CONDOR: a database resource of developmentally associated conserved non-coding elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smith Sarah

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Comparative genomics is currently one of the most popular approaches to study the regulatory architecture of vertebrate genomes. Fish-mammal genomic comparisons have proved powerful in identifying conserved non-coding elements likely to be distal cis-regulatory modules such as enhancers, silencers or insulators that control the expression of genes involved in the regulation of early development. The scientific community is showing increasing interest in characterizing the function, evolution and language of these sequences. Despite this, there remains little in the way of user-friendly access to a large dataset of such elements in conjunction with the analysis and the visualization tools needed to study them. Description Here we present CONDOR (COnserved Non-coDing Orthologous Regions available at: http://condor.fugu.biology.qmul.ac.uk. In an interactive and intuitive way the website displays data on > 6800 non-coding elements associated with over 120 early developmental genes and conserved across vertebrates. The database regularly incorporates results of ongoing in vivo zebrafish enhancer assays of the CNEs carried out in-house, which currently number ~100. Included and highlighted within this set are elements derived from duplication events both at the origin of vertebrates and more recently in the teleost lineage, thus providing valuable data for studying the divergence of regulatory roles between paralogs. CONDOR therefore provides a number of tools and facilities to allow scientists to progress in their own studies on the function and evolution of developmental cis-regulation. Conclusion By providing access to data with an approachable graphics interface, the CONDOR database presents a rich resource for further studies into the regulation and evolution of genes involved in early development.

Allele frequencies of variants in ultra conserved elements identify selective pressure on transcription factor binding.

Science.gov (United States)

Silla, Toomas; Kepp, Katrin; Tai, E Shyong; Goh, Liang; Davila, Sonia; Catela Ivkovic, Tina; Calin, George A; Voorhoeve, P Mathijs

2014-01-01

Ultra-conserved genes or elements (UCGs/UCEs) in the human genome are extreme examples of conservation. We characterized natural variations in 2884 UCEs and UCGs in two distinct populations; Singaporean Chinese (n = 280) and Italian (n = 501) by using a pooled sample, targeted capture, sequencing approach. We identify, with high confidence, in these regions the abundance of rare SNVs (MAFpower for association studies. By combining our data with 1000 Genome Project data, we show in three independent datasets that prevalent UCE variants (MAF>5%) are more often found in relatively less-conserved nucleotides within UCEs, compared to rare variants. Moreover, prevalent variants are less likely to overlap transcription factor binding site. Using SNPfold we found no significant influence of RNA secondary structure on UCE conservation. All together, these results suggest UCEs are not under selective pressure as a stretch of DNA but are under differential evolutionary pressure on the single nucleotide level.

Number-conserving random phase approximation with analytically integrated matrix elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kyotoku, M.; Schmid, K.W.; Gruemmer, F.; Faessler, A.

1990-01-01

In the present paper a number conserving random phase approximation is derived as a special case of the recently developed random phase approximation in general symmetry projected quasiparticle mean fields. All the occurring integrals induced by the number projection are performed analytically after writing the various overlap and energy matrices in the random phase approximation equation as polynomials in the gauge angle. In the limit of a large number of particles the well-known pairing vibration matrix elements are recovered. We also present a new analytically number projected variational equation for the number conserving pairing problem

Evolutionary growth process of highly conserved sequences in vertebrate genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishibashi, Minaka; Noda, Akiko Ogura; Sakate, Ryuichi; Imanishi, Tadashi

2012-08-01

Genome sequence comparison between evolutionarily distant species revealed ultraconserved elements (UCEs) among mammals under strong purifying selection. Most of them were also conserved among vertebrates. Because they tend to be located in the flanking regions of developmental genes, they would have fundamental roles in creating vertebrate body plans. However, the evolutionary origin and selection mechanism of these UCEs remain unclear. Here we report that UCEs arose in primitive vertebrates, and gradually grew in vertebrate evolution. We searched for UCEs in two teleost fishes, Tetraodon nigroviridis and Oryzias latipes, and found 554 UCEs with 100% identity over 100 bps. Comparison of teleost and mammalian UCEs revealed 43 pairs of common, jawed-vertebrate UCEs (jUCE) with high sequence identities, ranging from 83.1% to 99.2%. Ten of them retain lower similarities to the Petromyzon marinus genome, and the substitution rates of four non-exonic jUCEs were reduced after the teleost-mammal divergence, suggesting that robust conservation had been acquired in the jawed vertebrate lineage. Our results indicate that prototypical UCEs originated before the divergence of jawed and jawless vertebrates and have been frozen as perfect conserved sequences in the jawed vertebrate lineage. In addition, our comparative sequence analyses of UCEs and neighboring regions resulted in a discovery of lineage-specific conserved sequences. They were added progressively to prototypical UCEs, suggesting step-wise acquisition of novel regulatory roles. Our results indicate that conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) consist of blocks with distinct evolutionary history, each having been frozen since different evolutionary era along the vertebrate lineage. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mixed finite element-based fully conservative methods for simulating wormhole propagation

KAUST Repository

Kou, Jisheng; Sun, Shuyu; Wu, Yuanqing

2015-01-01

Wormhole propagation during reactive dissolution of carbonates plays a very important role in the product enhancement of oil and gas reservoir. Because of high velocity and nonuniform porosity, the Darcy–Forchheimer model is applicable for this problem instead of conventional Darcy framework. We develop a mixed finite element scheme for numerical simulation of this problem, in which mixed finite element methods are used not only for the Darcy–Forchheimer flow equations but also for the solute transport equation by introducing an auxiliary flux variable to guarantee full mass conservation. In theoretical analysis aspects, based on the cut-off operator of solute concentration, we construct an analytical function to control and handle the change of porosity with time; we treat the auxiliary flux variable as a function of velocity and establish its properties; we employ the coupled analysis approach to deal with the fully coupling relation of multivariables. From this, the stability analysis and a priori error estimates for velocity, pressure, concentration and porosity are established in different norms. Numerical results are also given to verify theoretical analysis and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Mixed finite element-based fully conservative methods for simulating wormhole propagation

KAUST Repository

Kou, Jisheng

2015-10-11

Wormhole propagation during reactive dissolution of carbonates plays a very important role in the product enhancement of oil and gas reservoir. Because of high velocity and nonuniform porosity, the Darcy–Forchheimer model is applicable for this problem instead of conventional Darcy framework. We develop a mixed finite element scheme for numerical simulation of this problem, in which mixed finite element methods are used not only for the Darcy–Forchheimer flow equations but also for the solute transport equation by introducing an auxiliary flux variable to guarantee full mass conservation. In theoretical analysis aspects, based on the cut-off operator of solute concentration, we construct an analytical function to control and handle the change of porosity with time; we treat the auxiliary flux variable as a function of velocity and establish its properties; we employ the coupled analysis approach to deal with the fully coupling relation of multivariables. From this, the stability analysis and a priori error estimates for velocity, pressure, concentration and porosity are established in different norms. Numerical results are also given to verify theoretical analysis and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

A locally conservative stabilized continuous Galerkin finite element method for two-phase flow in poroelastic subsurfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Q.; Ginting, V.; McCaskill, B.; Torsu, P.

2017-10-01

We study the application of a stabilized continuous Galerkin finite element method (CGFEM) in the simulation of multiphase flow in poroelastic subsurfaces. The system involves a nonlinear coupling between the fluid pressure, subsurface's deformation, and the fluid phase saturation, and as such, we represent this coupling through an iterative procedure. Spatial discretization of the poroelastic system employs the standard linear finite element in combination with a numerical diffusion term to maintain stability of the algebraic system. Furthermore, direct calculation of the normal velocities from pressure and deformation does not entail a locally conservative field. To alleviate this drawback, we propose an element based post-processing technique through which local conservation can be established. The performance of the method is validated through several examples illustrating the convergence of the method, the effectivity of the stabilization term, and the ability to achieve locally conservative normal velocities. Finally, the efficacy of the method is demonstrated through simulations of realistic multiphase flow in poroelastic subsurfaces.

Conserved elements within the genome of foot-and mouth disease virus; their influence on virus replication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Jonas; Poulsen, Line D.; Vinther, Jeppe

Objectives: Several conserved elements within the genome of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) have been identified, e.g. the IRES. Such elements can be crucial for the efficient replication of the genomic RNA. Previously, SHAPE analysis of the entire FMDV genome (Poulsen et al., 2016 submitted......) has identified a conserved RNA structure within the 3Dpol coding region (the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) which might have an important role in virus replication. The FMDV 2A peptide, another conserved element, is responsible for the primary “cleavage” at its own C-terminus (2A/2B junction......). It is believed that this “cleavage” is achieved by ribosomal skipping, in which the 2A peptide prevents the ribosome from linking the next amino acid (aa) to the growing polypeptide. The nature of this “cleavage” has so far not been investigated in the context of the full-length FMDV RNA within cells. Through...

Highly conserved non-coding sequences are associated with vertebrate development.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Woolfe

2005-01-01

Full Text Available In addition to protein coding sequence, the human genome contains a significant amount of regulatory DNA, the identification of which is proving somewhat recalcitrant to both in silico and functional methods. An approach that has been used with some success is comparative sequence analysis, whereby equivalent genomic regions from different organisms are compared in order to identify both similarities and differences. In general, similarities in sequence between highly divergent organisms imply functional constraint. We have used a whole-genome comparison between humans and the pufferfish, Fugu rubripes, to identify nearly 1,400 highly conserved non-coding sequences. Given the evolutionary divergence between these species, it is likely that these sequences are found in, and furthermore are essential to, all vertebrates. Most, and possibly all, of these sequences are located in and around genes that act as developmental regulators. Some of these sequences are over 90% identical across more than 500 bases, being more highly conserved than coding sequence between these two species. Despite this, we cannot find any similar sequences in invertebrate genomes. In order to begin to functionally test this set of sequences, we have used a rapid in vivo assay system using zebrafish embryos that allows tissue-specific enhancer activity to be identified. Functional data is presented for highly conserved non-coding sequences associated with four unrelated developmental regulators (SOX21, PAX6, HLXB9, and SHH, in order to demonstrate the suitability of this screen to a wide range of genes and expression patterns. Of 25 sequence elements tested around these four genes, 23 show significant enhancer activity in one or more tissues. We have identified a set of non-coding sequences that are highly conserved throughout vertebrates. They are found in clusters across the human genome, principally around genes that are implicated in the regulation of development

Entropy Viscosity Method for High-Order Approximations of Conservation Laws

KAUST Repository

Guermond, J. L.

2010-09-17

A stabilization technique for conservation laws is presented. It introduces in the governing equations a nonlinear dissipation function of the residual of the associated entropy equation and bounded from above by a first order viscous term. Different two-dimensional test cases are simulated - a 2D Burgers problem, the "KPP rotating wave" and the Euler system - using high order methods: spectral elements or Fourier expansions. Details on the tuning of the parameters controlling the entropy viscosity are given. © 2011 Springer.

Entropy Viscosity Method for High-Order Approximations of Conservation Laws

KAUST Repository

Guermond, J. L.; Pasquetti, R.

2010-01-01

A stabilization technique for conservation laws is presented. It introduces in the governing equations a nonlinear dissipation function of the residual of the associated entropy equation and bounded from above by a first order viscous term. Different two-dimensional test cases are simulated - a 2D Burgers problem, the "KPP rotating wave" and the Euler system - using high order methods: spectral elements or Fourier expansions. Details on the tuning of the parameters controlling the entropy viscosity are given. © 2011 Springer.

European column buckling curves and finite element modelling including high strength steels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jönsson, Jeppe; Stan, Tudor-Cristian

2017-01-01

Eurocode allows for finite element modelling of plated steel structures, however the information in the code on how to perform the analysis or what assumptions to make is quite sparse. The present paper investigates the deterministic modelling of flexural column buckling using plane shell elements...... imperfections may be very conservative if considered by finite element analysis as described in the current Eurocode code. A suggestion is given for a slightly modified imperfection formula within the Ayrton-Perry formulation leading to adequate inclusion of modern high grade steels within the original four...... bucking curves. It is also suggested that finite element or frame analysis may be performed with equivalent column bow imperfections extracted directly from the Ayrton-Perry formulation....

Readings in Wildlife and Fish Conservation, High School Conservation Curriculum Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Ensminger, Jack

This publication is a tentative edition of readings on Wildlife and Fish Conservation in Louisiana, and as such it forms part of one of the four units of study designed for an experimental high school course, the "High School Conservation Curriculum Project." The other three units are concerned with Forest Conervation, Soil and Water…

High order curvilinear finite elements for elastic–plastic Lagrangian dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobrev, Veselin A.; Kolev, Tzanio V.; Rieben, Robert N.

2014-01-01

This paper presents a high-order finite element method for calculating elastic–plastic flow on moving curvilinear meshes and is an extension of our general high-order curvilinear finite element approach for solving the Euler equations of gas dynamics in a Lagrangian frame [1,2]. In order to handle transition to plastic flow, we formulate the stress–strain relation in rate (or incremental) form and augment our semi-discrete equations for Lagrangian hydrodynamics with an additional evolution equation for the deviatoric stress which is valid for arbitrary order spatial discretizations of the kinematic and thermodynamic variables. The semi-discrete equation for the deviatoric stress rate is developed for 2D planar, 2D axisymmetric and full 3D geometries. For each case, the strain rate is approximated via a collocation method at zone quadrature points while the deviatoric stress is approximated using an L 2 projection onto the thermodynamic basis. We apply high order, energy conserving, explicit time stepping methods to the semi-discrete equations to develop the fully discrete method. We conclude with numerical results from an extensive series of verification tests that demonstrate several practical advantages of using high-order finite elements for elastic–plastic flow

A locally conservative non-negative finite element formulation for anisotropic advective-diffusive-reactive systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mudunuru, M. K.; Shabouei, M.; Nakshatrala, K.

2015-12-01

Advection-diffusion-reaction (ADR) equations appear in various areas of life sciences, hydrogeological systems, and contaminant transport. Obtaining stable and accurate numerical solutions can be challenging as the underlying equations are coupled, nonlinear, and non-self-adjoint. Currently, there is neither a robust computational framework available nor a reliable commercial package known that can handle various complex situations. Herein, the objective of this poster presentation is to present a novel locally conservative non-negative finite element formulation that preserves the underlying physical and mathematical properties of a general linear transient anisotropic ADR equation. In continuous setting, governing equations for ADR systems possess various important properties. In general, all these properties are not inherited during finite difference, finite volume, and finite element discretizations. The objective of this poster presentation is two fold: First, we analyze whether the existing numerical formulations (such as SUPG and GLS) and commercial packages provide physically meaningful values for the concentration of the chemical species for various realistic benchmark problems. Furthermore, we also quantify the errors incurred in satisfying the local and global species balance for two popular chemical kinetics schemes: CDIMA (chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid) and BZ (Belousov--Zhabotinsky). Based on these numerical simulations, we show that SUPG and GLS produce unphysical values for concentration of chemical species due to the violation of the non-negative constraint, contain spurious node-to-node oscillations, and have large errors in local and global species balance. Second, we proposed a novel finite element formulation to overcome the above difficulties. The proposed locally conservative non-negative computational framework based on low-order least-squares finite elements is able to preserve these underlying physical and mathematical properties

Conserved Nonexonic Elements: A Novel Class of Marker for Phylogenomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Scott V; Cloutier, Alison; Baker, Allan J

2017-11-01

Noncoding markers have a particular appeal as tools for phylogenomic analysis because, at least in vertebrates, they appear less subject to strong variation in GC content among lineages. Thus far, ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and introns have been the most widely used noncoding markers. Here we analyze and study the evolutionary properties of a new type of noncoding marker, conserved nonexonic elements (CNEEs), which consists of noncoding elements that are estimated to evolve slower than the neutral rate across a set of species. Although they often include UCEs, CNEEs are distinct from UCEs because they are not ultraconserved, and, most importantly, the core region alone is analyzed, rather than both the core and its flanking regions. Using a data set of 16 birds plus an alligator outgroup, and ∼3600-∼3800 loci per marker type, we found that although CNEEs were less variable than bioinformatically derived UCEs or introns and in some cases exhibited a slower approach to branch resolution as determined by phylogenomic subsampling, the quality of CNEE alignments was superior to those of the other markers, with fewer gaps and missing species. Phylogenetic resolution using coalescent approaches was comparable among the three marker types, with most nodes being fully and congruently resolved. Comparison of phylogenetic results across the three marker types indicated that one branch, the sister group to the passerine + falcon clade, was resolved differently and with moderate (>70%) bootstrap support between CNEEs and UCEs or introns. Overall, CNEEs appear to be promising as phylogenomic markers, yielding phylogenetic resolution as high as for UCEs and introns but with fewer gaps, less ambiguity in alignments and with patterns of nucleotide substitution more consistent with the assumptions of commonly used methods of phylogenetic analysis. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Systematic Biologists.

A maximum-principle preserving finite element method for scalar conservation equations

KAUST Repository

Guermond, Jean-Luc; Nazarov, Murtazo

2014-01-01

This paper introduces a first-order viscosity method for the explicit approximation of scalar conservation equations with Lipschitz fluxes using continuous finite elements on arbitrary grids in any space dimension. Provided the lumped mass matrix is positive definite, the method is shown to satisfy the local maximum principle under a usual CFL condition. The method is independent of the cell type; for instance, the mesh can be a combination of tetrahedra, hexahedra, and prisms in three space dimensions. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

A maximum-principle preserving finite element method for scalar conservation equations

KAUST Repository

Guermond, Jean-Luc

2014-04-01

This paper introduces a first-order viscosity method for the explicit approximation of scalar conservation equations with Lipschitz fluxes using continuous finite elements on arbitrary grids in any space dimension. Provided the lumped mass matrix is positive definite, the method is shown to satisfy the local maximum principle under a usual CFL condition. The method is independent of the cell type; for instance, the mesh can be a combination of tetrahedra, hexahedra, and prisms in three space dimensions. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Genes involved in complex adaptive processes tend to have highly conserved upstream regions in mammalian genomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kohane Isaac

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent advances in genome sequencing suggest a remarkable conservation in gene content of mammalian organisms. The similarity in gene repertoire present in different organisms has increased interest in studying regulatory mechanisms of gene expression aimed at elucidating the differences in phenotypes. In particular, a proximal promoter region contains a large number of regulatory elements that control the expression of its downstream gene. Although many studies have focused on identification of these elements, a broader picture on the complexity of transcriptional regulation of different biological processes has not been addressed in mammals. The regulatory complexity may strongly correlate with gene function, as different evolutionary forces must act on the regulatory systems under different biological conditions. We investigate this hypothesis by comparing the conservation of promoters upstream of genes classified in different functional categories. Results By conducting a rank correlation analysis between functional annotation and upstream sequence alignment scores obtained by human-mouse and human-dog comparison, we found a significantly greater conservation of the upstream sequence of genes involved in development, cell communication, neural functions and signaling processes than those involved in more basic processes shared with unicellular organisms such as metabolism and ribosomal function. This observation persists after controlling for G+C content. Considering conservation as a functional signature, we hypothesize a higher density of cis-regulatory elements upstream of genes participating in complex and adaptive processes. Conclusion We identified a class of functions that are associated with either high or low promoter conservation in mammals. We detected a significant tendency that points to complex and adaptive processes were associated with higher promoter conservation, despite the fact that they have emerged

Conserved elements within the genome of foot-and-mouth disease virus; their influence on viral replication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Jonas

-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) have been identified, e.g. the IRES. Such elements can be crucial for the efficient replication of the genomic RNA. A better understanding of the influence of these elements is required to identify currently unrecognized interactions within the viruses which may be important...... for the development of anti-viral agents. SHAPE analysis of the entire FMDV genome (Poulsen, 2015) has identified three conserved RNA structures within the coding regions for 2B, 3C and 3D (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) which might have an important role in virus replication. The FMDV 2A peptide, another conserved...... polypeptide. The nature of this “cleavage” has so far not been investigated in the context of the full-length FMDV RNA within cells. The focus of this PhD thesis has been to characterize these elements and their influence on the FMDV replication. In order to fulfil the aims of this thesis a series of studies...

A Second-Order Maximum Principle Preserving Lagrange Finite Element Technique for Nonlinear Scalar Conservation Equations

KAUST Repository

Guermond, Jean-Luc; Nazarov, Murtazo; Popov, Bojan; Yang, Yong

2014-01-01

© 2014 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. This paper proposes an explicit, (at least) second-order, maximum principle satisfying, Lagrange finite element method for solving nonlinear scalar conservation equations. The technique is based on a new viscous bilinear form introduced in Guermond and Nazarov [Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg., 272 (2014), pp. 198-213], a high-order entropy viscosity method, and the Boris-Book-Zalesak flux correction technique. The algorithm works for arbitrary meshes in any space dimension and for all Lipschitz fluxes. The formal second-order accuracy of the method and its convergence properties are tested on a series of linear and nonlinear benchmark problems.

Highly conserved non-coding elements on either side of SOX9 associated with Pierre Robin sequence.

Science.gov (United States)

Benko, Sabina; Fantes, Judy A; Amiel, Jeanne; Kleinjan, Dirk-Jan; Thomas, Sophie; Ramsay, Jacqueline; Jamshidi, Negar; Essafi, Abdelkader; Heaney, Simon; Gordon, Christopher T; McBride, David; Golzio, Christelle; Fisher, Malcolm; Perry, Paul; Abadie, Véronique; Ayuso, Carmen; Holder-Espinasse, Muriel; Kilpatrick, Nicky; Lees, Melissa M; Picard, Arnaud; Temple, I Karen; Thomas, Paul; Vazquez, Marie-Paule; Vekemans, Michel; Roest Crollius, Hugues; Hastie, Nicholas D; Munnich, Arnold; Etchevers, Heather C; Pelet, Anna; Farlie, Peter G; Fitzpatrick, David R; Lyonnet, Stanislas

2009-03-01

Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) is an important subgroup of cleft palate. We report several lines of evidence for the existence of a 17q24 locus underlying PRS, including linkage analysis results, a clustering of translocation breakpoints 1.06-1.23 Mb upstream of SOX9, and microdeletions both approximately 1.5 Mb centromeric and approximately 1.5 Mb telomeric of SOX9. We have also identified a heterozygous point mutation in an evolutionarily conserved region of DNA with in vitro and in vivo features of a developmental enhancer. This enhancer is centromeric to the breakpoint cluster and maps within one of the microdeletion regions. The mutation abrogates the in vitro enhancer function and alters binding of the transcription factor MSX1 as compared to the wild-type sequence. In the developing mouse mandible, the 3-Mb region bounded by the microdeletions shows a regionally specific chromatin decompaction in cells expressing Sox9. Some cases of PRS may thus result from developmental misexpression of SOX9 due to disruption of very-long-range cis-regulatory elements.

Identification of two evolutionarily conserved 5' cis-elements involved in regulating spatiotemporal expression of Nolz-1 during mouse embryogenesis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunny Li-Yun Chang

Full Text Available Proper development of vertebrate embryos depends not only on the crucial funtions of key evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulators, but also on the precisely spatiotemporal expression of these transcriptional regulators. The mouse Nolz-1/Znf503/Zfp503 gene is a mammalian member of the conserved zinc-finger containing NET family. The expression pattern of Nolz-1 in mouse embryos is highly correlated with that of its homologues in different species. To study the spatiotemporal regulation of Nolz-1, we first identified two evolutionarily conserved cis-elements, UREA and UREB, in 5' upstream regions of mouse Nolz-1 locus. We then generated UREA-LacZ and UREB-LacZ transgenic reporter mice to characterize the putative enhancer activity of UREA and UREB. The results indicated that both UREA and UREB contained tissue-specific enhancer activity for directing LacZ expression in selective tissue organs during mouse embryogensis. UREA directed LacZ expression preferentially in selective regions of developing central nervous system, including the forebrain, hindbrain and spinal cord, whereas UREB directed LacZ expression mainly in other developing tissue organs such as the Nolz-1 expressing branchial arches and its derivatives, the apical ectodermal ridge of limb buds and the urogenital tissues. Both UREA and UREB directed strong LacZ expression in the lateral plate mesoderm where endogenous Nolz-1 was also expressed. Despite that the LacZ expression pattern did not full recapitulated the endogenous Nolz-1 expression and some mismatched expression patterns were observed, co-expression of LacZ and Nolz-1 did occur in many cells of selective tissue organs, such as in the ventrolateral cortex and ventral spinal cord of UREA-LacZ embryos, and the urogenital tubes of UREB-LacZ embryos. Taken together, our study suggests that UREA and UREB may function as evolutionarily conserved cis-regulatory elements that coordinate with other cis-elements to regulate

In Vivo Characterization of a Vertebrate Ultra-conserved Enhancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poulin, Francis; Nobrega, Marcelo A.; Plajzer-Frick, Ingrid; Holt, Amy; Afzal, Veena; Rubin, Edward M.; Pennacchio, Len

2004-10-01

Genomic sequence comparisons between human, mouse and pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes (Fugu))have revealed a set of extremely conserved noncoding sequences. While this high degree of sequence conservation suggests severe evolutionary constraint and predicts a lack of tolerance to change in order to retain in vivo functionality, such elements have been minimally explored experimentally. In this study, we describe the in-depth characterization of an ancient conserved enhancer, Dc2 located near the dachshund gene, which displays a human-Fugu identity of 84 percent over 424 basepairs (bp). In addition to this large overall conservation, we find that Dc2 is characterized by the presence of a large block of sequence (144 bp) that is completely identical between human, mouse, chicken, zebrafish and Fugu. Through the testing of reporter vector constructs in transgenic mice, we observed that the 424 bp Dc2 conserved element is necessary and sufficient for brain tissue enhancer activity. In vivo analyses also revealed that the 144 bp 100 percent conserved sequence is necessary, but not sufficient, to replicate Dc2 enhancer function. However, the introduction of two separate 16 bp insertions into the highly conserved enhancer core did not cause any detectable modification of its in vivo activity. Our observations indicate that the 144 bp 100 percent conserved element is tolerant of change at least at the resolution of this transgenic mouse assay and suggest that purifying selection on Dc2 sequence might not be as strong as we predicted or that some unknown property also constrains this highly conserved enhancer sequence.

A conserved RNA structural element within the hepatitis B virus post-transcriptional regulatory element enhance nuclear export of intronless transcripts and repress the splicing mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Visootsat, Akasit; Payungporn, Sunchai; T-Thienprasert, Nattanan P

2015-12-01

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a primary cause of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis worldwide. To develop novel antiviral drugs, a better understanding of HBV gene expression regulation is vital. One important aspect is to understand how HBV hijacks the cellular machinery to export unspliced RNA from the nucleus. The HBV post-transcriptional regulatory element (HBV PRE) has been proposed to be the HBV RNA nuclear export element. However, the function remains controversial, and the core element is unclear. This study, therefore, aimed to identify functional regulatory elements within the HBV PRE and investigate their functions. Using bioinformatics programs based on sequence conservation and conserved RNA secondary structures, three regulatory elements were predicted, namely PRE 1151-1410, PRE 1520-1620 and PRE 1650-1684. PRE 1151-1410 significantly increased intronless and unspliced luciferase activity in both HepG2 and COS-7 cells. Likewise, PRE 1151-1410 significantly elevated intronless and unspliced HBV surface transcripts in liver cancer cells. Moreover, motif analysis predicted that PRE 1151-1410 contains several regulatory motifs. This study reported the roles of PRE 1151-1410 in intronless transcript nuclear export and the splicing mechanism. Additionally, these results provide knowledge in the field of HBV RNA regulation. Moreover, PRE 1151-1410 may be used to enhance the expression of other mRNAs in intronless reporter plasmids.

High-affinity interaction of hnRNP A1 with conserved RNA structural elements is required for translation and replication of enterovirus 71.

Science.gov (United States)

Levengood, Jeffrey D; Tolbert, Michele; Li, Mei-Ling; Tolbert, Blanton S

2013-07-01

Human Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is an emerging pathogen of infectious disease and a serious threat to public health. Currently, there are no antivirals or vaccines to slow down or prevent EV71 infections, thus underscoring the urgency to better understand mechanisms of host-enterovirus interactions. EV71 uses a type I internal ribosome entry site (IRES) to recruit the 40S ribosomal subunit via a pathway that requires the cytoplasmic localization of hnRNP A1, which acts as an IRES trans-activating factor. The mechanism of how hnRNP A1 trans activates EV71 RNA translation is unknown, however. Here, we report that the UP1 domain of hnRNP A1 interacts specifically with stem loop II (SLII) of the IRES, via a thermodynamically well-defined biphasic transition that involves conserved bulge 5'-AYAGY-3' and hairpin 5'-RY(U/A)CCA-3' loops. Calorimetric titrations of wild-type and mutant SLII constructs reveal these structural elements are essential to form a high-affinity UP1-SLII complex. Mutations that alter the bulge and hairpin primary or secondary structures abrogate the biphasic transition and destabilize the complex. Notably, mutations within the bulge that destabilize the complex correlate with a large reduction in IRES-dependent translational activity and impair EV71 replication. Taken together, this study shows that a conserved SLII structure is necessary to form a functional hnRNP A1-IRES complex, suggesting that small molecules that target this stem loop may have novel antiviral properties.

A higher-order conservation element solution element method for solving hyperbolic differential equations on unstructured meshes

Science.gov (United States)

Bilyeu, David

This dissertation presents an extension of the Conservation Element Solution Element (CESE) method from second- to higher-order accuracy. The new method retains the favorable characteristics of the original second-order CESE scheme, including (i) the use of the space-time integral equation for conservation laws, (ii) a compact mesh stencil, (iii) the scheme will remain stable up to a CFL number of unity, (iv) a fully explicit, time-marching integration scheme, (v) true multidimensionality without using directional splitting, and (vi) the ability to handle two- and three-dimensional geometries by using unstructured meshes. This algorithm has been thoroughly tested in one, two and three spatial dimensions and has been shown to obtain the desired order of accuracy for solving both linear and non-linear hyperbolic partial differential equations. The scheme has also shown its ability to accurately resolve discontinuities in the solutions. Higher order unstructured methods such as the Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method and the Spectral Volume (SV) methods have been developed for one-, two- and three-dimensional application. Although these schemes have seen extensive development and use, certain drawbacks of these methods have been well documented. For example, the explicit versions of these two methods have very stringent stability criteria. This stability criteria requires that the time step be reduced as the order of the solver increases, for a given simulation on a given mesh. The research presented in this dissertation builds upon the work of Chang, who developed a fourth-order CESE scheme to solve a scalar one-dimensional hyperbolic partial differential equation. The completed research has resulted in two key deliverables. The first is a detailed derivation of a high-order CESE methods on unstructured meshes for solving the conservation laws in two- and three-dimensional spaces. The second is the code implementation of these numerical methods in a computer code. For

Divergent evolutionary rates in vertebrate and mammalian specific conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) in echolocating mammals.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Kalina T J; Tsagkogeorga, Georgia; Rossiter, Stephen J

2014-12-19

The majority of DNA contained within vertebrate genomes is non-coding, with a certain proportion of this thought to play regulatory roles during development. Conserved Non-coding Elements (CNEs) are an abundant group of putative regulatory sequences that are highly conserved across divergent groups and thus assumed to be under strong selective constraint. Many CNEs may contain regulatory factor binding sites, and their frequent spatial association with key developmental genes - such as those regulating sensory system development - suggests crucial roles in regulating gene expression and cellular patterning. Yet surprisingly little is known about the molecular evolution of CNEs across diverse mammalian taxa or their role in specific phenotypic adaptations. We examined 3,110 vertebrate-specific and ~82,000 mammalian-specific CNEs across 19 and 9 mammalian orders respectively, and tested for changes in the rate of evolution of CNEs located in the proximity of genes underlying the development or functioning of auditory systems. As we focused on CNEs putatively associated with genes underlying the development/functioning of auditory systems, we incorporated echolocating taxa in our dataset because of their highly specialised and derived auditory systems. Phylogenetic reconstructions of concatenated CNEs broadly recovered accepted mammal relationships despite high levels of sequence conservation. We found that CNE substitution rates were highest in rodents and lowest in primates, consistent with previous findings. Comparisons of CNE substitution rates from several genomic regions containing genes linked to auditory system development and hearing revealed differences between echolocating and non-echolocating taxa. Wider taxonomic sampling of four CNEs associated with the homeobox genes Hmx2 and Hmx3 - which are required for inner ear development - revealed family-wise variation across diverse bat species. Specifically within one family of echolocating bats that utilise

A positive and multi-element conserving time stepping scheme for biogeochemical processes in marine ecosystem models

Science.gov (United States)

Radtke, H.; Burchard, H.

2015-01-01

In this paper, an unconditionally positive and multi-element conserving time stepping scheme for systems of non-linearly coupled ODE's is presented. These systems of ODE's are used to describe biogeochemical transformation processes in marine ecosystem models. The numerical scheme is a positive-definite modification of the Runge-Kutta method, it can have arbitrarily high order of accuracy and does not require time step adaption. If the scheme is combined with a modified Patankar-Runge-Kutta method from Burchard et al. (2003), it also gets the ability to solve a certain class of stiff numerical problems, but the accuracy is restricted to second-order then. The performance of the new scheme on two test case problems is shown.

Elemental conservation units: communicating extinction risk without dictating targets for protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Chris C; Gross, Mart R

2008-02-01

Conservation biologists mostly agree on the need to identify and protect biodiversity below the species level but have not yet resolved the best approach. We addressed 2 issues relevant to this debate. First, we distinguished between the abstract goal of preserving the maximum amount of unique biodiversity and the pragmatic goal of minimizing the loss of ecological goods and services given that further loss of biodiversity seems inevitable. Second, we distinguished between the scientific task of assessing extinction risk and the normative task of choosing targets for protection. We propose that scientific advice on extinction risk be given at the smallest meaningful scale: the elemental conservation unit (ECU). An ECU is a demographically isolated population whose probability of extinction over the time scale of interest (say 100 years) is not substantially affected by natural immigration from other populations. Within this time frame, the loss of an ECU would be irreversible without human intervention. Society's decision to protect an ECU ought to reflect human values that have social, economic, and political dimensions. Scientists can best inform this decision by providing advice about the probability that an ECU will be lost and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of that loss in a form that can be integrated into landscape planning. The ECU approach provides maximum flexibility to decision makers and ensures that the scientific task of assessing extinction risk informs, but remains distinct from, the normative social challenge of setting conservation targets.

Conserved loci of leaf and stem rust fungi of wheat share synteny interrupted by lineage-specific influx of repeat elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fellers John P

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Wheat leaf rust (Puccinia triticina Eriks; Pt and stem rust fungi (P. graminis f.sp. tritici; Pgt are significant economic pathogens having similar host ranges and life cycles, but different alternate hosts. The Pt genome, currently estimated at 135 Mb, is significantly larger than Pgt, at 88 Mb, but the reason for the expansion is unknown. Three genomic loci of Pt conserved proteins were characterized to gain insight into gene content, genome complexity and expansion. Results A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC library was made from P. triticina race 1, BBBD and probed with Pt homologs of genes encoding two predicted Pgt secreted effectors and a DNA marker mapping to a region of avirulence. Three BACs, 103 Kb, 112 Kb, and 166 Kb, were sequenced, assembled, and open reading frames were identified. Orthologous genes were identified in Pgt and local conservation of gene order (microsynteny was observed. Pairwise protein identities ranged from 26 to 99%. One Pt BAC, containing a RAD18 ortholog, shares syntenic regions with two Pgt scaffolds, which could represent both haplotypes of Pgt. Gene sequence is diverged between the species as well as within the two haplotypes. In all three BAC clones, gene order is locally conserved, however, gene shuffling has occurred relative to Pgt. These regions are further diverged by differing insertion loci of LTR-retrotransposon, Gypsy, Copia, Mutator, and Harbinger mobile elements. Uncharacterized Pt open reading frames were also found; these proteins are high in lysine and similar to multiple proteins in Pgt. Conclusions The three Pt loci are conserved in gene order, with a range of gene sequence divergence. Conservation of predicted haustoria expressed secreted protein genes between Pt and Pgt is extended to the more distant poplar rust, Melampsora larici-populina. The loci also reveal that genome expansion in Pt is in part due to higher occurrence of repeat-elements in this species.

Sequence conservation and combinatorial complexity of Drosophila neural precursor cell enhancers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuzin Alexander

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The presence of highly conserved sequences within cis-regulatory regions can serve as a valuable starting point for elucidating the basis of enhancer function. This study focuses on regulation of gene expression during the early events of Drosophila neural development. We describe the use of EvoPrinter and cis-Decoder, a suite of interrelated phylogenetic footprinting and alignment programs, to characterize highly conserved sequences that are shared among co-regulating enhancers. Results Analysis of in vivo characterized enhancers that drive neural precursor gene expression has revealed that they contain clusters of highly conserved sequence blocks (CSBs made up of shorter shared sequence elements which are present in different combinations and orientations within the different co-regulating enhancers; these elements contain either known consensus transcription factor binding sites or consist of novel sequences that have not been functionally characterized. The CSBs of co-regulated enhancers share a large number of sequence elements, suggesting that a diverse repertoire of transcription factors may interact in a highly combinatorial fashion to coordinately regulate gene expression. We have used information gained from our comparative analysis to discover an enhancer that directs expression of the nervy gene in neural precursor cells of the CNS and PNS. Conclusion The combined use EvoPrinter and cis-Decoder has yielded important insights into the combinatorial appearance of fundamental sequence elements required for neural enhancer function. Each of the 30 enhancers examined conformed to a pattern of highly conserved blocks of sequences containing shared constituent elements. These data establish a basis for further analysis and understanding of neural enhancer function.

Generation of monoclonal antibodies against highly conserved antigens.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongzhe Zhou

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Therapeutic antibody development is one of the fastest growing areas of the pharmaceutical industry. Generating high-quality monoclonal antibodies against a given therapeutic target is very crucial for the success of the drug development. However, due to immune tolerance, some proteins that are highly conserved between mice and humans are not very immunogenic in mice, making it difficult to generate antibodies using a conventional approach. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this report, the impaired immune tolerance of NZB/W mice was exploited to generate monoclonal antibodies against highly conserved or self-antigens. Using two highly conserved human antigens (MIF and HMGB1 and one mouse self-antigen (TNF-alpha as examples, we demonstrate here that multiple clones of high affinity, highly specific antibodies with desired biological activities can be generated, using the NZB/W mouse as the immunization host and a T cell-specific tag fused to a recombinant antigen to stimulate the immune system. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We developed an efficient and universal method for generating surrogate or therapeutic antibodies against "difficult antigens" to facilitate the development of therapeutic antibodies.

Structural and functional analysis of mouse Msx1 gene promoter: sequence conservation with human MSX1 promoter points at potential regulatory elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, S M; Ferland, L H; Robert, B; Abdelhay, E

1998-06-01

Vertebrate Msx genes are related to one of the most divergent homeobox genes of Drosophila, the muscle segment homeobox (msh) gene, and are expressed in a well-defined pattern at sites of tissue interactions. This pattern of expression is conserved in vertebrates as diverse as quail, zebrafish, and mouse in a range of sites including neural crest, appendages, and craniofacial structures. In the present work, we performed structural and functional analyses in order to identify potential cis-acting elements that may be regulating Msx1 gene expression. To this end, a 4.9-kb segment of the 5'-flanking region was sequenced and analyzed for transcription-factor binding sites. Four regions showing a high concentration of these sites were identified. Transfection assays with fragments of regulatory sequences driving the expression of the bacterial lacZ reporter gene showed that a region of 4 kb upstream of the transcription start site contains positive and negative elements responsible for controlling gene expression. Interestingly, a fragment of 130 bp seems to contain the minimal elements necessary for gene expression, as its removal completely abolishes gene expression in cultured cells. These results are reinforced by comparison of this region with the human Msx1 gene promoter, which shows extensive conservation, including many consensus binding sites, suggesting a regulatory role for them.

A strongly conservative finite element method for the coupling of Stokes and Darcy flow

KAUST Repository

Kanschat, G.

2010-08-01

We consider a model of coupled free and porous media flow governed by Stokes and Darcy equations with the Beavers-Joseph-Saffman interface condition. This model is discretized using divergence-conforming finite elements for the velocities in the whole domain. Discontinuous Galerkin techniques and mixed methods are used in the Stokes and Darcy subdomains, respectively. This discretization is strongly conservative in Hdiv(Ω) and we show convergence. Numerical results validate our findings and indicate optimal convergence orders. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.

Balancing forest-regeneration probabilities and maintenance costs in dry grasslands of high conservation priority

Science.gov (United States)

Bolliger, Janine; Edwards, Thomas C.; Eggenberg, Stefan; Ismail, Sascha; Seidl, Irmi; Kienast, Felix

2011-01-01

Abandonment of agricultural land has resulted in forest regeneration in species-rich dry grasslands across European mountain regions and threatens conservation efforts in this vegetation type. To support national conservation strategies, we used a site-selection algorithm (MARXAN) to find optimum sets of floristic regions (reporting units) that contain grasslands of high conservation priority. We sought optimum sets that would accommodate 136 important dry-grassland species and that would minimize forest regeneration and costs of management needed to forestall predicted forest regeneration. We did not consider other conservation elements of dry grasslands, such as animal species richness, cultural heritage, and changes due to climate change. Optimal sets that included 95–100% of the dry grassland species encompassed an average of 56–59 floristic regions (standard deviation, SD 5). This is about 15% of approximately 400 floristic regions that contain dry-grassland sites and translates to 4800–5300 ha of dry grassland out of a total of approximately 23,000 ha for the entire study area. Projected costs to manage the grasslands in these optimum sets ranged from CHF (Swiss francs) 5.2 to 6.0 million/year. This is only 15–20% of the current total estimated cost of approximately CHF30–45 million/year required if all dry grasslands were to be protected. The grasslands of the optimal sets may be viewed as core sites in a national conservation strategy.

Cytoplasmic protein binding to highly conserved sequences in the 3' untranslated region of mouse protamine 2 mRNA, a translationally regulated transcript of male germ cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Y.K.; Hecht, N.B.

1991-01-01

The expression of the protamines, the predominant nuclear proteins of mammalian spermatozoa, is regulated translationally during male germ-cell development. The 3' untranslated region (UTR) of protamine 1 mRNA has been reported to control its time of translation. To understand the mechanisms controlling translation of the protamine mRNAs, we have sought to identify cis elements of the 3' UTR of protamine 2 mRNA that are recognized by cytoplasmic factors. From gel retardation assays, two sequence elements are shown to form specific RNA-protein complexes. Protein binding sites of the two complexes were determined by RNase T1 mapping, by blocking the putative binding sites with antisense oligonucleotides, and by competition assays. The sequences of these elements, located between nucleotides + 537 and + 572 in protamine 2 mRNA, are highly conserved among postmeiotic translationally regulated nuclear proteins of the mammalian testis. Two closely linked protein binding sites were detected. UV-crosslinking studies revealed that a protein of about 18 kDa binds to one of the conserved sequences. These data demonstrate specific protein binding to a highly conserved 3' UTR of translationally regulated testicular mRNA

A direct Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian ADER-WENO finite volume scheme on unstructured tetrahedral meshes for conservative and non-conservative hyperbolic systems in 3D

Science.gov (United States)

Boscheri, Walter; Dumbser, Michael

2014-10-01

In this paper we present a new family of high order accurate Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) one-step ADER-WENO finite volume schemes for the solution of nonlinear systems of conservative and non-conservative hyperbolic partial differential equations with stiff source terms on moving tetrahedral meshes in three space dimensions. A WENO reconstruction technique is used to achieve high order of accuracy in space, while an element-local space-time Discontinuous Galerkin finite element predictor on moving curved meshes is used to obtain a high order accurate one-step time discretization. Within the space-time predictor the physical element is mapped onto a reference element using a high order isoparametric approach, where the space-time basis and test functions are given by the Lagrange interpolation polynomials passing through a predefined set of space-time nodes. Since our algorithm is cell-centered, the final mesh motion is computed by using a suitable node solver algorithm. A rezoning step as well as a flattener strategy are used in some of the test problems to avoid mesh tangling or excessive element deformations that may occur when the computation involves strong shocks or shear waves. The ALE algorithm presented in this article belongs to the so-called direct ALE methods because the final Lagrangian finite volume scheme is based directly on a space-time conservation formulation of the governing PDE system, with the rezoned geometry taken already into account during the computation of the fluxes. We apply our new high order unstructured ALE schemes to the 3D Euler equations of compressible gas dynamics, for which a set of classical numerical test problems has been solved and for which convergence rates up to sixth order of accuracy in space and time have been obtained. We furthermore consider the equations of classical ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) as well as the non-conservative seven-equation Baer-Nunziato model of compressible multi-phase flows with

Rare earth element distributions in the West Pacific: Trace element sources and conservative vs. non-conservative behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Behrens, Melanie K.; Pahnke, Katharina; Paffrath, Ronja; Schnetger, Bernhard; Brumsack, Hans-Jürgen

2018-03-01

Recent studies suggest that transport and water mass mixing may play a dominant role in controlling the distribution of dissolved rare earth element concentrations ([REE]) at least in parts of the North and South Atlantic and the Pacific Southern Ocean. Here we report vertically and spatially high-resolution profiles of dissolved REE concentrations ([REE]) along a NW-SE transect in the West Pacific and examine the processes affecting the [REE] distributions in this area. Surface water REE patterns reveal sources of trace element (TE) input near South Korea and in the tropical equatorial West Pacific. Positive europium anomalies and middle REE enrichments in surface and subsurface waters are indicative of TE input from volcanic islands and fingerprint in detail small-scale equatorial zonal eastward transport of TEs to the iron-limited tropical East Pacific. The low [REE] of North and South Pacific Tropical Waters and Antarctic Intermediate Water are a long-range (i.e., preformed) laterally advected signal, whereas increasing [REE] with depth within North Pacific Intermediate Water result from release from particles. Optimum multiparameter analysis of deep to bottom waters indicates a dominant control of lateral transport and mixing on [REE] at the depth of Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (≥3000 m water depth; ∼75-100% explained by water mass mixing), allowing the northward tracing of LCDW to ∼28°N in the Northwest Pacific. In contrast, scavenging in the hydrothermal plumes of the Lau Basin and Tonga-Fiji area at 1500-2000 m water depth leads to [REE] deficits (∼40-60% removal) and marked REE fractionation in the tropical West Pacific. Overall, our data provide evidence for active trace element input both near South Korea and Papua New Guinea, and for a strong lateral transport component in the distribution of dissolved REEs in large parts of the West Pacific.

Modeling fragmentation with new high order finite element technology and node splitting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olovsson Lars

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The modeling of fragmentation has historically been linked to the weapons industry where the main goal is to optimize a bomb or to design effective blast shields. Numerical modeling of fragmentation from dynamic loading has traditionally been modeled by legacy finite element solvers that rely on element erosion to model material failure. However this method results in the removal of too much material. This is not realistic as retaining the mass of the structure is critical to modeling the event correctly. We propose a new approach implemented in the IMPETUS AFEA SOLVER® based on the following: New High Order Finite Elements that can easily deal with very large deformations; Stochastic distribution of initial damage that allows for a non homogeneous distribution of fragments; and a Node Splitting Algorithm that allows for material fracture without element erosion that is mesh independent. The approach is evaluated for various materials and scenarios: -Titanium ring electromagnetic compression; Hard steel Taylor bar impact, Fused silica Taylor bar impact, Steel cylinder explosion, The results obtained from the simulations are representative of the failure mechanisms observed experimentally. The main benefit of this approach is good energy conservation (no loss of mass and numerical robustness even in complex situations.

The effect of acid rain stress on chlorophyll, peroxidase of the conservation of rare earth elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chongling, Y.; Yetang, H.; Xianke, Y.; Shunzhen, F.; Shanql, W.

1998-01-01

Full text: Based on pot experiment, the effect of acid rain stress on chlorophyll, peroxidase of wheat, the relationship of them and the conservation of rare earth elements has been studied. The result showed: stress of acid rain resulted in decrease of chlorophyll content and a/b values, chlorophyll a/b value and chlorophyll content is positive correlation with pH value of acid rain: peroxidase activity was gradually rise with pH value decrease, which indirectly increased decomposition intensity of chlorophyll. Decreased content and a/b value of chlorophyll further speeded blade decay affected the transport and transformation of light energy and metabolism of carbohydrates. After being treated by rare earth elements content and pH value of chlorophyll and peroxidase activity could be relatively stable. Therefore, under lower acidity condition, rare earth elements can influence the effect of acid rain on chlorophyll and peroxidase activity of wheat

Charge-conserving FEM-PIC schemes on general grids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campos Pinto, M.; Jund, S.; Salmon, S.; Sonnendruecker, E.

2014-01-01

Particle-In-Cell (PIC) solvers are a major tool for the understanding of the complex behavior of a plasma or a particle beam in many situations. An important issue for electromagnetic PIC solvers, where the fields are computed using Maxwell's equations, is the problem of discrete charge conservation. In this article, we aim at proposing a general mathematical formulation for charge-conserving finite-element Maxwell solvers coupled with particle schemes. In particular, we identify the finite-element continuity equations that must be satisfied by the discrete current sources for several classes of time-domain Vlasov-Maxwell simulations to preserve the Gauss law at each time step, and propose a generic algorithm for computing such consistent sources. Since our results cover a wide range of schemes (namely curl-conforming finite element methods of arbitrary degree, general meshes in two or three dimensions, several classes of time discretization schemes, particles with arbitrary shape factors and piecewise polynomial trajectories of arbitrary degree), we believe that they provide a useful roadmap in the design of high-order charge-conserving FEM-PIC numerical schemes. (authors)

Adaptive evolution of conserved noncoding elements in mammals.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Su Yeon Kim

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Conserved noncoding elements (CNCs are an abundant feature of vertebrate genomes. Some CNCs have been shown to act as cis-regulatory modules, but the function of most CNCs remains unclear. To study the evolution of CNCs, we have developed a statistical method called the "shared rates test" to identify CNCs that show significant variation in substitution rates across branches of a phylogenetic tree. We report an application of this method to alignments of 98,910 CNCs from the human, chimpanzee, dog, mouse, and rat genomes. We find that approximately 68% of CNCs evolve according to a null model where, for each CNC, a single parameter models the level of constraint acting throughout the phylogeny linking these five species. The remaining approximately 32% of CNCs show departures from the basic model including speed-ups and slow-downs on particular branches and occasionally multiple rate changes on different branches. We find that a subset of the significant CNCs have evolved significantly faster than the local neutral rate on a particular branch, providing strong evidence for adaptive evolution in these CNCs. The distribution of these signals on the phylogeny suggests that adaptive evolution of CNCs occurs in occasional short bursts of evolution. Our analyses suggest a large set of promising targets for future functional studies of adaptation.

RNA expression in a cartilaginous fish cell line reveals ancient 3′ noncoding regions highly conserved in vertebrates

Science.gov (United States)

Forest, David; Nishikawa, Ryuhei; Kobayashi, Hiroshi; Parton, Angela; Bayne, Christopher J.; Barnes, David W.

2007-01-01

We have established a cartilaginous fish cell line [Squalus acanthias embryo cell line (SAE)], a mesenchymal stem cell line derived from the embryo of an elasmobranch, the spiny dogfish shark S. acanthias. Elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) first appeared >400 million years ago, and existing species provide useful models for comparative vertebrate cell biology, physiology, and genomics. Comparative vertebrate genomics among evolutionarily distant organisms can provide sequence conservation information that facilitates identification of critical coding and noncoding regions. Although these genomic analyses are informative, experimental verification of functions of genomic sequences depends heavily on cell culture approaches. Using ESTs defining mRNAs derived from the SAE cell line, we identified lengthy and highly conserved gene-specific nucleotide sequences in the noncoding 3′ UTRs of eight genes involved in the regulation of cell growth and proliferation. Conserved noncoding 3′ mRNA regions detected by using the shark nucleotide sequences as a starting point were found in a range of other vertebrate orders, including bony fish, birds, amphibians, and mammals. Nucleotide identity of shark and human in these regions was remarkably well conserved. Our results indicate that highly conserved gene sequences dating from the appearance of jawed vertebrates and representing potential cis-regulatory elements can be identified through the use of cartilaginous fish as a baseline. Because the expression of genes in the SAE cell line was prerequisite for their identification, this cartilaginous fish culture system also provides a physiologically valid tool to test functional hypotheses on the role of these ancient conserved sequences in comparative cell biology. PMID:17227856

GPU accelerated Discrete Element Method (DEM) molecular dynamics for conservative, faceted particle simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spellings, Matthew [Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Marson, Ryan L. [Materials Science & Engineering, University of Michigan, 2300 Hayward St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Anderson, Joshua A. [Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Glotzer, Sharon C., E-mail: sglotzer@umich.edu [Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Materials Science & Engineering, University of Michigan, 2300 Hayward St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2017-04-01

Faceted shapes, such as polyhedra, are commonly found in systems of nanoscale, colloidal, and granular particles. Many interesting physical phenomena, like crystal nucleation and growth, vacancy motion, and glassy dynamics are challenging to model in these systems because they require detailed dynamical information at the individual particle level. Within the granular materials community the Discrete Element Method has been used extensively to model systems of anisotropic particles under gravity, with friction. We provide an implementation of this method intended for simulation of hard, faceted nanoparticles, with a conservative Weeks–Chandler–Andersen (WCA) interparticle potential, coupled to a thermodynamic ensemble. This method is a natural extension of classical molecular dynamics and enables rigorous thermodynamic calculations for faceted particles.

Identification of conserved regulatory elements by comparative genome analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jareborg Niclas

2003-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background For genes that have been successfully delineated within the human genome sequence, most regulatory sequences remain to be elucidated. The annotation and interpretation process requires additional data resources and significant improvements in computational methods for the detection of regulatory regions. One approach of growing popularity is based on the preferential conservation of functional sequences over the course of evolution by selective pressure, termed 'phylogenetic footprinting'. Mutations are more likely to be disruptive if they appear in functional sites, resulting in a measurable difference in evolution rates between functional and non-functional genomic segments. Results We have devised a flexible suite of methods for the identification and visualization of conserved transcription-factor-binding sites. The system reports those putative transcription-factor-binding sites that are both situated in conserved regions and located as pairs of sites in equivalent positions in alignments between two orthologous sequences. An underlying collection of metazoan transcription-factor-binding profiles was assembled to facilitate the study. This approach results in a significant improvement in the detection of transcription-factor-binding sites because of an increased signal-to-noise ratio, as demonstrated with two sets of promoter sequences. The method is implemented as a graphical web application, ConSite, which is at the disposal of the scientific community at http://www.phylofoot.org/. Conclusions Phylogenetic footprinting dramatically improves the predictive selectivity of bioinformatic approaches to the analysis of promoter sequences. ConSite delivers unparalleled performance using a novel database of high-quality binding models for metazoan transcription factors. With a dynamic interface, this bioinformatics tool provides broad access to promoter analysis with phylogenetic footprinting.

Ancient Exaptation of a CORE-SINE Retroposon into a Highly Conserved Mammalian Neuronal Enhancer of the Proopiomelanocortin Gene

Science.gov (United States)

Bumaschny, Viviana F; Low, Malcolm J; Rubinstein, Marcelo

2007-01-01

The proopiomelanocortin gene (POMC) is expressed in the pituitary gland and the ventral hypothalamus of all jawed vertebrates, producing several bioactive peptides that function as peripheral hormones or central neuropeptides, respectively. We have recently determined that mouse and human POMC expression in the hypothalamus is conferred by the action of two 5′ distal and unrelated enhancers, nPE1 and nPE2. To investigate the evolutionary origin of the neuronal enhancer nPE2, we searched available vertebrate genome databases and determined that nPE2 is a highly conserved element in placentals, marsupials, and monotremes, whereas it is absent in nonmammalian vertebrates. Following an in silico paleogenomic strategy based on genome-wide searches for paralog sequences, we discovered that opossum and wallaby nPE2 sequences are highly similar to members of the superfamily of CORE-short interspersed nucleotide element (SINE) retroposons, in particular to MAR1 retroposons that are widely present in marsupial genomes. Thus, the neuronal enhancer nPE2 originated from the exaptation of a CORE-SINE retroposon in the lineage leading to mammals and remained under purifying selection in all mammalian orders for the last 170 million years. Expression studies performed in transgenic mice showed that two nonadjacent nPE2 subregions are essential to drive reporter gene expression into POMC hypothalamic neurons, providing the first functional example of an exapted enhancer derived from an ancient CORE-SINE retroposon. In addition, we found that this CORE-SINE family of retroposons is likely to still be active in American and Australian marsupial genomes and that several highly conserved exonic, intronic and intergenic sequences in the human genome originated from the exaptation of CORE-SINE retroposons. Together, our results provide clear evidence of the functional novelties that transposed elements contributed to their host genomes throughout evolution. PMID:17922573

Ancient exaptation of a CORE-SINE retroposon into a highly conserved mammalian neuronal enhancer of the proopiomelanocortin gene.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea M Santangelo

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The proopiomelanocortin gene (POMC is expressed in the pituitary gland and the ventral hypothalamus of all jawed vertebrates, producing several bioactive peptides that function as peripheral hormones or central neuropeptides, respectively. We have recently determined that mouse and human POMC expression in the hypothalamus is conferred by the action of two 5' distal and unrelated enhancers, nPE1 and nPE2. To investigate the evolutionary origin of the neuronal enhancer nPE2, we searched available vertebrate genome databases and determined that nPE2 is a highly conserved element in placentals, marsupials, and monotremes, whereas it is absent in nonmammalian vertebrates. Following an in silico paleogenomic strategy based on genome-wide searches for paralog sequences, we discovered that opossum and wallaby nPE2 sequences are highly similar to members of the superfamily of CORE-short interspersed nucleotide element (SINE retroposons, in particular to MAR1 retroposons that are widely present in marsupial genomes. Thus, the neuronal enhancer nPE2 originated from the exaptation of a CORE-SINE retroposon in the lineage leading to mammals and remained under purifying selection in all mammalian orders for the last 170 million years. Expression studies performed in transgenic mice showed that two nonadjacent nPE2 subregions are essential to drive reporter gene expression into POMC hypothalamic neurons, providing the first functional example of an exapted enhancer derived from an ancient CORE-SINE retroposon. In addition, we found that this CORE-SINE family of retroposons is likely to still be active in American and Australian marsupial genomes and that several highly conserved exonic, intronic and intergenic sequences in the human genome originated from the exaptation of CORE-SINE retroposons. Together, our results provide clear evidence of the functional novelties that transposed elements contributed to their host genomes throughout evolution.

The Space-Time Conservative Schemes for Large-Scale, Time-Accurate Flow Simulations with Tetrahedral Meshes

Science.gov (United States)

Venkatachari, Balaji Shankar; Streett, Craig L.; Chang, Chau-Lyan; Friedlander, David J.; Wang, Xiao-Yen; Chang, Sin-Chung

2016-01-01

Despite decades of development of unstructured mesh methods, high-fidelity time-accurate simulations are still predominantly carried out on structured, or unstructured hexahedral meshes by using high-order finite-difference, weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO), or hybrid schemes formed by their combinations. In this work, the space-time conservation element solution element (CESE) method is used to simulate several flow problems including supersonic jet/shock interaction and its impact on launch vehicle acoustics, and direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows using tetrahedral meshes. This paper provides a status report for the continuing development of the space-time conservation element solution element (CESE) numerical and software framework under the Revolutionary Computational Aerosciences (RCA) project. Solution accuracy and large-scale parallel performance of the numerical framework is assessed with the goal of providing a viable paradigm for future high-fidelity flow physics simulations.

Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Hyperbolic Conservation Laws

KAUST Repository

Mousikou, Ioanna

2016-11-11

Hyperbolic conservation laws form a special class of partial differential equations. They describe phenomena that involve conserved quantities and their solutions show discontinuities which reflect the formation of shock waves. We consider one-dimensional systems of hyperbolic conservation laws and produce approximations using finite difference, finite volume and finite element methods. Due to stability issues of classical finite element methods for hyperbolic conservation laws, we study the discontinuous Galerkin method, which was recently introduced. The method involves completely discontinuous basis functions across each element and it can be considered as a combination of finite volume and finite element methods. We illustrate the implementation of discontinuous Galerkin method using Legendre polynomials, in case of scalar equations and in case of quasi-linear systems, and we review important theoretical results about stability and convergence of the method. The applications of finite volume and discontinuous Galerkin methods to linear and non-linear scalar equations, as well as to the system of elastodynamics, are exhibited.

Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Hyperbolic Conservation Laws

KAUST Repository

Mousikou, Ioanna

2016-01-01

Hyperbolic conservation laws form a special class of partial differential equations. They describe phenomena that involve conserved quantities and their solutions show discontinuities which reflect the formation of shock waves. We consider one-dimensional systems of hyperbolic conservation laws and produce approximations using finite difference, finite volume and finite element methods. Due to stability issues of classical finite element methods for hyperbolic conservation laws, we study the discontinuous Galerkin method, which was recently introduced. The method involves completely discontinuous basis functions across each element and it can be considered as a combination of finite volume and finite element methods. We illustrate the implementation of discontinuous Galerkin method using Legendre polynomials, in case of scalar equations and in case of quasi-linear systems, and we review important theoretical results about stability and convergence of the method. The applications of finite volume and discontinuous Galerkin methods to linear and non-linear scalar equations, as well as to the system of elastodynamics, are exhibited.

Molecular genetics and epigenetics of CACTA elements

KAUST Repository

Fedoroff, Nina V.

2013-01-01

The CACTA transposons, so named for a highly conserved motif at element ends, comprise one of the most abundant superfamilies of Class 2 (cut-and-paste) plant transposons. CACTA transposons characteristically include subterminal sequences of several

Mutations that alter a conserved element upstream of the potato virus X triple block and coat protein genes affect subgenomic RNA accumulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, K H; Hemenway, C

1997-05-26

The putative subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) promoter regions upstream of the potato virus X (PVX) triple block and coat protein (CP) genes contain sequences common to other potexviruses. The importance of these sequences to PVX sgRNA accumulation was determined by inoculation of Nicotiana tabacum NT1 cell suspension protoplasts with transcripts derived from wild-type and modified PVX cDNA clones. Analyses of RNA accumulation by S1 nuclease digestion and primer extension indicated that a conserved octanucleotide sequence element and the spacing between this element and the start-site for sgRNA synthesis are critical for accumulation of the two major sgRNA species. The impact of mutations on CP sgRNA levels was also reflected in the accumulation of CP. In contrast, genomic minus- and plus-strand RNA accumulation were not significantly affected by mutations in these regions. Studies involving inoculation of tobacco plants with the modified transcripts suggested that the conserved octanucleotide element functions in sgRNA accumulation and some other aspect of the infection process.

Colorimetric measurements as control elements in wood conservation status

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ovidia Soto-Martín

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is a methodological proposal for the study of altarpieces on wooden supports. The process was implemented to study the altarpiece of San Antonio de Padua in Garachico, Tenerife. For this, we conducted a review of key aspects appropriate to the discipline of wood identification carried out by macroscopic examination and for the characterization of the status of deterioration by colorimetric analysis. For the evaluation of the wood conservation status, the samples were subjected for the first time to colorimetric measurement. As a result we have created an online database to provide information for conservation professionals permitting them to design a proposal for preventive conservation and intervention individually for each object.

Tilapia and human CLIC2 structures are highly conserved.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Jiao; Li, Zhengjun; Lui, Eei Yin; Lam, Siew Hong; Swaminathan, Kunchithapadam

2018-01-08

Chloride intracellular channels (CLICs) exist in soluble and membrane bound forms. We have determined the crystal structure of soluble Clic2 from the euryhaline teleost fish Oreochromis mossambicus. Structural comparison of tilapia and human CLIC2 with other CLICs shows that these proteins are highly conserved. We have also compared the expression levels of clic2 in selected osmoregulatory organs of tilapia, acclimated to freshwater, seawater and hypersaline water. Structural conservation of vertebrate CLICs implies that they might play conserved roles. Also, tissue-specific responsiveness of clic2 suggests that it might be involved in iono-osmoregulation under extreme conditions in tilapia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conservation: Toward firmer ground

Science.gov (United States)

1975-01-01

The following aspects of energy conservation were reviewed in order to place the problems in proper perspective: history and goals, conservation accounting-criteria, and a method to overcome obstacles. The effect of changing prices and available supplies of energy sources and their causes on consumption levels during the last few decades were described. Some examples of attainable conservation goals were listed and justified. A number of specific criteria applicable to conservation accounting were given. Finally, a discussion was presented to relate together the following aspects of energy conservation: widespread impact, involvement of government, industry, politics, moral and ethical aspects, urgency and time element.

A conserved domain in type III secretion links the cytoplasmic domain of InvA to elements of the basal body

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lilic, Mirjana; Quezada, Cindy M.; Stebbins, C. Erec

2010-01-01

The cytoplasmic domain of Salmonella InvA shares homology to a recurring scaffold in the membrane-spanning components of the type II and type III secretion systems. Protein type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are organic nanosyringes that achieve an energy-dependent translocation of bacterial proteins through the two membranes of Gram-negative organisms. Examples include the pathogenic systems of animals, plants and symbiotic bacteria that inject factors into eukaryotic cells, and the flagellar export system that secretes flagellin. T3SSs possess a core of several membrane-associated proteins that are conserved across all known bacterial species that use this system. The Salmonella protein InvA is one of the most highly conserved proteins of this core of critical T3SS components. The crystal structure of a C-terminal domain of InvA reveals an unexpected homology to domains that have been repeatedly found as building blocks of other elements of the T3SS apparatus. This suggests the surprising hypothesis that evolution has produced a significant component of the apparatus structure through a series of gene-duplication and gene-rearrangement events

Linkage disequilibrium of evolutionarily conserved regions in the human genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johnson Todd A

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The strong linkage disequilibrium (LD recently found in genic or exonic regions of the human genome demonstrated that LD can be increased by evolutionary mechanisms that select for functionally important loci. This suggests that LD might be stronger in regions conserved among species than in non-conserved regions, since regions exposed to natural selection tend to be conserved. To assess this hypothesis, we used genome-wide polymorphism data from the HapMap project and investigated LD within DNA sequences conserved between the human and mouse genomes. Results Unexpectedly, we observed that LD was significantly weaker in conserved regions than in non-conserved regions. To investigate why, we examined sequence features that may distort the relationship between LD and conserved regions. We found that interspersed repeats, and not other sequence features, were associated with the weak LD tendency in conserved regions. To appropriately understand the relationship between LD and conserved regions, we removed the effect of repetitive elements and found that the high degree of sequence conservation was strongly associated with strong LD in coding regions but not with that in non-coding regions. Conclusion Our work demonstrates that the degree of sequence conservation does not simply increase LD as predicted by the hypothesis. Rather, it implies that purifying selection changes the polymorphic patterns of coding sequences but has little influence on the patterns of functional units such as regulatory elements present in non-coding regions, since the former are generally restricted by the constraint of maintaining a functional protein product across multiple exons while the latter may exist more as individually isolated units.

High-resolution satellite imagery is an important yet underutilized resource in conservation biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, Sarah A; Kennedy, Christina M; Torres, Julio; Colman, Karen; Pérez-Estigarribia, Pastor E; de la Sancha, Noé U

2014-01-01

Technological advances and increasing availability of high-resolution satellite imagery offer the potential for more accurate land cover classifications and pattern analyses, which could greatly improve the detection and quantification of land cover change for conservation. Such remotely-sensed products, however, are often expensive and difficult to acquire, which prohibits or reduces their use. We tested whether imagery of high spatial resolution (≤5 m) differs from lower-resolution imagery (≥30 m) in performance and extent of use for conservation applications. To assess performance, we classified land cover in a heterogeneous region of Interior Atlantic Forest in Paraguay, which has undergone recent and dramatic human-induced habitat loss and fragmentation. We used 4 m multispectral IKONOS and 30 m multispectral Landsat imagery and determined the extent to which resolution influenced the delineation of land cover classes and patch-level metrics. Higher-resolution imagery more accurately delineated cover classes, identified smaller patches, retained patch shape, and detected narrower, linear patches. To assess extent of use, we surveyed three conservation journals (Biological Conservation, Biotropica, Conservation Biology) and found limited application of high-resolution imagery in research, with only 26.8% of land cover studies analyzing satellite imagery, and of these studies only 10.4% used imagery ≤5 m resolution. Our results suggest that high-resolution imagery is warranted yet under-utilized in conservation research, but is needed to adequately monitor and evaluate forest loss and conversion, and to delineate potentially important stepping-stone fragments that may serve as corridors in a human-modified landscape. Greater access to low-cost, multiband, high-resolution satellite imagery would therefore greatly facilitate conservation management and decision-making.

Progress on a Taylor weak statement finite element algorithm for high-speed aerodynamic flows

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, A. J.; Freels, J. D.

1989-01-01

A new finite element numerical Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) algorithm has matured to the point of efficiently solving two-dimensional high speed real-gas compressible flow problems in generalized coordinates on modern vector computer systems. The algorithm employs a Taylor Weak Statement classical Galerkin formulation, a variably implicit Newton iteration, and a tensor matrix product factorization of the linear algebra Jacobian under a generalized coordinate transformation. Allowing for a general two-dimensional conservation law system, the algorithm has been exercised on the Euler and laminar forms of the Navier-Stokes equations. Real-gas fluid properties are admitted, and numerical results verify solution accuracy, efficiency, and stability over a range of test problem parameters.

Entropy viscosity method for nonlinear conservation laws

KAUST Repository

Guermond, Jean-Luc

2011-05-01

A new class of high-order numerical methods for approximating nonlinear conservation laws is described (entropy viscosity method). The novelty is that a nonlinear viscosity based on the local size of an entropy production is added to the numerical discretization at hand. This new approach does not use any flux or slope limiters, applies to equations or systems supplemented with one or more entropy inequalities and does not depend on the mesh type and polynomial approximation. Various benchmark problems are solved with finite elements, spectral elements and Fourier series to illustrate the capability of the proposed method. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.

Entropy viscosity method for nonlinear conservation laws

KAUST Repository

Guermond, Jean-Luc; Pasquetti, Richard; Popov, Bojan

2011-01-01

A new class of high-order numerical methods for approximating nonlinear conservation laws is described (entropy viscosity method). The novelty is that a nonlinear viscosity based on the local size of an entropy production is added to the numerical discretization at hand. This new approach does not use any flux or slope limiters, applies to equations or systems supplemented with one or more entropy inequalities and does not depend on the mesh type and polynomial approximation. Various benchmark problems are solved with finite elements, spectral elements and Fourier series to illustrate the capability of the proposed method. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.

A Conserved C-terminal Element in the Yeast Doa10 and Human MARCH6 Ubiquitin Ligases Required for Selective Substrate Degradation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zattas, Dimitrios; Berk, Jason M; Kreft, Stefan G; Hochstrasser, Mark

2016-06-03

Specific proteins are modified by ubiquitin at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and are degraded by the proteasome, a process referred to as ER-associated protein degradation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, two principal ER-associated protein degradation ubiquitin ligases (E3s) reside in the ER membrane, Doa10 and Hrd1. The membrane-embedded Doa10 functions in the degradation of substrates in the ER membrane, nuclear envelope, cytoplasm, and nucleoplasm. How most E3 ligases, including Doa10, recognize their protein substrates remains poorly understood. Here we describe a previously unappreciated but highly conserved C-terminal element (CTE) in Doa10; this cytosolically disposed 16-residue motif follows the final transmembrane helix. A conserved CTE asparagine residue is required for ubiquitylation and degradation of a subset of Doa10 substrates. Such selectivity suggests that the Doa10 CTE is involved in substrate discrimination and not general ligase function. Functional conservation of the CTE was investigated in the human ortholog of Doa10, MARCH6 (TEB4), by analyzing MARCH6 autoregulation of its own degradation. Mutation of the conserved Asn residue (N890A) in the MARCH6 CTE stabilized the normally short lived enzyme to the same degree as a catalytically inactivating mutation (C9A). We also report the localization of endogenous MARCH6 to the ER using epitope tagging of the genomic MARCH6 locus by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9-mediated genome editing. These localization and CTE analyses support the inference that MARCH6 and Doa10 are functionally similar. Moreover, our results with the yeast enzyme suggest that the CTE is involved in the recognition and/or ubiquitylation of specific protein substrates. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Setting conservation priorities.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Kerrie A; Carwardine, Josie; Possingham, Hugh P

2009-04-01

A generic framework for setting conservation priorities based on the principles of classic decision theory is provided. This framework encapsulates the key elements of any problem, including the objective, the constraints, and knowledge of the system. Within the context of this framework the broad array of approaches for setting conservation priorities are reviewed. While some approaches prioritize assets or locations for conservation investment, it is concluded here that prioritization is incomplete without consideration of the conservation actions required to conserve the assets at particular locations. The challenges associated with prioritizing investments through time in the face of threats (and also spatially and temporally heterogeneous costs) can be aided by proper problem definition. Using the authors' general framework for setting conservation priorities, multiple criteria can be rationally integrated and where, how, and when to invest conservation resources can be scheduled. Trade-offs are unavoidable in priority setting when there are multiple considerations, and budgets are almost always finite. The authors discuss how trade-offs, risks, uncertainty, feedbacks, and learning can be explicitly evaluated within their generic framework for setting conservation priorities. Finally, they suggest ways that current priority-setting approaches may be improved.

Highly conserved small subunit residues influence rubisco large subunit catalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Genkov, Todor; Spreitzer, Robert J

2009-10-30

The chloroplast enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) catalyzes the rate-limiting step of photosynthetic CO(2) fixation. With a deeper understanding of its structure-function relationships and competitive inhibition by O(2), it may be possible to engineer an increase in agricultural productivity and renewable energy. The chloroplast-encoded large subunits form the active site, but the nuclear-encoded small subunits can also influence catalytic efficiency and CO(2)/O(2) specificity. To further define the role of the small subunit in Rubisco function, the 10 most conserved residues in all small subunits were substituted with alanine by transformation of a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutant that lacks the small subunit gene family. All the mutant strains were able to grow photosynthetically, indicating that none of the residues is essential for function. Three of the substitutions have little or no effect (S16A, P19A, and E92A), one primarily affects holoenzyme stability (L18A), and the remainder affect catalysis with or without some level of associated structural instability (Y32A, E43A, W73A, L78A, P79A, and F81A). Y32A and E43A cause decreases in CO(2)/O(2) specificity. Based on the x-ray crystal structure of Chlamydomonas Rubisco, all but one (Glu-92) of the conserved residues are in contact with large subunits and cluster near the amino- or carboxyl-terminal ends of large subunit alpha-helix 8, which is a structural element of the alpha/beta-barrel active site. Small subunit residues Glu-43 and Trp-73 identify a possible structural connection between active site alpha-helix 8 and the highly variable small subunit loop between beta-strands A and B, which can also influence Rubisco CO(2)/O(2) specificity.

The evolution of ultraconserved elements with different phylogenetic origins

KAUST Repository

Ryu, Tae Woo

2012-12-05

Background: Ultraconserved elements of DNA have been identified in vertebrate and invertebrate genomes. These elements have been found to have diverse functions, including enhancer activities in developmental processes. The evolutionary origins and functional roles of these elements in cellular systems, however, have not yet been determined. Results: Here, we identified a wide range of ultraconserved elements common to distant species, from primitive aquatic organisms to terrestrial species with complicated body systems, including some novel elements conserved in fruit fly and human. In addition to a well-known association with developmental genes, these DNA elements have a strong association with genes implicated in essential cell functions, such as epigenetic regulation, apoptosis, detoxification, innate immunity, and sensory reception. Interestingly, we observed that ultraconserved elements clustered by sequence similarity. Furthermore, species composition and flanking genes of clusters showed lineage-specific patterns. Ultraconserved elements are highly enriched with binding sites to developmental transcription factors regardless of how they cluster. Conclusion: We identified large numbers of ultraconserved elements across distant species. Specific classes of these conserved elements seem to have been generated before the divergence of taxa and fixed during the process of evolution. Our findings indicate that these ultraconserved elements are not the exclusive property of higher modern eukaryotes, but rather transmitted from their metazoan ancestors. 2012 Ryu et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Conservation: Toward firmer ground

Science.gov (United States)

1975-01-01

The following aspects of energy conservation were discussed: conservation history and goals, conservation modes, conservation accounting-criteria, and a method to overcome obstacles. The conservation modes tested fall into one of the following categories: reduced energy consumption, increased efficiency of energy utilization, or substitution of one or more forms of energy for another which is in shorter supply or in some sense thought to be of more value. The conservation accounting criteria include net energy reduction, economic, and technical criteria. A method to overcome obstacles includes (approaches such as: direct personal impact (life style, income, security, aspiration), an element of crisis, large scale involvement of environmental, safety, and health issues, connections to big government, big business, big politics, involvement of known and speculative science and technology, appeal to moral and ethical standards, the transient nature of opportunities to correct the system.

Achieving Success under Pressure in the Conservation of Intensely Used Coastal Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fiorenza Micheli

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Understanding how biological conservation and socioeconomic development can be harmonized in social-ecological systems is at the core of sustainability science. We present the case of a Mediterranean marine protected area (MPA, the Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo MPA, that exhibits high ecological performance under intense pressure from fishing, tourism, and coastal development. This case study illustrates how socioeconomic development and significant conservation benefits can coexist, even in a challenging context. Based on this case study, we present a framework for what elements and interactions have determined the high ecological performance of this MPA, and highlight the key leverages that have enabled ecosystem recovery. In particular, the most critical elements underlying high performance were sufficient leadership and knowledge to identify a conservation vision and to catalyze some key actors in the implementation of this vision. Thus, success was ultimately determined by the ability of the leadership of the MPA to devise and implement an effective strategy, with the support and participation of key actors that were external to the MPA organization. The insights from this case study may be applicable to improving MPA management in other systems with similar characteristics, including high human pressures and the presence of an MPA authority.

Natural activity and element content of soil and plant in Sungkai Wildlife Conservation Centre, Perak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabiatutadawiah Jamaludin

2012-01-01

The study has been carried out to determined the natural radioactivity concentration and the elemental content of soil and plant in Sungkai Wildlife Conservation Centre, Perak. For the determination of radioactivity concentration samples were filled into the counting bottle according to the height of the standard samples. Samples were then kept for 30 days to reach the secular equilibrium. After 30 days samples were counted directly using gamma spectrometry. For the determination of the elemental content samples were digested using acidic solution until the solution became clear. Samples were then diluted to 100 ml using distilled water and 10 ml aliquots were introduce to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results showed that the radioactivity concentration of U-238, Th-232, Ra-226 and K-40 in soil were in the range of 40.02 ± 12.50 Bq/ kg - 184.8± 11.40 Bq/ kg, 31.76 ± 1.84 Bq/ kg - 66.12 ± 4.30 Bq/ kg, 11.0 ± 0.48 Bq/ kg - 29.71 ± 1.64 Bq/ kg and 27.53 ± 6.93 Bq/ kg - 184.01 ± 8.64 Bq/ kg respectively. In this study 20 elements were found both in soil and plant. Iron showed the highest concentration in soil (22178.92 ± 8826.77 mg/ kg) while Potassium showed the highest concentration in plants (64052.33 ± 14958.16 mg/ kg). (author)

10 CFR Appendix D to Part 436 - Energy Program Conservation Elements

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... have a personal and sustained commitment to the program, provide active direction and motivation, and... energy conservation. (7) Employee Awareness. Employees must gain an awareness of energy conservation through formal training and employee information programs. They should be invited to participate in the...

Close Sequence Comparisons are Sufficient to Identify Humancis-Regulatory Elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prabhakar, Shyam; Poulin, Francis; Shoukry, Malak; Afzal, Veena; Rubin, Edward M.; Couronne, Olivier; Pennacchio, Len A.

2005-12-01

Cross-species DNA sequence comparison is the primary method used to identify functional noncoding elements in human and other large genomes. However, little is known about the relative merits of evolutionarily close and distant sequence comparisons, due to the lack of a universal metric for sequence conservation, and also the paucity of empirically defined benchmark sets of cis-regulatory elements. To address this problem, we developed a general-purpose algorithm (Gumby) that detects slowly-evolving regions in primate, mammalian and more distant comparisons without requiring adjustment of parameters, and ranks conserved elements by P-value using Karlin-Altschul statistics. We benchmarked Gumby predictions against previously identified cis-regulatory elements at diverse genomic loci, and also tested numerous extremely conserved human-rodent sequences for transcriptional enhancer activity using reporter-gene assays in transgenic mice. Human regulatory elements were identified with acceptable sensitivity and specificity by comparison with 1-5 other eutherian mammals or 6 other simian primates. More distant comparisons (marsupial, avian, amphibian and fish) failed to identify many of the empirically defined functional noncoding elements. We derived an intuitive relationship between ancient and recent noncoding sequence conservation from whole genome comparative analysis, which explains some of these findings. Lastly, we determined that, in addition to strength of conservation, genomic location and/or density of surrounding conserved elements must also be considered in selecting candidate enhancers for testing at embryonic time points.

Conserved domains and SINE diversity during animal evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Luchetti, Andrea; Mantovani, Barbara

2013-10-01

Eukaryotic genomes harbour a number of mobile genetic elements (MGEs); moving from one genomic location to another, they are known to impact on the host genome. Short interspersed elements (SINEs) are well-represented, non-autonomous retroelements and they are likely the most diversified MGEs. In some instances, sequence domains conserved across unrelated SINEs have been identified; remarkably, one of these, called Nin, has been conserved since the Radiata-Bilateria splitting. Here we report on two new domains: Inv, derived from Nin, identified in insects and in deuterostomes, and Pln, restricted to polyneopteran insects. The identification of Inv and Pln sequences allowed us to retrieve new SINEs, two in insects and one in a hemichordate. The diverse structural combination of the different domains in different SINE families, during metazoan evolution, offers a clearer view of SINE diversity and their frequent de novo emergence through module exchange, possibly underlying the high evolutionary success of SINEs. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular genetics and epigenetics of CACTA elements

KAUST Repository

Fedoroff, Nina V.

2013-08-21

The CACTA transposons, so named for a highly conserved motif at element ends, comprise one of the most abundant superfamilies of Class 2 (cut-and-paste) plant transposons. CACTA transposons characteristically include subterminal sequences of several hundred nucleotides containing closely spaced direct and inverted repeats of a short, conserved sequence of 14-15 bp. The Supressor-mutator (Spm) transposon, identified and subjected to detailed genetic analysis by Barbara McClintock, remains the paradigmatic element of the CACTA family. The Spm transposon encodes two proteins required for transposition, the transposase (TnpD) and a regulatory protein (TnpA) that binds to the subterminal repeats. Spm expression is subject to both genetic and epigenetic regulation. The Spm-encoded TnpA serves as an activator of the epigenetically inactivated, methylated Spm, stimulating both transient and heritable activation of the transposon. TnpA also serves as a negative regulator of the demethylated active element promoter and is required, in addition to the TnpD, for transposition. © Springer Science+Business Media, New York 2013.

The High Rise Low Cost Housing : Sustainable Neighbourhood Elements (Green Elements) in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Wahi, Noraziah; Mohamad, Ismail; Mohamad Zin, Rosli; Munikanan, Vikneswaran; Junaini, Syahrizan

2018-03-01

The sustainable development is a vital measure to alleviate the greenhouse gas effect, global warming and any other environment issues. The sustainable neighbourhood concept is not new in Malaysia, However, the concept still needs attention and awareness from the stakeholders. This paper discusses on the sustainable neighbourhood elements specifically green elements application on the high rise low cost housing in Malaysia. Malaysia should have focused sustainable neighbourhood planning and design especially on the high rise low cost housing therefore the future generation can be benefited from this type development.

Relativistic extension of a charge-conservative finite element solver for time-dependent Maxwell-Vlasov equations

Science.gov (United States)

Na, D.-Y.; Moon, H.; Omelchenko, Y. A.; Teixeira, F. L.

2018-01-01

Accurate modeling of relativistic particle motion is essential for physical predictions in many problems involving vacuum electronic devices, particle accelerators, and relativistic plasmas. A local, explicit, and charge-conserving finite-element time-domain (FETD) particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithm for time-dependent (non-relativistic) Maxwell-Vlasov equations on irregular (unstructured) meshes was recently developed by Moon et al. [Comput. Phys. Commun. 194, 43 (2015); IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 44, 1353 (2016)]. Here, we extend this FETD-PIC algorithm to the relativistic regime by implementing and comparing three relativistic particle-pushers: (relativistic) Boris, Vay, and Higuera-Cary. We illustrate the application of the proposed relativistic FETD-PIC algorithm for the analysis of particle cyclotron motion at relativistic speeds, harmonic particle oscillation in the Lorentz-boosted frame, and relativistic Bernstein modes in magnetized charge-neutral (pair) plasmas.

Accelerated Evolution of Conserved Noncoding Sequences in theHuman Genome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prambhakar, Shyam; Noonan, James P.; Paabo, Svante; Rubin, EdwardM.

2006-07-06

Genomic comparisons between human and distant, non-primatemammals are commonly used to identify cis-regulatory elements based onconstrained sequence evolution. However, these methods fail to detect"cryptic" functional elements, which are too weakly conserved amongmammals to distinguish from nonfunctional DNA. To address this problem,we explored the potential of deep intra-primate sequence comparisons. Wesequenced the orthologs of 558 kb of human genomic sequence, coveringmultiple loci involved in cholesterol homeostasis, in 6 nonhumanprimates. Our analysis identified 6 noncoding DNA elements displayingsignificant conservation among primates, but undetectable in more distantcomparisons. In vitro and in vivo tests revealed that at least three ofthese 6 elements have regulatory function. Notably, the mouse orthologsof these three functional human sequences had regulatory activity despitetheir lack of significant sequence conservation, indicating that they arecryptic ancestral cis-regulatory elements. These regulatory elementscould still be detected in a smaller set of three primate speciesincluding human, rhesus and marmoset. Since the human and rhesus genomesequences are already available, and the marmoset genome is activelybeing sequenced, the primate-specific conservation analysis describedhere can be applied in the near future on a whole-genome scale, tocomplement the annotation provided by more distant speciescomparisons.

The conservation pattern of short linear motifs is highly correlated with the function of interacting protein domains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Yiguo

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many well-represented domains recognize primary sequences usually less than 10 amino acids in length, called Short Linear Motifs (SLiMs. Accurate prediction of SLiMs has been difficult because they are short (often Results Our combined approach revealed that SLiMs are highly conserved in proteins from functional classes that are known to interact with a specific domain, but that they are not conserved in most other protein groups. We found that SLiMs recognized by SH2 domains were highly conserved in receptor kinases/phosphatases, adaptor molecules, and tyrosine kinases/phosphatases, that SLiMs recognized by SH3 domains were highly conserved in cytoskeletal and cytoskeletal-associated proteins, that SLiMs recognized by PDZ domains were highly conserved in membrane proteins such as channels and receptors, and that SLiMs recognized by S/T kinase domains were highly conserved in adaptor molecules, S/T kinases/phosphatases, and proteins involved in transcription or cell cycle control. We studied Tyr-SLiMs recognized by SH2 domains in more detail, and found that SH2-recognized Tyr-SLiMs on the cytoplasmic side of membrane proteins are more highly conserved than those on the extra-cellular side. Also, we found that SH2-recognized Tyr-SLiMs that are associated with SH3 motifs and a tyrosine kinase phosphorylation motif are more highly conserved. Conclusion The interactome of protein domains is reflected by the evolutionary conservation of SLiMs recognized by these domains. Combining scoring matrixes derived from peptide libraries and conservation analysis, we would be able to find those protein groups that are more likely to interact with specific domains.

Resource conservation management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, W.

1999-01-01

Resource conservation management is a management program similar to financial management in that its success requires commitment by all levels of the organization to the process as well as an accounting procedure and auditing of critical components. Resource conservation management provides a framework for all elements of efficient building operations and maintenance. The savings connected with the program are principally connected with changes in the way buildings are operated and maintained. Given the reduction in rebates for the installation of energy-efficient equipment, this approach has considerable promise. This paper discusses the evolution of the resource conservation management service and the savings associated with a two-year pilot effort with seven school districts, as well as the critical components of a successful program

CWRML: representing crop wild relative conservation and use data in XML.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Jonathan D; Kell, Shelagh P; Iriondo, Jose M; Ford-Lloyd, Brian V; Maxted, Nigel

2008-02-25

Crop wild relatives are wild species that are closely related to crops. They are valuable as potential gene donors for crop improvement and may help to ensure food security for the future. However, they are becoming increasingly threatened in the wild and are inadequately conserved, both in situ and ex situ. Information about the conservation status and utilisation potential of crop wild relatives is diverse and dispersed, and no single agreed standard exists for representing such information; yet, this information is vital to ensure these species are effectively conserved and utilised. The European Community-funded project, European Crop Wild Relative Diversity Assessment and Conservation Forum, determined the minimum information requirements for the conservation and utilisation of crop wild relatives and created the Crop Wild Relative Information System, incorporating an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schema to aid data sharing and exchange. Crop Wild Relative Markup Language (CWRML) was developed to represent the data necessary for crop wild relative conservation and ensure that they can be effectively utilised for crop improvement. The schema partitions data into taxon-, site-, and population-specific elements, to allow for integration with other more general conservation biology schemata which may emerge as accepted standards in the future. These elements are composed of sub-elements, which are structured in order to facilitate the use of the schema in a variety of crop wild relative conservation and use contexts. Pre-existing standards for data representation in conservation biology were reviewed and incorporated into the schema as restrictions on element data contents, where appropriate. CWRML provides a flexible data communication format for representing in situ and ex situ conservation status of individual taxa as well as their utilisation potential. The development of the schema highlights a number of instances where additional standards-development may

ABCE1 is a highly conserved RNA silencing suppressor.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kairi Kärblane

Full Text Available ATP-binding cassette sub-family E member 1 (ABCE1 is a highly conserved protein among eukaryotes and archaea. Recent studies have identified ABCE1 as a ribosome-recycling factor important for translation termination in mammalian cells, yeast and also archaea. Here we report another conserved function of ABCE1. We have previously described AtRLI2, the homolog of ABCE1 in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, as an endogenous suppressor of RNA silencing. In this study we show that this function is conserved: human ABCE1 is able to suppress RNA silencing in Nicotiana benthamiana plants, in mammalian HEK293 cells and in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Using co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry, we found a number of potential ABCE1-interacting proteins that might support its function as an endogenous suppressor of RNA interference. The interactor candidates are associated with epigenetic regulation, transcription, RNA processing and mRNA surveillance. In addition, one of the identified proteins is translin, which together with its binding partner TRAX supports RNA interference.

Design of JMTR high-performance fuel element

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, Fumio; Shimakawa, Satoshi; Komori, Yoshihiro; Tsuchihashi, Keiichiro; Kaminaga, Fumito

1999-01-01

For test and research reactors, the core conversion to low-enriched uranium fuel is required from the viewpoint of non-proliferation of nuclear weapon material. Improvements of core performance are also required in order to respond to recent advanced utilization needs. In order to meet both requirements, a high-performance fuel element of high uranium density with Cd wires as burnable absorbers was adopted for JMTR core conversion to low-enriched uranium fuel. From the result of examination of an adaptability of a few group constants generated by a conventional transport-theory calculation with an isotropic scattering approximation to a few group diffusion-theory core calculation for design of the JMTR high-performance fuel element, it was clear that the depletion of Cd wires was not able to be predicted accurately using group constants generated by the conventional method. Therefore, a new generation method of a few group constants in consideration of an incident neutron spectrum at Cd wire was developed. As the result, the most suitable high-performance fuel element for JMTR was designed successfully, and that allowed extension of operation duration without refueling to almost twice as long and offer of irradiation field with constant neutron flux. (author)

Grant request: to implement energy conservation measures as part of the state original and supplemental energy conservation plans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-01-16

The program measures described in this document comprise a grant request to DOE under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and the Energy Conservation and Production Act of 1976. The amount requested, $5,555,000, will allow the extension, acceleration, and implementation of energy conservation activities already in progress in California. Accomplishments to date have included the adoption of residential standards, and the implementation of an energy survey program for public buildings. Efficiency standards have been established for refrigerators and room and central air conditioners, appliances which utilize a significant amount of residential energy. Before the end of 1977, efficiency standards will be established for clothes dryers, washers, and water heaters. Program elements are: technical/financial assistance; public awareness; standards setting; solar element; research/analysis/evaluation; and coordination and management.

Soil conservation in Central America and Panama: current problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Popenoe, H

1976-06-01

Soil conservation measures in Central America go back to the Maya civilization, in which terracing was employed. After the Spanish conquest, plowing, livestock raising, and the succession of social and political changes all contributed to accelerate erosion. Through the past few decades, awareness of the need for soil conservation has again increased; El Salvador and Costa Rica began efforts in that direction in 1943. For sometime, the use of machinery and chemical fertilizers has masked the loss of topsoil, but under recent increases in population pressures, soil conservation measures are gaining in importance. Important agents of erosion in the tropics are heavy seasonal rains at high elevations, alternating with long dry seasons; wind erosion; and landslides after saturation of the soil during prolonged rains. Modern machinery often hastens soil removal, as do also overgrazing, deforestation and vertical crop rows. Under the present energy crisis, human labor is becoming again a significant element in crop production, and soil conservation becomes thereby more feasible and more important.

Conservation biogeography - foundations, concepts and challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richardson, Timothy; Whittaker, R.J.; Whittaker, Robert J.

2010-01-01

Conservation biogeography involves the application of biogeographical principles, theories, and analyses to problems regarding biodiversity conservation. The field was formally defined in 2005, and considerable research has been conducted in the ensuing 5 years. This editorial sets the context...... for 16 contributions in a special issue of Diversity and Distributions on developments and challenges in conservation biogeography. Papers are grouped into the following main themes: species distribution modelling; data requirements; approaches for assigning conservation priorities; approaches...... for integrating information from numerous disparate sources; special challenges involving invasive species; and the crucial issue of determining how elements of biodiversity are likely to respond to rapid climate change. One paper provides a synthesis of requirements for a robust conservation biogeography...

Homologous high-throughput expression and purification of highly conserved E coli proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duchmann Rainer

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genetic factors and a dysregulated immune response towards commensal bacteria contribute to the pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD. Animal models demonstrated that the normal intestinal flora is crucial for the development of intestinal inflammation. However, due to the complexity of the intestinal flora, it has been difficult to design experiments for detection of proinflammatory bacterial antigen(s involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Several studies indicated a potential association of E. coli with IBD. In addition, T cell clones of IBD patients were shown to cross react towards antigens from different enteric bacterial species and thus likely responded to conserved bacterial antigens. We therefore chose highly conserved E. coli proteins as candidate antigens for abnormal T cell responses in IBD and used high-throughput techniques for cloning, expression and purification under native conditions of a set of 271 conserved E. coli proteins for downstream immunologic studies. Results As a standardized procedure, genes were PCR amplified and cloned into the expression vector pQTEV2 in order to express proteins N-terminally fused to a seven-histidine-tag. Initial small-scale expression and purification under native conditions by metal chelate affinity chromatography indicated that the vast majority of target proteins were purified in high yields. Targets that revealed low yields after purification probably due to weak solubility were shuttled into Gateway (Invitrogen destination vectors in order to enhance solubility by N-terminal fusion of maltose binding protein (MBP, N-utilizing substance A (NusA, or glutathione S-transferase (GST to the target protein. In addition, recombinant proteins were treated with polymyxin B coated magnetic beads in order to remove lipopolysaccharide (LPS. Thus, 73% of the targeted proteins could be expressed and purified in large-scale to give soluble proteins in the range of 500

Characterization of high-current, high-temperature superconductor current lead elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niemann, R.C.; Evans, D.J.; Fisher, B.L.; Brockenborough, W.E.; Roberts, P.R.; Rodenbush, A.J.

1996-08-01

The refrigeration loads of current leads for superconducting magnets can be significantly reduced by using high-temperature superconductor (HTS) leads. An HTS conductor type that is well suited for this application is a laminated sintered stack of HTS powder-in-tube (PIT) tapes. The superconducting elements are normally characterized by their manufacturer by measuring critical currents at 77 K in self field. Additional characterization, which correlates electrical performance at 77 K and at lower temperatures with applied magnetic fields, provides the current lead designer and conductor element manufacturer with critical information. For HTS conductor elements comprising a laminated and sintered stack of Bi-2223 PIT tapes having an alloyed Ag sheath, this characterization uses variable applied fields and operating temperatures

High accuracy 3D electromagnetic finite element analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, Eric M.

1997-01-01

A high accuracy 3D electromagnetic finite element field solver employing quadratic hexahedral elements and quadratic mixed-order one-form basis functions will be described. The solver is based on an object-oriented C++ class library. Test cases demonstrate that frequency errors less than 10 ppm can be achieved using modest workstations, and that the solutions have no contamination from spurious modes. The role of differential geometry and geometrical physics in finite element analysis will also be discussed

High accuracy 3D electromagnetic finite element analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, E.M.

1996-01-01

A high accuracy 3D electromagnetic finite element field solver employing quadratic hexahedral elements and quadratic mixed-order one-form basis functions will be described. The solver is based on an object-oriented C++ class library. Test cases demonstrate that frequency errors less than 10 ppm can be achieved using modest workstations, and that the solutions have no contamination from spurious modes. The role of differential geometry and geometrical physics in finite element analysis will also be discussed

Enhancing Conservation with High Resolution Productivity Datasets for the Conterminous United States

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Nathaniel Paul

Human driven alteration of the earth's terrestrial surface is accelerating through land use changes, intensification of human activity, climate change, and other anthropogenic pressures. These changes occur at broad spatio-temporal scales, challenging our ability to effectively monitor and assess the impacts and subsequent conservation strategies. While satellite remote sensing (SRS) products enable monitoring of the earth's terrestrial surface continuously across space and time, the practical applications for conservation and management of these products are limited. Often the processes driving ecological change occur at fine spatial resolutions and are undetectable given the resolution of available datasets. Additionally, the links between SRS data and ecologically meaningful metrics are weak. Recent advances in cloud computing technology along with the growing record of high resolution SRS data enable the development of SRS products that quantify ecologically meaningful variables at relevant scales applicable for conservation and management. The focus of my dissertation is to improve the applicability of terrestrial gross and net primary productivity (GPP/NPP) datasets for the conterminous United States (CONUS). In chapter one, I develop a framework for creating high resolution datasets of vegetation dynamics. I use the entire archive of Landsat 5, 7, and 8 surface reflectance data and a novel gap filling approach to create spatially continuous 30 m, 16-day composites of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 1986 to 2016. In chapter two, I integrate this with other high resolution datasets and the MOD17 algorithm to create the first high resolution GPP and NPP datasets for CONUS. I demonstrate the applicability of these products for conservation and management, showing the improvements beyond currently available products. In chapter three, I utilize this dataset to evaluate the relationships between land ownership and terrestrial production

Detection of Weakly Conserved Ancestral Mammalian RegulatorySequences by Primate Comparisons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Qian-fei; Prabhakar, Shyam; Chanan, Sumita; Cheng,Jan-Fang; Rubin, Edward M.; Boffelli, Dario

2006-06-01

Genomic comparisons between human and distant, non-primatemammals are commonly used to identify cis-regulatory elements based onconstrained sequence evolution. However, these methods fail to detectcryptic functional elements, which are too weakly conserved among mammalsto distinguish from nonfunctional DNA. To address this problem, weexplored the potential of deep intra-primate sequence comparisons. Wesequenced the orthologs of 558 kb of human genomic sequence, coveringmultiple loci involved in cholesterol homeostasis, in 6 nonhumanprimates. Our analysis identified 6 noncoding DNA elements displayingsignificant conservation among primates, but undetectable in more distantcomparisons. In vitro and in vivo tests revealed that at least three ofthese 6 elements have regulatory function. Notably, the mouse orthologsof these three functional human sequences had regulatory activity despitetheir lack of significant sequence conservation, indicating that they arecryptic ancestral cis-regulatory elements. These regulatory elementscould still be detected in a smaller set of three primate speciesincluding human, rhesus and marmoset. Since the human and rhesus genomesequences are already available, and the marmoset genome is activelybeing sequenced, the primate-specific conservation analysis describedhere can be applied in the near future on a whole-genome scale, tocomplement the annotation provided by more distant speciescomparisons.

Concentrations of Elements in Hellbender Blood and Fish Fillets from the Missouri Department of Conservation Monitoring Programs

Science.gov (United States)

May, Thomas W.; Walther, Mike J.; Brumbaugh, William G.

2007-01-01

This report presents the results of contaminant monitoring surveys conducted annually by the Missouri Department of Conservation to examine the levels of selected elemental contaminants in hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) blood and fish. Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus, Ictalurus punctatus, Pylodictis olivaris), redhorse (Moxostoma anisorum, Moxostoma erythrurum), bass (Micropterus salmoides, Micropterus punctulatus, Micropterus Lacepede, Ambloplites rupestris), walleye (Sander vitreus), and sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) were collected from 17 sites as part of the Department's General Contaminant Monitoring Program. Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and other sunfish (Lepomis megalotis, Lepomis cyanellus) were collected from 18 sites as part of the Department's Resource Assessment and Monitoring Program. Blood from hellbenders was collected from seven sites as part of the Department's Hellbender Monitoring Program.

The PSEUDODOJO: Training and grading a 85 element optimized norm-conserving pseudopotential table

Science.gov (United States)

van Setten, M. J.; Giantomassi, M.; Bousquet, E.; Verstraete, M. J.; Hamann, D. R.; Gonze, X.; Rignanese, G.-M.

2018-05-01

First-principles calculations in crystalline structures are often performed with a planewave basis set. To make the number of basis functions tractable two approximations are usually introduced: core electrons are frozen and the diverging Coulomb potential near the nucleus is replaced by a smoother expression. The norm-conserving pseudopotential was the first successful method to apply these approximations in a fully ab initio way. Later on, more efficient and more exact approaches were developed based on the ultrasoft and the projector augmented wave formalisms. These formalisms are however more complex and developing new features in these frameworks is usually more difficult than in the norm-conserving framework. Most of the existing tables of norm-conserving pseudopotentials, generated long ago, do not include the latest developments, are not systematically tested or are not designed primarily for high precision. In this paper, we present our PSEUDODOJO framework for developing and testing full tables of pseudopotentials, and demonstrate it with a new table generated with the ONCVPSP approach. The PSEUDODOJO is an open source project, building on the ABIPY package, for developing and systematically testing pseudopotentials. At present it contains 7 different batteries of tests executed with ABINIT, which are performed as a function of the energy cutoff. The results of these tests are then used to provide hints for the energy cutoff for actual production calculations. Our final set contains 141 pseudopotentials split into a standard and a stringent accuracy table. In total around 70,000 calculations were performed to test the pseudopotentials. The process of developing the final table led to new insights into the effects of both the core-valence partitioning and the non-linear core corrections on the stability, convergence, and transferability of norm-conserving pseudopotentials. The PSEUDODOJO hence provides a set of pseudopotentials and general purpose tools

Integrating conservation costs into sea level rise adaptive conservation prioritization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingjian Zhu

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Biodiversity conservation requires strategic investment as resources for conservation are often limited. As sea level rises, it is important and necessary to consider both sea level rise and costs in conservation decision making. In this study, we consider costs of conservation in an integrated modeling process that incorporates a geomorphological model (SLAMM, species habitat models, and conservation prioritization (Zonation to identify conservation priorities in the face of landscape dynamics due to sea level rise in the Matanzas River basin of northeast Florida. Compared to conservation priorities that do not consider land costs in the analysis process, conservation priorities that consider costs in the planning process change significantly. The comparison demonstrates that some areas with high conservation values might be identified as lower priorities when integrating economic costs in the planning process and some areas with low conservation values might be identified as high priorities when considering costs in the planning process. This research could help coastal resources managers make informed decisions about where and how to allocate conservation resources more wisely to facilitate biodiversity adaptation to sea level rise.

Proteome-wide mapping of the Drosophila acetylome demonstrates a high degree of conservation of lysine acetylation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weinert, Brian T; Wagner, Sebastian A; Horn, Heiko

2011-01-01

Posttranslational modification of proteins by acetylation and phosphorylation regulates most cellular processes in living organisms. Surprisingly, the evolutionary conservation of phosphorylated serine and threonine residues is only marginally higher than that of unmodified serines and threonines....... With high-resolution mass spectrometry, we identified 1981 lysine acetylation sites in the proteome of Drosophila melanogaster. We used data sets of experimentally identified acetylation and phosphorylation sites in Drosophila and humans to analyze the evolutionary conservation of these modification sites...... between flies and humans. Site-level conservation analysis revealed that acetylation sites are highly conserved, significantly more so than phosphorylation sites. Furthermore, comparison of lysine conservation in Drosophila and humans with that in nematodes and zebrafish revealed that acetylated lysines...

Conservation and restoration of ornamental elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Rallo Gruss

1999-12-01

Full Text Available Intervention on a building as complex and rich in ornamentation as the Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas requires special attention as regards the restoration of all the singular elements, both inside and outside, and the different finishes and furnishings. Within this methodology of integral restoration, it is worth pointing out especially the consolidation and cleaning of the emblematic alabaster portal, the restoration of the paintings and the treatment of the different collections of tiles.

High-resolution finite-difference algorithms for conservation laws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Towers, J.D.

1987-01-01

A new class of Total Variation Decreasing (TVD) schemes for 2-dimensional scalar conservation laws is constructed using either flux-limited or slope-limited numerical fluxes. The schemes are proven to have formal second-order accuracy in regions where neither u/sub x/ nor y/sub y/ vanishes. A new class of high-resolution large-time-step TVD schemes is constructed by adding flux-limited correction terms to the first-order accurate large-time-step version of the Engquist-Osher scheme. The use of the transport-collapse operator in place of the exact solution operator for the construction of difference schemes is studied. The production of spurious extrema by difference schemes is studied. A simple condition guaranteeing the nonproduction of spurious extrema is derived. A sufficient class of entropy inequalities for a conservation law with a flux having a single inflection point is presented. Finite-difference schemes satisfying a discrete version of each entropy inequality are only first-order accurate

Functional dissection of the promoter of the pollen-specific gene NTP303 reveals a novel pollen-specific, and conserved cis-regulatory element.

Science.gov (United States)

Weterings, K; Schrauwen, J; Wullems, G; Twell, D

1995-07-01

Regulatory elements within the promoter of the pollen-specific NTP303 gene from tobacco were analysed by transient and stable expression analyses. Analysis of precisely targeted mutations showed that the NTP303 promoter is not regulated by any of the previously described pollen-specific cis-regulatory elements. However, two adjacent regions from -103 to -86 bp and from -86 to -59 bp were shown to contain sequences which positively regulated the NTP303 promoter. Both of these regions were capable of driving pollen-specific expression from a heterologous promoter, independent of orientation and in an additive manner. The boundaries of the minimal, functional NTP303 promoter were determined to lie within the region -86 to -51 bp. The sequence AAATGA localized from -94 to -89 bp was identified as a novel cis-acting element, of which the TGA triplet was shown to comprise an active part. This element was shown to be completely conserved in the similarly regulated promoter of the Bp 10 gene from Brassica napus encoding a homologue of the NTP303 gene.

Human developmental enhancers conserved between deuterostomes and protostomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shoa L Clarke

Full Text Available The identification of homologies, whether morphological, molecular, or genetic, is fundamental to our understanding of common biological principles. Homologies bridging the great divide between deuterostomes and protostomes have served as the basis for current models of animal evolution and development. It is now appreciated that these two clades share a common developmental toolkit consisting of conserved transcription factors and signaling pathways. These patterning genes sometimes show common expression patterns and genetic interactions, suggesting the existence of similar or even conserved regulatory apparatus. However, previous studies have found no regulatory sequence conserved between deuterostomes and protostomes. Here we describe the first such enhancers, which we call bilaterian conserved regulatory elements (Bicores. Bicores show conservation of sequence and gene synteny. Sequence conservation of Bicores reflects conserved patterns of transcription factor binding sites. We predict that Bicores act as response elements to signaling pathways, and we show that Bicores are developmental enhancers that drive expression of transcriptional repressors in the vertebrate central nervous system. Although the small number of identified Bicores suggests extensive rewiring of cis-regulation between the protostome and deuterostome clades, additional Bicores may be revealed as our understanding of cis-regulatory logic and sample of bilaterian genomes continue to grow.

High accuracy 3D electromagnetic finite element analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, E.M.

1997-01-01

A high accuracy 3D electromagnetic finite element field solver employing quadratic hexahedral elements and quadratic mixed-order one-form basis functions will be described. The solver is based on an object-oriented C++ class library. Test cases demonstrate that frequency errors less than 10 ppm can be achieved using modest workstations, and that the solutions have no contamination from spurious modes. The role of differential geometry and geometrical physics in finite element analysis will also be discussed. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Conservative Management for Stable High Ankle Injuries in Professional Football Players.

Science.gov (United States)

Knapik, Derrick M; Trem, Anthony; Sheehan, Joseph; Salata, Michael J; Voos, James E

High ankle "syndesmosis" injuries are common in American football players relative to the general population. At the professional level, syndesmotic sprains represent a challenging and unique injury lacking a standardized rehabilitation protocol during conservative management. PubMed, Biosis Preview, SPORTDiscus, PEDro, and EMBASE databases were searched using the terms syndesmotic injuries, American football, conservative management, and rehabilitation. Clinical review. Level 3. When compared with lateral ankle sprains, syndesmosis injuries result in significantly prolonged recovery times and games lost. For stable syndesmotic injuries, conservative management features a brief period of immobilization and protected weightbearing followed by progressive strengthening exercises and running, and athletes can expect to return to competition in 2 to 6 weeks. Further research investigating the efficacy of dry needling and blood flow restriction therapy is necessary to evaluate the benefit of these techniques in the rehabilitation process. Successful conservative management of stable syndesmotic injuries in professional American football athletes requires a thorough understanding of the anatomy, injury mechanisms, diagnosis, and rehabilitation strategies utilized in elite athletes.

RUDI, a short interspersed element of the V-SINE superfamily widespread in molluscan genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Luchetti, Andrea; Šatović, Eva; Mantovani, Barbara; Plohl, Miroslav

2016-06-01

Short interspersed elements (SINEs) are non-autonomous retrotransposons that are widespread in eukaryotic genomes. They exhibit a chimeric sequence structure consisting of a small RNA-related head, an anonymous body and an AT-rich tail. Although their turnover and de novo emergence is rapid, some SINE elements found in distantly related species retain similarity in certain core segments (or highly conserved domains, HCD). We have characterized a new SINE element named RUDI in the bivalve molluscs Ruditapes decussatus and R. philippinarum and found this element to be widely distributed in the genomes of a number of mollusc species. An unexpected structural feature of RUDI is the HCD domain type V, which was first found in non-amniote vertebrate SINEs and in the SINE from one cnidarian species. In addition to the V domain, the overall sequence conservation pattern of RUDI elements resembles that found in ancient AmnSINE (~310 Myr old) and Au SINE (~320 Myr old) families, suggesting that RUDI might be among the most ancient SINE families. Sequence conservation suggests a monophyletic origin of RUDI. Nucleotide variability and phylogenetic analyses suggest long-term vertical inheritance combined with at least one horizontal transfer event as the most parsimonious explanation for the observed taxonomic distribution.

Spatial overlap between environmental policy instruments and areas of high conservation value in forest.

Science.gov (United States)

Sverdrup-Thygeson, Anne; Søgaard, Gunnhild; Rusch, Graciela M; Barton, David N

2014-01-01

In order to safeguard biodiversity in forest we need to know how forest policy instruments work. Here we use a nationwide network of 9400 plots in productive forest to analyze to what extent large-scale policy instruments, individually and together, target forest of high conservation value in Norway. We studied both instruments working through direct regulation; Strict Protection and Landscape Protection, and instruments working through management planning and voluntary schemes of forest certification; Wilderness Area and Mountain Forest. As forest of high conservation value (HCV-forest) we considered the extent of 12 Biodiversity Habitats and the extent of Old-Age Forest. We found that 22% of productive forest area contained Biodiversity Habitats. More than 70% of this area was not covered by any large-scale instruments. Mountain Forest covered 23%, while Strict Protection and Wilderness both covered 5% of the Biodiversity Habitat area. A total of 9% of productive forest area contained Old-Age Forest, and the relative coverage of the four instruments was similar as for Biodiversity Habitats. For all instruments, except Landscape Protection, the targeted areas contained significantly higher proportions of HCV-forest than areas not targeted by these instruments. Areas targeted by Strict Protection had higher proportions of HCV-forest than areas targeted by other instruments, except for areas targeted by Wilderness Area which showed similar proportions of Biodiversity Habitats. There was a substantial amount of spatial overlap between the policy tools, but no incremental conservation effect of overlapping instruments in terms of contributing to higher percentages of targeted HCV-forest. Our results reveal that although the current policy mix has an above average representation of forest of high conservation value, the targeting efficiency in terms of area overlap is limited. There is a need to improve forest conservation and a potential to cover this need by better

Combining finite element and finite difference methods for isotropic elastic wave simulations in an energy-conserving manner

KAUST Repository

Gao, Longfei

2018-02-22

We consider numerical simulation of the isotropic elastic wave equations arising from seismic applications with non-trivial land topography. The more flexible finite element method is applied to the shallow region of the simulation domain to account for the topography, and combined with the more efficient finite difference method that is applied to the deep region of the simulation domain. We demonstrate that these two discretization methods, albeit starting from different formulations of the elastic wave equation, can be joined together smoothly via weakly imposed interface conditions. Discrete energy analysis is employed to derive the proper interface treatment, leading to an overall discretization that is energy-conserving. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed interface treatment.

Combining finite element and finite difference methods for isotropic elastic wave simulations in an energy-conserving manner

KAUST Repository

Gao, Longfei; Keyes, David E.

2018-01-01

We consider numerical simulation of the isotropic elastic wave equations arising from seismic applications with non-trivial land topography. The more flexible finite element method is applied to the shallow region of the simulation domain to account for the topography, and combined with the more efficient finite difference method that is applied to the deep region of the simulation domain. We demonstrate that these two discretization methods, albeit starting from different formulations of the elastic wave equation, can be joined together smoothly via weakly imposed interface conditions. Discrete energy analysis is employed to derive the proper interface treatment, leading to an overall discretization that is energy-conserving. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed interface treatment.

High-Order Entropy Stable Finite Difference Schemes for Nonlinear Conservation Laws: Finite Domains

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Travis C.; Carpenter, Mark H.

2013-01-01

Developing stable and robust high-order finite difference schemes requires mathematical formalism and appropriate methods of analysis. In this work, nonlinear entropy stability is used to derive provably stable high-order finite difference methods with formal boundary closures for conservation laws. Particular emphasis is placed on the entropy stability of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. A newly derived entropy stable weighted essentially non-oscillatory finite difference method is used to simulate problems with shocks and a conservative, entropy stable, narrow-stencil finite difference approach is used to approximate viscous terms.

Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands: Symposium proceedings

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel W. Uresk; Greg L. Schenbeck; James T. O' Rourke

1997-01-01

These proceedings are the result of a symposium, "Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands" held on August 17, 1995 in Fort Robinson State Park, NE. The purpose of this symposium was to provide a forum to discuss how elements of rangeland biodiversity are being conserved today. We asked, "How resilient and sustainable are rangeland systems to the...

In Vivo Enhancer Analysis Chromosome 16 Conserved NoncodingSequences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pennacchio, Len A.; Ahituv, Nadav; Moses, Alan M.; Nobrega,Marcelo; Prabhakar, Shyam; Shoukry, Malak; Minovitsky, Simon; Visel,Axel; Dubchak, Inna; Holt, Amy; Lewis, Keith D.; Plajzer-Frick, Ingrid; Akiyama, Jennifer; De Val, Sarah; Afzal, Veena; Black, Brian L.; Couronne, Olivier; Eisen, Michael B.; Rubin, Edward M.

2006-02-01

The identification of enhancers with predicted specificitiesin vertebrate genomes remains a significant challenge that is hampered bya lack of experimentally validated training sets. In this study, weleveraged extreme evolutionary sequence conservation as a filter toidentify putative gene regulatory elements and characterized the in vivoenhancer activity of human-fish conserved and ultraconserved1 noncodingelements on human chromosome 16 as well as such elements from elsewherein the genome. We initially tested 165 of these extremely conservedsequences in a transgenic mouse enhancer assay and observed that 48percent (79/165) functioned reproducibly as tissue-specific enhancers ofgene expression at embryonic day 11.5. While driving expression in abroad range of anatomical structures in the embryo, the majority of the79 enhancers drove expression in various regions of the developingnervous system. Studying a set of DNA elements that specifically droveforebrain expression, we identified DNA signatures specifically enrichedin these elements and used these parameters to rank all ~;3,400human-fugu conserved noncoding elements in the human genome. The testingof the top predictions in transgenic mice resulted in a three-foldenrichment for sequences with forebrain enhancer activity. These datadramatically expand the catalogue of in vivo-characterized human geneenhancers and illustrate the future utility of such training sets for avariety of iological applications including decoding the regulatoryvocabulary of the human genome.

Beauty-conserving strangeness-changing rare semileptonic decays of Bs meson

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harpreet Kaur

1999-01-01

The beauty-conserving strangeness-changing decays of B s meson are examined. In the charm sector, charm-conserving strangeness changing (Δc = 0, Δs ≠ 0) decays are Cabibbo suppressed and are governed by the CKM element V us which is much smaller than the CKM diagonal element V cs , so may be of little interest. On the other hand, in the b-sector, beauty-conserving strangeness changing (Δb = 0, Δs ≠ 0) decays are CKM allowed as the CKM matrix element V us governing such decays is much larger than V bc or V bu which govern respectively the b→c or b→u transitions. The phase space available, however, is too small for the decays considered here. The numerical estimates for the decay widths of two such modes of B s meson are presented. (author)

MOUNTAIN NATURAL BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN RUSSIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arkady Tishkov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available High biodiversity and degree of endemism of mountain biota strengthen the mountain regions’ status for the territorial nature conservation. Analysis of the protected areas’ representativeness in various mountain regions of Russia shows some discrepancy between their quantity, square and regional biodiversity originality. The biggest divergences are marked for the Northern Caucasus. The main problems: small area of the protected territories and also cluster character of their spatial distribution, mostly in the high mountains are not supposed to conform with the highest values of the regional flora’s and fauna’s uniqueness, to compensate representativeness of the protected biota and, in anyway, to correspond with the purpose of nature protection frame—the protected territories ecologic network’s forming. The situation in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East seems to be better. The large areas of the protected territories are in general agreement with the high originality of the nature ecosystems. Nevertheless each concrete case needs analysis of the regional biota’s and ecosystems’ biodiversity distribution within the protected areas, including character and (or unique elements of the regional biodiversity to be held. The development of the effectual territorial conservation of mountain regions needs differential approach. The creation of the large representative parcels of nature landscapes in the key-areas has the considerable meaning in the low-developed regions, difficult to access. And well-developed regions have the necessity of nature protected territories’ network development and the planning of the ecological frame’s forming. The territorial biodiversity conservation, including the system of federal, regional and local levels with protective conservation of the rare species has to be combined with ecosystem’s restoration, especially in the zones disturbed by erosion, recreation and military actions. Also it is

Scanning Auger microscopy for high lateral and depth elemental sensitivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez, E., E-mail: eugenie.martinez@cea.fr [CEA, LETI, MINATEC Campus, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Yadav, P. [CEA, LETI, MINATEC Campus, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Bouttemy, M. [Institut Lavoisier de Versailles, 45 av. des Etats-Unis, 78035 Versailles Cedex (France); Renault, O.; Borowik, Ł.; Bertin, F. [CEA, LETI, MINATEC Campus, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Etcheberry, A. [Institut Lavoisier de Versailles, 45 av. des Etats-Unis, 78035 Versailles Cedex (France); Chabli, A. [CEA, LETI, MINATEC Campus, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

2013-12-15

Highlights: •SAM performances and limitations are illustrated on real practical cases such as the analysis of nanowires and nanodots. •High spatial elemental resolution is shown with the analysis of reference semiconducting Al{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 0.3}As/GaAs multilayers. •High in-depth elemental resolution is also illustrated. Auger depth profiling with low energy ion beams allows revealing ultra-thin layers (∼1 nm). •Analysis of cross-sectional samples is another effective approach to obtain in-depth elemental information. -- Abstract: Scanning Auger microscopy is currently gaining interest for investigating nanostructures or thin multilayers stacks developed for nanotechnologies. New generation Auger nanoprobes combine high lateral (∼10 nm), energy (0.1%) and depth (∼2 nm) resolutions thus offering the possibility to analyze the elemental composition as well as the chemical state, at the nanometre scale. We report here on the performances and limitations on practical examples from nanotechnology research. The spatial elemental sensitivity is illustrated with the analysis of Al{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 0.3}As/GaAs heterostructures, Si nanowires and SiC nanodots. Regarding the elemental in-depth composition, two effective approaches are presented: low energy depth profiling to reveal ultra-thin layers (∼1 nm) and analysis of cross-sectional samples.

Constrained dansyl derivatives reveal bacterial specificity of highly conserved thymidylate synthases.

Science.gov (United States)

Calò, Sanuele; Tondi, Donatella; Ferrari, Stefania; Venturelli, Alberto; Ghelli, Stefano; Costi, Maria Paola

2008-03-25

The elucidation of the structural/functional specificities of highly conserved enzymes remains a challenging area of investigation, and enzymes involved in cellular replication are important targets for functional studies and drug discovery. Thymidylate synthase (TS, ThyA) governs the synthesis of thymidylate for use in DNA synthesis. The present study focused on Lactobacillus casei TS (LcTS) and Escherichia coli TS (EcTS), which exhibit 50 % sequence identity and strong folding similarity. We have successfully designed and validated a chemical model in which linear, but not constrained, dansyl derivatives specifically complement the LcTS active site. Conversely, chemically constrained dansyl derivatives showed up to 1000-fold improved affinity for EcTS relative to the inhibitory activity of linear derivatives. This study demonstrates that the accurate design of small ligands can uncover functional features of highly conserved enzymes.

The lytic origin of herpesvirus papio is highly homologous to Epstein-Barr virus ori-Lyt: evolutionary conservation of transcriptional activation and replication signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryon, J J; Fixman, E D; Houchens, C; Zong, J; Lieberman, P M; Chang, Y N; Hayward, G S; Hayward, S D

1993-01-01

Herpesvirus papio (HVP) is a B-lymphotropic baboon virus with an estimated 40% homology to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We have cloned and sequenced ori-Lyt of herpesvirus papio and found a striking degree of nucleotide homology (89%) with ori-Lyt of EBV. Transcriptional elements form an integral part of EBV ori-Lyt. The promoter and enhancer domains of EBV ori-Lyt are conserved in herpesvirus papio. The EBV ori-Lyt promoter contains four binding sites for the EBV lytic cycle transactivator Zta, and the enhancer includes one Zta and two Rta response elements. All five of the Zta response elements and one of the Rta motifs are conserved in HVP ori-Lyt, and the HVP DS-L leftward promoter and the enhancer were activated in transient transfection assays by the EBV Zta and Rta transactivators. The EBV ori-Lyt enhancer contains a palindromic sequence, GGTCAGCTGACC, centered on a PvuII restriction site. This sequence, with a single base change, is also present in the HVP ori-Lyt enhancer. DNase I footprinting demonstrated that the PvuII sequence was bound by a protein present in a Raji nuclear extract. Mobility shift and competition assays using oligonucleotide probes identified this sequence as a binding site for the cellular transcription factor MLTF. Mutagenesis of the binding site indicated that MLTF contributes significantly to the constitutive activity of the ori-Lyt enhancer. The high degree of conservation of cis-acting signal sequences in HVP ori-Lyt was further emphasized by the finding that an HVP ori-Lyt-containing plasmid was replicated in Vero cells by a set of cotransfected EBV replication genes. The central domain of EBV ori-Lyt contains two related AT-rich palindromes, one of which is partially duplicated in the HVP sequence. The AT-rich palindromes are functionally important cis-acting motifs. Deletion of these palindromes severely diminished replication of an ori-Lyt target plasmid. Images PMID:8389916

Information, conservation and retrieval

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eng, T [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co., Stockholm (Sweden); Norberg, E [National Swedish Archives, Stockholm (Sweden); Torbacke, J [Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of History; Jensen, M [Swedish Radiation Protection Inst., Stockholm (Sweden)

1996-12-01

The seminar took place on the Swedish ship for transportation of radioactive wastes, M/S Sigyn, which at summer time is used for exhibitions. The seminar treated items related to general information needs in society and questions related to radioactive waste, i.e. how knowledge about a waste repository should be passed on to future generations. Three contributions are contained in the report from the seminar and are indexed separately: `Active preservation - otherwise no achieves`; `The conservation and dissemination of information - A democratic issue`; and, `Conservation and retrieval of information - Elements of a strategy to inform future societies about nuclear waste repositories`.

Information, conservation and retrieval

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eng, T.; Norberg, E.; Torbacke, J.

1996-12-01

The seminar took place on the Swedish ship for transportation of radioactive wastes, M/S Sigyn, which at summer time is used for exhibitions. The seminar treated items related to general information needs in society and questions related to radioactive waste, i.e. how knowledge about a waste repository should be passed on to future generations. Three contributions are contained in the report from the seminar and are indexed separately: 'Active preservation - otherwise no achieves'; 'The conservation and dissemination of information - A democratic issue'; and, 'Conservation and retrieval of information - Elements of a strategy to inform future societies about nuclear waste repositories'

Conservation of Repeats at the Mammalian KCNQ1OT1-CDKN1C Region Suggests a Role in Genomic Imprinting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos De Donato

2017-06-01

Full Text Available KCNQ1OT1 is located in the region with the highest number of genes showing genomic imprinting, but the mechanisms controlling the genes under its influence have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we conducted a comparative analysis of the KCNQ1/KCNQ1OT1-CDKN1C region to study its conservation across the best assembled eutherian mammalian genomes sequenced to date and analyzed potential elements that may be implicated in the control of genomic imprinting in this region. The genomic features in these regions from human, mouse, cattle, and dog show a higher number of genes and CpG islands (detected using cpgplot from EMBOSS, but lower number of repetitive elements (including short interspersed nuclear elements and long interspersed nuclear elements, compared with their whole chromosomes (detected by RepeatMasker. The KCNQ1OT1-CDKN1C region contains the highest number of conserved noncoding sequences (CNS among mammals, where we found 16 regions containing about 38 different highly conserved repetitive elements (using mVista, such as LINE1 elements: L1M4, L1MB7, HAL1, L1M4a, L1Med, and an LTR element: MLT1H. From these elements, we found 74 CNS showing high sequence identity (>70% between human, cattle, and mouse, from which we identified 13 motifs (using Multiple Em for Motif Elicitation/Motif Alignment and Search Tool with a significant probability of occurrence, 3 of which were the most frequent and were used to find transcription factor–binding sites. We detected several transcription factors (using JASPAR suite from the families SOX, FOX, and GATA. A phylogenetic analysis of these CNS from human, marmoset, mouse, rat, cattle, dog, horse, and elephant shows branches with high levels of support and very similar phylogenetic relationships among these groups, confirming previous reports. Our results suggest that functional DNA elements identified by comparative genomics in a region densely populated with imprinted mammalian genes may be

Understanding structural conservation through materials science:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fuster-López, Laura; Krarup Andersen, Cecil

2014-01-01

with tools to avoid future problems, it should be present in all conservation-restoration training programs to help promote students’ understanding of the degradation mechanisms in cultural materials (and their correlation with chemical and biological degradation) as well as the implications behind......Mechanical properties and the structure of materials are key elements in understanding how structural interventions in conservation treatments affect cultural heritage objects. In this context, engineering mechanics can help determine the strength and stability found in art objects as it can...... provide both explanation and prediction of failure in materials. It has therefore shown to be an effective method for developing useful solutions to conservation problems. Since materials science and mechanics can help conservators predict the long term consequences of their treatments and provide them...

Saha's ionization equation for high Z elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godwal, B.K.; Sikka, S.K.

1977-01-01

Saha's ionization equation has been solved for high Z elements with the aim of providing input for opacity calculations. Results are presented for two elements, tungsten and uranium. The ionization potentials have been evaluated using the simple Bhor's formula with suitable effective charges for ions. The reliability of the free electron density, ion concentrations, etc., obtained from the Saha's equation solutions has been checked by comparing the P and E computed from them with those given by the Thomas-Fermi-Dirac equation of state. The agreement between the two is good from temperatures above 0.2 keV. (author)

The statistics of Pearce element diagrams and the Chayes closure problem

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholls, J.

1988-05-01

Pearce element ratios are defined as having a constituent in their denominator that is conserved in a system undergoing change. The presence of a conserved element in the denominator simplifies the statistics of such ratios and renders them subject to statistical tests, especially tests of significance of the correlation coefficient between Pearce element ratios. Pearce element ratio diagrams provide unambigous tests of petrologic hypotheses because they are based on the stoichiometry of rock-forming minerals. There are three ways to recognize a conserved element: 1. The petrologic behavior of the element can be used to select conserved ones. They are usually the incompatible elements. 2. The ratio of two conserved elements will be constant in a comagmatic suite. 3. An element ratio diagram that is not constructed with a conserved element in the denominator will have a trend with a near zero intercept. The last two criteria can be tested statistically. The significance of the slope, intercept and correlation coefficient can be tested by estimating the probability of obtaining the observed values from a random population of arrays. This population of arrays must satisfy two criteria: 1. The population must contain at least one array that has the means and variances of the array of analytical data for the rock suite. 2. Arrays with the means and variances of the data must not be so abundant in the population that nearly every array selected at random has the properties of the data. The population of random closed arrays can be obtained from a population of open arrays whose elements are randomly selected from probability distributions. The means and variances of these probability distributions are themselves selected from probability distributions which have means and variances equal to a hypothetical open array that would give the means and variances of the data on closure. This hypothetical open array is called the Chayes array. Alternatively, the population of

Local Responses to Participatory Conservation in Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

Science.gov (United States)

Khadka, Damodar; Nepal, Sanjay K.

2010-02-01

Biodiversity conservation has undergone a profound change in philosophy, policies and management approaches over the last forty years. The traditional top-down approach to nature protection has been widely criticized for failing to include critical social elements in management practices, and is being gradually replaced by a slew of participatory strategies under the rubric of bottom-up conservation. The new approach recognizes local communities as key partners in wildlife management and seeks their participation in social development and biodiversity conservation. However, every social context is different in its structure and functions, and in the way social groups respond to calls for participation. In order to gain a better understanding of the approach and the barriers encountered in its implementation, a questionnaire survey of 188 households was employed in the communities of the Upper Mustang extension of Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) in Nepal. The study provides a comparative analysis of community participation and its barriers between Non-Tourist (NT) and Tourist (TV) villages. The results revealed important differences between the two groups in terms of their participation in community programs, barriers to participation, and perception of benefits from participation. Owing to their distinct spatial, demographic and attitudinal differences, the two village groups have their own sets of needs, values and motivation factors which cannot be generalized and treated as such. The research clearly identifies the need for the conservation agency to be creative in devising strategies and initiatives appropriate to specific social groups so as to optimize their input in participatory conservation.

Applications of the conserved vector current theory and the partially conserved axial-vector current theory to nuclear beta-decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tint, M.

The contribution of the mesonic exchange effect to the conserved vector current in the first forbidden β-decay of Ra E is estimated under the headings: (1) The conserved vector current. (2) The CVC theory and the first forbidden β-decays. (3) Shell model calculations of some matrix-elements. (4) Direct calculation of the exchange term. Considering the mesonic exchange effect in the axial vector-current of β-decay the partially conserved axial vector current theory and experimental results of the process p + p → d + π + are examined. (U.K.)

US energy conservation and efficiency policies: Challenges and opportunities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, Robert K.; McGowan, Elizabeth; Onysko, Ganna; Scheer, Richard M.

2010-01-01

Expanding energy conservation and efficiency in every sector nationwide is one of the most cost-effective instruments for reducing US energy imports, the trade deficit and energy's environmental impacts. For these reasons, energy conservation and efficiency have been essential elements of US energy policy since the oil embargos and price spikes of the 1970s. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) is the latest federal legislation to expand and strengthen US energy conservation and efficiency policies, programs, and practices. Specifically, EISA and its recent predecessor, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct05), contain almost 200 titles with new provisions for energy conservation and efficiency aimed at improvements in vehicle fuel economy. These provisions include efficiency of appliances and lighting; energy savings in residential, commercial, and government buildings; the efficiency of industrial manufacturing plants; and the efficiency of electric power delivery and end-use. These actions have begun to contribute to new federal, state, and local policies, programs, and practices across the US, and expectations are high for increases in the level of energy savings. This paper summarizes the history of US energy conservation and efficiency policies, outlines EISA's and EPAct05's key provisions, and considers prospects for the future.

US energy conservation and efficiency policies. Challenges and opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dixon, Robert K.; Onysko, Ganna [Global Environment Facility, Climate Change and Chemicals, 1818 H Street, NW, MSN G6-602, Washington, DC 20433 (United States); McGowan, Elizabeth; Scheer, Richard M. [Energetics Incorporated, 7067 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 200, Columbia, MD 21046 (United States)

2010-11-15

Expanding energy conservation and efficiency in every sector nationwide is one of the most cost-effective instruments for reducing US energy imports, the trade deficit and energy's environmental impacts. For these reasons, energy conservation and efficiency have been essential elements of US energy policy since the oil embargos and price spikes of the 1970s. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) is the latest federal legislation to expand and strengthen US energy conservation and efficiency policies, programs, and practices. Specifically, EISA and its recent predecessor, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct05), contain almost 200 titles with new provisions for energy conservation and efficiency aimed at improvements in vehicle fuel economy. These provisions include efficiency of appliances and lighting; energy savings in residential, commercial, and government buildings; the efficiency of industrial manufacturing plants; and the efficiency of electric power delivery and end-use. These actions have begun to contribute to new federal, state, and local policies, programs, and practices across the US, and expectations are high for increases in the level of energy savings. This paper summarizes the history of US energy conservation and efficiency policies, outlines EISA's and EPAct05's key provisions, and considers prospects for the future. (author)

US energy conservation and efficiency policies: Challenges and opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dixon, Robert K. [Global Environment Facility, Climate Change and Chemicals, 1818 H Street, NW, MSN G6-602, Washington, DC 20433 (United States); McGowan, Elizabeth [Energetics Incorporated, 7067 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 200, Columbia, MD 21046 (United States); Onysko, Ganna, E-mail: gonysko@thegef.or [Global Environment Facility, Climate Change and Chemicals, 1818 H Street, NW, MSN G6-602, Washington, DC 20433 (United States); Scheer, Richard M. [Energetics Incorporated, 7067 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 200, Columbia, MD 21046 (United States)

2010-11-15

Expanding energy conservation and efficiency in every sector nationwide is one of the most cost-effective instruments for reducing US energy imports, the trade deficit and energy's environmental impacts. For these reasons, energy conservation and efficiency have been essential elements of US energy policy since the oil embargos and price spikes of the 1970s. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) is the latest federal legislation to expand and strengthen US energy conservation and efficiency policies, programs, and practices. Specifically, EISA and its recent predecessor, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct05), contain almost 200 titles with new provisions for energy conservation and efficiency aimed at improvements in vehicle fuel economy. These provisions include efficiency of appliances and lighting; energy savings in residential, commercial, and government buildings; the efficiency of industrial manufacturing plants; and the efficiency of electric power delivery and end-use. These actions have begun to contribute to new federal, state, and local policies, programs, and practices across the US, and expectations are high for increases in the level of energy savings. This paper summarizes the history of US energy conservation and efficiency policies, outlines EISA's and EPAct05's key provisions, and considers prospects for the future.

Assessment of the industrial energy-conservation program. Final report of the Committee on Assessment of the Industrial Energy Conservation Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1982-01-01

Industrial operations in the United States account for some 37% of the nation's consumptions of energy. It has been estimated that this figure will increase to 50% by 1990 unless appropriate industrial energy conservation measures are adopted. However, such measures are difficult to implement in spite of the potential of various existing, emerging, and advanced technologies that can be applied to the problem. Specifically, the application of many industrial energy conservation measures entails high economic, technological, and institutional risks and uncertainties that constrain industries from adopting such measures. Accordingly, in 1975 the federal government started a program designed to mitigate these risks and uncertainties via government-industry partnership arrangements in the interests of national energy conservation. An important element of this program is the Industrial Energy Conservation Program in the Federal Department of Energy (DOE). In June 1980, DOE asked the National Materials Advisory Board, a unit of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, to form a study committee to assess the effectiveness of the Industrial Energy Conservation Program. The committee concluded that federal support embodied in the DOE program, present and planned, is important to conserving additional industrial energy. However, the committee also concluded that the program needs various improvements in project selection and management and in transfer of results to industry. The committee's findings and recommendations and the results of the deliberation of the committee's three panels, a special report on heat and power, and a report on the visit by four members of the committee to Japan are presented.

REVIEW: The evolving linkage between conservation science and practice at The Nature Conservancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kareiva, Peter; Groves, Craig; Marvier, Michelle

2014-10-01

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was founded by ecologists as a United States land trust to purchase parcels of habitat for the purpose of scientific study. It has evolved into a global organization working in 35 countries 'to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends'. TNC is now the world 's largest conservation non-governmental organization (NGO), an early adopter of advances in ecological theory and a producer of new science as a result of practising conservation.The Nature Conservancy 's initial scientific innovation was the use of distributional data for rare species and ecological communities to systematically target lands for conservation. This innovation later evolved into a more rigorous approach known as 'Conservation by Design' that contained elements of systematic conservation planning, strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation.The next scientific transition at TNC was a move to landscape-scale projects, motivated by ideas from landscape ecology. Because the scale at which land could be set aside in areas untouched by humans fell far short of the spatial scale demanded by conservation, TNC became involved with best management practices for forestry, grazing, agriculture, hydropower and other land uses.A third scientific innovation at TNC came with the pursuit of multiobjective planning that accounts for economic and resource needs in the same plans that seek to protect biodiversity.The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment prompted TNC to become increasingly concerned with ecosystem services and the material risk to people posed by ecosystem deterioration.Finally, because conservation depends heavily upon negotiation, TNC has recently recruited social scientists, economists and communication experts. One aspect still missing, however, is a solid scientific understanding of thresholds that should be averted. Synthesis and applications . Over its 60-plus year history, scientific advances have informed The Nature Conservancy (TNC) 's actions

Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Nathan J; Roth, Robin; Klain, Sarah C; Chan, Kai M A; Clark, Douglas A; Cullman, Georgina; Epstein, Graham; Nelson, Michael Paul; Stedman, Richard; Teel, Tara L; Thomas, Rebecca E W; Wyborn, Carina; Curran, Deborah; Greenberg, Alison; Sandlos, John; Veríssimo, Diogo

2017-02-01

Despite broad recognition of the value of social sciences and increasingly vocal calls for better engagement with the human element of conservation, the conservation social sciences remain misunderstood and underutilized in practice. The conservation social sciences can provide unique and important contributions to society's understanding of the relationships between humans and nature and to improving conservation practice and outcomes. There are 4 barriers-ideological, institutional, knowledge, and capacity-to meaningful integration of the social sciences into conservation. We provide practical guidance on overcoming these barriers to mainstream the social sciences in conservation science, practice, and policy. Broadly, we recommend fostering knowledge on the scope and contributions of the social sciences to conservation, including social scientists from the inception of interdisciplinary research projects, incorporating social science research and insights during all stages of conservation planning and implementation, building social science capacity at all scales in conservation organizations and agencies, and promoting engagement with the social sciences in and through global conservation policy-influencing organizations. Conservation social scientists, too, need to be willing to engage with natural science knowledge and to communicate insights and recommendations clearly. We urge the conservation community to move beyond superficial engagement with the conservation social sciences. A more inclusive and integrative conservation science-one that includes the natural and social sciences-will enable more ecologically effective and socially just conservation. Better collaboration among social scientists, natural scientists, practitioners, and policy makers will facilitate a renewed and more robust conservation. Mainstreaming the conservation social sciences will facilitate the uptake of the full range of insights and contributions from these fields into

High-throughput sequencing, characterization and detection of new and conserved cucumber miRNAs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Germán Martínez

Full Text Available Micro RNAS (miRNAs are a class of endogenous small non coding RNAs involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. In plants, a great number of conserved and specific miRNAs, mainly arising from model species, have been identified to date. However less is known about the diversity of these regulatory RNAs in vegetal species with agricultural and/or horticultural importance. Here we report a combined approach of bioinformatics prediction, high-throughput sequencing data and molecular methods to analyze miRNAs populations in cucumber (Cucumis sativus plants. A set of 19 conserved and 6 known but non-conserved miRNA families were found in our cucumber small RNA dataset. We also identified 7 (3 with their miRNA* strand not previously described miRNAs, candidates to be cucumber-specific. To validate their description these new C. sativus miRNAs were detected by northern blot hybridization. Additionally, potential targets for most conserved and new miRNAs were identified in cucumber genome.In summary, in this study we have identified, by first time, conserved, known non-conserved and new miRNAs arising from an agronomically important species such as C. sativus. The detection of this complex population of regulatory small RNAs suggests that similarly to that observe in other plant species, cucumber miRNAs may possibly play an important role in diverse biological and metabolic processes.

Concentration of elements in whole-body fish, fish fillets, fish muscle plugs, and fish eggs from the 2008 Missouri Department of Conservation General Contaminant Monitoring Program

Science.gov (United States)

May, Thomas W.; Walther, Michael J.; Brumbaugh, William G.; McKee, Michael J.

2009-01-01

This report presents the results of a contaminant monitoring survey conducted annually by the Missouri Department of Conservation to examine the levels of selected elemental contaminants in whole-body fish, fish fillets, fish muscle plugs, and fish eggs. Whole-body, fillet, or egg samples of catfish (Ictalurus punctatus, Ictalurus furcatus, Pylodictis olivaris), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), walleye (Sander vitreus), crappie (Pomoxis annularis, Pomoxis nigromaculatus), shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus), northern hog sucker (Hypentelium nigricans), and Missouri saddled darter (Etheostoma tetrazonum) were collected from 23 sites as part of the Missouri Department of Conservation's Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program. Fish dorsal muscle plugs also were collected from walleye (Sander vitreus) at one of the sites.

Fanconi anemia core complex gene promoters harbor conserved transcription regulatory elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Daniel; Schindler, Detlev

2011-01-01

The Fanconi anemia (FA) gene family is a recent addition to the complex network of proteins that respond to and repair certain types of DNA damage in the human genome. Since little is known about the regulation of this novel group of genes at the DNA level, we characterized the promoters of the eight genes (FANCA, B, C, E, F, G, L and M) that compose the FA core complex. The promoters of these genes show the characteristic attributes of housekeeping genes, such as a high GC content and CpG islands, a lack of TATA boxes and a low conservation. The promoters functioned in a monodirectional way and were, in their most active regions, comparable in strength to the SV40 promoter in our reporter plasmids. They were also marked by a distinctive transcriptional start site (TSS). In the 5' region of each promoter, we identified a region that was able to negatively regulate the promoter activity in HeLa and HEK 293 cells in isolation. The central and 3' regions of the promoter sequences harbor binding sites for several common and rare transcription factors, including STAT, SMAD, E2F, AP1 and YY1, which indicates that there may be cross-connections to several established regulatory pathways. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and siRNA experiments confirmed the shared regulatory responses between the prominent members of the TGF-β and JAK/STAT pathways and members of the FA core complex. Although the promoters are not well conserved, they share region and sequence specific regulatory motifs and transcription factor binding sites (TBFs), and we identified a bi-partite nature to these promoters. These results support a hypothesis based on the co-evolution of the FA core complex genes that was expanded to include their promoters.

Fanconi anemia core complex gene promoters harbor conserved transcription regulatory elements.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Meier

Full Text Available The Fanconi anemia (FA gene family is a recent addition to the complex network of proteins that respond to and repair certain types of DNA damage in the human genome. Since little is known about the regulation of this novel group of genes at the DNA level, we characterized the promoters of the eight genes (FANCA, B, C, E, F, G, L and M that compose the FA core complex. The promoters of these genes show the characteristic attributes of housekeeping genes, such as a high GC content and CpG islands, a lack of TATA boxes and a low conservation. The promoters functioned in a monodirectional way and were, in their most active regions, comparable in strength to the SV40 promoter in our reporter plasmids. They were also marked by a distinctive transcriptional start site (TSS. In the 5' region of each promoter, we identified a region that was able to negatively regulate the promoter activity in HeLa and HEK 293 cells in isolation. The central and 3' regions of the promoter sequences harbor binding sites for several common and rare transcription factors, including STAT, SMAD, E2F, AP1 and YY1, which indicates that there may be cross-connections to several established regulatory pathways. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and siRNA experiments confirmed the shared regulatory responses between the prominent members of the TGF-β and JAK/STAT pathways and members of the FA core complex. Although the promoters are not well conserved, they share region and sequence specific regulatory motifs and transcription factor binding sites (TBFs, and we identified a bi-partite nature to these promoters. These results support a hypothesis based on the co-evolution of the FA core complex genes that was expanded to include their promoters.

A Global Mitigation Hierarchy for Nature Conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Bull, Joseph W; Addison, Prue F E; Burgass, Michael J; Gianuca, Dimas; Gorham, Taylor M; Jacob, Céline; Watson, James E M; Wilcox, Chris; Milner-Gulland, E J

2018-01-01

Abstract Efforts to conserve biodiversity comprise a patchwork of international goals, national-level plans, and local interventions that, overall, are failing. We discuss the potential utility of applying the mitigation hierarchy, widely used during economic development activities, to all negative human impacts on biodiversity. Evaluating all biodiversity losses and gains through the mitigation hierarchy could help prioritize consideration of conservation goals and drive the empirical evaluation of conservation investments through the explicit consideration of counterfactual trends and ecosystem dynamics across scales. We explore the challenges in using this framework to achieve global conservation goals, including operationalization and monitoring and compliance, and we discuss solutions and research priorities. The mitigation hierarchy's conceptual power and ability to clarify thinking could provide the step change needed to integrate the multiple elements of conservation goals and interventions in order to achieve successful biodiversity outcomes. PMID:29731513

Subjective risk assessment for planning conservation projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Game, Edward T; Fitzsimons, James A; Lipsett-Moore, Geoff; McDonald-Madden, Eve

2013-01-01

Conservation projects occur under many types of uncertainty. Where this uncertainty can affect achievement of a project’s objectives, there is risk. Understanding risks to project success should influence a range of strategic and tactical decisions in conservation, and yet, formal risk assessment rarely features in the guidance or practice of conservation planning. We describe how subjective risk analysis tools can be framed to facilitate the rapid identification and assessment of risks to conservation projects, and how this information should influence conservation planning. Our approach is illustrated with an assessment of risks to conservation success as part of a conservation plan for the work of The Nature Conservancy in northern Australia. Risks can be both internal and external to a project, and occur across environmental, social, economic and political systems. Based on the relative importance of a risk and the level of certainty in its assessment we propose a series of appropriate, project level responses including research, monitoring, and active amelioration. Explicit identification, prioritization, and where possible, management of risks are important elements of using conservation resources in an informed and accountable manner. (letter)

The identification and functional annotation of RNA structures conserved in vertebrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seemann, Ernst Stefan; Mirza, Aashiq Hussain; Hansen, Claus

2017-01-01

Structured elements of RNA molecules are essential in, e.g., RNA stabilization, localization and protein interaction, and their conservation across species suggests a common functional role. We computationally screened vertebrate genomes for Conserved RNA Structures (CRSs), leveraging structure-b......-structured counterparts. Our findings of transcribed uncharacterized regulatory regions that contain CRSs support their RNA-mediated functionality.......Structured elements of RNA molecules are essential in, e.g., RNA stabilization, localization and protein interaction, and their conservation across species suggests a common functional role. We computationally screened vertebrate genomes for Conserved RNA Structures (CRSs), leveraging structure......-based, rather than sequence-based, alignments. After careful correction for sequence identity and GC content, we predict ~516k human genomic regions containing CRSs. We find that a substantial fraction of human-mouse CRS regions (i) co-localize consistently with binding sites of the same RNA binding proteins...

A fast linearized conservative finite element method for the strongly coupled nonlinear fractional Schrödinger equations

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Meng; Gu, Xian-Ming; Huang, Chengming; Fei, Mingfa; Zhang, Guoyu

2018-04-01

In this paper, a fast linearized conservative finite element method is studied for solving the strongly coupled nonlinear fractional Schrödinger equations. We prove that the scheme preserves both the mass and energy, which are defined by virtue of some recursion relationships. Using the Sobolev inequalities and then employing the mathematical induction, the discrete scheme is proved to be unconditionally convergent in the sense of L2-norm and H α / 2-norm, which means that there are no any constraints on the grid ratios. Then, the prior bound of the discrete solution in L2-norm and L∞-norm are also obtained. Moreover, we propose an iterative algorithm, by which the coefficient matrix is independent of the time level, and thus it leads to Toeplitz-like linear systems that can be efficiently solved by Krylov subspace solvers with circulant preconditioners. This method can reduce the memory requirement of the proposed linearized finite element scheme from O (M2) to O (M) and the computational complexity from O (M3) to O (Mlog ⁡ M) in each iterative step, where M is the number of grid nodes. Finally, numerical results are carried out to verify the correction of the theoretical analysis, simulate the collision of two solitary waves, and show the utility of the fast numerical solution techniques.

A multispecies framework for landscape conservation planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwenk, W Scott; Donovan, Therese M

2011-10-01

Rapidly changing landscapes have spurred the need for quantitative methods for conservation assessment and planning that encompass large spatial extents. We devised and tested a multispecies framework for conservation planning to complement single-species assessments and ecosystem-level approaches. Our framework consisted of 4 elements: sampling to effectively estimate population parameters, measuring how human activity affects landscapes at multiple scales, analyzing the relation between landscape characteristics and individual species occurrences, and evaluating and comparing the responses of multiple species to landscape modification. We applied the approach to a community of terrestrial birds across 25,000 km(2) with a range of intensities of human development. Human modification of land cover, road density, and other elements of the landscape, measured at multiple spatial extents, had large effects on occupancy of the 67 species studied. Forest composition within 1 km of points had a strong effect on occupancy of many species and a range of negative, intermediate, and positive associations. Road density within 1 km of points, percent evergreen forest within 300 m, and distance from patch edge were also strongly associated with occupancy for many species. We used the occupancy results to group species into 11 guilds that shared patterns of association with landscape characteristics. Our multispecies approach to conservation planning allowed us to quantify the trade-offs of different scenarios of land-cover change in terms of species occupancy. Conservation Biology © 2011 Society for Conservation Biology. No claim to original US government works.

Structure-aided prediction of mammalian transcription factor complexes in conserved non-coding elements

KAUST Repository

Guturu, H.

2013-11-11

Mapping the DNA-binding preferences of transcription factor (TF) complexes is critical for deciphering the functions of cis-regulatory elements. Here, we developed a computational method that compares co-occurring motif spacings in conserved versus unconserved regions of the human genome to detect evolutionarily constrained binding sites of rigid TF complexes. Structural data were used to estimate TF complex physical plausibility, explore overlapping motif arrangements seldom tackled by non-structure-aware methods, and generate and analyse three-dimensional models of the predicted complexes bound to DNA. Using this approach, we predicted 422 physically realistic TF complex motifs at 18% false discovery rate, the majority of which (326, 77%) contain some sequence overlap between binding sites. The set of mostly novel complexes is enriched in known composite motifs, predictive of binding site configurations in TF-TF-DNA crystal structures, and supported by ChIP-seq datasets. Structural modelling revealed three cooperativity mechanisms: direct protein-protein interactions, potentially indirect interactions and \\'through-DNA\\' interactions. Indeed, 38% of the predicted complexes were found to contain four or more bases in which TF pairs appear to synergize through overlapping binding to the same DNA base pairs in opposite grooves or strands. Our TF complex and associated binding site predictions are available as a web resource at http://bejerano.stanford.edu/complex.

Structure-aided prediction of mammalian transcription factor complexes in conserved non-coding elements

KAUST Repository

Guturu, H.; Doxey, A. C.; Wenger, A. M.; Bejerano, G.

2013-01-01

Mapping the DNA-binding preferences of transcription factor (TF) complexes is critical for deciphering the functions of cis-regulatory elements. Here, we developed a computational method that compares co-occurring motif spacings in conserved versus unconserved regions of the human genome to detect evolutionarily constrained binding sites of rigid TF complexes. Structural data were used to estimate TF complex physical plausibility, explore overlapping motif arrangements seldom tackled by non-structure-aware methods, and generate and analyse three-dimensional models of the predicted complexes bound to DNA. Using this approach, we predicted 422 physically realistic TF complex motifs at 18% false discovery rate, the majority of which (326, 77%) contain some sequence overlap between binding sites. The set of mostly novel complexes is enriched in known composite motifs, predictive of binding site configurations in TF-TF-DNA crystal structures, and supported by ChIP-seq datasets. Structural modelling revealed three cooperativity mechanisms: direct protein-protein interactions, potentially indirect interactions and 'through-DNA' interactions. Indeed, 38% of the predicted complexes were found to contain four or more bases in which TF pairs appear to synergize through overlapping binding to the same DNA base pairs in opposite grooves or strands. Our TF complex and associated binding site predictions are available as a web resource at http://bejerano.stanford.edu/complex.

Technical evaluation on high aging, and performance conditions on long-term conservation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashita, Atsushi

2001-01-01

In order to secure safety and safe operation of power plants, in every nuclear power plants, conservation actions based on preventive conservation are performed. They contain operative condition monitoring, patrolling inspection, and periodical tests on important systems and apparatus by operators under plant operation and condition monitoring by maintenance workers, and so on, and when finding out their abnormal conditions, their detailed survey is performed to adopt adequate countermeasures such as recovery, exchange, and so on. And, to equipments for nuclear power generation periodical conditions were obliged by legal examinations and by independent inspections. As a result of these conservation actions, even on a plant elapsed about 30 years since beginning of its operation it was thought that the plant was aged with elapsing time even if not recognizing any indication on its aged deterioration at that time. Therefore, for its concrete countermeasure, by supposing long-term operation of a plant with longer operation history, some technical evaluation on aged phenomena were carried out, to investigate on reflection of the obtained results to present conservation actions. Here were described on efforts on the high aging countermeasures, and performing conditions of long-term conservation in the Tsuruga Unit No. 1 Nuclear Power Station. (G.K.)

The effects of flavour symmetry breaking on hadron matrix elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooke, A.N.; Horsley, R.; Pleiter, D.; Zanotti, J.M.

2012-12-01

By considering a flavour expansion about the SU(3)-flavour symmetric point, we investigate how flavour-blindness constrains octet baryon matrix elements after SU(3) is broken by the mass difference between the strange and light quarks. We find the expansions to be highly constrained along a mass trajectory where the singlet quark mass is held constant, which proves beneficial for extrapolations of 2+1 flavour lattice data to the physical point. We investigate these effects numerically via a lattice calculation of the flavour-conserving and flavour-changing matrix elements of the vector and axial operators between octet baryon states.

The effects of flavour symmetry breaking on hadron matrix elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cooke, A.N.; Horsley, R. [Edinburgh Univ. (United Kingdom). School of Physics and Astronomy; Nakamura, Y. [RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, Kobe (Japan); Pleiter, D. [Juelich Research Centre (Germany); Regensburg Univ. (Germany). Institut fuer Theoretische Physik; Rakow, P.E.L. [Liverpool Univ. (United Kingdom). Theoretical Physics Division; Schierholz, G. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Zanotti, J.M. [Adelaide Univ. (Australia). School of Chemistry and Physics

2012-12-15

By considering a flavour expansion about the SU(3)-flavour symmetric point, we investigate how flavour-blindness constrains octet baryon matrix elements after SU(3) is broken by the mass difference between the strange and light quarks. We find the expansions to be highly constrained along a mass trajectory where the singlet quark mass is held constant, which proves beneficial for extrapolations of 2+1 flavour lattice data to the physical point. We investigate these effects numerically via a lattice calculation of the flavour-conserving and flavour-changing matrix elements of the vector and axial operators between octet baryon states.

Survey of elemental specificity in positron annihilation peak shapes

Science.gov (United States)

Myler, U.; Simpson, P. J.

1997-12-01

Recently the detailed interpretation of positron-annihilation γ-ray peak shapes has proven to be of interest with respect to their chemical specificity. In this contribution, we show highly resolved spectra for a number of different elements. To this purpose, annihilation spectra with strongly reduced background intensities were recorded in the two detector geometry, using a variable-energy positron beam. Division of the subsequently normalized spectra by a standard spectrum (in our case the spectrum of pure silicon) yields quotient spectra, which display features characteristic of the sample material. First we ascertain that the specific spectrum of an element is conserved in different chemical compounds, demonstrated here by identical oxygen spectra obtained from both SiO2/Si and MgO/Mg. Second, we show highly resolved spectra for a number of different elements (Fe...Zn, Ag, Ir...Au). We show that the characteristic features in these spectra vary in a systematic fashion with the atomic number of the element and can be tentatively identified with particular orbitals. Finally, for 26 different elements we compare the maximum intensity in the quotient spectra with the relative atomic density in the corresponding element. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive survey of such data made to date.

An Efficient, Semi-implicit Pressure-based Scheme Employing a High-resolution Finitie Element Method for Simulating Transient and Steady, Inviscid and Viscous, Compressible Flows on Unstructured Grids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Richard C. Martineau; Ray A. Berry

2003-04-01

A new semi-implicit pressure-based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) scheme for simulating a wide range of transient and steady, inviscid and viscous compressible flow on unstructured finite elements is presented here. This new CFD scheme, termed the PCICEFEM (Pressure-Corrected ICE-Finite Element Method) scheme, is composed of three computational phases, an explicit predictor, an elliptic pressure Poisson solution, and a semiimplicit pressure-correction of the flow variables. The PCICE-FEM scheme is capable of second-order temporal accuracy by incorporating a combination of a time-weighted form of the two-step Taylor-Galerkin Finite Element Method scheme as an explicit predictor for the balance of momentum equations and the finite element form of a time-weighted trapezoid rule method for the semi-implicit form of the governing hydrodynamic equations. Second-order spatial accuracy is accomplished by linear unstructured finite element discretization. The PCICE-FEM scheme employs Flux-Corrected Transport as a high-resolution filter for shock capturing. The scheme is capable of simulating flows from the nearly incompressible to the high supersonic flow regimes. The PCICE-FEM scheme represents an advancement in mass-momentum coupled, pressurebased schemes. The governing hydrodynamic equations for this scheme are the conservative form of the balance of momentum equations (Navier-Stokes), mass conservation equation, and total energy equation. An operator splitting process is performed along explicit and implicit operators of the semi-implicit governing equations to render the PCICE-FEM scheme in the class of predictor-corrector schemes. The complete set of semi-implicit governing equations in the PCICE-FEM scheme are cast in this form, an explicit predictor phase and a semi-implicit pressure-correction phase with the elliptic pressure Poisson solution coupling the predictor-corrector phases. The result of this predictor-corrector formulation is that the pressure Poisson

Kink structures induced in nickel-based single crystal superalloys by high-Z element migration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Fei; Zhang, Jianxin [Key Laboratory for Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Mao, Shengcheng [Institute of Microstructure and Property of Advanced Materials, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124 (China); Jiang, Ying [Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Feng, Qiang [National Center for Materials Service Safety, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Shen, Zhenju; Li, Jixue; Zhang, Ze [Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Han, Xiaodong [Institute of Microstructure and Property of Advanced Materials, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124 (China)

2015-01-05

Highlights: • Innovative kink structures generate at the γ/γ′ interfaces in the crept superalloy. • Clusters of heavy elements congregate at the apex of the kinks. • Dislocation core absorbs hexagonal structural high-Z elements. - Abstract: Here, we investigate a new type of kink structure that is found at γ/γ′ interfaces in nickel-based single crystal superalloys. We studied these structures at the atomic and elemental level using aberration corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The core of the dislocation absorbs high-Z elements (i.e., Co and Re) that adopt hexagonal arrangements, and it extrudes elements (i.e., Ni and Al) that adopt face centered cubic (fcc) structures. High-Z elements (i.e., Ta and W) and Cr, which is a low-Z element, are stabilized in body centered cubic (bcc) arrangements; Cr tends to behave like Re. High-Z elements, which migrate and adopt a hexagonal structure, induce kink formation at γ/γ′ interfaces. This process must be analyzed to fully understand the kinetics and dynamics of creep in nickel-based single crystal superalloys.

Superconductivity from magnetic elements under high pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimizu, Katsuya; Amaya, Kiichi; Suzuki, Naoshi; Onuki, Yoshichika

2006-01-01

Can we expect the appearance of superconductivity from magnetic elements? In general, superconductivity occurs in nonmagnetic metal at low temperature and magnetic impurities destroy superconductivity; magnetism and superconductivity are as incompatible as oil and water. Here, we present our experimental example of superconducting elements, iron and oxygen. They are magnetic at ambient pressure, however, they become nonmagnetic under high pressure, then superconductor at low temperature. What is the driving force of the superconductivity? Our understanding in the early stages was a simple scenario that the superconductive state was obtained as a consequence of an emergence of the nonmagnetic states. In both cases, we may consider another scenario for the appearance of superconductivity; the magnetic fluctuation mechanism in the same way as unconventional superconductors

ELOCA: fuel element behaviour during high temperature transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sills, H.E.

1979-03-01

The ELOCA computer code was developed to simulate the uniform thermal-mechanical behaviour of a fuel element during high-temperature transients such as a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Primary emphasis is on the diametral expansion of the fuel sheath. The model assumed is a single UO2/zircaloy-clad element with axisymmetric properties. Physical effects considered by the code are fuel expansion, cracking and melting; variation, during the transient, of internal gas pressure; changing fuel/sheath heat transfer; thermal, elastic and plastic sheath deformation (anisotropic); Zr/H 2 O chemical reaction effects; and beryllium-assisted crack penetration of the sheath. (author)

High-pressure on f-element materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haire, R.G.

1991-01-01

540Studies of the f-elements under pressure provide important insights into their solid state chemistry and physics. From such studies of the elements and their alloys, it has been established that the normally localized f-electrons of several of these elements can become involved in bonding under pressure. The electronic behavior of f-element compounds under pressure tend to be more difficult to interpret, due to the variety and the nature of electronic orbitals that are present. The 4f-elements and some 60% of the 5f-elements have been studied under pressure. The systematic comparisons that have been established for these materials are discussed. 76 refs., 3 figs

Tritium solubility and permeation in high retention fusion reactor breeder elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakeman, D.

1979-11-01

As an alternative to the current philosophy of reducing the tritium inventory to a minimum by continuously extracting tritium from the breeder of a fusion reactor, an alternative design philosophy is examined in which tritium is contained within high retention breeder elements which can remain in the reactor for a substantial time. To prevent tritium diffusion through the clad of the element it is necessary to maintain a low tritium pressure within the element. Pressures of between 10 4 Pa and 1 Pa appear possible with an element containing a high solubility material provided it is kept below about 400 0 C. This should lead to a leakage into the coolant of between 10 Ci day -1 and 10 4 Ci day -1 which is considerably less than the 10 7 Ci day -1 in present designs. (author)

Noncoding Elements: Evolution and Epigenetic Regulation

KAUST Repository

Seridi, Loqmane

2016-03-09

When the human genome project was completed, it revealed a surprising result. 98% of the genome did not code for protein of which more than 50% are repeats— later known as ”Junk DNA”. However, comparative genomics unveiled that many noncoding elements are evolutionarily constrained; thus luckily to have a role in genome stability and regulation. Though, their exact functions remained largely unknown. Several large international consortia such as the Functional Annotation of Mammalian Genomes (FANTOM) and the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) were set to understand the structure and the regulation of the genome. Specifically, these endeavors aim to measure and reveal the transcribed components and functional elements of the genome. One of the most the striking findings of these efforts is that most of the genome is transcribed, including non-conserved noncoding elements and repeat elements. Specifically, we investigated the evolution and epigenetic properties of noncoding elements. 1. We compared genomes of evolutionarily distant species and showed the ubiquity of constrained noncoding elements in metazoa. 2. By integrating multi-omic data (such as transcriptome, nucleosome profiling, histone modifications), I conducted a comprehensive analysis of epigenetic properties (chromatin states) of conserved noncoding elements in insects. We showed that those elements have distinct and protective sequence features, undergo dynamic epigenetic regulation, and appear to be associated with the structural components of the chromatin, replication origins, and nuclear matrix. 3. I focused on the relationship between enhancers and repetitive elements. Using Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) and RNASeq, I compiled a full catalog of active enhancers (a class of noncoding elements) during myogenesis of human primary cells of healthy donors and donors affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Comparing the two time-courses, a significant change in the epigenetic

Symplectic discretization for spectral element solution of Maxwell's equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Yanmin; Dai Guidong; Tang Yifa; Liu Qinghuo

2009-01-01

Applying the spectral element method (SEM) based on the Gauss-Lobatto-Legendre (GLL) polynomial to discretize Maxwell's equations, we obtain a Poisson system or a Poisson system with at most a perturbation. For the system, we prove that any symplectic partitioned Runge-Kutta (PRK) method preserves the Poisson structure and its implied symplectic structure. Numerical examples show the high accuracy of SEM and the benefit of conserving energy due to the use of symplectic methods.

Comparison between the United States Soil Conservation Service ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2005-10-26

Oct 26, 2005 ... The United States Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number method is used to estimate rainfall .... Precipitation is an important element in many engineering ... National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Defining functional DNA elements in the human genome

Science.gov (United States)

Kellis, Manolis; Wold, Barbara; Snyder, Michael P.; Bernstein, Bradley E.; Kundaje, Anshul; Marinov, Georgi K.; Ward, Lucas D.; Birney, Ewan; Crawford, Gregory E.; Dekker, Job; Dunham, Ian; Elnitski, Laura L.; Farnham, Peggy J.; Feingold, Elise A.; Gerstein, Mark; Giddings, Morgan C.; Gilbert, David M.; Gingeras, Thomas R.; Green, Eric D.; Guigo, Roderic; Hubbard, Tim; Kent, Jim; Lieb, Jason D.; Myers, Richard M.; Pazin, Michael J.; Ren, Bing; Stamatoyannopoulos, John A.; Weng, Zhiping; White, Kevin P.; Hardison, Ross C.

2014-01-01

With the completion of the human genome sequence, attention turned to identifying and annotating its functional DNA elements. As a complement to genetic and comparative genomics approaches, the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements Project was launched to contribute maps of RNA transcripts, transcriptional regulator binding sites, and chromatin states in many cell types. The resulting genome-wide data reveal sites of biochemical activity with high positional resolution and cell type specificity that facilitate studies of gene regulation and interpretation of noncoding variants associated with human disease. However, the biochemically active regions cover a much larger fraction of the genome than do evolutionarily conserved regions, raising the question of whether nonconserved but biochemically active regions are truly functional. Here, we review the strengths and limitations of biochemical, evolutionary, and genetic approaches for defining functional DNA segments, potential sources for the observed differences in estimated genomic coverage, and the biological implications of these discrepancies. We also analyze the relationship between signal intensity, genomic coverage, and evolutionary conservation. Our results reinforce the principle that each approach provides complementary information and that we need to use combinations of all three to elucidate genome function in human biology and disease. PMID:24753594

Positivity-preserving space-time CE/SE scheme for high speed flows

KAUST Repository

Shen, Hua

2017-03-02

We develop a space-time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) scheme using a simple slope limiter to preserve the positivity of the density and pressure in computations of inviscid and viscous high-speed flows. In general, the limiter works with all existing CE/SE schemes. Here, we test the limiter on a central Courant number insensitive (CNI) CE/SE scheme implemented on hybrid unstructured meshes. Numerical examples show that the proposed limiter preserves the positivity of the density and pressure without disrupting the conservation law; it also improves robustness without losing accuracy in solving high-speed flows.

Positivity-preserving space-time CE/SE scheme for high speed flows

KAUST Repository

Shen, Hua; Parsani, Matteo

2017-01-01

We develop a space-time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) scheme using a simple slope limiter to preserve the positivity of the density and pressure in computations of inviscid and viscous high-speed flows. In general, the limiter works with all existing CE/SE schemes. Here, we test the limiter on a central Courant number insensitive (CNI) CE/SE scheme implemented on hybrid unstructured meshes. Numerical examples show that the proposed limiter preserves the positivity of the density and pressure without disrupting the conservation law; it also improves robustness without losing accuracy in solving high-speed flows.

Swertia chirayta, a Threatened High-Value Medicinal Herb: Microhabitats and Conservation Challenges in Sikkim Himalaya, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bharat Kumar Pradhan

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Assessing the impact of threats, identifying favorable growing conditions, and predicting future population scenarios are vital for the conservation and management of threatened species. This study investigated the availability, microhabitat characteristics, threat status, and community associations of Swertia chirayta, a highly threatened Himalayan medicinal herb, in 22 populations in Sikkim, India, using the vertical belt transect method. Of the 14 microhabitats identified, open grassy slope emerged as the most favorable and wet grassy slope as the least favorable for S. chirayta. The species was dominant in 8 of the 10 major plant communities identified. Among 9 major types of disturbance identified, human movement and collection of non-timber forest products appeared as the biggest threats to S. chirayta. Disturbances significantly affected the availability of the species. S. chirayta, though under high anthropogenic threat, maintains high microhabitat pliability, which is vital for its conservation and management, provided immediate conservation measures are taken.

Reexamining the P-Element Invasion of Drosophila melanogaster Through the Lens of piRNA Silencing

Science.gov (United States)

Kelleher, Erin S.

2016-01-01

Transposable elements (TEs) are both important drivers of genome evolution and genetic parasites with potentially dramatic consequences for host fitness. The recent explosion of research on regulatory RNAs reveals that small RNA-mediated silencing is a conserved genetic mechanism through which hosts repress TE activity. The invasion of the Drosophila melanogaster genome by P elements, which happened on a historical timescale, represents an incomparable opportunity to understand how small RNA-mediated silencing of TEs evolves. Repression of P-element transposition emerged almost concurrently with its invasion. Recent studies suggest that this repression is implemented in part, and perhaps predominantly, by the Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, a small RNA-mediated silencing pathway that regulates TE activity in many metazoan germlines. In this review, I consider the P-element invasion from both a molecular and evolutionary genetic perspective, reconciling classic studies of P-element regulation with the new mechanistic framework provided by the piRNA pathway. I further explore the utility of the P-element invasion as an exemplar of the evolution of piRNA-mediated silencing. In light of the highly-conserved role for piRNAs in regulating TEs, discoveries from this system have taxonomically broad implications for the evolution of repression. PMID:27516614

Asymmetrical distribution of non-conserved regulatory sequences at PHOX2B is reflected at the ENCODE loci and illuminates a possible genome-wide trend

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McCallion Andrew S

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Transcriptional regulatory elements are central to development and interspecific phenotypic variation. Current regulatory element prediction tools rely heavily upon conservation for prediction of putative elements. Recent in vitro observations from the ENCODE project combined with in vivo analyses at the zebrafish phox2b locus suggests that a significant fraction of regulatory elements may fall below commonly applied metrics of conservation. We propose to explore these observations in vivo at the human PHOX2B locus, and also evaluate the potential evidence for genome-wide applicability of these observations through a novel analysis of extant data. Results Transposon-based transgenic analysis utilizing a tiling path proximal to human PHOX2B in zebrafish recapitulates the observations at the zebrafish phox2b locus of both conserved and non-conserved regulatory elements. Analysis of human sequences conserved with previously identified zebrafish phox2b regulatory elements demonstrates that the orthologous sequences exhibit overlapping regulatory control. Additionally, analysis of non-conserved sequences scattered over 135 kb 5' to PHOX2B, provides evidence of non-conserved regulatory elements positively biased with close proximity to the gene. Furthermore, we provide a novel analysis of data from the ENCODE project, finding a non-uniform distribution of regulatory elements consistent with our in vivo observations at PHOX2B. These observations remain largely unchanged when one accounts for the sequence repeat content of the assayed intervals, when the intervals are sub-classified by biological role (developmental versus non-developmental, or by gene density (gene desert versus non-gene desert. Conclusion While regulatory elements frequently display evidence of evolutionary conservation, a fraction appears to be undetected by current metrics of conservation. In vivo observations at the PHOX2B locus, supported by our analyses of in

Radiochemical neutron activation analysis based multi-elemental analysis of high purity gallium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tashimova, F.A.; Sadikov, I.I; Salimov, M.I.; Zinov'ev, V.G.

2006-01-01

Full text: Gallium is one of the widely used materials in semiconductor and optoelectronics industry. Gallium is used to produce infrared detectors, piezoelectric sensors, high- and low-temperature transistors for space and defense technology. One of the most important requirements for semiconductor materials of gallium compounds is an excessive high purity for layers and films. Information on impurities (type of an impurity, concentration, character of distribution) is important as for better understanding of the physical and chemical processes taking place in formed semiconductor structures and for the 'know-how' of devices on their basis. The object of this work is to develop radiochemical neutron activation technique for analysis of high purity gallium. Irradiation of 0.1 g of gallium sample in neutron flux of 5·10 13 cm -2 s -1 for 5 hours will result in induced activity of more than 10 8 Bq, due to 72 Ga radionuclide, half-life of which is 14.1 hours. Therefore to perform instrumental NAA of gallium long period (10 day) cooling is required, and high sensitive determination of elements producing short- and long-lived radionuclides (T 1/2 72 Ga. We have studied the behavior of gallium in extraction-chromatographic system 'TBP-HCl'. The experiments have shown that higher factor of distribution (D) and capacity on gallium can be achieved when 'TBP-4M HCl' system is used. However more than 10 trace elements have high D and thus they cannot be separated from 72 Ga. To resolve the problem and increase the number of separated trace elements we have used preliminary satisfaction of chromatographic column with tellurium, which has D higher than the most of elements in 'TBP-4M HCl' system and thus suppresses extraction of elements. Distribution profile of gallium along the column and elution curve of 25 trace elements have been measured. Chemical yields of separated elements measured by using radiotracers are more than 93%. On the basis of the carried out researches

Balancing conservation needs with uses of river ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabater, Sergi; Elosegui, Arturo

2014-01-01

Rivers are among the most diverse and threatened ecosystems on the earth, but their conservation are a requisite for sustainable development. Conservation must consider both the structure and the functioning of the elements (usually species), as well as of their ecosystem. Therefore, successful river conservation must go beyond protecting species to protecting entire ecosystems and the processes that give each ecosystem its special characteristics. River conservation has to meet the legitimate aspirations of human populations for clean, readily available supply of water, without compromising the water needs of ecosystems and nature. Therefore, it is essential to take a landscape perspective that incorporates processes occurring in the riverine riparian areas as well as on connectivity with the land and across the river network.

Application of parallel connected power-MOSFET elements to high current d.c. power supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsukawa, Tatsuya; Shioyama, Masanori; Shimada, Katsuhiro; Takaku, Taku; Neumeyer, Charles; Tsuji-Iio, Shunji; Shimada, Ryuichi

2001-01-01

The low aspect ratio spherical torus (ST), which has single turn toroidal field coil, requires the extremely high d.c. current like as 20 MA to energize the coil. Considering the ratings of such extremely high current and low voltage, power-MOSFET element is employed as the switching device for the a.c./d.c. converter of power supply. One of the advantages of power-MOSFET element is low on-state resistance, which is to meet the high current and low voltage operation. Recently, the capacity of power-MOSFET element has been increased and its on-state resistance has been decreased, so that the possibility of construction of high current and low voltage a.c./d.c. converter with parallel connected power-MOSFET elements has been growing. With the aim of developing the high current d.c. power supply using power-MOSFET, the basic characteristics of parallel operation with power-MOSFET elements are experimentally investigated. And, the synchronous rectifier type and the bi-directional self commutated type a.c./d.c. converters using parallel connected power-MOSFET elements are proposed

Isolation of transplutonium elements from high-level radioactive wastes using diphenyl(dibutylcarbamoylmethyl)phosphine oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chmutova, M.K.; Litvina, M.N.; Pribylova, G.A.; Ivanova, L.A.; Myasoedov, B.F.; Smirnov, I.V.; Shadrin, A.Yu.

1999-01-01

Consequent stages of development of principal technological scheme of extraction separation of transplutonium elements from high-level radioactive wastes of spent fuel reprocessing are presented. Approach to reagent selection from the series of carbamoylmethylphosphine oxides is based. Distribution of transplutonium elements and accompanying elements between model solution of high-level radioactive wastes and solution of reagent in organic solvent is investigated. Methods of separation of transplutonium elements, reextraction of transplutonium elements together with rare earth elements are developed. Principal technological scheme of transplutonium elements separation from nonevaporated raffinates of spent fuel of WWER type reactors and method of separation of transplutonium and rare earth elements in weakly acid reextract with the use of liquid chromatography with free immobile phase are proposed [ru

Conserved hydrogen bonds and water molecules in MDR HIV-1 protease substrate complexes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Zhigang [Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI (United States); Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States); Harbor Hospital Baltimore, MD (United States); Wang, Yong [Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI (United States); Yedidi, Ravikiran S. [Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI (United States); National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (United States); Dewdney, Tamaria G. [Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI (United States); Reiter, Samuel J. [Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI (United States); Brunzelle, Joseph S. [Northwestern Univ. Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL (United States); Kovari, Iulia A. [Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI (United States); Kovari, Ladislau C. [Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI (United States)

2012-12-19

Success of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in anti-HIV therapy is severely compromised by the rapidly developing drug resistance. HIV-1 protease inhibitors, part of HAART, are losing their potency and efficacy in inhibiting the target. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) 769 HIV-1 protease (resistant mutations at residues 10, 36, 46, 54, 62, 63, 71, 82, 84, 90) was selected for the present study to understand the binding to its natural substrates. The nine crystal structures of MDR769 HIV-1 protease substrate hepta-peptide complexes were analyzed in order to reveal the conserved structural elements for the purpose of drug design against MDR HIV-1 protease. Our structural studies demonstrated that highly conserved hydrogen bonds between the protease and substrate peptides, together with the conserved crystallographic water molecules, played a crucial role in the substrate recognition, substrate stabilization and protease stabilization. Additionally, the absence of the key flap-ligand bridging water molecule might imply a different catalytic mechanism of MDR769 HIV-1 protease compared to that of wild type (WT) HIV-1 protease.

The role of high-energy synchrotron radiation in biomedical trace element research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pounds, J.G.; Long, G.J.; Kwiatek, W.M.; Jones, K.W.; Gordon, B.M.; Hanson, A.L.

1987-01-01

This paper will present the results of an investigation of the distribution of essential elements in the normal hepatic lobule. the liver is the organ responsible for metabolism and storage of most trace elements. Although parenchymal hepatocytes are rather uniform histologically, morphometry, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and microdissection with microchemical investigations have revealed marked heterogeneity on a functional and biochemical level. Hepatocytes from the periportal and perivenous zones of the liver parrenchyma differ in oxidative energy metabolism, glucose uptake and output, unreagenesis, biotransformation, bile acid secretion, and palsma protein synthesis and secretion. Although trace elements are intimately involved in the regulation and maintenance of these functions, little is known regarding the heterogeneity of trace element localization of the liver parenchyma. Histochemical techniques for trace elements generally give high spatial resolution, but lack specificity and stoichiometry. Microdissection has been of marginal usefulness for trace element analyses due to the very small size of the dissected parenchyma. The characteristics of the high-energy x-ray microscope provide an effective approach for elucidating the trace element content of these small biological structures or regions. 5 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

High qualitative and quantitative conservation of alternative splicing in Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rukov, Jakob Lewin; Irimia, Manuel; Mørk, Søren

2007-01-01

Alternative splicing (AS) is an important contributor to proteome diversity and is regarded as an explanatory factor for the relatively low number of human genes compared with less complex animals. To assess the evolutionary conservation of AS and its developmental regulation, we have investigated...... the qualitative and quantitative expression of 21 orthologous alternative splice events through the development of 2 nematode species separated by 85-110 Myr of evolutionary time. We demonstrate that most of these alternative splice events present in Caenorhabditis elegans are conserved in Caenorhabditis briggsae....... Moreover, we find that relative isoform expression levels vary significantly during development for 78% of the AS events and that this quantitative variation is highly conserved between the 2 species. Our results suggest that AS is generally tightly regulated through development and that the regulatory...

Block fuel element for gas-cooled high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hrovat, M.F.

1978-01-01

The invention concerns a block fuel element consisting of only one carbon matrix which is almost isotropic of high crystallinity into which the coated particles are incorporated by a pressing process. This block element is produced under isostatic pressure from graphite matrix powder and coated particles in a rubber die and is subsequently subjected to heat treatment. The main component of the graphite matrix powder consists of natural graphite powder to which artificial graphite powder and a small amount of a phenol resin binding agent are added

Wake Instabilities Behind Discrete Roughness Elements in High Speed Boundary Layers

Science.gov (United States)

Choudhari, Meelan; Li, Fei; Chang, Chau-Lyan; Norris, Andrew; Edwards, Jack

2013-01-01

Computations are performed to study the flow past an isolated, spanwise symmetric roughness element in zero pressure gradient boundary layers at Mach 3.5 and 5.9, with an emphasis on roughness heights of less than 55 percent of the local boundary layer thickness. The Mach 5.9 cases include flow conditions that are relevant to both ground facility experiments and high altitude flight ("cold wall" case). Regardless of the Mach number, the mean flow distortion due to the roughness element is characterized by long-lived streamwise streaks in the roughness wake, which can support instability modes that did not exist in the absence of the roughness element. The higher Mach number cases reveal a variety of instability mode shapes with velocity fluctuations concentrated in different localized regions of high base flow shear. The high shear regions vary from the top of a mushroom shaped structure characterizing the centerline streak to regions that are concentrated on the sides of the mushroom. Unlike the Mach 3.5 case with nearly same values of scaled roughness height k/delta and roughness height Reynolds number Re(sub kk), the odd wake modes in both Mach 5.9 cases are significantly more unstable than the even modes of instability. Additional computations for a Mach 3.5 boundary layer indicate that the presence of a roughness element can also enhance the amplification of first mode instabilities incident from upstream. Interactions between multiple roughness elements aligned along the flow direction are also explored.

Habitat Re-Creation (Ecological Restoration) as a Strategy for Conserving Insect Communities in Highly Fragmented Landscapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Shuey, John A

2013-12-05

Because of their vast diversity, measured by both numbers of species as well as life history traits, insects defy comprehensive conservation planning. Thus, almost all insect conservation efforts target individual species. However, serious insect conservation requires goals that are set at the faunal level and conservation success requires strategies that conserve intact communities. This task is complicated in agricultural landscapes by high levels of habitat fragmentation and isolation. In many regions, once widespread insect communities are now functionally trapped on islands of ecosystem remnants and subject to a variety of stressors associated with isolation, small population sizes and artificial population fragmentation. In fragmented landscapes ecological restoration can be an effective strategy for reducing localized insect extinction rates, but insects are seldom included in restoration design criteria. It is possible to incorporate a few simple conservation criteria into restoration designs that enhance impacts to entire insect communities. Restoration can be used as a strategy to address fragmentation threats to isolated insect communities if insect communities are incorporated at the onset of restoration planning. Fully incorporating insect communities into restoration designs may increase the cost of restoration two- to three-fold, but the benefits to biodiversity conservation and the ecological services provided by intact insect communities justify the cost.

FY 2000 report on the survey on energy conservation technology of large plant using ultra high corrosion resistant materials; 2000 nendo chokotaishokusei zairyo wo mochiita ogata plant no sho energy gijutsu ni kansuru chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

For the purpose of achieving remarkable energy conservation/resource conservation in large plants, the paper carried out an investigational survey of effects obtained in case of applying amorphous super metal which is the newest corrosion resistant material. Amorphous alloys as an ultra high corrosion resistant material are a peculiar material which shows the extremely excellent corrosion resistance even in much strong acid by containing passivated elements with the needed concentration. The corrosion resistant amorphous alloy applied to large plants need the thickness and diameter of more than several millimeters as a bulk material. The subjects are scaling-up of bulk materials and stabilization of characteristics. Even under the tough dew point corrosion environment of the waste power plant, etc., heat recovery from exhaust gas is made possible by heat exchanger applied with ultra high corrosion resistant materials. Effects of the annual heat recovery from the nationwide refuse incinerators and coal thermal power plants are estimated to be approximately 5.2 million kL toe, that is, to be equal to energy conservation of 6 x a million kW class power plant. (NEDO)

Numerical viscosity of entropy stable schemes for systems of conservation laws. Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tadmor, E.

1985-11-01

Discrete approximations to hyperbolic systems of conservation laws are studied. The amount of numerical viscosity present in such schemes is quantified and related to their entropy stability by means of comparison. To this end conservative schemes which are also entropy conservative are constructed. These entropy conservative schemes enjoy second-order accuracy; moreover, they admit a particular interpretation within the finite-element frameworks, and hence can be formulated on various mesh configurations. It is then shown that conservative schemes are entropy stable if and only if they contain more viscosity than the mentioned above entropy conservative ones

Impact of local empowerment on conservation practices in a highly developed country

OpenAIRE

Engen, Sigrid; Hausner, Vera Helene

2017-01-01

Source at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/conl.12369 Community-based conservation, where local decision makers are responsible for balancing conservation and development, is often preferred to exclusion- ary conservation that prioritizes use-limitation through strict regulation. Un- raveling the evidence for conservation impact of different governance regimes is challenging. Focusing on conservation practices before and after a reform can provide an early indication of behaviora...

High Tc Superconducting Magnet Excited by a Semiconductor Thermoelectric Element

Science.gov (United States)

Kuriyama, T.; Ono, M.; Tabe, S.; Oguchi, A.; Okamura, T.

2006-04-01

A high Tc superconducting (HTS) magnet excited by a thermal electromotive force of a thermoelectric element is studied. This HTS magnet has the advantages of compactness, lightweight and continuous excitation in comparison with conventional HTS magnets, because this HTS magnet does not need a large external power source. In this system, a heat input into the cryogenic environment is necessary to excite the thermoelectric element for constant operation. This heat generation, however, causes a rise in temperature of an HTS coil and reduces the system performance. In this paper, a newly designed magnet system which adopted a two-stage GM cryocooler was investigated. It enabled us to control the temperature of a thermoelectric element and that of an HTS coil independently. The temperature of the HTS coil could be kept at 10-20 K at the second stage of the GM cryocooler, while the thermoelectric element could be excited at higher temperature in the range of 50-70 K at the first stage, where the performance of the thermoelectric element was higher. The experimental results on this HTS magnet are shown and the possibility of the thermoelectric element as a main power source of the HTS magnets is discussed.

78 FR 51463 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Metal Halide Lamp Fixtures

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-20

... merging the metal halide lamp fixture and the high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp rulemakings. This NOPR... Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Metal Halide Lamp Fixtures; Proposed Rule #0;#0;Federal...: Energy Conservation Standards for Metal Halide Lamp Fixtures AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and...

Unconstrained Finite Element for Geometrical Nonlinear Dynamics of Shells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Humberto Breves Coda

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a positional FEM formulation to deal with geometrical nonlinear dynamics of shells. The main objective is to develop a new FEM methodology based on the minimum potential energy theorem written regarding nodal positions and generalized unconstrained vectors not displacements and rotations. These characteristics are the novelty of the present work and avoid the use of large rotation approximations. A nondimensional auxiliary coordinate system is created, and the change of configuration function is written following two independent mappings from which the strain energy function is derived. This methodology is called positional and, as far as the authors' knowledge goes, is a new procedure to approximated geometrical nonlinear structures. In this paper a proof for the linear and angular momentum conservation property of the Newmark algorithm is provided for total Lagrangian description. The proposed shell element is locking free for elastic stress-strain relations due to the presence of linear strain variation along the shell thickness. The curved, high-order element together with an implicit procedure to solve nonlinear equations guarantees precision in calculations. The momentum conserving, the locking free behavior, and the frame invariance of the adopted mapping are numerically confirmed by examples.

Repetitive Elements in Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Transcriptional Regulation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda Malvessi Cattani

Full Text Available Transcriptional regulation, a multiple-step process, is still poorly understood in the important pig pathogen Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Basic motifs like promoters and terminators have already been described, but no other cis-regulatory elements have been found. DNA repeat sequences have been shown to be an interesting potential source of cis-regulatory elements. In this work, a genome-wide search for tandem and palindromic repetitive elements was performed in the intergenic regions of all coding sequences from M. hyopneumoniae strain 7448. Computational analysis demonstrated the presence of 144 tandem repeats and 1,171 palindromic elements. The DNA repeat sequences were distributed within the 5' upstream regions of 86% of transcriptional units of M. hyopneumoniae strain 7448. Comparative analysis between distinct repetitive sequences found in related mycoplasma genomes demonstrated different percentages of conservation among pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains. qPCR assays revealed differential expression among genes showing variable numbers of repetitive elements. In addition, repeats found in 206 genes already described to be differentially regulated under different culture conditions of M. hyopneumoniae strain 232 showed almost 80% conservation in relation to M. hyopneumoniae strain 7448 repeats. Altogether, these findings suggest a potential regulatory role of tandem and palindromic DNA repeats in the M. hyopneumoniae transcriptional profile.

Repetitive Elements in Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Transcriptional Regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cattani, Amanda Malvessi; Siqueira, Franciele Maboni; Guedes, Rafael Lucas Muniz; Schrank, Irene Silveira

2016-01-01

Transcriptional regulation, a multiple-step process, is still poorly understood in the important pig pathogen Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Basic motifs like promoters and terminators have already been described, but no other cis-regulatory elements have been found. DNA repeat sequences have been shown to be an interesting potential source of cis-regulatory elements. In this work, a genome-wide search for tandem and palindromic repetitive elements was performed in the intergenic regions of all coding sequences from M. hyopneumoniae strain 7448. Computational analysis demonstrated the presence of 144 tandem repeats and 1,171 palindromic elements. The DNA repeat sequences were distributed within the 5' upstream regions of 86% of transcriptional units of M. hyopneumoniae strain 7448. Comparative analysis between distinct repetitive sequences found in related mycoplasma genomes demonstrated different percentages of conservation among pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains. qPCR assays revealed differential expression among genes showing variable numbers of repetitive elements. In addition, repeats found in 206 genes already described to be differentially regulated under different culture conditions of M. hyopneumoniae strain 232 showed almost 80% conservation in relation to M. hyopneumoniae strain 7448 repeats. Altogether, these findings suggest a potential regulatory role of tandem and palindromic DNA repeats in the M. hyopneumoniae transcriptional profile.

[Landscape planning approaches for biodiversity conservation in agriculture].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yun-hui; Li, Liang-tao; Yu, Zhen-rong

2008-11-01

Biodiversity conservation in agriculture not only relates to the sustainable development of agriculture, but also is an essential part of species conservation. In recent years, the landscape planning approach for biodiversity was highlighted instead of species-focused approach. In this paper, the landscape factors affecting the biodiversity in agriculture were reviewed, and the possible landscape approaches at three different scales for more efficient conservation of biodiversity in agro-landscape were suggested, including: (1) the increase of the proportion of natural or semi-natural habitats in agriculture, diversification of land use or crop pattern, and protection or construction of corridor at landscape level; (2) the establishment of non-cropping elements such as field margin at between-field level; and (3) the application of reasonable crop density, crop distribution pattern and rotation, and intercrop etc. at within-field level. It was suggested that the relevant policies for natural conservation, land use planning, and ecological compensation should be made to apply the landscape approaches for biodiversity conservation at larger scale.

Energy-Integrating Master Plan for the City of Atlantic City, New Jersey: energy conservation element. Volume 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-11-01

The Master Plan describes a coordinated energy-conservation effort for the City, the effective application and ultimate success of which depend primarily on the active involvement of the City government and its functional departments. Following an introductory section, Section XXI, Community Energy Determinants, describes the natural and man-made environment, growth and energy profiles, and the institutional environment. Additional sections are entitled: Energy-Conservation Options (passive energy options and active energy-conservation options); Energy Integration; Community Energy Management; Energy-Conservation Implementation Plan; and an appendix containing an energy-related glossary, a directory to various sources of information on energy conservation, various technical documents, a copy of the National Energy Act, and a bibliography. (MCW)

Stability of force-free spheromak plasma in spheroidal flux conserver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, Shobu; Tsutsui, Hiroaki

1988-01-01

The Woltjer-Taylor method is applied to spheromak plasmas in spheroidal flux conservers. As models of the flux conserver, both oblate and prolate spheroidal vessels with a center conductor are used. The plasma is not assumed to be nearly spherical, and the Rayleigh-Ritz method and the finite element method are used to evaluate the eigenvalues. The oblate spheromak is shown to be stable irrespective of the shape of the flux conserver. Though the prolate spheromak is unstable if there is no center conductor, it can be stable if the center conductor is installed. (author)

A spectral element-FCT method for the compressible Euler equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giannakouros, J.; Karniadakis, G.E.

1994-01-01

A new algorithm based on spectral element discretizations and flux-corrected transport concepts is developed for the solution of the Euler equations of inviscid compressible fluid flow. A conservative formulation is proposed based on one- and two-dimensional cell-averaging and reconstruction procedures, which employ a staggered mesh of Gauss-Chebyshev and Gauss-Lobatto-Chebyshev collocation points. Particular emphasis is placed on the construction of robust boundary and interfacial conditions in one- and two-dimensions. It is demonstrated through shock-tube problems and two-dimensional simulations that the proposed algorithm leads to stable, non-oscillatory solutions of high accuracy. Of particular importance is the fact that dispersion errors are minimal, as show through experiments. From the operational point of view, casting the method in a spectral element formulation provides flexibility in the discretization, since a variable number of macro-elements or collocation points per element can be employed to accomodate both accuracy and geometric requirements

Jersey City energy conservation demonstration program. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Newbold, R.F.

1978-08-01

The Aerospace Corporation, the City Government, and the Board of Education of Jersey City have conducted a group of energy-conservation experiments to explore a number of conservation techniques believed to offer quick payback and to be of wide applicability. Experiments include the updating and/or rehabilitation of the energy-consuming features of old buildings and installation of devices designed to minimize energy losses caused by human error or laxity. Specific examples include: upgrading of the deteriorated and inefficient steam-distribution system of the city hall (originally constructed in 1894); an extensive program of reducing infiltration in an old school building; use of several timing devices in connection with heating, ventilation, and lighting systems to encourage energy-conservation practices; retrofit of school classrooms with high-pressure sodium lamps; and demonstration of practical and cost-effective ways of increasing the efficiency of conventional steam boilers. The report presents: the nature of the selected experiments; technical, human, and organizational factors that proved significant in performing and evaluating the experiments; discussions of observations and lessons learned; and general recommendations for an extended program of energy conservation in local governments. It is emphasized that, in retrofit of existing buildings, the unexpected is commonplace; and the habits and attitudes of building occupants are elements of the system that must always be taken into account. This report shows the benefits of energy saving, cost saving, and added comfort that may be attained by retrofitting old buildings, noting typical complications that arise. The effectiveness of the conservation methods is presented in terms of costs relative to effective payback periods calculated from results of their application in Jersey City.

A fully conservative Eulerian–Lagrangian method for a convection–diffusion problem in a solenoidal field

KAUST Repository

Arbogast, Todd

2010-05-01

Tracer transport is governed by a convection-diffusion problem modeling mass conservation of both tracer and ambient fluids. Numerical methods should be fully conservative, enforcing both conservation principles on the discrete level. Locally conservative characteristics methods conserve the mass of tracer, but may not conserve the mass of the ambient fluid. In a recent paper by the authors [T. Arbogast, C. Huang, A fully mass and volume conserving implementation of a characteristic method for transport problems, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 28 (2006) 2001-2022], a fully conservative characteristic method, the Volume Corrected Characteristics Mixed Method (VCCMM), was introduced for potential flows. Here we extend and apply the method to problems with a solenoidal (i.e., divergence-free) flow field. The modification is a computationally inexpensive simplification of the original VCCMM, requiring a simple adjustment of trace-back regions in an element-by-element traversal of the domain. Our numerical results show that the method works well in practice, is less numerically diffuse than uncorrected characteristic methods, and can use up to at least about eight times the CFL limited time step. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.

A high-order multiscale finite-element method for time-domain acoustic-wave modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Kai; Fu, Shubin; Chung, Eric T.

2018-05-01

Accurate and efficient wave equation modeling is vital for many applications in such as acoustics, electromagnetics, and seismology. However, solving the wave equation in large-scale and highly heterogeneous models is usually computationally expensive because the computational cost is directly proportional to the number of grids in the model. We develop a novel high-order multiscale finite-element method to reduce the computational cost of time-domain acoustic-wave equation numerical modeling by solving the wave equation on a coarse mesh based on the multiscale finite-element theory. In contrast to existing multiscale finite-element methods that use only first-order multiscale basis functions, our new method constructs high-order multiscale basis functions from local elliptic problems which are closely related to the Gauss-Lobatto-Legendre quadrature points in a coarse element. Essentially, these basis functions are not only determined by the order of Legendre polynomials, but also by local medium properties, and therefore can effectively convey the fine-scale information to the coarse-scale solution with high-order accuracy. Numerical tests show that our method can significantly reduce the computation time while maintain high accuracy for wave equation modeling in highly heterogeneous media by solving the corresponding discrete system only on the coarse mesh with the new high-order multiscale basis functions.

Multisymplectic Structure－Preserving in Simple Finite Element Method in High Dimensional Case

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

BAIYong-Qiang; LIUZhen; PEIMing; ZHENGZhu-Jun

2003-01-01

In this paper, we study a finite element scheme of some semi-linear elliptic boundary value problems in high-dhnensjonal space. With uniform mesh, we find that, the numerical scheme derived from finite element method can keep a preserved multisymplectic structure.

Phylogeny based discovery of regulatory elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cohen Barak A

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Algorithms that locate evolutionarily conserved sequences have become powerful tools for finding functional DNA elements, including transcription factor binding sites; however, most methods do not take advantage of an explicit model for the constrained evolution of functional DNA sequences. Results We developed a probabilistic framework that combines an HKY85 model, which assigns probabilities to different base substitutions between species, and weight matrix models of transcription factor binding sites, which describe the probabilities of observing particular nucleotides at specific positions in the binding site. The method incorporates the phylogenies of the species under consideration and takes into account the position specific variation of transcription factor binding sites. Using our framework we assessed the suitability of alignments of genomic sequences from commonly used species as substrates for comparative genomic approaches to regulatory motif finding. We then applied this technique to Saccharomyces cerevisiae and related species by examining all possible six base pair DNA sequences (hexamers and identifying sequences that are conserved in a significant number of promoters. By combining similar conserved hexamers we reconstructed known cis-regulatory motifs and made predictions of previously unidentified motifs. We tested one prediction experimentally, finding it to be a regulatory element involved in the transcriptional response to glucose. Conclusion The experimental validation of a regulatory element prediction missed by other large-scale motif finding studies demonstrates that our approach is a useful addition to the current suite of tools for finding regulatory motifs.

Conservation of transcription factor binding events predicts gene expression across species

Science.gov (United States)

Hemberg, Martin; Kreiman, Gabriel

2011-01-01

Recent technological advances have made it possible to determine the genome-wide binding sites of transcription factors (TFs). Comparisons across species have suggested a relatively low degree of evolutionary conservation of experimentally defined TF binding events (TFBEs). Using binding data for six different TFs in hepatocytes and embryonic stem cells from human and mouse, we demonstrate that evolutionary conservation of TFBEs within orthologous proximal promoters is closely linked to function, defined as expression of the target genes. We show that (i) there is a significantly higher degree of conservation of TFBEs when the target gene is expressed in both species; (ii) there is increased conservation of binding events for groups of TFs compared to individual TFs; and (iii) conserved TFBEs have a greater impact on the expression of their target genes than non-conserved ones. These results link conservation of structural elements (TFBEs) to conservation of function (gene expression) and suggest a higher degree of functional conservation than implied by previous studies. PMID:21622661

Variable Delay Element For Jitter Control In High Speed Data Links

Science.gov (United States)

Livolsi, Robert R.

2002-06-11

A circuit and method for decreasing the amount of jitter present at the receiver input of high speed data links which uses a driver circuit for input from a high speed data link which comprises a logic circuit having a first section (1) which provides data latches, a second section (2) which provides a circuit generates a pre-destorted output and for compensating for level dependent jitter having an OR function element and a NOR function element each of which is coupled to two inputs and to a variable delay element as an input which provides a bi-modal delay for pulse width pre-distortion, a third section (3) which provides a muxing circuit, and a forth section (4) for clock distribution in the driver circuit. A fifth section is used for logic testing the driver circuit.

Tetrahedral-Mesh Simulation of Turbulent Flows with the Space-Time Conservative Schemes

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chau-Lyan; Venkatachari, Balaji; Cheng, Gary C.

2015-01-01

Direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows are predominantly carried out using structured, hexahedral meshes despite decades of development in unstructured mesh methods. Tetrahedral meshes offer ease of mesh generation around complex geometries and the potential of an orientation free grid that would provide un-biased small-scale dissipation and more accurate intermediate scale solutions. However, due to the lack of consistent multi-dimensional numerical formulations in conventional schemes for triangular and tetrahedral meshes at the cell interfaces, numerical issues exist when flow discontinuities or stagnation regions are present. The space-time conservative conservation element solution element (CESE) method - due to its Riemann-solver-free shock capturing capabilities, non-dissipative baseline schemes, and flux conservation in time as well as space - has the potential to more accurately simulate turbulent flows using unstructured tetrahedral meshes. To pave the way towards accurate simulation of shock/turbulent boundary-layer interaction, a series of wave and shock interaction benchmark problems that increase in complexity, are computed in this paper with triangular/tetrahedral meshes. Preliminary computations for the normal shock/turbulence interactions are carried out with a relatively coarse mesh, by direct numerical simulations standards, in order to assess other effects such as boundary conditions and the necessity of a buffer domain. The results indicate that qualitative agreement with previous studies can be obtained for flows where, strong shocks co-exist along with unsteady waves that display a broad range of scales, with a relatively compact computational domain and less stringent requirements for grid clustering near the shock. With the space-time conservation properties, stable solutions without any spurious wave reflections can be obtained without a need for buffer domains near the outflow/farfield boundaries. Computational results for the

Discrete conservation properties for shallow water flows using mixed mimetic spectral elements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, D.; Palha, A.; Gerritsma, M.

2018-01-01

A mixed mimetic spectral element method is applied to solve the rotating shallow water equations. The mixed method uses the recently developed spectral element histopolation functions, which exactly satisfy the fundamental theorem of calculus with respect to the standard Lagrange basis functions in

Concentrations of elements in fish fillets, fish muscle plugs, and crayfish from the 2007 Missouri Department of Conservation General Contaminant Monitoring Program

Science.gov (United States)

May, Thomas W.; Walther, Michael J.; Brumbaugh, William G.; McKee, Michael J.

2009-01-01

This report presents the results of a contaminant monitoring survey conducted annually by the Missouri Department of Conservation to examine the levels of selected elemental contaminants in fish fillets, fish muscle plugs, and crayfish. Fillets of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), bass (Micropterus salmoides, Micropterus dolomieu, Morone chrysops), walleye (Sander vitreus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), northern hog sucker (Hypentelium nigricans), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were collected from 21 sites as part of the Department's Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program. Long-pincered crayfish (Orconectes longidigitus) were collected from one site to assess trophic transfer of metals to fish. Fish muscle plugs were collected from smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) at two different locations from one site.

Whole-genome sequencing approaches for conservation biology: Advantages, limitations and practical recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuentes-Pardo, Angela P; Ruzzante, Daniel E

2017-10-01

Whole-genome resequencing (WGR) is a powerful method for addressing fundamental evolutionary biology questions that have not been fully resolved using traditional methods. WGR includes four approaches: the sequencing of individuals to a high depth of coverage with either unresolved or resolved haplotypes, the sequencing of population genomes to a high depth by mixing equimolar amounts of unlabelled-individual DNA (Pool-seq) and the sequencing of multiple individuals from a population to a low depth (lcWGR). These techniques require the availability of a reference genome. This, along with the still high cost of shotgun sequencing and the large demand for computing resources and storage, has limited their implementation in nonmodel species with scarce genomic resources and in fields such as conservation biology. Our goal here is to describe the various WGR methods, their pros and cons and potential applications in conservation biology. WGR offers an unprecedented marker density and surveys a wide diversity of genetic variations not limited to single nucleotide polymorphisms (e.g., structural variants and mutations in regulatory elements), increasing their power for the detection of signatures of selection and local adaptation as well as for the identification of the genetic basis of phenotypic traits and diseases. Currently, though, no single WGR approach fulfils all requirements of conservation genetics, and each method has its own limitations and sources of potential bias. We discuss proposed ways to minimize such biases. We envision a not distant future where the analysis of whole genomes becomes a routine task in many nonmodel species and fields including conservation biology. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

f-Element Ion Chelation in Highly Basic Media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paine, R.T.

2000-01-01

A large body of data has been collected over the last fifty years on the chemical behavior of f-element ions. The ions undergo rapid hydrolysis reactions in neutral or basic aqueous solutions that produce poorly understood oxide-hydroxide species; therefore, most of the fundamental f-element solution chemistry has allowed synthetic and separations chemists to rationally design advanced organic chelating ligands useful for highly selective partitioning and separation of f-element ions from complex acidic solution matrices. These ligands and new examples under development allow for the safe use and treatment of solutions containing highly radioactive species. This DOE/EMSP project was undertaken to address the following fundamental objectives: (1) study the chemical speciation of Sr and lanthanide (Ln) ions in basic aqueous media containing classical counter anions found in waste matrices; (2) prepare pyridine N-oxide phosphonates and phosphonic acids that might act as selective chelators for Ln ions in model basic pH waste streams; (3) study the binding of the new chelators toward Ln ions and (4) examine the utility of the chelators as decontamination and dissolution agents under basic solution conditions. The project has been successful in attacking selected aspects of the very difficult problems associated with basic pH solution f-element waste chemistry. In particular, the project has (1) shed additional light on the initial stages of Ln ion sol-gel-precipitate formulation under basic solution conditions; (2) generated new families of pyridine phosphonic acid chelators; (3) characterized the function of the chelators and (4) examined their utility as oxide-hydroxide dissolution agents. These findings have contributed significantly to an improved understanding of the behavior of Ln ions in basic media containing anions found in typical waste sludges as well as to the development of sludge dissolution agents. The new chelating reagents are easily made and could be

RENEWAL OF BASIC LAWS AND PRINCIPLES FOR POLAR CONTINUUM THEORIES (Ⅵ)-CONSERVATION LAWS OF MASS AND INERTIA

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

戴安民

2003-01-01

The purpose is to reestablish the coupled conservation laws, the local conservation equations and the jump conditions of mass and inertia for polar continuum theories. In this connection the new material derivatives of the deformation gradient, the line element, the surface element and the volume element were derived and the generalized Reynolds transport theorem was presented. Combining these conservation laws of mass and inertia with the balance laws of momentum, angular momentum and energy derived in our previous papers of this series, a rather complete system of coupled basic laws and principles for polar continuum theories is constituted on the whole. From this system the coupled nonlocal balance equations of mass, inertia, momentum, angular momentum and energy may be obtained by the usual localization.

High-temperature superconducting fault-current limiter - optimisation of superconducting elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

This report summarises the findings of a study initiated to continue the work of a DTI-LINK Collaborative Research Programme 'Enhancing the Properties of Bulk High Temperature Superconductors and their Potential Application as Fault Current Limiters (FCL). Details are given of computer modelling of the quenching process involving the transition from superconducting to normal conducting states undergone by the material when large currents are present. The design of compound elements, and a multi-element model are described along with FCL design covering distribution bus-coupler, embedded generator connection, larger generator connection, hazardous area safety, and interconnection to fault-prone network. The evaluation of thermal loss, test equipment and schedule, the optimised element, installed cost data, and the UK market are considered

In-circuit-measurement of parasitic elements in high gain high bandwidth low noise transimpedance amplifiers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochems, P; Kirk, A; Zimmermann, S

2014-12-01

Parasitic elements play an important role in the development of every high performance circuit. In the case of high gain, high bandwidth transimpedance amplifiers, the most important parasitic elements are parasitic capacitances at the input and in the feedback path, which significantly influence the stability, the frequency response, and the noise of the amplifier. As these parasitic capacitances range from a few picofarads down to only a few femtofarads, it is nearly impossible to measure them accurately using traditional LCR meters. Unfortunately, they also cannot be easily determined from the transfer function of the transimpedance amplifier, as it contains several overlapping effects and its measurement is only possible when the circuit is already stable. Therefore, we developed an in-circuit measurement method utilizing minimal modifications to the input stage in order to measure its parasitic capacitances directly and with unconditional stability. Furthermore, using the data acquired with this measurement technique, we both proposed a model for the complicated frequency response of high value thick film resistors as they are used in high gain transimpedance amplifiers and optimized our transimpedance amplifier design.

Liberals think more analytically (more "WEIRD") than conservatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Talhelm, Thomas; Haidt, Jonathan; Oishi, Shigehiro; Zhang, Xuemin; Miao, Felicity F; Chen, Shimin

2015-02-01

Henrich, Heine, and Norenzayan summarized cultural differences in psychology and argued that people from one particular culture are outliers: people from societies that are Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD). This study shows that liberals think WEIRDer than conservatives. In five studies with more than 5,000 participants, we found that liberals think more analytically (an element of WEIRD thought) than moderates and conservatives. Study 3 replicates this finding in the very different political culture of China, although it held only for people in more modernized urban centers. These results suggest that liberals and conservatives in the same country think as if they were from different cultures. Studies 4 to 5 show that briefly training people to think analytically causes them to form more liberal opinions, whereas training them to think holistically causes shifts to more conservative opinions. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Geographies of Conservation I: De-extinction and Precision Conservation

OpenAIRE

Adams, William Mark

2016-01-01

Extinction has long been a central concern in biodiversity conservation. Today, de-extinction offers interesting possibilities of restoring charismatic species and ecosystem function, but also risks and costs. Most de-extinction depends on genetic engineering and synthetic biology. These technologies are also proposed for use in ‘gene tweaking’ in wild species to enhance their chance of survival. Within conservation, the resulting debates pit an optimistic world of high-tech ‘precision con...

Double β-decay nuclear matrix elements and lepton conservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vergados, J.D.

1976-01-01

The nuclear matrix elements involved in the double β-decay of 48 Ca, 130 Te, and 128 Te were calculated using realistic nuclear interactions and shell model nuclear wave functions. The double doorway state is not appreciably mixed in the ground state of the final nuclei. So the ground state transitions contain a small fraction of the sum rule. A lepton nonconservation parameter eta -4 was deduced

Comparative genome sequencing of drosophila pseudoobscura: Chromosomal, gene and cis-element evolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Richards, Stephen; Liu, Yue; Bettencourt, Brian R.; Hradecky, Pavel; Letovsky, Stan; Nielsen, Rasmus; Thornton, Kevin; Todd, Melissa J.; Chen, Rui; Meisel, Richard P.; Couronne, Olivier; Hua, Sujun; Smith, Mark A.; Bussemaker, Harmen J.; van Batenburg, Marinus F.; Howells, Sally L.; Scherer, Steven E.; Sodergren, Erica; Matthews, Beverly B.; Crosby, Madeline A.; Schroeder, Andrew J.; Ortiz-Barrientos, Daniel; Rives, Catherine M.; Metzker, Michael L.; Muzny, Donna M.; Scott, Graham; Steffen, David; Wheeler, David A.; Worley, Kim C.; Havlak, Paul; Durbin, K. James; Egan, Amy; Gill, Rachel; Hume, Jennifer; Morgan, Margaret B.; Miner, George; Hamilton, Cerissa; Huang, Yanmei; Waldron, Lenee; Verduzco, Daniel; Blankenburg, Kerstin P.; Dubchak, Inna; Noor, Mohamed A.F.; Anderson, Wyatt; White, Kevin P.; Clark, Andrew G.; Schaeffer, Stephen W.; Gelbart, William; Weinstock, George M.; Gibbs, Richard A.

2004-04-01

The genome sequence of a second fruit fly, D. pseudoobscura, presents an opportunity for comparative analysis of a primary model organism D. melanogaster. The vast majority of Drosophila genes have remained on the same arm, but within each arm gene order has been extensively reshuffled leading to the identification of approximately 1300 syntenic blocks. A repetitive sequence is found in the D. pseudoobscura genome at many junctions between adjacent syntenic blocks. Analysis of this novel repetitive element family suggests that recombination between offset elements may have given rise to many paracentric inversions, thereby contributing to the shuffling of gene order in the D. pseudoobscura lineage. Based on sequence similarity and synteny, 10,516 putative orthologs have been identified as a core gene set conserved over 35 My since divergence. Genes expressed in the testes had higher amino acid sequence divergence than the genome wide average consistent with the rapid evolution of sex-specific proteins. Cis-regulatory sequences are more conserved than control sequences between the species but the difference is slight, suggesting that the evolution of cis-regulatory elements is flexible. Overall, a picture of repeat mediated chromosomal rearrangement, and high co-adaptation of both male genes and cis-regulatory sequences emerges as important themes of genome divergence between these species of Drosophila.

System for Conservation of Specially Protected Natural Areas as Sustainable Urban Development Element

Science.gov (United States)

Kryakhtunov, A.; Pelymskaya, O.; Chernykh, E.

2017-11-01

The article is devoted to the problem of the conservation of specially protected natural territories. The research topic is especially interesting for urban areas that provide sustainable urban development. The authors consider the main aspects of the sustainable settlement development and substantiate the direct dependence of the evolution of territories in the implementation of urban development activities with the ecological framework of a city. The object of the study is a specially protected natural area located in Western Siberia in the city of Tyumen, the Tyumen region. As a result of the analysis, the main problems of preservation of the nature monument of regional importance were revealed as well as a set of measures and management decisions regarding the conservation of the forest park.

Seniority-conserving forces and USp(2j+1) partial dynamical symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosensteel, G.; Rowe, D.J.

2003-01-01

A quasispin tensor decomposition of the two-nucleon interaction determines the most general seniority-conserving rotationally invariant two-body interaction in a j shell. Such interactions define solvable and partially solvable shell model Hamiltonians for which the unitary symplectic algebra USp(2j+1) provides a complete set of quantum numbers for a subset of states. The matrix elements of seniority-conserving interactions are deduced from the matrix elements of USp(2j+1) operators. A new and powerful numerical technique is presented for computing irreps of the USp(2j+1) algebra. Applications are reported for the low-energy spectra of N=50 and N=126 isotones. The effects of including seniority nonconserving interactions are investigated

Notes on the Mass Definition with Covariant Conservation Law

OpenAIRE

Fujimura, Jun

1990-01-01

Mass definition based on the conservation law of some physical quantities is investigated, adopting the 2nd rank tensor in four space world as the conserving quantity. It is shown that the scalar function appeared as coefficients in the general expression of this tensor quantity should be independent on s, s being the line element of the world line, under the postulate that the trajectories of free particle must be geodesic lines of the world. Discussions are made on this constant factor whic...

Traveling waves and conservation laws for highly nonlinear wave equations modeling Hertz chains

Science.gov (United States)

Przedborski, Michelle; Anco, Stephen C.

2017-09-01

A highly nonlinear, fourth-order wave equation that models the continuum theory of long wavelength pulses in weakly compressed, homogeneous, discrete chains with a general power-law contact interaction is studied. For this wave equation, all solitary wave solutions and all nonlinear periodic wave solutions, along with all conservation laws, are derived. The solutions are explicitly parameterized in terms of the asymptotic value of the wave amplitude in the case of solitary waves and the peak of the wave amplitude in the case of nonlinear periodic waves. All cases in which the solution expressions can be stated in an explicit analytic form using elementary functions are worked out. In these cases, explicit expressions for the total energy and total momentum for all solutions are obtained as well. The derivation of the solutions uses the conservation laws combined with an energy analysis argument to reduce the wave equation directly to a separable first-order differential equation that determines the wave amplitude in terms of the traveling wave variable. This method can be applied more generally to other highly nonlinear wave equations.

Incentive-based approaches in marine conservation: Applications for sea turtles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gjertsen Heidi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Conservation practitioners are increasingly turning to incentive-based approaches to encourage local resource users to change behaviors that impact biodiversity and natural habitat. We assess the design and performance of marine conservation interventions with varying types of incentives through an analysis of case studies from around the world. Here we focus on seven examples that are particularly relevant to designing incentives for sea turtle conservation. Four of the cases are focused on sea turtle conservation, and the others contain elements that may be applied to turtle projects. Many more opportunities exist for interventions that combine the strengths of these approaches, such as performance-based agreements that provide funds for education or alternative livelihood development, and leasing fishing rights to reduce bycatch.

International Space Station Bacteria Filter Element Service Life Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, J. L.

2005-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) uses high-efficiency particulate air filters to remove particulate matter from the cabin atmosphere. Known as bacteria filter elements (BFEs), there are 13 elements deployed on board the ISS's U.S. segment in the flight 4R assembly level. The preflight service life prediction of 1 yr for the BFEs is based upon engineering analysis of data collected during developmental testing that used a synthetic dust challenge. While this challenge is considered reasonable and conservative from a design perspective, an understanding of the actual filter loading is required to best manage the critical ISS program resources. Testing was conducted on BFEs returned from the ISS to refine the service life prediction. Results from this testing and implications to ISS resource management are provided.

Implementation of a high performance parallel finite element micromagnetics package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scholz, W.; Suess, D.; Dittrich, R.; Schrefl, T.; Tsiantos, V.; Forster, H.; Fidler, J.

2004-01-01

A new high performance scalable parallel finite element micromagnetics package has been implemented. It includes solvers for static energy minimization, time integration of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, and the nudged elastic band method

Entropy-stable summation-by-parts discretization of the Euler equations on general curved elements

Science.gov (United States)

Crean, Jared; Hicken, Jason E.; Del Rey Fernández, David C.; Zingg, David W.; Carpenter, Mark H.

2018-03-01

We present and analyze an entropy-stable semi-discretization of the Euler equations based on high-order summation-by-parts (SBP) operators. In particular, we consider general multidimensional SBP elements, building on and generalizing previous work with tensor-product discretizations. In the absence of dissipation, we prove that the semi-discrete scheme conserves entropy; significantly, this proof of nonlinear L2 stability does not rely on integral exactness. Furthermore, interior penalties can be incorporated into the discretization to ensure that the total (mathematical) entropy decreases monotonically, producing an entropy-stable scheme. SBP discretizations with curved elements remain accurate, conservative, and entropy stable provided the mapping Jacobian satisfies the discrete metric invariants; polynomial mappings at most one degree higher than the SBP operators automatically satisfy the metric invariants in two dimensions. In three-dimensions, we describe an elementwise optimization that leads to suitable Jacobians in the case of polynomial mappings. The properties of the semi-discrete scheme are verified and investigated using numerical experiments.

Cayley number and conservation laws for elementary particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vollendorf, F.

1975-01-01

It is shown that the five conservation laws of charge, hyper-charge, barion number and the two lepton numbers lead to the construction of a commutative non-associative 24 dimensional linear algebra. Each element of the algebra is an ordered set of three Cayley numbers. (orig.) [de

Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus in Mice by a Small Interfering RNA Targeting a Highly Conserved Sequence in Viral IRES Pseudoknot.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Su Moon

Full Text Available The hepatitis C virus (HCV internal ribosome entry site (IRES that directs cap-independent viral translation is a primary target for small interfering RNA (siRNA-based HCV antiviral therapy. However, identification of potent siRNAs against HCV IRES by bioinformatics-based siRNA design is a challenging task given the complexity of HCV IRES secondary and tertiary structures and association with multiple proteins, which can also dynamically change the structure of this cis-acting RNA element. In this work, we utilized siRNA tiling approach whereby siRNAs were tiled with overlapping sequences that were shifted by one or two nucleotides over the HCV IRES stem-loop structures III and IV spanning nucleotides (nts 277-343. Based on their antiviral activity, we mapped a druggable region (nts 313-343 where the targets of potent siRNAs were enriched. siIE22, which showed the greatest anti-HCV potency, targeted a highly conserved sequence across diverse HCV genotypes, locating within the IRES subdomain IIIf involved in pseudoknot formation. Stepwise target shifting toward the 5' or 3' direction by 1 or 2 nucleotides reduced the antiviral potency of siIE22, demonstrating the importance of siRNA accessibility to this highly structured and sequence-conserved region of HCV IRES for RNA interference. Nanoparticle-mediated systemic delivery of the stability-improved siIE22 derivative gs_PS1 siIE22, which contains a single phosphorothioate linkage on the guide strand, reduced the serum HCV genome titer by more than 4 log10 in a xenograft mouse model for HCV replication without generation of resistant variants. Our results provide a strategy for identifying potent siRNA species against a highly structured RNA target and offer a potential pan-HCV genotypic siRNA therapy that might be beneficial for patients resistant to current treatment regimens.

Trace elements in sediment samples of the Aswan High Dam Lake

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherief, M.K.; Awadallah, R.M.; Grass, F.

1981-01-01

Main and trace elements in Nile sediments of the Aswan High Dam Lake were investigated by means of Instrumental Activation Analysis. It was shown that the composition of the Nile sediments changes in accordance with the large gradients in flow rate and with elution and absorption processes. Particles containing Ca, Ba, Hf, Ti, V, and Na are sedimented preferentially near the headwater of Lake Nubia, whereas some elements are rather uniformly distributed, e.g. Fe, Co, Sm, and Eu, and some, such as Al, Sc, Cs, Th, La, and Ce, show a distinct increase downstream. Some elements do not fit into any of these three groups. (author)

Verification of Orthogrid Finite Element Modeling Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Steeve, B. E.

1996-01-01

The stress analysis of orthogrid structures, specifically with I-beam sections, is regularly performed using finite elements. Various modeling techniques are often used to simplify the modeling process but still adequately capture the actual hardware behavior. The accuracy of such 'Oshort cutso' is sometimes in question. This report compares three modeling techniques to actual test results from a loaded orthogrid panel. The finite element models include a beam, shell, and mixed beam and shell element model. Results show that the shell element model performs the best, but that the simpler beam and beam and shell element models provide reasonable to conservative results for a stress analysis. When deflection and stiffness is critical, it is important to capture the effect of the orthogrid nodes in the model.

Phylum-Level Conservation of Regulatory Information in Nematodes despite Extensive Non-coding Sequence Divergence

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Kacy L.; Arthur, Robert K.; Ruvinsky, Ilya

2015-01-01

Gene regulatory information guides development and shapes the course of evolution. To test conservation of gene regulation within the phylum Nematoda, we compared the functions of putative cis-regulatory sequences of four sets of orthologs (unc-47, unc-25, mec-3 and elt-2) from distantly-related nematode species. These species, Caenorhabditis elegans, its congeneric C. briggsae, and three parasitic species Meloidogyne hapla, Brugia malayi, and Trichinella spiralis, represent four of the five major clades in the phylum Nematoda. Despite the great phylogenetic distances sampled and the extensive sequence divergence of nematode genomes, all but one of the regulatory elements we tested are able to drive at least a subset of the expected gene expression patterns. We show that functionally conserved cis-regulatory elements have no more extended sequence similarity to their C. elegans orthologs than would be expected by chance, but they do harbor motifs that are important for proper expression of the C. elegans genes. These motifs are too short to be distinguished from the background level of sequence similarity, and while identical in sequence they are not conserved in orientation or position. Functional tests reveal that some of these motifs contribute to proper expression. Our results suggest that conserved regulatory circuitry can persist despite considerable turnover within cis elements. PMID:26020930

Phylum-Level Conservation of Regulatory Information in Nematodes despite Extensive Non-coding Sequence Divergence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kacy L Gordon

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Gene regulatory information guides development and shapes the course of evolution. To test conservation of gene regulation within the phylum Nematoda, we compared the functions of putative cis-regulatory sequences of four sets of orthologs (unc-47, unc-25, mec-3 and elt-2 from distantly-related nematode species. These species, Caenorhabditis elegans, its congeneric C. briggsae, and three parasitic species Meloidogyne hapla, Brugia malayi, and Trichinella spiralis, represent four of the five major clades in the phylum Nematoda. Despite the great phylogenetic distances sampled and the extensive sequence divergence of nematode genomes, all but one of the regulatory elements we tested are able to drive at least a subset of the expected gene expression patterns. We show that functionally conserved cis-regulatory elements have no more extended sequence similarity to their C. elegans orthologs than would be expected by chance, but they do harbor motifs that are important for proper expression of the C. elegans genes. These motifs are too short to be distinguished from the background level of sequence similarity, and while identical in sequence they are not conserved in orientation or position. Functional tests reveal that some of these motifs contribute to proper expression. Our results suggest that conserved regulatory circuitry can persist despite considerable turnover within cis elements.

Modelling of Equilibrium Between Mantle and Core: Refractory, Volatile, and Highly Siderophile Elements

Science.gov (United States)

Righter, K.; Danielson, L.; Pando, K.; Shofner, G.; Lee, C. -T.

2013-01-01

Siderophile elements have been used to constrain conditions of core formation and differentiation for the Earth, Mars and other differentiated bodies [1]. Recent models for the Earth have concluded that the mantle and core did not fully equilibrate and the siderophile element contents of the mantle can only be explained under conditions where the oxygen fugacity changes from low to high during accretion and the mantle and core do not fully equilibrate [2,3]. However these conclusions go against several physical and chemical constraints. First, calculations suggest that even with the composition of accreting material changing from reduced to oxidized over time, the fO2 defined by metal-silicate equilibrium does not change substantially, only by approximately 1 logfO2 unit [4]. An increase of more than 2 logfO2 units in mantle oxidation are required in models of [2,3]. Secondly, calculations also show that metallic impacting material will become deformed and sheared during accretion to a large body, such that it becomes emulsified to a fine scale that allows equilibrium at nearly all conditions except for possibly the length scale for giant impacts [5] (contrary to conclusions of [6]). Using new data for D(Mo) metal/silicate at high pressures, together with updated partitioning expressions for many other elements, we will show that metal-silicate equilibrium across a long span of Earth s accretion history may explain the concentrations of many siderophile elements in Earth's mantle. The modeling includes refractory elements Ni, Co, Mo, and W, as well as highly siderophile elements Au, Pd and Pt, and volatile elements Cd, In, Bi, Sb, Ge and As.

Planning for land use and conservation: Assessing GIS-based conservation software for land use planning

Science.gov (United States)

Rob Baldwin; Ryan Scherzinger; Don Lipscomb; Miranda Mockrin; Susan Stein

2014-01-01

Recent advances in planning and ecological software make it possible to conduct highly technical analyses to prioritize conservation investments and inform local land use planning. We review these tools, termed conservation planning tools, and assess the knowledge of a key set of potential users: the land use planning community. We grouped several conservation software...

Characterizing high-temperature deformation of internally heated nuclear fuel element simulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belov, A.I.; Fong, R.W.L.; Leitch, B.W.; Nitheanandan, T.; Williams, A., E-mail: alexander.belov@cnl.ca [Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario (Canada)

2016-06-15

The sag behaviour of a simulated nuclear fuel element during high-temperature transients has been investigated in an experiment utilizing an internal indirect heating method. The major motivation of the experiment was to improve understanding of the dominant mechanisms underlying the element thermo-mechanical response under loss-of-coolant accident conditions and to obtain accurate experimental data to support development of 3-D computational fuel element models. The experiment was conducted using an electrically heated CANDU fuel element simulator. Three consecutive thermal cycles with peak temperatures up to ≈1000 {sup o}C were applied to the element. The element sag deflections and sheath temperatures were measured. On heating up to 600 {sup o}C, only minor lateral deflections of the element were observed. Further heating to above 700 {sup o}C resulted in an element multi-rate creep and significant permanent bow. Post-test visual and X-ray examinations revealed a pronounced necking of the sheath at the pellet-to-pellet interface locations. A wall thickness reduction was detected in the necked region that is interpreted as a sheath longitudinal strain localization effect. The sheath cross-sectioning showed signs of a 'hard' pellet-cladding interaction due to the applied cycles. A 3-D model of the experiment was generated using the ANSYS finite element code. As a fully coupled thermal mechanical simulation is computationally expensive, it was deemed sufficient to use the measured sheath temperatures as a boundary condition, and thus an uncoupled mechanical simulation only was conducted. The ANSYS simulation results match the experiment sag observations well up to the point at which the fuel element started cooling down. (author)

78 FR 72533 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Certain Consumer Products

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-03

... published on October 23, 2013. That final rule adopted changes to definitions and energy conservation... revised definition and revised energy conservation standards for small duct high velocity central air... Congress has provided in the AEMTCA for the Secretary of Energy to revise definitions and energy...

Governance principles for wildlife conservation in the 21st century

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, Daniel J.; Smith, Christian; Forstchen, Ann; Hare, Darragh; Pomeranz, Emily; Doyle-Capitman, Catherine; Schuler, Krysten; Organ, John F.

2016-01-01

Wildlife conservation is losing ground in the U.S. for many reasons. The net effect is declines in species and habitat. To address this trend, the wildlife conservation institution (i.e., all customs, practices, organizations and agencies, policies, and laws with respect to wildlife) must adapt to contemporary social–ecological conditions. Adaptation could be supported by clear guidelines reflecting contemporary expectations for wildlife governance. We combine elements of public trust thinking and good governance to produce a broad set of wildlife governance principles. These principles represent guidance for ecologically and socially responsible wildlife conservation. They address persistent, systemic problems and, if adopted, will bring the institution into line with modern expectations for governance of public natural resources. Implementation will require changes in values, objectives, and processes of the wildlife conservation institution. These changes may be difficult, but promise improved wildlife conservation outcomes and increased support for conservation. We introduce challenges and opportunities associated with the principles, and encourage dialogue about them among scientists, practitioners, and other leaders in U.S. wildlife conservation. The principles alone will not change the course of conservation for the better, but may be necessary for such change to occur.

Removal of actinide elements from high level radioactive waste by trialkylphosphine oxide (TRPO)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Chongli; Yang Dazhu; He Longhai; Xu Jingming; Zhu Yongjun

1992-03-01

The modified TRPO process for removing actinide elements from synthetic solution, which was taken from reprocessing of power reactor nuclear fuel, was verified by cascade experiment. Neptunium valence was adjusted in the process for improving neptunium removing efficiency. At 1 mol/L concentration of HNO 3 of feed solution and after a few stages of extraction with 30% t=TRPO kerosene, over 99.9% of Am, Pu, Np and U could be removed from HAW (high level radioactive waste) solution. The stripping of actinides loaded in TRPO are accomplished by high concentration nitric acid, oxalic acid and sodium carbonate instead of amino carboxylic complexing agents used in previous process. The actinides stripped were divided into three groups, which are Am + RE, Np + Pu, and U, and the cross contamination between them is small. Behaviours of F.P. elements are divided into three types which are not extracted, little extracted and extracted elements. The extracted elements are rare earth and Pd, Zr and Mo which are co-extracted with actinides. The separation factor between actinides and other two types of F.P.elements will increase if more scrubbing sections are added in the process. The relative concentration profile of actinide elements and Tc in various stages as well as the distribution of actinides and F.P. elements in the process stream solutions are also presented

Private landowners and environmental conservation: a case study of social-psychological determinants of conservation program participation in Ontario

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Drescher

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Preservation of biodiversity and continued provision of ecosystem services increasingly relies on environmental conservation on private lands. Despite a multitude of past studies, our knowledge of the motives, opportunities, and challenges of private land conservation, especially on nonworking lands, where financial incentives are less relevant, remains incomplete. A key reason is that a variety of theoretical approaches, resulting in diverging study results, have been used to investigate private land conservation. To help remedy this problem, the current study rigorously examined several established social-psychological determinants of proenvironmental behaviors and developed a comprehensive model, which merged elements from previous studies, to investigate landowner participation in a government-sponsored private land conservation program for nonworking lands. The results are based on analysis of a mailed survey of 800 program-eligible landowners. Contrasting program participants with nonparticipants, we elicited information such as about values, worldviews, socio-demographic characteristics, and property attributes that led landowners to participate in this conservation program. The results of our study illustrate the complex relationships among values, worldviews, norms, attitudes, and behaviors emphasizing the importance of proenvironmental worldviews and of formal education for increasing the likelihood of enrollment in this government-sponsored private land conservation program. Against expectation, neither personal norms, household income, political leaning, nor the size of the eligible property area were found to be important in directly determining the decision to enroll in this conservation program. However, an association of political leaning with stated personal obligation for private land conservation was found. Our results highlight the relationship between formal education and achievement of private land conservation goals

pTC Plasmids from Sulfolobus Species in the Geothermal Area of Tengchong, China: Genomic Conservation and Naturally-Occurring Variations as a Result of Transposition by Mobile Genetic Elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Xiaoyu; Huang, Xiaoxing; Wang, Haina; Huang, Li

2015-02-12

Plasmids occur frequently in Archaea. A novel plasmid (denoted pTC1) containing typical conjugation functions has been isolated from Sulfolobus tengchongensis RT8-4, a strain obtained from a hot spring in Tengchong, China, and characterized. The plasmid is a circular double-stranded DNA molecule of 20,417 bp. Among a total of 26 predicted pTC1 ORFs, 23 have homologues in other known Sulfolobus conjugative plasmids (CPs). pTC1 resembles other Sulfolobus CPs in genome architecture, and is most highly conserved in the genomic region encoding conjugation functions. However, attempts to demonstrate experimentally the capacity of the plasmid for conjugational transfer were unsuccessful. A survey revealed that pTC1 and its closely related plasmid variants were widespread in the geothermal area of Tengchong. Variations of the plasmids at the target sites for transposition by an insertion sequence (IS) and a miniature inverted-repeat transposable element (MITE) were readily detected. The IS was efficiently inserted into the pTC1 genome, and the inserted sequence was inactivated and degraded more frequently in an imprecise manner than in a precise manner. These results suggest that the host organism has evolved a strategy to maintain a balance between the insertion and elimination of mobile genetic elements to permit genomic plasticity while inhibiting their fast spreading.

pTC Plasmids from Sulfolobus Species in the Geothermal Area of Tengchong, China: Genomic Conservation and Naturally-Occurring Variations as a Result of Transposition by Mobile Genetic Elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoyu Xiang

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Plasmids occur frequently in Archaea. A novel plasmid (denoted pTC1 containing typical conjugation functions has been isolated from Sulfolobus tengchongensis RT8-4, a strain obtained from a hot spring in Tengchong, China, and characterized. The plasmid is a circular double-stranded DNA molecule of 20,417 bp. Among a total of 26 predicted pTC1 ORFs, 23 have homologues in other known Sulfolobus conjugative plasmids (CPs. pTC1 resembles other Sulfolobus CPs in genome architecture, and is most highly conserved in the genomic region encoding conjugation functions. However, attempts to demonstrate experimentally the capacity of the plasmid for conjugational transfer were unsuccessful. A survey revealed that pTC1 and its closely related plasmid variants were widespread in the geothermal area of Tengchong. Variations of the plasmids at the target sites for transposition by an insertion sequence (IS and a miniature inverted-repeat transposable element (MITE were readily detected. The IS was efficiently inserted into the pTC1 genome, and the inserted sequence was inactivated and degraded more frequently in an imprecise manner than in a precise manner. These results suggest that the host organism has evolved a strategy to maintain a balance between the insertion and elimination of mobile genetic elements to permit genomic plasticity while inhibiting their fast spreading.

High-energy elastic recoil detection heavy ions for light element analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goppelt-Langer, P.; Yamamoto, S.; Takeshita, H.; Aoki, Y.; Naramoto, H.

1994-01-01

The detection of light and medium heavy elements in not homogeneous solids is a severe problem in ion beam analysis. Heavy elements can be detected by the well established Rutherford backscattering technique (RBS). In a homogeneous host material most impurities can be easily analyzed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). Some isotopes ( 3 He, 6 Li, 10 B) can be measured by nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) using thermal neutrons inducing (n, p) or (n, α) reactions. Others can be detected by energetic ion beams by nuclear reactions (e.g. 15 N( 1 H, αγ) 12 C for analysis of hydrogen). A high content of H, D or T can be also determined by elastic recoil detection using an energetic He beam. The latter technique has been developed to a universal method for detection of light and heavy elements in any target, using a high energetic heavy ion beam and a detector system, which is able to identify the recoils and delivers energy and position of the particles. (author)

3D PRINTING SUSTAINABLE BUILDING COMPONENTS FOR FACADES AND AS WINDOW ELEMENTS

Science.gov (United States)

The façade elements we design will be targeted at the construction industry and will be evaluated in the context of rapid manufacturing, energy conservation, thermal performance, structural strength, durability and construction assembly. The façade element des...

High performance high-κ/metal gate complementary metal oxide semiconductor circuit element on flexible silicon

KAUST Repository

Sevilla, Galo T.; Almuslem, A. S.; Gumus, Abdurrahman; Hussain, Aftab M.; Hussain, Aftab M.; Cruz, Melvin; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2016-01-01

shows large area of silicon thinning with pre-fabricated high performance elements with ultra-large-scale-integration density (using 90 nm node technology) and then dicing of such large and thinned (seemingly fragile) pieces into smaller pieces using

Mistaken identity: activating conservative political identities induces "conservative" financial decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Michael W; Carranza, Erica; Fox, Craig R

2008-11-01

Four studies investigated whether activating a social identity can lead group members to choose options that are labeled in words associated with that identity. When political identities were made salient, Republicans (but not Democrats) became more likely to choose the gamble or investment option labeled "conservative." This shift did not occur in a condition in which the same options were unlabeled. Thus, the mechanism underlying the effect appears to be not activated identity-related values prioritizing low risk, but rather activated identity-related language (the group label "conservative"). Indeed, when political identities were salient, Republicans favored options labeled "conservative" regardless of whether the options were low or high risk. Finally, requiring participants to explain the label "conservative" before making their choice did not diminish the effect, which suggests that it does not merely reflect inattention to content or construct accessibility. We discuss the implications of these results for the literatures on identity, priming, choice, politics, and marketing.

A Taylor weak-statement algorithm for hyperbolic conservation laws

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, A. J.; Kim, J. W.

1987-01-01

Finite element analysis, applied to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) problem classes, presents a formal procedure for establishing the ingredients of a discrete approximation numerical solution algorithm. A classical Galerkin weak-statement formulation, formed on a Taylor series extension of the conservation law system, is developed herein that embeds a set of parameters eligible for constraint according to specification of suitable norms. The derived family of Taylor weak statements is shown to contain, as special cases, over one dozen independently derived CFD algorithms published over the past several decades for the high speed flow problem class. A theoretical analysis is completed that facilitates direct qualitative comparisons. Numerical results for definitive linear and nonlinear test problems permit direct quantitative performance comparisons.

Consumer energy conservation policies and programs in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boer, J. de; Ester, P.; Mindell, C.; Schopman, M.

1983-01-01

This report presents an overview of consumer energy conservation policies and programs in the Netherlands and analyses them in terms of program objectives, conservation strategies, program instruments, context elements, and impacts on energy consumption, on consumers' lifestyles and on the environment. Part 1 briefly outlines the energy situation in the Netherlands. Diversification of energy sources and conservation of energy use are the main themes of Dutch energy policy. Controversial issues are the export volume of natural gas and the acceptability of nuclear energy. Part 2 describes and evaluates a number of consumer energy conservation programs. A broad range of programs is presented, including governmental programs (mass media compaigns, the national insulation program), initiatives from consumer organizations and environmental groups, as well as projects on the community level. Part 3 summarizes the main findings and suggests some policy recommendations. The climate of opinion in the Netherlands appears to be quite favorable towards energy conservation. The commitment to conserve, however, is not very strong. Given the broad variety of conservation programs the necessity of coordination is emphasized. As consumers tend to be weakly represented in the program agencies, it is recommended to extend or introduce their participation. Particular attention is given to the lack of evaluation studies. Usually, program impacts are unknown. The desirability of utilizing community level indicators in the assessment of energy conservation policy is underlined. (orig.)

High voltage power supply systems for electron beam and plasma technologies. Its new element base

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dermengi, P.G.; Kureghan, A.S.; Pokrovsky, S.V.; Tchvanov, V.A.

1994-01-01

Transforming technique and high voltage technique supplementing each other more and more unite in indivisible constructions of modern apparatuses and systems and applicated in modern technologies providing its high efficiency. Specially worked out, ecologically clean, inertial, inflammable perfluororganic liquid is used in elements and electronic apparatuses simultaneously as insulating and cooling media. This liquid is highly fluid, fills tiny cavities in construction elements and in the places of high concentration of losses, where maximum local overheating of active parts or apparatus constructions takes place, it transforms to boiling state with highly intensive taking off of heat energy from cooled surface point. For instance, being cooled by mentioned perfluororganic liquid, copper wire can conduct current to 50 A/mm 2 density, but in ordinary conditions of transformers, reactors and busses, current density can reach only few Amperes. Possibility of considerable increasing of current density, that is reached by means of intensive cooling, provided by worked out liquid, and taking into account its incredibly high insulating features (liquid has electric strength to 50 KV/mm) allows to provide optimum heat regime of active parts of transformers. reactors, condenser, semiconductor devices, resistors, construction elements and electrotechnical apparatus in general. Particularly high effect of decreasing of weight and dimensions characteristics of elements and electrotechnical apparatus in general can be reached under working out of special constructions of each element and apparatus details, adapted to use of mentioned liquid as insulating and cooling media

Conservation of Charge and Conservation of Current

OpenAIRE

Eisenberg, Bob

2016-01-01

Conservation of current and conservation of charge are nearly the same thing: when enough is known about charge movement, conservation of current can be derived from conservation of charge, in ideal dielectrics, for example. Conservation of current is enforced implicitly in ideal dielectrics by theories that conserve charge. But charge movement in real materials like semiconductors or ionic solutions is never ideal. We present an apparently universal derivation of conservation of current and ...

Southern California Seismic Network: Caltech/USGS Element of TriNet 1997-2001

OpenAIRE

Hauksson, Egill; Small, Patrick; Hafner, Katrin; Busby, Robert; Clayton, Robert; Goltz, James; Heaton, Tom; Hutton, Kate; Kanamori, Hiroo; Polet, Jascha

2001-01-01

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology (CDMG) are completing the implementation of TriNet, a modern seismic information system for southern California. TriNet consists of two elements, the Caltech-USGS element and the CDMG element (Mori et al., 1998). The Caltech-USGS element (Caltech-USGS TriNet) concentrates on rapid notification and archiving...

A novel, highly conserved metallothionein family in basidiomycete fungi and characterization of two representative SlMTa and SlMTb genes in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Suillus luteus.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Hoai; Rineau, François; Vangronsveld, Jaco; Cuypers, Ann; Colpaert, Jan V; Ruytinx, Joske

2017-07-01

The basidiomycete Suillus luteus is an important member of the ectomycorrhizal community that thrives in heavy metal polluted soils covered with pioneer pine forests. This study aimed to identify potential heavy metal chelators in S. luteus. Two metallothionein (MT) coding genes, SlMTa and SlMTb, were identified. When heterologously expressed in yeast, both SlMTa and SlMTb can rescue the Cu sensitive mutant from Cu toxicity. In S. luteus, transcription of both SlMTa and SlMTb is induced by Cu but not Cd or Zn. Several putative Cu-sensing and metal-response elements are present in the promoter sequences. These results indicate that SlMTa and SlMTb function as Cu-thioneins. Homologs of the S. luteus MTs are present in 49 species belonging to 10 different orders of the subphylum Agaricomycotina and are remarkably conserved. The length of the proteins, number and distribution of cysteine residues indicate a novel family of fungal MTs. The ubiquitous and highly conserved features of these MTs suggest that they are important for basic cellular functions in species in the subphylum Agaricomycotina. © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A finite element method with a high order L{sup 2} decomposition devoted to the simulation of diphasic low Mach number flows; Une methode elements finis a decomposition L{sup 2} d'ordre eleve motivee par la simulation d'ecoulement diphasique bas mach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fortin, T

2006-05-15

This work deals with the discretization of Navier-Stokes equations using different finite element methods adapted to the problem of two-phase flows. These methods must be of high order to limit the presence of spurious flows (which contradict the establishment of a physical equilibrium) and to verify energy conservation properties. Several solutions are proposed which seem to fulfill these expectations. A reformulation of the six-equation system adapted to low Mach two-phase flows has been also proposed. These methods have been implemented into the Trio-U code of CEA Grenoble, but have been tested only on simple 'academic' configurations. (J.S.)

Virtual gap element approach for the treatment of non-matching interface using three-dimensional solid elements

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yeo-Ul; Youn, Sung-Kie; Park, K. C.

2017-10-01

A method for three-dimensional non-matching interface treatment with a virtual gap element is developed. When partitioned structures contain curved interfaces and have different brick meshes, the discretized models have gaps along the interfaces. As these gaps bring unexpected errors, special treatments are required to handle the gaps. In the present work, a virtual gap element is introduced to link the frame and surface domain nodes in the frame work of the mortar method. Since the surface of the hexahedron element is quadrilateral, the gap element is pyramidal. The pyramidal gap element consists of four domain nodes and one frame node. Zero-strain condition in the gap element is utilized for the interpolation of frame nodes in terms of the domain nodes. This approach is taken to satisfy the momentum and energy conservation. The present method is applicable not only to curved interfaces with gaps, but also to flat interfaces in three dimensions. Several numerical examples are given to describe the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method.

Malazy, a degenerate, species-specific transposable element in Cercospora zeae-maydis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Won-Bo; Dunkle, Larry D

2005-01-01

Two fungal pathogens, Cercospora zeae-maydis Groups I and II, cause gray leaf spot of maize. During the sequencing of a cosmid library from C. zeae-maydis Group I, we discovered a sequence with high similarity to Maggy, a transposable element from Magnaporthe grisea. The element from C. zeae-maydis, named Malazy, contained 194-base-pair terminal repeats and sequences with high similarity to reverse transcriptase and integrase, components of the POL gene in the gypsy-like retrotransposons in fungi. Sequences with similarity to other POL gene components, protease and ribonuclease, were not detected in Malazy. A single copy of the element was detected by PCR and Southern analyses in all six North American isolates of C. zeae-maydis Group I but was not detected in the four isolates of C. zeae-maydis Group II from three continents or in phylogenetically related species. Fragments of the core domains of reverse transcriptase and integrase contained a high frequency of stop codons that were conserved in all six isolates of Group I. Additional C:G to T:A transitions in occasional isolates usually were silent mutations, while two resulted in isolate-specific stop codons. The absence of Malazy from related species suggests that it was acquired after the divergence of C. zeae-maydis Groups I and II. The high frequency of stop codons and the presence of a single copy of the element suggest that it was inactivated soon after it was acquired. Because the element is inactive and because reading frames for other genes were not found in sequences flanking the element, Malazy does not appear to be the cause of differences leading to speciation or genetic diversity between C. zeae-maydis Groups I and II.

What is a conservation actor?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Jepson

2011-01-01

Full Text Available As a crisis-oriented discipline, conservation biology needs actions to understand the state of nature and thwart declines in biodiversity. Actors-traditionally individuals, institutions, and collectives-have been central to delivering such goals in practice. However, the definition of actors within the discipline has been narrow and their role in influencing conservation outcomes inadequately conceptualised. In this paper, we examine the question ′What is a conservation actor?′ Who or what creates the capacity to influence conservation values and actions? Drawing from theoretical developments in Actor-Network Theory and collective governance, we argue that the concept of an actor in conservation biology should be broadened to include non-humans, such as species and devices, because they have the agency and ability to influence project goals and outcomes. We illustrate this through four examples: the Asian elephant, International Union for Conservation of Nature red lists, the High Conservation Value approach, and an Integrated Conservation and Development Project. We argue that a broader conceptualisation of actors in conservation biology will produce new forms of understanding that could open up new areas of conservation research, enhance practice and draw attention to spheres of conservation activity that might require stronger oversight and governance.

High cumulants of conserved charges and their statistical uncertainties

Science.gov (United States)

Li-Zhu, Chen; Ye-Yin, Zhao; Xue, Pan; Zhi-Ming, Li; Yuan-Fang, Wu

2017-10-01

We study the influence of measured high cumulants of conserved charges on their associated statistical uncertainties in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. With a given number of events, the measured cumulants randomly fluctuate with an approximately normal distribution, while the estimated statistical uncertainties are found to be correlated with corresponding values of the obtained cumulants. Generally, with a given number of events, the larger the cumulants we measure, the larger the statistical uncertainties that are estimated. The error-weighted averaged cumulants are dependent on statistics. Despite this effect, however, it is found that the three sigma rule of thumb is still applicable when the statistics are above one million. Supported by NSFC (11405088, 11521064, 11647093), Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (2014CB845402) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) (2016YFE0104800)

Species Richness and Community Structure on a High Latitude Reef: Implications for Conservation and Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wayne Houston

2011-07-01

Full Text Available In spite of the wealth of research on the Great Barrier Reef, few detailed biodiversity assessments of its inshore coral communities have been conducted. Effective conservation and management of marine ecosystems begins with fine-scale biophysical assessments focused on diversity and the architectural species that build the structural framework of the reef. In this study, we investigate key coral diversity and environmental attributes of an inshore reef system surrounding the Keppel Bay Islands near Rockhampton in Central Queensland, Australia, and assess their implications for conservation and management. The Keppels has much higher coral diversity than previously found. The average species richness for the 19 study sites was ~40 with representatives from 68% of the ~244 species previously described for the southern Great Barrier Reef. Using scleractinian coral species richness, taxonomic distinctiveness and coral cover as the main criteria, we found that five out of 19 sites had particularly high conservation value. A further site was also considered to be of relatively high value. Corals at this site were taxonomically distinct from the others (representatives of two families were found here but not at other sites and a wide range of functionally diverse taxa were present. This site was associated with more stressful conditions such as high temperatures and turbidity. Highly diverse coral communities or biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and taxonomically distinct reefs may act as insurance policies for climatic disturbance, much like Noah’s Arks for reefs. While improving water quality and limiting anthropogenic impacts are clearly important management initiatives to improve the long-term outlook for inshore reefs, identifying, mapping and protecting these coastal ‘refugia’ may be the key for ensuring their regeneration against catastrophic climatic disturbance in the meantime.

Magnetohydrodynamics and fluid dynamics action principles and conservation laws

CERN Document Server

Webb, Gary

2018-01-01

This text focuses on conservation laws in magnetohydrodynamics, gasdynamics and hydrodynamics. A grasp of new conservation laws is essential in fusion and space plasmas, as well as in geophysical fluid dynamics; they can be used to test numerical codes, or to reveal new aspects of the underlying physics, e.g., by identifying the time history of the fluid elements as an important key to understanding fluid vorticity or in investigating the stability of steady flows. The ten Galilean Lie point symmetries of the fundamental action discussed in this book give rise to the conservation of energy, momentum, angular momentum and center of mass conservation laws via Noether’s first theorem. The advected invariants are related to fluid relabeling symmetries – so-called diffeomorphisms associated with the Lagrangian map – and are obtained by applying the Euler-Poincare approach to Noether’s second theorem. The book discusses several variants of helicity including kinetic helicity, cross helicity, magnetic helici...

Elemental redistribution behavior in tellurite glass induced by high repetition rate femtosecond laser irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teng, Yu; Zhou, Jiajia; Khisro, Said Nasir; Zhou, Shifeng; Qiu, Jianrong

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Abnormal elements redistribution behavior was observed in tellurite glass. • The refractive index and Raman intensity distribution changed significantly. • The relative glass composition remained unchanged while the glass density changed. • First time report on the abnormal element redistribution behavior in glass. • The glass network structure determines the elemental redistribution behavior. - Abstract: The success in the fabrication of micro-structures in glassy materials using femtosecond laser irradiation has proved its potential applications in the construction of three-dimensional micro-optical components or devices. In this paper, we report the elemental redistribution behavior in tellurite glass after the irradiation of high repetition rate femtosecond laser pulses. The relative glass composition remained unchanged while the glass density changed significantly, which is quite different from previously reported results about the high repetition rate femtosecond laser induced elemental redistribution in silicate glasses. The involved mechanism is discussed with the conclusion that the glass network structure plays the key role to determine the elemental redistribution. This observation not only helps to understand the interaction process of femtosecond laser with glassy materials, but also has potential applications in the fabrication of micro-optical devices

Numerical simulations of helium flow through prismatic fuel elements of very high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, Felipe Lopes; Pinto, Joao Pedro C.T.A.

2013-01-01

The 4 th generation Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) most popular concept uses a graphite-moderated and helium cooled core with an outlet gas temperature of approximately 1000 deg C. The high output temperature allows the use of the process heat and the production of hydrogen through the thermochemical iodine-sulfur process as well as highly efficient electricity generation. There are two concepts of VHTR core: the prismatic block and the pebble bed core. The prismatic block core has two popular concepts for the fuel element: multihole and annular. In the multi-hole fuel element, prismatic graphite blocks contain cylindrical flow channels where the helium coolant flows removing heat from cylindrical fuel rods positioned in the graphite. In the other hand, the annular type fuel element has annular channels around the fuel. This paper shows the numerical evaluations of prismatic multi-hole and annular VHTR fuel elements and does a comparison between the results of these assembly reactors. In this study the analysis were performed using the CFD code ANSYS CFX 14.0. The simulations were made in 1/12 fuel element models. A numerical validation was performed through the energy balance, where the theoretical and the numerical generated heat were compared for each model. (author)

A procedure validation for high conversion reactors fuel elements calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishida, V.N.; Patino, N.E.; Abbate, M.J.; Sbaffoni, M.M.

1990-01-01

The present work includes procedure validation of cross sections generation starting from nuclear data and the calculation system actually used at the Bariloche Atomic Center Reactor and Neutrons Division for its application to fuel elements calculation of a high conversion reactor (HCR). To this purpose, the fuel element calculation belonging to a High Conversion Boiling water Reactor (HCBWR) was chosen as reference problem, employing the Monte Carlo method. Various cases were considered: with and without control bars, cold of hot, at different vacuum fractions. Multiplication factors, reaction rates, power maps and peak factors were compared. A sensitivity analysis of typical cells used, the approximations employed to solve the transport equation (Sn or Diffusion), the 1-D or 2-D representation and densification of the spatial network used, with the aim of evaluating their influence on the parameters studied and to come to an optimum combination to be used in future design calculations. (Author) [es

High-order conservative discretizations for some cases of the rigid body motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozlov, Roman

2008-01-01

Modified vector fields can be used to construct high-order structure-preserving numerical integrators for ordinary differential equations. In the present Letter we consider high-order integrators based on the implicit midpoint rule, which conserve quadratic first integrals. It is shown that these integrators are particularly suitable for the rigid body motion with an additional quadratic first integral. In this case high-order integrators preserve all four first integrals of motion. The approach is illustrated on the Lagrange top (a rotationally symmetric rigid body with a fixed point on the symmetry axis). The equations of motion are considered in the space fixed frame because in this frame Lagrange top admits a neat description. The Lagrange top motion includes the spherical pendulum and the planar pendulum, which swings in a vertical plane, as particular cases

L'Innocenza Perduta (Lost Innocence: Conserving a Carrara Marble Statue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Cleere

1997-05-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the conservation of 'L'Innocenza Perduta (Lost Innocence', a marble statue by the Florentine sculptor Emilio Santarelli. As the statue is on open display at University College London and is accessible to the public, it has been vulnerable to destructive elements, including airborne pollutants and vandalism. Cleaning was done by steam and poultice. However, during the cleaning process it became clear that the capital and plinth required more complicated conservation treatments due to considerable cracking of the stone.

Unstructured grids and an element based conservative approach for a black-oil reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nogueira, Regis Lopes; Fernandes, Bruno Ramon Batista [Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE (Brazil). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Araujo, Andre Luiz de Souza [Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology of Ceara - IFCE, Fortaleza (Brazil). Industry Department], e-mail: andre@ifce.edu.br; Marcondes, Francisco [Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE (Brazil). Dept. of Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science], e-mail: marcondes@ufc.br

2010-07-01

Unstructured meshes presented one upgrade in modeling the main important features of the reservoir such as discrete fractures, faults, and irregular boundaries. From several methodologies available, the Element based Finite Volume Method (EbFVM), in conjunction with unstructured meshes, is one methodology that deserves large attention. In this approach, the reservoir, for 2D domains, is discretized using a mixed two-dimensional mesh using quadrilateral and triangle elements. After the initial step of discretization, each element is divided into sub-elements and the mass balance for each component is developed for each sub-element. The equations for each control-volume using a cell vertex construction are formulated through the contribution of different neighboured elements. This paper presents an investigation of an element-based approach using the black-oil model based on pressure and global mass fractions. In this approach, even when all gas phase is dissolved in oil phase the global mass fraction of gas will be different from zero. Therefore, no additional numerical procedure is necessary in order to treat the gas phase appear/disappearance. In this paper the above mentioned approach is applied to multiphase flows involving oil, gas, and water. The mass balance equations in terms of global mass fraction of oil, gas and water are discretized through the EbFVM and linearized by the Newton's method. The results are presented in terms of volumetric rates of oil, gas, and water and phase saturations. (author)

Differential Regulation of Receptor Activation and Agonist Selectivity by Highly Conserved Tryptophans in the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Binding Site

OpenAIRE

Williams, Dustin K.; Stokes, Clare; Horenstein, Nicole A.; Papke, Roger L.

2009-01-01

We have shown previously that a highly conserved Tyr in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) ligand-binding domain (LBD) (α7 Tyr188 or α4 Tyr195) differentially regulates the activity of acetylcholine (ACh) and the α7-selective agonist 3-(4-hydroxy,2-methoxybenzylidene)anabaseine (4OH-GTS-21) in α4β2 and α7 nAChR. In this study, we mutated two highly conserved LBD Trp residues in human α7 and α4β2 and expressed the receptors in Xenopus laevis oocytes. α7 Re...

Low-Intensity Agricultural Landscapes in Transylvania Support High Butterfly Diversity: Implications for Conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Loos, Jacqueline; Dorresteijn, Ine; Hanspach, Jan; Fust, Pascal; Rakosy, László; Fischer, Joern

2014-01-01

European farmland biodiversity is declining due to land use changes towards agricultural intensification or abandonment. Some Eastern European farming systems have sustained traditional forms of use, resulting in high levels of biodiversity. However, global markets and international policies now imply rapid and major changes to these systems. To effectively protect farmland biodiversity, understanding landscape features which underpin species diversity is crucial. Focusing on butterflies, we addressed this question for a cultural-historic landscape in Southern Transylvania, Romania. Following a natural experiment, we randomly selected 120 survey sites in farmland, 60 each in grassland and arable land. We surveyed butterfly species richness and abundance by walking transects with four repeats in summer 2012. We analysed species composition using Detrended Correspondence Analysis. We modelled species richness, richness of functional groups, and abundance of selected species in response to topography, woody vegetation cover and heterogeneity at three spatial scales, using generalised linear mixed effects models. Species composition widely overlapped in grassland and arable land. Composition changed along gradients of heterogeneity at local and context scales, and of woody vegetation cover at context and landscape scales. The effect of local heterogeneity on species richness was positive in arable land, but negative in grassland. Plant species richness, and structural and topographic conditions at multiple scales explained species richness, richness of functional groups and species abundances. Our study revealed high conservation value of both grassland and arable land in low-intensity Eastern European farmland. Besides grassland, also heterogeneous arable land provides important habitat for butterflies. While butterfly diversity in arable land benefits from heterogeneity by small-scale structures, grasslands should be protected from fragmentation to provide

System constitution of plasma high frequency heating device and element equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagashima, Takashi

1988-01-01

On the high frequency heating device used for nuclear fusion experiment, the system constitution and the main items of development for the element equipment are described. As for the high frequency heating device, large technical progress was observed in the past 10 years as the second stage heating for tokamaks and one of the main means of current drive. At present, three frequency zones are regarded as promising for plasma high frequency heating in large nuclear fusion devices, and the experiment of 10 MW class is in progress at JT-60, JET and so on. There are electron cyclotron heating, lower hybrid resonance frequency heating and ion cyclotron range of frquency heating. The basic constitution of these heating devices includes a high frequency source, a transmission system, a connection system, and a common system for control, cooling, record and others. The ECH device using gyrotrons of several tens GHz, the LHRF heating device using large power klystrons up to several GHz and the ICRF heating device up to 200 MHz are briefly explained. The main element equipments composing the high frequency heating systems of several tens MW are discussed. (Kako, I.)

Development of nuclear safety class filter elements with long life and high quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jinghua

2009-04-01

This paper describes the development on nuclear safety class filter elements with long life and high quality used for collecting radioactive contaminants, fragments of resin and impurities in primary systems of NPPs. The filter elements made of glass fibre elements are used for PWR, and of paper elements are used for PHWR. During the research, a series of tests for optimization were performed for selection of filter material and the improvement of binder. The flow rate and comprehensive performance have been measured in simulated conditions. The result shows that the application requirements for operational NPPs can be met, and the reliability and safety of the frame are also be verified. The comprehensive performance of the filter elements is equivalent to that of oversea similar products. The products have been used in NPPs in operation. (authors)

High copy number of highly similar mariner-like transposons in planarian (Platyhelminthe): evidence for a trans-phyla horizontal transfer.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Fernàndez, J; Bayascas-Ramírez, J R; Marfany, G; Muñoz-Mármol, A M; Casali, A; Baguñà, J; Saló, E

1995-05-01

Several DNA sequences similar to the mariner element were isolated and characterized in the platyhelminthe Dugesia (Girardia) tigrina. They were 1,288 bp long, flanked by two 32 bp-inverted repeats, and contained a single 339 amino acid open-reading frame (ORF) encoding the transposase. The number of copies of this element is approximately 8,000 per haploid genome, constituting a member of the middle-repetitive DNA of Dugesia tigrina. Sequence analysis of several elements showed a high percentage of conservation between the different copies. Most of them presented an intact ORF and the standard signals of actively expressed genes, which suggests that some of them are or have recently been functional transposons. The high degree of similarity shared with other mariner elements from some arthropods, together with the fact that this element is undetectable in other planarian species, strongly suggests a case of horizontal transfer between these two distant phyla.

5' Region of the human interleukin 4 gene: structure and potential regulatory elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eder, A; Krafft-Czepa, H; Krammer, P H

1988-01-25

The lymphokine Interleukin 4 (IL-4) is secreted by antigen or mitogen activated T lymphocytes. IL-4 stimulates activation and differentiation of B lymphocytes and growth of T lymphocytes and mast cells. The authors isolated the human IL-4 gene from a lambda EMBL3 genomic library. As a probe they used a synthetic oligonucleotide spanning position 40 to 79 of the published IL-4 cDNA sequence. The 5' promoter region contains several sequence elements which may have a cis-acting regulatory function for IL-4 gene expression. These elements include a TATA-box, three CCAAT-elements (two are on the non-coding strand) and an octamer motif. A comparison of the 5' flanking region of the human murine IL-4 gene (4) shows that the region between position -306 and +44 is highly conserved (83% homology).

Hearing Conservation Live #2430

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chochoms, Michael [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-08-09

Occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States (US). From 22 to 30 million US workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work, and 25% of these workers will develop permanent hearing loss. Hearing loss from noise is slow and painless, and you can have a disability before you notice it. This course presents the hazards associated with workplace noise, the purpose and elements of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Hearing Conservation Program (HCP), and controls that are available to reduce your exposure to hazardous levels of noise.

Conservation of Animal Genetic Resources in the Danubian Valley

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pal Hajas

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The overall aim of gene conservation is the preservation of animal genetic resources (AnGR. Since the well balanced, diverse and healthy supply of food is a major element of the national food sovereignty, hence successful animal production is not possible without preservation of AnGR. Moreover, local breeds are considered as part of national treasures, cultural values, and pre-requisit for a landscape-friendly, biologically diverse and ecologically sensitive agriculture. In thematic gene conservation, our primary concerns are economically important traits, adaptability and biological diversity of breeds. Beside these, aesthetic and ethical issues to be considered as well.

Multi-element probabilistic collocation method in high dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foo, Jasmine; Karniadakis, George Em

2010-01-01

We combine multi-element polynomial chaos with analysis of variance (ANOVA) functional decomposition to enhance the convergence rate of polynomial chaos in high dimensions and in problems with low stochastic regularity. Specifically, we employ the multi-element probabilistic collocation method MEPCM and so we refer to the new method as MEPCM-A. We investigate the dependence of the convergence of MEPCM-A on two decomposition parameters, the polynomial order μ and the effective dimension ν, with ν<< N, and N the nominal dimension. Numerical tests for multi-dimensional integration and for stochastic elliptic problems suggest that ν≥μ for monotonic convergence of the method. We also employ MEPCM-A to obtain error bars for the piezometric head at the Hanford nuclear waste site under stochastic hydraulic conductivity conditions. Finally, we compare the cost of MEPCM-A against Monte Carlo in several hundred dimensions, and we find MEPCM-A to be more efficient for up to 600 dimensions for a specific multi-dimensional integration problem involving a discontinuous function.

Use of ancient sedimentary DNA as a novel conservation tool for high-altitude tropical biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Boessenkool, Sanne; McGlynn, Gayle; Epp, Laura S; Taylor, David; Pimentel, Manuel; Gizaw, Abel; Nemomissa, Sileshi; Brochmann, Christian; Popp, Magnus

2014-04-01

Conservation of biodiversity may in the future increasingly depend upon the availability of scientific information to set suitable restoration targets. In traditional paleoecology, sediment-based pollen provides a means to define preanthropogenic impact conditions, but problems in establishing the exact provenance and ecologically meaningful levels of taxonomic resolution of the evidence are limiting. We explored the extent to which the use of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) may complement pollen data in reconstructing past alpine environments in the tropics. We constructed a record of afro-alpine plants retrieved from DNA preserved in sediment cores from 2 volcanic crater sites in the Albertine Rift, eastern Africa. The record extended well beyond the onset of substantial anthropogenic effects on tropical mountains. To ensure high-quality taxonomic inference from the sedaDNA sequences, we built an extensive DNA reference library covering the majority of the afro-alpine flora, by sequencing DNA from taxonomically verified specimens. Comparisons with pollen records from the same sediment cores showed that plant diversity recovered with sedaDNA improved vegetation reconstructions based on pollen records by revealing both additional taxa and providing increased taxonomic resolution. Furthermore, combining the 2 measures assisted in distinguishing vegetation change at different geographic scales; sedaDNA almost exclusively reflects local vegetation, whereas pollen can potentially originate from a wide area that in highlands in particular can span several ecozones. Our results suggest that sedaDNA may provide information on restoration targets and the nature and magnitude of human-induced environmental changes, including in high conservation priority, biodiversity hotspots, where understanding of preanthropogenic impact (or reference) conditions is highly limited. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Conservation planning for the Colorado River in Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Christine Rasmussen,; Shafroth, Patrick B.

2016-01-01

of fish and wildlife species present and grouping species into Conservation Elements (CEs) based on habitat needs, and: 3) acquisition, review and creation of spatial datasets characterizing vegetation, fluvial geomorphic and human features within the bottomland. Interpretation of aerial imagery and assimilation of pre-existing spatial data were central to our efforts in characterizing resources conditions. Detailed maps of vegetation and channel habitat features in the project area were generated from true color, high resolution (0.3m) imagery flown September 16, 2010. We also mapped channel habitat features at high flow on 1.0-m resolution, publically available, true color imagery. We obtained additional layers such as land ownership, roads, fire history, non-native vegetation treatment areas, and recreational use features from public sources and project partners.

Evaluation of Dark Spots Formated on the High Temperature Metal Filter Elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Seung Chul; Hwang, Tae Won; Moon, Chan Kook

2008-01-01

Metal filter elements were newly introduced to the high temperature filter (HTF) system in the low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste vitrification plant. In order to evaluate the performance of various metal materials as filter media, elements made of AISI 316L, AISI 904L, and Inconel 600 were included to the test set of filter elements. At the visual inspection to the elements performed after completion of each test, a few dark spots were observed on the surface of some elements. Especially they were found much more at the AISI 316L elements than others. To check the dark spots are the corrosion phenomena or not, two kinds of analyses were performed to the tested filter elements. Firstly, the surfaces or the cross sections of filter specimens cut out from both normal area and dark spot area of elements were analyzed by SEM/EDS. The results showed that the dark spots were not evidences of corrosion but the deposition of sodium, sulfur and silica compounds volatilized from waste or molten glass. Secondly, the ring tensile strength were analyzed for the ring-shape filter specimens cut out from each kind of element. The result obtained from the strength tested showed no evidence of corrosion as well. Conclusionally, depending on the two kinds of analysis, no evidences of corrosion were found at the tested metal filter elements. But the dark spots formed on the surface could reduce the effective filtering area and increase the overall pressure drop of HTF system. Thus, continuous heating inside filter housing up to dew point will be required normally. And a few long-period test should be followed for the exact evaluation of corrosion of the metal filter elements.

A functional overview of conservation biological control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Begg, Graham S; Cook, Samantha M; Dye, Richard

2017-01-01

Conservation biological control (CBC) is a sustainable approach to pest management that can contribute to a reduction in pesticide use as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy. CBC is based on the premise that countering habitat loss and environmental disturbance associated...... CBC prescriptions have proved elusive. To tackle this, we consolidate existing knowledge of CBC using a simple conceptual model that organises the functional elements of CBC into a common, unifying framework. We identify and integrate the key biological processes affecting natural enemies...... and their biological control function across local and regional scales, and consider the interactions, interdependencies and constraints that determine the outcome of CBC strategies. Conservation measures are often effective in supporting natural enemy populations but their success cannot be guaranteed; the greatest...

Chemistry of the redox sensitive elements. Literature review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suter, D.

1991-10-01

As a part of the safety assessment for a nuclear waste repository, the migration of the radioactive elements from the waste matrix to the biosphere has to be modelled. The geosphere is an important barrier and a consideration of the retention of the radioactive isotopes needs knowledge of sorption coefficients and solubilities. Important long-lived isotopes in the high level radioactive waste are the fission products selenium, technetium, palladium and tin, and the actinide neptunium, which are all redox sensitive elements. A transport model using conservative sorption values predicts mainly doses from these five elements. Since the individual oxidation states of the redox sensitive elements have different and largely unknown sorption properties and solubilities, the realistic doses might be far less. The relevant literature about the chemistry of the five elements is summarized and is planned to serve as the basis for an experimental programme. For every element, the literature about the general chemistry, selected sorption studies, geochemistry, and analytical methods is reviewed. It was found that the knowledge about some of these points is very limited. Even the general chemistry of some of the elements is not well known, because they have only limited applications and research concentrates only on certain aspects. Most of the sorption studies in the context of nuclear waste concentrate on a few of the relevant elements and others have been neglected up to now. The simulation of a realistic system in the laboratory poses some problems, which have to be solved as well. The literature about this subject is also critically reviewed. The elements which are most mobile under realistic far-field conditions are identified and it is recommended to concentrate research on these at the beginning. (author)

Chemistry of the redox sensitive elements. Literature review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suter, D.

1991-10-01

As a part of the safety assessment for a nuclear waste repository, the migration of the radioactive elements from the waste matrix to the biosphere has to be modelled. The geosphere is an important barrier and a consideration of the retention of the radioactive isotopes needs knowledge of sorption coefficients and solubilities. Important long-lived isotopes in the high level radioactive waste are the fission products selenium, technetium, palladium and tin, and the actinide neptunium, which are all redox sensitive elements. A transport model using conservative sorption values predicts mainly doses from these five elements. Since the individual oxidation states of the redox sensitive elements have different and largely unknown sorption properties and solubilities, the realistic doses might be far less. The relevant literature about the chemistry of the five elements is summarized and is planned to serve as the basis for an experimental programme. For every element, the literature about the general chemistry, selected sorption studies, geochemistry, and analytical methods is reviewed. It was found that the knowledge about some of these points is very limited. Even the general chemistry of some of the elements in not well known, because they have only limited applications and research concentrates only on certain aspects. Most of the sorption studies in the context of nuclear waste concentrate on a few of the relevant elements and others have been neglected up to now. The simulation of a realistic system in the laboratory poses some problems, which have to be solved as well. The literature about this subject is also critically reviewed. The elements which are most mobile under realistic far-field conditions are identified and it is recommended to concentrate research on these at the beginning. (author) 9 figs., 192 refs

Biodiversity conservation in a telecoupled world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Roman Carrasco

2017-09-01

Conservation practitioners need to adopt a global perspective on telecoupling and focus on the new conservation opportunities represented by shaping the social norms of affluent consumers in emerging and high-income economies.

Demographic and habitat requirements for conservation of bull trout

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce E. Rieman; John D. Mclntyre

1993-01-01

Elements in bull trout biology, population dynamics, habitat, and biotic interactions important to conservation of the species are identified. Bull trout appear to have more specific habitat requirements than other salmonids, but no critical thresholds of acceptable habitat condition were found. Size, temporal variation, and spatial distribution are likely to influence...

Evolutionary conservation of essential and highly expressed genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scharfe Maren

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The constant increase in development and spread of bacterial resistance to antibiotics poses a serious threat to human health. New sequencing technologies are now on the horizon that will yield massive increases in our capacity for DNA sequencing and will revolutionize the drug discovery process. Since essential genes are promising novel antibiotic targets, the prediction of gene essentiality based on genomic information has become a major focus. Results In this study we demonstrate that pooled sequencing is applicable for the analysis of sequence variations of strain collections with more than 10 individual isolates. Pooled sequencing of 36 clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates revealed that essential and highly expressed proteins evolve at lower rates, whereas extracellular proteins evolve at higher rates. We furthermore refined the list of experimentally essential P. aeruginosa genes, and identified 980 genes that show no sequence variation at all. Among the conserved nonessential genes we found several that are involved in regulation, motility and virulence, indicating that they represent factors of evolutionary importance for the lifestyle of a successful environmental bacterium and opportunistic pathogen. Conclusion The detailed analysis of a comprehensive set of P. aeruginosa genomes in this study clearly disclosed detailed information of the genomic makeup and revealed a large set of highly conserved genes that play an important role for the lifestyle of this microorganism. Sequencing strain collections enables for a detailed and extensive identification of sequence variations as potential bacterial adaptation processes, e.g., during the development of antibiotic resistance in the clinical setting and thus may be the basis to uncover putative targets for novel treatment strategies.

Convergence of a residual based artificial viscosity finite element method

KAUST Repository

Nazarov, Murtazo

2013-02-01

We present a residual based artificial viscosity finite element method to solve conservation laws. The Galerkin approximation is stabilized by only residual based artificial viscosity, without any least-squares, SUPG, or streamline diffusion terms. We prove convergence of the method, applied to a scalar conservation law in two space dimensions, toward an unique entropy solution for implicit time stepping schemes. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A conserved MCM single-stranded DNA binding element is essential for replication initiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Froelich, Clifford A; Kang, Sukhyun; Epling, Leslie B; Bell, Stephen P; Enemark, Eric J

2014-04-01

The ring-shaped MCM helicase is essential to all phases of DNA replication. The complex loads at replication origins as an inactive double-hexamer encircling duplex DNA. Helicase activation converts this species to two active single hexamers that encircle single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). The molecular details of MCM DNA interactions during these events are unknown. We determined the crystal structure of the Pyrococcus furiosus MCM N-terminal domain hexamer bound to ssDNA and define a conserved MCM-ssDNA binding motif (MSSB). Intriguingly, ssDNA binds the MCM ring interior perpendicular to the central channel with defined polarity. In eukaryotes, the MSSB is conserved in several Mcm2-7 subunits, and MSSB mutant combinations in S. cerevisiae Mcm2-7 are not viable. Mutant Mcm2-7 complexes assemble and are recruited to replication origins, but are defective in helicase loading and activation. Our findings identify an important MCM-ssDNA interaction and suggest it functions during helicase activation to select the strand for translocation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01993.001.

Biodiversity conservation in a changing climate: a review of threats and implications for conservation planning in Myanmar.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Madhu; Saw Htun; Platt, Steven G; Tizard, Robert; Poole, Colin; Than Myint; Watson, James E M

2013-11-01

High levels of species richness and endemism make Myanmar a regional priority for conservation. However, decades of economic and political sanctions have resulted in low conservation investment to effectively tackle threats to biodiversity. Recent sweeping political reforms have placed Myanmar on the fast track to economic development-the expectation is increased economic investments focused on the exploitation of the country's rich, and relatively intact, natural resources. Within a context of weak regulatory capacity and inadequate environmental safeguards, rapid economic development is likely to have far-reaching negative implications for already threatened biodiversity and natural-resource-dependent human communities. Climate change will further exacerbate prevailing threats given Myanmar's high exposure and vulnerability. The aim of this review is to examine the implications of increased economic growth and a changing climate within the larger context of biodiversity conservation in Myanmar. We summarize conservation challenges, assess direct climatological impacts on biodiversity and conclude with recommendations for long-term adaptation approaches for biodiversity conservation.

Trace element affinities in two high-Ge coals from China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jing Li; Xinguo Zhuang; Xavier Querol [China University of Geosciences, Wuhan (China). Faculty of Earth Resources

2011-01-15

The Lincang (Yunnan Province, Southwest China) and Wulantuga (Inner Mongolia, Northeast China) coal deposits are known because of the high-Ge content. These coals have also a high concentration of a number of other elements. To determine the mode of occurrence of the enriched elements in both coals, six density fractions from {lt} 1.43 to {gt} 2.8 g/cm{sup 3} were obtained from two representative samples using heavy-liquids. A number of peculiar geochemical patterns characterize these high-Ge coals. Thus, the results of the chemical analysis of these density fractions showed that both coals (very distant and of a different geological age) are highly enriched (compared with the usual worldwide coal concentration ranges) in Ge, As, Sb, W, Be, and Tl. This may be due to similar geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids influencing the Earth Crust in these regions of China. Moreover, Wulantuga coal (Early Cretaceous subbituminous coal) is also enriched in Ca, Mg, and Na, and Lincang coal (Neogene subbituminous coal) in K, Rb, Nb, Mo, Sn, Cs, and U. A group of elements consisting of Ge, W, B, Nb, and Sb mostly occur with an organic affinity in both coals. Additionally, Be, U, and Mo (and partially Mn and Zn) in Lincang, and Na and Mg in Wulantuga occur also with a major organic affinity. Both coals have sulfide-arsenide mineral assemblages (Fe, S, As, Sn, and Pb, and in addition to Tl, Ta, and Cs in the Lincang coal). The occurrence of Al, P, Li, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, and Zr in both coals, and Ba in Lincang, are associated with the mineral assemblage of silico-aluminates and minor heavy minerals. Furthermore, P, Na, Li, Sc, Ti, Ga, Rb, Zr, Cr, Ba, Th, and LREE (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Gd) in Lincang are associated with mineral assemblages of phosphates and minor heavy minerals. The two later mineral assemblages are derived from the occurrence of detrital minerals. 34 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs.

Optimized spatial priorities for biodiversity conservation in China: a systematic conservation planning perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Ruidong; Long, Yongcheng; Malanson, George P; Garber, Paul A; Zhang, Shuang; Li, Diqiang; Zhao, Peng; Wang, Longzhu; Duo, Hairui

2014-01-01

By addressing several key features overlooked in previous studies, i.e. human disturbance, integration of ecosystem- and species-level conservation features, and principles of complementarity and representativeness, we present the first national-scale systematic conservation planning for China to determine the optimized spatial priorities for biodiversity conservation. We compiled a spatial database on the distributions of ecosystem- and species-level conservation features, and modeled a human disturbance index (HDI) by aggregating information using several socioeconomic proxies. We ran Marxan with two scenarios (HDI-ignored and HDI-considered) to investigate the effects of human disturbance, and explored the geographic patterns of the optimized spatial conservation priorities. Compared to when HDI was ignored, the HDI-considered scenario resulted in (1) a marked reduction (∼9%) in the total HDI score and a slight increase (∼7%) in the total area of the portfolio of priority units, (2) a significant increase (∼43%) in the total irreplaceable area and (3) more irreplaceable units being identified in almost all environmental zones and highly-disturbed provinces. Thus the inclusion of human disturbance is essential for cost-effective priority-setting. Attention should be targeted to the areas that are characterized as moderately-disturbed, conservation. We delineated 23 primary large-scale priority areas that are significant for conserving China's biodiversity, but those isolated priority units in disturbed regions are in more urgent need of conservation actions so as to prevent immediate and severe biodiversity loss. This study presents a spatially optimized national-scale portfolio of conservation priorities--effectively representing the overall biodiversity of China while minimizing conflicts with economic development. Our results offer critical insights for current conservation and strategic land-use planning in China. The approach is transferable and easy

The existence of High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF in Perum Perhutani KPH Kendal to support Implementation of FSC Certification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sulistyowati Sri

2018-01-01

Full Text Available High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF is the identification of High Conservation Values that are important and need to be protected. Under FSC certification mechanism, HCVF becomes one of Principles and Criteria to attain certification. In this study, we identify the existence of HCVF in Perum Perhutani KPH Kendal to support implementation process of FSC certification. Qualitative method was conducted through observation and secondary data from Perum Perhutani KPH Kendal. Data analysis showed through ecolabel certification, Perum Perhutani KPH Kendal has been identified HCVF area covering 2,715.5 hectares consists of HCV 1 until 6. Secondary Natural Forest (HAS Subah and Kaliwungu for Ulolanang and Pagerwunung Nature Reserve buffer zone include as HCV 1.1, conservation area of leopard (Panthera pardus melas and Pangolin (Manis javanica.for HCV 1.2, conservation area of lutung (Trachypiyhecus auratus as endemic species for CITES App I and Critically Endangered species include as HCV 1.3, Goa kiskendo for bats species habitat include as HCV 1.4, regions of interest species for Deer (Cervus timorensis and Kepodang (Oriolus chinensis as HCV 2.3, Germplasm Protection Region/ KPPN area with high biodiversity include as HCV 3, river border area and water springs for HCV 4. While, utilization of firewood, grass for cattle fodder include as HCV 5 and 14 cultural sites include as HCV 6. From monitoring and evaluation of HCVF data, showed that in 2011-2015 the level of diversity for flora and fauna were increased.

The existence of High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) in Perum Perhutani KPH Kendal to support Implementation of FSC Certification

Science.gov (United States)

Sulistyowati, Sri; Hadi, Sudharto P.

2018-02-01

High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) is the identification of High Conservation Values that are important and need to be protected. Under FSC certification mechanism, HCVF becomes one of Principles and Criteria to attain certification. In this study, we identify the existence of HCVF in Perum Perhutani KPH Kendal to support implementation process of FSC certification. Qualitative method was conducted through observation and secondary data from Perum Perhutani KPH Kendal. Data analysis showed through ecolabel certification, Perum Perhutani KPH Kendal has been identified HCVF area covering 2,715.5 hectares consists of HCV 1 until 6. Secondary Natural Forest (HAS) Subah and Kaliwungu for Ulolanang and Pagerwunung Nature Reserve buffer zone include as HCV 1.1, conservation area of leopard (Panthera pardus melas) and Pangolin (Manis javanica).for HCV 1.2, conservation area of lutung (Trachypiyhecus auratus) as endemic species for CITES App I and Critically Endangered species include as HCV 1.3, Goa kiskendo for bats species habitat include as HCV 1.4, regions of interest species for Deer (Cervus timorensis) and Kepodang (Oriolus chinensis) as HCV 2.3, Germplasm Protection Region/ KPPN area with high biodiversity include as HCV 3, river border area and water springs for HCV 4. While, utilization of firewood, grass for cattle fodder include as HCV 5 and 14 cultural sites include as HCV 6. From monitoring and evaluation of HCVF data, showed that in 2011-2015 the level of diversity for flora and fauna were increased.

Eucaryotic operon genes can define highly conserved syntenies

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Trachtulec, Zdeněk

2004-01-01

Roč. 50, - (2004), s. 1-6 ISSN 0015-5500 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA204/01/0997; GA MŠk LN00A079 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5052915 Keywords : eukaryotic operon * conserved synteny Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 0.507, year: 2004

Scaling symmetries, conservation laws and action principles in one-dimensional gas dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webb, G M; Zank, G P

2009-01-01

Scaling symmetries of the planar, one-dimensional gas dynamic equations with adiabatic index γ are used to obtain Lagrangian and Eulerian conservation laws associated with the symmetries. The known Eulerian symmetry operators for the scaling symmetries are converted to the Lagrangian form, in which the Eulerian spatial position of the fluid element is given in terms of the Lagrangian fluid labels. Conditions for a linear combination of the three scaling symmetries to be a divergence or variational symmetry of the action are established. The corresponding Lagrangian and Eulerian form of the conservation laws are determined by application of Noether's theorem. A nonlocal conservation law associated with the scaling symmetries is obtained by applying a nonlocal symmetry operator to the scaling symmetry-conserved vector. An action principle incorporating known conservation laws using Lagrangian constraints is developed. Noether's theorem for the constrained action principle gives the same formulas for the conserved vector as the classical Noether theorem, except that the Lie symmetry vector field now includes the effects of nonlocal potentials. Noether's theorem for the constrained action principle is used to obtain nonlocal conservation laws. The scaling symmetry conservation laws only apply for special forms of the entropy of the gas.

Evaluating local benefits from conservation in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area.

Science.gov (United States)

Spiteri, Arian; Nepal, Sanjay K

2008-09-01

Protected areas are integral to the global effort to conserve biodiversity, and, over the past two decades, protected area managers have begun to recognize that conservation objectives are next to impossible to achieve without considering the needs and concerns of local communities. Incentive-based programs (IBPs) have become a favored approach to protected area management, geared at fostering local stewardship by delivering benefits tied to conservation to local people. Effective IBPs require benefits to accrue to and be recognized by those experiencing the greatest consequences as a result of the protected area, and those likely to continue extractive activities if their livelihood needs are compromised. This research examines dispersal of IBP benefits, as perceived by local residents in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area. Results reported here are based on questionnaire interviews with 188 households conducted between September and December 2004. Results indicate that local residents primarily identify benefits from social development activities, provisions for resource extraction, and economic opportunities. Overall, benefits have been dispersed equally to households in villages on and off the main tourist route, and regardless of a household's participation in tourism. However, benefits are not effectively targeted to poorer residents, those highly dependent on natural resources, and those experiencing the most crop damage and livestock loss from protected wildlife. This article provides several suggestions for improving the delivery of conservation incentives.

Crossflow characteristics of flange type fuel element for very high temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takizuka, Takakazu; Kaburaki, Hideo; Suzuki, Kunihiko; Nakamura, Masahide.

1987-01-01

Fuel element design incorporating mating flanges at block end faces has the potential to improve thermal hydraulic performance of a VHTR (very high temperature gas-cooled reactor) core. As part of research and development efforts to establish flange type fuel element design, experiments and analyses were carried out on crossflow through interface gap between elements. Air at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature was used as a fluid. Crossflow loss coefficient factors were obtained with three test models, having different flange mating clearances, for various interface gap configurations, gap widths and block misalignments. It was found that crossflow loss coefficient factors for flange type fuel element were much larger than those for conventional flat-faced element. Numerical analyses were also made using a simple model devised to represent the crossflow path at the fuel element interface. The close agreement between numerical results and experimental data indicated that this model could predict well the crossflow characteristics of the flange type fuel element. (author)

Postirradiation examination and evaluation of Peach Bottom fuel test element FTE-6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallroth, C.F.; Holzgraf, J.F.; Jensen, D.D.

1977-09-01

Fuel test element FTE-6 was irradiated in the Peach Bottom high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) for 645 equivalent full power days. Four fuel varieties, contained in H-327 graphite bodies, were tested. A primary result of this test has been to demonstrate acceptable performance even with calculated high stresses in the graphite bodies. Heterogeneous fuel loadings in the element caused local power peaking and azimuthal power variations, deforming the graphite fuel bodies and thereby causing bowing nearly five times as large as the diametral clearance within the sleeve. The axial stresses resulting from interference between the fuel bodies and sleeve were estimated to have reached 45% of the ultimate material strength at the end of the irradiation. Residual stresses from differential contraction within the fuel body resulted in probable in-plane stress levels of 130% of the material strength at the end-of-life shutdown and of up to 150% of the strength at shutdown during the irradiation cycle. The high in-plane stresses are local peaks at the corners of a sharp notch in the element, which may account for the stresses failing to cause damage. The lack of observable damage, however, indicates that the methods and data used for stress analysis give results that are either fairly accurate or conservative

Method to fabricate block fuel elements for high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hrovat, M.; Rachor, L.

1977-01-01

The fabrication of block fuel elements for gas-cooled high temperature reactors can be improved upon by adding 0.2 to 2 wt.% of a hydrocarbon compound to the lubricating mixture prior to pressing. Hexanol or octanol are named as substances. The dimensional accuracy of the block is thus improved. 2 examples illustrate the method. (RW) [de

Method to fabricate block fuel elements for high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hrovat, M.; Rachor, L.

1978-01-01

The fabrication of block fuel elements for gas-cooled high temperature reactors can be improved upon by adding 0.2 to 2 wt.% of a hydrocarbon compound to the lubricating mixture prior to pressing. Hexanol or octanol are named as substances. The dimensional accuracy of the block is thus improved. 2 examples illustrate the method. (orig./PW)

Comparative analyses of six solanaceous transcriptomes reveal a high degree of sequence conservation and species-specific transcripts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ouyang Shu

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Solanaceae is a family of closely related species with diverse phenotypes that have been exploited for agronomic purposes. Previous studies involving a small number of genes suggested sequence conservation across the Solanaceae. The availability of large collections of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs for the Solanaceae now provides the opportunity to assess sequence conservation and divergence on a genomic scale. Results All available ESTs and Expressed Transcripts (ETs, 449,224 sequences for six Solanaceae species (potato, tomato, pepper, petunia, tobacco and Nicotiana benthamiana, were clustered and assembled into gene indices. Examination of gene ontologies revealed that the transcripts within the gene indices encode a similar suite of biological processes. Although the ESTs and ETs were derived from a variety of tissues, 55–81% of the sequences had significant similarity at the nucleotide level with sequences among the six species. Putative orthologs could be identified for 28–58% of the sequences. This high degree of sequence conservation was supported by expression profiling using heterologous hybridizations to potato cDNA arrays that showed similar expression patterns in mature leaves for all six solanaceous species. 16–19% of the transcripts within the six Solanaceae gene indices did not have matches among Solanaceae, Arabidopsis, rice or 21 other plant gene indices. Conclusion Results from this genome scale analysis confirmed a high level of sequence conservation at the nucleotide level of the coding sequence among Solanaceae. Additionally, the results indicated that part of the Solanaceae transcriptome is likely to be unique for each species.

Discovery of Conservation and Diversification of miR171 Genes by Phylogenetic Analysis based on Global Genomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xudong Zhu

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The microRNA171 (miR171 family is widely distributed and highly conserved in a range of species and plays critical roles in regulating plant growth and development through repressing expression of ( transcription factors. However, information on the evolutionary conservation and functional diversification of the miRNA171 family members remains scanty. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships among miR171 precursor and mature sequences so as to investigate the extent and degree of evolutionary conservation of miR171 in (L. Heynh. (ath, grape ( L. (vvi, poplar ( Torr. & A.Gray ex Hook. (ptc, and rice ( L. (osa. Despite strong conservation of over 80%, some mature miR171 sequences, such as , and and , -, and -, have undergone critical sequence variation, leading to functional diversification, since they target non gene transcript(s. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a combination of old ancestral relationships and recent lineage-specific diversification in the miR171 family within the four model plants. The -regulatory motifs on the upstream promoter sequences of genes were highly divergent and shared some similar elements, indicating their possible contribution to the functional variation observed within the miR171 family. This study will buttress our understanding of the functional differentiation of miRNAs and the relationships of miRNA–target pairs based on the evolutionary history of genes.

Opacity calculations and Saha's equation for high Z elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godwal, B.K.; Sikka, S.K.

1977-01-01

Opacity calculations are needed for energy transport by radiation for high Z element plasmas as these have been suggested as temper materials in laser, electron beam and heavy ion fusion schemes. The pressure ionised modified form of Saha's ionisation equation has been used to obtain the free electron density, populations of various ionic species and the populations of various energy states for a given ion. Results are presented for two typical elements; tungsten and uranium. The ionisation potential have been evaluated using the Bohr's formula with suitable effective screened charges for ions. The results show that for uranium, even at a temperature of 10 kev, the K shell is intact. The reliability of the Saha's equation solution has been checked by comparing the equation of state (total pressure vs total energy curve) with that given by the Thomas-Fermi-Dirac equation of state. The agreement between the two is good from temperature upwards of 0.2 kev. (author)

Behavior of mixed-oxide fuel elements during an overpower transient

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, H.; Shikakura, S.

1993-01-01

A slow-ramp (0.1%/s), extended overpower (∼90%) transient test was conducted in EBR-II on 19 mixed-oxide fuel elements with conservative, moderate, and aggressive designs. Claddings for the elements were Type 316, D9, or PNC-316 stainless steel. Before the transient, the elements were preirradiated under steady-state or steady-state plus duty-cycle (periodic 15% overpower transient) conditions to burnups of 2.5-9.7 at%. Cladding integrity during the transient test was maintained by all fuel elements except one, which had experienced substantial overtemperature in the earlier stedy-state irradiation. Extensive centerline fuel melting occurred in all test elements. Significantly, this melting did not cause any elements to breach, although it did have a strong effect on the other aspects of fuel element behavior. (orig.)

Prototyping phase of the high heat flux scraper element of Wendelstein 7-X

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boscary, J., E-mail: jean.boscary@ipp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching (Germany); Greuner, H. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching (Germany); Ehrke, G. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Greifswald (Germany); Böswirth, B.; Wang, Z. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching (Germany); Clark, E. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (United States); Lumsdaine, A. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (United States); Tretter, J. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching (Germany); McGinnis, D.; Lore, J. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (United States); Ekici, K. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (United States)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Aim of scraper element: reduction of heat loads on high heat flux divertor ends. • Design: actively water-cooled for 20 MW/m{sup 2} local heat loads. • Technology: CFC NB31 monoblocks bonded by HIP to CuCrZr cooling tube. • Successful high heat flux testing up to 20 MW/m{sup 2}. - Abstract: The water-cooled high heat flux scraper element aims to reduce excessive heat loads on the target element ends of the actively cooled divertor of Wendelstein 7-X. Its purpose is to intercept some of the plasma fluxes both upstream and downstream before they reach the divertor surface. The scraper element has 24 identical plasma facing components (PFCs) divided into 6 modules. One module has 4 PFCs hydraulically connected in series by 2 water boxes. A PFC, 247 mm long and 28 mm wide, has 13 monoblocks made of CFC NB31 bonded by hot isostatic pressing onto a CuCrZr cooling tube equipped with a copper twisted tape. 4 full-scale prototypes of PFCs have been successfully tested in the GLADIS facility up to 20 MW/m{sup 2}. The difference observed between measured and calculated surface temperatures is probably due to the inhomogeneity of CFC properties. The design of the water box prototypes has been detailed to allow the junction between the cooling pipe of the PFCs and the water boxes by internal orbital welding. The prototypes are presently under fabrication.

Status and aspects of fuel element development for advanced high-temperature reactors in the FRG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nickel, H.; Balthesen, E.

1975-01-01

In the FRG three basic fuel element designs for application in high temperature gas cooled reactors are being persued: the spherical element, the graphite block element, and the moulded block element (monolith). This report gives the state of development reached with the three types of elements but also views their specific merits and performance margin and presents aspects of their future development potential for operation in advanced HTGR plants. The development of coated feed and breed particles for application in all HTGR fuel elements is treated in more detail. Summarizing it can be said that all the fuel elements as well as their components have proved their aptitude for the dual cycle systems in numerous fuel element and particle performance tests. To adapt these fuel elements and coated particles for advanced reactor concepts and to develop them up to full technical maturity further testing is still necessary, however. Ways of overcoming problems arising from the more stringent requirements are shown. (orig.) [de

f-Element Ion Chelation in Highly Basic Media - Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paine, R.T.

2000-01-01

A large body of data has been collected over the last fifty years on the chemical behavior of f-element ions. The ions undergo rapid hydrolysis reactions in neutral or basic aqueous solutions that produce poorly understood oxide-hydroxide species; therefore, most of the fundamental f-element solution chemistry has allowed synthetic and separations chemists to rationally design advanced organic chelating ligands useful for highly selective partitioning and separation of f-element ions from complex acidic solution matrices. These ligands and new examples under development allow for the safe use and treatment of solutions containing highly radioactive species. This DOE/EMSP project was undertaken to address the following fundamental objectives: (1) study the chemical speciation of Sr and lanthanide (Ln) ions in basic aqueous media containing classical counter anions found in waste matrices; (2) prepare pyridine N-oxide phosphonates and phosphonic acids that might act as selective chelator s for Ln ions in model basic pH waste streams; (3) study the binding of the new chelators toward Ln ions and (4) examine the utility of the chelators as decontamination and dissolution agents under basic solution conditions. The project has been successful in attacking selected aspects of the very difficult problems associated with basic pH solution f-element waste chemistry. In particular, the project has (1) shed additional light on the initial stages of Ln ion sol-gel-precipitate formulation under basic solution conditions; (2) generated new families of pyridine phosphonic acid chelators; (3) characterized the function of the chelators and (4) examined their utility as oxide-hydroxide dissolution agents. These findings have contributed significantly to an improved understanding of the behavior of Ln ions in basic media containing anions found in typical waste sludges as well as to the development of sludge dissolution agents. The new chelating reagents are easily made and could be

Energy conservation in nationalised transportation sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinha, R C

1980-01-01

About 60% of high speed diesel is consumed by the road transport industry. The hike in fuel prices calls for urgent measures to conserve diesel. The paper discusses the various measures undertaken to conserve diesel in the nationalized transport sector.

The light element formation: a signature of high energy nuclear astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audouze, J.; Meneguzzi, M.; Reeves, H.

1976-01-01

Light elements D, 6 Li, 9 Be, 10 B and 11 B (and possibly also 7 Li) are not produced by the general nucleosynthetic processes occurring in stars. They appear to be synthesized by high energy processes occuring either during the interaction of galactic cosmic rays with the interstellar medium or in supernovae envelopes. These formation processes are discussed. It is emphasized that the most coherent scenario regarding the formation of the light elements is obtained by taking also into account the nuclear processes which may have occurred during hot phases of the early Universe (Big Bang). Implications on chemical evolution of galaxies and on cosmology are briefly recalled. (Auth.)

Evaluation of presenting conserved foods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asl Soleimani H

1998-08-01

Full Text Available Food, it's production and preserving has been one of the most important problems in human life. Limitation of production due to climatic, geographic and papulational situations and conservation due to providance and prosecting for solution of one of the most fundamental human needs, has been discussed much. Difference between the lands, temperature, humidity and rainfall on one hand and texture and accumulation of papulation on the other hand, not only has limited the amount and kind of food production but also has improved the preserving methods as much as possible. Extra production in fertile lands and confirmed need for receiving food in deserts and dry areas, makes the need of exchanging and transfer of food inevitable because of economic and ethical matters and sanitation of food. Avoidance of being contaminated and resistance against decay seems very important and vital. So process of preserving and conserving of eaw or cooked food became a fundamental problem. In previous 200 years, many advanced methods have been designed for preserving food in which the role of conserving and packing in vital often. Because of industrial production, conserved food have a great influence on sanitation of people nutrition, and herefor the rate of diseases from consumption of contaminated food has been reduced in industrial countries and the tensancy of people to use conventional food has been decreased gradually. Because of high cost of industrial conserved food production some people produce conserved foods in the way which is not hygienic. That may have a high risk when ingested. In this article we discuss about unwarranted conserved foods productions.

Interaction of a nodule specific, trans-acting factor with distinct DNA elements in the soybean leghaemoglobin Ibc(3) 5' upstream region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Erik Østergaard; Marcker, Kjeld A; Schell, J

1988-01-01

Nuclear extracts from soybean nodules, leaves and roots were used to investigate protein-DNA interactions in the 5' upstream (promoter) region of the soybean leghaemoglobin lbc(3) gene. Two distinct regions were identified which strongly bind a nodule specific factor. A Bal31 deletion analysis......, but with different affinities. Elements 1 and 2 share a common motif, although their AT-rich DNA sequences differ. Element 2 is highly conserved at an analogous position in other soybean lb gene 5' upstream regions. Udgivelsesdato: 1988-May...

Determination of trace elements: Neutron-activation analysis in geochemistry and cosmochemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolesov, G.M.

1994-01-01

Geochemistry, like cosmochemistry, open-quotes studies chemical elements hor-ellipsis of the crust and hor-ellipsis the Earth hor-ellipsis their history, their distribution hor-ellipsis their genetic hor-ellipsis connectionsclose quotes and is based on data on the abundance and distribution of elements obtained by various analytical methods. Neutron-activation analysis (NAA) plays a particular role in this respect. This is due to its high sensitivity (detection limit as small as 10 -14 g), which makes possible the use of samples of arbitrary mass, and also due to the possibility of obtaining information about composition without destruction of the object, conserving, if required, the unique material under investigation. Of the most interest are the data on the contents for a number of trace elements (at a level of 10 -7 - 10 -4 %), among which are rare-earth elements (REE), U, Th, Zr, Hf, Ta, W, Ga, Ni, Rb, Cs, platinum-group metals, Ag, Au, etc. These elements are considered as indicators of geochemical processes associated with the genesis and evolution of solar system bodies in early and more recent stages of evolution; they are also used to study processes and phenomena at zone boundaries: river-sea, ocean-atmosphere, and so on. The aim of this work is to show the capabilities of NAA in the determination of trace elements

Diesel conservation: GSRTC'S experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramesh Kumar, I V

1980-01-01

The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) in India has a fleet of about 6000 buses. The increasing cost of fuel and lubricants added to uncertainty in supplies, has necessitated the need for conserving High Speed Diesel Oil (HSD). GSRTC had achieved an overall average Kilometre Per Litre (kmpl) of 4.44 in the year 1976-1977 due to a variety of measures. In the year 1978-1979 the average kmpl was 4.52 and it is expected to be 4.60 for 1979-1980. The case study outlined describes the measures taken by GSRTC in conserving high speed diesel oil by various methods.

An assessment of high carbon stock and high conservation value approaches to sustainable oil palm cultivation in Gabon

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Kemen G.; Lee, Michelle E.; Clark, Connie; Forester, Brenna R.; Urban, Dean L.; White, Lee; Kasibhatla, Prasad S.; Poulsen, John R.

2017-01-01

Industrial-scale oil palm cultivation is rapidly expanding in Gabon, where it has the potential to drive economic growth, but also threatens forest, biodiversity and carbon resources. The Gabonese government is promoting an ambitious agricultural expansion strategy, while simultaneously committing to minimize negative environmental impacts of oil palm agriculture. This study estimates the extent and location of suitable land for oil palm cultivation in Gabon, based on an analysis of recent trends in plantation permitting. We use the resulting suitability map to evaluate two proposed approaches to minimizing negative environmental impacts: a High Carbon Stock (HCS) approach, which emphasizes forest protection and climate change mitigation, and a High Conservation Value (HCV) approach, which focuses on safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems. We quantify the forest area, carbon stock, and biodiversity resources protected under each approach, using newly developed maps of priority species distributions and forest biomass for Gabon. We find 2.7-3.9 Mha of suitable or moderately suitable land that avoid HCS areas, 4.4 million hectares (Mha) that avoid HCV areas, and 1.2-1.7 Mha that avoid both. This suggests that Gabon’s oil palm production target could likely be met without compromising important ecosystem services, if appropriate safeguards are put in place. Our analysis improves understanding of suitability for oil palm in Gabon, determines how conservation strategies align with national targets for oil palm production, and informs national land use planning.

A high-order relaxation method with projective integration for solving nonlinear systems of hyperbolic conservation laws

Science.gov (United States)

Lafitte, Pauline; Melis, Ward; Samaey, Giovanni

2017-07-01

We present a general, high-order, fully explicit relaxation scheme which can be applied to any system of nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws in multiple dimensions. The scheme consists of two steps. In a first (relaxation) step, the nonlinear hyperbolic conservation law is approximated by a kinetic equation with stiff BGK source term. Then, this kinetic equation is integrated in time using a projective integration method. After taking a few small (inner) steps with a simple, explicit method (such as direct forward Euler) to damp out the stiff components of the solution, the time derivative is estimated and used in an (outer) Runge-Kutta method of arbitrary order. We show that, with an appropriate choice of inner step size, the time step restriction on the outer time step is similar to the CFL condition for the hyperbolic conservation law. Moreover, the number of inner time steps is also independent of the stiffness of the BGK source term. We discuss stability and consistency, and illustrate with numerical results (linear advection, Burgers' equation and the shallow water and Euler equations) in one and two spatial dimensions.

Trace elements in high purity materials for advanced technology: contribution of neutron activation analysis and radioanalytical technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallorini, M.; Pietra, R.; Sabbioni, E.

1991-01-01

Neutron activation analysis and radioanalytical techniques have been employed to investigate problems related to trace elements and high purity technology materials. Applications of these techniques are overviewed: semiconductor technology as in the case of As and In ion implantation in high purity silicon; problems related to trace elements impurities in thermometric measurements; coating materials to prevent trace elements contamination in biological sampling and metals release from human prostheses. (author) 8 refs.; 2 figs.; 8 tabs

Investigating the Microscopic Location of Trace Elements in High-Alpine Glacier Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Avak, Sven Erik; Birrer, Mario; Laurent, Oscar; Guillong, Marcel; Wälle, Markus; Jenk, Theo Manuel; Bartels-Rausch, Thorsten; Schwikowski, Margit; Eichler, Anja

2017-04-01

Past changes in atmospheric pollution can be reconstructed from high-alpine ice core trace element records (Schwikowski et al., 2004). Percolation of meltwater alters the information originally stored in these environmental archives. Eichler et al. (2001) suggested that the preservation of major ions with respect to meltwater percolation depends on their location in the crystal ice lattice, i.e. grain boundaries versus grain interiors. Other studies have also focused on the effect of meltwater on organic pollutant concentrations as well as on stable isotope profiles in ice cores, whereas no information exists about trace elements. Here, we investigate for the first time the effect of the microscopic location of anthropogenic, dust and volcanic related trace elements on the behavior during meltwater percolation by using two different approaches. On the one hand we assess the microscopic location of trace elements indirectly by analyzing trace element concentrations in a high-alpine ice core, which has been shown to be affected by an inflow of meltwater, using discrete inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Impurities located at grain boundaries are prone to be removed by meltwater and tend to be depleted in the affected section of the record whereas those incorporated into the ice interior are preserved and not disturbed in the record. In the second approach we work towards a direct quantification of differences in concentrations of trace elements between ice grain boundaries and grain interiors in samples both from unaffected and affected sections of this ice core. Therefore we use cryocell laser ablation (LA) ICP-MS, which is the method of choice for the direct in situ chemical analysis of trace elements at a sub-millimeter resolution in glacier ice (Reinhardt et al., 2001, Della Lunga et al., 2014, Sneed et al., 2015). We will present first results of both approaches with regard to the evaluation of the potential of trace elements as environmental

High-precision solution to the moving load problem using an improved spectral element method

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Shu-Rui; Wu, Zhi-Jing; Lu, Nian-Li

2018-02-01

In this paper, the spectral element method (SEM) is improved to solve the moving load problem. In this method, a structure with uniform geometry and material properties is considered as a spectral element, which means that the element number and the degree of freedom can be reduced significantly. Based on the variational method and the Laplace transform theory, the spectral stiffness matrix and the equivalent nodal force of the beam-column element are established. The static Green function is employed to deduce the improved function. The proposed method is applied to two typical engineering practices—the one-span bridge and the horizontal jib of the tower crane. The results have revealed the following. First, the new method can yield extremely high-precision results of the dynamic deflection, the bending moment and the shear force in the moving load problem. In most cases, the relative errors are smaller than 1%. Second, by comparing with the finite element method, one can obtain the highly accurate results using the improved SEM with smaller element numbers. Moreover, the method can be widely used for statically determinate as well as statically indeterminate structures. Third, the dynamic deflection of the twin-lift jib decreases with the increase in the moving load speed, whereas the curvature of the deflection increases. Finally, the dynamic deflection, the bending moment and the shear force of the jib will all increase as the magnitude of the moving load increases.

Infinite sets of conservation laws for linear and non-linear field equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niederle, J.

1984-01-01

The work was motivated by a desire to understand group theoretically the existence of an infinite set of conservation laws for non-interacting fields and to carry over these conservation laws to the case of interacting fields. The relation between an infinite set of conservation laws of a linear field equation and the enveloping algebra of its space-time symmetry group was established. It is shown that in the case of the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation to each symmetry of the corresponding linear equation delta sub(o)uxxx=u sub() determined by an element of the enveloping algebra of the space translation algebra, there corresponds a symmetry of the full KdV equation

Enrichment of conserved synaptic activity-responsive element in neuronal genes predicts a coordinated response of MEF2, CREB and SRF.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernanda M Rodríguez-Tornos

Full Text Available A unique synaptic activity-responsive element (SARE sequence, composed of the consensus binding sites for SRF, MEF2 and CREB, is necessary for control of transcriptional upregulation of the Arc gene in response to synaptic activity. We hypothesize that this sequence is a broad mechanism that regulates gene expression in response to synaptic activation and during plasticity; and that analysis of SARE-containing genes could identify molecular mechanisms involved in brain disorders. To search for conserved SARE sequences in the mammalian genome, we used the SynoR in silico tool, and found the SARE cluster predominantly in the regulatory regions of genes expressed specifically in the nervous system; most were related to neural development and homeostatic maintenance. Two of these SARE sequences were tested in luciferase assays and proved to promote transcription in response to neuronal activation. Supporting the predictive capacity of our candidate list, up-regulation of several SARE containing genes in response to neuronal activity was validated using external data and also experimentally using primary cortical neurons and quantitative real time RT-PCR. The list of SARE-containing genes includes several linked to mental retardation and cognitive disorders, and is significantly enriched in genes that encode mRNA targeted by FMRP (fragile X mental retardation protein. Our study thus supports the idea that SARE sequences are relevant transcriptional regulatory elements that participate in plasticity. In addition, it offers a comprehensive view of how activity-responsive transcription factors coordinate their actions and increase the selectivity of their targets. Our data suggest that analysis of SARE-containing genes will reveal yet-undescribed pathways of synaptic plasticity and additional candidate genes disrupted in mental disease.

Conservation when landowners have bargaining power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lennox, Gareth D.; Gaston, Kevin J.; Acs, Szvetlana

2013-01-01

agreement. Implicitly assumed in such studies is therefore that those who ``produce'' biodiversity (landowners) receive none of the surplus available from trade. Instead, landowners could use their bargaining power to gain profits from conservation investments. We employ game theory to determine the surplus...... landowners could obtain in negotiations over conservation agreements, and the consequent effects on conservation outcomes, when enrolment decisions are governed by continuous variables (e.g. the proportion of a property to enrol). In addition, we consider how landowner uncertainty regarding the opportunity...... costs of other landowners affects these outcomes. Landowners' ability to gain surplus is highly variable and reflects variation in the substitutability of different properties for achieving a specified conservation objective. The ability of landowners to obtain profits from conservation agreements...

Hearing Conservation Self-Study #12350

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chochoms, Michael [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-08-09

Occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States (US). From 22 to 30 million US workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work, and 25% of these workers will develop permanent hearing loss. Hearing loss from noise is slow and painless, and you can have a disability before you notice it. This course presents the hazards associated with workplace noise, the purpose and elements of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Hearing Conservation Program (HCP), and controls that are available to reduce your exposure to hazardous levels of noise.

Stability analysis of explicit entropy viscosity methods for non-linear scalar conservation equations

KAUST Repository

Bonito, Andrea; Guermond, Jean-Luc; Popov, Bojan

2013-01-01

We establish the L2-stability of an entropy viscosity technique applied to nonlinear scalar conservation equations. First-and second-order explicit time-stepping techniques using continuous finite elements in space are considered. The method

Structural plasticity of Barley yellow dwarf virus-like cap-independent translation elements in four genera of plant viral RNAs.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhaohui; Kraft, Jelena J; Hui, Alice Y; Miller, W Allen

2010-06-20

The 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) of many plant viral RNAs contain cap-independent translation elements (3' CITEs). Among the 3' CITEs, the Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV)-like translation elements (BTEs) form a structurally variable and widely distributed group. Viruses in three genera were known to harbor 3' BTEs, defined by the presence of a 17-nt consensus sequence. To understand BTE function, knowledge of phylogenetically conserved structure is essential, yet the secondary structure has been determined only for the BYDV BTE. Here we show that Rose spring dwarf-associated luteovirus, and two viruses in a fourth genus, Umbravirus, contain functional BTEs, despite deviating in the 17nt consensus sequence. Structure probing by selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation and primer extension (SHAPE) revealed conserved and highly variable structures in BTEs in all four genera. We conclude that BTEs tolerate striking evolutionary plasticity in structure, while retaining the ability to stimulate cap-independent translation. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Equity trade-offs in conservation decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Elizabeth A; Bennett, Nathan J; Ives, Christopher D; Friedman, Rachel; Davis, Katrina J; Archibald, Carla; Wilson, Kerrie A

2018-04-01

Conservation decisions increasingly involve multiple environmental and social objectives, which result in complex decision contexts with high potential for trade-offs. Improving social equity is one such objective that is often considered an enabler of successful outcomes and a virtuous ideal in itself. Despite its idealized importance in conservation policy, social equity is often highly simplified or ill-defined and is applied uncritically. What constitutes equitable outcomes and processes is highly normative and subject to ethical deliberation. Different ethical frameworks may lead to different conceptions of equity through alternative perspectives of what is good or right. This can lead to different and potentially conflicting equity objectives in practice. We promote a more transparent, nuanced, and pluralistic conceptualization of equity in conservation decision making that particularly recognizes where multidimensional equity objectives may conflict. To help identify and mitigate ethical conflicts and avoid cases of good intentions producing bad outcomes, we encourage a more analytical incorporation of equity into conservation decision making particularly during mechanistic integration of equity objectives. We recommend that in conservation planning motivations and objectives for equity be made explicit within the problem context, methods used to incorporate equity objectives be applied with respect to stated objectives, and, should objectives dictate, evaluation of equity outcomes and adaptation of strategies be employed during policy implementation. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Test of high temperature fuel element, (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akino, Norio; Shiina, Yasuaki; Nekoya, Shin-ichi; Takizuka, Takakazu; Emori, Koichi

1980-11-01

Heat transfer experiment to measure the characteristics of a VHTR fuel in the same condition of the reactor core was carried out using HTGL (High Temperature Helium Gas Loop) and its test section. In this report, the details of the test section, related problems of construction and some typical results are described. The newly developed heater with graphite heat transfer surface was used as a simulated fuel element to determine the heat transfer characteristics. Following conclusions were obtained; (1) Reynolds number between turbulent and transitional region is about 2600. (2) Reynolds number between transitional and laminar region is about 4800. (3) The laminarization phenomena have not been observed and are hardly occurred in annular tubes comparing with round tube. (4) Measured Nusselt numbers agree to the established correlations in turbulent and laminar regions. (author)

Digital Information Platform Design of Fuel Element Engineering For High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Yuwei

2014-01-01

This product line provide fuel element for high temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant which is being constructed in Shidao bay in Shandong province. Its annual productive capacity is thirty ten thousands fuel elements whose shape is spherical . Compared with pressurized water fuel , this line has the feature of high radiation .In order to reduce harm to operators, the comprehensive information platform is designed , which can realize integration of automation and management for plant. This platform include two nets, automation net using field bus technique and information net using Ethernet technique ,which realize collection ,control, storage and publish of information.By means of construction, automatization and informatization of product line can reach high level. (author)

High heat flux tests of the WENDELSTEIN 7-X pre-series target elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greuner, H.; Boeswirth, B.; Boscary, J.; Plankensteiner, A.; Schedler, B.

2007-01-01

The high heat flux (HHF) testing of WENDELSTEIN 7-X pre-series target elements is an indispensable step in the qualification of the manufacturing process. A set of 20 full scale pre-series elements was manufactured by PLANSEE SE to validate the materials and manufacturing technologies prior to the start of the series production. The HHF tests were performed in the ion beam test facility GLADIS. All actively water-cooled elements were tested for about 100 cycles at 10 MW/m 2 (10-15 s pulse duration). Several elements were loaded with even higher cycle numbers (up to 1000) and heat loads up to 24 MW/m 2 . Hot spots were, observed at the edges of several tiles during the HHF tests indicating local bonding problems of the CFC. The thermo-mechanical behaviour under HHF loading has been evaluated and compared to the FEM predictions. The measured temperatures and strains confirm the chosen FEM approach. This allows a component optimisation to achieve a successful series production of the W7-X divertor target elements

Analysis of alternative strategies for energy conservation in new buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, J. M.; Tawil, J.

1980-12-01

The policy instruments considered include: greater reliance on market forces; research and development; information, education and demonstration programs; tax incentives and sanctions; mortgage and finance programs; and regulations and standards. The analysis starts with an explanation of the barriers to energy conservation in the residential and commercial sectors. Individual policy instruments are described and evaluated with respect to energy conservation, economic efficiency, equity, political impacts, and implementation and other transitional impacts. Five possible strategies are identified: (1) increased reliance on the market place; (2) energy consumption tax and supply subsidies; (3) Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) with no sanctions and no incentives; (4) BEPS with sanctions and incentives (price control); and (5) BEPS with sanctions and incentives (no price controls). A comparative analysis is performed. Elements are proposed for inclusion in a comprehensive strategy for conservation in new buildings.

Correlation between sequence conservation and structural thermodynamics of microRNA precursors from human, mouse, and chicken genomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Shengqi

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous studies have shown that microRNA precursors (pre-miRNAs have considerably more stable secondary structures than other native RNAs (tRNA, rRNA, and mRNA and artificial RNA sequences. However, pre-miRNAs with ultra stable secondary structures have not been investigated. It is not known if there is a tendency in pre-miRNA sequences towards or against ultra stable structures? Furthermore, the relationship between the structural thermodynamic stability of pre-miRNA and their evolution remains unclear. Results We investigated the correlation between pre-miRNA sequence conservation and structural stability as measured by adjusted minimum folding free energies in pre-miRNAs isolated from human, mouse, and chicken. The analysis revealed that conserved and non-conserved pre-miRNA sequences had structures with similar average stabilities. However, the relatively ultra stable and unstable pre-miRNAs were more likely to be non-conserved than pre-miRNAs with moderate stability. Non-conserved pre-miRNAs had more G+C than A+U nucleotides, while conserved pre-miRNAs contained more A+U nucleotides. Notably, the U content of conserved pre-miRNAs was especially higher than that of non-conserved pre-miRNAs. Further investigations showed that conserved and non-conserved pre-miRNAs exhibited different structural element features, even though they had comparable levels of stability. Conclusions We proposed that there is a correlation between structural thermodynamic stability and sequence conservation for pre-miRNAs from human, mouse, and chicken genomes. Our analyses suggested that pre-miRNAs with relatively ultra stable or unstable structures were less favoured by natural selection than those with moderately stable structures. Comparison of nucleotide compositions between non-conserved and conserved pre-miRNAs indicated the importance of U nucleotides in the pre-miRNA evolutionary process. Several characteristic structural elements were

Micro-scaled high-throughput digestion of plant tissue samples for multi-elemental analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Husted Søren

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Quantitative multi-elemental analysis by inductively coupled plasma (ICP spectrometry depends on a complete digestion of solid samples. However, fast and thorough sample digestion is a challenging analytical task which constitutes a bottleneck in modern multi-elemental analysis. Additional obstacles may be that sample quantities are limited and elemental concentrations low. In such cases, digestion in small volumes with minimum dilution and contamination is required in order to obtain high accuracy data. Results We have developed a micro-scaled microwave digestion procedure and optimized it for accurate elemental profiling of plant materials (1-20 mg dry weight. A commercially available 64-position rotor with 5 ml disposable glass vials, originally designed for microwave-based parallel organic synthesis, was used as a platform for the digestion. The novel micro-scaled method was successfully validated by the use of various certified reference materials (CRM with matrices rich in starch, lipid or protein. When the micro-scaled digestion procedure was applied on single rice grains or small batches of Arabidopsis seeds (1 mg, corresponding to approximately 50 seeds, the obtained elemental profiles closely matched those obtained by conventional analysis using digestion in large volume vessels. Accumulated elemental contents derived from separate analyses of rice grain fractions (aleurone, embryo and endosperm closely matched the total content obtained by analysis of the whole rice grain. Conclusion A high-throughput micro-scaled method has been developed which enables digestion of small quantities of plant samples for subsequent elemental profiling by ICP-spectrometry. The method constitutes a valuable tool for screening of mutants and transformants. In addition, the method facilitates studies of the distribution of essential trace elements between and within plant organs which is relevant for, e.g., breeding programmes aiming at

Assessment of pesticide residues and trace element contamination ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ajl10

It was based on the chemical analyses of soil, water and vegetable samples. ... of the fine fraction (under 2 mm) were conserved away from light for ... To assess the migration and accumulation of trace elements ..... metals from sewage sludge in an agricultural soil. ... Pesticides and heavy metals in drinking water, soils.

Water conservation in agriculture -a step in combating the water crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prinz, D.; Malik, A.H.

2005-01-01

In Pakistan, the agricultural sector is the largest water user with 95%, leaving only marginal quantities for households and industry. On one hand, agriculture is a very important sector in Pakistan's economic development, contributing about 23 % to the national GDP -but industry contributes slightly more using only about 2 % of the available water resources. As Pakistan faces a growing problem of water shortage, significant achievements in water conservation have to be materialized, predominantly on the agricultural sector. There is scope for a higher degree of efficiency in water use, as water losses, namely in irrigation, are still rather high. There is another good reason for water conservation in agriculture: Over-irrigation results in rising water tables and increased soil salinity, which has reduced Pakistan's agricultural output during the last 2 decades by nearly 25%. Water conservation measures can be divided into (1) measures which are only applicable under rain-fed agricultural conditions, (2) measures which are relevant to save water in rain-fed agriculture as well as in irrigated agriculture and (3) measures, which are relevant in irrigated agriculture only. The first group centres around efficient rainwater management, which can be either 'in-situ moisture conservation' or 'rainwater harvesting'. The second group includes (1) improving crop selection, (2) improving crop husbandry, (3) combining cropping with animal husbandry, (4) reduction of transpiration losses, (5) reduction of evaporation losses and (6) reduction of percolation losses. Efficient irrigation can be accomplished by (1) reduction of conveying and distribution losses, (2) reduction of application losses, (3) use of efficient irrigation methods, (4) use of efficient application techniques, (5) application of supplemental and deficit irrigation and (6) improving water availability. The awareness of the problem, the knowledge of adapted and affordable techniques, the creation of suitable

Making conservation work for everyone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiersma, J. [Veridian Corp., Ajax, ON (Canada)

2004-07-01

This presentation discussed the economic value of conservation, the optimal deployment of energy conservation. A sample load profile was presented to demonstrate how much electricity the average residential customer uses on a summer day. The average customer does not have the tools to understand the financial consequences of conservation for different types of equipment at different times of the day. Smart metering technology could help in this regard. Accurate unsubsidized prices are also considered to be the best incentive to conserve because customers will reduce electricity use when the prices are high. It was also suggested that standards for new appliances should be increased effectively to their economic value. The enablers to energy conservation include solid consumer education programs, real time metering in places where it is cost effective, real time pricing in places where it is practical, and power rates that reflect real costs. Barriers to energy conservation include the residual economic advantage that may be insufficient to justify investment; support from local distribution companies and transmission companies if the lost revenue adjustment mechanism (LRAM) is not sufficient to recover lost revenue and if LDCs are not sufficiently involved in the design of the electricity conservation program. 7 figs.

Comparative Study on Interface Elements, Thin-Layer Elements, and Contact Analysis Methods in the Analysis of High Concrete-Faced Rockfill Dams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao-xiang Qian

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a study on the numerical performance of three contact simulation methods, namely, the interface element, thin-layer element, and contact analysis methods, through the analysis of the contact behavior between the concrete face slab and the dam body of a high concrete-faced rockfill dam named Tianshengqiao-I in China. To investigate the accuracy and limitations of each method, the simulation results are compared in terms of the dam deformation, contact stress along the interface, stresses in the concrete face slab, and separation of the concrete face slab from the cushion layer. In particular, the predicted dam deformation and slab separation are compared with the in-situ observation data to classify these methods according to their agreement with the in-situ observations. It is revealed that the interface element and thin-layer element methods have their limitations in predicting contact stress, slab separation, and stresses in the concrete face slab if a large slip occurs. The contact analysis method seems to be the best choice whether the separation is finite or not.

A conserved helicase processivity factor is needed for conjugation and replication of an integrative and conjugative element.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacob Thomas

Full Text Available Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs are agents of horizontal gene transfer and have major roles in evolution and acquisition of new traits, including antibiotic resistances. ICEs are found integrated in a host chromosome and can excise and transfer to recipient bacteria via conjugation. Conjugation involves nicking of the ICE origin of transfer (oriT by the ICE-encoded relaxase and transfer of the nicked single strand of ICE DNA. For ICEBs1 of Bacillus subtilis, nicking of oriT by the ICEBs1 relaxase NicK also initiates rolling circle replication. This autonomous replication of ICEBs1 is critical for stability of the excised element in growing cells. We found a conserved and previously uncharacterized ICE gene that is required for conjugation and replication of ICEBs1. Our results indicate that this gene, helP (formerly ydcP, encodes a helicase processivity factor that enables the host-encoded helicase PcrA to unwind the double-stranded ICEBs1 DNA. HelP was required for both conjugation and replication of ICEBs1, and HelP and NicK were the only ICEBs1 proteins needed for replication from ICEBs1 oriT. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we measured association of HelP, NicK, PcrA, and the host-encoded single-strand DNA binding protein Ssb with ICEBs1. We found that NicK was required for association of HelP and PcrA with ICEBs1 DNA. HelP was required for association of PcrA and Ssb with ICEBs1 regions distal, but not proximal, to oriT, indicating that PcrA needs HelP to progress beyond nicked oriT and unwind ICEBs1. In vitro, HelP directly stimulated the helicase activity of the PcrA homologue UvrD. Our findings demonstrate that HelP is a helicase processivity factor needed for efficient unwinding of ICEBs1 for conjugation and replication. Homologues of HelP and PcrA-type helicases are encoded on many known and putative ICEs. We propose that these factors are essential for ICE conjugation, replication, and genetic stability.

Highly accurate symplectic element based on two variational principles

Science.gov (United States)

Qing, Guanghui; Tian, Jia

2018-02-01

For the stability requirement of numerical resultants, the mathematical theory of classical mixed methods are relatively complex. However, generalized mixed methods are automatically stable, and their building process is simple and straightforward. In this paper, based on the seminal idea of the generalized mixed methods, a simple, stable, and highly accurate 8-node noncompatible symplectic element (NCSE8) was developed by the combination of the modified Hellinger-Reissner mixed variational principle and the minimum energy principle. To ensure the accuracy of in-plane stress results, a simultaneous equation approach was also suggested. Numerical experimentation shows that the accuracy of stress results of NCSE8 are nearly the same as that of displacement methods, and they are in good agreement with the exact solutions when the mesh is relatively fine. NCSE8 has advantages of the clearing concept, easy calculation by a finite element computer program, higher accuracy and wide applicability for various linear elasticity compressible and nearly incompressible material problems. It is possible that NCSE8 becomes even more advantageous for the fracture problems due to its better accuracy of stresses.

Inhibitory control and visuo-spatial reversibility in Piaget’s seminal number conservation task: A high-density ERP study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregoire eBorst

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The present high-density ERP study on 13 adults aimed to determine whether number conservation relies on the ability to inhibit the overlearned length-equals-number strategy and then imagine the shortening of the row that was lengthened. Participants performed the number-conservation task and, after the EEG session, the mental imagery task. In the number-conservation task, first two rows with the same number of tokens and the same length were presented on a computer screen (COV condition and then, the tokens in one of the two rows were spread apart (INT condition. Participants were instructed to determine whether the two rows had an identical number of tokens. In the mental imagery task, two rows with different lengths but the same number of tokens were presented and participants were instructed to imagine the tokens in the longer row aligning with the tokens in the shorter row. In the number-conservation task, we found that the amplitudes of the centro-parietal N2 and fronto-central P3 were higher in the INT than in the COV conditions. In addition, the differences in response times between the two conditions were correlated with the differences in the amplitudes of the fronto-central P3. In light of previous results reported on the number-conservation task in adults, the present results suggest that inhibition might be necessary to succeed the number-conservation task in adults even when the transformation of the length of one of the row is displayed. Finally, we also reported correlations between the speed at which participants could imagine the shortening of one of the row in the mental imagery task, the speed at which participants could determine that the two rows had the same number of tokens after the tokens in one of the row were spread apart and the latency of the late positive parietal component in the number-conservation task. Therefore, performing the number-conservation task might involve mental transformation processes in adults.

International Space Station Bacteria Filter Element Post-Flight Testing and Service Life Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, J. L.; von Jouanne, R. G.; Turner, E. H.

2003-01-01

The International Space Station uses high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to remove particulate matter from the cabin atmosphere. Known as Bacteria Filter Elements (BFEs), there are 13 elements deployed on board the ISS's U.S. Segment. The pre-flight service life prediction of 1 year for the BFEs is based upon performance engineering analysis of data collected during developmental testing that used a synthetic dust challenge. While this challenge is considered reasonable and conservative from a design perspective, an understanding of the actual filter loading is required to best manage the critical ISS Program resources. Thus testing was conducted on BFEs returned from the ISS to refine the service life prediction. Results from this testing and implications to ISS resource management are discussed. Recommendations for realizing significant savings to the ISS Program are presented.

Mammal indicator species for protected areas and managed forests in a landscape conservation area in northern India

Science.gov (United States)

Pradeep K. Mathur; Harish Kumar; John F. Lehmkuhl; Anshuman Tripathi; Vishwas B. Sawarkar; Rupak. De

2010-01-01

There is a realization that managed forests and other natural areas in the landscape matrix can and must make significant contributions to biodiversity conservation. Often, however, there are no consistent baseline vegetation or wildlife data for assessing the status of biodiversity elements across protected and managed areas for conservation planning, nor is there a...

Porous nuclear fuel element for high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Youchison, Dennis L [Albuquerque, NM; Williams, Brian E [Pacoima, CA; Benander, Robert E [Pacoima, CA

2011-03-01

Porous nuclear fuel elements for use in advanced high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors (HTGR's), and to processes for fabricating them. Advanced uranium bi-carbide, uranium tri-carbide and uranium carbonitride nuclear fuels can be used. These fuels have high melting temperatures, high thermal conductivity, and high resistance to erosion by hot hydrogen gas. Tri-carbide fuels, such as (U,Zr,Nb)C, can be fabricated using chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to simultaneously deposit each of the three separate carbides, e.g., UC, ZrC, and NbC in a single CVI step. By using CVI, the nuclear fuel may be deposited inside of a highly porous skeletal structure made of, for example, reticulated vitreous carbon foam.

CRISPR-Cas9 epigenome editing enables high-throughput screening for functional regulatory elements in the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Klann, Tyler S; Black, Joshua B; Chellappan, Malathi; Safi, Alexias; Song, Lingyun; Hilton, Isaac B; Crawford, Gregory E; Reddy, Timothy E; Gersbach, Charles A

2017-06-01

Large genome-mapping consortia and thousands of genome-wide association studies have identified non-protein-coding elements in the genome as having a central role in various biological processes. However, decoding the functions of the millions of putative regulatory elements discovered in these studies remains challenging. CRISPR-Cas9-based epigenome editing technologies have enabled precise perturbation of the activity of specific regulatory elements. Here we describe CRISPR-Cas9-based epigenomic regulatory element screening (CERES) for improved high-throughput screening of regulatory element activity in the native genomic context. Using dCas9 KRAB repressor and dCas9 p300 activator constructs and lentiviral single guide RNA libraries to target DNase I hypersensitive sites surrounding a gene of interest, we carried out both loss- and gain-of-function screens to identify regulatory elements for the β-globin and HER2 loci in human cells. CERES readily identified known and previously unidentified regulatory elements, some of which were dependent on cell type or direction of perturbation. This technology allows the high-throughput functional annotation of putative regulatory elements in their native chromosomal context.

Finite-Element Modeling of Viscoelastic Cells During High-Frequency Cyclic Strain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David W. Holdsworth

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Mechanotransduction refers to the mechanisms by which cells sense and respond to local loads and forces. The process of mechanotransduction plays an important role both in maintaining tissue viability and in remodeling to repair damage; moreover, it may be involved in the initiation and progression of diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. An understanding of the mechanisms by which cells respond to surrounding tissue matrices or artificial biomaterials is crucial in regenerative medicine and in influencing cellular differentiation. Recent studies have shown that some cells may be most sensitive to low-amplitude, high-frequency (i.e., 1–100 Hz mechanical stimulation. Advances in finite-element modeling have made it possible to simulate high-frequency mechanical loading of cells. We have developed a viscoelastic finite-element model of an osteoblastic cell (including cytoskeletal actin stress fibers, attached to an elastomeric membrane undergoing cyclic isotropic radial strain with a peak value of 1,000 µstrain. The results indicate that cells experience significant stress and strain amplification when undergoing high-frequency strain, with peak values of cytoplasmic strain five times higher at 45 Hz than at 1 Hz, and peak Von Mises stress in the nucleus increased by a factor of two. Focal stress and strain amplification in cells undergoing high-frequency mechanical stimulation may play an important role in mechanotransduction.

Distribution, Diversity, and Long-Term Retention of Grass Short Interspersed Nuclear Elements (SINEs).

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Hongliang; Wang, Hao

2017-08-01

Instances of highly conserved plant short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) families and their enrichment near genes have been well documented, but little is known about the general patterns of such conservation and enrichment and underlying mechanisms. Here, we perform a comprehensive investigation of the structure, distribution, and evolution of SINEs in the grass family by analyzing 14 grass and 5 other flowering plant genomes using comparative genomics methods. We identify 61 SINE families composed of 29,572 copies, in which 46 families are first described. We find that comparing with other grass TEs, grass SINEs show much higher level of conservation in terms of genomic retention: The origin of at least 26% families can be traced to early grass diversification and these families are among most abundant SINE families in 86% species. We find that these families show much higher level of enrichment near protein coding genes than families of relatively recent origin (51%:28%), and that 40% of all grass SINEs are near gene and the percentage is higher than other types of grass TEs. The pattern of enrichment suggests that differential removal of SINE copies in gene-poor regions plays an important role in shaping the genomic distribution of these elements. We also identify a sequence motif located at 3' SINE end which is shared in 17 families. In short, this study provides insights into structure and evolution of SINEs in the grass family. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Multi-species comparative analysis of the equine ACE gene identifies a highly conserved potential transcription factor binding site in intron 16.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natasha A Hamilton

Full Text Available Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE is essential for control of blood pressure. The human ACE gene contains an intronic Alu indel (I/D polymorphism that has been associated with variation in serum enzyme levels, although the functional mechanism has not been identified. The polymorphism has also been associated with cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, renal disease and elite athleticism. We have characterized the ACE gene in horses of breeds selected for differing physical abilities. The equine gene has a similar structure to that of all known mammalian ACE genes. Nine common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs discovered in pooled DNA were found to be inherited in nine haplotypes. Three of these SNPs were located in intron 16, homologous to that containing the Alu polymorphism in the human. A highly conserved 18 bp sequence, also within that intron, was identified as being a potential binding site for the transcription factors Oct-1, HFH-1 and HNF-3β, and lies within a larger area of higher than normal homology. This putative regulatory element may contribute to regulation of the documented inter-individual variation in human circulating enzyme levels, for which a functional mechanism is yet to be defined. Two equine SNPs occurred within the conserved area in intron 16, although neither of them disrupted the putative binding site. We propose a possible regulatory mechanism of the ACE gene in mammalian species which was previously unknown. This advance will allow further analysis leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the associations seen between the human Alu polymorphism and enzyme levels, cardiovascular disease states and elite athleticism.

Multi-species comparative analysis of the equine ACE gene identifies a highly conserved potential transcription factor binding site in intron 16.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Natasha A; Tammen, Imke; Raadsma, Herman W

2013-01-01

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is essential for control of blood pressure. The human ACE gene contains an intronic Alu indel (I/D) polymorphism that has been associated with variation in serum enzyme levels, although the functional mechanism has not been identified. The polymorphism has also been associated with cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, renal disease and elite athleticism. We have characterized the ACE gene in horses of breeds selected for differing physical abilities. The equine gene has a similar structure to that of all known mammalian ACE genes. Nine common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) discovered in pooled DNA were found to be inherited in nine haplotypes. Three of these SNPs were located in intron 16, homologous to that containing the Alu polymorphism in the human. A highly conserved 18 bp sequence, also within that intron, was identified as being a potential binding site for the transcription factors Oct-1, HFH-1 and HNF-3β, and lies within a larger area of higher than normal homology. This putative regulatory element may contribute to regulation of the documented inter-individual variation in human circulating enzyme levels, for which a functional mechanism is yet to be defined. Two equine SNPs occurred within the conserved area in intron 16, although neither of them disrupted the putative binding site. We propose a possible regulatory mechanism of the ACE gene in mammalian species which was previously unknown. This advance will allow further analysis leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the associations seen between the human Alu polymorphism and enzyme levels, cardiovascular disease states and elite athleticism.

New generation all-silica based optical elements for high power laser systems

Science.gov (United States)

Tolenis, T.; GrinevičiÅ«tÄ--, L.; Melninkaitis, A.; Selskis, A.; Buzelis, R.; MažulÄ--, L.; Drazdys, R.

2017-08-01

Laser resistance of optical elements is one of the major topics in photonics. Various routes have been taken to improve optical coatings, including, but not limited by, materials engineering and optimisation of electric field distribution in multilayers. During the decades of research, it was found, that high band-gap materials, such as silica, are highly resistant to laser light. Unfortunately, only the production of anti-reflection coatings of all-silica materials are presented to this day. A novel route will be presented in materials engineering, capable to manufacture high reflection optical elements using only SiO2 material and GLancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) method. The technique involves the deposition of columnar structure and tailoring the refractive index of silica material throughout the coating thickness. A numerous analysis indicate the superior properties of GLAD coatings when compared with standard methods for Bragg mirrors production. Several groups of optical components are presented including anti-reflection coatings and Bragg mirrors. Structural and optical characterisation of the method have been performed and compared with standard methods. All researches indicate the possibility of new generation coatings for high power laser systems.

A mammalian conserved element derived from SINE displays enhancer properties recapitulating Satb2 expression in early-born callosal projection neurons.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kensuke Tashiro

Full Text Available Short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs are highly repeated sequences that account for a significant proportion of many eukaryotic genomes and are usually considered "junk DNA". However, we previously discovered that many AmnSINE1 loci are evolutionarily conserved across mammalian genomes, suggesting that they may have acquired significant functions involved in controlling mammalian-specific traits. Notably, we identified the AS021 SINE locus, located 390 kbp upstream of Satb2. Using transgenic mice, we showed that this SINE displays specific enhancer activity in the developing cerebral cortex. The transcription factor Satb2 is expressed by cortical neurons extending axons through the corpus callosum and is a determinant of callosal versus subcortical projection. Mouse mutants reveal a crucial function for Sabt2 in corpus callosum formation. In this study, we compared the enhancer activity of the AS021 locus with Satb2 expression during telencephalic development in the mouse. First, we showed that the AS021 enhancer is specifically activated in early-born Satb2(+ neurons. Second, we demonstrated that the activity of the AS021 enhancer recapitulates the expression of Satb2 at later embryonic and postnatal stages in deep-layer but not superficial-layer neurons, suggesting the possibility that the expression of Satb2 in these two subpopulations of cortical neurons is under genetically distinct transcriptional control. Third, we showed that the AS021 enhancer is activated in neurons projecting through the corpus callosum, as described for Satb2(+ neurons. Notably, AS021 drives specific expression in axons crossing through the ventral (TAG1(-/NPY(+ portion of the corpus callosum, confirming that it is active in a subpopulation of callosal neurons. These data suggest that exaptation of the AS021 SINE locus might be involved in enhancement of Satb2 expression, leading to the establishment of interhemispheric communication via the corpus callosum

Study on Information Management for the Conservation of Traditional Chinese Architectural Heritage - 3d Modelling and Metadata Representation

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Y. N.; Weng, K. H.; Huang, H. Y.

2013-07-01

After over 30 years of practise and development, Taiwan's architectural conservation field is moving rapidly into digitalization and its applications. Compared to modern buildings, traditional Chinese architecture has considerably more complex elements and forms. To document and digitize these unique heritages in their conservation lifecycle is a new and important issue. This article takes the caisson ceiling of the Taipei Confucius Temple, octagonal with 333 elements in 8 types, as a case study for digitization practise. The application of metadata representation and 3D modelling are the two key issues to discuss. Both Revit and SketchUp were appliedin this research to compare its effectiveness to metadata representation. Due to limitation of the Revit database, the final 3D models wasbuilt with SketchUp. The research found that, firstly, cultural heritage databasesmustconvey that while many elements are similar in appearance, they are unique in value; although 3D simulations help the general understanding of architectural heritage, software such as Revit and SketchUp, at this stage, could onlybe used tomodel basic visual representations, and is ineffective indocumenting additional critical data ofindividually unique elements. Secondly, when establishing conservation lifecycle information for application in management systems, a full and detailed presentation of the metadata must also be implemented; the existing applications of BIM in managing conservation lifecycles are still insufficient. Results of the research recommends SketchUp as a tool for present modelling needs, and BIM for sharing data between users, but the implementation of metadata representation is of the utmost importance.

Self-Organization in Integrated Conservation and Development Initiatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristiana Simão Seixas

2007-11-01

Full Text Available This paper uses a cooking metaphor to explore key elements (i.e., ingredients for a great meal that contribute to self-organization processes in the context of successful community-based conservation (CBC or integrated conservation and development projects (ICDP. We pose two major questions: (1 What are the key factors that drive peoples' and/or organizations' willingness to take responsibilities and to act? (2 What contributes to community self-organization? In other words, how conservation-development projects originate, evolve, survive or disappear? In order to address these questions we examine trigger events and catalytic elements in several cases among the Equator Prize finalists and short-listed nominees, from both the 2002 and 2004 awards. The Prize recognizes efforts in integrating biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction. We use secondary data in our analysis, including data from several technical reports and scientific papers written about the Equator Prize finalists and short-listed nominees. We observed common ingredients in most projects including: (1 involvement and commitment of key players (including communities, (2 funding, (3 strong leadership, (4 capacity building, (5 partnership with supportive organizations and government, and (6 economic incentives (including alternative livelihood options. We also observed that CBC and ICDP initiatives opportunistically evolve in a multi-level world, in which local communities establish linkages with people and organizations at different political levels, across different geographical scales and for different purposes. We conclude that there is no right 'recipe' to promote community self-organization but often a mix of some of these six ingredients need to come together for 'success' and that one or two ingredients are not sufficient to ensure success. Also the existence of these six ingredients does not guarantee a great meal - the 'chef's' creativity also is critical. That is

Energy conservation in India: a profile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

The decade and half since the oil crisis of 1973 has been a period that has witnessed a steady growth of the energy conservation ethos in India. Housekeeping and low risk conservation options have been largely preferred so far. The IMWG (Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Utilization and Conservation of Energy) study did not evaluate potential saving through the introduction of high risk and high pay-off technologies. The potential for energy conservation in India is substantial. However, some of the barriers to achieving the potential in the past have been energy prices which deviate from rational tariffs and prices, a lack of information on specific measures and of options for achieving energy conservation, paucity of capital for schemes requiring technology upgradation and efficiency improvements, and the inadequacy if institutional arrangement for promoting energy conservation in different sectors of the economy. Recent efforts pursued by several organizations however provide some basis for optimism. Given the growing capital intensity of the energy sector in India, more vigorous efforts are likely to be made in the future. In particular, success stories in some industrial units indicate that decentralized efforts by the units themselves can achieve a great deal in improving the efficiency of energy use, particularly in the Indian industry. Policies to promote such programmes would help accelerate energy conservation efforts in industrial units and in other sectors. It is therefore hoped that the intensity of energy use in several sectors of the indian economy will be reduced significantly in the coming years. (author). 3 refs., 3 tabs

The application of the high throughput sequencing technology in the transposable elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhen; Xu, Jian-hong

2015-09-01

High throughput sequencing technology has dramatically improved the efficiency of DNA sequencing, and decreased the costs to a great extent. Meanwhile, this technology usually has advantages of better specificity, higher sensitivity and accuracy. Therefore, it has been applied to the research on genetic variations, transcriptomics and epigenomics. Recently, this technology has been widely employed in the studies of transposable elements and has achieved fruitful results. In this review, we summarize the application of high throughput sequencing technology in the fields of transposable elements, including the estimation of transposon content, preference of target sites and distribution, insertion polymorphism and population frequency, identification of rare copies, transposon horizontal transfers as well as transposon tagging. We also briefly introduce the major common sequencing strategies and algorithms, their advantages and disadvantages, and the corresponding solutions. Finally, we envision the developing trends of high throughput sequencing technology, especially the third generation sequencing technology, and its application in transposon studies in the future, hopefully providing a comprehensive understanding and reference for related scientific researchers.

The Highly Conserved Proline at Position 438 in Pseudorabies Virus gH Is Important for Regulation of Membrane Fusion

OpenAIRE

Schröter, Christina; Klupp, Barbara G.; Fuchs, Walter; Gerhard, Marika; Backovic, Marija; Rey, Felix A.; Mettenleiter, Thomas C.

2014-01-01

Membrane fusion in herpesviruses requires viral glycoproteins (g) gB and gH/gL. While gB is considered the actual fusion protein but is nonfusogenic per se, the function of gH/gL remains enigmatic. Crystal structures for different gH homologs are strikingly similar despite only moderate amino acid sequence conservation. A highly conserved sequence motif comprises the residues serine-proline-cysteine corresponding to positions 437 to 439 in pseudorabies virus (PrV) gH. The PrV-gH structure sho...

Violations of conservation laws in viscous liquid dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dyre, Jeppe

2007-01-01

The laws expressing conservation of momentum and energy apply to any isolated system, but these laws are violated for highly viscous liquids under laboratory conditions because of the unavoidable interactions with the measuring equipment over the long times needed to study the dynamics. Moreover,......, although particle number conservation applies strictly for any liquid, the solidity of viscous liquids implies that even this conservation law is apparently violated in coarse-grained descriptions of density fluctuations.......The laws expressing conservation of momentum and energy apply to any isolated system, but these laws are violated for highly viscous liquids under laboratory conditions because of the unavoidable interactions with the measuring equipment over the long times needed to study the dynamics. Moreover...

A comparative phylogenetic analysis of full-length mariner elements

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Mariner like elements (MLEs) are widely distributed type II transposons with an open reading frame (ORF) for transposase. We studied comparative phylogenetic evolution and inverted terminal repeat (ITR) conservation of MLEs from Indian saturniid silkmoth, Antheraea mylitta with other full length MLEs submitted in the ...

High-performance quantum-dot solids via elemental sulfur synthesis

KAUST Repository

Yuan, Mingjian

2014-03-21

An elemental-sulfur-based synthesis is reported, which, combined with processing to improve the size dispersion and passivation, results in a low-cost high-quality platform for small-bandgap PbS-CQD-based devices. Size-selective precipitation and cadmium chloride passivation are used to improve the power conversion efficiency of 1 eV bandgap CQD photovoltaic devices dramatically, which leads to record power conversion efficiency for a 1 eV PbS CQD solar cell of 5.4%. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Variational Multiscale Finite Element Method for Flows in Highly Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Iliev, O.; Lazarov, R.; Willems, J.

2011-01-01

We present a two-scale finite element method (FEM) for solving Brinkman's and Darcy's equations. These systems of equations model fluid flows in highly porous and porous media, respectively. The method uses a recently proposed discontinuous Galerkin FEM for Stokes' equations by Wang and Ye and the concept of subgrid approximation developed by Arbogast for Darcy's equations. In order to reduce the "resonance error" and to ensure convergence to the global fine solution, the algorithm is put in the framework of alternating Schwarz iterations using subdomains around the coarse-grid boundaries. The discussed algorithms are implemented using the Deal.II finite element library and are tested on a number of model problems. © 2011 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Variational Multiscale Finite Element Method for Flows in Highly Porous Media

KAUST Repository

Iliev, O.

2011-10-01

We present a two-scale finite element method (FEM) for solving Brinkman\\'s and Darcy\\'s equations. These systems of equations model fluid flows in highly porous and porous media, respectively. The method uses a recently proposed discontinuous Galerkin FEM for Stokes\\' equations by Wang and Ye and the concept of subgrid approximation developed by Arbogast for Darcy\\'s equations. In order to reduce the "resonance error" and to ensure convergence to the global fine solution, the algorithm is put in the framework of alternating Schwarz iterations using subdomains around the coarse-grid boundaries. The discussed algorithms are implemented using the Deal.II finite element library and are tested on a number of model problems. © 2011 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

EXTRACTION AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTAL SULFUR FROM SULFIDE MINERAL SURFACES BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY. (R826189)

Science.gov (United States)

A simple method for the quantitative determination of elemental sulfur on oxidized sulfide minerals is described. Extraction of elemental sulfur in perchloroethylene and subsequent analysis with high-performance liquid chromatography were used to ascertain the total elemental ...

Geochemistry of Toxic Elements and Their Removal via the Preparation of High-Uranium Coal in Southwestern China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piaopiao Duan

2018-02-01

Full Text Available High-uranium (U coal is the dominant form of coal in Southwestern China. However, directly utilizing this resource can also harm the environment because this element is radioactive; it is, therefore, necessary to clean this kind of coal before burning. This research studied the geochemistry of toxic elements and their partitioning during the preparation of high-U coal in China. The results show that high-U coals are mainly distributed in Southwestern China and are characterized by a high organic sulfur (S content and vanadium (V-chromium (Cr-molybdenum (Mo-U element assemblage. These elements are well-correlated with one another, but are all negatively related to ash yield, indicating that all four are syngenetic in origin and associated with organic materials. A mineralogical analysis shows that U in Ganhe and Rongyang coal occurs within fine-grained anatase, clay minerals, guadarramite, and pyrite, while V occurs in clay minerals, pyrite, and dolomite, and Cr occurs in dolomite. Other elements, such as fluorine (F, lead (Pb, selenium (Se, and mercury (Hg, mainly occur in pyrite. By applying a gravity separation method to separate minerals from coal, the content of the enrichment element assemblage of V-Cr-Mo-U in Rongyang coal is still shown to be higher than, or close to, that of the original feed because this element assemblage is derived from hydrothermal fluids during syngenetic or early diagenetic phases, but other elements (beryllium [Be], F, manganese [Mn], zinc [Zn], Pb, arsenic [As], Se, Hg can be efficiently removed. Once cleaned, the coal obtained by gravity separation was subject to a flotation test to separate minerals; these results indicate that while a portion of V and Cr can be removed, Mo and U remain difficult to extract. It is evident that the two most commonly utilized industrialized coal preparation methods, gravity separation and flotation, cannot effectively remove U from coal where this element occurs in large

Mass-corrections for the conservative coupling of flow and transport on collocated meshes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waluga, Christian, E-mail: waluga@ma.tum.de [Institute for Numerical Mathematics (M2), Technische Universität München, Boltzmannstraße 3, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Wohlmuth, Barbara [Institute for Numerical Mathematics (M2), Technische Universität München, Boltzmannstraße 3, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Rüde, Ulrich [Department of Computer Science 10, University Erlangen–Nuremberg, Cauerstr. 11, D-91058 Erlangen (Germany)

2016-01-15

Buoyancy-driven flow models demand a careful treatment of the mass-balance equation to avoid spurious source and sink terms in the non-linear coupling between flow and transport. In the context of finite-elements, it is therefore commonly proposed to employ sufficiently rich pressure spaces, containing piecewise constant shape functions to obtain local or even strong mass-conservation. In three-dimensional computations, this usually requires nonconforming approaches, special meshes or higher order velocities, which make these schemes prohibitively expensive for some applications and complicate the implementation into legacy code. In this paper, we therefore propose a lean and conservatively coupled scheme based on standard stabilized linear equal-order finite elements for the Stokes part and vertex-centered finite volumes for the energy equation. We show that in a weak mass-balance it is possible to recover exact conservation properties by a local flux-correction which can be computed efficiently on the control volume boundaries of the transport mesh. We discuss implementation aspects and demonstrate the effectiveness of the flux-correction by different two- and three-dimensional examples which are motivated by geophysical applications.

Cortical cytasters: a highly conserved developmental trait of Bilateria with similarities to Ctenophora

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salinas-Saavedra Miguel

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cytasters (cytoplasmic asters are centriole-based nucleation centers of microtubule polymerization that are observable in large numbers in the cortical cytoplasm of the egg and zygote of bilaterian organisms. In both protostome and deuterostome taxa, cytasters have been described to develop during oogenesis from vesicles of nuclear membrane that move to the cortical cytoplasm. They become associated with several cytoplasmic components, and participate in the reorganization of cortical cytoplasm after fertilization, patterning the antero-posterior and dorso-ventral body axes. Presentation of the hypothesis The specific resemblances in the development of cytasters in both protostome and deuterostome taxa suggest that an independent evolutionary origin is unlikely. An assessment of published data confirms that cytasters are present in several protostome and deuterostome phyla, but are absent in the non-bilaterian phyla Cnidaria and Ctenophora. We hypothesize that cytasters evolved in the lineage leading to Bilateria and were already present in the most recent common ancestor shared by protostomes and deuterostomes. Thus, cytasters would be an ancient and highly conserved trait that is homologous across the different bilaterian phyla. The alternative possibility is homoplasy, that is cytasters have evolved independently in different lineages of Bilateria. Testing the hypothesis So far, available published information shows that appropriate observations have been made in eight different bilaterian phyla. All of them present cytasters. This is consistent with the hypothesis of homology and conservation. However, there are several important groups for which there are no currently available data. The hypothesis of homology predicts that cytasters should be present in these groups. Increasing the taxonomic sample using modern techniques uniformly will test for evolutionary patterns supporting homology, homoplasy, or secondary loss of

A highly conserved basidiomycete peptide synthetase produces a trimeric hydroxamate siderophore.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandenburger, Eileen; Gressler, Markus; Leonhardt, Robin; Lackner, Gerald; Habel, Andreas; Hertweck, Christian; Brock, Matthias; Hoffmeister, Dirk

2017-08-25

The model white-rot basidiomycete Ceriporiopsis ( Gelatoporia ) subvermispora B encodes putative natural product biosynthesis genes. Among them is the gene for the seven-domain nonribosomal peptide synthetase CsNPS2. It is a member of the as-yet uncharacterized fungal type VI siderophore synthetase family which is highly conserved and widely distributed among the basidiomycetes. These enzymes include only one adenylation (A) domain, i.e., one complete peptide synthetase module and two thiolation/condensation (T-C) di-domain partial modules which, together, constitute an AT 1 C 1 T 2 C 2 T 3 C 3 domain setup. The full-length CsNPS2 enzyme (274.5 kDa) was heterologously produced as polyhistidine fusion in Aspergillus niger as soluble and active protein. N 5 -acetyl- N 5 -hydroxy-l-ornithine (l-AHO) and N 5 - cis -anhydromevalonyl- N 5 -hydroxy-l-ornithine (l-AMHO) were accepted as substrates, as assessed in vitro using the substrate-dependent [ 32 P]ATP-pyrophosphate radioisotope exchange assay. Full-length holo -CsNPS2 catalyzed amide bond formation between three l-AHO molecules to release the linear l-AHO trimer, called basidioferrin, as product in vitro , which was verified by LC-HRESIMS. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that type VI family siderophore synthetases are widespread in mushrooms and have evolved in a common ancestor of basidiomycetes. Importance : The basidiomycete nonribosomal peptide synthetase CsNPS2 represents a member of a widely distributed but previously uninvestigated class (type VI) of fungal siderophore synthetases. Genes orthologous to CsNPS2 are highly conserved across various phylogenetic clades of the basidiomycetes. Hence, our work serves as a broadly applicable model for siderophore biosynthesis and iron metabolism in higher fungi. Also, our results on the amino acid substrate preference of CsNPS2 supports further understanding of the substrate selectivity of fungal adenylation domains. Methodologically, this report highlights the

Key Elements of a Good Mathematics Lesson as Seen by Japanese Junior High School Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Ebaeguin, Marlon; Stephens, Max

2016-01-01

This study makes a comparison between what literature on Japanese Lesson Study suggests are key elements of a good mathematics lesson and what junior high school mathematics teachers in Japan value in planning their lessons. The teachers' strong consensus in their endorsements of these key elements explains why Japanese teachers strongly support…

Bag-model matrix elements of the parity-violating weak hamiltonian for charmed baryons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebert, D.; Kallies, W.

1983-01-01

Baryon matrix elements of the parity-violating part of the charmchanging weak Hamiltonian might be significant and comparable with those of the parity-conserving one due to large symmetry breaking. Expression for these new matrix elements by using the MIT-bag model are derived and their implications on earlier calculations of nonleptonic charmed-baryon decays are estimated

On the structure on non-local conservation laws in the two-dimensional non-linear sigma-model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zamolodchikov, Al.B.

1978-01-01

The non-local conserved charges are supposed to satisfy a special multiplicative law in the space of asymptotic states of the non-linear sigma-model. This supposition leads to factorization equations for two-particle scattering matrix elements and determines to some extent the action of these charges in the asymptotic space. Their conservation turns out to be consistent with the factorized S-matrix of the non-linear sigma-model. It is shown also that the factorized sine-Gordon S-matrix is consistent with a similar family of conservation laws

Nonlinear magnetohydrodynamics simulation using high-order finite elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plimpton, Steven James; Schnack, D.D.; Tarditi, A.; Chu, M.S.; Gianakon, T.A.; Kruger, S.E.; Nebel, R.A.; Barnes, D.C.; Sovinec, C.R.; Glasser, A.H.

2005-01-01

A conforming representation composed of 2D finite elements and finite Fourier series is applied to 3D nonlinear non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics using a semi-implicit time-advance. The self-adjoint semi-implicit operator and variational approach to spatial discretization are synergistic and enable simulation in the extremely stiff conditions found in high temperature plasmas without sacrificing the geometric flexibility needed for modeling laboratory experiments. Growth rates for resistive tearing modes with experimentally relevant Lundquist number are computed accurately with time-steps that are large with respect to the global Alfven time and moderate spatial resolution when the finite elements have basis functions of polynomial degree (p) two or larger. An error diffusion method controls the generation of magnetic divergence error. Convergence studies show that this approach is effective for continuous basis functions with p (ge) 2, where the number of test functions for the divergence control terms is less than the number of degrees of freedom in the expansion for vector fields. Anisotropic thermal conduction at realistic ratios of parallel to perpendicular conductivity (x(parallel)/x(perpendicular)) is computed accurately with p (ge) 3 without mesh alignment. A simulation of tearing-mode evolution for a shaped toroidal tokamak equilibrium demonstrates the effectiveness of the algorithm in nonlinear conditions, and its results are used to verify the accuracy of the numerical anisotropic thermal conduction in 3D magnetic topologies.

A highly conserved amino acid in VP1 regulates maturation of enterovirus 71.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Xin Zhang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Enterovirus 71 (EV71 is the major causative agent of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD in children, causing severe clinical outcomes and even death. Here, we report an important role of the highly conserved alanine residue at position 107 in the capsid protein VP1 (VP1A107 in the efficient replication of EV71. Substitutional mutations of VP1A107 significantly diminish viral growth kinetics without significant effect on viral entry, expression of viral genes and viral production. The results of mechanistic studies reveal that VP1A107 regulates the efficient cleavage of the VP0 precursor during EV71 assembly, which is required, in the next round of infection, for the transformation of the mature virion (160S into an intermediate or A-particle (135S, a key step of virus uncoating. Furthermore, the results of molecular dynamic simulations and hydrogen-bond networks analysis of VP1A107 suggest that flexibility of the VP1 BC loop or the region surrounding the VP1107 residue directly correlates with viral infectivity. It is possible that sufficient flexibility of the region surrounding the VP1107 residue favors VP0 conformational change that is required for the efficient cleavage of VP0 as well as subsequent viral uncoating and viral replication. Taken together, our data reveal the structural role of the highly conserved VP1A107 in regulating EV71 maturation. Characterization of this novel determinant of EV71 virulence would promote the study on pathogenesis of Enteroviruses.

On-line hydrogen-isotope measurements of organic samples using elemental chromium: An extension for high temperature elemental-analyzer techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Gehre, Matthias; Renpenning, Julian; Gilevska, Tetyana; Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B.; Meijer, Harro A.J.; Brand, Willi A.; Schimmelmann, Arndt

2015-01-01

The high temperature conversion (HTC) technique using an elemental analyzer with a glassy carbon tube and filling (temperature conversion/elemental analysis, TC/EA) is a widely used method for hydrogen isotopic analysis of water and many solid and liquid organic samples with analysis by isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). However, the TC/EA IRMS method may produce inaccurate δ2H results, with values deviating by more than 20 mUr (milliurey = 0.001 = 1‰) from the true value for some materials. We show that a single-oven, chromium-filled elemental analyzer coupled to an IRMS substantially improves the measurement quality and reliability for hydrogen isotopic compositions of organic substances (Cr-EA method). Hot chromium maximizes the yield of molecular hydrogen in a helium carrier gas by irreversibly and quantitatively scavenging all reactive elements except hydrogen. In contrast, under TC/EA conditions, heteroelements like nitrogen or chlorine (and other halogens) can form hydrogen cyanide (HCN) or hydrogen chloride (HCl) and this can cause isotopic fractionation. The Cr-EA technique thus expands the analytical possibilities for on-line hydrogen-isotope measurements of organic samples significantly. This method yielded reproducibility values (1-sigma) for δ2H measurements on water and caffeine samples of better than 1.0 and 0.5 mUr, respectively. To overcome handling problems with water as the principal calibration anchor for hydrogen isotopic measurements, we have employed an effective and simple strategy using reference waters or other liquids sealed in silver-tube segments. These crimped silver tubes can be employed in both the Cr-EA and TC/EA techniques. They simplify considerably the normalization of hydrogen-isotope measurement data to the VSMOW-SLAP (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water-Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation) scale, and their use improves accuracy of the data by eliminating evaporative loss and associated isotopic fractionation while

On-line hydrogen-isotope measurements of organic samples using elemental chromium: an extension for high temperature elemental-analyzer techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Gehre, Matthias; Renpenning, Julian; Gilevska, Tetyana; Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B; Meijer, Harro A J; Brand, Willi A; Schimmelmann, Arndt

2015-01-01

The high temperature conversion (HTC) technique using an elemental analyzer with a glassy carbon tube and filling (temperature conversion/elemental analysis, TC/EA) is a widely used method for hydrogen isotopic analysis of water and many solid and liquid organic samples with analysis by isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). However, the TC/EA IRMS method may produce inaccurate δ(2)H results, with values deviating by more than 20 mUr (milliurey = 0.001 = 1‰) from the true value for some materials. We show that a single-oven, chromium-filled elemental analyzer coupled to an IRMS substantially improves the measurement quality and reliability for hydrogen isotopic compositions of organic substances (Cr-EA method). Hot chromium maximizes the yield of molecular hydrogen in a helium carrier gas by irreversibly and quantitatively scavenging all reactive elements except hydrogen. In contrast, under TC/EA conditions, heteroelements like nitrogen or chlorine (and other halogens) can form hydrogen cyanide (HCN) or hydrogen chloride (HCl) and this can cause isotopic fractionation. The Cr-EA technique thus expands the analytical possibilities for on-line hydrogen-isotope measurements of organic samples significantly. This method yielded reproducibility values (1-sigma) for δ(2)H measurements on water and caffeine samples of better than 1.0 and 0.5 mUr, respectively. To overcome handling problems with water as the principal calibration anchor for hydrogen isotopic measurements, we have employed an effective and simple strategy using reference waters or other liquids sealed in silver-tube segments. These crimped silver tubes can be employed in both the Cr-EA and TC/EA techniques. They simplify considerably the normalization of hydrogen-isotope measurement data to the VSMOW-SLAP (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water-Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation) scale, and their use improves accuracy of the data by eliminating evaporative loss and associated isotopic fractionation while

Evaluating private land conservation in the Cape Lowlands, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Von Hase, Amrei; Rouget, Mathieu; Cowling, Richard M

2010-10-01

Evaluation is important for judiciously allocating limited conservation resources and for improving conservation success through learning and strategy adjustment. We evaluated the application of systematic conservation planning goals and conservation gains from incentive-based stewardship interventions on private land in the Cape Lowlands and Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. We collected spatial and nonspatial data (2003-2007) to determine the number of hectares of vegetation protected through voluntary contractual and legally nonbinding (informal) agreements with landowners; resources spent on these interventions; contribution of the agreements to 5- and 20-year conservation goals for representation and persistence in the Cape Lowlands of species and ecosystems; and time and staff required to meet these goals. Conservation gains on private lands across the Cape Floristic Region were relatively high. In 5 years, 22,078 ha (27,800 ha of land) and 46,526 ha (90,000 ha of land) of native vegetation were protected through contracts and informal agreements, respectively. Informal agreements often were opportunity driven and cheaper and faster to execute than contracts. All contractual agreements in the Cape Lowlands were within areas of high conservation priority (identified through systematic conservation planning), which demonstrated the conservation plan's practical application and a high level of overlap between resource investment (approximately R1.14 million/year in the lowlands) and priority conservation areas. Nevertheless, conservation agreements met only 11% of 5-year and 9% of 20-year conservation goals for Cape Lowlands and have made only a moderate contribution to regional persistence of flora to date. Meeting the plan's conservation goals will take three to five times longer and many more staff members to maintain agreements than initially envisaged. © 2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

Mobile Element Evolution Playing Jigsaw—SINEs in Gastropod and Bivalve Mollusks

Science.gov (United States)

Matetovici, Irina; Sajgo, Szilard; Ianc, Bianca; Ochis, Cornelia; Bulzu, Paul; Popescu, Octavian; Damert, Annette

2016-01-01

SINEs (Short INterspersed Elements) are widely distributed among eukaryotes. Some SINE families are organized in superfamilies characterized by a shared central domain. These central domains are conserved across species, classes, and even phyla. Here we report the identification of two novel such superfamilies in the genomes of gastropod and bivalve mollusks. The central conserved domain of the first superfamily is present in SINEs in Caenogastropoda and Vetigastropoda as well as in all four subclasses of Bivalvia. We designated the domain MESC (Romanian for MElc—snail and SCoica—mussel) because it appears to be restricted to snails and mussels. The second superfamily is restricted to Caenogastropoda. Its central conserved domain—Snail—is related to the Nin-DC domain. Furthermore, we provide evidence that a 40-bp subdomain of the SINE V-domain is conserved in SINEs in mollusks and arthropods. It is predicted to form a stable stem-loop structure that is preserved in the context of the overall SINE RNA secondary structure in invertebrates. Our analysis also recovered short retrotransposons with a Long INterspersed Element (LINE)-derived 5′ end. These share the body and/or the tail with transfer RNA (tRNA)-derived SINEs within and across species. Finally, we identified CORE SINEs in gastropods and bivalves—extending the distribution range of this superfamily. PMID:26739168

A Simple Predictive Enhancer Syntax for Hindbrain Patterning Is Conserved in Vertebrate Genomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Grice

Full Text Available Determining the function of regulatory elements is fundamental for our understanding of development, disease and evolution. However, the sequence features that mediate these functions are often unclear and the prediction of tissue-specific expression patterns from sequence alone is non-trivial. Previous functional studies have demonstrated a link between PBX-HOX and MEIS/PREP binding interactions and hindbrain enhancer activity, but the defining grammar of these sites, if any exists, has remained elusive.Here, we identify a shared sequence signature (syntax within a heterogeneous set of conserved vertebrate hindbrain enhancers composed of spatially co-occurring PBX-HOX and MEIS/PREP transcription factor binding motifs. We use this syntax to accurately predict hindbrain enhancers in 89% of cases (67/75 predicted elements from a set of conserved non-coding elements (CNEs. Furthermore, mutagenesis of the sites abolishes activity or generates ectopic expression, demonstrating their requirement for segmentally restricted enhancer activity in the hindbrain. We refine and use our syntax to predict over 3,000 hindbrain enhancers across the human genome. These sequences tend to be located near developmental transcription factors and are enriched in known hindbrain activating elements, demonstrating the predictive power of this simple model.Our findings support the theory that hundreds of CNEs, and perhaps thousands of regions across the human genome, function to coordinate gene expression in the developing hindbrain. We speculate that deeply conserved sequences of this kind contributed to the co-option of new genes into the hindbrain gene regulatory network during early vertebrate evolution by linking patterns of hox expression to downstream genes involved in segmentation and patterning, and evolutionarily newer instances may have continued to contribute to lineage-specific elaboration of the hindbrain.

An element-based finite-volume method approach for naturally fractured compositional reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marcondes, Francisco [Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza (Brazil). Dept. of Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science], e-mail: marcondes@ufc.br; Varavei, Abdoljalil; Sepehrnoori, Kamy [The University of Texas at Austin (United States). Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Dept.], e-mails: varavei@mail.utexas.edu, kamys@mail.utexas.edu

2010-07-01

An element-based finite-volume approach in conjunction with unstructured grids for naturally fractured compositional reservoir simulation is presented. In this approach, both the discrete fracture and the matrix mass balances are taken into account without any additional models to couple the matrix and discrete fractures. The mesh, for two dimensional domains, can be built of triangles, quadrilaterals, or a mix of these elements. However, due to the available mesh generator to handle both matrix and discrete fractures, only results using triangular elements will be presented. The discrete fractures are located along the edges of each element. To obtain the approximated matrix equation, each element is divided into three sub-elements and then the mass balance equations for each component are integrated along each interface of the sub-elements. The finite-volume conservation equations are assembled from the contribution of all the elements that share a vertex, creating a cell vertex approach. The discrete fracture equations are discretized only along the edges of each element and then summed up with the matrix equations in order to obtain a conservative equation for both matrix and discrete fractures. In order to mimic real field simulations, the capillary pressure is included in both matrix and discrete fracture media. In the implemented model, the saturation field in the matrix and discrete fractures can be different, but the potential of each phase in the matrix and discrete fracture interface needs to be the same. The results for several naturally fractured reservoirs are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the method. (author)

Butterflies of the high altitude Atacama Desert: habitat use and conservation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emma eDespland

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The butterfly fauna of the high-altitude desert of Northern Chile, though depauperate, shows high endemism, is poorly known and is of considerable conservation concern. This study surveys butterflies along the Andean slope between 2400 and 500 m asl (prepuna, puna and Andean steppe habitats as well as in high and low altitude wetlands and in the neoriparian vegetation of agricultural sites. We also include historical sightings from museum records. We compare abundances between altitudes, between natural and impacted sites, as well as between two sampling years with different precipitation regimes. The results confirm high altitudinal turnover and show greatest similarity between wetland and slope faunas at similar altitudes. Results also underscore vulnerability to weather fluctuations, particularly in the more arid low-altitude sites, where abundances were much lower in the low precipitation sampling season and several species were not observed at all. Finally, we show that some species have shifted to the neoriparian vegetation of the agricultural landscape, whereas others were only observed in less impacted habitats dominated by native plants. These results suggest that acclimation to novel habitats depends on larval host plant use. The traditional agricultural environment can provide habitat for many, but not all, native butterfly species, but an estimation of the value of these habitats requires better understanding of butterfly life-history strategies and relationships with host plants.

Generalization of mixed multiscale finite element methods with applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, C S [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

2016-08-01

Many science and engineering problems exhibit scale disparity and high contrast. The small scale features cannot be omitted in the physical models because they can affect the macroscopic behavior of the problems. However, resolving all the scales in these problems can be prohibitively expensive. As a consequence, some types of model reduction techniques are required to design efficient solution algorithms. For practical purpose, we are interested in mixed finite element problems as they produce solutions with certain conservative properties. Existing multiscale methods for such problems include the mixed multiscale finite element methods. We show that for complicated problems, the mixed multiscale finite element methods may not be able to produce reliable approximations. This motivates the need of enrichment for coarse spaces. Two enrichment approaches are proposed, one is based on generalized multiscale finte element metthods (GMsFEM), while the other is based on spectral element-based algebraic multigrid (rAMGe). The former one, which is called mixed GMsFEM, is developed for both Darcy’s flow and linear elasticity. Application of the algorithm in two-phase flow simulations are demonstrated. For linear elasticity, the algorithm is subtly modified due to the symmetry requirement of the stress tensor. The latter enrichment approach is based on rAMGe. The algorithm differs from GMsFEM in that both of the velocity and pressure spaces are coarsened. Due the multigrid nature of the algorithm, recursive application is available, which results in an efficient multilevel construction of the coarse spaces. Stability, convergence analysis, and exhaustive numerical experiments are carried out to validate the proposed enrichment approaches. iii

New isotopes of elements 104, 106 and 108 - highly stable superheavy nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oganessian, Yuri

1994-01-01

In April 1993, as part of a joint Dubna-Livermore experiment at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, new heavy isotopes of elements 104 and 106 were synthesized - 262 104, 265 106 and 266 106. Compared with the known even-even isotopes of elements 104 and 106, the new nuclei are characterized by their extraordinary high resistance to spontaneous fission. This is a direct proof of the macro-microscopic theory predictions in its version calculated by A.Sobiczewski et al. regarding a substantial increase in the half-lives of heavy nuclei near deformed shells with atomic number (Z) 108 and neutron number (N) 162.

Conservative Protestantism and attitudes toward corporal punishment, 1986-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, John P; Ellison, Christopher G; Bartkowski, John P

2017-03-01

Research indicates that conservative Protestants are highly supportive of corporal punishment. Yet, Americans' support for this practice has waned during the past several decades. This study aggregates repeated cross-sectional data from the General Social Surveys (GSS) to consider three models that address whether attitudes toward spanking among conservative Protestants shifted relative to those of other Americans from 1986 to 2014. Although initial results reveal a growing gap between conservative Protestants and the broader American public, we find that average levels of support have remained most robust among less educated conservative Protestants, with some erosion among more highly educated conservative Protestants. Moreover, trends in variability suggest that conservative Protestants exhibit more cohesive support for this practice than do others. These results provide a window into the cultural contours of religious change and the social factors that facilitate such change. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Setting priorities for private land conservation in fire-prone landscapes: Are fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation competing or compatible objectives?

Science.gov (United States)

Syphard, Alexandra D.; Butsic, Van; Bar-Massada, Avi; Keeley, Jon E.; Tracey, Jeff A.; Fisher, Robert N.

2016-01-01

Although wildfire plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity in many ecosystems, fire management to protect human assets is often carried out by different agencies than those tasked for conserving biodiversity. In fact, fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation are often viewed as competing objectives. Here we explored the role of management through private land conservation and asked whether we could identify private land acquisition strategies that fulfill the mutual objectives of biodiversity conservation and fire risk reduction, or whether the maximization of one objective comes at a detriment to the other. Using a fixed budget and number of homes slated for development, we simulated 20 years of housing growth under alternative conservation selection strategies, and then projected the mean risk of fires destroying structures and the area and configuration of important habitat types in San Diego County, California, USA. We found clear differences in both fire risk projections and biodiversity impacts based on the way conservation lands are prioritized for selection, but these differences were split between two distinct groupings. If no conservation lands were purchased, or if purchases were prioritized based on cost or likelihood of development, both the projected fire risk and biodiversity impacts were much higher than if conservation lands were purchased in areas with high fire hazard or high species richness. Thus, conserving land focused on either of the two objectives resulted in nearly equivalent mutual benefits for both. These benefits not only resulted from preventing development in sensitive areas, but they were also due to the different housing patterns and arrangements that occurred as development was displaced from those areas. Although biodiversity conflicts may still arise using other fire management strategies, this study shows that mutual objectives can be attained through land-use planning in this region. These results likely

Quantifying solute transport processes: are chemically "conservative" tracers electrically conservative?

Science.gov (United States)

Singha, Kamini; Li, Li; Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Regberg, Aaron B.

2012-01-01

The concept of a nonreactive or conservative tracer, commonly invoked in investigations of solute transport, requires additional study in the context of electrical geophysical monitoring. Tracers that are commonly considered conservative may undergo reactive processes, such as ion exchange, thus changing the aqueous composition of the system. As a result, the measured electrical conductivity may reflect not only solute transport but also reactive processes. We have evaluated the impacts of ion exchange reactions, rate-limited mass transfer, and surface conduction on quantifying tracer mass, mean arrival time, and temporal variance in laboratory-scale column experiments. Numerical examples showed that (1) ion exchange can lead to resistivity-estimated tracer mass, velocity, and dispersivity that may be inaccurate; (2) mass transfer leads to an overestimate in the mobile tracer mass and an underestimate in velocity when using electrical methods; and (3) surface conductance does not notably affect estimated moments when high-concentration tracers are used, although this phenomenon may be important at low concentrations or in sediments with high and/or spatially variable cation-exchange capacity. In all cases, colocated groundwater concentration measurements are of high importance for interpreting geophysical data with respect to the controlling transport processes of interest.

Genome-wide analysis of short interspersed nuclear elements SINES revealed high sequence conservation, gene association and retrotranspositional activity in wheat.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-David, Smadar; Yaakov, Beery; Kashkush, Khalil

2013-10-01

Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) are non-autonomous non-LTR retroelements that are present in most eukaryotic species. While SINEs have been intensively investigated in humans and other animal systems, they are poorly studied in plants, especially in wheat (Triticum aestivum). We used quantitative PCR of various wheat species to determine the copy number of a wheat SINE family, termed Au SINE, combined with computer-assisted analyses of the publicly available 454 pyrosequencing database of T. aestivum. In addition, we utilized site-specific PCR on 57 Au SINE insertions, transposon methylation display and transposon display on newly formed wheat polyploids to assess retrotranspositional activity, epigenetic status and genetic rearrangements in Au SINE, respectively. We retrieved 3706 different insertions of Au SINE from the 454 pyrosequencing database of T. aestivum, and found that most of the elements are inserted in A/T-rich regions, while approximately 38% of the insertions are associated with transcribed regions, including known wheat genes. We observed typical retrotransposition of Au SINE in the second generation of a newly formed wheat allohexaploid, and massive hypermethylation in CCGG sites surrounding Au SINE in the third generation. Finally, we observed huge differences in the copy numbers in diploid Triticum and Aegilops species, and a significant increase in the copy numbers in natural wheat polyploids, but no significant increase in the copy number of Au SINE in the first four generations for two of three newly formed allopolyploid species used in this study. Our data indicate that SINEs may play a prominent role in the genomic evolution of wheat through stress-induced activation. © 2013 Ben-Gurion University The Plant Journal © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Promoting Effective Monitoring and Conservation through Online ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... communicates major findings of submitted records to relevant authorities concerned with conservation and advocacy thus contributing to a much wider sharing and dissemination of important aspects while contributing to avifaunal conservation. Through networking the system provides a highly attractive and authoritative, ...

A Resource Conservation Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Philip D.

1979-01-01

Describes a variety of learning activities for teaching elementary and junior high students about air, water, and energy conservation techniques. Suggests community resources, social studies objectives, language skills, and 20 activities. (CK)

Hepatitis B virus nuclear export elements: RNA stem-loop α and β, key parts of the HBV post-transcriptional regulatory element.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Chun Shen; Brown, Chris M

2016-09-01

Many viruses contain RNA elements that modulate splicing and/or promote nuclear export of their RNAs. The RNAs of the major human pathogen, hepatitis B virus (HBV) contain a large (~600 bases) composite cis-acting 'post-transcriptional regulatory element' (PRE). This element promotes expression from these naturally intronless transcripts. Indeed, the related woodchuck hepadnavirus PRE (WPRE) is used to enhance expression in gene therapy and other expression vectors. These PRE are likely to act through a combination of mechanisms, including promotion of RNA nuclear export. Functional components of both the HBV PRE and WPRE are 2 conserved RNA cis-acting stem-loop (SL) structures, SLα and SLβ. They are within the coding regions of polymerase (P) gene, and both P and X genes, respectively. Based on previous studies using mutagenesis and/or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), here we propose 2 covariance models for SLα and SLβ. The model for the 30-nucleotide SLα contains a G-bulge and a CNGG(U) apical loop of which the first and the fourth loop residues form a CG pair and the fifth loop residue is bulged out, as observed in the NMR structure. The model for the 23-nucleotide SLβ contains a 7-base-pair stem and a 9-nucleotide loop. Comparison of the models with other RNA structural elements, as well as similarity searches of human transcriptome and viral genomes demonstrate that SLα and SLβ are specific to HBV transcripts. However, they are well conserved among the hepadnaviruses of non-human primates, the woodchuck and ground squirrel.

Key elements of high-quality practice organisation in primary health care: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Crossland, Lisa; Janamian, Tina; Jackson, Claire L

2014-08-04

To identify elements that are integral to high-quality practice and determine considerations relating to high-quality practice organisation in primary care. A narrative systematic review of published and grey literature. Electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Emerald Insight, PsycInfo, the Primary Health Care Research and Information Service website, Google Scholar) were searched in November 2013 and used to identify articles published in English from 2002 to 2013. Reference lists of included articles were searched for relevant unpublished articles and reports. Data were configured at the study level to allow for the inclusion of findings from a broad range of study types. Ten elements were most often included in the existing organisational assessment tools. A further three elements were identified from an inductive thematic analysis of descriptive articles, and were noted as important considerations in effective quality improvement in primary care settings. Although there are some validated tools available to primary care that identify and build quality, most are single-strategy approaches developed outside health care settings. There are currently no validated organisational improvement tools, designed specifically for primary health care, which combine all elements of practice improvement and whose use does not require extensive external facilitation.

Trace Element Compositions and Defect Structures of High-Purity Quartz from the Southern Ural Region, Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jens Götze

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Quartz samples of different origin from 10 localities in the Southern Ural region, Russia have been investigated to characterize their trace element compositions and defect structures. The analytical combination of cathodoluminescence (CL microscopy and spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR spectroscopy, and trace-element analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS revealed that almost all investigated quartz samples showed very low concentrations of trace elements (cumulative concentrations of <50 ppm with <30 ppm Al and <10 ppm Ti and low abundances of paramagnetic defects, defining them economically as “high-purity” quartz (HPQ suitable for high-tech applications. EPR and CL data confirmed the low abundances of substitutional Ti and Fe, and showed Al to be the only significant trace element structurally bound in the investigated quartz samples. CL microscopy revealed a heterogeneous distribution of luminescence centres (i.e., luminescence active trace elements such as Al as well as features of deformation and recrystallization. It is suggested that healing of defects due to deformation-related recrystallization and reorganization processes of the quartz lattice during retrograde metamorphism resulted in low concentrations of CL activator and other trace elements or vacancies, and thus are the main driving processes for the formation of HPQ deposits in the investigated area.

Highly Siderophile Elements in Pallasites and Diogenites, Including the New Pallasite, CMS 04071

Science.gov (United States)

Danielson, L. R.; Humayun, M.; Righter, K.

2006-01-01

Pallasites are long thought to represent a metallic core-silicate mantle boundary, where the IIIAB irons are linked to the crystallization history of the metallic fraction, and the HED meteorites may be linked to the silicate fraction. However, measurement of trace elements in individual metallic and silicate phases is necessary in order to fully under-stand the petrogenetic history of pallasites, as well as any magmatic processes which may link pallasites to both IIIAB irons and HED meteorites. In order to achieve this objective, abundances of a suite of elements were measured, including the highly siderophile elements (HSEs), in kamacite, taenite, troilite, schreibersite, chromite and olivine for the pallasites Admire, Imilac, Springwater, CMS 04071. In the diogenites GRO 95555, LAP 91900, and MET 00436, metal, sulfide, spinel, pyroxene, and silica were individually measured.

Demonstration of pyropartitioning process by using genuine high-level liquid waste. Reductive-extraction of actinide elements from chlorination product

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uozumi, Koichi; Iizuka, Masatoshi; Kurata, Masaki; Ougier, Michel; Malmbeck, Rikard; Winckel, Stefaan van

2009-01-01

The pyropartitioning process separates the minor actinide elements (MAs) together with uranium and plutonium from the high-level liquid waste generated at the Purex reprocessing of spent LWR fuel and introduces them to metallic fuel cycle. For the demonstration of this technology, a series experiment using 520g of genuine high-level liquid waste was started and the conversion of actinide elements to their chlorides was already demonstrated by denitration and chlorination. In the present study, a reductive extraction experiment in molten salt/liquid cadmium system to recover actinide elements from the chlorination product of the genuine high-level liquid waste was performed. The results of the experiment are as following; 1) By the addition of the cadmium-lithium alloy reductant, almost all of plutonium and MAs in the initial high-level liquid waste were recovered in the cadmium phase. It means no mass loss during denitration, chlorination, and reductive-extraction. 2) The separation factor values of plutonium, MAs, and rare-earth fission product elements versus uranium agreed with the literature values. Therefore, actinide elements will be separated from fission product elements in the actual system. Hence, the pyropartitioning process was successfully demonstrated. (author)

Conservation laws and nuclear transport models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gale, C.; Das Gupta, S.

1990-01-01

We discuss the consequences of energy and angular momentum conservation for nucleon-nucleon scattering in a nuclear environment during high-energy heavy-ion collisions. We describe algorithms that ensure stricter enforcement of such conservation laws within popular microscopic models of intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions. We find that the net effects on global observables are small

Conservation potential of agricultural water conservation subsidies

Science.gov (United States)

Huffaker, Ray

2008-07-01

A current policy subsidizes farmers to invest in improved on-farm irrigation efficiency, expecting water to be conserved off farm. Contrary to expectation, water has been increasingly depleted in some regions after such improvements. This paper investigates the policy's failure to conserve water consistently by (1) formulating an economic model of irrigated crop production to determine a profit-maximizing irrigator's range of responses to a subsidy and (2) embedding these responses into hypothetical streamflow diagrams to ascertain their potential to conserve water under various hydrologic regimes. Testable hypotheses are developed to predict the conservation potential of a subsidy in real-world application.

Novel core promoter elements and a cognate transcription factor in the divergent unicellular eukaryote Trichomonas vaginalis.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Alias J; Chudnovsky, Lorissa; Simoes-Barbosa, Augusto; Delgadillo-Correa, Maria G; Jonsson, Zophonias O; Wohlschlegel, James A; Johnson, Patricia J

2011-04-01

A highly conserved DNA initiator (Inr) element has been the only core promoter element described in the divergent unicellular eukaryote Trichomonas vaginalis, although genome analyses reveal that only ∼75% of protein-coding genes appear to contain an Inr. In search of another core promoter element(s), a nonredundant database containing 5' untranslated regions of expressed T. vaginalis genes was searched for overrepresented DNA motifs and known eukaryotic core promoter elements. In addition to identifying the Inr, two elements that lack sequence similarity to the known protein-coding gene core promoter, motif 3 (M3) and motif 5 (M5), were identified. Mutational and functional analyses demonstrate that both are novel core promoter elements. M3 [(A/G/T)(A/G)C(G/C)G(T/C)T(T/A/G)] resembles a Myb recognition element (MRE) and is bound specifically by a unique protein with a Myb-like DNA binding domain. The M5 element (CCTTT) overlaps the transcription start site and replaces the Inr as an alternative, gene-specific initiator element. Transcription specifically initiates at the second cytosine within M5, in contrast to characteristic initiation by RNA polymerase II at an adenosine. In promoters that combine M3 with either M5 or Inr, transcription initiation is regulated by the M3 motif.

Novel Core Promoter Elements and a Cognate Transcription Factor in the Divergent Unicellular Eukaryote Trichomonas vaginalis▿

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Alias J.; Chudnovsky, Lorissa; Simoes-Barbosa, Augusto; Delgadillo-Correa, Maria G.; Jonsson, Zophonias O.; Wohlschlegel, James A.; Johnson, Patricia J.

2011-01-01

A highly conserved DNA initiator (Inr) element has been the only core promoter element described in the divergent unicellular eukaryote Trichomonas vaginalis, although genome analyses reveal that only ∼75% of protein-coding genes appear to contain an Inr. In search of another core promoter element(s), a nonredundant database containing 5′ untranslated regions of expressed T. vaginalis genes was searched for overrepresented DNA motifs and known eukaryotic core promoter elements. In addition to identifying the Inr, two elements that lack sequence similarity to the known protein-coding gene core promoter, motif 3 (M3) and motif 5 (M5), were identified. Mutational and functional analyses demonstrate that both are novel core promoter elements. M3 [(A/G/T)(A/G)C(G/C)G(T/C)T(T/A/G)] resembles a Myb recognition element (MRE) and is bound specifically by a unique protein with a Myb-like DNA binding domain. The M5 element (CCTTT) overlaps the transcription start site and replaces the Inr as an alternative, gene-specific initiator element. Transcription specifically initiates at the second cytosine within M5, in contrast to characteristic initiation by RNA polymerase II at an adenosine. In promoters that combine M3 with either M5 or Inr, transcription initiation is regulated by the M3 motif. PMID:21245378

Conservation businesses and conservation planning in a biological diversity hotspot.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Minin, Enrico; Macmillan, Douglas Craig; Goodman, Peter Styan; Escott, Boyd; Slotow, Rob; Moilanen, Atte

2013-08-01

The allocation of land to biological diversity conservation competes with other land uses and the needs of society for development, food, and extraction of natural resources. Trade-offs between biological diversity conservation and alternative land uses are unavoidable, given the realities of limited conservation resources and the competing demands of society. We developed a conservation-planning assessment for the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, which forms the central component of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biological diversity hotspot. Our objective was to enhance biological diversity protection while promoting sustainable development and providing spatial guidance in the resolution of potential policy conflicts over priority areas for conservation at risk of transformation. The conservation-planning assessment combined spatial-distribution models for 646 conservation features, spatial economic-return models for 28 alternative land uses, and spatial maps for 4 threats. Nature-based tourism businesses were competitive with other land uses and could provide revenues of >US$60 million/year to local stakeholders and simultaneously help meeting conservation goals for almost half the conservation features in the planning region. Accounting for opportunity costs substantially decreased conflicts between biological diversity, agricultural use, commercial forestry, and mining. Accounting for economic benefits arising from conservation and reducing potential policy conflicts with alternative plans for development can provide opportunities for successful strategies that combine conservation and sustainable development and facilitate conservation action. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Semi-discrete approximations to nonlinear systems of conservation laws; consistency and L(infinity)-stability imply convergence. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tadmor, E.

1988-07-01

A convergence theory for semi-discrete approximations to nonlinear systems of conservation laws is developed. It is shown, by a series of scalar counter-examples, that consistency with the conservation law alone does not guarantee convergence. Instead, a notion of consistency which takes into account both the conservation law and its augmenting entropy condition is introduced. In this context it is concluded that consistency and L(infinity)-stability guarantee for a relevant class of admissible entropy functions, that their entropy production rate belongs to a compact subset of H(loc)sup -1 (x,t). One can now use compensated compactness arguments in order to turn this conclusion into a convergence proof. The current state of the art for these arguments includes the scalar and a wide class of 2 x 2 systems of conservation laws. The general framework of the vanishing viscosity method is studied as an effective way to meet the consistency and L(infinity)-stability requirements. How this method is utilized to enforce consistency and stability for scalar conservation laws is shown. In this context we prove, under the appropriate assumptions, the convergence of finite difference approximations (e.g., the high resolution TVD and UNO methods), finite element approximations (e.g., the Streamline-Diffusion methods) and spectral and pseudospectral approximations (e.g., the Spectral Viscosity methods)

Mapping cis-Regulatory Domains in the Human Genome UsingMulti-Species Conservation of Synteny

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahituv, Nadav; Prabhakar, Shyam; Poulin, Francis; Rubin, EdwardM.; Couronne, Olivier

2005-06-13

Our inability to associate distant regulatory elements with the genes that they regulate has largely precluded their examination for sequence alterations contributing to human disease. One major obstacle is the large genomic space surrounding targeted genes in which such elements could potentially reside. In order to delineate gene regulatory boundaries we used whole-genome human-mouse-chicken (HMC) and human-mouse-frog (HMF) multiple alignments to compile conserved blocks of synteny (CBS), under the hypothesis that these blocks have been kept intact throughout evolution at least in part by the requirement of regulatory elements to stay linked to the genes that they regulate. A total of 2,116 and 1,942 CBS>200 kb were assembled for HMC and HMF respectively, encompassing 1.53 and 0.86 Gb of human sequence. To support the existence of complex long-range regulatory domains within these CBS we analyzed the prevalence and distribution of chromosomal aberrations leading to position effects (disruption of a genes regulatory environment), observing a clear bias not only for mapping onto CBS but also for longer CBS size. Our results provide a genome wide data set characterizing the regulatory domains of genes and the conserved regulatory elements within them.

A Kinematic Conservation Law in Free Surface Flow

OpenAIRE

Gavrilyuk , Sergey; Kalisch , Henrik; Khorsand , Zahra

2015-01-01

The Green-Naghdi system is used to model highly nonlinear weakly dispersive waves propagating at the surface of a shallow layer of a perfect fluid. The system has three associated conservation laws which describe the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy due to the surface wave motion. In addition, the system features a fourth conservation law which is the main focus of this note. It will be shown how this fourth conservation law can be interpreted in terms of a concrete kinematic quanti...

Conservation of Mangifera sylvatica

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Akhter, Sayma

and conservation of these valuable species. The present study considers an underutilised and threatened species of Bangladesh, namely wild mango (Mangifera sylvatica Roxb.). Although this wild mango is one of the genetically closest species to the common mango (Mangifera indica L.) research is very limited...... and mostly focused on wood quality and phylogenetic relationships. Therefore, this study investigated the conservation potential of wild mango considering its contribution for food, nutrition and livelihoods. To do so, an assessment was made of the current and future distribution of the species, which...... explored. The study conveyed five key messages: 1. Wild mango may become extinct under future climate change scenarios so it is high time to start thinking about conservation initiatives. 2. Wild mango is a small sized mango with a large kernel in relation to other Mangifera species which provides...

Conservation and Role of Electrostatics in Thymidylate Synthase.

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, Divita; Skouloubris, Stephane; Briffotaux, Julien; Myllykallio, Hannu; Wade, Rebecca C

2015-11-27

Conservation of function across families of orthologous enzymes is generally accompanied by conservation of their active site electrostatic potentials. To study the electrostatic conservation in the highly conserved essential enzyme, thymidylate synthase (TS), we conducted a systematic species-based comparison of the electrostatic potential in the vicinity of its active site. Whereas the electrostatics of the active site of TS are generally well conserved, the TSs from minimal organisms do not conform to the overall trend. Since the genomes of minimal organisms have a high thymidine content compared to other organisms, the observation of non-conserved electrostatics was surprising. Analysis of the symbiotic relationship between minimal organisms and their hosts, and the genetic completeness of the thymidine synthesis pathway suggested that TS from the minimal organism Wigglesworthia glossinidia (W.g.b.) must be active. Four residues in the vicinity of the active site of Escherichia coli TS were mutated individually and simultaneously to mimic the electrostatics of W.g.b TS. The measured activities of the E. coli TS mutants imply that conservation of electrostatics in the region of the active site is important for the activity of TS, and suggest that the W.g.b. TS has the minimal activity necessary to support replication of its reduced genome.

Lower bound element and submodel for modelling of joints between precast concrete panels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herfelt, Morten Andersen; Poulsen, Peter Noe; Hoang, Linh Cao

2015-01-01

In practice, precast concrete structures are designed using either analytical methods or linear finite element tools, and the in-situ cast joints between the precast panels are assessed using conservative empirical design formulas. This often leads to a suboptimal design, and local mechanisms ins....... The computational time and problem size of the joint element and detailed model will be discussed....

Finite element analysis of surface acoustic waves in high aspect ratio electrodes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dühring, Maria Bayard; Laude, Vincent; Khelif, Abdelkrim

2008-01-01

This paper elaborates on how the finite element method is employed to model surface acoustic waves generated by high aspect ratio electrodes and their interaction with optical waves in a waveguide. With a periodic model it is shown that these electrodes act as a mechanical resonator which slows...

Adapting the bioblitz to meet conservation needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Sophie S; Pauly, Gregory B; Moore, James; Fraga, Naomi S; Knapp, John J; Principe, Zachary; Brown, Brian V; Randall, John M; Cohen, Brian S; Wake, Thomas A

2018-03-01

When conservation strategies require new, field-based information, practitioners must find the best ways to rapidly deliver high-quality survey data. To address this challenge, several rapid-assessment approaches have been developed since the early 1990s. These typically involve large areas, take many months to complete, and are not appropriate when conservation-relevant survey data are urgently needed for a specific locale. In contrast, bioblitzes are designed for quick collection of site-specific survey data. Although bioblitzes are commonly used to achieve educational or public-engagement goals, conservation practitioners are increasingly using a modified bioblitz approach to generate conservation-relevant data while simultaneously enhancing research capacity and building working partnerships focused on conservation concerns. We term these modified events expert bioblitzes. Several expert bioblitzes have taken place on lands of conservation concern in Southern California and have involved collaborative efforts of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, botanic gardens, museums, and universities. The results of expert bioblitzes directly informed on-the-ground conservation and decision-making; increased capacity for rapid deployment of expert bioblitzes in the future; and fostered collaboration and communication among taxonomically and institutionally diverse experts. As research and conservation funding becomes increasingly scarce, expert bioblitzes can play an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation. © 2018 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

X-ray Spectroscopy of High-Z Elements on Nike

Science.gov (United States)

Aglitskiy, Y.; Weaver, J. L.; Karasik, M.; Serlin, V.; Obenschain, S. P.; Ralchenko, Yu.

2013-10-01

Survey X-ray spectrometer covering a spectral range from 0.5 to 19.5 angstroms has been added to the spectroscopic suite of Nike diagnostics. That allows simultaneous observation of both M- and N- spectra of W, Ta and Au with high spectral resolution. Low energy test shots confirmed strong presence of 3-4 transitions of Ni-like W, Ta and Au with X-ray energies as high as 3.5 keV when above mentioned elements were used as the targets. In our continuous effort to support DOE-NNSA's inertial fusion program, the future campaign will cover a wide range of plasma conditions that result in relatively energetic X-ray production. Eventually, absolutely calibrated spectrometers of similar geometry will be fielded at NIF in cooperation with NIF diagnostic group. Work supported by US DOE, Defense Programs.

Lagrangian and Eulerian finite element techniques for transient fluid-structure interaction problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donea, J.; Fasoli-Stella, P.; Giuliani, S.

1977-01-01

The basic finite element equations for transient compressible fluid flow are presented in a form that allows the elements to be moved with the fluid in normal Lagrangian fashion, to be held fixed in a Eulerian manner, or to be moved in some arbitrarily specified way. The co-existence of Lagrangian and Eulerian regions within the finite element mesh will permit to handle greater distortions in the fluid motion than would be allowed by a purely Lagrangian method, with more resolution than is afforded by a purely Eulerian method. To achieve a mixed formulation, the conservation statements of mass, momentum and energy are expressed in integral form over a reference volume whose surface may be moving with an arbitrarily prescribed velocity. Direct use can be made of the integral forms of the mass and energy equations to adjust the element density and specific internal energy. The Galerkin process is employed to formulate a variational statement associated with the momentum equation. The difficulties associated with the presence of convective terms in the conservation equations are handled by expressing transports of mass, momentum and energy terms of intermediate velocities derived at each cycle from the previous cycle velocities and accelerations. The hydrodynamic elements presented are triangles, quadrilaterals with constant pressure and density. The finite element equations associated with these elements are described in the necessary detail. Numerical results are presented based on purely Lagrangian, purely Eulerian and mixed formulations. Simple problems with analytic solution are solved first to show the validity and accuracy of the proposed mixed finite element formulation. Then, practical problems are illustrated in the field of fast reactor safety analysis

Changing trends and persisting biases in three decades of conservation science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moreno Di Marco

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Conservation science is a rapidly developing discipline, and the knowledge base it generates is relevant for practical applications. It is therefore crucial to monitor biases and trends in conservation literature, to track the progress of the discipline and re-align efforts where needed. We evaluated past and present trends in the focus of the conservation literature, and how they relate to conservation needs. We defined the focus of the past literature from 13 published reviews referring to 18,369 article classifications, and the focus of the current literature by analysing 2553 articles published between 2011–2015. We found that some of the historically under-studied biodiversity elements are receiving significantly more attention today, despite being still under-represented. The total proportion of articles on invertebrates, genetic diversity, or aquatic systems is 50%–60% higher today than it was before 2010. However, a disconnect between scientific focus and conservation needs is still present, with greater attention devoted to areas or taxa less rich in biodiversity and threatened biodiversity. In particular, a strong geographical bias persists, with 40% of studies carried out in USA, Australia or the UK, and only 10% and 6% respectively in Africa or South East Asia. Despite some changing trends, global conservation science is still poorly aligned with biodiversity distribution and conservation priorities, especially in relation to threatened species. To overcome the biases identified here, scientists, funding agencies and journals must prioritise research adaptively, based on biodiversity conservation needs. Conservation depends on policy makers and practitioners for success, and scientists should actively provide those who make decisions with the knowledge that best addresses their needs.

Efficient conservative ADER schemes based on WENO reconstruction and space-time predictor in primitive variables

Science.gov (United States)

Zanotti, Olindo; Dumbser, Michael

2016-01-01

We present a new version of conservative ADER-WENO finite volume schemes, in which both the high order spatial reconstruction as well as the time evolution of the reconstruction polynomials in the local space-time predictor stage are performed in primitive variables, rather than in conserved ones. To obtain a conservative method, the underlying finite volume scheme is still written in terms of the cell averages of the conserved quantities. Therefore, our new approach performs the spatial WENO reconstruction twice: the first WENO reconstruction is carried out on the known cell averages of the conservative variables. The WENO polynomials are then used at the cell centers to compute point values of the conserved variables, which are subsequently converted into point values of the primitive variables. This is the only place where the conversion from conservative to primitive variables is needed in the new scheme. Then, a second WENO reconstruction is performed on the point values of the primitive variables to obtain piecewise high order reconstruction polynomials of the primitive variables. The reconstruction polynomials are subsequently evolved in time with a novel space-time finite element predictor that is directly applied to the governing PDE written in primitive form. The resulting space-time polynomials of the primitive variables can then be directly used as input for the numerical fluxes at the cell boundaries in the underlying conservative finite volume scheme. Hence, the number of necessary conversions from the conserved to the primitive variables is reduced to just one single conversion at each cell center. We have verified the validity of the new approach over a wide range of hyperbolic systems, including the classical Euler equations of gas dynamics, the special relativistic hydrodynamics (RHD) and ideal magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) equations, as well as the Baer-Nunziato model for compressible two-phase flows. In all cases we have noticed that the new ADER

Novel urban ecosystems, biodiversity, and conservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kowarik, Ingo

2011-01-01

With increasing urbanization the importance of cities for biodiversity conservation grows. This paper reviews the ways in which biodiversity is affected by urbanization and discusses the consequences of different conservation approaches. Cities can be richer in plant species, including in native species, than rural areas. Alien species can lead to both homogenization and differentiation among urban regions. Urban habitats can harbor self-sustaining populations of rare and endangered native species, but cannot replace the complete functionality of (semi-)natural remnants. While many conservation approaches tend to focus on such relict habitats and native species in urban settings, this paper argues for a paradigm shift towards considering the whole range of urban ecosystems. Although conservation attitudes may be challenged by the novelty of some urban ecosystems, which are often linked to high numbers of nonnative species, it is promising to consider their associated ecosystem services, social benefits, and possible contribution to biodiversity conservation. - Highlights: → This paper reviews biotic responses to urbanization and urban conservation approaches. → Cities may be rich in both native and nonnative species. → Urban habitats cannot replace the functionality of natural remnants. → However, even novel urban habitats may harbour rare and endangered species. → Conservation approaches should consider the perspective of novel urban ecosystems. - This paper reviews the ways in which biodiversity is affected by urbanization and argues for expanding urban conservation approaches.

Novel urban ecosystems, biodiversity, and conservation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kowarik, Ingo, E-mail: kowarik@tu-berlin.de [Department of Ecology, Technische Universitaet Berlin, Rothenburgstr. 12, D 12165 Berlin (Germany)

2011-08-15

With increasing urbanization the importance of cities for biodiversity conservation grows. This paper reviews the ways in which biodiversity is affected by urbanization and discusses the consequences of different conservation approaches. Cities can be richer in plant species, including in native species, than rural areas. Alien species can lead to both homogenization and differentiation among urban regions. Urban habitats can harbor self-sustaining populations of rare and endangered native species, but cannot replace the complete functionality of (semi-)natural remnants. While many conservation approaches tend to focus on such relict habitats and native species in urban settings, this paper argues for a paradigm shift towards considering the whole range of urban ecosystems. Although conservation attitudes may be challenged by the novelty of some urban ecosystems, which are often linked to high numbers of nonnative species, it is promising to consider their associated ecosystem services, social benefits, and possible contribution to biodiversity conservation. - Highlights: > This paper reviews biotic responses to urbanization and urban conservation approaches. > Cities may be rich in both native and nonnative species. > Urban habitats cannot replace the functionality of natural remnants. > However, even novel urban habitats may harbour rare and endangered species. > Conservation approaches should consider the perspective of novel urban ecosystems. - This paper reviews the ways in which biodiversity is affected by urbanization and argues for expanding urban conservation approaches.

Design of chimeric expression elements that confer high-level gene activity in chromoplasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Caroca, Rodrigo; Howell, Katharine A; Hasse, Claudia; Ruf, Stephanie; Bock, Ralph

2013-02-01

Non-green plastids, such as chromoplasts, generally have much lower activity of gene expression than chloroplasts in photosynthetically active tissues. Suppression of plastid genes in non-green tissues occurs through a complex interplay of transcriptional and translational control, with the contribution of regulation of transcript abundance versus translational activity being highly variable between genes. Here, we have investigated whether the low expression of the plastid genome in chromoplasts results from inherent limitations in gene expression capacity, or can be overcome by designing appropriate combinations of promoters and translation initiation signals in the 5' untranslated region (5'-UTR). We constructed chimeric expression elements that combine promoters and 5'-UTRs from plastid genes, which are suppressed during chloroplast-to-chromoplast conversion in Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) fruit ripening, either just at the translational level or just at the level of mRNA accumulation. These chimeric expression elements were introduced into the tomato plastid genome by stable chloroplast transformation. We report the identification of promoter-UTR combinations that confer high-level gene expression in chromoplasts of ripe tomato fruits, resulting in the accumulation of reporter protein GFP to up to 1% of total cellular protein. Our work demonstrates that non-green plastids are capable of expressing genes to high levels. Moreover, the chimeric cis-elements for chromoplasts developed here are widely applicable in basic and applied research using transplastomic methods. © 2012 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Recent developments for high-precision mass measurements of the heaviest elements at SHIPTRAP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minaya Ramirez, E.; Ackermann, D.; Blaum, K.; Block, M.; Droese, C.; Düllmann, Ch. E.; Eibach, M.; Eliseev, S.; Haettner, E.; Herfurth, F.; Heßberger, F.P.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Direct high-precision mass measurements of No and Lr isotopes performed. • High-precision mass measurements with a count rate of 1 ion/hour demonstrated. • The results provide anchor points for a large region connected by alpha-decay chains. • The binding energies determine the strength of the deformed shell closure N = 152. • Technical developments and new techniques will pave the way towards heavier elements. -- Abstract: Atomic nuclei far from stability continue to challenge our understanding. For example, theoretical models have predicted an “island of stability” in the region of the superheavy elements due to the closure of spherical proton and neutron shells. Depending on the model, these are expected at Z = 114, 120 or even 126 and N = 172 or 184. Valuable information on the road to the island of stability is derived from high-precision mass measurements, which give direct access to binding energies of short-lived trans-uranium nuclei. Recently, direct mass measurements at SHIPTRAP have been extended to nobelium and lawrencium isotopes around the deformed shell gap N = 152. In order to further extend mass measurements to the region of superheavy elements, new technical developments are required to increase the performance of our setup. The sensitivity will increase through the implementation of a new detection method, where observation of one single ion is sufficient. Together with the use of a more efficient gas stopping cell, this will us allow to significantly enhance the overall efficiency of SHIPTRAP

Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks

CERN Document Server

Nimmrichter, Johann; Schreiner, Manfred; LACONA VI Proceedings

2007-01-01

Within the last decades, the use of lasers in artworks conservation became an important tool for many conservators, scientists, architects and other experts, who are involved in the care of monuments and artefacts or laser technology. For the first time in 1995 Professor Costas Fotakis brought together restorers and scientists to discuss the potential of lasers in art conservation. Since then the field of "Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks" has gained enormously in importance. Nowadays restorers and laser scientists work close together in order to develop new fields of applications during the last years. Furthermore a large number of national and international research projects have been carried out by conservator-restorers, architects and scientists. In the last 10 years a number of historical and artistic high quality monuments (e.g. St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna) have been cleaned or measured by laser and brought the laser in the spectra of tools which are useful in the sensible field of artworks. ...

Discrete element modeling of cemented sand and particle crushing at high pressures

OpenAIRE

de Bono, John Patrick

2013-01-01

This project aims to provide an insight into the behaviour of cemented sand under high pressures, and to further the understanding of the role of particle crushing. The discrete element method is used to investigate the micro mechanics of sand and cemented sand in high-pressure triaxial tests and one-dimensional normal compression. Using the software PFC3D, a new triaxial model has been developed, which features an effective flexible membrane that allows free deformation of the specimen ...

Residual distribution for general time-dependent conservation laws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ricchiuto, Mario; Csik, Arpad; Deconinck, Herman

2005-01-01

We consider the second-order accurate numerical solution of general time-dependent hyperbolic conservation laws over unstructured grids in the framework of the Residual Distribution method. In order to achieve full conservation of the linear, monotone and first-order space-time schemes of (Csik et al., 2003) and (Abgrall et al., 2000), we extend the conservative residual distribution (CRD) formulation of (Csik et al., 2002) to prismatic space-time elements. We then study the design of second-order accurate and monotone schemes via the nonlinear mapping of the local residuals of linear monotone schemes. We derive sufficient and necessary conditions for the well-posedness of the mapping. We prove that the schemes obtained with the CRD formulation satisfy these conditions by construction. Thus the nonlinear schemes proposed in this paper are always well defined. The performance of the linear and nonlinear schemes are evaluated on a series of test problems involving the solution of the Euler equations and of a two-phase flow model. We consider the resolution of strong shocks and complex interacting flow structures. The results demonstrate the robustness, accuracy and non-oscillatory character of the proposed schemes. d schemes

Rare earth elements behavior in Peruibe black mud

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torrecilha, Jefferson K.; Carvalho, Leandro P.; Gouvea, Paulo F.M.; Silva, Paulo S.C. da

2015-01-01

Rare earth elements in sediments have been used as powerful tools for environmental studies because of their behavior during geochemical processes and are also widely accepted as reliable provenance tracers because they are largely water-immobile and thus behave conservatively during sedimentary processes. The Peruibe Black Mud (PBM) is a sedimentary deposit originated from the interactions of marine sediments and organic matter in an estuarine environment that originates a peloid currently used for medicinal purposes. The objective of this study was to examine rare earth elements pattern distribution in the Peruibe black mud sedimentary deposit as a proxy for its geochemical development. Elemental ratios such as LaN/YbN, Th/U and La/Th were determined and a normalization of the mean rare earth elements concentrations in the samples related to NASC indicates that the light (La to Eu) rare earth elements present values close to the unity while the heavy (Tb to Lu) rare earth elements are depleted related to NASC. It can be observed that the light rare earth elements present enrichment values slightly enriched over the unity while the heavy rare earth elements present values generally below the unity reflecting the enrichment of the light rare earth elements over the heavy rare earth. Rare earth elements concentrations determined in Peruibe black mud samples showed a distribution similar to that found in the NASC for the light rare earth elements and depleted for the heavy rare earth elements. (author)

Rare earth elements behavior in Peruibe black mud

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torrecilha, Jefferson K.; Carvalho, Leandro P.; Gouvea, Paulo F.M.; Silva, Paulo S.C. da, E-mail: jeffkoy@usp.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

Rare earth elements in sediments have been used as powerful tools for environmental studies because of their behavior during geochemical processes and are also widely accepted as reliable provenance tracers because they are largely water-immobile and thus behave conservatively during sedimentary processes. The Peruibe Black Mud (PBM) is a sedimentary deposit originated from the interactions of marine sediments and organic matter in an estuarine environment that originates a peloid currently used for medicinal purposes. The objective of this study was to examine rare earth elements pattern distribution in the Peruibe black mud sedimentary deposit as a proxy for its geochemical development. Elemental ratios such as LaN/YbN, Th/U and La/Th were determined and a normalization of the mean rare earth elements concentrations in the samples related to NASC indicates that the light (La to Eu) rare earth elements present values close to the unity while the heavy (Tb to Lu) rare earth elements are depleted related to NASC. It can be observed that the light rare earth elements present enrichment values slightly enriched over the unity while the heavy rare earth elements present values generally below the unity reflecting the enrichment of the light rare earth elements over the heavy rare earth. Rare earth elements concentrations determined in Peruibe black mud samples showed a distribution similar to that found in the NASC for the light rare earth elements and depleted for the heavy rare earth elements. (author)

Supervised Classification Processes for the Characterization of Heritage Elements, Case Study: Cuenca-Ecuador

Science.gov (United States)

Briones, J. C.; Heras, V.; Abril, C.; Sinchi, E.

2017-08-01

The proper control of built heritage entails many challenges related to the complexity of heritage elements and the extent of the area to be managed, for which the available resources must be efficiently used. In this scenario, the preventive conservation approach, based on the concept that prevent is better than cure, emerges as a strategy to avoid the progressive and imminent loss of monuments and heritage sites. Regular monitoring appears as a key tool to identify timely changes in heritage assets. This research demonstrates that the supervised learning model (Support Vector Machines - SVM) is an ideal tool that supports the monitoring process detecting visible elements in aerial images such as roofs structures, vegetation and pavements. The linear, gaussian and polynomial kernel functions were tested; the lineal function provided better results over the other functions. It is important to mention that due to the high level of segmentation generated by the classification procedure, it was necessary to apply a generalization process through opening a mathematical morphological operation, which simplified the over classification for the monitored elements.

High-performance geometric phase elements in silica glass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rokas Drevinskas

2017-06-01

Full Text Available High-precision three-dimensional ultrafast laser direct nanostructuring of silica glass resulting in multi-layered space-variant dielectric metasurfaces embedded in volume is demonstrated. Continuous phase profiles of nearly any optical component are achieved solely by the means of geometric phase. Complex designs of half-wave retarders with 90% transmission at 532 nm and >95% transmission at >1 μm, including polarization gratings with efficiency nearing 90% and computer generated holograms with a phase gradient of ∼0.8π rad/μm, were fabricated. A vortex half-wave retarder generating a single beam optical vortex with a tunable orbital angular momentum of up to ±100ℏ is shown. The high damage threshold of silica elements enables the simultaneous optical manipulation of a large number of micro-objects using high-power laser beams. Thus, the continuous control of torque without altering the intensity distribution was implemented in optical trapping demonstration with a total of 5 W average power, which is otherwise impossible with alternate beam shaping devices. In principle, the direct-write technique can be extended to any transparent material that supports laser assisted nanostructuring and can be effectively exploited for the integration of printed optics into multi-functional optoelectronic systems.

A New Road to Reactions Part 5: The Elements and Its Atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

de Vos, Wobbe; Verdonk, Adri H.

1987-01-01

Discusses the difficulties that some students have in understanding the concept of chemical reactions. Proposes that instructors try to consider the various difficulties during a chemistry course when students form their concepts of element conservation. (TW)

High output power reluctance electric motors with bulk high-temperature superconductor elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kovalev, L.K. [Moscow State Aviation Institute (Technical University) (MAI), Moscow (Russian Federation)]. E-mail: kovalev@mail.sitek.net; Ilushin, K.V.; Penkin, V.T. [Moscow State Aviation Institute (Technical University) (MAI), Moscow (RU)] [and others

2002-05-01

We present new types of electric machines with the rotors containing bulk high-temperature superconductor (HTS)-YBCO and Bi-Ag-elements. We discuss different schematics of hysteresis, reluctance, 'trapped field' and composed synchronous HTS machines. The two-dimensional mathematical models describing the processes in such types of HTS machines were developed on the basis of the theoretical analysis of the electrodynamic and hysteresis processes in the single-domain and polycrystal YBCO ceramic samples and plate shape Bi-Ag elements. We give the test results of the series of hysteresis, reluctance, 'trapped field' and composed with permanent magnets HTS motors with an output power rating of 0.1-18 kW and current frequencies 50 Hz and 400 Hz. These results show that in the media of liquid nitrogen the specific output power per one unit weight of the HTS motor is four to seven times better than for conventional electric machines. A comparison of the theoretical and experimental characteristics of the developed HTS motors show that they are in good agreement. We discuss the test results for a liquid nitrogen cryogenic pump system with a hysteresis 500 W HTS motor. We describe several designs of new HTS motors operating in the media of liquid nitrogen with an output power 125 kW (and more) and a power factor of more than 0.8. We discuss future applications of new types of HTS motors for aerospace technology, on-land industry and transport systems. (author)

Carbon payments and low-cost conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Crossman, Neville D; Bryan, Brett A; Summers, David M

2011-08-01

A price on carbon is expected to generate demand for carbon offset schemes. This demand could drive investment in tree-based monocultures that provide higher carbon yields than diverse plantings of native tree and shrub species, which sequester less carbon but provide greater variation in vegetation structure and composition. Economic instruments such as species conservation banking, the creation and trading of credits that represent biological-diversity values on private land, could close the financial gap between monocultures and more diverse plantings by providing payments to individuals who plant diverse species in locations that contribute to conservation and restoration goals. We studied a highly modified agricultural system in southern Australia that is typical of many temperate agriculture zones globally (i.e., has a high proportion of endangered species, high levels of habitat fragmentation, and presence of non-native species). We quantified the economic returns from agriculture and from carbon plantings (monoculture and mixed tree and shrubs) under six carbon-price scenarios. We also identified high-priority locations for restoration of cleared landscapes with mixed tree and shrub carbon plantings. Depending on the price of carbon, direct annual payments to landowners of AU$7/ha/year to $125/ha/year (US$6-120/ha/year) may be sufficient to augment economic returns from a carbon market and encourage tree plantings that contribute more to the restoration of natural systems and endangered species habitats than monocultures. Thus, areas of high priority for conservation and restoration may be restored relatively cheaply in the presence of a carbon market. Overall, however, less carbon is sequestered by mixed native tree and shrub plantings. © 2011 Society for Conservation Biology.

Infinite sets of conservation laws for linear and nonlinear field equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mickelsson, J.

1984-01-01

The relation between an infinite set of conservation laws of a linear field equation and the enveloping algebra of the space-time symmetry group is established. It is shown that each symmetric element of the enveloping algebra of the space-time symmetry group of a linear field equation generates a one-parameter group of symmetries of the field equation. The cases of the Maxwell and Dirac equations are studied in detail. Then it is shown that (at least in the sense of a power series in the 'coupling constant') the conservation laws of the linear case can be deformed to conservation laws of a nonlinear field equation which is obtained from the linear one by adding a nonlinear term invariant under the group of space-time symmetries. As an example, our method is applied to the Korteweg-de Vries equation and to the massless Thirring model. (orig.)

Impacts of Tropical Forest Disturbance Upon Avifauna on a Small Island with High Endemism: Implications for Conservation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Thomas

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Tropical forests are rapidly being lost across Southeast Asia and this is predicted to have severe implications for many of the region′s bird species. However, relationships between forest disturbance and avifaunal assemblages remain poorly understood, particularly on small island ecosystems such as those found in the biodiversity ′hotspot′ of Wallacea. This study examines how avifaunal richness varies across a disturbance gradient in a forest reserve on Buton Island, southeast Sulawesi. Particular emphasis is placed upon examining responses in endemic and red-listed species with high conservation importance. Results indicate that overall avian richness increases between primary and 30-year-old regenerating secondary forest and then decreases through disturbed secondary forest, but is highest in cleared farmland. However, high species richness in farmland does not signify high species distinctiveness; bird community composition here differs significantly from that found in forest sites, and is poor in supporting forest specialists and endemic species. Certain large-bodied endemics such as the Knobbed Hornbill (Rhyticeros cassidix appear to be sensitive to moderate disturbance, with populations occurring at greatest density within primary forest. However, overall endemic species richness, as well as that of endemic frugivores and insectivores, is similar in primary and secondary forest types. Results indicate that well-established secondary forest in particular has an important role in supporting species with high conservational importance, possessing community composition similar to that found in primary forest and supporting an equally high richness of endemic species.

Primary structure and promoter analysis of leghemoglobin genes of the stem-nodulated tropical legume Sesbania rostrata: conserved coding sequences, cis-elements and trans-acting factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Metz, B A; Welters, P; Hoffmann, H J

1988-01-01

The primary structure of a leghemoglobin (lb) gene from the stem-nodulated, tropical legume Sesbania rostrata and two lb gene promoter regions was analysed. The S. rostrata lb gene structure and Lb amino acid composition were found to be highly conserved with previously described lb genes and Lb ...

High-frequency ultrasound for intraoperative margin assessments in breast conservation surgery: a feasibility study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doyle, Timothy E; Neumayer, Leigh A; Factor, Rachel E; Ellefson, Christina L; Sorensen, Kristina M; Ambrose, Brady J; Goodrich, Jeffrey B; Hart, Vern P; Jensen, Scott C; Patel, Hemang

2011-01-01

In addition to breast imaging, ultrasound offers the potential for characterizing and distinguishing between benign and malignant breast tissues due to their different microstructures and material properties. The aim of this study was to determine if high-frequency ultrasound (20-80 MHz) can provide pathology sensitive measurements for the ex vivo detection of cancer in margins during breast conservation surgery. Ultrasonic tests were performed on resected margins and other tissues obtained from 17 patients, resulting in 34 specimens that were classified into 15 pathology categories. Pulse-echo and through-transmission measurements were acquired from a total of 57 sites on the specimens using two single-element 50-MHz transducers. Ultrasonic attenuation and sound speed were obtained from time-domain waveforms. The waveforms were further processed with fast Fourier transforms to provide ultrasonic spectra and cepstra. The ultrasonic measurements and pathology types were analyzed for correlations. The specimens were additionally re-classified into five pathology types to determine specificity and sensitivity values. The density of peaks in the ultrasonic spectra, a measure of spectral structure, showed significantly higher values for carcinomas and precancerous pathologies such as atypical ductal hyperplasia than for normal tissue. The slopes of the cepstra for non-malignant pathologies displayed significantly greater values that differentiated them from the normal and malignant tissues. The attenuation coefficients were sensitive to fat necrosis, fibroadenoma, and invasive lobular carcinoma. Specificities and sensitivities for differentiating pathologies from normal tissue were 100% and 86% for lobular carcinomas, 100% and 74% for ductal carcinomas, 80% and 82% for benign pathologies, and 80% and 100% for fat necrosis and adenomas. Specificities and sensitivities were also determined for differentiating each pathology type from the other four using a multivariate

High-frequency ultrasound for intraoperative margin assessments in breast conservation surgery: a feasibility study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hart Vern P

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In addition to breast imaging, ultrasound offers the potential for characterizing and distinguishing between benign and malignant breast tissues due to their different microstructures and material properties. The aim of this study was to determine if high-frequency ultrasound (20-80 MHz can provide pathology sensitive measurements for the ex vivo detection of cancer in margins during breast conservation surgery. Methods Ultrasonic tests were performed on resected margins and other tissues obtained from 17 patients, resulting in 34 specimens that were classified into 15 pathology categories. Pulse-echo and through-transmission measurements were acquired from a total of 57 sites on the specimens using two single-element 50-MHz transducers. Ultrasonic attenuation and sound speed were obtained from time-domain waveforms. The waveforms were further processed with fast Fourier transforms to provide ultrasonic spectra and cepstra. The ultrasonic measurements and pathology types were analyzed for correlations. The specimens were additionally re-classified into five pathology types to determine specificity and sensitivity values. Results The density of peaks in the ultrasonic spectra, a measure of spectral structure, showed significantly higher values for carcinomas and precancerous pathologies such as atypical ductal hyperplasia than for normal tissue. The slopes of the cepstra for non-malignant pathologies displayed significantly greater values that differentiated them from the normal and malignant tissues. The attenuation coefficients were sensitive to fat necrosis, fibroadenoma, and invasive lobular carcinoma. Specificities and sensitivities for differentiating pathologies from normal tissue were 100% and 86% for lobular carcinomas, 100% and 74% for ductal carcinomas, 80% and 82% for benign pathologies, and 80% and 100% for fat necrosis and adenomas. Specificities and sensitivities were also determined for differentiating each

Regulatable elements in the high-level waste management program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oakley, D.

1979-01-01

Regulatable elements of a deep geological nuclear waste isolation system are those characteristics of a candidate system which need to be specified to achieve control of its performance. This report identifies the regulatable elements with respect to waste form, repository design, site suitability, and the modeling and decision analysis processes. Regulatable elements in each section are listed and described briefly as they affect the short-term and long-term performance of a deep geological repository

Mobile Element Evolution Playing Jigsaw - SINEs in Gastropod and Bivalve Mollusks.

Science.gov (United States)

Matetovici, Irina; Sajgo, Szilard; Ianc, Bianca; Ochis, Cornelia; Bulzu, Paul; Popescu, Octavian; Damert, Annette

2016-01-06

SINEs (Short INterspersed Elements) are widely distributed among eukaryotes. Some SINE families are organized in superfamilies characterized by a shared central domain. These central domains are conserved across species, classes, and even phyla. Here we report the identification of two novel such superfamilies in the genomes of gastropod and bivalve mollusks. The central conserved domain of the first superfamily is present in SINEs in Caenogastropoda and Vetigastropoda as well as in all four subclasses of Bivalvia. We designated the domain MESC (Romanian for MElc-snail and SCoica-mussel) because it appears to be restricted to snails and mussels. The second superfamily is restricted to Caenogastropoda. Its central conserved domain-Snail-is related to the Nin-DC domain. Furthermore, we provide evidence that a 40-bp subdomain of the SINE V-domain is conserved in SINEs in mollusks and arthropods. It is predicted to form a stable stem-loop structure that is preserved in the context of the overall SINE RNA secondary structure in invertebrates. Our analysis also recovered short retrotransposons with a Long INterspersed Element (LINE)-derived 5' end. These share the body and/or the tail with transfer RNA (tRNA)-derived SINEs within and across species. Finally, we identified CORE SINEs in gastropods and bivalves-extending the distribution range of this superfamily. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Setting priorities for private land conservation in fire-prone landscapes: Are fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation competing or compatible objectives?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra D. Syphard

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Although wildfire plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity in many ecosystems, fire management to protect human assets is often carried out by different agencies than those tasked for conserving biodiversity. In fact, fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation are often viewed as competing objectives. Here we explored the role of management through private land conservation and asked whether we could identify private land acquisition strategies that fulfill the mutual objectives of biodiversity conservation and fire risk reduction, or whether the maximization of one objective comes at a detriment to the other. Using a fixed budget and number of homes slated for development, we simulated 20 years of housing growth under alternative conservation selection strategies, and then projected the mean risk of fires destroying structures and the area and configuration of important habitat types in San Diego County, California, USA. We found clear differences in both fire risk projections and biodiversity impacts based on the way conservation lands are prioritized for selection, but these differences were split between two distinct groupings. If no conservation lands were purchased, or if purchases were prioritized based on cost or likelihood of development, both the projected fire risk and biodiversity impacts were much higher than if conservation lands were purchased in areas with high fire hazard or high species richness. Thus, conserving land focused on either of the two objectives resulted in nearly equivalent mutual benefits for both. These benefits not only resulted from preventing development in sensitive areas, but they were also due to the different housing patterns and arrangements that occurred as development was displaced from those areas. Although biodiversity conflicts may still arise using other fire management strategies, this study shows that mutual objectives can be attained through land-use planning in this region

Finite Element Analysis of Dam-Reservoir Interaction Using High-Order Doubly Asymptotic Open Boundary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yichao Gao

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The dam-reservoir system is divided into the near field modeled by the finite element method, and the far field modeled by the excellent high-order doubly asymptotic open boundary (DAOB. Direct and partitioned coupled methods are developed for the analysis of dam-reservoir system. In the direct coupled method, a symmetric monolithic governing equation is formulated by incorporating the DAOB with the finite element equation and solved using the standard time-integration methods. In contrast, the near-field finite element equation and the far-field DAOB condition are separately solved in the partitioned coupled methodm, and coupling is achieved by applying the interaction force on the truncated boundary. To improve its numerical stability and accuracy, an iteration strategy is employed to obtain the solution of each step. Both coupled methods are implemented on the open-source finite element code OpenSees. Numerical examples are employed to demonstrate the performance of these two proposed methods.

The Drosophila Translational Control Element (TCE is required for high-level transcription of many genes that are specifically expressed in testes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebeccah J Katzenberger

Full Text Available To investigate the importance of core promoter elements for tissue-specific transcription of RNA polymerase II genes, we examined testis-specific transcription in Drosophila melanogaster. Bioinformatic analyses of core promoter sequences from 190 genes that are specifically expressed in testes identified a 10 bp A/T-rich motif that is identical to the translational control element (TCE. The TCE functions in the 5' untranslated region of Mst(3CGP mRNAs to repress translation, and it also functions in a heterologous gene to regulate transcription. We found that among genes with focused initiation patterns, the TCE is significantly enriched in core promoters of genes that are specifically expressed in testes but not in core promoters of genes that are specifically expressed in other tissues. The TCE is variably located in core promoters and is conserved in melanogaster subgroup species, but conservation dramatically drops in more distant species. In transgenic flies, short (300-400 bp genomic regions containing a TCE directed testis-specific transcription of a reporter gene. Mutation of the TCE significantly reduced but did not abolish reporter gene transcription indicating that the TCE is important but not essential for transcription activation. Finally, mutation of testis-specific TFIID (tTFIID subunits significantly reduced the transcription of a subset of endogenous TCE-containing but not TCE-lacking genes, suggesting that tTFIID activity is limited to TCE-containing genes but that tTFIID is not an obligatory regulator of TCE-containing genes. Thus, the TCE is a core promoter element in a subset of genes that are specifically expressed in testes. Furthermore, the TCE regulates transcription in the context of short genomic regions, from variable locations in the core promoter, and both dependently and independently of tTFIID. These findings set the stage for determining the mechanism by which the TCE regulates testis-specific transcription and

The Drosophila Translational Control Element (TCE) is required for high-level transcription of many genes that are specifically expressed in testes.

Science.gov (United States)

Katzenberger, Rebeccah J; Rach, Elizabeth A; Anderson, Ashley K; Ohler, Uwe; Wassarman, David A

2012-01-01

To investigate the importance of core promoter elements for tissue-specific transcription of RNA polymerase II genes, we examined testis-specific transcription in Drosophila melanogaster. Bioinformatic analyses of core promoter sequences from 190 genes that are specifically expressed in testes identified a 10 bp A/T-rich motif that is identical to the translational control element (TCE). The TCE functions in the 5' untranslated region of Mst(3)CGP mRNAs to repress translation, and it also functions in a heterologous gene to regulate transcription. We found that among genes with focused initiation patterns, the TCE is significantly enriched in core promoters of genes that are specifically expressed in testes but not in core promoters of genes that are specifically expressed in other tissues. The TCE is variably located in core promoters and is conserved in melanogaster subgroup species, but conservation dramatically drops in more distant species. In transgenic flies, short (300-400 bp) genomic regions containing a TCE directed testis-specific transcription of a reporter gene. Mutation of the TCE significantly reduced but did not abolish reporter gene transcription indicating that the TCE is important but not essential for transcription activation. Finally, mutation of testis-specific TFIID (tTFIID) subunits significantly reduced the transcription of a subset of endogenous TCE-containing but not TCE-lacking genes, suggesting that tTFIID activity is limited to TCE-containing genes but that tTFIID is not an obligatory regulator of TCE-containing genes. Thus, the TCE is a core promoter element in a subset of genes that are specifically expressed in testes. Furthermore, the TCE regulates transcription in the context of short genomic regions, from variable locations in the core promoter, and both dependently and independently of tTFIID. These findings set the stage for determining the mechanism by which the TCE regulates testis-specific transcription and understanding the

Energy conservation and pomeron loops in high energy evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gustafson, Goesta

2007-01-01

We present a formalism which modifies the Mueller Dipole Model such that it incorporates energy-momentum conservation as well as important colour suppressed effects in the cascade evolution. The formalism is implemented in a Monte Carlo simulation program, and the results are compared to inclusive data from HERA and the Tevatron. We here find a generally very good agreement between our model and the experimental data. (author)

Aspects of Landscape and Pollinators—What is Important to Bee Conservation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gleiciani B. Patrício-Roberto

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Pollinators, especially bees, are essential to terrestrial ecosystems. They ensure the maintenance of certain ecological processes, like superior plants’ reproduction. In the past decades, agricultural intensification has caused extensive environmental changes, with major impacts on biodiversity, especially on the pollinators, which reflects the loss of fruits and seeds sets. Here, we review studies that elucidate the causes of decline of pollinators, consequences of landscape changes to agriculture and possibilities to bees’ conservation. Many studies have related the loss of pollinators to changes in the landscape, such as the conversion of native forests into cultivated areas, which causes loss of important elements for bees (e.g., sources of pollen, nectar and oil, as well as varied nesting sites. Studies involving landscape ecology allow us to assess the effects of different farming practices over the richness and abundance of pollinators. Among the landscape elements performing positive influence on bees, the presence of remaining forests nearby cultivated areas proved to be a very important factor. Nevertheless, studies that evaluate all ground cover with a more integrated approach are still required to assess the effects of landscape context on the diversity and on the abundance of bees related to productivity of crops. Researches like these could provide specific data that strengthen the need for the conservation of different plants and animals, and could offer subsidies to propose necessary information for the execution of public and private policies, aimed at the conservation of the biodiversity.

Fundamental study on the extraction of transuranium elements from high-level liquid waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubota, Masumitsu; Morita, Yasuji; Tochiyama, Osamu; Inoue, Yasushi.

1988-01-01

A great many extractants have been studied for the separation of transuranium elements. The present study deals with the survey and classification of the extractants appearing in literature, bearing in mind the relationship between the molecular structure of extractants and their extractability for the transuranium elements from the standpoint of their selective separation from high-level liquid waste (HLW) generated from fuel reprocessing. The extractants surveyed were classified into six groups; unidentate neutral organophosphorus compounds, bidentate neutral organophosphorus compounds, acidic organophosphorus compounds, amines and ammonium salts, N,N-disubstituted amides and the other compounds. These extractants are not always applicable to the separation of transuranium elements from HLW because of their limitations in extractability and radiation durability. Only a limited number of extractants belonging to the bidentate neutral organophosphorus compounds and the acidic organophosphorus compounds are considered to be suitable for the present purpose. (author)

Application of models to conservation planning for terrestrial birds in North America

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Jane A.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Dettmers, Randy; Jones, Tim; Rustay, Christopher; Ruth, Janet M.; Thompson, Frank R.; Will, Tom; Millspaugh, Joshua J.; Thompson, Frank R.