kinuta, Yuji; Okumura, Teizo; Niijima, Kyo; Taki, Waro; Kikuchi, Haruhiko.

1988-01-01

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) examinaion was performed on cases of hemiplegia and hemiparesis. These included seven cases of intracerebral hemorrhage, four cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage, one case of cerebral infarct, and two cases of head trauma. The pyramidal tract in the brain stem was studied in five patients with complete hemiplegia and in nine with incomplete hemiparesis. The scanner of the MRI was a resistive type operating at a field of 0.2 Tesla. The inversion recovery (IR) and saturation recovery (SR) techniques were utilized. The pyramidal tract at the level of the midbrain and the pons was recognized as a low intensity area on the T 1 image (IR 1500/43) in the cases of complete hemiplegia. However, it was recognized as a high intensity area on the SR image (SR 1000/60) and the T 2 image (SR 2000/100). No abnormal signal intensity was found in the cases of incomplete hemiparesis. A low intensity area on the T 1 image and a high intensity area on the T 2 image were recognized in the ventral portion of the midbrain and the pons on the affected side. These findings indicate a degeneration of the pyramidal tract at the level of the brain stem in patients with complete hemiplegia. (author)

From ¡°Double Pyramid¡± Thoughts to Corporate Social Responsibility for Enterprise Employees

OpenAIRE

Guiling Wei

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to study corporate social responsibility for staffs based on the pyramid of Maslow¡¯s hierarchy of human needs and the pyramid of Carroll¡¯s corporate social responsibility. This research takes advantage of ¡°double pyramid¡± thoughts to discuss some enterprises lack of corporate social responsibility for their employees. Today, we are building of a harmonious society, each enterprise should not only realize the profit maximization, but also to meet the individual...

THE ARCHITECTONIC ENCODING OF THE MINOR LUNAR STANDSTILLS IN THE HORIZON OF THE GIZA PYRAMIDS

OpenAIRE

Aboulfotouh, Hossam M. K.

2014-01-01

The paper is an attempt to show the architectonic method of the ancient Egyptian designers for encoding the horizontal-projections of the moon’s declinations during two events of the minor lunar standstills, in the design of the site-plan of the horizon of the Giza pyramids, using the methods of descriptive geometry. It shows that the distance of the eastern side of the second Giza pyramid from the north-south axis of the great pyramid encodes a projection of a lunar declination, when earth’s...

Effect of Pyramidal Dome Geometry on the Acoustical Characteristics in A Mosque

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Dg. H. Kassim

2014-12-01

Full Text Available As an important symbol in Islam, a mosque is built with architectural grandeur. Among the characteristics is its high ceiling and it is usually constructed with a typical spherical dome shape. Some mosques, however, are influenced by the local culture and the dome can be of a different shape, such as pyramidal, as found in mosques in Malacca, Malaysia. This paper presents an assessment of the internal acoustical characteristics of a mosque having a pyramidal dome. The study is conducted by means of computer simulation using CATT indoor acoustic software. Reverberation time and clarity are taken to evaluate the intelligibility of speech. The effect of the angle and height of the dome on the acoustical parameters is discussed. It is found that a pyramidal dome with a steeper angle contributes to poor acoustic clarity.

Marker-assisted pyramiding of Thinopyrum-derived leaf rust ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Mona Singh

2017-12-08

Dec 8, 2017 ... Abstract. This study was undertaken to pyramid two effective leaf rust resistance genes (Lr19 and Lr24) derived from ... genes such as Lr9, Lr19, Lr26 and Lr28 became ineffective ..... Disease management recommendations.

Availability of Fresh Produce in Nutrition Assistance Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Food and Nutrition Service (USDA), Alexandria, VA. Office of Analysis and Evaluation.

Noting that fruit and vegetable consumption is an important component of a balanced diet consistent with the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" and the Food Guide Pyramid, this report fulfills a request from the Appropriations Committee Directives to analyze current levels of fresh produce in Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutritional…

Housing in Pyramid Counteracts Neuroendocrine and Oxidative Stress Caused by Chronic Restraint in Rats

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M. Surekha Bhat

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The space within the great pyramid and its smaller replicas is believed to have an antistress effect. Research has shown that the energy field within the pyramid can protect the hippocampal neurons of mice from stress-induced atrophy and also reduce neuroendocrine stress, oxidative stress and increase antioxidant defence in rats. In this study, we have, for the first time, attempted to study the antistress effects of pyramid exposure on the status of cortisol level, oxidative damage and antioxidant status in rats during chronic restraint stress. Adult female Wistar rats were divided into four groups as follows: normal controls (NC housed in home cage and left in the laboratory; restrained rats (with three subgroups subject to chronic restraint stress by placing in a wire mesh restrainer for 6 h per day for 14 days, the restrained controls (RC having their restrainers kept in the laboratory; restrained pyramid rats (RP being kept in the pyramid; and restrained square box rats (RS in the square box during the period of restraint stress everyday. Erythrocyte malondialdehyde (MDA and plasma cortisol levels were significantly increased and erythrocyte-reduced glutathione (GSH levels, erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px and superoxide dismutase (SOD activities were significantly decreased in RC and RS rats as compared to NC. However, these parameters were maintained to near normal levels in RP rats which showed significantly decreased erythrocyte MDA and plasma cortisol and significantly increased erythrocyte GSH levels, erythrocyte GSH-Px and SOD activities when compared with RS rats. The results showed that housing in pyramid counteracts neuroendocrine and oxidative stress caused by chronic restraint in rats.

Addressing the Knowledge Gaps in Agroecology and Identifying Guiding Principles for Transforming Conventional Agri-Food Systems

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Angelina Sanderson Bellamy

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Today’s society faces many challenges when it comes to food production: producing food sustainably, producing enough of it, distributing food, consuming enough calories, consuming too many calories, consuming culturally-appropriate foods, and reducing the amount of food wasted. The distribution of power within the current mainstream agri-food system is dominated by multinational agri-businesses that control the flow of goods and wealth through the system. This hegemony has implemented a regime whose structures reinforce its control. A growing response to the current agri-food regime is the rise of agroecology, in both developed and developing country contexts. This is not a new phenomenon, but it has evolved over time from its Latin American origins. However, agroecology is not a monolithic block and represents many different perceptions of what it means to advance agroecology and ways in which it can help today’s society tackle the crisis of the agri-food system. This paper addresses these sometimes discordant view points, as well as the gaps in our knowledge regarding agroecology in an effort to lay out some guiding principles for how we can move forward in transforming the current agri-food system to achieve sustainability and a more equitable distribution of power and resources.

Ancient Pyramids Help Students Learn Math Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Courtney D.; Stump, Amanda M.; Lazaros, Edward J.

2010-01-01

This article presents an activity that allows students to use mathematics and critical-thinking skills to emulate processes used by the ancient Egyptians to prepare the site for the Pyramids of Giza. To accomplish this, they use three different methods. First, they create a square using only simple technological tools that were available to the…

Involvement of intracellular Zn2+ signaling in LTP at perforant pathway-CA1 pyramidal cell synapse.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamano, Haruna; Nishio, Ryusuke; Takeda, Atsushi

2017-07-01

Physiological significance of synaptic Zn 2+ signaling was examined at perforant pathway-CA1 pyramidal cell synapses. In vivo long-term potentiation (LTP) at perforant pathway-CA1 pyramidal cell synapses was induced using a recording electrode attached to a microdialysis probe and the recording region was locally perfused with artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) via the microdialysis probe. Perforant pathway LTP was not attenuated under perfusion with CaEDTA (10 mM), an extracellular Zn 2+ chelator, but attenuated under perfusion with ZnAF-2DA (50 μM), an intracellular Zn 2+ chelator, suggesting that intracellular Zn 2+ signaling is required for perforant pathway LTP. Even in rat brain slices bathed in CaEDTA in ACSF, intracellular Zn 2+ level, which was measured with intracellular ZnAF-2, was increased in the stratum lacunosum-moleculare where perforant pathway-CA1 pyramidal cell synapses were contained after tetanic stimulation. These results suggest that intracellular Zn 2+ signaling, which originates in internal stores/proteins, is involved in LTP at perforant pathway-CA1 pyramidal cell synapses. Because the influx of extracellular Zn 2+ , which originates in presynaptic Zn 2+ release, is involved in LTP at Schaffer collateral-CA1 pyramidal cell synapses, synapse-dependent Zn 2+ dynamics may be involved in plasticity of postsynaptic CA1 pyramidal cells. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

THE MORPHOLOGICAL PYRAMID AND ITS APPLICATIONS TO REMOTE SENSING: MULTIRESOLUTION DATA ANALYSIS AND FEATURES EXTRACTION

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Laporterie Florence

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In remote sensing, sensors are more and more numerous, and their spatial resolution is higher and higher. Thus, the availability of a quick and accurate characterisation of the increasing amount of data is now a quite important issue. This paper deals with an approach combining a pyramidal algorithm and mathematical morphology to study the physiographic characteristics of terrestrial ecosystems. Our pyramidal strategy involves first morphological filters, then extraction at each level of resolution of well-known landscapes features. The approach is applied to a digitised aerial photograph representing an heterogeneous landscape of orchards and forests along the Garonne river (France. This example, simulating very high spatial resolution imagery, highlights the influence of the parameters of the pyramid according to the spatial properties of the studied patterns. It is shown that, the morphological pyramid approach is a promising attempt for multi-level features extraction by modelling geometrical relevant parameters.

Vegan Food Guide

Science.gov (United States)

... and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose." Vegans ... are aware of it. Similarly, soap made from animal fat rather than vegetable fats is ... and cruelty involved in the meat, dairy, cosmetics, clothing, and ...

Jonestown in the Shadow of Maslow's Pyramid.

Science.gov (United States)

Easley, Edgar M.; Wigglesworth, David C.

1979-01-01

Reviews Maslow's hierarchy of needs in the light of the Jonestown tragedy. Maintains that members of the People's Temple felt frustrated in attaining the lower levels in the world of reality, and so moved outside the pyramid in search of the top, self-actualization. In the process, their primary needs were met. Journal availability: see SO 507…

Neuropathic Pain Causes Pyramidal Neuronal Hyperactivity in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

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Ruohe Zhao

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC is thought to be important for acute pain perception as well as the development of chronic pain after peripheral nerve injury. Nevertheless, how ACC neurons respond to sensory stimulation under chronic pain states is not well understood. Here, we used an in vivo two-photon imaging technique to monitor the activity of individual neurons in the ACC of awake, head restrained mice. Calcium imaging in the dorsal ACC revealed robust somatic activity in layer 5 (L5 pyramidal neurons in response to peripheral noxious stimuli, and the degree of evoked activity was correlated with the intensity of noxious stimulation. Furthermore, the activation of ACC neurons occurred bilaterally upon noxious stimulation to either contralateral or ipsilateral hind paws. Notably, with nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain in one limb, L5 pyramidal neurons in both sides of the ACC showed enhanced activity in the absence or presence of pain stimuli. These results reveal hyperactivity of L5 pyramidal neurons in the bilateral ACC during the development of neuropathic pain.

Pyramiding of transgenic Pm3 alleles in wheat results in improved powdery mildew resistance in the field.

Science.gov (United States)

Koller, Teresa; Brunner, Susanne; Herren, Gerhard; Hurni, Severine; Keller, Beat

2018-04-01

The combined effects of enhanced total transgene expression level and allele-specificity combination in transgenic allele-pyramided Pm3 wheat lines result in improved powdery mildew field resistance without negative pleiotropic effects. Allelic Pm3 resistance genes of wheat confer race-specific resistance to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, Bgt) and encode nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors. Transgenic wheat lines overexpressing alleles Pm3a, b, c, d, f, and g have previously been generated by transformation of cultivar Bobwhite and tested in field trials, revealing varying degrees of powdery mildew resistance conferred by the transgenes. Here, we tested four transgenic lines each carrying two pyramided Pm3 alleles, which were generated by crossbreeding of lines transformed with single Pm3 alleles. All four allele-pyramided lines showed strongly improved powdery mildew resistance in the field compared to their parental lines. The improved resistance results from the two effects of enhanced total transgene expression levels and allele-specificity combinations. In contrast to leaf segment tests on greenhouse-grown seedlings, no allelic suppression was observed in the field. Plant development and yield scores of the pyramided lines were similar to the mean scores of the corresponding parental lines, and thus, the allele pyramiding did not cause any negative effects. On the contrary, in pyramided line, Pm3b × Pm3f normal plant development was restored compared to the delayed development and reduced seed set of parental line Pm3f. Allele-specific RT qPCR revealed additive transgene expression levels of the two Pm3 alleles in the pyramided lines. A positive correlation between total transgene expression level and powdery mildew field resistance was observed. In summary, allele pyramiding of Pm3 transgenes proved to be successful in enhancing powdery mildew field resistance.

Fabrication of 20.19% Efficient Single-Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell with Inverted Pyramid Microstructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chunyang; Chen, Lingzhi; Zhu, Yingjie; Guan, Zisheng

2018-04-03

This paper reports inverted pyramid microstructure-based single-crystalline silicon (sc-Si) solar cell with a conversion efficiency up to 20.19% in standard size of 156.75 × 156.75 mm 2 . The inverted pyramid microstructures were fabricated jointly by metal-assisted chemical etching process (MACE) with ultra-low concentration of silver ions and optimized alkaline anisotropic texturing process. And the inverted pyramid sizes were controlled by changing the parameters in both MACE and alkaline anisotropic texturing. Regarding passivation efficiency, the textured sc-Si with normal reflectivity of 9.2% and inverted pyramid size of 1 μm was used to fabricate solar cells. The best batch of solar cells showed a 0.19% higher of conversion efficiency and a 0.22 mA cm -2 improvement in short-circuit current density, and the excellent photoelectric property surpasses that of the same structure solar cell reported before. This technology shows great potential to be an alternative for large-scale production of high efficient sc-Si solar cells in the future.

Inverting the pyramid! Extent and quality of food advertised on Austrian television

OpenAIRE

Missbach, Benjamin; Weber, Adelheid; Huber, Elke M.; König, Jürgen S.

2015-01-01

Background Research showed that food marketing for children frequently contradicts national dietary guidelines. Children, unlike adults, are not able to understand the persuasiveness of the advertisements with its short- and long-term effects on health, thus the common international tenor is to restrict food marketing. In the European Union, marketing restriction based on self-regulation have been initiated (EU Pledge Nutrition Criteria). The study aims contribute to depict the status quo of ...

Responsible tourism: A guide for tourism and sustainability in small-scale fisheries and agri-food

OpenAIRE

Ford, Adriana; Acott, Timothy

2015-01-01

‘Responsible Tourism: a guide for tourism and sustainability in small-scale fisheries and agri-food’ is a product of TourFish, a project funded by the EU INTERREG IVA 2 Seas programme. The aim of TourFish was to explore opportunities for coastal areas through developing responsible tourism that draws together food, small-scale inshore fisheries, regional branding and place-based marketing opportunities.

Pyramidal cells in V1 of African rodents are bigger more branched and more spiny than those in primates.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guy eElston

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Pyramidal cells are characterised by markedly different sized dendritic trees, branching patterns and spine density across the cortical mantle. Moreover, pyramidal cells have been shown to differ in structure among homologous cortical areas in different species; however, most of these studies have been conducted in primates. Whilst pyramidal cells have been quantified in a few cortical areas in some other species there are, as yet, no uniform comparative data on pyramidal cell structure in a homologous cortical area among species in different Orders. Here we studied layer III pyramidal cells in V1 of three species of rodents, the greater cane rat, highveld gerbil and four-striped mouse, by the same methodology used to sample data from layer III pyramidal cells in primates. The data reveal markedly different trends between rodents and primates: there is an appreciable increase in the size, branching complexity and number of spines in the dendritic trees of pyramidal cells with increasing size of V1 in the brain in rodents, whereas there is relatively little difference in primates. Moreover, pyramidal cells in rodents are larger, more branched and more spinous than those in primates. For example, the dendritic trees of pyramidal cells in V1 of the cane rat are nearly three times larger, and have more than ten times the number of spines in their basal dendritic trees, than those in V1 of the macaque (7900 and 600, respectively, which has a V1 40 times the size that of the cane rat. It remains to be determined to what extent these differences may result from developmental differences or reflect evolutionary and/or processing specializations.

Efficacy and connectivity of intracolumnar pairs of layer 2/3 pyramidal cells in the barrel cortex of juvenile rats

Science.gov (United States)

Feldmeyer, Dirk; Lübke, Joachim; Sakmann, Bert

2006-01-01

Synaptically coupled layer 2/3 (L2/3) pyramidal neurones located above the same layer 4 barrel (‘barrel-related’) were investigated using dual whole-cell voltage recordings in acute slices of rat somatosensory cortex. Recordings were followed by reconstructions of biocytin-filled neurones. The onset latency of unitary EPSPs was 1.1 ± 0.4 ms, the 20–80% rise time was 0.7 ± 0.2 ms, the average amplitude was 1.0 ± 0.7 mV and the decay time constant was 15.7 ± 4.5 ms. The coefficient of variation (c.v.) of unitary EPSP amplitudes decreased with increasing EPSP peak and was 0.33 ± 0.18. Bursts of APs in the presynaptic pyramidal cell resulted in EPSPs that, over a wide range of frequencies (5–100 Hz), displayed amplitude depression. Anatomically the barrel-related pyramidal cells in the lower half of layer 2/3 have a long apical dendrite with a small terminal tuft, while pyramidal cells in the upper half of layer 2/3 have shorter and often more ‘irregularly’ shaped apical dendrites that branch profusely in layer 1. The number of putative excitatory synaptic contacts established by the axonal collaterals of a L2/3 pyramidal cell with a postsynaptic pyramidal cell in the same column varied between 2 and 4, with an average of 2.8 ± 0.7 (n = 8 pairs). Synaptic contacts were established predominantly on the basal dendrites at a mean geometric distance of 91 ± 47 μm from the pyramidal cell soma. L2/3-to-L2/3 connections formed a blob-like innervation domain containing 2.8 mm of the presynaptic axon collaterals with a bouton density of 0.3 boutons per μm axon. Within the supragranular layers of its home column a single L2/3 pyramidal cell established about 900 boutons suggesting that 270 pyramidal cells in layer 2/3 are innervated by an individual pyramidal cell. In turn, a single pyramidal cell received synaptic inputs from 270 other L2/3 pyramidal cells. The innervation domain of L2/3-to-L2/3 connections superimposes almost exactly with that of L4-to-L2

Characterization of intrinsic properties of cingulate pyramidal neurons in adult mice after nerve injury

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Chen Tao

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC is important for cognitive and sensory functions including memory and chronic pain. Glutamatergic excitatory synaptic transmission undergo long-term potentiation in ACC pyramidal cells after peripheral injury. Less information is available for the possible long-term changes in neuronal action potentials or intrinsic properties. In the present study, we characterized cingulate pyramidal cells in the layer II/III of the ACC in adult mice. We then examined possible long-term changes in intrinsic properties of the ACC pyramidal cells after peripheral nerve injury. In the control mice, we found that there are three major types of pyramidal cells according to their action potential firing pattern: (i regular spiking (RS cells (24.7%, intrinsic bursting (IB cells (30.9%, and intermediate (IM cells (44.4%. In a state of neuropathic pain, the population distribution (RS: 21.3%; IB: 31.2%; IM: 47.5% and the single action potential properties of these three groups were indistinguishable from those in control mice. However, for repetitive action potentials, IM cells from neuropathic pain animals showed higher initial firing frequency with no change for the properties of RS and IB neurons from neuropathic pain mice. The present results provide the first evidence that, in addition to synaptic potentiation reported previously, peripheral nerve injury produces long-term plastic changes in the action potentials of cingulate pyramidal neurons in a cell type-specific manner.

An essential role for neuregulin-4 in the growth and elaboration of developing neocortical pyramidal dendrites.

Science.gov (United States)

Paramo, Blanca; Wyatt, Sean; Davies, Alun M

2018-04-01

Neuregulins, with the exception of neuregulin-4 (NRG4), have been shown to be extensively involved in many aspects of neural development and function and are implicated in several neurological disorders, including schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. Here we provide the first evidence that NRG4 has a crucial function in the developing brain. We show that both the apical and basal dendrites of neocortical pyramidal neurons are markedly stunted in Nrg4 -/- neonates in vivo compared with Nrg4 +/+ littermates. Neocortical pyramidal neurons cultured from Nrg4 -/- embryos had significantly shorter and less branched neurites than those cultured from Nrg4 +/+ littermates. Recombinant NRG4 rescued the stunted phenotype of embryonic neocortical pyramidal neurons cultured from Nrg4 -/- mice. The majority of cultured wild type embryonic cortical pyramidal neurons co-expressed NRG4 and its receptor ErbB4. The difference between neocortical pyramidal dendrites of Nrg4 -/- and Nrg4 +/+ mice was less pronounced, though still significant, in juvenile mice. However, by adult stages, the pyramidal dendrite arbors of Nrg4 -/- and Nrg4 +/+ mice were similar, suggesting that compensatory changes in Nrg4 -/- mice occur with age. Our findings show that NRG4 is a major novel regulator of dendritic arborisation in the developing cerebral cortex and suggest that it exerts its effects by an autocrine/paracrine mechanism. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of Pyramidal Staff Training and Direct Staff Training in Community-Based Day Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Haberlin, Alayna T.; Beauchamp, Ken; Agnew, Judy; O'Brien, Floyd

2012-01-01

This study evaluated two methods of training staff who were working with individuals with developmental disabilities: pyramidal training and consultant-led training. In the pyramidal training, supervisors were trained in the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and in delivering feedback. The supervisors then trained their direct-care…

The TAPS Pyramid: Where, Who and How?

Science.gov (United States)

Hopwood-Stephens, Isabel

2018-01-01

The TAPS pyramid was developed in late 2014 and has been available as a download on the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) website since August 2015. But where has it gone since then? Who is using it? And how is it being used in schools to change primary science assessment practice? This article attempts to answer these questions with data from…

Year 2000 (Y2K) computer compliance guide; guidance for FDA personnel. Food and Drug Administration. Notice.

Science.gov (United States)

1999-05-14

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a new compliance policy guide (CPG) entitled "Year 2000 (Y2K) Computer Compliance" (section 160-800). This guidance document represents the agency's current thinking on the manufacturing and distribution of domestic and imported products regulated by FDA using computer systems that may not perform properly before, or during, the transition to the year 2000 (Y2K). The text of the CPG is included in this notice. This compliance guidance document is an update to the Compliance Policy Guides Manual (August 1996 edition). It is a new CPG, and it will be included in the next printing of the Compliance Policy Guides Manual. This CPG is intended for FDA personnel, and it is available electronically to the public.

Sulfolobus turreted icosahedral virus c92 protein responsible for the formation of pyramid-like cellular lysis structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Jamie C; Brumfield, Susan K; Peng, Nan; She, Qunxin; Young, Mark J

2011-07-01

Host cells infected by Sulfolobus turreted icosahedral virus (STIV) have been shown to produce unusual pyramid-like structures on the cell surface. These structures represent a virus-induced lysis mechanism that is present in Archaea and appears to be distinct from the holin/endolysin system described for DNA bacteriophages. This study investigated the STIV gene products required for pyramid formation in its host Sulfolobus solfataricus. Overexpression of STIV open reading frame (ORF) c92 in S. solfataricus alone is sufficient to produce the pyramid-like lysis structures in cells. Gene disruption of c92 within STIV demonstrates that c92 is an essential protein for virus replication. Immunolocalization of c92 shows that the protein is localized to the cellular membranes forming the pyramid-like structures.

Using the Pyramid Approach to Teaching Marketing Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Peltier, James W.; Westfall, John; Ainscough, Thomas L.

2001-01-01

Underscores the need for teaching marketing research skills at the secondary level and shows how marketing research fits into marketing education. Provides an example of how to use the pyramid approach to research, which involves review of secondary sources, key informant interviews, focus groups, and quantitative research. (Author/JOW)

Sulfolobus Turreted Icosahedral Virus c92 Protein Responsible for the Formation of Pyramid-Like Cellular Lysis Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Snyder, Jamie C; Brumfield, Susan K; Peng, Nan

2011-01-01

Host cells infected by Sulfolobus turreted icosahedral virus (STIV) have been shown to produce unusual pyramid-like structures on the cell surface. These structures represent a virus-induced lysis mechanism that is present in Archaea and appears to be distinct from the holin/endolysin system desc...... disruption of c92 within STIV demonstrates that c92 is an essential protein for virus replication. Immunolocalization of c92 shows that the protein is localized to the cellular membranes forming the pyramid-like structures.......Host cells infected by Sulfolobus turreted icosahedral virus (STIV) have been shown to produce unusual pyramid-like structures on the cell surface. These structures represent a virus-induced lysis mechanism that is present in Archaea and appears to be distinct from the holin/endolysin system...... described for DNA bacteriophages. This study investigated the STIV gene products required for pyramid formation in its host Sulfolobus solfataricus. Overexpression of STIV open reading frame (ORF) c92 in S. solfataricus alone is sufficient to produce the pyramid-like lysis structures in cells. Gene...

Setting aside transactions from pyramid schemes as impeachable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These schemes, which are often referred to as pyramid or Ponzi schemes, are unsustainable operations and give rise to problems in the law of insolvency. Investors in these schemes are often left empty-handed upon the scheme's eventual collapse and insolvency. Investors who received pay-outs from the scheme find ...

Characterization of the porcine FBX07 gene: the first step towards generation of a pig model for Parkinsonian pyramidal syndrome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Knud; Bendixen, Christian

2012-01-01

Parkinsonian pyramidal syndrome, also named pallido-pyramidal syndrome (PKPS), is the combination of early-onset progressive Parkinsonism with pyramidal tract signs. FBXO7, an F-box protein, is a component of modular E3 ubiquitin protein ligases called SCFs (SKP1, cullin, F-box proteins), which...

Influence of Deposition Pressure on the Properties of Round Pyramid Textured a-Si:H Solar Cells for Maglev.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jaehyeong; Choi, Wonseok; Lee, Kyuil; Lee, Daedong; Kang, Hyunil

2016-05-01

HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer) photovoltaic cells is one of the highest efficiencies in the commercial solar cells. The pyramid texturization for reducing surface reflectance of HIT solar cells silicon wafers is widely used. For the low leakage current and high shunt of solar cells, the intrinsic amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) on substrate must be uniformly thick of pyramid structure. However, it is difficult to control the thickness in the traditional pyramid texturing process. Thus, we textured the intrinsic a-Si:H thin films with the round pyramidal structure by using HNO3, HF, and CH3COOH solution. The characteristics of round pyramid a-Si:H solar cells deposited at pressure of 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 mTorr by PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) was investigated. The lifetime, open circuit voltage, fill factor and efficiency of a-Si:H solar cells were investigated with respect to various deposition pressure.

Force Health Protection: Nutrition and Exercise Resource Manual

Science.gov (United States)

1999-09-01

table sugar (sucrose), sugars in fruit ( fructose ), honey ( fructose and glucose ), sugar in milk (lactose), maple syrup , and molasses. Some are added in... Water 17 3 Eating for Optimal Health and Fitness 19 Dietary Guidelines for Americans 19 The Food Guide Pyramid 20 Food Labels 22 Selecting Nutrient...Worksheet 2-2. Calculate Your Protein Requirements 10 Worksheet 2-3. Determine Your Maximum Fat Limit 12 Worksheet 2-4. Calculate Your Daily Water

The Relationship Between Premenstrual Syndrome and Food Patterns in University Student Girls

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Darabi

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background Premenstrual syndrome (PMS is a group of disorders that many girls and women suffer from. It is well known that an appropriate diet as well as environmental factors plays a major role in quality of life. Objectives This study evaluates food patterns for university student girls who suffer from PMS and are healthy. Materials and Methods Eighty-six university student girls from Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences participated in the survey and PMS was diagnosed using the diagnostic criteria of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. They completed a daily symptom-rating questionnaire for PMS symptoms. The score of categorical symptoms (mood-emotional and gastrointestinal disorders, pain, fatigue-focus, and other disorders were determined separately. Student food pattern was determined according to the Iranian food pyramid. The correlation between symptom scores and food group servings was determined by the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results The score for each categorical symptom showed significant differences between healthy and students who suffered from PMS (P < 0.001. A significant negative relationship was observed between milk consumption and pain score (P = 0.038, r = -0.224, and between total dairy consumption and pain score (P = 0.019, r = -0.253. Total disorder scores showed a significant negative relationship with total dairy product (P = 0.024, r = -0.243. Conclusions The results of the survey indicate that PMS symptoms are related to consuming less milk or dairy products. Therefore, an appropriate intake of foods according to standard food patterns (like the Iranian food pyramid is recommended.

Marker-assisted pyramiding of Thinopyrum-derived leaf rust ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Annual Meetings · Mid Year Meetings · Discussion Meetings · Public Lectures · Lecture Workshops · Refresher Courses · Symposia · Live Streaming. Home; Journals; Journal of Genetics; Volume 96; Issue 6. Marker-assisted pyramiding of Thinopyrum-derived leaf rust resistance genes Lr19 and Lr24 in bread wheat variety ...

Angles of Elevation of the Pyramids of Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Arthur F.

1982-01-01

The nature and history of the construction of pyramids in Egypt is detailed. It is noted that one can only theorize about why the Egyptians used particular angles of elevation. It is thought, perhaps, that new clues will provide a clear solution to this mystery as additional artifacts and hieroglyphics are discovered. (MP)

Graphene oxide-Ag nanoparticles-pyramidal silicon hybrid system for homogeneous, long-term stable and sensitive SERS activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guo, Jia [School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014 (China); Xu, Shicai [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biophysics, College of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023 (China); Liu, Xiaoyun; Li, Zhe; Hu, Litao; Li, Zhen; Chen, Peixi; Ma, Yong [School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014 (China); Jiang, Shouzhen, E-mail: jiang_sz@126.com [School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014 (China); Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optics and Photonic Device, Jinan 250014 (China); Ning, Tingyin [School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014 (China); Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optics and Photonic Device, Jinan 250014 (China)

2017-02-28

Highlights: • We directly grown AgNPs on substrate by annealing method in the quartz tube. Compare with spin-coating Ag nanoparticles solution method, we got more uniform distribution of AgNPs and the AgNPs better adsorption on the substrate. • We use a simple and lost-cost method to obtain the pyramidal silicon (PSi). The PSi possessing well-separated pyramid arrays can make contribution to the homogeneity and sensitivity of the substrate. • In our work, graphene oxide (GO) film is uniformly deposited on AgNPs and PSi by using a spin-coating method. The GO films endow the hybrid system a good stability and enhance the homogeneity and sensitivity of the substrate. - Abstract: In our work, few layers graphene oxide (GO) were directly synthesized on Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) by spin-coating method to fabricate a GO-AgNPs hybrid structure on a pyramidal silicon (PSi) substrate for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The GO-AgNPs-PSi substrate showed excellent Raman enhancement effect, the minimum detected concentration for Rhodamine 6G (R6G) can reach 10{sup −12} M, which is one order of magnitude lower than the AgNPs-PSi substrate and two order of magnitude lower than the GO-AgNPs-flat-Si substrate. The linear fit calibration curve with error bars is presented and the value of R{sup 2} of 612 and 773 cm{sup −1} can reach 0.986 and 0.980, respectively. The excellent linear response between the Raman intensity and R6G concentrations prove that the prepared GO-AgNPs-PSi substrates can serve as good SERS substrate for molecule detection. The maximum deviations of SERS intensities from 20 positions of the GO-AgNPs-PSi substrate are less than 8%, revealing the high homogeneity of the SERS substrate. The excellent homogeneity of the enhanced Raman signals can be attributed to well-separated pyramid arrays of PSi, the uniform morphology of AgNPs and multi-functions of GO layer. Besides, the uniform GO film can effectively protect AgNPs from oxidation and endow

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex pyramidal cells have a temporal dynamic role in recall and extinction of cocaine-associated memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Van den Oever, Michel C; Rotaru, Diana C; Heinsbroek, Jasper A; Gouwenberg, Yvonne; Deisseroth, Karl; Stuber, Garret D; Mansvelder, Huibert D; Smit, August B

2013-11-13

In addicts, associative memories related to the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse can evoke powerful craving and drug seeking urges, but effective treatment to suppress these memories is not available. Detailed insight into the neural circuitry that mediates expression of drug-associated memory is therefore of crucial importance. Substantial evidence from rodent models of addictive behavior points to the involvement of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in conditioned drug seeking, but specific knowledge of the temporal role of vmPFC pyramidal cells is lacking. To this end, we used an optogenetics approach to probe the involvement of vmPFC pyramidal cells in expression of a recent and remote conditioned cocaine memory. In mice, we expressed Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) or Halorhodopsin (eNpHR3.0) in pyramidal cells of the vmPFC and studied the effect of activation or inhibition of these cells during expression of a cocaine-contextual memory on days 1-2 (recent) and ∼3 weeks (remote) after conditioning. Whereas optical activation of pyramidal cells facilitated extinction of remote memory, without affecting recent memory, inhibition of pyramidal cells acutely impaired recall of recent cocaine memory, without affecting recall of remote memory. In addition, we found that silencing pyramidal cells blocked extinction learning at the remote memory time-point. We provide causal evidence of a critical time-dependent switch in the contribution of vmPFC pyramidal cells to recall and extinction of cocaine-associated memory, indicating that the circuitry that controls expression of cocaine memories reorganizes over time.

Integrated Geophysical Studies to Image the Remains of Amenemeht II Pyramid's Complex in Dahshour Necropolis, Giza, Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, Abbas Mohamed; Atya, Magdy; El-Emam, Ahmed; Ghazala, Hosny, ,, Prof.; Shaaban, Fathy, ,, Dr; Odah, Hatem, ,, Prof; Ibrahim, El-Khedr, ,, Prof; Lethy, Ahmed, ,, Dr

2009-04-01

Dahshour archaeological site is located adjacent to Giza necropolis at about 25 km south of Cairo. The site itself is an imperative necropolis that attracts the attention of the archaeologists. This location is a spectator of several historical episodes that start with the pyramidal complexes from the early dynasties (the mud brick tombs, the mastabas, and the Bent Pyramid) passing through the phase of the Step Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara to the first complete pyramid in the history (the Red pyramid of Senefro "Khofo's father"). In 2002, the local archaeological supervisors suggested an area around the debris of the White pyramid (of Amenemeht II) for reconnaissance magnetic survey. The survey had been completed using the gradiometer FM36. More than 98 survey grids (20 x 20 m) of a surface area of 39200 m2 have been measured. The results reported the recognition of some parts of the mortuary temple, the causeway, and some other anomalies that could not be attributed to specific archaeological aspect. Therefore, an integrated geophysical survey was proposed, in the present work, to get more details help to identify these objects. The ground penetrating radar (GPR, SIR2000), the electrical resistance meter (Geoscan RM15), and the electromagnetic profiler (GEM300) have been utilized to acquire the data. They have been applied to selected zones to investigate specific objects and oriented to solve the problems questioned by the local archaeological inspectors. The study conveyed an superior image of the whole measured site and helped to identify most of the detected artifacts. Furthermore, the margins of the causeway and its infrastructure have been perfectly delineated. However, the possible place of the eastern entrance and the Valley temple have been tentatively located. Keywords: Archaeo-geophysics, Dahshour, White Pyramid

Was the Great Pyramid Built with Simple Machines?

Science.gov (United States)

Kraft, Susan; Poynor, Leslie

2004-01-01

Recently one of the authors challenged her third-grade students to use their imagination and travel with her to Egypt. As they were exploring the Great Pyramid, she encouraged the students to speculate how ancient people could have built such a massive structure without the sophisticated machinery they have at our disposal today. This article…

⍺4-GABAA receptors of hippocampal pyramidal neurons are associated with resilience against activity-based anorexia for adolescent female mice but not for males.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi-Wen; Actor-Engel, Hannah; Aoki, Chiye

2018-04-20

Activity-based anorexia (ABA) is an animal model of anorexia nervosa, a mental illness with highest mortality and with onset that is most frequently during adolescence. We questioned whether vulnerability of adolescent mice to ABA differs between sexes and whether individual differences in resilience are causally linked to alpha4betadelta-GABA A R expression. C57BL6/J WT and α4-KO adolescent male and female mice underwent ABA induction by combining wheel access with food restriction. ABA vulnerability was measured as the extent of food restriction-evoked hyperactivity on a running wheel and body weight losses. alpha4betadelta-GABA A R levels at plasma membranes of pyramidal cells in dorsal hippocampus were assessed by electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Temporal patterns and extent of weight loss during ABA induction were similar between sexes. Both sexes also exhibited individual differences in ABA vulnerability. Correlation analyses revealed that, for both sexes, body weight changes precede and thus are likely to drive suppression of wheel running. However, the suppression was during the food-anticipatory hours for males, while for females, suppression was delayed by a day and during food-access hours. Correspondingly, only females adaptively increased food intake. ABA induced up-regulation of alpha4betadelta-GABA A Rs at plasma membranes of dorsal hippocampal pyramidal cells of females, and especially those females exhibiting resilience. Conversely, α4-KO females exhibited greater food restriction-evoked hyperactivity than WT females. In contrast, ABA males did not up-regulate alpha4betadelta-GABA A Rs, did not exhibit genotype differences in vulnerability, and exhibited no correlation between plasmalemmal alpha4betadelta-GABA A Rs and ABA resilience. Thus, food restriction-evoked hyperactivity is driven by anxiety but can be suppressed through upregulation of hippocampal alpha4betadelta-GABA A Rs for female but not for males. This knowledge of sex

The impact of food preservation on food waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Martindale, Wayne; Schiebel, Walter

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between food preservation and reducing consumer waste is of value in developing sustainable meal options. The research reports insights into Austrian marketplace for frozen and fresh foods that have been obtained from a consumer survey. The consumer survey methodologies indicate how preservation can change meal planning and lower food waste across frozen and fresh and ambient food purchases using freezing preservation methods. The results show food waste can be reduced by six-fold when frozen foods are compared with fresh foods. This study highlights the requirement for a greater understanding of the probability that specific foods will be wasted with respect to the frequency of purchase. This is a limitation of the current study that has been investigated by other researchers. This research has enabled the identification of different food waste amounts for different food product categories. The data presented could be used to guide food product development so that less consumer waste is produced. The research suggests a decision matrix approach can be used to can guide new product development and a model of this matrix is presented so that it may provide fit-for-purpose food preservation options for consumers. This paper will continue to highlight the overlooked value of food preservation during processing and manufacturing of foods and their preparation in households.

Effect of lures and colors on capture of lady beetles (coleoptera: coccinellidae) in tedders pyramidal traps

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Purposeful attraction and/or aggregation of adult Coccinellidae at target sites would be useful for sampling purposes and/or pest suppression. We field-tested 1) lures in yellow and black pyramidal traps and 2) pyramidal traps that had been painted one or two colors (without lures) to determine if ...

Radionuclides in food

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez Gomez, Isis Maria

2008-01-01

The sources of the presence of radionuclides in food are presented: natural radiation and artificial radiation. The transfer of radionuclides through food chains, intakes of radionuclides to the body with its partners effective doses and typical consumption of basic foods of a rural adult population are exposed as main topics. Also the radiation doses from natural sources and exposure to man by ingestion of contaminated food with radionuclides of artificial origin are shown. The contribution of the food ingestion to the man exposure depends on: characteristics of radionuclide, natural conditions, farming practices and eating habits of the population. The principal international organizations in charge of setting guide levels for radionuclides in food are mentioned: standards, rules and the monitoring. It establishes that a guide is necessary for the food monitoring; the alone CODEX ALIMENTARIUS is applicable to emergency situations and the generic action levels proposed by the CODEX not satisfy all needs (no guiding international levels for planned or existing situations such as NORM). There are handled mainly socio-economic and political aspects. Among the actions to be taken are: to assure a public comprehensive information over the risk evaluation in food; to reinforce the collaboration among the different international organizations (WHO, IAEA, ICRP, EC) in relation with the food of set; to give follow-up to the control of the drinkable water and NORM's presence in the food. In addition, it is possible to create the necessary mechanisms to reduce the number of irrelevant measures and bureaucratic useless steps (certificates); to promote the exchange between the different institutions involved in the topic of the food, with relation to the acquired experiences and learned lessons. Likewise, it might examine the possibility of a multidisciplinary approximation (radioactive and not radioactive pollutants); to elaborate a technical guide to assure the

Foods advertised in US weekly supermarket sales circulars over one year: a content analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Objectives: The MyPyramid food guidance system is an educational tool to assist Americans in following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Consumers mention print advertising—such as sales circulars—most frequently as influencing their grocery shopping decisions. The purpose of this study wa...

The Consciousness-Intelligence-Knowledge Pyramid: An 8x8 Layer Model

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Athanasios S. Drigas

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Cognitive and metacognitive skills are recognized and studied since antiquity. From the theory of Aristotle, according to which knowledge is product of the human mind and Platonic gnosiology and the theory of true knowledge, to the modern cognitive science, the question of how people acquire knowledge, has occupied a multitude of scientists. In this article we present a cognitive-based approach to the process of acquiring knowledge, we analyze the dominant theories of knowledge, theories of intelligence, as well as learning theories, and thus we propose an eight-layer pyramid of knowledge. We also analyze the cognitive processes and metacognitive skills required to get an individual to the highest layer of the knowledge pyramid.

Differential regulation of the excitability of prefrontal cortical fast-spiking interneurons and pyramidal neurons by serotonin and fluoxetine.

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Ping Zhong

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Serotonin exerts a powerful influence on neuronal excitability. In this study, we investigated the effects of serotonin on different neuronal populations in prefrontal cortex (PFC, a major area controlling emotion and cognition. Using whole-cell recordings in PFC slices, we found that bath application of 5-HT dose-dependently increased the firing of FS (fast spiking interneurons, and decreased the firing of pyramidal neurons. The enhancing effect of 5-HT in FS interneurons was mediated by 5-HT₂ receptors, while the reducing effect of 5-HT in pyramidal neurons was mediated by 5-HT₁ receptors. Fluoxetine, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, also induced a concentration-dependent increase in the excitability of FS interneurons, but had little effect on pyramidal neurons. In rats with chronic fluoxetine treatment, the excitability of FS interneurons was significantly increased, while pyramidal neurons remained unchanged. Fluoxetine injection largely occluded the enhancing effect of 5-HT in FS interneurons, but did not alter the reducing effect of 5-HT in pyramidal neurons. These data suggest that the excitability of PFC interneurons and pyramidal neurons is regulated by exogenous 5-HT in an opposing manner, and FS interneurons are the major target of Fluoxetine. It provides a framework for understanding the action of 5-HT and antidepressants in altering PFC network activity.

User guide for computer program food

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, D.A.

1977-02-01

An interactive code, FOOD, has been written in BASIC for the UNIVAC 1108 to facilitate calculation of internal radiation doses to man from radionuclides in food products. In the dose model, vegetation may be contaminated by either air or irrigation water containing radionuclides. The model considers two mechanisms for radionuclide contamination of vegetation: direct deposition of leaves, and uptake from soil through the root system. The user may select up to 14 food categories with corresponding consumption rates, growing periods, and either irrigation rates or atmospheric deposition rates. These foods include various kinds of produce, grains, and animal products. At present, doses may be calculated for the total body and six internal organs from 186 radionuclides. Dose summaries can be displayed at the local terminal. Further details on percent contribution to dose by nuclide and by food type are available from an auxiliary high-speed printer. This output also includes estimated radionuclide concentrations in soil, plants, and animal products

Can astronomy enhance UNESCO World Heritage recognition? The paradigm of 4th Dynasty Egyptian pyramids

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Belmonte, Juan Antonio

2015-08-01

The pyramids of Egypt, notably those of the 4th Dinasty as Giza, have always be considered an unmistikable part of human world heritage as the only surviving wonders of the Ancient World. Their majesty, technical hability and innovative character have always beeen considered as representative of ancient Egyptian ingenuity. However, past and present fringe theories about the pyramids and astronomy have always polluted the role of our discipline in the design, construction and symbolism of these impressive monuments. This is indeed unfear. Fortunately, things have started to change in the last couple of decades and now astronomy is interpreted as a neccessary tool for the correct interpretation of the astral eschatology present in the 5th and 6th Dynasty Texts of the Pyramids. Although the pyramid complexes of the 4th Dynasty are mute, there is however recent research showing that a strong astral symbolism could be hidden in many aspects of the complex architecture and in the design of these exceptional monuments. This idea comes from several hints obtained not only from planning and construction, but also from epigraphy and the analysis of celestial and local landscapes. Chronology also plays a most relevant role on this. The pyramid complexes of the 4th Dynasty at Meidum, Dahshur, Giza and Abu Rowash -- all of which enjoy UNESCO World Heritage recognition -- willl be scrutinized. As a consequence, we will show how astronomy can certainly enhance the face value of these extraordinary monuments as a definitive proof of the ancient Egyptian quest for Ma'at, i.e. their perennial obsesion for Cosmic Order.

Expression of Kv3.1b potassium channel is widespread in macaque motor cortex pyramidal cells: A histological comparison between rat and macaque.

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Soares, David; Goldrick, Isabelle; Lemon, Roger N; Kraskov, Alexander; Greensmith, Linda; Kalmar, Bernadett

2017-06-15

There are substantial differences across species in the organization and function of the motor pathways. These differences extend to basic electrophysiological properties. Thus, in rat motor cortex, pyramidal cells have long duration action potentials, while in the macaque, some pyramidal neurons exhibit short duration "thin" spikes. These differences may be related to the expression of the fast potassium channel Kv3.1b, which in rat interneurons is associated with generation of thin spikes. Rat pyramidal cells typically lack these channels, while there are reports that they are present in macaque pyramids. Here we made a systematic, quantitative comparison of the Kv3.1b expression in sections from macaque and rat motor cortex, using two different antibodies (NeuroMab, Millipore). As our standard reference, we examined, in the same sections, Kv3.1b staining in parvalbumin-positive interneurons, which show strong Kv3.1b immunoreactivity. In macaque motor cortex, a large sample of pyramidal neurons were nearly all found to express Kv3.1b in their soma membranes. These labeled neurons were identified as pyramidal based either by expression of SMI32 (a pyramidal marker), or by their shape and size, and lack of expression of parvalbumin (a marker for some classes of interneuron). Large (Betz cells), medium, and small pyramidal neurons all expressed Kv3.1b. In rat motor cortex, SMI32-postive pyramidal neurons expressing Kv3.1b were very rare and weakly stained. Thus, there is a marked species difference in the immunoreactivity of Kv3.1b in pyramidal neurons, and this may be one of the factors explaining the pronounced electrophysiological differences between rat and macaque pyramidal neurons. © 2017 The Authors The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Quantitative assessment of CA1 local circuits: knowledge base for interneuron-pyramidal cell connectivity.

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Bezaire, Marianne J; Soltesz, Ivan

2013-09-01

In this work, through a detailed literature review, data-mining, and extensive calculations, we provide a current, quantitative estimate of the cellular and synaptic constituents of the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus. Beyond estimating the cell numbers of GABAergic interneuron types, we calculate their convergence onto CA1 pyramidal cells and compare it with the known input synapses on CA1 pyramidal cells. The convergence calculation and comparison are also made for excitatory inputs to CA1 pyramidal cells. In addition, we provide a summary of the excitatory and inhibitory convergence onto interneurons. The quantitative knowledge base assembled and synthesized here forms the basis for data-driven, large-scale computational modeling efforts. Additionally, this work highlights specific instances where the available data are incomplete, which should inspire targeted experimental projects toward a more complete quantification of the CA1 neurons and their connectivity. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Amplitude of Light Scattering by a Truncated Pyramid and Cone in the Rayleigh-Gans-Debye Approximation

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Konstantin A. Shapovalov

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers general approach to structured particle and particle system form factor calculation in the Rayleigh-Gans-Debye (RGD approximation. Using this approach, amplitude of light scattering by a truncated pyramid and cone formulas in RGD approximation are obtained. Light scattering indicator by a truncated pyramid and cone in the RGD approximation are calculated.

Decreased pyramidal neuron size in Brodmann areas 44 and 45 in patients with autism.

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Jacot-Descombes, Sarah; Uppal, Neha; Wicinski, Bridget; Santos, Micaela; Schmeidler, James; Giannakopoulos, Panteleimon; Heinsen, Helmut; Heinsein, Helmut; Schmitz, Christoph; Hof, Patrick R

2012-07-01

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and social communication, as well as by the presence of repetitive and stereotyped behaviors and interests. Brodmann areas 44 and 45 in the inferior frontal cortex, which are involved in language processing, imitation function, and sociality processing networks, have been implicated in this complex disorder. Using a stereologic approach, this study aims to explore the presence of neuropathological differences in areas 44 and 45 in patients with autism compared to age- and hemisphere-matched controls. Based on previous evidence in the fusiform gyrus, we expected to find a decrease in the number and size of pyramidal neurons as well as an increase in volume of layers III, V, and VI in patients with autism. We observed significantly smaller pyramidal neurons in patients with autism compared to controls, although there was no difference in pyramidal neuron numbers or layer volumes. The reduced pyramidal neuron size suggests that a certain degree of dysfunction of areas 44 and 45 plays a role in the pathology of autism. Our results also support previous studies that have shown specific cellular neuropathology in autism with regionally specific reduction in neuron size, and provide further evidence for the possible involvement of the mirror neuron system, as well as impairment of neuronal networks relevant to communication and social behaviors, in this disorder.

Echocardiographic 3D-guided 2D planimetry in quantifying left-sided valvular heart disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Argulian, Edgar; Seetharam, Karthik

2018-02-08

Echocardiographic 3D-guided 2D planimetry can improve the accuracy of valvular disease assessment. Acquisition of 3D pyramidal dataset allows subsequent multiplanar reconstruction with accurate orthogonal plane alignment to obtain the correct borders of an anatomic orifice or flow area. Studies examining the 3D-guided 2D planimetry approach in left-sided valvular heart disease were identified and reviewed. The strongest evidence exists for estimating mitral valve area in patients with rheumatic mitral valve stenosis and vena contracta area in patients with mitral regurgitation (both primary and secondary). 3D-guided approach showed excellent feasibility and reproducibility in most studies, as well as time efficiency and good correlation with reference and comparator methods. Therefore, 3D-guided 2D planimetry can be used as an important clinical tool in quantifying left-sided valvular heart disease, especially mitral valve disorders. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

a pyramid algorithm for the haar discrete wavelet packet transform

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROF EKWUEME

computer-aided signal processing of non-stationary signals, this paper develops a pyramid algorithm for the discrete wavelet packet ... Edith T. Luhanga, School of Computational and Communication Sciences and Engineering, Nelson Mandela African. Institute of ..... Mathematics, Washington University. 134. EDITH T.

Surgical anatomy of the pyramidal lobe and its significance in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

33:35-37. 10. Harjeet A, Shani D, Jit I, Aggarwal AK. Shape, measurements and weight of the thyroid gland in northwest Indians. Surg Radiol Anat 2004;26:91-95. TABLE III. INVOLVEMENT OF THE PYRAMIDAL LOBE IN VARIOUS THYROID ...

Synaptic Conductance Estimates of the Connection Between Local Inhibitor Interneurons and Pyramidal Neurons in Layer 2/3 of a Cortical Column

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Hoffmann, Jochen H.O.; Meyer, H. S.; Schmitt, Arno C.; Straehle, Jakob; Weitbrecht, Trinh; Sakmann, Bert; Helmstaedter, Moritz

2015-01-01

Stimulation of a principal whisker yields sparse action potential (AP) spiking in layer 2/3 (L2/3) pyramidal neurons in a cortical column of rat barrel cortex. The low AP rates in pyramidal neurons could be explained by activation of interneurons in L2/3 providing inhibition onto L2/3 pyramidal neurons. L2/3 interneurons classified as local inhibitors based on their axonal projection in the same column were reported to receive strong excitatory input from spiny neurons in L4, which are also the main source of the excitatory input to L2/3 pyramidal neurons. Here, we investigated the remaining synaptic connection in this intracolumnar microcircuit. We found strong and reliable inhibitory synaptic transmission between intracolumnar L2/3 local-inhibitor-to-L2/3 pyramidal neuron pairs [inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) amplitude −0.88 ± 0.67 mV]. On average, 6.2 ± 2 synaptic contacts were made by L2/3 local inhibitors onto L2/3 pyramidal neurons at 107 ± 64 µm path distance from the pyramidal neuron soma, thus overlapping with the distribution of synaptic contacts from L4 spiny neurons onto L2/3 pyramidal neurons (67 ± 34 µm). Finally, using compartmental simulations, we determined the synaptic conductance per synaptic contact to be 0.77 ± 0.4 nS. We conclude that the synaptic circuit from L4 to L2/3 can provide efficient shunting inhibition that is temporally and spatially aligned with the excitatory input from L4 to L2/3. PMID:25761638

Data Decision-Making and Program-Wide Implementation of the Pyramid Model. Roadmap to Effective Intervention Practices #7

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Lise; Veguilla, Myrna; Perez Binder, Denise

2014-01-01

The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI) Roadmap on "Data Decision-Making and Program-Wide Implementation of the Pyramid Model" provides programs with guidance on how to collect and use data to ensure the implementation of the Pyramid Model with fidelity and decision-making that…

Target-specific M1 inputs to infragranular S1 pyramidal neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Fanselow, Erika E.; Simons, Daniel J.

2016-01-01

The functional role of input from the primary motor cortex (M1) to primary somatosensory cortex (S1) is unclear; one key to understanding this pathway may lie in elucidating the cell-type specific microcircuits that connect S1 and M1. Recently, we discovered that a subset of pyramidal neurons in the infragranular layers of S1 receive especially strong input from M1 (Kinnischtzke AK, Simons DJ, Fanselow EE. Cereb Cortex 24: 2237–2248, 2014), suggesting that M1 may affect specific classes of pyramidal neurons differently. Here, using combined optogenetic and retrograde labeling approaches in the mouse, we examined the strengths of M1 inputs to five classes of infragranular S1 neurons categorized by their projections to particular cortical and subcortical targets. We found that the magnitude of M1 synaptic input to S1 pyramidal neurons varies greatly depending on the projection target of the postsynaptic neuron. Of the populations examined, M1-projecting corticocortical neurons in L6 received the strongest M1 inputs, whereas ventral posterior medial nucleus-projecting corticothalamic neurons, also located in L6, received the weakest. Each population also possessed distinct intrinsic properties. The results suggest that M1 differentially engages specific classes of S1 projection neurons, thereby regulating the motor-related influence S1 exerts over subcortical structures. PMID:27334960

Design and Preparation of a Micro-Pyramid Structured Thin Film for Broadband Infrared Antireflection

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Shaobo Ge

2018-05-01

Full Text Available A micro-pyramid structured thin film with a broad-band infrared antireflection property is designed and fabricated by using the single-point diamond turning (SPDT technique and combined with nano-imprint lithography (NIL. A structure with dimensions of 10 μm pitch and 5 μm height is transferred from the copper mold to the silicon nitride optical film by using NIL and proportional inductively-coupled plasma (ICP etching. Reflectance of the micro-optical surface is reduced below 1.0% over the infrared spectral range (800–2500 nm. A finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD analysis indicates that this micro-structure can localize photons and enhance the absorption inside the micro-pyramid at long wavelengths. As described above, the micro-pyramid array has been integrated in an optical film successfully. Distinguishing from the traditional micro-optical components, considering the effect of refraction and diffraction, it is a valuable and flexible method to take account of the interference effect of optical film.

MR findings of the pyramidal tract in ALS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Segawa, Fuminori (Toho Univ., Tokyo (Japan). School of Medicine)

1993-08-01

MR imaging using the conventional spin each technique along with diffusion weighted imaging and water-fat imaging was performed in 16 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 20 normal subjects, and 113 controls with other neurological disorders. Diffusion weighted images in the patients with ALS and the controls disclosed a high signal band from the subcortical area to the medullary pyramids. The high signal band on the diffusion weighted images corresponded to the pyramidal tract in the anatomical atlas described by Talairach. The T1- and T2-relaxation times, proton density, diffusion coefficient and diffusion anisotropy were measured at the points where high signal bands appeared on the diffusion weighted images. The T2-weighted images revealed high signal areas on the posterior limbs of the internal capsules in all the patients with ALS, 60% of the normal subjects, and 73% of the disease controls. The T1-weighted images disclosed high signal areas on the posterior limbs in 62% of the patients with ALS, but not in any of the normal subjects and the disease controls. The proton weighted images disclosed high signal areas on the posterior limbs in all the patients with ALS and 5% of the disease controls, but not in any of the normal subjects. Analysis of diffusion weighted images revealed no significant difference between the patients with ALS and the normal subjects in diffusion coefficient and diffusion anisotropy on the posterior limbs. Measurement of MR parameters (T1- and T2-relaxation times and proton density) showed that the proton density at the posterior limbs increased in ALS. Water-fat images using the method of Dixon revealed abnormal signals in the water images. These signal abnormalities were more prominent in the internal capsule than in the medullary pyramids. Our findings confirm that there is an increase in water molecules that have normal diffusion coefficient and diffusion anisotropy values in patients with ALS. (author).

Novel nootropic dipeptide Noopept increases inhibitory synaptic transmission in CA1 pyramidal cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kondratenko, Rodion V; Derevyagin, Vladimir I; Skrebitsky, Vladimir G

2010-05-31

Effects of newly synthesized nootropic and anxiolytic dipeptide Noopept on inhibitory synaptic transmission in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells were investigated using patch-clamp technique in whole-cell configuration. Bath application of Noopept (1 microM) significantly increased the frequency of spike-dependant spontaneous IPSCs whereas spike-independent mIPSCs remained unchanged. It was suggested that Noopept mediates its effect due to the activation of inhibitory interneurons terminating on CA1 pyramidal cells. Results of current clamp recording of inhibitory interneurons residing in stratum radiatum confirmed this suggestion. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shift of the pyramidal tract during resection of the intraaxial brain tumors estimated by intraoperative diffusion-weighted imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozawa, Norihiko; Muragaki, Yoshihiro; Nakamura, Ryoichi; Iseki, Hiroshi; Hori, Tomokatsu

2009-01-01

The present study evaluated the shift of the pyramidal tract during resection of 17 proximal intraaxial brain tumors. In each case intraoperative diffusion-weighted (iDW) magnetic resonance imaging with a motion-probing gradient applied in the anteroposterior direction was performed using a scanner with a 0.3 T vertical magnetic field. The position of the white matter bundles containing the pyramidal tract was estimated on the coronal images before and after resection of the neoplasm, and both quantitative and directional evaluation of its displacement was done. In all cases iDW imaging provided visualization of the structure of interest. The magnitude of the pyramidal tract displacement due to removal of the neoplasm varied from 0.5 to 8.7 mm (mean 4.4±2.5 mm) on the lesion side and from 0 to 3.6 mm (mean 1.3±1.1 mm) on the normal side (p<0.001). Tumor location in regards to the pyramidal tract was significantly associated with the direction of the pyramidal tract displacement (p<0.05). Outward shift occurred in 10 out of 13 cases of the lateral neoplasms, whereas in all 4 superomedial tumors inward shift was marked. In conclusion, the direction of the pyramidal tract displacement during resection of the proximal intraaxial brain tumors is mainly determined by position of the neoplasm, but can be unpredictable in some cases, which necessitates use of subcortical brain mapping and intraoperative imaging, particularly iDW imaging with updated neuronavigation. (author)

The Orientations of the Giza Pyramids and Associated Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Nell, Erin; Ruggles, Clive

2014-08-01

Ever since Flinders Petrie undertook a theodolite survey on the Giza plateau in 1881 and drew attention to the extraordinary degree of precision with which the three colossal pyramids are oriented upon the four cardinal directions, there have been a great many suggestions as to how this was achieved and why it was of importance. Surprisingly, given the many astronomical hypotheses and speculations that have been offered in the intervening 130 years, there have been remarkably few attempts to reaffirm or improve on the basic survey data concerning the primary orientations. This paper presents the results of a week-long Total Station survey undertaken by the authors during December 2006 whose principal aim was to clarify the basic data concerning the orientation of each side of the three large pyramids and to determine, as accurately as possible, the orientations of as many as possible of the associated structures. The principal difference between this and all previous surveys is that it focuses upon measurements of sequences of points along multiple straight and relatively well preserved structural segments, with best-fit techniques being used to provide the best estimate of their orientation, as opposed to simple triangulation between directly identified or extrapolated corners. Our results suggest that there is only a very slight difference in orientation (c. 0.5 arc minutes) between the north-south axes of Khufu's and Khafre's pyramids, that the sides of Khafre's are more perfectly perpendicular than those of Khufu's, and that the east-west axis is closer to true cardinality in both cases. The broader context of associated structures suggests that the east-west orientation in relation to sunrise or (in one case) sunset may have been a, or even the, key factor in many cases.

The pyramid model as a structured way of quality management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van der Tuuk Adriani Willem

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Three quality systems that can be used in blood establishments are briefly explained. The Pyramid model is described as a tool to manage the quality systems. Finally, some experiences in other countries are given to prove the validity of the system.

Nanopore fabricated in pyramidal HfO2 film by dielectric breakdown method

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yifan; Chen, Qi; Deng, Tao; Liu, Zewen

2017-10-01

The dielectric breakdown method provides an innovative solution to fabricate solid-state nanopores on insulating films. A nanopore generation event via this method is considered to be caused by random charged traps (i.e., structural defects) and high electric fields in the membrane. Thus, the position and number of nanopores on planar films prepared by the dielectric breakdown method is hard to control. In this paper, we propose to fabricate nanopores on pyramidal HfO2 films (10-nm and 15-nm-thick) to improve the ability to control the location and number during the fabrication process. Since the electric field intensity gets enhanced at the corners of the pyramid-shaped film, the probability of nanopore occurrence at vertex and edge areas increases. This priority of appearance provides us chance to control the location and number of nanopores by monitoring a sudden irreversible discrete increase in current. The experimental results showed that the probability of nanopore occurrence decreases in an order from the vertex area, the edge area to the side face area. The sizes of nanopores ranging from 30 nm to 10 nm were obtained. Nanopores fabricated on the pyramid-shaped HfO2 film also showed an obvious ion current rectification characteristic, which might improve the nanopore performance as a biomolecule sequencing platform.

Uniform Local Binary Pattern for Fingerprint Liveness Detection in the Gaussian Pyramid

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Yujia Jiang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Fingerprint recognition schemas are widely used in our daily life, such as Door Security, Identification, and Phone Verification. However, the existing problem is that fingerprint recognition systems are easily tricked by fake fingerprints for collaboration. Therefore, designing a fingerprint liveness detection module in fingerprint recognition systems is necessary. To solve the above problem and discriminate true fingerprint from fake ones, a novel software-based liveness detection approach using uniform local binary pattern (ULBP in spatial pyramid is applied to recognize fingerprint liveness in this paper. Firstly, preprocessing operation for each fingerprint is necessary. Then, to solve image rotation and scale invariance, three-layer spatial pyramids of fingerprints are introduced in this paper. Next, texture information for three layers spatial pyramids is described by using uniform local binary pattern to extract features of given fingerprints. The accuracy of our proposed method has been compared with several state-of-the-art methods in fingerprint liveness detection. Experiments based on standard databases, taken from Liveness Detection Competition 2013 composed of four different fingerprint sensors, have been carried out. Finally, classifier model based on extracted features is trained using SVM classifier. Experimental results present that our proposed method can achieve high recognition accuracy compared with other methods.

Mood Components in Cocoa and Chocolate: The Mood Pyramid.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuenter, Emmy; Foubert, Kenn; Pieters, Luc

2018-03-14

Cocoa and chocolate, prepared from cocoa beans that originate from the fruits of the cocoa tree Theobroma cacao , have a long-standing reputation as healthy food, including mood-enhancing effects. In spite of many clinical trials with chocolate, cocoa, or its constituents, the mechanisms of action on mood and cognition remain unclear. More in particular, it is still controversial which constituents may contribute to the psychopharmacological activities, ranging from the major cacao flavanols and methylxanthines to the minor amines, amides, and alkaloids. In this review a critical appraisal is made of recent studies on mood and cognition, with a special emphasis on analytical characterization of the test samples. It is concluded that the mood and cognition-enhancing effects of cocoa and chocolate can be ranked from more general activities associated with flavanols and methylxanthines, to more specific activities related to minor constituents such as salsolinol, with on top the orosensory properties of chocolate. Therefore, the "mood pyramid" of cocoa and chocolate is proposed as a new concept. To understand the role and interactions of the different major and minor constituents of cocoa, it is recommended that all test samples used in future in vitro, in vivo , or human studies should be phytochemically characterized in much more detail than is common practice today. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Poisson noise removal with pyramidal multi-scale transforms

Science.gov (United States)

Woiselle, Arnaud; Starck, Jean-Luc; Fadili, Jalal M.

2013-09-01

In this paper, we introduce a method to stabilize the variance of decimated transforms using one or two variance stabilizing transforms (VST). These VSTs are applied to the 3-D Meyer wavelet pyramidal transform which is the core of the first generation 3D curvelets. This allows us to extend these 3-D curvelets to handle Poisson noise, that we apply to the denoising of a simulated cosmological volume.

Voltage-gated ion channels in the axon initial segment of human cortical pyramidal cells and their relationship with chandelier cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Inda, Maria Carmen; DeFelipe, Javier; Muñoz, Alberto

2006-02-21

The axon initial segment (AIS) of pyramidal cells is a critical region for the generation of action potentials and for the control of pyramidal cell activity. Here we show that Na+ and K+ voltage-gated channels, together with other molecules involved in the localization of ion channels, are distributed asymmetrically in the AIS of pyramidal cells situated in the human temporal neocortex. There is a high density of Na+ channels distributed along the length of the AIS together with the associated proteins spectrin betaIV and ankyrin G. In contrast, Kv1.2 channels are associated with the adhesion molecule Caspr2, and they are mostly localized to the distal region of the AIS. In general, the distal region of the AIS is targeted by the GABAergic axon terminals of chandelier cells, whereas the proximal region is innervated, mostly by other types of GABAergic interneurons. We suggest that this molecular segregation and the consequent regional specialization of the GABAergic input to the AIS of pyramidal cells may have important functional implications for the control of pyramidal cell activity.

XAFS study of copper(II) complexes with square planar and square pyramidal coordination geometries

Science.gov (United States)

Gaur, A.; Klysubun, W.; Nitin Nair, N.; Shrivastava, B. D.; Prasad, J.; Srivastava, K.

2016-08-01

X-ray absorption fine structure of six Cu(II) complexes, Cu2(Clna)4 2H2O (1), Cu2(ac)4 2H2O (2), Cu2(phac)4 (pyz) (3), Cu2(bpy)2(na)2 H2O (ClO4) (4), Cu2(teen)4(OH)2(ClO4)2 (5) and Cu2(tmen)4(OH)2(ClO4)2 (6) (where ac, phac, pyz, bpy, na, teen, tmen = acetate, phenyl acetate, pyrazole, bipyridine, nicotinic acid, tetraethyethylenediamine, tetramethylethylenediamine, respectively), which were supposed to have square pyramidal and square planar coordination geometries have been investigated. The differences observed in the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) features of the standard compounds having four, five and six coordination geometry points towards presence of square planar and square pyramidal geometry around Cu centre in the studied complexes. The presence of intense pre-edge feature in the spectra of four complexes, 1-4, indicates square pyramidal coordination. Another important XANES feature, present in complexes 5 and 6, is prominent shoulder in the rising part of edge whose intensity decreases in the presence of axial ligands and thus indicates four coordination in these complexes. Ab initio calculations were carried out for square planar and square pyramidal Cu centres to observe the variation of 4p density of states in the presence and absence of axial ligands. To determine the number and distance of scattering atoms around Cu centre in the complexes, EXAFS analysis has been done using the paths obtained from Cu(II) oxide model and an axial Cu-O path from model of a square pyramidal complex. The results obtained from EXAFS analysis have been reported which confirmed the inference drawn from XANES features. Thus, it has been shown that these paths from model of a standard compound can be used to determine the structural parameters for complexes having unknown structure.

Serotonergic modulation of hippocampal pyramidal cells in euthermic, cold-acclimated, and hibernating hamsters

Science.gov (United States)

Horrigan, D. J.; Horwitz, B. A.; Horowitz, J. M.

1997-01-01

Serotonergic fibers project to the hippocampus, a brain area previously shown to have distinctive changes in electroencephalograph (EEG) activity during entrance into and arousal from hibernation. The EEG activity is generated by pyramidal cells in both hibernating and nonhibernating species. Using the brain slice preparation, we characterized serotonergic responses of these CA1 pyramidal cells in euthermic, cold-acclimated, and hibernating Syrian hamsters. Stimulation of Shaffer-collateral/commissural fibers evoked fast synaptic excitation of CA1 pyramidal cells, a response monitored by recording population spikes (the synchronous generation of action potentials). Neuromodulation by serotonin (5-HT) decreased population spike amplitude by 54% in cold-acclimated animals, 80% in hibernating hamsters, and 63% in euthermic animals. The depression was significantly greater in slices from hibernators than from cold-acclimated animals. In slices from euthermic animals, changes in extracellular K+ concentration between 2.5 and 5.0 mM did not significantly alter serotonergic responses. The 5-HT1A agonist 8-hydroxy-2(di-n-propylamino)tetralin mimicked serotonergic inhibition in euthermic hamsters. Results show that 5-HT is a robust neuromodulator not only in euthermic animals but also in cold-acclimated and hibernating hamsters.

Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons’ Dendritic Remodeling and Increased Microglial Density in Primary Motor Cortex in a Murine Model of Facial Paralysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Urrego

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This work was aimed at characterizing structural changes in primary motor cortex layer 5 pyramidal neurons and their relationship with microglial density induced by facial nerve lesion using a murine facial paralysis model. Adult transgenic mice, expressing green fluorescent protein in microglia and yellow fluorescent protein in projecting neurons, were submitted to either unilateral section of the facial nerve or sham surgery. Injured animals were sacrificed either 1 or 3weeks after surgery. Two-photon excitation microscopy was then used for evaluating both layer 5 pyramidal neurons and microglia in vibrissal primary motor cortex (vM1. It was found that facial nerve lesion induced long-lasting changes in the dendritic morphology of vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons and in their surrounding microglia. Dendritic arborization of the pyramidal cells underwent overall shrinkage. Apical dendrites suffered transient shortening while basal dendrites displayed sustained shortening. Moreover, dendrites suffered transient spine pruning. Significantly higher microglial cell density was found surrounding vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons after facial nerve lesion with morphological bias towards the activated phenotype. These results suggest that facial nerve lesions elicit active dendrite remodeling due to pyramidal neuron and microglia interaction, which could be the pathophysiological underpinning of some neuropathic motor sequelae in humans.

Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons' Dendritic Remodeling and Increased Microglial Density in Primary Motor Cortex in a Murine Model of Facial Paralysis

Science.gov (United States)

Urrego, Diana; Troncoso, Julieta; Múnera, Alejandro

2015-01-01

This work was aimed at characterizing structural changes in primary motor cortex layer 5 pyramidal neurons and their relationship with microglial density induced by facial nerve lesion using a murine facial paralysis model. Adult transgenic mice, expressing green fluorescent protein in microglia and yellow fluorescent protein in projecting neurons, were submitted to either unilateral section of the facial nerve or sham surgery. Injured animals were sacrificed either 1 or 3weeks after surgery. Two-photon excitation microscopy was then used for evaluating both layer 5 pyramidal neurons and microglia in vibrissal primary motor cortex (vM1). It was found that facial nerve lesion induced long-lasting changes in the dendritic morphology of vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons and in their surrounding microglia. Dendritic arborization of the pyramidal cells underwent overall shrinkage. Apical dendrites suffered transient shortening while basal dendrites displayed sustained shortening. Moreover, dendrites suffered transient spine pruning. Significantly higher microglial cell density was found surrounding vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons after facial nerve lesion with morphological bias towards the activated phenotype. These results suggest that facial nerve lesions elicit active dendrite remodeling due to pyramidal neuron and microglia interaction, which could be the pathophysiological underpinning of some neuropathic motor sequelae in humans. PMID:26064916

Surgical anatomy of the pyramidal lobe and its significance in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In diffuse thyroid diseases, the lobes were always pathologically involved and significantly longer. Conclusion. Since the pyramidal lobe is a normal component of the thyroid gland, of varying position and size, with pathological changes in benign and malignant diseases, it should always be examined during thyroid surgery ...

Interlaminar differences in the pyramidal cell phenotype in parietal cortex of an Indian bat, cynopterus sphinx.

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, U C; Pathak, S V

2010-10-30

To study interlaminar phenotypic variations in the pyramidal neurons of parietal isocortex in bat (Cynopterus sphinx), Golgi and Nissl methods have been employed. The parietal isocortex is relatively thin in the bat as compared to prototheria with layer III, V and VI accounting for more than two—thirds of total cortical thickness. Thick cell free layer I and thinnest accentuated layer II are quite in connotation with other chiropterids. Poor demarcation of layer III/IV in the present study is also in connotation with primitive eutherian mammal (i.e. prototherian) and other chiropterids. Most of the pyramidal cells in the different layers of the parietal isocortex are of typical type as seen in other eutherians but differ significantly in terms of soma shape and size, extent of dendritic arbor, diameter of dendrites and spine density. Percentage of pyramidal neurons, diameter of apical dendrite and spine density on apical dendrite appear to follow an increasing trend from primitive to advanced mammals; but extent of dendrites are probably governed by the specific life patterns of these mammals. It is thus concluded that 'typical' pyramidal neurons in parietal isocortex are similar in therians but different from those in prototherians. It is possible that these cells might have arisen among early eutherians after divergence from prototherian stock.

Guide to Eating for Sports

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... for Educators Search English Español A Guide to Eating for Sports KidsHealth / For Teens / A Guide to ... can boost your performance even more by paying attention to the food you eat on game day. ...

Radon measurements in the interior of the great pyramid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kenawy, M A; Morsy, A A [Ain Shams Univ., Cairo (Egypt). College for Girls

1991-01-01

Radon concentration measurements were made in the interior of the great pyramid of ''Cheops'' at Giza. Measurements were carried out using CR-39 as a solid state nuclear track detector. The CR-39 sheets were placed inside the Queen's and King's chambers and along the ascending corridor leading to them. An evaluation of the radon concentration is presented and discussed. (author).

Radon measurements in the interior of the great pyramid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenawy, M.A.; Morsy, A.A.

1991-01-01

Radon concentration measurements were made in the interior of the great pyramid of ''Cheops'' at Giza. Measurements were carried out using CR-39 as a solid state nuclear track detector. The CR-39 sheets were placed inside the Queen's and King's chambers and along the ascending corridor leading to them. An evaluation of the radon concentration is presented and discussed. (author)

The offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid in 3D transversely isotropic media with a horizontal symmetry axis

KAUST Repository

Hao, Qi

2014-12-30

Analytic representation of the offset-midpoint traveltime equation for anisotropy is very important for prestack Kirchhoff migration and velocity inversion in anisotropic media. For transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis, the offset-midpoint traveltime resembles the shape of a Cheops’ pyramid. This is also valid for homogeneous 3D transversely isotropic media with a horizontal symmetry axis (HTI). We extended the offset-midpoint traveltime pyramid to the case of homogeneous 3D HTI. Under the assumption of weak anellipticity of HTI media, we derived an analytic representation of the P-wave traveltime equation and used Shanks transformation to improve the accuracy of horizontal and vertical slownesses. The traveltime pyramid was derived in the depth and time domains. Numerical examples confirmed the accuracy of the proposed approximation for the traveltime function in 3D HTI media.

Base-of-the-pyramid global strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boşcor, D.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Global strategies for MNCs should focus on customers in emerging and developing markets instead of customers in developed economies. The “base-of-the-pyramid segment” comprises 4 billion people in the world. In order to be successful, companies will be required to form unconventional partnerships- with entities ranging from local governments to non-profit organizations - to gain the community’s trust and understand the environmental, infrastructure and political issues that may affect business. Being able to provide affordable, high-quality products and services in this market segment often means new approaches to marketing- new packaging and pricing structures, and using unfamiliar distribution structures.

Human limbic encephalitis serum enhances hippocampal mossy fiber-CA3 pyramidal cell synaptic transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalic, Tatjana; Pettingill, Philippa; Vincent, Angela; Capogna, Marco

2011-01-01

Limbic encephalitis (LE) is a central nervous system (CNS) disease characterized by subacute onset of memory loss and epileptic seizures. A well-recognized form of LE is associated with voltage-gated potassium channel complex antibodies (VGKC-Abs) in the patients' sera. We aimed to test the hypothesis that purified immunoglobulin G (IgG) from a VGKC-Ab LE serum would excite hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cells by reducing VGKC function at mossy-fiber (MF)-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses. We compared the effects of LE and healthy control IgG by whole-cell patch-clamp and extracellular recordings from CA3 pyramidal cells of rat hippocampal acute slices. We found that the LE IgG induced epileptiform activity at a population level, since synaptic stimulation elicited multiple population spikes extracellularly recorded in the CA3 area. Moreover, the LE IgG increased the rate of tonic firing and strengthened the MF-evoked synaptic responses. The synaptic failure of evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) was significantly lower in the presence of the LE IgG compared to the control IgG. This suggests that the LE IgG increased the release probability on MF-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses compared to the control IgG. Interestingly, α-dendrotoxin (120 nm), a selective Kv1.1, 1.2, and 1.6 subunit antagonist of VGKC, mimicked the LE IgG-mediated effects. This is the first functional demonstration that LE IgGs reduce VGKC function at CNS synapses and increase cell excitability. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2010 International League Against Epilepsy.

Pyramid algorithms as models of human cognition

Science.gov (United States)

Pizlo, Zygmunt; Li, Zheng

2003-06-01

There is growing body of experimental evidence showing that human perception and cognition involves mechanisms that can be adequately modeled by pyramid algorithms. The main aspect of those mechanisms is hierarchical clustering of information: visual images, spatial relations, and states as well as transformations of a problem. In this paper we review prior psychophysical and simulation results on visual size transformation, size discrimination, speed-accuracy tradeoff, figure-ground segregation, and the traveling salesman problem. We also present our new results on graph search and on the 15-puzzle.

Course Reader: Food Concept Design, mapping strategic and service-oriented possibilities within food businesses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Tenna Doktor

This course reader is a guide to the content of the last series of FOOD DESIGN lectures and design workshops given with the course: ‘Food Concept Design: Mapping Strategic and Service‐Oriented possibilities within Food Businesses', offered at the Masters education 'Integrated Food Studies......' at Aalborg University in Copenhagen. The course reader first of all guide the students through the overall purpose and content of the course, but also give a short introduction to the various literature used in the course, as well as the demands for the final assignment and evaluation criteria...... for the individual exams. Together with the course programmes provided at the two previous semesters, this course reader is thus attempts to begin develop af theoratical framework for teaching Food Design Thinking....

Marketing and Distributive Education. Food Marketing Curriculum Guide

Science.gov (United States)

Northern Illinois Univ., DeKalb. Dept. of Business Education and Administration Services.

This document is one of four curriculum guides designed to provide the curriculum coordinator with a basis for planning a comprehensive program in the field of marketing as well as to provide marketing and distributive education teachers with maximum flexibility. Introductory information provides directions for using the guide and information on…

Development of inhibitory synaptic inputs on layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the rat medial prefrontal cortex

KAUST Repository

Virtanen, Mari A.; Lacoh, Claudia Marvine; Fiumelli, Hubert; Kosel, Markus; Tyagarajan, Shiva; de Roo, Mathias; Vutskits, Laszlo

2018-01-01

Inhibitory control of pyramidal neurons plays a major role in governing the excitability in the brain. While spatial mapping of inhibitory inputs onto pyramidal neurons would provide important structural data on neuronal signaling, studying their distribution at the single cell level is difficult due to the lack of easily identifiable anatomical proxies. Here, we describe an approach where in utero electroporation of a plasmid encoding for fluorescently tagged gephyrin into the precursors of pyramidal cells along with ionotophoretic injection of Lucifer Yellow can reliably and specifically detect GABAergic synapses on the dendritic arbour of single pyramidal neurons. Using this technique and focusing on the basal dendritic arbour of layer 2/3 pyramidal cells of the medial prefrontal cortex, we demonstrate an intense development of GABAergic inputs onto these cells between postnatal days 10 and 20. While the spatial distribution of gephyrin clusters was not affected by the distance from the cell body at postnatal day 10, we found that distal dendritic segments appeared to have a higher gephyrin density at later developmental stages. We also show a transient increase around postnatal day 20 in the percentage of spines that are carrying a gephyrin cluster, indicative of innervation by a GABAergic terminal. Since the precise spatial arrangement of synaptic inputs is an important determinant of neuronal responses, we believe that the method described in this work may allow a better understanding of how inhibition settles together with excitation, and serve as basics for further modelling studies focusing on the geometry of dendritic inhibition during development.

Development of inhibitory synaptic inputs on layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the rat medial prefrontal cortex

KAUST Repository

Virtanen, Mari A.

2018-01-10

Inhibitory control of pyramidal neurons plays a major role in governing the excitability in the brain. While spatial mapping of inhibitory inputs onto pyramidal neurons would provide important structural data on neuronal signaling, studying their distribution at the single cell level is difficult due to the lack of easily identifiable anatomical proxies. Here, we describe an approach where in utero electroporation of a plasmid encoding for fluorescently tagged gephyrin into the precursors of pyramidal cells along with ionotophoretic injection of Lucifer Yellow can reliably and specifically detect GABAergic synapses on the dendritic arbour of single pyramidal neurons. Using this technique and focusing on the basal dendritic arbour of layer 2/3 pyramidal cells of the medial prefrontal cortex, we demonstrate an intense development of GABAergic inputs onto these cells between postnatal days 10 and 20. While the spatial distribution of gephyrin clusters was not affected by the distance from the cell body at postnatal day 10, we found that distal dendritic segments appeared to have a higher gephyrin density at later developmental stages. We also show a transient increase around postnatal day 20 in the percentage of spines that are carrying a gephyrin cluster, indicative of innervation by a GABAergic terminal. Since the precise spatial arrangement of synaptic inputs is an important determinant of neuronal responses, we believe that the method described in this work may allow a better understanding of how inhibition settles together with excitation, and serve as basics for further modelling studies focusing on the geometry of dendritic inhibition during development.

Chinese Foods; Teacher's Handbook.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Joe, Ed.

Different styles of Chinese cooking, traditional food items, cooking utensils, serving techniques, and the nutritional value of Chinese cooking are described in this teaching guide. Lesson plans for the preparation of simple dishes are presented. Recipes, a shopping guide to San Francisco's Chinatown, a guide to sources of supplies, and a…

Effectively Improved Field Emission Properties of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes/Graphenes Composite Field Emitter by Covering on the Si Pyramidal Structure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Leifeng; Yu, Hua; Zhong, Jiasong

2015-01-01

The composite nanostructure emitter of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and graphenes was deposited on pyramidal silicon substrate by the simple larger scale electrophoretic deposition process. The field emission (FE) properties of the composite/pyramidal Si device were greatly improved compared...

Assessment of the pyramidal tract by diffusion tensor analysis in brain hemorrhage patients for motor function prognosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawamo, Michiaki; Abe, Takumi; Izumiyama, Hitoshi

2008-01-01

In patients with brain hemorrhage, the entire visualized pyramidal tract was established as an area of interest (ROI). Its Fractional Anisotropy (FA) value was determined by diffusion tensor analysis (DTA), and its relationship to motor function at the onset and three months later was investigated. In 30 patients with brain hemorrhage accompanying paralysis, MRI was performed during the subacute phase (6-14 days after onset). In addition, using a workstation, DTA was performed in order to visualize the pyramidal tract. The FA of the ROI was measured on the affected and unaffected sides, and as previously reported, the ratio of FA in the affected and unaffected sides was calculated. Subsequently, we examined the relationship between the FA ratio and motor function prognosis. Motor function prognosis was assessed based on the sum of the Brunnstrom stage at the onset and three months later. A strong correlation coefficient existed between the FA ratio of the entire pyramidal tract and the sum of the Brunnstrom stage three months after onset (0.74, p<0.001), and prognosis of motor function tended to improve in patients with FA ratios of 0.95 or higher. Patients with mild paralysis were identified in order to ascertain the degree of improvement in paralysis, and a significant correlation between the FA ratio of the entire pyramidal tract and the degree of improvement in the Brunnstrom stage was observed (correlation coefficient 0.77, p<0.001). When compared to putamen hemorrhage, the FA ratio affected the prognosis of paralysis more in thalamic hemorrhage. The results suggest that in patients with an FA ratio of 1.0, the recovery rate of paralysis three months after onset is markedly high. In brain hemorrhage patients, a reduction in the FA ratio of the entire pyramidal tract was correlated with the functional prognosis of motor paralysis, and in thalamic hemorrhage, it may be possible to predict motor function based on FA ratios. Hence, the DTA of the pyramidal tract

Performance of indigenously fabricated pyramid type solar desalination unit at Nawabshah

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Memon, A.H.; Rajpar, A.H.; Memon, N.A.

2010-01-01

The performance of locally fabricated pyramid type solar desalination unit was studied and compared with the conventional basin type solar still. Both stills were initially filled with same quantity of brackish water. Their performance was studied in terms of the quality of water produced, quantity of water desalinated per hour and total quantity of water desalinated per day during the time under study. The experiments were conducted and various parameters were recorded from 9-15 hours daily. These results showed that pyramid solar still produced 20% higher desalinated water as compared to the conventional double slope basin type solar still. This study showed that the productivity rate of soar still is dependent upon geometrical configuration of solar still. It was observed that the units can highly reduce the salinity, TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and EC (Electrical Conductivity) of the saline ground water providing the availability of safe drinking water. (author)

PLAN FOR PERFORMANCE ADMINISTRATION IN PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURE ORGANIZATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domingo Alarcón Ortiz

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Performance administration has become a current strategy in evaluating management within organizations, but its implementation often lacks an action plan, resulting from the valuation of climate and leadership styles embedded in the culture of the organization. This paper proposes a model action plan for performance management, which has been implemented, executed and evaluated in pyramidal organizational structure organizations where a diagnosis of the cultural climate and leadership styles recurring in the organization have been previously made.

CHANGE DETECTION VIA SELECTIVE GUIDED CONTRASTING FILTERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. V. Vizilter

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Change detection scheme based on guided contrasting was previously proposed. Guided contrasting filter takes two images (test and sample as input and forms the output as filtered version of test image. Such filter preserves the similar details and smooths the non-similar details of test image with respect to sample image. Due to this the difference between test image and its filtered version (difference map could be a basis for robust change detection. Guided contrasting is performed in two steps: at the first step some smoothing operator (SO is applied for elimination of test image details; at the second step all matched details are restored with local contrast proportional to the value of some local similarity coefficient (LSC. The guided contrasting filter was proposed based on local average smoothing as SO and local linear correlation as LSC. In this paper we propose and implement new set of selective guided contrasting filters based on different combinations of various SO and thresholded LSC. Linear average and Gaussian smoothing, nonlinear median filtering, morphological opening and closing are considered as SO. Local linear correlation coefficient, morphological correlation coefficient (MCC, mutual information, mean square MCC and geometrical correlation coefficients are applied as LSC. Thresholding of LSC allows operating with non-normalized LSC and enhancing the selective properties of guided contrasting filters: details are either totally recovered or not recovered at all after the smoothing. These different guided contrasting filters are tested as a part of previously proposed change detection pipeline, which contains following stages: guided contrasting filtering on image pyramid, calculation of difference map, binarization, extraction of change proposals and testing change proposals using local MCC. Experiments on real and simulated image bases demonstrate the applicability of all proposed selective guided contrasting filters. All

Dietary shifts and implications for US agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, P

1995-06-01

Changes to healthier dietary patterns similar to those of traditional Mediterranean diets or those of the US government's dietary guidelines and food guide pyramid would require significant changes in American agricultural practices. The volume, mix, production, and marketing of agricultural commodities would need to be modified. Because differences between actual and recommended intakes for major food groups are quite large and affect a broad range of products, adjustments in supply and demand could overshadow past experience in dealing with such changes. New food and agriculture policies may well be needed to ease and accelerate agricultural adjustments, to improve nutritional characteristics of popular foods, and to promote desirable changes in consumers' food choices.

Hospitality Services. Curriculum Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock. Home Economics Curriculum Center.

This guide, which was developed as part of Texas' home economics education program, is intended to assist teachers of a hospitality services course focusing on the food and lodging segments of the hospitality and tourism industry. The first 40% of the approximately 600-page guide consists of strategies for teaching each of 29 essential…

Three-dimensional analytical field calculation of pyramidal-frustum shaped permanent magnets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssen, J.L.G.; Paulides, J.J.H.; Lomonova, E.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a novel method to obtain fully analytical expressions of the magnetic field created by a pyramidal-frustum shaped permanent magnet. Conventional analytical tools only provide expressions for cuboidal permanent magnets and this paper extends these tools to more complex shapes. A

Enlargement of Axo-Somatic Contacts Formed by GAD-Immunoreactive Axon Terminals onto Layer V Pyramidal Neurons in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex of Adolescent Female Mice Is Associated with Suppression of Food Restriction-Evoked Hyperactivity and Resilience to Activity-Based Anorexia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi-Wen; Wable, Gauri Satish; Chowdhury, Tara Gunkali; Aoki, Chiye

2016-06-01

Many, but not all, adolescent female mice that are exposed to a running wheel while food restricted (FR) become excessive wheel runners, choosing to run even during the hours of food availability, to the point of death. This phenomenon is called activity-based anorexia (ABA). We used electron microscopic immunocytochemistry to ask whether individual differences in ABA resilience may correlate with the lengths of axo-somatic contacts made by GABAergic axon terminals onto layer 5 pyramidal neurons (L5P) in the prefrontal cortex. Contact lengths were, on average, 40% greater for the ABA-induced mice, relative to controls. Correspondingly, the proportion of L5P perikaryal plasma membrane contacted by GABAergic terminals was 45% greater for the ABA mice. Contact lengths in the anterior cingulate cortex correlated negatively and strongly with the overall wheel activity after FR (R = -0.87, P resilience through suppression of wheel running, a behavior that is intrinsically rewarding and helpful for foraging but maladaptive within a cage. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Guide to Eating for Sports

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... para adolescentes Body Mind Sexual Health Food & Fitness Diseases & Conditions Infections Drugs & Alcohol School & Jobs Sports Expert Answers (Q&A) Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español A Guide to Eating for Sports KidsHealth / For Teens / A Guide to ...

Attention! Can choices for low value food over high value food be trained?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zoltak, M.J.; Veling, H.P.; Chen, Z.; Holland, R.W.

2018-01-01

People choose high value food items over low value food items, because food choices are guided by the comparison of values placed upon choice alternatives. This value comparison process is also influenced by the amount of attention people allocate to different items. Recent research shows that

Electronic microscopy and EDX characterization of teotihuacan prehispanic mortar from the cave under the sun pyramid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez, T. [Faculty of Chemistry, National University of Mexico, Building D, CU (O4510) Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)]. E-mail: tmc@servidor.unam.mx; Martinez, G. [Coordinacion Nacional de Conservacion del Patrimonio Cultural. Xicontencatl y General Anaya s/n. (04120) Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Mendoza, D. [National Institute of Nuclear Research.. Carr. Mexico-Toluca Km 36.5 (52045), Salazar, Ocoyoacac, Edo. de Mexico (Mexico); Juarez, F. [Institute of Geophysics, National University of Mexico, Circuito Institutos, CU (04510) Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Cabrera, L. [Faculty of Chemistry, National University of Mexico, Building D, CU (O4510) Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

2005-12-01

A cave (102 m long) under the structure of the Sun pyramid of the prehispanic Teotihuacan City indicates the importance of the pyramid. Studies of the cave mortar samples using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed no difference in the chemical elemental composition. The elements can be distributed in three groups: major, minor and trace elements. The minerals identified were compatible with the origins of the cave and with the magnetic pattern.

Gravitational attraction of a vertical pyramid model of flat top-and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Gravity pyramid model. 1737 contains the final analytical expression (forward problem solution) with relevant mathematical details. The integral evaluations on RHS of equation (3) are undertaken by Wolfram Mathe- matica 9.0.1. Drafting of illustrations were imple- mented through MATLAB 2013b. 3. Results and discussion.

[Review of food policy approaches: from food security to food sovereignty (2000-2013)].

Science.gov (United States)

López-Giraldo, Luis Alirio; Franco-Giraldo, Álvaro

2015-07-01

Food policies have attracted special interest due to the global food crisis in 2008 and promotion of the Millennium Development Goals, leading to approaches by different fields. This thematic review aims to describe the main theoretical and methodological approaches to food security and food sovereignty policies. A search was performed in databases of scientific journals from 2000 to 2013. 320 complete articles were selected from a total of 2,699. After reading the articles to apply the inclusion criteria, 55 items were maintained for analysis. In conclusion, with the predominance of food security as a guiding policy, food sovereignty has emerged as a critical response to be included in designing and researching food policies. Food policies are essential for achieving public health goals. Public health should thus take a leading role in linking and orienting such policies.

Miller's Pyramid and Core Competency Assessment: A Study in Relationship Construct Validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Betsy White; Byrne, Phil D; Welindt, Dillon; Williams, Michael V

2016-01-01

Continuous professional development relies on the link between performance and an educational process aimed at improving knowledge and skill. One of the most broadly used frameworks for assessing skills is Miller's Pyramid. This Pyramid has a series of levels of achievement beginning with knowledge (at the base) and ending with routine application in the clinical setting. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of convergence of two measurement methods, one based on Miller's framework, the second using the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education/American Board of Medical Specialties (ACGME/ABMS) Core Competency framework. The data were gathered from the faculty of a large, Midwestern regional health care provider and hospital system. Data from 264 respondents were studied. The 360° data were from raters of physicians holding supervisory roles in the organization. The scale items were taken from an instrument that has been validated for both structure and known group prediction. The Miller scale was purposely built for this application. The questions were designed to describe each level of the model. The Miller scale was reduced to a single dimension. This result was then regressed on the items from the 360° item ratings. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance isolated a significant relationship between the Miller's Pyramid score and the competency items (P core competencies. Equally important is the finding that while they are related they are not identical. These findings have implications for continuous professional development programing design.

Dietary intake of adolescents compared with the Brazilian Food Guide and their differences according to anthropometric data and physical activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carla Cristina Enes

2015-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Objective: To assess the dietary intake of adolescents compared with the Brazilian Food Guide and to explore their differences according to anthropometric data and physical activity. Methods: A total of 476 adolescents from public schools of Piracicaba, SP, Brazil participated in this study. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate food group intake of adolescents. Height, weight and waist circumference of all participants were measured. Physical activity pattern was determined by questioning about participation in regular sport activities. Results: The prevalence of overweight was 36.1% and 60% were not physically active. 7.8, 7.1, 6.3, and 0.2% of adolescents consumed vegetables, fruits, milk and derivatives, and cereals, respectively, according to recommendations. About 55 and 79% of adolescents consumed excessively oils/fats and sugar/sweets, respectively. Physically active adolescents consumed more cereals, fruits, vegetables, milk and derivatives, and meats and eggs. Conclusion: Most adolescents did not follow the food group recommendations and those who were physically active have healthier food habits.

Mobile Money Empowering People Living at Bottom of Pyramid and Boosting Socio-Economic Development in a Big Way

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agrawal Reena

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Hardly anyone would disagree that mobile money is an engine of financial inclusion and has the potential to outreach millions of people, living at the bottom of pyramid and those living in remote areas. The current study was taken up to investigate the impact of mobile money access on the people living at the bottom of pyramid. The aim was to: (1 understand the concept of mobile money, (2 explore the relevance of mobile money in economic growth, (3 capture the growth of mobile money worldwide, (4 explore the socio – economic impact of mobile money and (4 discuss vital insights for traditional financial institutions and policy makers. The study revealed that mobile money had positive impact on financial inclusion. It also enhanced the economic opportunities for the large unbanked population living at the bottom of pyramid. The increase in the mobile penetration and use of mobile internet, among the people living at the bottom of pyramid in the developing countries, clearly reflect at the potential of mobile money, in bringing the financially excluded in the economic mainstream and thus help in sustainable socio-economic development.

Food Technology. Specification for Irradiated Food

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

This Ghana Standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and testing for foods processed by irradiation for sprout inhibition, insect disinfestation, microbial decontamination, delaying ripening, shelf-life extension and general phytosanitary treatment. The absorbed dose range covered by this guide is between 0.2kGy and 10kGy. The practical minimum or maximum dose of a treatment may be lower or higher than this range, depending on the purpose of irradiation and the radiation tolerance of the particular type of food. This standard does not apply to foods exposed to radiation imparted by measuring instruments used for inspection purposes

A revolution in food preservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

A brief consumer guide to food irradiation is presented. Aspects covered include some of the advantages of food irradiation compared to other methods of food preservation, the type of radiation used, the mechanism of action, some practical applications, safety and future benefits. (UK)

Food Preparation and Service: Cluster Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Central Michigan Univ., Mount Pleasant.

This teacher's guide is one of a series of publications focusing on the occupational preparation of persons with special education needs. The material was developed and tested by cooperating teachers over a period of three years. Task analysis information is presented using occupational descriptions from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles,…

Graphene oxide-Ag nanoparticles-pyramidal silicon hybrid system for homogeneous, long-term stable and sensitive SERS activity

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Jia; Xu, Shicai; Liu, Xiaoyun; Li, Zhe; Hu, Litao; Li, Zhen; Chen, Peixi; Ma, Yong; Jiang, Shouzhen; Ning, Tingyin

2017-02-01

In our work, few layers graphene oxide (GO) were directly synthesized on Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) by spin-coating method to fabricate a GO-AgNPs hybrid structure on a pyramidal silicon (PSi) substrate for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The GO-AgNPs-PSi substrate showed excellent Raman enhancement effect, the minimum detected concentration for Rhodamine 6G (R6G) can reach 10-12 M, which is one order of magnitude lower than the AgNPs-PSi substrate and two order of magnitude lower than the GO-AgNPs-flat-Si substrate. The linear fit calibration curve with error bars is presented and the value of R2 of 612 and 773 cm-1 can reach 0.986 and 0.980, respectively. The excellent linear response between the Raman intensity and R6G concentrations prove that the prepared GO-AgNPs-PSi substrates can serve as good SERS substrate for molecule detection. The maximum deviations of SERS intensities from 20 positions of the GO-AgNPs-PSi substrate are less than 8%, revealing the high homogeneity of the SERS substrate. The excellent homogeneity of the enhanced Raman signals can be attributed to well-separated pyramid arrays of PSi, the uniform morphology of AgNPs and multi-functions of GO layer. Besides, the uniform GO film can effectively protect AgNPs from oxidation and endow the hybrid system a good stability and long lifetime. This GO-AgNPs-PSi substrate may provide a new way toward practical applications for the ultrasensitive and label-free SERS detection in areas of medicine, food safety and biotechnology.

Somal and dendritic development of human CA3 pyramidal neurons from midgestation to middle childhood: a quantitative Golgi study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Dahua; He, Lixin; Xiang, Wei; Ai, Wei-Min; Cao, Ye; Wang, Xiao-Sheng; Pan, Aihua; Luo, Xue-Gang; Li, Zhiyuan; Yan, Xiao-Xin

2013-01-01

The CA3 area serves a key relay on the tri-synaptic loop of the hippocampal formation which supports multiple forms of mnemonic processing, especially spatial learning and memory. To date, morphometric data about human CA3 pyramidal neurons are relatively rare, with little information available for their pre- and postnatal development. Herein, we report a set of developmental trajectory data, including somal growth, dendritic elongation and branching, and spine formation, of human CA3 pyramidal neurons from midgestation stage to middle childhood. Golgi-impregnated CA3 pyramidal neurons in fetuses at 19, 20, 26, 35, and 38 weeks of gestation (GW) and a child at 8 years of age (Y) were analyzed by Neurolucida morphometry. Somal size of the impregnated CA3 cells increased age-dependently among the cases. The length of the apical and basal dendrites of these neurons increased between 26 GW to 38 GW, and appeared to remain stable afterward until 8 Y. Dendritic branching points increased from 26 GW to 38 GW, with that on the apical dendrites slightly reduced at 8 Y. Spine density on the apical and basal dendrites increased progressively from 26 GW to 8 Y. These data suggest that somal growth and dendritic arborization of human CA3 pyramidal neurons occur largely during the second to third trimester. Spine development and likely synaptogenesis on CA3 pyramidal cells progress during the third prenatal trimester and may continue throughout childhood. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A 3D Resistivity Model of the Pyramid of La Luna (Teotihuacan, Mexico) Subsoil by Employing Non-Conventional ERT Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Chavez, R. E.; Tejero, A.; Cifuentes, G.; Garcia-Serrano, A.; Argote-Espino, D. L.; HernaNdez-Quintero, J. E.; Ortega, V.

2017-12-01

The Pyramid of La Luna is found within the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, located to the NE of Mexico City. This pre-Hispanic city was developed between 250 AD and 450 AD, with a population of 100,000 people. The most important edifices are the pyramids of El Sol and La Luna. The pyramid of El Sol is one of the largest pre-Hispanic structures found nowadays in Mexico (a square basement of approximately 200m X 225 m). The pyramid of La Luna (with a base of 140m X 150m), smaller in size is located towards the northern portion of this ancient city. At its front, a big plaza is found surrounded by pyramids of different ages. Previous archaeological studies carried out within the plaza, discovered small shallow pipes for water discharge. Then, it is possible to find deeper structures within the Square. A geophysical work was carried out in the Plaza of La Luna employing the ERT-3D to build a 3D resistivity model. Four ERT profiles were deployed in the area in the E-W direction, with a length of 80 m each; electrodes were inserted 3 m apart. A roll-along technique was employed to obtain a 3D view of the plaza subsoil. Gradient (G), Equatorial (Eq), and Minimum Coupling (MC) arrays were applied. A total of 2,600 apparent resistivity observations were acquired. Also, the pyramid was surrounded with 105 electrodes to illuminate this structure subsoil, employing the 'L' and 'Corner' arrays and the already mentioned settings. Electrodes were separated 5 m for the E and N sides, and 6 m for the W and S sides, topographic correction was added to the interpretation. 7,200 apparent resistivity values were obtained. Processing of the data included noise filtering, real electrode position and removing of spikes. Finally, the data were inverted to compute a 3D resistivity distribution of the subsoil. Preliminary results obtained indicate the presence of high resistivity anomalies probably associated to infill or archaeological features. However, an interesting resistivity

Subtle Motion Analysis and Spotting using the Riesz Pyramid

OpenAIRE

Arango , Carlos ,; Alata , Olivier; Emonet , Rémi; Legrand , Anne-Claire; Konik , Hubert

2018-01-01

International audience; Analyzing and temporally spotting motions which are almost invisible to the human eye might reveal interesting information about the world. However, detecting these events is difficult due to their short duration and low intensities. Taking inspiration from video magnification techniques, we design a workflow for analyzing and temporally spotting subtle motions based on the Riesz pyramid. In addition, we propose a filtering and masking scheme that segments motions of i...

Guide to Eating for Sports

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Q&A) Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español A Guide to Eating for Sports KidsHealth / For Teens / A Guide to Eating for Sports What's in this article? Eat Extra for Excellence Athletes and Dieting Eat a Variety of Foods Muscular Minerals and Vital Vitamins Protein ...

School Food Service Index, 1972-73

Science.gov (United States)

Dukiet, Kenneth

1973-01-01

First annual food service index. Should be helpful in guiding administrators in the management of their individual food service operation. Especially designed to be of assistance in planning and evaluating food service facilities and in pinpointing areas of opportunity for food marketing managers. (Author/EA)

supplementary foods for weaning purposes

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DR. AMINU

Nigeria. ABSTRACT. The paper focuses on complementary and supplementary foods for weaning purposes. While ... decision, which guides when to introduce semi-solid foods to infants. It considers the .... readiness of many healthy infants. ... foods. However, caution should be exercised .... Attitudes and practices of infants.

Micromagnetic studies of three-dimensional pyramidal shell structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knittel, A; Franchin, M; Fischbacher, T; Fangohr, H; Nasirpouri, F; Bending, S J

2010-01-01

We present a systematic numerical analysis of the magnetic properties of pyramidal-shaped core-shell structures in a size range below 400 nm. These are three-dimensional structures consisting of a ferromagnetic shell which is grown on top of a non-magnetic core. The standard micromagnetic model without the magnetocrystalline anisotropy term is used to describe the properties of the shell. We vary the thickness of the shell between the limiting cases of an ultra-thin shell and a conventional pyramid and delineate different stable magnetic configurations. We find different kinds of single-domain states, which predominantly occur at smaller system sizes. In analogy to equivalent states in thin square films we term these onion, flower, C and S states. At larger system sizes, we also observe two types of vortex states, which we refer to as symmetric and asymmetric vortex states. For a classification of the observed states, we derive a phase diagram that specifies the magnetic ground state as a function of structure size and shell thickness. The transitions between different ground states can be understood qualitatively. We address the issue of metastability by investigating the stability of all occurring configurations for different shell thicknesses. For selected geometries and directions hysteresis measurements are analysed and discussed. We observe that the magnetic behaviour changes distinctively in the limit of ultra-thin shells. The study has been motivated by the recent progress made in the growth of faceted core-shell structures.

P16.17 Usefulness of neuronavigator-guided fence-post method for malignant glioma resection

Science.gov (United States)

Murase, S.; Yamashita, K.

2017-01-01

Abstract For the resection of malignant glioma, it is necessary to remove the tumor as much as possible and to avoid the expression of new neurological deficit. For this purpose, we adopted neuronavigator-guided fence-post method for malignant glioma resection in 2015. In this presentation, we will introduce this method and evaluate the usefulness of this method. Method:On one or two day before the surgery, fence-post plan is laid according to the MR images on neuronavigator system(StealthStation S7, Medtronic). Usually four fence-post are planned to involve all part of enhanced lesion of the tumor. If the tumor is located close to the pyramidal tracts, MR tractography image is also integrated in the navigator system, and fence-post are planned to avoid damaging the pyramidal tracts. During the surgery, after the craniotomy each fence-post catheter is placed according to the navigator guidance before the dural incision to avoid the influence of brain shift. After the dural incision, four planes created by adjacent each fence-post catheter are resected and the tumor is removed. Result: We will present typical three cases. Two cases of glioblastoma and one case of anaplastic oligodendroglioma case are presented. In all three cases, the tumor were located in the left frontal lobe and the tumor were gross totally removed without new neurological deficit with this method. CONCLUSION: Neuronavigator-guided fence-post method is very useful for the resection of malignant glioma.

Pyramidal neurons in the septal and temporal CA1 field of the human and hedgehog tenrec hippocampus.

Science.gov (United States)

Liagkouras, Ioannis; Michaloudi, Helen; Batzios, Christos; Psaroulis, Dimitrios; Georgiadis, Marios; Künzle, Heinz; Papadopoulos, Georgios C

2008-07-07

The present study examines comparatively the cellular density of disector-counted/Nissl-stained CA1 pyramidal neurons and the morphometric characteristics (dendritic number/length, spine number/density and Sholl-counted dendritic branch points/20 microm) of the basal and apical dendritic systems of Golgi-impregnated CA1 neurons, in the septal and temporal hippocampus of the human and hedgehog tenrec brain. The obtained results indicate that in both hippocampal parts the cellular density of the CA1 pyramidal neurons is lower in human than in tenrec. However, while the human pyramidal cell density is higher in the septal hippocampal part than in the temporal one, in the tenrec the density of these cells is higher in the temporal part. The dendritic tree of the CA1 pyramidal cells, more developed in the septal than in temporal hippocampus in both species studied, is in general more complex in the human hippocampus. The basal and the apical dendritic systems exhibit species related morphometric differences, while dendrites of different orders exhibit differences in their number and length, and in their spine density. Finally, in both species, as well as hippocampal parts and dendritic systems, changes of dendritic morphometric features along ascending dendritic orders fluctuate in a similar way, as do the number of dendritic branch points in relation to the distance from the neuron soma.

Food health law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edinger, Wieke Willemijn Huizing

2014-01-01

risks to human health of foods with, e.g., negative nutritional features. While EU food safety legislation seems successful in preventing food-borne illnesses, public focus has shifted to the growing prevalence of lifestyle-related illnesses. There is convincing scientific evidence of a correlation...... between obesity and non-communicable diseases, on the one hand, and unhealthy food on the other. The EU has taken initiatives to stop this development, but these are directed at guiding consumer choice rather than at regulating foods from the point of view of their composition and nutritional value...

Djedkare’s pyramid complex: Preliminary report of the 2016 season

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Megahed

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of the 2016 archaeological season of the Egyptian mission in the pyramid complex of King Djedkare in South Saqqara. The works focused on the western part of the causeway where remains of a drainage was documented, and on the storerooms situated to the south of the entrance passage. During this work, also the north side of the so-called southern massive was cleaned. Besides the funerary temple, also the private cemetery located to the south-east of it started to be documented in this season. A mud brick structure, MS 1, was cleaned; it consisted of six shafts with vaulted burial chambers. Only one of the chambers (in shaft 5 was cased with limestone slabs, which bear a well preserved painted decoration. This burial chamber belonged to Pepyankh Setju and can be dated to the late Sixth Dynasty. Another part of the work in 2016 concentrated inside the pyramid of the king. The consolidation and restoration works were carried out in the burial apartments, concentrating on the missing part of the eastern wall of the antechamber and the core behind it.

Intracortical Microstimulation (ICMS) Activates Motor Cortex Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons Mainly Transsynaptically.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussin, Ahmed T; Boychuk, Jeffery A; Brown, Andrew R; Pittman, Quentin J; Teskey, G Campbell

2015-01-01

Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a technique used for a number of purposes including the derivation of cortical movement representations (motor maps). Its application can activate the output layer 5 of motor cortex and can result in the elicitation of body movements depending upon the stimulus parameters used. The extent to which pyramidal tract projection neurons of the motor cortex are activated transsynaptically or directly by ICMS remains an open question. Given this uncertainty in the mode of activation, we used a preparation that combined patch clamp whole-cell recordings from single layer 5 pyramidal neurons and extracellular ICMS in slices of motor cortex as well as a standard in vivo mapping technique to ask how ICMS activated motor cortex pyramidal neurons. We measured changes in synaptic spike threshold and spiking rate to ICMS in vitro and movement threshold in vivo in the presence or absence of specific pharmacological blockers of glutamatergic (AMPA, NMDA and Kainate) receptors and GABAA receptors. With major excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission blocked (with DNQX, APV and bicuculline methiodide), we observed a significant increase in the ICMS current intensity required to elicit a movement in vivo as well as to the first spike and an 85% reduction in spiking responses in vitro. Subsets of neurons were still responsive after the synaptic block, especially at higher current intensities, suggesting a modest direct activation. Taken together our data indicate a mainly synaptic mode of activation to ICMS in layer 5 of rat motor cortex. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conserved size and periodicity of pyramidal patches in layer 2 of medial/caudal entorhinal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Naumann, Robert K; Ray, Saikat; Prokop, Stefan; Las, Liora; Heppner, Frank L; Brecht, Michael

2016-03-01

To understand the structural basis of grid cell activity, we compare medial entorhinal cortex architecture in layer 2 across five mammalian species (Etruscan shrews, mice, rats, Egyptian fruit bats, and humans), bridging ∼100 million years of evolutionary diversity. Principal neurons in layer 2 are divided into two distinct cell types, pyramidal and stellate, based on morphology, immunoreactivity, and functional properties. We confirm the existence of patches of calbindin-positive pyramidal cells across these species, arranged periodically according to analyses techniques like spatial autocorrelation, grid scores, and modifiable areal unit analysis. In rodents, which show sustained theta oscillations in entorhinal cortex, cholinergic innervation targeted calbindin patches. In bats and humans, which only show intermittent entorhinal theta activity, cholinergic innervation avoided calbindin patches. The organization of calbindin-negative and calbindin-positive cells showed marked differences in entorhinal subregions of the human brain. Layer 2 of the rodent medial and the human caudal entorhinal cortex were structurally similar in that in both species patches of calbindin-positive pyramidal cells were superimposed on scattered stellate cells. The number of calbindin-positive neurons in a patch increased from ∼80 in Etruscan shrews to ∼800 in humans, only an ∼10-fold over a 20,000-fold difference in brain size. The relatively constant size of calbindin patches differs from cortical modules such as barrels, which scale with brain size. Thus, selective pressure appears to conserve the distribution of stellate and pyramidal cells, periodic arrangement of calbindin patches, and relatively constant neuron number in calbindin patches in medial/caudal entorhinal cortex. © 2015 The Authors. The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Distribution and function of HCN channels in the apical dendritic tuft of neocortical pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Harnett, Mark T; Magee, Jeffrey C; Williams, Stephen R

2015-01-21

The apical tuft is the most remote area of the dendritic tree of neocortical pyramidal neurons. Despite its distal location, the apical dendritic tuft of layer 5 pyramidal neurons receives substantial excitatory synaptic drive and actively processes corticocortical input during behavior. The properties of the voltage-activated ion channels that regulate synaptic integration in tuft dendrites have, however, not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we use electrophysiological and optical approaches to examine the subcellular distribution and function of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated nonselective cation (HCN) channels in rat layer 5B pyramidal neurons. Outside-out patch recordings demonstrated that the amplitude and properties of ensemble HCN channel activity were uniform in patches excised from distal apical dendritic trunk and tuft sites. Simultaneous apical dendritic tuft and trunk whole-cell current-clamp recordings revealed that the pharmacological blockade of HCN channels decreased voltage compartmentalization and enhanced the generation and spread of apical dendritic tuft and trunk regenerative activity. Furthermore, multisite two-photon glutamate uncaging demonstrated that HCN channels control the amplitude and duration of synaptically evoked regenerative activity in the distal apical dendritic tuft. In contrast, at proximal apical dendritic trunk and somatic recording sites, the blockade of HCN channels decreased excitability. Dynamic-clamp experiments revealed that these compartment-specific actions of HCN channels were heavily influenced by the local and distributed impact of the high density of HCN channels in the distal apical dendritic arbor. The properties and subcellular distribution pattern of HCN channels are therefore tuned to regulate the interaction between integration compartments in layer 5B pyramidal neurons. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/351024-14$15.00/0.

Activation of functional α7-containing nAChRs in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons by physiological levels of choline in the presence of PNU-120596.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bopanna I Kalappa

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The level of expression of functional α7-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons is believed to be very low compared to hippocampal CA1 interneurons, and for many years this expression was largely overlooked. However, high densities of expression of functional α7-containing nAChRs in CA1 pyramidal neurons may not be necessary for triggering important cellular and network functions, especially if activation of α7-containing nAChRs occurs in the presence of positive allosteric modulators such as PNU-120596.An approach previously developed for α7-containing nAChRs expressed in tuberomammillary neurons was applied to investigate functional CA1 pyramidal α7-containing nAChRs using rat coronal hippocampal slices and patch-clamp electrophysiology. The majority (∼71% of tested CA1 pyramidal neurons expressed low densities of functional α7-containing nAChRs as evidenced by small whole-cell responses to choline, a selective endogenous agonist of α7 nAChRs. These responses were potentiated by PNU-120596, a novel positive allosteric modulator of α7 nAChRs. The density of functional α7-containing nAChRs expressed in CA1 pyramidal neurons (and thus, the normalized net effect of activation, i.e., response net charge per unit of membrane capacitance per unit of time was estimated to be ∼5% of the density observed in CA1 interneurons. The results of this study demonstrate that despite low levels of expression of functional pyramidal α7-containing nAChRs, physiological levels of choline (∼10 µM are sufficient to activate these receptors and transiently depolarize and even excite CA1 pyramidal neurons in the presence of PNU-120596. The observed effects are possible because in the presence of 10 µM choline and 1-5 µM PNU-120596, a single opening of an individual pyramidal α7-containing nAChR ion channel appears to transiently depolarize (∼4 mV the entire pyramidal neuron and occasionally

Serotonin-mediated modulation of Na+/K+ pump current in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Li Nan; Su, Su Wen; Guo, Fang; Guo, Hui Cai; Shi, Xiao Lu; Li, Wen Ya; Liu, Xu; Wang, Yong Li

2012-01-19

The aim of this study was to investigate whether serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) can modulate Na+/K+ pump in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. 5-HT (0.1, 1 mM) showed Na+/K+ pump current (Ip) densities of 0.40 ± 0.04, 0.34 ± 0.03 pA/pF contrast to 0.63 ± 0.04 pA/pF of the control of 0.5 mM strophanthidin (Str), demonstrating 5-HT-induced inhibition of Ip in a dose-dependent manner in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. The effect was partly attenuated by ondasetron, a 5-HT3 receptor (5-HT3R) antagonist, not by WAY100635, a 5-HT1AR antagonist, while 1-(3-Chlorophenyl) biguanide hydrochloride (m-CPBG), a 5-HT3R specific agonist, mimicked the effect of 5-HT on Ip. 5-HT inhibits neuronal Na+/K+ pump activity via 5-HT3R in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. This discloses novel mechanisms for the function of 5-HT in learning and memory, which may be a useful target to benefit these patients with cognitive disorder.

Co_3V_2O_8 Hexagonal Pyramid with Tunable Inner Structure as High Performance Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Qiang; Pei, Jian; Chen, Gang; Bie, Changfeng; Chen, Dahong; Jiao, Yang; Rao, Jiancun

2017-01-01

Co_3V_2O_8 hexagonal pyramid was successfully fabricated via a simple hydrothermal process and subsequent heat treatment. The inner structure of the hexagonal pyramid was further adjusted by controlling the size of Co_7V_4O_1_6(OH)_2(H_2O) precursors. Hierarchical Co_3V_2O_8 hexagonal pyramid with height of 1 μm were orderly constructed from 60–80 nm inter-connected particles, showing numerous interval voids. Benefiting from its unique structure, the as-prepared sample showed higher electrochemical performance as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries than that of another bulk sample with height of 5 μm and adhesive inner structure. When tested at a current density of 500 mA g"−"1, the hierarchical Co_3V_2O_8 hexagonal pyramid exhibited good rate capacity, high cycling stability, and excellent discharge capacity up to 712 mA h g"−"1, making it promising electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Radiocarbon Ages and Environments of Deposition of the Wono and Trego Hot Springs Tephra Layers in the Pyramid Lake Subbasin, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, L.V.; Smoot, J.P.; Kashgarian, Michaele; Sarna-Wojcicki, A.; Burdett, J.W.

1997-01-01

Uncalibrated radiocarbon data from core PLC92B taken from Wizards Cove in the Pyramid Lake subbasin indicate that the Trego Hot Springs and Wono tephra layers were deposited 23,200 ?? 300 and 27,300 ??300 14C yr B.P. (uncorrected for reservoir effect). Sedimentological data from sites in the Pyramid Lake and Smoke Creek-Black Rock Desert subbasins indicate that the Trego Hot Springs tephra layer was deposited during a relatively dry period when Pyramid Lake was at or below its spill point (1177 m) to the Winnemucca Lake subbasin. The Wono tephra layer was deposited when lake depth was controlled by spill across Emerson Pass sill (1207 m) to the Smoke Creek-Black Rock Desert subbasin. 18O data from core PLC92B also support the concept that the Trego Hot Springs tephra fell into a relatively shallow Pyramid Lake and that the Wono tephra fell into a deeper spilling lake. ?? 1997 University of Washington.

[Accident-induced lesions of the facial nerve in relation to the extent of pyramidal pneumatization].

Science.gov (United States)

Kadoori, S; Limberg, C

1985-12-01

Perilabyrinthine pneumatisation of the petrous pyramid constitutes a risk factor for the facial nerve in its labyrinthine part in a fracture of the temporal bone because serious splintering of bone is possible. Splinters dislocated into the Fallopian canal may damage the nerve seriously. On the other hand a perineural haematoma can flow out of the canal into the neighbouring cells through dehiscences or through the fractured canal walls and a compression of the nerve may be avoided. The decision to undertake early surgical intervention must take into account the degree of pneumatisation of the pyramid in posttraumatic lesions of the facial nerve. The timing and extent of recovery cannot be predicted.

The attraction of the pyramids: virtual realization of Hutton's suggestion to improve Maskelyne's 1774 Earth density estimate

Science.gov (United States)

Smallwood, John R.

2018-01-01

Charles Hutton suggested in 1821 that the pyramids of Egypt be used to site an experiment to measure the deflection of the vertical by a large mass. The suggestion arose as he had estimated the attraction of a Scottish mountain as part of Nevil Maskelyne's (1774) "Schiehallion Experiment", a demonstration of Isaac Newton's law of gravitational attraction and the earliest reasonable quantitative estimate of Earth's mean density. I present a virtual realization of an experiment at the Giza pyramids to investigate how Hutton's concept might have emerged had it been undertaken as he suggested. The attraction of the Great Pyramid would have led to inward north-south deflections of the vertical totalling 1.8 arcsec (0.0005°), and east-west deflections totalling 2.0 arcsec (0.0006°), which although small, would have been within the contemporaneous detectable range, and potentially given, as Hutton wished, a more accurate Earth density measurement than he reported from the Schiehallion experiment.

Renovating the Pyramid of Needs: Contemporary Extensions Built Upon Ancient Foundations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenrick, Douglas T; Griskevicius, Vladas; Neuberg, Steven L; Schaller, Mark

2010-05-01

Maslow's pyramid of human needs, proposed in 1943, has been one of the most cognitively contagious ideas in the behavioral sciences. Anticipating later evolutionary views of human motivation and cognition, Maslow viewed human motives as based in innate and universal predispositions. We revisit the idea of a motivational hierarchy in light of theoretical developments at the interface of evolutionary biology, anthropology, and psychology. After considering motives at three different levels of analysis, we argue that the basic foundational structure of the pyramid is worth preserving, but that it should be buttressed with a few architectural extensions. By adding a contemporary design feature, connections between fundamental motives and immediate situational threats and opportunities should be highlighted. By incorporating a classical element, these connections can be strengthened by anchoring the hierarchy of human motives more firmly in the bedrock of modern evolutionary theory. We propose a renovated hierarchy of fundamental motives that serves as both an integrative framework and a generative foundation for future empirical research. © The Author(s) 2010.

High-performance SERS substrate based on hybrid structure of graphene oxide/AgNPs/Cu film@pyramid Si

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhe; Xu, Shi Cai; Zhang, Chao; Liu, Xiao Yun; Gao, Sai Sai; Hu, Li Tao; Guo, Jia; Ma, Yong; Jiang, Shou Zhen; Si, Hai Peng

2016-12-01

We present a novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate based on graphene oxide/silver nanoparticles/copper film covered silicon pyramid arrays (GO/AgNPs/PCu@Si) by a low-cost and simple method. The GO/AgNPs/PCu@Si substrate presents high sensitivity, good homogeneity and well stability with R6G molecules as a probe. The detected concentration of Rhodamine 6 G (R6G) is as low as 10-15 M. These sensitive SERS behaviors are also confirmed in theory via a commercial COMSOL software, the electric field enhancement is not only formed between the AgNPs, but also formed between the AgNPs and Cu film. And the GO/AgNPs/PCu@Si substrates also present good property on practical application for the detection of methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV). This work may offer a novel and practical method to facilitate the SERS applications in areas of medicine, food safety and biotechnology.

Functional characterization of the beta-adrenergic receptor subtypes expressed by CA1 pyramidal cells in the rat hippocampus.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillman, Kristin L; Doze, Van A; Porter, James E

2005-08-01

Recent studies have demonstrated that activation of the beta-adrenergic receptor (AR) using the selective beta-AR agonist isoproterenol (ISO) facilitates pyramidal cell long-term potentiation in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) region of the rat hippocampus. We have previously analyzed beta-AR genomic expression patterns of 17 CA1 pyramidal cells using single cell reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, demonstrating that all samples expressed the beta2-AR transcript, with four of the 17 cells additionally expressing mRNA for the beta1-AR subtype. However, it has not been determined which beta-AR subtypes are functionally expressed in CA1 for these same pyramidal neurons. Using cell-attached recordings, we tested the ability of ISO to increase pyramidal cell action potential (AP) frequency in the presence of subtype-selective beta-AR antagonists. ICI-118,551 [(+/-)-1-[2,3-(dihydro-7-methyl-1H-inden-4-yl)oxy]-3-[(1-methylethyl)amino]-2-butanol] and butoxamine [alpha-[1-(t-butylamino)ethyl]-2,5-dimethoxybenzyl alcohol) hydrochloride], agents that selectively block the beta2-AR, produced significant parallel rightward shifts in the concentration-response curves for ISO. From these curves, apparent equilibrium dissociation constant (K(b)) values of 0.3 nM for ICI-118,551 and 355 nM for butoxamine were calculated using Schild regression analysis. Conversely, effective concentrations of the selective beta1-AR antagonists CGP 20712A [(+/-)-2-hydroxy-5-[2-([2-hydroxy-3-(4-[1-methyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-imidazol-2-yl]phenoxy)propyl]amino)ethoxy]-benzamide methanesulfonate] and atenolol [4-[2'-hydroxy-3'-(isopropyl-amino)propoxy]phenylacetamide] did not significantly affect the pyramidal cell response to ISO. However, at higher concentrations, atenolol significantly decreased the potency for ISO-mediated AP frequencies. From these curves, an apparent atenolol K(b) value of 3162 nM was calculated. This pharmacological profile for subtype-selective beta-AR antagonists

Innovation Intensity and Adoption at the Base of the Pyramid Market: A Study of Household Appliances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitor Koki da Costa Nogami

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes the innovation intensity and adoption characteristics at the base of the pyramid market. The innovation intensity is configured as radical and incremental, while the innovation adoption is configured as early and tardy. As an empirical approach it was conducted a study type survey. Data analysis is based on non-parametric statistics. The results indicate that the base of the pyramid consumers is characterized by adopting incremental innovations tardily, as pointed out by the literature. Furthermore, it was also observed that women have greater decision-making power in the families of this segment.

World Food/Hunger Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bobo, Kimberley A.

This curriculum guide is designed to encourage responsible university course development as well as extracurricular activities centered around the world food/hunger problem. Multidisciplinary and global values clarification approaches are basic to the curriculum. Part I of the guide discusses the role of universities in combatting world hunger and…

Consumer Control Points: Creating a Visual Food Safety Education Model for Consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiffman, Carole B.

Consumer education has always been a primary consideration in the prevention of food-borne illness. Using nutrition education and the new food guide as a model, this paper develops suggestions for a framework of microbiological food safety principles and a compatible visual model for communicating key concepts. Historically, visual food guides in…

Variant BDNF-Val66Met Polymorphism is Associated with Layer-Specific Alterations in GABAergic Innervation of Pyramidal Neurons, Elevated Anxiety and Reduced Vulnerability of Adolescent Male Mice to Activity-Based Anorexia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi-Wen; Surgent, Olivia; Rana, Barkha S; Lee, Francis; Aoki, Chiye

2017-08-01

Previously, we determined that rodents' vulnerability to food restriction (FR)-evoked wheel running during adolescence (activity-based anorexia, ABA) is associated with failures to increase GABAergic innervation of hippocampal and medial prefrontal pyramidal neurons. Since brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promotes GABAergic synaptogenesis, we hypothesized that individual differences in this vulnerability may arise from differences in the link between BDNF bioavailability and FR-evoked wheel running. We tested this hypothesis in male BDNF-Val66Met knock-in mice (BDNFMet/Met), known for reduction in the activity-dependent BDNF secretion and elevated anxiety-like behaviors. We found that 1) in the absence of FR or a wheel (i.e., control), BDNFMet/Met mice are more anxious than wild-type (WT) littermates, 2) electron microscopically verified GABAergic innervations of pyramidal neurons of BDNFMet/Met mice are reduced at distal dendrites in hippocampal CA1 and medial prefrontal cortex, 3) following ABA, WT mice exhibit anxiety equal to those of the BDNFMet/Met mice and have lost GABAergic innervation along distal dendrites, 4) BDNFMet/Met mice show blunted ABA vulnerability, and 5) unexpectedly, GABAergic innervation is higher at somata of BDNFMet/Met mice than of WT. We conclude that lamina-specific GABAergic inhibition is important for regulating anxiety, whether arising from environmental stress, such as food deprivation, or genetically, such as BDNFMet/Met single nucleotide polymorphism. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Towards a Framework of Cooperation Issues in Base of the Pyramid Projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A. Sheombar; Drs. A.J.G. Silvius; J. Smit

2009-01-01

Interest in the notion that there is an untapped market with significant buying power hidden at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP) has enjoyed increased attention over the last few years. The discourse on this matter is lively and abounds with opposing opinions. Although this discourse is

Conserved size and periodicity of pyramidal patches in layer 2 of medial/caudal entorhinal cortex

Science.gov (United States)

Naumann, Robert K.; Ray, Saikat; Prokop, Stefan; Las, Liora; Heppner, Frank L.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT To understand the structural basis of grid cell activity, we compare medial entorhinal cortex architecture in layer 2 across five mammalian species (Etruscan shrews, mice, rats, Egyptian fruit bats, and humans), bridging ∼100 million years of evolutionary diversity. Principal neurons in layer 2 are divided into two distinct cell types, pyramidal and stellate, based on morphology, immunoreactivity, and functional properties. We confirm the existence of patches of calbindin‐positive pyramidal cells across these species, arranged periodically according to analyses techniques like spatial autocorrelation, grid scores, and modifiable areal unit analysis. In rodents, which show sustained theta oscillations in entorhinal cortex, cholinergic innervation targeted calbindin patches. In bats and humans, which only show intermittent entorhinal theta activity, cholinergic innervation avoided calbindin patches. The organization of calbindin‐negative and calbindin‐positive cells showed marked differences in entorhinal subregions of the human brain. Layer 2 of the rodent medial and the human caudal entorhinal cortex were structurally similar in that in both species patches of calbindin‐positive pyramidal cells were superimposed on scattered stellate cells. The number of calbindin‐positive neurons in a patch increased from ∼80 in Etruscan shrews to ∼800 in humans, only an ∼10‐fold over a 20,000‐fold difference in brain size. The relatively constant size of calbindin patches differs from cortical modules such as barrels, which scale with brain size. Thus, selective pressure appears to conserve the distribution of stellate and pyramidal cells, periodic arrangement of calbindin patches, and relatively constant neuron number in calbindin patches in medial/caudal entorhinal cortex. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:783–806, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:26223342

Adrenergic Modulation Regulates the Dendritic Excitability of Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons In Vivo

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Christina Labarrera

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Summary: The excitability of the apical tuft of layer 5 pyramidal neurons is thought to play a crucial role in behavioral performance and synaptic plasticity. We show that the excitability of the apical tuft is sensitive to adrenergic neuromodulation. Using two-photon dendritic Ca2+ imaging and in vivo whole-cell and extracellular recordings in awake mice, we show that application of the α2A-adrenoceptor agonist guanfacine increases the probability of dendritic Ca2+ events in the tuft and lowers the threshold for dendritic Ca2+ spikes. We further show that these effects are likely to be mediated by the dendritic current Ih. Modulation of Ih in a realistic compartmental model controlled both the generation and magnitude of dendritic calcium spikes in the apical tuft. These findings suggest that adrenergic neuromodulation may affect cognitive processes such as sensory integration, attention, and working memory by regulating the sensitivity of layer 5 pyramidal neurons to top-down inputs. : Labarrera et al. show that noradrenergic neuromodulation can be an effective way to regulate the interaction between different input streams of information processed by an individual neuron. These findings may have important implications for our understanding of how adrenergic neuromodulation affects sensory integration, attention, and working memory. Keywords: cortical layer 5 pyramidal neuron, dendrites, norepinephrine, HCN, Ih, Ca2+ spike, apical tuft, guanfacine, ADHD, somatosensory cortex

The Design, Development and Evaluation of the Vegetarian Lifestyle Index on Dietary Patterns among Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians.

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Lap T; Sabaté, Joan; Singh, Pramil N; Jaceldo-Siegl, Karen

2018-04-26

Traditionally, healthful diets and lifestyles have been examined only in relation to single nutrients, foods, or food groups in terms of dietary exposure. An alternative approach is to conceptualize an index based on vegetarian food pyramid guidelines as a measure of overall diet and lifestyle quality. Our objectives were to: (1) develop the Vegetarian Lifestyle Index (VLI); and (2) evaluate adherence to the Vegetarian Food Guide Pyramid (VFGP) among a low-risk population of Adventists. The index was based on the operationalization of 14 dietary and lifestyle components. All components were equally weighted. Higher score reflected greater adherence to the VFGP. The analytic sample ( n = 90,057) comprised 47.7% non-vegetarians, 5.6% semi-, 10.1% pesco-, and 29.0% lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and 7.7% vegans, of which 1.1% were current smokers and 9.9% were alcohol consumers. Population mean VLI score was 7.43 (SD = 1.75) ranging from 1 to 12.5. Non-vegetarians (6.14; 95% confidence interval (CI), 6.06⁻6.21) had a significantly lower mean compared to semi- (7.31; 95% CI, 7.22⁻7.40), pesco- (7.41; 95% CI, 7.32⁻7.49), and lacto-ovo-vegetarians (8.16; 95% CI, 8.08⁻8.24), as well as vegans (8.88; 95% CI, 8.78⁻8.96). Vegetarians scored on average 1.18 to 2.73 more points than their non-vegetarian counterparts. Results demonstrate that the index has strong discriminant ability across distinct dietary patterns. Additionally, the VLI provides a useful measure of diet and lifestyle adherence to further refine vegetarian food pyramid guidelines.

First Measurements of Ambient Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM at the EvK2CNR Pyramid Observatory in Nepal

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Gratz L. E.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available As part of the Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS project, a global-scale network of ground-based atmospheric monitoring sites is being developed with the objective of expanding the global coverage of atmospheric mercury (Hg measurements and improving our understanding of global atmospheric Hg transport. An important addition to the GMOS monitorng network has been the high altitude EvK2CNR Pyramid Observatory, located at an elevation of 5,050 meters a.s.l. in the eastern Himalaya Mountains of Nepal. Monitoring of total gaseous mercury (TGM using the Tekran 2537A Mercury Vapor Analyzer began at the EvK2CNR Pyramid Observatory in November 2011. From 17 November 2011 to 23 April 2012, the mean concentration of TGM at the Pyramid was 1.2 ng m−3. A range of concentrations from 0.7 to 2.6 ng m−3 has been observed. These are the first reported measurements of atmospheric Hg in Nepal, and currently this is the highest altitude monitoring station for atmospheric Hg in the world. It is anticipated that these high quality measurements, in combination with the other continuous atmospheric measurments being collected at the Pyramid station, will help to further our understanding of Hg concentrations in the free troposphere and the transport of atmospheric Hg on the global scale.

Determination of Fe Content of Some Food Items by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS): A Guided-Inquiry Learning Experience in Instrumental Analysis Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Fakayode, Sayo O.; King, Angela G.; Yakubu, Mamudu; Mohammed, Abdul K.; Pollard, David A.

2012-01-01

This article presents a guided-inquiry (GI) hands-on determination of Fe in food samples including plantains, spinach, lima beans, oatmeal, Frosted Flakes cereal (generic), tilapia fish, and chicken using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). The utility of the GI experiment, which is part of an instrumental analysis laboratory course,…

Food Preparation. I: Food Facts for Home. II: Facts about Foodservice.

Science.gov (United States)

Procter and Gamble Educational Services, Cincinnati, OH.

This package is intended for use in home economics classes focusing on nutrition and food preparation and service. The teaching guide is divided into two parts. The first centers on selected first-time facts on nutrition, meal planning, and basic food preparation skills. It includes modules on nutrition, meal management, initial steps in food…

Flat-on ambipolar triphenylamine/C60 nano-stacks formed from the self-organization of a pyramid-sphere-shaped amphiphile.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Wei-Wei; Huang, Chi-Feng; Wu, Kuan-Yi; Wu, San-Lien; Chang, Shu-Ting; Cheng, Yen-Ju; Wang, Chien-Lung

2016-04-21

A giant amphiphile, which is constructed with an amorphous nano-pyramid (triphenylamine, TPA) and a crystalline nano-sphere (C 60 ), was synthesized. Structural characterization indicates that this pyramid-sphere-shaped amphiphile ( TPA-C 60 ) forms a solvent-induced ordered phase, in which the two constituent units self-assemble into alternating stacks of two-dimensional (2D) TPA and C 60 nano-sheets. Due to the complexity of the molecular structure and the amorphous nature of the nano-pyramid, phase formation was driven by intermolecular C 60 -C 60 interactions and the ordered phase could not be reformed from the TPA-C 60 melt. Oriented crystal arrays of TPA-C 60 , which contain flat-on TPA/C 60 nano-stacks, can be obtained via a PDMS-assisted crystallization (PAC) technique. The flat-on dual-channel supramolecular structure of TPA-C 60 delivered ambipolar and balanced charge-transport characteristics with an average μ e of 2.11 × 10 -4 cm 2 V -1 s -1 and μ h of 3.37 × 10 -4 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . The anisotropic charge-transport ability of the pyramid-sphere-shaped amphiphile was further understood based on the lattice structure and the lattice orientation of TPA-C 60 revealed from electron diffraction analyses.

Clinically Relevant Levels of 4-Aminopyridine Strengthen Physiological Responses in Intact Motor Circuits in Rats, Especially After Pyramidal Tract Injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Sindhurakar, Anil; Mishra, Asht M; Gupta, Disha; Iaci, Jennifer F; Parry, Tom J; Carmel, Jason B

2017-04-01

4-Aminopyridine (4-AP) is a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug to improve motor function in people with multiple sclerosis. Preliminary results suggest the drug may act on intact neural circuits and not just on demyelinated ones. To determine if 4-AP at clinically relevant levels alters the excitability of intact motor circuits. In anesthetized rats, electrodes were placed over motor cortex and the dorsal cervical spinal cord for electrical stimulation, and electromyogram electrodes were inserted into biceps muscle to measure responses. The motor responses to brain and spinal cord stimulation were measured before and for 5 hours after 4-AP administration both in uninjured rats and rats with a cut lesion of the pyramidal tract. Blood was collected at the same time as electrophysiology to determine drug plasma concentration with a goal of 20 to 100 ng/mL. We first determined that a bolus infusion of 0.32 mg/kg 4-AP was optimal: it produced on average 61.5 ± 1.8 ng/mL over the 5 hours after infusion. This dose of 4-AP increased responses to spinal cord stimulation by 1.3-fold in uninjured rats and 3-fold in rats with pyramidal tract lesion. Responses to cortical stimulation also increased by 2-fold in uninjured rats and up to 4-fold in the injured. Clinically relevant levels of 4-AP strongly augment physiological responses in intact circuits, an effect that was more robust after partial injury, demonstrating its broad potential in treating central nervous system injuries.

Nanopore formation on Au coated pyramid under electron beam irradiations (plasmonic nanopore on pyramid

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Seong Soo Choi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available There have been tremendous interests about the single molecule analysis using a sold-state nanopore. The solid-state nanopore can be fabricated either by drilling technique, or diffusion technique by using electron beam irradiations. The solid-state SiN nanopore device with electrical detection technique recently fabricated, however, the solid-state Au nanopore with optical detection technique can be better utilized as the next generation single molecule sensor. In this report, the nanometer size openings with its size less than 10 nm on the diffused membrane on the 200 nm Au pyramid were fabricated by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM electron beam irradiations, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, etc. After the sample was being kept under a room environment for several months, several Au (111 clusters with ~6 nm diameter formed via Ostwald ripening are observed using a high resolution TEM imaging. The nanopore with Au nanoclusters on the diffused membrane can be utilized as an optical nanopore device. Keywords: Electron beam irradiation, Surface diffusion, Carbon contamination, Au cluster, Ostwald ripening

The attraction of the pyramids: virtual realization of Hutton's suggestion to improve Maskelyne's 1774 Earth density estimate

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J. R. Smallwood

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Charles Hutton suggested in 1821 that the pyramids of Egypt be used to site an experiment to measure the deflection of the vertical by a large mass. The suggestion arose as he had estimated the attraction of a Scottish mountain as part of Nevil Maskelyne's (1774 "Schiehallion Experiment", a demonstration of Isaac Newton's law of gravitational attraction and the earliest reasonable quantitative estimate of Earth's mean density. I present a virtual realization of an experiment at the Giza pyramids to investigate how Hutton's concept might have emerged had it been undertaken as he suggested. The attraction of the Great Pyramid would have led to inward north–south deflections of the vertical totalling 1.8 arcsec (0.0005°, and east–west deflections totalling 2.0 arcsec (0.0006°, which although small, would have been within the contemporaneous detectable range, and potentially given, as Hutton wished, a more accurate Earth density measurement than he reported from the Schiehallion experiment.

Morphological pyramids in multiresolution MIP rendering of large volume data : Survey and new results

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roerdink, J.B.T.M.

We survey and extend nonlinear signal decompositions based on morphological pyramids, and their application to multiresolution maximum intensity projection (MIP) volume rendering with progressive refinement and perfect reconstruction. The structure of the resulting multiresolution rendering

The influence of ion energy, target temperature, dose rate and crystal order on the shape of bombardment induced pyramids on copper crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanovic, L.; Whitton, J.L.; Kofod, S.

1978-01-01

Following recent studies of energetic ion bombardment of copper, which established the conditions necessary for the production of cones/pyramids, investigations have been extended to include the effects of change in ion energy, target temperature and dose rate. In addition, the authors have attempted a detailed analysis of the influence of sample crystal orientation on the final form of pyramids and have investigated the stability of the pyramids as a function of the total dose. These experiments, as in earlier work, have been done using very pure copper, mass-analyzed ion beams and free of any metal contamination from, for example, defining apertures. (Auth.)

Dynamics of action potential backpropagation in basal dendrites of prefrontal cortical pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Wen-Liang; Yan, Ping; Wuskell, Joseph P; Loew, Leslie M; Antic, Srdjan D

2008-02-01

Basal dendrites of neocortical pyramidal neurons are relatively short and directly attached to the cell body. This allows electrical signals arising in basal dendrites to strongly influence the neuronal output. Likewise, somatic action potentials (APs) should readily propagate back into the basilar dendritic tree to influence synaptic plasticity. Two recent studies, however, determined that sodium APs are severely attenuated in basal dendrites of cortical pyramidal cells, so that they completely fail in distal dendritic segments. Here we used the latest improvements in the voltage-sensitive dye imaging technique (Zhou et al., 2007) to study AP backpropagation in basal dendrites of layer 5 pyramidal neurons of the rat prefrontal cortex. With a signal-to-noise ratio of > 15 and minimal temporal averaging (only four sweeps) we were able to sample AP waveforms from the very last segments of individual dendritic branches (dendritic tips). We found that in short- (< 150 microm) and medium (150-200 microm in length)-range basal dendrites APs backpropagated with modest changes in AP half-width or AP rise-time. The lack of substantial changes in AP shape and dynamics of rise is inconsistent with the AP-failure model. The lack of substantial amplitude boosting of the third AP in the high-frequency burst also suggests that in short- and medium-range basal dendrites backpropagating APs were not severely attenuated. Our results show that the AP-failure concept does not apply in all basal dendrites of the rat prefrontal cortex. The majority of synaptic contacts in the basilar dendritic tree actually received significant AP-associated electrical and calcium transients.

BASED COMPLEMENTARY FOODS USING GERMINAT

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

2010-08-08

Aug 8, 2010 ... Malnutrition affects physical growth, morbidity, mortality, cognitive development, reproduction, and ... malnutrition. Development of complementary foods is guided by nutritional value, acceptability, availability and affordability of raw materials, and simplicity of food processing ... (Memmert, Germany) at 55. 0.

State and location dependence of action potential metabolic cost in cortical pyramidal neurons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hallermann, Stefan; de Kock, Christiaan P. J.; Stuart, Greg J.; Kole, Maarten H. P.

2012-01-01

Action potential generation and conduction requires large quantities of energy to restore Na+ and K+ ion gradients. We investigated the subcellular location and voltage dependence of this metabolic cost in rat neocortical pyramidal neurons. Using Na+/K+ charge overlap as a measure of action

State and location dependence of action potential metabolic cost in cortical pyramidal neurons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hallermann, S.; de Kock, C.P.J.; Stuart, G.J.; Kole, M.H.

2012-01-01

Action potential generation and conduction requires large quantities of energy to restore Na + and K + ion gradients. We investigated the subcellular location and voltage dependence of this metabolic cost in rat neocortical pyramidal neurons. Using Na +K + charge overlap as a measure of action

Two-dimensional numerical simulation of boron diffusion for pyramidally textured silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Fa-Jun; Duttagupta, Shubham; Shetty, Kishan Devappa; Meng, Lei; Hoex, Bram; Peters, Ian Marius; Samudra, Ganesh S.

2014-01-01

Multidimensional numerical simulation of boron diffusion is of great relevance for the improvement of industrial n-type crystalline silicon wafer solar cells. However, surface passivation of boron diffused area is typically studied in one dimension on planar lifetime samples. This approach neglects the effects of the solar cell pyramidal texture on the boron doping process and resulting doping profile. In this work, we present a theoretical study using a two-dimensional surface morphology for pyramidally textured samples. The boron diffusivity and segregation coefficient between oxide and silicon in simulation are determined by reproducing measured one-dimensional boron depth profiles prepared using different boron diffusion recipes on planar samples. The established parameters are subsequently used to simulate the boron diffusion process on textured samples. The simulated junction depth is found to agree quantitatively well with electron beam induced current measurements. Finally, chemical passivation on planar and textured samples is compared in device simulation. Particularly, a two-dimensional approach is adopted for textured samples to evaluate chemical passivation. The intrinsic emitter saturation current density, which is only related to Auger and radiative recombination, is also simulated for both planar and textured samples. The differences between planar and textured samples are discussed

Pyramiding and evaluation of three dominant brown planthopper resistance genes in the elite indica rice 9311 and its hybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jie; Cheng, Mingxing; Gao, Guanjun; Zhang, Qinglu; Xiao, Jinghua; He, Yuqing

2013-07-01

Brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens Stål, is the most devastating insect pest in rice-producing areas. Three dominant BPH resistance genes (Bph14, Bph15, Bph18) were pyramided into elite indica rice 9311 and its hybrids using marker-assisted selection. Gene effectiveness was evaluated on the basis of seedling and adult rice resistance, honeydew weight and survival rate of BPH. All three genes affected BPH growth and development and antibiotic factors, resulting in both seedling and adult resistance. Bph15 had the greatest effect on conferring resistance to BPH. The results showed an additive effect of pyramiding genes, the order of the gene effect being 14/15/18 ≥ 14/15 > 15/18 ≥ 15 > 14/18 ≥ 14 ≥ 18 > none. The pyramided or single-gene introgression hybrids showed greater resistance than conventional hybrids, although the heterozygous genotypes had weaker effects than the corresponding homozygous genotypes. Furthermore, field trial data demonstrated that yields of improved 9311 lines were higher than or similar to that of the control under natural field conditions. These improved versions can be immediately used in hybrid improvement and production. Compared with controls, pyramided lines and hybrids with three genes showed the strongest resistance to BPH, without a yield decrease. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

Diet quality index for healthy food choices

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Simone Caivano

2013-12-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To present a Diet Quality Index proper for dietary intake studies of Brazilian adults. METHODS: A diet quality index to analyze the incorporation of healthy food choices was associated with a digital food guide. This index includes moderation components, destined to indicate foods that may represent a risk when in excess, and adequacy components that include sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds in order to help individuals meet their nutritional requirements. The diet quality index-digital food guide performance was measured by determining its psychometric properties, namely content and construct validity, as well as internal consistency. RESULTS: The moderation and adequacy components correlated weakly with dietary energy (-0.16 to 0.09. The strongest correlation (0.52 occurred between the component 'sugars and sweets' and the total score. The Cronbach's coefficient alpha for reliability was 0.36. CONCLUSION: Given that diet quality is a complex and multidimensional construct, the Diet Quality Index-Digital Food Guide, whose validity is comparable to those of other indices, is a useful resource for Brazilian dietary studies. However, new studies can provide additional information to improve its reliability.

Performance analysis of coherent free space optical communications with sequential pyramid wavefront sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wei; Yao, Kainan; Chen, Lu; Huang, Danian; Cao, Jingtai; Gu, Haijun

2018-03-01

Based-on the previous study on the theory of the sequential pyramid wavefront sensor (SPWFS), in this paper, the SPWFS is first applied to the coherent free space optical communications (FSOC) with more flexible spatial resolution and higher sensitivity than the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, and with higher uniformity of intensity distribution and much simpler than the pyramid wavefront sensor. Then, the mixing efficiency (ME) and the bit error rate (BER) of the coherent FSOC are analyzed during the aberrations correction through numerical simulation with binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation. Finally, an experimental AO system based-on SPWFS is setup, and the experimental data is used to analyze the ME and BER of homodyne detection with BPSK modulation. The results show that the AO system based-on SPWFS can increase ME and decrease BER effectively. The conclusions of this paper provide a new method of wavefront sensing for designing the AO system for a coherent FSOC system.

Large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium channels prevent dendritic excitability in neocortical pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Benhassine, Narimane; Berger, Thomas

2009-03-01

Large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium channels (BK channels) are homogeneously distributed along the somatodendritic axis of layer 5 pyramidal neurons of the rat somatosensory cortex. The relevance of this conductance for dendritic calcium electrogenesis was studied in acute brain slices using somatodendritic patch clamp recordings and calcium imaging. BK channel activation reduces the occurrence of dendritic calcium spikes. This is reflected in an increased critical frequency of somatic spikes necessary to activate the distal initiation zone. Whilst BK channels repolarise the somatic spike, they dampen it only in the distal dendrite. Their activation reduces dendritic calcium influx via glutamate receptors. Furthermore, they prevent dendritic calcium electrogenesis and subsequent somatic burst discharges. However, the time window for coincident somatic action potential and dendritic input to elicit dendritic calcium events is not influenced by BK channels. Thus, BK channel activation in layer 5 pyramidal neurons affects cellular excitability primarily by establishing a high threshold at the distal action potential initiation zone.

State and location dependence of action potential metabolic cost in cortical pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Hallermann, Stefan; de Kock, Christiaan P J; Stuart, Greg J; Kole, Maarten H P

2012-06-03

Action potential generation and conduction requires large quantities of energy to restore Na(+) and K(+) ion gradients. We investigated the subcellular location and voltage dependence of this metabolic cost in rat neocortical pyramidal neurons. Using Na(+)/K(+) charge overlap as a measure of action potential energy efficiency, we found that action potential initiation in the axon initial segment (AIS) and forward propagation into the axon were energetically inefficient, depending on the resting membrane potential. In contrast, action potential backpropagation into dendrites was efficient. Computer simulations predicted that, although the AIS and nodes of Ranvier had the highest metabolic cost per membrane area, action potential backpropagation into the dendrites and forward propagation into axon collaterals dominated energy consumption in cortical pyramidal neurons. Finally, we found that the high metabolic cost of action potential initiation and propagation down the axon is a trade-off between energy minimization and maximization of the conduction reliability of high-frequency action potentials.

Marker-assisted pyramiding of brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) resistance genes Bph1 and Bph2 on rice chromosome 12.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Prem N; Torii, Akihide; Takumi, Shigeo; Mori, Naoki; Nakamura, Chiharu

2004-01-01

Brown planthopper (BPH) (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) is a significant insect pest of rice (Oryza sativa L.). We constructed a gene-pyramided japonica line, in which two BPH resistance genes Bph1 and Bph2 on the long arm of chromosome 12 independently derived from two indica resistance lines were combined through the recombinant selection. The gene-pyramiding was achieved based on the previously constructed high-resolution linkage maps of the two genes. Two co-dominant and four dominant PCR-based markers flanking the loci were used to select for a homozygous recombinant line in a segregating population that was derived from a cross between the parental homozygous single-gene introgression lines. BPH bioassay showed that the resistance level of the pyramided line was equivalent to that of the Bph1-single introgression line, which showed a higher level of resistance than the Bph2-single introgression line. The pyramid line should provide a useful experimental means for studying the fine structure of the chromosomal region covering these two major BPH resistance genes.

Design Criteria: School Food Service Facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Florida State Dept. of Education, Tallahassee.

This guide is intended for architects, district superintendents, and food service directors whose responsibility it is to plan food service facilities. It first discusses the factors to be considered in food service planning, presents cost studies, and lists the responsibilities of those involved in the planning. Other sections concern selection,…

Presence of ESBL/AmpC-producing Escherichia coli in the broiler production pyramid: a descriptive study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cindy M Dierikx

Full Text Available Broilers and broiler meat products are highly contaminated with extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL or plasmid-mediated AmpC beta-lactamase producing Escherichia coli and are considered to be a source for human infections. Both horizontal and vertical transmission might play a role in the presence of these strains in broilers. As not much is known about the presence of these strains in the whole production pyramid, the epidemiology of ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli in the Dutch broiler production pyramid was examined. Cloacal swabs of Grandparent stock (GPS birds (one-/two-days (breed A and B, 18 and 31 weeks old (breed A, one-day old Parent stock birds (breed A and B and broiler chickens of increasing age (breed A were selectively cultured to detect ESBL/AmpC-producing isolates. ESBL/AmpC-producing isolates were found at all levels in the broiler production pyramid in both broiler breeds examined. Prevalence was already relatively high at the top of the broiler production pyramid. At broiler farms ESBL/AmpC producing E. coli were still present in the environment of the poultry house after cleaning and disinfection. Feed samples taken in the poultry house also became contaminated with ESBL/AmpC producing E. coli after one or more production weeks. The prevalence of ESBL/AmpC-positive birds at broiler farms increased within the first week from 0-24% to 96-100% independent of the use of antibiotics and stayed 100% until slaughter. In GPS breed A, prevalence at 2 days, 18 weeks and 31 weeks stayed below 50% except when beta-lactam antibiotics were administered. In that case prevalence increased to 100%. Interventions minimizing ESBL/AmpC contamination in broilers should focus on preventing horizontal and vertical spread, especially in relation to broiler production farms.

Indoor {sup 22}Rn and {sup 222}Rn concentration measurements inside the Teotihuacan pyramids using NTD and E-PERM methodologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Espinosa, G. [Instituto de Fisica, UNAM, Apartado Postal 20-364, 01000 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)]. E-mail: espinosa@fisica.unam.mx; Golzarri, J.I. [Instituto de Fisica, UNAM, Apartado Postal 20-364, 01000 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Martinez, T. [Facultad de Quimica, UNAM, Edificio D, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Navarrete, M. [Facultad de Quimica, UNAM, Edificio D, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Bogard, J. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6480 (United States); Martinez, G. [Coordinacion Nacional de Conservacion del Patrimonio Cultural, Xicotencatl y General Anaya s/n, 04120 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Juarez, F. [Instituto de Geofisica, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

2005-11-15

Measurements of {sup 22}Rn (Thoron) and {sup 222}Rn (Radon) concentrations, inside the Sun and Moon pyramids of Teotihuacan's archeological zone in Mexico, are reported in this work. Two well-established methods, nuclear track detectors (NTDs), using open-close end cups with internal and external detectors of CR-39 polymer, and electret-passive environmental radon monitoring (E-PERM) were used for the measurements. This experiment had two objectives: to obtain better confidence in the {sup 22}Rn and {sup 222}Rn measurements inside the archeological tunnels, and to compare the data obtained in each one of the two methods. This experiment is specially interesting because of the very peculiar conditions where the measurements are made: high humidity, labyrinths with air currents, but almost constant temperature inside of the pyramid tunnels and galleries, notwithstanding of the temperature changes between the day and the night outside of the pyramid body. The {sup 222}Rn concentrations found in both the pyramids were lower than the action level proposed by the ICRP-65. These tunnels are not open to the public, but researchers from the Anthropology Institutions spend part of their time working there, in periods varying from 3 to 5 months.

Spatial Pyramids and Two-layer Stacking SVM classifiers for Image Categorization: A Comparative Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abdullah, Azizi; Veltkamp, Remco C.; Wiering, Marco

2009-01-01

Recent research in image recognition has shown that combining multiple descriptors is a very useful way to improve classification performance. Furthermore, the use of spatial pyramids that compute descriptors at multiple spatial resolution levels generally increases the discriminative power of the

Acupuncture attenuates cognitive deficits and increases pyramidal neuron number in hippocampal CA1 area of vascular dementia rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fang; Yan, Chao-Qun; Lin, Li-Ting; Li, Hui; Zeng, Xiang-Hong; Liu, Yi; Du, Si-Qi; Zhu, Wen; Liu, Cun-Zhi

2015-04-28

Decreased cognition is recognized as one of the most severe and consistent behavioral impairments in dementia. Experimental studies have reported that acupuncture may improve cognitive deficits, relieve vascular dementia (VD) symptoms, and increase cerebral perfusion and electrical activity. Multi-infarction dementia was modeled in rats with 3% microemboli saline suspension. Two weeks after acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36), all rats were subjected to a hidden platform trial to test their 3-day spatial memory using the Morris water maze test. To estimate the numbers of pyramidal neuron, astrocytes, and synaptic boutons in hippocampal CA1 area, we adopted an unbiased stereology method to accurately sample and measure the size of cells. We found that acupuncture at ST36 significantly decreased the escape latency of VD rats. In addition, acupuncture significantly increased the pyramidal neuron number in hippocampal CA1 area (P area in any of the groups (P > 0.05). These findings suggest that acupuncture may improve cognitive deficits and increase pyramidal neuron number of hippocampal CA1 area in VD rats.

A novel double fine guide sensor design on space telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xu-xu; Yin, Da-yi

2018-02-01

To get high precision attitude for space telescope, a double marginal FOV (field of view) FGS (Fine Guide Sensor) is proposed. It is composed of two large area APS CMOS sensors and both share the same lens in main light of sight. More star vectors can be get by two FGS and be used for high precision attitude determination. To improve star identification speed, the vector cross product in inter-star angles for small marginal FOV different from traditional way is elaborated and parallel processing method is applied to pyramid algorithm. The star vectors from two sensors are then used to attitude fusion with traditional QUEST algorithm. The simulation results show that the system can get high accuracy three axis attitudes and the scheme is feasibility.

Community incidence of pathogen-specific gastroenteritis: reconstructing the surveillance pyramid for seven pathogens in seven European Union member states

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haagsma, J. A.; Geenen, P. L.; Ethelberg, S.

2013-01-01

By building reconstruction models for a case of gastroenteritis in the general population moving through different steps of the surveillance pyramid we estimated that millions of illnesses occur annually in the European population, leading to thousands of hospitalizations. We used data on the hea......By building reconstruction models for a case of gastroenteritis in the general population moving through different steps of the surveillance pyramid we estimated that millions of illnesses occur annually in the European population, leading to thousands of hospitalizations. We used data...

Reproductive experience modified dendritic spines on cortical pyramidal neurons to enhance sensory perception and spatial learning in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jeng-Rung; Lim, Seh Hong; Chung, Sin-Cun; Lee, Yee-Fun; Wang, Yueh-Jan; Tseng, Guo-Fang; Wang, Tsyr-Jiuan

2017-01-27

Behavioral adaptations during motherhood are aimed at increasing reproductive success. Alterations of hormones during motherhood could trigger brain morphological changes to underlie behavioral alterations. Here we investigated whether motherhood changes a rat's sensory perception and spatial memory in conjunction with cortical neuronal structural changes. Female rats of different statuses, including virgin, pregnant, lactating, and primiparous rats were studied. Behavioral test showed that the lactating rats were most sensitive to heat, while rats with motherhood and reproduction experience outperformed virgin rats in a water maze task. By intracellular dye injection and computer-assisted 3-dimensional reconstruction, the dendritic arbors and spines of the layer III and V pyramidal neurons of the somatosensory cortex and CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons were revealed for closer analysis. The results showed that motherhood and reproductive experience increased dendritic spines but not arbors or the lengths of the layer III and V pyramidal neurons of the somatosensory cortex and CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons. In addition, lactating rats had a higher incidence of spines than pregnant or primiparous rats. The increase of dendritic spines was coupled with increased expression of the glutamatergic postsynaptic marker protein (PSD-95), especially in lactating rats. On the basis of the present results, it is concluded that motherhood enhanced rat sensory perception and spatial memory and was accompanied by increases in dendritic spines on output neurons of the somatosensory cortex and CA1 hippocampus. The effect was sustained for at least 6 weeks after the weaning of the pups.

Micronutrient deficiencies in food aid beneficiaries: A review of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development ... in food aid beneficiary populations and to guide the formulation of food aid products, this ... In some cases, food aid rations provide insufficient quantity and quality of ... studies found documenting the nutritional status of non-emergency food aid recipients.

Succeeding at the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boxenbaum, Eva; Olsen, Mette

initiative to build a social impact venture at the interface of a multi-national corporation and a hybrid organization that is operating on the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid market. Our study identifies how corporate social entrepreneurs dynamically use framing and organizational anchoring strategies to build...... ventures in the double pursuit of financial objectives and wider societal objectives. Through an empirical study, we investigate the strategies and practices that corporate social entrepreneurs employ to build radically new social ventures outside their firm. More specifically, we examine a successful......Hybrid organizational forms often rely on the initiative or collaboration of corporate actors, yet the role of these actors is rarely examined in detail. This paper examines corporate social entrepreneurship, which refers to the initiative of corporate actors to establish new, independent social...

78 FR 42526 - Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 690.800 Salmonella

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-16

... food for animals. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to...] Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 690.800 Salmonella in Food for Animals; Availability AGENCY: Food and Drug... Animals'' (the CPG). The CPG provides guidance to FDA staff on Salmonella-contaminated food for animals...

Indledende hydrauliske undersøgelser af bølgeenergianlægget Power Pyramid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter; Frigaard, Peter

Power Pyramid er et flydende overskyls-bølgeenergianlæg, dvs. energien udvindes af bølgerne ved at bølgerne overskyller reservoirer beliggende over middelvandstanden og det således opsamlede vand ledes tilbage til havet via en eller flere turbiner. Turbinen driver en generator, hvorved den opnåede...

Guide to Effective Purchasing. Operational Management Programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Frediani, Pam

This manual is intended to help create and sustain good relations between purchasers and suppliers of foods and related products. It is designed to guide anyone involved in the purchasing function: purchasing officers and managers in medium and large establishments, food and beverage managers, catering managers, chefs, caterers, restaurateurs,…

Pyramidal approach to license plate segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Postolache, Alexandru; Trecat, Jacques C.

1996-07-01

Car identification is a goal in traffic control, transport planning, travel time measurement, managing parking lot traffic and so on. Most car identification algorithms contain a standalone plate segmentation process followed by a plate contents reading. A pyramidal algorithm for license plate segmentation, looking for textured regions, has been developed on a PC based system running Unix. It can be used directly in applications not requiring real time. When input images are relatively small, real-time performance is in fact accomplished by the algorithm. When using large images, porting the algorithm to special digital signal processors can easily lead to preserving real-time performance. Experimental results, for stationary and moving cars in outdoor scenes, showed high accuracy and high scores in detecting the plate. The algorithm also deals with cases where many character strings are present in the image, and not only the one corresponding to the plate. This is done by the means of a constrained texture regions classification.

Guide to Eating for Sports

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... For Teens / A Guide to Eating for Sports What's in this article? Eat Extra for Excellence Athletes and Dieting Eat a Variety of Foods Muscular Minerals and Vital Vitamins Protein Power Carb ...

Large variability in synaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor density on interneurons and a comparison with pyramidal-cell spines in the rat hippocampus.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyíri, G; Stephenson, F A; Freund, T F; Somogyi, P

2003-01-01

Pyramidal cells receive input from several types of GABA-releasing interneurons and innervate them reciprocally. Glutamatergic activation of interneurons involves both alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) type glutamate receptors expressed in type I synapses, mostly on their dendritic shafts. On average, the synaptic AMPA receptor content is several times higher on interneurons than in the spines of pyramidal cells. To compare the NMDA receptor content of synapses, we used a quantitative postembedding immunogold technique on serial electron microscopic sections, and analysed the synapses on interneuron dendrites and pyramidal cell spines in the CA1 area. Because all NMDA receptors contain the obligatory NR1 subunit, receptor localisation was carried out using antibodies recognising all splice variants of the NR1 subunit. Four populations of synapse were examined: i). on spines of pyramidal cells in stratum (str.) radiatum and str. oriens; ii). on parvalbumin-positive interneuronal dendritic shafts in str. radiatum; iii). on randomly found dendritic shafts in str. oriens and iv). on somatostatin-positive interneuronal dendritic shafts and somata in str. oriens. On average, the size of the synapses on spines was about half of those on interneurons. The four populations of synapse significantly differed in labelling for the NR1 subunit. The median density of NR1 subunit labelling was highest on pyramidal cell spines. It was lowest in the synapses on parvalbumin-positive dendrites in str. radiatum, where more than half of these synapses were immunonegative. In str. oriens, synapses on interneurons had a high variability of receptor content; some dendrites were similar to those in str. radiatum, including the proximal synapses of somatostatin-positive cells, whereas others had immunoreactivity for the NR1 subunit similar to or higher than synapses on pyramidal cell spines. These results show that synaptic NMDA

ETHICS AND PHILANTHROPY IN THE FIELD OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PYRAMID

OpenAIRE

Marija Mihaljevic; Ivana Tokic

2015-01-01

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept which is based on the orientation of economic subjects for the benefit of the community. CSR has a long and rich tradition of existence and activities but in the Republic of Croatia CSR is still developing. In this article, CSR is seen through Carroll’s pyramid of social responsibility which includes economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities of business subjects. Economic and legal responsibilities which are core responsibil...

The Color Red Supports Avoidance Reactions to Unhealthy Food.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohr, Michaela; Kamm, Friederike; Koenigstorfer, Joerg; Groeppel-Klein, Andrea; Wentura, Dirk

2015-01-01

Empirical evidence suggests that the color red acts like an implicit avoidance cue in food contexts. Thus specific colors seem to guide the implicit evaluation of food items. We built upon this research by investigating the implicit meaning of color (red vs. green) in an approach-avoidance task with healthy and unhealthy food items. Thus, we examined the joint evaluative effects of color and food: Participants had to categorize food items by approach-avoidance reactions, according to their healthfulness. Items were surrounded by task-irrelevant red or green circles. We found that the implicit meaning of the traffic light colors influenced participants' reactions to the food items. The color red (compared to green) facilitated automatic avoidance reactions to unhealthy foods. By contrast, approach behavior toward healthy food items was not moderated by color. Our findings suggest that traffic light colors can act as implicit cues that guide automatic behavioral reactions to food.

Guide for intervention levels in radiological accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jong Tai; Khang, Byung Oui; Lee, Goan Yup; Han, Gee Yang [Korea Atomic Energy Resesrch Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

2001-03-15

Based on IAEA SS109 and ICRP63, intervention levels and action levels are derived using cost-benefit approach method. Intervention levels are optimized so that the net benefit from protective measures will be maximized. Evacuation, sheltering, relocation, permanent resettlement, administration of stable iodine and food restriction are included in protective measures. Intervention levels are calculated using site specific parameters in Korea. As a results of calculation, general intervention levels are similar to IAEA recommendation and action levels for food restriction are a little higher than IAEA recommendation and Japan guide. Guide on intervention levels in Korea is also suggested based on the calculated results.

Power to the poor: sustainable energy at the base of the pyramid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zarsky, Lyuba [Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA (United States); Wilson, Emma

2009-11-15

Four billion people – over half of humanity – live on less than US$2 a day, effectively forming the bottom of the world economic pyramid. This majority may have minimal access to cash but they need, and will pay for, essential goods and services – including energy. 'The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid,' a 2002 article, argues that if global corporations target this 4 billion, they can reduce poverty and make profit. That the private sector is already playing a key role in meeting development challenges, such as energy poverty, is increasingly recognised. 'Inclusive' and 'shared value' business approaches have begun to multiply. International energy companies, including hydrocarbon and renewable energy producers, can (and do) facilitate local access to energy in poorer regions of the world. To reach the poorest and to effectively contribute to sustainable local development in the long term, however, standard business models need to be modified, and alliances forged with government, local enterprises, donors and NGOs. Smaller local firms are often the ones that reach the poor more effectively. They just need the right support.

Public Health Activist Skills Pyramid: A Model for Implementing Health in All Policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Damari, Behzad; Ehsani Chimeh, Elham

2017-01-01

Affecting public health for society requires various competencies. In fact, the prerequisite for the implementation of health in all policies should be effectiveness of public health activists (PHAs) in these competencies. This study aims to determine the competencies of the activists in public health. The present qualitative study reviewed the literature and adopted qualitative methods like content analysis, stakeholder interviews, and conducted focus group discussions with related experts. In each stage, the required competencies were extracted through drawing the main action processes of a PHA. Thereafter, the authors reached an ultimately best-suited working model by classifying and approving extracted competencies. The competencies comprise a pyramid set of three main categories of basic, specialized/professional, and individual updating competencies. Personal management, communication, teamwork, project management, ability to apply principles and concepts of public health, anatomy, physiology, and pathology in the organizations of the society should be included in the basic category. Specialized skills should include ability to plan, public participation, intersectoral collaboration, social marketing, working with the media/media friendly attitude, advocacy, research management and knowledge translation, evaluation of health programs, network establishment and management, deployment and institutionalization, operational research, empowerment and consultation, and protocol and service pack design. Last but not least, individual updating is defined as being informed of the latest scientific articles and reports about health and its situation in different countries as well as determinants that affect health. Implementation of this pyramid requires design and establishment of specific centers for transferring effective public health competencies. This pyramid has also functional use for the revision of educational curriculums in all health study fields. Moreover

Finding phosphorus containing additives in manufactured foods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lyn Lloyd

2012-06-01

This reflects manufactured foods in NZ and it is likely that these results could be generalized to countries with similar food patterns and supplies. Quantitative data in manufactured foods is unlikely to be available to guide patient choice so qualitative information of where to find P additives can be helpful.

Multilayered pyramidal dissolving microneedle patches with flexible pedestals for improving effective drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Shinying; Fei, Jie; Liu, Haoran; Chen, Weixing; Liu, Ran

2017-11-10

Dissolving microneedles have been employed as a safe and convenient transdermal delivery system for drugs and vaccines. To improve effective drug delivery, a multilayered pyramidal dissolving microneedle patch, composed of silk fibroin tips with the ability of robust mechanical strength, rapid dissolution and drug release supported on a flexible polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) pedestal is reported. To show the utility of this approach the ability of the fabricated microneedles to deliver insulin is demonstrated. The dissolving microneedles have sufficient mechanical strength to be inserted into abdomen skin of mice to a depth of approximately 150μm, and release their encapsulated insulin into the skin to cause a hypoglycemic effect. The fabrication of microneedles avoids high temperature which benefits storage stability at room temperature for 20d. This result indicates >99.4% of insulin remained in the microneedles. In comparison to traditional needle-based administration, the proposed multilayered pyramidal dissolving microneedle patches enable self-administration, miniaturization, pain-free administration, drug delivery and drug stability, all being important features in needle free drug delivery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Topography, Astronomy And Dynastic History In The Alignments Of The Pyramid Fields Of The Old Kingdom

Science.gov (United States)

Magli, G.

It is known since the 19 century that in the layout of the pyramid field of the pharaohs of the 4th Egyptian dynasty at Giza, a "main axis" exists. Indeed, the south-east corners of these monuments align towards the site of the temple of Heliopolis, which was plainly visible in ancient times. It was later discovered that a similar situation occurs in the main pyramid field of the subsequent dynasty at Abu Sir. Here, the north-west corners of three chronologically successive pyramids again voluntarily align towards Heliopolis. However, the temple was in this case not visible, due to the rock outcrop- today occupied by the Cairo citadel - which blocks the view. In the present paper, a interdisciplinary approach based on historical, topographical and archaeoastronomical analysis is developed in an attempt at understanding such peculiar features, which governed from the very beginning the planning of these wonderful monuments. A general pattern actually arises, which appears to have inspired the choice of the sites and the disposition on the ground of almost all the funerary complexes of the kings during the Old Kingdom. In particular, this pattern helps to explain the choices in the location of the funerary complexes of Niuserre in Abusir, of Unas in Saqqara and of the kings of the 6th dynasty at south Saqqara.

TRH regulates action potential shape in cerebral cortex pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Molina, Víctor; Patiño, Javier; Vargas, Yamili; Sánchez-Jaramillo, Edith; Joseph-Bravo, Patricia; Charli, Jean-Louis

2014-07-07

Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) is a neuropeptide with a wide neural distribution and a variety of functions. It modulates neuronal electrophysiological properties, including resting membrane potential, as well as excitatory postsynaptic potential and spike frequencies. We explored, with whole-cell patch clamp, TRH effect on action potential shape in pyramidal neurons of the sensorimotor cortex. TRH reduced spike and after hyperpolarization amplitudes, and increased spike half-width. The effect varied with dose, time and cortical layer. In layer V, 0.5µM of TRH induced a small increase in spike half-width, while 1 and 5µM induced a strong but transient change in spike half-width, and amplitude; after hyperpolarization amplitude was modified at 5µM of TRH. Cortical layers III and VI neurons responded intensely to 0.5µM TRH; layer II neurons response was small. The effect of 1µM TRH on action potential shape in layer V neurons was blocked by G-protein inhibition. Inhibition of the activity of the TRH-degrading enzyme pyroglutamyl peptidase II (PPII) reproduced the effect of TRH, with enhanced spike half-width. Many cortical PPII mRNA+ cells were VGLUT1 mRNA+, and some GAD mRNA+. These data show that TRH regulates action potential shape in pyramidal cortical neurons, and are consistent with the hypothesis that PPII controls its action in this region. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A theoretical study of special acoustic effects caused by the staircase of the El Castillo pyramid at the Maya ruins of Chichen-Itza in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Declercq, Nico F.; Degrieck, Joris; Briers, Rudy; Leroy, Oswald

2004-12-01

It is known that a handclap in front of the stairs of the great pyramid of Chichen Itza produces a chirp echo which sounds more or less like the sound of a Quetzal bird. The present work describes precise diffraction simulations and attempts to answer the critical question what physical effects cause the formation of the chirp echo. Comparison is made with experimental results obtained from David Lubman. Numerical simulations show that the echo shows a strong dependence on the kind of incident sound. Simulations are performed for a (delta function like) pulse and also for a real handclap. The effect of reflections on the ground in front of the pyramid is also discussed. The present work also explains why an observer seated on the lowest step of the pyramid hears the sound of raindrops falling in a water filled bucket instead of footstep sounds when people, situated higher up the pyramid, climb the stairs. .

The Effect of Single Pyramidal Neuron Firing Within Layer 2/3 and Layer 4 in Mouse V1.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Jochen F; Golshani, Peyman; Smirnakis, Stelios M

2018-01-01

The influence of cortical cell spiking activity on nearby cells has been studied extensively in vitro . Less is known, however, about the impact of single cell firing on local cortical networks in vivo . In a pioneering study, Kwan and Dan (Kwan and Dan, 2012) reported that in mouse layer 2/3 (L2/3), under anesthesia , stimulating a single pyramidal cell recruits ~2.1% of neighboring units. Here we employ two-photon calcium imaging in layer 2/3 of mouse V1, in conjunction with single-cell patch clamp stimulation in layer 2/3 or layer 4, to probe, in both the awake and lightly anesthetized states , how (i) activating single L2/3 pyramidal neurons recruits neighboring units within L2/3 and from layer 4 (L4) to L2/3, and whether (ii) activating single pyramidal neurons changes population activity in local circuit. To do this, it was essential to develop an algorithm capable of quantifying how sensitive the calcium signal is at detecting effectively recruited units ("followers"). This algorithm allowed us to estimate the chance of detecting a follower as a function of the probability that an epoch of stimulation elicits one extra action potential (AP) in the follower cell. Using this approach, we found only a small fraction (layer-2/3 or layer-4 pyramidal neurons produces few (<1% of local units) reliable single-cell followers in L2/3 of mouse area V1, either under light anesthesia or in quiet wakefulness: instead, single cell stimulation was found to elevate aggregate population activity in a weak but highly distributed fashion.

Peripheral facial nerve lesions induce changes in the firing properties of primary motor cortex layer 5 pyramidal cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Múnera, A; Cuestas, D M; Troncoso, J

2012-10-25

Facial nerve lesions elicit long-lasting changes in vibrissal primary motor cortex (M1) muscular representation in rodents. Reorganization of cortical representation has been attributed to potentiation of preexisting horizontal connections coming from neighboring muscle representation. However, changes in layer 5 pyramidal neuron activity induced by facial nerve lesion have not yet been explored. To do so, the effect of irreversible facial nerve injury on electrophysiological properties of layer 5 pyramidal neurons was characterized. Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats were randomly subjected to two experimental treatments: either surgical transection of mandibular and buccal branches of the facial nerve (n=18) or sham surgery (n=6). Unitary and population activity of vibrissal M1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons recorded in vivo under general anesthesia was compared between sham-operated and facial nerve-injured animals. Injured animals were allowed either one (n=6), three (n=6), or five (n=6) weeks recovery before recording in order to characterize the evolution of changes in electrophysiological activity. As compared to control, facial nerve-injured animals displayed the following sustained and significant changes in spontaneous activity: increased basal firing frequency, decreased spike-associated local field oscillation amplitude, and decreased spontaneous theta burst firing frequency. Significant changes in evoked-activity with whisker pad stimulation included: increased short latency population spike amplitude, decreased long latency population oscillations amplitude and frequency, and decreased peak frequency during evoked single-unit burst firing. Taken together, such changes demonstrate that peripheral facial nerve lesions induce robust and sustained changes of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in vibrissal motor cortex. Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gourmet Foods. Course of Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Martha; And Others

Four units are included in this curriculum guide for a semester elective credit course in gourmet foods for high school juniors and seniors: (1) Introudction to the Course, and the Development of "A Gourmet," intended to facilitate defining and participating in planning the course program and goals, (2) "Basic Food Preparation for…

Morphological and electrophysiological changes in intratelencephalic-type pyramidal neurons in the motor cortex of a rat model of levodopa-induced dyskinesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ueno, Tatsuya; Yamada, Junko; Nishijima, Haruo; Arai, Akira; Migita, Keisuke; Baba, Masayuki; Ueno, Shinya; Tomiyama, Masahiko

2014-04-01

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) is a major complication of long-term dopamine replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease, and becomes increasingly problematic in the advanced stage of the disease. Although the cause of LID still remains unclear, there is accumulating evidence from animal experiments that it results from maladaptive plasticity, resulting in supersensitive excitatory transmission at corticostriatal synapses. Recent work using transcranial magnetic stimulation suggests that the motor cortex displays the same supersensitivity in Parkinson's disease patients with LID. To date, the cellular mechanisms underlying the abnormal cortical plasticity have not been examined. The morphology of the dendritic spines has a strong relationship to synaptic plasticity. Therefore, we explored the spine morphology of pyramidal neurons in the motor cortex in a rat model of LID. We used control rats, 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats (a model of Parkinson's disease), 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats chronically treated with levodopa (a model of LID), and control rats chronically treated with levodopa. Because the direct pathway of the basal ganglia plays a central role in the development of LID, we quantified the density and size of dendritic spines in intratelencephalic (IT)-type pyramidal neurons in M1 cortex that project to the striatal medium spiny neurons in the direct pathway. The spine density was not different among the four groups. In contrast, spine size became enlarged in the Parkinson's disease and LID rat models. The enlargement was significantly greater in the LID model than in the Parkinson's disease model. This enlargement of the spines suggests that IT-type pyramidal neurons acquire supersensitivity to excitatory stimuli. To confirm this possibility, we monitored miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) in the IT-type pyramidal neurons in M1 cortex using whole-cell patch clamp. The amplitude of the mEPSCs was significantly increased in the LID

Development of a Korean Diet Score (KDS) and its application assessing adherence to Korean healthy diet based on the Korean Food Guide Wheels

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myoungsook; Chae, Soo Wan; Cha, Youn-Soo; Cho, Mi Sook; Oh, Hea Young

2013-01-01

The most critical point in the assessment of adherence to dietary guidelines is the development of a practical definition for adherence, such as a dietary pattern score. The purpose of this study was to develop the Korean Diet Score (KDS) based on the Korean Food Balance Wheel and to examine the association of KDS with various lifestyle characteristics and biochemical factors. The dietary data of 5,320 subjects from the 4th Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey were used for the final analysis. The food guide was composed of six food group categories; 'grain dishes', 'fish and meat dishes', 'vegetable dishes', 'fruits', 'milk' and 'oils and sugars'. Based on the recommended serving numbers for each group, the scores measuring adherence to this food guide were calculated from the dietary information from the 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire, and then its correlation with various characteristics was assessed. KDS was significantly associated with several clinical, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors as well as diagnosed disease history. The higher quintile group of KDS showed a significantly lower level in fasting blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, current smoking and drinking as well as higher leisure time activity, house income and education. Furthermore, the KDS quintile group of women was inversely associated with hypertension, osteoporosis and diabetes. A higher KDS quintile was characterized with a higher intake of several critical nutrients, such as Ca, Fe and vitamins as well as a desirable nutrition balance such as the ratio of macronutrients. Our results demonstrate that KDS is a beneficial tool in assessing the adherence to a healthy diet based on the Korean dietary guidelines. We suggest that KDS could be a useful indicator for evaluating the dietary balance of the Korean population. PMID:23424060

Developing a Contemporary Dairy Foods Extension Program: A Training and Technical Resource Needs Assessment of Pennsylvania Dairy Foods Processors

Science.gov (United States)

Syrko, Joseph; Kaylegian, Kerry E.

2015-01-01

Growth in the dairy industry and the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act have renewed interest in dairy foods processing extension positions. A needs assessment survey was sent to Pennsylvania dairy processors and raw milk providers to guide priorities for a dairy foods extension program. The successful development and delivery of…

Vitamin profile of cooked foods: how healthy is the practice of ready-to-eat foods?

Science.gov (United States)

Agte, Vaishali; Tarwadi, Kirtan; Mengale, Sangeeta; Hinge, Ashwini; Chiplonkar, Shashi

2002-05-01

During recent years importance of B complex vitamins, beta-carotene and vitamin C has been realised in terms of their antioxidative and anticarcinogenic properties. Fruits and vegetables are the rich sources of these vitamins. However, there are considerable cooking losses of vitamins, and information on vitamin contents of cooked foods is essential for assessing the adequacy of vitamin intakes. Secondly, there is a growing trend to consume ready-to-eat foods such as stuffed pancakes (samosa, patties), pastries, French fries; replacing traditional foods for lunch or dinner like roti, vegetable curry, bread, non-vegetarian items. Ready-to-eat foods are considered to give empty calories rather than a balanced diet. A study was undertaken to estimate ascorbic acid, folic acid, riboflavin, thiamine and beta-carotene of 263 cooked food samples and 260 meals representing dietary patterns of Asia, Africa, Europe, USA and Latin America by spectrophotometry and photoflurometry. A broad range of beta-carotene (84-2038 mcg%), riboflavin (0.01-0.48 mg%), thiamine (0.04-0.36 mg%), vitamin C (1-28 mg%) and folate (26-111 mcg%) was observed in individual foods. Bakery products and sweets were found to be poor sources and green leafy vegetables and fruits were good sources of these five vitamins. The differences between ready-to-eat foods and meals consumed during lunch or dinner were prominent for beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, riboflavin and folic acid (P < 0.05). The cooking losses were 34.6, 30, 52.2, 45.9 and 32.2% in case of ascorbic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, beta-carotene and folic acid respectively. Irrespective of whether it is ready-to-eat or a lunch/dinner food item, the contribution of vegetables in the preparations was found to make a marked impact on the vitamin profile. While results justify the concept of a food pyramid, emphasis needs to be given to types of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins; preferably in their uncooked form, rather than considering their

SPECT and 123I-Iodolisuride (123-I-ILIS) in extra-pyramidal syndromes. The use of different models of γ-cameras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, M.J.; Jannuario, C.; Santos, A.C.; Cunha, L.; Pedroso de Lima, J.J.; Prunier-Levilion, C.; Autret, A.; Guilloteau, D.; Besnard, J.C.; Baulieu, J.L.; Chassat, F.; Bekhechi, D.; Marchand, J.; Mauclaire, L.; Catela, L.

1999-01-01

The aim of this work was to evaluate 123 I-ILIS as a radioligand of dopamine receptors in patients with extra-pyramidal diseases by using different cameras in two different centers. 45 patients were included and divided in 2 groups: group I (n=28): idiopathic Parkinson disease, group II (n=17): other extra-pyramidal syndrome. 123 I-ILIS, 1.7 to 2.8 MBq/kg, was injected after informed consent. Imaging was performed with a single head camera, a dual head camera, a triple head camera and a brain dedicated annular detector. The pattern of the transverse slices containing the basal ganglia was classified according to 3 types: type 1: visible basal ganglia and invisible cortex, type 2: invisible basal ganglia and visible cortex, type 3: visible basal ganglia and cortex. Striatal/frontal cortex ratio (S/FC) was calculated from standardized, geometrical ROI's. No patient showed any undesirable effect. All SPECT images were interpretable. In group 1, 45/45 scintigraphic pattern were type 1 or 3, in group II 18/23 scintigraphic patterns were type 2 or 3. S/FC was significantly lower in group II than in group I patients. We conclude that 123 I-ILIS SPECT can be performed with any conventional γ-camera. It provides functional informations about the striatal dopaminergic synapse in patients with extra-pyramidal degenerative disease, and could be useful in the differential diagnosis between Parkinson disease and other extra-pyramidal syndromes. (author)

Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) response to pyramid traps baited with attractive light and pheromonal stimuli

Science.gov (United States)

Halyomorpha halys is an invasive insect that causes severe economic damage to multiple agricultural commodities. Several monitoring techniques have been developed to monitor H. halys including pheromone and light-baited black pyramid traps. Here, we evaluated the attractiveness of these traps bait...

Calibration of a four-hole pyramid probe and area traverse measurements in a short-duration transonic turbine cascade tunnel

Science.gov (United States)

Main, A. J.; Day, C. R. B.; Lock, G. D.; Oldfield, M. L. G.

1996-08-01

A four-hole pyramid probe has been calibrated for use in a short-duration transonic turbine cascade tunnel. The probe is used to create area traverse maps of total and static pressure, and pitch and yaw angles of the flow downstream of a transonic annular cascade. This data is unusual in that it was acquired in a short-duration (5 s of run time) annular cascade blowdown tunnel. A four-hole pyramid probe was used which has a 2.5 mm section head, and has the side faces inclined at 60° to the flow to improve transonic performance. The probe was calibrated in an ejector driven, perforated wall transonic tunnel over the Mach number range 0.5 1.2, with pitch angles from -20° to + 20° and yaw angles from-23° to +23°. A computer driven automatic traversing mechanism and data collection system was used to acquire a large probe calibration matrix (˜ 10,000 readings) of non dimensional pitch, yaw, Mach number, and total pressure calibration coefficients. A novel method was used to transform the probe calibration matrix of the raw coefficients into a probe application matrix of the physical flow variables (pitch, yaw, Mach number etc.). The probe application matrix is then used as a fast look-up table to process probe results. With negligible loss of accuracy, this method is faster by two orders of magnitude than the alternative of global interpolation on the raw probe calibration matrix. The blowdown tunnel (mean nozzle guide vane blade ring diameter 1.1 m) creates engine representative Reynolds numbers, transonic Mach numbers and high levels (≈ 13%) of inlet turbulence intensity. Contours of experimental measurements at three different engine relevant conditions and two axial positions have been obtained. An analysis of the data is presented which includes a necessary correction for the finite velocity of the probe. Such a correction is non trivial for the case of fast moving probes in compressible flow.

Group Coaching on Pre-School Teachers' Implementation of Pyramid Model Strategies: A Program Description

Science.gov (United States)

Fettig, Angel; Artman-Meeker, Kathleen

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article was to describe a group coaching model and present preliminary evidence of its impact on teachers' implementation of Pyramid Model practices. In particular, we described coaching strategies used to support teachers in reflecting and problem solving on the implementation of the evidence-based strategies. Preliminary…

Transient increase in Zn2+ in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons causes reversible memory deficit.

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Atsushi Takeda

Full Text Available The translocation of synaptic Zn(2+ to the cytosolic compartment has been studied to understand Zn(2+ neurotoxicity in neurological diseases. However, it is unknown whether the moderate increase in Zn(2+ in the cytosolic compartment affects memory processing in the hippocampus. In the present study, the moderate increase in cytosolic Zn(2+ in the hippocampus was induced with clioquinol (CQ, a zinc ionophore. Zn(2+ delivery by Zn-CQ transiently attenuated CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP in hippocampal slices prepared 2 h after i.p. injection of Zn-CQ into rats, when intracellular Zn(2+ levels was transiently increased in the CA1 pyramidal cell layer, followed by object recognition memory deficit. Object recognition memory was transiently impaired 30 min after injection of ZnCl(2 into the CA1, but not after injection into the dentate gyrus that did not significantly increase intracellular Zn(2+ in the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus. Object recognition memory deficit may be linked to the preferential increase in Zn(2+ and/or the preferential vulnerability to Zn(2+ in CA1 pyramidal neurons. In the case of the cytosolic increase in endogenous Zn(2+ in the CA1 induced by 100 mM KCl, furthermore, object recognition memory was also transiently impaired, while ameliorated by co-injection of CaEDTA to block the increase in cytosolic Zn(2+. The present study indicates that the transient increase in cytosolic Zn(2+ in CA1 pyramidal neurons reversibly impairs object recognition memory.

Transient increase in Zn2+ in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons causes reversible memory deficit.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeda, Atsushi; Takada, Shunsuke; Nakamura, Masatoshi; Suzuki, Miki; Tamano, Haruna; Ando, Masaki; Oku, Naoto

2011-01-01

The translocation of synaptic Zn(2+) to the cytosolic compartment has been studied to understand Zn(2+) neurotoxicity in neurological diseases. However, it is unknown whether the moderate increase in Zn(2+) in the cytosolic compartment affects memory processing in the hippocampus. In the present study, the moderate increase in cytosolic Zn(2+) in the hippocampus was induced with clioquinol (CQ), a zinc ionophore. Zn(2+) delivery by Zn-CQ transiently attenuated CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal slices prepared 2 h after i.p. injection of Zn-CQ into rats, when intracellular Zn(2+) levels was transiently increased in the CA1 pyramidal cell layer, followed by object recognition memory deficit. Object recognition memory was transiently impaired 30 min after injection of ZnCl(2) into the CA1, but not after injection into the dentate gyrus that did not significantly increase intracellular Zn(2+) in the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus. Object recognition memory deficit may be linked to the preferential increase in Zn(2+) and/or the preferential vulnerability to Zn(2+) in CA1 pyramidal neurons. In the case of the cytosolic increase in endogenous Zn(2+) in the CA1 induced by 100 mM KCl, furthermore, object recognition memory was also transiently impaired, while ameliorated by co-injection of CaEDTA to block the increase in cytosolic Zn(2+). The present study indicates that the transient increase in cytosolic Zn(2+) in CA1 pyramidal neurons reversibly impairs object recognition memory.

Household Arts: A Curriculum Guide. Professional Series 3.

Science.gov (United States)

Markle, Roena J.

Presented is a curriculum guide on household arts developed as part of the Adjustment Training Program of the Greater Pittsburgh Guild for the Blind. Objectives and learning experiences are described for the following seven units: orientation in the kitchen, basic food preparation, advanced food preparation, laundry, housekeeping, basic sewing,…

Menu Planning Guide for School Food Service. Revised.

Science.gov (United States)

VanEgmont-Pannell, Dorothy; And Others

This menu planning guide for school lunches and breakfasts contains: (1) lunch requirements, recommendations, and policies; (2) the basics of menu planning; (3) how to vary portions for various age/grade groups; (4) planning breakfasts; (5) merchandising school lunches and breakfasts; and (6) nutrition education and menu planning; Appendixes…

Hospitality Occupations. Curriculum Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento. Bureau of Homemaking Education.

This curriculum guide on the hospitality occupations was developed to help secondary and postsecondary home economics teachers prepare individuals for entry-level jobs in the hospitality industry. The content is in seven sections. The first section presents organizational charts of a medium-size hotel, food and beverage division, housekeeping and…

Modeling Geometric-Temporal Context With Directional Pyramid Co-Occurrence for Action Recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Chunfeng; Li, Xi; Hu, Weiming; Ling, Haibin; Maybank, Stephen J

2014-02-01

In this paper, we present a new geometric-temporal representation for visual action recognition based on local spatio-temporal features. First, we propose a modified covariance descriptor under the log-Euclidean Riemannian metric to represent the spatio-temporal cuboids detected in the video sequences. Compared with previously proposed covariance descriptors, our descriptor can be measured and clustered in Euclidian space. Second, to capture the geometric-temporal contextual information, we construct a directional pyramid co-occurrence matrix (DPCM) to describe the spatio-temporal distribution of the vector-quantized local feature descriptors extracted from a video. DPCM characterizes the co-occurrence statistics of local features as well as the spatio-temporal positional relationships among the concurrent features. These statistics provide strong descriptive power for action recognition. To use DPCM for action recognition, we propose a directional pyramid co-occurrence matching kernel to measure the similarity of videos. The proposed method achieves the state-of-the-art performance and improves on the recognition performance of the bag-of-visual-words (BOVWs) models by a large margin on six public data sets. For example, on the KTH data set, it achieves 98.78% accuracy while the BOVW approach only achieves 88.06%. On both Weizmann and UCF CIL data sets, the highest possible accuracy of 100% is achieved.

Color Face Recognition Based on Steerable Pyramid Transform and Extreme Learning Machines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayşegül Uçar

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel color face recognition algorithm by means of fusing color and local information. The proposed algorithm fuses the multiple features derived from different color spaces. Multiorientation and multiscale information relating to the color face features are extracted by applying Steerable Pyramid Transform (SPT to the local face regions. In this paper, the new three hybrid color spaces, YSCr, ZnSCr, and BnSCr, are firstly constructed using the Cb and Cr component images of the YCbCr color space, the S color component of the HSV color spaces, and the Zn and Bn color components of the normalized XYZ color space. Secondly, the color component face images are partitioned into the local patches. Thirdly, SPT is applied to local face regions and some statistical features are extracted. Fourthly, all features are fused according to decision fusion frame and the combinations of Extreme Learning Machines classifiers are applied to achieve color face recognition with fast and high correctness. The experiments show that the proposed Local Color Steerable Pyramid Transform (LCSPT face recognition algorithm improves seriously face recognition performance by using the new color spaces compared to the conventional and some hybrid ones. Furthermore, it achieves faster recognition compared with state-of-the-art studies.

Soy Foods and Health

Science.gov (United States)

... products, and used as a meat substitute in vegetarian products such as soy burgers and soy hot ... More on this topic for: Teens Becoming a Vegetarian Vegan Food Guide Figuring Out Fat and Calories ...

[Food consumption patterns among adolescents].

Science.gov (United States)

Palenzuela Paniagua, S M; Pérez Milena, A; Pérula de Torres, L A; Fernández García, J A; Maldonado Alconada, J

2014-01-01

Adolescence is a critical time for the establishment of healthy eating habits. The objective was to analyze food consumption patterns among adolescents and their relationship with family and social factors. Multicentre observational cross-sectional descriptive study using a food frequency questionnaire for the last week. It was answered anonymously. The adolescent's age/gender, parents' studies/occupation and school's location/type were included. The population sample was composed of 1,095 adolescents in sixth grade at primary schools from an Andalusian region. They were chosen by polietapic random sampling that distinguished between public/private and capital/provincial schools. 1,005 surveys were analyzed. The mean age is 11.45 (SD: 0.59). Fifty-three percent were male. The intake of dairy products (only two-thirds taken daily), pasta, fruit and vegetables (daily consumption of 30%) is deficient. Sixty-four point five percent consume legumes weekly. Fish consumption is equal to meat, with a preference for poultry. More than half consume red meat daily. Olive oil is preferred. The intake of "empty calories" (fast food, candies, soft drink) is high. Through multivariate analysis the existence of clusters of healthy and unhealthy foods, related to the social status of the parents and the type of school, is proved. A healthy diet based on the nutritional pyramid is not the consumption pattern in the adolescents surveyed. There is a low consumption of diary products, legumes, fruits and vegetables. There is a relationship between the social class of the family and consumption patterns (healthy and unhealthy). Health strategies are needed to modify such inappropriate consumption.

Food Power. A Coach's Guide to Improving Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

National Dairy Council, Rosemont, IL.

This guide looks at the athlete's nutrient needs and presents recent findings from physiology- and nutrition-related research which have direct bearing on athletic performance. Contents include sections on: (1) nutrition basics; (2) water needs of athletes; (3) nutrient fuels for sports; (4) diets for athletes; (5) body composition; (6) weight…

Further Food for Thought on the "ABS Guide"

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Simon

2012-01-01

This paper replies to points raised by the editors of the "ABS Guide", Huw Morris, Charles Harvey, Aidan Kelly and Michael Rowlinson (2011) "Accounting Education: an international journal", 20(6), pp. 561-573) in response to a paper published in a previous issue of "Accounting Education" (Hussain, S. (2011)…

78 FR 59624 - Guidance for Industry #223: Small Entity Compliance Guide-Declaring Color Additives in Animal...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-27

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 501 [Docket No. FDA-2013-D-1088] Guidance for Industry 223: Small Entity Compliance Guide--Declaring Color Additives... industry 223 entitled ``Small Entity Compliance Guide--Declaring Color Additives in Animal Foods.'' This...

Kinetic properties and adrenergic control of TREK-2-like channels in rat medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Ładno, W; Gawlak, M; Szulczyk, P; Nurowska, E

2017-06-15

TREK-2-like channels were identified on the basis of electrophysiological and pharmacological tests performed on freshly isolated and enzymatically/mechanically dispersed pyramidal neurons of the rat medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Single-channel currents were recorded in cell-attached configuration and the impact of adrenergic receptors (α 1 , α 2 , β) stimulation on spontaneously appearing TREK-2-like channel activity was tested. The obtained results indicate that noradrenaline decreases the mean open probability of TREK-2-like channel currents by activation of β 1 but not of α 1 - and α 2 -adrenergic receptors. Mean open time and channel conductance were not affected. The system of intracellular signaling pathways depends on the activation of protein kinase A. We also show that adrenergic control of TREK-2-like channel currents by adrenergic receptors was similar in pyramidal neurons isolated from young, adolescent, and adult rats. Immunofluorescent confocal scans of mPFC slices confirmed the presence of the TREK-2 protein, which was abundant in layer V pyramidal neurons. The role of TREK-2-like channel control by adrenergic receptors is discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Designing a framework to design a business model for the 'bottom of the pyramid' population

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ver loren van Themaat, Tanye; Schutte, Cornelius S.L.; Lutters, Diederick

2013-01-01

This article presents a framework for developing and designing a business model to target the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) population. Using blue ocean strategy and business model literature, integrated with research on the BoP, the framework offers a systematic approach for organisations to analyse

Active appearance pyramids for object parametrisation and fitting.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiang; Bhalerao, Abhir; Dickenson, Edward; Hutchinson, Charles

2016-08-01

Object class representation is one of the key problems in various medical image analysis tasks. We propose a part-based parametric appearance model we refer to as an Active Appearance Pyramid (AAP). The parts are delineated by multi-scale Local Feature Pyramids (LFPs) for superior spatial specificity and distinctiveness. An AAP models the variability within a population with local translations of multi-scale parts and linear appearance variations of the assembly of the parts. It can fit and represent new instances by adjusting the shape and appearance parameters. The fitting process uses a two-step iterative strategy: local landmark searching followed by shape regularisation. We present a simultaneous local feature searching and appearance fitting algorithm based on the weighted Lucas and Kanade method. A shape regulariser is derived to calculate the maximum likelihood shape with respect to the prior and multiple landmark candidates from multi-scale LFPs, with a compact closed-form solution. We apply the 2D AAP on the modelling of variability in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and validate its performance on 200 studies consisting of routine axial and sagittal MRI scans. Intervertebral sagittal and parasagittal cross-sections are typically used for the diagnosis of LSS, we therefore build three AAPs on L3/4, L4/5 and L5/S1 axial cross-sections and three on parasagittal slices. Experiments show significant improvement in convergence range, robustness to local minima and segmentation precision compared with Constrained Local Models (CLMs), Active Shape Models (ASMs) and Active Appearance Models (AAMs), as well as superior performance in appearance reconstruction compared with AAMs. We also validate the performance on 3D CT volumes of hip joints from 38 studies. Compared to AAMs, AAPs achieve a higher segmentation and reconstruction precision. Moreover, AAPs have a significant improvement in efficiency, consuming about half the memory and less than 10% of

Corporate Social Responsibility Boosts Value Creation at the Base of the Pyramid

OpenAIRE

André , Thomas

2014-01-01

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) have embraced the possibility to find growth or strategic opportunities by targeting the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) segment, while contributing to alleviate poverty. Taking stock of the notorious early BoP initiatives shows that the bet made upon this responsible commitment is not yet won. Indeed, some were relegated to philanthropic programmes or simply dismantled, highlighting a tension to combine both societal and financial sustainability. The paper question...

Innovation and social entrepreneurship at the bottom of the pyramid - A conceptual framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taimoor Pervez

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The research aims to identify key success criteria for innovations by enterprises targeting the bottom of the pyramid. Innovation, social entrepreneurship and the bottom of the economic pyramid are defined in the light of academic literature and their varied criteria are explored. The two different academic opinions on fortune or opportunity existing in the BOP markets are also contrasted. The research philosophy is based on realism and the research methodology selected is inductive. The data have been collected through secondary sources using case study strategy to present four cases of innovations by social or corporate enterprises at the BOP. The case studies have been chosen from a variable range in terms of BOP countries, social enterprises and multinational companies, for-profit or not-for-profit organisations, and product or business model innovations. Success criteria identified from case studies in the light of academic literature include going beyond selling to the poor, considering BOP groups as producers and BOP engagement. A conceptual framework has been developed from identified criteria and further recommendations for empirically testing the framework to turn it into a model have been provided.

Face landmark point tracking using LK pyramid optical flow

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Gang; Tang, Sikan; Li, Jiaquan

2018-04-01

LK pyramid optical flow is an effective method to implement object tracking in a video. It is used for face landmark point tracking in a video in the paper. The landmark points, i.e. outer corner of left eye, inner corner of left eye, inner corner of right eye, outer corner of right eye, tip of a nose, left corner of mouth, right corner of mouth, are considered. It is in the first frame that the landmark points are marked by hand. For subsequent frames, performance of tracking is analyzed. Two kinds of conditions are considered, i.e. single factors such as normalized case, pose variation and slowly moving, expression variation, illumination variation, occlusion, front face and rapidly moving, pose face and rapidly moving, and combination of the factors such as pose and illumination variation, pose and expression variation, pose variation and occlusion, illumination and expression variation, expression variation and occlusion. Global measures and local ones are introduced to evaluate performance of tracking under different factors or combination of the factors. The global measures contain the number of images aligned successfully, average alignment error, the number of images aligned before failure, and the local ones contain the number of images aligned successfully for components of a face, average alignment error for the components. To testify performance of tracking for face landmark points under different cases, tests are carried out for image sequences gathered by us. Results show that the LK pyramid optical flow method can implement face landmark point tracking under normalized case, expression variation, illumination variation which does not affect facial details, pose variation, and that different factors or combination of the factors have different effect on performance of alignment for different landmark points.

Citizen's Guide to Pesticides.

Science.gov (United States)

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Pesticide Programs.

This guide provides suggestions on pest control and safety rules for pesticide use at home. Pest prevention may be possible by modification of pest habitat: removal of food and water sources, removal or destruction of pest shelter and breeding sites, and good horticultural practices that reduce plant stress. Nonchemical alternatives to pesticides…

Eating patterns of Turkish adolescents: a cross-sectional survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hayran Osman

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Adolescence is a crucial period for development of dietary behaviors that continue into adulthood and influence the risk of chronic diseases later in life. The aim of this study was to determine the eating patterns of adolescents' and their compliance with the Food Guide Pyramid. Methods 625 students, aged between 11-15 years, from an elementary school in Istanbul, Turkey were enrolled in this cross-sectional survey. A questionnaire of eating patterns (QEP was administered to all participants. QEP is consisted of questions assessing the knowledge and behaviors on healthy eating, factors affecting food choice, physical activity status and demographical variables. Height and weight of all participants were measured. Physical activity status was determined by questioning about participation in regular sport activities, how much time spent watching TV, playing computer games or doing homework. Results The mean age of the participants was 12.15 ± 1.15 and 50.5% were female. According to body mass index (BMI percentiles, 8.3% (52 were obese and 10.2% were overweight. 51% had breakfast every day and only 1.9% met all the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid. Among the participants, 31% have fast food at least once every day and 60.8% skip meals. When participants were asked to rate the factors effecting their food choice according to a 10 point Likert scale, the highest mean scores (high impact on food choice were for the factors; family, health, body perception, teachers and friends; 7.5 ± 3.1, 7.4 ± 3.1, 6.1 ± 3.2, 4.8 ± 3.3 and 4.2 ± 3.0 respectively. Total mean time spent on all passive activities (TV, computer, reading homework etc per day was 9.8 ± 4.7 hours. Conclusions In this study we have demonstrated that, adolescents do not have healthy eating patterns. Educational interventions should be planned to decrease the health risks attributable to their eating behaviors.

Eating patterns of Turkish adolescents: a cross-sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Akman, Mehmet; Akan, Hülya; Izbirak, Güldal; Tanriöver, Özlem; Tilev, Sırma Mine; Yildiz, Anil; Tektaş, Simge; Vitrinel, Ayça; Hayran, Osman

2010-12-19

Adolescence is a crucial period for development of dietary behaviors that continue into adulthood and influence the risk of chronic diseases later in life. The aim of this study was to determine the eating patterns of adolescents' and their compliance with the Food Guide Pyramid. 625 students, aged between 11-15 years, from an elementary school in Istanbul, Turkey were enrolled in this cross-sectional survey. A questionnaire of eating patterns (QEP) was administered to all participants. QEP is consisted of questions assessing the knowledge and behaviors on healthy eating, factors affecting food choice, physical activity status and demographical variables. Height and weight of all participants were measured. Physical activity status was determined by questioning about participation in regular sport activities, how much time spent watching TV, playing computer games or doing homework. The mean age of the participants was 12.15 ± 1.15 and 50.5% were female. According to body mass index (BMI) percentiles, 8.3% (52) were obese and 10.2% were overweight. 51% had breakfast every day and only 1.9% met all the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid. Among the participants, 31% have fast food at least once every day and 60.8% skip meals. When participants were asked to rate the factors effecting their food choice according to a 10 point Likert scale, the highest mean scores (high impact on food choice) were for the factors; family, health, body perception, teachers and friends; 7.5 ± 3.1, 7.4 ± 3.1, 6.1 ± 3.2, 4.8 ± 3.3 and 4.2 ± 3.0 respectively. Total mean time spent on all passive activities (TV, computer, reading homework etc) per day was 9.8 ± 4.7 hours. In this study we have demonstrated that, adolescents do not have healthy eating patterns. Educational interventions should be planned to decrease the health risks attributable to their eating behaviors.

Promoting Food Safety and Food Security in Rural Tourism Destination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sikhiram N.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted at two villages, Ban Mae Kampong, Mae On, Chiang Mai and Ban Pa Miang, Muang, Lampang, Northern Thailand. This community is supported by Thai government tourism ministry to develop their skills in order to create and offer rural tourism. The study focus on community member groups who are involved with rural tourism activities; Homestay members, food preparation management members, tour guides, community leader groups, in order to assess the acceptance, collaboration and preparation of safety indigenous food menu and food security management where will support rural tourism community objectives. This study was carried out as in a participatory stage which included various seminars and workshops of rural tourism management concluded from homestay services, Thai herbs medication beneficiary, basic and applied nutrition concepts, indigenous healthy food productivity with standardized recipes, food safety handling and food security management for preparing food for themselves as well as suitable for tourism consumption. In addition of this useful vegetarian calendar information, which is highly appropriate serving as a tool for their daily meal management.

Guide to Eating for Sports

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Expert Answers (Q&A) Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español A Guide to Eating for ... side effects mentioned above. If a coach, gym teacher, or ... for protecting against stress fractures — is found in dairy foods, such as ...

Food web structure shaped by habitat size and climate across a latitudinal gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Gustavo Q; Piccoli, Gustavo C O; de Omena, Paula M; Gonçalves-Souza, Thiago

2016-10-01

Habitat size and climate are known to affect the trophic structure and dynamics of communities, but their interactive effects are poorly understood. Organisms from different trophic levels vary in terms of metabolic requirements and heat dissipation. Indeed, larger species such as keystone predators require more stable climatic conditions than their prey. Likewise, habitat size disproportionally affects large-sized predators, which require larger home ranges and are thus restricted to larger habitats. Therefore, food web structure in patchy ecosystems is expected to be shaped by habitat size and climate variations. Here we investigate this prediction using natural aquatic microcosm (bromeliad phytotelmata) food webs composed of litter resources (mainly detritus), detritivores, mesopredators, and top predators (damselflies). We surveyed 240 bromeliads of varying sizes (water retention capacity) across 12 open restingas in SE Brazil spread across a wide range of tropical latitudes (-12.6° to -27.6°, ca. 2,000 km) and climates (Δ mean annual temperature = 5.3°C). We found a strong increase in predator-to-detritivore mass ratio with habitat size, which was representative of a typical inverted trophic pyramid in larger ecosystems. However, this relationship was contingent among the restingas; slopes of linear models were steeper in more stable and favorable climates, leading to inverted trophic pyramids (and top-down control) being more pronounced in environments with more favorable climatic conditions. By contrast, detritivore-resource and mesopredator-detritivore mass ratios were not affected by habitat size or climate variations across latitudes. Our results highlight that the combined effects of habitat size, climate and predator composition are pivotal to understanding the impacts of multiple environmental factors on food web structure and dynamics. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Avaliação do consumo alimentar de crianças pertencentes a uma creche filantrópica na Ilha de Paquetá, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Food intake assessment of children attending a philanthropic daycare center in the Ilha de Paquetá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roseane M. S. Barbosa

2006-03-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVOS: comparar o consumo alimentar de pré-escolares, pertencentes a uma creche filantrópica, em dois períodos (no ato da matrícula e após seis meses, com base na proposta da Pirâmide Alimentar Infantil Norte-Americana e através do Índice de Alimentação Saudável (IAS. MÉTODOS: relativamente à avaliação dietética, foi utilizada a história alimentar da criança com o responsável, no ato da matrícula; após seis meses de frequência da criança, utilizou-se o método de pesagem de alimentos (na creche e registro alimentar (na residência. Posteriormente, compararam-se as médias das porções consumidas nos dois períodos, de cada grupo alimentar, utilizando o teste "t" Student, a fim de se verificar a diferença estatística entre os grupos. Considerou-se o nível de significância de 5%. Igualmente, avaliou-se o IAS, nos dois períodos. RESULTADOS: observou-se uma diferença significativa (pOBJECTIVES: to compare the food intake of children in a philanthropic daycare center in two periods (at enrollment and following six months attendance based on the North American Food Guide Pyramid through the Healthy Eating Index (HEI. METHODS: the children eating habits were informed by the parents or custodians at enrollment and following six months of children's attendance, the food weighing technique was performed (at the daycare center and food checking (at home as well. Following, averages of the portions eaten in the two periods were compared in each of the food intake groups through the "t" Student test to determine the statistical significance between the groups, with the significance rate established at 5%. HEI for the two periods was equally assessed. RESULTS: a significant difference (p<0,05 was determined in the average of fruit and vegetable portions consumed, based on the North American Food Pyramid, and a satisfactory scoring of the Healthy Eating Index following six months of the children's attendance of the day care

z calibration of the atomic force microscope by means of a pyramidal tip

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Flemming

1993-01-01

A new method for imaging the probe tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever by the atomic force microscope itself (self-imaging) is presented. The self-imaging is accomplished by scanning the probe tip across a sharper tip on the surface. By using a pyramidal probe tip with a very well......-defined aspect ratio, this technique provides an excellent z-calibration standard for the atomic force microscope....

Mirrored pyramidal wells for simultaneous multiple vantage point microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Seale, K T; Reiserer, R S; Markov, D A; Ges, I A; Wright, C; Janetopoulos, C; Wikswo, J P

2008-10-01

We report a novel method for obtaining simultaneous images from multiple vantage points of a microscopic specimen using size-matched microscopic mirrors created from anisotropically etched silicon. The resulting pyramidal wells enable bright-field and fluorescent side-view images, and when combined with z-sectioning, provide additional information for 3D reconstructions of the specimen. We have demonstrated the 3D localization and tracking over time of the centrosome of a live Dictyostelium discoideum. The simultaneous acquisition of images from multiple perspectives also provides a five-fold increase in the theoretical collection efficiency of emitted photons, a property which may be useful for low-light imaging modalities such as bioluminescence, or low abundance surface-marker labelling.

Food irradiation, profits and limitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luna C, P.C.

1992-05-01

The utility of the irradiation to overcome diverse problems of lost nutritious, it has been demonstrated in multiple investigation works, that its have confirmed the value and the inoculation of the irradiated foods. The quantity of energy applied to each food, is in function of the wanted effect. In this document a guide with respect to the practical application and the utility of the irradiation process in different foods, as well as the suggested dose average is shown. Among the limitations of the use of this technology, its are the costs and not being able to apply it to some fresh foods. (Author)

Near-surface geophysical characterization of Holocene faults conducive to geothermal flow near Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dudley, Colton; Dorsey, Alison; Louie, John [UNR; Schwering, Paul; Pullammanappallil, Satish

2016-08-01

Colton Dudley, Alison Dorsey, Paul Opdyke, Dustin Naphan, Marlon Ramos, John Louie, Paul Schwering, and Satish Pullammanappallil, 2013, Near-surface geophysical characterization of Holocene faults conducive to geothermal flow near Pyramid Lake, Nevada: presented at Amer. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists, Pacific Section Annual Meeting, Monterey, Calif., April 19-25.

Guides de bonnes pratiques d’hygiène dans le secteur des oléagineux

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dauguet Sylvie

2013-03-01

Full Text Available According to the Hygiene Package Regulations, European Member States encourage the development and dissemination of national guides to good practice for hygiene and for the application of HACCP principles. These guides are developed by food business sectors. Within the oilseed crops food chain, such guides are developed at different stages: primary production of oilseed crops, collection and storage of seeds, oilseeds crushing and refining industry. This article presents these three guides developed in France by the federations of concerned operators. We describe how these guides are constructed, their scope, their progress in the validation process by the authorities, the health hazards identified, best practices by sector and HACCP study.

Consumers' willingness to buy food through the internet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.; Ramus, Kim

2005-01-01

the internet. Practical implications: The literature review suggests that concepts combining convenience and an emphasis on information intensive food products will be most successful, and that consumers having a "wired lifestyle" are the most likely users. However, much more detailed insights will be possible......Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review literature on factors that may have an impact on consumers' probability to buy food over the internet, and to suggest a model that can guide future research. Design/methodology/approach: Determinants of consumer intention to buy food via the internet...... of scattered evidence is available, there is a need for a coherent, operational, theory-based model that can summarize findings and guide future research. Research limitations/implications: The proposed model is operational and can be used in future empirical research on consumers' food shopping via...

Optimum Plans For Oilpalm And Food Crop Combinations In Edo ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Intercropping food crops in oil palm plantations is a popular practice among oil ... are not guided by economic rationale for the choice of food crops and oil palm. ... linear programming model for oil palm/food crops enterprise combinations in ...

Status of food irradiation in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henon, Yves

1985-01-01

The situation regarding food irradiation in France is one of cautious progress, with clearance of specific food items including onions, garlic, shallots, deboned poultry meats and 72 spices. A general clearance for the use of ionizing radiation treatment up to 1 kilogray is under consideration. A most important guiding principle has apparently been accepted in France that no further toxicological studies are required for food irradiation dose levels up to ten kilograys

World Foods. The Flavor of France.

Science.gov (United States)

Calhoun, Helen; And Others

This teacher's guide contains materials to be used in a study of France and its cuisine. Unit 1 provides an overview of French geographic, political, economic, social, and cultural characteristics. Unit 2 studies French food habits, nutrition, food preparation, and meal patterns. Each unit contains a list of objectives (e.g., identify the type of…

Duty beares and their right to adequate food obligations: roles and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Peter Milton Rukundo

2011-12-07

Dec 7, 2011 ... Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Makerere University School of Food ... theoretical development and practical implementation of food and ... UFNP. Subsequently, a National Food and Nutrition Strategy (NFNS) to guide the ..... emphasizes the central positioning of human rights principles and ...

Consumer acceptance of irradiated food

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loaharanu, P [Head, Food Preservation Section, Joint FAO/ IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Wagramerstr. 5, A-1400, Vienna (Austria)

1998-12-31

There was a widely held opinion during the 1970`s and 1980`s that consumers would be reluctant to purchase irradiated food, as it was perceived that consumers would confuse irradiated food with food contaminated by radionuclides. Indeed, a number of consumer attitude surveys conducted in several western countries during these two decades demonstrated that the concerns of consumers on irradiated food varied from very concerned to seriously concerned.This paper attempts to review parameters conducting in measuring consumer acceptance of irradiated food during the past three decades and to project the trends on this subject. It is believed that important lessons learned from past studies will guide further efforts to market irradiated food with wide consumer acceptance in the future. (Author)

Consumer acceptance of irradiated food

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loaharanu, P. [Head, Food Preservation Section, Joint FAO/ IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Wagramerstr. 5, A-1400, Vienna (Austria)

1997-12-31

There was a widely held opinion during the 1970`s and 1980`s that consumers would be reluctant to purchase irradiated food, as it was perceived that consumers would confuse irradiated food with food contaminated by radionuclides. Indeed, a number of consumer attitude surveys conducted in several western countries during these two decades demonstrated that the concerns of consumers on irradiated food varied from very concerned to seriously concerned.This paper attempts to review parameters conducting in measuring consumer acceptance of irradiated food during the past three decades and to project the trends on this subject. It is believed that important lessons learned from past studies will guide further efforts to market irradiated food with wide consumer acceptance in the future. (Author)

Consumer acceptance of irradiated food

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loaharanu, P.

1997-01-01

There was a widely held opinion during the 1970's and 1980's that consumers would be reluctant to purchase irradiated food, as it was perceived that consumers would confuse irradiated food with food contaminated by radionuclides. Indeed, a number of consumer attitude surveys conducted in several western countries during these two decades demonstrated that the concerns of consumers on irradiated food varied from very concerned to seriously concerned.This paper attempts to review parameters conducting in measuring consumer acceptance of irradiated food during the past three decades and to project the trends on this subject. It is believed that important lessons learned from past studies will guide further efforts to market irradiated food with wide consumer acceptance in the future. (Author)

On the diffusion of toilets as bottom of the pyramid innovation : Lessons from sanitation entrepreneurs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ramani, S.V.; Sadreghazi, S.; Duijsters, G.M.

2012-01-01

There is an emerging body of literature on product innovations for the poor at the bottom of the income pyramid. However, there is little on why delivery systems succeed or fail in this context and the present paper attempts to fill this void by examining why and how sanitation entrepreneurs are

On the diffusion of toilets as bottom of the pyramid innovation : lessons from sanitation entrepreneurs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ramani, S.V.; Sadreghazi, S.; Duysters, G.M.

2012-01-01

There is an emerging body of literature on product innovations for the poor at the bottom of the income pyramid. However, there is little on why delivery systems succeed or fail in this context and the present paper attempts to fill this void by examining why and how sanitation entrepreneurs are

Advantages and Limitations of the Front-of-Package (FOP Labeling Systems in Guiding the Consumers’ Healthy Food Choice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Tarabella

2013-02-01

Full Text Available In the last decades, nutrition labels have provided an increasing amount of information about the nutritional value of a foodstuff, in a variety of patterns, having the main goal to help consumers in making healthier food choices. Now, many questions appeared related to the effectiveness of nutrition information in guiding the consumer purchasing behaviour, by encouraging the healthy foods choice. It becomes increasingly clear that many consumers have difficulties in understanding the nutritional information, preferring a simpler way in providing this information, helping them in the rapid evaluation of the nutritional characteristics of a foodstuff. In response to the obvious need to develop a more effective presentation of nutritional information, which convey this information in a simplified and systematic manner, manufacturers and retailers from different countries have created some systems for signalling the nutritional profile. For the nutritional information of greatest interest to be easily perceived by consumers, they have used various forms of graphical representation, that were marked on the front of individual packages (generically called "front of package" - FOP. Although created in order to facilitate healthy food choices, the effect of these FOP systems on consumers is now controversial. Following a literature review, the paper highlights the main benefits and limitations of the widely used FOP systems in the European Union ("Traffic Light" and "Guideline Daily Amounts". The paper presents also some suggestions for developing an optimal FOP system, standardized and adapted to consumers` needs.

Three-dimensional anisotropy contrast MRI and functional MRI of the human brain. Clinical application to assess pyramidal tract in patients with brain tumor and infarction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morikawa, Minoru; Kaminogo, Makio; Ishimaru, Hideki; Nakashima, Kazuaki; Kitagawa, Naoki; Ochi, Makoto; Hayashi, Kuniaki; Shibata, Shobu; Kabasawa, Hiroyuki

2001-01-01

We describe and evaluate the findings of three-dimensional anisotropy contrast MR axonography (3DAC MRX) and functional MRI (fMRI) in brain tumor and infarction. We obtained diffusion-weighted images (DWI) in 28 patients including 23 brain tumors and 15 acute infarctions located in or near pyramidal tract. Three anisotropic DWIs were transformed into graduations color-coded as red, green and blue, and then composed to form a combined color 3DAC MRX. We also performed functional MRI in 7 of the 28 patients and compared with cortical mapping of 3DAC MRX. 3DAC MRX with 23 brain tumors showed that the ipsilateral pyramidal tract was either discontinuous due to impaired anisotropy (n=8) or compressed due to mass effect (n=15). In 10 patients of acute infarction with motor impairment, pyramidal tract involvement was visually more conspicuous on 3DAC MRX compared to standard DWI. On functional MRI, hand motor activation was observed between blue vertical directional colors of pre- and post central gyrus. In conclusion, 3DAC MRX is a new noninvasive approach for visualization of the white matter neuronal tract and provides the information concerning pyramidal tract involvement. (author)

Habitat quality and recruitment success of cui-ui in the Truckee River downstream of Marble Bluff Dam, Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Scoppettone, G. Gary; Rissler, Peter H.; Salgado, J. Antonio; Harry, Beverly

2013-01-01

We compared cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus) recruitment from two reaches of the Truckee River with histories of severe erosional downcutting caused by a decline in Pyramid Lake surface elevation. In 1975, Marble Bluff Dam (MBD) was constructed 5 kilometers upstream of the extant mouth of the Truckee River to stabilize the upstream reach of the river; the downstream reach of the river remained unstable and consequently unsuitable for cui-ui recruitment. By the early 2000s, there was a decrease in the Truckee River’s slope from MBD to Pyramid Lake after a series of wet years in the 1990s. This was followed by changes in river morphology and erosion abatement. These changes led to the question as to cui-ui recruitment potential in the Truckee River downstream of MBD. In 2012, more than 7,000 cui-ui spawners were passed upstream of MBD, although an indeterminate number of cui-ui spawned downstream of MBD. In this study, we compared cui-ui recruitment upstream and downstream of MBD during a Truckee River low-flow year (2012). Cui-ui larvae emigration to Pyramid Lake began earlier and ended later downstream of MBD. A greater number of cui-ui larvae was produced downstream of MBD than upstream. This also was true for native Tahoe sucker (Catostomus tahoensis) and Lahontan redside (Richardsonius egregius). The improved Truckee River stability downstream of MBD and concomitant cui-ui recruitment success is attributed to a rise in Pyramid Lake's surface elevation. A decline in lake elevation may lead to a shift in stream morphology and substrate composition to the detriment of cui-ui reproductive success as well as the reproductive success of other native fishes.

A Generalized Pyramid Matching Kernel for Human Action Recognition in Realistic Videos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenjun Zhang

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Human action recognition is an increasingly important research topic in the fields of video sensing, analysis and understanding. Caused by unconstrained sensing conditions, there exist large intra-class variations and inter-class ambiguities in realistic videos, which hinder the improvement of recognition performance for recent vision-based action recognition systems. In this paper, we propose a generalized pyramid matching kernel (GPMK for recognizing human actions in realistic videos, based on a multi-channel “bag of words” representation constructed from local spatial-temporal features of video clips. As an extension to the spatial-temporal pyramid matching (STPM kernel, the GPMK leverages heterogeneous visual cues in multiple feature descriptor types and spatial-temporal grid granularity levels, to build a valid similarity metric between two video clips for kernel-based classification. Instead of the predefined and fixed weights used in STPM, we present a simple, yet effective, method to compute adaptive channel weights of GPMK based on the kernel target alignment from training data. It incorporates prior knowledge and the data-driven information of different channels in a principled way. The experimental results on three challenging video datasets (i.e., Hollywood2, Youtube and HMDB51 validate the superiority of our GPMK w.r.t. the traditional STPM kernel for realistic human action recognition and outperform the state-of-the-art results in the literature.

Extinction of Cocaine Seeking Requires a Window of Infralimbic Pyramidal Neuron Activity after Unreinforced Lever Presses.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutman, Andrea L; Nett, Kelle E; Cosme, Caitlin V; Worth, Wensday R; Gupta, Subhash C; Wemmie, John A; LaLumiere, Ryan T

2017-06-21

The infralimbic cortex (IL) mediates extinction learning and the active suppression of cocaine-seeking behavior. However, the precise temporal relationship among IL activity, lever pressing, and extinction learning is unclear. To address this issue, we used activity-guided optogenetics in male Sprague Dawley rats to silence IL pyramidal neurons optically for 20 s immediately after unreinforced lever presses during early extinction training after cocaine self-administration. Optical inhibition of the IL increased active lever pressing during shortened extinction sessions, but did not alter the retention of the extinction learning as assessed in ensuing extinction sessions with no optical inhibition. During subsequent cued reinstatement sessions, rats that had previously received optical inhibition during the extinction sessions showed increased cocaine-seeking behavior. These findings appeared to be specific to inhibition during the post-lever press period because IL inhibition given in a noncontingent, pseudorandom manner during extinction sessions did not produce the same effects. Illumination alone (i.e., with no opsin expression) and food-seeking control experiments also failed to produce the same effects. In another experiment, IL inhibition after lever presses during cued reinstatement sessions increased cocaine seeking during those sessions. Finally, inhibition of the prelimbic cortex immediately after unreinforced lever presses during shortened extinction sessions decreased lever pressing during these sessions, but had no effect on subsequent reinstatement. These results indicate that IL activity immediately after unreinforced lever presses is necessary for normal extinction of cocaine seeking, suggesting that critical encoding of the new contingencies between a lever press and a cocaine reward occurs during that period. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The infralimbic cortex (IL) contributes to the extinction of cocaine-seeking behavior, but the precise relationship

Diffusion tensor tractography of the brainstem pyramidal tract; A study on the optimal reduction factor in parallel imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Yun Jung; Park, Jong Bin; Kim, Jae Hyoung; Choi, Byung Se; Jung, Cheol Kyu [Dept. of of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

2016-08-15

Parallel imaging mitigates susceptibility artifacts that can adversely affect diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) of the pons depending on the reduction (R) factor. We aimed to find the optimal R factor for DTT of the pons that would allow us to visualize the largest possible number of pyramidal tract fibers. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed on 10 healthy subjects at 3 Tesla based on single-shot echo-planar imaging using the following parameters: b value, 1000 s/mm{sup 2}; gradient direction, 15; voxel size, 2 × 2 × 2 mm{sup 3}; and R factors, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. DTT of the right and left pyramidal tracts in the pons was conducted in all subjects. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), image distortion, and the number of fibers in the tracts were compared across R factors. SNR, image distortion, and fiber number were significantly different according to R factor. Maximal SNR was achieved with an R factor of 2. Image distortion was minimal with an R factor of 5. The number of visible fibers was greatest with an R factor of 3. R factor 3 is optimal for DTT of the pontine pyramidal tract. A balanced consideration of SNR and image distortion, which do not have the same dependence on the R factor, is necessary for DTT of the pons.

The influence of phospho-tau on dendritic spines of cortical pyramidal neurons in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Science.gov (United States)

Merino-Serrais, Paula; Benavides-Piccione, Ruth; Blazquez-Llorca, Lidia; Kastanauskaite, Asta; Rábano, Alberto; Avila, Jesús

2013-01-01

The dendritic spines on pyramidal cells represent the main postsynaptic elements of cortical excitatory synapses and they are fundamental structures in memory, learning and cognition. In the present study, we used intracellular injections of Lucifer yellow in fixed tissue to analyse over 19 500 dendritic spines that were completely reconstructed in three dimensions along the length of the basal dendrites of pyramidal neurons in the parahippocampal cortex and CA1 of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Following intracellular injection, sections were immunostained for anti-Lucifer yellow and with tau monoclonal antibodies AT8 and PHF-1, which recognize tau phosphorylated at Ser202/Thr205 and at Ser396/404, respectively. We observed that the diffuse accumulation of phospho-tau in a putative pre-tangle state did not induce changes in the dendrites of pyramidal neurons, whereas the presence of tau aggregates forming intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles was associated with progressive alteration of dendritic spines (loss of dendritic spines and changes in their morphology) and dendrite atrophy, depending on the degree of tangle development. Thus, the presence of phospho-tau in neurons does not necessarily mean that they suffer severe and irreversible effects as thought previously but rather, the characteristic cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease is likely to depend on the relative number of neurons that have well developed tangles. PMID:23715095

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of inverted pyramid-based nanostructured black-silicon solar cells passivated by an atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hong-Yan; Lu, Hong-Liang; Ren, Qing-Hua; Zhang, Yuan; Yang, Xiao-Feng; Ding, Shi-Jin; Zhang, David Wei

2015-10-07

Inverted pyramid-based nanostructured black-silicon (BS) solar cells with an Al2O3 passivation layer grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) have been demonstrated. A multi-scale textured BS surface combining silicon nanowires (SiNWs) and inverted pyramids was obtained for the first time by lithography and metal catalyzed wet etching. The reflectance of the as-prepared BS surface was about 2% lower than that of the more commonly reported upright pyramid-based SiNW BS surface over the whole of the visible light spectrum, which led to a 1.7 mA cm(-2) increase in short circuit current density. Moreover, the as-prepared solar cells were further passivated by an ALD-Al2O3 layer. The effect of annealing temperature on the photovoltaic performance of the solar cells was investigated. It was found that the values of all solar cell parameters including short circuit current, open circuit voltage, and fill factor exhibit a further increase under an optimized annealing temperature. Minority carrier lifetime measurements indicate that the enhanced cell performance is due to the improved passivation quality of the Al2O3 layer after thermal annealing treatments. By combining these two refinements, the optimized SiNW BS solar cells achieved a maximum conversion efficiency enhancement of 7.6% compared to the cells with an upright pyramid-based SiNWs surface and conventional SiNx passivation.

Recent Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection Development Efforts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rose, Joseph L.; Tittmann, Bernhard R.

2001-01-01

The recognition of such natural wave guides as plates, rods, hollow cylinders, multi-layer structures or simply an interface between two materials combined with an increased understanding of the physics and wave mechanics of guided wave propagation has led to a significant increase in the number of guided wave inspection applications being developed each year. Of primary attention Is the ability to inspect partially hidden structures, hard to access areas, and treated or insulated structures. An introduction to some physical consideration of guided waves followed by some sample problem descriptions in pipe, ice detection, fouling detection in the foods industry, aircraft, tar coated structures and acoustic microscopy is presented in this paper. A sample problem in Boundary Element Modeling is also presented to illustrate the move in guided wave analysis beyond detection and location analysis to quantification

Evaluating the food environment: application of the Healthy Eating Index-2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Reedy, Jill; Krebs-Smith, Susan M; Bosire, Claire

2010-05-01

The Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005), a tool designed to evaluate concordance with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines, has been used to monitor the quality of foods consumed by Americans. Because the HEI-2005 is not tied to individual requirements and is scored on a per 1000 kcal basis, it can be used to assess the overall quality of any mix of foods. The goal of this paper is to examine whether the HEI-2005 can be applied to the food environment. Two examples were selected to examine the application of the HEI-2005 to the food environment: the dollar menu displayed at a fast-food restaurant (coded and linked to the MyPyramid Equivalents Database and the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies) to represent the community level and the 2005 U.S. Food Supply (measured with food availability data, loss-adjusted food availability data, nutrient availability data, and Salt Institute data) to represent the macro level. The dollar menu and the 2005 U.S. Food Supply received 43.4 and 54.9 points, respectively (100 possible points). According to the HEI-2005, for the offerings at a local fast-food restaurant and the U.S. Food Supply to align with national dietary guidance, substantial shifts would be necessary: a concomitant addition of fruit, dark-green vegetables, orange vegetables, legumes, and nonfat milk; replacement of refined grains with whole grains; and reduction in foods and food products containing sodium, solid fats, and added sugars. Because the HEI-2005 can be applied to both environmental- and individual-level data, it provides a useful metric for studies linking data across various levels of the socioecologic framework of dietary behavior. The present findings suggest that new dietary guidance could target not only individuals but also the architects of our food environment. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Formation of Various Pyramidal Structures on Monocrystalline Silicon Surface and Their Influence on the Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yangang Han

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Texturization is a useful method to enhance the optical absorption of monocrystalline silicon wafers by light-trapping effect in solar cell processing. In present study, a series of textured wafers with various pyramid sizes ranging from 200 nm to 10 μm were fabricated by modified wet-chemical method and characterized. The results show that there is little difference in the reflectance with the pyramid sizes from 1 to 10 μm, which is consistent with the ray-tracing simulation results. However, the light-trapping function of the 200 nm sample below the geometrical optics limit is much weaker. The solar cells fabricated from the 1 μm samples own the highest power conversion efficiency of 18.17% due to a better coverage of metal finger lines than the larger ones, and the 200 nm samples have the lowest efficiency of 10.53%.

Invasions and extinctions reshape coastal marine food webs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarrett E Byrnes

Full Text Available The biodiversity of ecosystems worldwide is changing because of species loss due to human-caused extinctions and species gain through intentional and accidental introductions. Here we show that the combined effect of these two processes is altering the trophic structure of food webs in coastal marine systems. This is because most extinctions ( approximately 70% occur at high trophic levels (top predators and other carnivores, while most invasions are by species from lower trophic levels (70% macroplanktivores, deposit feeders, and detritivores. These opposing changes thus alter the shape of marine food webs from a trophic pyramid capped by a diverse array of predators and consumers to a shorter, squatter configuration dominated by filter feeders and scavengers. The consequences of the simultaneous loss of diversity at top trophic levels and gain at lower trophic levels is largely unknown. However, current research suggests that a better understanding of how such simultaneous changes in diversity can impact ecosystem function will be required to manage coastal ecosystems and forecast future changes.

Agriculture & the Environment. Teacher's Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

McMurry, Linda Maston

This teacher's guide offers background information that teachers can use to incorporate topics related to agriculture and the environment into the curriculum. Classroom activities to bring these topics alive for students in grades 6-9 are suggested. Chapters include: (1) Pesticides and Integrated Pest Management; (2) Food Safety; (3) Water…

Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid and subsistence markets – A research agenda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avinash G. Mulky

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The concepts of Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP and subsistence markets have attracted substantial academic and managerial attention in recent years. The BOP thesis states that there are opportunities for multinational companies to achieve significant revenues and profitability by designing and implementing marketing programs aimed at people who occupy the lowest tier in the world’s economic pyramid. The number of people in this segment has been estimated to be between 2.7 billion and 4 billion. This paper reviews the academic literature on BOP and subsistence markets and identifies important issues related to marketing to these consumers. The review is based on journal articles that have appeared in peer-reviewed journals and on case studies published by reputed academic institutions. The literature review first identifies a number of business issues like size of BOP market, motivations for undertaking BOP initiatives, ethics and linkages. Then specific marketing issues related to the BOP segment such as consumer analysis, company analysis, collaborators, competition and context, segmentation and positioning and issues relating to marketing program design and implementation are analyzed. Based on this analysis, the paper develops a research agenda for future research on BOP and subsistence markets.

Improved Food Drying and Storage Training Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Zweig, Peter R.; And Others

This manual is intended to serve as a guide for those who are helping future Peace Corps volunteers to acquire basic food drying and storage skills. Included in the guide are lesson outlines and handouts for use in each of the 30 sessions of the course. Representative topics discussed in the individual sessions are scheduling, solar dryers,…

Complementary theta resonance filtering by two spatially segregated mechanisms in CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Hua; Vervaeke, Koen; Graham, Lyle J; Storm, Johan F

2009-11-18

Synaptic input to a neuron may undergo various filtering steps, both locally and during transmission to the soma. Using simultaneous whole-cell recordings from soma and apical dendrites from rat CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cells, and biophysically detailed modeling, we found two complementary resonance (bandpass) filters of subthreshold voltage signals. Both filters favor signals in the theta (3-12 Hz) frequency range, but have opposite location, direction, and voltage dependencies: (1) dendritic H-resonance, caused by h/HCN-channels, filters signals propagating from soma to dendrite when the membrane potential is close to rest; and (2) somatic M-resonance, caused by M/Kv7/KCNQ and persistent Na(+) (NaP) channels, filters signals propagating from dendrite to soma when the membrane potential approaches spike threshold. Hippocampal pyramidal cells participate in theta network oscillations during behavior, and we suggest that that these dual, polarized theta resonance mechanisms may convey voltage-dependent tuning of theta-mediated neural coding in the entorhinal/hippocampal system during locomotion, spatial navigation, memory, and sleep.

Performance Analysis of Thermoelectric Modules Consisting of Square Truncated Pyramid Elements Under Constant Heat Flux

Science.gov (United States)

Oki, Sae; Natsui, Shungo; Suzuki, Ryosuke O.

2018-06-01

System design of a thermoelectric (TE) power generation module is pursued in order to improve the TE performance. Square truncated pyramid shaped P-N pairs of TE elements are connected electronically in series in the open space between two flat insulator boards. The performance of the TE module consisting of 2-paired elements is numerically simulated using commercial software and original TE programs. Assuming that the heat radiating into the hot surface is regulated, i.e., the amount of heat from the hot surface to the cold one is steadily constant, as it happens for solar radiation heating, the performance is significantly improved by changing the shape and the alignment pattern of the elements. When the angle θ between the edge and the base is smaller than 72°, and when the cold surface is kept at a constant temperature, two patterns in particular, amongst the 17 studied, show the largest TE power and efficiency. In comparison to other geometries, the smarter square truncated pyramid shape can provide higher performance using a large cold bath and constant heat transfer by heat radiation.

A Study on Food Security Problems and Business Credit Crisis in Chinese Food Enterprises

OpenAIRE

Yanni Li; Dan Cui; Wenxuan Zhao; Jiayin Li; Fuguang Zhao

2015-01-01

Food security has become a big issue in China for some big incidents occurred in recent years. happened. This study has a survey on these cases and analyzes the reasons from the aspect of enterprises and government. Some solutions are put forward to solve the problems about food security and business credit crisis in China currently. The purpose is to guide enterprises to set up a sound operation system and gain long-term profits.

Knowing Which Foods Make Us Sick Will Help Guide Food Safety Regulations

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2013-02-19

Dr. John Painter, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses his study about which foods can make us sick.  Created: 2/19/2013 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 2/21/2013.

Nonlinear optics and spectroscopy at the nanoscale with a hollow-pyramid aperture SNOM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biagioni, P [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy); Celebrano, M [Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, CNR, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy); Polli, D [Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, CNR, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy); Labardi, M [PolyLab CNR-INFM, largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa (Italy); Zavelani-Rossi, M [Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, CNR, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy); Cerullo, G [Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, CNR, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy); Finazzi, M [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy); Duo, L [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy)

2007-03-15

We report on a novel near-field microscope in which ultrashort laser pulses are coupled into hollow-pyramid cantilever probes. The high throughput, absence of polarization pinning and absence of chirping, which are premium features of such probes, enable obtaining sufficient peak power in the near-field to perform nonlinear optical experiments. We show experimental results on second-harmonic generation from metal nanostructures and two-photon excitation of fluorescent conjugated polymers on the subwavelength scale.

Nonlinear optics and spectroscopy at the nanoscale with a hollow-pyramid aperture SNOM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biagioni, P; Celebrano, M; Polli, D; Labardi, M; Zavelani-Rossi, M; Cerullo, G; Finazzi, M; Duo, L

2007-01-01

We report on a novel near-field microscope in which ultrashort laser pulses are coupled into hollow-pyramid cantilever probes. The high throughput, absence of polarization pinning and absence of chirping, which are premium features of such probes, enable obtaining sufficient peak power in the near-field to perform nonlinear optical experiments. We show experimental results on second-harmonic generation from metal nanostructures and two-photon excitation of fluorescent conjugated polymers on the subwavelength scale

Classifying Your Food as Acid, Low-Acid, or Acidified

OpenAIRE

Bacon, Karleigh

2012-01-01

As a food entrepreneur, you should be aware of how ingredients in your product make the food look, feel, and taste; as well as how the ingredients create environments for microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, and molds to survive and grow. This guide will help you classifying your food as acid, low-acid, or acidified.

Food packaging and shelf life: a practical guide

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Robertson, Gordon L

2010-01-01

.... With an increasing focus on sustainability and cost-effectiveness, responsible companies no longer want to over-package their food products, yet many remain unsure just where reductions can effectively be made...

Deformation and wear of pyramidal, silicon-nitride AFM tips scanning micrometre-size features in contact mode

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bloo, M.; Haitjema, H.; Pril, W.O.

1999-01-01

An experimental study was carried out, in order to investigate the deformation and wear taking place on pyramidal silicon-nitride AFM tips. The study focuses on the contact mode scanning of silicon features of micrometre-size. First the deformation and the mechanisms of wear of the tip during

Basal Dendritic Morphology of Cortical Pyramidal Neurons in Williams Syndrome: Prefrontal Cortex and Beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Hrvoj-Mihic, Branka; Hanson, Kari L; Lew, Caroline H; Stefanacci, Lisa; Jacobs, Bob; Bellugi, Ursula; Semendeferi, Katerina

2017-01-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is a unique neurodevelopmental disorder with a specific behavioral and cognitive profile, which includes hyperaffiliative behavior, poor social judgment, and lack of social inhibition. Here we examined the morphology of basal dendrites on pyramidal neurons in the cortex of two rare adult subjects with WS. Specifically, we examined two areas in the prefrontal cortex (PFC)-the frontal pole (Brodmann area 10) and the orbitofrontal cortex (Brodmann area 11)-and three areas in the motor, sensory, and visual cortex (BA 4, BA 3-1-2, BA 18). The findings suggest that the morphology of basal dendrites on the pyramidal neurons is altered in the cortex of WS, with differences that were layer-specific, more prominent in PFC areas, and displayed an overall pattern of dendritic organization that differentiates WS from other disorders. In particular, and unlike what was expected based on typically developing brains, basal dendrites in the two PFC areas did not display longer and more branched dendrites compared to motor, sensory and visual areas. Moreover, dendritic branching, dendritic length, and the number of dendritic spines differed little within PFC and between the central executive region (BA 10) and BA 11 that is part of the orbitofrontal region involved into emotional processing. In contrast, the relationship between the degree of neuronal branching in supra- versus infra-granular layers was spared in WS. Although this study utilized tissue held in formalin for a prolonged period of time and the number of neurons available for analysis was limited, our findings indicate that WS cortex, similar to that in other neurodevelopmental disorders such as Down syndrome, Rett syndrome, Fragile X, and idiopathic autism, has altered morphology of basal dendrites on pyramidal neurons, which appears more prominent in selected areas of the PFC. Results were examined from developmental perspectives and discussed in the context of other neurodevelopmental disorders

Basal Dendritic Morphology of Cortical Pyramidal Neurons in Williams Syndrome: Prefrontal Cortex and Beyond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Branka Hrvoj-Mihic

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Williams syndrome (WS is a unique neurodevelopmental disorder with a specific behavioral and cognitive profile, which includes hyperaffiliative behavior, poor social judgment, and lack of social inhibition. Here we examined the morphology of basal dendrites on pyramidal neurons in the cortex of two rare adult subjects with WS. Specifically, we examined two areas in the prefrontal cortex (PFC—the frontal pole (Brodmann area 10 and the orbitofrontal cortex (Brodmann area 11—and three areas in the motor, sensory, and visual cortex (BA 4, BA 3-1-2, BA 18. The findings suggest that the morphology of basal dendrites on the pyramidal neurons is altered in the cortex of WS, with differences that were layer-specific, more prominent in PFC areas, and displayed an overall pattern of dendritic organization that differentiates WS from other disorders. In particular, and unlike what was expected based on typically developing brains, basal dendrites in the two PFC areas did not display longer and more branched dendrites compared to motor, sensory and visual areas. Moreover, dendritic branching, dendritic length, and the number of dendritic spines differed little within PFC and between the central executive region (BA 10 and BA 11 that is part of the orbitofrontal region involved into emotional processing. In contrast, the relationship between the degree of neuronal branching in supra- versus infra-granular layers was spared in WS. Although this study utilized tissue held in formalin for a prolonged period of time and the number of neurons available for analysis was limited, our findings indicate that WS cortex, similar to that in other neurodevelopmental disorders such as Down syndrome, Rett syndrome, Fragile X, and idiopathic autism, has altered morphology of basal dendrites on pyramidal neurons, which appears more prominent in selected areas of the PFC. Results were examined from developmental perspectives and discussed in the context of other

A niche marketing guide for lamb cooperatives

OpenAIRE

Kazmierczak, Tamra Kirkpatrick; Bell, James B.

1995-01-01

The two types of niche markets targeted by lamb marketing cooperatives are described in this guide. The first type includes specialty middlemen outlets that cooperatives used to market lamb to specialized niches within the traditional meat marketing system of retail food stores, restaurants, food service outlets, and specialty distributors. The second type includes those outlets that cooperatives used to market lamb directly to the consumer, such as freezer markets, farmers' markets, mobile m...

A Simulation Study on the Effects of Dendritic Morphology on Layer V Prefontal Pyramidal Cell Firing Behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria ePsarrou

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Pyramidal cells, the most abundant neurons in neocortex, exhibit significant structural variability across different brain areas and layers in different species. Moreover, in response to a somatic step current, these cells display a range of firing behaviors, the most common being (1 repetitive action potentials (Regular Spiking - RS, and (2 an initial cluster of 2-5 action potentials with short ISIs followed by single spikes (Intrinsic Bursting - IB. A correlation between firing behavior and dendritic morphology has recently been reported. In this work we use computational modeling to investigate quantitatively the effects of the basal dendritic tree morphology on the firing behavior of 112 three-dimensional reconstructions of layer V PFC rat pyramidal cells. Particularly, we focus on how different morphological (diameter, total length, volume and branch number and passive (Mean Electrotonic Path length features of basal dendritic trees shape somatic firing when the spatial distribution of ionic mechanisms in the basal dendritic trees is uniform or non-uniform. Our results suggest that total length, volume and branch number are the best morphological parameters to discriminate the cells as RS or IB, regardless of the distribution of ionic mechanisms in basal trees. The discriminatory power of total length, volume and branch number remains high in the presence of different apical dendrites. These results suggest that morphological variations in the basal dendritic trees of layer V pyramidal neurons in the PFC influence their firing patterns in a predictive manner and may in turn influence the information processing capabilities of these neurons.

Food Preparation and Service. An Introductory Course for Food Services Careers.

Science.gov (United States)

Douma, Elaine L.

Intended for use in a comprehensive senior high school, this curriculum guide for an introductory laboratory course focuses on the development of abilities, attitudes, and personal qualities which would lead to job success at the entry level in the food service industry, including in the areas of cooking, waitressing, supermarkets, and similar…

Position of the American Dietetic Association: total diet approach to communicating food and nutrition information.

Science.gov (United States)

Nitzke, Susan; Freeland-Graves, Jeanne

2007-07-01

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that the total diet or overall pattern of food eaten is the most important focus of a healthful eating style. All foods can fit within this pattern, if consumed in moderation with appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity. The American Dietetic Association strives to communicate healthful eating messages to the public that emphasize a balance of foods, rather than any one food or meal. Public policies that support the total diet approach include the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPyramid, the DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), Dietary Reference Intakes, and nutrition labeling. The value of a food should be determined within the context of the total diet because classifying foods as "good" or "bad" may foster unhealthful eating behaviors. Alternative approaches may be necessary in some health conditions. Eating practices are dynamic and influenced by many factors, including taste and food preferences, weight concerns, physiology, lifestyle, time challenges, economics, environment, attitudes and beliefs, social/cultural influences, media, food technology, and food product safety. To increase the effectiveness of nutrition education in promoting sensible food choices, food and nutrition professionals should utilize appropriate behavioral theory and evidence-based strategies. A focus on moderation and proportionality in the context of a healthful lifestyle, rather than specific nutrients or foods, can help reduce consumer confusion. Proactive, empowering, and practical messages that emphasize the total diet approach promote positive lifestyle changes.

Hydrogels from Biopolymer Hybrid for Biomedical, Food, and Functional Food Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert C. Spiro

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Hybrid hydrogels from biopolymers have been applied for various indications across a wide range of biomedical, pharmaceutical, and functional food industries. In particular, hybrid hydrogels synthesized from two biopolymers have attracted increasing attention. The inclusion of a second biopolymer strengthens the stability of resultant hydrogels and enriches its functionalities by bringing in new functional groups or optimizing the micro-environmental conditions for certain biological and biochemical processes. This article presents approaches that have been used by our groups to synthesize biopolymer hybrid hydrogels for effective uses for immunotherapy, tissue regeneration, food and functional food applications. The research has achieved some challenging results, such as stabilizing physical structure, increasing mucoadhesiveness, and the creation of an artificial extracellular matrix to aid in guiding tissue differentiation.

Ammonia inhibits long-term potentiation via neurosteroid synthesis in hippocampal pyramidal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Izumi, Y; Svrakic, N; O'Dell, K; Zorumski, C F

2013-03-13

Neurosteroids are a class of endogenous steroids synthesized in the brain that are believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders and memory impairment. Ammonia impairs long-term potentiation (LTP), a synaptic model of learning, in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory acquisition. Although mechanisms underlying ammonia-mediated LTP inhibition are not fully understood, we previously found that the activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) is important. Based on this, we hypothesize that metabolic stressors, including hyperammonemia, promote untimely NMDAR activation and result in neural adaptations that include the synthesis of allopregnanolone (alloP) and other GABA-potentiating neurosteroids that dampen neuronal activity and impair LTP and memory formation. Using an antibody against 5α-reduced neurosteroids, we found that 100 μM ammonia acutely enhanced neurosteroid immunostaining in pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region of rat hippocampal slices. The enhanced staining was blocked by finasteride, a selective inhibitor of 5α-reductase, a key enzyme required for alloP synthesis. Finasteride also overcame LTP inhibition by 100 μM ammonia, as did picrotoxin, an inhibitor of GABA-A receptors. These results indicate that GABA-enhancing neurosteroids, synthesized locally within pyramidal neurons, contribute significantly to ammonia-mediated synaptic dysfunction. These results suggest that the manipulation of neurosteroid synthesis could provide a strategy to improve cognitive function in individuals with hyperammonemia. Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distribution strategies for the base of the pyramid: an exploratory study in Brazil

OpenAIRE

Barki, Edgard Elie Roger

2010-01-01

Access has been one of the main difficulties companies have faced in emerging markets (PRAHALAD, 2005). The capillarity of the market, the existence of small, not professionalized and sometimes informal retailers, the lack of infrastructure and high transportation costs are some of the distribution challenges companies face in poorer regions. The literature concerning the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) is still recent and only after the seminal article by Prahalad and Hart (2002), it evolved into ...

The Future Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

5 févr. 2008 ... This is the best single summary of the political choices facing food and agriculture policymakers that has been written in this decade. Pat Mooney, Executive Director, the ETC Group An excellent resource for those mapping the increasing control of our food chain by international players. Suman Sahai ...

Impact of actions of food and nutrition education program in a population of adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Garcia BALDASSO

2016-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate changes in food intake after adolescents attended a food and nutrition education program at a non-profit institution. Methods: Fifty-four adolescents aged 16 to 19 years, of low socioeconomic level, enrolled in an non-governmental organization in São Paulo, underwent a nutritional intervention of six months consisting of six meetings with dieticians, as well as strategic communication and relationship actions. Body weight, height, body mass index, questionnaire on knowledge on nutrition and feeding practices, 24-hour recall, and diet quality assessment using the Diet Quality Index associated with the Digital Food Guide were collected at baseline and after the intervention. Dietary pattern improvement was defined as an increase of at least 5 points in Diet Quality Index associated with the Digital Food Guide. Results: Understanding of food labels increased, and the dietary patterns on weekdays and weekends improved by 33 and 37%, respectively. The intake of legumes, milk, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables increased (adequacy components. However, intakes of nuts and whole grains were low, and intake of moderation components was high. Conclusion: The program improved the dietary patterns of adolescents, making it a viable and inexpensive method to prevent disease and improve health and quality of life. In addition, the Diet Quality Index associated with the Digital Food Guide has proven to be a good nutritional tool for assessing changes in food intake and for guiding future counseling and nutritional intervention actions for this population.

Factors Affecting Energy Barriers for Pyramidal Inversion in Amines and Phosphines: A Computational Chemistry Lab Exercise

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, Craig D.

2013-01-01

An undergraduate exercise in computational chemistry that investigates the energy barrier for pyramidal inversion of amines and phosphines is presented. Semiempirical calculations (PM3) of the ground-state and transition-state energies for NR[superscript 1]R[superscript 2]R[superscript 3] and PR[superscript 1]R[superscript 2]R[superscript 3] allow…

Delayed oedema in the pyramidal tracts remote from intracerebral missile path following gunshot injury

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thiex, R.; Uhl, E. [Department of Neurosurgery, Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52057, Aachen (Germany); Thron, A. [Department of Neuroradiology, Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52057, Aachen (Germany)

2004-02-01

A 60-year-old man developed a severe left hemiparesis and central facial palsy, accompanied by somnolence and dysarthria 9 days after a gunshot wound to the right temporal region, from which he slowly recovered over 3 months. MRI disclosed bilateral oedema of the pyramidal tracts. This was interpreted as a consequence of the impact of the pressure wave caused by the bullet, after excluding an infectious or vascular cause. (orig.)

Plasmonic nanofocusing with a metallic pyramid and an integrated C-shaped aperture

Science.gov (United States)

Lindquist, Nathan C.; Johnson, Timothy W.; Nagpal, Prashant; Norris, David J.; Oh, Sang-Hyun

2013-05-01

We demonstrate the design, fabrication and characterization of a near-field plasmonic nanofocusing probe with a hybrid tip-plus-aperture design. By combining template stripping with focused ion beam lithography, a variety of aperture-based near-field probes can be fabricated with high optical performance. In particular, the combination of large transmission through a C-shaped aperture aligned to the sharp apex (<10 nm radius) of a template-stripped metallic pyramid allows the efficient delivery of light--via the C-shaped aperture--while providing a nanometric hotspot determined by the sharpness of the tip itself.

Novel approaches in food microbiology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Montijn, R.; Schuren, F.; Spek, H.D. van; Keijser, B.; Brul, S.

2004-01-01

The development of genomics technologies for guiding the predictive modeling of microorganism behavior to make food preservation treatments effective, are discussed. A fully genomewide description of cellular response to environmental conditions lies in the combination of a transcriptome and

Family Food Choices: A Guide to Weight and Diabetes Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Indian Health Service (PHS/HSA), Rockville, MD.

Written for American Indians who have diabetes, this folder explains diabetes and outlines a weight control program and diet. The folder discusses the five things diabetics can do to help control their disease: lose weight, watch the amount and kind of fat eaten, eat more food with fiber, avoid sugar, and avoid alcohol. Charts for foods containing…

Planning the School Food Service Facilities. Revised 1967.

Science.gov (United States)

Utah State Board of Education, Salt Lake City.

Evaluations of food service equipment, kitchen design and food service facilities are comprehensively reviewed for those concerned with the planning and equipping of new school lunchrooms or the remodeling of existing facilities. Information is presented in the form of general guides adaptable to specific local situations and needs, and is…

Childhood Obesity Study: A Pilot Study of the Effect of the Nutrition Education Program "Color My Pyramid"

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Jean Burley; Pawloski, Lisa Renee; Goldberg, Patricia; Oh, Kyeung Mi; Stoehr, Ana; Baghi, Heibatollah

2009-01-01

The need for successful nutrition interventions is critical as the prevalence of childhood obesity increases. Thus, this pilot project examines the effect of a nutrition education program, "Color My Pyramid", on children's nutrition knowledge, self-care practices, activity levels, and nutrition status. Using a pretest-posttest,…

Eating patterns, diet quality and energy balance: a perspective about applications and future directions for the food industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Layman, Donald K

2014-07-01

The food industry is the point of final integration of consumer food choices with dietary guidelines. For more than 40 years, nutrition recommendations emphasized reducing dietary intake of animal fats, cholesterol, and protein and increasing intake of cereal grains. The food industry responded by creating a convenient, low cost and diverse food supply that featured fat-free cookies, cholesterol-free margarines, and spaghetti with artificial meat sauce. However, research focused on obesity, aging, and Metabolic Syndrome has demonstrated merits of increased dietary protein and reduced amounts of carbohydrates. Dietary guidelines have changed from a conceptual framework of a daily balance of food groups represented as building blocks in a pyramid designed to encourage consumers to avoid fat, to a plate design that creates a meal approach to nutrition and highlights protein and vegetables and minimizes grain carbohydrates. Coincident with the changing dietary guidelines, consumers are placing higher priority on foods for health and seeking foods with more protein, less sugars and minimal processing that are fresh, natural, and with fewer added ingredients. Individual food companies must adapt to changing nutrition knowledge, dietary guidelines, and consumer priorities. The impact on the food industry will be specific to each company based on their products, culture and capacity to adapt. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimized breeding strategies for multiple trait integration: II. Process efficiency in event pyramiding and trait fixation.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Ting; Sun, Xiaochun; Mumm, Rita H

2014-01-01

Multiple trait integration (MTI) is a multi-step process of converting an elite variety/hybrid for value-added traits (e.g. transgenic events) through backcross breeding. From a breeding standpoint, MTI involves four steps: single event introgression, event pyramiding, trait fixation, and version testing. This study explores the feasibility of marker-aided backcross conversion of a target maize hybrid for 15 transgenic events in the light of the overall goal of MTI of recovering equivalent performance in the finished hybrid conversion along with reliable expression of the value-added traits. Using the results to optimize single event introgression (Peng et al. Optimized breeding strategies for multiple trait integration: I. Minimizing linkage drag in single event introgression. Mol Breed, 2013) which produced single event conversions of recurrent parents (RPs) with ≤8 cM of residual non-recurrent parent (NRP) germplasm with ~1 cM of NRP germplasm in the 20 cM regions flanking the event, this study focused on optimizing process efficiency in the second and third steps in MTI: event pyramiding and trait fixation. Using computer simulation and probability theory, we aimed to (1) fit an optimal breeding strategy for pyramiding of eight events into the female RP and seven in the male RP, and (2) identify optimal breeding strategies for trait fixation to create a 'finished' conversion of each RP homozygous for all events. In addition, next-generation seed needs were taken into account for a practical approach to process efficiency. Building on work by Ishii and Yonezawa (Optimization of the marker-based procedures for pyramiding genes from multiple donor lines: I. Schedule of crossing between the donor lines. Crop Sci 47:537-546, 2007a), a symmetric crossing schedule for event pyramiding was devised for stacking eight (seven) events in a given RP. Options for trait fixation breeding strategies considered selfing and doubled haploid approaches to achieve homozygosity

Consumers' willingness to buy food through the internet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.; Ramus, Kim

2005-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review literature on factors that may have an impact on consumers' probability to buy food over the internet, and to suggest a model that can guide future research. Design/methodology/approach: Determinants of consumer intention to buy food via the internet...... are sorted into the categories medium, product, consumer, firm, and environment. In order to draw the various results together and provide a coherent framework for future research, a model is proposed that combines the theory of planned behaviour and the lifestyle construct. Findings: While a lot...... of scattered evidence is available, there is a need for a coherent, operational, theory-based model that can summarize findings and guide future research. Research limitations/implications: The proposed model is operational and can be used in future empirical research on consumers' food shopping via...

Recursive Pyramid Algorithm-Based Discrete Wavelet Transform for Reactive Power Measurement in Smart Meters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahin K. Atiq

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Measurement of the active, reactive, and apparent power is one of the most fundamental tasks of smart meters in energy systems. Recently, a number of studies have employed the discrete wavelet transform (DWT for power measurement in smart meters. The most common way to implement DWT is the pyramid algorithm; however, this is not feasible for practical DWT computation because it requires either a log N cascaded filter or O (N word size memory storage for an input signal of the N-point. Both solutions are too expensive for practical applications of smart meters. It is proposed that the recursive pyramid algorithm is more suitable for smart meter implementation because it requires only word size storage of L × Log (N-L, where L is the length of filter. We also investigated the effect of varying different system parameters, such as the sampling rate, dc offset, phase offset, linearity error in current and voltage sensors, analog to digital converter resolution, and number of harmonics in a non-sinusoidal system, on the reactive energy measurement using DWT. The error analysis is depicted in the form of the absolute difference between the measured and the true value of the reactive energy.

Fabry-Pérot Oscillation and Room Temperature Lasing in Perovskite Cube-Corner Pyramid Cavities

KAUST Repository

Mi, Yang; Liu, Zhixiong; Shang, Qiuyu; Niu, Xinxiang; Shi, Jia; Zhang, Shuai; Chen, Jie; Du, Wenna; Wu, Zhiyong; Wang, Rui; Qiu, Xiaohui; Hu, Xiaoyong; Zhang, Qing; Wu, Tao; Liu, Xinfeng

2018-01-01

Recently, organometal halide perovskite-based optoelectronics, particularly lasers, have attracted intensive attentions because of its outstanding spectral coherence, low threshold, and wideband tunability. In this work, high-quality CH3 NH3 PbBr3 single crystals with a unique shape of cube-corner pyramids are synthesized on mica substrates using chemical vapor deposition method. These micropyramids naturally form cube-corner cavities, which are eminent candidates for small-sized resonators and retroreflectors. The as-grown perovskites show strong emission ≈530 nm in the vertical direction at room temperature. A special Fabry-Pérot (F-P) mode is employed to interpret the light confinement in the cavity. Lasing from the perovskite pyramids is observed from 80 to 200 K, with threshold ranging from ≈92 µJ cm-2 to 2.2 mJ cm-2 , yielding a characteristic temperature of T0 = 35 K. By coating a thin layer of Ag film, the threshold is reduced from ≈92 to 26 µJ cm-2 , which is accompanied by room temperature lasing with a threshold of ≈75 µJ cm-2 . This work advocates the prospect of shape-engineered perovskite crystals toward developing micro-sized optoelectronic devices and potentially investigating light-matter coupling in quantum optics.

Fabry-Pérot Oscillation and Room Temperature Lasing in Perovskite Cube-Corner Pyramid Cavities

KAUST Repository

Mi, Yang

2018-01-10

Recently, organometal halide perovskite-based optoelectronics, particularly lasers, have attracted intensive attentions because of its outstanding spectral coherence, low threshold, and wideband tunability. In this work, high-quality CH3 NH3 PbBr3 single crystals with a unique shape of cube-corner pyramids are synthesized on mica substrates using chemical vapor deposition method. These micropyramids naturally form cube-corner cavities, which are eminent candidates for small-sized resonators and retroreflectors. The as-grown perovskites show strong emission ≈530 nm in the vertical direction at room temperature. A special Fabry-Pérot (F-P) mode is employed to interpret the light confinement in the cavity. Lasing from the perovskite pyramids is observed from 80 to 200 K, with threshold ranging from ≈92 µJ cm-2 to 2.2 mJ cm-2 , yielding a characteristic temperature of T0 = 35 K. By coating a thin layer of Ag film, the threshold is reduced from ≈92 to 26 µJ cm-2 , which is accompanied by room temperature lasing with a threshold of ≈75 µJ cm-2 . This work advocates the prospect of shape-engineered perovskite crystals toward developing micro-sized optoelectronic devices and potentially investigating light-matter coupling in quantum optics.

[Peripheral facial nerve lesion induced long-term dendritic retraction in pyramidal cortico-facial neurons].

Science.gov (United States)

Urrego, Diana; Múnera, Alejandro; Troncoso, Julieta

2011-01-01

Little evidence is available concerning the morphological modifications of motor cortex neurons associated with peripheral nerve injuries, and the consequences of those injuries on post lesion functional recovery. Dendritic branching of cortico-facial neurons was characterized with respect to the effects of irreversible facial nerve injury. Twenty-four adult male rats were distributed into four groups: sham (no lesion surgery), and dendritic assessment at 1, 3 and 5 weeks post surgery. Eighteen lesion animals underwent surgical transection of the mandibular and buccal branches of the facial nerve. Dendritic branching was examined by contralateral primary motor cortex slices stained with the Golgi-Cox technique. Layer V pyramidal (cortico-facial) neurons from sham and injured animals were reconstructed and their dendritic branching was compared using Sholl analysis. Animals with facial nerve lesions displayed persistent vibrissal paralysis throughout the five week observation period. Compared with control animal neurons, cortico-facial pyramidal neurons of surgically injured animals displayed shrinkage of their dendritic branches at statistically significant levels. This shrinkage persisted for at least five weeks after facial nerve injury. Irreversible facial motoneuron axonal damage induced persistent dendritic arborization shrinkage in contralateral cortico-facial neurons. This morphological reorganization may be the physiological basis of functional sequelae observed in peripheral facial palsy patients.

A new methodology for pixel-quantitative precipitation nowcasting using a pyramid Lucas Kanade optical flow approach

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yu; Xi, Du-Gang; Li, Zhao-Liang; Hong, Yang

2015-10-01

Short-term high-resolution Quantitative Precipitation Nowcasting (QPN) has important implications for navigation, flood forecasting, and other hydrological and meteorological concerns. This study proposes a new algorithm called Pixel-based QPN using the Pyramid Lucas-Kanade Optical Flow method (PPLK), which comprises three steps: employing a Pyramid Lucas-Kanade Optical Flow method (PLKOF) to estimate precipitation advection, projecting rainy clouds by considering the advection and evolution pixel by pixel, and interpolating QPN imagery based on the space-time continuum of cloud patches. The PPLK methodology was evaluated with 2338 images from the geostationary meteorological satellite Fengyun-2F (FY-2F) of China and compared with two other advection-based methods, i.e., the maximum correlation method and the Horn-Schunck Optical Flow scheme. The data sample covered all intensive observations since the launch of FY-2F, despite covering a total of only approximately 10 days. The results show that the PPLK performed better than the algorithms used for comparison, demonstrating less time expenditure, more effective cloud tracking, and improved QPN accuracy.

Charitable Food Systems’ Capacity to Address Food Insecurity: An Australian Capital City Audit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina M. Pollard

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Australian efforts to address food insecurity are delivered by a charitable food system (CFS which fails to meet demand. The scope and nature of the CFS is unknown. This study audits the organisational capacity of the CFS within the 10.9 square kilometres of inner-city Perth, Western Australia. A desktop analysis of services and 12 face-to-face interviews with representatives from CFS organisations was conducted. All CFS organisations were not-for–profit and guided by humanitarian or faith-based values. The CFS comprised three indirect services (IS sourcing, banking and/or distributing food to 15 direct services (DS providing food to recipients. DS offered 30 different food services at 34 locations feeding over 5670 people/week via 16 models including mobile and seated meals, food parcels, supermarket vouchers, and food pantries. Volunteer to paid staff ratios were 33:1 (DS and 19:1 (IS. System-wide, food was mainly donated and most funding was philanthropic. Only three organisations received government funds. No organisation had a nutrition policy. The organisational capacity of the CFS was precarious due to unreliable, insufficient and inappropriate financial, human and food resources and structures. System-wide reforms are needed to ensure adequate and appropriate food relief for Australians experiencing food insecurity.

Charitable Food Systems' Capacity to Address Food Insecurity: An Australian Capital City Audit.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Christina M; Mackintosh, Bruce; Campbell, Cathy; Kerr, Deborah; Begley, Andrea; Jancey, Jonine; Caraher, Martin; Berg, Joel; Booth, Sue

2018-06-12

Australian efforts to address food insecurity are delivered by a charitable food system (CFS) which fails to meet demand. The scope and nature of the CFS is unknown. This study audits the organisational capacity of the CFS within the 10.9 square kilometres of inner-city Perth, Western Australia. A desktop analysis of services and 12 face-to-face interviews with representatives from CFS organisations was conducted. All CFS organisations were not-for⁻profit and guided by humanitarian or faith-based values. The CFS comprised three indirect services (IS) sourcing, banking and/or distributing food to 15 direct services (DS) providing food to recipients. DS offered 30 different food services at 34 locations feeding over 5670 people/week via 16 models including mobile and seated meals, food parcels, supermarket vouchers, and food pantries. Volunteer to paid staff ratios were 33:1 (DS) and 19:1 (IS). System-wide, food was mainly donated and most funding was philanthropic. Only three organisations received government funds. No organisation had a nutrition policy. The organisational capacity of the CFS was precarious due to unreliable, insufficient and inappropriate financial, human and food resources and structures. System-wide reforms are needed to ensure adequate and appropriate food relief for Australians experiencing food insecurity.

Toddler foods, children's foods: assessing sodium in packaged supermarket foods targeted at children.

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Charlene D; Conlon, Martin J

2011-03-01

To critically examine child-oriented packaged food products sold in Canada for their sodium content, and to assess them light of intake recommendations, the current policy context and suggested targets. Baby/toddler foods (n 186) and child-oriented packaged foods (n 354) were coded for various attributes (including sodium). Summary statistics were created for sodium, then the children's food products were compared with the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) 'targets' for sodium in packaged foods. Also assessed were the products' per-serving sodium levels were assessed in light of the US Institute of Medicine's dietary reference intakes and Canada's Food Guide. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. None. Twenty per cent of products could be classified as having high sodium levels. Certain sub-categories of food (i.e. toddler entrées, children's packaged lunches, soups and canned pastas) were problematic. Significantly, when scaled in according to Schedule M or viewed in light of the serving sizes on the Nutrition Facts table, the sodium level in various dry goods products generally fell within, and below, the Adequate Intake (AI)/Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) band for sodium. When scaled in accordance with the UK FSA targets, however, none of the (same) products met the targets. In light of AI/UL thresholds based on age and per-serving cut-offs, packaged foodstuffs for youngsters fare relatively well, with the exception of some problematic areas. 'Stealth sodium' and 'subtle sodium' are important considerations; so is use of the FSA's scaling method to evaluate sodium content, because it is highly sensitive to the difference between the reference amount and the actual real-world serving size for the product being considered.

Low-resistance gateless high electron mobility transistors using three-dimensional inverted pyramidal AlGaN/GaN surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

So, Hongyun; Senesky, Debbie G.

2016-01-01

In this letter, three-dimensional gateless AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were demonstrated with 54% reduction in electrical resistance and 73% increase in surface area compared with conventional gateless HEMTs on planar substrates. Inverted pyramidal AlGaN/GaN surfaces were microfabricated using potassium hydroxide etched silicon with exposed (111) surfaces and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of coherent AlGaN/GaN thin films. In addition, electrical characterization of the devices showed that a combination of series and parallel connections of the highly conductive two-dimensional electron gas along the pyramidal geometry resulted in a significant reduction in electrical resistance at both room and high temperatures (up to 300 °C). This three-dimensional HEMT architecture can be leveraged to realize low-power and reliable power electronics, as well as harsh environment sensors with increased surface area

Low-resistance gateless high electron mobility transistors using three-dimensional inverted pyramidal AlGaN/GaN surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

So, Hongyun, E-mail: hyso@stanford.edu [Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Senesky, Debbie G. [Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)

2016-01-04

In this letter, three-dimensional gateless AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were demonstrated with 54% reduction in electrical resistance and 73% increase in surface area compared with conventional gateless HEMTs on planar substrates. Inverted pyramidal AlGaN/GaN surfaces were microfabricated using potassium hydroxide etched silicon with exposed (111) surfaces and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of coherent AlGaN/GaN thin films. In addition, electrical characterization of the devices showed that a combination of series and parallel connections of the highly conductive two-dimensional electron gas along the pyramidal geometry resulted in a significant reduction in electrical resistance at both room and high temperatures (up to 300 °C). This three-dimensional HEMT architecture can be leveraged to realize low-power and reliable power electronics, as well as harsh environment sensors with increased surface area.

Concurrent improvement in optical and electrical characteristics by using inverted pyramidal array structures toward efficient Si heterojunction solar cells

KAUST Repository

Wang, Hsin Ping; Li, An Cheng; Lin, Tzu Yin; He, Jr-Hau

2016-01-01

the devices is critical for boosting cell efficiency although it usually comes with the V loss caused by severe surface recombination. For the first time, the periodic inverted pyramid (IP) structure fabricated by photolithography and anisotropic etching

Transforming Markets, Increasing Access : Early Lessons on Base-of-the-Pyramid Market Development in Sanitation

OpenAIRE

Danielle Pedi; Will Davies

2013-01-01

The four billion global consumers at the base of the pyramid (BOP) - those earning less than two dollars a day - are increasingly recognized by the private sector as a major untapped market segment. The sanitation industry is no exception. Across sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of the population lives without access to minimum levels of improved sanitation. Beyond the reach of urban sew...

Food safety: A guide to internet resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilardi, Luisella; Fubini, Lidia

2005-01-01

This report provides a brief overview of several reliable Internet resources concerning food toxicology. Some helpful Internet resources have been identified on the basis of quality criteria, of their relevance and the languages availability. The report includes four topic areas, the first provides a brief description of international resources, the second focuses on European resources, the third provides a description of some national resources and the last is a short overview of some databanks available on web

Installation, operation, and maintenance for the pyramidal optics solar system installed at Yacht Cover, Columbia, South Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

1980-09-01

Information concerning the installation, operation, and maintenance of the pyramidal Solar System for space heating and domestic hot water is presented. Principles of operation, sequence of installation, and procedures for the operation and maintenance of each subsystem making up the solar system are presented. Troubleshooting charts and maintenance schedules are presented.

Storyline and Associations Pyramid as Methods of Creativity Enhancement: Comparison of Effectiveness in 5-Year-Old Children

Science.gov (United States)

Smogorzewska, Joanna

2012-01-01

This article presents the results of a study comparing the originality, the length, the number of neologisms and the syntactic complexity of fairy tales created with "Storyline" and "Associations Pyramid." Both methods were developed to enhance children's language abilities and their creative thinking. One hundred twenty eight 5-year-old children…

Synaptically evoked Ca2+ release from intracellular stores is not influenced by vesicular zinc in CA3 hippocampal pyramidal neurones.

Science.gov (United States)

Evstratova, Alesya; Tóth, Katalin

2011-12-01

The co-release of neuromodulatory substances in combination with classic neurotransmitters such as glutamate and GABA from individual presynaptic nerve terminals has the capacity to dramatically influence synaptic efficacy and plasticity. At hippocampal mossy fibre synapses vesicular zinc is suggested to serve as a cotransmitter capable of regulating calcium release from internal stores in postsynaptic CA3 pyramidal cells. Here we investigated this possibility using combined intracellular ratiometric calcium imaging and patch-clamp recording techniques. In acute hippocampal slices a brief train of mossy fibre stimulation produced a large, delayed postsynaptic Ca(2+) wave that was spatially restricted to the proximal apical dendrites of CA3 pyramidal cells within stratum lucidum. This calcium increase was sensitive to intracellularly applied heparin indicating reliance upon release from internal stores and was triggered by activation of both group I metabotropic glutamate and NMDA receptors. Importantly, treatment of slices with the membrane-impermeant zinc chelator CaEDTA did not influence the synaptically evoked postsynaptic Ca(2+) waves. Moreover, mossy fibre stimulus evoked postsynaptic Ca(2+) signals were not significantly different between wild-type and zinc transporter 3 (ZnT3) knock-out animals. Considered together our data do not support a role for vesicular zinc in regulating mossy fibre evoked Ca(2+) release from CA3 pyramidal cell internal stores.

SPECT with 123I - iodolisuride in patients presenting a extra-pyramidal syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, M.J.; Baulieu, J.L.; Prunier-Levilion, C.; Januario, C.; Chossat, F.; Autret, A.; Guiloteau, D.; Bekhechi, D.; Pedroso de Lima, J.J.; Besnard, J.C.

1997-01-01

The SPECT with 123 I - iodolisuride has been effectuated in two centers (Coimbra and Tours) using cameras of different types in 28 patients presenting a Parkinson's disease (group 1) and 17 patients presenting an extra-pyramidal syndrome by striatal affliction (group 2), equally shared out between the two centers. The scintigraphy acquisition started 1 hour after a slow i.v. injection of labelled iodolisuride (0.02 to 0.07 ng/Kg of weight) with an activity 1.7 to 2.8 MBq of iodine 123. No undesirable effect was detected. The images observed on the sections crossing the central gray nuclei (CGN) were classified into 3 types defined according to visualisation of the CGN and/or the hemispheric cortex: type 1 - visible CGN and cortex un-visible; type 2 - visible CGN and cortex visible; type 3 - CGN and cortex visible. The associations expected were: group 1 - type 1 or 3; group 2 - type 2 or 3. In each center, independently of the utilized gamma camera, the obtained scintigraphic images were of high quality and interpretable. In the group 1, 28/29 scintigraphic images were classified as type 1 or 3 and 1/29 image was classified as type 2 while in the group 2, 14/17 images were classified as type 2 or 3 and 3/17 images as type 1. Consequently, this study concluded that the SPECT with 123 I - iodolisuride is achievable with any conventional tomographic camera and permits the classification of the extra-pyramidal syndromes as a function of striatal dopaminergic receptor waiting

Dense arrays of ordered pyramidal quantum dots with narrow linewidth photoluminescence spectra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Surrente, A; Gallo, P; Felici, M; Dwir, B; Rudra, A; Kapon, E, E-mail: alessandro.surrente@epfl.c [Laboratory of Physics of Nanostructures, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

2009-10-14

Arrays of site-controlled, pyramidal InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown by organo-metallic chemical vapour deposition with densities comparable to those of self-assembled QDs (5 x 10{sup 9} cm{sup -2}) are demonstrated. The QDs exhibit high quality photoluminescence spectra with inhomogeneous broadening of only 6.5 meV. The QD dipole moment was estimated through the analysis of time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. Such ordered QD arrays should be useful for applications in active nanophotonic systems such as QD lasers, modulators and switches requiring high overlap of the optical modes with the QD active region.

Were Viking Dry-dock methods in the Americas used earlier to Build Pyramids, with Outflow Eroding the Sphinx, and were Stonehenge, the Obelisks, and Moas Similarly Erected?