Caspase-9 has a nonapoptotic function in Xenopus embryonic primitive blood formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Hong Thi; Fransen, Mathias; Dimitrakopoulou, Dionysia; Van Imschoot, Griet; Willemarck, Nicolas; Vleminckx, Kris

2017-07-15

Caspases constitute a family of cysteine proteases centrally involved in programmed cell death, which is an integral part of normal embryonic and fetal development. However, it has become clear that specific caspases also have functions independent of cell death. In order to identify novel apoptotic and nonapoptotic developmental caspase functions, we designed and transgenically integrated novel fluorescent caspase reporter constructs in developing Xenopus embryos and tadpoles. This model organism has an external development, allowing direct and continuous monitoring. These studies uncovered a nonapoptotic role for the initiator caspase-9 in primitive blood formation. Functional experiments further corroborated that caspase-9, but possibly not the executioners caspase-3 and caspase-7, are required for primitive erythropoiesis in the early embryo. These data reveal a novel nonapoptotic function for the initiator caspase-9 and, for the first time, implicate nonapoptotic caspase activity in primitive blood formation. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

[The cultural history of palliative care in primitive societies: an integrative review].

Science.gov (United States)

Siles González, José; Solano Ruiz, Maria Del Carmen

2012-08-01

The objective of this study is to describe the evolution of palliative care in order to reflect on the possibility of its origin in primitive cultures and their relationship with the beginnings of the cult of the dead. It describes the change in the symbolic structures and social interactions involved in palliative care during prehistory: functional unit, functional framework and functional element. The theoretical framework is based on cultural history, the dialectical structural model and symbolic interactionism. Categorization techniques, cultural history and dialectic structuralism analyses were performed. Palliative care existed in primitive societies, mostly associated with the rites of passage with a high symbolic content. The social structures - functional unit, functional framework and functional element - are the pillars that supported palliative care in prehistory societies.

Portable equipment for determining ripeness in Hass avocado using a low cost color sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Toro, Jessica; Daza, Carolina; Vega, Fabio; Diaz, Leonardo; Torres, Cesar

2015-08-01

The avocado is a one climacteric fruit that not ripe on the tree because it produces a maturation inhibitor that passes the fruit through the pedicel, the ripening occurs naturally during storage or to be induced as required. In post-harvest ripening stage is basically determined by experience of the farmer or buyer. In this word us developed portable equipment for determining ripeness is hass avocado using a low cost sensor color sensor TC3200 and LCD for display result. The prototype read of RGB color frequencies of the sensor and estimates the stage of ripeness in fourth different stages in post-harvest ripening.

Investigation of the ripeness of oil palm fresh fruit bunches using bio-speckle imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Salambue, R.; Adnan, A.; Shiddiq, M.

2018-03-01

The ripeness of the oil palm Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) determines the yield of the oil produced. Traditionally there are two ways to determine FFB ripeness which are the number of loose fruits and the color changes. Nevertheless, one drawback of visual determination is subjective and qualitative judgment. In this study, the FFB ripeness was investigated using laser based image processing technique. The advantages of using this technique are non-destructive, simple and quantitative. The working principle of the investigation is that a FFB is inserted into a light tight box which contains a laser diode and a CMOS camera, the FFB is illuminated, and then an image is recorded. The FFB image recorder was performed on four FFB fractions i.e. F0, F3, F4 and F5 on the front and rear surfaces at three sections. The recorded images are speckled granules that have light intensity variation (bio-speckle imaging). The feature extracted from the specked image is the contrast value obtained from the average gray value intensity and the standard deviation. Based on the contrast values, the four fractions of FFB can be grouped into three levels of ripeness of unripe (F0), ripe (F3) and overripe (F4 and F5) on the front surface of base section of FFB by 75%.

Influence of Ripeness and Drying Process on the Polyphenols and Tocopherols of Pistacia vera L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriele Ballistreri

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This paper highlights, for the first time, the changes in the phenolics fraction (anthocyanins, flavonoids and stilbenes and tocopherols of unpeeled Pistacia vera L. var. bianca with ripening, and the effect of the sun-drying process. The total polyphenol levels in pistachios, measured as mg of Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE, were: 201 ± 10.1, 349 ± 18.3 and 184.7 ± 6.2 mg GAE/100 g DM in unripe, ripe and dried ripe samples, respectively. Most phenolics in ripe pistachios were found to be anthocyanins. They increased with ripening, while the sun drying process caused a susbtantial loss. Flavonoids found in all pistachio samples were daidzein, genistein, daidzin, quercetin, eriodictyol, luteolin, genistin and naringenin, which decreased both with ripening and drying. Before the drying process both unripe and ripe pistachios showed a higher content of trans-resveratrol than dried ripe samples. γ-Tocopherol was the major vitamin E isomer found in pistachios. The total content (of α- and γ-tocopherols decreased, both during ripening and during the drying process. These results suggested that unpeeled pistachios can be considered an important source of phenolics, particularly of anthocyanins. Moreover, in order to preserve these healthy characteristics, new and more efficient drying processes should be adopted.

Artificial vision system for the identification of ripeness of pasion fruit (granadilla

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Escobar Figueroa

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The proper handling of fruits has become one of the most important economic activities in the Colombian agriculture [1]. Actually, the identification of the ripeness of fruit is made manually [2], which induces variability due to subjectivity by expert eye strain. The purpose of this research was to develop a computational tool for identifying the state of ripeness of passion fruit (granadilla through images recognition. The area in pixels of the fruit images was extracted by a technique called Otsu, using OpenCv libraries in Python. Finally, the task of classification was conducted through cluster analysis, here were assigned 110 points RGB belonging to each state of maturity of passion fruit. The results showed 92, 6% of accuracy for identifying the state of ripeness, from a set of 90 images obtained from 90 fruits in different stages of maturity, which was compared with traditional analysis (conducted by experts according to the provisions of the Colombian Technical Standard NTC 4101.

Ripe Banana Flour as a Source of Antioxidants in Layer and Sponge Cakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Segundo, Cristina; Román, Laura; Lobo, Manuel; Martinez, Mario M; Gómez, Manuel

2017-12-01

About one-fifth of all bananas harvested become culls that are normally disposed of improperly. However, ripe banana pulp contains significant amounts of fibre and polyphenol compounds as well as a high content of simple sugars (61.06 g/100 g), making it suitable for sucrose replacement in bakery products. This work studied the feasibility of incorporating ripe banana flour (20 and 40% of replacement) in cake formulation. Physical, nutritional and sensory attributes of sponge and layer cakes were evaluated. The inclusion of ripe banana flour generally led to an increased batter consistency that hindered cake expansion, resulting in a slightly lower specific volume and higher hardness. This effect was minimised in layer cakes where differences in volume were only evident with the higher level of replacement. The lower volume and higher hardness contributed to the decline of the acceptability observed in the sensory test. Unlike physical attributes, the banana flour inclusion significantly improved the nutritional properties of the cakes, bringing about an enhancement in dietary fibre, polyphenols and antioxidant capacity (up to a three-fold improvement in antioxidant capacity performance). Therefore, results showed that sugar replacement by ripe banana flour enhanced the nutritional properties of cakes, but attention should be paid to its inclusion level.

An Overview of DRAM-Based Security Primitives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolaos Athanasios Anagnostopoulos

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Recent developments have increased the demand for adequate security solutions, based on primitives that cannot be easily manipulated or altered, such as hardware-based primitives. Security primitives based on Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM can provide cost-efficient and practical security solutions, especially for resource-constrained devices, such as hardware used in the Internet of Things (IoT, as DRAMs are an intrinsic part of most contemporary computer systems. In this work, we present a comprehensive overview of the literature regarding DRAM-based security primitives and an extended classification of it, based on a number of different criteria. In particular, first, we demonstrate the way in which DRAMs work and present the characteristics being exploited for the implementation of security primitives. Then, we introduce the primitives that can be implemented using DRAM, namely Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs and True Random Number Generators (TRNGs, and present the applications of each of the two types of DRAM-based security primitives. We additionally proceed to assess the security such primitives can provide, by discussing potential attacks and defences, as well as the proposed security metrics. Subsequently, we also compare these primitives to other hardware-based security primitives, noting their advantages and shortcomings, and proceed to demonstrate their potential for commercial adoption. Finally, we analyse our classification methodology, by reviewing the criteria employed in our classification and examining their significance.

Motion Primitives for Action Recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fihl, Preben; Holte, Michael Boelstoft; Moeslund, Thomas B.

2007-01-01

the actions as a sequence of temporal isolated instances, denoted primitives. These primitives are each defined by four features extracted from motion images. The primitives are recognized in each frame based on a trained classifier resulting in a sequence of primitives. From this sequence we recognize......The number of potential applications has made automatic recognition of human actions a very active research area. Different approaches have been followed based on trajectories through some state space. In this paper we also model an action as a trajectory through a state space, but we represent...... different temporal actions using a probabilistic Edit Distance method. The method is tested on different actions with and without noise and the results show recognition rates of 88.7% and 85.5%, respectively....

Action Recognition using Motion Primitives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moeslund, Thomas B.; Fihl, Preben; Holte, Michael Boelstoft

the actions as a sequence of temporal isolated instances, denoted primitives. These primitives are each defined by four features extracted from motion images. The primitives are recognized in each frame based on a trained classifier resulting in a sequence of primitives. From this sequence we recognize......The number of potential applications has made automatic recognition of human actions a very active research area. Different approaches have been followed based on trajectories through some state space. In this paper we also model an action as a trajectory through a state space, but we represent...... different temporal actions using a probabilistic Edit Distance method. The method is tested on different actions with and without noise and the results show recognizing rates of 88.7% and 85.5%, respectively....

Intelligent Color Vision System for Ripeness Classification of Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunch

OpenAIRE

Fadilah, Norasyikin; Mohamad-Saleh, Junita; Halim, Zaini Abdul; Ibrahim, Haidi; Ali, Syed Salim Syed

2012-01-01

Ripeness classification of oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) during harvesting is important to ensure that they are harvested during optimum stage for maximum oil production. This paper presents the application of color vision for automated ripeness classification of oil palm FFB. Images of oil palm FFBs of type DxP Yangambi were collected and analyzed using digital image processing techniques. Then the color features were extracted from those images and used as the inputs for Artificial Ne...

An R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor Regulates Eugenol Production in Ripe Strawberry Fruit Receptacles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Medina-Puche, L.; Molina-Hidalgo, F.J.; Boersma, M.; Schuurink, R.C.; López-Vidriero, I.; Solano, R.; Franco-Zorrilla, J.M.; Caballero, J.L.; Blanco-Portales, R.; Muñoz-Blanco, J.

2015-01-01

Eugenol is a volatile phenylpropanoid that contributes to flower and ripe fruit scent. In ripe strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) fruit receptacles, eugenol is biosynthesized by eugenol synthase (FaEGS2). However, the transcriptional regulation of this process is still unknown. We have identified and

Influence of ripeness of banana on the blood glucose and insulin response in type 2 diabetic subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermansen, K; Rasmussen, O; Gregersen, S; Larsen, S

1992-10-01

Banana is a popular and tasty fruit which often is restricted in the diet prescribed for diabetic patients owing to the high content of free sugars. However, in under-ripe bananas starch constitutes 80-90% of the carbohydrate content, which as the banana ripens changes into free sugars. To study the effect of ripening on the postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses to banana, 10 type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic subjects consumed three meals, consisting of 120 g under-ripe banana, 120 g over-ripe banana or 40 g white bread on separate days. The mean postprandial blood glucose response area to white bread (181 +/- 45 mmol l-1 x 240 min) was significantly higher compared with under-ripe banana (62 +/- 17 mmol l-1 x 240 min: p alfa-amylase in humans.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Microfluidic assay of the deformability of primitive erythroblasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Sitong; Huang, Yu-Shan; Kingsley, Paul D; Cyr, Kathryn H; Palis, James; Wan, Jiandi

2017-09-01

Primitive erythroblasts (precursors of red blood cells) enter vascular circulation during the embryonic period and mature while circulating. As a result, primitive erythroblasts constantly experience significant hemodynamic shear stress. Shear-induced deformation of primitive erythroblasts however, is poorly studied. In this work, we examined the deformability of primitive erythroblasts at physiologically relevant flow conditions in microfluidic channels and identified the regulatory roles of the maturation stage of primitive erythroblasts and cytoskeletal protein 4.1 R in shear-induced cell deformation. The results showed that the maturation stage affected the deformability of primitive erythroblasts significantly and that primitive erythroblasts at later maturational stages exhibited a better deformability due to a matured cytoskeletal structure in the cell membrane.

A Test of Durkheim's Theory of Suicide in Primitive Societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lester, David

1992-01-01

Classified primitive societies as high, moderate, or low on independent measures of social integration and social regulation to test Durkheim's theory of suicide. Estimated frequency of suicide did not differ between those societies predicted to have high, moderate, and low suicide rates. Durkheim's theory was not confirmed. (Author/NB)

Unsupervised Learning of Action Primitives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baby, Sanmohan; Krüger, Volker; Kragic, Danica

2010-01-01

and scale, the use of the object can provide a strong invariant for the detection of motion primitives. In this paper we propose an unsupervised learning approach for action primitives that makes use of the human movements as well as the object state changes. We group actions according to the changes......Action representation is a key issue in imitation learning for humanoids. With the recent finding of mirror neurons there has been a growing interest in expressing actions as a combination meaningful subparts called primitives. Primitives could be thought of as an alphabet for the human actions....... In this paper we observe that human actions and objects can be seen as being intertwined: we can interpret actions from the way the body parts are moving, but as well from how their effect on the involved object. While human movements can look vastly different even under minor changes in location, orientation...

Application of multispectral imaging to determine quality attributes and ripeness stage in strawberry fruit.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changhong Liu

Full Text Available Multispectral imaging with 19 wavelengths in the range of 405-970 nm has been evaluated for nondestructive determination of firmness, total soluble solids (TSS content and ripeness stage in strawberry fruit. Several analysis approaches, including partial least squares (PLS, support vector machine (SVM and back propagation neural network (BPNN, were applied to develop theoretical models for predicting the firmness and TSS of intact strawberry fruit. Compared with PLS and SVM, BPNN considerably improved the performance of multispectral imaging for predicting firmness and total soluble solids content with the correlation coefficient (r of 0.94 and 0.83, SEP of 0.375 and 0.573, and bias of 0.035 and 0.056, respectively. Subsequently, the ability of multispectral imaging technology to classify fruit based on ripeness stage was tested using SVM and principal component analysis-back propagation neural network (PCA-BPNN models. The higher classification accuracy of 100% was achieved using SVM model. Moreover, the results of all these models demonstrated that the VIS parts of the spectra were the main contributor to the determination of firmness, TSS content estimation and classification of ripeness stage in strawberry fruit. These results suggest that multispectral imaging, together with suitable analysis model, is a promising technology for rapid estimation of quality attributes and classification of ripeness stage in strawberry fruit.

Primitive and definitive erythropoiesis in mammals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James ePalis

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Red blood cells (RBCs, which constitute the most abundant cell type in the body, come in two distinct flavors- primitive and definitive. Definitive RBCs in mammals circulate as smaller, anucleate cells during fetal and postnatal life, while primitive RBCs circulate transiently in the early embryo as large, nucleated cells before ultimately enucleating. Both cell types are formed from lineage-committed progenitors that generate a series of morphologically identifiable precursors that enucleate to form mature RBCs. While definitive erythroid precursors mature extravascularly in the fetal liver and postnatal marrow in association with macrophage cells, primitive erythroid precursors mature as a semi-synchronous cohort in the embryonic bloodstream. While the cytoskeletal network is critical for the maintenance of cell shape and the deformability of definitive RBCs, little is known about the components and function of the cytoskeleton in primitive erythroblasts. Erythropoietin (EPO is a critical regulator of late-stage definitive, but not primitive, erythroid progenitor survival. However, recent studies indicate that EPO regulates multiple aspects of terminal maturation of primitive murine and human erythroid precursors, including cell survival, proliferation, and the rate of terminal maturation. Primitive and definitive erythropoiesis share central transcriptional regulators, including Gata1 and Klf1, but are also characterized by the differential expression and function of other regulators, including myb, Sox6, and Bcl11A. Flow cytometry-based methodologies, developed to purify murine and human stage-specific erythroid precursors, have enabled comparative global gene expression studies and are providing new insights into the biology of erythroid maturation.

A close look at the mammalian blastocyst: epiblast and primitive endoderm formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Artus, Jérôme; Chazaud, Claire

2014-09-01

During early development, the mammalian embryo undergoes a series of profound changes that lead to the formation of two extraembryonic tissues--the trophectoderm and the primitive endoderm. These tissues encapsulate the pluripotent epiblast at the time of implantation. The current model proposes that the formation of these lineages results from two consecutive binary cell fate decisions. The first controls the formation of the trophectoderm and the inner cell mass, and the second controls the formation of the primitive endoderm and the epiblast within the inner cell mass. While early mammalian embryos develop with extensive plasticity, the embryonic pattern prior to implantation is remarkably reproducible. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms driving the cell fate decision between primitive endoderm and epiblast in the mouse embryo and integrate data from recent studies into the current model of the molecular network regulating the segregation between these lineages and their subsequent differentiation.

Primitive Based Action Representation and recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baby, Sanmohan

The presented work is aimed at designing a system that will model and recognize actions and its interaction with objects. Such a system is aimed at facilitating robot task learning. Activity modeling and recognition is very important for its potential applications in surveillance, human-machine i......The presented work is aimed at designing a system that will model and recognize actions and its interaction with objects. Such a system is aimed at facilitating robot task learning. Activity modeling and recognition is very important for its potential applications in surveillance, human......-machine interface, entertainment, biomechanics etc. Recent developments in neuroscience suggest that all actions are a compositions of smaller units called primitives. Current works based on primitives for action recognition uses a supervised framework for specifying the primitives. We propose a method to extract...... primitives automatically. These primitives are to be used to generate actions based on certain rules for combining. These rules are expressed as a stochastic context free grammar. A model merging approach is adopted to learn a Hidden Markov Model to t the observed data sequences. The states of the HMM...

Comparative GC analyses of ripe fruits, leaves and floral buds essential oils of Tunisian Myrtus communis L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Snoussi

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The chemical composition of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from Tunisian wild growing myrtle ripe fruits, leaves and floral buds was examined by GC and GC-MS. The yields of hydrodistilled oils obtained from different plant parts were: leaves 0.5%, floral buds 0.2% and ripe fruits 0.02%. Significant differences were found in the concentration of main constituents of the oils: α-pinene [48.9% (floral buds, 34.3% (fruits, 23.7% (leaves], 1,8-cineole [15.3% (floral buds, 26.6% (fruits, 61.0% (leaves]. The leaves oil contained less linalool than floral buds and ripe fruits oils. Tunisian myrtle is characterized by the absence of myrtenyl acetate.

Ethanol production potential of local yeast strains isolated from ripe ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The ability of different yeast strains isolated from ripe banana peels to produce ethanol was investigated. Of the 8 isolates screened for their fermentation ability, 5 showed enhanced performance and were subsequently identified and assessed for important ethanol fermentation attributes such as ethanol producing ability, ...

Dynamic Primitives in the Control of Locomotion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neville eHogan

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Humans achieve locomotor dexterity that far exceeds the capability of modern robots, yet this is achieved despite slower actuators, imprecise sensors and vastly slower communication. We propose that this spectacular performance arises from encoding motor commands in terms of dynamic primitives. We propose three primitives as a foundation for a comprehensive theoretical framework that can embrace a wide range of upper- and lower-limb behaviors. Building on previous work that suggested discrete and rhythmic movements as elementary dynamic behaviors, we define submovements and oscillations: As discrete movements cannot be combined with sufficient flexibility, we argue that suitably-defined submovements are primitives. As the term rhythmic may be ambiguous, we define oscillations as the corresponding class of primitives. We further propose mechanical impedances as a third class of dynamic primitives, necessary for interaction with the physical environment. Combination of these three classes of primitive requires care. One approach is through a generalized equivalent network: a virtual trajectory composed of simultaneous and/or sequential submovements and/or oscillations that interacts with mechanical impedances to produce observable forces and motions. Reliable experimental identification of these dynamic primitives presents challenges: Identification of mechanical impedances is exquisitely sensitive to assumptions about their dynamic structure; identification of submovements and oscillations is sensitive to their assumed form and to details of the algorithm used to extract them. Some methods to address these challenges are presented. Some implications of this theoretical framework for locomotor rehabilitation are considered.

Dynamic primitives in the control of locomotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, Neville; Sternad, Dagmar

2013-01-01

Humans achieve locomotor dexterity that far exceeds the capability of modern robots, yet this is achieved despite slower actuators, imprecise sensors, and vastly slower communication. We propose that this spectacular performance arises from encoding motor commands in terms of dynamic primitives. We propose three primitives as a foundation for a comprehensive theoretical framework that can embrace a wide range of upper- and lower-limb behaviors. Building on previous work that suggested discrete and rhythmic movements as elementary dynamic behaviors, we define submovements and oscillations: as discrete movements cannot be combined with sufficient flexibility, we argue that suitably-defined submovements are primitives. As the term "rhythmic" may be ambiguous, we define oscillations as the corresponding class of primitives. We further propose mechanical impedances as a third class of dynamic primitives, necessary for interaction with the physical environment. Combination of these three classes of primitive requires care. One approach is through a generalized equivalent network: a virtual trajectory composed of simultaneous and/or sequential submovements and/or oscillations that interacts with mechanical impedances to produce observable forces and motions. Reliable experimental identification of these dynamic primitives presents challenges: identification of mechanical impedances is exquisitely sensitive to assumptions about their dynamic structure; identification of submovements and oscillations is sensitive to their assumed form and to details of the algorithm used to extract them. Some methods to address these challenges are presented. Some implications of this theoretical framework for locomotor rehabilitation are considered.

Stochastic Ocean Predictions with Dynamically-Orthogonal Primitive Equations

Science.gov (United States)

Subramani, D. N.; Haley, P., Jr.; Lermusiaux, P. F. J.

2017-12-01

The coastal ocean is a prime example of multiscale nonlinear fluid dynamics. Ocean fields in such regions are complex and intermittent with unstationary heterogeneous statistics. Due to the limited measurements, there are multiple sources of uncertainties, including the initial conditions, boundary conditions, forcing, parameters, and even the model parameterizations and equations themselves. For efficient and rigorous quantification and prediction of these uncertainities, the stochastic Dynamically Orthogonal (DO) PDEs for a primitive equation ocean modeling system with a nonlinear free-surface are derived and numerical schemes for their space-time integration are obtained. Detailed numerical studies with idealized-to-realistic regional ocean dynamics are completed. These include consistency checks for the numerical schemes and comparisons with ensemble realizations. As an illustrative example, we simulate the 4-d multiscale uncertainty in the Middle Atlantic/New York Bight region during the months of Jan to Mar 2017. To provide intitial conditions for the uncertainty subspace, uncertainties in the region were objectively analyzed using historical data. The DO primitive equations were subsequently integrated in space and time. The probability distribution function (pdf) of the ocean fields is compared to in-situ, remote sensing, and opportunity data collected during the coincident POSYDON experiment. Results show that our probabilistic predictions had skill and are 3- to 4- orders of magnitude faster than classic ensemble schemes.

Determination of ripeness stages of Mazafati variety of date fruit by Raman spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Khodabakhshian

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The economical yield of date fruits depends on many factors (Al-Shahib and Marshall, 2003. One of them is harvesting in optimum stage. Generally, date fruits have four distinct stages of ripeness to satisfy different consumption requirements (e.g., fresh and processed. They are known throughout the world by their Arabic names which are Kimri, Khalal, Rutab and Tamr in order of ripeness (Imad and Abdul Wahab, 1995; Al-Shahib and Marshall, 2003; Sahari et al., 2007. Decreasing moisture content and increasing sugar content happens gradually while the date ripeness approaches to Tamr stage. From Kimri to Khalal stage, the size and acidity decreases when the color of Mazafati variety changes from green to red. The change in acidity continues from Rutab to Tamr stage while color transforms from brown to black. At the final stage of ripeness, Mazafati variety is soft and has a good storability (Al-Shahib and Marshall, 2003. The main Raman techniques commonly applied in agricultural product and food analyzing include dispersive Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform (FT, Raman spectroscopy, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS and Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS. Synytsya et al. (2003 illustrated that FT-Raman spectroscopy is a valuable tool in structural analysis of commercial citrus and sugar beet pectin. Yang and Irudayaraj (2003 employed an FT-Raman approach to detect and classify foodborne microorganisms on the whole apple surface for the first time. Schulz et al., (2005 revealed the potential of FT-Raman spectroscopy in natural carotenoid analysis. Also, many researchers have attempted to apply FT-Raman spectra on the whole fruits and vegetables. FT-Raman spectroscopy was used by Veraverbeke et al. (2005 to evaluate the natural, intact wax layers on the surface of whole fruits. Nikbakht et al. (2011 used a FT-Raman spectroscopy for qualitative and quantitative analysis of tomato ripeness parameters. The scope of this

Regularly incremented phase encoding - MR fingerprinting (RIPE-MRF) for enhanced motion artifact suppression in preclinical cartesian MR fingerprinting.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Christian E; Wang, Charlie Y; Gu, Yuning; Darrah, Rebecca; Griswold, Mark A; Yu, Xin; Flask, Chris A

2018-04-01

The regularly incremented phase encoding-magnetic resonance fingerprinting (RIPE-MRF) method is introduced to limit the sensitivity of preclinical MRF assessments to pulsatile and respiratory motion artifacts. As compared to previously reported standard Cartesian-MRF methods (SC-MRF), the proposed RIPE-MRF method uses a modified Cartesian trajectory that varies the acquired phase-encoding line within each dynamic MRF dataset. Phantoms and mice were scanned without gating or triggering on a 7T preclinical MRI scanner using the RIPE-MRF and SC-MRF methods. In vitro phantom longitudinal relaxation time (T 1 ) and transverse relaxation time (T 2 ) measurements, as well as in vivo liver assessments of artifact-to-noise ratio (ANR) and MRF-based T 1 and T 2 mean and standard deviation, were compared between the two methods (n = 5). RIPE-MRF showed significant ANR reductions in regions of pulsatility (P Reson Med 79:2176-2182, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Discovery of Intrinsic Primitives on Triangle Meshes

KAUST Repository

Solomon, Justin

2011-04-01

The discovery of meaningful parts of a shape is required for many geometry processing applications, such as parameterization, shape correspondence, and animation. It is natural to consider primitives such as spheres, cylinders and cones as the building blocks of shapes, and thus to discover parts by fitting such primitives to a given surface. This approach, however, will break down if primitive parts have undergone almost-isometric deformations, as is the case, for example, for articulated human models. We suggest that parts can be discovered instead by finding intrinsic primitives, which we define as parts that posses an approximate intrinsic symmetry. We employ the recently-developed method of computing discrete approximate Killing vector fields (AKVFs) to discover intrinsic primitives by investigating the relationship between the AKVFs of a composite object and the AKVFs of its parts. We show how to leverage this relationship with a standard clustering method to extract k intrinsic primitives and remaining asymmetric parts of a shape for a given k. We demonstrate the value of this approach for identifying the prominent symmetry generators of the parts of a given shape. Additionally, we show how our method can be modified slightly to segment an entire surface without marking asymmetric connecting regions and compare this approach to state-of-the-art methods using the Princeton Segmentation Benchmark. © 2011 The Author(s).

RIPE [robot independent programming environment]: A robot independent programming environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, D.J.; Lennox, R.C.

1990-01-01

Remote manual operations in radiation environments are typically performed very slowly. Sensor-based computer-controlled robots hold great promise for increasing the speed and safety of remote operations; however, the programming of robotic systems has proven to be expensive and difficult. Generalized approaches to robot programming that reuse available software modules and employ programming languages which are independent of the specific robotic and sensory devices being used are needed to speed software development and increase overall system reliability. This paper discusses the robot independent programming environment (RIPE) developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The RIPE is an object-oriented approach to robot system architectures; it is a software environment that facilitates rapid design and implementation of complex robot systems for diverse applications. An architecture based on hierarchies of distributed multiprocessors provides the computing platform for a layered programming structure that models applications using software objects. These objects are designed to support model-based automated programming of robotic and machining devices, real-time sensor-based control, error handling, and robust communication

Learning and Chaining of Motor Primitives for Goal-directed Locomotion of a Snake-Like Robot with Screw-Drive Units

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chatterjee, Sromona; Nachstedt, Timo; Tamosiunaite, Minija

2015-01-01

-directed locomotion for the robot. The behavioural primitives of the robot are generated using a reinforcement learning approach called "Policy Improvement with Path Integrals" (PI2). PI2 is numerically simple and has the ability to deal with high-dimensional systems. Here, PI2 is used to learn the robot’s motor...... controls by finding proper locomotion control parameters, like joint angles and screw-drive unit velocities, in a coordinated manner for different goals. Thus, it is able to generate a large repertoire of motor primitives, which are selectively stored to form a primitive library. The learning process...

Hyperspectral Surface Analysis for Ripeness Estimation and Quick UV-C Surface Treatments for Preservation of Bananas

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, W.; Yang, Zh.; Chen, Zh.; Liu, J.; Wang, W. Ch.; Zheng, W. Yu.

2016-05-01

This study aimed to determine the ripeness of bananas using hyperspectral surface analysis and how a rapid UV-C (ultraviolet-C light) surface treatment could reduce decay. The surface of the banana fruit and its stages of maturity were studied using a hyperspectral imaging technique in the visible and near infrared (370-1000 nm) regions. The vselected color ratios from these spectral images were used for classifying the whole banana into immature, ripe, half-ripe and overripe stages. By using a BP neural network, models based on the wavelengths were developed to predict quality attributes. The mean discrimination rate was 98.17%. The surface of the fresh bananas was treated with UV-C at dosages from 15-55 μW/cm2. The visual qualities with or without UV-C treatment were compared using the image, the chromatic aberration test, the firmness test and the area of black spot on the banana skin. The results showed that high dosages of UV-C damaged the banana skin, while low dosages were more efficient at delaying changes in the relative brightness of the skin. The maximum UV-C treatment dose for satisfactory banana preservation was between 21 and 24 μW/cm2. These results could help to improve the visual quality of bananas and to classify their ripeness more easily.

spib is required for primitive myeloid development in Xenopus.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Ricardo M B; Soto, Ximena; Chen, Yaoyao; Zorn, Aaron M; Amaya, Enrique

2008-09-15

Vertebrate blood formation occurs in 2 spatially and temporally distinct waves, so-called primitive and definitive hematopoiesis. Although definitive hematopoiesis has been extensively studied, the development of primitive myeloid blood has received far less attention. In Xenopus, primitive myeloid cells originate in the anterior ventral blood islands, the equivalent of the mammalian yolk sac, and migrate out to colonize the embryo. Using fluorescence time-lapse video microscopy, we recorded the migratory behavior of primitive myeloid cells from their birth. We show that these cells are the first blood cells to differentiate in the embryo and that they are efficiently recruited to embryonic wounds, well before the establishment of a functional vasculature. Furthermore, we isolated spib, an ETS transcription factor, specifically expressed in primitive myeloid precursors. Using spib antisense morpholino knockdown experiments, we show that spib is required for myeloid specification, and, in its absence, primitive myeloid cells retain hemangioblast-like characteristics and fail to migrate. Thus, we conclude that spib sits at the top of the known genetic hierarchy that leads to the specification of primitive myeloid cells in amphibians.

Carambola Cultivar, Fruit Ripeness, and Damage by Conspecific Larvae Influence the Host-Related Behaviors of Anastrepha obliqua (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Science.gov (United States)

López-Ley, Jorge Ulises; Toledo, Jorge; Malo, Edi A; Gomez, Jaime; Santiesteban, Antonio; Rojas, Julio C

2016-02-01

In this study, we investigated the influence of cultivar type, fruit ripeness, and damage by conspecific larvae on the attraction of Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritidae) to and oviposition on carambola fruit (Averroha carambola L.). The attraction of both sexes of A. obliqua to fruit of different quality was evaluated through cage experiments in the field, and the oviposition preferences of mated females were examined in laboratory tests. Both sexes, mated or virgin, were more attracted to the "Maha" fruit than to the "Golden Star" fruit, and the females oviposited more frequently on the Maha cultivar than the Golden Star cultivar. Both sexes were more attracted to ripe and half-ripe Maha fruits than to mature green fruit, and although females did not show a preference for ovipositing on half-ripe or ripe fruits, they did not oviposit on mature green fruits. Males did not show a preference for the volatiles from uninfested, artificially damaged, or infested Maha fruits, but females were more attracted to uninfested fruits than to artificially damaged and infested Maha fruits. Furthermore, females preferred to oviposit on uninfested fruits compared with artificially damaged fruit, and they did not oviposit on infested fruits. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Comparison Of Mineral Content Of Some Ripe And Unripe Fruits In ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The mineral contents of ripe and unripe banana (Musa sapientum), avocado pear (Pearsea americana), pineapple (Ananas cosmosus) and soursop (Anona muricata), were determined to ascertain the influence of ripening on the localization of minerals in these fruits. High levels of sodium and potassium were obtained in ...

Integration and long distance axonal regeneration in the central nervous system from transplanted primitive neural stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jiagang; Sun, Woong; Cho, Hyo Min; Ouyang, Hong; Li, Wenlin; Lin, Ying; Do, Jiun; Zhang, Liangfang; Ding, Sheng; Liu, Yizhi; Lu, Paul; Zhang, Kang

2013-01-04

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in devastating motor and sensory deficits secondary to disrupted neuronal circuits and poor regenerative potential. Efforts to promote regeneration through cell extrinsic and intrinsic manipulations have met with limited success. Stem cells represent an as yet unrealized therapy in SCI. Recently, we identified novel culture methods to induce and maintain primitive neural stem cells (pNSCs) from human embryonic stem cells. We tested whether transplanted human pNSCs can integrate into the CNS of the developing chick neural tube and injured adult rat spinal cord. Following injection of pNSCs into the developing chick CNS, pNSCs integrated into the dorsal aspects of the neural tube, forming cell clusters that spontaneously differentiated into neurons. Furthermore, following transplantation of pNSCs into the lesioned rat spinal cord, grafted pNSCs survived, differentiated into neurons, and extended long distance axons through the scar tissue at the graft-host interface and into the host spinal cord to form terminal-like structures near host spinal neurons. Together, these findings suggest that pNSCs derived from human embryonic stem cells differentiate into neuronal cell types with the potential to extend axons that associate with circuits of the CNS and, more importantly, provide new insights into CNS integration and axonal regeneration, offering hope for repair in SCI.

Lower Virial Coefficients of Primitive Models of Polar and Associating Fluids.

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rouha, M.; Nezbeda, Ivo

2007-01-01

Roč. 134, 1-3 (2007) , s. 107-110 Sp. Iss. SI ISSN 0167-7322 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA4072303; GA AV ČR(CZ) 1ET400720409 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : primitive models * virial coefficients * metropolis like monte-carlo integration Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 0.982, year: 2007

Primitive Based Action Representation and Recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baby, Sanmohan; Krüger, Volker

2009-01-01

a sequential and statistical     learning algorithm for   automatic detection of the action primitives and the action grammar   based on these primitives.  We model a set of actions using a   single HMM whose structure is learned incrementally as we observe   new types.   Actions are modeled with sufficient...

The Flemish Primitives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vos, De Dirk

2003-01-01

Intensely realistic, piercingly beautiful, the art of the Flemish Primitives inspires powerful emotional responses. Painted during the fifteenth century in the southern Netherlands, these influential and enduring works helped establish the foundations of modern European painting.Sumptuously

Primitive recursive realizability and basic propositional logic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plisko, Valery

2007-01-01

Two notions of primitive recursive realizability for arithmetic sentences are considered. The first one is strictly primitive recursive realizability introduced by Z. Damnjanovic in 1994. We prove that intuitionistic predicate logic is not sound with this kind of realizability. Namely there

Elaboración de aceitunas denominadas “Green ripe olives” con variedades españolas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brenes, Manuel

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Consumers are nowadays demanding a certain type of table olive with low acidity, a pH higher than 4.5 and yellow-green to yellow in colour. These are produced in the USA under the name “green ripe olivesâ€� and their sterilization is absolutely necessary. It was demonstrated in this work that the Spanish olive varieties Manzanilla and Hojiblanca can be elaborated as “green ripe olivesâ€� giving rise to a good quality product. However, it was also observed that after alkaline treatment the olives had to be thoroughly washed. A high volume of wash water was needed to neutralize olive flesh but also to eliminate certain compounds that gave rise to an undesirable odour in the final product as a consequence of the heat treatment. A rapid neutralization of olive flesh with CO2 was not enough to eliminate the off-odor. Likewise, the use of two alkaline treatments instead of only one did not improve the quality of the product. Therefore, it is considered necessary to study new alternative methods of preparing “green ripe olivesâ€� with less wash water volume and better organoleptic olive properties.Existe por parte de los consumidores una demanda creciente de aceitunas de muy baja acidez con pH superior a 4,5 y color verde amarillento/amarillo. Es necesario, por tanto, su esterilización y en Estados Unidos se conocen bajo la denominación “green ripe olivesâ€�. En este estudio se ha comprobado que las variedades españolas Manzanilla y Hojiblanca son susceptibles de elaborarse bajo la denominación “green ripe olivesâ€� aunque después del tratamiento alcalino es necesario llevar a cabo un número elevado de lavados de los frutos con vistas no sólo a neutralizar la pulpa sino también eliminar ciertos compuestos que originan un sabor inaceptable en el producto durante el tratamiento térmico. La neutralización rápida de la pulpa con anhídrido carbónico no es suficiente para reducir el n

Cometary dust: the diversity of primitive refractory grains.

Science.gov (United States)

Wooden, D H; Ishii, H A; Zolensky, M E

2017-07-13

Comet dust is primitive and shows significant diversity. Our knowledge of the properties of primitive cometary particles has expanded significantly through microscale investigations of cosmic dust samples (anhydrous interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), chondritic porous (CP) IDPs and UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic micrometeorites, Stardust and Rosetta ), as well as through remote sensing ( Spitzer IR spectroscopy). Comet dust are aggregate particles of materials unequilibrated at submicrometre scales. We discuss the properties and processes experienced by primitive matter in comets. Primitive particles exhibit a diverse range of: structure and typology; distribution of constituents; concentration and form of carbonaceous and refractory organic matter; Mg- and Fe-contents of the silicate minerals; sulfides; existence/abundance of type II chondrule fragments; high-temperature calcium-aluminium inclusions and ameboid-olivine aggregates; and rarely occurring Mg-carbonates and magnetite, whose explanation requires aqueous alteration on parent bodies. The properties of refractory materials imply there were disc processes that resulted in different comets having particular selections of primitive materials. The diversity of primitive particles has implications for the diversity of materials in the protoplanetary disc present at the time and in the region where the comets formed.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'. © 2017 The Authors.

In vitro food production for isolated closed environments: formation of ripe tomato fruits from excised flower buds.

Science.gov (United States)

Applewhite, P B; K-Sawhney, R; Galston, A W

1997-01-01

Excised preanthesis flower buds of young Pixie Hybrid tomato plants develop into red ripe fruits in aseptic culture on a modified Murashige-Skoog medium with 3% sucrose at pH 5.8. The addition of certain synthetic auxins (IAA, NAA, IBA), auxin precursors (ISA), or cytokinins (KIN, IPA, ZEA, BAP) to the medium improved the percentage of buds developing into fruits, the weight of the ripe fruits, or both. The best results were obtained by an auxin-cytokinin combination of 10 microM IBA with 1 microM BAP. Storage of the excised buds at low temperature (6 degrees C) for up to 4 weeks before transfer to 27 degrees C caused only minimal deterioration in size and number of the fruit crop. Extension of low-temperature storage to 8 weeks produced smaller fruits that took longer to develop. This system could produce fresh, ripe small tomatoes on a sustained basis for up to 2 months for an isolated environment such as a space vehicle or submarine.

Action Recognition in Semi-synthetic Images using Motion Primitives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fihl, Preben; Holte, Michael Boelstoft; Moeslund, Thomas B.

This technical report describes an action recognition approach based on motion primitives. A few characteristic time instances are found in a sequence containing an action and the action is classified from these instances. The characteristic instances are defined solely on the human motion, hence...... motion primitives. The motion primitives are extracted by double difference images and represented by four features. In each frame the primitive, if any, that best explains the observed data is identified. This leads to a discrete recognition problem since a video sequence will be converted into a string...... containing a sequence of symbols, each representing a primitive. After pruning the string a probabilistic Edit Distance classifier is applied to identify which action best describes the pruned string. The method is evaluated on five one-arm gestures. A test is performed with semi-synthetic input data...

Application of Microwave Moisture Sensor for Determination of Oil Palm Fruit Ripeness

Science.gov (United States)

Yeow, You Kok; Abbas, Zulkifly; Khalid, Kaida

2010-01-01

This paper describes the development of a low cost coaxial moisture sensor for the determination of moisture content (30 % to 80 % wet-weight basis) of the oil palm fruits of various degree of fruit ripeness. The sensor operating between 1 GHz and 5 GHz was fabricated from an inexpensive 4.1 mm outer diameter SMA coaxial stub contact panel which is suitable for single fruit measurement. The measurement system consists of the sensor and a PC-controlled vector network analyzer (VNA). The actual moisture content was determined by standard oven drying method and compared with predicted value of fruit moisture content obtained using the studied sensor. The sensor was used to monitor fruit ripeness based on the measurement of the phase or magnitude of reflection coefficient and the dielectric measurement software was developed to control and acquire data from the VNA using Agilent VEE. This software was used to calculate the complex relative permittivity from the measured reflection coefficient between 1GHz and 5 GHz.

AGUA TIBIA PRIMITIVE AREA, CALIFORNIA.

Science.gov (United States)

Irwin, William P.; Thurber, Horace K.

1984-01-01

The Agua Tibia Primitive Area in southwestern California is underlain by igneous and metamorphic rocks that are siilar to those widely exposed throughout much of the Peninsular Ranges. To detect the presence of any concealed mineral deposits, samples of stream sediments were collected along the various creeks that head in the mountain. As an additional aid in evaluating the mineral potential, an aeromagnetic survey was made and interpreted. A search for records of past or existing mining claims within the primitive area was made but none was found. Evidence of deposits of metallic or nonmetallic minerals was not seen during the study.

From Realistic to Primitive Models: A Primitive Model of Methanol

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vlček, Lukáš; Nezbeda, Ivo

2003-01-01

Roč. 101, č. 19 (2003), s. 2987-2996 ISSN 0026-8976 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA4072303; GA AV ČR IAA4072309 Grant - others:NATO(XX) PST.CLG 978178/6343 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4072921 Keywords : primitive model * methanol Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 1.591, year: 2003

Primitive polynomials selection method for pseudo-random number generator

Science.gov (United States)

Anikin, I. V.; Alnajjar, Kh

2018-01-01

In this paper we suggested the method for primitive polynomials selection of special type. This kind of polynomials can be efficiently used as a characteristic polynomials for linear feedback shift registers in pseudo-random number generators. The proposed method consists of two basic steps: finding minimum-cost irreducible polynomials of the desired degree and applying primitivity tests to get the primitive ones. Finally two primitive polynomials, which was found by the proposed method, used in pseudorandom number generator based on fuzzy logic (FRNG) which had been suggested before by the authors. The sequences generated by new version of FRNG have low correlation magnitude, high linear complexity, less power consumption, is more balanced and have better statistical properties.

Semantic Primitives of Time and Space in Hong Kong Cantonese.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Malindy; And Others

1997-01-01

Semantic primitives for time and space, as proposed in Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory, are examined for lexical equivalents in Hong Kong Cantonese. Temporal primitives are all found to have clear Cantonese exponents that can be combined as predicted with other metalanguage elements, with two exceptions. Spatial primitives all appear to have…

Globfit: Consistently fitting primitives by discovering global relations

KAUST Repository

Li, Yangyan; Wu, Xiaokun; Chrysathou, Yiorgos; Sharf, Andrei Sharf; Cohen-Or, Daniel; Mitra, Niloy J.

2011-01-01

Given a noisy and incomplete point set, we introduce a method that simultaneously recovers a set of locally fitted primitives along with their global mutual relations. We operate under the assumption that the data corresponds to a man-made engineering object consisting of basic primitives, possibly repeated and globally aligned under common relations. We introduce an algorithm to directly couple the local and global aspects of the problem. The local fit of the model is determined by how well the inferred model agrees to the observed data, while the global relations are iteratively learned and enforced through a constrained optimization. Starting with a set of initial RANSAC based locally fitted primitives, relations across the primitives such as orientation, placement, and equality are progressively learned and conformed to. In each stage, a set of feasible relations are extracted among the candidate relations, and then aligned to, while best fitting to the input data. The global coupling corrects the primitives obtained in the local RANSAC stage, and brings them to precise global alignment. We test the robustness of our algorithm on a range of synthesized and scanned data, with varying amounts of noise, outliers, and non-uniform sampling, and validate the results against ground truth, where available. © 2011 ACM.

Globfit: Consistently fitting primitives by discovering global relations

KAUST Repository

Li, Yangyan

2011-07-01

Given a noisy and incomplete point set, we introduce a method that simultaneously recovers a set of locally fitted primitives along with their global mutual relations. We operate under the assumption that the data corresponds to a man-made engineering object consisting of basic primitives, possibly repeated and globally aligned under common relations. We introduce an algorithm to directly couple the local and global aspects of the problem. The local fit of the model is determined by how well the inferred model agrees to the observed data, while the global relations are iteratively learned and enforced through a constrained optimization. Starting with a set of initial RANSAC based locally fitted primitives, relations across the primitives such as orientation, placement, and equality are progressively learned and conformed to. In each stage, a set of feasible relations are extracted among the candidate relations, and then aligned to, while best fitting to the input data. The global coupling corrects the primitives obtained in the local RANSAC stage, and brings them to precise global alignment. We test the robustness of our algorithm on a range of synthesized and scanned data, with varying amounts of noise, outliers, and non-uniform sampling, and validate the results against ground truth, where available. © 2011 ACM.

The Effect of Compost and the Ripe Fruit Waste of Fig on some Physical Properties of Surface Soil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

zahra dianat maharluei

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: In arid and semi-arid soils, low organic matter is one of the barriers to achieving optimal performance. The soils with more organic matter have a better structure and are more resistant to erosive factors such as water and wind. Soil organic matter has a particular importance and has significant impact on the stability of soil aggregates, the extension of plant root system, carbon and water cycles and soil resistance to erosion. This substance acts as a cementing agent and plays an important role in soil flocculation and formation of resistant aggregates.Also, the addition of organic matter to the soil increases soil porosity and decreases soil bulk density. Materials and Methods: In this research, the effect of the two types of organic matter (compost and the ripe fruit waste of fig on some soil physical properties was studied. A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design, including the four levels of compost and the ripe fruit waste of fig (0, 1, 2 and 4 by weight % and three soil types (loamy sand, loam and silty clay loam with three replications was carried out. The soil samples were collected from the three territories of Fars Province: loamy sand soil from Shiraz, loamy soil from Maharlu and Silty clay loam soil from Zarghan area. The soil samples were air dried and passed through a 2 mm sieve. The physical properties including the bulk density, particle density, porosity, moisture content and soil crust strength was measured. In this research, the soil texture by hydrometer method, Electrical conductivity of the soil saturated paste extract by electrical conductivity meter, saturated paste pH by pH meter, seedling emergence test, soil crust strength by a pocket penetrometer (HUMBOLDT MFG.CO. bulk density by cylindrical sample and particle density by pycnometer method were measured. The fig fruit treatments were prepared by thoroughly mixing the dried powder of ripe fig fruit passed through a 2 mm sieve (with

Motion Primitives and Probabilistic Edit Distance for Action Recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fihl, Preben; Holte, Michael Boelstoft; Moeslund, Thomas B.

2009-01-01

the actions as a sequence of temporal isolated instances, denoted primitives. These primitives are each defined by four features extracted from motion images. The primitives are recognized in each frame based on a trained classifier resulting in a sequence of primitives. From this sequence we recognize......The number of potential applications has made automatic recognition of human actions a very active research area. Different approaches have been followed based on trajectories through some state space. In this paper we also model an action as a trajectory through a state space, but we represent...... different temporal actions using a probabilistic Edit Distance method. The method is tested on different actions with and without noise and the results show recognition rates of 88.7% and 85.5%, respectively....

A mutli-technique search for the most primitive CO chondrites

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, C. M. O'D.; Greenwood, R. C.; Bowden, R.; Gibson, J. M.; Howard, K. T.; Franchi, I. A.

2018-01-01

As part of a study to identify the most primitive COs and to look for weakly altered CMs amongst the COs, we have conducted a multi-technique study of 16 Antarctic meteorites that had been classified as primitive COs. For this study, we have determined: (1) the bulk H, C and N abundances and isotopes, (2) bulk O isotopic compositions, (3) bulk modal mineralogies, and (4) for some selected samples the abundances and compositions of their insoluble organic matter (IOM). Two of the 16 meteorites do appear to be CMs - BUC 10943 seems to be a fairly typical CM, while MIL 090073 has probably been heated. Of the COs, DOM 08006 appears to be the most primitive CO identified to date and is quite distinct from the other members of its pairing group. The other COs fall into two groups that are less primitive than DOM 08006 and ALH 77307, the previously most primitive CO. The first group is composed of members of the DOM 08004 pairing group, except DOM 08006. The second group is composed of meteorites belonging to the MIL 03377 and MIL 07099 pairing groups. These two pairing groups should probably be combined. There is a dichotomy in the bulk O isotopes between the primitive (all Antarctic finds) and the more metamorphosed COs (mostly falls). This dichotomy can only partly be explained by the terrestrial weathering experienced by the primitive Antarctic samples. It seems that the more equilibrated samples interacted to a greater extent with 16O-poor material, probably water, than the more primitive meteorites.

Low temperature-induced lycopene degradaton in red ripe tomato evaluated by remittance spectroscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Farneti, B.; Schouten, R.E.; Woltering, E.J.

2012-01-01

Tomatoes are mostly harvested at the orange and red-ripe stages. A survey among consumers indicated that tomatoes are most often stored in the refrigerator well below 10 °C, a temperature considered harmful for chilling sensitive products such as tomato. Also during distribution, tomatoes may be

Frying performance of two virgin oils from Cornicabra olives with different ripeness indices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olivero-David, R.; Mena, C.; Sánchez-Muniz, F.J.; Pérez-Jiménez, M.A.; Holgado, F.; Bastida, S.; Velasco, J.

2017-01-01

The frying performance of two virgin olive oils (VOO) from Cornicabra olives of different ripeness indices, 2.08 for VOO1 and 4.13 for VOO2, was evaluated. Thermal, oxidative and hydrolytic alterations were determined throughout 40 frying operations with potatoes. The initial oils showed similar fatty acid compositions and oxidative stability indices as determined by Rancimat, but VOO1 presented higher amounts of total polyphenols and tocopherols. The oils showed high and similar frying performance. No significant differences in the levels of polar compounds (PC) were found between the two oils during frying. Therefore, the frying stability of Cornicabra VOOs appears to be unconnected with olive fruit ripeness. The limit of degradation at 25% PC as established in different countries was calculated to occur at 55 frying operations in the two oils. As oil toxicity is related to the levels of compounds formed, the use of Cornicabra VOOs for frying is highly recommended. [es

Volatile constituents of commercial imported and domestic black-ripe table olives (Olea europaea).

Science.gov (United States)

Sansone-Land, Angelina; Takeoka, Gary R; Shoemaker, Charles F

2014-04-15

Volatile constituents of commercial black-ripe table olives (Olea europaea) from the United States, Spain, Egypt and Morocco were analysed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Dynamic headspace sampling was used to isolate a variety of aldehydes, alcohols, esters, ketones, phenols, terpenes, norisoprenoids, and pyridines. Odour unit values, calculated from concentration and odour threshold data, indicate that the following compounds are major contributors to black-ripe table olive aroma: β-damascenone, nonanal, (E)-dec-2-enal, 3-methylbutanal, ethyl benzoate, octanal, 2-methoxyphenol, 2-methylbutanal and 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol. Imported olives contained a variety of fermentation derived volatiles that were not detected in domestic olives. Constituents such as ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl 3-methylbutanoate, 3-methylbutyl acetate, oct-1-en-3-one, ethyl hexanoate, (Z)-hex-3-enyl acetate, hexyl acetate, ethyl cyclohexanecarboxylate, benzyl acetate and 4-ethylphenol contributed to the odour of imported olives but were not detected in domestic olives. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Comet Dust: The Diversity of Primitive Particles and Implications

Science.gov (United States)

John Bradley; Zolensky, Michael E.

2016-01-01

Comet dust is primitive and shows significant diversity. Our knowledge of the properties of primitive particles has expanded significantly through microscale investigations of cosmic dust samples (IDPs and AMMs) and of comet dust samples (Stardust and Rosetta's COSIMA), as well as through remote sensing (spectroscopy and imaging) via Spitzer and via spacecraft encounters with 103P/Hartley 2 and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Microscale investigations show that comet dust and cosmic dust are particles of unequilibrated materials, including aggregates of materials unequilibrated at submicron scales. We call unequilibrated materials "primitive" and we deduce they were incorporated into ice-­-rich (H2O-, CO2-, and CO-ice) parent bodies that remained cold, i.e., into comets, because of the lack of aqueous or thermal alteration since particle aggregation; yet some Stardust olivines suggest mild thermal metamorphism. Primitive particles exhibit a diverse range of: structure and typology; size and size distribution of constituents; concentration and form of carbonaceous and organic matter; D-, N-, and O- isotopic enhancements over solar; Mg-, Fe-contentsof thesilicate minerals; the compositions and concentrations of sulfides, and of less abundant mineral species such as chondrules, CAIs and carbonates. The unifomity within a group of samples points to: aerodynamic sorting of particles and/or particle constituents; the inclusion of a limited range of oxygen fugacities; the inclusion or exclusion of chondrules; a selection of organics. The properites of primitive particles imply there were disk processes that resulted in different comets having particular selections of primitive materials. The diversity of primitive particles has implications for the diversity of materials in the protoplanetary disk present at the time and in the region where the comets formed.

Effect of 'oxygen and carbon-dioxide' on the post-harvest management in tree-ripe mango storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullah, H.; Ahmad, S.; Anwar, R.; Noor-un-Nisa; Nafees, M.; Thompson, A.K.

2010-01-01

There is an increasing niche market demand for tree-ripe mango fruit due to their pleasant level of sweetness and flavour than artificially ripened fruits. However, tree-ripe mango fruits normally have a short storage life therefore, some time these fruits can not be reached to the ultimate consumers and heavy losses occurred. To avoid this problem growers try to harvest the mangoes at early stage of maturity which directly affect the physico-chemical constituents of fruit. Research was carried out to investigate the Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage feasibility and optimum storage conditions for tree-ripe cv. Chaunsa mangoes in order to extend their shelf life without compromising their quality. Tree ripe mangoes were stored in 1, 3, or 5% O/sub 2/ combined with 3, 6, and 9 % CO/sub 2/ at 10 deg. C for two weeks and compared with those stored in 21% O/sub 2/ and 0% CO/sub 2/ as control. It was found that the rate of fruit weight loss decreased with an increase of CO/sub 2/ in the storage atmosphere. Higher acidity was found in the fruit which were stored at lower concentration of O/sub 2/ and higher concentration of CO/sub 2/ which might be due to the accumulation of higher concentration of CO/sub 2/ in the fruit tissues. CA storage showed better retention of Ascorbic acid but did not show any systematic trend regarding citric acid, tartaric acid and malic acid. Fruits stored under controlled atmosphere showed better retention of freshness, colour, firmness, total soluble solids and flavour in comparison with the fruit stored in air (control). Mangoes stored in 3% O/sub 2/ with 6% CO/sub 2/ were highly acceptable by the panellists due to their better sweetness, flavour as compared to others. (author

Retinoic acid signaling plays a restrictive role in zebrafish primitive myelopoiesis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong Liang

Full Text Available Retinoic acid (RA is known to regulate definitive myelopoiesis but its role in vertebrate primitive myelopoiesis remains unclear. Here we report that zebrafish primitive myelopoiesis is restricted by RA in a dose dependent manner mainly before 11 hpf (hours post fertilization when anterior hemangioblasts are initiated to form. RA treatment significantly reduces expressions of anterior hemangioblast markers scl, lmo2, gata2 and etsrp in the rostral end of ALPM (anterior lateral plate mesoderm of the embryos. The result indicates that RA restricts primitive myelopoiesis by suppressing formation of anterior hemangioblasts. Analyses of ALPM formation suggest that the defective primitive myelopoiesis resulting from RA treatment before late gastrulation may be secondary to global loss of cells for ALPM fate whereas the developmental defect resulting from RA treatment during 10-11 hpf should be due to ALPM patterning shift. Overexpressions of scl and lmo2 partially rescue the block of primitive myelopoiesis in the embryos treated with 250 nM RA during 10-11 hpf, suggesting RA acts upstream of scl to control primitive myelopoiesis. However, the RA treatment blocks the increased primitive myelopoiesis caused by overexpressing gata4/6 whereas the abolished primitive myelopoiesis in gata4/5/6 depleted embryos is well rescued by 4-diethylamino-benzaldehyde, a retinal dehydrogenase inhibitor, or partially rescued by knocking down aldh1a2, the major retinal dehydrogenase gene that is responsible for RA synthesis during early development. Consistently, overexpressing gata4/6 inhibits aldh1a2 expression whereas depleting gata4/5/6 increases aldh1a2 expression. The results reveal that RA signaling acts downstream of gata4/5/6 to control primitive myelopoiesis. But, 4-diethylamino-benzaldehyde fails to rescue the defective primitive myelopoiesis in either cloche embryos or lycat morphants. Taken together, our results demonstrate that RA signaling restricts

Survival of the primitive mantle reservoir?

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, S.; Jacobsen, S. B.; Mukhopadhyay, S.

2010-12-01

The high-3He lavas are thought to originate from a deep primitive mantle source that has not been much modified since the formation of Earth’s core. Comparison of 4He/3He in MORBs and plume lavas indicate that the plume sources must be a lower mantle feature, in agreement with most geophysical inferences. However, the lithophile element isotope systems of plume lavas are not primitive. The idea that the high-3He source is significantly less processed and more primitive than MORB source is clearly supported by mixing trends in plots of 4He/3He versus Sr, Nd and Pb isotope ratios, which have been extrapolated to an inferred 4He/3He of ~17,000 (~43x the atmospheric ratio), a mantle reservoir named PHEM (Primitive HElium Mantle). Slightly lower 4He/3He, ~15,000, were reported for Baffin Island picrites. Recently, Jackson et al. (2010) claimed that some Baffin Island and Greenland picrites with single-stage Pb model ages of ~4.5 Ga have low 4He/3He, and argued that “their source is the most ancient accessible reservoir in the Earth’s mantle, and it may be parental to all mantle reservoirs”. However, the available data are insufficient to make such a claim, and we suggest an alternative interpretation. Specially: 1. Four out of ten Baffin Island and Greenland picrites used by Jackson et al. (2010) have 4He/3He higher than average MORB value and all are far removed from the lowest measured value of 15,000. 2. Five Greenland picrites which cluster around the 4.50 Gyr geochron (Jackson et al., 2010) form a curved 207Pb*/206Pb*-4He/3He trend. This trend is best explained as a mixing line, implying that the single-stage Pb ages of these lavas are meaningless. 3. In a 207Pb*/206Pb*-4He/3He plot, Koolau lavas from Hawaii overlap with Baffin Island and Greenland picrites. If Baffin Island and Greenland picrites represent melts from the primitive mantle based on their Pb and He isotopes (Jackson et al., 2010), a similar argument can be applied to Koolau lavas. However, it

A requirement for FGF signalling in the formation of primitive streak-like intermediates from primitive ectoderm in culture.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiqiang Zheng

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Embryonic stem (ES cells hold considerable promise as a source of cells with therapeutic potential, including cells that can be used for drug screening and in cell replacement therapies. Differentiation of ES cells into the somatic lineages is a regulated process; before the promise of these cells can be realised robust and rational methods for directing differentiation into normal, functional and safe cells need to be developed. Previous in vivo studies have implicated fibroblast growth factor (FGF signalling in lineage specification from pluripotent cells. Although FGF signalling has been suggested as essential for specification of mesoderm and endoderm in vivo and in culture, the exact role of this pathway remains unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a culture model based on early primitive ectoderm-like (EPL cells we have investigated the role of FGF signalling in the specification of mesoderm. We were unable to demonstrate any mesoderm inductive capability associated with FGF1, 4 or 8 signalling, even when the factors were present at high concentrations, nor any enhancement in mesoderm formation induced by exogenous BMP4. Furthermore, there was no evidence of alteration of mesoderm sub-type formed with addition of FGF1, 4 or 8. Inhibition of endogenous FGF signalling, however, prevented mesoderm and favoured neural differentiation, suggesting FGF signalling was required but not sufficient for the differentiation of primitive ectoderm into primitive streak-like intermediates. The maintenance of ES cell/early epiblast pluripotent marker expression was also observed in cultures when FGF signalling was inhibited. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: FGF signalling has been shown to be required for the differentiation of primitive ectoderm to neurectoderm. This, coupled with our observations, suggest FGF signalling is required for differentiation of the primitive ectoderm into the germ lineages at gastrulation.

Modelling 3D spatial objects in a geo-DBMS using a 3D primitive

Science.gov (United States)

Arens, Călin; Stoter, Jantien; van Oosterom, Peter

2005-03-01

There is a growing interest in modelling the world in three dimensions, both in applications and in science. At the same time, geographical information systems are changing into integrated architecture in which administrative and spatial data are maintained in one environment. It is for this reason that mainstream Data Base Management Systems (DBMSs) have implemented spatial data types according to the 'Simple Feature Specifications for SQL', described by the OpenGeospatial Consortium. However, these specifications are 2D, as indeed are the implementations in DBMSs. At the Section GIS Technology of TU Delft, research has been carried out in which a 3D primitive was implemented in a DBMS (Oracle Spatial). To explore the possibilities and complications, a fairly simple 3D primitive was chosen to start with: a polyhedron. In the future the study will be extended with more complex primitives, the ultimate aim being to build 3D models with features closer to the real world. Besides the data structure, a validation function was developed to check the geometric accuracy of the data. Rules for validation were established and translated into prototype implementations with the aid of literature. In order to manipulate the data, a list of useful 3D functions was specified. Most of these were translated into algorithms, which were implemented in the DBMS. The algorithms for these functions were obtained from the relevant literature. The research also comprised a comparative performance test on spatial indexing in 2D and 3D, using an R-tree. Finally, existing software was used to visualize 3D objects structured with the implemented 3D primitive. This research is a first attempt to implement a true 3D primitive in a DBMS. Future research will focus on extending and improving the implementations and on optimizing maintenance and query of 3D objects in DBMSs.

Evaluating structural pattern recognition for handwritten math via primitive label graphs

Science.gov (United States)

Zanibbi, Richard; Mouchère, Harold; Viard-Gaudin, Christian

2013-01-01

Currently, structural pattern recognizer evaluations compare graphs of detected structure to target structures (i.e. ground truth) using recognition rates, recall and precision for object segmentation, classification and relationships. In document recognition, these target objects (e.g. symbols) are frequently comprised of multiple primitives (e.g. connected components, or strokes for online handwritten data), but current metrics do not characterize errors at the primitive level, from which object-level structure is obtained. Primitive label graphs are directed graphs defined over primitives and primitive pairs. We define new metrics obtained by Hamming distances over label graphs, which allow classification, segmentation and parsing errors to be characterized separately, or using a single measure. Recall and precision for detected objects may also be computed directly from label graphs. We illustrate the new metrics by comparing a new primitive-level evaluation to the symbol-level evaluation performed for the CROHME 2012 handwritten math recognition competition. A Python-based set of utilities for evaluating, visualizing and translating label graphs is publicly available.

Comet Dust: The Diversity of "Primitive" Particles and Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Wooden, Diane H.; Ishii, Hope A.; Bradley, John P.; Zolensky, Michael E.

2016-01-01

Comet dust is primitive and shows significant diversity. Our knowledge of the properties of primitive particles has expanded significantly through microscale investigations of cosmic dust samples ( IDP's(Interplanetary Dust Particles) and AMM's (Antarctic Micrometeorites)) and of comet dust samples (Stardust and Rosetta's COSIMA), as well as through remote sensing (spectroscopy and imaging) via Spitzer and via spacecraft encounters with 103P/Hartley 2 and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Microscale investigations show that comet dust and cosmic dust are particles of unequilibrated materials, including aggregates of materials unequilibrated at submicron scales. We call unequilibrated materials "primitive" and we deduce they were incorporated into ice-rich (H2O-, CO2-, and CO-ice) parent bodies that remained cold, i.e., into comets, because of the lack of aqueous or thermal alteration since particle aggregation; yet some Stardust olivines suggest mild thermal metamorphism. Primitive particles exhibit a diverse range of: structure and typology; size and size distribution of constituents; concentration and form of carbonaceous and organic matter; D-, N-, and O- isotopic enhancements over solar; Mg-, Fe-contents of the silicate minerals; the compositions and concentrations of sulfides, and of less abundant mineral species such as chondrules, CAIs and carbonates. The uniformity within a group of samples points to: aerodynamic sorting of particles and/or particle constituents; the inclusion of a limited range of oxygen fugacities; the inclusion or exclusion of chondrules; a selection of organics. The properties of primitive particles imply there were disk processes that resulted in different comets having particular selections of primitive materials. The diversity of primitive particles has implications for the diversity of materials in the protoplanetary disk present at the time and in the region where the comets formed.

Context of culture: Critique of the primitive mind

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Božilović Nikola

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The author of this paper has the intention to reach the new meaning and sense of the primitive mentality by analyzing it in early social communities. He also wants to point out the possible reflections of the spirit and consciousness of our ancestors on us, here and now. The first part of the paper is dedicated to a critical deliberation on anthropological conflicts which have arisen concerning the reasoning power of the so-called primitives. The crucial question lies in the following: Is the difference between the “primitive” and the “civilized” mentality fundamental or is it possible only to a certain degree. The author takes the notion of primitive mentality through time and points to the medieval understandings, which are occupied by teratological themes, then to the renaissance comprehension, which relies on the first experiential observations, and, finally, to the enlightenment ideas of exotic peoples out of which the myth of “the good savage” is born. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries introduce the notions of “people’s character” and “national spirit”. The opinions are polarized, on the one hand of ethnocentrism, carried by the prejudice of people and ethnic groups and, on the other hand, of cultural relativism, based on the understanding and appreciation of cultural differences. In the end, the author also recognizes the modern primitive man, one who is not ready to deal with the challenges of his age. The modern primitive recalls the spirits of the past, the surviving and anachronic models of behavior, unaware of the fact that these are the same models that he has ascribed to “savages”. However, while such thinking and acting was justified by the cultural level at which our ancestors had lived, the mental frame of the contemporary primitives is significantly in contrast with the high level of civilization development.

Action Recognition Using Motion Primitives and Probabilistic Edit Distance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fihl, Preben; Holte, Michael Boelstoft; Moeslund, Thomas B.

2006-01-01

In this paper we describe a recognition approach based on the notion of primitives. As opposed to recognizing actions based on temporal trajectories or temporal volumes, primitive-based recognition is based on representing a temporal sequence containing an action by only a few characteristic time...... into a string containing a sequence of symbols, each representing a primitives. After pruning the string a probabilistic Edit Distance classifier is applied to identify which action best describes the pruned string. The approach is evaluated on five one-arm gestures and the recognition rate is 91...

In vitro hypoglycemic effects of unripe and ripe fruits of Musa sapientum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Somnath Devidas Bhinge

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The present study was undertaken to verify the hypoglycemic potential of unripe and ripe fruit extracts of Musa sapientum by using various in-vitro techniques, namely glucose adsorption capacity, glucose diffusion, amylolysis kinetics and glucose transport across the yeast cells. The results revealed that the unripe and ripe fruit extracts of Musa sapientum adsorbed glucose and the adsorption of glucose increased remarkably with an increase in glucose concentration. There were no significant (p≤0.05 differences between their adsorption capacities. In the amylolysis kinetic experimental model the rate of glucose diffusion was found to be increased with time from 30 to 180 min and both extracts exhibited significant inhibitory effects on the movement of glucose into external solution across the dialysis membrane as compared to control. The plant extracts also promoted glucose uptake by the yeast cells and enhancement of glucose uptake was dependent on both the sample and glucose concentration. The hypoglycemic effect exhibited by the extracts was observed to be mediated by inhibiting α-amylase, inhibiting glucose diffusion by adsorbing glucose and by increasing glucose transport across the cell membranes as revealed by an in-vitro model of yeast cells.

Advances in Non-Destructive Early Assessment of Fruit Ripeness towards Defining Optimal Time of Harvest and Yield Prediction—A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Li

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Global food security for the increasing world population not only requires increased sustainable production of food but a significant reduction in pre- and post-harvest waste. The timing of when a fruit is harvested is critical for reducing waste along the supply chain and increasing fruit quality for consumers. The early in-field assessment of fruit ripeness and prediction of the harvest date and yield by non-destructive technologies have the potential to revolutionize farming practices and enable the consumer to eat the tastiest and freshest fruit possible. A variety of non-destructive techniques have been applied to estimate the ripeness or maturity but not all of them are applicable for in situ (field or glasshouse assessment. This review focuses on the non-destructive methods which are promising for, or have already been applied to, the pre-harvest in-field measurements including colorimetry, visible imaging, spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging. Machine learning and regression models used in assessing ripeness are also discussed.

On the Reduced Testing of a Primitive Element in ${\\\\mathbb Z}_n^\\\\times$

OpenAIRE

Suzuki, Hideo; スズキ, ヒデオ; Hideo, Suzuki

2015-01-01

The primitive roots in ${\\mathbb Z}_n^\\times$ are defined and exist iff $n = 2, 4, p^{\\alpha}, 2p^{\\alpha}$. Knuth gave the definition of the primitive roots in ${\\mathbb Z}_{p^\\alpha}^\\times$, and showed the necessary and sufficient condition for testing a primitive root in ${\\mathbb Z}_{p^\\alpha}^\\times$. In this paper we define the primitive elements in ${\\mathbb Z}_n^\\times$, which is a generalization of primitive roots, as elements that take the maximum multiplicative order.And we give t...

Ripe for Change: Garden-Based Learning in Schools. Harvard Education Letter Impact Series

Science.gov (United States)

Hirschi, Jane S.

2015-01-01

"Ripe for Change: Garden-Based Learning in Schools" takes a big-picture view of the school garden movement and the state of garden-based learning in public K--8 education. The book frames the garden movement for educators and shows how school gardens have the potential to be a significant resource for teaching and learning. In this…

MR imaging of persistent primitive trigeminal artery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashikaga, Ryuichiro; Araki, Yutaka; Ono, Yukihiko; Ishida, Osamu; Mabuchi, Nobuhisa.

1997-01-01

The persistent trigeminal artery is the most common anomaly of the primitive carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomoses. We reviewed MR images and MR angiographies of 11 patients with primitive trigeminal artery. In 8 of the 11 cases, PTA were identified with conventional long TR spin-echo images. In 8 of 11 cases, a hypoplastic basilar trunk associated with PTA was seen on both MR images and MR angiographies. In 7 of 11 cases, a hypoplasia or agenesis of the ipsilateral posterior communicating artery was seen on MR angiographies. (author)

Live imaging of primitive endoderm precursors in the mouse blastocyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Grabarek, Joanna B; Plusa, Berenika

2012-01-01

The separation of two populations of cells-primitive endoderm and epiblast-within the inner cell mass (ICM) of the mammalian blastocyst is a crucial event during preimplantation development. However, many aspects of this process are still not very well understood. Recently, the identification of platelet derived growth factor receptor alpha (Pdgfrα) as an early-expressed protein that is also a marker of the later primitive endoderm lineage, together with the availability of the Pdgfra(H2B-GFP) mouse strain (Hamilton et al. Mol Cell Biol 23:4013-4025, 2003), has made in vivo imaging of primitive endoderm formation possible. In this chapter we present two different approaches that can be used to follow the behavior of primitive endoderm cells within the mouse blastocyst in real time.

Indoor objects and outdoor urban scenes recognition by 3D visual primitives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fu, Junsheng; Kämäräinen, Joni-Kristian; Buch, Anders Glent

2014-01-01

, we propose an alternative appearance-driven approach which rst extracts 2D primitives justi ed by Marr's primal sketch, which are \\accumulated" over multiple views and the most stable ones are \\promoted" to 3D visual primitives. The 3D promoted primitives represent both structure and appearance...

Nucleation and condensation in the primitive solar nebula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cameron, A.G.W.; Fegley, M.B.

1982-01-01

It is pointed out that the primitive solar nebula may be modeled using the frictionally induced transport theory of Lynden-Bell and Pringle (1974) if the principal frictional mechanism within the nebula is turbulent viscosity. The present investigation is concerned with the construction of a model of a section of the primitive solar nebula as a basis for the study of nucleation and condensation processes within this section. The construction involves a relatively simple application of the Lynden-Bell and Pringle theory subject to steady mass flow conditions. The calculations which are conducted in connection with the investigation indicate that by the time the gas in the primitive solar nebula has become sufficiently supercooled to nucleate condensation centers, several different compounds, including the magnesium silicates forsterite and enstatite (MgSiO 3 ), will probably be able to condense on the growing condensation center

Accounting for primitive terms in mathematics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.F.M. Strauss

2005-07-01

Full Text Available The philosophical problem of unity and diversity entails a challenge to the rationalist aim to define everything. Definitions of this kind surface in various academic disciplines in formulations like uniqueness, irreducibility, and what has acquired the designation “primitive terms”. Not even the most “exact” disciplines, such as mathematics, can avoid the implications entailed in giving an account of such primitive terms. A mere look at the historical development of mathematics highlights the fact that alternative perspectives prevailed – from the arithmeticism of Pythagoreanism, the eventual geometrisation of mathematics after the discovery of incommensurability up to the revival of arithmeticism in the mathematics of Cauchy, Weierstrass, Dedekind and Cantor (with the later orientation of Frege, who completed the circle by returning to the view that mathematics essentially is geometry. An assessment of logicism and axiomatic formalism is followed by looking at the primitive meaning of wholeness (and the whole-parts relation. With reference to the views of Hilbert, Weyl and Bernays the article concludes by suggesting that in opposition to arithmeticism and geometricism an alternative option ought to be pursued – one in which both the uniqueness and mutual coherence between the aspects of number and space are acknowledged.

Classification of juices and fermented beverages made from unripe, ripe and senescent apples based on the aromatic profile using chemometrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Braga, Cíntia Maia; Zielinski, Acácio Antonio Ferreira; Silva, Karolline Marques da; de Souza, Frederico Koch Fernandes; Pietrowski, Giovana de Arruda Moura; Couto, Marcelo; Granato, Daniel; Wosiacki, Gilvan; Nogueira, Alessandro

2013-11-15

The aim of this study was to assess differences between apple juices and fermented apple beverages elaborated with fruits from different varieties and at different ripening stages in the aroma profile by using chemometrics. Ripening influenced the aroma composition of the apple juice and fermented apple. For all varieties, senescent fruits provided more aromatic fermented apple beverages. However, no significant difference was noticed in samples made of senescent or ripe fruits of the Lisgala variety. Regarding the juices, ripe Gala apple had the highest total aroma concentration. Ethanal was the major compound identified in all the samples, with values between 11.83mg/L (unripe Lisgala juice) and 81.05mg/L (ripe Gala juice). 3-Methyl-1-butanol was the major compound identified in the fermented juices. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were applied and classified the juices and fermented juices based on physicochemical and aroma profile, demonstrating their applicability as tools to monitor the quality of apple-based products. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of cluster thinning on vine photosynthesis, berry ripeness and flavonoid composition of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yu; He, Yan-Nan; Chen, Wei-Kai; He, Fei; Chen, Wu; Cai, Xiao-Dong; Duan, Chang-Qing; Wang, Jun

2018-05-15

Cluster thinning is a common practice for regulating vine yield and grape quality. The effects of cluster thinning on vine photosynthesis, berry ripeness and flavonoid composition of V. vinifera L. Cabernet Sauvignon were evaluated during two seasons. Half of the clusters were removed at pea-size and veraison relative to two controls, respectively. Both cluster thinning treatments significantly increased pruning weight and decreased yield. No effects of cluster thinning on berry growth, ripeness and flavonol composition were observed. Early cluster thinning decreased the photosynthetic rate at pea-size, but the effect diminished at post-veraison. Early cluster thinning significantly promoted the biosynthesis of anthocyanins but decreased the proportion of 3'5'-hydroxylated and acylated anthocyanins at veraison. Late cluster thinning decreased the proportions of 3'5'-hydroxylated and acylated anthocyanins. Additionally, Cluster thinning showed inconsistent effects on flavan-3-ol composition over the two seasons. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In search of a primitive ontology for relativistic quantum field theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lam, Vincent [University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

2014-07-01

There is a recently much discussed approach to the ontology of quantum mechanics according to which the theory is ultimately about entities in 3-dimensional space and their temporal evolution. Such an ontology postulating from the start matter localized in usual physical space or spacetime, by contrast to an abstract high-dimensional space such as the configuration space of wave function realism, is called primitive ontology in the recent literature on the topic and finds its roots in Bell's notion of local beables. The main motivation for a primitive ontology lies in its explanatory power: the primitive ontology allows for a direct account of the behaviour and properties of familiar macroscopic objects. In this context, it is natural to look for a primitive ontology for relativistic quantum field theory (RQFT). The aim of this talk is to critically discuss this interpretative move within RQFT, in particular with respect to the foundational issue of the existence of unitarily inequivalent representations. Indeed the proposed primitive ontologies for RQFT rely either on a Fock space representation or a wave functional representation, which are strictly speaking only unambiguously available for free systems in flat spacetime. As a consequence, it is argued that these primitive ontologies constitute only effective ontologies and are hardly satisfying as a fundamental ontology for RQFT.

From primitive identity to the non-individuality of quantum objects

Science.gov (United States)

Arenhart, Jonas Becker; Krause, Décio

2014-05-01

We consider the claim by Dorato and Morganti (Grades of individuality. A pluralistic view of identity in quantum mechanics and in the sciences. Philosophical Studies, 163 (2013) 591-610) that primitive individuality should be attributed to the entities dealt with by non-relativistic quantum mechanics. There are two central ingredients in the proposal: (i) in the case of non-relativistic quantum mechanics, individuality should be taken as a primitive notion and (ii) primitive individuality is naturalistically acceptable. We argue that, strictly understood, naturalism faces difficulties in helping to provide a theory with a unique principle of individuation. We also hold that even when taken in a loose sense, naturalism does not provide any sense in which one could hold that quantum mechanics endorses primitive individuality over non-individuality. Rather, we argue that non-individuality should be preferred based on the grounds that such a view fits better the claims of the theory.

The first trimester human placenta is a site for terminal maturation of primitive erythroid cells

OpenAIRE

Van Handel, Ben; Prashad, Sacha L.; Hassanzadeh-Kiabi, Nargess; Huang, Andy; Magnusson, Mattias; Atanassova, Boriana; Chen, Angela; Hamalainen, Eija I.; Mikkola, Hanna K. A.

2010-01-01

Embryonic hematopoiesis starts via the generation of primitive red blood cells (RBCs) that satisfy the embryo's immediate oxygen needs. Although primitive RBCs were thought to retain their nuclei, recent studies have shown that primitive RBCs in mice enucleate in the fetal liver. It has been unknown whether human primitive RBCs enucleate, and what hematopoietic site might support this process. Our data indicate that the terminal maturation and enucleation of human primitive RBCs occurs in fir...

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the cervix: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boroujeni Parisa

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the cervix uteri is extremely rare. Between 1987 and 2010, there were only nine cases reported in the English literature, with considerably different management policies. Case presentation A 45-year-old Iranian woman presented to our facility with a primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the cervix uteri. Her clinical stage IB2 tumor was treated successfully with chemotherapy. Our patient underwent radical hysterectomy. There was no trace of the tumor after four years of follow-up. Conclusions According to current knowledge, primitive neuroectodermal tumors belong to the Ewing's sarcoma family, and the improvement of treatment outcome in our patient was due to dose-intensive neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery and consolidation chemotherapy in accordance with the protocol for bony Ewing's sarcoma.

Hard Spheres on the Primitive Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Dotera, Tomonari; Takahashi, Yusuke

2015-03-01

Recently hierarchical structures associated with the gyroid in several soft-matter systems have been reported. One of fundamental questions is regular arrangement or tiling on minimal surfaces. We have found certain numbers of hard spheres per unit cell on the gyroid surface are entropically self-organized. Here, new results for the primitive surface are presented. 56/64/72 per unit cell on the primitive minimal surface are entropically self-organized. Numerical evidences for the fluid-solid transition as a function of hard sphere radius are obtained in terms of the acceptance ratio of Monte Carlo moves and order parameters. These arrangements, which are the extensions of the hexagonal arrangement on a flat surface, can be viewed as hyperbolic tiling on the Poincaré disk with a negative Gaussian curvature.

The CHY representation of tree-level primitive QCD amplitudes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cruz, Leonardo de la; Kniss, Alexander; Weinzierl, Stefan

2015-01-01

In this paper we construct a CHY representation for all tree-level primitive QCD amplitudes. The quarks may be massless or massive. We define a generalised cyclic factor Ĉ(w,z) and a generalised permutation invariant function Ê(z,p,ε). The amplitude is then given as a contour integral encircling the solutions of the scattering equations with the product ĈÊ as integrand. Equivalently, it is given as a sum over the inequivalent solutions of the scattering equations, where the summand consists of a Jacobian times the product ĈÊ. This representation separates information: The generalised cyclic factor does not depend on the helicities of the external particles, the generalised permutation invariant function does not depend on the ordering of the external particles.

Handling of ‘Tommy Atkins’ mango (Mangifera indica L.) for ripe and ready to eat markets

Science.gov (United States)

Recently, demand for ripe and ready to eat mango (RRTEM) has increased, offering an interesting possibility for Mexican producers because of geographic closeness from the production sites to the USA markets. The objectives were to determine the optimum fruit ripening stage at harvest and to delimit ...

Achieving Performance Speed-up in FPGA Based Bit-Parallel Multipliers using Embedded Primitive and Macro support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burhan Khurshid

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Modern Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA are fast moving into the consumer market and their domain has expanded from prototype designing to low and medium volume productions. FPGAs are proving to be an attractive replacement for Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC primarily because of the low Non-recurring Engineering (NRE costs associated with FPGA platforms. This has prompted FPGA vendors to improve the capacity and flexibility of the underlying primitive fabric and include specialized macro support and intellectual property (IP cores in their offerings. However, most of the work related to FPGA implementations does not take full advantage of these offerings. This is primarily because designers rely mainly on the technology-independent optimization to enhance the performance of the system and completely neglect the speed-up that is achievable using these embedded primitives and macro support. In this paper, we consider the technology-dependent optimization of fixed-point bit-parallel multipliers by carrying out their implementations using embedded primitives and macro support that are inherent in modern day FPGAs. Our implementation targets three different FPGA families viz. Spartan-6, Virtex-4 and Virtex-5. The implementation results indicate that a considerable speed up in performance is achievable using these embedded FPGA resources.

Compositional studies of primitive asteroids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilas, F.

1988-01-01

The composition of primitive asteroids and their relationship to satellites in the solar system will be studied by analyzing existing narrowband charge coupled device (CCD) reflectance spectra, acquiring additional spectra of asteroids and small satellites in the 0.5 to 1.0 micrometer spectral range, and exploring possibilities for obtaining compositional information in the blue-UV spectral region. Comparison with laboratory spectra of terrestrial chlorites and serpentines (phyllosilicates) and the clay minerals found in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites will continue. During 1987, narrowband CCD reflectance spectra of 17 additional asteroids were acquired. These spectra and spectra of 34 other asteroids have been used primarily for two studies: weak absorption features similar to those due to Fe2(+) and Fe2(+) - Fe3(+) transitions in iron oxides f ound in terrestrial chlorites and serpentines and carbonaceous chondrites have been identified in some primitive asteroid spectra. There is a first indication that asteroids grouped by heliocentric distance show similar weak absorption features. Nonparametric statistics are being applied to test the hypothesis of discrete remnants of a gradation in composition of outer-belt asteroids

[Cranial trepanation in primitive cultures].

Science.gov (United States)

González-Darder, José Manuel

A review is presented on cranial trepanations performed by primitive cultures. The scientific interest in this topic began after the discovery in 1965 by Ephraim G. Squier of a pre-Columbian trepanated skull, and studied by Paul Broca in Paris. Pseudotrepanation and other types of cranial manipulation are reviewed. The techniques, technology, and instruments for every type of trepanation are well known. There are a surprisingly high percentage of cases showing signs of post-trepanation survival. Indications for trepanation are speculative, perhaps magic. Although trepanation in primitive cultures is widespread around the world, and throughout time, the main fields of interest are the Neolithic Period in Europe, the pre-Columbian Period in Andean South America, and some contemporaneous Pacific and African tribes. This particular trepanation procedure has no relationship with modern Neurosurgery, or with trepanations with therapeutic purposes performed since the Greco-Roman period in Europe, and afterwards around the world. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Neurocirugía. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Breast metastases primitive extra mammary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terzieff, V.; Vázquez, A.; Alonso, I.; Sabini, G.

2004-01-01

Less than 3% of all breast cancers originate from a primitive extra mammary. In 40% of cases it is the first manifestation of the primitive properly studied but 80% are associated with widely disseminated disease. It typically presents as a nodule on external quadrant s painful in half the cases. The majority (60%) of metastases derived from breast contralateral breast tumors are believed to via the lymphatic system. of the ; extra mammary the most common tumors are melanoma; hematologic and neuroendocrine. Although some imaging characteristics can guide diagnosis is histological. Cytology has good performance in experienced hands; but up to 25% of cases there may be difficulty in establishing diagnosis. Treatment depends on the type of tumor. Mastectomy should not be practiced or axillary clearance routine as is generally the context of disease disseminated. Radiation therapy may be useful for local control. It has been proposed laser ablation but no experience with it. The overall prognosis is bad. For a man of 45 with a breast metastasis occurs only a clear cell carcinoma of the kidney

Evolution of Computational Toxicology-from Primitive ...

Science.gov (United States)

Presentation at the Health Canada seminar in Ottawa, ON, Canada on Nov. 15. 2016 Presentation at the Health Canada seminar in Ottawa, ON, Canada on Nov. 15. 2016 on the Evolution of Computational Toxicology-from Primitive Beginnings to Sophisticated Application

Visually suboptimal bananas: How ripeness affects consumer expectation and perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Symmank, Claudia; Zahn, Susann; Rohm, Harald

2018-01-01

One reason for the significant amount of food that is wasted in developed countries is that consumers often expect visually suboptimal food as being less palatable. Using bananas as example, the objective of this study was to determine how appearance affects consumer overall liking, the rating of sensory attributes, purchase intention, and the intended use of bananas. The ripeness degree (RD) of the samples was adjusted to RD 5 (control) and RD 7 (more ripened, visually suboptimal). After preliminary experiments, a total of 233 participants were asked to judge their satisfaction with the intensity of sensory attributes that referred to flavor, taste, and texture using just-about-right scales. Subjects who received peeled samples were asked after tasting, whereas subjects who received unpeeled bananas judged expectation and, after peeling and tasting, perception. Expected overall liking and purchase intention were significantly lower for RD 7 bananas. Purchase intention was still significantly different between RD 5 and RD 7 after tasting, whereas no difference in overall liking was observed. Significant differences between RD 5 and RD 7 were observed when asking participants for their intended use of the bananas. Concerning the sensory attributes, penalty analysis revealed that only the firmness of the RD 7 bananas was still not just-about-right after tasting. The importance that consumers attribute to the shelf-life of food had a pronounced impact on purchase intention of bananas with different ripeness degree. In the case of suboptimal bananas, the results demonstrate a positive relationship between the sensory perception and overall liking and purchase intention. Convincing consumers that visually suboptimal food is still tasty is of high relevance for recommending different ways of communication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemistry of primitive solar material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barshay, S.S.; Lewis, J.S.

1976-01-01

The chemical processes that occurred in the cooler, outer regions of the primitive solar nebula at the time of intimate chemical contact between preplanetary condensate and nebular gas constitute the subject matter of this review. Condensation models are described and tested against the observed properties of the planets, their satellites, and the asteroids. 6 figs., 2 tables, 48 refs

Testing of a simplified LED based vis/NIR system for rapid ripeness evaluation of white grape (Vitis vinifera L.) for Franciacorta wine.

Science.gov (United States)

Giovenzana, Valentina; Civelli, Raffaele; Beghi, Roberto; Oberti, Roberto; Guidetti, Riccardo

2015-11-01

The aim of this work was to test a simplified optical prototype for a rapid estimation of the ripening parameters of white grape for Franciacorta wine directly in field. Spectral acquisition based on reflectance at four wavelengths (630, 690, 750 and 850 nm) was proposed. The integration of a simple processing algorithm in the microcontroller software would allow to visualize real time values of spectral reflectance. Non-destructive analyses were carried out on 95 grape bunches for a total of 475 berries. Samplings were performed weekly during the last ripening stages. Optical measurements were carried out both using the simplified system and a portable commercial vis/NIR spectrophotometer, as reference instrument for performance comparison. Chemometric analyses were performed in order to extract the maximum useful information from optical data. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for a preliminary evaluation of the data. Correlations between the optical data matrix and ripening parameters (total soluble solids content, SSC; titratable acidity, TA) were carried out using partial least square (PLS) regression for spectra and using multiple linear regression (MLR) for data from the simplified device. Classification analysis were also performed with the aim of discriminate ripe and unripe samples. PCA, MLR and classification analyses show the effectiveness of the simplified system in separating samples among different sampling dates and in discriminating ripe from unripe samples. Finally, simple equations for SSC and TA prediction were calculated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The first trimester human placenta is a site for terminal maturation of primitive erythroid cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Handel, Ben; Prashad, Sacha L; Hassanzadeh-Kiabi, Nargess; Huang, Andy; Magnusson, Mattias; Atanassova, Boriana; Chen, Angela; Hamalainen, Eija I; Mikkola, Hanna K A

2010-10-28

Embryonic hematopoiesis starts via the generation of primitive red blood cells (RBCs) that satisfy the embryo's immediate oxygen needs. Although primitive RBCs were thought to retain their nuclei, recent studies have shown that primitive RBCs in mice enucleate in the fetal liver. It has been unknown whether human primitive RBCs enucleate, and what hematopoietic site might support this process. Our data indicate that the terminal maturation and enucleation of human primitive RBCs occurs in first trimester placental villi. Extravascular ζ-globin(+) primitive erythroid cells were found in placental villi between 5-7 weeks of development, at which time the frequency of enucleated RBCs was higher in the villous stroma than in circulation. RBC enucleation was further evidenced by the presence of primitive reticulocytes and pyrenocytes (ejected RBC nuclei) in the placenta. Extravascular RBCs were found to associate with placental macrophages, which contained ingested nuclei. Clonogenic macrophage progenitors of fetal origin were present in the chorionic plate of the placenta before the onset of fetoplacental circulation, after which macrophages had migrated to the villi. These findings indicate that placental macrophages may assist the enucleation process of primitive RBCs in placental villi, implying an unexpectedly broad role for the placenta in embryonic hematopoiesis.

Spatiotemporal mechanical variation reveals critical role for rho kinase during primitive streak morphogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Henkels, Julia; Oh, Jaeho; Xu, Wenwei; Owen, Drew; Sulchek, Todd; Zamir, Evan

2013-02-01

Large-scale morphogenetic movements during early embryo development are driven by complex changes in biochemical and biophysical factors. Current models for amniote primitive streak morphogenesis and gastrulation take into account numerous genetic pathways but largely ignore the role of mechanical forces. Here, we used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to obtain for the first time precise biomechanical properties of the early avian embryo. Our data reveal that the primitive streak is significantly stiffer than neighboring regions of the epiblast, and that it is stiffer than the pre-primitive streak epiblast. To test our hypothesis that these changes in mechanical properties are due to a localized increase of actomyosin contractility, we inhibited actomyosin contractility via the Rho kinase (ROCK) pathway using the small-molecule inhibitor Y-27632. Our results using several different assays show the following: (1) primitive streak formation was blocked; (2) the time-dependent increase in primitive streak stiffness was abolished; and (3) convergence of epiblast cells to the midline was inhibited. Taken together, our data suggest that actomyosin contractility is necessary for primitive streak morphogenesis, and specifically, ROCK plays a critical role. To better understand the underlying mechanisms of this fundamental process, future models should account for the findings presented in this study.

Peripheral Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor of the Stomach: A Case Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Woon Ju; Cho, June Sik; Shin, Kyung Sook; Jeong, Hyung Yong; Noh; Seung Moo; Song, Kyu Sang

2010-01-01

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors (peripheral PNETs) are very rare and highly aggressive soft tissue malignancies originating from the neural crest. To the best of our knowledge, only a few cases of peripheral PNETs of the stomach have been reported in the literature. We report a case of large peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the stomach with MDCT findings in a 22-year-old man presenting epigastric pain and vomiting

Discovery of Intrinsic Primitives on Triangle Meshes

KAUST Repository

Solomon, Justin; Ben-Chen, Mirela; Butscher, Adrian; Guibas, Leonidas

2011-01-01

The discovery of meaningful parts of a shape is required for many geometry processing applications, such as parameterization, shape correspondence, and animation. It is natural to consider primitives such as spheres, cylinders and cones

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RTOS AND PRIMITIVE INTERRUPT IN EMBEDDED SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwi Purnomo

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Multitasking is one of the most challenging issues in the automation industry which is highly depended on the embedded system. There are two methods to perform multitasking in embedded system: RTOS and primitive interrupt. The main purpose of this research is to compare the performance of R¬TOS with primitive method while concurrently undertaking multiple tasks. The system, which is able to perform various tasks, has been built to evaluate the performance of both methods. There are four tasks introduced in the system: servo task, sensor task, LED task, and LCD task. The performance of each method is indicated by the success rate of the sensor task detection. Sensor task detection will be compared with the true value which is calculated and measured manually during observation time. Observation time was varied after several iterations and the data of the iteration are recorded for both RTOS and primitive interrupt methods. The results of the conducted experiments have shown that, RTOS is more accurate than interrupt method. However, the data variance of the primitive interrupt method is narrower than RTOS. Therefore, to choose a better method, an optimization is needed to be done and each product has its own standard.

Une tumeur neuroectodermique primitive périphérique à localisation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Les tumeurs neuro-ectodermiques primitives ou sarcome d'Ewing sont classiquement des néoplasmes se développant aux dépends des tissus mous et des os. Les tumeurs neuro-ectodermiques primitives gastriques (pPNETs) sont extrêmement rares. Nous nous proposons, à travers le cas d'un patient, opéré pour une ...

Cryptographic Primitives with Quasigroup Transformations

OpenAIRE

Mileva, Aleksandra

2010-01-01

Cryptology is the science of secret communication, which consists of two complementary disciplines: cryptography and cryptanalysis. Cryptography is dealing with design and development of new primitives, algorithms and schemas for data enciphering and deciphering. For many centuries cryptographic technics have been applied in protection of secrecy and authentication in diplomatic, political and military correspondences and communications. Cryptanalysis is dealing with different attacks on c...

Intrapartum synthetic oxytocin reduce the expression of primitive reflexes associated with breastfeeding.

Science.gov (United States)

Marín Gabriel, Miguel A; Olza Fernández, Ibone; Malalana Martínez, Ana M; González Armengod, Carmen; Costarelli, Valeria; Millán Santos, Isabel; Fernández-Cañadas Morillo, Aurora; Pérez Riveiro, Pilar; López Sánchez, Francisco; García Murillo, Lourdes

2015-05-01

Several synthetic peptide manipulations during the time surrounding birth can alter the specific neurohormonal status in the newborn brain. This study is aimed at assessing whether intrapartum oxytocin administration has any effect on primitive neonatal reflexes and determining whether such an effect is dose-dependent. A cohort prospective study was conducted at a tertiary hospital. Mother-infant dyads who received intrapartum oxytocin (n=53) were compared with mother-infant dyads who did not receive intrapartum oxytocin (n=45). Primitive neonatal reflexes (endogenous, antigravity, motor, and rhythmic reflexes) were quantified by analyzing videotaped breastfeeding sessions in a biological nurturing position. Two observers blind to the group assignment and the oxytocin dose analyzed the videotapes and assesed the newborn's state of consciousness according to the Brazelton scale. The release of all rhythmic reflexes (p=0.01), the antigravity reflex (p=0.04), and total primitive neonatal reflexes (p=0.02) in the group exposed to oxytocin was lower than in the group not exposed to oxytocin. No correlations were observed between the dose of oxytocin administered and the percentage of primitive neonatal reflexes released (r=0.03; p=0.82). Intrapartum oxytocin administration might inhibit the expression of several primitive neonatal reflexes associated with breastfeeding. This correlation does not seem to be dose-dependent.

High water content in primitive continental flood basalts.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Qun-Ke; Bi, Yao; Li, Pei; Tian, Wei; Wei, Xun; Chen, Han-Lin

2016-05-04

As the main constituent of large igneous provinces, the generation of continental flood basalts (CFB) that are characterized by huge eruption volume (>10(5) km(3)) within short time span (primitive CFB in the early Permian Tarim large igneous province (NW China), using the H2O content of ten early-formed clinopyroxene (cpx) crystals that recorded the composition of the primitive Tarim basaltic melts and the partition coefficient of H2O between cpx and basaltic melt. The arc-like H2O content (4.82 ± 1.00 wt.%) provides the first clear evidence that H2O plays an important role in the generation of CFB.

Primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy in a preterm infant.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Joseph; Lara-Corrales, Irene; Cammisuli, Salvatore; Somers, Gino R; Pope, Elena

2010-01-01

Primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy is a recently recognized entity that has been added to the differential diagnosis of myxoid tumors of the soft tissue. Few cases have been reported of this entity in the literature, but none presenting in a preterm infant. We present the case and clinical course of a preterm boy with a primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy that occurred following excision of a congenital juvenile xanthogranuloma. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the orbit in a 5-year-old girl with microphthalmia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alyahya, Ghassan Ayish Jabur; Heegaard, Steffen; Fledelius, Hans C.

2000-01-01

ophthalmology, primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), Ewing's sarcoma, small round-cell tumors, retinoblastoma, medulloepithelioma, microphthalmia, orbitotomy......ophthalmology, primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), Ewing's sarcoma, small round-cell tumors, retinoblastoma, medulloepithelioma, microphthalmia, orbitotomy...

Driving Style Analysis Using Primitive Driving Patterns With Bayesian Nonparametric Approaches

OpenAIRE

Wang, Wenshuo; Xi, Junqiang; Zhao, Ding

2017-01-01

Analysis and recognition of driving styles are profoundly important to intelligent transportation and vehicle calibration. This paper presents a novel driving style analysis framework using the primitive driving patterns learned from naturalistic driving data. In order to achieve this, first, a Bayesian nonparametric learning method based on a hidden semi-Markov model (HSMM) is introduced to extract primitive driving patterns from time series driving data without prior knowledge of the number...

A mutli-technique search for the most primitive CO chondrites

OpenAIRE

Alexander, C.M.O'D.; Greenwood, R.C.; Bowden, R.; Gibson, J.M.; Howard, K.T.; Franchi, I.A.

2018-01-01

As part of a study to identify the most primitive COs and to look for weakly altered CMs amongst the COs, we have conducted a multi-technique study of 16 Antarctic meteorites that had been classified as primitive COs. For this study, we have determined: (1) the bulk H, C and N abundances and isotopes, (2) bulk O isotopic compositions, (3) bulk modal mineralogies, and (4) for some selected samples the abundances and compositions of their insoluble organic matter (IOM). Two of the 16 meteorites...

Caavuranamide, a novel steroidal alkaloid from the ripe fruits of Solanum caavurana Vell. (Solanaceae)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaz, Nelissa Pacheco; Santos, Erica L.; Marques, Francisco A.; Maia, Beatriz H.L.N. Sales, E-mail: noronha@ufpr.br [Departamento de Quimica, Universidade Federal do Parana, Centro Politecnico, Curitiba, PR (Brazil); Costa, Emmanoel V. [Departamento de Quimica, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Sao Cristovao, SE (Brazil); Mikich, Sandra Bos [Laboratorio de Ecologia, Embrapa Florestas, Colombo, PR (Brazil); Braga, Raquel M. [Instituto de Quimica, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil); Delarmelina, Camila; Duarte, Marta C.T. [Divisao de Microbiologia, Centro Pluridisciplinar de Pesquisas Quimicas Biologicas e Agricolas (CPQBA), Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil); Duarte, Marta C.T.; Ruiz, Ana Lucia T.G.; Souza, Vanessa H.S.; Carvalho, Joao E. de [Divisa de Farmacologia e Toxicologia, Centro Pluridisciplinar de Pesquisas Quimicas Biologicas e Agricolas (CPQBA), Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil)

2012-07-01

Phytochemical investigation of the ripe fruits of Solanum caavurana Vell. (Solanaceae) afforded a novel steroidal alkaloid with spirosolane-type skeleton, named as caavuranamide, together with the alkaloids 4-tomatiden-3-one and 5{alpha}-tomatidan-3-one. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. The antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities for the ethanolic extract, sub-fractions obtained from partition and acid-base treatment were also evaluated. Caavuranamide showed antibacterial activity similar to the chloramphenicol positive control against Rhodococcus equi. (author)

Caavuranamide, a novel steroidal alkaloid from the ripe fruits of Solanum caavurana Vell. (Solanaceae)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaz, Nelissa Pacheco; Santos, Erica L.; Marques, Francisco A.; Maia, Beatriz H.L.N. Sales; Costa, Emmanoel V.; Mikich, Sandra Bos; Braga, Raquel M.; Delarmelina, Camila; Duarte, Marta C.T.; Duarte, Marta C.T.; Ruiz, Ana Lucia T.G.; Souza, Vanessa H.S.; Carvalho, Joao E. de

2012-01-01

Phytochemical investigation of the ripe fruits of Solanum caavurana Vell. (Solanaceae) afforded a novel steroidal alkaloid with spirosolane-type skeleton, named as caavuranamide, together with the alkaloids 4-tomatiden-3-one and 5α-tomatidan-3-one. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. The antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities for the ethanolic extract, sub-fractions obtained from partition and acid-base treatment were also evaluated. Caavuranamide showed antibacterial activity similar to the chloramphenicol positive control against Rhodococcus equi. (author)

Growth and sedimentation of dust grains in the primitive solar nebular

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battaglia, A.

1987-01-01

Formation of the planets in the solar system is envisioned to occur via a gravitational instability in a thin layer of dust located at the midplane of the primitive solar nebula. The break-up of the dust layer gives rise to seed plants (planetesimals) that, through successive collisions, eventually form the present-day planets. This thesis addresses the problem of the formation of the dust layer, beginning with a configuration in which the dust particles are uniformly mixed with the nebula's turbulent gas. To describe the properties of turbulence in the primitive solar nebula, models by Canuto et al. (1987) and by Cabot et al. (1987) are used. The available results concerning calculation of the velocity of particles embedded in a turbulent fluid were found to be unsatisfactory; therefore, a new formalism was developed to express the latter quantity in terms of the properties of the turbulence in the fluid. Following the space-time evolution of the grains, formalism was developed that simulates the simultaneous processes of collisions and sedimentation of the dust grains in the primitive solar nebula. It is concluded that, for the model of the primitive solar nebula considered, the formation of a dust layer at midplane is very unlikely

SPANISH PEAKS PRIMITIVE AREA, MONTANA.

Science.gov (United States)

Calkins, James A.; Pattee, Eldon C.

1984-01-01

A mineral survey of the Spanish Peaks Primitive Area, Montana, disclosed a small low-grade deposit of demonstrated chromite and asbestos resources. The chances for discovery of additional chrome resources are uncertain and the area has little promise for the occurrence of other mineral or energy resources. A reevaluation, sampling at depth, and testing for possible extensions of the Table Mountain asbestos and chromium deposit should be undertaken in the light of recent interpretations regarding its geologic setting.

Oil palm fresh fruit bunch ripeness classification based on rule- based expert system of ROI image processing technique results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfatni, M S M; Shariff, A R M; Marhaban, M H; Shafie, S B; Saaed, O M B; Abdullah, M Z; BAmiruddin, M D

2014-01-01

There is a processing need for a fast, easy and accurate classification system for oil palm fruit ripeness. Such a system will be invaluable to farmers and plantation managers who need to sell their oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) for the mill as this will avoid disputes. In this paper,a new approach was developed under the name of expert rules-based systembased on the image processing techniques results of thethree different oil palm FFB region of interests (ROIs), namely; ROI1 (300x300 pixels), ROI2 (50x50 pixels) and ROI3 (100x100 pixels). The results show that the best rule-based ROIs for statistical colour feature extraction with k-nearest neighbors (KNN) classifier at 94% were chosen as well as the ROIs that indicated results higher than the rule-based outcome, such as the ROIs of statistical colour feature extraction with artificial neural network (ANN) classifier at 94%, were selected for further FFB ripeness inspection system

Interaction à deux joueurs en informatique quantique : primitives cryptographiques et complexité en requêtes

OpenAIRE

Magnin , Loïck

2011-01-01

This dissertation studies two different aspects of two-player interaction in the model of quantum communication and quantum computation.First, we study two cryptographic primitives, that are used as basic blocks to construct sophisticated cryptographic protocols between two players, e.g. identification protocols.The first primitive is ``quantum bit commitment''. This primitive cannot be done in an unconditionally secure way. However, security can be obtained by restraining the power of the tw...

Search for Primitive Matter in the Solar System

Science.gov (United States)

Libourel, G.; Michel, P.; Delbo, M.; Ganino, C.; Recio-Blanco, A.; de Laverny, P.; Zolensky, M. E.; Krot, A. N.

2017-01-01

Recent astronomical observations and theoretical modeling led to a consensus regarding the global scenario of the formation of young stellar objects (YSO) from a cold molecular cloud of interstellar dust (organics and minerals) and gas that, in some cases, leads to the formation of a planetary system. In the case of our Solar System, which has already evolved for approximately 4567 Ma, the quest is to access, through the investigation of planets, moons, cometary and asteroidal bodies, meteorites, micrometeorites, and interplanetary dust particles, the primitive material that contains the key information about the early Solar System processes and its evolution. However, laboratory analyses of extraterrestrial samples, astronomical observations and dynamical models of the Solar System evolution have not brought yet any conclusive evidence on the nature and location of primitive matter in the Solar System, preventing a clear understanding of its early stages.

Melville and the Tradition of Primitive Utopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Beauchamp, Gorman

1981-01-01

Discusses the relationships among the myth of the Golden Age, the concept of the Noble Savage, and the dream of Utopia. Uses Lewis Mumford's division of utopias into two basic types, i.e., reconstruction and escape utopias, to examine Herman Melville's "Typee" as an example of the primitive escapist utopia. (Editor/DMM)

Efficient Synchronization Primitives for GPUs

OpenAIRE

Stuart, Jeff A.; Owens, John D.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we revisit the design of synchronization primitives---specifically barriers, mutexes, and semaphores---and how they apply to the GPU. Previous implementations are insufficient due to the discrepancies in hardware and programming model of the GPU and CPU. We create new implementations in CUDA and analyze the performance of spinning on the GPU, as well as a method of sleeping on the GPU, by running a set of memory-system benchmarks on two of the most common GPUs in use, the Tesla...

New hybrid voxelized/analytical primitive in Monte Carlo simulations for medical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bert, Julien; Lemaréchal, Yannick; Visvikis, Dimitris

2016-01-01

Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) applied in particle physics play a key role in medical imaging and particle therapy. In such simulations, particles are transported through voxelized phantoms derived from predominantly patient CT images. However, such voxelized object representation limits the incorporation of fine elements, such as artificial implants from CAD modeling or anatomical and functional details extracted from other imaging modalities. In this work we propose a new hYbrid Voxelized/ANalytical primitive (YVAN) that combines both voxelized and analytical object descriptions within the same MCS, without the need to simultaneously run two parallel simulations, which is the current gold standard methodology. Given that YVAN is simply a new primitive object, it does not require any modifications on the underlying MC navigation code. The new proposed primitive was assessed through a first simple MCS. Results from the YVAN primitive were compared against an MCS using a pure analytical geometry and the layer mass geometry concept. A perfect agreement was found between these simulations, leading to the conclusion that the new hybrid primitive is able to accurately and efficiently handle phantoms defined by a mixture of voxelized and analytical objects. In addition, two application-based evaluation studies in coronary angiography and intra-operative radiotherapy showed that the use of YVAN was 6.5% and 12.2% faster than the layered mass geometry method, respectively, without any associated loss of accuracy. However, the simplification advantages and differences in computational time improvements obtained with YVAN depend on the relative proportion of the analytical and voxelized structures used in the simulation as well as the size and number of triangles used in the description of the analytical object meshes. (paper)

New hybrid voxelized/analytical primitive in Monte Carlo simulations for medical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bert, Julien; Lemaréchal, Yannick; Visvikis, Dimitris

2016-05-07

Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) applied in particle physics play a key role in medical imaging and particle therapy. In such simulations, particles are transported through voxelized phantoms derived from predominantly patient CT images. However, such voxelized object representation limits the incorporation of fine elements, such as artificial implants from CAD modeling or anatomical and functional details extracted from other imaging modalities. In this work we propose a new hYbrid Voxelized/ANalytical primitive (YVAN) that combines both voxelized and analytical object descriptions within the same MCS, without the need to simultaneously run two parallel simulations, which is the current gold standard methodology. Given that YVAN is simply a new primitive object, it does not require any modifications on the underlying MC navigation code. The new proposed primitive was assessed through a first simple MCS. Results from the YVAN primitive were compared against an MCS using a pure analytical geometry and the layer mass geometry concept. A perfect agreement was found between these simulations, leading to the conclusion that the new hybrid primitive is able to accurately and efficiently handle phantoms defined by a mixture of voxelized and analytical objects. In addition, two application-based evaluation studies in coronary angiography and intra-operative radiotherapy showed that the use of YVAN was 6.5% and 12.2% faster than the layered mass geometry method, respectively, without any associated loss of accuracy. However, the simplification advantages and differences in computational time improvements obtained with YVAN depend on the relative proportion of the analytical and voxelized structures used in the simulation as well as the size and number of triangles used in the description of the analytical object meshes.

Physically Unclonable Cryptographic Primitives by Chemical Vapor Deposition of Layered MoS2.

Science.gov (United States)

Alharbi, Abdullah; Armstrong, Darren; Alharbi, Somayah; Shahrjerdi, Davood

2017-12-26

Physically unclonable cryptographic primitives are promising for securing the rapidly growing number of electronic devices. Here, we introduce physically unclonable primitives from layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) by leveraging the natural randomness of their island growth during chemical vapor deposition (CVD). We synthesize a MoS 2 monolayer film covered with speckles of multilayer islands, where the growth process is engineered for an optimal speckle density. Using the Clark-Evans test, we confirm that the distribution of islands on the film exhibits complete spatial randomness, hence indicating the growth of multilayer speckles is a spatial Poisson process. Such a property is highly desirable for constructing unpredictable cryptographic primitives. The security primitive is an array of 2048 pixels fabricated from this film. The complex structure of the pixels makes the physical duplication of the array impossible (i.e., physically unclonable). A unique optical response is generated by applying an optical stimulus to the structure. The basis for this unique response is the dependence of the photoemission on the number of MoS 2 layers, which by design is random throughout the film. Using a threshold value for the photoemission, we convert the optical response into binary cryptographic keys. We show that the proper selection of this threshold is crucial for maximizing combination randomness and that the optimal value of the threshold is linked directly to the growth process. This study reveals an opportunity for generating robust and versatile security primitives from layered transition metal dichalcogenides.

Primitive Accumulation and Temporalities of Capitalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Bednarek

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The main thesis of the article is the statement that capitalism is composed of many different, incoherent temporalities, as well as that apprehension of capitalism from the angle of primitive accumulation enables the more accurate grasp of the modes of its functioning, including the complexity created by the interactions of the temporalities mentionned. The problem of primitive accumulation is, as Sandro Mezzadra proves, a good starting point for analysing this issue. It allows us to pose two questions: first, the question of the relation between the historical dimension and the structural logic of capitalism; second, the question of hierarchical relation between the center and the periphery of the capitalist system.Dipesh Chakrabarty’s project of ‘provincializing Europe’ proves helpful here, as it’s goal is deconstruction of the categories of progress, modernization and the capital with its abstract structure. The aim is not to negate the fact that capitalist abstraction is a real force, but to show that this force develops by means of constant assimiliation of the other – redefined as ‘backward’ or archaic. The linear scheme is in force, because it is the main mechanism of imposing the power of capital; as such, it is not politically neutral.

Cave men: stone tools, Victorian science, and the 'primitive mind' of deep time.

Science.gov (United States)

Pettitt, Paul B; White, Mark J

2011-03-20

Palaeoanthropology, the study of the evolution of humanity, arose in the nineteenth century. Excavations in Europe uncovered a series of archaeological sediments which provided proof that the antiquity of human life on Earth was far longer than the biblical six thousand years, and by the 1880s authors had constructed a basic paradigm of what 'primitive' human life was like. Here we examine the development of Victorian palaeoanthropology for what it reveals of the development of notions of cognitive evolution. It seems that Victorian specialists rarely addressed cognitive evolution explicitly, although several assumptions were generally made that arose from preconceptions derived from contemporary 'primitive' peoples. We identify three main phases of development of notions of the primitive mind in the period.

Global and exponential attractors of the three dimensional viscous primitive equations of large-scale moist atmosphere

OpenAIRE

You, Bo; Li, Fang

2016-01-01

This paper is concerned with the long-time behavior of solutions for the three dimensional viscous primitive equations of large-scale moist atmosphere. We prove the existence of a global attractor for the three dimensional viscous primitive equations of large-scale moist atmosphere by asymptotic a priori estimate and construct an exponential attractor by using the smoothing property of the semigroup generated by the three dimensional viscous primitive equations of large-scale moist atmosphere...

A case of the persistence of the primitive hypoglossal artery with an enlarged hypoglossal canal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomura, Noriaki; Inugami, Atsushi; Uemura, Kazuo; Asakura, Ken

1987-01-01

A case of the persistence of the primitive hypoglossal artery is reported, with a roentgenographic demonstration of the enlarged hypoglossal canal. A 63-year-old man was admitted to this hospital as a result of a malfunction of the ventriculo-peritoneal shunt. At the age of 51, the patient had been operated on in this hospital for an aneurysm of the right middle cerebral artery; at that time, the right primitive hypoglossal artery was observed on right carotid angiograms. On the day following admission, bilateral retrograde vertebral angiography was performed and the right persistent primitive hypoglossal artery was recognized again. Stenvers views of the skull demonstrated an enlargement of the hypoglossal canal, with a smooth sclerotic rim. High-resolution computed tomography with a contrast infusion delineated the right primitive hypoglossal artery through the enlarged hypoglossal canal. The diameter of the enlarged right hypoglossal canal and that of the left one were found to be 8 mm and 4 mm respectively on the CT. When an enlargement of the hypoglossal canal with a sclerotic rim is observed, the persistence of the primitive hypoglossal artery should be considered in the differential diagnosis. (author)

Cohesion between two clay lamellae: From Primitive Model to Full Molecular Simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrier, Benoit; Vandamme, Matthieu; Pellenq, Roland; Van Damme, Henri

2012-01-01

Document available in extended abstract form only. The objective of this work is to investigate the range of validity of various models to describe accurately the cohesion between two charged clay lamellae. These models, in order of increasing complexity, are the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory, the primitive model, the explicit solvent primitive model and the full molecular model. We aim at providing a clear picture of which physical mechanisms play a significant role for various interlayer spacings, surface charges and cationic charges. The up-scaling of the mechanical properties starting from the lamellar microstructure of a smectite is usually performed within the framework of the DLVO theory. In this case, the interaction between two charged lamellae with cations between them is the sum of the repulsive double layer electrostatic interaction and of the attractive Van der Waals interaction. However, the Primitive Model shows that concentration fluctuations of counter-ions can generate a strongly attractive ionic correlation force. The Primitive Model is a Monte-Carlo simulation of hydrated counter-ions between two infinite charges surfaces and the water is implicitly modeled by scaling all electrostatic interactions by the dielectric permittivity of bulk water. Nevertheless, for very small inter-layer spacings (1 nm), molecular simulations and experiments show that water is organized in a layered structure and does not behave like bulk water. Therefore, we investigate the role of the solvent in the cohesion of clay lamellae. For this purpose, we use a modified version of the original Primitive Model in which the solvent is modeled by point-dipoles: This model is called the Explicit Solvent Primitive Model. We consider four different systems: A Na + -montmorillonite, a Ca 2+ -montmorillonite, a Na + -vermiculite, a Ca 2+ -vermiculite. The vermiculite layers are twice as charged as the montmorillonite layers. We use a full molecular model as a

Not so primitive: context-sensitive meta-learning about unattended sound sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, Juanita; Provost, Alexander; Whitson, Lisa R; Cooper, Gavin; Heathcote, Andrew

2013-01-01

Mismatch negativity (MMN), an evoked response potential elicited when a "deviant" sound violates a regularity in the auditory environment, is integral to auditory scene processing and has been used to demonstrate "primitive intelligence" in auditory short-term memory. Using a new multiple-context and -timescale protocol we show that MMN magnitude displays a context-sensitive modulation depending on changes in the probability of a deviant at multiple temporal scales. We demonstrate a primacy bias causing asymmetric evidence-based modulation of predictions about the environment, and we demonstrate that learning how to learn about deviant probability (meta-learning) induces context-sensitive variation in the accessibility of predictive long-term memory representations that underpin the MMN. The existence of the bias and meta-learning are consistent with automatic attributions of behavioral salience governing relevance-filtering processes operating outside of awareness.

Morphological Study of Insoluble Organic Matter Residues from Primitive

Science.gov (United States)

Changela, H. G.; Stroud, R. M.; Peeters, Z.; Nittler, L. R.; Alexander, C. M. O'D.; DeGregorio, B. T.; Cody, G. D.

2012-01-01

Insoluble organic matter (IOM) constitutes a major proportion, 70-99%, of the total organic carbon found in primitive chondrites [1, 2]. One characteristic morphological component of IOM is nanoglobules [3, 4]. Some nanoglobules exhibit large N-15 and D enrichments relative to solar values, indicating that they likely originated in the ISM or the outskirts of the protoplanetary disk [3]. A recent study of samples from the Tagish Lake meteorite with varying levels of hydrothermal alteration suggest that nanoglobule abundance decreases with increasing hydrothermal alteration [5]. The aim of this study is to further document the morphologies of IOM from a range of primitive chondrites in order to determine any correlation of morphology with petrographic grade and chondrite class that could constrain the formation and/or alteration mechanisms.

Plant nutritional status modulates glutamine synthetase levels in ripe tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom).

Science.gov (United States)

Scarpeci, Telma E; Marro, Martin L; Bortolotti, Santiago; Boggio, Silvana B; Valle, Estela M

2007-02-01

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit ripening implies that chloroplastic proteins are degraded and new proteins are synthesized. Supplementary nutrition is frequently required when tomato plants begin to fruit and continues until the end of the plant's life cycle. Ammonium assimilation is crucial in these fruit maturation and ripening processes. Glutamine synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2), the main ammonium-fixing enzyme in plants, could not be detected in red fruits of several tomato varieties when growing under standard nutrition. In this paper, we analyze the influence of the nutritional status on the ammonium assimilation capacity of ripe tomato (cv. Micro-Tom) fruit. For this purpose, GS expression and protein profiles were followed in mature green and red fruits harvested from plants grown under standard or supplemented nutrition. Under standard nutrient regime (weekly supplied with 0.5 x Hoagland solution) GS activity was found in chloroplasts (GS2) of mature green fruits, but it was not detected either in the chromoplasts or in the cytosol of red fruits. When plants were shifted to a supplemented nutritional regime (daily supplied with 0.5 x Hoagland solution), GS was found in red fruits. Also, cytosolic transcripts (gs1) preferentially accumulated in red fruits under high nutrition. These results indicate that mature green Micro-Tom fruits assimilate ammonia through GS2 under standard nutrition, while ripe red fruits accumulate GS1 under high nutrition, probably in order to assimilate the extra N-compounds made available through supplemented nutrition.

CT and MR findings of primitive neuroectodermal tumor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kook, Shin Ho; Kim, In One; Chang, Kee Hyun; Han, Moon Hee; Cho, Byung Kyu

1991-01-01

Cerebral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), consisting of undifferentiated primitive cells, is a neoplasm of children and young adults that occurs predominantly in the supratentorial compartment. In this report, we retrospectively reviewed and analyzed 18 CT and 6 MR findings in 18 patients with pathologically-proven PNET to discover the characteristic findings, if may. The most characteristic feature of the PNETs was a well-defined multilobular oval or round large mass with components of peripheral cystic change or calcification in the cerebral hemisphere, especially in the parietal lobe. Usually there was only minimal surrounding edema. The CT density of the tumor was iso - or slightly high density with homogeneous contrast enhancement in the solid portion and low density in the cystic area. MR findings demonstrated iso - signal intensity on both T1 - weighted (T1WI) and T2-weighted (T2WI) images and dense enhancement in the solid element. The cystic portion revealed low intensity on T1WI and high intensity on T2WI

Transitions between discrete and rhythmic primitives in a unimanual task

Science.gov (United States)

Sternad, Dagmar; Marino, Hamal; Charles, Steven K.; Duarte, Marcos; Dipietro, Laura; Hogan, Neville

2013-01-01

Given the vast complexity of human actions and interactions with objects, we proposed that control of sensorimotor behavior may utilize dynamic primitives. However, greater computational simplicity may come at the cost of reduced versatility. Evidence for primitives may be garnered by revealing such limitations. This study tested subjects performing a sequence of progressively faster discrete movements in order to “stress” the system. We hypothesized that the increasing pace would elicit a transition to rhythmic movements, assumed to be computationally and neurally more efficient. Abrupt transitions between the two types of movements would support the hypothesis that rhythmic and discrete movements are distinct primitives. Ten subjects performed planar point-to-point arm movements paced by a metronome: starting at 2 s, the metronome intervals decreased by 36 ms per cycle to 200 ms, stayed at 200 ms for several cycles, then increased by similar increments. Instructions emphasized to insert explicit stops between each movement with a duration that equaled the movement time. The experiment was performed with eyes open and closed, and with short and long metronome sounds, the latter explicitly specifying the dwell duration. Results showed that subjects matched instructed movement times but did not preserve the dwell times. Rather, they progressively reduced dwell time to zero, transitioning to continuous rhythmic movements before movement times reached their minimum. The acceleration profiles showed an abrupt change between discrete and rhythmic profiles. The loss of dwell time occurred earlier with long auditory specification, when subjects also showed evidence of predictive control. While evidence for hysteresis was weak, taken together, the results clearly indicated a transition between discrete and rhythmic movements, supporting the proposal that representation is based on primitives rather than on veridical internal models. PMID:23888139

Transitions between Discrete and Rhythmic Primitives in a Unimanual Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dagmar eSternad

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Given the vast complexity of human actions and interactions with objects, we proposed that control of sensorimotor behavior may utilize dynamic primitives. However, greater computational simplicity may come at the cost of reduced versatility. Evidence for primitives may be garnered by revealing such limitations. This study tested subjects performing a sequence of progressively faster discrete movements, in order to stress the system. We hypothesized that the increasing pace would elicit a transition to rhythmic movements, assumed to be computationally and neurally more efficient. Abrupt transitions between the two types of movements would support the hypothesis that rhythmic and discrete movements are distinct primitives. Ten subjects performed planar point-to-point arm movements paced by a metronome: Starting at 2s the metronome intervals decreased by 36ms per cycle to 200ms, stayed at 200ms for several cycles, then increased by similar increments. Instructions emphasized to insert explicit stops between each movement with a duration that equaled the movement time. The experiment was performed with eyes open and closed, and with short and long metronome sounds, the latter explicitly specifying the dwell duration. Results showed that subjects matched instructed movement times but did not preserve the dwell times. Rather, they progressively reduced dwell time to zero, transitioning to continuous rhythmic movements before movement times reached their minimum. The acceleration profiles showed an abrupt change between discrete and rhythmic profiles. The loss of dwell time occurred earlier with long auditory specification, when subjects also showed evidence of predictive control. While evidence for hysteresis was weak, taken together, the results clearly indicated a transition between discrete and rhythmic movements, supporting the proposal that representation is based on primitives rather than on veridical internal models.

Missing relationship of moyamoya and persistent primitive artery in Europeans. Another distinctive feature or artifact?

Science.gov (United States)

Wenz, Holger; Wenz, Ralf; Förster, Alex; Fontana, Johann; Kerl, Hans Ulrich; Groden, Christoph; Scharf, Johann

2015-11-01

Previous studies found higher incidence of persistent primitive arteries in Asian moyamoya (MM) patients than in the general population, which was thought to be a characteristic trait of the MM entity in general. We analyzed incidence of persistent primitive arteries and demographics of patients with European MM treated in one single center. First, we compared our large dataset to existing literature and second, we raised the question whether European MM demonstrates similar high prevalence of persistent primitive arteries as it was previously presented within Asian MM. All European MM on whom revascularization surgery was performed from 1999 to 2013 were included. Demographics and associated diseases were obtained by retrospective chart review. Two independent readers evaluated 122 MM angiograms to determine the occurrence of persistent primitive arteries as well as the Suzuki score. We identified 112 cases with MM disease, 10 with MM syndrome. Mean age at time of diagnosis was 38.2 (range 6-64 years); a peak incidence in early childhood was not observed. Ninety (73.8%) were women, associated systemic diseases were found in four patients. Seven cases (5.7%) presented with unilaterally affected vessels. The majority of patients (71; 58.2%) were graded Suzuki Score 3. One 14-year-old boy with moyamoya presented with a primitive trigeminal artery (0.89%). We did not find a bimodal age distribution, but only a second peak during adulthood. Unlike previous studies on Asian moyamoya patients, our collective does not exhibit a higher prevalence of persistent primitive arteries than the normal population.

Transgression, Nostalgia, Order: Representation of the Primitive in Émile Zola's La Terre and Knut Hamsun's Markens grøde

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riikka Rossi

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This article examines the representation of the primitive in two peasant novels, Émile Zola's La Terre (1887, trans. as The Earth and Knut Hamsun's Markens grøde (1917, trans. as Growth of the Soil. The concept of the primitive crosses a wide range of issues that were central to naturalist and decadent literature at the turn of the twentieth century, from unconscious instincts to the fascination with exotic cultures. It thus offers a fruitful medium for the comparative reading of French and Nordic fiction of the era. I especially focus on analysing the diverse, representative practices of Zola's and Hamsun's works, which betray stylistic differences in their portrayal of the primitive. I suggest that by describing the primitive as a vital, transgressive force that even turns against itself - against nature - Zola's La Terre creates a decadent version of the primitive, which, instead of a "serious", naturalistic portrayal of everyday life, is drawn to the brutal, instinctive primitive and uses the primitive to create vital forces of transgression. Hamsun's neo-naturalist novel, in turn, reconfigures the naturalist themes in a new form and envisions a fusion of the Darwinian, naturalistic primitive and the Romantic cult of innocent primordiality, suggesting the primitive lifestyle as a nostalgic return to a pre-modern lifestyle and a turn away from the degeneration of modernity.

PRIMITIVE MATRICES AND GENERATORS OF PSEUDO RANDOM SEQUENCES OF GALOIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Beletsky

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In theory and practice of information cryptographic protection one of the key problems is the forming a binary pseudo-random sequences (PRS with a maximum length with acceptable statistical characteristics. PRS generators are usually implemented by linear shift register (LSR of maximum period with linear feedback [1]. In this paper we extend the concept of LSR, assuming that each of its rank (memory cell can be in one of the following condition. Let’s call such registers “generalized linear shift register.” The research goal is to develop algorithms for constructing Galois and Fibonacci generalized matrix of n-order over the field , which uniquely determined both the structure of corresponding generalized of n-order LSR maximal period, and formed on their basis Galois PRS generators of maximum length. Thus the article presents the questions of formation the primitive generalized Fibonacci and Galois arbitrary order matrix over the prime field . The synthesis of matrices is based on the use of irreducible polynomials of degree and primitive elements of the extended field generated by polynomial. The constructing methods of Galois and Fibonacci conjugated primitive matrices are suggested. The using possibilities of such matrices in solving the problem of constructing generalized generators of Galois pseudo-random sequences are discussed.

Structure and dynamics of nonaqueous electrolyte solutions by small angle neutron scattering, brownian dynamics and primitive model theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunz, W.; Turq, P.

1990-01-01

The study of electrolyte solutions by small angle neutron scattering (static) of quasi-elastic neutron scattering (dynamics) gives new perspectives to the primitive model of electrolytes, for both static and dynamic properties of those systems. Whereas all properties can be interpreted by brownian dynamics, integral equations cannot be used at the present time to get transport coefficients in all cases. As regards the choice of the potentials at the McMillan Mayer level, specific Gurney terms for solvation are not needed for tetraalkylammonium salts. (orig.)

Non-periodic one-dimensional ideal conductors and integrable turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zakharov, Dmitry V. [Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, 251 Mercer Street, New York, NY, 10012 (United States); Zakharov, Vladimir E. [Department of Mathematics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85791 (United States); Dyachenko, Sergey A., E-mail: sdyachen@math.uiuc.edu [Department of Mathematics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, 61801 (United States)

2016-12-01

Highlights: • An efficient procedure for construction of non-periodic, non-vanishing reflectionless potentials is presented. • The analytical procedure is reinforced by numerical simulation that presents some of these potentials. • The present work is a key ingredient for the study of integrable turbulence and statistical description of “solitonic gas”. - Abstract: To relate the motion of a quantum particle to the properties of the potential is a fundamental problem of physics, which is far from being solved. Can a medium with a potential which is neither periodic nor quasi-periodic be a conductor? That question seems to have been never addressed, despite being both interesting and having practical importance. Here we propose a new approach to the spectral problem of the one-dimensional Schrödinger operator with a bounded potential. We construct a wide class of potentials having a spectrum consisting of the positive semiaxis and finitely many bands on the negative semiaxis. These potentials, which we call primitive, are reflectionless for positive energy and in general are neither periodic nor quasi-periodic. Moreover, they can be stochastic, and yet allow ballistic transport, and thus describe one-dimensional ideal conductors. Primitive potentials also generate a new class of solutions of the KdV hierarchy. Stochastic primitive potentials describe integrable turbulence, which is important for hydrodynamics and nonlinear optics. We construct the potentials by numerically solving a system of singular integral equations. We hypothesize that finite-gap potentials are a subclass of primitive potentials, and prove this in the case of one-gap potentials.

Addressing Nature Deficit Disorder through Primitive Camping Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Kevin; Varner, Keegan; Sallee, Jeff

2011-01-01

Today's youth suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder, a condition that has been connected to ADHD, shortage of creativity, and general lack of knowledge about the outdoors. A team of educators and specialists are addressing this issue with primitive camping. County educators were trained using experiential learning and train-the-trainer techniques.…

The logical primitives of thought: Empirical foundations for compositional cognitive models.

Science.gov (United States)

Piantadosi, Steven T; Tenenbaum, Joshua B; Goodman, Noah D

2016-07-01

The notion of a compositional language of thought (LOT) has been central in computational accounts of cognition from earliest attempts (Boole, 1854; Fodor, 1975) to the present day (Feldman, 2000; Penn, Holyoak, & Povinelli, 2008; Fodor, 2008; Kemp, 2012; Goodman, Tenenbaum, & Gerstenberg, 2015). Recent modeling work shows how statistical inferences over compositionally structured hypothesis spaces might explain learning and development across a variety of domains. However, the primitive components of such representations are typically assumed a priori by modelers and theoreticians rather than determined empirically. We show how different sets of LOT primitives, embedded in a psychologically realistic approximate Bayesian inference framework, systematically predict distinct learning curves in rule-based concept learning experiments. We use this feature of LOT models to design a set of large-scale concept learning experiments that can determine the most likely primitives for psychological concepts involving Boolean connectives and quantification. Subjects' inferences are most consistent with a rich (nonminimal) set of Boolean operations, including first-order, but not second-order, quantification. Our results more generally show how specific LOT theories can be distinguished empirically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The Syntax of Time and Space Primitives in French.

Science.gov (United States)

Peeters, Bert

1997-01-01

Explores the combinatorial possibilities of semantic primitives of time and space in French, as defined in the theory of Natural Semantic Metalanguage. Highlights the need for new ways to express the allolexical relationship in some combinations, particularly those expressing "when/time." (Author/MSE)

Calculation Scheme Based on a Weighted Primitive: Application to Image Processing Transforms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregorio de Miguel Casado

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a method to improve the calculation of functions which specially demand a great amount of computing resources. The method is based on the choice of a weighted primitive which enables the calculation of function values under the scope of a recursive operation. When tackling the design level, the method shows suitable for developing a processor which achieves a satisfying trade-off between time delay, area costs, and stability. The method is particularly suitable for the mathematical transforms used in signal processing applications. A generic calculation scheme is developed for the discrete fast Fourier transform (DFT and then applied to other integral transforms such as the discrete Hartley transform (DHT, the discrete cosine transform (DCT, and the discrete sine transform (DST. Some comparisons with other well-known proposals are also provided.

Primary primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the orbit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Das Dipankar

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET is a small round cell malignant tumor of neuroectodermal origin. Most of the PNETs occur in the central nervous system (CNS. PNETs recognized outside of CNS are diagnosed as peripheral PNET (pPNET. This tumor which expresses MIC-2 gene (CD99 seems to be least aggressive after complete tumor resection. We describe a rare case of PNET in a young girl.

Cancer of unknown primitive metastatic. About two clinical cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cawen, L; Cordoba, A.

2010-01-01

This work is about the two clinical cases about the unknown primitive metastatic cancer. The main techniques used for the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of different s carcinomas are: Electronic microscope, molecular biology and genetics, especially histopathological study, topographic survey, ultrasound, radiography, chemotherapy, radiotherapy

De novo appearance of primitive neuroectodermal tumor in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and moyamoya disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, D J; Kim, T J; Lee, H J; Lee, K E; Lee, S J; Seo, S R; Yoon, W; Moon, K S; Lee, K W; Lee, S S; Park, Y W

2010-07-01

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor is a rare brain tumor composed of undifferentiated or poorly differentiated neuroepithelial cells with a high malignant potential that usually occurs in children, and which is only occasionally encountered in adults. A 19-year-old female with systemic lupus erythematosus presented with right hemiparesis and a headache of 10 days duration. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a large solid mass with necrotic portions in the left frontoparietal lobe. Primitive neuroectodermal tumor was confirmed by a neuronavigator-guided brain biopsy. This is the first case report of primitive neuroectodermal tumor associated with systemic lupus erythematosus and moyamoya disease. This case demonstrates that brain tumors, such as primitive neuroectodermal tumor, should be included in the differential diagnosis of neurological manifestations in children and adolescent patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Integrated bioinformatic analysis unveils significant genes and pathways in the pathogenesis of supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang G

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Guang-Yu Wang,1,* Ling Li,2,* Bo Liu,1 Xiao Han,1 Chun-Hua Wang,1 Ji-Wen Wang3 1Department of Neurosurgery, 2Department of Pediatrics, Qilu Children’s Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 3Department of Neurology, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Pudong New District, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: This study aimed to explore significant genes and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (sPNET. Materials and methods: Gene expression profile of GSE14295 was downloaded from publicly available Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs were screened out in primary sPNET samples compared with normal fetal and adult brain reference samples (sPNET vs fetal brain and sPNET vs adult brain. Pathway enrichment analysis of these DEGs was conducted, followed by protein–protein interaction (PPI network construction and significant module selection. Additionally, transcription factors (TFs regulating the common DEGs in the two comparison groups were identified, and the regulatory network was constructed. Results: In total, 526 DEGs (99 up- and 427 downregulated in sPNET vs fetal brain and 815 DEGs (200 up- and 615 downregulated in sPNET vs adult brain were identified. DEGs in sPNET vs fetal brain and sPNET vs adult brain were associated with calcium signaling pathway, cell cycle, and p53 signaling pathway. CDK1, CDC20, BUB1B, and BUB1 were hub nodes in the PPI networks of DEGs in sPNET vs fetal brain and sPNET vs adult brain. Significant modules were extracted from the PPI networks. In addition, 64 upregulated and 200 downregulated overlapping DEGs were identified in both sPNET vs fetal brain and sPNET vs adult brain. The genes involved in the regulatory network upon overlapping DEGs and the TFs were correlated with calcium signaling pathway

Formalizing the Relationship Between Commitment and Basic Cryptographic Primitives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Sree Vivek

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Signcryption is a cryptographic primitive which offers the functionality of both digital signature and encryption with lower combined computational cost. On the other hand, commitment scheme allows an entity to commit to a value, where the entity reveals the committed value later during a decommit phase. In this paper, we explore the connection between commitment schemes, public key encryption, digital signatures and signcryption. We establish formal relationship between commitment and the other primitives. Our main result is that we show signcryption can be used as a commitment scheme with appropriate security notions. We show that if the underlying signcryption scheme is IND-CCA2 secure, then the hiding property of the commitment scheme is satisfied. Similarly, we show that if the underlying signcryption scheme is unforgeable, then the relaxed biding property of the commitment scheme is satisfied. Moreover, we prove that if the underlying signcryption scheme is NM-CCA2, then the commitment scheme is non-malleable.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Zanotti, Olindo; Dumbser, Michael

2016-01-01

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

Post-Quantum Cryptography: Riemann Primitives and Chrysalis

OpenAIRE

Malloy, Ian; Hollenbeck, Dennis

2018-01-01

The Chrysalis project is a proposed method for post-quantum cryptography using the Riemann sphere. To this end, Riemann primitives are introduced in addition to a novel implementation of this new method. Chrysalis itself is the first cryptographic scheme to rely on Holomorphic Learning with Errors, which is a complex form of Learning with Errors relying on the Gauss Circle Problem within the Riemann sphere. The principle security reduction proposed by this novel cryptographic scheme applies c...

Capture, learning, and classification of upper extremity movement primitives in healthy controls and stroke patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerra, Jorge; Uddin, Jasim; Nilsen, Dawn; Mclnerney, James; Fadoo, Ammarah; Omofuma, Isirame B; Hughes, Shatif; Agrawal, Sunil; Allen, Peter; Schambra, Heidi M

2017-07-01

There currently exist no practical tools to identify functional movements in the upper extremities (UEs). This absence has limited the precise therapeutic dosing of patients recovering from stroke. In this proof-of-principle study, we aimed to develop an accurate approach for classifying UE functional movement primitives, which comprise functional movements. Data were generated from inertial measurement units (IMUs) placed on upper body segments of older healthy individuals and chronic stroke patients. Subjects performed activities commonly trained during rehabilitation after stroke. Data processing involved the use of a sliding window to obtain statistical descriptors, and resulting features were processed by a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). The likelihoods of the states, resulting from the HMM, were segmented by a second sliding window and their averages were calculated. The final predictions were mapped to human functional movement primitives using a Logistic Regression algorithm. Algorithm performance was assessed with a leave-one-out analysis, which determined its sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for all classified primitives. In healthy control and stroke participants, our approach identified functional movement primitives embedded in training activities with, on average, 80% precision. This approach may support functional movement dosing in stroke rehabilitation.

Letters of Gold: Enabling Primitive Accumulation through Neoliberal Conservation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

B.E. Büscher (Bram)

2009-01-01

textabstractAbstract: In Capital I, Marx wrote that the history of the separation of the producers from the means of production “is written in the annals of mankind in letters of blood and fire” (Marx, 1976: 875). This ‘so-called primitive accumulation’, or ‘accumulation by dispossession’ in David

Learned parametrized dynamic movement primitives with shared synergies for controlling robotic and musculoskeletal systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elmar eRückert

2013-10-01

Full Text Available A salient feature of human motor skill learning is the ability to exploitsimilarities across related tasks.In biological motor control, it has been hypothesized that muscle synergies,coherent activations of groups of muscles, allow for exploiting shared knowledge.Recent studies have shown that a rich set of complex motor skills can be generated bya combination of a small number of muscle synergies.In robotics, dynamic movement primitives are commonlyused for motor skill learning. This machine learning approach implements a stable attractor systemthat facilitates learning and it can be used in high-dimensional continuous spaces. However, it does not allow for reusing shared knowledge, i.e. for each task an individual set of parameters has to be learned.We propose a novel movement primitive representationthat employs parametrized basis functions, which combines the benefits of muscle synergiesand dynamic movement primitives. For each task asuperposition of synergies modulates a stable attractor system.This approach leads to a compact representation of multiple motor skills andat the same time enables efficient learning in high-dimensional continuous systems.The movement representation supports discrete and rhythmic movements andin particular includes the dynamic movement primitive approach as a special case.We demonstrate the feasibility of the movement representation in three multi-task learning simulated scenarios.First, the characteristics of the proposed representation are illustrated in a point-mass task.Second, in complex humanoid walking experiments,multiple walking patterns with different step heights are learned robustly and efficiently.Finally, in a multi-directional reaching task simulated with a musculoskeletal modelof the human arm, we show how the proposed movement primitives can be used tolearn appropriate muscle excitation patterns and to generalize effectively to new reaching skills.

Understanding and determining the variability of the primitive stress environment.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Sellers, EJ

2002-10-01

Full Text Available The primitive stress state is an important input into the design of underground excavations. However, it is well known that the stress state varies considerably from place to place. The aim of this project was to determine the main causes...

ATHENA: A Personalized Platform to Promote an Active Lifestyle and Wellbeing Based on Physical, Mental and Social Health Primitives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Fahim

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Technology provides ample opportunities for the acquisition and processing of physical, mental and social health primitives. However, several challenges remain for researchers as how to define the relationship between reported physical activities, mood and social interaction to define an active lifestyle. We are conducting a project, ATHENA(activity-awareness for human-engaged wellness applications to design and integrate the relationship between these basic health primitives to approximate the human lifestyle and real-time recommendations for wellbeing services. Our goal is to develop a system to promote an active lifestyle for individuals and to recommend to them valuable interventions by making comparisons to their past habits. The proposed system processes sensory data through our developed machine learning algorithms inside smart devices and utilizes cloud infrastructure to reduce the cost. We exploit big data infrastructure for massive sensory data storage and fast retrieval for recommendations. Our contributions include the development of a prototype system to promote an active lifestyle and a visual design capable of engaging users in the goal of increasing self-motivation. We believe that our study will impact the design of future ubiquitous wellness applications.

ATHENA: A Personalized Platform to Promote an Active Lifestyle and Wellbeing Based on Physical, Mental and Social Health Primitives

Science.gov (United States)

Fahim, Muhammad; Idris, Muhammad; Ali, Rahman; Nugent, Christopher; Kang, Byeong; Huh, Eui-Nam; Lee, Sungyoung

2014-01-01

Technology provides ample opportunities for the acquisition and processing of physical, mental and social health primitives. However, several challenges remain for researchers as how to define the relationship between reported physical activities, mood and social interaction to define an active lifestyle. We are conducting a project, ATHENA(activity-awareness for human-engaged wellness applications) to design and integrate the relationship between these basic health primitives to approximate the human lifestyle and real-time recommendations for wellbeing services. Our goal is to develop a system to promote an active lifestyle for individuals and to recommend to them valuable interventions by making comparisons to their past habits. The proposed system processes sensory data through our developed machine learning algorithms inside smart devices and utilizes cloud infrastructure to reduce the cost. We exploit big data infrastructure for massive sensory data storage and fast retrieval for recommendations. Our contributions include the development of a prototype system to promote an active lifestyle and a visual design capable of engaging users in the goal of increasing self-motivation. We believe that our study will impact the design of future ubiquitous wellness applications. PMID:24859031

A primitive Late Pliocene cheetah, and evolution of the cheetah lineage

Science.gov (United States)

Christiansen, Per; Mazák, Ji H.

2009-01-01

The cheetah lineage is a group of large, slender, and long-limbed cats with a distinctive skull and dental morphology, of which only the extant cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is present today. The lineage is characterized by having abbreviated, tall, and domed crania, and a trenchant dentition with a much reduced, posteriorly placed protocone on the upper carnassial. In this article, we report on a new discovery of a Late Pliocene specimen from China with an estimated age of ≈2.2–2.5 million years, making it one of the oldest specimens known to date. A cladistic analysis confirmed that it is the most primitive cheetah known, and it shares a number of unambiguous derived cranial traits with the Acinonyx lineage, but has more primitive dentition than previously known cheetahs, demonstrating that the many unusual skull and dental characters hitherto considered characteristic of cheetahs evolved in a gradual fashion. Isolated teeth of primitive cheetahs may not be recognizable as such, but can be confused with, for instance, those of leopards or other similar-sized pantherine cats or pumas. The age and morphology of the new specimen supports an Old World origin of the cheetah lineage, not a New World one, as has been suggested. We name the new species Acinonyx kurteni in honor of the late Björn Kurtén. PMID:19114651

A primitive Late Pliocene cheetah, and evolution of the cheetah lineage.

Science.gov (United States)

Christiansen, Per; Mazák, Ji H

2009-01-13

The cheetah lineage is a group of large, slender, and long-limbed cats with a distinctive skull and dental morphology, of which only the extant cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is present today. The lineage is characterized by having abbreviated, tall, and domed crania, and a trenchant dentition with a much reduced, posteriorly placed protocone on the upper carnassial. In this article, we report on a new discovery of a Late Pliocene specimen from China with an estimated age of approximately 2.2-2.5 million years, making it one of the oldest specimens known to date. A cladistic analysis confirmed that it is the most primitive cheetah known, and it shares a number of unambiguous derived cranial traits with the Acinonyx lineage, but has more primitive dentition than previously known cheetahs, demonstrating that the many unusual skull and dental characters hitherto considered characteristic of cheetahs evolved in a gradual fashion. Isolated teeth of primitive cheetahs may not be recognizable as such, but can be confused with, for instance, those of leopards or other similar-sized pantherine cats or pumas. The age and morphology of the new specimen supports an Old World origin of the cheetah lineage, not a New World one, as has been suggested. We name the new species Acinonyx kurteni in honor of the late Björn Kurtén.

Primary extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor of breast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smita Srivastava

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma (EES is a rare soft tissue tumor that is morphologically indistinguishable from skeletal ES. We report a case of a 25-year-old female with recurrent EES/primitive neuroectodermal tumor of right breast with imaging findings on mammogram, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging breast, and positron emission tomography–computed tomography.

Chronological development of element concentrations in grapes during growth and ripeness and during fermentation of must determined by instrumental neutron-activation analyses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feige, Markus; Hampel, Gabriele; Kratz, Jens Volker; Wiehl, Norbert [Mainz Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Kernchemie; Koenig, Helmut [Mainz Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Mikrobiologie und Weinforschung; Wagner, Andreas [Weingut Wagner, Essenheim (Germany)

2014-07-01

The chronological development of element concentrations during growth and ripeness of grapes described in the literature has only been concerned with the macro elements Mg, K, and Ca. Concentrations of trace elements in must are only described as a snapshot at the end of the ripeness. Therefore, the motivation for the present work was to accompany the growth and the ripening process of grapes successively by systematically determining element concentrations in grapes of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon by neutron-activation analyses. While for a number of elements, the concentrations in the grapes increased as a function of grape development (e.g., Na, K, Rb, Al), other concentrations decreased (e.g., Mg, Ca, Mn). These decreases are not only to be attributed to a dilution by an increasing uptake of water during growth, but also by an active transport of the cations out of the berries. Furthermore, the interest focused on the influence of mineral substances on the process of fermentation and on the uptake of trace elements by the yeasts. (orig.)

Behavior of fluopyram and tebuconazole and some selected pesticides in ripe apples and consumer exposure assessment in the applied crop protection framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Podbielska, Magdalena; Szpyrka, Ewa; Piechowicz, Bartosz; Zwolak, Aneta; Sadło, Stanisław

2017-07-01

The supervised field trials were conducted in a commercial apple orchard in 2016. The trials were an attempt to determine a model for dissipation and toxicological evaluation of fluopyram, tebuconazole, captan, tetrahydrophthalimide (THPI), pirimicarb, spirodiclofen, and boscalid residues detected in fruit of Red Jonaprince, Lobo, and Gala varieties immediately before harvest. The analysis also covered amounts of pesticides still present in remnants of calyx in Lobo and Gala varieties immediately before harvest. Laboratory samples of ripe apples were collected within 14 days of the treatment. Levels of pesticide residues detected in the samples changed at a constant exponential rate, and the residue levels found in ripe apples of Red Jonaprince, Gala, and Lobo varieties immediately before harvest were below maximum residue levels (MRL). Overall, captan residues in remnants of calyx were at a level of 22.3% for the Gala variety and 9.3% for the Lobo variety. Likewise, the long-term daily intake of the detected substances by a Polish adult consumer was low, ranging from 0.02% ADI for pirimicarb to 0.72% ADI for captan.

Chronological development of element concentrations in grapes during growth and ripeness and during fermentation of must determined by instrumental neutron-activation analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feige, Markus; Hampel, Gabriele; Kratz, Jens Volker; Wiehl, Norbert

2014-01-01

The chronological development of element concentrations during growth and ripeness of grapes described in the literature has only been concerned with the macro elements Mg, K, and Ca. Concentrations of trace elements in must are only described as a snapshot at the end of the ripeness. Therefore, the motivation for the present work was to accompany the growth and the ripening process of grapes successively by systematically determining element concentrations in grapes of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon by neutron-activation analyses. While for a number of elements, the concentrations in the grapes increased as a function of grape development (e.g., Na, K, Rb, Al), other concentrations decreased (e.g., Mg, Ca, Mn). These decreases are not only to be attributed to a dilution by an increasing uptake of water during growth, but also by an active transport of the cations out of the berries. Furthermore, the interest focused on the influence of mineral substances on the process of fermentation and on the uptake of trace elements by the yeasts. (orig.)

Canonical Wnt signaling induces a primitive endoderm metastable state in mouse embryonic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Feodor D; Yin, Hang; Jones, Andrew; van Ijcken, Wilfred; Grosveld, Frank; Rudnicki, Michael A

2013-04-01

Activation of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway synergizes with leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) to maintain pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). However, in the absence of LIF, Wnt signaling is unable to maintain ESCs in the undifferentiated state. To investigate the role of canonical Wnt signaling in pluripotency and lineage specification, we expressed Wnt3a in mESCs and characterized them in growth and differentiation. We found that activated canonical Wnt signaling induced the formation of a reversible metastable primitive endoderm state in mESC. Upon subsequent differentiation, Wnt3a-stimulated mESCs gave rise to large quantities of visceral endoderm. Furthermore, we determined that the ability of canonical Wnt signaling to induce a metastable primitive endoderm state was mediated by Tbx3. Our data demonstrates a specific role for canonical Wnt signaling in promoting pluripotency while at the same time priming cells for subsequent differentiation into the primitive endoderm lineage. Copyright © 2013 AlphaMed Press.

Clinical and pathological characteristics of primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the cerebral

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Jun; Zhou Youxin; Xu Feng; Ye Ming; Zhou Dai; Bao Yaodong; Kang Suya

2004-01-01

Objective: To study the features of the cerebral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) in the clinical manifestation and in the histogenesis, morphology. Methods: Seven cases of cerebral PNET was analyzed with their clinical manifestations, histologic and immunohistochemical results. Results: Five patients of this group were children or young adults. Seven tumors were composed of primitive cells with focal evidence of glial or neuronal differentiation. Five out seven expressed NSE, one out seven expressed Syn, two out seven expressed CD99 and only one case expressed Vimentin, None expressed GFAP and S-100. CT findings were a homogeneous high density or heterogeneous mass. MR findings were high signal intensity both on T1 and T2 images. Conclusion: To diagnose the cerebral PNET depends on pathology and cerebral PNET have poor prognosis

A direct Primitive Variable Recovery Scheme for hyperbolic conservative equations: The case of relativistic hydrodynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguayo-Ortiz, A; Mendoza, S; Olvera, D

2018-01-01

In this article we develop a Primitive Variable Recovery Scheme (PVRS) to solve any system of coupled differential conservative equations. This method obtains directly the primitive variables applying the chain rule to the time term of the conservative equations. With this, a traditional finite volume method for the flux is applied in order avoid violation of both, the entropy and "Rankine-Hugoniot" jump conditions. The time evolution is then computed using a forward finite difference scheme. This numerical technique evades the recovery of the primitive vector by solving an algebraic system of equations as it is often used and so, it generalises standard techniques to solve these kind of coupled systems. The article is presented bearing in mind special relativistic hydrodynamic numerical schemes with an added pedagogical view in the appendix section in order to easily comprehend the PVRS. We present the convergence of the method for standard shock-tube problems of special relativistic hydrodynamics and a graphical visualisation of the errors using the fluctuations of the numerical values with respect to exact analytic solutions. The PVRS circumvents the sometimes arduous computation that arises from standard numerical methods techniques, which obtain the desired primitive vector solution through an algebraic polynomial of the charges.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumour of the kidney: radiologic-pathological correlations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chea, Y W; Agrawal, Rashi; Poh, Angeline C C

2008-06-01

A primitive neuroectodermal tumour of the kidney is a rare malignancy. We report the computed tomographic features and the histopathological correlation of such a tumour occurring in a middle-aged man. Although the radiological appearance has significant overlap with other renal tumours, this tumour should be included in the differential diagnosis of a large renal mass in younger patients.

Optimal primitive reference frames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jennings, David

2011-01-01

We consider the smallest possible directional reference frames allowed and determine the best one can ever do in preserving quantum information in various scenarios. We find that for the preservation of a single spin state, two orthogonal spins are optimal primitive reference frames; and in a product state, they do approximately 22% as well as an infinite-sized classical frame. By adding a small amount of entanglement to the reference frame, this can be raised to 2(2/3) 5 =26%. Under the different criterion of entanglement preservation, a very similar optimal reference frame is found; however, this time it is for spins aligned at an optimal angle of 87 deg. In this case 24% of the negativity is preserved. The classical limit is considered numerically, and indicates under the criterion of entanglement preservation, that 90 deg. is selected out nonmonotonically, with a peak optimal angle of 96.5 deg. for L=3 spins.

Primitive Path Analysis and Stress Distribution in Highly Strained Macromolecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Hsiao-Ping; Kremer, Kurt

2018-01-16

Polymer material properties are strongly affected by entanglement effects. For long polymer chains and composite materials, they are expected to be at the origin of many technically important phenomena, such as shear thinning or the Mullins effect, which microscopically can be related to topological constraints between chains. Starting from fully equilibrated highly entangled polymer melts, we investigate the effect of isochoric elongation on the entanglement structure and force distribution of such systems. Theoretically, the related viscoelastic response usually is discussed in terms of the tube model. We relate stress relaxation in the linear and nonlinear viscoelastic regimes to a primitive path analysis (PPA) and show that tension forces both along the original paths and along primitive paths, that is, the backbone of the tube, in the stretching direction correspond to each other. Unlike homogeneous relaxation along the chain contour, the PPA reveals a so far not observed long-lived clustering of topological constraints along the chains in the deformed state.

Tubulin post-translational modifications in the primitive protist Trichomonas vaginalis.

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado-Viscogliosi, P; Brugerolle, G; Viscogliosi, E

1996-01-01

Using several specific monoclonal antibodies, we investigated the occurrence and distribution of different post-translationally modified tubulin during interphase and division of the primitive flagellated protist Trichomonas vaginalis. Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence experiments revealed that interphasic microtubular structures of T. vaginalis contained acetylated and glutamylated but non-tyrosinated and non-glycylated [Brugerolle and Adoutte, 1988: Bio Systems 21: 255-268] tubulin. Immunofluorescence studies performed on dividing cells showed that the extranuclear mitotic spindle (or paradesmosis) was acetylated and glutamylated, which contrast with the ephemeral nature of this structure. Newly formed short axostyles also contained acetylated and glutamylated tubulin suggesting that both post-translational modifications might take place very early after assembly of microtubular structures. Our results indicate that acetylation and glutamylation of tubulin appeared early in the history of eukaryotes and could reflect the occurrence of post-translational modifications of tubulin in the primitive eukaryotic cells. These cells probably had a highly ordered cross-linked microtubular cytoskeleton in which microtubules showed a low level of subunit exchange dynamics.

EUS-FNA for the Diagnosis of Retroperitoneal Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aijaz A. Sofi

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET is a rare “small round blue cell tumor” that is diagnosed by open biopsy or percutaneous biopsy of the lesion under radiologic guidance. In this case report, we present a novel approach to the diagnosis of a retroperitoneal PNET by endoscopic ultrasound- (EUS- guided fine needle aspiration (FNA. A 35-year-old man presented with the history of left-sided flank pain and swelling of 3-weeks duration. Computerized tomography (CT scan of his abdomen revealed a 12.8 × 13 × 12.5 cm cystic and solid mass arising from the retroperitoneum and displacing the third and fourth portions of the duodenum. He underwent EUS which revealed a well-circumscribed heterogeneous mass abutting the inferior portion of the stomach. EUS-FNA of the mass revealed malignant cells consistent with primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET/Ewing's sarcoma. EUS-guided FNA is an appropriate technique for diagnosing retroperitoneal PNET/Ewing's sarcoma.

Fate of the three embryonic dural sinuses in infants: the primitive tentorial sinus, occipital sinus, and falcine sinus.

Science.gov (United States)

Mizutani, Katsuhiro; Miwa, Tomoru; Akiyama, Takenori; Sakamoto, Yoshiaki; Fujiwara, Hirokazu; Yoshida, Kazunari

2018-03-01

The primitive tentorial, occipital, and falcine sinuses are thought to attain the adult pattern or regress between the fetal stage and adulthood. The anatomy of these three primitive dural sinuses has seldom been studied in the infant population, and it remains unclear when these dural sinuses reach the adult condition. Using computed tomography digital subtraction venography (CT-DSV), we analyzed the anatomy of these embryonic dural sinuses in infants. We included 13 infants who underwent CT-DSV prior to neurosurgery and 35 cases with unruptured cerebral aneurysms as normal adult controls. Three embryonic dural sinuses, i.e., the primitive tentorial, occipital, and falcine sinuses, were retrospectively analyzed in CT-DSV images of infants and adults. We also analyzed the drainage patterns of the superficial middle cerebral vein (SMCV), determined by the connection between the primitive tentorial sinus and the cavernous sinus. The primitive tentorial, occipital, and falcine sinuses were present in 15.4%, 46.2%, and none of the infants, respectively, and in 10.0, 8.6, and 2.9% of the adults, respectively. The difference in SMCV draining pattern between infants and adults was insignificant. The incidence of the occipital sinus was significantly higher in infants than in adults. The connection between the primitive tentorial sinus and the cavernous sinus appears to be established before birth. The occipital sinus is formed at the embryonic stage and mostly regresses after infancy. The falcine sinus is usually obliterated prenatally. Our findings form the basis for interventions by pediatric interventional neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons.

Cell adhesive affinity does not dictate primitive endoderm segregation and positioning during murine embryoid body formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Robert; Cai, Kathy Q; Escudero, Diogo O; Xu, Xiang-Xi

2009-09-01

The classical cell sorting experiments undertaken by Townes and Holtfreter described the intrinsic propensity of dissociated embryonic cells to self-organize and reconcile into their original embryonic germ layers with characteristic histotypic positioning. Steinberg presented the differential adhesion hypothesis to explain these patterning phenomena. Here, we have reappraised these issues by implementing embryoid bodies to model the patterning of epiblast and primitive endoderm layers. We have used combinations of embryonic stem (ES) cells and their derivatives differentiated by retinoic acid treatment to model epiblast and endoderm cells, and wild-type or E-cadherin null cells to represent strongly or weakly adherent cells, respectively. One cell type was fluorescently labeled and reconstituted with another heterotypically to generate chimeric embryoid bodies, and cell sorting was tracked by time-lapse video microscopy and confirmed by immunostaining. When undifferentiated wild-type and E-cadherin null ES cells were mixed, the resulting cell aggregates consisted of a core of wild-type cells surrounded by loosely associated E-cadherin null cells, consistent with the differential adhesion hypothesis. However, when mixed with undifferentiated ES cells, the differentiated primitive endoderm-like cells sorted to the surface to form a primitive endoderm layer irrespective of cell-adhesive strength, contradicting the differential adhesion hypothesis. We propose that the primitive endoderm cells reach the surface by random movement, and subsequently the cells generate an apical/basal polarity that prevents reentry. Thus, the ability to generate epithelial polarity, rather than adhesive affinity, determines the surface positioning of the primitive endoderm cells. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Influence of sediment recycling on the trace element composition of primitive arc lavas

Science.gov (United States)

Collinet, M.; Jagoutz, O. E.

2017-12-01

Primitive calc-alkaline lavas from continental arcs are, on average, enriched in incompatible elements compared to those from intra-oceanic arcs. This relative enrichment is observed in different groups of trace elements: LILE (e.g. K, Rb), LREE to MREE (La-Dy) and HFSE (e.g.Zr, Nb) and is thought to result from (1) a transfer of material from the subducting slab to the mantle wedge at higher temperature than in intra-oceanic margins and/or (2) lower average degrees of melting in the mantle wedge, as a consequence of thicker overlying crusts and higher average pressures of melting. In addition to thicker overlying crusts and generally higher slab temperatures, continental margins are characterized by larger volumes of rock exposed above sea level and enhanced erosion rates compared to intra-oceanic arcs. As several geochemical signatures of arc lavas attest to the importance of sediment recycling in subduction zones, we explore the possibility that the high concentrations of incompatible elements in primitive lavas from continental arcs directly reflect a larger input of sediment to the subduction system. Previous efforts to quantify the sediment flux to oceanic trenches focused on the thickness of pelagic and hemipelagic sediments on top of the plate entering the subduction zone (Plank and Langmuir, 1993, Nature). These estimates primarily relied on the sediment layer drilled outboard from the subduction system and likely underestimate the volume of sediment derived from the arc itself. Accordingly, we find that such estimates of sediment flux do not correlate with the concentration of incompatible elements in primitive arc lavas. To account for regional contributions of coarser detrital sediments, usually delivered to oceanic trenches by turbidity currents, we apply to arc segments a model that quantifies the sediment load of rivers based on the average relief, area, temperature and runoff of their respective drainage areas (Syvitski et al., 2003, Sediment. Geol

High resolution array-based comparative genomic hybridisation of medulloblastomas and supra-tentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumours

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, Martin Gerard; Ichimura, Koichi; Liu, Lu; Plant, Karen; Bäcklund, L Magnus; Pearson, Danita M; Collins, Vincent Peter

2010-01-01

Medulloblastomas and supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumours are aggressive childhood tumours. We report our findings using array comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) on a whole-genome BAC/PAC/cosmid array with a median clone separation of 0.97Mb to study 34 medulloblastomas and 7 supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumours. Array CGH allowed identification and mapping of numerous novel small regions of copy number change to genomic sequence, in addition to the large regions already known from previous studies. Novel amplifications were identified, some encompassing oncogenes, MYCL1, PDGFRA, KIT and MYB, not previously reported to show amplification in these tumours. In addition, one supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumour had lost both copies of the tumour suppressor genes CDKN2A & CDKN2B. Ten medulloblastomas had findings suggestive of isochromosome 17q. In contrast to previous reports using conventional CGH, array CGH identified three distinct breakpoints in these cases: Ch 17: 17940393-19251679 (17p11.2, n=6), Ch 17: 20111990-23308272 (17p11.2-17q11.2, n=4) and Ch 17: 38425359-39091575 (17q21.31, n=1). Significant differences were found in the patterns of copy number change between medulloblastomas and supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumours, providing further evidence that these tumours are genetically distinct despite their morphological and behavioural similarities. PMID:16783165

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sadd, Ben M.; Barribeau, Seth M.; Bloch, Guy

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there ...

Acumulação primitiva:  um processo atuante na sociedade contemporânea Accumulation Primitive: un processus actif dans la societé contemporaine Primitive accumulation: a process active in contemporary society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Lencioni

2012-03-01

acumulação primitiva e reprodução do capital na sociedade contemporânea.Dans le contexte d'hégémonie de la reproduction sociale capitaliste, l'accumulation primitive est interprétée soit comme un processus du passé, soit comme un processus qui se fait présent jusqu’aujourd’hui. Notre point de vue est que l'accumulacion primitive historique n'a pas disparu. Au contraire, elle est encore une importante composante de la société contemporaine. En ce cas, les deux processus capitalistes, d'accumulation primitive et de reproduction du capital, coexistent et s’accomplissent de façon contradictoire et dialectique. Le premier processus est attaché à la spoliation et à la production d'un capital nouveau, alors que le second est attaché à l'exploration d’un capital déjà constitué qui, en même temps, fait partie de celui là. La différence entre les deux termes, spoliation et exploration, est examinée dans la première partie du texte, et en considérant la position de Harvey à propos de cette controverse. Dans la deuxième partie on discute l'accumulation primitive qui se manifeste aujourd’hui, comme la fraude, le vol et la violence, tels qu’ils se présentaient lors de la genèse du capitalisme. Bien que le monde ait changé, à cause du progrès technique, et malgré l’existence de lois de protection des droits de l'homme, il y a encore des actions semblables à celles de cette époque là. Ces actions se manifestent vraiment comme expédientes de la production du capital à la façon primitive, à savoir: le vol de terres; la rapine des ressources naturelles y inclus la biopiraterie; l'esclavage pour dette, une forme violente de spoliation où le travailleur libre, par les mécanismes de domination auxquels il est soumis, perd sa liberté. Par conséquent, on propose la thèse suivante : toutes les formes de spoliation sont productrices d'argent et de capital en potentiel et le capital financier, à son tour,  construit particuli

On the small time asymptotics of 3D stochastic primitive equations

OpenAIRE

Dong, Zhao; Zhang, Rangrang

2017-01-01

In this paper, we establish a small time large deviation principle for the strong solution of 3D stochastic primitive equations driven by multiplicative noise. Both the small noise and the small, but highly nonlinear, unbounded nonlinear terms should be taken into consideration.

Primary extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumour of breast

OpenAIRE

Ikhwan, S M; Kenneth, V K T; Seoparjoo, A; Zin, A A M

2013-01-01

Primary primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) and extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma belongs to the Ewing's family of tumours. Primary tumours arising from breast are very rare. There are only a few case reports published on primary extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma and PNET arising from breast. We present an extremely rare case of an inoperable primary Ewing's sarcoma arising from left breast with contralateral breast, lymphatic and lung metastasis.

Primary extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumour of breast.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikhwan, S M; Kenneth, V K T; Seoparjoo, A; Zin, A A M

2013-06-21

Primary primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) and extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma belongs to the Ewing's family of tumours. Primary tumours arising from breast are very rare. There are only a few case reports published on primary extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma and PNET arising from breast. We present an extremely rare case of an inoperable primary Ewing's sarcoma arising from left breast with contralateral breast, lymphatic and lung metastasis.

A PICKED SAMPLE TO THE FOOTPRINT OF PRIMITIVE INDIVIDUALISM OF RECENT DATE ART: BASQUIAT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ozgur TOSUN

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Through the culturel history, meaning of art and art object have been queried and these researchs have emerged thesis and antithesis. Fundamentaly, this article aim to comparison interaction and/or conflict with mathematical rationalist art and primitive/heuristical/romantic art. In this context, effects of primitive and experssive art to the nowadays’ art perception are examined to envolve out of Basquiat and neo expressionism. Entailment of expressive art in contemporary art is researched for answers for questions in terms of cultural and genetic heritage of art and instinctive origins of making art object.

Abundances of presolar silicon carbide grains in primitive meteorites determined by NanoSIMS

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, Jemma; Busemann, Henner; Nittler, Larry R.; Alexander, Conel M. O.'D.; Orthous-Daunay, François-Régis; Franchi, Ian A.; Hoppe, Peter

2014-08-01

It has been suggested that the matrices of all chondrites are dominated by a common material with Ivuna-like (CI) abundances of volatiles, presolar grains and insoluble organic matter (IOM) (e.g., Alexander, 2005). However, matrix-normalized abundances of presolar silicon carbide (SiC) grains estimated from their noble gas components show significant variations in even the most primitive chondrites (Huss and Lewis, 1995; Huss et al., 2003), in contradiction to there being a common chondrite matrix material. Here we report presolar SiC abundances determined by NanoSIMS raster ion imaging of IOM extracted from primitive members of different meteorite groups. We show that presolar SiC abundance determinations are comparable between NanoSIMS instruments located at three different institutes, between residues prepared by different demineralization techniques, and between microtomed and non-microtomed samples. Our derived SiC abundances in CR chondrites are comparable to those found in the CI chondrites (∼30 ppm) and are much higher than previously determined by noble gas analyses. The revised higher CR SiC abundances are consistent with the CRs being amongst the most primitive chondrites in terms of the isotopic compositions and disordered nature of their organic matter. Similar abundances between CR1, CR2, and CR3 chondrites indicate aqueous alteration on the CR chondrite parent body has not progressively destroyed SiC grains in them. A low SiC abundance for the reduced CV3 RBT 04133 can be explained by parent body thermal metamorphism at an estimated temperature of ∼440 °C. Minor differences between primitive members of other meteorite classes, which did not experience such high temperatures, may be explained by prolonged oxidation at lower temperatures under which SiC grains formed outer layers of SiO2 that were not thermodynamically stable, leading to progressive degassing/destruction of SiC.

Medulloblastomas - primitive neuroectodermal tumours in the adult population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smee, R.I.; Williams, J.R.

2008-01-01

Medulloblastomas - primitive neuroectodermal tumours are rare in adults. This review will evaluate a single centre's experience with this malignancy. The medulloblastoma - primitive neuroectodermal tumour database was evaluated for all patients aged more than 18 years who were referred for management. Relevant information from the database was abstracted to provide a descriptive record of this malignancy. Between 1977-2004 there were 11 patients referred, 1 with persistent disease and 10 were eligible, presenting with initial diagnosis. There was increased intracranial pressure in 50% of patients. Most patients had symptoms >3 months, with three having symptoms 1-3 months before diagnosis and one patient having thoracic dural metastases at presentation. Complete resection was recorded in four patients and six had 50-90% resection. All patients completed craniospinal radiotherapy (35-36 Gy at 1.8-2.0 Gy fractions) barring one patient, who died of surgical complications during his radiotherapy. Chemotherapy was given in five of the nine patients postradiotherapy. There were two posterior fossa recurrences, with associated supratentorial and extra central nervous system disease. Of the 10 primary patients 7 are alive with no evidence of diease, 2 died because of disease, with 1 intercurrent death. One patient developed a second malignancy. The outcome for adults matches that of the more common paediatric patients. Radiotherapy could control local disease even where complete resection was not achieved.

Amylose primitive médiastinale d'aspect pseudotumoral

Science.gov (United States)

Mahfoudhi, Madiha; Mamlouk, Habiba; Turki, Sami; Kheder, Adel

2015-01-01

L'amylose primitive médiastinale isolée est rare et de diagnostic difficile. Nous rapportons l'observation d'un patient âgé de 41 ans ayant présenté une dyspnée et des crachats hémoptoïques. A l'examen physique il n'avait pas d'hypotension orthostatique. Les aires ganglionnaires périphériques étaient libres. La tomodensitométrie thoracique a objectivé un magma d'adénopathies médiastinales réalisant une masse de 45 mm x 60 mm. L'examen anatomopathologique d'une biopsie ganglionnaire guidée par médiastinoscopie a conclut a une amylose médiastinale de type AL. Il n'avait pas d'autres localisations amyloïdes. Un myélome multiple a été éliminé. Le diagnostic d'amylose primitive médiastinale de type AL a été retenu. Le traitement s'est basé sur des cures de Melphalan-prednisone. La chirurgie était évitée vu le risque hémorragique élevé. L’évolution était marquée par l'amélioration de la dyspnée, la disparition de l'hémoptysie et la diminution de la taille de la masse ganglionnaire devenant 25 mm x 20 mm. PMID:26308913

Accumulation of soluble sugars in peel at high temperature leads to stay-green ripe banana fruit.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaotang; Pang, Xuequn; Xu, Lanying; Fang, Ruiqiu; Huang, Xuemei; Guan, Peijian; Lu, Wangjin; Zhang, Zhaoqi

2009-01-01

Bananas (Musa acuminata, AAA group) fail to develop a yellow peel and stay green when ripening at temperatures >24 degrees C. The identification of the mechanisms leading to the development of stay-green ripe bananas has practical value and is helpful in revealing pathways involved in the regulation of chlorophyll (Chl) degradation. In the present study, the Chl degradation pathway was characterized and the progress of ripening and senescence was assessed in banana peel at 30 degrees C versus 20 degrees C, by monitoring relevant gene expression and ripening and senescence parameters. A marked reduction in the expression levels of the genes for Chl b reductase, SGR (Stay-green protein), and pheophorbide a oxygenase was detected for the fruit ripening at 30 degrees C, when compared with fruit at 20 degrees C, indicating that Chl degradation was repressed at 30 degrees C at various steps along the Chl catabolic pathway. The repressed Chl degradation was not due to delayed ripening and senescence, since the fruit at 30 degrees C displayed faster onset of various ripening and senescence symptoms, suggesting that the stay-green ripe bananas are of similar phenotype to type C stay-green mutants. Faster accumulation of high levels of fructose and glucose in the peel at 30 degrees C prompted investigation of the roles of soluble sugars in Chl degradation. In vitro incubation of detached pieces of banana peel showed that the pieces of peel stayed green when incubated with 150 mM glucose or fructose, but turned completely yellow in the absence of sugars or with 150 mM mannitol, at either 20 degrees C or 30 degrees C. The results suggest that accumulation of sugars in the peel induced by a temperature of 30 degrees C may be a major factor regulating Chl degradation independently of fruit senescence.

Antioxidant and Antiplatelet Activities in Extracts from Green and Fully Ripe Tomato Fruits (Solanum lycopersicum and Pomace from Industrial Tomato Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Fuentes

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The consumption of fruits and vegetables is accepted to be one of the strategies to reduce risk factors for these diseases. The aim of this study was to examine potential relationships between the antioxidant and the antiplatelet activities in green mature and fully ripe (red tomatoes and of lycopene-rich byproducts of tomato paste processing such as pomace. The total phenol content of tomato components was the highest in peels, pulp, and in the mucilaginous myxotesta covering the tomato seeds with values 36.9±0.8, 33.3±00.5, and 17.6±0.9 mg GAE/100 g, respectively (P<0.05. Tomato peels had the highest antioxidant activity, both, as measured by the FRAP (46.9±0.9 μmol Fe+2/g, P<0.05 and the DPPH assays (97.4±0.2%, 1000 μg/mL, P<0.05. Pomace extracts showed the highest antiplatelet activity induced by ADP, collagen, TRAP-6, and arachidonic acid. While the maturation stage of the tomato fruit affected the antioxidant effect, antiplatelet activity was independent of fruit ripeness. Finally, based on the present results, tomato and its byproducts may be considered as a valuable source of antioxidant and antiplatelet activities.

An online gait generator for quadruped walking using motor primitives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunlin Zhou

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This article presents implementation of an online gait generator on a quadruped robot. Firstly, the design of a quadruped robot is presented. The robot contains four leg modules each of which is constructed by a 2 degrees of freedom (2-DOF five-bar parallel linkage mechanism. Together with other two rotational DOF, the leg module is able to perform 4-DOF movement. The parallel mechanism of the robot allows all the servos attached on the body frame, so that the leg mass is decreased and motor load can be balanced. Secondly, an online gait generator based on dynamic movement primitives for the walking control is presented. Dynamic movement primitives provide an approach to generate periodic trajectories and they can be modulated in real time, which makes the online adjustment of walking gaits possible. This gait controller is tested by the quadruped robot in regulating walking speed, switching between forward\\backward movements and steering. The controller is easy to apply, expand and is quite effective on phase coordination and online trajectory modulation. Results of simulated experiments are presented.

Development of membrane mechanical function during terminal stages of primitive erythropoiesis in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Waugh, Richard E; Huang, Yu-Shan; Arif, Binish J; Bauserman, Richard; Palis, James

2013-04-01

During murine embryogenesis, primitive erythroblasts enter the circulation as immature nucleated cells and progressively mature as a semisynchronous cohort, enucleating between E12.5 and E16.5. In this report, we examine the mechanical properties of these cells to determine how their mechanical development differs from that of definitive erythroid cells, which mature extravascularly in protected marrow microenvironments. Primitive erythroid cells acquire normal membrane deformability by E12.5 (i.e., as late stage erythroblasts) and maintain the same level of surface stiffness through E17.5. During this same period, the strength of association between the membrane bilayer and the underlying skeleton increases, as indicated by an approximate doubling of the energy required to separate bilayer from skeleton. At the same time, these cells undergo dramatic changes in surface area and volume, losing 35% of their surface area and 50% of their volume from E14.5 to E17.5. Interestingly, membrane remodeling proceeded regardless of whether the cells completed enucleation. These data suggest that in primitive erythroid cells, unlike their definitive counterparts, the critical maturational processes of membrane remodeling and enucleation are uncoupled. Copyright © 2013 ISEH - Society for Hematology and Stem Cells. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Primary dorsal spine primitive neuroectodermal tumor in an adult patient: Case report and literature review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satyashiva Munjal

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Primary spinal primitive neuroectodermal tumor (psPNET is a rare entity with few cases reported in literature. We report a case of a 50-year-old female who presented to us with paraplegia and was diagnosed with extradural dorsal spine psPNET. The diagnosis was not suspected at presentation or on radiology but was established on histopathological examination. It is important to distinguish it from central nervous system primitive neuroectodermal tumors and from other spinal tumors since it follows a different clinical course and therapeutic outcome.

A Synoptic of Software Implementation for Shift Registers Based on 16th Degree Primitive Polynomials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirella Amelia Mioc

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Almost all of the major applications in the specific Fields of Communication used a well-known device called Linear Feedback Shift Register. Usually LFSR functions in a Galois Field GF(2n, meaning that all the operations are done with arithmetic modulo n degree Irreducible  and especially  Primitive Polynomials. Storing data in Galois Fields allows effective and manageable manipulation, mainly in computer cryptographic applications. The analysis of functioning for Primitive Polynomials of 16th degree shows that almost all the obtained results are in the same time distribution.

Aesthetic primitivism revisited: The global diaspora of ‘primitive art’ and the rise of indigenous modernisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth B. Phillips

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the global export of the construct of primitive art which developed in Europe in the early-twentieth century and the catalytic role it played in the emergence of modernist art forms produced by Indigenous peoples. It argues for the need to distinguish between sociological primitivism grounded in cultural evolutionist theory and the aesthetic primitivism promoted by artists, ethnologists and patrons who admired and appropriated the traditional arts of non-Western peoples classified as 'primitive.' Case studies of two refugees from Nazi Europe, German ethnologist Leonhard Adam and Austrian artist George Swinton, demonstrate the tension between received understandings of primitive art and these men's growing awareness, following emigration, of Indigenous modernities. It also led to their active promotion of modern Australian Aboriginal and Inuit arts, despite the undoubted links between aesthetic primitivism and the oppressive assimilationist policies justified through sociological primitivism.

Primitivity and weak distributivity in near rings and matrix near rings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbasi, S.J.

1993-08-01

This paper shows the structure of matrix near ring constructed over a weakly distributive and primative near ring. It is proved that a weakly distributive primitive near ring is a ring and the matrix near rings constructed over it is also a bag. (author). 14 refs

Perceptual integration of kinematic components in the recognition of emotional facial expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiovetto, Enrico; Curio, Cristóbal; Endres, Dominik; Giese, Martin

2018-04-01

According to a long-standing hypothesis in motor control, complex body motion is organized in terms of movement primitives, reducing massively the dimensionality of the underlying control problems. For body movements, this low-dimensional organization has been convincingly demonstrated by the learning of low-dimensional representations from kinematic and EMG data. In contrast, the effective dimensionality of dynamic facial expressions is unknown, and dominant analysis approaches have been based on heuristically defined facial "action units," which reflect contributions of individual face muscles. We determined the effective dimensionality of dynamic facial expressions by learning of a low-dimensional model from 11 facial expressions. We found an amazingly low dimensionality with only two movement primitives being sufficient to simulate these dynamic expressions with high accuracy. This low dimensionality is confirmed statistically, by Bayesian model comparison of models with different numbers of primitives, and by a psychophysical experiment that demonstrates that expressions, simulated with only two primitives, are indistinguishable from natural ones. In addition, we find statistically optimal integration of the emotion information specified by these primitives in visual perception. Taken together, our results indicate that facial expressions might be controlled by a very small number of independent control units, permitting very low-dimensional parametrization of the associated facial expression.

Effects of primitive photosynthesis on Earth's early climate system

Science.gov (United States)

Ozaki, Kazumi; Tajika, Eiichi; Hong, Peng K.; Nakagawa, Yusuke; Reinhard, Christopher T.

2018-01-01

The evolution of different forms of photosynthetic life has profoundly altered the activity level of the biosphere, radically reshaping the composition of Earth's oceans and atmosphere over time. However, the mechanistic impacts of a primitive photosynthetic biosphere on Earth's early atmospheric chemistry and climate are poorly understood. Here, we use a global redox balance model to explore the biogeochemical and climatological effects of different forms of primitive photosynthesis. We find that a hybrid ecosystem of H2-based and Fe2+-based anoxygenic photoautotrophs—organisms that perform photosynthesis without producing oxygen—gives rise to a strong nonlinear amplification of Earth's methane (CH4) cycle, and would thus have represented a critical component of Earth's early climate system before the advent of oxygenic photosynthesis. Using a Monte Carlo approach, we find that a hybrid photosynthetic biosphere widens the range of geochemical conditions that allow for warm climate states well beyond either of these metabolic processes acting in isolation. Our results imply that the Earth's early climate was governed by a novel and poorly explored set of regulatory feedbacks linking the anoxic biosphere and the coupled H, C and Fe cycles. We suggest that similar processes should be considered when assessing the potential for sustained habitability on Earth-like planets with reducing atmospheres.

Identifying the primitive path mesh in entangled polymer liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sukumaran, Sathish K.; Kremer, Kurt; Grest, Gary Stephen; Everaers, Ralf

2004-01-01

Similar to entangled ropes, polymer chains cannot slide through each other. These topological constraints, the so-called entanglements, dominate the viscoelastic behavior of high-molecular-weight polymeric liquids. Tube models of polymer dynamics and rheology are based on the idea that entanglements confine a chain to small fluctuations around a primitive path which follows the coarse-grained chain contour. To establish the microscopic foundation for these highly successful phenomenological models, we have recently introduced a method for identifying the primitive path mesh that characterizes the microscopic topological state of computer-generated conformations of long-chain polymer melts and solutions. Here we give a more detailed account of the algorithm and discuss several key aspects of the analysis that are pertinent for its successful use in analyzing the topology of the polymer configurations. We also present a slight modification of the algorithm that preserves the previously neglected self-entanglements and allows us to distinguish between local self-knots and entanglements between distant sections of the same chain. Our results indicate that the latter make a negligible contribution to the tube and that the contour length between local self-knots, N 1k is significantly larger than the entanglement length N e

Chemical composition of essential oil from ripe fruit of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi and evaluation of its activity against wild strains of hospital origin.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, E R; dos Santos, R B; Lacerda Júnior, V; Martins, J D L; Greco, S J; Cunha Neto, A

2014-01-01

The essential oil (EO) composition of ripe fruit of S. terebinthifolius Raddi was analyzed by GC-MS. The oil extraction yielded 6.54 ± 1.06% (w/w). Seventeen compounds were identified, accounting for 91.15% of the total oil, where monoterpenes constituted the main chemical class (85.81%), followed by sesquiterpenes (5.34%). The major monoterpene identified was δ-3-carene (30.37%), followed by limonene (17.44%), α-phellandrene (12.60%) and α-pinene (12.59%). Trans-caryophyllene (1.77%) was the major sesquiterpene identified. The antibacterial activity of the essential oil was evaluated against wild strains of hospital origin (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas sp., Klebsiella oxytoca, Corynebacterium sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter sp., Enterobacter agglomerans, Bacillus sp., Nocardia sp. and Streptococcus group D). The essential oil of the ripe fruit of S. terebinthifolius Raddi has shown to be active against all tested wild strains, with minimum inhibitory concentration ranging from 3.55 μg/mL to 56.86 μg/mL. However, it has revealed some differences in susceptibility: the general, Gram-positive species showed greater sensitivity to the action of EO, which is probably due to the lower structural complexity of their cell walls.

Wnt signaling controls the specification of definitive and primitive hematopoiesis from human pluripotent stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Sturgeon, Christopher M; Ditadi, Andrea; Awong, Geneve; Kennedy, Marion; Keller, Gordon

2014-06-01

Efforts to derive hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are complicated by the fact that embryonic hematopoiesis consists of two programs, primitive and definitive, that differ in developmental potential. As only definitive hematopoiesis generates HSCs, understanding how this program develops is essential for being able to produce this cell population in vitro. Here we show that both hematopoietic programs transition through hemogenic endothelial intermediates and develop from KDR(+)CD34(-)CD144(-) progenitors that are distinguished by CD235a expression. Generation of primitive progenitors (KDR(+)CD235a(+)) depends on stage-specific activin-nodal signaling and inhibition of the Wnt-β-catenin pathway, whereas specification of definitive progenitors (KDR(+)CD235a(-)) requires Wnt-β-catenin signaling during this same time frame. Together, these findings establish simple selective differentiation strategies for the generation of primitive or definitive hematopoietic progenitors by Wnt-β-catenin manipulation, and in doing so provide access to enriched populations for future studies on hPSC-derived hematopoietic development.

Primitive Endoderm Differentiation: From Specification to Epithelialization.

Science.gov (United States)

Bassalert, Cécilia; Valverde-Estrella, Lorena; Chazaud, Claire

2018-01-01

At the time of implantation, the mouse blastocyst has developed three cell lineages: the epiblast (Epi), the primitive endoderm (PrE), and the trophectoderm (TE). The PrE and TE are extraembryonic tissues but their interactions with the Epi are critical to sustain embryonic growth, as well as to pattern the embryo. We review here the cellular and molecular events that lead to the production of PrE and Epi lineages and discuss the different hypotheses that are proposed for the induction of these cell types. In the second part, we report the current knowledge about the epithelialization of the PrE. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Primary primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the cervix

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Bo; Ouyang, Ling; Han, Xue; Zhou, Yang; Tong, Xin; Zhang, Shulang; Zhang, Qingfu

2013-01-01

Primary primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) are rare and high-grade malignant tumors that mostly occur in children and young adults. The most common sites are the trunk, limbs, and retroperitoneum. Herein, we present a case of a PNET involving the cervix uteri in a 27-year-old woman. The lesion showed characteristic histologic features of a PNET and was positive for the immunohistochemical markers cluster of differentiation (CD) 99, vimentin, neuron-specific enolase, neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (CD56), and CD117 (c-kit), further defining the tumor while helping to confirm PNET. The clinical Stage IIIB tumor was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. PMID:23836982

the reception of the deuteronomic social law in the primitive church

African Journals Online (AJOL)

of the Primitive Church's social and ecclesiological (self-)understanding, this study highlights ... have been written by Moses as well, the Book of Deuteronomy presents itself overall as a .... to reform society reached their limits when they became economically, socially and ..... sins of adultery and prostitution. In light of these ...

The negative impact of Wnt signaling on megakaryocyte and primitive erythroid progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prasuna Paluru

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The Wnt gene family consists of structurally related genes encoding secreted signaling molecules that have been implicated in many developmental processes, including regulation of cell fate and patterning during embryogenesis. Previously, we found that Wnt signaling is required for primitive or yolk sac-derived-erythropoiesis using the murine embryonic stem cell (ESC system. Here, we examine the effect of Wnt signaling on the formation of early hematopoietic progenitors derived from human ESCs. The first hematopoietic progenitor cells in the human ESC system express the pan-hematopoietic marker CD41 and the erythrocyte marker, glycophorin A or CD235. We have developed a novel serum-free, feeder-free, adherent differentiation system that can efficiently generate large numbers of CD41 + CD235+ cells. We demonstrate that this cell population contains progenitors not just for primitive erythroid and megakaryocyte cells but for the myeloid lineage as well and term this population the primitive common myeloid progenitor (CMP. Treatment of mesoderm-specified cells with Wnt3a led to a loss of hematopoietic colony-forming ability while the inhibition of canonical Wnt signaling with DKK1 led to an increase in the number of primitive CMPs. Canonical Wnt signaling also inhibits the expansion and/or survival of primitive erythrocytes and megakaryocytes, but not myeloid cells, derived from this progenitor population. These findings are in contrast to the role of Wnt signaling during mouse ESC differentiation and demonstrate the importance of the human ESC system in studying species-specific differences in development.

Polycomb enables primitive endoderm lineage priming in embryonic stem cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Illingworth, Robert S; Hölzenspies, Jurriaan J; Roske, Fabian V

2016-01-01

Mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), like the blastocyst from which they are derived, contain precursors of the epiblast (Epi) and primitive endoderm (PrEn) lineages. While transient in vivo, these precursor populations readily interconvert in vitro. We show that altered transcription is the driver...... polycomb with dynamic changes in transcription and stalled lineage commitment, allowing cells to explore alternative choices prior to a definitive decision....

The zeatin content of tomatoes as a function of the degree of ripeness, irradiation and storage time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, E.; Voeroes, Zs.

1975-01-01

The zeatin content of the San Marzano variety tomatoes was studied as a function of their degree of ripeness (fruitlet, green fruit, pink fruit, red fruit), storage time (at 20-23 deg C and 40-50% RH) and radiation treatment (4 krad). The zeatin content of tomatoes determined by thin-layer chromatography decreased with the advancement of ripening. The zeatin content of freshly picked pink tomatoes increased immediately upon radiation treatment with 4 krad. After 9 day storage the zeatin content of both irradiated and untreated tomato samples decreased during the 9-day storage time. On the 9th day the zeatin content of the irradiated tomatoes was 20% higher than that of the untreated ones. (F.J.)

A compact representation of drawing movements with sequences of parabolic primitives.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Polyakov

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Some studies suggest that complex arm movements in humans and monkeys may optimize several objective functions, while others claim that arm movements satisfy geometric constraints and are composed of elementary components. However, the ability to unify different constraints has remained an open question. The criterion for a maximally smooth (minimizing jerk motion is satisfied for parabolic trajectories having constant equi-affine speed, which thus comply with the geometric constraint known as the two-thirds power law. Here we empirically test the hypothesis that parabolic segments provide a compact representation of spontaneous drawing movements. Monkey scribblings performed during a period of practice were recorded. Practiced hand paths could be approximated well by relatively long parabolic segments. Following practice, the orientations and spatial locations of the fitted parabolic segments could be drawn from only 2-4 clusters, and there was less discrepancy between the fitted parabolic segments and the executed paths. This enabled us to show that well-practiced spontaneous scribbling movements can be represented as sequences ("words" of a small number of elementary parabolic primitives ("letters". A movement primitive can be defined as a movement entity that cannot be intentionally stopped before its completion. We found that in a well-trained monkey a movement was usually decelerated after receiving a reward, but it stopped only after the completion of a sequence composed of several parabolic segments. Piece-wise parabolic segments can be generated by applying affine geometric transformations to a single parabolic template. Thus, complex movements might be constructed by applying sequences of suitable geometric transformations to a few templates. Our findings therefore suggest that the motor system aims at achieving more parsimonious internal representations through practice, that parabolas serve as geometric primitives and that non

Fermat’s ‘primitive solutions’ and some arithmetic of elliptic curves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Top, Jaap

1993-01-01

In his work on Diophantine equations of the form y2=ax4+bx3+cx2+dx+e, Fermat introduced the notion of primitive solutions. In this expository note we intend to interpret this notion more geometrically, and explain what it means in terms of the arithmetic of elliptic curves. The specific equation

Navigation Strategies for Primitive Solar System Body Rendezvous and Proximity Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Getzandanner, Kenneth M.

2011-01-01

A wealth of scientific knowledge regarding the composition and evolution of the solar system can be gained through reconnaissance missions to primitive solar system bodies. This paper presents analysis of a baseline navigation strategy designed to address the unique challenges of primitive body navigation. Linear covariance and Monte Carlo error analysis was performed on a baseline navigation strategy using simulated data from a· design reference mission (DRM). The objective of the DRM is to approach, rendezvous, and maintain a stable orbit about the near-Earth asteroid 4660 Nereus. The outlined navigation strategy and resulting analyses, however, are not necessarily limited to this specific target asteroid as they may he applicable to a diverse range of mission scenarios. The baseline navigation strategy included simulated data from Deep Space Network (DSN) radiometric tracking and optical image processing (OpNav). Results from the linear covariance and Monte Carlo analyses suggest the DRM navigation strategy is sufficient to approach and perform proximity operations in the vicinity of the target asteroid with meter-level accuracy.

Conservative multimodal management of a primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the thyroid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliette Haudebourg

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET represent 1% of sarcomas. Head and neck peripheral PNETs have an intermediate prognosis between abdominopelvic disease and extremities. We here report the case of a 40-year old male who presented with primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the thyroid and was treated by multimodal treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and intermediate dose radiotherapy. The patient is alive and fit with a functional larynx at 27 months. Multimodal treatments yield five-year survival rates of about 60%. Major drug regimens use vincristine, doxorubicin, ifosfamide or cyclophosphamide, dactinomycin and/or etoposide. Complete surgical excision is undertaken whenever possible to improve long-term survival. However, the relative radiosensitivity of tumors of the Ewing family, suggest multimodal treatment including adjuvant conformal radiotherapy in case of positive margins or poor response to chemotherapy rather than resection with 2-3 cm margins, which would imply laryngeal sacrifice for thyroid tumors. The role of expert rare tumor networks is crucial for optimal decision-making and management of such rare tumors on a case by case basis.

Friend of GATA (FOG) interacts with the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase complex (NuRD) to support primitive erythropoiesis in Xenopus laevis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mimoto, Mizuho S; Christian, Jan L

2012-01-01

Friend of GATA (FOG) plays many diverse roles in adult and embryonic hematopoiesis, however the mechanisms by which it functions and the roles of potential interaction partners are not completely understood. Previous work has shown that overexpression of FOG in Xenopus laevis causes loss of blood suggesting that in contrast to its role in mammals, FOG might normally function to repress erythropoiesis in this species. Using loss-of-function analysis, we demonstrate that FOG is essential to support primitive red blood cell (RBC) development in Xenopus. Moreover, we show that it is specifically required to prevent excess apoptosis of circulating primitive RBCs and that in the absence of FOG, the pro-apoptotic gene Bim-1 is strongly upregulated. To identify domains of FOG that are essential for blood development and, conversely, to begin to understand the mechanism by which overexpressed FOG represses primitive erythropoiesis, we asked whether FOG mutants that are unable to interact with known co-factors retain their ability to rescue blood formation in FOG morphants and whether they repress erythropoiesis when overexpressed in wild type embryos. We find that interaction of FOG with the Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase complex (NuRD), but not with C-terminal Binding Protein, is essential for normal primitive RBC development. In contrast, overexpression of all mutant and wild type constructs causes a comparable repression of primitive erythropoiesis. Together, our data suggest that a requirement for FOG and its interaction with NuRD during primitive erythropoiesis are conserved in Xenopus and that loss of blood upon FOG overexpression is due to a dominant-interfering effect.

Exploring Hardware-Based Primitives to Enhance Parallel Security Monitoring in a Novel Computing Architecture

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mott, Stephen

2007-01-01

This research explores how hardware-based primitives can be implemented to perform security-related monitoring in real-time, offer better security, and increase performance compared to software-based approaches...

Primitive magmas at five Cascade volcanic fields: Melts from hot, heterogeneous sub-arc mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Bacon, C.R.; Bruggman, P.E.; Christiansen, R.L.; Clynne, M.A.; Donnelly-Nolan, J. M.; Hildreth, W.

1997-01-01

Major and trace element concentrations, including REE by isotope dilution, and Sr, Nd, Pb, and O isotope ratios have been determined for 38 mafic lavas from the Mount Adams, Crater Lake, Mount Shasta, Medicine Lake, and Lassen volcanic fields, in the Cascade arc, northwestern part of the United States. Many of the samples have a high Mg# [100Mg/(Mg + FeT) > 60] and Ni content (>140 ppm) such that we consider them to be primitive. We recognize three end-member primitive magma groups in the Cascades, characterized mainly by their trace-element and alkali-metal abundances: (1) High-alumina olivine tholeiite (HAOT) has trace element abundances similar to N-MORB, except for slightly elevated LILE, and has Eu/Eu* > 1. (2) Arc basalt and basaltic andesite have notably higher LILE contents, generally have higher SiO2 contents, are more oxidized, and have higher Cr for a given Ni abundance than HAOT. These lavas show relative depletion in HFSE, have lower HREE and higher LREE than HAOT, and have smaller Eu/Eu* (0.94-1.06). (3) Alkali basalt from the Simcoe volcanic field east of Mount Adams represents the third end-member, which contributes an intraplate geochemical signature to magma compositions. Notable geochemical features among the volcanic fields are: (1) Mount Adams rocks are richest in Fe and most incompatible elements including HFSE; (2) the most incompatible-element depleted lavas occur at Medicine Lake; (3) all centers have relatively primitive lavas with high LILE/HFSE ratios but only the Mount Adams, Lassen, and Medicine Lake volcanic fields also have relatively primitive rocks with an intraplate geochemical signature; (4) there is a tendency for increasing 87Sr/86Sr, 207Pb/204Pb, and ??18O and decreasing 206Pb/204Pb and 143Nd/144Nd from north to south. The three end-member Cascade magma types reflect contributions from three mantle components: depleted sub-arc mantle modestly enriched in LILE during ancient subduction; a modern, hydrous subduction component

Primary intraspinal extradural primitive neuroectodermal tumor: A rare case.

Science.gov (United States)

Rege, Shrikant V; Tadghare, Jitendra; Patil, Harshad; Narayan, Sharadendu

2016-01-01

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) are aggressive childhood malignancies and are difficult to treat. Primary intraspinal PNETs are rare. These patients have poor prognosis with short survival time even after surgery and chemoradiation. As there are no standard guidelines exist for the management of these tumors, a multidisciplinary approach has been employed with varying success. According to the review of literature, only few cases of primary intraspinal extradural PNETs have been reported. Herein, author has described a case of intraspinal, extradural PNET.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumour of the kidney with vena caval and atrial tumour thrombus: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ong Poh

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Renal primitive neuroectodermal tumour is an extremely rare malignancy. Case presentation A 21-year-old woman presented with microscopic haematuria, a palpable right loin mass, dyspnoea, dizziness and fatigue. Initial ultrasound scan of the kidneys revealed an 11 cm right renal mass with venous extension into the inferior vena cava. Computed tomography of the thorax and abdomen revealed an extension of the large renal mass into the right renal vein, inferior vena cava and up to the right atrium. A small paracaval lymph node was noted and three small metastatic nodules were identified within the lung parenchyma. The patient underwent a radical nephrectomy and inferior vena caval tumour (level IV thrombectomy with cardiopulmonary bypass and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Immunohistochemical staining of the specimen showed a highly specific cluster of differentiation (CD 99, thus confirming the diagnosis of a primitive neuroectodermal tumour. Conclusion It is important that a renal primitive neuroectodermal tumour be considered, particularly in young patients with a renal mass and extensive thrombus.

The language of geometry: Fast comprehension of geometrical primitives and rules in human adults and preschoolers

Science.gov (United States)

Amalric, Marie; Wang, Liping; Figueira, Santiago; Sigman, Mariano; Dehaene, Stanislas

2017-01-01

During language processing, humans form complex embedded representations from sequential inputs. Here, we ask whether a “geometrical language” with recursive embedding also underlies the human ability to encode sequences of spatial locations. We introduce a novel paradigm in which subjects are exposed to a sequence of spatial locations on an octagon, and are asked to predict future locations. The sequences vary in complexity according to a well-defined language comprising elementary primitives and recursive rules. A detailed analysis of error patterns indicates that primitives of symmetry and rotation are spontaneously detected and used by adults, preschoolers, and adult members of an indigene group in the Amazon, the Munduruku, who have a restricted numerical and geometrical lexicon and limited access to schooling. Furthermore, subjects readily combine these geometrical primitives into hierarchically organized expressions. By evaluating a large set of such combinations, we obtained a first view of the language needed to account for the representation of visuospatial sequences in humans, and conclude that they encode visuospatial sequences by minimizing the complexity of the structured expressions that capture them. PMID:28125595

Hierarchical HMM based learning of navigation primitives for cooperative robotic endovascular catheterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Rafii-Tari, Hedyeh; Liu, Jindong; Payne, Christopher J; Bicknell, Colin; Yang, Guang-Zhong

2014-01-01

Despite increased use of remote-controlled steerable catheter navigation systems for endovascular intervention, most current designs are based on master configurations which tend to alter natural operator tool interactions. This introduces problems to both ergonomics and shared human-robot control. This paper proposes a novel cooperative robotic catheterization system based on learning-from-demonstration. By encoding the higher-level structure of a catheterization task as a sequence of primitive motions, we demonstrate how to achieve prospective learning for complex tasks whilst incorporating subject-specific variations. A hierarchical Hidden Markov Model is used to model each movement primitive as well as their sequential relationship. This model is applied to generation of motion sequences, recognition of operator input, and prediction of future movements for the robot. The framework is validated by comparing catheter tip motions against the manual approach, showing significant improvements in the quality of catheterization. The results motivate the design of collaborative robotic systems that are intuitive to use, while reducing the cognitive workload of the operator.

Deducing trapdoor primitives in public key encryption schemes

Science.gov (United States)

Pandey, Chandra

2005-03-01

Semantic security of public key encryption schemes is often interchangeable with the art of building trapdoors. In the frame of reference of Random Oracle methodology, the "Key Privacy" and "Anonymity" has often been discussed. However to a certain degree the security of most public key encryption schemes is required to be analyzed with formal proofs using one-way functions. This paper evaluates the design of El Gamal and RSA based schemes and attempts to parallelize the trapdoor primitives used in the computation of the cipher text, thereby magnifying the decryption error δp in the above schemes.

Dust formation in a galaxy with primitive abundances.

Science.gov (United States)

Sloan, G C; Matsuura, M; Zijlstra, A A; Lagadec, E; Groenewegen, M A T; Wood, P R; Szyszka, C; Bernard-Salas, J; van Loon, J Th

2009-01-16

Interstellar dust plays a crucial role in the evolution of galaxies. It governs the chemistry and physics of the interstellar medium. In the local universe, dust forms primarily in the ejecta from stars, but its composition and origin in galaxies at very early times remain controversial. We report observational evidence of dust forming around a carbon star in a nearby galaxy with a low abundance of heavy elements, 25 times lower than the solar abundance. The production of dust by a carbon star in a galaxy with such primitive abundances raises the possibility that carbon stars contributed carbonaceous dust in the early universe.

Chemical composition of essential oil from ripe fruit of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi and evaluation of its activity against wild strains of hospital origin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E.R. Cole

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The essential oil (EO composition of ripe fruit of S. terebinthifolius Raddi was analyzed by GC-MS. The oil extraction yielded 6.54 ± 1.06% (w/w. Seventeen compounds were identified, accounting for 91.15% of the total oil, where monoterpenes constituted the main chemical class (85.81%, followed by sesquiterpenes (5.34%. The major monoterpene identified was δ-3-carene (30.37%, followed by limonene (17.44%, α-phellandrene (12.60% and α-pinene (12.59%. Trans-caryophyllene (1.77% was the major sesquiterpene identified. The antibacterial activity of the essential oil was evaluated against wild strains of hospital origin (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas sp., Klebsiella oxytoca, Corynebacterium sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter sp., Enterobacter agglomerans, Bacillus sp., Nocardia sp. and Streptococcus group D. The essential oil of the ripe fruit of S. terebinthifolius Raddi has shown to be active against all tested wild strains, with minimum inhibitory concentration ranging from 3.55 μg/mL to 56.86 μg/mL. However, it has revealed some differences in susceptibility: the general, Gram-positive species showed greater sensitivity to the action of EO, which is probably due to the lower structural complexity of their cell walls.

Design and Analysis of Symmetric Primitives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauridsen, Martin Mehl

. In the second part, we delve into the matter of the various aspects of designing a symmetric cryptographic primitive. We start by considering generalizations of the widely acclaimed Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) block cipher. In particular, our focus is on a component operation in the cipher which permutes...... analyze and implement modes recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as well as authenticated encryption modes from the CAESAR competition, when instantiated with the AES. The data processed in our benchmarking has sizes representative to that of typical Internet traffic...... linear cryptanalysis. We apply this model to the standardized block cipher PRESENT. Finally, we present very generic attacks on two authenticated encryption schemes, AVALANCHE and RBS, by pointing out severe design flaws that can be leveraged to fully recover the secret key with very low complexity...

Radiotherapy in stereotactic conditions with CyberKnife of primitive or secondary hepatic lesions: lessons learnt by the Alexis-Vautrin Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taste-George, H.; Peiffert, D.

2010-01-01

The author report the experience gained on patients treated by irradiation in stereotactic conditions for primitive or secondary hepatic lesions. Thirty three patients have been treated, 22 suffering from secondary lesions and 11 from primitive lesions. The treatment technique is not much constraining for the patient, is not much toxic, and provides a high local tumour control. Short communication

Friend of GATA (FOG interacts with the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase complex (NuRD to support primitive erythropoiesis in Xenopus laevis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mizuho S Mimoto

Full Text Available Friend of GATA (FOG plays many diverse roles in adult and embryonic hematopoiesis, however the mechanisms by which it functions and the roles of potential interaction partners are not completely understood. Previous work has shown that overexpression of FOG in Xenopus laevis causes loss of blood suggesting that in contrast to its role in mammals, FOG might normally function to repress erythropoiesis in this species. Using loss-of-function analysis, we demonstrate that FOG is essential to support primitive red blood cell (RBC development in Xenopus. Moreover, we show that it is specifically required to prevent excess apoptosis of circulating primitive RBCs and that in the absence of FOG, the pro-apoptotic gene Bim-1 is strongly upregulated. To identify domains of FOG that are essential for blood development and, conversely, to begin to understand the mechanism by which overexpressed FOG represses primitive erythropoiesis, we asked whether FOG mutants that are unable to interact with known co-factors retain their ability to rescue blood formation in FOG morphants and whether they repress erythropoiesis when overexpressed in wild type embryos. We find that interaction of FOG with the Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase complex (NuRD, but not with C-terminal Binding Protein, is essential for normal primitive RBC development. In contrast, overexpression of all mutant and wild type constructs causes a comparable repression of primitive erythropoiesis. Together, our data suggest that a requirement for FOG and its interaction with NuRD during primitive erythropoiesis are conserved in Xenopus and that loss of blood upon FOG overexpression is due to a dominant-interfering effect.

Antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content of air-dried cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L. at different ripeness stages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Eduardo Narváez-Cuenca

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Because the use of drying at high temperatures might negatively affect the functional properties of fruits, the effect of air-drying at 60°C on the total phenolic content (TPC and antioxidant capacity (AOC of cape gooseberry fruit was evaluated at three ripeness stages. The AOC was evaluated with 2,2'-azino-bis(3- ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS , ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, and beta-carotene-linoleate assays. The TPC and AOC increased in the fresh fruit as the ripeness stage increased. The TPC increased from 401.8±19.8 to 569.3±22.3 mg GA E/100 g dry weight (DW. The AOC values obtained with ABTS in the fresh fruit (ranging from 79.4±4.5 to 132.7±12.9 mumol trolox/g fruit DW were comparable to those obtained with FRAP (ranging from 82.9±16.3 to 153.9±31.7 mumol trolox/g fruit DW. The values assessed with DPPH ranged from 21.0±3.2 to 34.1±5.1 mumol trolox/g fruit DW. The beta-carotene-linoleate assay gave values ranging from 5.8±1.1 to 12.7±2.0 mumol a-tocoferol/g fruit DW. Air-drying the cape gooseberry fruit had a small influence on the TPC. The air-dried fruit had AOC values ranging from 27 to 164% of the value of the fresh fruit. While the ABTS assay produced higher values in the air-dried fruit than in the fresh fruit, the FRAP, DPPH, and beta-carotene-linoleate assays resulted in lower values in the air-dried fruit.

Pediatric Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors of the Central Nervous System Differentially Express Granzyme Inhibitors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, Jeroen F; van Hecke, Wim; Spliet, Wim G M; Villacorta Hidalgo, José; Fisch, Paul; Broekhuizen, Roel; Bovenschen, Niels

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Central nervous system (CNS) primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) are malignant primary brain tumors that occur in young infants. Using current standard therapy, up to 80% of the children still dies from recurrent disease. Cellular immunotherapy might be key to improve overall

Looking for the most ``primitive'' organism(s) on Earth today: the state of the art

Science.gov (United States)

Forterre, Patrick

1995-02-01

Molecular phylogenetic studies have revealed a tripartite division of the living world into two procaryotic groups, Bacteria and Archaea, and one eucaryotic group, Eucarya. Which group is the most "primitive"? Which groups are sister? The answer to these questions would help to delineate the characters of the last common ancestor to all living beings, as a first step to reconstruct the earliest periods of biological evolution on Earth. The current "Procaryotic dogma" claims that procaryotes are primitive. Since the ancestor of Archaea was most probably a hyperthermophile, and since bacteria too might have originated from hyperthermophiles, the procaryotic dogma has been recently connected to the hot origin of life hypothesis. However, the notion that present-day hyperthermophiles are primitive has been challenged by recent findings, in these unique microorganisms, of very elaborate adaptative devices for life at high temperature. Accordingly, I discuss here alternative hypotheses that challenge the procaryotic dogma, such as the idea of a universal ancestor with molecular features in between those of eucaryotes and procaryotes, or the origin of procaryotes via thermophilic adaptation. Clearly, major evolutionary questions about early cellular evolution on Earth remain to be settled before we can speculate with confidence about which kinds of life might have appeared on other planets.

Rho kinase activity controls directional cell movements during primitive streak formation in the rabbit embryo.

Science.gov (United States)

Stankova, Viktoria; Tsikolia, Nikoloz; Viebahn, Christoph

2015-01-01

During animal gastrulation, the specification of the embryonic axes is accompanied by epithelio-mesenchymal transition (EMT), the first major change in cell shape after fertilization. EMT takes place in disparate topographical arrangements, such as the circular blastopore of amphibians, the straight primitive streak of birds and mammals or in intermediate gastrulation forms of other amniotes such as reptiles. Planar cell movements are prime candidates to arrange specific modes of gastrulation but there is no consensus view on their role in different vertebrate classes. Here, we test the impact of interfering with Rho kinase-mediated cell movements on gastrulation topography in blastocysts of the rabbit, which has a flat embryonic disc typical for most mammals. Time-lapse video microscopy, electron microscopy, gene expression and morphometric analyses of the effect of inhibiting ROCK activity showed - besides normal specification of the organizer region - a dose-dependent disruption of primitive streak formation; this disruption resulted in circular, arc-shaped or intermediate forms, reminiscent of those found in amphibians, fishes and reptiles. Our results reveal a crucial role of ROCK-controlled directional cell movements during rabbit primitive streak formation and highlight the possibility that temporal and spatial modulation of cell movements were instrumental for the evolution of gastrulation forms. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Thoracoabdominal peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors in childhood: radiological features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulman, H.; Laufer, L.; Newman-Heinman, N.; Kurtzbart, E.; Maor, E.; Zirkin, H.

2000-01-01

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) are extremely uncommon, malignant neoplasms affecting mostly children and young adults. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data and radiological studies of four such cases. All cases were pathologically proven. Plain films, US, and CT scans were used. The youngest child had a huge pelvic tumor and two adolescents each had a chest wall (Askin) tumor. The fourth patient had a most unusual location of the PNET in the anterior mediastinum. The CT findings are emphasized. We emphasize that the markedly abnormal CT findings are not specific for PNET. (orig.)

Characterizing Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D Printed Primitives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tyge, Emil; Pallisgaard, Jens J.; Lillethorup, Morten

2015-01-01

The resolution and repeatability of 3D printing processes depends on a number of factors including the software, hardware, and material used. When printing parts with features that are near or below the nominal printing resolution, it is important to understand how the printer works. For example......, what is the smallest unit shape that can be produced? And what is the reproducibility of that process? This paper presents a method for automatically detecting and characterizing the height, width, and length of micro scale geometric primitives produced via a digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing...

Saccharides and fructooligosaccharides composition of green and ripe Averrhoa carambola, Blighia sapida and Spondias dulcis fruits.

Science.gov (United States)

Benkeblia, Noureddine; Lopez, Mercedes G

2015-06-01

The maturation of fruits is characterized by numerous compositional changes during ripening and these changes contribute in their quality attributes. This study aimed to assess the contents of saccharides and potential fructooligosaccharides (FOS) of ackee (Blighia sapida Köenig), carambola (Averrhoa carambola) and June plum (Spondias dulcis), at green and ripe stages. Beside glucose and fructose and lower sucrose content, three short chain fructooligosaccharides were identified in ackee fruit, namely 1-kestose (1(F)-β-d-fructofuranosyl sucrose), nystose (1(F)(1-β-d-fructofuranosyl)2 sucrose) and DP5 (1(F)(1-β-d-fructofuranosyl)3 sucrose), while in carambola and June plum DP5 (1(F)(1-β-d-fructofuranosyl)3 sucrose) was not detected. Ripening stage also affected significantly the contents of these saccharides and sFOS. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Boltzmann's dynamic on the primitive earth about 3.9 billion years ago

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuno, Koichiro

1995-01-01

An evolutionary significant event that could have happened on the primitive earth would be a process of enhancing energy concentrations locally. Once the concentrated energy be released, it could drive various molecular association and dissociation. We have examined, both theoretically and experimentally, a possibility of forming such microscopic heat engines feeding upon the then available thermal environment. Theoretically, Boltzmann's dynamics of molecules that would lose their memory of pas collisions with others is found to uphold those molecules that could feed upon thermal energy if the thermal environment would fluctuate through, for instance, a diurnal cycle. Experimentally, thermal heterocomplex molecules from amino acids, that could have been ubiquitous on the primitive earth, are shown to carry with themselves a wide variety of quasi-stable states such that they could remain in excited states for a considerable period of time even if the temperature of the thermal environment is lowered. The stored energy in these excited states, once released, can be utilized as a factor for driving various molecular association and dissociation. (author). Abstract only

Visceral endoderm and the primitive streak interact to build the fetal-placental interface of the mouse gastrula.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Adriana M; Downs, Karen M

2017-12-01

Hypoblast/visceral endoderm assists in amniote nutrition, axial positioning and formation of the gut. Here, we provide evidence, currently limited to humans and non-human primates, that hypoblast is a purveyor of extraembryonic mesoderm in the mouse gastrula. Fate mapping a unique segment of axial extraembryonic visceral endoderm associated with the allantoic component of the primitive streak, and referred to as the "AX", revealed that visceral endoderm supplies the placentae with extraembryonic mesoderm. Exfoliation of the AX was dependent upon contact with the primitive streak, which modulated Hedgehog signaling. Resolution of the AX's epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by Hedgehog shaped the allantois into its characteristic projectile and individualized placental arterial vessels. A unique border cell separated the delaminating AX from the yolk sac blood islands which, situated beyond the limit of the streak, were not formed by an EMT. Over time, the AX became the hindgut lip, which contributed extensively to the posterior interface, including both embryonic and extraembryonic tissues. The AX, in turn, imparted antero-posterior (A-P) polarity on the primitive streak and promoted its elongation and differentiation into definitive endoderm. Results of heterotopic grafting supported mutually interactive functions of the AX and primitive streak, showing that together, they self-organized into a complete version of the fetal-placental interface, forming an elongated structure that exhibited A-P polarity and was composed of the allantois, an AX-derived rod-like axial extension reminiscent of the embryonic notochord, the placental arterial vasculature and visceral endoderm/hindgut. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new and primitive retrobursal planarian from Australian fresh waters (Platyhelminthes, Turbellaria, Tricladida)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ball, Ian R.

1977-01-01

A primitive freshwater planarian, Eviella hynesae gen. et sp. nov. is described from Australia. It is characterized by its lack of eyes and pigment, possession of caudally branched oviducts, and fully fused testes. Although a primary bursa is absent, its function being taken over by the modified

Total, Soluble and Insoluble Oxalate Contents of Ripe Green and Golden Kiwifruit.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyễn, Hà Vũ Hồng; Savage, Geoffrey P

2013-03-05

Three bulk samples of two different cultivars of kiwifruit, green ( Actinidia deliciosa L . ) and golden ( Actinidia chinensis L . ) were bought ripe, ready to eat from a local market. The aim of the study was to determine the oxalate composition of each of the three fractions of kiwifruit, namely skin, pulp and seeds. The pulp consisted of 90.4% of the edible portion of the two cultivars while the skin and seeds made up a mean of 8.0% and 1.6% respectively. Total oxalate was extracted with 2.0 M HCL at 21 °C for 15 min and soluble oxalates extracted at 21 °C in water for 15 min from each fraction. The total and soluble oxalate compositions of each fraction were determined using ion exchange HPLC chromatography. The pulp of golden kiwifruit contained lower amounts of total oxalates (15.7 vs. 19.3 mg/100 g FW) and higher amounts of soluble oxalates (8.5 vs. 7.6 mg/100 g FW) when compared to the green cultivar. The skin of the green cultivar contained lower levels of insoluble oxalates (36.9 vs. 43.6 mg/100 g FW), while the seeds of the green cultivar contained higher levels of insoluble oxalates 106.7 vs. 84.7 mg/100 g FW.

Dispossessing Urbanization: Urban Marxism in the Face of the Problem of Primitive Accumulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piotr Juskowiak

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The article is a complex attempt to present the achievements of the broadly understood urban Marxism in the field of reinterpretation of the classic concept from the cards of Capital – “primitive accumulation”. Drawing on theories of such scholars as David Harvey (“accumulation by dispossession” or Saskia Sassen (“expulsions”, the author points to the possible ways to operationalize the concept of “dispossessing urbanization”. Inspired by the theorizations of autonomist Marxists (Antonio Negri, Sandro Mezzadra, Massimo De Angelis, he proposes to see it as a relatively new and increasingly important dispostif that allows not only to improve traditional methods of enclosures and construct entirely new ones, but also to instrumentalize urban cultures which seems unlikely for the historical versions of primitive accumulation. This theoretical inspiration leads him also to highlight another gap in the accumulation by dispossession theory, namely the lack of sufficient reflection on the production of subjectivity processes which seem constitutive for the broad set of dispossessing practices.

Organic cofactors participated more frequently than transition metals in redox reactions of primitive proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Hong-Fang; Chen, Lei; Zhang, Hong-Yu

2008-08-01

Protein redox reactions are one of the most basic and important biochemical actions. As amino acids are weak redox mediators, most protein redox functions are undertaken by protein cofactors, which include organic ligands and transition metal ions. Since both kinds of redox cofactors were available in the pre-protein RNA world, it is challenging to explore which one was more involved in redox processes of primitive proteins? In this paper, using an examination of the redox cofactor usage of putative ancient proteins, we infer that organic ligands participated more frequently than transition metals in redox reactions of primitive proteins, at least as protein cofactors. This is further supported by the relative abundance of amino acids in the primordial world. Supplementary material for this article can be found on the BioEssays website. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Influence of the fruit's ripeness on virgin olive oil quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, Ma Nieves; Sánchez, Jacinto; De Miguel, Concepción; Martínez, Manuel; Martín-Vertedor, Daniel

2015-01-01

Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) is a product much demanded by consumers looking for the highest quality and certain traits considered to be typical of the Mediterranean area. The olive fruit's properties and the industry-regulated physicochemical and sensory parameters of seven cultivars were evaluated during the ripening process. In general, the oil percentage in both the wet and dry material increased for all the cultivars from the green to the spotted stages of maturation, and they stayed constant statistically until the ripe stage with just a few exceptions. The lowest oil content was observed in the Manzanilla Cacereña cultivar in all stages of maturation. The cultivars that presented the lowest oil yields in the Abencor system were Manzanilla Cacereña and Carrasqueña, and the highest Corniche. In general, all the cultivars except one presented good behaviour during the mixing process, the exception being Manzanilla Cacereña which presented the lowest values of the extractability percentage. The moisture content of the olives presented a common pattern, increasing from the green to the spotted stage, with the differences being significant in the Corniche, Picual, and Verdial de Badajoz cultivars. All the oils analysed were classified into the "extra virgin" category according to the results for the regulated parameters. The fruity, bitter, and pungent attributes decreased during ripening in all the cultivars studied. In the green stage of maturation, Arbequina had the least intensity of bitterness and pungency, but there were no significant differences among cultivars in the fruity attribute.

Application of Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Optimizing ANN Model in Recognizing Ripeness of Citrus

Science.gov (United States)

Diyana Rosli, Anis; Adenan, Nur Sabrina; Hashim, Hadzli; Ezan Abdullah, Noor; Sulaiman, Suhaimi; Baharudin, Rohaiza

2018-03-01

This paper shows findings of the application of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm in optimizing an Artificial Neural Network that could categorize between ripeness and unripeness stage of citrus suhuensis. The algorithm would adjust the network connections weights and adapt its values during training for best results at the output. Initially, citrus suhuensis fruit’s skin is measured using optically non-destructive method via spectrometer. The spectrometer would transmit VIS (visible spectrum) photonic light radiation to the surface (skin of citrus) of the sample. The reflected light from the sample’s surface would be received and measured by the same spectrometer in terms of reflectance percentage based on VIS range. These measured data are used to train and test the best optimized ANN model. The accuracy is based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) performance. The result outcomes from this investigation have shown that the achieved accuracy for the optimized is 70.5% with a sensitivity and specificity of 60.1% and 80.0% respectively.

Chemical composition of essential oil from ripe fruit of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi and evaluation of its activity against wild strains of hospital origin

OpenAIRE

Cole, E.R.; dos Santos, R.B.; Júnior, V. Lacerda; Martins, J.D.L.; Greco, S.J.; Neto, A. Cunha

2014-01-01

The essential oil (EO) composition of ripe fruit of S. terebinthifolius Raddi was analyzed by GC-MS. The oil extraction yielded 6.54 ± 1.06% (w/w). Seventeen compounds were identified, accounting for 91.15% of the total oil, where monoterpenes constituted the main chemical class (85.81%), followed by sesquiterpenes (5.34%). The major monoterpene identified was δ-3-carene (30.37%), followed by limonene (17.44%), α-phellandrene (12.60%) and α-pinene (12.59%). Trans-caryophyllene ...

Fast concurrent array-based stacks, queues and deques using fetch-and-increment-bounded, fetch-and-decrement-bounded and store-on-twin synchronization primitives

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Dong; Gara, Alana; Heidelberger, Philip; Kumar, Sameer; Ohmacht, Martin; Steinmacher-Burow, Burkhard; Wisniewski, Robert

2014-09-16

Implementation primitives for concurrent array-based stacks, queues, double-ended queues (deques) and wrapped deques are provided. In one aspect, each element of the stack, queue, deque or wrapped deque data structure has its own ticket lock, allowing multiple threads to concurrently use multiple elements of the data structure and thus achieving high performance. In another aspect, new synchronization primitives FetchAndIncrementBounded (Counter, Bound) and FetchAndDecrementBounded (Counter, Bound) are implemented. These primitives can be implemented in hardware and thus promise a very fast throughput for queues, stacks and double-ended queues.

Efficient and Rapid Derivation of Primitive Neural Stem Cells and Generation of Brain Subtype Neurons From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

OpenAIRE

Yan, Yiping; Shin, Soojung; Jha, Balendu Shekhar; Liu, Qiuyue; Sheng, Jianting; Li, Fuhai; Zhan, Ming; Davis, Janine; Bharti, Kapil; Zeng, Xianmin; Rao, Mahendra; Malik, Nasir; Vemuri, Mohan C.

2013-01-01

This study developed a highly efficient serum-free pluripotent stem cell (PSC) neural induction medium that can induce human PSCs into primitive neural stem cells (NSCs) in 7 days, obviating the need for time-consuming, laborious embryoid body generation or rosette picking. This method of primitive NSC derivation sets the stage for the scalable production of clinically relevant neural cells for cell therapy applications in good manufacturing practice conditions.

In vitro trypanocidal evaluation of pinane derivatives from essential oils of ripe fruits from Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sartorelli, Patricia; Santana, Jefferson S.; Guadagnin, Rafael C.; Lago, Joao Henrique G.; Pinto, Erika G.; Tempone, Andre G.; Stefani, Helio A.; Soares, Marisi G.; Silva, Adalberto M. da

2012-01-01

Essential oils of ripe fruits from Schinus terebinthifolius (Anacardiaceae), obtained using a pilot extractor and a Clevenger apparatus were chemically characterized. Due the high amount of (-)-α-pinene in both oils, this monoterpene was tested against the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, showing a moderate potential (IC 50 63.56 μg/mL) when compared to benznidazole (IC 50 43.14 μg/mL). Otherwise, (-)-α-pinene oxide did not showed anti-trypanosomal activity (IC 50 > 400 μg/mL) while (-)-pinane showed an IC 50 of 56.50 mg/mL. The obtained results indicated that the epoxidation of α-pinene results to the loss of the anti-parasitic activity while its hydrogenation product, contributed slightly to the increased activity. (author)

Choquet Integral of Fuzzy-Number-Valued Functions: The Differentiability of the Primitive with respect to Fuzzy Measures and Choquet Integral Equations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zengtai Gong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the Choquet integral of fuzzy-number-valued functions based on the nonnegative real line. We firstly give the definitions and the characterizations of the Choquet integrals of interval-valued functions and fuzzy-number-valued functions based on the nonadditive measure. Furthermore, the operational schemes of above several classes of integrals on a discrete set are investigated which enable us to calculate Choquet integrals in some applications. Secondly, we give a representation of the Choquet integral of a nonnegative, continuous, and increasing fuzzy-number-valued function with respect to a fuzzy measure. In addition, in order to solve Choquet integral equations of fuzzy-number-valued functions, a concept of the Laplace transformation for the fuzzy-number-valued functions in the sense of Choquet integral is introduced. For distorted Lebesgue measures, it is shown that Choquet integral equations of fuzzy-number-valued functions can be solved by the Laplace transformation. Finally, an example is given to illustrate the main results at the end of the paper.

Application of a primitive variable Newton's method for the calculation of an axisymmetric laminar diffusion flame

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Yuenong; Smooke, M.D.

1993-01-01

In this paper we present a primitive variable Newton-based solution method with a block-line linear equation solver for the calculation of reacting flows. The present approach is compared with the stream function-vorticity Newton's method and the SIMPLER algorithm on the calculation of a system of fully elliptic equations governing an axisymmetric methane-air laminar diffusion flame. The chemical reaction is modeled by the flame sheet approximation. The numerical solution agrees well with experimental data in the major chemical species. The comparison of three sets of numerical results indicates that the stream function-vorticity solution using the approximate boundary conditions reported in the previous calculations predicts a longer flame length and a broader flame shape. With a new set of modified vorticity boundary conditions, we obtain agreement between the primitive variable and stream function-vorticity solutions. The primitive variable Newton's method converges much faster than the other two methods. Because of much less computer memory required for the block-line tridiagonal solver compared to a direct solver, the present approach makes it possible to calculate multidimensional flames with detailed reaction mechanisms. The SIMPLER algorithm shows a slow convergence rate compared to the other two methods in the present calculation

Effect of ionizing radiations on the shelf-life of tomatoes as a function of their ripeness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, E.; Vas, K.

1974-01-01

San Marzano tomatoes in three different stages of ripening were treated with 1, 4, 16, 64 and 256 krad doses of gamma rays. Storage temperature was 6-8 0 C, relative humidity 75-85%. Radiation treatment of green and red tomatoes is inexpedient, because the former do not meet the organoleptic requirements while the storage life of the latter is not substantially extended. The spoilage of pink-coloured tomatoes could be delayed by radiation doses of 4,16 and 64 krad, respectively, but higher doses had an unfavourable effect. The rate of weight loss of tomatoes in different stages of maturity can be reduced by irradiation. Radiation treatment softened the texture of the tomato as an immediate effect, but during further storage, this effect diminished. On the basis of spoilage studies irradiation of tomato fruits in the pink-coloured stage of ripeness seems to be promising. (F.J.)

Western Imperialism Against Primitive Communism. A New Reading of Rosa Luxemburg’s Economic Writings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Löwy

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The discussion on Rosa Luxemburg’s theories of imperialism hasmainly focused on the economic argument - the schemes of reproduction, theprocess of circulation, the need for “external” markets, etc. There is howeveranother dimension, at least as important : the struggle of imperialism againstpre-capitalist economies, the ruthless destruction of “natural” and peasant economies,many of them being forms of primitive communism. Luxemburg’sinterest for primitive communist societies is documented by her Introductionto Political Economy and the imperialist war against them is discussed both inthis work and in the last chapters of The Accumulation of Capital. A whollyoriginal approach to the evolution of social formations, running counter tolinear “progressive” views of bourgeois ideology, is outlined in these reflections. Present indigenous struggles e.g. in Latin America, against multinational oil or mining companies, illustrate the topicality of Rosa Luxemburg’s argument in the 21th century.

Raft cultivation area extraction from high resolution remote sensing imagery by fusing multi-scale region-line primitive association features

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Min; Cui, Qi; Wang, Jie; Ming, Dongping; Lv, Guonian

2017-01-01

In this paper, we first propose several novel concepts for object-based image analysis, which include line-based shape regularity, line density, and scale-based best feature value (SBV), based on the region-line primitive association framework (RLPAF). We then propose a raft cultivation area (RCA) extraction method for high spatial resolution (HSR) remote sensing imagery based on multi-scale feature fusion and spatial rule induction. The proposed method includes the following steps: (1) Multi-scale region primitives (segments) are obtained by image segmentation method HBC-SEG, and line primitives (straight lines) are obtained by phase-based line detection method. (2) Association relationships between regions and lines are built based on RLPAF, and then multi-scale RLPAF features are extracted and SBVs are selected. (3) Several spatial rules are designed to extract RCAs within sea waters after land and water separation. Experiments show that the proposed method can successfully extract different-shaped RCAs from HR images with good performance.

Strategi Perancangan Mutu Ripe Banana Chip (RBC Berbasis Harapan Konsumen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bambang Herry P

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Ripe Banana Chip (RBC, merupakan salah satu jenis kripik yang dibuat dari pisang masak. RBC dapat dilakukan dengan menggunakan teknologi penggorengan vakum (vacum frying ataupun pembekuan (freezing. RBC pisang mas cukup banyak memiliki keunggulan dari nilai gizinya. Produk ini masih belum diketahui tingkat kesesuain mutunya dengan keinginan konsumen dilihat dari aspek fisik ataupun organoleptik. Tujuan penelitian ini agar dapat mengetahui rancangan mutu yang tepat untuk produk RBC pisang mas. Penelitian ini menggunakan tiga metode, diantaranya metode skoring, Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI, dan metode diagram tulang ikan. Hasil dari penelitian, yaitu : warna RBC dengan intensitas 5,56 (kuning dan skor 3,862 (suka ; informasi kemasan dengan intensitas 4,5 (setuju dan skor 3,534 (suka ; kenyamanan kemasan dengan intensitas 8,58 (nyaman dan skor 4,155 (suka ; keamanan kemasan dengan intensitas 8,15 (sangat aman dan skor 4,086 (suka ; ketebalan dengan intensitas 8,31(sangat tebal dan skor 1,604 (sangat tidak suka ; Oil dengan intensitas 4,86 (banyak dan skor 2,483 (tidak suka ; kerenyahan dengan intensitas 7,32 (keras dan skor 2,843 (cukup suka ; Easy of breaking dengan intensitas 5,17 (mudah dipatahkan dan skor 3,158 (cukup suka ; rasa manis dengan intensitas 7,89 (manis dan skor 3,208 (cukup suka ; rasa asam dengan intensitas 4,84 (agak asam dan skor 3,309 (cukup suka. Nilai CSI yang dihasilkan, yaitu sebesar 64% (puas. Strategi untuk meningkatkan mutu RBC diantaranya: mengurangi ukuran ketebalan bahan baku sebelum diproses; lebih dipertimbangkan lagi tingkat kematangan pisang; memberi pengarahan dan motivasi kepada pekerja; melakukan pengawasan saat produksi berlangsung; lebih memperhatikan keseragaman ukuran pisang, dan menggunakan alternatif lain dalam penirisan minyak, misalnya sentrifuse agar keberadaan minyak berkurang.

Increased levels of NOTCH1, NF-kappaB, and other interconnected transcription factors characterize primitive sets of hematopoietic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Panepucci, Rodrigo Alexandre; Oliveira, Lucila Habib B; Zanette, Dalila Luciola; Viu Carrara, Rita de Cassia; Araujo, Amélia Goes; Orellana, Maristela Delgado; Bonini de Palma, Patrícia Vianna; Menezes, Camila C B O; Covas, Dimas Tadeu; Zago, Marco Antonio

2010-03-01

As previously shown, higher levels of NOTCH1 and increased NF-kappaB signaling is a distinctive feature of the more primitive umbilical cord blood (UCB) CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), as compared to bone marrow (BM). Differences between BM and UCB cell composition also account for this finding. The CD133 marker defines a more primitive cell subset among CD34+ HSC with a proposed hemangioblast potential. To further evaluate the molecular basis related to the more primitive characteristics of UCB and CD133+ HSC, immunomagnetically purified human CD34+ and CD133+ cells from BM and UCB were used on gene expression microarrays studies. UCB CD34+ cells contained a significantly higher proportion of CD133+ cells than BM (70% and 40%, respectively). Cluster analysis showed that BM CD133+ cells grouped with the UCB cells (CD133+ and CD34+) rather than to BM CD34+ cells. Compared with CD34+ cells, CD133+ had a higher expression of many transcription factors (TFs). Promoter analysis on all these TF genes revealed a significantly higher frequency (than expected by chance) of NF-kappaB-binding sites (BS), including potentially novel NF-kappaB targets such as RUNX1, GATA3, and USF1. Selected transcripts of TF related to primitive hematopoiesis and self-renewal, such as RUNX1, GATA3, USF1, TAL1, HOXA9, HOXB4, NOTCH1, RELB, and NFKB2 were evaluated by real-time PCR and were all significantly positively correlated. Taken together, our data indicate the existence of an interconnected transcriptional network characterized by higher levels of NOTCH1, NF-kappaB, and other important TFs on more primitive HSC sets.

Lipofectamine and related cationic lipids strongly improve adenoviral infection efficiency of primitive human hematopoietic cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Byk, T; Haddada, H; Vainchenker, W; Louache, F

1998-11-20

Adenoviral vectors have the potential to infect a large number of cell types including quiescent cells. Their use in hematopoietic cells is limited by the episomal form of their DNA, leading to transgene loss in the progeny cells. However, the use of this vector may be interesting for short-term in vitro modifications of primitive human hematopoietic cells. Therefore, we have investigated the ability of adenovirus to transduce cord blood CD34+ cells. Several promoters were tested using the lacZ reporter gene. The PGK and CMV promoters induced transgene expression in 18-25% of the cells, whereas the HTLV-I and especially the RSV promoter were almost inactive. To improve infection efficiency, adenovirus was complexed with cationic lipids. Lipofectamine, Cellfectin, and RPR120535b, but not Lipofectin, Lipofectace, or DOTAP, markedly improved transgene expression in CD34+ cells (from 19 to 35%). Lipofectamine strongly enhanced infection efficiency of the poorly infectable primitive CD34+CD38low cells (from 11 to 28%) whereas the more mature CD34+CD38+ cells were only slightly affected (from 24 to 31%). Lipofectamine tripled the infection of CFU-GMs and LTC-ICs derived from the CD34+CD38low cell fraction (from 4 to 12% and from 5 to 16%, respectively) and doubled that of BFU-Es (from 13 to 26%). We conclude that cationic lipids can markedly increase the efficiency of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer into primitive hematopoietic cells.

CD71(high) population represents primitive erythroblasts derived from mouse embryonic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Ruihua; Gong, Xueping; Wang, Libo; Wang, Pengxiang; Wang, Yuan

2015-01-01

The CD71/Ter119 combination has been widely used to reflect dynamic maturation of erythrocytes in vivo. However, because CD71 is expressed on all proliferating cells, it is unclear whether it can be utilized as an erythrocyte-specific marker during differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). In this study, we revealed that a population expressing high level of CD71 (CD71(high)) during mouse ESC differentiation represented an in vitro counterpart of yolk sac-derived primitive erythroblasts (EryPs) isolated at 8.5days post coitum. In addition, these CD71(high) cells went through "maturational globin switching" and enucleated during terminal differentiation in vitro that were similar to the yolk sac-derived EryPs in vivo. We further demonstrated that the formation of CD71(high) population was regulated differentially by key factors including Scl, HoxB4, Eaf1, and Klf1. Taken together, our study provides a technical advance that allows efficient segregation of EryPs from differentiated ESCs in vitro for further understanding molecular regulation during primitive erythropoiesis. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A Primitive Memory System for Attention Deployments: Some Recent Challenges and Their Resolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Árni Kristjánsson

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In the past my colleagues and I have presented evidence for the existence of a primitive memory for attention deployments. This memory system orients attention to features and locations of recent behavioral importance. A large part of the proposal is that the memory system facilitates attentional selection of features in the environment such as color, orientation, etc. I will review the findings behind these proposals. The bulk of this evidence comes from studies of history effects in vision, such as priming of visual search, and implicit learning in exogenously cued attention shifts. In addition, recent challenges to this view will be discussed (in particular, arguments that the facilitation from repetition in visual search tasks occurs at a relatively late stage of perceptual processing. Our recent investigations of these proposals suggest that there is indeed evidence for higher-level priming effects in visual search under certain conditions, but those findings do not challenge the basic proposals regarding the primitive memory system, since the evidence for feature-specific facilitation is robust.

Total, Soluble and Insoluble Oxalate Contents of Ripe Green and Golden Kiwifruit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hà Vũ Hồng Nguyễn

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Three bulk samples of two different cultivars of kiwifruit, green (Actinidia deliciosa L. and golden (Actinidia chinensis L. were bought ripe, ready to eat from a local market. The aim of the study was to determine the oxalate composition of each of the three fractions of kiwifruit, namely skin, pulp and seeds. The pulp consisted of 90.4% of the edible portion of the two cultivars while the skin and seeds made up a mean of 8.0% and 1.6% respectively. Total oxalate was extracted with 2.0 M HCL at 21 °C for 15 min and soluble oxalates extracted at 21 °C in water for 15 min from each fraction. The total and soluble oxalate compositions of each fraction were determined using ion exchange HPLC chromatography. The pulp of golden kiwifruit contained lower amounts of total oxalates (15.7 vs. 19.3 mg/100 g FW and higher amounts of soluble oxalates (8.5 vs. 7.6 mg/100 g FW when compared to the green cultivar. The skin of the green cultivar contained lower levels of insoluble oxalates (36.9 vs. 43.6 mg/100 g FW, while the seeds of the green cultivar contained higher levels of insoluble oxalates 106.7 vs. 84.7 mg/100 g FW.

John Wesley’s medical guide Primitive Physick from 1747: science, charlatanism or social medicine?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helmut Renders

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In 1747, John Wesley, spiritus rector of the Methodist movement, published the first edition of his medical guide Primitive Physic[k]. What was its purpose in a world where the Royal Academy, herbalists, healers / as, exorcists and quacks competed for the attention of the population? What is its legacy and limitation, considering the different interests of contemporary religious movements in Brazil? The article introduces the different groups who promoted or pretended to promote health in 18th century England and compares the contents of the guide Primitive Physic [k] with their proposals and therapeutic strategies. The conclusion is that a significant portion of the guide consists of guidelines of the Royal Academy of Medicine, but that it always favors homemade remedies with ingredients available to humbler classes. In relation to the socalled Spiritual Physick, prayer is mentioned as a complementary measure, but the practice of exorcism is totally ignored.

Node Primitives: an open end-user programming platform for social robots

OpenAIRE

Coronado, Enrique; Mastrogiovanni, Fulvio; Venture, Gentiane

2017-01-01

With the expected adoption of robots able to seamlessly and intuitively interact with people in real-world scenarios, the need arises to provide non-technically-skilled users with easy-to-understand paradigms for customising robot behaviors. In this paper, we present an interaction design robot programming platform for enabling multidisciplinary social robot research and applications. This platform is referred to Node Primitives (NEP) and consists of two main parts. On the one hand, a ZeroMQ ...

Spectrum Analysis of Inertial and Subinertial Motions Based on Analyzed Winds and Wind-Driven Currents from a Primitive Equation General Ocean Circulation Model.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-12-01

1Muter.Te Motions Based on Ana lyzed Winds and wind-driven December 1982 Currents from. a Primitive Squat ion General a.OW -love"*..* Oean Circulation...mew se"$ (comeS.... do oISN..u am ae~ 00do OWaor NUN Fourier and Rotary Spc , Analysis Modeled Inertial and Subinrtial Motion 4 Primitive Equation

Origin of primitive ocean island basalts by crustal gabbro assimilation and multiple recharge of plume-derived melts

Science.gov (United States)

Borisova, Anastassia Y.; Bohrson, Wendy A.; Grégoire, Michel

2017-07-01

Chemical Geodynamics relies on a paradigm that the isotopic composition of ocean island basalt (OIB) represents equilibrium with its primary mantle sources. However, the discovery of huge isotopic heterogeneity within olivine-hosted melt inclusions in primitive basalts from Kerguelen, Iceland, Hawaii and South Pacific Polynesia islands implies open-system behavior of OIBs, where during magma residence and transport, basaltic melts are contaminated by surrounding lithosphere. To constrain the processes of crustal assimilation by OIBs, we employed the Magma Chamber Simulator (MCS), an energy-constrained thermodynamic model of recharge, assimilation and fractional crystallization. For a case study of the 21-19 Ma basaltic series, the most primitive series ever found among the Kerguelen OIBs, we performed sixty-seven simulations in the pressure range from 0.2 to 1.0 GPa using compositions of olivine-hosted melt inclusions as parental magmas, and metagabbro xenoliths from the Kerguelen Archipelago as wallrock. MCS modeling requires that the assimilant is anatectic crustal melts (P2O5 ≤ 0.4 wt.% contents) derived from the Kerguelen oceanic metagabbro wallrock. To best fit the phenocryst assemblage observed in the investigated basaltic series, recharge of relatively large masses of hydrous primitive basaltic melts (H2O = 2-3 wt%; MgO = 7-10 wt.%) into a middle crustal chamber at 0.2 to 0.3 GPa is required. Our results thus highlight the important impact that crustal gabbro assimilation and mantle recharge can have on the geochemistry of mantle-derived olivine-phyric OIBs. The importance of crustal assimilation affecting primitive plume-derived basaltic melts underscores that isotopic and chemical equilibrium between ocean island basalts and associated deep plume mantle source(s) may be the exception rather than the rule.

In vitro trypanocidal evaluation of pinane derivatives from essential oils of ripe fruits from Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sartorelli, Patricia; Santana, Jefferson S.; Guadagnin, Rafael C.; Lago, Joao Henrique G., E-mail: joao.lago@unifesp.br [Instituto de Ciencias Ambientais, Quimicas e Farmaceuticas, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Diadema - SP (Brazil); Pinto, Erika G. [Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Sao Paulo - SP (Brazil); Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Tempone, Andre G. [Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Sao Paulo - SP (Brazil); Stefani, Helio A. [Departamento de Farmacia, Faculdade de Ciencias Farmaceuticas, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Soares, Marisi G. [Instituto de Quimica, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Alfenas - MG (Brazil); Silva, Adalberto M. da [Departamento de Quimica, Universidade Federal de Vicosa, MG (Brazil)

2012-07-01

Essential oils of ripe fruits from Schinus terebinthifolius (Anacardiaceae), obtained using a pilot extractor and a Clevenger apparatus were chemically characterized. Due the high amount of (-)-{alpha}-pinene in both oils, this monoterpene was tested against the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, showing a moderate potential (IC{sub 50} 63.56 {mu}g/mL) when compared to benznidazole (IC{sub 50} 43.14 {mu}g/mL). Otherwise, (-)-{alpha}-pinene oxide did not showed anti-trypanosomal activity (IC{sub 50} > 400 {mu}g/mL) while (-)-pinane showed an IC{sub 50} of 56.50 mg/mL. The obtained results indicated that the epoxidation of {alpha}-pinene results to the loss of the anti-parasitic activity while its hydrogenation product, contributed slightly to the increased activity. (author)

Primary peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor/Ewing's tumor of the testis in a 46-year-old man-differential diagnosis and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Heikaus, Sebastian; Schaefer, Karl-Ludwig; Eucker, Jan; Hogrebe, Esther; Danebrock, Raihanatou; Wai, Daniel H; Krenn, Veit; Gabbert, Helmut E; Poremba, Christopher

2009-06-01

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor/Ewing's tumors are rare bone and soft tissue malignancies with a highly aggressive clinical course and early metastases occurring at multiple peripheral sites. Here, we present for the first time a case of a 46-year-old man with a primary peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor/Ewing's tumor of the testis. The diagnosis of peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor/Ewing's tumor was established by histology, immunohistochemistry, and molecular pathology. The tumor revealed a rapid progress in 2 months' time. Therefore, the patient was included in the EURO-E.W.I.N.G.99 study and was placed on chemotherapy. However, the tumor progressed during ongoing therapy, and the patient died in March 2008. In conclusion, though being reported here for the first time, peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor/Ewing's tumors should be considered in the differential diagnosis of blue round cell tumors of the testis. A rapid and correct diagnosis of this entity is crucial for fast and accurate therapy, which is stressed by the fatal case presented here.

QCAPUF: QCA-based physically unclonable function as a hardware security primitive

Science.gov (United States)

Abutaleb, M. M.

2018-04-01

Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) are increasingly used as innovative security primitives to provide the hardware authentication and identification as well as the secret key generation based on unique and random variations in identically fabricated devices. Security and low power have appeared to become two crucial necessities to modern designs. As an emerging nanoelectronic technology, a quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) can achieve ultra-low power consumption as well as an extremely small area for implementing digital designs. However, there are various classes of permanent defects that can happen during the manufacture of QCA devices. The recent extensive research has been focused on how to eliminate errors in QCA structures resulting from fabrication variances. By a completely different vision, to turn this disadvantage into an advantage, this paper presents a novel QCA-based PUF (QCAPUF) architecture to exploit the unique physical characteristics of fabricated QCA cells in order to produce different hardware fingerprint instances. This architecture is composed of proposed logic and interconnect blocks that have critical vulnerabilities and perform unexpected logical operations. The behaviour of QCAPUF is thoroughly analysed through physical relations and simulations. Results confirm that the proposed QCAPUF has state of the art PUF characteristics in the QCA technology. This paper will serve as a basis for further research into QCA-based hardware security primitives and applications.

Versatility of `hemorheologic fitness' according to exercise intensity: emphasis on the "healthy primitive lifestyle"

Science.gov (United States)

Brun, Jean-Frédéric; Varlet-Marie, Emmanuelle; Chevance, Guillaume; Pollatz, Marion; Fedou, Christine; de Mauverger, Eric Raynaud

2014-05-01

We recently proposed a unifying hypothesis to reconcile unexpected findings in exercise hemorheology and the classical concepts of "hemorheologic fitness" and the "triphasic effects of exercise", based on the "healthy primitive lifestyle" paradigm. This paradigm assumes that evolution has selected genetic polymorphisms leading to insulin resistance as an adaptative strategy to cope with continuous low intensity physical activity and a special alimentation moderately high in protein, rich in low glycemic index carbohydrates, and poor in saturated fat. According to this protocol the true physiological picture would be that of an individual whose exercise and nutritional habits are close from this lifestyle, both sedentary subjects and trained athletes representing situations on the edge of this model. Unfortunately samples of people truly adhering to this ancestral lifestyle are hard to obtain. In order to address this picture we tried to compare databases obtained with our preceding published studies. As a model of the "healthy primitive lifestyle" we selected patients trained at low intensity (LI) and given an advice of protein intake around 1.2 g/kg/day. Results show a continuum for plasma viscosity which seems to be lower in athletes than LI-trained and even more sedentaries. When sedentary subjects become obese the most obvious characteristic is an increase in red blood cell (RBC) aggregation correlated to the size of fat stores. It is clear that 3 months of LI are not a perfect model of "healthy primitive lifestyle", but these data suggest that the most important effect of LI regular exercise is to decrease plasma viscosity and that sedentarity increases RBC aggregation mostly when it results in increased fat storage.

Identification of novel biomarkers in pediatric primitive neuroectodermal tumors and ependymomas by proteome-wide analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Bont, Judith M.; den Boer, Monique L.; Kros, Johan M.; Passier, Monique M. C. J.; Reddinglus, Roel E.; Smitt, Peter A. E. Sillevis; Luider, Theo M.; Pieters, Rob

The aim of this study was to identify aberrantly expressed proteins in pediatric primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) and ependymornas. Tumor tissue of 29 PNET and 12 ependymoma patients was subjected to 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis. Gel analysis resulted in 79 protein spots

Listening to Quackery: Reading John Wesley's Primitive Physic in an Age of Health Care Reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Skinner, Daniel; Schneider, Adam

2016-11-25

This article uses a reading of John Wesley's Primitive Physic, or An Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases (1747) to resist the common rejection-often as "quackery"-of Wesley's treatments for common maladies. We engage Wesley not because he was right but because his approach offers useful moments of pause in light of contemporary medical epistemology. Wesley's recommendations were primarily oriented towards the categories of personal responsibility and capability, but he also sought to empower individuals-especially the poor-with the knowledge to safely and affordably treat maladies of their own. We leverage Primitive Physic to rethink contemporary medical knowledge production, especially as sanctioned by randomized clinical trials and legitimate views of experience and contemporary institutions such as the AMA. Ultimately, we suggest that the medical humanities has a key role to play in mining the discarded and dismissed for what they can tell scholars about medical knowledge.

Yield and quality of pectins extractable from the peels of thai mango cultivars depending on fruit ripeness.

Science.gov (United States)

Sirisakulwat, Suparat; Nagel, Andreas; Sruamsiri, Pittaya; Carle, Reinhold; Neidhart, Sybille

2008-11-26

Pectins, recovered from the peels of four mango ( Mangifera indica L.) cultivars by mimicking industrial techniques, were evaluated in terms of yield, composition, macromolecular properties, and technofunctional quality. Freeze-dried peels of mature-green fruits, after major mesocarp softening, and at full ripeness were extracted using hot acid. The pectins were precipitated in propan-2-ol and their crude yields quantified as alcohol-insoluble substance. Like apple pomace, the dried peels provided hardly acetylated (DAc implied by arabinose/galactose ratios of 8-15 and 33-56 mol/100 mol, respectively. Limited galacturonic acid contents made the mango peel pectins less valuable than commercial apple pectins with regard to gelling capacity and thickening properties. Whereas starch and matrix glycan fragments almost completely degraded during ripening, depolymerization of pectins and galactans was insignificant. Technofunctional properties, modulated by extraction at different pH values, were ascribed to structural differences influencing macromolecular entanglements.

Primitive Liquid Water of the Solar System in an Aqueous Altered Carbonaceous Chondrite

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuchiyama, A.; Miyake, A.; Kitayama, A.; Matsuno, J.; Takeuchi, A.; Uesugi, K.; Suzuki, Y.; Nakano, T.; Zolensky, M. E.

2016-01-01

Non-destructive 3D observations of the aqueous altered CM chondrite Sutter's Mill using scanning imaging x-ray microscopy (SIXM) showed that some of calcite and enstatite grains contain two-phase inclusion, which is most probably composed of liquid water and bubbles. This water should be primitive water responsible for aqueous alteration in an asteroid in the early solar system.

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the urinary bladder in an Arab woman with history of squamous cell carcinoma: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Al Meshaan, Mohd Khaled; Nayef, Marwan; Kwaider, Talal; Otto, Wolfgang; Katchy, Ken C

2009-04-29

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the urinary bladder are rare and tend to occur in an older age group than do their counterparts in bones and soft tissue. We report a case of peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the urinary bladder in a 67-year-old woman of Arab origin. She had undergone transurethral resection followed by chemotherapy because of pulmonary metastasized muscle-invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder in 2005. One year later, she first presented with a history of repeated hematuria in our institution. Performing cystoscopy any tumor could be detected. Control cystoscopy two months later showed a tumor mass of 3 cm in diameter at another location than described for the first tumor. After perforating by transurethral resection partial bladder resection had to be done. Tissue specimen after pathological analysis revealed a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor with tumor cells reactive to cluster of differentiation 99, neuron-specific enolase and S100 protein and stained negative for other markers such as cytokeratins, epithelial membrane antigen, desmin, smooth muscle actin, chromogranin and leucocyte common antigen. Staging computerized tomography was especially free from any hint on organ metastasis, but the patient died due to a cardiac problem only a few months later. To the best of our knowledge, we report the eighth case of bladder peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors in literature and the first concerning an Arab patient. It is also the first presentation of a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor patient with a history of squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder. As in other cases, expression of single-chain-type 1 glycoprotein and neural markers was positive and the disease was at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis.

Primitive chain network simulations of probe rheology.

Science.gov (United States)

Masubuchi, Yuichi; Amamoto, Yoshifumi; Pandey, Ankita; Liu, Cheng-Yang

2017-09-27

Probe rheology experiments, in which the dynamics of a small amount of probe chains dissolved in immobile matrix chains is discussed, have been performed for the development of molecular theories for entangled polymer dynamics. Although probe chain dynamics in probe rheology is considered hypothetically as single chain dynamics in fixed tube-shaped confinement, it has not been fully elucidated. For instance, the end-to-end relaxation of probe chains is slower than that for monodisperse melts, unlike the conventional molecular theories. In this study, the viscoelastic and dielectric relaxations of probe chains were calculated by primitive chain network simulations. The simulations semi-quantitatively reproduced the dielectric relaxation, which reflects the effect of constraint release on the end-to-end relaxation. Fair agreement was also obtained for the viscoelastic relaxation time. However, the viscoelastic relaxation intensity was underestimated, possibly due to some flaws in the model for the inter-chain cross-correlations between probe and matrix chains.

Peripheral primitive neuroendocrine tumor of the chest wall—A case report with pathological correlation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jidi Gao, MD

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Primitive neuroectodermal tumor is a high-grade malignant tumor originating from the neural crest and neuroectoderm, which can be subdivided into central and peripheral categories. Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor is thought to be identical to Ewing's sarcoma, and falls under a broader category of Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors. Very rarely, it may present without osseous involvement, known as extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma. Here we present a case of a 38-year-old woman, who presented with several-month history of a slow-growing chest wall mass, initially thought to be a breast mass. The mass was diagnosed as extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma upon tissue biopsy. The patient was started on a dose-intensified neoadjuvant therapy, based on protocol from pediatric population given rarity of this tumor in the adult population. While the patient was initially planned for surgical resection, the tumor showed excellent response to chemotherapy on follow-up imaging, and radiation therapy was elected in lieu of resection. Keywords: Chest wall tumors, Peripheral PNET, Ewing's sarcoma

Neuropilin-2 genomic elements drive cre recombinase expression in primitive blood, vascular and neuronal lineages.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiszniak, Sophie; Scherer, Michaela; Ramshaw, Hayley; Schwarz, Quenten

2015-11-01

We have established a novel Cre mouse line, using genomic elements encompassing the Nrp2 locus, present within a bacterial artificial chromosome clone. By crossing this Cre driver line to R26R LacZ reporter mice, we have documented the temporal expression and lineage traced tissues in which Cre is expressed. Nrp2-Cre drives expression in primitive blood cells arising from the yolk sac, venous and lymphatic endothelial cells, peripheral sensory ganglia, and the lung bud. This mouse line will provide a new tool to researchers wishing to study the development of various tissues and organs in which this Cre driver is expressed, as well as allow tissue-specific knockout of genes of interest to study protein function. This work also presents the first evidence for expression of Nrp2 protein in a mesodermal progenitor with restricted hematopoietic potential, which will significantly advance the study of primitive erythropoiesis. genesis 53:709-717, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the zygomaticoorbital complex: a rare location and ways of surgical repair of the area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ch. R. Ragimov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Primitive neuroectodermal tumor in the zygomaticoorbital region is a rare neoplasm of the head and neck. Due to the necessity for wide radical excision of a primary tumor, there may be serious functional and cosmetic disorders that substantially affect quality of life in patients. Restoration of this region is one of the challenges of reconstructive surgery because of the specific features of the relief of bone structures. The paper describes a clinical case of the site of primitive neuroectodermal tumor in the zygomaticoorbital complex and a method for repairing postresectional defect and completely recovering the function of the organ of vision and aesthetic parameters of the face.

Genome, transcriptome and methylome sequencing of a primitively eusocial wasp reveal a greatly reduced DNA methylation system in a social insect.

Science.gov (United States)

Standage, Daniel S; Berens, Ali J; Glastad, Karl M; Severin, Andrew J; Brendel, Volker P; Toth, Amy L

2016-04-01

Comparative genomics of social insects has been intensely pursued in recent years with the goal of providing insights into the evolution of social behaviour and its underlying genomic and epigenomic basis. However, the comparative approach has been hampered by a paucity of data on some of the most informative social forms (e.g. incipiently and primitively social) and taxa (especially members of the wasp family Vespidae) for studying social evolution. Here, we provide a draft genome of the primitively eusocial model insect Polistes dominula, accompanied by analysis of caste-related transcriptome and methylome sequence data for adult queens and workers. Polistes dominula possesses a fairly typical hymenopteran genome, but shows very low genomewide GC content and some evidence of reduced genome size. We found numerous caste-related differences in gene expression, with evidence that both conserved and novel genes are related to caste differences. Most strikingly, these -omics data reveal a major reduction in one of the major epigenetic mechanisms that has been previously suggested to be important for caste differences in social insects: DNA methylation. Along with a conspicuous loss of a key gene associated with environmentally responsive DNA methylation (the de novo DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3), these wasps have greatly reduced genomewide methylation to almost zero. In addition to providing a valuable resource for comparative analysis of social insect evolution, our integrative -omics data for this important behavioural and evolutionary model system call into question the general importance of DNA methylation in caste differences and evolution in social insects. © 2016 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Farey Statistics in Time n^{2/3} and Counting Primitive Lattice Points in Polygons

OpenAIRE

Patrascu, Mihai

2007-01-01

We present algorithms for computing ranks and order statistics in the Farey sequence, taking time O (n^{2/3}). This improves on the recent algorithms of Pawlewicz [European Symp. Alg. 2007], running in time O (n^{3/4}). We also initiate the study of a more general algorithmic problem: counting primitive lattice points in planar shapes.

Evaluation of the nutraceutical, antioxidant and cytoprotective properties of ripe pistachio (Pistacia vera L., variety Bronte) hulls.

Science.gov (United States)

Barreca, Davide; Laganà, Giuseppina; Leuzzi, Ugo; Smeriglio, Antonella; Trombetta, Domenico; Bellocco, Ersilia

2016-04-01

Every year tons of pistachio hulls are separated and eliminated, as waste products, from pistachio seeds. In this study the hulls of ripe pistachios were extracted with two organic solvents (ethanol and methanol) and characterized for phenolic composition, antioxidant power and cytoprotective activity. RP-HPLC-DAD-FLU separation enabled us to identify 20 derivatives, including and by far the most abundant gallic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, naringin, eriodictyol-7-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin-7-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside and catechin. Methanol extraction gave the highest yields for all classes of compounds and presented a higher scavenging activity in all the antioxidant assays performed. The same was found for cytoprotective activity on lymphocytes, lipid peroxidation and protein degradation. These findings highlight the strong antioxidant and cytoprotective activity of the extract components, and illustrate how a waste product can be used as a source of nutraceuticals to employ in manufacturing industry. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interaction learning for dynamic movement primitives used in cooperative robotic tasks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kulvicius, Tomas; Biehl, Martin; Aein, Mohamad Javad

2013-01-01

Abstract Since several years dynamic movement primitives (DMPs) are more and more getting into the center of interest for flexible movement control in robotics. In this study we introduce sensory feedback together with a predictive learning mechanism which allows tightly coupled dual-agent systems...... to learn an adaptive, sensor-driven interaction based on DMPs. The coupled conventional (no-sensors, no learning) DMP-system automatically equilibrates and can still be solved analytically allowing us to derive conditions for stability. When adding adaptive sensor control we can show that both agents learn...

Noble Gases in Insoluble Organic Matter in the Very Primitive Meteorites Bells, EET 92042 and GRO 95577

Science.gov (United States)

Busemann, H.; Alexander, C. M. O'd.; Nittler, L. R.; Wieler, R.

2008-03-01

Noble gas carrier phase Q in several primitive meteorites is not attacked by Pyridine, in contrast to Orgueil, as reported previously. IOM in CR chondrites does not indicate high-temperature alteration in the nebula.

Two different pathways for the transport of primitive and definitive blood cells from the yolk sac to the embryo in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereda, Jaime; Monge, Juan I; Niimi, Gen

2010-08-01

During the early human embryonic period nutrients and blood cells are temporarily provided by the extraembryonic yolk sac (YS). The YS before week six is involved not only in primitive but also in definitive erythropoiesis. While the destiny of primitive erythroid cells that fill the blood vessels of the YS is well known, the final destination of erythrocytes present in the endodermal vesicular system is unknown. In the present study we have investigated, step by step, the destiny of the erythrocytes present in the endodermal vesicles during the embryonic period. Twelve human YSs and their corresponding yolk stalks were analyzed between weeks 4 and 7 of embryonic age by light and scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that erythrocytes (according to their size and morphological features) located within the endodermal vesicles of the YS wall are pulled out through endodermal pits into the YS cavity, from where they reach the lumen of the primitive gut of the embryo through the vitelline duct, a temporary pathway communicating both compartments. During the study period no erythrocytes were seen within the embryo's vascular network where only primitive erythroblasts were identified. Our results indicate that the vitelline duct plays an important transient role as a pathway for the transport of nutrients and blood cells between the YS and the embryo before week five of embryonic development that ends just at the time when YS-embryo circulation becomes established. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Evidence for extreme Ti-50 enrichments in primitive meteorites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fahey, A.; Mckeegan, K.D.; Zinner, E.; Goswami, J.N.; Physical Research Lab., Ahmedabad, India)

1985-01-01

The results of the first high mass resolution ion microprobe study of Ti isotopic compositions in individual refractory grains from primitive carbonaceous meteorites are reported. One hibonite from the Murray carbonaceous chondrite has a 10 percent excess of Ti-50, 25 times higher than the maximum value previously reported for bulk samples of refractory inclusions from carbonaceous chondrites. The variation of the Ti compositions between different hibonite grains, and among pyroxenes from a single Allende refractory inclusion, indicates isotopic inhomogeneities over small scale lengths in the solar nebula and emphasizes the importance of the analysis of small individual phases. This heterogeneity makes it unlikely that the isotopic anomalies were carried into the solar system in the gas phase. 20 references

The role of the temporal pole in modulating primitive auditory memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhiliang; Wang, Qian; You, Yu; Yin, Peng; Ding, Hu; Bao, Xiaohan; Yang, Pengcheng; Lu, Hao; Gao, Yayue; Li, Liang

2016-04-21

Primitive auditory memory (PAM), which is recognized as the early point in the chain of the transient auditory memory system, faithfully maintains raw acoustic fine-structure signals for up to 20-30 milliseconds. The neural mechanisms underlying PAM have not been reported in the literature. Previous anatomical, brain-imaging, and neurophysiological studies have suggested that the temporal pole (TP), part of the parahippocampal region in the transitional area between perirhinal cortex and superior/inferior temporal gyri, is involved in auditory memories. This study investigated whether the TP plays a role in mediating/modulating PAM. The longest interaural interval (the interaural-delay threshold) for detecting a break in interaural correlation (BIC) embedded in interaurally correlated wideband noises was used to indicate the temporal preservation of PAM and examined in both healthy listeners and patients receiving unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL, centered on the TP) for treating their temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The results showed that patients with ATL were still able to detect the BIC even when an interaural interval was introduced, regardless of which ear was the leading one. However, in patient participants, the group-mean interaural-delay threshold for detecting the BIC under the contralateral-ear-leading (relative to the side of ATL) condition was significantly shorter than that under the ipsilateral-ear-leading condition. The results suggest that although the TP is not essential for integrating binaural signals and mediating the PAM, it plays a role in top-down modulating the PAM of raw acoustic fine-structure signals from the contralateral ear. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solvent primitive model of an electric double layer in slit-like pores: microscopic structure, adsorption and capacitance from a density functional approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Pizio

2014-06-01

Full Text Available We investigate the electric double layer formed between charged walls of a slit-like pore and a solvent primitive model (SPM for electrolyte solution. The recently developed version of the weighted density functional approach for electrostatic interparticle interaction is applied to the study of the density profiles, adsorption and selectivity of adsorption of ions and solvent species. Our principal focus, however, is in the dependence of differential capacitance on the applied voltage, on the electrode and on the pore width. We discuss the properties of the model with respect to the behavior of a primitive model, i.e., in the absence of a hard-sphere solvent. We observed that the differential capacitance of the SPM on the applied electrostatic potential has the camel-like shape unless the ion fraction is high. Moreover, it is documented that the dependence of differential capacitance of the SPM on the pore width is oscillatory, which is in close similarity to the primitive model.

Effective convergence to complete orbital bases and to the atomic Hartree--Fock limit through systematic sequences of Gaussian primitives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, M.W.; Ruedenberg, K.

1979-01-01

Optimal starting points for expanding molecular orbitals in terms of atomic orbitals are the self-consistent-field orbitals of the free atoms and accurate information about the latter is essential for the construction of effective AO bases for molecular calculations. For expansions of atomic SCF orbitals in terms of Gaussian primitives, which are of particular interest for applications in polyatomic quantum chemistry, previous information has been limited in accuracy. In the present investigation a simple procedure is given for finding expansions of atomic self-consistent-field orbitals in terms of Gaussian primitives to arbitrarily high accuracy. The method furthermore opens the first avenue so far for approaching complete basis sets through systematic sequences of atomic orbitals

The neonatal marmoset monkey ovary is very primitive exhibiting many oogonia

Science.gov (United States)

Fereydouni, B; Drummer, C; Aeckerle, N; Schlatt, S; Behr, R

2014-01-01

Oogonia are characterized by diploidy and mitotic proliferation. Human and mouse oogonia express several factors such as OCT4, which are characteristic of pluripotent cells. In human, almost all oogonia enter meiosis between weeks 9 and 22 of prenatal development or undergo mitotic arrest and subsequent elimination from the ovary. As a consequence, neonatal human ovaries generally lack oogonia. The same was found in neonatal ovaries of the rhesus monkey, a representative of the old world monkeys (Catarrhini). By contrast, proliferating oogonia were found in adult prosimians (now called Strepsirrhini), which is a group of ‘lower’ primates. The common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus) belongs to the new world monkeys (Platyrrhini) and is increasingly used in reproductive biology and stem cell research. However, ovarian development in the marmoset monkey has not been widely investigated. Herein, we show that the neonatal marmoset ovary has an extremely immature histological appearance compared with the human ovary. It contains numerous oogonia expressing the pluripotency factors OCT4A, SALL4, and LIN28A (LIN28). The pluripotency factor-positive germ cells also express the proliferation marker MKI67 (Ki-67), which has previously been shown in the human ovary to be restricted to premeiotic germ cells. Together, the data demonstrate the primitiveness of the neonatal marmoset ovary compared with human. This study may introduce the marmoset monkey as a non-human primate model to experimentally study the aspects of primate primitive gonad development, follicle assembly, and germ cell biology in vivo. PMID:24840529

Wild capuchin monkeys anticipate the amount of ripe fruit in natural trees.

Science.gov (United States)

Tujague, María Paula; Janson, Charles H

2017-09-01

Tropical forests have a high diversity of tree species which have very low densities and vary across time in their seasons of peak fruiting and maturation rates. As evidence of the ability of primates to track or anticipate changes in fruit production at individual trees, researchers have used the increased speed of primate groups toward more rewarding food patches. We analyzed the speed of approach to natural trees of wild capuchin monkeys under the effect of scramble competition, after excluding any plausible visual, olfactory and auditory cues. We conducted all-day group follows of three habituated capuchin groups at Iguazú National Park, Argentina, collecting data on ranging behavior and patterns of visits to fruit trees in relation with their location and fruit availability. Travel speed varied according to the expected reward at a feeding tree, increasing as rewards increased from low values, but decreasing again at very high values. Also, travel speed varied with time of day, decreasing from the time of first activity as the monkeys became less hungry, and increasing again toward late afternoon. Measures of unripe fruit cover did not explain variation in travel speed at any distance from a focal tree. Our data imply that, after excluding sensory cues, capuchins appear to anticipate time-varying ripe fruit quantity of natural resources, suggesting that they use memory of tree location and anticipation of fruit maturation. We also confirm that speed is a good measure about expectations of resources, as has been shown in previous studies.

Rosetta/VIRTIS-M spectral data: Comet 67P/CG compared to other primitive small bodies.

Science.gov (United States)

De Sanctis, M. C.; Capaccioni, F.; Filacchione, G.; Erard, S.; Tosi, F.; Ciarniello, M.; Raponi, A.; Piccioni, G.; Leyrat, C.; Bockelée-Morvan, D.; Drossart, P.; Fornasier, S.

2014-12-01

VIRTIS-M, the Visible InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer, onboard the Rosetta Mission orbiter (Coradini et al., 2007) acquired data of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the 0.25-5.1 µm spectral range. The initial data, obtained during the first mission phases to the comet, allow us to derive albedo and global spectral properties of the comet nucleus as well as spectra of different areas on the nucleus. The characterization of cometary nuclei surfaces and their comparison with those of related populations such as extinct comet candidates, Centaurs, near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), and primitive asteroids is critical to understanding the origin and evolution of small solar system bodies. The acquired VIRTIS data are used to compare the global spectral properties of comet 67P/CG to published spectra of other cometary nuclei observed from ground or visited by space mission. Moreover, the spectra of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko are also compared to those of primitive asteroids and centaurs. The comparison can give us clues on the possible common formation and evolutionary environment for primitive asteroids, centaurs and Jupiter-family comets. Authors acknowledge the funding from Italian and French Space Agencies. References: Coradini, A., Capaccioni, F., Drossart, P., Arnold, G., Ammannito, E., Angrilli, F., Barucci, A., Bellucci, G., Benkhoff, J., Bianchini, G., Bibring, J. P., Blecka, M., Bockelee-Morvan, D., Capria, M. T., Carlson, R., Carsenty, U., Cerroni, P., Colangeli, L., Combes, M., Combi, M., Crovisier, J., De Sanctis, M. C., Encrenaz, E. T., Erard, S., Federico, C., Filacchione, G., Fink, U., Fonti, S., Formisano, V., Ip, W. H., Jaumann, R., Kuehrt, E., Langevin, Y., Magni, G., McCord, T., Mennella, V., Mottola, S., Neukum, G., Palumbo, P., Piccioni, G., Rauer, H., Saggin, B., Schmitt, B., Tiphene, D., Tozzi, G., Space Science Reviews, Volume 128, Issue 1-4, 529-559, 2007.

New software library of geometrical primitives for modelling of solids used in Monte Carlo detector simulations

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

We present our effort for the creation of a new software library of geometrical primitives, which are used for solid modelling in Monte Carlo detector simulations. We plan to replace and unify current geometrical primitive classes in the CERN software projects Geant4 and ROOT with this library. Each solid is represented by a C++ class with methods suited for measuring distances of particles from the surface of a solid and for determination as to whether the particles are located inside, outside or on the surface of the solid. We use numerical tolerance for determining whether the particles are located on the surface. The class methods also contain basic support for visualization. We use dedicated test suites for validation of the shape codes. These include also special performance and numerical value comparison tests for help with analysis of possible candidates of class methods as well as to verify that our new implementation proposals were designed and implemented properly. Currently, bridge classes are u...

Amino acid codes in mitochondria as possible clues to primitive codes

Science.gov (United States)

Jukes, T. H.

1981-01-01

Differences between mitochondrial codes and the universal code indicate that an evolutionary simplification has taken place, rather than a return to a more primitive code. However, these differences make it evident that the universal code is not the only code possible, and therefore earlier codes may have differed markedly from the previous code. The present universal code is probably a 'frozen accident.' The change in CUN codons from leucine to threonine (Neurospora vs. yeast mitochondria) indicates that neutral or near-neutral changes occurred in the corresponding proteins when this code change took place, caused presumably by a mutation in a tRNA gene.

Architecture for an integrated real-time air combat and sensor network simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Criswell, Evans A.; Rushing, John; Lin, Hong; Graves, Sara

2007-04-01

An architecture for an integrated air combat and sensor network simulation is presented. The architecture integrates two components: a parallel real-time sensor fusion and target tracking simulation, and an air combat simulation. By integrating these two simulations, it becomes possible to experiment with scenarios in which one or both sides in a battle have very large numbers of primitive passive sensors, and to assess the likely effects of those sensors on the outcome of the battle. Modern Air Power is a real-time theater-level air combat simulation that is currently being used as a part of the USAF Air and Space Basic Course (ASBC). The simulation includes a variety of scenarios from the Vietnam war to the present day, and also includes several hypothetical future scenarios. Modern Air Power includes a scenario editor, an order of battle editor, and full AI customization features that make it possible to quickly construct scenarios for any conflict of interest. The scenario editor makes it possible to place a wide variety of sensors including both high fidelity sensors such as radars, and primitive passive sensors that provide only very limited information. The parallel real-time sensor network simulation is capable of handling very large numbers of sensors on a computing cluster of modest size. It can fuse information provided by disparate sensors to detect and track targets, and produce target tracks.

Linear hypergeneralization of learned dynamics across movement speeds reveals anisotropic, gain-encoding primitives for motor adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Joiner, Wilsaan M; Ajayi, Obafunso; Sing, Gary C; Smith, Maurice A

2011-01-01

The ability to generalize learned motor actions to new contexts is a key feature of the motor system. For example, the ability to ride a bicycle or swing a racket is often first developed at lower speeds and later applied to faster velocities. A number of previous studies have examined the generalization of motor adaptation across movement directions and found that the learned adaptation decays in a pattern consistent with the existence of motor primitives that display narrow Gaussian tuning. However, few studies have examined the generalization of motor adaptation across movement speeds. Following adaptation to linear velocity-dependent dynamics during point-to-point reaching arm movements at one speed, we tested the ability of subjects to transfer this adaptation to short-duration higher-speed movements aimed at the same target. We found near-perfect linear extrapolation of the trained adaptation with respect to both the magnitude and the time course of the velocity profiles associated with the high-speed movements: a 69% increase in movement speed corresponded to a 74% extrapolation of the trained adaptation. The close match between the increase in movement speed and the corresponding increase in adaptation beyond what was trained indicates linear hypergeneralization. Computational modeling shows that this pattern of linear hypergeneralization across movement speeds is not compatible with previous models of adaptation in which motor primitives display isotropic Gaussian tuning of motor output around their preferred velocities. Instead, we show that this generalization pattern indicates that the primitives involved in the adaptation to viscous dynamics display anisotropic tuning in velocity space and encode the gain between motor output and motion state rather than motor output itself.

Horizontal vectorization of electron repulsion integrals.

Science.gov (United States)

Pritchard, Benjamin P; Chow, Edmond

2016-10-30

We present an efficient implementation of the Obara-Saika algorithm for the computation of electron repulsion integrals that utilizes vector intrinsics to calculate several primitive integrals concurrently in a SIMD vector. Initial benchmarks display a 2-4 times speedup with AVX instructions over comparable scalar code, depending on the basis set. Speedup over scalar code is found to be sensitive to the level of contraction of the basis set, and is best for (lAlB|lClD) quartets when lD  = 0 or lB=lD=0, which makes such a vectorization scheme particularly suitable for density fitting. The basic Obara-Saika algorithm, how it is vectorized, and the performance bottlenecks are analyzed and discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fanconi anemia genes are highly expressed in primitive CD34+ hematopoietic cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brodeur Isabelle

2003-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fanconi anemia (FA is a complex recessive genetic disease characterized by progressive bone marrow failure (BM and a predisposition to cancer. We have previously shown using the Fancc mouse model that the progressive BM failure results from a hematopoietic stem cell defect suggesting that function of the FA genes may reside in primitive hematopoietic stem cells. Methods Since genes involved in stem cell differentiation and/or maintenance are usually regulated at the transcription level, we used a semiquantitative RT-PCR method to evaluate FA gene transcript levels in purified hematopoietic stem cells. Results We show that most FA genes are highly expressed in primitive CD34-positive and negative cells compared to lower levels in more differentiated cells. However, in CD34- stem cells the Fancc gene was found to be expressed at low levels while Fancg was undetectable in this population. Furthermore, Fancg expression is significantly decreased in Fancc -/- stem cells as compared to wild-type cells while the cancer susceptibility genes Brca1 and Fancd1/Brac2 are upregulated in Fancc-/- hematopoietic cells. Conclusions These results suggest that FA genes are regulated at the mRNA level, that increased Fancc expression in LTS-CD34+ cells correlates with a role at the CD34+ differentiation stage and that lack of Fancc affects the expression of other FA gene, more specifically Fancg and Fancd1/Brca2, through an unknown mechanism.

Comparative analysis of the 5S rRNA and its associated proteins reveals unique primitive rather than parasitic features in Giardia lamblia.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Jin-Mei; Sun, Jun; Xin, De-Dong; Wen, Jian-Fan

2012-01-01

5S rRNA is a highly conserved ribosomal component. Eukaryotic 5S rRNA and its associated proteins (5S rRNA system) have become very well understood. Giardia lamblia was thought by some researchers to be the most primitive extant eukaryote while others considered it a highly evolved parasite. Previous reports have indicated that some aspects of its 5S rRNA system are simpler than that of common eukaryotes. We here explore whether this is true to its entire system, and whether this simplicity is a primitive or parasitic feature. By collecting and confirming pre-existing data and identifying new data, we obtained almost complete datasets of the system of three isolates of G. lamblia, two other parasitic excavates (Trichomonas vaginalis, Trypanosoma cruzi), and one free-living one (Naegleria gruberi). After comprehensively comparing each aspect of the system among these excavates and also with those of archaea and common eukaryotes, we found all the three Giardia isolates to harbor a same simplified 5S rRNA system, which is not only much simpler than that of common eukaryotes but also the simplest one among those of these excavates, and is surprisingly very similar to that of archaea; we also found among these excavates the system in parasitic species is not necessarily simpler than that in free-living species, conversely, the system of free-living species is even simpler in some respects than those of parasitic ones. The simplicity of Giardia 5S rRNA system should be considered a primitive rather than parasitically-degenerated feature. Therefore, Giardia 5S rRNA system might be a primitive system that is intermediate between that of archaea and the common eukaryotic model system, and it may reflect the evolutionary history of the eukaryotic 5S rRNA system from the archaeal form. Our results also imply G. lamblia might be a primitive eukaryote with secondary parasitically-degenerated features.

Feynman integrals and hyperlogarithms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panzer, Erik

2015-02-05

We study Feynman integrals in the representation with Schwinger parameters and derive recursive integral formulas for massless 3- and 4-point functions. Properties of analytic (including dimensional) regularization are summarized and we prove that in the Euclidean region, each Feynman integral can be written as a linear combination of convergent Feynman integrals. This means that one can choose a basis of convergent master integrals and need not evaluate any divergent Feynman graph directly. Secondly we give a self-contained account of hyperlogarithms and explain in detail the algorithms needed for their application to the evaluation of multivariate integrals. We define a new method to track singularities of such integrals and present a computer program that implements the integration method. As our main result, we prove the existence of infinite families of massless 3- and 4-point graphs (including the ladder box graphs with arbitrary loop number and their minors) whose Feynman integrals can be expressed in terms of multiple polylogarithms, to all orders in the ε-expansion. These integrals can be computed effectively with the presented program. We include interesting examples of explicit results for Feynman integrals with up to 6 loops. In particular we present the first exactly computed counterterm in massless φ{sup 4} theory which is not a multiple zeta value, but a linear combination of multiple polylogarithms at primitive sixth roots of unity (and divided by the √(3)). To this end we derive a parity result on the reducibility of the real- and imaginary parts of such numbers into products and terms of lower depth.

Feynman integrals and hyperlogarithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panzer, Erik

2015-01-01

We study Feynman integrals in the representation with Schwinger parameters and derive recursive integral formulas for massless 3- and 4-point functions. Properties of analytic (including dimensional) regularization are summarized and we prove that in the Euclidean region, each Feynman integral can be written as a linear combination of convergent Feynman integrals. This means that one can choose a basis of convergent master integrals and need not evaluate any divergent Feynman graph directly. Secondly we give a self-contained account of hyperlogarithms and explain in detail the algorithms needed for their application to the evaluation of multivariate integrals. We define a new method to track singularities of such integrals and present a computer program that implements the integration method. As our main result, we prove the existence of infinite families of massless 3- and 4-point graphs (including the ladder box graphs with arbitrary loop number and their minors) whose Feynman integrals can be expressed in terms of multiple polylogarithms, to all orders in the ε-expansion. These integrals can be computed effectively with the presented program. We include interesting examples of explicit results for Feynman integrals with up to 6 loops. In particular we present the first exactly computed counterterm in massless φ 4 theory which is not a multiple zeta value, but a linear combination of multiple polylogarithms at primitive sixth roots of unity (and divided by the √(3)). To this end we derive a parity result on the reducibility of the real- and imaginary parts of such numbers into products and terms of lower depth.

Dispossessing Urbanization: Urban Marxism in the Face of the Problem of Primitive Accumulation

OpenAIRE

Piotr Juskowiak

2015-01-01

The article is a complex attempt to present the achievements of the broadly understood urban Marxism in the field of reinterpretation of the classic concept from the cards of Capital – “primitive accumulation”. Drawing on theories of such scholars as David Harvey (“accumulation by dispossession”) or Saskia Sassen (“expulsions”), the author points to the possible ways to operationalize the concept of “dispossessing urbanization”. Inspired by the theorizations of autonomist Marxists (Antonio Ne...

The Central Nervous in system Rhabdoid tumor primitive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manana, G.; Bernachin, J.; Waskoff, S.; Panuncio, A.

2004-01-01

Primitive Rhabdoid tumors of the Central Nervous system are entities of very low frequency and since 1942 is the first event observed in a total of 16,000 cases studied in the Laboratory of Neuropathology, Clinical Hospital. Until 2003 were described 118 case in the literature. The case is about the 3 years old child with no previous medical history consulted for 3 months with headaches, repeated vomiting, irritability and non specific abnormal gait. On examination is found a physical waking depression and great hydrocephalus in V I bilateral pair so is submitted to a emergency surgery. RMI CT and MRI performed reveals large frontal tumor that reaches the oval center with cystic and calcifications areas. Three days after is operates for the intraventricular tumor without post operative complications. Receive chemotherapy and the patient died 2 years later. The neuro pathological and ultrastructural study reveals a Rhabdoid malignancy brain tumor of grade IV as well as were analyzed histopathological and ultrastructural aspects of this entity

Larvicidal activity of oils, fatty acids, and methyl esters from ripe and unripe fruit of Solanum lycocarpum (Solanaceae against the vector Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viviane de Cássia Bicalho Silva

2015-10-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION:The larvicidal activity of oils, fatty acids, and methyl esters of Solanum lycocarpum fruit against Culex quinquefasciatus is unknown.METHODS:The larvicidal activity of samples of ripe and unripe fruit from S. lycocarpum was evaluated against third and fourth instar larvae of C. quinquefasciatus .RESULTS:The oils, fatty acids, and methyl esters of S. lycocarpum showed the greatest larvicidal effect (57.1-95.0% at a concentration of 100mg/L (LC 50values between 0.70 and 27.54mg/L.CONCLUSIONS:Solanum lycocarpum fruit may be a good source of new natural products with larvicidal activity.

Quaternary volcanism near the Valley of Mexico: implications for subduction zone magmatism and the effects of crustal thickness variations on primitive magma compositions

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Paul J.; Carmichael, Ian S. E.

The Valley of Mexico and surrounding regions of Mexico and Morelos states in central Mexico contain more than 250 Quaternary eruptive vents in addition to the large, composite volcanoes of Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl, and Nevado de Toluca. The eruptive vents include cinder and lava cones, shield volcanoes, and isolated andesitic and dacitic lava flows, and are most numerous in the Sierra Chichináutzin that forms the southern terminus of the Valley of Mexico. The Chichináutzin volcanic field (CVF) is part of the E-W-trending Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB), a subduction-related volcanic arc that extends across Mexico. The crustal thickness beneath the CVF ( 50km) is the greatest of any region in the MVB and one of the greatest found in any arc worldwide. Lavas and scoriae erupted from vents in the CVF include alkaline basalts and calc-alkaline basaltic andesites, andesites, and dacites. Both alkaline and calc-alkaline groups contain primitive varieties that have whole rock Mg#, MgO, and Ni contents, and liquidus olivine compositions (<=Fo90) that are close to those expected of partial melts from mantle peridotite. Primitive varieties also show a wide range of incompatible trace element abundances (e.g. Ba 210-1080ppm Ce 25-100ppm Zr 130-280ppm). Data for primitive calc-alkaline rocks from both the CVF and other regions of the MVB to the west are consistent with magma generation in an underlying mantle wedge that is depleted in Ti, Zr, and Nb and enriched in large ion lithophile (K, Ba, Rb) and light rare earth (La, Ce) elements. Extents of partial melting estimated from Ti and Zr data are lower for primitive calc-alkaline magmas in the CVF than for those from the regions of the MVB to the west where the crust is thinner. The distinctive major element compositions (low CaO and Al2O3, high SiO2) of the primitive calc-alkaline magmas in the CVF indicate a more refractory mantle source beneath this region of thick crust. In contrast, primitive alkaline magmas from the

Evolution of lung breathing from a lungless primitive vertebrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, M; Taylor, B E; Harris, M B

2016-04-01

Air breathing was critical to the terrestrial radiation and evolution of tetrapods and arose in fish. The vertebrate lung originated from a progenitor structure present in primitive boney fish. The origin of the neural substrates, which are sensitive to metabolically produced CO2 and which rhythmically activate respiratory muscles to match lung ventilation to metabolic demand, is enigmatic. We have found that a distinct periodic centrally generated rhythm, described as "cough" and occurring in lamprey in vivo and in vitro, is modulated by central sensitivity to CO2. This suggests that elements critical for the evolution of breathing in tetrapods, were present in the most basal vertebrate ancestors prior to the evolution of the lung. We propose that the evolution of breathing in all vertebrates occurred through exaptations derived from these critical basal elements. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Primary Vaginal Extraosseous Ewing Sarcoma/Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor with Cranial Metastasis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Man Yip

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Extraosseous Ewing sarcoma is now regarded as a member of the Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET family. It typically involves the soft tissues of the chest wall, pelvis, paravertebral region, abdominal wall, retroperitoneal region and extremities of children, adolescents and young adults, but it seldom occurs in the female genital tract. We report an extremely rare case of retrospective diagnosis of vaginal extraosseous Ewing sarcoma/PNET which metastasized to the right frontoparietal scalp, skull, and dura. Surgical resection, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy resulted in a favourable clinical outcome. Both the vaginal and head tumors had similar light microscopic features supporting the diagnosis.

Integrated Array/Metadata Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

Misev, Dimitar; Baumann, Peter

2015-04-01

Data comes in various forms and types, and integration usually presents a problem that is often simply ignored and solved with ad-hoc solutions. Multidimensional arrays are an ubiquitous data type, that we find at the core of virtually all science and engineering domains, as sensor, model, image, statistics data. Naturally, arrays are richly described by and intertwined with additional metadata (alphanumeric relational data, XML, JSON, etc). Database systems, however, a fundamental building block of what we call "Big Data", lack adequate support for modelling and expressing these array data/metadata relationships. Array analytics is hence quite primitive or non-existent at all in modern relational DBMS. Recognizing this, we extended SQL with a new SQL/MDA part seamlessly integrating multidimensional array analytics into the standard database query language. We demonstrate the benefits of SQL/MDA with real-world examples executed in ASQLDB, an open-source mediator system based on HSQLDB and rasdaman, that already implements SQL/MDA.

Classical and molecular cytogenetic characterization of Agonostomus monticola, a primitive species of Mugilidae (Mugiliformes).

Science.gov (United States)

Nirchio, Mauro; Oliveira, Claudio; Ferreira, Irani A; Martins, Cesar; Rossi, Anna Rita; Sola, Luciana

2009-01-01

This study reports the first description of the karyotype of Agonostomus monticola, a species belonging to a genus which is considered to be the most primitive among living mugilid fish. Specimens from Panama and Venezuela were cytogenetically analysed by conventional chromosome banding (Ag and base-specific-fluorochrome staining, C-banding) and by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Agonostomus monticola showed a chromosome complement of 2n = 48, composed of 23 acrocentric and one subtelocentric chromosome pairs and a pericentromeric distribution of the C-positive heterochromatin in all chromosomes. Major ribosomal genes were found to be located on the short arms of the subtelocentric chromosome pair number 24 and minor ribosomal genes in a paracentromeric position of a single medium-sized chromosome pair. All these observed cytogenetic features are similar to those previously described in four representatives of two genera, Liza and Chelon, which are considered to be among the most advanced in the family. Thus, this karyotypic form might represent the plesiomorphic condition for the mullets. This hypothesis regarding the plesiomorphic condition, if confirmed, would shed new light on the previously inferred cytotaxonomic relationships for the studied species of Mugilidae, because the karyotype with 48 acrocentric chromosomes, which has been so far regarded as primitive for the family, would have to be considered as derived.

A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses.

Science.gov (United States)

May-Davis, Sharon; Brown, Wendy Y; Shorter, Kathleen; Vermeulen, Zefanja; Butler, Raquel; Koekkoek, Marianne

2018-02-01

The Dutch Konik is valued from a genetic conservation perspective and also for its role in preservation of natural landscapes. The primary management objective for the captive breeding of this primitive horse is to maintain its genetic purity, whilst also maintaining the nature reserves on which they graze. Breeding selection has traditionally been based on phenotypic characteristics consistent with the breed description, and the selection of animals for removal from the breeding program is problematic at times due to high uniformity within the breed, particularly in height at the wither, colour (mouse to grey dun) and presence of primitive markings. With the objective of identifying an additional non-invasive selection criterion with potential uniqueness to the Dutch Konik, this study investigates the anatomic parameters of the distal equine limb, with a specific focus on the relative lengths of the individual splint bones. Post-mortem dissections performed on distal limbs of Dutch Konik ( n = 47) and modern domesticated horses ( n = 120) revealed significant differences in relation to the length and symmetry of the 2nd and 4th Metacarpals and Metatarsals. Distal limb characteristics with apparent uniqueness to the Dutch Konik are described which could be an important tool in the selection and preservation of the breed.

A musculoskeletal model of human locomotion driven by a low dimensional set of impulsive excitation primitives.

Science.gov (United States)

Sartori, Massimo; Gizzi, Leonardo; Lloyd, David G; Farina, Dario

2013-01-01

Human locomotion has been described as being generated by an impulsive (burst-like) excitation of groups of musculotendon units, with timing dependent on the biomechanical goal of the task. Despite this view being supported by many experimental observations on specific locomotion tasks, it is still unknown if the same impulsive controller (i.e., a low-dimensional set of time-delayed excitastion primitives) can be used as input drive for large musculoskeletal models across different human locomotion tasks. For this purpose, we extracted, with non-negative matrix factorization, five non-negative factors from a large sample of muscle electromyograms in two healthy subjects during four motor tasks. These included walking, running, sidestepping, and crossover cutting maneuvers. The extracted non-negative factors were then averaged and parameterized to obtain task-generic Gaussian-shaped impulsive excitation curves or primitives. These were used to drive a subject-specific musculoskeletal model of the human lower extremity. Results showed that the same set of five impulsive excitation primitives could be used to predict the dynamics of 34 musculotendon units and the resulting hip, knee and ankle joint moments (i.e., NRMSE = 0.18 ± 0.08, and R (2) = 0.73 ± 0.22 across all tasks and subjects) without substantial loss of accuracy with respect to using experimental electromyograms (i.e., NRMSE = 0.16 ± 0.07, and R (2) = 0.78 ± 0.18 across all tasks and subjects). Results support the hypothesis that biomechanically different motor tasks might share similar neuromuscular control strategies. This might have implications in neurorehabilitation technologies such as human-machine interfaces for the torque-driven, proportional control of powered prostheses and orthoses. In this, device control commands (i.e., predicted joint torque) could be derived without direct experimental data but relying on simple parameterized Gaussian-shaped curves, thus decreasing the input drive

Understanding Accumulation: The Relevance of Marx’s Theory of Primitive Accumulation in Media and Communication Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mattias Ekman

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to discuss and use Marx’s theory on primitive accumulation, outlined in the first volume of Capital, in relation to media and communication research. In order to develop Marx’s argument the discussion is revitalized through Harvey’s concept of accumulation by dispossession. The article focuses on two different fields within media and communication research where the concept of accumulation by dispossession is applicable. First, the role of news media content, news flows and news media systems are discussed in relation to social mobilization against capitalism, privatizations, and the financial sector. Second, Marx’s theory is used to examine how communication in Web 2.0 and the development of ICTs could advance the processes of capital accumulation by appropriating the work performed by users of Web 2.0 and by increasing the corporate surveillance of Internet users. In conclusion, by analyzing how primitive accumulation is intertwined with contemporary expanded reproduction of capital, the article shows that Marx’s theory can contribute to critical media and communication research in several ways.

Enslaved African Labour in the Americas: from primitive accumulation to manufacture with racial violence

OpenAIRE

Higginbottom, Andy

2018-01-01

This paper reconceptualises Marx’s value theory in an analysis of the enslavement of African Americans as a part of the capitalist mode of production with its own special characteristics. Synthesising from the literature, I argue that sugar plantation slavery from the sixteenth into the nineteenth century had a duel relation concerning the debate over primitive accumulation vs. capitalism from the start. The plantation did represent an early form of specifically capitalist production, in that...

Origin and evolution of primitive melts from the Debunscha Maar, Cameroon: Consequences for mantle source heterogeneity within the Cameroon Volcanic Line

Science.gov (United States)

Ngwa, Caroline N.; Hansteen, Thor H.; Devey, Colin W.; van der Zwan, Froukje M.; Suh, Cheo E.

2017-09-01

Debunscha Maar is a monogenetic volcano forming part of the Mt. Cameroon volcanic field, located within the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). Partly glassy cauliflower bombs have primitive basanite-picrobasalt compositions and contain abundant normally and reversely zoned olivine (Fo 77-87) and clinopyroxene phenocrysts. Naturally quenched melt inclusions in the most primitive olivine phenocrysts show compositions which, when corrected for post-entrapment modification, cover a wide range from basanite to alkali basalt (MgO 6.9-11.7 wt%), and are generally more primitive than the matrix glasses (MgO 5.0-5.5 wt%) and only partly fall on a common liquid line of descent with the bulk rock samples and matrix glasses. Melt inclusion trace element compositions lie on two distinct geochemical trends: one (towards high Ba/Nb) is thought to represent the effect of various proportions of anhydrous lherzolite and amphibole-bearing peridotite in the source, while the other (for example, high La/Y) reflects variable degrees of partial melting. Comparatively low fractionation-corrected CaO in the melt inclusions with the highest La/Y suggests minor involvement of a pyroxenite source component that is only visible at low degrees of melting. Most of the samples show elevated Gd/Yb, indicating up to 8% garnet in the source. The range of major and trace elements represented by the melt inclusions covers the complete geochemical range given by basalts from different volcanoes of the Cameroon volcanic line, indicating that geochemical signatures that were previously thought to be volcano-specific in fact are probably present under all volcanoes. Clinopyroxene-melt barometry strongly indicates repeated mixing of compositionally diverse melts within the upper mantle at 830 ± 170 MPa prior to eruption. Mantle potential temperatures estimated for the primitive melt inclusions suggest that the thermal influence of a mantle plume is not required to explain the magma petrogenesis.

Inoculation of the nonlegume Capsicum annuum (L.) with Rhizobium strains. 1. Effect on bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and fruit ripeness.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Luís R; Azevedo, Jessica; Pereira, Maria J; Carro, Lorena; Velazquez, Encarna; Peix, Alvaro; Valentão, Patrícia; Andrade, Paula B

2014-01-22

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an economically important agricultural crop and an excellent dietary source of natural colors and antioxidant compounds. The levels of these compounds can vary according to agricultural practices, like inoculation with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. In this work we evaluated for the first time the effect of the inoculation of two Rhizobium strains on C. annuum metabolites and bioactivity. The results revealed a decrease of organic acids and no effect on phenolics and capsaicinoids of leaves from inoculated plants. In the fruits from inoculated plants organic acids and phenolic compounds decreased, showing that fruits from inoculated plants present a higher ripeness stage than those from uninoculated ones. In general, the inoculation with Rhizobium did not improve the antioxidant activity of pepper fruits and leaves. Considering the positive effect on fruit ripening, the inoculation of C. annuum with Rhizobium is a beneficious agricultural practice for this nonlegume.

Serous papillary adenocarcinoma possibly related to the presence of primitive oocyte-like cells in the adult ovarian surface epithelium: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virant-Klun Irma

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction The presence of oocytes in the ovarian surface epithelium has already been confirmed in the fetal ovaries. We report the presence of SSEA-4, SOX-2, VASA and ZP2-positive primitive oocyte-like cells in the adult ovarian surface epithelium of a patient with serous papillary adenocarcinoma. Case presentation Ovarian tissue was surgically retrieved from a 67-year old patient. Histological analysis revealed serous papillary adenocarcinoma. A proportion of ovarian cortex sections was deparaffinized and immunohistochemically stained for the expression of markers of pluripotency SSEA-4 and SOX-2 and oocyte-specific markers VASA and ZP2. The analysis confirmed the presence of round, SSEA-4, SOX-2, VASA and ZP2-positive primitive oocyte-like cells in the ovarian surface epithelium. These cells were possibly related to the necrotic malignant tissue. Conclusion Primitive oocyte-like cells present in the adult ovarian surface epithelium persisting probably from the fetal period of life or developed from putative stem cells are a pathological condition which is not observed in healthy adult ovaries, and might be related to serous papillary adenocarcinoma manifestation in the adult ovarian surface epithelium. This observation needs attention to be further investigated.

Oct4 is required ~E7.5 for proliferation in the primitive streak.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian DeVeale

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Oct4 is a widely recognized pluripotency factor as it maintains Embryonic Stem (ES cells in a pluripotent state, and, in vivo, prevents the inner cell mass (ICM in murine embryos from differentiating into trophectoderm. However, its function in somatic tissue after this developmental stage is not well characterized. Using a tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase and floxed alleles of Oct4, we investigated the effect of depleting Oct4 in mouse embryos between the pre-streak and headfold stages, ~E6.0-E8.0, when Oct4 is found in dynamic patterns throughout the embryonic compartment of the mouse egg cylinder. We found that depletion of Oct4 ~E7.5 resulted in a severe phenotype, comprised of craniorachischisis, random heart tube orientation, failed turning, defective somitogenesis and posterior truncation. Unlike in ES cells, depletion of the pluripotency factors Sox2 and Oct4 after E7.0 does not phenocopy, suggesting that ~E7.5 Oct4 is required within a network that is altered relative to the pluripotency network. Oct4 is not required in extraembryonic tissue for these processes, but is required to maintain cell viability in the embryo and normal proliferation within the primitive streak. Impaired expansion of the primitive streak occurs coincident with Oct4 depletion ∼E7.5 and precedes deficient convergent extension which contributes to several aspects of the phenotype.

Phase diagram of the restricted primitive model: charge-ordering instability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O.V.Patsahan

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We study the phase behaviour of the restricted primitive model (RPM using a microscopic approach based on the method of collective variables with a reference system. Starting from the Hamiltonian of the RPM we derive the functional of the grand partition function given in terms of the two collective variables: the collective variables ρk and ck describing fluctuations of the total number density and charge density, respectively. Within the framework of the Gaussian approximation we found the boundary of stability with respect to fluctuations of the charge density. It is shown that due to the approximated character of the theory the boundary of stability is very sensitive to the particular choice of the long-range part of potential inside the hard core. This point is discussed in more detail.

Chemical composition, at consuming ripeness level of tomatoes irradiated at mature green and greenish yellow stages of maturity

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Wandawi, H. K.; Abdul-Rahman, M. H.; Al-Shaickley, K. A.

Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum L.,var.Monte carlo) have been Y-irradiated (100-400Krad) and left to ripen to consuming ripeness. The results revealed that in fruits irradiated with 100,200 and 300 krad at mature-green, 48 hour after harvesting and at greenish yellow stages of maturity, 24 hours after harvesting, the levels of ascorbic acid were accounted to 62, 51, 27% and 84, 59, 34% of control samples respectively. In fruits irradiated with 200 krad at mature-green stage and 48 hours after harvesting and in fruits irradiated with 400 krad at greenish yellow stage and 48 hours after harvesting, the levels of lycopene were 279 and 246% of that of control samples; while the lowest levels of lycopene were in fruits irradiated with 400 krad and at mature-green and greenish yellow stages and 48 hours after harvesting where lycopene accounted to 11 and 24% respectively when compared to control samples . on the other hand, radiation had no significant effect on PH, titrable acidity and °Brix of tomatoes.

Chemical composition, at consuming ripeness level of tomatoes irradiated at mature green and greenish yellow stages of maturity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Wandawi, H.K.; Abdul-Rahman, M.H.; Al-Shaickley, K.A.

1983-01-01

Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum L., var. Monte Carlo) have been γ-irradiated (100 to 400 krad) and left to ripen to consuming ripeness. The results revealed that in fruits irradiated with 100, 200 and 300 krad at mature-green, 48 hours after harvesting and at greenish yellow stages of maturity, 24 hours after harvesting, the levels of ascorbic acid were accounted to 62, 51, 27% and 84, 59, 34% of control samples respectively. In fruits irradiated with 200 krad at mature-green stage and 48 hours after harvesting and in fruits irradiated with 400 krad at greenish yellow stage and 48 hours after harvesting, the levels of lycopene were 279 and 246% of that of control samples; while the lowest levels of lycopene were in fruits irradiated with 400 krad and at mature-green and greenish yellow stages and 48 hours after harvesting where lycopene accounted to 11 and 24% respectively when compared to control samples. On the other hand, radiation had no significant effect on PH, titrable acidity and deg Brix of tomatoes. (author)

Primitive reflexes and cognitive function Reflexos primitivos e função cognitiva

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfredo Damasceno

2005-09-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Data on the prevalence of primitive reflexes (PR in adulthood, their pathological significance and relationship to age and cognition are controversial. OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between PR and cognition in 30 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD and 154 control subjects. METHOD: Diagnosis of probable AD was based on DSM-IV, NINCDS-ADRDA, and CAMDEX criteria. Primitive reflexes were quantified from zero (absent to 1 (mild or 2 (markedly present. The Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument - Short Form (CASI-S was used to evaluate registration, temporal orientation, verbal fluency and recall. A drawing test was added. RESULTS: Most frequent PR among demented and controls were suck (77% and 62%, respectively and snout (60% and 27%, followed by glabellar (30% and 19%, paratonia (37% and 5%, and palmomental (23% and 5%. None of controls had more than three PR. Frequency of PR tended to increase with age and cognitive deterioration. Grasp and Babinski responses were found only in dementia patients. Primitive reflexes were not correlated with each other, except snout with suck, and snout with glabellar reflex. CONCLUSION: The finding of grasp and Babinski sign, or the presence of more than three primitive signs, particularly the combination of paratonia, snout, suck, and palmomental reflexes strongly suggests brain dysfunction, especially when these signs are marked and accompanied by deficits in orientation, recall, verbal fluency, and constructional praxis.CONTEXTO: A prevalência e significado patológico dos reflexos primitivos (RP no adulto, bem como sua relação com a idade e a cognição, são questões controversas. OBJETIVO: Estudar a relação entre RP e cognição em 30 pacientes com doença de Alzheimer (DA e 154 sujeitos controles normais. MÉTODO: O diagnóstico de DA baseou-se nos critérios DSM-IV, NINCDS-ADRDA e CAMDEX. Os RP foram quantificados de 0 (ausente a 1 (leve ou 2 (acentuado. CASI

Retained primitive reflexes: Perceptions of parents who have used Rhythmic Movement Training with their children.

Science.gov (United States)

Grigg, Tessa M; Fox-Turnbull, Wendy; Culpan, Ian

2018-01-01

This article reports on a qualitative phenomenological research project that investigated the use of Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT) as an intervention for retained primitive reflexes. Participants were from seven families who each had a child between the ages of 7 years and 12 years. Through semi-structured interviews, parents described their reasons for seeking additional help with their child's development issues. They talked about finding RMT, using RMT within their family routine and their views on the costs and the benefits they experienced, both financial and time. While there has been a small amount of research into movement programmes targeting retained primitive reflexes, to date there appears to have been no studies completed on RMT. The data collected described searches for help, the stress and frustrations associated with the search and the range of interventions these parents tried. The families in this research found that RMT was easy to use within their daily routine and that it was a cost-effective, low-impact intervention. The families noticed a range of benefits for children who had completed the movements. The findings provide encouraging evidence to proceed with further study that will investigate the academic, social and emotional development of children using RMT.

An Efficient Primitive-Based Method to Recognize Online Sketched Symbols with Autocompletion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Deng

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We present a new structural method of sketched symbol recognition, which aims to recognize a hand-drawn symbol before it is fully completed. It is invariant to scale, stroke number, and order. We also present two novel descriptors to represent the spatial distribution between two primitives. One is invariant to rotation and the other is not. Then a symbol is represented as a set of descriptors. The distance between the input symbol and the template one is calculated based on the assignment problem. Moreover, a fast nearest neighbor (NN search algorithm is proposed for recognition. The method achieves a satisfactory recognition rate in real time.

Tipifarnib in Treating Young Patients With Recurrent or Progressive High-Grade Glioma, Medulloblastoma, Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor, or Brain Stem Glioma

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-07

Childhood High-grade Cerebral Astrocytoma; Childhood Oligodendroglioma; Recurrent Childhood Brain Stem Glioma; Recurrent Childhood Cerebellar Astrocytoma; Recurrent Childhood Cerebral Astrocytoma; Recurrent Childhood Medulloblastoma; Recurrent Childhood Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor; Recurrent Childhood Visual Pathway and Hypothalamic Glioma

The ECM moves during primitive streak formation--computation of ECM versus cellular motion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evan A Zamir

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Galileo described the concept of motion relativity--motion with respect to a reference frame--in 1632. He noted that a person below deck would be unable to discern whether the boat was moving. Embryologists, while recognizing that embryonic tissues undergo large-scale deformations, have failed to account for relative motion when analyzing cell motility data. A century of scientific articles has advanced the concept that embryonic cells move ("migrate" in an autonomous fashion such that, as time progresses, the cells and their progeny assemble an embryo. In sharp contrast, the motion of the surrounding extracellular matrix scaffold has been largely ignored/overlooked. We developed computational/optical methods that measure the extent embryonic cells move relative to the extracellular matrix. Our time-lapse data show that epiblastic cells largely move in concert with a sub-epiblastic extracellular matrix during stages 2 and 3 in primitive streak quail embryos. In other words, there is little cellular motion relative to the extracellular matrix scaffold--both components move together as a tissue. The extracellular matrix displacements exhibit bilateral vortical motion, convergence to the midline, and extension along the presumptive vertebral axis--all patterns previously attributed solely to cellular "migration." Our time-resolved data pose new challenges for understanding how extracellular chemical (morphogen gradients, widely hypothesized to guide cellular trajectories at early gastrulation stages, are maintained in this dynamic extracellular environment. We conclude that models describing primitive streak cellular guidance mechanisms must be able to account for sub-epiblastic extracellular matrix displacements.

CD34 Antigen and the MPL Receptor Expression Defines a Novel Class of Human Cord Blood-Derived Primitive Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Yoshikazu; Takahashi, Masaya; Sumide, Keisuke; Kawamura, Hiroshi; Nakatsuka, Ryusuke; Fujioka, Tatsuya; Sonoda, Yoshiaki

2017-06-09

In the murine hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) compartment, thrombopoietin (THPO)/MPL (THPO receptor) signaling plays an important role in the maintenance of adult quiescent HSCs. However, the role of THPO/MPL signaling in the human primitive HSC compartment has not yet been elucidated. We have identified very primitive human cord blood (CB)-derived CD34- severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)-repopulating cells (SRCs) using the intra-bone marrow injection method. In this study, we investigated the roles of the MPL expression in the human primitive HSC compartment. The SRC activities of the highly purified CB-derived 18Lin-CD34+/-MPL+/- cells were analyzed using NOG mice. In the primary recipient mice, nearly all mice that received CD34+/-MPL+/- cells were repopulated with human CD45+ cells. Nearly all of these mice that received CD34+MPL+/- and CD34-MPL- cells showed a secondary repopulation. Interestingly, the secondary recipient mice that received CD34+/-MPL- cells showed a distinct tertiary repopulation. These results clearly indicate that the CD34+/- SRCs not expressing MPL sustain a long-term (LT) (>1 year) human cell repopulation in NOG mice. Moreover, CD34- SRCs generate CD34+CD38-CD90+ SRCs in vitro and in vivo. These findings provide a new concept that CD34-MPL- SRCs reside at the apex of the human HSC hierarchy.

Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation in an Atypical Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor of the Abdominal Wall.

Science.gov (United States)

Roncati, Luca; Gatti, Antonietta Morena; Capitani, Federico; Barbolini, Giuseppe; Maiorana, Antonio; Palmieri, Beniamino

2015-01-01

Heavy metals are able to interfere with the function of vital cellular components. Besides in trace heavy metals, which are essential at low concentration for humans, there are heavy metals with a well-known toxic and oncogenic potential. In this study, for the first time in literature, we report the unique adulthood case of an atypical primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the abdominal wall, diagnosed by histology and immunohistochemistry, with the molecular hybridization support. The neoplasia occurred in a patient chronically exposed to a transdermal delivery of heavy metal salts (aluminum and bismuth), whose intracellular bioaccumulation has been revealed by elemental microanalysis.

Congenital Ewing's Sarcoma/Peripheral Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu-Guang Jin

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Ewing's sarcoma (EWS and peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (pPNET are small round cell malignancies that develop in soft tissue and bone. They very rarely affect newborns. A diagnosis of EWS/pPNET depends mainly on immunohistochemistry and molecular/genetic assays. Since these tumors are highly aggressive, patient prognosis is typically very poor, and treatment remains a challenge. Here, we report a 13-day-old newborn diagnosed with congenital EWS/pPNET and describe its treatment.

p120 Catenin-Mediated Stabilization of E-Cadherin Is Essential for Primitive Endoderm Specification.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim Pieters

2016-08-01

Full Text Available E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion is critical for naive pluripotency of cultured mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs. E-cadherin-depleted mESC fail to downregulate their pluripotency program and are unable to initiate lineage commitment. To further explore the roles of cell adhesion molecules during mESC differentiation, we focused on p120 catenin (p120ctn. Although one key function of p120ctn is to stabilize and regulate cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion, it has many additional functions, including regulation of transcription and Rho GTPase activity. Here, we investigated the role of mouse p120ctn in early embryogenesis, mESC pluripotency and early fate determination. In contrast to the E-cadherin-null phenotype, p120ctn-null mESCs remained pluripotent, but their in vitro differentiation was incomplete. In particular, they failed to form cystic embryoid bodies and showed defects in primitive endoderm formation. To pinpoint the underlying mechanism, we undertook a structure-function approach. Rescue of p120ctn-null mESCs with different p120ctn wild-type and mutant expression constructs revealed that the long N-terminal domain of p120ctn and its regulatory domain for RhoA were dispensable, whereas its armadillo domain and interaction with E-cadherin were crucial for primitive endoderm formation. We conclude that p120ctn is not only an adaptor and regulator of E-cadherin, but is also indispensable for proper lineage commitment.

Prediction of Intention during Interaction with iCub with Probabilistic Movement Primitives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oriane Dermy

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This article describes our open-source software for predicting the intention of a user physically interacting with the humanoid robot iCub. Our goal is to allow the robot to infer the intention of the human partner during collaboration, by predicting the future intended trajectory: this capability is critical to design anticipatory behaviors that are crucial in human–robot collaborative scenarios, such as in co-manipulation, cooperative assembly, or transportation. We propose an approach to endow the iCub with basic capabilities of intention recognition, based on Probabilistic Movement Primitives (ProMPs, a versatile method for representing, generalizing, and reproducing complex motor skills. The robot learns a set of motion primitives from several demonstrations, provided by the human via physical interaction. During training, we model the collaborative scenario using human demonstrations. During the reproduction of the collaborative task, we use the acquired knowledge to recognize the intention of the human partner. Using a few early observations of the state of the robot, we can not only infer the intention of the partner but also complete the movement, even if the user breaks the physical interaction with the robot. We evaluate our approach in simulation and on the real iCub. In simulation, the iCub is driven by the user using the Geomagic Touch haptic device. In the real robot experiment, we directly interact with the iCub by grabbing and manually guiding the robot’s arm. We realize two experiments on the real robot: one with simple reaching trajectories, and one inspired by collaborative object sorting. The software implementing our approach is open source and available on the GitHub platform. In addition, we provide tutorials and videos.

Clinical analysis of primary primitive neuroectodermal tumors in the female genital tract.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Changji; Zhao, Jing; Guo, Peng; Wang, Dan; Zhao, Dachun; Ren, Tong; Yang, Jiaxin; Shen, Keng; Lang, Jinghe; Xiang, Yang; Cui, Quancai

2014-03-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) in the female genital tract. From April 2001 to May 2013, the clinicopathologic characteristics, treatments, outcomes, and prognosis of 11 patients with PNET in the female genital tract were analyzed retrospectively at our hospital. The location of PNET in the 11 patients presented here included vulva (2 patients), cervix (2 patients), uterus and its ligament (5 patients), and the ovaries (2 patients). Ages ranged from 18 to 59 years (median, 31 years).The main clinical manifestations of PNET in the female genital tract are irregular vaginal bleeding (6 patients), pelvic mass, uterine enlargement, and rapidly increasing vulvar mass (8 patients), and vulvar pain and lower abdominal pain (5 patients). The CA125 levels of 8 patients were elevated before the operations and reduced to normal when the diseases were controlled, while the levels increased as the tumor was progressive. Results for the most commonly used immunohistochemistry studies revealed CD99 in 11 of the 11 tumors, synaptophysin in 6 of the 7 positive tumors, and neuron-specific enolase in 6 of the 6 tumors. Ten patients underwent surgical resection. Nine of them underwent preoperative or/and postoperative combination chemotherapy. The follow-up of 10 patients were available and ranged from 1 to 145 months (median, 30.5 months), 3 of whom experiencing recurrence. Primitive neuroectodermal tumor is very rare and can originate from any part of the female genital tract. The tumors had different manifestations but the same pathologic features. CA125 may be an important marker for prognosis and follow-up of PNET of the female internal genital tract.

No Place to Hide: Missing Primitive Stars Outside Milky Way Uncovered

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-01

After years of successful concealment, the most primitive stars outside our Milky Way galaxy have finally been unmasked. New observations using ESO's Very Large Telescope have been used to solve an important astrophysical puzzle concerning the oldest stars in our galactic neighbourhood - which is crucial for our understanding of the earliest stars in the Universe. "We have, in effect, found a flaw in the forensic methods used until now," says Else Starkenburg, lead author of the paper reporting the study. "Our improved approach allows us to uncover the primitive stars hidden among all the other, more common stars." Primitive stars are thought to have formed from material forged shortly after the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. They typically have less than one thousandth the amount of chemical elements heavier than hydrogen and helium found in the Sun and are called "extremely metal-poor stars" [1]. They belong to one of the first generations of stars in the nearby Universe. Such stars are extremely rare and mainly observed in the Milky Way. Cosmologists think that larger galaxies like the Milky Way formed from the merger of smaller galaxies. Our Milky Way's population of extremely metal-poor or "primitive" stars should already have been present in the dwarf galaxies from which it formed, and similar populations should be present in other dwarf galaxies. "So far, evidence for them has been scarce," says co-author Giuseppina Battaglia. "Large surveys conducted in the last few years kept showing that the most ancient populations of stars in the Milky Way and dwarf galaxies did not match, which was not at all expected from cosmological models." Element abundances are measured from spectra, which provide the chemical fingerprints of stars [2]. The Dwarf galaxies Abundances and Radial-velocities Team [3] used the FLAMES instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope to measure the spectra of over 2000 individual giant stars in four of our galactic neighbours, the Fornax

β-Catenin Regulates Primitive Streak Induction through Collaborative Interactions with SMAD2/SMAD3 and OCT4

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Funa, Nina Sofi Ayumi; Schachter, Karen; Lerdrup, Mads

2015-01-01

Canonical Wnt and Nodal signaling are both required for induction of the primitive streak (PS), which guides organization of the early embryo. The Wnt effector b-catenin is thought to function in these early lineage specification decisions via transcriptional activation of Nodal signaling. Here, we...... specification. This study provides mechanistic insight into how Wnt signaling controls early cell lineage decisions....

A novel splice mutation in the TP53 gene associated with Leydig cell tumor and primitive neuroectodermal tumor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stecher, Chalotte Willemann; Grønbaek, Kirsten; Hasle, Henrik

2008-01-01

A 20-month-old boy presented with precocious puberty due to a Leydig cell tumor, and at the age of 6 years with a primitive neuroectodermal brain-tumor (PNET). A novel splice site mutation of the TP53-gene, likely to be associated with a nonfunctional protein, was found in the proband, his father...

Mid-infrared study of the molecular structure variability of insoluble organic matter from primitive chondrites

Science.gov (United States)

Orthous-Daunay, F.-R.; Quirico, E.; Beck, P.; Brissaud, O.; Dartois, E.; Pino, T.; Schmitt, B.

2013-03-01

Insoluble Organic Matter (IOM) found in primitive meteorites was formed in the Early Solar System and subsequently processed on the parent asteroids. The location, temporal sequence and processes of formation of this IOM are still a matter of debate. In particular, there is no consensus on the actual effect of post-accretional aqueous alteration processes on the chemical composition and structure of IOM. In the most primitive chondrites (types 1 and 2), these alterations have so far been either neglected or generically assigned to oxidation processes induced by fluid circulation. A series of IOM samples extracted from 14 chondrites with extensively documented post-accretional histories have been studied by infrared spectroscopy. Aqueous alteration shows no detectable effect on the chemical composition and structure of IOM within or across chondrite classes. Indeed, the most effective post-accretional process appears to be a high-temperature short-duration heating event and concerns essentially type 2 chondrites. In any case, post-accretional processes cannot account for all the chemical and structural variations of IOM. Chondrites from the CI, CR and CM classes accreted IOM precursors with moderately variable compositions, suggesting a chemical heterogeneity of the protosolar disk. The 3.4 μm band, and possibly its overtones and combinations in the near-infrared range, appear to be tracer(s) of the chemical class and possibly of surface heating processes triggered by impacts.

Chemistry of primitive solar material. [nebular hypothesis of planetary systems formation

Science.gov (United States)

Barshay, S. S.; Lewis, J. S.

1976-01-01

The paper reviews chemical processes that occurred in the cooler outer regions of the primitive solar nebula (PSN) at the time of intimate chemical contact between the preplanetary condensate and the nebular gas. The elemental composition of the PSN is discussed, the 15 most abundant elements in it are listed, and numerical models of it are examined. Various condensation models are described and tested against observed properties of the planets, their satellites, and the asteroids. The chemistry of abundant volatile elements in the PSN is investigated along with stability limits of graphite in a solar-composition gas, regions of dominance of the most abundant carbon-containing gas species in the same gas, and implications of the moon's composition for its origin. Some theories that have been proposed as alternatives to the condensation models are noted.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor of adrenal: Clinical presentation and outcomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deep Dutta

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET of adrenal is an extremely rare tumor of neural crest origin. A nonfunctional left adrenal mass (14.6 × 10.5 × 10.0 cm on computed tomography (CT was detected in a 40-year-old lady with abdominal pain, swelling, and left pleural effusion. She underwent left adrenalectomy and left nephrectomy with retroperitoneal resection. Histopathology revealed sheets and nest of oval tumor cells with hyperchromatic nuclei, prominent nucleoli, scanty cytoplasm, brisk mitotic activity, necrosis, lymphovascular invasion, capsular invasion, and extension to the surrounding muscles; staining positive for Mic-2 (CD-99 antigen, vimentin, synaptophysin, and Melan-A. Thoracocentesis, pleural fluid study, and pleural biopsy did not show metastasis. She responded well to vincristine, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide followed by ifosfamide and etoposide (IE. This is the first report of adrenal peripheral PNET (pPNET from India. This report intends to highlight that pPNET should be suspected in a patient presenting with huge nonfunctional adrenal mass which may be confused with adrenocortical carcinoma.

Primary Ewing Sarcoma/Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor of the Stomach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safi Khuri

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor (ES/PNET is a tumor of small round cells arising in skeletal tissues. These tumors rarely arise in the stomach. We present a 31-year-old healthy female patient who was admitted to our surgical ward due to upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Upper endoscopy revealed a large ulcerated bleeding mass originating from the lesser curvature. Biopsy revealed tumor cell immunoreactivity positive for CD99, vimentin, and Ki67 (an index of proliferation. These findings were compatible with gastric ES/PNET. The fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis result for the EWSR1 gene rearrangement (11: 22 translocation was positive. The patient refused neoadjuvant treatment and thus underwent an operation during which a mass at the lesser curvature of the stomach was found. The mass was adhering to the pancreatic tail and to the mesentery of the transverse and descending colon. Total gastrectomy, distal pancreatectomy, splenectomy, and left adrenalectomy were done. The patient refused adjuvant treatment. She is free of disease 3 years after surgery.

On non-primitively divergent vertices of Yang-Mills theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huber, Markus Q. [Institute of Physics, University of Graz, NAWI Graz (Austria)

2017-11-15

Two correlation functions of Yang-Mills beyond the primitively divergent ones, the two-ghost-two-gluon and the four-ghost vertices, are calculated and their influence on lower vertices is examined. Their full (transverse) tensor structure is taken into account. As input, a solution of the full two-point equations - including two-loop terms - is used that respects the resummed perturbative ultraviolet behavior. A clear hierarchy is found with regard to the color structure that reduces the number of relevant dressing functions. The impact of the two-ghost-two-gluon vertex on the three-gluon vertex is negligible, which is explained by the fact that all non-small dressing functions drop out due to their color factors. Only in the ghost-gluon vertex a small net effect below 2% is seen. The four-ghost vertex is found to be extremely small in general. Since these two four-point functions do not enter into the propagator equations, these findings establish their small overall effect on lower correlation functions. (orig.)

Regulated proliferation of primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells in long-term human marrow cultures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cashman, J.; Eaves, A.C.; Eaves, C.J.

1985-01-01

We have examined the cycling status of various classes of erythroid and granulopoietic progenitor populations maintained for many weeks in standard normal long-term human marrow cultures. These were initiated with a single inoculum of marrow aspirate and were routinely fed by weekly removal of half of the nonadherent cells and replacement of half of the growth medium. Progenitors of large erythroid colonies (more than eight erythroblast clusters) present in the nonadherent fraction and progenitors of small granulocyte/macrophage colonies (fewer than 500 cells) present in both the nonadherent and adherent fractions were found to be actively cycling at all times examined (28% to 63% kill following a 20-minute exposure to 20 microCi/mL of high specific activity 3 H-thymidine). In contrast, progenitors of large granulocyte/macrophage colonies (more than 500 cells) and progenitors of large erythroid colonies (more than eight erythroblast clusters), present in the adherent layer, consistently alternated between a quiescent state at the time of each weekly medium change and a proliferating state two to three days later (0% to 13% kill and 21% to 49% kill, respectively). Additional experiments revealed that the activation of primitive progenitors in the adherent layer was not dependent on the addition of fresh glutamine or hydrocortisone, nor on the physical manipulations involved in changing the growth medium. These studies provide the first direct evidence that normal long-term human marrow cultures support the continued turnover of a variety of early hematopoietic progenitor cell types. Further, they indicate that the proliferative activity of the most primitive of these progenitors is regulated by stage-specific cell-cell interactions that are subject to manipulation

Analysis of immunoglobulin transcripts in the ostrich Struthio camelus, a primitive avian species.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tian Huang

Full Text Available Previous studies on the immunoglobulin (Ig genes in avian species are limited (mainly to galliformes and anseriformes but have revealed several interesting features, including the absence of the IgD and Igκ encoding genes, inversion of the IgA encoding gene and the use of gene conversion as the primary mechanism to generate an antibody repertoire. To better understand the Ig genes and their evolutionary development in birds, we analyzed the Ig genes in the ostrich (Struthio camelus, which is one of the most primitive birds. Similar to the chicken and duck, the ostrich expressed only three IgH chain isotypes (IgM, IgA and IgY and λ light chains. The IgM and IgY constant domains are similar to their counterparts described in other vertebrates. Although conventional IgM, IgA and IgY cDNAs were identified in the ostrich, we also detected a transcript encoding a short membrane-bound form of IgA (lacking the last two C(H exons that was undetectable at the protein level. No IgD or κ encoding genes were identified. The presence of a single leader peptide in the expressed heavy chain and light chain V regions indicates that gene conversion also plays a major role in the generation of antibody diversity in the ostrich. Because the ostrich is one of the most primitive living aves, this study suggests that the distinct features of the bird Ig genes appeared very early during the divergence of the avian species and are thus shared by most, if not all, avian species.

Octopus arm movements under constrained conditions: adaptation, modification and plasticity of motor primitives.

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Jonas N; Hochner, Binyamin; Kuba, Michael J

2015-04-01

The motor control of the eight highly flexible arms of the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) has been the focus of several recent studies. Our study is the first to manage to introduce a physical constraint to an octopus arm and investigate the adaptability of stereotypical bend propagation in reaching movements and the pseudo-limb articulation during fetching. Subjects (N=6) were placed inside a transparent Perspex box with a hole at the center that allowed the insertion of a single arm. Animals had to reach out through the hole toward a target, to retrieve a food reward and fetch it. All subjects successfully adjusted their movements to the constraint without an adaptation phase. During reaching tasks, the animals showed two movement strategies: stereotypical bend propagation reachings, which were established at the hole of the Perspex box and variant waving-like movements that showed no bend propagations. During fetching movements, no complete pseudo-joint fetching was observed outside the box and subjects pulled their arms through the hole in a pull-in like movement. Our findings show that there is some flexibility in the octopus motor system to adapt to a novel situation. However, at present, it seems that these changes are more an effect of random choices between different alternative motor programs, without showing clear learning effects in the choice between the alternatives. Interestingly, animals were able to adapt the fetching movements to the physical constraint, or as an alternative explanation, they could switch the motor primitive fetching to a different motor primitive 'arm pulling'. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of NP24-I, an isoform of a thaumatin-like protein from ripe tomato fruits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghosh, Raka; Chakrabarti, Chandana, E-mail: chandana.chakrabarti@saha.ac.in [Crystallography and Molecular Biology Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata 700064 (India)

2005-08-01

A thaumatin-like antifungal protein, NP24-I, has been isolated from ripe tomato fruits. It was crystallized by the vapour-diffusion method and data were collected to 2.45 Å. The structure was solved by molecular replacement. NP24 is a 24 kDa (207-amino-acid) antifungal thaumatin-like protein (TLP) found in tomato fruits. An isoform of the protein, NP24-I, is reported to play a possible role in ripening of the fruit in addition to its antifungal properties. The protein has been isolated and purified and crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals belong to the tetragonal space group P4{sub 3}, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 61.01, c = 62.90 Å and one molecule per asymmetric unit. X-ray diffraction data were processed to a resolution of 2.45 Å and the structure was solved by molecular replacement.

Health status of the elderly population among four primitive tribes of Orissa, India: a clinico-epidemiological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerketta, A S; Bulliyya, G; Babu, B V; Mohapatra, S S S; Nayak, R N

2009-02-01

Primitive tribal groups (PTGs) are the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in India. Clinico-epidemiological studies on morbidity patterns among the elderly primitive tribe members are essential to recommend special intervention programmes to improve the health of the elderly in these communities. A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among the elderly populations of four different PTGs, namely Langia Saora (LS), Paudi Bhuiyan (PB), Kutia Kondh (KK) and Dongria Kondh (DK) living in the forests of Orissa, India. Clinical and anthropometric data were collected using standard methods and haemoglobin was estimated by the cyanomethaemoglobin method. The average number of illnesses per person was 3.0. Common disabilities like vision and hearing impairment and mobility-related problems were found in considerable numbers. Gastrointestinal problems like acid peptic disease were found among 2.6% to 20% of cases. Non-specific fever was marked in 10.2% to 24.2% of individuals. The iodine deficiency disorder, namely goitre, was found among 4.2% to 6.0% of individuals. Diseases of the respiratory tract, like upper and lower respiratory tract infection, asthma, tuberculosis and leprosy, were found in small numbers. The prevalence of hypertension among males and females was 31.8% and 42.2%, respectively. The LS had the highest prevalence of hypertension (63% among men and 68% among women). With regard to anaemia status, severe anaemia was marked in 70% of males and 76.7% of females in the LS, while in other groups the prevalence of severe anaemia ranged from 15% to 33%. Although the prevalence of severe anaemia in other tribal communities is lower than in the LS, mild to moderate anaemia was found to range from 60% to 80%. The present study revealed a high prevalence of physical disabilities with both non-communicable as well as communicable diseases among the elderly primitive tribal members. This warrants the implementation of a special health care

Molecular analysis of childhood primitive neuroectodermal tumors defines markers associated with poor outcome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheurlen, W G; Schwabe, G C; Joos, S

1998-01-01

PURPOSE: The diagnostic and prognostic significance of well-defined molecular markers was investigated in childhood primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using microsatellite analysis, Southern blot analysis, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), 30 primary tumors......: In our study, amplification of c-myc was a poor-prognosis marker in PNET. LOH of chromosome 17p was associated with metastatic disease. Molecular analysis of primary tumors using these markers may be useful for stratification of children with PNET in future prospective studies. The other aberrations...... investigated were not of significant prognostic value, but may provide an entry point for future large-scale molecular studies....

Congenital Ewing's Sarcoma/Peripheral Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Shu-Guang; Jiang, Xiao-Ping; Zhong, Lin

2016-10-01

Ewing's sarcoma (EWS) and peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (pPNET) are small round cell malignancies that develop in soft tissue and bone. They very rarely affect newborns. A diagnosis of EWS/pPNET depends mainly on immunohistochemistry and molecular/genetic assays. Since these tumors are highly aggressive, patient prognosis is typically very poor, and treatment remains a challenge. Here, we report a 13-day-old newborn diagnosed with congenital EWS/pPNET and describe its treatment. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Iron oxide bands in the visible and near-infrared reflectance spectra of primitive asteroids

Science.gov (United States)

Jarvis, Kandy S.; Vilas, Faith; Gaffey, Michael J.

1993-01-01

High resolution reflectance spectra of primitive asteroids (C, P, and D class and associated subclasses) have commonly revealed an absorption feature centered at 0.7 microns attributed to an Fe(2+)-Fe(3+) charge transfer transition in iron oxides and/or oxidized iron in phyllosilicates. A smaller feature identified at 0.43 microns has been attributed to an Fe(3+) spin-forbidden transition in iron oxides. In the spectra of the two main-belt primitive asteroids 368 Haidea (D) and 877 Walkure (F), weak absorption features which were centered near the location of 0.60-0.65 microns and 0.80-0.90 microns prompted a search for features at these wavelengths and an attempt to identify their origin(s). The CCD reflectance spectra obtained between 1982-1992 were reviewed for similar absorption features located near these wavelengths. The spectra of asteroids in which these absorption features have been identified are shown. These spectra are plotted in order of increasing heliocentric distance. No division of the asteroids by class has been attempted here (although the absence of these features in the anhydrous S-class asteroids, many of which have presumably undergone full heating and differentiation should be noted). For this study, each spectrum was treated as a continuum with discrete absorption features superimposed on it. For each object, a linear least squares fit to the data points defined a simple linear continuum. The linear continuum was then divided into each spectrum, thus removing the sloped continuum and permitting the intercomparison of residual spectral features.

Congenital peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor: A case treated successfully with multimodality treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goyal, Sh.; Biswas, A.; Mohanti, B.K.; Gupta, R.

2014-01-01

Neonatal tumors comprise less than two percent of childhood malignancies. Most are solid tumors, most common histologies being teratoma and neuroblastoma. We encountered a child who was detected to have a right arm mass on antenatal sonogram, which was diagnosed to be a primitive neuroectodermal tumor involving the triceps on fine needle aspiration cytology performed in the post-natal period. The child was successfully treated with multimodality treatment consisting of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We also discuss briefly the problems associated with therapy in neonatal period. A review of all cases reported to have congenital Ewing’s sarcoma family of tumors is presented. Novel therapies are needed to improve efficacy and decrease the devastating side effects of treatment in this age group.

Two-Step System Identification and Primitive-Based Motion Planning for Control of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Grymin, David J.

This dissertation addresses motion planning, modeling, and feedback control for autonomous vehicle systems. A hierarchical approach for motion planning and control of nonlinear systems operating in obstacle environments is presented. To reduce computation time during the motion planning process, dynamically feasible trajectories are generated in real-time through concatenation of pre-specified motion primitives. The motion planning task is posed as a search over a directed graph, and the applicability of informed graph search techniques is investigated. Specifically, a locally greedy algorithm with effective backtracking ability is developed and compared to weighted A* search. The greedy algorithm shows an advantage with respect to solution cost and computation time when larger motion primitive libraries that do not operate on a regular state lattice are utilized. Linearization of the nonlinear system equations about the motion primitive library results in a hybrid linear time-varying model, and an optimal control algorithm using the l 2-induced norm as the performance measure is applied to ensure that the system tracks the desired trajectory. The ability of the resulting controller to closely track the trajectory obtained from the motion planner, despite various disturbances and uncertainties, is demonstrated through simulation. Additionally, an approach for obtaining dynamically feasible reference trajectories and feedback controllers for a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based on an aerodynamic model derived from flight tests is presented. The modeling approach utilizes the two step method (TSM) with stepwise multiple regression to determine relevant explanatory terms for the aerodynamic models. Dynamically feasible trajectories are then obtained through the solution of an optimal control problem using pseudospectral optimal control software. Discretetime feedback controllers are then obtained to regulate the vehicle along the desired reference trajectory

Chemical composition, at consuming ripeness level of tomatoes irradiated at mature green and greenish yellow stages of maturity. [Gamma radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Wandawi, H.K.; Abdul-Rahman, M.H.; Al-Shaickley, K.A. (Iraq Atomic Energy Commission, Baghdad. Nuclear Research Inst.)

1983-01-01

Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum L., var. Monte Carlo) have been ..gamma..-irradiated (100 to 400 krad) and left to ripen to consuming ripeness. The results revealed that in fruits irradiated with 100, 200 and 300 krad at mature-green, 48 hours after harvesting and at greenish yellow stages of maturity, 24 hours after harvesting, the levels of ascorbic acid were accounted to 62, 51, 27% and 84, 59, 34% of control samples respectively. In fruits irradiated with 200 krad at mature-green stage and 48 hours after harvesting and in fruits irradiated with 400 krad at greenish yellow stage and 48 hours after harvesting, the levels of lycopene were 279 and 246% of that of control samples; while the lowest levels of lycopene were in fruits irradiated with 400 krad and at mature-green and greenish yellow stages and 48 hours after harvesting where lycopene accounted to 11 and 24% respectively when compared to control samples. On the other hand, radiation had no significant effect on PH, titrable acidity and deg Brix of tomatoes.

Primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy: a report of a further case with locally aggressive behavior.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Mulligan, Linda

2012-02-01

We report a case of an 8-month-old child with a primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy arising in the thenar eminence. The lesion recurred after conservative excision and was ultimately nonresponsive to chemotherapy, necessitating partial amputation. The patient remains free of disease 5 years after this radical surgery. This is the 1st report of such a tumor since it was initially described by Alaggio and colleagues in 2006. The pathologic differential diagnosis is discussed.

Primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy: a report of a further case with locally aggressive behavior.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Mulligan, Linda

2011-01-01

We report a case of an 8-month-old child with a primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy arising in the thenar eminence. The lesion recurred after conservative excision and was ultimately nonresponsive to chemotherapy, necessitating partial amputation. The patient remains free of disease 5 years after this radical surgery. This is the 1st report of such a tumor since it was initially described by Alaggio and colleagues in 2006. The pathologic differential diagnosis is discussed.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor or small cell carcinoma of the kidney, arare neoplasm: Case Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radhi, A.; Ratnakar, K.S.; Al-Durazi, M.; Khalifa, F.

2002-01-01

Small cell carcinoma is a malignancy primarily recognized in thebronchopulmonary region. Extrapulmonary locations are extremely uncommon. Wereport here a case of renal tumor encountered in a 34-year-old female, withextensive metastases in liver, lung and bone. Histological examination wasmost compatible with primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) small cellcarcinoma. There were negative immunohistochemical markers for cytokeratin,any hormonal peptides and epithelial membrane antigens, which is consistentwith the designation of neoplasm as PNET. Previously reported cases have allbeen in the elderly and, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first caseof proven PNET of the kidney described in a young female. (author)

Deep Interior: Probing the Structure of Primitive Bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Asphaug, Erik; Scheeres, Daniel; Safaeinili, Ali

Deep Interior is a mature Discovery-class mission concept focused on probing the geophysical behavior of primitive bodies, from the mechanics of their exterior materials to the structures of their interiors. Its theme is to discover how small bodies work - to learn the natural origin and evolution of asteroids, comets and other primitive bodies through radar reflection tomography and through detailed observations of the local and global effects of cratering. Learning the structure and mechanical response of asteroids and comets is also a precursor to resource utilization and hazardous asteroid mitigation. Overall the mission is aligned with NASA strategic sub-goal 3C, to advance scientific knowledge of the origin and history of the solar system ... and the hazards and resources present as humans explore space. Deep Interior deploys no complex landers or sub-spacecraft; the scientific instruments are a radar and a camera. A blast cratering experiments triggered by grenades leads to a low cost seismological investigation which complements the radar investigation. A desired addition is an imaging spectrometer. The science instruments are high heritage, as are the navigation techniques for orbiting and station-keeping. The mission conducts the following investigations at one or more asteroids: Radar Reflection Tomography (RRT). The first science phase is to operate a penetrating radar during each several-month rendezvous, deployed in reflection mode in the manner of ongoing radar investigations underway by Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Kaguya. The RRT technique (Safaeinili et al., MAPS 2002) is analogous to performing a "CAT scan" from orbit: closely sampled radar echoes are processed to yield volumetric maps of mechanical and compositional boundaries, and to measure interior dielectric properties. Deep Interior utilizes a polar orbit (or station keeping) while the asteroid spins underneath; the result is to "peel the apple" with thousands of unique

Decadence in the Wilderness. Will to Transgression or the Strange Bird of Finnish Decadence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pirjo Lyytikäinen

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The decadence that the Decadents identified in their own civilization was recognized through the model of Roman Empire, although they thought that the Romans were, even in their decadence, much more vigorous than the modern "cerebral" decadents. The figures of the late Empire, which fused the over-ripeness of culture with barbarism, were great even in their decline; the ancient uninhibited transgressions and vices fascinated the decadents although even the imagined debaucheries exhausted the modern decadents. Des Esseintes is, of course, a paradigmatic figure, connecting extreme weakness and fragility of the nervous system with wild sadistic dreams. He is capable of producing vigorous mental images, imagining sublimely horrible figures and emblems of disease, which fell on a fertile ground in later decadent writings. At the same time, the idea of the savage and the primitive which had underwent a radical change, when the romantic idea of the noble savage was replaced by the primitive as the lowest order of humanity, became fashionable even among many Decadents. This debauched barbarian or savage (whose representatives or relics the survived "primitive cultures" were marked the beginnings of human culture and was the suppressed foundation of all developed cultures. The danger of the return of this primitive side of man could threaten even the most civilized individuals or nations if the ties and restraints of culture were loosened (Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness represents this perfectly.  For the decadents, who did not see their own civilization in the terms of progress any more, and embraced ideas of entropy, dissolution and return to a state of new barbarism, the idea of the decline of their culture, thus, could become connected with the idea of the primitive "in us", the primitive lurking in the psyche of every individual and the primitive that was built in the culture itself. As the primitive became, increasingly, identified not only

Differential Galois theory and non-integrability of planar polynomial vector fields

Science.gov (United States)

Acosta-Humánez, Primitivo B.; Lázaro, J. Tomás; Morales-Ruiz, Juan J.; Pantazi, Chara

2018-06-01

We study a necessary condition for the integrability of the polynomials vector fields in the plane by means of the differential Galois Theory. More concretely, by means of the variational equations around a particular solution it is obtained a necessary condition for the existence of a rational first integral. The method is systematic starting with the first order variational equation. We illustrate this result with several families of examples. A key point is to check whether a suitable primitive is elementary or not. Using a theorem by Liouville, the problem is equivalent to the existence of a rational solution of a certain first order linear equation, the Risch equation. This is a classical problem studied by Risch in 1969, and the solution is given by the "Risch algorithm". In this way we point out the connection of the non integrability with some higher transcendent functions, like the error function.

Induced-Pluripotent-Stem-Cell-Derived Primitive Macrophages Provide a Platform for Modeling Tissue-Resident Macrophage Differentiation and Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Takata, Kazuyuki; Kozaki, Tatsuya; Lee, Christopher Zhe Wei; Thion, Morgane Sonia; Otsuka, Masayuki; Lim, Shawn; Utami, Kagistia Hana; Fidan, Kerem; Park, Dong Shin; Malleret, Benoit; Chakarov, Svetoslav; See, Peter; Low, Donovan; Low, Gillian; Garcia-Miralles, Marta; Zeng, Ruizhu; Zhang, Jinqiu; Goh, Chi Ching; Gul, Ahmet; Hubert, Sandra; Lee, Bernett; Chen, Jinmiao; Low, Ivy; Shadan, Nurhidaya Binte; Lum, Josephine; Wei, Tay Seok; Mok, Esther; Kawanishi, Shohei; Kitamura, Yoshihisa; Larbi, Anis; Poidinger, Michael; Renia, Laurent; Ng, Lai Guan; Wolf, Yochai; Jung, Steffen; Önder, Tamer; Newell, Evan; Huber, Tara; Ashihara, Eishi; Garel, Sonia; Pouladi, Mahmoud A; Ginhoux, Florent

2017-07-18

Tissue macrophages arise during embryogenesis from yolk-sac (YS) progenitors that give rise to primitive YS macrophages. Until recently, it has been impossible to isolate or derive sufficient numbers of YS-derived macrophages for further study, but data now suggest that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be driven to undergo a process reminiscent of YS-hematopoiesis in vitro. We asked whether iPSC-derived primitive macrophages (iMacs) can terminally differentiate into specialized macrophages with the help of growth factors and organ-specific cues. Co-culturing human or murine iMacs with iPSC-derived neurons promoted differentiation into microglia-like cells in vitro. Furthermore, murine iMacs differentiated in vivo into microglia after injection into the brain and into functional alveolar macrophages after engraftment in the lung. Finally, iPSCs from a patient with familial Mediterranean fever differentiated into iMacs with pro-inflammatory characteristics, mimicking the disease phenotype. Altogether, iMacs constitute a source of tissue-resident macrophage precursors that can be used for biological, pathophysiological, and therapeutic studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Free energy and phase equilibria for the restricted primitive model of ionic fluids from Monte Carlo simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orkoulas, G.; Panagiotopoulos, A.Z.

1994-01-01

In this work, we investigate the liquid--vapor phase transition of the restricted primitive model of ionic fluids. We show that at the low temperatures where the phase transition occurs, the system cannot be studied by conventional molecular simulation methods because convergence to equilibrium is slow. To accelerate convergence, we propose cluster Monte Carlo moves capable of moving more than one particle at a time. We then address the issue of charged particle transfers in grand canonical and Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations, for which we propose a biased particle insertion/destruction scheme capable of sampling short interparticle distances. We compute the chemical potential for the restricted primitive model as a function of temperature and density from grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and the phase envelope from Gibbs Monte Carlo simulations. Our calculated phase coexistence curve is in agreement with recent results of Caillol obtained on the four-dimensional hypersphere and our own earlier Gibbs ensemble simulations with single-ion transfers, with the exception of the critical temperature, which is lower in the current calculations. Our best estimates for the critical parameters are T * c =0.053, ρ * c =0.025. We conclude with possible future applications of the biased techniques developed here for phase equilibrium calculations for ionic fluids

Preliminary study on the way of formation of amino acids on primitive earth under non-reducing conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Huaibin; Shao Chunlin; Yu Zengliang

2001-01-01

Low energy ions were produced by N 2 glow discharge. The positive ions were accelerated into three kinds of carboxylate solution to induce chemical reactions. HPLC analysis showed that N was deposited into the solution, ammonia and amino acids were produced by such kind of implantation. The time-response of amounts of amino acids was given. The results presented a new way for the production of ammonia and amino acids under primitive earth conditions

Rapid world modeling: Fitting range data to geometric primitives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feddema, J.; Little, C.

1996-01-01

For the past seven years, Sandia National Laboratories has been active in the development of robotic systems to help remediate DOE's waste sites and decommissioned facilities. Some of these facilities have high levels of radioactivity which prevent manual clean-up. Tele-operated and autonomous robotic systems have been envisioned as the only suitable means of removing the radioactive elements. World modeling is defined as the process of creating a numerical geometric model of a real world environment or workspace. This model is often used in robotics to plan robot motions which perform a task while avoiding obstacles. In many applications where the world model does not exist ahead of time, structured lighting, laser range finders, and even acoustical sensors have been used to create three dimensional maps of the environment. These maps consist of thousands of range points which are difficult to handle and interpret. This paper presents a least squares technique for fitting range data to planar and quadric surfaces, including cylinders and ellipsoids. Once fit to these primitive surfaces, the amount of data associated with a surface is greatly reduced up to three orders of magnitude, thus allowing for more rapid handling and analysis of world data

Performances of scintigraphy in the primitive hyperparathyroidism and the associated thyroid pathologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monteil, J.; Mathonnet, M.; Chianea, T.; Cubertafond, P.; Piquet, L.; Rince, C.; Bournaud, E.; Verbeke, S.; Perdrisot, R.; Vandroux, J.C.

1997-01-01

The data from scintigraphic and echographic exploration were compared to the surgery results in 32 patients (29 F and 3 M) presenting a primitive hyperparathyroidism, biologically proved, associated to a thyroid pathology. The scintigraphies were achieved with a collimator placed anteriorly and oblique-anteriorly, 4 h after injection by iodine 123 (7 MBq) and 30 min and 2 h after injection of 99m Tc-MIBI (555 MBq). The cervical echography and scintigraphy are independently interpreted. The results are given in a table containing the sensitivity, specificity, V.P.P. and V.P.N. for scintigraphy and echography, respectively. The association of a primary hyperparathyroidism and of a thyroid pathology (with a prevalence of 70% in our region) appears to affect less the performances of scintigraphy imaging than those of morphologic imaging

Solitary epidural brain metastasis of Neuroepithelioma (a Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor: case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farnaz Farshidfar

2008-08-01

Full Text Available A 14 years old male was referred to Computerized tomography scan (CT of our hospital for evaluation of headache. The patient was known case of cervical soft tissue Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET which has undergone surgery and radiotherapy 4 years ago. The CT scan showed large solitary extra axial, epidural lesion in right parietal region, with mass effect and bony involvement. Then surgery was done for him and the resultant biopsy was Neuroepithelioma. After diagnosis the patient has undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy. He has no signs or symptoms of malignancy, and also follow up CT scan of the brain, chest, and abdomen were normal after two years of surgery. This is the first reported case of epidural metastasis of a head and neck PNET in an adolescent.

From Realistic to Simple Models of Associating Fluids. II. Primitive Models of Ammonia, Ethanol and Models of Water Revisited

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vlček, Lukáš; Nezbeda, Ivo

2004-01-01

Roč. 102, č. 5 (2004), s. 485-497 ISSN 0026-8976 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA203/02/0764; GA AV ČR IAA4072303; GA AV ČR IAA4072309 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4072921 Keywords : primitive model * association fluids * ethanol Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 1.406, year: 2004

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the kidney in a 51-year-old female following breast cancer: A case report and review of the literature

OpenAIRE

ZHONG, JINJING; CHEN, NI; CHEN, XUEQIN; GONG, JING; NIE, LING; XU, MIAO; ZHOU, QIAO

2014-01-01

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor/Ewing’s sarcoma (pPNET/EWS) is an aggressive type of sarcoma that is rarely observed in the kidney. pPNET of the kidney principally occurs in young patients (

Ionic and Wigner Glasses, Superionic Conductors, and Spinodal Electrostatic Gels: Dynamically Arrested Phases of the Primitive Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez-Diaz, L. E.; Juarez-Maldonado, R.; Vizcarra-Rendon, A.

2009-01-01

Based on the recently proposed self-consistent generalized Langevin equation theory of dynamic arrest, in this letter we show that the ergodic-nonergodic phase diagram of a classical mixture of charged hard spheres (the so-called 'primitive model' of ionic solutions and molten salts) includes arrested phases corresponding to nonconducting ionic glasses, partially arrested states that represent solid electrolytes (or 'superionic' conductors), low-density colloidal Wigner glasses, and low-density electrostatic gels associated with arrested spinodal decomposition.

Second-order Optimality Conditions for Optimal Control of the Primitive Equations of the Ocean with Periodic Inputs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tachim Medjo, T.

2011-01-01

We investigate in this article the Pontryagin's maximum principle for control problem associated with the primitive equations (PEs) of the ocean with periodic inputs. We also derive a second-order sufficient condition for optimality. This work is closely related to Wang (SIAM J. Control Optim. 41(2):583-606, 2002) and He (Acta Math. Sci. Ser. B Engl. Ed. 26(4):729-734, 2006), in which the authors proved similar results for the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes (NS) systems.

Modeling discrete and rhythmic movements through motor primitives: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Degallier, Sarah; Ijspeert, Auke

2010-10-01

Rhythmic and discrete movements are frequently considered separately in motor control, probably because different techniques are commonly used to study and model them. Yet the increasing interest in finding a comprehensive model for movement generation requires bridging the different perspectives arising from the study of those two types of movements. In this article, we consider discrete and rhythmic movements within the framework of motor primitives, i.e., of modular generation of movements. In this way we hope to gain an insight into the functional relationships between discrete and rhythmic movements and thus into a suitable representation for both of them. Within this framework we can define four possible categories of modeling for discrete and rhythmic movements depending on the required command signals and on the spinal processes involved in the generation of the movements. These categories are first discussed in terms of biological concepts such as force fields and central pattern generators and then illustrated by several mathematical models based on dynamical system theory. A discussion on the plausibility of theses models concludes the work.

Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET) of the kidney: a case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pomara, Giorgio; Cappello, Francesco; Cuttano, Maria G; Rappa, Francesca; Morelli, Girolamo; Mancini, Pierantonio; Selli, Cesare

2004-01-01

A case of Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET) of the kidney in a 27-year-old woman is presented. Few cases are reported in the literature with a variable, nonspecific presentation and an aggressive behaviour. In our case, a radical nephrectomy with lymphadenectomy was performed and there was no residual or recurrent tumour at 24-month follow-up. The surgical specimens were formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded. The sections were stained with routinary H&E. Immunohistochemistry was performed. The immunohistochemical evaluation revealed a diffuse CD99 positivity in the cytoplasm of the neoplastic cells. Pankeratin, cytokeratin AE1/AE3, vimentin, desmin, S100, cromogranin were negative. The clinical presentation and the macroscopic aspect, together with the histological pattern, the cytological characteristic and the cellular immunophenotype addressed the diagnosis towards primary PNET of kidney. Since sometimes it is difficult to discriminate between PNET and Ewing's tumour, we reviewed the difficulties in differential diagnosis. These tumors have a common precursor but the stage of differentiation in which it is blocked is probably different. This could also explain their different biological behaviour and prognosis

Extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma / primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the sacral nerve plexus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narula, MK; Gupta, Nishant; Anand, Rama; Kapoor, Sudhir

2009-01-01

We report an unusual case of Ewing's sarcoma / primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of the sacral nerve plexus in a 9-year-old boy who presented with a soft tissue swelling and severe piercing pain in the lower back region. MRI of the lumbosacral spine showed a lobulated soft tissue mass with clubbed finger-like projections along the path of the sacral nerves, which had caused widening of the spinal canal and the sacral foramina (S2–S4 level). There was presacral extension and posterior scalloping of the sacral vertebrae. Histopathology of the lesion confirmed Ewing's sarcoma / PNET of the sacral spinal nerve plexus. The patient responded favorably to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, showing clinical and radiological improvement

p38 (Mapk14/11) occupies a regulatory node governing entry into primitive endoderm differentiation during preimplantation mouse embryo development

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Thamodaran, V.; Bruce, Alexander

2016-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 9 (2016), č. článku 160190. ISSN 2046-2441 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GA13-03295S Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : preimplantation mouse embryo * cell-fate * primitive endoderm Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 3.481, year: 2016 http://rsob.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/6/9/160190

Development of a reliable method for determining sex for a primitive rodent, the Point Arena mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa nigra)

Science.gov (United States)

Kristine L. Pilgrim; William J. Zielinski; Fredrick V. Schlexer; Michael K. Schwartz

2012-01-01

The mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa) is a primitive species of rodent, often considered a living fossil. The Point Arena mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa nigra) is an endangered subspecies that occurs in a very restricted range in northern California. Efforts to recover this taxon have been limited by the lack of knowledge on their demography, particularly sex and age...

ERK inhibition promotes neuroectodermal precursor commitment by blocking self-renewal and primitive streak formation of the epiblast.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yang; Wang, Xiaoxiao; Zhang, Xiaoxin; Zhai, Yanhua; Lu, Xukun; Ma, Haixia; Zhu, Kai; Zhao, Tongbiao; Jiao, Jianwei; Zhao, Zhen-Ao; Li, Lei

2018-01-05

Pluripotent stem cells hold great promise for regenerative medicine. However, before clinical application, reproducible protocols for pluripotent stem cell differentiation should be established. Extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) signaling plays a central role for the self-renewal of epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs), but its role for subsequent germ layer differentiation is still ambiguous. We proposed that ERK could modulate differentiation of the epiblast. PD0325901 was used to inhibit ERK activation during the differentiation of embryonic stem cells and EpiSCs. Immunofluorescence, western blot analysis, real-time PCR and flow cytometry were used to detect germ layer markers and pathway activation. We demonstrate that the ERK phosphorylation level is lower in neuroectoderm of mouse E7.5 embryos than that in the primitive streak. ERK inhibition results in neural lineage commitment of epiblast. Mechanistically, PD0325901 abrogates the expression of primitive streak markers by β-catenin retention in the cytoplasm, and inhibits the expression of OCT4 and NANOG during EpiSC differentiation. Thus, EpiSCs differentiate into neuroectodermal lineage efficiently under PD0325901 treatment. These results suggest that neuroectoderm differentiation does not require extrinsic signals, supporting the default differentiation of neural lineage. We report that a single ERK inhibitor, PD0325901, can specify epiblasts and EpiSCs into neural-like cells, providing an efficient strategy for neural differentiation.

Human primitive meninges in and around the mesencephalic flexure and particularly their topographical relation to cranial nerves.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Kwang Ho; Rodríguez-Vázquez, Jose Francisco; Han, Eui Hyeog; Verdugo-López, Samuel; Murakami, Gen; Cho, Baik Hwan

2010-09-20

Development of the meninges in and around the plica ventralis encephali has not been well documented. A distinct mesenchymal structure, the so-called plica ventralis encephali, is sandwiched by the fetal mesencephalic flexure. We histologically examined paraffin-embedded sections from 18 human embryos and fetuses at 6-12 weeks of gestation. In the loose tissues of the plica, the first meninx appeared as a narrow membrane along the oculomotor nerve at 7-8 weeks. Subsequently, the plica ventralis evolved into 3 parts: bilateral lateral mesenchymal condensations and a primitive membranous meninx extending between. Notably, the topographical anatomy of the oculomotor, trochlear and trigeminal nerves did not change: the oculomotor nerve ran along the rostral aspect of the membranous meninx, the trigeminal nerve ran along the caudal side of the lateral mesenchymal condensation, and the trochlear nerve remained embedded in the lateral condensation. Up to 9-10 weeks, the lateral mesenchymal condensations became tongue-like folds; i.e., the primitive form of the tentorium cerebelli, while the membranous meninx became the diaphragma sellae. The falx cerebri seemed to develop from the tongue-like folds. Overall, the final tentorium cerebelli corresponded to the regressed plica ventralis, while the parasellar area originated from the base of the plica and other tissues along the ventral aspects of the basisphenoid and basioccipital. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Variability of Heart Rate in Primitive Horses and Their Relatives as an Indicator of Stress Level, Behavioural Conduct Towards Humans and Adaptation to Living in Wild

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pluta Michał

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of using heart rate (HR as a metric parameter that can be used for the characterisation of behaviour of primitive horses and their relatives, related to reactions to the stress resulting from the contact with humans and adaptation to living in various conditions, including natural environment. This characterisation served the authors to expand the knowledge of such behaviour of primitive horses, and to assess the impact of the environmental and genetic factors. Studies were conducted in three populations of horses: two herds of Polish Konik and one herd of Biłgoraj horses. The studies were performed between 1993 and 2010. They concerned the behaviour of horses during grooming - breeding procedures (hooves clearing, body measurements performed cyclically and the daily observations when HR was monitored continuously. HR results for the respective age categories, during particular grooming - breeding procedures and reserve observations indicate that Polish Konik horses, closely related to the primitive Tarpan breed, are genetically better adapted to living in conditions similar to the natural (reserve than the Biłgoraj horses. They show less stress symptoms, which are evidenced by HR values noted during inhabiting the natural environment.

Spatial distribution of diffuse, primitive, and classic amyloid-beta deposits and blood vessels in the upper laminae of the frontal cortex in Alzheimer disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, R A; Cairns, N J; Lantos, P L

1998-12-01

The spatial distribution of the diffuse, primitive, and classic amyloid-beta deposits was studied in the upper laminae of the superior frontal gyrus in cases of sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD). Amyloid-beta-stained tissue was counterstained with collagen IV to determine whether the spatial distribution of the amyloid-beta deposits along the cortex was related to blood vessels. In all patients, amyloid-beta deposits and blood vessels were aggregated into distinct clusters and in many patients, the clusters were distributed with a regular periodicity along the cortex. The clusters of diffuse and primitive deposits did not coincide with the clusters of blood vessels in most patients. However, the clusters of classic amyloid-beta deposits coincided with those of the large diameter (>10 microm) blood vessels in all patients and with clusters of small-diameter (upper cortical laminae.

Piping data retrieval system (PDRS): An integrated package to aid piping layout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vyas, K.N.; Sharma, A.; Susandhi, R.; Basu, S.

1986-01-01

An integrated package to aid piping layout has been developed and implemented on PDP-11/34 system at Hall 7. The package allows various equipments to be modelled, consisting of primitive equipment components. The equipment layout for the plant can then be reproduced in the form of drawings such as plan, elevation, isometric or perspective. The package has the built in function to perform hidden line removal among equipments. Once the equipment layout is finalised, the package aids in superimposing the piping as per the specified pipe routine. The report discusses the general capabilities and the major input requirements for the package. (author)

Local recurrence and distant metastasis of supratentorial primitive neuro-ectodermal tumor in an adult patient successfully treated with intensive induction chemotherapy and maintenance temozolomide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Terheggen, F.; Troost, D.; Majoie, C. B.; Leenstra, S.; Richel, D. J.

2007-01-01

Supratentorial primitive neuro-ectodermal tumors (PNET) in adults are very rare. Extraneural metastasis are unusual and the optimal palliative chemotherapy regimen is not established. We present a 26-year-old patient with local recurrence and distant metastasis of supratentorial PNET successfully

Global gene expression analysis of apple fruit development from the floral bud to ripe fruit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McArtney Steve

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Apple fruit develop over a period of 150 days from anthesis to fully ripe. An array representing approximately 13000 genes (15726 oligonucleotides of 45–55 bases designed from apple ESTs has been used to study gene expression over eight time points during fruit development. This analysis of gene expression lays the groundwork for a molecular understanding of fruit growth and development in apple. Results Using ANOVA analysis of the microarray data, 1955 genes showed significant changes in expression over this time course. Expression of genes is coordinated with four major patterns of expression observed: high in floral buds; high during cell division; high when starch levels and cell expansion rates peak; and high during ripening. Functional analysis associated cell cycle genes with early fruit development and three core cell cycle genes are significantly up-regulated in the early stages of fruit development. Starch metabolic genes were associated with changes in starch levels during fruit development. Comparison with microarrays of ethylene-treated apple fruit identified a group of ethylene induced genes also induced in normal fruit ripening. Comparison with fruit development microarrays in tomato has been used to identify 16 genes for which expression patterns are similar in apple and tomato and these genes may play fundamental roles in fruit development. The early phase of cell division and tissue specification that occurs in the first 35 days after pollination has been associated with up-regulation of a cluster of genes that includes core cell cycle genes. Conclusion Gene expression in apple fruit is coordinated with specific developmental stages. The array results are reproducible and comparisons with experiments in other species has been used to identify genes that may play a fundamental role in fruit development.

Msx1-modulated muscle satellite cells retain a primitive state and exhibit an enhanced capacity for osteogenic differentiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, Ke, E-mail: dingke@med.uestc.edu.cn [Department of Pediatric Surgery, School of medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072 (China); Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People' s Hospital, Chengdu 610072 (China); Department of Orthopaedics, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038 (China); Liu, Wen-ying; Zeng, Qiang; Hou, Fang [Department of Pediatric Surgery, School of medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072 (China); Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People' s Hospital, Chengdu 610072 (China); Xu, Jian-zhong, E-mail: xjzspine@163.com [Department of Orthopaedics, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038 (China); Yang, Zhong, E-mail: zyang1999@163.com [Department of Clinical Hematology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038 (China)

2017-03-01

Multipotent muscle satellite cells (MuSCs) have been identified as potential seed cells for bone tissue engineering. However, MuSCs exhibit a rapid loss of stemness after in vitro culturing, thereby compromising their therapeutic efficiency. Muscle segment homeobox gene 1 (msx1) has been found to induce the dedifferentiation of committed progenitor cells, as well as terminally differentiated myotubes. In this study, a Tet-off retroviral gene delivery system was used to modulate msx1 expression. After ten passages, MuSCs that did not express msx-1 (e.g., the non-msx1 group) were compared with MuSCs with induced msx-1 expression (e.g., the msx1 group). The latter group exhibited a more juvenile morphology, it contained a significantly lower percentage of senescent cells characterized by positive β-galactosidase staining, and it exhibited increased proliferation and a higher proliferation index. Immunocytochemical stainings further detected a more primitive gene expression profile for the msx1 group, while osteogenic differentiation assays and ectopic bone formation assays demonstrated an improved capacity for the msx1 group to undergo osteogenic differentiation. These results suggest that transient expression of msx1 in MuSCs can retain a primitive state, thereby enhancing their capacity for osteogenic differentiation and restoring the potential for MuSCs to serve as seed cells for bone tissue engineering.

Msx1-modulated muscle satellite cells retain a primitive state and exhibit an enhanced capacity for osteogenic differentiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Ke; Liu, Wen-ying; Zeng, Qiang; Hou, Fang; Xu, Jian-zhong; Yang, Zhong

2017-01-01

Multipotent muscle satellite cells (MuSCs) have been identified as potential seed cells for bone tissue engineering. However, MuSCs exhibit a rapid loss of stemness after in vitro culturing, thereby compromising their therapeutic efficiency. Muscle segment homeobox gene 1 (msx1) has been found to induce the dedifferentiation of committed progenitor cells, as well as terminally differentiated myotubes. In this study, a Tet-off retroviral gene delivery system was used to modulate msx1 expression. After ten passages, MuSCs that did not express msx-1 (e.g., the non-msx1 group) were compared with MuSCs with induced msx-1 expression (e.g., the msx1 group). The latter group exhibited a more juvenile morphology, it contained a significantly lower percentage of senescent cells characterized by positive β-galactosidase staining, and it exhibited increased proliferation and a higher proliferation index. Immunocytochemical stainings further detected a more primitive gene expression profile for the msx1 group, while osteogenic differentiation assays and ectopic bone formation assays demonstrated an improved capacity for the msx1 group to undergo osteogenic differentiation. These results suggest that transient expression of msx1 in MuSCs can retain a primitive state, thereby enhancing their capacity for osteogenic differentiation and restoring the potential for MuSCs to serve as seed cells for bone tissue engineering.

Msx1-modulated muscle satellite cells retain a primitive state and exhibit an enhanced capacity for osteogenic differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Ke; Liu, Wen-Ying; Zeng, Qiang; Hou, Fang; Xu, Jian-Zhong; Yang, Zhong

2017-03-01

Multipotent muscle satellite cells (MuSCs) have been identified as potential seed cells for bone tissue engineering. However, MuSCs exhibit a rapid loss of stemness after in vitro culturing, thereby compromising their therapeutic efficiency. Muscle segment homeobox gene 1 (msx1) has been found to induce the dedifferentiation of committed progenitor cells, as well as terminally differentiated myotubes. In this study, a Tet-off retroviral gene delivery system was used to modulate msx1 expression. After ten passages, MuSCs that did not express msx-1 (e.g., the non-msx1 group) were compared with MuSCs with induced msx-1 expression (e.g., the msx1 group). The latter group exhibited a more juvenile morphology, it contained a significantly lower percentage of senescent cells characterized by positive β-galactosidase staining, and it exhibited increased proliferation and a higher proliferation index. Immunocytochemical stainings further detected a more primitive gene expression profile for the msx1 group, while osteogenic differentiation assays and ectopic bone formation assays demonstrated an improved capacity for the msx1 group to undergo osteogenic differentiation. These results suggest that transient expression of msx1 in MuSCs can retain a primitive state, thereby enhancing their capacity for osteogenic differentiation and restoring the potential for MuSCs to serve as seed cells for bone tissue engineering. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cryptography- An ideal solution to privacy, data integrity and non ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Encryption, hashing and digital signatures are the three primitives of Cryptography and these have been treated in depth and their performances on text data and image data have been studied The most secure algorithms so far in use have been introduced and the respective performance of each primitive 's algorithm on ...

Early detection of cerebral palsy in high-risk infants: diagnostic value of primitive and developmental reflexes as well as ultrasound

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Setyo Handryastuti

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background The incidence of cerebral palsy (CP has increased due to better survival of high-risk babies. A simple assessment method is needed for the early detection of CP, which can be performed by general practitioners and pediatricians in daily practice. Objectives To assess motor delay, primitive and developmental reflexes, and cerebral ultrasound abnormalities as simple methods for early detection of CP in high-risk infants. We also aimed to evaluate the ease and consistency of the methods for use in daily practice, as well as determine risk factors associated with CP. Methods A prospective cohort study was done on 150 high-risk babies starting from the age of 4 months up to 12 months. We obtained subjects’ histories of motor ability and assessed primitive reflexes and postural reactions at the ages of 4, 6, 9 and 10 months. The diagnosis of CP was established at 6 and 12 months of age. We also determined Kappa test for inter-rater reliability between pediatric residents and pediatric neurologist. Results In 88.7% of subjects, CP was detected in the first 6 months. At 4 months, positive palmar reflex, head lag, and fisting were predictive of CP at 6 months of age. Motor delay, positive palmar grasp reflex, head lag, fisting, and absent protective extension reflex at 6 months were predictive of CP at 12 months. At 9 to 10 months, motor delays, absent protective extension reflex, and negative parachute reaction were predictive of CP at 12 months. Cerebral ultrasound abnormalities were predictive of CP at 6 and 12 months of age. Kappa test result was 0.9, indicating the ease and consistency of these methods for daily medical practice. Conclusion Cerebral palsy can be detected as early as the first 6 months of life. Assessment for motor delays, physical examination for asssessing primitive and developmental reflexes, and cerebral ultrasound can be used for this purpose.

Construction of a magnetostrictive hysteresis operator using a tripod-like primitive hopfield neural network

Science.gov (United States)

Adly, A. A.; Abd-El-Hafiz, S. K.

2018-05-01

It is well known that accurate modeling of magnetostrictive hysteresis is crucial to different industrial applications. Although several magnetostrictive models have been developed in the past, the accuracy-efficiency balance has always been crucial. Recently, the possibility of constructing a primitive vector hysteresis operator using a tri-node Hopfield Neural Network (HNN) was demonstrated. Based upon the fact that mechanical stress along a certain direction results in dimensional deformation, this paper introduces a novel extension to the aforementioned recently developed approach. More specifically, a stress-driven evolution of a tri-node HNN hysteresis operator pair is proposed, thus yielding a tripod-like HNN pair having different input offset values. Model identification, sample simulation results and comparison with experimental measurements are given in the paper.

Generalized large-scale semigeostrophic approximations for the f-plane primitive equations

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Marcel; Vasylkevych, Sergiy

2016-05-01

We derive a family of balance models for rotating stratified flow in the primitive equation (PE) setting. By construction, the models possess conservation laws for energy and potential vorticity and are formally of the same order of accuracy as Hoskins’ semigeostrophic equations. Our construction is based on choosing a new coordinate frame for the PE variational principle in such a way that the consistently truncated Lagrangian degenerates. We show that the balance relations so obtained are elliptic when the fluid is stably stratified and certain smallness assumptions are satisfied. Moreover, the potential temperature can be recovered from the potential vorticity via inversion of a non-standard Monge-Ampère problem which is subject to the same ellipticity condition. While the present work is entirely formal, we conjecture, based on a careful rewriting of the equations of motion and a straightforward derivative count, that the Cauchy problem for the balance models is well posed subject to conditions on the initial data. Our family of models includes, in particular, the stratified analog of the L 1 balance model of Salmon.

Generalized large-scale semigeostrophic approximations for the f-plane primitive equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliver, Marcel; Vasylkevych, Sergiy

2016-01-01

We derive a family of balance models for rotating stratified flow in the primitive equation (PE) setting. By construction, the models possess conservation laws for energy and potential vorticity and are formally of the same order of accuracy as Hoskins’ semigeostrophic equations. Our construction is based on choosing a new coordinate frame for the PE variational principle in such a way that the consistently truncated Lagrangian degenerates. We show that the balance relations so obtained are elliptic when the fluid is stably stratified and certain smallness assumptions are satisfied. Moreover, the potential temperature can be recovered from the potential vorticity via inversion of a non-standard Monge–Ampère problem which is subject to the same ellipticity condition. While the present work is entirely formal, we conjecture, based on a careful rewriting of the equations of motion and a straightforward derivative count, that the Cauchy problem for the balance models is well posed subject to conditions on the initial data. Our family of models includes, in particular, the stratified analog of the L 1 balance model of Salmon. (paper)

Semantics of immersive web through its architectural structure and graphic primitives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rubén González Crespo

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Currently, practices and tools for computer-aided three-dimensional design, do not allow the semantic description of objects constructed in some cases specified notations as handling layers, or labeling of each development itself. The lack of a standard for the description of the elements represents a major drawback for using advanced three-dimensional environments such as the automation of search and construction processes that require semantic knowledge of its elements.This project proposes the development the semantic composition from the hierarchy of three-dimensional visualization of graphics primitives used to construct three-dimensional objects, taking into account the geometric composition architecture of standard 19775-1 of the International Electrotechnical Commission of the International Organization for StandardizationFor the development of semantic composition use the methodology methontology proposed by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, because it allows the construction of ontologies about specific domains, limiting the domain by defining classes and subclasses, relationships and the generation of instances a framework for resource description on web ontology language.

Formative Evaluation of Clinician Experience with Integrating Family History-Based Clinical Decision Support into Clinical Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Megan Doerr

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Family health history is a leading predictor of disease risk. Nonetheless, it is underutilized to guide care and, therefore, is ripe for health information technology intervention. To fill the family health history practice gap, Cleveland Clinic has developed a family health history collection and clinical decision support tool, MyFamily. This report describes the impact and process of implementing MyFamily into primary care, cancer survivorship and cancer genetics clinics. Ten providers participated in semi-structured interviews that were analyzed to identify opportunities for process improvement. Participants universally noted positive effects on patient care, including increases in quality, personalization of care and patient engagement. The impact on clinical workflow varied by practice setting, with differences observed in the ease of integration and the use of specific report elements. Tension between the length of the report and desired detail was appreciated. Barriers and facilitators to the process of implementation were noted, dominated by the theme of increased integration with the electronic medical record. These results fed real-time improvement cycles to reinforce clinician use. This model will be applied in future institutional efforts to integrate clinical genomic applications into practice and may be useful for other institutions considering the implementation of tools for personalizing medical management.

Computer simulations of the restricted primitive model at very low temperature and density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valeriani, Chantal; Camp, Philip J; Zwanikken, Jos W; Van Roij, Rene; Dijkstra, Marjolein

2010-01-01

The problem of successfully simulating ionic fluids at low temperature and low density states is well known in the simulation literature: using conventional methods, the system is not able to equilibrate rapidly due to the presence of strongly associated cation-anion pairs. In this paper we present a numerical method for speeding up computer simulations of the restricted primitive model (RPM) at low temperatures (around the critical temperature) and at very low densities (down to 10 -10 σ -3 , where σ is the ion diameter). Experimentally, this regime corresponds to typical concentrations of electrolytes in nonaqueous solvents. As far as we are aware, this is the first time that the RPM has been equilibrated at such extremely low concentrations. More generally, this method could be used to equilibrate other systems that form aggregates at low concentrations.

Cooling and quasi-static contraction of the primitive solar nebula after gas accretion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Seichiro; Nakagawa, Yoshitsugu; Nakazawa, Kiyoshi

1990-01-01

The evolution of the primitive solar nebula in the quasi-static contraction phase where the nebula cools down toward the thermal steady state is studied. The solar irradiation onto the nebula keeps the surface temperature constant, so that the convective ozone retreats from the surface as the nebula cools. Thus if thermal convection is the only source of turbulence, convection will quiet down in an early time of the cooling. Afterward, the nebula evolves toward an isothermal structure in a time scale of 1000 yr. The cooling rates in the vicinity of the midplate at 1 AU are 0.003 K/hr at T(c) = 1000 K and 3 x 10 to the -5th K/hr at T(c) = 300 K for the standard model. If some turbulence exists irrespective of convection, convection may continue for sufficiently strong turbulent heating. 39 refs

Coordinates Analyses of Hydrated Interplanetary Dust Particles: Samples of Primitive Solar System Bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, L. P.; Snead, C.; McKeegan, K. D.

2016-01-01

Interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in the stratosphere fall into two major groups: an anhydrous group termed the "chondritic-porous (CP) IDPs and a hydrated group, the "chondritic-smooth (CS) IDPs, although rare IDPs with mineralogies intermediate between these two groups are known [1]. The CP-IDPs are widely believed to be derived from cometary sources [e.g. 2]. The hydrated CS-IDPs show mineralogical similarities to heavily aqueously altered carbonaceous chondrites (e.g. CI chondrites), but only a few have been directly linked to carbonaceous meteorite parent bodies [e.g. 3, 4]. Most CS-IDPs show distinct chemical [5] and oxygen isotopic composition differences [6-8] from primitive carbonaceous chondrites. Here, we report on our coordinated analyses of a suite of carbon-rich CS-IDPs focusing on their bulk compositions, mineralogy, mineral chemistry, and isotopic compositions.

Postoperative Paraplegia as a Result of Undiagnosed Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor, Not Epidural Analgesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei-Ching Hung

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Postoperative paraplegia is a rare complication after epidural analgesia and often occurs with spinal hematoma or cord injury. We present the case of a 16-year-old girl who suffered from a tumor mass in the neck and abdomen who underwent gynecologic operation. Preoperatively, liver metastasis was found by computed tomography. Pathologic findings revealed that the abdominal mass was an ovarian dermoid cyst. After the operation, the patient complained of paraplegia while receiving epidural analgesia for postoperative pain control. A peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor in the thoracic and lumbar spines with spinal cord compression was later detected using magnetic resonance imaging. Learning from this case, we suggest that when a patient is preoperatively diagnosed with tumor metastasis, back pain and soreness, spinal cord compression from tumor metastasis should be excluded before epidural analgesia is implemented.

Multiple Ewing Sarcoma/Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors in the Mediastinum

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Sung Hwan; Hwang, Jung Hwa; Da Nam, Bo; Kim, Hyun Jo; Kim, Ki-Up; Kim, Dong Won; Choi, In Ho

2016-01-01

Abstract Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumors (ES/PNET) are high-grade malignant neoplasms. These malignancies present very rare tumors of thoracopulmonary area and even rarer in the mediastinum. In our knowledge, ES/PNET presented with multiple mediastinal masses has not been reported previously. We experienced a case of a 42-year-old man presented with gradual onset of left-side pleuritic chest pain. A contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed separate 2 large heterogeneously enhancing masses in each anterior and middle mediastinum of the left hemithorax. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan revealed high fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the mediastinal masses. After surgical excision for the mediastinal masses, both of the masses were diagnosed as the ES/PNET group of tumors on the histopathologic examination. The patient refused postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and came back with local tumor recurrence and distant metastasis on 4-month follow-up after surgical resection. We report this uncommon form of ES/PNET. We are to raise awareness that this rare malignancy should be considered as a differential diagnosis of the malignant mediastinal tumors and which can be manifested as multiple masses in a patient. Understanding this rare entity of extra-skeletal ES/PNET and characteristic imaging findings can help radiologists and clinicians to approach proper diagnosis and better management for this highly malignant tumor. PMID:26886614

Assimilation of Sea Surface Temperature in a doubly, two-way nested primitive equation model of the Ligurian Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Barth, A.; Alvera-Azcarate, A.; Rixen, M.; Beckers, J.-M.; Testut, C.-E.; Brankart, J.-M.; Brasseur, P.

2003-04-01

The GHER 3D primitive equation model is implemented with three different resolutions: a low resolution model (1/4^o) covering the whole Mediterranean Sea, an intermediate resolution model (1/20^o) of the Liguro-Provençal basin and a high resolution model (1/60^o) simulating the fine mesoscale structures in the Ligurian Sea. Boundary conditions and the averaged fields (feedback) are exchanged between two successive nesting levels. The model of the Ligurian Sea is also coupled with the assimilation package SESAM. It allows to assimilate satellite data and in situ observations using the local adaptative SEEK (Singular Evolutive Extended Kalman) filter. Instead of evolving the error space by the numerically expensive Lyapunov equation, a simplified algebraic equation depending on the misfit between observation and model forecast is used. Starting from the 1st January 1998 the low and intermediate resolution models are spun up for 18 months. The initial conditions for the Ligurian Sea are interpolated from the intermediate resolution model. The three models are then integrated until August 1999. During this period AVHRR Sea Surface Temperature of the Ligurian Sea is assimilated. The results are validated by using CTD and XBT profiles of the SIRENA cruise from the SACLANT Center. The overall objective of this study is pre-operational. It should help to identify limitations and weaknesses of forecasting methods and to suggest improvements of existing operational models.

Response to Niklasson's comment on Lin, et al. (2012) : "the relation between postural movement and bilateral motor integration".

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chin-Kai; Kuo, Bor-Chen; Wu, Huey-Min

2014-10-01

In the study of Lin, Wu, Lin, Wu, Wu, Kuo, and Yeung (2012 ), the relationship between the validity of postural movement and bilateral motor integration in terms of sensory integration theory was examined. Postural movement is the ability to use the antigravity postures required for stabilization of the neck, trunk and upper extremities via muscle co-contractions in the neck and upper extremities, and balance. Niklasson's (2013 ) comment argued that postural movement should include primitive reflexes in terms of the general abilities approach. Niklasson (2013 ) focused on the efficacy of the treatment rather than the theoretical frameworks implied in the therapeutic activities. For that purpose Lin, et al. (2012 ) used sensory integration as the theoretical foundation, and the relationship between postural movement and bilateral motor integration was assessed via empirical data. The result of Lin, et al. (2012 ) was offered as a theoretical reference for therapeutic activities.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor presenting as a presacral mass: A rare case report with review of literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pradnya S Bhadarge

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs are a group of highly malignant small round cell tumor (SRCT of neuroectodermal origin. They exhibit a great diversity in their clinical manifestations and pathologic similarities with other SRCTs. PNET commonly occurs in the central nervous system, head and neck region, paravertebral region, pelvis, and lower extremities. PNET presenting as a presacral mass is very rare. We present a case of 65-year-old female patient presented with a mass in the abdomen. Exploratory laparotomy with excision of mass was carried out. Histopathology revealed the diagnosis of PNET. The rarity of PNET at presacral region prompted the description of this case.

Synovial sarcoma with radiological appearances of primitive neuroectodermal tumour/Ewing sarcoma: differentiation by molecular genetic studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Donnell, P.; Diss, T.C.; Whelan, J.; Flanagan, A.M.

2006-01-01

Synovial sarcoma (SS) arises in soft tissues but may invade adjacent bone. We describe a case of SS presenting as aggressive lysis of the proximal ulna, the imaging of which suggested a primary bone lesion. Needle biopsy showed a 'small round blue cell tumour', and a primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET)/Ewing sarcoma was suggested on the basis of the imaging appearances. The definitive diagnosis of synovial sarcoma was made following molecular genetic studies, which demonstrated a fusion product incorporating the genes SYT and SSX1. The importance of correct diagnosis to guide appropriate management, and, therefore, the necessity for molecular genetic studies, is discussed. (orig.)

Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI study of primary primitive neuroectodermal tumor in the thoracic spine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yu; Xu Jianmin; Li Ying; Zhang Jingzhong; Zhu Jing

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging in the diagnosis and differentiation of primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) in the thoracic spine. Methods: The dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging of 2 patients (3 times) with PNET in the thoracic spine proved by surgery and pathology were prospectively studied. Results: In the curves of SI-time and CER-time, PNET in the thoracic spine showed a rapid rise to the peak between 60 s and 120 s, then the flat level was kept and no obvious decline was detected after about 3.5 minute. Conclusion: Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI can help to make the diagnosis and differential diagnosis for PNET in the thoracic spine, offer reliable information for the choice of clinical management, and predict the prognosis

An exceptionally preserved Late Devonian actinopterygian provides a new model for primitive cranial anatomy in ray-finned fishes

Science.gov (United States)

Giles, Sam; Darras, Laurent; Clément, Gaël; Blieck, Alain; Friedman, Matt

2015-01-01

Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) are the most diverse living osteichthyan (bony vertebrate) group, with a rich fossil record. However, details of their earliest history during the middle Palaeozoic (Devonian) ‘Age of Fishes' remains sketchy. This stems from an uneven understanding of anatomy in early actinopterygians, with a few well-known species dominating perceptions of primitive conditions. Here we present an exceptionally preserved ray-finned fish from the Late Devonian (Middle Frasnian, ca 373 Ma) of Pas-de-Calais, northern France. This new genus is represented by a single, three-dimensionally preserved skull. CT scanning reveals the presence of an almost complete braincase along with near-fully articulated mandibular, hyoid and gill arches. The neurocranium differs from the coeval Mimipiscis in displaying a short aortic canal with a distinct posterior notch, long grooves for the lateral dorsal aortae, large vestibular fontanelles and a broad postorbital process. Identification of similar but previously unrecognized features in other Devonian actinopterygians suggests that aspects of braincase anatomy in Mimipiscis are apomorphic, questioning its ubiquity as stand-in for generalized actinopterygian conditions. However, the gill skeleton of the new form broadly corresponds to that of Mimipiscis, and adds to an emerging picture of primitive branchial architecture in crown gnathostomes. The new genus is recovered in a polytomy with Mimiidae and a subset of Devonian and stratigraphically younger actinopterygians, with no support found for a monophyletic grouping of Moythomasia with Mimiidae. PMID:26423841

Clues to the origin of metal in Almahata Sitta EL and EH chondrites and implications for primitive E chondrite thermal histories

Science.gov (United States)

Horstmann, Marian; Humayun, Munir; Bischoff, Addi

2014-09-01

Enstatite (E) chondrites are a group of texturally highly variable meteorites formed under strongly reducing conditions giving rise to unique mineral and chemical characteristics (e.g., high abundances of various sulfides and Si-bearing metal). In particular the abundant metal comprises a range of textures in E chondrites of different petrologic type, but available in situ siderophile trace element data on metal are limited. Nine samples of E chondrites from the recent Almahata Sitta fall [one EH3, two EL3/4, two EL6, two EL impact melt rocks (IMR), two EH IMR] were investigated in this study in addition to St. Mark's (EH5) and Grein 002 (EL4/5), with a focus on the nature of their metal constituents. Special attention was given to metal-silicate intergrowths (MSSI) that occur in many primitive E chondrites, which have been interpreted as post-accretionary asteroidal impact melts or primitive nebular condensates. This study shows that siderophile trace element systematics in E chondrite metal are independent of petrologic type of the host rock and distinct from condensation signatures. Three basic types of siderophile trace element signatures can be distinguished, indicating crystallization from a melt, thermal equilibration upon metamorphism/complete melting, and exsolution of schreibersite-perryite-sulfide. Textural and mineral-chemical constraints from EL3/4s are used to evaluate previously proposed formation processes of MSSI (impact melting vs. nebular condensation) and elucidate which other formation scenarios are feasible. It is shown that post-accretionary (in situ) impact melting or metallic melt injection forming MSSI on the thin section scale, and nebular condensation, are unlikely formation processes. This leads to the conclusion that MSSIs are pre-accretionary melt objects that were formed during melting processes prior to the accretion of the primitive E chondrites. The same can be concluded for metal nodules in the EH3 chondrite examined. The pre

Formulation of an explicit-multiple-time-step time integration method for use in a global primitive equation grid model

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, W. C.

1982-01-01

With appropriate modifications, a recently proposed explicit-multiple-time-step scheme (EMTSS) is incorporated into the UCLA model. In this scheme, the linearized terms in the governing equations that generate the gravity waves are split into different vertical modes. Each mode is integrated with an optimal time step, and at periodic intervals these modes are recombined. The other terms are integrated with a time step dictated by the CFL condition for low-frequency waves. This large time step requires a special modification of the advective terms in the polar region to maintain stability. Test runs for 72 h show that EMTSS is a stable, efficient and accurate scheme.

Presentation of a salivary tumour si mil primitive lung with metastases of carcinoid tumour of the colon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cataldi, S.; Ximenez; Carzoglio, J.

2010-01-01

Introduction: Colon carcinoid tumors are primary tumors in the colon, a rare histology. The lung tumour Si mil - Amyloid is within primary lung tumours, infrequent histology and often behaves like a benign tumour. In this paper we present the case of a patient with a history of having undergone colon surgery for a malignant carcinoid. Two years after developing a lung salivary tumour simile initially presented as metastasis Colonic carcinoid lung tumour. Clinical case: It is about a female patient of 64 years, who in September 2008 he makes a right hemicolectomy extended by an occlusive syndrome sub. Anatomic Pathology (A P) accounted for Carcinoid Tumor Malignant one that committed the entire wall and 50 lymph nodes are resected, all free metastasis. The patient does not receive complementary treatments and an imaging over in December 2009 is evident in a tomographic study a bulky upper lobe pulmonary parenchymal process right. The fiberoptic bronchoscopy (Fob) showed complete obstruction of the right upper lobe bronchus by a vegetating process whose biopsy reported a malignant lung tumor commitment carcinoid support primitive colonic confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The March 23, 2010 takes place the right upper lobectomy with lymphadenectomy. The A P and IHC study confirmed adenosquamous carcinoma with stroma simile amiloide low degree of malignancy. This injury can be approved to a salivary tumour early lung simile. Bronchial compromised by tumor margin and 22 negative lymph nodes. The patient is referred for additional radiation treatment. Discussion: Tumours of salivary gland type of primitive lung is a very rare condition and diagnosis is a r arity . Usually they originate in the bronchial epithelium submucosal gland. Endo luminal lesions usually occur as infrequently and develop in outlying areas. The development of lung tumours unrelated bronchial structure has been explained by a possible origin from a primitive stem cell that can differentiate a

Using an Analysis of Behavior Change to Inform Effective Digital Intervention Design: How Did the PRIMIT Website Change Hand Hygiene Behavior Across 8993 Users?

Science.gov (United States)

Ainsworth, B; Steele, M; Stuart, B; Joseph, J; Miller, S; Morrison, L; Little, P; Yardley, L

2017-06-01

In designing digital interventions for healthcare, it is important to understand not just whether interventions work but also how and for whom-including whether individual intervention components have different effects, whether a certain usage threshold is required to change behavior in each intervention and whether usage differs across population subgroups. We investigated these questions using data from a large trial of the digital PRimary care trial of a website based Infection control intervention to Modify Influenza-like illness and respiratory tract infection Transmission) (PRIMIT) intervention, which aimed to reduce respiratory tract infections (RTIs) by increasing hand hygiene behavior. Baseline and follow-up questionnaires measured behaviors, intentions and attitudes in hand hygiene. In conjunction with objective measures of usage of the four PRIMIT sessions, we analysed these observational data to examine mechanisms of behavior change in 8993 intervention users. We found that the PRIMIT intervention changed behavior, intentions and attitudes, and this change was associated with reduced RTIs. The largest hand hygiene change occurred after the first session, with incrementally smaller changes after each subsequent session, suggesting that engagement with the core behavior change techniques included in the first session was necessary and sufficient for behavior change. The intervention was equally effective for men and women, older and younger people and was particularly effective for those with lower levels of education. Our well-powered analysis has implications for intervention development. We were able to determine a 'minimum threshold' of intervention engagement that is required for hand hygiene change, and we discuss the potential implications this (and other analyses of this type) may have for further intervention development. We also discuss the application of similar analyses to other interventions.

Enhanced Matrix Power Function for Cryptographic Primitive Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eligijus Sakalauskas

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A new enhanced matrix power function (MPF is presented for the construction of cryptographic primitives. According to the definition in previously published papers, an MPF is an action of two matrices powering some base matrix on the left and right. The MPF inversion equations, corresponding to the MPF problem, are derived and have some structural similarity with classical multivariate quadratic (MQ problem equations. Unlike the MQ problem, the MPF problem seems to be more complicated, since its equations are not defined over the field, but are represented as left–right action of two matrices defined over the infinite near-semiring on the matrix defined over the certain infinite, additive, noncommuting semigroup. The main results are the following: (1 the proposition of infinite, nonsymmetric, and noncommuting algebraic structures for the construction of the enhanced MPF, satisfying associativity conditions, which are necessary for cryptographic applications; (2 the proof that MPF inversion is polynomially equivalent to the solution of a certain kind of generalized multivariate quadratic (MQ problem which can be reckoned as hard; (3 the estimation of the effectiveness of direct MPF value computation; and (4 the presentation of preliminary security analysis, the determination of the security parameter, and specification of its secure value. These results allow us to make a conjecture that enhanced MPF can be a candidate one-way function (OWF, since the effective (polynomial-time inversion algorithm for it is not yet known. An example of the application of the proposed MPF for the Key Agreement Protocol (KAP is presented. Since the direct MPF value is computed effectively, the proposed MPF is suitable for the realization of cryptographic protocols in devices with restricted computation resources.

Measure and integration an advanced course in basic procedures and applications

CERN Document Server

König, Heinz

1997-01-01

This book sets out to restructure certain fundamentals in measure and integration theory, and thus to fee the theory from some notorious drawbacks. It centers around the ubiquitous task of producing appropriate contents and measures from more primitive data, in order to extend elementary contents and to represent elementary integrals. This task has not been met with adequate unified means so far. The traditional main tools, the Carathéodory and Daniell-Stone theorems, are too restrictive and had to be supplemented by other ad-hoc procedures. Around 1970 a new approach emerged, based on the notion of regularity, which in traditional measure theory is linked to topology. The present book develops the new approach into a systematic theory. The theory unifies the entire context and is much more powerful than the former means. It has striking implications all over measure theory and beyond. Thus it extends the Riesz representation theorem in terms of Randon measures from locally compact to arbitrary Hausdorff top...

Flotillins are involved in the polarization of primitive and mature hematopoietic cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lawrence Rajendran

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Migration of mature and immature leukocytes in response to chemokines is not only essential during inflammation and host defense, but also during development of the hematopoietic system. Many molecules implicated in migratory polarity show uniform cellular distribution under non-activated conditions, but acquire a polarized localization upon exposure to migratory cues. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we present evidence that raft-associated endocytic proteins (flotillins are pre-assembled in lymphoid, myeloid and primitive hematopoietic cells and accumulate in the uropod during migration. Furthermore, flotillins display a polarized distribution during immunological synapse formation. Employing the membrane lipid-order sensitive probe Laurdan, we show that flotillin accumulation in the immunological synapse is concomittant with membrane ordering in these regions. CONCLUSIONS: Together with the observation that flotillin polarization does not occur in other polarized cell types such as polarized epithelial cells, our results suggest a specific role for flotillins in hematopoietic cell polarization. Based on our results, we propose that in hematopoietic cells, flotillins provide intrinsic cues that govern segregation of certain microdomain-associated molecules during immune cell polarization.

Cooking Banana Consumption Patterns in the Plantain-growing Area of Southeastern Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tshiunza, M.

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Cooking bananas (Musa spp., ABB genome were intro-duced into Southeastern Nigeria by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA in the mid-1980s as an interim measure to reduce the incidence of black sigatoka disease (caused by the fungus Mycosphaerel-la fijiensis Morelet on plantain. However, the people of this region were not familiar with their utilisation methods. To address this lack of the knowledge and thereby sustain cooking banana cultivation, IITA, in collaboration with the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC and the Nigeria Agip OU Company (NAOC commenced a training campaign on cooking banana processing methods. This study examined the patterns of utilisation of cooking bananas ten years after the training took place and compared them with plantain. About 95 % of the households interviewed are consuming cooking banana, indicating a broad acceptance of the crop in the region. Overall, two ripening stages termed green and ripe are the most popular ripening stages for the consumption of both plantain and cooking banana, followed by partially ripe maturity stage. The most common forms of consumption for green plantain are, in decreasing order of importance, pottage, boiled, roasted, and fried. Green cooking banana is also mostly eaten in pottage and boiled forms, and less frequently in fried and pounded forms. Ripe plantain is mostly eaten in fried and pottage forms, while ripe cooking banana is mostly eaten in fried and raw forms. Partially ripe plantain is mostly eaten in pottage, fried, boiled, and roasted forms, while partially ripe cooking banana is eaten in fried, pottage and boiled forms. These results indicate that the consumption patterns of plantain and cooking banana are very similar. This similarity has greatly contributed to the rapid integration of cooking banana within the existing plantain consumption and cropping systems.

A three-dimensional spectral element model for the solution of the hydrostatic primitive equations

CERN Document Server

Iskandarani, M; Levin, J C

2003-01-01

We present a spectral element model to solve the hydrostatic primitive equations governing large-scale geophysical flows. The highlights of this new model include unstructured grids, dual h-p paths to convergence, and good scalability characteristics on present day parallel computers including Beowulf-class systems. The behavior of the model is assessed on three process-oriented test problems involving wave propagation, gravitational adjustment, and nonlinear flow rectification, respectively. The first of these test problems is a study of the convergence properties of the model when simulating the linear propagation of baroclinic Kelvin waves. The second is an intercomparison of spectral element and finite-difference model solutions to the adjustment of a density front in a straight channel. Finally, the third problem considers the comparison of model results to measurements obtained from a laboratory simulation of flow around a submarine canyon. The aforementioned tests demonstrate the good performance of th...

An analytical longitudinal dielectric function of primitive electrolyte solutions and its application in predicting thermodynamic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, Tiejun

2015-01-01

In this paper, the longitudinal dielectric function ϵ_l(k) of primitive electrolyte solutions is discussed. Starting from a modified mean spherical approximation, an analytical dielectric function in terms of two parameters is established. These two parameters can be related to the first two decay parameters k_1_,_2 of the dielectric response modes of the bulk system, and can be determined using constraints of k_1_,_2 from statistical theories. Furthermore, a combination of this dielectric function and the molecular Debye-Hückel theory[J. Chem. Phys. 135(2011)104104] leads to a self-consistent mean filed description of electrolyte solutions. Our theory reveals a relationship between the microscopic structure parameters of electrolyte solutions and the macroscopic thermodynamic properties, which is applied to concentrated electrolyte solutions.

Prospectively Isolated Human Bone Marrow Cell-Derived MSCs Support Primitive Human CD34-Negative Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Yoshikazu; Nakatsuka, Ryusuke; Sumide, Keisuke; Kawamura, Hiroshi; Takahashi, Masaya; Fujioka, Tatsuya; Uemura, Yasushi; Asano, Hiroaki; Sasaki, Yutaka; Inoue, Masami; Ogawa, Hiroyasu; Takahashi, Takayuki; Hino, Masayuki; Sonoda, Yoshiaki

2015-05-01

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are maintained in a specialized bone marrow (BM) niche, which consists of osteoblasts, endothelial cells, and a variety of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). However, precisely what types of MSCs support human HSCs in the BM remain to be elucidated because of their heterogeneity. In this study, we succeeded in prospectively isolating/establishing three types of MSCs from human BM-derived lineage- and CD45-negative cells, according to their cell surface expression of CD271 and stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-4. Among them, the MSCs established from the Lineage(-) CD45(-) CD271(+) SSEA-4(+) fraction (DP MSC) could differentiate into osteoblasts and chondrocytes, but they lacked adipogenic differentiation potential. The DP MSCs expressed significantly higher levels of well-characterized HSC-supportive genes, including IGF-2, Wnt3a, Jagged1, TGFβ3, nestin, CXCL12, and Foxc1, compared with other MSCs. Interestingly, these osteo-chondrogenic DP MSCs possessed the ability to support cord blood-derived primitive human CD34-negative severe combined immunodeficiency-repopulating cells. The HSC-supportive actions of DP MSCs were partially carried out by soluble factors, including IGF-2, Wnt3a, and Jagged1. Moreover, contact between DP MSCs and CD34-positive (CD34(+) ) as well as CD34-negative (CD34(-) ) HSCs was important for the support/maintenance of the CD34(+/-) HSCs in vitro. These data suggest that DP MSCs might play an important role in the maintenance of human primitive HSCs in the BM niche. Therefore, the establishment of DP MSCs provides a new tool for the elucidation of the human HSC/niche interaction in vitro as well as in vivo. © 2014 AlphaMed Press.

Ovarian development in a primitively eusocial wasp: social interactions affect behaviorally dominant and subordinate wasps in opposite directions relative to solitary females.

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, Shantanu; Pareek, Vidhi; Gadagkar, Raghavendra

2014-07-01

In many primitively eusocial wasp species new nests are founded either by a single female or by a small group of females. In the single foundress nests, the lone female develops her ovaries, lays eggs as well as tends her brood. In multiple foundress nests social interactions, especially dominance-subordinate interactions, result in only one 'dominant' female developing her ovaries and laying eggs. Ovaries of the remaining 'subordinate' cofoundresses remain suppressed and these individuals function as workers and tend the dominant's brood. Using the tropical, primitively eusocial polistine wasp Ropalidia marginata and by comparing wasps held in isolation and those kept as pairs in the laboratory, we demonstrate that social interactions affect ovarian development of dominant and subordinate wasps among the pairs in opposite directions, suppressing the ovaries of the subordinate member of the pair below that of solitary wasps and boosting the ovaries of dominant member of the pair above that of solitary females. In addition to being of physiological interest, such mirror image effects of aggression on the ovaries of the aggressors and their victims, suggest yet another mechanism by which subordinates can enhance their indirect fitness and facilitate the evolution of worker behavior by kin selection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Resistor capacitor, primitive variable solution of buoyant fluid flow within an enclosure with highly temperature dependent viscosity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burns, S.P. [Texas Univ., Austin, TX (United States); Gianoulakis, S.E. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1995-07-01

A numerical solution for buoyant natural convection within a square enclosure containing a fluid with highly temperature dependent viscosity is presented. Although the fluid properties employed do not represent any real fluid, the large variation in the fluid viscosity with temperature is characteristic of turbulent flow modeling with eddy-viscosity concepts. Results are obtained using a primitive variable formulation and the resistor method. The results presented include velocity, temperature and pressure distributions within the enclosure as well as shear stress and heat flux distributions along the enclosure walls. Three mesh refinements were employed and uncertainty values are suggested for the final mesh refinement. These solutions are part of a contributed benchmark solution set for the subject problem.

Activity of in vitro forms of dentifrices containing the hydroalcoholic extract of the ripe fruit of Eugenia uniflora L. (Surinam cherry) on cariogenic bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Jovito, Vanessa C; Freires, Irlan A; Almeida, Leopoldina F D; Moura, Douglas; Castro, Ricardo D; Paulo, Marçal Q; Leite-Cavalcanti, Alessandro

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro activity of dentifrices containing the hydroalcoholic extract of the ripe fruit of Eugenia uniflora L. (Surinam cherry) on Streptococcus oralis (ATCC 10557) and Lactobacillus casei (ATCC 7469). Five dentifrices were used: D1: containing hydroalcoholic extract of Eugenia uniflora L.; D2: containing fluoride and hydroalcoholic extract of Eugenia uniflora L.; D3: containing triclosan and hydroalcoholic extract of Eugenia uniflora L; D4: containing triclosan, fluoride and hydroalcoholic extract of Eugenia uniflora L.; D5: positive control (Colgate Total 12). To determine the antibacterial activity, the technique used was the minimum inhibitory concentration by the diffusion method in solid culture medium. At the concentration 0.05 g/mL, the best results were achieved with D1 (18 mm) and D4 (24 mm) on L.casei, and with D3 (19 mm) on S. oralis. The dentifrices D3 and D4 were found to have greater activity on the Streptococcus oralis, while D4 and D1 were found to have greater activity on Lactobaccilus casei. It is concluded that dentifrices with Eugenia uniflora L. have antimicrobial activity, suggesting that clinical trials should be conducted.

On Objects and Events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eugster, Patrick Thomas; Guerraoui, Rachid; Damm, Christian Heide

2001-01-01

This paper presents linguistic primitives for publish/subscribe programming using events and objects. We integrate our primitives into a strongly typed object-oriented language through four mechanisms: (1) serialization, (2) multiple sub typing, (3) closures, and (4) deferred code evaluation. We...

Primitive object love in Melanie Klein's thinking; early theoretical influences.

Science.gov (United States)

Likierman, M

1993-04-01

Melanie Klein's thinking on early object love is pivotal to her vision of development. Yet within her texts it is often enmeshed in complex formulations that obscure its full significance. A greater clarity in viewing Klein's concept of early object love is achieved through tracing some of its historical origins. The author notes that it was inspired by aspects of Ferenczi's theory, hence its similarities with the concept of 'primary love' formulated by another of Ferenczi's analysands, Michael Balint. Ferenczi's thinking on the subject formed part of a broader network of theoretical developments in the history of psychoanalytic ideas. These are shown to have origins in Freud's fluctuations between a 'passive' and a 'genital' characterisation of infantile sexuality. A dialectical tension between these two possibilities, as maintained in the Freudian texts, was partly embodied in the differing outlooks of Klein's two psychoanalysts, Abraham and Ferenczi. The author suggests that it is a mixture of their approaches that partly shaped Klein's thinking on the earliest experiences of love. After outlining these developments the author analyses the nature of early object love as it emerges from Klein's powerful, if intermittent descriptions in the texts. The analysis also tackles a textual ambiguity in Klein's formulations, showing that she explored two kinds of primitive ideal experience without explicitly differentiating them. Such differentiation is important inasmuch as it highlights negative and positive aspects of Kleinian theory at root.

Effective screening length and quasiuniversality for the restricted primitive model of an electrolyte solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Janecek, Jirí; Netz, Roland R

2009-02-21

Monte Carlo simulations for the restricted primitive model of an electrolyte solution above the critical temperature are performed at a wide range of concentrations and temperatures. Thermodynamic properties such as internal energy, osmotic coefficient, activity coefficient, as well as spatial correlation functions are determined. These observables are used to investigate whether quasiuniversality in terms of an effective screening length exists, similar to the role played by the effective electron mass in solid-state physics. To that end, an effective screening length is extracted from the asymptotic behavior of the Fourier-transformed charge-correlation function and plugged into the Debye-Huckel limiting expressions for various thermodynamic properties. Comparison with numerical results is favorable, suggesting that correlation and other effects not captured on the Debye-Huckel limiting level can be successfully incorporated by a single effective parameter while keeping the functional form of Debye-Huckel expressions. We also compare different methods to determine mean ionic activity coefficient in molecular simulations and check the internal consistency of the numerical data.

Condensation time of the solar nebula from extinct I-129 in primitive meteorites

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, R. S.; Anders, E.

1975-01-01

Mineral separates from five carbonaceous chondrites were dated by extinct 16 million year I-129, in an attempt to establish the condensation time of the solar nebula. Two Fe3O4 or Fe3O4-FeS samples from the Murchison and Orgueil meteorites are older than any other material dated thus far, and apparently formed within 200,000 years of each other. The great age, close isochronism, and primitive nature of the samples suggest that the event recorded was the condensation stage of the solar nebula. It provides a suitable zero point for the chronology of the early solar system. The I-129/I-127 ratio during condensation of the nebula was (1.46 plus or minus 0.04) times 0.0001. The recrystallized C4 chondrite Karoonda began to retain Xe-129 1.8 plus or minus 0.5 million years after the above event. This short cooling time implies rapid accretion (not exceeding 1 million years) and a shallow origin (not exceeding 10 km) below the surface of its parent body.-

Condensation time of the solar nebula from extinct 129I in primitive meteorites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, R.S.; Anders, E.

1975-01-01

Mineral separates from five carbonaceous chondrites were dated by extinct 16 million year 129 I, in an attempt to establish the condensation time of the solar nebula. Two Fe 3 O 4 or Fe 3 O 4 --FeS samples from the Murchison and Orgueil meteorites are older than any other material dated thus far, and apparently formed within 2 x 10 5 years of each other. The great age, close isochronism, and primitive nature of the samples suggest that the event recorded was the condensation stage of the solar nebula. It provides a suitable zero point for the chronology of the early solar system. The 129 I/ 127 I ratio during condensation of the nebula was (1.46 +- 0.04) x 10 -4 . The recrystallized C4 chondrite Karoonda began to retain 129 Xe 1.8 +- 0.5 million years after the above event. This short cooling time implies rapid accretion (less than or equal to 1 million years) and a shallow origin (less than or equal to 10 km) below the surface of its parent body. (U.S.)

A Case of Renal Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor Confirmed by Fluorescence in situ Hybridization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toshiki Etani

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET is a member of the Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT. We report a case of PNET in a 66-year-old male who presented with a large solid tumor within the parenchyma of the middle pole of the left kidney with metastases to the left adrenal gland and right ischium. A fine-needle biopsy was performed and showed a small round cell tumor. Results of immunohistochemical staining suggested this tumor belonged to ESFT. Preoperative VDC-IE (combined vincristine, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by another combination of ifosfamide and etoposide chemotherapy and left radical nephrectomy and adrenalectomy were performed. The histopathological findings of the resected tumor were similar to those in the biopsy specimen, but the results of AE1/AE3 were different. For the diagnosis, fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed. Split signals of the EWSR1 gene were detected, and transmission electron microscopy showed neuroendocrine granules and microtubules. The final diagnosis of this tumor was PNET of the kidney.

Exponential-fitted methods for integrating stiff systems of ordinary differential equations: Applications to homogeneous gas-phase chemical kinetics

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, D. T.

1984-01-01

Conventional algorithms for the numerical integration of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are based on the use of polynomial functions as interpolants. However, the exact solutions of stiff ODEs behave like decaying exponential functions, which are poorly approximated by polynomials. An obvious choice of interpolant are the exponential functions themselves, or their low-order diagonal Pade (rational function) approximants. A number of explicit, A-stable, integration algorithms were derived from the use of a three-parameter exponential function as interpolant, and their relationship to low-order, polynomial-based and rational-function-based implicit and explicit methods were shown by examining their low-order diagonal Pade approximants. A robust implicit formula was derived by exponential fitting the trapezoidal rule. Application of these algorithms to integration of the ODEs governing homogenous, gas-phase chemical kinetics was demonstrated in a developmental code CREK1D, which compares favorably with the Gear-Hindmarsh code LSODE in spite of the use of a primitive stepsize control strategy.

NESSIE: A European Approach to Evaluate Cryptographic Algorithms

OpenAIRE

Preneel, Bart

2002-01-01

The NESSIE project (New European Schemes for Signature, Integrity and Encryption) intends to put forward a portfolio containing the next generation of cryptographic primitives. These primitives will offer a higher security level than existing primitives, and/or will offer a higher confidence level, built up by an open evaluation process. Moreover, they should be better suited for the constraints of future hardware and software environments. In order to reach this goal, the project has launche...

Treatment Outcome and Prognostic Molecular Markers of Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seo Hee Choi

Full Text Available To identify prognostic factors and define the optimal management of patients with supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors (sPNETs, we investigated treatment outcomes and explored the prognostic value of specific molecular markers.A total of 47 consecutive patients with pathologically confirmed sPNETs between May 1985 and June 2012 were included. Immunohistochemical analysis of LIN28, OLIG2, and Rad51 expression was performed and correlated with clinical outcome.With a median follow-up of 70 months, 5-year overall survival (OS and progression-free survival (PFS was 55.5% and 40%, respectively, for all patients. Age, surgical extent, and radiotherapy were significant prognostic factors for OS and PFS. Patients who received initially planned multimodal treatment without interruption (i.e., radiotherapy and surgery (≥subtotal resection, with or without chemotherapy showed significantly higher 5-year OS (71.2% and PFS (63.1%. In 29 patients with available tumor specimens, tumors with high expression of either LIN28 or OLIG2 or elevated level of Rad51 were significantly associated with poorer prognosis.We found that multimodal treatment improved outcomes for sPNET patients, especially when radiotherapy and ≥subtotal resection were part of the treatment regimen. Furthermore, we confirmed the prognostic significance of LIN28 and OLIG2 and revealed the potential role of Rad51 in sPNETs.

Data management for the internet of things: design primitives and solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Abu-Elkheir, Mervat; Hayajneh, Mohammad; Ali, Najah Abu

2013-11-14

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a networking paradigm where interconnected, smart objects continuously generate data and transmit it over the Internet. Much of the IoT initiatives are geared towards manufacturing low-cost and energy-efficient hardware for these objects, as well as the communication technologies that provide objects interconnectivity. However, the solutions to manage and utilize the massive volume of data produced by these objects are yet to mature. Traditional database management solutions fall short in satisfying the sophisticated application needs of an IoT network that has a truly global-scale. Current solutions for IoT data management address partial aspects of the IoT environment with special focus on sensor networks. In this paper, we survey the data management solutions that are proposed for IoT or subsystems of the IoT. We highlight the distinctive design primitives that we believe should be addressed in an IoT data management solution, and discuss how they are approached by the proposed solutions. We finally propose a data management framework for IoT that takes into consideration the discussed design elements and acts as a seed to a comprehensive IoT data management solution. The framework we propose adapts a federated, data- and sources-centric approach to link the diverse Things with their abundance of data to the potential applications and services that are envisioned for IoT.

Describing Quality and Sensory Attributes of 3 Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Cultivars at 3 Ripeness Stages Based on Firmness.

Science.gov (United States)

Nassur, Rita de Cássia Mirela Resende; González-Moscoso, Sara; Crisosto, Gayle M; Lima, Luiz Carlos de Oliveira; Vilas Boas, Eduardo Valério de Barros; Crisosto, Carlos H

2015-09-01

To determine the ideal ripening stage for consumption of the mango cultivars, "Ataulfo," "Haden," and "Tommy Atkins"; fruits at 3 flesh firmness levels (ripeness stages) were evaluated by a trained panel using descriptive analysis after instrumental measurements were made. After harvest, all fruits were ripened to allow softening and quality and sensory attribute changes. Ripening changes during softening of Ataulfo mangos were expressed by a characteristic increase in the perception of "tropical fruit" and "peach" aromas, an increase in "juiciness," "sweetness," and "tropical fruit" flavor, while "fibrousness," "chewiness," and "sourness" decreased. Similar desirable sensory changes were also detected during softening of Haden mangos; an increase in tropical fruit and peach aromas, sweetness and tropical fruit flavor, and a decrease in chewiness, sourness, and bitterness. Softening of Tommy Atkins mangos was followed by reduced chewiness and sourness and increased peach aroma. Softening of all cultivars was followed by decreased sourness and titratable acidity (TA) and increased soluble solids concentration (SSC) and SSC:TA ratio. The results indicate that mango ripening leads to increased expression of sensory attributes such as tropical fruit and peach aromas, tropical flavor, and sweetness that have been related to improved eating quality and these final changes in sensory quality attributes are specific for each cultivar. For example, Ataulfo and Haden mangos had greater improvement in quality and sensory attributes related to fruit eating quality during ripening-softening than Tommy Atkins. In our consumer test, these quality-sensory attributes expressed during ripening that were perceived by the trained panel were also validated, supporting the need for a controlled ripening protocol in mangos. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

MRI diagnosis of supratentorial and intraspinal primitive neuroectodermal tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Meili; Cui Shimin; Han Tong; Li Tao; Liu Li; Lei Jing; Qing Jingxi; Yan Xiaoling; Kong Fanming

2004-01-01

Objective: To analyze the MRI features of supratentorial and intraspinal primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) and improve the diagnostic accuracy. Methods: MRI manifestations of 9 PNET diagnosed via operation and pathological examination were analyzed. There were 6 men and 3 women, and the mean age was 32.6 years. In all 9 cases, conventional plain MR scans were performed, including spin echo (SE), fast spin echo (FSE), and fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences. Diffusion weighted images (DWIs) and postcontrast MR images were obtained in 2 and 4 cases, respectively. Results: The 8 cases with supratentorial lesions included fronto-temporal lesion in 2 cases, occipital lesion in 2 cases, fronto-parietal lobe, parietal lobe, frontal lobe lesion in each 1 case, and posterior part of third ventricle in 1 case, and the lesion located in the thoracic spinal canal in 1 case. All the lesions were quite large in volume, and the largest one was 6.0 cm x 6.9 cm x 4.9 cm. Except for the round-like lesion in the posterior part of third ventricle, the other 7 supratentorial lesions were irregular in shape, well demarked, and often with solid consistency and slight peritumoral edema. The lesions demonstrated long T 1 and long or slightly long T 2 signal intensity in 4 cases, mixed signal intensity on T 1 WI, T 2 WI, and FLAIR images in 4 cases. Small cystic degeneration could be seen in 2 cases, hemorrhage in 4 cases, and flow void vessels in 3 cases. 3 cases demonstrated irregular ring-like enhancement and ependymal dissemination. The lesion in the thoracic canal demonstrated as a slightly enhanced soft tissue mass with adjacent bony destruction and muscle infiltration. Conclusion: MR findings of PNET are rather characteristic, but the final diagnosis relies on pathology

Characterization of insoluble organic matter in primitive meteorites by microRaman spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Busemann, Henner; Alexander, M. O'd.; Nittler, Larry R.

2007-08-01

We have analyzed the chemically and isotopically well-characterized insoluble organic matter (IOM) extracted from 51 unequilibrated chondrites (8 CR, 9 CM, 1 CI, 3 ungrouped C, 9 CO, 9 CV, 10 ordinary, 1 CB and 1 E chondrites) using confocal imaging Raman spectroscopy. The average Raman properties of the IOM, as parameterized by the peak characteristics of the so-called D and G bands, which originate from aromatic C rings, show systematic trends that are correlated with meteorite (sub-) classification and IOM chemical compositions. Processes that affect the Raman and chemical properties of the IOM, such as thermal metamorphism experienced on the parent bodies, terrestrial weathering and amorphization due to irradiation in space, have been identified. We established separate sequences of metamorphism for ordinary, CO, oxidized, and reduced CV chondrites. Several spectra from the most primitive chondrites reveal the presence of organic matter that has been amorphized. This amorphization, usually the result of sputtering processes or UV or particle irradiation, could have occurred during the formation of the organic material in interstellar or protoplanetary ices or, less likely, on the surface of the parent bodies or during the transport of the meteorites to Earth. D band widths and peak metamorphic temperatures are strongly correlated, allowing for a straightforward estimation of these temperatures.

Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumour in Young Adults - A Report of two Rare Cases and Review of Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vidhya Lakshmi S

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Primitive Neuro Ectodermal Tumours’ (PNET are highly aggressive embryonal tumours of presumed neural crest origin. They are derived from neoplastic transformation of common progenitor cells in the sub ependymal matrix layer. They are more common in children. They are small round cell tumours affecting the central nervous system (CNS, others being Ewing’s sarcoma, medullobalstoma, lymphomas etc. They are classified based on their immune histochemical characteristics- neuronal, astrocytic, ependymal, retinal photo receptor, undifferentiated. Undifferentiated variety carries better prognosis. GFAP expression is an important prognostic factor. Presence of p53 germ line mutation indicates an increased risk for developing PNET. Spinal PNET are secondary to CSF metastasis from cranium commonly. Primary spinal PNET tumours are rare and extradural location is extremely rare. PNET needs multimodality approach but carries poor prognosis when compared to other CNS tumours.

Isotopic and Chemical Evidence for Primitive Aqueous Alteration in the Tagish Lake Meteorite

Science.gov (United States)

Sakuma, Keisuke; Hidaka, Hiroshi; Yoneda, Shigekazu

2018-01-01

Aqueous alteration is one of the primitive activities that occurred on meteorite parent bodies in the early solar system. The Tagish Lake meteorite is known to show an intense parent body aqueous alteration signature. In this study, quantitative analyses of the alkaline elements and isotopic analyses of Sr and Ba from acid leachates of TL (C2-ungrouped) were performed to investigate effects of aqueous alteration. The main purpose of this study is to search for isotopic evidence of extinct 135Cs from the Ba isotopic analyses in the chemical separates from the Tagish Lake meteorite. Barium isotopic data from the leachates show variable 135Ba isotopic anomalies (ε = ‑2.6 ∼ +3.6) which correlatewith 137Ba and 138Ba suggesting a heterogeneous distribution of s- and r-rich nucleosynthetic components in the early solar system. The 87Rb–87Sr and 135Cs–135Ba decay systems on TL in this study do not provide any chronological information. The disturbance of the TL chronometers is likely a reflection of the selective dissolution of Cs and Rb given the relatively higher mobility of Cs and Rb compared to Ba and Sr, respectively, during fluid mineral interactions.

Ewing Sarcoma/Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor of the Kidney: Two Unusual Presentations of a Rare Tumor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. C. Castro

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Only few cases of primary renal Ewing's sarcoma have been reported in the literature to date. We present here two cases of renal ES/PNET with an uncanny presentation. The first case was discovered after the patient presented clinically with irradiating flank pain, mimicking the pain related with kidney stones. The second case had clinical presentation of pulmonary thromboembolism after the patient was involved in an automobilist accident. The tumors were mainly composed of small blue cells which by immunohistochemical were positive for neural markers, and FISH revealed the translocation 22q12 for the EWSR1 gene. The diagnosis of renal primitive neuroectodermal tumor/EWING tumor is very rare and usually involves several different diagnostic techniques. The differential diagnosis is usually broad with frequent overlapping features between the entities. The cases presented in this paper illustrated the difficulties with which routine anatomical pathologist is faced when dealing with rare renal poorly differentiated neoplasm in adults.

A primitive endogenous lentivirus in a colugo: insights into the early evolution of lentiviruses.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Guan-Zhu; Worobey, Michael

2015-01-01

Lentiviruses infect a wide range of mammal species. Much remains unknown about their deep history and host distribution. Here, we report the discovery of an endogenous lentivirus within the genome of the Sunda flying lemur (Galeopterus variegatus) (which we designate "Galeopterus variegatus endogenous lentivirus" [GvaELV]). We estimate the GvaELV genome invasion to have occurred more than 14 Ma, supporting an ancient origin of the lentivirus clade and an ancient lentiviral infection in colugo. Phylogenetic analyses show that GvaELV is a sister group of all previously known lentiviruses. The GvaELV genome appears to possess some primitive genomic features of a lentivirus, encoding not only a trans-activator of transcription (tat) gene but also two additional putative accessory genes that share no discernible similarity with other lentiviral accessory genes. The discovery of GvaELV provides novel insights into the prehistory and host distribution of lentivirus. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Origins of brain asymmetry: lateralization of odour memory recall in primitive Australian stingless bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Frasnelli, Elisa; Vallortigara, Giorgio; Rogers, Lesley J

2011-10-10

Left-right antennal asymmetry has been reported in honeybees. We studied primitive social bees to investigate the evolutionary origins of the asymmetry. Three species of Australian native, stingless bees (Trigona carbonaria, Trigona hockingsi and Austroplebeia australis) were trained to discriminate two odours, lemon (+)/vanilla (-), using the Proboscis Extension Reflex (PER). Recall of the olfactory memory at 1h after training was better when the odour was presented on the right than on the left side of the bee. In contrast, recall at 5h after training was better when the odour was presented on the left than on the right side of the bee. An additional experiment with T. hockingsi bees, fed with sugar 1h before recall and tested at 5h, produced similar results, showing that the shift in lateralized recall was due to the lapse of time per se and not to changes in motivation to feed. Stingless bees show the same laterality as honeybees, suggesting that asymmetry evolved prior to the evolutionary divergence of these species. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

BigDebug: Debugging Primitives for Interactive Big Data Processing in Spark.

Science.gov (United States)

Gulzar, Muhammad Ali; Interlandi, Matteo; Yoo, Seunghyun; Tetali, Sai Deep; Condie, Tyson; Millstein, Todd; Kim, Miryung

2016-05-01

Developers use cloud computing platforms to process a large quantity of data in parallel when developing big data analytics. Debugging the massive parallel computations that run in today's data-centers is time consuming and error-prone. To address this challenge, we design a set of interactive, real-time debugging primitives for big data processing in Apache Spark, the next generation data-intensive scalable cloud computing platform. This requires re-thinking the notion of step-through debugging in a traditional debugger such as gdb, because pausing the entire computation across distributed worker nodes causes significant delay and naively inspecting millions of records using a watchpoint is too time consuming for an end user. First, BIGDEBUG's simulated breakpoints and on-demand watchpoints allow users to selectively examine distributed, intermediate data on the cloud with little overhead. Second, a user can also pinpoint a crash-inducing record and selectively resume relevant sub-computations after a quick fix. Third, a user can determine the root causes of errors (or delays) at the level of individual records through a fine-grained data provenance capability. Our evaluation shows that BIGDEBUG scales to terabytes and its record-level tracing incurs less than 25% overhead on average. It determines crash culprits orders of magnitude more accurately and provides up to 100% time saving compared to the baseline replay debugger. The results show that BIGDEBUG supports debugging at interactive speeds with minimal performance impact.

Data Management for the Internet of Things: Design Primitives and Solution

Science.gov (United States)

Abu-Elkheir, Mervat; Hayajneh, Mohammad; Ali, Najah Abu

2013-01-01

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a networking paradigm where interconnected, smart objects continuously generate data and transmit it over the Internet. Much of the IoT initiatives are geared towards manufacturing low-cost and energy-efficient hardware for these objects, as well as the communication technologies that provide objects interconnectivity. However, the solutions to manage and utilize the massive volume of data produced by these objects are yet to mature. Traditional database management solutions fall short in satisfying the sophisticated application needs of an IoT network that has a truly global-scale. Current solutions for IoT data management address partial aspects of the IoT environment with special focus on sensor networks. In this paper, we survey the data management solutions that are proposed for IoT or subsystems of the IoT. We highlight the distinctive design primitives that we believe should be addressed in an IoT data management solution, and discuss how they are approached by the proposed solutions. We finally propose a data management framework for IoT that takes into consideration the discussed design elements and acts as a seed to a comprehensive IoT data management solution. The framework we propose adapts a federated, data- and sources-centric approach to link the diverse Things with their abundance of data to the potential applications and services that are envisioned for IoT. PMID:24240599

A genus-level taxonomic review of primitively segmented spiders (Mesothelae, Liphistiidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Xin

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The spider suborder Mesothelae, containing a single extant family Liphistiidae, represents a species-poor and ancient lineage. These are conspicuous spiders that primitively retain a segmented abdomen and appendage-like spinnerets. While their classification history is nearly devoid of phylogenetic hypotheses, we here revise liphistiid genus level taxonomy based on original sampling throughout their Asian range, and on the evidence from a novel molecular phylogeny. By combining morphological and natural history evidence with phylogenetic relationships in the companion paper, we provide strong support for the monophyly of Liphistiidae, and the two subfamilies Liphistiinae and Heptathelinae. While the former only contains Liphistius Schiödte, 1849, a genus distributed in Indonesia (Sumatra, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, we recognize and diagnose seven heptatheline genera, all but three removed from the synonymy of Heptathela: i Ganthela Xu & Kuntner, gen. n. with the type species G. yundingensis Xu, sp. n. is known from Fujian and Jiangxi, China; ii a rediagnosed Heptathela Kishida, 1923 is confined to the Japanese islands (Kyushu and Okinawa; iii Qiongthela Xu & Kuntner, gen. n. with the type species Q. baishensis Xu, sp. n. is distributed disjunctly in Hainan, China and Vietnam; iv Ryuthela Haupt, 1983 is confined to the Ryukyu archipelago (Japan; v Sinothela Haupt, 2003 inhabits Chinese areas north of Yangtze; vi Songthela Ono, 2000 inhabits southwest China and northern Vietnam; and vii Vinathela Ono, 2000 (Abcathela Ono, 2000, syn. n.; Nanthela Haupt, 2003, syn. n. is known from southeast China and Vietnam.

Interspecific comparison of the effects of continuous ionizing radiation on the primitive mammalian stem germ cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erickson, B.H.

1978-01-01

The response of the mammalian oocyte to radiation is characterized by wide interspecific differences, and results of preliminary assays suggest that this may be the case with the primitive stem germ cell. To test the validity of this observation and to define probable causes for the differences, prenatal mice, rats, and guinea pigs were irradiated continuously throughout gestation at rates of 1 and 3 rads per 23-hr day. Prenatal pigs were irradiated continuously for 108 days at a dose rate of 0.25 rad per 23-hr day. In all cases germ cells were enumerated in gonads excised either at birth or 6 days after birth. A dose rate of 0.25 rad/day reduced the germ-cell number in the male and female pig to 38 and 60% of control, respectively, and only 1 and 5% of the germ cells in the respective sexes survived a dose rate of 1 rad/day. Application of the single-hit multitarget model to all pig data yielded values for D 0 and n of 28 and 0.8, respectively, for the male and 27 and 3.2, respectively, for the female. Corresponding values for the male and female rat were 275 (D 0 ) and 0.3 (n) and 159 (D 0 ) and 0.8 (n), respectively. Both sexes of the pig were either sterilized or brought near sterility by a dose rate of 1 rad/day. In the case of the male rodent, however, this dose rate reduced germ-cell number to only 71% of control in the mouse, 50% of control in the rat, and 41% of control in the guinea pig. Ninety percent of the germ cells in the female rat survived a dose rate of 1 rad/day, as did 87% in the mouse and 71% in the guinea pig. When total dose was used as the basis of comparison, the pig remained the most sensitive species. Thus the differences among rodent species are not great when compared to the tremendous difference between the rodent and pig. When rodents are compared with pigs, the difference in the magnitude of the effect of continuous irradiation on the primitive stem cells of both sexes appears to be dependent on length of time at risk

Fuzzy difference and data primitives: a transparent approach for supporting different definitions of forest in the context of REDD+

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Comber

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the use of fuzzy difference methods in order to understand the differences between forest classes. The context for this work is provided by REDD+, which seeks to reduce the net emissions of greenhouse gases by rewarding the conservation of forests in developing countries. REDD+ requires that local inventories of forest are undertaken and payments are made on the basis of the amount of forest (and associated carbon storage. At the most basic level this involves classifying land into forest and non-forest. However, the critical issues affecting the uptake, buy-in and ultimately the success of REDD+ are the lack of universally agreed definition of forest to support REDD+ mapping activities, and where such a definition is imposed, the marginalization of local community voices and local landscape conceptualizations. This tension is at the heart of REDD+. This paper addresses these issues by linking methods to quantify changes in fuzzy land cover to the concept of data primitives, which have been previously proposed as a suitable approach to move between land cover classes with different semantics. These are applied to case study that quantifies the difference in areas for two definitions of forest derived from the GLC and FAO definitions of forest. The results show how data primitives allow divergent concepts of forest to be represented and mapped from the same data and how the fuzzy sets approach can be used to quantify the differences and non-intersections of different concepts of forest. Together these methods provide for transparent translations between alternative conceptualizations of forest, allowing for plural notions of forest to be mapped and quantified. In particular, they allow for moving from an object-based notion of forest (and land cover in general to a field-based one, entirely avoiding the need for forest boundaries.

Ion Irradiation Experiments on the Murchison CM2 Carbonaceous Chondrite: Simulating Space Weathering of Primitive Asteroids

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, L. P.; Christoffersen, R.; Dukes, C. A.; Baragiola, R. A.; Rahman, Z.

2015-01-01

Remote sensing observations show that space weathering processes affect all airless bodies in the Solar System to some degree. Sample analyses and lab experiments provide insights into the chemical, spectroscopic and mineralogic effects of space weathering and aid in the interpretation of remote- sensing data. For example, analyses of particles returned from the S-type asteroid Itokawa by the Hayabusa mission revealed that space-weathering on that body was dominated by interactions with the solar wind acting on LL ordinary chondrite-like materials [1, 2]. Understanding and predicting how the surface regoliths of primitive carbonaceous asteroids respond to space weathering processes is important for future sample return missions (Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS-REx) that are targeting objects of this type. Here, we report the results of our preliminary ion irradiation experiments on a hydrated carbonaceous chondrite with emphasis on microstructural and infrared spectral changes.

Co-­Teaching Social Research Methods in a Joint Sociology/Anthropology Department

Science.gov (United States)

Manthei, Jennifer; Isler, Jonathan

2011-01-01

In the course of developing and co-­teaching Social Research Methods (SRM), an interdisciplinary, upper-­division undergraduate course at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS), the authors discovered that this type of partnership is ripe ground for exploring integration of anthropology and sociology on epistemological and methodological…

Isotopic and chemical variation of organic nanoglobules in primitive meteorites

Science.gov (United States)

de Gregorio, Bradley T.; Stroud, Rhonda M.; Nittler, Larry R.; Alexander, Conel M. O'd.; Bassim, Nabil D.; Cody, George D.; Kilcoyne, A. L. David; Sandford, Scott A.; Milam, Stefanie N.; Nuevo, Michel; Zega, Thomas J.

2013-05-01

Organic nanoglobules are microscopic spherical carbon-rich objects present in chondritic meteorites and other astromaterials. We performed a survey of the morphology, organic functional chemistry, and isotopic composition of 184 nanoglobules in insoluble organic matter (IOM) residues from seven primitive carbonaceous chondrites. Hollow and solid nanoglobules occur in each IOM residue, as well as globules with unusual shapes and structures. Most nanoglobules have an organic functional chemistry similar to, but slightly more carboxyl-rich than, the surrounding IOM, while a subset of nanoglobules have a distinct, highly aromatic functionality. The range of nanoglobule N isotopic compositions was similar to that of nonglobular 15N-rich hotspots in each IOM residue, but nanoglobules account for only about one third of the total 15N-rich hotspots in each sample. Furthermore, many nanoglobules in each residue contained no 15N enrichment above that of bulk IOM. No morphological indicators were found to robustly distinguish the highly aromatic nanoglobules from those that have a more IOM-like functional chemistry, or to distinguish 15N-rich nanoglobules from those that are isotopically normal. The relative abundance of aromatic nanoglobules was lower, and nanoglobule diameters were greater, in more altered meteorites, suggesting the creation/modification of IOM-like nanoglobules during parent-body processing. However, 15N-rich nanoglobules, including many with highly aromatic functional chemistry, likely reflect preaccretionary isotopic fractionation in cold molecular cloud or protostellar environments. These data indicate that no single formation mechanism can explain all of the observed characteristics of nanoglobules, and their properties are likely a result of multiple processes occurring in a variety of environments.

Surgical treatment of primitive gastro-intestinal lymphomas: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cirocchi Roberto

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Primitive Gastrointestinal Lymphomas (PGIL are uncommon tumours, although time-trend analyses have demonstrated an increase. The role of surgery in the management of lymphoproliferative diseases has changed over the past 40 years. Nowadays their management is centred on systemic treatments as chemo-/radio- therapy. Surgery is restricted to very selected indications, always discussed in a multidisciplinary setting. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the actual role of surgery in the treatment of PGIL. A systematic review of literature was conducted according to the recommendations of The Cochrane Collaboration. Main outcomes analysed were overall survival (OS and disease free survival (DFS. There are currently 1 RCT and 4 non-randomised prospective controlled studies comparing surgical versus medical treatment for PGIL. Seven hundred and one patients were analysed, divided into two groups: 318 who underwent to surgery alone or associated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy (surgical group versus 383 who were treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy (medical group. Despite the OS at 10 years between surgical and medical groups did not show relevant differences, the DFS was significantly better in the medical group (P = 0.00001. Accordingly a trend was noticed in the recurrence rate, which was lower in the medical group (6.06 vs. 8.57%; and an higher mortality was revealed in the surgical group (4.51% vs. 1.50%. The chemotherapy confirms its primary role in the management of PGIL as part of systemic treatment in the medical group. Surgery remains the treatment of choice in case of PGIL acutely complicated, although there is no evidence in literature regarding the utility of preventive surgery.

Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor E wing's Sarcoma Arising from the Cigomatic Arch and the Masticator y Space. A Case Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arango Bonnet, German; Andres Narvaez, Jorge; Garcia, Sara Eugenia

2008-01-01

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermic tumor (PNET) or peripheral neuro epithelioma is a malignant neoplasia consisting of round small blue cells, which derive from the neural crest. Amongst malignant tumors it is one the least differentiated histological types. Ewings sarcoma and PNET are morphologically impossible to differentiate; they are also very similar pathologically in terms of their imagining appearance. Due to these similarities we will consider them as a single entity. These can appear in infants, but are more common in adolescents. Treatment includes hemo therapy,surgery and radiotherapy. We present a case of an 8 year old female patient, diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, confirmed by histopathology and immunohistochemistry, we will also present a brief review of the literature.

In situ characterization of organic matter in two primitive chondrites through correlated microanalytical techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Wende, A. M.; Nittler, L.; Steele, A.; Herd, C. D.

2009-12-01

Primitive meteorites contain up to 2 wt % C, much of it in the form of insoluble organic matter (IOM). Bulk analyses have revealed the IOM to be marked by large D and 15N enrichments relative to terrestrial values. Isotopic imaging studies have revealed the presence of `hotspots’, sub-μm to μm-sized regions of IOM exhibiting extreme isotope enrichments. An interesting subpopulation of organic grains, ’nanoglobules’, which have hollow, spherical morphologies, is known to account for a portion of these hot spots. Previous work has suggested that nanoglobules can be identified in situ by native UV fluorescence. The isotopic enrichments are believed to point to low-T chemical fractionations either in the interstellar medium (ISM) or the outer regions of the early Solar System. As part of a larger study investigating the origin and evolution of IOM in the Solar System, a correlated, in situ, microanalytical approach was employed to characterize local isotopic and morphological heterogeneities in IOM in the highly primitive chondrites QUE 99177 (CR3) and Tagish Lake (C-ung). Previous NanoSIMS ion imaging of a QUE 99177 section revealed the spatial and isotopic distribution of C in the matrix with a spatial resolution of 200 nm. Manual definition of >3300 C-rich regions in the NanoSIMS images indicates that grains smaller than 1 μm across, which account for 80% of the IOM area, have a size distribution that is similar to estimates of the size distribution of carbonaceous dust in the diffuse ISM, supporting an interstellar origin for the IOM. Micro-Raman spectroscopy, which is highly sensitive to the degree of disorder in carbonaceous materials, was attempted on the same regions analyzed by NanoSIMS in QUE 99177. Unfortunately, surface damage due to both the prior SIMS analyses and removal of a prior C coat precluded acquisition of useful Raman spectra. Consequently, future correlated work will entail performing Raman analyses on uncoated samples prior to SIMS

Empirical constraints on partitioning of platinum group elements between Cr-spinel and primitive terrestrial magmas

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jung-Woo; Kamenetsky, Vadim; Campbell, Ian; Park, Gyuseung; Hanski, Eero; Pushkarev, Evgeny

2017-11-01

Recent experimental studies and in situ LA-ICP-MS analysis on natural Cr-spinel have shown that Rh and IPGEs (Ir-group platinum group elements: Ru, Ir, Os) are enriched in the lattice of Cr-spinel. However, the factors controlling the partitioning behaviour of these elements are not well constrained. In this study, we report the Rh, IPGE, and trace element contents in primitive Cr-spinel, measured by LA-ICP-MS, from nine volcanic suites covering various tectonic settings including island arc picrites, boninites, large igneous province picrites and mid-ocean ridge basalts. The aim is to understand the factors controlling the enrichment of Rh and IPGEs in Cr-spinels, to estimate empirical partition coefficients between Cr-spinel and silicate melts, and to investigate the role of Cr-spinel fractional crystallization on the PGE geochemistry of primitive magmas during the early stages of fractional crystallization. There are systematic differences in trace elements, Rh and IPGEs in Cr-spinels from arc-related magmas (Arc Group Cr-spinel), intraplate magmas (Intraplate Group Cr-spinel), and mid-ocean ridge magmas (MORB Group Cr-spinel). Arc Group Cr-spinels are systematically enriched in Sc, Co and Mn and depleted in Ni compared to the MORB Group Cr-spinels. Intraplate Group Cr-spinels are distinguished from the Arc Group Cr-spinels by their high Ni contents. Both the Arc and Intraplate Group Cr-spinels have total Rh and IPGE contents of 22-689 ppb whereas the MORB Group Cr-spinels are depleted in Rh and IPGE (total time-resolved spectra of LA-ICP-MS data for Cr-spinels mostly show constant count rates for trace element and Rh and IPGEs, suggesting homogeneous distribution of these elements in Cr-spinels. The PGE spikes observed in several Cr-spinels were interpreted to be PGE-bearing mineral inclusions and excluded from calculating the PGE contents of the Cr-spinels. On primitive mantle normalized diagrams the Arc Group Cr-spinels are characterized by a fractionated

Evaluation of processed green and ripe mango peel and pulp flours (Mangifera indica var. Chokanan) in terms of chemical composition, antioxidant compounds and functional properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdul Aziz, Noor Aziah; Wong, Lee Min; Bhat, Rajeev; Cheng, Lai Hoong

2012-02-01

Mango is a highly perishable seasonal fruit and large quantities are wasted during the peak season as a result of poor postharvest handling procedures. Processing surplus mango fruits into flour to be used as a functional ingredient appears to be a good preservation method to ensure its extended consumption. In the present study, the chemical composition, bioactive/antioxidant compounds and functional properties of green and ripe mango (Mangifera indica var. Chokanan) peel and pulp flours were evaluated. Compared to commercial wheat flour, mango flours were significantly low in moisture and protein, but were high in crude fiber, fat and ash content. Mango flour showed a balance between soluble and insoluble dietary fiber proportions, with total dietary fiber content ranging from 3.2 to 5.94 g kg⁻¹. Mango flours exhibited high values for bioactive/antioxidant compounds compared to wheat flour. The water absorption capacity and oil absorption capacity of mango flours ranged from 0.36 to 0.87 g kg⁻¹ and from 0.18 to 0.22 g kg⁻¹, respectively. Results of this study showed mango peel flour to be a rich source of dietary fiber with good antioxidant and functional properties, which could be a useful ingredient for new functional food formulations. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

Primitive robotic procedures: Automotions for medical liquids in 12th century Asia minor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Necmettin Penbegul

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years, day by day, robotic surgery applications have increase their role in our medical life. In this article, we reported the discovery of the first primitive robotic applications as automatic machines for the sensitive calculation of liquids such as blood in the literature. Al-Jazari who wrote the book “Elcâmi ‘Beyne’l - ‘ilm ve’l - ‘amel en-nâfi ‘fi es-sınaâ ‘ti’l - hiyel”, lived in Anatolian territory between 1136 and 1206. In this book that was written in the twelfth century, Al-Jazari described nearly fifty graphics of robotic machines and six of them that were designed for medical purposes. We found that some of the robots mentioned in this book are related to medical applications. This book reviews approximately 50 devices, including water clocks, candle clocks, ewers, various automata used for amusement in drink assemblies, automata used for ablution, blood collection tanks, fountains, music devices, devices for water lifting, locks, a protractor, a boat-shaped water clock, and the gate of Diyarbakir City in south-east of Turkey, actually in northern Mesopotamia. We found that automata used for ablution and blood collection tanks were related with medical applications; therefore, we will describe these robots.

Primitive robotic procedures: automotions for medical liquids in 12th century Asia minor.

Science.gov (United States)

Penbegul, Necmettin; Atar, Murat; Kendirci, Muammer; Bozkurt, Yasar; Hatipoglu, Namık Kemal; Verit, Ayhan; Kadıoglu, Ates

2014-12-30

In recent years, day by day, robotic surgery applications have increase their role in our medical life. In this article, we reported the discovery of the first primitive robotic applications as automatic machines for the sensitive calculation of liquids such as blood in the literature. Al-Jazari who wrote the book "Elcâmi 'Beyne'l - 'ilm ve'l - 'amel en-nâfi 'fi es-sınaâ 'ti'l - hiyel", lived in Anatolian territory between 1136 and 1206. In this book that was written in the twelfth century, Al-Jazari described nearly fifty graphics of robotic machines and six of them that were designed for medical purposes. We found that some of the robots mentioned in this book are related to medical applications. This book reviews approximately 50 devices, including water clocks, candle clocks, ewers, various automata used for amusement in drink assemblies, automata used for ablution, blood collection tanks, fountains, music devices, devices for water lifting, locks, a protractor, a boat-shaped water clock, and the gate of Diyarbakir City in south-east of Turkey, actually in northern Mesopotamia. We found that automata used for ablution and blood collection tanks were related with medical applications; therefore, we will describe these robots.

Chemotaxis of primitive hematopoietic cells in response to stromal cell–derived factor-1

Science.gov (United States)

Jo, Deog-Yeon; Rafii, Shahin; Hamada, Tsuneyoshi; Moore, Malcolm A.S.

2000-01-01

Stromal cell–derived factor-1 (SDF-1) provides a potent chemotactic stimulus for CD34+ hematopoietic cells. We cultured mobilized peripheral blood (PB) and umbilical cord blood (CB) for up to 5 weeks and examined the migratory activity of cobblestone area–forming cells (CAFCs) and long-term culture–initiating cells (LTC-ICs) in a transwell assay. In this system, SDF-1 or MS-5 marrow stromal cells placed in the lower chamber induced transmembrane and transendothelial migration by 2- and 5-week-old CAFCs and LTC-ICs in 3 hours. Transmigration was blocked by preincubation of input CD34+ cells with antibody to CXCR4. Transendothelial migration of CB CAFCs and LTC-ICs was higher than that of PB. We expanded CD34+ cells from CB in serum-free medium with thrombopoietin, flk-2 ligand, and c-kit ligand, with or without IL-3 and found that CAFCs cultured in the absence of IL-3 had a chemotactic response equivalent to noncultured cells, even after 5 weeks. However, addition of IL-3 to the culture reduced this response by 20–50%. These data indicate that SDF-1 induces chemotaxis of primitive hematopoietic cells signaling through CXCR4 and that the chemoattraction could be downmodulated by culture ex vivo. PMID:10619866

Universal Alienation, Formal and Real Subsumption of Society Under Capital, Ongoing Primitive Accumulation by Dispossession: Reflections on the Marx@200-Contributions by David Harvey and Michael Hardt/Toni Negri

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Fuchs

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This contribution presents reflections on the contributions of and the debate between David Harvey and Michael Hardt/Toni Negri that we feature as the opening part of the tripleC-special issue “Marx@200: Debating Capitalism & Perspectives for the Future of Radical Theory”. My reflection contextualises the debate by a discussing the origin and genesis of Marx’s concepts of alienation, formal/real subsumption, and primitive accumulation and b situating the arguments in earlier works by Harvey, Hardt and Negri. This paper points out differences as well as the strong commonalities between the works of Michael Hardt/Toni Negri and David Harvey. It discusses how the categories of universal alienation, formal/real subsumption of society under capital, original/ongoing primitive accumulation of capital are related. Harvey and Hardt/Negri show that Marx’s theory and politics are alive 200 years after his birth and will haunt capitalism as long as it exists. The paper concludes by arguing that Harvey’s concept of anti-value and the autonomous notion of self-valorisation point towards democratic, commons-based alternatives to capitalism.

[Primitive neuroectodermal tumor/Ewing's sarcoma of the penis in children: a case report and review of the literature].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Da-Wei; Jin, Mei; Zhou, Chun-Ju; Song, Hong-Cheng; Ma, Xiao-Li

2012-12-01

To investigate the clinical manifestations, pathological characteristics and treatment of primitive neuroectodermal tumor/Ewing's sarcoma (PNET/EWS) of the penis in children. We analyzed the clinical data of a case of PNET/EWS and reviewed relevant literature. The patient was a 5-year-old boy, admitted for penis swelling with pain for 11 months. Biopsy showed a small round cell tumor, CD99 positive by immunohistochemical staining, with EWS translocation by fluorescence in situ hybridization on molecular biological examination. The tumor was confirmed to be PNET/EWS of the penis, and disappeared after 45 weeks of chemotherapy and local radiotherapy. PNET/EWS of the penis is an extremely rare disease, with no specific clinical symptoms except penis enlargement with pain. Immunohistochemistry and molecular biological examination contribute to its diagnosis.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor arising 8 years after chemotherapy and radiotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Yuya; Toma, Yasuo; Arai, Masayuki; Higashi, Ryo; Kashihara, Kengo; Kaizaki, Yasuharu

2005-01-01

We report a case of primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) arising 8 years after chemotherapy and radiotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A 15-year-old boy with a history of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, at the age of 7, underwent chemotherapy and 14 Gy of radiotherapy to the whole brain. He was admitted to our department due to the development of aphasia, right hemiparesis and generalized convulsive seizure. MRI showed an irregularly enhanced mass in the left frontal lobe. A gross total removal of the tumor was performed and histological examination showed it to be PNET. Postoperatively, the patient underwent 20 Gy of radiotherapy to the whole brain and 42 Gy of local radiotherapy. Follow-up MRI showed no evidence of recurrent tumor 4 months after the radiotherapy. This tumor was thought to be a secondary brain tumor arising in this survivor of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and it is a rare complication of successful leukemia treatment. (author)

FPGA-based multimodal embedded sensor system integrating low- and mid-level vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Botella, Guillermo; Martín H, José Antonio; Santos, Matilde; Meyer-Baese, Uwe

2011-01-01

Motion estimation is a low-level vision task that is especially relevant due to its wide range of applications in the real world. Many of the best motion estimation algorithms include some of the features that are found in mammalians, which would demand huge computational resources and therefore are not usually available in real-time. In this paper we present a novel bioinspired sensor based on the synergy between optical flow and orthogonal variant moments. The bioinspired sensor has been designed for Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) using properties of the mammalian cortical motion pathway. This sensor combines low-level primitives (optical flow and image moments) in order to produce a mid-level vision abstraction layer. The results are described trough experiments showing the validity of the proposed system and an analysis of the computational resources and performance of the applied algorithms.

Genetic heterogeneity in supratentorial and infratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumours of the central nervous system.

Science.gov (United States)

Inda, M M; Perot, C; Guillaud-Bataille, M; Danglot, G; Rey, J A; Bello, M J; Fan, X; Eberhart, C; Zazpe, I; Portillo, E; Tuñón, T; Martínez-Peñuela, J M; Bernheim, A; Castresana, J S

2005-12-01

Medulloblastoma (MB), a kind of infratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET), is the most frequent malignant brain tumour in childhood. In contrast, supratentorial PNET (sPNET) are very infrequent tumours, but they are histologically similar to MB, although they present a worse clinical outcome. We investigated the differences in genetic abnormalities between sPNET and MB. We analysed 20 central PNET (14 MB and six sPNET) by conventional comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) in order to determine whether a different genetic profile for each tumour exists. Isochromosome 17q was detected in four of the 14 MB cases, but not in any sPNET. Gains at 17q and 7 happened more frequently in MB, and those at 1q in sPNET. Losses at chromosome 10 were detected only in MB, while losses at 16p and 19p happened more frequently in sPNET. A new amplification site, on 4q12, was detected in two MB. Central PNET are a heterogeneous group of tumours from the genetic point of view. The present and previous data, together with further results from larger series, might contribute to the establishment of specific treatments for supratentorial and infratentorial PNET.

Primary Ewing's sarcoma-primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the uterus: a case report and literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jeong-Yeol; Lee, Sun; Kang, Hyoung Jin; Kim, Hy-Sook; Park, Sang-Yoon

2007-08-01

Primary Ewing's sarcoma-primitive neuroectodermal tumor (ES-PNET) of the uterus is an extremely rare malignancy. A 30-year-old Korean woman presented with abnormal uterine bleeding with uterine enlargement. A computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen and pelvis showed a huge uterine mass measuring 18 x 20 x 21 cm, metastasis to both pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes, and omental infiltration. The pathology report of the uterine mass described a uniformly hypercellular tumor, which was arranged in diffuse solid sheets of uniform, small, rounded, and sometimes spindle-shaped cells, with scanty cytoplasm. Immunohistochemically, the mass tested positive for vimentin, CD99, and chromogranin. The patient received several courses of combination chemotherapy and radiotherapy but died from tumor progression 16 months after the initial diagnosis. This is a rare case of primary uterine ES-PNET in a woman of reproductive age. A review of the literature indicates that primary uterine ES-PNET requires early diagnosis and multimodality treatment including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The behavior of this tumor is potentially aggressive.

The solar nebula redox state as recorded by most reduced chondrules of five primitive chondrites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, M.C.; Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA

1986-01-01

Mafic minerals in the most reduced chondrules of five primitive meteorites were analyzed with an electron microprobe to determine the lower limit on their FeO contents. The accuracy obtained was +-0.01 weight percent FeO. The thermodynamic relationship between mole fraction FeSiO 3 and pO 2 of the ambient nebular gas at the time of mineral equilibration was established, and was used to infer the local O/H ratio of the nebular gas during chondrule formation. The lowest ferrosilite compositions reflected equilibration at 1500K with a gas 2-18 times more oxidizing than a gas of solar composition. Olivines in low-FeO UOC chondrules are uniformly more FeO-rich than coexisting pyroxenes. This descrepancy suggests that a significant change in the O/H ratio of the nebular gas occurred between the time of olivine and pyroxene crystallization in the region of the nebula where UOCs formed. Mineral compositions in the chondrules of two C2 chondrites studied suggest they formed in a more homogeneous region of the nebula than the UOCs. (author)

Comparison of regeneration potentials in tissue cultures of primitive and cultivated tomato species (Lycopersicon sp.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Lech

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Regeneration capacities of two tomato cultivars: Potentat and Rutgers, and of three accessions of wild tomato species: Lycopersicon peruvianum PI 128650, L. peruvianum var. dentatum PI 128655 and L. glandulosum were studied using an universal medium suitable for regeneration of those plants from leaf pieces in tissue culture. Fragments of leaf blades were taken from plants raised in greenhouse conditions and placed on a modified MS medium containing 0.3 mg/l IAA and 3.0 mg/l BAP solidified with 1% agar. The explants were transferred every 4-5 weeks on fresh medium of the same composition. It was shown that all the three primitive tomato species revealed much higher multiplication coefficients than the two cultivars. Appropriate values were: 11 - for L. glandulosum, 8 - for L. peruvianum, 7 - for L. peruvianum var. dentatum, 4 - for L. esculentum cv. Potentat and 2 - cv. Rutgers. Completely regenerated plants were obtained from all the tested species, but organogenesis occurred almost two weeks earlier in wild tomatoes than in the culitivated varieties of L. esculentum.

Profil épidémiologique des tumeurs malignes primitives des glandes salivaires : à propos de 154 cas

Science.gov (United States)

Setti, Khadija; Mouanis, Mohamed; Moumni, Abdelmounim; Maher, Mostafa; Harmouch, Amal

2014-01-01

Introduction Les tumeurs des glandes salivaires sont des tumeurs rares représentant 3à 5% des tumeurs de la tête et du cou. La classification de l'OMS 2005 distingue les tumeurs épithéliales, les tumeurs mésenchymateuses, les tumeurs hématologiques et les tumeurs secondaires. Méthodes Notre travail consiste en une étude rétrospective réalisée sur une période de 10 ans allant de janvier 2002 à janvier 2012. Les critères d'inclusion étaient: l'âge, le sexe, le siège de la tumeur et le type histologique. Résultats L'incidence annuelle des tumeurs malignes primitives des glandes salivaires dans notre série était de 15 cas par an. Cent cinquante quatre cas de tumeurs malignes primitives des glandes salivaires ont été colligés sans prédominance de sexe (78 femmes (50,6%) et 76 hommes (49,4%)). La moyenne d'âge était de 60 ans avec des extrêmes de 4 et 83 ans et un pic de fréquence entre 51et 70 ans. Deux tiers des cas (65%) avaient une localisation au niveau des glandes principales avec 66 cas au niveau de la parotide (43%) et 34 cas au niveau de la glande sous maxillaire (22%). Cinquante quatre patients avaient une tumeur maligne des glandes salivaires accessoires (35%) dont 61% au niveau du palais. Aucun cas de tumeur maligne de la glande sublinguale n'a été recensé dans notre étude. Le type histologique prédominant dans notre série était le carcinome adénoïde kystique et retrouvé chez 43 patients (27,9%), suivi de l'adénocarcinome sans autre indication chez 37 patients (24%) puis du carcinome mucoépidermoïde chez 16 patients (10,4%) et de l'adénocarcinome polymorphe de bas grade également chez 16 patients (10. 4%). Conclusion Les tumeurs malignes des glandes salivaires représentent un ensemble hétérogène de maladies de caractérisation complexe et de fréquence variable. PMID:25120861

Revealing the history of sheep domestication using retrovirus integrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chessa, Bernardo; Pereira, Filipe; Arnaud, Frederick; Amorim, Antonio; Goyache, Félix; Mainland, Ingrid; Kao, Rowland R; Pemberton, Josephine M; Beraldi, Dario; Stear, Michael J; Alberti, Alberto; Pittau, Marco; Iannuzzi, Leopoldo; Banabazi, Mohammad H; Kazwala, Rudovick R; Zhang, Ya-Ping; Arranz, Juan J; Ali, Bahy A; Wang, Zhiliang; Uzun, Metehan; Dione, Michel M; Olsaker, Ingrid; Holm, Lars-Erik; Saarma, Urmas; Ahmad, Sohail; Marzanov, Nurbiy; Eythorsdottir, Emma; Holland, Martin J; Ajmone-Marsan, Paolo; Bruford, Michael W; Kantanen, Juha; Spencer, Thomas E; Palmarini, Massimo

2009-04-24

The domestication of livestock represented a crucial step in human history. By using endogenous retroviruses as genetic markers, we found that sheep differentiated on the basis of their "retrotype" and morphological traits dispersed across Eurasia and Africa via separate migratory episodes. Relicts of the first migrations include the Mouflon, as well as breeds previously recognized as "primitive" on the basis of their morphology, such as the Orkney, Soay, and the Nordic short-tailed sheep now confined to the periphery of northwest Europe. A later migratory episode, involving sheep with improved production traits, shaped the great majority of present-day breeds. The ability to differentiate genetically primitive sheep from more modern breeds provides valuable insights into the history of sheep domestication.

Variation in Antioxidant Attributes at Three Ripening Stages of Guava (Psidium guajava L. Fruit from Different Geographical Regions of Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Ashraf

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The present investigation was carried out to appraise the levels of total phenols and vitamin C as well as antioxidant potential at three different ripening stages (un-ripe, semi-ripe and fully-ripe of guava (Psidium guajava L. fruit collected from three different geographical regions of Pakistan (Islamabad, Faisalabad and Bhakkar. The antioxidant potential of guava fruit extracts was assessed by means of different in-vitro antioxidant assays, namely inhibition of peroxidation in linoleic acid system, reducing power and radical scavenging capability. Overall, fruit at the un-ripe stage (G1 exhibited the highest levels of TPC, TFC, reducing power and DPPH radical scavenging activity, followed by the semi-ripe (G2 and fully-ripe (G3 stages. On the other hand, vitamin C content increased as the fruit maturity progressed, with highest value seen at the fully-ripe stage (G3 followed by the semi-ripe (G2 and un-ripe stage (G1. The concentration of vitamin C in fruits varied as: Faisalabad (136.4–247.9 mg 100 g−1, Islamabad (89.7–149.7 mg 100 g−1 and Bhakkar (73.1–129.5 mg 100 g−1. The results showed that different stages of maturation and geographical locations had profound effects on the antioxidant activity and vitamin C contents of guava fruit.

Variation in antioxidant attributes at three ripening stages of guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruit from different geographical regions of Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Gull, Javaria; Sultana, Bushra; Anwar, Farooq; Naseer, Rehana; Ashraf, Muhammad; Ashrafuzzaman, M

2012-03-14

The present investigation was carried out to appraise the levels of total phenols and vitamin C as well as antioxidant potential at three different ripening stages (un-ripe, semi-ripe and fully-ripe) of guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruit collected from three different geographical regions of Pakistan (Islamabad, Faisalabad and Bhakkar). The antioxidant potential of guava fruit extracts was assessed by means of different in-vitro antioxidant assays, namely inhibition of peroxidation in linoleic acid system, reducing power and radical scavenging capability. Overall, fruit at the un-ripe stage (G1) exhibited the highest levels of TPC, TFC, reducing power and DPPH radical scavenging activity, followed by the semi-ripe (G2) and fully-ripe (G3) stages. On the other hand, vitamin C content increased as the fruit maturity progressed, with highest value seen at the fully-ripe stage (G3) followed by the semi-ripe (G2) and un-ripe stage (G1). The concentration of vitamin C in fruits varied as: Faisalabad (136.4-247.9 mg 100 g⁻¹), Islamabad (89.7-149.7 mg 100 g⁻¹) and Bhakkar (73.1-129.5 mg 100 g⁻¹). The results showed that different stages of maturation and geographical locations had profound effects on the antioxidant activity and vitamin C contents of guava fruit.

Primitive Rituals, Contemporary Aftershocks: Evocations of the Orientalist ‘Other’ in four productions of 'Le Sacre du printemps'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucy Weir

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper situates the original choreography of Sacre as a basis for an ongoing exploration of non-Western themes in modern dance, a persistent fascination with the Orientalist ‘Other,’ before exploring the versions choreographed by Wigman, Bausch and Graham in chronological order of their first performances. In analysing different interpretations of the same score, two themes become apparent: first, that this piece heralded the birth of Modernism in classical dance performance, and second, that the driving anti-classical, anti-traditional rhythms that characterise the piece communicate an enduring interest in primitive aesthetics. Accordingly, this discussion takes Nijinsky’s Sacre as a starting point in re-evaluating the influence of primitivism and Otherness on contemporary dance, and represents an early indication of the significance of the Saidian, non-Western ‘Other’ in shaping the evolution of avant-garde dance.

Studying the hopping parameters of half-Heusler NaAuS using maximally localized Wannier function

Science.gov (United States)

Sihi, Antik; Lal, Sohan; Pandey, Sudhir K.

2018-04-01

Here, the electronic behavior of half-Heusler NaAuS is studied using PBEsol exchange correlation functional by plotting the band structure curve. These bands are reproduced using maximally localized Wannier function using WANNIER90. Tight-binding bands are nicely matched with density functional theory bands. By fitting the tight-binding model, hopping parameter for NaAuS is obtained by including Na 2s, 2p, Au 6s, 5p, 5d and S 3s, 3p orbitals within the energy interval of -5 to 16 eV around the Fermi level. In present study, hopping integrals for NaAuS are computed for the first primitive unit cell atoms as well as the first nearest neighbor primitive unit cell. The most dominating hopping integrals are found for Na (3s) - S (3s), Na (2px) - S (2px), Au (6s) - S (3px), Au (6s) - S (3py) and Au (6s) - S (3pz) orbitals. The hopping integrals for the first nearest neighbor primitive unit cell are also discussed in this manuscript. In future, these hopping integrals are very important to find the topological invariant for NaAuS compound.

Chemical composition and sensory properties of non-wooded and wooded Shiraz (Vitis vinifera L.) wine as affected by vineyard row orientation and grape ripeness level.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Jacobus J; Volschenk, Cornelis G

2018-05-01

The study aimed to unravel vineyard row orientation (NS, EW, NE-SW, NW-SE) and grape ripeness level (23, 25, 27 °Balling) implications for grape and wine composition and sensory properties/style (non-wooded/wooded wines) of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Shiraz (rootstock 101-14 Mgt). Soluble solid/titratable acidity ratios were lowest for EW, whereas warmer canopy sides (NW, N, NE) advanced grape ripening. Skin anthocyanins and phenolics generally decreased with ripening. NW-SE rows and S, SE, E and NE canopy sides showed highest skin total anthocyanins and phenolics. Wine total anthocyanins and phenolics increased with grape ripening; EW had lower values. Wine phenolic contents differed between canopy sides; N, NE, E and SE tended higher. Wine sensory profiles increased with grape ripening. For non-wooded wines, NW-SE and NE-SW row orientations generally resulted in highest scores, followed by NS. For EW rows, the N side presented better wines. Wood addition enhanced specific sensory descriptor perceptions. A large collection of wine styles surfaced in the same vineyard and terroir, increasing options to contribute positively to sustainable products. The study generated globally applicable, novel information vital for unlocking and valorising terroir/site potential for grape and wine chemical composition and wine sensory/style properties. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Accurate identification of RNA editing sites from primitive sequence with deep neural networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouyang, Zhangyi; Liu, Feng; Zhao, Chenghui; Ren, Chao; An, Gaole; Mei, Chuan; Bo, Xiaochen; Shu, Wenjie

2018-04-16

RNA editing is a post-transcriptional RNA sequence alteration. Current methods have identified editing sites and facilitated research but require sufficient genomic annotations and prior-knowledge-based filtering steps, resulting in a cumbersome, time-consuming identification process. Moreover, these methods have limited generalizability and applicability in species with insufficient genomic annotations or in conditions of limited prior knowledge. We developed DeepRed, a deep learning-based method that identifies RNA editing from primitive RNA sequences without prior-knowledge-based filtering steps or genomic annotations. DeepRed achieved 98.1% and 97.9% area under the curve (AUC) in training and test sets, respectively. We further validated DeepRed using experimentally verified U87 cell RNA-seq data, achieving 97.9% positive predictive value (PPV). We demonstrated that DeepRed offers better prediction accuracy and computational efficiency than current methods with large-scale, mass RNA-seq data. We used DeepRed to assess the impact of multiple factors on editing identification with RNA-seq data from the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities and Sequencing Quality Control projects. We explored developmental RNA editing pattern changes during human early embryogenesis and evolutionary patterns in Drosophila species and the primate lineage using DeepRed. Our work illustrates DeepRed's state-of-the-art performance; it may decipher the hidden principles behind RNA editing, making editing detection convenient and effective.

Bax function in the absence of mitochondria in the primitive protozoan Giardia lamblia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian B Hehl

Full Text Available Bax-induced permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane and release of cytochrome c are key events in apoptosis. Although Bax can compromise mitochondria in primitive unicellular organisms that lack a classical apoptotic machinery, it is still unclear if Bax alone is sufficient for this, or whether additional mitochondrial components are required. The protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia is one of the earliest branching eukaryotes and harbors highly degenerated mitochondrial remnant organelles (mitosomes that lack a genome. Here we tested whether human Bax expressed in Giardia can be used to ablate mitosomes. We demonstrate that these organelles are neither targeted, nor compromised, by Bax. However, specialized compartments of the regulated secretory pathway are completely ablated by Bax. As a consequence, maturing cyst wall proteins that are sorted into these organelles are released into the cytoplasm, causing a developmental arrest and cell death. Interestingly, this ectopic cargo release is dependent on the carboxy-terminal 22 amino acids of Bax, and can be prevented by the Bax-inhibiting peptide Ku70. A C-terminally truncated Bax variant still localizes to secretory organelles, but is unable to permeabilize these membranes, uncoupling membrane targeting and cargo release. Even though mitosomes are too diverged to be recognized by Bax, off-target membrane permeabilization appears to be conserved and leads to cell death completely independently of mitochondria.

Precocious germination and its regulation in embryos of triticale caryopses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanisław Weidner

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Triticale var. Lasko embryos, isolated from grain gathered at milk ripeness, the beginning of wax ripeness and at full ripeness, were allowed to germinate for 48 h on agar with glucose. The highest incorporation of tritiated adenosine into polyribosomal RNA during germination was found in the ribosome fractions from embryos of grain gathered at full ripeness, lower incorporation was in preparations from embryos of milk ripe grain and the lowest in preparations from embryos of wax ripe grain. Different tendencies were observed in respect to the synthesis of ribosomal proteins. The highest incorporation of 14C-amino acids into ribosomal proteins was found in preparations of ribosome fractions from embryos of milk ripe grain, lower in preparations of embryos from fully ripe grain, the lowest in preparations of embryos from wax ripe grain. ABA (10-4 M completely inhibited the external symptoms of germination of immature embryos, while its inhibition of the synthesis of polyribosomal RNA and ribosomal proteins was greater the more mature the embryos that were germinated. The greatest stimulation of precocious germination by exogenous BA and GA3 was demonstrated in the least mature embryos isolated from milk ripe grain. Under the influence of both stimulators, an increase of the proportion of polyribosomes in the total ribosome fraction occurred in this sample, as did a rise in the intensity of ribosomal protein synthesis. The incorporation of 3H-adenosine into polyribosomal RNA, however, was lower than in the control sample. The results obtained suggest that the regulation of precocious germination of triticale embryos by phyto-hormones is not directly related to transcription.

MUTU CABAI RAWIT (CAPSICUM FRUTESCENS L PADA TINGKAT KEMATANGAN DAN SUHU YANG BERBEDA SELAMA PENYIMPANAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desi Natalia Edowai

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to know the ripeness level of small chilli and the right temperature during storage as far as the quality of small chilli can to defend until marketing. The study was conducted at the laboratory of Physiology and Postharvest and laboratory of Food Science and Technology of Research in Agriculture Faculty of Sam Ratulangi University Manado. Three level of ripeness are green ripe, green reddish ripe and red ripe. Temperature of storages are storage in room temperature 28°C – 32°C (64 – 77%, 4°C – 10°C (90 - 95%, 4°C – (-22°C (95 – 98%, and  –10°C (99%. With long storage are 30 days. The Method of analyzed study result is descriptive analysis and the dataare presented by the table.     The quality of small chilli during storage looked about the height of water, weight, the height of capsaicin, and colour. The right temperature and the right ripeness can to maintain quality of small chilli until storage. The result study show is in level ripeness green ripe and green reddish ripe and than storage temperature 4°C – 10°C (90 - 95% can maintain the qualiy of small chilli during storage. It is looked from amount of the height of water, weight, the height of capsaicin, and colour during storage always increase regulary.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the maxillary sinus in an elderly male: A case report and literature review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, Saiquat; Huh, Kyung Hoe; Yi, Won Jin; Heo, Min Suk; Lee, Sam Sun; Choi, Soon Chul

2014-01-01

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), which belongs to the Ewing's sarcoma (ES) family of tumors, is mainly seen in children and young adults. PNETs are extremely rare in the maxilla. Here, we report a case of PNET of the left maxillary sinus in an elderly male. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a slightly enhanced solid mass occupying the left maxillary sinus and infiltrating into the retroantral space. A partial maxillectomy was performed. Despite postoperative chemotherapy, follow-up computed tomography (CT) and MRI revealed a nodal metastasis in the submandibular space. Neck dissection was performed. However, the patient died 10 months after the second surgery because of distant metastasis to the liver. MRI and CT were particularly useful in detecting the extent of the tumor, recurrence, and metastasis. Further, a literature review of the previously reported PNET cases of the maxilla was carried out. In this paper, we also discuss the current approach for the diagnosis and management of these tumors.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the maxillary sinus in an elderly male: A case report and literature review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shah, Saiquat [Dept. of Dental Public Health, Bangladesh Dental College, Dhaka (Bangladesh); Huh, Kyung Hoe; Yi, Won Jin; Heo, Min Suk; Lee, Sam Sun; Choi, Soon Chul [Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology and Dental Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-12-15

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), which belongs to the Ewing's sarcoma (ES) family of tumors, is mainly seen in children and young adults. PNETs are extremely rare in the maxilla. Here, we report a case of PNET of the left maxillary sinus in an elderly male. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a slightly enhanced solid mass occupying the left maxillary sinus and infiltrating into the retroantral space. A partial maxillectomy was performed. Despite postoperative chemotherapy, follow-up computed tomography (CT) and MRI revealed a nodal metastasis in the submandibular space. Neck dissection was performed. However, the patient died 10 months after the second surgery because of distant metastasis to the liver. MRI and CT were particularly useful in detecting the extent of the tumor, recurrence, and metastasis. Further, a literature review of the previously reported PNET cases of the maxilla was carried out. In this paper, we also discuss the current approach for the diagnosis and management of these tumors.

Changes in the carbohydrate and organic acid contents of tomatoes as a function of radiation dose and storage time

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kovacs, E [Kozponti Elelmiszeripari Kutato Intezet, Budapest (Hungary)

1974-01-01

Sugars and organic acids of tomatoes, variety Original Fruehrot, in different stages of development were examined by gas chromatography after silylation. Changes in the carbohydrate and organic acid content of half-ripe and ripe tomatoes were determined after treatment with different radiation doses (5, 15, 30, 60, 250 and 500 krad). Fructose, glucose, saccharose and malic acid could be detected in the tomato samples. The saccharose and malic acid contents of half-ripe tomatoes decreased as a result of irradiation with doses above 250 krad. In ripe tomatoes, the malic acid content fell most markedly under the influence of irradiation. The sugar content tended to decrease as a function of storage time, except for samples treated with 15 krad which usually delayed decomposition of the components tested. The effect of irradiation was more extensive in half-ripe tomatoes than in ripe ones.

Towards the description of the phase behavior of electrolyte solutions in slit-like pores. Density functional approach for the restricted primitive model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O.Pizio

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We develop a density functional approach for the phase behavior of the restricted primitive model for electrolyte solutions confined to slit-like pores. The theory permits to evaluate the effects of confinement on the ionic vapor - ionic liquid coexistence envelope. We have shown that due to confinement in pores with uncharged walls the critical temperature of the model decreases compared to the bulk. Also the coexistence envelope of the transition is narrower in comparison to the bulk model. The transition between dense and dilute phase represents capillary evaporation. We have analyzed changes of the density profiles of ions during transition. Possible extensions of this study are discussed.

Características de doce em massa de umbu verde e maduro e aceitação pelos consumidores Characteristics of green and ripe umbu marmalades and acceptance by consumers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Lúcia Almeida Martins

2007-09-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar formulações de doces, em massa de umbu verde e maduro, quanto às características físico-químicas e físicas, e quanto à aceitação pelos consumidores residentes no Rio de Janeiro. Quatro formulações de doces foram processadas para polpa de umbu verde: F1, 0,3% de goma xantana; F2, 5% de xarope de glicose e 0,3% de goma xantana; F3, 0,5% de amido modificado; F4, 5% de xarope de glicose e 0,5% de amido modificado; e quatro formulações para polpa de umbu maduro: F1, apenas correção de pH; F2, 0,5% de pectina; F3, 0,3% de goma xantana; F4, 5% de xarope de glicose e 0,5% de amido modificado. Foram avaliadas as seguintes características físico-químicas e físicas: sólidos solúveis, acidez titulável, pH, açúcares redutores e não redutores, atividade de água, cor, firmeza e adesividade. Cinqüenta e seis consumidores avaliaram as formulações, por meio de escala hedônica estruturada de nove pontos. As formulações F2 apresentaram maior firmeza. Os consumidores atribuíram notas superiores a seis na escala utilizada, para todas as formulações, o que indica aceitação dos produtos.The objective of this work was to evaluate green and ripe umbu marmalade formulations, in relation to physicochemical and physical characteristics, and regarding Rio de Janeiro consumers' acceptance. Four marmalade formulations were processed for green umbu pulp: F1, 0.3% xanthan gum; F2, 5% glucose syrup and 0.3% xanthan gum; F3, 0.5% modified starch; F4, 5% glucose syrup and 0.5% modified starch; and four formulations for ripe umbu pulp: F1, only pH correction; F2, 0.5% pectin; F3, 0.3% xanthan gum; F4, 5% glucose syrup and 0.5% modified starch. The physicochemical and physical characteristics evaluated were: soluble solids, titrable acidity, pH, reducing and nonreducing sugars, water activity, color, firmness and adhesiveness. Fifty-six consumers evaluated the formulations, using nine-point structured hedonic

Normalization of Complete Genome Characteristics: Application to Evolution from Primitive Organisms to Homo sapiens.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorimachi, Kenji; Okayasu, Teiji; Ohhira, Shuji

2015-04-01

Normalized nucleotide and amino acid contents of complete genome sequences can be visualized as radar charts. The shapes of these charts depict the characteristics of an organism's genome. The normalized values calculated from the genome sequence theoretically exclude experimental errors. Further, because normalization is independent of both target size and kind, this procedure is applicable not only to single genes but also to whole genomes, which consist of a huge number of different genes. In this review, we discuss the applications of the normalization of the nucleotide and predicted amino acid contents of complete genomes to the investigation of genome structure and to evolutionary research from primitive organisms to Homo sapiens. Some of the results could never have been obtained from the analysis of individual nucleotide or amino acid sequences but were revealed only after the normalization of nucleotide and amino acid contents was applied to genome research. The discovery that genome structure was homogeneous was obtained only after normalization methods were applied to the nucleotide or predicted amino acid contents of genome sequences. Normalization procedures are also applicable to evolutionary research. Thus, normalization of the contents of whole genomes is a useful procedure that can help to characterize organisms.

Differences in exterior conformation between primitive, Half-bred, and Thoroughbred horses: anatomic-breeding approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Komosa, M; Frackowiak, H; Purzyc, H; Wojnowska, M; Gramacki, A; Gramacki, J

2013-04-01

The study included 249 horses belonging to 3 horse breeds. Konik horses, comprising the first group, is an example of a breed similar to the extinct Tarpan. In our study, these horses were taken to be a primitive anatomical model of the horse body. The other groups comprised the Polish Half-bred horse and Thoroughbred horse. The biometric characteristics of the horses were compared based on 24 indices. The aim of the paper was to find a reduced set of indices that can be used to determine group membership of the horses. To do this, we used statistical methods to find the most important indices that best discriminate breeds from each other. Chi-squared statistics, linear discriminant analysis, logistic regression, and 1-way ANOVA showed that the discrimination among groups of horses is connected with these 5 indices: scapula, smaller trunk (distance between tubercle of humerus and coxal tuber), greater trunk (distance between tubercle of humerus and ischial tuberosity), metacarpus circumference, and hind autopodium-smaller trunk. Thoroughbred and Half-bred horses are clearly different in exterior conformation from Konik horses. The differences between Thoroughbred and Half-bred horses are more subtle. The conformation of Thoroughbreds is jointly determined by relatively small differences in a range of features.

Avaliação da eficácia de extratos oleosos de frutos verdes e maduros de cinamomo (Melia azedarach sobre Rhipicephalus (Boophilus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae Evaluation of efficacy of ripe and unripe fruit oil extracts of Melia azedarach against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus microplus (Acari: ixodidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorena A. Dias de Sousa

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Extratos hexânicos obtidos dos frutos de Melia azedarach foram testados sobre fêmeas ingurgitadas e larvas de Rhipicephalus (Boophilus microplus. Foram produzidos quatro extratos: um de frutos verdes e três com frutos maduros, sendo um com os frutos imediatamente processados, outro com frutos armazenados por cinco meses e um testado após armazenamento do extrato por 2 (dois anos a 4ºC. Os testes foram feitos em triplicata, em diluições de 0,25% a 0,0156%. A eficácia dos extratos foi avaliada através da comparação da Reprodução Estimada dos lotes "controle e tratado" para fêmeas, da mortalidade para as larvas, e do cálculo das DL50 e da potência relativa para larvas e fêmeas. O extrato de frutos verdes apresentou uma eficácia variando de 3,6% a 100% para fêmeas, e o de frutos maduros variou de 5,2% a 99,7%. Os dois extratos causaram uma mortalidade de 100% das larvas nas maiores concentrações. O extrato de frutos armazenados apresentou eficácia de 14% a 83% sobre fêmeas, enquanto o extrato armazenado em geladeira apresentou eficácia de 8,4% a 100% e ambos não apresentaram efeito larvicida. Os resultados obtidos demonstram uma superioridade do extrato verde, com uma menor DL50 e potência 1,497 vezes superior ao extrato de frutos maduros.Hexanic extracts gotten of the fruits of cinamomo (Melia azedarach were tested on engourged females and larvae of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus microplus. Four extracts were produced: one of unripe fruits and three of ripe fruits, being one with the fruits immediately processed, another one with fruits stored for five months and one tested after storage of the extract for 2 (two years at 4ºC. The tests were made in triplicate, in 0.25%- 0.0156% dilutions. The effectiveness of extracts was evaluated through the comparison of the Reproduction Estimate of the groups "controlled and treated" for females, of mortality for the larvae, and of the calculation of the DL50 and the relative power for

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors of kidney: Our experience in a tertiary care center.

Science.gov (United States)

Seth, A; Mahapatra, S K; Nayak, B; Saini, A K; Biswas, B

2016-01-01

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) are rare highly aggressive neoplasms. The diagnosis is made by histopathology with the support of immunohistochemistry (IHC) and cytogenetics. The aggressive multimodality treatment is recommended for the management of these tumors. The purpose of our study is to review our experiences in the diagnoses and treatment of PNET of the kidneys. We retrospectively reviewed the data of all the patients, who were treated for the PNET of the kidneys at our institute between April and March 2011 and compared with the available literature. A total of eight patients were treated for PNET of the kidney. Out of the eight patients, four were males and four females. Nearly 50% of our patients had inferior vena caval thrombus at the time of presentation. The diagnosis was made on histopathology supported by IHC. Out of the eight patients, one patient had intraoperative death due to massive pulmonary thromboembolism and another died on the 7th post-operative day due to disseminated intravascular coagulation and multiorgan failure. Rest six patients were treated with post-operative chemotherapy or a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. For these six patients, overall median survival was 45 months with a 3 year disease-free survival of 66% and 5 year survival of 44%. PNET of the kidneys are rare peripheral neuroectodermal tumors with an aggressive clinical course. These tumors carry a very poor prognosis. An aggressive treatment approach using a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy is recommended for a reasonable survival in these tumors.

Changes in the carbohydrate and organic acid contents of tomatoes as a function of radiation dose and storage time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, E.

1974-01-01

Sugars and organic acids of tomatoes, variety Original Fruehrot, in different stages of development were examined by gas chromatography after silylation. Changes in the carbohydrate and organic acid content of half-ripe and ripe tomatoes were determined after treatment with different radiation doses (5, 15, 30, 60, 250 and 500 krad). Fructose, glucose, saccharose and malic acid could be detected in the tomato samples. The saccharose and malic acid contents of half-ripe tomatoes decreased as a result of irradiation with doses above 250 krad. In ripe tomatoes, the malic acid content fell most markedly under the influence of irradiation. The sugar content tended to decrease as a function of storage time, except for samples treated with 15 krad which usually delayed decomposition of the components tested. The effect of irradiation was more extensive in half-ripe tomatoes than in ripe ones. (F.J.)

Feeding on ripening and over-ripening fruit: interactions between sugar, ethanol and polyphenol contents in a tropical butterfly.

Science.gov (United States)

Beaulieu, Michaël; Franke, Kristin; Fischer, Klaus

2017-09-01

In ripe fruit, energy mostly derives from sugar, while in over-ripe fruit, it also comes from ethanol. Such ripeness differences may alter the fitness benefits associated with frugivory if animals are unable to degrade ethanol when consuming over-ripe fruit. In the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana , we found that females consuming isocaloric solutions mimicking ripe (20% sucrose) and over-ripe fruit (10% sucrose, 7% ethanol) of the palm Astrocaryum standleyanum exhibited higher fecundity than females consuming a solution mimicking unripe fruit (10% sucrose). Moreover, relative to butterflies consuming a solution mimicking unripe fruit, survival was enhanced when butterflies consumed a solution mimicking either ripe fruit supplemented with polyphenols (fruit antioxidant compounds) or over-ripe fruit devoid of polyphenols. This suggests that (1) butterflies have evolved tolerance mechanisms to derive the same reproductive benefits from ethanol and sugar, and (2) polyphenols may regulate the allocation of sugar and ethanol to maintenance mechanisms. However, variation in fitness owing to the composition of feeding solutions was not paralleled by corresponding physiological changes (alcohol dehydrogenase activity, oxidative status) in butterflies. The fitness proxies and physiological parameters that we measured therefore appear to reflect distinct biological pathways. Overall, our results highlight that the energy content of fruit primarily affects the fecundity of B. anynana butterflies, while the effects of fruit consumption on survival are more complex and vary depending on ripening stage and polyphenol presence. The actual underlying physiological mechanisms linking fruit ripeness and fitness components remain to be clarified. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Frying performance of two virgin oils from Cornicabra olives with different ripeness indices; Rendimiento en fritura de dos aceites vírgenes de aceitunas Cornicabra con diferentes índices de maduración

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olivero-David, R.; Mena, C.; Sánchez-Muniz, F.J.; Pérez-Jiménez, M.A.; Holgado, F.; Bastida, S.; Velasco, J.

2017-07-01

The frying performance of two virgin olive oils (VOO) from Cornicabra olives of different ripeness indices, 2.08 for VOO1 and 4.13 for VOO2, was evaluated. Thermal, oxidative and hydrolytic alterations were determined throughout 40 frying operations with potatoes. The initial oils showed similar fatty acid compositions and oxidative stability indices as determined by Rancimat, but VOO1 presented higher amounts of total polyphenols and tocopherols. The oils showed high and similar frying performance. No significant differences in the levels of polar compounds (PC) were found between the two oils during frying. Therefore, the frying stability of Cornicabra VOOs appears to be unconnected with olive fruit ripeness. The limit of degradation at 25% PC as established in different countries was calculated to occur at 55 frying operations in the two oils. As oil toxicity is related to the levels of compounds formed, the use of Cornicabra VOOs for frying is highly recommended. [Spanish] En el presente trabajo se evalúa el comportamiento de fritura de dos aceites de oliva virgen (VOO) obtenidos de aceitunas de la variedad Cornicabra con diferentes índices de maduración, 2,08 para VOO1 y 4,13 para VOO2. A lo largo de 40 operaciones de fritura con patatas se determinaron las alteraciones térmicas, oxidativas e hidrolíticas de los aceites. Los aceites iniciales presentaron composiciones de ácidos grasos e índices de estabilidad oxidativa determinados en Rancimat similares entre sí. Sin embargo, las cantidades de fenoles totales y tocoferol fueron más altas para VOO1. Los aceites mostraron una eficacia en fritura elevada y similar. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en los niveles de compuestos polares (PC) durante la fritura entre los dos aceites. Por tanto, la estabilidad en condiciones de fritura de los dos aceites Cornicabra no parece estar relacionada con el estado de maduración de las aceitunas. El límite de degradación de 25% de PC establecido en

Eutectic propeties of primitive Earth's magma ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Lo Nigro, G.; Andrault, D.; Bolfan-Casanova, N.; Perillat, J.-P.

2009-04-01

It is widely accepted that the early Earth was partially molten (if not completely) due to the high energy dissipated by terrestrial accretion [1]. After core formation, subsequent cooling of the magma ocean has led to fractional crystallization of the primitive mantle. The residual liquid corresponds to what is now called the fertile mantle or pyrolite. Melting relations of silicates have been extensively investigated using the multi-anvil press, for pressures between 3 and 25 GPa [2,3]. Using the quench technique, it has been shown that the pressure affects significantly the solidus and liquidus curves, and most probably the composition of the eutectic liquid. At higher pressures, up to 65 GPa, melting studies were performed on pyrolite starting material using the laser-heated diamond anvil cell (LH-DAC) technique [4]. However, the quench technique is not ideal to define melting criteria, and furthermore these studies were limited in pressure range of investigation. Finally, the use of pyrolite may not be relevant to study the melting eutectic temperature. At the core-mantle boundary conditions, melting temperature is documented by a single data point on (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 olivine, provided by shock wave experiments at around 130-140 GPa [5]. These previous results present large uncertainties of ~1000 K. The aim of this study is to determine the eutectic melting temperature in the chemically simplified system composed of the two major lower mantle phases, the MgSiO3 perovskite and MgO periclase. We investigated melting in-situ using the laser-heated diamond anvil cell coupled with angle dispersive X-ray diffraction at the ID27 beamline of the ESRF [6]. Melting relations were investigated in an extended P-T range comparable to those found in the Earth's lower mantle, i.e. from 25 to 120 GPa and up to more than 5000 K. Melting was evidenced from (a) disappearance of one of the two phases in the diffraction pattern, (b) drastic changes of the diffraction image itself, and

Examination of Multiple Lithologies Within the Primitive Ordinary Chondrite NWA 5717

Science.gov (United States)

Cato, M. J.; Simon, J. I.; Ross, D. K.; Morris, R. V.

2017-01-01

Northwest Africa 5717 is a primitive (subtype 3.05) ungrouped ordinary chondrite which contains two apparently distinct lithologies. In large cut meteorite slabs, the darker of these, lithology A, looks to host the second, much lighter in color, lithology B (upper left, Fig. 1). The nature of the boundary between the two is uncertain, ranging from abrupt to gradational and not always following particle boundaries. The distinction between the lithologies, beyond the obvious color differences, has been supported by a discrepancy in oxygen isotopes and an incongruity in the magnesium contents of chondrule olivine. Here, quantitative textural analysis and mineralogical methods have been used to investigate the two apparent lithologies within NWA 5717. Olivine grains contained in a thin section from NWA 7402, thought to be paired to 5717, were also measured to re-examine the distinct compositional range among the light and dark areas. Procedure: Particles from a high-resolution mosaic image of a roughly 13x15cm slice of NWA 5717 were traced in Adobe Photoshop. Due to the large size of the sample, visually representative regions of each lithology were chosen to be analyzed. The resulting layers of digitized particles were imported into ImageJ, which was used to measure their area, along with the axes, the angle from horizontal, and the centroid coordinates of ellipses fitted to each particle following the approach. Resulting 2D pixel areas were converted to spherical diameters employing the unfolding algorithm, which outputs a 3D particle size distribution based on digitized 2D size frequency data. Spatstat was used to create kernel density plots of the centroid coordinates for each region. X-ray compositional maps, microprobe analyses, and Mossbauer spectroscopy was conducted on a thin section of NWA 7402, tentatively paired to NWA 5717.

Alterações físico-químicas e microbiológicas durante o armazenamento de doces de umbu (Spondias tuberosa Arr. Câmara verde e maduro Physico-chemical and microbiological changes during storage of green and ripe umbu marmalade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Lúcia Almeida Martins

2010-03-01

Full Text Available O umbuzeiro (Spondias tuberosa Arr. Câmara é uma planta de grande valor econômico para a região semiárida nordestina, notadamente pela produção de doces em massa. Este trabalho teve como objetivo monitorar a vida de prateleira de quatro formulações de doces em massa de umbu verde e maduro à temperatura de 30 °C durante 120 dias. As alterações físico-químicas e microbiológicas foram avaliadas no referido tempo. Os resultados mostraram um decréscimo na atividade de água, um aumento nos sólidos solúveis e no açúcar redutor; pH e acidez mantiveram estáveis; e uma tendência à redução no conteúdo de açúcar não redutor em ambos os doces. Os produtos foram microbiologicamente estáveis. Recomenda-se o uso de pectina ao processo de formulações de umbu maduro e goma xantana ou xarope de glicose para produção de doces de umbu verde.The umbu (Spondias tuberosa Arr. Câmara tree is of high economic value to the semi-arid Northeast area of Brazil due to umbu jam production. This work aimed to monitor the shelf life of four marmalade formulations made from green and ripe umbu, which were kept at 30 °C for 120 days. The physical, chemical, and microbiological alterations were evaluated during the time specified. The results showed a decrease in water activity; an increase in the soluble solids, and a reduction in sugar; pH and acidity remained stable; and there was a tendency to lower sucrose content in both jams. The products were microbiologically stable. The use of pectin is recommended to process the formulations made from ripe umbu, and either xanthan gum or glucose syrup to produce jam from the green umbu.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) of the kidney: a rare renal tumour in adolescents with seemingly characteristic radiological features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, Winnie C.; Reznikov, Boris; Lee, Edward Y.; Grant, Ronald M.; Cheng, Frankie W.T.; Babyn, Paul

2008-01-01

Primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNETs) constitute a family of neoplasms of presumed neuroectodermal origin that predominantly present as bone or soft-tissue masses in adolescents and young adults. PNET arising in the kidney is rare. To describe the radiological features in three patients with primary renal PNET. The radiological features of primary renal PNET in three adolescent patients (age 10, 14 and 16 years) are described. Tumour thrombus extending into the renal vein and inferior vena cava was noted in all three patients. In addition, further tumour extension into the atrium was seen in two patients with extension into a pulmonary artery in one patient. Neural foraminal and intraspinal extension close to the origin of the tumour was identified in two patients. Liver, bone and lung metastases were identified. While rare, one should consider the diagnosis of PNET when encountering a renal mass with aggressive features such as inferior vena cava tumour thrombus, direct intraspinal invasion and distant metastasis. (orig.)

Antioxidant Evaluation of Methanolic Extract of Black Nightshades Ripe Fruits against Technical and Formulated Parathion-Induced Damage in Albino Rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdel-Rahiml, E.A.; Abdel-Rahim, G.A.; Atia, A.I.

2009-01-01

Parathion in technical or formulated form at a sub-lethal dose of 1/20 LD 50 was applied orally or dermally at 2-day interval for three months to determine its effect on RNA, DNA and protein content as well as RNA ase and DNA ase activity in different organs liver, brain and kidneys of adult male albino rats. Also, serum GOT, GPT and ALP activity as well as serum total soluble protein, albumin, globulin, bilirubin and uric acid content were determined in adult male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus). In addition, the present studies were undertaken to investigate different biological activities of the above parameters of black nightshades (Solanum nigrum L) methanolic extract. Two kinds of experimental works were taken off (antioxidants and protective). The results showed that technical and formulated parathion increased RNA and protein content but the content of DNA was insignificantly decreased in all rat organs tissue (liver, brain and kidneys) relative to control. The activity of RNA ase was also stimulated. In case of liver and kidney functions the present data observed that serum GOT, GPT and ALP activity was stimulated but total soluble protein, albumin and globulin content was decreased but the urea, uric acid and bilirubin content of serum was increased. Also, liver lipid peroxidation was elevated significantly either by technical or formulated parathion (ingested orally or induced dermally). It should be noted that formulated parathion ingested orally was the most effective, but the technical one had the lowest toxicity. The results of the present studies showed that crude methanolic extract of black nightshades ripe fruits has a strong antioxidant activity as showed by DPPH, nitric oxide scavenging, total reducing power, Fenton's reaction and total antioxidant capacity assay. Finally the the methanolic extract of the present medicinal plant observed a valuable influence as a protective agent in vivo in serum, liver, brain and kidneys damage of parathion

Antioxidant activity and protective effect of banana peel against oxidative hemolysis of human erythrocyte at different stages of ripening.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundaram, Shanthy; Anjum, Shadma; Dwivedi, Priyanka; Rai, Gyanendra Kumar

2011-08-01

Phytochemicals such as polyphenols and carotenoids are gaining importance because of their contribution to human health and their multiple biological effects such as antioxidant, antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, and cytoprotective activities and their therapeutic properties. Banana peel is a major by-product in pulp industry and it contains various bioactive compounds like polyphenols, carotenoids, and others. In the present study, effect of ripening, solvent polarity on the content of bioactive compounds of crude banana peel and the protective effect of peel extracts of unripe, ripe, and leaky ripe banana fruit on hydrogen peroxide-induced hemolysis and their antioxidant capacity were investigated. Banana (Musa paradisica) peel at different stages of ripening (unripe, ripe, leaky ripe) were treated with 70% acetone, which were partitioned in order of polarity with water, ethyl acetate, chloroform (CHCl₃), and hexane sequentially. The antioxidant activity of the samples was evaluated by the red cell hemolysis assay, free radical scavenging (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical elimination) and superoxide dismutase activities. The Folin-Ciocalteu's reagent assay was used to estimate the phenolic content of extracts. The findings of this investigation suggest that the unripe banana peel sample had higher antioxidant potency than ripe and leaky ripe. Further on fractionation, ethyl acetate and water soluble fractions of unripe peel displayed high antioxidant activity than CHCl₃ and hexane fraction, respectively. A positive correlation between free radical scavenging capacity and the content of phenolic compound were found in unripe, ripe, and leaky ripe stages of banana peel.

Preferential uptake of ribose by primitive cells might explain why RNA was favored over its analogs

Science.gov (United States)

Pohorille, Andrew; Wei, Chenyu

Permeation of molecules through membranes is a fundamental process in biological systems, which not only involves mass and signal transfers between the interior of a contemporary cell and its environment, but was also of crucial importance in the origin of life. In the absence of complex protein transporters, nutrients and building blocks of biopolymers must have been able to permeate membranes at sufficient rates to support primordial metabolism and cel-lular reproduction. From this perspective one class of solutes that is of special interest are monosaccharides, which serve not only as nutritional molecules but also as building blocks for information molecules. In particular, ribose is a part of the RNA backbone, but RNA analogs containing a number of other sugars have also been shown to form stable duplexes. Why, among these possibilities, ribose (and, subsequently, deoxyribose) was selected for the backbone of information polymers is still poorly understood. It was recently found that ribose permeates membranes an order of magnitude faster than its diastereomers, arabinose and xylose [1]. On this basis it was hypothesized that differences in membrane permeability to aldopentoses provide a mechanism for preferential delivery of ribose to primitive cells for subsequent, selective incorporation into nucleotides and their polymers. However, the origins of these unusually large differences had not been well understood. We addressed this issue in molecular dynamics simulations combined with free energy calculations. It was found that the free energy barrier for transferring ribose from water to the bilayer is lower by 1.5-2 kcal/mol than the barrier for transferring the other two aldopentoses. The calculated [2] and measured [1] permeability coefficients are in an excellent agreement. The sugar structures that permeate the membrane are -pyranoses, with a possible contribution of the -anomer for arabinose. The furanoid form of ribose is not substantially involved in

Return of the giants: Restoring white pine ecosystems by breeding and aggressive planting of blister rust-resistant white pines

Science.gov (United States)

Lauren Fins; James Byler; Dennis Ferguson; Al Harvey; Mary Francis Mahalovich; Geral I. McDonald; Dan Miller; John Schwandt; Art Zack

2001-01-01

In 1883, when the Northern Pacific Railroad made its way through northern Idaho, western white pines dominated the moist, mid-elevation, mixed-species forests of the Inland Northwest between 2,000 and 6,000 feet. These majestic trees often lived to 350 years but could reach the ripe old ages of 400 and even 500 years. They were an integral part of the most productive...

A general aspect on soft-tissue sarcoma and c-kit expression in primitive neuroectodermal tumor and Ewings sarcoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kara, Ismail O.; Sahin, B.; Gonlusen, G.; Ergin, M.; Erdogan, S.

2005-01-01

Within soft-tissue sarcoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumors have been shown to cover a wide spectrum of small round cell sarcomas, including Ewings sarcomas (Es) and primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PET). The role of the stem cell factor/kit pathway has been investigated in different human tumors especially in chronic metallically leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumor and an autocrine loop has been assumed in small cell lung carcinoma, and recently in Es and PET. Our aim is to investigate the c-kit expression in Es and PET and also to assessed if c-kit has any role in disease process. We thoroughly searched the archives of the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University Turkey, between 2000 and 2004; and found 14 ES and 14 PNET paraffin embedded tissues. We carried out the detection of the c-kit expression by immunohistochemical staining. The patients median age was 23.7 +/-14.6 (12 male and 16 female). Five were diagnosed as metastatic disease whereas 23 were diagnosed as non-metastatic disease at admission. The mean follow up period was 38.9 +/- 22.3 months. The main localization of the disease was lower extremity (32.1%), and others were as follows: head and neck 25%, thorax and abdomen 14.3%, pelvic and upper extremity 7.1% (11 were localized skeletal and 17 were extraskeletal). According to treatment modalities, 10 were treated with surgery alone, 11 with surgery and chemotherapy, and 7 with surgery, radiation therapy and also with chemotherapy. The primary tumor was lower than 5 cm in its dimension in 21 patients. While in 5 patients, tumor was more than 5 cm but did not exceed 10 cm, it was >10 cm in 2 patients. The c-kit expression was positive in 7 patients both cytoplasmic and membranously, whereas 8 patients were positive cytoplasmically. In 5 PNET patients, c-kit expression were stained immunohistochemically in over 50% and in 3 of ES patients. There was no significant correlation between c-kit expression and gender

The Primitive Thylakoid-Less Cyanobacterium Gloeobacter Is a Common Rock-Dwelling Organism.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Mareš

Full Text Available Cyanobacteria are an ancient group of photosynthetic prokaryotes, which are significant in biogeochemical cycles. The most primitive among living cyanobacteria, Gloeobacter violaceus, shows a unique ancestral cell organization with a complete absence of inner membranes (thylakoids and an uncommon structure of the photosynthetic apparatus. Numerous phylogenetic papers proved its basal position among all of the organisms and organelles capable of plant-like photosynthesis (i.e., cyanobacteria, chloroplasts of algae and plants. Hence, G. violaceus has become one of the key species in evolutionary study of photosynthetic life. It also numbers among the most widely used organisms in experimental photosynthesis research. Except for a few related culture isolates, there has been little data on the actual biology of Gloeobacter, being relegated to an "evolutionary curiosity" with an enigmatic identity. Here we show that members of the genus Gloeobacter probably are common rock-dwelling cyanobacteria. On the basis of morphological, ultrastructural, pigment, and phylogenetic comparisons of available Gloeobacter strains, as well as on the basis of three new independent isolates and historical type specimen, we have produced strong evidence as to the close relationship of Gloeobacter to a long known rock-dwelling cyanobacterial morphospecies Aphanothece caldariorum. Our results bring new clues to solving the 40 year old puzzle of the true biological identity of Gloeobacter violaceus, a model organism with a high value in several biological disciplines. A probable broader distribution of Gloeobacter in common wet-rock habitats worldwide is suggested by our data, and its ecological meaning is discussed taking into consideration the background of cyanobacterial evolution. We provide observations of previously unknown genetic variability and phenotypic plasticity, which we expect to be utilized by experimental and evolutionary researchers worldwide.

The divergent fates of primitive hydrospheric water on Earth and Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, Jon; Dyck, Brendan; Palin, Richard M.; Moore, James D. P.; Smye, Andrew J.

2017-12-01

Despite active transport into Earth’s mantle, water has been present on our planet’s surface for most of geological time. Yet water disappeared from the Martian surface soon after its formation. Although some of the water on Mars was lost to space via photolysis following the collapse of the planet’s magnetic field, the widespread serpentinization of Martian crust suggests that metamorphic hydration reactions played a critical part in the sequestration of the crust. Here we quantify the relative volumes of water that could be removed from each planet’s surface via the burial and metamorphism of hydrated mafic crusts, and calculate mineral transition-induced bulk-density changes at conditions of elevated pressure and temperature for each. The metamorphic mineral assemblages in relatively FeO-rich Martian lavas can hold about 25 per cent more structurally bound water than those in metamorphosed terrestrial basalts, and can retain it at greater depths within Mars. Our calculations suggest that in excess of 9 per cent by volume of the Martian mantle may contain hydrous mineral species as a consequence of surface reactions, compared to about 4 per cent by volume of Earth’s mantle. Furthermore, neither primitive nor evolved hydrated Martian crust show noticeably different bulk densities compared to their anhydrous equivalents, in contrast to hydrous mafic terrestrial crust, which transforms to denser eclogite upon dehydration. This would have allowed efficient overplating and burial of early Martian crust in a stagnant-lid tectonic regime, in which the lithosphere comprised a single tectonic plate, with only the warmer, lower crust involved in mantle convection. This provided an important sink for hydrospheric water and a mechanism for oxidizing the Martian mantle. Conversely, relatively buoyant mafic crust and hotter geothermal gradients on Earth reduced the potential for upper-mantle hydration early in its geological history, leading to water being retained

The divergent fates of primitive hydrospheric water on Earth and Mars.

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, Jon; Dyck, Brendan; Palin, Richard M; Moore, James D P; Smye, Andrew J

2017-12-20

Despite active transport into Earth's mantle, water has been present on our planet's surface for most of geological time. Yet water disappeared from the Martian surface soon after its formation. Although some of the water on Mars was lost to space via photolysis following the collapse of the planet's magnetic field, the widespread serpentinization of Martian crust suggests that metamorphic hydration reactions played a critical part in the sequestration of the crust. Here we quantify the relative volumes of water that could be removed from each planet's surface via the burial and metamorphism of hydrated mafic crusts, and calculate mineral transition-induced bulk-density changes at conditions of elevated pressure and temperature for each. The metamorphic mineral assemblages in relatively FeO-rich Martian lavas can hold about 25 per cent more structurally bound water than those in metamorphosed terrestrial basalts, and can retain it at greater depths within Mars. Our calculations suggest that in excess of 9 per cent by volume of the Martian mantle may contain hydrous mineral species as a consequence of surface reactions, compared to about 4 per cent by volume of Earth's mantle. Furthermore, neither primitive nor evolved hydrated Martian crust show noticeably different bulk densities compared to their anhydrous equivalents, in contrast to hydrous mafic terrestrial crust, which transforms to denser eclogite upon dehydration. This would have allowed efficient overplating and burial of early Martian crust in a stagnant-lid tectonic regime, in which the lithosphere comprised a single tectonic plate, with only the warmer, lower crust involved in mantle convection. This provided an important sink for hydrospheric water and a mechanism for oxidizing the Martian mantle. Conversely, relatively buoyant mafic crust and hotter geothermal gradients on Earth reduced the potential for upper-mantle hydration early in its geological history, leading to water being retained close to

Palliative radiotherapy for hematuria complicating the local evolution of primitive bladder cancers; Radiotherapie palliative pour hematurie compliquant l'evolution locale des cancers primitifs de vessie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saillard, S.M.; Benyoucef, A.; Dubray, B. [Centre Henri-Becquerel, 76 - Rouen (France); Smaali, C.; Albouy, B.; Pfister, C.; Grise, P. [Centre hospitalier universitaire, 76 - Rouen (France)

2010-10-15

As a haemostatic irradiation is often proposed to patients suffering from a primitive bladder cancer, the authors report a retrospective mono-centric analysis of the effects of an external bi-dimensional palliative radiotherapy on patients taken into care for relapsing macroscopic hematuria after failure of local urological treatments. The assessment concerns the hematuria persistence, the interval without hematuric relapse, global survival, and transfusion needs. Based on a sample of 21 patients submitted to different irradiation schemes, the authors notice that a simple pelvic irradiation technique results in a fast symptomatic improvement of hematuria among fragile patients. Short communication

A module of human peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptional network containing primitive and differentiation markers is related to specific cardiovascular health variables.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leni Moldovan

Full Text Available Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs, including rare circulating stem and progenitor cells (CSPCs, have important yet poorly understood roles in the maintenance and repair of blood vessels and perfused organs. Our hypothesis was that the identities and functions of CSPCs in cardiovascular health could be ascertained by analyzing the patterns of their co-expressed markers in unselected PBMC samples. Because gene microarrays had failed to detect many stem cell-associated genes, we performed quantitative real-time PCR to measure the expression of 45 primitive and tissue differentiation markers in PBMCs from healthy and hypertensive human subjects. We compared these expression levels to the subjects' demographic and cardiovascular risk factors, including vascular stiffness. The tested marker genes were expressed in all of samples and organized in hierarchical transcriptional network modules, constructed by a bottom-up approach. An index of gene expression in one of these modules (metagene, defined as the average standardized relative copy numbers of 15 pluripotency and cardiovascular differentiation markers, was negatively correlated (all p<0.03 with age (R2 = -0.23, vascular stiffness (R2 = -0.24, and central aortic pressure (R2 = -0.19 and positively correlated with body mass index (R2 = 0.72, in women. The co-expression of three neovascular markers was validated at the single-cell level using mRNA in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry. The overall gene expression in this cardiovascular module was reduced by 72±22% in the patients compared with controls. However, the compactness of both modules was increased in the patients' samples, which was reflected in reduced dispersion of their nodes' degrees of connectivity, suggesting a more primitive character of the patients' CSPCs. In conclusion, our results show that the relationship between CSPCs and vascular function is encoded in modules of the PBMCs transcriptional

Multiple Ewing Sarcoma/Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors in the Mediastinum: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Sung Hwan; Hwang, Jung Hwa; Da Nam, Bo; Kim, Hyun Jo; Kim, Ki-Up; Kim, Dong Won; Choi, In Ho

2016-02-01

Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumors (ES/PNET) are high-grade malignant neoplasms. These malignancies present very rare tumors of thoracopulmonary area and even rarer in the mediastinum. In our knowledge, ES/PNET presented with multiple mediastinal masses has not been reported previously. We experienced a case of a 42-year-old man presented with gradual onset of left-side pleuritic chest pain. A contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed separate 2 large heterogeneously enhancing masses in each anterior and middle mediastinum of the left hemithorax. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan revealed high fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the mediastinal masses. After surgical excision for the mediastinal masses, both of the masses were diagnosed as the ES/PNET group of tumors on the histopathologic examination. The patient refused postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and came back with local tumor recurrence and distant metastasis on 4-month follow-up after surgical resection. We report this uncommon form of ES/PNET. We are to raise awareness that this rare malignancy should be considered as a differential diagnosis of the malignant mediastinal tumors and which can be manifested as multiple masses in a patient. Understanding this rare entity of extra-skeletal ES/PNET and characteristic imaging findings can help radiologists and clinicians to approach proper diagnosis and better management for this highly malignant tumor.

Yeasts associated with fresh and frozen pulps of Brazilian tropical fruits.

Science.gov (United States)

Trindade, Rita C; Resende, Maria Aparecida; Silva, Claudia M; Rosa, Carlos A

2002-08-01

The occurrence of yeasts on ripe fruits and frozen pulps of pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L), mangaba (Hancornia speciosa Gom.), umbu (Spondias tuberosa Avr. Cam.), and acerola (Malpighia glaba L) was verified. The incidence of proteolytic, pectinolytic, and mycocinogenic yeasts on these communities was also determined. A total of 480 colonies was isolated and grouped in 405 different strains. These corresponded to 42 ascomycetous and 28 basidiomycetous species. Candida sorbosivorans, Pseudozyma antarctica, C. spandovensis-like, C. spandovensis, Kloeckera apis, C. parapsilosis, Rhodotorula graminis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Cryptococcus laurentii, Metchnikowia sp (isolated only from pitanga ripe fruits), Issatchenkia occidentalis and C. krusei (isolated only from mangaba frozen pulps), were the most frequent species. The yeast communities from pitanga ripe fruits exhibited the highest frequency of species, followed by communities from acerola ripe fruits and mangaba frozen pulps. Yeast communities from frozen pulp and ripe fruits of umbu had the lowest number of species. Except the yeasts from pitanga, yeast communities from frozen pulp exhibited higher number of yeasts than ripe fruit communities. Mycocinogenic yeasts were found in all of the substrates studied except in communities from umbu ripe fruits and pitanga frozen pulps. Most of the yeasts found to produce mycocins were basidiomycetes and included P. antarctica, Cryptococcus albidus, C. bhutanensis-like, R. graminis and R. mucilaginosa-like from pitanga ripe fruits as well as black yeasts from pitanga and acerola ripe fruits. The umbu frozen pulps community had the highest frequency of proteolytic species. Yeasts able to hydrolyse casein at pH 5.0 represented 38.5% of the species isolated. Thirty-seven percent of yeast isolates were able to hydrolyse casein at pH 7.0. Pectinolytic yeasts were found in all of the communities studied, excepted for those of umbu frozen pulps. The highest frequency of

G-autonomy of EEG recordings of psychotic patients undergoing the primitive expression form of dance therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Ventouras, E.-C.; Lardi, I.; Dimitriou, S.; Margariti, A.; Chondraki, P.; Kalatzis, I.; Economou, N.-T.; Tsekou, H.; Paparrigopoulos, T.; Ktonas, P. Y.

2015-09-01

Primitive expression (PE) is a form of dance therapy (DT) that involves an interaction of ethologically and socially based forms which are supplied for re-enactment. Brain connectivity has been measured in electroencephalographic (EEG) data of patients with schizophrenia undergoing PE DT, using the correlation coefficient and mutual information. These parameters do not measure the existence or absence of directionality in the connectivity. The present study investigates the use of the G-autonomy measure of EEG electrode voltages of the same group of schizophrenic patients. G-autonomy is a measure of the “autonomy” of a system. It indicates the degree by which prediction of the system's future evolution is enhanced by taking into account its own past states, in comparison to predictions based on past states of a set of external variables. In the present research, “own” past states refer to voltage values in the time series recorded at a specific electrode and “external” variables refer to the voltage values recorded at other electrodes. Indication is provided for an acute effect of early-stage PE DT expressed by the augmentation of G-autonomy in the delta rhythm and an acute effect of late- stage PE DT expressed by the reduction of G-autonomy in the theta and alpha rhythms.

Application of the SRISM approach to the study of the capacitance of the double layer of a high density primitive model electrolyte

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Woelki

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In this study the Singlet Reference Interaction Site Model (SRISM is employed to the study of the electrode charge dependence of the capacitance of a planar electric double layer using the primitive model of the double layer for a high density electrolyte that mimics an ionic liquid. The ions are represented by charged hard spheres and the electrode is a uniformly charged flat surface. The capacitance of this model fluid is calculated with the SRISM approach with closures based on the hypernetted chain (HNC and Kovalenko-Hirata (KH closures and compared with simulations. As long as the magnitude of the electrode charge is not too great, the HNC closure shows the most promise. The KH results are reasonably good for a high density electrolyte but are poor when applied at low densities.

Integrated design course of applied optics focusing on operating and maintaining abilities

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhongjie; Ning, Yu; Jiang, Tian; Cheng, Xiangai

2017-08-01

The abilities of operating and maintaining optical instruments are crucial in modern society. Besides the basic knowledge in optics, the optics courses in the National University of Defense Technology also focus on the training on handling typical optical equipment. As the link between classroom courses on applied optics and the field trips, the integrated design course of applied optics aims to give the students a better understanding on several instantly used optical equipment, such as hand-held telescope and periscope, etc. The basic concepts of optical system design are also emphasized as well. The course is arranged rightly after the classroom course of applied optics and composed of experimental and design tasks. The experimental tasks include the measurements of aberrations and major parameters of a primitive telescope, while in the design parts, the students are asked to design a Keplerian telescope. The whole course gives a deepened understandings on the concepts, assembling, and operating of telescopes. The students are also encouraged to extend their interests on other typical optical instruments.

Undifferentiated myxoid lipoblastoma with PLAG1-HAS2 fusion in an infant; morphologically mimicking primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy (PMMTI)--diagnostic importance of cytogenetic and molecular testing and literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, Mikako; Turpin, Brian K; Mark, Melissa; Smolarek, Teresa A; Li, Xia

2016-01-01

Lipoblastoma is a benign myxoid neoplasm arising in young children that typically demonstrates adipose differentiation. It is often morphologically indistinguishable from primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy (PMMTI), which is characterized by a well-circumscribed myxoid mass with a proliferation of primitive mesenchymal cells with mild cytologic atypia. PMMTI occurs in the first year of life and is known to have locally aggressive behavior. No specific genetic rearrangements have been reported to date. In contrast, the presence of PLAG1 (Pleomorphic Adenoma Gene 1) rearrangement is diagnostic for lipoblastoma. We hereby demonstrate the combined application of multiple approaches to tackle the diagnostic challenges of a rapidly growing neck tumor in a 3-month-old female. An incisional tumor biopsy had features of an undifferentiated, myxoid mesenchymal neoplasm mimicking PMMTI. However, tumor cells showed diffuse nuclear expression by immunohistochemical (IHC) stain. Conventional cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses as well as next generation sequencing (NGS) demonstrated evidence of PLAG1 rearrangement, confirming the diagnosis of lipoblastoma. This experience warrants that undifferentiated myxoid lipoblastoma can mimic PMMTI, and the combination of cytogenetic and molecular approaches is essential to distinguish these two myxoid neoplasms. Literature on lipoblastomas with relevant molecular and cytogenetic findings is summarized. Our case is the first lipoblastoma diagnosed with a PLAG1 fusion defined by NGS technology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Complex Conjugated certificateless-based signcryption with differential integrated factor for secured message communication in mobile network.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumithra Alagarsamy

Full Text Available Certificateless-based signcryption overcomes inherent shortcomings in traditional Public Key Infrastructure (PKI and Key Escrow problem. It imparts efficient methods to design PKIs with public verifiability and cipher text authenticity with minimum dependency. As a classic primitive in public key cryptography, signcryption performs validity of cipher text without decryption by combining authentication, confidentiality, public verifiability and cipher text authenticity much more efficiently than the traditional approach. In this paper, we first define a security model for certificateless-based signcryption called, Complex Conjugate Differential Integrated Factor (CC-DIF scheme by introducing complex conjugates through introduction of the security parameter and improving secured message distribution rate. However, both partial private key and secret value changes with respect to time. To overcome this weakness, a new certificateless-based signcryption scheme is proposed by setting the private key through Differential (Diff Equation using an Integration Factor (DiffEIF, minimizing computational cost and communication overhead. The scheme is therefore said to be proven secure (i.e. improving the secured message distributing rate against certificateless access control and signcryption-based scheme. In addition, compared with the three other existing schemes, the CC-DIF scheme has the least computational cost and communication overhead for secured message communication in mobile network.