Research Note Identifying key grazing indicators to monitor trends in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Research Note Identifying key grazing indicators to monitor trends in the veld condition of Lambert's Bay Strandveld, South Africa. ... from which a minimum number of species necessary to monitor trends in the condition of the veld were determined, making it user-friendly for land-users, extension officers and others. The key ...

Active Rehabilitation-a community peer-based approach for persons with spinal cord injury: international utilisation of key elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Divanoglou, A; Tasiemski, T; Augutis, M; Trok, K

2017-06-01

Active Rehabilitation (AR) is a community peer-based approach that started in Sweden in 1976. As a key component of the approach, AR training camps provide intensive, goal-oriented, intentional, group-based, customised training and peer-support opportunities in a community environment for individuals with spinal cord injury. Prospective cross-sectional study. To describe the profile of the organisations that use components of the AR approach, and to explore the characteristics and the international variations of the approach. Twenty-two organisations from 21 countries from Europe, Asia and Africa reported using components of the AR approach during the past 10 years. An electronic survey was developed and distributed through a personalised email. Sampling involved a prospective identification of organisations that met the inclusion criteria and snowball strategies. While there were many collaborating links between the organisations, RG Active Rehabilitation from Sweden and Motivation Charitable Trust from the United Kingdom were identified as key supporting organisations. The 10 key elements of the AR approach were found to be used uniformly across the participating organisations. Small variations were associated with variations in country income and key supporting organisation. This is the first study to describe the key elements and international variations of the AR approach. This will provide the basis for further studies exploring the effectiveness of the approach, it will likely facilitate international collaboration on research and operational aspects and it could potentially support higher integration in the health-care system and long-term funding of these programmes.

Key Elements of Strategy in the Telecommunication Industry – Overview of Discussion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ladislav Možný

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to examine current empirical and theoretical approaches to the strategies of companies operating in the telecommunication industry and to identify important strategy elements for the telecommunication industry. These elements are systematically categorized into the overall strategic framework. Strategic elements not covered in current literature are identified as topics for future research. As the first conclusion, the article identifies the most frequent strategic element discussed in connection with the strategy in the telecommunication industry which is Market offering/Value proposition including its more detailed structure. Highly debated elements of Market offering are Price and Product and their features. On the other hand, only limited attention is paid to Resources and no attention at all is paid to Value chain in the selected articles. Thus, there is space for future research regarding strategy in telecommunications mainly in the areas of Value chain and Resources (both tangible and intangible. Even Market offering is highly debated, the strategic element Availability (sales and service channels from the Market offering/Value proposition is covered only marginally and thus it should be a subject for future research.

The Design Co-ordination Framework: key elements for effective product development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Mogens Myrup; Bowen, J.; Storm, T.

1997-01-01

This paper proposes a Design Co-ordination Framework (DCF) i.e. a concept for an ideal DC system with the abilities to support co-ordination of various complex aspects of product development. A set of frames, modelling key elements of co-ordination, which reflect the states of design, plans, orga...

Mobile genetic elements, a key to microbial adaptation in extreme environments

Science.gov (United States)

van Houdt, Rob; Mijnendonckx, Kristel; Provoost, Ann; Monsieurs, Pieter; Mergeay, Max; Leys, Natalie

hydrogenotrophy. Five transposons were identified in CH34. Two mercury transposons Tn4378 and Tn4380, respectively located on pMOL28 and pMOL30, were previously described. In addition, 3 novel transposons were identified. The large Tn6048 transposon contained 8 genes highly induced by zinc and lead. Transposon Tn6049 was found in twelve copies in the genome of strain CH34 and is seem-ingly often associated with genomic islands. Finally, Tn6050 was observed twice in the second chromosome with accessory genes not classically associated with transposons, namely a sulfate permease, a universal stress protein (UspA) and a DksA-like DnaK suppressor protein. The role of these genes is unclear but a functional association could be assumed. Finally, a set of 21 IS elements was found, counting in total for 57 copies dispersed over the genome. The number of copies ranged from 1 to 9 (IS1088 ) and 10 (ISRme3 ). The 21 IS elements could be divided into 10 different families. The elements ISRme5 and IS1071 were putatively involved in the recruitment of the genes for hydrogenotrophy and CO2 fixation, with mutants unable to grow on H2 and CO2 appeared to have lost these genes by IS1071 -mediated excision. These data clearly showed that the C. metallidurans CH34 model bacterium and some of it's Cupriavidus and Ralstonia relatives carry a multitude of tools that allowed them to genetically adapt to polluted and extreme soil environments, and that are a key in their success to adapt to the new anthropogenic spacecraft environments. Furthermore, these tools could be exploited to assess and measure genetic effects of spaceflight conditions. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the European Space Agency (ESA-PRODEX) and the Belgian Science Policy (Belspo) through the MISSEX and COMICS projects.

No drama: key elements to the success of an HIV/STI-prevention mass-media campaign.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedrana, Alisa E; Hellard, Margaret E; Higgs, Peter; Asselin, Jason; Batrouney, Colin; Stoovè, Mark

2014-05-01

We qualitatively examined gay men's reactions to the national "Drama Downunder" HIV/STI social marketing campaign targeting gay men in Australia to identify key campaign elements that underpinned the demonstrated effectiveness of the campaign. We present findings from six qualitative focus groups held with 49 participants as part of the evaluation of the sexual-health-promotion campaign over 2008-2009. Participants identified attention-grabbing images, a humorous approach, positive and simple tailored messaging, and the use of mainstream media as campaign features crucial in normalizing sexual health testing, driving campaign engagement, and ensuring high message exposure. Our results suggest that designers of future campaigns should strive to balance positive and negative campaign images and messages, and find new ways to engage men with sexual health topics, particularly younger gay men. We discuss the implications of our findings about campaign effectiveness for future health-promotion campaigns and message design.

Key Elements of Clinical Physician Leadership at an Academic Medical Center

Science.gov (United States)

Dine, C. Jessica; Kahn, Jeremy M; Abella, Benjamin S; Asch, David A; Shea, Judy A

2011-01-01

Background A considerable body of literature in the management sciences has defined leadership and how leadership skills can be attained. There is considerably less literature about leadership within medical settings. Physicians-in-training are frequently placed in leadership positions ranging from running a clinical team or overseeing a resuscitation effort. However, physicians-in-training rarely receive such training. The objective of this study was to discover characteristics associated with effective physician leadership at an academic medical center for future development of such training. Methods We conducted focus groups with medical professionals (attending physicians, residents, and nurses) at an academic medical center. The focus group discussion script was designed to elicit participants' perceptions of qualities necessary for physician leadership. The lead question asked participants to imagine a scenario in which they either acted as or observed a physician leader. Two independent reviewers reviewed transcripts to identify key domains of physician leadership. Results Although the context was not specified, the focus group participants discussed leadership in the context of a clinical team. They identified 4 important themes: management of the team, establishing a vision, communication, and personal attributes. Conclusions Physician leadership exists in clinical settings. This study highlights the elements essential to that leadership. Understanding the physician attributes and behaviors that result in effective leadership and teamwork can lay the groundwork for more formal leadership education for physicians-in-training. PMID:22379520

Biomechanical characterization dismount from balance beam on the basis of the analysis of key elements of sports equipment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.A. Potop

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Biomechanical analysis of sports performance technology with balance beam dismount. Material, methods. The study involved six young gymnasts aged 12 - 14 years old - the reserve team of Romania. Results. Identified nodal elements of sports equipment dismount from balance beam type flip off rondat and rondat - coup ago somersaults with twists caved at 360°, 540°, 720° and 900°. In the preparatory phase of the motor action performed dismount isolated and studied central element of sports equipment - starting posture of the body in the phase of the main motor action - animation body posture in the final phase of motor actions - the final posture of the body - Sustainable landing. Conclusions. The method of video - computer research dismount from balance beam type flip off rondat and rondat - coup ago, in conjunction with the method of postural orientation movements allow you to perform a detailed biomechanical analysis of the key elements of sports equipment, to develop advanced training programs.

Tamper-proof secret image-sharing scheme for identifying cheated secret keys and shared images

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chien-Chang; Liu, Chong-An

2013-01-01

A (t,n) secret image-sharing scheme shares a secret image to n participants, and the t users recover the image. During the recovery procedure of a conventional secret image-sharing scheme, cheaters may use counterfeit secret keys or modified shared images to cheat other users' secret keys and shared images. A cheated secret key or shared image leads to an incorrect secret image. Unfortunately, the cheater cannot be identified. We present an exponent and modulus-based scheme to provide a tamper-proof secret image-sharing scheme for identifying cheaters on secret keys or shared images. The proposed scheme allows users to securely select their secret key. This assignment can be performed over networks. Modulus results of each shared image is calculated to recognize cheaters of a shared image. Experimental results indicate that the proposed scheme is excellent at identifying cheated secret keys and shared images.

Methods of Developing User-Friendly Keys to Identify Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas L. from Photographs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jane R. Lloyd

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Identifying individual animals is important in understanding their ecology and behaviour, as well as providing estimates of population sizes for conservation efforts. We produce identification keys from photographs of green sea turtles to identify them while foraging in Akumal Bay, Mexico. We create three keys, which (a minimise the length of the key, (b present the most obvious differential characteristics first, and (c remove the strict dichotomy from key b. Keys were capable of identifying >99% of turtles in >2500 photographs during the six-month study period. The keys differed significantly in success rate for students to identify individual turtles, with key (c being the best with >70% success and correctly being followed further than other keys before making a mistake. User-friendly keys are, therefore, a suitable method for the photographic identification of turtles and could be used for other large marine vertebrates in conservation or behavioural studies.

IFMIF (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility) key element technology phase interim report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Hiroo; Ida, Mizuho; Sugimoto, Masayoshi; Takeuchi, Hiroshi; Yutani, Toshiaki

2002-03-01

Activities of International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) have been performed under an IEA collaboration since 1995. IFMIF is an accelerator-based deuteron (D + )-lithium (Li) neutron source designed to produce an intense neutron field (2 MW/m 2 , 20 dpa/year for Fe) in a volume of 500 cm 3 for testing candidate fusion materials. In 2000, a 3 year Key Element technology Phase (KEP) of IFMIF was started to reduce the key technology risk factors. This interim report summarizes the KEP activities until mid 2001 in the major project work-breakdown areas of accelerator, target, test facilities and design integration. (author)

Key Element Performance In Occupational Safety And Health Management System In Organization (A Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agus Salim Nuzaihan Aras

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Setting an effective safety and health management system is crucial in order to reduce problem relating to accident and ill in management organizational. It is involve with multiple level of management and stakeholders who empower the organization to the management in handling the safety and health cases and issues in organizational. It is necessary to prepare a well knowledge about safety and health management systems and preparing the framework for setting a certain scale in measuring its performance in this area. The successful or failure of management does showing the capability of the organization in delivering the responsible to management levels [1]. The problem in safe work issues and practices cause by the management commitment and involvement that create improper safety program and procedures, and this crisis keep continuing till present [2]. This paper describes about key element of safety and health management system and measuring the performance in order to get an effective management system in organization that describes the process in achieving effectiveness in management. The literature review will be conducted through the data collection from research findings and defined the strong character of key element in which focusing on measuring performance. A guide on key element performance in occupational safety and health management system is specifically drawn to prepare for a future research.

IFMIF (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility) key element technology phase interim report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakamura, Hiroo; Ida, Mizuho; Sugimoto, Masayoshi; Takeuchi, Hiroshi; Yutani, Toshiaki (eds.) [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

2002-03-01

Activities of International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) have been performed under an IEA collaboration since 1995. IFMIF is an accelerator-based deuteron (D{sup +})-lithium (Li) neutron source designed to produce an intense neutron field (2 MW/m{sup 2}, 20 dpa/year for Fe) in a volume of 500 cm{sup 3} for testing candidate fusion materials. In 2000, a 3 year Key Element technology Phase (KEP) of IFMIF was started to reduce the key technology risk factors. This interim report summarizes the KEP activities until mid 2001 in the major project work-breakdown areas of accelerator, target, test facilities and design integration. (author)

Key elements of communication in cancer care.

Science.gov (United States)

Maex, E; De Valck, C

2006-01-01

In this chapter the "communication compass" is introduced. It defines the key elements of communication and provides a language with which to communicate about communication in cancer care. The communication compass consists of two axes. One axis defines the associated perspectives of the clinician and the patient, the other axis the content of information and emotional experience. "Two lovers sat on a park bench with their bodies touching each other, holding hands in the moonlight. There was silence between them. So profound was their love for each other, they needed no words to express it." (Samuel Johnson). Sometimes communication just flows. There are these special moments, as fleeting as they are intense. Often communication is stuck. It is as if we speak another language and never manage to understand one another. The lovers on the park bench need no words to express what they feel, neither do they need words to speak about communication. Where communication gets stuck, we need a suitable language to speak about communication. Professional communication cannot be learned from a cookbook. Most of all it implies a readiness to communicate, which means openness to the other. The old adage that it is impossible not to communicate is only true if no criterion of quality is applied. As soon as some mutual understanding is implied in the definition of communication, the fact that it is at all possible to communicate becomes a miracle. Since there is an important gap between theory and practice, we created a tool that aims to bridge that gap. We call it the communication compass. It does not propose a model of "ideal communication," but provides a language with which to examine and analyze specific situations and to determine what the pitfalls and possibilities are. It is useful as a tool for identifying communicational difficulties in daily clinical practice and it can serve as a model for training basic communication skills.

BENCHMARKING - PRACTICAL TOOLS IDENTIFY KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Ju. Malinina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article gives a practical example of the application of benchmarking techniques. The object of study selected fashion store Company «HLB & M Hennes & Mauritz», located in the shopping center «Gallery», Krasnodar. Hennes & Mauritz. The purpose of this article is to identify the best ways to develop a fashionable brand clothing store Hennes & Mauritz on the basis of benchmarking techniques. On the basis of conducted market research is a comparative analysis of the data from different perspectives. The result of the author’s study is a generalization of the ndings, the development of the key success factors that will allow to plan a successful trading activities in the future, based on the best experience of competitors.

Identifying Key Attributes for Protein Beverages.

Science.gov (United States)

Oltman, A E; Lopetcharat, K; Bastian, E; Drake, M A

2015-06-01

This study identified key attributes of protein beverages and evaluated effects of priming on liking of protein beverages. An adaptive choice-based conjoint study was conducted along with Kano analysis to gain insight on protein beverage consumers (n = 432). Attributes evaluated included label claim, protein type, amount of protein, carbohydrates, sweeteners, and metabolic benefits. Utility scores for levels and importance scores for attributes were determined. Subsequently, two pairs of clear acidic whey protein beverages were manufactured that differed by age of protein source or the amount of whey protein per serving. Beverages were evaluated by 151 consumers on two occasions with or without priming statements. One priming statement declared "great flavor," the other priming statement declared 20 g protein per serving. A two way analysis of variance was applied to discern the role of each priming statement. The most important attribute for protein beverages was sweetener type, followed by amount of protein, followed by type of protein followed by label claim. Beverages with whey protein, naturally sweetened, reduced sugar and ≥15 g protein per serving were most desired. Three consumer clusters were identified, differentiated by their preferences for protein type, sweetener and amount of protein. Priming statements positively impacted concept liking (P 0.05). Consistent with trained panel profiles of increased cardboard flavor with higher protein content, consumers liked beverages with 10 g protein more than beverages with 20 g protein (6.8 compared with 5.7, P appeal. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

Identifying the Essential Elements of Effective Science Communication: What Do the Experts Say?

Science.gov (United States)

Bray, Belinda; France, Bev; Gilbert, John K.

2012-01-01

Experts in science communication were asked to identify the essential elements of a science communication course for post-graduate students. A Delphi methodology provided a framework for a research design that accessed their opinions and allowed them to contribute to, reflect on and identify 10 essential elements. There was a high level of…

A User Centered Innovation Approach Identifying Key User Values for the E-Newspaper

OpenAIRE

Carina Ihlström Eriksson; Jesper Svensson

2009-01-01

We have studied the pre-adoption phase of the e-newspaper, i.e. a newspaper published with e-paper technology. The research question of this article is: In what way can a user centered innovation process contribute to identifying key values in mobile innovations? The aim of this article is threefold: firstly, to identify key values for the e-newspaper, secondly, to examine the intention to adopt a new possible innovation and thirdly, to explore user centered design processes ability to captur...

Key elements of a sustainable nuclear business case

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naidoo, D [Nuclear Consultants International - South Africa and AMEC Nuclear - United Kingdom, 20-35th Avenue, Umhlatuzana, Chatsworth, Durban (South Africa)

2008-07-01

The argument for nuclear power generation grows stronger internationally. Its increasing acceptance is attributable to scarcity of fossil fuel resources and environmental concerns. However, the potential implementation of nuclear power plants to solve our energy need has become an economic issue. The relatively high capital costs, the need to internalise all waste disposal and decommissioning costs are perceived barriers to the expansion of the nuclear industry. South Africa has embarked on an ambitious plan to provide 20 GW of electricity through the use of nuclear power by 2025. The success of the governments drive to stabilise electricity supply shall depend on the socio-economic conditions prevalent in the country over the stipulated period, but more specifically on the execution of a sustainable nuclear business model beyond the initial nuclear plant construction phases. This paper shall examine briefly, the key elements of a nuclear business case within the South African context. (authors)

Key elements of a sustainable nuclear business case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naidoo, D

2008-01-01

The argument for nuclear power generation grows stronger internationally. Its increasing acceptance is attributable to scarcity of fossil fuel resources and environmental concerns. However, the potential implementation of nuclear power plants to solve our energy need has become an economic issue. The relatively high capital costs, the need to internalise all waste disposal and decommissioning costs are perceived barriers to the expansion of the nuclear industry. South Africa has embarked on an ambitious plan to provide 20 GW of electricity through the use of nuclear power by 2025. The success of the governments drive to stabilise electricity supply shall depend on the socio-economic conditions prevalent in the country over the stipulated period, but more specifically on the execution of a sustainable nuclear business model beyond the initial nuclear plant construction phases. This paper shall examine briefly, the key elements of a nuclear business case within the South African context. (authors)

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT – KEY FACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magdalena Daniela DINU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper exposes Supply Chain Management by its key factors. Briefly, where the Supply Chain Management is treated as strategic part of a company then maintaining both control and influence throughout the entire supply chain are key factors and critical to success. On the other hand, finding the right partner to manage the non-strategic Supply Chains would be another key factor too. To define the most important key factors within Supply Chain Management means a deeply understanding of both Supply Chain’ s components, procedures, workflow, processes and the importance of Supply Chain Management into maximizing company's value. SCORE model able to provide solid information about measuring performance and identifying priorities within Supply Chain Management will help us to understand the key factors by analyzing its elements: Plan, Source, Make, Deliver,Return, Enable. These elements covers all the challenging areas from first to third tier of Supply Chain Management.

Key Elements of a Successful Drive toward Marketing Strategy Making

Science.gov (United States)

Cann, Cynthia W.; George, Marie A.

2003-01-01

A conceptual model is presented that depicts the relationship between an internal marketing function and an organization's readiness to learn. Learning and marketing orientations are identified as components to marketing strategy making. Key organizational functions, including communication and decision-making, are utilized in a framework for…

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.

IFMIF-KEP. International fusion materials irradiation facility key element technology phase report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-03-01

The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) is an accelerator-based D-Li neutron source designed to produce an intense neutron field that will simulate the neutron environment of a D-T fusion reactor. IFMIF will provide a neutron flux equivalent to 2 MW/m 2 , 20 dpa/y in Fe, in a volume of 500 cm 3 and will be used in the development and qualification of materials for fusion systems. The design activities of IFMIF are performed under an IEA collaboration which began in 1995. In 2000, a three-year Key Element Technology Phase (KEP) of IFMIF was undertaken to reduce the key technology risk factors. This KEP report describes the results of the three-year KEP activities in the major project areas of accelerator, target, test facilities and design integration. (author)

Social Network Analysis Identifies Key Participants in Conservation Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Farr, Cooper M; Reed, Sarah E; Pejchar, Liba

2018-05-01

Understanding patterns of participation in private lands conservation, which is often implemented voluntarily by individual citizens and private organizations, could improve its effectiveness at combating biodiversity loss. We used social network analysis (SNA) to examine participation in conservation development (CD), a private land conservation strategy that clusters houses in a small portion of a property while preserving the remaining land as protected open space. Using data from public records for six counties in Colorado, USA, we compared CD participation patterns among counties and identified actors that most often work with others to implement CDs. We found that social network characteristics differed among counties. The network density, or proportion of connections in the network, varied from fewer than 2 to nearly 15%, and was higher in counties with smaller populations and fewer CDs. Centralization, or the degree to which connections are held disproportionately by a few key actors, was not correlated strongly with any county characteristics. Network characteristics were not correlated with the prevalence of wildlife-friendly design features in CDs. The most highly connected actors were biological and geological consultants, surveyors, and engineers. Our work demonstrates a new application of SNA to land-use planning, in which CD network patterns are examined and key actors are identified. For better conservation outcomes of CD, we recommend using network patterns to guide strategies for outreach and information dissemination, and engaging with highly connected actor types to encourage widespread adoption of best practices for CD design and stewardship.

Toxic elements and associations with hematology, plasma biochemistry, and protein electrophoresis in nesting loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from Casey Key, Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Perrault, Justin R; Stacy, Nicole I; Lehner, Andreas F; Poor, Savannah K; Buchweitz, John P; Walsh, Catherine J

2017-12-01

Toxic elements (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, selenium, thallium) are a group of contaminants that are known to elicit developmental, reproductive, general health, and immune system effects in reptiles, even at low concentrations. Reptiles, including marine turtles, are susceptible to accumulation of toxic elements due to their long life span, low metabolic rate, and highly efficient conversion of prey into biomass. The objectives of this study were to (1) document concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, selenium, and thallium in whole blood and keratin from nesting loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from Casey Key, Florida and document correlations thereof and (2) correlate whole blood toxic element concentrations to various hematological and plasma biochemistry analytes. Baselines for various hematological and plasma analytes and toxic elements in whole blood and keratin (i.e., scute) in nesting loggerheads are documented. Various correlations between the toxic elements and hematological and plasma biochemistry analytes were identified; however, the most intriguing were negative correlations between arsenic, cadmium, lead, and selenium with and α- and γ-globulins. Although various extrinsic and intrinsic variables such as dietary and feeding changes in nesting loggerheads need to be considered, this finding may suggest a link to altered humoral immunity. This study documents a suite of health variables of nesting loggerheads in correlation to contaminants and identifies the potential of toxic elements to impact the overall health of nesting turtles, thus presenting important implications for the conservation and management of this species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The node-weighted Steiner tree approach to identify elements of cancer-related signaling pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yahui; Ma, Chenkai; Halgamuge, Saman

2017-12-28

Cancer constitutes a momentous health burden in our society. Critical information on cancer may be hidden in its signaling pathways. However, even though a large amount of money has been spent on cancer research, some critical information on cancer-related signaling pathways still remains elusive. Hence, new works towards a complete understanding of cancer-related signaling pathways will greatly benefit the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. We propose the node-weighted Steiner tree approach to identify important elements of cancer-related signaling pathways at the level of proteins. This new approach has advantages over previous approaches since it is fast in processing large protein-protein interaction networks. We apply this new approach to identify important elements of two well-known cancer-related signaling pathways: PI3K/Akt and MAPK. First, we generate a node-weighted protein-protein interaction network using protein and signaling pathway data. Second, we modify and use two preprocessing techniques and a state-of-the-art Steiner tree algorithm to identify a subnetwork in the generated network. Third, we propose two new metrics to select important elements from this subnetwork. On a commonly used personal computer, this new approach takes less than 2 s to identify the important elements of PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling pathways in a large node-weighted protein-protein interaction network with 16,843 vertices and 1,736,922 edges. We further analyze and demonstrate the significance of these identified elements to cancer signal transduction by exploring previously reported experimental evidences. Our node-weighted Steiner tree approach is shown to be both fast and effective to identify important elements of cancer-related signaling pathways. Furthermore, it may provide new perspectives into the identification of signaling pathways for other human diseases.

Elemental sulfur identified in urine of cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus.

Science.gov (United States)

Burger, Ben V; Visser, Runine; Moses, Alvira; Le Roux, Maritha

2006-06-01

The urine of the cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, is almost odorless, and probably for this reason, it has not attracted much attention from scientists. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we identified 27 and 37 constituents in the headspace vapor of the urine of male and female cheetah, respectively. These constituents, composed of hydrocarbons, short-chain ethers, aldehydes, saturated and unsaturated cyclic and acyclic ketones, 2-acetylfuran, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl sulfone, phenol, myristic acid (tetradecanoic acid), urea, and elemental sulfur, are all present in the headspace vapor in very small quantities; dimethyl disulfide is present in such a low concentration that it cannot be detected by the human nose. This is only the second example of elemental sulfur being secreted or excreted by an animal. It is hypothesized that the conversion of sulfur-containing compounds in the cheetah's diet to elemental sulfur and to practically odorless dimethyl sulfone enables this carnivore to operate as if "invisible" to the olfactory world of its predators as well as its prey, which would increase its chances of survival.

IFMIF-KEP. International fusion materials irradiation facility key element technology phase report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-03-01

The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) is an accelerator-based D-Li neutron source designed to produce an intense neutron field that will simulate the neutron environment of a D-T fusion reactor. IFMIF will provide a neutron flux equivalent to 2 MW/m{sup 2}, 20 dpa/y in Fe, in a volume of 500 cm{sup 3} and will be used in the development and qualification of materials for fusion systems. The design activities of IFMIF are performed under an IEA collaboration which began in 1995. In 2000, a three-year Key Element Technology Phase (KEP) of IFMIF was undertaken to reduce the key technology risk factors. This KEP report describes the results of the three-year KEP activities in the major project areas of accelerator, target, test facilities and design integration. (author)

KEY ELEMENTS OF HEURISTIC METHODS USAGE IN FOREIGN THEORY OF EDUCATION (ON THE BASIS OF GREAT BRITAIN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skvortsova Svetlana Valerevna

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: identify key elements of employing heuristic teaching methods in foreign theory of education. Methodology: a theoretical analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature on the issues of teaching creativity. Results: on the basis of theoretical analysis the main criteria of heuristic teaching methods are revealed: repeatability; absence of a single decision; need for group discussions; flexibility; wide variability; promotion of creative teaching; influence on the character of knowledge and relationships between the teacher and the students. Heuristic teaching methods have been divided into: methods of working with information, methods of working with problems, methods of research and methods of analyzing the decisions. The main characteristics of each group of methods are presented and certain recommendations for applying them in teaching creativity are given. Practical implications: the system of education.

Key Issues in Empirically Identifying Chronically Low-Performing and Turnaround Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Michael

2012-01-01

One of the US Department of Education's key priorities is turning around the nation's persistently low-achieving schools, yet exactly how to identify low-performing schools is a task left to state policy makers, and a myriad of definitions have been utilized. In addition, exactly how to recognize when a school begins to turn around is not well…

Comprehensive evaluation of disease- and trait-specific enrichment for eight functional elements among GWAS-identified variants.

Science.gov (United States)

Markunas, Christina A; Johnson, Eric O; Hancock, Dana B

2017-07-01

Genome-wide association study (GWAS)-identified variants are enriched for functional elements. However, we have limited knowledge of how functional enrichment may differ by disease/trait and tissue type. We tested a broad set of eight functional elements for enrichment among GWAS-identified SNPs (p Enrichment analyses were conducted using logistic regression, with Bonferroni correction. Overall, a significant enrichment was observed for all functional elements, except sequence motifs. Missense SNPs showed the strongest magnitude of enrichment. eQTLs were the only functional element significantly enriched across all diseases/traits. Magnitudes of enrichment were generally similar across diseases/traits, where enrichment was statistically significant. Blood vs. brain tissue effects on enrichment were dependent on disease/trait and functional element (e.g., cardiovascular disease: eQTLs P TissueDifference  = 1.28 × 10 -6 vs. enhancers P TissueDifference  = 0.94). Identifying disease/trait-relevant functional elements and tissue types could provide new insight into the underlying biology, by guiding a priori GWAS analyses (e.g., brain enhancer elements for psychiatric disease) or facilitating post hoc interpretation.

Integrated systems approach identifies risk regulatory pathways and key regulators in coronary artery disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Liu, Dianming; Wang, Lihong; Wang, Shuyuan; Yu, Xuexin; Dai, Enyu; Liu, Xinyi; Luo, Shanshun; Jiang, Wei

2015-12-01

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. However, the molecular mechanisms of CAD remain elusive. Regulatory pathways are known to play crucial roles in many pathogenic processes. Thus, inferring risk regulatory pathways is an important step toward elucidating the mechanisms underlying CAD. With advances in high-throughput data, we developed an integrated systems approach to identify CAD risk regulatory pathways and key regulators. Firstly, a CAD-related core subnetwork was identified from a curated transcription factor (TF) and microRNA (miRNA) regulatory network based on a random walk algorithm. Secondly, candidate risk regulatory pathways were extracted from the subnetwork by applying a breadth-first search (BFS) algorithm. Then, risk regulatory pathways were prioritized based on multiple CAD-associated data sources. Finally, we also proposed a new measure to prioritize upstream regulators. We inferred that phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) may be a key regulator in the dysregulation of risk regulatory pathways. This study takes a closer step than the identification of disease subnetworks or modules. From the risk regulatory pathways, we could understand the flow of regulatory information in the initiation and progression of the disease. Our approach helps to uncover its potential etiology. We developed an integrated systems approach to identify risk regulatory pathways. We proposed a new measure to prioritize the key regulators in CAD. PTEN may be a key regulator in dysregulation of the risk regulatory pathways.

Identifying key genes associated with acute myocardial infarction.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ming; An, Shoukuan; Li, Junquan

2017-10-01

This study aimed to identify key genes associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by reanalyzing microarray data. Three gene expression profile datasets GSE66360, GSE34198, and GSE48060 were downloaded from GEO database. After data preprocessing, genes without heterogeneity across different platforms were subjected to differential expression analysis between the AMI group and the control group using metaDE package. P FI) network. Then, DEGs in each module were subjected to pathway enrichment analysis using DAVID. MiRNAs and transcription factors predicted to regulate target DEGs were identified. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was applied to verify the expression of genes. A total of 913 upregulated genes and 1060 downregulated genes were identified in the AMI group. A FI network consists of 21 modules and DEGs in 12 modules were significantly enriched in pathways. The transcription factor-miRNA-gene network contains 2 transcription factors FOXO3 and MYBL2, and 2 miRNAs hsa-miR-21-5p and hsa-miR-30c-5p. RT-PCR validations showed that expression levels of FOXO3 and MYBL2 were significantly increased in AMI, and expression levels of hsa-miR-21-5p and hsa-miR-30c-5p were obviously decreased in AMI. A total of 41 DEGs, such as SOCS3, VAPA, and COL5A2, are speculated to have roles in the pathogenesis of AMI; 2 transcription factors FOXO3 and MYBL2, and 2 miRNAs hsa-miR-21-5p and hsa-miR-30c-5p may be involved in the regulation of the expression of these DEGs.

Key Elements of a Family Intervention for Schizophrenia: A Qualitative Analysis of an RCT.

Science.gov (United States)

Grácio, Jaime; Gonçalves-Pereira, Manuel; Leff, Julian

2018-03-01

Schizophrenia is a complex biopsychosocial condition in which expressed emotion in family members is a robust predictor of relapse. Not surprisingly, family interventions are remarkably effective and thus recommended in current treatment guidelines. Their key elements seem to be common therapeutic factors, followed by education and coping skills training. However, few studies have explored these key elements and the process of the intervention itself. We conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the records from a pioneering family intervention trial addressing expressed emotion, published by Leff and colleagues four decades ago. Records were analyzed into categories and data explored using descriptive statistics. This was complemented by a narrative evaluation using an inductive approach based on emotional markers and markers of change. The most used strategies in the intervention were addressing needs, followed by coping skills enhancement, advice, and emotional support. Dealing with overinvolvement and reframing were the next most frequent. Single-family home sessions seemed to augment the therapeutic work conducted in family groups. Overall the intervention seemed to promote cognitive and emotional change in the participants, and therapists were sensitive to the emotional trajectory of each subject. On the basis of our findings, we developed a longitudinal framework for better understanding the process of this treatment approach. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

Identifying key performance indicators for nursing and midwifery care using a consensus approach.

Science.gov (United States)

McCance, Tanya; Telford, Lorna; Wilson, Julie; Macleod, Olive; Dowd, Audrey

2012-04-01

The aim of this study was to gain consensus on key performance indicators that are appropriate and relevant for nursing and midwifery practice in the current policy context. There is continuing demand to demonstrate effectiveness and efficiency in health and social care and to communicate this at boardroom level. Whilst there is substantial literature on the use of clinical indicators and nursing metrics, there is less evidence relating to indicators that reflect the patient experience. A consensus approach was used to identify relevant key performance indicators. A nominal group technique was used comprising two stages: a workshop involving all grades of nursing and midwifery staff in two HSC trusts in Northern Ireland (n = 50); followed by a regional Consensus Conference (n = 80). During the workshop, potential key performance indicators were identified. This was used as the basis for the Consensus Conference, which involved two rounds of consensus. Analysis was based on aggregated scores that were then ranked. Stage one identified 38 potential indicators and stage two prioritised the eight top-ranked indicators as a core set for nursing and midwifery. The relevance and appropriateness of these indicators were confirmed with nurses and midwives working in a range of settings and from the perspective of service users. The eight indicators identified do not conform to the majority of other nursing metrics generally reported in the literature. Furthermore, they are strategically aligned to work on the patient experience and are reflective of the fundamentals of nursing and midwifery practice, with the focus on person-centred care. Nurses and midwives have a significant contribution to make in determining the extent to which these indicators are achieved in practice. Furthermore, measurement of such indicators provides an opportunity to evidence of the unique impact of nursing/midwifery care on the patient experience. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Key determinants of managing the marketing asset of global companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatyana Tsygankova

2016-12-01

Full Text Available As a result of organization and summarization of key concepts of evolution of the marketing tools of global companies, the authors determined the role of the marketing assets in the system of modern marketing management (as a dialectically higher stage of development of the analyzed tools, which will allow overcoming the antagonistic contradiction of “P- and C-vectors” of their development. The article identified the optimal set of key elements of the system of marketing assets, which are the brand, customer loyalty, reputation, network cooperation, marketing strategy, internal marketing, marketing information system and marketing innovation. Due to correlation and regression analysis of the impact of each system elements on performance of global companies, the model of the "marketing asset octagon" was built as an integrative management tool. Also, as a result of construction of the said model, the authors identified the most profitable marketing assets, return on investment and development of competencies in the field of efficient management will bring the highest profit to the company. On the basis of summarizing the regional and branch features of managing the disparate elements of the marketing assets of global companies, the key regional and sectoral priorities of formation, development and improvement of existing concepts of the international marketing management were identified, particularly in terms of building an author’s integrative octagon model.

IFMIF (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility) key element technology phase task description

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ida, M.; Nakamura, H.; Sugimoto, M.; Yutani, T.; Takeuchi, H. [eds.] [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai Research Establishment, Fusion Neutron Laboratory, Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan)

2000-08-01

In 2000, a 3 year Key Element technology Phase (KEP) of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) has been initiated to reduce the key technology risk factors needed to achieve continuous wave (CW) beam with the desired current and energy and to reach the corresponding power handling capabilities in the liquid lithium target system. In the KEP, the IFMIF team (EU, Japan, Russian Federation, US) will perform required tasks. The contents of the tasks are described in the task description sheet. As the KEP tasks, the IFMIF team have proposed 27 tasks for Test Facilities, 12 tasks for Target, 26 tasks for Accelerator and 18 tasks for Design Integration. The task description by RF is not yet available. The task items and task descriptions may be added or revised with the progress of KEP activities. These task description sheets have been compiled in this report. After 3 years KEP, the results of the KEP tasks will be reviewed. Following the KEP, 3 years Engineering Validation Phase (EVP) will continue for IFMIF construction. (author)

Identifying Key Drivers of Return Reversal with Dynamical Bayesian Factor Graph.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuai Zhao

Full Text Available In the stock market, return reversal occurs when investors sell overbought stocks and buy oversold stocks, reversing the stocks' price trends. In this paper, we develop a new method to identify key drivers of return reversal by incorporating a comprehensive set of factors derived from different economic theories into one unified dynamical Bayesian factor graph. We then use the model to depict factor relationships and their dynamics, from which we make some interesting discoveries about the mechanism behind return reversals. Through extensive experiments on the US stock market, we conclude that among the various factors, the liquidity factors consistently emerge as key drivers of return reversal, which is in support of the theory of liquidity effect. Specifically, we find that stocks with high turnover rates or high Amihud illiquidity measures have a greater probability of experiencing return reversals. Apart from the consistent drivers, we find other drivers of return reversal that generally change from year to year, and they serve as important characteristics for evaluating the trends of stock returns. Besides, we also identify some seldom discussed yet enlightening inter-factor relationships, one of which shows that stocks in Finance and Insurance industry are more likely to have high Amihud illiquidity measures in comparison with those in other industries. These conclusions are robust for return reversals under different thresholds.

Identifying key hospital service quality factors in online health communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Yuchul; Hur, Cinyoung; Jung, Dain; Kim, Minki

2015-04-07

The volume of health-related user-created content, especially hospital-related questions and answers in online health communities, has rapidly increased. Patients and caregivers participate in online community activities to share their experiences, exchange information, and ask about recommended or discredited hospitals. However, there is little research on how to identify hospital service quality automatically from the online communities. In the past, in-depth analysis of hospitals has used random sampling surveys. However, such surveys are becoming impractical owing to the rapidly increasing volume of online data and the diverse analysis requirements of related stakeholders. As a solution for utilizing large-scale health-related information, we propose a novel approach to identify hospital service quality factors and overtime trends automatically from online health communities, especially hospital-related questions and answers. We defined social media-based key quality factors for hospitals. In addition, we developed text mining techniques to detect such factors that frequently occur in online health communities. After detecting these factors that represent qualitative aspects of hospitals, we applied a sentiment analysis to recognize the types of recommendations in messages posted within online health communities. Korea's two biggest online portals were used to test the effectiveness of detection of social media-based key quality factors for hospitals. To evaluate the proposed text mining techniques, we performed manual evaluations on the extraction and classification results, such as hospital name, service quality factors, and recommendation types using a random sample of messages (ie, 5.44% (9450/173,748) of the total messages). Service quality factor detection and hospital name extraction achieved average F1 scores of 91% and 78%, respectively. In terms of recommendation classification, performance (ie, precision) is 78% on average. Extraction and

Key clinical features to identify girls with CDKL5 mutations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahi-Buisson, Nadia; Nectoux, Juliette; Rosas-Vargas, Haydeé; Milh, Mathieu; Boddaert, Nathalie; Girard, Benoit; Cances, Claude; Ville, Dorothée; Afenjar, Alexandra; Rio, Marlène; Héron, Delphine; N'guyen Morel, Marie Ange; Arzimanoglou, Alexis; Philippe, Christophe; Jonveaux, Philippe; Chelly, Jamel; Bienvenu, Thierry

2008-10-01

Mutations in the human X-linked cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) gene have been shown to cause infantile spasms as well as Rett syndrome (RTT)-like phenotype. To date, less than 25 different mutations have been reported. So far, there are still little data on the key clinical diagnosis criteria and on the natural history of CDKL5-associated encephalopathy. We screened the entire coding region of CDKL5 for mutations in 183 females with encephalopathy with early seizures by denaturing high liquid performance chromatography and direct sequencing, and we identified in 20 unrelated girls, 18 different mutations including 7 novel mutations. These mutations were identified in eight patients with encephalopathy with RTT-like features, five with infantile spasms and seven with encephalopathy with refractory epilepsy. Early epilepsy with normal interictal EEG and severe hypotonia are the key clinical features in identifying patients likely to have CDKL5 mutations. Our study also indicates that these patients clearly exhibit some RTT features such as deceleration of head growth, stereotypies and hand apraxia and that these RTT features become more evident in older and ambulatory patients. However, some RTT signs are clearly absent such as the so called RTT disease profile (period of nearly normal development followed by regression with loss of acquired fine finger skill in early childhood and characteristic intensive eye communication) and the characteristic evolution of the RTT electroencephalogram. Interestingly, in addition to the overall stereotypical symptomatology (age of onset and evolution of the disease) resulting from CDKL5 mutations, atypical forms of CDKL5-related conditions have also been observed. Our data suggest that phenotypic heterogeneity does not correlate with the nature or the position of the mutations or with the pattern of X-chromosome inactivation, but most probably with the functional transcriptional and/or translational consequences of CDKL5

Predictive model identifies key network regulators of cardiomyocyte mechano-signaling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip M Tan

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Mechanical strain is a potent stimulus for growth and remodeling in cells. Although many pathways have been implicated in stretch-induced remodeling, the control structures by which signals from distinct mechano-sensors are integrated to modulate hypertrophy and gene expression in cardiomyocytes remain unclear. Here, we constructed and validated a predictive computational model of the cardiac mechano-signaling network in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying signal integration. The model identifies calcium, actin, Ras, Raf1, PI3K, and JAK as key regulators of cardiac mechano-signaling and characterizes crosstalk logic imparting differential control of transcription by AT1R, integrins, and calcium channels. We find that while these regulators maintain mostly independent control over distinct groups of transcription factors, synergy between multiple pathways is necessary to activate all the transcription factors necessary for gene transcription and hypertrophy. We also identify a PKG-dependent mechanism by which valsartan/sacubitril, a combination drug recently approved for treating heart failure, inhibits stretch-induced hypertrophy, and predict further efficacious pairs of drug targets in the network through a network-wide combinatorial search.

Evaluation of unique identifiers used as keys to match identical publications in Pure and SciVal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Heidi Holst; Madsen, Dicte; Gauffriau, Marianne

2016-01-01

, and erroneous optical or special character recognition. The case study explores the use of UIDs in the integration between the databases Pure and SciVal. Specifically journal publications in English are matched between the two databases. We find all error types except erroneous optical or special character......Unique identifiers (UID) are seen as an effective key to match identical publications across databases or identify duplicates in a database. The objective of the present study is to investigate how well UIDs work as match keys in the integration between Pure and SciVal, based on a case...... also briefly discuss how publication sets formed by using UIDs as the match keys may affect the bibliometric indicators number of publications, number of citations, and the average number of citations per publication. The objective is addressed in a literature review and a case study. The literature...

Iterative key-residues interrogation of a phytase with thermostability increasing substitutions identified in directed evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Shivange, Amol V; Roccatano, Danilo; Schwaneberg, Ulrich

2016-01-01

Bacterial phytases have attracted industrial interest as animal feed supplement due to their high activity and sufficient thermostability (required for feed pelleting). We devised an approach named KeySIDE,  an iterative Key-residues interrogation of the wild type with Substitutions Identified in Directed Evolution for improving Yersinia mollaretii phytase (Ymphytase) thermostability by combining key beneficial substitutions and elucidating their individual roles. Directed evolution yielded in a discovery of nine positions in Ymphytase and combined iteratively to identify key positions. The "best" combination (M6: T77K, Q154H, G187S, and K289Q) resulted in significantly improved thermal resistance; the residual activity improved from 35 % (wild type) to 89 % (M6) at 58 °C and 20-min incubation. Melting temperature increased by 3 °C in M6 without a loss of specific activity. Molecular dynamics simulation studies revealed reduced flexibility in the loops located next to helices (B, F, and K) which possess substitutions (Helix-B: T77K, Helix-F: G187S, and Helix-K: K289E/Q). Reduced flexibility in the loops might be caused by strengthened hydrogen bonding network (e.g., G187S and K289E/K289Q) and a salt bridge (T77K). Our results demonstrate a promising approach to design phytases in food research, and we hope that the KeySIDE might become an attractive approach for understanding of structure-function relationships of enzymes.

Identifying Regional Key Eco-Space to Maintain Ecological Security Using GIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hualin Xie

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Ecological security and environmental sustainability are the foundations of sustainable development. With the acceleration of urbanization, increasing human activities have promoted greater impacts on the eco-spaces that maintain ecological security. Regional key eco-space has become the primary need to maintain environmental sustainability and can offer society with continued ecosystem services. In this paper, considering the security of water resources, biodiversity conservation, disaster avoidance and protection and natural recreation, an integrated index of eco-space importance was established and a method for identifying key eco-space was created using GIS, with Lanzhou City, China as a case study. The results show that the area of core eco-space in the Lanzhou City is approximately 50,908.7 hm2, accounting for 40% of the region’s total area. These areas mainly consist of geological hazard protection zones and the core zones of regional river systems, wetlands, nature reserves, forest parks and scenic spots. The results of this study provide some guidance for the management of ecological security, ecological restoration and environmental sustainability.

A review of salient elements defining team collaboration in paediatric rehabilitation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijhuis, B. J. G.; Reinders-Messelink, H. A.; de Blecourt, A. C. E.; Olijve, W. G.; Groothoff, J. W.; Nakken, H.; Postema, K.; Postuma, K.

Objective: To explicate the complex process of team collaboration and identify salient elements of team collaboration in paediatric rehabilitation. Data sources: After an initial search to define key features of team collaboration a systematic search on team collaboration and the key features was

Identifying Key Stakeholder Groups for Implementing a Place Branding Policy in Saint Petersburg

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kulibanova V. V.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Regional brands have become a valuable intangible asset and a crucial competitive resource for forging partnerships. An effective place branding policy is impossible without a precise understanding of the interests of stakeholder groups. It is essential to realize that each region is unique in its own way. Territories differ in the structure of stakeholders, their influence on regional development, and the range of leverages over regional decision-makers. This study aims to give a more precise definition of key groups of stakeholders in Saint Petersburg place branding, and to identify them. The authors employ the method of theoretical and empirical typology of a territory’s stakeholders within a theoretical framework proposed by E. Freeman, P. Kotler, S. Zenker, and E. Brown. The article defines the concept of key regional stakeholders and identifies them. The proposed target audience (stakeholder group model for a place branding policy is tested on the case of Saint Petersburg. The authors show that each target audience of place marketing requires an individual policy. This is explained by the fact that each group enjoys its unique features that should be taken into account when creating and transmitting messages.

Multi-objective Calibration of DHSVM Based on Hydrologic Key Elements in Jinhua River Basin, East China

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, S.; Liu, L.; Xu, Y. P.

2017-12-01

Abstract: In physically based distributed hydrological model, large number of parameters, representing spatial heterogeneity of watershed and various processes in hydrologic cycle, are involved. For lack of calibration module in Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model, this study developed a multi-objective calibration module using Epsilon-Dominance Non-Dominated Sorted Genetic Algorithm II (ɛ-NSGAII) and based on parallel computing of Linux cluster for DHSVM (ɛP-DHSVM). In this study, two hydrologic key elements (i.e., runoff and evapotranspiration) are used as objectives in multi-objective calibration of model. MODIS evapotranspiration obtained by SEBAL is adopted to fill the gap of lack of observation for evapotranspiration. The results show that good performance of runoff simulation in single objective calibration cannot ensure good simulation performance of other hydrologic key elements. Self-developed ɛP-DHSVM model can make multi-objective calibration more efficiently and effectively. The running speed can be increased by more than 20-30 times via applying ɛP-DHSVM. In addition, runoff and evapotranspiration can be simulated very well simultaneously by ɛP-DHSVM, with superior values for two efficiency coefficients (0.74 for NS of runoff and 0.79 for NS of evapotranspiration, -10.5% and -8.6% for PBIAS of runoff and evapotranspiration respectively).

RegRNA: an integrated web server for identifying regulatory RNA motifs and elements

OpenAIRE

Huang, Hsi-Yuan; Chien, Chia-Hung; Jen, Kuan-Hua; Huang, Hsien-Da

2006-01-01

Numerous regulatory structural motifs have been identified as playing essential roles in transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. RegRNA is an integrated web server for identifying the homologs of regulatory RNA motifs and elements against an input mRNA sequence. Both sequence homologs and structural homologs of regulatory RNA motifs can be recognized. The regulatory RNA motifs supported in RegRNA are categorized into several classes: (i) motifs in mRNA 5′-untra...

Framework for Identifying Key Environmental Concerns in Marine Renewable Energy Projects- Appendices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kramer, Sharon; Previsic, Mirko; Nelson, Peter; Woo, Sheri

2010-06-17

Marine wave and tidal energy technology could interact with marine resources in ways that are not well understood. As wave and tidal energy conversion projects are planned, tested, and deployed, a wide range of stakeholders will be engaged; these include developers, state and federal regulatory agencies, environmental groups, tribal governments, recreational and commercial fishermen, and local communities. Identifying stakeholders’ environmental concerns in the early stages of the industry’s development will help developers address and minimize potential environmental effects. Identifying important concerns will also assist with streamlining siting and associated permitting processes, which are considered key hurdles by the industry in the U.S. today. In September 2008, RE Vision consulting, LLC was selected by the Department of Energy (DoE) to conduct a scenario-based evaluation of emerging hydrokinetic technologies. The purpose of this evaluation is to identify and characterize environmental impacts that are likely to occur, demonstrate a process for analyzing these impacts, identify the “key” environmental concerns for each scenario, identify areas of uncertainty, and describe studies that could address that uncertainty. This process is intended to provide an objective and transparent tool to assist in decision-making for siting and selection of technology for wave and tidal energy development. RE Vision worked with H. T. Harvey & Associates, to develop a framework for identifying key environmental concerns with marine renewable technology. This report describes the results of this study. This framework was applied to varying wave and tidal power conversion technologies, scales, and locations. The following wave and tidal energy scenarios were considered: 4 wave energy generation technologies 3 tidal energy generation technologies 3 sites: Humboldt coast, California (wave); Makapu’u Point, Oahu, Hawaii (wave); and the Tacoma Narrows, Washington (tidal

Homoserine Lactone as a Structural Key Element for the Synthesis of Multifunctional Polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabian Marquardt

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The use of bio-based building blocks for polymer synthesis represents a milestone on the way to “green” materials. In this work, two synthetic strategies for the preparation of multifunctional polymers are presented in which the key element is the functionality of homoserine lactone. First, the synthesis of a bis cyclic coupler based on a thiolactone and homoserine lactone is displayed. This coupler was evaluated regarding its regioselectivity upon reaction with amines and used in the preparation of multifunctional polymeric building blocks by reaction with diamines. Furthermore, a linear polyglycidol was functionalized with homoserine lactone. The resulting polyethers with lactone groups in the side chain were converted to cationic polymers by reaction with 3-(dimethylamino-1-propylamine followed by quaternization with methyl iodide.

Identifying and weighting of key performance indicators of knowledge management2.0 in organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Khalilazar

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Main purpose of this research is identifying and weighting of key performance indicators of knowledge management2.0 in organizations. According to widespread permeation of technology, especially social media in different organizational dimensions and functional view to this phenomenon in knowledge management, performance measurement of this kind of media in order to meet organizational goals seems necessary. KM2.0 key performance indicators in this article has been identified and weighted through Delphi methodology, via questionnaire in three rounds. KM2.0 KPIs which are identified and weighted in this article are applicable in organizations that are eager to implement KM2.0 initiative and they can measure the performance of KM2.0 activities therefore this research is applicable in goal oriented approach. According to the results, KM2.0 participation process consists of 3 stages and 8 steps as mentioned below: First stage which is presence, consists of 3 steps which are registration, visit and download. Second stage which is feedback consists of 3 steps which are conversation, applause and amplification. Finally, third stage which is creation consists of 2 steps which are codification and personalization. Ultimate contribution of this research is identifying and weighting KPIs of KM2.0 in conceptual framework of KM2.0. Based on developing a conceptual framework and participation process in KM2.0 and listing related KPIs as an applicable solution in order to measure and improve the performance of organizational social media, this research has unique innovation among related and other articles.

Key determinants of managing the marketing asset of global companies

OpenAIRE

Tatyana Tsygankova; Roman Ponomarenko

2016-01-01

As a result of organization and summarization of key concepts of evolution of the marketing tools of global companies, the authors determined the role of the marketing assets in the system of modern marketing management (as a dialectically higher stage of development of the analyzed tools, which will allow overcoming the antagonistic contradiction of “P- and C-vectors” of their development). The article identified the optimal set of key elements of the system of marketing assets, which are th...

Identifying Mental Health Elements among Technical University Students Using Fuzzy Delphi Method

Science.gov (United States)

Pua, P. K.; Lai, C. S.; Lee, M. F.

2017-08-01

Mental health is a part of our daily life that is often experienced. As a student, mental health issue often encounters a variety of difficult challenges at the higher education institution. A student with good mental health can handle and cope the normal stress of life, capable work productivity, enhance academic performance and able to make contribute to the community. However, rapidly transformation and changing of society have been impacted on students’ mental health, and it will be deteriorated and negatively impact on students if it absence of preventive controlled. This study aimed to identify the element of mental health among the technical university students. A total of 11 experts were selected to analyze the fuzziness consensus of experts. All collected data was analyzed by using the fuzzy Delphi method and the result shows that there are 4 elements of 8 elements that fulfill the requirement consensus of experts, which threshold value is equal and less than 0.2, the percentage of the expert group is more than 75%. The four elements were depression, anxiety, stress, and fear are often experienced by technical university students. In conclusion, precocious actions have to be taken by university and counseling center, parents and non-government organization in order to mitigate the mental health problem faced by students to improve the quality lifestyle students at the university.

Identifying and characterizing key nodes among communities based on electrical-circuit networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Fenghui; Wang, Wenxu; Di, Zengru; Fan, Ying

2014-01-01

Complex networks with community structures are ubiquitous in the real world. Despite many approaches developed for detecting communities, we continue to lack tools for identifying overlapping and bridging nodes that play crucial roles in the interactions and communications among communities in complex networks. Here we develop an algorithm based on the local flow conservation to effectively and efficiently identify and distinguish the two types of nodes. Our method is applicable in both undirected and directed networks without a priori knowledge of the community structure. Our method bypasses the extremely challenging problem of partitioning communities in the presence of overlapping nodes that may belong to multiple communities. Due to the fact that overlapping and bridging nodes are of paramount importance in maintaining the function of many social and biological networks, our tools open new avenues towards understanding and controlling real complex networks with communities accompanied with the key nodes.

Clinical risk management in hospitals: strategy, central coordination and dialogue as key enablers.

Science.gov (United States)

Briner, Matthias; Manser, Tanja; Kessler, Oliver

2013-04-01

The study aims to identify key enablers fostering clinical risk management (CRM) in hospitals to guide health care in this vital area of patient safety. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the national level in 324 Swiss hospitals in 2007-2008 to assess the relationship between key elements and systematic CRM. Therefore, a comprehensive monitoring instrument for CRM was used for the first time. Organizational factors (e.g. strategy, coordination, resources) and structural conditions (e.g. hospital size) were tested as key elements. CRM was assessed by evaluating its maturity (i.e. the level of CRM development) by 12 theoretically derived indices joining together essential aspects of CRM at the hospital level and the service level. Chi-square measures were used to analyse the relationships between organizational factors or structural conditions and maturity of CRM. Participation in this voluntary survey was good, with CRM experts of 138 out of 324 hospitals responding (response rate 43%). Three key enablers for CRM were identified: implementing a function for central CRM coordination, assuring dialogue with and between the different hospital services, and developing strategic CRM objectives. This study offers, for the first time, an assessment of the maturity of hospitals' CRM and identifies key enablers related to CRM. This is a feasible first step in guiding hospitals to shape their CRM and presents a basis for future studies, for example, linking CRM to outcome data. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Modelling Creativity: Identifying Key Components through a Corpus-Based Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordanous, Anna; Keller, Bill

2016-01-01

Creativity is a complex, multi-faceted concept encompassing a variety of related aspects, abilities, properties and behaviours. If we wish to study creativity scientifically, then a tractable and well-articulated model of creativity is required. Such a model would be of great value to researchers investigating the nature of creativity and in particular, those concerned with the evaluation of creative practice. This paper describes a unique approach to developing a suitable model of how creative behaviour emerges that is based on the words people use to describe the concept. Using techniques from the field of statistical natural language processing, we identify a collection of fourteen key components of creativity through an analysis of a corpus of academic papers on the topic. Words are identified which appear significantly often in connection with discussions of the concept. Using a measure of lexical similarity to help cluster these words, a number of distinct themes emerge, which collectively contribute to a comprehensive and multi-perspective model of creativity. The components provide an ontology of creativity: a set of building blocks which can be used to model creative practice in a variety of domains. The components have been employed in two case studies to evaluate the creativity of computational systems and have proven useful in articulating achievements of this work and directions for further research.

KEY ELEMENTS OF CHARACTERIZING SAVANNAH RIVER SITE HIGH LEVEL WASTE SLUDGE INSOLUBLES THROUGH SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reboul, S; Barbara Hamm, B

2007-01-01

Characterization of HLW is a prerequisite for effective planning of HLW disposition and site closure performance assessment activities. Adequate characterization typically requires application of a combination of data sources, including process knowledge, theoretical relationships, and real-waste analytical data. Consistently obtaining high quality real-waste analytical data is a challenge, particularly for HLW sludge insolubles, due to the inherent complexities associated with matrix heterogeneities, sampling access limitations, radiological constraints, analyte loss mechanisms, and analyte measurement interferences. Understanding how each of these complexities affects the analytical results is the first step to developing a sampling and analysis program that provides characterization data that are both meaningful and adequate. A summary of the key elements impacting SRS HLW sludge analytical data uncertainties is presented in this paper, along with guidelines for managing each of the impacts. The particular elements addressed include: (a) sample representativeness; (b) solid/liquid phase quantification effectiveness; (c) solids dissolution effectiveness; (d) analyte cross contamination, loss, and tracking; (e) dilution requirements; (f) interference removal; (g) analyte measurement technique; and (h) analytical detection limit constraints. A primary goal of understanding these elements is to provide a basis for quantifying total propagated data uncertainty

Key elements of successful care process of patients with heart symptoms in an emergency care - could an ERP system help?

Science.gov (United States)

Kontio, Elina; Korvenranta, Heikki; Lundgren-Laine, Heljä; Salanterä, Sanna

2009-01-01

The aim of the study was to identify key elements of successful care process of patients with heart symptoms from the nursing management viewpoint in an emergency care. Through these descriptions, we aimed at identifying possibilities for using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to support decision making in emergency care. Hospitals are increasingly moving to process-based workings and at the same time new information system in healthcare are developed and therefore it is essential to understand the strengths and weaknesses of current processes better. A qualitative descriptive design using critical incident technique was employed. Critical Incidents were collected with an open-ended questionnaire. The sample (n=50), 13 head nurses and 37 registered nurses, was purposeful selected from three acute hospitals in southern Finland. The process of patients with heart symptoms in emergency care was described. We identified three competence categories where special focus should be placed to achieve successful process of patients with heart symptoms: process-oriented competencies, personal/management competencies and logistics oriented competencies. Improvement of decision making requires that the care processes are defined and modeled. The research showed that there are several happenings in emergency care where an ERP system could help and support decision making. These happenings can be categorized in two groups: 1) administrative related happenings and 2) patient processes related happenings.

The REgolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) for OSIRIS-REx: identifying regional elemental enrichment on asteroids

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Branden; Grindlay, Jonathan; Hong, Jaesub; Binzel, Richard P.; Masterson, Rebecca; Inamdar, Niraj K.; Chodas, Mark; Smith, Matthew W.; Bautz, Marshall W.; Kissel, Steven E.; Villasenor, Joel; Oprescu, Miruna; Induni, Nicholas

2013-09-01

The OSIRIS-REx Mission was selected under the NASA New Frontiers program and is scheduled for launch in September of 2016 for a rendezvous with, and collection of a sample from the surface of asteroid Bennu in 2019. 101955 Bennu (previously 1999 RQ36) is an Apollo (near-Earth) asteroid originally discovered by the LINEAR project in 1999 which has since been classified as a potentially hazardous near-Earth object. The REgolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) was proposed jointly by MIT and Harvard and was subsequently accepted as a student led instrument for the determination of the elemental composition of the asteroid's surface as well as the surface distribution of select elements through solar induced X-ray fluorescence. REXIS consists of a detector plane that contains 4 X-ray CCDs integrated into a wide field coded aperture telescope with a focal length of 20 em for the detection of regions with enhanced abundance in key elements at 50 m scales. Elemental surface distributions of approximately 50-200 m scales can be detected using the instrument as a simple collimator. An overview of the observation strategy of the REXIS instrument and expected performance are presented here.

Electron beam test of key elements of the laser-based calibration system for the muon g - 2 experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anastasi, A., E-mail: antonioanastasi89@gmail.com [Laboratori Nazionali Frascati dell' INFN, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Dipartimento MIFT, Università di Messina, Messina (Italy); Basti, A.; Bedeschi, F.; Bartolini, M. [INFN, Sezione di Pisa (Italy); Cantatore, G. [INFN, Sezione di Trieste e G.C. di Udine (Italy); Università di Trieste, Trieste (Italy); Cauz, D. [INFN, Sezione di Trieste e G.C. di Udine (Italy); Università di Udine, Udine (Italy); Corradi, G. [Laboratori Nazionali Frascati dell' INFN, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Dabagov, S. [Laboratori Nazionali Frascati dell' INFN, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Lebedev Physical Institute and NRNU MEPhI, Moscow (Russian Federation); Di Sciascio, G. [INFN, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma (Italy); Di Stefano, R. [INFN, Sezione di Napoli (Italy); Università di Cassino, Cassino (Italy); Driutti, A. [INFN, Sezione di Trieste e G.C. di Udine (Italy); Università di Udine, Udine (Italy); Escalante, O. [Università di Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Ferrari, C. [Laboratori Nazionali Frascati dell' INFN, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Ottica del C.N.R., UOS Pisa, via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa (Italy); Fienberg, A.T. [University of Washington, Box 351560, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Fioretti, A.; Gabbanini, C. [Laboratori Nazionali Frascati dell' INFN, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Ottica del C.N.R., UOS Pisa, via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa (Italy); Gioiosa, A. [INFN, Sezione di Lecce (Italy); Università del Molise, Pesche (Italy); Hampai, D. [Laboratori Nazionali Frascati dell' INFN, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Hertzog, D.W. [University of Washington, Box 351560, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); and others

2017-01-11

We report the test of many of the key elements of the laser-based calibration system for muon g - 2 experiment E989 at Fermilab. The test was performed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati's Beam Test Facility using a 450 MeV electron beam impinging on a small subset of the final g - 2 lead-fluoride crystal calorimeter system. The calibration system was configured as planned for the E989 experiment and uses the same type of laser and most of the final optical elements. We show results regarding the calorimeter's response calibration, the maximum equivalent electron energy which can be provided by the laser and the stability of the calibration system components.

Electron beam test of key elements of the laser-based calibration system for the muon g - 2 experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anastasi, A.; Basti, A.; Bedeschi, F.; Bartolini, M.; Cantatore, G.; Cauz, D.; Corradi, G.; Dabagov, S.; Di Sciascio, G.; Di Stefano, R.; Driutti, A.; Escalante, O.; Ferrari, C.; Fienberg, A. T.; Fioretti, A.; Gabbanini, C.; Gioiosa, A.; Hampai, D.; Hertzog, D. W.; Iacovacci, M.; Karuza, M.; Kaspar, J.; Liedl, A.; Lusiani, A.; Marignetti, F.; Mastroianni, S.; Moricciani, D.; Pauletta, G.; Piacentino, G. M.; Raha, N.; Rossi, E.; Santi, L.; Venanzoni, G.

2017-01-01

We report the test of many of the key elements of the laser-based calibration system for muon g - 2 experiment E989 at Fermilab. The test was performed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati's Beam Test Facility using a 450 MeV electron beam impinging on a small subset of the final g - 2 lead-fluoride crystal calorimeter system. The calibration system was configured as planned for the E989 experiment and uses the same type of laser and most of the final optical elements. We show results regarding the calorimeter's response calibration, the maximum equivalent electron energy which can be provided by the laser and the stability of the calibration system components.

Identifying key areas for active interprofessional learning partnerships: A facilitated dialogue.

Science.gov (United States)

Steven, Kathryn; Angus, Allyson; Breckenridge, Jenna; Davey, Peter; Tully, Vicki; Muir, Fiona

2016-11-01

Student and service user involvement is recognised as an important factor in creating interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities. We used a team-based learning approach to bring together undergraduate health professional students, early career professionals (ECPs), public partners, volunteers, and carers to explore learning partnerships. Influenced by evaluative inquiry, this qualitative study used a free text response to allow participants to give their own opinion. A total of 153 participants (50 public partners and 103 students and professionals representing 11 healthcare professions) took part. Participants were divided into mixed groups of six (n = 25) and asked to identify areas where students, professionals, and public could work together to improve health professional education. Each group documented their discussions by summarising agreed areas and next steps. Responses were collected and transcribed for inductive content analysis. Seven key themes (areas for joint working) were identified: communication, public as partners, standards of conduct, IPE, quality improvement, education, and learning environments. The team-based learning format enabled undergraduate and postgraduate health professionals to achieve consensus with public partners on areas for IPE and collaboration. Some of our results may be context-specific but the approach is generalisable to other areas.

A structured elicitation method to identify key direct risk factors for the management of natural resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Smith

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The high level of uncertainty inherent in natural resource management requires planners to apply comprehensive risk analyses, often in situations where there are few resources. In this paper, we demonstrate a broadly applicable, novel and structured elicitation approach to identify important direct risk factors. This new approach combines expert calibration and fuzzy based mathematics to capture and aggregate subjective expert estimates of the likelihood that a set of direct risk factors will cause management failure. A specific case study is used to demonstrate the approach; however, the described methods are widely applicable in risk analysis. For the case study, the management target was to retain all species that characterise a set of natural biological elements. The analysis was bounded by the spatial distribution of the biological elements under consideration and a 20-year time frame. Fourteen biological elements were expected to be at risk. Eleven important direct risk factors were identified that related to surrounding land use practices, climate change, problem species (e.g., feral predators, fire and hydrological change. In terms of their overall influence, the two most important risk factors were salinisation and a lack of water which together pose a considerable threat to the survival of nine biological elements. The described approach successfully overcame two concerns arising from previous risk analysis work: (1 the lack of an intuitive, yet comprehensive scoring method enabling the detection and clarification of expert agreement and associated levels of uncertainty; and (2 the ease with which results can be interpreted and communicated while preserving a rich level of detail essential for informed decision making.

Model for selecting quality standards for a salad bar through identifying elements of customer satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouellet, D; Norback, J P

1993-11-01

Continuous quality improvement is the new requirement of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. This means that meeting quality standards will not be enough. Dietitians will need to improve those standards and the way they are selected. Because quality is defined in terms of the customers, all quality improvement projects must start by defining what customers want. Using a salad bar as an example, this article presents and illustrates a technique developed in Japan to identify which elements in a product or service will satisfy or dissatisfy consumers. Using a model and a questionnaire format developed by Kano and coworkers, 273 students were surveyed to classify six quality elements of a salad bar. Four elements showed a dominant "must-be" characteristic: food freshness, labeling of the dressings, no spills in the food, and no spills on the salad bar. The two other elements (food easy to reach and food variety) showed a dominant one-dimensional characteristic. By better understanding consumer perceptions of quality elements, foodservice managers can select quality standards that focus on what really matters to their consumers.

Expectations as a key element in trusting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Mette Apollo; Hansen, Uffe Kjærgaard; Conradsen, Maria Bosse

Considering the need for a tangible focus for qualitative research on trusting, we propose that expectations to the behavior of others can provide that. By focusing on expectations, researchers can produce narrative descriptions that explains how trusting develops and changes. Then the key theore...

The NASA research and technology program on space power: A key element of the Space Exploration Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Gary L.; Brandhorst, Henry W., Jr.; Atkins, Kenneth L.

1991-01-01

In July 1989, President Bush announced his space exploration initiative of going back to the Moon to stay and then going to Mars. Building upon its ongoing research and technology base, NASA has established an exploration technology program to develop the technologies needed for piloted missions to the Moon and Mars. A key element for the flights and for the planned bases is power. The NASA research and technology program on space power encompasses power sources, energy storage, and power management.

SARS: Key factors in crisis management.

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Hsin-Chao; Chen, Thai-Form; Chou, Shieu-Ming

2005-03-01

This study was conducted at a single hospital selected in Taipei during the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak from March to July, 2003 in Taiwan. During this period of time, 104 SARS patients were admitted to the hospital. There were no negative reports related to the selected hospital despite its being located right in the center of an area struck by the epidemic. The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors enabling the hospital to survive SARS unscathed. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with the nursing directors and nursing managers of the SARS units, along with a review of relevant hospital documents. The five key elements identified as survival factors during this SARS crisis are as follows: 1. good control of timing for crisis management, 2. careful decision-making, 3. thorough implementation, 4. effective communication, and 5. trust between management and employees. The results of this study reconfirmed the selected hospital as a model for good crisis management during the SARS epidemic.

Performance Issues Along the Six Elements of Holcim Solusi Rumah's Marketing Mix and Solution Recommedations

OpenAIRE

Susana, Apriliani Dewi; Titus, Amol

2013-01-01

This study aims at identifying key issues in SR franchise business along the six elements of marketing mix: people, partner, place, product, promotion, and price, and then propose solution recommendations for the identified issues. Data is collected through a method of in-depth interviews with key SR stakeholders, internally and externally, namely end customers, SR personnels, and SR franchisees. Issues identified are mapped into a Problem Tree Analysis diagram to determine causal relations...

Identification of a key structural element for protein folding within beta-hairpin turns.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jaewon; Brych, Stephen R; Lee, Jihun; Logan, Timothy M; Blaber, Michael

2003-05-09

Specific residues in a polypeptide may be key contributors to the stability and foldability of the unique native structure. Identification and prediction of such residues is, therefore, an important area of investigation in solving the protein folding problem. Atypical main-chain conformations can help identify strains within a folded protein, and by inference, positions where unique amino acids may have a naturally high frequency of occurrence due to favorable contributions to stability and folding. Non-Gly residues located near the left-handed alpha-helical region (L-alpha) of the Ramachandran plot are a potential indicator of structural strain. Although many investigators have studied mutations at such positions, no consistent energetic or kinetic contributions to stability or folding have been elucidated. Here we report a study of the effects of Gly, Ala and Asn substitutions found within the L-alpha region at a characteristic position in defined beta-hairpin turns within human acidic fibroblast growth factor, and demonstrate consistent effects upon stability and folding kinetics. The thermodynamic and kinetic data are compared to available data for similar mutations in other proteins, with excellent agreement. The results have identified that Gly at the i+3 position within a subset of beta-hairpin turns is a key contributor towards increasing the rate of folding to the native state of the polypeptide while leaving the rate of unfolding largely unchanged.

Regulatory elements of the floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS identified by phylogenetic footprinting and shadowing.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, R. L., Hamaguchi, L., Busch, M. A., and Weigel, D.

2003-06-01

OAK-B135 In Arabidopsis thaliana, cis-regulatory sequences of the floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS (AG) are located in the second intron. This 3 kb intron contains binding sites for two direct activators of AG, LEAFY (LFY) and WUSCHEL (WUS), along with other putative regulatory elements. We have used phylogenetic footprinting and the related technique of phylogenetic shadowing to identify putative cis-regulatory elements in this intron. Among 29 Brassicaceae, several other motifs, but not the LFY and WUS binding sites previously identified, are largely invariant. Using reporter gene analyses, we tested six of these motifs and found that they are all functionally important for activity of AG regulatory sequences in A. thaliana. Although there is little obvious sequence similarity outside the Brassicaceae, the intron from cucumber AG has at least partial activity in A. thaliana. Our studies underscore the value of the comparative approach as a tool that complements gene-by-gene promoter dissection, but also highlight that sequence-based studies alone are insufficient for a complete identification of cis-regulatory sites.

Trace Elements in the Sea Surface Microlayer: Results from a Two Year Study in the Florida Keys

Science.gov (United States)

Ebling, A. M.; Westrich, J. R.; Lipp, E. K.; Mellett, T.; Buck, K. N.; Landing, W. M.

2016-02-01

Natural and anthropogenic aerosols are a significant source of trace elements to oligotrophic ocean surface waters, where they provide episodic pulses of limiting micronutrients for the microbial community. Opportunistic bacteria have been shown to experience rapid growth during deposition events. However, little is known about the fate of trace elements at the air-sea interface, i.e. the sea surface microlayer. It has been hypothesized that dust particles would be retained in the sea surface microlayer long enough to undergo chemical and physical changes that would affect the bioavailability of trace elements. In this study, aerosols, sea surface microlayer, and underlying water column samples were collected in the Florida Keys in July 2014 and May 2015 at various locations and analyzed for a suite of dissolved and particulate trace elements. Sea surface microlayer samples ( 50 μm) were collected using a cylinder of ultra-pure quartz glass; a novel adaptation of the glass plate technique. Sampling sites ranged from a more pristine environment approximately ten kilometers offshore to a more anthropogenic environment within a shallow bay a few hundred meters offshore. While it was clear from the results that dust deposition events played a large role in the chemical composition of the sea surface microlayer (elevated concentrations in dissolved and particulate trace elements associated with dust deposition), the location where the samples were collected also had a large impact on the sea surface microlayer as well as the underlying water column. The results were compared with other parameters analyzed such as Vibrio cultures as well as iron speciation, providing an important step towards our goal of understanding of the fate of trace elements in the sea surface microlayer as well as the specific effects of aeolian dust deposition on heterotrophic microbes in the upper ocean.

Element-topology-independent preconditioners for parallel finite element computations

Science.gov (United States)

Park, K. C.; Alexander, Scott

1992-01-01

A family of preconditioners for the solution of finite element equations are presented, which are element-topology independent and thus can be applicable to element order-free parallel computations. A key feature of the present preconditioners is the repeated use of element connectivity matrices and their left and right inverses. The properties and performance of the present preconditioners are demonstrated via beam and two-dimensional finite element matrices for implicit time integration computations.

First attempt to chemically identify element 112

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Yakushev, AB.; Buklanov, GV.; Chelnokov, ML.; Chepigin, VI.; Dmitriev, S. N.; Gorshkov, VA.; Hubener, S.; Malyshev, ON.; Oganessian, YT.; Popeko, AG.; Sokol, EA.; Timokhin, SN.; Turler, A.; Vasko, VM.; Yeremin, AV.; Zvára, Ivo

2001-01-01

Roč. 89, 11/12 (2001), s. 743-745 ISSN 0033-8230 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1048901 Keywords : superheavy elements * actionoid * transactinoids Subject RIV: CH - Nuclear ; Quantum Chemistry Impact factor: 0.660, year: 2001

Identifying the key personnel in a nurse-initiated hospital waste reduction program.

Science.gov (United States)

McDermott-Levy, Ruth; Fazzini, Carol

2010-01-01

Hospitals in the United States generate more than 6600 tons of trash a day and approximately 85% of the waste is nonhazardous solid waste such as food, cardboard, and plastic. Treatment and management of hospital waste can lead to environmental problems for the communities that receive the waste. One health system's shared governance model provided the foundation to develop a nurse-led hospital waste reduction program that focused on point-of-care waste management. Waste reduction program development required working with a variety of departments within and external to the health system. The interdisciplinary approach informed the development of the waste reduction program. This article identifies the key departments that were necessary to include when developing a hospital waste reduction program.

GuiaTreeKey, a multi-access electronic key to identify tree genera in French Guiana.

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, Julien; Brousseau, Louise; Baraloto, Christopher

2016-01-01

The tropical rainforest of Amazonia is one of the most species-rich ecosystems on earth, with an estimated 16000 tree species. Due to this high diversity, botanical identification of trees in the Amazon is difficult, even to genus, often requiring the assistance of parataxonomists or taxonomic specialists. Advances in informatics tools offer a promising opportunity to develop user-friendly electronic keys to improve Amazonian tree identification. Here, we introduce an original multi-access electronic key for the identification of 389 tree genera occurring in French Guiana terra-firme forests, based on a set of 79 morphological characters related to vegetative, floral and fruit characters. Its purpose is to help Amazonian tree identification and to support the dissemination of botanical knowledge to non-specialists, including forest workers, students and researchers from other scientific disciplines. The electronic key is accessible with the free access software Xper ², and the database is publicly available on figshare: https://figshare.com/s/75d890b7d707e0ffc9bf (doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.2682550).

Where is the competitive advantage going?: a management model that incorporates people as a key element of the business strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilio García Vega

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Competitive advantage is a concept that has evolved in an accelerated way during the last few years. Some scholars and executives claim that people are a fundamental element of its construction. In this line, business management has shown an inclination towards the human resources management – also called “talents” – as the key element of its organizational success. In this journey, the ideas, paradigms and conceptions have been modified in an interesting way. This paper tries to propose these new conceptions facing the organization management challenge, and proposes a management model based on the importance of the people in the competitive advantage administration.

A Sensitivity Analysis Approach to Identify Key Environmental Performance Factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Yu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Life cycle assessment (LCA is widely used in design phase to reduce the product’s environmental impacts through the whole product life cycle (PLC during the last two decades. The traditional LCA is restricted to assessing the environmental impacts of a product and the results cannot reflect the effects of changes within the life cycle. In order to improve the quality of ecodesign, it is a growing need to develop an approach which can reflect the changes between the design parameters and product’s environmental impacts. A sensitivity analysis approach based on LCA and ecodesign is proposed in this paper. The key environmental performance factors which have significant influence on the products’ environmental impacts can be identified by analyzing the relationship between environmental impacts and the design parameters. Users without much environmental knowledge can use this approach to determine which design parameter should be first considered when (redesigning a product. A printed circuit board (PCB case study is conducted; eight design parameters are chosen to be analyzed by our approach. The result shows that the carbon dioxide emission during the PCB manufacture is highly sensitive to the area of PCB panel.

Concentration of key elements in North American meat and bone meal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, Rafael A.; Rosentrater, Kurt A.

2008-01-01

Meat and bone meal (MBM) and related rendered protein commodities have potential for use in applications other than animal feed, including use as a fuel or a phosphorus fertilizer. In order to develop these applications, data on the elemental composition are required; the currently available elemental composition data have important limitations. To generate more appropriate and reliable data, MBM samples were collected from 17 North American rendering plants, carefully prepared and analyzed for 20 elements. Preliminary studies showed that the sample preparation process artificially increased levels of sulfur and nickel in a manner that was correctable. Concentrations of many elements were found to agree with previously published values, but concentrations of potassium, magnesium and copper were significantly different from the most authoritative reference. Concentrations of heavy metals tested for were low, and arsenic and cadmium were not detected in any sample. Among the elements tested, there were a number of pairs of elements whose concentration was correlated with high significance, which in some cases was due to the varying proportions of soft tissue and bone in the MBM. The data presented should allow the development of non-feed applications for MBM to proceed with increased confidence

Identifying sources of groundwater pollution using trace element signatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olmez, I.; Hayes, M.J.

1990-01-01

A simple receptor modeling approach has been applied to groundwater pollution studies and has shown that marker trace elements can be used effectively in source identification and apportionment. Groundwater and source materials from one coal-fired and five oil-fired power plants, and one coal-tar deposit site have been analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis for more than 20 minor and trace elements. In one of the oil-fired power plants, trace element patterns indicated a leak from the hazardous waste surface impoundments owing to the failure of a hypolon liner. Also, the extent and spatial distribution of groundwater contamination have been determined in a coal-tar deposit site

Modified Principal Component Analysis for Identifying Key Environmental Indicators and Application to a Large-Scale Tidal Flat Reclamation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kejian Chu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Identification of the key environmental indicators (KEIs from a large number of environmental variables is important for environmental management in tidal flat reclamation areas. In this study, a modified principal component analysis approach (MPCA has been developed for determining the KEIs. The MPCA accounts for the two important attributes of the environmental variables: pollution status and temporal variation, in addition to the commonly considered numerical divergence attribute. It also incorporates the distance correlation (dCor to replace the Pearson’s correlation to measure the nonlinear interrelationship between the variables. The proposed method was applied to the Tiaozini sand shoal, a large-scale tidal flat reclamation region in China. Five KEIs were identified as dissolved inorganic nitrogen, Cd, petroleum in the water column, Hg, and total organic carbon in the sediment. The identified KEIs were shown to respond well to the biodiversity of phytoplankton. This demonstrated that the identified KEIs adequately represent the environmental condition in the coastal marine system. Therefore, the MPCA is a practicable method for extracting effective indicators that have key roles in the coastal and marine environment.

Computational modeling identifies key gene regulatory interactions underlying phenobarbital-mediated tumor promotion

Science.gov (United States)

Luisier, Raphaëlle; Unterberger, Elif B.; Goodman, Jay I.; Schwarz, Michael; Moggs, Jonathan; Terranova, Rémi; van Nimwegen, Erik

2014-01-01

Gene regulatory interactions underlying the early stages of non-genotoxic carcinogenesis are poorly understood. Here, we have identified key candidate regulators of phenobarbital (PB)-mediated mouse liver tumorigenesis, a well-characterized model of non-genotoxic carcinogenesis, by applying a new computational modeling approach to a comprehensive collection of in vivo gene expression studies. We have combined our previously developed motif activity response analysis (MARA), which models gene expression patterns in terms of computationally predicted transcription factor binding sites with singular value decomposition (SVD) of the inferred motif activities, to disentangle the roles that different transcriptional regulators play in specific biological pathways of tumor promotion. Furthermore, transgenic mouse models enabled us to identify which of these regulatory activities was downstream of constitutive androstane receptor and β-catenin signaling, both crucial components of PB-mediated liver tumorigenesis. We propose novel roles for E2F and ZFP161 in PB-mediated hepatocyte proliferation and suggest that PB-mediated suppression of ESR1 activity contributes to the development of a tumor-prone environment. Our study shows that combining MARA with SVD allows for automated identification of independent transcription regulatory programs within a complex in vivo tissue environment and provides novel mechanistic insights into PB-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis. PMID:24464994

Protocol for a thematic synthesis to identify key themes and messages from a palliative care research network.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Nicholson, Emma

2016-10-21

Research networks that facilitate collaborative research are increasing both regionally and globally and such collaborations contribute greatly to knowledge transfer particularly in health research. The Palliative Care Research Network is an Irish-based network that seeks to create opportunities and engender a collaborative environment to encourage innovative research that is relevant for policy and practice. The current review outlines a methodology to identify cross-cutting messages to identify how dissemination outputs can be optimized to ensure that key messages from this research reaches all knowledge users.

Risk and Performance Technologies: Identifying the Keys to Successful Implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClain, Lynn; Smith, Art; O'Regan, Patrick

2002-01-01

The nuclear power industry has been utilizing risk and performance based technologies for over thirty years. Applications of these technologies have included risk assessment (e.g. Individual Plant Examinations), burden reduction (e.g. Risk-Informed Inservice Inspection, RI-ISI) and risk management (Maintenance Rule, 10CFR50.65). Over the last five to ten years the number of risk-informed (RI) burden reduction initiatives has increased. Unfortunately, the efficiencies of some of these applications have been questionable. This paper investigates those attributes necessary to support successful, cost-effective RI-applications. The premise to this paper is that by understanding the key attributes that support one successful application, insights can be gleaned that will streamline/coordinate future RI-applications. This paper is an extension to a paper presented at the Pressure Vessel and Piping (PVP-2001) Conference. In that paper, a number issues and opportunities were identified that needed to be assessed in order to support future (and efficient) RI-applications. It was noted in the paper that a proper understanding and resolution of these issues will facilitate implementation of risk and performance technology in the operation, maintenance and design disciplines. In addition, it will provide the foundation necessary to support regulatory review and approval. (authors)

IDENTIFYING FRACTURE ORIGIN IN CERAMICS BY COMBINATION OF NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING AND DISCRETE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senapati, Rajeev; Zhang Jianmei

2010-01-01

Advanced ceramic materials have been extensively applied in aerospace, automobile and other industries. However, the reliability of the advanced ceramics is a major concern because of the brittle nature of the materials. In this paper, combination of nondestructive testing and numerical modeling Discrete Element Method is proposed to identify the fracture origin in ceramics. The nondestructive testing--laser scattering technology is first performed on the ceramic components to reveal the machining-induced damage such as cracks and the material-inherent flaws such as voids, then followed by the four point bending test. Discrete Element software package PFC 2D is used to simulate the four point bending test and try to identify where the fractures start. The numerical representation of the ceramic materials is done by generating a densely packed particle system using the specimen genesis procedure and then applying the suitable microparameters to the particle system. Simulation of four point bending test is performed on materials having no defects, materials having manufacturing-induced defects like cracks, and materials having material-inherent flaws like voids. The initiation and propagation of defects is modeled and the mean contact force on the loading ball is also plotted. The simulation prediction results are well in accordance with the nondestructive testing results.

A genetic screen identifies BRCA2 and PALB2 as key regulators of G2 checkpoint maintenance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Menzel, Tobias; Nähse-Kumpf, Viola; Kousholt, Arne Nedergaard

2011-01-01

To identify key connections between DNA-damage repair and checkpoint pathways, we performed RNA interference screens for regulators of the ionizing radiation-induced G2 checkpoint, and we identified the breast cancer gene BRCA2. The checkpoint was also abrogated following depletion of PALB2......, an interaction partner of BRCA2. BRCA2 and PALB2 depletion led to premature checkpoint abrogation and earlier activation of the AURORA A-PLK1 checkpoint-recovery pathway. These results indicate that the breast cancer tumour suppressors and homologous recombination repair proteins BRCA2 and PALB2 are main...

Postsecondary Students With Psychiatric Disabilities Identify Core Services and Key Ingredients to Supporting Education Goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Biebel, Kathleen; Mizrahi, Raphael; Ringeisen, Heather

2017-10-26

Accessing and successfully completing postsecondary educational opportunities may be challenging for those living with psychiatric disabilities. This exploratory study highlights the experiences of individuals with psychiatric disabilities participating in postsecondary educational support initiatives. Investigators conducted case studies with 3 education support initiatives across the United States. Focus groups revealed what concrete supported education services were helpful and key ingredients in delivering education supports. Access to specialists, mindfulness techniques, help with time management and procrastination, and facilitating classroom accommodations were identified as critical. Developing authentic relationships with supported education staff, flexibility in service delivery and access to student peers living with psychiatric disabilities were noted as key ingredients in service delivery. Incorporating the voice of students with psychiatric disabilities into supported education services can increase access, involvement, and retention, therein providing more supports to students with psychiatric disabilities achieving their postsecondary education goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Key numbers: Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The key numbers of energy give statistical data related to production, consumption, and to foreign trade of each energy in the World and in France. A chapter is dedicated to environment and brings quantitative elements on pollutant emissions connected to energy uses

Identifying Multiple Populations in M71 using CN

Science.gov (United States)

Gerber, Jeffrey M.; Friel, Eileen D.; Vesperini, Enrico

2018-01-01

It is now well established that globular clusters (GCs) host multiple stellar populations characterized by differences in several light elements. While these populations have been found in nearly all GCs, we still lack an entirely successful model to explain their formation. A key constraint to these models is the detailed pattern of light element abundances seen among the populations; different techniques for identifying these populations probe different elements and do not always yield the same results. We study a large sample of stars in the GC M71 for light elements C and N, using the CN and CH band strength to identify multiple populations. Our measurements come from low-resolution spectroscopy obtained with the WIYN-3.5m telescope for ~150 stars from the tip of the red-giant branch down to the main-sequence turn-off. The large number of stars and broad spatial coverage of our sample (out to ~3.5 half-light radii) allows us to carry out a comprehensive characterization of the multiple populations in M71. We use a combination of the various spectroscopic and photometric indicators to draw a more complete picture of the properties of the populations and to investigate the consistency of classifications using different techniques.

Identifying the key concerns of Irish persons with intellectual disability.

Science.gov (United States)

García Iriarte, Edurne; O'Brien, Patricia; McConkey, Roy; Wolfe, Marie; O'Doherty, Siobhain

2014-11-01

Internationally, people with intellectual disability are socially marginalized, and their rights under the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are often ignored. This paper aims to define the key concerns of adults with an intellectual disability in relation to their participation in society using an inclusive research strategy for both data gathering and data analysis. A national study involving 23 focus groups and 168 persons was conducted on the island of Ireland with people with intellectual disability as co-facilitators. A thematic content analysis was undertaken of the verbatim transcripts initially by university co-researchers, and 19 themes were identified. Co-researchers with intellectual disability joined in identifying the eight core themes. These were as follows: living options, employment, relationships, citizenship, leisure time, money management, self-advocacy, and communication. The concerns are discussed within the framework of the CRPD, and implications for transforming service policy are drawn. Why we did the research In many countries, people with intellectual disability have difficulties doing things other people without disabilities do, for example to study, to get a job or to live independently. They also find that their rights are not respected under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Convention). We did this study to Learn what are the main issues for adults with intellectual disability in Ireland. Do research with people with intellectual disability. How we did the research People with intellectual disability and their supporters worked with university researchers to plan and do the research. We met with people in groups and 168 people told us about things important to them. What we found out We found that there were very important things that people talked about in the groups. We chose the most important: living options, employment, relationships, rights, leisure, money

Identifying key radiogenomic associations between DCE-MRI and micro-RNA expressions for breast cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Samala, Ravi K.; Chan, Heang-Ping; Hadjiiski, Lubomir; Helvie, Mark A.; Kim, Renaid

2017-03-01

Understanding the key radiogenomic associations for breast cancer between DCE-MRI and micro-RNA expressions is the foundation for the discovery of radiomic features as biomarkers for assessing tumor progression and prognosis. We conducted a study to analyze the radiogenomic associations for breast cancer using the TCGA-TCIA data set. The core idea that tumor etiology is a function of the behavior of miRNAs is used to build the regression models. The associations based on regression are analyzed for three study outcomes: diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The diagnosis group consists of miRNAs associated with clinicopathologic features of breast cancer and significant aberration of expression in breast cancer patients. The prognosis group consists of miRNAs which are closely associated with tumor suppression and regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. The treatment group consists of miRNAs that contribute significantly to the regulation of metastasis thereby having the potential to be part of therapeutic mechanisms. As a first step, important miRNA expressions were identified and their ability to classify the clinical phenotypes based on the study outcomes was evaluated using the area under the ROC curve (AUC) as a figure-of-merit. The key mapping between the selected miRNAs and radiomic features were determined using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis within a two-loop leave-one-out cross-validation strategy. These key associations indicated a number of radiomic features from DCE-MRI to be potential biomarkers for the three study outcomes.

Two-Dimensional Key Table-Based Group Key Distribution in Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woong Go

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A smart grid provides two-way communication by using the information and communication technology. In order to establish two-way communication, the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI is used in the smart grid as the core infrastructure. This infrastructure consists of smart meters, data collection units, maintenance data management systems, and so on. However, potential security problems of the AMI increase owing to the application of the public network. This is because the transmitted information is electricity consumption data for charging. Thus, in order to establish a secure connection to transmit electricity consumption data, encryption is necessary, for which key distribution is required. Further, a group key is more efficient than a pairwise key in the hierarchical structure of the AMI. Therefore, we propose a group key distribution scheme using a two-dimensional key table through the analysis result of the sensor network group key distribution scheme. The proposed scheme has three phases: group key predistribution, selection of group key generation element, and generation of group key.

Identifying factors affecting optimal management of agricultural water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoud Samian

2015-01-01

In addition to quantitative methodology such as descriptive statistics and factor analysis a qualitative methodology was employed for dynamic simulation among variables through Vensim software. In this study, the factor analysis technique was used through the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO and Bartlett tests. From the results, four key elements were identified as factors affecting the optimal management of agricultural water in Hamedan area. These factors were institutional and legal factors, technical and knowledge factors, economic factors and social factors.

Costs of Quality: Exploratory Analysis of Hidden Elements and Prioritization using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sailaja A

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Cost of Quality analysis is emerged as an effective tool for the industrial managers for pinpointing the deficiencies in the system as well as for identifying the improvement areas by highlighting the cost reduction opportunities. However , this analysis will be fully effective only if it is further extended to identify the cost incurred in ensuring quality in all areas of the supply chain including the hidden costs and costs of missed out opportunities. Most of the hidden elements of quality costs are difficult to track and not accounted by the traditional accounting tools. An exploratory analysis is made in this research to identify the hidden elements of quality costs in manufacturing industry. Further, the identified cost elements are classified into various groups for better analysis and, finally, prioritized to identify the vital few among them. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP technique which is one of the most popular Multi Criteria Decision Method (MCDM and Pareto analysis were used in this study for prioritizing the hidden quality cost elements based on their degree of impact on overall cost of quality. By this analysis, the key cost elements which are to be addressed to reduce the overall cost of quality are identified.

Food Safety Is a Key Determinant of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Urban Beninese Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Nago, Eunice S.; Verstraeten, Roosmarijn; Lachat, Carl K.; Dossa, Romain A.; Kolsteren, Patrick W.

2012-01-01

Objective: To identify the determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption in urban Beninese adolescents and elements to develop a school-based fruit and vegetable program. Design: Sixteen focus groups conducted with a key word guide. Setting and Participants: Two private and 2 public secondary schools in Cotonou, Benin. One hundred fifty-three…

Spatially conserved regulatory elements identified within human and mouse Cd247 gene using high-throughput sequencing data from the ENCODE project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pundhir, Sachin; Hannibal, Tine Dahlbæk; Bang-Berthelsen, Claus Heiner

2014-01-01

. In this study, we have utilized the wealth of high-throughput sequencing data produced during the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project to identify spatially conserved regulatory elements within the Cd247 gene from human and mouse. We show the presence of two transcription factor binding sites...

Exploring the effects of spatial autocorrelation when identifying key drivers of wildlife crop-raiding.

Science.gov (United States)

Songhurst, Anna; Coulson, Tim

2014-03-01

Few universal trends in spatial patterns of wildlife crop-raiding have been found. Variations in wildlife ecology and movements, and human spatial use have been identified as causes of this apparent unpredictability. However, varying spatial patterns of spatial autocorrelation (SA) in human-wildlife conflict (HWC) data could also contribute. We explicitly explore the effects of SA on wildlife crop-raiding data in order to facilitate the design of future HWC studies. We conducted a comparative survey of raided and nonraided fields to determine key drivers of crop-raiding. Data were subsampled at different spatial scales to select independent raiding data points. The model derived from all data was fitted to subsample data sets. Model parameters from these models were compared to determine the effect of SA. Most methods used to account for SA in data attempt to correct for the change in P-values; yet, by subsampling data at broader spatial scales, we identified changes in regression estimates. We consequently advocate reporting both model parameters across a range of spatial scales to help biological interpretation. Patterns of SA vary spatially in our crop-raiding data. Spatial distribution of fields should therefore be considered when choosing the spatial scale for analyses of HWC studies. Robust key drivers of elephant crop-raiding included raiding history of a field and distance of field to a main elephant pathway. Understanding spatial patterns and determining reliable socio-ecological drivers of wildlife crop-raiding is paramount for designing mitigation and land-use planning strategies to reduce HWC. Spatial patterns of HWC are complex, determined by multiple factors acting at more than one scale; therefore, studies need to be designed with an understanding of the effects of SA. Our methods are accessible to a variety of practitioners to assess the effects of SA, thereby improving the reliability of conservation management actions.

The key elements for genetic response in Finnish dairy cattle breeding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarmo Juga

1998-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews some key elements of Finnish animal breeding research contributing to the Finnish dairy cattle breeding programme and discusses the possibilities and problems in collecting data for genetic evaluation, prediction of breeding values both within and across countries, estimation of the economic value of important traits, and selection of bulls and cows. Economic values are calculated for fertility, udder health and production traits when one genetic standard deviation unit (gen. sd. is changed in each trait independently and the financial returns from selection response in the Finnish dairy cattle breeding programme are estimated. The following components were used to calculate the economic value of mastitis treatments: 1 cost of mastitis including discarded milk and treatment costs, 2 reduction in milk price due to higher somatic cell count, 3 replacement costs and 4 lower production level of the herd due to involuntary culling of cows because of udder problems. A high somatic cell count lowers the price of milk and eventually leads to involuntary culling. For treatments for fertility disorders the following costs were included: 1 treatment costs 2 higher replacement costs and 3 decreased milk production in the herd. Days open included the following costs: 1 extra insemination, 2 reduced annual milk yield and 3 fewer calves born. Animal breeding was found to be a very cost effective investment, yielding returns of FIM 876.9 per cow from one round of selection when the gene flow was followed for over 25 years in the Finnish dairy cattle breeding programme.

Nanoscopic X-ray fluorescence imaging and quantification of intracellular key-elements in cryofrozen Friedreich's ataxia fibroblasts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Björn De Samber

Full Text Available Synchrotron radiation based nanoscopic X-ray fluorescence (SR nano-XRF analysis can visualize trace level elemental distribution in a fully quantitative manner within single cells. However, in-air XRF analysis requires chemical fixation modifying the cell's chemical composition. Here, we describe first nanoscopic XRF analysis upon cryogenically frozen (-150°C fibroblasts at the ID16A-NI 'Nano-imaging' end-station located at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF in Grenoble (France. Fibroblast cells were obtained from skin biopsies from control and Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA patients. FRDA is an autosomal recessive disorder with dysregulation of iron metabolism as a key feature. By means of the X-ray Fundamental Parameter (FP method, including absorption correction of the ice layer deposited onto the fibroblasts, background-corrected mass fraction elemental maps of P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe and Zn of entire cryofrozen human fibroblasts were obtained. Despite the presence of diffracting microcrystals in the vitreous ice matrix and minor sample radiation damage effects, clusters of iron-rich hot-spots with similar mass fractions were found in the cytoplasm of both control and FRDA fibroblasts. Interestingly, no significant difference in the mean iron concentration was found in the cytoplasm of FRDA fibroblasts, but a significant decrease in zinc concentration. This finding might underscore metal dysregulation, beyond iron, in cells derived from FRDA patients. In conclusion, although currently having slightly increased limits of detection (LODs compared to non-cryogenic mode, SR based nanoscopic XRF under cryogenic sample conditions largely obliterates the debate on chemical sample preservation and provides a unique tool for trace level elemental imaging in single cells close to their native state with a superior spatial resolution of 20 nm.

Human-automation collaboration in manufacturing: identifying key implementation factors

OpenAIRE

Charalambous, George; Fletcher, Sarah; Webb, Philip

2013-01-01

Human-automation collaboration refers to the concept of human operators and intelligent automation working together interactively within the same workspace without conventional physical separation. This concept has commanded significant attention in manufacturing because of the potential applications, such as the installation of large sub-assemblies. However, the key human factors relevant to human-automation collaboration have not yet been fully investigated. To maximise effective implement...

The Use of Key Informant Method for Identifying Children with Blindness and Severe Visual Impairment in Developing Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

du Toit, Rènée; Courtright, Paul; Lewallen, Susan

2017-06-01

An estimated 19 million children are visually impaired; of these, 1.4 million are irreversibly blind. A key challenge is to identify them early in life to benefit maximally from visual rehabilitation, and/or treatment. This aggregative review and structured literature analysis summarizes evidence of what it is about the key informant (KI) approach that works to identify children with blindness or severe visual impairment (B/SVI) in the community (for whom, to what extent, in what circumstances, in what respect, how and why). Peer-reviewed (PubMed, hand search) and grey literature (Google, World Health Organization website, academic theses, direct requests) were included, and methods and criteria used for identification, productivity (number of children referred per KI), accuracy of referrals (positive predictive value, PPV), age of children with B/SVI, KI definition, sex, information about cost and comparisons aggregated. We included 31 documents describing 22 unique KI programs. Mostly KIs identified children with B/SVI in 1-3 weeks, i.e. "campaign mode." In 60%, KIs were community volunteers, others formal health sector workers (FHSW). Around 0.02-1.56 children per KI (median = 0.25) were successfully recruited. PPV ranged from 12 to 66%. In two studies comparing FHSWs and community KIs, the latter were 8 and 10 times more productive. KIs working in campaign mode may provide an effective approach to identifying children with B/SVI in communities. Including identification of ocular problems and/or other impairments has been recommended. Research on factors that influence effectiveness and on whether KIs continue to contribute could inform programs.

Identifying Key Proteins in Hg Methylation Pathways of Desulfovibrio by Global Proteomics, Final Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Summers, Anne O. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Microbiology; Miller, Susan M. [Univ. of California, San Francisco, CA (United States). Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry; Wall, Judy [Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry; Lipton, Mary [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-06-18

Elemental mercury, Hg(0) is a contaminant at many DOE sites, especially at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) where the spread of spilled Hg and its effects on microbial populations have been monitored for decades. To explore the microbial interactions with Hg, we have devised a global proteomic approach capable of directly detecting Hg-adducts of proteins. This technique developed in the facultative anaerobe, Escherichia coli, allows us to identify the proteins most vulnerable to acute exposure to organomercurials phenyl- and ethyl-mercury (as surrogates for the highly neurotoxic methyl-Hg) (Polacco, et al, 2011). We have found >300 such proteins in all metabolic functional groups and cellular compartments; most are highly conserved and can serve as markers for acute Hg exposure (Zink, et al. 2016, in preparation). We have also discovered that acute Hg exposure severely disrupts thiol, iron and redox homeostases, and electrolyte balance (LaVoie, et al., 2015) Thus, we proposed to bring these techniques to bear on the central problem of identifying the cellular proteins involved in bacterial uptake and methylation of mercury and its release from the cell.

Identifying Determinants of Organizational Development as the Key Developers of Employee Soft Skill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahjahan Laghari

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to identify the determinants of organizational development as the key developers of employee soft skills. Various studies have been taken where determinants of organizational development defining soft skills in employees are discussed. However, the current study is different in Pakistani industry context as the link was missing about the determinants of organizational development which in synchronized way help in developing soft skills in employees of firm. This research uses explanatory approach; incorporating secondary data extracted under the light of existing school of thoughts paired with quantification through data collected from respondents in Pakistani corporate sector. Hypotheses are tested using structural equation model (SEM technique. Results This research showed an affirmative link between determinants of organizational development and development of soft skills in employees. Finally, the study proposes enriching insights on few missing links that can be researched and triggered achieving maximized outcomes.

A mouse model of alcoholic liver fibrosis-associated acute kidney injury identifies key molecular pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furuya, Shinji; Chappell, Grace A.; Iwata, Yasuhiro; Uehara, Takeki; Kato, Yuki; Kono, Hiroshi; Bataller, Ramon; Rusyn, Ivan

2016-01-01

Clinical data strongly indicate that acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical complication in alcoholic hepatitis, an acute-on-chronic form of liver failure in patients with advanced alcoholic fibrosis. Development of targeted therapies for AKI in this setting is hampered by the lack of an animal model. To enable research into molecular drivers and novel therapies for fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI, we aimed to combine carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 )-induced fibrosis with chronic intra-gastric alcohol feeding. Male C57BL/6J mice were administered a low dose of CCl 4 (0.2 ml/kg 2 × week/6 weeks) followed by alcohol intragastrically (up to 25 g/kg/day for 3 weeks) and with continued CCl 4 . We observed that combined treatment with CCl 4 and alcohol resulted in severe liver injury, more pronounced than using each treatment alone. Importantly, severe kidney injury was evident only in the combined treatment group. This mouse model reproduced distinct pathological features consistent with AKI in human alcoholic hepatitis. Transcriptomic analysis of kidneys revealed profound effects in the combined treatment group, with enrichment for damage-associated pathways, such as apoptosis, inflammation, immune-response and hypoxia. Interestingly, Havcr1 and Lcn2, biomarkers of AKI, were markedly up-regulated. Overall, this study established a novel mouse model of fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI and identified key mechanistic pathways. - Highlights: • Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical complication in alcoholic hepatitis • We developed a novel mouse model of fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI • This model reproduces key molecular and pathological features of human AKI • This animal model can help identify new targeted therapies for alcoholic hepatitis

Identifying key drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from biomass feedstocks for energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, David R.; Curtright, Aimee E.; Willis, Henry H.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Production emissions dominate transportation and processing emissions. • Choice of feedstock, geographic location and prior land use drive emissions profile. • Within scenarios, emissions variability is driven by uncertainty in yields. • Favorable scenarios maximize carbon storage from direct land-use change. • Similarly, biomass production should attempt to minimize indirect land-use change. -- Abstract: Many policies in the United States, at both the federal and state levels, encourage the adoption of renewable energy from biomass. Though largely motivated by a desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, these policies do not explicitly identify scenarios in which the use of biomass will produce the greatest benefits. We have modeled “farm-to-hopper” emissions associated with seven biomass feedstocks, under a wide variety of scenarios and production choices, to characterize the uncertainty in emissions. We demonstrate that only a handful of factors have a significant impact on life cycle emissions: choice of feedstock, geographic location, prior land use, and time dynamics. Within a given production scenario, the remaining variability in emissions is driven by uncertainty in feedstock yields and the release rate of N 2 O into the atmosphere from nitrogen fertilizers. With few exceptions, transport and processing choices have relatively little impact on total emissions. These results illustrate the key decisions that will determine the success of biomass programs in reducing the emissions profile of energy production, and our publicly available model provides a useful tool for identifying the most beneficial production scenarios. While model data and results are restricted to biomass production in the contiguous United States, we provide qualitative guidance for identifying favorable production scenarios that should be applicable in other regions

Identifying Key Performance Indicators for Holistic Hospital Management with a Modified DEMATEL Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Si, Sheng-Li; You, Xiao-Yue; Liu, Hu-Chen; Huang, Jia

2017-08-19

Performance analysis is an important way for hospitals to achieve higher efficiency and effectiveness in providing services to their customers. The performance of the healthcare system can be measured by many indicators, but it is difficult to improve them simultaneously due to the limited resources. A feasible way is to identify the central and influential indicators to improve healthcare performance in a stepwise manner. In this paper, we propose a hybrid multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approach to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for holistic hospital management. First, through integrating evidential reasoning approach and interval 2-tuple linguistic variables, various assessments of performance indicators provided by healthcare experts are modeled. Then, the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique is adopted to build an interactive network and visualize the causal relationships between the performance indicators. Finally, an empirical case study is provided to demonstrate the proposed approach for improving the efficiency of healthcare management. The results show that "accidents/adverse events", "nosocomial infection", ''incidents/errors", "number of operations/procedures" are significant influential indicators. Also, the indicators of "length of stay", "bed occupancy" and "financial measures" play important roles in performance evaluation of the healthcare organization. The proposed decision making approach could be considered as a reference for healthcare administrators to enhance the performance of their healthcare institutions.

The value of structured data elements from electronic health records for identifying subjects for primary care clinical trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Ateya, Mohammad B; Delaney, Brendan C; Speedie, Stuart M

2016-01-11

An increasing number of clinical trials are conducted in primary care settings. Making better use of existing data in the electronic health records to identify eligible subjects can improve efficiency of such studies. Our study aims to quantify the proportion of eligibility criteria that can be addressed with data in electronic health records and to compare the content of eligibility criteria in primary care with previous work. Eligibility criteria were extracted from primary care studies downloaded from the UK Clinical Research Network Study Portfolio. Criteria were broken into elemental statements. Two expert independent raters classified each statement based on whether or not structured data items in the electronic health record can be used to determine if the statement was true for a specific patient. Disagreements in classification were discussed until 100 % agreement was reached. Statements were also classified based on content and the percentages of each category were compared to two similar studies reported in the literature. Eligibility criteria were retrieved from 228 studies and decomposed into 2619 criteria elemental statements. 74 % of the criteria elemental statements were considered likely associated with structured data in an electronic health record. 79 % of the studies had at least 60 % of their criteria statements addressable with structured data likely to be present in an electronic health record. Based on clinical content, most frequent categories were: "disease, symptom, and sign", "therapy or surgery", and "medication" (36 %, 13 %, and 10 % of total criteria statements respectively). We also identified new criteria categories related to provider and caregiver attributes (2.6 % and 1 % of total criteria statements respectively). Electronic health records readily contain much of the data needed to assess patients' eligibility for clinical trials enrollment. Eligibility criteria content categories identified by our study can be

GuiaTreeKey, a multi-access electronic key to identify tree genera in French Guiana

OpenAIRE

Brousseau, Louise; Baraloto, Christopher

2016-01-01

The tropical rainforest of Amazonia is one of the most species-rich ecosystems on earth, with an estimated 16000 tree species. Due to this high diversity, botanical identification of trees in the Amazon is difficult, even to genus, often requiring the assistance of parataxonomists or taxonomic specialists. Advances in informatics tools offer a promising opportunity to develop user-friendly electronic keys to improve Amazonian tree identification. Here, we introduce an original mult...

[Scale of organizational learning in schools. Organizational learning is a key element for the development of organizations].

Science.gov (United States)

López, Verónica; Ahumada, Luis; Olivares, Rodrigo; González, Alvaro

2012-05-01

Organizational learning is a key element for the development of organizations. School organizations are not exempt from this challenge and they currently face a highly dynamic and demanding context of education policies that emphasize the school's ability to learn. Thus, research on organizational learning in educational contexts requires valid instruments that are sensitive to the specifics of schools as organizations. In this study, we adapted and validated a scale of organizational learning in a sample of 119 Chilean municipal schools (N= 1,545). The results suggest a structural model made up of three factors: culture of learning, strategic clarity, and group learning. These factors predicted dimensions of educational achievement, as measured through the National Assessment System of Educational Achievement (SNED). Results are discussed in view of the literature on school improvement.

A mouse model of alcoholic liver fibrosis-associated acute kidney injury identifies key molecular pathways

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furuya, Shinji; Chappell, Grace A.; Iwata, Yasuhiro [Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX (United States); Uehara, Takeki; Kato, Yuki [Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka (Japan); Kono, Hiroshi [First Department of Surgery, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi (Japan); Bataller, Ramon [Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Rusyn, Ivan, E-mail: irusyn@tamu.edu [Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX (United States)

2016-11-01

Clinical data strongly indicate that acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical complication in alcoholic hepatitis, an acute-on-chronic form of liver failure in patients with advanced alcoholic fibrosis. Development of targeted therapies for AKI in this setting is hampered by the lack of an animal model. To enable research into molecular drivers and novel therapies for fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI, we aimed to combine carbon tetrachloride (CCl{sub 4})-induced fibrosis with chronic intra-gastric alcohol feeding. Male C57BL/6J mice were administered a low dose of CCl{sub 4} (0.2 ml/kg 2 × week/6 weeks) followed by alcohol intragastrically (up to 25 g/kg/day for 3 weeks) and with continued CCl{sub 4}. We observed that combined treatment with CCl{sub 4} and alcohol resulted in severe liver injury, more pronounced than using each treatment alone. Importantly, severe kidney injury was evident only in the combined treatment group. This mouse model reproduced distinct pathological features consistent with AKI in human alcoholic hepatitis. Transcriptomic analysis of kidneys revealed profound effects in the combined treatment group, with enrichment for damage-associated pathways, such as apoptosis, inflammation, immune-response and hypoxia. Interestingly, Havcr1 and Lcn2, biomarkers of AKI, were markedly up-regulated. Overall, this study established a novel mouse model of fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI and identified key mechanistic pathways. - Highlights: • Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical complication in alcoholic hepatitis • We developed a novel mouse model of fibrosis- and alcohol-associated AKI • This model reproduces key molecular and pathological features of human AKI • This animal model can help identify new targeted therapies for alcoholic hepatitis.

Surveying DNA Elements within Functional Genes of Heterocyst-Forming Cyanobacteria.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason A Hilton

Full Text Available Some cyanobacteria are capable of differentiating a variety of cell types in response to environmental factors. For instance, in low nitrogen conditions, some cyanobacteria form heterocysts, which are specialized for N2 fixation. Many heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria have DNA elements interrupting key N2 fixation genes, elements that are excised during heterocyst differentiation. While the mechanism for the excision of the element has been well-studied, many questions remain regarding the introduction of the elements into the cyanobacterial lineage and whether they have been retained ever since or have been lost and reintroduced. To examine the evolutionary relationships and possible function of DNA sequences that interrupt genes of heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria, we identified and compared 101 interruption element sequences within genes from 38 heterocyst-forming cyanobacterial genomes. The interruption element lengths ranged from about 1 kb (the minimum able to encode the recombinase responsible for element excision, up to nearly 1 Mb. The recombinase gene sequences served as genetic markers that were common across the interruption elements and were used to track element evolution. Elements were found that interrupted 22 different orthologs, only five of which had been previously observed to be interrupted by an element. Most of the newly identified interrupted orthologs encode proteins that have been shown to have heterocyst-specific activity. However, the presence of interruption elements within genes with no known role in N2 fixation, as well as in three non-heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria, indicates that the processes that trigger the excision of elements may not be limited to heterocyst development or that the elements move randomly within genomes. This comprehensive analysis provides the framework to study the history and behavior of these unique sequences, and offers new insight regarding the frequency and persistence of interruption

Surveying DNA Elements within Functional Genes of Heterocyst-Forming Cyanobacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Hilton, Jason A; Meeks, John C; Zehr, Jonathan P

2016-01-01

Some cyanobacteria are capable of differentiating a variety of cell types in response to environmental factors. For instance, in low nitrogen conditions, some cyanobacteria form heterocysts, which are specialized for N2 fixation. Many heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria have DNA elements interrupting key N2 fixation genes, elements that are excised during heterocyst differentiation. While the mechanism for the excision of the element has been well-studied, many questions remain regarding the introduction of the elements into the cyanobacterial lineage and whether they have been retained ever since or have been lost and reintroduced. To examine the evolutionary relationships and possible function of DNA sequences that interrupt genes of heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria, we identified and compared 101 interruption element sequences within genes from 38 heterocyst-forming cyanobacterial genomes. The interruption element lengths ranged from about 1 kb (the minimum able to encode the recombinase responsible for element excision), up to nearly 1 Mb. The recombinase gene sequences served as genetic markers that were common across the interruption elements and were used to track element evolution. Elements were found that interrupted 22 different orthologs, only five of which had been previously observed to be interrupted by an element. Most of the newly identified interrupted orthologs encode proteins that have been shown to have heterocyst-specific activity. However, the presence of interruption elements within genes with no known role in N2 fixation, as well as in three non-heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria, indicates that the processes that trigger the excision of elements may not be limited to heterocyst development or that the elements move randomly within genomes. This comprehensive analysis provides the framework to study the history and behavior of these unique sequences, and offers new insight regarding the frequency and persistence of interruption elements in

Simple Web-based interactive key development software (WEBiKEY) and an example key for Kuruna (Poaceae: Bambusoideae).

Science.gov (United States)

Attigala, Lakshmi; De Silva, Nuwan I; Clark, Lynn G

2016-04-01

Programs that are user-friendly and freely available for developing Web-based interactive keys are scarce and most of the well-structured applications are relatively expensive. WEBiKEY was developed to enable researchers to easily develop their own Web-based interactive keys with fewer resources. A Web-based multiaccess identification tool (WEBiKEY) was developed that uses freely available Microsoft ASP.NET technologies and an SQL Server database for Windows-based hosting environments. WEBiKEY was tested for its usability with a sample data set, the temperate woody bamboo genus Kuruna (Poaceae). WEBiKEY is freely available to the public and can be used to develop Web-based interactive keys for any group of species. The interactive key we developed for Kuruna using WEBiKEY enables users to visually inspect characteristics of Kuruna and identify an unknown specimen as one of seven possible species in the genus.

Identifying Key Stakeholders in Blended Tertiary Environments: Experts' Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Tuapawa, Kimberley

2017-01-01

Although key stakeholders in blended tertiary environments (BTEs) fulfil an extraordinary role in higher education, significant gaps in knowledge about their identities may be impeding the provision of stakeholder support, limiting their ability to promote effective learning and teaching. As online growth intensifies, it is critical that tertiary…

Characteristics of evolving models of care for arthritis: A key informant study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veinot Paula

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The burden of arthritis is increasing in the face of diminishing health human resources to deliver care. In response, innovative models of care delivery are developing to facilitate access to quality care. Most models have developed in response to local needs with limited evaluation. The primary objective of this study is to a examine the range of models of care that deliver specialist services using a medical/surgical specialist and at least one other health care provider and b document the strengths and challenges of the identified models. A secondary objective is to identify key elements of best practice models of care for arthritis. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of key informants with expertise in arthritis from jurisdictions with primarily publicly-funded health care systems. Qualitative data were analyzed using a constant comparative approach to identify common types of models of care, strengths and challenges of models, and key components of arthritis care. Results Seventy-four key informants were interviewed from six countries. Five main types of models of care emerged. 1 Specialized arthritis programs deliver comprehensive, multidisciplinary team care for arthritis. Two models were identified using health care providers (e.g. nurses or physiotherapists in expanded clinical roles: 2 triage of patients with musculoskeletal conditions to the appropriate services including specialists; and 3 ongoing management in collaboration with a specialist. Two models promoting rural access were 4 rural consultation support and 5 telemedicine. Key informants described important components of models of care including knowledgeable health professionals and patients. Conclusion A range of models of care for arthritis have been developed. This classification can be used as a framework for discussing care delivery. Areas for development include integration of care across the continuum, including primary

A Simple Key for Identifying the Sibling Species of the Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae (Giles Complex by Polytene Chromosome Cytogenetics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Music Temitope OBEMBE

2018-03-01

Full Text Available It has been established that Anopheles gambiae complex sibling species are the major Plasmodium malaria vectors in Africa; however, not all the sibling species transmit the infection. Easier molecular methods, PCR-based assays, have been developed to distinguish the several members of the A. gambiae complex. However, malaria vector research in less developed countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, is being hampered by the lack of PCR facilities in laboratories and the cost of carrying out the assay within lack of funding. Hence, the present study was designed to develop a simple identification key, based on an affordable method of polytene chromosome cytotaxonomy, for identifying the major P. falciparum vectors. The Identification Key was successfully used to identify two members of the A. gambiae complex, A. gambiae sensu stricto and A. arabiensis, which are the most potent malaria vectors in Africa; even so, it could not be used to establish the infective and the refractory strains.

Developmental finite element analysis of cichlid pharyngeal jaws: Quantifying the generation of a key innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Gerd B.

2018-01-01

Advances in imaging and modeling facilitate the calculation of biomechanical forces in biological specimens. These factors play a significant role during ontogenetic development of cichlid pharyngeal jaws, a key innovation responsible for one of the most prolific species diversifications in recent times. MicroCT imaging of radiopaque-stained vertebrate embryos were used to accurately capture the spatial relationships of the pharyngeal jaw apparatus in two cichlid species (Haplochromis elegans and Amatitlania nigrofasciata) for the purpose of creating a time series of developmental stages using finite element models, which can be used to assess the effects of biomechanical forces present in a system at multiple points of its ontogeny. Changes in muscle vector orientations, bite forces, force on the neurocranium where cartilage originates, and stress on upper pharyngeal jaws are analyzed in a comparative context. In addition, microCT scanning revealed the presence of previously unreported cement glands in A. nigrofasciata. The data obtained provide an underrepresented dimension of information on physical forces present in developmental processes and assist in interpreting the role of developmental dynamics in evolution. PMID:29320528

Developmental finite element analysis of cichlid pharyngeal jaws: Quantifying the generation of a key innovation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim Peterson

Full Text Available Advances in imaging and modeling facilitate the calculation of biomechanical forces in biological specimens. These factors play a significant role during ontogenetic development of cichlid pharyngeal jaws, a key innovation responsible for one of the most prolific species diversifications in recent times. MicroCT imaging of radiopaque-stained vertebrate embryos were used to accurately capture the spatial relationships of the pharyngeal jaw apparatus in two cichlid species (Haplochromis elegans and Amatitlania nigrofasciata for the purpose of creating a time series of developmental stages using finite element models, which can be used to assess the effects of biomechanical forces present in a system at multiple points of its ontogeny. Changes in muscle vector orientations, bite forces, force on the neurocranium where cartilage originates, and stress on upper pharyngeal jaws are analyzed in a comparative context. In addition, microCT scanning revealed the presence of previously unreported cement glands in A. nigrofasciata. The data obtained provide an underrepresented dimension of information on physical forces present in developmental processes and assist in interpreting the role of developmental dynamics in evolution.

Investigating Planetesimal Evolution by Experiments with Fe-Ni Metallic Melts: Light Element Composition Effects on Trace Element Partitioning Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Chabot, N. L.

2017-12-01

the qualitative effects of O and Si relative to the well-determined effects of S. Together, these experimental studies provide a robust dataset to identify key elements that are predicted to produce distinct chemical signatures as a function of different Fe-Ni metallic melt compositions during planetesimal evolution processes.

Identifying key research objectives to make European forests greener for bats

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Danilo Russo

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Bats are a biodiverse mammal order providing key ecosystem services such as pest suppression, pollination and seed dispersal. Bats are also very sensitive to human actions, and significant declines in many bat populations have been recorded consequently. Many bat species find crucial roosting and foraging opportunities in European forests. Such forests have historically been exploited by humans and are still influenced by harvesting. One of the consequences of this pressure is the loss of key habitat resources, often making forests inhospitable to bats. Despite the legal protection granted to bats across Europe, the impacts of forestry on bats are still often neglected. Because forest exploitation influences forest structure at several spatial scales, economically viable forestry could become more sustainable and even favour bats. We highlight that a positive future for bat conservation that simultaneously benefits forestry is foreseeable, although more applied research is needed to develop sound management. Key future research topics include the detection of factors influencing the carrying capacity of forests, and determining the impacts of forest management and the economic importance of bats in forests. Predictive tools to inform forest managers are much needed, together with greater synergies between forest managers and bat conservationists.

ICEApl1, an integrative conjugative element related to ICEHin1056, identified in the pig pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janine T Bosse

2016-06-01

Full Text Available ICEApl1 was identified in the whole genome sequence of MIDG2331, a tetracycline-resistant (MIC = 8 mg/L serovar 8 clinical isolate of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia. PCR amplification of virB4, one of the core genes involved in conjugation, was used to identify other A. pleuropneumoniae isolates potentially carrying ICEApl1. MICs for tetracycline were determined for virB4 positive isolates, and shotgun whole genome sequence analysis was used to confirm presence of the complete ICEApl1. The sequence of ICEApl1 is 56083 bp long and contains 67 genes including a Tn10 element encoding tetracycline resistance. Comparative sequence analysis was performed with similar integrative conjugative elements (ICEs found in other members of the Pasteurellaceae. ICEApl1 is most similar to the 59393 bp ICEHin1056, from Haemophilus influenzae strain 1056. Although initially identified only in serovar 8 isolates of A. pleuropneumoniae (31 from the UK and 1 from Cyprus, conjugal transfer of ICEApl1 to representative isolates of other serovars was confirmed. All isolates carrying ICEApl1 had a MIC for tetracycline of 8 mg/L. This is, to our knowledge, the first description of an ICE in A. pleuropneumoniae, and the first report of a member of the ICEHin1056 subfamily in a non-human pathogen. ICEApl1 confers resistance to tetracycline, currently one of the more commonly used antibiotics for treatment and control of porcine pleuropneumonia.

Key Clinical Features to Identify Girls with "CDKL5" Mutations

Science.gov (United States)

Bahi-Buisson, Nadia; Nectoux, Juliette; Rosas-Vargas, Haydee; Milh, Mathieu; Boddaert, Nathalie; Girard, Benoit; Cances, Claude; Ville, Dorothee; Afenjar, Alexandra; Rio, Marlene; Heron, Delphine; Morel, Marie Ange N'Guyen; Arzimanoglou, Alexis; Philippe, Christophe; Jonveaux, Philippe; Chelly, Jamel; Bienvenu, Thierry

2008-01-01

Mutations in the human X-linked cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 ("CDKL5") gene have been shown to cause infantile spasms as well as Rett syndrome (RTT)-like phenotype. To date, less than 25 different mutations have been reported. So far, there are still little data on the key clinical diagnosis criteria and on the natural history of…

The High/Scope Preschool Key Experiences: Essential Elements of Young Children's Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Hohmann, Mary

2002-01-01

Discusses High/Scope's preschool key experiences (a set of 58 statements that describe young children's social, cognitive, and physical development). The key experiences are grouped into 10 major developmental areas (creative representation, language and literacy, social relations, movement, music, classification, seriation, number, space, and…

Identification of the Key Fields and Their Key Technical Points of Oncology by Patent Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ting; Chen, Juan; Jia, Xiaofeng

2015-01-01

This paper aims to identify the key fields and their key technical points of oncology by patent analysis. Patents of oncology applied from 2006 to 2012 were searched in the Thomson Innovation database. The key fields and their key technical points were determined by analyzing the Derwent Classification (DC) and the International Patent Classification (IPC), respectively. Patent applications in the top ten DC occupied 80% of all the patent applications of oncology, which were the ten fields of oncology to be analyzed. The number of patent applications in these ten fields of oncology was standardized based on patent applications of oncology from 2006 to 2012. For each field, standardization was conducted separately for each of the seven years (2006-2012) and the mean of the seven standardized values was calculated to reflect the relative amount of patent applications in that field; meanwhile, regression analysis using time (year) and the standardized values of patent applications in seven years (2006-2012) was conducted so as to evaluate the trend of patent applications in each field. Two-dimensional quadrant analysis, together with the professional knowledge of oncology, was taken into consideration in determining the key fields of oncology. The fields located in the quadrant with high relative amount or increasing trend of patent applications are identified as key ones. By using the same method, the key technical points in each key field were identified. Altogether 116,820 patents of oncology applied from 2006 to 2012 were retrieved, and four key fields with twenty-nine key technical points were identified, including "natural products and polymers" with nine key technical points, "fermentation industry" with twelve ones, "electrical medical equipment" with four ones, and "diagnosis, surgery" with four ones. The results of this study could provide guidance on the development direction of oncology, and also help researchers broaden innovative ideas and discover new

Key and Essential Elements of a U.S. Government Interagency Plan

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Locke, Jr, Donald C

2008-01-01

.... Government Interagency Plan for reconstruction and stabilization. The elements were derived from study of World War II and Operation Iraqi Freedom post conflict reconstruction and stabilization operations...

Contaminant and other elements in soil (CCQM-K127)

Science.gov (United States)

Rocio Arvizu Torres, M.; Manzano, J. Velina Lara; Valle Moya, Edith; Horvat, Milena; Jaćimović, Radojko; Zuliani, Tea; Vreča, Polona; Acosta, Osvaldo; Bennet, John; Snell, James; Almeida, Marcelo D.; de Sena, Rodrigo C.; Dutra, Emily S.; Yang, Lu; Li, Haifeng

2017-01-01

by their available analytical methods. This facilitated the investigation into the core capabilities of participants to measure the mass fraction of tested elements in soil and therefore to claim their CMCs as listed in appendix C of the key comparison database (KCDB) under the mutual recognition arrangement of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM MRA). In total 19 institutes (NMIs/Dis) participated in the key comparison and the reported results of the key comparison were from 18 institutes (NMIs/DIs); 151 measurements were reported for CCQM-K127. The analytical techniques selected by the participant institutes were ICP-MS, ICP-OES, FAAS, ET-AAS and INAA (k0-method of INAA); the sample preparation methods used were based on microwave assisted digestion, except when it was used INAA. After discussions it agreed to use the median as KCRV and the MMADe as u(xKCRV). Generally most of the results of the participants were found to be consistent for all measurements according to their equivalence statements, with the exception of some extreme values, which were identified with a value of di/U(di) higher than 1. This key comparison is a means of providing evidence for practical demonstration of a CCQM comparison calibration and measurement capabilities (CMCs) claims for contaminant and others elements, in low and medium content levels in non-contaminated and contaminated matrices described in category 13. Main text To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

Variant-aware saturating mutagenesis using multiple Cas9 nucleases identifies regulatory elements at trait-associated loci.

Science.gov (United States)

Canver, Matthew C; Lessard, Samuel; Pinello, Luca; Wu, Yuxuan; Ilboudo, Yann; Stern, Emily N; Needleman, Austen J; Galactéros, Frédéric; Brugnara, Carlo; Kutlar, Abdullah; McKenzie, Colin; Reid, Marvin; Chen, Diane D; Das, Partha Pratim; A Cole, Mitchel; Zeng, Jing; Kurita, Ryo; Nakamura, Yukio; Yuan, Guo-Cheng; Lettre, Guillaume; Bauer, Daniel E; Orkin, Stuart H

2017-04-01

Cas9-mediated, high-throughput, saturating in situ mutagenesis permits fine-mapping of function across genomic segments. Disease- and trait-associated variants identified in genome-wide association studies largely cluster at regulatory loci. Here we demonstrate the use of multiple designer nucleases and variant-aware library design to interrogate trait-associated regulatory DNA at high resolution. We developed a computational tool for the creation of saturating-mutagenesis libraries with single or multiple nucleases with incorporation of variants. We applied this methodology to the HBS1L-MYB intergenic region, which is associated with red-blood-cell traits, including fetal hemoglobin levels. This approach identified putative regulatory elements that control MYB expression. Analysis of genomic copy number highlighted potential false-positive regions, thus emphasizing the importance of off-target analysis in the design of saturating-mutagenesis experiments. Together, these data establish a widely applicable high-throughput and high-resolution methodology to identify minimal functional sequences within large disease- and trait-associated regions.

Quantum key management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hughes, Richard John; Thrasher, James Thomas; Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth

2016-11-29

Innovations for quantum key management harness quantum communications to form a cryptography system within a public key infrastructure framework. In example implementations, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a Merkle signature scheme (using Winternitz one-time digital signatures or other one-time digital signatures, and Merkle hash trees) to constitute a cryptography system. More generally, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a hash-based signature scheme. This provides a secure way to identify, authenticate, verify, and exchange secret cryptographic keys. Features of the quantum key management innovations further include secure enrollment of users with a registration authority, as well as credential checking and revocation with a certificate authority, where the registration authority and/or certificate authority can be part of the same system as a trusted authority for quantum key distribution.

International Experience with Key Program Elements of IndustrialEnergy Efficiency or Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Target-SettingPrograms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price, Lynn; Galitsky, Christina; Kramer, Klaas Jan

2008-02-02

Target-setting agreements, also known as voluntary ornegotiated agreements, have been used by a number of governments as amechanism for promoting energy efficiency within the industrial sector. Arecent survey of such target-setting agreement programs identified 23energy efficiency or GHG emissions reduction voluntary agreement programsin 18 countries. International best practice related to target-settingagreement programs calls for establishment of a coordinated set ofpolicies that provide strong economic incentives as well as technical andfinancial support to participating industries. The key program elementsof a target-setting program are the target-setting process,identification of energy-saving technologies and measures usingenergy-energy efficiency guidebooks and benchmarking as well as byconducting energy-efficiency audits, development of an energy-savingsaction plan, development and implementation of energy managementprotocols, development of incentives and supporting policies, monitoringprogress toward targets, and program evaluation. This report firstprovides a description of three key target-setting agreement programs andthen describes international experience with the key program elementsthat comprise such programs using information from the three keytarget-setting programs as well as from other international programsrelated to industrial energy efficiency or GHG emissionsreductions.

A single cis element maintains repression of the key developmental regulator Gata2.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan W Snow

2010-09-01

Full Text Available In development, lineage-restricted transcription factors simultaneously promote differentiation while repressing alternative fates. Molecular dissection of this process has been challenging as transcription factor loci are regulated by many trans-acting factors functioning through dispersed cis elements. It is not understood whether these elements function collectively to confer transcriptional regulation, or individually to control specific aspects of activation or repression, such as initiation versus maintenance. Here, we have analyzed cis element regulation of the critical hematopoietic factor Gata2, which is expressed in early precursors and repressed as GATA-1 levels rise during terminal differentiation. We engineered mice lacking a single cis element -1.8 kb upstream of the Gata2 transcriptional start site. Although Gata2 is normally repressed in late-stage erythroblasts, the -1.8 kb mutation unexpectedly resulted in reactivated Gata2 transcription, blocked differentiation, and an aberrant lineage-specific gene expression pattern. Our findings demonstrate that the -1.8 kb site selectively maintains repression, confers a specific histone modification pattern and expels RNA Polymerase II from the locus. These studies reveal how an individual cis element establishes a normal developmental program via regulating specific steps in the mechanism by which a critical transcription factor is repressed.

[Key effect genes responding to nerve injury identified by gene ontology and computer pattern recognition].

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Qian; Peng, Jin; Zhou, Xue; Yang, Hao; Zhang, Wei

2012-07-01

In order to screen out important genes from large gene data of gene microarray after nerve injury, we combine gene ontology (GO) method and computer pattern recognition technology to find key genes responding to nerve injury, and then verify one of these screened-out genes. Data mining and gene ontology analysis of gene chip data GSE26350 was carried out through MATLAB software. Cd44 was selected from screened-out key gene molecular spectrum by comparing genes' different GO terms and positions on score map of principal component. Function interferences were employed to influence the normal binding of Cd44 and one of its ligands, chondroitin sulfate C (CSC), to observe neurite extension. Gene ontology analysis showed that the first genes on score map (marked by red *) mainly distributed in molecular transducer activity, receptor activity, protein binding et al molecular function GO terms. Cd44 is one of six effector protein genes, and attracted us with its function diversity. After adding different reagents into the medium to interfere the normal binding of CSC and Cd44, varying-degree remissions of CSC's inhibition on neurite extension were observed. CSC can inhibit neurite extension through binding Cd44 on the neuron membrane. This verifies that important genes in given physiological processes can be identified by gene ontology analysis of gene chip data.

Reverse engineering of TLX oncogenic transcriptional networks identifies RUNX1 as tumor suppressor in T-ALL.

Science.gov (United States)

Della Gatta, Giusy; Palomero, Teresa; Perez-Garcia, Arianne; Ambesi-Impiombato, Alberto; Bansal, Mukesh; Carpenter, Zachary W; De Keersmaecker, Kim; Sole, Xavier; Xu, Luyao; Paietta, Elisabeth; Racevskis, Janis; Wiernik, Peter H; Rowe, Jacob M; Meijerink, Jules P; Califano, Andrea; Ferrando, Adolfo A

2012-02-26

The TLX1 and TLX3 transcription factor oncogenes have a key role in the pathogenesis of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Here we used reverse engineering of global transcriptional networks to decipher the oncogenic regulatory circuit controlled by TLX1 and TLX3. This systems biology analysis defined T cell leukemia homeobox 1 (TLX1) and TLX3 as master regulators of an oncogenic transcriptional circuit governing T-ALL. Notably, a network structure analysis of this hierarchical network identified RUNX1 as a key mediator of the T-ALL induced by TLX1 and TLX3 and predicted a tumor-suppressor role for RUNX1 in T cell transformation. Consistent with these results, we identified recurrent somatic loss-of-function mutations in RUNX1 in human T-ALL. Overall, these results place TLX1 and TLX3 at the top of an oncogenic transcriptional network controlling leukemia development, show the power of network analyses to identify key elements in the regulatory circuits governing human cancer and identify RUNX1 as a tumor-suppressor gene in T-ALL.

Structural Elements in a Persistent Identifier Infrastructure and Resulting Benefits for the Earth Science Community

Science.gov (United States)

Weigel, T.; Toussaiant, F.; Stockhause, M.; Höck, H.; Kindermann, S.; Lautenschlager, M.; Ludwig, T.

2012-12-01

We propose a wide adoption of structural elements (typed links, collections, trees) in the Handle System to improve identification and access of scientific data, metadata and software as well as traceability of data provenance. Typed links target the issue of data provenance as a means to assess the quality of scientific data. Data provenance is seen here as a directed acyclic graph with nodes representing data and vertices representing derivative operations (Moreau 2010). Landing pages can allow a human user to explore the provenance graph back to the primary unprocessed data, thereby also giving credit to the original data producer. As in Earth System Modeling no single infrastructure with complete data lifecycle coverage exists, we propose to split the problem domain in two parts. Project-specific infrastructures such as the German project C3-Grid or the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) for CMIP5 data are aware of data and data operations (Toussaint et al. 2012) and can thus detect and accumulate single nodes and vertices in the provenance graph, assigning Handles to data, metadata and software. With a common schema for typed links, the provenance graph is established as downstream infrastructures refer incoming Handles. Data in this context is for example hierarchically structured Earth System model output data, which receives DataCite DOIs only for the most coarse-granular elements. Using Handle tree structures, the lower levels of the hierarchy can also receive Handles, allowing authors to more precisely identify the data they used (Lawrence et al. 2011). We can e.g. define a DOI for just the 2m-temperature variable of CMIP5 data across many CMIP5 experiments or a DOI for model and observational data coming from different sources. The structural elements should be implemented through Handle values at the Handle infrastructure level for two reasons. Handle values are more durable than downstream websites or databases, and thus the provenance chain does not

Comprehensive automation and monitoring of MV grids as the key element of improvement of energy supply reliability and continuity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanisław Kubacki

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the issue of comprehensive automation and monitoring of medium voltage (MV grids as a key element of the Smart Grid concept. The existing condition of MV grid control and monitoring is discussed, and the concept of a solution which will provide the possibility of remote automatic grid reconfiguration and ensure full grid observability from the dispatching system level is introduced. Automation of MV grid switching is discussed in detail to isolate a faulty line section and supply electricity at the time of the failure to the largest possible number of recipients. An example of such automation controls’ operation is also presented. The paper’s second part presents the key role of the quick fault location function and the possibility of the MV grid’s remote reconfiguration for improving power supply reliability (SAIDI and SAIFI indices. It is also shown how an increase in the number of points fitted with faulted circuit indicators with the option of remote control of switches from the dispatch system in MV grids may affect reduction of SAIDI and SAIFI indices across ENERGA-OPERATOR SA divisions.

Breaking chaotic shift key communication via adaptive key identification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Haipeng; Han Chongzhao; Liu Ding

2008-01-01

This paper proposes an adaptive parameter identification method for breaking chaotic shift key communication from the transmitted signal in public channel. The sensitive dependence property of chaos on parameter mismatch is used for chaos adaptive synchronization and parameter identification. An index function about the synchronization error is defined and conjugate gradient method is used to minimize the index function and to search the transmitter's parameter (key). By using proposed method, secure key is recovered from transmitted signal generated by low dimensional chaos and hyper chaos switching communication. Multi-parameters can also be identified from the transmitted signal with noise

A ''master key'' to chemical separation processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madic, Ch.; Hill, C.

2002-01-01

One of the keys to sorting nuclear waste is extracting minor actinides - the most troublesome long-lived elements - from the flow of waste by separating them from lanthanides, which have very similar chemical properties to actinides, for possible transmutation into shorter-lived elements. Thanks to a European initiative coordinated by CEA, this key is now available: its name is Sanex. There now remains to develop tough, straightforward industrial processes to integrate it into a new nuclear waste management approach by 2005. Sanex joins the Diamex process, used for the combined separation of lanthanides and minor actinides from fission products. A third process, Sesame, designed to separate americium, completes the list of available separation processes. (authors)

Array element of a space-based synchrotron radiation detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, M.W.; Commichau, S.C.; Kim, G.N.; Son, D.; Viertel, G.M.

2006-01-01

A synchrotron radiation detector (SRD) has been proposed as part of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment on the International Space Station to study cosmic ray electrons and positrons in the TeV energy range. The SRD will identify these particles by detecting their emission of synchrotron radiation in the Earth's magnetic field. This article reports on the study of key technical parameters for the array elements which form the SRD, including the choice of the detecting medium, the sensor and the readout system

Partitioned key-value store with atomic memory operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bent, John M.; Faibish, Sorin; Grider, Gary

2017-02-07

A partitioned key-value store is provided that supports atomic memory operations. A server performs a memory operation in a partitioned key-value store by receiving a request from an application for at least one atomic memory operation, the atomic memory operation comprising a memory address identifier; and, in response to the atomic memory operation, performing one or more of (i) reading a client-side memory location identified by the memory address identifier and storing one or more key-value pairs from the client-side memory location in a local key-value store of the server; and (ii) obtaining one or more key-value pairs from the local key-value store of the server and writing the obtained one or more key-value pairs into the client-side memory location identified by the memory address identifier. The server can perform functions obtained from a client-side memory location and return a result to the client using one or more of the atomic memory operations.

GENERALIZED MATRIXES OF GALOIS PROTOCOLS EXCHANGE ENCRYPTION KEYS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anatoly Beletsky

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The methods of construction of matrix formation the secret protocols legalized subscribers of public communications networks encryption keys. Based key exchange protocols laid asymmetric cryptography algorithms. The solution involves the calculation of one-way functions and is based on the use of generalized Galois arrays of isomorphism relationship with forming elements, and depending on the selected irreducible polynomial generating matrix. A simple method for constructing generalized Galois matrix by the method of filling the diagonal. In order to eliminate the isomorphism of Galois arrays and their constituent elements, limiting the possibility of building one-way functions, Galois matrix subjected to similarity transformation carried out by means of permutation matrices. The variant of the organization of the algebraic attacks on encryption keys sharing protocols and discusses options for easing the consequences of an attack.

AC power flow importance measures considering multi-element failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jian; Dueñas-Osorio, Leonardo; Chen, Changkun; Shi, Congling

2017-01-01

Quantifying the criticality of individual components of power systems is essential for overall reliability and management. This paper proposes an AC-based power flow element importance measure, while considering multi-element failures. The measure relies on a proposed AC-based cascading failure model, which captures branch overflow, bus load shedding, and branch failures, via AC power flow and optimal power flow analyses. Taking the IEEE 30, 57 and 118-bus power systems as case studies, we find that N-3 analyses are sufficient to measure the importance of a bus or branch. It is observed that for a substation bus, its importance is statistically proportional to its power demand, but this trend is not observed for power plant buses. While comparing with other reliability, functionality, and topology-based importance measures popular today, we find that a DC power flow model, although better correlated with the benchmark AC model as a whole, still fails to locate some critical elements. This is due to the focus of DC-based models on real power that ignores reactive power. The proposed importance measure is aimed to inform decision makers about key components in complex systems, while improving cascading failure prevention, system backup setting, and overall resilience. - Highlights: • We propose a novel importance measure based on joint failures and AC power flow. • A cascading failure model considers both AC power flow and optimal power flow. • We find that N-3 analyses are sufficient to measure the importance of an element. • Power demand impacts the importance of substations but less so that of generators. • DC models fail to identify some key elements, despite correlating with AC models.

Key identifiers and spelling conventions in MXit-lingo as found in conversations with Dr Math

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurie Butgereit

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Different human languages look different from other human languages. To use a term from the computer industry, each human language has its own “look and feel”. European English speakers can easily recognise a phrase such as “Comment allez-vous?” as being written in French while the phrase “¿Habla usted español?” is written in Spanish. Each language has its own letter frequencies, word frequencies and other identifiers. This paper describes key identifiers in MXit lingo as found in Dr Math conversations. MXit is a mobile instant messaging system which originated in South Africa and is expanding to other countries. Dr Math is a mobile tutoring system which uses MXit as a communication protocol. Primary and secondary school pupils can receive help with the mathematics homework using the Dr Math tutoring system. The pupils use MXit on their cell phones and the tutors use traditional Internet workstations. After exploring how MXit lingo is written, this paper will briefly explore why MXit lingo is written the way it is. By identifying and describing the orthographic conventions visible in the spelling of MXit lingo, although with some theoretical support, insight into the purposeful and functional nature of written, mobile communication will be revealed. In highlighting spelling that is influenced by Black South African English, an attempt will be made to contribute to the empirical development of a field of study that explores the construction of words used in South African mobile communication. Keywords: MXit, Math, letters, writing, orthography Disciplines: Linguistics, mathematics, information technology

Identifying elements of job satisfaction to improve retention rates in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamberth, Becky; Comello, Robert J

2005-01-01

According to the American Hospital Association, by the year 2010, the United States will need 1,000,000 qualified nurses to care for patients, an additional 75,000 licensed radiologic technologists, and several other ancillary medical staff employees. A number of health professionals question why there is such a significant shortage--especially considering that many facilities; are implementing cost initiatives and insurance companies are decreasing the length of patient hospital stays. One specific factor may not be fully appreciated: Although the length of stay is decreasing,the acuity level of the patient is increasing. The number and types of available opportunities also contribute to the staffing shortage. Hospitals and healthcare facilities are now working diligently to address the crisis and answer that one very important question: How can they keep employees satisfied and willing commit long-term to the organization? This review focuses on identifying those key variables of job satisfaction that will lead to long-term retention of healthcare workers, including money, work environment, performance feedback, advancement opportunities, group cohesion, and relationships with management. It also discusses the effects of demographic characteristics such as age and gender on job satisfaction.

Elements of a radioactive waste management course

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fentiman, A.W.

1994-01-01

The demand for scientists, engineers, and technicians with expertise in radioactive waste management is growing rapidly. Many universities, government agencies, and private contractors are developing courses in radioactive waste management. Two such courses have been developed at The Ohio State University. In support of that course development, two surveys were conducted. One survey went to all nuclear engineering programs in the US to determine what radioactive waste management courses are currently being taught. The other went to 600 waste management professionals, asking them to list the topics they think should be included in a radioactive waste management course. Four key elements of a course in radioactive waste management were identified. They are (a) technical information, (b) legal and regulatory framework, (c) communicating with the public, and (d) sources of information on waste management. Contents of each of the four elements are discussed, and results of the surveys are presented

Key Account Management and Quality in Business-to-Business Relationships

OpenAIRE

Ojasalo, Jukka

2000-01-01

What are the main elements of successful Key Account Management (KAM)? What is the nature of quality for the company and for the individual in business-to-business relationships? What kind of managerial practices are required at the company and individual level in Key Account Management? This paper focuses on these central aspects of KAM. It describes the main elements of KAM, which is a systematic marketing management approach in the business-to-business context with the objective to build p...

Practical private database queries based on a quantum-key-distribution protocol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakobi, Markus; Simon, Christoph; Gisin, Nicolas; Bancal, Jean-Daniel; Branciard, Cyril; Walenta, Nino; Zbinden, Hugo

2011-01-01

Private queries allow a user, Alice, to learn an element of a database held by a provider, Bob, without revealing which element she is interested in, while limiting her information about the other elements. We propose to implement private queries based on a quantum-key-distribution protocol, with changes only in the classical postprocessing of the key. This approach makes our scheme both easy to implement and loss tolerant. While unconditionally secure private queries are known to be impossible, we argue that an interesting degree of security can be achieved by relying on fundamental physical principles instead of unverifiable security assumptions in order to protect both the user and the database. We think that the scope exists for such practical private queries to become another remarkable application of quantum information in the footsteps of quantum key distribution.

A STUDY ON THE HIERARCHY OF MANAGEMENT ELEMENTS

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Nobuyuki; Watanabe, Tadashi

Compared to the late 20th century, the Japanese construction industry has drastically changed its business methodology, outlook and approach in response to global issues and the incredible advances in technology. Such influences, non-exhaustively include the; WTO Government procurement agreement, updating conditions of tendering and contracting, client demands for cost reduction and the rapid penetration of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) into modern society. These days, the significance of controlling Quality, Cost and Time (the so-called QCT) has been recognized as an eternal-triangle by almost all countries, Government organizations and the private sector. However, as the construction industry is exposed to , and influenced by, more and more internal and external dynamic factors, continued reliance on managing and controlling QCT elements on their own is no longer adequate in meeting the growing demands and expectations, and as such control of additional management elements is now essential to avoid problems, or minimize their potential impacts should they occur. This paper utilizes the results of a survey carried out amongst construction managers and consultants in Japan and overseas to develop a spatial network that defines the interaction of management factors as a weighted graphical model. The calculated closeness centrality index of the developed management network model is adopted to identify the initialelement hierarchy, which is then further analyzed using the minimum distance of independent relationships of management elements (Warshall-Floyd algorism methodology), to identify the optimum potential hierarchy for effective construction management. A key result of the analysis is the significance of "Human Resource" in the construction industry management element hierarchy alongside the traditional QCT elements.

Fluorine: A key enabling element in the nuclear fuel cycle

OpenAIRE

Crouse, P.L.

2015-01-01

Fluorine - in the form of hydrofluoric acid, anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, elemental gaseous fluorine, fluoropolymers, volatile inorganic fluorides, and more - has played, and still plays, a major role in the nuclear industry. In order to enrich uranium, the metal has to be in the gaseous state. While more exotic methods are known, the standard and most cost-competitive way of achieving this is by means of uranium hexafluoride (UF6). This compound sublimates at low temperatures, and the vapour...

Providing Feedback, Orientation and Opportunities for Reflection as Key Elements for Successful Mentoring Programs: Reviewing a Program for Future Business Education Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisabeth Riebenbauer

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The introduction to teaching is critical for novice teachers. Near the end of their master’s program, students of Business Education and Development in Austria spend one semester at an assigned school. They are introduced to teaching, while being assisted by peer students, mentoring teachers, and a companion course. Mentors receive special training and preparation in advance, thus contributing to a high quality mentoring program. The program is organized threefold: (1 providing feedback, (2 opportunities for reflection and (3 career orientation. The purpose of this paper is to assess key elements of successful mentoring programs and to question which competences of mentors contribute most to the success of those programs. Between 2012 and 2015, 188 persons (student teachers and their mentors responded to an online survey at the end of their mentoring program. Additionally, data from a study (1,245 questionnaires regarding the student teachers’ perception of their own competence was utilized, allowing for a comparison of student teacher confidence in their abilities before and after the mentoring program. The present results provide insight into the key elements of successful mentoring programs; both from a student teacher’s and mentor’s perspective. During the semester, students showed an increase regarding their self-perception of their professional competences. It was found that students and mentoring teachers valued feedback after each lesson more than feedback in regular meetings. Opportunities for reflection (e.g. exchange with peer students, learning diaries were considered helpful. The mentoring program helped students to decide whether to become a teacher or not.

Rein: Taming Tail Latency in Key-Value Stores via Multiget Scheduling

KAUST Repository

Reda, Waleed

2017-04-17

We tackle the problem of reducing tail latencies in distributed key-value stores, such as the popular Cassandra database.We focus on workloads of multiget requests, which batch together access to several data elements and parallelize read operations across the data store machines. We first analyze a production trace of a real system and quantify the skew due to multiget sizes, key popularity, and other factors. We then proceed to identify opportunities for reduction of tail latencies by recognizing the composition of aggregate requests and by carefully scheduling bottleneck operations that can otherwise create excessive queues. We design and implement a system called Rein, which reduces latency via inter-multiget scheduling using low overhead techniques. We extensively evaluate Rein via experiments in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and simulations. Our scheduling algorithms reduce the median, 95, and 99 percentile latencies by factors of 1.5, 1.5, and 1.9, respectively.

Novel porcine repetitive elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nonneman Dan J

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Repetitive elements comprise ~45% of mammalian genomes and are increasingly known to impact genomic function by contributing to the genomic architecture, by direct regulation of gene expression and by affecting genomic size, diversity and evolution. The ubiquity and increasingly understood importance of repetitive elements contribute to the need to identify and annotate them. We set out to identify previously uncharacterized repetitive DNA in the porcine genome. Once found, we characterized the prevalence of these repeats in other mammals. Results We discovered 27 repetitive elements in 220 BACs covering 1% of the porcine genome (Comparative Vertebrate Sequencing Initiative; CVSI. These repeats varied in length from 55 to 1059 nucleotides. To estimate copy numbers, we went to an independent source of data, the BAC-end sequences (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, covering approximately 15% of the porcine genome. Copy numbers in BAC-ends were less than one hundred for 6 repeat elements, between 100 and 1000 for 16 and between 1,000 and 10,000 for 5. Several of the repeat elements were found in the bovine genome and we have identified two with orthologous sites, indicating that these elements were present in their common ancestor. None of the repeat elements were found in primate, rodent or dog genomes. We were unable to identify any of the replication machinery common to active transposable elements in these newly identified repeats. Conclusion The presence of both orthologous and non-orthologous sites indicates that some sites existed prior to speciation and some were generated later. The identification of low to moderate copy number repetitive DNA that is specific to artiodactyls will be critical in the assembly of livestock genomes and studies of comparative genomics.

Electrolyser and fuel cells, key elements for energy and life support

Science.gov (United States)

Bockstahler, Klaus; Funke, Helmut; Lucas, Joachim

Both, Electrolyser and Fuel Cells are key elements for regenerative energy and life support systems. Electrolyser technology is originally intended for oxygen production in manned space habitats and in submarines, through splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Fuel cells serve for energy production through the reaction, triggered in the presence of an electrolyte, between a fuel and an oxidant. Now combining both technologies i.e. electrolyser and fuel cell makes it a Regenerative Fuel Cell System (RFCS). In charge mode, i.e. with energy supplied e.g. by solar cells, the electrolyser splits water into hydrogen and oxygen being stored in tanks. In discharge mode, when power is needed but no energy is available, the stored gases are converted in the fuel cell to generate electricity under the formation of water that is stored in tanks. Rerouting the water to the electrolyser makes it a closed-loop i.e. regenerative process. Different electrolyser and fuel cell technologies are being evolved. At Astrium emphasis is put on the development of an RFCS comprised of Fixed Alkaline Electrolyser (FAE) and Fuel Cell (AFC) as such technology offers a high electrical efficiency and thus reduced system weight, which is important in space applications. With increasing power demand and increasing discharge time an RFCS proves to be superior to batteries. Since the early technology development multiple design refinements were done at Astrium, funded by the European Space Agency ESA and the German National Agency DLR as well as based on company internal R and T funding. Today a complete RFCS energy system breadboard is established and the operational behavior of the system is being tested. In parallel the electrolyser itself is subject to design refinement and testing in terms of oxygen production in manned space habitats. In addition essential features and components for process monitoring and control are being developed. The present results and achievements and the dedicated

Community Advisory Boards Guiding Engaged Research Efforts within a Clinical Translational Sciences Award: Key Contextual Factors Explored.

Science.gov (United States)

Halladay, Jacqueline R; Donahue, Katrina E; Sleath, Betsy; Reuland, Dan; Black, Adina; Mitchell, C Madeline; Breland, Carol E; Coyne-Beasley, Tamera; Mottus, Kathleen; Watson, Sable Noelle; Lewis, Virginia; Wynn, Mysha; Corbie-Smith, Giselle

2017-01-01

Engaging stakeholders in research carries the promise of enhancing the research relevance, transparency, and speed of getting findings into practice. By describing the context and functional aspects of stakeholder groups, like those working as community advisory boards (CABs), others can learn from these experiences and operationalize their own CABs. Our objective is to describe our experiences with diverse CABs affiliated with our community engagement group within our institution's Clinical Translational Sciences Award (CTSA). We identify key contextual elements that are important to administering CABs. A group of investigators, staff, and community members engaged in a 6-month collaboration to describe their experiences of working with six research CABs. We identified the key contextual domains that illustrate how CABS are developed and sustained. Two lead authors, with experience with CABs and identifying contextual domains in other work, led a team of 13 through the process. Additionally, we devised a list of key tips to consider when devising CABs. The final domains include (1) aligned missions among stakeholders (2) resources/support, (3) defined operational processes/shared power, (4) well-described member roles, and (5) understanding and mitigating challenges. The tips are a set of actions that support the domains. Identifying key contextual domains was relatively easy, despite differences in the respective CAB's condition of focus, overall mission, or patient demographics represented. By contextualizing these five domains, other research and community partners can take an informed approach to move forward with CAB planning and engaged research.

Grouted Connections with Shear Keys

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Ronnie; Jørgensen, M. B.; Damkilde, Lars

2012-01-01

This paper presents a finite element model in the software package ABAQUS in which a reliable analysis of grouted pile-to-sleeve connections with shear keys is the particular purpose. The model is calibrated to experimental results and a consistent set of input parameters is estimated so that dif...... that different structural problems can be reproduced successfully....

Zinc in Early Life: A Key Element in the Fetus and Preterm Neonate

Science.gov (United States)

Terrin, Gianluca; Berni Canani, Roberto; Di Chiara, Maria; Pietravalle, Andrea; Aleandri, Vincenzo; Conte, Francesca; De Curtis, Mario

2015-01-01

Zinc is a key element for growth and development. In this narrative review, we focus on the role of dietary zinc in early life (including embryo, fetus and preterm neonate), analyzing consequences of zinc deficiency and adequacy of current recommendations on dietary zinc. We performed a systematic search of articles on the role of zinc in early life. We selected and analyzed 81 studies. Results of this analysis showed that preservation of zinc balance is of critical importance for the avoidance of possible consequences of low zinc levels on pre- and post-natal life. Insufficient quantities of zinc during embryogenesis may influence the final phenotype of all organs. Maternal zinc restriction during pregnancy influences fetal growth, while adequate zinc supplementation during pregnancy may result in a reduction of the risk of preterm birth. Preterm neonates are at particular risk to develop zinc deficiency due to a combination of different factors: (i) low body stores due to reduced time for placental transfer of zinc; (ii) increased endogenous losses; and (iii) marginal intake. Early diagnosis of zinc deficiency, through the measurement of serum zinc concentrations, may be essential to avoid severe prenatal and postnatal consequences in these patients. Typical clinical manifestations of zinc deficiency are growth impairment and dermatitis. Increasing data suggest that moderate zinc deficiency may have significant subclinical effects, increasing the risk of several complications typical of preterm neonates (i.e., necrotizing enterocolitis, chronic lung disease, and retinopathy), and that current recommended intakes should be revised to meet zinc requirements of extremely preterm neonates. Future studies evaluating the adequacy of current recommendations are advocated. PMID:26690476

Experimental infections with Mycoplasma agalactiae identify key factors involved in host-colonization.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Baranowski

Full Text Available Mechanisms underlying pathogenic processes in mycoplasma infections are poorly understood, mainly because of limited sequence similarities with classical, bacterial virulence factors. Recently, large-scale transposon mutagenesis in the ruminant pathogen Mycoplasma agalactiae identified the NIF locus, including nifS and nifU, as essential for mycoplasma growth in cell culture, while dispensable in axenic media. To evaluate the importance of this locus in vivo, the infectivity of two knock-out mutants was tested upon experimental infection in the natural host. In this model, the parental PG2 strain was able to establish a systemic infection in lactating ewes, colonizing various body sites such as lymph nodes and the mammary gland, even when inoculated at low doses. In these PG2-infected ewes, we observed over the course of infection (i the development of a specific antibody response and (ii dynamic changes in expression of M. agalactiae surface variable proteins (Vpma, with multiple Vpma profiles co-existing in the same animal. In contrast and despite a sensitive model, none of the knock-out mutants were able to survive and colonize the host. The extreme avirulent phenotype of the two mutants was further supported by the absence of an IgG response in inoculated animals. The exact role of the NIF locus remains to be elucidated but these data demonstrate that it plays a key role in the infectious process of M. agalactiae and most likely of other pathogenic mycoplasma species as many carry closely related homologs.

Setting objectives for managing Key deer

Science.gov (United States)

Diefenbach, Duane R.; Wagner, Tyler; Stauffer, Glenn E.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for the protection and management of Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) because the species is listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. There are a host of actions that could possibly be undertaken to recover the Key deer population, but without a clearly defined problem and stated objectives it can be difficult to compare and evaluate alternative actions. In addition, management goals and the acceptability of alternative management actions are inherently linked to stakeholders, who should be engaged throughout the process of developing a decision framework. The purpose of this project was to engage a representative group of stakeholders to develop a problem statement that captured the management problem the FWS must address with Key deer and identify objectives that, if met, would help solve the problem. In addition, the objectives were organized in a hierarchical manner (i.e., an objectives network) to show how they are linked, and measurable attributes were identified for each objective. We organized a group of people who represented stakeholders interested in and potentially affected by the management of Key deer. These stakeholders included individuals who represented local, state, and federal governments, non-governmental organizations, the general public, and local businesses. This stakeholder group met five full days over the course of an eight-week period to identify objectives that would address the following problem:“As recovery and removal from the Endangered Species list is the purpose of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs a management approach that will ensure a sustainable, viable, and healthy Key deer population. Urbanization has affected the behavior and population dynamics of the Key deer and the amount and characteristics

Using Range-Wide Abundance Modeling to Identify Key Conservation Areas for the Micro-Endemic Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cinthya A Ureña-Aranda

Full Text Available A widespread biogeographic pattern in nature is that population abundance is not uniform across the geographic range of species: most occurrence sites have relatively low numbers, whereas a few places contain orders of magnitude more individuals. The Bolson tortoise Gopherus flavomarginatus is endemic to a small region of the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico, where habitat deterioration threatens this species with extinction. In this study we combined field burrows counts and the approach for modeling species abundance based on calculating the distance to the niche centroid to obtain range-wide abundance estimates. For the Bolson tortoise, we found a robust, negative relationship between observed burrows abundance and distance to the niche centroid, with a predictive capacity of 71%. Based on these results we identified four priority areas for the conservation of this microendemic and threatened tortoise. We conclude that this approach may be a useful approximation for identifying key areas for sampling and conservation efforts in elusive and rare species.

New markers to identify the provenance of lapis lazuli: trace elements in pyrite by means of micro-PIXE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Re, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Torino, Torino (Italy); Angelici, D. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Torino, Torino (Italy); Universita di Torino, Dipartimento di Fisica, Torino (Italy); Universita di Torino, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Torino (Italy); Lo Giudice, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Torino, Torino (Italy); Universita di Torino, Dipartimento di Fisica, Torino (Italy); Maupas, E. [Universita di Torino, Dipartimento di Fisica, Torino (Italy); Giuntini, L.; Calusi, S.; Massi, M.; Mando, P.A. [Universita di Firenze, Dipartimento di Fisica, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze (Italy); Gelli, N. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze (Italy); Borghi, A. [Universita di Torino, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Torino (Italy); Gallo, L.M. [Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino (Italy); Pratesi, G. [Universita di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Firenze (Italy); Museo di Storia Naturale, Firenze (Italy)

2013-04-15

Lapis lazuli has been used for glyptics and carving since the fifth millennium BC to produce jewels, amulets, seals, inlays, etc; the identification of the origin of the stone used for carving artworks may be valuable for reconstructing old trade routes. Since ancient lapis lazuli art objects are precious, only non-destructive techniques can be used to identify their provenance, and ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques allow us to characterise this stone in a fully non-invasive way. In addition, by using an ion microprobe, we have been able to focus the analysis on single crystals, as their typical dimensions may range from a few microns to hundreds of microns. Provenance markers, identified in previous IBA studies and already presented elsewhere, were based on the presence/absence of mineral phases, on the presence/quantity of trace elements inside a phase and on characteristic features of the luminescence spectra. In this work, a systematic study on pyrite crystals, a common accessory mineral in lapis lazuli, was carried out, following a multi-technique approach: optical microscopy and SEM-EDX to select crystals for successive trace element micro-PIXE measurements at two Italian facilities, the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro and the INFN LABEC laboratory in Firenze. The results of this work allowed us to obtain new markers for lapis lazuli provenance identification. (orig.)

TRACE ELEMENT CHEMISTRY IN RESIDUAL-TREATED SOIL: KEY CONCEPTS AND METAL BIOAVAILABILITY

Science.gov (United States)

Trace element solubility and availability in land-applied residuals is governed by fundamental chemical reactions between metal constituents, soil, and residual components. Iron, aluminum, and manganese oxides; organic matter; and phosphates, carbonates, and sulfides are importan...

[Healthcare marketing elements].

Science.gov (United States)

Ameri, Cinzia; Fiorini, Fulvio

2014-01-01

Marketing puts its foundation on a few key concepts: need-demand, product-service, satisfaction, exchange, market, or business structure manufacturing / supply. The combination of these elements allows you to build an effective marketing strategy. Crucial in this respect is to remember the Porter matrix, which shows that for a correct analysis of the relevant market is necessary to refer to the "five forces at play", ie: customers, competitors, new entrants and substitutes threat. Another key lever for proper marketing oriented approach is the continuous and constant monitoring of the application, anticipating their dissatisfactions.

Air toxic emissions from the combustion of coal: Identifying and quantifying hazardous air pollutants from US coals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szpunar, C.B.

1992-09-01

This report addresses the key air toxic emissions likely to emanate from continued and expanded use of domestic coal. It identifies and quantifies those trace elements specified in the US 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, by tabulating selected characterization data on various source coals by region, state, and rank. On the basis of measurements by various researchers, this report also identifies those organic compounds likely to be derived from the coal combustion process (although their formation is highly dependent on specific boiler configurations and operating conditions).

Air toxic emissions from the combustion of coal: Identifying and quantifying hazardous air pollutants from US coals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szpunar, C.B.

1992-09-01

This report addresses the key air toxic emissions likely to emanate from continued and expanded use of domestic coal. It identifies and quantifies those trace elements specified in the US 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, by tabulating selected characterization data on various source coals by region, state, and rank. On the basis of measurements by various researchers, this report also identifies those organic compounds likely to be derived from the coal combustion process (although their formation is highly dependent on specific boiler configurations and operating conditions)

Elements affecting wound healing time: An evidence based analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalil, Hanan; Cullen, Marianne; Chambers, Helen; Carroll, Matthew; Walker, Judi

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the predominant client factors and comorbidities that affected the time taken for wounds to heal. A prospective study design used the Mobile Wound Care (MWC) database to capture and collate detailed medical histories, comorbidities, healing times and consumable costs for clients with wounds in Gippsland, Victoria. There were 3,726 wounds documented from 2,350 clients, so an average of 1.6 wounds per client. Half (49.6%) of all clients were females, indicating that there were no gender differences in terms of wound prevalence. The clients were primarily older people, with an average age of 64.3 years (ranging between 0.7 and 102.9 years). The majority of the wounds (56%) were acute and described as surgical, crush and trauma. The MWC database categorized the elements that influenced wound healing into 3 groups--factors affecting healing (FAH), comorbidities, and medications known to affect wound healing. While there were a multitude of significant associations, multiple linear regression identified the following key elements: age over 65 years, obesity, nonadherence to treatment plan, peripheral vascular disease, specific wounds associated with pressure/friction/shear, confirmed infection, and cerebrovascular accident (stroke). Wound healing is a complex process that requires a thorough understanding of influencing elements to improve healing times.© 2015 by the Wound Healing Society. © 2015 by the Wound Healing Society.

ETHICS AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE – KEY ELEMENTS REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loredana TEREC-VLAD

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyse the organizational culture within the business environment. The paper analyzes the ethical criteria of the entrepreneurs and the way they relate to the consumer, as well as the reinforcement of the moral values so that the final result of the economic activity is represented by sustainability and economic profit. We thought it would be important to point out that promoting an ethical firm can ensure the well-needed trust capital in a constantly changing society. In this context, corporate responsibility is a key element that ensures both the sustainability of the company as well as the sustainability of the relations with the business partners. In our view, a strong corporate culture must integrate ethics and responsibility in all its activities, since the focus is often laid on obtaining profit, not on the values ​​that should lead the organization towards success over a long period of time. Since our society provides both positive and negative information regarding any company or organization, the focus should be laid increasingly more on the ethics and responsibility of the human resources in regard to the external environment of the company. We thought it would be appropriate to bring up these issues since the issue of building an organizational culture is at a very early stage in our country, and most entrepreneurs only aim at obtaining short-term profit. The fees and taxes are high and the thick legislation often does not provide alternatives; therefore, one must take into account the fact that the real profit is not represented by the short-term benefits, but rather by the benefits obtained in a constant manner over medium-long periods of time.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toomas Silla

Full Text Available 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 (MAF5% 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.

Identifying the Key Weaknesses in Network Security at Colleges.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Florence

2000-01-01

A new study identifies and ranks the 10 security gaps responsible for most outsider attacks on college computer networks. The list is intended to help campus system administrators establish priorities as they work to increase security. One network security expert urges that institutions utilize multiple security layers. (DB)

The selection criteria elements of X-ray optics system

Science.gov (United States)

Plotnikova, I. V.; Chicherina, N. V.; Bays, S. S.; Bildanov, R. G.; Stary, O.

2018-01-01

At the design of new modifications of x-ray tomography there are difficulties in the right choice of elements of X-ray optical system. Now this problem is solved by practical consideration, selection of values of the corresponding parameters - tension on an x-ray tube taking into account the thickness and type of the studied material. For reduction of time and labor input of design it is necessary to create the criteria of the choice, to determine key parameters and characteristics of elements. In the article two main elements of X-ray optical system - an x-ray tube and the detector of x-ray radiation - are considered. Criteria of the choice of elements, their key characteristics, the main dependences of parameters, quality indicators and also recommendations according to the choice of elements of x-ray systems are received.

Geotourism products industry element: A community approach

Science.gov (United States)

Basi Arjana, I. W.; Ernawati, N. M.; Astawa, I. K.

2018-01-01

The ability of a tourism area to provide products that could satisfy the needs and desires of tourists is the key to success in developing tourism. Geotourists are a niche market that has specific needs. This study aims to identify the needs of geotourists, which is undertaken by evaluating the perceptions of geotourists with respect to 6 elements which are the industrial aspects of community-based tourism products, using a qualitative approach. In-depth interview technique is used as data collection method. These products are as follows: there are five major categories of geotourism commercial elements, which include: travel services, accommodation, transportation, food and beverage, souvenir and packaging. The research results show that there are various products which are the output of the industry elements desired by tourists in Batur representing the needs of different market segments and accommodating the sustainability of nature. These needs are arised and inspired by local culture. The necessity to offer an assortment of products packages is indicated to provide plentiful options for tourists, to lengthen tourist’s stay, and also to introduce various product components available in Batur. The research output could be used and contribute in providing a reference in developing geotourism products.

Hydrothermal analysis in engineering using control volume finite element method

CERN Document Server

Sheikholeslami, Mohsen

2015-01-01

Control volume finite element methods (CVFEM) bridge the gap between finite difference and finite element methods, using the advantages of both methods for simulation of multi-physics problems in complex geometries. In Hydrothermal Analysis in Engineering Using Control Volume Finite Element Method, CVFEM is covered in detail and applied to key areas of thermal engineering. Examples, exercises, and extensive references are used to show the use of the technique to model key engineering problems such as heat transfer in nanofluids (to enhance performance and compactness of energy systems),

Magnetic elements in otoliths of lagena and their function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harada, Yasuo

2002-01-01

The mystery of pigeons' homing abilities has been the subject of much interest, and it is widely believed that information from the earth's magnetic field may be involved. However, no specific magnetic sensory organ has yet been identified. The recent finding of magnetic materials in the lagenal otolith of fishes and birds raises the possibility that these structures might be key elements in the elusive magnetic sensor system. For the elemental analysis inside materials, x-ray fluorescence method (Synchrotron radiation) is one of the most powerful techniques. BL4A beam line of Photo factory of KEK at Tsukuba was used for analysis of the otolith. Comparing the compositions of the three different kinds of otolith among several species of sea fishes and birds, we found that the saccular and utricular otolith rarely contain detectable levels of Fe (iron), but that Fe is present in significant quantities in the lagenal otolith of the birds. The lagenal otolith is tiny crystal that contains magnetic elements and is sensitively displaced by imposed magnetic fields, providing the animal with geomagnetic sensory input, from which the brain would infer navigational information. Behavioral experiments of the homing abilities of the pigeons involving sectioning the lagenal nerves and the magnetic interfere to their lagena were done using 30 controlled birds and 21 treated birds from the same loft of the racing pigeons. The result of homing test of the control and treated pigeons clearly indicates the magnetic influence and lagenal function to pigeon's navigation ability, and the treated pigeons were either lost or significantly delayed, while the controls returned within 30 minutes after the release. Thus the birds' lagena is unique organ, and it may be concluded that the lagena is a key element to magnetic sensory system for birds. (author)

Estimated strength of shear keys in concrete dams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curtis, D.D. [Hatch Energy, Niagara Falls, ON (Canada); Lum, K.K.Y. [BC Hydro, Burnaby, BC (Canada)

2008-07-01

BC Hydro requested that Hatch Energy review the seismic stability of Ruskin Dam which was constructed in 1930 at Hayward Lake in British Columbia. The concrete gravity dam is founded nearly entirely on rock in a narrow valley. The vertical joints between blocks are keyed and grouted. The strength of the shear keys was assessed when a non-linear finite element model found that significant forces were being transferred laterally to the abutments during an earthquake. The lateral transfer of loads to the abutment relies on the strength of the shear keys. The dynamic finite element analysis was used to determine the stability of the dam. A review of the shear strength measurements reported in literature showed that the measurements compared well to those obtained by BC Hydro from cores taken from Ruskin Dam. The cohesive strength obtained using the Griffith failure criteria was also in good agreement with both sets of measurements. A simple ultimate shear strength equation was developed using the Mohr-Coulomb failure criteria to determine combined cohesive and frictional strength of shear keys. Safety factors of 2.0 for static loads and 1.5 for seismic loads were proposed to reduce the ultimate strength to allowable values. It was concluded that given the relatively high shear strength established for the shear keys, the abutment rock or dam/abutment contact will control the amount of load which can arch to the abutments. 8 refs., 4 tabs., 5 figs.

Using sensitivity analysis to identify key factors for the propagation of a plant epidemic.

Science.gov (United States)

Rimbaud, Loup; Bruchou, Claude; Dallot, Sylvie; Pleydell, David R J; Jacquot, Emmanuel; Soubeyrand, Samuel; Thébaud, Gaël

2018-01-01

Identifying the key factors underlying the spread of a disease is an essential but challenging prerequisite to design management strategies. To tackle this issue, we propose an approach based on sensitivity analyses of a spatiotemporal stochastic model simulating the spread of a plant epidemic. This work is motivated by the spread of sharka, caused by plum pox virus , in a real landscape. We first carried out a broad-range sensitivity analysis, ignoring any prior information on six epidemiological parameters, to assess their intrinsic influence on model behaviour. A second analysis benefited from the available knowledge on sharka epidemiology and was thus restricted to more realistic values. The broad-range analysis revealed that the mean duration of the latent period is the most influential parameter of the model, whereas the sharka-specific analysis uncovered the strong impact of the connectivity of the first infected orchard. In addition to demonstrating the interest of sensitivity analyses for a stochastic model, this study highlights the impact of variation ranges of target parameters on the outcome of a sensitivity analysis. With regard to sharka management, our results suggest that sharka surveillance may benefit from paying closer attention to highly connected patches whose infection could trigger serious epidemics.

Semantic Keys and Reading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zev bar-Lev

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Semantic Keys are elements (word-parts of written language that give an iconic, general representation of the whole word’s meaning. In written Sino-Japanese the “radical” or semantic components play this role. For example, the character meaning ‘woman, female’ is the Semantic Key of the character for Ma ‘Mama’ (alongside the phonetic component Ma, which means ‘horse’ as a separate character. The theory of semantic Keys in both graphic and phonemic aspects is called qTheory or nanosemantics. The most innovative aspect of the present article is the hypothesis that, in languages using alphabetic writing systems, the role of Semantic Key is played by consonants, more specifically the first consonant. Thus, L meaning ‘LIFT’ is the Semantic Key of English Lift, Ladle, Lofty, aLps, eLevator, oLympus; Spanish Leva, Lecantarse, aLto, Lengua; Arabic aLLah, and Hebrew① ªeL-ºaL ‘upto-above’ (the Israeli airline, Polish Lot ‘flight’ (the Polish airline; Hebrew ªeL, ªeLohim ‘God’, and haLLeluyah ‘praise-ye God’ (using Parallels, ‘Lift up God’. Evidence for the universality of the theory is shown by many examples drawn from various languages, including Indo-European Semitic, Chinese and Japanese. The theory reveals hundreds of relationships within and between languages, related and unrelated, that have been “Hiding in Plain Sight”, to mention just one example: the Parallel between Spanish Pan ‘bread’ and Mandarin Fan ‘rice’.

Finite Element Method in Machining Processes

CERN Document Server

Markopoulos, Angelos P

2013-01-01

Finite Element Method in Machining Processes provides a concise study on the way the Finite Element Method (FEM) is used in the case of manufacturing processes, primarily in machining. The basics of this kind of modeling are detailed to create a reference that will provide guidelines for those who start to study this method now, but also for scientists already involved in FEM and want to expand their research. A discussion on FEM, formulations and techniques currently in use is followed up by machining case studies. Orthogonal cutting, oblique cutting, 3D simulations for turning and milling, grinding, and state-of-the-art topics such as high speed machining and micromachining are explained with relevant examples. This is all supported by a literature review and a reference list for further study. As FEM is a key method for researchers in the manufacturing and especially in the machining sector, Finite Element Method in Machining Processes is a key reference for students studying manufacturing processes but al...

Loads on pebble bed fuel elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teuchert, E.; Maly, V.

1974-03-15

A comparison is made of key parameters for multi-recycle pebbles and single-pass once-through (OTTO) pebbles. The parameters analyzed include heat transfer characteristics with burn-up, temperature profiles, power per element as a function of axial position in the core, and burn-up. For the OTTO-scheme, the comparisons addressed the use of the conventional fuel element and the advanced "shell ball" designed to reduce the peak fuel temperature in the center of the fuel element. All studies addressed the uranium-thorium fuel cycle.

A qualitative study of tobacco interventions for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults: overarching themes and key learnings.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce Baskerville, N; Wong, Katy; Shuh, Alanna; Abramowicz, Aneta; Dash, Darly; Esmail, Aamer; Kennedy, Ryan

2018-01-18

Smoking prevalence is very high among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer (LGBTQ+) youth and young adults (YYA) compared to non-LGBTQ+ YYA. A knowledge gap exists on culturally appropriate and effective prevention and cessation efforts for members of this diverse community, as limited interventions have been developed with and for this population, and there are very few studies determining the impact of these interventions. This study identifies the most salient elements of LGBTQ+ cessation and prevention interventions from the perspective of LGBTQ+ YYA. Three descriptions of interventions tailored for LGBTQ+ YYA (group cessation counselling, social marketing, and a mobile phone app with social media incorporated), were shared with LGBTQ+ YYA via 24 focus groups with 204 participants in Toronto and Ottawa, Canada. Open-ended questions focused on their feelings, likes and dislikes, and concerns about the culturally modified intervention descriptions. Framework analysis was used to identify overarching themes across all three intervention descriptions. The data revealed eight overarching themes across all three intervention descriptions. Smoking cessation and prevention interventions should have the following key attributes: 1) be LGBTQ+ - specific; 2) be accessible in terms of location, time, availability, and cost; 3) be inclusive, relatable, and highlight diversity; 4) incorporate LGBTQ+ peer support and counselling services; 5) integrate other activities beyond smoking; 6) be positive, motivational, uplifting, and empowering; 7) provide concrete coping mechanisms; and 8) integrate rewards and incentives. LGBTQ+ YYA focus group participants expressed a desire for an intervention that can incorporate these key elements. The mobile phone app and social media campaign were noted as potential interventions that could include all the essential elements.

RATIONAL STRUCTURES OF POLITICS IN MONTESQUIEU’S THE SPIRIT OF THE LAWS. PART I: THE KEY ELEMENTS LEGITIMATING THE POWER AND ITS SOURCES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIUS DUMITRESCU

2013-05-01

Full Text Available In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu tried not to discuss about laws, but in fact, about the type of power hiding behind them. Inspired by Plato and Aristotle, he built his own vision on the palingenesis of the political forms and of the principles governing them. Baron de La Brède started from ideas, from spiritual structures, that have the role to create certain social behaviors, and identified three types of government forms, each characterized by its own nature and principle: monarchy, democracy, and despotism. The French philosopher tried to understand, besides the principles ensuring the nature of each government, the key elements legitimating the power and also its sources. The monarchy is seen by Montesquieu as the most suitable regime, for his time, to rule free societies. The aristocracy helps to the maintenance of freedom in royalty by resisting to any attempt of the crown to exceed its constitutional prerogatives. The transition from one form of government to another is done because of the alteration of principles. Democracy is maybe the most exposed to alteration as its excess of freedom leads to the affirmation of the spirit of endless equality that makes everybody wanting to be the equals to the rulers. Montesquieu sees no other solution to replace the degraded forms of political organization than the confederative republic. Such a political organization would answer the need for permanent political flexibility.

Multivariate statistical and GIS-based approach to identify source of anthropogenic impacts on metallic elements in sediments from the mid Guangdong coasts, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu Yangguang; Wang, Zhao-Hui; Lu Songhui; Jiang Shijun; Mu Dehai; Shu Yonghong

2012-01-01

Growing concerns surround the mid Guangdong coasts, one of China’s fastest and developing economical regions. To study the environmental impacts of economic and industrial development, we measured ten metallic elements (Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Fe, Al, Ni, Sr, Li, and Co) in surface sediments from nineteen stations in three bays. All these metals showed concentrations substantially higher than their background values, suggesting possible anthropogenic pollution. Highest metal levels were close to the nuclear power plants likely as a result of nuclear waste discharges. Results revealed that Hg, Pb, and Sr largely originated from human activities, while Cu, Ni, Co, Al, and Fe mainly from natural rock weathering. Two types of anthropogenic sources were identified through a principal component analysis, one from shipping industry, port transport service and nuclear power plants, and the other from municipal sewage and coal power plant. - Highlights: ► Ten metallic elements in surface sediments from mid Guangdong coasts were measured. ► High metal levels occurred close to the nuclear power plants. ► Hg, Pb and Sr mainly originated from human activities. ► Two types of anthropogenic metallic sources were identified in this region. - Hot spots of metallic elements were close to the nuclear power plants. Industrial and municipal discharges were the main anthropogenic metallic source.

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.

Online Tutoring Procedure for Research Project Supervision: Management, Organization and Key Elements

Science.gov (United States)

Darder Mesquida, Antònia; Pérez Garcias, Adolfina

2015-01-01

Research project tutoring appears as a crucial element for teaching; it is a planned action based on the relationship between a tutor and a student. This paper presents the findings of a design and development research which has as its main aim to create an organization system for the tutoring of online research projects. That system seeks to…

Identifying key factors and strategies for reducing industrial CO2 emissions from a non-Kyoto protocol member's (Taiwan) perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Sue J.; Lu, I.J.; Lewis, Charles

2006-01-01

In this study we use Divisia index approach to identify key factors affecting CO 2 emission changes of industrial sectors in Taiwan. The changes of CO 2 emission are decomposed into emission coefficient, energy intensity, industrial structure and economic growth. Furthermore, comparisons with USA, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and South Korea are made to have a better understanding of emission tendency in these countries and to help formulate our CO 2 reduction strategies for responding to the international calls for CO 2 cuts. The results show that economic growth and high energy intensity were two key factors for the rapid increase of industrial CO 2 emission in Taiwan, while adjustment of industrial structure was the main component for the decrease. Although economic development is important, Taiwan must keep pace with the international trends for CO 2 reduction. Among the most important strategies are continuous efforts to improve energy intensity, fuel mix toward lower carbon, setting targets for industrial CO 2 cuts, and advancing green technology through technology transfer. Also, the clean development mechanism (CDM) is expected to play an important role in the future

Image encryption using fingerprint as key based on phase retrieval algorithm and public key cryptography

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Tieyu; Ran, Qiwen; Yuan, Lin; Chi, Yingying; Ma, Jing

2015-09-01

In this paper, a novel image encryption system with fingerprint used as a secret key is proposed based on the phase retrieval algorithm and RSA public key algorithm. In the system, the encryption keys include the fingerprint and the public key of RSA algorithm, while the decryption keys are the fingerprint and the private key of RSA algorithm. If the users share the fingerprint, then the system will meet the basic agreement of asymmetric cryptography. The system is also applicable for the information authentication. The fingerprint as secret key is used in both the encryption and decryption processes so that the receiver can identify the authenticity of the ciphertext by using the fingerprint in decryption process. Finally, the simulation results show the validity of the encryption scheme and the high robustness against attacks based on the phase retrieval technique.

What are the elements required to improve exposure estimates in life cycle assessments?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ernstoff, Alexi; Rosenbaum, Ralph K.; Margni, Manuele

2016-01-01

human toxicity and ecosystem toxicity of chemicals posed by different product life cycle stages are characterized in the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase. Exposure and effect quantification as part of LCIA toxicity characterization faces numerous challenges related to inventory analysis (e.......g. number and quantity of chemicals emitted), substance-specific modelling (e.g. organics, inorganics, nano-materials) in various environments and time horizons, human and ecosystem exposure quantification (e.g. exposed organisms and exposure pathways), and toxicity end-points (e.g. carcinogenicity...... chemical exposure and harmful effects. Thereby, we structure this study of key elements identified as areas of elevated public, industrial, regulatory, and scientific concerns. We found the majority of missing elements are directly related to the definition of exposed populations (both ecosystems...

Pyrometallurgical partitioning of uranium and transuranic elements from rare earth elements by electrorefining and reductive extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uozumi, Koichi; Kinoshita, Kensuke; Inoue, Tadashi; Storvick, T.S.; Krueger, C.L.; Nabelek, C.R.

2001-01-01

High-level liquid waste generated from PUREX reprocessing contains a small amount of transuranic elements, such as Np, Pu, Am, and Cm, with long-lived radioactivities. A pyrometallurgical partitioning process is being developed to recover transuranic elements from such waste. Small amounts of U contained in the high-level liquid waste are also recovered in the process. A key issue for developing the process is effective separation of U and the transuranic elements from the rare-earth elements, because the two elemental groups are chemically analogous. A series of process tests were carried out in the present study to demonstrate that a combination of electrorefining and reductive extraction is useful for separating U and transuranic elements from the rare-earth elements. The results indicate that 99% of U and each transuranic elements is recovered by the combination process as a product, and that the quantity of rare-earth elements contained in the product is smaller than the transuranic elements by weight. The overall mass balance of U and transuranic elements in the system ranged within the experimental errors assigned to sampling and analysis. (author)

Divergent picornavirus IRES elements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Belsham, Graham

2009-01-01

Internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements were first identified about 20 years ago within the 5' untranslated region of picornavirus RNAs. They direct a cap-independent mechanism of translation initiation on the viral RNA. Within the picornavirus family it is now known that there are four...... classes of IRES element which vary in size (450-270nt), they also have different, complex, secondary structures and distinct requirements for cellular proteins to allow them to function. This review describes the features of each class of picornavirus IRES element but focuses on the characteristics...... of the most recently described group, initially identified within the porcine teschovirus-1 RNA, which has strong similarities to the IRES elements from within the genomes of hepatitis C virus and the pestiviruses which are members of the flavivirus family. The selection of the initiation codon...

Managing clinical education through understanding key principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Joanne; Wright, Caroline; Baird, Marilyn

2015-01-01

Traditionally, a practicum facilitated the integration of on-campus learning and practical workplace training. Over the past 3 decades, an educative practicum has evolved that promotes clinical reasoning, including analytical and evaluative abilities, through reflective practice. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the delivery of clinical education within medical radiation science entry-level programs continues to vacillate between traditional practicums and the new reflective practicums. To review the literature about clinical education within the medical radiation sciences and identify key principles for practitioners seeking to reflect upon and improve their approach to teaching and supporting students in the clinical environment. A search of 3 major journal databases, Internet searches, and hand searches of reference lists were conducted to identify literature about clinical education in the medical radiation sciences from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2012. Twenty-two studies were included in this review. The 5 key elements associated with clinical education include the clinical support model and quality, overcoming the theory-practice gap, learning outcomes and reliable and valid assessment, preparing and supporting students, and accommodating differing teaching and learning needs. Many factors influence the quality of clinical education, including the culture of the clinical environment and clinical leadership roles. Several approaches can help students bridge the theory-practice gap, including simulators, role-playing activities, and reflective journals. In addition, clinical educators should use assessment strategies that objectively measure student progress, and they should be positive role models for their students. The successful clinical education of students in the medical radiation sciences depends upon the systems, structures, and people in the clinical environment. Clinical education is accomplished through the collaborative efforts of the

Nature Elements and Fundamental Motor Skill Development Opportunities at Five Elementary School Districts in British Columbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Christopher; Donovan, Andrew M; Harper, Nevin J; Naylor, Patti-Jean

2017-10-24

The majority of Canadian children are not physically active enough for healthy development. School playgrounds are a primary location to promote physical activity and motor skill practice. The benefits of children's play in nature have also been highlighted, but few studies have evaluated children's access and exposure to nature for play on school grounds. This study examined children's access to nature on school grounds and the opportunities afforded by those natural elements for motor skill practice. Extensive naturescapes (multiple nature elements in one setting) were not common, and natural elements were limited, ranging from 1.97 to 5.71 elements/school. The most common element was a forested area (26.5% of all natural elements identified). In comparison to built structures, the number of natural elements was low. Some elements differed between school districts and appeared to be related to local geography and terrain (hilly, rocky terrain, tidal flats, etc.). Our assessment showed that naturescape elements afforded opportunities for the development of some key fundamental motor skills (FMS), specifically, locomotor and stability skills, but opportunities to develop manipulative skills were limited. To maximize potential FMS development, physical literacy, and psycho-social benefits, additional elements or more comprehensive multi-element naturescapes and facilitation (social or environmental) are recommended.

Exploring innovative techniques for identifying geochemical elements as fingerprints of sediment sources in an agricultural catchment of Argentina affected by soil erosion.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres Astorga, Romina; de Los Santos Villalobos, Sergio; Velasco, Hugo; Domínguez-Quintero, Olgioly; Pereira Cardoso, Renan; Meigikos Dos Anjos, Roberto; Diawara, Yacouba; Dercon, Gerd; Mabit, Lionel

2018-05-15

Identification of hot spots of land degradation is strongly related with the selection of soil tracers for sediment pathways. This research proposes the complementary and integrated application of two analytical techniques to select the most suitable fingerprint tracers for identifying the main sources of sediments in an agricultural catchment located in Central Argentina with erosive loess soils. Diffuse reflectance Fourier transformed in the mid-infrared range (DRIFT-MIR) spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) were used for a suitable fingerprint selection. For using DRIFT-MIR spectroscopy as fingerprinting technique, calibration through quantitative parameters is needed to link and correlate DRIFT-MIR spectra with soil tracers. EDXRF was used in this context for determining the concentrations of geochemical elements in soil samples. The selected tracers were confirmed using two artificial mixtures composed of known proportions of soil collected in different sites with distinctive soil uses. These fingerprint elements were used as parameters to build a predictive model with the whole set of DRIFT-MIR spectra. Fingerprint elements such as phosphorus, iron, calcium, barium, and titanium were identified for obtaining a suitable reconstruction of the source proportions in the artificial mixtures. Mid-infrared spectra produced successful prediction models (R 2  = 0.91) for Fe content and moderate useful prediction (R 2  = 0.72) for Ti content. For Ca, P, and Ba, the R 2 were 0.44, 0.58, and 0.59 respectively.

Water, the intangible element

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schotting, R.J.

2009-01-01

Water is the key to life. No living creature can survive without water. Too much water or polluted water are serious threats to mankind. Managing this intangible element is complex, not only in wet deltaic regions but also in the (semi-)arid regions of the world. Combined efforts of the

An economic cost analysis of emergency department key performance indicators in Ireland.

Science.gov (United States)

Gannon, Brenda; Jones, Cheryl; McCabe, Aileen; O'Sullivan, Ronan; Wakai, Abel

2017-06-01

High quality data is fundamental to using key performance indicators (KPIs) for performance monitoring. However, the resources required to collect high quality data are often significant and should usually be targeted at high priority areas. As part of a study of 11 emergency department (ED) KPIs in Ireland, the primary objective of this study was to estimate the relative cost of collecting the additional minimum data set (MDS) elements for those 11 KPIs. An economic cost analysis focused on 12 EDs in the Republic of Ireland. The resource use data were obtained using two separate focus group interviews. The number of available MDS elements was obtained from a sample of 100 patient records per KPI per participating ED. Unit costs for all resource use were taken at the midpoint of the relevant staff salary scales. An ED would need to spend an estimated additional &OV0556;3561 per month on average to capture all the MDS elements relevant to the 11 KPIs investigated. The additional cost ranges from 14.8 to 39.2%; this range is 13.9-32.3% for small EDs, whereas the range for medium EDs is 11.7-40%. Regional EDs have a higher additional estimated cost to capture all the relevant MDS elements (&OV0556;3907), compared with urban EDs (&OV0556;3353). The additional cost of data collection, contingent on that already collected, required to capture all the relevant MDS elements for the KPIs examined, ranges from 14.8 to 39.2% per KPI, with variation identified between regional and urban hospitals.

Sterols regulate 3β-hydroxysterol Δ24-reductase (DHCR24) via dual sterol regulatory elements: cooperative induction of key enzymes in lipid synthesis by Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Zerenturk, Eser J; Sharpe, Laura J; Brown, Andrew J

2012-10-01

3β-Hydroxysterol Δ24-reductase (DHCR24) catalyzes a final step in cholesterol synthesis, and has been ascribed diverse functions, such as being anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory. How this enzyme is regulated transcriptionally by sterols is currently unclear. Some studies have suggested that its expression is regulated by Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins (SREBPs) while another suggests it is through the Liver X Receptor (LXR). However, these transcription factors have opposing effects on cellular sterol levels, so it is likely that one predominates. Here we establish that sterol regulation of DHCR24 occurs predominantly through SREBP-2, and identify the particular region of the DHCR24 promoter to which SREBP-2 binds. We demonstrate that sterol regulation is mediated by two sterol regulatory elements (SREs) in the promoter of the gene, assisted by two nearby NF-Y binding sites. Moreover, we present evidence that the dual SREs work cooperatively to regulate DHCR24 expression by comparison to two known SREBP target genes, the LDL receptor with one SRE, and farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1, with two SREs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Process Architecture for Managing Digital Object Identifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Wanchoo, L.; James, N.; Stolte, E.

2014-12-01

In 2010, NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project implemented a process for registering Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for data products distributed by Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). For the first 3 years, ESDIS evolved the process involving the data provider community in the development of processes for creating and assigning DOIs, and guidelines for the landing page. To accomplish this, ESDIS established two DOI User Working Groups: one for reviewing the DOI process whose recommendations were submitted to ESDIS in February 2014; and the other recently tasked to review and further develop DOI landing page guidelines for ESDIS approval by end of 2014. ESDIS has recently upgraded the DOI system from a manually-driven system to one that largely automates the DOI process. The new automated feature include: a) reviewing the DOI metadata, b) assigning of opaque DOI name if data provider chooses, and c) reserving, registering, and updating the DOIs. The flexibility of reserving the DOI allows data providers to embed and test the DOI in the data product metadata before formally registering with EZID. The DOI update process allows the changing of any DOI metadata except the DOI name unless the name has not been registered. Currently, ESDIS has processed a total of 557 DOIs of which 379 DOIs are registered with EZID and 178 are reserved with ESDIS. The DOI incorporates several metadata elements that effectively identify the data product and the source of availability. Of these elements, the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) attribute has the very important function of identifying the landing page which describes the data product. ESDIS in consultation with data providers in the Earth Science community is currently developing landing page guidelines that specify the key data product descriptive elements to be included on each data product's landing page. This poster will describe in detail the unique automated process and

Identifying key nodes in multilayer networks based on tensor decomposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Dingjie; Wang, Haitao; Zou, Xiufen

2017-06-01

The identification of essential agents in multilayer networks characterized by different types of interactions is a crucial and challenging topic, one that is essential for understanding the topological structure and dynamic processes of multilayer networks. In this paper, we use the fourth-order tensor to represent multilayer networks and propose a novel method to identify essential nodes based on CANDECOMP/PARAFAC (CP) tensor decomposition, referred to as the EDCPTD centrality. This method is based on the perspective of multilayer networked structures, which integrate the information of edges among nodes and links between different layers to quantify the importance of nodes in multilayer networks. Three real-world multilayer biological networks are used to evaluate the performance of the EDCPTD centrality. The bar chart and ROC curves of these multilayer networks indicate that the proposed approach is a good alternative index to identify real important nodes. Meanwhile, by comparing the behavior of both the proposed method and the aggregated single-layer methods, we demonstrate that neglecting the multiple relationships between nodes may lead to incorrect identification of the most versatile nodes. Furthermore, the Gene Ontology functional annotation demonstrates that the identified top nodes based on the proposed approach play a significant role in many vital biological processes. Finally, we have implemented many centrality methods of multilayer networks (including our method and the published methods) and created a visual software based on the MATLAB GUI, called ENMNFinder, which can be used by other researchers.

Evaluating rare earth element availability: a case with revolutionary demand from clean technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso, Elisa; Sherman, Andrew M; Wallington, Timothy J; Everson, Mark P; Field, Frank R; Roth, Richard; Kirchain, Randolph E

2012-03-20

The future availability of rare earth elements (REEs) is of concern due to monopolistic supply conditions, environmentally unsustainable mining practices, and rapid demand growth. We present an evaluation of potential future demand scenarios for REEs with a focus on the issue of comining. Many assumptions were made to simplify the analysis, but the scenarios identify some key variables that could affect future rare earth markets and market behavior. Increased use of wind energy and electric vehicles are key elements of a more sustainable future. However, since present technologies for electric vehicles and wind turbines rely heavily on dysprosium (Dy) and neodymium (Nd), in rare-earth magnets, future adoption of these technologies may result in large and disproportionate increases in the demand for these two elements. For this study, upper and lower bound usage projections for REE in these applications were developed to evaluate the state of future REE supply availability. In the absence of efficient reuse and recycling or the development of technologies which use lower amounts of Dy and Nd, following a path consistent with stabilization of atmospheric CO(2) at 450 ppm may lead to an increase of more than 700% and 2600% for Nd and Dy, respectively, over the next 25 years if the present REE needs in automotive and wind applications are representative of future needs.

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.

Finite Element Creep-Fatigue Analysis of a Welded Furnace Roll for Identifying Failure Root Cause

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Y. P.; Mohr, W. C.

2015-11-01

Creep-fatigue induced failures are often observed in engineering components operating under high temperature and cyclic loading. Understanding the creep-fatigue damage process and identifying failure root cause are very important for preventing such failures and improving the lifetime of engineering components. Finite element analyses including a heat transfer analysis and a creep-fatigue analysis were conducted to model the cyclic thermal and mechanical process of a furnace roll in a continuous hot-dip coating line. Typically, the roll has a short life, modeling heat convection from hot air inside the furnace. The creep-fatigue analysis was performed by inputting the predicted temperature history and applying mechanical loads. The analysis results showed that the failure was resulted from a creep-fatigue mechanism rather than a creep mechanism. The difference of material properties between the filler metal and the base metal is the root cause for the roll failure, which induces higher creep strain and stress in the interface between the weld and the HAZ.

The synthetic elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffman, D.C.

1990-05-01

Prior to 1940, the heaviest element known was uranium, discovered in 1789. Since that time the elements 93 through 109 have been synthesized and identified and the elements 43, 61, 85, and 87 which were missing form the periodic tables of the 1930's have been discovered. The techniques and problems involved in these discoveries and the placement of the transuranium elements in the periodic table will be discussed. The production and positive identification of elements heavier than Md (Z=101), which have very short half-lives and can only be produced an atom-at-a-time, are very difficult and there have been controversies concerning their discovery. Some of the new methods which have been developed and used in these studies will be described. The prospects for production of still heavier elements will be considered.

The synthetic elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, D.C.

1990-05-01

Prior to 1940, the heaviest element known was uranium, discovered in 1789. Since that time the elements 93 through 109 have been synthesized and identified and the elements 43, 61, 85, and 87 which were missing form the periodic tables of the 1930's have been discovered. The techniques and problems involved in these discoveries and the placement of the transuranium elements in the periodic table will be discussed. The production and positive identification of elements heavier than Md (Z=101), which have very short half-lives and can only be produced an atom-at-a-time, are very difficult and there have been controversies concerning their discovery. Some of the new methods which have been developed and used in these studies will be described. The prospects for production of still heavier elements will be considered

Identifying key performance indicators in food technology contract R&D

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flipse, S.M.; Sanden, van der M.C.A.; Velden, van der T.; Fortuin, F.T.J.M.; Omta, S.W.F.; Osseweijer, P.

2013-01-01

Innovating companies increasingly rely on outsourcing to Contract Research Organisations (CROs) for their Research and Development (R&D), which are largely understudied. This paper presents the outcome of a case study in the field of food technology contract research, identifying context

Imperfect DNA mirror repeats in the gag gene of HIV-1 (HXB2 identify key functional domains and coincide with protein structural elements in each of the mature proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lang Dorothy M

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A DNA mirror repeat is a sequence segment delimited on the basis of its containing a center of symmetry on a single strand, e.g. 5'-GCATGGTACG-3'. It is most frequently described in association with a functionally significant site in a genomic sequence, and its occurrence is regarded as noteworthy, if not unusual. However, imperfect mirror repeats (IMRs having ≥ 50% symmetry are common in the protein coding DNA of monomeric proteins and their distribution has been found to coincide with protein structural elements – helices, β sheets and turns. In this study, the distribution of IMRs is evaluated in a polyprotein – to determine whether IMRs may be related to the position or order of protein cleavage or other hierarchal aspects of protein function. The gag gene of HIV-1 [GenBank:K03455] was selected for the study because its protein motifs and structural components are well documented. Results There is a highly specific relationship between IMRs and structural and functional aspects of the Gag polyprotein. The five longest IMRs in the polyprotein translate a key functional segment in each of the five cleavage products. Throughout the protein, IMRs coincide with functionally significant segments of the protein. A detailed annotation of the protein, which combines structural, functional and IMR data illustrates these associations. There is a significant statistical correlation between the ends of IMRs and the ends of PSEs in each of the mature proteins. Weakly symmetric IMRs (≥ 33% are related to cleavage positions and processes. Conclusion The frequency and distribution of IMRs in HIV-1 Gag indicates that DNA symmetry is a fundamental property of protein coding DNA and that different levels of symmetry are associated with different functional aspects of the gene and its protein. The interaction between IMRs and protein structure and function is precise and interwoven over the entire length of the polyprotein. The

Determination of elemental in soil samples from Gebeng area using NAA technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Md Suhaimi Elias; Wo, Y.M.; Mohd Suhaimi Hamzah

2016-01-01

Rapid development and urbanization will increase number of residence and industrial area. Without proper management and control of pollution, these will give an adverse effect to environment and human life. The objective of this study to identify and quantify key contaminants into the environment of the Gebeng area as a result of industrial and human activities. Gebeng area was gazetted as one of the industrial estate in Pahang state. Assessment of elemental pollution in soil of Gebeng area base on level of concentration, enrichment factor and geo-accumulation index. The enrichment factors (EFs) were determined by the elemental rationing method, whilst the geo-accumulation index (I_g_e_o) by comparing of current to continental crustal average concentration of element. Twenty-seven of soil samples were collected from Gebeng area. Soil samples were analysed by using Neutron Activation Analyses (NAA) technique. The obtained data showed higher concentration of iron (Fe) due to abundance in soil compared to other elements. The results of enrichment factor showed that Gebeng area have enrich with elements of As, Br, Hf, Sb, Th and U. Base on the geo-accumulation index (I_g_e_o) classification, the soil quality of Gebeng area can be classified as class 0, (uncontaminated) to Class 3, (moderately to heavily contaminated). (author)

Photoshop Elements 10 All-in-One For Dummies

CERN Document Server

Obermeier, Barbara

2011-01-01

Create your photo vision with the latest version of Photoshop Elements Photoshop Elements is the top selling consumer photo editing software and Adobe continues to add innovative features that allow digital photo enthusiasts to do it all. This value-packed reference combines nine content-rich minibooks in one complete package. User-friendly and detailed, it covers the key features and tools that beginner and experienced users need to create high-quality images for print, e-mail, and the web using the latest release of Photoshop Elements - Photoshop Elements 10. Presented in full color, this re

KEY PERFORMING FACTORS OF LEADING ROMANIAN COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BURJA CAMELIA

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The analysis of financial economic ratios provides managers and external partners feedback on the results obtained from operational activities and the associated performance and risks. This paper studies the functional dependence of the companies’ success (on performance over internal financial management elements. The research was carried out for the most traded non-financial securities Bucharest listed companies and covers the period 2011- 2013. To carry out its purpose it analyzed the interdependence between the key financial ratios, studying the impact of liquidity ratios, solvency and efficiency on profitability. The study provides empirical evidences to identify factors that have ensured the performance of companies and their ranking in the segment of the most traded companies in Romania. Results suggest the view that the source of company success on the capital market lies in the positive signals sent to investors regarding profitability and the low risk of solvency. This study gives additional information for managerial decision-making in order to create more value and a better positioning of the companies in the market

In-Silico Integration Approach to Identify a Key miRNA Regulating a Gene Network in Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Colaprico, Antonio; Bontempi, Gianluca; Castiglioni, Isabella

2018-01-01

Like other cancer diseases, prostate cancer (PC) is caused by the accumulation of genetic alterations in the cells that drives malignant growth. These alterations are revealed by gene profiling and copy number alteration (CNA) analysis. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that also microRNAs have an important role in PC development. Despite efforts to profile PC, the alterations (gene, CNA, and miRNA) and biological processes that correlate with disease development and progression remain partially elusive. Many gene signatures proposed as diagnostic or prognostic tools in cancer poorly overlap. The identification of co-expressed genes, that are functionally related, can identify a core network of genes associated with PC with a better reproducibility. By combining different approaches, including the integration of mRNA expression profiles, CNAs, and miRNA expression levels, we identified a gene signature of four genes overlapping with other published gene signatures and able to distinguish, in silico, high Gleason-scored PC from normal human tissue, which was further enriched to 19 genes by gene co-expression analysis. From the analysis of miRNAs possibly regulating this network, we found that hsa-miR-153 was highly connected to the genes in the network. Our results identify a four-gene signature with diagnostic and prognostic value in PC and suggest an interesting gene network that could play a key regulatory role in PC development and progression. Furthermore, hsa-miR-153, controlling this network, could be a potential biomarker for theranostics in high Gleason-scored PC. PMID:29562723

New families of human regulatory RNA structures identified by comparative analysis of vertebrate genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Brian J; Moltke, Ida; Roth, Adam; Washietl, Stefan; Wen, Jiayu; Kellis, Manolis; Breaker, Ronald; Pedersen, Jakob Skou

2011-11-01

Regulatory RNA structures are often members of families with multiple paralogous instances across the genome. Family members share functional and structural properties, which allow them to be studied as a whole, facilitating both bioinformatic and experimental characterization. We have developed a comparative method, EvoFam, for genome-wide identification of families of regulatory RNA structures, based on primary sequence and secondary structure similarity. We apply EvoFam to a 41-way genomic vertebrate alignment. Genome-wide, we identify 220 human, high-confidence families outside protein-coding regions comprising 725 individual structures, including 48 families with known structural RNA elements. Known families identified include both noncoding RNAs, e.g., miRNAs and the recently identified MALAT1/MEN β lincRNA family; and cis-regulatory structures, e.g., iron-responsive elements. We also identify tens of new families supported by strong evolutionary evidence and other statistical evidence, such as GO term enrichments. For some of these, detailed analysis has led to the formulation of specific functional hypotheses. Examples include two hypothesized auto-regulatory feedback mechanisms: one involving six long hairpins in the 3'-UTR of MAT2A, a key metabolic gene that produces the primary human methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine; the other involving a tRNA-like structure in the intron of the tRNA maturation gene POP1. We experimentally validate the predicted MAT2A structures. Finally, we identify potential new regulatory networks, including large families of short hairpins enriched in immunity-related genes, e.g., TNF, FOS, and CTLA4, which include known transcript destabilizing elements. Our findings exemplify the diversity of post-transcriptional regulation and provide a resource for further characterization of new regulatory mechanisms and families of noncoding RNAs.

The heptanucleotide motif GAGACGC is a key component of a cis-acting promoter element that is critical for SnSAG1 expression in Sarcocystis neurona.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaji, Rajshekhar Y; Howe, Daniel K

2009-07-01

The apicomplexan parasite Sarcocystis neurona undergoes a complex process of intracellular development, during which many genes are temporally regulated. The described study was undertaken to begin identifying the basic promoter elements that control gene expression in S. neurona. Sequence analysis of the 5'-flanking region of five S. neurona genes revealed a conserved heptanucleotide motif GAGACGC that is similar to the WGAGACG motif described upstream of multiple genes in Toxoplasma gondii. The promoter region for the major surface antigen gene SnSAG1, which contains three heptanucleotide motifs within 135 bases of the transcription start site, was dissected by functional analysis using a dual luciferase reporter assay. These analyses revealed that a minimal promoter fragment containing all three motifs was sufficient to drive reporter molecule expression, with the presence and orientation of the 5'-most heptanucleotide motif being absolutely critical for promoter function. Further studies should help to identify additional sequence elements important for promoter function and for controlling gene expression during intracellular development by this apicomplexan pathogen.

Identification of Key Indicators for Sustainable Construction Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Humphrey Danso

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Studies on sustainable construction materials are on the rise with their environmental, social, and economic benefits. This study identifies the key indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The design used for the study was that of a survey which relied on a questionnaire with five-point Likert scale to generate data for the analysis. For this purpose, 25 indicators from the three dimensions (environmental, social, and economic identified from the literature were presented to the respondents in a structured questionnaire, and responses were collected and analysed using SPSS. The study identified three key environmental indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials, and these indicators are human toxicity, climate change, and solid waste. Furthermore, adaptability, thermal comfort, local resources, and housing for all were identified as the four key social indicators for sustainable construction materials. In addition, maintenance cost, operational cost, initial cost, long-term savings, and life span were found to be the five key economic indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The study therefore suggests that these twelve indicators should be considered in future studies that seek to measure sustainable construction materials.

Basic roles of key molecules connected with NMDAR signaling pathway on regulating learning and memory and synaptic plasticity

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Hui Wang; Rui-Yun Peng

2016-01-01

With key roles in essential brain functions ranging from the long-term potentiation (LTP) to synaptic plasticity,the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) can be considered as one of the fundamental glutamate receptors in the central nervous system.The role of NMDA R was first identified in synaptic plasticity and has been extensively studied.Some molecules,such as Ca2+,postsynaptic density 95 (PSD-95),calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ (CaMK Ⅱ),protein kinase A (PKA),mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) responsive element binding protein (CREB),are of special importance in learning and memory.This review mainly focused on the new research of key molecules connected with learning and memory,which played important roles in the NMDAR signaling pathway.

Finite elements for analysis and design

CERN Document Server

Akin, J E; Davenport, J H

1994-01-01

The finite element method (FEM) is an analysis tool for problem-solving used throughout applied mathematics, engineering, and scientific computing. Finite Elements for Analysis and Design provides a thoroughlyrevised and up-to-date account of this important tool and its numerous applications, with added emphasis on basic theory. Numerous worked examples are included to illustrate the material.Key Features* Akin clearly explains the FEM, a numerical analysis tool for problem-solving throughout applied mathematics, engineering and scientific computing* Basic theory has bee

Evaluation of unique identifiers used as keys to match identical publications in Pure and SciVal – a case study from health science [version 2; referees: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heidi Holst Madsen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Unique identifiers (UID are seen as an effective key to match identical publications across databases or identify duplicates in a database. The objective of the present study is to investigate how well UIDs work as match keys in the integration between Pure and SciVal, based on a case with publications from the health sciences. We evaluate the matching process based on information about coverage, precision, and characteristics of publications matched versus not matched with UIDs as the match keys. We analyze this information to detect errors, if any, in the matching process. As an example we also briefly discuss how publication sets formed by using UIDs as the match keys may affect the bibliometric indicators number of publications, number of citations, and the average number of citations per publication.  The objective is addressed in a literature review and a case study. The literature review shows that only a few studies evaluate how well UIDs work as a match key. From the literature we identify four error types: Duplicate digital object identifiers (DOI, incorrect DOIs in reference lists and databases, DOIs not registered by the database where a bibliometric analysis is performed, and erroneous optical or special character recognition. The case study explores the use of UIDs in the integration between the databases Pure and SciVal. Specifically journal publications in English are matched between the two databases. We find all error types except erroneous optical or special character recognition in our publication sets. In particular the duplicate DOIs constitute a problem for the calculation of bibliometric indicators as both keeping the duplicates to improve the reliability of citation counts and deleting them to improve the reliability of publication counts will distort the calculation of average number of citations per publication. The use of UIDs as a match key in citation linking is implemented in many settings, and the availability of

A historical approach to teaching the concept of the chemical element

OpenAIRE

Cachapuz, António; Paixão, Fátima

2005-01-01

A novel teaching strategy is described, which was developed to introduce the key notion of chemical elements to 15-year-old Portuguese chemistry pupils. The strategy started from the analysis of the so-called ‘Lavoisier law ’and explored the relationships between macro and micro level chemistry in an innovative way. The key idea was first to explore the macro level (mass conservation) to help pupils consider the existence of indestructible units (elements, micro level) as a logical necessity ...

The interplay of contextual elements in implementation: an ethnographic case study.

Science.gov (United States)

McCullough, Megan B; Chou, Ann F; Solomon, Jeffrey L; Petrakis, Beth Ann; Kim, Bo; Park, Angela M; Benedict, Ashley J; Hamilton, Alison B; Rose, Adam J

2015-02-14

Contextual elements have significant impact on uptake of health care innovations. While existing conceptual frameworks in implementation science suggest contextual elements interact with each other, little research has described how this might look in practice. To bridge this gap, this study identifies the interconnected patterns among contextual elements that influence uptake of an anticoagulation clinic improvement initiative. We completed 51 semi-structured interviews and ethnographic observations across five case study sites involved in an evidence-based practice (EBP) quality improvement initiative. We analyzed data in NVivo 10 using an a priori approach based on the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) model and an emergent thematic analysis. Key contextual elements, such as leadership, teamwork, and communication, interacted with each other in contributing to site-level uptake of the EBP, often yielding results that could not be predicted by looking at just one of these elements alone. Sites with context conducive to change in these areas predictably had high uptake, while sites with uniformly weak contextual elements had low uptake. Most sites presented a mixed picture, with contextual elements being strongly supportive of change in some areas and weak or moderate in others. In some cases, we found that sites with strong context in at least one area only needed to have adequate context in other areas to yield high uptake. At other sites, weak context in just one area had the potential to contribute to low uptake, despite countervailing strengths. Even a site with positive views of EBPs could not succeed when context was weak. Interrelationships among different contextual elements can act as barriers to uptake at some sites and as facilitators at others. Accounting for interconnections among elements enables PARIHS to more fully describe the determinants of successful implementation as they operate in real-world settings.

Physical model of Nernst element

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Hiroaki; Ikeda, Kazuaki; Yamaguchi, Satarou

1998-08-01

Generation of electric power by the Nernst effect is a new application of a semiconductor. A key point of this proposal is to find materials with a high thermomagnetic figure-of-merit, which are called Nernst elements. In order to find candidates of the Nernst element, a physical model to describe its transport phenomena is needed. As the first model, we began with a parabolic two-band model in classical statistics. According to this model, we selected InSb as candidates of the Nernst element and measured their transport coefficients in magnetic fields up to 4 Tesla within a temperature region from 270 K to 330 K. In this region, we calculated transport coefficients numerically by our physical model. For InSb, experimental data are coincident with theoretical values in strong magnetic field. (author)

Genome-wide expression profiling analysis to identify key genes in the anti-HIV mechanism of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Lijie; Wang, Yunqi; Li, Yi; Dong, Ya; Yang, Aimin; Zhang, Jie; Li, Fengying; Zhang, Rongqiang

2018-07-01

Comprehensive bioinformatics analyses were performed to explore the key biomarkers in response to HIV infection of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. The numbers of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells of HIV infected individuals were analyzed and the GEO database (GSE6740) was screened for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in HIV infected CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. Gene Ontology enrichment, KEGG pathway analyses, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were performed to identify the key pathway and core proteins in anti-HIV virus process of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. Finally, we analyzed the expressions of key proteins in HIV-infected T cells (GSE6740 dataset) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) (GSE511 dataset). 1) CD4 + T cells counts and ratio of CD4 + /CD8 + T cells decreased while CD8 + T cells counts increased in HIV positive individuals; 2) 517 DEGs were found in HIV infected CD4 + and CD8 + T cells at acute and chronic stage with the criterial of P-value T cells. The main biological processes of the DEGs were response to virus and defense response to virus. At chronic stage, ISG15 protein, in conjunction with IFN-1 pathway might play key roles in anti-HIV responses of CD4 + T cells; and 4) The expression of ISG15 increased in both T cells and PBMCs after HIV infection. Gene expression profile of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells changed significantly in HIV infection, in which ISG15 gene may play a central role in activating the natural antiviral process of immune cells. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Elements in human serum—CCQM-K139

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Richard; Dewi, Fransiska; Tong, Benny; Wah, Leung Ho; Saxby, David; Armishaw, Paul; Ivanova, Veronika; Feng, Liuxing; Wang, Jun; Estela del Castillo Busto, M.; Fisicaro, Paola; Rienitz, Olaf; Fung, Wai-Hong; Ho-pan Yau, Michael; Yim, Yong-Hyeon; Buzoianu, Mirella; Can, Suleyman Z.; Ari, Betul; Cankur, Oktay; Goenaga Infante, Heidi; Pérez-Zambra, Ramiro; Ferreira, Elizabeth; Long, Stephen

2018-01-01

Elements in human serum serve as important biomarkers and their levels reflect the well-being of an individual. Electrolytes such as sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) are crucial in maintaining the normal distribution of water, osmotic pressure and electrical neutrality in the body. Trace element such as copper (Cu) plays a part in many oxidation-reduction reactions and metalloenzymes. The majority of selenium (Se) exists as selenoproteins which are cofactors in the glutathione peroxidase activity that protects the body against free radicals. Phosphorus (P) is required for strong bones and teeth. It is also indispensable for growth, maintenance and repair of tissues and cells. The key comparison CCQM-K139: elements in human serum was coordinated by the Health Sciences Authority, Singapore. This comparison aimed to enable participating National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and Designated Institutes (DIs) to demonstrate their competence in the determination of elements (electrolytes and essential elements) in human serum. The five measurands (Na, Cl, Cu, Se and P) selected for this comparison were not covered in the last two comparisons in the clinical area (CCQM-K14 and CCQM-K107) and offered different analytical challenges. Their concentration levels were within the normal biological range. They were also within the range of existing calibration and measurement capability (CMC) claims in the International Bureau of Weights and Measures' Key Comparison Database (BIPM KCDB). Ten institutes participated in the comparison for Na, eight for Cl, eleven for Cu, six for Se and eight for P. For the analysis of Na, Cu, Se and P, most of the participating institutes employed microwave-assisted digestion and acid digestion (with or without heating) sample dissolution. For the analysis of Cl, in addition to the microwave-assisted digestion and acid digestion, a wider variety of techniques were employed. These included matrix separation, alkaline extraction and coulometric titration

High time-resolved elemental components in fine and coarse particles in the Pearl River Delta region of Southern China: Dynamic variations and effects of meteorology.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Shengzhen; Davy, Perry K; Wang, Xuemei; Cohen, Jason Blake; Liang, Jiaquan; Huang, Minjuan; Fan, Qi; Chen, Weihua; Chang, Ming; Ancelet, Travis; Trompetter, William J

2016-12-01

Hourly-resolved PM 2.5 and PM 10-2.5 samples were collected in the industrial city Foshan in the Pearl River Delta region, China. The samples were subsequently analyzed for elemental components and black carbon (BC). A key purpose of the study was to understand the composition of particulate matter (PM) at high-time resolution in a polluted urban atmosphere to identify key components contributing to extreme PM concentration events and examine the diurnal chemical concentration patterns for air quality management purposes. It was found that BC and S concentrations dominated in the fine mode, while elements with mostly crustal and oceanic origins such as Si, Ca, Al and Cl were found in the coarse size fraction. Most of the elements showed strong diurnal variations. S did not show clear diurnal variations, suggesting regional rather than local origin. Based on empirical orthogonal functions (EOF) method, 3 forcing factors were identified contributing to the extreme events of PM 2.5 and selected elements, i.e., urban direct emissions, wet deposition and a combination of coarse mode sources. Conditional probability functions (CPF) were performed using wind profiles and elemental concentrations. The CPF results showed that BC and elemental Cl, K, Fe, Cu and Zn in the fine mode were mostly from the northwest, indicating that industrial emissions and combustion were the main sources. For elements in the coarse mode, Si, Al, K, Ca, Fe and Ti showed similar patterns, suggesting same sources such as local soil dust/construction activities. Coarse elemental Cl was mostly from the south and southeast, implying the influence of marine aerosol sources. For other trace elements, we found vanadium (V) in fine PM was mainly from the sources located to the southeast of the measuring site. Combined with CPF results of S and V in fine PM, we concluded shipping emissions were likely an important elemental emission source. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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.

Eight Key Facets of Small Business Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, James Calvert

1980-01-01

Identifies eight key facets of small business management and suggests activities that may be used to assist in their development. The key facets are (1) product or service, (2) competition, (3) marketing strategies, (4) personnel needs, (5) equipment and facility needs, (6) finances, (7) planning, and (8) entrepreneurship. (JOW)

Pragmatic trial design elements showed a different impact on trial interpretation and feasibility than explanatory elements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwenhuis, Joost B.; Irving, Elaine; Oude Rengerink, Katrien; Lloyd, Emily; Goetz, Iris; Grobbee, Diederick E.; Stolk, Pieter; Groenwold, Rolf H H; Zuidgeest, Mira G P

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To illustrate how pragmatic trial design elements, or inserting explanatory trial elements in pragmatic trials affect validity, generalizability, precision and operational feasibility. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: From illustrative examples identified through the IMI Get Real Consortium, we

Normalized rare earth elements in water, sediments, and wine: identifying sources and environmental redox conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Piper, David Z.; Bau, Michael

2013-01-01

The concentrations of the rare earth elements (REE) in surface waters and sediments, when normalized on an element-by-element basis to one of several rock standards and plotted versus atomic number, yield curves that reveal their partitioning between different sediment fractions and the sources of those fractions, for example, between terrestrial-derived lithogenous debris and seawater-derived biogenous detritus and hydrogenous metal oxides. The REE of ancient sediments support their partitioning into these same fractions and further contribute to the identification of the redox geochemistry of the sea water in which the sediments accumulated. The normalized curves of the REE that have been examined in several South American wine varietals can be interpreted to reflect the lithology of the bedrock on which the vines may have been grown, suggesting limited fractionation during soil development.

The building blocks of a 'Liveable Neighbourhood': Identifying the key performance indicators for walking of an operational planning policy in Perth, Western Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, Paula; Knuiman, Matthew; Foster, Sarah; Giles-Corti, Billie

2015-11-01

Planning policy makers are requesting clearer guidance on the key design features required to build neighbourhoods that promote active living. Using a backwards stepwise elimination procedure (logistic regression with generalised estimating equations adjusting for demographic characteristics, self-selection factors, stage of construction and scale of development) this study identified specific design features (n=16) from an operational planning policy ("Liveable Neighbourhoods") that showed the strongest associations with walking behaviours (measured using the Neighbourhood Physical Activity Questionnaire). The interacting effects of design features on walking behaviours were also investigated. The urban design features identified were grouped into the "building blocks of a Liveable Neighbourhood", reflecting the scale, importance and sequencing of the design and implementation phases required to create walkable, pedestrian friendly developments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolation and Characterization of Well-Defined Silica-Supported Azametallacyclopentane: A Key Intermediate in Catalytic Hydroaminoalkylation Reactions

KAUST Repository

Hamzaoui, Bilel

2015-09-25

Intermolecular catalytic hydroaminoalkylation of unactivated alkene occurs with silica-supported azazirconacyclopropane [[TRIPLE BOND]Si[BOND]O[BOND]Zr(HNMe2)(η2-NMeCH2)(NMe2)]. Mechanistic studies were conducted using surface organometallic chemistry (SOMC) concepts to identify the key surface intermediates. The azametallacyclopentene intermediate {[TRIPLE BOND]Si[BOND]O[BOND]Zr(HNMe2)[η2-NMeCH2CH(Me)CH2](NMe2)} was isolated after treating with 1-propylene and characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, 1H 13C HETCOR, DARR SS-NMR and DQ TQ SS-NMR. The regeneration of the catalyst was conducted by dimethylamine protonolysis to yield the pure amine.

Isolation and Characterization of Well-Defined Silica-Supported Azametallacyclopentane: A Key Intermediate in Catalytic Hydroaminoalkylation Reactions

KAUST Repository

Hamzaoui, Bilel; Pelletier, Jé ré mie D. A.; El Eter, Mohamad; Chen, Yin; Abou-Hamad, Edy; Basset, Jean-Marie

2015-01-01

Intermolecular catalytic hydroaminoalkylation of unactivated alkene occurs with silica-supported azazirconacyclopropane [[TRIPLE BOND]Si[BOND]O[BOND]Zr(HNMe2)(η2-NMeCH2)(NMe2)]. Mechanistic studies were conducted using surface organometallic chemistry (SOMC) concepts to identify the key surface intermediates. The azametallacyclopentene intermediate {[TRIPLE BOND]Si[BOND]O[BOND]Zr(HNMe2)[η2-NMeCH2CH(Me)CH2](NMe2)} was isolated after treating with 1-propylene and characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, 1H 13C HETCOR, DARR SS-NMR and DQ TQ SS-NMR. The regeneration of the catalyst was conducted by dimethylamine protonolysis to yield the pure amine.

Use of a scenario-neutral approach to identify the key hydro-meteorological attributes that impact runoff from a natural catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Danlu; Westra, Seth; Maier, Holger R.

2017-11-01

Scenario-neutral approaches are being used increasingly for assessing the potential impact of climate change on water resource systems, as these approaches allow the performance of these systems to be evaluated independently of climate change projections. However, practical implementations of these approaches are still scarce, with a key limitation being the difficulty of generating a range of plausible future time series of hydro-meteorological data. In this study we apply a recently developed inverse stochastic generation approach to support the scenario-neutral analysis, and thus identify the key hydro-meteorological variables to which the system is most sensitive. The stochastic generator simulates synthetic hydro-meteorological time series that represent plausible future changes in (1) the average, extremes and seasonal patterns of rainfall; and (2) the average values of temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH) and wind speed (uz) as variables that drive PET. These hydro-meteorological time series are then fed through a conceptual rainfall-runoff model to simulate the potential changes in runoff as a function of changes in the hydro-meteorological variables, and runoff sensitivity is assessed with both correlation and Sobol' sensitivity analyses. The method was applied to a case study catchment in South Australia, and the results showed that the most important hydro-meteorological attributes for runoff were winter rainfall followed by the annual average rainfall, while the PET-related meteorological variables had comparatively little impact. The high importance of winter rainfall can be related to the winter-dominated nature of both the rainfall and runoff regimes in this catchment. The approach illustrated in this study can greatly enhance our understanding of the key hydro-meteorological attributes and processes that are likely to drive catchment runoff under a changing climate, thus enabling the design of tailored climate impact assessments to specific

Hillslope characterization: Identifying key controls on local-scale plant communities' distribution using remote sensing and subsurface data fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Falco, N.; Wainwright, H. M.; Dafflon, B.; Leger, E.; Peterson, J.; Steltzer, H.; Wilmer, C.; Williams, K. H.; Hubbard, S. S.

2017-12-01

Mountainous watershed systems are characterized by extreme heterogeneity in hydrological and pedological properties that influence biotic activities, plant communities and their dynamics. To gain predictive understanding of how ecosystem and watershed system evolve under climate change, it is critical to capture such heterogeneity and to quantify the effect of key environmental variables such as topography, and soil properties. In this study, we exploit advanced geophysical and remote sensing techniques - coupled with machine learning - to better characterize and quantify the interactions between plant communities' distribution and subsurface properties. First, we have developed a remote sensing data fusion framework based on the random forest (RF) classification algorithm to estimate the spatial distribution of plant communities. The framework allows the integration of both plant spectral and structural information, which are derived from multispectral satellite images and airborne LiDAR data. We then use the RF method to evaluate the estimated plant community map, exploiting the subsurface properties (such as bedrock depth, soil moisture and other properties) and geomorphological parameters (such as slope, curvature) as predictors. Datasets include high-resolution geophysical data (electrical resistivity tomography) and LiDAR digital elevation maps. We demonstrate our approach on a mountain hillslope and meadow within the East River watershed in Colorado, which is considered to be a representative headwater catchment in the Upper Colorado Basin. The obtained results show the existence of co-evolution between above and below-ground processes; in particular, dominant shrub communities in wet and flat areas. We show that successful integration of remote sensing data with geophysical measurements allows identifying and quantifying the key environmental controls on plant communities' distribution, and provides insights into their potential changes in the future

Elements for harnessing participatory action research to strengthen health managers' capacity: a critical interpretative synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tetui, Moses; Zulu, Joseph Mumba; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; Ekirapa-Kiracho, Elizabeth; Kiwanuka, Suzanne N; Coe, Anna-Britt

2018-04-19

Health managers play a key role in ensuring that health services are responsive to the needs of the population. Participatory action research (PAR) is one of the approaches that have been used to strengthen managers' capacity. However, collated knowledge on elements for harnessing PAR to strengthen managers' capacity is missing. This paper bridges this gap by reviewing existing literature on the subject matter. A critical interpretive synthesis method was used to interrogate eight selected articles. These articles reported the use of PAR to strengthen health managers' capacity. The critical interpretive synthesis method's approach to analysis guided the synthesis. Here, the authors interpretively made connections and linkages between different elements identified in the literature. Finally, the Atun et al. (Heal Pol Plann, 25:104-111, 2010) framework on integration was used to model the elements synthesised in the literature into five main domains. Five elements with intricate bi-directional interactions were identified in the literature reviewed. These included a shared purpose, skilled facilitation and psychological safety, activity integration into organisational procedures, organisational support, and external supportive monitoring. A shared purpose of the managers' capacity strengthening initiative created commitment and motivation to learn. This purpose was built upon a set of facilitation skills that included promoting participation, self-efficacy and reflection, thereby creating a safe psychological space within which the managers interacted and learnt from each other and their actions. Additionally, an integrated intervention strengthened local capacity and harnessed organisational support for learning. Finally, supportive monitoring from external partners, such as researchers, ensured quality, building of local capacity and professional safety networks essential for continued learning. The five elements identified in this synthesis provide a basis upon

Key Performance Indicators for Maintenance Management Effectiveness of Public Hospital Building

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farhana Omar Mardhiah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Effectiveness of management in maintenance aspect holds the key element in influencing the performance of overall maintenance management. Similarly, public hospital building needs an effective maintenance management as this type of building in nature is one of the most complex issues in the field of maintenance. Improper building maintenance management adopted by the organization significantly will interrupt the overall operation of the building. Therefore, this paper is aim to identifying the key performance indicator (KPI of effectiveness of maintenance management for the public hospital building. A total of 32 set of questionnaires were distributed to the maintenance manager for each hospital in the northern region of peninsular Malaysia by using self-administration strategy. The survey answer was analyzed by performing descriptive analysis in SPSS. Overall, the result of descriptive analysis shows that all the ten factors of effectiveness of maintenance management are accepted as KPI since the mean value is at least 3.93 which classified as important and significant. The most significant factor of effectiveness of maintenance management is task planning and scheduling with the mean score of 4.35. While less significant factor is identify as maintenance approach with the value of mean score is 3.93. The both results indicates that the management need to have well-structured planning for the maintenance works and also need to embrace the exact strategy of maintenance approach in order to achieved better overall performance of maintenance management. This study may draw a standard practice for the government in assessing the performance of public facilities in terms of maintenance management.

Using small XML elements to support relevance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

G. Ramirez Camps (Georgina); T.H.W. Westerveld (Thijs); A.P. de Vries (Arjen)

2006-01-01

htmlabstractSmall XML elements are often estimated relevant by the retrieval model but they are not desirable retrieval units. This paper presents a generic model that exploits the information obtained from small elements. We identify relationships between small and relevant elements and use this

Superheavy element chemistry. Achievements and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaedel, M.

2007-01-01

Superheavy elements have been synthesized and chemically characterized one-atom-at-a-time up to element 108. Presently, the quest for element 112 is one of the hottest topics in this field. The transactinide elements 104 to 108 are members of group 4 to 8 of the Periodic Table and element 112 belongs into group 12. Chemical properties of some of these elements, like elements 104 and 105, show stunning deviations from simple extrapolations within their respective group while others exhibit great similarities with their lighter homologues elements. First experiments to investigate seaborgium (Sg, element 106) in aqueous solution were performed. Again, in large international collaborations at the GSI, several gas-phase chemistry experiments were performed with hassium (Hs, element 108). Recently, the highly efficient and very clean separation of Hs was applied for nuclear studies of various Hs nuclides investigating their cross section and their nuclear decay properties in the region of the doubly-magic 270 Hs (Z=108, N=162). To overcome certain limitations of the presently used on-line chemical separations the new TransActinide Separation and Chemistry Apparatus (TASCA) - with a gas-filled recoil separator as a front-end tool - was designed and built at the GSI in a collaborative effort. Presently in its commissioning phase, TASCA shall be a key instrument for a big leap into quantitatively and qualitatively new experiments in the region of superheavy elements. (author)

On the Security of a Simple Three-Party Key Exchange Protocol without Server’s Public Keys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junghyun Nam

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Authenticated key exchange protocols are of fundamental importance in securing communications and are now extensively deployed for use in various real-world network applications. In this work, we reveal major previously unpublished security vulnerabilities in the password-based authenticated three-party key exchange protocol according to Lee and Hwang (2010: (1 the Lee-Hwang protocol is susceptible to a man-in-the-middle attack and thus fails to achieve implicit key authentication; (2 the protocol cannot protect clients’ passwords against an offline dictionary attack; and (3 the indistinguishability-based security of the protocol can be easily broken even in the presence of a passive adversary. We also propose an improved password-based authenticated three-party key exchange protocol that addresses the security vulnerabilities identified in the Lee-Hwang protocol.

Labont? Identifies Key Issues for Health Promoters in the New World Order

OpenAIRE

Raphael, Dennis

2016-01-01

For over 35 years Ronald Labonté has been critically analyzing the state of health promotion in Canada and the world. In 1981, he identified the shortcomings of the groundbreaking Lalonde Report by warning of the seductive appeal of so-called lifestyle approaches to health. Since then, he has left a trail of critical work identifying the barriers to — and opportunities for —health promotion work. More recently, he has shown how the rise of economic globalization and acceptance of neo-liberal ...

Marine oligotrophy and element biogeochemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeffree, R.A.; Szymczak, R.

1999-01-01

A biogeochemical model has been developed that explains the inverse and non-linear relationship between Po-210 concentration in zooplankton and their biomass, under oligotrophic conditions in French Polynesia. This study identified other elements with comparable accumulatory behaviours to Po-210 in phytoplankton, seston and zooplankton, that are proposed to be critical to its enhanced environmental levels under oligotrophy. Field investigation in the Gulf of Papua showed that four of these a priori identified elements viz Cd, Co, Pb and Mn, as well as Cr and Ni, showed elevated water concentrations with reduced biological productivity, results that are consistent with those previously obtained for Po-210 and the proposed explanatory model. These findings point to the enhanced susceptibility of oligotrophic systems to contamination from particle-reactive elements. (author)

A short summary on finite element modelling of fatigue crack closure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Konjengbam Darunkumar [Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (India); Parry, Matthew Roger [Airbus Operations Ltd, Bristol(United Kingdom); Sinclair, Ian [University of Southampton, Southampton (United Kingdom)

2011-12-15

This paper presents a short summary pertaining to the finite element modelling of fatigue crack closure. Several key issues related to finite element modelling of fatigue crack closure are highlighted: element type, mesh refinement, stabilization of crack closure, crack-tip node release scheme, constitutive model, specimen geometry, stress-states (i.e., plane stress, plane strain), crack closure monitoring. Reviews are presented for both straight and deflected cracks.

Towards identifying novel anti-Eimeria agents: trace elements, vitamins, and plant-based natural products.

Science.gov (United States)

Wunderlich, Frank; Al-Quraishy, Saleh; Steinbrenner, Holger; Sies, Helmut; Dkhil, Mohamed A

2014-10-01

Eimeriosis, a widespread infectious disease of livestock, is caused by coccidian protozoans of the genus Eimeria. These obligate intracellular parasites strike the digestive tract of their hosts and give rise to enormous economic losses, particularly in poultry, ruminants including cattle, and rabbit farming. Vaccination, though a rational prophylactic measure, has not yet been as successful as initially thought. Numerous broad-spectrum anti-coccidial drugs are currently in use for treatment and prophylactic control of eimeriosis. However, increasing concerns about parasite resistance, consumer health, and environmental safety of the commercial drugs warrant efforts to search for novel agents with anti-Eimeria activity. This review summarizes current approaches to prevent and treat eimeriosis such as vaccination and commercial drugs, as well as recent attempts to use dietary antioxidants as novel anti-Eimeria agents. In particular, the trace elements selenium and zinc, the vitamins A and E, and natural products extracted from garlic, barberry, pomegranate, sweet wormwood, and other plants are discussed. Several of these novel anti-Eimeria agents exhibit a protective role against oxidative stress that occurs not only in the intestine of Eimeria-infected animals, but also in their non-parasitized tissues, in particular, in the first-pass organ liver. Currently, it appears to be promising to identify safe combinations of low-cost natural products with high anti-Eimeria efficacy for a potential use as feed supplementation in animal farming.

Under Lock and Key: Preventing Campus Theft of Electronic Equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, J. Phil

1996-01-01

A discussion of computer theft prevention on college campuses looks at a variety of elements in electronic equipment security, including the extent of the problem, physical antitheft products, computerized access, control of key access, alarm systems, competent security personnel, lighting, use of layers of protection, and increasing…

Comparative study of key exchange and authentication methods in application, transport and network level security mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Fathirad, Iraj; Devlin, John; Jiang, Frank

2012-09-01

The key-exchange and authentication are two crucial elements of any network security mechanism. IPsec, SSL/TLS, PGP and S/MIME are well-known security approaches in providing security service to network, transport and application layers; these protocols use different methods (based on their requirements) to establish keying materials and authenticates key-negotiation and participated parties. This paper studies and compares the authenticated key negotiation methods in mentioned protocols.

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.

Brand I Feel Slovenia: Inclusion of the Key Areas’ Representatives in the Branding Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maja Konecnik Ruzzier

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the part of the process of I feel Slovenia brand developmentin which we investigated 707 respondents from key stakeholdergroups. Respondents were representatives of all key stakeholdergroups in the country who, along with the other two target groups (opinionleaders and local inhabitants, represented the most importantstakeholders in the process of country brand development. A strongagreement regarding brand identity elements is evident from researchresults, which imply that identity elements shared by representativesfrom different internal stakeholder groups should form the basis of astrong country brand. Such brand foundation represents a strong preconditionfor a country brand, which could through hard and systematicwork become a strong and successful brand.

Nature and Key Elements of the Ukrainian Think Tanks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constantine Petrovich Kurylev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the activities of the Ukrainian think tanks in the context of studying “the Center of it. A. Razumkov” activity, which is supposed to be the leading Ukrainian think tank. The authors examined in detail the mechanisms and principles of the center’s work, analyzed the activity of key experts including A. Gritsenko, G. Sherr, P. Rozenko, A. Melnyk, I. Zhdanov, V. Chaly, Yu. Mostovaya, N. Martynenko, A. Rachok and sources of funding. The researchers highlighted a number of issues of the Ukrainian system of analytical centers, including the closed system of decision making at the state and local authorities level, the lack of demand for the services of independent analytical structures by public authorities, weak financial, material and technical base, the absence of staff training, poor communication between the centers, insufficient use of the Internet, software and hardware, information-analytical systems, and so on. While analyzing their activities the author comes to the conclusion that they have mostly been funded by various agencies (including foreign ones and used in opposition between the local political and financial elites. As a result their expert assessments and analytics very often did not reflect the real situation. Within the civil war in Ukraine in 2013-2014’s these think tanks finally turned into an instrument of information and psychological war, being discredited by their actual support to the actors which had staged a coup and started a struggle against their own nation.

Drought Response in Wheat: Key Genes and Regulatory Mechanisms Controlling Root System Architecture and Transpiration Efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manoj Kulkarni

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Abiotic stresses such as, drought, heat, salinity, and flooding threaten global food security. Crop genetic improvement with increased resilience to abiotic stresses is a critical component of crop breeding strategies. Wheat is an important cereal crop and a staple food source globally. Enhanced drought tolerance in wheat is critical for sustainable food production and global food security. Recent advances in drought tolerance research have uncovered many key genes and transcription regulators governing morpho-physiological traits. Genes controlling root architecture and stomatal development play an important role in soil moisture extraction and its retention, and therefore have been targets of molecular breeding strategies for improving drought tolerance. In this systematic review, we have summarized evidence of beneficial contributions of root and stomatal traits to plant adaptation to drought stress. Specifically, we discuss a few key genes such as, DRO1 in rice and ERECTA in Arabidopsis and rice that were identified to be the enhancers of drought tolerance via regulation of root traits and transpiration efficiency. Additionally, we highlight several transcription factor families, such as, ERF (ethylene response factors, DREB (dehydration responsive element binding, ZFP (zinc finger proteins, WRKY, and MYB that were identified to be both positive and negative regulators of drought responses in wheat, rice, maize, and/or Arabidopsis. The overall aim of this review is to provide an overview of candidate genes that have been identified as regulators of drought response in plants. The lack of a reference genome sequence for wheat and non-transgenic approaches for manipulation of gene functions in wheat in the past had impeded high-resolution interrogation of functional elements, including genes and QTLs, and their application in cultivar improvement. The recent developments in wheat genomics and reverse genetics, including the availability of a

Discovery of element 112

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hofmann, S. [GSI, Darmstadt (Germany)

1996-12-31

The new elements 110, 111, and 112 were synthesized and unambiguously identified in experiments at SHIP. Due to strong shell effects the dominant decay mode is not fission, but emission of alpha particles. Theoretical investigations predict that maximum shell effects should exist in nuclei near proton number 114 and neutron number 184. Measurements give hope that isotopes of element 114 close to the island of spherical Superheavy Elements could be produced by fusion reactions using {sup 118}Pb as target. systematic studies of the reaction cross-sections indicate that transfer of nucleons is the important process to initiate the fusion.

Identifying key conservation threats to Alpine birds through expert knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Pedrini, Paolo; Brambilla, Mattia; Rolando, Antonio; Girardello, Marco

2016-01-01

Alpine biodiversity is subject to a range of increasing threats, but the scarcity of data for many taxa means that it is difficult to assess the level and likely future impact of a given threat. Expert opinion can be a useful tool to address knowledge gaps in the absence of adequate data. Experts with experience in Alpine ecology were approached to rank threat levels for 69 Alpine bird species over the next 50 years for the whole European Alps in relation to ten categories: land abandonment, climate change, renewable energy, fire, forestry practices, grazing practices, hunting, leisure, mining and urbanization. There was a high degree of concordance in ranking of perceived threats among experts for most threat categories. The major overall perceived threats to Alpine birds identified through expert knowledge were land abandonment, urbanization, leisure and forestry, although other perceived threats were ranked highly for particular species groups (renewable energy and hunting for raptors, hunting for gamebirds). For groups of species defined according to their breeding habitat, open habitat species and treeline species were perceived as the most threatened. A spatial risk assessment tool based on summed scores for the whole community showed threat levels were highest for bird communities of the northern and western Alps. Development of the approaches given in this paper, including addressing biases in the selection of experts and adopting a more detailed ranking procedure, could prove useful in the future in identifying future threats, and in carrying out risk assessments based on levels of threat to the whole bird community. PMID:26966659

Identifying key conservation threats to Alpine birds through expert knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan E. Chamberlain

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Alpine biodiversity is subject to a range of increasing threats, but the scarcity of data for many taxa means that it is difficult to assess the level and likely future impact of a given threat. Expert opinion can be a useful tool to address knowledge gaps in the absence of adequate data. Experts with experience in Alpine ecology were approached to rank threat levels for 69 Alpine bird species over the next 50 years for the whole European Alps in relation to ten categories: land abandonment, climate change, renewable energy, fire, forestry practices, grazing practices, hunting, leisure, mining and urbanization. There was a high degree of concordance in ranking of perceived threats among experts for most threat categories. The major overall perceived threats to Alpine birds identified through expert knowledge were land abandonment, urbanization, leisure and forestry, although other perceived threats were ranked highly for particular species groups (renewable energy and hunting for raptors, hunting for gamebirds. For groups of species defined according to their breeding habitat, open habitat species and treeline species were perceived as the most threatened. A spatial risk assessment tool based on summed scores for the whole community showed threat levels were highest for bird communities of the northern and western Alps. Development of the approaches given in this paper, including addressing biases in the selection of experts and adopting a more detailed ranking procedure, could prove useful in the future in identifying future threats, and in carrying out risk assessments based on levels of threat to the whole bird community.

PlantPAN: Plant promoter analysis navigator, for identifying combinatorial cis-regulatory elements with distance constraint in plant gene groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huang Hsien-Da

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The elucidation of transcriptional regulation in plant genes is important area of research for plant scientists, following the mapping of various plant genomes, such as A. thaliana, O. sativa and Z. mays. A variety of bioinformatic servers or databases of plant promoters have been established, although most have been focused only on annotating transcription factor binding sites in a single gene and have neglected some important regulatory elements (tandem repeats and CpG/CpNpG islands in promoter regions. Additionally, the combinatorial interaction of transcription factors (TFs is important in regulating the gene group that is associated with the same expression pattern. Therefore, a tool for detecting the co-regulation of transcription factors in a group of gene promoters is required. Results This study develops a database-assisted system, PlantPAN (Plant Promoter Analysis Navigator, for recognizing combinatorial cis-regulatory elements with a distance constraint in sets of plant genes. The system collects the plant transcription factor binding profiles from PLACE, TRANSFAC (public release 7.0, AGRIS, and JASPER databases and allows users to input a group of gene IDs or promoter sequences, enabling the co-occurrence of combinatorial transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs within a defined distance (20 bp to 200 bp to be identified. Furthermore, the new resource enables other regulatory features in a plant promoter, such as CpG/CpNpG islands and tandem repeats, to be displayed. The regulatory elements in the conserved regions of the promoters across homologous genes are detected and presented. Conclusion In addition to providing a user-friendly input/output interface, PlantPAN has numerous advantages in the analysis of a plant promoter. Several case studies have established the effectiveness of PlantPAN. This novel analytical resource is now freely available at http://PlantPAN.mbc.nctu.edu.tw.

Spontaneous germline excision of Tol1, a DNA-based transposable element naturally occurring in the medaka fish genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Kohei; Koga, Hajime; Nakamura, Kodai; Fujita, Akiko; Hattori, Akimasa; Matsuda, Masaru; Koga, Akihiko

2014-04-01

DNA-based transposable elements are ubiquitous constituents of eukaryotic genomes. Vertebrates are, however, exceptional in that most of their DNA-based elements appear to be inactivated. The Tol1 element of the medaka fish, Oryzias latipes, is one of the few elements for which copies containing an undamaged gene have been found. Spontaneous transposition of this element in somatic cells has previously been demonstrated, but there is only indirect evidence for its germline transposition. Here, we show direct evidence of spontaneous excision in the germline. Tyrosinase is the key enzyme in melanin biosynthesis. In an albino laboratory strain of medaka fish, which is homozygous for a mutant tyrosinase gene in which a Tol1 copy is inserted, we identified de novo reversion mutations related to melanin pigmentation. The gamete-based reversion rate was as high as 0.4%. The revertant fish carried the tyrosinase gene from which the Tol1 copy had been excised. We previously reported the germline transposition of Tol2, another DNA-based element that is thought to be a recent invader of the medaka fish genome. Tol1 is an ancient resident of the genome. Our results indicate that even an old element can contribute to genetic variation in the host genome as a natural mutator.

Managing Identifiers for Elements of Provenance of the Third National Climate Assessment in the Global Change Information System (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmes, C.; Aulenbach, S.; Duggan, B.; Goldstein, J.

2013-12-01

A Federal Advisory Committee (The "National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee" or NCADAC) has overseen the development of a draft climate report that after extensive review will be considered by the Federal Government in the Third National Climate Assessment (NCA). This comprehensive report (1) Integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of the Program and discusses the scientific uncertainties associated with such findings; (2) Analyzes the effects of global change on the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, human health and welfare, human social systems, and biological diversity; and (3) Analyzes current trends in global change, both human-induced and natural, and projects major trends for the subsequent 25 to 100 years. The U.S. Global Change Program (USGCRP), composed of the 13 federal agencies most concerned with global change, is building a Global Change Information System (GCIS) that will ultimately organize access to all of the research, data, and information about global change from across the system. A prototype of the system has been constructed that captures and presents all of the elements of provenance of the NCA through a coherent data model and friendly front end web site. This work will focus on the globally unique and persistent identifiers used to reference and organize those items. These include externally referenced items, such as DOIs used by scientific journal publishers for research articles or by agencies as dataset identifiers, as well as our own internal approach to identifiers, our overall data model and experiences managing persistent identifiers within the GCIS.

Setting Organizational Key Performance Indicators in the Precision Machine Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mei-Hsiu Hong

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to define (or set organizational key performance indicators (KPIs in the precision machine industry using the concept of core competence and the supply chain operations reference (SCOR model. The research is conducted in three steps. In the first step, a benchmarking study is conducted to collect major items of core competence and to group them into main categories in order to form a foundation for the research. In the second step, a case company questionnaire and interviews are conducted to identify the key factors of core competence in the precision machine industry. The analysis is conducted based on four dimensions and hence several analysis rounds are completed. Questionnaire data is analyzed with grey relational analysis (GRA and resulted in 5–6 key factors in each dimension or sub-dimension. Based on the conducted interviews, 13 of these identified key factors are separated into one organization objective, five key factors of core competence and seven key factors of core ability. In the final step, organizational KPIs are defined (or set for the five identified key factors of core competence. The most competitive core abilities for each of the five key factors are established. After that, organizational KPIs are set based on the core abilities within 3 main categories of KPIs (departmental, office grade and hierarchal for each key factor. The developed KPI system based on organizational objectives, core competences, and core abilities allow enterprises to handle dynamic market demand and business environments, as well as changes in overall corporate objectives.

Finite element analysis of an inflatable torus considering air mass structural element

Science.gov (United States)

Gajbhiye, S. C.; Upadhyay, S. H.; Harsha, S. P.

2014-01-01

Inflatable structures, also known as gossamer structures, are at high boom in the current space technology due to their low mass and compact size comparing to the traditional spacecraft designing. Internal pressure becomes the major source of strength and rigidity, essentially stiffen the structure. However, inflatable space based membrane structure are at high risk to the vibration disturbance due to their low structural stiffness and material damping. Hence, the vibration modes of the structure should be known to a high degree of accuracy in order to provide better control authority. In the past, most of the studies conducted on the vibration analysis of gossamer structures used inaccurate or approximate theories in modeling the internal pressure. The toroidal shaped structure is one of the important key element in space application, helps to support the reflector in space application. This paper discusses the finite-element analysis of an inflated torus. The eigen-frequencies are obtained via three-dimensional small-strain elasticity theory, based on extremum energy principle. The two finite-element model (model-1 and model-2) have cases have been generated using a commercial finite-element package. The structure model-1 with shell element and model-2 with the combination of the mass of enclosed fluid (air) added to the shell elements have been taken for the study. The model-1 is computed with present analytical approach to understand the convergence rate and the accuracy. The convergence study is made available for the symmetric modes and anti-symmetric modes about the centroidal-axis plane, meeting the eigen-frequencies of an inflatable torus with the circular cross section. The structural model-2 is introduced with air mass element and analyzed its eigen-frequency with different aspect ratio and mode shape response using in-plane and out-plane loading condition are studied.

Elements to diminish radioactive accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cortes I, M.E.; Ramirez G, F.P.

1998-01-01

In this work it is presented an application of the cause-effect diagram method or Ichikawa method identifying the elements that allow to diminish accidents when the radioactive materials are transported. It is considered the transport of hazardous materials which include radioactive materials in the period: December 1996 until March 1997. Among the identified elements by this method it is possible to mention: the road type, the radioactive source protection, the grade driver responsibility and the preparation that the OEP has in the radioactive material management. It is showed the differences found between the country inner roads and the Mexico City area. (Author)

Identification of a Single Strand Origin of Replication in the Integrative and Conjugative Element ICEBs1 of Bacillus subtilis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurel D Wright

2015-10-01

Full Text Available We identified a functional single strand origin of replication (sso in the integrative and conjugative element ICEBs1 of Bacillus subtilis. Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs, also known as conjugative transposons are DNA elements typically found integrated into a bacterial chromosome where they are transmitted to daughter cells by chromosomal replication and cell division. Under certain conditions, ICEs become activated and excise from the host chromosome and can transfer to neighboring cells via the element-encoded conjugation machinery. Activated ICEBs1 undergoes autonomous rolling circle replication that is needed for the maintenance of the excised element in growing and dividing cells. Rolling circle replication, used by many plasmids and phages, generates single-stranded DNA (ssDNA. In many cases, the presence of an sso enhances the conversion of the ssDNA to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA by enabling priming of synthesis of the second DNA strand. We initially identified sso1 in ICEBs1 based on sequence similarity to the sso of an RCR plasmid. Several functional assays confirmed Sso activity. Genetic analyses indicated that ICEBs1 uses sso1 and at least one other region for second strand DNA synthesis. We found that Sso activity was important for two key aspects of the ICEBs1 lifecycle: 1 maintenance of the plasmid form of ICEBs1 in cells after excision from the chromosome, and 2 stable acquisition of ICEBs1 following transfer to a new host. We identified sequences similar to known plasmid sso's in several other ICEs. Together, our results indicate that many other ICEs contain at least one single strand origin of replication, that these ICEs likely undergo autonomous replication, and that replication contributes to the stability and spread of these elements.

Identifying Key Flavors in Strawberries Driving Liking via Internal and External Preference Mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Penelope; Cicerale, Sara; Pang, Edwin; Keast, Russell

2018-04-01

Australian consumers desire the development of a more flavorsome Australian strawberry cultivar. To aid in the development of well-liked strawberries, the attributes driving liking need to be identified. The objective of this research is to apply Preference Mapping (PM) techniques to the descriptive profile of commercial and newly bred strawberry cultivars, together with consumer preference data to determine the flavors contributing to liking. A trained sensory panel (n = 12) used Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA®) methodology to evaluate two appearance, seven aroma, five texture, 10 flavor and 10 aftertaste attributes of three commercial strawberry cultivars and six elite breeding lines grown in Victoria, Australia. Strawberry consumers (n = 150) assessed their liking of the same strawberry cultivars. QDA® significantly discriminated strawberries on 28 of the 34 sensory attributes. There were significant differences in hedonic ratings of strawberries (F(8,714) = 11.5, P = 0.0001), with Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) identifying three consumer clusters each displaying differing patterns of preference. Internal and external PM techniques were applied to the data to identify the attributes driving consumer acceptability. Sweet, berry, caramel, fruity and floral attributes were identified as most contributing to liking. Sour, citrus, green, astringent, firm and gritty attributes were conversely associated with a reduction in consumer liking. Elite Lines 2 and 6 have been identified as having the broadest appeal, satisfying between 60% and 70% of consumers in the population assessed, thus the introduction of these cultivars should satisfy the largest group of consumers in the Australian market. The results of this research could be applied to breeding programs, to ensure newly bred cultivars express characteristics that were identified as well-liked amongst consumers. In addition, this research provides evidence for marketing strawberries by

Development of the methodology on priority of element-specific biosphere parameters for geological disposal applicable to any proposed repository site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Tomoko; Ohi, Takao; Suzuki, Yuji

2009-01-01

It is difficult to acquire all of biosphere parameters for geological disposal at the repository site because several hundreds of the parameters have to be dealt with in one calculation case of the biosphere assessment. Before site-specific activities, it is important to develop the data acquisition methodology of biosphere parameters applicable to any proposed repository site. The methodology for identification of the priority of the parameters was developed for the effective data acquisition of biosphere parameters at the site. First of all, flow diagram was constructed to evaluate the availability of the existing generic biosphere dataset. It was found to be effective for the data acquisition at the site to focus on the element-specific parameters with the existing dataset. Secondly, the priority of the data acquisition was identified for element-specific parameters at the site, with considering the variation of dose rate by combining the significant element-specific parameters. The availability of the existing generic biosphere dataset and the priority on data acquisition were identified for the element-specific parameters of key radionuclides in the safety assessment of geological disposal that should be acquired at the site. This priority list would be useful for effective data acquisition at the site. (author)

Element nodes of sports equipment double back flip factions and double back flip hunched performed gymnast in floor exercise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.A. Potop

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to identify the node elements of sports equipment double back somersault tuck and double back flip bent. To compare the two types of nodes for double somersault. Material : the study involved eight gymnasts (age 12 - 14 years. All finalists in the competition floor exercise - reserve team Romania. The method of video - computer research and method of postural orientation movements. Results : identified nodal elements of sports equipment double back somersault tuck and double back flip bent. In the preparatory phase of motor actions - launcher body posture for reaching is repulsive to flip. In the phase of basic motor action - animation body postures (double back somersault tuck and bent (bent double back flip. Exercises are performed on the ascending and descending parts of the flight path of the demonstration of individual maximum lift height common center of mass. In the final phase of motor actions - final body posture - steady landing. Conclusions : indicators of key elements of sports equipment acrobatic exercises contain new scientific facts kinematic and dynamic structures of motor actions. They are necessary for the development of modern training programs acrobatic exercises in step specialized base preparation.

Iron: A Key Element for Understanding the Origin and Evolution of Interstellar Dust

Science.gov (United States)

Dwek, Eli

2016-01-01

The origin and depletion of iron differ from all other abundant refractory elements that make up the composition of the interstellar dust. Iron is primarily synthesized in Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and in core collapse supernovae (CCSN), and is present in the outflows from AGB (Asymptotic Giant Branch) stars. Only the latter two are observed to be sources of interstellar dust, since searches for dust in SN Ia have provided strong evidence for the absence of any significant mass of dust in their ejecta. Consequently, more than 65 percent of the iron is injected into the ISM (Inter-Stellar Matter) in gaseous form. Yet, ultraviolet and X-ray observations along many lines of sight in the ISM show that iron is severely depleted in the gas phase compared to expected solar abundances. The missing iron, comprising about 90 percent of the total, is believed to be locked up in interstellar dust. This suggests that most of the missing iron must have precipitated from the ISM gas by cold accretion onto preexisting silicate, carbon, or composite grains. Iron is thus the only element that requires most of its growth to occur outside the traditional stellar condensation sources. This is a robust statement that does not depend on our evolving understanding of the dust destruction efficiency in the ISM. Reconciling the physical, optical, and chemical properties of such composite grains with their many observational manifestations is a major challenge for understanding the nature and origin of interstellar dust.

Superheavy elements

CERN Document Server

Hofmann, S

1999-01-01

The outstanding aim of experimental investigations of heavy nuclei is the exploration of spherical 'SuperHeavy Elements' (SHEs). On the basis of the nuclear shell model, the next double magic shell-closure beyond sup 2 sup 0 sup 8 Pb is predicted at proton numbers between Z=114 and 126 and at neutron number N=184. All experimental efforts aiming at identifying SHEs (Z>=114) were negative so far. A highly sensitive search experiment was performed in November-December 1995 at SHIP. The isotope sup 2 sup 9 sup 0 116 produced by 'radiative capture' was searched for in the course of a 33 days irradiation of a sup 2 sup 0 sup 8 Pb target with sup 8 sup 2 Se projectiles, however, only cross-section limits were measured. Positive results were obtained in experiments searching for elements from 110 to 112 using cold fusion and the 1n evaporation channel. The produced isotopes were unambiguously identified by means of alpha-alpha correlations. Not fission, but alpha emission is the dominant decay mode. The measurement ...

Online tutoring procedure for research project supervision: management, organization and key elements

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Antònia Darder Mesquida

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Research project tutoring appears as a crucial element for teaching; it is a planned action based on the relationship between a tutor and a student. This paper presents the findings of a design and development research which has as its main aim to create an organization system for the tutoring of online research projects. That system seeks to facilitate the tutoring and supervision task with trainee researchers, providing guidance for its management and instruments for its implementation. The main conclusions arising from this research derive from considering the need to offer a solution to the problem of distance research project supervision and has materialized in organization and sequencing through a model about the variables that influence the research project tutoring problem.

Key drivers of airline loyalty.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolnicar, Sara; Grabler, Klaus; Grün, Bettina; Kulnig, Anna

2011-10-01

This study investigates drivers of airline loyalty. It contributes to the body of knowledge in the area by investigating loyalty for a number of a priori market segments identified by airline management and by using a method which accounts for the multi-step nature of the airline choice process. The study is based on responses from 687 passengers. Results indicate that, at aggregate level, frequent flyer membership, price, the status of being a national carrier and the reputation of the airline as perceived by friends are the variables which best discriminate between travellers loyal to the airline and those who are not. Differences in drivers of airline loyalty for a number of segments were identified. For example, loyalty programs play a key role for business travellers whereas airline loyalty of leisure travellers is difficult to trace back to single factors. For none of the calculated models satisfaction emerged as a key driver of airline loyalty.

ORIENTATION: KEY TO THE OODA LOOP – THE CULTURE FACTOR

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Donald A. MACCUISH

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The late Colonel John Boyd developed what he called the OODA-Loop as both a learning and decision making model to help us better understand how we make decisions and learn. His OODA-Loop model consists of non-sequential elements: Observe – Orient – Decide – Action. He contended if one could cycle through these phases quicker and more accurately than one’s adversary you could then get inside your adversary’s OODA-Loop and “win”. The key to the OODA-Loop he noted is Orientation. He only drew one diagram of his OODA-Loop. Only in the Orientation phase did he elaborate component elements. These elements are: Cultural Traditions, Genetic Heritage, Analysis/Synthesis, New Information, and Previous Experience. All of these elements he contended are interconnected. Thus, the interaction of all these factors effects how we orient ourselves to the situation at hand. In this article I will share my view of the “Culture Factor” in Orientation.

Integrated Process Design and Control of Multi-element Reactive Distillation Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mansouri, Seyed Soheil; Sales-Cruz, Mauricio; Huusom, Jakob Kjøbsted

2016-01-01

In this work, integrated process design and control of reactive distillation processes involving multi-elements is presented. The reactive distillation column is designed using methods and tools which are similar in concept to non-reactive distillation design methods, such as driving force approach....... The methods employed in this work are based on equivalent element concept. This concept facilitates the representation of a multi-element reactive system as equivalent binary light and heavy key elements. First, the reactive distillation column is designed at the maximum driving force where through steady...

Phase diagrams of the elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, D.A.

1975-01-01

A summary of the pressure-temperature phase diagrams of the elements is presented, with graphs of the experimentally determined solid-solid phase boundaries and melting curves. Comments, including theoretical discussion, are provided for each diagram. The crystal structure of each solid phase is identified and discussed. This work is aimed at encouraging further experimental and theoretical research on phase transitions in the elements

Finite element analysis of thermal stress distribution in different ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice. Journal Home ... Von Mises and thermal stress distributions were evaluated. Results: In all ... distribution. Key words: Amalgam, finite element method, glass ionomer cement, resin composite, thermal stress ...

Prediction of transcriptional regulatory elements for plant hormone responses based on microarray data

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Yamaguchi-Shinozaki Kazuko

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Phytohormones organize plant development and environmental adaptation through cell-to-cell signal transduction, and their action involves transcriptional activation. Recent international efforts to establish and maintain public databases of Arabidopsis microarray data have enabled the utilization of this data in the analysis of various phytohormone responses, providing genome-wide identification of promoters targeted by phytohormones. Results We utilized such microarray data for prediction of cis-regulatory elements with an octamer-based approach. Our test prediction of a drought-responsive RD29A promoter with the aid of microarray data for response to drought, ABA and overexpression of DREB1A, a key regulator of cold and drought response, provided reasonable results that fit with the experimentally identified regulatory elements. With this succession, we expanded the prediction to various phytohormone responses, including those for abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin, ethylene, brassinosteroid, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid, as well as for hydrogen peroxide, drought and DREB1A overexpression. Totally 622 promoters that are activated by phytohormones were subjected to the prediction. In addition, we have assigned putative functions to 53 octamers of the Regulatory Element Group (REG that have been extracted as position-dependent cis-regulatory elements with the aid of their feature of preferential appearance in the promoter region. Conclusions Our prediction of Arabidopsis cis-regulatory elements for phytohormone responses provides guidance for experimental analysis of promoters to reveal the basis of the transcriptional network of phytohormone responses.

Acoustic Camera as a Fool for Identifying Machinery and Equipment Failures

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Ľudmila Pavlikova

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Sound and noise are as old as humanity itself. They have accompanied civilization, evolution, and development for centuries. Music and speech represent not only the key elements of human life but also unpleasant feelings of noise that have always been an integral part of human existence. As industrial development has required more energy, powerful machinery, and equipment, there have been still noisier machines. Traffic has grown quickly due to the number and speed of vehicles. For that reason, an acoustic camera is used for the dynamic visualization of machinery and equipment noise as it analyses the sources of noise in details. Subsequently, qualified measures are introduced based on the results of the analysis. The paper considers launching another application. According to the proposed methodology, its use in identifying machinery and equipment failures and their maintenance is proved. The experiment was performed on a four-wheel lawn mower. The primary focus was on the identification of failures using an acoustic camera. The previous method allowed to quickly, precisely and efficiently identifying the failures in two out of five tested machines.

Elements of integrated care approaches for older people: a review of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, Andrew M; Valentijn, Pim P; Thiyagarajan, Jotheeswaran A; Araujo de Carvalho, Islene

2018-04-07

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently proposed an Integrated Care for Older People approach to guide health systems and services in better supporting functional ability of older people. A knowledge gap remains in the key elements of integrated care approaches used in health and social care delivery systems for older populations. The objective of this review was to identify and describe the key elements of integrated care models for elderly people reported in the literature. Review of reviews using a systematic search method. A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE and the Cochrane database in June 2017. Reviews of interventions aimed at care integration at the clinical (micro), organisational/service (meso) or health system (macro) levels for people aged ≥60 years were included. Non-Cochrane reviews published before 2015 were excluded. Reviews were assessed for quality using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 1 tool. Fifteen reviews (11 systematic reviews, of which six were Cochrane reviews) were included, representing 219 primary studies. Three reviews (20%) included only randomised controlled trials (RCT), while 10 reviews (65%) included both RCTs and non-RCTs. The region where the largest number of primary studies originated was North America (n=89, 47.6%), followed by Europe (n=60, 32.1%) and Oceania (n=31, 16.6%). Eleven (73%) reviews focused on clinical 'micro' and organisational 'meso' care integration strategies. The most commonly reported elements of integrated care models were multidisciplinary teams, comprehensive assessment and case management. Nurses, physiotherapists, general practitioners and social workers were the most commonly reported service providers. Methodological quality was variable (AMSTAR scores: 1-11). Seven (47%) reviews were scored as high quality (AMSTAR score ≥8). Evidence of elements of integrated care for older people focuses particularly on micro clinical care integration processes, while there

Identification of tipping elements of the Indian Summer Monsoon using climate network approach

Science.gov (United States)

Stolbova, Veronika; Surovyatkina, Elena; Kurths, Jurgen

2015-04-01

Spatial and temporal variability of the rainfall is a vital question for more than one billion of people inhabiting the Indian subcontinent. Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) rainfall is crucial for India's economy, social welfare, and environment and large efforts are being put into predicting the Indian Summer Monsoon. For predictability of the ISM, it is crucial to identify tipping elements - regions over the Indian subcontinent which play a key role in the spatial organization of the Indian monsoon system. Here, we use climate network approach for identification of such tipping elements of the ISM. First, we build climate networks of the extreme rainfall, surface air temperature and pressure over the Indian subcontinent for pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. We construct network of extreme rainfall event using observational satellite data from 1998 to 2012 from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM 3B42V7) and reanalysis gridded daily rainfall data for a time period of 57 years (1951-2007) (Asian Precipitation Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards the Evaluation of Water Resources, APHRODITE). For the network of surface air temperature and pressure fields, we use re-analysis data provided by the National Center for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR). Second, we filter out data by coarse-graining the network through network measures, and identify tipping regions of the ISM. Finally, we compare obtained results of the network analysis with surface wind fields and show that occurrence of the tipping elements is mostly caused by monsoonal wind circulation, migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and Westerlies. We conclude that climate network approach enables to select the most informative regions for the ISM, providing realistic description of the ISM dynamics with fewer data, and also help to identify tipping regions of the ISM. Obtained tipping elements deserve a

Numerical rigid plastic modelling of shear capacity of keyed joints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2015-01-01

Keyed shear joints are currently designed using simple and conservative design formulas, yet these formulas do not take the local mechanisms in the concrete core of the joint into account. To investigate this phenomenon a rigid, perfectly plastic finite element model of keyed joints is used....... The model is formulated for second-order conic optimisation as a lower bound problem, which yields a statically admissible stress field that satisfies the yield condition in every point. The dual solution to the problem can be interpreted as the collapse mode and will be used to analyse the properties...

An international survey of MRI qualification and certification frameworks with an emphasis on identifying elements of good practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castillo, J.; Caruana, C.J.; Morgan, P.S.; Westbrook, C.; Mizzi, A.

2017-01-01

The purpose of the study was to survey MRI qualification and certification frameworks in the major English-speaking countries (Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, UK, Ireland) with the aim of identifying elements of good practice. The intention is to incorporate these elements in a national framework that could be used in supporting an MRI specialist register. The study was conducted using document analysis of MRI qualification and certification documents from these states with data triangulated through a web-based questionnaire amongst an expert group of MRI radiographers (n = 59) from the same states. Based on the results of the study, recommendations have been put forward for those countries that are in the process of developing such frameworks. The main recommendations include that a professional or regulatory body externally accredits MRI programmes and that learning outcomes be based on an MRI competence profile that addresses current and forecasted needs of the particular country. The MRI competence profile should encompass a novice-to expert continuum and be referenced directly to a national qualification framework. Ideally each level of expertise should be assessed and evidenced by a portfolio of CPD activities, including clinical and management case studies appropriate to that level. - Highlights: • Professional or regulatory bodies should accredit MRI academic programmes. • Competence profiles should reflect and support local MRI services. • MRI competence profiles should be structured in a novice-to-expert continuum format. • Competence profiles should reference national qualification/certification frameworks. • Mandatory certification could lead to registration in an MRI specialist register.

Application of the Value Optimization Model of Key Factors Based on DSEM

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Chao Su

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The key factors of the damping solvent extraction method (DSEM for the analysis of the unbounded medium are the size of bounded domain, the artificial damping ratio, and the finite element mesh density. To control the simulation accuracy and computational efficiency of the soil-structure interaction, this study establishes a value optimization model of key factors that is composed of the design variables, the objective function, and the constraint function system. Then the optimum solutions of key factors are obtained by the optimization model. According to some comparisons of the results provided by the different initial conditions, the value optimization model of key factors is feasible to govern the simulation accuracy and computational efficiency and to analyze the practical unbounded medium-structure interaction.

Key Research Issues in Clostridium difficile

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George Zhanel

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Clostridium difficile is an emerging pathogen that causes C difficile-associated diarrhea, an important nosocomial infection. Control of this infection remains a challenge, and much needs to be determined about the antimicrobial resistance of the organism, antibiotic stewardship, contamination of the patient environment, and various host factors that determine susceptibility or resistance to infection. A national symposium focusing on C difficile infections, the Clostridium difficile Symposium on Emerging Issues and Research, was hosted on November 23, 2004, by the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. This symposium, which aimed to summarize key research issues regarding C difficile infections in Canada, had the following objectives: to provide a forum for learning and discussion about C difficile and its impact on the health of Canadians; to identify the key research issues that should be addressed; and to explore potential research funding opportunities and collaboration. The present report summarizes key research issues identified for C difficile infections in Canada by addressing four major themes: diagnosis and surveillance, infection prevention and control, antibiotic stewardship, and clinical management.

An image hiding method based on cascaded iterative Fourier transform and public-key encryption algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, B.; Sang, Jun; Alam, Mohammad S.

2013-03-01

An image hiding method based on cascaded iterative Fourier transform and public-key encryption algorithm was proposed. Firstly, the original secret image was encrypted into two phase-only masks M1 and M2 via cascaded iterative Fourier transform (CIFT) algorithm. Then, the public-key encryption algorithm RSA was adopted to encrypt M2 into M2' . Finally, a host image was enlarged by extending one pixel into 2×2 pixels and each element in M1 and M2' was multiplied with a superimposition coefficient and added to or subtracted from two different elements in the 2×2 pixels of the enlarged host image. To recover the secret image from the stego-image, the two masks were extracted from the stego-image without the original host image. By applying public-key encryption algorithm, the key distribution was facilitated, and also compared with the image hiding method based on optical interference, the proposed method may reach higher robustness by employing the characteristics of the CIFT algorithm. Computer simulations show that this method has good robustness against image processing.

Soil fauna: key to new carbon models

OpenAIRE

Filser, Juliane; Faber, Jack H.; Tiunov, Alexei V.; Brussaard, Lijbert; Frouz, Jan; Deyn, Gerlinde; Uvarov, Alexei V.; Berg, Matty P.; Lavelle, Patrick; Loreau, Michel; Wall, Diana H.; Querner, Pascal; Eijsackers, Herman; Jiménez, Juan José

2016-01-01

Soil organic matter (SOM) is key to maintaining soil fertility, mitigating climate change, combatting land degradation, and conserving above- and below-ground biodiversity and associated soil processes and ecosystem services. In order to derive management options for maintaining these essential services provided by soils, policy makers depend on robust, predictive models identifying key drivers of SOM dynamics. Existing SOM models and suggested guidelines for future SOM modelling are defined ...

An Innovative Approach to Improve Completeness of Treatment and Other Key Data Elements in a Population-Based Cancer Registry: A15-Month Data Submission.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Mei-Chin; Mumphrey, Brent; Pareti, Lisa; Yi, Yong; Wu, Xiao-Cheng

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: In order to comply with the Louisiana legislative obligation and meet funding agencies’ requirement of case completeness for 12-month data submission, hospital cancer registries are mandated to submit cancer incidence data to the Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) within 6 months of diagnosis. However, enforcing compliance with timely reporting may result in incomplete data on adjuvant treatment received by the LTR. Although additional treatment information can be obtained via retransmission of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)–modified abstracts, consolidating multiple NAACCR-modified abstracts for the same case is extremely time consuming. To avoid a huge amount of work while obtaining timely and complete data, the LTR has requested hospital cancer registries resubmit their data 15 months after the close of the diagnosis year. The purpose of this report is to assess the improvement in the completeness of data items related to treatment, staging and site specific factors. METHODS: The LTR requested that hospital cancer registries resubmit 15-month data between April 1, 2016 and April 15, 2016 for cases diagnosed in 2014. Microsoft Visual Studio Visual Basic script was used to link and compare resubmitted data with existing data in the LTR database. Data elements used for matching same patient/tumor were name, Social Security number, date of birth, primary site, laterality, and hospital identifier number. Treatment data items were compared as known vs none/ unknown and known vs known with different code. Matched records with updated information were imported into the LTR database and flagged as modified abstract records for manual consolidation. Nonmatched records were also loaded in the LTR database as potential new cases for further investigation. RESULTS: A total of 25,207 resubmitted NAACCR abstracts were received from 38 hospitals and freestanding radiation centers. About 11.1% had at least 1 update related to

Just-in-time elements and benefits

CERN Document Server

García-Alcaraz, Jorge Luis

2016-01-01

This book reports the elements required for implementing Just in Time (JIT) technique in companies. The main reasons for low implementation processes and the main benefits from the successful implementation of them are highlighted in this book. Structural equation models are presented to help identify the essential elements in JIT.

Inspire and develop people, two key competence for safety leadership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, F.; Perez, O.; Fernandez, M.; Alvarez, N.; Villadoniga, J. I.

2014-01-01

Developing leadership skills in organizations is key to ensuring the sustainability of excellent results in industries with high standards of safety and reliability element. In order to have a model of development of specific leadership for these organizations, Tecnatom in 2011, we initiated an internal project to find and adapt a competency model to these requirements. (Author)

Trace elemental imaging of rare earth elements discriminates tissues at microscale in flat fossils.

Science.gov (United States)

Gueriau, Pierre; Mocuta, Cristian; Dutheil, Didier B; Cohen, Serge X; Thiaudière, Dominique; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Clément, Gaël; Bertrand, Loïc

2014-01-01

The interpretation of flattened fossils remains a major challenge due to compression of their complex anatomies during fossilization, making critical anatomical features invisible or hardly discernible. Key features are often hidden under greatly preserved decay prone tissues, or an unpreparable sedimentary matrix. A method offering access to such anatomical features is of paramount interest to resolve taxonomic affinities and to study fossils after a least possible invasive preparation. Unfortunately, the widely-used X-ray micro-computed tomography, for visualizing hidden or internal structures of a broad range of fossils, is generally inapplicable to flattened specimens, due to the very high differential absorbance in distinct directions. Here we show that synchrotron X-ray fluorescence spectral raster-scanning coupled to spectral decomposition or a much faster Kullback-Leibler divergence based statistical analysis provides microscale visualization of tissues. We imaged exceptionally well-preserved fossils from the Late Cretaceous without needing any prior delicate preparation. The contrasting elemental distributions greatly improved the discrimination of skeletal elements material from both the sedimentary matrix and fossilized soft tissues. Aside content in alkaline earth elements and phosphorus, a critical parameter for tissue discrimination is the distinct amounts of rare earth elements. Local quantification of rare earths may open new avenues for fossil description but also in paleoenvironmental and taphonomical studies.

THE TRAGIC ELEMENTS IN BRAD SILBERLING'S (2004 LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcellina Ariska P.N.

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Movie is a kind of literary works in addition to novels, poems or songs. There are some genres of movie; one of them is comedy. Black comedy is its sub-genre. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a black comedy movie which includes hamartia, anagnorisis, peripeteia, and catharsis. They are the key elements of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. In this paper, the writer shows the existence of those key elements in the movie. Also, the writer explains the extent of tragic elements in affecting the story of this movie. This paper shows that from the perspective of Aristotle's theory of tragedy, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events can be viewed as tragedy.

Identifying Key Features of Student Performance in Educational Video Games and Simulations through Cluster Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, Deirdre; Chung, Gregory K. W. K.

2012-01-01

The assessment cycle of "evidence-centered design" (ECD) provides a framework for treating an educational video game or simulation as an assessment. One of the main steps in the assessment cycle of ECD is the identification of the key features of student performance. While this process is relatively simple for multiple choice tests, when…

Numerical simulation for cracks detection using the finite elements method

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S Bennoud

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The means of detection must ensure controls either during initial construction, or at the time of exploitation of all parts. The Non destructive testing (NDT gathers the most widespread methods for detecting defects of a part or review the integrity of a structure. In the areas of advanced industry (aeronautics, aerospace, nuclear …, assessing the damage of materials is a key point to control durability and reliability of parts and materials in service. In this context, it is necessary to quantify the damage and identify the different mechanisms responsible for the progress of this damage. It is therefore essential to characterize materials and identify the most sensitive indicators attached to damage to prevent their destruction and use them optimally. In this work, simulation by finite elements method is realized with aim to calculate the electromagnetic energy of interaction: probe and piece (with/without defect. From calculated energy, we deduce the real and imaginary components of the impedance which enables to determine the characteristic parameters of a crack in various metallic parts.

An Integrated Strategy to Identify Key Genes in Almond Adventitious Shoot Regeneration

Science.gov (United States)

Plant genetic transformation usually depends on efficient adventitious regeneration systems. In almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.), regeneration of transgenic adventitious shoots was achieved but with low efficiency. Histological studies identified two main stages of organogenesis in almond explants that ...

Improving the key biodiversity areas approach for effective conservation planning

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Knight, AT

2007-03-01

Full Text Available The key biodiversity areas (KBA) approach aims to identify globally important areas for species conservation. Although a similar methodology has been used successfully to identify important Bird Areas, the authors have identified five limitations...

Bi-directional gene set enrichment and canonical correlation analysis identify key diet-sensitive pathways and biomarkers of metabolic syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gaora Peadar Ó

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Currently, a number of bioinformatics methods are available to generate appropriate lists of genes from a microarray experiment. While these lists represent an accurate primary analysis of the data, fewer options exist to contextualise those lists. The development and validation of such methods is crucial to the wider application of microarray technology in the clinical setting. Two key challenges in clinical bioinformatics involve appropriate statistical modelling of dynamic transcriptomic changes, and extraction of clinically relevant meaning from very large datasets. Results Here, we apply an approach to gene set enrichment analysis that allows for detection of bi-directional enrichment within a gene set. Furthermore, we apply canonical correlation analysis and Fisher's exact test, using plasma marker data with known clinical relevance to aid identification of the most important gene and pathway changes in our transcriptomic dataset. After a 28-day dietary intervention with high-CLA beef, a range of plasma markers indicated a marked improvement in the metabolic health of genetically obese mice. Tissue transcriptomic profiles indicated that the effects were most dramatic in liver (1270 genes significantly changed; p Conclusion Bi-directional gene set enrichment analysis more accurately reflects dynamic regulatory behaviour in biochemical pathways, and as such highlighted biologically relevant changes that were not detected using a traditional approach. In such cases where transcriptomic response to treatment is exceptionally large, canonical correlation analysis in conjunction with Fisher's exact test highlights the subset of pathways showing strongest correlation with the clinical markers of interest. In this case, we have identified selenoamino acid metabolism and steroid biosynthesis as key pathways mediating the observed relationship between metabolic health and high-CLA beef. These results indicate that this type of

Finite element analysis of thermal stress distribution in different ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice • Jan-Feb 2016 • Vol 19 • Issue 1. Abstract ... Key words: Amalgam, finite element method, glass ionomer cement, resin composite, thermal stress ... applications for force analysis and assessment of different.

Water dynamics clue to key residues in protein folding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Meng; Zhu, Huaiqiu; Yao, Xin-Qiu; She, Zhen-Su

2010-01-01

A computational method independent of experimental protein structure information is proposed to recognize key residues in protein folding, from the study of hydration water dynamics. Based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulation, two key residues are recognized with distinct water dynamical behavior in a folding process of the Trp-cage protein. The identified key residues are shown to play an essential role in both 3D structure and hydrophobic-induced collapse. With observations on hydration water dynamics around key residues, a dynamical pathway of folding can be interpreted.

Going Global: Key Insights from Two Mexican Companies

OpenAIRE

Martha RIVERA; Silvia CACHO-ELIZONDO

2015-01-01

This paper explores how Mexican companies in different industries have achieved international expansion, while at the same time preserving local elements in executing their strategies. For this initial stage of research, the analysis focuses on two companies: a) Grupo Bimbo, the number one company in the bakery industry worldwide and b) KidZania, one of the world’s top indoor family entertainment centers. The research methodology is based on in-depth interviews with CEOs and key executives fr...

A Miniaturized On-Chip Colorimeter for Detecting NPK Elements

OpenAIRE

Liu, Rui-Tao; Tao, Lu-Qi; Liu, Bo; Tian, Xiang-Guang; Mohammad, Mohammad Ali; Yang, Yi; Ren, Tian-Ling

2016-01-01

Recently, precision agriculture has become a globally attractive topic. As one of the most important factors, the soil nutrients play an important role in estimating the development of precision agriculture. Detecting the content of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) elements more efficiently is one of the key issues. In this paper, a novel chip-level colorimeter was fabricated to detect the NPK elements for the first time. A light source–microchannel photodetector in a sandwich structu...

ACGT-containing abscisic acid response element (ABRE) and coupling element 3 (CE3) are functionally equivalent.

Science.gov (United States)

Hobo, T; Asada, M; Kowyama, Y; Hattori, T

1999-09-01

ACGT-containing ABA response elements (ABREs) have been functionally identified in the promoters of various genes. In addition, single copies of ABRE have been found to require a cis-acting, coupling element to achieve ABA induction. A coupling element 3 (CE3) sequence, originally identified as such in the barley HVA1 promoter, is found approximately 30 bp downstream of motif A (ACGT-containing ABRE) in the promoter of the Osem gene. The relationship between these two elements was further defined by linker-scan analyses of a 55 bp fragment of the Osem promoter, which is sufficient for ABA-responsiveness and VP1 activation. The analyses revealed that both motif A and CE3 sequence were required not only for ABA-responsiveness but also for VP1 activation. Since the sequences of motif A and CE3 were found to be similar, motif-exchange experiments were carried out. The experiments demonstrated that motif A and CE3 were interchangeable by each other with respect to both ABA and VP1 regulation. In addition, both sequences were shown to be recognized by a VP1-interacting, ABA-responsive bZIP factor TRAB1. These results indicate that ACGT-containing ABREs and CE3 are functionally equivalent cis-acting elements. Furthermore, TRAB1 was shown to bind two other non-ACGT ABREs. Based on these results, all these ABREs including CE3 are proposed to be categorized into a single class of cis-acting elements.

Prioritising Project Scope Definition Elements in Public Building Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed K Fageha

2014-09-01

Full Text Available A complete definition of the scope of a project upfront during early stages ensures smooth and successful implementation during the project execution. This research identifies and prioritises project scope definition elements for public buildings in Saudi Arabia. Elements that could significantly contribute to complete project scope definition package at pre-project planning stage are identified and their interrelationship determined and prioritised. Using the Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI as a basis, the study uses analytical network process (ANP technique based on data obtained from project managers who have been involved in public sector projects in Saudi Arabia. Data collection and analysis was conducted in three steps. The first step involved identification of scope definition elements while the second involved an investigation into interrelationships among the elements. In the third step, ANP was used to determine the weight of the elements’ importance in terms of contribution to project scope definition completeness. Finally, Pareto analysis was used to prioritise and assess the distribution pattern of the elements. The outcome from this research is the prioritisation of project scope definition elements for public building projects in Saudi Arabia. The prioritised list developed indicates the importance of project scope definition elements. It should help project management teams identify elements to consider when evaluating project scope definition for completeness at the pre-project planning stage. Keywords: Project scope definition, pre-project planning, prioritising, public building projects, Saudi Arabia, Analytical Network Process (ANP

Elemental analysis of atmospheric aerosols in Gaborone

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ELO

amount more than 90% were copper, lead, nickel and gold. Key words: Atmospheric particles, elements, ... Selebi-Phikwe area, gold and nickel in Francis town and soda ash in Sowa. Gaborone is the capital of ... a stub three times a week with an exposure time of four hours. The exposed stubs were collected and kept ...

Hydrothermal impacts on trace element and isotope ocean biogeochemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

German, C R; Casciotti, K A; Dutay, J-C; Heimbürger, L E; Jenkins, W J; Measures, C I; Mills, R A; Obata, H; Schlitzer, R; Tagliabue, A; Turner, D R; Whitby, H

2016-11-28

Hydrothermal activity occurs in all ocean basins, releasing high concentrations of key trace elements and isotopes (TEIs) into the oceans. Importantly, the calculated rate of entrainment of the entire ocean volume through turbulently mixing buoyant hydrothermal plumes is so vigorous as to be comparable to that of deep-ocean thermohaline circulation. Consequently, biogeochemical processes active within deep-ocean hydrothermal plumes have long been known to have the potential to impact global-scale biogeochemical cycles. More recently, new results from GEOTRACES have revealed that plumes rich in dissolved Fe, an important micronutrient that is limiting to productivity in some areas, are widespread above mid-ocean ridges and extend out into the deep-ocean interior. While Fe is only one element among the full suite of TEIs of interest to GEOTRACES, these preliminary results are important because they illustrate how inputs from seafloor venting might impact the global biogeochemical budgets of many other TEIs. To determine the global impact of seafloor venting, however, requires two key questions to be addressed: (i) What processes are active close to vent sites that regulate the initial high-temperature hydrothermal fluxes for the full suite of TEIs that are dispersed through non-buoyant hydrothermal plumes? (ii) How do those processes vary, globally, in response to changing geologic settings at the seafloor and/or the geochemistry of the overlying ocean water? In this paper, we review key findings from recent work in this realm, highlight a series of key hypotheses arising from that research and propose a series of new GEOTRACES modelling, section and process studies that could be implemented, nationally and internationally, to address these issues.This article is part of the themed issue 'Biological and climatic impacts of ocean trace element chemistry'. © 2015 The Authors.

Trace elements contamination of soils around gold mine tailings ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ISHIOMA

Soil samples taken from depths of up to 12 cm and within a radius of 400 m from the ... Key words: Gold mining, tailings dam, trace elements, soil, Obuasi. INTRODUCTION ..... through soil might take considerably long time to manifest, probably ...

The Promise of Virtual Teams: Identifying Key Factors in Effectiveness and Failure

Science.gov (United States)

Horwitz, Frank M.; Bravington, Desmond; Silvis, Ulrik

2006-01-01

Purpose: The aim of the investigation is to identify enabling and disenabling factors in the development and operation of virtual teams; to evaluate the importance of factors such as team development, cross-cultural variables, leadership, communication and social cohesion as contributors to virtual team effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach:…

Nuclear fuel elements and assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Shozo; Maki, Hideo.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To facilitate the attainment of the uranium enrichment or gadolinia enrichment of a pellet filled in a fuel element. Constitution: The axial length of a pellet filled in a fuel element is set to predetermined sizes according to the uranium enrichment factor, gadolinia enrichment or their combination. Thus, the uranium enrichment factor or gadolinia enrichment can be identified by attaining the axial length of the pellet by using such a pellt. (Kamimura, M.)

Element stacking method for topology optimization with material-dependent boundary and loading conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yoon, Gil Ho; Park, Y.K.; Kim, Y.Y.

2007-01-01

A new topology optimization scheme, called the element stacking method, is developed to better handle design optimization involving material-dependent boundary conditions and selection of elements of different types. If these problems are solved by existing standard approaches, complicated finite...... element models or topology optimization reformulation may be necessary. The key idea of the proposed method is to stack multiple elements on the same discretization pixel and select a single or no element. In this method, stacked elements on the same pixel have the same coordinates but may have...... independent degrees of freedom. Some test problems are considered to check the effectiveness of the proposed stacking method....

Prokaryotic homologs of Argonaute proteins are predicted to function as key components of a novel system of defense against mobile genetic elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van der Oost John

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In eukaryotes, RNA interference (RNAi is a major mechanism of defense against viruses and transposable elements as well of regulating translation of endogenous mRNAs. The RNAi systems recognize the target RNA molecules via small guide RNAs that are completely or partially complementary to a region of the target. Key components of the RNAi systems are proteins of the Argonaute-PIWI family some of which function as slicers, the nucleases that cleave the target RNA that is base-paired to a guide RNA. Numerous prokaryotes possess the CRISPR-associated system (CASS of defense against phages and plasmids that is, in part, mechanistically analogous but not homologous to eukaryotic RNAi systems. Many prokaryotes also encode homologs of Argonaute-PIWI proteins but their functions remain unknown. Results We present a detailed analysis of Argonaute-PIWI protein sequences and the genomic neighborhoods of the respective genes in prokaryotes. Whereas eukaryotic Ago/PIWI proteins always contain PAZ (oligonucleotide binding and PIWI (active or inactivated nuclease domains, the prokaryotic Argonaute homologs (pAgos fall into two major groups in which the PAZ domain is either present or absent. The monophyly of each group is supported by a phylogenetic analysis of the conserved PIWI-domains. Almost all pAgos that lack a PAZ domain appear to be inactivated, and the respective genes are associated with a variety of predicted nucleases in putative operons. An additional, uncharacterized domain that is fused to various nucleases appears to be a unique signature of operons encoding the short (lacking PAZ pAgo form. By contrast, almost all PAZ-domain containing pAgos are predicted to be active nucleases. Some proteins of this group (e.g., that from Aquifex aeolicus have been experimentally shown to possess nuclease activity, and are not typically associated with genes for other (putative nucleases. Given these observations, the apparent extensive

Elements of a collaborative systems model within the aerospace industry

Science.gov (United States)

Westphalen, Bailee R.

2000-10-01

Scope and method of study. The purpose of this study was to determine the components of current aerospace collaborative efforts. There were 44 participants from two selected groups surveyed for this study. Nineteen were from the Oklahoma Air National Guard based in Oklahoma City representing the aviation group. Twenty-five participants were from the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston representing the aerospace group. The surveys for the aviation group were completed in reference to planning missions necessary to their operations. The surveys for the aerospace group were completed in reference to a well-defined and focused goal from a current mission. A questionnaire was developed to survey active participants of collaborative systems in order to consider various components found within the literature. Results were analyzed and aggregated through a database along with content analysis of open-ended question comments from respondents. Findings and conclusions. This study found and determined elements of a collaborative systems model in the aerospace industry. The elements were (1) purpose or mission for the group or team; (2) commitment or dedication to the challenge; (3) group or team meetings and discussions; (4) constraints of deadlines and budgets; (5) tools and resources for project and simulations; (6) significant contributors to the collaboration; (7) decision-making formats; (8) reviews of project; (9) participants education and employment longevity; (10) cross functionality of team or group members; (11) training on the job plus teambuilding; (12) other key elements identified relevant by the respondents but not included in the model such as communication and teamwork; (13) individual and group accountability; (14) conflict, learning, and performance; along with (15) intraorganizational coordination. These elements supported and allowed multiple individuals working together to solve a common problem or to develop innovation that could not have been

Identifying key factors for mobilising under-utilised low carbon land resources : A case study on Kalimantan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goh, Chun Sheng; Junginger, Martin; Potter, Lesley; Faaij, André; Wicke, Birka

2018-01-01

Mobilising under-utilised low carbon (ULC) land for future agricultural expansion helps minimising further carbon stock loss. This study examined the regency cases in Kalimantan, a carbon loss hotspot, to understand the key factors for mobilising ULC land via narrative interviews with a range of

Integrated microarray and ChIP analysis identifies multiple Foxa2 dependent target genes in the notochord.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamplin, Owen J; Cox, Brian J; Rossant, Janet

2011-12-15

The node and notochord are key tissues required for patterning of the vertebrate body plan. Understanding the gene regulatory network that drives their formation and function is therefore important. Foxa2 is a key transcription factor at the top of this genetic hierarchy and finding its targets will help us to better understand node and notochord development. We performed an extensive microarray-based gene expression screen using sorted embryonic notochord cells to identify early notochord-enriched genes. We validated their specificity to the node and notochord by whole mount in situ hybridization. This provides the largest available resource of notochord-expressed genes, and therefore candidate Foxa2 target genes in the notochord. Using existing Foxa2 ChIP-seq data from adult liver, we were able to identify a set of genes expressed in the notochord that had associated regions of Foxa2-bound chromatin. Given that Foxa2 is a pioneer transcription factor, we reasoned that these sites might represent notochord-specific enhancers. Candidate Foxa2-bound regions were tested for notochord specific enhancer function in a zebrafish reporter assay and 7 novel notochord enhancers were identified. Importantly, sequence conservation or predictive models could not have readily identified these regions. Mutation of putative Foxa2 binding elements in two of these novel enhancers abrogated reporter expression and confirmed their Foxa2 dependence. The combination of highly specific gene expression profiling and genome-wide ChIP analysis is a powerful means of understanding developmental pathways, even for small cell populations such as the notochord. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Trace elemental imaging of rare earth elements discriminates tissues at microscale in flat fossils.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierre Gueriau

Full Text Available The interpretation of flattened fossils remains a major challenge due to compression of their complex anatomies during fossilization, making critical anatomical features invisible or hardly discernible. Key features are often hidden under greatly preserved decay prone tissues, or an unpreparable sedimentary matrix. A method offering access to such anatomical features is of paramount interest to resolve taxonomic affinities and to study fossils after a least possible invasive preparation. Unfortunately, the widely-used X-ray micro-computed tomography, for visualizing hidden or internal structures of a broad range of fossils, is generally inapplicable to flattened specimens, due to the very high differential absorbance in distinct directions. Here we show that synchrotron X-ray fluorescence spectral raster-scanning coupled to spectral decomposition or a much faster Kullback-Leibler divergence based statistical analysis provides microscale visualization of tissues. We imaged exceptionally well-preserved fossils from the Late Cretaceous without needing any prior delicate preparation. The contrasting elemental distributions greatly improved the discrimination of skeletal elements material from both the sedimentary matrix and fossilized soft tissues. Aside content in alkaline earth elements and phosphorus, a critical parameter for tissue discrimination is the distinct amounts of rare earth elements. Local quantification of rare earths may open new avenues for fossil description but also in paleoenvironmental and taphonomical studies.

Transposable elements in the Anopheles funestus transcriptome.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Medina, Rita D; Carareto, Claudia M A; Struchiner, Cláudio J; Ribeiro, José M C

2017-06-01

Transposable elements (TEs) are present in most of the eukaryotic genomes and their impact on genome evolution is increasingly recognized. Although there is extensive information on the TEs present in several eukaryotic genomes, less is known about the expression of these elements at the transcriptome level. Here we present a detailed analysis regarding the expression of TEs in Anopheles funestus, the second most important vector of human malaria in Africa. Several transcriptionally active TE families belonging both to Class I and II were identified and characterized. Interestingly, we have identified a full-length putative active element (including the presence of full length TIRs in the genomic sequence) belonging to the hAT superfamily, which presents active members in other insect genomes. This work contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the landscape of transposable elements in A. funestus transcriptome. Our results reveal that TEs are abundant and diverse in the mosquito and that most of the TE families found in the genome are represented in the mosquito transcriptome, a fact that could indicate activity of these elements.The vast diversity of TEs expressed in A. funestus suggests that there is ongoing amplification of several families in this organism.

Key figures for the regional- and distribution grid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vikingstad, S.

1996-02-01

In Norway, improving the efficiency of the hydroelectric grid operation is a stated goal of the Energy Act. Several studies have identified potential profits of such improvement. This publication focuses on costs and improvement potentials. Publication of key figures may stimulate grid owners, boards and administrations to improve the operating efficiency of their grids. The publication shows key figures for the regional- and distribution grid and is based on accounting data for 1994. The key figures are divided into: (1) Cost structure: The key figures express the relative contributions of each cost component to the total income of the grid, (2) Costs and physical quantities: The key figures show the cost of delivering the transport services, (3) Physical quantities: The key figures describe the working conditions of the energy utility. It appears that the cost structure of the sector varies considerably. The same is true of the cost related to the delivery of grid services. 30 figs., 6 tabs

Identifying the impacts of climate change on key pests and diseases of plant and animal industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luck, Jo; Aurambout, Jean-Philippe; Finlay, Kyla; Azuloas, Joe; Constable, Fiona; Rijswijk, Bonny Rowles-Van

2007-01-01

Full text: Full text: Climate change is increasingly recognised as a major threat to natural and agricultural systems. Understanding these threats will enable government and primary industries to better prepare and adapt to climate change. While observations of climate change are well documented, the potential effects on pests, pathogens and their hosts are not clearly understood. To address this, a review of the potential impacts on plant biosecurity was undertaken to determine the effects of climate change on the behaviour and distribution of emergent plant pests and pathogens. The review identified increasing C02 and temperature, decreasing frost events, heavy and unseasonal rains, increased humidity, drought, cyclones and hurricanes, and warmer winter temperatures as influencing the behaviour of plant pests and pathogens. To study the effects of these changes in detail, three key plant biosecurity threats were analysed in case studies; wheat stripe rust, silver leaf whitefly and citrus canker. The predicted distribution of citrus canker was examined with increasing temperature scenarios using the bioclimatic model CLIMEX. The model predicted a southerly shift in the geographic range of the causal organism which would threaten the major southern citrus growing regions in future climates. A similar study on Bluetongue disease of sheep, spread by the Culicoides midge, also predicted a southerly shift in the vector's geographic range. Significant limitations were identified with bioclimatic modelling when examining the effects of climate change on pests and diseases. The model was unable to assess the plant and animal response to increasing temperature in conjunction with the pest. Also the influence of temperature on the life cycle of the organism, pathogenicity of strains, competition with other species, host coverage and the general effect on the biology of the organism could not be assessed. To begin to address this, a dynamic model was constructed using daily

SEACAS Theory Manuals: Part III. Finite Element Analysis in Nonlinear Solid Mechanics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laursen, T.A.; Attaway, S.W.; Zadoks, R.I.

1999-03-01

This report outlines the application of finite element methodology to large deformation solid mechanics problems, detailing also some of the key technological issues that effective finite element formulations must address. The presentation is organized into three major portions: first, a discussion of finite element discretization from the global point of view, emphasizing the relationship between a virtual work principle and the associated fully discrete system, second, a discussion of finite element technology, emphasizing the important theoretical and practical features associated with an individual finite element; and third, detailed description of specific elements that enjoy widespread use, providing some examples of the theoretical ideas already described. Descriptions of problem formulation in nonlinear solid mechanics, nonlinear continuum mechanics, and constitutive modeling are given in three companion reports.

Drought response in wheat: key genes and regulatory mechanisms controlling root system architecture and transpiration efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Manoj; Soolanayakanahally, Raju; Ogawa, Satoshi; Uga, Yusaku; Selvaraj, Michael G.; Kagale, Sateesh

2017-12-01

Abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, salinity and flooding threaten global food security. Crop genetic improvement with increased resilience to abiotic stresses is a critical component of crop breeding strategies. Wheat is an important cereal crop and a staple food source globally. Enhanced drought tolerance in wheat is critical for sustainable food production and global food security. Recent advances in drought tolerance research have uncovered many key genes and transcription regulators governing morpho-physiological traits. Genes controlling root architecture and stomatal development play an important role in soil moisture extraction and its retention, and therefore have been targets of molecular breeding strategies for improving drought tolerance. In this systematic review, we have summarized evidence of beneficial contributions of root and stomatal traits to plant adaptation to drought stress. Specifically, we discuss a few key genes such as DRO1 in rice and ERECTA in Arabidopsis and rice that were identified to be the enhancers of drought tolerance via regulation of root traits and transpiration efficiency. Additionally, we highlight several transcription factor families, such as ERF (ethylene response factors), DREB (dehydration responsive element binding), ZFP (zinc finger proteins), WRKY and MYB that were identified to be both positive and negative regulators of drought responses in wheat, rice, maize and/or Arabidopsis. The overall aim of this review was to provide an overview of candidate genes that have been tested as regulators of drought response in plants. The lack of a reference genome sequence for wheat and nontransgenic approaches for manipulation of gene functions in the past had impeded high-resolution interrogation of functional elements, including genes and QTLs, and their application in cultivar improvement. The recent developments in wheat genomics and reverse genetics, including the availability of a gold-standard reference genome

The evolution of ultraconserved elements with different phylogenetic origins

KAUST Repository

Ryu, Tae Woo; Seridi, Loqmane; Ravasi, Timothy

2012-01-01

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

Key-value store with internal key-value storage interface

Science.gov (United States)

Bent, John M.; Faibish, Sorin; Ting, Dennis P. J.; Tzelnic, Percy; Gupta, Uday; Grider, Gary; Bonnie, David J.

2018-01-16

A key-value store is provided having one or more key-value storage interfaces. A key-value store on at least one compute node comprises a memory for storing a plurality of key-value pairs; and an abstract storage interface comprising a software interface module that communicates with at least one persistent storage device providing a key-value interface for persistent storage of one or more of the plurality of key-value pairs, wherein the software interface module provides the one or more key-value pairs to the at least one persistent storage device in a key-value format. The abstract storage interface optionally processes one or more batch operations on the plurality of key-value pairs. A distributed embodiment for a partitioned key-value store is also provided.

Mapping key antecedents of employee-driven innovations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smith, Pernille; Ulhøi, John Parm; Kesting, Peter

2012-01-01

Research on employee-driven innovation (EDI) is still in its infancy, and as yet there is no independent body of literature on the topic. The aim of this paper is to review existing insights into the key antecedents of EDI in other research contexts. In particular, we focus on: leader support......, autonomy, collaboration, and organisational norms of exploration. The main contribution of this paper is to discuss how these key antecedents apply to the specific case of EDI and to identify an agenda for new research....

Multi-element analysis of unidentified fallen objects from Tatale in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A multi-element analysis has been carried out on two fallen objects, # 01 and # 02, using instrumental neutron activation analysis technique. A total of 17 elements were identified in object # 01 while 21 elements were found in object # 02. The two major elements in object # 01 were Fe and Mg, which together constitute ...

Eleven new heaviest isotopes of elements Z=105 to Z=117 identified among the products of 249Bk+48Ca reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; Abdullin, F. Sh.; Dmitriev, S. N.; Itkis, M. G.; Lobanov, Yu. V.; Mezentsev, A. N.; Polyakov, A. N.; Sagaidak, R. N.; Shirokovsky, I. V.; Subbotin, V. G.; Sukhov, A. M.; Tsyganov, Yu. S.; Utyonkov, V. K.; Voinov, A. A.; Vostokin, G. K.; Bailey, P. D.; Benker, D. E.; Ezold, J. G.; Porter, C. E.; Riley, F. D.

2011-01-01

The heaviest isotopes of elements Z=117 to Z=105, 294 117, 293 117, 290 115, 289 115, 286 113, 285 113, 282 Rg, 281 Rg, 278 Mt, 274 Bh, and 270 Db, were identified by means of the Dubna gas-filled recoil separator among the products of the 249 Bk + 48 Ca reaction. The details of the observed six decay chains, indicating the production and decay of isotopes 293 117 and 294 117, are presented and discussed. The decay energies and resulting half-lives of these new nuclei show a strong rise of stability with increasing neutron number, validating the concept of the island of enhanced stability for superheavy nuclei [Oganessian et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 142502 (2010)].

Visual inspection as one of the important elements of the quality control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł Szklarzyk

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Quality control of the production process allows to detect incompatibilities. One of the key elements of quality control is a visual inspection. The object of the research is to determine the essential elements having an impact on visual inspections. Research was carried out according to the BOST method designed at the Institute of Production Engineering, Technical University of Czestochowa

Identifying elemental genomic track types and representing them uniformly

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gundersen Sveinung

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With the recent advances and availability of various high-throughput sequencing technologies, data on many molecular aspects, such as gene regulation, chromatin dynamics, and the three-dimensional organization of DNA, are rapidly being generated in an increasing number of laboratories. The variation in biological context, and the increasingly dispersed mode of data generation, imply a need for precise, interoperable and flexible representations of genomic features through formats that are easy to parse. A host of alternative formats are currently available and in use, complicating analysis and tool development. The issue of whether and how the multitude of formats reflects varying underlying characteristics of data has to our knowledge not previously been systematically treated. Results We here identify intrinsic distinctions between genomic features, and argue that the distinctions imply that a certain variation in the representation of features as genomic tracks is warranted. Four core informational properties of tracks are discussed: gaps, lengths, values and interconnections. From this we delineate fifteen generic track types. Based on the track type distinctions, we characterize major existing representational formats and find that the track types are not adequately supported by any single format. We also find, in contrast to the XML formats, that none of the existing tabular formats are conveniently extendable to support all track types. We thus propose two unified formats for track data, an improved XML format, BioXSD 1.1, and a new tabular format, GTrack 1.0. Conclusions The defined track types are shown to capture relevant distinctions between genomic annotation tracks, resulting in varying representational needs and analysis possibilities. The proposed formats, GTrack 1.0 and BioXSD 1.1, cater to the identified track distinctions and emphasize preciseness, flexibility and parsing convenience.

An Ontology for Identifying Cyber Intrusion Induced Faults in Process Control Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hieb, Jeffrey; Graham, James; Guan, Jian

This paper presents an ontological framework that permits formal representations of process control systems, including elements of the process being controlled and the control system itself. A fault diagnosis algorithm based on the ontological model is also presented. The algorithm can identify traditional process elements as well as control system elements (e.g., IP network and SCADA protocol) as fault sources. When these elements are identified as a likely fault source, the possibility exists that the process fault is induced by a cyber intrusion. A laboratory-scale distillation column is used to illustrate the model and the algorithm. Coupled with a well-defined statistical process model, this fault diagnosis approach provides cyber security enhanced fault diagnosis information to plant operators and can help identify that a cyber attack is underway before a major process failure is experienced.

Identifying key components for an effective case report poster: an observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Willett, Lisa L; Paranjape, Anuradha; Estrada, Carlos

2009-03-01

Residents demonstrate scholarly activity by presenting posters at academic meetings. Although recommendations from national organizations are available, evidence identifying which components are most important is not. To develop and test an evaluation tool to measure the quality of case report posters and identify the specific components most in need of improvement. Faculty evaluators reviewed case report posters and provided on-site feedback to presenters at poster sessions of four annual academic general internal medicine meetings. A newly developed ten-item evaluation form measured poster quality for specific components of content, discussion, and format (5-point Likert scale, 1 = lowest, 5 = highest). Evaluation tool performance, including Cronbach alpha and inter-rater reliability, overall poster scores, differences across meetings and evaluators and specific components of the posters most in need of improvement. Forty-five evaluators from 20 medical institutions reviewed 347 posters. Cronbach's alpha of the evaluation form was 0.84 and inter-rater reliability, Spearman's rho 0.49 (p words. Our evaluation tool provides empirical data to guide trainees as they prepare posters for presentation which may improve poster quality and enhance their scholarly productivity.

SNP interaction pattern identifier (SIPI)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lin, Hui Yi; Chen, Dung Tsa; Huang, Po Yu

2017-01-01

Motivation: Testing SNP-SNP interactions is considered as a key for overcoming bottlenecks of genetic association studies. However, related statistical methods for testing SNP-SNP interactions are underdeveloped. Results: We propose the SNP Interaction Pattern Identifier (SIPI), which tests 45...

Identify and Quantify the Mechanistic Sources of Sensor Performance Variation Between Individual Sensors SN1 and SN2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diaz, Aaron A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Baldwin, David L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Cinson, Anthony D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Jones, Anthony M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Larche, Michael R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mathews, Royce [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mullen, Crystal A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Pardini, Allan F. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Posakony, Gerald J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Prowant, Matthew S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hartman, Trenton S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Edwards, Matthew K. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2014-08-06

This Technical Letter Report satisfies the M3AR-14PN2301022 milestone, and is focused on identifying and quantifying the mechanistic sources of sensor performance variation between individual 22-element, linear phased-array sensor prototypes, SN1 and SN2. This effort constitutes an iterative evolution that supports the longer term goal of producing and demonstrating a pre-manufacturing prototype ultrasonic probe that possesses the fundamental performance characteristics necessary to enable the development of a high-temperature sodium-cooled fast reactor inspection system. The scope of the work for this portion of the PNNL effort conducted in FY14 includes performing a comparative evaluation and assessment of the performance characteristics of the SN1 and SN2 22 element PA-UT probes manufactured at PNNL. Key transducer performance parameters, such as sound field dimensions, resolution capabilities, frequency response, and bandwidth are used as a metric for the comparative evaluation and assessment of the SN1 and SN2 engineering test units.

Key to Language Learning Success

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Oktavian Mantiri

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper looks at the important elements of language learning and teaching i.e. the role of teachers as well as the attitude and motivation of learners. Teachers undoubtedly play crucial roles in students’ language learning outcome which could ignite or diminish students’ motivation. Positive attitudes and motivation – instrumental or integrative and intrinsic or extrinsic – are key to successful learning. Therefore it is paramount for language teachers as well as learners to know these roles and nurture the best possible ways where language teaching and learning will thrive. This paper also suggested that both stake-holders should be open to holistic approach of language learning and that other factors such as the environment could play an important part in language teaching and learning success.

Anatomy of the Volar Retinacular Elements of the Hand: A Unified Nomenclature.

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, Jenna; Rayan, Ghazi M

2018-03-01

Many investigators have described the anatomy of the volar retinacular structures of the hand over the last 60 years. As a result, multiple terms have been assigned to 1 anatomical structure and 1 name designated to more than 1 structure. Our purpose is to review the detailed anatomy and key components of the volar retinacular elements of the hand, their etymology, and their most recent descriptions. The objective also is to organize these structures into systems, which can be helpful for learners to assimilate into a practical anatomical guide. Lastly, the goal is to create a common nomenclature for identifying the volar retinacular structures of the hand in order to facilitate clear communication about them across languages. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bioinformatic analysis of Entamoeba histolytica SINE1 elements

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Butcher Sarah A

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Invasive amoebiasis, caused by infection with the human parasite Entamoeba histolytica remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in some less-developed countries. Genetically E. histolytica exhibits a number of unusual features including having approximately 20% of its genome comprised of repetitive elements. These include a number of families of SINEs - non-autonomous elements which can, however, move with the help of partner LINEs. In many eukaryotes SINE mobility has had a profound effect on gene expression; in this study we concentrated on one such element - EhSINE1, looking in particular for evidence of recent transposition. Results EhSINE1s were detected in the newly reassembled E. histolytica genome by searching with a Hidden Markov Model developed to encapsulate the key features of this element; 393 were detected. Examination of their sequences revealed that some had an internal structure showing one to four 26-27 nt repeats. Members of the different classes differ in a number of ways and in particular those with two internal repeats show the properties expected of fairly recently transposed SINEs - they are the most homogeneous in length and sequence, they have the longest (i.e. the least decayed target site duplications and are the most likely to show evidence (in a cDNA library of active transcription. Furthermore we were able to identify 15 EhSINE1s (6 pairs and one triplet which appeared to be identical or very nearly so but inserted into different sites in the genome; these provide good evidence that if mobility has now ceased it has only done so very recently. Conclusions Of the many families of repetitive elements present in the genome of E. histolytica we have examined in detail just one - EhSINE1. We have shown that there is evidence for waves of transposition at different points in the past and no evidence that mobility has entirely ceased. There are many aspects of the biology of this parasite which

Ethnicity and health: key themes in a developing field \\ud

OpenAIRE

Ahmad, Waqar I. U.; Bradby, Hannah

2008-01-01

Ethnicity is a social division that is increasingly difficult to ignore. Ethnicity has to be considered alongside other social divisions including socioeconomic status which is crucial to explaining minority disadvantages in health. Identity is a key dimension of ethnicity, which encompasses self-ascribed and externally-imposed elements. The stigma associated with particular conditions, combined with the effects of racism and economic marginalization, can be central to some minority groups' a...

Focus 2012. Awakening into a new age - Elements of a sustainable energy supply. Ressource efficiency - key competency of sustainable societies, Sustainable chemistry - fundamental building blocks of a green economy. Annual report; Schwerpunkte 2012. Aufbruch ins neue Zeitalter - Elemente einer nachhaltigen Energieversorgung, Ressourceneffizienz - Schluesselkompetenz zukunftsfaehiger Gesellschaften, Nachhaltige Chemie - elementarer Baustein einer Green Economy. Jahrespublikation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mavromati, Fotini; Ittershagen, Martin [comps.

2012-05-30

The Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) sees excellent opportunities to move the economic regeneration forward by means of environmental protection. Under this aspect, the annual report ''Focus 2012'' under consideration presents the following contributions: (1) Green Economy as a new model for economic development; (2) Elements of a sustainable energy supply; (3) Resource efficiency as a key competence for sustainable societies; (4) Green Chemistry as a fundamental building block of Green Economy.

A Miniaturized On-Chip Colorimeter for Detecting NPK Elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Rui-Tao; Tao, Lu-Qi; Liu, Bo; Tian, Xiang-Guang; Mohammad, Mohammad Ali; Yang, Yi; Ren, Tian-Ling

2016-08-04

Recently, precision agriculture has become a globally attractive topic. As one of the most important factors, the soil nutrients play an important role in estimating the development of precision agriculture. Detecting the content of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) elements more efficiently is one of the key issues. In this paper, a novel chip-level colorimeter was fabricated to detect the NPK elements for the first time. A light source-microchannel photodetector in a sandwich structure was designed to realize on-chip detection. Compared with a commercial colorimeter, all key parts are based on MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) technology so that the volume of this on-chip colorimeter can be minimized. Besides, less error and high precision are achieved. The cost of this colorimeter is two orders of magnitude less than that of a commercial one. All these advantages enable a low-cost and high-precision sensing operation in a monitoring network. The colorimeter developed herein has bright prospects for environmental and biological applications.

The contribution of nature to people: Applying concepts of values and properties to rate the management importance of natural elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Michael J; Wagner, Christian; Wallace, Ken J; Pourabdollah, Amir; Lewis, Loretta

2016-06-15

An important, and yet unresolved question in natural resource management is how best to manage natural elements and their associated values to ensure human wellbeing. Specifically, there is a lack of measurement tools to assess the contribution of nature to people. We present one approach to overcome this global issue and show that the preferred state of any system element, in terms of realising human values, is a function of element properties. Consequently, natural resource managers need to understand the nature of the relationships between element properties and values if they are to successfully manage for human wellbeing. In two case studies of applied planning, we demonstrate how to identify key element properties, quantify their relationships to priority human values, and combine this information to model the contribution of elements to human wellbeing. In one of the two case studies we also compared the modelling outputs with directly elicited stakeholder opinions regarding the importance of the elements for realising the given priority values. The two, largely congruent outputs provide additional support for the approach. The study shows that rating sets of elements on their relative overall value for human wellbeing, or utility, provides critical information for subsequent management decisions and a basis for productive new research. We consider that the described approach is broadly applicable within the domain of natural resource management. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Audit as Key Element of System Management Improvement in Company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Wojtynek

2007-07-01

Full Text Available This article presents what is an audit for a company, tries to regularize the quality audits, presents main differences between separate types of audits and between audit and control. There are also some exemplary types of nonconformance in a company. Each system has a risk of deficiencies. They can result from material defects or human imperfection. A good quality system should allow the company to detect them in an organized and systematical manner. It guarantees that the irregularities will be removed before they cause a defective production. Quality management consists of planning the quality via quality plans, control and research plans, and supervision and verification by audits and controls. The objective of this paper is to present a special message of audit for organizations which is the improvement of management system in company. Quality audit is used with reference to quality system and its elements, to process, products and services. It compares the real values with expected ones with reference to the activities connected with quality and their results, and planned data. Thanks to quality audits, it is possible to state if the quality management instruments achieve the desired effect. Quality audit can be conducted for the internal and external purposes. One of the quality audit purposes is to estimate if the improvement is necessary or to take corrective actions. The universality of audit, which is completed by periodic system review preformed by head management, allows the use of its application effects both on the strategic and operational effects. Audit is often misled with quality monitoring or control, i.e. activities which aim to control the process or accept the product. Therefore this paper shows the differences between the notions. The information used to conduct an audit is only based on facts (evidence objective, which really exist, independent on emotions or prejudice. They can be documented, declared, based on observed

Insights into the Biology of IRES Elements through Riboproteomic Approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Almudena Pacheco

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Translation initiation is a highly regulated process that exerts a strong influence on the posttranscriptional control of gene expression. Two alternative mechanisms govern translation initiation in eukaryotic mRNAs, the cap-dependent initiation mechanism operating in most mRNAs, and the internal ribosome entry site (IRES-dependent mechanism, first discovered in picornaviruses. IRES elements are highly structured RNA sequences that, in most instances, require specific proteins for recruitment of the translation machinery. Some of these proteins are eukaryotic initiation factors. In addition, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs play a key role in internal initiation control. RBPs are pivotal regulators of gene expression in response to numerous stresses, including virus infection. This review discusses recent advances on riboproteomic approaches to identify IRES transacting factors (ITAFs and the relationship between RNA-protein interaction and IRES activity, highlighting the most relevant features on picornavirus and hepatitis C virus IRESs.

Crystallization and X-ray diffraction analysis of the HMG domain of the chondrogenesis master regulator Sox9 in complex with a ChIP-Seq-identified DNA element

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vivekanandan, Saravanan; Moovarkumudalvan, Balasubramanian; Lescar, Julien; Kolatkar, Prasanna R.

2015-10-30

Sox9 is a fundamental sex-determining gene and the master regulator of chondrogenesis, and is involved in the development of various vital organs such as testes, kidney, heart and brain, and in skeletal development. Similar to other known Sox transcription factors, Sox9 recognizes and binds DNA with the consensus sequence C(T/A)TTG(T/A)(T/A) through the highly conserved HMG domain. Nonetheless, the molecular basis of the functional specificity of Sox9 in key developmental processes is still unclear. As an initial step towards a mechanistic understanding of Sox9 transcriptional regulation, the current work describes the details of the purification of the mouse Sox9 HMG domain (mSox9HMG), its crystallization in complex with a ChIP-Seq-identified FOXP2 promoter DNA element and the X-ray diffraction data analysis of this complex. The mSox9HMG–FOXP2 promoter DNA complex was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using 20% PEG 3350 in 200 mMsodium/potassium phosphate with 100 mMbis-tris propane at pH 8.5. The crystals diffracted to 2.7 Å resolution and the complex crystallized in the tetragonal space groupP4₁2₁2, with unit-cell parametersa=b= 99.49,c= 45.89 Å. Crystal-packing parameters revealed that asymmetric unit contained one mSox9HMG–FOXP2 promoter DNA complex with an estimated solvent content of 64%.

DISTANCE AS KEY FACTOR IN MODELLING STUDENTS’ RECRUITMENT BY UNIVERSITIES

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SIMONA MĂLĂESCU

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Distance as Key Factor in Modelling Students’ Recruitment by Universities. In a previous paper analysing the challenge of keeping up with the current methodologies in the analysis and modelling of students’ recruitment by universities in the case of some ECE countries which still don’t register or develop key data to take advantage from the state of the art knowledge on the domain, we have promised to approach the factor distance in a future work due to the extent of the topic. This paper fulfill that promise bringing a review of the literature especially dealing with modelling the geographical area of recruiting students of an university, where combining distance with the proximate key factors previously reviewed, complete the meta-analysis of existing literature we have started a year ago. Beyond the theoretical benefit from a practical perspective, the metaanalysis aimed at synthesizing elements of good practice that can be applied to the local university system.

The Element Analysis on The Development of Cattle Industry in Jambi

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Sumarsono Sumarsono

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to formulate the structure of the key elements and determine the development of beef cattle livestock industry system that must be done. The method used is ISM and Fuzzy ME-MCDM.. Results of the ISM data analysis can know that the key element to the needs of the program is the production technology, quality standardization Ranch Cattle, capital, and competent employees. The constraint of program : capital, facilities, infrastructure, quality, human resources, technology, and institutional. For the purpose of the program is to improve the mastery of technology, increase the added value Ranch Cattle, improving competent human resources, and economic development of Ranch Beef Cattle Industry. The results is alternative activities that must be done is the development of systems Industrial raw materials and production process.

Effects of Cigarette Smoke on Tissue Trace Element Concentration of Rats Exposed to Second-hand Smoke

OpenAIRE

K, Ergen; F, Yildiz; M, Ozcan; M, Cekmen; , Tanyeri P; , Utkan T; Y, Karakoc

2012-01-01

Trace elements have an important effect on and play a key role in a variety of the processes necessary for life. Studies have indicated a definite correlation between content of trace elements and many common diseases. It has been concluded that smoking may be a substantial source of intake of these hazardous elements, not only to the smoker, but to nonsmokers via passive smoke, as well. Even passive intake of such elements can change the metabolism of other trace elements and influence their...

Physician Appraisals: Key Challenges

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Klich Jacek

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of the article is to identify key criteria being used for physician appraisals and to find how communication skills of physicians are valued in those appraisals. ScienceDirect and EBSCOhost databases were used for this search. The results show that a physician appraisal is underestimated both theoretically and empirically. The particular gap exists with respect to the communication skills of physicians, which are rarely present in medical training syllabi and physician assessments. The article contributes to the theoretical discourse on physician appraisals and points out at the inconsistency between the high status of physicians as a key hospital resource on the one hand and, on the other hand, at inadequate and poorly researched assessment of their performance with a special emphasis on communication skills. The article may inspire health managers to develop and implement up-to-date assessment forms for physicians and good managerial practices in this respect in hospitals and other health care units.

Elements of spatial data quality

CERN Document Server

Guptill, SC

1995-01-01

Elements of Spatial Data Quality outlines the need and suggests potential categories for the content of a comprehensive statement of data quality that must be imbedded in the metadata that accompanies the transfer of a digital spatial data file or is available in a separate metadata catalog. Members of the International Cartographic Association's Commission on Spatial Data Quality have identified seven elements of data quality: positional accuracy, attribute accuracy, completeness, logical consistency, lineage, semantic accuracy and temporal information. In the book the authors describe: compo

Trace elements in glucometabolic disorders: an update

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wiernsperger Nicolas

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Many trace elements, among which metals, are indispensable for proper functioning of a myriad of biochemical reactions, more particularly as enzyme cofactors. This is particularly true for the vast set of processes involved in regulation of glucose homeostasis, being it in glucose metabolism itself or in hormonal control, especially insulin. The role and importance of trace elements such as chromium, zinc, selenium, lithium and vanadium are much less evident and subjected to chronic debate. This review updates our actual knowledge concerning these five trace elements. A careful survey of the literature shows that while theoretical postulates from some key roles of these elements had led to real hopes for therapy of insulin resistance and diabetes, the limited experience based on available data indicates that beneficial effects and use of most of them are subjected to caution, given the narrow window between safe and unsafe doses. Clear therapeutic benefit in these pathologies is presently doubtful but some data indicate that these metals may have a clinical interest in patients presenting deficiencies in individual metal levels. The same holds true for an association of some trace elements such as chromium or zinc with oral antidiabetics. However, this area is essentially unexplored in adequate clinical trials, which are worth being performed.

Lysyl oxidases in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A key participant in collagen I matrix remodelling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tjin, Gavin; Mahar, Annabelle; Kable, Eleanor; Burgess, Janette

2015-01-01

Introduction: The fibrotic element in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a key feature and is associated with Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (UIP) pattern. Fibrillar collagen I (COL1) has second harmonic generation (SHG) properties, with signals both in the forward (F) (organized collagen) &

Extensive evolutionary changes in regulatory element activity during human origins are associated with altered gene expression and positive selection.

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Yoichiro Shibata

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Understanding the molecular basis for phenotypic differences between humans and other primates remains an outstanding challenge. Mutations in non-coding regulatory DNA that alter gene expression have been hypothesized as a key driver of these phenotypic differences. This has been supported by differential gene expression analyses in general, but not by the identification of specific regulatory elements responsible for changes in transcription and phenotype. To identify the genetic source of regulatory differences, we mapped DNaseI hypersensitive (DHS sites, which mark all types of active gene regulatory elements, genome-wide in the same cell type isolated from human, chimpanzee, and macaque. Most DHS sites were conserved among all three species, as expected based on their central role in regulating transcription. However, we found evidence that several hundred DHS sites were gained or lost on the lineages leading to modern human and chimpanzee. Species-specific DHS site gains are enriched near differentially expressed genes, are positively correlated with increased transcription, show evidence of branch-specific positive selection, and overlap with active chromatin marks. Species-specific sequence differences in transcription factor motifs found within these DHS sites are linked with species-specific changes in chromatin accessibility. Together, these indicate that the regulatory elements identified here are genetic contributors to transcriptional and phenotypic differences among primate species.

Research on key techniques in portable XRF analyzers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Guodong; Jia Wenyi; Zhou Rongsheng; Tang Hong

1999-01-01

Focused on the problems of low sensitivity, poor detection limits, small number of determined elements and poor ability of matrix effect correction of the current field-portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers, research work on key units of excitation source, detector, measurement circuit and microcomputerization is carried out. A miniature, low power X-ray tube excitation source is developed. A low dissipative 1024 channel analyzer, fitting to high resolution detectors, is prepared. Microcomputerization based on a notebook computer is realized. On the basis, a field, highly sensitive XRF system is constituted. With this system, multielements can be determined with the detection limits of less than 20 μg/g for the elements with medium or lower atomic numbers, one order of magnitude or more lower than those of the current portable XRF analyzers. The capabilities for matrix effect correction and data processing are enhanced. This system gets rid of radionuclide sources, making its use and carry safe and convenient

Biogeochemical interactions control a temporal succession in the elemental composition of marine communities

KAUST Repository

Martiny, Adam C.; Talarmin, Agathe Anne Gaelle; Mouginot, Cé line; Lee, Jeanette A.; Huang, Jeremy S.; Gellene, Alyssa G.; Caron, David A.

2015-01-01

Recent studies have revealed clear regional differences in the particulate organic matter composition and stoichiometry of plankton communities. In contrast, less is known about potential mechanisms and patterns of temporal changes in the elemental composition of marine systems. Here, we monitored weekly changes in environmental conditions, phytoplankton abundances, and particulate organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations over a 3-yr period. We found that variation in the particulate organic matter (POM) concentrations and ratios were related to seasonal oscillations of environmental conditions and phytoplankton abundances. Periods with low temperature, high nutrient concentrations and a dominance of large phytoplankton corresponded to low C : N : P and vice-versa for warmer periods during the summer and fall. In addition to seasonal changes, we observed a multiyear increase in POM C : P and N : P that might be associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Finally, there was substantial short-term variability in all factors but similar linkages between environmental variability and elemental composition as observed on seasonal and interannual time-scales. Using a feed-forward neural network, we could explain a large part of the variation in POM concentrations and ratios based on changes in environmental conditions and phytoplankton abundances. The apparent links across all time-scales between changes in physics, chemistry, phytoplankton, and POM concentrations and ratios suggest we have identified key controls of the elemental composition of marine communities in this region.

Biogeochemical interactions control a temporal succession in the elemental composition of marine communities

KAUST Repository

Martiny, Adam C.

2015-11-23

Recent studies have revealed clear regional differences in the particulate organic matter composition and stoichiometry of plankton communities. In contrast, less is known about potential mechanisms and patterns of temporal changes in the elemental composition of marine systems. Here, we monitored weekly changes in environmental conditions, phytoplankton abundances, and particulate organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations over a 3-yr period. We found that variation in the particulate organic matter (POM) concentrations and ratios were related to seasonal oscillations of environmental conditions and phytoplankton abundances. Periods with low temperature, high nutrient concentrations and a dominance of large phytoplankton corresponded to low C : N : P and vice-versa for warmer periods during the summer and fall. In addition to seasonal changes, we observed a multiyear increase in POM C : P and N : P that might be associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Finally, there was substantial short-term variability in all factors but similar linkages between environmental variability and elemental composition as observed on seasonal and interannual time-scales. Using a feed-forward neural network, we could explain a large part of the variation in POM concentrations and ratios based on changes in environmental conditions and phytoplankton abundances. The apparent links across all time-scales between changes in physics, chemistry, phytoplankton, and POM concentrations and ratios suggest we have identified key controls of the elemental composition of marine communities in this region.

Key Distribution and Changing Key Cryptosystem Based on Phase Retrieval Algorithm and RSA Public-Key Algorithm

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Tieyu Zhao

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The optical image encryption has attracted more and more researchers’ attention, and the various encryption schemes have been proposed. In existing optical cryptosystem, the phase functions or images are usually used as the encryption keys, and it is difficult that the traditional public-key algorithm (such as RSA, ECC, etc. is used to complete large numerical key transfer. In this paper, we propose a key distribution scheme based on the phase retrieval algorithm and the RSA public-key algorithm, which solves the problem for the key distribution in optical image encryption system. Furthermore, we also propose a novel image encryption system based on the key distribution principle. In the system, the different keys can be used in every encryption process, which greatly improves the security of the system.

Key to marine arthropod larvae

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John A. Fornshell

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The scope of this key is restricted to the larvae of marine arthropods. The key is based solely on their morphology, patterns of body segmentation, numbers of appendages, and mode of locomotion. An effort has been made to treat all traditionally named larval forms, both planktonic and benthic. It is intended that this key be useful for a researcher working with archived museum specimens and therefore, does not include habitat information as a identifying trait, even though this information is usually available in the archived records. Within the phylum Arthropoda there are two sub-phyla and eleven classes having larval stages in the marineenvironment. Where feasible the original names of the various larval types have been used. Because this nomenclature is less commonly used today compared to the past, the more recent taxonomic affinities are included in parentheses after the original larval name. The key includes the following thirty-four larvae: Branchhiopoda nauplii; Cephalocarida nauplii; Mystacocarida nauplii; trilobite larva; protonymphon; hexapod larvae; Remipedia nauplii; nauplius - Y larvae; Cirripedia nauplii; Ascothoracida nauplii; Ostracoda nauplii; Euphausiacea nauplii; Penaeidea nauplii; Cyclopoida nauplii; Calanoida nauplii; Harpacticoida nauplii;Polyarthra nauplii; cypris larva; eryonecius larva; cypris-Y larva; elapthocaris larvae; mysis larvae; lucifer zoea; acetes zoea; acanthosoma larva; phyllosoma; antizoea larva; anomuran zoea; brachyuran zoea; calyptopis larvae; furcilia larva; crytopia larva; puerulus larva; alima larva.

Key aspects to perform a project on energy management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bachini, R.

1993-01-01

A general overview on elements and organisms playing a key role to launch a new industrial project is given, taking as base case an energy management project. Likewise the problematic of training personnel involved in the project is analyzed. Energy management becomes crucial in industries where energy costs represent a big portion of the whole production cost. Main aspects to be analyzed are: - Adequate production procedures to be competitive - Environment protection regarding waste management - Maximization of safety at production installations. (Author)

Focus 2012. Awakening into a new age - Elements of a sustainable energy supply. Ressource efficiency - key competency of sustainable societies, Sustainable chemistry - fundamental building blocks of a green economy. Annual report; Schwerpunkte 2012. Aufbruch ins neue Zeitalter - Elemente einer nachhaltigen Energieversorgung, Ressourceneffizienz - Schluesselkompetenz zukunftsfaehiger Gesellschaften, Nachhaltige Chemie - elementarer Baustein einer Green Economy. Jahrespublikation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mavromati, Fotini; Ittershagen, Martin (comps.)

2012-05-30

The Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) sees excellent opportunities to move the economic regeneration forward by means of environmental protection. Under this aspect, the annual report ''Focus 2012'' under consideration presents the following contributions: (1) Green Economy as a new model for economic development; (2) Elements of a sustainable energy supply; (3) Resource efficiency as a key competence for sustainable societies; (4) Green Chemistry as a fundamental building block of Green Economy.

HIGHLY QUALIFIED WORKING FORCE – KEY ELEMENT OF INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT MODEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Avksientiev

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Highly qualified working force is a central element of intensive development model in modern society. The article surveys the experience of countries that managed to transform their economy to the innovative one. Ukrainian economy cannot stand aside processes that dominate the world economy trends, thus we are to use this experience to succeed in future. Today any government of the world is facing challenges that occur due to transformation of the economy into informational one. This type of economy causes its transformation form extensive to intensive one. The main reasons under that is limitation of nature resources, material factors of production. Thus this approach depends much on the quality of working force. Unfortunately in Ukraine there is a misbalance in specialist preparation. This puts additional pressure on the educational sphere also. In order to avoid this pressure we are to conduct reforms in education sphere. Nowadays, in the world views and concepts of governmental role in the social development are changing. This why, even at times of economic recession educational costs are not reduced under the new economical doctrine in the EU. Highly qualified specialists, while creating new products and services play role of engineers in XXI century. They are to lead their industries to world leading positions. From economic point of view, highly qualified specialists benefit society with higher income rates, taxation and thus, increasing the living standards in society. Thus, the majority if modern scientists prove the importance of highly trained working force for more effective economic development.

Key Questions in Building Defect Prediction Models in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Ramler, Rudolf; Wolfmaier, Klaus; Stauder, Erwin; Kossak, Felix; Natschläger, Thomas

The information about which modules of a future version of a software system are defect-prone is a valuable planning aid for quality managers and testers. Defect prediction promises to indicate these defect-prone modules. However, constructing effective defect prediction models in an industrial setting involves a number of key questions. In this paper we discuss ten key questions identified in context of establishing defect prediction in a large software development project. Seven consecutive versions of the software system have been used to construct and validate defect prediction models for system test planning. Furthermore, the paper presents initial empirical results from the studied project and, by this means, contributes answers to the identified questions.

Using trace element concentrations in Corbicula fluminea to identify potential sources of contamination in an urban river

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loeffler Peltier, Gretchen; Meyer, Judith L.; Jagoe, Charles H.; Hopkins, William A.

2008-01-01

We used the biomonitor, Corbicula fluminea, to investigate the contributions of trace elements associated with different point sources and land uses in a large river. Trace elements were analyzed in tissues of clams collected from 15 tributary streams draining five land use or point source types: agriculture, forest, urban, coal-fired power plant (CFPP), and wastewater (WWTP). Clams from forested catchments had elevated Hg concentrations, and concentrations of arsenic and selenium were highest (5.0 ± 0.2 and 13.6 ± 0.9 μg g -1 dry mass (DM), respectively) in clams from CFPP sites. Cadmium concentrations were significantly higher in clams from urban and CFPP sites (4.1 ± 0.2 and 3.6 ± 0.9 μg g -1 DM, respectively). Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) of tissue concentrations in clams clustered at CFPP and forest/agriculture sites at opposite ends of the ordination space, and the distribution of sites was driven by Cu, Zn, Cd, and Hg. - C. fluminea collected downstream of CFPPs had elevated tissue concentrations of trace elements

Chemistry of the heaviest elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, D.C.

1996-01-01

Studies of the chemical properties of the elements at the uppermost end of the periodic table are discussed. Some historical perspective is given, but major emphasis is on recent studies. Isotopes of these elements are short-lived and, therefore, must be studied near the site of production. They must be produced with charged-particle beams at accelerators rather than via neutron capture. The use of radioactive heavy actinide targets is often required and the number of atoms produced is so small that any chemistry to be performed must be done on an ''atom-at-a-time'' basis. Furthermore, a knowledge of their nuclear properties is required in order to identify and detect them. To date, both gas and aqueous phase properties of elements as heavy as element 104 (rutherfordium) and element 105 (hahnium) have been investigated, even though their longest-lived known isotopes have half-lives of only 65 and 35 seconds, respectively. The experimental results show that their chemical properties cannot be simply extrapolated from the known properties of their lighter homologs in the periodic table, emphasizing the importance of obtaining additional experimental information for the heaviest elements to compare with predictions and help assess the influence of relativistic effects. The feasibility of the extension of chemical studies to still heavier elements is also discussed. (orig.)

Practical steps toward integrating economic, social and institutional elements in fisheries policy and management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stephenson, Robert L.; Benson, Ashleen J.; Brooks, Kate

2017-01-01

While international agreements and legislation call for incorporation of four pillars of sustainability, the social (including cultural), economic and institutional aspects (the ‘human dimension’) have been relatively neglected to date. Three key impediments have been identified: a relative lack...... of explicit social, economic and institutional objectives; a general lack of process (frameworks, governance) for routine integration of all four pillars of sustainability; and a bias towards biological considerations. Practical integration requires a ‘systems’ approach with explicit consideration...... in fisheries to immediately take five practical steps toward integrating ecological, economic, social and institutional aspects: (1) Adopt the perspective of the fishery as a ‘system’ with interacting natural, human and management elements; (2) Be aware of both strategic and operational aspects of fisheries...

Identifying associations between sport sponsorship decision-making variables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CH Van Heerden

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Sport sponsorship spending in South Africa has increased steadily. This paper discusses the findings of an exploratory study into key sponsorship decision-areas, namely the setting of sponsorship objectives, the integration of marketing communication variables into sponsorship to create a leverage effect, and the measurement of sponsorship success. It is argued that for a sponsorship to be successful certain associations should exist between these key decision-making areas and also among elements internal to each of these areas. The main findings are that the respondents indicated a bias towards setting media related objectives that will subsequently enable the sponsors to use media-related measurement tools. It is recommended that sponsors should develop alternative methods to measure the effectiveness of their sponsorships.

Endogenous viral elements in animal genomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aris Katzourakis

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Integration into the nuclear genome of germ line cells can lead to vertical inheritance of retroviral genes as host alleles. For other viruses, germ line integration has only rarely been documented. Nonetheless, we identified endogenous viral elements (EVEs derived from ten non-retroviral families by systematic in silico screening of animal genomes, including the first endogenous representatives of double-stranded RNA, reverse-transcribing DNA, and segmented RNA viruses, and the first endogenous DNA viruses in mammalian genomes. Phylogenetic and genomic analysis of EVEs across multiple host species revealed novel information about the origin and evolution of diverse virus groups. Furthermore, several of the elements identified here encode intact open reading frames or are expressed as mRNA. For one element in the primate lineage, we provide statistically robust evidence for exaptation. Our findings establish that genetic material derived from all known viral genome types and replication strategies can enter the animal germ line, greatly broadening the scope of paleovirological studies and indicating a more significant evolutionary role for gene flow from virus to animal genomes than has previously been recognized.

Ethnomathematics elements in Batik Bali using backpropagation method

Science.gov (United States)

Lestari, Mei; Irawan, Ari; Rahayu, Wanti; Wayan Parwati, Ni

2018-05-01

Batik is one of traditional arts that has been established by the UNESCO as Indonesia’s cultural heritage. Batik has varieties and motifs, and each motifs has its own uniqueness but seems similar, that makes it difficult to identify. This study aims to develop an application that can identify typical batik Bali with etnomatematics elements on it. Etnomatematics is a study that shows relation between culture and mathematics concepts. Etnomatematics in Batik Bali is more to geometrical concept in line of strong Balinese culture element. The identification process is use backpropagation method. Steps of backpropagation methods are image processing (including scalling and tresholding image process). Next step is insert the processed image to an artificial neural network. This study resulted an accuracy of identification of batik Bali that has Etnomatematics elements on it.

Topology Optimization of Shape Memory Alloy Actuators using Element Connectivity Parameterization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langelaar, Matthijs; Yoon, Gil Ho; Kim, Yoon Young

2005-01-01

This paper presents the first application of topology optimization to the design of shape memory alloy actuators. Shape memory alloys (SMA’s) exhibit strongly nonlinear, temperature-dependent material behavior. The complexity in the constitutive behavior makes the topology design of SMA structure......) stiffness matrix of continuum finite elements. Therefore, any finite element code, including commercial codes, can be readily used for the ECP implementation. The key ideas and characteristics of these methods will be presented in this paper....

Interpretation of some geochemical distributions in Key and Seahorse Lakes, Saskatchewan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parslow, G.R.

1979-04-01

U, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Co data for the sediment in both Key and Seahorse lakes, which overlie portions of known economic uranium deposits in the region, are presented. With the exception of U, Fe and Mn, the elemental distributions can be considered anomalous, in a statistical sense, in both lakes. The U values are of particular interest in that Key Lake is not anomalous, whereas Seahorse Lake is markedly anomalous. Tentative correlations made with background data from other surveys in attempt to differentiate between anomalous and background values indicate that deviations from linearity in a distribution, and not absolute mean or maximum values, are indicative of anomalous samples within the distribution.

On the way to unveiling the atomic structure of superheavy elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laatiaoui, Mustapha

2016-01-01

Optical spectroscopy of the transfermium elements (atomic number Z > 100) is nowadays one of the most fascinating and simultaneously challenging tasks in atomic physics. On the one hand, key atomic and even nuclear ground-state properties may be obtained by studying the spectral lines of these heaviest elements. On the other hand, these elements have to be produced “online” by heavy-ion induced fusion-evaporation reactions yielding rates on the order of a few atoms per second at most, which renders their optical spectroscopy extremely difficult. Only recently, a first foray of laser spectroscopy into this heaviest element region was reported. Several atomic transitions in the element nobelium (Z = 102) were observed and characterized, using an ultra-sensitive and highly efficient resonance ionization technique. The findings confirm the predictions and additionally provide a benchmark for theoretical modelling. The work represents an important stepping stone towards experimental studies of the atomic structure of superheavy elements.

The relationship between the key elements of Donabedian's conceptual model within the field of assistive technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sund, Terje; Iwarsson, Susanne; Brandt, Åse

2015-01-01

Previous research has suggested that there is a relationship between the three key components of Donabedian's conceptual model for quality assessments: structure of care, process, and outcome of care. That is, structure predicted both process and outcome of care, and better processes predict better...

Systematic identification and characterization of regulatory elements derived from human endogenous retroviruses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jumpei Ito

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs and other long terminal repeat (LTR-type retrotransposons (HERV/LTRs have regulatory elements that possibly influence the transcription of host genes. We systematically identified and characterized these regulatory elements based on publicly available datasets of ChIP-Seq of 97 transcription factors (TFs provided by ENCODE and Roadmap Epigenomics projects. We determined transcription factor-binding sites (TFBSs using the ChIP-Seq datasets and identified TFBSs observed on HERV/LTR sequences (HERV-TFBSs. Overall, 794,972 HERV-TFBSs were identified. Subsequently, we identified "HERV/LTR-shared regulatory element (HSRE," defined as a TF-binding motif in HERV-TFBSs, shared within a substantial fraction of a HERV/LTR type. HSREs could be an indication that the regulatory elements of HERV/LTRs are present before their insertions. We identified 2,201 HSREs, comprising specific associations of 354 HERV/LTRs and 84 TFs. Clustering analysis showed that HERV/LTRs can be grouped according to the TF binding patterns; HERV/LTR groups bounded to pluripotent TFs (e.g., SOX2, POU5F1, and NANOG, embryonic endoderm/mesendoderm TFs (e.g., GATA4/6, SOX17, and FOXA1/2, hematopoietic TFs (e.g., SPI1 (PU1, GATA1/2, and TAL1, and CTCF were identified. Regulatory elements of HERV/LTRs tended to locate nearby and/or interact three-dimensionally with the genes involved in immune responses, indicating that the regulatory elements play an important role in controlling the immune regulatory network. Further, we demonstrated subgroup-specific TF binding within LTR7, LTR5B, and LTR5_Hs, indicating that gains or losses of the regulatory elements occurred during genomic invasions of the HERV/LTRs. Finally, we constructed dbHERV-REs, an interactive database of HERV/LTR regulatory elements (http://herv-tfbs.com/. This study provides fundamental information in understanding the impact of HERV/LTRs on host transcription, and offers insights into

An in-depth characterization of the major psoriasis susceptibility locus identifies candidate susceptibility alleles within an HLA-C enhancer element.

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Alex Clop

Full Text Available Psoriasis is an immune-mediated skin disorder that is inherited as a complex genetic trait. Although genome-wide association scans (GWAS have identified 36 disease susceptibility regions, more than 50% of the genetic variance can be attributed to a single Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC locus, known as PSORS1. Genetic studies indicate that HLA-C is the strongest PSORS1 candidate gene, since markers tagging HLA-Cw*0602 consistently generate the most significant association signals in GWAS. However, it is unclear whether HLA-Cw*0602 is itself the causal PSORS1 allele, especially as the role of SNPs that may affect its expression has not been investigated. Here, we have undertaken an in-depth molecular characterization of the PSORS1 interval, with a view to identifying regulatory variants that may contribute to disease susceptibility. By analysing high-density SNP data, we refined PSORS1 to a 179 kb region encompassing HLA-C and the neighbouring HCG27 pseudogene. We compared multiple MHC sequences spanning this refined locus and identified 144 candidate susceptibility variants, which are unique to chromosomes bearing HLA-Cw*0602. In parallel, we investigated the epigenetic profile of the critical PSORS1 interval and uncovered three enhancer elements likely to be active in T lymphocytes. Finally we showed that nine candidate susceptibility SNPs map within a HLA-C enhancer and that three of these variants co-localise with binding sites for immune-related transcription factors. These data indicate that SNPs affecting HLA-Cw*0602 expression are likely to contribute to psoriasis susceptibility and highlight the importance of integrating multiple experimental approaches in the investigation of complex genomic regions such as the MHC.

33 CFR Appendix D to Part 154 - Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Appendix D to Part 154—Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans 1. General 1.1The portion of the plan dealing with training is one of the key elements of a response plan. This concept is clearly expressed by... that the plans often do not provide sufficient information in the training section of the plan for...

33 CFR Appendix C to Part 155 - Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

.... 155, App. C Appendix C to Part 155—Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans 1. General 1.1The portion of the plan dealing with training is one of the key elements of a response plan. This concept is... included training as one of the sections required in a vessel or facility response plan. In reviewing...

A finite element analysis of novel vented dental abutment geometries for cement-retained crown restorations.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Lucas C; Saba, Juliana N; Meyer, Clark A; Chung, Kwok-Hung; Wadhwani, Chandur; Rodrigues, Danieli C

2016-11-01

Recent literature indicates that the long-term success of dental implants is, in part, attributed to how dental crowns are attached to their associated implants. The commonly utilized method for crown attachment - cementation, has been criticized because of recent links between residual cement and peri-implant disease. Residual cement extrusion from crown-abutment margins post-crown seating is a growing concern. This study aimed at (1) identifying key abutment features, which would improve dental cement flow characteristics, and (2) understanding how these features would impact the mechanical stability of the abutment under functional loads. Computational fluid dynamic modeling was used to evaluate cement flow in novel abutment geometries. These models were then evaluated using 3D-printed surrogate models. Finite element analysis also provided an understanding of how the mechanical stability of these abutments was altered after key features were incorporated into the geometry. The findings demonstrated that the key features involved in improved venting of the abutment during crown seating were (1) addition of vents, (2) diameter of the vents, (3) location of the vents, (4) addition of a plastic screw insert, and (5) thickness of the abutment wall. This study culminated in a novel design for a vented abutment consisting of 8 vents located radially around the abutment neck-margin plus a plastic insert to guide the cement during seating and provide retrievability to the abutment system.Venting of the dental abutment has been shown to decrease the risk of undetected residual dental cement post-cement-retained crown seating. This article will utilize a finite element analysis approach toward optimizing dental abutment designs for improved dental cement venting. Features investigated include (1) addition of vents, (2) diameter of vents, (3) location of vents, (4) addition of plastic screw insert, and (5) thickness of abutment wall.

A finite element analysis of novel vented dental abutment geometries for cement‐retained crown restorations

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Lucas C.; Saba, Juliana N.; Meyer, Clark A.; Chung, Kwok‐Hung; Wadhwani, Chandur

2016-01-01

Abstract Recent literature indicates that the long‐term success of dental implants is, in part, attributed to how dental crowns are attached to their associated implants. The commonly utilized method for crown attachment – cementation, has been criticized because of recent links between residual cement and peri‐implant disease. Residual cement extrusion from crown‐abutment margins post‐crown seating is a growing concern. This study aimed at (1) identifying key abutment features, which would improve dental cement flow characteristics, and (2) understanding how these features would impact the mechanical stability of the abutment under functional loads. Computational fluid dynamic modeling was used to evaluate cement flow in novel abutment geometries. These models were then evaluated using 3D‐printed surrogate models. Finite element analysis also provided an understanding of how the mechanical stability of these abutments was altered after key features were incorporated into the geometry. The findings demonstrated that the key features involved in improved venting of the abutment during crown seating were (1) addition of vents, (2) diameter of the vents, (3) location of the vents, (4) addition of a plastic screw insert, and (5) thickness of the abutment wall. This study culminated in a novel design for a vented abutment consisting of 8 vents located radially around the abutment neck‐margin plus a plastic insert to guide the cement during seating and provide retrievability to the abutment system.Venting of the dental abutment has been shown to decrease the risk of undetected residual dental cement post‐cement‐retained crown seating. This article will utilize a finite element analysis approach toward optimizing dental abutment designs for improved dental cement venting. Features investigated include (1) addition of vents, (2) diameter of vents, (3) location of vents, (4) addition of plastic screw insert, and (5) thickness of abutment wall. PMID

The keys of the kingdom as paradigm for building up the church in reformed church government

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. le R. du Plooy

1998-06-01

Full Text Available This article adopts an ecclesiological approach and concentrates on the prominent concepts the keys of the kingdom and building up the church. The article attempts to determine the significance those concepts may have for the government of the church and emphasises the close relationship between the keys of the kingdom and the building up of the church. According to Reformational viewpoints the administering of the keys serves the edification of the church. It becomes clear that the notae ecclesiae and the keys of the kingdom function as the basic elements of the church order and must be regarded as the basis or pillars upon which the church is built.

Human performance: An essential element in materials control and accountability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haber, S.B.; Allentuck, J.

1996-01-01

The importance of the role of human performance in the successful and effective operation of many activities throughout many industries has been well documented. Most closely related to the materials control and accountability area is the work in human factors that has been ongoing in the U.S. nuclear industry since the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant accident in 1979. Research related to the role of human reliability, human-system interface, and organization and management influences has been and is still being conducted to identify ways to enhance the safe and effective operation of nuclear facilities. This paper will discuss these human performance areas and how they relate to the materials control and accountability area. Particular attention will be focussed on the notion of open-quotes safety cultureclose quotes and how it can be defined and measured for understanding the values and attitudes held by individuals working in the materials control area. It is widely believed that the culture of an organization, which reflects the expectations and values of the management of an organization, is a key element to the operation of that organization. The human performance element is one which has not received a great deal of consideration in the materials control and accountability area and yet it will be demonstrated that it is an essential component to ensure the success of safeguards activities

Anti-schistosomal intervention targets identified by lifecycle transcriptomic analyses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer M Fitzpatrick

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Novel methods to identify anthelmintic drug and vaccine targets are urgently needed, especially for those parasite species currently being controlled by singular, often limited strategies. A clearer understanding of the transcriptional components underpinning helminth development will enable identification of exploitable molecules essential for successful parasite/host interactions. Towards this end, we present a combinatorial, bioinformatics-led approach, employing both statistical and network analyses of transcriptomic data, for identifying new immunoprophylactic and therapeutic lead targets to combat schistosomiasis.Utilisation of a Schistosoma mansoni oligonucleotide DNA microarray consisting of 37,632 elements enabled gene expression profiling from 15 distinct parasite lifecycle stages, spanning three unique ecological niches. Statistical approaches of data analysis revealed differential expression of 973 gene products that minimally describe the three major characteristics of schistosome development: asexual processes within intermediate snail hosts, sexual maturation within definitive vertebrate hosts and sexual dimorphism amongst adult male and female worms. Furthermore, we identified a group of 338 constitutively expressed schistosome gene products (including 41 transcripts sharing no sequence similarity outside the Platyhelminthes, which are likely to be essential for schistosome lifecycle progression. While highly informative, statistics-led bioinformatics mining of the transcriptional dataset has limitations, including the inability to identify higher order relationships between differentially expressed transcripts and lifecycle stages. Network analysis, coupled to Gene Ontology enrichment investigations, facilitated a re-examination of the dataset and identified 387 clusters (containing 12,132 gene products displaying novel examples of developmentally regulated classes (including 294 schistosomula and/or adult transcripts with no

Identifying Key Actors in Heterogeneous Networks

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-29

Department of Defense (DOD) present social situations that are outside the scope and violate the assumptions of existing formal social science models. SNA by...assumptions of these existing social science models. SNA by its very construction focuses on dyadic relations and standard SNA metrics are focused only on...problematic for our purposes of determining relative valuations among vertices, but it is in contrast to the behavior of valuations like the Shapley value

The conceptual flowsheet of effluent treatment during preparing spherical fuel elements of HTR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ying, Quan, E-mail: quanying@tsinghua.edu.cn; Xiao-tong, Chen; Bing, Liu; Gen-na, Fu; Yang, Wang; You-lin, Shao; Zhen-ming, Lu; Ya-ping, Tang; Chun-he, Tang

2014-05-01

High temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR) is one of the advanced nuclear reactors owing to its inherent safety and broad applications. For HTR, one of the key components is the ceramic fuel element. During the preparation of spherical fuel elements, the radioactive effluent treatment is necessary. Referring to the current treatment technologies and methods, the conceptual flowsheet of low-level radioactive effluent treatment during preparing spherical fuel elements was established. According to the above treatment process, the uranium concentration was decreased from 200 mg/l to the level of discharged standard.

Communications Stylebook: Graphics Guide: Anchor Elements

Science.gov (United States)

Certain elements must be displayed on the covers of all documents distributed to the public. These include an acceptable Agency identifier, such as the logo, the assigned publication number, and the EPA portal address.

PIXE - a new method for elemental analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johansson, S.A.E.

1983-01-01

With elemental analysis we mean the determination of which chemical elements are present in a sample and of their concentration. This is an old and important problem in chemistry. The earliest methods were purely chemical and many such methods are still used. However, various methods based on physical principles have gradually become more and more important. One such method is neutron activation. When the sample is bombarded with neutrons it becomes radioactive and the various radioactive isotopes produced can be identified by the radiation they emit. From the measured intensity of the radiation one can calculate how much of a certain element that is present in the sample. Another possibility is to study the light emitted when the sample is excited in various ways. A spectroscopic investigation of the light can identify the chemical elements and allows also a determination of their concentration in the sample. In the same way, if a sample can be brought to emit X-rays, this radiation is also characteristic for the elements present and can be used to determine the elemental concentration. One such X-ray method which has been developed recently is PIXE. The name is an acronym for Particle Induced X-ray Emission and indicates the principle of the method. Particles in this context means heavy, charged particles such as protons and a-particles of rather high energy. Hence, in PIXE-analysis the sample is irradiated in the beam of an accelerator and the emitted X-rays are studied. (author)

Zinc-The key to preventing corrosion

Science.gov (United States)

Kropschot, S.J.; Doebrich, Jeff L.

2011-01-01

Centuries before it was identified as an element, zinc was used to make brass (an alloy of zinc and copper) and for medicinal purposes. Metallic zinc and zinc oxide were produced in India sometime between the 11th and 14th centuries and in China in the 17th century, although the discovery of pure metallic zinc is credited to the German chemist Andreas Marggraf, who isolated the element in 1746. Refined zinc metal is bluish-white when freshly cast; it is hard and brittle at most temperatures and has relatively low melting and boiling points. Zinc alloys readily with other metals and is chemically active. On exposure to air, it develops a thin gray oxide film (patina), which inhibits deeper oxidation (corrosion) of the metal. The metal's resistance to corrosion is an important characteristic in its use.

Mesh Partitioning Algorithm Based on Parallel Finite Element Analysis and Its Actualization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Zhang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In parallel computing based on finite element analysis, domain decomposition is a key technique for its preprocessing. Generally, a domain decomposition of a mesh can be realized through partitioning of a graph which is converted from a finite element mesh. This paper discusses the method for graph partitioning and the way to actualize mesh partitioning. Relevant softwares are introduced, and the data structure and key functions of Metis and ParMetis are introduced. The writing, compiling, and testing of the mesh partitioning interface program based on these key functions are performed. The results indicate some objective law and characteristics to guide the users who use the graph partitioning algorithm and software to write PFEM program, and ideal partitioning effects can be achieved by actualizing mesh partitioning through the program. The interface program can also be used directly by the engineering researchers as a module of the PFEM software. So that it can reduce the application of the threshold of graph partitioning algorithm, improve the calculation efficiency, and promote the application of graph theory and parallel computing.

Scalable Multi-group Key Management for Advanced Metering Infrastructure

OpenAIRE

Benmalek , Mourad; Challal , Yacine; Bouabdallah , Abdelmadjid

2015-01-01

International audience; Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is composed of systems and networks to incorporate changes for modernizing the electricity grid, reduce peak loads, and meet energy efficiency targets. AMI is a privileged target for security attacks with potentially great damage against infrastructures and privacy. For this reason, Key Management has been identified as one of the most challenging topics in AMI development. In this paper, we propose a new Scalable multi-group key ...

Multi Elemental Study Using Prompt Gamma Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Normanshah Dahing; Muhamad Samudi Yasir; Normanshah Dahing; Hanafi Ithnin; Mohd Fitri Abdul Rahman; Hearie Hassan

2016-01-01

In this study, principle of prompt gamma neutron activation analysis has been used as a technique to determine the elements in the sample. The system consists of collimated isotopic neutron source, Cf-252 with HPGe detector and Multichannel Analysis (MCA). Concrete with size of 10x10x10 cm 3 and 15x15x15 cm 3 were analysed as sample. When neutrons enter and interact with elements in the concrete, the neutron capture reaction will occur and produce characteristic prompt gamma ray of the elements. The preliminary result of this study demonstrate the major element in the concrete was determined such as Si, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe and H as well as others element, such as Cl by analysis the gamma ray lines respectively. The results obtained were compared with computer simulation, NAA and XRF as a part of reference and validation. The potential and the capability of neutron induced prompt gamma as tool for multi elemental analysis qualitatively to identify the elements present in the concrete sample discussed. (author)

Manet key management via Mobile Ficlke Key protocol (MFK ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Manet key management via Mobile Ficlke Key protocol (MFK) ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL ... No Abstract. Keywords: MANET; key management scheme; simulation environment ...

Identifying key genes in rheumatoid arthritis by weighted gene co-expression network analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Chunhui; Lv, Qi; Teng, Songsong; Yu, Yinxian; Niu, Kerun; Yi, Chengqin

2017-08-01

This study aimed to identify rheumatoid arthritis (RA) related genes based on microarray data using the WGCNA (weighted gene co-expression network analysis) method. Two gene expression profile datasets GSE55235 (10 RA samples and 10 healthy controls) and GSE77298 (16 RA samples and seven healthy controls) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database. Characteristic genes were identified using metaDE package. WGCNA was used to find disease-related networks based on gene expression correlation coefficients, and module significance was defined as the average gene significance of all genes used to assess the correlation between the module and RA status. Genes in the disease-related gene co-expression network were subject to functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis using Database for Annotation Visualization and Integrated Discovery. Characteristic genes were also mapped to the Connectivity Map to screen small molecules. A total of 599 characteristic genes were identified. For each dataset, characteristic genes in the green, red and turquoise modules were most closely associated with RA, with gene numbers of 54, 43 and 79, respectively. These genes were enriched in totally enriched in 17 Gene Ontology terms, mainly related to immune response (CD97, FYB, CXCL1, IKBKE, CCR1, etc.), inflammatory response (CD97, CXCL1, C3AR1, CCR1, LYZ, etc.) and homeostasis (C3AR1, CCR1, PLN, CCL19, PPT1, etc.). Two small-molecule drugs sanguinarine and papaverine were predicted to have a therapeutic effect against RA. Genes related to immune response, inflammatory response and homeostasis presumably have critical roles in RA pathogenesis. Sanguinarine and papaverine have a potential therapeutic effect against RA. © 2017 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Diagnosing climate change impacts and identifying adaptation strategies by involving key stakeholder organisations and farmers in Sikkim, India: Challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Azhoni, Adani; Goyal, Manish Kumar

2018-06-01

Narrowing the gap between research, policy making and implementing adaptation remains a challenge in many parts of the world where climate change is likely to severely impact water security. This research aims to narrow this gap by matching the adaptation strategies being framed by policy makers to that of the perspectives of development agencies, researchers and farmers in the Himalayan state of Sikkim in India. Our case study examined the perspectives of various stakeholders for climate change impacts, current adaptation strategies, knowledge gaps and adaptation barriers, particularly in the context of implementing the Sikkim State Action Plan on Climate Change through semi-structured interviews carried out with decision makers in the Sikkim State Government, researchers, consultants, local academia, development agencies and farmers. Using Stakeholders Network Analysis tools, this research unravels the complexities of perceiving climate change impacts, identifying strategies, and implementing adaptation. While farmers are less aware about the global phenomenon of climate change impacts for water security, their knowledge of the local conditions and their close interaction with the State Government Agriculture Department provides them opportunities. Although important steps are being initiated through the Sikkim State Action Plan on Climate Change it is yet to deliver effective means of adaptation implementation and hence, strengthening the networks of close coordination between the various implementing agencies will pay dividends. Knowledge gaps and the need for capacity building identified in this research, based on the understandings of key stakeholders are highly relevant to both the research community and for informing policy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Elements of algebraic coding systems

CERN Document Server

Cardoso da Rocha, Jr, Valdemar

2014-01-01

Elements of Algebraic Coding Systems is an introductory text to algebraic coding theory. In the first chapter, you'll gain inside knowledge of coding fundamentals, which is essential for a deeper understanding of state-of-the-art coding systems. This book is a quick reference for those who are unfamiliar with this topic, as well as for use with specific applications such as cryptography and communication. Linear error-correcting block codes through elementary principles span eleven chapters of the text. Cyclic codes, some finite field algebra, Goppa codes, algebraic decoding algorithms, and applications in public-key cryptography and secret-key cryptography are discussed, including problems and solutions at the end of each chapter. Three appendices cover the Gilbert bound and some related derivations, a derivation of the Mac- Williams' identities based on the probability of undetected error, and two important tools for algebraic decoding-namely, the finite field Fourier transform and the Euclidean algorithm f...

Key Elements of the User-Friendly, GFDL SKYHI General Circulation Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard S. Hemler

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Over the past seven years, the portability of the GFDL SKYHI general circulation model has greatly increased. Modifications to the source code have allowed SKYHI to be run on the GFDL Cray Research PVP machines, the TMC CM-5 machine at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and more recently on the GFDL 40-processor Cray Research T3E system. At the same time, changes have been made to the model to make it more usable and flexible. Because of the reduction of the human resources available to manage and analyze scientific experiments, it is no longer acceptable to consider only the optimization of computer resources when producing a research code; one must also consider the availability and cost of the people necessary to maintain, modify and use the model as an investigative tool, and include these factors in defining the form of the model code. The new SKYHI model attempts to strike a balance between the optimization of the use of machine resources (CPU time, memory, disc and the optimal use of human resources (ability to understand code, ability to modify code, ability to perturb code to do experiments, ability to run code on different platforms. Two of the key features that make the new SKYHI code more usable and flexible are the archiving package and the user variable block. The archiving package is used to manage the writing of all archive files, which contain data for later analysis. The model-supplied user variable block allows the easy inclusion of any new variables needed for particular experiments.

Analyzing the topological, electrical and reliability characteristics of a power transmission system for identifying its critical elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zio, E.; Golea, L.R.

2012-01-01

The subject of this paper is the analysis of an electrical transmission system with the objective of identifying its most critical elements with respect to failures and attacks. The methodological approach undertaken is based on graph-theoretical (topological) network analysis. Four different perspectives of analysis are considered within the formalism of weighed networks, adding to the purely topological analysis of the system, the reliability and electrical characteristics of its components. In each phase of the analysis: i) a graph-theoretical representation is offered to highlight the structure of the most important system connections according to the particular characteristics examined (topological, reliability, electrical or electrical-reliability), ii) the classical degree index of a network node is extended to account for the different characteristics considered. The application of these concepts of analysis to an electrical transmission system of literature confirms the importance of different perspectives of analysis on such a critical infrastructure. - Highlights: ► We analyze a power system from topological, reliability and electrical perspectives. ► We rank critical components within a vulnerability assessment framework. ► We compute an extended degree to rank critical energy paths. ► We compare several analytical approaches and provide a table for choosing among them. ► We suggest network changes to increase the reliability of highly loaded energy paths.

Space Weather Impacts on Spacecraft Operations: Identifying and Establishing High-Priority Operational Services

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, G.; Reid, S.; Tranquille, C.; Evans, H.

2013-12-01

Space Weather is a multi-disciplinary and cross-domain system defined as, 'The physical and phenomenological state of natural space environments. The associated discipline aims, through observation, monitoring, analysis and modelling, at understanding and predicting the state of the Sun, the interplanetary and planetary environments, and the solar and non-solar driven perturbations that affect them, and also at forecasting and nowcasting the potential impacts on biological and technological systems'. National and Agency-level efforts to provide services addressing the myriad problems, such as ESA's SSA programme are therefore typically complex and ambitious undertakings to introduce a comprehensive suite of services aimed at a large number and broad range of end users. We focus on some of the particular threats and risks that Space Weather events pose to the Spacecraft Operations community, and the resulting implications in terms of User Requirements. We describe some of the highest-priority service elements identified as being needed by the Operations community, and outline some service components that are presently available, or under development. The particular threats and risks often vary according to orbit, so the particular User Needs for Operators at LEO, MEO and GEO are elaborated. The inter-relationship between these needed service elements and existing service components within the broader Space Weather domain is explored. Some high-priority service elements and potential correlation with Space Weather drivers include: solar array degradation and energetic proton storms; single event upsets at GEO and solar proton events and galactic cosmic rays; surface charging and deep dielectric charging at MEO and radiation belt dynamics; SEUs at LEO and the South Atlantic Anomaly and its variability. We examine the current capability to provide operational services addressing such threats and identify some advances that the Operations community can expect to benefit

Finite element analysis of FRP-strengthened RC beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teeraphot Supaviriyakit

2004-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a non-linear finite element analysis of reinforced concrete beam strengthened with externally bonded FRP plates. The finite element modeling of FRP-strengthened beams is demonstrated. Concrete and reinforcing bars are modeled together as 8-node isoparametric 2D RC element. The FRP plate is modeled as 8-node isoparametric 2D elastic element. The glue is modeled as perfect compatibility by directly connecting the nodes of FRP with those of concrete since there is no failure at the glue layer. The key to the analysis is the correct material models of concrete, steel and FRP. Cracks and steel bars are modeled as smeared over the entire element. Stress-strain properties of cracked concrete consist of tensile stress model normal to crack, compressive stress model parallel to crack and shear stress model tangential to crack. Stressstrain property of reinforcement is assumed to be elastic-hardening to account for the bond between concrete and steel bars. FRP is modeled as elastic-brittle material. From the analysis, it is found that FEM can predict the load-displacement relation, ultimate load and failure mode of the beam correctly. It can also capture the cracking process for both shear-flexural peeling and end peeling modes similar to the experiment.

A pilot study using scripted ventilation conditions to identify key factors affecting indoor pollutant concentration and air exchange rate in a residence.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ted; Myers, Jeffrey; Kelly, Thomas; Wisbith, Anthony; Ollison, Will

2004-01-01

A pilot study was conducted using an occupied, single-family test house in Columbus, OH, to determine whether a script-based protocol could be used to obtain data useful in identifying the key factors affecting air-exchange rate (AER) and the relationship between indoor and outdoor concentrations of selected traffic-related air pollutants. The test script called for hourly changes to elements of the test house considered likely to influence air flow and AER, including the position (open or closed) of each window and door and the operation (on/off) of the furnace, air conditioner, and ceiling fans. The script was implemented over a 3-day period (January 30-February 1, 2002) during which technicians collected hourly-average data for AER, indoor, and outdoor air concentrations for six pollutants (benzene, formaldehyde (HCHO), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen oxides (NO(x))), and selected meteorological variables. Consistent with expectations, AER tended to increase with the number of open exterior windows and doors. The 39 AER values measured during the study when all exterior doors and windows were closed varied from 0.36 to 2.29 h(-1) with a geometric mean (GM) of 0.77 h(-1) and a geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 1.435. The 27 AER values measured when at least one exterior door or window was opened varied from 0.50 to 15.8 h(-1) with a GM of 1.98 h(-1) and a GSD of 1.902. AER was also affected by temperature and wind speed, most noticeably when exterior windows and doors were closed. Results of a series of stepwise linear regression analyses suggest that (1) outdoor pollutant concentration and (2) indoor pollutant concentration during the preceding hour were the "variables of choice" for predicting indoor pollutant concentration in the test house under the conditions of this study. Depending on the pollutant and ventilation conditions, one or more of the following variables produced a small, but

ER stress stimulates production of the key antimicrobial peptide, cathelicidin, by forming a previously unidentified intracellular S1P signaling complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Kyungho; Ikushiro, Hiroko; Seo, Ho Seong; Shin, Kyong-Oh; Kim, Young Il; Kim, Jong Youl; Lee, Yong-Moon; Yano, Takato; Holleran, Walter M; Elias, Peter; Uchida, Yoshikazu

2016-03-08

We recently identified a previously unidentified sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) signaling mechanism that stimulates production of a key innate immune element, cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP), in mammalian cells exposed to external perturbations, such as UVB irradiation and other oxidative stressors that provoke subapoptotic levels of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, independent of the well-known vitamin D receptor-dependent mechanism. ER stress increases cellular ceramide and one of its distal metabolites, S1P, which activates NF-κB followed by C/EBPα activation, leading to CAMP production, but in a S1P receptor-independent fashion. We now show that S1P activates NF-κB through formation of a previously unidentified signaling complex, consisting of S1P, TRAF2, and RIP1 that further associates with three stress-responsive proteins; i.e., heat shock proteins (GRP94 and HSP90α) and IRE1α. S1P specifically interacts with the N-terminal domain of heat shock proteins. Because this ER stress-initiated mechanism is operative in both epithelial cells and macrophages, it appears to be a universal, highly conserved response, broadly protective against diverse external perturbations that lead to increased ER stress. Finally, these studies further illuminate how ER stress and S1P orchestrate critical stress-specific signals that regulate production of one protective response by stimulating production of the key innate immune element, CAMP.

Data sheets on selected toxic elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaworski, J.F.

1982-01-01

The chemical elements considered in this volume have been identified as toxic to animal and vegetable life forms; however, these elements have not been studied as intensely as lead, mercury, cadmium, etc. Since, in most cases, existing data are insufficient to permit discussion and comparisons of relative quality, it was decided to present what quantitative data there are in as concise a manner as possible. The resulting data sheets present what is considered to be the best available information on the environmental levels, emissions and toxicology of these elements and some of their compounds. Reference is made to the article or review in which the datum appears and which may contain any discussion of the datum and the methods whereby it was obtained. Elements considered in this volume are antimony, barium, beryllium, bismuth, boron, cesium, gallium, germanium, indium, molybdenum, silver, tellurium, thallium, tin, uranium and zirconium

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

Reduction of PM emissions from specific sources reflected on key components concentrations of ambient PM10

Science.gov (United States)

Minguillon, M. C.; Querol, X.; Monfort, E.; Alastuey, A.; Escrig, A.; Celades, I.; Miro, J. V.

2009-04-01

The relationship between specific particulate emission control and ambient levels of some PM10 components (Zn, As, Pb, Cs, Tl) was evaluated. To this end, the industrial area of Castellón (Eastern Spain) was selected, where around 40% of the EU glazed ceramic tiles and a high proportion of EU ceramic frits (middle product for the manufacture of ceramic glaze) are produced. The PM10 emissions from the ceramic processes were calculated over the period 2000 to 2007 taking into account the degree of implementation of corrective measures throughout the study period. Abatement systems (mainly bag filters) were implemented in the majority of the fusion kilns for frit manufacture in the area as a result of the application of the Directive 1996/61/CE, leading to a marked decrease in PM10 emissions. On the other hand, ambient PM10 sampling was carried out from April 2002 to July 2008 at three urban sites and one suburban site of the area and a complete chemical analysis was made for about 35 % of the collected samples, by means of different techniques (ICP-AES, ICP-MS, Ion Chromatography, selective electrode and elemental analyser). The series of chemical composition of PM10 allowed us to apply a source contribution model (Principal Component Analysis), followed by a multilinear regression analysis, so that PM10 sources were identified and their contribution to bulk ambient PM10 was quantified on a daily basis, as well as the contribution to bulk ambient concentrations of the identified key components (Zn, As, Pb, Cs, Tl). The contribution of the sources identified as the manufacture and use of ceramic glaze components, including the manufacture of ceramic frits, accounted for more than 65, 75, 58, 53, and 53% of ambient Zn, As, Pb, Cs and Tl levels, respectively (with the exception of Tl contribution at one of the sites). The important emission reductions of these sources during the study period had an impact on ambient key components levels, such that there was a high

Phylogenetic Conflict in Bears Identified by Automated Discovery of Transposable Element Insertions in Low-Coverage Genomes

Science.gov (United States)

Gallus, Susanne; Janke, Axel

2017-01-01

Abstract Phylogenetic reconstruction from transposable elements (TEs) offers an additional perspective to study evolutionary processes. However, detecting phylogenetically informative TE insertions requires tedious experimental work, limiting the power of phylogenetic inference. Here, we analyzed the genomes of seven bear species using high-throughput sequencing data to detect thousands of TE insertions. The newly developed pipeline for TE detection called TeddyPi (TE detection and discovery for Phylogenetic Inference) identified 150,513 high-quality TE insertions in the genomes of ursine and tremarctine bears. By integrating different TE insertion callers and using a stringent filtering approach, the TeddyPi pipeline produced highly reliable TE insertion calls, which were confirmed by extensive in vitro validation experiments. Analysis of single nucleotide substitutions in the flanking regions of the TEs shows that these substitutions correlate with the phylogenetic signal from the TE insertions. Our phylogenomic analyses show that TEs are a major driver of genomic variation in bears and enabled phylogenetic reconstruction of a well-resolved species tree, despite strong signals for incomplete lineage sorting and introgression. The analyses show that the Asiatic black, sun, and sloth bear form a monophyletic clade, in which phylogenetic incongruence originates from incomplete lineage sorting. TeddyPi is open source and can be adapted to various TE and structural variation callers. The pipeline makes it possible to confidently extract thousands of TE insertions even from low-coverage genomes (∼10×) of nonmodel organisms. This opens new possibilities for biologists to study phylogenies and evolutionary processes as well as rates and patterns of (retro-)transposition and structural variation. PMID:28985298

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify key beliefs underlying chlamydia testing intentions in a sample of young people living in deprived areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, Amy R; Norman, Paul; Harris, Peter R; Goyder, Elizabeth

2015-09-01

The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to identify the key behavioural, normative and control beliefs underlying intentions to test regularly for chlamydia among young people living in socially and economically deprived areas - a high-risk group for infection. Participants (N = 278, 53% male; mean age 17 years) were recruited from a vocational college situated in an area in the most deprived national quintile (England). Participants completed measures of behavioural, normative and control beliefs, plus intention to test regularly for chlamydia. The behavioural, normative and control beliefs most strongly correlated with intentions to test regularly for chlamydia were beliefs about stopping the spread of infection, partners' behaviour and the availability of testing. These beliefs represent potential targets for interventions to increase chlamydia testing among young people living in deprived areas. © The Author(s) 2013.

Finite element reliability analysis of fatigue life

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harkness, H.H.; Belytschko, T.; Liu, W.K.

1992-01-01

Fatigue reliability is addressed by the first-order reliability method combined with a finite element method. Two-dimensional finite element models of components with cracks in mode I are considered with crack growth treated by the Paris law. Probability density functions of the variables affecting fatigue are proposed to reflect a setting where nondestructive evaluation is used, and the Rosenblatt transformation is employed to treat non-Gaussian random variables. Comparisons of the first-order reliability results and Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the accuracy of the first-order reliability method is quite good in this setting. Results show that the upper portion of the initial crack length probability density function is crucial to reliability, which suggests that if nondestructive evaluation is used, the probability of detection curve plays a key role in reliability. (orig.)

Co-extinction in a host-parasite network: identifying key hosts for network stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Dallas, Tad; Cornelius, Emily

2015-08-17

Parasites comprise a substantial portion of total biodiversity. Ultimately, this means that host extinction could result in many secondary extinctions of obligate parasites and potentially alter host-parasite network structure. Here, we examined a highly resolved fish-parasite network to determine key hosts responsible for maintaining parasite diversity and network structure (quantified here as nestedness and modularity). We evaluated four possible host extinction orders and compared the resulting co-extinction dynamics to random extinction simulations; including host removal based on estimated extinction risk, parasite species richness and host level contributions to nestedness and modularity. We found that all extinction orders, except the one based on realistic extinction risk, resulted in faster declines in parasite diversity and network structure relative to random biodiversity loss. Further, we determined species-level contributions to network structure were best predicted by parasite species richness and host family. Taken together, we demonstrate that a small proportion of hosts contribute substantially to network structure and that removal of these hosts results in rapid declines in parasite diversity and network structure. As network stability can potentially be inferred through measures of network structure, our findings may provide insight into species traits that confer stability.

Design and research of fuel element for pulsed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Sheng

1994-05-01

The fuel element is the key component for pulsed reactor and its design is one of kernel techniques for pulsed reactor. Following the GA Company of US the NPIC (Nuclear Power Institute of China) has mastered this technique. Up to now, the first pulsed reactor in China (PRC-1) has been safely operated for about 3 years. The design and research of fuel element undertaken by NPIC is summarized. The verification and evaluation of this design has been carried out by using the results of measured parameters during operation and test of PRC-1 as well as comparing the design parameters published by others

Hybrid Discrete Element - Finite Element Simulation for Railway Bridge-Track Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Kaewunruen, S.; Mirza, O.

2017-10-01

At the transition zone or sometimes called ‘bridge end’ or ‘bridge approach’, the stiffness difference between plain track and track over bridge often causes aggravated impact loading due to uneven train movement onto the area. The differential track settlement over the transition has been a classical problem in railway networks, especially for the aging rail infrastructures around the world. This problem is also additionally worsened by the fact that the construction practice over the area is difficult, resulting in a poor compaction of formation and subgrade. This paper presents an advanced hybrid simulation using coupled discrete elements and finite elements to investigate dynamic interaction at the transition zone. The goal is to evaluate the dynamic stresses and to better understand the impact dynamics redistribution at the bridge end. An existing bridge ‘Salt Pan Creek Railway Bridge’, located between Revesby and Kingsgrove, has been chosen for detailed investigation. The Salt Pan Bridge currently demonstrates crushing of the ballast causing significant deformation and damage. Thus, it’s imperative to assess the behaviours of the ballast under dynamic loads. This can be achieved by modelling the nonlinear interactions between the steel rail and sleeper, and sleeper to ballast. The continuum solid elements of track components have been modelled using finite element approach, while the granular media (i.e. ballast) have been simulated by discrete element method. The hybrid DE/FE model demonstrates that ballast experiences significant stresses at the contacts between the sleeper and concrete section. These overburden stress exists in the regions below the outer rails, identify fouling and permanent deformation of the ballast.

Fundamental quantitative security in quantum key generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuen, Horace P.

2010-01-01

We analyze the fundamental security significance of the quantitative criteria on the final generated key K in quantum key generation including the quantum criterion d, the attacker's mutual information on K, and the statistical distance between her distribution on K and the uniform distribution. For operational significance a criterion has to produce a guarantee on the attacker's probability of correctly estimating some portions of K from her measurement, in particular her maximum probability of identifying the whole K. We distinguish between the raw security of K when the attacker just gets at K before it is used in a cryptographic context and its composition security when the attacker may gain further information during its actual use to help get at K. We compare both of these securities of K to those obtainable from conventional key expansion with a symmetric key cipher. It is pointed out that a common belief in the superior security of a quantum generated K is based on an incorrect interpretation of d which cannot be true, and the security significance of d is uncertain. Generally, the quantum key distribution key K has no composition security guarantee and its raw security guarantee from concrete protocols is worse than that of conventional ciphers. Furthermore, for both raw and composition security there is an exponential catch-up problem that would make it difficult to quantitatively improve the security of K in a realistic protocol. Some possible ways to deal with the situation are suggested.

Citizen science participation in research in the environmental sciences: key factors related to projects' success and longevity.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunha, Davi G F; Marques, Jonatas F; Resende, Juliana C DE; Falco, Patrícia B DE; Souza, Chrislaine M DE; Loiselle, Steven A

2017-01-01

The potential impacts of citizen science initiatives are increasing across the globe, albeit in an imbalanced manner. In general, there is a strong element of trial and error in most projects, and the comparison of best practices and project structure between different initiatives remains difficult. In Brazil, the participation of volunteers in environmental research is limited. Identifying the factors related to citizen science projects' success and longevity within a global perspective can contribute for consolidating such practices in the country. In this study, we explore past and present projects, including a case study in Brazil, to identify the spatial and temporal trends of citizen science programs as well as their best practices and challenges. We performed a bibliographic search using Google Scholar and considered results from 2005-2014. Although these results are subjective due to the Google Scholar's algorithm and ranking criteria, we highlighted factors to compare projects across geographical and disciplinary areas and identified key matches between project proponents and participants, project goals and local priorities, participant profiles and engagement, scientific methods and funding. This approach is a useful starting point for future citizen science projects, allowing for a systematic analysis of potential inconsistencies and shortcomings in this emerging field.

Uses of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis for Elemental Investigation of Some Domestic Fertilizers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Zakla, T.; Abdel Gany, H.A.; Abdel-Aziz, W.M.; Hassan, A.M.; Bashter, I.I.

2010-01-01

The neutron irradiation facilities offered by The Second Egyptian Research Reactor (ETRR-2) and the HPGe-detection system are used for elemental investigation of three samples of domestic fertilizers. A total of 31 elements have been identified as major and minor concentration values. The (PITS) and the core of the reactor are used for short and long time irradiation. The data obtained for some of the identified elements are compared with the corresponding values obtained by the XRF and the ICP-MS techniques for the same samples. The range of the concentration values of these elements was between (several ppm up to 45%). A discussion on the elemental concentration values and their biological effect are given

Going Global: Key Insights from Two Mexican Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martha RIVERA

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how Mexican companies in different industries have achieved international expansion, while at the same time preserving local elements in executing their strategies. For this initial stage of research, the analysis focuses on two companies: a Grupo Bimbo, the number one company in the bakery industry worldwide and b KidZania, one of the world’s top indoor family entertainment centers. The research methodology is based on in-depth interviews with CEOs and key executives from the two companies done over a period of more than ten years. We have also used secondary data such as press releases and case studies. By contrasting their strategies and comparing them with those of other multinationals like Ford Motor Company and Santander Bank, we identified major issues that we condensed into 10 key insights. Understanding how these companies have struggled and succeeded in gaining international markets can help other companies tailor their own strategies. Our argument is that the typical simplified international expansion process is insufficient when companies need to compete in the global arena. Becoming an MNC implies handling an entire ecosystem: building local presence, establishing joint ventures or alliances with local companies, recruiting local talent, developing new business models, reshaping the value proposition, developing new brands or introducing traditional ones with a local flavor, and understanding the supply chain and routes to market. Therefore, a number of aspects have to be taken into consideration beyond just simply selecting a market. For certain companies in emerging markets, making the decision to grow internationally was not initially in their strategic vision, but economic liberalization in their home country and the threat of being purchased by an MNC from a developed country triggered the decision. There is a learning process in international expansion, and trial and error is common and useful. The

Collaboration is key: The actual experience of disciplines working together in child care.

Science.gov (United States)

Garvis, Susanne; Kirkby, Jane; McMahon, Keryn; Meyer, Colleen

2016-03-01

Promoting young children's academic and developmental outcomes can no longer be achieved by the single efforts of one profession, but requires professionals to work together in inter-professional teams to understand the complexity of young children's lives. Collaboration in early childhood programs involves health professionals, educators, and other professionals sharing information, validating each other's roles, and providing input around which strategies promote positive outcomes for all children. There are, however, limited studies available within early childhood education on inter-disciplinary relationships between nurses and teachers. This paper helps to fill this void by exploring the relationship of an early childhood teacher and maternal and child health nurse working alongside one another in an Australian kindergarten. Through a narrative approach, a number of characteristics of the relationship were identified as key elements to a productive relationship. Findings are important for health professionals working with early childhood educators. By understanding the complexity within and between disciplines, professionals can work effectively to support young children and their families. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Environmental mineralogy - Understanding element behavior in ecosystems; Mineralogie environnementale: comprendre le comportement des elements dans les ecosystemes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown Jr, G.E. [Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2115 (United States); Department of Photon Science and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Calas, G. [Institut de mineralogie et de physique des milieux condenses (IMPMC), universite Paris-6 - universite Paris-7, IPGP, CNRS, case 115, 75252 Paris (France)

2011-02-15

Environmental Mineralogy has developed over the past decade in response to the recognition that minerals are linked in many important ways with the global ecosystem. Minerals are the main repositories of the chemical elements in Earth's crust and thus are the main sources of elements needed for the development of civilization, contaminant and pollutant elements that impact global and local ecosystems, and elements that are essential plant nutrients. These elements are released from minerals through natural processes, such as chemical weathering, and anthropogenic activities, such as mining and energy production, agriculture and industrial activities, and careless waste disposal. Minerals also play key roles in the biogeochemical cycling of the elements, sequestering elements and releasing them as the primary minerals in crustal rocks undergo various structural and compositional transformations in response to physical, chemical, and biological processes that produce secondary minerals and soils. These processes have resulted in the release of toxic elements such as arsenic in groundwater aquifers, which is having a major impact on the health of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia. The interfaces between mineral surfaces and aqueous solutions are the locations of most chemical reactions that control the composition of the natural environment, including the composition of natural waters. The nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining to the disposition of high-level nuclear waste, is also intimately related to minerals. A fundamental understanding of these processes requires molecular-scale information about minerals, their bulk structures and properties such as solubility, their surfaces, and their interactions with aqueous solutions, atmospheric and soil gases, natural organic matter, and biological organisms. Gaining this understanding is further complicated by the presence of natural, incidental, and manufactured nano-particles in the environment

Array elements for a DBS flat-plate antenna

Science.gov (United States)

Maddocks, M. C. D.

1988-07-01

The introduction of a direct broadcast by satellite (DBS) television service requires suitable receiving antennas to be available. An alternative to the parabolic dish antenna is a flat-plate antenna. The overall design of a circularly-polarized flat-plate antenna which can be mounted flat on the wall of a building has been considered in a companion Report. In this Report various types of elements are investigated and their advantages and disadvantages discussed. The most suitable element for use in a flat-plate array is identified as a linearly-polarized folded-dipole element; its performance is reported here. Linearly-polarized elements are found to perform better than circularly-polarized elements and could be used with a polarization converter to receive the circularly-polarized radiation that would be transmitted by DBS.

Definition of Smart Energy City and State of the art of 6 Transform cities using Key Performance Indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Per Sieverts; Ben Amer, Sara; Halsnæs, Kirsten

2013-01-01

assets, ambitions, targets and main possibilities in terms of energy efficiency, flows and energy production. After this first step, the work focuses on the description of what a smart energy city is (this report), what the main Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are that should be met and how...... will draw largely on existing Strategic Energy Action Plans, Climate Action Plans and planning documents. This report establishes a definition of smart cities develops Key Elements, Key Performance Indicators and reports on the state of the art regarding the KPIs for the 6 Transform cities. As specified...

Element partitioning in combustion- and gasification-based waste-to-energy units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arena, Umberto; Di Gregorio, Fabrizio

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Element partitioning of waste-to-energy units by means of a substance flow analysis. ► A comparison between moving grate combustors and high temperature gasifiers. ► Classification of key elements according to their behavior during WtE processes. ► Slags and metals from waste gasifiers are completely and immediately recyclable. ► Potential reduction of amounts of solid residue to be sent to landfill disposal. - Abstract: A critical comparison between combustion- and gasification-based waste-to-energy systems needs a deep knowledge of the mass flows of materials and elements inside and throughout the units. The study collected and processed data from several moving grate conventional incinerators and high-temperature shaft gasifiers with direct melting, which are in operation worldwide. A material and substance flow analysis was then developed to systematically assess the flows and stocks of materials and elements within each waste-to-energy unit, by connecting the sources, pathways, and intermediate and final sinks of each species. The patterns of key elements, such as carbon, chloride and heavy metals, in the different solid and gaseous output streams of the two compared processes have been then defined. The combination of partitioning coefficients with the mass balances on atomic species and results of mineralogical characterization from recent literatures was used to estimate a composition of bottom ashes and slags from the two types of waste-to-energy technologies. The results also allow to quantify some of the performance parameters of the units and, in particular, the potential reduction of the amount of solid residues to be sent to final disposal

Impact of new computing systems on finite element computations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noor, A.K.; Fulton, R.E.; Storaasi, O.O.

1983-01-01

Recent advances in computer technology that are likely to impact finite element computations are reviewed. The characteristics of supersystems, highly parallel systems, and small systems (mini and microcomputers) are summarized. The interrelations of numerical algorithms and software with parallel architectures are discussed. A scenario is presented for future hardware/software environment and finite element systems. A number of research areas which have high potential for improving the effectiveness of finite element analysis in the new environment are identified

Trace Element Analysis of Minerals in Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ores by Laser Ablation Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: Approaches and Opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nigel Cook

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS has rapidly established itself as the method of choice for generation of multi-element datasets for specific minerals, with broad applications in Earth science. Variation in absolute concentrations of different trace elements within common, widely distributed phases, such as pyrite, iron-oxides (magnetite and hematite, and key accessory minerals, such as apatite and titanite, can be particularly valuable for understanding processes of ore formation, and when trace element distributions vary systematically within a mineral system, for a vector approach in mineral exploration. LA-ICP-MS trace element data can assist in element deportment and geometallurgical studies, providing proof of which minerals host key elements of economic relevance, or elements that are deleterious to various metallurgical processes. This contribution reviews recent advances in LA-ICP-MS methodology, reference standards, the application of the method to new mineral matrices, outstanding analytical uncertainties that impact on the quality and usefulness of trace element data, and future applications of the technique. We illustrate how data interpretation is highly dependent on an adequate understanding of prevailing mineral textures, geological history, and in some cases, crystal structure.

Selective mobilization of critical elements in incineration ashes; Selektiv mobilisering av kritiska element hos energiaskor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svensson, Malin; Herrmann, Inga; Ecke, Holger [Luleaa Univ. of Technology (Sweden); Sjoeblom, Rolf [TEKEDO AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)

2005-05-01

In the project SMAK, the selective mobilization of critical elements in ashes was studied. Non-hazardous bottom ash from Daava kraftvaermeverk, Umeaa, and hazardous fly ash from Hoegdalenverket, Stockholm, line P6 were investigated. Sb, Mo, Cu, Cr and Cl{sup -} were identified as critical elements in the bottom ash since these elements exceeded the limit values for acceptance on landfills as inert waste according to the Council decision on acceptance criteria at landfills. Critical elements in the fly ash were Cr, Se, Pb and Cl{sup -}, these elements exceeded the limit values for acceptance on landfills as non-hazardous waste. The mobilization of the critical elements was studied in experiments performed according to a reduced 2{sup 6-1} factorial design with three centerpoints. Factors in the experiments were ultrasonic pre-treatment, pre-treatment with carbonation, L/S-ratio, pH, time and temperature. Empirical models of the mobilization were used to identify the optimal factor setting ensuring sufficient mobilization of critical elements, i.e. to achieve a solid residue meeting non-hazardous and inert landfill criteria for fly ash and bottom ash, respectively. No ultrasonic treatment, pre-treatment with carbonation, L/Sratio 5, pH 12, time 2h and temperature at 20 deg C were identified as optimal factor setting for the bottom ash. For the fly ash, no ultrasonic treatment, no pre-treatment with carbonation, L/S-ratio 5, pH 7, time 2h and temperature at 20 deg C were identified as optimal factor setting. The treatment with optimal factor settings did not change the classification according to the Council decision on acceptance criteria at landfills of neither ash. For the bottom ash, Sb, Mo and Cr exceeded the limit values for landfilling as inert waste according to the Council decision on acceptance criteria at landfills. Only Cr exceeded the limit value for landfilling the fly ash as non-hazardous waste. According to the Waste Decree (Avfallsfoerordningen) both

Easy Long-Term Identifiers and the "Data Paper"

Science.gov (United States)

Kunze, John

2011-05-01

A new publishing paradigm is needed to cope with the deluge of data artifacts produced by data-intensive science, many of which are vital to data re-use and verification of published scientific conclusions. Due to the limitations of traditional publishing, most of these artifacts are not usually disseminated, cited, or preserved. At the California Digital Library (CDL), one promising approach to the problem is to wrap these artifacts in the metaphor of a "data paper", assigning and managing data citations with our EZID (easy-eye-dee) identifier service. A data paper is a somewhat unfamiliar bundle of scholarly output with a familiar facade: minimally, a set of links to archived artifacts and a cover sheet containing familiar elements such as title, authors, date, abstract, and persistent identifier _ just enough to create basic citations, build "overlay journals", and enable discovery of data by internet search engines. Over time, we expect to add elements that permit deeper domain-specific discovery and re-use, such as variable names, methods, etc. At the same time, for data and identifiers that we manage, we will leverage as much domain-agnosticism data and identifier as possible.

System design description for the whole element furnace testing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritter, G.A.; Marschman, S.C.; MacFarlan, P.J.; King, D.A.

1998-05-01

This document provides a detailed description of the Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Whole Element Furnace Testing System located in the Postirradiation Testing Laboratory G-Cell (327 Building). Equipment specifications, system schematics, general operating modes, maintenance and calibration requirements, and other supporting information are provided in this document. This system was developed for performing cold vacuum drying and hot vacuum drying testing of whole N-Reactor fuel elements, which were sampled from the 105-K East and K West Basins. The proposed drying processes are intended to allow dry storage of the SNF for long periods of time. The furnace testing system is used to evaluate these processes by simulating drying sequences with a single fuel element and measuring key system parameters such as internal pressures, temperatures, moisture levels, and off-gas composition

Critical and shielding parametric studies with the Monte Carlo code TRIPOLI to identify the key points to take into account during the transportation of blanket assemblies with high ratio of americium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gosmain, Cecile-Aline

2011-01-01

In the framework of French research program on Generation IV sodium cooled fast reactor, one possible option consists in burning minor actinides in this kind of Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor. Two types of transmutation mode are studied in the world : the homogeneous mode of transmutation where actinides are scattered with very low enrichment ratio in fissile assemblies and the heterogeneous mode where fissile core is surrounded by blanket assemblies filled with minor actinides with ratio of incorporated actinides up to 20%. Depending on which element is considered to be burnt and on its content, these minor actinides contents imply constraints on assemblies' transportation between Nuclear Power Plants and fuel cycle facilities. In this study, we present some academic studies in order to identify some key constraints linked to the residual power and neutron/gamma load of such kind of blanket assemblies. To simplify the approach, we considered a modeling of a 'model cask' dedicated to the transportation of a unique irradiated blanket assembly loaded with 20% of Americium and basically inspired from an existent cask designed initially for the damaged fissile Superphenix assembly transport. Thermal calculations performed with EDF-SYRTHES code have shown that due to thermal limitations on cladding temperature, the decay time to be considered before transportation is 20 years. This study is based on explicit 3D representations of the cask and the contained blanket assembly with the Monte Carlo code TRIPOLI/JEFF3.1.1 library and concludes that after such a decay time, the transportation of a unique Americium radial blanket is feasible only if the design of our model cask is modified in order to comply with the dose limitation criterion. (author)

Elemental and structural studies at the bone-cartilage interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaabar, W., E-mail: w.kaabar@surrey.ac.uk [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Daar, E. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Bunk, O. [Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen (Switzerland); Farquharson, M.J. [Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1 (Canada); Laklouk, A. [Al-Fateh University, Tripoli (Libya); Bailey, M.; Jeynes, C. [Surrey Ion Beam Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Gundogdu, O. [Umuttepe Campus, University of Kocaeli, 41380 Kocaeli (Turkey); Bradley, D.A. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)

2011-10-01

Micro-Proton Induced X-ray Emission ({mu}-PIXE) and Proton Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE) techniques were employed in the investigation of trace and essential elements distribution in normal and diseased human femoral head sections affected by osteoarthritis (OA). PIGE was exploited in the determination of elements of low atomic number z<15 such as Na and F whereas elements with z>15 viz Ca, Z, P and S were determined by PIXE. Accumulations of key elements in the bone and cartilage sections were observed, significant S and Na concentrations being found in the cartilage region particularly in normal tissues. Zn showed enhanced concentrations at the bone-cartilage interface. At a synchrotron facility, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was utilized on a decalcified human femoral head section affected by OA, direct measurements being made of spatial alterations of collagen fibres. The SAXS results showed a slight decrease in the axial periodicity between normal collagen type I and that in diseased tissue in various sites, in contrast with the findings of others.

How to identify the key factors that affect driver perception of accident risk. A comparison between Italian and Spanish driver behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

de Oña, Juan; de Oña, Rocio; Eboli, Laura; Forciniti, Carmen; Mazzulla, Gabriella

2014-12-01

Road crashes can be caused by different factors, including infrastructure, vehicles, and human variables. Many research studies have focused solely on identifying the key factors that cause road crashes. From these studies, it emerged that human factors have the most relevant impact on accident severity. More specifically, accident severity depends on several factors related directly to the driver, i.e., driving experience, driver's socio-economic characteristics, and driving behavior and attitudes. In this paper, we investigate driver behaviors and attitudes while driving and specifically focus on different methods for identifying the factors that most affect the driver's perception of accident risk. To this end, we designed and conducted a survey in two different European contexts: the city of Cosenza, which is located in the south of Italy, and the city of Granada, which is located in the south of Spain. Samples of drivers were contacted for their opinions on certain aspects of driving rules and attitudes while driving, and different types of questions were addressed to the drivers to assess their judgments of these aspects. Consequently, different methods of data analysis were applied to determine the aspects that heavily influence driver perception of accident risk. An experiment based on the stated preferences (SP) was carried out with the drivers, and the SP data were analyzed using an ordered probit (OP) model. Interesting findings emerged from different analyses of the data and from the comparisons among the data collected in the two different territorial contexts. We found that both Italian and Spanish drivers consider driving in an altered psychophysical state and violating the overtaking rules to be the most risky behaviors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lifelong Learning Key Competence Levels of Graduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

Adabas, Abdurrahman; Kaygin, Hüseyin

2016-01-01

The European Union defines lifelong learning as all activities aimed at improving an individual's knowledge, skills and competences individually, socially or vocationally throughout his/her life. In 2007, eight key competences necessary for lifelong learning were identified by the European Union Education and Culture Commission. These competences…

Identifying Opportunities for Vertical Integration of Biochemistry and Clinical Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Wendelberger, Karen J.; Burke, Rebecca; Haas, Arthur L.; Harenwattananon, Marisa; Simpson, Deborah

1998-01-01

Objectives: Retention of basic science knowledge, as judged by National Board of Medical Examiners' (NBME) data, suffers due to lack of apparent relevance and isolation of instruction from clinical application, especially in biochemistry. However, the literature reveals no systematic process for identifying key biochemical concepts and associated clinical conditions. This study systematically identified difficult biochemical concepts and their common clinical conditions as a critical step towards enhancing relevance and retention of biochemistry.Methods: A multi-step/ multiple stakeholder process was used to: (1) identify important biochemistry concepts; (2) determine students' perceptions of concept difficulty; (3) assess biochemistry faculty, student, and clinical teaching scholars' perceived relevance of identified concepts; and (4) identify associated common clinical conditions for relevant and difficult concepts. Surveys and a modified Delphi process were used to gather data, subsequently analyzed using SPSS for Windows.Results: Sixteen key biochemical concepts were identified. Second year medical students rated 14/16 concepts as extremely difficult while fourth year students rated nine concepts as moderately to extremely difficult. On average, each teaching scholar generated common clinical conditions for 6.2 of the 16 concepts, yielding a set of seven critical concepts and associated clinical conditions.Conclusions: Key stakeholders in the instructional process struggle to identify biochemistry concepts that are critical, difficult to learn and associated with common clinical conditions. However, through a systematic process beginning with identification of concepts and associated clinical conditions, relevance of basic science instruction can be enhanced.

Elemental Concentrations in Urban Green Stormwater Infrastructure Soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Kondo, Michelle C; Sharma, Raghav; Plante, Alain F; Yang, Yunwen; Burstyn, Igor

2016-01-01

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is designed to capture stormwater for infiltration, detention, evapotranspiration, or reuse. Soils play a key role in stormwater interception at these facilities. It is important to assess whether contamination is occurring in GSI soils because urban stormwater drainage areas often accumulate elements of concern. Soil contamination could affect hydrologic and ecosystem functions. Maintenance workers and the public may also be exposed to GSI soils. We investigated soil elemental concentrations, categorized as macro- and micronutrients, heavy metals, and other elements, at 59 GSI sites in the city of Philadelphia. Non-GSI soil samples 3 to 5 m upland of GSI sites were used for comparison. We evaluated differences in elemental composition in GSI and non-GSI soils; the comparisons were corrected for the age of GSI facility, underlying soil type, street drainage, and surrounding land use. Concentrations of Ca and I were greater than background levels at GSI sites. Although GSI facilities appear to accumulate Ca and I, these elements do not pose a significant human health risk. Elements of concern to human health, including Cd, Hg, and Pb, were either no different or were lower in GSI soils compared with non-GSI soils. However, mean values found across GSI sites were up to four times greater than soil cleanup objectives for residential use. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

E-Commerce Performance. Shopping Cart Key Performance Indicators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela I. MUNTEAN

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In an e-commerce performance framework is important to identify the key performance indicators that measure success and together provide the greatest context into the business perfor-mance. Shopping carts are an essential part of ecommerce, a minimal set of key performance indicators being the subject of our debate. The theoretical approach is sustained by a case study, an e-shop implemented using PHP and MySQL, for simulating main business processes within the considered performance framework. Our approach opens a perspective for future research using additional indicators in order to properly evaluate the global performance of any e-shop.

Key attributes of expert NRL referees.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Gavin; O'Connor, Donna

2017-05-01

Experiential knowledge of elite National Rugby League (NRL) referees was investigated to determine the key attributes contributing to expert officiating performance. Fourteen current first-grade NRL referees were asked to identify the key attributes they believed contributed to their expert refereeing performance. The modified Delphi method involved a 3-round process of an initial semi-structured interview followed by 2 questionnaires to reach consensus of opinion. The data revealed 25 attributes that were rated as most important that underpin expert NRL refereeing performance. Results illustrate the significance of the cognitive category, with the top 6 ranked attributes all cognitive skills. Of these, the referees ranked decision-making accuracy as the most important attribute, followed by reading the game, communication, game understanding, game management and knowledge of the rules. Player rapport, positioning and teamwork were the top ranked game skill attributes underpinning performance excellence. Expert referees also highlighted a number of psychological attributes (e.g., concentration, composure and mental toughness) that were significant to performance. There were only 2 physiological attributes (fitness, aerobic endurance) that were identified as significant to elite officiating performance. In summary, expert consensus was attained which successfully provided a hierarchy of the most significant attributes of expert NRL refereeing performance.

Uses of instrumental neutron activation analysis for elemental investigation of some domestic fertilizers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. M. Hassan

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The neutron irradiation facilities offered by the ET-RR-2 and the HPGe-detection system are used for elemental investigation of three samples of domestic fertilizers. A total of 31 elements have been identified as major and minor concentration values. The Pneumatic Irradiation Transfer Systems (PITS and the core of the reactor are used for short and long time irradiation. The data obtained for some of the identified elements are compared with the corresponding values obtained by the XRF and the ICP-MS techniques for the same samples. The range of the concentration values of these elements was in between several parts per million (ppm up to 45 %. A discussion on the elemental concentration values and their biological effect are given.

Energy conservation in China: Key provincial sectors at two-digit level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Hua; Du, Jian; Wei, Yi-Ming

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We identify the keys for energy conversation across China’s 31 provinces × 65 sectors. ► The results are visualized in map and matrix tables, and easy for use. ► 39 Industrial sectors by province are classified into three categories for conservation. ► There is large energy wasting in the public management sector. ► There are both urban–rural gap and provincial inequality on electricity consumption. - Abstract: In March 2011, China’s central government set a new challenging target of reducing its energy intensity by 16% during 2011–2015, after it had achieved a reduction of 19.1% during 2006–2010. And this new target was assigned to provincial authorities in August 2011. However, China’s provincial energy-economic developments are unbalanced and different provinces have different key sectors for energy conservation. Most previous studies focused on provincial energy efficiency at the aggregate level, or the three-industry level (or one-digit level). However, whether for policy decision or academic research, it is necessary to further subdivide the sectors. In this paper, we use three indicators (Gini Coefficient, energy consumption share and energy intensity) to compare provincial energy conservation potentials at the two-digit sector level. To our knowledge, this paper is the first one to identify the keys for energy conversation across the 31 provinces × 65 sectors. And the results are shown in visualized maps and matrix tables to help identify the key province × sectors for energy conservation easier. This also helps the central and provincial governments to distinguish key sectors when they monitor the energy conservation progress

Optimal Layout Design using the Element Connectivity Parameterization Method: Application to Three Dimensional Geometrical Nonlinear Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yoon, Gil Ho; Joung, Young Soo; Kim, Yoon Young

2005-01-01

The topology design optimization of “three-dimensional geometrically-nonlinear” continuum structures is still a difficult problem not only because of its problem size but also the occurrence of unstable continuum finite elements during the design optimization. To overcome this difficulty, the ele......) stiffness matrix of continuum finite elements. Therefore, any finite element code, including commercial codes, can be readily used for the ECP implementation. The key ideas and characteristics of these methods will be presented in this paper....

Nuclear techniques to identify allergenic metals in orthodontic brackets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zenobio, E.G.; Zenobio, M.A.F.; Menezes, M.A.B.C.

2009-01-01

The present study determines the elementary alloy composition of ten commercial brands of brackets, especially related to Ni, Cr, and Co metals, confirmed allergenic elements. The nuclear techniques applied in the analyses were X-ray fluorescence (XRF) - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France (National Center of Scientific Research), and X-ray energy spectrometry (XRES), and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) - CDTN/CNEN, Brazil. The XRES and XRF techniques identified Cr in the 10 samples analyzed and Ni in eight samples. The INAA technique identified the presence of Cr (14% to 19%) and Co (42% to 2400 ppm) in all samples. The semi-quantitative analysis performed by XRF also identified Co in two samples. The techniques were effective in the identification of metals in orthodontic brackets. The elements identified in this study can be considered one of the main reason for the allergic processes among the patients studied. This finding suggests that the patients should be tested for allergy and allergenic sensibility to metals prior to the prescription of orthodontic device. (author)

Patients' Data Management System Protected by Identity-Based Authentication and Key Exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivero-García, Alexandra; Santos-González, Iván; Hernández-Goya, Candelaria; Caballero-Gil, Pino; Yung, Moti

2017-03-31

A secure and distributed framework for the management of patients' information in emergency and hospitalization services is proposed here in order to seek improvements in efficiency and security in this important area. In particular, confidentiality protection, mutual authentication, and automatic identification of patients are provided. The proposed system is based on two types of devices: Near Field Communication (NFC) wristbands assigned to patients, and mobile devices assigned to medical staff. Two other main elements of the system are an intermediate server to manage the involved data, and a second server with a private key generator to define the information required to protect communications. An identity-based authentication and key exchange scheme is essential to provide confidential communication and mutual authentication between the medical staff and the private key generator through an intermediate server. The identification of patients is carried out through a keyed-hash message authentication code. Thanks to the combination of the aforementioned tools, a secure alternative mobile health (mHealth) scheme for managing patients' data is defined for emergency and hospitalization services. Different parts of the proposed system have been implemented, including mobile application, intermediate server, private key generator and communication channels. Apart from that, several simulations have been performed, and, compared with the current system, significant improvements in efficiency have been observed.

Key Features of the Manufacturing Vision Development Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dukovska-Popovska, Iskra; Riis, Jens Ove; Boer, Harry

2005-01-01

of action research. The methodology recommends wide participation of people from different hierarchical and functional positions, who engage in a relatively short, playful and creative process and come up with a vision (concept) for the future manufacturing system in the company. Based on three case studies......This paper discusses the key features of the process of Manufacturing Vision Development, a process that enables companies to develop their future manufacturing concept. The basis for the process is a generic five-phase methodology (Riis and Johansen 2003) developed as a result of ten years...... of companies going through the initial phases of the methodology, this research identified the key features of the Manufacturing Vision Development process. The paper elaborates the key features by defining them, discussing how and when they can appear, and how they influence the process....

Complete Subsurface Elemental Composition Measurements With PING

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, A. M.

2012-01-01

The Probing In situ with Neutrons and Gamma rays (PING) instrument will measure the complete bulk elemental composition of the subsurface of Mars as well as any other solid planetary body. PING can thus be a highly effective tool for both detailed local geochemistry science investigations and precision measurements of Mars subsurface reSOurces in preparation for future human exploration. As such, PING is thus fully capable of meeting a majority of both ncar and far term elements in Challenge #1 presented for this conference. Measuring the ncar subsurface composition of Mars will enable many of the MEPAG science goals and will be key to filling an important Strategic Knowledge Gap with regard to In situ Resources Utilization (ISRU) needs for human exploration. [1, 2] PING will thus fill an important niche in the Mars Exploration Program.

Phylogenetic Conflict in Bears Identified by Automated Discovery of Transposable Element Insertions in Low-Coverage Genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lammers, Fritjof; Gallus, Susanne; Janke, Axel; Nilsson, Maria A

2017-10-01

Phylogenetic reconstruction from transposable elements (TEs) offers an additional perspective to study evolutionary processes. However, detecting phylogenetically informative TE insertions requires tedious experimental work, limiting the power of phylogenetic inference. Here, we analyzed the genomes of seven bear species using high-throughput sequencing data to detect thousands of TE insertions. The newly developed pipeline for TE detection called TeddyPi (TE detection and discovery for Phylogenetic Inference) identified 150,513 high-quality TE insertions in the genomes of ursine and tremarctine bears. By integrating different TE insertion callers and using a stringent filtering approach, the TeddyPi pipeline produced highly reliable TE insertion calls, which were confirmed by extensive in vitro validation experiments. Analysis of single nucleotide substitutions in the flanking regions of the TEs shows that these substitutions correlate with the phylogenetic signal from the TE insertions. Our phylogenomic analyses show that TEs are a major driver of genomic variation in bears and enabled phylogenetic reconstruction of a well-resolved species tree, despite strong signals for incomplete lineage sorting and introgression. The analyses show that the Asiatic black, sun, and sloth bear form a monophyletic clade, in which phylogenetic incongruence originates from incomplete lineage sorting. TeddyPi is open source and can be adapted to various TE and structural variation callers. The pipeline makes it possible to confidently extract thousands of TE insertions even from low-coverage genomes (∼10×) of nonmodel organisms. This opens new possibilities for biologists to study phylogenies and evolutionary processes as well as rates and patterns of (retro-)transposition and structural variation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Evaluation of physical-protection elements for interior applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, S.H.

1983-01-01

Considerable emphasis has been given in recent years to the threat of sabotage by an insider at nuclear facilities. This threat is inherently different from the outsider threat of theft or sabotage because of the insiders' unique knowledge and access to vital material and equipment. Thus, special safeguards elements are needed in order to counter the insider threat. In addition, insider physical protection system elements must be compatible with the operations, safety, and maintenance programs at the facility. To help identify elements which meet these needs, field evaluations were performed on an interior access control system, piping sensors, interior video motion detectors, and valve monitoring devices. These elements were tested in a realistic operating environment and both technical and operational evaluation data were obtained. Safeguards element descriptions and the results of the operational tests and evaluations are outlined

Introduction to nonlinear finite element analysis

CERN Document Server

Kim, Nam-Ho

2015-01-01

This book introduces the key concepts of nonlinear finite element analysis procedures. The book explains the fundamental theories of the field and provides instructions on how to apply the concepts to solving practical engineering problems. Instead of covering many nonlinear problems, the book focuses on three representative problems: nonlinear elasticity, elastoplasticity, and contact problems. The book is written independent of any particular software, but tutorials and examples using four commercial programs are included as appendices: ANSYS, NASTRAN, ABAQUS, and MATLAB. In particular, the MATLAB program includes all source codes so that students can develop their own material models, or different algorithms. This book also: ·         Presents clear explanations of nonlinear finite element analysis for elasticity, elastoplasticity, and contact problems ·         Includes many informative examples of nonlinear analyses so that students can clearly understand the nonlinear theory ·    ...

Designing key-dependent chaotic S-box with larger key space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Ruming; Yuan Jian; Wang Jian; Shan Xiuming; Wang Xiqin

2009-01-01

The construction of cryptographically strong substitution boxes (S-boxes) is an important concern in designing secure cryptosystems. The key-dependent S-boxes designed using chaotic maps have received increasing attention in recent years. However, the key space of such S-boxes does not seem to be sufficiently large due to the limited parameter range of discretized chaotic maps. In this paper, we propose a new key-dependent S-box based on the iteration of continuous chaotic maps. We explore the continuous-valued state space of chaotic systems, and devise the discrete mapping between the input and the output of the S-box. A key-dependent S-box is constructed with the logistic map in this paper. We show that its key space could be much larger than the current key-dependent chaotic S-boxes.

ASSESSMENT OF THE VOLUNTEERED GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FEEDBACK SYSTEM FOR THE DUTCH TOPOGRAPHICAL KEY REGISTER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Grus

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Since Topographical Key Register has become an open data the amount of users increased enormously. The highest grow was in the private users group. The increasing number of users and their growing demand for high actuality of the topographic data sets motivates the Dutch Kadaster to innovate and improve the Topographical Key Register (BRT. One of the initiatives was to provide a voluntary geographical information project aiming at providing a user-friendly feedback system adjusted to all kinds of user groups. The feedback system is a compulsory element of the Topographical Key Register in the Netherlands. The Dutch Kadaster is obliged to deliver a feedback system and the key-users are obliged to use it. The aim of the feedback system is to improve the quality and stimulate the usage of the data. The results of the pilot shows that the user-friendly and open to everyone feedback system contributes enormously to improve the quality of the topographic dataset.

Identifying Military Impacts on Archaeological Deposits Based on Differences in Soil Organic Carbon and Chemical Elements at Soil Horizon Interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

Robotic pH meter (AS-3000 Dual pH Analyzer, LabFit, Burswood, Australia) using a 1:1 soil / solution ratio (0.01 M CaCl2) (Kissel et al., 2009). Soil lime...displacement of elements in the soil profile, and alterations in mineralization processes which affect the leachable element concentration in soil solution . Leachable

A Key Establishment Protocol for RFID User in IPTV Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Yoon-Su; Kim, Yong-Tae; Sohn, Jae-Min; Park, Gil-Cheol; Lee, Sang-Ho

In recent years, the usage of IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) has been increased. The reason is a technological convergence of broadcasting and telecommunication delivering interactive applications and multimedia content through high speed Internet connections. The main critical point of IPTV security requirements is subscriber authentication. That is, IPTV service should have the capability to identify the subscribers to prohibit illegal access. Currently, IPTV service does not provide a sound authentication mechanism to verify the identity of its wireless users (or devices). This paper focuses on a lightweight authentication and key establishment protocol based on the use of hash functions. The proposed approach provides effective authentication for a mobile user with a RFID tag whose authentication information is communicated back and forth with the IPTV authentication server via IPTV set-top box (STB). That is, the proposed protocol generates user's authentication information that is a bundle of two public keys derived from hashing user's private keys and RFID tag's session identifier, and adds 1bit to this bundled information for subscriber's information confidentiality before passing it to the authentication server.

New elements - approaching Z=114

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, S.

1998-03-01

The search for new elements is part of the broader field of investigations of nuclei at the limits of stability. In two series of experiments at SHIP, six new elements (Z=107-112) were synthesized via fusion reactions using 1n-deexcitation channels and lead or bismuth targets. The isotopes were unambiguously identified by means of α-α correlations. Not fission, but alpha decay is the dominant decay mode. The collected decay data establish a means of comparison with theoretical data. This aids in the selection of appropriate models that describe the properties of known nuclei. Predictions based on these models are useful in the preparation of the next generation of experiments. Cross-sections decrease by two orders of magnitude from bohrium (Z=107) to element 112, for which a cross-section of 1 pb was measured. The development of intense beam currents and sensitive detection methods is essential for the production and identification of still heavier elements and new isotopes of already known elements, as well as the measurement of small α-, β- and fission-branching ratios. An equally sensitive set-up is needed for the measurement of excitation functions at low cross-sections. Based on our results, it is likely that the production of isotopes of element 114 close to the island of spherical super heavy elements (SHE) could be achieved by fusion reactions using 208 Pb targets. Systematic studies of the reaction cross-sections indicate that the transfer of nucleons is an important process for the initiation of fusion. The data allow for the fixing of a narrow energy window for the production of SHE using 1n-emission channels. (orig.)

Simulation-based Assessment to Reliably Identify Key Resident Performance Attributes.

Science.gov (United States)

Blum, Richard H; Muret-Wagstaff, Sharon L; Boulet, John R; Cooper, Jeffrey B; Petrusa, Emil R; Baker, Keith H; Davidyuk, Galina; Dearden, Jennifer L; Feinstein, David M; Jones, Stephanie B; Kimball, William R; Mitchell, John D; Nadelberg, Robert L; Wiser, Sarah H; Albrecht, Meredith A; Anastasi, Amanda K; Bose, Ruma R; Chang, Laura Y; Culley, Deborah J; Fisher, Lauren J; Grover, Meera; Klainer, Suzanne B; Kveraga, Rikante; Martel, Jeffrey P; McKenna, Shannon S; Minehart, Rebecca D; Mitchell, John D; Mountjoy, Jeremi R; Pawlowski, John B; Pilon, Robert N; Shook, Douglas C; Silver, David A; Warfield, Carol A; Zaleski, Katherine L

2018-04-01

Obtaining reliable and valid information on resident performance is critical to patient safety and training program improvement. The goals were to characterize important anesthesia resident performance gaps that are not typically evaluated, and to further validate scores from a multiscenario simulation-based assessment. Seven high-fidelity scenarios reflecting core anesthesiology skills were administered to 51 first-year residents (CA-1s) and 16 third-year residents (CA-3s) from three residency programs. Twenty trained attending anesthesiologists rated resident performances using a seven-point behaviorally anchored rating scale for five domains: (1) formulate a clear plan, (2) modify the plan under changing conditions, (3) communicate effectively, (4) identify performance improvement opportunities, and (5) recognize limits. A second rater assessed 10% of encounters. Scores and variances for each domain, each scenario, and the total were compared. Low domain ratings (1, 2) were examined in detail. Interrater agreement was 0.76; reliability of the seven-scenario assessment was r = 0.70. CA-3s had a significantly higher average total score (4.9 ± 1.1 vs. 4.6 ± 1.1, P = 0.01, effect size = 0.33). CA-3s significantly outscored CA-1s for five of seven scenarios and domains 1, 2, and 3. CA-1s had a significantly higher proportion of worrisome ratings than CA-3s (chi-square = 24.1, P < 0.01, effect size = 1.50). Ninety-eight percent of residents rated the simulations more educational than an average day in the operating room. Sensitivity of the assessment to CA-1 versus CA-3 performance differences for most scenarios and domains supports validity. No differences, by experience level, were detected for two domains associated with reflective practice. Smaller score variances for CA-3s likely reflect a training effect; however, worrisome performance scores for both CA-1s and CA-3s suggest room for improvement.

Habitat Restoration as a Key Conservation Lever for Woodland Caribou: A review of restoration programs and key learnings from Alberta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Bentham

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The Recovery Strategy for the Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou, Boreal Population in Canada (EC, 2012, identifies coordinated actions to reclaim woodland caribou habitat as a key step to meeting current and future caribou population objectives. Actions include restoring industrial landscape features such as roads, seismic lines, pipelines, cut-lines, and cleared areas in an effort to reduce landscape fragmentation and the changes in caribou population dynamics associated with changing predator-prey dynamics in highly fragmented landscapes. Reliance on habitat restoration as a recovery action within the federal recovery strategy is high, considering all Alberta populations have less than 65% undisturbed habitat, which is identified in the recovery strategy as a threshold providing a 60% chance that a local population will be self-sustaining. Alberta’s Provincial Woodland Caribou Policy also identifies habitat restoration as a critical component of long-term caribou habitat management. We review and discuss the history of caribou habitat restoration programs in Alberta and present outcomes and highlights of a caribou habitat restoration workshop attended by over 80 representatives from oil and gas, forestry, provincial and federal regulators, academia and consulting who have worked on restoration programs. Restoration initiatives in Alberta began in 2001 and have generally focused on construction methods, revegetation treatments, access control programs, and limiting plant species favourable to alternate prey. Specific treatments include tree planting initiatives, coarse woody debris management along linear features, and efforts for multi-company and multi-stakeholder coordinated habitat restoration on caribou range. Lessons learned from these programs have been incorporated into large scale habitat restoration projects near Grande Prairie, Cold Lake, and Fort McMurray. A key outcome of our review is the opportunity to provide a

Inorganic elements in sugar samples consumed in several countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salles, P.M.B.; Campos, T.P.R.; Menezes, M.A. de B.C.; Jacimovic, Radojko

2016-01-01

Sugar is considered safe food ingredient, however, it can present inorganic elements as impurities uptake during cultivation and production process. Therefore, this study aimed at identifies the presence of these elements in granulated and brown sugar samples available for consumption in public places in several countries. The neutron activation technique applying the methodology to analyse larger samples, 5 g-sample, established at CDTN/CNEN based on k 0 -method was used to determine the elemental concentrations. Several essential and nonessential elements were determined in a large range of concentrations. The results are discussed comparing to maximum values foreseen in the international and Brazilian legislations. (author)

Outreach: Key to Sustainable Nuclear Knowledge Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Segovia, V.

2016-01-01

Full text: With the numerous nuclear power plants being built globally and the prospects for many more, the challenge of the timely availability of a well-prepared, qualified, knowledgeable workforce is a key element in the “critical path” to commissioning these plants. All of these individuals will need quality education and training that is rooted in safety and established in experience. In addition, because many of these new plants are typically being built in developing countries, education, training, recruiting and retaining operations staff can be a significant challenge. Attracting sources of qualified employees for these nuclear power plants in local communities is paramount which implies a strong focus on the science and math education outreach programmes at all levels. This paper will highlight the Nuclear Power Institute’s integration of human resource development outreach strategies, education and training systems, and international cooperation to demonstrate how working in particular with the education sector can not only create interest in future careers in nuclear technology and capture valuable knowledge, but can also build community based support for nuclear power programmes with an emphasis of developing competent workers through education and training, mentoring and apprenticeships. Outreach has also become an important element of all nuclear knowledge management endeavours. (author

Extended finite element method and its application in heterogeneous materials with inclusions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Chengbin; Jiang Shouyan; Ying Zongquan

2010-01-01

To simplify the technology of finite element mesh generation for particle reinforced material, enrichment techniques is used to account for the material interfaces in the framework of extended finite element method (XFEM). The geometry of material distribution is described by level set function, which allows one to model the internal boundaries of the microstructure without the adaptation of the mesh. The enrichment function is used to improve the shape function of classical finite element method (FEM) for the nodes supporting the elements cut by the interface. The key issue of XFEM including constructing displacement pattern, establishment of the governing equation and scheme of numerical integration is also presented. It is not necessarily matching the internal features of the inclusions using XFEM, so the generation of finite element mesh can be performed easily. Finally, a plate with multi-circular inclusions under uniaxial tension is simulated by XFEM and FEM, respectively. The results show that XFEM is highly effective and efficient.

Using the false memory paradigm to test two key elements of alcohol expectancy theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Reich, Richard R; Goldman, Mark S; Noll, Jane A

2004-05-01

Two key aspects of alcohol expectancy theory--(a) that memories about alcohol effects are stored as relatively cohesive templates of information and (b) that these templates are automatically activated in alcohol-related contexts--were tested using the Deese-Roediger- McDermott false memory paradigm. Alcohol expectancy adjectives were studied, and false memory for expectancy target words was tested in neutral and alcohol contexts. Results indicated that in the alcohol context heavier drinkers showed more false memory for alcohol expectancy words than they did in a neutral context. Differences were not found for lighter drinkers. These results were consistent with alcohol expectancy theory, which was then compared with various forms of association theory in explaining these results and larger issues in the addiction field. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

Group key management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunigan, T.; Cao, C.

1997-08-01

This report describes an architecture and implementation for doing group key management over a data communications network. The architecture describes a protocol for establishing a shared encryption key among an authenticated and authorized collection of network entities. Group access requires one or more authorization certificates. The implementation includes a simple public key and certificate infrastructure. Multicast is used for some of the key management messages. An application programming interface multiplexes key management and user application messages. An implementation using the new IP security protocols is postulated. The architecture is compared with other group key management proposals, and the performance and the limitations of the implementation are described.

Key Performance Indicators Evaluation and Performance Measurement in Dry Port-Seaport System: A Multi Criteria Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatimazahra BENTALEB

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Dry port-seaport services are key elements of a multimodal transport. They represent the needed infrastructure for its development. In this case, evaluating and improving their performance is necessary to achieve international competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new model of performance measurement for the dry port-seaport system. To this aim, we have consolidated available researches and existing studies in order to identify and develop our proposed model framework. In this paper, a multi-criteria hierarchical model framework using MACBETH for dry port-seaport system has been developed. This framework can be used by managers at different levels of the system. The proposed model has been developed by exploring measurement gaps in multimodal transport field and by discovering prospective options from this area. The results and the methodology are practical. We obtain the global performance level of our involved system using our methodology, which can help managers in taken decisions and increase global performance of this system.

Constructing large scale SCI-based processing systems by switch elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, B.; Kristiansen, E.; Skaali, B.; Bogaerts, A.; Divia, R.; Mueller, H.

1993-05-01

The goal of this paper is to study some of the design criteria for the switch elements to form the interconnection of large scale SCI-based processing systems. The approved IEEE standard 1596 makes it possible to couple up to 64K nodes together. In order to connect thousands of nodes to construct large scale SCI-based processing systems, one has to interconnect these nodes by switch elements to form different topologies. A summary of the requirements and key points of interconnection networks and switches is presented. Two models of the SCI switch elements are proposed. The authors investigate several examples of systems constructed for 4-switches with simulations and the results are analyzed. Some issues and enhancements are discussed to provide the ideas behind the switch design that can improve performance and reduce latency. 29 refs., 11 figs., 3 tabs

Identifying and Ranking the Determinants of Tourism Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Assaf, A.George; Josiassen, Alexander

2012-01-01

, their tourism industries, and tourism businesses seek to improve the performance of the tourism industry and its constituents by vigorously promoting themselves to international tourists, cutting costs, and identifying synergies in their tourism endeavors. In seeking to improve the tourism industry......, the determinants that affect tourism performance are of key interest to the stakeholders. A key obstacle toward improving performance is the multitude of determinants that can affect tourism performance. The literature has yet to provide concrete insights into the determinants of tourism performance...... and their relative importance. The present study addresses this important gap. We identify and rank the determinants of tourism performance. We also provide performance measures of international tourism destinations. The results are derived using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and bootstrap truncated regression...

Evolutionary conservation of regulatory elements in vertebrate HOX gene clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santini, Simona; Boore, Jeffrey L.; Meyer, Axel

2003-12-31

Due to their high degree of conservation, comparisons of DNA sequences among evolutionarily distantly-related genomes permit to identify functional regions in noncoding DNA. Hox genes are optimal candidate sequences for comparative genome analyses, because they are extremely conserved in vertebrates and occur in clusters. We aligned (Pipmaker) the nucleotide sequences of HoxA clusters of tilapia, pufferfish, striped bass, zebrafish, horn shark, human and mouse (over 500 million years of evolutionary distance). We identified several highly conserved intergenic sequences, likely to be important in gene regulation. Only a few of these putative regulatory elements have been previously described as being involved in the regulation of Hox genes, while several others are new elements that might have regulatory functions. The majority of these newly identified putative regulatory elements contain short fragments that are almost completely conserved and are identical to known binding sites for regulatory proteins (Transfac). The conserved intergenic regions located between the most rostrally expressed genes in the developing embryo are longer and better retained through evolution. We document that presumed regulatory sequences are retained differentially in either A or A clusters resulting from a genome duplication in the fish lineage. This observation supports both the hypothesis that the conserved elements are involved in gene regulation and the Duplication-Deletion-Complementation model.

Chemistry gains a new element: Z=106

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaeggeler, H.W.; Eichler, B.; Tuerler, A.

1997-01-01

Even though 112 chemical elements are presently known, for elements with atomic numbers above 105 only nuclear decay properties have been investigated so far. Such data allow to proof the existence of a given nuclide, but they do not yield any information with respect to the position of a chemical element in the Periodic Table. We have performed ever first chemical investigations of element 106. According to the Periodic Table element 106 should be a member of group 6, having similar chemical properties as W, Mo and Cr. Two different techniques were applied to separate and identify element 106: a liquid chromatography system (ARCA = Automated Rapid Chemistry Apparatus) and a continuous isothermal chromatography device (OLGA = On-Line Gaschemistry Apparatus). With ARCA about 5'000 separations on small cation exchange columns (Aminex A6) with a 0.1 M HNO 3 /5.10 -4 M Hf solution were performed and with OLGA the gas adsorption behaviour of oxychlorides on quartz columns using Cl 2 /SOCl 2 /O 2 as reactive gas were studied. On the basis of only ten detected atoms, it was possible to proof that element 106 forms complexes which are eluted at positions similar to those of Mo and W. In addition, in the gas phase element 106 forms oxychlorides of lower volatility compared to those of Mo and W. (author) 1 ref

Repetitive elements may comprise over two-thirds of the human genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A P Jason de Koning

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Transposable elements (TEs are conventionally identified in eukaryotic genomes by alignment to consensus element sequences. Using this approach, about half of the human genome has been previously identified as TEs and low-complexity repeats. We recently developed a highly sensitive alternative de novo strategy, P-clouds, that instead searches for clusters of high-abundance oligonucleotides that are related in sequence space (oligo "clouds". We show here that P-clouds predicts >840 Mbp of additional repetitive sequences in the human genome, thus suggesting that 66%-69% of the human genome is repetitive or repeat-derived. To investigate this remarkable difference, we conducted detailed analyses of the ability of both P-clouds and a commonly used conventional approach, RepeatMasker (RM, to detect different sized fragments of the highly abundant human Alu and MIR SINEs. RM can have surprisingly low sensitivity for even moderately long fragments, in contrast to P-clouds, which has good sensitivity down to small fragment sizes (∼25 bp. Although short fragments have a high intrinsic probability of being false positives, we performed a probabilistic annotation that reflects this fact. We further developed "element-specific" P-clouds (ESPs to identify novel Alu and MIR SINE elements, and using it we identified ∼100 Mb of previously unannotated human elements. ESP estimates of new MIR sequences are in good agreement with RM-based predictions of the amount that RM missed. These results highlight the need for combined, probabilistic genome annotation approaches and suggest that the human genome consists of substantially more repetitive sequence than previously believed.

Robust Public Key Cryptography — A New Cryptosystem Surviving Private Key Compromise

Science.gov (United States)

Shaik, Cheman

A weakness of the present-day public key cryptosystems is that these cryptosystems do not survive private-key compromise attacks resulting from an internal breach of trust. In a competitive business environment, private key compromise is a common incident that voids the strength of public key cryptosystems such as RSA and ECC. Bribing corporate employees to disclose their secret keys and inadvertently disclosing secret information are among a plethora of practical attacks that occur at the implementation level. Once a breach of trust takes place and subsequently the private key is revealed, any public key cryptosystem fails to secure electronic data in Internet communications. The revealed key may be used by an attacker to decipher the intercepted data at an intermediary router. This weakness of public key cryptography calls for an additional security measure that enables encryptions to survive private key compromise attacks.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR HEALTHCARE RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS BETWEEN 2011 AND 2015

OpenAIRE

ANISKEVICH A.S.; HALFIN R.A.

2017-01-01

In this work we identify 16 key indicators to evaluate the performance of healthcare research organizations. These indicators comprehensively characterize such aspects of performance as research output and relevance, human resource development, integration into the international scientific community, distribution of scientific knowledge, promotion of the prestige of science, and resource provision. Below, we review the existing classification of medical research institutions and their key fea...

A Dual Repeat Cis-Element Determines Expression of GERANYL DIPHOSPHATE SYNTHASE for Monoterpene Production in Phalaenopsis Orchids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Chen Chuang

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Phalaenopsis bellina is a scented orchid emitting large amount of monoterpenes. GERANYL DIPHOSPHATE SYNTHASE (PbGDPS is the key enzyme for monoterpene biosynthesis, and shows concomitant expression with the emission of monoterpenes during flower development in P. bellina. Here, we identified a dual repeat cis-element in the GDPS promoter that is critical for monoterpene biosynthesis in Phalaenopsis orchids. A strong correlation between the dual repeat and the monoterpene production was revealed by examination of the GDPS promoter fragments over 12 Phalaenopsis species. Serial-deletion of the 2-kb GDPS promoter fragments demonstrated that the integrity of the dual repeat was crucial for its promoter activities. By screening the Arabidopsis transcription factors (TFs cDNA library using yeast one-hybrid assay, AtbZIP18, a member of group I of bZIP TFs, was identified to be able to bind the dual repeat. We then identified PbbZIP4 in the transcriptome of P. bellina, showing 83% identity in the DNA binding region with that of AtbZIP18, and the expression level of PbbZIP4 was higher in the scented orchids. In addition, PbbZIP4 transactivated the GDPS promoter fragment containing the dual repeat in dual luciferase assay. Furthermore, transient ectopic expression of PbbZIP4 induced a 10-fold production of monoterpenoids in the scentless orchid. In conclusion, these results indicate that the dual repeat is a real TF-bound cis-element significant for GDPS gene expression, and thus subsequent monoterpene biosynthesis in the scented Phalaenopsis orchids.