Molecular and morphological data supporting phylogenetic reconstruction of the genus Goniothalamus (Annonaceae, including a reassessment of previous infrageneric classifications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chin Cheung Tang

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Data is presented in support of a phylogenetic reconstruction of the species-rich early-divergent angiosperm genus Goniothalamus (Annonaceae (Tang et al., Mol. Phylogenetic Evol., 2015 [1], inferred using chloroplast DNA (cpDNA sequences. The data includes a list of primers for amplification and sequencing for nine cpDNA regions: atpB-rbcL, matK, ndhF, psbA-trnH, psbM-trnD, rbcL, trnL-F, trnS-G, and ycf1, the voucher information and molecular data (GenBank accession numbers of 67 ingroup Goniothalamus accessions and 14 outgroup accessions selected from across the tribe Annoneae, and aligned data matrices for each gene region. We also present our Bayesian phylogenetic reconstructions for Goniothalamus, with information on previous infrageneric classifications superimposed to enable an evaluation of monophyly, together with a taxon-character data matrix (with 15 morphological characters scored for 66 Goniothalamus species and seven other species from the tribe Annoneae that are shown to be phylogenetically correlated.

The analytical approach to optimization of active region structure of quantum dot laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korenev, V V; Savelyev, A V; Zhukov, A E; Omelchenko, A V; Maximov, M V

2014-01-01

Using the analytical approach introduced in our previous papers we analyse the possibilities of optimization of size and structure of active region of semiconductor quantum dot lasers emitting via ground-state optical transitions. It is shown that there are optimal length' dispersion and number of QD layers in laser active region which allow one to obtain lasing spectrum of a given width at minimum injection current. Laser efficiency corresponding to the injection current optimized by the cavity length is practically equal to its maximum value

The analytical approach to optimization of active region structure of quantum dot laser

Science.gov (United States)

Korenev, V. V.; Savelyev, A. V.; Zhukov, A. E.; Omelchenko, A. V.; Maximov, M. V.

2014-10-01

Using the analytical approach introduced in our previous papers we analyse the possibilities of optimization of size and structure of active region of semiconductor quantum dot lasers emitting via ground-state optical transitions. It is shown that there are optimal length' dispersion and number of QD layers in laser active region which allow one to obtain lasing spectrum of a given width at minimum injection current. Laser efficiency corresponding to the injection current optimized by the cavity length is practically equal to its maximum value.

KSb(OH) samples previously treated with Co y - rays irradiated with neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Facetti, J F [Asuncion Nacional Univ. (Paraguay). Inst. de Ciencias

1969-01-01

When Ksb (OH) samples previously treated with Co y - rays or crushed are irradiated with neutrons, the yield of Sb and the annealing mechanism are apparently modified by the pretreatment. In addition it is shown that metastable species of Sb are formed under irradiation.

Regional impacts of ocean color on tropical Pacific variability

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, W.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Wittenberg, A.

2009-08-01

The role of the penetration length scale of shortwave radiation into the surface ocean and its impact on tropical Pacific variability is investigated with a fully coupled ocean, atmosphere, land and ice model. Previous work has shown that removal of all ocean color results in a system that tends strongly towards an El Niño state. Results from a suite of surface chlorophyll perturbation experiments show that the mean state and variability of the tropical Pacific is highly sensitive to the concentration and distribution of ocean chlorophyll. Setting the near-oligotrophic regions to contain optically pure water warms the mean state and suppresses variability in the western tropical Pacific. Doing the same above the shadow zones of the tropical Pacific also warms the mean state but enhances the variability. It is shown that increasing penetration can both deepen the pycnocline (which tends to damp El Niño) while shifting the mean circulation so that the wind response to temperature changes is altered. Depending on what region is involved this change in the wind stress can either strengthen or weaken ENSO variability.

Discovery of previously unidentified genomic disorders from the duplication architecture of the human genome

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sharp, Andrew J.; Hansen, Sierra; Selzer, Rebecca R.; Cheng, Ze; Regan, Regina; Hurst, Jane A.; Stewart, Helen; Price, Sue M.; Blair, Edward; Hennekam, Raoul C.; Fitzpatrick, Carrie A.; Segraves, Rick; Richmond, Todd A.; Guiver, Cheryl; Albertson, Donna G.; Pinkel, Daniel; Eis, Peggy S.; Schwartz, Stuart; Knight, Samantha J. L.; Eichler, Evan E.

2006-01-01

Genomic disorders are characterized by the presence of flanking segmental duplications that predispose these regions to recurrent rearrangement. Based on the duplication architecture of the genome, we investigated 130 regions that we hypothesized as candidates for previously undescribed genomic

Regional employment growth, shocks and regional industrial resilience

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Jacob Rubæk; Østergaard, Christian Richter

2013-01-01

The resilience of regional industries to economic shocks has gained a lot of attention in evolutionary economic geography recently. This paper uses a novel quantitative approach to investigate the regional industrial resilience of the Danish ICT sector to the shock following the burst of the dot......-com bubble. It is shown that regions characterised by small and young ICT service companies were more adaptable and grew more than others, while diversity and urbanisation increased the sensitivity to the business cycle after the shock. Different types of resilient regions are found: adaptively resilient......, rigidly resilient, entrepreneurially resilient and non-resilient regions....

Reoperative sentinel lymph node biopsy after previous mastectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Karam, Amer; Stempel, Michelle; Cody, Hiram S; Port, Elisa R

2008-10-01

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is the standard of care for axillary staging in breast cancer, but many clinical scenarios questioning the validity of SLN biopsy remain. Here we describe our experience with reoperative-SLN (re-SLN) biopsy after previous mastectomy. Review of the SLN database from September 1996 to December 2007 yielded 20 procedures done in the setting of previous mastectomy. SLN biopsy was performed using radioisotope with or without blue dye injection superior to the mastectomy incision, in the skin flap in all patients. In 17 of 20 patients (85%), re-SLN biopsy was performed for local or regional recurrence after mastectomy. Re-SLN biopsy was successful in 13 of 20 patients (65%) after previous mastectomy. Of the 13 patients, 2 had positive re-SLN, and completion axillary dissection was performed, with 1 having additional positive nodes. In the 11 patients with negative re-SLN, 2 patients underwent completion axillary dissection demonstrating additional negative nodes. One patient with a negative re-SLN experienced chest wall recurrence combined with axillary recurrence 11 months after re-SLN biopsy. All others remained free of local or axillary recurrence. Re-SLN biopsy was unsuccessful in 7 of 20 patients (35%). In three of seven patients, axillary dissection was performed, yielding positive nodes in two of the three. The remaining four of seven patients all had previous modified radical mastectomy, so underwent no additional axillary surgery. In this small series, re-SLN was successful after previous mastectomy, and this procedure may play some role when axillary staging is warranted after mastectomy.

Physical and transcript map of the region between D6S264 and D6S149 on chromosome 6q27, the minimal region of allele loss in sporadic epithelial ovarian cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Ying; Emilion, Gracy; Mungall, Andrew J

2002-01-01

We have previously shown a high frequency of allele loss at D6S193 (62%) on chromosomal arm 6q27 in ovarian tumours and mapped the minimal region of allele loss between D6S297 and D6S264 (3 cM). We isolated and mapped a single non-chimaeric YAC (17IA12, 260-280 kb) containing D6S193 and D6S297...

Previously unknown species of Aspergillus.

Science.gov (United States)

Gautier, M; Normand, A-C; Ranque, S

2016-08-01

The use of multi-locus DNA sequence analysis has led to the description of previously unknown 'cryptic' Aspergillus species, whereas classical morphology-based identification of Aspergillus remains limited to the section or species-complex level. The current literature highlights two main features concerning these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species. First, the prevalence of such species in clinical samples is relatively high compared with emergent filamentous fungal taxa such as Mucorales, Scedosporium or Fusarium. Second, it is clearly important to identify these species in the clinical laboratory because of the high frequency of antifungal drug-resistant isolates of such Aspergillus species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently been shown to enable the identification of filamentous fungi with an accuracy similar to that of DNA sequence-based methods. As MALDI-TOF MS is well suited to the routine clinical laboratory workflow, it facilitates the identification of these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species at the routine mycology bench. The rapid establishment of enhanced filamentous fungi identification facilities will lead to a better understanding of the epidemiology and clinical importance of these emerging Aspergillus species. Based on routine MALDI-TOF MS-based identification results, we provide original insights into the key interpretation issues of a positive Aspergillus culture from a clinical sample. Which ubiquitous species that are frequently isolated from air samples are rarely involved in human invasive disease? Can both the species and the type of biological sample indicate Aspergillus carriage, colonization or infection in a patient? Highly accurate routine filamentous fungi identification is central to enhance the understanding of these previously unknown Aspergillus species, with a vital impact on further improved patient care. Copyright © 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and

Numerical simulation of the shot peening process under previous loading conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romero-Ángeles, B; Urriolagoitia-Sosa, G; Torres-San Miguel, C R; Molina-Ballinas, A; Benítez-García, H A; Vargas-Bustos, J A; Urriolagoitia-Calderón, G

2015-01-01

This research presents a numerical simulation of the shot peening process and determines the residual stress field induced into a component with a previous loading history. The importance of this analysis is based on the fact that mechanical elements under shot peening are also subjected to manufacturing processes, which convert raw material into finished product. However, material is not provided in a virgin state, it has a previous loading history caused by the manner it is fabricated. This condition could alter some beneficial aspects of the residual stress induced by shot peening and could accelerate the crack nucleation and propagation progression. Studies were performed in beams subjected to strain hardening in tension (5ε y ) before shot peening was applied. Latter results were then compared in a numerical assessment of an induced residual stress field by shot peening carried out in a component (beam) without any previous loading history. In this paper, it is clearly shown the detrimental or beneficial effect that previous loading history can bring to the mechanical component and how it can be controlled to improve the mechanical behavior of the material

Regional impacts of ocean color on tropical Pacific variability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Anderson

2009-08-01

Full Text Available The role of the penetration length scale of shortwave radiation into the surface ocean and its impact on tropical Pacific variability is investigated with a fully coupled ocean, atmosphere, land and ice model. Previous work has shown that removal of all ocean color results in a system that tends strongly towards an El Niño state. Results from a suite of surface chlorophyll perturbation experiments show that the mean state and variability of the tropical Pacific is highly sensitive to the concentration and distribution of ocean chlorophyll. Setting the near-oligotrophic regions to contain optically pure water warms the mean state and suppresses variability in the western tropical Pacific. Doing the same above the shadow zones of the tropical Pacific also warms the mean state but enhances the variability. It is shown that increasing penetration can both deepen the pycnocline (which tends to damp El Niño while shifting the mean circulation so that the wind response to temperature changes is altered. Depending on what region is involved this change in the wind stress can either strengthen or weaken ENSO variability.

Regional Employment Growth, Shocks and Regional Industrial Resilience

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, J.R.; Østergaard, Christian Richter

2015-01-01

The resilience of regional industries to economic shocks has gained a lot of attention in evolutionary economic geography recently. This paper uses a novel quantitative approach to investigate the regional industrial resilience of the Danish information and communication technology (ICT) sector...... to the shock following the burst of the dot.com bubble. It is shown that regions characterized by small and young ICT service companies were more adaptable and grew more than others, while diversity and urbanization increased the sensitivity to the business cycle after the shock. Different types of resilient...... regions are found: adaptively resilient, rigidly resilient, entrepreneurially resilient and non-resilient regions....

Human sensory-evoked responses differ coincident with either "fusion-memory" or "flash-memory", as shown by stimulus repetition-rate effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baird Bill

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background: A new method has been used to obtain human sensory evoked-responses whose time-domain waveforms have been undetectable by previous methods. These newly discovered evoked-responses have durations that exceed the time between the stimuli in a continuous stream, thus causing an overlap which, up to now, has prevented their detection. We have named them "A-waves", and added a prefix to show the sensory system from which the responses were obtained (visA-waves, audA-waves, somA-waves. Results: When A-waves were studied as a function of stimulus repetition-rate, it was found that there were systematic differences in waveshape at repetition-rates above and below the psychophysical region in which the sensation of individual stimuli fuse into a continuity. The fusion phenomena is sometimes measured by a "Critical Fusion Frequency", but for this research we can only identify a frequency-region [which we call the STZ (Sensation-Transition Zone]. Thus, the A-waves above the STZ differed from those below the STZ, as did the sensations. Study of the psychophysical differences in auditory and visual stimuli, as shown in this paper, suggest that different stimulus features are detected, and remembered, at stimulation rates above and below STZ. Conclusion: The results motivate us to speculate that: 1 Stimulus repetition-rates above the STZ generate waveforms which underlie "fusion-memory" whereas rates below the STZ show neuronal processing in which "flash-memory" occurs. 2 These two memories differ in both duration and mechanism, though they may occur in the same cell groups. 3 The differences in neuronal processing may be related to "figure" and "ground" differentiation. We conclude that A-waves provide a novel measure of neural processes that can be detected on the human scalp, and speculate that they may extend clinical applications of evoked response recordings. If A-waves also occur in animals, it is likely that A-waves will provide

Human sensory-evoked responses differ coincident with either "fusion-memory" or "flash-memory", as shown by stimulus repetition-rate effects

Science.gov (United States)

Jewett, Don L; Hart, Toryalai; Larson-Prior, Linda J; Baird, Bill; Olson, Marram; Trumpis, Michael; Makayed, Katherine; Bavafa, Payam

2006-01-01

Background: A new method has been used to obtain human sensory evoked-responses whose time-domain waveforms have been undetectable by previous methods. These newly discovered evoked-responses have durations that exceed the time between the stimuli in a continuous stream, thus causing an overlap which, up to now, has prevented their detection. We have named them "A-waves", and added a prefix to show the sensory system from which the responses were obtained (visA-waves, audA-waves, somA-waves). Results: When A-waves were studied as a function of stimulus repetition-rate, it was found that there were systematic differences in waveshape at repetition-rates above and below the psychophysical region in which the sensation of individual stimuli fuse into a continuity. The fusion phenomena is sometimes measured by a "Critical Fusion Frequency", but for this research we can only identify a frequency-region [which we call the STZ (Sensation-Transition Zone)]. Thus, the A-waves above the STZ differed from those below the STZ, as did the sensations. Study of the psychophysical differences in auditory and visual stimuli, as shown in this paper, suggest that different stimulus features are detected, and remembered, at stimulation rates above and below STZ. Conclusion: The results motivate us to speculate that: 1) Stimulus repetition-rates above the STZ generate waveforms which underlie "fusion-memory" whereas rates below the STZ show neuronal processing in which "flash-memory" occurs. 2) These two memories differ in both duration and mechanism, though they may occur in the same cell groups. 3) The differences in neuronal processing may be related to "figure" and "ground" differentiation. We conclude that A-waves provide a novel measure of neural processes that can be detected on the human scalp, and speculate that they may extend clinical applications of evoked response recordings. If A-waves also occur in animals, it is likely that A-waves will provide new methods for

Maximal violation of Bell's inequalities for algebras of observables in tangent spacetime regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Summers, S.J.; Werner, R.

1988-01-01

We continue our study of Bell's inequalities and quantum field theory. It is shown in considerably broader generality than in our previous work that algebras of local observables corresponding to complementary wedge regions maximally violate Bell's inequality in all normal states. Pairs of commuting von Neumann algebras that maximally violate Bell's inequalities in all normal states are characterized. Algebras of local observables corresponding to tangent double cones are shown to maximally violate Bell's inequalities in all normal states in dilatation-invariant theories, in free quantum field models, and in a class of interacting models. Further, it is proven that such algebras are not split in any theory with an ultraviolet scaling limit

What Are We Drinking? Beverages Shown in Adolescents' Favorite Television Shows.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenberg, Marla E; Larson, Nicole I; Gollust, Sarah E; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

2017-05-01

Media use has been shown to contribute to poor dietary intake; however, little attention has been paid to programming content. The portrayal of health behaviors in television (TV) programming contributes to social norms among viewers, which have been shown to influence adolescent behavior. This study reports on a content analysis of beverages shown in a sample of TV shows popular with a large, diverse group of adolescents, with attention to the types of beverages and differences across shows and characters. Favorite TV shows were assessed in an in-school survey in 2010. Three episodes of each of the top 25 shows were analyzed, using a detailed coding instrument. Beverage incidents (ie, beverage shown or described) were recorded. Beverage types included milk, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), diet beverages, juice, water, alcoholic drinks, and coffee. Characters were coded with regard to gender, age group, race, and weight status. Shows were rated for a youth, general, or adult audience. χ 2 tests were used to compare the prevalence of each type of beverage across show ratings (youth, general, adult), and to compare characteristics of those involved in each type of beverage incident. Beverage incidents were common (mean=7.4 incidents/episode, range=0 to 25). Alcohol was the most commonly shown (38.8%); milk (5.8%) and juice (5.8%) were least common; 11.0% of incidents included SSBs. Significant differences in all types of beverage were found across characters' age groups. Almost half of young adults' (49.2%) or adults' (42.0%) beverage incidents included alcohol. Beverages are often portrayed on TV shows viewed by adolescents, and common beverages (alcohol, SSBs) may have adverse consequences for health. The portrayal of these beverages likely contributes to social norms regarding their desirability; nutrition and health professionals should talk with youth about TV portrayals to prevent the adoption of unhealthy beverage behaviors. Copyright © 2017 Academy of

What are we drinking? Beverages shown in adolescents’ favorite TV shows

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenberg, Marla E.; Larson, Nicole I.; Gollust, Sarah E.; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

2016-01-01

Background Media use has been shown to contribute to poor dietary intake; however, little attention has been paid to programming content. The portrayal of health behaviors in television (TV) programming contributes to social norms among viewers, which have been shown to influence adolescent behavior. Objective This study reports on a content analysis of beverages shown in a sample of TV shows popular with a large, diverse group of adolescents, with attention to the types of beverages and differences across shows and characters. Design Favorite TV shows were assessed in an in-school survey in 2010. Three episodes of each of the top 25 shows were analyzed using a detailed coding instrument. Key measures Beverage incidents (i.e. beverage shown or described) were recorded. Beverage types included milk, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), diet beverages, juice, water, alcoholic drinks and coffee. Characters were coded with regards to gender, age group, race, and weight status. Shows were rated for a youth, general or adult audience. Statistical analyses Chi-square tests were used to compare the prevalence of each type of beverage across show ratings (youth, general, adult), and to compare characteristics of those involved in each type of beverage incident. Results Beverage incidents were common (mean=7.4 incidents/episode, range=0–25). Alcohol was the most commonly shown (38.8%); milk (5.8%) and juice (5.8%) were least common; 11.0% of incidents included SSB. Significant differences in all types of beverage were found across age groups. Almost half of young adults’ (49.2%) or adults’ (42.0%) beverage incidents included alcohol. Conclusions Beverages are often portrayed on TV shows viewed by adolescents, and common beverages (alcohol, SSB) may have adverse consequences for health. The portrayal of these beverages likely contributes to social norms regarding their desirability; nutrition and health professionals should talk with youth about TV portrayals to prevent the

A method for acetylcholinesterase staining of brain sections previously processed for receptor autoradiography.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, M M; Hammock, E A D; Young, L J

2004-02-01

Receptor autoradiography using selective radiolabeled ligands allows visualization of brain receptor distribution and density on film. The resolution of specific brain regions on the film often can be difficult to discern owing to the general spread of the radioactive label and the lack of neuroanatomical landmarks on film. Receptor binding is a chemically harsh protocol that can render the tissue virtually unstainable by Nissl and other conventional stains used to delineate neuroanatomical boundaries of brain regions. We describe a method for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining of slides previously processed for receptor binding. AChE staining is a useful tool for delineating major brain nuclei and tracts. AChE staining on sections that have been processed for receptor autoradiography provides a direct comparison of brain regions for more precise neuroanatomical description. We report a detailed thiocholine protocol that is a modification of the Koelle-Friedenwald method to amplify the AChE signal in brain sections previously processed for autoradiography. We also describe several temporal and experimental factors that can affect the density and clarity of the AChE signal when using this protocol.

Impulsivity moderates the relationship between previous quit failure and cue-induced craving.

Science.gov (United States)

Erblich, Joel; Michalowski, Alexandra

2015-12-01

Poor inhibitory control has been shown to be an important predictor of relapse to a number of drugs, including nicotine. Indeed, smokers who exhibit higher levels of impulsivity are thought to have impaired regulation of urges to smoke, and previous research has suggested that impulsivity may moderate cue-induced cigarette cravings. To that end, we conducted a study to evaluate the interplay between failed smoking cessation, cue-induced craving, and impulsivity. Current smokers (n=151) rated their cigarette cravings before and after laboratory to exposure to smoking cues, and completed questionnaires assessing impulsivity and previous failed quit attempts. Findings indicated that shorter duration of previous failed quit attempts was related to higher cue-induced cigarette craving, especially among smokers with higher levels of impulsivity. Results underscore the importance of considering trait impulsivity as a factor in better understanding the management of cue-induced cravings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recurrent Forbush decreases and relationship between active regions and M-regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, G.N.; Kaul, C.L.; Razdan, H.; Bemalkhedkar, M.M.

1977-01-01

Recurrent Forbush decreases and recurrent geomagnetic disturbances have been attributed to the solar M-regions, which are sources of high velocity solar plasma streams. A study of recurrent Forbush decreases for the period 1966-75 has been made to examine any possible relationship of M-regions with solar active regions. It is shown that at the onset of the recurrent Forbush decrease at earth, there is a high probability of encountering a class of active regions at central meridian of the sun which give rise to flares of importance >= 28/3N. These active regions are found to be long-lasting and to have large areas as well as high Hsub(α)-intensities. Other active regions, producing flares of only lower importance, are distributed randomly on the sun with respect to the onset of a recurrent Forbush decrease. Using the quasiradial hypervelocity approximation, the base of the leading edge of the high velocity stream, at the onset of a recurrent Forbush decrease at earth, is traced to the solar longitude about 40 deg West of the central meridian. From these results, it is deduced that M-regions are located preferentially to the West of long-lasting, magnetically complex active regions. Earlier studies of the identification of the M-regions on the sun have been re-examined and shown to conform to this positional relationship. A possible mechanism of the development of an M-region to the West of the long-lasting magnetically complex active region is also discussed. (author)

C-Terminus of Progranulin Interacts with the Beta-Propeller Region of Sortilin to Regulate Progranulin Trafficking

OpenAIRE

Zheng, Yanqiu; Brady, Owen A.; Meng, Peter S.; Mao, Yuxin; Hu, Fenghua

2011-01-01

Progranulin haplo-insufficiency is a main cause of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) with TDP-43 aggregates. Previous studies have shown that sortilin regulates progranulin trafficking and is a main determinant of progranulin level in the brain. In this study, we mapped the binding site between progranulin and sortilin. Progranulin binds to the beta-propeller region of sortilin through its C-terminal tail. The C-terminal progranulin fragment is fully sufficient for sortilin binding and...

X-ray-induced specific-locus mutations in the ad-3 region of two-component heterokaryons of Neurospora crass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Serres, F.J.

1990-01-01

More extensive complementation tests than those performed initially on a series of 832 X-ray-induced specific-locus mutations in the adenine-4 (ad-3) region of a two-component heterokaryon (H-12) of Neurospora crassa showed that unexpectedly high frequencies of specific-locus mutations in the ad-3 region have additional, but separate, sites of recessive lethal damage in the immediately adjacent genetic regions. In the present paper, X-ray-induced irreparable ad-3 mutants of the folowing genotypes and numbers (ad-3A ad-3B, ad-3A ad-3B nic-2, and ad-3B nic-2) have also subjected to the same genetic fine structure analysis. These experiments, in the previous and present papers, were designed to determine the extent of the functional inactivation in the ad-3 and immediately adjacent genetic regions in individual mutants classified as presumptive multilocus deletions or multiplelocus mutations. The data in the present paper have shown that in Neurospora crassa most X-ray-induced irreparable mutants of genotype ad-3A ad-3B, ad-3A ad-3B nic-2, and ad-3 nic-2 map as a series of overlapping multilocus deletions. In addition, genetic fine structure analysis has shown that some of the mutants classified, initially, as multilocus deletions, are actually multiple-locus mutations: multilocus deletions with closely linked, and separate, sites of recessive lethal damage with a wide variety of genotyes. Combining data from the present experiments with previously published date, the frequency of multiple-locus mutations among X-ray-induced gene/point mutations and multilocus deletions in the ad-3 region is 6.2%. (author). 27 refs.; 4 figs.; 7 tab

Most recent developments in combined radium and high voltage therapy of uterine tumours as shown by the results obtained at the municipal hospital Passau

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moos, G.

1987-01-01

It was the aim of the study described here to review data on healing successes achieved in malignant changes of the uterus. The results obtained were analysed on the bais of tumour stage and, in particular, the radiation dose actually administered. It could be shown that the treatment results currently achieved at this clinic are in keeping with relevant patient data collected previously or by other centres. (orig./MG) [de

Recurrent forbush decreases and the relationship between active regions and M regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, G.N.; Kaul, C.L.; Razdan, H.; Bemalkhedkar, M.M.

1978-01-01

Recurrent Forbush decreases and recurrent geomagnetic disturbances have been attributed to the solar M regions, which are sources of high-velocity solar plasma streams. A study of recurrent Forbush decreases for the period 1966--1975 has been made to examine any possible relationship of M regions with solar active regions. It is shown that at the onset of the recurrent Forbush decrease at the earth there is a high probability of encountering a class of active regions at the central meridian of the sun which give rise to flares of importance > or =2B/3N. These active regions are found to be long lasting and to have large areas as well as high Hα intensities. Other active regions, producing flares of lower importance, are distributed randomly on the sun with respect to the onset of a recurrent Forbush decrease. By using the quasi-radial hypervelocity approximation the base of the leading edge of the high-velocity stream at the onset of a recurrent Forbush decrease at the earth is traced to the solar longitude about 40 0 west of the central meridan. From these results it is deduced that M regions are located preferentially to the west of long-lasting magnetically complex active regions. Earlier studies of the identification of the M regions on the sun have been reexamined and shown to conform to this positional relationship. A possible mechanism of the development of an M region to the west of the long-lasting magnetically complex active region is also discussed

Regional seasonal warming anomalies and land-surface feedbacks

Science.gov (United States)

Coffel, E.; Horton, R. M.

2017-12-01

Significant seasonal variations in warming are projected in some regions, especially central Europe, the southeastern U.S., and central South America. Europe in particular may experience up to 2°C more warming during June, July, and August than in the annual mean, enhancing the risk of extreme summertime heat. Previous research has shown that heat waves in Europe and other regions are tied to seasonal soil moisture variations, and that in general land-surface feedbacks have a strong effect on seasonal temperature anomalies. In this study, we show that the seasonal anomalies in warming are also due in part to land-surface feedbacks. We find that in regions with amplified warming during the hot season, surface soil moisture levels generally decline and Bowen ratios increase as a result of a preferential partitioning of incoming energy into sensible vs. latent. The CMIP5 model suite shows significant variability in the strength of land-atmosphere coupling and in projections of future precipitation and soil moisture. Due to the dependence of seasonal warming on land-surface processes, these inter-model variations influence the projected summertime warming amplification and contribute to the uncertainty in projections of future extreme heat.

Females use self-referent cues to avoid mating with previous mates.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivy, Tracie M; Weddle, Carie B; Sakaluk, Scott K

2005-12-07

Females of many species mate repeatedly throughout their lives, often with many different males (polyandry). Females can secure genetic benefits by maximizing their diversity of mating partners, and might be expected, therefore, to forego matings with previous partners in favour of novel males. Indeed, a female preference for novel mating partners has been shown in several taxa, but the mechanism by which females distinguish between novel males and previous mates remains unknown. We show that female crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) mark males with their own unique chemical signatures during mating, enabling females to recognize prior mates in subsequent encounters and to avoid remating with them. Because self-referent chemosensory cues provide females with a simple, but reliable mechanism of identifying individuals with whom they have mated without requiring any special cognitive ability, they may be a widespread means by which females across a broad range of animal mating systems maximize the genetic benefits of polyandry.

Regional patterns and proximal causes of the recent snowpack decline in the Rocky Mountains, U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Pederson, Gregory T.; Betancourt, Julio L.; McCabe, Gregory J.

2013-01-01

We used a first-order, monthly snow model and observations to disentangle seasonal influences on 20th century,regional snowpack anomalies in the Rocky Mountains of western North America, where interannual variations in cool-season (November–March) temperatures are broadly synchronous, but precipitation is typically antiphased north to south and uncorrelated with temperature. Over the previous eight centuries, regional snowpack variability exhibits strong, decadally persistent north-south (N-S) antiphasing of snowpack anomalies. Contrary to the normal regional antiphasing, two intervals of spatially synchronized snow deficits were identified. Snow deficits shown during the 1930s were synchronized north-south by low cool-season precipitation, with spring warming (February–March) since the 1980s driving the majority of the recent synchronous snow declines, especially across the low to middle elevations. Spring warming strongly influenced low snowpacks in the north after 1958, but not in the south until after 1980. The post-1980, synchronous snow decline reduced snow cover at low to middle elevations by ~20% and partly explains earlier and reduced streamflow and both longer and more active fire seasons. Climatologies of Rocky Mountain snowpack are shown to be seasonally and regionally complex, with Pacific decadal variability positively reinforcing the anthropogenic warming trend.

Recent evolution of a novel begomovirus causing tomato leaf curl disease in the Al-Batinah region of Oman.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Akhtar J; Akhtar, Sohail; Singh, Achuit K; Al-Shehi, Adel A; Al-Matrushi, Abdulrahman M; Ammara, Ume; Briddon, Rob W

2014-03-01

For last two decades, begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae) have been a major constraint for tomato production in Oman, particularly in the Al-Batinah region, the major agricultural area of Oman. Farms in the Al-Batinah region were surveyed during January-March and November-December in 2012 and January-February in 2013. Leaf samples of tomato plants showing typical leaf curl disease symptoms were collected and analyzed for begomoviruses. Out of fifteen begomovirus clones sequenced, seven were shown to be tomato yellow leaf curl virus strain Oman (TYLCV-OM); three, chili leaf curl virus strain Oman (ChLCV-OM); and one, tomato leaf curl Oman virus (ToLCOMV) - viruses that have previously been shown to occur in Oman. Four sequences were shown to have relatively low percent identity values to known begomoviruses, with the highest (86 %) to isolates of pepper leaf curl Lahore virus, indicating that these should be included in a new species, for which the name "Tomato leaf curl Al Batinah virus" (ToLCABV) is proposed. Although the betasatellite tomato leaf curl betasatellite (ToLCB; 7 full-length sequences isolated) was identified with some isolates of ChLCV-OM, TYLCV-OM and ToLCOMV, it was not identified in association with any of the ToLCABV isolates. Analysis of the sequences of the TYLCV-OM and ToLCOMV isolates characterized here did not show them to differ significantly from previously characterized isolates of these viruses. The three isolates of ChLCV-OM characterized were shown to have a recombination pattern distinct from earlier characterized isolates. ToLCABV was shown to have resulted from recombination between ChLCV-OM and ToLCOMV. A clone of ToLCABV was infectious by Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation to Nicotiana benthamiana and tomato, inducing symptoms typical of those seen in tomato in the field. Additionally, ToLCABV was shown to be able to interact in planta with ToLCB, resulting in a change in symptom phenotype, although the betasatellite did not

Microcausality, macrocausality and the physical region (micro)analytic S-matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iagolnitzer, D.

1980-01-01

Recent works on the physical region analytic structure of multiparticle collision amplitudes in relativistic quantum theory are presented. First, the structure that can be expected and which is the expression, in terms of general essential support or microanalyticity properties, of macrocausality and macrocausal factorization, is described. It is shown that, taken together, these properties are equivalent to decompositions of the S-matrix, in bounded parts of the physical region, in terms of generalized Feynman integrals. Derivations of this structure obtained recently for 3 → 3 processes below the four-particle threshold both in S-matrix theory (without recourse to the crucial ad hoc assumption of 'separation of singularities' in unitarity equations used previously) and in axiomatic field theory are then reviewed. It is finally explained how this structure applies in two-dimensional space-time and yields factorization of the multiparticle S-matrix itself for a class of models. (orig.)

GUIDANCE2: accurate detection of unreliable alignment regions accounting for the uncertainty of multiple parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

Sela, Itamar; Ashkenazy, Haim; Katoh, Kazutaka; Pupko, Tal

2015-07-01

Inference of multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) is a critical part of phylogenetic and comparative genomics studies. However, from the same set of sequences different MSAs are often inferred, depending on the methodologies used and the assumed parameters. Much effort has recently been devoted to improving the ability to identify unreliable alignment regions. Detecting such unreliable regions was previously shown to be important for downstream analyses relying on MSAs, such as the detection of positive selection. Here we developed GUIDANCE2, a new integrative methodology that accounts for: (i) uncertainty in the process of indel formation, (ii) uncertainty in the assumed guide tree and (iii) co-optimal solutions in the pairwise alignments, used as building blocks in progressive alignment algorithms. We compared GUIDANCE2 with seven methodologies to detect unreliable MSA regions using extensive simulations and empirical benchmarks. We show that GUIDANCE2 outperforms all previously developed methodologies. Furthermore, GUIDANCE2 also provides a set of alternative MSAs which can be useful for downstream analyses. The novel algorithm is implemented as a web-server, available at: http://guidance.tau.ac.il. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

A regional approach to climate adaptation in the Nile Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. B. Butts

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The Nile Basin is one of the most important shared basins in Africa. Managing and developing the water resources within the basin must not only address different water uses but also the trade-off between developments upstream and water use downstream, often between different countries. Furthermore, decision-makers in the region need to evaluate and implement climate adaptation measures. Previous work has shown that the Nile flows can be highly sensitive to climate change and that there is considerable uncertainty in climate projections in the region with no clear consensus as to the direction of change. Modelling current and future changes in river runoff must address a number of challenges; including the large size of the basin, the relative scarcity of data, and the corresponding dramatic variety of climatic conditions and diversity in hydrological characteristics. In this paper, we present a methodology, to support climate adaptation on a regional scale, for assessing climate change impacts and adaptation potential for floods, droughts and water scarcity within the basin.

Influence investigation of a void region on modeling light propagation in a heterogeneous medium.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Defu; Chen, Xueli; Ren, Shenghan; Qu, Xiaochao; Tian, Jie; Liang, Jimin

2013-01-20

A void region exists in some biological tissues, and previous studies have shown that inaccurate images would be obtained if it were not processed. A hybrid radiosity-diffusion method (HRDM) that couples the radiosity theory and the diffusion equation has been proposed to deal with the void problem and has been well demonstrated in two-dimensional and three-dimensional (3D) simple models. However, the extent of the impact of the void region on the accuracy of modeling light propagation has not been investigated. In this paper, we first implemented and verified the HRDM in 3D models, including both the regular geometries and a digital mouse model, and then investigated the influences of the void region on modeling light propagation in a heterogeneous medium. Our investigation results show that the influence of the region can be neglected when the size of the void is less than a certain range, and other cases must be taken into account.

Localization of the endpoints of deletions in the 5' region of the Duchenne gene using a sequence isolated by chromosome jumping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kenwrick, S J; Smith, T J; England, S; Collins, F; Davies, K E

1988-02-25

The authors have used chromosome jumping technology to move from within a large intron sequence in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene to a region adjacent to exons of the gene. The single copy jump clone, HH1, was used to characterize deletions in patients previously shown to be deleted for DNA markers in the 5' end of the gene. 12 out of 15 such patients have breakpoints which lie between HH1 and the genomic locus J-47. Thus the vast majority of the deletions in these patients have proximal breakpoints in a similar region distal to the 5'end of the gene. HH1 was mapped with respect to the X;1 translocation in a DMD female and was shown to lie at least 80 kb from the starting point of the chromosome jump, HIP25.

Influence of previous administration of trans-phenylcyclopropylamine on radioprotective and hypothermic effects of serotonin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misustova, J.; Hosek, B.; Novak, L.; Kautska, J.

1978-01-01

The influence of a previous administration of trans-phenylcyclopropylamine (t-PCPA) on radioprotective and hypothermic effects of serotonin was studied in male mice of the H strain, which were given t-PCPA in the dose of 4 mg/kg intraperitoneally 2 or 7 hours before application of serotonin (40 mg/kg, i.p.). The time course of protection was studied for exposures to 800 and 900 R. The results have shown that a previous administration of t-PCPA does not alter the short-time protective effect of serotonin, but that it significantly prolongs the time course of protection. The administration of t-PCPA also affects the starting speed and the duration of the serotonin-induced hypothermic reaction. The established correlation between prolongation of the radioprotective and hypothermic effects of serotonin induced by previous application of t-PCPA supplements the results with the existence of mutual relationship between changes of the energetic exchange and radioresistance of the organism. (author)

Effect of previous irradiation of mineral powders on stability of suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazaryan, G.A.; Polushkin, V.A.; Vlasov, A.V.; Tsetlin, B.L.; Chakhoyan, P.A.; TsNII Khlopchatobumazhnoj Promyshlennosti, Moscow)

1984-01-01

One has investigated the influence of the previous irradiation (X-rays and gamma rays) in the viscosity and the aggregative stability of the suspensions of mineral powders (e. g. kaolin, MgO, TiO 2 ) in a number of organic liquids. It has been shown that when the powders have been irradiated at a dose of the order of 10 to 100 Gy, a considerable increase in the stability of suspensions in polar organic liquids is observed. The detected phenomenon is attributed to the formation of additional, positively charged centres on the surface of the particles of mineral substances under the effect of irradiation

Local, Regional or Global?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geisler Asmussen, Christian

to be consistent with models of internationalization that incorporate different assumptions about strategic choice and global competition. Preliminary results show that large multinationals follow home region oriented internationalization paths, although much of the regional effect reported by previous studies...

Dissociation in decision bias mechanism between probabilistic information and previous decision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshiyuki eKaneko

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Target detection performance is known to be influenced by events in the previous trials. It has not been clear, however, whether this bias effect is due to the previous sensory stimulus, motor response, or decision. Also it remains open whether or not the previous trial effect emerges via the same mechanism as the effect of knowledge about the target probability. In the present study, we asked normal human subjects to make a decision about the presence or absence of a visual target. We presented a pre-cue indicating the target probability before the stimulus, and also a decision-response mapping cue after the stimulus so as to tease apart the effect of decision from that of motor response. We found that the target detection performance was significantly affected by the probability cue in the current trial and also by the decision in the previous trial. While the information about the target probability modulated the decision criteria, the previous decision modulated the sensitivity to target-relevant sensory signals (d-prime. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we also found that activation in the left intraparietal sulcus was decreased when the probability cue indicated a high probability of the target. By contrast, activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus was increased when the subjects made a target-present decision in the previous trial, but this change was observed specifically when the target was present in the current trial. Activation in these regions was associated with individual-difference in the decision computation parameters. We argue that the previous decision biases the target detection performance by modulating the processing of target-selective information, and this mechanism is distinct from modulation of decision criteria due to expectation of a target.

Dissociation in decision bias mechanism between probabilistic information and previous decision

Science.gov (United States)

Kaneko, Yoshiyuki; Sakai, Katsuyuki

2015-01-01

Target detection performance is known to be influenced by events in the previous trials. It has not been clear, however, whether this bias effect is due to the previous sensory stimulus, motor response, or decision. Also it remains open whether or not the previous trial effect emerges via the same mechanism as the effect of knowledge about the target probability. In the present study, we asked normal human subjects to make a decision about the presence or absence of a visual target. We presented a pre-cue indicating the target probability before the stimulus, and also a decision-response mapping cue after the stimulus so as to tease apart the effect of decision from that of motor response. We found that the target detection performance was significantly affected by the probability cue in the current trial and also by the decision in the previous trial. While the information about the target probability modulated the decision criteria, the previous decision modulated the sensitivity to target-relevant sensory signals (d-prime). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we also found that activation in the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) was decreased when the probability cue indicated a high probability of the target. By contrast, activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was increased when the subjects made a target-present decision in the previous trial, but this change was observed specifically when the target was present in the current trial. Activation in these regions was associated with individual-difference in the decision computation parameters. We argue that the previous decision biases the target detection performance by modulating the processing of target-selective information, and this mechanism is distinct from modulation of decision criteria due to expectation of a target. PMID:25999844

Relative impact of previous disturbance history on the likelihood of additional disturbance in the Northern United States Forest Service USFS Region

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, A. J.

2015-12-01

The Landsat archive is increasingly being used to detect trends in the occurrence of forest disturbance. Beyond information about the amount of area affected, forest managers need to know if and how disturbance regimes change. The National Forest System (NFS) has developed a comprehensive plan for carbon monitoring that requires a detailed temporal mapping of forest disturbances across 75 million hectares. A long-term annual time series that shows the timing, extent, and type of disturbance beginning in 1990 and ending in 2011 has been prepared for several USFS Regions, including the Northern Region. Our mapping starts with an automated detection of annual disturbances using a time series of historical Landsat imagery. Automated detections are meticulously inspected, corrected and labeled using various USFS ancillary datasets. The resulting maps of verified disturbance show the timing and types are fires, harvests, insect activity, disease, and abiotic (wind, drought, avalanche) damage. Also, the magnitude of each change event is modeled in terms of the proportion of canopy cover lost. The sequence of disturbances for every pixel since 1990 has been consistently mapped and is available across the entirety of NFS. Our datasets contain sufficient information to describe the frequency of stand replacement, as well as how often disturbance results in only a partial loss of canopy. This information provides empirical insight into how an initial disturbance may predispose a stand to further disturbance, and it also show a climatic signal in the occurrence of processes such as fire and insect epidemics. Thus, we have the information to model the likelihood of occurrence of certain disturbances after a given event (i.e. if we have a fire in the past what does that do to the likelihood of occurrence of insects in the future). Here, we explore if previous disturbance history is a reliable predictor of additional disturbance in the future and we present results of applying

Localization of the endpoints of deletions in the 5' region of the Duchenne gene using a sequence isolated by chromosome jumping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kenwrick, S.J.; Smith, T.J.; England, S.; Collins, F.; Davies, K.E.

1988-02-25

The authors have used chromosome jumping technology to move from within a large intron sequence in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene to a region adjacent to exons of the gene. The single copy jump clone, HH1, was used to characterize deletions in patients previously shown to be deleted for DNA markers in the 5' end of the gene. 12 out of 15 such patients have breakpoints which lie between HH1 and the genomic locus J-47. Thus the vast majority of the deletions in these patients have proximal breakpoints in a similar region distal to the 5'end of the gene. HH1 was mapped with respect to the X;1 translocation in a DMD female and was shown to lie at least 80 kb from the starting point of the chromosome jump, HIP25.

Discovery of previously unidentified genomic disorders from the duplication architecture of the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, Andrew J; Hansen, Sierra; Selzer, Rebecca R; Cheng, Ze; Regan, Regina; Hurst, Jane A; Stewart, Helen; Price, Sue M; Blair, Edward; Hennekam, Raoul C; Fitzpatrick, Carrie A; Segraves, Rick; Richmond, Todd A; Guiver, Cheryl; Albertson, Donna G; Pinkel, Daniel; Eis, Peggy S; Schwartz, Stuart; Knight, Samantha J L; Eichler, Evan E

2006-09-01

Genomic disorders are characterized by the presence of flanking segmental duplications that predispose these regions to recurrent rearrangement. Based on the duplication architecture of the genome, we investigated 130 regions that we hypothesized as candidates for previously undescribed genomic disorders. We tested 290 individuals with mental retardation by BAC array comparative genomic hybridization and identified 16 pathogenic rearrangements, including de novo microdeletions of 17q21.31 found in four individuals. Using oligonucleotide arrays, we refined the breakpoints of this microdeletion, defining a 478-kb critical region containing six genes that were deleted in all four individuals. We mapped the breakpoints of this deletion and of four other pathogenic rearrangements in 1q21.1, 15q13, 15q24 and 17q12 to flanking segmental duplications, suggesting that these are also sites of recurrent rearrangement. In common with the 17q21.31 deletion, these breakpoint regions are sites of copy number polymorphism in controls, indicating that these may be inherently unstable genomic regions.

77 FR 64400 - Order of Succession for HUD Region VII

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [FR-5550-D-10] Order of Succession for HUD Region VII... Offices (Region VII). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for HUD Region...). This publication supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for Region VII. Accordingly, the...

An Exact Confidence Region in Multivariate Calibration

OpenAIRE

Mathew, Thomas; Kasala, Subramanyam

1994-01-01

In the multivariate calibration problem using a multivariate linear model, an exact confidence region is constructed. It is shown that the region is always nonempty and is invariant under nonsingular transformations.

California Wintertime Precipitation in Regional and Global Climate Models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caldwell, P M

2009-04-27

In this paper, wintertime precipitation from a variety of observational datasets, regional climate models (RCMs), and general circulation models (GCMs) is averaged over the state of California (CA) and compared. Several averaging methodologies are considered and all are found to give similar values when model grid spacing is less than 3{sup o}. This suggests that CA is a reasonable size for regional intercomparisons using modern GCMs. Results show that reanalysis-forced RCMs tend to significantly overpredict CA precipitation. This appears to be due mainly to overprediction of extreme events; RCM precipitation frequency is generally underpredicted. Overprediction is also reflected in wintertime precipitation variability, which tends to be too high for RCMs on both daily and interannual scales. Wintertime precipitation in most (but not all) GCMs is underestimated. This is in contrast to previous studies based on global blended gauge/satellite observations which are shown here to underestimate precipitation relative to higher-resolution gauge-only datasets. Several GCMs provide reasonable daily precipitation distributions, a trait which doesn't seem tied to model resolution. GCM daily and interannual variability is generally underpredicted.

Fiscal competition and regional differentiation

OpenAIRE

Justman, Moshe; Thisse, Jacques-François; Van Ypersele, Tanguy

2001-01-01

Regions can benefit by offering infrastructure services that are differentiated. Competition between regions over potential investors is then less direct, allowing them to realize greater benefits from external investors. The two polar cases of full and incomplete information about investors' needs are studied. In both cases, there is regional differentiation. However, fiscal competition is efficient in the former case but not in the latter. Finally, it is shown that free entry in the loc...

Regional labour market dynamics in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broersma, Lourens; van Dijk, J.

This article analyzes the response of regional labor markets in the Netherlands to region-specific labor demand shocks. Previous studies show remarkable differences in response between regions in European countries and regions in the United States. The analysis shows that, in Dutch regions, the

Estimation of regional mass anomalies from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) over Himalayan region

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, R.; Singh, S. K.; Rajawat, A. S.; Ajai

2014-11-01

Time-variable gravity changes are caused by a combination of postglacial rebound, redistribution of water and snow/ice on land and as well as in the ocean. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission, launched in 2002, provides monthly average of the spherical harmonic co-efficient. These spherical harmonic co-efficient describe earth's gravity field with a resolution of few hundred kilometers. Time-variability of gravity field represents the change in mass over regional level with accuracies in cm in terms of Water Equivalent Height (WEH). The WEH reflects the changes in the integrated vertically store water including snow cover, surface water, ground water and soil moisture at regional scale. GRACE data are also sensitive towards interior strain variation, surface uplift and surface subsidence cover over a large area. GRACE data was extracted over the three major Indian River basins, Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, in the Himalayas which are perennial source of fresh water throughout the year in Northern Indian Plain. Time series analysis of the GRACE data was carried out from 2003-2012 over the study area. Trends and amplitudes of the regional mass anomalies in the region were estimated using level 3 GRACE data product with a spatial resolution at 10 by 10 grid provided by Center for Space Research (CSR), University of Texas at Austin. Indus basin has shown a subtle decreasing trend from 2003-2012 however it was observed to be statistically insignificant at 95 % confidence level. Ganga and Brahmaputra basins have shown a clear decreasing trend in WEH which was also observed to be statistically significant. The trend analysis over Ganga and Brahamputra basins have shown an average annual change of -1.28 cm and -1.06 cm in terms of WEH whereas Indus basin has shown a slight annual change of -0.07 cm. This analysis will be helpful to understand the loss of mass in terms of WEH over Indian Himalayas and will be crucial for hydrological and

Genetic diversity of the HLA-G coding region in Amerindian populations from the Brazilian Amazon: a possible role of natural selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendes-Junior, C T; Castelli, E C; Meyer, D; Simões, A L; Donadi, E A

2013-12-01

HLA-G has an important role in the modulation of the maternal immune system during pregnancy, and evidence that balancing selection acts in the promoter and 3'UTR regions has been previously reported. To determine whether selection acts on the HLA-G coding region in the Amazon Rainforest, exons 2, 3 and 4 were analyzed in a sample of 142 Amerindians from nine villages of five isolated tribes that inhabit the Central Amazon. Six previously described single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified and the Expectation-Maximization (EM) and PHASE algorithms were used to computationally reconstruct SNP haplotypes (HLA-G alleles). A new HLA-G allele, which originated in Amerindian populations by a crossing-over event between two widespread HLA-G alleles, was identified in 18 individuals. Neutrality tests evidenced that natural selection has a complex part in the HLA-G coding region. Although balancing selection is the type of selection that shapes variability at a local level (Native American populations), we have also shown that purifying selection may occur on a worldwide scale. Moreover, the balancing selection does not seem to act on the coding region as strongly as it acts on the flanking regulatory regions, and such coding signature may actually reflect a hitchhiking effect.

SRSF1-3 contributes to diversification of the immunoglobulin variable region gene by promoting accumulation of AID in the nucleus

OpenAIRE

Kawaguchi, Yuka; Nariki, Hiroaki; Kawamoto, Naoko; Kanehiro, Yuichi; Miyazaki, Satoshi; Suzuki, Mari; Magari, Masaki; Tokumitsu, Hiroshi; Kanayama, Naoki

2017-01-01

　Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is essential for diversification of the Ig variable region (IgV). AID is excluded from the nucleus, where it normally functions. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for regulating AID localization remain to be elucidated. The SR-protein splicing factor SRSF1 is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein, a splicing isoform of which called SRSF1-3, has previously been shown to contribute to IgV diversification in chicken DT40 cells. In this stu...

Regional greenhouse climate effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, J.; Rind, D.; Delgenio, A.; Lacis, A.; Lebedeff, S.; Prather, M.; Ruedy, R.; Karl, T.

1990-01-01

The authors discuss the impact of an increasing greenhouse effect on three aspects of regional climate: droughts, storms and temperature. A continuous of current growth rates of greenhouse gases causes an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts in their climate model simulations, with the greatest impacts in broad regions of the subtropics and middle latitudes. But the greenhouse effect enhances both ends of the hydrologic cycle in the model, that is, there is an increased frequency of extreme wet situations, as well as increased drought. Model results are shown to imply that increased greenhouse warming will lead to more intense thunderstorms, that is, deeper thunderstorms with greater rainfall. Emanual has shown that the model results also imply that the greenhouse warming leads to more destructive tropical cyclones. The authors present updated records of observed temperatures and show that the observations and model results, averaged over the globe and over the US, are generally consistent. The impacts of simulated climate changes on droughts, storms and temperature provide no evidence that there will be regional winners if greenhouse gases continue to increase rapidly

Regionalism in Services : A Study of ASEAN

OpenAIRE

Gootiiz, Batshur; Mattoo, Aaditya

2015-01-01

Can regionalism do what multilateralism has so far failed to do—promote greater openness of services markets? Although previous research has pointed to the wider and deeper legal commitments under regional agreements as proof that it can, no previous study has assessed the impact of such agreements on applied policies. This paper focuses on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where ...

Premature deaths attributed to source-specific BC emissions in six urban US regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, Matthew D; Henze, Daven K; Capps, Shannon L; Hakami, Amir; Zhao, Shunliu; Resler, Jaroslav; Carmichael, Gregory R; Stanier, Charles O; Baek, Jaemeen; Sandu, Adrian; Russell, Armistead G; Nenes, Athanasios; Pinder, Rob W; Napelenok, Sergey L; Bash, Jesse O; Percell, Peter B; Chai, Tianfeng

2015-01-01

Recent studies have shown that exposure to particulate black carbon (BC) has significant adverse health effects and may be more detrimental to human health than exposure to PM 2.5 as a whole. Mobile source BC emission controls, mostly on diesel-burning vehicles, have successfully decreased mobile source BC emissions to less than half of what they were 30 years ago. Quantification of the benefits of previous emissions controls conveys the value of these regulatory actions and provides a method by which future control alternatives could be evaluated. In this study we use the adjoint of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to estimate highly-resolved spatial distributions of benefits related to emission reductions for six urban regions within the continental US. Emissions from outside each of the six chosen regions account for between 7% and 27% of the premature deaths attributed to exposure to BC within the region. While we estimate that nonroad mobile and onroad diesel emissions account for the largest number of premature deaths attributable to exposure to BC, onroad gasoline is shown to have more than double the benefit per unit emission relative to that of nonroad mobile and onroad diesel. Within the region encompassing New York City and Philadelphia, reductions in emissions from large industrial combustion sources that are not classified as EGUs (i.e., non-EGU) are estimated to have up to triple the benefits per unit emission relative to reductions to onroad diesel sectors, and provide similar benefits per unit emission to that of onroad gasoline emissions in the region. While onroad mobile emissions have been decreasing in the past 30 years and a majority of vehicle emission controls that regulate PM focus on diesel emissions, our analysis shows the most efficient target for stricter controls is actually onroad gasoline emissions. (letter)

ole of Women in Darfur Region

African Journals Online (AJOL)

inter-communal conflicts in Darfur region of western Sudan. The region is .... has not been adequately researched previously, secondary sources are not available ..... increasingly becoming settled farmers or urban residents, looking forward to.

The effects of anticholinergic drugs on regional cerebral blood flow, and oxygen metabolism in previously untreated patients with Parkinson's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obara, Satoko; Takahashi, Satoshi; Yonezawa, Hisashi; Sato, Yoshitomo

1998-01-01

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and oxygen metabolism (rCMRO 2 ) were measured using the steady-state 15 O technique and positron emission tomography (PET) in six previously untreated patients with Parkinson's disease before and after trihexyphenidyl (THP) treatment. The patients comprised of 4 men and 2 women with Hoehn-Yahr stage II-III. Their ages at the onset of the study ranged from 46 to 57 years (mean±SD, 51.8±3.7) and the duration of the illness ranged from 10 to 48 months (mean±SD, 28.8±15.5). The PET study, assessments of the disability and cognitive function were undergone twice. The first time assessments were done was when the patients were not receiving any drugs, and the second time was one to three months after administration of 6 mg THP. All patients showed clinical improvement after THP treatment. The mean disability score of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale decreased from 35.1 (SD±11.3) to 25.7 (SD±11.6). The cognitive function assessed by Hasegawa's dementia rating scale-revised, Mini-Mental State Examination, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, were not significantly different before and after the THP treatment. After the THP treatment, rCBF and rCMRO 2 decreased significantly in the striatum (about 15%) and all cerebral cortices (about 10%) on both sides contralateral and ipsilateral to the predominantly symptomatic limbs. We conclude that an anticholinergic THP decreases the rCBF and rCMRO 2 significantly in the cerebral cortices without cognitive impairment in early untreated patients with Parkinson's disease. (author)

The Approximate Capacity Region of the Symmetric $K$-user Gaussian Interference Channel with Strong Interference

KAUST Repository

Chaaban, Anas

2016-03-01

The symmetric K-user interference channel is studied with the goal of characterizing its capacity region in the strong interference regime within a constant gap. The achievable rate region of a scheme combining rate-splitting at the transmitters and interference alignment and successive decoding/computation at the receivers is derived. Next it is shown that this scheme achieves the so-called greedy-max corner points of the capacity region within a constant gap. By combining this result with previous results by Ordentlich et al. on the sum-capacity of the symmetric interference channel, a constant gap characterization of the capacity region for the strong interference regime is obtained. This leads to the first approximate characterization of the capacity region of the symmetric K-user IC. Furthermore, a new scheme that achieves the sum-capacity of the channel in the strong interference regime within a constant gap is also proposed, and the corresponding gap is calculated. The advantage of the new scheme is that it leads to a characterization within a constant gap without leaving an outage set contrary to the scheme by Ordentlich et al..

The Approximate Capacity Region of the Symmetric $K$-user Gaussian Interference Channel with Strong Interference

KAUST Repository

Chaaban, Anas; Sezgin, Aydin

2016-01-01

The symmetric K-user interference channel is studied with the goal of characterizing its capacity region in the strong interference regime within a constant gap. The achievable rate region of a scheme combining rate-splitting at the transmitters and interference alignment and successive decoding/computation at the receivers is derived. Next it is shown that this scheme achieves the so-called greedy-max corner points of the capacity region within a constant gap. By combining this result with previous results by Ordentlich et al. on the sum-capacity of the symmetric interference channel, a constant gap characterization of the capacity region for the strong interference regime is obtained. This leads to the first approximate characterization of the capacity region of the symmetric K-user IC. Furthermore, a new scheme that achieves the sum-capacity of the channel in the strong interference regime within a constant gap is also proposed, and the corresponding gap is calculated. The advantage of the new scheme is that it leads to a characterization within a constant gap without leaving an outage set contrary to the scheme by Ordentlich et al..

Verbal Working Memory Performance Correlates with Regional White Matter Structures in the Frontoparietal Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Takeuchi, Hikaru; Taki, Yasuyuki; Sassa, Yuko; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Fukushima, Ai; Kawashima, Ryuta

2011-01-01

Working memory is the limited capacity storage system involved in the maintenance and manipulation of information over short periods of time. Previous imaging studies have suggested that the frontoparietal regions are activated during working memory tasks; a putative association between the structure of the frontoparietal regions and working…

Productive Regions: Criteria and Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vlasyuk L. I.

2012-03-01

Full Text Available An official statistical dataset for 80 territorial subjects of the Russian Federation for 2000, 2007 and 2009 has proved the hypothesis that, under the neoclassical concept, the resources move to regions with the highest marginal productivity of the factors of production, which leads to the accumulation of investment resources, while providing financial and social efficiency. Based on cluster analysis by three performance criteria, productive regions are identified, which are dominated by regions productive in the extraction of minerals. It is shown that the stability of the factors’ distribution in space determines the current and future specialization of regional economies

How do Dutch regional labour markets adjust to demand shocks?

OpenAIRE

Broersma, Lourens; Dijk, Jouke van

2002-01-01

This paper analyses the response of regional labour markets in The Netherlands to region specific labour demand shocks. Whereas previous studies analyse only average patterns of all regions in a country, this paper provides also a more in debt analysis of within country differences in labour market adjustment processes. Previous studies show remarkable differences in response between regions in European countries and regions in the United States. The analysis in the present paper shows that i...

9/11, Act II: a fine-grained analysis of regional variations in traffic fatalities in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaissmaier, Wolfgang; Gigerenzer, Gerd

2012-12-01

Terrorists can strike twice--first, by directly killing people, and second, through dangerous behaviors induced by fear in people's minds. Previous research identified a substantial increase in U.S. traffic fatalities subsequent to the September 11 terrorist attacks, which were accounted for as due to a substitution of driving for flying, induced by fear of dread risks. Here, we show that this increase in fatalities varied widely by region, a fact that was best explained by regional variations in increased driving. Two factors, in turn, explained these variations in increased driving. The weaker factor was proximity to New York City, where stress reactions to the attacks were previously shown to be greatest. The stronger factor was driving opportunity, which was operationalized both as number of highway miles and as number of car registrations per inhabitant. Thus, terrorists' second strike exploited both fear of dread risks and, paradoxically, an environmental structure conducive to generating increased driving, which ultimately increased fatalities.

Preoperative screening: value of previous tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Macpherson, D S; Snow, R; Lofgren, R P

1990-12-15

To determine the frequency of tests done in the year before elective surgery that might substitute for preoperative screening tests and to determine the frequency of test results that change from a normal value to a value likely to alter perioperative management. Retrospective cohort analysis of computerized laboratory data (complete blood count, sodium, potassium, and creatinine levels, prothrombin time, and partial thromboplastin time). Urban tertiary care Veterans Affairs Hospital. Consecutive sample of 1109 patients who had elective surgery in 1988. At admission, 7549 preoperative tests were done, 47% of which duplicated tests performed in the previous year. Of 3096 previous results that were normal as defined by hospital reference range and done closest to the time of but before admission (median interval, 2 months), 13 (0.4%; 95% CI, 0.2% to 0.7%), repeat values were outside a range considered acceptable for surgery. Most of the abnormalities were predictable from the patient's history, and most were not noted in the medical record. Of 461 previous tests that were abnormal, 78 (17%; CI, 13% to 20%) repeat values at admission were outside a range considered acceptable for surgery (P less than 0.001, frequency of clinically important abnormalities of patients with normal previous results with those with abnormal previous results). Physicians evaluating patients preoperatively could safely substitute the previous test results analyzed in this study for preoperative screening tests if the previous tests are normal and no obvious indication for retesting is present.

Entrepreneurship and regional development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, Sabine

This literature review examines how entrepreneurship and regional development has been previously addressed theoretically and empirically. Regional Science and Entrepreneurship are two fields with their own distinct literature's. The question is therefore, how do these two fields talk about...... the respective other? What are the commonalities and differences? The purpose of this article is to create an analytical synthesis by combining the insights of the two literature's in order to gain a fuller understanding of the relation between entrepreneurship and regional development....

Problems of regional innovation strategy forming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. M. Golova

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The author considered problems and contradictions of modern innovation policy in Russia. It is shown, that at present time regions are removed from management of science-technical complex and spatial priorities are not produced. It is a serious factor of risk for conservation perspectives of innovation development for Russia. With taking into account of world experience main districts of rise effects regional police were formulated. It is underlined, that creation conditions for transformation of regional authorities in active subjects of innovation policy is necessary condition for building vital innovation system. It is shown, that state innovation policy must be constructed at combination of next principles: a support science-technical potential of regions — generators of innovation and creation conditions for its realization; b using of innovations for evening-out disproportions of social-economic development between regions; c widening powers and financial possibilities of regions at management of innovation climate. Methodical approaches for making effective mechanisms of management of innovation processes of territory are opened. Typology of Russian regions with high and middle degree of innovation climate is proposed, which takes level of science and innovation potential of territory and also degree of comfort of social-economic conditions for development of innovation activity are offered. Peculiarities of innovation strategy for different types of regions are defined. This typology may be used for substantiation spatial priorities of innovation strategy of Russia.

Functional MRI of the visual cortex and visual testing in patients with previous optic neuritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langkilde, Annika Reynberg; Frederiksen, J.L.; Rostrup, Egill

2002-01-01

of the activated area and the signal change following ON, and compared the results with results of neuroophthalmological testing. We studied nine patients with previous acute ON and 10 healthy persons served as controls using fMRI with visual stimulation. In addition to a reduced activated volume, patients showed...... a reduced blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal increase and a greater asymmetry in the visual cortex, compared with controls. The volume of visual cortical activation was significantly correlated to the result of the contrast sensitivity test. The BOLD signal increase correlated significantly......The volume of cortical activation as detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the visual cortex has previously been shown to be reduced following optic neuritis (ON). In order to understand the cause of this change, we studied the cortical activation, both the size...

Power plant instrumentation and control. Innovations shown at the Interkama '99 trade fair

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullemeyer, M.; Fritz, P.

2000-01-01

At the Interkama '99 trade fair, innovative software and hardware solutions for the power industry 'from power plant to the plug' were shown. The report mentions the companies and explains their new developments and systems. (orig./CB) [de

REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH TOURISM. THE CASE OF REGION WEST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragoi Ionut

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The regional development should aim to correlate and integrate tourism among the other integrative parts of the regional and local development, taking into account the fact that a region’s prosperity as effect of tourism development may be shown clearly in several stages: on the spot (as a result of direct consumption of the tourist product, on short term (through continuous absorption of the work-force and encouraging the welcoming commerce and in the long run (concentrating capital for investment in the general infrastructure and the one of tourism, in structures of reception for tourism and in the development of urban services. The analysis of intra-regional disparities as part of the economic growth at the level of Region West starts off with the idea that each component county has a different landscape, which favored or inhibited their economic growth; in the same time, each component county has its own specific, which can be promoted through tourism, inducing in time a regional income, and respectively, a social-economic and cultural growth of less developed areas.

The frequency of previously undetectable deletions involving 3' Exons of the PMS2 gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughn, Cecily P; Baker, Christine L; Samowitz, Wade S; Swensen, Jeffrey J

2013-01-01

Lynch syndrome is characterized by mutations in one of four mismatch repair genes, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, or PMS2. Clinical mutation analysis of these genes includes sequencing of exonic regions and deletion/duplication analysis. However, detection of deletions and duplications in PMS2 has previously been confined to Exons 1-11 due to gene conversion between PMS2 and the pseudogene PMS2CL in the remaining 3' exons (Exons 12-15). We have recently described an MLPA-based method that permits detection of deletions of PMS2 Exons 12-15; however, the frequency of such deletions has not yet been determined. To address this question, we tested for 3' deletions in 58 samples that were reported to be negative for PMS2 mutations using previously available methods. All samples were from individuals whose tumors exhibited loss of PMS2 immunohistochemical staining without concomitant loss of MLH1 immunostaining. We identified seven samples in this cohort with deletions in the 3' region of PMS2, including three previously reported samples with deletions of Exons 13-15 (two samples) and Exons 14-15. Also detected were deletions of Exons 12-15, Exon 13, and Exon 14 (two samples). Breakpoint analysis of the intragenic deletions suggests they occurred through Alu-mediated recombination. Our results indicate that ∼12% of samples suspected of harboring a PMS2 mutation based on immunohistochemical staining, for which mutations have not yet been identified, would benefit from testing using the new methodology. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Deadly heat waves projected in the densely populated agricultural regions of South Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Im, Eun-Soon; Pal, Jeremy S; Eltahir, Elfatih A B

2017-08-01

The risk associated with any climate change impact reflects intensity of natural hazard and level of human vulnerability. Previous work has shown that a wet-bulb temperature of 35°C can be considered an upper limit on human survivability. On the basis of an ensemble of high-resolution climate change simulations, we project that extremes of wet-bulb temperature in South Asia are likely to approach and, in a few locations, exceed this critical threshold by the late 21st century under the business-as-usual scenario of future greenhouse gas emissions. The most intense hazard from extreme future heat waves is concentrated around densely populated agricultural regions of the Ganges and Indus river basins. Climate change, without mitigation, presents a serious and unique risk in South Asia, a region inhabited by about one-fifth of the global human population, due to an unprecedented combination of severe natural hazard and acute vulnerability.

Cometary water-group ions in the region surrounding Comet Giacobini-Zinner - Distribution functions and bulk parameter estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Staines, K.; Balogh, A.; Cowley, S. W. H.; Richardson, I. G.; Sanderson, T. R.; Tsurutani, B. T.

1991-01-01

The bulk parameters (number density and thermal energy density) of cometary water-group ions in the region surrounding Comet Giacobini-Zinner have been derived using data from the EPAS instrument on the ICE spacecraft. The derivation is based on the assumption that the pick-up ion distribution function is isotropic in the frame of the bulk flow, an approximation which has previously been shown to be reasonable within about 400,000 km of the comet nucleus along the spacecraft trajectory. The transition between the pick-up and mass-loaded regions occurs at the cometary shock, which was traversed at a cometocentric distance of about 100,000 km along the spacecraft track. Examination of the ion distribution functions in this region, transformed to the bulk flow frame, indicates the occurrence of a flattened distribution in the vicinity of the local pick-up speed, and a steeply falling tail at speeds above, which may be approximated as an exponential in ion speed.

[Eng] Voting for Parties or for Candidates? The Trade-Off Between Party and Personal Representation in Spanish Regional and Local Elections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Barberá

2010-01-01

Full Text Available When voters cast their ballot, are they choosing a candidate or a party? Electoral systems have a significant impact on how this question is answered in each country. As previous literature has shown, some electoral rules foster a more personal representation, while others strengthen the intermediary role of parties. In this paper I maintain that there exists a trade-off between these two types of representation. To empirically verify its existence and how it works, I have chosen local and regional elections in Spain as a case study. Given that they take place simultaneously under similar electoral systems, they can be considered a natural experiment for the study of this trade-off, which allows me to overcome the potential problems of endogeneity present in previous studies. By measuring the significance of ideological closeness and candidate evaluations in voters? decisions at each level, it is shown that the importance of personal representation increases in local elections at the expense of a less frequent use of ideological proximity as an informational shortcut, thus confirming the existence of the trade-off.

Enriched and depleted characters of the Amnay Ophiolite upper crustal section and the regionally heterogeneous nature of the South China Sea mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Perez, Americus d. C.; Faustino-Eslava, Decibel V.; Yumul, Graciano P.; Dimalanta, Carla B.; Tamayo, Rodolfo A.; Yang, Tsanyao Frank; Zhou, Mei-Fu

2013-03-01

The volcanic section of the Middle Oligocene Amnay Ophiolite in Mindoro, Philippines has previously been shown to be of normalmid-oceanic ridge basalt (NMORB) composition. Here we report for the first time an enriched mantle component that is additionally recorded in this crustal section. New whole rock major and trace element data are presented for nine mafic volcanic rocks from a section of the ophiolite that has not been previously examined. These moderately evolved tholeiitic basalts were found to have resulted from the bulk mixing of ˜10% ocean island basalt components with depleted mantle. Drawing together various geochemical characteristics reported for different rock suites taken as representatives of the South China Sea crust, including the enriched MORB (EMORB) and NMORB of the East Taiwan Ophiolite, the NMORB from previous studies of the Amnay Ophiolite and the younger ocean floor eruptives of the Scarborough Seamount-Reed Bank region, a veined mantle model is proposed for the South China Sea mantle. The NMORB magmatic products are suggested to have been derived from the more depleted portions of the mantle whereas the ocean island basalt (OIB) and EMORB-type materials from the mixing of depleted and veined/enriched mantle regions.

38 CFR 3.370 - Pulmonary tuberculosis shown by X-ray in active service.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Pulmonary tuberculosis... Rating Considerations Relative to Specific Diseases § 3.370 Pulmonary tuberculosis shown by X-ray in... connection for pulmonary tuberculosis. When under consideration, all available service department films and...

Assembling the Setaria italica L. Beauv. genome into nine chromosomes and insights into regions affecting growth and drought tolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Kevin J; Lu, Mei-Yeh Jade; Yang, Kai-Jung; Li, Mengyun; Teng, Yuchuan; Chen, Shihmay; Ku, Maurice S B; Li, Wen-Hsiung

2016-10-13

The diploid C 4 plant foxtail millet (Setaria italica L. Beauv.) is an important crop in many parts of Africa and Asia for the vast consumption of its grain and ability to grow in harsh environments, but remains understudied in terms of complete genomic architecture. To date, there have been only two genome assembly and annotation efforts with neither assembly reaching over 86% of the estimated genome size. We have combined de novo assembly with custom reference-guided improvements on a popular cultivar of foxtail millet and have achieved a genome assembly of 477 Mbp in length, which represents over 97% of the estimated 490 Mbp. The assembly anchors over 98% of the predicted genes to the nine assembled nuclear chromosomes and contains more functional annotation gene models than previous assemblies. Our annotation has identified a large number of unique gene ontology terms related to metabolic activities, a region of chromosome 9 with several growth factor proteins, and regions syntenic with pearl millet or maize genomic regions that have been previously shown to affect growth. The new assembly and annotation for this important species can be used for detailed investigation and future innovations in growth for millet and other grains.

Functional MRI of the visual cortex and visual testing in patients with previous optic neuritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langkilde, Annika Reynberg; Frederiksen, J.L.; Rostrup, Egill

2002-01-01

to both the results of the contrast sensitivity test and to the Snellen visual acuity. Our results indicate that fMRI is a useful method for the study of ON, even in cases where the visual acuity is severely impaired. The reduction in activated volume could be explained as a reduced neuronal input......The volume of cortical activation as detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the visual cortex has previously been shown to be reduced following optic neuritis (ON). In order to understand the cause of this change, we studied the cortical activation, both the size...... of the activated area and the signal change following ON, and compared the results with results of neuroophthalmological testing. We studied nine patients with previous acute ON and 10 healthy persons served as controls using fMRI with visual stimulation. In addition to a reduced activated volume, patients showed...

Foreign labor and regional labor markets: aggregate and disaggregate impact on growth and wages in Danish regions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Torben Dall; Jensen, Peter Sandholt

2013-01-01

non-negative effects on the job opportunities for Danish workers in regional labor markets, whereas the evidence of a regional wage growth effect is mixed. We also present disaggregated results focusing on regional heterogeneity of business structures, skill levels and backgrounds of foreign labor....... The results are interpreted within a specific Danish labor market context and the associated regional outcomes. This adds to previous findings and emphasizes the importance of labor market institutions for the effect of foreign labor on regional employment growth....

The effects of anticholinergic drugs on regional cerebral blood flow, and oxygen metabolism in previously untreated patients with Parkinson`s disease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Obara, Satoko; Takahashi, Satoshi; Yonezawa, Hisashi; Sato, Yoshitomo [Iwate Medical Univ., Morioka (Japan). School of Medicine

1998-12-01

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and oxygen metabolism (rCMRO{sub 2}) were measured using the steady-state {sup 15}O technique and positron emission tomography (PET) in six previously untreated patients with Parkinson`s disease before and after trihexyphenidyl (THP) treatment. The patients comprised of 4 men and 2 women with Hoehn-Yahr stage II-III. Their ages at the onset of the study ranged from 46 to 57 years (mean{+-}SD, 51.8{+-}3.7) and the duration of the illness ranged from 10 to 48 months (mean{+-}SD, 28.8{+-}15.5). The PET study, assessments of the disability and cognitive function were undergone twice. The first time assessments were done was when the patients were not receiving any drugs, and the second time was one to three months after administration of 6 mg THP. All patients showed clinical improvement after THP treatment. The mean disability score of Unified Parkinson`s Disease Rating Scale decreased from 35.1 (SD{+-}11.3) to 25.7 (SD{+-}11.6). The cognitive function assessed by Hasegawa`s dementia rating scale-revised, Mini-Mental State Examination, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, were not significantly different before and after the THP treatment. After the THP treatment, rCBF and rCMRO{sub 2} decreased significantly in the striatum (about 15%) and all cerebral cortices (about 10%) on both sides contralateral and ipsilateral to the predominantly symptomatic limbs. We conclude that an anticholinergic THP decreases the rCBF and rCMRO{sub 2} significantly in the cerebral cortices without cognitive impairment in early untreated patients with Parkinson`s disease. (author)

Organic contaminant removal efficiency of sodium bentonite/clay (BC) mixtures in high permeability regions utilizing reclaimed wastewater: A meso-scale study

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Yang; Li, Yunkai; Ning, Zigong; Li, Pengxiang; Yang, Peiling; Liu, Chengcheng; Liu, Zhongwei; Xu, Feipeng; Hynds, Paul Dylan

2018-03-01

Wastewater reclamation now represents an effective measure for sustainable water resource management in arid regions, however wastewater components (organic micropollutants) may potentially impact local ecological and/or human health. Previous studies have shown that sodium bentonite/natural clay (BC) mixes may be used to effectively reduce riverbed infiltration in regions characterized by excessively high hydraulic conductivity. Accordingly, the current study sought to investigate the contaminant removal efficiency (Re) of several BC mass ratios in simulated dry riverbeds. Results indicate that the measured Re of NH4+-N, CODcr and BOD5 increased in concurrence with an increasing sodium bentonite ratio, up to a maximum Re of 97.4% (NH4+-N), 55.2% (CODcr), and 51.5% (BOD5). The primary contaminant removal site was shown to be the infiltration-reducing (BC) layer, accounting for approximately 40%, 60%, and 70% of NH4+-N, CODcr and BOD5 removal, respectively. Conversely, the removal efficiency of NO3-N was found to be low (managing recharge of non-potable aquifers with reclaimed wastewater.

Alternative S2 Hinge Regions of the Myosin Rod Affect Myofibrillar Structure and Myosin Kinetics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, Mark S.; Dambacher, Corey M.; Knowles, Aileen F.; Braddock, Joan M.; Farman, Gerrie P.; Irving, Thomas C.; Swank, Douglas M.; Bernstein, Sanford I.; Maughan, David W.; (RPI); (IIT); (SDSU); (Vermont)

2009-07-01

The subfragment 2/light meromyosin 'hinge' region has been proposed to significantly contribute to muscle contraction force and/or speed. Transgenic replacement of the endogenous fast muscle isovariant hinge A (exon 15a) in Drosophila melanogaster indirect flight muscle with the slow muscle hinge B (exon 15b) allows examination of the structural and functional changes when only this region of the myosin molecule is different. Hinge B was previously shown to increase myosin rod length, increase A-band and sarcomere length, and decrease flight performance compared to hinge A. We applied additional measures to these transgenic lines to further evaluate the consequences of modifying this hinge region. Structurally, the longer A-band and sarcomere lengths found in the hinge B myofibrils appear to be due to the longitudinal addition of myosin heads. Functionally, hinge B, although a significant distance from the myosin catalytic domain, alters myosin kinetics in a manner consistent with this region increasing myosin rod length. These structural and functional changes combine to decrease whole fly wing-beat frequency and flight performance. Our results indicate that this hinge region plays an important role in determining myosin kinetics and in regulating thick and thin filament lengths as well as sarcomere length.

Coulomb excitation of $^{182-184}$ Hg: Shape coexistence in the neutron-deficient lead region

CERN Multimedia

We put forward a study of the interplay between individual nucleon behavior and collective degrees of freedom in the nucleus, as manifested in shape coexistence in the neutron-deficient lead region. As a first step of this experimental campaign, we propose to perform Coulomb excitation on light mercury isotopes to probe their excited states and determine transitional and diagonal E2 matrix elements, especially reducing the current uncertainties. The results from previous Coulomb excitation measurements in this mass region performed with 2.85 MeV/u beams from REX-ISOLDE have shown the feasibility of these experiments. Based on our past experience and the results obtained, we propose a detailed study of the $^{182-184}$Hg nuclei, that exhibit a pronounced mixing between 2 low-lying excited states of apparently different deformation character, using the higher energy beams from HIE-ISOLDE which are crucial to reach our goal. The higher beam energy should result in an increased sensitivity with respect to the qua...

Does a leaf absorb radiation in the near infrared (780-900 nm) region? A new approach to quantifying optical reflection, absorption and transmission of leaves.

Science.gov (United States)

Merzlyak, Mark N; Chivkunova, Olga B; Melø, T B; Naqvi, K Razi

2002-01-01

The following question is addressed here: do healthy leaves absorb, as the spectra published over the last 50 years indicate, some 5-20% of incident radiation in the 780-900 nm region? The answer is found to be negative, and previous findings result from incomplete collection of the transmitted light by the detection system (even when the leaf is placed next to, but outside, the entrance port of an integrating sphere). A simple remedy for this inherent flaw in the experimental arrangement is applied successfully to leaves (of 10 unrelated species) differing in thickness, age and pigment content. The study has shown that, from an optical standpoint, a leaf tissue is a highly scattering material, and the infinite reflectance of a leaf is exceedingly sensitive to trace amounts of absorbing components. It is shown that water contributes, in a thick leaf (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana), an easily detectable signal even in the 780-900 nm region. The practical benefits resulting from improved measurements of leaf spectra are pointed out.

Nighttime ionospheric D region: Equatorial and nonequatorial

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, Neil R.; McRae, Wayne M.

2009-08-01

Nighttime ionospheric D region parameters are found to be generally well modeled by the traditional H‧ and β as used by Wait and by the U.S. Navy in their Earth-ionosphere VLF radio waveguide programs. New comparisons with nonequatorial, mainly all-sea VLF path observations reported over several decades are shown to be consistent with the previously determined height H‧ ˜ 85.0 km and sharpness β ˜ 0.63 km-1. These paths include NPM (Hawaii) to Washington, D. C., Omega Hawaii and NLK (Seattle) to Japan, NWC (N.W. Australia) to Madagascar, and NBA (Panama) to Colorado. In marked contrast, transequatorial path observations (even when nearly all-sea) are found to be often not well modeled: for example, for Omega Japan and JJI (Japan) to Dunedin, New Zealand, the observed amplitudes are markedly lower than those which would be expected from H‧ ˜ 85.0 km and β ˜ 0.63 km-1, or any other realistic values of H‧ and β. Other transequatorial observations compared with modeling include NWC to Japan, Omega Hawaii to Dunedin, and NPM (Hawaii) to Dunedin. It is suggested that the effects of irregularities in the equatorial electrojet may extend down into the nighttime D region and so account for the observed equatorial VLF perturbations through scattering or mode conversion.

Regional Seismic Amplitude Modeling and Tomography for Earthquake-Explosion Discrimination

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, W. R.; Pasyanos, M. E.; Matzel, E.; Gok, R.; Sweeney, J.; Ford, S. R.; Rodgers, A. J.

2008-12-01

Empirically explosions have been discriminated from natural earthquakes using regional amplitude ratio techniques such as P/S in a variety of frequency bands. We demonstrate that such ratios discriminate nuclear tests from earthquakes using closely located pairs of earthquakes and explosions recorded on common, publicly available stations at test sites around the world (e.g. Nevada, Novaya Zemlya, Semipalatinsk, Lop Nor, India, Pakistan, and North Korea). We are examining if there is any relationship between the observed P/S and the point source variability revealed by longer period full waveform modeling. For example, regional waveform modeling shows strong tectonic release from the May 1998 India test, in contrast with very little tectonic release in the October 2006 North Korea test, but the P/S discrimination behavior appears similar in both events using the limited regional data available. While regional amplitude ratios such as P/S can separate events in close proximity, it is also empirically well known that path effects can greatly distort observed amplitudes and make earthquakes appear very explosion-like. Previously we have shown that the MDAC (Magnitude Distance Amplitude Correction, Walter and Taylor, 2001) technique can account for simple 1-D attenuation and geometrical spreading corrections, as well as magnitude and site effects. However in some regions 1-D path corrections are a poor approximation and we need to develop 2-D path corrections. Here we demonstrate a new 2-D attenuation tomography technique using the MDAC earthquake source model applied to a set of events and stations in both the Middle East and the Yellow Sea Korean Peninsula regions. We believe this new 2-D MDAC tomography has the potential to greatly improve earthquake-explosion discrimination, particularly in tectonically complex regions such as the Middle East.

Biological characterization of HIV type 1 envelope V3 regions from mothers and infants associated with perinatal transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Matala, E; Hahn, T; Yedavalli, V R; Ahmad, N

2001-12-10

Our previous study has shown that the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope V3 region minor genotypes of infected mothers were transmitted to their infants and predominated initially as a homogeneous virus population in the infants (Ahmad N, Baroudy BM, Baker RC, et al.: J Virol 1995;69:1001-1012). Here we have characterized the biological properties, including cellular tropism, replication efficiency, cytopathic effects, and coreceptor utilization, of these V3 region isolates from mothers and infants. Nineteen V3 region sequences from three mother-infant pairs, including the minor variants of mothers and the major variants of infants as characterized in our previous study, were reciprocally inserted into an HIV-1 infectious molecular clone, pNL4-3, and chimeric viruses were generated by DNA transfections into HeLa cells. Equal amounts of chimeric viruses were then used to infect T lymphocyte cell lines (A3.01 and MT-2), primary blood lymphocytes (PBLs), primary monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), and coreceptor cell lines. We found that the V3 region chimeras failed to replicate in T lymphocyte cell lines but replicated in MDMs and PBLs, albeit at reduced levels compared with R5 laboratory HIV-1 strains. In addition, the V3 region chimeras were able to infect the HOS-CD4(+)CCR5(+) cell line, suggesting CCR5 coreceptor utilization. Moreover, the V3 region chimeras were unable to induce syncytia in MT-2 cells, indicative of non-syncytium-inducing (NSI) phenotypes. In conclusion, the HIV-1 minor genotypes of infected mothers with macrophage-tropic and NSI or R5 phenotypes are transmitted to their infants and are initially maintained with the same properties.

Switch region for pathogenic structural change in conformational disease and its prediction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Liu

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Many diseases are believed to be related to abnormal protein folding. In the first step of such pathogenic structural changes, misfolding occurs in regions important for the stability of the native structure. This destabilizes the normal protein conformation, while exposing the previously hidden aggregation-prone regions, leading to subsequent errors in the folding pathway. Sites involved in this first stage can be deemed switch regions of the protein, and can represent perfect binding targets for drugs to block the abnormal folding pathway and prevent pathogenic conformational changes. In this study, a prediction algorithm for the switch regions responsible for the start of pathogenic structural changes is introduced. With an accuracy of 94%, this algorithm can successfully find short segments covering sites significant in triggering conformational diseases (CDs and is the first that can predict switch regions for various CDs. To illustrate its effectiveness in dealing with urgent public health problems, the reason of the increased pathogenicity of H5N1 influenza virus is analyzed; the mechanisms of the pandemic swine-origin 2009 A(H1N1 influenza virus in overcoming species barriers and in infecting large number of potential patients are also suggested. It is shown that the algorithm is a potential tool useful in the study of the pathology of CDs because: (1 it can identify the origin of pathogenic structural conversion with high sensitivity and specificity, and (2 it provides an ideal target for clinical treatment.

Legal drug content in music video programs shown on Australian television on saturday mornings.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Rebecca; Croager, Emma; Pratt, Iain S; Khoo, Natalie

2013-01-01

To examine the extent to which legal drug references (alcohol and tobacco) are present in the music video clips shown on two music video programs broadcast in Australia on Saturday mornings. Further, to examine the music genres in which the references appeared and the dominant messages associated with the references. Music video clips shown on the music video programs 'Rage' (ABC TV) and [V] 'Music Video Chart' (Channel [V]) were viewed over 8 weeks from August 2011 to October 2011 and the number of clips containing verbal and/or visual drug references in each program was counted. The songs were classified by genre and the dominant messages associated with drug references were also classified and analysed. A considerable proportion of music videos (approximately one-third) contained drug references. Alcohol featured in 95% of the music videos that contained drug references. References to alcohol generally associated it with fun and humour, and alcohol and tobacco were both overwhelmingly presented in contexts that encouraged, rather than discouraged, their use. In Australia, Saturday morning is generally considered a children's television viewing timeslot, and several broadcaster Codes of Practice dictate that programs shown on Saturday mornings must be appropriate for viewing by audiences of all ages. Despite this, our findings show that music video programs aired on Saturday mornings contain a considerable level of drug-related content.

A Green Bank Telescope Survey of Large Galactic H II Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, L. D.; Armentrout, W. P.; Luisi, Matteo; Bania, T. M.; Balser, Dana S.; Wenger, Trey V.

2018-02-01

As part of our ongoing H II Region Discovery Survey (HRDS), we report the Green Bank Telescope detection of 148 new angularly large Galactic H II regions in radio recombination line (RRL) emission. Our targets are located at a declination of δ > -45^\\circ , which corresponds to 266^\\circ > {\\ell }> -20^\\circ at b=0^\\circ . All sources were selected from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Catalog of Galactic H II Regions, and have infrared angular diameters ≥slant 260\\prime\\prime . The Galactic distribution of these “large” H II regions is similar to that of the previously known sample of Galactic H II regions. The large H II region RRL line width and peak line intensity distributions are skewed toward lower values, compared with that of previous HRDS surveys. We discover seven sources with extremely narrow RRLs 100 {pc}, making them some of the physically largest known H II regions in the Galaxy. This survey completes the HRDS H II region census in the Northern sky, where we have discovered 887 H II regions and more than doubled the size of the previously known census of Galactic H II regions.

PCBs, HCHs and DDTs in cow's milk and soil of pasture from the Irkutsk region, Russia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mamontova, E.A.; Tarasova, E.N.; Mamontov, A.A.; Kuzmin, M.I. [A.P. Vinogradov Inst. of Geochemistry, SB of RAS, Irkutsk (Russian Federation); Chuvashev, I.A. [Inst. of Chemistry, SB of RAS, Irkutsk (Russian Federation); McLachlan, M.S. [Inst. of Applied Environmental Research, Stockholm Univ. (Sweden)

2004-09-15

The main pathway of human exposure to organochlorine compounds is food, especially dairy products. Our previous investigations of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in food produced in the Irkutsk region showed that the average daily intake amounts to 88 pg PCDD/F TEQ per day and 95 pg PCB TEQ per day1. Thus the contribution of PCBs and PCDD/Fs to the total daily intake is 51.7 and 48.3 % respectively. Cow's milk contributes up to 24 % of the daily intake of PCBs, and is exceeded only by fish (64 %). It was shown also that PCDD/F and PCB levels in milk and the daily intake of these compounds depends on the distance of the farms from the largest PCB source in the Irkutsk Region located in the Usol'e-Sibirskoe area. In the previous study milk samples were taken from dairies which collect milk from a lot of farms. The aim of the paper is to investigate the organochlorine contamination in milk from single farms and to see if this is related to the contaminant levels in soil from the farms' pastures.

SECTORIAL DYNAMICS AND THE CONVERGENCE OF REGIONS OF INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Torrejo˜n-Velardiez

2010-03-01

Full Text Available This article uses the Valencian Community (Spain as a case study to analyse, in terms of GDP per person, the convergence of regions of intermediate development with the most advanced ones within the European Union. The obstacles hindering this convergence and the paths the convergence takes are shown not only in the context of a growing interdependence in the world economy but also of European integration. The study clearly demonstrates how convergence only comes about as a result of the creation of employment, while the gap in productivity is getting ever wider. The explanation fundamentally stems from the lack of convergence of the production structure with the more advanced activities which predominate in the most developed regions. With the arrival of the economic crisis from 2007, a reversal has occurred of the process of convergence that had taken place during the previous phase of expansion.

Direct solution of the biharmonic equation on rectangular regions and the Poisson equation on irregular regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buzbee, B.L.; Dorr, F.W.

1974-01-01

The discrete biharmonic equation on a rectangular region and the discrete Poisson equation on an irregular region can be treated as modifications to matrix problems with very special structure. It is shown how to use the direct method of matrix decomposition to formulate an effective numerical algorithm for these problems. For typical applications the operation count is O(N 3 ) for an N x N grid. Numerical comparisons with other techniques are included. (U.S.)

ANALISIS SEKTOR KEUANGAN TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN EKONOMI REGIONAL DI WILAYAH JAWA: PENDEKATAN MODEL LEVINE

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Utami Baroroh

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this study are to analyze the influence of financial development to economic regional growth on Jawa region, using panel of province-level data on Jawa region for the period 2005-2010. The analysis method that used on this paper is panel data regression. The empirical results shown that financial asset and financial credit had a positive influence to economic regional growth on Jawa region, meanwhile third party fund had negative influence to economic regional growth on Jawa region.  The other result shown that individual effect from fixed effect model showed that DKI Jakarta, Banten and East Jawa have potential as the centre of economic growthDOI: 10.15408/etk.v11i2.1892

Cardiorespiratory interactions previously identified as mammalian are present in the primitive lungfish.

Science.gov (United States)

Monteiro, Diana A; Taylor, Edwin W; Sartori, Marina R; Cruz, André L; Rantin, Francisco T; Leite, Cleo A C

2018-02-01

The present study has revealed that the lungfish has both structural and functional features of its system for physiological control of heart rate, previously considered solely mammalian, that together generate variability (HRV). Ultrastructural and electrophysiological investigation revealed that the nerves connecting the brain to the heart are myelinated, conferring rapid conduction velocities, comparable to mammalian fibers that generate instantaneous changes in heart rate at the onset of each air breath. These respiration-related changes in beat-to-beat cardiac intervals were detected by complex analysis of HRV and shown to maximize oxygen uptake per breath, a causal relationship never conclusively demonstrated in mammals. Cardiac vagal preganglionic neurons, responsible for controlling heart rate via the parasympathetic vagus nerve, were shown to have multiple locations, chiefly within the dorsal vagal motor nucleus that may enable interactive control of the circulatory and respiratory systems, similar to that described for tetrapods. The present illustration of an apparently highly evolved control system for HRV in a fish with a proven ancient lineage, based on paleontological, morphological, and recent genetic evidence, questions much of the anthropocentric thinking implied by some mammalian physiologists and encouraged by many psychobiologists. It is possible that some characteristics of mammalian respiratory sinus arrhythmia, for which functional roles have been sought, are evolutionary relics that had their physiological role defined in ancient representatives of the vertebrates with undivided circulatory systems.

Cardiorespiratory interactions previously identified as mammalian are present in the primitive lungfish

Science.gov (United States)

Monteiro, Diana A.; Taylor, Edwin W.; Sartori, Marina R.; Cruz, André L.; Rantin, Francisco T.; Leite, Cleo A. C.

2018-01-01

The present study has revealed that the lungfish has both structural and functional features of its system for physiological control of heart rate, previously considered solely mammalian, that together generate variability (HRV). Ultrastructural and electrophysiological investigation revealed that the nerves connecting the brain to the heart are myelinated, conferring rapid conduction velocities, comparable to mammalian fibers that generate instantaneous changes in heart rate at the onset of each air breath. These respiration-related changes in beat-to-beat cardiac intervals were detected by complex analysis of HRV and shown to maximize oxygen uptake per breath, a causal relationship never conclusively demonstrated in mammals. Cardiac vagal preganglionic neurons, responsible for controlling heart rate via the parasympathetic vagus nerve, were shown to have multiple locations, chiefly within the dorsal vagal motor nucleus that may enable interactive control of the circulatory and respiratory systems, similar to that described for tetrapods. The present illustration of an apparently highly evolved control system for HRV in a fish with a proven ancient lineage, based on paleontological, morphological, and recent genetic evidence, questions much of the anthropocentric thinking implied by some mammalian physiologists and encouraged by many psychobiologists. It is possible that some characteristics of mammalian respiratory sinus arrhythmia, for which functional roles have been sought, are evolutionary relics that had their physiological role defined in ancient representatives of the vertebrates with undivided circulatory systems. PMID:29507882

Involvement of ER Stress in Dysmyelination of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease with PLP1 Missense Mutations Shown by iPSC-Derived Oligodendrocytes

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Yuko Numasawa-Kuroiwa

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD is a form of X-linked leukodystrophy caused by mutations in the proteolipid protein 1 (PLP1 gene. Although PLP1 proteins with missense mutations have been shown to accumulate in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER in disease model animals and cell lines transfected with mutant PLP1 genes, the exact pathogenetic mechanism of PMD has not previously been clarified. In this study, we established induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs from two PMD patients carrying missense mutation and differentiated them into oligodendrocytes in vitro. In the PMD iPSC-derived oligodendrocytes, mislocalization of mutant PLP1 proteins to the ER and an association between increased susceptibility to ER stress and increased numbers of apoptotic oligodendrocytes were observed. Moreover, electron microscopic analysis demonstrated drastically reduced myelin formation accompanied by abnormal ER morphology. Thus, this study demonstrates the involvement of ER stress in pathogenic dysmyelination in the oligodendrocytes of PMD patients with the PLP1 missense mutation.

Clustering potential of agriculture in Lviv region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.A. Tsymbalista

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The paper emphasizes the need to stimulate the development of integration processes in agro-industrial complex of Ukraine. The advantages of the cluster model of integration are shown: along with the growth of competitiveness of agricultural products, it helps to increase the efficiency of inventory management of material flows, as well as to expand opportunities to attract investment and to implement innovation in agricultural production. Clusters also help to reduce transaction costs by establishing an optimal cooperation between the contracting parties. The theoretical essentiality of agro-industrial clusters is studied and a conceptual model of that kind of clusters is shown. The preconditions of clustering of agriculture in Lviv region are analyzed and feasibility of specific methods of statistical analysis to identify localization areas of the potential members of cluster-forming blocks of regional food clusters is verified. Cluster analysis is carried out to identify potential cluster-forming areas in the region in various sectors of agricultural production.

Tests of regional elemental tracers of pollution aerosols. 1. Distinctness of regional signatures, stability during transport, and empirical validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowenthal, D.H.; Wunschel, K.R.; Rahn, K.A.

1988-01-01

The two major requirements for a successful regional tracer system are distinctness of signatures and stability of signatures during transport. Dissimilarity of the five regional signatures from eastern North America is shown by collinearity diagnostics and by apportionment of synthetic samples generated randomly. Stability of regional signatures during transport is shown first by use of tracer elements in coarse and fine aerosol to predict the maximum possible change of ratios from particle-size effects alone and then by examination of actual changes in signatures during transport from the Midwest to Underhill, VT. Two recent empirical validations of the tracer system are presented: qualitative agreement of pulses of mid-western aerosol in Vermont with pulses of perfluorocarbon tracer gas released in Ohio during CAPTEX '83 and reproduction of our three major northeastern and mid-western signatures by other investigators. The tracer system currently uses the seven elements As, Se, Sb, Zn, In, noncrustal Mn, and noncrustal V as measured by instrumental neutron activation

Technical Note: A novel leaf sequencing optimization algorithm which considers previous underdose and overdose events for MLC tracking radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wisotzky, Eric, E-mail: eric.wisotzky@charite.de, E-mail: eric.wisotzky@ipk.fraunhofer.de; O’Brien, Ricky; Keall, Paul J., E-mail: paul.keall@sydney.edu.au [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)

2016-01-15

Purpose: Multileaf collimator (MLC) tracking radiotherapy is complex as the beam pattern needs to be modified due to the planned intensity modulation as well as the real-time target motion. The target motion cannot be planned; therefore, the modified beam pattern differs from the original plan and the MLC sequence needs to be recomputed online. Current MLC tracking algorithms use a greedy heuristic in that they optimize for a given time, but ignore past errors. To overcome this problem, the authors have developed and improved an algorithm that minimizes large underdose and overdose regions. Additionally, previous underdose and overdose events are taken into account to avoid regions with high quantity of dose events. Methods: The authors improved the existing MLC motion control algorithm by introducing a cumulative underdose/overdose map. This map represents the actual projection of the planned tumor shape and logs occurring dose events at each specific regions. These events have an impact on the dose cost calculation and reduce recurrence of dose events at each region. The authors studied the improvement of the new temporal optimization algorithm in terms of the L1-norm minimization of the sum of overdose and underdose compared to not accounting for previous dose events. For evaluation, the authors simulated the delivery of 5 conformal and 14 intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)-plans with 7 3D patient measured tumor motion traces. Results: Simulations with conformal shapes showed an improvement of L1-norm up to 8.5% after 100 MLC modification steps. Experiments showed comparable improvements with the same type of treatment plans. Conclusions: A novel leaf sequencing optimization algorithm which considers previous dose events for MLC tracking radiotherapy has been developed and investigated. Reductions in underdose/overdose are observed for conformal and IMRT delivery.

Regional specific mean expiratory gas flow from Slmsub(Kr) equilibrium inhalation data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamilton, D.; Causer, D.A.; McIntosh, J.A.; Godfrey, K.R.

1985-01-01

A new method of analysing the data available from routine sup(81m) Kr equilibrium inhalation investigations has been developed. The data for analysis are acquired from a gamma camera in the form of a sequential series of images from which multiple breath activity-time curves are generated for eight regions in the lung. The method is based on a description of the behaviour of the radioactive gas in the lung using a mathematical model. Values of specific mean expiratory gas flow, that is mean expiratory gas flow per unit lung volume, are calculated from the application of the model to the expiratory phase only only of a single breath activity-time curve which is generated from the multiple breath activity-time curve using post-acquisition gating. This method overcomes the problem of non-uniform inspiratory concentration of tracer gas experienced in previously reported techniques of analysing inhalation data obtained using poorly soluble radioactive gases. The model is shown, in simulation studies, to be an adequate description of the behaviour of radioactive gas in the lung and the analysis technique is shown, in clinical studies, to be both reproducible and sensitive to disease state. (orig.)

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF INFORMATIONAL SERVICES REGIONAL MARKET EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.N. Korabejnikov

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The peculiarities and priorities of the informational services regional market formation as a part of network model of the economic development are described in this article. The authors present the classification of the factors which have an influence on the effectiveness of the informational services regional market development. Theoretical aspects of the informational services regional market effective development are shown.

Cortical regions involved in the generation of musical structures during improvisation in pianists.

Science.gov (United States)

Bengtsson, Sara L; Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály; Ullén, Fredrik

2007-05-01

Studies on simple pseudorandom motor and cognitive tasks have shown that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and rostral premotor areas are involved in free response selection. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate whether these brain regions are also involved in free generation of responses in a more complex creative behavior: musical improvisation. Eleven professional pianists participated in the study. In one condition, Improvise, the pianist improvised on the basis of a visually displayed melody. In the control condition, Reproduce, the participant reproduced his previous improvisation from memory. Participants were able to reproduce their improvisations with a high level of accuracy, and the contrast Improvise versus Reproduce was thus essentially matched in terms of motor output and sensory feedback. However, the Improvise condition required storage in memory of the improvisation. We therefore also included a condition FreeImp, where the pianist improvised but was instructed not to memorize his performance. To locate brain regions involved in musical creation, we investigated the activations in the Improvise-Reproduce contrast that were also present in FreeImp contrasted with a baseline rest condition. Activated brain regions included the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the presupplementary motor area, the rostral portion of the dorsal premotor cortex, and the left posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus. We suggest that these regions are part of a network involved in musical creation, and discuss their possible functional roles.

Search for substructure in anti pp total cross section in the 2200 MeV mass region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peaslee, D.C.; DeMarzo, C.; Guerriero, L.

1975-01-01

The anti pp total cross section is measured in an apparatus with a small target and high resolution beam in order to supplement previous work by looking for narrow structure that might be hidden in broad-mass bins. One could set limits on the partial widths of bosons coupling to the anti pp system. The product of an unknown production cross section and a partial width was determined. From the data the existence of resolution-sized structure above the smooth fit with the product of cross section and width greater than 7 MeV mb. It can be shown that a Breit--Wigner resonance of spin J coupled to the anti pp system in this region must have partial width GAMMA/sub anti pp/ less than 1.8/(2J + 1) MeV. Also it is found that the broad enhancement observed in the anti pp total cross section persists without modification in an observation with mass resolution six times that of previous work

Migration and regional inequality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peng, Lianqing; Swider, Sarah

2017-01-01

Scholars studying economic inequality in China have maintained that regional inequality and economic divergence across provinces have steadily increased over the past 30 years. New studies have shown that this trend is a statistical aberration; calculations show that instead of quickly and sharply...... rising, regional inequality has actually decreased, and most recently, remained stable. Our study suggests that China’s unique migratory regime is crucial to understanding these findings. We conduct a counterfactual simulation to demonstrate how migration and remittances have mitigated income inequality...... across provinces in order to show that without these processes, we would have seen more of a rise in interprovincial income inequality. We conclude by arguing that inequality in China is still increasing, but it is changing and becoming less place-based. As regional inequality decreases, there are signs...

Environmental monitoring survey of oil and gas fields in Region II in 2009. Summary report; Miljoeovervaaking av olje- og gassfelt i Region II i 2009

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2010-03-15

The oil companies Statoil ASA, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, Total E&P Norge AS, Talisman Energy Norge AS and Marathon Petroleum Norge AS commissioned Section of Applied Environmental Research at UNI RESEARCH AS to undertake the monitoring survey of Region II in 2009. Similar monitoring surveys in Region II have been carried out in 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2006. The survey in 2009 included in total 18 fields: Rev, Varg, Sigyn, Sleipner Vest, Sleipner OEst, Sleipner Alfa Nord, Glitne, Grane, Balder, Ringhorne, Jotun, Vale, Skirne, Byggve, Heimdal, Volve, Vilje og Alvheim. Sampling was conducted from the vessel MV Libas between May 18 and May 27. Samples were collected from in totally 137 sampling sites, of which 15 were regional sampling sites. Samples for chemical analysis were collected at all sites, whereas samples for benthos analysis were collected at 12 fields. As in previous surveys, Region II is divided into natural sub-regions. One sub-region is shallow (77-96 m) sub-region, a central sub-region (107-130 m) and a northern subregion (115-119 m). The sediments of the shallow sub-region had relatively lower content of TOM and pelite and higher content of fine sand than the central and northern sub-regions. Calculated areas of contamination are shown for the sub-regions in Table 1.1. The fields Sigyn, Sleipner Alfa Nord, Glitne, Grane, Balder, Ringhorne, Jotun, Skirne, Byggve, Vilje og Alvheim showed no contamination of THC. At the other fields there were minor changes from 2006. The concentrations of barium increased in the central sub-region from 2006 to 2009, also at fields where no drilling had been undertaken during the last years. The same laboratory and methods are used during the three last regional investigations. The changes in barium concentrations may be due to high variability of barium concentrations in the sediments. This is supported by relatively large variations in average barium concentrations at the regional sampling sites in

Forecasting the development of regional economy on the basis of input — output tables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yury Konstantinovich Mashunin

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The article presents a practical technology of forecasting the development of the regional economy, including the statement of the problem, the construction of a mathematical model, and its implementation. At the constructing of a model, the standard statistical data for the previous period (2011, built on the basis of the table “input — output” are used. A unit of output of final demand, resulting from investments is added. As a result, a model of the regional economy made in the form of a vector mathematical programming problem that takes into account the investment processes in a region is obtained. Its purpose is to maximize the production of final demand in a region (all industries in a region within the constraints of the input-output balance, investments, resource costs and capacities. For solving linear programming problems of vector, methods, based on the principle of normalization criteria and guaranteed result are used. Vector dynamics problem is solved in a specified number of years. The factors taking into account the rate of growth: gross volumes (resources, final demand, investment in every sector of the region are introduced. Numerical implementation of the prediction is shown in the test case economic modeling of Primorsky Krai, including fifteen branches of a three-year period in accordance with the requirements of the Budget Code. Results of the solution include the major economic indicators for a region: gross, gross regional product (GRP, investments (including broken by industry, as well as payroll taxes and other. All these economic indicators are the basis for the formation of budget revenues in a region.

Cophasal regions on the Sun

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kozhevnikov, N I [Moskovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ. (USSR). Gosudarstvennyj Astronomicheskij Inst. ' ' GAISh' '

1977-01-01

The subsequent development of the phenomenological model of the solar convective zone is carried out. The cophasal region, in which unilateral movement of the matter is supposed, is considered. Quantitative relations for kinematic parameters of solar sport groups, agreeing well with the observations, are given. The cophasal regions distribution due to their linear dimensions is obtained. It is shown that the effective depth of the convective zone is found to change with the phase of the activity cycle: less in the minimum and more in the maximum of activity.

Regionalism on the example of Hungary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kovač Terez

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is about the processes of association with the EU in which Hungary took place, and about the demands that should have been fulfilled. It is shown, on the example of Hungary, what progress has taken place in the last 15 years in the area of establishing of regional science and what sort of conclusion can be made for Yugoslavia. The author also deals with the possible functions of sociology in regional research.

Accessibility of second regions of stability in tokamaks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manickam, J.

1985-12-01

Second regions of stability to the ideal ballooning modes have been shown to exist in large-aspect-ratio circular and small-aspect-ratio bean-shaped tokamaks. We report on the existence of these second stability regions in finite-aspect-ratio dee-shaped tokamaks. We also report on the discovery of a second-stable region with respect to the n = 1 external kink mode in a bean-shaped plasma. The role of the shear and current profile in determining these regions of parameter space are discussed. 13 refs., 6 figs.

Accessibility of second regions of stability in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manickam, J.

1985-12-01

Second regions of stability to the ideal ballooning modes have been shown to exist in large-aspect-ratio circular and small-aspect-ratio bean-shaped tokamaks. We report on the existence of these second stability regions in finite-aspect-ratio dee-shaped tokamaks. We also report on the discovery of a second-stable region with respect to the n = 1 external kink mode in a bean-shaped plasma. The role of the shear and current profile in determining these regions of parameter space are discussed. 13 refs., 6 figs

Frequency-dependent changes in the regional amplitude and synchronization of resting-state functional MRI in stroke.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianfang Zhu

Full Text Available Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI has been intensively used to assess alterations of inter-regional functional connectivity in patients with stroke, but the regional properties of brain activity in stroke have not yet been fully investigated. Additionally, no study has examined a frequency effect on such regional properties in stroke patients, although this effect has been shown to play important roles in both normal brain functioning and functional abnormalities. Here we utilized R-fMRI to measure the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF and regional homogeneity (ReHo, two major methods for characterizing the regional properties of R-fMRI, in three different frequency bands (slow-5: 0.01-0.027 Hz; slow-4: 0.027-0.73 Hz; and typical band: 0.01-0.1 Hz in 19 stroke patients and 15 healthy controls. Both the ALFF and ReHo analyses revealed changes in brain activity in a number of brain regions, particularly the parietal cortex, in stroke patients compared with healthy controls. Remarkably, the regions with changed activity as detected by the slow-5 band data were more extensive, and this finding was true for both the ALFF and ReHo analyses. These results not only confirm previous studies showing abnormality in the parietal cortex in patients with stroke, but also suggest that R-fMRI studies of stroke should take frequency effects into account when measuring intrinsic brain activity.

Identification and therapeutic potential of a vitronectin binding region of meningococcal msf.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Darryl J; Griffiths, Natalie J; Borodina, Elena; Andreae, Clio A; Sessions, Richard B; Virji, Mumtaz

2015-01-01

The human pathogen Neisseria meningitides (Nm) attains serum resistance via a number of mechanisms, one of which involves binding to the host complement regulator protein vitronectin. We have shown previously that the Meningococcal surface fibril (Msf), a trimeric autotransporter, binds to the activated form of vitronectin (aVn) to increase Nm survival in human serum. In this study, we aimed to identify the aVn-binding region of Msf to assess its potential as an antigen which can elicit antibodies that block aVn binding and/or possess bactericidal properties. Using several recombinant Msf fragments spanning its surface-exposed region, the smallest aVn-binding recombinants were found to span residues 1-86 and 39-124. The use of further deletion constructs and overlapping recombinant Msf fragments suggested that a region of Msf comprising residues 39-82 may be primarily important for aVn binding and that other regions may also be involved but to a lesser extent. Molecular modelling implicated K66 and K68, conserved in all available Msf sequences, to be involved in the interaction. Recombinant fragments which bound to aVn were able to reduce the survival advantage conveyed by aVn-interaction in serum bactericidal assays. Antibodies raised against one such fragment inhibited aVn binding to Msf. In addition, the antibodies enhanced specific killing of Msf-expressing Nm in a dose-dependent manner. Overall, this study identifies an aVn-binding region of Msf, an adhesin known to impart serum resistance properties to the pathogen; and shows that this region of Msf can elicit antibodies with dual properties which reduce pathogen survival within the host and thus has potential as a vaccine antigen.

Regional tourist industry in context of principles of regional socioeconomic systems self-regulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey Gennadyevich Shelomentsev

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with basic principles of self-regulation of tourist complexes as regional socio-economic systems on the example of Sverdlovsk region. These include the principles of goal setting and the necessary diversity of economic entropy: in this case, these are important for the tourism industry and the human and natural resource and ecological potential. Is it shown how a tourist complex influences the socio-economic development of regional economic systems. In particular, tourism influences some of migration processes. Tourism development strategy in the Russian Federation at the tourist center level is analyzed. The need to develop such a strategy is due to the transition to market relations and, as a consequence, complexity of governmental regulation. It is substantiated that Sverdlovsk region is a subject to following strategy and might be successful in various sectors of tourism: business and congress and exhibition, urban entertainment, family and shopping tourism, sports, medical and recreational tourism.

The Precautionary Principle Has Not Been Shown to Be Incoherent: A Reply to Peterson.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyer-Kassem, Thomas

2017-11-01

In this journal, I have objected to Peterson's 2006 claim that the precautionary principle is an incoherent decision rule. I defend my objections to Peterson's recent replies, and I still claim that the precautionary principle has not been shown to be incoherent. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Environmental monitoring survey of oil and gas fields in Region II in 2009. Summary report; Miljoeovervaaking av olje- og gassfelt i Region II i 2009. Sammendragsrapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2010-03-15

The oil companies Statoil ASA, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, Total E&P Norge AS, Talisman Energy Norge AS and Marathon Petroleum Norge AS commissioned Section of Applied Environmental Research at UNI RESEARCH AS to undertake the monitoring survey of Region II in 2009. Similar monitoring surveys in Region II have been carried out in 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2006. The survey in 2009 included in total 18 fields: Rev, Varg, Sigyn, Sleipner Vest, Sleipner Oest, Sleipner Alfa Nord, Glitne, Grane, Balder, Ringhorne, Jotun, Vale, Skirne, Byggve, Heimdal, Volve, Vilje og Alvheim. Sampling was conducted from the vessel MV Libas between May 18 and May 27. Samples were collected from in totally 137 sampling sites, of which 15 were regional sampling sites. Samples for chemical analysis were collected at all sites, whereas samples for benthos analysis were collected at 12 fields. As in previous surveys, Region II is divided into natural sub-regions. One sub-region is shallow (77-96 m) sub-region, a central sub-region (107-130 m) and a northern subregion (115-119 m). The sediments of the shallow sub-region had relatively lower content of TOM and pelite and higher content of fine sand than the central and northern sub-regions. Calculated areas of contamination are shown for the sub-regions in Table 1.1. The fields Sigyn, Sleipner Alfa Nord, Glitne, Grane, Balder, Ringhorne, Jotun, Skirne, Byggve, Vilje og Alvheim showed no contamination of THC. At the other fields there were minor changes from 2006. The concentrations of barium increased in the central sub-region from 2006 to 2009, also at fields where no drilling had been undertaken during the last years. The same laboratory and methods are used during the three last regional investigations. The changes in barium concentrations may be due to high variability of barium concentrations in the sediments. This is supported by relatively large variations in average barium concentrations at the regional sampling sites in

From the past to the present: Wolf phylogeography and demographic history based on the mitochondrial control region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik Ersmark

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The global distribution of the grey wolf (Canis lupus is a complex assembly consisting of a large number of populations and described subspecies. How these lineages are related to one another is still not fully resolved, largely due to the fact that large geographical regions remain poorly sampled both at the core and periphery of the species’ range. Analyses of ancient wolves have also suffered from uneven sampling, but have shown indications of a major turnover at some point during the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary in northern North America. Here we analyze variation in the mitochondrial control region in 122 contemporary wolves from some of the less studied populations, as well as six samples from the previously unstudied Greenland subspecies (Canis l. orion and two Late Pleistocene samples from Siberia. Together with the publicly available control region sequences of both modern and ancient wolves, this study examines genetic diversity on a wide geographical and temporal scale that includes both Eurasia and North America. We identify 13 new haplotypes, of which the majority is found in northern and eastern Asia. The results show that the Greenland samples are all represented by one haplotype, previously identified in North American wolves, among which this population seems to trace its maternal lineage. The phylogeny and network analyses show a wide spatial distribution of several lineages, but also some clusters with more distinct geographical affiliation. In North America, we find support for an end-Pleistocene population bottleneck through coalescent simulations under an approximate Bayesian framework in contrast to previous studies that suggested an extinction-replacement event. However, we find no support for a similar bottleneck in Eurasia. Overall, this global analysis helps to clarify our understanding of the complex history for wolves in Eurasia and North America.

Northeast Regional Biomass Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Connell, R.A.

1991-11-01

The management structure and program objectives for the Northeast Regional Biomass Program (NRBP) remain unchanged from previous years. Additional funding was provided by the Bonneville Power Administration Regional Biomass Program to continue the publication of articles in the Biologue. The Western Area Power Administration and the Council of Great Lakes Governors funded the project Characterization of Emissions from Burning Woodwaste''. A grant for the ninth year was received from DOE. The Northeast Regional Biomass Steering Committee selected the following four projects for funding for the next fiscal year. (1) Wood Waste Utilization Conference, (2) Performance Evaluation of Wood Systems in Commercial Facilities, (3) Wood Energy Market Utilization Training, (4) Update of the Facility Directory.

Northeast Regional Biomass Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Connell, R.A.

1991-11-01

The management structure and program objectives for the Northeast Regional Biomass Program (NRBP) remain unchanged from previous years. Additional funding was provided by the Bonneville Power Administration Regional Biomass Program to continue the publication of articles in the Biologue. The Western Area Power Administration and the Council of Great Lakes Governors funded the project ''Characterization of Emissions from Burning Woodwaste''. A grant for the ninth year was received from DOE. The Northeast Regional Biomass Steering Committee selected the following four projects for funding for the next fiscal year. (1) Wood Waste Utilization Conference, (2) Performance Evaluation of Wood Systems in Commercial Facilities, (3) Wood Energy Market Utilization Training, (4) Update of the Facility Directory

Open magnetic fields in active regions

Science.gov (United States)

Svestka, Z.; Solodyna, C. V.; Howard, R.; Levine, R. H.

1977-01-01

Soft X-ray images and magnetograms of several active regions and coronal holes are examined which support the interpretation that some of the dark X-ray gaps seen between interconnecting loops and inner cores of active regions are foot points of open field lines inside the active regions. Characteristics of the investigated dark gaps are summarized. All the active regions with dark X-ray gaps at the proper place and with the correct polarity predicted by global potential extrapolation of photospheric magnetic fields are shown to be old active regions, indicating that field opening is accomplished only in a late phase of active-region development. It is noted that some of the observed dark gaps probably have nothing in common with open fields, but are either due to the decreased temperature in low-lying portions of interconnecting loops or are the roots of higher and less dense or cooler loops.

49 CFR 173.23 - Previously authorized packaging.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Previously authorized packaging. 173.23 Section... REQUIREMENTS FOR SHIPMENTS AND PACKAGINGS Preparation of Hazardous Materials for Transportation § 173.23 Previously authorized packaging. (a) When the regulations specify a packaging with a specification marking...

Explaining the Allocation of Regional Structural Funds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Charron, Nicholas

2016-01-01

What regional factors can explain the heterogeneity in Structural Funds distribution to European Union regions? Past studies have shown that aside from the level of economic development and rates of unemployment, other political, and economic factors systematically explain why certain European...... Union regions receive greater funding than others, in particular where there is room for bargaining. In this article, a novel theory is posited which argues that the determination of Structural Funds is based on an interaction between a region’s formal institutions (the level of a regional autonomy......) and informal institutions (its level of quality of government). In cases of low regional autonomy, member states and European Union level actors prefer to allocate greater levels of Funds to regions with lower quality of government in order to increase cohesion. Yet in cases of high regional autonomy, risks...

An fMRI study of neuronal activation in schizophrenia patients with and without previous cannabis use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Else-Marie eLøberg

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have mostly shown positive effects of cannabis use on cognition in patients with schizophrenia, which could reflect lower neurocognitive vulnerability. There are however no studies comparing whether such cognitive differences have neuronal correlates. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare whether patients with previous cannabis use differ in brain activation from patients who has never used cannabis. The patients groups were compared on the ability to up-regulate an effort mode network during a cognitive task and down-regulate activation in the same network during a task-absent condition. Task-present and task-absent brain activation was measured by functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging (fMRI. Twenty-six patients with a DSM-IV and ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia were grouped into a previous cannabis user group and a no-cannabis group. An auditory dichotic listening task with instructions of attention focus on either the right or left ear stimulus was used to tap verbal processing, attention and cognitive control, calculated as an aggregate score. When comparing the two groups, there were remaining activations in the task-present condition for the cannabis group, not seen in the no-cannabis group, while there was remaining activation in the task-absent condition for the no-cannabis group, not seen in the cannabis group. Thus, the patients with previous cannabis use showed increased activation in an effort mode network and decreased activation in the default mode network as compared to the no-cannabis group. It is concluded that the present study show some differences in brain activation to a cognitively challenging task between previous cannabis and no-cannabis schizophrenia patients.

Differential susceptibility of brain regions to tributyltin chloride toxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitra, Sumonto; Siddiqui, Waseem A; Khandelwal, Shashi

2015-12-01

Tributyltin (TBT), a well-known endocrine disruptor, is an omnipresent environmental pollutant and is explicitly used in many industrial applications. Previously we have shown its neurotoxic potential on cerebral cortex of male Wistar rats. As the effect of TBT on other brain regions is not known, we planned this study to evaluate its effect on four brain regions (cerebellum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and striatum). Four-week-old male Wistar rats were gavaged with a single dose of TBT-chloride (TBTC) (10, 20, and 30 mg/kg) and sacrificed on days 3 and 7, respectively. Effect of TBTC on blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and tin (Sn) accumulation were measured. Oxidative stress indexes such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) ratio, lipid peroxidation, and protein carbonylation were analyzed as they play an imperative role in various neuropathological conditions. Since metal catalyzed reactions are a major source of oxidant generation, levels of essential metals like iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and calcium (Ca) were estimated. We found that TBTC disrupted BBB and increased Sn accumulation, both of which appear significantly correlated. Altered metal homeostasis and ROS generation accompanied by elevated lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation indicated oxidative damage which appeared more pronounced in the striatum than in cerebellum, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. This could be associated to the depleted GSH levels in striatum. These results suggest that striatum is more susceptible to TBTC induced oxidative damage as compared with other brain regions under study. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

22 CFR 40.91 - Certain aliens previously removed.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Certain aliens previously removed. 40.91... IMMIGRANTS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT, AS AMENDED Aliens Previously Removed § 40.91 Certain aliens previously removed. (a) 5-year bar. An alien who has been found inadmissible, whether as a result...

The size of the narrow-line-emitting region in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 from emission-line variability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peterson, B. M.; Denney, K. D.; De Rosa, G.; Grier, C. J.; Pogge, R. W.; Kochanek, C. S.; Bentz, M. C.; Vestergaard, M.; Kilerci-Eser, E.; G. Galilei, Università di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 3 I-35122, Padova (Italy))" data-affiliation=" (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia G. Galilei, Università di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 3 I-35122, Padova (Italy))" >Dalla Bontà, E.; G. Galilei, Università di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 3 I-35122, Padova (Italy))" data-affiliation=" (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia G. Galilei, Università di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 3 I-35122, Padova (Italy))" >Ciroi, S.

2013-01-01

The narrow [O III] λλ4959, 5007 emission-line fluxes in the spectrum of the well-studied Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 are shown to vary with time. From this we show that the narrow-line-emitting region has a radius of only 1-3 pc and is denser (n e ∼ 10 5 cm –3 ) than previously supposed. The [O III] line width is consistent with virial motions at this radius given previous determinations of the black hole mass. Since the [O III] emission-line flux is usually assumed to be constant and is therefore used to calibrate spectroscopic monitoring data, the variability has ramifications for the long-term secular variations of continuum and emission-line fluxes, though it has no effect on shorter-term reverberation studies. We present corrected optical continuum and broad Hβ emission-line light curves for the period 1988-2008.

The size of the narrow-line-emitting region in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 from emission-line variability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peterson, B. M.; Denney, K. D.; De Rosa, G.; Grier, C. J.; Pogge, R. W.; Kochanek, C. S. [Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 W 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Bentz, M. C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, 25 Park Place, Suite 610, Atlanta, GA 30303 (United States); Vestergaard, M.; Kilerci-Eser, E. [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); Dalla Bontà, E.; Ciroi, S. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia " G. Galilei," Università di Padova, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 3 I-35122, Padova (Italy)

2013-12-20

The narrow [O III] λλ4959, 5007 emission-line fluxes in the spectrum of the well-studied Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 are shown to vary with time. From this we show that the narrow-line-emitting region has a radius of only 1-3 pc and is denser (n {sub e} ∼ 10{sup 5} cm{sup –3}) than previously supposed. The [O III] line width is consistent with virial motions at this radius given previous determinations of the black hole mass. Since the [O III] emission-line flux is usually assumed to be constant and is therefore used to calibrate spectroscopic monitoring data, the variability has ramifications for the long-term secular variations of continuum and emission-line fluxes, though it has no effect on shorter-term reverberation studies. We present corrected optical continuum and broad Hβ emission-line light curves for the period 1988-2008.

Treatment response with mepolizumab in severe eosinophilic asthma patients with previous omalizumab treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnan, A; Bourdin, A; Prazma, C M; Albers, F C; Price, R G; Yancey, S W; Ortega, H

2016-09-01

We performed post hoc analyses to evaluate the effect of humanized monoclonal antibody mepolizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma previously treated with omalizumab. Data were collected from two randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled studies: MENSA (NCT01691521: 32-week treatment phase) and SIRIUS (NCT01691508: 24-week treatment phase). Active treatment was 75 mg intravenous mepolizumab (MENSA) or 100 mg subcutaneous mepolizumab (MENSA, SIRIUS). Patients had evidence of eosinophilic inflammation ≥150 cells/μl (at screening) or ≥300 cells/μl (during the previous year). Primary outcomes were the rate of exacerbations (MENSA) and the percentage reduction in oral corticosteroid (OCS) dose (SIRIUS). Other outcomes included lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s and morning peak expiratory flow), Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-5), St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) scores, and safety. Overall, 576 patients were included from MENSA and 135 from SIRIUS, with 13% and 33% previously receiving omalizumab, respectively. In MENSA, mepolizumab reduced the rate of exacerbations by 57% (prior omalizumab) and 47% (no prior omalizumab) vs placebo. In SIRIUS, reductions in OCS use were comparable regardless of prior omalizumab use. Despite reducing chronic OCS use, mepolizumab also resulted in similar reductions in exacerbation rate relative to placebo in both subgroups. Asthma control and quality of life improved with mepolizumab vs placebo in both studies independent of prior omalizumab use, as shown by ACQ-5 and SGRQ scores. Adverse events were also comparable irrespective of prior omalizumab use. These post hoc analyses indicate that patients with severe eosinophilic asthma respond positively to mepolizumab regardless of prior use of omalizumab. © 2016 The Authors. Allergy Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sequences within both the 5' untranslated region and the Gag gene are important for efficient encapsidation of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus RNA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, Russell D.; Mustafa, Farah; Lew, Kathy A.; Browning, Mathew T.; Rizvi, Tahir A.

2003-01-01

It has previously been shown that the 5' untranslated leader region (UTR), including about 495 bp of the gag gene, is sufficient for the efficient encapsidation and propagation of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (MPMV) based retroviral vectors. In addition, a deletion upstream of the major splice donor, SD, has been shown to adversely affect MPMV RNA packaging. However, the precise sequence requirement for the encapsidation of MPMV genomic RNA within the 5' UTR and gag remains largely unknown. In this study, we have used a systematic deletion analysis of the 5' UTR and gag gene to define the cis-acting sequences responsible for efficient MPMV RNA packaging. Using an in vivo packaging and transduction assay, our results reveal that the MPMV packaging signal is primarily found within the first 30 bp immediately downstream of the primer binding site. However, its function is dependent upon the presence of the last 23 bp of the 5' UTR and approximately the first 100 bp of the gag gene. Thus, sequences that affect MPMV RNA packaging seem to reside both upstream and downstream of the major splice donor with the downstream region responsible for the efficient functioning of the upstream primary packaging determinant

Taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus citrus based on the nuclear ribosomal dna its region sequence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Y.L.

2015-01-01

The genus Citrus (Aurantioideae, Rutaceae) is the sole source of the citrus fruits of commerce showing high economic values. In this study, the taxonomy and phylogeny of Citrus species is evaluated using sequence analysis of the ITS region of nrDNA. This study is based on 26 plants materials belonging to 22 Citrus species having wild, domesticated, and cultivated species. Through DNA alignment of the ITS sequence, ITS1 and ITS2 regions showed relatively high variations of sequence length and nucleotide among these Citrus species. According to previous six-tribe discrimination theory by Swingle and Reece, the grouping in our ITS phylogenetic tree reconstructed by ITS sequences was not related to tribe discrimination but species discrimination. However, the molecular analysis could provide more information on citrus taxonomy. Combined with ITS sequences of other subgenera in then true citrus fruit tree group, the ITS phylogenetic tree indicated subgenera Citrus was monophyletic and nearer to Fortunella, Poncirus, and Clymenia compared to Microcitrus and Eremocitrus. Abundant sequence variations of the ITS region shown in this study would help species identification and tribe differentiation of the genus Citrus. (author)

Cerebral Metastasis from a Previously Undiagnosed Appendiceal Adenocarcinoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Biroli

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Brain metastases arise in 10%–40% of all cancer patients. Up to one third of the patients do not have previous cancer history. We report a case of a 67-years-old male patient who presented with confusion, tremor, and apraxia. A brain MRI revealed an isolated right temporal lobe lesion. A thorax-abdomen-pelvis CT scan showed no primary lesion. The patient underwent a craniotomy with gross-total resection. Histopathology revealed an intestinal-type adenocarcinoma. A colonoscopy found no primary lesion, but a PET-CT scan showed elevated FDG uptake in the appendiceal nodule. A right hemicolectomy was performed, and the specimen showed a moderately differentiated mucinous appendiceal adenocarcinoma. Whole brain radiotherapy was administrated. A subsequent thorax-abdomen CT scan revealed multiple lung and hepatic metastasis. Seven months later, the patient died of disease progression. In cases of undiagnosed primary lesions, patients present in better general condition, but overall survival does not change. Eventual identification of the primary tumor does not affect survival. PET/CT might be a helpful tool in detecting lesions of the appendiceal region. To the best of our knowledge, such a case was never reported in the literature, and an appendiceal malignancy should be suspected in patients with brain metastasis from an undiagnosed primary tumor.

Prediction of flexible/rigid regions from protein sequences using k-spaced amino acid pairs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruan Jishou

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Traditionally, it is believed that the native structure of a protein corresponds to a global minimum of its free energy. However, with the growing number of known tertiary (3D protein structures, researchers have discovered that some proteins can alter their structures in response to a change in their surroundings or with the help of other proteins or ligands. Such structural shifts play a crucial role with respect to the protein function. To this end, we propose a machine learning method for the prediction of the flexible/rigid regions of proteins (referred to as FlexRP; the method is based on a novel sequence representation and feature selection. Knowledge of the flexible/rigid regions may provide insights into the protein folding process and the 3D structure prediction. Results The flexible/rigid regions were defined based on a dataset, which includes protein sequences that have multiple experimental structures, and which was previously used to study the structural conservation of proteins. Sequences drawn from this dataset were represented based on feature sets that were proposed in prior research, such as PSI-BLAST profiles, composition vector and binary sequence encoding, and a newly proposed representation based on frequencies of k-spaced amino acid pairs. These representations were processed by feature selection to reduce the dimensionality. Several machine learning methods for the prediction of flexible/rigid regions and two recently proposed methods for the prediction of conformational changes and unstructured regions were compared with the proposed method. The FlexRP method, which applies Logistic Regression and collocation-based representation with 95 features, obtained 79.5% accuracy. The two runner-up methods, which apply the same sequence representation and Support Vector Machines (SVM and Naïve Bayes classifiers, obtained 79.2% and 78.4% accuracy, respectively. The remaining considered methods are

Sun exposure habits and health risk-related behaviours among individuals with previous history of skin cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Falk, Magnus; Faresjö, Ashild; Faresjö, Tomas

2013-02-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate possible associations between UV exposure and other health risk behaviours in different social environments and in regard to previous history of skin cancer. In two closely-located, equally-sized cities in Sweden, representing different social environments (blue collar and white collar), patients aged 55-69 years, diagnosed with skin cancer (study group, n=489) or seborrhoeic keratosis (control group, n=664), were identified through a regional Health Care Register, and were given a questionnaire mapping for sun habits, tobacco smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity. A previous history of skin cancer was associated with reduced UV exposure (phistory of skin cancer appears to promote increased UV protection. In contrast to alcohol/smoking habits, no association between social environment and sun habits was found.

Technique for sparing previously irradiated critical normal structures in salvage proton craniospinal irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, Mark W; Wolanski, Mark R; Simmons, Joseph W; Buchsbaum, Jeffrey C

2013-01-01

Cranial reirradiation is clinically appropriate in some cases but cumulative radiation dose to critical normal structures remains a practical concern. The authors developed a simple technique in 3D conformal proton craniospinal irradiation (CSI) to block organs at risk (OAR) while minimizing underdosing of adjacent target brain tissue. Two clinical cases illustrate the use of proton therapy to provide salvage CSI when a previously irradiated OAR required sparing from additional radiation dose. The prior radiation plan was coregistered to the treatment planning CT to create a planning organ at risk volume (PRV) around the OAR. Right and left lateral cranial whole brain proton apertures were created with a small block over the PRV. Then right and left lateral “inverse apertures” were generated, creating an aperture opening in the shape of the area previously blocked and blocking the area previously open. The inverse aperture opening was made one millimeter smaller than the original block to minimize the risk of dose overlap. The inverse apertures were used to irradiate the target volume lateral to the PRV, selecting a proton beam range to abut the 50% isodose line against either lateral edge of the PRV. Together, the 4 cranial proton fields created a region of complete dose avoidance around the OAR. Comparative photon treatment plans were generated with opposed lateral X-ray fields with custom blocks and coplanar intensity modulated radiation therapy optimized to avoid the PRV. Cumulative dose volume histograms were evaluated. Treatment plans were developed and successfully implemented to provide sparing of previously irradiated critical normal structures while treating target brain lateral to these structures. The absence of dose overlapping during irradiation through the inverse apertures was confirmed by film. Compared to the lateral X-ray and IMRT treatment plans, the proton CSI technique improved coverage of target brain tissue while providing the least

Surveillance for previously unmonitored organic contaminants in the San Francisco Estuary.

Science.gov (United States)

Oros, Daniel R; Jarman, Walter M; Lowe, Theresa; David, Nicole; Lowe, Sarah; Davis, Jay A

2003-09-01

The San Francisco Estuary Regional Monitoring Program initiated surveillance monitoring to identify previously unmonitored synthetic organic contaminants in the San Francisco Estuary. Organic extracts of water samples were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in full scan mode. The major contaminant classes identified in the samples were fire retardants, pesticides, personal care product ingredients, and plasticizers. Evidence from the literature suggests that some of these contaminants can persist in the environment, induce toxicity, and accumulate in marine biota and in higher food chain consumers. The major sources of these contaminants into the marine environment are the discharge of municipal and industrial wastewater effluents, urban stormwater, and agricultural runoff. As a proactive effort, it is suggested that surveillance studies be used routinely in monitoring programs to identify and prevent potential problem contaminants from harming the marine environment.

Patterns of presentation of chronic ischemic heart disease with and without previous myocardial infarction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, R.; Rabbani, A.; Awan, Z.A.

2009-01-01

The prevalence of Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) is on the rise, from increasing lifespan of population and availability of better medical facilities. We studied chronic IHD cases with and without previous myocardial infarction, in Hazara, NWFP, Pakistan to evaluate left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, wall motion abnormalities and complications of IHD. All patients presenting with history of chest pain in Medical 'C' Unit, Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad from June 2004 to May 2005 were included in the study. Patients with non-cardiac chest pain were excluded from the study. Cases with congenital and rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathies, unstable angina and acute MI were excluded. Patients with IHD with or without myocardial infarction (MI) were studied for left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction, left atrial size, E/A ratio), wall motion abnormalities and complications of IHD (Mitral regurgitation, Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), LV aneurysm, LV clot). Clinical and echocardiographic evaluation was done in each case. Out of 183 cases of chronic IHD, 123 patients were without previous MI and 60 had had previous MI. Ejection fraction (EF) was 45%+-15 in the group without MI and 35+-11% in cases with MI. Left Atrium (LA) size was 35+-6 mm and 39+-4 mm in the two groups respectively. LV diastolic dysfunction was seen in 17% in the first and 24% in the second group respectively. Global hypokinesia was seen in 8% and 17% in the 2 groups respectively. Regional Wall Motion Abnormality (RWMA) was observed in 12% in patients without MI and in 58% cases with MI. Mitral regurgitation was seen in 10 and 20% in the 2 groups respectively LV clots, VSD, LV and aneurysm were seen in 8.4, 5, and 6.5% respectively, only in cases with previous MI. LV dysfunction, wall motion abnormalities and mitral regurgitation were more common in IHD cases with previous heart attack. (author)

Polychlorinated biphenyl exposure, diabetes and endogenous hormones: a cross-sectional study in men previously employed at a capacitor manufacturing plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Persky, Victoria; Piorkowski, Julie; Turyk, Mary; Freels, Sally; Chatterton, Robert; Dimos, John; Bradlow, H Leon; Chary, Lin Kaatz; Burse, Virlyn; Unterman, Terry; Sepkovic, Daniel W; McCann, Kenneth

2012-08-29

Studies have shown associations of diabetes and endogenous hormones with exposure to a wide variety of organochlorines. We have previously reported positive associations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and inverse associations of selected steroid hormones with diabetes in postmenopausal women previously employed in a capacitor manufacturing plant. This paper examines associations of PCBs with diabetes and endogenous hormones in 63 men previously employed at the same plant who in 1996 underwent surveys of their exposure and medical history and collection of bloods and urine for measurements of PCBs, lipids, liver function, hematologic markers and endogenous hormones. PCB exposure was positively associated with diabetes and age and inversely associated with thyroid stimulating hormone and triiodothyronine-uptake. History of diabetes was significantly related to total PCBs and all PCB functional groupings, but not to quarters worked and job score, after control for potential confounders. None of the exposures were related to insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in non-diabetic men. Associations of PCBs with specific endogenous hormones differ in some respects from previous findings in postmenopausal women employed at the capacitor plant. Results from this study, however, do confirm previous reports relating PCB exposure to diabetes and suggest that these associations are not mediated by measured endogenous hormones.

The receptor locus for escherichia coli F4ab/F4ac in the pig maps distal to the MUC4-LMLN region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rampoldi, Antonio; Jacobsen, Mette Juul; Bertschinger, Hans U.

2011-01-01

antigenic variants, F4ab, F4ac, and F4ad, of which F4ac is the most common. Resistance to ETEC F4ab/F4ac adhesion in pigs has been shown to be inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. In previous studies the ETEC F4ab/F4ac receptor locus (F4bcR) was mapped to the q41 region on pig chromosome 13....... A polymorphism within an intron of the mucin 4 (MUC4) gene, which is one of the possible candidate genes located in this region, was shown earlier to cosegregate with the F4bcR alleles. Recently, we discovered a Large White boar from a Swiss experimental herd with a recombination between F4bcR and MUC4. A three...... a newly detected SNP in the leishmanolysin-like gene (LMLN g.15920) and SNP ALGA0072075. In this study the six SNPs ALGA0072075, ALGA0106330, MUC13-226, MUC13-813, DIA0000584, and MARC0006918 were in complete linkage disequilibrium with F4bcR. Based on this finding and earlier investigations, we suggest...

Mining districts in the Carson Sink region, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Schrader, F.

1947-01-01

The region lies in an area of primarily sedimentary rocks which are principally Mesozoic and are tilted, folded, and faulted and cut by granular intrusives, and flooded by Tertiary lavas as shown on Figure 4. The Mesozoic sediments were strongly folded and invaded by granular intrusives at or about the time of the intrusion of the great Sierra Nevada batholith. The rocks are exposed chiefly in the mountain ranges and hills.The mountain ranges are mostly fault ranges with much of their structure monoclinical. Faulting in many instances has been prominent since the deposition of the Tertiary lavas and continues down to the present, as shown by fresh scarps and recent earthquake disturbances in the Stillwater and Augusta ranges and in general along the flaks of the various ranges by the tilted attitude of the lava flows and lake beds, and by the older lavas in general being tilted at steeper angles than the overlying lake beds. The faulting may be normal or overthrust.The faulting shown in the various mining districts as Fairview and Wonder may be regarded as indicating that of the region in general.In some parts of the region faulting is so young that it is still shown in the topographic forms as by trunctated gulches in the east base of the Stillwater range in Dixie Valley.As the writer in the present work had but small opportunity to examine the rocks excepting in the various mining districts many of which are located far apart, the accompanying geologic map (Fig. 4) is largely compiled from earlier reports of various authors in order to here present a geologic picture of the region. The portion to the north of Latitude 39°30’ is largely adapted from the 40th Parallel Survey and that to the south of the 39th parallel form the papers and reports by Buwalda, Clark, Merriam, Hill, Spurr, and the unpublished work of H. G. Ferguson of the U. S. Geological Survey on the Hawthorne and Tonopah quadrangles.

Identification and therapeutic potential of a vitronectin binding region of meningococcal msf.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darryl J Hill

Full Text Available The human pathogen Neisseria meningitides (Nm attains serum resistance via a number of mechanisms, one of which involves binding to the host complement regulator protein vitronectin. We have shown previously that the Meningococcal surface fibril (Msf, a trimeric autotransporter, binds to the activated form of vitronectin (aVn to increase Nm survival in human serum. In this study, we aimed to identify the aVn-binding region of Msf to assess its potential as an antigen which can elicit antibodies that block aVn binding and/or possess bactericidal properties. Using several recombinant Msf fragments spanning its surface-exposed region, the smallest aVn-binding recombinants were found to span residues 1-86 and 39-124. The use of further deletion constructs and overlapping recombinant Msf fragments suggested that a region of Msf comprising residues 39-82 may be primarily important for aVn binding and that other regions may also be involved but to a lesser extent. Molecular modelling implicated K66 and K68, conserved in all available Msf sequences, to be involved in the interaction. Recombinant fragments which bound to aVn were able to reduce the survival advantage conveyed by aVn-interaction in serum bactericidal assays. Antibodies raised against one such fragment inhibited aVn binding to Msf. In addition, the antibodies enhanced specific killing of Msf-expressing Nm in a dose-dependent manner. Overall, this study identifies an aVn-binding region of Msf, an adhesin known to impart serum resistance properties to the pathogen; and shows that this region of Msf can elicit antibodies with dual properties which reduce pathogen survival within the host and thus has potential as a vaccine antigen.

How do Dutch regional labour markets adjust to demand shocks?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broersma, Lourens; Dijk, Jouke van

2002-01-01

This paper analyses the response of regional labour markets in The Netherlands to region specific labour demand shocks. Whereas previous studies analyse only average patterns of all regions in a country, this paper provides also a more in debt analysis of within country differences in labour market

77 FR 64399 - Order of Succession for HUD Region V

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... Region V AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, HUD. ACTION: Notice of Order of Succession... Field Offices (Region V). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for HUD Region V. DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D. Reynolds...

77 FR 64402 - Order of Succession for HUD Region X

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... Region X AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, HUD. ACTION: Notice of Order of Succession... Field Offices (Region X). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for HUD Region X. DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D. Reynolds...

77 FR 64398 - Order of Succession for HUD Region IV

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... Region IV AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, HUD. ACTION: Notice of Order of Succession... Field Offices (Region IV). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for HUD Region IV. DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D. Reynolds...

77 FR 64396 - Order of Succession for HUD Region II

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... Region II AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, HUD. ACTION: Notice of Order of Succession... Field Offices (Region II). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for Region II. DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D. Reynolds...

77 FR 64401 - Order of Succession for HUD Region VIII

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... Region VIII AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, HUD. ACTION: Notice of Order of Succession... Field Offices (Region VIII). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for HUD Region VIII. DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D...

77 FR 64396 - Order of Succession for HUD Region I

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... Region I AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, HUD. ACTION: Notice of Order of Succession... Field Offices (Region I). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for HUD Region I. DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D. Reynolds...

77 FR 64399 - Order of Succession for HUD Region VI

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... Region VI AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, HUD. ACTION: Notice of Order of Succession... its Field Offices (Region VI). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for HUD Region VI. DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D...

The Precautionary Principle Has Not Been Shown to Be Incoherent: A Reply to Peterson : Response

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boyer-Kassem, Thomas

2017-01-01

In this journal, I have objected to Peterson's 2006 claim that the precautionary principle is an incoherent decision rule. I defend my objections to Peterson's recent replies, and I still claim that the precautionary principle has not been shown to be incoherent.

Oil and gas, strategic regional cooperation between Persian Gulf countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zalloi, Mir Mahdi

2010-09-15

Almost two-thirds of proven oil and a third of world natural gas resources are in the Persian Gulf countries. Unfortunately strategic region of Persian Gulf in the past three decades faced with many security challenges due to wars and political conflicts. For security in this region, there are several methods such as military treaties between regional countries or Military presence of foreign countries, but historical evidence has shown, none of them could not guarantee the stable security in this region. The regional cooperation between countries can be replaced to mentioned methods. IPI Gas pipeline is an objective sample for this regional cooperation.

Regional risk assessment of reuse of ash in civil engineering applications; Regional riskanalys av askanvaendning i anlaeggningsbyggande

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wik, Ola

2009-07-15

A previously proposal (Vaermeforsk report 979, 2006) for common environmental guidelines for reuse of ash in civil engineering applications has only to a limited extent considered eventual additive effects of pollutants from other sources than recycled aggregates. Furthermore the assessment had a strict focus on local effects not considering the possible outcome of a large-scale use of alternative recycled aggregates. The objective of this project has been to characterize the risk of a large-scale use of ashes produced within a regional area. The project targeted at analysing: 1. The possible large-scale negative environmental effects of recycling all ashes fitting for civil engineering applications within a regional watershed area. 2. If environmental effects on a regional scale motivates adjustment of the proposed common environmental guidelines for reuse of ash. In order to perform a regional risk assessment information on the material flow of ashes and traditional aggregates as well as other anthropogenic and natural sources and flows of substances to be analysed is needed. The prime research task of this project was to: Generate material and substance flow information for two different watershed areas, Motala Stroem and Emaan, with respect to lead, cadmium and mercury; and to Compare the generated data with environmental quality standards for surface waters and draft river basin management plans presented by Swedish river basin district authorities. Data on material and substance flow was complied using the following practise; Ashes - data on material flow, substance content and emissions collected from all productions sites. Emissions was estimated using L/S 10 data from standardised leaching test. Missing data was assigned using expert judgement. Aggregates - data on material flow compiled from regional databases. Substance content and emissions calculated based on national generic data. Emissions was estimated using L/S 10 data from standardised leaching

77 FR 64401 - Order of Succession for HUD Region IX

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

... DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [FR-5550-D-12] Order of Succession for HUD Region IX... Field Offices (Region IX). This Order of Succession supersedes all previous Orders of Succession for HUD Region IX. DATES: Effective Date: October 9, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D. Reynolds...

Experimental evidence of widespread regions of small-scale plasma irregularities in the magnetosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holmgren, G.; Kintner, P.M.

1990-01-01

Small-scale (≤ 1 km) plasma irregularities have previously been observed in situ from the E region to an altitude of 8,000 km. In this paper the authors report results from the Viking plasma wave experiments which extends the measurements of high-latitude irregularities in two ways: (1) they have acquired electron density fluctuation measurements up to an altitude of 13,500 km and (2) for the first time a measurement technique was used that made a phase velocity deduction possible from in situ measurements. The spacecraft was equipped with two spatially separated Langmuir probes, each with an ability to measure relative probe current fluctuations with frequencies from dc to about 400 Hz. Under certain assumptions the current fluctuations could be interpreted as relative plasma density fluctuations, δn e /n e . Data from this interferometric instrument has been used to infer the distribution and nature of plasma irregularities along Viking orbits. It is demonstrated that the interferometric technique offers great advantages compared to single point measurements in this kind of study. It is shown that the observed small-scale plasma irregularities are nondispersive and convecting with the background plasma. They exhibit a power law frequency spectrum as observed in the satellite reference frame. The spectral index varies with location. An attempt to map source regions by identifying regions of high power and shallow spectrums is made

Impact of previously disadvantaged land-users on sustainable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Impact of previously disadvantaged land-users on sustainable agricultural ... about previously disadvantaged land users involved in communal farming systems ... of input, capital, marketing, information and land use planning, with effect on ...

Regional Convergence of Income: Spatial Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vera Ivanovna Ivanova

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Russia has a huge territory and a strong interregional heterogeneity, so we can assume that geographical factors have a significant impact on the pace of economic growth in Russian regions. Therefore the article is focused on the following issues: 1 correlation between comparative advantages of geographical location and differences in growth rates; 2 impact of more developed regions on their neighbors and 3 correlation between economic growth of regions and their spatial interaction. The article is devoted to the empirical analysis of regional per capita incomes from 1996 to 2012 and explores the dynamics of the spatial autocorrelation of regional development indicator. It is shown that there is a problem of measuring the intensity of spatial dependence: factor value of Moran’s index varies greatly depending on the choice of the matrix of distances. In addition, with the help of spatial econometrics the author tests the following hypotheses: 1 there is convergence between regions for a specified period; 2 the process of beta convergence is explained by the spatial arrangement of regions and 3 there is positive impact of market size on regional growth. The author empirically confirmed all three hypotheses

SERVICES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sven ILLERIS

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this contribution is to discuss what roles the different economic sectors, and in particular services activities (the tertiary sector play in regional development, understood as growth in production, incomes and employment in weakly developedregions. This question is approached in two ways. The contribution first contains a – primarily theoretical – re-examination of the so-called economic base model, which states that services play a passive role in regional development. The discussion leads to substantial modifications of the model. The second approach is more empirical. It will take as its point of departure the proposition – often heard, but rarely examined – that since service activities are more concentrated in big cities than other activities and in recent decades have shown higher growth rates than other economic activities, it follows that the economic development is now pulled towards big city regions. Examined by way of a statistical analysisin Denmark and France, this proposition could not be verified.

Edge-Region Grouping in Figure-Ground Organization and Depth Perception

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Stephen E.; Brooks, Joseph L.

2008-01-01

Edge-region grouping (ERG) is proposed as a unifying and previously unrecognized class of relational information that influences figure-ground organization and perceived depth across an edge. ERG occurs when the edge between two regions is differentially grouped with one region based on classic principles of similarity grouping. The ERG hypothesis…

Characterization of previously unidentified lunar pyroclastic deposits using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) data

Science.gov (United States)

Gustafson, J. Olaf; Bell, James F.; Gaddis, Lisa R.R.; Hawke, B. Ray Ray; Giguere, Thomas A.

2012-01-01

We used a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) global monochrome Wide-angle Camera (WAC) mosaic to conduct a survey of the Moon to search for previously unidentified pyroclastic deposits. Promising locations were examined in detail using LROC multispectral WAC mosaics, high-resolution LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images, and Clementine multispectral (ultraviolet-visible or UVVIS) data. Out of 47 potential deposits chosen for closer examination, 12 were selected as probable newly identified pyroclastic deposits. Potential pyroclastic deposits were generally found in settings similar to previously identified deposits, including areas within or near mare deposits adjacent to highlands, within floor-fractured craters, and along fissures in mare deposits. However, a significant new finding is the discovery of localized pyroclastic deposits within floor-fractured craters Anderson E and F on the lunar farside, isolated from other known similar deposits. Our search confirms that most major regional and localized low-albedo pyroclastic deposits have been identified on the Moon down to ~100 m/pix resolution, and that additional newly identified deposits are likely to be either isolated small deposits or additional portions of discontinuous, patchy deposits.

A critical review of regional economic integration in China

OpenAIRE

Wang RUI

2015-01-01

Under the circumstances of economic globalization, regional economic integration has become the mainstream of current economic development for each country, so China has to pay more attention to it. The critical review on regional economic integration in China can lay a certain foundation and provide experience for the in-depth research. Main contents of regional economic integration are refined according to the previous studies and realities, including the integration of regional economic re...

Pliocene Warm Period Upwelling in the Southern Benguela Region

Science.gov (United States)

Petrick, B. F.; McClymont, E.; Felder, S.; Leng, M. J.; Rosell Mele, A.; Rueda, G.

2014-12-01

The mid-Pliocene has been proposed as a possible analogue for understanding future climate change and testing climate models. Previous work has shown that during the Pliocene the major upwelling systems were relatively warm, and thus either inactive, contracted, or upwelling warmer waters than present. Here we examine evidence from a core site located on the margins of the modern Benguela upwelling system, to test whether the upwelling cells had migrated or contracted relative to present during the Pliocene. We applied several organic geochemistry proxies and foraminiferal analyses to reconstruct the Pliocene history of ODP site 1087 (31º28'S, 15º19'E, 1374m water depth), including the UK37' index and TEX86 index (for reconstructing sea surface temperatures), chlorins (for estimating primary productivity) and planktonic foraminifera assemblages (for inferring water mass changes). These proxies show that between 3.5 and 3.0 Ma the southern Benguela region was significantly cooler than the northern Benguela region, the latter where the main upwelling cells are found today. Coupled with higher primary production, a shift in planktonic foraminifera assemblage, and an offset between the UK37' index and TEX86 index, we infer that more extensive upwelling was present in the southern Benguela region during the Pliocene. We infer that the main Benguela upwelling cells had shifted southward relative to today, as a result of changes in the local wind field. We find evidence for pronounced cooling and a shift in the planktonic foraminifera assemblage during the M2 and KM2 glacial stages, showing a sensitivity of Benguela upwelling to these short-lived climate events.

Solution of two-dimensional neutron diffusion equation for triangular region by finite Fourier transformation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Keisuke; Ishibashi, Hideo

1978-01-01

A two-dimensional neutron diffusion equation for a triangular region is shown to be solved by the finite Fourier transformation. An application of the Fourier transformation to the diffusion equation for triangular region yields equations whose unknowns are the expansion coefficients of the neutron flux and current in Fourier series or Legendre polynomials expansions only at the region boundary. Some numerical calculations have revealed that the present technique gives accurate results. It is shown also that the solution using the expansion in Legendre polynomials converges with relatively few terms even if the solution in Fourier series exhibits the Gibbs' phenomenon. (auth.)

Determining root correspondence between previously and newly detected objects

Science.gov (United States)

Paglieroni, David W.; Beer, N Reginald

2014-06-17

A system that applies attribute and topology based change detection to networks of objects that were detected on previous scans of a structure, roadway, or area of interest. The attributes capture properties or characteristics of the previously detected objects, such as location, time of detection, size, elongation, orientation, etc. The topology of the network of previously detected objects is maintained in a constellation database that stores attributes of previously detected objects and implicitly captures the geometrical structure of the network. A change detection system detects change by comparing the attributes and topology of new objects detected on the latest scan to the constellation database of previously detected objects.

Acoustic study of stratification region of melts in In-Se system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glazov, V.M.; Kim, S.G.; Nurova, K.B.

1989-01-01

Stratification region of melts in In-Se system was studied in detail with the use of the method of measuring ultrasound velocity. The curve, limiting the region of stratification into two liquid solutions was plotted. It is shown that the curve is characterized as symmetrical finodal

Dabrafenib plus trametinib in patients with previously untreated BRAF(V600E)-mutant metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer : An open-label, phase 2 trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Planchard, David; Smit, Egbert F.; Groen, Harry J. M.; Mazieres, Julien; Besse, Benjamin; Helland, Aslaug; Giannone, Vanessa; D'Amelio, Anthony M.; Zhang, Pingkuan; Mookerjee, Bijoyesh; Johnson, Bruce E.

2017-01-01

Background: BRAF(V600E) mutation occurs in 1-2% of lung adenocarcinomas and acts as an oncogenic driver. Dabrafenib, alone or combined with trametinib, has shown substantial antitumour activity in patients with previously treated BRAF(V600E)-mutant metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We

Air Quality Co-Benefits of a Carbon Policy: Regional Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, T. M.; Rausch, S.; Saari, R.; Selin, N. E.

2013-12-01

We use an integrated modeling framework to assess the air quality influence of climate change policies in the Northeast U.S. states for air pollution, and their relative health and economic benefits. We analyze three carbon policy scenarios, each reducing the same total amount of GHG emissions in the Northeast United States: an economy-wide Cap and Trade (CAT) program reducing emissions from all sectors of the economy, a Clean Energy Scenario (CES) reducing emissions from the electricity sector only, and a Transportation Scenario (TRN) reducing emissions from the transportation sector only. Regional CES policy and a regional TRN policy will cost about 10 times and 50 times more than a CAT policy, respectively. Regional CAT policy will lead to a 6% greater reduction in carbon emissions nationally in the year 2030 compared to an electric or transportation sector cap with the same regional targets. This is because, unlike a total economy cap, targeted policy options will likely cause increases in carbon emissions outside of the region covered (called carbon leakage). The human health benefits of the CAT, CES and TRN policies are 530%, 118%, and 10% of the costs of each policy respectively, meaning that the CAT and CES policies will likely fully pay for themselves in the NE U.S. We estimate that the value of human health co-benefits associated with reductions of ground level ozone and particulate matter of the CES scenario is twice that of the CAT and TRN scenarios. Economic welfare costs for each of three regionally applied carbon emissions reduction scenario are shown in blue. The calculated dollar amount of the human health benefits point estimate is shown in red with the 95% confidence interval, associated with human health response only, shown using the green line. Values are in billions of year 2006 US dollars.

Profiles of the N II 6584 A line over the giant H II regions IC 1318b and c, NGC 7000 and IC 5070. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canto, J; Johnson, P G; Meaburn, J; Mikhail, J S; Terrett, D L; White, N J [Manchester Univ. (UK). Dept of Astronomy

1979-06-01

Previously (Paper I) large-scale splitting of the (N II) line was discovered over an area of IC 1318b. The motions of the ionized material have now been mapped over a much larger region of this nebula and also IC 1318c. The splitting reaches a maximum value of 53 km/s over the faintest regions of IC 1318b and occurs over an area approximately > 20 pc across. However, few split (N II) lines were found over IC 1318c, but the motions of this whole ionized and neutral complex have been shown to be closely related. Wind-driven flows along neutral and ionized shells are proposed to explain the observations. Similar measurements have also been made on either side of the dark lane separating NGC 7000 from IC 5070.

Ballooning mode second stability region for sequences of tokamak equilibria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, L.; Mark, J.W.K.

A numerical study of several sequences of tokamak equilibria derived from two flux conserving sequences confirms the tendency of high n ideal MHD ballooning modes to stabilize for values of the plasma beta greater than a second critical beta, for sufficiently favorable equilibria. The major stabilizing effect of increasing the inverse rotational transform profile q(Psi) for equilibria with the same flux surface geometry is shown. The unstable region shifts toward larger shear d ln q/d ln γ and the width of the region measured in terms of the poloidal beta or a pressure gradient parameter, for fixed shear, decreases. The smaller aspect ratio sequences are more sensitive to changes in q and have less stringent limits on the attainable value of the plasma beta in the high beta stable region. Finally, the disconnected mode approximation is shown to provide a reasonable description of the second high beta stability boundary

Automatic treatment planning implementation using a database of previously treated patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, J A; Evans, K; Yang, W; Herman, J; McNutt, T

2014-01-01

Purpose: Using a database of prior treated patients, it is possible to predict the dose to critical structures for future patients. Automatic treatment planning speeds the planning process by generating a good initial plan from predicted dose values. Methods: A SQL relational database of previously approved treatment plans is populated via an automated export from Pinnacle 3 . This script outputs dose and machine information and selected Regions of Interests as well as its associated Dose-Volume Histogram (DVH) and Overlap Volume Histograms (OVHs) with respect to the target structures. Toxicity information is exported from Mosaiq and added to the database for each patient. The SQL query is designed to ask the system for the lowest achievable dose for a specified region of interest (ROI) for each patient with a given volume of that ROI being as close or closer to the target than the current patient. Results: The additional time needed to calculate OVHs is approximately 1.5 minutes for a typical patient. Database lookup of planning objectives takes approximately 4 seconds. The combined additional time is less than that of a typical single plan optimization (2.5 mins). Conclusions: An automatic treatment planning interface has been successfully used by dosimetrists to quickly produce a number of SBRT pancreas treatment plans. The database can be used to compare dose to individual structures with the toxicity experienced and predict toxicities before planning for future patients.

Erlotinib-induced rash spares previously irradiated skin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lips, Irene M.; Vonk, Ernest J.A.; Koster, Mariska E.Y.; Houwing, Ronald H.

2011-01-01

Erlotinib is an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor prescribed to patients with locally advanced or metastasized non-small cell lung carcinoma after failure of at least one earlier chemotherapy treatment. Approximately 75% of the patients treated with erlotinib develop acneiform skin rashes. A patient treated with erlotinib 3 months after finishing concomitant treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer is presented. Unexpectedly, the part of the skin that had been included in his previously radiotherapy field was completely spared from the erlotinib-induced acneiform skin rash. The exact mechanism of erlotinib-induced rash sparing in previously irradiated skin is unclear. The underlying mechanism of this phenomenon needs to be explored further, because the number of patients being treated with a combination of both therapeutic modalities is increasing. The therapeutic effect of erlotinib in the area of the previously irradiated lesion should be assessed. (orig.)

PRINCIPLES OF FORMATION AND REALIZATION OF REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.I. Chenenova

2007-09-01

Full Text Available It is analysed existing norm-legal base of realization of regional industrial policy from a position of conformity of principles of its formation and realization to problems of development of the industry in conditions of an openness to the world market. Opportunities of their evolution in the directions promoting becoming of competitive structure of an industrial complex of region are shown.

Regional differences in semen qualities in the Baltic region.

Science.gov (United States)

Punab, Margus; Zilaitiene, Birute; Jørgensen, Niels; Horte, Antero; Matulevicius, Valentinas; Peetsalu, Ants; Skakkebaek, Niels E

2002-08-01

Recent prospective studies of male reproductive health have shown differences between several European countries. Our objective was to evaluate the current situation in the two Baltic States Estonia and Lithuania. In 1997-99 we investigated semen parameters, levels of reproductive hormones and general health factors of 196 men from the general population in Lithuania; from Estonia, 79 men from the general population and 118 soldiers were investigated. Adjusted for interlaboratory differences and abstinence period, sperm concentration of Lithuanian and Estonian men from the general populations were shown to be 55 and 67 million/mL, respectively. The Estonian soldiers had the highest sperm concentration, 82 million/mL. The frequencies of morphologically normal spermatozoa were 6.2, 7.7 and 9.6%, respectively. In contrast to the semen qualities, highest Inhibin B levels were detected in the Lithuanians (233 pg/mL) followed by Estonian men from the general population (220 pg/mL) and Estonian soldiers (185 pg/mL). The soldiers had also the lowest level of testosterone and oestradiol. The sperm counts of the Estonian and Lithuanian men investigated here are higher than recently shown for Norwegian, Danish, Estonian and Finnish men. Comparisons should be cautiously drawn as the groups are not completely comparable. Still, even within the Baltic region, geographically close and sharing common recent social history, differences in semen quality and levels of reproductive hormones are apparent.

Pituitary-adrenocortical adjustments to transport stress in horses with previous different handling and transport conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Fazio

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Aim: The changes of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA axis response to a long distance transportation results in increase of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH and cortisol levels. The purpose of the study was to quantify the level of short-term road transport stress on circulating ACTH and cortisol concentrations, related to the effect of previous handling and transport experience of horses. Materials and Methods: The study was performed on 56 healthy horses after short-term road transport of 30 km. The horses were divided into four groups, Groups A, B, C, and D, with respect to the handling quality: Good (Groups A and B, bad (Group D, and minimal handling (Group C conditions. According to the previous transport, experience horses were divided as follows: Horses of Groups A and D had been experienced long-distance transportation before; horses of Groups B and C had been limited experience of transportation. Results: One-way RM-ANOVA showed significant effects of transport on ACTH changes in Groups B and C and on cortisol changes in both Groups A and B. Groups A and B showed lower baseline ACTH and cortisol values than Groups C and D; Groups A and B showed lower post-transport ACTH values than Groups C and D. Groups A, B, and C showed lower post-transport cortisol values than Group D. Only Groups A and B horses have shown an adequate capacity of stress response to transportation. Conclusion: The previous transport experience and quality of handling could influence the HPA axis physiological responses of horses after short-term road transport.

Distinctive distribution of lymphocytes in unruptured and previously untreated brain arteriovenous malformation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Guo

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: To test the hypothesis that lymphocyte infiltration in brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM is not associated with iron deposition (indicator of micro-hemorrhage. Methods: Sections of unruptured, previously untreated bAVM specimens (n = 19 were stained immunohistochemically for T-lymphocytes (CD3 + , B-lymphocytes (CD20 + , plasma cells (CD138 + and macrophages (CD68 + . Iron deposition was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin and Prussian blue stains. Superficial temporal arteries (STA were used as control. Results: Both T-lymphocytes and macrophages were present in unruptured, previously untreated bAVM specimens, whereas few B cells and plasma cells were detected. Iron deposition was detected in 8 specimens (42%; 95% confidence intervals = 20-67%. The samples with iron deposition tended to have more macrophages than those without (666 ± 313 vs. 478 ± 174 cells/mm 2 ; P = 0.11. T-cells were clustered on the luminal side of the endothelial surface, on the vessel-wall, and in the perivascular regions. There was no correlation between T-lymphocyte load and iron deposition (P = 0.88. No macrophages and lymphocytes were detected in STA controls. Conclusion: T-lymphocytes were present in bAVM specimens. Unlike macrophages, the load and location of T-lymphocytes were not associated with iron deposition, suggesting the possibility of an independent cell-mediated immunological mechanism in bAVM pathogenesis.

Previous induced abortion among young women seeking abortion-related care in Kenya: a cross-sectional analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabiru, Caroline W; Ushie, Boniface A; Mutua, Michael M; Izugbara, Chimaraoke O

2016-05-14

Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of death among young women aged 10-24 years in sub-Saharan Africa. Although having multiple induced abortions may exacerbate the risk for poor health outcomes, there has been minimal research on young women in this region who have multiple induced abortions. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the prevalence and correlates of reporting a previous induced abortion among young females aged 12-24 years seeking abortion-related care in Kenya. We used data on 1,378 young women aged 12-24 years who presented for abortion-related care in 246 health facilities in a nationwide survey conducted in 2012. Socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive and clinical histories, and physical examination assessment data were collected from women during a one-month data collection period using an abortion case capture form. Nine percent (n = 98) of young women reported a previous induced abortion prior to the index pregnancy for which they were receiving care. Statistically significant differences by previous history of induced abortion were observed for area of residence, religion and occupation at bivariate level. Urban dwellers and unemployed/other young women were more likely to report a previous induced abortion. A greater proportion of young women reporting a previous induced abortion stated that they were using a contraceptive method at the time of the index pregnancy (47 %) compared with those reporting no previous induced abortion (23 %). Not surprisingly, a greater proportion of young women reporting a previous induced abortion (82 %) reported their index pregnancy as unintended (not wanted at all or mistimed) compared with women reporting no previous induced abortion (64 %). Our study results show that about one in every ten young women seeking abortion-related care in Kenya reports a previous induced abortion. Comprehensive post-abortion care services targeting young women are needed. In particular, post

CARICOF - The Caribbean Regional Climate Outlook Forum

Science.gov (United States)

Van Meerbeeck, Cedric

2013-04-01

Centres (GPCs). Indications are that the current seasonal forecasting system used by CARICOF has produced reliable outlooks than previously available. Nevertheless, through its forum platform, areas for further development are continuously being defined, which are then implemented through efficient information exchanges between and hands-on training of forecasters. Finally, the disaster research and emergency management communities have shown that effective early warnings of impending hazards need to be complemented by information on the risks actually posed by the hazards and pathways for action. CARICOF is to address this issue by designing the outputs of the seasonal climate outlooks such that they can then effectively feed into an early warning information system of seasonal climate variability related hazards to its constituent countries' and territories major socio-economic sectors.

Unilateral empyema impacts the assessment of regional lung ventilation by electrical impedance tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bläser, D; Becher, T; Schädler, D; Elke, G; Weiler, N; Frerichs, I; Pulletz, S

2014-01-01

Several studies have shown the ability of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to assess regional ventilation distribution in human lungs. Fluid accumulation in the pleural space as in empyema, typically occurring on one chest side, may influence the distribution of ventilation and the corresponding EIT findings. The aim of our study was to examine this effect on the assessment of regional ventilation by EIT. Six patients suffering from unilateral empyema and intubated with a double-lumen endotracheal tube were studied. EIT data were acquired during volume-controlled ventilation with bilateral (tidal volume (V T ): 800 ml) and unilateral ventilation (V T : 400 ml) of the right and left lungs. Mean tidal amplitudes of the EIT signal were calculated in all image pixels. The sums of these values, expressed as relative impedance change (rel. ΔZ), were then determined in whole images and functionally defined regions-of-interest (ROI). The sums of rel. ΔZ calculated during the two cases of one-lung ventilation either on the affected or unaffected side were significantly smaller than during bilateral ventilation. However, in contrast to previous findings in patients with no pleural pathology, very low values of rel. ΔZ were found when the lung on the affected side was ventilated. ROI-based analysis rendered higher values than the whole-image analysis in this case, nonetheless, the values were significantly smaller than when the unaffected side was ventilated in spite of identical V T . In conclusion, our results indicate that the presence of empyema may affect the quantitative evaluation of regional lung ventilation by EIT. (paper)

Argument for a non-standard broad-line region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collin, S.

1987-01-01

The region emitting the broad lines (BLR) in quasars and AGN has a ''Standard Status''. It is shown that this status raises strong problems concerning the energetic budget and the thermal state of the BLR. A possible solution is proposed [fr

C-terminus of progranulin interacts with the beta-propeller region of sortilin to regulate progranulin trafficking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanqiu Zheng

Full Text Available Progranulin haplo-insufficiency is a main cause of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD with TDP-43 aggregates. Previous studies have shown that sortilin regulates progranulin trafficking and is a main determinant of progranulin level in the brain. In this study, we mapped the binding site between progranulin and sortilin. Progranulin binds to the beta-propeller region of sortilin through its C-terminal tail. The C-terminal progranulin fragment is fully sufficient for sortilin binding and progranulin C-terminal peptide displaces progranulin binding to sortilin. Deletion of the last 3 residues of progranulin (QLL abolishes its binding to sortilin and also sortilin dependent regulation of progranulin trafficking. Since progranulin haplo-insufficiency results in FTLD, these results may provide important insights into future studies of progranulin trafficking and signaling and progranulin based therapy for FTLD.

C-Terminus of Progranulin Interacts with the Beta-Propeller Region of Sortilin to Regulate Progranulin Trafficking

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Peter S.; Mao, Yuxin; Hu, Fenghua

2011-01-01

Progranulin haplo-insufficiency is a main cause of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) with TDP-43 aggregates. Previous studies have shown that sortilin regulates progranulin trafficking and is a main determinant of progranulin level in the brain. In this study, we mapped the binding site between progranulin and sortilin. Progranulin binds to the beta-propeller region of sortilin through its C-terminal tail. The C-terminal progranulin fragment is fully sufficient for sortilin binding and progranulin C-terminal peptide displaces progranulin binding to sortilin. Deletion of the last 3 residues of progranulin (QLL) abolishes its binding to sortilin and also sortilin dependent regulation of progranulin trafficking. Since progranulin haplo-insufficiency results in FTLD, these results may provide important insights into future studies of progranulin trafficking and signaling and progranulin based therapy for FTLD. PMID:21698296

Incorporating Edge Information into Best Merge Region-Growing Segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Tilton, James C.; Pasolli, Edoardo

2014-01-01

We have previously developed a best merge region-growing approach that integrates nonadjacent region object aggregation with the neighboring region merge process usually employed in region growing segmentation approaches. This approach has been named HSeg, because it provides a hierarchical set of image segmentation results. Up to this point, HSeg considered only global region feature information in the region growing decision process. We present here three new versions of HSeg that include local edge information into the region growing decision process at different levels of rigor. We then compare the effectiveness and processing times of these new versions HSeg with each other and with the original version of HSeg.

Radiative and magnetic properties of solar active regions. II. Spatially resolved analysis of O V 62.97 nm transition region emission

Science.gov (United States)

Fludra, A.; Warren, H.

2010-11-01

Context. Global relationships between the photospheric magnetic flux and the extreme ultraviolet emission integrated over active region area have been studied in a previous paper by Fludra & Ireland (2008, A&A, 483, 609). Spatially integrated EUV line intensities are tightly correlated with the total unsigned magnetic flux, and yet these global power laws have been shown to be insufficient for accurately determining the coronal heating mechanism owing to the mathematical ill-conditioning of the inverse problem. Aims: Our aim is to establish a relationship between the EUV line intensities and the photospheric magnetic flux density on small spatial scales in active regions and investigate whether it provides a way of identifying the process that heats the coronal loops. Methods: We compare spatially resolved EUV transition region emission and the photospheric magnetic flux density. This analysis is based on the O V 62.97 nm line recorded by the SOHO Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) and SOHO MDI magnetograms for six solar active regions. The magnetic flux density ϕ is converted to a simulated O V intensity using a model relationship I(ϕ, L) = Cϕδ Lλ, where the loop length L is obtained from potential magnetic field extrapolations. This simulated spatial distribution of O V intensities is convolved with the CDS instrument's point spread function and compared pixel by pixel with the observed O V line intensity. Parameters δ and λ are derived to give the best fit for the observed and simulated intensities. Results: Spatially-resolved analysis of the transition region emission reveals the complex nature of the heating processes in active regions. In some active regions, particularly large, local intensity enhancements up to a factor of five are present. When areas with O V intensities above 3000 erg cm-2 s-1 sr-1 are ignored, a power law has been fitted to the relationship between the local O V line intensity and the photospheric magnetic flux density in each

The economic performance of regions in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lenka Procházková

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Regional development in the Czech Republic contributed to the fact that at present none of the regions is significant backward compared to other. Individual regions have shown among themselves certain differences. This applies in particular to the economic performance of regions. This paper introduce results of our research. Main aim of the work was to indentify economic performace affecting factors of regions NUTS 3 in Czech Republic. It was necessary to define quantity of economic performance to meet this goal. We used them to create method of valuating economic performance of regions. We weighed quantities (e.g. GDP, unemployment rate, net disposable income according to their importance. This procedure was applied to individual regions. We determined the level of economic performance of Czech regions. We present overview of factors and using statistical methods we test their importance to the economic performance of Czech regions.

Automatic electromagnetic valve for previous vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Granados, C. E.; Martin, F.

1959-01-01

A valve which permits the maintenance of an installation vacuum when electric current fails is described. It also lets the air in the previous vacuum bomb to prevent the oil ascending in the vacuum tubes. (Author)

Theory of mind deficit in bipolar disorder: is it related to a previous history of psychotic symptoms?

Science.gov (United States)

Lahera, Guillermo; Montes, José Manuel; Benito, Adolfo; Valdivia, María; Medina, Elena; Mirapeix, Isabel; Sáiz-Ruiz, Jerónimo

2008-12-15

It has been hypothesized that a Theory of Mind (ToM) deficit could be a vulnerability marker for psychosis. Recent studies, however, have shown ToM deficits in affective relapses of bipolar disorder as well as in the euthymic phase. This study analyzes the relationship between ToM and a previous history of psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder. ToM, sustained attention and executive functions were analyzed in 75 bipolar euthymic patients with three or more previous relapses (42 of them had a history of psychotic symptoms and 33 did not) and 48 healthy subjects. ToM was assessed with the Advanced Test by Happé. ToM performance was similar in bipolar patients with or without a history of psychotic symptoms, and in both cases it was significantly reduced as compared with the healthy control group. Similarly, both bipolar groups showed impaired sustained attention and executive functions. This general cognitive deficit partially explains the differences obtained in ToM. The ToM instrument used shows low sensitivity for assessing ToM in bipolar patients and it could partially reflect general cognitive functioning rather than a specific deficit in psychosis. ToM deficit is not a trait marker for psychosis, given that it is present in bipolar disorder regardless of a previous history of psychotic symptoms.

Disarmament through regional dialogue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kono, Yuhei

1994-01-01

The role played by the United Nations in the pursuit of peace and disarmament and in support of the construction of a stable order in the region is very great. The attitude of Japan as a 'peace loving state' shown by its support to Non-proliferation is expressed by its high appreciation of the fact that this Second United Nations Conference in Hiroshima has been convened, as such exchanges of views constitute an important aspect of the process of disarmament

On synchronized regions of discrete-time complex dynamical networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan Zhisheng; Chen Guanrong

2011-01-01

In this paper, the local synchronization of discrete-time complex networks is studied. First, it is shown that for any natural number n, there exists a discrete-time network which has at least left floor n/2 right floor +1 disconnected synchronized regions for local synchronization, which implies the possibility of intermittent synchronization behaviors. Different from the continuous-time networks, the existence of an unbounded synchronized region is impossible for discrete-time networks. The convexity of the synchronized regions is also characterized based on the stability of a class of matrix pencils, which is useful for enlarging the stability region so as to improve the network synchronizability.

Fluid spheres and R- and T-regions in general relativity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McVittie, G C; Wiltshire, R J [Kent Univ., Canterbury (UK)

1975-10-01

R- and T-regions of spacetime are first defined in a particular coordinate system and then with the aid of the Schwarzschild vacuum solution are shown to represent the outside and inside of a black hole respectively. A certain class of interior solutions, relating to a perfect fluid, are also considered and it is found that these R- and T-solutions have distinct physical properties. The R-solutions are static, spherically symmetric, permanent, and have a classical analogue, while the corresponding T-solutions, which are wholly time dependent, are cylindrical, temporary, and do not have a classical analogue. It is shown that these T-solutions cannot be generated from their R-region counterparts. Particular T-solutions are also presented in which the corresponding fluid occupies the whole of a T-region. The fluid would under certain circumstances be black body radiation while for other cases the internal pressure is always greater than the density.

Tokamak residual zonal flow level in near-separatrix region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bing-Ren, Shi

2010-01-01

Residual zonal flow level is calculated for tokamak plasmas in the near-separatrix region of a diverted tokamak. A recently developed method is used to construct an analytic divertor tokamak configuration. It is shown that the residual zonal flow level becomes smaller but still keeps finite near the separatrix because the neoclassical polarisation mostly due to the trapped particles goes larger in this region. (fluids, plasmas and electric discharges)

Thermophysical Properties of the Phoenix Mars Landing Site Study Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Putzig, N. E.; Mellon, M. T.; Golombek, M. P.; Arvidson, R. E.

2006-03-01

Analysis of Phoenix Mars study regions places 4 of 5 in a previously-identified duricrust-dominated thermophysical unit which also contains the Viking and Spirit landing sites. Extrapolation of lander-observed properties to the study regions may be complicated by surface heterogeneity.

Electron Currents and Heating in the Ion Diffusion Region of Asymmetric Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, D. B.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Norgren, C.; Vaivads, A.; Andre, M.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Marklund, G. T.; Ergun, R. E.; Paterson, W. R.; Gershman, D. J.;

The North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP): Status and results

Science.gov (United States)

Arritt, R.

2009-04-01

NARCCAP is an international program that is generating projections of climate change for the U.S., Canada, and northern Mexico at decision-relevant regional scales. NARCCAP uses multiple limited-area regional climate models (RCMs) nested within multiple atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs). The use of multiple regional and global models allows us to investigate the uncertainty in model responses to future emissions (here, the A2 SRES scenario). The project also includes global time-slice experiments at the same discretization (50 km) using the GFDL atmospheric model (AM2.1) and the NCAR atmospheric model (CAM3). Phase I of the experiment uses the regional models nested within reanalysis in order to establish uncertainty attributable to the RCMs themselves. Phase II of the project then nests the RCMs within results from the current and future runs of the AOGCMs to explore the cascade of uncertainty from the global to the regional models. Phase I has been completed and the results to be shown include findings that spectral nudging is beneficial in some regions but not in others. Phase II is nearing completion and some preliminary results will be shown.

Persistent dural cerebrospinal fluid leak shown by retrograde radionuclide myelography: case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadrie, H.; Driedger, A.A.; McInnis, W.

1976-01-01

Following inadvertent spinal anesthesia for delivery, a patient developed incapacitating post-lumbar puncture headache that persisted for 9 weeks. Scintigrams of the lumbar region, obtained after injection of /sup 99m/Tc-human serum albumin into the cisterna magna, showed the cerebrospinal fluid leak. Blood patch repair was carried out, with immediate relief of all symptoms. Because of subsequent atypical headaches, a second cisternogram was done by the same technique. This study confirmed that there was no further dural leak, and other evidence indicated that the recurrent headache was related to functional problems

Indonesian Sea Power and Regional Maritime Security Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marsetio Marsetio

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to examine the regional maritime security challenges facing Indonesia. As it is known that entering to the 21st century has come a new term in regional architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Indo-Pacific region. This region consists of the Indian Ocean and Pacific. Both of these areas became more interconnected than in the previous period. These two regions became a single, significant system in the global order. Key players in the Indo-Pacific region are China, India and the United States. Of course, their actions have created new challenges in maritime security. These challenges include maritime disputes, pirates, and maritime power competition. The dispute in the South China Sea has spawned a security problem in the Asia Pacific region that Indonesia must face in the future.

Genetic analysis of autoimmune sialadenitis in nonobese diabetic mice: a major susceptibility region on chromosome 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulard, Olivier; Fluteau, Guy; Eloy, Laure; Damotte, Diane; Bedossa, Pierre; Garchon, Henri-Jean

2002-04-15

The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse strain provides a good study model for Sjögren's syndrome (SS). The genetic control of SS was investigated in this model using different matings, including a (NOD x C57BL/6 (B6))F(2) cross, a (NOD x NZW)F(2) cross, and ((NOD x B6) x NOD) backcross. Multiple and different loci were detected depending on parent strain combination and sex. Despite significant complexity, two main features were prominent. First, the middle region of chromosome 1 (chr.1) was detected in all crosses. Its effect was most visible in the (NOD x B6)F(2) cross and dominated over that of other loci, including those mapping on chr.8, 9, 10, and 16; the effect of these minor loci was observed only in the absence of the NOD haplotype on chr.1. Most critically, the chr.1 region was sufficient to trigger an SS-like inflammatory infiltrate of salivary glands as shown by the study of a new C57BL/6 congenic strain carrying a restricted segment derived from NOD chr.1. Second, several chromosomal regions were previously associated with NOD autoimmune phenotypes, including Iddm (chr.1, 2, 3, 9, and 17, corresponding to Idd5, Idd13, Idd3, Idd2, and Idd1, respectively), accounting for the strong linkage previously reported between insulitis and sialitis, and autoantibody production (chr.10 and 16, corresponding to Bana2 and Bah2, respectively). Interestingly, only two loci were detected in the (NOD x NZW)F(2) cross, on chr.1 in females and on chr.7 in males, probably because of the latent autoimmune predisposition of the NZW strain. Altogether these findings reflect the complexity and heterogeneity of human SS.

Regional versus local influences on lead and cadmium loading to the Great Lakes region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yohn, S.; Long, D.; Fett, J.; Patino, L. [Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (United States). Dept. of Geological Science

2004-07-01

Environmental legislation has reduced the anthropogenic loadings of Pb and Cd to the Great Lakes region over the past 3 decades. However, the accumulation rates of these metals still remain above background values. Because environmental legislation was targeted at major sources (e.g., Pb in gasoline) whose influence on the environment was on a regional scale, local sources (e.g., watershed scale) for the metals may now play a more significant role. The relative importance of regional versus local scale influences on metal inputs to the environment is poorly understood. In this study, sediment chronologies of Pb and Cd were examined from 12 inland lakes that cover the broad geographic area of the State of Michigan. These chronologies were compared temporally and spatially and to watershed population densities and metal production records to gain an understanding of local and regional influences on metal inputs to the Great Lakes region. Results show that anthropogenic Pb loading during the 1930s and 1970s was dominated by regional sources. such as coal burning and use of leaded gasoline. Current loadings are now more related to local influences such as watershed population densities, rather than atmospheric deposition. Anthropogenic Cd loadings to the Great Lakes region have been dominated by both regional and local sources over time. Lead may also have shown the influence of local sources over time, if the influence of emissions from gasoline had not been present. This work shows that Pb and Cd loadings in the Great Lakes region are strongly related to watershed population densities; however, the specific sources and pathways for the metal cycling are unclear.

Influence of Previous Knowledge, Language Skills and Domain-specific Interest on Observation Competency

Science.gov (United States)

Kohlhauf, Lucia; Rutke, Ulrike; Neuhaus, Birgit

2011-10-01

Many epoch-making biological discoveries (e.g. Darwinian Theory) were based upon observations. Nevertheless, observation is often regarded as `just looking' rather than a basic scientific skill. As observation is one of the main research methods in biological sciences, it must be considered as an independent research method and systematic practice of this method is necessary. Because observation skills form the basis of further scientific methods (e.g. experiments or comparisons) and children from the age of 4 years are able to independently generate questions and hypotheses, it seems possible to foster observation competency at a preschool level. To be able to provide development-adequate individual fostering of this competency, it is first necessary to assess each child's competency. Therefore, drawing on the recent literature, we developed in this study a competency model that was empirically evaluated within learners ( N = 110) from different age groups, from kindergarten to university. In addition, we collected data on language skills, domain-specific interest and previous knowledge to analyse coherence between these skills and observation competency. The study showed as expected that previous knowledge had a high impact on observation competency, whereas the influence of domain-specific interest was nonexistent. Language skills were shown to have a weak influence. By utilising the empirically validated model consisting of three dimensions (`Describing', `Scientific reasoning' and `Interpreting') and three skill levels, it was possible to assess each child's competency level and to develop and evaluate guided play activities to individually foster a child's observation competency.

P1-27: Localizing Regions Activated by Surface Gloss in Macaque Visual Cortex by fMRI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gouki Okazawa

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Surface properties of objects such as gloss provide important information about the states or materials of objects in our visual experiences. Previous studies have shown that there are cortical regions responding to shapes, colors, faces etc. in the macaque visual cortex. However, we still lack the information about where the surface properties are processed in the macaque visual cortex. In this study, we examined whether there are regions activated by surface gloss, an important surface property, in the macaque visual cortex by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. We trained two monkeys to fixate on a small spot on the screen in MRI scanner, while the images of glossy and matte objects were presented. As a control condition for low-level image features, such as spatial frequency or luminance contrast, we generated scrambled images by locally randomizing the luminance phases of images using wavelet filters. By contrasting the responses to glossy images to those to matte and scrambled images, we found the activation in wide regions along the ventral visual pathway including V1, V2, V3, V4, and the posterior part of the inferior temporal (IT cortex. In one monkey, we also found the activations in the central part of IT cortex. In another control experiment, we manipulated the image contrasts and found that the responses in these regions cannot be explained simply by the image contrasts. These results suggest that surface gloss is processed along the ventral pathway and, in the IT cortex there are distinct regions processing surface gloss.

Stratospheric Influence on Summer Monsoon and Associated Planetary Wave Breaking and Mixing in the Subtropical Tropopause Region

Science.gov (United States)

Lubis, S. W.; Nakamura, N.

2017-12-01

Previous studies have shown that the monsoonal circulation plays an important role in planetary wave breaking (PWB). The highest frequency of breaking events occurs just downstream (east) of the monsoon region in summer. PWB induces mixing of potential vorticity (PV) and hence, alter the horizontal mixing in the atmosphere. Here, the authors hypothesize that the stratospheric easterlies in the boreal summer also play a significant role in the PWB and mixing associated with the summer monsoon. If the stratospheric winds were westerly in boreal summer, the frequency of PWB would be decreased due to more waves penetrating in the stratosphere, resulting in less horizontal PWB and thus reduced mixing in the subtropical tropopause region. The hypothesis is examined by using a set of idealized moist GFDL simulations. The monsoon circulation is produced by adding a land-sea contrast with a Gaussian-shaped mountains positioned in the midlatitudes. Other key ingredients for the monsoon, including albedo, oceanic warm pool, and Q-flux, were also ideally imposed in all simulations. Our control simulation produces a summer monsoon-like circulation similar to the observation. In particular, the thermally forced monsoonal circulation forms a prominent closed upper-level anticyclone that dominates the summertime upper-level flow. Associated with this circulation is an upward-bulging tropopause that forms a large reservoir of anomalously low PV. Consistent with previous studies, the well-defined tropospheric jet lies just poleward of the upper-level anticyclone, and acts as a dynamical barrier between the low-PV reservoir over the monsoonal region and the high-PV reservoir in the extratropics. This barrier disappears just northeast of the monsoon area in the jet exit region, allowing more quasi-planetary waves to break in this region. Repetitive wave breaking further weakens the PV gradient, leading to the formation of the surf zone and stronger mixing in this region. To quantify

Insertion and crossing region design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wienands, U.; Beloshitsky, P.

2001-01-01

This article is the summary of the 5-afternoon tutorial on insertions for circular machines. Roughly half the course (Part 1) was spent discussing interaction regions, We start by recapitulating basic beam optics including building blocks. This provides the tools to analyze the basic structure of interaction regions and explore the parameter space. This simple example is then successively refined and made more realistic. Examples of realized interaction regions for both hadron and electron machines are shown and their salient features and differences explained. A brief discussion of solenoid-decoupling brings Part 1 to a close. In Part 2 we discussed various utility sections. Dispersion suppressors are presented in detail discussing the principles as well as the practical implementation of flexible suppressors using LEP as an example. Injection schemes, both single-turn and multi-turn stacking, are presented in depth. The matching of wiggler and undulator insertions and a discussion of the impact of these devices on beam parameters closes out Part 2

Regionalism and Economic Processes with Global Impact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina TABAC

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Regionalism has become one of the most discussed topics at the moment, in recent years and become one of the central challenges of the future in the modern system of international relations. Finally, in the XIX-XX centuries, scientists have expressed it a worldwide phenomenon through a process of radical change "external environment" and significant internal changes. It can be expressed in the world in one way or another, even if it has not been shown modest form until recently. Currently, regionalism and regional integration are considered as key indicators of international developments in the research of foreign policy and international relations. Theory followed the end of the era of "Cold War" and entered the post-bipolar world, multi-faceted development stage. The attention of researchers has grown to regionalization and regional integration by increasing the role and activities of regional organizations such as the EU, ASEAN, APEC and NAFTA, which coordinates the process of decision-making at supranational level, as well as issues of international regulation.

Adult education as information and help in forming opinions shown from the example of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wild, W.; Markus, B.; Dietrich, T.; Schmitt Glaeser, W.

1977-01-01

The lectures printed here, partly in revised form, were given at a University meeting for teachers in adult education on July 9th and 10th 1976 in Bayreuth, with the main theme of 'Adult education as information and help in forming opinions shown from the subject of nuclear power'. It should be shown by examples related to this problem, which urgently requires more objectivity, and which will be freed of emotional opinions with extraordinary difficulty, how complex such objects can be and how many different aspects have to be taken into account. The grouping of scientific referees, a teacher, a nuclear physicist, a radiation biologist and a lawyer, makes the plurality of the aspects quite clear. Themes: 1) The contribution of adult education to de-idealogising the population, 2) The scientific and technical basis of generation and use of nuclear power, 3)Radiation stresses of living organismus, particularly human being. 4) Smug authorities, protesting citizens, overload judges. (GL) [de

Secondary recurrent miscarriage is associated with previous male birth.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Ooi, Poh Veh

2012-01-31

Secondary recurrent miscarriage (RM) is defined as three or more consecutive pregnancy losses after delivery of a viable infant. Previous reports suggest that a firstborn male child is associated with less favourable subsequent reproductive potential, possibly due to maternal immunisation against male-specific minor histocompatibility antigens. In a retrospective cohort study of 85 cases of secondary RM we aimed to determine if secondary RM was associated with (i) gender of previous child, maternal age, or duration of miscarriage history, and (ii) increased risk of pregnancy complications. Fifty-three women (62.0%; 53\\/85) gave birth to a male child prior to RM compared to 32 (38.0%; 32\\/85) who gave birth to a female child (p=0.002). The majority (91.7%; 78\\/85) had uncomplicated, term deliveries and normal birth weight neonates, with one quarter of the women previously delivered by Caesarean section. All had routine RM investigations and 19.0% (16\\/85) had an abnormal result. Fifty-seven women conceived again and 33.3% (19\\/57) miscarried, but there was no significant difference in failure rates between those with a previous male or female child (13\\/32 vs. 6\\/25, p=0.2). When patients with abnormal results were excluded, or when women with only one previous child were considered, there was still no difference in these rates. A previous male birth may be associated with an increased risk of secondary RM but numbers preclude concluding whether this increases recurrence risk. The suggested association with previous male birth provides a basis for further investigations at a molecular level.

Secondary recurrent miscarriage is associated with previous male birth.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Ooi, Poh Veh

2011-01-01

Secondary recurrent miscarriage (RM) is defined as three or more consecutive pregnancy losses after delivery of a viable infant. Previous reports suggest that a firstborn male child is associated with less favourable subsequent reproductive potential, possibly due to maternal immunisation against male-specific minor histocompatibility antigens. In a retrospective cohort study of 85 cases of secondary RM we aimed to determine if secondary RM was associated with (i) gender of previous child, maternal age, or duration of miscarriage history, and (ii) increased risk of pregnancy complications. Fifty-three women (62.0%; 53\\/85) gave birth to a male child prior to RM compared to 32 (38.0%; 32\\/85) who gave birth to a female child (p=0.002). The majority (91.7%; 78\\/85) had uncomplicated, term deliveries and normal birth weight neonates, with one quarter of the women previously delivered by Caesarean section. All had routine RM investigations and 19.0% (16\\/85) had an abnormal result. Fifty-seven women conceived again and 33.3% (19\\/57) miscarried, but there was no significant difference in failure rates between those with a previous male or female child (13\\/32 vs. 6\\/25, p=0.2). When patients with abnormal results were excluded, or when women with only one previous child were considered, there was still no difference in these rates. A previous male birth may be associated with an increased risk of secondary RM but numbers preclude concluding whether this increases recurrence risk. The suggested association with previous male birth provides a basis for further investigations at a molecular level.

Diagnostics of the solar wind transition region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lotova, N.A.; Nagelis, Ya.V.; Rudnitskij, G.M.; Smirnova, T.V.; AN Latvijskoj SSR, Riga. Radioastrofizicheskaya Observatoriya; Moskovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ.; AN SSSR, Moscow. Fizicheskij Inst.)

1988-01-01

Possibilities are discussed of a more complete study of hardly observable regions of the interplanetary medium, in the zone of the solar wind formation, where transition from subsonic to supersonic flow occurs at R sun . It is shown that an investigation of fine structure of the extended transonic region of the solar wind and of the sequence of changes in the parameters of the interplanetary plasma in the region of the solar wind formation with the changing distance from the Sun can be effectuated by using jointly different modifications of the occupation method. Combination of two or more modifications of this method supposes using compact radio sources of different classes and observations in two different wavelength ranges, namely at short centimeter and at meter waves

The Rising Burden of Diabetes and Hypertension in Southeast Asian and African Regions: Need for Effective Strategies for Prevention and Control in Primary Health Care Settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viswanathan Mohan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. To review the available literature on burden of diabetes mellitus (DM and hypertension (HTN and its coexistence in Southeast Asian (SEA and the African (AFR regions and to suggest strategies to improve DM and HTN prevention and control in primary health care (PHC in the two regions. Methods. A systematic review of the papers published on DM, HTN, and prevention/control of chronic diseases in SEA and AFR regions between 1980 and December 2012 was included. Results. In the year 2011, SEA region had the second largest number of people with DM (71.4 million, while the AFR region had the smallest number (14.7 million. Screening studies identified high proportions (>50% of individuals with previously undiagnosed HTN and DM in both of the SEA and AFR regions. Studies from both regions have shown that DM and HTN coexist in type 2 DM ranging from 20.6% in India to 78.4% in Thailand in the SEA region and ranging from 9.7% in Nigeria to 70.4% in Morocco in the AFR region. There is evidence that by lifestyle modification both DM and HTN can be prevented. Conclusion. To meet the twin challenge of DM and HTN in developing countries, PHCs will have to be strengthened with a concerted and multipronged effort to provide promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services.

Immobilization for the radiation therapy treatment of the pelvic region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van den Heuvel, F; De Beukeleer, M; Nys, F; Bijdekerke, P; Robberechts, M; Van Cauwenbergh, R [Brussels Univ. (Belgium). Dept. of Radiotherapy

1995-12-01

Previous experience with the treatment of the pelvic region has shown that geometric setup errors are considerable in extent and incidence. A proposal to alleviate this problem is the introduction of immobilization devices in analogy with head and neck treatment. The practicality and efficacy of such a technique is investigated and compared with an earlier proposed technique using interactive adjustment and Electronic Portal Imaging (EPI). A group of 13 patients treated in the pelvic region using external radiation therapy was immobilized using an Orfit-like cast. Every fraction for every patients was imaged using an EPID. Immediately after obtaining an image it was compared to a digitized simulation image using the in-house developed OPIDUM system. Patient position was adjusted when an error in one of the main directions (transversal or longitudinal) exceeded 5 mm. Time measurements were carried out in order to asses the impact of the immobilization procedure on the patient throughput. In 68% of the cases a corrective action was necessary. The fraction of total treatment time was 50% for 26% of the fields. The range of errors measured in the longitudinal direction was between 29 and -22 mm. In the transversal direction the range was from -7 to 60 mm. A full analysis 13 patients yielding statistics for more than 200 fields is presented. Special attention has been paid to the determination of the nature of the errors (random or systematic) and the impact on patient throughput.

Immobilization for the radiation therapy treatment of the pelvic region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Heuvel, F.; De Beukeleer, M.; Nys, F.; Bijdekerke, P.; Robberechts, M.; Van Cauwenbergh, R.

1995-01-01

Previous experience with the treatment of the pelvic region has shown that geometric setup errors are considerable in extent and incidence. A proposal to alleviate this problem is the introduction of immobilization devices in analogy with head and neck treatment. The practicality and efficacy of such a technique is investigated and compared with an earlier proposed technique using interactive adjustment and Electronic Portal Imaging (EPI). A group of 13 patients treated in the pelvic region using external radiation therapy was immobilized using an Orfit-like cast. Every fraction for every patients was imaged using an EPID. Immediately after obtaining an image it was compared to a digitized simulation image using the in-house developed OPIDUM system. Patient position was adjusted when an error in one of the main directions (transversal or longitudinal) exceeded 5 mm. Time measurements were carried out in order to asses the impact of the immobilization procedure on the patient throughput. In 68% of the cases a corrective action was necessary. The fraction of total treatment time was 50% for 26% of the fields. The range of errors measured in the longitudinal direction was between 29 and -22 mm. In the transversal direction the range was from -7 to 60 mm. A full analysis 13 patients yielding statistics for more than 200 fields is presented. Special attention has been paid to the determination of the nature of the errors (random or systematic) and the impact on patient throughput

Singular vector decomposition of the internal variability of the Canadian Regional Climate Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diaconescu, Emilia Paula; Laprise, Rene [University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Canadian Network for Regional Climate Modelling and Diagnostics, P.O. Box 8888, Montreal, QC (Canada); Centre ESCER (Etude et Simulation du Climat a l' Echelle Regionale), Montreal, QC (Canada); Zadra, Ayrton [University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Canadian Network for Regional Climate Modelling and Diagnostics, P.O. Box 8888, Montreal, QC (Canada); Environment Canada, Meteorological Research Division, Montreal, QC (Canada); Centre ESCER (Etude et Simulation du Climat a l' Echelle Regionale), Montreal, QC (Canada)

2012-03-15

Previous studies have shown that Regional Climate Models (RCM) internal variability (IV) fluctuates in time depending on synoptic events. This study focuses on the physical understanding of episodes with rapid growth of IV. An ensemble of 21 simulations, differing only in their initial conditions, was run over North America using version 5 of the Canadian RCM (CRCM). The IV is quantified in terms of energy of CRCM perturbations with respect to a reference simulation. The working hypothesis is that IV is arising through rapidly growing perturbations developed in dynamically unstable regions. If indeed IV is triggered by the growth of unstable perturbations, a large proportion of the CRCM perturbations must project onto the most unstable singular vectors (SVs). A set of ten SVs was computed to identify the orthogonal set of perturbations that provide the maximum growth with respect to the dry total-energy norm during the course of the CRCM ensemble of simulations. CRCM perturbations were then projected onto the subspace of SVs. The analysis of one episode of rapid growth of IV is presented in detail. It is shown that a large part of the IV growth is explained by initially small-amplitude unstable perturbations represented by the ten leading SVs, the SV subspace accounting for over 70% of the CRCM IV growth in 36 h. The projection on the leading SV at final time is greater than the projection on the remaining SVs and there is a high similarity between the CRCM perturbations and the leading SV after 24-36 h tangent-linear model integration. The vertical structure of perturbations revealed that the baroclinic conversion is the dominant process in IV growth for this particular episode. (orig.)

Dust devil dynamics in the internal vortex region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onishchenko, O G; Pokhotelov, O A; Horton, W

2015-01-01

A hydrodynamic model for dust devil dynamics in the internal vortex region is analyzed. It is shown that the results concerning the growing plumes investigated by Onishchenko et al (2014) for the short time domain can be applied to the study of vortex motion in the internal region for longer times. It is demonstrated that these convective plumes in an atmosphere with weak, large-scale toroidal motion inhomogeneity in the vertical direction can be a subject for further exponential growth over time. (invited comment)

Influence of the Leader protein coding region of foot-and-mouth disease virus on virus replication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Belsham, Graham

2013-01-01

The foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) Leader (L) protein is produced in two forms, Lab and Lb, differing only at their amino-termini, due to the use of separate initiation codons, usually 84 nt apart. It has been shown previously, and confirmed here, that precise deletion of the Lab coding......, in the context of the virus lacking the Lb coding region, was also tolerated by the virus within BHK cells. However, precise loss of the Lb coding sequence alone blocked FMDV replication in primary bovine thyroid cells. Thus, the requirement for the Leader protein coding sequences is highly dependent...... on the nature and extent of the residual Leader protein sequences and on the host cell system used. FMDVs precisely lacking Lb and with the Lab initiation codon modified may represent safer seed viruses for vaccine production....

Tourism as backer for regional development. A real deal or just another hope?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camelia SURUGIU

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The present paper aims to estimate the economic impact of tourism in Centre development region of Romania, using the regional input-output analysis. Prior Work in the field of assessment of tourism impact suggest input – output analysis as a strong instrument of analysis, previous research papers using this model in various region and countries of the world. The main approach of the paper is to develop GRIT model (Generation of Regional Input - Output Tables previously used by the experts. The results of the paper indicate lower backward or forward regional tourism multipliers as compared to those estimated at national level. The main findings of the paper has significant implications for the decision-makers in order to support tourism sector and better capitalize the tourism natural and cultural patrimony. Furthermore, the methodology could be used in other Romanian development regions. The value of the paper consists in adapting input-output methodology at regional level in order to estimate tourism impact.

Variability and change of sea level and its components in the Indo-Pacific region during the altimetry era

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Quran; Zhang, Xuebin; Church, John A.; Hu, Jianyu

2017-03-01

Previous studies have shown that regional sea level exhibits interannual and decadal variations associated with the modes of climate variability. A better understanding of those low-frequency sea level variations benefits the detection and attribution of climate change signals. Nonetheless, the contributions of thermosteric, halosteric, and mass sea level components to sea level variability and trend patterns remain unclear. By focusing on signals associated with dominant climate modes in the Indo-Pacific region, we estimate the interannual and decadal fingerprints and trend of each sea level component utilizing a multivariate linear regression of two adjoint-based ocean reanalyses. Sea level interannual, decadal, and trend patterns primarily come from thermosteric sea level (TSSL). Halosteric sea level (HSSL) is of regional importance in the Pacific Ocean on decadal time scale and dominates sea level trends in the northeast subtropical Pacific. The compensation between TSSL and HSSL is identified in their decadal variability and trends. The interannual and decadal variability of temperature generally peak at subsurface around 100 m but that of salinity tend to be surface-intensified. Decadal temperature and salinity signals extend deeper into the ocean in some regions than their interannual equivalents. Mass sea level (MassSL) is critical for the interannual and decadal variability of sea level over shelf seas. Inconsistencies exist in MassSL trend patterns among various estimates. This study highlights regions where multiple processes work together to control sea level variability and change. Further work is required to better understand the interaction of different processes in those regions.

77 FR 70176 - Previous Participation Certification

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-23

... participants' previous participation in government programs and ensure that the past record is acceptable prior... information is designed to be 100 percent automated and digital submission of all data and certifications is... government programs and ensure that the past record is acceptable prior to granting approval to participate...

Complex approach to power supply system in the Tomsk region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meshcheryakov, V.N.; Bojko, V.I.; Koshelev, F.P.; Kolpakov, G.N.; Shamanin, I.V.

2001-01-01

The problem of power supply of the Tomsk region is under consideration. Power sources are compared with regard to economical and ecological effectiveness. It is shown that nuclear power industry is promising for the Tomsk region due to a unique nuclear park in a town of Seversk with developed scientific, industrial, skilled personnel and construction bases. It is noted that the construction of the NPP based on two WWER-640, WWER-1000 reactors of new generation permits solving the problem of power supply of the Tomsk region [ru

Investigation of solar flares in X-ray and optical spectral region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurt, V.; Kurochka, L.N.; Zenchenko, V.M.

1989-01-01

Measurements of hard X h radiation of 180 solar flares carried out on board of the space probes Venera-13,-14, were compared with measurements of optical and thermal X t radiation. Values of total energy release during a flare in these regions are calculated, and correlation analysis is carried out. The bond correlations found have shown that total energy of fast electrons, caused X h -flare in the flare pulse phase, and thermal energy at the end of a pulse phase are practically connected with each othesr functionally. Quantitative connection between a flare ball in H α -line and the most probable energy values, being in different radiation regions calculated in the scope of generally accepted models, is established. The total energy of an optical (cold) part of the flare, radiation energy in X-ray region and the energy introduced to the flare volume by energy particles are shown to be compared between each other

Regional fuel cycle centres for South and South-East Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, M.I.

1977-01-01

A brief preliminary analysis of the economic feasibility of regional fuel cycle centres in South and South-East Asia is presented. The indicative break-even costs and break-even plant sizes for the various fuel cycle services are estimated and the timing for their establishment on the basis of IAEA and ESCAP nuclear power projections in the region are shown. The paper discusses the need for achieving regional self-sufficiency for nuclear fuel services and suggests that a detailed study should be undertaken by the IAEA in close co-operation with the countries of the region to find out their requirements for nuclear fuel services. (author)

Amino Terminal Region of Dengue Virus NS4A Cytosolic Domain Binds to Highly Curved Liposomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Fu Hung

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Dengue virus (DENV is an important human pathogen causing millions of disease cases and thousands of deaths worldwide. Non-structural protein 4A (NS4A is a vital component of the viral replication complex (RC and plays a major role in the formation of host cell membrane-derived structures that provide a scaffold for replication. The N-terminal cytoplasmic region of NS4A(1–48 is known to preferentially interact with highly curved membranes. Here, we provide experimental evidence for the stable binding of NS4A(1–48 to small liposomes using a liposome floatation assay and identify the lipid binding sequence by NMR spectroscopy. Mutations L6E;M10E were previously shown to inhibit DENV replication and to interfere with the binding of NS4A(1–48 to small liposomes. Our results provide new details on the interaction of the N-terminal region of NS4A with membranes and will prompt studies of the functional relevance of the curvature sensitive membrane anchor at the N-terminus of NS4A.

Inertia-gravity waves in the troposphere and lower stratosphere associated with a jet stream exit region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Thomas

Full Text Available Radar measurements at Aberystwyth (52.4° N, 4.1° W of winds at tropospheric and lower stratospheric heights are shown for 12-13 March 1994 in a region of highly curved flow, downstream of the jet maximum. The perturbations of horizontal velocity have comparable amplitudes in the troposphere and lower stratosphere with downward and upward phase propagation, respectively, in these two height regions. The sense of rotation with increasing height in hodographs of horizontal perturbation velocity derived for hourly intervals show downwards propagation of energy in the troposphere and upward propagation in the lower stratosphere with vertical wavelengths of 1.7 to 2.3 km. The results indicate inertia-gravity waves propagating in a direction similar to that of the jet stream but at smaller velocities. Some of the features observed contrast with those of previous observations of inertia-gravity waves propagating transverse to the jet stream. The interpretation of the hodographs to derive wave parameters has taken account of the vertical shear of the background wind transverse to the direction of wave propagation.

Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (mesoscale meteorology; middle atmosphere dynamics; waves and tides

Hepatic vascular isolation and perfusion for patients with progressive unresectable liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma refractory to previous systemic and regional chemotherapy

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Alexander, HR.; Libutti, S. K.; Barlett, D. L.; Pingpank, J. F.; Kranda, Karel; Helsabeck, C.; Beresnev, T.

2002-01-01

Roč. 95, č. 4 (2002), s. 730-736 ISSN 0008-543X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KSK4055109 Keywords : colorectal carcinoma * liver metastases * regional chemotherapy Subject RIV: FD - Oncology ; Hematology Impact factor: 1.000, year: 2002

Safety of Potato Consumption in Slovak Region Contaminated by Heavy Metals due to Previous Mining Activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janette Musilova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Heavy metals are among the most serious environmental contaminants in mining districts. Soil, as one of the main components of the environment, is the place of heavy metal entry into plants and consequently into the food chain, too. Potatoes grown in the region of Middle Spis (Slovakia may be a source of increased content of heavy metals and pose a health risk to the consumer. The contents of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Ni in potato and soil samples were determined using the AAS method and compared with limit values set by the Slovak Republic and the European Union. The content of heavy metals was determined in 12 potato cultivars with different length of vegetation period (mid-early, very early, and early, resp., which were grown in three localities with a highly disturbed environment. Total contents and mobile forms of heavy metals as well as physical and chemical properties were determined in soil samples which were collected from the same sampling sites. Only Pb content in potato tubers was higher than the hygienic limit value (0.1 mg kg−1 FM in 15 sampling sites (interval was n.d. –0.2298 mg kg−1 FM. The contents of exchangeable forms (total content of heavy metals in soil were ranged between the intervals: Cd 0.004–0.055 (0.94–1 56, Pb 0.023–0.295 (17.00–26.80, and Ni 0.019–0.475 (30.80–71.00 mg kg−1. At current average consumption levels of potatoes, tolerable weekly intake (TWI or tolerable daily intake (TDI for observed heavy metals was not exceeded.

The most common mutation causing medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency is strongly associated with a particular haplotype in the region of the gene

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kølvraa, S; Gregersen, N; Blakemore, A I

1991-01-01

RFLP haplotypes in the region containing the medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) gene on chromosome 1 have been determined in patients with MCAD deficiency. The RFLPs were detected after digestion of patient DNA with the enzymes BanII. PstI and TaqI and with an MCAD cDNA-clone as a probe....... Of 32 disease-causing alleles studied, 31 possessed the previously published A----G point-mutation at position 985 of the cDNA. This mutation has been shown to result in inactivity of the MCAD enzyme. In at least 30 of the 31 alleles carrying this G985 mutation a specific RFLP haplotype was present...

Ethnic Separatism in Pakistan as a Threat to Regional Security

OpenAIRE

Adam Isaevich Khahkhanov

2015-01-01

At present ethnic separatism is shown in various regions practically on all continents and it is the same serious call of the international stability and safety, as religious extremism and drugs. Ethnic separatism is shown and in the Southern Asia, particularly, in India, Pakistan, Sri - Lanka, leading to terrorism acts and a numerous death. The author analyzes sources and the reasons of ethnic separatism in Pakistan. Author marks that the basis for statehood of Pakistan while independence de...

[Prevalence of previously diagnosed diabetes mellitus in Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Rojas-Martínez, Rosalba; Basto-Abreu, Ana; Aguilar-Salinas, Carlos A; Zárate-Rojas, Emiliano; Villalpando, Salvador; Barrientos-Gutiérrez, Tonatiuh

2018-01-01

To compare the prevalence of previously diagnosed diabetes in 2016 with previous national surveys and to describe treatment and its complications. Mexico's national surveys Ensa 2000, Ensanut 2006, 2012 and 2016 were used. For 2016, logistic regression models and measures of central tendency and dispersion were obtained. The prevalence of previously diagnosed diabetes in 2016 was 9.4%. The increase of 2.2% relative to 2012 was not significant and only observed in patients older than 60 years. While preventive measures have increased, the access to medical treatment and lifestyle has not changed. The treatment has been modified, with an increase in insulin and decrease in hypoglycaemic agents. Population aging, lack of screening actions and the increase in diabetes complications will lead to an increase on the burden of disease. Policy measures targeting primary and secondary prevention of diabetes are crucial.

Relationship between regions of anomalously low ozone content and the pressure situation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bekoriukov, V I; Zakharov, G R; Kukoleva, A A; Fioletov, V E [Tsentral' naia Aerologicheskaia Observatoriia, Dolgoprudny (USSR)

1990-12-01

Data on total ozone content measured at various stations in the Northern Hemisphere in 1977, 1985, 1986, and 1987 are examined. It is shown that short-lived regions (i.e, with a life span of a few days) with anomalously low ozone content in the Northern Hemisphere are conditioned by circulation features in these regions.

Restraint of appetite and reduced regional brain volumes in anorexia nervosa: a voxel-based morphometric study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brooks Samantha J

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI studies of people with anorexia nervosa (AN have shown differences in brain structure. This study aimed to provide preliminary extensions of this data by examining how different levels of appetitive restraint impact on brain volume. Methods Voxel based morphometry (VBM, corrected for total intracranial volume, age, BMI, years of education in 14 women with AN (8 RAN and 6 BPAN and 21 women (HC was performed. Correlations between brain volume and dietary restraint were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS. Results Increased right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC and reduced right anterior insular cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, left cerebellum and right posterior cingulate volumes in AN compared to HC. RAN compared to BPAN had reduced left orbitofrontal cortex, right anterior insular cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus and left cerebellum. Age negatively correlated with right DLPFC volume in HC but not in AN; dietary restraint and BMI predicted 57% of variance in right DLPFC volume in AN. Conclusions In AN, brain volume differences were found in appetitive, somatosensory and top-down control brain regions. Differences in regional GMV may be linked to levels of appetitive restraint, but whether they are state or trait is unclear. Nevertheless, these discrete brain volume differences provide candidate brain regions for further structural and functional study in people with eating disorders.

Patient Dashboard: the use of a colour-coded computerised clinical reminder in Whanganui regional general practices.

Science.gov (United States)

McMenamin, John; Nicholson, Rick; Leech, Ken

2011-12-01

Clinical reminders have been shown to help general practice achieve an increase in some preventive care items, especially if they identify a patient's eligibility for the target item, prompt clinicians at the right time, provide a fast link to management tools and facilitate clinical recording. WRPHO has introduced the Patient Dashboard clinical reminder and monitored its impact on health targets. This paper reports the impact of a computerised colour-coded clinical reminder on achieving agreed health targets in Whanganui regional practices. Patient Dashboard was developed from previous versions in Auckland and Northland and provided to Whanganui regional practices with Primary Health Organisation (PHO) support. The Dashboard was linked with existing and new clinical management tools which automatically updated clinical records. Data from practices was pooled by Whanganui Regional Primary Health Organisation and target achievement rates reported over 15 months. Over the initial 15 months of Patient Dashboard use, recording of smoking status increased from 74% to 82% and of alcohol use from 15% to 47%. Screening for diabetes increased from 62% to 74%, cardiovascular risk assessment from 20% to 43%, cervical screening from 71% to 79%, and breast screening from 60% to 80%. Patient Dashboard was associated with increased performance indicators both for those targets which were part of a PHO programme and for targets without additional support.

Hybrid Monte Carlo-Diffusion Method For Light Propagation in Tissue With a Low-Scattering Region

Science.gov (United States)

Hayashi, Toshiyuki; Kashio, Yoshihiko; Okada, Eiji

2003-06-01

The heterogeneity of the tissues in a head, especially the low-scattering cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) layer surrounding the brain has previously been shown to strongly affect light propagation in the brain. The radiosity-diffusion method, in which the light propagation in the CSF layer is assumed to obey the radiosity theory, has been employed to predict the light propagation in head models. Although the CSF layer is assumed to be a nonscattering region in the radiosity-diffusion method, fine arachnoid trabeculae cause faint scattering in the CSF layer in real heads. A novel approach, the hybrid Monte Carlo-diffusion method, is proposed to calculate the head models, including the low-scattering region in which the light propagation does not obey neither the diffusion approximation nor the radiosity theory. The light propagation in the high-scattering region is calculated by means of the diffusion approximation solved by the finite-element method and that in the low-scattering region is predicted by the Monte Carlo method. The intensity and mean time of flight of the detected light for the head model with a low-scattering CSF layer calculated by the hybrid method agreed well with those by the Monte Carlo method, whereas the results calculated by means of the diffusion approximation included considerable error caused by the effect of the CSF layer. In the hybrid method, the time-consuming Monte Carlo calculation is employed only for the thin CSF layer, and hence, the computation time of the hybrid method is dramatically shorter than that of the Monte Carlo method.

Normalization in PET group comparison studies - The importance of a valid reference region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borghammer, Per; Jonsdottir, Kristjana Yr; Cumming, Paul

2008-01-01

: In healthy aging, CBF was shown to be unchanged in WM and central regions. In contrast, with normalization to the GM mean, CBF displayed positive correlation with age in the central regions. Very similar artifactual increases were seen in the HE comparison and also in the simulation experiment. CONCLUSION...

Generation of auroral kilometric radiation and the structure of auroral acceleration region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, L.C.; Kan, J.R.; Wu, C.S.

1980-01-01

Generation of auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) in the auroral acceleration region is studied. It is shown that auroral kilometric radiation can be generated by the backscattered electrons trapped in the acceleration region via a cyclotron maser process. The parallel electric field in the acceleration region is required to be distributed over 1-2 Rsub(E). The observed AKR frequency spectrum can be used to estimate the altitude range of the auroral acceleration region. The altitudes of the lower and upper boundaries of the acceleration region determined from the AKR data are respectively approximately 2000 and approximately 9000 km. (author)

Optimal depth-based regional frequency analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Wazneh, H.; Chebana, F.; Ouarda, T. B. M. J.

2013-06-01

Classical methods of regional frequency analysis (RFA) of hydrological variables face two drawbacks: (1) the restriction to a particular region which can lead to a loss of some information and (2) the definition of a region that generates a border effect. To reduce the impact of these drawbacks on regional modeling performance, an iterative method was proposed recently, based on the statistical notion of the depth function and a weight function φ. This depth-based RFA (DBRFA) approach was shown to be superior to traditional approaches in terms of flexibility, generality and performance. The main difficulty of the DBRFA approach is the optimal choice of the weight function ϕ (e.g., φ minimizing estimation errors). In order to avoid a subjective choice and naïve selection procedures of φ, the aim of the present paper is to propose an algorithm-based procedure to optimize the DBRFA and automate the choice of ϕ according to objective performance criteria. This procedure is applied to estimate flood quantiles in three different regions in North America. One of the findings from the application is that the optimal weight function depends on the considered region and can also quantify the region's homogeneity. By comparing the DBRFA to the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method, results show that the DBRFA approach leads to better performances both in terms of relative bias and mean square error.

Clinical significance of stress-induced ST segment changes in patients with previous myocardial infarction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Futagami, Yasuo; Hamada, Masayuki; Makino, Katsutoshi; Ichikawa, Takehiko; Konishi, Tokuji

1984-01-01

To explain the clinical significance of stress(st)-induced ST-segment (ST) changes postinfarction, 93 patients with previous myocardial infarction (MI) were performed st- 201 Tl myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and compared ST changes with SPECT, coronary arteriographic and left ventriculographic findings. 30 out of 93 cases (32%) had ST depression, 20 (21.5%) had ST elevation, 9 (10%) had both ST depression and elevation and remaining 34 (36.5 %) had no significant ST changes. In single vessel disease, ST depression were noted in 29% (12/42), while in multivessel disease, 53% (27/51). 35 out of 39 cases (90%) with ST depression had transient perfusion defect but no apparent relation was noted between location of ST depression on ECG and region of transient perfusion defect in SPECT. All of 28 cases with ST elevation were noted in anterior MI cases, and 26 out of these showed severe LV wall motion abnormality in contrast left ventriculography and broad anterior permanent defect in SPECT. Only 15 cases (54%) showed slight redistribution. Thus, we conclude that in patients with previous MI, st-induced ST depression seems to reflect myocardial ischemia and ST elevation possibly related abnormal LV wall motion. (author)

Systematic screening for mutations in the 5{prime}-regulatory region of the human dopamine D{sub 1} receptor (DRD1) gene in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cichon, S.; Noethen, M.M.; Stoeber, G. [Univ. of Bonn (Germany)] [and others

1996-07-26

A possible dysregulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission has been implicated in a variety of neuropsychiatric diseases. In the present study we systematically searched for the presence of mutations in the 5{prime}-flanking region of the dopamine D{sub 1} receptor (DRD1) gene. This region has previously been shown to contain a functional promoter. We investigated 119 unrelated individuals (including 36 schizophrenic patients, 38 bipolar affective patients, and 45 healthy controls) using single-strand conformation analysis (SSCA). Eleven overlapping PCR fragments covered 2,189 bp of DNA sequence. We identified six single base substitutions: -2218T/C, -2102C/A, -2030T/C, -1992G/A, -1251G/C, and -800T/C. None of the mutations was found to be located in regions which have important influence on the level of transcriptional activity. Allele frequencies were similar in patients and controls, indicating that genetic variation in the 5{prime}-regulatory region of the DRD1 gene is unlikely to play a frequent, major role in the genetic predisposition to either schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder. 31 refs., 3 tabs.

Public Capital and Regional Economic Growth: a SVAR Approach for the Spanish Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geoffrey J. D. Hewings

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, a significant share of the empirical analysis on the impact of public capital on regional growth has used multivariate time-series frameworks based on vector autoregressive (VAR models. Nevertheless, not as much attention has been dedicated to the analysis of the long-run determinants of regional growth processes using multi-region panel data and applying panel integration and co-integration techniques. This paper estimates the dynamic domestic effects of public infrastructure using a structural vector autoregressive (S-VAR methodology for the Spanish regions. From a methodological point of view, the paper contains several features that can be viewed as a contribution to the existing empirical literature. First, the important issues of the stationarity of the data and the existence and estimation of cointegrating relationships in the long-run are addressed in the context of the analysis of panel data. Secondly, the long-run cointegrating production function is embedded within structural vector error correction (S-VEC shortrun models to produce consistent estimates of impulse responses, contrary to many researchers who have estimated unrestricted VAR models in levels or VAR models in first differences. The estimates reveal new results with respect to the previous empirical evidence.

SAFEGUARDS ENVELOPE: PREVIOUS WORK AND EXAMPLES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metcalf, Richard; Bevill, Aaron; Charlton, William; Bean, Robert

2008-01-01

The future expansion of nuclear power will require not just electricity production but fuel cycle facilities such as fuel fabrication and reprocessing plants. As large reprocessing facilities are built in various states, they must be built and operated in a manner to minimize the risk of nuclear proliferation. Process monitoring has returned to the spotlight as an added measure that can increase confidence in the safeguards of special nuclear material (SNM). Process monitoring can be demonstrated to lengthen the allowable inventory period by reducing accountancy requirements, and to reduce the false positive indications. The next logical step is the creation of a Safeguards Envelope, a set of operational parameters and models to maximize anomaly detection and inventory period by process monitoring while minimizing operator impact and false positive rates. A brief example of a rudimentary Safeguards Envelope is presented, and shown to detect synthetic diversions overlaying a measured processing plant data set. This demonstration Safeguards Envelope is shown to increase the confidence that no SNM has been diverted with minimal operator impact, even though it is based on an information sparse environment. While the foundation on which a full Safeguards Envelope can be built has been presented in historical demonstrations of process monitoring, several requirements remain yet unfulfilled. Future work will require reprocessing plant transient models, inclusion of 'non-traditional' operating data, and exploration of new methods of identifying subtle events in transient processes

Environmental monitoring survey of oil and gas fields in Region II in 2009. Summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2010-03-15

The oil companies Statoil ASA, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, Total E&P Norge AS, Talisman Energy Norge AS and Marathon Petroleum Norge AS commissioned Section of Applied Environmental Research at UNI RESEARCH AS to undertake the monitoring survey of Region II in 2009. Similar monitoring surveys in Region II have been carried out in 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2006. The survey in 2009 included in total 18 fields: Rev, Varg, Sigyn, Sleipner Vest, Sleipner OEst, Sleipner Alfa Nord, Glitne, Grane, Balder, Ringhorne, Jotun, Vale, Skirne, Byggve, Heimdal, Volve, Vilje og Alvheim. Sampling was conducted from the vessel MV Libas between May 18 and May 27. Samples were collected from in totally 137 sampling sites, of which 15 were regional sampling sites. Samples for chemical analysis were collected at all sites, whereas samples for benthos analysis were collected at 12 fields. As in previous surveys, Region II is divided into natural sub-regions. One sub-region is shallow (77-96 m) sub-region, a central sub-region (107-130 m) and a northern subregion (115-119 m). The sediments of the shallow sub-region had relatively lower content of TOM and pelite and higher content of fine sand than the central and northern sub-regions. Calculated areas of contamination are shown for the sub-regions in Table 1.1. The fields Sigyn, Sleipner Alfa Nord, Glitne, Grane, Balder, Ringhorne, Jotun, Skirne, Byggve, Vilje og Alvheim showed no contamination of THC. At the other fields there were minor changes from 2006. The concentrations of barium increased in the central sub-region from 2006 to 2009, also at fields where no drilling had been undertaken during the last years. The same laboratory and methods are used during the three last regional investigations. The changes in barium concentrations may be due to high variability of barium concentrations in the sediments. This is supported by relatively large variations in average barium concentrations at the regional sampling sites in

Local population and regional environmental drivers of cholera in Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Escamilla Veronica

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Regional environmental factors have been shown to be related to cholera. Previous work in Bangladesh found that temporal patterns of cholera are positively related to satellite-derived environmental variables including ocean chlorophyll concentration (OCC. Methods This paper investigates whether local socio-economic status (SES modifies the effect of regional environmental forces. The study area is Matlab, Bangladesh, an area of approximately 200,000 people with an active health and demographic surveillance system. Study data include (1 spatially-referenced demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population; (2 satellite-derived variables for sea surface temperature (SST, sea surface height (SSH, and OCC; and (3 laboratory confirmed cholera case data for the entire population. Relationships between cholera, the environmental variables, and SES are measured using generalized estimating equations with a logit link function. Additionally two separate seasonal models are built because there are two annual cholera epidemics, one pre-monsoon, and one post-monsoon. Results SES has a significant impact on cholera occurrence: the higher the SES score, the lower the occurrence of cholera. There is a significant negative association between cholera incidence and SSH during the pre-monsoon period but not for the post-monsoon period. OCC is positively associated with cholera during the pre-monsoon period but not for the post-monsoon period. SST is not related to cholera incidence. Conclusions Overall, it appears cholera is influenced by regional environmental variables during the pre-monsoon period and by local-level variables (e.g., water and sanitation during the post-monsoon period. In both pre- and post-monsoon seasons, SES significantly influences these patterns, likely because it is a proxy for poor water quality and sanitation in poorer households.

Transient surface liquid in Titan's south polar region from Cassini

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, A.G.; Aharonson, O.; Lunine, J.I.; Kirk, R.L.; Zebker, H.A.; Wye, L.C.; Lorenz, R.D.; Turtle, E.P.; Paillou, P.; Mitri, Giuseppe; Wall, S.D.; Stofan, E.R.; Mitchell, K.L.; Elachi, C.

2011-01-01

Cassini RADAR images of Titan's south polar region acquired during southern summer contain lake features which disappear between observations. These features show a tenfold increases in backscatter cross-section between images acquired one year apart, which is inconsistent with common scattering models without invoking temporal variability. The morphologic boundaries are transient, further supporting changes in lake level. These observations are consistent with the exposure of diffusely scattering lakebeds that were previously hidden by an attenuating liquid medium. We use a two-layer model to explain backscatter variations and estimate a drop in liquid depth of approximately 1-m-per-year. On larger scales, we observe shoreline recession between ISS and RADAR images of Ontario Lacus, the largest lake in Titan's south polar region. The recession, occurring between June 2005 and July 2009, is inversely proportional to slopes estimated from altimetric profiles and the exponential decay of near-shore backscatter, consistent with a uniform reduction of 4 ± 1.3 m in lake depth. Of the potential explanations for observed surface changes, we favor evaporation and infiltration. The disappearance of dark features and the recession of Ontario's shoreline represents volatile transport in an active methane-based hydrologic cycle. Observed loss rates are compared and shown to be consistent with available global circulation models. To date, no unambiguous changes in lake level have been observed between repeat images in the north polar region, although further investigation is warranted. These observations constrain volatile flux rates in Titan's hydrologic system and demonstrate that the surface plays an active role in its evolution. Constraining these seasonal changes represents the first step toward our understanding of longer climate cycles that may determine liquid distribution on Titan over orbital time periods.

Integrated regional development of the Baltic region towards the sustainability of its ecosystem; A platform for thinking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Straszak, A; Owsinski, J W [Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw (PL); Kairiukstis, L [Lithuanian Forest Research Institute, Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR (SU)

1989-01-01

The paper presents a systemic framework for the assessment of the current state and future development of the Baltic ecosystem as an integral part of a broader Baltic region system involving social, economic and ecological aspects. The paper formulates and adresses the following questions: with respect to what aspects is this region a system How do various systemicity reaches overlap How can be systemic behaviour rectified and /or improved, special attention being paid to inter-system synergy The focus is on the resource and ecological system of Baltic, as the potentially generative one for the other systemic structures. It is shown, though, that these other structures are not adequate to the generative one, and that this inadequacy impinges on both the economic and ecological performance. Thus, it is proposed that economic and social activities within the Baltic region should match better the variety of its resource and ecological substratum, thereby allowing smoother and more rapid development of the region and presservation of the sustainability of this devleopment. Examples range from economic cooperation and transport to tourism and recreation, and nature protection. (author).

REGIONAL SEISMIC AMPLITUDE MODELING AND TOMOGRAPHY FOR EARTHQUAKE-EXPLOSION DISCRIMINATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walter, W R; Pasyanos, M E; Matzel, E; Gok, R; Sweeney, J; Ford, S R; Rodgers, A J

2008-07-08

We continue exploring methodologies to improve earthquake-explosion discrimination using regional amplitude ratios such as P/S in a variety of frequency bands. Empirically we demonstrate that such ratios separate explosions from earthquakes using closely located pairs of earthquakes and explosions recorded on common, publicly available stations at test sites around the world (e.g. Nevada, Novaya Zemlya, Semipalatinsk, Lop Nor, India, Pakistan, and North Korea). We are also examining if there is any relationship between the observed P/S and the point source variability revealed by longer period full waveform modeling (e. g. Ford et al 2008). For example, regional waveform modeling shows strong tectonic release from the May 1998 India test, in contrast with very little tectonic release in the October 2006 North Korea test, but the P/S discrimination behavior appears similar in both events using the limited regional data available. While regional amplitude ratios such as P/S can separate events in close proximity, it is also empirically well known that path effects can greatly distort observed amplitudes and make earthquakes appear very explosion-like. Previously we have shown that the MDAC (Magnitude Distance Amplitude Correction, Walter and Taylor, 2001) technique can account for simple 1-D attenuation and geometrical spreading corrections, as well as magnitude and site effects. However in some regions 1-D path corrections are a poor approximation and we need to develop 2-D path corrections. Here we demonstrate a new 2-D attenuation tomography technique using the MDAC earthquake source model applied to a set of events and stations in both the Middle East and the Yellow Sea Korean Peninsula regions. We believe this new 2-D MDAC tomography has the potential to greatly improve earthquake-explosion discrimination, particularly in tectonically complex regions such as the Middle East. Monitoring the world for potential nuclear explosions requires characterizing seismic

TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS CLUSTER IN AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF A REGION

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I.G. Menshenina

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The main types of clusters are described in the article. The function of a transport and logistics model is also described using the theory of graphs. The relationship of clusters is shown in the economic system of a region, and the main role of transport and logistics cluster is emphasized as a good condition for the effective functioning of other clusters in the region.

75 FR 76056 - FEDERAL REGISTER CITATION OF PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT:

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-07

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Sunshine Act Meeting FEDERAL REGISTER CITATION OF PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT: STATUS: Closed meeting. PLACE: 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC. DATE AND TIME OF PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED MEETING: Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 2 p.m. CHANGE IN THE MEETING: Time change. The closed...

Verbal working memory performance correlates with regional white matter structures in the frontoparietal regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeuchi, Hikaru; Taki, Yasuyuki; Sassa, Yuko; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Fukushima, Ai; Kawashima, Ryuta

2011-10-01

Working memory is the limited capacity storage system involved in the maintenance and manipulation of information over short periods of time. Previous imaging studies have suggested that the frontoparietal regions are activated during working memory tasks; a putative association between the structure of the frontoparietal regions and working memory performance has been suggested based on the analysis of individuals with varying pathologies. This study aimed to identify correlations between white matter and individual differences in verbal working memory performance in normal young subjects. We performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses using T1-weighted structural images as well as voxel-based analyses of fractional anisotropy (FA) using diffusion tensor imaging. Using the letter span task, we measured verbal working memory performance in normal young adult men and women (mean age, 21.7 years, SD=1.44; 42 men and 13 women). We observed positive correlations between working memory performance and regional white matter volume (rWMV) in the frontoparietal regions. In addition, FA was found to be positively correlated with verbal working memory performance in a white matter region adjacent to the right precuneus. These regions are consistently recruited by working memory. Our findings suggest that, among normal young subjects, verbal working memory performance is associated with various regions that are recruited during working memory tasks, and this association is not limited to specific parts of the working memory network. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated study of basins in the Four Corners region

Science.gov (United States)

Fagbola, Olamide Olawumi

2007-12-01

anomaly. The thinnest crust encountered is about 32 km while the thickest crust is about 50 km. Seven gravity models were constructed and these include three crustal-scale profiles crisscrossing the study area and four local profiles. The gravity profiles were modeled using well data, structural thickness maps, cross section data, geologic maps and previous gravity models as constraints. Basement inhomogeneities beneath the basins and the uplifts were delineated by the gravity modeling. One of results from this study reveals that the basement beneath the Four Corners area is highly inhomogeneous. This study reveals that there is a high density deep seated mafic intrusion present in the basement which is responsible for the high gravity and magnetic anomaly in A. This dissertation has also shown that the Four Corners region does not possess a single crustal signature as shown by the different crustal trends in San Juan basin trending northeast and the east-west trending Uncompahgre uplift. The 45 km upward continuation gravity map was also found to correlate with seismic estimates of crustal thickness. The Precambrian basement in this region is also not homogeneous as shown by the necessity of inserting exotic bodies into the basement to compensate for high gravity anomalies and lastly an attempt was made to better define Tweto's (1980) outline of geologic features in the study area. On integrating gravity, magnetics, well and outcrop data, the relief of the Defiance uplift is not as high as delineated by Tweto's (1980) outline.

Effect of electroacupuncture in postanesthetic shivering during regional anesthesia: a randomized controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Shivering during regional anesthesia is a common complication and is related to a decrease in the patient’s core body temperature. Previous studies have shown that acupuncture on specific acupoints can preserve core body temperature. The present study evaluated the effect of electroacupuncture in preventing the shivering caused by regional anesthesia. Methods This prospective and randomized controlled study analyzed the data from 80 patients undergoing urological surgery, who were classified as ASA I or II. Spinal anesthesia was performed in all patients using 15 mg of bupivacaine. The patients were randomly allocated to receive either placebo acupuncture (Group P, n = 40) or electroacupuncture (Group A, n = 40) for 30 min before administration of spinal anesthesia. Shivering score was recorded at 5 min intervals, with 0 representing no shivering and 4 representing the most severe shivering possible. Heart rate, blood pressure, and tympanic temperature were recorded before the intrathecal injection, and again every 5 min thereafter until 30 min. Results After spinal anesthesia, the decrease in tympanic temperature was less for Group A patients than Group P, with the difference being statistically significant. After 15 min, 13 patients in Group P attained a shivering score of 3 or more, compared with 3 patients in Group A. Significantly more patients in Group P attained a shivering score of at least 1. Conclusions The prophylactic use of electroacupuncture might maintain core body temperature, and may effectively prevent the shivering that commonly develops during regional anesthesia. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12612000096853. PMID:23181618

Análisis del proceso de especialización regional en servicios en España

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Juan R Cuadrado-Roura

2012-05-01

Full Text Available ¿Ha tenido la especialización productiva en servicios un reflejo uniforme a escala regional? ¿Se ha reducido la desigualdad productiva de las regiones y qué papel desempeñaron los servicios? ¿Cuál ha sido la contribución de los servicios al crecimiento económico de las regiones? Para responder a estas preguntas, tomando el caso de España como referencia, se especifican dos hipótesis. La primera es que el período analizado parecería mostrar una notable inercia en la especialización, lo que determina una baja convergencia de las estructuras productivas. La segunda sugiere que la especialización productiva influye en el crecimiento económico regional y que los servicios han tenido una importante función en este sentido. El análisis utiliza diversos indicadores y técnicas y los resultados confirman en gran medida las hipótesis de partida, aportando detalles y aspectos anteriormente no bien conocidos.The article deals with three questions. First, if productive specialization on service industries has shown a uniform pattern at regional level. Second, to what extent productive inequalities amongst regions have been reduced or not and which was the role of services. Finally, what has been the contribution of services to regional economic growth. Taking Spain as the case-study, two hypotheses have been specified to answer these questions. The first is that figures should show an inertial trend of the productive specialization, which has produced a low convergence of regional productive structures. The second suggests that productive specialization has influenced regional economic growth and that services have played an important role in it. Several techniques are used to carry out the analysis. Results confirm to a great extent the hypothesis and make possible to set up some aspects not very well known previously.

Implant breast reconstruction after salvage mastectomy in previously irradiated patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Persichetti, Paolo; Cagli, Barbara; Simone, Pierfranco; Cogliandro, Annalisa; Fortunato, Lucio; Altomare, Vittorio; Trodella, Lucio

2009-04-01

The most common surgical approach in case of local tumor recurrence after quadrantectomy and radiotherapy is salvage mastectomy. Breast reconstruction is the subsequent phase of the treatment and the plastic surgeon has to operate on previously irradiated and manipulated tissues. The medical literature highlights that breast reconstruction with tissue expanders is not a pursuable option, considering previous radiotherapy a contraindication. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the influence of previous radiotherapy on 2-stage breast reconstruction (tissue expander/implant). Only patients with analogous timing of radiation therapy and the same demolitive and reconstructive procedures were recruited. The results of this study prove that, after salvage mastectomy in previously irradiated patients, implant reconstruction is still possible. Further comparative studies are, of course, advisable to draw any conclusion on the possibility to perform implant reconstruction in previously irradiated patients.

Utility of Brain SPECT 99mTc-HMPAO scintigraphy for the evaluation of regional cerebral blood flow changes in patients suffering from dissociative amnesia DA and dissociative motor disorders DMD (previously termed as hysteria)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, F.

2007-01-01

Full text: The aim of the study was to assess the utility of Brain SPECT 99 mTc-HMPAO scintigraphy for the evaluation of regional cerebral blood flow changes in patients suffering from dissociative amnesia (DA) and dissociative motor disorders (DMD) (previously termed as Hysteria). Materials and Methods: 20 patients were included in the study with a mean age of 26 years, 08 of them suffering from DA and 12 from DMDs. A consultant psychiatrist on the basis of ICD-10 criteria made the diagnosis. Patients were divided into two categories according to the duration of their illness. Category A; included 10 patients having less than six months duration of illness. Category B; included 10 patients having duration of illness more than six months. Ten normal controls having no signs and symptoms of any psychiatric disorder were also included in the study. Brain SPECT study was carried out using 99 mTc-HMPAO. Semiquantitative analysis was done by calculating cortical and cerebellar ratios in normals and comparing the same in the patients. Results: By comparing regional cerebral blood flow ratios of both the categories with normal group, patients suffering from DA showed hypoperfusion in bilateral temporal lobes, in both frontal association areas and both orbito frontal regions and patients suffering for more than 06 months showed a slightly more exaggerated pattern of hypoperfusion in the same cortical areas. On the other hand in DMD only the patients suffering for more than 06 months showed altered cerebral blood perfusion like hypoperfusion in both of the frontal motor areas, hypoperfusion in both temporal lobes and marked hyperperfusion in both orbito frontal areas. Conclusion: Patients of DA show abnormal cerebral perfusion pattern whether in acute or chronic stage while only chronic DMD states precipitate altered cerebral perfusion patterns and these can be visualized on a Brain SPECT study. (author)

Hygienic assessment of ambient air quality and health risks to population of Krasnoyarsk region

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D.V. Goryaev

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study fulfills the hygienic assessment of ambient air quality in the populated areas of the Krasnoyarsk Region. It is shown that the total number of emission sources in the region is more than 23 600 units, what is higher than in previous years. Around 90.7 % out of them correspond to the set standards of permissible emissions. Air monitoring was carried by the establishments of Roshydromet, Rospotrebnadzor and by other organizations at 94 observation posts in eight urban districts and 2 municipal districts of the region. The status of the ambient air in a sequence of the populated areas of Krasnoyarsk region, namely in the cities Achinsk, Kansk, Krasnoyarsk, Lesosibirsk, Minusinsk, Norilsk, is characterized by the presence of certain pollutants, the level of which exceeds the hygienic standards. Prioritized pollutants are benzo(apyrene, suspended solids, nitrogen, and sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde and others. In the settlements the economic entities violate the legal requirements in the field of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population. The probability of the population’s health deterioration grows along with the growth of risk factors. The risks of respiratory diseases, immune system, blood and blood-forming organs and the additional mortality are assessed as unacceptable. Ensuring air quality of the urban residential areas and municipal districts of the Krasnoyarsk Territory requires the introducing the complex measures to improve it. The established levels of human health risk associated with exposure to polluted air are an additional criterion for selection of the priority objects when planning the implementation of risk-based model for supervisory activities in the field of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population.

Regional modeling of carbonaceous aerosols over Europe-focus on secondary organic aerosols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bessagnet, B.; Menut, L.; Curci, G.; Hodzic, A.; Guillaume, B.; Liousse, C.; Moukhtar, S.; Pun, B.; Seigneur, C.; Schulz, M.

2008-01-01

In this study, an improved and complete secondary organic aerosols (SOA) chemistry scheme was implemented in the CHIMERE model. The implementation of isoprene chemistry for SOA significantly improves agreement between long series of simulated and observed particulate matter concentrations. While simulated organic carbon concentrations are clearly improved at elevated sites by adding the SOA scheme, time correlation are impaired at low level sites in Portugal, Italy and Slovakia. At several sites a clear underestimation by the CHIMERE model is noticed in wintertime possibly due to missing wood burning emissions as shown in previous modeling studies. In Europe, the CHIMERE model gives yearly average SOA concentrations ranging from 0.5 μg m -3 in the Northern Europe to 4 μg m -3 over forested regions in Spain, France, Germany and Italy. In addition, our work suggests that during the highest fire emission periods, fires can be the dominant source of primary organic carbon over the Mediterranean Basin, but the SOA contribution from fire emissions is low. Isoprene chemistry has a strong impact on SOA formation when using current available kinetic schemes. (authors)

28 CFR 10.5 - Incorporation of papers previously filed.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Incorporation of papers previously filed... CARRYING ON ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES Registration Statement § 10.5 Incorporation of papers previously filed. Papers and documents already filed with the Attorney General pursuant to the said act and...

Bilingualism alters brain functional connectivity between "control" regions and "language" regions: Evidence from bimodal bilinguals.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Le; Abutalebi, Jubin; Zou, Lijuan; Yan, Xin; Liu, Lanfang; Feng, Xiaoxia; Wang, Ruiming; Guo, Taomei; Ding, Guosheng

2015-05-01

Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed that bilingualism induces both structural and functional neuroplasticity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the left caudate nucleus (LCN), both of which are associated with cognitive control. Since these "control" regions should work together with other language regions during language processing, we hypothesized that bilingualism may also alter the functional interaction between the dACC/LCN and language regions. Here we tested this hypothesis by exploring the functional connectivity (FC) in bimodal bilinguals and monolinguals using functional MRI when they either performed a picture naming task with spoken language or were in resting state. We found that for bimodal bilinguals who use spoken and sign languages, the FC of the dACC with regions involved in spoken language (e.g. the left superior temporal gyrus) was stronger in performing the task, but weaker in the resting state as compared to monolinguals. For the LCN, its intrinsic FC with sign language regions including the left inferior temporo-occipital part and right inferior and superior parietal lobules was increased in the bilinguals. These results demonstrate that bilingual experience may alter the brain functional interaction between "control" regions and "language" regions. For different control regions, the FC alters in different ways. The findings also deepen our understanding of the functional roles of the dACC and LCN in language processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Update of regional intensity-duration-frequency curves in Denmark: Tendency towards increased storm intensities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, H.; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten; Mikkelsen, Peter Steen

2009-01-01

The regional model for estimation of extreme rainfall characteristics in Denmark has been updated with data from the augmented rain database 1 January 1997-1 August 2005, corresponding to almost twice the amount of data used in the previous study (1 January 1979-1 January 1997). In general...... patterns and a sub-regional division of the country in a western and eastern part. Comparison with the previous regional analysis shows a general increase in extreme rainfall characteristics. For the durations (30 min-3 h) and return periods (similar to 10 years) typical for most urban drainage designs...

Southern high-latitude Digisonde observations of ionosphere E-region Bragg scatter during intense lacuna conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. P. Monselesan

2004-09-01

Full Text Available During summer months at solar cycle minimum, F-region lacuna and slant-Es conditions (SEC are common features of daytime ionograms recorded around local magnetic noon at Casey, Antarctica. Digisonde measurements of drift velocity height profiles show that the occurrence of lacuna prevents the determination of F-region drift velocities and also affects E-region drift velocity measurements. Unique E-region spectral features revealed as intervals of Bragg scatter superimposed on typical background E-region reflection were observed in Digisonde Doppler spectra during intense lacuna conditions. Daytime E-region Doppler spectra recorded at carrier frequencies from 1.5 to 2.7MHz, below the E-region critical frequency f_oE, have two side-peaks corresponding to Bragg scatter at approximately ±1-2Hz symmetrically located on each side of a central-peak corresponding to near-zenith total reflections. Angle-of-arrival information and ray-tracing simulations show that echo returns are coming from oblique directions most likely resulting from direct backscatter from just below the total reflection height for each sounding frequency. The Bragg backscatter events are shown to manifest during polar lacuna conditions, and to affect the determination of E-region background drift velocities, and as such must be considered when using standard Doppler-sorted interferometry (DSI techniques to estimate ionospheric drift velocities. Given the Doppler and spatial separation of the echoes determined from high-resolution Doppler measurements, we are able to estimate the Bragg scatter phase velocity independently from the bulk E-region motion. The phase velocity coincides with the ExB direction derived from in situ fluxgate magnetometer records. When ionospheric refraction is considered, the phase velocity amplitudes deduced from DSI are comparable to the ion-acoustic speed expected in the E-region. We briefly consider the plausibility that these

Southern high-latitude Digisonde observations of ionosphere E-region Bragg scatter during intense lacuna conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. P. Monselesan

2004-09-01

Full Text Available During summer months at solar cycle minimum, F-region lacuna and slant-Es conditions (SEC are common features of daytime ionograms recorded around local magnetic noon at Casey, Antarctica. Digisonde measurements of drift velocity height profiles show that the occurrence of lacuna prevents the determination of F-region drift velocities and also affects E-region drift velocity measurements. Unique E-region spectral features revealed as intervals of Bragg scatter superimposed on typical background E-region reflection were observed in Digisonde Doppler spectra during intense lacuna conditions. Daytime E-region Doppler spectra recorded at carrier frequencies from 1.5 to 2.7MHz, below the E-region critical frequency foE, have two side-peaks corresponding to Bragg scatter at approximately ±1-2Hz symmetrically located on each side of a central-peak corresponding to near-zenith total reflections. Angle-of-arrival information and ray-tracing simulations show that echo returns are coming from oblique directions most likely resulting from direct backscatter from just below the total reflection height for each sounding frequency. The Bragg backscatter events are shown to manifest during polar lacuna conditions, and to affect the determination of E-region background drift velocities, and as such must be considered when using standard Doppler-sorted interferometry (DSI techniques to estimate ionospheric drift velocities. Given the Doppler and spatial separation of the echoes determined from high-resolution Doppler measurements, we are able to estimate the Bragg scatter phase velocity independently from the bulk E-region motion. The phase velocity coincides with the ExB direction derived from in situ fluxgate magnetometer records. When ionospheric refraction is considered, the phase velocity amplitudes deduced from DSI are comparable to the ion-acoustic speed expected in the E-region. We briefly consider the plausibility that these previously unreported polar

Regionalism, Regionalization and Regional Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liviu C. Andrei

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Sustained development is a concept associating other concepts, in its turn, in the EU practice, e.g. regionalism, regionalizing and afferent policies, here including structural policies. This below text, dedicated to integration concepts, will limit on the other hand to regionalizing, otherwise an aspect typical to Europe and to the EU. On the other hand, two aspects come up to strengthen this field of ideas, i.e. the region (al-regionalism-(regional development triplet has either its own history or precise individual outline of terms.

Brain in complex regional pain syndrome

OpenAIRE

Hotta, Jaakko

2017-01-01

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) causes disabling and severe limb pain that is difficult to treat. The pain typically increases during motor actions, but is present also at rest. The pathophysiology of CRPS is incompletely understood. Some of the symptoms suggest involvement of the central nervous system, and accordingly, patients have been shown to display alterations in, for instance, the primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) and indications of neuroinflammation. More thorough pathophysiol...

Application of Monte Carlo filtering method in regional sensitivity analysis of AASHTOWare Pavement ME design

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Zhong Wu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Since AASHTO released the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG for public review in 2004, many highway research agencies have performed sensitivity analyses using the prototype MEPDG design software. The information provided by the sensitivity analysis is essential for design engineers to better understand the MEPDG design models and to identify important input parameters for pavement design. In literature, different studies have been carried out based on either local or global sensitivity analysis methods, and sensitivity indices have been proposed for ranking the importance of the input parameters. In this paper, a regional sensitivity analysis method, Monte Carlo filtering (MCF, is presented. The MCF method maintains many advantages of the global sensitivity analysis, while focusing on the regional sensitivity of the MEPDG model near the design criteria rather than the entire problem domain. It is shown that the information obtained from the MCF method is more helpful and accurate in guiding design engineers in pavement design practices. To demonstrate the proposed regional sensitivity method, a typical three-layer flexible pavement structure was analyzed at input level 3. A detailed procedure to generate Monte Carlo runs using the AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design software was provided. The results in the example show that the sensitivity ranking of the input parameters in this study reasonably matches with that in a previous study under a global sensitivity analysis. Based on the analysis results, the strengths, practical issues, and applications of the MCF method were further discussed.

Electroacupuncture decreases excessive alcohol consumption involving reduction of FosB/ΔFosB levels in reward-related brain regions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Li

Full Text Available New therapies are needed for alcohol abuse, a major public health problem in the U.S. and worldwide. There are only three FDA-approved drugs for treatment of alcohol abuse (naltrexone, acamprosate and disulfuram. On average these drugs yield only moderate success in reducing long-term alcohol consumption. Electroacupuncture has been shown to alleviate various drugs of abuse, including alcohol. Although previous studies have shown that electroacupuncture reduced alcohol consumption, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. ΔFosB and FosB are members of the Fos family of transcription factors implicated in neural plasticity in drug addiction; a connection between electroacupuncture's treatment of alcohol abuse and the Fos family has not been established. In this study, we trained rats to drink large quantities of ethanol in a modified intermittent access two-bottle choice drinking procedure. When rats achieved a stable baseline of ethanol consumption, electroacupuncture (100 Hz or 2 Hz, 30 min each day was administered at Zusanli (ST36 for 6 consecutive days. The level of FosB/ΔFosB in reward-related brain regions was assessed by immunohistochemistry. We found that the intake of and preference for ethanol in rats under 100 Hz, but not 2 Hz electroacupuncture regiment were sharply reduced. The reduction was maintained for at least 72 hours after the termination of electroacupuncture treatment. Conversely, 100 Hz electroacupuncture did not alter the intake of and preference for the natural rewarding agent sucrose. Additionally, FosB/ΔFosB levels in the prefrontal cortex, striatal region and the posterior region of ventral tegmental area were increased following excessive ethanol consumption, but were reduced after six-day 100 Hz electroacupuncture. Thus, this study demonstrates that six-day 100 Hz electroacupuncture treatment effectively reduces ethanol consumption and preference in rats that chronically drink excessive amount of

Regional variation in electroconvulsive therapy use.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Dunne, R

2011-03-01

Although electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most powerful treatment for depression, substantial variability in use has been described in Ireland. The Mental Health Commission collects usage data from approved centres but does not include home addresses or independent sector patients. Therefore, estimates of regional variation cannot be accurate, e.g. 145 (35% of total) independent sector patients were omitted from their 2008 analysis. When public and independent sector patients are combined inter-regional variation for 2008 is more than halved (chi-squared decreased from 83 to 30), with Western region contributing most to variation (chi-squared = 43). Ratio of ECT programmes to depressed admissions correlated negatively with rate for depressed admissions (r = -0.53, p = 0.01), while depressed admission numbers correlated with acute beds per area (r = 0.68, p = 0.001). Regional variation in ECT is less than previously reported; service factors probably account for much of this with smaller centres admitting severely ill patients more likely to require ECT.

A basic peptide within the juxtamembrane region is required for EGF receptor dimerization.

Science.gov (United States)

Aifa, Sami; Aydin, Jan; Nordvall, Gunnar; Lundström, Ingemar; Svensson, Samuel P S; Hermanson, Ola

2005-01-01

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is fundamental for normal cell growth and organ development, but has also been implicated in various pathologies, notably tumors of epithelial origin. We have previously shown that the initial 13 amino acids (P13) within the intracellular juxtamembrane region (R645-R657) are involved in the interaction with calmodulin, thus indicating an important role for this region in EGFR function. Here we show that P13 is required for proper dimerization of the receptor. We expressed either the intracellular domain of EGFR (TKJM) or the intracellular domain lacking P13 (DeltaTKJM) in COS-7 cells that express endogenous EGFR. Only TKJM was immunoprecipitated with an antibody directed against the extracellular part of EGFR, and only TKJM was tyrosine phosphorylated by endogenous EGFR. Using SK-N-MC cells, which do not express endogenous EGFR, that were stably transfected with either wild-type EGFR or recombinant full-length EGFR lacking P13 demonstrated that P13 is required for appropriate receptor dimerization. Furthermore, mutant EGFR lacking P13 failed to be autophosphorylated. P13 is rich in basic amino acids and in silico modeling of the EGFR in conjunction with our results suggests a novel role for the juxtamembrane domain (JM) of EGFR in mediating intracellular dimerization and thus receptor kinase activation and function.

Regional CAR-T cell infusions for peritoneal carcinomatosis are superior to systemic delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, S C; Point, G R; Cunetta, M; Thorn, M; Guha, P; Espat, N J; Boutros, C; Hanna, N; Junghans, R P

2016-05-01

Metastatic spread of colorectal cancer (CRC) to the peritoneal cavity is common and difficult to treat, with many patients dying from malignant bowel obstruction. Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy has shown great promise, and we previously reported murine and phase I clinical studies on regional intrahepatic CAR-T infusion for CRC liver metastases. We are now studying intraperitoneal (IP) delivery of CAR-Ts for peritoneal carcinomatosis. Regional IP infusion of CAR-T resulted in superior protection against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA+) peritoneal tumors, when compared with systemically infused CAR-Ts. IP CAR-Ts also provided prolonged protection against IP tumor re-challenges and demonstrated an increase in effector memory phenotype over time. IP CAR-Ts provided protection against tumor growth at distant subcutaneous (SC) sites in association with increases in serum IFNγ levels. Given the challenges posed by immunoinhibitory pathways in solid tumors, we combined IP CAR-T treatment with suppressor cell targeting. High frequencies of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and regulatory T cells (Treg) were found within the IP tumors, with MDSC expressing high levels of immunosuppressive PD-L1. Combinatorial IP CAR-T treatment with depleting antibodies against MDSC and Treg further improved efficacy against peritoneal metastases. Our data support further development of combinatorial IP CAR-T immunotherapy for peritoneal malignancies.

Brain regions associated with the acquisition of conditioned place preference for cocaine vs. social interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

El Rawas, Rana; Klement, Sabine; Kummer, Kai K; Fritz, Michael; Dechant, Georg; Saria, Alois; Zernig, Gerald

2012-01-01

Positive social interaction could play an essential role in switching the preference of the substance dependent individual away from drug related activities. We have previously shown that conditioned place preference (CPP) for cocaine at the dose of 15 mg/kg and CPP for four 15-min episodes of social interaction were equally strong when rats were concurrently conditioned for place preference by pairing cocaine with one compartment and social interaction with the other. The aim of the present study was to investigate the differential activation of brain regions related to the reward circuitry after acquisition/expression of cocaine CPP or social interaction CPP. Our findings indicate that cocaine CPP and social interaction CPP activated almost the same brain regions. However, the granular insular cortex and the dorsal part of the agranular insular cortex were more activated after cocaine CPP, whereas the prelimbic cortex and the core subregion of the nucleus accumbens were more activated after social interaction CPP. These results suggest that the insular cortex appears to be potently activated after drug conditioning learning while activation of the prelimbic cortex-nucleus accumbens core projection seems to be preferentially involved in the conditioning to non-drug stimuli such as social interaction.

A previous hamstring injury affects kicking mechanics in soccer players.

Science.gov (United States)

Navandar, Archit; Veiga, Santiago; Torres, Gonzalo; Chorro, David; Navarro, Enrique

2018-01-10

Although the kicking skill is influenced by limb dominance and sex, how a previous hamstring injury affects kicking has not been studied in detail. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sex and limb dominance on kicking in limbs with and without a previous hamstring injury. 45 professional players (males: n=19, previously injured players=4, age=21.16 ± 2.00 years; females: n=19, previously injured players=10, age=22.15 ± 4.50 years) performed 5 kicks each with their preferred and non-preferred limb at a target 7m away, which were recorded with a three-dimensional motion capture system. Kinematic and kinetic variables were extracted for the backswing, leg cocking, leg acceleration and follow through phases. A shorter backswing (20.20 ± 3.49% vs 25.64 ± 4.57%), and differences in knee flexion angle (58 ± 10o vs 72 ± 14o) and hip flexion velocity (8 ± 0rad/s vs 10 ± 2rad/s) were observed in previously injured, non-preferred limb kicks for females. A lower peak hip linear velocity (3.50 ± 0.84m/s vs 4.10 ± 0.45m/s) was observed in previously injured, preferred limb kicks of females. These differences occurred in the backswing and leg-cocking phases where the hamstring muscles were the most active. A variation in the functioning of the hamstring muscles and that of the gluteus maximus and iliopsoas in the case of a previous injury could account for the differences observed in the kicking pattern. Therefore, the effects of a previous hamstring injury must be considered while designing rehabilitation programs to re-educate kicking movement.

Remediation of petroleum contaminated soils through bioventing in cold regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brar, G.S.; Currier, P.M.; Reynolds, C.M.; Millhouse, J.B.

1994-01-01

Petroleum contaminated soils are found in many remote sites in Alaska where releases from bulk storage of fuel oil for heat and power generation have occurred. Bioventing, a process in which petroleum degradation by indigenous aerobic bacteria is enhanced by supplying oxygen and nutrients, may be a viable treatment technique for soils at remote sites if limitations due to low temperatures can be overcome. The objectives of this study were to: (1) test a design for ex-situ bioventing in cold regions, (2) evaluate biodegradation rates at low temperatures, and (3) determine the effects of applied nutrients on low-temperature biodegradation. Two aerated biopit remediation cells were constructed to treat previously excavated soils at Eareckson Air Force Station, Shemya, Alaska. Experimental treatments consisted of a fertilized pile (FP) and a nonfertilized pile (NFP). Hourly soil and air temperature data at 4 depths were recorded at 4 locations in each biopit. During 148 days of remediation, mean temperature ranged from -3 to 6 C for air at 100 cm. above the piles. The mean concentrations of TPH and DRO decreased from an initial 1,304 and 982 mg/kg of 139 and 82 mg/kg, respectively, with the FP, and 422 and 294 mg/kg with the NFP in 115 days. Cumulative degradation rates of TPH and DRO are significantly (P 2 = 0.94 for TPH. 0.93 for DRO). Pit bioventing technology was shown to be efficient, fast, and cost-effective in cold regions where temperature during winter months is a major constraint for the remediation of contaminated soils

Optimal depth-based regional frequency analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Wazneh

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Classical methods of regional frequency analysis (RFA of hydrological variables face two drawbacks: (1 the restriction to a particular region which can lead to a loss of some information and (2 the definition of a region that generates a border effect. To reduce the impact of these drawbacks on regional modeling performance, an iterative method was proposed recently, based on the statistical notion of the depth function and a weight function φ. This depth-based RFA (DBRFA approach was shown to be superior to traditional approaches in terms of flexibility, generality and performance. The main difficulty of the DBRFA approach is the optimal choice of the weight function ϕ (e.g., φ minimizing estimation errors. In order to avoid a subjective choice and naïve selection procedures of φ, the aim of the present paper is to propose an algorithm-based procedure to optimize the DBRFA and automate the choice of ϕ according to objective performance criteria. This procedure is applied to estimate flood quantiles in three different regions in North America. One of the findings from the application is that the optimal weight function depends on the considered region and can also quantify the region's homogeneity. By comparing the DBRFA to the canonical correlation analysis (CCA method, results show that the DBRFA approach leads to better performances both in terms of relative bias and mean square error.

Subsequent childbirth after a previous traumatic birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Cheryl Tatano; Watson, Sue

2010-01-01

Nine percent of new mothers in the United States who participated in the Listening to Mothers II Postpartum Survey screened positive for meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder after childbirth. Women who have had a traumatic birth experience report fewer subsequent children and a longer length of time before their second baby. Childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder impacts couples' physical relationship, communication, conflict, emotions, and bonding with their children. The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of women's experiences of a subsequent childbirth after a previous traumatic birth. Phenomenology was the research design used. An international sample of 35 women participated in this Internet study. Women were asked, "Please describe in as much detail as you can remember your subsequent pregnancy, labor, and delivery following your previous traumatic birth." Colaizzi's phenomenological data analysis approach was used to analyze the stories of the 35 women. Data analysis yielded four themes: (a) riding the turbulent wave of panic during pregnancy; (b) strategizing: attempts to reclaim their body and complete the journey to motherhood; (c) bringing reverence to the birthing process and empowering women; and (d) still elusive: the longed-for healing birth experience. Subsequent childbirth after a previous birth trauma has the potential to either heal or retraumatize women. During pregnancy, women need permission and encouragement to grieve their prior traumatic births to help remove the burden of their invisible pain.

The D-Region Ionospheric Response to the 2017 Solar Eclipse

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, M.; McCormick, J.; Gross, N. C.; Higginson-Rollins, M. A.

2017-12-01

VLF/LF radio remote sensing (0.5-500 kHz) is an effective means for quantifying the D-region ionosphere (60-90 km altitude). Disturbances in the ionospheric electron density induce changes in the propagation of VLF/LF signals, so a network of transmitters and receivers can effectively "image" a disturbed region. VLF/LF signals can all be detected from 100s-1000s of km away. We utilize Georgia Tech's network of highly-sensitive VLF/LF receivers to quantify the lower ionospheric response to the "Great American Eclipse". Nine of these were deployed and operational across the Continental US, Alaska and Puerto Rico all operated successfully. Each receiver synchronously recorded the full radio spectrum between 0.5-470 kHz. The included figure shows the eclipse track at 80 km altitude with a green swath. The nine operational receivers are shown with blue stars, and operational VLF/LF transmitters in dark red. Gray lines are shown for each great-circle path linking a VLF/LF transmitter to a receiver. This constellation forms a dense spider's-web grid of radio links, with which we can effectively image the disturbed patch of the D-region ionosphere as it moves across the country. In addition, shown in yellow are NDGPS transmitters which lie between 285-325 kHz. The red dots are the 230,000 geolocated lightning strokes during the 90-mintue eclipse pass, each of which emitted an intense VLF/LF impulse. These are also detected by our receivers. We present our observations and comparison with a theoretical model, using a combination of three techniques established by a series of three 2017 journal papers: (1) Polarization measurements of VLF/LF transmitter signals, (2) Lightning-generated VLF sferics detected 1000s of km away, and (3) NDGPS beacons near 300 kHz for shorter-range sounding of a small patch of the ionosphere. We find evidence of large scale ionospheric changes which affect the D-region over the entire continental region with a slowly-varying signal perturbation

Evidence for nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation as a previously overlooked microbial methane sink in wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Bao-lan; Shen, Li-dong; Lian, Xu; Zhu, Qun; Liu, Shuai; Huang, Qian; He, Zhan-fei; Geng, Sha; Cheng, Dong-qing; Lou, Li-ping; Xu, Xiang-yang; Zheng, Ping; He, Yun-feng

2014-01-01

The process of nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-damo) was recently discovered and shown to be mediated by “Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera” (M. oxyfera). Here, evidence for n-damo in three different freshwater wetlands located in southeastern China was obtained using stable isotope measurements, quantitative PCR assays, and 16S rRNA and particulate methane monooxygenase gene clone library analyses. Stable isotope experiments confirmed the occurrence of n-damo in the examined wetlands, and the potential n-damo rates ranged from 0.31 to 5.43 nmol CO2 per gram of dry soil per day at different depths of soil cores. A combined analysis of 16S rRNA and particulate methane monooxygenase genes demonstrated that M. oxyfera-like bacteria were mainly present in the deep soil with a maximum abundance of 3.2 × 107 gene copies per gram of dry soil. It is estimated that ∼0.51 g of CH4 m−2 per year could be linked to the n-damo process in the examined wetlands based on the measured potential n-damo rates. This study presents previously unidentified confirmation that the n-damo process is a previously overlooked microbial methane sink in wetlands, and n-damo has the potential to be a globally important methane sink due to increasing nitrogen pollution. PMID:24616523

[Late-replicating regions in salivary gland polytene chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster].

Science.gov (United States)

Kolesnikov, T D; Andreenkova, N G; Beliaeva, E S; Goncharov, F P; Zykova, T Iu; Boldyreva, L V; Pokholkova, g V; Zhimulev, I F

2013-01-01

About 240 specific regions that are replicated at the very end of the S-phase have been identified in D. melanogaster polytene chromosomes. These regions have a repressive chromatine state, low gene density, long intergenic distances and are enriched in tissue specific genes. In polytene chromosomes, about a quarter of these regions have no enough time to complete replication. As a result, underreplication zones represented by fewer DNA copy number, appear. We studied 60 chromosome regions that demonstrated the most pronounced under-replication. By comparing the location of these regions on a molecular map with syntenic blocks found earlier for Drosophila species by von Grotthuss et al., 2010, we have shown that across the genus Drosophila, these regions tend to have conserved gene order. This forces us to assume the existence of evolutionary mechanisms aimed at maintaining the integrity of these regions.

Extreme fire events are related to previous-year surface moisture conditions in permafrost-underlain larch forests of Siberia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forkel, Matthias; Beer, Christian; Thonicke, Kirsten; Cramer, Wolfgang; Bartalev, Sergey; Schmullius, Christiane

2012-01-01

Wildfires are a natural and important element in the functioning of boreal forests. However, in some years, fires with extreme spread and severity occur. Such severe fires can degrade the forest, affect human values, emit huge amounts of carbon and aerosols and alter the land surface albedo. Usually, wind, slope and dry air conditions have been recognized as factors determining fire spread. Here we identify surface moisture as an additional important driving factor for the evolution of extreme fire events in the Baikal region. An area of 127 000 km 2 burned in this region in 2003, a large part of it in regions underlain by permafrost. Analyses of satellite data for 2002–2009 indicate that previous-summer surface moisture is a better predictor for burned area than precipitation anomalies or fire weather indices for larch forests with continuous permafrost. Our analysis advances the understanding of complex interactions between the atmosphere, vegetation and soil, and how coupled mechanisms can lead to extreme events. These findings emphasize the importance of a mechanistic coupling of soil thermodynamics, hydrology, vegetation functioning, and fire activity in Earth system models for projecting climate change impacts over the next century. (letter)

Dactylogyrid monogeneans parasitising Cyphocharax voga (Hensel) (Teleostei: Curimatidae) from the Pampas region, Argentina: new and previously described species.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossin, María Alejandra; Timi, Juan Tomás

2016-09-01

Most studies on dactylogyrid monogeneans in Argentina have been carried out during 1980s and 1990s. Many of these species have been later synonymised and other remain under a confusing taxonomic status, particularly those parasitising Cyphocharax voga (Hensel) (Teleostei: Curimatidae). In order to clarify the identity of dactylogyrids, new material was collected from fishes in Lake Chascomús, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. A total of four species was found in the gills of C. voga. Two known species, Curvianchoratus singularis (Suriano, 1980) Suriano, 1986 and Palombitrema triangulum (Suriano, 1981) Suriano, 1997, are redescribed and their generic and specific status discussed, and two new species are described. Urocleidoides surianoae n. sp. can be distinguished from its congeners by having an anterior medial projection in the ventral bar and a laminar ligament connecting the base of the male copulatory organ and accessory piece. Annulotrematoides bonaerensis n. sp. differs from its congeners principally by having a ventral bar with an anterior medial projection. The diversity of dactylogyrids harboured by C. voga indicates the need of further studies in the Pampas region, which will provide interesting and valuable sources of evidence for future zoogeographical and evolutionary research on dactylogyrids in the Neotropics.

Patterns of Cell Activity in the Subthalamic Region Associated with the Neuroprotective Action of Near-Infrared Light Treatment in MPTP-Treated Mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria E. Shaw

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We have shown previously that near-infrared light (NIr treatment or photobiomodulation neuroprotects dopaminergic cells in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc from degeneration induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP in mice. The present study explores whether NIr treatment changes the patterns of Fos expression in the subthalamic region, namely, the subthalamic nucleus (STN and zona incerta (ZI; both cell groups have abnormally overactive cells in parkinsonian cases. BALB/c mice were treated with MPTP (100–250 mg/kg or saline either over 30 hours followed by either a two-hour or six-day survival period (acute model or over five weeks followed by a three-week survival period (chronic model. NIr and MPTP were applied simultaneously. Brains were processed for Fos immunochemistry, and cell number was estimated using stereology. Our major finding was that NIr treatment reduced (30–45% the increase in Fos+ cell number evident in the STN and ZI after MPTP insult. This reduction was concurrent with the neuroprotection of dopaminergic SNc cells shown previously and was evident in both MPTP models (except for the 2 hours survival period which showed no changes in cell number. In summary, our results indicated that NIr had long lasting effects on the activity of cells located deep in the brain and had repaired partially the abnormal activity generated by the parkinsonian toxin.

[Lessons from abroad. Current and previous crisis in other countries. SESPAS report 2014].

Science.gov (United States)

Rivadeneyra-Sicilia, Ana; Minué Lorenzo, Sergio; Artundo Purroy, Carlos; Márquez Calderón, Soledad

2014-06-01

The evidence available on the impact of previous crises on health reveals different patterns attributable to study designs, the characteristics of each crisis, and other factors related to the socioeconomic and political context. There is greater consensus on the mediating role of government policy responses to financial crises. These responses may magnify or mitigate the adverse effects of crises on population health. Some studies have shown a significant deterioration in some health indicators in the context of the current crisis, mainly in relation to mental health and communicable diseases. Alcohol and tobacco use have also declined in some European countries. In addition, this crisis is being used by some governments to push reforms aimed at privatizing health services, thereby restricting the right to health and healthcare. Specifically, action is being taken on the three axes that determine health system financing: the population covered, the scope of services, and the share of the costs covered. These measures are often arbitrarily implemented based on ideological decisions rather than on the available evidence and therefore adverse consequences are to be expected in terms of financial protection, efficiency, and equity. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Geometry of the solar wind transition region during the 11-year solar cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lotova, N.A.; Blums, D.F.

1986-01-01

Geometry of the solar wind transition region and its dynamics during the 11-year solar cycle is investigated. It is shown that the space geometry of the transition region suffers considerable changes. In the years of minimum of solar activity (1975-1977) the transition region has a form close to elliptical, shifts nearer to the Sun, while its width decreases. During the years of maximum of Solar activity (1979-1981) the form of the transition region becomes close to spherically symmetric, is located further from the Sun and its width is increased

Prospective study on the behaviour of values obtained by organ function studies, in particular scintiscan studies of pulmonary perfusion, during treatment of little to moderately advanced tuberculosis, shown by X-rays to involve one lobe of the lung

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaffartzik, W.

1987-01-01

Prospective study on the behaviour of values obtained by organ function studies, in particular scintiscan studies of pulmonary perfusion, during treatment of little to moderately advanced tuberculosis, shown by X-rays to involve one lobe of the lung. This prospective study analyses features of global and regional pulmonary function in 14 patients with little to moderately pronounced tuberculosis, shown by X-rays to involve one lobe of the lung. At the beginning of treatment, the global function values were not different from the values generally accepted as normal. Disturbed perfusion was determined in pulmonary sections where the X-ray pictures had revealed the presence of tuberculous foci. After therapy and inactivation of the tuberculosis the values were seen to remain unchanged. (MBC) [de

Regional Regulation of Transcription in the Bovine Genome

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kommadath, A.; Nie, H.; Groenen, M.A.M.; Pas, te M.F.W.; Veerkamp, R.F.; Smits, M.A.

2011-01-01

Eukaryotic genes are distributed along chromosomes as clusters of highly expressed genes termed RIDGEs (Regions of IncreaseD Gene Expression) and lowly expressed genes termed anti-RIDGEs, interspersed among genes expressed at intermediate levels or not expressed. Previous studies based on this

Sources of Regional Banks Capitalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Sergeevna Miroshnichenko

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Searching of sources to increase the capitalization of Russian banks is an important economic problem for both the national and regional economy. Moreover, a strong capital base allows to credit institutions to meet the demands of economic agents for banking service. The research focuses on the choice of sources of regulatory capital for the banks of Tyumen region in the context of changing supervisory requirements in the period of 2005–2016, in different phases of the business cycle. We apply econometric methods of statistical information using IBM SPSS Statistics software. We have calculated the individual correlations of regional banks’ capital with gross domestic product (GDP (excluding gross regional product (GRP and GRP (with the exception of the effect of GDP. These calculations have shown that the capital of regional banks is related only to GDP. The increase in the capital of regional banks is accompanied by a change in its structure: the share of authorized capital has halved, and the share of subordinated debt has grown. All sources of capital, other than the reserve fund, are related to GDP. Authorized capital is associated with the profit of profitable lending institutions; retained earnings in the capital of regional banks — with the aggregated amount of risks of the banking system of the Russian Federation. Subordinated debt, like capital as a whole, is negatively affected by the profitability of the banking sector. The change in the capital of regional banks is determined by the change in retained earnings, subordinated debt and reserve fund. Modelling of these relations has allowed to obtain a system of equations. This system synthesizes linear regression models of changing the capital of regional banks in the context of their sourcing. The results of this study are significant for theoretical justification and practical development of a balanced financial policy of regional banks. Our research will contribute to

Association of the FAM167A-BLK region with systemic sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Ikue; Kawaguchi, Yasushi; Kawasaki, Aya; Hasegawa, Minoru; Ohashi, Jun; Kawamoto, Manabu; Fujimoto, Manabu; Takehara, Kazuhiko; Sato, Shinichi; Hara, Masako; Tsuchiya, Naoyuki

2010-03-01

An association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FAM167A (previously referred to as C8orf13)-BLK region with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been demonstrated in Caucasians and in Asians. Recent studies have shown that many genes, including IRF5, STAT4, and PTPN22, are shared susceptibility genes in multiple autoimmune diseases. We undertook the current study to examine whether the FAM167A-BLK region is also associated with susceptibility to systemic sclerosis (SSc). Japanese patients with SSc (n = 309) and healthy controls (n = 769) were enrolled in a 2-tiered case-control association study. In tier 1, 124 patients and 412 controls were tested to determine association of 16 tag SNPs encompassing the FAM167A-BLK region with SSc. In tier 2, an additional 185 patients and 357 controls were analyzed for SNP rs13277113. Two haplotype blocks that correspond approximately to FAM167A and BLK were observed. In tier 1 of the study, the rs13277113A allele in the BLK block exhibited the most significant association with SSc after correction for multiple testing (permutated P = 0.024). Two SNP haplotypes formed by rs13277113 and the most significant SNP in the FAM167A block did not exhibit stronger association. When samples from tier 1 and tier 2 were combined, the rs13277113A allele was significantly associated with SSc (odds ratio 1.45 [95% confidence interval 1.17-1.79], P = 6.1 x 10(-4)). Association or a tendency toward association of rs13277113A with SSc was observed regardless of a patient's autoantibody profile or whether a patient had diffuse cutaneous or limited cutaneous SSc. Our findings indicate that the rs13277113A allele is associated not only with SLE but also with SSc and that the FAM167A-BLK region is a common genetic risk factor for both SLE and SSc.

Kinematic model of some types of motion of matter in active regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Platov, Yu.V.

1983-01-01

The kinematics of matter motion in variable magnetic fields of active regions on the Sun in the MHD approximation of a strong field and cold plasma is investigated. It is shown that the variation of sunspot magnetic moments lead to the development of different active phenomena in the solar atmosphere. The development of such phenomena at first can occur at the phase of active region growth, when new sunspots together with developed sunspots emerge in an active region or relative motions take place in a sunspot group

Regional Labor Market Integration, Shadow Wages and Poverty in Vietnam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trung, Le Dang; Oostendorp, Remco H.

2017-01-01

Poor workers suffer from low returns to their most abundant resource, labor. In this paper we show that labor market integration strongly affects these returns for poor workers in Vietnam. Using seven representative household surveys, it is shown that while regional labor markets have become

Regional forest and non-forest mapping using Envisat ASAR data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ling, F.; Li, Z.Y.; Chen, E.X.; Huang, Y.P.; Tian, X.; Schmullius, C.; Leiterer, R.; Reiche, J.; Maurizio, S.

2012-01-01

Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) dual-polarization data are shown to be effective for regional forest monitoring. To this scope, an automatic SAR image preprocessing procedure was developed using SRTM DEM and Landsat TM image for geocoding in rugged terrain and smooth terrain areas,

Defining structural and functional dimensions of the extracellular thyrotropin receptor region.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinau, Gunnar; Mueller, Sandra; Jaeschke, Holger; Grzesik, Paul; Neumann, Susanne; Diehl, Anne; Paschke, Ralf; Krause, Gerd

2011-06-24

The extracellular region of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) can be subdivided into the leucine-rich repeat domain (LRRD) and the hinge region. Both the LRRD and the hinge region interact with thyrotropin (TSH) or autoantibodies. Structural data for the TSHR LRRD were previously determined by crystallization (amino acids Glu(30)-Thr(257), 10 repeats), but the structure of the hinge region is still undefined. Of note, the amino acid sequence (Trp(258)-Tyr(279)) following the crystallized LRRD comprises a pattern typical for leucine-rich repeats with conserved hydrophobic side chains stabilizing the repeat fold. Moreover, functional data for amino acids between the LRRD and the transmembrane domain were fragmentary. We therefore investigated systematically these TSHR regions by mutagenesis to reveal insights into their functional contribution and potential structural features. We found that mutations of conserved hydrophobic residues between Thr(257) and Tyr(279) cause TSHR misfold, which supports a structural fold of this peptide, probably as an additional leucine-rich repeat. Furthermore, we identified several new mutations of hydrophilic amino acids in the entire hinge region leading to partial TSHR inactivation, indicating that these positions are important for intramolecular signal transduction. In summary, we provide new information regarding the structural features and functionalities of extracellular TSHR regions. Based on these insights and in context with previous results, we suggest an extracellular activation mechanism that supports an intramolecular agonistic unit as a central switch for activating effects at the extracellular region toward the serpentine domain.

Perfusion study in the pulmonary hilar region by SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satoh, Katashi; Tanabe, Masatada; Kawase, Yoshiro

1990-01-01

Alveoli in the hilar region comprise the peripheral area containing daughter branches from subsegmental or one more divisional peripheral bronchi. Pulmonary perfusion in hilar region was examined by SPECT (single photon emission CT) in ten normal volunteers. ROI (region of interest) in the axial images were set in the hilar region, the upper, middle and lower lung fields with 10.8 mm thickness. Counts/one pixel (C/P) were calculated in these ROI. There was a tendency of C/P increase from upper to lower lung field. And there were no significant differences in C/P increase between hilar region and other axial fields. In the chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, however, ventilation studies in the previous reports using Xe dynamic CT or PET (positron emission tomography) showed differences between outer region and hilar region. This method will be expected to evaluate the pulmonary perfusion not only in the whole lung but in different lung areas, including the hilar region in the chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. (author)

Functional Connectivity of Multiple Brain Regions Required for the Consolidation of Social Recognition Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanimizu, Toshiyuki; Kenney, Justin W; Okano, Emiko; Kadoma, Kazune; Frankland, Paul W; Kida, Satoshi

2017-04-12

Social recognition memory is an essential and basic component of social behavior that is used to discriminate familiar and novel animals/humans. Previous studies have shown the importance of several brain regions for social recognition memories; however, the mechanisms underlying the consolidation of social recognition memory at the molecular and anatomic levels remain unknown. Here, we show a brain network necessary for the generation of social recognition memory in mice. A mouse genetic study showed that cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB)-mediated transcription is required for the formation of social recognition memory. Importantly, significant inductions of the CREB target immediate-early genes c-fos and Arc were observed in the hippocampus (CA1 and CA3 regions), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and amygdala (basolateral region) when social recognition memory was generated. Pharmacological experiments using a microinfusion of the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin showed that protein synthesis in these brain regions is required for the consolidation of social recognition memory. These findings suggested that social recognition memory is consolidated through the activation of CREB-mediated gene expression in the hippocampus/mPFC/ACC/amygdala. Network analyses suggested that these four brain regions show functional connectivity with other brain regions and, more importantly, that the hippocampus functions as a hub to integrate brain networks and generate social recognition memory, whereas the ACC and amygdala are important for coordinating brain activity when social interaction is initiated by connecting with other brain regions. We have found that a brain network composed of the hippocampus/mPFC/ACC/amygdala is required for the consolidation of social recognition memory. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Here, we identify brain networks composed of multiple brain regions for the consolidation of social recognition memory. We

Regional competitiveness and territorial industrial development in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeković Slavka

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In the paper are investigated the regional competitiveness and the territorial aspects of industry in Serbia. There are analyzed the key recent movement in industrial development of Serbia and macrolocational factors and territorial organization of industry. The research of possible structural changes of industry and identification of its key development sectors is the important component of territorial development analysis in Serbia. This paper points to the kinds and types of industrial zones and industrial parks as fundamental models of regional and urban development of that activity with critical retrospection on the industrial zones in Serbia (greenfield and brownfield industrial locations. There are shown results of evaluation the regional competitiveness from a stand-point of possibilities of industrial development on the regional level (NUTS 3 by comparative analyses and Spider method. Results are used as one of the bases for making preliminary draft of territorial development scenario of this activity in Serbia and for the possible alocation of the future industrial zones and industrial parks in region level.

Migration waves to the Baltic Sea region.

Science.gov (United States)

Lappalainen, T; Laitinen, V; Salmela, E; Andersen, P; Huoponen, K; Savontaus, M-L; Lahermo, P

2008-05-01

In this study, the population history of the Baltic Sea region, known to be affected by a variety of migrations and genetic barriers, was analyzed using both mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomal data. Over 1200 samples from Finland, Sweden, Karelia, Estonia, Setoland, Latvia and Lithuania were genotyped for 18 Y-chromosomal biallelic polymorphisms and 9 STRs, in addition to analyzing 17 coding region polymorphisms and the HVS1 region from the mtDNA. It was shown that the populations surrounding the Baltic Sea are genetically similar, which suggests that it has been an important route not only for cultural transmission but also for population migration. However, many of the migrations affecting the area from Central Europe, the Volga-Ural region and from Slavic populations have had a quantitatively different impact on the populations, and, furthermore, the effects of genetic drift have increased the differences between populations especially in the north. The possible explanations for the high frequencies of several haplogroups with an origin in the Iberian refugia (H1, U5b, I1a) are also discussed.

THE GREEN BANK TELESCOPE H II REGION DISCOVERY SURVEY. III. KINEMATIC DISTANCES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, L. D. [Department of Physics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506 (United States); Bania, T. M. [Institute for Astrophysical Research, Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Balser, Dana S. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903-2475 (United States); Rood, Robert T., E-mail: Loren.Anderson@mail.wvu.edu [Astronomy Department, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 3818, Charlottesville, VA 22903-0818 (United States)

2012-07-20

Using the H I emission/absorption method, we resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity and derive distances for 149 of 182 (82%) H II regions discovered by the Green Bank Telescope H II Region Discovery Survey (GBT HRDS). The HRDS is an X-band (9 GHz, 3 cm) GBT survey of 448 previously unknown H II regions in radio recombination line and radio continuum emission. Here, we focus on HRDS sources from 67 Degree-Sign {>=} l {>=} 18 Degree-Sign , where kinematic distances are more reliable. The 25 HRDS sources in this zone that have negative recombination line velocities are unambiguously beyond the orbit of the Sun, up to 20 kpc distant. They are the most distant H II regions yet discovered. We find that 61% of HRDS sources are located at the far distance, 31% at the tangent-point distance, and only 7% at the near distance. 'Bubble' H II regions are not preferentially located at the near distance (as was assumed previously) but average 10 kpc from the Sun. The HRDS nebulae, when combined with a large sample of H II regions with previously known distances, show evidence of spiral structure in two circular arc segments of mean Galactocentric radii of 4.25 and 6.0 kpc. We perform a thorough uncertainty analysis to analyze the effect of using different rotation curves, streaming motions, and a change to the solar circular rotation speed. The median distance uncertainty for our sample of H II regions is only 0.5 kpc, or 5%. This is significantly less than the median difference between the near and far kinematic distances, 6 kpc. The basic Galactic structure results are unchanged after considering these sources of uncertainty.

Extremal Regions Detection Guided by Maxima of Gradient Magnitude

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faraji, Mehdi; Shambezadeh, Jamshid; Nasrollahi, Kamal

2015-01-01

boundaries we introduce Maxima of Gradient Magnitudes (MGMs) which are shown to be points that are mostly around the boundaries of the regions. Having found the MGMs, the method obtains a Global Criterion (GC) for each level of the input image which is used to find Extremum Levels (ELs). The found ELs...

22 CFR 40.93 - Aliens unlawfully present after previous immigration violation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Aliens unlawfully present after previous... TO BOTH NONIMMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRANTS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT, AS AMENDED Aliens Previously Removed § 40.93 Aliens unlawfully present after previous immigration violation. An alien described...

Substantiation the strategic priorities of innovation regional development security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Markovna Golova

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In this article are discussed methodological challenges for strategic priorities ensure security innovation regional development. It is shown that in modern conditions innovative safety is an independent and very important area of security of the region. This innovative security should be understood as a qualitative characteristic that gives insight into the regional socio-economic systems requirements and challenges of the innovation economy, including their ability to recombination. It is considered the basic patterns and features of mutual influence and interaction of innovative and traditional socio-economic development of the territories. The necessity of the joint integrated treatment of innovation and socio-economic development in the management of innovative safety of the region is founded. It is given suggestions on fundamental approaches to the solution of the problem of selecting priority areas for strengthening the sources of innovation development successfully tailored to specific territories. The main positions are illustrated in the example the regions of the Ural Federal District.

Admissibility region for rarefaction shock waves in dense gases

OpenAIRE

Zamfirescu, C.; Guardone, A.; Colonna, P.

2008-01-01

In the vapour phase and close to the liquid–vapour saturation curve, fluids made of complex molecules are expected to exhibit a thermodynamic region in which the fundamental derivative of gasdynamic ? is negative. In this region, non-classical gasdynamic phenomena such as rarefaction shock waves are physically admissible, namely they obey the second law of thermodynamics and fulfil the speed-orienting condition for mechanical stability. Previous studies have demonstrated that the thermodynami...

Preliminary results of local earthquake tomography around Bali, Lombok, and Sumbawa regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nugraha, Andri Dian, E-mail: nugraha@gf.itb.ac.id; Puspito, Nanang T; Yudistira, Tedi [Global Geophysical Reserach Group, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institute of Technology Bandung, JlGanesa 10, Bandung, 40132 (Indonesia); Kusnandar, Ridwan; Sakti, Artadi Pria [Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (MCGA) of Indonesian, Jakarta (Indonesia)

2015-04-24

Bali, Sumbawa, and Lombok regions are located in active tectonic influence by Indo-Australia plate subducts beneath Sunda plate in southern part and local back-arc thrust in northern part the region. Some active volcanoes also lie from eastern part of Java, Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa regions. Previous studies have conducted subsurface seismic velocity imaging using regional and global earthquake data around the region. In this study, we used P-arrival time from local earthquake networks compiled by MCGA, Indonesia within time periods of 2009 up to 2013 to determine seismic velocity structure and simultaneously hypocenter adjustment by applying seismic tomography inversion method. For the tomographic inversion procedure, we started from 1-D initial velocity structure. We evaluated the resolution of tomography inversion results through checkerboard test and calculating derivative weigh sum. The preliminary results of tomography inversion show fairly clearly high seismic velocity subducting Indo-Australian and low velocity anomaly around volcano regions. The relocated hypocenters seem to cluster around the local fault system such as back-arc thrust fault in northern part of the region and around local fault in Sumbawa regions. Our local earthquake tomography results demonstrated consistent with previous studies and improved the resolution. For future works, we will determine S-wave velocity structure using S-wave arrival time to enhance our understanding of geological processes and for much better interpretation.

H-1 and N-15 resonance assignment of the second fibronectin type III module of the neural cell adhesion molecule

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiselyov, Vladislav V; Berezin, Vladimir; Bock, Elisabeth

2008-01-01

We report here the NMR assignment of the second fibronectin type III module of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). This module has previously been shown to interact with the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), and the FGFR-binding site was mapped by NMR to the FG-loop region of the mo......We report here the NMR assignment of the second fibronectin type III module of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). This module has previously been shown to interact with the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), and the FGFR-binding site was mapped by NMR to the FG-loop region...... of the module. The FG-loop region also contains a putative nucleotide-binding motif, which was shown by NMR to interact with ATP. Furthermore, ATP was demonstrated to inhibit binding of the second F3 module of NCAM to FGFR....

Disaster Impacts on Human Capital Accumulation Shown in the Typhoon Haiyan Case

Science.gov (United States)

Özceylan Aubrecht, Dilek; Aubrecht, Christoph

2014-05-01

School children and their school environment are increasingly exposed to all kinds of hazards. Many disaster events have shown the extent of disaster impacts on the education sector which this study also highlights in the Typhoon Haiyan Case. Disasters do not only cause loss of lives or damage to educational facilities, they also entail significant economic and social consequences on human capital development in the short and long-run. While the trend of short term disaster impact can easily be analyzed in rapid post disaster assessments taking destroyed assets as proxy, usually analyses of medium and long-term effects of disasters include large inherent uncertainties and are of less tangible nature, require more time and complex methods and can often not give comprehensive results. The consequences of disasters especially in developing countries are therefore to a certain extent often left unknown. Generally, economic and social effects of disasters on human capital seem to be ambiguous and to some degree these effects are related to economic, social and institutional well-being. Thus, clear understanding is crucial to interpret its complex effects on human capital accumulation. This essential nature of medium and long-term effects has not been reflected in many analyses. Focus has mostly been given on the extent of physical damage, displacements, lives and assets lost instead of targeting resilience of social and economic characteristics of communities in terms of preventing human capital accumulation disruption. Main objective of this study is to provide a conceptual framework illustrating the impacts of disasters on schooling which might help in assessing such effects, as one of the fundamental components of human capital accumulation (Ozceylan Aubrecht, 2013). The dimensions of human capital building and its relationship to disasters under the light of past disaster events are discussed with a special focus on the recent Typhoon Haiyan that struck the

A study on boiling water reactor regional stability from the viewpoint of higher harmonics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, Yutaka; Takigawa, Yukio; Uematsu, Hitoshi

1994-01-01

A quantitative study on a mechanism for boiling water reactor regional stability has been carried out from the viewpoint of higher harmonics. In the mechanism, the gain decrease in the void-to-power transfer function can be explained by the higher harmonics mode subcriticality. It is shown that the thermal-hydraulic feedback effect can compensate for the gain decrease, and regional oscillation can be sustained that way. For quantitative evaluations, a three-dimensional higher harmonics analysis model has been developed. The results show that the first azimuthal harmonics subcriticality has a relatively small value under a regionally unstable condition. Comparing the subcriticality and the steady-state power distribution, it is shown that the distribution exists whose first azimuthal harmonics subcriticality takes a small value. A method of decomposition for the oscillated power responses into the harmonics modes is presented. The results show that the corewide oscillation power response consists almost entirely of the fundamental mode, and the regional oscillation power response consists almost entirely of the first azimuthal harmonics mode. This indicates that regional oscillation is a phenomenon in which the first azimuthal harmonics mode oscillates on the basis of the fundamental mode

Genetic divergence of influenza A NS1 gene in pandemic 2009 H1N1 isolates with respect to H1N1 and H3N2 isolates from previous seasonal epidemics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Campanini Giulia

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Influenza A pandemic sustained by a new H1N1 variant (H1N1v started in Mexico and the USA at the end of April 2009 spreading worldwide in a few weeks. In this study we investigate the variability of the NS1 gene of the pandemic H1N1v strain with respect to previous seasonal strains circulating in humans and the potential selection of virus variants through isolation in cell culture. Methods During the period April 27th 2009-Jan 15th 2010, 1633 potential 2009 H1N1v cases have been screened at our center using the CDC detection and typing realtime RT-PCR assays. Virus isolation on MDCK cells was systematically performed in 1/10 positive cases. A subset of 51 H1N1v strains isolated in the period May-September 2009 was selected for NS1 gene sequencing. In addition, 15 H1N1 and 47 H3N2 virus isolates from three previous seasonal epidemics (2006-2009 were analyzed in parallel. Results A low variability in the NS1 amino acid (aa sequence among H1N1v isolates was shown (aa identity 99.5%. A slightly higher NS1 variability was observed among H1N1 and H3N2 strains from previous epidemics (aa identity 98.6% and 98.9%, respectively. The H1N1v strains were closely related (aa identity 92.1% to swine reference strain (A/swine/Oklahoma/042169/2008. In contrast, substantial divergence (aa identity 83.4% with respect to human reference strain A/Brevig Mission/1/1918 and previous epidemic strains H1N1 and H3N2 (aa identity 78.9% and 77.6%, respectively was shown. Specific sequence signatures of uncertain significance in the new virus variant were a C-terminus deletion and a T215P substitution. Conclusions The H1N1v NS1 gene was more conserved than that of previous epidemic strains. In addition, a closer genetic identity of H1N1v with the swine than the human reference strains was shown. Hot-spots were shown in the H1N1v NS1 aa sequence whose biologic relevance remains to be investigated.

Newborn hearing screening protocol in tuscany region.

Science.gov (United States)

Berrettini, Stefano; Ghirri, Paolo; Lazzerini, Francesco; Lenzi, Giovanni; Forli, Francesca

2017-09-20

Newborn hearing screening has to be considered the first step of a program for the identification, diagnosis, treatment and habilitation/rehabilitation of children with hearing impairment. In Tuscany Region of Italy, the universal newborn hearing screening is mandatory since november 2007. The first guidelines for the execution of the screening have been released in June 2008; then many other Italian regions partially or totally adopted these guidelines. On the basis of the experience from 2008 and according to the recent evidences in the scientific literature, a new screening protocol was released in Tuscany region. The new protocol is an evolution of the previous one. Some issues reported in the previous protocol and in the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing statement published in 2007 were revised, such as the risk factors for auditory neuropathy and for late onset, progressive or acquired hearing loss. The new updated guidelines were submitted to the Sanitary Regional Council and then they have been approved in August 2016. The updated screening protocol is mainly aimed to identify newborns with a congenital moderate-to-profound hearing loss, but it also provides indications for the audiological follow-up of children with risk's factor for progressive or late onset hearing loss; further it provides indications for the audiological surveillance of children at risk for acquired hearing impairment. Then, in the new guidelines the role of the family paediatrician in the newborn hearing screening and audiological follow-up and surveillance is underscored. Finally the new guidelines provide indications for the treatment with hearing aids and cochlear implant, in accordance with the recent Italian Health Technology Assessment (HTA) guidelines. In the paper we report the modality of execution of the universal newborn hearing screening in the Tuscany Region, according to the recently updated protocol. The main features of the protocol and the critical issues are

The butterfly fauna of the Nizhny Novgorod Region inventarisation experience (Insecta: Lepidoptera and its use for the regional Red Data Book building

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanislav K. Korb

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Discussed is an inventory of the Lepidoptera fauna of the Nizhny Novgorod region, its current status and prospects of its study. At the moment 1412 species of Lepidoptera are known from this area, but according to preliminary estimates the total number of species of Lepidoptera in this area amounts probably between 1800 and 2000. The necessity of the inclusion of 66 species of Lepidoptera in the Red Data Book of the Nizhny Novgorod region (approximately 4.5% of its current fauna and about 3.2% of its expected fauna is discussed. The necessity of the exception of 49 species of Lepidoptera by the Red Data Book of Nizhny Novgorod region is shown. The prospects for the protection of the Lepidoptera fauna within this area are discussed. Proposed is the usage of the IUCN status criteria for regional Red List with their modification in the area of the species.

The SHOX region and its mutations.

Science.gov (United States)

Capone, L; Iughetti, L; Sabatini, S; Bacciaglia, A; Forabosco, A

2010-06-01

The short stature homeobox-containing (SHOX) gene lies in the pseudoautosomal region 1 (PAR1) that comprises 2.6 Mb of the short-arm tips of both the X and Y chromosomes. It is known that its heterozygous mutations cause Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) (OMIM #127300), while its homozygous mutations cause a severe form of dwarfism known as Langer mesomelic dysplasia (LMD) (OMIM #249700). The analysis of 238 LWD patients between 1998 and 2007 by multiple authors shows a prevalence of deletions (46.4%) compared to point mutations (21.2%). On the whole, deletions and point mutations account for about 67% of LWD patients. SHOX is located within a 1000 kb desert region without genes. The comparative genomic analysis of this region between genomes of different vertebrates has led to the identification of evolutionarily conserved non-coding DNA elements (CNE). Further functional studies have shown that one of these CNE downstream of the SHOX gene is necessary for the expression of SHOX; this is considered to be typical "enhancer" activity. Including the enhancer, the overall mutation of the SHOX region in LWD patients does not hold in 100% of cases. Various authors have demonstrated the existence of other CNE both downstream and upstream of SHOX regions. The resulting conclusion is that it is necessary to reanalyze all LWD/LMD patients without SHOX mutations for the presence of mutations in the 5'- and 3'-flanking SHOX regions.

18 CFR 154.302 - Previously submitted material.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Previously submitted material. 154.302 Section 154.302 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY... concurrently with the rate change filing. There must be furnished to the Director, Office of Energy Market...

Subsequent pregnancy outcome after previous foetal death

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijkamp, J. W.; Korteweg, F. J.; Holm, J. P.; Timmer, A.; Erwich, J. J. H. M.; van Pampus, M. G.

Objective: A history of foetal death is a risk factor for complications and foetal death in subsequent pregnancies as most previous risk factors remain present and an underlying cause of death may recur. The purpose of this study was to evaluate subsequent pregnancy outcome after foetal death and to

Impact of emissions from the Los Angeles port region on San Diego air quality during regional transport events.

Science.gov (United States)

Ault, Andrew P; Moore, Meagan J; Furutani, Hiroshi; Prather, Kimberly A

2009-05-15

Oceangoing ships emit an estimated 1.2-1.6 million metric tons (Tg) of PM10 per year and represent a significant source of air pollution to coastal communities. As shown herein, ship and other emissions near the Los Angeles and Long Beach Port region strongly influence air pollution levels in the San Diego area. During time periods with regional transport, atmospheric aerosol measurements in La Jolla, California show an increase in 0.5-1 microm sized single particles with unique signatures including soot, metals (i.e., vanadium, iron, and nickel), sulfate, and nitrate. These particles are attributed to primary emissions from residual oil sourcessuch as ships and refineries, as well as traffic in the port region, and secondary processing during transport. During regional transport events, particulate matter concentrations were 2-4 times higher than typical average concentrations from local sources, indicating the health, environmental, and climate impacts from these emission sources must be taken into consideration in the San Diego region. Unless significant regulations are imposed on shipping-related activities, these emission sources will become even more important to California air quality as cars and truck emissions undergo further regulations and residual oil sources such as shipping continue to expand.

Problems of demographic development of the Homel region following the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zlotnikov, A.G.

1993-01-01

The paper studies the problems of demographic development of the Gomel region linked with the Chernobyl accident and the results of the social polling of the Gomel region population, as well as, of physicians-experts. It is shown that in the Gomel region during the recent years one can observe unprecedented under peace-time conditions reduction of population resulted from the migration of people and from the reduction of the natural increment of population. The results of the opinion polls demonstrated that migration flows of the population are essentially oriented to the out flow. Recently the refugees from the areas of the national conflict come to the Gomel region. 2 tabs

A novel phytoremediation technology shown to remediate petroleum hydrocarbons from soils in situ

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, X.D.; Yu, X.M.; Gerhardt, K.; Glick, B.; Greenberg, B [Waterloo Environmental Biotechnology Inc., Hamilton, ON (Canada); Waterloo Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Biology

2009-04-01

This article described a newly developed, advanced microbe-enhanced phytoremediation system that can be used to remediate lands polluted by hydrocarbons, salts and metals. The technology uses 3 complementary processes to achieve effective remediation of strongly bound persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from soil. The remediation process involves physical soil treatment, photochemical photooxidation, microbial remediation and growth of plants treated with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). The PGPR-enhanced phytoremediation system (PEPS) alleviates plant stress and increases biodegradation activities, thereby accelerating plant growth in the presence of POPs or poor soils. The PEPS has been used successfully to remove petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) from impacted soils in situ at several sites across Canada. Studies have shown that the PHCs are degraded in the rhizosphere. This article also presented a summary of the work conducted at 3 sites in Alberta. It took only 2 years to remediate the 3 sites to levels required for site closure under Alberta Tier 1 guidelines. It was concluded that PEPS is equally effective for total PHC and Fraction 3 CCME hydrocarbons. 1 tab., 3 figs.

57Fe Moessbauer analysis of chrysotile asbestos from various mining regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagy-Czako, I.; Vertes, A.; Dravcevic, Z.; Lahodny-Sarc, O.

1981-01-01

57 Fe Moessbauer spectroscopy has been used for studying the oxidation and coordination state of iron in chrysotile asbestos from various mining regions in Canada, Rhodesia, USSR and Yugoslavia. It has been found that both the Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ ions occupy only the octahedral positions in the chrysotile crystal structure and that the Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ ratio depends strongly on the mining region. Moessbauer spectra have shown that the samples contain also magnetite. (author)

The Southern HII Region Discovery Survey: The Bright Catalog

Science.gov (United States)

Wenger, Trey V.; Dickey, John M.; Jordan, Christopher H.; Balser, Dana; Armentrout, William Paul; Anderson, Loren; Bania, Thomas; Dawson, Joanne; McClure-Griffiths, Naomi M.; Shea, Jeanine

2018-01-01

HII regions, the zones of ionized gas surrounding recently formed high-mass stars, are the archetypical tracers of Galactic structure. The census of Galactic HII regions in the Southern sky is vastly incomplete due to a lack of sensitive radio recombination line (RRL) surveys. The Southern HII Region Discovery Survey (SHRDS) is a 900-hour Australia Telescope Compact Array cm-wavelength RRL and continuum emission survey of hundreds of third and fourth quadrant Galactic HII region candidates. These candidates are identified in the Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) Catalog of Galactic HII Regions based on coincident 10 micron (WISE) and 20 cm (Southern Galactic Plane Survey) emission. The SHRDS is an extension of HII Region Discovery Surveys in the Northern sky with the Green Bank Telescope and Arecibo Telescope which discovered ~800 new HII regions. In the first 500 hours of the SHRDS, we targeted the 249 brightest HII region candidates and 33 previously known HII regions. We discuss the data reduction, analysis, and preliminary results from this first stage of the survey.

ICME-driven sheath regions deplete the outer radiation belt electrons

Science.gov (United States)

Hietala, H.; Kilpua, E. K.; Turner, D. L.

2013-12-01

It is an outstanding question in space weather and solar wind-magnetosphere interaction studies, why some storms result in an increase of the outer radiation belt electron fluxes, while others deplete them or produce no change. One approach to this problem is to look at differences in the storm drivers. Traditionally drivers have been classified to Stream Interaction Regions (SIRs) and Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs). However, an 'ICME event' is a complex structure: The core is a magnetic cloud (MC; a clear flux rope structure). If the mass ejection is fast enough, it can drive a shock in front of it. This leads to the formation of a sheath region between the interplanetary shock and the leading edge of the MC. While both the sheath and the MC feature elevated solar wind speed, their other properties are very different. For instance, the sheath region has typically a much higher dynamic pressure than the magnetic cloud. Moreover, the sheath region has a high power in magnetic field and dynamic pressure Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) range fluctuations, while the MC is characterised by an extremely smooth magnetic field. Magnetic clouds have been recognised as important drivers magnetospheric activity since they can comprise long periods of very large southward Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that sheath regions can also act as storm drivers. In this study, we analyse the effects of ICME-driven sheath regions on the relativistic electron fluxes observed by GOES satellites on the geostationary orbit. We perform a superposed epoch analysis of 31 sheath regions from solar cycle 23. Our results show that the sheaths cause an approximately one order of magnitude decrease in the 24h-averaged electron fluxes. Typically the fluxes also stay below the pre-event level for more than two days. Further analysis reveals that the decrease does not depend on, e.g., whether the sheath interval contains predominantly northward

Lambayeque Region marketing: Improving Incoming Tourism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roger Pingo Jara

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Up to now, the marketing of the Lambayeque region as a tourist destination has been able to make important progress in the growth of domestic tourists flow. 40% of these tourists come from the capital, mostly they arrive in this region, mainly for business reasons. However, little progress is shown in relation to Incoming tourism, because from 100% of visitors who arrive to this touristic destination only 5% are of foreign origin.Furthermore, in 2011, from the total foreign tourists that visited the Moche Route - La Libertad region and Lambayeque region, 70% remained in the first one and only 30% visited both regions, completing the touristic circuit. The recommendations of the teachers of the Universidad del Pacífico, Universidad Esan and Centrum Católica, who have been interviewed are compared with the businessmen’s opinions in the region, showing the importance of targeting the tourism marketing strategy. Thus, it seeks to create value in different niches of the source markets, to prioritize potential tourists from brotherly countries, to link emotionally the tourist with the city, to build brands for each touristic product, to invest in highly specialized tourism and to improve significantly the clusters organization of the tourism sector in the region.We conclude that, in the region of Lambayeque, isolated efforts have been made regarding the incoming marketing, but, according to the needs, tastes and preferences of the potential tourist, this does not fulfill the international standards. This is demonstrated by the results achieved up to now—in terms of the foreign visitors’ number—. To that extent, It emphasizes the importance of the design and the implementation of a marketing plan connected with market reality.It should profit from the national brand and develop regional and local brand based on the international touristic demand-supply relation to market niches.

Left ventricular asynergy score as an indicator of previous myocardial infarction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Backman, C.; Jacobsson, K.A.; Linderholm, H.; Osterman, G.

1986-01-01

Sixty-eight patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) i.e. a hisotry of angina of effort and/or previous 'possible infarction' were examined inter alia with ECG and cinecardioangiography. A system of scoring was designed which allowed a semiquantitative estimate of the left ventricular asynergy from cinecardioangiography - the left ventricular motion score (LVMS). The LVMS was associated with the presence of a previous myocardial infarction (MI), as indicated by the history and ECG findings. The ECG changes specific for a previous MI were associated with high LVMS values and unspecific or absent ECG changes with low LVMS values. Decision thresholds for ECG changes and asynergy in diagnosing a previous MI were evaluated by means of a ROC analysis. The accuracy of ECG in detecting a previous MI was slightly higher when asynergy indicated a 'true MI' than when autopsy result did so in a comparable group. Therefore the accuracy of asynergy (LVMS ≥ 1) in detecting a previous MI or myocardial fibrosis in patients with CHD should be at least comparable with that of autopsy (scar > 1 cm). (orig.)

FLOSSWorld Africa regional workshop agenda

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Tucker, KC

2006-02-01

Full Text Available their activities – does this differ from country to country, and does it differ from Europe? Comparisons with previous studies such as FLOSS, FLOSS-US, FLOSS-Japan. • How are local FLOSS activities in target countries related with other institutions (public... administration, companies, schools, universities, etc.)? • What is the present and possible future impact of FLOSS activities on the labour market, education, governance, and the economy of developing countries? FLOSSWorld Africa Regional Agenda 4 FLOSSWorld...

Musical taste, employment, education, and global region.

Science.gov (United States)

North, Adrian C; Davidson, Jane W

2013-10-01

Sociologists have argued that musical taste should vary between social groups, but have not considered whether the effect extends beyond taste into uses of music and also emotional reactions to music. Moreover, previous research has ignored the culture in which participants are located. The present research employed a large sample from five post-industrial global regions and showed that musical taste differed between regions but not according to education and employment; and that there were three-way interactions between education, employment, and region in the uses to which participants put music and also their typical emotional reactions. In addition to providing partial support for existing sociological theory, the findings highlight the potential of culture as a variable in future quantitative research on taste. © 2013 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Stratigraphy of the south polar region of Ganymede

Science.gov (United States)

Dehon, R. A.

1987-01-01

A preliminary assessment is made of the stratigraphy and geology in the south polar region of the Jovian satellite, Ganymede. Geologic mapping is based on inspection of Voyager images and compilation on an airbrush base map at a scale of 1:5M. Illumination and resolution vary greatly in the region. Approximately half of the quadripole is beyond the terminator. Low angle illumination over a large part of the area precludes distinction of some units by albedo characteristics. Several types of grooved terrain and groove related terrain occur in the southern polar region. Grooves typically occur in straight to curvilinear sets or lanes. Bright lanes and grooved lanes intersect at high angles outlining polygons of dark cratered terrain. Groove sets exhibit a range of ages as shown by superposition or truncation and by crater superposition ages.

The influence of previous subject experience on interactions during peer instruction in an introductory physics course: A mixed methods analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Vondruska, Judy A.

Over the past decade, peer instruction and the introduction of student response systems has provided a means of improving student engagement and achievement in large-lecture settings. While the nature of the student discourse occurring during peer instruction is less understood, existing studies have shown student ideas about the subject, extraneous cues, and confidence level appear to matter in the student-student discourse. Using a mixed methods research design, this study examined the influence of previous subject experience on peer instruction in an introductory, one-semester Survey of Physics course. Quantitative results indicated students in discussion pairs where both had previous subject experience were more likely to answer clicker question correctly both before and after peer discussion compared to student groups where neither partner had previous subject experience. Students in mixed discussion pairs were not statistically different in correct response rates from the other pairings. There was no statistically significant difference between the experience pairs on unit exam scores or the Peer Instruction Partner Survey. Although there was a statistically significant difference between the pre-MPEX and post-MPEX scores, there was no difference between the members of the various subject experience peer discussion pairs. The qualitative study, conducted after the quantitative study, helped to inform the quantitative results by exploring the nature of the peer interactions through survey questions and a series of focus groups discussions. While the majority of participants described a benefit to the use of clickers in the lecture, their experience with their discussion partners varied. Students with previous subject experience tended to describe peer instruction more positively than students who did not have previous subject experience, regardless of the experience level of their partner. They were also more likely to report favorable levels of comfort with

Reasoning with Previous Decisions: Beyond the Doctrine of Precedent

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Komárek, Jan

2013-01-01

in different jurisdictions use previous judicial decisions in their argument, we need to move beyond the concept of precedent to a wider notion, which would embrace practices and theories in legal systems outside the Common law tradition. This article presents the concept of ‘reasoning with previous decisions...... law method’, but they are no less rational and intellectually sophisticated. The reason for the rather conceited attitude of some comparatists is in the dominance of the common law paradigm of precedent and the accompanying ‘case law method’. If we want to understand how courts and lawyers......’ as such an alternative and develops its basic models. The article first points out several shortcomings inherent in limiting the inquiry into reasoning with previous decisions by the common law paradigm (1). On the basis of numerous examples provided in section (1), I will present two basic models of reasoning...

On the Tengiz petroleum deposit previous study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nysangaliev, A.N.; Kuspangaliev, T.K.

1997-01-01

Tengiz petroleum deposit previous study is described. Some consideration about structure of productive formation, specific characteristic properties of petroleum-bearing collectors are presented. Recommendation on their detail study and using of experience on exploration and development of petroleum deposit which have analogy on most important geological and industrial parameters are given. (author)

Wind energy resource atlas. Volume 7. The south central region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edwards, R.L.; Graves, L.F.; Sprankle, A.C.; Elliott, D.L.; Barchet, W.R.; George, R.L.

1981-03-01

This atlas of the south central region combines seven collections of wind resource data: one for the region, and one for each of the six states (Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas). At the state level, features of the climate, topography, and wind resource are discussed in greater detail than that provided in the regional discussion, and the data locations on which the assessment is based are mapped. Variations, over several time scales, in the wind resource at selected stations in each state are shown on graphs of monthly average and interannual wind speed and power, and hourly average wind speed for each season. Other graphs present speed, direction, and duration frequencies of the wind at these locations.

Changes in X-ray brightness of a solar active region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glencross, W M; Brabban, D H [University Coll., London (UK). Mullard Space Science Lab.

1976-04-01

The soft X-ray flux in the waveband 0.3 to 0.9 nm has been monitored during most of the solar disk passage of McMath region 12094. These data show how the emission changed during quiet periods as well as during flaring. Throughout the first four days of observations the mean flux showed a gradual decay even though the magnetic region was still growing. At the end of this phase the region remained extremely inactive for almost half a day and then brightened by more than an order of magnitude within an hour. This enhancement lasted nearly one day and marked the onset of the break-up of the region. It is shown how this sequence of events might reflect the changes in subphotospheric convection pattern which Meyer et al (Mon. Not. R. Astr. Soc.; 169:35 (1974)) consider to develop in magnetic regions. It is also pointed out that the large flares in region 11976 during early 1972 August had a number of characteristics in common with the active phase discussed for region 12094.

Multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics with anisotropy and flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dennis, G. R., E-mail: graham.dennis@anu.edu.au; Dewar, R. L.; Hole, M. J. [Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200 (Australia); Hudson, S. R. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)

2014-07-15

We present an extension of the multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (MRxMHD) equilibrium model that includes pressure anisotropy and general plasma flows. This anisotropic extension to our previous isotropic model is motivated by Sun and Finn's model of relaxed anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic equilibria. We prove that as the number of plasma regions becomes infinite, our anisotropic extension of MRxMHD reduces to anisotropic ideal MHD with flow. The continuously nested flux surface limit of our MRxMHD model is the first variational principle for anisotropic plasma equilibria with general flow fields.

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2007

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baer, M.; Deichmann, N.; Clinton, J.; Husen, S.; Faeh, D.; Giardini, D.; Kaestli, P.; Kradolfer, U.; Wiemer, S

2008-12-15

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2007. During this period, 531 earthquakes and 92 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. Of these earthquakes, 30 are aftershocks of the stimulation of a proposed geothermal reservoir beneath the city of Basel in December of 2006. With 20 events with {mu}{sub {iota}} {>=} 2.5, four of which were artificially induced, the seismic activity in the year 2007 was far below the average over the previous 32 years. (author)

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baer, M.; Deichmann, N.; Clinton, J.; Husen, S.; Faeh, D.; Giardini, D.; Kaestli, P.; Kradolfer, U.; Wiemer, S.

2008-01-01

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2007. During this period, 531 earthquakes and 92 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. Of these earthquakes, 30 are aftershocks of the stimulation of a proposed geothermal reservoir beneath the city of Basel in December of 2006. With 20 events with Μ ι ≥ 2.5, four of which were artificially induced, the seismic activity in the year 2007 was far below the average over the previous 32 years. (author)

Age- and brain region-dependent α-synuclein oligomerization is attributed to alterations in intrinsic enzymes regulating α-synuclein phosphorylation in aging monkey brains.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Min; Yang, Weiwei; Li, Xin; Li, Xuran; Wang, Peng; Yue, Feng; Yang, Hui; Chan, Piu; Yu, Shun

2016-02-23

We previously reported that the levels of α-syn oligomers, which play pivotal pathogenic roles in age-related Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies, increase heterogeneously in the aging brain. Here, we show that exogenous α-syn incubated with brain extracts from older cynomolgus monkeys and in Lewy body pathology (LBP)-susceptible brain regions (striatum and hippocampus) forms higher amounts of phosphorylated and oligomeric α-syn than that in extracts from younger monkeys and LBP-insusceptible brain regions (cerebellum and occipital cortex). The increased α-syn phosphorylation and oligomerization in the brain extracts from older monkeys and in LBP-susceptible brain regions were associated with higher levels of polo-like kinase 2 (PLK2), an enzyme promoting α-syn phosphorylation, and lower activity of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), an enzyme inhibiting α-syn phosphorylation, in these brain extracts. Further, the extent of the age- and brain-dependent increase in α-syn phosphorylation and oligomerization was reduced by inhibition of PLK2 and activation of PP2A. Inversely, phosphorylated α-syn oligomers reduced the activity of PP2A and showed potent cytotoxicity. In addition, the activity of GCase and the levels of ceramide, a product of GCase shown to activate PP2A, were lower in brain extracts from older monkeys and in LBP-susceptible brain regions. Our results suggest a role for altered intrinsic metabolic enzymes in age- and brain region-dependent α-syn oligomerization in aging brains.

Mortality due to Cardiovascular Diseases in Women and Men in the Five Brazilian Regions, 1980-2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio de Padua Mansur

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background: Studies have shown different mortalities due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD, ischemic heart disease (IHD and cerebrovascular diseases (CbVD in the five Brazilian regions. Socioeconomic conditions of those regions are frequently used to justify differences in mortality due to those diseases. In addition, studies have shown a reduction in the differences between the mortality rates of the five Brazilian regions. Objective: To update CVD mortality data in women and men in the five Brazilian regions. Methods: Mortality and population data were obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and Ministry of Health. Risk of death was adjusted by use of the direct method, with the 2000 world standard population as reference. We analyzed trends in mortality due to CVD, IHD and CbVD in women and men aged ≥ 30 years in the five Brazilian regions from 1980 to 2012. Results: Mortality due to: 1 CVD: showed reduction in the Northern, West-Central, Southern and Southeastern regions; increase in the Northeastern region; 2 IHD: reduction in the Southeastern and Southern regions; increase in the Northeastern region; and unchanged in the Northern and West-Central regions; 3 CbVD: reduction in the Southern, Southeastern and West-Central regions; increase in the Northeastern region; and unchanged in Northern region. There was also a convergence in mortality trends due to CVD, IHD, and CbVD in the five regions. Conclusion: The West-Central, Northern and Northeastern regions had the worst trends in CVD mortality as compared to the Southeastern and Southern regions. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2016; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0

Socioeconomic inequalities of outpatient and inpatient service utilization in China: personal and regional perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Dawei; Guo, Na; Wang, Jian; Nicholas, Stephen; Chen, Li

2017-12-04

China's health system has shown remarkable progress in health provision and health outcomes in recent decades, however inequality in health care utilization persists and poses a serious social problem. While government pro-poor health policies addressed affordability as the major obstacle to equality in health care access, this policy direction deserves further examination. Our study examines the issue of health care inequalities in China, analyzing both regional and individual socioeconomic factors associated with the inequality, and provides evidence to improve governmental health policies. The China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 1991-2011 data were used to analyze the inequality of health care utilization. The random effects logistic regression technique was used to model health care utilization as the dependent variable, and income and regional location as the independent variables, controlling for individuals' age, gender, marital status, education, health insurance, body mass index (BMI), and period variations. The dynamic trend of 1991-2011 regional disparities was estimated using an interaction term between the regional group dummy and the wave dummy. The probability of using outpatient service and inpatient services during the previous 4 weeks was 8.6 and 1.1% respectively. Compared to urban residents, suburban (OR: 0.802, 95% CI: 0.720-0.893), town (OR: 0.722, 95% CI: 0.648-0.804), rich (OR: 0.728, 95% CI: 0.656-0.807) and poor village (OR: 0.778, 95% CI: 0.698-0.868) residents were less likely to use outpatient service; and rich (OR: 0.609, 95% CI: 0.472-0.785) and poor village (OR: 0.752, 95% CI: 0. 576-0.983) residents were less likely to use inpatient health care. But the differences between income groups were not significant, except the differences between top and bottom income group in outpatient service use. Regional location was a more important factor than individual characteristics in determining access to health care. Besides demand

Regional modeling of carbonaceous aerosols over Europe-focus on secondary organic aerosols

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bessagnet, B. [INERIS, Inst Nat Env Indust Risques, F-60550 Verneuil en Halatte, (France); Menut, L. [Ecole Poltechnique, Inst Pierre Simon Laplace, Lab Meteorol Dyn, F-91128 Palaiseau, (France); Curci, G. [Univ degli Studi dell' Aquila, CETEMPS, 67010 Coppito - L' Aquila, (Italy); Hodzic, A. [NCAR, Nat Center for Atmosph Research, Boulder, 80301, CO, (United States); Guillaume, B.; Liousse, C. [LA/OMP, Lab Aerol/Observ Midi-Pyrenees, F-31400 Toulouse, (France); Moukhtar, S. [York Univ, Centre Atmosph Chem, Toronto, (Italy); Pun, B.; Seigneur, C. [Atmosph and Environ Research, San Ramon, CA 94583, (United States); Schulz, M. [CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, IPSL, Lab Sciences Climat et Environm, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette, (France)

2008-07-01

In this study, an improved and complete secondary organic aerosols (SOA) chemistry scheme was implemented in the CHIMERE model. The implementation of isoprene chemistry for SOA significantly improves agreement between long series of simulated and observed particulate matter concentrations. While simulated organic carbon concentrations are clearly improved at elevated sites by adding the SOA scheme, time correlation are impaired at low level sites in Portugal, Italy and Slovakia. At several sites a clear underestimation by the CHIMERE model is noticed in wintertime possibly due to missing wood burning emissions as shown in previous modeling studies. In Europe, the CHIMERE model gives yearly average SOA concentrations ranging from 0.5 {mu}g m{sup -3} in the Northern Europe to 4 {mu}g m{sup -3} over forested regions in Spain, France, Germany and Italy. In addition, our work suggests that during the highest fire emission periods, fires can be the dominant source of primary organic carbon over the Mediterranean Basin, but the SOA contribution from fire emissions is low. Isoprene chemistry has a strong impact on SOA formation when using current available kinetic schemes. (authors)

Previous Exposure to the Fish Parasite Anisakis as a Potential Risk Factor for Gastric or Colon Adenocarcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Perez, Juan Carlos; Rodríguez-Perez, Rosa; Ballestero, Araceli; Zuloaga, Jaime; Fernandez-Puntero, Belen; Arias-Díaz, Javier; Caballero, María Luisa

2015-10-01

Anisakiasis is a global disease caused by consumption of raw or lightly cooked fish contaminated with L3 Anisakis spp. larvae. High rates of parasitization of fish worldwide make Anisakis a serious health hazard. In fact, anisakiasis is a growing disease in countries such as Spain, Italy, and Japan, where consumption of raw/marinated fish is high. Some parasitic infections have been recognized as a causative factor for human cancer. Suggested mechanisms include chronic inflammation elicited by the parasite, and a possible tumorigenic effect from certain parasitic secretions. Anisakis can produce persistent local inflammation and granuloma, and larvae have been incidentally found in gastrointestinal (GI) tumors. Our aim was to discover possible differences in the prevalence of unnoticed or asymptomatic previous Anisakis infection in GI cancer patients compared with healthy individuals. Serum levels of specific antibodies against Anisakis antigens were used as a reliable marker of previous contact with their larvae. Ninety-four participants without a previous history of Anisakis infection were prospectively allocated into 1 of 2 groups: 47 patients with GI cancer and 47 controls. Specific IgE, IgA1, and IgG1 against the Anisakis recombinant antigens Ani s 1, Ani s 5, Ani s 9, and Ani s 10 were determined by an ELISA assay. The ratio of positivity to sIgA1, rAni s 1, or rAni s 5 was significantly higher in the cancer patients than in the controls (38.30% vs 6.38%, P cancer showed a higher proportion of positive results for sIgA1 to rAni s 1 (P cancer patients were shown to be positive for sIgA1 to both rAni s 1 (P cancer.

Should previous mammograms be digitised in the transition to digital mammography?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor-Phillips, S.; Gale, A.G.; Wallis, M.G.

2009-01-01

Breast screening specificity is improved if previous mammograms are available, which presents a challenge when converting to digital mammography. Two display options were investigated: mounting previous film mammograms on a multiviewer adjacent to the workstation, or digitising them for soft copy display. Eight qualified screen readers were videotaped undertaking routine screen reading for two 45-min sessions in each scenario. Analysis of gross eye and head movements showed that when digitised, previous mammograms were examined a greater number of times per case (p=0.03), due to a combination of being used in 19% more cases (p=0.04) and where used, looked at a greater number of times (28% increase, p=0.04). Digitising previous mammograms reduced both the average time taken per case by 18% (p=0.04) and the participants' perceptions of workload (p < 0.05). Digitising previous analogue mammograms may be advantageous, in particular in increasing their level of use. (orig.)

[Incentive for Regional Risk Selection in the German Risk Structure Compensation Scheme].

Science.gov (United States)

Wende, Danny

2017-10-01

The introduction of the new law GKV-FQWG strengthens the competition between statutory health insurance. If incentives for risk selection exist, they may force a battle for cheap customers. This study aims to document and discuss incentives for regional risk selection in the German risk structure compensation scheme. Identify regional autocorrelation with Moran's l on financial parameters of the risk structure compensation schema. Incentives for regional risk selection do indeed exist. The risk structure compensation schema reduces 91% of the effect and helps to reduce risk selection. Nevertheless, a connection between regional situation and competition could be shown (correlation: 69.5%). Only the integration of regional control variables into the risk compensation eliminates regional autocorrelation. The actual risk structure compensation is leading to regional inequalities and as a consequence to risk selection and distortion in competition. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

75 FR 39244 - Reliability Standards Development and NERC and Regional Entity Enforcement; Further Notice...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-08

... Standards Development and NERC and Regional Entity Enforcement; Further Notice Concerning Technical... convene a Commissioner-led technical conference regarding issues pertaining to the development of... Corporation and the Regional Entities as previously announced.\\1\\ \\1\\ Notice of Technical Conference, 75 FR 35...

The Asia-Pacific: A Region in Transition

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

after drawn-out discussions to do with the positions of such eminences as Le Duc Tho and Truong Chinh following the death of old-guard leader Le Duan in...in regional social capital as shown in interstate and trans -state relationships. The Indo-Pakistani rivalry has been at the center of the depletion...dialogues will mean for the region’s existing ‘alphabet soup’ of trans -Pacific institutions. This means not only APEC and the ARF but also ASEAN

Regional P-wave Tomography in the Caribbean Region for Plate Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Li, X.; Bedle, H.; Suppe, J.

2017-12-01

The complex plate-tectonic interactions around the Caribbean Sea have been studied and interpreted by many researchers, but questions still remain regarding the formation and subduction history of the region. Here we report current progress towards creating a new regional tomographic model, with better lateral and spatial coverage and higher resolution than has been presented previously. This new model will provide improved constraints on the plate-tectonic evolution around the Caribbean Plate. Our three-dimensional velocity model is created using taut spline parameterization. The inversion is computed by the code of VanDecar (1991), which is based on the ray theory method. The seismic data used in this inversion are absolute P wave arrival times from over 700 global earthquakes that were recorded by over 400 near Caribbean stations. There are over 25000 arrival times that were picked and quality checked within frequency band of 0.01 - 0.6 Hz by using a MATLAB GUI-based software named Crazyseismic. The picked seismic delay time data are analyzed and compared with other studies ahead of doing the inversion model, in order to examine the quality of our dataset. From our initial observations of the delay time data, the more equalized the ray azimuth coverage, the smaller the deviation of the observed travel times from the theoretical travel time. Networks around the NE and SE side of the Caribbean Sea generally have better ray coverage, and smaller delay times. Specifically, seismic rays reaching SE Caribbean networks, such as XT network, generally pass through slabs under South American, Central American, Lesser Antilles, Southwest Caribbean, and the North Caribbean transform boundary, which leads to slightly positive average delay times. In contrast, the Puerto Rico network records seismic rays passing through regions that may lack slabs in the upper mantle and show slightly negative or near zero average delay times. These results agree with previous tomographic

Environment control in selected industrial regions of Austria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schindler, I.; Wiesenberger, H.; Kutschera, U.

2004-01-01

The environmental situation (air, water and soil) of fourteen Austrian regions (Arnoldstein-Gailitz, Brixlegg, Brueckl, Lend, Linz, Lenzing, Donawitz, Schwechat, Tanklager Lobau, Treibach-Althofen, Hallein, Poels, Ranshofen and St. Poelten) with industrial activities based on available data (1994-2002) is described. The connection and the temporal development of the emissions from industrial plants, the immissions and the environmental exposure as far as possible are shown, as well as actual information deficits and possible needs for action are worked out. For each region the following information is provided: location, description of present industrial plants, emissions (air, waste water and waste water treatment), wastes and residues, deposits of toxic waste, water immissions, air immissions and soil-vegetation-bioindication. (nevyjel)

Signatures of global warming and regional climate shift in the Arabian Sea

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Roshin, R.P.; Narvekar, J.; DineshKumar, P.K.; Vivekanandan, E.

phytoplankton biomass during fall and winter is attributed to the iron-fertilization driven by enhanced dust-delivery under this regional climate shift. Finally, it is shown that the increased fish (oil-sardine) catch in the eastern and western Arabian Sea after...

14 CFR 121.406 - Credit for previous CRM/DRM training.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Credit for previous CRM/DRM training. 121... previous CRM/DRM training. (a) For flightcrew members, the Administrator may credit CRM training received before March 19, 1998 toward all or part of the initial ground CRM training required by § 121.419. (b...

The influence of gravity on regional lung blood flow in humans: SPECT in the upright and head-down posture.

Science.gov (United States)

Ax, M; Sanchez-Crespo, A; Lindahl, S G E; Mure, M; Petersson, J

2017-06-01

Previous studies in humans have shown that gravity has little influence on the distribution of lung blood flow while changing posture from supine to prone. This study aimed to evaluate the maximal influence of posture by comparison of regional lung blood flow in the upright and head-down posture in 8 healthy volunteers, using a tilt table. Regional lung blood flow was marked by intravenous injection of macroaggregates of human albumin labeled with 99m Tc or 113m In, in the upright and head-down posture, respectively, during tidal breathing. Both radiotracers remain fixed in the lung after administration. The distribution of radioactivity was mapped using quantitative single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) corrected for attenuation and scatter. All images were obtained supine during tidal breathing. A shift from upright to the head-down posture caused a clear redistribution of blood flow from basal to apical regions. We conclude that posture plays a role for the distribution of lung blood flow in upright humans, and that the influence of posture, and thereby gravity, is much greater in the upright and head-down posture than in horizontal postures. However, the results of the study demonstrate that lung structure is the main determinant of regional blood flow and gravity is a secondary contributor to the distribution of lung blood flow in the upright and head-down positions. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Using a dual-isotope quantitative SPECT method, we demonstrated that although a shift in posture redistributes blood flow in the direction of gravity, the results are also consistent with lung structure being a greater determinant of regional blood flow than gravity. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use modern imaging methods to quantify the shift in regional lung blood flow in humans at a change between the upright and head-down postures. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Changes in nonhuman primate brain function following chronic alcohol consumption in previously naïve animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, Jared A; Stapleton-Kotloski, Jennifer R; Alberto, Greg E; Davenport, April T; Kotloski, Robert J; Friedman, David P; Godwin, Dwayne W; Daunais, James B

2017-08-01

Chronic alcohol abuse is associated with neurophysiological changes in brain activity; however, these changes are not well localized in humans. Non-human primate models of alcohol abuse enable control over many potential confounding variables associated with human studies. The present study utilized high-resolution magnetoencephalography (MEG) to quantify the effects of chronic EtOH self-administration on resting state (RS) brain function in vervet monkeys. Adolescent male vervet monkeys were trained to self-administer ethanol (n=7) or an isocaloric malto-dextrin solution (n=3). Following training, animals received 12 months of free access to ethanol. Animals then underwent RS magnetoencephalography (MEG) and subsequent power spectral analysis of brain activity at 32 bilateral regions of interest associated with the chronic effects of alcohol use. demonstrate localized changes in brain activity in chronic heavy drinkers, including reduced power in the anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala as well as increased power in the right medial orbital and parietal areas. The current study is the first demonstration of whole-head MEG acquisition in vervet monkeys. Changes in brain activity were consistent with human electroencephalographic studies; however, MEG was able to extend these findings by localizing the observed changes in power to specific brain regions. These regions are consistent with those previously found to exhibit volume loss following chronic heavy alcohol use. The ability to use MEG to evaluate changes in brain activity following chronic ethanol exposure provides a potentially powerful tool to better understand both the acute and chronic effects of alcohol on brain function. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Challenging previous conceptions of vegetarianism and eating disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisak, B; Peterson, R D; Tantleff-Dunn, S; Molnar, J M

2006-12-01

The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand upon previous research that has examined the potential association between vegetarianism and disordered eating. Limitations of previous research studies are addressed, including possible low reliability of measures of eating pathology within vegetarian samples, use of only a few dietary restraint measures, and a paucity of research examining potential differences in body image and food choice motives of vegetarians versus nonvegetarians. Two hundred and fifty-six college students completed a number of measures of eating pathology and body image, and a food choice motives questionnaire. Interestingly, no significant differences were found between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in measures of eating pathology or body image. However, significant differences in food choice motives were found. Implications for both researchers and clinicians are discussed.

GLOBALIZATION OF ECONOMY AND GREATER CYCLES OF THE TOTAL REGIONAL PRODUCT, INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.A. Belkin

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The process of synchronization of greater and small waves of real gross national product of the USA and a total regional product of the Chelyabinsk area is shown on the materials of economic statistics. The conclusion about defining influence of dynamics of real gross national product of the USA on the basic macroeconomic parameters of the Chelyabinsk area owing to high dependence of its economy on export of metal products is done from here. It is evidently shown, that the modern world economic crisis quite keeps within the theory of greater cycles of an economic conjuncture of N.D. Kondratyev. To greater cycles of a total regional product of the Chelyabinsk area there correspond return greater cycles of inflation and unemployment.

A numerical estimate of the small-kT region in the BFKL pomeron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartels, J.

1995-11-01

A computer study is performed to estimate the influence of the small-k T region in the BFKL evolution equation. We consider the small-x region of the deep inelastic structure function F 2 and show that the magnitude of the small-k T region depends on Q 2 and x B . We suggest that the width of the log k T 2 -distribution in the final state may serve as an additional footprint of BFKL-dynamics. For diffractive dissociation it is shown that the contribution of the infrared region is large - event for large Q 2 . This contribution becomes smaller only if restrictions on the final state are imposed. (orig.)

Climate and chemistry effects of a regional scale nuclear conflict

OpenAIRE

Stenke A.; Hoyle C. R.; Luo B.; Rozanov E.; Groebner J.; Maag L.; Broennimann S.; Peter T.

2013-01-01

Previous studies have highlighted the severity of detrimental effects for life on Earth after an assumed regionally limited nuclear war. These effects are caused by climatic, chemical and radiative changes persisting for up to one decade. However, so far only a very limited number of climate model simulations have been performed, giving rise to the question how realistic previous computations have been. This study uses the coupled chemistry climate model (CCM) SOCOL, which belongs to a...

Realistic nuclear shell theory and the doubly-magic 132Sn region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vary, J.P.

1978-01-01

After an introduction discussing the motivation and interest in results obtained with isotope separators, the fundamental problem in realistic nuclear shell theory is posed in the context of renormalization theory. Then some of the important developments that have occurred over the last fifteen years in the derivation of the effective Hamiltonian and application of realistic nuclear shell theory are briefly reviewed. Doubly magic regions of the periodic table and the unique advantages of the 132 Sn region are described. Then results are shown for the ground-state properties of 132 Sn as calculated from the density-dependent Hartree-Fock approach with the Skyrme Hamiltonian. A single theoretical Hamiltonian for all nuclei from doubly magic 132 Sn to doubly magic 208 Pb is presented; single-particle energies are graphed. Finally, predictions of shell-model level-density distributions obtained with spectral distribution methods are discussed; calculated level densities are shown for 136 Xe. 10 figures

SAR Imagery Segmentation by Statistical Region Growing and Hierarchical Merging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ushizima, Daniela Mayumi; Carvalho, E.A.; Medeiros, F.N.S.; Martins, C.I.O.; Marques, R.C.P.; Oliveira, I.N.S.

2010-05-22

This paper presents an approach to accomplish synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image segmentation, which are corrupted by speckle noise. Some ordinary segmentation techniques may require speckle filtering previously. Our approach performs radar image segmentation using the original noisy pixels as input data, eliminating preprocessing steps, an advantage over most of the current methods. The algorithm comprises a statistical region growing procedure combined with hierarchical region merging to extract regions of interest from SAR images. The region growing step over-segments the input image to enable region aggregation by employing a combination of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test with a hierarchical stepwise optimization (HSWO) algorithm for the process coordination. We have tested and assessed the proposed technique on artificially speckled image and real SAR data containing different types of targets.

HLA region excluded by linkage analyses of early onset periodontitis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, C.; Wang, S.; Lopez, N.

1994-09-01

Previous studies suggested that HLA genes may influence susceptibility to early-onset periodontitis (EOP). Segregation analyses indicate that EOP may be due to a single major gene. We conducted linkage analyses to assess possible HLA effects on EOP. Fifty families with two or more close relatives affected by EOP were ascertained in Virginia and Chile. A microsatellite polymorphism within the HLA region (at the tumor necrosis factor beta locus) was typed using PCR. Linkage analyses used a donimant model most strongly supported by previous studies. Assuming locus homogeneity, our results exclude a susceptibility gene within 10 cM on either side of our marker locus. This encompasses all of the HLA region. Analyses assuming alternative models gave qualitatively similar results. Allowing for locus heterogeneity, our data still provide no support for HLA-region involvement. However, our data do not statistically exclude (LOD <-2.0) hypotheses of disease-locus heterogeneity, including models where up to half of our families could contain an EOP disease gene located in the HLA region. This is due to the limited power of even our relatively large collection of families and the inherent difficulties of mapping genes for disorders that have complex and heterogeneous etiologies. Additional statistical analyses, recruitment of families, and typing of flanking DNA markers are planned to more conclusively address these issues with respect to the HLA region and other candidate locations in the human genome. Additional results for markers covering most of the human genome will also be presented.

Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy alone or with regional hyperthermia for localised high-risk soft-tissue sarcoma: a randomised phase 3 multicentre study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Issels, Rolf D; Lindner, Lars H; Verweij, Jaap

2010-01-01

The optimum treatment for high-risk soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) in adults is unclear. Regional hyperthermia concentrates the action of chemotherapy within the heated tumour region. Phase 2 studies have shown that chemotherapy with regional hyperthermia improves local control compared with chemother...

New plant records for the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.P. Gaikwad

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Floristic investigation of Balaghat ranges, resulted in an addition of ten flowering plants not previously recorded from Marathwada region. A brief taxonomic description along with distribution, phenology and GPS data is provided for each taxon.

Colliding winds: Interaction regions with strong heat conduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imamura, J.N.; Chevalier, R.A.

1984-01-01

The interaction of fast stellar wind with a slower wind from previous mass loss gives rise to a region of hot, shocked gas. We obtain self-similar solutions for the interaction region under the assumptions of constant mass loss rate and wind velocity for the two winds, conversion of energy in the shock region, and either isothermal electrons and adiabatic ions or isothermal electrons ad ions in the shocked region. The isothermal assumption is intended to show the effects of strog heat conduction. The solutions have no heat conduction through the shock waves and assume that the electron and ion temperatures are equilibriated in the shock waves. The one-temperature isothermal solutions have nearly constant density through the shocked region, while the two-temperature solutions are intermediate between the one-temperature adiabatic and isothermal solutions. In the two-temperature solutions, the ion temperature goes to zero at the point where the gas comoves with the shocked region and the density peaks at this point. The solution may qualitatively describe the effects of heat conduction on interaction regions in the solar wind. It will be important to determine whether the assumption of no thermal waves outside the shocked region applies to shock waves in the solar wind

Re-irradiation with 36 Gy (1.5 Gy Twice Daily) Plus Paclitaxel for Advanced Recurrent and Previously Irradiated SCCHN is Feasible.

Science.gov (United States)

Rades, Dirk; Bartscht, Tobias; Idel, Christian; Hakim, Samer G

2018-01-01

Many patients developing a loco-regional recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) have a poor prognosis. Often, recurrences are unresectable, and patients require a second course of radiotherapy or chemoradiation. We present an approach of chemoradiation including mainly 30 Gy of radiotherapy (1.5 Gy twice daily) plus concurrent paclitaxel. To further improve the prognoses of these patients, we increased the radiation dose from 30 to 36 Gy. In four patients with recurrent and previously irradiated SCCHN (60-70 Gy) chemoradiation was carried out using 36 Gy (1.5 Gy twice daily) and concurrent paclitaxel (4-5 times 20-25 mg/m 2 ). One-year loco-regional control rates were 75% inside and 67% outside re-irradiated regions. One-year survival was 50%, and median survival time 11 months. Toxicities were mild (grade 0-2). Re-irradiation with 36 Gy (1.5 Gy twice daily) plus paclitaxel appears feasible and may lead to promising outcomes. This study is preceding a phase I trial. Copyright© 2018, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.

Regional brain response to visual food cues is a marker of satiety that predicts food choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Sonya; Melhorn, Susan J; Smeraglio, Anne; Tyagi, Vidhi; Grabowski, Thomas; Schwartz, Michael W; Schur, Ellen A

2012-11-01

Neuronal processes that underlie the subjective experience of satiety after a meal are not well defined. We investigated how satiety alters the perception of and neural response to visual food cues. Normal-weight participants (10 men, 13 women) underwent 2 fMRI scans while viewing images of high-calorie food that was previously rated as incompatible with weight loss and "fattening" and low-calorie, "nonfattening" food. After a fasting fMRI scan, participants ate a standardized breakfast and underwent reimaging at a randomly assigned time 15-300 min after breakfast to vary the degree of satiety. Measures of subjective appetite, food appeal, and ad libitum food intake (measured after the second fMRI scan) were correlated with activation by "fattening" (compared with "nonfattening") food cues in a priori regions of interest. Greater hunger correlated with higher appeal ratings of "fattening" (r = 0.46, P = 0.03) but not "nonfattening" (r = -0.20, P = 0.37) foods. Fasting amygdalar activation was negatively associated with fullness (left: r = -0.52; right: r = -0.58; both P ≤ 0.01), whereas postbreakfast fullness was positively correlated with activation in the dorsal striatum (right: r = 0.44; left: r = 0.45; both P foods with higher fat content. Postmeal satiety is shown in regional brain activation by images of high-calorie foods. Regions including the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, and dorsal striatum may alter perception of, and reduce motivation to consume, energy-rich foods, ultimately driving food choice. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01631045.

Cooling Active Region Loops Observed With SXT and TRACE

OpenAIRE

Winebarger, Amy R.; Warren, Harry P.

2005-01-01

An Impulsive Heating Multiple Strand (IHMS) Model is able to reproduce the observational characteristics of EUV (~ 1 MK) active region loops. This model implies that some of the loops must reach temperatures where X-ray filters are sensitive (> 2.5 MK) before they cool to EUV temperatures. Hence, some bright EUV loops must be preceded by bright X-ray loops. Previous analysis of X-ray and EUV active region observations, however, have concluded that EUV loops are not preceded by X-ray loops. In...

Fuel tourism in border regions: The case of Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banfi, S.; Filippini, M.; Universita della Svizzera italiana, Lugano; Hunt, L.C.

2005-01-01

This paper explores the issue of 'fuel tourism' in Switzerland. For the period 1985-1997, a panel data model for the border regions of Switzerland, (Italy, France, and Germany) is estimated. The results show a significant impact of the gasoline price differential on demand, suggesting that a decrease of 10% in the Swiss gasoline price leads to an increase in demand in the border areas of nearly 17.5%. It is shown that fuel tourism accounted for about 9% of overall gasoline sales in the three regions during the period 1985-1997 and that the recently proposed Swiss CO 2 -tax might, given current conditions, eliminate net fuel tourism. (author)

Memory-related functional connectivity in visual processing regions varies by prior emotional context.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Holly J; Kensinger, Elizabeth A

2017-09-06

Memory retrieval involves the reactivation of processes that were engaged at encoding. Using a Generalized Linear Model to test for effects of valence, our prior study suggests that memory for information previously encoded in a negative context reengages sensory processing regions at retrieval to a greater extent than positive. Here, we used partial least squares analyses of the same dataset to determine whether this valence-specific processing was one of the dominant patterns in the retrieval data. Trials previously paired with a face revealed a strong pattern of emotion that did not vary by valence, but for trials previously paired with a scene, an extensive network of regions was active during recollection of trials paired with negative content. These same regions were negatively correlated with recollection of trials paired with positive content. These results confirm that, despite no emotional content present during the time of retrieval, strong patterns of emotional study context are present in the data. Moreover, at least for trials paired with scenes at encoding, valence-specific networks are linked to episodic memory recollection, providing further support for recapitulation of sensory processing during recollection of negative emotional information.

Thin walls in regions with vacuum energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garfinkle, D [Florida Univ., Gainesville, FL (USA). Dept. of Physics; Vuille, C [Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Prescott, AZ (USA). Dept. of Math/Physical Science

1989-12-01

The motion of a thin wall is treated in the case where the regions on either side of the wall have vacuum energy. This treatment generalises previous results involving domain walls in vacuum and also previous results involving the properties of false vacuum bubbles. The equation of state for a domain wall is{tau} = {sigma} where {tau} is the tension in the wall and {sigma} is the energy density. We consider the motion of a more general class of walls having equation of state {tau}{Gamma}{sigma} with 0{le}{Gamma}{le}1. Spherically symmetric and planar symmetric walls are examined. We also find the global structure of the wall spacetime. (author).

Ethnic Separatism in Pakistan as a Threat to Regional Security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Isaevich Khahkhanov

2015-12-01

Full Text Available At present ethnic separatism is shown in various regions practically on all continents and it is the same serious call of the international stability and safety, as religious extremism and drugs. Ethnic separatism is shown and in the Southern Asia, particularly, in India, Pakistan, Sri - Lanka, leading to terrorism acts and a numerous death. The author analyzes sources and the reasons of ethnic separatism in Pakistan. Author marks that the basis for statehood of Pakistan while independence declaration was not ethnic, but cultural and religious factors, which already contained potential separatism. Article tells us about modern manifestation of ethnic separatism in Pakistan. In particular, the author describes sources, the reasons and manifestations of separatism of Pushtuns and Beludzhy. According to the author, separatism of Beludzhy and Pushtuns is the specific danger not only to integrity of Pakistan. This can lead in the long term to disintegration of the state that is fraught with serious consequences for stability and safety not only for the Southern Asia, but also for other regions nearby Russia.

Response to health insurance by previously uninsured rural children.

Science.gov (United States)

Tilford, J M; Robbins, J M; Shema, S J; Farmer, F L

1999-08-01

To examine the healthcare utilization and costs of previously uninsured rural children. Four years of claims data from a school-based health insurance program located in the Mississippi Delta. All children who were not Medicaid-eligible or were uninsured, were eligible for limited benefits under the program. The 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) was used to compare utilization of services. The study represents a natural experiment in the provision of insurance benefits to a previously uninsured population. Premiums for the claims cost were set with little or no information on expected use of services. Claims from the insurer were used to form a panel data set. Mixed model logistic and linear regressions were estimated to determine the response to insurance for several categories of health services. The use of services increased over time and approached the level of utilization in the NMES. Conditional medical expenditures also increased over time. Actuarial estimates of claims cost greatly exceeded actual claims cost. The provision of a limited medical, dental, and optical benefit package cost approximately $20-$24 per member per month in claims paid. An important uncertainty in providing health insurance to previously uninsured populations is whether a pent-up demand exists for health services. Evidence of a pent-up demand for medical services was not supported in this study of rural school-age children. States considering partnerships with private insurers to implement the State Children's Health Insurance Program could lower premium costs by assembling basic data on previously uninsured children.

The Kavirondo Escarpment: a previously unrecognized site of high ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

west, and comprises the northern fault line escarpment of the Kavirondo Rift Valley. (Baker et al. 1972). ... Darker shading represents higher elevations and contours shown are for 1400 m .... Kavirondo Escarpment represents a 50 km north-easterly extension of range and only ... Grey-winged Robin Sheppardia polioptera.

Abiraterone in metastatic prostate cancer without previous chemotherapy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ryan, Charles J.; Smith, Matthew R.; de Bono, Johann S.; Molina, Arturo; Logothetis, Christopher J.; de Souza, Paul; Fizazi, Karim; Mainwaring, Paul; Piulats, Josep M.; Ng, Siobhan; Carles, Joan; Mulders, Peter F. A.; Basch, Ethan; Small, Eric J.; Saad, Fred; Schrijvers, Dirk; van Poppel, Hendrik; Mukherjee, Som D.; Suttmann, Henrik; Gerritsen, Winald R.; Flaig, Thomas W.; George, Daniel J.; Yu, Evan Y.; Efstathiou, Eleni; Pantuck, Allan; Winquist, Eric; Higano, Celestia S.; Taplin, Mary-Ellen; Park, Youn; Kheoh, Thian; Griffin, Thomas; Scher, Howard I.; Rathkopf, Dana E.; Boyce, A.; Costello, A.; Davis, I.; Ganju, V.; Horvath, L.; Lynch, R.; Marx, G.; Parnis, F.; Shapiro, J.; Singhal, N.; Slancar, M.; van Hazel, G.; Wong, S.; Yip, D.; Carpentier, P.; Luyten, D.; de Reijke, T.

2013-01-01

Abiraterone acetate, an androgen biosynthesis inhibitor, improves overall survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after chemotherapy. We evaluated this agent in patients who had not received previous chemotherapy. In this double-blind study, we randomly assigned

IL4 gene polymorphism and previous malaria experiences manipulate anti-Plasmodium falciparum antibody isotype profiles in complicated and uncomplicated malaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalambaheti Thareerat

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The IL4-590 gene polymorphism has been shown to be associated with elevated levels of anti-Plasmodium falciparum IgG antibodies and parasite intensity in the malaria protected Fulani of West Africa. This study aimed to investigate the possible impact of IL4-590C/T polymorphism on anti-P. falciparum IgG subclasses and IgE antibodies levels and the alteration of malaria severity in complicated and uncomplicated malaria patients with or without previous malaria experiences. Methods Anti-P.falciparum IgG subclasses and IgE antibodies in plasma of complicated and uncomplicated malaria patients with or without previous malaria experiences were analysed using ELISA. IL4-590 polymorphisms were genotyped using RFLP-PCR. Statistical analyses of the IgG subclass levels were done by Oneway ANOVA. Genotype differences were tested by Chi-squared test. Results The IL4-590T allele was significantly associated with anti-P. falciparum IgG3 antibody levels in patients with complicated (P = 0.031, but not with uncomplicated malaria (P = 0.622. Complicated malaria patients with previous malaria experiences carrying IL4-590TT genotype had significantly lower levels of anti-P. falciparum IgG3 (P = 0.0156, while uncomplicated malaria patients with previous malaria experiences carrying the same genotype had significantly higher levels (P = 0.0206 compared to their IL4-590 counterparts. The different anti-P. falciparum IgG1 and IgG3 levels among IL4 genotypes were observed. Complicated malaria patients with previous malaria experiences tended to have lower IgG3 levels in individuals carrying TT when compared to CT genotypes (P = 0.075. In contrast, complicated malaria patients without previous malaria experiences carrying CC genotype had significantly higher anti-P. falciparum IgG1 than those carrying either CT or TT genotypes (P = 0.004, P = 0.002, respectively. Conclusion The results suggest that IL4-590C or T alleles participated differently in the

Heatwave classification over Europe and the Mediterranean region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stefanon, Marc; Drobinski, Philippe; D’Andrea, Fabio

2012-01-01

A method for defining and classifying heatwave events in the Euro-Mediterranean region is presented. The definition is based on the 95th centile of the local temperature probability density function, with additional criteria for spatial and temporal extension. The heatwave events are then classified into six classes by cluster analysis. The six heatwave patterns of Europe are described and compared to the existing literature. The most catastrophic extreme heatwaves (e.g. 2003 in Europe, 2010 in Russia) are shown to belong to one of these classes. It is then shown that the different classes are associated with different physical mechanisms. The effect of synoptic circulation and hydrological conditions are notably investigated. In particular, a drought appears to be a pre-requisite to heatwave occurrence in some clusters but not all. (letter)

Control of bootstrap current in the pedestal region of tokamaks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaing, K. C. [Institute for Space and Plasma Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 70101, Taiwan (China); Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53796 (United States); Lai, A. L. [Institute for Space and Plasma Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 70101, Taiwan (China)

2013-12-15

The high confinement mode (H-mode) plasmas in the pedestal region of tokamaks are characterized by steep gradient of the radial electric field, and sonic poloidal U{sub p,m} flow that consists of poloidal components of the E×B flow and the plasma flow velocity that is parallel to the magnetic field B. Here, E is the electric field. The bootstrap current that is important for the equilibrium, and stability of the pedestal of H-mode plasmas is shown to have an expression different from that in the conventional theory. In the limit where ‖U{sub p,m}‖≫ 1, the bootstrap current is driven by the electron temperature gradient and inductive electric field fundamentally different from that in the conventional theory. The bootstrap current in the pedestal region can be controlled through manipulating U{sub p,m} and the gradient of the radial electric. This, in turn, can control plasma stability such as edge-localized modes. Quantitative evaluations of various coefficients are shown to illustrate that the bootstrap current remains finite when ‖U{sub p,m}‖ approaches infinite and to provide indications how to control the bootstrap current. Approximate analytic expressions for viscous coefficients that join results in the banana and plateau-Pfirsch-Schluter regimes are presented to facilitate bootstrap and neoclassical transport simulations in the pedestal region.

RESPONSE STYLES IN CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH – EVIDENCE FROM HISTORICAL REGIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricea Elena BERTEA

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The study aims to identify differences in response styles between regions which belong to Romania, but have previously been under foreign occupation. To do that, we employ data from the European Social Survey, the 2006 round. We investigate extreme response styles as this is known as a common problem in cross-cultural research. Extreme response styles increase reliability, but affect the validity as all correlation specific methods can be biased in this case. We compare response styles across regions and inside regions using language as a factor variable to identify ethnic groups. Results show that in some cases there are significant differences between regions of the same country, whereas there are none for neighbouring regions belonging to different countries.

CORDEX Coordinated Output for Regional Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Gutowski, William; Giorgi, Filippo; Lake, Irene

2017-04-01

The Science Advisory Team for the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) has developed a baseline framework of specified regions, resolutions and simulation periods intended to provide a foundation for ongoing regional CORDEX activities: the CORDEX Coordinated Output for Regional Evaluation, or CORDEX-CORE. CORDEX-CORE was conceived in part to be responsive to IPCC needs for coordinated simulations that could provide regional climate downscaling (RCD) that yields fine-scale climate information beyond that resolved by GCMs. For each CORDEX region, a matrix of GCM-RCD experiments is designed based on the need to cover as much as possible different dimensions of the uncertainty space (e.g., different emissions and land-use scenarios, GCMs, RCD models and techniques). An appropriate set of driving GCMs can allow a program of simulations that efficiently addresses key scientific issues within CORDEX, while facilitating comparison and transfer of results and lessons learned across different regions. The CORDEX-CORE program seeks to provide, as much as possible, homogeneity across domains, so it is envisioned that a standard set of regional climate models (RCMs) and empirical statistical downscaling (ESD) methods will downscale a standard set of GCMs over all or at least most CORDEX domains for a minimum set of scenarios (high and low end). The focus is on historical climate simulations for the 20th century and projections for 21st century, implying that data would be needed minimally for the period 1950-2100 (but ideally 1900-2100). This foundational ensemble can be regionally enriched with further contributions (additional GCM-RCD pairs) by individual groups over their selected domains of interest. The RCM model resolution for these core experiments will be in the range of 10-20 km, a resolution that has been shown to provide substantial added value for a variety of climate variables and that represents a significant forward step compared in the CORDEX

How Social Media is Changing the Practice of Regional Anesthesiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwenk, Eric S; Chu, Larry F; Gupta, Rajnish K; Mariano, Edward R

2017-06-01

This review summarizes the current applications of social media in regional anesthesiology, describes ways that specific platforms may promote growth, and briefly discusses limitations and future directions. Although Facebook users outnumber Twitter users, the latter has been better studied in regional anesthesiology and may have the advantages of speed and expansion of reach. Highly tweeted publications are more likely to be cited in the medical literature, and twitter-enhanced journal clubs facilitate communication regarding important articles with international colleagues. In both the United States and internationally, Twitter has been shown to enhance the anesthesiology conference experience, changing communication among attendees and non-attendees. YouTube and podcasts are quickly finding a niche in regional anesthesiology for just-in-time training and continuing professional development. Social media use is rapidly growing in regional anesthesiology, and benefits include global interaction and knowledge translation within the specialty and with the general public.

Pseudoautosomal region in schizophrenia: linkage analysis of seven loci by sib-pair and lod-score methods.

Science.gov (United States)

d'Amato, T; Waksman, G; Martinez, M; Laurent, C; Gorwood, P; Campion, D; Jay, M; Petit, C; Savoye, C; Bastard, C

1994-05-01

In a previous study, we reported a nonrandom segregation between schizophrenia and the pseudoautosomal locus DXYS14 in a sample of 33 sibships. That study has been extended by the addition of 16 new sibships from 16 different families. Data from six other loci of the pseudoautosomal region and of the immediately adjacent part of the X specific region have also been analyzed. Two methods of linkage analysis were used: the affected sibling pair (ASP) method and the lod-score method. Lod-score analyses were performed on the basis of three different models--A, B, and C--all shown to be consistent with the epidemiological data on schizophrenia. No clear evidence for linkage was obtained with any of these models. However, whatever the genetic model and the disease classification, maximum lod scores were positive with most of the markers, with the highest scores generally being obtained for the DXYS14 locus. When the ASP method was used, the earlier finding of nonrandom segregation between schizophrenia and the DXYS14 locus was still supported in this larger data set, at an increased level of statistical significance. Findings of ASP analyses were not significant for the other loci. Thus, findings obtained from analyses using the ASP method, but not the lod-score method, were consistent with the pseudoautosomal hypothesis for schizophrenia.

Strong influence of regional species pools on continent-wide structuring of local communities

OpenAIRE

Lessard, Jean-Philippe; Borregaard, Michael K.; Fordyce, James A.; Rahbek, Carsten; Weiser, Michael D.; Dunn, Robert R.; Sanders, Nathan J.

2011-01-01

There is a long tradition in ecology of evaluating the relative contribution of the regional species pool and local interactions on the structure of local communities. Similarly, a growing number of studies assess the phylogenetic structure of communities, relative to that in the regional species pool, to examine the interplay between broad-scale evolutionary and fine-scale ecological processes. Finally, a renewed interest in the influence of species source pools on communities has shown that...

RCA/IAEA third external dosimetry intercomparisons in East Asia region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, H.; Yoshizawa, M.; Murakami, H.; Momose, T.; Tsujimura, N.; Kanai, K.; Cruz-Suarez, R.

2007-01-01

Several intercomparison exercises were organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the determination of operational quantities at the regional or inter-regional basis. In East Asia region, a third phase of the intercomparison finished in mid 2004. It was organised within the frame of the Regional Cooperation Agreement (RCA) as a follow-up to previous exercises carried out during 1990-1992 and 1995-1996. The results of this intercomparison for the determination of operational quantities were satisfactory for all Member States. The laboratories demonstrated a good performance in quantities tested. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the RCA/IAEA intercomparison and the future of RCA activities in support of assessment of occupational exposure by organising intercomparison runs. (authors)

Diversity and communities of foliar endophytic fungi from different agroecosystems of Coffea arabica L. in two regions of Veracruz, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Saucedo-García, Aurora; Anaya, Ana Luisa; Espinosa-García, Francisco J; González, María C

2014-01-01

Over the past 20 years, the biodiversity associated with shaded coffee plantations and the role of diverse agroforestry types in biodiversity conservation and environmental services have been topics of debate. Endophytic fungi, which are microorganisms that inhabit plant tissues in an asymptomatic manner, form a part of the biodiversity associated with coffee plants. Studies on the endophytic fungi communities of cultivable host plants have shown variability among farming regions; however, the variability in fungal endophytic communities of coffee plants among different coffee agroforestry systems is still poorly understood. As such, we analyzed the diversity and communities of foliar endophytic fungi inhabiting Coffea arabica plants growing in the rustic plantations and simple polycultures of two regions in the center of Veracruz, Mexico. The endophytic fungi isolates were identified by their morphological traits, and the majority of identified species correspond to species of fungi previously reported as endophytes of coffee leaves. We analyzed and compared the colonization rates, diversity, and communities of endophytes found in the different agroforestry systems and in the different regions. Although the endophytic diversity was not fully recovered, we found differences in the abundance and diversity of endophytes among the coffee regions and differences in richness between the two different agroforestry systems of each region. No consistent pattern of community similarity was found between the coffee agroforestry systems, but we found that rustic plantations shared the highest number of morphospecies. The results suggest that endophyte abundance, richness, diversity, and communities may be influenced predominantly by coffee region, and to a lesser extent, by the agroforestry system. Our results contribute to the knowledge of the relationships between agroforestry systems and biodiversity conservation and provide information regarding some endophytic fungi and

False Memories for Shape Activate the Lateral Occipital Complex

Science.gov (United States)

Karanian, Jessica M.; Slotnick, Scott D.

2017-01-01

Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence has shown that false memories arise from higher-level conscious processing regions rather than lower-level sensory processing regions. In the present study, we assessed whether the lateral occipital complex (LOC)--a lower-level conscious shape processing region--was associated with false…

Regional distribution of calretinin and calbindin-D28k expression in the brain of the urodele amphibian Pleurodeles waltl during embryonic and larval development.

Science.gov (United States)

Joven, Alberto; Morona, Ruth; Moreno, Nerea; González, Agustín

2013-07-01

The sequence of appearance of calretinin and calbindin-D28k immunoreactive (CRir and CBir, respectively) cells and fibers has been studied in the brain of the urodele amphibian Pleurodeles waltl. Embryonic, larval and juvenile stages were studied. The early expression and the dynamics of the distribution of CBir and CRir structures have been used as markers for developmental aspects of distinct neuronal populations, highlighting the accurate extent of many regions in the developing brain, not observed on the basis of cytoarchitecture alone. CR and, to a lesser extent, CB are expressed early in the central nervous system and show a progressively increasing expression from the embryonic stages throughout the larval life and, in general, the labeled structures in the developing brain retain their ability to express these proteins in the adult brain. The onset of CRir cells primarily served to follow the development of the olfactory bulbs, subpallium, thalamus, alar hypothalamus, mesencephalic tegmentum, and distinct cell populations in the rhombencephalic reticular formation. CBir cells highlighted the development of, among others, the pallidum, hypothalamus, dorsal habenula, midbrain tegmentum, cerebellum, and central gray of the rostral rhombencephalon. However, it was the relative and mostly segregated distribution of both proteins in distinct cell populations which evidenced the developing regionalization of the brain. The results have shown the usefulness in neuroanatomy of the analysis during development of the onset of CBir and CRir structures, but the comparison with previous data has shown extensive variability across vertebrate classes. Therefore, one should be cautious when comparing possible homologue structures across species only on the basis of the expression of these proteins, due to the variation of the content of calcium-binding proteins observed in well-established homologous regions in the brain of different vertebrates.

A distinct regulatory region of the Bmp5 locus activates gene expression following adult bone fracture or soft tissue injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Guenther, Catherine A; Wang, Zhen; Li, Emma; Tran, Misha C; Logan, Catriona Y; Nusse, Roel; Pantalena-Filho, Luiz; Yang, George P; Kingsley, David M

2015-08-01

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are key signaling molecules required for normal development of bones and other tissues. Previous studies have shown that null mutations in the mouse Bmp5 gene alter the size, shape and number of multiple bone and cartilage structures during development. Bmp5 mutations also delay healing of rib fractures in adult mutants, suggesting that the same signals used to pattern embryonic bone and cartilage are also reused during skeletal regeneration and repair. Despite intense interest in BMPs as agents for stimulating bone formation in clinical applications, little is known about the regulatory elements that control developmental or injury-induced BMP expression. To compare the DNA sequences that activate gene expression during embryonic bone formation and following acute injuries in adult animals, we assayed regions surrounding the Bmp5 gene for their ability to stimulate lacZ reporter gene expression in transgenic mice. Multiple genomic fragments, distributed across the Bmp5 locus, collectively coordinate expression in discrete anatomic domains during normal development, including in embryonic ribs. In contrast, a distinct regulatory region activated expression following rib fracture in adult animals. The same injury control region triggered gene expression in mesenchymal cells following tibia fracture, in migrating keratinocytes following dorsal skin wounding, and in regenerating epithelial cells following lung injury. The Bmp5 gene thus contains an "injury response" control region that is distinct from embryonic enhancers, and that is activated by multiple types of injury in adult animals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fresh osteochondral allografts in the knee: comparison of primary transplantation versus transplantation after failure of previous subchondral marrow stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gracitelli, Guilherme C; Meric, Gokhan; Briggs, Dustin T; Pulido, Pamela A; McCauley, Julie C; Belloti, João Carlos; Bugbee, William D

2015-04-01

-up (all P OCA transplantation. Favorable results were shown in both groups with significant improvement of functional scores and excellent survivorship. Despite the higher reoperation rate in the previously treated group, previous subchondral marrow stimulation did not adversely affect the survivorship and functional outcome of OCA transplantation. © 2015 The Author(s).

Regional Aspects of New Industrialization

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Yakov Petrovich Silin

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In the article, the authors substantiate the need to consider the regional economic and other conditions when carrying out various essential transformations in the national economy of the country. We have argued the importance of new industrialization for overcoming the technological lag of the country and its regions and for supporting the large-scale structural transformations. We have proved that the complex set of the interconnected concepts and the theories of macro- and microlevels may be the theoretical platform for the paradigm of new industrialization. These are the theory of economic growth, the theory of the modernization of the economy, the theory of the change of technological ways during the industrial revolutions, theories of innovative development, developments in the field of the institutional theory. The authors have shown that the transition to new industrialization is the fundamental historical pattern for the majority of the countries of the world, including industrially developed ones. The purpose of the article is to identify the brightest tendencies and features of the development of the Ural macro-region in the years of market reforms as well as the definition of the strategic transformations in the context of the formation of new industrialization. The hypothesis of the research assumes that the revealed regional features of the Ural macroregion’s economic development are the prerequisites of its development as the centre of the modernization of the Russian economy. On the basis of the analysis of three groups of statistic data for the twenty-five year period of liberal and monetary reforms, the brightest tendencies and features of the development of the Ural macro-region are revealed. We have emphasized that the Ural macro-region has managed to keep its historically developed code — the industrial model of the economy, which have been developing for many decades. The authors have made a significant contribution of

Effective connectivity among the working memory regions during preparation for and during performance of the n-back task.

Science.gov (United States)

Manelis, Anna; Reder, Lynne M

2014-01-01

Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that working memory (WM) task difficulty can be decoded from patterns of brain activation in the WM network during preparation to perform those tasks. The inter-regional connectivity among the WM regions during task preparation has not yet been investigated. We examined this question using the graph modeling methods IMaGES and LOFS, applied to the previously published fMRI data of Manelis and Reder (2013). In that study, subjects performed 1-, 2-, and 3-back tasks. Each block of n-back was preceded by a preparation period and followed by a rest period. The analyses of task-related brain activity identified a network of 18 regions that increased in activation from 1- to 3-back (Increase network) and a network of 17 regions that decreased in activation from 1- to 3-back (Decrease network). The graph analyses revealed two types of connectivity sub-networks within the Increase and Decrease networks: "default" and "preparation-related." The "default" connectivity was present not only during task performance, but also during task preparation and during rest. We propose that this sub-network may serve as a core system that allows one to quickly activate cognitive, perceptual and motor systems in response to the relevant stimuli. The "preparation-related" connectivity was present during task preparation and task performance, but not at rest, and depended on the n-back condition. The role of this sub-network may be to pre-activate a connectivity "road map" in order to establish a top-down and bottom-up regulation of attention prior to performance on WM tasks.

Effective connectivity among the working memory regions during preparation for and during performance of the n-back task.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna eManelis

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that working memory (WM task difficulty can be decoded from patterns of brain activation in the WM network during preparation to perform those tasks. The inter-regional connectivity among the WM regions during task preparation has not yet been investigated. We examined this question using the graph modeling methods IMaGES and LOFS, applied to the previously published fMRI data of Manelis and Reder (2013. In that study, subjects performed 1-, 2-, and 3-back tasks. Each block of n-back was preceded by a preparation period and followed by a rest period. The analyses of task-related brain activity identified a network of 18 regions that increased in activation from 1- to 3-back (Increase network and a network of 17 regions that decreased in activation from 1- to 3-back (Decrease network. The graph analyses revealed two types of connectivity sub-networks within the Increase and Decrease networks: default and preparation-related. The default connectivity was present not only during task performance, but also during task preparation and during rest. We propose that this sub-network may serve as a core system that allows one to quickly activate cognitive, perceptual and motor systems in response to the relevant stimuli. The preparation-related connectivity was present during task preparation and task performance, but not at rest, and depended on the n-back condition. The role of this sub-network may be to pre-activate a connectivity road map in order to establish a top-down and bottom-up regulation of attention prior to performance on WM tasks.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance in adults with previous cardiovascular surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

von Knobelsdorff-Brenkenhoff, Florian; Trauzeddel, Ralf Felix; Schulz-Menger, Jeanette

2014-03-01

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a versatile non-invasive imaging modality that serves a broad spectrum of indications in clinical cardiology and has proven evidence. Most of the numerous applications are appropriate in patients with previous cardiovascular surgery in the same manner as in non-surgical subjects. However, some specifics have to be considered. This review article is intended to provide information about the application of CMR in adults with previous cardiovascular surgery. In particular, the two main scenarios, i.e. following coronary artery bypass surgery and following heart valve surgery, are highlighted. Furthermore, several pictorial descriptions of other potential indications for CMR after cardiovascular surgery are given.

Brazilian, Chinese, and Indian exports: is the regional market really a source of learning?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renato Baumann

2013-03-01

Full Text Available In some Latin American countries the exporting activity starts at a regional level, with producers only later venturing into more competitive markets. The implicit risk is that a country might never progress from the regional stage to a more global market. This article compares the experiences of Brazil, China and India. It is shown that Brazil relied on the regional market far more intensely than these Asian countries. There were clear gains accruing to China and India for having exploited more sophisticated markets from the very beginning of their export drive.

PET/CT in cancer: moderate sample sizes may suffice to justify replacement of a regional gold standard

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerke, Oke; Poulsen, Mads Hvid; Bouchelouche, Kirsten

2009-01-01

PURPOSE: For certain cancer indications, the current patient evaluation strategy is a perfect but locally restricted gold standard procedure. If positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) can be shown to be reliable within the gold standard region and if it can be argued that PET...... of metastasized prostate cancer. RESULTS: An added value in accuracy of PET/CT in adjacent areas can outweigh a downsized target level of accuracy in the gold standard region, justifying smaller sample sizes. CONCLUSIONS: If PET/CT provides an accuracy benefit in adjacent regions, then sample sizes can be reduced....../CT also performs well in adjacent areas, then sample sizes in accuracy studies can be reduced. PROCEDURES: Traditional standard power calculations for demonstrating sensitivities of both 80% and 90% are shown. The argument is then described in general terms and demonstrated by an ongoing study...

Worsening anatomic outcomes following aflibercept for neovascular age-related macular degeneration in eyes previously well controlled with ranibizumab

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nudleman E

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Eric Nudleman,1 Jeremy D Wolfe,2,3 Maria A Woodward,4 Yoshihiro Yonekawa,2,3 George A Williams,2,3 Tarek S Hassan2,3 1Department of Ophthalmology, Shiley Eye Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 2Beaumont Eye Institute, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, 3Associated Retinal Consultants, Royal Oak, 4Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Purpose: Antivascular endothelial growth factor injection is the mainstay of treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD. Previous studies have shown that switching treatment from ranibizumab to aflibercept led to an improvement in eyes with recalcitrant activity. Herein, we identify a unique subset of patients whose eyes with neovascular AMD were previously well controlled with ranibizumab injections were then worsened after being switched to aflibercept. Methods: This is a retrospective interventional case series. Eyes with neovascular AMD, previously well controlled with monthly injections of ranibizumab, which then developed worsening of subretinal fluid after being switched to aflibercept were included. Results: A total of 17 eyes were included. All eyes developed increased subretinal fluid when switched from ranibizumab to aflibercept. Fourteen patients were switched back to ranibizumab after a single injection of aflibercept and had subsequent rapid resolution of subretinal fluid. Three patients continued with monthly aflibercept injections for two subsequent months and demonstrated the persistence of the increased subretinal fluid until they were switched back to treatment with ranibizumab at which time the fluid resolved. No eye had persistent decline in visual acuity. Conclusion: Switching from intravitreal ranibizumab to aflibercept in eyes with well-controlled neovascular AMD may result in worsening in a subset of patients and resolves when therapy is switched back to ranibizumab. Keywords: anti

Transformation of environmental conditions in large former Soviet countries: regional analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Bityukova, V. R.; Borovikov, M. S.

2018-01-01

The article studies changes in the structure of environmental conditions of regions in the large former Soviet countries (case study of Russia and Kazakhstan) that have formed considerable contrasts in the placement of industrial complex and population settlement during the previous development stages. The changes related to the transition to market economy have led to essential transformation of environmental conditions. A complex index allowing to assess changes at the regional level in Kazakhstan and Russia and to reveal main similarities and differences between those changes is applied to studying the transformation of regional and industry structure. The article examines both industry-specific and spatial patterns forming environmental conditions at the regional level.

Furin proteolytically processes the heparin-binding region of extracellular superoxide dismutase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bowler, Russell P; Nicks, Mike; Olsen, Dorte Aa

2002-01-01

Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) is an antioxidant enzyme that attenuates brain and lung injury from oxidative stress. A polybasic region in the carboxyl terminus distinguishes EC-SOD from other superoxide dismutases and determines EC-SOD's tissue half-life and affinity for heparin....... There are two types of EC-SOD that differ based on the presence or absence of this heparin-binding region. It has recently been shown that proteolytic removal of the heparin-binding region is an intracellular event (Enghild, J. J., Thogersen, I. B., Oury, T. D., Valnickova, Z., Hojrup, P., and Crapo, J. D...... of intracellular proteases implicate furin as a processing protease. In vitro experiments using furin and purified EC-SOD suggest that furin proteolytically cleaves EC-SOD in the middle of the polybasic region and then requires an additional carboxypeptidase to remove the remaining lysines and arginines...

Regional activation of the human medial temporal lobe during intentional encoding of objects and positions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramsøy, Thomas Z.; Liptrot, Matthew G.; Skimminge, Arnold

2009-01-01

The medial temporal lobe (MTL) consists of several regions thought to be involved in learning and memory. However, the degree of functional specialization among these regions remains unclear. Previous studies have demonstrated effects of both content and processing stage, but findings have been i...

An illustrated key to the Saudi Arabian species of the genus Macroocula Panfilov, 1954, with the description of a new species and the previously unknown female of M. andreai Pagliano (Hymenoptera, Bradynobaenidae, Apterogyninae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed M. Soliman

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The Saudi Arabian species of the genus Macroocula Panfilov (Bradynobaenidae, Apterogyninae are keyed and illustrated. Eleven species were previously recorded from Arabian fauna: M. andreai Pagliano (♂, M. atuberculata Soliman & Gadallah (♂, M. khorimensis Soliman & Gadallah (♂, M. magna (Invrea (♀, M. mahunkai (Argaman (♂, M. nitida (Bischoff (♂, ♀, M. ohli Pagliano (♂, M. riyadha Gadallah & Pagliano (♂, M. savignyi (Klug (♂, ♀, M. sinaica (Invrea (♂ and M. zulfiensis Soliman & Gadallah (♂. A new species, Macroocula asirensis Gadallah & Soliman, sp. n. (♂ from Saloos Al-Manzar, Wadi Yebah and Wadi Targ (Asir region and the previously unknown female of M. andreai from Wadi Reem (Jazan region are described and illustrated.

The revival and preservation of historical memory: national and regional aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. I. Svitlenko

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article reveals the urgency of the problems of revitalization and preservation of historical memory in the national and regional contexts at different stages of the past and in the present. It is shown that the historical memory of our region, like most other regions of the country, reflected the five main periods, in particular Russian, Cossack, Imperial, Soviet, modern Ukrainian. Noted that the heterogeneity of the historical memory caused rather substantial differences in the individual and collective media, despite the fact that the inhabitants of the region were a territorial community which were distinguishable features: social, ethnic, political, religious, linguistic, cultural, professional, age, sex, etc. are Focused on those key features, which caused quite stable signs of historical memory inherent in our region in different historical periods. Value is defined revival and preservation of historical memory in the development of modern national identity, the modern historical consciousness and thinking.

Previously unreported abnormalities in Wolfram Syndrome Type 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Akturk, Halis Kaan; Yasa, Seda

2017-01-01

Wolfram syndrome (WFS) is a rare autosomal recessive disease with non-autoimmune childhood onset insulin dependent diabetes and optic atrophy. WFS type 2 (WFS2) differs from WFS type 1 (WFS1) with upper intestinal ulcers, bleeding tendency and the lack ofdiabetes insipidus. Li-fespan is short due to related comorbidities. Only a few familieshave been reported with this syndrome with the CISD2 mutation. Here we report two siblings with a clinical diagnosis of WFS2, previously misdiagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy-related blindness. We report possible additional clinical and laboratory findings that have not been pre-viously reported, such as asymptomatic hypoparathyroidism, osteomalacia, growth hormone (GH) deficiency and hepatomegaly. Even though not a requirement for the diagnosis of WFS2 currently, our case series confirm hypogonadotropic hypogonadism to be also a feature of this syndrome, as reported before. © Polish Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology.

Particle Acceleration in a Statistically Modeled Solar Active-Region Corona

Science.gov (United States)

Toutounzi, A.; Vlahos, L.; Isliker, H.; Dimitropoulou, M.; Anastasiadis, A.; Georgoulis, M.

2013-09-01

Elaborating a statistical approach to describe the spatiotemporally intermittent electric field structures formed inside a flaring solar active region, we investigate the efficiency of such structures in accelerating charged particles (electrons). The large-scale magnetic configuration in the solar atmosphere responds to the strong turbulent flows that convey perturbations across the active region by initiating avalanche-type processes. The resulting unstable structures correspond to small-scale dissipation regions hosting strong electric fields. Previous research on particle acceleration in strongly turbulent plasmas provides a general framework for addressing such a problem. This framework combines various electromagnetic field configurations obtained by magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) or cellular automata (CA) simulations, or by employing a statistical description of the field's strength and configuration with test particle simulations. Our objective is to complement previous work done on the subject. As in previous efforts, a set of three probability distribution functions describes our ad-hoc electromagnetic field configurations. In addition, we work on data-driven 3D magnetic field extrapolations. A collisional relativistic test-particle simulation traces each particle's guiding center within these configurations. We also find that an interplay between different electron populations (thermal/non-thermal, ambient/injected) in our simulations may also address, via a re-acceleration mechanism, the so called `number problem'. Using the simulated particle-energy distributions at different heights of the cylinder we test our results against observations, in the framework of the collisional thick target model (CTTM) of solar hard X-ray (HXR) emission. The above work is supported by the Hellenic National Space Weather Research Network (HNSWRN) via the THALIS Programme.

A new consistent definition of the homogenized diffusion coefficient of a lattice, limitations of the homogenization concept, and discussion of previously defined coefficients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deniz, V.C.

1978-01-01

The problem concerned with the correct definition of the homogenized diffusion coefficient of a lattice, and the concurrent problem of whether or not a homogenized diffusion equation can be formally set up, is studied by a space-energy angle dependent treatment for a general lattice cell; using an operator notation which applies to any eigen-problem. It is shown that the diffusion coefficient should represent only leakage effects. A new definition of the diffusion coefficient is given, which combines within itself the individual merits of each of the two definitions of Benoist, and reduces to the 'uncorrected' Benoist coefficient in certain cases. The conditions under which a homogenized diffusion equation can be obtained are discussed. A compatison is made between the approach via a diffusion equation and the approach via the eigen-coefficients of Deniz. Previously defined diffusion coefficients are discussed, and it is shown that the transformed eigen-coefficients proposed by Gelbard and by Larsen are unsuitable as diffusion coefficients, and that the cell-edge normalization of the Bonalumi coefficient is not physically justifiable. (author)

Socio-cultural factors and youth entrepreneurship in rural regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Gómez-Araujo

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate the impact of two important socio-cultural factors on the level of the entrepreneurial activity of young individuals in rural regions. Design/methodology/approach – Our empirical study is based on a sample collected from an adult population survey, and analyzed using a logit model that controls for territorial and aging sources of heterogeneity. Our theoretical framework is anchored on a contingency perspective that emphasizes the unique influences of the contextual environment in driving entrepreneurial behavior. Findings – The main findings of our study is that in Spain the likelihood of being entrepreneurially active is no different for young and old individuals, and between rural and urban regions. Surprisingly, unlike shown in most studies, entrepreneurial role models do not have any effect on the entrepreneurship by young individuals in rural regions of Spain, while the negative impact of fear of failure in the entrepreneurship on young individuals in rural regions is much higher compared to the rest of the population. Originality/value – Our findings reveal that the context (regional has a more significant impact on entrepreneurship for some segments (younger individuals of the population than for others.

Reference Values for Spirometry Derived Using Lambda, Mu, Sigma (LMS) Method in Korean Adults: in Comparison with Previous References.

Science.gov (United States)

Jo, Bum Seak; Myong, Jun Pyo; Rhee, Chin Kook; Yoon, Hyoung Kyu; Koo, Jung Wan; Kim, Hyoung Ryoul

2018-01-15

The present study aimed to update the prediction equations for spirometry and their lower limits of normal (LLN) by using the lambda, mu, sigma (LMS) method and to compare the outcomes with the values of previous spirometric reference equations. Spirometric data of 10,249 healthy non-smokers (8,776 females) were extracted from the fourth and fifth versions of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV, 2007-2009; V, 2010-2012). Reference equations were derived using the LMS method which allows modeling skewness (lambda [L]), mean (mu [M]), and coefficient of variation (sigma [S]). The outcome equations were compared with previous reference values. Prediction equations were presented in the following form: predicted value = e{a + b × ln(height) + c × ln(age) + M - spline}. The new predicted values for spirometry and their LLN derived using the LMS method were shown to more accurately reflect transitions in pulmonary function in young adults than previous prediction equations derived using conventional regression analysis in 2013. There were partial discrepancies between the new reference values and the reference values from the Global Lung Function Initiative in 2012. The results should be interpreted with caution for young adults and elderly males, particularly in terms of the LLN for forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity in elderly males. Serial spirometry follow-up, together with correlations with other clinical findings, should be emphasized in evaluating the pulmonary function of individuals. Future studies are needed to improve the accuracy of reference data and to develop continuous reference values for spirometry across all ages. © 2018 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

The Relationship Between Functional Movement, Balance Deficits, and Previous Injury History in Deploying Marine Warfighters.

Science.gov (United States)

de la Motte, Sarah J; Lisman, Peter; Sabatino, Marc; Beutler, Anthony I; OʼConnor, Francis G; Deuster, Patricia A

2016-06-01

Screening for primary musculoskeletal injury (MSK-I) is costly and time-consuming. Both the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and the Y-Balance Test (YBT) have been shown to predict future MSK-I. With a goal of optimizing the efficiency of primary MSK-I screening, we studied associations between performance on the FMS and YBT and whether history of MSK-I influenced FMS and YBT scores. In total, 365 deploying Marines performed the FMS and YBT as prescribed. Composite and individual scores were each categorized as high risk or low risk using published injury thresholds: High-risk FMS included composite scores ≤14 and right-to-left (R/L) asymmetry for Shoulder Mobility, In-Line Lunge, Straight Leg Raise, Hurdle Step, or Rotary Stability. High-risk YBT consisted of anterior, posteromedial, and/or posterolateral R/L differences >4 cm and/or composite differences ≥12 cm. Pearson's χ tests evaluated associations between: (a) all FMS and YBT risk groups and (b) previous MSK-I and all FMS and YBT risk groups. Marines with high-risk FMS were twice as likely to have high-risk YBT posteromedial scores (χ = 10.2, p = 0.001; odds ratio [OR] = 2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3-3.2). History of any MSK-I was not associated with high-risk FMS or high-risk YBT. However, previous lower extremity MSK-I was associated with In-Line Lunge asymmetries (χ = 9.8, p = 0.002, OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.3-3.6). Overall, we found limited overlap in FMS and YBT risk. Because both methods seem to assess different risk factors for injury, we recommend FMS and YBT continue to be used together in combination with a thorough injury history until their predictive capacities are further established.

On the relationship between large-scale climate modes and regional synoptic patterns that drive Victorian rainfall

OpenAIRE

D. C. Verdon-Kidd; A. S. Kiem

2009-01-01

In this paper regional (synoptic) and large-scale climate drivers of rainfall are investigated for Victoria, Australia. A non-linear classification methodology known as self-organizing maps (SOM) is used to identify 20 key regional synoptic patterns, which are shown to capture a range of significant synoptic features known to influence the climate of the region. Rainfall distributions are assigned to each of the 20 patterns for nine rainfall stations located across Victoria, resulting in a cl...

Journal Publication in Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela: University Responses to Global, Regional, and National Pressures and Trends

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado, Jorge Enrique

2011-01-01

Background. This project was motivated by the impressive growth that scholarly/scientific journals in Latin America have shown in recent decades. That advance is attributed to global, regional, and national pressures and trends, as well as a response to obstacles that scholars/researchers from the region face to be published in prestigious…

MINIMIZING THE MHD POTENTIAL ENERGY FOR THE CURRENT HOLE REGION IN TOKAMAKS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

CHU, M.S; PARKS, P.B

2004-01-01

The current hole region in the tokamak has been observed to arise naturally during the development of internal transport barriers. The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) potential energy in the current hole region is shown to be determined completely in terms of the displacements at the edge of the current hole. For modes with finite toroidal mode number n ≠ 0, the minimized potential energy is the same as if the current hole region were a vacuum region. For modes with toroidal mode number n = 0, the displacement is a superposition of three types of independent displacements: a vertical displacement or displacements that compress only the plasma or the toroidal field uniformly. Thus for ideal MHD perturbations of plasma with a current hole, the plasma behaves as if it were bordered by an extra ''internal vacuum region''. The relevance of the present work to computer simulations of plasma with a current hole region is also discussed

Minimizing the magnetohydrodynamic potential energy for the current hole region in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, M.S.; Parks, P.B.

2004-01-01

The current hole region in the tokamak has been observed to arise naturally during the development of internal transport barriers. The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) potential energy in the current hole region is shown to be determined completely in terms of the displacements at the edge of the current hole. For modes with finite toroidal mode number n≠0, the minimized potential energy is the same as if the current hole region were a vacuum region. For modes with toroidal mode number n=0, the displacement is a superposition of three types of independent displacements: a vertical displacement or displacements that compress only the plasma, or the toroidal field uniformly. Thus for ideal MHD perturbations of plasma with a current hole, the plasma behaves as if it were bordered by an extra ''internal vacuum region.'' The relevance of the present work to computer simulations of plasma with a current hole region is also discussed

Fuel tourism in border regions: The case of Switzerland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banfi, S.; Filippini, M. [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland). Department of Management, Technology and Economics, Centre for Energy Policy and Economics; Universita della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (Switzerland). Istituto di microeconomia e economia Pubblica; Hunt, L.C. [University of Surrey (United Kingdom). Department of Economics, Surrey Energy Economics Centre

2005-09-01

This paper explores the issue of 'fuel tourism' in Switzerland. For the period 1985-1997, a panel data model for the border regions of Switzerland, (Italy, France, and Germany) is estimated. The results show a significant impact of the gasoline price differential on demand, suggesting that a decrease of 10% in the Swiss gasoline price leads to an increase in demand in the border areas of nearly 17.5%. It is shown that fuel tourism accounted for about 9% of overall gasoline sales in the three regions during the period 1985-1997 and that the recently proposed Swiss CO{sub 2}-tax might, given current conditions, eliminate net fuel tourism. (author)

Dusty plasma in the region of the lunar terminator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Popel, S. I., E-mail: popel@iki.rssi.ru; Zelenyi, L. M. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute (Russian Federation); Atamaniuk, B. [Polish Academy of Sciences, Space Research Center (Poland)

2016-05-15

Dusty plasma in the region of the lunar terminator is considered. It is shown that, in this region, a structure resembling a plasma sheath forms near the lunar surface. This sheath creates a potential barrier, due to which electrons over the illuminated part of the Moon are confined by electrostatic forces. The width of the sheath-like structure is on the order of the ion Debye length. In this structure, significant (about several hundred V/m) electric fields arise, which lift charged micron-size dust grains to heights of several tens of centimeters. The suggested effect may be used to explain the glow observed by the Surveyor spacecraft over the lunar terminator.

[Double mutant alleles in the EXT1 gene not previously reported in a teenager with hereditary multiple exostoses].

Science.gov (United States)

Cammarata-Scalisi, Francisco; Cozar, Mónica; Grinberg, Daniel; Balcells, Susana; Asteggiano, Carla G; Martínez-Domenech, Gustavo; Bracho, Ana; Sánchez, Yanira; Stock, Frances; Delgado-Luengo, Wilmer; Zara-Chirinos, Carmen; Chacín, José Antonio

2015-04-01

Hereditary forms of multiple exostoses, now called EXT1/EXT2-CDG within Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, are the most common benign bone tumors in humans and clinical description consists of the formation of several cartilage-capped bone tumors, usually benign and localized in the juxta-epiphyseal region of long bones, although wide body dissemination in severe cases is not uncommon. Onset of the disease is variable ranging from 2-3 years up to 13-15 years with an estimated incidence ranging from 1/18,000 to 1/50,000 cases in European countries. We present a double mutant alleles in the EXT1 gene not previously reported in a teenager and her family with hereditary multiple exostoses.

Outcome Of Pregnancy Following A Previous Lower Segment ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: A previous ceasarean section is an important variable that influences patient management in subsequent pregnancies. A trial of vaginal delivery in such patients is a feasible alternative to a secondary section, thus aiding to reduce the ceasarean section rate and its associated co-morbidities. Objective: To ...

Cryptococcal meningitis in a previously healthy child | Chimowa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An 8-year-old previously healthy female presented with a 3 weeks history of headache, neck stiffness, deafness, fever and vomiting and was diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis. She had documented hearing loss and was referred to tertiary-level care after treatment with fluconazole did not improve her neurological ...

24 CFR 1710.552 - Previously accepted state filings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... of Substantially Equivalent State Law § 1710.552 Previously accepted state filings. (a) Materials... and contracts or agreements contain notice of purchaser's revocation rights. In addition see § 1715.15..., unless the developer is obligated to do so in the contract. (b) If any such filing becomes inactive or...

Novel non-HLA-susceptible regions determined by meta-analysis of ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We identified novel non-HLA-susceptible regions for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) by applying the genome-search-meta-analysis (GSMA) method to combine the previous four AS genomewide scan studies including 479 families with 1175 affected individuals. Three original genomescans were mainly analysed for Caucasian ...

Genomic Regions Affecting Cheese Making Properties Identified in Danish Holsteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregersen, Vivi Raundahl; Bertelsen, Henriette Pasgaard; Poulsen, Nina Aagaard

The cheese renneting process is affected by a number of factors associated to milk composition and a number of Danish Holsteins has previously been identified to have poor milk coagulation ability. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify genomic regions affecting the technological...

Sudden unexpected death in children with a previously diagnosed cardiovascular disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Polderman, Florens N.; Cohen, Joeri; Blom, Nico A.; Delhaas, Tammo; Helbing, Wim A.; Lam, Jan; Sobotka-Plojhar, Marta A.; Temmerman, Arno M.; Sreeram, Narayanswani

2004-01-01

BACKGROUND: It is known that children with previously diagnosed heart defects die suddenly. The causes of death are often unknown. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to identify all infants and children within the Netherlands with previously diagnosed heart disease who had a sudden unexpected death

Sudden unexpected death in children with a previously diagnosed cardiovascular disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Polderman, F.N.; Cohen, Joeri; Blom, N.A.; Delhaas, T.; Helbing, W.A.; Lam, J.; Sobotka-Plojhar, M.A.; Temmerman, Arno M.; Sreeram, N.

2004-01-01

Background: It is known that children with previously diagnosed heart defects die suddenly. The causes of death are often unknown. Objective: The aim of the study was to identify all infants and children within the Netherlands with previously diagnosed heart disease who had a sudden unexpected death

THE GREEN BANK TELESCOPE H II REGION DISCOVERY SURVEY. IV. HELIUM AND CARBON RECOMBINATION LINES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wenger, Trey V.; Bania, T. M. [Astronomy Department, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Balser, Dana S. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22903-2475 (United States); Anderson, L. D. [Department of Physics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506 (United States)

2013-02-10

The Green Bank Telescope H II Region Discovery Survey (GBT HRDS) found hundreds of previously unknown Galactic regions of massive star formation by detecting hydrogen radio recombination line (RRL) emission from candidate H II region targets. Since the HRDS nebulae lie at large distances from the Sun, they are located in previously unprobed zones of the Galactic disk. Here, we derive the properties of helium and carbon RRL emission from HRDS nebulae. Our target sample is the subset of the HRDS that has visible helium or carbon RRLs. This criterion gives a total of 84 velocity components (14% of the HRDS) with helium emission and 52 (9%) with carbon emission. For our highest quality sources, the average {sup 4}He{sup +}/H{sup +} abundance ratio by number, (y {sup +}), is 0.068 {+-} 0.023(1{sigma}). This is the same ratio as that measured for the sample of previously known Galactic H II regions. Nebulae without detected helium emission give robust y {sup +} upper limits. There are 5 RRL emission components with y {sup +} less than 0.04 and another 12 with upper limits below this value. These H II regions must have either a very low {sup 4}He abundance or contain a significant amount of neutral helium. The HRDS has 20 nebulae with carbon RRL emission but no helium emission at its sensitivity level. There is no correlation between the carbon RRL parameters and the 8 {mu}m mid-infrared morphology of these nebulae.

75 FR 20933 - Airworthiness Directives; Arrow Falcon Exporters, Inc. (previously Utah State University...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-22

... Hawkins and Powers Aviation, Inc.); S.M.&T. Aircraft (previously US Helicopters, Inc., UNC Helicopter, Inc... Joaquin Helicopters (previously Hawkins and Powers Aviation, Inc.); S.M.&T. Aircraft (previously US...

Polarized Structure Function $\\sigma_{LT'}$ for $p({\\vec e},e'K^+)\\Lambda$ in the Nucleon Resonance Region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nasseripour, Rakhsha; Raue, Brian; Ambrozewicz, Pawel; Carman, Daniel; Amaryan, Moscov; Amaryan, Moskov; Anciant, Eric; Anghinolfi, Marco; Asavapibhop, Burin; Asryan, Gegham; Audit, Gerard; Auger, Thierry; Avagyan, Harutyun; Baghdasaryan, Hovhannes; Baillie, Nathan; Ball, J.P.; Ball, Jacques; Ball, J.P.; Ball, Jacques; Ball, J.P.; Ball, Jacques; Ball, J.P.; Ball, Jacques; Baltzell, Nathan; Barrow, Steve; Battaglieri, Marco; Beard, Kevin; Bedlinskiy, Ivan; Bektasoglu, Mehmet; Bellis, Matthew; Benmouna, Nawal; Berman, Barry; Biselli, Angela; Blaszczyk, Lukasz; Bonner, Billy; Bouchigny, Sylvain; Boyarinov, Sergey; Bradford, Robert; Branford, Derek; Briscoe, William; Brooks, William; Burkert, Volker; Butuceanu, Cornel; Calarco, John; Careccia, Sharon; Casey, Liam; Cetina, Catalina; Chen, Shifeng; Cheng, Lu; Cole, Philip; Collins, Patrick; Coltharp, Philip; Cords, Dieter; Corvisiero, Pietro; Crabb, Donald; Crede, Volker; Dale, Daniel; Dashyan, Natalya; De Masi, Rita; De Vita, Raffaella; De Sanctis, Enzo; Degtiarenko, Pavel; Dennis, Lawrence; Deur, Alexandre; Dhuga, Kalvir; Dickson, Richard; Djalali, Chaden; Dodge, Gail; Doughty, David; Dragovitsch, Peter; Dugger, Michael; Dytman, Steven; Dzyubak, Oleksandr; Egiyan, Hovanes; Egiyan, Kim; Elfassi, Lamiaa; Elouadrhiri, Latifa; Eugenio, Paul; Fatemi, Renee; Fedotov, Gleb; Feldman, Gerald; Feuerbach, Robert; Forest, Tony; Fradi, Ahmed; Funsten, Herbert; Garcon, Michel; Gavalian, Gagik; Gevorgyan, Nerses; Gilfoyle, Gerard; Giovanetti, Kevin; Girard, Pascal; Girod, Francois-Xavier; Goetz, John; Gothe, Ralf; Gothe, Ralf; Griffioen, Keith; Guidal, Michel; Guillo, Matthieu; Guler, Nevzat; Guo, Lei; Gyurjyan, Vardan; Hafidi, Kawtar; Hakobyan, Hayk; Hanretty, Charles; Hardie, John; Heddle, David; Hersman, F.; Hicks, Kenneth; Hleiqawi, Ishaq; Holtrop, Maurik; Hu, Jicun; Hyde, Charles; Ilieva, Yordanka; Ireland, David; Ishkhanov, Boris; Isupov, Evgeny; Ito, Mark; Jenkins, David; Jo, Hyon-Suk; Johnstone, John; Joo, Kyungseon; Juengst, Henry; Kalantarians, Narbe; Kellie, James; Khandaker, Mahbubul; Kim, Kui; Kim, Kyungmo; Kim, Wooyoung; Klein, Andreas; Klein, Franz; Kossov, Mikhail; Krahn, Zebulun; Kramer, Laird; Kubarovsky, Valery; Kuhn, Joachim; Kuhn, Sebastian; Kuleshov, Sergey; Kuznetsov, Viacheslav; Lachniet, Jeff; Laget, Jean; Langheinrich, Jorn; Lawrence, David; Livingston, Kenneth; Lu, Haiyun; Lukashin, Konstantin; MacCormick, Marion; Manak, Joseph; Markov, Nikolai; Mattione, Paul; McAleer, Simeon; McKinnon, Bryan; McNabb, John; Mecking, Bernhard; Mestayer, Mac; Meyer, Curtis; Mibe, Tsutomu; Mikhaylov, Konstantin; Minehart, Ralph; Mirazita, Marco; Miskimen, Rory; Mokeev, Viktor; Moreno, Brahim; Moriya, Kei; Morrow, Steven; Moteabbed, Maryam; Mueller, James; Munevar Espitia, Edwin; Mutchler, Gordon; Nadel-Turonski, Pawel; Niccolai, Silvia; Niculescu, Gabriel; Niculescu, Maria-Ioana; Niczyporuk, Bogdan; Niroula, Megh; Niyazov, Rustam; Nozar, Mina; Osipenko, Mikhail; Ostrovidov, Alexander; Park, Kijun; Pasyuk, Evgueni; Paterson, Craig; Pereira, Sergio; Peterson, Gerald; Philips, Sasha; Pierce, Joshua; Pivnyuk, Nikolay; Pocanic, Dinko; Pogorelko, Oleg; Pozdnyakov, Sergey; Preedom, Barry; Price, John; Procureur, Sebastien; Prok, Yelena; Protopopescu, Dan; Qin, Liming; Riccardi, Gregory; Ricco, Giovanni; Ripani, Marco; Ritchie, Barry; Rosner, Guenther; Rossi, Patrizia; Rubin, Philip; Sabatie, Franck; Salamanca, Julian; Salgado, Carlos; Santoro, Joseph; Sapunenko, Vladimir; Sayre, Donald; Schumacher, Reinhard; Serov, Vladimir; Shafi, Aziz; Sharabian, Youri; Sharov, Dmitri; Shvedunov, Nikolay; Simionatto, Sebastio; Skabelin, Alexander; Smith, Elton; Smith, Lee; Sober, Daniel; Sokhan, Daria; Stavinsky, Aleksey; Stepanyan, Samuel; Stepanyan, Stepan; Stokes, Burnham; Stoler, Paul; Strakovski, Igor; Strauch, Steffen; Taiuti, Mauro; Taylor, Shawn; Tedeschi, David; Thoma, Ulrike; Thompson, Richard; Tkabladze, Avtandil; Tkachenko, Svyatoslav; Ungaro, Maurizio; Vineyard, Michael; Vlassov, Alexander; Wang,

2008-06-01

The first measurements of the polarized structure function $\\sigma_{LT'}$ for the reaction $p(\\vec e,e'K^+)\\Lambda$ in the nucleon resonance region are reported. Measurements are included from threshold up to $W$=2.05 GeV for central values of $Q^2$ of 0.65 and 1.00 GeV$^2$, and nearly the entire kaon center-of-mass angular range. $\\sigma_{LT'}$ is the imaginary part of the longitudinal-transverse response and is expected to be sensitive to interferences between competing intermediate s-channel resonances, as well as resonant and non-resonant processes. The results for $\\sigma_{LT'}$ are comparable in magnitude to previously reported results from CLAS for $\\sigma_{LT}$, the real part of the same response. An intriguing sign change in $\\sigma_{LT'}$ is observed in the high $Q^2$ data at $W\\approx 1.9$ GeV. Comparisons to several existing model predictions are shown.

Regional EM studies in the 80's

Science.gov (United States)

Hjelt, S. E.

1987-09-01

The review describes in broad terms the development of regional EM studies during the last five-six years. Large simultaneous magnetometer arrays, broadband and dense profiling with five component instruments, the use of remote reference techniques and in-field data processing have increased both the number and the quality of EM surveys. The increase has been strong all over the world. An extensive list of references, divided geographically, is presented. Selected examples of regional resisitivity-versus-depth curves are shown for Africa, the Baikal region, the Baltic Shield, the Canadian Shield, the Carpathian regions, the Central Andes, Iceland, India, the Juan de Fuca Plate, the Münsterland Basin, the Rio Grande rift, the Scottish Caledonides, the Tasman Sea, and for the United States in general. Because of the influence of tectonic settings and the metamorphic grade of rocks, only qualitative aspects of the results are relevant. ‘Classical’ array studies, especially in Australia, in the Carpathian regions, in India, in North Germany and in Scotland have been reinterpreted and completed with more accurate 2D modelling and dense MT profiling. In the USA and Canada also new regions have been surveyed extensively. New regional EM work has been conducted extensively on the Baltic Shield and in Central and North Africa, Siberia, China, in the areas around the Caspian and Black Seas and in South America. The newest studies are supported by or compared with other geophysical data, which also are used in extrapolating for missing EM data density. There are several successful large-scale projects in operation: the European Geotraverse (EGT), the KAPG International Geotraverses and the EMSLAB project (with its first preliminary results). Regional EM studies have been increasingly applied to geothermal, hydrocarbon and mineral prospecting as well as local structural studies, e.g. studies of sites for nuclear waste disposal.

Energy-Efficient Region Shift Scheme to Support Mobile Sink Group in Wireless Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Yim, Yongbin; Kim, Kyong Hoon; Aldwairi, Monther; Kim, Ki-Il

2017-12-30

Mobile sink groups play crucial roles to perform their own missions in many wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. In order to support mobility of such sink groups, it is important to design a mechanism for effective discovery of the group in motion. However, earlier studies obtain group region information by periodic query. For that reason, the mechanism leads to significant signaling overhead due to frequent flooding for the query regardless of the group movement. Furthermore, the mechanism worsens the problem by the flooding in the whole expected area. To deal with this problem, we propose a novel mobile sink group support scheme with low communication cost, called Region-Shift-based Mobile Geocasting Protocol (RSMGP). In this study, we utilize the group mobility feature for which members of a group have joint motion patterns. Thus, we could trace group movement by shifting the region as much as partial members move out of the previous region. Furthermore, the region acquisition is only performed at the moment by just deviated members without collaboration of all members. Experimental results validate the improved signaling overhead of our study compared to the previous studies.

Efficient Banknote Recognition Based on Selection of Discriminative Regions with One-Dimensional Visible-Light Line Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Tuyen Danh; Park, Young Ho; Kwon, Seung Yong; Park, Kang Ryoung; Jeong, Dae Sik; Yoon, Sungsoo

2016-03-04

Banknote papers are automatically recognized and classified in various machines, such as vending machines, automatic teller machines (ATM), and banknote-counting machines. Previous studies on automatic classification of banknotes have been based on the optical characteristics of banknote papers. On each banknote image, there are regions more distinguishable than others in terms of banknote types, sides, and directions. However, there has been little previous research on banknote recognition that has addressed the selection of distinguishable areas. To overcome this problem, we propose a method for recognizing banknotes by selecting more discriminative regions based on similarity mapping, using images captured by a one-dimensional visible light line sensor. Experimental results with various types of banknote databases show that our proposed method outperforms previous methods.

Efficient Banknote Recognition Based on Selection of Discriminative Regions with One-Dimensional Visible-Light Line Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuyen Danh Pham

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Banknote papers are automatically recognized and classified in various machines, such as vending machines, automatic teller machines (ATM, and banknote-counting machines. Previous studies on automatic classification of banknotes have been based on the optical characteristics of banknote papers. On each banknote image, there are regions more distinguishable than others in terms of banknote types, sides, and directions. However, there has been little previous research on banknote recognition that has addressed the selection of distinguishable areas. To overcome this problem, we propose a method for recognizing banknotes by selecting more discriminative regions based on similarity mapping, using images captured by a one-dimensional visible light line sensor. Experimental results with various types of banknote databases show that our proposed method outperforms previous methods.

Wind energy resource atlas. Volume 8. The southern Rocky Mountain region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersen, S.R.; Freeman, D.L.; Hadley, D.L.; Elliott, D.L.; Barchet, W.R.; George, R.L.

1981-03-01

The Southern Rocky Mountain atlas assimilates five collections of wind resource data: one for the region and one for each of the four states that compose the Southern Rocky Mountain region (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah). At the state level, features of the climate, topography and wind resource are discussed in greater detail than is provided in the regional discussion, and the data locations on which the assessment is based are mapped. Variations, over several time scales, in the wind resource at selected stations in each state are shown on graphs of monthly average and interannual wind speed and power, and hourly average wind speed for each season. Other graphs present speed, direction, and duration frequencies of the wind at these locations.

Patterns of regional development in Serbia: A multivariate statistical analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Čoček Ladislav

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The primary objective of this paper is to examine patterns of regional development in Serbia and to identify underlying geographical factors of these patterns. Principal component analysis is used to reveal the basic dimensions of regional differentiation. Its results are described in the context of findings from thematically similar research on Central European countries. An area's position in the national settlement system hierarchy has been identified as the strongest determinant of regional differentiation in Serbia. Other strong patterns seem to be connected with macro-geographical position. Success in economic development is most apparent in regions near the metropolitan area of Belgrade, and the general development level, along with a predisposition for agriculture, exhibits a strong north-south polarization. Specific attention is directed at demographic development, which is characterized by a west-east gradient. Central patterns of regional differentiation are similar to those uncovered in previous Central European research. Regional policy in Serbia should, therefore, try to learn from experience within this region to cope with processes and problems that are often quite similar. .

40 CFR 152.93 - Citation of a previously submitted valid study.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Data Submitters' Rights § 152.93 Citation of a previously submitted valid study. An applicant may demonstrate compliance for a data requirement by citing a valid study previously submitted to the Agency. The... the original data submitter, the applicant may cite the study only in accordance with paragraphs (b...

Sports participation, physical activity, and health in the European regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lera-López, Fernando; Marco, Rocio

2018-08-01

In a context of stagnation of the level of health-enhancing physical activity in Europe, this study examines the geographical stratification of sports participation and physical activity (PA) at the regional level in 28 European countries. While previous research has focused on the national approach, this study considers the regional level across 208 European regions. Individual survey data from the Eurobarometer 80.2 is combined with a regional-level approach to the 208 regions to quantify sports participation and PA at the regional level. The results show important differences and a geographical stratification of sports participation and PA among the European regions, albeit following different patterns. In particular, a north-south gap is identified in terms of PA rates and an east-west gap is detected in terms of sports participation levels. Applying the cluster technique, a taxonomy of four different European regions is developed considering both types of indicators. Finally, the existence of sports spatial spillovers among regions is verified, obtaining a positive autocorrelation among neighbouring regions for being involved in PA and sporting activities. The results may have significant implications in terms of policy measures to improve health through PA and sports participation at the regional level in Europe.

Transient thermal stresses in multiple connected region exhibiting temperature dependence of material properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugano, Yoshihiro; Maekawa, Toshiya.

1983-01-01

The examples of the analysis of thermal stress in multiple connection regions such as heat exchangers, nuclear reactor cores, ingot cases and polygonal region with elliptic holes are not few, but the temperature dependence of material constants was neglected in these researches because of the difficulty of analysis though the industrial problems related to thermal stress are apt to occur in the condition of relatively large temperature gradient. Also, the analysis of heat conduction problems taking the temperature dependence of material constants into account was limited to one-dimensional problems for which Kirchhoff's transmission can be used. The purpose of this study is to derive the equation of condition which assures the one-value property of rotation and displacement, taking the temperature dependence of material constants into account, and to complete the formulation of the plane thermal stress problems in multiple connection regions by stress function method. Also the method of numerical analysis using difference method is shown to examine the effectiveness of various formulated equations and the effect of the temperature dependence of material constants on temperature and thermal stress. The example of numerical calculation on a thin rectangular plate with a rectangular hole is shown. (Kako, I.)

Investigation of previously derived Hyades, Coma, and M67 reddenings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, B.J.

1980-01-01

New Hyades polarimetry and field star photometry have been obtained to check the Hyades reddening, which was found to be nonzero in a previous paper. The new Hyades polarimetry implies essentially zero reddening; this is also true of polarimetry published by Behr (which was incorrectly interpreted in the previous paper). Four photometric techniques which are presumed to be insensitive to blanketing are used to compare the Hyades to nearby field stars; these four techniques also yield essentially zero reddening. When all of these results are combined with others which the author has previously published and a simultaneous solution for the Hyades, Coma, and M67 reddenings is made, the results are E (B-V) =3 +- 2 (sigma) mmag, -1 +- 3 (sigma) mmag, and 46 +- 6 (sigma) mmag, respectively. No support for a nonzero Hyades reddening is offered by the new results. When the newly obtained reddenings for the Hyades, Coma, and M67 are compared with results from techniques given by Crawford and by users of the David Dunlap Observatory photometric system, no differences between the new and other reddenings are found which are larger than about 2 sigma. The author had previously found that the M67 main-sequence stars have about the same blanketing as that of Coma and less blanketing than the Hyades; this conclusion is essentially unchanged by the revised reddenings

Process cells dismantling of EUREX pant: previous activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gili, M.

1998-01-01

In the '98-'99 period some process cells of the EUREX pant will be dismantled, in order to place there the liquid wastes conditioning plant 'CORA'. This report resumes the previous activities (plant rinsing campaigns and inactive Cell 014 dismantling), run in the past three years and the drawn experience [it

Stiffness characteristics of compliant three segment leg with the self-stable region in slow and fast running

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwak, Oh Seok; Ha, Sung Mok; Lee, Dong Ha [Convergence Research Center for WellnessDaegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and TechnologyDaegu (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

In this paper, we propose the stiffness characteristics of compliant three segment leg that can have a self-stable region in slow and fast running. This proposition can contribute to reducing the control effort and enhancing the locomotion energy efficiency for the compliant three segment legged robot in slow and fast running. Previous research indicated that the running self-stable region of the spring-mass system is located in a relatively fast running region and that of the two segment leg is located in a relatively slow running region. In this paper, we analyze the stiffness characteristics of the spring-mass system and the two segment leg to explain the previous research results. From this analysis, we propose the stiffness characteristics of the compliant three segment leg with a self-stable region in slow and fast running. We further design the compliant three segment leg based on this proposition and check its structural stability. We examine the running self-stable region of this compliant three segment leg to determine whether it has a self-stable region in slow and fast running. We also examine the walking self-stable region of this compliant three segment leg.

Kinematics of current region fragmentation in semi-inclusive deeply inelastic scattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boglione, M., E-mail: elena.boglione@to.infn.it [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Torino, INFN - Sezione Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino (Italy); Collins, J., E-mail: jcc8@psu.edu [Department of Physics, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Gamberg, L., E-mail: lpg10@psu.edu [Science Division, Penn State University Berks, Reading, PA 19610 (United States); Gonzalez-Hernandez, J.O., E-mail: jogh@jlab.org [Department of Physics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529 (United States); Theory Center, Jefferson Lab, 12000 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23606 (United States); Rogers, T.C., E-mail: trogers@odu.edu [Department of Physics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529 (United States); Theory Center, Jefferson Lab, 12000 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23606 (United States); Sato, N., E-mail: nsato@jlab.org [Theory Center, Jefferson Lab, 12000 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23606 (United States)

2017-03-10

Different kinematical regions of semi-inclusive deeply inelastic scattering (SIDIS) processes correspond to different underlying partonic pictures, and it is important to understand the transition between them. We find criteria in semi-inclusive deeply inelastic scattering (SIDIS) for identifying the current fragmentation region — the kinematical region where a factorization picture with fragmentation functions is appropriate, especially for studies of transverse-momentum-dependent (TMD) functions. This region is distinguished from the central (soft) and target fragmentation regions. The basis of our argument is in the errors in approximations used in deriving factorization. As compared with previous work, we show that it is essential to take account of the transverse momentum of the detected hadron, and we find a much more restricted range for genuine current fragmentation. We show that it is important to develop an extended factorization formulation to treat hadronization in the central region, as well as the current and target fragmentation regions, and to obtain a unified formalism spanning all rapidities for the detected hadron.

Shallow Crustal Thermal Structures of Central Taiwan Foothills Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shao-Kai Wu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Crustal thermal structures are closely related to metamorphism, rock rheology, exhumation processes, hydrocarbon maturation levels, frictional faulting and other processes. Drilling is the most direct way to access the temperature fields in the shallow crust. However, a regional drilling program for geological investigation is usually very expensive. Recently, a large-scale in-situ investigation program in the Western Foothills of Central Taiwan was carried out, providing a rare opportunity to conduct heat flow measurements in this region where there are debates as to whether previous measured heat flows are representative of the thermal state in this region. We successfully collected 28 geothermal gradients from these wells and converted them into heat flows. The new heat flow dataset is consistent with previous heat flows, which shows that the thermal structures of Central Taiwan are different from that of other subduction accretionary prisms. We then combine all the available heat flow information to analyze the frictional parameters of the Chelungpu fault zone that ruptured during the 1999, Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquake. The heat flow dataset gave consistent results compared with the frictional parameters derived from another independent study that used cores recovered from the Chelungpu fault zone at depth. This study also shows that it is suitable for using heat-flow data obtained from shallow subsurface to constrain thrusting faulting parameters, similar to what had been done for the strike-slip San Andreas Fault in California. Additional fieldworks are planned to study heat flows in other mountainous regions of Taiwan for more advanced geodynamic modeling efforts.

75 FR 39143 - Airworthiness Directives; Arrow Falcon Exporters, Inc. (previously Utah State University); AST...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-08

... (previously Precision Helicopters, LLC); Robinson Air Crane, Inc.; San Joaquin Helicopters (previously Hawkins... (Previously Hawkins & Powers Aviation); S.M. &T. Aircraft (Previously Us Helicopter Inc., UNC Helicopters, Inc...

Belowground Response to Drought in a Tropical Forest Soil. II. Change in Microbial Function Impacts Carbon Composition

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholas J. Bouskill; Tana E. Wood; Richard Baran; Zhao Hao; Zaw Ye; Ben P. Bowen; Hsiao Chien Lim; Peter S. Nico; Hoi-Ying Holman; Benjamin Gilbert; Whendee L. Silver; Trent R. Northen; Eoin L. Brodie

2016-01-01

Climate model projections for tropical regions show clear perturbation of precipitation patterns leading to increased frequency and severity of drought in some regions. Previous work has shown declining soil moisture to be a strong driver of changes in microbial trait distribution, however...

Regional impacts of ocean color on tropical Pacific variability

OpenAIRE

W. Anderson; A. Gnanadesikan; A. Wittenberg

2009-01-01

The role of the penetration length scale of shortwave radiation into the surface ocean and its impact on tropical Pacific variability is investigated with a fully coupled ocean, atmosphere, land and ice model. Previous work has shown that removal of all ocean color results in a system that tends strongly towards an El Niño state. Results from a suite of surface chlorophyll perturbation experiments show that the mean state and variability of the tropical Pacific is highly se...

Obstructive pulmonary disease in patients with previous tuberculosis ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Obstructive pulmonary disease in patients with previous tuberculosis: Pathophysiology of a community-based cohort. B.W. Allwood, R Gillespie, M Galperin-Aizenberg, M Bateman, H Olckers, L Taborda-Barata, G.L. Calligaro, Q Said-Hartley, R van Zyl-Smit, C.B. Cooper, E van Rikxoort, J Goldin, N Beyers, E.D. Bateman ...

The Emerging Architecture of a Regional Security Complex in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-03-03

Mar 3, 2015 ... Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2017 .... of International Security Studies by appropriating Regional Security .... collaborative network is also embedded across Saharan and Sahelian Africa, ... (previously located in the city of Baga in Nigeria's Borno State), fell into the.

Analyzing socio-economic impacts of tourism : Case of Lumbini region- Nepal

OpenAIRE

K.C., Shambhu; Gewali, Jhabindra

2014-01-01

The first objective of this Thesis is to identify, select, and analyze the socio- economic impacts of faith tourism in Lumbini region. The second objective is to present the impacts in context of changing business environment. And the last objective is to develop strategies for economic progress in a society. In this research work previous reports, theses, literatures and reviews were studied to get an idea about the socio-economic impacts of faith tourism in Lumbini region. In addition,...

Nonlinear H∞ Optimal Control Scheme for an Underwater Vehicle with Regional Function Formulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zool H. Ismail

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A conventional region control technique cannot meet the demands for an accurate tracking performance in view of its inability to accommodate highly nonlinear system dynamics, imprecise hydrodynamic coefficients, and external disturbances. In this paper, a robust technique is presented for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV with region tracking function. Within this control scheme, nonlinear H∞ and region based control schemes are used. A Lyapunov-like function is presented for stability analysis of the proposed control law. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed tracking control of the AUV. It is shown that the proposed control law is robust against parameter uncertainties, external disturbances, and nonlinearities and it leads to uniform ultimate boundedness of the region tracking error.

The neuroinflammatory phenotype in a mouse model of Gulf War Illness is unrelated to brain regional levels of acetylcholine as measured by quantitative HILIC-UPLC-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Julie V; LeBouf, Ryan F; Kelly, Kimberly A; Michalovicz, Lindsay T; Ranpara, Anand; Locker, Alicia R; Miller, Diane B; O'Callaghan, James P

2018-05-28

Many veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War (GW) returned with a chronic multisymptom illness that has been termed Gulf War Illness (GWI). Previous GWI studies have suggested that exposure to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) in theater, such as sarin and/or pesticides, may have contributed to the symptomatology of GWI. Additionally, concomitant high physiological stress experienced during the war may have contributed to the initiation of the GWI phenotype. While inhibition of AChE leading to accumulation of acetylcholine (ACh) will activate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, the signature symptomatology of GWI has been shown to be associated with neuroinflammation. To investigate the relationship between ACh and neuroinflammation in discrete brain regions, we used our previously established mouse model of GWI, which combines an exposure to a high physiological stress mimic, corticosterone (CORT), with GW-relevant AChEIs. The AChEIs used in this study were diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP), chlorpyrifos oxon (CPO), and physostigmine (PHY). After AChEI exposure, ACh concentrations for cortex (CTX), hippocampus (HIP), and striatum (STR) were determined using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) with ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-tandem-mass spectrometry (MS/MS). CORT pretreatment ameliorated the DFP-induced ACh increase in HIP and STR, but not CTX. CORT pretreatment did not significantly alter ACh levels for CPO and PHY. Further analysis of STR neuroinflammatory biomarkers revealed an exacerbated CORT+AChEI response, which does not correspond to measured brain ACh. By utilizing this new analytical method for discrete brain region analysis of ACh, this work suggests the exacerbated neuroinflammatory effects in our mouse model of GWI are not driven by the accumulation of brain region-specific ACh.

ON THE STRENGTH OF THE HEMISPHERIC RULE AND THE ORIGIN OF ACTIVE-REGION HELICITY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Y.-M.

2013-01-01

Vector magnetograph and morphological observations have shown that the solar magnetic field tends to have negative (positive) helicity in the northern (southern) hemisphere, although only ∼60%-70% of active regions appear to obey this 'hemispheric rule'. In contrast, at least ∼80% of quiescent filaments and filament channels that form during the decay of active regions follow the rule. We attribute this discrepancy to the difficulty in determining the helicity sign of newly emerged active regions, which are dominated by their current-free component; as the transverse field is canceled at the polarity inversion lines, however, the axial component becomes dominant there, allowing a more reliable determination of the original active-region chirality. We thus deduce that the hemispheric rule is far stronger than generally assumed, and cannot be explained by stochastic processes. Earlier studies have shown that the twist associated with the axial tilt of active regions is too small to account for the observed helicity; here, both tilt and twist are induced by the Coriolis force acting on the diverging flow in the emerging flux tube. However, in addition to this east-west expansion about the apex of the loop, each of its legs must expand continually in cross section during its rise through the convection zone, thereby acquiring a further twist through the Coriolis force. Since this transverse pressure effect is not limited by drag or tension forces, the final twist depends mainly on the rise time, and may be large enough to explain the observed active-region helicity

Northeast Regional Biomass Program. Final progress report, July--September 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O`Connell, R.A.

1991-11-01

The management structure and program objectives for the Northeast Regional Biomass Program (NRBP) remain unchanged from previous years. Additional funding was provided by the Bonneville Power Administration Regional Biomass Program to continue the publication of articles in the Biologue. The Western Area Power Administration and the Council of Great Lakes Governors funded the project ``Characterization of Emissions from Burning Woodwaste``. A grant for the ninth year was received from DOE. The Northeast Regional Biomass Steering Committee selected the following four projects for funding for the next fiscal year. (1) Wood Waste Utilization Conference, (2) Performance Evaluation of Wood Systems in Commercial Facilities, (3) Wood Energy Market Utilization Training, (4) Update of the Facility Directory.

Radon derived air mass fetch regions during the ACE-Asia campaign

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambers, S.; Zahorowski, W.; Werczynski, S.; Wang, T.; Poon, S.; Kim, J.; Oh, S.-N.; Knag, H.; Uematsu, M.; Matsumoto, K.

2003-01-01

Seasonal variations in fetch regions for air masses exhibiting the greatest and least terrestrial influence at three sites in East Asia are discussed. Results are based on the first year of hourly atmospheric radon concentration observations made as part of the Asian Aerosol Characterisation Experiment (ACE-Asia). Fetch regions for Asian continental outflow to the Pacific Basin within the boundary layer are shown to be distinct from corresponding tropospheric outflow events. Analysis of the hourly radon time series in conjunction with back trajectory analysis indicates the presence of a large localised radon source in south eastern China

Capital Markets, Infrastructure Investment and Growth in the Asia Pacific Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Regan

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the relationship between infrastructure investment activity, capital market development, the role of public institutions and economic development in the Asia Pacific. It adopts a review approach drawing on empirical evidence over recent decades. Infrastructure is shown to be an important asset class playing a central role in a nation’s output, growth, productivity and microeconomic performance. Infrastructure investment also requires investment and predictions of a widening gap in the future supply of infrastructure in the Asia Pacific will require new forms of capital from both traditional and new sources including wider use of private participation, institutional investment, asset recycling and revenue bonds. Capital market development is also necessary to raise long-term local currency finance and evidence suggests that progress with regional capital market integration is slow and a continuing reform agenda is required. The dividend for regional countries is the prospect of higher levels of economic growth with infrastructure investment, capital market development, and foreign direct investment shown to have a strong and positive association with growth. A crucial link in this association identified in the review is the part played by national and regional institutions in improving the efficiency with which infrastructure is managed and providing promising ground for further research where the importance of these links can be researched in greater depth.

Regional energy system optimization - Potential for a regional heat market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karlsson, Magnus; Gebremedhin, Alemayehu; Klugman, Sofia; Henning, Dag; Moshfegh, Bahram

2009-01-01

Energy supply companies and industrial plants are likely to face new situations due to, for example, the introduction of new energy legislation, increased fuel prices and increased environmental awareness. These new prerequisites provide companies with new challenges but also new possibilities from which to benefit. Increased energy efficiency within companies and increased cooperation between different operators are two alternatives to meet the new conditions. A region characterized by a high density of energy-intensive processes is used in this study to find the economic potential of connecting three industrial plants and four energy companies, within three local district heating systems, to a regional heat market, in which different operators provide heat to a joint district heating grid. Also, different investment alternatives are studied. The results show that the economical potential for a heat market amounts to between 5 and 26 million EUR/year with payback times ranging from two to eleven years. However, the investment costs and the net benefit for the total system need to be allotted to the different operators, as they benefit economically to different extents from the introduction of a heat market. It is also shown that the emissions of CO 2 from the joint system would decrease compared to separate operation of the systems. However, the valuation of CO 2 emissions from electricity production is important as the difference of emitted CO 2 between the accounting methods exceeds 650 kton/year for some scenarios

Matched cohort study of external cephalic version in women with previous cesarean delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Keepanasseril, Anish; Anand, Keerthana; Soundara Raghavan, Subrahmanian

2017-07-01

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of external cephalic version (ECV) among women with previous cesarean delivery. A retrospective study was conducted using data for women with previous cesarean delivery and breech presentation who underwent ECV at or after 36 weeks of pregnancy during 2011-2016. For every case, two multiparous women without previous cesarean delivery who underwent ECV and were matched for age and pregnancy duration were included. Characteristics and outcomes were compared between groups. ECV was successful for 32 (84.2%) of 38 women with previous cesarean delivery and 62 (81.6%) in the control group (P=0.728). Multivariate regression analysis confirmed that previous cesarean was not associated with ECV success (odds ratio 1.89, 95% confidence interval 0.19-18.47; P=0.244). Successful vaginal delivery after successful ECV was reported for 19 (59.4%) women in the previous cesarean delivery group and 52 (83.9%) in the control group (P<0.001). No ECV-associated complications occurred in women with previous cesarean delivery. To avoid a repeat cesarean delivery, ECV can be offered to women with breech presentation and previous cesarean delivery who are otherwise eligible for a trial of labor. © 2017 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Are there regional differences in US hardwood product exports?

Science.gov (United States)

Matt Bumgardner; Scott Bowe; William Luppold

2016-01-01

Exporting is a critical component of the product mix for many domestic hardwood firms. Previous research has identified factors associated with hardwood lumber exporting behavior, but less is known about the advantages and disadvantages to exporting associated with the region within which a firm is located, or about exporting of secondary hardwood products. A procedure...

Nature of the emission band of Dergaon meteorite in the region ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

available colour film is used to photograph the spectrum. 3. Results and discussion. Figure 1 demonstrates the general feature of the emission band system in the region. 5700–6700 Å along with the Ar+ lasing line at 5145 Å. The emission band system and its densitometer tracing as shown in figure 2 indicate the diffuse ...

Attribute and topology based change detection in a constellation of previously detected objects

Science.gov (United States)

Paglieroni, David W.; Beer, Reginald N.

2016-01-19

A system that applies attribute and topology based change detection to networks of objects that were detected on previous scans of a structure, roadway, or area of interest. The attributes capture properties or characteristics of the previously detected objects, such as location, time of detection, size, elongation, orientation, etc. The topology of the network of previously detected objects is maintained in a constellation database that stores attributes of previously detected objects and implicitly captures the geometrical structure of the network. A change detection system detects change by comparing the attributes and topology of new objects detected on the latest scan to the constellation database of previously detected objects.

Possibilities for Estimating Horizontal Electrical Currents in Active Regions on the Sun

Science.gov (United States)

Fursyak, Yu. A.; Abramenko, V. I.

2017-12-01

Part of the "free" magnetic energy associated with electrical current systems in the active region (AR) is released during solar flares. This proposition is widely accepted and it has stimulated interest in detecting electrical currents in active regions. The vertical component of an electric current in the photosphere can be found by observing the transverse magnetic field. At present, however, there are no direct methods for calculating transverse electric currents based on these observations. These calculations require information on the field vector measured simultaneously at several levels in the photosphere, which has not yet been done with solar instrumentation. In this paper we examine an approach to calculating the structure of the square of the density of a transverse electrical current based on a magnetogram of the vertical component of the magnetic field in the AR. Data obtained with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) for the AR of NOAA AR 11283 are used. It is shown that (1) the observed variations in the magnetic field of a sunspot and the proposed estimate of the density of an annular horizontal current around the spot are consistent with Faraday's law and (2) the resulting estimates of the magnitude of the square of the density of the horizontal current {j}_{\\perp}^2 = (0.002- 0.004) A2/m4 are consistent with previously obtained values of the density of a vertical current in the photosphere. Thus, the proposed estimate is physically significant and this method can be used to estimate the density and structure of transverse electrical currents in the photosphere.

Outcomes With Edoxaban Versus Warfarin in Patients With Previous Cerebrovascular Events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rost, Natalia S; Giugliano, Robert P; Ruff, Christian T

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with atrial fibrillation and previous ischemic stroke (IS)/transient ischemic attack (TIA) are at high risk of recurrent cerebrovascular events despite anticoagulation. In this prespecified subgroup analysis, we compared warfarin with edoxaban in patients with ver......BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with atrial fibrillation and previous ischemic stroke (IS)/transient ischemic attack (TIA) are at high risk of recurrent cerebrovascular events despite anticoagulation. In this prespecified subgroup analysis, we compared warfarin with edoxaban in patients...... with versus without previous IS/TIA. METHODS: ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 (Effective Anticoagulation With Factor Xa Next Generation in Atrial Fibrillation-Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 48) was a double-blind trial of 21 105 patients with atrial fibrillation randomized to warfarin (international normalized ratio......). Because only HDER is approved, we focused on the comparison of HDER versus warfarin. RESULTS: Of 5973 (28.3%) patients with previous IS/TIA, 67% had CHADS2 (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes, prior stroke/transient ischemic attack) >3 and 36% were ≥75 years. Compared with 15 132...

DETERMINANTS OF FDI INFLOWS: THE CASE OF RUSSIAN REGIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg Svyatoslavovich Mariev

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper empirically analyses the determinants of foreign direct investment inflows into the Russian regions. This problem has become highly relevant for the necessary modernization of the Russian economy after the recent economic slowdown and sharp decrease in budget revenues. The authors model foreign direct investment flows with the use of the gravity approach according to which investment flows are positively correlated with the size of the investor’s country as well as the size of the recipient region and are negatively correlated with the distance between investor and recipient. The empirical analysis is based on a constructed database consisting of the foreign direct investment flows from 179 investor countries into 78 Russian regions for the period 2006–2013. The authors apply the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood method and identify the following factors determining foreign direct investment inflows into the Russian economy: the gross domestic product of the investor’s country, the gross domestic product per capita in the recipient region, the distance from the investor to Moscow, the openness of the region, the economic situation in the region, the innovative capacity of the region and the foreign direct investment of the previous period. Interestingly, the distance from the recipient region to Moscow matters for the regions in the western part of Russia (relatively close to Moscow but is not significant for the regions in the eastern part (remote regions.

Effect of plasma instability on F region photoelectron distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bloomberg, H.W.

1975-01-01

Ionospheric suprathermal photoelectrons have relatively large cross sections for selected energies. In particular, electrons with energies of about 2.5 eV strongly excite nitrogen vibrational modes, while metastable states of oxygen are excited at about 5 eV. Thus an energy distribution based on chemical kinetic considerations give rise to a maximum at around 4 eV in the F region below 250 km. However, rocket experiments have shown that the expected peaks in the flux spectrum are relatively weak. This discrepancy is explained by the development of a linear instability leading to a wave-particle interaction. The linear mode is driven by the photoelectrons near the 4-eV maximum in the presence of a magnetic field. The effect is shown to be ineffective at sufficiently low altitudes, where collisionless theory fails. (auth)

Effect of plasma instability on F region photoelectron distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bloomberg, H.W.

1975-01-01

Ionospheric suprathermal photoelectrons have relatively large cross sections for selected energies. In particular, electrons with energies of about 2.5 eV strongly excite nitrogen vibrational modes, while metastable states of oxygen are excited at about 5 eV. Thus an energy distribution based on chemical kinetic considerations gives rise to a maximum at around 4 eV in the F region below 250 km. However, rocket experiments have shown that the expected peaks in the flux spectrum are relatively weak. This discrepancy is explained by the development of a linear instability leading to a wave-particle interaction. the linear mode is driven by the photoelectrons near the 4-eV maximum in the presence of a magnetic field. The effect is shown to be ineffective at sufficiently low altitudes, where collisionless theory fails

Evaluating Impacts of Land Use/Land Cover Change on Water Resources in Semiarid Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlon, B. R.; Faunt, C. C.; Pool, D. R.; Reedy, R. C.

2017-12-01

Land use/land cover (LU/LC) changes play an integral role in water resources by controlling the partitioning of water at the land surface. Here we evaluate impacts of changing LU/LC on water resources in response to climate variation and change and land use change related to agriculture using data from semiarid regions in the southwestern U.S. Land cover changes in response to climate can amplify or dampen climate impacts on water resources. Changes from wet Pleistocene to much drier Holocene climate resulted in expansion of perennial vegetation, amplifying climate change impacts on water resources by reducing groundwater recharge as shown in soil profiles in the southwestern U.S.. In contrast, vegetation response to climate extremes, including droughts and floods, dampen impacts of these extremes on water resources, as shown by water budget monitoring in the Mojave Desert. Agriculture often involves changes from native perennial vegetation to annual crops increasing groundwater recharge in many semiarid regions. Irrigation based on conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater increases water resource availability, as shown in the Central Valley of California and in southern Arizona. Surface water irrigation in these regions is enhanced by water transported from more humid settings through extensive pipelines. These projects have reversed long-term declining groundwater trends in some regions. While irrigation design has often focused on increased efficiency, "more crop per drop", optimal water resource management may benefit more from inefficient (e.g. flood irrigation) surface-water irrigation combined with efficient (e.g. subsurface drip) irrigation to maximize groundwater recharge, as seen in parts of the Central Valley. Flood irrigation of perennial crops, such as almonds and vineyards, during winter is being considered in the Central Valley to enhance groundwater recharge. Managed aquifer recharge can be considered a special case of conjunctive use of

A cross-sectional study of 'yaws' in districts of Ghana which have previously undertaken azithromycin mass drug administration for trachoma control.

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Rosanna Ghinai

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Yaws, caused by Treponema pallidum ssp. pertenue, is reportedly endemic in Ghana. Mass distribution of azithromycin is now the cornerstone of the WHO yaws eradication campaign. Mass distribution of azithromycin at a lower target dose was previously undertaken in two regions of Ghana for the control of trachoma. Ongoing reporting of yaws raises the possibility that resistance may have emerged in T. pallidum pertenue, or that alternative infections may be responsible for some of the reported cases. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in thirty communities in two districts of Ghana where MDA for trachoma had previously been conducted. Children aged 5-17 years with ulcerative lesions compatible with yaws were enrolled. Samples for treponemal serology and lesion PCR were collected from all children. 90 children with 98 lesions were enrolled. Syphilis serology was negative in all of them. PCR for T. pallidum ssp pertenue was negative in all children, but Haemophilus ducreyi DNA was detected in 9 lesions. In these communities, previously treated for trachoma, we found no evidence of ongoing transmission of yaws. H. ducreyi was associated with a proportion of skin lesions, but the majority of lesions remain unexplained. Integration of diagnostic testing into both pre and post-MDA surveillance systems is required to better inform yaws control programmes.

Mutated but Not Deleted Ovine PrP(C) N-Terminal Polybasic Region Strongly Interferes with Prion Propagation in Transgenic Mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalifé, Manal; Reine, Fabienne; Paquet-Fifield, Sophie; Castille, Johan; Herzog, Laetitia; Vilotte, Marthe; Moudjou, Mohammed; Moazami-Goudarzi, Katayoun; Makhzami, Samira; Passet, Bruno; Andréoletti, Olivier; Vilette, Didier; Laude, Hubert; Béringue, Vincent; Vilotte, Jean-Luc

2016-02-01

Mammalian prions are proteinaceous infectious agents composed of misfolded assemblies of the host-encoded, cellular prion protein (PrP). Physiologically, the N-terminal polybasic region of residues 23 to 31 of PrP has been shown to be involved in its endocytic trafficking and interactions with glycosaminoglycans or putative ectodomains of membrane-associated proteins. Several recent reports also describe this PrP region as important for the toxicity of mutant prion proteins and the efficiency of prion propagation, both in vitro and in vivo. The question remains as to whether the latter observations made with mouse PrP and mouse prions would be relevant to other PrP species/prion strain combinations given the dramatic impact on prion susceptibility of minimal amino acid substitutions and structural variations in PrP. Here, we report that transgenic mouse lines expressing ovine PrP with a deletion of residues 23 to 26 (KKRP) or mutated in this N-terminal region (KQHPH instead of KKRPK) exhibited a variable, strain-dependent susceptibility to prion infection with regard to the proportion of affected mice and disease tempo relative to findings in their wild-type counterparts. Deletion has no major effect on 127S scrapie prion pathogenesis, whereas mutation increased by almost 3-fold the survival time of the mice. Deletion marginally affected the incubation time of scrapie LA19K and ovine bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions, whereas mutation caused apparent resistance to disease. Recent reports suggested that the N-terminal polybasic region of the prion protein could be a therapeutic target to prevent prion propagation or toxic signaling associated with more common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Mutating or deleting this region in ovine PrP completes the data previously obtained with the mouse protein by identifying the key amino acid residues involved. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

75 FR 66009 - Airworthiness Directives; Cessna Aircraft Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-27

... Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing (Previously the Lancair... Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing (Previously The Lancair...-15895. Applicability (c) This AD applies to the following Cessna Aircraft Company (type certificate...

The Evolution of the ATLAS Region of Interest Builder

CERN Document Server

Love, Jeremy; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

The ATLAS trigger system is deployed to reduce the event rate from the Large Hadron Collider bunch crossing frequency of 40 MHz to 1 kHz for permanent storage using a tiered system. In the PC trigger farm decisions are seeded by Regions of Interest found by the custom hardware trigger system. The Regions of Interest are collected and distributed to the farm at 100 kHz by the ATLAS Region of Interest Builder. The Evolution of the Region of Interest Builder from a crate of custom VME-based electronics to a commodity PC hosting a single custom PCIe card has been undertaken to increase the system performance, flexibility, and ease maintenance. The functionality and performance of the Region of Interest Builder previously only possible using FPGAs and a custom backplane VME Crate, has now been implemented in a multi-threaded C++ software library interfaced to a single PCIe card with one Xilinx Vertex 6 FPGA. The PC-based system was installed in the ATLAS Data Acquisition system between the 2015 and 2016 data takin...

Reduced visual surround suppression in schizophrenia shown by measuring contrast detection thresholds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ignacio eSerrano-Pedraza

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Visual perception in schizophrenia is attracting a broad interest given the deep knowledge that we have about the visual system in healthy population. In visual science it is known that the visibility of a grating located in the visual periphery is impaired by the presence of a surrounding grating of the same spatial frequency and orientation. Previous studies have suggested abnormal visual surround suppression in patients with schizophrenia. Given that schizophrenia patients have cortical alterations including hypofunction of NMDA receptors and reduced concentration of GABA neurotransmitter, which affect lateral inhibitory connections, then they should perform better than controls in visual suppression tasks. We tested this hypothesis by measuring contrast detection thresholds using a new stimulus configuration. We tested two groups: 21 schizophrenia patients and 24 healthy subjects. Thresholds were obtained using Bayesian staircases in a 4AFC detection task where the target was a grating within a 3 deg Butterworth window that appeared in one of four possible positions at 5 deg eccentricity. We compared three conditions, a target with no surround (NS, b target on top of a surrounding grating of 20 deg diameter and 25% contrast with same spatial frequency and orthogonal orientation (OS, and c target on top of a surrounding grating with parallel (same orientation (PS. Our results show significantly lower thresholds for controls than for patients in NS and OS conditions. We also found significant lower suppression ratios PS/NS in patients. Our results support the hypothesis that inhibitory lateral connections in early visual cortex are impaired in schizophrenia patients.

MMS Encounters with Reconnection Diffusion Regions in the Earth's Magnetotail

Science.gov (United States)

Torbert, R. B.; Burch, J. L.; Argall, M. R.; Farrugia, C. J.; Alm, L.; Dors, I.; Payne, D.; Rogers, A. J.; Strangeway, R. J.; Phan, T.; Ergun, R.; Goodrich, K.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Giles, B. L.; Rager, A. C.; Gershman, D. J.; Kletzing, C.

2017-12-01

The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) fleet of four spacecraft traversed the Earth's magnetotail in May through August of 2017 with an apogee of 25 Re, and encountered diffusion regions characteristic of symmetric reconnection. This presentation will describe in-situ measurements of large electric fields, strong electron cross-tail and Hall currents, and electron velocity distributions (frequently crescent-shaped) that are commonly observed in these regions. Positive electromagnetic energy conversion is also typical. The characteristics of symmetric reconnection observations will be contrasted with those of asymmetric reconnection that MMS observed previously at the dayside magnetopause.

Cytogenetic screening of population living in ecologically unfavourable region of Semipalatinsk region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kundakbaeva, G.B.

1998-01-01

Cytogenetic examination of groups of people from ecologically unfavourable region of 4 settlements located at different distance from the center of nuclear explosions was conducted. For purpose of conducting biological indication and dosimetry, the radio sensibility of cells peripheral blood was determined with the account for the sex and age of the individuals from examined groups of people. Correlation analysis of frequency of chromosome aberration (CA) was implement taking into account the sex, age and absorbed dose of radiation. It was established that the frequency of chromosome aberration in examined groups exceed the control level 3,5 times (1,63±0,26). It was shown that total frequency of CA from people constituted: the Dolon settlement (zone of extreme risk) - 6,16±1,23 per 100 analyzed metaphases; the Kononerka settlement (zone of maximum risk) - 4,4 ±0,84; the Ramadan settlement (zone of maximum risk) - 5,97±1,08. Frequency of radiation induction chromosome markets within the region constituted 0,41±0,16 per 100 cells as average, - this exceeds control level (0,67±0,002) 6 times. Considerable factions (0,5-17,7 %) of exit of chromosome aberrations were discovered among different individuals. It was established that the frequency of stable and unstable CA increases due to the age of the people examined. Using the method of biological dosimetry based of registration of frequency of stable and unstable CA it was established that the population of examined regions has probably absorbed the following doses: the Dolon settlement - 0,14 Gy, the Kanonerka settlement - 0,13 Gy, the Buras settlement - 0,06 Gy, the Ramadan - 0,095 Gy. (author)

Moment Magnitude Calibration for the Eastern Mediterranean Region from Broadband Regional Coda Envelopes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mayeda, K; Eken, T; Hofstetter, A; Turkelli, N; O' Boyle, J; Orgulu, G; Gok, R

2003-07-17

The following is an overview of results from ROA01-32 that focuses on an empirical method of calibrating stable seismic source moment-rate spectra derived from regional coda envelopes using broadband stations. The main goal was to develop a regional magnitude methodology that had the following properties: (1) it is tied to an absolute scale and is thus unbiased and transportable; (2) it can be tied seamlessly to the well-established teleseismic and regional catalogs; (3) it is applicable to small events using a sparse network of regional stations; (4) it is flexible enough to utilize S{sub n}-coda, L{sub g}-coda, or P-coda, whichever phase has the best signal-to-noise ratio. The results of this calibration yield source spectra and derived magnitudes that were more stable than any other direct-phase measure to date. Our empirical procedure accounted for all propagation, site, and S-to-coda transfer function effects. The resultant coda-derived moment-rate spectra were used to provide traditional band-limited magnitude (e.g., M{sub L}, m{sub b} etc.) as well as an unbiased, unsaturated magnitude (moment magnitude, M{sub w}) that is tied to a physical measure of earthquake size (i.e., seismic moment). We validated our results by comparing our coda-derived moment estimates with those obtained from long-period waveform modeling. We first tested and validated the method using events distributed along the Dead Sea Rift (e.g., Mayeda et al., 2003). Next, we tested the transportability of the method to earthquakes distributed across the entire country of Turkey and validated our results using seismic moments of over 50 events that had been previously waveform modeled using the method of Dreger and Helmberger, (1993). In both regions we demonstrated that the interstation magnitude scatter was significantly reduced when using the coda-based magnitudes (i.e., M{sub w}(coda) and m{sub b}(coda)). Once calibrated, the coda-derived source spectra provided stable, unbiased magnitude

Development of Spatial Database for Regional Development in Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anda BELCIU (VELICANU

2014-01-01

Full Text Available eographical Information Systems are used in solving many regional development related problems, around the world. Starting from some national programs to famous international ones, such as INSPIRE program, each such initiative uses geospatial data as well in the process of building regional development strategies. This paper presents the main technical components of a geographical information system, meaning the spatial database, the web mapping server and the APIs used to embed the maps into web applications. The development steps for a pre-alpha version of a web GIS application dedicated to the regional development in Romania are also shown. The software tools which were integrated in order to develop the online application were Oracle Spatial, where geospatial data was stored, GeoServer, an open source web mapping server used to generate the map out of the data from Oracle Spatial’s tables and ASP.NET as a web framework for building the website.

[Fatal amnioinfusion with previous choriocarcinoma in a parturient woman].

Science.gov (United States)

Hrgović, Z; Bukovic, D; Mrcela, M; Hrgović, I; Siebzehnrübl, E; Karelovic, D

2004-04-01

The case of 36-year-old tercipare is described who developed choriocharcinoma in a previous pregnancy. During the first term labour the patient developed cardiac arrest, so reanimation and sectio cesarea was performed. A male new-born was delivered in good condition, but even after intensive therapy and reanimation occurred death of parturient woman with picture of disseminate intravascular coagulopathia (DIK). On autopsy and on histology there was no sign of malignant disease, so it was not possible to connect previous choricarcinoma with amniotic fluid embolism. Maybe was place of choriocarcinoma "locus minoris resistentiae" which later resulted with failure in placentation what was hard to prove. On autopsy we found embolia of lung with a microthrombosis of terminal circulation with punctiformis bleeding in mucous, what stands for DIK.

Biological validation of physical coastal waters classification along the NE Atlantic region based on rocky macroalgae distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Elvira; Puente, Araceli; Juanes, José Antonio; Neto, João M.; Pedersen, Are; Bartsch, Inka; Scanlan, Clare; Wilkes, Robert; Van den Bergh, Erika; Ar Gall, Erwan; Melo, Ricardo

2014-06-01

A methodology to classify rocky shores along the North East Atlantic (NEA) region was developed. Previously, biotypes and the variability of environmental conditions within these were recognized based on abiotic data. A biological validation was required in order to support the ecological meaning of the physical typologies obtained. A database of intertidal macroalgae species occurring in the coastal area between Norway and the South Iberian Peninsula was generated. Semi-quantitative abundance data of the most representative macroalgal taxa were collected in three levels: common, rare or absent. Ordination and classification multivariate analyses revealed a clear latitudinal gradient in the distribution of macroalgae species resulting in two distinct groups: one northern and one southern group, separated at the coast of Brittany (France). In general, the results based on biological data coincided with the results based on physical characteristics. The ecological meaning of the coastal waters classification at a broad scale shown in this work demonstrates that it can be valuable as a practical tool for conservation and management purposes.

Automated extraction of metastatic liver cancer regions from abdominal contrast CT images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamakawa, Junki; Matsubara, Hiroaki; Kimura, Shouta; Hasegawa, Junichi; Shinozaki, Kenji; Nawano, Shigeru

2010-01-01

In this paper, automated extraction of metastatic liver cancer regions from abdominal contrast X-ray CT images is investigated. Because even in Japan, cases of metastatic liver cancers are increased due to recent Europeanization and/or Americanization of Japanese eating habits, development of a system for computer aided diagnosis of them is strongly expected. Our automated extraction procedure consists of following four steps; liver region extraction, density transformation for enhancement of cancer regions, segmentation for obtaining candidate cancer regions, and reduction of false positives by shape feature. Parameter values used in each step of the procedure are decided based on density and shape features of typical metastatic liver cancers. In experiments using practical 20 cases of metastatic liver tumors, it is shown that 56% of true cancers can be detected successfully from CT images by the proposed procedure. (author)

Modeling of budgetary funding influence on socio-demographic processes of a region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandra Vladimirovna Vasil'eva

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a method of modeling socio-demographic processes in a region based on the minimax approach. In this method, the simulated socio-demographic processes reflect the performance of a population fertility age model, reproductive systems and the structure of mortality, as management impact tools of fiscal spending on socially significant budget items (health, physical culture and sport, social policy, education, environmental protection are considered. Testing methodology on the examples of the Russian Federation subjects included in the Ural Federal District is presented. Peculiarities of influence of funding of each socially important item on the social and demographic processes in the regions of the Ural Federal District are shown. Priorities of distribution of funds based on the level of budgetary provision in the region to ensure optimization of socio-demographic development of the region are shaped.

Cortical pitch regions in humans respond primarily to resolved harmonics and are located in specific tonotopic regions of anterior auditory cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Norman-Haignere, Sam; Kanwisher, Nancy; McDermott, Josh H

2013-12-11

Pitch is a defining perceptual property of many real-world sounds, including music and speech. Classically, theories of pitch perception have differentiated between temporal and spectral cues. These cues are rendered distinct by the frequency resolution of the ear, such that some frequencies produce "resolved" peaks of excitation in the cochlea, whereas others are "unresolved," providing a pitch cue only via their temporal fluctuations. Despite longstanding interest, the neural structures that process pitch, and their relationship to these cues, have remained controversial. Here, using fMRI in humans, we report the following: (1) consistent with previous reports, all subjects exhibited pitch-sensitive cortical regions that responded substantially more to harmonic tones than frequency-matched noise; (2) the response of these regions was mainly driven by spectrally resolved harmonics, although they also exhibited a weak but consistent response to unresolved harmonics relative to noise; (3) the response of pitch-sensitive regions to a parametric manipulation of resolvability tracked psychophysical discrimination thresholds for the same stimuli; and (4) pitch-sensitive regions were localized to specific tonotopic regions of anterior auditory cortex, extending from a low-frequency region of primary auditory cortex into a more anterior and less frequency-selective region of nonprimary auditory cortex. These results demonstrate that cortical pitch responses are located in a stereotyped region of anterior auditory cortex and are predominantly driven by resolved frequency components in a way that mirrors behavior.