Sample records for semidiurnal-like pattern prevails
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Riawan Edi
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Based on the data analysis of 16 years of TMPA dataset, the common patterns of rainfall over the Ciliwung River Basin are diurnal and semidiurnal. Those patterns can be associated by a stationary or moving rainstorm with different magnitude and direction. Based on hydrological model simulations, both the pattern and movement have a significant role to the discharge. At the downstream area, the discharge that triggered by semidiurnal pattern of rainfall can produces higher peak discharge and longer flood duration than diurnal pattern. This result open possibility to improve our prediction on design discharge.
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Tidal asymmetry in a funnel-shaped estuary with mixed semidiurnal tides
Gong, Wenping; Schuttelaars, Henk; Zhang, Heng
2016-05-01
results show that the FDA exhibits a predominant tendency of shorter duration of low water slack, favoring the landward transport of fine sediment. The FVA demonstrates prevailing ebb dominance in the study period, favoring the seaward transport of coarse sediment. This ebb dominance is primarily induced by the interaction among the residual flow and the tidal constituents. The external TDA in the ocean experiences distinct cyclic variations with positive asymmetry when semidiurnal tides dominate and negative asymmetry during the periods when diurnal tides dominate. The funnel shape of the HE is advantageous for the development of positive tidal asymmetry as the semidiurnal tides are more amplified than the diurnal tides. The effect of river flow can enhance the ebb dominance, while the baroclinic effect is more complex. The existence of channel and shoals favors the development of residual pattern with seaward flow (ebb dominance) in the channel and landward flow (flood dominance) at the shoal when the tides are strong (semidiurnal tides dominate) and the residual pattern with landward flow (flood dominance) in the channel and seaward flow (ebb dominance) at the shoal when the baroclinic effect is dominant (diurnal tides dominate).
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Progress in Research on Diurnal and Semidiurnal Earth Rotation Change
Xu, Xueqing
2015-08-01
We mainly focus on the progress of research on high frequency changes in the earth rotation. Firstly, we review the development course and main motivating factors of the diurnal and semidiurnal earth rotation change. In recent decades, earth orientation has been monitored with increasing accuracy by advanced space-geodetic techniques, including lunar and satellite laser ranging, very long baseline interferometry and the global positioning system. We are able to obtain the Earth Rotation Parameters (ERP, polar motion and rotation rate changes) by even 1 to 2 hours observation data, form which obvious diurnal and semidiurnal signals can be detected, and compare them with the predicted results by the ocean model. Both the amplitude and phase are in good agreement in the main diurnal and semidiurnal wave frequency, especially for the UT1, whose compliance is 90%, and 60% for polar motion, there are 30% motivating factor of the diurnal and semidiurnal polar motion have not been identified. Then we comprehensively review the different types of global ocean tidal correction models since the last eighties century, as well as the application research on diurnal and semidiurnal polar motion and UT1, the current ocean tidal correction models have 10% to 20% uncertainty, and need for further refinement.
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Seasonal variability and descent of mid-latitude sporadic E layers at Arecibo
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
N. Christakis
2009-03-01
Full Text Available Sporadic E layers (Es follow regular daily patterns in variability and altitude descent, which are determined primarily by the vertical tidal wind shears in the lower thermosphere. In the present study a large set of sporadic E layer incoherent scatter radar (ISR measurements are analyzed. These were made at Arecibo (Geog. Lat. ~18° N; Magnetic Dip ~50° over many years with ISR runs lasting from several hours to several days, covering evenly all seasons. A new methodology is applied, in which both weak and strong layers are clearly traced by using the vertical electron density gradient as a function of altitude and time. Taking a time base equal to the 24-h local day, statistics were obtained on the seasonal behavior of the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal variability and altitude descent patterns of sporadic E at Arecibo. The diurnal tide, most likely the S(1,1 tide with a vertical wavelength around 25 km, controls fully the formation and descent of the metallic Es layers at low altitudes below 110 km. At higher altitudes, there are two prevailing layers formed presumably by vertical wind shears associated mainly with semidiurnal tides. These include: 1 a daytime layer starting at ~130 km around midday and descending down to 105 km by local midnight, and 2 a less frequent and weaker nighttime layer which starts prior to midnight at ~130 km, descending downwards at somewhat faster rate to reach 110 km by sunrise. The diurnal and semidiurnal-like pattern prevails, with some differences, in all seasons. The differences in occurrence, strength and descending speeds between the daytime and nighttime upper layers are not well understood from the present data alone and require further study.
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Semidiurnal tide in the E region from incoherent scatter measurements at Arecibo
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wand, R.H.
1976-01-01
A five-pulse technique was implemented for the 430 MHz incoherent scatter radar at Arecibo Observatory (18.3 0 N) to explore the detailed thermal structure of the E region from 105 to 130 km with an altitude resolution of 3 km. Five days of measurements in Sept-Oct 1970 showed long-period temperature fluctuations having a downward phase progression. The temperature oscillations are interpreted as manifestations of a semidiurnal tide which is quite stable over a 12-day period, together with a superimposed spectrum of shorter-period gravity waves which are randomly phased from day to day. The semidiurnal tide increased to a maximum amplitude of 17 percent of the mean temperature near 115 km and decreased above this altitude as dissipative effects became important. The vertical wavelength, deduced from the altitude variation of semidiurnal tidal phase, showed a smooth increase from about 20 km at an altitude of 109 km to about 50 km at an altitude of 127 km. No ready interpretation of the observed tidal characteristics was possible in terms of present theories for the semidiurnal tide. Altitude profiles of mean daytime temperature and ion-neutral collision frequency were also obtained from the measurements. The mean temperature gradient between 115 and 130 km was 15 K/km, which is somewhat larger than that given by current atmospheric models
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Propagation of the Semidiurnal Internal Tide: Phase Velocity Versus Group Velocity
Zhao, Zhongxiang
2017-12-01
The superposition of two waves of slightly different wavelengths has long been used to illustrate the distinction between phase velocity and group velocity. The first-mode M2 and S2 internal tides exemplify such a two-wave model in the natural ocean. The M2 and S2 tidal frequencies are 1.932 and 2 cycles per day, respectively, and their superposition forms a spring-neap cycle in the semidiurnal band. The spring-neap cycle acts like a wave, with its frequency, wave number, and phase being the differences of the M2 and S2 internal tides. The spring-neap cycle and energy of the semidiurnal internal tide propagate at the group velocity. Long-range propagation of M2 and S2 internal tides in the North Pacific is observed by satellite altimetry. Along a 3,400 km beam spanning 24°-54°N, the M2 and S2 travel times are 10.9 and 11.2 days, respectively. For comparison, it takes the spring-neap cycle 21.1 days to travel over this distance. Spatial maps of the M2 phase velocity, the S2 phase velocity, and the group velocity are determined from phase gradients of the corresponding satellite observed internal tide fields. The observed phase and group velocities agree with theoretical values estimated using the World Ocean Atlas 2013 annual-mean ocean stratification.
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Seasonal variation of semidiurnal internal tides in the East/Japan Sea
Jeon, Chanhyung; Park, Jae-Hun; Varlamov, Sergey M.; Yoon, Jong-Hwan; Kim, Young Ho; Seo, Seongbong; Park, Young-Gyu; Min, Hong Sik; Lee, Jae Hak; Kim, Cheol-Ho
2014-05-01
The seasonal variation of semidiurnal internal tides in the East/Japan Sea was investigated using 25 month long output from a real-time ocean forecasting system. The z coordinate eddy-resolving high-resolution numerical model, called the RIAM ocean model, incorporates data assimilation that nudges temperature and salinity fields together with volume transport through the Korea Strait to produce realistic oceanic currents and stratification. In addition to atmospheric forcing, it includes tidal forcing of 16 major components along open boundaries. The model generates energetic semidiurnal internal tides around the northern entrance of the Korea Strait. Energy conversion from barotropic to baroclinic (internal) tides varies seasonally with maxima in September (ranging 0.48-0.52 GW) and minima in March (ranging 0.11-0.16 GW). This seasonal variation is induced by the seasonality in stratification near the southwestern East/Japan Sea. The propagation distance of the internal tides is associated with generation intensity and wavelength. From late summer to early winter, the semidiurnal internal tides travel relatively far from the generation region due to stratification changes; its energy dissipates less as a result of longer wavelengths. Our results suggest that spatiotemporal variation of internal-tide-induced mixing due to the seasonality in the generation, propagation, and dissipation of internal tides should be considered for a more realistic simulation of water masses and circulation in models of the East/Japan Sea.
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Secular Changes in the Solar Semidiurnal Tide of the Western North Atlantic Ocean
Ray, Richard D.
2009-01-01
An analysis of twentieth century tide gauge records reveals that the solar semidiurnal tide S, has been decreasing in amplitude along the eastern coast of North America and at the mid-ocean site Bermuda. In relative terms the observed rates are unusually large, of order 10% per century. Periods of greatest change, however, are inconsistent among the stations, and roughly half the stations show increasing amplitude since the late 1990s. Excepting the Gulf of Maine, lunar tides are either static or slightly increasing in amplitude; a few stations show decreases. Large changes in solar, but not lunar, tides suggest causes related to variable radiational forcing, but the hypothesis is at present unproven. Citation: Ray, R. D. (2009), Secular changes in the solar semidiurnal tide of the western North Atlantic Ocean
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Diurnal and semi-diurnal tidal currents in the deep mid-Arabian sea
Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)
Shenoi, S.S.C.; Gouveia, A.D.; Shetye, S.R.
Current meter records from two depths, approximately 1000 m, at three mooring in the deep mid-Arabian Sea were used to study tidal components. Tidal ellipses for the semi-diurnal (M2, S2 and K2) and the diurnal (K1 and P1) tidal constituents have...
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A modeling approach to establish environmental flow threshold in ungauged semidiurnal tidal river
Akter, A.; Tanim, A. H.
2018-03-01
Due to shortage of flow monitoring data in ungauged semidiurnal river, 'environmental flow' (EF) determination based on its key component 'minimum low flow' is always difficult. For EF assessment this study selected a reach immediately after the Halda-Karnafuli confluence, a unique breeding ground for Indian Carp fishes of Bangladesh. As part of an ungauged tidal river, EF threshold establishment faces challenges in changing ecological paradigms with periodic change of tides and hydrologic alterations. This study describes a novel approach through modeling framework comprising hydrological, hydrodynamic and habitat simulation model. The EF establishment was conceptualized according to the hydrologic process of an ungauged semi-diurnal tidal regime in four steps. Initially, a hydrologic model coupled with a hydrodynamic model to simulate flow considering land use changes effect on streamflow, seepage loss of channel, friction dominated tidal decay as well as lack of long term flow characteristics. Secondly, to define hydraulic habitat feature, a statistical analysis on derived flow data was performed to identify 'habitat suitability'. Thirdly, to observe the ecological habitat behavior based on the identified hydrologic alteration, hydraulic habitat features were investigated. Finally, based on the combined habitat suitability index flow alteration and ecological response relationship was established. Then, the obtained EF provides a set of low flow indices of desired regime and thus the obtained discharge against maximum Weighted Usable Area (WUA) was defined as EF threshold for the selected reach. A suitable EF regime condition was obtained within flow range 25-30.1 m3/s i.e., around 10-12% of the mean annual runoff of 245 m3/s and these findings are within researchers' recommendation of minimum flow requirement. Additionally it was observed that tidal characteristics are dominant process in semi-diurnal regime. However, during the study period (2010-2015) the
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PREVAIL: IBM's e-beam technology for next generation lithography
Pfeiffer, Hans C.
2000-07-01
PREVAIL - Projection Reduction Exposure with Variable Axis Immersion Lenses represents the high throughput e-beam projection approach to NGL which IBM is pursuing in cooperation with Nikon Corporation as alliance partner. This paper discusses the challenges and accomplishments of the PREVAIL project. The supreme challenge facing all e-beam lithography approaches has been and still is throughput. Since the throughput of e-beam projection systems is severely limited by the available optical field size, the key to success is the ability to overcome this limitation. The PREVAIL technique overcomes field-limiting off-axis aberrations through the use of variable axis lenses, which electronically shift the optical axis simultaneously with the deflected beam so that the beam effectively remains on axis. The resist images obtained with the Proof-of-Concept (POC) system demonstrate that PREVAIL effectively eliminates off- axis aberrations affecting both resolution and placement accuracy of pixels. As part of the POC system a high emittance gun has been developed to provide uniform illumination of the patterned subfield and to fill the large numerical aperture projection optics designed to significantly reduce beam blur caused by Coulomb interaction.
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Buoyancy frequency profiles and internal semidiurnal tide turning depths in the oceans
King, B.; Stone, M.; Zhang, H.P.; Gerkema, T.; Marder, M.; Scott, R.B.; Swinney, H.L.
2012-01-01
We examine the possible existence of internal gravity wave "turning depths," depths below which the local buoyancy frequency N(z) becomes smaller than the wave frequency. At a turning depth, incident gravity waves reflect rather than reaching the ocean bottom as is generally assumed. Here we consider internal gravity waves at the lunar semidiurnal (M-2) tidal frequency, omega(M2). Profiles of N-2(z) (the quantity in the equations of motion) are computed using conductivity, temperature, and de...
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Aristizábal, María. F.; Fewings, Melanie R.; Washburn, Libe
2017-10-01
In the Santa Barbara Channel, California, and around the Northern Channel Islands, water temperature fluctuations in the diurnal and semidiurnal frequency bands are intermittent, with amplitudes that vary on time scales of days to weeks. The cause of this intermittency is not well understood. We studied the effects of the barotropic tide, vertical stratification, propagation of coastal-trapped waves, regional wind relaxations, and diurnal-band winds on the intermittency of the temperature fluctuations during 1992-2015. We used temperature data from 43 moorings in 10-200 m water depth and wind data from two buoys and one land station. Subtidal-frequency changes in vertical stratification explain 20-40% of the intermittency in diurnal and semidiurnal temperature fluctuations at time scales of days to weeks. Along the mainland north of Point Conception and at the Northern Channel Islands, the relaxation of upwelling-favorable winds substantially increases vertical stratification, accounting for up to 55% of the subtidal-frequency variability in stratification. As a result of the enhanced stratification, wind relaxations enhance the diurnal and semidiurnal temperature fluctuations at those sites, even though the diurnal-band wind forcing decreases during wind relaxation. A linear model where the background stratification is advected vertically explains a substantial fraction of the temperature fluctuations at most sites. The increase of vertical stratification and subsequent increase in diurnal and semidiurnal temperature fluctuations during wind relaxation is a mechanism that can supply nutrients to the euphotic zone and kelp forests in the Channel in summer when upwelling is weak.
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12 CFR 747.603 - Prevailing party.
2010-01-01
... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Prevailing party. 747.603 Section 747.603 Banks... in NCUA Board Adjudications § 747.603 Prevailing party. An eligible applicant may be a “prevailing... dismissed. In appropriate situations an applicant may also have prevailed if the outcome of the proceeding...
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Effects of Prevailing Winds on Turbidity of a Shallow Estuary
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hyun Jung Cho
2007-06-01
Full Text Available Estuarine waters are generally more turbid than lakes or marine waters due to greater algal mass and continual re-suspension of sediments. The varying effects of diurnal and seasonal prevailing winds on the turbidity condition of a wind-dominated estuary were investigated by spatial and statistical analyses of wind direction, water level, turbidity, chlorophyll a, and PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation collected in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, USA. The prolonged prevailing winds were responsible for the long-term, large-scale turbidity pattern of the estuary, whereas the short-term changes in wind direction had differential effects on turbidity and water level in varying locations. There were temporal and spatial changes in the relationship between vertical light attenuation coefficient (Kd and turbidity, which indicate difference in phytoplankton and color also affect Kd. This study demonstrates that the effect of wind on turbidity and water level on different shores can be identified through system-specific analyses of turbidity patterns.
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Determination of semi-diurnal ocean tide loading constituents using GPS in Alaska
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Khan, Shfaqat Abbas; Tscherning, C.C.
2001-01-01
During the past years, the accuracy of relative positioning using differential GPS (DGPS) has been improved significantly. The present accuracy of DGPS allows us to directly estimate the differential amplitudes and Greenwich phase lags of the main semi-diurnal ocean tide loading constituents (S-2......, K-2, M-2 and N-2). For this purpose a test is carried out using two GPS stations in Alaska. One station, Chi3, is located on an island in the Gulf of Alaska, while the second station, Fair, is located far away from the coastal areas. Processing hourly GPS solutions for the baseline between Fair...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jacklyn, R.M.; Duldig, M.L.
1985-01-01
High zenith-angle North/South telescopes viewing equatorially and at midlatitudes through 40 MWE of atmosphere have been operating at Mawson since early 1968. It is evident that a sidereal semi-diurnal component of galactic origin has been observed, over and above a possible spurious component proposed by Nagashima, arising from a bi-directional component of the solar anisotropy. Although a very pronounced reduction in the semi-diurnal galactic response followed the reversal of polarity of the solar main field during 1969 to 1971, so far the observations indicate that there has been no recurrence of a larger galactic response following the reversal of polarity around 1981. The possible role of the latitudional extent lambda omicron of the wavy neutral sheet is discussed
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12 CFR 263.102 - Prevailing party.
2010-01-01
... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Prevailing party. 263.102 Section 263.102 Banks and Banking FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (CONTINUED) BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM RULES... Prevailing party. Only an eligible applicant that prevailed on the merits of an adversary proceeding may...
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12 CFR 308.173 - Prevailing party.
2010-01-01
... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Prevailing party. 308.173 Section 308.173 Banks....173 Prevailing party. (a) General rule. An eligible applicant who, following an adversary adjudication has gained victory on the merits in the proceeding is a “prevailing party”. An eligible applicant may...
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Financing Educational Facility Construction: Prevailing Wage Litigation.
Goldblatt, Steven M.; Wood, R. Craig
This chapter presents an up-to-date analysis of prevailing state wage laws that affect educational facility construction or renovation and highlights relevant prevailing wage litigation in many states. Currently, 13 states have no prevailing wage laws for public works. The other 37 states and the District of Columbia do have prevailing wage laws…
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Epistaxis: Prevailing Factors and Treatment
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Secchi, Myrian Marajó Dal
2009-12-01
Full Text Available Introduction: The epistaxis is one the most frequent otorhinolaryngologic emergencies in the medical practice. It is a benign affection, but the refractory cases require hospital admission. Objective: To evaluate prevailing factors in patients with epistaxis and treatment. Form of study: Retrospective study. Method: 60 patients with diagnosis of epistaxis were evaluated and they needed hospital admission between 2005 and 2006. Results: The main prevailing factors were: Systemic arterial hypertension 36% (n= 22, trauma 16% (n=10 and coagulopathy 5% (n=3. The treatment was the use of nasal splint: anterior 58% (n=35 and antero-posterior 27% (n=16, the electrocauterization of the identified bloody point 7% (n=4, endoscopic arterial bandage 8% (n=5 in severe epistaxis. For the patients with antero-posterior splint with recurrence of bleeding in the first 24 hours (five patients, after clinical stabilization, an arterial bandage was indicated by endoscopic means; four patients had systemic arterial hypertension and in one patient no prevailing factor was identified. Conclusion: The main associated prevailing factors were systemic arterial hypertension, trauma and coagulopathy. The treatment depends on the type, severity and cause of bleeding, initially the anterior and antero-posterior splint for bleeding control. The early endoscopic arterial bandage is indicated in patients with severe epistaxis and prevailing factors, and prolonged admission and morbidities associated with nasal splint should be avoided.
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29 CFR 505.3 - Prevailing minimum compensation.
2010-07-01
... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prevailing minimum compensation. 505.3 Section 505.3 Labor... HUMANITIES § 505.3 Prevailing minimum compensation. (a)(1) In the absence of an alternative determination...)(2) of this section, the prevailing minimum compensation required to be paid under the Act to the...
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26 CFR 301.7430-5 - Prevailing party.
2010-04-01
... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Prevailing party. 301.7430-5 Section 301.7430-5... Prevailing party. (a) In general. For purposes of an award of reasonable administrative costs under section... prevailing party only if— (1) The position of the Internal Revenue Service was not substantially justified...
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Diurnal and Semidiurnal Tides in the Middle Atmosphere over Balasore (21.5°N, 86.9°E).
Sasi, M. N.; Krishna Murthy, B. V.
1990-09-01
Using rocket wind data at a tropical station, Balasore (21.5°N, 86.9°E), the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal amplitudes and phases of the zonal and meridional components have been obtained over an altitude range of 20-65 km for equinox, summer and winter seasons. Comparison with the theoretical values revealed some important differences between the two and the implications of these are discussed.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C. M. Huang
2006-12-01
Full Text Available To quantitatively study the effects of nonlinear interactions on tide structure, a nonlinear numerical tidal model is developed, and the reliability and convergence of the adopted algorithm and coding are checked by numerical experiments. Under the same conditions as those employed by the GSWM-00 (Global Scale Wave Model 2000, our model provides the nonlinear quasi-steady solution of the migrating semidiurnal tide, which differs from the GSWM-00 result (the linear steady solution in the MLT region, especially above 100 km. Additionally, their amplitude difference displays a remarkable month-to-month variation, and its significant magnitudes occur during the month with strong semidiurnal tide. A quantitative analysis suggests that the main cause for the amplitude difference is that the initial migrating 12-h tide will interact with the mean flow as well as the nonlinearity-excited 6-h tide, and subsequently yield a new 12-h tidal part. Furthermore, our simulations also show that the mean flow/tidal interaction will significantly alter the background wind and temperature fields. The large magnitudes of the tidal amplitude difference and the background alteration indicate that the nonlinear processes involved in tidal propagations should be comprehensively considered in the description of global atmospheric dynamics in the MLT region. The comparisons among our simulations, the GSWMs and some observations of tides suggest that the nonlinearity-induced tidal structure variation could be a possible mechanism to account for some discrepancies between the GSWMs and the observations.
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29 CFR 525.10 - Prevailing wage rates.
2010-07-01
... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prevailing wage rates. 525.10 Section 525.10 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR REGULATIONS EMPLOYMENT OF WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES UNDER SPECIAL CERTIFICATES § 525.10 Prevailing wage rates. (a) A...
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Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC) Annual Reports
Office of Personnel Management — Annual reports of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), which studies the prevailing (market) rate system for wages and other matters pertinent to...
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29 CFR 4.51 - Prevailing in the locality determinations.
2010-07-01
... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Prevailing in the locality determinations. 4.51 Section 4.51... Procedures § 4.51 Prevailing in the locality determinations. (a) Information considered. The minimum monetary... benefits contained in collective bargaining agreements where they have been determined to prevail in a...
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An analysis of factors related to the tail-like pattern of myxofibrosarcoma seen on MRI
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kikuta, Kazutaka; Kubota, Daisuke; Chuuman, Hirokazu; Kawai, Akira; Yoshida, Akihiko; Morioka, Hideo; Toyama, Yoshiaki
2015-01-01
Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is characterized by a high frequency of local recurrence after surgery because of infiltrative growth of the tumor cells. This infiltrative growth creates a characteristic 'tail-like' pattern on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and it has been reported that this pattern is especially obvious on gadolinium-enhanced MRI (Gd MRI). However, the relationship between the tail-like pattern seen on Gd MRI and clinicopathological features of MFS is still not clear. In this study, we performed a retrospective analysis to identify clinicopathological factors related to the tail-like pattern of the MRI findings in patients with MFS. We retrospectively analyzed 50 patients with MFS to identify factors related to the tail-like pattern. On Gd MRI, 32 of the 50 patients presented the tail-like pattern, whereas 18 presented a solid pattern. The clincopathological factors related to the tail-like pattern were evaluated by chi-squared test. A superficial origin (p = 0.0009) was most significantly related to the tail-like pattern. The 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate was 75.6 % for patients showing the tail-like pattern and 90.9 % for those showing the solid pattern. The corresponding 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 64.7 and 79.3 %, respectively. Thus in terms of both 5-year RFS and DFS, patients with the tail-like pattern tended to have a poorer outcome. A superficial origin of MFS is significantly related to a tail-like pattern on Gd MRI. The tail-like pattern is associated with poorer prognosis. Further studies of tumor depth and the tail-like pattern on Gd MRI are needed. (orig.)
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Evans, Christopher P; Higano, Celestia S; Keane, Thomas
2016-01-01
BACKGROUND: Enzalutamide, an oral androgen receptor inhibitor, significantly improved overall survival (OS) and radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) versus placebo in the PREVAIL trial of men with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. OBJECTIVE: To assess...... in men with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, with or without visceral disease, low- or high-volume bone disease, or lymph node only disease. PATIENT SUMMARY: Patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer-including those with or without visceral disease...
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Diurnal, semidiurnal, and fortnightly tidal components in orthotidal proglacial rivers.
Briciu, Andrei-Emil
2018-02-22
The orthotidal rivers are a new concept referring to inland rivers influenced by gravitational tides through the groundwater tides. "Orthotidal signals" is intended to describe tidal signals found in inland streamwaters (with no oceanic input); these tidal signals were locally generated and then exported into streamwaters. Here, we show that orthotidal signals can be found in proglacial rivers due to the gravitational tides affecting the glaciers and their surrounding areas. The gravitational tides act on glacier through earth and atmospheric tides, while the subglacial water is affected in a manner similar to the groundwater tides. We used the wavelet analysis in order to find tidally affected streamwaters. T_TIDE analyses were performed for discovering the tidal constituents. Tidal components with 0.95 confidence level are as follows: O1, PI1, P1, S1, K1, PSI1, M2, T2, S2, K2, and MSf. The amplitude of the diurnal tidal constituents is strongly influenced by the daily thermal cycle. The average amplitude of the semidiurnal tidal constituents is less altered and ranges from 0.0007 to 0.0969 m. The lunisolar synodic fortnightly oscillation, found in the time series of the studied river gauges, is a useful signal for detecting orthotidal rivers when using noisier data. The knowledge of the orthotidal oscillations is useful for modeling fine resolution changes in rivers.
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48 CFR 22.1002-2 - Wage determinations based on prevailing rates.
2010-10-01
... on prevailing rates. 22.1002-2 Section 22.1002-2 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... Contract Act of 1965, as Amended 22.1002-2 Wage determinations based on prevailing rates. Contractors... Department of Labor to prevail in the locality or, in the absence of a wage determination, the minimum wage...
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A normal mode treatment of semi-diurnal body tides on an aspherical, rotating and anelastic Earth
Lau, Harriet C. P.; Yang, Hsin-Ying; Tromp, Jeroen; Mitrovica, Jerry X.; Latychev, Konstantin; Al-Attar, David
2015-08-01
Normal mode treatments of the Earth's body tide response were developed in the 1980s to account for the effects of Earth rotation, ellipticity, anelasticity and resonant excitation within the diurnal band. Recent space-geodetic measurements of the Earth's crustal displacement in response to luni-solar tidal forcings have revealed geographical variations that are indicative of aspherical deep mantle structure, thus providing a novel data set for constraining deep mantle elastic and density structure. In light of this, we make use of advances in seismic free oscillation literature to develop a new, generalized normal mode theory for the tidal response within the semi-diurnal and long-period tidal band. Our theory involves a perturbation method that permits an efficient calculation of the impact of aspherical structure on the tidal response. In addition, we introduce a normal mode treatment of anelasticity that is distinct from both earlier work in body tides and the approach adopted in free oscillation seismology. We present several simple numerical applications of the new theory. First, we compute the tidal response of a spherically symmetric, non-rotating, elastic and isotropic Earth model and demonstrate that our predictions match those based on standard Love number theory. Second, we compute perturbations to this response associated with mantle anelasticity and demonstrate that the usual set of seismic modes adopted for this purpose must be augmented by a family of relaxation modes to accurately capture the full effect of anelasticity on the body tide response. Finally, we explore aspherical effects including rotation and we benchmark results from several illustrative case studies of aspherical Earth structure against independent finite-volume numerical calculations of the semi-diurnal body tide response. These tests confirm the accuracy of the normal mode methodology to at least the level of numerical error in the finite-volume predictions. They also demonstrate
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75 FR 34182 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of Upcoming Meeting
2010-06-16
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is issuing this notice to cancel the June 17, 2010, public [email protected] ; or FAX: (202) 606-4264. Sheldon Friedman, Chairman, Federal Prevailing Rate...
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Prevailing Torque Locking Feature in Threaded Fasteners Using Anaerobic Adhesive
Hernandez, Alan; Hess, Daniel P.
2016-01-01
This paper presents results from tests to assess the use of anaerobic adhesive for providing a prevailing torque locking feature in threaded fasteners. Test procedures are developed and tests are performed on three fastener materials, four anaerobic adhesives, and both unseated assembly conditions. Five to ten samples are tested for each combination. Tests for initial use, reuse without additional adhesive, and reuse with additional adhesive are performed for all samples. A 48-hour cure time was used for all initial use and reuse tests. Test data are presented as removal torque versus removal angle with the specification required prevailing torque range added for performance assessment. Percent specification pass rates for the all combinations of fastener material, adhesive, and assembly condition are tabulated and reveal use of anaerobic adhesive as a prevailing torque locking feature is viable. Although not every possible fastener material and anaerobic adhesive combination provides prevailing torque values within specification, any combination can be assessed using the test procedures presented. Reuse without additional anaerobic adhesive generally provides some prevailing torque, and in some cases within specification. Reuse with additional adhesive often provides comparable removal torque data as in initial use.
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76 FR 12769 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of Upcoming Meeting
2011-03-08
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is issuing this notice to cancel the March 17, 2011, public meeting..., Chairman, Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee. [FR Doc. 2011-5266 Filed 3-7-11; 8:45 am] BILLING...
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78 FR 20359 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of Upcoming Meeting
2013-04-04
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is issuing this notice to cancel the April 18, 2013, public meeting... Officer, Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee. [FR Doc. 2013-07875 Filed 4-3-13; 8:45 am] BILLING...
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76 FR 70512 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of Upcoming Meeting
2011-11-14
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is issuing this notice to cancel the November 17, 2011, public meeting..., Chairman, Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee. [FR Doc. 2011-29274 Filed 11-10-11; 8:45 am] BILLING...
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78 FR 41962 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of Upcoming Meeting
2013-07-12
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is issuing this notice to cancel the July 18, 2013, public meeting... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee. [FR Doc. 2013-16763 Filed 7-11-13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6325-49-P ...
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77 FR 28640 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of Upcoming Meeting
2012-05-15
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Cancellation of... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is issuing this notice to cancel the May 24, 2012, public meeting..., Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee. [FR Doc. 2012-11728 Filed 5-14-12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6325...
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29 CFR 2704.202 - Contents of application-where the applicant has prevailed.
2010-07-01
... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Contents of application-where the applicant has prevailed... Information Required From Applicants § 2704.202 Contents of application—where the applicant has prevailed. (a) An application for an award under § 2704.105(a) shall show that the applicant has prevailed in a...
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Climatological lower thermosphere winds as seen by ground-based and space-based instruments
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. M. Forbes
2004-06-01
Full Text Available Comparisons are made between climatological dynamic fields obtained from ground-based (GB and space-based (SB instruments with a view towards identifying SB/GB intercalibration issues for TIMED and other future aeronomy satellite missions. SB measurements are made from the High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI instrument on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS. The GB data originate from meteor radars at Obninsk, (55° N, 37° E, Shigaraki (35° N, 136° E and Jakarta (6° S, 107° E and MF spaced-antenna radars at Hawaii (22° N, 160° W, Christmas I. (2° N, 158° W and Adelaide (35° S, 138° E. We focus on monthly-mean prevailing, diurnal and semidiurnal wind components at 96km, averaged over the 1991-1999 period. We perform space-based (SB analyses for 90° longitude sectors including the GB sites, as well as for the zonal mean. Taking the monthly prevailing zonal winds from these stations as a whole, on average, SB zonal winds exceed GB determinations by ~63%, whereas meridional winds are in much better agreement. The origin of this discrepancy remains unknown, and should receive high priority in initial GB/SB comparisons during the TIMED mission. We perform detailed comparisons between monthly climatologies from Jakarta and the geographically conjugate sites of Shigaraki and Adelaide, including some analyses of interannual variations. SB prevailing, diurnal and semidiurnal tides exceed those measured over Jakarta by factors, on the average, of the order of 2.0, 1.6, 1.3, respectively, for the eastward wind, although much variability exists. For the meridional component, SB/GB ratios for the diurnal and semidiurnal tide are about 1.6 and 1.7. Prevailing and tidal amplitudes at Adelaide are significantly lower than SB values, whereas similar net differences do not occur at the conjugate Northern Hemisphere location of Shigaraki. Adelaide diurnal phases lag SB phases by several hours, but excellent agreement between the two data
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Aragon-Ching, Jeanny B
2014-01-01
PREVAIL was a phase III multinational, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that enrolled chemotherapy-naïve men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), which showed remarkable improvement in co-primary endpoints with an overall 81% reduction in the risk of radiographic progression, as well as 29% reduction in the risk of death in favor of the enzalutamide arm over placebo. All secondary endpoints including time to subsequent chemotherapy initiation and prostate specific antigen (PSA) progression were in favor of the enzalutamide arm. The results of PREVAIL shows the utility of enzalutamide that would likely soon expand the indication to asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic men with mCRPC not previously treated with chemotherapy.
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75 FR 18552 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Open Committee Meetings
2010-04-12
... of Personnel Management Building, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC. The Federal Prevailing Rate... business. Therefore, these caucuses will be closed to the public because of a determination made by the..., Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, Room 5H27, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415, (202) 606...
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7 CFR 27.35 - Lower class of two samples to prevail.
2010-01-01
... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Lower class of two samples to prevail. 27.35 Section 27.35 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE... Micronaire Determinations § 27.35 Lower class of two samples to prevail. In case a sample drawn from one...
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An unusual characteristic "flower-like" pattern: flash suppressor burns.
Gurcan, Altun
2012-04-01
The case on contact shots from firearms with a flash suppressor is rare. When a rifle fitted with a flash suppressor is fired, the emerging soot-laden gas in the barrel escapes from the slits of the flash suppressor. If the shot is contact or near contact, the flash suppressor will produce a characteristic "flower-like" pattern of seared, blackened zones around the entrance. This paper presents the injury pattern of the flash suppressor in a 29-year-old man who committed suicide with a G3 automatic infantry rifle.
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Effects of Prevailing Winds on Turbidity of a Shallow Estuary
Cho, Hyun Jung
2007-01-01
Estuarine waters are generally more turbid than lakes or marine waters due to greater algal mass and continual re-suspension of sediments. The varying effects of diurnal and seasonal prevailing winds on the turbidity condition of a wind-dominated estuary were investigated by spatial and statistical analyses of wind direction, water level, turbidity, chlorophyll a, and PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) collected in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, USA. The prolonged prevailing winds were...
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Castro, L. R.; Cáceres, M. A.; Silva, N.; Muñoz, M. I.; León, R.; Landaeta, M. F.; Soto-Mendoza, S.
2011-03-01
The relationships between the distribution of different zooplankton and ichthyoplankton stages and physical and chemical variables were studied using samples and data (CTD profiles, ADCP and current meter measurements, nutrients, mesozooplankton, ichthyoplankton) obtained from different strata during two 24-h cycles at two oceanographic stations in a Chilean Patagonian gulf during the CIMAR 10-Fiordos cruise (November, 2004). A station located at the Chacao Channel was dominated by tidal mixing and small increments in surface stratification during high tides, leading to decreased nutrient availability. This agreed with short periods of increased phytoplankton abundance during slack waters at the end of flood currents. Increases in larval density for all zooplankton and ichthyoplankton taxa corresponded to the flooding phases of the tidal cycle. When the larval density data were fit to a sinusoidal model, the regression coefficients were high, suggesting that tides are important features that modulate short-term variations in plankton abundance. All larvae did not vary synchronously with the tidal phase; rather, time lags were observed among species. The abundances of older individuals of the copepodite Rhincalanus nasutus and all zoea stages of the squat lobster Munida gregaria increased during night flood tides, whereas younger stages increased during daytime flood tides. At a station located at the Queullin Pass, which was dominated by vertical stratification patterns, the variations in peak larval density were better fitted to the semi-diurnal sea level fluctuations. Other evidence indicated internal tides below the pycnocline, which could promote larval transport in deeper layers. In the overall picture that emerges from this study, planktonic organisms from different habitats and phylogenetic origins seem to respond to the local tidal regimes. In some cases, this response might be beneficial, transporting these individuals inshore to areas that are rich in
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. H. Manson
2004-04-01
Full Text Available HRDI (High Resolution Doppler Interferometer-UARS winds data have been analyzed in 4°-latitude by 10°-longitude cells at 96km to obtain the global distribution of the solar-tidal amplitudes and phases. The solstices June–July (1993, December–January (1993–1994, and one equinox (September–October, 1994 are analyzed. In an earlier paper (Manson et al., 2002b the emphasis was solely upon the longitudinal and latitudinal variations of the amplitudes and phases of the semidiurnal (12h and diurnal (24h tides. The longitudinal structures were shown to be quite distinctive, and in the case of the EW component of the diurnal tide there were typically four maxima/perturbations of amplitudes or phases around a latitude circle. In this case they tended to be associated with the locations of the major oceans. Here, a spatial complex spectral analysis has been applied to the data set, to obtain the zonal wave numbers for the tides as functions of latitude. For the diurnal tide the dominant s=1 migrating component and nonmigrating tides with wave numbers s=–3, –2, 0, 2 are identified; and for the semidiurnal tide, as well as the dominant s=2 migrating component, the spectra indicate the presence of nonmigrating tides with wave numbers s=–2, 0, 4. These wave numbers are also simply related to the global longitudinal structures in the tidal amplitudes and phases. Comparisons are made with the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM-02, which now incorporates migrating and nonmigrating tides associated with tropospheric latent heat processes, and offers monthly outputs. For the diurnal tide the dominant nonmigrating tidal spectral feature (94km is for wave number s=–3; it is relatively stronger than in the HRDI winds, and produces quite consistent structures in the global tidal fields with four longitudinal maxima. Overall, the modelled 24-h tidal amplitudes are larger than observed during the equinox beyond 40° latitude. For the semidiurnal tide
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PREVAIL-EPL alpha tool electron optics subsystem
Pfeiffer, Hans C.; Dhaliwal, Rajinder S.; Golladay, Steven D.; Doran, Samuel K.; Gordon, Michael S.; Kendall, Rodney A.; Lieberman, Jon E.; Pinckney, David J.; Quickle, Robert J.; Robinson, Christopher F.; Rockrohr, James D.; Stickel, Werner; Tressler, Eileen V.
2001-08-01
The IBM/Nikon alliance is continuing pursuit of an EPL stepper alpha tool based on the PREVAIL technology. This paper provides a status report of the alliance activity with particular focus on the Electron Optical Subsystem developed at IBM. We have previously reported on design features of the PREVAIL alpha system. The new state-of-the-art e-beam lithography concepts have since been reduced to practice and turned into functional building blocks of a production level lithography tool. The electron optical alpha tool subsystem has been designed, build, assembled and tested at IBM's Semiconductor Research and Development Center (SRDC) in East Fishkill, New York. After demonstrating subsystem functionality, the electron optical column and all associated control electronics hardware and software have been shipped during January 2001 to Nikon's facility in Kumagaya, Japan, for integration into the Nikon commercial e-beam stepper alpha tool. Early pre-shipment results obtained with this electron optical subsystem are presented.
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2011-02-22
... 3206-AM33 Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Northeastern Arizona and Colorado Appropriated... changes are based on recent consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee to... Northeastern Arizona wage area. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national labor...
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2011-11-14
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Part 532 RIN 3206-AM37 Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition... on a consensus recommendation of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC) to best match... which OPM received no comments. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national...
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Semidiurnal Solar Tide during the Fall Transition in the Northern Hemisphere
Conte, J. F.; Chau, J. L.; Laskar, F.; Stober, G.; Schmidt, H.
2017-12-01
We present an analysis of the semidiurnal solar tide (S2) during the fall transition in the Northern Hemisphere mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region. The tidal information has been derived from wind measurements provided by meteor radars at Andenes (69°N) and Juliusruh (54°N). During the autumn, S2 is characterized by a sudden and pronounced decrease occurring around day 285, every year and at all height levels. The spring transition also shows a decrease of S2, but that progressively extends from lower to higher altitudes during an interval of 15 to 40 days whose starting date varies from one year to the next. Possible explanations for the differences observed between fall and spring time periods are investigated using Hamburg Model of the Neutral and Ionized Atmosphere (HAMMONIA) simulations of zonal and meridional winds, as well as ozone concentrations. Our results indicate that both, the westward propagating wave number 2 migrating tide (SW2) and the westward propagating wave number 1 non-migrating tide (SW1) decrease significantly during the fall, which results in a pronounced decrease of S2, as seen in the observations. During the spring, SW2 also decreases while SW1 remains approximately constant or slightly increases, resulting in a not so pronounced and more extended in time decrease of S2. SW2 and ozone concentrations do not show significant differences from one year to the next. SW1 on the other hand, presents considerable variability, which suggests that its source might be connected to interaction with other waves, such as gravity and planetary waves.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. H. Manson
2002-11-01
Full Text Available HRDI (High Resolution Doppler Interferometer-UARS winds data have been analyzed in 4° latitude by 10° longitude cells at 96 km to obtain global contour maps of solar-tidal amplitudes and phases, and also mean winds. The solstices June–July (1993, December–January (1993–1994, and one equinox September–October (1994 are shown. The 24-h diurnal tide that maximizes near the 20–25° latitude has significant seasonal changes with equinoctial maxima, and very clear longitudinal variability. Maxima are very clear over the oceans. In contrast, the 12-h semi-diurnal tides that maximize near the 40–55° latitude have very strong seasonal changes with winter maxima, and more modest longitudinal changes. The similarities with MLT (mesosphere-lower thermosphere radar observations (90 km and the GSWM (Global Scale Wave Model are very satisfactory. The mean winds are consistent with expectations and show clear poleward flow from summer to winter hemispheres in the solstices.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; waves and tides Radio science (remote sensing
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2013-03-26
...-AM78 Prevailing Rate Systems; North American Industry Classification System Based Federal Wage System... applicable sections. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the national labor- management committee... proposing to amend 5 CFR part 532 as follows: PART 532--PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS 0 1. The authority citation...
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2011-06-02
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Part 532 RIN 3206-AM37 Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC) to best match the county proposed for redefinition to a nearby FWS... Memphis wage area. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national labor-management...
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Panthi, Krishna Kanta
2017-01-01
Rock burst / rock spalling is among the prevailing stability challenges, which can be met while tunneling through hard rock mass. Especially, this is very relevant for the mountainous country like Norway where hard rock is dominating and many road, railway and hydropower tunnels have to be aligned deep into the mountain with steep valley slope topography. Tunnels passing beneath deep rock cover (overburden), in general, are subjected to high in-situ stresses. If the rock mass is relatively un...
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Protein patterns of black fungi under simulated Mars-like conditions.
Zakharova, Kristina; Marzban, Gorji; de Vera, Jean-Pierre; Lorek, Andreas; Sterflinger, Katja
2014-05-29
Two species of microcolonial fungi - Cryomyces antarcticus and Knufia perforans - and a species of black yeasts-Exophiala jeanselmei - were exposed to thermo-physical Mars-like conditions in the simulation chamber of the German Aerospace Center. In this study the alterations at the protein expression level from various fungi species under Mars-like conditions were analyzed for the first time using 2D gel electrophoresis. Despite of the expectations, the fungi did not express any additional proteins under Mars simulation that could be interpreted as stress induced HSPs. However, up-regulation of some proteins and significant decreasing of protein number were detected within the first 24 hours of the treatment. After 4 and 7 days of the experiment protein spot number was increased again and the protein patterns resemble the protein patterns of biomass from normal conditions. It indicates the recovery of the metabolic activity under Martian environmental conditions after one week of exposure.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. H. Manson
2004-04-01
Full Text Available HRDI (High Resolution Doppler Interferometer-UARS winds data have been analyzed in 4°-latitude by 10°-longitude cells at 96km to obtain the global distribution of the solar-tidal amplitudes and phases. The solstices June–July (1993, December–January (1993–1994, and one equinox (September–October, 1994 are analyzed.
In an earlier paper (Manson et al., 2002b the emphasis was solely upon the longitudinal and latitudinal variations of the amplitudes and phases of the semidiurnal (12h and diurnal (24h tides. The longitudinal structures were shown to be quite distinctive, and in the case of the EW component of the diurnal tide there were typically four maxima/perturbations of amplitudes or phases around a latitude circle. In this case they tended to be associated with the locations of the major oceans. Here, a spatial complex spectral analysis has been applied to the data set, to obtain the zonal wave numbers for the tides as functions of latitude. For the diurnal tide the dominant s=1 migrating component and nonmigrating tides with wave numbers s=–3, –2, 0, 2 are identified; and for the semidiurnal tide, as well as the dominant s=2 migrating component, the spectra indicate the presence of nonmigrating tides with wave numbers s=–2, 0, 4. These wave numbers are also simply related to the global longitudinal structures in the tidal amplitudes and phases.
Comparisons are made with the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM-02, which now incorporates migrating and nonmigrating tides associated with tropospheric latent heat processes, and offers monthly outputs. For the diurnal tide the dominant nonmigrating tidal spectral feature (94km is for wave number s=–3; it is relatively stronger than in the HRDI winds, and produces quite consistent structures in the global tidal fields with four longitudinal maxima. Overall, the modelled 24-h tidal amplitudes are larger than observed
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2010-09-24
... 3206-AM28 Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Shreveport, LA; Texarkana, TX; Milwaukee, WI... area. These changes are based on recent consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate... below. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national labor-management committee...
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2010-01-01
... minimum wage requirements in determining prevailing rates. 532.205 Section 532.205 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS Prevailing Rate Determinations § 532.205 The use of Federal, State, and local minimum wage requirements in determining prevailing...
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2013-10-01
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Part 532 RIN 3206-AM83 Prevailing Rate Systems; Definition of... wage area. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the national labor-management committee... follows: PART 532--PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS 0 1. The authority citation for part 532 continues to read as...
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2013-05-21
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Part 532 RIN 3206-AM83 Prevailing Rate Systems; Definition of... and Palm Beach Counties, FL. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the national labor... 532--PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS 0 1. The authority citation for part 532 continues to read as follows...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. H. Manson
Full Text Available HRDI (High Resolution Doppler Interferometer-UARS winds data have been analyzed in 4° latitude by 10° longitude cells at 96 km to obtain global contour maps of solar-tidal amplitudes and phases, and also mean winds. The solstices June–July (1993, December–January (1993–1994, and one equinox September–October (1994 are shown.
The 24-h diurnal tide that maximizes near the 20–25° latitude has significant seasonal changes with equinoctial maxima, and very clear longitudinal variability. Maxima are very clear over the oceans. In contrast, the 12-h semi-diurnal tides that maximize near the 40–55° latitude have very strong seasonal changes with winter maxima, and more modest longitudinal changes. The similarities with MLT (mesosphere-lower thermosphere radar observations (90 km and the GSWM (Global Scale Wave Model are very satisfactory. The mean winds are consistent with expectations and show clear poleward flow from summer to winter hemispheres in the solstices.
Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; waves and tides Radio science (remote sensing -
Selective formation of diamond-like carbon coating by surface catalyst patterning
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Palnichenko, A.V.; Mátéfi-Tempfli, M.; Mátéfi-Tempfli, Stefan
2004-01-01
The selective formation of diamond-like carbon coating by surface catalyst patterning was studied. DLC films was deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, filtered vacuum arc deposition, laser ablation, magnetron sputtering and ion-beam lithography methods. The DLC coatings were...
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Dietary patterns and survival in older Dutch women.
Waijers, Patricia M C M; Ocké, Marga C; Rossum, Caroline T M van; Peeters, Petra H M; Bamia, Christina; Chloptsios, Yiannis; Schouw, Yvonne T van der; Slimani, Nadia; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas
2006-01-01
BACKGROUND: The need to gain insight into prevailing eating patterns and their health effects is evident. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify dietary patterns and their relation to total mortality in older Dutch women. DESIGN: A principal component analysis of 22 food groups was used to identify
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76 FR 9640 - Prevailing Rate Systems: Santa Clara, CA, Tulsa County, OK, and Angelina County, TX
2011-02-22
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Part 532 RIN 3206-AM22 Prevailing Rate Systems: Santa Clara... County, Texas, as an area of application to the Dallas, TX, NAF FWS wage area. The Federal Prevailing.... Accordingly, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management amends 5 CFR part 532 as follows: PART 532--PREVAILING...
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2011-11-14
... 3206-AM50 Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Austin, TX and Waco, TX, Appropriated Fund... the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee to best match the counties proposed for redefinition to... Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national labor-management committee responsible for advising...
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2012-11-15
... 3206-AM70 Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the St. Louis, MO; Southern Missouri; Cleveland, OH... Cleveland wage area. These changes are based on recent consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing... proposing the changes described below. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national...
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2010-07-09
...-AM21 Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Chicago, IL; Fort Wayne-Marion, IN; Indianapolis, IN... wage area. These changes are based on recent consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate... below. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national labor-management committee...
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2013-05-21
...-AM82 Prevailing Rate Systems; Definition of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, to a Nonappropriated Fund... County, IN; and Jefferson and Pulaski Counties, MO. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the... as follows: [[Page 29658
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Wan-Mamat, Wan Mohd Fahmi; Isa, Nor Ashidi Mat; Wahab, Habibah A; Wan-Mamat, Wan Mohd Fairuz
2009-01-01
An intelligent prediction system has been developed to discriminate drug-like and non drug-like molecules pattern. The system is constructed by using the application of advanced version of standard multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network called Hybrid Multilayer Perceptron (HMLP) neural network and trained using Modified Recursive Prediction Error (MRPE) training algorithm. In this work, a well understood and easy excess Rule of Five + Veber filter properties are selected as the topological descriptor. The main idea behind the selection of this simple descriptor is to assure that the system could be used widely, beneficial and more advantageous regardless at all user level within a drug discovery organization.
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PREVAIL: latest electron optics results
Pfeiffer, Hans C.; Golladay, Steven D.; Gordon, Michael S.; Kendall, Rodney A.; Lieberman, Jon E.; Rockrohr, James D.; Stickel, Werner; Yamaguchi, Takeshi; Okamoto, Kazuya; Umemoto, Takaaki; Shimizu, Hiroyasu; Kojima, Shinichi; Hamashima, Muneki
2002-07-01
The PREVAIL electron optics subsystem developed by IBM has been installed at Nikon's facility in Kumagaya, Japan, for integration into the Nikon commercial EPL stepper. The cornerstone of the electron optics design is the Curvilinear Variable Axis Lens (CVAL) technique originally demonstrated with a proof of concept system. This paper presents the latest experimental results obtained with the electron optical subsystem at Nikon's facility. The results include micrographs illustrating proper CVAL operation through the spatial resolution achieved over the entire optical field of view. They also include data on the most critical issue of the EPL exposure approach: subfield stitching. The methodology of distortion correction will be described and both micrographs and metrology data of stitched subfields will be presented. This paper represents a progress report of the IBM/Nikon alliance activity on EPL.
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2013-10-01
... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Part 532 RIN 3206-AM84 Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Clayton-Cobb-Fulton, Georgia, Nonappropriated Fund Federal Wage System Wage Area AGENCY: U.S... Counties). The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the national labor-management committee...
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Is the Economic Crisis Challenging the Prevailing Gender Regime?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Leschke, Janine; Jepsen, Maria
2014-01-01
and analysing the corresponding position of women and men in paid and unpaid work, the paper contains an in-depth discussion of the short- and medium-term policy responses to the crisis. Our analysis shows that independent of the prevailing gender regime, scant public attention has been directed to gender...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. H. Manson
2002-05-01
Full Text Available In an earlier paper (Manson et al., 1999a tidal data (1990–1997 from six Medium Frequency Radars (MFR were compared with the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM, original 1995 version. The radars are located between the equator and high northern latitudes: Christmas Island (2° N, Hawaii (22° N, Urbana (40° N, London (43° N, Saskatoon (52° N and Tromsø (70° N. Common harmonic analysis was applied, to ensure consistency of amplitudes and phases in the 75–95 km height range. For the diurnal tide, seasonal agreements between observations and model were excellent while for the semi-diurnal tide the seasonal transitions between clear solstitial states were less well captured by the model. Here the data set is increased by the addition of two locations in the Pacific-North American sector: Yamagawa 31° N, and Wakkanai 45° N. The GSWM model has undergone two additional developments (1998, 2000 to include an improved gravity wave (GW stress parameterization, background winds from UARS systems and monthly tidal forcing for better characterization of seasonal change. The other model, the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM which is a General Circulation Model, provides internally generated forcing (due to ozone and water vapour for the tides. The two GSWM versions show distinct differences, with the 2000 version being either closer to, or further away from, the observations than the original 1995 version. CMAM provides results dependent upon the GW parameterization scheme inserted, but one of the schemes provides very useful tides, especially for the semi-diurnal component.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; waves and tides
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A case for 'prevailing ecology' as premium determinant in home ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
A case for 'prevailing ecology' as premium determinant in home-based child care ... Ewe mothers located in Dzemeni a migrant, lakeside community in Ghana. ... It builds a case from the analysis of definitions and concepts in care literature.
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Gubanov, V. S.; Kurdubov, S. L.
2015-05-01
The International astrogeodetic standard IERS Conventions (2010) contains a model of the diurnal and semidiurnal variations in Earth rotation parameters (ERPs), the pole coordinates and the Universal Time, arising from lunisolar tides in the world ocean. This model was constructed in the mid-1990s through a global analysis of Topex/Poseidon altimetry. The goal of this study is to try to estimate the parameters of this model by processing all the available VLBI observations on a global network of stations over the last 35 years performed within the framework of IVS (International VLBI Service) geodetic programs. The complexity of the problemlies in the fact that the sought-for corrections to the parameters of this model lie within 1 mm and, thus, are at the limit of their detectability by all currently available methods of ground-based positional measurements. This requires applying universal software packages with a high accuracy of reduction calculations and a well-developed system of controlling the simultaneous adjustment of observational data to analyze long series of VLBI observations. This study has been performed with the QUASAR software package developed at the Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Although the results obtained, on the whole, confirm a high accuracy of the basic model in the IERS Conventions (2010), statistically significant corrections that allow this model to be refined have been detected for some harmonics of the ERP variations.
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Diversity of chimera-like patterns from a model of 2D arrays of neurons with nonlocal coupling
Tian, Chang-Hai; Zhang, Xi-Yun; Wang, Zhen-Hua; Liu, Zong-Hua
2017-06-01
Chimera states have been studied in 1D arrays, and a variety of different chimera states have been found using different models. Research has recently been extended to 2D arrays but only to phase models of them. Here, we extend it to a nonphase model of 2D arrays of neurons and focus on the influence of nonlocal coupling. Using extensive numerical simulations, we find, surprisingly, that this system can show most types of previously observed chimera states, in contrast to previous models, where only one or a few types of chimera states can be observed in each model. We also find that this model can show some special chimera-like patterns such as gridding and multicolumn patterns, which were previously observed only in phase models. Further, we present an effective approach, i.e., removing some of the coupling links, to generate heterogeneous coupling, which results in diverse chimera-like patterns and even induces transformations from one chimera-like pattern to another.
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The semi-diurnal cycle of dissipation in a ROFI: model-measurement comparisons
Simpson, John H.; Burchard, Hans; Fisher, Neil R.; Rippeth, Tom P.
2002-07-01
The Liverpool Bay Region of Freshwater Influence in the Irish Sea exhibits strong horizontal gradients which interact with the dominant tidal flow. A 25 h series of measurements of the cycle of turbulent dissipation with the FLY dissipation profiler shows a strong asymmetry between ebb and flood which is associated with a cycle of increasing stratification on the ebb and progressive mixing on the flood which results in vertical homogeneity as high water is approached. At this time strong dissipation extends throughout the water column in contrast to the ebb when there is a near shutdown of dissipation in the upper half of the column. The cycle of stratification and dissipation is closely consistent for the two semi-diurnal tidal cycles observed. We have attempted to simulate this situation, which involves a complex suite of processes including tidal straining and mixing, using a version of the k-ɛ closure scheme in a 1-d dynamical model which is forced by a combination of the observed tidal flow and horizontal temperature and salinity gradients. The latter were measured directly at the end of the observational series but, in order to focus on the cycle of dissipation, the correct reproduction of the temperature and salinity cycle can be assured by a nudging procedure which obliges the model temperature and salinity values to track the observations. With or without this procedure, the model gives a reasonable account of the dissipation and its asymmetric behaviour on ebb and flood although nudging improves the timing of peak dissipation in the upper part of the water column near highwater. The model has also been used to examine the ratio of shear production (P/ɛ) and buoyancy inputs to dissipation (B/ɛ). The variation of these quantities over the tidal cycle confirms the important role of convective motions forced by tidal straining near the end of the flood phase of the tide.
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Monte Carlo Study of the Fish-like Patterns of Anthracenes on Cu(111)
Kim, Kwangmoo; Einstein, T. L.; Sun, Dezheng; Kim, Dae-Ho; Bartels, Ludwig
2011-03-01
Using Monte Carlo calculations of the two-dimensional triangular lattice with a 2-component 3-state Potts model, we demonstrate a mechanism for the spontaneous formation of fish-like patterns of anthracene (AC) molecules on Cu(111) by sputtering and annealing, then cooling to ~ 80 K. The two components are an AC on a hollow site and another on a bridge site of Cu(111). The liquid crystal model with two separate parts, positional and orientational, only explains a part of the fish-like pattern, not the whole regular pattern. Our model fixes the positional order of AC's into the triangular lattice and the orientational order into three angles as observed in the experiments. The variation of the coverages of AC's is reflected in the change of the ratio of two components in our model. We also try to understand the compression of AC's with the introduction of Gaussian dispersion of AC's about their triangular lattice sites. Supported primarily by NSF Grants CHE 07-50334 with a secondary support from NSF-MRSEC at the University of Maryland, DMR05-20471. Work at UCR supported primarily by NSF CHE 07-49949.
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Institutional patterns in the Austrian space sector
Wong, Annie; Burg, Elco van; Giannopapa, Christina
2018-01-01
This paper employs the institutional logics perspective to understand how space policies and regulations influences entrepreneurship and innovation. We conducted interviews with entrepreneurs, ESA policy makers and governmental representatives in Austria and identified six prevailing institutional practices: geographical return, the SME-initiatives, the national support pattern, the size pattern, the consortium pattern and the experience pattern. Together, these patterns make up the semi-governmental logic of the space sector. We find that space actors adhere to these patterns to earn legitimacy, which is a condition for support and access to resources. This study adds to our understanding in the consequences of policies and contributes to the design of new space policies and programmes.
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2011-03-17
...)(v)(E) and (F). If the prevailing wage rate is too low, available U.S. workers may be dissuaded from... Docket No. USCIS-2010-0006] RIN 1615-ZA98 Prevailing Wage Rates for Construction Occupations on Guam for... the public on the system that the Governor of Guam is using to determine prevailing wage rates for...
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Plate Like Convection with Viscous Strain Weakening and Corresponding Surface Deformation Pattern
Fuchs, L.; Becker, T. W.
2017-12-01
How plate tectonic surface motions are generated by mantle convection on Earth and possibly other terrestrial type planets has recently become more readily accessible with fully dynamic convection computations. However, it remains debated how plate-like the behavior in such models truly is, and in particular how the well plate boundary dynamics are captured in models which typically exclude the effects of deformation history and memory. Here, we analyze some of the effects of viscous strain weakening on plate behavior and the interactions between interior convection dynamics and surface deformation patterns. We use the finite element code CitcomCU to model convection in a 3D Cartesian model setup. The models are internally heated, with an Arrhenius-type temperature dependent viscosity including plastic yielding and viscous strain weakening (VSW) and healing (VSWH). VSW can mimic first order features of more complex damage mechanisms such as grain-size dependent rheology. Besides plate diagnostic parameters (Plateness, Mobility, and Toroidal: Poloidal ratio) to analyze the tectonic behavior our models, we also explore how "plate boundaries" link to convective patterns. In a first model series, we analyze general surface deformation patterns without VSW. In the early stages, deformation patterns are clearly co-located with up- and downwelling limbs of convection. Along downwellings strain-rates are high and localized, whereas upwellings tend to lead to broad zones of high deformation. At a more advanced stage, however, the plates' interior is highly deformed due to continuous strain accumulation and resurfaced inherited strain. Including only VSW leads to more localized deformation along downwellings. However, at a more advanced stage plate-like convection fails due an overall weakening of the material. This is prevented including strain healing. Deformation pattern at the surface more closely coincide with the internal convection patterns. The average surface
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Novel N4 Bacteriophages Prevail in the Cold Biosphere.
Zhan, Yuanchao; Buchan, Alison; Chen, Feng
2015-08-01
Coliphage N4 is a lytic bacteriophage discovered nearly half a century ago, and it was considered to be a "genetic orphan" until very recently, when several additional N4-like phages were discovered to infect nonenteric bacterial hosts. Interest in this genus of phages is stimulated by their unique genetic features and propagation strategies. To better understand the ecology of N4-like phages, we investigated the diversity and geographic patterns of N4-like phages by examining 56 Chesapeake Bay viral communities, using a PCR-clone library approach targeting a diagnostic N4-like DNA polymerase gene. Many new lineages of N4-like phages were found in the bay, and their genotypes shift from the lower to the upper bay. Interestingly, signature sequences of N4-like phages were recovered only from winter month samples, when water temperatures were below 4°C. An analysis of existing metagenomic libraries from various aquatic environments supports the hypothesis that N4-like phages are most prolific in colder waters. In particular, a high number of N4-like phages were detected in Organic Lake, Antarctica, a cold and hypersaline system. The prevalence of N4-like phages in the cold biosphere suggests these viruses possess yet-to-be-determined mechanisms that facilitate lytic infections under cold conditions. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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The pattern of medical mortalities in a specialist hospital in north ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Background: Review of causes of morbidity and mortality in health care facilities is an important exercise which gives a picture of the prevailing disease pattern in the particular community and at the same time looks out for any change in the disease pattern over time. This exercise is a necessary component for planning of ...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Farideh Dastsouz
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Background: Dietary pattern is an effective way of studying the effect of diet on diseases. We investigated the association between dietary patterns and blood pressure (BP in adults aged 20-50 years. Methods: In a cross-sectional design, 418 individuals were selected through stratified multistage random sampling from households living in different regions of Shiraz. Information on demographic characteristics, anthropometric features, dietary intakes, and systolic (SBP and diastolic (DBP blood pressure was gathered. Dietary patterns were determined using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Results: Three dietary patterns were specified: vegetable (high in vegetables and legumes, Western-like (high in meat, sugarsweetened beverages, salty and sweet snacks, refined grains, high-fat dairy, and Mediterranean-like (rich in low-fat dairy, fruit, vegetables, nuts, olive, fish, and low in hydrogenated fats. After adjustment for confounders, Mediterranean-like dietary pattern had an inverse association with SBP (β=-0.24; 95% CI: -5.25, -1.27 and DBP (β=-0.17; 95% CI: -3.65, -0.20 in males but not females. Vegetable and Western-like dietary patterns were not associated with BP in either sex after adjusting for confounders. Positive relationships were observed between BP and body mass index (r=0.28 and 0.33 for SBP and DBP, P<0.001, waist circumference (r=0.51 and 0.45 for SBP and DBP, P<0.001, and waist-to-hip ratio (r=0.54 and 0.44 for SBP and DBP, P<0.001. Dietary energy and carbohydrates were positively and fats inversely associated with BP. Among micronutrients, vitamin E had a significant inverse association with BP. Conclusion: Mediterranean-like dietary pattern may lower the risk of hypertension in Shiraz males.
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Familiar units prevail over statistical cues in word segmentation.
Poulin-Charronnat, Bénédicte; Perruchet, Pierre; Tillmann, Barbara; Peereman, Ronald
2017-09-01
In language acquisition research, the prevailing position is that listeners exploit statistical cues, in particular transitional probabilities between syllables, to discover words of a language. However, other cues are also involved in word discovery. Assessing the weight learners give to these different cues leads to a better understanding of the processes underlying speech segmentation. The present study evaluated whether adult learners preferentially used known units or statistical cues for segmenting continuous speech. Before the exposure phase, participants were familiarized with part-words of a three-word artificial language. This design allowed the dissociation of the influence of statistical cues and familiar units, with statistical cues favoring word segmentation and familiar units favoring (nonoptimal) part-word segmentation. In Experiment 1, performance in a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) task between words and part-words revealed part-word segmentation (even though part-words were less cohesive in terms of transitional probabilities and less frequent than words). By contrast, an unfamiliarized group exhibited word segmentation, as usually observed in standard conditions. Experiment 2 used a syllable-detection task to remove the likely contamination of performance by memory and strategy effects in the 2AFC task. Overall, the results suggest that familiar units overrode statistical cues, ultimately questioning the need for computation mechanisms of transitional probabilities (TPs) in natural language speech segmentation.
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Brzeziński, Aleksander; Capitaine, Nicole
2010-11-01
The axial component of Earth rotation, which is conventionally expressed by Universal Time (UT1), contains small physical signals with diurnal and subdiurnal periods. This part of the spectrum is dominated by the tidal effects which are regular and predictable. The largest components express the influence of the gravitationally forced ocean tides with diurnal and semidiurnal periods and amplitudes up to 0.02 milliseconds (ms) in UT1 corresponding to an angular displacement of 0.30 milliarcseconds (mas); see Table 8.3 of the IERS Conventions (IERS, 2003). There are also smaller subdiurnal components (amplitudes up to 0.03 mas), designated as “spin libration” by Chao et al. (1991), due to direct influence of the tidal gravitation on those features of the Earth's density distribution which are expressed by the non-zonal terms of the geopotential. These components are not included in the models recommended by the IERS Conventions, in contrast to the corresponding effect in polar motion (ibid., Table 5.1). Here we consider in detail the subdiurnal libration in UT1. We derive an analytical solution for the structural model of the Earth consisting of an elastic mantle and a liquid core which are not coupled to each other. The reference solution for the rigid Earth is computed by using the satellite-determined coefficients of geopotential and the recent developments of the tide generating potential (TGP). We arrived to the conclusion that the set of terms with amplitudes exceeding the truncation level of 0.005 mas consists of 11 semidiurnal harmonics due to the influence of the TGP term u22 on the equatorial flattening of the Earth expressed by the Stokes coefficients C22, S22. There is an excellent agreement between our estimates for the rigid Earth and the amplitudes derived by Wünsch (1991). The only important difference is the term with the tidal code ν2, which seems to be overlooked in the development of Wünsch. Our amplitudes computed for an elastic Earth with
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Chapter4 - Drought patterns in the conterminous United States and Hawaii.
Frank H. Koch; William D. Smith; John W. Coulston
2014-01-01
Droughts are common in virtually all U.S. forests, but their frequency and intensity vary widely both between and within forest ecosystems (Hanson and Weltzin 2000). Forests in the Western United States generally exhibit a pattern of annual seasonal droughts. Forests in the Eastern United States tend to exhibit one of two prevailing patterns: random occasional droughts...
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A novel role of BELL1-like homeobox genes, PENNYWISE and POUND-FOOLISH, in floral patterning.
Yu, Lifeng; Patibanda, Varun; Smith, Harley M S
2009-02-01
Flowers are determinate shoots comprised of perianth and reproductive organs displayed in a whorled phyllotactic pattern. Floral organ identity genes display region-specific expression patterns in the developing flower. In Arabidopsis, floral organ identity genes are activated by LEAFY (LFY), which functions with region-specific co-regulators, UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS (UFO) and WUSCHEL (WUS), to up-regulate homeotic genes in specific whorls of the flower. PENNYWISE (PNY) and POUND-FOOLISH (PNF) are redundant functioning BELL1-like homeodomain proteins that are expressed in shoot and floral meristems. During flower development, PNY functions with a co-repressor complex to down-regulate the homeotic gene, AGAMOUS (AG), in the outer whorls of the flower. However, the function of PNY as well as PNF in regulating floral organ identity in the central whorls of the flower is not known. In this report, we show that combining mutations in PNY and PNF enhance the floral patterning phenotypes of weak and strong alleles of lfy, indicating that these BELL1-like homeodomain proteins play a role in the specification of petals, stamens and carpels during flower development. Expression studies show that PNY and PNF positively regulate the homeotic genes, APETALA3 and AG, in the inner whorls of the flower. Moreover, PNY and PNF function in parallel with LFY, UFO and WUS to regulate homeotic gene expression. Since PNY and PNF interact with the KNOTTED1-like homeodomain proteins, SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM) and KNOTTED-LIKE from ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA2 (KNAT2) that regulate floral development, we propose that PNY/PNF-STM and PNY/PNF-KNAT2 complexes function in the inner whorls to regulate flower patterning events.
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Hobfoll, Stevan E; Blais, Rebecca K; Stevens, Natalie R; Walt, Lisa; Gengler, Richard
2016-01-01
Despite heightened rates of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among in Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, the majority of distressed veterans will not receive mental health care. Overcoming barriers to mental health services requires innovative approaches to broaden the reach of evidence-based treatment. The current study examined the efficacy and acceptability of an innovative and dynamic online cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention for PTSD and depression called Vets Prevail. A randomized clinical trial conducted between 2011 and 2013 assessed changes in PTSD and depression in veterans with mild-to-moderate distress. Veterans randomized to Vets Prevail (n = 209) were aged 34.2 ± 7.6 years, mostly male (81.3%), and nonminority (73.7%). Veterans randomized to adjustment as usual (n = 94) were aged 34.7 ± 8.9, mostly male (81.9%), and White (67.0%). Veterans completed the PTSD Checklist-Military Version and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (10-item version) postintervention and at 12-week follow-up. Veterans in the Vets Prevail condition reported significantly greater reductions in PTSD, t(250) = 3.24, p = .001 (Mreduction = 5.51, SD = 9.63), and depression, t(252) = 4.37, p = .001 (Mreduction = 2.31, SD = 5.34), at 12-week follow-up compared with veterans in the adjustment as usual condition (PTSD Mreduction = 1.00, SD = 7.32; depression Mreduction = 0.48, SD = 4.95), with moderate effect sizes for PTSD (Cohen's d = 0.42) and depression (Cohen's d = 0.56). Exploratory analysis shows that Vets Prevail may be effective regardless of combat trauma exposure, gender, and ethnic minority status. Vets Prevail circumvents many barriers to care and effectively addresses the dire mental health needs of veterans. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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78 FR 70599 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Open Committee Meetings
2013-11-26
... of Personnel Management Building, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC. The Federal Prevailing Rate... the matters being considered and would disrupt substantially the disposition of its business... Advisory Committee, Room 5H27, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20415, (202) 606-9400. U.S. Office of...
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77 FR 8926 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Open Committee Meetings
2012-02-15
... Personnel Management Building, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory... considered and would disrupt substantially the disposition of its business. Therefore, these caucuses will be... 5H27, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20415, (202) 606-9400. U.S. Office of Personnel Management...
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77 FR 76304 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Open Committee Meetings
2012-12-27
... 5A06A, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Building, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC. The Federal... the matters being considered and would disrupt substantially the disposition of its business... Management, Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, Room 5H27, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20415...
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Patterns of flavour violation in models with vector-like quarks
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bobeth, Christoph [TUM Institute for Advanced Study, Lichtenbergstr. 2a, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Physik Department, TU München, James-Franck-Straße, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Excellence Cluster Universe, Technische Universität München,Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Buras, Andrzej J. [TUM Institute for Advanced Study, Lichtenbergstr. 2a, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Physik Department, TU München, James-Franck-Straße, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Celis, Alejandro [Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Fakultät für Physik,Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics, 80333 München (Germany); Jung, Martin [TUM Institute for Advanced Study, Lichtenbergstr. 2a, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Excellence Cluster Universe, Technische Universität München,Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany)
2017-04-13
We study the patterns of flavour violation in renormalisable extensions of the Standard Model (SM) that contain vector-like quarks (VLQs) in a single complex representation of either the SM gauge group G{sub SM} or G{sub SM}{sup ′}≡G{sub SM}⊗U(1){sub L{sub μ−L{sub τ}}}. We first decouple VLQs in the M=(1−10) TeV range and then at the electroweak scale also Z,Z{sup ′} gauge bosons and additional scalars to study the phenomenology. The results depend on the relative size of Z- and Z{sup ′}-induced flavour-changing neutral currents, as well as the size of |ΔF|=2 contributions including the effects of renormalisation group Yukawa evolution from M to the electroweak scale that turn out to be very important for models with right-handed currents through the generation of left-right operators. In addition to rare decays like P→ℓℓ̄, P→P{sup ′}ℓℓ̄, P→P{sup ′}νν̄ with P=K,B{sub s},B{sub d} and |ΔF|=2 observables we analyze the ratio ε{sup ′}/ε which appears in the SM to be significantly below the data. We study patterns and correlations between these observables which taken together should in the future allow for differentiating between VLQ models. In particular the patterns in models with left-handed and right-handed currents are markedly different from each other. Among the highlights are large Z-mediated new physics effects in Kaon observables in some of the models and significant effects in B{sub s,d}-observables. ε{sup ′}/ε can easily be made consistent with the data, implying then uniquely the suppression of K{sub L}→π{sup 0}νν̄. Significant enhancements of Br(K{sup +}→π{sup +}νν̄) are still possible. We point out that the combination of NP effects to |ΔF|=2 and |ΔF|=1 observables in a given meson system generally allows to determine the masses of VLQs in a given representation independently of the size of VLQ couplings.
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75 FR 75706 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Open Committee Meetings
2010-12-06
... Building, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is composed of... considered and would disrupt substantially the disposition of its business. Therefore, these caucuses will be... 5H27, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415, (202) 606-9400. U.S. Office of Personnel Management...
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76 FR 75567 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; Open Committee Meetings
2011-12-02
..., 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is composed of a... disrupt substantially the disposition of its business. Therefore, these caucuses will be closed to the... 5H27, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415, (202) 606-9400. U.S. Office of Personnel Management...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Martha Quesada Concepción
2011-09-01
Full Text Available Because of blood transfusions are one of the ways of transmitting the immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS/HIV; it constitutes warriness from the epidemiological point of view. A descriptive research was done with the objective of determining the prevailing of sensitive blood driving AIDS/HIV in the Provincial Blood Bank from Sancti Spíritus from January 1 st , 2007 to December 31 st, 2008. The sample was conformed by 312 donants with positive diagnosis to AIDS/HIV. Some variables were used such as prevailing, age, sex, race, home town. The scores of higher prevailing to AIDS/HIV were shown by the male sex (4,42, the 26-33 year old group (1,55; it prevailing volunteer blood driving (81,0 % , and Sancti Spíritus municipality gave more cases (27,5% .Just because sensibility to tests based on antibody, that is why it is important the constant checking of all processes that guarantee blood driving to be sired.
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Prevailing Wage Regulations and School Construction Costs: Evidence from British Columbia.
Bilginsoy, Cihan; Philips, Peter
2000-01-01
Examines effects of prevailing wage laws on school construction costs, using final cost data from six British Columbia school districts. When controlling for factors such as construction business cycle, number of competitors, and school type, there was no significant unit cost change following the Skill Development and Fair Wage Policy Act.…
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Mean diurnal variations of noctilucent clouds during 7 years of lidar observations at ALOMAR
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. Fiedler
2005-06-01
Full Text Available From 1997 to 2003, noctilucent clouds (NLC were observed by lidar above the ALOMAR observatory in Northern Norway (69° N during a total of 1880 measurement hours. This data set contains NLC signatures for 640h, covering all local times, even during the highest solar background conditions. After data limitation imposing a threshold value of 4x10-10m-1sr-1 for the volume backscatter coefficient of the NLC particles, a measure for the cloud brightness, local time dependencies of the NLC occurrence frequency, altitude, and brightness were determined. On average, over the 7 years NLC occurred during the whole day and preferably in the early morning hours, with a maximum occurrence frequency of ~40% between 4 and 7 LT. Splitting the data into weak and strong clouds yields almost identical amplitudes of diurnal and semidiurnal variations for the occurrence of weak clouds, whereas the strong clouds are dominated by the diurnal variation. NLC occurrence, altitude, as well as brightness, show a remarkable persistence concerning diurnal and semidiurnal variations from 1997 to 2003, suggesting that NLC above ALOMAR are significantly controlled by atmospheric tides. The observed mean anti-phase behavior between cloud altitude and brightness is attributed to a phase shift between the semidiurnal components by ~6h. Investigation of data for each individual year regarding the prevailing oscillation periods of the NLC parameters showed different phase relationships, leading to a complex variability in the cloud parameters.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
SV Solanki
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Respiratory system is the basic prerequisite for living organisms. So precise knowledge of normal anatomy and various dimensions of human respiratory tract is inevitable. The right upper lobe bronchus is prevailingly trifurcates into apical, anterior and posterior segmental bronchi. Material and Methods: The present study was done on 28 tracheo-bronchial casts prepared by corrosive cast method in the anatomy department of B. J. medical college of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India from 2011 to 2013. Result and Observation: In 16 specimens (57% normal trifurcate branching pattern was seen in right upper lobar bronchus. Most common variation observed was bifurcate pattern in right upper lobar bronchus in 36% of specimens. In 7% specimens quadrivial pattern was seen in right upper lobar bronchus in which it divided into four bronchi. Conclusion: The knowledge of anatomy and variation in branching pattern of the tracheo-bronchial tree enables the physicians to recognize clinical picture and pathology of human lungs, as well as the application of therapeutic and diagnostic methods like tracheal intubation, bronchoscopy, bronchography and postural drainage etc.
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Evaluate prevailing climate change on Great Lakes water levels
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Islam, M.
2009-01-01
'Full text:'In this paper, results of a comprehensive water mass balance modeling for the Great Lakes against prevailing and different anticipated climate change scenarios would be presented. Modeling is done in evaluating the changes in the lake storages and then changes in the lake's water level considering present condition, uncertainty and variability of climate and hydrologic conditions in the future. Inflow-outflow and consequent changes in the five Great Lake's storages are simulated for the last 30 years and then projected to evaluate the changes in the lake storages for the next 50 years. From the predicted changes in the lake storage data, water level is calculated using mass to linear conversion equation. Modeling and analysis results are expected to be helpful in understanding the possible impacts of the climate change on the Great Lakes water environment and preparing strategic plan for the sustainable management of lake's water resources. From the recent past, it is observed that there is a depleting trend in the lakes water level and hence there is a potential threat to lake's water environment and uncertainty of the availability of quality and quantity of water for the future generations, especially against prevailing and anticipated climate changes. For this reason, it is an urgent issue of understanding and quantifying the potential impacts of climate change on the Great Lake's water levels and storages. (author)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bo Hong
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Airflow behavior and indoor/outdoor PM2.5 dispersion in different building–tree grouping patterns depend significantly on the building–tree layouts and orientation towards the prevailing wind. By using a standard k-ε model and a revised generalized drift flux model, this study evaluated airflow fields and indoor/outdoor relationships for PM2.5 resulting from partly wind-induced natural ventilation in four hypothetical building–tree grouping patterns. Results showed that: (1 Patterns provide a variety of natural ventilation potential that relies on the wind influence, and buildings that deflect wind on the windward facade and separate airflow on the leeward facade have better ventilation potential; (2 Patterns where buildings and trees form a central space and a windward opening side towards the prevailing wind offer the best ventilation conditions; (3 Under the assumption that transported pollution sources are diluted through the inlet, the aerodynamics and deposition effects of trees cause the lower floors of a multi-storey building to be exposed to lower PM2.5 compared with upper floors, and lower indoor PM2.5 values were found close to the tree canopy; (4 Wind pressure differences across each flat showed a poor correlation (R2 = 0.059, with indoor PM2.5 concentrations; and (5 Patterns with the long facade of buildings and trees perpendicular to the prevailing wind have the lowest indoor PM2.5 concentrations.
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Foot shape in arboreal birds: two morphological patterns for the same pincer-like tool.
Abourachid, Anick; Fabre, Anne-Claire; Cornette, Raphaël; Höfling, Elizabeth
2017-07-01
The feet are the only contact between the body and the substrate in limbed animals and as such they provide a crucial interface between the animal and its environment. This is especially true for bipedal and arboreal species living in a complex three-dimensional environment that likely induces strong selection on foot morphology. In birds, foot morphology is highly variable, with different orientations of the toes, making it a good model for the study of the role of functional, developmental, and phylogenetic constraints in the evolution of phenotypic diversity. Our data on the proportions of the phalanges analyzed in a phylogenetic context show that two different morphological patterns exist that depend mainly on habitat and toe orientation. In the anisodactyl foot, the hallux is the only backward-oriented toe and is enlarged in climbing species and reduced in terrestrial ones. Moreover, a proximo-distal gradient in phalanx size is observed depending on the degree of terrestriality. In the two other cases (heterodactyl and zygodactyl) that have two toes that point backward, the hallux is rather small in contrast to the other backward-pointing toe, which is enlarged. The first pattern is convergent and common among tetrapods and follows rules of skeletal development. The second pattern is unique for the clade and under muscle-morphogenetic control. In all cases, the functional result is the same tool, a pincer-like foot. © 2017 Anatomical Society.
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Carrotte, Elise R; Dietze, Paul M; Wright, Cassandra J; Lim, Megan S
2016-10-01
To describe patterns of 'liking' alcohol marketing social media pages, and determine related alcohol consumption patterns among young Australians. Participants were 1,001 Australians aged 15-29 years who completed a cross-sectional online survey. Logistic regression and ordinal logistic regression were used. A quarter (249/1001, 24.9%) liked at least one of the alcohol marketing social media pages, most commonly brands of spirits, cider and alcohol retailers. Underage participants were as likely as older participants to report liking these pages. Alcohol marketing social media use was significantly and independently associated with male gender, living outside a major city, ever using illegal drugs and early age of first alcohol consumption (all pmarketing social media use (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5-2.8, p=marketing pages is common regardless of age, and associated with riskier alcohol consumption, among young Australians. There is a need to develop strategies to reduce the exposure to, and potential impact of, alcohol marketing social media pages on young Australians, and ensure these pages are neither accessible to nor targeting underage social media users. © 2016 Public Health Association of Australia.
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Time budgets and activity patterns of sub-Antarctic fur seals at ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
... location and distribution on site, and the prevailing weather conditions influence the pattern of interaction and allocation of time to the various activities in A. tropicalis. The predominance of inactivity is considered to be a behavioural thermoregulatory response to limit endogenous heat production as is energy conservation ...
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Self-Organized Patterns in Gas-Discharge: Particle-Like Behaviour and Dissipative Solitons
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Purwins, H.-G.
2008-01-01
The understanding of self-organise patterns in spatially extended nonlinear dissipative systems (SOPs) is one of the most challenging subjects in modern natural sciences. In the last 20 years it turned out that research in the field of low temperature gas-discharge can help to obtain insight into important aspect of SOPs. At the same time, due to the practical relevance of plasma systems one might expect interesting applications. In the present paper the focus is on self-organised filamentary patterns in planar dc and ac systems with high ohmic and dielectric barrier, respectively. - In the discharge plane of these systems filaments show up as spots which are also referred to as dissipative solitons (DSs). In many respect experimentally detected DSs exhibit particle-like behaviour. Among other things, isolated stationary or travelling DSs, stationary, travelling or rotating 'molecules' and various kinds of many-body systems have been observed. Also scattering, generation and annihilation of DSs are frequent phenomena. - At least some of these patterns can be described quantitatively in terms of a drift diffusion model. It is also demonstrated that a simple reaction diffusion model allows for an intuitive understanding of many of the observed phenomena. At the same time this model is the basis for a theoretical foundation of the particle picture and the experimentally observed universal behaviour of SOPs. - Finally some hypothetical applications are discussed
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Parsons-Wingerter, Patricia
2010-01-01
When analyzed by VESsel GENeration Analysis (VESGEN) software, vascular patterns provide useful integrative read-outs of complex, interacting molecular signaling pathways. Using VESGEN, we recently discovered and published our innovative, surprising findings that angiogenesis oscillated with vascular dropout throughout progression of diabetic retinopathy, a blinding vascular disease. Our findings provide a potential paradigm shift in the current prevailing view on progression and treatment of this disease, and a new early-stage window of regenerative therapeutic opportunities. The findings also suggest that angiogenesis may oscillate with vascular disease in a homeostatic-like manner during early stages of other inflammatory progressive diseases such as cancer and coronary vascular disease.
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Manson, A.; Meek, C.; Hagan, M.; Hall, C.; Hocking, W.; MacDougall, J.; Franke, S.; Riggin, D.; Fritts, D.; Vincent, R.; Burrage, M.
1999-07-01
Continuous observations of the wind field have been made by six Medium Frequency Radars (MFRs), located between the equator and high northern latitudes: Christmas Islands (2°N), Hawaii (22°N), Urbana (40°N), London (43°N), Saskatoon (52°N) and Tromsø (70°N). Data have been sought for the time interval 1990-1997, and typically 5 years of data have become available from each station, to demonstrate the level of annual consistency and variability. Common harmonic analysis is applied so that the monthly amplitudes and phases of the semi-diurnal (SD) and diurnal (D) wind oscillations are available in the height range of (typically) 75-95 km in the upper Middle Atmosphere. Comparisons are made with tides from the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM), which are available for 3-month seasons. The emphasis is upon the monthly climatologies at each location based upon comparisons of profiles, and also latitudinal plots of amplitudes and phases at particular heights. For the diurnal tide, the agreement between observations and model is now quite excellent with modelled values frequently lying within the range of yearly values. Both observations and model demonstrate strong seasonal changes. This result is a striking improvement over the comparisons of 1989 (JATP, Special issue). In particular, the phases and phase-gradients for the non-winter months at mid- to high-latitudes are now in excellent agreement. Some of the low latitude discrepancies are attributed to the existence of non-migrating tidal components associated with tropospheric latent heat release. For the semi-diurnal tide, the observed strong transitions between clear solstitial states are less well captured by the model. There is little evidence for improvement over the promising comparisons of 1989. In particular, the late-summer/autumnal tidal maximum of mid-latitudes is observed to be larger, and with strong monthly variability. Also the summer modelled tide has unobserved short (20 km) wavelengths at high
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Prevailing trends of climatic extremes across Indus-Delta of Sindh-Pakistan
Abbas, Farhat; Rehman, Iqra; Adrees, Muhammad; Ibrahim, Muhammad; Saleem, Farhan; Ali, Shafaqat; Rizwan, Muhammad; Salik, Muhammad Raza
2018-02-01
This study examines the variability and change in the patterns of climatic extremes experienced in Indus-Delta of Sindh province of Pakistan, comprising regions of Karachi, Badin, Mohenjodaro, and Rohri. The homogenized daily minimum and maximum temperature and precipitation data for a 36-year period were used to calculate 13 and 11 indices of temperature and precipitation extremes with the help of RClimDex, a program written in the statistical software package R. A non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope estimates were used to determine the statistical significance and magnitude of the calculated trend. Temperatures of summer days and tropical nights increased in the region with overall significant warming trends for monthly maximum temperature as well as for warm days and nights reflecting dry conditions in the study area. The warm extremes and nighttime temperature indices showed greater trends than cold extremes and daytime indices depicting an overall warming trends in the Delta. Historic decrease in the acreage of major crops and over 33% decrease in agriculture credit for Sindh are the indicators of adverse impacts of warmer and drier weather on Sindh agriculture. Trends reported for Karachi and Badin are expected to decrease rice cultivation, hatching of fisheries, and mangroves forest surrounding these cities. Increase in the prevailing temperature trends will lead to increasingly hotter and drier summers resulting to constraints on cotton, wheat, and rice yield in Rohri and Mohenjodaro areas due to increased crop water requirements that may be met with additional groundwater pumping; nonetheless, the depleted groundwater resources would have a direct impact on the region's economy.
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Patterns of MHC-G-Like and MHC-B Diversification in New World Monkeys.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Juan S Lugo
Full Text Available The MHC class I (MHC-I region in New World monkeys (Platyrrhini has remained relatively understudied. To evaluate the diversification patterns and transcription behavior of MHC-I in Platyrrhini, we first analyzed public genomic sequences from the MHC-G-like subregion in Saimiri boliviensis, Ateles geoffroyi and Callicebus moloch, and from the MHC-B subregion in Saimiri boliviensis. While S. boliviensis showed multiple copies of both MHC-G-like (10 and -B (15 loci, A. geoffroyi and C. moloch had only three and four MHC-G-like genes, respectively, indicating that not all Platyrrhini species have expanded their MHC-I loci. We then sequenced MHC-G-like and -B cDNAs from nine Platyrrhini species, recovering two to five unique cDNAs per individual for both loci classes. In two Saguinus species, however, no MHC-B cDNAs were found. In phylogenetic trees, MHC-G-like cDNAs formed genus-specific clusters whereas the MHC-B cDNAs grouped by Platyrrhini families, suggesting a more rapid diversification of the former. Furthermore, cDNA sequencing in 12 capuchin monkeys showed that they transcribe at least four MHC-G-like and five MHC-B polymorphic genes, showing haplotypic diversity for gene copy number and signatures of positive natural selection at the peptide binding region. Finally, a quantitative index for MHC:KIR affinity was proposed and tested to predict putative interacting pairs. Altogether, our data indicate that i MHC-I genes has expanded differentially among Platyrrhini species, ii Callitrichinae (tamarins and marmosets MHC-B loci have limited or tissue-specific expression, iii MHC-G-like genes have diversified more rapidly than MHC-B genes, and iv the MHC-I diversity is generated mainly by genetic polymorphism and gene copy number variation, likely promoted by natural selection for ligand binding.
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Granito, A; Muratori, P; Muratori, L; Pappas, G; Cassani, F; Worthington, J; Guidi, M; Ferri, S; DE Molo, C; Lenzi, M; Chapman, R W; Bianchi, F B
2006-12-01
Serum antinuclear antibodies giving the 'multiple nuclear dots' or the 'rim-like/membranous' patterns are frequently detected by indirect immunofluorescence on HEp-2 cells in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. To assess the accuracy of multiple nuclear dot and rim-like/membranous antinuclear antibodies for the diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis. Sera from 4371 consecutive patients referred to our laboratory were analysed under code for antinuclear antibodies testing by indirect immunofluorescence on HEp-2 cells. Review of the clinical records of the 4371 patients allowed identification of 101 patients with antimitochondrial antibody-positive primary biliary cirrhosis and 22 with antimitochondrial antibody-negative variant. Multiple nuclear dot and/or rim-like/membranous patterns were found in 59 (1.3%) of the 4371 patients: 31 antimitochondrial antibody-positive primary biliary cirrhosis, 17 antimitochondrial antibody-negative primary biliary cirrhosis and 11 non-primary biliary cirrhosis. The specificity for primary biliary cirrhosis of both the antinuclear antibodies pattern was 99%. Positive predictive value and likelihood ratio for a positive test were 86% (95% CI: 72.7-94) and 221 (95% CI: 91.7-544) for multiple nuclear dot, 79% (95% CI: 62.2-90.1) and 132 (95% CI: 56.8-312.7) for rim-like/membranous, respectively. Multiple nuclear dot and rim-like/membranous antinuclear antibodies are rare findings. Their positivity strongly suggests the diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis, irrespective of antimitochondrial antibody status. The high specificity for primary biliary cirrhosis makes them a useful diagnostic tool especially in antimitochondrial antibody-negative patients.
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Yeh, Yu-Hung; Chang, Yu-Hsien; Huang, Pin-Yao; Huang, Jing-Bo; Zimmerli, Laurent
2015-01-01
Upon recognition of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) such as the bacterial flagellin (or the derived peptide flg22) by pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) such as the FLAGELLIN SENSING2 (FLS2), plants activate the pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) response. The L-type lectin receptor kinase-VI.2 (LecRK-VI.2) is a positive regulator of Arabidopsis thaliana PTI. Cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs) possess two copies of the C-X8-C-X2-C (DUF26) motif in their extracellular domains and are thought to be involved in plant stress resistance, but data about CRK functions are scarce. Here, we show that Arabidopsis overexpressing the LecRK-VI.2-responsive CRK4, CRK6, and CRK36 demonstrated an enhanced PTI response and were resistant to virulent bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. Notably, the flg22-triggered oxidative burst was primed in CRK4, CRK6, and CRK36 transgenics and up-regulation of the PTI-responsive gene FLG22-INDUCED RECEPTOR-LIKE 1 (FRK1) was potentiated upon flg22 treatment in CRK4 and CRK6 overexpression lines or constitutively increased by CRK36 overexpression. PTI-mediated callose deposition was not affected by overexpression of CRK4 and CRK6, while CRK36 overexpression lines demonstrated constitutive accumulation of callose. In addition, Pst DC3000-mediated stomatal reopening was blocked in CRK4 and CRK36 overexpression lines, while overexpression of CRK6 induced constitutive stomatal closure suggesting a strengthening of stomatal immunity. Finally, bimolecular fluorescence complementation and co-immunoprecipitation analyses in Arabidopsis protoplasts suggested that the plasma membrane localized CRK4, CRK6, and CRK36 associate with the PRR FLS2. Association with FLS2 and the observation that overexpression of CRK4, CRK6, and CRK36 boosts specific PTI outputs and resistance to bacteria suggest a role for these CRKs in Arabidopsis innate immunity.
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Nuclear energy is not the prevailing energy in the French energetic mix
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Destais, G.
2011-01-01
The author first shows that the share of nuclear energy in the French electricity production is in fact of 76% (and not 80% as usually said), and that the share of this energy in the final electricity consumption was 69% in 2009. She also outlines that nuclear electricity is only 16,5% of the total final energy consumption in France in 2009, whereas oil still prevails with 42%
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Thiel, Steffen
2007-01-01
Mannan-binding lectin (MBL), L-ficolin, M-ficolin and H-ficolin are all complement activating soluble pattern recognition molecules with recognition domains linked to collagen-like regions. All four may form complexes with four structurally related proteins, the three MBL-associated serine...... proteases (MASPs), MASP-1, MASP-2 and MASP-3, and a smaller MBL-associated protein (MAp19). The four recognition molecules recognize patterns of carbohydrate or acetyl-group containing ligands. After binding to the relevant targets all four are able to activate the complement system. We thus have a system...... where four different and/or overlapping patterns of microbial origin or patterns of altered-self may be recognized, but in all cases the signalling molecules, the MASPs, are shared. MASP-1 and MASP-3 are formed from one gene, MASP1/3, by alternative splicing generating two different mRNAs from a single...
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Rural-Urban Differences of Dietary Patterns, Overweight, and Bone Mineral Status in Chinese Students
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yang Yang
2016-09-01
Full Text Available China is an urban and rural social model country. In the past three decades, the developing speed of rural areas has been much slower than urban areas, which may lead to the differences in dietary patterns. This study aimed to investigate the disparities of dietary structures from urban and rural children, and to analyze the effects of different dietary patterns on their adverse outcome. Among 1590 students, aged 11 years to 17 years, from primary and middle schools, a cross-sectional study was conducted. There were three dietary patterns recognized: Westernization structure, meat diet structure, and Western and Chinese structure. Compared with rural students, more urban students were in the highest categories of the whole dietary patterns (p < 0.001. Overweight/obesity and central adiposity were more prevailing among urban students, while rural students had a more prevailing risk of bone fracture (p < 0.05. Through the adjustment for all confounding factors, the Westernization structure could increase the risk of overweight/obesity and central adiposity, the meat structure could increase the risk of elevated blood pressure/hypertension, while the risk of low bone mineral quality could be reduced by the Chinese and Western structure. In conclusion, a rural-urban disparity in dietary patterns was found in our study, and different dietary patterns were associated with the risk of some adverse outcomes. Therefore, there were different prevalences of the adverse outcomes between rural and urban students.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cheng Xu
2016-04-01
Full Text Available A fundamental step in cellular defense mechanisms is the recognition of “danger signals” made of conserved pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs expressed by invading pathogens, by host cell germ line coded pattern recognition receptors (PRRs. In this study, we used RNA-seq and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG to identify PRRs together with the network pathway of differentially expressed genes (DEGs that recognize salmonid alphavirus subtype 3 (SAV-3 infection in macrophage/dendritic like TO-cells derived from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L headkidney leukocytes. Our findings show that recognition of SAV-3 in TO-cells was restricted to endosomal Toll-like receptors (TLRs 3 and 8 together with RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs and not the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors NOD-like receptor (NLRs genes. Among the RLRs, upregulated genes included the retinoic acid inducible gene I (RIG-I, melanoma differentiation association 5 (MDA5 and laboratory of genetics and physiology 2 (LGP2. The study points to possible involvement of the tripartite motif containing 25 (TRIM25 and mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS in modulating RIG-I signaling being the first report that links these genes to the RLR pathway in SAV-3 infection in TO-cells. Downstream signaling suggests that both the TLR and RLR pathways use interferon (IFN regulatory factors (IRFs 3 and 7 to produce IFN-a2. The validity of RNA-seq data generated in this study was confirmed by quantitative real time qRT-PCR showing that genes up- or downregulated by RNA-seq were also up- or downregulated by RT-PCR. Overall, this study shows that de novo transcriptome assembly identify key receptors of the TLR and RLR sensors engaged in host pathogen interaction at cellular level. We envisage that data presented here can open a road map for future intervention strategies in SAV infection of salmon.
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First stage larval marsh grass shrimp, Palaemonetes vulgaris, were exposed to patterns of diurnal, semidiurnal, and constant hypoxia to evaluate effects on growth and to determine if there was a consistent relationship between exposures. A comparison of growth with cyclic exposur...
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Falk, P [Hammersmith Hospital, London (UK). M.R.C. Cyclotron Unit
1980-02-01
This study showed that the vascular pattern of the spontaneous C3H mouse mammary carcinoma develops from a capillary network into an afferent system lacking arterioles and consisting only of capillary-like vessels and an efferent system characterized by large sinuses. Lack of correlation between the growth of stroma and parenchyma leads to a circuitous and uneven supply of blood and to a high degree of occlusion of the efferent system with consequent reduction in the rate of flow of blood. The parenchyma consists of tubules formed of single or multiple layers of cells between which capillaries do not penetrate. The diffusion pathway of oxygen and nutrients to the inner cells of the multi-layered tubules is considerably longer than that to their outer cells or to the cells of the single-layered tubules. Consequently it is in the former parts that anoxia and severe hypoxia are likely to prevail. The pattern of necrosis agrees with this supposition. It is predicted that radiation hyperthermia will act differentially and in opposite senses on these two tumour components, hyperthermia being more effective on the former, radiation on the latter.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Aro, A R; Pilvikki Absetz, S; van Elderen, T M
2000-01-01
-ups at 2 and 12 months postscreening. At 2 months, there was a moderate multivariate effect of group on distress; and intrusive thinking and worry about breast cancer, in particular, were most frequent amongst the false positives. Intrusive thinking still prevailed at 12 months, in addition to a higher...... findings (n=1407), false-positive findings (n=492) and referents from outside the screening programme (n=1718, age 48-49 years). Distress was measured as illness worry, anxiety, depression, cancer beliefs and early detection behaviour. Measurements were one month before screening invitation with follow...... perceived breast cancer risk and susceptibility. Distress related to screening and false-positive findings seems to be moderate, but prevailing cancer-specific concerns call for improvements in screening programmes....
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Penna, Mario; Moreno-Gómez, Felipe N; Muñoz, Matías I; Cisternas, Javiera
2017-07-01
Degradation phenomena affecting animal acoustic signals may provide cues to assess the distance of emitters. Recognition of degraded signals has been extensively demonstrated in birds, and recently studies have also reported detection of degraded patterns in anurans that call at or above ground level. In the current study we explore the vocal responses of the syntopic burrowing male frogs Eupsophus emiliopugini and E. calcaratus from the South American temperate forest to synthetic conspecific calls differing in amplitude and emulating degraded and non-degraded signal patterns. The results show a strong dependence of vocal responses on signal amplitude, and a general lack of differential responses to signals with different pulse amplitude modulation depths in E. emiliopugini and no effect of relative amplitude of harmonics in E. calcaratus. Such limited discrimination of signal degradation patterns from non-degraded signals is likely related to the burrowing habits of these species. Shelters amplify outgoing and incoming conspecific vocalizations, but do not counteract signal degradation to an extent comparable to calling strategies used by other frogs. The limited detection abilities and resultant response permissiveness to degraded calls in these syntopic burrowing species would be advantageous for animals communicating in circumstances in which signal alteration prevails. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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From the clouds to the ground - snow precipitation patterns vs. snow accumulation patterns
Gerber, Franziska; Besic, Nikola; Mott, Rebecca; Gabella, Marco; Germann, Urs; Bühler, Yves; Marty, Mauro; Berne, Alexis; Lehning, Michael
2017-04-01
patterns show a snowfall gradient consistent with the prevailing wind direction. Deriving snow accumulation based on radar data is challenging as the close-ground precipitation patters cannot be resolved by the radar due to shielding and ground clutter in highly complex terrain. Nonetheless, radar measurements show distinct patterns of snowfall and accumulation, which may be the result of orographic enhancement. Station-based snow accumulation measurements are in reasonable agreement with the estimated large-scale radar snow accumulation. The ADS-based snow accumulation maps feature much smaller scale snow accumulation patterns likely due to close-ground wind effects and snow redistribution on top of an altitudinal gradient. To evaluate microphysical processes and patterns influenced by the topography we run a hydrometeor classification on the radar data. The relative importance of topographically induced effects on snow accumulation patterns is investigated based on vertical cross sections of hydrometeor data and corresponding snow accumulation.
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Hygienic features of working conditions prevailing in X-ray cabinets
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Usol'tsev, V.I.; Serebryanyj, V.A.
1975-01-01
The results of an investigation of 352 x-ray cabinets showed that their personnel is subjected to simultaneous action of a number of factors: discomfortable microclimate, small concentrations of ozone and nitrogen oxides (within 0.1 of the maximum permissible concentration). The hands of the personnel, especially those of the x-ray laboratory assistants are contaminated with lead (2.38mg in the hands washings). Therefore the assessment of labour conditions prevailing in an x-ray cabinet and the accomplishment of measures of their provement should be carried out with due regards to all the complex of the above mentioned factors besides the ionizing radiation
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Saad, F; Ivanescu, C; Phung, D; Loriot, Y; Abhyankar, S; Beer, T M; Tombal, B; Holmstrom, S
2017-03-01
We investigated the impact of skeletal-related events (SREs) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in phase III trials of enzalutamide versus placebo. Patients with mCRPC experiencing at least one SRE during AFFIRM and PREVAIL were assessed for trajectory-adjusted mean change in HRQoL by first SRE using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P; AFFIRM, three domains, and PREVAIL, nine domains) and EQ-5D (PREVAIL) instruments. First SREs caused HRQoL deterioration in both trials. Spinal cord compression had the largest impact, with clinically meaningful reductions in seven of nine FACT-P domains in PREVAIL and all three in AFFIRM (mean (95% confidence interval (CI)) change in FACT-P total score -16.95 (-26.47, -7.44) and -9.69 (-16.10, -3.27), respectively). In PREVAIL, first SREs caused clinically meaningful declines in EQ-5D utility index, irrespective of category; spinal cord compression had the largest impact (mean (95% CI) change -0.24 (-0.39, -0.08)). In AFFIRM, FACT-P and FACT-General total scores showed clinically meaningful declines after radiation/surgery to bone. SREs were associated with clinically meaningful functional declines in the daily lives of patients with mCRPC. Spinal cord compression had the largest impact on HRQoL.
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5-Year Outcomes After Left Atrial Appendage Closure: From the PREVAIL and PROTECT AF Trials.
Reddy, Vivek Y; Doshi, Shephal K; Kar, Saibal; Gibson, Douglas N; Price, Matthew J; Huber, Kenneth; Horton, Rodney P; Buchbinder, Maurice; Neuzil, Petr; Gordon, Nicole T; Holmes, David R
2017-12-19
The PROTECT AF (WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage System for Embolic Protection in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation) trial demonstrated that left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) with the Watchman device (Boston Scientific, St. Paul, Minnesota) was equivalent to warfarin for preventing stroke in atrial fibrillation, but had a high rate of complications. In a second randomized trial, PREVAIL (Evaluation of the WATCHMAN LAA Closure Device in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Versus Long Term Warfarin Therapy), the complication rate was low. The warfarin cohort experienced an unexpectedly low ischemic stroke rate, rendering the efficacy endpoints inconclusive. However, these outcomes were based on relatively few patients followed for a relatively short time. The final results of the PREVAIL trial, both alone and as part of a patient-level meta-analysis with the PROTECT AF trial, are reported with patients in both trials followed for 5 years. PREVAIL and PROTECT AF are prospective randomized clinical trials with patients randomized 2:1 to LAAC or warfarin; together, they enrolled 1,114 patients for 4,343 patient-years. Analyses are by intention-to-treat, and rates are events per 100 patient-years. For the PREVAIL trial, the first composite coprimary endpoint of stroke, systemic embolism (SE), or cardiovascular/unexplained death did not achieve noninferiority (posterior probability for noninferiority = 88.4%), whereas the second coprimary endpoint of post-procedure ischemic stroke/SE did achieve noninferiority (posterior probability for noninferiority = 97.5%); the warfarin arm maintained an unusually low ischemic stroke rate (0.73%). In the meta-analysis, the composite endpoint was similar between groups (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.820; p = 0.27), as were all-stroke/SE (HR: 0.961; p = 0.87). The ischemic stroke/SE rate was numerically higher with LAAC, but this difference did not reach statistical significance (HR: 1.71; p = 0.080). However, differences in
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An Analysis of Interaction Patterns in the Focus Group Interview
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gavora Peter
2015-12-01
Full Text Available This paper is based on the analysis of a focus group interview of a moderator and a group of undergraduate students on the topic of self-regulation of learning. The purpose of the investigation was to identify interaction patterns that appeared in the talk of participants and the moderator. In the stream of communication two rudimentary interaction patterns were recognized. The first pattern was named the Catalogue. It consists of a sequence of turns of participants who respond to a request of the moderator and who provide their answers, one by one, without reacting on the content of the previous partner(s talk. The other interaction pattern was called the Domino. In this pattern participants respond to each other. The Catalogue pattern prevailed in the interview. Alongside with identification of patterns of interaction the study demonstrated the functions of the common ground and its accomplishment in the talk of the moderator and participants.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kirillov, Sergei; Dmitrenko, Igor; Rysgaard, Soren
2017-01-01
In April 2015, an ice-tethered conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiler and a down-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were deployed from the landfast ice near the tidewater glacier terminus of the Flade Isblink Glacier in the Wandel Sea, NE Greenland. The 3-week time series...... are likely attributable to subglacial water from the Flade Isblink Ice Cap. It was also found that the semidiurnal periodicities in the temperature and salinity time series were associated with the lunar semidiurnal tidal flow. The vertical structure of tidal currents corresponded to the first baroclinic...... mode of the internal tide with a velocity minimum at similar to 40 m. The tidal ellipses rotate in opposite directions above and below this depth and cause a divergence of tidal flow, which was observed to induce semidiurnal internal waves of about 3 m height at the front of the glacier terminus...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Falk, P.
1980-01-01
This study showed that the vascular pattern of the spontaneous C3H mouse mammary carcinoma develops from a capillary network into an afferent system lacking arterioles and consisting only of capillary-like vessels and an efferent system characterized by large sinuses. Lack of correlation between the growth of stroma and parenchyma leads to a circuitous and uneven supply of blood and to a high degree of occlusion of the efferent system with consequent reduction in the rate of flow of blood. The parenchyma consists of tubules formed of single or multiple layers of cells between which capillaries do not penetrate. The diffusion pathway of oxygen and nutrients to the inner cells of the multi-layered tubules is considerably longer than that to their outer cells or to the cells of the single-layered tubules. Consequently it is in the former parts that anoxia and severe hypoxia are likely to prevail. The pattern of necrosis agrees with this supposition. It is predicted that radiation hyperthermia will act differentially and in opposite senses on these two tumour components, hyperthermia being more effective on the former, radiation on the latter. (author)
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Guisan, Antoine; Rahbek, Carsten
2011-01-01
Two different approaches currently prevail for predicting spatial patterns of species assemblages. The first approach (macroecological modelling, MEM) focuses directly on realized properties of species assemblages, whereas the second approach (stacked species distribution modelling, S-SDM) starts...
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Pfrommer, Andreas; Henning, Anke
2018-03-13
The ultimate intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio (UISNR) represents an upper bound for the achievable SNR of any receive coil. To reach this threshold a complete basis set of equivalent surface currents is required. This study systematically investigated to what extent either loop- or dipole-like current patterns are able to reach the UISNR threshold in a realistic human head model between 1.5 T and 11.7 T. Based on this analysis, we derived guidelines for coil designers to choose the best array element at a given field strength. Moreover, we present ideal current patterns yielding the UISNR in a realistic body model. We distributed generic current patterns on a cylindrical and helmet-shaped surface around a realistic human head model. We excited electromagnetic fields in the human head by using eigenfunctions of the spherical and cylindrical Helmholtz operator. The electromagnetic field problem was solved by a fast volume integral equation solver. At 7 T and above, adding curl-free current patterns to divergence-free current patterns substantially increased the SNR in the human head (locally >20%). This was true for the helmet-shaped and the cylindrical surface. On the cylindrical surface, dipole-like current patterns had high SNR performance in central regions at ultra-high field strength. The UISNR increased superlinearly with B0 in most parts of the cerebrum but only sublinearly in the periphery of the human head. The combination of loop and dipole elements could enhance the SNR performance in the human head at ultra-high field strength. © 2018 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
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Fabrication of Microfiber Patterns with Ivy Shoot-Like Geometries Using Improved Electrospinning.
Jeong, Young Hun; Lee, Jongwan
2016-04-01
Fibers and fibrous structures are used extensively in various fields due to their many advantages. Microfibers, as well as nanofibers, are considered to be some of the most valuable forms of advanced materials. Accordingly, various methods for fabricating microfibers have been developed. Electrospinning is a useful fabrication method for continuous polymeric nano- and microfibers with attractive merits. However, this technique has limitations in its ability to control the geometry of fibrous structures. Herein, advanced electrospinning with direct-writing functionality was used to fabricate microfiber patterns with ivy shoot-like geometries after experimentally investigating the effects of the process conditions on the fiber formation. The surface properties of the fibers were also modified by introducing nanoscale pores through the use of higher levels of humidity during the fabrication process.
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Projected changes in prevailing winds for transatlantic migratory birds under global warming.
La Sorte, Frank A; Fink, Daniel
2017-03-01
A number of terrestrial bird species that breed in North America cross the Atlantic Ocean during autumn migration when travelling to their non-breeding grounds in the Caribbean or South America. When conducting oceanic crossings, migratory birds tend to associate with mild or supportive winds, whose speed and direction may change under global warming. The implications of these changes for transoceanic migratory bird populations have not been addressed. We used occurrence information from eBird (1950-2015) to estimate the geographical location of population centres at a daily temporal resolution across the annual cycle for 10 transatlantic migratory bird species. We used this information to estimate the location and timing of autumn migration within the transatlantic flyway. We estimated how prevailing winds are projected to change within the transatlantic flyway during this time using daily wind speed anomalies (1996-2005 and 2091-2100) from 29 Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models implemented under CMIP5. Autumn transatlantic migrants have the potential to encounter strong westerly crosswinds early in their transatlantic journey at intermediate and especially high migration altitudes, strong headwinds at low and intermediate migration altitudes within the Caribbean that increase in strength as the season progresses, and weak tailwinds at intermediate and high migration altitudes east of the Caribbean. The CMIP5 simulations suggest that, during this century, the likelihood of autumn transatlantic migrants encountering strong westerly crosswinds will diminish. As global warming progresses, the need for species to compensate or drift under the influence of strong westerly crosswinds during the initial phase of their autumn transatlantic journey may be diminished. Existing strategies that promote headwind avoidance and tailwind assistance will likely remain valid. Thus, climate change may reduce time and energy requirements and the chance of mortality or
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Virganavičius, D. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, 5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Kaunas University of Technology, Institute of Materials Science, 51423 Kaunas (Lithuania); Cadarso, V.J.; Kirchner, R. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, 5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Stankevičius, L.; Tamulevičius, T.; Tamulevičius, S. [Kaunas University of Technology, Institute of Materials Science, 51423 Kaunas (Lithuania); Schift, H., E-mail: helmut.schift@psi.ch [Paul Scherrer Institute, Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, 5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland)
2016-11-01
Highlights: • Nanopatterning of thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) films and silver containing DLC composites. • Nanoimprint lithography with thermoplastic silicon containing resist. • Zero-residual layer imprinting and pattern transfer by reactive ion etching. • Robust leaky waveguide sensors with sensitivity up to 319 nm/RIU. - Abstract: Patterning of diamond-like carbon (DLC) and DLC:metal nanocomposites is of interest for an increasing number of applications. We demonstrate a nanoimprint lithography process based on silicon containing thermoplastic resist combined with plasma etching for straightforward patterning of such films. A variety of different structures with few hundred nanometer feature size and moderate aspect ratios were successfully realized. The quality of produced patterns was directly investigated by the means of optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Such structures were further assessed by employing them in the development of gratings for guided mode resonance (GMR) effect. Optical characterization of such leaky waveguide was compared with numerical simulations based on rigorous coupled wave analysis method with good agreement. The use of such structures as refractive index variation sensors is demonstrated with sensitivity up to 319 nm/RIU, achieving an improvement close to 450% in sensitivity compared to previously reported similar sensors. This pronounced GMR signal fully validates the employed DLC material, the technology to pattern it and the possibility to develop DLC based gratings as corrosion and wear resistant refractometry sensors that are able to operate under harsh conditions providing great value and versatility.
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76 FR 21036 - Application of the Prevailing Wage Methodology in the H-2B Program
2011-04-14
... Department to ``promulgate new rules concerning the calculation of the prevailing wage rate in the H-2B... wage methodology set forth in this Rule applies only to wages paid for work performed on or after...: Notice. SUMMARY: On January 19, 2011, the Department of Labor (Department) published a final rule, Wage...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cláudio Moisés Santos Silva
2013-03-01
Full Text Available Estudou-se o ciclo diário e o ciclo semidiário da precipitação na região costeira do Norte do Brasil. Usou-se 13 anos de dados ininterruptos de precipitação estimados através do algoritmo 3B42_V6 do projeto TRMM. Os ciclos foram analisados por quadrimestres. Para obter informações sobre amplitude, fase e fração de variância de cada ciclo, utilizou-se a análise harmônica do ciclo composto no período de 24 horas para cada quadrimestre. Regiões mais próximas da costa apresentaram ciclos modulados por mecanismos oceânicos e, portanto, tendem a apresentar o máximo de precipitação no início da manhã e a noite. Regiões mais afastadas da costa apresentaram máximos às 2100 UTC (17:00 HL em função dos mecanismos de convecção local. A região Nordeste do Pará apresentou as maiores amplitudes de precipitação. Durante o quadrimestre de janeiro a abril observou-se as maiores taxas de precipitação. Não há variações sazonais significativas na fase dos ciclos. Os dois harmônicos correspondem a cerca de 80% do total da variância diária dos dados. No final, algumas sugestões de trabalhos futuros e aplicabilidade dos dados do 3B42_V6 são discutidas.The diurnal and semidiurnal rainfall cycles observed over the Brazilian North coastland were studied. A 13 years rainfall dataset derived by the 3B42_V6 algorithm was used. To obtain the amplitude, phase, and variance of each cycle the harmonic analysis was applied to the mean rainfall of 24 hours. Coastlands areas showed cycles modulated by oceanic mechanisms, thus the maximum rainfall was observed at early-morning and nighttime. Inland regions exhibited maximum rainfall at 2100 UTC (17:00 LST due the local convection mechanism. The highest amplitude of precipitation was observed over the Northeast of the Pará State. The highest rainfall rates were observed during January to April period. The phase of each cycle do not presented significant seasonal variation. The diurnal
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Roger D. Traub
2017-10-01
Full Text Available Rhythmic motor patterns in invertebrates are often driven by specialized “central pattern generators” (CPGs, containing small numbers of neurons, which are likely to be “identifiable” in one individual compared with another. The dynamics of any particular CPG lies under the control of modulatory substances, amines, or peptides, entering the CPG from outside it, or released by internal constituent neurons; consequently, a particular CPG can generate a given rhythm at different frequencies and amplitudes, and perhaps even generate a repertoire of distinctive patterns. The mechanisms exploited by neuromodulators in this respect are manifold: Intrinsic conductances (e.g., calcium, potassium channels, conductance state of postsynaptic receptors, degree of plasticity, and magnitude and kinetics of transmitter release can all be affected. The CPG concept has been generalized to vertebrate motor pattern generating circuits (e.g., for locomotion, which may contain large numbers of neurons – a construct that is sensible, if there is enough redundancy: that is, the large number of neurons consists of only a small number of classes, and the cells within any one class act stereotypically. Here we suggest that CPG and modulator ideas may also help to understand cortical oscillations, normal ones, and particularly transition to epileptiform pathology. Furthermore, in the case illustrated, the mechanism of the transition appears to be an exaggerated form of a normal modulatory action used to influence sensory processing.
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Al-Rashed, Rashed; Lopez JiméNez, Francisco; Reis, Pedro
The wrinkling of elastic bilayers under compression has been explored as a method to produce reversible surface topography, with applications ranging from microfluidics to tunable optics. We introduce a new experimental system to study the effects of pre-stretching on the instability patterns that result from the biaxial compression of thin shells bound to an elastic substrate. A pre-stretched substrate is first prepared by pressurizing an initially flat elastomeric disk and bulging it into a nearly hemispherical thick shell. The substrate is then coated with a thin layer of a polymer suspension, which, upon curing, results in a thin shell of nearly constant thickness. Releasing the pre-stretch in the substrate by deflating the system places the outer film in a state of biaxial compression, resulting in a variety of buckling patterns. We explore the parameter space by systematically varying the pre-stretch, the substrate/film stiffness mismatch, and the thickness of the film. This results in a continuous transition between different buckling patterns, from the dimples and wrinkles that are traditionally associated with the buckling of elastic bilayers, to creases and high aspect ratio `fracture-like' ridges, where the pre-stretch plays an essential role.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
B. P. Williams
2006-07-01
Full Text Available The winter MaCWAVE (Mountain and convective waves ascending vertically rocket campaign took place in January 2003 at Esrange, Sweden and the ALOMAR observatory in Andenes, Norway. The campaign combined balloon, lidar, radar, and rocket measurements to produce full temperature and wind profiles from the ground to 105 km. This paper will investigate gravity wave propagation in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere using data from the Weber sodium lidar on 28–29 January 2003. A very large semidiurnal tide was present in the zonal wind above 80 km that grew to a 90 m/s amplitude at 100 km. The superposition of smaller-scale gravity waves and the tide caused small regions of possible convective or shear instabilities to form along the downward progressing phase fronts of the tide. The gravity waves had periods ranging from the Nyquist period of 30 min up to 4 h, vertical wavelengths ranging from 7 km to more than 20 km, and the frequency spectra had the expected –5/3 slope. The dominant gravity waves had long vertical wavelengths and experienced rapid downward phase progression. The gravity wave variance grew exponentially with height up from 86 to 94 km, consistent with the measured scale height, suggesting that the waves were not dissipated strongly by the tidal gradients and resulting unstable regions in this altitude range.
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Brunetti, Natale D; Ieva, Riccardo; Correale, Michele; Cuculo, Andrea; Santoro, Francesco; Guaricci, Andrea I; De Gennaro, Luisa; Gaglione, Antonio; Di Biase, Matteo
2016-01-01
The Brugada electrocardiogram pattern is characterized by coved-type ST-elevation (>2 mm) in the right precordial leads. We report the case of a 62-year-old man, with bipolar disorder, admitted to the emergency department because of dyspnea and chest discomfort. The patient was on treatment with pregabalin and quetiapine. Unexpectedly, electrocardiogram at admission showed diffuse ST-elevation, more evident in inferior leads, where a Brugada-like pattern was present. The patient underwent coronary angiography with a diagnosis of suspected acute coronary syndrome. Coronary angiography, however, showed mild coronary artery disease not requiring coronary angioplasty. Echocardiography did not reveal left ventricular dysfunction or pericardial effusion. Troponin levels remained normal over serial controls. Eventually, chest radiography showed lung opacities and consolidation suggestive for pneumonia. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first cases showing a transient Brugada-like electrocardiogram pattern in inferior leads, probably amplified by the administration of pregabalin and quetiapine.
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Pattern Recognition via the Toll-Like Receptor System in the Human Female Genital Tract
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kaei Nasu
2010-01-01
Full Text Available The mucosal surface of the female genital tract is a complex biosystem, which provides a barrier against the outside world and participates in both innate and acquired immune defense systems. This mucosal compartment has adapted to a dynamic, non-sterile environment challenged by a variety of antigenic/inflammatory stimuli associated with sexual intercourse and endogenous vaginal microbiota. Rapid innate immune defenses against microbial infection usually involve the recognition of invading pathogens by specific pattern-recognition receptors recently attributed to the family of Toll-like receptors (TLRs. TLRs recognize conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs synthesized by microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses as well as endogenous ligands associated with cell damage. Members of the TLR family, which includes 10 human TLRs identified to date, recognize distinct PAMPs produced by various bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. The available literature regarding the innate immune system of the female genital tract during human reproductive processes was reviewed in order to identify studies specifically related to the expression and function of TLRs under normal as well as pathological conditions. Increased understanding of these molecules may provide insight into site-specific immunoregulatory mechanisms in the female reproductive tract.
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Prevailing climatic trends and runoff response from Hindukush–Karakoram–Himalaya, upper Indus Basin
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. U. Hasson
2017-05-01
Full Text Available Largely depending on the meltwater from the Hindukush–Karakoram–Himalaya, withdrawals from the upper Indus Basin (UIB contribute half of the surface water availability in Pakistan, indispensable for agricultural production systems, industrial and domestic use, and hydropower generation. Despite such importance, a comprehensive assessment of prevailing state of relevant climatic variables determining the water availability is largely missing. Against this background, this study assesses the trends in maximum, minimum and mean temperatures, diurnal temperature range and precipitation from 18 stations (1250–4500 m a.s.l. for their overlapping period of record (1995–2012 and, separately, from six stations of their long-term record (1961–2012. For this, a Mann–Kendall test on serially independent time series is applied to detect the existence of a trend, while its true slope is estimated using the Sen's slope method. Further, locally identified climatic trends are statistically assessed for their spatial-scale significance within 10 identified subregions of the UIB, and the spatially (field- significant climatic trends are then qualitatively compared with the trends in discharge out of corresponding subregions. Over the recent period (1995–2012, we find warming and drying of spring (field-significant in March and increasing early melt season discharge from most of the subregions, likely due to a rapid snowmelt. In stark contrast, most of the subregions feature a field-significant cooling within the monsoon period (particularly in July and September, which coincides well with the main glacier melt season. Hence, a decreasing or weakly increasing discharge is observed from the corresponding subregions during mid- to late melt season (particularly in July. Such tendencies, being largely consistent with the long-term trends (1961–2012, most likely indicate dominance of the nival but suppression of the glacial melt regime
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Prevailing climatic trends and runoff response from Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya, upper Indus Basin
Hasson, Shabeh ul; Böhner, Jürgen; Lucarini, Valerio
2017-05-01
Largely depending on the meltwater from the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya, withdrawals from the upper Indus Basin (UIB) contribute half of the surface water availability in Pakistan, indispensable for agricultural production systems, industrial and domestic use, and hydropower generation. Despite such importance, a comprehensive assessment of prevailing state of relevant climatic variables determining the water availability is largely missing. Against this background, this study assesses the trends in maximum, minimum and mean temperatures, diurnal temperature range and precipitation from 18 stations (1250-4500 m a.s.l.) for their overlapping period of record (1995-2012) and, separately, from six stations of their long-term record (1961-2012). For this, a Mann-Kendall test on serially independent time series is applied to detect the existence of a trend, while its true slope is estimated using the Sen's slope method. Further, locally identified climatic trends are statistically assessed for their spatial-scale significance within 10 identified subregions of the UIB, and the spatially (field-) significant climatic trends are then qualitatively compared with the trends in discharge out of corresponding subregions. Over the recent period (1995-2012), we find warming and drying of spring (field-significant in March) and increasing early melt season discharge from most of the subregions, likely due to a rapid snowmelt. In stark contrast, most of the subregions feature a field-significant cooling within the monsoon period (particularly in July and September), which coincides well with the main glacier melt season. Hence, a decreasing or weakly increasing discharge is observed from the corresponding subregions during mid- to late melt season (particularly in July). Such tendencies, being largely consistent with the long-term trends (1961-2012), most likely indicate dominance of the nival but suppression of the glacial melt regime, altering overall hydrology of the UIB in
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Optimization of Gad Pattern with Geometrical Weight
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chang, Do Ik; Woo, Hae Seuk; Choi, Seong Min
2009-01-01
The prevailing burnable absorber for domestic nuclear power plants is a gad fuel rod which is used for the partial control of excess reactivity and power peaking. The radial peaking factor, which is one of the critical constraints for the plant safety depends largely on the number of gad bearing rods and the location of gad rods within fuel assembly. Also the concentration of gad, UO 2 enrichment in the gad fuel rod, and fuel lattice type play important roles for the resultant radial power peaking. Since fuel is upgraded periodically and longer fuel cycle management requires more burnable absorbers or higher gad weight percent, it is required frequently to search for the optimized gad patterns, i.e., the distribution of gad fuel rods within assembly, for the various fuel environment and fuel management changes. In this study, the gad pattern optimization algorithm with respect to radial power peaking factor using geometrical weight is proposed for a single gad weight percent, in which the candidates of the optimized gad pattern are determined based on the weighting of the gad rod location and the guide tube. Also the pattern evaluation is performed systematically to determine the optimal gad pattern for the various situation
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wang, Wei; Qiao, Yu; Ishijima, Reika
2008-01-01
A novel technique for biological kinematic analysis is proposed that makes use of the pseudophase singularities in a complex signal generated from a speckle-like pattern. In addition to the information about the locations and the anisotropic core structures of the pseudophase singularities, we al...... are presented, which demonstrate the validity of the proposed technique. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America....
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Ueda, Takeshi
2017-01-01
Abstract A post hoc analysis of interim results from PREVAIL, a Phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, demonstrated that the treatment effects, safety and pharmacokinetics of enzalutamide in Japanese patients were generally consistent with those of the overall population. A recent longer term analysis of PREVAIL demonstrated continued benefit of enzalutamide treatment over placebo. Here, we report results from a post hoc analysis of Japanese patients enrolled in PREVAIL at the prespecified number of deaths for the final analysis. In Japanese patients, enzalutamide reduced the risk of death by 35% (hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.28–1.51) and the risk of investigator-assessed radiographic progression or death by 60% (hazard ratio, 0.40; 95% confidence interval, 0.18–0.90). These results show that treatment effects and safety in Japanese patients in the final analysis of PREVAIL continued to be generally consistent with those of the overall population. PMID:28003320
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Beer, Tomasz M; Armstrong, Andrew J; Rathkopf, Dana; Loriot, Yohann; Sternberg, Cora N; Higano, Celestia S; Iversen, Peter; Evans, Christopher P; Kim, Choung-Soo; Kimura, Go; Miller, Kurt; Saad, Fred; Bjartell, Anders S; Borre, Michael; Mulders, Peter; Tammela, Teuvo L; Parli, Teresa; Sari, Suha; van Os, Steve; Theeuwes, Ad; Tombal, Bertrand
2017-02-01
Enzalutamide significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) and overall survival (OS) among men with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer at the prespecified interim analysis of PREVAIL, a phase 3, double-blind, randomized study. We evaluated the longer-term efficacy and safety of enzalutamide up to the prespecified number of deaths in the final analysis, which included an additional 20 mo of follow-up for investigator-assessed rPFS, 9 mo of follow-up for OS, and 4 mo of follow-up for safety. Enzalutamide reduced the risk of radiographic progression or death by 68% (hazard ratio [HR] 0.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28-0.37; pPREVAIL provides more complete assessment of the clinical benefit of enzalutamide. PREVAIL is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT01212991. According to data from longer follow-up, enzalutamide continued to provide benefit over placebo in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Emilia van Egmond-deWilde de Ligny
2008-12-01
Full Text Available The diffusion of innovative technologies in the market is usually a complex and difficult process with a varying degree of success and the effects of the diffused innovative technologies are very un-balanced. The objective of our research is to gain insight into the reasons why the diffusion of innovative technology fails, even though they promise a superior performance compared to incumbent technologies. Drawing on innovation systems theories, we have identified and used the concepts of technological regime, actor network and technology sets to analyze technology diffusion in a case study in the dwelling construction industry in Costa Rica. The results showed bottlenecks in the prevailing innovation system that curtailed the diffusion of an innovative construction technology.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nazarenko, B.S.; Emets, V.G.
1998-01-01
An analysis of the prevailing laws and standards and technical documents (STD) to ensure safe operation of nuclear power installations, with requirements of nuclear, radiation and fire safety taken into account, has been performed. Proposals on application of some items of prevailing STD under conditions of the 'Ukrytie' operation are presented. Also given are technical proposals on correction of the prevailing operational standard documents and elaboration of special STD
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The networked minority: How a small group prevailed in a local windfarm conflict
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Anderson, Carmel
2013-01-01
This paper aims to explain through a qualitative case study how a small protest group prevailed during a local windfarm conflict in south-eastern Australia. A social capital analytical framework was developed to analyse the data. The analysis found that two communities inhabited the area for which the windfarm development was proposed. The public participation process failed to address the concerns of both communities and led to the emergence of a social network of resistance. The network had high stocks of bridging social capital, which enabled an effective protest that led to the abandonment of the development. Their effectiveness was inadvertently aided by the windfarm supporters who were unable to act collectively to defend their interests because socio-economic changes in the community among other factors had led to a depletion of their social capital. In this context, different democratic participatory processes were needed to address the concerns of the two communities. Guidance and tools for researching and developing the types of participatory processes needed for vulnerable communities with low social capital and those similar to the social network with high social capital are provided. These will inform community-appropriate public participation processes and participatory planning policy. - Highlights: ► A case study of a local social network's resistance to a windfarm is undertaken. ► The link between high social capital and resistance is confirmed. ► Successful protest groups can be aided by passive windfarm supporters. ► Protesters are likely to participate in well-designed participatory processes. ► Guidance for developing community-specific participatory processes is provided
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Does undernutrition still prevail among nursing home residents?
Törmä, Johanna; Winblad, Ulrika; Cederholm, Tommy; Saletti, Anja
2013-08-01
During recent years public awareness about malnutrition has increased and collective initiatives have been undertaken. Simultaneously, the number of older adults is increasing, and the elderly care has been placed under pressure. The aim was to assess the nutritional situation and one-year mortality among nursing home (NH) residents, and compare with historical data. Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), ADL Barthel Index (BI), Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), EQ-5D, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and blood samples were collected from 172 NH residents (86.3 ± 8 years, 70% women). Mortality data was taken from NH records. Nutritional data from 166 NH residents (83.8 ± 8 years, 61% women) examined in 1996 was retrieved for historical comparison. The prevalence of malnutrition was 30%, as compared to 71% in the historical data set, corresponding to a present average body mass index of 23.7 ± 5.1 compared with 22.3 ± 4.2 kg/m(2) (p prevails and is associated with deteriorated cognition, function and increased mortality. A possible improvement in nutritional status in NH residents over time was observed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.
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Kimura, Go; Ueda, Takeshi
2017-03-01
A post hoc analysis of interim results from PREVAIL, a Phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, demonstrated that the treatment effects, safety and pharmacokinetics of enzalutamide in Japanese patients were generally consistent with those of the overall population. A recent longer term analysis of PREVAIL demonstrated continued benefit of enzalutamide treatment over placebo. Here, we report results from a post hoc analysis of Japanese patients enrolled in PREVAIL at the prespecified number of deaths for the final analysis. In Japanese patients, enzalutamide reduced the risk of death by 35% (hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.28-1.51) and the risk of investigator-assessed radiographic progression or death by 60% (hazard ratio, 0.40; 95% confidence interval, 0.18-0.90). These results show that treatment effects and safety in Japanese patients in the final analysis of PREVAIL continued to be generally consistent with those of the overall population. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.
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Freeman, James V.; Hutton, David W.; Barnes, Geoffrey D.; Zhu, Ruo P.; Owens, Douglas K.; Garber, Alan M.; Go, Alan S.; Hlatky, Mark A.; Heidenreich, Paul A.; Wang, Paul J.; Al-Ahmad, Amin; Turakhia, Mintu P.
2016-01-01
Background Randomized trials of left atrial appendage (LAA) closure with the Watchman device have shown varying results, and its cost-effectiveness compared to anticoagulation has not been evaluated using all available contemporary trial data. Methods and Results We used a Markov decision model to estimate lifetime quality-adjusted survival, costs, and cost-effectiveness of LAA closure with Watchman, compared directly with warfarin and indirectly with dabigatran, using data from the long-term (mean 3.8 year) follow-up of PROTECT AF and PREVAIL randomized trials. Using data from PROTECT AF, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) compared to warfarin and dabigatran were $20,486 and $23,422 per quality adjusted life year (QALY), respectively. Using data from PREVAIL, LAA closure was dominated by warfarin and dabigatran, meaning that it was less effective (8.44, 8.54, and 8.59 QALYs, respectively) and more costly. At a willingness-to-pay-threshold of $50,000 per QALY, LAA closure was cost-effective 90% and 9% of the time under PROTECT AF and PREVAIL assumptions, respectively. These results were sensitive to the rates of ischemic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage for LAA closure and medical anticoagulation. Conclusions Using data from the PROTECT AF trial, LAA closure with the Watchman device was cost-effective; using PREVAIL trial data, Watchman was more costly and less effective than warfarin and dabigatran. PROTECT AF enrolled more patients and has substantially longer follow-up time, allowing greater statistical certainty with the cost-effectiveness results. However, longer term trial results and post-marketing surveillance of major adverse events will be vital to determining the value of the Watchman in clinical practice. PMID:27307517
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El suicidio: Una conducta antisocial que prevalece/Suicide: An antisocial behavior that prevails
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Omar Alejandro De León Palomo
2012-01-01
Full Text Available The suicide has existed throughout history and has prevailed as a behavior that was contrary to the rules of the society in terms of preservation of life itself; the objective of this research was to make emphasis on the nature of antisocial behavior of this behavior and show its prevalence in the years 2006 to 2010 in Mexico and Tamaulipas, as well as from 1999 to 2008 in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. For which the data were obtained from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography to the country and the State and the books of the register of deaths by cause violent of the Regional Unit of Expert Services of the Attorney General of Justice, which has its headquarters in Reynosa; developed a theoretical framework on the impact of the conduct in society and the means to prevent it, The data obtained we revealed the continued presence of this conduct year-on-year, 23.554 cases appearing in Mexico and 819 in Tamaulipas in the period from 2006 to 2010; in Reynosa, Tamaulipas were presented 278 suicides in the period 1999 to 2008. The results show us a conduct stable in numbers, but without excessive overflows that prevails year-on-year, suicide, and the attempt of the same should be viewed as a social problem and not detract from the importance that it deserves a conduct of these dimensions, that is no more than a reflection of the situation in which are the means of social control toward the preservation of life itself.
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Craniopharyngiomas: identification of different semiological patterns with MRI
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Molla, Enrique [Magnetic Resonance and Radiology Service, Valencia (Spain); Department of Morphologic Sciences, University of Valencia (Spain); Marti-Bonmati, Luis [Hospital Universitario Doctor Peset, Valencia (Spain); Magnetic Resonance and Radiology Service, Valencia (Spain); Revert, Antonio [Department of Radiology, Hospital La Ribera, Alzira, 46017 Valencia (Spain); Arana, Estanislao; Dosda, Rosa [Magnetic Resonance and Radiology Service, Valencia (Spain); Menor, Francisco [Department of Radiology, Infantil La Fe University Hospital, 46017 Valencia (Spain); Poyatos, Cecilio [Department of Radiology, Doctor Peset University Hospital, Valencia (Spain)
2002-07-01
Our objectives were to analyze different semiological patterns in craniopharyngiomas studied with CT and MR sequences. Retrospective study of 26 patients with confirmed craniopharyngiomas. All cases were examined with CT and MR imaging using a variety of pulse sequences (spin echo, inversion recovery, gradient echo in-phase and opposed-phase). The analyzed component patterns were classified as solid, calcium, proteic-like, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-like, hematic-like, and fatty patterns. The different patterns were related by means of contingency tables and the Fisher exact test and also to epidemiological findings and tumor size. A solid pole was detected in all patients, whereas a cystic component was present in 92.3% of the cases. Calcification was visualized in 65.3%, proteic-like in 53.8%, CSF-like in 23%, hematic-like in 19.2%, and fatty component in 15.3%. There were no statistical associations between patterns, with the exception that in no case did CSF-like and proteic-like patterns coexist (P=0.004). Tumor size was related to components. Hematic-like (17.0{+-}18.9 vs 3.9{+-}2.6 mm, non-present vs present) and CSF-like (16.9{+-}19.6 vs 6.5{+-}4.0 mm) patterns were observed most frequently in smaller tumors, whereas larger tumors usually had proteic-like (5.9{+-}5.4 vs 21.1{+-}21.0 mm) and calcified (4.6{+-}1.9 vs 19.1{+-}19.9 mm) patterns. Computed tomography and a combination of different MR images frequently allow the detection of different semiological patterns in these tumors. Semiological patterns were correlated only to tumor size. (orig.)
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Farmers prevailing perception profiles regarding GM crops: A classification proposal.
Almeida, Carla; Massarani, Luisa
2018-04-01
Genetically modified organisms have been at the centre of a major public controversy, involving different interests and actors. While much attention has been devoted to consumer views on genetically modified food, there have been few attempts to understand the perceptions of genetically modified technology among farmers. By investigating perceptions of genetically modified organisms among Brazilian farmers, we intend to contribute towards filling this gap and thereby add the views of this stakeholder group to the genetically modified debate. A comparative analysis of our data and data from other studies indicate there is a complex variety of views on genetically modified organisms among farmers. Despite this diversity, we found variations in such views occur within limited parameters, concerned principally with expectations or concrete experiences regarding the advantages of genetically modified crops, perceptions of risks associated with them, and ethical questions they raise. We then propose a classification of prevailing profiles to represent the spectrum of perceptions of genetically modified organisms among farmers.
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Chances for earth-like planets and life around metal-poor stars
Zinnecker, Hans
2003-01-01
We discuss the difficulties of forming earth-like planets in metal-poor environments, such as those prevailing in the Galactic halo (Pop II), the Magellanic Clouds, and the early universe. We suggest that, with less heavy elements available, terrestrial planets will be smaller size and lower mass than in our solar system (solar metallicity). Such planets may not be able to sustain life as we know it. Therefore, the chances of very old lifeforms in the universe are slim, and a threshold metall...
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Freeman, James V; Hutton, David W; Barnes, Geoffrey D; Zhu, Ruo P; Owens, Douglas K; Garber, Alan M; Go, Alan S; Hlatky, Mark A; Heidenreich, Paul A; Wang, Paul J; Al-Ahmad, Amin; Turakhia, Mintu P
2016-06-01
Randomized trials of left atrial appendage (LAA) closure with the Watchman device have shown varying results, and its cost effectiveness compared with anticoagulation has not been evaluated using all available contemporary trial data. We used a Markov decision model to estimate lifetime quality-adjusted survival, costs, and cost effectiveness of LAA closure with Watchman, compared directly with warfarin and indirectly with dabigatran, using data from the long-term (mean 3.8 year) follow-up of Percutaneous Closure of the Left Atrial Appendage Versus Warfarin Therapy for Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (PROTECT AF) and Prospective Randomized Evaluation of the Watchman LAA Closure Device in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (PREVAIL) randomized trials. Using data from PROTECT AF, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios compared with warfarin and dabigatran were $20 486 and $23 422 per quality-adjusted life year, respectively. Using data from PREVAIL, LAA closure was dominated by warfarin and dabigatran, meaning that it was less effective (8.44, 8.54, and 8.59 quality-adjusted life years, respectively) and more costly. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50 000 per quality-adjusted life year, LAA closure was cost effective 90% and 9% of the time under PROTECT AF and PREVAIL assumptions, respectively. These results were sensitive to the rates of ischemic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage for LAA closure and medical anticoagulation. Using data from the PROTECT AF trial, LAA closure with the Watchman device was cost effective; using PREVAIL trial data, Watchman was more costly and less effective than warfarin and dabigatran. PROTECT AF enrolled more patients and has substantially longer follow-up time, allowing greater statistical certainty with the cost-effectiveness results. However, longer-term trial results and postmarketing surveillance of major adverse events will be vital to determining the value of the Watchman in clinical
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Beer, T.M.; Armstrong, A.J.; Rathkopf, D.; Loriot, Y.; Sternberg, C.N.; Higano, C.S.; Iversen, P.; Evans, C.P.; Kim, C.S.; Kimura, G.; Miller, K.; Saad, F.; Bjartell, A.S.; Borre, M.; Mulders, P.; Tammela, T.L.; Parli, T.; Sari, S.; Os, S. van; Theeuwes, A.; Tombal, B.
2017-01-01
Enzalutamide significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) and overall survival (OS) among men with chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer at the prespecified interim analysis of PREVAIL, a phase 3, double-blind, randomized study. We evaluated the
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Nallu, Sumitha; Wang, Lin; Botanga, Christopher J.; Gomez, S. Karen; Costa, Liliana M.; Harrison, Maria J.; Samac, Deborah A.; Glazebrook, Jane; Katagiri, Fumiaki; Gutierrez-Marcos, Jose F.; VandenBosch, Kathryn A.
2013-01-01
Plant genomes contain several hundred defensin-like (DEFL) genes that encode short cysteine-rich proteins resembling defensins, which are well known antimicrobial polypeptides. Little is known about the expression patterns or functions of many DEFLs because most were discovered recently and hence are not well represented on standard microarrays. We designed a custom Affymetrix chip consisting of probe sets for 317 and 684 DEFLs from Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula, respectively for cataloging DEFL expression in a variety of plant organs at different developmental stages and during symbiotic and pathogenic associations. The microarray analysis provided evidence for the transcription of 71% and 90% of the DEFLs identified in Arabidopsis and Medicago, respectively, including many of the recently annotated DEFL genes that previously lacked expression information. Both model plants contain a subset of DEFLs specifically expressed in seeds or fruits. A few DEFLs, including some plant defensins, were significantly up-regulated in Arabidopsis leaves inoculated with Alternaria brassicicola or Pseudomonas syringae pathogens. Among these, some were dependent on jasmonic acid signaling or were associated with specific types of immune responses. There were notable differences in DEFL gene expression patterns between Arabidopsis and Medicago, as the majority of Arabidopsis DEFLs were expressed in inflorescences, while only a few exhibited root-enhanced expression. By contrast, Medicago DEFLs were most prominently expressed in nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Thus, our data document salient differences in DEFL temporal and spatial expression between Arabidopsis and Medicago, suggesting distinct signaling routes and distinct roles for these proteins in the two plant species. PMID:23527067
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mesfin Tesfaye
Full Text Available Plant genomes contain several hundred defensin-like (DEFL genes that encode short cysteine-rich proteins resembling defensins, which are well known antimicrobial polypeptides. Little is known about the expression patterns or functions of many DEFLs because most were discovered recently and hence are not well represented on standard microarrays. We designed a custom Affymetrix chip consisting of probe sets for 317 and 684 DEFLs from Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula, respectively for cataloging DEFL expression in a variety of plant organs at different developmental stages and during symbiotic and pathogenic associations. The microarray analysis provided evidence for the transcription of 71% and 90% of the DEFLs identified in Arabidopsis and Medicago, respectively, including many of the recently annotated DEFL genes that previously lacked expression information. Both model plants contain a subset of DEFLs specifically expressed in seeds or fruits. A few DEFLs, including some plant defensins, were significantly up-regulated in Arabidopsis leaves inoculated with Alternaria brassicicola or Pseudomonas syringae pathogens. Among these, some were dependent on jasmonic acid signaling or were associated with specific types of immune responses. There were notable differences in DEFL gene expression patterns between Arabidopsis and Medicago, as the majority of Arabidopsis DEFLs were expressed in inflorescences, while only a few exhibited root-enhanced expression. By contrast, Medicago DEFLs were most prominently expressed in nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Thus, our data document salient differences in DEFL temporal and spatial expression between Arabidopsis and Medicago, suggesting distinct signaling routes and distinct roles for these proteins in the two plant species.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Aro, A R; Pilvikki Absetz, S; van Elderen, T M
2000-01-01
The aim of this study was to examine psychological distress in a mammography screening process as a consequence of screening after adjusting for background, personality and prescreening distress. Subjects, aged 50 years, were invitees at their first screening. There were three groups; normal find...... perceived breast cancer risk and susceptibility. Distress related to screening and false-positive findings seems to be moderate, but prevailing cancer-specific concerns call for improvements in screening programmes....
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Genetics of Schizophrenia: Historical Insights and Prevailing Evidence.
van de Leemput, J; Hess, J L; Glatt, S J; Tsuang, M T
2016-01-01
Schizophrenia's (SZ's) heritability and familial transmission have been known for several decades; however, despite the clear evidence for a genetic component, it has been very difficult to pinpoint specific causative genes. Even so genetic studies have taught us a lot, even in the pregenomic era, about the molecular underpinnings and disease-relevant pathways. Recurring themes emerged revealing the involvement of neurodevelopmental processes, glutamate regulation, and immune system differential activation in SZ etiology. The recent emergence of epigenetic studies aimed at shedding light on the biological mechanisms underlying SZ has provided another layer of information in the investigation of gene and environment interactions. However, this epigenetic insight also brings forth another layer of complexity to the (epi)genomic landscape such as interactions between genetic variants, epigenetic marks-including cross-talk between DNA methylation and histone modification processes-, gene expression regulation, and environmental influences. In this review, we seek to synthesize perspectives, including limitations and obstacles yet to overcome, from genetic and epigenetic literature on SZ through a qualitative review of risk factors and prevailing hypotheses. Encouraged by the findings of both genetic and epigenetic studies to date, as well as the continued development of new technologies to collect and interpret large-scale studies, we are left with a positive outlook for the future of elucidating the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying SZ and other complex neuropsychiatric disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Is candlestick continuation patterns applicable in Malaysian stock market?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chin Chee-Ling
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Technical analysis is deemed to be an anathema to the modern finance theory as it contradicts with the efficient market hypothesis, typically the weak form market efficiency which forbids the utilization of past prices and trading volume data to predict future market movement. However, the technical indicator of candlestick trading strategy is widely applied by traders for short term investment. This study thus investigates on the predictive power of candlestick charting which concentrates on the application of continuation patterns in Malaysian stock market from 2000 to 2014. Skewness adjusted t-test is employed to test the statistical significance of candlesticks’ profitability. After taking into account the transaction costs, sub-sample, and out-of-sample test, the findings show that only Falling Window pattern after a prevailing downtrend shows predictive power with bearish signals indicated significantly during the 5-day holding period.
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Population and labour force growth and patterns in ASEAN countries.
Saw, S
1988-01-01
"The paper shows that the diverse labor dimensions prevailing in the ASEAN region can be attributed to changes in the structure of the society and economy in the course of recent economic development. It observes the considerable variety in the growth of the population and its effect on the labor force in the ASEAN region.... The paper details the similarity and diversity in the level and type of labor force participation rates. A common feature shared by ASEAN countries is a general pattern in the age-specific participation rate of men. In contrast, the women, aside from participating in the labor force at a much lower level than men at almost all ages, display diverse patterns of participation over the working age range. Lastly, the distribution of the labor force according to major industrial sectors in the six ASEAN countries is presented...." excerpt
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Guerini, Franca R; Bolognesi, Elisabetta; Chiappedi, Matteo; Manca, Salvatorica; Ghezzo, Alessandro; Agliardi, Cristina; Zanette, Michela; Littera, Roberto; Carcassi, Carlo; Sotgiu, Stefano; Clerici, Mario
2014-02-01
The activity of natural killer (NK) cells is modulated by the interaction between killer-cell immune globulin-like receptor (KIR) proteins and their cognate HLA ligands; activated NK cells produce inflammatory cytokines and mediate innate immune responses. Activating KIR/HLA complexes (aKIR/HLA) were recently suggested to prevail in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by brain and behavioral abnormalities and associated with a degree of inflammation. We verified whether such findings could be confirmed by analyzing two sample cohorts of Sardinian and continental Italian ASD children and their mothers. Results showed that aKIR/HLA are increased whereas inhibitory KIR/HLA complexes are reduced in ASD children; notably this skewing was even more significant in their mothers. KIR and HLA molecules are expressed by placental cells and by the trophoblast and their interactions result in immune activation and influence fetal, as well as central nervous system development and plasticity. Data herein suggest that in utero KIR/HLA immune interactions favor immune activation in ASD; this may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Economic impact of enoxaparin after acute ischemic stroke based on PREVAIL.
Pineo, Graham; Lin, Jay; Stern, Lee; Subrahmanian, Tarun; Annemans, Lieven
2011-04-01
The efficacy and safety of low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) versus unfractionated heparin (UFH) has been demonstrated for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after acute ischemic stroke. Few data exist regarding the economic impact of LMWHs versus UFH in this population. A decision-analytic model was constructed using clinical information from the Prevention of VTE after Acute Ischemic stroke with LMWH Enoxaparin (PREVAIL) study, and drug costs and mean Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services event costs. When considering the total cost of events and drugs, enoxaparin was associated with cost-savings of $895 per patient compared with UFH ($2018 vs $2913). Findings were retained within the univariate and multivariate analyses. From a payer perspective, enoxaparin was cost-effective compared with UFH in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The difference was driven by the lower clinical event rates with enoxaparin. Use of enoxaparin may help to reduce the clinical and economic burden of VTE.
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Yockteng, Roxana; Almeida, Ana M R; Morioka, Kelsie; Alvarez-Buylla, Elena R; Specht, Chelsea D
2013-11-01
The diversity of floral forms in the plant order Zingiberales has evolved through alterations in floral organ morphology. One striking alteration is the shift from fertile, filamentous stamens to sterile, laminar (petaloid) organs in the stamen whorls, attributed to specific pollination syndromes. Here, we examine the role of the SEPALLATA (SEP) genes, known to be important in regulatory networks underlying floral development and organ identity, in the evolution of development of the diverse floral organs phenotypes in the Zingiberales. Phylogenetic analyses show that the SEP-like genes have undergone several duplication events giving rise to multiple copies. Selection tests on the SEP-like genes indicate that the two copies of SEP3 have mostly evolved under balancing selection, probably due to strong functional restrictions as a result of their critical role in floral organ specification. In contrast, the two LOFSEP copies have undergone differential positive selection, indicating neofunctionalization. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, gene expression from RNA-seq data, and in situ hybridization analyses show that the recovered genes have differential expression patterns across the various whorls and organ types found in the Zingiberales. Our data also suggest that AGL6, sister to the SEP-like genes, may play an important role in stamen morphology in the Zingiberales. Thus, the SEP-like genes are likely to be involved in some of the unique morphogenetic patterns of floral organ development found among this diverse order of tropical monocots. This work contributes to a growing body of knowledge focused on understanding the role of gene duplications and the evolution of entire gene networks in the evolution of flower development.
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Song, Xiaoming; Duan, Weike; Huang, Zhinan; Liu, Gaofeng; Wu, Peng; Liu, Tongkun; Li, Ying; Hou, Xilin
2015-09-01
In plants, flowering is the most important transition from vegetative to reproductive growth. The flowering patterns of monocots and eudicots are distinctly different, but few studies have described the evolutionary patterns of the flowering genes in them. In this study, we analysed the evolutionary pattern, duplication and expression level of these genes. The main results were as follows: (i) characterization of flowering genes in monocots and eudicots, including the identification of family-specific, orthologous and collinear genes; (ii) full characterization of CONSTANS-like genes in Brassica rapa (BraCOL genes), the key flowering genes; (iii) exploration of the evolution of COL genes in plant kingdom and construction of the evolutionary pattern of COL genes; (iv) comparative analysis of CO and FT genes between Brassicaceae and Grass, which identified several family-specific amino acids, and revealed that CO and FT protein structures were similar in B. rapa and Arabidopsis but different in rice; and (v) expression analysis of photoperiod pathway-related genes in B. rapa under different photoperiod treatments by RT-qPCR. This analysis will provide resources for understanding the flowering mechanisms and evolutionary pattern of COL genes. In addition, this genome-wide comparative study of COL genes may also provide clues for evolution of other flowering genes.
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Optimizing Internal Wave Drag in a Forward Barotropic Model with Semidiurnal Tides
2015-01-23
rates and patterns after tuning. This suggests that the directionality of the tensor scheme may not provide substantial additional benefit compared to...wave drag scheme Model (layers) Res [] Observations RMSE >1 km [cm] RMSE all depths [cm] Jayne and St. Laurent (2001) JSL JSL(1) 1=2 UT- CSR 6:7$ Egbert
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wingender Edgar
2009-05-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background The identification of network motifs as statistically over-represented topological patterns has become one of the most promising topics in the analysis of complex networks. The main focus is commonly made on how they operate by means of their internal organization. Yet, their contribution to a network's global architecture is poorly understood. However, this requires switching from the abstract view of a topological pattern to the level of its instances. Here, we show how a recently proposed metric, the pairwise disconnectivity index, can be adapted to survey if and which kind of topological patterns and their instances are most important for sustaining the connectivity within a network. Results The pairwise disconnectivity index of a pattern instance quantifies the dependency of the pairwise connections between vertices in a network on the presence of this pattern instance. Thereby, it particularly considers how the coherence between the unique constituents of a pattern instance relates to the rest of a network. We have applied the method exemplarily to the analysis of 3-vertex topological pattern instances in the transcription networks of a bacteria (E. coli, a unicellular eukaryote (S. cerevisiae and higher eukaryotes (human, mouse, rat. We found that in these networks only very few pattern instances break lots of the pairwise connections between vertices upon the removal of an instance. Among them network motifs do not prevail. Rather, those patterns that are shared by the three networks exhibit a conspicuously enhanced pairwise disconnectivity index. Additionally, these are often located in close vicinity to each other or are even overlapping, since only a small number of genes are repeatedly present in most of them. Moreover, evidence has gathered that the importance of these pattern instances is due to synergistic rather than merely additive effects between their constituents. Conclusion A new method has been proposed
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Henn, Brian; Clark, Martyn P.; Kavetski, Dmitri; Newman, Andrew J.; Hughes, Mimi; McGurk, Bruce; Lundquist, Jessica D.
2018-01-01
Given uncertainty in precipitation gauge-based gridded datasets over complex terrain, we use multiple streamflow observations as an additional source of information about precipitation, in order to identify spatial and temporal differences between a gridded precipitation dataset and precipitation inferred from streamflow. We test whether gridded datasets capture across-crest and regional spatial patterns of variability, as well as year-to-year variability and trends in precipitation, in comparison to precipitation inferred from streamflow. We use a Bayesian model calibration routine with multiple lumped hydrologic model structures to infer the most likely basin-mean, water-year total precipitation for 56 basins with long-term (>30 year) streamflow records in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. We compare basin-mean precipitation derived from this approach with basin-mean precipitation from a precipitation gauge-based, 1/16° gridded dataset that has been used to simulate and evaluate trends in Western United States streamflow and snowpack over the 20th century. We find that the long-term average spatial patterns differ: in particular, there is less precipitation in the gridded dataset in higher-elevation basins whose aspect faces prevailing cool-season winds, as compared to precipitation inferred from streamflow. In a few years and basins, there is less gridded precipitation than there is observed streamflow. Lower-elevation, southern, and east-of-crest basins show better agreement between gridded and inferred precipitation. Implied actual evapotranspiration (calculated as precipitation minus streamflow) then also varies between the streamflow-based estimates and the gridded dataset. Absolute uncertainty in precipitation inferred from streamflow is substantial, but the signal of basin-to-basin and year-to-year differences are likely more robust. The findings suggest that considering streamflow when spatially distributing precipitation in complex terrain
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Psycho-sociological patterns of technology affectedness
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pretre, S.
1992-01-01
The author introduces the three societies of Mary Douglas which are distinguished by the value systems freedom, order and purity prevailing in them , and which produce the society of pioneers, the society of order, and the society of the pure. In each society there are those three groups as well as manifold mixed forms of different compositions. The more even those three groups are distributed, and the less extreme standpoints prevail, the more appropriate such society will be able to react to risks and dangers. The society of the pure offers a fertile ground for psychic epidemics in connection with symbol-like terms such as defilement of sin. Among this group the impacts of Chernobyl intensified. Fear is stirred up by the unknown in connection with frightening symbols. In one wants to overcome this situation, one must get so far as to consider radioactivity, ionizing radiation and nuclear energy something equally ordinary as aircraft and pocket calculator. In a climate of confidence and transparency it should objectively be possible to convey several reliable scientific clues in the first place to teachers, doctors and journalists. This requires that one accepts to renounce simplifying postures, symbols or catchwords, and think instead in scientific terms of risk or probability. Such approach permits to establish a quantitative risk scale and to assign such clues to their proper places on that scale. (orig./HSCH) [de
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Conceptualising Terrorism Trend Patterns in Pakistan an Empirical Perspective
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Muhammad Feyyaz
2013-03-01
Full Text Available Terrorism continues to be viewed conventionally in Pakistan. However, the phenomenon has assumed a structured formation driven by rational choice perspectives. This article attempts to identify distinct trends and patterns of terrorism within prevailing environments of Pakistan. In doing so, it also examines the validity of seasonality dimensions of routine activity theory (use of summer months and earlier days of week for terrorist acts. Eight trends are identified tentatively. Using empirical data and analytical discourse, the findings confirm the assumed trends in terms of their typology, structure, operational system and rallying themes. In addition, the article finds support for the hypothesis of terrorism being a strategic approach rather than an ordinary form of violence. It is further found that changed patterns of violence warrant a revisiting of earlier assumptions regarding the applicability of routine activity theory within the Pakistani context. By implication, the study also suggests a variation of terrorism under different regime types, i.e. military or democratic.
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Tongtawee, Taweesak; Bartpho, Theeraya; Wattanawongdon, Wareeporn; Dechsukhum, Chavaboon; Leeanansaksiri, Wilairat; Matrakool, Likit; Panpimanmas, Sukij
2017-07-01
Helicobacter pylori stimulates the host's toll-like receptors (TLRs). Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of TLRs is related to the manipulation of regulatory cytokines and also implicated in the varied outcomes of the inflammatory response, including the development of precancerous lesions of gastric mucosa and disease progression. We hypothesized that TLR10 rs10004195 polymorphism is associated with gastric mucosal patterns. TLR10 rs10004195 polymorphisms were identified in a total of 400 gastritis patients using the TagMan SNP genotyping assay. Gastric mucosal patterns were classified by Conventional Narrow Band Imaging gastroscopy (C-NBI gastroscopy). Logistic regression was used to analyze the association. The gastritis patients was Type 1, 37.5% of Thai patients. The T/T homozygous genotype was exhibited by the highest percentage (46.5%) of patients, and the A/A homozygous and A/T heterozygous genotypes were exhibited by 20.25% and 33.25%, respectively, of patients. TLR10 rs10004195 was significantly associated with gastric mucosal patterns. After adjusting for confounding factors, patients with the A/A homozygous genotype showed a significantly increased risk of severe inflammation (OR=1.35, 95% CI=0.97-2.13, p=0.028). Patients with the A/T heterozygous and T/T homozygous genotypes showed a significantly increased risk of mild inflammation (OR=1.24, 95% CI=0.78-2.07, p=0.042 and OR=1.78, 95% CI=0.51-3.35, p=0.001, respectively). Our results indicate that the presence of TLR10 rs10004195, A/T heterozygous, and T/T homozygous genotypes is associated with type 1, 2, and 3 whereas that of the A/A homozygous genotype is associated with type 4 and 5 of gastric mucosal patterns. This suggests that the A/A homozygous genotype contributes to severe inflammation in H. pylori-associated gastritis in Thai patients.
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Rare patterns of dorsal puncture in Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Coleoptera: Carabidae
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Axel Schwerk
2018-04-01
unusual puncture patterns, and neither for males nor for females a significant correlation of the percentage share of the individuals with unusual puncture patterns with the age of the study sites could be detected. However, both males and females with unusual patterns had more dorsal pits than those without. Moreover, males as well as females showed in all those years a trend that the individuals with unusual patterns have more pits in the third interval of the elytra. Discussion The results indicate that females are more likely to exhibit unusual patterns. Since individuals of P. oblongopunctatus with a higher number of pits on the elytra are supposed to prevail in more wet habitats, such patterns might be related to moisture conditions. The possibility of pits in the seventh interval of the elytra should be added to identification keys.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hirohito Shimizu
Full Text Available We have recently constructed a web-based database of gene expression in the mouse whole embryo, EMBRYS (http://embrys.jp/embrys/html/MainMenu.html. To allow examination of gene expression patterns to the fullest extent possible, this database provides both photo images and annotation data. However, since embryos develop via an intricate process of morphogenesis, it would be of great value to track embryonic gene expression from a three dimensional perspective. In fact, several methods have been developed to achieve this goal, but highly laborious procedures and specific operational skills are generally required. We utilized a novel microscopic technique that enables the easy capture of rotational, 3D-like images of the whole embryo. In this method, a rotary head equipped with two mirrors that are designed to obtain an image tilted at 45 degrees to the microscope stage captures serial images at 2-degree intervals. By a simple operation, 180 images are automatically collected. These 2D images obtained at multiple angles are then used to reconstruct 3D-like images, termed AERO images. By means of this system, over 800 AERO images of 191 gene expression patterns were captured. These images can be easily rotated on the computer screen using the EMBRYS database so that researchers can view an entire embryo by a virtual viewing on a computer screen in an unbiased or non-predetermined manner. The advantages afforded by this approach make it especially useful for generating data viewed in public databases.
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Williams, Bifford Preston
1997-09-01
In this thesis, I (1) demonstrate a new instrument design that is capable of measuring winds and nightglow; (2) present measurements of the mean winds, tides, and sodium nightglow near the mesopause (ca. 90 km); (3) compare these wind results with those measured by other instruments and results of numerical and empirical models; and (4) compare the nightglow intensity measurements with the predictions of a comprehensive numerical model, to better understand the interaction of the tides with the mesopause-region chemistry. I designed, constructed and operated the Magneto-Optic Doppler Analyzer (MODA). For 1.5 years, Moda observed the sodium nightglow intensity variation and the horizontal wind integrated from ~86-96 km altitude at Niwot Ridge, Colorado (40.0o N, 105.5o W). The observed nightglow intensity showed a significant semidiurnal oscillation, with a 5 hr phase shift in the fall. The mean zonal wind peaked in the summer and winter with a minimum at the equinoxes. The meridional wind was slightly southward or near zero. The semidiurnal tide amplitude peaked in the early summer with a minimum in February. The phases were roughly in quadrature. The measured phase difference between the intensity and zonal wind indicated a seasonal variation of the tide-nightglow interaction. MODA wind results were compared with results from the Urbana Medium-Frequency (MF) Radar, the High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI), the empirical Horizontal Wind Model 1993 (HWM93), and the theoretical Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM). The annual variation of the mean winds showed the same pattern amongst the instruments and models. MODA measured the smallest tidal amplitudes, possibly due to longitudinal differences. MODA semidiurnal phases agreed better with HRDI and HWM93 (1-2 hr difference), than with GSWM (~6 hr difference). The calculated semidiurnal sodium nightglow variation from the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere- Electrodynamics General Circulation Model for March shows a
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Stuckler, David
2008-06-01
The mortality numbers and rates of chronic disease are rising faster in developing than in developed countries. This article compares prevailing explanations of population chronic disease trends with theoretical and empirical models of population chronic disease epidemiology and assesses some economic consequences of the growth of chronic diseases in developing countries based on the experiences of developed countries. Four decades of male mortality rates of cardiovascular and chronic noncommunicable diseases were regressed on changes in and levels of country income per capita, market integration, foreign direct investment, urbanization rates, and population aging in fifty-six countries for which comparative data were available. Neoclassical economic growth models were used to estimate the effect of the mortality rates of chronic noncommunicable diseases on economic growth in high-income OECD countries. Processes of economic growth, market integration, foreign direct investment, and urbanization were significant determinants of long-term changes in mortality rates of heart disease and chronic noncommunicable disease, and the observed relationships with these social and economic factors were roughly three times stronger than the relationships with the population's aging. In low-income countries, higher levels of country income per capita, population urbanization, foreign direct investment, and market integration were associated with greater mortality rates of heart disease and chronic noncommunicable disease, less increased or sometimes reduced rates in middle-income countries, and decreased rates in high-income countries. Each 10 percent increase in the working-age mortality rates of chronic noncommunicable disease decreased economic growth rates by close to a half percent. Macrosocial and macroeconomic forces are major determinants of population rises in chronic disease mortality, and some prevailing demographic explanations, such as population aging, are
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Taiye Oluwafemi Adewuyi; Patrick Ali Eneji; Anthonia Silas Baduku; Emmanuel Ajayi Olofin
2017-01-01
This study examined the spatio-temporal analysis of urban crime pattern and its implication for Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria; it has the aim of using Geographical Information System to improve criminal justice system. The aim was achieved by establishing crime incident spots, types of crime committed, the time it occurred and factors responsible for prevailing crime. The methods for data collection involved Geoinformatics through the use of remote s...
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Watanabe, Yusuke; Hayashida, Kentaro; Takayama, Morimasa; Mitsudo, Kazuaki; Nanto, Shinsuke; Takanashi, Shuichiro; Komiya, Tatsuhiko; Kuratani, Toru; Tobaru, Tetsuya; Goto, Tsuyoshi; Lefèvre, Thierry; Sawa, Yoshiki; Morice, Marie-Claude
2015-02-01
The efficacy and safety of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in Asian populations were unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare directly the clinical outcomes of the first Japanese trial and a European single-center experience after TAVI. Between April 2010 and October 2011, 64 patients were included in the PREVAIL JAPAN multicenter trial which was set up to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Edwards SAPIEN XT™ (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA) in high-risk Japanese patients with severe aortic stenosis. Between March 2010 and January 2012, 237 consecutive patients treated with TAVI using the Edwards SAPIEN XT™ prosthesis at Institut Cardiovasculaire Paris Sud were prospectively included in the Massy cohort. We compared the clinical outcomes of these two cohorts. Patients were of similar age (83.4±6.6 years vs. 84.5±6.1 years, p=0.25), but logistic EuroSCORE was higher in the Massy cohort (20.2±11.7% vs. 15.6±8.0%, pPREVAIL JAPAN cohort (1.41±0.14m(2) vs. 1.72±0.18m(2); pPREVAIL JAPAN cohort (12.7±11.4mmHg vs. 10.1±3.6mmHg, p=0.01), but satisfactory improvement in 6-month functional status was obtained in both cohorts (76.5% vs. 77.2%, p=0.91). Clinical outcomes after TAVI in the patients included in the PREVAIL JAPAN trial were acceptable and as safe as that of a single-center European cohort. Copyright © 2014 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Correlations between solid tides and worldwide earthquakes MS ≥ 7.0 since 1900
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Q. H. Xu
2012-03-01
Full Text Available Most studies on the correlations between earthquakes and solid tides mainly concluded the syzygies (i.e. new or full moons of each lunar cycle have more earthquakes than other days in the month. We show a correlation between the aftershock sequence of the ML = 6.3 Christchurch, New Zealand, earthquake and the diurnal solid tide. Ms ≥ 7 earthquakes worldwide since 1900 are more likely to occur during the 0°, 90°, 180° or 270° phases (i.e. earthquake-prone phases of the semidiurnal solid earth tidal curve (M2. Thus, the semidiurnal solid tides triggers earthquakes. However, the long-term triggering effect of the lunar periodicity is uncertain. This proposal is helpful in defining possible origin times of aftershocks several days after a mainshock and can be used for warning of subsequent larger shocks.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Craig, E M; Dey, S; Mogilner, A
2011-01-01
We use linear stability analysis and numerical solutions of partial differential equations to investigate pattern formation in the one-dimensional system of short dynamic polymers and one (plus-end directed) or two (one is plus-end, another minus-end directed) molecular motors. If polymer sliding and motor gliding rates are slow and/or the polymer turnover rate is fast, then the polymer-motor bundle has mixed polarity and homogeneous motor distribution. However, if motor gliding is fast, a sarcomeric pattern with periodic bands of alternating polymer polarity separated by motor aggregates evolves. On the other hand, if polymer sliding is fast, a graded-polarity bundle with motors at the center emerges. In the presence of the second, minus-end directed motor, the sarcomeric pattern is more ubiquitous, while the graded-polarity pattern is destabilized. However, if the minus-end motor is weaker than the plus-end directed one, and/or polymer nucleation is autocatalytic, and/or long polymers are present in the bundle, then a spindle-like architecture with a sorted-out polarity emerges with the plus-end motors at the center and minus-end motors at the edges. We discuss modeling implications for actin-myosin fibers and in vitro and meiotic spindles.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marcella Castells i Sanabra
2014-03-01
Full Text Available Appendix III of MARPOL's Annex VI sets out the criteria and procedures for designating an emission control area (ECA.These criteria includes: a clear delineation of the proposed ECA; types of emissions proposed for control, land and sea areas at risk; emission quantification and impact assessment; prevailing weather conditions; data and quality on marine traffic; land based measures concurrent with the ECA adoption and the relative costs of reducing emissions from ships. This paper analyses the climate parameter together with traffic conditions: prevailing weather conditions as a parameter to be kept in mind for the adoption of a future ECA in the Mediterranean Sea. Preliminary results would show how marine emissions coming from existing traffic will impact the sea and land ecology in the Mediterranean area.
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Liebrand, T.W.H.; Berg, van den G.C.M.; Zhang, Z.; Smit, P.; Cordewener, J.H.G.; America, A.H.P.; Sklenar, J.; Jones, A.M.E.; Tameling, W.I.L.; Robatzek, S.; Thomma, B.P.H.J.; Joosten, M.H.A.J.
2013-01-01
The plant immune system is activated by microbial patterns that are detected as nonself molecules. Such patterns are recognized by immune receptors that are cytoplasmic or localized at the plasma membrane. Cell surface receptors are represented by receptor-like kinases (RLKs) that frequently contain
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Martínez, Isidoro; Oliveros, Juan C.; Cuesta, Isabel; de la Barrera, Jorge; Ausina, Vicente; Casals, Cristina; de Lorenzo, Alba; García, Ernesto; García-Fojeda, Belén; Garmendia, Junkal; González-Nicolau, Mar; Lacoma, Alicia; Menéndez, Margarita; Moranta, David; Nieto, Amelia; Ortín, Juan; Pérez-González, Alicia; Prat, Cristina; Ramos-Sevillano, Elisa; Regueiro, Verónica; Rodriguez-Frandsen, Ariel; Solís, Dolores; Yuste, José; Bengoechea, José A.; Melero, José A.
2017-01-01
Lower respiratory tract infections are among the top five leading causes of human death. Fighting these infections is therefore a world health priority. Searching for induced alterations in host gene expression shared by several relevant respiratory pathogens represents an alternative to identify new targets for wide-range host-oriented therapeutics. With this aim, alveolar macrophages were independently infected with three unrelated bacterial (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus) and two dissimilar viral (respiratory syncytial virus and influenza A virus) respiratory pathogens, all of them highly relevant for human health. Cells were also activated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a prototypical pathogen-associated molecular pattern. Patterns of differentially expressed cellular genes shared by the indicated pathogens were searched by microarray analysis. Most of the commonly up-regulated host genes were related to the innate immune response and/or apoptosis, with Toll-like, RIG-I-like and NOD-like receptors among the top 10 signaling pathways with over-expressed genes. These results identify new potential broad-spectrum targets to fight the important human infections caused by the bacteria and viruses studied here. PMID:28298903
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Prondvai, Edina; Godefroit, Pascal; Adriaens, Dominique; Hu, Dong-Yu
2018-01-10
With their elongated forelimbs and variable aerial skills, paravian dinosaurs, a clade also comprising modern birds, are in the hotspot of vertebrate evolutionary research. Inferences on the early evolution of flight largely rely on bone and feather morphology, while osteohistological traits are usually studied to explore life-history characteristics. By sampling and comparing multiple homologous fore- and hind limb elements, we integrate for the first time qualitative and quantitative osteohistological approaches to get insight into the intraskeletal growth dynamics and their functional implications in five paravian dinosaur taxa, Anchiornis, Aurornis, Eosinopteryx, Serikornis, and Jeholornis. Our qualitative assessment implies a considerable diversity in allometric/isometric growth patterns among these paravians. Quantitative analyses show that neither taxa nor homologous elements have characteristic histology, and that ontogenetic stage, element size and the newly introduced relative element precocity only partially explain the diaphyseal histovariability. Still, Jeholornis, the only avialan studied here, is histologically distinct from all other specimens in the multivariate visualizations raising the hypothesis that its bone tissue characteristics may be related to its superior aerial capabilities compared to the non-avialan paravians. Our results warrant further research on the osteohistological correlates of flight and developmental strategies in birds and bird-like dinosaurs.
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Reading the viral signature by Toll-like receptors and other pattern recognition receptors.
Mogensen, Trine H; Paludan, Søren R
2005-03-01
Successful host defense against viral infections relies on early production of type I interferon (IFN) and subsequent activation of a cellular cytotoxic response. The acute IFN and inflammatory response against virus infections is mediated by cellular pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize specific molecular structures on viral particles or products of viral replication. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) constitute a class of membrane-bound PRRs capable of detecting microbial infections. While TLR2 and TLR4, which were first identified to recognize Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, respectively, sense specific viral proteins on the cell surface, TLRs 3, 7, 8, and 9 serve as receptors for viral nucleic acids in endosomic compartments. In addition to TLRs, cells express cytoplasmic PRRs such as the RNA helicase retinoic acid inducible gene I and the kinase double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase R, both of which sense dsRNA, a characteristic signature of viral replication, and initiate a protective cellular response. Here we review the recent progress in our understanding of PRRs and viral infections and discuss the molecular and cellular responses evoked by virus-activated PRRs. Finally, we look into what is currently known about the role of PRRs in viral infections in vivo.
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Pytharoulis, Ioannis; Tegoulias, Ioannis; Karacostas, Theodore; Kotsopoulos, Stylianos; Kartsios, Stergios; Bampzelis, Dimitrios
2015-04-01
The Thessaly plain, which is located in central Greece, has a vital role in the financial life of the country, because of its significant agricultural production. The aim of DAPHNE project (http://www.daphne-meteo.gr) is to tackle the problem of drought in this area by means of Weather Modification in convective clouds. This problem is reinforced by the increase of population and the water demand for irrigation, especially during the warm period of the year. The nonhydrostatic Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF), is utilized for research and operational purposes of DAPHNE project. The WRF output fields are employed by the partners in order to provide high-resolution meteorological guidance and plan the project's operations. The model domains cover: i) Europe, the Mediterranean sea and northern Africa, ii) Greece and iii) the wider region of Thessaly (at selected periods), at horizontal grid-spacings of 15km, 5km and 1km, respectively, using 2-way telescoping nesting. The aim of this research work is to investigate the model performance in relation to the prevailing upper-air synoptic circulation. The statistical evaluation of the high-resolution operational forecasts of near-surface and upper air fields is performed at a selected period of the operational phase of the project using surface observations, gridded fields and weather radar data. The verification is based on gridded, point and object oriented techniques. The 10 upper-air circulation types, which describe the prevailing conditions over Greece, are employed in the synoptic classification. This methodology allows the identification of model errors that occur and/or are maximized at specific synoptic conditions and may otherwise be obscured in aggregate statistics. Preliminary analysis indicates that the largest errors are associated with cyclonic conditions. Acknowledgments This research work of Daphne project (11SYN_8_1088) is co-funded by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund
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Yang, Wen-Kai; Chung, Chang-Hung; Cheng, Hui Chen; Tang, Cheng-Hao; Lee, Tsung-Han
2016-12-01
Euryhaline teleosts can survive in a broad range of salinity via alteration of the molecular mechanisms in certain osmoregulatory organs, including in the gill and kidney. Among these mechanisms, Na + /K + -ATPase (NKA) plays a crucial role in triggering ion-transporting systems. The switch of NKA isoforms in euryhaline fish gills substantially contributes to salinity adaptation. However, there is little information about switches in the kidneys of euryhaline teleosts. Therefore, the responses of the renal NKA α-isoform protein switch to salinity challenge in euryhaline tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and milkfish (Chanos chanos) with different salinity preferences were examined and compared in this study. Immunohistochemical staining in tilapia kidneys revealed the localization of NKA in renal tubules rather than in the glomeruli, similar to our previous findings in milkfish kidneys. Protein abundance in the renal NKA pan α-subunit-like, α1-, and α3-isoform-like proteins in seawater-acclimated tilapia was significantly higher than in the freshwater group, whereas the α2-isoform-like protein exhibited the opposite pattern of expression. In the milkfish, higher protein abundance in the renal NKA pan α-subunit-like and α1-isoform-like proteins was found in freshwater-acclimated fish, whereas no difference was found in the protein abundance of α2- and α3-isoform-like proteins between groups. These findings suggested that switches for renal NKA α-isoforms, especially the α1-isoform, were involved in renal osmoregulatory mechanisms of euryhaline teleosts. Moreover, differences in regulatory responses of the renal NKA α-subunit to salinity acclimation between tilapia and milkfish revealed that divergent mechanisms for maintaining osmotic balance might be employed by euryhaline teleosts with different salinity preferences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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2006-01-01
A delicate pattern, like that of a spider web, appears on top of the Mars residual polar cap, after the seasonal carbon-dioxide ice slab has disappeared. Next spring, these will likely mark the sites of vents when the carbon-dioxide ice cap returns. This Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Orbiter Camera image is about 3-kilometers wide (2-miles).
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Stuckler, David
2008-01-01
Context The mortality numbers and rates of chronic disease are rising faster in developing than in developed countries. This article compares prevailing explanations of population chronic disease trends with theoretical and empirical models of population chronic disease epidemiology and assesses some economic consequences of the growth of chronic diseases in developing countries based on the experiences of developed countries. Methods Four decades of male mortality rates of cardiovascular and chronic noncommunicable diseases were regressed on changes in and levels of country income per capita, market integration, foreign direct investment, urbanization rates, and population aging in fifty-six countries for which comparative data were available. Neoclassical economic growth models were used to estimate the effect of the mortality rates of chronic noncommunicable diseases on economic growth in high-income OECD countries. Findings Processes of economic growth, market integration, foreign direct investment, and urbanization were significant determinants of long-term changes in mortality rates of heart disease and chronic noncommunicable disease, and the observed relationships with these social and economic factors were roughly three times stronger than the relationships with the population's aging. In low-income countries, higher levels of country income per capita, population urbanization, foreign direct investment, and market integration were associated with greater mortality rates of heart disease and chronic noncommunicable disease, less increased or sometimes reduced rates in middle-income countries, and decreased rates in high-income countries. Each 10 percent increase in the working-age mortality rates of chronic noncommunicable disease decreased economic growth rates by close to a half percent. Conclusions Macrosocial and macroeconomic forces are major determinants of population rises in chronic disease mortality, and some prevailing demographic explanations
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Winter variability in the western Gulf of Maine: Part 1: Internal tides
Brown, W. S.
2011-09-01
During the winter 1997-1998, a field program was conducted in Wilkinson Basin-western Gulf of Maine-as part of a study of winter convective mixing. The field program consisted of (1) Wilkinson basin-scale hydrographic surveys, (2) a tight three-mooring array with ˜100 m separations measured temperature and conductivity at rates of 2-15 min and (3) a single pair of upward/downward-looking pair acoustic Doppler current profiling (ADCP) instruments measured currents with 8 m vertical resolution over the 270 m water column in north-central Wilkinson basin at a rate of 10 min. The moored array measurements below the mixed layer (˜100 m depth) between 11 January and 6 February 1998 were dominated by a combination of the relatively strong semidiurnal external (depth-independent or barotropic) tide; upon which were superposed a weaker phase-locked semidiurnal internal tide and a very weak water column mean currents of about 1 cm/s southward or approximately across the local isobaths. The harmonic analysis of a vertical average of the relatively uniform ADCP velocities in the well-mixed upper 123 m of the water column, defined the external tidal currents which were dominated by a nearly rectilinear, across-isobath (326°T) M 2 semidiurnal tidal current of about 15 cm/s. The depth-dependent residual current field, which was created by subtracting the external tidal current, consisted of (1) clockwise-rotating semidiurnal internal tidal currents of about 5 cm/s below the mixed layer; (2) clockwise-rotating inertial currents; and (3) a considerably less energetic subtidal current variability. The results from both frequency-domain empirical orthogonal function and tidal harmonic analyses of the of isotherm displacement series at each of the three moorings in the 100 m array mutually confirm an approximate east-northeastward phase propagation of the dominant M 2 semidiurnal internal tide across Wilkinson Basin. Further investigation supports the idea that this winter internal
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Kim, Choung Soo; Choi, Young Deuk; Lee, Sang Eun; Lee, Hyun Moo; Ueda, Takeshi; Yonese, Junji; Fukagai, Takashi; Chiong, Edmund; Lau, Weber; Abhyankar, Sarang; Theeuwes, Ad; Tombal, Bertrand; Beer, Tomasz M; Kimura, Go
2017-07-01
Enzalutamide is an androgen receptor (AR) inhibitor that acts on different steps in the AR signaling pathway. In PREVAIL, an international, phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, enzalutamide significantly reduced the risk of radiographic progression by 81% (hazard ratio [HR], 0.19; P PREVAIL trial, we performed a post hoc analysis of the Japanese, Korean, and Singaporean patients. PREVAIL enrolled patients with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who had progressed on androgen deprivation therapy. During the study, patients received enzalutamide (160 mg/d) or placebo (1:1) until death or discontinuation because of radiographic progression or skeletal-related event and initiation of subsequent therapy. Centrally assessed radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) and overall survival (OS) were coprimary endpoints. The secondary endpoints of the PREVAIL trial were investigator-assessed rPFS, time to initiation of chemotherapy, time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, and PSA response (≥50% decline). Of 1717 patients, 148 patients were enrolled at sites in East Asia (enzalutamide 73, placebo 75). Treatment effect of enzalutamide versus placebo was consistent with that for the overall population as indicated by the HRs (95% confidence interval) of 0.38 (0.10-1.44) for centrally assessed rPFS, 0.59 (0.29-1.23) for OS, 0.33 (0.19-0.60) for time to chemotherapy, and 0.32 (0.20-0.50) for time to PSA progression. In East Asian patients, PSA responses were observed in 68.5% and 14.7% of enzalutamide- and placebo-treated patients, respectively. The enzalutamide plasma concentration ratio (East Asian:non-Asian patients) was 1.12 (90% confidence interval, 1.05-1.20) at 13 weeks. Treatment-related adverse events grade ≥ 3 occurred in 1.4% and 2.7% of enzalutamide- and placebo-treated East Asian patients, respectively. Treatment effects and safety of enzalutamide in East Asian
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Gejl, Michael; Lerche, Susanne; Egefjord, L?rke; Brock, Birgitte; M?ller, Niels; Vang, Kim; Rodell, Anders B.; Bibby, Bo M.; Holst, Jens J.; Rungby, J?rgen; Gjedde, Albert
2013-01-01
In hyperglycemia, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) lowers brain glucose concentration together with increased net blood-brain clearance and brain metabolism, but it is not known whether this effect depends on the prevailing plasma glucose (PG) concentration. In hypoglycemia, glucose depletion potentially impairs brain function. Here, we test the hypothesis that GLP-1 exacerbates the effect of hypoglycemia. To test the hypothesis, we determined glucose transport and consumption rates in seven h...
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Observed tidal currents on the continental shelf off the east coast of India
Jithin, A. K.; Unnikrishnan, A. S.; Fernando, V.; Subeesh, M. P.; Fernandes, R.; Khalap, S.; Narayan, S.; Agarvadekar, Y.; Gaonkar, M.; Tari, P.; Kankonkar, A.; Vernekar, S.
2017-06-01
In the present study, we analysed 9-month long data from Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) deployed on the shelf off the east coast of India to study the characteristics of tidal currents in the region. The ADCPs were deployed at about 100-150 m depths off Cuddalore (CD, 12.0°N), Ramayapatnam (RM, 15.0°N), Kakinada (KN, 16.3°N) and South of Gopalpur (SG, 18.6°N). Tidal currents in the region are mainly semidiurnal in nature and dominant constituent is M2. Semimajor axes of barotropic tidal ellipses of M2 is about 1.9 cms-1 in the southernmost ADCP location (off CD) and it is about 4.0 cms-1 in the northernmost ADCP location (off SG), which indicate a northward increase of tidal currents. Baroclinic spectra show high energy at tidal frequencies, which suggests the presence of internal tides on the shelf, particularly in the semidiurnal band. Semidiurnal internal tides of about 8-15 cms-1 are observed at different locations and the magnitude is relatively large on the shelf off SG in the northern part of the shelf, which is primarily due to large barotropic forcing on the north. The semidiurnal internal tides are found to be intensified at the bottom, particularly on the shelf off SG and RM. The computed ratio of slope of internal wave characteristics (c) and topographic slope (γ) indicates that large near-critical regions present surrounding the ADCP locations off SG and RM could be the possible reason of bottom intensification at these two locations. EOF analysis shows that observed semidiurnal internal tides are dominated by the first baroclinic mode, where it accounts for about 70-80% of semidiurnal internal tide variability on the shelf off SG and CD, whereas the contribution of the first mode is relatively small (43-50%) on the shelf off KN and RM. Enhanced small-scale vertical shear is observed at the ADCP locations associated with multimode structure of semidiurnal internal tides. Semidiurnal internal tides show a spring-neap variability on the
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Singh, S.K.; Singh, Anoop; Rai, J.P.N.
2011-01-01
The impact of prevailing disturbances in montane habitats of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR) was studied on soil microbial population, biomass, soil respiration and enzyme activities during wet and dry seasons. The physico-chemical characteristics of soils exhibited conspicuous variation in t...
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Atypical anticlockwise internal tidal motions in the deep ocean
van Haren, H.
2015-01-01
In the ocean, horizontal motions associated with freely propagating semidiurnal tidal inertia-gravity waves mainly describe an ellipse that is traversed in a clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere. In this article, rare observations of anticlockwise polarised semidiurnal motions are
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Alnajjar, Mohammad Ahmad; Ramette, Alban; Kü hl, Michael; Hamza, Waleed; Klatt, Judith M.; Polerecky, Lubos
2014-01-01
We imaged reflectance and variable fluorescence in 25 cyanobacterial mats from four distant sites around the globe to assess, at different scales of resolution, spatial variabilities in the physiological parameters characterizing their photosynthetic capacity, including the absorptivity by chlorophyll a (Achl), maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis (Ymax), and light acclimation irradiance (Ik). Generally, these parameters significantly varied within individual mats on a sub-millimeter scale, with about 2-fold higher variability in the vertical than in the horizontal direction. The average vertical profiles of Ymax and Ik decreased with depth in the mat, while Achl exhibited a sub-surface maximum. The within-mat variability was comparable to, but often larger than, the between-sites variability, whereas the within-site variabilities (i.e., between samples from the same site) were generally lowest. When compared based on averaged values of their photosynthetic parameters, mats clustered according to their site of origin. Similar clustering was found when the community composition of the mats' cyanobacterial layers were compared by automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA), indicating a significant link between the microbial community composition and function. Although this link is likely the result of community adaptation to the prevailing site-specific environmental conditions, our present data is insufficient to identify the main factors determining these patterns. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that the spatial variability in the photosynthetic capacity and light acclimation of benthic phototrophic microbial communities is at least as large on a sub-millimeter scale as it is on a global scale, and suggests that this pattern of variability scaling is similar for the microbial community composition. © 2014 Al-Najjar, Ramette, Kühl, Hamza, Klatt and Polerecky.
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Alnajjar, Mohammad Ahmad
2014-08-06
We imaged reflectance and variable fluorescence in 25 cyanobacterial mats from four distant sites around the globe to assess, at different scales of resolution, spatial variabilities in the physiological parameters characterizing their photosynthetic capacity, including the absorptivity by chlorophyll a (Achl), maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis (Ymax), and light acclimation irradiance (Ik). Generally, these parameters significantly varied within individual mats on a sub-millimeter scale, with about 2-fold higher variability in the vertical than in the horizontal direction. The average vertical profiles of Ymax and Ik decreased with depth in the mat, while Achl exhibited a sub-surface maximum. The within-mat variability was comparable to, but often larger than, the between-sites variability, whereas the within-site variabilities (i.e., between samples from the same site) were generally lowest. When compared based on averaged values of their photosynthetic parameters, mats clustered according to their site of origin. Similar clustering was found when the community composition of the mats\\' cyanobacterial layers were compared by automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA), indicating a significant link between the microbial community composition and function. Although this link is likely the result of community adaptation to the prevailing site-specific environmental conditions, our present data is insufficient to identify the main factors determining these patterns. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that the spatial variability in the photosynthetic capacity and light acclimation of benthic phototrophic microbial communities is at least as large on a sub-millimeter scale as it is on a global scale, and suggests that this pattern of variability scaling is similar for the microbial community composition. © 2014 Al-Najjar, Ramette, Kühl, Hamza, Klatt and Polerecky.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
X. Xu
2009-11-01
Full Text Available To investigate possible couplings between planetary waves and the semidiurnal tide (SDT, this work examines the statistical correlations between the SDT amplitudes observed in the Northern Hemisphere (NH mesosphere and stationary planetary wave (SPW with wavenumber S=1 (SPW1 amplitudes throughout the global stratosphere and mesosphere. The latter are derived from the Aura-MLS temperature measurements. During NH summer-fall (July–October, the mesospheric SDT amplitudes observed at Svalbard (78° N and Eureka (80° N usually do not show persistent correlations with the SPW1 amplitudes in the opposite hemisphere. Although the SDT amplitudes observed at lower latitudes (~50–70° N, especially at Saskatoon (52° N, are often shown to be highly and positively correlated with the SPW1 amplitudes in high southern latitudes, these correlations cannot be sufficiently explained as evidence for a direct physical link between the Southern Hemisphere (SH winter-early spring SPW and NH summer-early fall mesospheric SDT. This is because the migrating tide's contribution is usually dominant in the mid-high latitude (~50–70° N NH mesosphere during the local late summer-early fall (July–September. The numerical correlation is dominated by similar low-frequency variability or trends between the amplitudes of the NH SDT and SH SPW1 during the respective equinoctial transitions. In contradistinction, during NH winter (November–February, the mesospheric SDT amplitudes at northern mid-high latitudes (~50–80° N are observed to be significantly and positively correlated with the SPW1 amplitudes in the same hemisphere in most cases. Because both the SPW and migrating SDT are large in the NH during the local winter, a non-linear interaction between SPW and migrating SDT probably occurs, thus providing a global non-migrating SDT. This is consistent with observations of SDT in Antarctica that are large in summer than in winter. It is suggested that
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Bryce, A H; Alumkal, J J; Armstrong, A; Higano, C S; Iversen, P; Sternberg, C N; Rathkopf, D; Loriot, Y; de Bono, J; Tombal, B; Abhyankar, S; Lin, P; Krivoshik, A; Phung, D; Beer, T M
2017-06-01
Advanced prostate cancer is a phenotypically diverse disease that evolves through multiple clinical courses. PSA level is the most widely used parameter for disease monitoring, but it has well-recognized limitations. Unlike in clinical trials, in practice, clinicians may rely on PSA monitoring alone to determine disease status on therapy. This approach has not been adequately tested. Chemotherapy-naive asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic men (n=872) with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who were treated with the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide in the PREVAIL study were analyzed post hoc for rising versus nonrising PSA (empirically defined as >1.05 vs ⩽1.05 times the PSA level from 3 months earlier) at the time of radiographic progression. Clinical characteristics and disease outcomes were compared between the rising and nonrising PSA groups. Of 265 PREVAIL patients with radiographic progression and evaluable PSA levels on the enzalutamide arm, nearly one-quarter had a nonrising PSA. Median progression-free survival in this cohort was 8.3 months versus 11.1 months in the rising PSA cohort (hazard ratio 1.68; 95% confidence interval 1.26-2.23); overall survival was similar between the two groups, although less than half of patients in either group were still at risk at 24 months. Baseline clinical characteristics of the two groups were similar. Non-rising PSA at radiographic progression is a common phenomenon in mCRPC patients treated with enzalutamide. As restaging in advanced prostate cancer patients is often guided by increases in PSA levels, our results demonstrate that disease progression on enzalutamide can occur without rising PSA levels. Therefore, a disease monitoring strategy that includes imaging not entirely reliant on serial serum PSA measurement may more accurately identify disease progression.
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Alumkal, Joshi J; Chowdhury, Simon; Loriot, Yohann; Sternberg, Cora N; de Bono, Johann S; Tombal, Bertrand; Carles, Joan; Flaig, Thomas W; Dorff, Tanya B; Phung, De; Forer, David; Noonberg, Sarah B; Mansbach, Hank; Beer, Tomasz M; Higano, Celestia S
2017-10-01
The Multinational Phase 3, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Efficacy and Safety Study of Oral MDV3100 in Chemotherapy-Naive Patients With Progressive Metastatic Prostate Cancer Who Have Failed Androgen Deprivation Therapy (PREVAIL) trial was unique as it included patients with visceral disease. This analysis was designed to describe outcomes for the subgroup of men from PREVAIL with specific sites of visceral disease to help clinicians understand how these patients responded to enzalutamide prior to chemotherapy. Prespecified analyses examined the coprimary endpoints of radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) and overall survival (OS) only. All other efficacy analyses were post hoc. The visceral subgroup was divided into liver or lung subsets. Patients with both liver and lung metastases were included in the liver subset. Of the 1717 patients in PREVAIL, 204 (12%) had visceral metastases at screening (liver only or liver/lung metastases, n = 74; lung only metastases, n = 130). In patients with liver metastases, enzalutamide was associated with an improvement in rPFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.90) but not OS (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.57-1.87). In patients with lung metastases only, the HR for rPFS (0.14; 95% CI, 0.06-0.36) and the HR for OS (0.59; 95% CI, 0.33-1.06) favored enzalutamide over placebo. Patients with liver metastases had worse outcomes than those with lung metastases, regardless of treatment. Enzalutamide was well tolerated in patients with visceral disease. Enzalutamide is an active first-line treatment option for men with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and visceral disease. Patients with lung-only disease fared better than patients with liver disease, regardless of treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Long-period variations of wind parameters in the mesopause region and the solar cycle dependence
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Greisiger, K.M.; Schminder, R.; Kuerschner, D.
1987-01-01
A solar dependence of wind parameters below 100 km was found by Sprenger and Schminder on the basis of long-term continuous ionospheric drift measurements. For winter they obtained for the prevailing wind a positive correlation with solar activity and for the amplitude of the semi-diurnal tidal wind a negative correlation. However, after the years 1973-1974 we found a significant negative correlation with solar activity with an indication of a new change after 1983. We conclude that this long-term behaviour points rather to a climatic variation with an internal atmospheric cause than to a direct solar control. Recent satellite data of the solar u.v. radiation and the upper stratospheric ozone have shown that the possible variation of the thermal tidal excitation during the solar cycle amounts to only a few per cent. This is, therefore, insufficient to account for the 40-70% variation of the tidal amplitudes. Some other possibilities of explaining this result are discussed. (author)
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Numerical assessment of factors affecting nonlinear internal waves in the South China Sea
Li, Qiang
2014-02-01
Nonlinear internal waves in the South China Sea exhibit diverse characteristics, which are associated with the complex conditions in Luzon Strait, such as the double ridge topography, the Earth’s rotation, variations in stratification and the background current induced by the Kuroshio. These effects are individually assessed using the MITgcm. The performance of the model is first validated through comparison with field observations. Because of in-phased ray interaction, the western ridge in Luzon Strait intensifies the semidiurnal internal tides generated from the eastern ridge, thus reinforcing the formation of nonlinear internal waves. However, the ray interaction for K1 forcing becomes anti-phased so that the K1 internal tide generation is reduced by the western ridge. Not only does the rotational dispersion suppress internal tide generation, it also inhibits nonlinear steepening and consequent internal solitary wave formation. As a joint effect, the double ridges and the rotational dispersion result in a paradoxical phenomenon: diurnal barotropic tidal forcing is dominant in Luzon Strait, but semidiurnal internal tides prevail in the deep basin of the South China Sea. The seasonal variation of the Kuroshio is consistent with the seasonal appearance of nonlinear internal waves in the South China Sea. The model results show that the westward inflow due to the Kuroshio intrusion reduces the amplitude of internal tides in the South China Sea, causing the weakening or absence of internal solitary waves. Winter stratification cannot account for the significant reduction of nonlinear internal waves, because the amplitude growth of internal tides due to increased thermocline tilting counteracts the reduced nonlinearity caused by thermocline deepening.
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Van Maren, D.S.; Gerritsen, H.
2012-01-01
The Singapore Strait connects the South China Sea, where tides are dominantly diurnal, to the dominantly semidiurnal Indian Ocean. At this transition, the tidal water level oscillations are observed to be semidiurnal while the tidal current oscillations are mixed, diurnal to fully diurnal. Due to
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Climatologies of tides at mid-latitudes in the lower termosphere
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cevolani, G.
1991-01-01
Time variations of the semi-diurnal and diurnal tides observed at Budrio (45N, 12E) in the wind structure of the lower termosphere ((80-110) km) throughout the period 1976-1990 are herewith represented as monthly contours of both amplitudes and phases vs. height. The semi-diurnal tide has more marked seasonal variations, showing amplitudes generally larger than the diurnal ones ((10-30) m/s vs. (5-15) m/s). The vertical wavelengths are longer in summer than in winter, at least below 100 km. Agreement with new numerical models for semi-diurnal tide at 50N appears to be satisfactory
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On the prevailing construction waste recycling practices: a South East Queensland study.
Tam, Vivian W Y; Kotrayothar, Duangthidar; Loo, Yew-Chaye
2009-03-01
Waste generated from construction and building demolition work constitutes about 68% of all solid waste generated each year in South East Queensland. Consequently, it has created a serious waste management problem. The State Governments of Victoria and New South Wales have been encouraging the use of recycled materials from construction and related waste; they have also promulgated specifications for their use. In Queensland, however, similar regulations are not anticipated in the near future, which explains the lack of funded research conducted in this important arena. This paper presents an evaluation of the prevailing waste recycling practices in Queensland. Nine sites were visited, including two construction sites, three demolition sites, three recycling plants and one landfill in South East Queensland. The difficulties encountered by the recycling programme operators and their associates at these sites are described and the benefits of recycling construction materials are presented. One of the major barriers is that the local councils disallow the use of recycled materials in new construction work. To help rectify these impediments to recycling, recommendations are given to increase the use of recycled construction waste in South East Queensland.
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Caching Patterns and Implementation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Octavian Paul ROTARU
2006-01-01
Full Text Available Repetitious access to remote resources, usually data, constitutes a bottleneck for many software systems. Caching is a technique that can drastically improve the performance of any database application, by avoiding multiple read operations for the same data. This paper addresses the caching problems from a pattern perspective. Both Caching and caching strategies, like primed and on demand, are presented as patterns and a pattern-based flexible caching implementation is proposed.The Caching pattern provides method of expensive resources reacquisition circumvention. Primed Cache pattern is applied in situations in which the set of required resources, or at least a part of it, can be predicted, while Demand Cache pattern is applied whenever the resources set required cannot be predicted or is unfeasible to be buffered.The advantages and disadvantages of all the caching patterns presented are also discussed, and the lessons learned are applied in the implementation of the pattern-based flexible caching solution proposed.
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Parallel Algorithms and Patterns
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Robey, Robert W. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2016-06-16
This is a powerpoint presentation on parallel algorithms and patterns. A parallel algorithm is a well-defined, step-by-step computational procedure that emphasizes concurrency to solve a problem. Examples of problems include: Sorting, searching, optimization, matrix operations. A parallel pattern is a computational step in a sequence of independent, potentially concurrent operations that occurs in diverse scenarios with some frequency. Examples are: Reductions, prefix scans, ghost cell updates. We only touch on parallel patterns in this presentation. It really deserves its own detailed discussion which Gabe Rockefeller would like to develop.
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Acquisition of earthworm-like movement patterns of many-segmented peristaltic crawling robots
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Norihiko Saga
2016-09-01
Full Text Available In recent years, attention has been increasingly devoted to the development of rescue robots that can protect humans from the inherent risks of rescue work. Particularly, anticipated is the development of a robot that can move deeply through small spaces. We have devoted our attention to peristalsis, the movement mechanism used by earthworms. A reinforcement learning technique used for the derivation of the robot movement pattern, Q-learning, was used to develop a three-segmented peristaltic crawling robot with a motor drive. Characteristically, peristalsis can provide movement capability if at least three segments work, even if a segmented part does not function. Therefore, we had intended to derive the movement pattern of many-segmented peristaltic crawling robots using Q-learning. However, because of the necessary increase in calculations, in the case of many segments, Q-learning cannot be used because of insufficient memory. Therefore, we devoted our attention to a learning method called Actor–Critic, which can be implemented with low memory. Because Actor-Critic methods are TD methods that have a separate memory structure to explicitly represent the policy independent of the value function. Using it, we examined the movement patterns of six-segmented peristaltic crawling robots.
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The nocturnal bottleneck and the evolution of activity patterns in mammals
Gerkema, Menno P.; Davies, Wayne I. L.; Foster, Russell G.; Menaker, Michael; Hut, Roelof A.
2013-01-01
In 1942, Walls described the concept of a ‘nocturnal bottleneck’ in placental mammals, where these species could survive only by avoiding daytime activity during times in which dinosaurs were the dominant taxon. Walls based this concept of a longer episode of nocturnality in early eutherian mammals by comparing the visual systems of reptiles, birds and all three extant taxa of the mammalian lineage, namely the monotremes, marsupials (now included in the metatherians) and placentals (included in the eutherians). This review describes the status of what has become known as the nocturnal bottleneck hypothesis, giving an overview of the chronobiological patterns of activity. We review the ecological plausibility that the activity patterns of (early) eutherian mammals were restricted to the night, based on arguments relating to endothermia, energy balance, foraging and predation, taking into account recent palaeontological information. We also assess genes, relating to light detection (visual and non-visual systems) and the photolyase DNA protection system that were lost in the eutherian mammalian lineage. Our conclusion presently is that arguments in favour of the nocturnal bottleneck hypothesis in eutherians prevail. PMID:23825205
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Algorithmic Information Dynamics of Persistent Patterns and Colliding Particles in the Game of Life
Zenil, Hector
2018-02-18
We demonstrate the way to apply and exploit the concept of \\\\textit{algorithmic information dynamics} in the characterization and classification of dynamic and persistent patterns, motifs and colliding particles in, without loss of generalization, Conway\\'s Game of Life (GoL) cellular automaton as a case study. We analyze the distribution of prevailing motifs that occur in GoL from the perspective of algorithmic probability. We demonstrate how the tools introduced are an alternative to computable measures such as entropy and compression algorithms which are often nonsensitive to small changes and features of non-statistical nature in the study of evolving complex systems and their emergent structures.
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Locomotion of Paramecium in patterned environments
Park, Eun-Jik; Eddins, Aja; Kim, Junil; Yang, Sung; Jana, Saikat; Jung, Sunghwan
2011-10-01
Ciliary organisms like Paramecium Multimicronucleatum locomote by synchronized beating of cilia that produce metachronal waves over their body. In their natural environments they navigate through a variety of environments especially surfaces with different topology. We study the effects of wavy surfaces patterned on the PDMS channels on the locomotive abilities of Paramecium by characterizing different quantities like velocity amplitude and wavelength of the trajectories traced. We compare this result with the swimming characteristics in straight channels and draw conclusions about the effects of various patterned surfaces.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kleissl, Kenneth; Georgakis, Christos
2011-01-01
Over the last two decades, several bridge cable manufacturers have introduced surface modi-fications on the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sheathing that is often installed for the protection of inner strands. The main goal of this is rain rivulet impedance, leading to the suppression of rain......-wind induced vibrations (RWIVs). The modifications are based on re-search undertaken predominantly in Europe and Japan, with two different systems prevailing; HDPE tubing fitted with helical surface fillets and HDPE tubing with pattern-indented sur-faces. In the US and Europe, helical fillets dominate, whilst...
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Manto, Mario; Oulad Ben Taib, Nordeyn
2013-06-01
Although considerable progress has been made in developing models of cerebellar function in sensorimotor control, the exact nature of the basic operations performed by the cerebellum remain elusive. Several major theories have emerged these last decades. According to the hypothesis of Marr and Albus, the climbing fiber input carries an error signal weakening the strength of a subset of parallel fibers/Purkinje neurons synapses in the cerebellar cortex. Cerebellar circuits would gain the control of movement through trial and error. The hypothesis of internal models emulating movements is currently highly cited. There is a general agreement that (1) the central nervous system has to cope with an intrinsic time delay of sensory feedback related to motor activities and (2) estimations of future motor states are essential to perform fast and accurate movements. According to this second theory, cerebellar dysmetria, one of the cardinal cerebellar deficits, would result from a distorted predictive control. A third popular theory relates to the inverse models that would be stored in the cerebellum. Acquisition of a motor act would require forward models, and the acquisition process itself would generate an inverse model to allow an unconscious coordinated movement. Recently, an international panel of experts from various disciplines discussed the prevailing opinions in a consensus statement and tried to extract their clinical relevance in terms of pathogenesis of the clinical symptoms. Although a consensus is still not reached, the prevailing opinions provide a sound framework to conduct novel studies and try to discover the secrets of cerebellar circuits.
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de Mendoza, Guillermo; Ventura, Marc; Catalan, Jordi
2015-07-01
Aiming to elucidate whether large-scale dispersal factors or environmental species sorting prevail in determining patterns of Trichoptera species composition in mountain lakes, we analyzed the distribution and assembly of the most common Trichoptera (Plectrocnemia laetabilis, Polycentropus flavomaculatus, Drusus rectus, Annitella pyrenaea, and Mystacides azurea) in the mountain lakes of the Pyrenees (Spain, France, Andorra) based on a survey of 82 lakes covering the geographical and environmental extremes of the lake district. Spatial autocorrelation in species composition was determined using Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM). Redundancy analysis (RDA) was applied to explore the influence of MEM variables and in-lake, and catchment environmental variables on Trichoptera assemblages. Variance partitioning analysis (partial RDA) revealed the fraction of species composition variation that could be attributed uniquely to either environmental variability or MEM variables. Finally, the distribution of individual species was analyzed in relation to specific environmental factors using binomial generalized linear models (GLM). Trichoptera assemblages showed spatial structure. However, the most relevant environmental variables in the RDA (i.e., temperature and woody vegetation in-lake catchments) were also related with spatial variables (i.e., altitude and longitude). Partial RDA revealed that the fraction of variation in species composition that was uniquely explained by environmental variability was larger than that uniquely explained by MEM variables. GLM results showed that the distribution of species with longitudinal bias is related to specific environmental factors with geographical trend. The environmental dependence found agrees with the particular traits of each species. We conclude that Trichoptera species distribution and composition in the lakes of the Pyrenees are governed predominantly by local environmental factors, rather than by dispersal constraints. For
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Patterns of media use in Brazil and their impact on political information levels
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wladimir G Gramacho
2015-12-01
Full Text Available REVISTA DEBATES OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEMS Journal Help USER Username Password Remember me Login LANGUAGE JOURNAL CONTENT Search Search Browse By Issue By Author By Title Other Journals FONT SIZE Make font size smallerMake font size defaultMake font size larger INFORMATION For Readers For Authors For Librarians HOME ABOUT LOGIN REGISTER SEARCH CURRENT ARCHIVES UFRGS Home > Vol 9, No 3 (2015 >\tGramacho Patterns of media use in Brazil and their impact on political information levels Wladimir G Gramacho, André Jácomo Abstract The use of media repertoires that include internet is associated with higher levels of political information policy. This is the main conclusion of this article, whose argument is organized in three stages. The first describes the scene of the Brazilian audience fragmentation and identifies the media usage patterns in the country based on cluster analysis using data from the Brazilian Media Survey 2015. The second indicates the socio-economic characteristics prevailing in each pattern of media use. Finally, the third one examines the influence of these different media repertoires on levels of political information among Brazilians, based on an ordinal logistic regression model.
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Short desynchronization episodes prevail in synchronous dynamics of human brain rhythms.
Ahn, Sungwoo; Rubchinsky, Leonid L
2013-03-01
Neural synchronization is believed to be critical for many brain functions. It frequently exhibits temporal variability, but it is not known if this variability has a specific temporal patterning. This study explores these synchronization/desynchronization patterns. We employ recently developed techniques to analyze the fine temporal structure of phase-locking to study the temporal patterning of synchrony of the human brain rhythms. We study neural oscillations recorded by electroencephalograms in α and β frequency bands in healthy human subjects at rest and during the execution of a task. While the phase-locking strength depends on many factors, dynamics of synchrony has a very specific temporal pattern: synchronous states are interrupted by frequent, but short desynchronization episodes. The probability for a desynchronization episode to occur decreased with its duration. The transition matrix between synchronized and desynchronized states has eigenvalues close to 0 and 1 where eigenvalue 1 has multiplicity 1, and therefore if the stationary distribution between these states is perturbed, the system converges back to the stationary distribution very fast. The qualitative similarity of this patterning across different subjects, brain states and electrode locations suggests that this may be a general type of dynamics for the brain. Earlier studies indicate that not all oscillatory networks have this kind of patterning of synchronization/desynchronization dynamics. Thus, the observed prevalence of short (but potentially frequent) desynchronization events (length of one cycle of oscillations) may have important functional implications for the brain. Numerous short desynchronizations (as opposed to infrequent, but long desynchronizations) may allow for a quick and efficient formation and break-up of functionally significant neuronal assemblies.
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Thermal tides and Martian dust storms: Direct evidence for coupling
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Leovy, C.B.; Zurek, R.W.
1979-01-01
Observations of surface pressure oscillations at the Viking 1 and Viking 2 lander sites on Mars indicate that the thermally driven global atmospheric tides were closely coupled to the dust content of the Martian atmosphere, especially during northern fall and winter, when two successive global dust storms occurred. The onset of each of these global storms was marked by substantial, nearly simultaneous increases in the dust opacity and in the range of the daily surface pressure variation observed at both lander sites. Although both the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal surface pressure components were amplified at Lander 1 during the onset of a global dust storm, the semidiurnal component was greatly enhanced in relation to the diurnal tide. Semidiurnal wind components were prominent at both lander sites during the height of the global dust storm. We have attempted to interpret these observations using simplified dynamical models. In particular, the semidiurnal wind component can be successfully related to the observed surface pressure variation using a simplified model of a semidiurnally forced Ekman boundary layer. On the other hand, a classical atmospheric tidal model shows that the preferential enhancement of the semidiurnal surface pressure oscillation at Lander 1 can be produced by a tidal heating distribution which places most of the heating (per unit mass) above 10-km altitude. Furthermore, when a dust storm expands to global scale, it does so rather quickly, and the total atmospheric heating at the peak of the dust storm can represent more than 50% of the available insolation. The Viking observations suggest that a number of mechanisms are important for the generation and decay of these episodic Martian global dust storms
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Pattern Electrodes for Studying SOFC Electrochemistry
Patel, H.C.; Biradar, N.; Venkataraman, V.; Aravind, P.V.
2013-01-01
Pattern anodes can be used to localize reactions and study individual processes like charge transfer, adsorption, diffusion etc. Ceria and Nickel (Ni) pattern anodes were fabricated with the same dimensions with Triple phase boundary (TPB) lengths of 0.2707 m/cm2. Electrochemical Impedance
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Pattern formation in optical resonators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Weiss, C O; Larionova, Ye
2007-01-01
We review pattern formation in optical resonators. The emphasis is on 'particle-like' structures such as vortices or spatial solitons. On the one hand, similarities impose themselves with other fields of physics (condensed matter, phase transitions, particle physics, fluds/super fluids). On the other hand the feedback is led by the resonator mirrors to bi- and multi-stability of the spatial field structure, which is the basic ingredient for optical information processing. The spatial dimension or the 'parallelism' is the strength of optics compared to electronics (and will have to be employed to fully use the advantages optics offers in information processing). But even in the 'serial' processing tasks of telecoms (e.g. information buffering) spatial resonator solitons can do better than the schemes proposed so far-including 'slow light'. Pattern formation in optical resonators will likely be the key to brain-like information processing like cognition, learning and association; to complement the precise but limited algorithmic capabilities of electronic processing. But even in the short term it will be useful for solving serial optical processing problems. The prospects for technical uses of pattern formation in resonators are one motivation for this research. The fundamental similarities with other fields of physics, on the other hand, inspire transfer of concepts between fields; something that has always proven fruitful for gaining deeper insights or for solving technical problems
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You're Just Like Your Dad: Intergenerational Patterns of Differential Treatment of Siblings.
Jensen, Alexander C; Whiteman, Shawn D; Rand, Joseph S; Fingerman, Karen L
2017-10-01
Past work highlights that parents' differential treatment has implications for offspring's mental and relational health across the life course. Although the current body of literature has examined offspring- and parent-level correlates of differential treatment, research has yet to consider whether and how patterns of differential treatment are transmitted across generations. As part of a two-wave longitudinal study of 157 families, both grandparents (M age = 76.50 years, SD = 6.20) and parents (M age = 51.10 years, SD = 4.41) reported on differential treatment of their own offspring at both phases. A series of residualized change models revealed support for both continuity and compensation hypotheses. Middle-aged parents tended to model the patterns of differential treatment exhibited by their fathers, but middle-aged men who experienced more differential treatment from their own parents in recent years tended to subsequently exhibit lower levels of differential treatment to their offspring. These findings suggest that patterns of differential treatment both continue and diverge across generations, and those patterns vary by gender. On a broader level, these results also suggest that siblings not only impact one another's development, but in adulthood, they may indirectly influence their nieces' and nephews' development by virtue of their influence on their siblings' parenting. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Huang, Yi; Tao, Zhangsheng; Liu, Qiong; Wang, Xinfa; Yu, Jingyin; Liu, Guihua; Wang, Hanzhong
2014-07-01
Inflorescence architecture, pedicel length and stomata patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana are specified by inter-tissue communication mediated by ERECTA and its signaling ligands in the EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR-LIKE (EPFL) family of secreted cysteine-rich peptides. Here, we identified and characterized BnEPFL6 from Brassica napus. Heterologous expression of this gene under the double enhanced CaMV promoter (D35S) in Arabidopsis resulted in shortened stamen filaments, filaments degradation, and reduced filament cell size that displayed down-regulated expression of AHK2, in which phenotypic variation of ahk2-1 mutant presented highly consistent with that of BnEPFL6 transgenic lines. Especially, the expression level of BnEPFL6 in the shortened filaments of four B. napus male sterile lines (98A, 86A, SA, and Z11A) was similar to that of BnEPFL6 in the transgenic Arabidopsis lines. The activity of pBnEPFL6.2::GUS was intensive in the filaments of transgenic lines. These observations reveal that BnEPFL6 plays an important role in filament elongation and may also affect organ morphology and floral organ specification via a BnEPFL6-mediated cascade.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Iwakami, Wakana; Nagakura, Hiroki [Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Yamada, Shoichi, E-mail: wakana@heap.phys.waseda.ac.jp [Advanced Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1, Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan)
2014-05-10
In this study, we conduct three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations systematically to investigate the flow patterns behind the accretion shock waves that are commonly formed in the post-bounce phase of core-collapse supernovae. Adding small perturbations to spherically symmetric, steady, shocked accretion flows, we compute the subsequent evolutions to find what flow pattern emerges as a consequence of hydrodynamical instabilities such as convection and standing accretion shock instability for different neutrino luminosities and mass accretion rates. Depending on these two controlling parameters, various flow patterns are indeed realized. We classify them into three basic patterns and two intermediate ones; the former includes sloshing motion (SL), spiral motion (SP), and multiple buoyant bubble formation (BB); the latter consists of spiral motion with buoyant-bubble formation (SPB) and spiral motion with pulsationally changing rotational velocities (SPP). Although the post-shock flow is highly chaotic, there is a clear trend in the pattern realization. The sloshing and spiral motions tend to be dominant for high accretion rates and low neutrino luminosities, and multiple buoyant bubbles prevail for low accretion rates and high neutrino luminosities. It is interesting that the dominant pattern is not always identical between the semi-nonlinear and nonlinear phases near the critical luminosity; the intermediate cases are realized in the latter case. Running several simulations with different random perturbations, we confirm that the realization of flow pattern is robust in most cases.
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Guida, Vincent G.; Valentine, Page C.; Gallea, Leslie B.
2013-01-01
Georges Bank is a large, shallow feature separating the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean. Previous studies demonstrated a strong tidal-mixing front during the warm season on the northern bank margin between thermally stratified water in the Gulf of Maine and mixed water on the bank. Tides transport warm water off the bank during flood tide and cool gulf water onto the bank during ebb tide. During 10 days in August 2009, we mapped frontal temperatures in five study areas along ∼100 km of the bank margin. The seabed “frontal zone”, where temperature changed with frontal movment, experienced semidiurnal temperature maxima and minima. The tidal excursion of the frontal boundary between stratified and mixed water ranged 6 to 10 km. This “frontal boundary zone” was narrower than the frontal zone. Along transects perpendicular to the bank margin, seabed temperature change at individual sites ranged from 7.0°C in the frontal zone to 0.0°C in mixed bank water. At time series in frontal zone stations, changes during tidal cycles ranged from 1.2 to 6.1°C. The greatest rate of change (−2.48°C hr−1) occurred at mid-ebb. Geographic plots of seabed temperature change allowed the mapping of up to 8 subareas in each study area. The magnitude of temperature change in a subarea depended on its location in the frontal zone. Frontal movement had the greatest effect on seabed temperature in the 40 to 80 m depth interval. Subareas experiencing maximum temperature change in the frontal zone were not in the frontal boundary zone, but rather several km gulfward (off-bank) of the frontal boundary zone. These results provide a new ecological framework for examining the effect of tidally-driven temperature variability on the distribution, food resources, and reproductive success of benthic invertebrate and demersal fish species living in tidal front habitats. PMID:23405129
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Guida, Vincent G; Valentine, Page C; Gallea, Leslie B
2013-01-01
Georges Bank is a large, shallow feature separating the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean. Previous studies demonstrated a strong tidal-mixing front during the warm season on the northern bank margin between thermally stratified water in the Gulf of Maine and mixed water on the bank. Tides transport warm water off the bank during flood tide and cool gulf water onto the bank during ebb tide. During 10 days in August 2009, we mapped frontal temperatures in five study areas along ∼100 km of the bank margin. The seabed "frontal zone", where temperature changed with frontal movment, experienced semidiurnal temperature maxima and minima. The tidal excursion of the frontal boundary between stratified and mixed water ranged 6 to 10 km. This "frontal boundary zone" was narrower than the frontal zone. Along transects perpendicular to the bank margin, seabed temperature change at individual sites ranged from 7.0°C in the frontal zone to 0.0°C in mixed bank water. At time series in frontal zone stations, changes during tidal cycles ranged from 1.2 to 6.1°C. The greatest rate of change (-2.48°C hr(-1)) occurred at mid-ebb. Geographic plots of seabed temperature change allowed the mapping of up to 8 subareas in each study area. The magnitude of temperature change in a subarea depended on its location in the frontal zone. Frontal movement had the greatest effect on seabed temperature in the 40 to 80 m depth interval. Subareas experiencing maximum temperature change in the frontal zone were not in the frontal boundary zone, but rather several km gulfward (off-bank) of the frontal boundary zone. These results provide a new ecological framework for examining the effect of tidally-driven temperature variability on the distribution, food resources, and reproductive success of benthic invertebrate and demersal fish species living in tidal front habitats.
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IKKα Promotes Intestinal Tumorigenesis by Limiting Recruitment of M1-like Polarized Myeloid Cells
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Serkan I. Göktuna
2014-06-01
Full Text Available The recruitment of immune cells into solid tumors is an essential prerequisite of tumor development. Depending on the prevailing polarization profile of these infiltrating leucocytes, tumorigenesis is either promoted or blocked. Here, we identify IκB kinase α (IKKα as a central regulator of a tumoricidal microenvironment during intestinal carcinogenesis. Mice deficient in IKKα kinase activity are largely protected from intestinal tumor development that is dependent on the enhanced recruitment of interferon γ (IFNγ-expressing M1-like myeloid cells. In IKKα mutant mice, M1-like polarization is not controlled in a cell-autonomous manner but, rather, depends on the interplay of both IKKα mutant tumor epithelia and immune cells. Because therapies aiming at the tumor microenvironment rather than directly at the mutated cancer cell may circumvent resistance development, we suggest IKKα as a promising target for colorectal cancer (CRC therapy.
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Graff, J N; Baciarello, G; Armstrong, A J; Higano, C S; Iversen, P; Flaig, T W; Forer, D; Parli, T; Phung, D; Tombal, B; Beer, T M; Sternberg, C N
2016-02-01
Prostate cancer disproportionately affects older men. Because age affects treatment decisions, it is important to understand the efficacy and tolerability of therapies for advanced prostate cancer in elderly men. This analysis describes efficacy and safety outcomes in men aged ≥75 years who received enzalutamide, an androgen receptor inhibitor, in the phase III PREVAIL trial. PREVAIL was a randomised, double-blind, multinational study of oral enzalutamide 160 mg/day (N = 872) versus placebo (N = 845) in chemotherapy-naive men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Overall survival (OS) and radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) were coprimary end points. Subgroup analysis of men aged ≥75 years (elderly) and men aged PREVAIL, median treatment duration was 16.6 and 5.0 months in the enzalutamide and placebo arms, respectively. In the elderly subgroup, OS was greater with enzalutamide than with placebo [32.4 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 27.7-not yet reached] versus 25.1 months (95% CI 22.6-28.0); hazard ratio (HR) = 0.61 (95% CI 0.47-0.79); P = 0.0001], as was rPFS [not yet reached (95% CI 12.3-not yet reached) versus 3.7 months (95% CI 3.6-5.3); HR = 0.17 (95% CI 0.12-0.24); P < 0.0001]. Irrespective of treatment assignment, incidence of AEs was similar between the two age groups, except for an overall higher incidence of falls among elderly patients than younger patients [84/609 (13.8%) versus 62/1106 (5.6%)] and among elderly patients receiving enzalutamide than those receiving placebo [61/317 (19.2%) versus 23/292 (7.9%)]. Elderly men benefited from treatment with enzalutamide in terms of OS and rPFS. Enzalutamide was well tolerated in the elderly subgroup and those aged <75 years. Age and enzalutamide treatment were associated with a higher incidence of falls. NCT01212991, ClinicalTrials.gov. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For
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Ostman, Pär-Olov; Wennerberg, Ann; Albrektsson, Tomas
2010-03-01
Recently, a new implant surface texture, featuring application of nanometer-scale calcium phosphate has been shown to enhance early bone fixation and formation in preclinical studies and in human histomorphometric studies, which may be beneficial in immediate loading situations. The purpose of the present prospective clinical study was to, during 1 year, clinically and radiographically evaluate a nanometer scale surface modified implant placed for immediate loading of fixed prostheses in both maxillary and mandibular regions. Thirty-five out of 38 patients who needed implant treatment and met inclusion criteria agreed to participate in the study and were consecutively enrolled. Surgical implant placement requirements consisted of a final torque of a least 25 Ncm prior to final seating and an implant stability quotient above 55. A total of 102 NanoTite PREVAIL (NTP) implants (BIOMET 3i, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA) (66 maxillary and 36 mandibular) were placed by one investigator, and the majority of these were placed in posterior regions (65%) and in soft bone (69%). A total of 44 prosthetic constructions were evaluated consisting of 14 single-tooth restorations, 26 fixed partial dentures, and four complete fixed restorations. All provisional constructions were delivered within 1 hour, and the final constructions placed after 4 months. Implants were monitored for clinical and radiographic outcomes at follow-up examinations scheduled for 3, 6, and 12 months. Of the 102 study implants, one implant failed. The simple cumulative survival rate value at 1 year was 99.2%. The average marginal bone resorption was 0.37 mm (SD 0.39) during the first year in function. According to the success criteria of Albrektsson and Zarb, success grade 1 was found with 93% of the implants. Although limited to the short follow-up, immediate loading of NanoTite Prevail implants seems to be a viable option in implant rehabilitation, at least when a good initial fixation is achieved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael Adam Rieger
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Mice produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USV in multiple communicative contexts, including adult social interaction (e.g., male to female courtship, as well as pup calls when separated from the dam. Assessment of pup USV has been widely applied in models of social and communicative disorders, dozens of which have shown alterations to this conserved behavior. However, features such as call production rate can vary substantially even within experimental groups and it is unclear to what extent aspects of USV represent stable trait-like influences or are vulnerable to an animal's state. To address this question, we have employed a mixed modeling approach to describe consistency in USV features across time, leveraging multiple large cohorts recorded from two strains, and across ages/times. We find that most features of pup USV show consistent patterns within a recording session, but inconsistent patterns across postnatal development. This supports the conclusion that pup USV is most strongly influenced by state-like variables. In contrast, adult USV call rate and call duration show higher consistency across sessions and may reflect a stable trait. However, spectral features of adult song such as the presence of pitch jumps do not show this level of consistency, suggesting that pitch modulation is more susceptible to factors affecting the animal's state at the time of recording. Overall, the utility of this work is threefold. First, as variability necessarily affects the sensitivity of the assay to detect experimental perturbation, we hope the information provided here will be used to help researchers plan sufficiently powered experiments, as well as prioritize specific ages to study USV behavior and to decide which features to consider most strongly in analysis. Second, via the mouseTube platform, we have provided these hundreds of recordings and associated data to serve as a shared resource for other researchers interested in either benchmark data for
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Walther, Thomas; Thielmann, Matthias; Kempfert, Joerg; Schroefel, Holger; Wimmer-Greinecker, Gerhard; Treede, Hendrik; Wahlers, Thorsten; Wendler, Olaf
2013-05-01
The study aimed to evaluate 1-year outcomes of the multicentre PREVAIL transapical (TA) study of TA-aortic valve implantation (AVI) in high-risk patients. From September 2009 to August 2010, a total of 150 patients, aged 81.6 ± 5.8 years, 40.7% female, were included at 12 European TA-AVI experienced sites. Patients received 23 (n = 36), 26 (n = 57) and 29 mm (n = 57) second-generation SAPIEN XT™ (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA) valves. The mean logistic EuroSCORE was 24.3 ± 7.0, and mean Society Thoracic Surgeons score was 7.5 ± 4.4%. Survival was 91.3% at 30 days and 77.9% at 1 year. Subgroup analysis revealed survivals of 91.7/88.9, 86.0/70.2, 96.55/91.2% for patients receiving 23-, 26- and 29-mm valves at 30 days and at 1 year, respectively. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and low gradients. Aortic incompetence was none in 41/48, trace 30/36, mild 22/12 and moderate in 7/4% at discharge and 1 year. Walking distance increased from 221 (postimplant) to 284 m (at 1 year, P = 0.0004). Three patients required reoperation due to increasing aortic incompetence during follow-up. Causes of mortality at 1 year were cardiac (n = 7), stroke (n = 1) and others (n = 5). The European PREVAIL multicentre trial demonstrates good functionality and good outcomes for TA-AVI using the second-generation SAPIEN XT prosthesis and the ASCENDRA-II delivery system. The 29-mm SAPIEN XT valve was successfully introduced and showed excellent results.
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Rural/Nonrural Differences in College Attendance Patterns.
Byun, Soo-Yong; Irvin, Matthew J; Meece, Judith L
Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this study documented college attendance patterns of rural youth in terms of the selectivity of first postsecondary institution of attendance, the timing of transition to postsecondary education, and the continuity of enrollment. The study also examined how these college attendance patterns among rural students differed from those among their non-rural counterparts and which factors explained these rural/nonrural differences. Results showed that rural youth were less likely than their nonrural counterparts to attend a selective institution. In addition, rural youth were more likely to delay entry to postsecondary education, compared to their urban counterparts. Finally, rural students were less likely than their urban counterparts to be continuously enrolled in college. Much of these rural/nonrural disparities in college attendance patterns were explained by rural/nonrural differences in socioeconomic status and high school preparation. Policy implications, limitations of the study, and future research directions are also discussed.
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Das, Koyeli; Roy, Milan Chandra; Rajbanshi, Biplab; Roy, Mahendra Nath
2017-11-01
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of molecular interaction prevailing in tyrosine and tryptophan in aqueous solution of vitamin C have been probed by thermophysical properties. The apparent molar volume (ϕV), viscosity B-coefficient, molal refraction (RM) of tyrosine and tryptophan have been studied in aqueous vitamin C solutions at diverse temperatures via Masson equation which deduced solute-solvent and solute-solute interactions, respectively. Spectroscopic study along with physicochemical and computational techniques provides lots of interesting and highly significant insights of the model biological systems. The overall results established strong solute-solvent interactions between studied amino acids and vitamin C mixture in the ternary solutions.
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Body image dissatisfaction and dietary patterns according to nutritional status in adolescents
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Rita de Cássia Ribeiro‐Silva
2018-03-01
Conclusion: Amongst overweight/obese adolescents, those with slight and moderate body image dissatisfaction were less likely to follow a Western‐like dietary pattern when compared with those satisfied with their body image. Additionally, in this group, adolescents with high body image dissatisfaction was more likely to follow a restrictive pattern.
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Global empirical wind model for the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere. I. Prevailing wind
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Y. I. Portnyagin
Full Text Available An updated empirical climatic zonally averaged prevailing wind model for the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere (70-110 km, extending from 80°N to 80°S is presented. The model is constructed from the fitting of monthly mean winds from meteor radar and MF radar measurements at more than 40 stations, well distributed over the globe. The height-latitude contour plots of monthly mean zonal and meridional winds for all months of the year, and of annual mean wind, amplitudes and phases of annual and semiannual harmonics of wind variations are analyzed to reveal the main features of the seasonal variation of the global wind structures in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some results of comparison between the ground-based wind models and the space-based models are presented. It is shown that, with the exception of annual mean systematic bias between the zonal winds provided by the ground-based and space-based models, a good agreement between the models is observed. The possible origin of this bias is discussed.
Key words: Meteorology and Atmospheric dynamics (general circulation; middle atmosphere dynamics; thermospheric dynamics -
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mark P Miller
2010-10-01
Full Text Available Identifying causal relationships in phylogeographic and landscape genetic investigations is notoriously difficult, but can be facilitated by use of multispecies comparisons.We used data visualizations to identify common spatial patterns within single lineages of four taxa inhabiting Pacific Northwest forests (northern spotted owl: Strix occidentalis caurina; red tree vole: Arborimus longicaudus; southern torrent salamander: Rhyacotriton variegatus; and western white pine: Pinus monticola. Visualizations suggested that, despite occupying the same geographical region and habitats, species responded differently to prevailing historical processes. S. o. caurina and P. monticola demonstrated directional patterns of spatial genetic structure where genetic distances and diversity were greater in southern versus northern locales. A. longicaudus and R. variegatus displayed opposite patterns where genetic distances were greater in northern versus southern regions. Statistical analyses of directional patterns subsequently confirmed observations from visualizations. Based upon regional climatological history, we hypothesized that observed latitudinal patterns may have been produced by range expansions. Subsequent computer simulations confirmed that directional patterns can be produced by expansion events.We discuss phylogeographic hypotheses regarding historical processes that may have produced observed patterns. Inferential methods used here may become increasingly powerful as detailed simulations of organisms and historical scenarios become plausible. We further suggest that inter-specific comparisons of historical patterns take place prior to drawing conclusions regarding effects of current anthropogenic change within landscapes.
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CLAVATA3-like genes are differentially expressed in grape vine (Vitis vinifera) tissues.
Tominaga-Wada, Rumi; Nukumizu, Yuka; Wada, Takuji; Sawa, Shinichiro; Tetsumura, Takuya
2013-10-15
The CLAVATA3 (CLV3)/endosperm surrounding region [(ESR) CLE] peptides function as intercellular signaling molecules that regulate various physiological and developmental processes in diverse plant species. We identified five CLV3-like genes from grape vine (Vitis vinifera var. Pinot Noir): VvCLE 6, VvCLE 25-1, VvCLE 25-2, VvCLE 43 and VvCLE TDIF. These CLV3-like genes encode short proteins containing 43-128 amino acids. Except VvCLE TDIF, grape vine CLV3-like proteins possess a consensus amino acid sequence known as the CLE domain. Phylogenic analysis suggests that the VvCLE 6, VvCLE25-1, VvCLE25-2 and VvCLE43 genes have evolved from a single common ancestor to the Arabidopsis CLV3 gene. Expression analyses showed that the five grape CLV3-like genes are expressed in leaves, stems, roots and axillary buds with significant differences in their levels of expression. For example, while all of them were strongly expressed in axillary buds, VvCLE6 and VvCLE43 expression prevailed in roots, and VvCLE25-1, VvCLE25-2 and VvCLE TDIF expression in stems. The differential expression of the five grape CLV3-like peptides suggests that they play different roles in different organs and developmental stages. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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Is Birdsong More Like Speech or Music?
Shannon, Robert V
2016-04-01
Music and speech share many acoustic cues but not all are equally important. For example, harmonic pitch is essential for music but not for speech. When birds communicate is their song more like speech or music? A new study contrasting pitch and spectral patterns shows that birds perceive their song more like humans perceive speech. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Satellite-Derived Photic Depth on the Great Barrier Reef: Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Water Clarity
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Scarla Weeks
2012-11-01
Full Text Available Detecting changes to the transparency of the water column is critical for understanding the responses of marine organisms, such as corals, to light availability. Long-term patterns in water transparency determine geographical and depth distributions, while acute reductions cause short-term stress, potentially mortality and may increase the organisms’ vulnerability to other environmental stressors. Here, we investigated the optimal, operational algorithm for light attenuation through the water column across the scale of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR, Australia. We implemented and tested a quasi-analytical algorithm to determine the photic depth in GBR waters and matched regional Secchi depth (ZSD data to MODIS-Aqua (2002–2010 and SeaWiFS (1997–2010 satellite data. The results of the in situ ZSD/satellite data matchup showed a simple bias offset between the in situ and satellite retrievals. Using a Type II linear regression of log-transformed satellite and in situ data, we estimated ZSD and implemented the validated ZSD algorithm to generate a decadal satellite time series (2002–2012 for the GBR. Water clarity varied significantly in space and time. Seasonal effects were distinct, with lower values during the austral summer, most likely due to river runoff and increased vertical mixing, and a decline in water clarity between 2008–2012, reflecting a prevailing La Niña weather pattern. The decline in water clarity was most pronounced in the inshore area, where a significant decrease in mean inner shelf ZSD of 2.1 m (from 8.3 m to 6.2 m occurred over the decade. Empirical Orthogonal Function Analysis determined the dominance of Mode 1 (51.3%, with the greatest variation in water clarity along the mid-shelf, reflecting the strong influence of oceanic intrusions on the spatio-temporal patterns of water clarity. The newly developed photic depth product has many potential applications for the GBR from water quality monitoring to analyses of
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Lunar and solar daily variations of ionospheric electron content at Delhi
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bhuyan, P.K.; Tyagi, T.R.
1986-01-01
Ionospheric electron content measurements obtained at Delhi during the period 1975-1980 have been analysed by the Chapman-Miller method to compute lunar and solar daily variations. The results show that the magnitude of the lunar harmonic components is about one-tenth that of the solar harmonic components. Significant seasonal and solar cycle variations were observed for both the lunar and the solar terms. The lunar semi-diurnal component, the most significant term, can be explained as due to the additional 'fountain' effect caused by the lunar semi-diurnal variation of the electric field at the equatorial region. The lunar semi-diurnal variations were found to have significant oceanic and ionospheric components. (author)
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Debris thickness patterns on debris-covered glaciers
Anderson, Leif S.; Anderson, Robert S.
2018-06-01
Many debris-covered glaciers have broadly similar debris thickness patterns: surface debris thickens and tends to transition from convex- to concave-up-down glacier. We explain this pattern using theory (analytical and numerical models) paired with empirical observations. Down glacier debris thickening results from the conveyor-belt-like nature of the glacier surface in the ablation zone (debris can typically only be added but not removed) and from the inevitable decline in ice surface velocity toward the terminus. Down-glacier thickening of debris leads to the reduction of sub-debris melt and debris emergence toward the terminus. Convex-up debris thickness patterns occur near the up-glacier end of debris covers where debris emergence dominates (ablation controlled). Concave-up debris thickness patterns occur toward glacier termini where declining surface velocities dominate (velocity controlled). A convex-concave debris thickness profile inevitably results from the transition between ablation-control and velocity-control down-glacier. Debris thickness patterns deviating from this longitudinal shape are most likely caused by changes in hillslope debris supply through time. By establishing this expected debris thickness pattern, the effects of climate change on debris cover can be better identified.
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Bonfiglio, Robert A.
2009-01-01
Recognition of the promotion of self-reliance as a prevailing purpose of higher education in the United States can be found in many college and university mission statements. Student independence and self-determination are also long-standing staples of theories of student development. Returning home to live with mom and dad is not a goal that…
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Feng, Hao; Ou, Bao-Chi; Zhao, Jing-Kun; Yin, Shuai; Lu, Ai-Guo; Oechsle, Eva; Thasler, Wolfgang E
2017-09-01
Pancreatic cancer 3D in vitro models including multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS), single cell-derived tumor spheroid (SCTS), tissue-derived tumor spheroid, and organotypic models provided powerful platforms to mimic in vivo tumor. Recent work supports that circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters are more efficient in metastasis seeding than single CTCs. The purpose of this study is to establish 3D culture models which can mimic single CTC, monoclonal CTC clusters, and the expansion of macrometastases. Seven pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cell lines were used to establish MCTS and SCTS using hanging drop and ultra-low attachment plates. Spheroid immunofluorescence staining, spheroid formation assay, immunoblotting, and literature review were performed to investigate molecular biomarkers and the morphological characteristics of pancreatic tumor spheroids. Single cells experienced different growth patterns to form SCTS, like signet ring-like cells, blastula-like structures, and solid core spheroids. However, golf ball-like hollow spheroids could also be detected, especially when DanG and Capan-1 cells were cultivated with fibroblast-conditioned medium (p cell lines could also establish tumor spheroid with hanging drop plates by adding methylated cellulose. Tumor spheroids derived from pancreatic cancer cell line DanG possessed asymmetrically distributed proliferation center, immune-checkpoint properties. ß-catenin, Ki-67, and F-actin were active surrounding the crater-like structure distributing on the inner layer of viable rim cover of the spheroids, which was relevant to well-differentiated tumor cells. It is possible to establish 3D CTC cluster models from homogenous PDA cell lines using hanging drop and ultra-low attachment plates. PDA cell line displays its own intrinsic properties or heterogeneity. The mechanism of formation of the crater-like structure as well as golf ball-like structure needs further exploration.
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Dessup, Tommy; Coste, Christophe; Saint Jean, Michel
2017-01-01
We study the path toward equilibrium of pairs of solitary wave envelopes (bubbles) that modulate a regular zigzag pattern in an annular channel. We evidence that bubble pairs are metastable states, which spontaneously evolve toward a stable single bubble. We exhibit the concept of topological frustration of a bubble pair. A configuration is frustrated when the particles between the two bubbles are not organized in a modulated staggered row. For a nonfrustrated (NF) bubble pair configuration, the bubbles interaction is attractive, whereas it is repulsive for a frustrated (F) configuration. We describe a model of interacting solitary wave that provides all qualitative characteristics of the interaction force: It is attractive for NF systems and repulsive for F systems and decreases exponentially with the bubbles distance. Moreover, for NF systems, the bubbles come closer and eventually merge as a single bubble, in a coalescence process. We also evidence a collapse process, in which one bubble shrinks in favor of the other one, overcoming an energetic barrier in phase space. This process is relevant for both NF systems and F systems. In NF systems, the coalescence prevails at low temperature, whereas thermally activated jumps make the collapse prevail at high temperature. In F systems, the path toward equilibrium involves a collapse process regardless of the temperature.
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Kadota, Yasuhiro; Huang, Pin-Yao; Chien, Hsiao-Chiao; Chu, Po-Wei; Zimmerli, Laurent
2016-01-01
Plasma membrane-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as FLAGELLIN SENSING2 (FLS2), EF-TU RECEPTOR (EFR), and CHITIN ELICITOR RECEPTOR KINASE1 (CERK1) recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) to activate pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). A reverse genetics approach on genes responsive to the priming agent β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) revealed IMPAIRED OOMYCETE SUSCEPTIBILITY1 (IOS1) as a critical PTI player. Arabidopsis thaliana ios1 mutants were hypersusceptible to Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. Accordingly, ios1 mutants showed defective PTI responses, notably delayed upregulation of the PTI marker gene FLG22-INDUCED RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE1, reduced callose deposition, and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation upon MAMP treatment. Moreover, Arabidopsis lines overexpressing IOS1 were more resistant to bacteria and showed a primed PTI response. In vitro pull-down, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, coimmunoprecipitation, and mass spectrometry analyses supported the existence of complexes between the membrane-localized IOS1 and BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1-ASSOCIATED KINASE1 (BAK1)-dependent PRRs FLS2 and EFR, as well as with the BAK1-independent PRR CERK1. IOS1 also associated with BAK1 in a ligand-independent manner and positively regulated FLS2-BAK1 complex formation upon MAMP treatment. In addition, IOS1 was critical for chitin-mediated PTI. Finally, ios1 mutants were defective in BABA-induced resistance and priming. This work reveals IOS1 as a novel regulatory protein of FLS2-, EFR-, and CERK1-mediated signaling pathways that primes PTI activation. PMID:27317676
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Overspecification of colour, pattern, and size: Salience, absoluteness, and consistency
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Sammie eTarenskeen
2015-11-01
Full Text Available The rates of overspecification of colour, pattern, and size are compared, to investigate how salience and absoluteness contribute to the production of overspecification. Colour and pattern are absolute attributes, whereas size is relative and less salient. Additionally, a tendency towards consistent responses is assessed. Using a within-participants design, we find similar rates of colour and pattern overspecification, which are both higher than the rate of size overspecification. Using a between-participants design, however, we find similar rates of pattern and size overspecification, which are both lower than the rate of colour overspecification. This indicates that although many speakers are more likely to include colour than pattern (probably because colour is more salient, they may also treat pattern like colour due to a tendency towards consistency. We find no increase in size overspecification when the salience of size is increased, suggesting that speakers are more likely to include absolute than relative attributes. However, we do find an increase in size overspecification when mentioning the attributes is triggered, which again shows that speakers tend refer in a consistent manner, and that there are circumstances in which even size overspecification is frequently produced.
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Analysis on CT features of tumor-like gastric schwannomas
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhang Yu; Chen Jie
2011-01-01
Objective: To analyze CT imaging features of tumor-like gastric schwannomas. Methods: Ten patients with gastric schwannomas were retrospectively analyzed. All were scanned with pre-and pro-enhanced CT. Analysis of the CT findings included evaluation of the volume, number, location, contour, growth pattern, border, enhancement pattern, and enhancement grade as well as the presence of surface dimpling, integrity of overlying mucosa. All cases were confirmed by pathology. Results: In every case, simple tumor was present. The largest was about 5.7 cm in the diameter, the smallest was 2.3 cm. All tumors were round or oval, and one tumor was slightly lobulated. Endoluminal growth pattern was defined in two cases, exoluminal growth pattern was defined in one case, and a mixed growth pattern was noted in the rest. The borders of tumors were clear. In arterial phase, no visible enhancement was present in eight cases and mild enhancement in two cases. All cases were constantly enhanced in portal phase. Superficial ulcers were present in four cases. Conclusion: CT findings of tumor-like gastric schwannomas are distinctive to a certain degree. It can be used to guide clinical therapy. (authors)
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Chapman, M J; Orsoni, A; Robillard, P; Hounslow, N; Sponseller, C A; Giral, P
2014-05-01
Statin treatment may impair glucose homeostasis and increase the risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus, although this may depend on the statin, dose and patient population. We evaluated the effects of pitavastatin 4 mg/day on glucose homeostasis in patients with metabolic syndrome in the CAPITAIN trial. Findings were validated in a subset of patients enrolled in PREVAIL-US. Participants with a well defined metabolic syndrome phenotype were recruited to CAPITAIN to reduce the influence of confounding factors. Validation and comparison datasets were selected comprising phenotypically similar subsets of individuals enrolled in PREVAIL-US and treated with pitavastatin or pravastatin, respectively. Mean change from baseline in parameters of glucose homeostasis (fasting plasma glucose [FPG], glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c], insulin, quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index [QUICKI] and homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance [HOMA-IR]) and plasma lipid profile were assessed at 6 months (CAPITAIN) and 3 months (PREVAIL-US) after initiating treatment. In CAPITAIN (n = 12), no significant differences from baseline in HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR and QUICKI were observed at day 180 in patients treated with pitavastatin. A small (4%) increase in FPG from baseline to day 180 (P 0.05). Similar results were observed for pravastatin in the comparison dataset (n = 14). Other than a small change in FPG in the CAPITAIN study, neutral effects of pitavastatin on glucose homeostasis were observed in two cohorts of patients with metabolic syndrome, independent of its efficacy in reducing levels of atherogenic lipoproteins. The small number of patients and relatively short follow-up period represent limitations of the study. Nevertheless, these data suggest that statin-induced diabetogenesis may not represent a class effect.
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Anomalous Arctic surface wind patterns and their impacts on September sea ice minima and trend
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Bingyi Wu
2012-05-01
Full Text Available We used monthly mean surface wind data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Centers for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset during the period 1979–2010 to describe the first two patterns of Arctic surface wind variability by means of the complex vector empirical orthogonal function (CVEOF analysis. The first two patterns respectively account for 31 and 16% of its total anomalous kinetic energy. The leading pattern consists of the two subpatterns: the northern Laptev Sea (NLS pattern and the Arctic dipole (AD pattern. The second pattern contains the northern Kara Sea (NKS pattern and the central Arctic (CA pattern. Over the past two decades, the combined dynamical forcing of the first two patterns has contributed to Arctic September sea ice extent (SIE minima and its declining trend. September SIE minima are mainly associated with the negative phase of the AD pattern and the positive phase of the CA pattern during the summer (July to September season, and both phases coherently show an anomalous anticyclone over the Arctic Ocean. Wind patterns affect September SIE through their frequency and intensity. The negative trend in September SIE over the past two decades is associated with increased frequency and enhanced intensity of the CA pattern during the melting season from April to September. Thus, it cannot be simply attributed to the AD anomaly characterised by the second empirical orthogonal function mode of sea level pressure north of 70°N. The CA pattern exhibited interdecadal variability in the late 1990s, and an anomalous cyclone prevailed before 1997 and was then replaced by an anomalous anticyclone over the Arctic Ocean that is consistent with the rapid decline trend in September SIE. This paper provides an alternative way to identify the dominant patterns of climate variability and investigate their associated Arctic sea ice variability from a dynamical perspective. Indeed, this study
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Formation of quasistationary vortex and transient hole patterns through vortex merger
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ganesh, R.; Lee, J.K.
2002-01-01
Collection of point-like intense vortices arranged symmetrically outside of a uniform circular vortex patch, both enclosed in a free-slip circular boundary, are numerically time evolved for up to 10-15 patch turnover times. These patterns are found to merge with the patch by successively inducing nonlinear dispersive modes (V-states) on the surface of the patch, draw off fingers of vorticity (filamentation), trap the irrotational regions as the fingers symmetrize under the shear flow of the patch and point-like vortices (wave breaking) followed by the vortex-hole capture. While the hole patterns are observed to break up over several turnover periods the vortex patterns appear to evolve into quasistationary patterns for some cases of an initial number of point-like vortices N pv . The bounded V-states, filamentation, and vortex (hole) pattern formation are discussed in some detail and their possible connection to recently observed vortex 'crystals' is pointed out
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Sawa, Yoshiki; Takayama, Morimasa; Goto, Tsuyoshi; Takanashi, Shuichiro; Komiya, Tatsuhiko; Tobaru, Tetsuya; Maeda, Koichi; Kuratani, Toru; Sakata, Yasushi
2017-07-25
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been an alternative less invasive therapy for high-surgical risk/inoperable patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS) in Japan. We report 5-year outcomes of the first pivotal clinical trial of TAVR in Japan (PREVAIL JAPAN).Methods and Results:A total of 64 patients with AS who were considered unsuitable candidates for surgery were enrolled at 3 centers in Japan (mean age: 84.3±6.1 years, female: 65.6%, STS score: 9.0±4.5%). Transfemoral approach (TF) and transapical approach (TA) was performed in 37 patients and 27 patients, respectively. At 5 years, freedom from all-cause death was 52.7% (TF: 51.3%, TA: 56.3%). Risk of all stroke at 5-year was 15.8% (TF: 8.9%, TA: 25.5%) and risk of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events at 5 years was 58.0% (TF: 51.3%, TA: 69.2%). Mild or greater aortic regurgitation (AR) at 1 week was not associated with increased all-cause death at 5 years (69.1%) compared with none or trace AR (48.3%) (P=0.184). Patients with high STS score (>8) had higher mortality rate than those with low STS scores (≤8). The 5-year data from PREVAIL JAPAN show the clinical benefit of TAVR and suggest that balloon-expandable TAVR is an effective treatment option for Japanese patients with severe AS who are not suitable for surgery. (Funded by Edwards Lifesciences Limited; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01113983.).
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Kirillov, Sergei; Dmitrenko, Igor; Rysgaard, Søren; Babb, David; Toudal Pedersen, Leif; Ehn, Jens; Bendtsen, Jørgen; Barber, David
2017-11-01
In April 2015, an ice-tethered conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiler and a down-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were deployed from the landfast ice near the tidewater glacier terminus of the Flade Isblink Glacier in the Wandel Sea, NE Greenland. The 3-week time series showed that water dynamics and the thermohaline structure were modified considerably during a storm event on 22-24 April, when northerly winds exceeded 15 m s-1. The storm initiated downwelling-like water dynamics characterized by on-shore water transport in the surface (0-40 m) layer and compensating offshore flow at intermediate depths. After the storm, currents reversed in both layers, and the relaxation phase of downwelling lasted ˜ 4 days. Although current velocities did not exceed 5 cm s-1, the enhanced circulation during the storm caused cold turbid intrusions at 75-95 m depth, which are likely attributable to subglacial water from the Flade Isblink Ice Cap. It was also found that the semidiurnal periodicities in the temperature and salinity time series were associated with the lunar semidiurnal tidal flow. The vertical structure of tidal currents corresponded to the first baroclinic mode of the internal tide with a velocity minimum at ˜ 40 m. The tidal ellipses rotate in opposite directions above and below this depth and cause a divergence of tidal flow, which was observed to induce semidiurnal internal waves of about 3 m height at the front of the glacier terminus. Our findings provide evidence that shelf-basin interaction and tidal forcing can potentially modify coastal Wandel Sea waters even though they are isolated from the atmosphere by landfast sea ice almost year-round. The northerly storms over the continental slope cause an enhanced circulation facilitating a release of cold and turbid subglacial water to the shelf. The tidal flow may contribute to the removal of such water from the glacial terminus.
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Earth Tidal Controls on Basal Dynamics and Hydrology
Kulessa, B.; Hubbard, B. P.; Brown, G. H.; Becker, J.
2001-12-01
We appraise earth tidal forcing of coupled mechanical and hydrological processes beneath warm-based ice masses, which have to date been poorly documented but represent exciting phenomena that have important implications for future studies of glacier dynamics. Regular cycles in winter and early spring electrical self-potential (SP), water pressure (PW) and electrical conductivity (EC) were recorded at the bases of several boreholes drilled through Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland. Fourier power spectra of these data reflect the presence of diurnal and semi-diurnal cycles, and comparison with the earth tidal spectrum indicates that at least four components of the latter are visible in the borehole spectra: the luni-solar diurnal, the principal lunar diurnal, the principal solar semi-diurnal, and the principal lunar semi-diurnal. This correspondence suggests that earth tides exert a strong control over water flow at the bed of the glacier, at least during winter and early spring. We envisage a mechanism that involves earth-tide induced deformation of the bedrock and the unconsolidated sediments beneath the glacier, and to a certain extent probably also the overlying ice body. Basal water pockets, including those containing our sensors, located within these media are in turn also likely to be deformed periodically. We believe that PW gradients induced by such deformation may result in transient water flow and SPs in the pockets. Since PW and EC are typically out-of-phase, injection of waters of lower EC into the pockets during times of peak water flow is likely. Several lines of evidence suggest that such injection was caused by melting of the ice wall due to frictional heating, balancing creep closure which sustained some pockets through the winter. Further, the first annually-repeated post-winter reorganization event, termed the May event, may well be triggered by tidally-induced releases of waters from storage. This implies that the May event marks the opening of
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. Kirillov
2017-11-01
Full Text Available In April 2015, an ice-tethered conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD profiler and a down-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP were deployed from the landfast ice near the tidewater glacier terminus of the Flade Isblink Glacier in the Wandel Sea, NE Greenland. The 3-week time series showed that water dynamics and the thermohaline structure were modified considerably during a storm event on 22–24 April, when northerly winds exceeded 15 m s−1. The storm initiated downwelling-like water dynamics characterized by on-shore water transport in the surface (0–40 m layer and compensating offshore flow at intermediate depths. After the storm, currents reversed in both layers, and the relaxation phase of downwelling lasted ∼ 4 days. Although current velocities did not exceed 5 cm s−1, the enhanced circulation during the storm caused cold turbid intrusions at 75–95 m depth, which are likely attributable to subglacial water from the Flade Isblink Ice Cap. It was also found that the semidiurnal periodicities in the temperature and salinity time series were associated with the lunar semidiurnal tidal flow. The vertical structure of tidal currents corresponded to the first baroclinic mode of the internal tide with a velocity minimum at ∼ 40 m. The tidal ellipses rotate in opposite directions above and below this depth and cause a divergence of tidal flow, which was observed to induce semidiurnal internal waves of about 3 m height at the front of the glacier terminus. Our findings provide evidence that shelf–basin interaction and tidal forcing can potentially modify coastal Wandel Sea waters even though they are isolated from the atmosphere by landfast sea ice almost year-round. The northerly storms over the continental slope cause an enhanced circulation facilitating a release of cold and turbid subglacial water to the shelf. The tidal flow may contribute to the removal of such water from the glacial terminus.
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Forest harvest patterns on private lands in the Cascade Mountains, Washington, USA
Soulard, Christopher E.; Walker, Jessica; Griffith, Glenn E.
2017-01-01
Forests in Washington State generate substantial economic revenue from commercial timber harvesting on private lands. To investigate the rates, causes, and spatial and temporal patterns of forest harvest on private tracts throughout the Cascade Mountains, we relied on a new generation of annual land-use/land-cover (LULC) products created from the application of the Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC) algorithm to Landsat satellite imagery collected from 1985 to 2014. We calculated metrics of landscape pattern using patches of intact and harvested forest in each annual layer to identify changes throughout the time series. Patch dynamics revealed four distinct eras of logging trends that align with prevailing regulations and economic conditions. We used multiple logistic regression to determine the biophysical and anthropogenic factors that influence fine-scale selection of harvest stands in each time period. Results show that private lands forest cover became significantly reduced and more fragmented from 1985 to 2014. Variables linked to parameters of site conditions, location, climate, and vegetation greenness consistently distinguished harvest selection for each distinct era. This study demonstrates the utility of annual LULC data for investigating the underlying factors that influence land cover change.
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Forest Harvest Patterns on Private Lands in the Cascade Mountains, Washington, USA
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christopher E. Soulard
2017-10-01
Full Text Available Forests in Washington State generate substantial economic revenue from commercial timber harvesting on private lands. To investigate the rates, causes, and spatial and temporal patterns of forest harvest on private tracts throughout the Cascade Mountains, we relied on a new generation of annual land-use/land-cover (LULC products created from the application of the Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC algorithm to Landsat satellite imagery collected from 1985 to 2014. We calculated metrics of landscape pattern using patches of intact and harvested forest in each annual layer to identify changes throughout the time series. Patch dynamics revealed four distinct eras of logging trends that align with prevailing regulations and economic conditions. We used multiple logistic regression to determine the biophysical and anthropogenic factors that influence fine-scale selection of harvest stands in each time period. Results show that private lands forest cover became significantly reduced and more fragmented from 1985 to 2014. Variables linked to parameters of site conditions, location, climate, and vegetation greenness consistently distinguished harvest selection for each distinct era. This study demonstrates the utility of annual LULC data for investigating the underlying factors that influence land cover change.
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Why nature prevails over nurture in the making of the elite athlete.
Georgiades, Evelina; Klissouras, Vassilis; Baulch, Jamie; Wang, Guan; Pitsiladis, Yannis
2017-11-14
While the influence of nature (genes) and nurture (environment) on elite sporting performance remains difficult to precisely determine, the dismissal of either as a contributing factor to performance is unwarranted. It is accepted that a complex interaction of a combination of innumerable factors may mold a talented athlete into a champion. The prevailing view today is that understanding elite human performance will require the deciphering of two major sources of individual differences, genes and the environment. It is widely accepted that superior performers are endowed with a high genetic potential actualised through hard and prodigious effort. Heritability studies using the twin model have provided the basis to disentangle genetic and environmental factors that contribute to complex human traits and have paved the way to the detection of specific genes for elite sport performance. Yet, the heritability for most phenotypes essential to elite human performance is above 50% but below 100%, meaning that the environment is also important. Furthermore, individual differences can potentially also be explained not only by the impact of DNA sequence variation on biology and behaviour, but also by the effects of epigenetic changes which affect phenotype by modifying gene expression. Despite this complexity, the overwhelming and accumulating evidence, amounted through experimental research spanning almost two centuries, tips the balance in favour of nature in the "nature" and "nurture" debate. In other words, truly elite-level athletes are built - but only from those born with innate ability.
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Viscoelasticity and pattern formations in stock market indices
Gündüz, Güngör; Gündüz, Aydın
2017-06-01
The viscoelastic and thermodynamic properties of four stock indices, namely, DJI, Nasdaq-100, Nasdaq-Composite, and S&P were analyzed for a period of 30 years from 1986 to 2015. The asset values (or index) can be placed into Aristotelian `potentiality-actuality' framework by using scattering diagram. Thus, the index values can be transformed into vectorial forms in a scattering diagram, and each vector can be split into its horizontal and vertical components. According to viscoelastic theory, the horizontal component represents the conservative, and the vertical component represents the dissipative behavior. The related storage and the loss modulus of these components are determined and then work-like and heat-like terms are calculated. It is found that the change of storage and loss modulus with Wiener noise (W) exhibit interesting patterns. The loss modulus shows a featherlike pattern, whereas the storage modulus shows figurative man-like pattern. These patterns are formed due to branchings in the system and imply that stock indices do have a kind of `fine-order' which can be detected when the change of modulus values are plotted with respect to Wiener noise. In theoretical calculations it is shown that the tips of the featherlike patterns stay at negative W values, but get closer to W = 0 as the drift in the system increases. The shift of the tip point from W = 0 indicates that the price change involves higher number of positive Wiener number corrections than the negative Wiener. The work-like and heat-like terms also exhibit patterns but with different appearance than modulus patterns. The decisional changes of people are reflected as the arrows in the scattering diagram and the propagation path of these vectors resemble the path of crack propagation. The distribution of the angle between two subsequent vectors shows a peak at 90°, indicating that the path mostly obeys the crack path occurring in hard objects. Entropy mimics the Wiener noise in the evolution
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Foods, Nutrients, and Dietary Patterns: Interconnections and Implications for Dietary Guidelines12
Satija, Ambika; Hu, Frank B
2016-01-01
Dietary guidelines provide evidence-based statements on food choices to meet nutritional requirements and reduce the risk of prevailing chronic disease. They involve a substantial amount of research translation, and their implementation has important health consequences. Foods, however, are complex combinations of nutrients and other compounds that act synergistically within the food and across food combinations. In addition, the evidence base underpinning dietary guidelines accesses research that reflects different study designs, with inherent strengths and limitations. We propose a systematic approach for the review of evidence that begins with research on dietary patterns. This research will identify the combinations of foods that best protect, or appear deleterious to, health. Next, we suggest that evidence be sought from research that focuses on the effects of individual foods. Finally, nutrient-based research should be considered to explain the mechanisms by which these foods and dietary patterns exert their effects, take into account the effects of ingredients added to the food supply, and enable assessments of dietary sufficiency. The consideration of individual nutrients and food components (e.g., upper limits for saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium) provides important benchmarks for evaluating overall diet quality. The concepts of core and discretionary foods (nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor foods, respectively) enable distinctions between foods, and this has implications for the relation between food policy and food manufacturing. In summary, evidence supporting healthy dietary patterns provides the foundation for the development of dietary guidelines. Further reference to individual foods and nutrients follows from the foundation of healthy dietary patterns. PMID:27184272
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Beer, Tomasz M; Miller, Kurt; Tombal, Bertrand; Cella, David; Phung, De; Holmstrom, Stefan; Ivanescu, Cristina; Skaltsa, Konstantina; Naidoo, Shevani
2017-12-01
Our exploratory analysis examined the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (baseline and change over time) and clinical outcomes (overall survival [OS]/radiographic progression-free survival [rPFS]) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). HRQoL, OS and rPFS were assessed in phase III trials comparing enzalutamide with placebo in chemotherapy-naïve (PREVAIL; NCT01212991) or post-chemotherapy (AFFIRM; NCT00974311) mCRPC. HRQoL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P). Multivariate analyses evaluated the prognostic significance of baseline and time-dependent scores after adjusting for treatment and clinical/demographic variables. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) represented the hazard of rPFS or OS per minimally important difference (MID) score change in HRQoL variables. In baseline and time-dependent multivariate analyses, OS was independently associated with multiple HRQoL measures across both studies. In time-dependent analyses, a 10-point (upper bound of MID range) increase (improvement) in FACT-P total score was associated with reductions in mortality risk of 19% in AFFIRM (HR 0.81 [95% CI 0.78-0.84]) and 21% in PREVAIL (HR 0.79 [0.76-0.83]). For baseline analyses, a 10-point increase in FACT-P total score was associated with reductions in mortality risk of 12% (HR 0.88 [0.84-0.93]) and 10% (HR 0.90 [0.86-0.95]) in AFFIRM and PREVAIL, respectively. rPFS was associated with a subset of HRQoL domains in both studies. Several baseline HRQoL domains were prognostic for rPFS and OS in patients with mCRPC, and this association was maintained during treatment, indicating that changes in HRQoL are informative for patients' expected survival. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Modelling biomechanics of bark patterning in grasstrees.
Dale, Holly; Runions, Adam; Hobill, David; Prusinkiewicz, Przemyslaw
2014-09-01
Bark patterns are a visually important characteristic of trees, typically attributed to fractures occurring during secondary growth of the trunk and branches. An understanding of bark pattern formation has been hampered by insufficient information regarding the biomechanical properties of bark and the corresponding difficulties in faithfully modelling bark fractures using continuum mechanics. This study focuses on the genus Xanthorrhoea (grasstrees), which have an unusual bark-like structure composed of distinct leaf bases connected by sticky resin. Due to its discrete character, this structure is well suited for computational studies. A dynamic computational model of grasstree development was created. The model captures both the phyllotactic pattern of leaf bases during primary growth and the changes in the trunk's width during secondary growth. A biomechanical representation based on a system of masses connected by springs is used for the surface of the trunk, permitting the emergence of fractures during secondary growth to be simulated. The resulting fracture patterns were analysed statistically and compared with images of real trees. The model reproduces key features of grasstree bark patterns, including their variability, spanning elongated and reticulate forms. The patterns produced by the model have the same statistical character as those seen in real trees. The model was able to support the general hypothesis that the patterns observed in the grasstree bark-like layer may be explained in terms of mechanical fractures driven by secondary growth. Although the generality of the results is limited by the unusual structure of grasstree bark, it supports the hypothesis that bark pattern formation is primarily a biomechanical phenomenon.
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Kiefte-de Jong, J.C.; Vries, de J.H.M.; Bleeker, S.E.; Jaddoe, V.W.; Hofman, M.K.; Raat, H.; Moll, H.
2013-01-01
Determinants of a child's diet shortly after weaning and lactation have been relatively understudied. The aim of the present study was hence to identify common dietary patterns in toddlers and to explore parental and child indicators of these dietary patterns. The study was a population-based,
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasmussen, Simon B; Jensen, Søren B; Nielsen, Christoffer
2009-01-01
The innate antiviral response is initiated by pattern recognition receptors, which recognize viral pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Here we show that retinoic acid-inducible gene (RIG)-I-like receptors (RLRs) in cooperation with Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 is required for expression of type I...... interferons (IFNs) after infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV). Our work also identified RNase L as a critical component in IFN induction. Moreover, we found that TLR9 and RLRs activate distinct, as well as overlapping, intracellular signalling pathways. Thus, RLRs are important for recognition of HSV...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Quednau, B.M.; Galin, J.; Ledoux, X.; Crema, E.; Gebauer, B.; Hilscher, D.; Jahnke, U.; Jacquet, D.; Leray, S.; and others.
1996-01-01
The reactions 84 Kr+ 197 Au and 84 Kr+ nat U were studied at E/A=150 MeV employing the large-volume neutron multiplicity filter ORION at SATURNE. The observed correlations between the atomic number of projectile-like nuclei and neutron multiplicity indicate large excitation energies in the primary projectile- and target-like fragments. Angular correlations between the fission fragments of the U-like nucleus and the projectile-like fragments show a memory of the reaction plane, however no indications of spin effects are found. (author)
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Pattern formation by dewetting and evaporating sedimenting suspensions
Habibi, M.; Moller, P.; Fall, A.; Rafaï, S.; Bonn, D.
2012-01-01
Pattern formation from drying droplets containing sedimenting particles and dewetting of thin films of such suspensions was studied. The dewetting causes the formation of finger-like patterns near the contact line which leave behind a deposit of branches. We find that the strikingly low speed of
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Fambrini, Marco; Salvini, Mariangela; Pugliesi, Claudio
2017-03-01
The wild sunflower (Helianthus annuus) plants develop a highly branched form with numerous small flowering heads. The origin of a no branched sunflower, producing a single large head, has been a key event in the domestication process of this species. The interaction between hormonal factors and several genes organizes the initiation and outgrowth of axillary meristems (AMs). From sunflower, we have isolated two genes putatively involved in this process, LATERAL SUPPRESSOR (LS)-LIKE (Ha-LSL) and REGULATOR OF AXILLARY MERISTEM FORMATION (ROX)-LIKE (Ha-ROXL), encoding for a GRAS and a bHLH transcription factor (TF), respectively. Typical amino acid residues and phylogenetic analyses suggest that Ha-LSL and Ha-ROXL are the orthologs of the branching regulator LS and ROX/LAX1, involved in the growth habit of both dicot and monocot species. qRT-PCR analyses revealed a high accumulation of Ha-LSL transcripts in roots, vegetative shoots, and inflorescence shoots. By contrast, in internodal stems and young leaves, a lower amount of Ha-LSL transcripts was observed. A comparison of transcription patterns between Ha-LSL and Ha-ROXL revealed some analogies but also remarkable differences; in fact, the gene Ha-ROXL displayed a low expression level in all organs analyzed. In situ hybridization (ISH) analysis showed that Ha-ROXL transcription was strongly restricted to a small domain within the boundary zone separating the shoot apical meristem (SAM) and the leaf primordia and in restricted regions of the inflorescence meristem, beforehand the separation of floral bracts from disc flower primordia. These results suggested that Ha-ROXL may be involved to establish a cell niche for the initiation of AMs as well as flower primordia. The accumulation of Ha-LSL transcripts was not restricted to the boundary zones in vegetative and inflorescence shoots, but the mRNA activity was expanded in other cellular domains of primary shoot apical meristem as well as AMs. In addition, Ha
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Analysis of the Effect of Prevailing Weather Conditions on the Occurrence of Grain Dust Explosions.
Sanghi, Achint; Ambrose, R P Kingsly
2016-07-27
Grain dust explosions have been occurring in the U.S. for the past twenty years. In the past ten years, there have been an average of ten explosions a year, resulting in nine fatalities and 93 injuries. In more than half of these cases, the ignition source remains unidentified. The effect of ambient humidity on the likelihood of a dust explosion has been discussed for many years. However, no investigation into a possible link between the two has been carried out. In this study, we analyzed local weather data and grain dust explosions during the period 2006 to 2014 to measure potential relationships between the two events. The 84 analyzed explosions do not show any trend with regard to prevailing temperatures, or relative or absolute humidity. In addition, the ignition source could not be identified in 54 of the incidents. The majority of grain dust explosion incidents occurred at grain elevator facilities, where the dust generation potential was high compared with grain processing industries. Copyright© by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.
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Circadian Rhythms in Socializing Propensity
Zhang, Cheng; Phang, Chee Wei; Zeng, Xiaohua; Wang, Ximeng; Xu, Yunjie; Huang, Yun; Contractor, Noshir
2015-01-01
Using large-scale interaction data from a virtual world, we show that people’s propensity to socialize (forming new social connections) varies by hour of the day. We arrive at our results by longitudinally tracking people’s friend-adding activities in a virtual world. Specifically, we find that people are most likely to socialize during the evening, at approximately 8 p.m. and 12 a.m., and are least likely to do so in the morning, at approximately 8 a.m. Such patterns prevail on weekdays and weekends and are robust to variations in individual characteristics and geographical conditions. PMID:26353080
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Circadian Rhythms in Socializing Propensity.
Zhang, Cheng; Phang, Chee Wei; Zeng, Xiaohua; Wang, Ximeng; Xu, Yunjie; Huang, Yun; Contractor, Noshir
2015-01-01
Using large-scale interaction data from a virtual world, we show that people's propensity to socialize (forming new social connections) varies by hour of the day. We arrive at our results by longitudinally tracking people's friend-adding activities in a virtual world. Specifically, we find that people are most likely to socialize during the evening, at approximately 8 p.m. and 12 a.m., and are least likely to do so in the morning, at approximately 8 a.m. Such patterns prevail on weekdays and weekends and are robust to variations in individual characteristics and geographical conditions.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mohan, Kavya; Mondal, Partha Pratim, E-mail: partha@iap.iisc.ernet.in [Nanobioimaging Laboratory, Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India)
2016-06-15
We experimentally observed nano-channel-like pattern in a light-sheet based interference nanolithography system. The optical system created nano-channel-like patterned illumination. Coherent counter-propagating light sheets are made to interfere at and near geometrical focus along the propagation z-axis. This results in the formation of nano-channel-like pattern (of size ≈ 300 nm and inter-channel periodicity of ≈337.5 nm) inside the sample due to constructive and destructive interference. In addition, the technique has the ability to generate large area patterning using larger light-sheets. Exciting applications are in the broad field of nanotechnology (nano-electronics and nano-fluidics).
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Spatiotemporal Wave Patterns: Information Dynamics
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mikhail Rabinovich; Lev Tsimring
2006-01-20
Pattern formation has traditionally been studied in non-equilibrium physics from the viewpoint of describing the basic structures and their interactions. While this is still an important area of research, the emphasis in the last few years has shifted towards analysis of specific properties of patterns in various complex media. For example, diverse and unexpected phenomena occur in neuro-like media that are characterized by highly non-trivial local dynamics. We carried out an active research program on analysis of spatio-temporal patterns in various physical systems (convection, oscillating fluid layer, soap film), as well as in neuro-like media, with an emphasis on informational aspects of the dynamics. Nonlinear nonequilibrium media and their discrete analogs have a unique ability to represent, memorize, and process the information contained in spatio-temporal patterns. Recent neurophysiological experiments demonstrated a certain universality of spatio-temporal representation of information by neural ensembles. Information processing is also revealed in the spatio-temporal dynamics of cellular patterns in nonequilibrium media. It is extremely important for many applications to study the informational aspects of these dynamics, including the origins and mechanisms of information generation, propagation and storage. Some of our results are: the discovery of self-organization of periodically oscillatory patterns in chaotic heterogeneous media; the analysis of the propagation of the information along a chaotic media as function of the entropy of the signal; the analysis of wave propagation in discrete non-equilibrium media with autocatalytic properties, which simulates the calcium dynamics in cellular membranes. Based on biological experiments we suggest the mechanism by which the spatial sensory information is transferred into the spatio-temporal code in the neural media. We also found a new mechanism of self-pinning in cellular structures and the related phenomenon
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Pattern of seismic deformation in the Western Mediterranean
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. Pondrelli
1999-06-01
Full Text Available The seismic deformation of the Western Mediterranean was studied with the aim of defining the strain pattern that characterizes the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary in this area. Within different sections along the boundary the cumulative moment tensor was computed over 90 years of seismological data. The results were compared with NUVELlA plate motion model and geodetic data. A stable agreement was found along Northern Africa to Sicily, where only Africa and Eurasia plates are involved. In this zone it is evident that changes in the strike of the boundary correspond to variations in the prevailing geometry of deformation, tectonic features and in the percentage of seismic with respect to total expected deformation. The geometry of deformation of periadriatic sections (Central to Southern Apennines, Eastern Alps and the Eastern Adriatic area agrees well with VLBI measurements and with regional geological features. Seismicity seems to account for low rates, from 3% to 31%, of total expected deformation. Only in the Sicily Strait, characterized by extensional to strike slip deformation, does the ratio reach a higher value (79%. If the amount of deformation deduced from seismicity seems low, because 90 years are probably not representative of the recurrence seismic cycle of the Western Mediterranean, the strain pattern we obtain from cumulative moment tensors is more representative of the kinematics of this area than global plate motion models and better identifies lower scale geodynamic features.
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Stripe-like Clay Nanotubes Patterns in Glass Capillary Tubes for Capture of Tumor Cells.
Liu, Mingxian; He, Rui; Yang, Jing; Zhao, Wei; Zhou, Changren
2016-03-01
Here, we used capillary tubes to evaporate an aqueous dispersion of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) in a controlled manner to prepare a patterned surface with ordered alignment of the nanotubes . Sodium polystyrenesulfonate (PSS) was added to improve the surface charges of the tubes. An increased negative charge of HNTs is realized by PSS coating (from -26.1 mV to -52.2 mV). When the HNTs aqueous dispersion concentration is higher than 10%, liquid crystal phenomenon of the dispersion is found. A typical shear flow behavior and decreased viscosity upon shear is found when HNTs dispersions with concentrations higher than 10%. Upon drying the HNTs aqueous dispersion in capillary tubes, a regular pattern is formed in the wall of the tube. The width and spacing of the bands increase with HNTs dispersion concentration and decrease with the drying temperature for a given initial concentration. Morphology results show that an ordered alignment of HNTs is found especially for the sample of 10%. The patterned surface can be used as a model for preparing PDMS molding with regular micro-/nanostructure. Also, the HNTs rough surfaces can provide much higher tumor cell capture efficiency compared to blank glass surfaces. The HNTs ordered surfaces provide promising application for biomedical areas such as biosensors.
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Ripple/Carcinoid pattern sebaceoma with apocrine differentiation.
Misago, Noriyuki; Narisawa, Yutaka
2011-02-01
Sebaceoma is a benign sebaceous neoplasm, which has been reported to show characteristic growth patterns, such as, ripple, labyrinthine/sinusoidal, and carcinoid-like patterns. Another recent finding regarding in sebaceoma is the observation of apocrine differentiation within the sebaceoma lesion. This report describes a case of carcinoid (a partial ripple and labyrinthine) pattern sebaceoma with apocrine differentiation with a literature review and immunohistochemical studies. The various characteristic growth patterns in sebaceoma were suggested to simply be variations of the same growth pattern arranged in cords, namely, a unified term "ripple/carcinoid pattern." The primitive sebaceous germinative cells in sebaceoma may still have the ability to undergo apocrine differentiation. Most of the reports so far on sebaceoma with apocrine differentiation, including the present case, describe a ripple/carcinoid pattern, thus suggesting that ripple/carcinoid pattern sebaceoma is composed of more primitive sebaceous germinative cells than conventional sebaceoma.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vanderlei dos Santos
2010-01-01
Full Text Available The study aims to identify the types of analysis of Trompenaar's (1994 organizational culture prevailing in the area of controllership in family businesses in textile industry. Descriptive research was performed, with quantitative and qualitative approach, using a multiple case study. Data were collected through interviews with the controller of the companies. In the four basic culture types suggested by Trompenaars (1994, it is concluded that there isn´t a pure kind, but there is a strong presence of family culture among the companies surveyed in dimensions relationship between employees, attitude in relation to the ways of change, forms of motivation and reward
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Jabbour, Florian; Cossard, Guillaume; Le Guilloux, Martine; Sannier, Julie; Nadot, Sophie; Damerval, Catherine
2014-01-01
Floral bilateral symmetry (zygomorphy) has evolved several times independently in angiosperms from radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) ancestral states. Homologs of the Antirrhinum majus Cycloidea gene (Cyc) have been shown to control floral symmetry in diverse groups in core eudicots. In the basal eudicot family Ranunculaceae, there is a single evolutionary transition from actinomorphy to zygomorphy in the stem lineage of the tribe Delphinieae. We characterized Cyc homologs in 18 genera of Ranunculaceae, including the four genera of Delphinieae, in a sampling that represents the floral morphological diversity of this tribe, and reconstructed the evolutionary history of this gene family in Ranunculaceae. Within each of the two RanaCyL (Ranunculaceae Cycloidea-like) lineages previously identified, an additional duplication possibly predating the emergence of the Delphinieae was found, resulting in up to four gene copies in zygomorphic species. Expression analyses indicate that the RanaCyL paralogs are expressed early in floral buds and that the duration of their expression varies between species and paralog class. At most one RanaCyL paralog was expressed during the late stages of floral development in the actinomorphic species studied whereas all paralogs from the zygomorphic species were expressed, composing a species-specific identity code for perianth organs. The contrasted asymmetric patterns of expression observed in the two zygomorphic species is discussed in relation to their distinct perianth architecture.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Florian Jabbour
Full Text Available Floral bilateral symmetry (zygomorphy has evolved several times independently in angiosperms from radially symmetrical (actinomorphic ancestral states. Homologs of the Antirrhinum majus Cycloidea gene (Cyc have been shown to control floral symmetry in diverse groups in core eudicots. In the basal eudicot family Ranunculaceae, there is a single evolutionary transition from actinomorphy to zygomorphy in the stem lineage of the tribe Delphinieae. We characterized Cyc homologs in 18 genera of Ranunculaceae, including the four genera of Delphinieae, in a sampling that represents the floral morphological diversity of this tribe, and reconstructed the evolutionary history of this gene family in Ranunculaceae. Within each of the two RanaCyL (Ranunculaceae Cycloidea-like lineages previously identified, an additional duplication possibly predating the emergence of the Delphinieae was found, resulting in up to four gene copies in zygomorphic species. Expression analyses indicate that the RanaCyL paralogs are expressed early in floral buds and that the duration of their expression varies between species and paralog class. At most one RanaCyL paralog was expressed during the late stages of floral development in the actinomorphic species studied whereas all paralogs from the zygomorphic species were expressed, composing a species-specific identity code for perianth organs. The contrasted asymmetric patterns of expression observed in the two zygomorphic species is discussed in relation to their distinct perianth architecture.
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Flejou, J F; Bahame, P; Smith, A C; Stockbrugger, R W; Rode, J; Price, A B
1989-01-01
Gastric biopsies from 86 patients with pernicious anaemia were examined for Campylobacter like organisms with particular attention to those showing an antral gastritis in addition to the usual pattern of body gastritis. All the patients had chronic atrophic gastritis in the body but Campylobacter like organisms were found at this site in only three patients. Thus the Type A pattern of gastritis (autoimmune) seen in patients with pernicious anaemia is only rarely associated with Campylobacter like organisms. Forty four of these patients had biopsies from body and antrum, 16 showed an antral gastritis of whom only one had Campylobacter like organism present. Twenty five of this latter group of patients were rebiopsied after five years. There was no change in the pattern of gastritis, and the same single patient remained colonised. The frequency of an antral gastritis in patients with pernicious anaemia was 36% yet the frequency of antral colonisation by Campylobacter like organisms was very low (6%). These results show that, as in the body, Campylobacter like organisms are not associated with gastritis when it occurs at this site in pernicious anaemia. The antral gastritis that may accompany body gastritis in pernicious anaemia seems more likely therefore to be an extension of primary type A body gastritis (autoimmune) rather than a secondary type B (chronic) gastritis and, it is argued, the antrum may exhibit resistance to colonisation. PMID:2920929
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Centler, Florian; Thullner, Martin
2015-01-01
Substrate competition is a common mode of microbial interaction in natural environments. While growth properties play an important and well-studied role in competition, we here focus on the influence of motility. In a simulated two-strain community populating a homogeneous two-dimensional environment, strains competed for a common substrate and only differed in their chemotactic preference, either responding more sensitively to a chemoattractant excreted by themselves or responding more sensitively to substrate. Starting from homogeneous distributions, three possible behaviors were observed depending on the competitors' chemotactic preferences: (i) distributions remained homogeneous, (ii) patterns formed but dissolved at a later time point, resulting in a shifted community composition, and (iii) patterns emerged and led to the extinction of one strain. When patterns formed, the more aggregating strain populated the core of microbial aggregates where starving conditions prevailed, while the less aggregating strain populated the more productive zones at the fringe or outside aggregates, leading to a competitive advantage of the less aggregating strain. The presence of a competitor was found to modulate a strain's behavior, either suppressing or promoting aggregate formation. This observation provides a potential mechanism by which an aggregated lifestyle might evolve even if it is initially disadvantageous. Adverse effects can be avoided as a competitor hinders aggregate formation by a strain which has just acquired this ability. The presented results highlight both, the importance of microbial motility for competition and pattern formation, and the importance of the temporal evolution, or history, of microbial communities when trying to explain an observed distribution.
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Co-creation, Prevailing Streams and a Future Design Trajectory
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Degnegaard, Rex
2014-01-01
of the literature on co-creation to explore what the existing literature relates to and indeed to pinpoint if any patterns or streams can be identified. The paper illustrates how the use of the concept of co-creation suggests a necessity for focusing further on specific co-creation-related issues and challenges...... of significance to business and society. The paper highlights new co-creation-related issues and challenges. Further, the paper crystallises an emerging design trajectory in theory and practice....
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Morton, Y.T.
1991-01-01
This thesis uses data accumulated during 1980-1989 by the Arecibo incoherent scatter radar to study the behavior and physics of ionization irregularities. Low latitude ionization irregularities, known as sporadic-E and intermediate layers, undergo a regular daily descent, convergence, and dumping of ion layers controlled by the neutral tidal wind. A useful way of studying ion layers and their motion is by ion layer trajectory maps which consist of points representing the altitude and time of ionization layers. Two types of maps were used which assigned either a uniform layer intensity or a gray level/pseudo-color to indicate different layer intensities. Important aspects of layer formation are revealed by map analysis. During January, intermediate layers consistently appeared four times per day instead of the normal twice per day pattern. Simulation of ion trajectories based on the ion momentum equation, which includes both Lorentzian and collisional forces, shows that a combination of diurnal, semidiurnal, and six-hour tides is necessary for such a feature to exist, whereas only diurnal and semidiurnal tides are needed to create the normal pattern. The six-hour period tide has not been previously reported. Extra or irregular layers appear frequently in layer trajectory maps, which can be simulated by the addition of gravity waves to the regular tidal wind system. Electric field effects are normally not a factor in low latitude ion layer formation because they are relatively weak and not commonly observed. Layer configurations during a geomagnetic storm, however, indicate that the electric field played an important role in controlling ion motion
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Flejou, J F; Bahame, P; Smith, A C; Stockbrugger, R W; Rode, J; Price, A B
1989-01-01
Gastric biopsies from 86 patients with pernicious anaemia were examined for Campylobacter like organisms with particular attention to those showing an antral gastritis in addition to the usual pattern of body gastritis. All the patients had chronic atrophic gastritis in the body but Campylobacter like organisms were found at this site in only three patients. Thus the Type A pattern of gastritis (autoimmune) seen in patients with pernicious anaemia is only rarely associated with Campylobacter ...
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Dermatoglyphic patterns in type 2 diabetes mellitus | Sehmi ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Dermatoglyphics is the study of epidermal ridge patterns on the palm, fingers, sole and toes. They are genetically determined and are useful in diagnosis of various genetic diseases like Diabetes mellitus. There are three types of fingerprint patterns: Arches, loops and whorls. Finger prints of both hands are not same and ...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Burrage, M.D.; Storz, M.F.; Abreu, V.J.; Fesen, C.G.; Roble, R.G.
1991-01-01
Equatorial thermospheric tidal temperatures and densities inferred from Atmosphere Explorer E (AE-E) mass spectrometer data are compared with theoretical predictions from the National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere/Ionisphere General Circulation Model (TIGCM) for solar minimum, solstice conditions. The thermospheric diurnal and semidiurnal tides are excited in situ by solar heating and by ion-neutral momentum coupling. Semidiurnal tides are also generated by upward propagating waves excited by heating in the lower atmosphere. The model calculations include all of these sources. The TIGCM reproduces the gross tidal features observed by the satellite, including the midnight temperature anomaly, and the diurnal phases are in good agreement for the densities of atomic oxygen and molecular nitrogen. However, for the neutral temperature, the predicted phases are 1-2 hours earlier than observed. In addition, the diurnal temperature and density amplitudes predicted by the model are considerably weaker than indicated by the AE-E measurements. The semidiurnal variations found in the observations agree well with the model for December solstice but not for June. The present results indicate that upward propagating tides from the lower atmosphere are responsible for at least half of the amplitude of the semidiurnal tide in the upper thermosphere
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32nm and below logic patterning using optimized illumination and double patterning
Smayling, Michael C.; Axelrad, Valery
2009-03-01
Line/space dimensions for 32nm generation logic are expected to be ~45-50nm at ~90-100nm pitch. It is likely that the node will begin at the upper end of the range, and then shrink by ~10% to a "28nm" node. For the lower end of the range, even with immersion scanners, the Rayleigh k1 factor is below 0.32. The 22nm logic node should begin with minimum pitches of approximately 70nm, requiring some form of double patterning to maintain k1 above 0.25. Logic patterning has been more difficult than NAND Flash patterning because random logic was designed with complete "freedom" compared to the very regular patterns used in memory. The logic layouts with bends and multiple pitches resulted in larger rules, un-optimized illumination, and a poorly understood process windows with little control of context-dependent "hot spots."[1] The introduction of logic design styles which use strictly one-directional lines for the critical levels now gives the opportunity for illumination optimization. Gridded Design Rules (GDR) have been demonstrated to give areacompetitive layouts at existing 90, 65, and 45nm logic nodes while reducing CD variability.[2] These benefits can be extended to <=32nm logic using selective double pass patterning.
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Jomah, N D; Ojo, J F; Odigie, E A; Olugasa, B O
2014-12-01
The post-civil war records of dog bite injuries (DBI) and rabies-like-illness (RLI) among humans in Liberia is a vital epidemiological resource for developing a predictive model to guide the allocation of resources towards human rabies control. Whereas DBI and RLI are high, they are largely under-reported. The objective of this study was to develop a time model of the case-pattern and apply it to derive predictors of time-trend point distribution of DBI-RLI cases. A retrospective 6 years data of DBI distribution among humans countrywide were converted to quarterly series using a transformation technique of Minimizing Squared First Difference statistic. The generated dataset was used to train a time-trend model of the DBI-RLI syndrome in Liberia. An additive detenninistic time-trend model was selected due to its performance compared to multiplication model of trend and seasonal movement. Parameter predictors were run on least square method to predict DBI cases for a prospective 4 years period, covering 2014-2017. The two-stage predictive model of DBI case-pattern between 2014 and 2017 was characterised by a uniform upward trend within Liberia's coastal and hinterland Counties over the forecast period. This paper describes a translational application of the time-trend distribution pattern of DBI epidemics, 2008-2013 reported in Liberia, on which a predictive model was developed. A computationally feasible two-stage time-trend permutation approach is proposed to estimate the time-trend parameters and conduct predictive inference on DBI-RLI in Liberia.
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Seasonal and daily variation of radon at 10 m depth in borehole, Garhwal Lesser Himalaya, India
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Choubey, V.M., E-mail: vchoubey@wihg.res.i [Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33, General Mahadeo Singh Road, Dehradun-248001 (India); Arora, B.R. [Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33, General Mahadeo Singh Road, Dehradun-248001 (India); Barbosa, S.M. [University of Lisbon, IDL, Campo Grande, Edificio C8, 1749-016 Lisboa (Portugal); Kumar, Naresh; Kamra, Leena [Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33, General Mahadeo Singh Road, Dehradun-248001 (India)
2011-07-15
Mostly accepted and widely reported radon (Rn{sup 222}) measurements, a tool for earthquake precursor research, is a part of multi-parametric geophysical observation in the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya for earthquake related studies. Radon is being recorded continuously at an interval of 15 min at 10 m depth in a 68 m deep borehole. Three years high resolution 15 min data at 10 m depth shows a complex trend and has a strong seasonal effect along with some diurnal, semi-diurnal and multi-day recurring trends. A well-defined seasonal pattern is prominent with a high emanation in summer and low values in winter accounting for about a 30% decrease in count values in winter when the atmospheric temperature is very low at this station located 1.90 km above mean sea level. Diurnal, semi-diurnal and multi-day trends in this time-series are mainly observed during April-May and October-November. This is the period of spring and autumn when there is a high contrast in day-night atmospheric temperature. Hence the high fluctuation in Rn concentration is mainly caused by the temperature contrast between the air-column inside the borehole and the atmosphere above the earth's surface.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. J. López-González
2005-12-01
Full Text Available Airglow observations with a Spectral Airglow Temperature Imager (SATI, installed at the Sierra Nevada Observatory (37.06° N, 3.38° W at 2900-m height, have been used to investigate the presence of tidal variations at mid-latitudes in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere region. Diurnal variations of the column emission rate and vertically averaged temperature of the O2 Atmospheric (0-1 band and of the OH Meinel (6-2 band from 5 years (1998-2003 of observations have been analysed. From these observations a clear tidal variation of both emission rates and rotational temperatures is inferred. It is found that the amplitude of the daily variation for both emission rates and temperatures is greater from late autumn to spring than during summer. The amplitude decreases by more than a factor of two during summer and early autumn with respect to the amplitude in the winter-spring months. Although the tidal modulations are preferentially semidiurnal in both rotational temperatures and emission rates during the whole year, during early spring the tidal modulations seem to be more consistent with a diurnal modulation in both rotational temperatures and emission rates. Moreover, the OH emission rate from late autumn to early winter has a pattern suggesting both diurnal and semidiurnal tidal modulations.
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Evans, Christopher P; Higano, Celestia S; Keane, Thomas; Andriole, Gerald; Saad, Fred; Iversen, Peter; Miller, Kurt; Kim, Choung-Soo; Kimura, Go; Armstrong, Andrew J; Sternberg, Cora N; Loriot, Yohann; de Bono, Johann; Noonberg, Sarah B; Mansbach, Hank; Bhattacharya, Suman; Perabo, Frank; Beer, Tomasz M; Tombal, Bertrand
2016-10-01
Enzalutamide, an oral androgen receptor inhibitor, significantly improved overall survival (OS) and radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) versus placebo in the PREVAIL trial of men with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. To assess the effects of enzalutamide versus placebo in patients from PREVAIL based on site and extent of baseline disease. One thousand seven hundred and seventeen asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic patients were randomized to enzalutamide (n=872) or placebo (n=845). Subgroup analyses included nonvisceral (only bone and/or nodal; n=1513), visceral (lung and/or liver; n=204), low-volume bone disease (1 in patients with visceral disease (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.55-1.23). Enzalutamide was well tolerated in patients with or without visceral disease. Enzalutamide provided clinically significant benefits in men with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, with or without visceral disease, low- or high-volume bone disease, or lymph node only disease. Patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer-including those with or without visceral disease or widespread bone disease-benefitted from enzalutamide, an active well-tolerated therapy. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Song, Jiangning; Li, Fuyi; Takemoto, Kazuhiro; Haffari, Gholamreza; Akutsu, Tatsuya; Chou, Kuo-Chen; Webb, Geoffrey I
2018-04-14
Determining the catalytic residues in an enzyme is critical to our understanding the relationship between protein sequence, structure, function, and enhancing our ability to design novel enzymes and their inhibitors. Although many enzymes have been sequenced, and their primary and tertiary structures determined, experimental methods for enzyme functional characterization lag behind. Because experimental methods used for identifying catalytic residues are resource- and labor-intensive, computational approaches have considerable value and are highly desirable for their ability to complement experimental studies in identifying catalytic residues and helping to bridge the sequence-structure-function gap. In this study, we describe a new computational method called PREvaIL for predicting enzyme catalytic residues. This method was developed by leveraging a comprehensive set of informative features extracted from multiple levels, including sequence, structure, and residue-contact network, in a random forest machine-learning framework. Extensive benchmarking experiments on eight different datasets based on 10-fold cross-validation and independent tests, as well as side-by-side performance comparisons with seven modern sequence- and structure-based methods, showed that PREvaIL achieved competitive predictive performance, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the precision-recall curve ranging from 0.896 to 0.973 and from 0.294 to 0.523, respectively. We demonstrated that this method was able to capture useful signals arising from different levels, leveraging such differential but useful types of features and allowing us to significantly improve the performance of catalytic residue prediction. We believe that this new method can be utilized as a valuable tool for both understanding the complex sequence-structure-function relationships of proteins and facilitating the characterization of novel enzymes lacking functional annotations
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Huijsmans, D.P.
1982-01-01
The aim of this research was to distinguish as accurately as possible between two mechanisms behind a half-daily variation in detected numbers of neutrons and mesons in the secondary cosmic ray particles at sea level. These two mechanisms are due to air pressure variations at sea level and affect the number of primary particles with a certain arrival direction. The distribution among arrival directions in the ecliptic plane varies if a gradient exists in the guiding centre density of primaries in directions perpendicular to the neutral sheet. Chapter 2 is devoted to the calculation of a physically and statistically justifiable determination of the barometric coefficient for neutron measurements and air pressures. Chapter 3 deals with the estimation of atmospheric correction coefficients for the elimination of the influence of changing atmospheric conditions on the number of detected mesons. For mesons the variation of total mass, and also the variations in mass-distribution along the trajectory of the mesons are important. After correction for atmospheric variations using the resulting atmospheric correction coefficients from chapter 2 and 3, the influence of the structure of the interplanetary magnetic field near the earth is examined in chapter 4. 0inally, in chapter 5, a power spectral analysis of variations in corrected intensities of neutrons and mesons is carried out. Such an analysis distinguishes the variance of a time series into contributions within small frequency intervals. From the power spectra of variations on a yearly basis, a statistically fundamented judgement can be given as to the significance of the semi-diurnal variation during the different phases of the solar magnetic activity cycle. (Auth.)
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KARAKTERISTIK HIDRODINAMIKA DI PERAIRAN TELUK AMBON UNTUK MENDUKUNG WISATA SELAM
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Koko Ondara
2017-05-01
Hydrodynamic Module is used to simulate tidal and current patterns that are used as input in the wave spectral module MIKE 21. From the data obtained, the tidal type of Ambon Bay waters is mixed tide prevailing semidiurnal based on Formzahl value 0. 0602 which obtained from the diurnal and semidiurnal major tide component calculation, Mean Sea Level is 124.76 cm, Zo is 148.72 cm and the value of Chart Datum is -23.96 cm. Current speed ranged from 0009-1463 m/s while the significant wave height ranged from 0-0.00279 m. Ambon Bay hydrodynamic conditions are calm and not too volatile, fortunately supportive in marine tourism activities of SS.Aquila site. Keywords: Currents, Hydrodynamics, SS. Aquila, Tides
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Consumption of processed food dietary patterns in four African populations.
Holmes, Michelle D; Dalal, Shona; Sewram, Vikash; Diamond, Megan B; Adebamowo, Sally N; Ajayi, Ikeoluwapo O; Adebamowo, Clement; Chiwanga, Faraja S; Njelekela, Marina; Laurence, Carien; Volmink, Jimmy; Bajunirwe, Francis; Nankya-Mutyoba, Joan; Guwatudde, David; Reid, Todd G; Willett, Walter C; Adami, Hans-Olov; Fung, Teresa T
2018-06-01
To identify predominant dietary patterns in four African populations and examine their association with obesity. Cross-sectional study.Setting/SubjectsWe used data from the Africa/Harvard School of Public Health Partnership for Cohort Research and Training (PaCT) pilot study established to investigate the feasibility of a multi-country longitudinal study of non-communicable chronic disease in sub-Saharan Africa. We applied principal component analysis to dietary intake data collected from an FFQ developed for PaCT to ascertain dietary patterns in Tanzania, South Africa, and peri-urban and rural Uganda. The sample consisted of 444 women and 294 men. We identified two dietary patterns: the Mixed Diet pattern characterized by high intakes of unprocessed foods such as vegetables and fresh fish, but also cold cuts and refined grains; and the Processed Diet pattern characterized by high intakes of salad dressing, cold cuts and sweets. Women in the highest tertile of the Processed Diet pattern score were 3·00 times more likely to be overweight (95 % CI 1·66, 5·45; prevalence=74 %) and 4·24 times more likely to be obese (95 % CI 2·23, 8·05; prevalence=44 %) than women in this pattern's lowest tertile (both Pobesity. We identified two major dietary patterns in several African populations, a Mixed Diet pattern and a Processed Diet pattern. The Processed Diet pattern was associated with obesity.
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Ultrastructural findings in noncompaction prevail with neuromuscular disorders.
Finsterer, Josef; Stöllberger, Claudia
2013-01-01
Little is known about the ultrastructural abnormalities of left ventricular hypertrabeculation/noncompaction (LVHT). This literature review aimed to summarize and discuss ultrastructural abnormalities described in LVHT so far. The literature search was conducted via MEDLINE using the search terms 'non-compaction', 'noncompaction', 'left ventricular hypertrabeculation', 'spongy myocardium' in combination with the terms 'ultra-structural', or 'electron microscopy'. Altogether, 11 studies reporting ultrastructural investigations of LVHT were retrieved. In these 11 studies, data on 13 patients with LVHT were presented. Ultrastructural abnormalities found in these study patients were generally nonspecific and included an increase in the number of mitochondria (n = 3), abnormally shaped mitochondria (n = 2), distorted cristae (n = 3), sarcomeric derangement (n = 3), immature cardiomyocytes (n = 1), lipid-like inclusions (n = 1), enlarged interstitial spaces (n = 1), increased interstitial collagen (n = 1), or increased glycogen (n = 1). The morphological abnormalities were most prominent in patients with a neuromuscular disorder like Barth syndrome or mitochondrial myopathy. Only in few patients with LVHT, ultrastructural investigations have been performed so far. Ultrastructural abnormalities in LVHT are nonspecific and most prominent in patients with a neuromuscular disorder. There is a strong need to carry out thorough ultrastructural investigations of LVHT to contribute to the understanding of this still unexplained myocardial abnormality.
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Decoherence patterns of topological qubits from Majorana modes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ho, Shih-Hao; Chao, Sung-Po; Chou, Chung-Hsien; Lin, Feng-Li
2014-01-01
We investigate the decoherence patterns of topological qubits in contact with the environment using a novel way of deriving the open system dynamics, rather than using the Feynman–Vernon approach. Each topological qubit is made up of two Majorana modes of a 1D Kitaev chain. These two Majorana modes interact with the environment in an incoherent way which yields peculiar decoherence patterns of the topological qubit. More specifically, we consider the open system dynamics of topological qubits which are weakly coupled to fermionic/bosonic Ohmic-like environments. We find atypical patterns of quantum decoherence. In contrast to the case for non-topological qubits—which always decohere completely in all Ohmic-like environments—topological qubits decohere completely in Ohmic and sub-Ohmic environments but not in super-Ohmic ones. Moreover, we find that the fermion parities of the topological qubits, though they cannot prevent the qubit states from exhibiting decoherence in sub-Ohmic environments, can prevent thermalization turning the state into a Gibbs state. We also study the cases in which each Majorana mode can couple to different Ohmic-like environments, and the time dependence of concurrence for two topological qubits. (paper)
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Appreciation of the nature of light demands enhancement over the prevailing scientific epistemology
Roychoudhuri, Chandrasekhar
2011-09-01
Based on attempts to resolve the problem of various self contradictory assumptions behind the prevailing belief on single photon interference, we have analyzed the process steps behind our experimental measurements and named the process as the Interaction Process Mapping Epistemology (IPM-E). This has helped us recognize that the quantum mechanical Measurement Problem has a much universal and deeper root in nature. Our scientific theorization process suffers from a Perpetual Information Challenge (PIC), which cannot be overcome by elegant and/or sophisticated mathematical theories alone. Iterative imaginative application of IPM-E needs to be used as a metaphorical analytical continuation to fill up the missing information gaps. IPM-E has also guided us to recognize the generic NIW-principle (Non-Interaction of Waves) in the linear domain, not explicitly recognized in current books and literature. Superposition effects become manifest through light-matter interactions. Detecting dipoles gets stimulated by multiple superposed beams; it sums the simultaneous multiple stimulations into a single resultant undulation, which then guides the resultant energy exchange. The consequent transformation in the detector corresponds to observed fringes. They neither represent interference of light; nor represent selective arrival or non-arrival of photons on the detector. Photons do not possess any force of mutual interaction to generate their redistribution. Implementation of IPM-E requires us to recognize our subjective interpretation propensity with which we are burdened due to our evolutionary successes.
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Pelliccia, Francesco; Trani, Carlo; Biondi-Zoccai, Giuseppe G L; Nazzaro, Marco; Berni, Andrea; Patti, Giuseppe; Patrizi, Roberto; Pironi, Bruno; Mazzarotto, Pietro; Gioffrè, Gaetano; Speciale, Giulio; Pristipino, Christian
2012-09-15
It remains undefined if transradial coronary angiography from a right or left radial arterial approach differs in real-world practice. To address this issue, we performed a subanalysis of the PREVAIL study. The PREVAIL study was a prospective, multicenter, observational survey of unselected consecutive patients undergoing invasive cardiovascular procedures over a 1-month observation period, specifically aimed at assessing the outcomes of radial approach in the contemporary real world. The choice of arterial approach was left to the discretion of the operator. Prespecified end points of this subanalysis were procedural characteristics. Of 1,052 patients consecutively enrolled, 509 patients underwent transradial catheterization, 304 with a right radial and 205 with a left radial approach. Procedural success rates were similar between the 2 groups. Compared to the left radial group, the right radial group had longer procedure duration (46 ± 29 vs 33 ± 24 minutes, p <0.0001) and fluoroscopy time (765 ± 787 vs 533 ± 502, p <0.0001). At multivariate analysis, including a parsimonious propensity score for the choice of left radial approach, duration of procedure (beta coefficient 11.38, p <0.001) and total dose-area product (beta coefficient 11.38, p <0.001) were independently associated with the choice of the left radial artery approach. The operator's proficiency in right/left radial approach did not influence study results. In conclusion, right and left radial approaches are feasible and effective to perform percutaneous procedures. In the contemporary real world, however, the left radial route is associated with shorter procedures and lower radiologic exposure than the right radial approach, independently of an operator's proficiency. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Automatic transcription of continuous speech into syllable-like units ...
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
style HMM models are generated for each of the clusters during training. During testing .... manual segmentation at syllable-like units followed by isolated style recognition of continu- ous speech ..... obtaining demisyllabic reference patterns.
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Auger, J.-C.; Fernandes, G. E.; Aptowicz, K. B.; Pan, Y.-L.; Chang, R. K.
2010-04-01
The relation between the surface roughness of aerosol particles and the appearance of island-like features in their angle-resolved elastic-light scattering patterns is investigated both experimentally and with numerical simulation. Elastic scattering patterns of polystyrene spheres, Bacillus subtilis spores and cells, and NaCl crystals are measured and statistical properties of the island-like intensity features in their patterns are presented. The island-like features for each class of particle are found to be similar; however, principal-component analysis applied to extracted features is able to differentiate between some of the particle classes. Numerically calculated scattering patterns of Chebyshev particles and aggregates of spheres are analyzed and show qualitative agreement with experimental results.
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Learning-induced pattern classification in a chaotic neural network
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Li, Yang; Zhu, Ping; Xie, Xiaoping; He, Guoguang; Aihara, Kazuyuki
2012-01-01
In this Letter, we propose a Hebbian learning rule with passive forgetting (HLRPF) for use in a chaotic neural network (CNN). We then define the indices based on the Euclidean distance to investigate the evolution of the weights in a simplified way. Numerical simulations demonstrate that, under suitable external stimulations, the CNN with the proposed HLRPF acts as a fuzzy-like pattern classifier that performs much better than an ordinary CNN. The results imply relationship between learning and recognition. -- Highlights: ► Proposing a Hebbian learning rule with passive forgetting (HLRPF). ► Defining indices to investigate the evolution of the weights simply. ► The chaotic neural network with HLRPF acts as a fuzzy-like pattern classifier. ► The pattern classifier ability of the network is improved much.
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Modeling contact angle hysteresis of a liquid droplet sitting on a cosine wave-like pattern surface.
Promraksa, Arwut; Chen, Li-Jen
2012-10-15
A liquid droplet sitting on a hydrophobic surface with a cosine wave-like square-array pattern in the Wenzel state is simulated by using the Surface Evolver to determine the contact angle. For a fixed drop volume, multiple metastable states are obtained at two different surface roughnesses. Unusual and non-circular shape of the three-phase contact line of a liquid droplet sitting on the model surface is observed due to corrugation and distortion of the contact line by structure of the roughness. The contact angle varies along the contact line for each metastable state. The maximum and minimum contact angles among the multiple metastable states at a fixed viewing angle correspond to the advancing and the receding contact angles, respectively. It is interesting to observe that the advancing/receding contact angles (and contact angle hysteresis) are a function of viewing angle. In addition, the receding (or advancing) contact angles at different viewing angles are determined at different metastable states. The contact angle of minimum energy among the multiple metastable states is defined as the most stable (equilibrium) contact angle. The Wenzel model is not able to describe the contact angle along the three-phase contact line. The contact angle hysteresis at different drop volumes is determined. The number of the metastable states increases with increasing drop volume. Drop volume effect on the contact angles is also discussed. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Lutich, Andrey
2017-07-01
This research considers the problem of generating compact vector representations of physical design patterns for analytics purposes in semiconductor patterning domain. PatterNet uses a deep artificial neural network to learn mapping of physical design patterns to a compact Euclidean hyperspace. Distances among mapped patterns in this space correspond to dissimilarities among patterns defined at the time of the network training. Once the mapping network has been trained, PatterNet embeddings can be used as feature vectors with standard machine learning algorithms, and pattern search, comparison, and clustering become trivial problems. PatterNet is inspired by the concepts developed within the framework of generative adversarial networks as well as the FaceNet. Our method facilitates a deep neural network (DNN) to learn directly the compact representation by supplying it with pairs of design patterns and dissimilarity among these patterns defined by a user. In the simplest case, the dissimilarity is represented by an area of the XOR of two patterns. Important to realize that our PatterNet approach is very different to the methods developed for deep learning on image data. In contrast to "conventional" pictures, the patterns in the CAD world are the lists of polygon vertex coordinates. The method solely relies on the promise of deep learning to discover internal structure of the incoming data and learn its hierarchical representations. Artificial intelligence arising from the combination of PatterNet and clustering analysis very precisely follows intuition of patterning/optical proximity correction experts paving the way toward human-like and human-friendly engineering tools.
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The identification of major dietary patterns in Karaj adolescents
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Background: The eating habits of adolescents are of concerns about public health, because of the direct relationship between diet and the incidence of obesity and other chronic diseases in adults. Identifying dietary patterns can be used as a prognostic factor in the relationship between diet and chronic disease risk. Materials and Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional study on 140 healthy adolescents 13-19 years of middle schools and high schools in Karaj. Samples were selected by multistage cluster sampling method from 5 districts in Karaj. Validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. Food items were categorized into 25 food groups based on similarity. Results: Using principal component analysis three major dietary patterns were identified ehich among subjects had the highest dispersion justifying 30.25 percent of the total variance of consumption. Mediterranean-like pattern showed high loadings on nuts, fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken, olives, sweetmeat and pickles. The second pattern, called unhealthy pattern specified with a high intake of mayonnaise, refined cereals, boiled potatoes, red meat and processed meat, high fat dairy products, viscera. The third pattern (traditional had high loading for solid fats, dairy scab, legumes and whole grains. Conclusion: Mediterranean-like pattern with explained 14.14% of the variance of the maximum percentage to be allocated. These patterns can be used to identify the appropriate educational steps taken to promote sufficient nutrition.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Md. Abdullah-al-mamun
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Abstract Humans are capable to identifying diverse shape in the different pattern in the real world as effortless fashion due to their intelligence is grow since born with facing several learning process. Same way we can prepared an machine using human like brain called Artificial Neural Network that can be recognize different pattern from the real world object. Although the various techniques is exists to implementation the pattern recognition but recently the artificial neural network approaches have been giving the significant attention. Because the approached of artificial neural network is like a human brain that is learn from different observation and give a decision the previously learning rule. Over the 50 years research now a days pattern recognition for machine learning using artificial neural network got a significant achievement. For this reason many real world problem can be solve by modeling the pattern recognition process. The objective of this paper is to present the theoretical concept for pattern recognition design using Multi-Layer Perceptorn neural networkin the algorithm of artificial Intelligence as the best possible way of utilizing available resources to make a decision that can be a human like performance.
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Purtscher-like retinopathy: A rare complication of peribulbar anesthesia
Narendran, Siddharth; Saravanan, V R; Pereira, Merlyn
2016-01-01
Purtscher and Purtscher-like retinopathy is a distinctive retinal syndrome characterized by ischemic retinal whitening in a peripapillary pattern. We report a case of Purtscher-like retinopathy in a healthy 64-year-old man after a routine peribulbar anesthetic injection for cataract surgery. Although peribulbar anesthesia is considered to be a safer alternative to retrobulbar anesthesia, it has been associated with unusual but grave complications including central retinal artery occlusion.
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Purtscher-like retinopathy: A rare complication of peribulbar anesthesia.
Narendran, Siddharth; Saravanan, V R; Pereira, Merlyn
2016-06-01
Purtscher and Purtscher-like retinopathy is a distinctive retinal syndrome characterized by ischemic retinal whitening in a peripapillary pattern. We report a case of Purtscher-like retinopathy in a healthy 64-year-old man after a routine peribulbar anesthetic injection for cataract surgery. Although peribulbar anesthesia is considered to be a safer alternative to retrobulbar anesthesia, it has been associated with unusual but grave complications including central retinal artery occlusion.
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Dark patterns in proxemic interactions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Greenberg, Saul; Boring, Sebastian; Vermeulen, Jo
2014-01-01
to better facilitate seamless and natural interactions. To do so, both people and devices are tracked to determine their spatial relationships. While interest in proxemic interactions has increased over the last few years, it also has a dark side: knowledge of proxemics may (and likely will) be easily...... exploited to the detriment of the user. In this paper, we offer a critical perspective on proxemic interactions in the form of dark patterns: ways proxemic interactions can be misused. We discuss a series of these patterns and describe how they apply to these types of interactions. In addition, we identify...
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Separation vortices and pattern formation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersen, Anders Peter; Bohr, Tomas; Schnipper, Teis
2010-01-01
In this paper examples are given of the importance of flow separation for fluid patterns at moderate Reynolds numbers—both in the stationary and in the time-dependent domain. In the case of circular hydraulic jumps, it has been shown recently that it is possible to generalise the Prandtl–Kármán–P...... results for the vortex patterns behind a flapping foil in a flowing soap film, which shows the interaction and competition between the vortices shed from the round leading edge (like the von Kármán vortex street) and those created at the sharp trailing edge....
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. Todesco
2011-09-01
Full Text Available Objective: we proposed to determine the clinical significance of anti-NuMA and anti-HsEg5 antibodies in a group of patients affected with rheumatic diseases. Materials and methods: indirect immunofluorescence on HEp-2000 cells at serum dilution of 1:40 was used to examin 26 sera which had previously showed a “mitotic spindle” fluoroscopic pattern type during laboratory routine. Results: 21 sera (80,7% were identified with NuMA and 5 (19,3% with HsEg5 patterns alone or associated with other ANA patterns. However only patients with isolated positiveness and that is 15 with NuMA and 4 with HsEg5 stainings were included in this study. Of the NuMA positive patients 5 were affected with arthropathies associated to different forms of thyroiditis, 2 with seronegative arthritis, 2 with antiphospholipid syndrome, 1 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, 1 with rheumatoid arthritis, 1 with sicca syndrome, 1 with undifferentiated connective tissue disease, 1 with Mycoplasma pneumaniae infection and 1 with retinal thrombosis. Of the HsEg5 positive patients 3 were affected with SLE and 1 with seronegative arthritis. Conclusions: NuMA does not prevail in any defined rheumatic disease, while HsEg5 staining were more frequent (75% in patients affected with SLE all of whom showing high antibody titres.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; Geisler, D.; Tang, B.; Villanova, S.; Mennickent, R. E. [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción (Chile); Zamora, O.; García-Hernández, D. A.; Dell’Agli, F.; Prieto, Carlos Allende [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Souto, Diogo; Cunha, Katia [Observatório Nacional, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ—20921-400 (Brazil); Schiavon, R. P. [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF (United Kingdom); Hasselquist, Sten [New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States); Shetrone, M. [University of Texas at Austin, McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, TX 79734 (United States); Vieira, K. [Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía, AP 264, Mérida 5101-A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Zasowski, G. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Sobeck, J.; Hayes, C. R.; Majewski, S. R. [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Placco, V. M., E-mail: jfernandezt@astro-udec.cl, E-mail: jfernandezt87@gmail.com [Department of Physics and JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); and others
2017-09-01
We report the peculiar chemical abundance patterns of 11 atypical Milky Way (MW) field red giant stars observed by the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). These atypical giants exhibit strong Al and N enhancements accompanied by C and Mg depletions, strikingly similar to those observed in the so-called second-generation (SG) stars of globular clusters (GCs). Remarkably, we find low Mg abundances ([Mg/Fe] < 0.0) together with strong Al and N overabundances in the majority (5/7) of the metal-rich ([Fe/H] ≳ −1.0) sample stars, which is at odds with actual observations of SG stars in Galactic GCs of similar metallicities. This chemical pattern is unique and unprecedented among MW stars, posing urgent questions about its origin. These atypical stars could be former SG stars of dissolved GCs formed with intrinsically lower abundances of Mg and enriched Al (subsequently self-polluted by massive AGB stars) or the result of exotic binary systems. We speculate that the stars Mg-deficiency as well as the orbital properties suggest that they could have an extragalactic origin. This discovery should guide future dedicated spectroscopic searches of atypical stellar chemical patterns in our Galaxy, a fundamental step forward to understanding the Galactic formation and evolution.
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Power Terminal Communication Access Network Monitoring System Scheme Based on Design Patterns
Yan, Shengchao; Wu, Desheng; Zhu, Jiang
2018-01-01
In order to realize patterns design for terminal communication monitoring system, this paper introduces manager-workers, tasks-workers design patterns, based on common design patterns such as factory method, chain of responsibility, facade. Using these patterns, the communication monitoring system which combines module-groups like networking communication, business data processing and the peripheral support has been designed successfully. Using these patterns makes this system have great flexibility and scalability and improves the degree of systematic pattern design structure.
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Leisure Activity Patterns and Marital Conflict in Iran.
Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Saadat, Hassan; Noushad, Siena
2016-01-01
Over the past few decades, the association between leisure activity patterns and marital conflict or satisfaction has been studied extensively. However, most studies to date have been limited to middle-class families of developed societies, and an investigation of the issue, from a developing country perspective like Iran, is non-existent. In an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study we aimed to investigate the relationship between leisure activity patterns and marital conflict in a nationally representative sample of Iranian married males. Using the cluster sampling method, a representative sample of 400 Iranian married individuals from seven provinces of Iran was surveyed. Self-administered surveys included a checklist collecting demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the enrolled participants, leisure time questionnaire, and marital conflict questionnaire. The main patterns of leisure activity were derived from principal component analysis. For each pattern, factor scores were calculated. The relationship between factor scores and marital conflict were assessed using multivariate linear regression models accounting for the potential confounding effects of age, education, socioeconomic status, job status, number of children, duration of marriage, and time spent for leisure. Two hundred and ninety-nine respondents completed the leisure time and marital conflict questionnaires. Five major leisure patterns were identified accounting for 60.3% of the variance in data. The most dominant pattern was family-oriented activities (e.g. spending time with family outdoors and spending time with family indoors) and was negatively linked to marital conflict (standardized beta= -0.154, P = 0.013). Of the four remaining patterns, three only included individual activities and one was a family-individual composite. Individual patterns exhibited discrepant behavior; while the pattern involving activities like 'watching TV', 'non-purposive time spending', and
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Joo, An Young; Kim, Myung Soon; Lee, Sung Soo
1994-01-01
To evaluate the correlation between onset of brain infarction and Gd-DTPA enhancing patterns on MRI. We reviewed MRI of 58 lesions in 45 patients with clinically documented brain infarction retrospectively. Axial, coronal and sagittal T1WI (TR/TE 450-520/20), T2WI (TR/TE 2190/90) and Gd-DTPA enhanced T1WI were performed with a 0.5T superconductive MR system. We analyzed Gd-enhancing patterns that were divided into intravascular, meningeal, and parenchymal enhancement. Parenchymal pattern was subdivided into mottled, partial ring like and dense enhancement. Intravascular enhancement was seen at 1-10 days in 30(53%) of 58 infarctions. Meningeal enhancement (13%) was noted at 1-6 days. Parenchymal enhancement (50%) was seen at 2-28 days and subdividing patterns are as follows: The mottled enhancement pattern was seen earlier at 2-8 days and partial ring like or dense enhancement patterns at 5-28 days. After reviewing Gd-enhanced MRI of infarction, the intravascular and meningeal enhancement patterns were earlier than parenchymal enhancement. Among parenchymal patterns, the mottled pattern was seen earlier than partial ring like or dense patterns. In conclusion, Gd-enhancing patterns of brain infarction are useful in estimating the age of infarction including acute infarction
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Topological patterns of mesh textures in serpentinites
Miyazawa, M.; Suzuki, A.; Shimizu, H.; Okamoto, A.; Hiraoka, Y.; Obayashi, I.; Tsuji, T.; Ito, T.
2017-12-01
Serpentinization is a hydration process that forms serpentine minerals and magnetite within the oceanic lithosphere. Microfractures crosscut these minerals during the reactions, and the structures look like mesh textures. It has been known that the patterns of microfractures and the system evolutions are affected by the hydration reaction and fluid transport in fractures and within matrices. This study aims at quantifying the topological patterns of the mesh textures and understanding possible conditions of fluid transport and reaction during serpentinization in the oceanic lithosphere. Two-dimensional simulation by the distinct element method (DEM) generates fracture patterns due to serpentinization. The microfracture patterns are evaluated by persistent homology, which measures features of connected components of a topological space and encodes multi-scale topological features in the persistence diagrams. The persistence diagrams of the different mesh textures are evaluated by principal component analysis to bring out the strong patterns of persistence diagrams. This approach help extract feature values of fracture patterns from high-dimensional and complex datasets.
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Move Closer: Towards Design Patterns To Support Initiating Social Encounters
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mitchell, Robb; Boer, Laurens
2017-01-01
This paper offers four inspirational design patterns concerned with reducing inhibitions for unacquainted co-located people to interact. These patterns identify impediments to interpersonal contact in relation to the distances between people and present diverse examples of how these challenges may...... be addressed. Each inspirational design pattern offers strategies to make social interaction more likely through enabling, encouraging or excusing people to move closer together. The patterns are "Feel For Fun", "Conjoining Self Images", "Eye To Eye", and "Nudge People Together". Articulating possible...
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Alsaffar, Zahra Hassan Ali
2017-09-30
Patterns of variability in diversity (alpha and beta), abundance, and community structure of soft-bottom macrobenthic assemblages were investigated across an inshore/offshore environmental gradient in the central Red Sea. A total of three distinct soft-substrate biotopes were identified through multivariate techniques: seagrass meadows, nearshore, and offshore. While the seagrass biotope was associated with higher organic matter content, the two coastal biotopes presented higher redox potential in the sediments and dissolved oxygen in the water. Depth and medium sand increased toward the offshore, while the percentage of fine particles was a determinant of nearshore communities. Regardless of the prevailing environmental conditions, the three biotopes were characterized by high numbers of exclusive taxa, most of which were singletons. Changes in species richness were not related to depth or organic matter, peaking at intermediate depths (nearshore). However, the number of taxa increased exponentially with abundance. On the other hand, density decreased logarithmically with depth and organic matter in sediments, probably linked to a reduced availability of food. One of the most conspicuous features of the macrobenthic assemblages inhabiting soft substrates in the central oligotrophic Red Sea is the low level of dominance resulting from a high species richness: abundance ratio. Despite the differences observed for alpha-diversity across the three biotopes, beta-diversity patterns were rather consistent. These findings suggest that mechanisms driving biodiversity are similar across the depth gradient. The partitioning of beta-diversity also show that assemblages are mainly driven by the substitution of species (turnover or replacement), most likely as a result of environmental filtering. The heterogeneity of the seafloor in shallow waters of the Red Sea promoted by the co-existence of coral reefs inter-spaced by sedimentary habitats may increase the regional pool of
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Risky drinking patterns are being continued into pregnancy: a prospective cohort study.
Anderson, Amy E; Hure, Alexis J; Forder, Peta M; Powers, Jennifer; Kay-Lambkin, Frances J; Loxton, Deborah J
2014-01-01
Risky patterns of alcohol use prior to pregnancy increase the risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and subsequent adverse outcomes. It is important to understand how consumption changes once women become pregnant. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of women that partake in risky drinking patterns before pregnancy and to examine how these patterns change once they become pregnant. A sample of 1577 women from the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were included if they first reported being pregnant in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009 and reported risky drinking patterns prior to that pregnancy. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine which risky drinking patterns were most likely to continue into pregnancy. When reporting risky drinking patterns prior to pregnancy only 6% of women reported weekly drinking only, whereas 46% reported binge drinking only and 48% reported both. Women in both binge categories were more likely to have experienced financial stress, not been partnered, smoked, used drugs, been nulliparous, experienced a violent relationship, and were less educated. Most women (46%) continued these risky drinking patterns into pregnancy, with 40% reducing these behaviors, and 14% completely ceasing alcohol consumption. Once pregnant, women who binged only prior to pregnancy were more likely to continue (55%) rather than reduce drinking (29%). Of the combined drinking group 61% continued to binge and 47% continued weekly drinking. Compared with the combined drinking group, binge only drinkers prior to pregnancy were less likely to reduce rather than continue their drinking once pregnant (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.29, 0.47). Over a third of women continued risky drinking into pregnancy, especially binge drinking, suggesting a need to address alcohol consumption prior to pregnancy.
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Risky drinking patterns are being continued into pregnancy: a prospective cohort study.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Amy E Anderson
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Risky patterns of alcohol use prior to pregnancy increase the risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and subsequent adverse outcomes. It is important to understand how consumption changes once women become pregnant. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of women that partake in risky drinking patterns before pregnancy and to examine how these patterns change once they become pregnant. METHODS: A sample of 1577 women from the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were included if they first reported being pregnant in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009 and reported risky drinking patterns prior to that pregnancy. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine which risky drinking patterns were most likely to continue into pregnancy. RESULTS: When reporting risky drinking patterns prior to pregnancy only 6% of women reported weekly drinking only, whereas 46% reported binge drinking only and 48% reported both. Women in both binge categories were more likely to have experienced financial stress, not been partnered, smoked, used drugs, been nulliparous, experienced a violent relationship, and were less educated. Most women (46% continued these risky drinking patterns into pregnancy, with 40% reducing these behaviors, and 14% completely ceasing alcohol consumption. Once pregnant, women who binged only prior to pregnancy were more likely to continue (55% rather than reduce drinking (29%. Of the combined drinking group 61% continued to binge and 47% continued weekly drinking. Compared with the combined drinking group, binge only drinkers prior to pregnancy were less likely to reduce rather than continue their drinking once pregnant (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.29, 0.47. CONCLUSIONS: Over a third of women continued risky drinking into pregnancy, especially binge drinking, suggesting a need to address alcohol consumption prior to pregnancy.
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Ring-like size segregation in vibrated cylinder with a bottleneck
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kong Xiangzhao; Hu Maobin; Wu Qingsong; Wu Yonghong
2005-01-01
In this Letter, a ring-like segregation pattern of bi-dispersed granular material in a vibrated bottleneck-cylinder is presented. The driving frequency can greatly affect the strength and structure of the convection roll and segregation pattern. The position and height of the ring (cluster of big beads) can be adjusted by altering the vibration frequency. And a heuristic theory is developed to interpret the ring's position dependence on driving frequency
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ari Berkowitz
2010-06-01
Full Text Available The hindbrain and spinal cord can produce multiple forms of locomotion, escape, and withdrawal behaviors and (in limbed vertebrates site-specific scratching. Until recently, the prevailing view was that the same classes of CNS neurons generate multiple kinds of movements, either through reconfiguration of a single, shared network or through an increase in the number of neurons recruited within each class. The mechanisms involved in selecting and generating different motor patterns have recently been explored in detail in some non-mammalian, vertebrate model systems. Work on the hatchling Xenopus tadpole, the larval zebrafish, and the adult turtle has now revealed that distinct kinds of motor patterns are actually selected and generated by combinations of multifunctional and specialized spinal interneurons. Multifunctional interneurons may form a core, multipurpose circuit that generates elements of coordinated motor output utilized in multiple behaviors, such as left-right alternation. But, in addition, specialized spinal interneurons including separate glutamatergic and glycinergic classes are selectively activated during specific patterns: escape-withdrawal, swimming and struggling in tadpoles and zebrafish, and limb withdrawal and scratching in turtles. These specialized neurons can contribute by changing the way central pattern generator (CPG activity is initiated and by altering CPG composition and operation. The combined use of multifunctional and specialized neurons is now established as a principle of organization across a range of vertebrates. Future research may reveal common patterns of multifunctionality and specialization among interneurons controlling diverse movements and whether similar mechanisms exist in higher-order brain circuits that select among a wider array of complex movements.
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Purtscher-like retinopathy: A rare complication of peribulbar anesthesia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Siddharth Narendran
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Purtscher and Purtscher-like retinopathy is a distinctive retinal syndrome characterized by ischemic retinal whitening in a peripapillary pattern. We report a case of Purtscher-like retinopathy in a healthy 64-year-old man after a routine peribulbar anesthetic injection for cataract surgery. Although peribulbar anesthesia is considered to be a safer alternative to retrobulbar anesthesia, it has been associated with unusual but grave complications including central retinal artery occlusion.
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Accumulation patterns around Dome C, East Antarctica, in the last 73 kyr
Cavitte, Marie G. P.; Parrenin, Frédéric; Ritz, Catherine; Young, Duncan A.; Van Liefferinge, Brice; Blankenship, Donald D.; Frezzotti, Massimo; Roberts, Jason L.
2018-04-01
We reconstruct the pattern of surface accumulation in the region around Dome C, East Antarctica, since the last glacial. We use a set of 18 isochrones spanning all observable depths of the ice column, interpreted from various ice-penetrating radar surveys and a 1-D ice flow model to invert for accumulation rates in the region. The shallowest four isochrones are then used to calculate paleoaccumulation rates between isochrone pairs using a 1-D assumption where horizontal advection is negligible in the time interval of each layer. We observe that the large-scale (100s km) surface accumulation gradient is spatially stable through the last 73 kyr, which reflects current modeled and observed precipitation gradients in the region. We also observe small-scale (10 s km) accumulation variations linked to snow redistribution at the surface, due to changes in its slope and curvature in the prevailing wind direction that remain spatially stationary since the last glacial.
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Body image dissatisfaction and dietary patterns according to nutritional status in adolescents.
Ribeiro-Silva, Rita de Cássia; Fiaccone, Rosemeire Leovigildo; Conceição-Machado, Maria Ester Pereira da; Ruiz, Ana Santos; Barreto, Maurício Lima; Santana, Mônica Leila Portela
There is a lack of data on the association between body self-perception and eating patterns in Brazil. Thus, this study aimed to explore the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and eating patterns by the anthropometric status in adolescents. A cross-sectional study of 1496 adolescents was conducted. The participants completed the Body Shape Questionnaire. Demographic, anthropometric, and socioeconomic data were collected, as well as information regarding the pubertal development and dietary intake. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the associations of interest. Body image dissatisfaction was identified in 19.5% of the adolescents. Three dietary patterns were identified: (1) the Western pattern was composed of sweets and sugars, soft drinks, typical dishes, pastries, fast food, beef, milk, and dairy products; (2) the Traditional pattern was composed of oils, chicken, fish, eggs, processed meat products, cereals (rice, cassava flour, pasta, etc.), baked beans, and bread; and (3) the Restrictive pattern was composed of granola, roots, vegetables, and fruit. Among overweight/obese adolescents, the data indicated a negative association of slight body image dissatisfaction (OR: 0.240 [0.100; 0.576]) and moderate body image dissatisfaction (OR: 0.235 [0.086; 0.645]) with the Western dietary pattern. Additionally, in this group, there was a positive association between high body image dissatisfaction and the Restrictive pattern (OR: 2.794 [1.178; 6.630]). Amongst overweight/obese adolescents, those with slight and moderate body image dissatisfaction were less likely to follow a Western-like dietary pattern when compared with those satisfied with their body image. Additionally, in this group, adolescents with high body image dissatisfaction was more likely to follow a restrictive pattern. Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.
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Toll-Like Receptors and Myocardial Inflammation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yan Feng
2011-01-01
Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are a member of the innate immune system. TLRs detect invading pathogens through the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs recognition and play an essential role in the host defense. TLRs can also sense a large number of endogenous molecules with the damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs that are produced under various injurious conditions. Animal studies of the last decade have demonstrated that TLR signaling contributes to the pathogenesis of the critical cardiac conditions, where myocardial inflammation plays a prominent role, such as ischemic myocardial injury, myocarditis, and septic cardiomyopathy. This paper reviews the animal data on (1 TLRs, TLR ligands, and the signal transduction system and (2 the important role of TLR signaling in these critical cardiac conditions.
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Greene, Lydia K.; Wallen, Timothy W.; Moresco, Anneke; Goodwin, Thomas E.; Drea, Christine M.
2016-06-01
Members of the order Carnivora rely on urinary scent signaling, particularly for communicating about reproductive parameters. Here, we describe reproductive endocrine patterns in relation to urinary olfactory cues in a vulnerable and relatively unknown viverrid—the binturong ( Arctictis binturong). Female binturongs are larger than and dominate males, and both sexes engage in glandular and urinary scent marking. Using a large ( n = 33), captive population, we collected serum samples to measure circulating sex steroids via enzyme immunoassay and urine samples to assay volatile chemicals via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Male binturongs had expectedly greater androgen concentrations than did females but, more unusually, had equal estrogen concentrations, which may be linked to male deference. Males also expressed a significantly richer array of volatile chemical compounds than did females. A subset of these volatile chemicals resisted decay at ambient temperatures, potentially indicating their importance as long-lasting semiochemicals. Among these compounds was 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP), which is typically produced at high temperatures by the Maillard reaction and is likely to be responsible for the binturong's characteristic popcorn aroma. 2-AP, the only compound expressed by all of the subjects, was found in greater abundance in males than females and was significantly and positively related to circulating androstenedione concentrations in both sexes. This unusual compound may have a more significant role in mammalian semiochemistry than previously appreciated. Based on these novel data, we suggest that hormonal action and potentially complex chemical reactions mediate communication of the binturong's signature scent and convey information about sex and reproductive state.
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Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy With Lactic Acidosis and Stroke-Like Episodes-MELAS Syndrome.
Henry, Caitlin; Patel, Neema; Shaffer, William; Murphy, Lillian; Park, Joe; Spieler, Bradley
2017-01-01
Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome is a rare inherited disorder that results in waxing and waning nervous system and muscle dysfunction. MELAS syndrome may overlap with other neurologic disorders but shows distinctive imaging features. We present the case of a 28-year-old female with atypical stroke-like symptoms, a strong family history of stroke-like symptoms, and a relapsing-remitting course for several years. We discuss the imaging features distinctive to the case, the mechanism of the disease, typical presentation, imaging diagnosis, and disease management. This case is a classic example of the relapse-remitting MELAS syndrome progression with episodic clinical flares and fluctuating patterns of stroke-like lesions on imaging. MELAS is an important diagnostic consideration when neuroimaging reveals a pattern of disappearing and relapsing cortical brain lesions that may occur in different areas of the brain and are not necessarily limited to discrete vascular territories. Future studies should investigate disease mechanisms at the cellular level and the value of advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques for a targeted approach to therapy.
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Surface circulation patterns at the southeastern Bay of Biscay: new observations from HF radar data
Solabarrieta, L.; Rubio, A.; Medina, R.; Paduan, J. D.; Castanedo, S.; Fontán, A.; Cook, M.; González, M.
2012-12-01
A CODAR Seasonde High Frequency (HF) radar network has been operational since the beginning of 2009 for the oceanic region of the Basque Country, Spain (south-eastern Bay of Biscay, Atlantic Ocean). It forms part of the Basque operational data acquisition system, established by the Directorate of Emergency Attention and Meteorology of the Basque Government. It is made up of two antennas, at the capes Higer (43d 23.554' N, 1d 47.745' W) and Matxitxako (43d 7.350' N, 2d 45.163' W), emitting at 4.525 MHz frequency and 30 kHz bandwidth. This system provides hourly surface currents with 5.12 km spatial resolution, covering 10,000 km2. Space- and time-covering measurements have been available in the study area since 2009. The data contribute considerably to the study of surface current patterns and the main physical processes in the area. Additional applications relate to security of navigation, maritime rescue, validation and improvement of numerical models, etc. For comparison with other validation studies and to obtain an estimate of the performance of the Basque system, statistical and spectral analysis of the surface currents obtained through the HF radar and different in-situ platforms have been conducted. The analyses show values of comparison between the different measuring systems consistent with those done by other authors (Paduan and Rosenfeld, 1996; Kaplan et al., 2005). The radar is able to reproduce the time evolution of the currents with a reasonable accuracy; likewise, the main three spectral peaks (inertial, semidiurnal and diurnal) are well resolved. In this context, the aim of this work is to show the HF radar ability to measure accurately the surface currents in the south-eastern Bay of Biscay and to study the ocean circulation in the area (figures 1 and 2). Surface current patterns are analysed and described for the period 2009-2011, for different timescales. A clear seasonality at a large-scale has been observed in accordance with previous work
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Inherent-opening-controlled pattern formation in carbon nanotube arrays
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Huang Xiao; Zhou, Jijie J; Sansom, Elijah; Gharib, Morteza; Haur, Sow Chorng
2007-01-01
We have introduced inherent openings into densely packed carbon nanotube arrays to study self-organized pattern formation when the arrays undergo a wetting-dewetting treatment from nanotube tips. These inherent openings, made of circular or elongated hollows in nanotube mats, serve as dewetting centres, from where liquid recedes from. As the dewetting centres initiate dry zones and the dry zones expand, surrounding nanotubes are pulled away from the dewetting centres by liquid surface tension. Among short nanotubes, the self-organized patterns are consistent with the shape of the inherent openings, i.e. slender openings lead to elongated trench-like structures, and circular holes result in relatively round nest-like arrangements. Nanotubes in a relatively high mat are more connected, like in an elastic body, than those in a short mat. Small cracks often initialize themselves in a relatively high mat, along two or more adjacent round openings; each of the cracks evolves into a trench as liquid dries up. Self-organized pattern control with inherent openings needs to initiate the dewetting process above the nanotube tips. If there is no liquid on top, inherent openings barely enlarge themselves after the wetting-dewetting treatment
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Security Education in Africa: Patterns and Prospects | Last | Scientia ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Here we describe general patterns of police, gendarme and military education in Africa, with particular attention to university-like institutions. This leads us to focus on mid-career military staff colleges as the most likely venues for building communities of educated professionals to enhance security. We identify states in each ...
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A Null-hypothesis to explain the El Niño-like Pacific Decadal Variability
Di Lorenzo, E.
2016-02-01
Pacific low-frequency variability (timescale > 8 year) exhibits a well-known El Niño-like pattern of basin-scale sea surface temperature, which is found in all the major modes of Pacific decadal climate. Using a set of climate model experiments and observations, we decompose the mechanisms contributing to the growth, peak and decay of the Pacific low-frequency spatial variance. We find that the El-Niño-like inter-decadal pattern is established through the combined actions of Pacific Meridional Modes (MM) and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Specifically, in the growing phase of the pattern, sub-tropical stochastic excitation of the MM, and its ENSO-precursor dynamics, becomes an important source of tropical low-frequency variance (e.g. red noise). Once in the tropics, ENSO amplifies and distributes this low-frequency energy in the extra-tropics through global teleconnections in the peak and decaying phases. In this stochastic red noise model of Pacific climate, the timescale of the MM/ENSO progression and extra-tropical decay (1-2 year) enhances the spatial memory of the decadal and inter-decadal El-Niño-like pattern.
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Melorheostosis: a review of 23 cases
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Freyschmidt, J.
2001-01-01
The aim of this study was to review clinical and radiological signs of melorheostosis in a large series of cases. Family history, patient history, clinical data and radiological features of 23 consecutive cases of melorheostosis were investigated. Criteria for establishing the diagnosis ''melorheostosis'' were defined. Sixteen patients (mean age 34 years, equal ratio between genders) had chronic pain in the affected limb(s) and/or subcutaneous fibrosis and/or various skin lesions. Number of involved bones: one bone (n = 10); two bones (n = 4); three or more bones (n = 9). Anatomic distribution: upper extremity (n = 5); lower extremity (n = 16); upper and lower extremity (n = 1); sacrum (n = 1). Radiologic pattern: osteoma-like (n = 7); classic candle wax appearance (n = 5); myositis ossificans-like (n = 1); osteopathia striata-like (n = 6); mixed pattern (n = 4). Patterns different from the appearance formerly judged to be ''classic'' prevail. The standard concept of disease manifestation has to be adjusted. Pathogenesis remains unclear. The classic theory claims the presence of an early embryonic infection of a sensory nerve inducing changes in the respective sclerotome, but we propose the concept of mosaicism as a better explanation for the sporadic occurrence, the asymmetric ''segmental'' pattern with variable extent of involvement and equal gender ratio of the disease. (orig.)
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Patterned Video Sensors For Low Vision
Juday, Richard D.
1996-01-01
Miniature video cameras containing photoreceptors arranged in prescribed non-Cartesian patterns to compensate partly for some visual defects proposed. Cameras, accompanied by (and possibly integrated with) miniature head-mounted video display units restore some visual function in humans whose visual fields reduced by defects like retinitis pigmentosa.
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Understanding practice patterns of glaucoma sub-specialists in India
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nikhil S. Choudhari
2017-10-01
Full Text Available AIM: To obtain information on the prevailing practice patterns of glaucoma specialists in India. METHODS: Glaucoma specialists attending the Annual Conference of the Glaucoma Society of India (GSI were surveyed. This survey, conducted in 2013, was based on an interactive audience response system. RESULTS: The information was obtained from 146 glaucoma specialists. Approximately half (n=83; 57% had ≥10y of experience in managing glaucoma and were in institutional practice (n=74, 51%. Goldmann applanation tonometry was preferred by 103 (72% specialists whilst n=25 (17.4% used non-contact tonometer. Indentation gonioscopy was favoured by two-thirds (n=90, 66% whereas stereoscopic optic disc examination and visual fields using Humphrey perimeter was performed by a majority of the specialists surveyed (n=115, 86% and n=114; 83% respectively. Nearly three quarter specialists (n=96; 72% preferred optical coherence tomography for imaging. The primary choice for treatment of angle closure disease and primary open angle glaucoma was laser (iridotomy, n=117; 93% and medical management (prostaglandin analogue, n=104; 78%, respectively. Approximately only a third of the specialists surveyed (n=37; 28% were performing both trabeculectomy and implantation of a glaucoma drainage device and about half (n=64; 47% were not operating on congenital glaucoma at all. CONCLUSION: This survey has found conformance with preferred practice patterns in several areas of diagnosis and management of glaucoma, but there was diversity in a few areas. The information is a significant step towards improvement of glaucoma care in India, including planning for future strategies.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Roriz Luciano Machado
2017-12-01
Full Text Available ABSTRACT The identification of areas with greater erosive potential is important for planning soil and water conservation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical characteristics of rainfall events in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and their interactions with rainfall patterns through multivariate statistical analysis. Rainfall depth, kinetic energy, 30-min intensity (I30, duration of rainfall events, and the erosivity indices KE >10, KE >25, and EI30 in 36 locations (stations were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA and canonical discriminant analysis (CDA. Based on evaluation of the respective historical series of hyetographs, it was found that the advanced pattern occurs with highest frequency (51.8 %, followed by the delayed pattern (26.1 %, and by the intermediate pattern (22.1 %. All the evaluated rainfall characteristics have high response capacity in describing localities and rainfall patterns through PCA and CDA. In CDA, the Tukey test (p<0.05 applied to the scores of the first canonical discriminant function (CDF1 allowed differentiation of the stations with respect to the rainfall and erosivity characteristics for the advanced and delayed patterns. In the delayed pattern, the localities of Angra dos Reis, Campos, Eletrobrás, Manuel Duarte, Santa Isabel do Rio Preto, Tanguá, Teresópolis, Vila Mambucaba, and Xerém had the highest CDF1 scores, indicating that they have rainfalls with higher depth, I30, and duration because the standardized canonical coefficient (SCC and the correlation coefficient (“r” of these characteristics were positive. The rainfall events in the state of Rio de Janeiro differ from one locality to another in relation to the advanced and delayed rainfall patterns, mainly due to the physical characteristics of rainfall depth, I30, and duration, indicating a higher risk of soil loss and runoff in the localities where rainfall events with the delayed pattern prevail.
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Dewetting-mediated pattern formation in nanoparticle assemblies
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Stannard, Andrew
2011-01-01
The deposition of nanoparticles from solution onto solid substrates is a diverse subfield of current nanoscience research. Complex physical and chemical processes underpin the self-assembly and self-organization of colloidal nanoparticles at two-phase (solid-liquid, liquid-air) interfaces and three-phase (solid-liquid-air) contact lines. This review discusses key recent advances made in the understanding of nonequilibrium dewetting processes of nanoparticle-containing solutions, detailing how such an apparently simple experimental system can give rise to such a strikingly varied palette of two-dimensional self-organized nanoparticle array morphologies. Patterns discussed include worm-like domains, cellular networks, microscale rings, and fractal-like fingering structures. There remain many unresolved issues regarding the role of the solvent dewetting dynamics in assembly processes of this type, with a significant focus on how dewetting can be coerced to produce nanoparticle arrays with desirable characteristics such as long-range order. In addition to these topics, methods developed to control nanofluid dewetting through routes such as confining the geometries of drying solutions, depositing onto pre-patterned heterogeneous substrates, and post-dewetting pattern evolution via local or global manipulation are covered. (topical review)
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Dewetting-mediated pattern formation in nanoparticle assemblies.
Stannard, Andrew
2011-03-02
The deposition of nanoparticles from solution onto solid substrates is a diverse subfield of current nanoscience research. Complex physical and chemical processes underpin the self-assembly and self-organization of colloidal nanoparticles at two-phase (solid-liquid, liquid-air) interfaces and three-phase (solid-liquid-air) contact lines. This review discusses key recent advances made in the understanding of nonequilibrium dewetting processes of nanoparticle-containing solutions, detailing how such an apparently simple experimental system can give rise to such a strikingly varied palette of two-dimensional self-organized nanoparticle array morphologies. Patterns discussed include worm-like domains, cellular networks, microscale rings, and fractal-like fingering structures. There remain many unresolved issues regarding the role of the solvent dewetting dynamics in assembly processes of this type, with a significant focus on how dewetting can be coerced to produce nanoparticle arrays with desirable characteristics such as long-range order. In addition to these topics, methods developed to control nanofluid dewetting through routes such as confining the geometries of drying solutions, depositing onto pre-patterned heterogeneous substrates, and post-dewetting pattern evolution via local or global manipulation are covered.
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Association between Sleep Patterns and Health in Families with Exceptional Longevity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lavy Klein
2017-12-01
Full Text Available BackgroundSleep patterns such as longer sleep duration or napping are associated with poor health outcomes. Although centenarians and their offspring demonstrate a delayed onset of age-related diseases, it is not known whether they have healthier sleep patterns or are protected against the negative effects of sleep disturbances.MethodsData on sleep patterns and health history were collected from Ashkenazi Jewish subjects of the Longevity Genes Project using standardized questionnaires. Participants included individuals with exceptional longevity (centenarians with preserved cognition (n = 348, median age 97 years, their offspring (n = 513, median age 69 years, and controls (n = 199 age-matched to the offspring. Centenarians reported on their sleep patterns at age 70, while the offspring and controls on their current sleep patterns. Biochemical parameters were measured at baseline. Models were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and use of sleep medication.ResultsThe offspring and controls reported similar sleep patterns, with 33% sleeping ≥8 h and 17% napping in each group. At age 70, centenarians were more likely to have slept ≥8 h (55% and to have napped (28% compared with offspring and controls, p < 0.01. Among centenarians, no association was noted between sleep patterns and health outcomes. Sleeping for ≥8 h was associated with lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the offspring and controls, and with insulin resistance in the offspring, but not with diabetes. Napping was associated with insulin resistance among the controls (p < 0.01, but not the offspring. Controls, but not offspring, who napped were 2.79 times more likely to have one or more of the following diseases: hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, or diabetes (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.08–7.21, p = 0.04.ConclusionDespite being more likely to exhibit risky sleep patterns at age 70 compared with the offspring and controls, the
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. van Ruymbeke
2007-11-01
Full Text Available A stacking method to detect very weak signals is introduced in this paper. This method is to stack observed data in different well known periodicities according to the astronomical clock since majority geophysical observations are time based. We validated this method by applying it in four different cases. Interactions behind the observed parameters become obviously after it is stacked in two diurnal and semidiurnal tidal periodical waves. Amplitude and phase variations will be also measurable when a sliding windows stacking is used. This could be an important reference to find precursors before some earthquakes and volcanic events, corresponding to attenuations of medium patterns.
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Leisure Activity Patterns and Marital Conflict in Iran
Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Saadat, Hassan; Noushad, Siena
2016-01-01
Background: Over the past few decades, the association between leisure activity patterns and marital conflict or satisfaction has been studied extensively. However, most studies to date have been limited to middle-class families of developed societies, and an investigation of the issue, from a developing country perspective like Iran, is non-existent. Objectives: In an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study we aimed to investigate the relationship between leisure activity patterns and marital conflict in a nationally representative sample of Iranian married males. Patients and Methods: Using the cluster sampling method, a representative sample of 400 Iranian married individuals from seven provinces of Iran was surveyed. Self-administered surveys included a checklist collecting demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the enrolled participants, leisure time questionnaire, and marital conflict questionnaire. The main patterns of leisure activity were derived from principal component analysis. For each pattern, factor scores were calculated. The relationship between factor scores and marital conflict were assessed using multivariate linear regression models accounting for the potential confounding effects of age, education, socioeconomic status, job status, number of children, duration of marriage, and time spent for leisure. Results: Two hundred and ninety-nine respondents completed the leisure time and marital conflict questionnaires. Five major leisure patterns were identified accounting for 60.3% of the variance in data. The most dominant pattern was family-oriented activities (e.g. spending time with family outdoors and spending time with family indoors) and was negatively linked to marital conflict (standardized beta= −0.154, P = 0.013). Of the four remaining patterns, three only included individual activities and one was a family-individual composite. Individual patterns exhibited discrepant behavior; while the pattern involving activities
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Chung, Jong-Kyun; Jee, Geonhwa; Lee, Chi-Na
2011-12-01
The total electron content (TEC) using global positioning system (GPS) is analyzed to see the characteristics of ionosphere over King Sejong station (KSJ, geographic latitude 62°13' S, longitude 58° 47' W, corrected geomagnetic latitude 48° S) in Antarctic. The GPS operational ratio during the observational period between 2005 and 2009 is 90.1%. The annual variation of the daily mean TEC decreases from January 2005 to February 2009, but increase from the June 2009. In summer (December-February), the seasonal mean TEC values have the maximum of 26.2 ± 2.4 TEC unit (TECU) in 2005 and the minimum of 16.5 ± 2.8 TECU in 2009, and the annual differences decrease from 3.0 TECU (2005-2006) to 1.4 TECU (2008-2009). However, on November 2010, it significantly increases to 22.3 ± 2.8 TECU which is up to 5.8 TECU compared with 2009 in summer. In winter (June-August), the seasonal mean TEC slightly decreases from 13.7 ± 4.5 TECU in 2005 to 8.9 ± 0.6 TECU in 2008, and the a! nnual difference is constantly about 1.6 TECU, and increases to 10.3 ± 1.8 TECU in 2009. The annual variations of diurnal amplitude show the seasonal features that are scattered in summer and the enhancements near equinoxes are apparent in the whole years. In contrast, the semidiurnal amplitudes show the disturbed annual peaks in winter and its enhancements near equinoxes are unapparent. The diurnal phases are not constant in winter and show near 12 local time (LT). The semidiurnal phases have a seasonal pattern between 00 LT and 06 LT. Consequently, the KSJ GPS TEC variations show the significant semidiurnal variation in summer from December to February under the solar minimum between 2005 and 2009. The feature is considered as the Weddell Sea anomaly of larger nighttime electron density than a daytime electron density that has been observed around the Antarctica peninsula.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jong-Kyun Chung
2011-12-01
Full Text Available The total electron content (TEC using global positioning system (GPS is analyzed to see the characteristics of ionosphere over King Sejong station (KSJ, geographic latitude 62°13′ S, longitude 58° 47′ W, corrected geomagnetic latitude 48° S in Antarctic. The GPS operational ratio during the observational period between 2005 and 2009 is 90.1%. The annual variation of the daily mean TEC decreases from January 2005 to February 2009, but increase from the June 2009. In summer (December-February, the seasonal mean TEC values have the maximum of 26.2 ± 2.4 TEC unit (TECU in 2005 and the minimum of 16.5 ± 2.8 TECU in 2009, and the annual differences decrease from 3.0 TECU (2005-2006 to 1.4 TECU (2008-2009. However, on November 2010, it significantly increases to 22.3 ± 2.8 TECU which is up to 5.8 TECU compared with 2009 in summer. In winter (June-August, the seasonal mean TEC slightly decreases from 13.7 ± 4.5 TECU in 2005 to 8.9 ± 0.6 TECU in 2008, and the annual difference is constantly about 1.6 TECU, and increases to 10.3 ± 1.8 TECU in 2009. The annual variations of diurnal amplitude show the seasonal features that are scattered in summer and the enhancements near equinoxes are apparent in the whole years. In contrast, the semidiurnal amplitudes show the disturbed annual peaks in winter and its enhancements near equinoxes are unapparent. The diurnal phases are not constant in winter and show near 12 local time (LT. The semidiurnal phases have a seasonal pattern between 00 LT and 06 LT. Consequently, the KSJ GPS TEC variations show the significant semidiurnal variation in summer from December to February under the solar minimum between 2005 and 2009. The feature is considered as the Weddell Sea anomaly of larger nighttime electron density than a daytime electron density that has been observed around the Antarctica peninsula.
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Dynamic moire patterns for profilometry applications
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
De Oliveira, G N [Pos-graduacao em Engenharia Mecanica, TEM/PGMEC, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Passos da Patria, 156, Niteroi, R.J., Cep.: 24.210-240 (Brazil); De Oliveira, M E; Dos Santos, P A M, E-mail: pams@if.uff.br [Instituto de Fisica, Laboratorio de Optica Nao-linear e Aplicada, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Av. Gal. Nilton Tavares de Souza, s/n, Gragoata, Niteroi, R.J., Cep.:24.210-346 (Brazil)
2011-01-01
In the present work is proposed that dynamic moire-like fringe patterns produced by photorefraction, with low spatial frequencies, could be used for profile determination of small objects. The Fourier transform profilometry technique is applied in the projected moire fringe pattern onto an object surface. Basically, the Fourier transform of the projected fringes is obtained. After that, a phase map is generated. Then, the optical profile of object is obtained using phase unwrapping. So, the entire process can be indicated to measure, with good accuracy degree, profile of small objects in sub-micrometer scale in optical mechanical systems.
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Motivations and usage patterns of Weibo.
Zhang, Lixuan; Pentina, Iryna
2012-06-01
Referred to as "Weibo," microblogging in China has witnessed an exponential growth. In addition to the Twitter-like functionality, Weibo allows rich media uploads into user feeds, provides threaded comments, and offers applications, games, and Weibo medals. This expanded functionality, as well as the observed differences in trending content, suggests potentially different user motivations to join Weibo and their usage patterns compared to Twitter. This pioneering study identifies dominant Weibo user motivations and their effects on usage patterns. We discuss the findings of an online survey of 234 Weibo users and suggest managerial implications and future research directions.
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Do subitizing deficits in developmental dyscalculia involve pattern recognition weakness?
Ashkenazi, Sarit; Mark-Zigdon, Nitza; Henik, Avishai
2013-01-01
The abilities of children diagnosed with developmental dyscalculia (DD) were examined in two types of object enumeration: subitizing, and small estimation (5-9 dots). Subitizing is usually defined as a fast and accurate assessment of a number of small dots (range 1 to 4 dots), and estimation is an imprecise process to assess a large number of items (range 5 dots or more). Based on reaction time (RT) and accuracy analysis, our results indicated a deficit in the subitizing and small estimation range among DD participants in relation to controls. There are indications that subitizing is based on pattern recognition, thus presenting dots in a canonical shape in the estimation range should result in a subitizing-like pattern. In line with this theory, our control group presented a subitizing-like pattern in the small estimation range for canonically arranged dots, whereas the DD participants presented a deficit in the estimation of canonically arranged dots. The present finding indicates that pattern recognition difficulties may play a significant role in both subitizing and subitizing deficits among those with DD. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Depth distribution of preferential flow patterns in a sandy loam soil as affected by tillage
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C. T. Petersen
1997-01-01
Full Text Available Dye-tracer studies using the anionic dye Brilliant Blue FCF were conducted on a structured sandy loam soil (Typic Agrudalf. 25 mm of dye solution was applied to the surface of 11 1.6 x 1.6 m field plots, some of which had been subjected to conventional seed bed preparation (harrowing while others had been rotovated to either 5 or 15 cm depth before sowing. The soil was excavated to about 160 cm depth one or two days after dye application. Flow patterns and structural features appearing on vertical or horizontal cross sections were examined and photographed. The flow patterns were digitized, and depth functions for the number of activated flow pathways and the degree of dye coverage were calculated. Dye was found below 100 cm depth on 26 out of 33 vertical cross sections made in conventionally tilled plots showing that preferential flow was a prevailing phenomenon. The depth-averaged number of stained flow pathways in the 25-100 cm layer was significantly smaller in a plot rotovated to 5 cm depth than in a conventionally tilled plot, both under relatively dry initial soil conditions and when the entire soil profiles were initially at field capacity. There were no examples of dye penetration below 25 cm depth one month after deep rotovation. Distinct horizontal structures in flow patterns appearing at 20-40 cm depth coupled with changes in flow domains indicated soil layering with abrupt changes in soil structure and hydraulic properties.
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The impact of fracking on freight distribution patterns.
2016-11-01
The increasing production of domestic energy through the use of fracking will likely alter local/regional/national economies and corresponding freight distribution patterns (highway, rail, marine, pipeline) in the United States. The proposed project ...
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Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy With Lactic Acidosis and Stroke-Like Episodes—MELAS Syndrome
Henry, Caitlin; Patel, Neema; Shaffer, William; Murphy, Lillian; Park, Joe
2017-01-01
Background: Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome is a rare inherited disorder that results in waxing and waning nervous system and muscle dysfunction. MELAS syndrome may overlap with other neurologic disorders but shows distinctive imaging features. Case Report: We present the case of a 28-year-old female with atypical stroke-like symptoms, a strong family history of stroke-like symptoms, and a relapsing-remitting course for several years. We discuss the imaging features distinctive to the case, the mechanism of the disease, typical presentation, imaging diagnosis, and disease management. Conclusion: This case is a classic example of the relapse-remitting MELAS syndrome progression with episodic clinical flares and fluctuating patterns of stroke-like lesions on imaging. MELAS is an important diagnostic consideration when neuroimaging reveals a pattern of disappearing and relapsing cortical brain lesions that may occur in different areas of the brain and are not necessarily limited to discrete vascular territories. Future studies should investigate disease mechanisms at the cellular level and the value of advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques for a targeted approach to therapy. PMID:29026367
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Spatial correlations, clustering and percolation-like transitions in homicide crimes
Alves, L. G. A.; Lenzi, E. K.; Mendes, R. S.; Ribeiro, H. V.
2015-07-01
The spatial dynamics of criminal activities has been recently studied through statistical physics methods; however, models and results have been focusing on local scales (city level) and much less is known about these patterns at larger scales, e.g. at a country level. Here we report on a characterization of the spatial dynamics of the homicide crimes along the Brazilian territory using data from all cities (˜5000) in a period of more than thirty years. Our results show that the spatial correlation function in the per capita homicides decays exponentially with the distance between cities and that the characteristic correlation length displays an acute increasing trend in the latest years. We also investigate the formation of spatial clusters of cities via a percolation-like analysis, where clustering of cities and a phase-transition-like behavior describing the size of the largest cluster as a function of a homicide threshold are observed. This transition-like behavior presents evolutive features characterized by an increasing in the homicide threshold (where the transitions occur) and by a decreasing in the transition magnitudes (length of the jumps in the cluster size). We believe that our work sheds new light on the spatial patterns of criminal activities at large scales, which may contribute for better political decisions and resources allocation as well as opens new possibilities for modeling criminal activities by setting up fundamental empirical patterns at large scales.
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Pineo, Graham; Lin, Jay; Stern, Lee; Subrahmanian, Tarun; Annemans, Lieven
2012-03-01
The PREVAIL (Prevention of VTE [venous thromboembolism] after acute ischemic stroke with LMWH [low-molecular-weight heparin] and UFH [unfractionated heparin]) study demonstrated a 43% VTE risk reduction with enoxaparin versus UFH in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). A 1% rate of symptomatic intracranial and major extracranial hemorrhage was observed in both groups. To determine the economic impact, from a hospital perspective, of enoxaparin versus UFH for VTE prophylaxis after AIS. A decision-analytic model was constructed and hospital-based costs analyzed using clinical information from PREVAIL. Total hospital costs were calculated based on mean costs in the Premier™ database and from wholesalers acquisition data. Costs were also compared in patients with severe stroke (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score ≥14) and less severe stroke (NIHSS score <14). The average cost per patient due to VTE or bleeding events was lower with enoxaparin versus UFH ($422 vs $662, respectively; net savings $240). The average anticoagulant cost, including drug-administration cost per patient, was lower with UFH versus enoxaparin ($259 vs $360, respectively; net savings $101). However, when both clinical events and drug-acquisition costs were considered, the total hospital cost was lower with enoxaparin versus UFH ($782 vs $922, respectively; savings $140). Hospital cost-savings were greatest ($287) in patients with NIHSS scores ≥14. The higher drug cost of enoxaparin was offset by the reduction in clinical events as compared to the use of UFH for VTE prophylaxis after an AIS, particularly in patients with severe stroke. Copyright © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine.
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Bond, Jason E; Garrison, Nicole L; Hamilton, Chris A; Godwin, Rebecca L; Hedin, Marshal; Agnarsson, Ingi
2014-08-04
Spiders represent an ancient predatory lineage known for their extraordinary biomaterials, including venoms and silks. These adaptations make spiders key arthropod predators in most terrestrial ecosystems. Despite ecological, biomedical, and biomaterial importance, relationships among major spider lineages remain unresolved or poorly supported. Current working hypotheses for a spider "backbone" phylogeny are largely based on morphological evidence, as most molecular markers currently employed are generally inadequate for resolving deeper-level relationships. We present here a phylogenomic analysis of spiders including taxa representing all major spider lineages. Our robust phylogenetic hypothesis recovers some fundamental and uncontroversial spider clades, but rejects the prevailing paradigm of a monophyletic Orbiculariae, the most diverse lineage, containing orb-weaving spiders. Based on our results, the orb web either evolved much earlier than previously hypothesized and is ancestral for a majority of spiders or else it has multiple independent origins, as hypothesized by precladistic authors. Cribellate deinopoid orb weavers that use mechanically adhesive silk are more closely related to a diverse clade of mostly webless spiders than to the araneoid orb-weaving spiders that use adhesive droplet silks. The fundamental shift in our understanding of spider phylogeny proposed here has broad implications for interpreting the evolution of spiders, their remarkable biomaterials, and a key extended phenotype--the spider web. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ellen T. Chen
2015-08-01
Full Text Available The hummingbird’s significant asymmetry hovering flight with energy conservation pattern is remarkable among all vertebrates. However, little is known to human’s neuronal network circuitry current flow pattern for whether or not has this privilege during slow wave sleeping (SWS. What is the advantage in order to avoid diseases if we have this network pattern ? A memory device was developed with nanostructured biomimetic acetylcholinesterase (ACHE gorge membrane on gold chips as memcapacitor 1, served as a normal brain network prosthesis, compared with a mutated ACHE prosthesis as device 2, for evaluation of neuronal network circuitry integrity in the presence of Amyloid- beta (Ab under the conditions of free from tracers and antibodies in spiked NIST SRM 965A human serum. Three categories of Reentrant Energy-Sensory images are presented based on infused brain pulse energies in a matrix of “Sensory Biomarkers” having frequencies over 0.25-333 Hz at free and fixed Ab levels, respectively. Early non-symptomatic epilepsy was indentified and predicted by device 2 due to Pathological High Frequency Oscillation (pHFO and large areas of 38 µM Ab re-depositions. Device 1 sensitively “feels” Ab damage because of its Frequency Oscillation (HFO enhanced the hummingbird- like hovering pattern with higher reentrant energy sensitivity of 0.12 pj/bit/s/µm3 without Ab compared with Ab, 13 aj/bit/s/µm3/nM over 3.8-471 nM range over 0.003-4s. Device 1 reliably detected early CR dysfunction privileged to avoid epilepsy.
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Move Closer: Towards Design Patterns To Support Initiating Social Encounters
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mitchell, Robb; Boer, Laurens
2017-01-01
be addressed. Each inspirational design pattern offers strategies to make social interaction more likely through enabling, encouraging or excusing people to move closer together. The patterns are "Feel For Fun", "Conjoining Self Images", "Eye To Eye", and "Nudge People Together". Articulating possible...... approaches for increasing conviviality may broaden the repertoire of developers concerned with social settings and collaboration....
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An Expanding Role For Purine Uptake Permease (PUP -like Transporters In Plant Secondary Metabolism.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
John G. Jelesko
2012-05-01
Full Text Available For the past decade, our understanding of the plant purine uptake permease (PUP transporter family of was primarily oriented on purine nucleobase substrates and their tissue-specific expression patterns in Arabidopsis. However, a tobacco PUP-like homolog demonstrating nicotine uptake permease (NUP activity was recently shown to affect both nicotine metabolism and root cell growth. These new findings expand the physiological role for PUP-like transporters to include plant secondary metabolism. Molecular evolution analyses of PUP-like transporters indicate they are distinct group within an ancient super family of drug and metabolite transporters (DMTs. The PUP-like family originated during terrestrial plant evolution sometime between the bryophytes and the lycophytes. A phylogenetic analysis indicates that the PUP-like transporters were likely were derived from a pre-existing nucleotide sugar transporter family within the DMT super family. Within the lycophyte Selaginella, there are three paralogous groups of PUP-like transporters. One of the three PUP-like paralogous groups showed an extensive pattern of gene duplication and diversification within the angiosperm lineage, whereas the other two more ancestral PUP-like paralogous groups did not. Biochemical characterization of four closely-related PUP-like paralogs together with model-based phylogenetic analyses indicate both subfunctionalization and neofunctionalization during the molecular evolution of angiosperm PUP-like transporters. These findings suggest that members of the PUP-like family of DMT transporters are likely involved in diverse primary and secondary plant metabolic pathways.
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Eating patterns of US adults: Meals, snacks, and time of eating.
Kant, Ashima K
2018-03-21
The objective of this paper is to update knowledge of eating patterns of US adults with sex and ethnicity specific estimates and discuss the implications of reported patterns with respect to current resurgence of interest in the topic. The eating patterns data were from the NHANES 2009-2014 (n = 15,341 adults). Overall, American adults reported 4.96 ± 0.03 eating episodes in the recall. Women were more likely to report each of the three main meals and all three meals plus one or more snacks relative to men (P < 0.0001). Relative to other ethnic groups, non-Hispanic blacks were less likely to report each meal or a snack or all three meals, and the foods reported for meals and snacks were higher in energy density (P = 0.0001). Of the three meals, the dinner meal, and among snacks, the after-dinner snack, were reported by the highest percentage of Americans; these two eating episodes provided nearly 45% of the 24-h energy intake. The average dinnertime was 6:24 pm, and the average time of the last eating episode of the 24-h ingestive period was 8:18 pm. Given these findings, adoption of eating patterns that advocate less frequent eating and shift in the time of eating are likely to present a challenge. We know little about the validity of eating patterns determined from 24-h recalls or questionnaire instruments. The extent of within person variability and reporting errors in different eating pattern components also need further research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Using biological markets principles to examine patterns of grooming exchange in Macaca thibetana.
Balasubramaniam, K N; Berman, C M; Ogawa, H; Li, J
2011-12-01
Biological markets principles offer testable hypotheses to explain variation in grooming exchange patterns among nonhuman primates. They predict that when within-group contest competition (WGC) is high and dominance hierarchies steep, grooming interchange with other "commodity" behaviors (such as agonistic support) should prevail. In contrast, when WGC is low and gradients shallow, market theory predicts that grooming reciprocity should prevail. We tested these predictions in a wild, provisioned Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana) group across six time periods during which the group had been subjected to varying degrees of range restriction. Data on female-female aggression, grooming, and support were collected using all-occurrences and focal animal sampling techniques, and analyzed using ANCOVA methods and correlation analyses. We found that hierarchical steepness varied significantly across periods, but did not correlate with two indirect indicators of WGC (group size and range restriction) in predicted directions. Contrary to expectations, we found a negative correlation between steepness and group size, perhaps because the responses of group members to external risks (i.e. prolonged and unavoidable exposure to humans) may have overshadowed the effects of WGC. As predicted, grooming reciprocity was significant in each period and negatively correlated with steepness, even after we controlled group size, kinship, rank differences, and proximity. In contrast, there was no evidence for grooming interchange with agonistic support or for a positive relationship between interchange and steepness. We hypothesize that stressful conditions and/or the presence of stable hierarchies during each period may have led to a greater market demand for grooming than support. We suggest that future studies testing these predictions consider more direct measures of WGC and commodities in addition to support, such as feeding tolerance and access to infants. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals
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Olugasa, Babasola O; Odigie, Eugene A; Lawani, Mike; Ojo, Johnson F
2015-01-01
The objective was to develop a case-pattern model for Lassa fever (LF) among humans and derive predictors of time-trend point distribution of LF cases in Liberia in view of the prevailing under-reporting and public health challenge posed by the disease in the country. A retrospective 5 years data of LF distribution countrywide among humans were used to train a time-trend model of the disease in Liberia. A time-trend quadratic model was selected due to its goodness-of-fit (R2 = 0.89, and P Liberia, on which a predictive model was developed. We proposed a computationally feasible two-stage space-time permutation approach to estimate the time-trend parameters and conduct predictive inference on LF in Liberia.
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Sehnal, David; Pravda, Lukáš; Svobodová Vařeková, Radka; Ionescu, Crina-Maria; Koča, Jaroslav
2015-07-01
Well defined biomacromolecular patterns such as binding sites, catalytic sites, specific protein or nucleic acid sequences, etc. precisely modulate many important biological phenomena. We introduce PatternQuery, a web-based application designed for detection and fast extraction of such patterns. The application uses a unique query language with Python-like syntax to define the patterns that will be extracted from datasets provided by the user, or from the entire Protein Data Bank (PDB). Moreover, the database-wide search can be restricted using a variety of criteria, such as PDB ID, resolution, and organism of origin, to provide only relevant data. The extraction generally takes a few seconds for several hundreds of entries, up to approximately one hour for the whole PDB. The detected patterns are made available for download to enable further processing, as well as presented in a clear tabular and graphical form directly in the browser. The unique design of the language and the provided service could pave the way towards novel PDB-wide analyses, which were either difficult or unfeasible in the past. The application is available free of charge at http://ncbr.muni.cz/PatternQuery. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.
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Endothelial cell motility, coordination and pattern formation during vasculogenesis.
Czirok, Andras
2013-01-01
How vascular networks assemble is a fundamental problem of developmental biology that also has medical importance. To explain the organizational principles behind vascular patterning, we must understand how can tissue level structures be controlled through cell behavior patterns like motility and adhesion that, in turn, are determined by biochemical signal transduction processes? We discuss the various ideas that have been proposed as mechanisms for vascular network assembly: cell motility guided by extracellular matrix alignment (contact guidance), chemotaxis guided by paracrine and autocrine morphogens, and multicellular sprouting guided by cell-cell contacts. All of these processes yield emergent patterns, thus endothelial cells can form an interconnected structure autonomously, without guidance from an external pre-pattern. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bouaidat, Salim; Berendsen, C.; Thomsen, P.
2004-01-01
Micro scale patterning of bioactive surfaces is desirable for numerous biochip applications. Polyethyleneoxide-like (PEO-like) coating with non-fouling functionality has been deposited using low frequency AC plasma polymerization. The non-fouling properties of the coating were tested with human c...... and versatility of the plasma-polymerized coatings, make this technology highly suitable for bio-MEMS and biochip applications, where patterned high contrast non-fouling surfaces are needed....
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Tschirren, Barbara; Andersson, Martin; Scherman, Kristin; Westerdahl, Helena; Råberg, Lars
2012-03-01
Comparing patterns of diversity and divergence between populations at immune genes and neutral markers can give insights into the nature and geographic scale of parasite-mediated selection. To date, studies investigating such patterns of selection in vertebrates have primarily focused on the acquired branch of the immune system, whereas it remains largely unknown how parasite-mediated selection shapes innate immune genes both within and across vertebrate populations. Here, we present a study on the diversity and population differentiation at the innate immune gene Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) across nine populations of yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in southern Sweden. In yellow-necked mice, TLR2 diversity was very low, as was TLR2 population differentiation compared to neutral loci. In contrast, several TLR2 haplotypes co-occurred at intermediate frequencies within and across bank vole populations, and pronounced isolation by distance between populations was observed. The diversity and differentiation at neutral loci was similar in the two species. These results indicate that parasite-mediated selection has been acting in dramatically different ways on a given immune gene in ecologically similar and sympatric species. Furthermore, the finding of TLR2 population differentiation at a small geographical scale in bank voles highlights that vertebrate innate immune defense may be evolutionarily more dynamic than has previously been appreciated. © 2011 The Author(s). Evolution© 2011 The Society for the Study of Evolution.
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Caves as observatories for atmospheric thermal tides: an example from Ascunsă Cave, Romania
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Virgil Drăgușin
2018-01-01
Full Text Available As part of a microclimate study at Ascunsă Cave, Romania, we used Gemini Tinytag Plus 2 data loggers to record cave air temperature variability. At one of the monitoring points we recognized the presence of semidiurnal cycles on the order of a few thousands of a degree Celsius that could be produced under the influence of the semidiurnal tidal components of the Sun (S2 or the Moon (M2. Using a Gemini Tinytag Plus 2 data logger with an external probe we measured core rock temperature and showed that it does not influence the cave air temperature on such short time scales. We thus rejected the possibility that Earth tides, mostly produced by the lunar tidal influence on the Earth’s crust, would have had a semidiurnal influence on cave air temperature. Moreover, time series analysis revealed a 12.00-hour periodicity in temperature data, specific for the S2, allowing us to assign these variations to the influence of the thermo-tidal action of the Sun. Using the Ideal Gas Law and assuming a constant volume and amount of air, we calculated that a theoretical change in atmospheric pressure of around 40 Pa was needed to produce the temperature changes we observed. This agrees with published values of atmospheric pressure changes induced by the semidiurnal solar component of the thermal tides (S2(t. We thus can assign the observed temperature changes to semidiurnal atmospheric pressure changes (S2(p induced by the thermal excitation of the Sun. Our study signals the possibility that readily available data from cave monitoring studies around the world could be used in the study of atmospheric tides. Moreover, it appears that Ascunsă Cave acts as a natural meteorological filter on a short time scale, removing the direct thermal influences of the Sun (especially night and day differences and preserving only the barometric information from the surface.
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Impact of deforestation on local precipitation patterns over the Da River basin, Vietnam
Anghileri, Daniela; Spartà, Daniele; Castelletti, Andrea; Boschetti, Mirco
2014-05-01
Change in land cover, e.g. from forest to bare soil, might severely impact the hydrological cycle at the river basin scale by altering the balance between rainfall and evaporation, ultimately affecting streamflow dynamics. These changes generally occur over decades, but they might be much more rapid in developing countries, where economic growth and growing population may cause abrupt changes in landscape and ecosystem. Detecting, analysing and modelling these changes is an essential step to design mitigation strategies and adaptation plans, balancing economic development and ecosystem protection. In this work we investigate the impact of land cover changes on the water cycle in the Da River basin, Vietnam. More precisely, the objective is to evaluate the interlink between deforestation and precipitation. The case study is particularly interesting because Vietnam is one of the world fastest growing economies and natural resources have been considerably exploited to support after-war development. Vietnam has the second highest rate of deforestation of primary forests in the world, second to only Nigeria (FAO 2005), with associated problems like abrupt change in run-off, erosion, sediment transport and flash floods. We performed land cover evaluation by combining literature information and Remote Sensing techniques, using Landsat images. We then analysed time series of precipitation observed on the period 1960-2011 in several stations located in the catchment area. We used multiple trend detection techniques, both state-of-the-art (e.g., Linear regression and Mann-Kendall) and novel trend detection techniques (Moving Average on Shifting Horizon), to investigate trends in seasonal pattern of precipitation. Results suggest that deforestation may induce a negative trend in the precipitation volume. The effect is mainly recognizable at the beginning and at the end of the monsoon season, when the local mechanisms of precipitation formation prevail over the large scale
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria del Mar Bibiloni
2017-07-01
Full Text Available Objectives: To assess prevailing food patterns, and its association with physical activity and fitness among Spanish older adults. Methods: Cross-sectional study in Spain, collecting data from a sample (n = 380; 54% female aged 55–80 years (men and 60–80 years (women with no previously documented cardiovascular disease. Body weight, body fat and waist circumference were assessed. Physical activity performed was measured using the Minnesota Leisure-time Physical Activity Questionnaire (LTPA. Physical fitness was assessed using a validated physical fitness test battery. Food consumption was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Factor analysis identified two major dietary food patterns: “Western” (WDP and “Mediterranean” (MDP dietary patterns. Results: Participants in MDP’s fourth quartile were classified in the second (men and third (men and women tertile of LTPA. After adjusting for age, body fat, waist-to-height ratio, and METs, in both sexes, a negative significant association was found between 30-s Chair stand and 6-min walking test, a positive significant association was found between 30-m Gait speed and 8-foot Time Up-and-Go (except in men tests with WDP. The 30-m Gait speed test was negatively associated with MDP in men. Conclusions: MDP is associated with more time spent on LTPA, and this association was independent of body composition and a fast gait speed in men. WDP is associated with slower gait speed and lower body strength, agility and aerobic endurance. MDP has protective effect on healthy physical fitness, and WDP may be a contributor to frailty.
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Bibiloni, Maria Del Mar; Julibert, Alicia; Argelich, Emma; Aparicio-Ugarriza, Raquel; Palacios, Gonzalo; Pons, Antoni; Gonzalez-Gross, Marcela; Tur, Josep A
2017-07-06
Objectives: To assess prevailing food patterns, and its association with physical activity and fitness among Spanish older adults. Methods: Cross-sectional study in Spain, collecting data from a sample ( n = 380; 54% female) aged 55-80 years (men) and 60-80 years (women) with no previously documented cardiovascular disease. Body weight, body fat and waist circumference were assessed. Physical activity performed was measured using the Minnesota Leisure-time Physical Activity Questionnaire (LTPA). Physical fitness was assessed using a validated physical fitness test battery. Food consumption was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Factor analysis identified two major dietary food patterns: "Western" (WDP) and "Mediterranean" (MDP) dietary patterns. Results: Participants in MDP's fourth quartile were classified in the second (men) and third (men and women) tertile of LTPA. After adjusting for age, body fat, waist-to-height ratio, and METs, in both sexes, a negative significant association was found between 30-s Chair stand and 6-min walking test, a positive significant association was found between 30-m Gait speed and 8-foot Time Up-and-Go (except in men) tests with WDP. The 30-m Gait speed test was negatively associated with MDP in men. Conclusions: MDP is associated with more time spent on LTPA, and this association was independent of body composition and a fast gait speed in men. WDP is associated with slower gait speed and lower body strength, agility and aerobic endurance. MDP has protective effect on healthy physical fitness, and WDP may be a contributor to frailty.
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Tegotae-based decentralised control scheme for autonomous gait transition of snake-like robots.
Kano, Takeshi; Yoshizawa, Ryo; Ishiguro, Akio
2017-08-04
Snakes change their locomotion patterns in response to the environment. This ability is a motivation for developing snake-like robots with highly adaptive functionality. In this study, a decentralised control scheme of snake-like robots that exhibited autonomous gait transition (i.e. the transition between concertina locomotion in narrow aisles and scaffold-based locomotion on unstructured terrains) was developed. Additionally, the control scheme was validated via simulations. A key insight revealed is that these locomotion patterns were not preprogrammed but emerged by exploiting Tegotae, a concept that describes the extent to which a perceived reaction matches a generated action. Unlike local reflexive mechanisms proposed previously, the Tegotae-based feedback mechanism enabled the robot to 'selectively' exploit environments beneficial for propulsion, and generated reasonable locomotion patterns. It is expected that the results of this study can form the basis to design robots that can work under unpredictable and unstructured environments.
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Pattern of somatic symptoms in anxiety and depression
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Shah, M.
2011-01-01
To determine the pattern of somatic symptoms in anxiety and depressive disorders. Design: Cross Sectional Comparative study Place of Study: Department of Psychiatry Military Hospital Rawalpindi. Duration of Study: From May to November 2002. Patients and Methods: Patients were divided in Group I of anxiety and group II of depression. Fifty patients considered in each group by convenience sampling. The organic basis of their symptoms was ruled out. The patterns of their somatic symptoms and other information like educational and economic status were recorded on Semi Structured Proforma. The patient's diagnosis was made on schedule based ICD-10 research criteria. The severity of anxiety and depression was assessed by using HARS and HDRS respectively. The pattern of somatic symptoms in both groups was then analyzed by the urdu version of Bradford Somatic Inventory. Patterns of somatic complaints were then analyzed by chi square test. Results: Out of 100 patients we placed 50 each in group I (anxiety) and group II (Depression). Males were higher in depression whereas females were higher in anxiety disorder group. P-value for headache was 0.017 while in rest of the somatic symptoms it was insignificant ranging from 0.4 to 1. Conclusion: We found that the patterns of somatic symptoms are present in both the groups of anxiety and depression like symptoms related to musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal system were commonly observed in cases of depression whereas symptoms related to autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular system is more significantly somatized in patients of anxiety. A larger sample is required for further studies to get better results. (author)
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Differential diagnosis of periapical cyst using collagen birefringence pattern of the cyst wall
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hyo Jin Ji
2017-05-01
Full Text Available Objectives Periapical lesions, including periapical cyst (PC, periapical granuloma (PG, and periapical abscess (PA, are frequently affected by chemical/physical damage during root canal treatment or severe bacterial infection, and thus, the differential diagnosis of periapical lesions may be difficult due to the presence of severe inflammatory reaction. The aim of this study was to make differential diagnosis among PC, PG, and PA under polarizing microscope. Materials and Methods The collagen birefringence patterns of 319 cases of PC (n = 122, PG (n = 158, and PA (n = 39 obtained using a polarizing microscope were compared. In addition, 6 cases of periodontal fibroma (PF were used as positive controls. Results Collagen birefringence was condensed with a thick, linear band-like pattern in PC, but was short and irregularly scattered in PG, and scarce or absent in PA. PF showed intense collagen birefringence with a short, palisading pattern but no continuous band-like pattern. The linear band-like birefringence in PC was ascribed to pre-existing expansile tensile stress of the cyst wall. Conclusions In this study all PCs (n = 122 were distinguishable from PGs and PAs by their characteristic birefringence, despite the absence of lining epithelium (n = 20. Therefore, the authors suggest that the presence of linear band-like collagen birefringence of the cyst wall aids the diagnostic differentiation of PC from PG and PA.
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Differential diagnosis of periapical cyst using collagen birefringence pattern of the cyst wall.
Ji, Hyo Jin; Park, Se-Hee; Cho, Kyung-Mo; Lee, Suk Keun; Kim, Jin Woo
2017-05-01
Periapical lesions, including periapical cyst (PC), periapical granuloma (PG), and periapical abscess (PA), are frequently affected by chemical/physical damage during root canal treatment or severe bacterial infection, and thus, the differential diagnosis of periapical lesions may be difficult due to the presence of severe inflammatory reaction. The aim of this study was to make differential diagnosis among PC, PG, and PA under polarizing microscope. The collagen birefringence patterns of 319 cases of PC ( n = 122), PG ( n = 158), and PA ( n = 39) obtained using a polarizing microscope were compared. In addition, 6 cases of periodontal fibroma (PF) were used as positive controls. Collagen birefringence was condensed with a thick, linear band-like pattern in PC, but was short and irregularly scattered in PG, and scarce or absent in PA. PF showed intense collagen birefringence with a short, palisading pattern but no continuous band-like pattern. The linear band-like birefringence in PC was ascribed to pre-existing expansile tensile stress of the cyst wall. In this study all PCs ( n = 122) were distinguishable from PGs and PAs by their characteristic birefringence, despite the absence of lining epithelium ( n = 20). Therefore, the authors suggest that the presence of linear band-like collagen birefringence of the cyst wall aids the diagnostic differentiation of PC from PG and PA.
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J.H.B. Garner; Terry Pagano; Ellis B. Cowling
1989-01-01
Existing knowledge on air pollutants that occur in the forests of eastern North America is summarized and interpreted.Resolution is sought to the conflict between the prevailing scientific judgment that ozone and other oxidants are most likely to be damaging eastern forests and the prevailing public perception that acidic and acidifying substances are the most likely...
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CPG-based Locomotion Controller Design for a Boxfish-like Robot
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wei Wang
2014-06-01
Full Text Available This paper focuses on a Central Pattern Generator (CPG-based locomotion controller design for a boxfish-like robot. The bio-inspired controller is aimed at flexible switching in multiple 3D swimming patterns and exact attitude control of yaw and roll such that the robot will swim more like a real boxfish. The CPG network comprises two layers, the lower layer is the network of coupled linear oscillators and the upper is the transition layer where the lower-dimensional locomotion stimuli are transformed into the higher-dimensional control parameters serving for all the oscillators. Based on such a two-layer framework, flexible switching between multiple three-dimensional swimming patterns, such as swimming forwards/backwards, turning left/right, swimming upwards/downwards and rolling clockwise/counter-clockwise, can be simply realized by inputting different stimuli. Moreover, the stability of the CPG network is strictly proved to guarantee the intrinsic stability of the swimming patterns. As to exact attitude control, based on this open-loop CPG network and the sensory feedback from the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU, a closed-loop CPG controller is advanced for yaw and roll control of the robotic fish for the first time. This CPG-based online attitude control for a robotic fish will greatly facilitate high-level practical underwater applications. A series of relevant experiments with the robotic fish are conducted systematically to validate the effectiveness and stability of the open-loop and closed-loop CPG controllers.
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Design Patterns Application in the ERP Systems Improvements
Jovičić, Bojan; Vlajić, Siniša
Design patterns application have long been present in software engineering. The same is true for ERP systems in business software. Is it possible that ERP systems do not have a good maintenance score? We have found out that there is room for maintenance improvement and that it is possible to improve ERP systems using design patterns. We have conducted comparative analysis of ease of maintenance of the ERP systems. The results show that the average score for our questions is 64%, with most answers for ERP systems like SAP, Oracle EBS, Dynamics AX. We found that 59% of ERP system developer users are not familiar with design patterns. Based on this research, we have chosen Dynamics AX as the ERP system for examination of design patterns improvement possibilities. We used software metrics to measure improvement possibility. We found that we could increase the Conditional Complexity score 17-fold by introducing design patterns.
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PERANCANGAN DAN PEMBUATAN SOFTWARE PHOTO-TO-PATTERN PADA CROSS STITCH
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yulia Yulia
2003-01-01
Full Text Available Cross Stitch is one kind of embroidery that makes stitching forming a cross sign (X. To begin a cross stitch, we need a pattern. Although cross stitch stores have already provided so many cross stitch patterns, sometimes consumer wants another pattern which is not provided, for example a pattern that describes someone's face or lovely pets. The aim of this research is to create a software that can make a cross stitch pattern with an image file input. The Bicubic Interpolation scaling algorithm is used in scaling process to change the size of the original image file to the size of the wanted pattern. Image file input is restricted to some image file formats, those are .bmp, .pcx, .gif, and .jpg. The outputs of the software are color pattern, and symbol pattern along with its symbol explanation. Borland Delphi 6.0 is used for the programming language. The software testing results show that a cross stitch pattern with the comparison ratio of the pattern size and the original picture size is more or equal to 100%, will look like the original picture even though the variation color is low. But if the comparison size ratio is less than 100%, then the similarity between the cross stitch pattern and the original picture depends on the color variation of the pattern. If there are many colors used on the pattern, the pattern will look more like the original picture. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Cross Stitch adalah salah satu bentuk penyulaman pada kain dengan menyulam benang membentuk tanda silang (X. Untuk memulai suatu cross stitch, diperlukan sebuah pattern yang digunakan sebagai patokan dalam menyulam. Meskipun telah tersedia aneka macam pattern cross stitch, tetapi kadang-kadang konsumen menginginkan pattern lainnya yang tidak tersedia, misalnya konsumen ingin menyulam wajah seseorang atau binatang kesayangan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menghasilkan sebuah software yang dapat membentuk pattern cross stitch dengan input-an berupa sebuah
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Kim, Choung-Soo; Theeuwes, Ad; Kwon, Dong Deuk; Choi, Young Deuk; Chung, Byung Ha; Lee, Hyun Moo; Lee, Kang Hyun; Lee, Sang Eun
2016-05-01
This post hoc analysis evaluated treatment effects, safety, and pharmacokinetics of enzalutamide in Korean patients in the phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled PREVAIL trial. Asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic chemotherapy-naive men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer that progressed on androgen deprivation therapy received 160 mg/d oral enzalutamide or placebo (1:1) until death or discontinuation due to radiographic progression or skeletal-related event and initiation of subsequent therapy. Coprimary end points were centrally assessed radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) and overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included investigator-assessed rPFS, time to initiation of chemotherapy, time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, PSA response (≥50% decline), and time to skeletal-related event. Of 1,717 total patients, 78 patients were enrolled in Korea (enzalutamide, n=40; placebo, n=38). Hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for enzalutamide versus placebo were 0.23 (0.02-2.24) for centrally assessed rPFS, 0.77 (0.28-2.15) for OS, 0.21 (0.08-0.51) for time to chemotherapy, and 0.31 (0.17-0.56) for time to PSA progression. A PSA response was observed in 70.0% of enzalutamide-treated and 10.5% of placebo-treated Korean patients. Adverse events of grade ≥3 occurred in 33% of enzalutamide-treated and 11% of placebo-treated Korean patients, with median treatment durations of 13.0 and 5.1 months, respectively. At 13 weeks, the plasma concentration of enzalutamide plus N-desmethyl enzalutamide was similar in Korean and non-Korean patients (geometric mean ratio, 1.04; 90% confidence interval, 0.97-1.10). In Korean patients, treatment effects and safety of enzalutamide were consistent with those observed in the overall PREVAIL study population (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01212991).
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[Structure and evolution of the eukaryotic FANCJ-like proteins].
Wuhe, Jike; Zefeng, Wu; Sanhong, Fan; Xuguang, Xi
2015-02-01
The FANCJ-like protein family is a class of ATP-dependent helicases that can catalytically unwind duplex DNA along the 5'-3' direction. It is involved in the processes of DNA damage repair, homologous recombination and G-quadruplex DNA unwinding, and plays a critical role in maintaining genome integrity. In this study, we systemically analyzed FNACJ-like proteins from 47 eukaryotic species and discussed their sequences diversity, origin and evolution, motif organization patterns and spatial structure differences. Four members of FNACJ-like proteins, including XPD, CHL1, RTEL1 and FANCJ, were found in eukaryotes, but some of them were seriously deficient in most fungi and some insects. For example, the Zygomycota fungi lost RTEL1, Basidiomycota and Ascomycota fungi lost RTEL1 and FANCJ, and Diptera insect lost FANCJ. FANCJ-like proteins contain canonical motor domains HD1 and HD2, and the HD1 domain further integrates with three unique domains Fe-S, Arch and Extra-D. Fe-S and Arch domains are relatively conservative in all members of the family, but the Extra-D domain is lost in XPD and differs from one another in rest members. There are 7, 10 and 2 specific motifs found from the three unique domains respectively, while 5 and 12 specific motifs are found from HD1 and HD2 domains except the conserved motifs reported previously. By analyzing the arrangement pattern of these specific motifs, we found that RTEL1 and FANCJ are more closer and share two specific motifs Vb2 and Vc in HD2 domain, which are likely related with their G-quadruplex DNA unwinding activity. The evidence of evolution showed that FACNJ-like proteins were originated from a helicase, which has a HD1 domain inserted by extra Fe-S domain and Arch domain. By three continuous gene duplication events and followed specialization, eukaryotes finally possessed the current four members of FANCJ-like proteins.
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Dietary Pattern and Metabolic Syndrome in Thai Adults
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
W. Aekplakorn
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Objectives. To determine the dietary patterns of middle-aged Thais and their association with metabolic syndrome (MetS. Methods. The Thai National Health Examination Survey IV data of 5,872 participants aged ≥30–59 years were used. Dietary patterns were obtained by factor analysis and their associations with Mets were examined using multiple logistic regression. Results. Three major dietary patterns were identified. The first, meat pattern, was characterized by a high intake of red meat, processed meat, and fried food. The second, healthy pattern, equated to a high intake of beans, vegetables, wheat, and dairy products. The third, high carbohydrate pattern, had a high intake of glutinous rice, fermented fish, chili paste, and bamboo shoots. Respondents with a healthy pattern were more likely to be female, higher educated, and urban residents. The carbohydrate pattern was more common in the northeast and rural areas. Compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of carbohydrate pattern was associated with MetS (adjusted odds ratio: 1.82; 95% CI 1.31, 2.55 in men and 1.60; 95% CI 1.24, 2.08 in women, particularly among those with a low level of leisure time physical activity (LTPA. Conclusion. The carbohydrate pattern with low level of LTPA increased the odds of MetS.
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Chromosome driven spatial patterning of proteins in bacteria.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Saeed Saberi
Full Text Available The spatial patterning of proteins in bacteria plays an important role in many processes, from cell division to chemotaxis. In the asymmetrically dividing bacteria Caulobacter crescentus, a scaffolding protein, PopZ, localizes to both poles and aids the differential patterning of proteins between mother and daughter cells during division. Polar patterning of misfolded proteins in Escherichia coli has also been shown, and likely plays an important role in cellular ageing. Recent experiments on both of the above systems suggest that the presence of chromosome free regions along with protein multimerization may be a mechanism for driving the polar localization of proteins. We have developed a simple physical model for protein localization using only these two driving mechanisms. Our model reproduces all the observed patterns of PopZ and misfolded protein localization--from diffuse, unipolar, and bipolar patterns and can also account for the observed patterns in a variety of mutants. The model also suggests new experiments to further test the role of the chromosome in driving protein patterning, and whether such a mechanism is responsible for helping to drive the differentiation of the cell poles.
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Arceo-Gómez, Gerardo; Abdala-Roberts, Luis; Jankowiak, Anneka; Kohler, Clare; Meindl, George A; Navarro-Fernández, Carmen M; Parra-Tabla, Víctor; Ashman, Tia-Lynn; Alonso, Conchita
2016-03-01
Coflowering plants are at risk for receiving pollen from heterospecifics as well as conspecifics, yet evidence shows wide variation in the degree that heterospecific pollen transfer occurs. Evaluation of patterns and correlates of among- and within-species variation in heterospecific pollen (HP) receipt is key to understanding its importance for floral evolution and species coexistence; however, the rarity of deeply sampled multispecies comparisons has precluded such an evaluation. We evaluated patterns of among- and within-species variation in HP load size and diversity in 19 species across three distinct plant communities. We assessed the importance of phenotypic specialization (floral phenotype), ecological specialization (contemporary visitor assemblage), and conspecific flower density as determinants of among-species variation. We present hypotheses for different accrual patterns of HP within species based on the evenness and quality of floral visitors and evaluated these by characterizing the relationship between conspecific pollen (CP) and HP receipt. We found that within-species variation in HP receipt was greater than among-species and among-communities variation. Among species, ecological generalization emerged as the strongest driver of variation in HP receipt irrespective of phenotypic specialization. Within-species variation in HP load size and diversity was predicted most often from two CP-HP relationships (linear or exponentially decreasing), suggesting that two distinct types of plant-pollinator interactions prevail. Our results give important insights into the potential drivers of among- and within-species variation in HP receipt. They also highlight the value of explorations of patterns at the intraspecific level, which can ultimately shed light on plant-pollinator-mediated selection in diverse plant communities. © 2016 Botanical Society of America.
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Topological patterns in street networks of self-organized urban settlements
Buhl, J.; Gautrais, J.; Reeves, N.; Solé, R. V.; Valverde, S.; Kuntz, P.; Theraulaz, G.
2006-02-01
Many urban settlements result from a spatially distributed, decentralized building process. Here we analyze the topological patterns of organization of a large collection of such settlements using the approach of complex networks. The global efficiency (based on the inverse of shortest-path lengths), robustness to disconnections and cost (in terms of length) of these graphs is studied and their possible origins analyzed. A wide range of patterns is found, from tree-like settlements (highly vulnerable to random failures) to meshed urban patterns. The latter are shown to be more robust and efficient.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
González Pericot, N., E-mail: natalia.gpericot@upm.es [Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Calle Juan de Herrera n°6, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Villoria Sáez, P., E-mail: paola.villoria@upm.es [Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Calle Juan de Herrera n°6, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Del Río Merino, M., E-mail: mercedes.delrio@upm.es [Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Calle Juan de Herrera n°6, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Liébana Carrasco, O., E-mail: oscar.liebana@uem.es [Escuela de Arquitectura, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Calle Tajo s/n, 28670 Villaviciosa de Odón (Spain)
2014-11-15
Highlights: • On-site segregation level: 1.80%; training and motivation strategies were not effective. • 70% Cardboard waste: from switches and sockets during the building services stage. • 40% Plastic waste: generated during structures and partition works due to palletizing. • >50% Wood packaging waste, basically pallets, generated during the envelope works. - Abstract: The construction sector is responsible for around 28% of the total waste volume generated in Europe, which exceeds the amount of household waste. This has led to an increase of different research studies focusing on construction waste quantification. However, within the research studies made, packaging waste has been analyzed to a limited extent. This article focuses on the packaging waste stream generated in the construction sector. To this purpose current on-site waste packaging management has been assessed by monitoring ten Mediterranean residential building works. The findings of the experimental data collection revealed that the incentive measures implemented by the construction company to improve on-site waste sorting failed to achieve the intended purpose, showing low segregation ratios. Subsequently, through an analytical study the generation patterns for packaging waste are established, leading to the identification of the prevailing kinds of packaging and the products responsible for their generation. Results indicate that plastic waste generation maintains a constant trend throughout the whole construction process, while cardboard becomes predominant towards the end of the construction works with switches and sockets from the electricity stage. Understanding the production patterns of packaging waste will be beneficial for adapting waste management strategies to the identified patterns for the specific nature of packaging waste within the context of construction worksites.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
González Pericot, N.; Villoria Sáez, P.; Del Río Merino, M.; Liébana Carrasco, O.
2014-01-01
Highlights: • On-site segregation level: 1.80%; training and motivation strategies were not effective. • 70% Cardboard waste: from switches and sockets during the building services stage. • 40% Plastic waste: generated during structures and partition works due to palletizing. • >50% Wood packaging waste, basically pallets, generated during the envelope works. - Abstract: The construction sector is responsible for around 28% of the total waste volume generated in Europe, which exceeds the amount of household waste. This has led to an increase of different research studies focusing on construction waste quantification. However, within the research studies made, packaging waste has been analyzed to a limited extent. This article focuses on the packaging waste stream generated in the construction sector. To this purpose current on-site waste packaging management has been assessed by monitoring ten Mediterranean residential building works. The findings of the experimental data collection revealed that the incentive measures implemented by the construction company to improve on-site waste sorting failed to achieve the intended purpose, showing low segregation ratios. Subsequently, through an analytical study the generation patterns for packaging waste are established, leading to the identification of the prevailing kinds of packaging and the products responsible for their generation. Results indicate that plastic waste generation maintains a constant trend throughout the whole construction process, while cardboard becomes predominant towards the end of the construction works with switches and sockets from the electricity stage. Understanding the production patterns of packaging waste will be beneficial for adapting waste management strategies to the identified patterns for the specific nature of packaging waste within the context of construction worksites
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Jafari Nodoushan, Emad; Ebrahimi, Nadereh Golshan; Ayazi, Masoumeh
2017-11-01
In this paper, we introduced thermal annealing treatment as an effective way of increasing the nanoscale roughness of a semi-crystalline polymer surface. Annealing treatment applied to a biomimetic microscale pattern of rice leaf to achieve a superhydrophobic surface with a hierarchical roughness. Resulted surfaces was characterized by XRD, AFM and FE-SEM instruments and showed an increase of roughness and cristallinity within both time and temperature of treatment. These two parameters also impact on measured static contact angle up to 158°. Bacterial attachment potency has an inverse relationship with the similarity of surface pattern dimensions and bacterial size and due to that, thermal annealing could be an effective way to create anti-bacterial surface beyond its effect on water repellency. Point in case, the anti-bacterial properties of produced water-repellence surfaces of PP were measured and counted colonies of both gram-negative (E. coli) and gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteria reduced with the nature of PP and hierarchical pattern on that. Anti-bacterial characterization of the resulted surface reveals a stunning reduction in adhesion of gram-positive bacteria to the surface. S. aureus reduction rates equaled to 95% and 66% when compared to control blank plate and smooth surface of PP. Moreover, it also could affect the other type of bacteria, gram-negative (E. coli). In the latter case, adhesion reduction rates calculated 66% and 53% when against to the same controls, respectively.
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Hami, Javad; Kheradmand, Hamed; Haghir, Hossein
2014-03-01
Numerous investigators have provided data supporting essential roles for insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in development of the brain. The aim of this study was to immunohistochemically determine the distinct regional distribution pattern of IGF-1 receptor (IGF-IR) expression in various portions of newborn rat hippocampus on postnatal days 0 (P0), 7 (P7), and 14 (P14), with comparison between male/female and right/left hippocampi. We found an overall significant increase in distribution of IGF-IR-positive (IGF-IR+) cells in CA1 from P0 until P14. Although, no marked changes in distribution of IGF-IR+ cells in areas CA2 and CA3 were observed; IGF-IR+ cells in DG decreased until P14. The smallest number of immunoreactive cells was present in CA2 and the highest number in DG at P0. Moreover, in CA1, CA3, and DG, the number of IGF-IR+ cells was markedly higher in both sides of the hippocampus in females. Our data also showed a higher mean number of IGF-IR+ cells in the left hippocampus of female at P7. By contrast, male pups showed a significantly higher number of IGF-IR+ cells in the DG of the right hippocampus. At P14, the mean number of immunoreactive cells in CA1, CA3, and DG areas found to be significantly increased in left side of hippocampus of males, compared to females. These results indicate the existence of a differential distribution pattern of IGF-IR between left-right and male-female hippocampi. Together with other mechanisms, these differences may underlie sexual dimorphism and left-right asymmetry in the hippocampus.
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Melorheostosis: a review of 23 cases
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Freyschmidt, J. [Dept. of Radiology, Zentralkrankenhaus Bremen (Germany)
2001-03-01
The aim of this study was to review clinical and radiological signs of melorheostosis in a large series of cases. Family history, patient history, clinical data and radiological features of 23 consecutive cases of melorheostosis were investigated. Criteria for establishing the diagnosis ''melorheostosis'' were defined. Sixteen patients (mean age 34 years, equal ratio between genders) had chronic pain in the affected limb(s) and/or subcutaneous fibrosis and/or various skin lesions. Number of involved bones: one bone (n = 10); two bones (n = 4); three or more bones (n = 9). Anatomic distribution: upper extremity (n = 5); lower extremity (n = 16); upper and lower extremity (n = 1); sacrum (n = 1). Radiologic pattern: osteoma-like (n = 7); classic candle wax appearance (n = 5); myositis ossificans-like (n = 1); osteopathia striata-like (n = 6); mixed pattern (n = 4). Patterns different from the appearance formerly judged to be ''classic'' prevail. The standard concept of disease manifestation has to be adjusted. Pathogenesis remains unclear. The classic theory claims the presence of an early embryonic infection of a sensory nerve inducing changes in the respective sclerotome, but we propose the concept of mosaicism as a better explanation for the sporadic occurrence, the asymmetric ''segmental'' pattern with variable extent of involvement and equal gender ratio of the disease. (orig.)
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Partial discharge patterns related to surface deterioration in voids in epoxy
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Holbøll, Joachim; Henriksen, Mogens
1990-01-01
Results are presented from an investigation of the relationship between changes in partial discharge patterns and the surface deterioration process taking place in small naturally formed spherical voids in epoxy plastic. The voids were exposed to a moderate electric stress above inception level......, where partial discharges were present for more than 1500 h. Two types of electrical tree growth were found, the bush like tree and a single channel-like tree, which led to very different partial discharge patterns. It is concluded that the formation of crystals on a void surface leads to an immediate...... and easy-to-detect increase in the partial discharge activity with subsequent severe surface deterioration (deep pit formations) in the vicinity of the crystal. However, the partial discharge signal from a specimen with a black channel-like tree structure did not give any indication of channel growth...
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Identification, inheritance, and linkage of B-G-like and MHC class I genes in cranes
Jarvi, S.I.; Goto, R.M.; Gee, G.F.; Briles, W.E.; Miller, M.M.
1999-01-01
We identified B-G-like genes in the whooping and Florida sandhill cranes and linked them to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). We evaluated the inheritance of B-G-like genes in families of whooping and Florida sandhill cranes using restriction fragment patterns (RFPs). Two B-G-like genes, designated wcbgl and wcbg2, were located within 8 kb of one another. The fully sequenced wcbg2 gene encodes a B-G IgV-like domain, an additional Ig-like domain, a transmembrane domain, and a single heptad domain typical of '-helical coiled coils. Patterns of restriction fragments in DNA from the whooping crane and from a number of other species indicate that the B-G-like gene families of cranes are large with diverse sequences. Segregation of RFPs in families of Florida sandhill cranes provide evidence for genetic polymorphism in the B-G-like genes. The restriction fragments generally segregated in concert with MHC haplotypes assigned by serological typing and by single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) assays based in the second exon of the crane MHC class I genes. This study supports the concept of a long-term association of polymorphic B-G-like genes with the MHC. It also establishes SSCP as a means for evaluating MHC genetic variability in cranes.
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Identification, inheritance, and linkage of B-G-like and MHC class I genes in cranes.
Jarvi, S I; Goto, R M; Gee, G F; Briles, W E; Miller, M M
1999-01-01
We identified B-G-like genes in the whooping and Florida sandhill cranes and linked them to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). We evaluated the inheritance of B-G-like genes in families of whooping and Florida sandhill cranes using restriction fragment patterns (RFPs). Two B-G-like genes, designated wcbg1 and wcbg2, were located within 8 kb of one another. The fully sequenced wcbg2 gene encodes a B-G IgV-like domain, an additional Ig-like domain, a transmembrane domain, and a single heptad domain typical of alpha-helical coiled coils. Patterns of restriction fragments in DNA from the whooping crane and from a number of other species indicate that the B-G-like gene families of cranes are large with diverse sequences. Segregation of RFPs in families of Florida sandhill cranes provide evidence for genetic polymorphism in the B-G-like genes. The restriction fragments generally segregated in concert with MHC haplotypes assigned by serological typing and by single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) assays based in the second exon of the crane MHC class I genes. This study supports the concept of a long-term association of polymorphic B-G-like genes with the MHC. It also establishes SSCP as a means for evaluating MHC genetic variability in cranes.
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Baby booms and busts: waves in fertility patterns
Beets, G.C.N.
2009-01-01
Fertility curves sometimes resemble sea waves. During periods that the fertility age patterns change, according to whatever reason, 'this sea' may become very turbulent. Also other sea-like phenomena, for example tsunamis, are discernible in fertility behaviour. This article gives a short overview
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Podoplanin and SOX2 Expression in CIN 3-like Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Cervix.
Stewart, Colin J R; Crook, Maxine L
2018-01-01
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix occasionally demonstrates a deceptive growth pattern that mimics endocervical crypt involvement by cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, grade 3 (CIN 3). Such CIN 3-like SCCs may be misinterpreted as noninvasive or minimally invasive leading to delays in diagnosis. Little is known of the factors that influence the growth patterns of cervical SCC but we suggested recently that CIN 3-like tumors might demonstrate "collective cellular invasion," which is characterized by a retained epithelial phenotype. This contrasts with the more overtly infiltrative growth of conventional SCC, which exhibits features suggestive of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In the current study we investigated podoplanin (PP) and SOX2 expression in normal squamous epithelium, in CIN 3 and in 16 CIN 3-like SCCs 11 of which also showed a conventional invasive component. Compared with normal epithelium, CIN 3 often showed a focal loss of basal PP staining and most cases showed increased, typically diffuse, SOX2 expression. Although the immunohistochemical findings were not uniform, they generally supported collective cellular invasion in CIN 3-like tumor areas as these were often PP positive and showed diffuse SOX2 expression. In contrast, most conventional SCCs showed only focal SOX2 staining and they were typically negative, or only focally positive, for PP. The staining patterns did not reliably distinguish CIN 3 from CIN 3-like SCC. Small infiltrative tumor nests around the margins of CIN 3 or deeply invasive CIN 3-like SCC often showed a localized reduction in SOX2 expression suggesting SOX2 downregulation during the transition to invasive growth.
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Toll-like receptor and associated regulators in pneumonia and sepsis
Blok, D.C.
2015-01-01
Humanity struggles against micro-organism invasion on a daily basis. Innate immunity is part of the first line of defense when it comes to preventing infection, signaling a perceived health threat and eliminating microbes before they can cause harm. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and other pattern
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Recurrent, robust and scalable patterns underlie human approach and avoidance.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Byoung Woo Kim
2010-05-01
Full Text Available Approach and avoidance behavior provide a means for assessing the rewarding or aversive value of stimuli, and can be quantified by a keypress procedure whereby subjects work to increase (approach, decrease (avoid, or do nothing about time of exposure to a rewarding/aversive stimulus. To investigate whether approach/avoidance behavior might be governed by quantitative principles that meet engineering criteria for lawfulness and that encode known features of reward/aversion function, we evaluated whether keypress responses toward pictures with potential motivational value produced any regular patterns, such as a trade-off between approach and avoidance, or recurrent lawful patterns as observed with prospect theory.Three sets of experiments employed this task with beautiful face images, a standardized set of affective photographs, and pictures of food during controlled states of hunger and satiety. An iterative modeling approach to data identified multiple law-like patterns, based on variables grounded in the individual. These patterns were consistent across stimulus types, robust to noise, describable by a simple power law, and scalable between individuals and groups. Patterns included: (i a preference trade-off counterbalancing approach and avoidance, (ii a value function linking preference intensity to uncertainty about preference, and (iii a saturation function linking preference intensity to its standard deviation, thereby setting limits to both.These law-like patterns were compatible with critical features of prospect theory, the matching law, and alliesthesia. Furthermore, they appeared consistent with both mean-variance and expected utility approaches to the assessment of risk. Ordering of responses across categories of stimuli demonstrated three properties thought to be relevant for preference-based choice, suggesting these patterns might be grouped together as a relative preference theory. Since variables in these patterns have been
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Metastatic ocular melanoma to the liver exhibits infiltrative and nodular growth patterns
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Grossniklaus, Hans E; Zhang, Qing; You, Shuo
2016-01-01
We examined liver specimens from 15 patients with uveal melanoma (UM) who had died of their disseminated disease. We found 2 distinct growth patterns of UM metastasis: infiltrative (n = 12) and nodular (n = 3). In the infiltrative pattern, individual UM cells with a CD133+ cancer stem cell-like p...
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A NEW APPROACH FOR IMPROVING QUALITY OF WEB APPLICATIONS USING DESIGN PATTERNS
J. Srikanth R. Savithri
2012-01-01
Design patterns are descriptions of communicating objects and classes that are customized to solve a general design problem in a particular context, they describes the problem and its corresponding solution. Professional software engineers always use Design patterns for introducing abstractions in software and by the way they can build complex web applications. The right adoption of Design Patterns while designing web applications can promote the factors like reusability and consistency of th...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kise, Yoshitaka; Ariji, Yoshiko; Gotoh, Masakazu; Izumi, Masahiro; Naitoh, Munetaka; Ariji, Eiichiro
2011-01-01
The objective of this study was to clarify CT image features of the craniofacial bones in patients with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia (FD). Five patients in our hospital and 32 patients in 27 previously reported studies were selected for this study. CT image features were evaluated by 3 maxillofacial radiologists and classified into 3 patterns (sclerotic, mixed, and cyst-like lytic patterns). The bones affected by FD were the sphenoid bone, maxilla, zygoma, temporal bone, mandible, and so on. There was a significant difference in the distribution of CT image patterns by the type of bone (p=0.0012). A lytic pattern was frequently found in the mandible, sphenoid bone, frontal bone, and maxilla. The clinical data significantly affected by the distribution of CT image patterns were the periods of symptoms and the anamnesis about the previous operation: when the symptoms were persistent, the ratio of the lytic pattern was high. There was a significant difference in pattern distribution in the frontal bone and maxilla in the surgical anamnesis. No significant difference was seen by age and sex. The cyst-like lytic area was shown to be a mucocele or aneurysmal bone cyst in the frontal and sphenoid bones, whereas an inflammatory change in the jaw bones. There was a significant difference in the distribution of CT image patterns by the types of craniofacial bones affected by polyostotic FD. (author)
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A New Functional Classification of Glucuronoyl Esterases by Peptide Pattern Recognition
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wittrup Agger, Jane; Busk, Peter Kamp; Pilgaard, Bo
2017-01-01
of characterized enzymes exist and the exact activity is still uncertain. Here peptide pattern recognition is used as a bioinformatic tool to identify and group new CE15 proteins that are likely to have glucuronoyl esterase activity. 1024 CE15-like sequences were drawn from GenBank and grouped into 24 groups...
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Hayashi, Shuichi; Itoh, Mari; Taira, Sumiko; Agata, Kiyokazu; Taira, Masanori
2004-08-01
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) mediate many cell-to-cell signaling events during early development. Nou-darake (ndk), a gene encoding an FGF receptor (FGFR)-like molecule, was found to be highly and specifically expressed in the head region of the planarian Dugesia japonica, and its functional analyses provided strong molecular evidence for the existence of a brain-inducing circuit based on the FGF signaling pathway. To analyze the role of ndk during vertebrate development, we isolated the Xenopus ortholog of ndk, the vertebrate FGFR-like 1 gene (XFGFRL1). Expression of XFGFRL1/Xndk was first detected in the anterior region at the late gastrula stage and dramatically increased at the early neurula stage in an overall anterior mesendodermal region, including the prechordal plate, paraxial mesoderm, anterior endoderm, and archenteron roof. This anterior expression pattern resembles that of ndk in planarians, suggesting that the expression of FGFRL1/ndk is conserved in evolution between these two distantly diverged organisms. During the tail bud stages, XFGFRL1/Xndk expression was detected in multiple regions, including the forebrain, eyes, midbrain-hindbrain boundary, otic vesicles, visceral arches, and somites. In many of these regions, XFGFRL1/Xndk was coexpressed with XFGF8, indicating that XFGFRL1/Xndk is a member of the XFGF8 synexpression group, which includes sprouty, sef, and isthmin. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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Wang, Xianbin; Chen, Wei; Wang, Zhihong; Zhang, Xixiang; Yue, Weisheng; Lai, Zhiping
2015-01-01
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for materials that include a pre-designed patterned, porous membrane (e.g., micro- and/or nano-scale patterned), structures or devices that include a pre-designed patterned, porous membrane, methods of making pre-designed patterned, porous membranes, methods of separation, and the like.
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Wang, Xianbin
2015-01-22
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for materials that include a pre-designed patterned, porous membrane (e.g., micro- and/or nano-scale patterned), structures or devices that include a pre-designed patterned, porous membrane, methods of making pre-designed patterned, porous membranes, methods of separation, and the like.
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Somatic Cell Fusions Reveal Extensive Heterogeneity in Basal-like Breast Cancer
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Su, Ying; Subedee, Ashim; Bloushtain-Qimron, Noga
2015-01-01
Basal-like and luminal breast tumors have distinct clinical behavior and molecular profiles, yet the underlying mechanisms are poorly defined. To interrogate processes that determine these distinct phenotypes and their inheritance pattern, we generated somatic cell fusions and performed integrate...
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Adélie penguin foraging location predicted by tidal regime switching.
Oliver, Matthew J; Irwin, Andrew; Moline, Mark A; Fraser, William; Patterson, Donna; Schofield, Oscar; Kohut, Josh
2013-01-01
Penguin foraging and breeding success depend on broad-scale environmental and local-scale hydrographic features of their habitat. We investigated the effect of local tidal currents on a population of Adélie penguins on Humble Is., Antarctica. We used satellite-tagged penguins, an autonomous underwater vehicle, and historical tidal records to model of penguin foraging locations over ten seasons. The bearing of tidal currents did not oscillate daily, but rather between diurnal and semidiurnal tidal regimes. Adélie penguins foraging locations changed in response to tidal regime switching, and not to daily tidal patterns. The hydrography and foraging patterns of Adélie penguins during these switching tidal regimes suggest that they are responding to changing prey availability, as they are concentrated and dispersed in nearby Palmer Deep by variable tidal forcing on weekly timescales, providing a link between local currents and the ecology of this predator.
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Erezyilmaz, Deniz F; Kelstrup, Hans C; Riddiford, Lynn M
2009-10-01
Genetic studies of the fruit fly Drosophila have revealed a hierarchy of segmentation genes (maternal, gap, pair-rule and HOX) that subdivide the syncytial blastoderm into sequentially finer-scale coordinates. Within this hierarchy, the pair-rule genes translate gradients of information into periodic stripes of expression. How pair-rule genes function during the progressive mode of segmentation seen in short and intermediate-germ insects is an ongoing question. Here we report that the nuclear receptor Of'E75A is expressed with double segment periodicity in the head and thorax. In the abdomen, Of'E75A is expressed in a unique pattern during posterior elongation, and briefly resembles a sequence that is typical of pair-rule genes. Depletion of Of'E75A mRNA caused loss of a subset of odd-numbered parasegments, as well as parasegment 6. Because these parasegments straddle segment boundaries, we observe fusions between adjacent segments. Finally, expression of Of'E75A in the blastoderm requires even-skipped, which is a gap gene in Oncopeltus. These data show that the function of Of'E75A during embryogenesis shares many properties with canonical pair-rule genes in other insects. They further suggest that parasegment specification may occur through irregular and episodic pair-rule-like activity.
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Gross, Catharina C; Schulte-Mecklenbeck, Andreas; Hanning, Uta; Posevitz-Fejfár, Anita; Korsukewitz, Catharina; Schwab, Nicholas; Meuth, Sven G; Wiendl, Heinz; Klotz, Luisa
2017-06-01
Distinct lesion topography in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) might be due to different antigen presentation and/or trafficking routes of immune cells into the central nervous system (CNS). To investigate whether distinct lesion patterns in multiple sclerosis (MS) might be associated with a predominance of distinct circulating T-helper cell subset as well as their innate counterparts. Flow cytometric analysis of lymphocytes derived from the peripheral blood of patients with exclusively cerebral (n = 20) or predominantly spinal (n = 12) disease manifestation. Patients with exclusively cerebral or preferential spinal lesion manifestation were associated with increased proportions of circulating granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) producing T H 1 cells or interleukin (IL)-17-producing T H 17 cells, respectively. In contrast, proportions of peripheral IL-17/IL-22-producing lymphoid tissue inducer (LTi), the innate counterpart of T H 17 cells, were enhanced in RRMS patients with exclusively cerebral lesion topography. Distinct T-helper and T-helper-like innate lymphoid cell (ILC) subsets are associated with different lesion topography in RRMS.
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Spatial Patterns of Development Drive Water Use
Sanchez, G. M.; Smith, J. W.; Terando, A.; Sun, G.; Meentemeyer, R. K.
2018-03-01
Water availability is becoming more uncertain as human populations grow, cities expand into rural regions and the climate changes. In this study, we examine the functional relationship between water use and the spatial patterns of developed land across the rapidly growing region of the southeastern United States. We quantified the spatial pattern of developed land within census tract boundaries, including multiple metrics of density and configuration. Through non-spatial and spatial regression approaches we examined relationships and spatial dependencies between the spatial pattern metrics, socio-economic and environmental variables and two water use variables: a) domestic water use, and b) total development-related water use (a combination of public supply, domestic self-supply and industrial self-supply). Metrics describing the spatial patterns of development had the highest measure of relative importance (accounting for 53% of model's explanatory power), explaining significantly more variance in water use compared to socio-economic or environmental variables commonly used to estimate water use. Integrating metrics characterizing the spatial pattern of development into water use models is likely to increase their utility and could facilitate water-efficient land use planning.
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Spatial patterns of development drive water use
Sanchez, G.M.; Smith, J.W.; Terando, Adam J.; Sun, G.; Meentemeyer, R.K.
2018-01-01
Water availability is becoming more uncertain as human populations grow, cities expand into rural regions and the climate changes. In this study, we examine the functional relationship between water use and the spatial patterns of developed land across the rapidly growing region of the southeastern United States. We quantified the spatial pattern of developed land within census tract boundaries, including multiple metrics of density and configuration. Through non‐spatial and spatial regression approaches we examined relationships and spatial dependencies between the spatial pattern metrics, socio‐economic and environmental variables and two water use variables: a) domestic water use, and b) total development‐related water use (a combination of public supply, domestic self‐supply and industrial self‐supply). Metrics describing the spatial patterns of development had the highest measure of relative importance (accounting for 53% of model's explanatory power), explaining significantly more variance in water use compared to socio‐economic or environmental variables commonly used to estimate water use. Integrating metrics characterizing the spatial pattern of development into water use models is likely to increase their utility and could facilitate water‐efficient land use planning.
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Macular pattern dystrophy and homonymous hemianopia in MELAS syndrome.
Kamal-Salah, Radua; Baquero-Aranda, Isabel; Grana-Pérez, María Del Mar; García-Campos, Jose Manuel
2015-03-12
We report an unusual association of a pattern dystrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and homonymous hemianopia in a woman diagnosed with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes syndrome. 2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
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Patterns and Interfaces in Dissipative Dynamics
Pismen, L.M
2006-01-01
Spontaneous pattern formation in nonlinear dissipative systems far from equilibrium is a paradigmatic case of emergent behaviour associated with complex systems. It is encountered in a great variety of settings, both in nature and technology, and has numerous applications ranging from nonlinear optics through solid and fluid mechanics, physical chemistry and chemical engineering to biology. Nature creates its variety of forms through spontaneous pattern formation and self-assembly, and this strategy is likely to be imitated by future biomorphic technologies. This book is a first-hand account by one of the leading players in this field, which gives in-depth descriptions of analytical methods elucidating the complex evolution of nonlinear dissipative systems, and brings the reader to the forefront of current research. The introductory chapter on the theory of dynamical systems is written with a view to applications of its powerful methods to spatial and spatio-temporal patterns. It is followed by two chapters t...
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Wasihun, Araya Gebreyesus; Wlekidan, Letemichael Negash; Gebremariam, Senay Aregawi; Welderufael, Abadi Luel; Muthupandian, Saravanan; Haile, Tadesse Dejenie; Dejene, Tsehaye Asmelash
2015-06-01
To determine diagnostic value of the Widal test, treatment pattern of febrile patients and antimicrobial drug susceptibility pattern of blood isolates. Using cross sectional methods, blood samples were collected for culture and Widal test from 502 febrile outpatients attending Mekelle hospital and Mekelle health center with similar symptoms to typhoid. Sensitivity, specificity for anti-TH and anti-TO titers using culture confirmed typhoid fever cases, and Kappa agreement between Titer and slide Widal tests were calculated. Treatment pattern of patients and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the blood isolates was assessed. From the 502 febrile patients, 8(1.6%) of them had culture-proven typhoid fever. However, patients who have results indicative of recent infection by O and H antigens of the Widal slide agglutination test were 343 (68.5%), with specificity and sensitivity of 33% and 100%, respectively. Over prescription of antibiotics was seen by Widal slide test for Ciprofloxacin 268 (76.1%), Amoxicillin- Clavulanic acid 9(2.6%), Amoxicillin 8(2.4%) and Chloranphenicol 8(2.4%). Tube titer positivity was seen in 23(5.3%) patients with 75% sensitivity and 95.8% specificity. Widal slide and Tube titer tests showed poor agreement for both antigens (kappa=0.02 for O) and (Kappa=0.09 for H). A single anti-TH titer of ≥ 1:160 and anti-TO titer ≥ 1:80 higher in our study showed an indication for typhoid fever infection. Drug resistance pattern of blood isolates ranges from 0-89.7% for gram positive and 0-100% for Gram negative, with an overall multi-drug resistance rate of 61.7%. Patients were wrongly diagnosed and treated for typhoid fever by Widal test. The tube titration method was relatively good but still had poor sensitivity. Blood isolates showed multi drug resistance, which may be due to the indiscriminate prescription as seen in this study. Based on our results, the slide Widal test is not helpful in the diagnosis of typhoid, hence other tests with
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Gondim Teixeira, Pedro Augusto; Hossu, Gabriela; Lecocq, Sophie; Razeto, Marco; Louis, Matthias; Blum, Alain
2014-03-01
The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of digital subtraction angiography (DSA)-like bone subtraction with 2 different registration methods for the identification of bone marrow edema pattern (BMEP) in patients with lytic bone lesions, using magnetic resonance imaging as the criterion standard. Fifty-five patients with a lytic bone lesion were included in this prospective study with approval from the ethics committee. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging and low-dose computed tomographic (CT) perfusion after signing an informed consent. Two CT volumes were used for bone subtraction, which was performed with 2 different algorithms (rigid and nonrigid). Enhancement at the nonlytic bone marrow was considered as a sign of BMEP. Two readers evaluated the images blindly. The presence of BMEP on bone-subtracted CT images was evaluated subjectively and quantitatively. Image quality was assessed. Magnetic resonance imaging was used as the criterion standard. Using a rigid registration method, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of CT with DSA-like bone subtraction BMEP was 77%, 100%, 100%, 68%, and 85%, respectively. The interobserver agreement was good (κ, 0.782). Image quality was better using a nonrigid registration. With this algorithm, artifacts interfered with image interpretation in only 5% of cases. However, there was a noticeable drop in sensitivity and negative predictive value when a nonrigid algorithm was used: 56% and 52%, respectively. The interobserver agreement was average with a nonrigid subtraction algorithm. Computed tomography with DSA-like bone subtraction is sensitive and highly specific for the identification of BMEP associated with lytic bone lesions. Rigid registering should be preferred, but nonrigid algorithms can be used as a second option when artifacts interfere with image interpretation.
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Complex scaling behavior in animal foraging patterns
Premachandra, Prabhavi Kaushalya
This dissertation attempts to answer questions from two different areas of biology, ecology and neuroscience, using physics-based techniques. In Section 2, suitability of three competing random walk models is tested to describe the emergent movement patterns of two species of primates. The truncated power law (power law with exponential cut off) is the most suitable random walk model that characterizes the emergent movement patterns of these primates. In Section 3, an agent-based model is used to simulate search behavior in different environments (landscapes) to investigate the impact of the resource landscape on the optimal foraging movement patterns of deterministic foragers. It should be noted that this model goes beyond previous work in that it includes parameters such as spatial memory and satiation, which have received little consideration to date in the field of movement ecology. When the food availability is scarce in a tropical forest-like environment with feeding trees distributed in a clumped fashion and the size of those trees are distributed according to a lognormal distribution, the optimal foraging pattern of a generalist who can consume various and abundant food types indeed reaches the Levy range, and hence, show evidence for Levy-flight-like (power law distribution with exponent between 1 and 3) behavior. Section 4 of the dissertation presents an investigation of phase transition behavior in a network of locally coupled self-sustained oscillators as the system passes through various bursting states. The results suggest that a phase transition does not occur for this locally coupled neuronal network. The data analysis in the dissertation adopts a model selection approach and relies on methods based on information theory and maximum likelihood.
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Kimura, Go; Yonese, Junji; Fukagai, Takashi; Kamba, Tomomi; Nishimura, Kazuo; Nozawa, Masahiro; Mansbach, Hank; Theeuwes, Ad; Beer, Tomasz M; Tombal, Bertrand; Ueda, Takeshi
2016-05-01
To evaluate the treatment effects, safety and pharmacokinetics of enzalutamide in Japanese patients. This was a post-hoc analysis of the phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled PREVAIL trial. Asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer progressing on androgen deprivation therapy were randomized one-to-one to 160 mg/day oral enzalutamide or placebo until discontinuation on radiographic progression or skeletal-related event and initiation of subsequent antineoplastic therapy. Coprimary end-points were centrally assessed radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival. Secondary end-points were investigator-assessed radiographic progression-free survival, time to initiation of chemotherapy, time to prostate-specific antigen progression, prostate-specific antigen response (≥50% decline) and time to skeletal-related event. Of 1717 patients, 61 were enrolled in Japan (enzalutamide, n = 28; placebo, n = 33); hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of 0.30 for centrally assessed radiographic progression-free survival (0.03-2.95), 0.59 for overall survival (0.20-1.8), 0.46 for time to chemotherapy (0.22-0.96) and 0.36 for time to prostate-specific antigen progression (0.17-0.75) showed the treatment benefit of enzalutamide over the placebo. Prostate-specific antigen responses were observed in 60.7% of enzalutamide-treated men versus 21.2% of placebo-treated men. Plasma concentrations of enzalutamide were higher in Japanese patients: the geometric mean ratio of Japanese/non-Japanese patients was 1.126 (90% confidence interval 1.018-1.245) at 13 weeks. Treatment-related adverse events grade ≥3 occurred in 3.6% of enzalutamide- and 6.1% of placebo-treated Japanese patients. Treatment effects and safety in Japanese patients were generally consistent with the overall results from PREVAIL. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Urology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on
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Study of palatal rugae pattern in gender identification
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pooja Balgi
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Aim: The aim was to determine the gender differences in rugae pattern with regards to the length, number, and shape. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients (25 males, 25 females aged 30-50 years were randomly selected from the routine outpatient department at Sinhgad Dental College and Hospital. Maxillary impressions were made using alginate hydrocolloid and cast in dental stone. Palatal rugae pattern were then evaluated under the parameters such as length, number, and shape. Results: The association of rugae pattern (length, number, shape and the gender was analyzed using Chi-square test for qualitative variable and t-test for quantitative variable. The average length of the rugae was greater in males than in females. The average numbers of rugae were same in both males and females. Straight pattern was commonly seen in females than in males. Analysis showed significant difference with parameters like length and shape (straight pattern in both the males and females. Conclusion: As the analysis showed significant difference with the length and shape of rugae patterns in both males and females, rugoscopy, thereby could be an important tool for gender identification. The study will be continued with larger sample size to expand knowledge about gender differences in palatal rugae patterns.
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Heterogeneous patterns enhancing static and dynamic texture classification
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Silva, Núbia Rosa da; Martinez Bruno, Odemir
2013-01-01
Some mixtures, such as colloids like milk, blood, and gelatin, have homogeneous appearance when viewed with the naked eye, however, to observe them at the nanoscale is possible to understand the heterogeneity of its components. The same phenomenon can occur in pattern recognition in which it is possible to see heterogeneous patterns in texture images. However, current methods of texture analysis can not adequately describe such heterogeneous patterns. Common methods used by researchers analyse the image information in a global way, taking all its features in an integrated manner. Furthermore, multi-scale analysis verifies the patterns at different scales, but still preserving the homogeneous analysis. On the other hand various methods use textons to represent the texture, breaking texture down into its smallest unit. To tackle this problem, we propose a method to identify texture patterns not small as textons at distinct scales enhancing the separability among different types of texture. We find sub patterns of texture according to the scale and then group similar patterns for a more refined analysis. Tests were performed in four static texture databases and one dynamical one. Results show that our method provide better classification rate compared with conventional approaches both in static and in dynamic texture.
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Plant twitter: ligands under 140 amino acids enforcing stomatal patterning.
Rychel, Amanda L; Peterson, Kylee M; Torii, Keiko U
2010-05-01
Stomata are an essential land plant innovation whose patterning and density are under genetic and environmental control. Recently, several putative ligands have been discovered that influence stomatal density, and they all belong to the epidermal patterning factor-like family of secreted cysteine-rich peptides. Two of these putative ligands, EPF1 and EPF2, are expressed exclusively in the stomatal lineage cells and negatively regulate stomatal density. A third, EPFL6 or CHALLAH, is also a negative regulator of density, but is expressed subepidermally in the hypocotyl. A fourth, EPFL9 or STOMAGEN, is expressed in the mesophyll tissues and is a positive regulator of density. Genetic evidence suggests that these ligands may compete for the same receptor complex. Proper stomatal patterning is likely to be an intricate process involving ligand competition, regional specificity, and communication between tissue layers. EPFL-family genes exist in the moss Physcomitrella patens, the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii, and rice, Oryza sativa, and their sequence analysis yields several genes some of which are related to EPF1, EPF2, EPFL6, and EPFL9. Presence of these EPFL family members in the basal land plants suggests an exciting hypothesis that the genetic components for stomatal patterning originated early in land plant evolution.
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Observation of domain patterns on a ferroelectric ceramic
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ibrahim, R.C.; Zavaglia, C.A.C.
1992-01-01
In this work ferroelectric domain patterns are observed on a PZT-like ceramic material produced in Brazil. This material has tetragonal unit cell composing a perovskite type structure. The samples, after grinding and polishing, were chemically etched and observed on optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. (author)
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Pattern recognition receptors and the inflammasome in kidney disease
Leemans, Jaklien C.; Kors, Lotte; Anders, Hans-Joachim; Florquin, Sandrine
2014-01-01
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain receptors (NLRs) are families of pattern recognition receptors that, together with inflammasomes, sense and respond to highly conserved pathogen motifs and endogenous molecules released upon cell damage or stress. Evidence
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hinton, C.P.; Roebuck, E.J.; Williams, M.R.; Blamey, R.W.; Glaves, J.; Nicholson, R.I.; Griffiths, K.
1985-01-01
The relation between the parenchymal pattern of the breasts as demonstrated on a mammogram and the estrogen-receptor status of the primary tumor in 337 patients with operable invasive breast cancer has been studied. These factors have also been correlated with the response to endocrine therapy in 92 patients who subsequently developed secondary disease. It has been shown that patients with a DY pattern are more likely to develop tumors that are estrogen-receptor (ER) positive. Patients with secondary disease who have a DY pattern are more likely to respond to endocrine therapy. The DY pattern has been shown to be at least as good an indicator of the probability of response to endocrine therapy as the estrogen-receptor status, and a combination of the two factors better than either taken singly. In a series of 141 postmenopausal women, the DY pattern, as determined at the time of mastectomy, was associated with significantly improved survival. Mammographic parenchymal pattern could form the basis for selecting patients for endocrine therapy where no estrogen-receptor assay is available
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Dietary Patterns and Maternal Anthropometry in HIV-Infected, Pregnant Malawian Women
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Roshan T. Ramlal
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Diet is a modifiable factor that can contribute to the health of pregnant women. In a sample of 577 HIV-positive pregnant women who completed baseline interviews for the Breastfeeding, Antiretrovirals, and Nutrition Study in Lilongwe, Malawi, cluster analysis was used to derive dietary patterns. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify associations between the dietary patterns and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC, arm muscle area (AMA, arm fat area (AFA, and hemoglobin at baseline. Three key dietary patterns were identified: animal-based, plant-based, and grain-based. Women with relatively greater wealth were more likely to consume the animal-based diet, which had the highest intake of energy, protein, and fat and was associated with higher hemoglobin levels compared to the other diets. Women with the lowest wealth were more likely to consume the grain-based diet with the lowest intake of energy, protein, fat, and iron and were more likely to have lower AFA than women on the animal-based and plant-based diets, but higher AMA compared to women on the animal-based diet. Pregnant, HIV-infected women in Malawi could benefit from nutritional support to ensure greater nutrient diversity during pregnancy, when women face increased nutrient demands to support fetal growth and development.
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Irradiation Pattern Analysis for Designing Light Sources-Based on Light Emitting Diodes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rojas, E.; Stolik, S.; La Rosa, J. de; Valor, A.
2016-01-01
Nowadays it is possible to design light sources with a specific irradiation pattern for many applications. Light Emitting Diodes present features like high luminous efficiency, durability, reliability, flexibility, among others as the result of its rapid development. In this paper the analysis of the irradiation pattern of the light emitting diodes is presented. The approximation of these irradiation patterns to both, a Lambertian, as well as a Gaussian functions for the design of light sources is proposed. Finally, the obtained results and the functionality of bringing the irradiation pattern of the light emitting diodes to these functions are discussed. (Author)
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Designing interfaces patterns for effective interaction design
Tidwell, Jenifer
2005-01-01
This convenient resource offers advice on creating user-friendly interface designs--whether they're delivered on the Web, a CD, or a smart" devices like a cell phone. Solutions to common UI design problems are expressed as a collection of patterns--each one containing concrete examples, recommendations, and warnings. Intended for designers with basic UI design knowledge
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Nassar, M F; AbdelKader, A M; Al-Refaee, F A; Al-Dhafiri, S S
2014-12-17
High consumption of soft drinks has been associated with lower intakes of milk and calcium-rich foods and higher body mass index (BMI). This study aimed to explore the pattern of beverage intake among Kuwaiti high-school students. A questionnaire on knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning beverages and milk and dairy products intake was completed by 190 Kuwaiti students aged 16-18 years and BMI was calculated for 181 of them. Intake of sweetened carbonated beverages and to a lesser extent packaged fruit juices affected the sufficiency of milk and dairy products intake among the sample of high-school students in Kuwait. Although BMI was not related to milk and dairy insufficiency, more of the overweight and obese students displayed incorrect practices. Nutritional education of high-school students on the importance of milk and dairy products as well as the hazards of excess sweetened carbonated beverages and packaged juice is recommended to prevent the obesity epidemic prevailing in Kuwait.
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Evaluation of the utility of a glycemic pattern identification system.
Otto, Erik A; Tannan, Vinay
2014-07-01
With the increasing prevalence of systems allowing automated, real-time transmission of blood glucose data there is a need for pattern recognition techniques that can inform of deleterious patterns in glycemic control when people test. We evaluated the utility of pattern identification with a novel pattern identification system named Vigilant™ and compared it to standard pattern identification methods in diabetes. To characterize the importance of an identified pattern we evaluated the relative risk of future hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic events in diurnal periods following identification of a pattern in a data set of 536 patients with diabetes. We evaluated events 2 days, 7 days, 30 days, and 61-90 days from pattern identification, across diabetes types and cohorts of glycemic control, and also compared the system to 6 pattern identification methods consisting of deleterious event counts and percentages over 5-, 14-, and 30-day windows. Episodes of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, severe hypoglycemia, and severe hyperglycemia were 120%, 46%, 123%, and 76% more likely after pattern identification, respectively, compared to periods when no pattern was identified. The system was also significantly more predictive of deleterious events than other pattern identification methods evaluated, and was persistently predictive up to 3 months after pattern identification. The system identified patterns that are significantly predictive of deleterious glycemic events, and more so relative to many pattern identification methods used in diabetes management today. Further study will inform how improved pattern identification can lead to improved glycemic control. © 2014 Diabetes Technology Society.
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Bursts generate a non-reducible spike-pattern code
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hugo G Eyherabide
2009-05-01
Full Text Available On the single-neuron level, precisely timed spikes can either constitute firing-rate codes or spike-pattern codes that utilize the relative timing between consecutive spikes. There has been little experimental support for the hypothesis that such temporal patterns contribute substantially to information transmission. Using grasshopper auditory receptors as a model system, we show that correlations between spikes can be used to represent behaviorally relevant stimuli. The correlations reflect the inner structure of the spike train: a succession of burst-like patterns. We demonstrate that bursts with different spike counts encode different stimulus features, such that about 20% of the transmitted information corresponds to discriminating between different features, and the remaining 80% is used to allocate these features in time. In this spike-pattern code, the "what" and the "when" of the stimuli are encoded in the duration of each burst and the time of burst onset, respectively. Given the ubiquity of burst firing, we expect similar findings also for other neural systems.
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Pattern formation in urbanism : A critical reflection on urban morphology, planning and design
Çaliskan, O.
2013-01-01
This thesis is all about urban patterns, what we see through the windows of the plane with an admiration of their relief-like scenery covering the land surface. In a sense, the spatial pattern within our cities is the biggest collectively produced artifact of human beings. It is both the originator
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PREVAIL: Predicting Recovery through Estimation and Visualization of Active and Incident Lesions.
Dworkin, Jordan D; Sweeney, Elizabeth M; Schindler, Matthew K; Chahin, Salim; Reich, Daniel S; Shinohara, Russell T
2016-01-01
The goal of this study was to develop a model that integrates imaging and clinical information observed at lesion incidence for predicting the recovery of white matter lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Demographic, clinical, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained from 60 subjects with MS as part of a natural history study at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. A total of 401 lesions met the inclusion criteria and were used in the study. Imaging features were extracted from the intensity-normalized T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted sequences as well as magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) sequence acquired at lesion incidence. T1w and MTR signatures were also extracted from images acquired one-year post-incidence. Imaging features were integrated with clinical and demographic data observed at lesion incidence to create statistical prediction models for long-term damage within the lesion. The performance of the T1w and MTR predictions was assessed in two ways: first, the predictive accuracy was measured quantitatively using leave-one-lesion-out cross-validated (CV) mean-squared predictive error. Then, to assess the prediction performance from the perspective of expert clinicians, three board-certified MS clinicians were asked to individually score how similar the CV model-predicted one-year appearance was to the true one-year appearance for a random sample of 100 lesions. The cross-validated root-mean-square predictive error was 0.95 for normalized T1w and 0.064 for MTR, compared to the estimated measurement errors of 0.48 and 0.078 respectively. The three expert raters agreed that T1w and MTR predictions closely resembled the true one-year follow-up appearance of the lesions in both degree and pattern of recovery within lesions. This study demonstrates that by using only information from a single visit at incidence, we can predict how a new lesion will recover using relatively simple statistical techniques. The
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Li, T.; Ban, C.; Fang, X.; Li, J.; Wu, Z.; Xiong, J.; Feng, W.; Plane, J. M. C.
2017-12-01
The University of Science and Technology of China narrowband sodium temperature/wind lidar, located in Hefei, China (32°N, 117°E), was installed in November 2011 and have made routine nighttime measurements since January 2012. We obtained 154 nights ( 1400 hours) of vertical profiles of temperature, sodium density, and zonal wind, and 83 nights ( 800 hours) of vertical flux of gravity wave (GW) zonal momentum in the mesopause region (80-105 km) during the period of 2012 to 2016. In temperature, it is likely that the diurnal tide dominates below 100 km in spring, while the semidiurnal tide dominates above 100 km throughout the year. A clear semiannual variation in temperature is revealed near 90 km, likely related to the tropical mesospheric semiannual oscillation (MSAO). The variability of sodium density is positively correlated with temperature, suggesting that in addition to dynamics, the chemistry may also play an important role in the formation of sodium atoms. The observed sodium peak density is 1000 cm-3 higher than that simulated by the model. In zonal wind, the diurnal tide dominates in both spring and fall, while semidiurnal tide dominates in winter. The observed semiannual variation in zonal wind near 90 km is out-of-phase with that in temperature, consistent with tropical MSAO. The GW zonal momentum flux is mostly westward in fall and winter, anti-correlated with eastward zonal wind. The annual mean flux averaged over 87-97 km is -0.3 m2/s2 (westward), anti-correlated with eastward zonal wind of 10 m/s. The comparisons of lidar results with those observed by satellite, nearby radar, and simulated by model show generally good agreements.
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Intra–cavity generation of Bessel–like beams with longitudinally dependent cone angles
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Litvin, IA
2010-02-01
Full Text Available The authors report on two resonator systems for producing Bessel–like beams with longitudinally dependent cone angles (LDBLBs). Such beams have extended propagation distances as compared to conventional Bessel– Gauss beams, with a far field pattern...
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Upper atmosphere tidal oscillations due to latent heat release in the tropical troposphere
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. M. Forbes
1997-09-01
Full Text Available Latent heat release associated with tropical deep convective activity is investigated as a source for migrating (sun-synchronous diurnal and semidiurnal tidal oscillations in the 80–150-km height region. Satellite-based cloud brightness temperature measurements made between 1988 and 1994 and averaged into 3-h bins are used to determine the annual- and longitude-average local-time distribution of rainfall rate, and hence latent heating, between ±40° latitude. Regional average rainfall rates are shown to be in good agreement with climatological values derived from surface rain gauge data. A global linearized wave model is used to estimate the corresponding atmospheric perturbations in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere (80–150 km resulting from upward-propagating tidal components excited by the latent heating. The annual-average migrating diurnal and semidiurnal components achieve velocity and temperature amplitudes of order 10–20 m s–1 and 5–10 K, respectively, which represent substantial contributions to the dynamics of the region. The latent heat forcing also shifts the phase (local solar time of maximum of the semidiurnal surface pressure oscillation from 0912 to 0936 h, much closer to the observed value of 0944 h.
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Rakislova, Natalia; Alemany, Laia; Clavero, Omar; Del Pino, Marta; Saco, Adela; Quirós, Beatriz; Lloveras, Belen; Alejo, Maria; Halec, Gordana; Quint, Wim; de Sanjosé, Silvia; Ordi, Jaume
2018-06-01
Most human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated vulvar squamous cell carcinomas (VSCCs) originate from high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, also named usual type vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia. However, growing evidence suggests that morphologic studies have limitations in predicting HPV status in vulvar lesions. We aimed to evaluate adjacent intraepithelial lesions in a series of DNA HPV-positive VSCCs, focusing on unusual histologic patterns mimicking differentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (dVIN) or lichen sclerosus (LS). We identified 326 DNA HPV-positive VSCC with at least 1 cm of skin adjacent to the invasive tumor and analyzed HPV typing, HPV E6*I mRNA, and p16 immunohistochemistry in all cases. A careful histologic evaluation was conducted. A conclusive association with HPV was based on a positive p16 or HPV E6*I mRNA result or both in addition to the HPV DNA, whereas cases negative for both markers were classified as nonconclusively associated with HPV. One hundred twenty-one tumors (37.1%) had normal adjacent skin, 191 (58.6%) had only high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, also named usual type vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, and unusual intraepithelial lesions were identified in 14 (4.3%) tumors. Seven cases showed dVIN-like features, 5 showed adjacent LS-like lesion, and in 2 cases dVIN-like and LS-like lesions were identified simultaneously. Six of them were conclusively associated with HPV (3 dVIN-like, 2 LS-like, 1 with combined dVIN/LS-like features). All 6 tumors were associated with HPV16 and were positive for both p16 and HPV mRNA, and p16 was also positive in the dVIN-like and LS-like lesions. In summary, a small subset of VSCCs conclusively associated with HPV may arise on intraepithelial lesions, mimicking precursors of HPV-independent VSCC.
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Django design patterns and best practices
Ravindran, Arun
2015-01-01
If you want to learn how best to utilize commonly found patterns and learn best practices in developing applications with Django, this is the book for you. This book, like Django itself, is accessible to amateur and professional developers alike and assumes little in the way of prior experience. Although written for Python 3, the majority of the code in this book works in Python 2 or can be easily translated.
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Eating patterns in a population-based sample of children aged 5 to 7 years
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Micali, Nadia; Simonoff, Emily; Elberling, Hanne
2011-01-01
There is still a lack of research on childhood eating patterns and their correlates in relation to psychopathology and parentally perceived impact in general population samples. We aimed to determine which eating patterns were more likely to be identified as problematic by parents, and their impact...
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Montesano, M; Kõiv, V; Mäe, A; Palva, E T
2001-11-01
summary Identification of potato genes responsive to cell wall-degrading enzymes of Erwinia carotovora resulted in the isolation of cDNA clones for four related receptor-like protein kinases. One of the putative serine-threonine protein kinases might have arisen through alternative splicing. These potato receptor-like kinases (PRK1-4) were highly equivalent (91-99%), most likely constituting a family of related receptors. All PRKs and four other plant RLKs share in their extracellular domain a conserved bi-modular pattern of cysteine repeats distinct from that in previously characterized plant RLKs, suggesting that they represent a new class of receptors. The corresponding genes were rapidly induced by E. carotovora culture filtrate (CF), both in the leaves and tubers of potato. Furthermore, the genes were transiently induced by short oligogalacturonides. The structural identity of PRKs and their induction pattern suggested that they constitute part of the early response of potato to E. carotovora infection.
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Recurrent, Robust and Scalable Patterns Underlie Human Approach and Avoidance
Kennedy, David N.; Lehár, Joseph; Lee, Myung Joo; Blood, Anne J.; Lee, Sang; Perlis, Roy H.; Smoller, Jordan W.; Morris, Robert; Fava, Maurizio
2010-01-01
Background Approach and avoidance behavior provide a means for assessing the rewarding or aversive value of stimuli, and can be quantified by a keypress procedure whereby subjects work to increase (approach), decrease (avoid), or do nothing about time of exposure to a rewarding/aversive stimulus. To investigate whether approach/avoidance behavior might be governed by quantitative principles that meet engineering criteria for lawfulness and that encode known features of reward/aversion function, we evaluated whether keypress responses toward pictures with potential motivational value produced any regular patterns, such as a trade-off between approach and avoidance, or recurrent lawful patterns as observed with prospect theory. Methodology/Principal Findings Three sets of experiments employed this task with beautiful face images, a standardized set of affective photographs, and pictures of food during controlled states of hunger and satiety. An iterative modeling approach to data identified multiple law-like patterns, based on variables grounded in the individual. These patterns were consistent across stimulus types, robust to noise, describable by a simple power law, and scalable between individuals and groups. Patterns included: (i) a preference trade-off counterbalancing approach and avoidance, (ii) a value function linking preference intensity to uncertainty about preference, and (iii) a saturation function linking preference intensity to its standard deviation, thereby setting limits to both. Conclusions/Significance These law-like patterns were compatible with critical features of prospect theory, the matching law, and alliesthesia. Furthermore, they appeared consistent with both mean-variance and expected utility approaches to the assessment of risk. Ordering of responses across categories of stimuli demonstrated three properties thought to be relevant for preference-based choice, suggesting these patterns might be grouped together as a relative preference
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Angiofibroma-like perineurioma. Report of a case.
Zámečník, Michal; Mukenšnabl, Petr; Chlumská, Alena
2013-04-01
We report an unusual perineurioma with numerous vessels, showing a strong similarity with angiofibroma. A 2,5 x 2 x 2 cm subcutaneous/dermal tumor occurred in 58-ys-old male in the left brachial region. Histologically, it was composed of haphazardly arranged bland spindle cells and it contained prominent vasculature. In rare foci, the tumor cells showed thin bipolar processes and an onion-like perivascular whorling pattern. Immunohistochemically, expression of perineural cell markers EMA, claudin-1 and CD34 was limited to perivascular foci and to rare cells among the vessels. In addition, the tumor expressed CD10 diffusely. Our finding indicates that diagnosis of perineurioma should be considered also by tumors with an "angiofibromatous" morphology. Especially soft tissue angiofibroma, which often express EMA (perineural cell marker), shows a strong resemblance to angiofibroma-like perineurioma.
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Size-dependent diffusion promotes the emergence of spatiotemporal patterns
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Zhang, Lai; Thygesen, Uffe Høgsbro; Banerjee, Malay
2014-01-01
intraspecific physiological variations at the individual level. Here we explore the impacts of size variation within species resulting from individual ontogeny, on the emergence of spatiotemporal patterns in a fully size-structured population model. We found that size dependency of animal's diffusivity greatly......, we found that the single-generation cycle is more likely to drive spatiotemporal patterns compared to predator-prey cycles, meaning that the mechanism of Hopf bifurcation might be more common than hitherto appreciated since the former cycle is more widespread than the latter in case of interacting...
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Circadian timed episodic-like memory - a bee knows what to do when, and also where.
Pahl, Mario; Zhu, Hong; Pix, Waltraud; Tautz, Juergen; Zhang, Shaowu
2007-10-01
This study investigates how the colour, shape and location of patterns could be memorized within a time frame. Bees were trained to visit two Y-mazes, one of which presented yellow vertical (rewarded) versus horizontal (non-rewarded) gratings at one site in the morning, while another presented blue horizontal (rewarded) versus vertical (non-rewarded) gratings at another site in the afternoon. The bees could perform well in the learning tests and various transfer tests, in which (i) all contextual cues from the learning test were present; (ii) the colour cues of the visual patterns were removed, but the location cue, the orientation of the visual patterns and the temporal cue still existed; (iii) the location cue was removed, but other contextual cues, i.e. the colour and orientation of the visual patterns and the temporal cue still existed; (iv) the location cue and the orientation cue of the visual patterns were removed, but the colour cue and temporal cue still existed; (v) the location cue, and the colour cue of the visual patterns were removed, but the orientation cue and the temporal cue still existed. The results reveal that the honeybee can recall the memory of the correct visual patterns by using spatial and/or temporal information. The relative importance of different contextual cues is compared and discussed. The bees' ability to integrate elements of circadian time, place and visual stimuli is akin to episodic-like memory; we have therefore named this kind of memory circadian timed episodic-like memory.
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Cell patterning by laser-assisted bioprinting.
Devillard, Raphaël; Pagès, Emeline; Correa, Manuela Medina; Kériquel, Virginie; Rémy, Murielle; Kalisky, Jérôme; Ali, Muhammad; Guillotin, Bertrand; Guillemot, Fabien
2014-01-01
The aim of tissue engineering is to produce functional three-dimensional (3D) tissue substitutes. Regarding native organ and tissue complexity, cell density and cell spatial 3D organization, which influence cell behavior and fate, are key parameters in tissue engineering. Laser-Assisted Bioprinting (LAB) allows one to print cells and liquid materials with a cell- or picoliter-level resolution. Thus, LAB seems to be an emerging and promising technology to fabricate tissue-like structures that have the physiological functionality of their native counterparts. This technology has additional advantages such as automation, reproducibility, and high throughput. It makes LAB compatible with the (industrial) fabrication of 3D constructs of physiologically relevant sizes. Here we present exhaustively the numerous steps that allow printing of viable cells with a well-preserved micrometer pattern. To facilitate the understanding of the whole cell patterning experiment using LAB, it is discussed in two parts: (1) preprocessing: laser set-up, bio-ink cartridge and bio-paper preparation, and pattern design; and (2) processing: bio-ink printing on the bio-paper. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Zhamanshin and Aouelloul - Craters produced by impact of tektite-like glasses?
O'Keefe, John A.
1987-01-01
It is shown that the enhanced abundance of siderophile elements and chromium in tektite-like glasses from the two impact craters of Zhamanshin and Aouelloul cannot be explained as a result of contamination of the country rock by meteorites nor, probably, comets. The pattern is, however, like that found in certain Australasian tektites, and in Ivory Coast tektites. It is concluded, in agreement with earlier suggestions by Campbell-Smith and Hey, that these craters were formed by the impact of large masses of tektite-like glass, of which the glasses which were studied are fragments. It follows that it is necessary, in considering an impact crater, to bear in mind that the projectile may have been a glass.
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Pattern of Assault-induced Oral and Maxillofacial Injuries in Ado ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The etiology of maxillofacial injuries varies from one country to another and even within the same country depending on the prevailing socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors.[1-4] Road traffic crashes (RTC), assaults, sports, falls occupational hazards are documented causes of oral and maxillofacial injuries.
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The actin-like MreB proteins in Bacillus subtilis: a new turn.
Chastanet, Arnaud; Carballido-Lopez, Rut
2012-06-01
A decade ago, two breakthrough descriptions were reported: 1) the first helix-like protein localization pattern of MreB and its paralog Mbl in Bacillus subtilis and 2) the crystal structure of Thermotoga maritima MreB1, which was remarkably similar to that of actin. These discoveries strongly stimulated the field of bacterial development, leading to the identification of many new cytoskeletal proteins (1) and the publication of many studies describing the helical patterns of protein, DNA and even lipid domains. However, today, new breakthroughs are shaking up what had become a dogma. Instead of helical structures, MreBs appear to form discrete patches that move circumferentially around the cell, questioning the idea of MreB cables forming an actin-like cytoskeleton. Furthermore, increasing evidence of biochemical properties that are unlike the properties of actin suggest that the molecular behavior of MreB proteins may be different. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of the so-called "actin-like" MreB cytoskeleton through a discussion of the model Gram-positive bacterium B. subtilis and the most recent findings in this rapidly evolving research field.
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Gieswein, Alexander; Hering, Daniel; Feld, Christian K
2017-09-01
Freshwater ecosystems are impacted by a range of stressors arising from diverse human-caused land and water uses. Identifying the relative importance of single stressors and understanding how multiple stressors interact and jointly affect biology is crucial for River Basin Management. This study addressed multiple human-induced stressors and their effects on the aquatic flora and fauna based on data from standard WFD monitoring schemes. For altogether 1095 sites within a mountainous catchment, we used 12 stressor variables covering three different stressor groups: riparian land use, physical habitat quality and nutrient enrichment. Twenty-one biological metrics calculated from taxa lists of three organism groups (fish, benthic invertebrates and aquatic macrophytes) served as response variables. Stressor and response variables were subjected to Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) analysis to identify stressor hierarchy and stressor interactions and subsequently to Generalised Linear Regression Modelling (GLM) to quantify the stressors standardised effect size. Our results show that riverine habitat degradation was the dominant stressor group for the river fauna, notably the bed physical habitat structure. Overall, the explained variation in benthic invertebrate metrics was higher than it was in fish and macrophyte metrics. In particular, general integrative (aggregate) metrics such as % Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa performed better than ecological traits (e.g. % feeding types). Overall, additive stressor effects dominated, while significant and meaningful stressor interactions were generally rare and weak. We concluded that given the type of stressor and ecological response variables addressed in this study, river basin managers do not need to bother much about complex stressor interactions, but can focus on the prevailing stressors according to the hierarchy identified. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sveva Grande
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Clustering of patient-derived glioma stem-like cells (GSCs through unsupervised analysis of metabolites detected by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS evidenced three subgroups, namely clusters 1a and 1b, with high intergroup similarity and neural fingerprints, and cluster 2, with a metabolism typical of commercial tumor lines. In addition, subclones generated by the same GSC line showed different metabolic phenotypes. Aerobic glycolysis prevailed in cluster 2 cells as demonstrated by higher lactate production compared to cluster 1 cells. Oligomycin, a mitochondrial ATPase inhibitor, induced high lactate extrusion only in cluster 1 cells, where it produced neutral lipid accumulation detected as mobile lipid signals by MRS and lipid droplets by confocal microscopy. These results indicate a relevant role of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation for energy production in GSCs. On the other hand, further metabolic differences, likely accounting for different therapy responsiveness observed after etomoxir treatment, suggest that caution must be used in considering patient treatment with mitochondria FAO blockers. Metabolomics and metabolic profiling may contribute to discover new diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers to be used for personalized therapies.
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Different as night and day: Patterns of isolated seizures, clusters, and status epilepticus.
Goldenholz, Daniel M; Rakesh, Kshitiz; Kapur, Kush; Gaínza-Lein, Marina; Hodgeman, Ryan; Moss, Robert; Theodore, William H; Loddenkemper, Tobias
2018-05-01
Using approximations based on presumed U.S. time zones, we characterized day and nighttime seizure patterns in a patient-reported database, Seizure Tracker. A total of 632 995 seizures (9698 patients) were classified into 4 categories: isolated seizure event (ISE), cluster without status epilepticus (CWOS), cluster including status epilepticus (CIS), and status epilepticus (SE). We used a multinomial mixed-effects logistic regression model to calculate odds ratios (ORs) to determine night/day ratios for the difference between seizure patterns: ISE versus SE, ISE versus CWOS, ISE versus CIS, and CWOS versus CIS. Ranges of OR values were reported across cluster definitions. In adults, ISE was more likely at night compared to CWOS (OR = 1.49, 95% adjusted confidence interval [CI] = 1.36-1.63) and to CIS (OR = 1.61, 95% adjusted CI = 1.34-1.88). The ORs for ISE versus SE and CWOS versus SE were not significantly different regardless of cluster definition. In children, ISE was less likely at night compared to SE (OR = 0.85, 95% adjusted CI = 0.79-0.91). ISE was more likely at night compared to CWOS (OR = 1.35, 95% adjusted CI = 1.26-1.44) and CIS (OR = 1.65, 95% adjusted CI = 1.44-1.86). CWOS was more likely during the night compared to CIS (OR = 1.22, 95% adjusted CI = 1.05-1.39). With the exception of SE in children, our data suggest that more severe patterns favor daytime. This suggests distinct day/night preferences for different seizure patterns in children and adults. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 International League Against Epilepsy.
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Zhang, Jianguo; Milzetti, Jasmin; Leroy, Frédéric; Müller-Plathe, Florian
2017-03-21
When droplets of nanoparticle suspension evaporate from surfaces, they leave behind a deposit of nanoparticles. The mechanism of evaporation-induced pattern formation in the deposit is studied by molecular dynamics simulations for sessile nanodroplets. The influence of the interaction between nanoparticles and liquid molecules and the influence of the evaporation rate on the final deposition pattern are addressed. When the nanoparticle-liquid interaction is weaker than the liquid-liquid interaction, an interaction-driven or evaporation-induced layer of nanoparticles appears at the liquid-vapor interface and eventually collapses onto the solid surface to form a uniform deposit independently of the evaporation rate. When the nanoparticle-liquid and liquid-liquid interactions are comparable, the nanoparticles are dispersed inside the droplet and evaporation takes place with the contact line pinned at a surface defect. In such a case, a pattern with an approximate ring-like shape is found with fast evaporation, while a more uniform distribution is observed with slower evaporation. When the liquid-nanoparticle interaction is stronger than the liquid-liquid interaction, evaporation always occurs with receding contact line. The final deposition pattern changes from volcano-like to pancake-like with decreasing evaporation rate. These findings might help to design nanoscale structures like nanopatterns or nanowires on surface through controlled solvent evaporation.
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Habes, M; Janowitz, D; Erus, G; Toledo, J B; Resnick, S M; Doshi, J; Van der Auwera, S; Wittfeld, K; Hegenscheid, K; Hosten, N; Biffar, R; Homuth, G; Völzke, H; Grabe, H J; Hoffmann, W; Davatzikos, C
2016-04-05
We systematically compared structural imaging patterns of advanced brain aging (ABA) in the general-population, herein defined as significant deviation from typical BA to those found in Alzheimer disease (AD). The hypothesis that ABA would show different patterns of structural change compared with those found in AD was tested via advanced pattern analysis methods. In particular, magnetic resonance images of 2705 participants from the Study of Health in Pomerania (aged 20-90 years) were analyzed using an index that captures aging atrophy patterns (Spatial Pattern of Atrophy for Recognition of BA (SPARE-BA)), and an index previously shown to capture atrophy patterns found in clinical AD (Spatial Patterns of Abnormality for Recognition of Early Alzheimer's Disease (SPARE-AD)). We studied the association between these indices and risk factors, including an AD polygenic risk score. Finally, we compared the ABA-associated atrophy with typical AD-like patterns. We observed that SPARE-BA had significant association with: smoking (Prisk score was significantly associated with SPARE-AD but not with SPARE-BA. Our findings suggest that ABA is likely characterized by pathophysiologic mechanisms that are distinct from, or only partially overlapping with those of AD.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Silvia Pagliardini
Full Text Available Brain state alternations resembling those of sleep spontaneously occur in rats under urethane anesthesia and they are closely linked with sleep-like respiratory changes. Although rats are a common model for both sleep and respiratory physiology, we sought to determine if similar brain state and respiratory changes occur in mice under urethane. We made local field potential recordings from the hippocampus and measured respiratory activity by means of EMG recordings in intercostal, genioglossus, and abdominal muscles. Similar to results in adult rats, urethane anesthetized mice displayed quasi-periodic spontaneous forebrain state alternations between deactivated patterns resembling slow wave sleep (SWS and activated patterns resembling rapid eye movement (REM sleep. These alternations were associated with an increase in breathing rate, respiratory variability, a depression of inspiratory related activity in genioglossus muscle and an increase in expiratory-related abdominal muscle activity when comparing deactivated (SWS-like to activated (REM-like states. These results demonstrate that urethane anesthesia consistently induces sleep-like brain state alternations and correlated changes in respiratory activity across different rodent species. They open up the powerful possibility of utilizing transgenic mouse technology for the advancement and translation of knowledge regarding sleep cycle alternations and their impact on respiration.
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Toll-like receptors as therapeutic targets in cystic fibrosis.
LENUS (Irish Health Repository)
Greene, Catherine M
2008-12-01
Background: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors that act as a first-line of defence in the innate immune response by recognising and responding to conserved molecular patterns in microbial factors and endogenous danger signals. Cystic fibrosis (CF)-affected airways represent a milieu potentially rich in TLR agonists and the chronic inflammatory phenotype evident in CF airway epithelial cells is probably due in large part to activation of TLRs. Objective\\/methods: To examine the prospects of developing novel therapies for CF by targeting TLRs. We outline the expression and function of TLRs and explore the therapeutic potential of naturally-occurring and synthetic TLR inhibitors for CF. Results\\/conclusion: Modulation of TLRs has therapeutic potential for the inflammatory lung manifestations of CF.
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Autosomal recessive mode of inheritance of a Coffin-Siris like syndrome.
Bonioli, E; Palmieri, A; Bertola, A; Bellini, C
1995-01-01
Autosomal recessive mode of inheritance of a Coffin-Siris like syndrome: Coffin-Siris syndrome is a rare mental retardation/multiple congenital anomalies syndrome; so far its pattern of inheritance is under debate. We report a child affected by this syndrome, the pedigree of which is consistent with autosomal recessive inheritance.
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Pattern of Presentation of Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Background: Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is the sequential failure of several organ systems after a trigger event, like sepsis, massive transfusions, burns, trauma and cardiogenic shock. Aim and Objectives- The pattern of presentation of multiple organ dysfunction and the risk factors associated with multiple organ ...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jorge Riechmann
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Technological utopianism seduces many people, from the very origins of Western modernity –remember Francis Bacon’s island of Bensalem in his New Atlantis–, with the temptation of complete mastery over nature (which includes human immortality. Today, the prevailing mentality in the West, which tends to become a universal worldview, has much in common with the beliefs of the ancient Gnostics. According to this mindset, science and technology can allow the human mind to escape the limitations that characterize its natural state, releasing the anchor to biological stuff and escaping the human condition. In short, we would become gods –gods thought of as Immortal Super-Engineers. We must resist these destructive illusions and delusions, which means: technical rationality has to make his own critique of utopian reason (in the sense of Franz Hinkelammert. Without this self-criticism, a judicious use of techniques and technologies will be out of reach –and they do have an enormous potential for improving the human condition–, while avoiding –if it were still possible– the exterminist, nihilistic and suicidal drift of industrial civilization.
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Dermatofibroma-like granular cell tumour: a potential diagnostic pitfall
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jiri Soukup
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Dermatofibroma-like granular cell tumour (GCT is a rare entity, with only two cases having been described so far. We report another case in a 62-year-old woman, discuss histopathological features, and review other tumours in which granular changes have been observed. Our tumour was composed predominantly of oval-to-spindle granular cells with prominent nucleoli, arranged in short fascicles and storiform pattern, infiltrating around collagen bundles. Immunohistochemical analysis with antibodies against CD31, CD56, CD68, CD117, S-100 protein, inhibin, calretinin, EMA, p53 and MIB-1 was performed, showing expression of CD56, CD68, S-100 protein, inhibin and calretinin. The diagnosis of atypical dermatofibroma-like GCT was made.
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Model projections of atmospheric steering of Sandy-like superstorms.
Barnes, Elizabeth A; Polvani, Lorenzo M; Sobel, Adam H
2013-09-17
Superstorm Sandy ravaged the eastern seaboard of the United States, costing a great number of lives and billions of dollars in damage. Whether events like Sandy will become more frequent as anthropogenic greenhouse gases continue to increase remains an open and complex question. Here we consider whether the persistent large-scale atmospheric patterns that steered Sandy onto the coast will become more frequent in the coming decades. Using the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 multimodel ensemble, we demonstrate that climate models consistently project a decrease in the frequency and persistence of the westward flow that led to Sandy's unprecedented track, implying that future atmospheric conditions are less likely than at present to propel storms westward into the coast.
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Preston, Jill C.; Kellogg, Elizabeth A.
2006-01-01
Gene duplication is an important mechanism for the generation of evolutionary novelty. Paralogous genes that are not silenced may evolve new functions (neofunctionalization) that will alter the developmental outcome of preexisting genetic pathways, partition ancestral functions (subfunctionalization) into divergent developmental modules, or function redundantly. Functional divergence can occur by changes in the spatio-temporal patterns of gene expression and/or by changes in the activities of their protein products. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of two paralogous monocot MADS-box transcription factors, FUL1 and FUL2, and determined the evolution of sequence and gene expression in grass AP1/FUL-like genes. Monocot AP1/FUL-like genes duplicated at the base of Poaceae and codon substitutions occurred under relaxed selection mostly along the branch leading to FUL2. Following the duplication, FUL1 was apparently lost from early diverging taxa, a pattern consistent with major changes in grass floral morphology. Overlapping gene expression patterns in leaves and spikelets indicate that FUL1 and FUL2 probably share some redundant functions, but that FUL2 may have become temporally restricted under partial subfunctionalization to particular stages of floret development. These data have allowed us to reconstruct the history of AP1/FUL-like genes in Poaceae and to hypothesize a role for this gene duplication in the evolution of the grass spikelet. PMID:16816429
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An exploration of spatial patterns of seasonal diarrhoeal morbidity in Thailand.
McCormick, B J J; Alonso, W J; Miller, M A
2012-07-01
Studies of temporal and spatial patterns of diarrhoeal disease can suggest putative aetiological agents and environmental or socioeconomic drivers. Here, the seasonal patterns of monthly acute diarrhoeal morbidity in Thailand, where diarrhoeal morbidity is increasing, are explored. Climatic data (2003-2006) and Thai Ministry of Health annual reports (2003-2009) were used to construct a spatially weighted panel regression model. Seasonal patterns of diarrhoeal disease were generally bimodal with aetiological agents peaking at different times of the year. There is a strong association between daily mean temperature and precipitation and the incidence of hospitalization due to acute diarrhoea in Thailand leading to a distinct spatial pattern in the seasonal pattern of diarrhoea. Model performance varied across the country in relation to per capita GDP and population density. While climatic factors are likely to drive the general pattern of diarrhoeal disease in Thailand, the seasonality of diarrhoeal disease is dampened in affluent urban populations.
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Haar-like Rectangular Features for Biometric Recognition
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nasrollahi, Kamal; Moeslund, Thomas B.; Rashidi, Maryam
2013-01-01
Developing a reliable, fast, and robust biometric recognition system is still a challenging task. This is because the inputs to these systems can be noisy, occluded, poorly illuminated, rotated, and of very low-resolutions. This paper proposes a probabilistic classifier using Haar-like features......, which mostly have been used for detection, for biometric recognition. The proposed system has been tested for three different biometrics: ear, iris, and hand vein patterns and it is shown that it is robust against most of the mentioned degradations and it outperforms state-of-the-art systems...
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Pattern of Eye Injuries in Children in Benin City, Nigeria ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Pattern of Eye Injuries in Children in Benin City, Nigeria. ... Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ... Majority of the eye injuries were lacerations (50%). ... It is also important to educate parents and caregivers on the likely risk of injury that ...
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Güneralp, Burak; Perlstein, Andrew S; Seto, Karen C
2015-10-01
China has high biodiversity and is rapidly urbanizing. However, there is limited understanding of how urban expansion in the country is likely to affect its habitats and biodiversity. In this study, we examine urban expansion patterns and their likely impacts on biodiversity in China by 2030. Our analysis shows that most provinces are expected to experience urban expansion either near their protected areas or in biodiversity hotspots. In a few provinces such as Guangdong in the south, urban expansion is likely to impinge on both protected areas and biodiversity hotspots. We show that policies that could facilitate the integration of natural resource protection into urban planning exist on paper, but the prevailing incentives and institutional arrangements between the central and local governments prevent this kind of integration. Removing these obstacles will be necessary in order to safeguard the country's rich biodiversity in light of the scale of urbanization underway.
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Barbe, Charlotte; Leroy, Yves; Ben Miloud, Camille
2017-04-01
A methodology is proposed to construct the stress history of a complex fault-related fold in which the deformation mechanisms are essentially frictional. To illustrate the approach, fours steps of the deformation of an initially horizontally layered sand/silicone laboratory experiment (Driehaus et al., J. of Struc. Geol., 65, 2014) are analysed with the kinematic approach of limit analysis (LA). The stress, conjugate to the virtual velocity gradient in the sense of mechanicam power, is a proxy for the true statically admmissible stress field which prevailed over the structure. The material properties, friction angles and cohesion, including their time evolution are selected such that the deformation pattern predicted by the LA is consistent with the two main thrusting events, the first forward and the second backward once the layers have sufficiently rotated. The fractures associated to the stress field determined at each step are convected on today configuration to define the complete pattern which should be observed. The end results are presented along virtual vertical wells and could be used within the oil industry at an early phase of exploration to prepare drealing operations.
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Patterns of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and diet in U.S. adolescents.
Iannotti, Ronald J; Wang, Jing
2013-08-01
To identify patterns in adolescents' obesogenic behaviors and their relations to physical and psychological health. A nationally representative sample of 9,174 U.S. adolescents ages 11 to 16 years was surveyed on physical activity (PA), screen-based sedentary behavior (SB), frequency of consumption of healthy and unhealthy food items, weight status, weight control behavior, depression, physical symptoms, body dissatisfaction, overall health, and life satisfaction. Latent class analysis was used to identify patterns of PA, SB, and diet. A model with three latent classes best fit the data: Class 1 with high PA and high fruit and vegetable intake and low SB and intake of sweets, soft drinks, chips, and fries; Class 2 with high SB and high intake of sweets, soft drinks, chips, and fries; and Class 3 with low PA, low fruit and vegetable intake, and low intake of sweets, chips, and fries. Membership in the three classes was related to age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. In addition, members of Class 1 (26.5%) were more likely to be of normal weight status and to fare well on most of the other health indices; of Class 2 (26.4%) were less likely to be trying to lose weight but scored poorly on the mental health indices; and of Class 3 (47.2%) were less likely to be underweight and reported greater body dissatisfaction. Three prevalent patterns of adolescent obesogenic behaviors were identified and these patterns related to weight status, depression, and other indicators of physical and psychological health. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peddisetty Pardha-Saradhi
Full Text Available Potential of root system of plants from wide range of families to effectively reduce membrane impermeable ferricyanide to ferrocyanide and blue coloured 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP to colourless DCPIPH2 both under non-sterile and sterile conditions, revealed prevalence of immense reducing strength at root surface. As generation of silver nanoparticles (NPs from Ag+ involves reduction, present investigations were carried to evaluate if reducing strength prevailing at surface of root system can be exploited for reduction of Ag+ and exogenous generation of silver-NPs. Root system of intact plants of 16 species from 11 diverse families of angiosperms turned clear colorless AgNO3 solutions, turbid brown. Absorption spectra of these turbid brown solutions showed silver-NPs specific surface plasmon resonance peak. Transmission electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray confirmed the presence of distinct NPs in the range of 5-50 nm containing Ag. Selected area electron diffraction and powder X-ray diffraction patterns of the silver NPs showed Bragg reflections, characteristic of crystalline face-centered cubic structure of Ag(0 and cubic structure of Ag2O. Root system of intact plants raised under sterile conditions also generated Ag(0/Ag2O-NPs under strict sterile conditions in a manner similar to that recorded under non-sterile conditions. This revealed the inbuilt potential of root system to generate Ag(0/Ag2O-NPs independent of any microorganism. Roots of intact plants reduced triphenyltetrazolium to triphenylformazon and impermeable ferricyanide to ferrocyanide, suggesting involvement of plasma membrane bound dehydrogenases in reduction of Ag+ and formation of Ag(0/Ag2O-NPs. Root enzyme extract reduced triphenyltetrazolium to triphenylformazon and Ag+ to Ag(0 in presence of NADH, clearly establishing potential of dehydrogenases to reduce Ag+ to Ag(0, which generate Ag(0/Ag2O-NPs. Findings presented in this manuscript put
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Ishida, Yasuko; Gugala, Natalie A; Georgiadis, Nicholas J; Roca, Alfred L
2018-05-01
The past processes that have shaped geographic patterns of genetic diversity may be difficult to infer from current patterns. However, in species with sex differences in dispersal, differing phylogeographic patterns between mitochondrial (mt) and nuclear (nu) DNA may provide contrasting insights into past events. Forest elephants ( Loxodonta cyclotis ) were impacted by climate and habitat change during the Pleistocene, which likely shaped phylogeographic patterns in mitochondrial (mt) DNA that have persisted due to limited female dispersal. By contrast, the nuclear (nu) DNA phylogeography of forest elephants in Central Africa has not been determined. We therefore examined the population structure of Central African forest elephants by genotyping 94 individuals from six localities at 21 microsatellite loci. Between forest elephants in western and eastern Congolian forests, there was only modest genetic differentiation, a pattern highly discordant with that of mtDNA. Nuclear genetic patterns are consistent with isolation by distance. Alternatively, male-mediated gene flow may have reduced the previous regional differentiation in Central Africa suggested by mtDNA patterns, which likely reflect forest fragmentation during the Pleistocene. In species like elephants, male-mediated gene flow erases the nuclear genetic signatures of past climate and habitat changes, but these continue to persist as patterns in mtDNA because females do not disperse. Conservation implications of these results are discussed.
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Rathkopf, Dana E; Beer, Tomasz M; Loriot, Yohann; Higano, Celestia S; Armstrong, Andrew J; Sternberg, Cora N; de Bono, Johann S; Tombal, Bertrand; Parli, Teresa; Bhattacharya, Suman; Phung, De; Krivoshik, Andrew; Scher, Howard I; Morris, Michael J
2018-05-01
Drug development for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer has been limited by a lack of clinically relevant trial end points short of overall survival (OS). Radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) as defined by the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Group 2 (PCWG2) is a candidate end point that represents a clinically meaningful benefit to patients. To demonstrate the robustness of the PCWG2 definition and to examine the relationship between rPFS and OS. PREVAIL was a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multinational study that enrolled 1717 chemotherapy-naive men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer from September 2010 through September 2012. The data were analyzed in November 2016. Patients were randomized 1:1 to enzalutamide 160 mg or placebo until confirmed radiographic disease progression or a skeletal-related event and initiation of either cytotoxic chemotherapy or an investigational agent for prostate cancer treatment. Sensitivity analyses (SAs) of investigator-assessed rPFS were performed using the final rPFS data cutoff (May 6, 2012; 439 events; SA1) and the interim OS data cutoff (September 16, 2013; 540 events; SA2). Additional SAs using investigator-assessed rPFS from the final rPFS data cutoff assessed the impact of skeletal-related events (SA3), clinical progression (SA4), a confirmatory scan for soft-tissue disease progression (SA5), and all deaths regardless of time after study drug discontinuation (SA6). Correlations between investigator-assessed rPFS (SA2) and OS were calculated using Spearman ρ and Kendall τ via Clayton copula. In the 1717 men (mean age, 72.0 [range, 43.0-93.0] years in enzalutamide arm and 71.0 [range, 42.0-93.0] years in placebo arm), enzalutamide significantly reduced risk of radiographic progression or death in all SAs, with hazard ratios of 0.22 (SA1; 95% CI, 0.18-0.27), 0.31 (SA2; 95% CI, 0.27-0.35), 0.21 (SA3; 95% CI, 0.18-0.26), 0.21 (SA4; 95% CI, 0.17-0.26), 0
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Multicellular stalk-like structures in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Engelberg, D.; Mimran, A.; Martinetto, H.; Otto, J.; Simchen, G.; Karin, M.; Fink, G.R.
1998-01-01
Stalk formation is a novel pattern of multicellular organization. Yeast cells which survive UV irradiation form colonies that grow vertically to form very long (0.5 to 3.0 cm) and thin (0.5 to 4 mm in diameter) multicellular structures. We describe the conditions required to obtain these stalk-like structures reproducibly in large numbers. Yeast mutants, mutated for control of cell polarity, developmental processes, UV response, and signal transduction cascades were tested and found capable of forming stalk-like structures. We suggest a model that explains the mechanism of stalk formation by mechanical environmental forces. We show that other microorganisms (Candida albicans, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and Escherichia coli) also form stalks, suggesting that the ability to produce stalks may be a general property of microorganisms. Diploid yeast stalks sporulate at an elevated frequency, raising the possibility that the physiological role of stalks might be disseminating spores
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Peptide YY induces characteristic meal patterns of aged mice.
Mogami, Sachiko; Yamada, Chihiro; Fujitsuka, Naoki; Hattori, Tomohisa
2017-11-01
Changes in eating behavior occur in the elderly due to oral and swallowing dysfunctions. We aimed to clarify the difference between basal meal patterns of young and aged mice in relation to appetite regulating hormones. Thirty two of young (7-week-old) and aged (23-25-month-old) C57BL/6 male mice were acclimated to a single housing and then transferred to a highly sensitive automated feeding monitoring device. Feeding behavior was monitored from the onset of the dark phase after habituation to the device. Plasma peptide YY (PYY) levels were assessed under the several feeding status or after treatment of PYY. PYY and its receptor (NPY Y2 receptor, Y2R) antagonist were intraperitoneally administered 30min before the monitoring. Although the basal 24-h meal amounts did not differ by age, the total meal time and frequency of minimum feeding activity (bout) were significantly increased and the average bout size and time per bout were significantly decreased in aged mice. PYY dynamics were abnormal and the temporal reduction in food intake by exogenous PYY was more prominent in aged mice than in young mice. PYY administration to young mice induced aged-like meal patterns, and Y2R antagonist administration to aged mice induced young-like meal patterns. Aged mice exhibited characteristic meal patterns probably due to PYY metabolism dysfunction and/or enhanced PYY-Y2R signaling, suggesting a novel method for assessing eating difficulties in aged animals and a potential target for the remedy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Reese, K.W.; Johnson, R.M.; Killeen, T.L.
1991-01-01
Ion-neutral collision frequencies determined from measurements obtained by the incoherent scatter radar located at Soendre Stroemfjord, Greenland, have been used to derive lower thermospheric neutral densities during the first Lower Thermosphere Coupling Study (LTCS 1), September 21-26, 1987. Periods of Joule and particle heating which might disturb the E region thermal equilibrium were systematically eliminated. The mean profile of neutral density for the period is in good agreement with the mass spectrometer incoherent scatter 1986 (MSIS-86) model between 92 and 104 km. A tendency to overestimate collision frequencies above 105 km may arise from range-smearing effects. The results of a tidal analysis performed on the neutral density between 92 and 109 km show that the amplitudes of the diurnal and semidiurnal components of the tides are approximately equivalent. The observations are generally in better agreement with the MSIS-86 predictions than with the thermosphere-ionosphere general circulation model (TIGCM) simulation of the LTCS 1 interval. The observed phase of the diurnal component is approximately constant with height above 98 km and is in close agreement with the MSIS-86 model phases; however, the TIGCM diurnal phases are shifted by 6-8 hours to later local times. The phase of the semidiurnal tide is in good agreement with predictions of the MSIS-86 model and the TIGCM simulation of this interval, except near 98 km. The observed semidiurnal phase is also consistent with previous high-latitude results (Kirkwood, 1986). The relative amplitude of the observed semidiurnal oscillation is up to 15% larger than that previously observed at the European Incoherent Scatter facility but is consistent with the amplitudes presented in an earlier study of Millstone Hill measurements (Salah, 1974)
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Green, Michael J; Espie, Colin A; Benzeval, Michael
2014-05-25
Psychiatric distress and insomnia symptoms exhibit similar patterning by gender and socioeconomic position. Prospective evidence indicates a bi-directional relationship between psychiatric distress and insomnia symptoms so similarities in social patterning may not be coincidental. Treatment for insomnia can also improve distress outcomes. We investigate the extent to which the prospective patterning of distress over 20 years is associated with insomnia symptoms over that period. 999 respondents to the Twenty-07 Study had been followed for 20 years from approximately ages 36-57 (73.2% of the living baseline sample). Psychiatric distress was measured using the GHQ-12 at baseline and at 20-year follow-up. Gender and social class were ascertained at baseline. Insomnia symptoms were self-reported approximately every five years. Latent class analysis was used to classify patterns of insomnia symptoms over the 20 years. Structural Equation Models were used to assess how much of the social patterning of distress was associated with insomnia symptoms. Missing data was addressed with a combination of multiple-imputation and weighting. Patterns of insomnia symptoms over 20 years were classified as either healthy, episodic, developing or chronic. Respondents from a manual social class were more likely to experience episodic, developing or chronic patterns than those from non-manual occupations but this was mostly explained by baseline psychiatric distress. People in manual occupations experiencing psychiatric distress however were particularly likely to experience chronic patterns of insomnia symptoms. Women were more likely to experience a developing pattern than men, independent of baseline distress. Psychiatric distress was more persistent over the 20 years for those in manual social classes and this effect disappeared when adjusting for insomnia symptoms. Irrespective of baseline symptoms, women, and especially those in a manual social class, were more likely than men to
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Dietary patterns among 13-y-old Portuguese adolescents.
Araújo, Joana; Teixeira, Joana; Gaio, A Rita; Lopes, Carla; Ramos, Elisabete
2015-01-01
The aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns in 13-y-old adolescents and to evaluate their association with socioeconomic and behavioral factors. Data from 1489 adolescents born in 1990 and enrolled in schools of Porto, Portugal, in 2003-2004 (EPITeen study) were analyzed, after excluding those without information on the food frequency questionnaire and the outliers. The questionnaire items were grouped into 14 food groups and dietary patterns were identified by cluster analysis (k-means). Their association with participants' characteristics was computed using multinomial logistic regression. Four dietary patterns were identified. The pattern healthier (16.1%) was characterized by the highest consumption of seafood, soup, vegetables/legumes, fruit, and added fats. The dairy products pattern (29.7%) showed the highest consumption of dairies. The pattern fast food and sweets (14.2%) presented the highest intake of fast food, sweets and pastry, soft drinks and coffee or tea. The lower intake pattern (40%) was characterized by a lower consumption of the majority of food groups. A higher odds of belonging to the fast food and sweets pattern, compared with the lower intake pattern was found among adolescents spending more time watching TV on the weekends (>360 min: odds ratio [OR], 2.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23-3.57) and among those consuming four to seven fried meals per week (OR, 3.96; 95% CI, 2.27-6.90). Adolescents with highly educated parents were less likely to belong to the fast food and sweets group. Unhealthier behaviors and lower socioeconomic position were the main factors associated with the unhealthier dietary pattern (fast food and sweets). This information should be considered in the development of health-promotion interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Tao, Ye; Gu, Huaguang; Ding, Xueli
2017-10-01
Spiral waves were observed in the biological experiment on rat brain cortex with the application of carbachol and bicuculline which can block inhibitory coupling from interneurons to pyramidal neurons. To simulate the experimental spiral waves, a two-dimensional neuronal network composed of pyramidal neurons and inhibitory interneurons was built. By decreasing the percentage of active inhibitory interneurons, the random-like spatial patterns change to spiral waves and to random-like spatial patterns or nearly synchronous behaviors. The spiral waves appear at a low percentage of inhibitory interneurons, which matches the experimental condition that inhibitory couplings of the interneurons were blocked. The spiral waves exhibit a higher order or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) characterized by spatial structure function than both random-like spatial patterns and nearly synchronous behaviors, which shows that changes of the percentage of active inhibitory interneurons can induce spatial coherence resonance-like behaviors. In addition, the relationship between the coherence degree and the spatial structures of the spiral waves is identified. The results not only present a possible and reasonable interpretation to the spiral waves observed in the biological experiment on the brain cortex with disinhibition, but also reveal that the spiral waves exhibit more ordered degree in spatial patterns.
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Effects of Analytical and Holistic Scoring Patterns on Scorer Reliability in Biology Essay Tests
Ebuoh, Casmir N.
2018-01-01
Literature revealed that the patterns/methods of scoring essay tests had been criticized for not being reliable and this unreliability is more likely to be more in internal examinations than in the external examinations. The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of analytical and holistic scoring patterns on scorer reliability in…
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Cooperation prevails when individuals adjust their social ties.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Francisco C Santos
2006-10-01
Full Text Available Conventional evolutionary game theory predicts that natural selection favours the selfish and strong even though cooperative interactions thrive at all levels of organization in living systems. Recent investigations demonstrated that a limiting factor for the evolution of cooperative interactions is the way in which they are organized, cooperators becoming evolutionarily competitive whenever individuals are constrained to interact with few others along the edges of networks with low average connectivity. Despite this insight, the conundrum of cooperation remains since recent empirical data shows that real networks exhibit typically high average connectivity and associated single-to-broad-scale heterogeneity. Here, a computational model is constructed in which individuals are able to self-organize both their strategy and their social ties throughout evolution, based exclusively on their self-interest. We show that the entangled evolution of individual strategy and network structure constitutes a key mechanism for the sustainability of cooperation in social networks. For a given average connectivity of the population, there is a critical value for the ratio W between the time scales associated with the evolution of strategy and of structure above which cooperators wipe out defectors. Moreover, the emerging social networks exhibit an overall heterogeneity that accounts very well for the diversity of patterns recently found in acquired data on social networks. Finally, heterogeneity is found to become maximal when W reaches its critical value. These results show that simple topological dynamics reflecting the individual capacity for self-organization of social ties can produce realistic networks of high average connectivity with associated single-to-broad-scale heterogeneity. On the other hand, they show that cooperation cannot evolve as a result of "social viscosity" alone in heterogeneous networks with high average connectivity, requiring the
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Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification patterns of side-necked turtles (Testudines: Pleurodira)
Langer, Max C.; Sterli, Juliana
2018-01-01
Pleurodires or side-necked turtles are today restricted to freshwater environments of South America, Africa–Madagascar and Australia, but in the past they were distributed much more broadly, being found also on Eurasia, India and North America, and marine environments. Two hypotheses were proposed to explain this distribution; in the first, vicariance would have shaped the current geographical distribution and, in the second, extinctions constrained a previously widespread distribution. Here, we aim to reconstruct pleurodiran biogeographic history and diversification patterns based on a new phylogenetic hypothesis recovered from the analysis of the largest morphological dataset yet compiled for the lineage, testing which biogeographical process prevailed during its evolutionary history. The resulting topology generally agrees with previous hypotheses of the group and shows that most diversification shifts were related to the exploration of new niches, e.g. littoral or marine radiations. In addition, as other turtles, pleurodires do not seem to have been much affected by either the Cretaceous–Palaeogene or the Eocene–Oligocene mass extinctions. The biogeographic analyses highlight the predominance of both anagenetic and cladogenetic dispersal events and support the importance of transoceanic dispersals as a more common driver of area changes than previously thought, agreeing with previous studies with other non-turtle lineages. PMID:29657780
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SPEAKING IN TEAMS: MOTIVATING A PATTERN LANGUAGE FOR COLLABORATION
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Darrin Hicks
2004-12-01
Full Text Available Collaborative work is increasing in frequency and importance in business, academia, and communities. The knowledge behind what makes for a successful collaboration is also increasing but is normally focused on only one aspect of collaboration theory. The understanding of how successful collaborations are built is greatly improved by the creation of a unified framework that organises and transfers knowledge and practices. The framework proposed in this paper is the concept of a pattern language for collaboration. The notion of a pattern language was first detailed in 1979 by Christopher Alexander in his book, A Timeless Way of Building [1]. A pattern language consists of a hierarchy of individual patterns that are used to solve problems associated with the parts in the pattern. When developed, researchers can use a pattern language for collaboration as a tool set to evaluate existing collaborations, repair unhealthy collaborations, and build future collaborations. The core concept is that the structure of an environment guides the pattern of events that occurs. A healthy collaboration is more likely to be responsive to the needs of its community and robust enough to overcome unanticipated challenges. The development and evolution of the pattern language is similar to a genetic process in that quality of the overall language emerges from the interaction of individual and complex patterns. The article applies the pattern language to the real world example of twenty eight different collaborations that are part of the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative to illustrate the application of the pattern language in context. The article closes with recommendations for future development of the language.
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Brain-like associative learning using a nanoscale non-volatile phase change synaptic device array
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sukru Burc Eryilmaz
2014-07-01
Full Text Available Recent advances in neuroscience together with nanoscale electronic device technology have resulted in huge interests in realizing brain-like computing hardwares using emerging nanoscale memory devices as synaptic elements. Although there has been experimental work that demonstrated the operation of nanoscale synaptic element at the single device level, network level studies have been limited to simulations. In this work, we demonstrate, using experiments, array level associative learning using phase change synaptic devices connected in a grid like configuration similar to the organization of the biological brain. Implementing Hebbian learning with phase change memory cells, the synaptic grid was able to store presented patterns and recall missing patterns in an associative brain-like fashion. We found that the system is robust to device variations, and large variations in cell resistance states can be accommodated by increasing the number of training epochs. We illustrated the tradeoff between variation tolerance of the network and the overall energy consumption, and found that energy consumption is decreased significantly for lower variation tolerance.
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Observation of Blood Donor-Recipient Malaria Parasitaemia Patterns in a Malaria Endemic Region.
Faruk, Jamilu Abdullahi; Ogunrinde, Gboye Olufemi; Mamman, Aisha Indo
2017-01-01
Asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia has been documented in donor blood in West Africa. However, donated blood is not routinely screened for malaria parasites (MPs). The present study therefore aimed to document the frequency of blood transfusion-induced donor-recipient malaria parasitaemia patterns, in children receiving blood transfusion in a tertiary health-centre. A cross-sectional, observational study involving 140 children receiving blood transfusion was carried out. Blood donor units and patients' blood samples were obtained, for the determination of malaria parasites (MPs). Giemsa staining technique was used to determine the presence of malaria parasitaemia. Malaria parasites were detected in 7% of donor blood and in 8.3% of the recipients' pretransfusion blood. The incidence of posttransfusion MPs was 3%, but none of these were consistent with blood transfusion-induced malaria, as no child with posttransfusion parasitaemia was transfused with parasitized donor blood. Majority of the blood transfusions (89.4%) had no MPs in either donors or recipients, while 6.8% had MPs in both donors and recipients, with the remaining 3.8% showing MPs in recipients alone. In conclusion, the incidence of posttransfusion malaria parasitaemia appears low under the prevailing circumstances.
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Evaluating interfacial adhesion properties of Pt/Ti thin-film by using acousto-optic technique
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Park, Hae Sung [Graduate School of Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Didie, David; Yoshida, Sanichiro [Dept. of Chemistry and Physics, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond (United States); Park, Ik Keun [Dept. of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
2016-06-15
We propose an acousto-optic technique for the nondestructive evaluation of adhesion properties of a Pt/Ti thin-film interface. Since there are some problems encountered when using prevailing techniques to nondestructively evaluate the interfacial properties of micro/nano-scale thin-films, we applied an interferometer that combined the acoustic and optical methods. This technique is based on the Michelson interferometer but the resultant surface of the thin film specimen makes interference instead of the mirror when the interface is excited from the acoustic transducer at the driving frequency. The thin film shows resonance-like behavior at a certain frequency range, resulting in a low-contrast fringe pattern. Therefore, we represented quantitatively the change in fringe pattern as a frequency spectrum and discovered the possibility that the interfacial adhesion properties of a thin film can be evaluated using the newly proposed technique.
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Novel drugs targeting Toll-like receptors for antiviral therapy.
Patel, Mira C; Shirey, Kari Ann; Pletneva, Lioubov M; Boukhvalova, Marina S; Garzino-Demo, Alfredo; Vogel, Stefanie N; Blanco, Jorge Cg
2014-09-01
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are sentinel receptors of the host innate immune system that recognize conserved 'pathogen-associated molecular patterns' of invading microbes, including viruses. The activation of TLRs establishes antiviral innate immune responses and coordinates the development of long-lasting adaptive immunity in order to control viral pathogenesis. However, microbe-induced damage to host tissues may release 'danger-associated molecular patterns' that also activate TLRs, leading to an overexuberant inflammatory response and, ultimately, to tissue damage. Thus, TLRs have proven to be promising targets as therapeutics for the treatment of viral infections that result in inflammatory damage or as adjuvants in order to enhance the efficacy of vaccines. Here, we explore recent advances in TLR biology with a focus on novel drugs that target TLRs (agonists and antagonists) for antiviral therapy.
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Scott, Ryan B; Samaha, Jason; Chrisley, Ron; Dienes, Zoltan
2018-06-01
While theories of consciousness differ substantially, the 'conscious access hypothesis', which aligns consciousness with the global accessibility of information across cortical regions, is present in many of the prevailing frameworks. This account holds that consciousness is necessary to integrate information arising from independent functions such as the specialist processing required by different senses. We directly tested this account by evaluating the potential for associative learning between novel pairs of subliminal stimuli presented in different sensory modalities. First, pairs of subliminal stimuli were presented and then their association assessed by examining the ability of the first stimulus to prime classification of the second. In Experiments 1-4 the stimuli were word-pairs consisting of a male name preceding either a creative or uncreative profession. Participants were subliminally exposed to two name-profession pairs where one name was paired with a creative profession and the other an uncreative profession. A supraliminal task followed requiring the timed classification of one of those two professions. The target profession was preceded by either the name with which it had been subliminally paired (concordant) or the alternate name (discordant). Experiment 1 presented stimuli auditorily, Experiment 2 visually, and Experiment 3 presented names auditorily and professions visually. All three experiments revealed the same inverse priming effect with concordant test pairs associated with significantly slower classification judgements. Experiment 4 sought to establish if learning would be more efficient with supraliminal stimuli and found evidence that a different strategy is adopted when stimuli are consciously perceived. Finally, Experiment 5 replicated the unconscious cross-modal association achieved in Experiment 3 utilising non-linguistic stimuli. The results demonstrate the acquisition of novel cross-modal associations between stimuli which are not
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New signals for vector-like down-type quark in U(1) of E_6
Das, Kasinath; Li, Tianjun; Nandi, S.; Rai, Santosh Kumar
2018-01-01
We consider the pair production of vector-like down-type quarks in an E_6 motivated model, where each of the produced down-type vector-like quark decays into an ordinary Standard Model light quark and a singlet scalar. Both the vector-like quark and the singlet scalar appear naturally in the E_6 model with masses at the TeV scale with a favorable choice of symmetry breaking pattern. We focus on the non-standard decay of the vector-like quark and the new scalar which decays to two photons or two gluons. We analyze the signal for the vector-like quark production in the 2γ +≥ 2j channel and show how the scalar and vector-like quark masses can be determined at the Large Hadron Collider.
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Solar and lunar daily geomagnetic variations at Dourbes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
De Meyer, F.
1980-01-01
Spectral analysis of the Dourbes H component hourly data from the period 1960-1978 revealed the existence of a number of minor terms, in addition to the main solar and lunar peaks. The relative amplitudes of oscillations in the geomagnetic spectrum are unrelated with those predicted through lunar tide theory. The minor terms agree more closely with the 27-day amplitude modulation mechanism. A high frequency resolution power spectrum clearly shows the splitting of the solar diurnal and semi-diurnal line, and even of the lunar semi-diurnal line by the annual variation and its harmonics. The correlation between the amplitude of the M 2 wave and the mean sunspot number is of no significance. (author)
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Otaki, Joji M
2008-07-01
A mechanistic understanding of the butterfly wing color-pattern determination can be facilitated by experimental pattern changes. Here I review physiologically induced color-pattern changes in nymphalid butterflies and their mechanistic and evolutionary implications. A type of color-pattern change can be elicited by elemental changes in size and position throughout the wing, as suggested by the nymphalid groundplan. These changes of pattern elements are bi-directional and bi-sided dislocation toward or away from eyespot foci and in both proximal and distal sides of the foci. The peripheral elements are dislocated even in the eyespot-less compartments. Anterior spots are more severely modified, suggesting the existence of an anterior-posterior gradient. In one species, eyespots are transformed into white spots with remnant-like orange scales, and such patterns emerge even at the eyespot-less "imaginary" foci. A series of these color-pattern modifications probably reveal "snap-shots" of a dynamic morphogenic signal due to heterochronic uncoupling between the signaling and reception steps. The conventional gradient model can be revised to account for these observed color-pattern changes.
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Reynoso-Vallejo, Humberto; Chassler, Deborah; Witas, Julie; Lundgren, Lena M
2008-02-01
This study examined patterns of treatment entry by Puerto Rican, Central American, Dominican, and other Latino male injection drug users (IDUs) in the state of Massachusetts over the time period 1996-2002. Specifically, it explored whether these populations had different patterns relative to three paths: entry into detoxification only, entry into residential treatment, or entry into methadone maintenance. Using a state-level MIS dataset on all substance abuse treatment entries to all licensed treatment programs, bi-variate and logistic regression methods were employed to examine patterns of drug treatment utilization among Latino men residing in Massachusetts. Three logistic regression models, which controlled for age, education, homelessness, employment, history of mental health treatment, health insurance, criminal justice involvement, having injected drugs in the past month, and number of treatment entries, indicated that Puerto Rican men were significantly less likely to only use detoxification services and residential treatment services, and significantly more likely to enter methadone maintenance compared to Latino men from Central American, Dominican, or other Latino backgrounds. For example, Central American men were 2.4 times more likely to enter only detoxification programs and 54% less likely to enter methadone maintenance programs than Puerto Rican male IDUs. For program planning, include the need to (a) develop varied drug treatment services to meet the needs of non-homogenous Latino groups within the population, (b) tailor outreach efforts to effectively reach all Latino groups, and (c) increase awareness among practitioners of differential patterns of treatment utilization.
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Sporotrichoid-Like Spread of Cutaneous Mycobacterium chelonae in an Immunocompromised Patient
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Daria Marley Kemp
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Mycobacterium chelonae is a rapidly growing mycobacterium found in water and soil that can cause local cutaneous infections in immunocompetent hosts but more frequently affects immunocompromised patients. Typically, patients will present with painful subcutaneous nodules of the joints or soft tissues from traumatic inoculation. However, exhibiting a sporotrichoid-like pattern of these nodules is uncommon. Herein, we report a case of sporotrichoid-like distribution of cutaneous Mycobacterium chelonae in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus on significant immunosuppressive medications. Clinicians treating immunocompromised patients should be cognizant of their propensity to develop unusual infections and atypical presentations.
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Toll-Like Receptors in the Pathogenesis of Autoimmune Diseases
Mohammad Hosseini, Akbar; Majidi, Jafar; Baradaran, Behzad; Yousefi, Mehdi
2015-01-01
Human Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of transmembrane receptors, which play a key role in both innate and adaptive immune responses. Beside of recognizing specific molecular patterns that associated with different types of pathogens, TLRs may also detect a number of self-proteins and endogenous nucleic acids. Activating TLRs lead to the heightened expression of various inflammatory genes, which have a protective role against infection. Data rising predominantly from human patients an...
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Earthquake swarms and the semidiurnal solid earth tide
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Klein, F W
1976-01-01
Several correlations between peak earthquake activity during swarms and the phase and stress orientation of the calculated solid earth tide are described. The events correlating with the tide are clusters of swarm earthquakes. Swarm clusters from many sequences recorded over several years are used. Significant tidal correlations (which have less than a 5% chance of being observed if earthquakes were random) are found in the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, the central Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Imperial Valley and northern Gulf of California, and larger (m/sub b/ greater than or equal to 5.0) aftershocks of the 1965 Rat Islands earthquake. In addition, sets of larger single earthquakes on Atlantic and north-east Pacific fracture zones are significantly correlated with the calculated solid tide. No tidal correlation, however, could be found for the Matsushiro Japan swarm of 1965 to 1967. The earthquake-tide correlations other than those of the Reykjanes Peninsula and Mid-Atlantic Ridge can be interpreted as triggering caused by enhancement of the tectonic stress by tidal stress, i.e. the alignment of fault and tidal principal stresses. All tidal correlations except in the Aleutians are associated with oceanic rifts or their landward extensions. If lithospheric plates are decoupled at active rifts, then tidal stresses channeled along the lithospheric stress guide may be concentrated at ridge-type plate boundaries. Tidal triggering of earthquakes at rifts may reflect this possible amplification of tidal strains in the weakened lithosphere at ridges. 25 figures, 2 tables.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Norio Matsushima
2015-08-01
Full Text Available The NOD-like receptors (NLRs and Toll-like receptors (TLRs are pattern recognition receptors that are involved in the innate, pathogen pattern recognition system. The TLR and NLR receptors contain leucine-rich repeats (LRRs that are responsible for ligand interactions. In LRRs short β-strands stack parallel and then the LRRs form a super helical arrangement of repeating structural units (called a coil of solenoids. The structures of the LRR domains of NLRC4, NLRP1, and NLRX1 in NLRs and of TLR1-5, TLR6, TLR8, TLR9 in TLRs have been determined. Here we report nine geometrical parameters that characterize the LRR domains; these include four helical parameters from HELFIT analysis. These nine parameters characterize well the LRR structures in NLRs and TLRs; the LRRs of NLR adopts a right-handed helix. In contrast, the TLR LRRs adopt either a left-handed helix or are nearly flat; RP105 and CD14 also adopt a left-handed helix. This geometrical analysis subdivides TLRs into four groups consisting of TLR3/TLR8/TLR9, TLR1/TLR2/TRR6, TLR4, and TLR5; these correspond to the phylogenetic tree based on amino acid sequences. In the TLRs an ascending lateral surface that consists of loops connecting the β-strand at the C-terminal side is involved in protein, protein/ligand interactions, but not the descending lateral surface on the opposite side.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Larska, Magdalena; Polak, Mirosław P.; Uttenthal, Åse
of experimental inoculation of European cattle with atypical pestivirus. The experiment included 4 groups of 5 calves each inoculated with: BVDV-1 (Ho916), Hobi-like pestivirus (Th/04_KhonKaen), a mixture of both viruses or EaglesMEM (control animals). Th/04_KhonKaen induced milder clinical signs than observed......, lymphocytes and granulocytes in blood on PID 2 correlated to the onset of viraemia. Animals started to seroconvert on PID 14, however the level of anti- Th/04_KhonKaen antibodies was significantly lower that the level of anti-BVDV-1 antibodies, probably due to the specificity of the test used. The experiment...... studies show that the viruses which were thought to be restricted to South America and Southeast Asia, may have reached other continents, including Europe. The pathogenesis of the infection with Hobi-like viruses has not yet been fully elucidated. The purpose of our study was to investigate the course...
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Mads Dagnis; Snaith, Holly
2016-01-01
This article analyses Britain’s quest to negotiate its future membership of the European Union (EU) through the lens of Liberal intergovernmentalism. The article demonstrates that despite the significant economic consequences of a potential Brexit, party political factors have hitherto proven more...
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Role of pattern recognition receptors of the neurovascular unit in inflamm-aging.
Wilhelm, Imola; Nyúl-Tóth, Ádám; Kozma, Mihály; Farkas, Attila E; Krizbai, István A
2017-11-01
Aging is associated with chronic inflammation partly mediated by increased levels of damage-associated molecular patterns, which activate pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) of the innate immune system. Furthermore, many aging-related disorders are associated with inflammation. PRRs, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors (NLRs), are expressed not only in cells of the innate immune system but also in other cells, including cells of the neurovascular unit and cerebral vasculature forming the blood-brain barrier. In this review, we summarize our present knowledge about the relationship between activation of PRRs expressed by cells of the neurovascular unit-blood-brain barrier, chronic inflammation, and aging-related pathologies of the brain. The most important damage-associated molecular pattern-sensing PRRs in the brain are TLR2, TLR4, and NLR family pyrin domain-containing protein-1 and pyrin domain-containing protein-3, which are activated during physiological and pathological aging in microglia, neurons, astrocytes, and possibly endothelial cells and pericytes. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.
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Schouten, P.C.; Grigoriadis, A.; Kuilman, T.; Mirza, H.; Watkins, J.A.; Cooke, S.A.; Dyk, E. van; Severson, T.M.; Rueda, O.M.; Hoogstraat, M.; Verhagen, C.V.M.; Natrajan, R.; Chin, S.F.; Lips, E.H.; Kruizinga, J.; Velds, A.; Nieuwland, M.; Kerkhoven, R.M.; Krijgsman, O.; Vens, C.; Peeper, D.; Nederlof, P.M.; Caldas, C.; Tutt, A.N.; Wessels, L.F.; Linn, S.C.
2015-01-01
Breast cancers with BRCA1 germline mutation have a characteristic DNA copy number (CN) pattern. We developed a test that assigns CN profiles to be 'BRCA1-like' or 'non-BRCA1-like', which refers to resembling a BRCA1-mutated tumor or resembling a tumor without a BRCA1 mutation, respectively.
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Schouten, Philip C.; Grigoriadis, Anita; Kuilman, Thomas; Mirza, Hasan; Watkins, Johnathan A.; Cooke, Saskia A.; van Dyk, Ewald; Severson, Tesa M.; Rueda, Oscar M.; Hoogstraat, Marlous; Verhagen, Caroline V. M.; Natrajan, Rachael; Chin, Suet-Feung; Lips, Esther H.; Kruizinga, Janneke; Velds, Arno; Nieuwland, Marja; Kerkhoven, Ron M.; Krijgsman, Oscar; Vens, Conchita; Peeper, Daniel; Nederlof, Petra M.; Caldas, Carlos; Tutt, Andrew N.; Wessels, Lodewyk F.; Linn, Sabine C.
Breast cancers with BRCA1 germline mutation have a characteristic DNA copy number (CN) pattern. We developed a test that assigns CN profiles to be 'BRCA1-like' or 'non-BRCA1-like', which refers to resembling a BRCA1-mutated tumor or resembling a tumor without a BRCA1 mutation, respectively.
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Moderate Maternal Alcohol Exposure on Gestational Day 12 Impacts Anxiety-Like Behavior in Offspring
Rouzer, Siara K.; Cole, Jesse M.; Johnson, Julia M.; Varlinskaya, Elena I.; Diaz, Marvin R.
2017-01-01
Among the numerous consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is an increase in anxiety-like behavior that can prove debilitating to daily functioning. A significant body of literature has linked gestational day 12 (G12) heavy ethanol exposure with social anxiety, evident in adolescent males and females. However, the association between non-social anxiety-like behavior and moderate alcohol exposure, a more common pattern of drinking in pregnant women, is yet unidentified. To model modera...
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Spatial Patterning of Newly-Inserted Material during Bacterial Cell Growth
Ursell, Tristan
2012-02-01
In the life cycle of a bacterium, rudimentary microscopy demonstrates that cell growth and elongation are essential characteristics of cellular reproduction. The peptidoglycan cell wall is the main load-bearing structure that determines both cell shape and overall size. However, simple imaging of cellular growth gives no indication of the spatial patterning nor mechanism by which material is being incorporated into the pre-existing cell wall. We employ a combination of high-resolution pulse-chase fluorescence microscopy, 3D computational microscopy, and detailed mechanistic simulations to explore how spatial patterning results in uniform growth and maintenance of cell shape. We show that growth is happening in discrete bursts randomly distributed over the cell surface, with a well-defined mean size and average rate. We further use these techniques to explore the effects of division and cell wall disrupting antibiotics, like cephalexin and A22, respectively, on the patterning of cell wall growth in E. coli. Finally, we explore the spatial correlation between presence of the bacterial actin-like cytoskeletal protein, MreB, and local cell wall growth. Together these techniques form a powerful method for exploring the detailed dynamics and involvement of antibiotics and cell wall-associated proteins in bacterial cell growth.[4pt] In collaboration with Kerwyn Huang, Stanford University.
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Two-phase flow pattern and heat transfer during core uncovery
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Osakabe, Masahiro; Koizumi, Yasuo; Tasaka, Kanji
1987-01-01
The low and high power core uncovery patterns were observed in the high-pressure quasi-steady core uncovery experiments in a 25-rod bundle. The boundary between the two patterns was obtained in the experiments. The difference of two patterns was considered to be due to the slug-annular transition below the dryout points. The Osakabe's slug-annular transition model was the good boundary between the two patterns. The small break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) experiments were conducted by using the integral experimental facility with the 1,168-rod core. The transient core uncovery pattern was expected as the low power core uncovery pattern based on the quasisteady experiments mentioned above. The transient core uncovery patterns were classified into the boiloff and hydraulic core uncovery. In the boiloff core uncovery, the dryout points were controlled with the mixture level like the quasi-steady state. In the hydraulic core uncovery, the dryout points were not controlled with the mixture level alone, and the multi-dimensional dryout process in the core and the relatively high heat transfer above the dryout points were observed. It was considered that a part of water was remained above the dryout points due to the rapid depression of core liquid level. (author)
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Distribution patterns, stock size and life-history strategies of cape ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The problems and advantages of bottom trawl and acoustic surveys are discussed in the context of fluctuations in estimates of the size of the stock between 1991 and 1994 and the prevailing environmental conditions. It is concluded that combined acoustic and bottom trawl surveys are the only effective means of surveying ...
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Mallpress, Dave E W; Fawcett, Tim W; Houston, Alasdair I; McNamara, John M
2015-04-01
A striking feature of human decision making is the fourfold pattern of risk attitudes, involving risk-averse behavior in situations of unlikely losses and likely gains, but risk-seeking behavior in response to likely losses and unlikely gains. Current theories to explain this pattern assume particular psychological processes to reproduce empirical observations, but do not address whether it is adaptive for the decision maker to respond to risk in this way. Here, drawing on insights from behavioral ecology, we build an evolutionary model of risk-sensitive behavior, to investigate whether particular types of environmental conditions could favor a fourfold pattern of risk attitudes. We consider an individual foraging in a changing environment, where energy is needed to prevent starvation and build up reserves for reproduction. The outcome, in terms of reproductive value (a rigorous measure of evolutionary success), of a one-off choice between a risky and a safe gain, or between a risky and a safe loss, determines the risk-sensitive behavior we should expect to see in this environment. Our results show that the fourfold pattern of risk attitudes may be adaptive in an environment in which conditions vary stochastically but are autocorrelated in time. In such an environment the current options provide information about the likely environmental conditions in the future, which affect the optimal pattern of risk sensitivity. Our model predicts that risk preferences should be both path dependent and affected by the decision maker's current state. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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Durand, Caroline; Vicré-Gibouin, Maïté; Follet-Gueye, Marie Laure; Duponchel, Ludovic; Moreau, Myriam; Lerouge, Patrice; Driouich, Azeddine
2009-01-01
Border-like cells are released by Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) root tips as organized layers of several cells that remain attached to each other rather than completely detached from each other, as is usually observed in border cells of many species. Unlike border cells, cell attachment between border-like cells is maintained after their release into the external environment. To investigate the role of cell wall polysaccharides in the attachment and organization of border-like cells, we have examined their release in several well-characterized mutants defective in the biosynthesis of xyloglucan, cellulose, or pectin. Our data show that among all mutants examined, only quasimodo mutants (qua1-1 and qua2-1), which have been characterized as producing less homogalacturonan, had an altered border-like cell phenotype as compared with the wild type. Border-like cells in both lines were released as isolated cells separated from each other, with the phenotype being much more pronounced in qua1-1 than in qua2-1. Further analysis of border-like cells in the qua1-1 mutant using immunocytochemistry and a set of anti-cell wall polysaccharide antibodies showed that the loss of the wild-type phenotype was accompanied by (1) a reduction in homogalacturonan-JIM5 epitope in the cell wall of border-like cells, confirmed by Fourier transform infrared microspectrometry, and (2) the secretion of an abundant mucilage that is enriched in xylogalacturonan and arabinogalactan-protein epitopes, in which the cells are trapped in the vicinity of the root tip. PMID:19448034
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Benign compression fractures of the spine: signal patterns
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ryu, Kyung Nam; Choi, Woo Suk; Lee, Sun Wha; Lim, Jae Hoon
1992-01-01
Fifteen patients with 38 compression fractures of the spine underwent magnetic resonance(MR) imaging. We retrospectively evaluated MR images in those benign compression fractures. MR images showed four patterns in T1-weighted images. MR imaging patterns were normal signal(21), band like low signal(8), low signal with preservation of peripheral portion of the body(8), and diffuse low signal through the vertebral body(1). The low signal portions were changed to high signal intensities in T2-weighted images. In 7 of 15 patients (11 compression fractures), there was a history of trauma, and the remaining 8 patients (27 compression fractures) had no history of trauma. Benign compression fractures of trauma, remained 8 patients (27 compression fractures) were non-traumatic. Benign compression fractures of the spine reveal variable signal intensities in MR imagings. These patterns of benign compression fractures may be useful in interpretation of MR imagings of the spine
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Bielser, Marie-Laure; Crézé, Camille; Murray, Micah M; Toepel, Ulrike
2016-12-01
How food valuation and decision-making influence the perception of food is of major interest to better understand food intake behavior and, by extension, body weight management. Our study investigated behavioral responses and spatio-temporal brain dynamics by means of visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in twenty-two normal-weight participants when viewing pairs of food photographs. Participants rated how much they liked each food item (valuation) and subsequently chose between the two alternative food images. Unsurprisingly, strongly liked foods were also chosen most often. Foods were rated faster as strongly liked than as mildly liked or disliked irrespective of whether they were subsequently chosen over an alternative. Moreover, strongly liked foods were subsequently also chosen faster than the less liked alternatives. Response times during valuation and choice were positively correlated, but only when foods were liked; the faster participants rated foods as strongly liked, the faster they were in choosing the food item over an alternative. VEP modulations by the level of liking attributed as well as the subsequent choice were found as early as 135-180ms after food image onset. Analyses of neural source activity patterns over this time interval revealed an interaction between liking and the subsequent choice within the insula, dorsal frontal and superior parietal regions. The neural responses to food viewing were found to be modulated by the attributed level of liking only when foods were chosen, not when they were dismissed for an alternative. Therein, the responses to disliked foods were generally greater than those to foods that were liked more. Moreover, the responses to disliked but chosen foods were greater than responses to disliked foods which were subsequently dismissed for an alternative offer. Our findings show that the spatio-temporal brain dynamics to food viewing are immediately influenced both by how much foods are liked and by choices taken on them
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Sensorimotor paradigms for design of movement and social interaction
Barakova, E.I.; Feijs, L.; Kyffin, S.; Young, B.
2006-01-01
The human brain has evolved for governing motor activity by transforming sensory patterns to patterns of motor coordination. Movement, as a basic bodily expression of this governing function is shown to underlie higher cognitive processes and social interaction.There are three prevailing concepts of
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Pavlovian conditioning of multiple opioid-like responses in mice.
Bryant, Camron D; Roberts, Kristofer W; Culbertson, Christopher S; Le, Alan; Evans, Christopher J; Fanselow, Michael S
2009-07-01
Conditional responses in rodents such as locomotion have been reported for drugs of abuse and similar to the placebo response in humans, may be associated with the expectation of reward. We examined several conditional opioid-like responses and the influence of drug expectation on conditioned place preference and concomitant conditional locomotion. Male C57BL/6J mice were conditioned with the selective mu opioid receptor agonist fentanyl (0.2mg/kg, i.p.) in a novel context and subsequently given a vehicle injection. In separate experiments, locomotor activity, Straub tail, hot plate sensitivity, and conditioned place preference (CPP) were measured. Mice exhibited multiple conditional opioid-like responses including conditional hyperlocomotion, a conditional pattern of opioid-like locomotion, Straub tail, analgesia, and place preference. Modulating drug expectation via administration of fentanyl to "demonstrator" mice in the home cage did not affect the expression of conditioned place preference or the concomitant locomotor activity in "observer" mice. In summary, Pavlovian conditioning of an opioid in a novel context induced multiple conditional opioid-like behaviors and provides a model for studying the neurobiological mechanisms of the placebo response in mice.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Viktoria Wagner
2011-03-01
Full Text Available Soil biota effects are increasingly accepted as an important driver of the abundance and distribution of plants. While biogeographical studies on alien invasive plant species have indicated coevolution with soil biota in their native distribution range, it is unknown whether adaptation to soil biota varies among populations within the native distribution range. The question of local adaptation between plants and their soil biota has important implications for conservation of biodiversity and may justify the use of seed material from local provenances in restoration campaigns.We studied soil biota effects in ten populations of the steppe grass Stipa capillata from two distinct regions, Europe and Asia. We tested for local adaptation at two different scales, both within (ca. 10-80 km and between (ca. 3300 km regions, using a reciprocal inoculation experiment in the greenhouse for nine months. Generally, negative soil biota effects were consistent. However, we did not find evidence for local adaptation: both within and between regions, growth of plants in their 'home soil' was not significantly larger relative to that in soil from other, more distant, populations.Our study suggests that negative soil biota effects can prevail in different parts of a plant species' range. Absence of local adaptation points to the possibility of similar rhizosphere biota composition across populations and regions, sufficient gene flow to prevent coevolution, selection in favor of plasticity, or functional redundancy among different soil biota. From the point of view of plant--soil biota interactions, our findings indicate that the current practice of using seeds exclusively from local provenances in ecosystem restoration campaigns may not be justified.